Read Cloud Dust: RD-1 for Free Online Page B

that, they died. Obviously, I'd only protected mannequins
during the testing. That was a shame; I wouldn't have minded seeing a few
doctors and scientists riddled with bullets.
    "Here's the entrance to the tunnel," my companion,
Dalton Parrish, announced. They'd named him my handler. We'd see who did the
handling.
    The tunnel was perhaps a quarter mile long, and the entrance
lay beyond a guarded gate. Once we'd driven past the tunnel, I saw the Mansion.
    It was impressive, but I'd stayed in better.
    "Your quarters are on the third floor," Dalton
informed me as I lifted my duffel from the trunk of the vehicle. "My suite
is next to yours, but not connected."
    "Good," I said.
    "Uh, when do you want to meet the others?" He didn't
know whether my last response meant that I was glad he was next door or glad
his suite wasn't connected to mine. I let him worry about it.
    "Tomorrow," I said. "That will be soon
enough." Hefting the bag over a shoulder, I walked toward the nearest
entrance.
    * * *
    Corinne
    "He's here, so you may hear something next door if you're
in the kitchen," August said. "He said he didn't want to meet anyone
until tomorrow, so we're delivering a meal to his suite for tonight," he
added.
    "Thank God." I slouched onto a barstool and let my
forehead drop to the island. "I can eat in peace tonight, at least."
    I didn't add that I wished they'd put a sign on the connecting
door, or some other way to let us know the other's preferred cooking schedules.
I shoved that thought away and lifted my head to blink at August. He was
frowning at me. No surprise.
    "Corinne, I expect you to keep me informed," he
said.
    "August, if there's anything worthy of informing you
about, you'll hear it from me, first. Okay?" I figured the new guy's brand
of toothpaste wasn't important to national security.
    "Okay."
    * * *
    Notes—Colonel Hunter
    "Corinne's scared to death," Shaw informed me.
    "Did she tell you that?"
    I'd met Shaw in the coffee shop at his request; he'd seen
Corinne the day before. "No, she didn't say it. I asked a few
questions—how she felt about sharing space with a stranger, that sort of thing.
It wasn't difficult to draw the logical conclusion."
    "I don't blame her for being frightened. He's taller now
than he was before, and looks even tougher, if that's possible."
    "You've seen photographs?"
    "Yes. I kept those away from Corinne."
    "That was probably a mistake. The first time she walks
into her kitchen for coffee and finds him there, she'll have a panic
attack."
    "We're making arrangements to introduce him to her and
the others in a controlled setting," I argued. "So she won't have
panic attacks. I'm hoping for a kitchen schedule, too, to keep the peace."
    "Best laid plans, Colonel?" Shaw lifted a skeptical
eyebrow.
    "Probably. I don't know what will happen when he starts
training her in Krav Maga."
    "Don't let him hurt her. This isn't fun and games, you
know, and beating on her for the pleasure of it will garner a complaint from me
to the President."
    "When are you scheduled to meet with her?" I asked,
ignoring the threat. I figured the President wouldn't be happy if somebody
broke Corinne—she was her new toy.
    "Next Wednesday, right after Corinne's appointment."
    "Convenient. You can yell at Rafe if he hurts her,"
I said.
    "You know that's not the way things work. Those sessions
are private and shouldn't bleed into the others."
    "Yet you and I discuss," I began.
    "I discuss with all the handlers. That's their job—to see
that their assets don't get out of hand, or receive what they need to thrive.
If they'd asked, and they didn't, I'd have suggested leaving Rafe and Corinne
separate, and building a second kitchen."
    "We were given enough money for a few doors, nothing
else," I huffed.
    "Corinne would have paid for a private kitchen,"
Shaw shot back. "You know that. Are you asking her to help keep an eye on
him?"
    "That's not common knowledge," I hissed. "Keep
it to yourself."
    "Not a problem," Shaw shrugged.