Power Vacuum (Maelstrom Rising Book 8) by Peter Nealen

Author:Peter Nealen [Nealen, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-02-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

“I swear to you, this is getting worked out.”

“I should fucking hope so.” Hartrick was in grand form, his arms crossed and his perpetual scowl deeper than ever as I walked into the GP Medium tent that had been set up as our field TOC just outside Hof. The Army officer facing him and the towering grizzly bear of a man who was Major Tierce, still alive and still commanding the 10th Special Forces Group’s contingent in Europe, didn’t seem cowed, but she wasn’t comfortable, either. “We’ve shed a lot of blood to pull the Army’s asses out of the fire, only to have the guns turned on us when the fucking ChiComs say so.”

“It’s not like that.” The woman in cammies and full battle rattle, her helmet under her arm, turned to look over her shoulder as Tony and I walked into the tent. We were both back in our greens and geared up, my OBR hanging from its sling. Tony still had his SBR Tactical on him, just because the Mk 48 was a little bulky to be carrying around the TOC.

“Really? It sure fucking sounds like it’s ‘like that.’” Hartrick was a on a tear. “One section detained, two others taken under fire by Army gate guards. And all the excuses parroting a statement made by a German politician we all already know is dirty, with a PLA—I’m sorry, One World Holistic Security Concepts—Colonel standing right behind him.” He stared daggers at the woman. “Show me where I’m wrong.”

“The current emergency has led some commanders to take action based on what little information they have.” She wasn’t rattled, at least. But if she was Civil Affairs or Public Relations, then she was probably trained to deal with angry local leaders.

None of whom held a candle to Hartrick when he was really pissed. And he was downright livid at the moment. I knew him well enough to see that clearly. This was not what I would call a safe room to be in.

I glanced at Tierce. His face was stony, but I could see the frustration in his eyes. One of the rare breed of officers I’d respected from the get-go, Tierce had been on our side from the moment we’d first set foot in Poland. He’d recognized what was happening, even when his superiors had refused, and had done whatever he could to head off the inevitable. He’d had his hands tied more often than not, but he’d been a stand-up guy. And from the looks of things, he was still holding his ground. But he wouldn’t publicly take sides against another Army officer. He couldn’t.

“Incomplete information?!” Hartrick’s angry bark was almost an explosion. “Is that the excuse for suddenly turning on Americans, when the enemy is clearly jihadis and EDC remnant special forces?”

“The Triarii’s irregular legal status…” She got that much out before Hartrick took two steps back, snatched a piece of paper off the table behind him, and slammed it down with a crack on the table between him and the liaison officer.

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