The Chains Of Their Sins by Anna Butler

Author:Anna Butler [Butler, Anna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

**~*~**

“See you out there, then.” Jillia was as cheerful as ever. Gods, did nothing take the edge off the woman?

Bennet glanced at his chronometer, calculating probable time frames against all the crap he’d have to deal with first. “In about an hour.”

Jillia and the rest of Gamma Squadron's officers had stayed with Bennet on his way to the troop deck; he and Flynn bound for the Duty Office, Jillia and her team off to take their places on picket, forward patrol or standby. It had been very convenient. It wasn't likely they realised they were running interference for him, but that's what it amounted to. He could walk alongside Jilly and chat in as careless a manner as he could manage, while other people, the kind of people Bennet didn't really want to talk to, were caught up in the general press of pilots heading for their ships. They could shoot irate glances at Bennet's back—Bennet could almost feel the hostility, like an itch between his shoulder blades—but their teeth were drawn. Flynn would just have to wait until they reached the Duty Office before starting the inevitable argument. Which, of course, he would. Bennet was quite sorry to see Jillia go. He went into to the Duty Office with shoulders metaphorically hunched against the storm.

“What was that about?” Flynn demanded, as soon as the door had closed.

Bennet dropped into his chair behind the desk and switched on his computer console. “What was what about?”

“That go at me in there!”

“You were late.”

“I know I was late. It was just a couple of minutes. Not even that.”

“The point is that the briefing starts at eight-fifteen. You weren't there.”

“I was a minute late! That's no reason to pick me up on it in public.”

“You were late in public.” Bennet's chest constricted again. He took a deep breath to clear it, as per Dr Parry's tetchy instructions of the previous night. “I'd have said the same, whoever it was. I'm not even going to ask where you've been since seven when the duty period started, but you sure as hell weren't here in the Duty Office when I got here—”

“I was doing the rounds of the troop deck, like I'm supposed to do!”

“Fine.” Bennet could at least believe Flynn wasn't likely to lie to him outright. And true, one of Flynn's jobs before Bennet went upstairs to see the Management was a quick flit around the troop decks to ensure all was well. But Flynn should have been there for the duty handover. He probably took a detour via Engineering. Bennet found he had pressed his lips together hard again, so hard his jaw ached. He unclenched everything. He couldn't let the bastard get to him. “So arrive on time for briefing next time, like you're supposed to do, and we won't have a problem.”

“We don't have a problem. You have a problem!”

Bennet opened up his emails. “I have a problem with you turning up late for a briefing, Flynn, yes. I'd have the same problem if it was Kyle or Cruz or anyone else.

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