Girl Gone Nova by Pauline Baird Jones Read Free Book Online Page A

general would like to see you.”
    Okay, as rescues went, this wasn’t Simmons best.
    * * * * *
    Doc didn’t expect to enjoy her first meeting with General Halliwell, but she had expected to survive it. Judging by the look on his face when she entered his hospital room, she’d set her expectations too high. Good thing Simmons had found her some scrubs to wear or who knew what the general would have done.
    Did he know who she was? The Major wasn’t above sending her places without anyone needing to know. He didn’t even tell her what she needed to know until he had to.
    The Doolittle wasn’t as cut off from Earth this deployment. The expedition had positioned a series of relay satellites, with boosted transmit capabilities, along their course to this galaxy. The Major had managed to piggyback a coded, secure packet for her on the last transmission, so she knew more than she’d known five minutes ago, but it still wasn’t much. The packet was sparse on detail, even for the Major. It did hint her objective had something to do with the Kikk Outpost. This wasn’t a total shock. It was the only ground the expedition held in the galaxy. The thought of spending time there made her jaded senses tingle with anticipation—and anxiety. Despite the plethora of weapons, it was still a geek’s playground. While Doc had serious geek credentials, she didn’t play in the traditional geek end of the pool. Actually, she didn’t play period. The Major tended to deploy her in places geeks feared to go and shooting was expected. Neither criterion appeared to apply to the Outpost.
    With more questions than answers, now wasn’t the time to think about that. She needed every brain cell she had for this interview. Since she had a lot of them, she should have been good, only she was still off balance from her meeting with Hel and lack of sleep. She assumed a military stance, because she was military, with or without a uniform. She added a touch of humility. It might not help, but it couldn’t hurt.
    Or it could. His basilisk stare should have burned her to a black crisp. It seems she’d donned her asbestos drawers this morning.
    “What the hell were you thinking?”
    She blinked. “That if I didn’t disarm it more people would die?” She kept her tone mild and bumped up the humility factor some more. She liked exercises in futility.
    “What are you talking about?”
    “The bomb?” What was he talking about?
    “Why would I be upset about that?”
    Doc could think of several reasons, but if he wasn’t upset about it, why provide more ammo for his outrage?
    “Isn’t that what you do?” the general snapped.
    He thought she disarmed bombs? He must know some unusual UN doctors. Unless he knew who she was. And even if he did, the answer would still be, no, she didn’t disarm bombs.
    The Major, who’d taken her unique skill set and focused it for his use, called her a troubleshooter, because it didn’t limit what he could have her do. None of which gave her a clue about why the general was pissed, no, make that apoplectic. It wouldn’t take that much to bring on a full-fledged heart attack. On the upside, he was in the right place if he had one.
    “I’m talking about you and the Gadi Leader.”
    Doc blinked again. She flipped through several responses and settled on, “He needed a doctor, sir.”
    “I’m talking about the reception. You aren’t here to get googly-eyed over a man, particularly that one.”
    Color surged into her cheeks, but she managed to keep her mouth shut. Did she want to admit she’d never felt like this? Not bloody likely. And had the tough-minded general just said googly-eyed?
    That thought must have hit him at the same time. Color washed into his face, well, more color. The anger hadn’t subsided yet.
    And his comments still didn’t answer the basic question of what he knew about her. Was he pissed at her as a member of the expedition or because he knew she was the Chameleon ?
    “The Leader’s