Mirrored Man: The Rob Tyler Chronicles Book 1 by GJ Fortier Read Free Book Online Page B

is shining a chair with my”—pausing, he noted the senator's
dubious stare—“pants,” he finished, a bit less crudely than he had
originally intended.
    Kitchens’ smile nearly took in his entire
face. “Well Greg, at first glance, I'd say your assignment here is
a serious misallocation of an extremely valuable military
asset.”
    “Yes, sir,” Greg replied, trying hard not to
smile. I think I'm starting to like this guy.
    “So, my question to you is, why do you think that they have you stationed here?”
    Uh oh! What's he looking for,
here? Greg found an expectant look on Kitchens’ face. I take
it back. I hate this guy. Biding his time, he feigned a
distraction and took a deep breath, deciding to go with his
original answer. “I have no idea, sir.”
    After an uncomfortably long pause, Kitchens
said, “Well, we'll just have to find out won't we, Greg?” He
continued studying the documents. “Relax. I just like to know who
I'm dealing with. I'm new to all of this too, remember?”
    Greg’s shoulders drooped in defeat.
“Senator, I really don't know how much help I'm gonna be to you,
sir.”
    “I'm here to evaluate the operational
validity of Project Pine Tree. Not you, Greg,” Kitchens assured
him. “What that means is, I'm gonna decide if it's worth it or not
to invest the”—he paused, flipping to the desired page—“one hundred
twenty six point eight million dollars a year into it.”
    Stiffening immediately, Greg stifled a gasp. Wow. I need a raise!
    “Now, that might sound like a drop in the
bucket, and it's only about three F-35s, but these things do add
up.” Kitchens looked up to notice that Greg had driven past the
guard shack, exiting the base. “Um, Greg, if I'm not mistaken, we
just left the Air Force base that I'm visitin' today.”
    “Yes, Senator. We've left the base. The
facility is offsite.”
    “Offsite?” Kitchens repeated incredulously.
“Offsite where?”
    “There's a facade off of highway ninety-six
near the Ocmulgee River. A duck blind.”
    Kitchens' eyebrows arched in wonder. “A duck
blind?”
    “Yes, sir. It's less than ten minutes away,”
Greg assured him.
    “Really,” Kitchens said in growing
amusement.
    Studying the senator, Greg added, “It's a
pretty good duck blind, sir.”
    Doubt overshadowed Kitchens' smile. “Better
than an Air Force base, Greg?” A moment later, he began to chuckle.
Then, noticing Greg's quizzical glances, he began laughing out
loud.
    They rounded a cloverleaf and continued down
the highway. Looking across the road to his left, Kitchens admired
the vintage American and foreign aircraft displayed around the
campus of the Air Force museum. At its center, a B-1 bomber was
parked next to the entrance to the main building. “Pretty
birds.”
    “If you'd like to, Senator, we can tour the
museum before you leave. They have a very nice World War II
exhibit, I hear,” Greg suggested hopefully.
    Kitchens returned his attention to the
papers in his lap. “No thanks. Seen it.”
    The look on Greg’s face rested somewhere
between shock and anger. “You have? Have you visited Robins before,
Senator?”
    “Kevin,” Kitchens corrected him again. “Low
profile, right?”
    “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”
    The sounds of the road droned on. Greg had
already resolved himself to the fact that some questions would
remain unanswered. But not this one. “Have you, sir?”
    Kitchens, engrossed in the documents,
responded to Greg vaguely. “Sorry?”
    Greg shifted his position again. “Visited
the base before?”
    “Uh huh.”
    “Okay,” Greg nodded, with a hint of
frustration in his tone. “I hadn't been informed that you were
familiar with the area.”
    “Well, I ought to be. I was mayor of Warner
Robins for six-and-a-half years before I ran for the senate,” he
said, matter-of-factly.
    Shaking his head, it was Greg's turn to
laugh.
    “Relax, Greg. Have you seen Kitchens Office
Supply on Watson Boulevard near the Walmart?”
    Having spent very