Talons of the Falcon by REBECCA YORK Read Free Book Online

clarified. “Considering the circumstances, Colonel Bradley’s best interests and those of the U.S. government may not be precisely the same.”
    “Oh?”
    “I would have thought Major Downing had made that clear when you arrived. He certainly made it clear to me that the prime objective of the staff is getting whatever information we can.”
    “And you agree with Downing?”
    “He’s my commanding officer. What alternative do I have? Besides, the man we have down here may not even be Bradley.”
    “I think we have to assume that he is,” Eden said with more conviction than she felt. It was hard to mask her disappointment. She’d dared hope she could count on the physician. Apparently he hadn’t been thinking of the man in his care as anything more than a damaged machine in need of physical repair. Or did he have some other, more subtle motive?
    Hubbard looked uncomfortable. “I’m a thirty-year man who’s just dealing with reality.”
    “I’ll remember that.”
    Once back in her office, Eden fought the temptation to simply sit and brood over Hubbard’s words. She wasn’t going to allow herself the luxury of wasting any of her energy on him when she had important work to do. Resolutely she got out a pencil and started making notes.
    Two hours later a tap on the door startled her from her concentration. It was Dr. Hubbard announcing lunch.
    “I’ll be along in a second,” she told him as she hastily finished up her last few notes.
    On her way to the dining room, she mentally ticked off the officers she was likely to meet. Besides Hubbard and Downing, there would be the members of the hot-shot interrogation team, Price and Yolanski.
    At the curved entrance to the room, she paused for a moment to study the men who would either be her allies or her adversaries. They were seated at a long, heavily carved table. The table and high-backed chairs looked as though they might once have graced a medieval castle. Downing commanded the far end. The others were arranged along the sides. As though sensing her presence, Downing looked up. “Good afternoon, Dr. Sommers.”
    “I’m sorry I’m late,” Eden murmured as she took the one empty chair. It was opposite Downing.
    “Late, but worth waiting for,” someone near the end of the table said under his breath.
    The chief of station nodded. “As you know, Dr. Sommers will be joining our staff for the next few months. And I’m sure she’d like to sort us all out.”
    Apparently he wasn’t going to be openly antagonistic in front of his staff. When he looked pointedly at the officer on his right, Lieutenant Price introduced himself as a member of the security group.
    Gordon had given her a brief description of everyone here but Captain Walker, a powerfully built black man with intelligent dark eyes and a cautious manner. Was he, like herself, a recent arrival to Pine Island? Or was the Falcon lacking some important information about the installation?
    The unknown factor was disturbing, but she pushed her concern to the back of her mind and forced herself to make the most of these first moments with the staff. She knew the value of unspoken communications. There was a great deal a trained observer could pick up from body language and eye contact—or lack of it.
    As they introduced themselves, she gave what appeared to be polite interest in each. However, she was picking up all sorts of cues ranging from curiosity to nervousness and even well-disguised hostility. Price, who was tall with medium brown close-clipped hair, was the least subtle. Like Downing, he apparently saw her presence as the grounds for a turf battle.
    Ramirez had come in to bring her iced tea. And the compact, ruddy-faced Yolanski, who happened to be seated next to her, passed the country-fried steak. He seemed the most easygoing of the group. Price was definitely uptight. Walker didn’t say much, but he was listening to the general conversation and sizing her up.
    As the meal drew to a close,