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Sergeant Giovanni nodded as they walked past a long desk with nurses and monitors. “That’s a hard change to adapt to.” She stopped at a cooler and got Pete a glass of water.
Pete nodded thanks and gulped down the water. He seemed smaller somehow, like a great weight pulled him down.
She squeezed his shoulder. “I’m all kinds of sorry about Lieutenant Runningwolf, but we have to find our murderer before another body turns up.”
Pete nodded and stood up out of the hunch he’d gone into. “Yeah, I know.” He took a deep breath. “Thanks for waiting while I talked to him. I just heard they were bringing him here this morning.”
“Yeah. I get it. Glad there was someone here that he knew to visit him. Does he have family to call?”
“Like an uncle, I think?” Pete shook his head. “He’s always been pretty much on his own, one of the most independent guys I know. He was so proud when he told me he was on command track.”
Colonel Bennet came around a corner in the corridor and came face to face with them. “He was,” he confirmed. “And he still is.”
Pete looked up at the tall colonel curiously. “Really?”
He nodded. “I’ll need to talk to Runningwolf first. Ask him about it later.” He looked from Sergeant Giovanni to Pete. “Don’t you two have a killer to catch?”
“Yes, sir.” Sergeant Giovanni said sharply. “C’mon, Pete.”
Pete nodded and followed the Sergeant out while the colonel knocked softly on the hospital room door.
Liliana shifted her vision to track the Fae colonel rather than Pete. She wondered what sort of man this handsome colonel was. How would he treat a wounded soldier?
After a soft “Come in,” he entered the room, hat in hand.
“Lieutenant Runningwolf.”
“Sir.” The man in the hospital bed straightened as much as he could against the pillows.
The colonel looked around quickly, standing stiffly at the door. “The Army put you in that bed, Lieutenant, and we’re going to get you out of it. You’ve got my word on that.”
Lieutenant Runningwolf’s face scrunched in confusion. “Not sure how that’s going to work, sir.”
“We’ve got the best cyberneticist in the country at this base. Doctor Periclum has given me his word that he’ll do everything he can to not just get you walking, but running faster than you could before.”
A broad smile spread across John Runningwolf’s face, then his head tilted and his eyes narrowed. “Full cybernetic limbs are worth more than my pay for the next twenty years. What’s the catch, sir?”
“No catch.” The Fae colonel sat stiffly on the edge of the chair that Pete had just vacated. “You can still have a medical discharge, but you’ll walk out of here on two new legs if that’s what you want to do.”
“That is so not what I want to do.” His grin went crooked. “Well, I do want to do the walking part, but not the discharge part if there’s another option.”
“I just want you to know there are no strings on this offer. I’d like you to join my unit, but I don’t want you to think its a condition of getting new legs. I heard a lot about you and your performance as a field commander from your CO.”
John Runningwolf grinned wide. “All lies. Except for the good parts.”
“Then they were pretty honest reports,” the colonel said with a small quirk of his lips. “I heard you lost your legs because you blew the bridge you were still standing on so your unit wouldn’t be overrun.”
Runningwolf’s face twisted in irritation. “Damn remote jammed.”
“Then, while half buried in rubble, you kept firing to keep the enemy pinned until your entire unit was clear. I heard you refused to lie down even when you were pulling out. You were still firing out the back of the vehicle while they were hauling you away with tourniquets on your legs.”
The young man in the bed shrugged. “Not much point in my team keeping me from bleeding out if I caught an enemy bullet with my face.” He sagged a little, dark circles under his eyes more prominent. “Are you getting at something, sir?”
“Yes, I am. I need a good XO.”
“Got it.” Runningwolf nodded. “Captain Carter had no intelligence to indicate an ambush there, and she ordered a retreat immediately. She didn’t leave us hanging, did everything right. She’s solid, sharp, and always looks out for us. She’s a good choice.”
The colonel huffed a laugh. “She is. We’ve worked together before and I trust her judgment. But she’s already got a command of her own. That’s why I want you for the position. She recommends you highly.”
