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“One is within walking distance. For the others, we should take the buggy,” Cayman responded.
“It can wait. We’ll need to set up work spaces. Perhaps a main command center and ancillary areas where smaller groups can focus on the tasks at hand.”
“Certainly,” said Cayman. “There are the main rooms I took you through yesterday. Two sitting rooms, a formal and an informal dining area, and a library on this floor. Upstairs you saw there were two more sitting rooms. Would that suffice?”
“There’s also the solarium,” I offered.
“Yes, I’d forgotten,” Cayman admitted.
“What about security?” Ares asked.
“I sent a brief just before I left, with all the details. I also spoke with Z about getting an IT team out here to close any gaps you can identify.”
“Good. What else?”
“The basics,” I offered.
Ares studied me.
“You know, sustenance? Food, water? How did you handle it at your previous setup?”
“Before Hanadarko arrived, we took turns grocery shopping or ordered meals from the local restaurants. There weren’t as many of us there.”
Hanadarko.Why was that name familiar? I couldn’t place it. Maybe Wren would be able to.
“If we don’t make use of the caretakers’ services, we could take turns with meal prep. Have some easy things on hand. The cottages each have their own kitchens,” Cayman suggested.
“Perhaps it would be best to revisit the topic once we know who will be here full-time and who will come and go,” I added.
“I’ll grab our things, then we can sit down and craft a plan,” said Ares.
“I can help,” Cayman offered.
“I’ve got it.” Ares snapped, walking out the door.
“I feel as though I should salute him, or bow or something.”
I grinned. “He is rather…tightly wound. However, to be fair, we all have been from time to time. This mission, if it can be called such, is far bigger than any of us have ever undertaken, just in the sheer magnitude of what the UN expects. It feels a bit like tackling a world war.”
“Ares does remind me of Churchill in his approach. Or maybe Stalin.” Cayman and I both chuckled.
The door opened, and Ares brought in my cases along with two of his. “I can help,” I offered.
“I’ve got it,” he repeated. “Which room?”
“It doesn’t matter. Take whichever you prefer.”
“Whichroom?” he said again.
I looked at both. One appeared slightly more feminine. I thought about taking the other just to see how he’d react, but given his seemingly foul mood, I pointed to it. “That one.”
He brushed past Cayman and me, deposited my bags, then took his luggage to the other room.
“I’ll get the rest of my stuff,” I said quietly enough that, I hoped, Ares wouldn’t hear.
“I’ll help,” said Cayman.”
I’d just set the lot of it on the larger of the dining tables when Ares came out of the bedroom. He looked at my bags, then up at me, then stalked back into the other room.
