Gabriel: Zero Point (Evan Gabriel Trilogy) by Steve Umstead Page B

my office on the double.”
    Gabriel squeezed the water bottle until the top popped off. Knowles laughed softly and bent over to pick it up off the floor.
    “Take care of yourself, Lieutenant,” she said, handing the cap back to him.
    He looked back at her and saw that relief and satisfaction had replaced her apprehension and sadness. Maybe this was over for her. But it was only beginning for him; that he was sure about.
    “Zero point, you say,” he said.
    She smiled. “Make the best of your new beginning, Evan.”
    He nodded. “Thank you, Moira. And you too.”
    He turned and walked out of the room, purposely not looking back. Only looking ahead.

Chapter 13

    Biermann was seated at his desk when Gabriel entered. All the cleanup crews had finished, and according to the station security system he had tapped back into, the blast doors were all open and Cielo’s personnel were returning to work. He made a mental note to ask Biermann how he had cleared the station for his test. And another mental note not to kill the arrogant bastard.  
    “Yes, you have your shoes. Isn’t that nice,” Biermann said, rising from his chair. “Have a seat. There’s a priority transmission for you from Admiral Cafferty in Toronto. He’d like to speak in private. And there’s a wet towel on the end of my desk. Make yourself a little more presentable, Lieutenant.”
    Biermann walked past Gabriel and through the door without another word. The door slid shut behind him. Gabriel walked around to the back of the desk and sat down, looking at the blank comm terminal. Blank except for small text that read, “VOICE CODE NEEDED.”
    He pursed his lips. Voice code? What voice code? He picked up the towel and wrung it out into the plastic container it sat in and wiped the dried blood from his face. He used the black screen as a mirror and rubbed until he saw nothing but jagged red marks in his cheek. As good as it’s going to get . His neuretics medical alerts had mercifully ceased as his body got caught up healing the rest of his body.
    “Ah, hello?” he said hesitantly as he dropped the bloody towel back into the container.
    The terminal beeped and “ACCEPTED” replaced the other text, then the screen lit up with the face of Vice Admiral Eriq Cafferty.
    Gabriel wasn’t accustomed to communicating with superior officers over vidcomm, so he wasn’t sure whether to stand at attention or just sit patiently. He chose the latter.
    “Lieutenant Gabriel, good to see you again, son,” Cafferty said. “Captain Biermann has briefed me on the results of the procedure and the, ah, operation. I had a feeling you’d come through with flying colors.” His face grew slightly as he leaned closer to the video pickup. “I’ve had my eye on you since before OCS. And so has Pete, ah, Captain Biermann. Which is why you were chosen for this. How are you?”
    “Sir, I understand. If I may speak freely, an hour ago I would have questioned a lot of what went on here, but I understand. Captain Biermann has been… thorough. And Doctor Knowles has been helpful. I’m… I’m okay, sir.”
    Cafferty nodded. “Excellent. From what I understand, it’s a hell of an adjustment. And Biermann’s test is… difficult. Anyway, the reason for my call. Lieutenant, I believe you have a bright future in the Navy ahead of you, and I’m proud to have you under my command. You’ll find you may be serving two masters for a little while. Myself in the regular Navy, and Captain Biermann in NAVSOC. I need you to understand we all have the same goals, regardless of the chain you find yourself under. Is that clear?”
    “Yes sir, quite clear.”
    “Good,” Cafferty replied. “And speaking of command, Captain Biermann has briefed me on your upcoming mission. It’s an extremely important one that needs to be handled with the utmost discretion. I think you’ll find a lot of what we do involves political overtones, and they can be… tricky.”
    Gabriel furrowed his brow,