Holding Their Own VII: Phoenix Star by Joe Nobody

been in the field constantly for the last 48 hours.
    “I’m getting too old for this,” he grumbled to Diana.
    She didn’t look much better, he noted. The dark circles under her eyes were one obvious sign, her hunched posture indicative of one very tired government servant.
    Looking up from her computer screen, she managed a smile and nod. “I hear ya, big man. I don’t think I’ve ever been so tired. I miss Terri.”
    “ You miss Terri?” he protested. “Bishop was my right hand man. Deke and he were the only guys available who understood what the hell was going on. Now both of them are gone. I need Bishop back. I need his help with the workload.”
    Diana folded the laptop’s cover, the loss of light darkening her office even further. She rose from her desk and moved to sit beside Nick.
    “Tell the truth,” she began, brushing a hand through his hair. “You miss Bishop, just as much as I miss Terri. It’s okay to drop your man-shield and admit it.”
    “Yeah,” he replied after a short pause, “I do kind of like the guy… despite that corny sense of humor.”
    Diana smirked, finding her boyfriend’s understatement funny. “Oh, let’s not admit you two were thick as thieves. Let’s not mention that you two fought side by side. He is just a nice guy that you wish was around now and then – right?”
    Nick appeared to study the floor for a moment, his gaze off in space. He inhaled and tilted his head so that his sad eyes met hers. “What’s killing me is that I haven’t had a spare second to work on clearing his name. It’s all I can handle just keeping our militia together. I’m not sensing the commitment from them that I had before. The guys are unsure… asking a lot of questions... hesitating.”
    Diana brightened for a moment, standing quickly and moving to her desk. “Speaking of clearing Bishop’s name, an Army messenger delivered this today. I’m worse than you are; I almost forgot.”
    She handed over a folder, thick with documents and pictures. Nick immediately opened the file, briefly flipping through the various pages and photographs. “What’s on your agenda for tomorrow?” he asked.
    “I’ve got an early meeting with the salt crews. Our demand is outstripping production. DA Gibson wants me to show my face up at Fort Stockdale. She’s worried about rumblings from some of the town’s leading citizens and thinks my presence may reassure some of the residents there.”
    Nodding, Nick’s face softened as he checked her expression. “Sounds like a full day for sure. Would you mind if I assigned a couple of the guys to provide security for you? I want to go up to that canyon where the massacre occurred. Poke around a little bit.”
    Diana frowned, “But, Nick, I was looking forward to spending the day with you. We’ve hardly seen each other at all.”
    “I know. I feel the same way, but I’ve got to help Bishop. I gave my word. Besides, the sooner we get them back, the sooner we can start moving things forward again. We might even get to spend some time together. If the US Army doesn’t invade, that is.”
    Alpha’s mayor wrapped an arm around his shoulder, burying her face in his neck. Sighing, she relented. “Okay. I’ll let you off the hook this time, but please don’t assign me one of those talkative types. I want to use the travel time to get some work done.”
    “How about Sheppard? He’s pretty quiet.”
    “Sure, that will be fine,” she sighed, and then added with a teasing tone, “Besides, he’s kind of cute.”
     
    Chambers Canyon, Texas
    July 25
     
    They missed the lane leading to Chambers Canyon the first time. It was Moses who spotted the dirt path after Nick turned around.
    Both men had said little on the drive from Alpha. Both had recently lost friends, and both believed the valley they were about to explore held the key to explaining what had really happened.
    Moses was obviously still mourning Deke’s loss. Not only had the recent mission to