Page 16 of Operation: Discovery

“Come on inside. I’ve been waiting for twenty minutes for people to show up. I was beginning to think I was going to have to throw it all away.”

Dee felt Rebecca tense in her chair. Weight was such a strange thing. People who were nervous and tense felt ever so slightly heavier to push even though there couldn’t be any real difference in weight. It was almost as if they were dragging imaginary feet on the floor.

“Hello! You both must be new. I’m Victoria and I run the kitchen here at Wayside. We’re glad to have you. Some of our guests don’t feel comfortable eating in a communal setting, so they take their trays back to their cabins and bring them back when they’re done. Most just eat here since the dining room is big enough that you can have your own space if you’d like to.”

Dee felt like the leader of this little group, since she’d suggested they come in. “Why don’t we all sit together and get to know one another a little better?”

Now Rebecca looked uncomfortable, shifting slightly in her chair. “Actually, I think I’d rather take my tray back to my room again today. There’s a comfortable little table in there that Lacy put in so I could do my crossword puzzles. I’d like some time alone.”

Since her scheduled time with Sam had ended hours before, Dee wasn’t sure who she’d been with until lunch, but she wasn’t about to argue with Rebecca when this whole situation had to be very different from the life she’d had not so long ago.

“Oh, that’s perfectly fine. Would you like to put together your own plate, or would you like me to do it?” She gestured toward the stack of clean, white plates.

Dee fought against the urge to just step in and help, to do the nice thing. Her elderly patients would’ve expected her to do those things for them, and she was raised to do tasks for others when there was a need. They shouldn’t even have to ask. But times were different now. Even in just the ten years since she’d become an adult, times had changed.

Rebecca glanced quickly at Dee, then up to Victoria. “I’ve never done this before. Lacy brought my trays yesterday.”

While she didn’t know anything about the situation Rebecca had come from, she could completely understand that dealing with unfamiliar circumstances could be hard for anyone. Even Moira and Adam looked unsure.

“Victoria, why don’t I go first so you can walk me through the process? If anyone needs help after that, I’d be happy to offer a hand or two.”

Victoria grinned her approval. “Great idea.” She moved further down the line and explained that because of the way she planned meals, there was no restriction on which foods they could and couldn’t have, nor how much. If they only wanted meat, then that’s what they should take. If they preferred sticking to the veggies, then she would pile their plate high with healthy vegetables. Even the desserts were made in such a way that they weren’t incredibly unhealthy, but they still looked delectable.

Dee went through the line, letting Victoria explain everything. Adam followed right behind her, grinning as he filled his plate to almost overflowing.

“Mom, look at all this food!” He held up his plate. “And she said I can come back and take more if I want to!”

A tall man who looked a lot like an older version of Connor came from a back room. The main differences were a pronounced limp and a ready smile, unlike Connor who didn’t smile often. He waved a welcome as he put a huge tray of fresh buns on the counter for Victoria. “Mason had these delivered from town. He says you ordered them. The new driver drove into the wrong place.”

Victoria stopped for a moment, her brow furrowing. “I didn’t order anything. That’s odd.” She turned back to Dee. “Sorry for that. Now, the best part, dessert!”

Dee selected a cupcake with chocolate ganache and took her tray to a table Rebecca could easily use if she changed her mind and chose to eat with them. She turned to head back to the counter when a blast from outside shook the windows, forcing Dee to hold onto the table. Rebecca screamed and her empty plate shattered as it hit the floor.

“Brendon …” Dee raced for the front door.

ChapterSeven

The concussion blast blew Brendon’s chair back until his rear wheels dropped over the edge of the sidewalk, toppling him backward. He flailed, trying to catch himself and narrowly missed hitting his head. Connor and Sam were thrown back, too, landing a few feet away.

Dogs barked and other Wayside men hurried at them from every side. A squad car rushed up the driveway and three men poured out, racing toward them. Brendon tried to push himself up, but being on his back, in his chair, gave him no leverage. He truly was like a turtle on his back. The position wasn’t impossible to recover from by himself, but the combination of hitting his head when he fell and the grass under him made getting upright more difficult.

Connor was the first on his feet and held up his hand to stop everyone from coming too close. “Hold up! We don’t know if there were more devices. Let the experts check the scene before you come any closer.”

He held out a hand to Brendon so he could pull himself upright. “Are your wheels locked?”

Brendon didn’t want to accept help, but that was one of the ten things he was taught to accept when he’d jumped from an airplane for the last time. Accept help when needed. Without the full use of his legs, he might need more help than before. He nodded that he’d secured the brake, gripped Connor’s forearm, and concentrated on pulling himself up in one try.

Sam checked on Max lying nearby. An officer in heavy bomb protective gear came toward them. “Did you do anything to set off the bomb?”

Connor shook his head. “A delivery truck came in, but they used the delivery entrance and stayed clear of the parking area. It was the usual truck, so I thought nothing of it. That was the only outside presence in the last fifteen minutes.”

“And how long ago was that?”

“He drove away about thirty seconds before the explosion went off,” Connor answered.

Brendon didn’t want to be worried about his car, but it had been specially chosen. Now, his car was rapidly being consumed by fire.

The man in the protective gear waved them back farther as wave after wave of heat poured from the fire. There was no way to check the car for anything else until the blaze was under control. One of the men radioed in for fire trucks, warning them of the origin of the fire.

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