Page 31 of Unknown

She was going to take a positive approach, and put on the stolen jacket and the pair of pants she’d obtained yesterday. Assuming there was some ID that could get her past the gate, at least the outfit would help her to blend in.

Gabe went outside to take delivery of the rental car and Cora, dressed in her oversized gear, waited inside for the phone call that would hopefully give one of them access.

When Trisha called back, her answer was surprising.

"Listen," she said. "I'm authorized to be on base, sort of. I'm not an active recruiter, but I still have a valid ID tag. It never got canceled. I didn't want to stick my neck out, but this really is now a crisis, and I'm prepared to do it. I’d rather put myself at risk than anyone else, right now."

"Okay. Sounds good. I hope there won’t be risk for you. Where shall we meet?"

"If we meet at the crossroad near the base, in fifteen minutes, I'll give it to you. Go in as me. Just don't show it to anyone inside. Only the gate guard."

Cora nodded. That sounded like a workable plan. Trisha was small, like her. Same age. Not the same features, but on a blurred ID photo, with the base in chaos, she didn't think anyone would be looking too hard.

"Okay, we'll meet you there," Cora said, feeling a surge of gratitude toward Trisha.She was putting herself on the line here, and Cora knew that despite her comforting words, there might be danger ahead. But this was going to be a workable plan.

As soon as she'd hung up, she turned to Gabe. "We need to keep in touch. I'll work inside the base, and you work outside. Then we can hopefully cover everyone."

Gabe nodded, his expression grim. "Be careful in there. We don't know who we're dealing with."

Cora nodded, accepting that fact. "I will. Just promise me that you'll be careful too."

He took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Always."

Together, they left the hotel room, checking their phones as they headed to the car. Cora was pleased with it. A high riding, but compact SUV, which could handle rough terrain and still had some brute power on the straight road.

She drove, and they made their way to the crossroad. The base was only a ten-minute walk from there, and she could give Gabe the car and go in on foot.

The road was busier than it had been yesterday. Trisha was right. This catastrophe had resulted in more traffic in and out of base, not less. She guessed a lot of Army representatives from surrounding bases were going to be crowding in, looking for answers, trying to do damage control while still keeping the situation contained.

When they reached the crossroad, Trisha was already there, parked by the side of the road and looking around anxiously. She climbed out when she saw them, wearing a heavy coat, with a scarf wrapped around her neck. Even from afar, Cora could see that she looked worried and scared. When she saw Cora’s outfit, her eyebrows rose.

"Here," she said, handing Cora a small plastic card on a lanyard. "This is my ID. Use it to get in. But be careful. I don't know what's going on in there, but it's not good."

Cora nodded, taking the ID, and slipping it into her pocket. "Thank you. I'll be as careful as I can."

“Take my car, too. You can use it for the morning at least,” Trisha said. “I’m working in town this morning. If you can bring it back by lunchtime, it might be useful. It has a parking tag to get onto base.”

It would be useful. Cora saw immediately how having two cars, with her and Gabe operating on and off the base, could make them more agile in their response.

“I’ll take care of it,” Cora promised.

“And I’ll give you a ride back into town,” Gabe said. “I’m holding the fort outside the base while Cora goes in.”

Cora climbed into Trisha’s tiny vehicle and set off toward the base. She hoped that the soldier from yesterday hadn't circulated an accurate description of her, or else that everyone was too distracted this morning to worry about what had happened yesterday.

Another soldier, murdered. Who the hell was doing this? The whole situation was dangerous and unpredictable.

She reached the entrance gate.

"Your ID?" the guard asked.

She handed it to him, trying to appear unconcerned.

"What's your reason for being on base?" he asked, pressing the keys on a computer.

"I'm a former recruiter. They want me to work again, but they asked me to come in for a briefing this morning," she said.

"Okay." He paused, looking at the photo and then looking at her. There was something in his face that made Cora's stomach clench with worry. Did he know? Was he seeing a difference between that photo and the woman standing in front of him?

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