Red Angel: Coup d'etat (Red Angel Series Book 5) Read online

  “It’s loose,” Mr. Glaser said, pointing at Red in horror.

  “Sir, he never leaves my person. Never once in thirty years,” I said, trying to ensure Glaser he was safe although he was sitting only a couple of meters away from Red and me.

  “That’s a long time, Admiral Paulus,” Mrs. Scherer said thoughtfully while leaning slightly forward. “That must be…awkward.”

  “Anna, please. No. He’s like a heart—just there,” I said, thinking that a perfect analogy.

  “Heart?” Scherer asked.

  “If he dies or is stolen, I will die of the Coaca Virus within a few days,” I said.

  “Ironically, Scherer, you could get a heart transplant cheaper than replacing that krait. He’s worth over two hundred fifty thousand credits on the black market, so I’ve heard,” Bennett said, but his eyes were on me, not Scherer. “Anna, we want you to replace Director Henry as the Director of Committee Security.” He continued before I could get my mouth to form coherent words, like No, or Definitely Not. “Henry has been a good administrator but he’s not a problem solver. You on the other hand are predominately a problem solver and have the reputation of being able to find the right people to fill your key positions. We need a problem solver who won’t neglect the organization. In our collective opinion, that’s you.”

  I looked to Scherer, then Glaser, before returning my gaze to Bennett. They all appeared to agree. Damn it, even Red by the way his head hung on my forehead and the slight thump he gave me that felt like a nod. I keep telling everyone he doesn’t communicate with me but he does, just not in words. Of course, I wouldn’t admit that to anyone except my mother, who agrees with my fear that I’d be sent for a psych evaluation and fail. But I know it as certain as I know my mother loves me.

  “Sir, I appreciate your faith in me, but… it would take months for me to learn the job and there will be a lot of resentment. I’m very young and have no experience in security, and a young woman in charge…” The words didn’t begin to express the horror I could envision for each of my stated concerns, not to mention unforeseen problems I couldn’t even imagine.

  Bennett shook his head. “We know that Admiral Lulltrel had to coerce you and offer you a number of incentives to take the Eastar NIA position. Fortunately, you’re already in Eastar but here is what we can offer you. First, we’ll promote you to Rear Admiral, upper level, and have you placed on inactive duty with full pay while you are the Director of Committee Security. In addition, we will increase the director’s salary by twenty-five percent, as we are asking you to do more than just administer the group—”

  Scherer interrupted Bennett in mid-sentence. “You can hire anyone you want and bring anyone from NIA, including your security detail.”

  I put my head in my hands and wanted to scream. They were offering me a nightmare assignment for things I couldn’t care less about—rank and money. I finally had a position I liked, if a bit boring, and was surrounded by people I liked a lot. And they wanted me to give all that up to chase killers. Well, chasing bad guys and gals did have appeal… I raised my head and wiped away the tears that had begun to form at the thought of all I’d be leaving.

  “No. If I take the position I’ll need to give it my best, and bringing people I’m comfortable with will cause me to give it my worst,” I said, obviously having decided to accept the position. I had joined the navy to chase bad people and save lives, and that had proved very satisfying.

  “I like her,” Scherer said, looking at Glaser and then Bennett. “I have a feeling none of our incentives impressed her. What then, Anna?”

  “I like puzzles and saving lives,” I blurted.

  “Good,” Bennett said and smiled. “If you can be here three days from now at ten hundred hours, I will introduce you to your staff. That should give you time to clean up loose ends. Oh, wear civilian clothes as you will no longer be on active duty—Director Paulus.”

  On the way back, I called Carl to set up separate meetings today with Admirals Webb and Lulltrel, my staff, and Colonel Paul Pannell. Then I sat back and berated myself for accepting, worried over taking on the responsibility, fretted over leaving the many good friends I had acquired over the past several years, and tried not to dwell on the chaos I was about to enter.

  * * *

  I entered Admiral Webb’s office, braced to attention, and saluted. To my surprise, Admiral Lulltrel was seated in a chair on my right.

  “Relax, Anna, and have a seat,” Webb said, rising and coming around his desk. “You don’t look in a particularly good mood.”

  “She looked exactly like this, if a bit younger, when she reported for duty as the Eastar NIA Chief,” Lulltrel said, sounding a bit amused.

  “You know?” I asked, confused that they hadn’t told or at least warned me.

  “President Bennett did talk to Lulltrel and me about you and mentioned he had a problem that needed a problem solver. I think he also talked to Colonel Pannell and General Guzman. But he didn’t mention the problem or what you would be doing. But since he didn’t consult Lulltrel or me, I assume he offered you a position of some kind.” He and Lulltrel actually leaned slightly toward me, watching me quietly as though I were a frightened rabbit they didn’t want to scare.

  “He called me to his office and had Mrs. Scherer and Mr. Glaser present. They were rather…insistent I take the Director of the UAS Committee Security,” I said in a rush. Both Webb and Lulltrel sat back and stared at me, not so much in surprise but rather resignation.

  “That must have been a very difficult decision for you, Anna, knowing how you hate change and this will be a big one. But you will always be welcome back here, as I assume they are placing you on inactive duty.”

  “I know they thought they were doing me a favor. But they put me on inactive duty with full pay and promoted me to Rear Admiral. What would you do with a two-star admiral?” I whined.

  “You can come work for me,” Webb said. “And I’ll bet Guzman would make you a two-star general and give you a regiment.” He laughed then sobered. “That’s the problem, Anna. We all want you, but only one can have you at any given time and the jobs we want you for are both emotionally demanding and physically dangerous.”

  I left with Admiral Lulltrel a half hour later after having received assurance there would always be a place for me. In her office she had coffee served.

  “I’m going to miss you, Anna. You have always had a very unorthodox style but you get things done. Bringing you to Eastar was one of the smarter decisions of my career. And I think President Bennett is also making a wise decision, although I worry about the strain on you. It’s a completely new environment dominated by men.” She stopped to sip her coffee. “Who would you recommend to replace you?” she asked.

  I had given that question considerable thought on the ride back from the Committee complex in between worrying and near panic attacks.

  “My first choice would be Commander Sinclair, and my second would be Commander Shrader, but I don’t believe either will want to make the change at this point in their lives. So, my third choice would be Commander Weaver at Holy Star.”

  “Interesting. I knew you would recommend Sinclair and Shrader, and they are excellent choices, but not Weaver. Thank you.”

  I left Lulltrel’s office dreading my next two meetings. When I arrived at my office, Chief Stamm was waiting with a look of concern.

  “Hi, Carl, has Colonel Pannell arrived yet?” I asked, no longer sure what time it was and whether I was early or late for my meeting.

  “Yes, ma’am. I let him into your office to wait.”

  “Thank you, Carl. Have Lieutenant Banner bring us coffee,” I said and entered my office. Paul stood and I hugged him.

  “Paul, I’m being reassigned. I’m happy I won’t be putting you and your marines’ lives at risk protecting me. But I’m depressed at not having you to protect me,” I said, feeling tears filling my eyes. Paul had been my guardian angel for most of my naval career, and he had become a v
ery dear friend. He held me by my shoulders and stared like he was committing me to memory.

  “I hope it’s nothing dangerous, but knowing you… I’ll miss you, Anna, you’ve come to feel like a daughter to me. If you ever need anything, call me.” He hugged me. We had just sat went Banner appeared and set down two coffees, mine with half milk and Paul’s black. The two of us spent an hour talking about our experiences before Carl let me know my staff was available when I was ready. I reluctantly said goodbye to Paul and let my staff in.

  “Sit, please. I’ve been asked to take a new position effective immediately—” I had to stop as I was bombarded with questions which came too fast to answer. I held up my hand. “Commander Damon, I don’t know who Admiral Lulltrel will appoint as my replacement, but the three I’ve recommended are very good commanders, any of which you will enjoy working with. You’ve done well as the Eastar NIA Chief and will get an excellent performance report from me. Lieutenant Banner, I hope your decision to be my aide-de-camp was a good decision for you. Your performance as my aide was outstanding and that will be reflected in your performance report. And Chief Stamm, thank you for taking this young, inexperienced commander under your protective wing. It has been an honor to know each of you.”

  When they left the office an hour later, I had tears in my eyes.

  * * *

  “Mother, I’m home,” I shouted as I closed the front door. Alexa appeared immediately from the living room, and I grabbed her in a bear hug. As I did, the stress of the day melted away. I felt like a small child safe and warm in her mother’s arms. I didn’t care. I wouldn’t have traded that feeling for a million credits.

  “Bad day?” she asked, making no attempt to pull away to look at me.

  “A bad day is when you forgot you had a meeting with your boss an hour ago, or you report to the Bridge and find your entire crew drunk. This was more like showing up for work in your nightgown, or finding your navigator’s jump calculation has you in an unknown galaxy,” I said. Alexa choked a laugh then sobered.

  “What happened?” She pulled back enough to look at me. “Come, you missed dinner. I’ll warm something up for you and you can give me the gory details.” She grabbed my hand and led me into the kitchen and began removing things from the refrigerator. The cook had obviously kept my dinner in case I hadn’t eaten when I arrived home.

  “It started when I arrived for work, thinking how lucky I was…” I went on to explain my meeting with the Core Committee.

  “So, you are now the Director of UAS Committee Security?” Alexa asked, wide-eyed.

  “And a Rear Admiral, upper half, on full salary,” I shouted after a quick swallow which had me choking then coughing with Alexa patting my back. “They even offered to let me take any navy and marine personnel of my choosing.”

  “Which you wisely refused,” Alexa said and I nodded. “Yes, your unknown galaxy analogy is very appropriate. You have a new position in a group where you don’t know anyone, manned predominately by an elite group of macho men, and you don’t have a clue what they do.”

  “Who are about to discover their new boss is a very young woman,” I added with a wry smile. “Can you get some time off? I need to go shopping for clothes, since I’m no longer on active duty.”

  * * *

  Alexa took off the next two days. We went shopping, ate out, and went to a theater play one night. I must have spent my first month’s salary on clothes as I was seldom out of uniform when I wasn’t home. I should have a love life by now but Red didn’t help—hard to kiss a girl with a krait wrapped around her neck. Nor did my rank. Everyone my age was content to be a lieutenant commander or, with luck or patronage, a commander. Men normally wouldn’t like their girlfriend to outrank them. Besides, I wasn’t sure I could have children with the Coaca Virus and my life expectancy wasn’t long as it depended on Red’s life span. Not that I felt sorry for myself. I had a wonderful mother and best friend, and a good job…well, had a good job.

  CHAPTER TWO

  First Day in a New Galaxy

  When the day to report to work came, I was as ready as I could be. I was nervous, but not afraid like the young girl who was dragged kicking and whining to Eastar years ago. I had earned my spurs as the saying went.

  Assuming they would know where I was supposed to go, I entered the main reception area and went to the counter designated for Core Committee Meetings.

  “Good morning, Admiral Paulus,” the neatly dressed man behind the counter said with a welcoming smile. “Give this card to inspection booth one and they will see you to your meeting,” he said while handing me a plastic card with my name and picture. I thanked him and headed for the inspection station, thinking so far so good. At least they expected me and were ready. Again, I was cleared and allowed to keep my Mfw and driven to the president’s office.

  “Welcome, Director Paulus,” he said as he rose and came to shake my hand. “What can I do to help make this an easy transition?” he asked with what sounded like honest concern. “I know I’m asking a lot of you, and it won’t be easy.”

  “Thank you, sir. No, it won’t be easy. I anticipate it’s going to be extremely difficult, but it’s my battle to wage. If it appears I need your support to do my job, it won’t work,” I said. “By the way, sir, who do I report to?’

  He laughed. “Me. I’ll have my secretary, Mrs. Romero—Gloria—set up a weekly meeting with me. It might be short and maybe before or after normal hours, but I want to ensure you have everything you need to succeed and for me to be aware of your progress.”

  “Thank you, sir. My first order of business will be to understand my people, the organization, and what support is available. I won’t be neglecting the threats and killings, but from experience, I know the problem is unlikely to have a quick resolution,” I said, wanting to set his expectations realistically. He nodded and I could only hope he understood. He waved and I followed him out the door and back down the hallway to a door which opened into a medium-sized conference room.

  A group of men stood dressed in darks suits, dark gray dress shirts open at the neck, plastic badges hanging from red cords around their necks, and silver badges hanging from the breast pockets of their suit jackets. No one was smiling, which meant Bennett’s announcement was going to be like a flash-bang. I smiled mentally as I felt the emotional responses at the sight of their diminutive, young new boss.

  “Gentlemen, as you all know by now, Mr. Henry has submitted his retirement papers effective yesterday. Miss Anna Paulus is replacing him as the new Director of Committee Security effective today—”

  Before he could continue, I interrupted, deciding to take the proverbial bull by the horns, or in this case, the men by the balls.

  “Thank you, President Bennett. I know you’re a very busy man. I’ll take care of the boring introductions,” I said, giving him a small bow and winking to let him know I didn’t intend to be rude but wanted to stand alone.

  “Thank you, Director Paulus, I do have a full schedule.” His smile was a bit forced as he turned and left.

  “All right,” I said, “rather than me reciting my résumé, which I forgot to bring, I’ll give you one hour to ask me any questions you have on your mind—to get to know the new recruit. If I choose to answer, it will be completely honest.” I went to the middle of the long polished purple wood conference table and sat. Slowly everyone sat. I had taken them by surprise, which was my intent, and the serious looks had been replaced by a mixed variety. Through Red I could feel curiosity, confusion, excitement, resentment, and approval. These were the senior staff, my direct reports, so the ages looked to be between thirty-five and fifty. All looked fit and averaged around one point eight to one point nine meters tall but the weight varied between seventy and ninety kilo. A voice jerked me out of my musing.

  “Do you think you’re qualified to do this job?” one of the middle-aged men asked. His face held a bit of a sneer.

  “That question is not relevant but let me answer what you r
eally want to know.” I smiled, knowing this would certainly be one of the first questions. “I have no knowledge of what Committee Security does, not the organization, your qualifications, your responsibilities, et cetera. I must rely on you to help me get up to speed. Because unless you are willing to help me, I will make foolish decisions which will reflect on you and the organization and I will put all the blame on you.” I held up my hand. “However, with your help and letting me know when you feel I’m doing something that will reflect badly on you or the organization, we will be successful and you will get the credit, and I will accept blame for all the things that go wrong because it’s my responsibility.” I paused, awaiting a response.

  “Why is the question irrelevant?” the oldest man asked with a twitch of his lip.

  “Because I’m the boss. It doesn’t matter if you or anyone else considers me qualified. I’m still the boss. But I would imagine that most of the appointments are political and less qualified.”

  “Are you implying your appointment is not political?” one of the older men asked.

  “Unfortunately for you, perhaps, you finally have someone who was chosen for her specific experience.”

  The youngest man snorted. “Have you ever fired that Mfw of yours at another man or woman?” He snickered.

  “Yes.”

  “Have you ever killed someone?”

  “Yes.”

  “How many?” the young man persisted, becoming increasingly frustrated.

  “Do you mean directly or indirectly?” I asked, enjoying this more than I thought I would.

  “Directly, face to face!” The young man’s face was flushed red in anger.

  “I don’t keep count—” I stopped when the young man laughed but continued before he could speak. “Forty or fifty. If you doubt me you have my permission to talk to Marine Colonel Pannell. He has been my personal security for close to ten years.”