Special Forces 01 Read Online Free Page A

revelation. “Don’t you own any civilian clothing?”
    “No.” Rys spread his hands helplessly, unable to understand the question. “Sir, exactly when would I have had any opportunity to use such clothing? It was pointless for me to buy any.”
    “You will have the opportunity now! We’re going shopping tomorrow,” Sara said firmly. “You look very dashing in that uniform, Arystair, but you are definitely off-duty in our home. Are we clear?”
    Rys gave her a rueful smile. Actually, technically, I’m still on duty…no, I don’t think the Admiral told her my true purpose here. To keep his cover intact, he responded, “No complaints from me, ma’am.”
    Sara waved a scolding finger at him. “What did I say earlier?”
    It took Rys a second to understand her reference. “Excuse me, Sara. I meant to say Sara. I am used to addressing superiors with deference and deportment.”
    Admiral Bloch (Rys mentally gave up that battle, at least for now) chuckled at his wife. “Don’t feel bad, dear. He hasn’t been able to address me by my first name yet and he’s been trying for three full days.”
    Rys tried not to glower at him. “It would help if you were out of uniform, sir.”
    Bloch laughed outright at that. “Is that the problem? Fair enough. I’ll go change into my civvies to make it easier for you.”
    “It would definitely give me a fighting chance,” Rys grumbled under his breath. Apparently not quietly enough, as the twins heard him and giggled in stereo.
    A quiet chime sounded from the opposite side of the house. Sara immediately turned in that direction, as if she were tracking an incoming missile. “Oh, that’s dinner. Children, wash your hands and go set the table. Arystair, you just come with me.”
    Watching Sara’s troops converge on the table reminded Rys of a drop and re-supply mission. The children rapidly assembled from the various corners of the house, bringing along dishes and table implements as instructed. How Sara managed to coordinate it all without losing track of something for even a moment, Rys had no idea. The woman would have made a wonderful deployment officer, and a better supply officer.
    In surprisingly little time, they were all settled around the huge wooden table in the dining room, eating absolutely first rate food. The smell alone would insure he had seconds.
    Once Sara was satisfied that everyone had enough food, and was eating, she turned her attention back to him. “Now, Arystair, Jeremy wasn’t able to tell me much about what foods you like or don’t like. Perhaps you could fill me in.”
    “Anything that I don’t have to cook myself meets with my full approval,” he answered, barely able to clip off the automatic “ma’am.”
    Sara smiled, and a line of tension eased out of her shoulders. “I could only wish the rest of my children were as easy to please! Have you ever had Shepard’s Pie before?”
    “Once,” Rys replied. He scooped a spoonful into his mouth, and smiled at her when his taste buds sent up signals that could have been seen for miles. “Yours is much better than Erksome’s,” he added with confidence in his voice.
    “Erksome?” Dylan repeated, rolling the name slowly around in his mouth. With his nose scrunched up, that particular expression on his face made him look very much like a young Jeremy Bloch. “Who’s that?”
    “My logistics and supply officer,” Rys answered after hastily swallowing a bite to keep from choking. “Lieutenant Jason Ericsson.”
    Sara’s lips were twitching, as if she were fighting a smile. “And why do you call him Erksome?”
    “Jason possesses the uncanny ability to know exactly which buttons to push, and when, to drive me straight through a wall. He strokes those buttons every chance he gets.” That reminds me, I have a score to settle for that latest little prank. Rys was coming up short on diabolical inspiration at that moment, but he was confident he would conjure up an appropriate response