“Benson here. Glenkinnon is definitely the site of our missing armaments. Last night I located a discrepancy in A Bunker; two crates on the official inventory have gone missing. I also found suspicious variations on the labeled containers that bear watching.”

“Any idea who our arms dealer is?”

“Nothing definite, but Private Hughes, Matthews, and Lance Corporal Thompson were not at their duty stations last evening and bear further investigation.” Harry slowed the 4x4 as he approached the base.

“Good work, Benson. I’ll have cyber do some poking on those soldiers.”

The entrance gate loomed. “Entering base.”

“Roger that,” Nigel said, and the line went dead.

Harry eased back in his desk chair while he waited for his tea to cool. Stretching his arms over his head, he laced his fingers and cracked his knuckles. Late night recons and early duty stations did not mix well.

He had arrived at his desk half an hour early, only to find Colonel Horwith’s office light on and the door shut. Male voices murmured inside.

Unusual. The colonel arrived punctually each morning at eight. This was a definite change in his routine.

Harry kept a wary eye on the colonel’s aide, who sat at his cubicle a dozen feet away, while he inserted an earpiece to listen in. This early morning pow-wow appeared to deal with new equipment the government was keen to purchase. Glenkinnon’s soldiers were to evaluate the product at their test site and submit a report to the Home Office. Easy enough.

With the colonel occupied, Harry booted up his computer and hacked through the CO’s firewall to check Horwith’s recent communications. Lifting his teacup, he took a sip while he scanned the emails. The hit of caffeine canceled the muzziness inside his head, at least momentarily.

Horwith’s door opened, and the colonel came out followed by a short man with a wiry build and ginger hair. A casual click of the mouse, and Harry exited the colonel’s emails and casually removed his earpiece, keeping it cupped in his hand.

“Captain Benson, assemble the men on Cradock Field at half-past.”

“Yes, sir.”

Chapter 14

Wind ruffled Harry’s hair as dark clouds gathered in the east over Cauld Face, a hill between the River Tweed and Caddon Water. Harry stood at attention, his feet shoulder width apart. His entire unit had assembled on Craddock Field, including Hughes, Matthews, and Thompson, looking low on sleep after their overnight shift.

Colonel Horwith faced Harry’s soldiers. “The army has recently purchased several electronic jet suits which are in the developmental phase of testing. Since Glenkinnon is a testing and storage facility, we have been tasked to assess and evaluate the product for possible military maneuvers.”

Horwith motioned toward the short man with ginger hair who Harry had noticed earlier exiting the colonel’s office.