Jovan's Gaze

Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24

I buttoned up my new military combat fatigues all the way to the neck. The fatigues fit snugly, but kept me just warm enough. The fatigues, like the boots, were a desert tan. This was not the simple set of military clothing I had been given when I arrived in the hospital, but the very latest in hi-tech gear, issued only to the elite guard. Danlis had been reluctant to issue me the clothing, but there was nothing else around. The Fisher's Island Seaguard stores had been burned to the ground when the elites took the island.

The supply tent was cramped, with all eight of us inside, trying to gather our gear. The crates of supplies were stacked everywhere there was space, the unit's Supply Master having been killed in the assault on the island. His sudden replacement had yet to properly organize, and was hurrying in and out of the tent, doing his best to sort us out.

My wrists and ankles no longer ached from the tight manacles, and my back had stopped hurting as soon as the manacles and chains were removed, allowing me to stand upright. Without looking, I knew that Private Bowder still had his pistol on me, not just drawn, but aimed. I did my best not to notice, as I finished fastening up my uniform. He had been like that from the moment my cuffs were removed.

Beside me, my pack was opened and another solider was filling it with supplies. Two weeks worth of field rations, water, medical supplies, and a survival tent which opened itself up automatically and then returned itself to its compact state upon command. There was also a length of rope, though Danlis ordered that removed.

"Put your left foot up," Danlis said, pointing to a supply crate.

I set my boot on the crate. Danlis leaned in, and wrapped a metal contraption around my boot. It locked audibly, and a small, blinking red light showed itself. The Corporal held up a small hand held device to my new manacle, though I could not see what he was doing. Behind me, Bowder holstered his pistol.

"What is that?" I asked, tapping it gently with my finger.

"That," Danlis said as he slipped his control device into a pocket and zipped it up, "is a guarantee."

"Against what?" I wondered aloud, already guessing at the answer.

"This is my assurance that you won't escape." He gestured to the device. "We use these on convicts at the military prison. We aren't allowed to use them on civilians, but then, you're not a civilian. You're not a citizen at all."

"So," I said with a nod, "this does what, exactly? It shocks me if I try to escape? Or perhaps it injects a sedative? Or is it just a tracker?"

The other soldiers in the room laughed under their breath, one of them shaking his head at me.

"Hey Corporal," Bowder called out from behind me, "do you remember that Major?"

"You mean the one who tried to run during the lunch break from his court marshal?"

"Yeah, that's him!" Bowder seemed amused at the memory.

The medic, Private Aragas, laughed loudly. "Yeah, man, the escape was harder on him than the judge." Everybody laughed. "I saw it happen, man, from the courthouse window. One minute he's running, then suddenly, boom!"

I looked to Danlis, who had returned to filling his pack, setting three rifle batteries in a side pocket. He looked back at me, raised an eyebrow, and nodded.

"This is an explosive," I said with a nod of my own.

Danlis patted the pocket with the control device. "If you get more than thirty feet away from me, if you try to remove it or tamper with it, your manacle explodes. It's won't kill you, but it will take off your foot, and probably most of your leg below the knee. That's assuming you're running. If you're walking and your legs are close enough together, well," he trailed off, with no need to explain the rest.