Cole stood on the roof of the hospital watching the sunrise over the eastern mountains. He was supposed to be sleeping to regenerate the hairline fracture in his skull, but sleep wasn't going to happen for a while. He put the cigarette to his lips and breathed deeply. He held it for a second, and then blew out the lungful of smoke. He knew smoking was supposed to be a crutch, but when you break a leg, you need a crutch.
He smoked for the first time after Dana died. After Lydecker told them what had happened, he ended up that night in the PX and bought a carton. He went through the entire thing within twenty-four hours. He figured if that wouldn't kill him, then he needed to live. Now it helped him to relax when everyone's thoughts tried to break into his head. Not that he could tell anyone that, even if he thought Alicia suspected a little. He wasn't sure how much she knew. He could pick up strong emotion from her, but never her actual thoughts. Oh well, if smoking was seen as a weakness then so be it. Better that than screaming at everyone to think quietly.
"I thought you were told to quit," Lydecker said from behind him. Cole immediately flicked the half smoked cigarette onto the ground.
"Just did," he replied, still looking into the brightening horizon.
Lydecker walked up beside him. He took the pack from Cole, and looked at them ruefully. "It's been well over twenty years since I had one of these things," he said thoughtfully. "You keep this up and you'll never see seventy."
"What's the chances that I'll see seventy if I do quit?" Cole asked dryly.
Lydecker pulled out two, lit them both, and then handed one to Cole. The first drag made him cough and his eyes water, but it was amazing how fast the habit came back.
"The Director coming down herself?" Cole asked. He knew Lydecker had been talking to her when he came up here.
"Probably."
"She's the one who took charge," Cole said. He smiled a little. "Told us to obey the norms that she put in command."
"You got everything on tape?" Lydecker asked. He'd briefed a few of his kids one what to do. There was no way norms could catch Alicia, and he knew it. It was funny that he didn't consider himself to be a norm. Not that he could physically subdue any of them, but they always deferred to him.
"Shawna kept track and recorded the time for the important parts like the guard approaching the fiver when you told him not to, and Bailey saying that any Manticore would be killed on sight. She even has when Bailey said shoot to kill on Alicia when I believe the director said that Alicia was to be taken alive. Shawna even notated that Bailey forgot to mention there were three of them, not just the one he thought was Alicia."
Cole touched the back of his head gingerly. "I wouldn't have been there alone if I'd thought there was more than one." He'd told Lydecker a version of the events already. They'd been told several times it was Alicia. Cole knew that in her physical condition, he could take her on, and she might even surrender willingly to him. If Bailey had mentioned there were three of them, Cole would have had every sixer on base meet him there.
"Heads are going to roll over this," Lydecker said conversationally. He was starting to wonder what was going through Cole's head. He didn't seem very upset that they'd lost the only X-5 to be captured.
"The Director's going to look like a fool," Cole replied in the same conversational tone. "She took command from the only person that knew enough about a Manticore solider to subdue one, and gave it to a person that got sidetracked with a personal vendetta."
A thought occurred to Lydecker. Did Cole let them escape? He'd said he didn't call for the norm reinforcements close by because they would have shot him too after Bailey's orders, but was it really to give them time to escape? With their escape, it was possible the director would lose her position. If she was lucky, that was all she'd lose. Cole wasn't happy with her over Alicia. Lydecker didn't notice the sudden tension in Cole's mouth and eyes. As quickly as the thought had formed, it dissipated. No, Cole was far too loyal to let that happen.
"Go back to the barracks and get some sleep soon," Lydecker ordered.
Cole nodded. He finished his cigarette and ground out the butt. The sun was coming over the mountains now. He wondered what Alicia was doing. Make the right choice, he thought almost desperately. Think about things we've said in the past. Think about Dana and me. I know I hurt you, but sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. I relied on your strength when she died, now it's time for me to pay you back.
He sighed deeply. His head ached, and he was tired. He'd done all he could do. Now the cards he'd dealt would have to start playing out on their own. He stood there in the early morning light. Make the right decision, he thought. Please God, if you're listening, help her make the right decision.