Edward Read Online Free PDF Page A

question?”
    “Ah, jealous already are you?  Don't
worry Kadu, I only have eyes for you,” joked Edward.
     “Advancing that agenda would be socially and
physically awkward, but you don't seem to be constrained by social norms. 
That only leaves concerns of physicality.”
    Edward stopped dead in his tracks as his ears twitched and
his fur rippled in color uncontrollably.   It took him a few moments
to calm down, “Kadu, that was a joke .  I mean... really...”
    Kadu flashed a broad toothy grin, “I was well aware it was
a joke.  It was, in fact, the desire to elicit a strong emotional response
from you that encouraged me to offer my response as I did.”
    Edward laughed.  He hadn't expected her to crack a
joke back, and he fell right into it.  “Yes, ma'am, you got me. 
Probably couldn't have gotten a stronger reaction unless you had closed a door
on my tail.  But to answer you first question more honestly.  Maybe.  Maybe I did.  She is quite a looker.”
     “That would go far to address several outstanding
bets amongst those in the unit as to your orientation,” replied Kadu.  She
stood there staring at him for a long moment, “That too, was a joke.”
    “Promise me, Kadu.  Promise me only one joke at my
expense a day.”
    “That seems a perfectly acceptable arrangement.”
     

5 
     
     
    Three days.  Three dreadfully long
and boring days.   Nothing but policy and
procedures.   How to interact with the local
law enforcement, where they did and did not have the authority to work. 
Edward had a hard time sleeping at night, he was doing far too much of it in
the day.  But it all was for their benefit.  They had asked for, and
the governor had granted them, limited authority to investigate the actions
against his daughter, Tatiana.   At first they had expected a lot of
push back from the local police, but it was soon apparent that they were glad
to dump the responsibility off on someone else.  Between the news coverage
and the governor breathing down their necks, they were happy to have off
worlders take over.  Okay, 'happy' was a strong
word, but definitely relieved.   They were at half strength, only
twenty five of the team were available.  They
still kept the moniker of the 517 th , but Edward actually missed the
other half of the team.  Fifteen Shukurae, five humans
and five Taik.  Not much of a team for a normal operation, but it
was just a guard detail after all.  Tomorrow they were taking
over.  Finally!  As the day's meetings finally dragged to a close,
the realization of going live finally started to take hold.  Giddy, school
boy anticipation started to kick in as they left the conference that final day.
    Trevor, one of the Lowland Taik, and the one who was going
to be the direct liaison with the local police, caught up with Edward as the
meeting broke up, “Are you sure you are okay being the point body guard for
her?  I know you have awesome reflexes, but you are definitely going to be
a sitting duck.”
    “My look and accent are way too
far off base for me to work as the undercover type.   No one would
believe I was a local.  Besides, like I said back on the ship, it does
sound like the fun part of the job.”
    “Okay, but if you change your mind, just
yell and we can cycle people through your spot.”
    “I got you on the local's cameras, Jake and Paul on the
rooftops, Kestrel ready to roll in as bomb tech on a moment's notice, Kadu as
my own personal crowd plow and all the rest of the team less than thirty
seconds out.  I'm good, seriously.”
    "I do wish we could keep more of the Shukurae out
front and center.  They do a good job of keeping people in line."
    "Yeah, but Tatiana runs rock shows not freak shows, so
Shukurae wouldn't play well with the spectators.  I do understand that for
the actual big concerts that they are going to be far easier to embed."
    "I really hope so; ever worked a crowd of thirty
thousand?  It's a mess even if people are on