39
Once Andi was on her feet again, Miranda led the team, with the sole addition of Night Stalkers Colonel Stimson, back to General Helen Thomas’ office.
The moment Stimson entered, Helen stopped him hard with a barked out, “Tench-hut!”
It made Miranda nearly jump out of her own skin. She noticed that Andi and Holly, who’d just sat down, both leapt back to their feet, sending their metal chairs skittering loudly across the hard floor.
Miranda covered her ears against all the noise and harsh sound splashing about the reverberant space. A linoleum tile floor and 1960s fake wood paneling didn’t buffer the jarring echoes at all.
Colonel Stimson snapped to attention.
Helen stalked out from behind her desk until they were an arm’s length apart.
Miranda wanted one of her tape measures to s
