Connor stared at him.
“Well, what is it, Barley?”
Barley shook his head. “This place has gone weird, Connor. I don't know how else to say it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Blake is really messed up, man. He went ballistic when he received a report of your fixin' the breaker box. I ain't never seen anything like it. It was unreal. Things are tight in the cavern, buddy.”
“That's not my problem, Barley. That's military.”
“You're right about that,” he replied. “But there's something else. Blake wanted to know where you went when you left the base. He was zooming, Connor. Like he was on drugs or something. Just crazy. And there was some kind of rat-faced Russian dude with him. And ... I hate to tell you about this, man, but we had a wild scene at the Communications Center. And Beth was right in the middle of it.”
Connor said nothing, freezing on Barley.
Barley raised his hands. “I didn't have anything to do with it, Connor! I wasn't even there!”
“What happened, Barley?”
The lieutenant shook his head, as if shocked. “It was wild, Connor. It went down about an hour ago, when Blake and that inbred Russian goon came up to the surface with his squad of MPs. They went straight to the Communications Center and accused Beth of doing something with the computer system. Like I said, I wasn't there, but I heard that it was a real ugly confrontation. That crazy Blake was in Beth's face and Beth wouldn't back down. She told 'em off, boy, and I heard it was ugly. Then the Russian made a move like he was going to do something to Beth, so she smashed him across the face with a keyboard. Sent him flying.”
Barley paused, took a deep breath. “And then it was pure pandemonium, man. I mean pure pandemonium. Blake was screaming for more MPs, for all his MPs, but Beth wasn't going anywhere! And then the fight was on! And to make it even worse, a bunch of your electrical guys saw Blake beating up on Beth and they went ballistic! Your boys grabbed chains and two-by-fours and four-by-fours and everything else they could find and charged into the Communications Center to help her.” He hesitated, fatigue on his face. “Before it was over, fifty of your construction guys went nose to nose with almost all of Blake's MPs and, son, let me tell you something. It was a no-holds-barred, full-blown, head-bustin', backbreaking fiasco from beginning to end. The Communications Center is demolished. And I honestly think that your guys would have won in the end if Blake hadn't pulled out his .45 and fired a full clip into the ceiling.”
Barley took a deep breath. “Then everybody stopped fighting. I guess it was because they thought somebody'd been killed. I hear that Blake swore he'd plant the next man that lifted a hand against an MP. And that pretty much ended the head-bashin'. After that, everybody was placed under arrest. There's about fifty people laid up in the groundside medical center, most of them military.” Barley paused, staring. “Blake's MPs were put on stretchers, man. And . . . and Blake took Beth down into the cavern, Connor. In handcuffs.”
Connor was dangerously still. His eyes locked like lasers on Barley.
“Was Beth injured?”
“No,” Barley replied quickly. “Beth wasn't hurt, man. She might have... she might have gotten a few bruises and scratches because she was right in the thick of it. But she's not hurt. I had a few minutes to meet with her in the Housing Cavern before I came topside and she looked okay. But she made me promise that I'd fill you in on everything when you came back from Thor's place.”
Connor nodded. “I appreciate it, Barley. How many of my men are hospitalized?”
“Ten of them are in topside with broken bones and thirty more are locked up in the warehouse.” Barley paused. “I didn't really have any choice, Connor. Those were Blake's orders. And the rest... the rest are really, really mad, man. It is absolutely not safe for the military to walk around this place. I'm telling you the truth. This island is about to explode.”
“What about Blake's MPs?”
“Well, like I said, almost all of them came up to deal with the riot in the Communications Center, and they pretty much got wiped out. Your guys demolished them.”
“So who's in charge of security of the cavern?”
“Blake.” Barley nodded. “Blake has assumed command over the three platoons.”
“And Chesterton?”
“He's been given an Executive Command to step down. He turned over command to Blake.”
“So Chesterton's not in charge anymore?”
“No.” Barley looked away, dejected. “Chesterton ain't in charge no more. It's just Blake.”
Connor's face was hard.
“Well ... if Beth is in the cavern, who's watching Jordan?”