A RUMOR OF PEACE

          "They want us to WHAT?!" came the shocked question.

          "You heard me," came back quietly as he looked at each of them, turning his body and lifting his leg to slide his bootless foot under his left leg, an arm lifting to lie across the back of the couch that he and Logan sat on.

          Fili and Kili were in matching chairs across from them, and Harry sat on the loveseat closest to the fireplace.  "Yes," Fili began, "we heard you, but I'm just not sure I believe it.  They ACTUALLY believe we have a leak on our team?"

          A nod.  "They do, and so do we for that matter, and maybe not just on the team.  There is definitely more than one, but how many do we actually have?  They, and we can't yet say.  On Virgon, when all was said and done, we had a total of twelve."  Harry told them, looking up from one of the files they had been handed after they had eaten dinner.

          They swore at that.  "The Garrison?  ARDYN?"

          "That possibility exists.  As much as we hate to admit it, warriors can be bought just as easily as anyone else.  It's just a matter of finding out their weaknesses, and then offering them whatever they feel they can't have under normal situations.  They can also be offered more credit than they make as a Colonial Warrior.  Let's face it, we don't make much until we start reaching the higher ranks."

          "Come ON, guys," Roark looked at each of them in turn, "you had to know that SOMETHING was off.  Logan, you moved without telling anyone you were doing so AND changed your com number as well.  You haven't changed your on-file address in the Base computer, nor given anyone your new com number."

          "Your point, Rory," he said with a shake of his head, seeing his cousins look at him in surprise.  "There IS something wrong here.  Something VERY wrong.  Information that only Kale and I knew got to Riddle.  How?  We didn't know.  That was one of the things we were looking into when he was killed.  I've been looking into it myself, but I've not had much luck."

          "Why didn't you say something?"  Fili asked of him, running a hand through his slightly long, wavy blond hair in frustration.  "Surely you had to know we would have helped you?"

          Logan shook his head.  "I wanted to, but I was really hoping we were wrong about it.  Besides, the two of you had enough on your plate looking into those killings on Trade Street, and trying to find that witness that had gone into hiding."

           "Unfortunately, you're not wrong, Logan, and after Harry and I read through that file that Lt. Tristyn gave us, and at first glance through those," a wave to the two open files on the coffee table as Harry still had the third, "we KNOW there's something wrong.  I'm going to make you boys a bet."

          "Oh...hh, a bet.  I want in!" Harry exclaimed excitedly, reaching for his leather credit pouch, making the other three laugh despite the seriousness of their discussion.

          "What KIND of bet?" came wearily.

          "That after we've read through those files the three of you gave us more thoroughly, matching them up with the file that Tristyn gave us, and after we've located and read through Kale's files, we are going to find a thorough frame up in place.  There are, I'm afraid, already signs of one."

          Logan looked over at his cousins and saw that they looked just as confused as he was.  He looked over at Harry, who had closed the file and was now looking at them with serious, intent, emerald-green eyes.  He then returned his gaze to Rory and shook his head.

          "We know better than to bet against EITHER  of you on something like this." A flare of anger flashed through his blue eyes.  "Signs?"

          A nod.  "Yes.  We've found more than a few inconsistencies in the file Lt. Tristyn gave us.  There are more than a few of Kale's orders that, if taken at face value, make absolutely no sense at all.  Then we have this," he drew s folded slip of paper from his jacket pocket and handed it to Logan.  "Raph and Schy gave that to me as we were preparing to board the shuttle.  Said that Christopher had been looking into more than a few personal accounts of the team and the Garrison.  Just to see what might pop up.  He found that."