Chapter 106: Keep Your Enemy Closer Part 1

Cal walked in the door to her home to find Hyansea drinking tea in the parlour with Crysabel. The twins slept nearby in cradles.
"I took the liberty of bringing my own tea." Hyansea poured into a cup and handed it to Cal. "I will leave some for you."
Beth brought in a tray with scones and jam and put it beside Hyansea.
"If I could bring the secrets of these home, my rank would go up at least two grades." Hyansea spread jam on one and bit into it with a sigh.
"I'm sure I could teach you how to make them," Beth said. "They aren't difficult once you have the knack."
"In the name of cultural exchange." Hyansea's eyes lit up. "In some part of the Dynasty there is a growing interest in western food. Not everyone agrees, but I think eating food from another country helps one to understand better."
"I wouldn't mind learning some of the dishes you brought to the babes' birth. The students have been asking if I could cook something like them."
"Perhaps a trade." Hyansea gazed into the distance." Sadly, I don't have time myself to learn to cook your food. I barely can cook Zithayan food as it is. Crysabel, I have been giving thought to Pentam and your visit to Zithaya. It might be wise to have you learn something about the culture before you come. It would be unfortunate to mar your time with a mistaken insult. Perhaps I could attach a couple of people to your home to teach them something of the way of our society. They would be able to take time to trade skills in the kitchen at the same time."
"That sounds like a wonderful idea." Crysabel picked up Andrew, who'd begun to fuss. "The young men in the room down the hall are moving out. Seems they have a trip they are taking with their class. Our visitors from the Embassy could stay there. It will be a way to keep Pentam from obsessing on his dissertation presentation. He could defend it in his sleep, but he's so sure he's missing things."
"I think it is a lovely idea." Cal sipped at the tea. A different taste than the one she'd been given on the ship, but just as good. "Hyansea, may I leave it up to you and Crysabel to work out the details?"
"Most certainly." Hyansea took another scone and smiled.
***
"Captain," Bundo stopped her in the hall. "There are people watching the house. At least two groups. One I expect is the Naval Intelligence people intended to be visible. The others are very good, but only have a rotation of three men. I expect the second group is aware of the navy, but it is hard to say if the reverse is true."
"What do you suggest?"
"We should increase the security of the house."
"True." Cal rubbed her temple. "But if the security on the place suddenly increases, it will tell them we know they are there, and more, there is something here worth looking for."
"You're suggesting we need a covert response." Bundo pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Guards who don't look like guards."
"I have an idea about that."
Cal found Pentam in the parlour.
"There are four students going on this expedition. They'll be gone for several months." Pentam swirled his wine and sighed. "It will be too quiet without them. That's a third of the students living with us. I'll have to mention at the university there are spaces available."
"One room will be taken by the people from the Zithayan embassy who'll be giving you cultural pointers and some language lessons. But the other one..." Cal trailed off and stared into the fire.
"Cal, are you all right?" Pentam leaned over and put a hand on her shoulder. "You've been pushing yourself hard with the engineering and the cloak and dagger stuff."
"Right. I'm fine." Cal shook herself. "Leave it to me. You worry about your dissertation and getting ready to go and impress Zithaya."
"Sure, if you insist." He frowned doubtfully but didn't pursue the matter.
***
The next morning at the Shed, Cal walked through the main floor with O'Brien and new guard who looked no different than any of the others on O'Brien's squad but was a liaison to McAllen in intelligence.
"We use the main doors for everything." Cal stood looking out through the open double doors. "Steam carriages and wagons can park beside the doors and even drive into the Shed if needed. There are two other exits on the main floor." She walked across the large space. "This door in the back corner is nailed shut, probably to keep explorers out when this was empty space. We've left it blocked. It's too close to the fail test area for it to be safely used. It should be regularly checked at night to be sure no one's been messing with it."
Cal climbed the stairs to the second level and walked to the end of the hall, leading them through a door into a room on the right, which had an outside wall. "This one was blocked with shelving and debris." She pointed to a door that sported a hand-wheel. "I had the guys fabricate a steel door. It's locked with a version of the dogs on a ship's hatch. Steel bars run into the wall top and bottom. There's no way to open it from the outside. There was a rickety staircase, which we replaced it with a ladder. This is an emergency-only exit. It should be checked, but nothing short of a bomb will open it from the outside. If someone were going to use explosives, they'd be better to attack a wall directly."