Turncoats

BENJAMIN

Looking at the panel of men in front of him, Benjamin wished he could go back to the last time he was summoned to General Harrison's tent. He had only lost half his regiment and his brother was still alive. Now he was in front of the most respected men in army without his brother, or his regiment, or any of the honor that had earned him the title of captain.

"I'm sure you're well aware of why we summoned you here, Captain Mathers," General Harrison said. His voice was void of any emotion. Benjamin decided this was better than if he sounded disappointed.

Colonel Smith folded his arms. "I knew it was a bad idea to promote you. You're too young. Too inexperienced, just like every other young man out there. Willing to die for the cause, but can't contribute anything worthwhile to it."

"Colonel Smith," the general's voice stayed steady and calm, "I was not done speaking." Benjamin glanced over at Colonel Smith, who sunk back in his chair, but was still glaring at him. "I don't know what happened at the raid and I'm not going to make judgments on the situation, nor blame you for it until I fully understand what happened that night."

Benjamin breathed a sigh of relief. Even if he still held himself accountable for the deaths of his regiment and his brother, at least General Harrison didn't. "Thank you, sir. You have no idea-"

"That being said," Benjamin quickly shut his mouth, as the general continued speaking, "the other generals do not share my viewpoint. There have been disciplinary measures discussed."

Benjamin nodded slowly. He deserved whatever discipline the general gave him. He had led the raid that night. It was his fault so many men had died. It was his fault his brother was dead. But something about that night had been bothering Benjamin ever since. How did the Queen's Rangers know that they were attacking? Word of the raid had never left the general's tent.

"Captain Mathers, are you listening?" Colonel Smith's nasally voice pulled Benjamin back to reality. "How did the Rangers know that you were attacking that night?" Benjamin glanced at the faces surrounding him. A smirk grew over Colonel Smith's face as he remained silent.

"Captain Mathers, what happened?" General Harrison asked.

After a deep breath, Benjamin began to explain. "We did everything as planned, but the Rangers were waiting for us. I don't know how they found out. Nobody else knew about the raid."

"Nobody?" Colonel Smith scoffed. "Maybe you weren't as careful as you thought you were."

"Even if somebody else heard it, that means that we have a mole in the camp," Benjamin said. "The only people who discussed the raid were us, Nathaniel, and Oliver." His voice wavered as he finished the sentence, but Benjamin didn't care. "Who would have contact with the Rangers?"

"Captain Mathers is right," General Harrison said. "Unless the spy is sitting next to me, it isn't possible that someone would have been spying for the queen."

"Maybe that's what we need." Benjamin didn't quite realize what he said until the words came out of his mouth.

Colonel Smith shifted in seat. "And what do you mean by that?"

Benjamin panicked for a moment. What did he mean by that? "Well, we could have spies to watch the Rangers."

"We have spies," General Harrison said, raising an eyebrow. "Why would we need more?"

Suddenly, Benjamin's idea wasn't as crazy as it first seemed. "Yes, in Jephra and Kasbuh, but they only watch the army's movements. What if we had spies that lived among the Rangers and the Olseans. People the queen trusts. We would have the ultimate advantage."