pect miracles from them."

Father Harrison smiled. "But don't be surprised if you get them,
either." He turned to Cortin. "A number of the neighbors would like
them, too. I took the liberty of buying a box of cartridges and making
several up, hoping you wouldn't mind."

Cortin wasn't really sure whether she approved of that or not, but she
couldn't think of any real reason to object, and it would only take a
few minutes of her time. "All right, as soon as we finish supper."

* * * * *

Degas' prediction proved correct; the rest of the team did want
cartridges she'd blessed, and wore them on neck-chains--but attached so
they could be quickly removed if necessary and used as they'd
originally been intended, a precaution Cortin approved of. From the
team, the popularity of her blessed cartridges spread to the rest of
the base and beyond, gaining in reputation as field teams credited them
with the fact that casualties seemed to be fewer and less serious among
troopers who wore them.

As the team's stay in Middletown lengthened, all of them became
impatient with the sheer frustration of waiting for the Brothers to
make the first move. It was a frustration law enforcement personnel
learned to live with, since they almost always had to react to
lawbreakers, but that didn't make it any easier as winter became
spring, then early and mid-summer.

At least, Cortin thought, the Base Commander kept his promise. There
were fewer Brothers or other terrorists among her subjects than she
would have liked, but she was kept busy with other criminals. They
were less personally involving than the Brothers, though she discovered
as she worked with them that they provided just as much professional
satisfaction. Unlike terrorists, most of them survived her attentions;
her interest in murderers, thieves, and the like was restricted to
getting the necessary information from them, then turning them over to
judges for sentencing. As her skill grew to match her talent, that
became both easier and more satisfying, though it had a side effect she
hadn't really expected and didn't like as well. Her reputation also
grew, to the point where--as Illyanov had predicted--the threat of
being handed over to Inquisitor-Captain Cortin was enough, in many
cases, to elicit a full confession. Even that had its satisfactions,
though, after the first few times; the point, after all, was to get the
necessary infor