Authors: Joseph Picard
Wanda supplied the answer to Cheryl.
“Your girlfriend was hitting on Cip.”
Cassidy’s voice came from the washroom.
“She wishes!”
Night came, bringing one last overnight
shift for Cheryl and Cassidy with their old partners. Juggling
everyone’s shifts wasn’t an instantaneous thing, after
all.
“
Well Jim, it’s the end of
an era.” Cassidy said once night shift had begun.
“
What? You and Cheryl didn’t
break up already!?”
“
Pff what? No, geez! You
have a lot of faith in us, don’t you? Nothing like that. I’m being
moved to afternoon shift.”
“
Oh.” Jim looked a bit
disappointed. “The end of the rainbow patrol, huh? That stinks. Why
the change?”
Cassidy did her best to look innocent.
“Well… it’s not exactly the end of rainbow patrol.”
It took about a second for Jim to clue
in. “No. Damn! How’d you pull that off, you rat?”
Cassidy sighed. “Well, it’s something
about the proper way to handle her and I being a couple, or
something.”
“
What, by smacking you two
together on duty so you can make kissy faces at each other for
eight hours?”
“
Not a bad way to make a
living, huh?” Cassidy smirked. “Really though, there’s reasons, but
I think half of it was Cip just doing us a favour. Kind of.
Frankly, I’m just not going to fight it.” She pointed lazily over
to the southwest door. “And you’re getting Cheryl’s current
partner. The only downside is not having you as partner
anymore.”
“
Oh, I’m sure you’ll miss me
for about a second and a half, with your lissome sweetie there with
you.”
“
Lissome?” Cassidy raised en
eyebrow. “What the hell is lissome?”
“
Uh.. lissome… supple,
flexible, fit, hot, whatever.”
Cassidy chuckled. “Hmmm, yeah, she kind
of fits that. She’s cuter-ish than you make it sound though. You
must be thinking of me. Lissome sounds like something I could
handle.” She said, putting on a tone of smug vanity.
“
Nope, you’re too wiry to be
lissome.”
“
Wiry? Shut up!”
~~~
“
Horad!” Kirison yelled at
the hatch to the dugout. “Horad, It’s…” Frig. What the heck was he
calling himself for these guys? Simon? Sampson? Ah, right. “It’s
Samuel!”
No response was forth coming. What was
the signal the driver used? Three stomps, then two, or…? Screw it.
He stomped three or four times loudly. “Just open up, I brought
some toys to help!”
He'd been back a couple times before,
but they hadn't responded lately. The least they could do was call,
or leave a note or something. Could they all be asleep? Seems
pretty sloppy. He went back to his car, and got his tire iron. He
went back to the hatch, and laid down in front of it before he
tried to pry the hatch. Hopefully if that stupid trap was a bomb of
some kind, being low would save him from the blast as it came up
from the stairwell.
Surprisingly, the hatch came up very
easily and there was no sign of any trap. Curious but cautious, he
headed in. It was dark, and wherever the light from outside could
reach, the place was vacant. “Damn it.” Empty crates, an empty gun
rack, office furniture, and half the number of mattresses than
there used to be.
He needed to find those idiots.
Improperly equipped, they had little hope of getting out without
someone getting hurt, and zero chance of doing what Kirison needed
done. Time for another round at the bar.
~~~~~
:::C /20
~~~~~
Soon, the new timetable was in effect.
Cassidy and Cheryl’s first shift as partners on afternoons began
easily enough.
“
Sergeant Lowe, reporting
for duty, Sir!” Cheryl said with a stern, official tone, once shift
was officially on.
“
Good day, Sergeant Lowe.”
Cassidy replied, playing along. “Reporting for duty? What duty is
that?”
Cheryl smirked sheepishly.
Cassidy gave her a look of shock.
“Sergeant Lowe! You realize that kind of behavior is not permitted!
See me in my tent after the shift for reprimand!”
“
Sir, yes, Sir.” Cheryl
cooed, breaking into snickering.
“
Ohhhh, this might not be so
easy. Eight hours a day of you teasing me? So close, but so
far?”
“
I could break it up a
little by flashing you.” Cheryl joked.
“
Don’t bother. Know how Cip
has that miraculous gaydar thing? I have something like that, but
it automatically undresses you with my eyes.” Cassidy exaggerated
her stare.
“
Ah, we have to change the
topic, or we’re going to go crazy. And stop staring at my
chest.”
Cassidy closed her eyes, and exhaled.
“Okay, okay. Um, let’s see. Are we expecting a tour on this
shift?”
“
I think so. I hope there’s
little kids to talk to, they’re always a blast.”
“
Yup.”
“
Uh huh.”
Cheryl thought of a new topic. “Alan’s
making cookies right about now. I heard he’s trying a new peanut
butter recipe.”
“
Cool, cool. Haven’t had a
PB cookie in ages.”
“
Yeah, me
either.”
“
Yup.”
“
Uh huh.”
A long silence passed. They looked out
across the ruins, over the sands. They looked at the ceiling, the
floor, the walls. Cheryl rubbed a smudge off the shaft of her
spear, and looked how the sun glinted off the blade. Cassidy
cleared her throat, and checked her boots. They looked out across
the ruins again. Over the sands, at the ceiling, the floor, and the
walls.
“
In eight hours, I’m gonna
do stuff to ya.”
“
Yup.”
~~~~~
:::C /21
~~~~~
Kirison found himself once more in that
bar, looking for the A.R.A, but this time, at least he wasn't going
into a random spot.
“
Hey barkeep.” To be
diplomatic, he slapped down enough money for a brew, and a decent
tip. “Seen those two guys that followed me out last time I was
here?”
“
Uh... Sorry, Mack.” Duh. Of
course he didn’t remember. He’s not going to remember something
like that.
“
They were Aguei. Toughies.
Big on Aguei rights.” Hm. Was that too blunt?
“
Ya gotta be more specific,
Mack. That describes a lotta guys that come in here.”
Hm. Not blunt enough. “I guess it
wouldn’t help much if I told you that they might be in legal
trouble, had black hair, and drove a van, were probably
regulars…”
The Bartender smirked. “Not much.
Sorry.” Shit.
“
They might be kind of
connected. To stuff.”
The bartender leaned forward and talked
a bit quieter. “If yer lookin for a hit, there’s a guy who
sometimes hangs out and sells outside. Side of the building. Red
jacket.”
Kirison sighed. “Naw man. Thanks for
trying though. You have a good night, alright?”
“
Alright, Mack.”
Kirison headed out into the parking
lot, and got a small desperate idea. He peeked around the corner.
Not that one. Other side. Yup, there was the dealer with the red
jacket. Not an Aguei though, but who knows. Kirison casually made
his way over.
The dealer faced him, hands in pockets.
“Hey man, you a cop?” His eyes were shifty, like the cliché he
was.
“
Nope.”
“
You lookin’ to
score?”
“
Not really. I was just
wondering.. I mean… don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re a
career criminal, right?” This made the dealer notably
uncomfortable, but Kirison went on. “I was just wondering if you
knew where I could find some A.R.A.”
The dealer looked the very white
Kirison up and down. “You don’t really look like the type! You sure
you’re not a cop or something?”
“
I’m not, I’m not. Do you
know, or don’t you?”
“
Not my crowd, man. People
with causes suck for business.”
~~~~~
:::C /22
~~~~~
Days became weeks, and the weeks
stacked quickly. The tours were going well, and by popular demand,
a canteen had been set up from a tent. It was strictly a non-profit
affair, just covering costs of juice, tea, coffee, and Alan’s
cookies. The volume of cookies led Alan to recruit an assistant,
and Jim was glad to step up. For most of the troops, the biggest
drama in the unit was currently the debate over whether or not to
bring ‘commercial’ items, like brand name drinks into the
canteen.
For Cheryl and Cassidy, the main focus
was each other. They spent nights almost exclusively at their
little private camp. A large portion of the morning as well.
Lacking a supply of firewood, they ordered a camping grill and a
box of propane canisters. Curled up together at night with a
blanket, the little grill wasn’t as soothing to watch as a proper
camp fire, but it was certainly more convenient.
They cooked anything they could raid
from the mess on the grill, and the bottom of it had the remains of
more than one charred marshmallow. A few would-be meals suffered
from neglect while its owners turned their attention towards each
other instead. They were each other's world, as tends to happen.
Their time together became less and less talkative, since they had
talked about nearly everything, and it became more that they simply
lived together. Idle time at the camp was often accompanied by
music from one of their terminals, or maybe a movie or some such-
when they weren’t fully engrossed with each other.
Afternoons had slowly settled from
being eight hours of torture, just out of each other’s reach, to
simply being with each other, soaking in the day’s warmth, and
occasionally getting tourist visitors.
One typical morning found Cheryl waking
before Cassidy. The light filtered into the tent, and Cheryl just
took a few moments to stare at the back of Cassidy's head, and
listen to her breathing.
Moving herself between the two spread
open sleeping bags that served as their bed, Cheryl snuggled up
behind Cassidy, and wrapped her arm around Cassidy's
middle.
Cassidy sighed, and shifted her weight
a little. Cheryl leaned in, and kissed the side of Cassidy's neck,
triggering some sleepy mumbles. Growing a bit less patient, she
slid her hand up Cassidy's shirt, and cupped her hand around the
nearest soft, convenient breast.
“
Hmph?” That woke her up a
little. And a tiny precision movement? “Huh? Cheryl?”
Cheryl giggled. “Good morning,
Cassie!”
“
Mmhmm!” Cassidy agreed,
holding Cheryl's mischievous hand. “Five more minutes.”
“
Speaking of time, what is
it now?”
Cassidy still hadn't opened her eyes.
“I don't have my watch on. You tell me.”
“
You're holding my hand with
the watch on it. You tell me!”
Cassidy grunted as she convinced
herself to open her eyes. She grabbed Cheryl's wrist, and bent her
arm so the watch was easier to see.
“
Ow!”
“
Aw fuck, hon. We don't have
much time.”
Cheryl reclaimed her arm, and turned
Cassidy on her back. “Oh well.” She cozied up closer to administer
a slow, long, deep kiss. Cassidy looked up into her eyes, and
caressed her cheek. “Which of us do you think needs a breath mint
more?”
When mornings dragged them away from
camp to run a tour, Cassidy and Cheryl would often poke around the
base just to be social, or raid supplies.
“
Hello, strangers.”
Cipriana, again reading while sitting on her bunk, greeted them in
the barracks.
“
Hey Cip!” Cheryl replied.
Often Cassidy would let Cheryl handle the small talk for both of
them. Cheryl tended to carry around a bit more energy and
enthusiasm, and often simply spoke sooner. Being together so much,
Cassidy (as well as just about everyone else) accepted that when
Cheryl spoke, Cassidy agreed, and felt no need to repeat. “Guess
what’s coming up?”
Cassidy wrapped her arms around Cheryl
from behind, and they both looked at Cipriana, waiting for a
guess.
Their serene little smiles gave
Cipriana more than enough of a hint to guess from. “Oh, I suppose
it’s some kind of anniv-… hmm.. could it be six months?” Cheryl
smiled wider, and nodded as Cassidy added a little more squeeze to
the hold. “It seems like just yesterday we were all having to deal
with the three month… and the one month… and the one week..”
Cipriana smirked at the couple.
“
Cip, Cip, Cippy,” Cassidy
said soft and low. “You must get over this jealousy. I’ve told you
time and again, you’ve simply missed your chance with me.” Cheryl
turned a little to plant a little kiss on Cassidy’s
cheek.
Cipriana smiled with a tolerant sigh.
“One day I’ll learn to move on, I suppose. Until then, I can just
be mildly nauseated by you two, just like everyone
else.”