Watching Yute (18 page)

“
How so?”

Cassidy looked at Cheryl. She wasn’t an
idiot. “She thinks.. well, we’re both… and we’re the only ones in
the unit, so she figures…”

Cheryl blushed noticeably now, and
looked down at the ground. “Oh… so… you are...”

“
Yup. Kind of thought it was
common knowledge.” Oh damn. Why was it getting hard to
breathe?

“
I wasn’t sure. Someone
mentioned you had a breakup just before coming here, but I didn’t
pry, and I didn’t hear if it was a ‘he’ or a ‘she’.”

Cassidy found she couldn’t look at
Cheryl anymore while she talked. “Yeah. So... I’m very
anti-rebound, and then there’s professional etiquette to be
considered,” It came out of her mouth less smoothly than she had
been telling herself in her mind. “and then Maxine and Wanda
‘miss-know-it-all’, just assumes that just because…”

Cheryl moved her hand out along the
ground shyly towards Cassidy, both of them still avoiding direct
eye contact. “Maybe she’s a bit nosy, but maybe she would like to
see you happy... And maybe being professional isn’t such a problem
for two people who can behave like grownups….and maybe you don’t
seem so fresh off the last relationship, maybe you wouldn’t be
rebounding.”

“
Maybe I’d be an awful
girlfriend, maybe I’d end up taking you for granted, and
you’d...”

Cheryl took Cassidy’s hand, and their
eyes met. Cassidy’s jaw trembled, and her eyes were welling up a
little.

“
Shhhh.” Cheryl’s eyes
glistened as they sat silently for a long, short moment. “Maybe,
maybe. Maybe we should just find out.”

Cassidy grimaced a smile, and nodded. A
moment later, Cheryl had her arms wrapped around Cassidy, and
suddenly all the complex nonsense in Cassidy’s mind melted away. It
was all so clear, it was all so simple.

Held close, Cassidy’s lips first found
the side of Cheryl’s neck, her hands slid around onto Cheryl’s
back. “I’ve been trying not to think of this.”

Cheryl leaned back to offer more skin
to kiss, and giggled softly. “Oh yeah? Why not?”

“
Cuz I’m a moron!” she
kissed her way up to Cheryl’s lips. “I should have pounced the day
you arrived.” Kisses deepened, hands slid under shirts. Cassidy’s
voice quietly simmered into a more aggressive tone, steeped in
growing lust. “Let’s get these off.”

Cheryl’s heart pounded. “Here?
Now?”

“
Well..” Cassidy moved back
to get her top off, and watched Cheryl’s eyes take her. “It’s here
or the barracks. I guess we could go find Wanda and ask if she
wants to watch.”

Cheryl laughed and lunged forward,
pushing Cassidy onto her back. She stripped off her own top, and
kissed Cassidy deeply. “You’re right, you are a moron.”

~~~~~

:::C /17

~~~~~

Cassidy stormed into the barracks with
rigid, forceful stomping. Her glower radiated from under the brim
of her hat with intensity that would melt paint. Cipriana, Maxine,
and especially Wanda watched silently. Cassidy flopped onto her
bunk on the far side of the room with force, crossing her arms and
ankles, lowering her head enough so that the brim of her hat hid
her eyes.

Before anyone recovered from the shock
to venture a question, Cheryl meekly appeared at the barracks
doorway.

Cassidy pointed at her, and erupted.
“Keep that psycho bitch away from me!” Everyone including Cheryl
jumped a little. Cheryl dipped around the corner and melted to sit
on the hallway floor, head in her hands.

“
Cassidy!” Cipriana said in
a near-military fashion.

Wanda rushed over to Cheryl, and knelt
down to her. “What the hell happened?”

“
I’m sorry…!” Cheryl could
only whimper into her hands, repeating, “I’m sorry, I’m so
sorry…!”

Cipriana knew she had to resolve this
fast. She addressed Cassidy. “What is she so sorry for?”

Cassidy hadn’t stopped seething, and
re-asserted her pointing. “She knows what she’s sorry for. She
goddam well knows!”

“
What?!” Wanda was near
panic.

Cheryl lifted her head with an innocent
smile, and spoke sweetly. “I’m sorry I let Cassidy convince me to
do this.” Across the room, Cassidy was giggling devilishly. “Ohhh
damn, Wanda, I could not resist!”

Cipriana chuckled softly, and went back
to her book.

“
Wh.. what?” Wanda was still
recovering, absorbing that she’d been had. Maxine felt it important
to point something out. “Cipriana laughed.”

“
Really? I didn’t hear it!”
Cheryl stood, and patted Wanda on the head. “That would be pretty
un-Cipriana-like.”

“
Yup, I heard it. For her,
I’d call it a downright outburst!” Cassidy was beaming, and sat up
on the side of her bunk, and reached out towards Cheryl as she
approached.

“
Wha…. Why. You meanies…!”
Wanda quietly whined.

Cassidy took Cheryl’s hand when she was
close enough “Because, you’ve been so sure of yourself, I needed to
see you suffer for payment first.”

Wanda stood. “First…? Before
what?”

Cheryl made herself comfortable in
Cassidy’s lap, and Cassidy wrapped her arms around Cheryl’s middle
then give her a little peck on the shoulder. Both of them were
smiling sublimely.

“
Oh!” Wanda clued in. “Oh! I
knew it. Ha!” She jumped up and down a couple times, in the spirit
of prideful boasting.

Cassidy huffed. “Yeah, that’s what I
figured you’d say. We knew you’d be intolerable when you found out,
so we had to have some fun with you first.
Pre-vengeance.”

Wanda started turning it into a song.
“I-I-knewwww it, I knewwwww it!”

“
I dunno, Cassie,” Cheryl
said loud enough for Wanda to hear through her silliness, “I don’t
know if this is worth it. Maybe we should call it off just to shut
Wanda up.”

Wanda froze, and silenced
herself.

“
That’s better.” Cassidy
snuggled against Cheryl’s back.

“
As I asked when Cheryl
first arrived,” Cipriana said as the new couple cuddled, “This
isn’t going to be a problem, is it?”

Cassidy peeked around Cheryl’s
shoulder. “Sir, no, Sir, Cipriana, Sir!”

“
We’re mature, responsible
adults, Sir!” Cheryl added.

Cipriana grew one of her soft smiles.
“Then congratulations. You’re repulsively cute together. And
obviously troublesome. Go play pranks in the boys’ barracks next
time.”

Cassidy and Cheryl smiled at each
other. “Too easy.”

“
Like shooting fish in a
barrel.” Cheryl added, getting up, “But if I don’t get a shower
soon, I’m going to go crazy with all this sand.”

Wanda narrowed her eyes. “Sand flurry
get you?”

“
Nope.”

“
I need one too.” Cassidy
said, “We must have caught some flying sand.” By the time Cassidy
stood, it had occurred to everyone what the two of them having a
shower at the same time might end up entailing. Hypothetically.
Despite the wonderful imagery that it fostered, Cassidy thought
better of it. She looked to Cipriana. “That might not be
professional.”

Cipriana sighed. “I think it would be
best if you kept that sort out thing out of the base. Far
out.”

Cassidy turned to Cheryl, an eyebrow
raised. “Wanna go for a walk first?” Cheryl grinned, and started
sprinting out the door with Cassidy hot on her tail, leaving
Cipriana, Wanda and Maxine alone in the suddenly quiet
barracks.

Wanda spoke softly, “I knew
it…”

Just as order was settling in again,
the duo popped back into the barracks, holding a tent and a couple
sleeping bags. Cheryl chirped, “Cip! Can we borrow these from
supply?”

Cipriana stared at them a moment with
an expression of mild confusion. “May I ask why?”

“
You told us to keep ‘it’
out of the base,” Cassidy explained, “We just want to be comfy.
So... please?”

Cipriana lowered her head with an
amused smile, and sighed. “Very well. For now. But it’s clear we’ll
have to have a discussion about it. Consider this your grace
period.”

Cheryl blew Cipriana a playful kiss,
and dragged Cassidy away with the gear. Nearby, a smiling Wanda
wiggled in approval. Maxine raised an eyebrow and stared at Wanda.
“What are you, anyway, their cheerleader?”

Cassidy and Cheryl raced back to their
spot from earlier, carrying their gear. Cheryl got there a second
or two ahead of Cassidy, dropping her cargo, and sliding to the
ground on her back, holding her arms wide for Cassidy. Cassidy
wasted no time in dropping her encumbrance, and sweeping down on
her new lover, kissing madly, her precious hat getting pushed up
out of the way. Out of breath from running, there seemed little
hope of either of them catching their breath any time
soon.

“
I want to say it,” Cassidy
gasped, trying to fit words between kisses, “is it too soon to say
that kind of thing?” She got up a little to gaze into Cheryl’s
eyes. “I mean, it's not like we just met. I've known you for months
now.”

Cheryl looked up, smiling, biting her
lower lip. She reached around to grab Cassidy’s hat, and pulled it
away so that Cassidy’s hair was again free to fall around Cheryl’s
face. Cheryl closed her eyes and purred before speaking in the
softest, most heartfelt voice Cassidy could imagine. “I love you
too, Cassie…”

Cassidy held Cheryl as close as she
could. With her lips by Cheryl’s ear, she whispered, “I love you, I
love you, I love how you call me Cassie.”

Cheryl giggled, and Cassidy babbled on.
“When other people call me Cassie, it pisses me of, but somehow,
from you, it makes me feel.. I don’t know. Did I mention those
shorts drive me crazy? And those boots? I’ve been dying to complete
the compliment.. Nice boots-“

Cheryl laughed, and cut her off. “Wanna
fuck?”

~~~~~

:::C /18

~~~~~

The “magic tokens” Kirison was
preparing were going to be pivotal, but they wouldn’t do any good
if Horad’s men couldn’t get to the temple. They might also
appreciate thinking he cared if they got out. He chose to ignore
for now that he hadn't been able to contact Horad for some time
now.

He assumed they had considerable
ability in the desert, but he thought of a wonderful toy that would
greatly assist them to evade the military if the heat was turned
on. The trouble was, it wasn’t exactly available at the corner
store. It was time to visit the Lancer office.

He walked up to the sturdy, metal,
unremarkable door, on the shady side of an unremarkable building,
in an unremarkable industrial area of Densfarn.

By the door was a video intercom.
Kirison pressed the sole button on it. The screen flickered as you
would expect if were malfunctioning.

He put an ID card against the screen,
as well as his left thumb, and a wide-open eye.
“Cheese!”

The screen went blank and the door
clicked. At least he wasn’t yet persona non grata. At least not
entirely.

Down a hall and around a corner stood a
pair of men dressed casually, concealing ungodly amounts of
hardware. One spoke as he opened the door. “Mr. Book is free to see
you.”

“
Ah, good timing then.” He
continued in. On the other side of the door, the building was
considerably less modest. Most of the doors Kirison passed were
either heavily barred and locked, or sealed air tight. Or both. He
made it to Mr. Book’s office, and came in with a friendly but
professional demeanor.

“
Hey, Mr. Book. I was in the
neighborhood.”

“
A little out of your way.”
Mr. Book spoke with his usual joyless tone.

“
Well, I haven’t heard
anything about re-assignment. Just thought I’d come by in person,
and... well, to be frank, remind you I existed.”

“
Hrmph.” Mr. Book didn’t
sound impressed, nor offended. He was good at these neutral grunts.
It was just… acknowledgment. “Very courteous of you, Kirison, but
it doesn’t change things. Your speciality just isn’t worth any
money with the new laws.”

“
Laws, huh?” Lancer as an
organization wasn’t always such a stickler for the rules, and it
scarcely needed mentioning.

Mr. Book wobbled his head slowly.
“There’s laws, and then there’s laws. It’s a risk assessment deal.
After Coll had that little matter of nano-genocide- nasty bit,
that- if the wrong person so much as smelled a nanite on any of us…
I wouldn’t put it past them to dip us in napalm just to be
safe.”

“
I got that impression, but
my skills aren’t limited to nanites.”

“
Hrmph.” There it was again.
“Look, I can sympathize. Prior to Coll's garbage, I thought your
department would be ninety percent of the business. It’s not a fun
thing for any of us,” easy for him to say, “but I’ll tell you what.
Polish up your resume, highlight skills you think might transfer
well to other departments, and I’ll make sure copies make it to all
the heads.”