Market Day

[Texican]

CCG,

Poignant....

Texican....

[Dosadi]

Thanks

D.

[ted]

Awesome story, like it is based on real life. Thank you.

[teedee]

I just read the first pages of an awesome story that has been lovingly crafted. Thank you

[Sportsman]

Thank you.

[Lone_Hawk]

Thank you for the new chapters!

[ComCamGuy]

Allyson wasn’t sure where she was headed or what she was going to do. She felt in a state of limbo. A year ago, she would have been rolling out with her fellow officers to help people. Now she had no authority, no infrastructure, no duty to act. And if she was honest with herself, her mindset had altered as well. Working at the center, she had lost some of the public spirit, at least how she thought of it. She still had no problem helping someone. The big qualifier was that now she didn’t necessarily felt she had to help everyone.

She wasn’t sure where to go now that she escaped the initial flood. The area around the city was cut off in several directions due to the fragile state of many bridges. She did know that the routes deeper into the rural parts bordering the urban sprawl should still be accessible. She had no family to go back to where she grew up. She had no ties anywhere she realized. Her only real connections were at the center.

She remembered Garen had told her to contact him on Tac channel 7. She had to get to the area he had indicated, however. She was doing some mental inventory of what she had in the SUV, and came up feeling unprepared. She had a couple leftover MREs and some power bars, plus some half full water bottles behind the seat. For shelter, however, she was doubly set. She could and had slept in the Suv before, but even better, she had the rooftop tent. It stayed on the roof since she had no place in the apartment to keep it. She would be warm, dry and sheltered. Next question was where to park. She wanted to find a good spot before it got too dark.

As she kept winding her way in and around the outskirts, she came across a convenience store that was, for some unknown reason, actually open. An opportunity like this couldn’t be passed up. When she went inside, the first things she exchanged were pleasantries, followed by what she figured the most important question, is your card reader working?

The generator out back had kept the electricity on in the store and their card reader was satellite driven. This was music to her ears. Allyson went on a focused spending spree. Bags of rice, Spam, cooking oil, canned chili, a dozen gallon jugs of water, a bunch of odds and ends, and from behind the counter, an entire display worth of disposable lighters and all six bottles of Everclear. This , combined with topping off her fuel tank, was a decent hit to her credit card, but she had a sneaking suspicion that it won’t matter too much.

Now her next challenge was to find an out of the way place to set up camp for the evening. She knew there was a huge national forest to the east. This would let her get away from people so she could get some rest. She was o tired she thought she would collapse, but she refused to. With the final light fading, she made her way to the edge of the forest. It took some hunting around but she finally found a jeep trail into the woods.

Backing into a small clump of pine trees, She was able to conceal her position from any casual observer. Half a bottle of water and an MRE entrée was dinner. This was followed by hunkering down for the night. Exhaustion was the best sleeping pill by far. Tomorrow would be inventory and rescout the location. She would also try to contact Garen.

[sssarawolf]

I was hoping, thank you.

[Siskiyoumom]

Thank you so very much! I appreciate your continuing this story.

[Lone_Hawk]

Thank you for another chapter this morning!

[Dosadi]

Thanks

Ya know I wonder if I've spent so many years in nasty places that things like knowing how long I can go without sleep, and normal field security and such is just second nature of If it is as unique as it sometimes seems to me.

Probably a little bit of both.

Still interesting food for thought.

Dosadi

[ComCamGuy]

Dosadi, I agree about the sleep and field security elements. One of the biggest problems the wife and I observed was people not being able to make the transition from back on the block to a “danger zone” footing. It was especially difficult when it was the environment that changed not the location.

When we were in small group ops, it was more difficult. Less manpower to share the load. Lots of hide small, don’t get noticed. Had the hardest time teaching the junior troops these lessons

Both of us look at it like the Hulk’s line in the Avengers- he didn’t have to get angry, he was always angry

The secret to security and knowing yourself and your limits is turn the switch to “Always”

One of my troops asked me once how did I know when to worry. My answer was “kid, I’m always worried.”

[Dosadi]

I was / am 0317

I was used to just me and partner, so I know the challenges.

Been there; Done that; have multiple versions of the tee shirt.

I keep saying someday I'm gonna write a book.

Outta name it : Here hold muh beer; ya'll watch this. I've lived and done my share of stupid, and it's just God's will I ain't dead.

[nancy98]

Very good. Thank you.

[ted]

Thank you.

[ComCamGuy]

Her damp hair in her helmet was a magnet for the thoughts in her brain. It pulled her back to this morning and beyond. She remembers standing in the cold shower. The water felt good on the tired muscles. Her tall, lanky frame stretched like a cat in the shower stall, seeking to ease the soreness that seemed to stay in her now, not the good soreness of a proper workout, but the pain and agony of real mortal combat and the soul deep ache of having suffered greatly with no end in sight. As her hands run the soap over the scars her body has acquired, she can still remember all too many of the causes of them. The ones gained earning her skills troubled her not. Some of the others woke her screaming in the middle of the night, robbed her of sleep, and made her feel far too old for her years. The water couldn’t be hot enough to fight the chill in her heart at those memories

"To sleep, per chance to dream, ain't that the bitch" she said, wondering if she will ever sleep well again. Once, she had bolted upright, not knowing where she was. Her boyfriend or guy she was sleeping with, whatever, at the time tried to be helpful, hold her until she knew what was going on. At his touch she screamed and fled. A bit shaken, he followed. He found her huddled in the shower, sobbing uncontrollably, the water on at a scalding temperature. He turned on the lights and gasped. She had always stayed covered up with him, or had the lights too low for him to see more than her outline. To him, it had been cute. She seemed so shy. Now he saw what she had attempted to hide from him. Her back was to him, covered with several scars the cause of which he couldn't imagine. He could see others, too. He asked, pleaded, and in the end finally demanded to know what happened to her. She didn't tell him, couldn't detail her past to him. She wasn't ready for that. She had lain in the shower for hours trying to pull herself together. By dawn, she had recovered. Also by dawn, he had left. She never heard from him again.

"Sleep is overrated anyway." she muttered to herself.

She stood in silence for several moments, the water rinsing the last of the soap from her as she pondered her worth. When she was finished in the shower, she spent a few minutes drying and braiding her long blond hair.

The braid bouncing on her back brought her back to the present. She was following Garen down a side road, searching for the best place to hook left up to the forest. They were trying to stay stealthy by keeping the revs low, and not traveling too fast. This wasn’t a sprint, where the highest speed possible would win the day. Instead, the best was thinking and moving smartly.

Watching Garen and thinking about him and Bekka, she came to realize that other than Christian, they were the only ones who ever accepted her and loved her for who she was, scars and all.

[Dosadi]

Thanks

Dosadi

[Lake Lili]

Thanks!

Lili

[ComCamGuy]

The empty house always make me feel his absence. I got up and started the coffee just like every day. It seemed a bit off to do so, since my mind was still torn between downrange mindset and back home environment. I went to the shower to try and get focused. Water always seems to be a calming agent to my psyche. I was showering in the dark.I know it sounds strange but its a habit I got into living with Kara in England. She said it helped her clear her mind. I let her think that I believed that was the only reason. In some ways she was right though. It is soothing and gives you time to think.

Kara, that girl still has so many secrets of her past that you could spend a lifetime trying to uncover them and still not scratch the surface. She is a calming presence when she is around, but there is a wellspring of deep energy that I can feel , like a dangerous riptide you can just feel on the tips of your toes. I have seen her temper, and I don’t like it. When she gets that far gone, there is no filter, no safety valve, no check swing. Her emotions have no dimmer switch. they are either on or off. One time, I remember it was after about two bottles of wine apiece, she told me that Hubby and I were teaching her how to feel again. In some ways, the process of helping her has helped us to feel again, too.

I didn’t realize how much I was worried about her when I called him on the radio about the Tsunami. The fact she was with him also means he has someone covering his back that I trust with the job as much if not more than me. I need him back here, and I know she would move heaven and earth to do so.

Warbelt, carbine, Time to make the rounds Jenny Wick

[Sportsman]

Thank you. I really appreciate the frequent chapter contributions!

[ted]

Many thanks, I'm lovin the story.

[Texican]

CCG,

Good chapters, but a road map of where folks are and where they need to get to would help in the story line....

Texican....

[Dosadi]

thank you

Dosadi

[Lone_Hawk]

Thank you for the new chapters!

[nancy98]

Very moving chapters. Thanks

[hummer]

thank you

[ComCamGuy]

Garen and Kara were making good time. They were trying to get to the southern edge of the National Forest. Once there, they figured they had about 120 miles to cover north through the forest to get back to the Briar Patch and home. Their overall plan was to hopefully get to the convenience store outside the park. This should still have power and therefore a decent chance for fuel as well. They had stopped there many times as part of the company headed to an area in the park for training in navigation with the students. They had gotten to know the owner and his son.

Mr Chenkof, the owner, was a retired Park Ranger and his son was currently a Backcountry Ranger in the park. Chenkof Senior was quite a character. He had escaped from East Germany while stationed there. He would tell little stories about things like one of the girls he grew up with always hating to go to target practice. She would shoot the lights out, claiming to be a horrible shot. Things like that and other lighthearted stories about growing up in Russia. He never went into any depth about his youth, though. It was always “it was a long time ago”, and “you wouldn’t understand, it wasn’t on a computer” followed by a laugh.

His son Doug was a fairly cheery sort. He was quite happy patrolling the back woods, helping people. He was always dreading having to work in the front office for any length of time. He always said the long hike to his territory filtered out most of the assholes, coupled with the lack of internet and cell service. He worked with the center as a navigation instructor, purely as an adjunct instructor. This was to prevent the Park service from getting concerned about him working two jobs, since he was a Federal Law Enforcement Officer.

Kara spotted a closed for remodeling rest stop about midway through the day. They pulled up the berm and hid beside the building. This gave a chance to stretch their legs, pee, and get a bite to eat. Garen was anxious to get back on the road and make more ground. Kara was getting a bit concerned that Garen might be getting a bit too careless in his rush. She tried to calm him down, reminding him that Bekka was safe, and God help anyone who tried to do her harm there in her own castle. They ate their energy bars, finished some water and mounted back up.

After their short intermission, they got back on the road, winding out into the countryside. This helped ease some of their worries. Now they were away from the masses of people and the immediate threat from the water. The light was fading fast as they rolled up to their target location. This was to be a quick fuel stop, maybe some snacks and press to the edge of the forest. Kara knew of a new subdivision being built backed up to the southern edge. She figured they could hide in an unfinished house, prep and reset, grab some sleep and hit the forest around 0300. The first part would be on actual trails so they could crack out their tactical gear they were carrying for night range training and roll on NVGs so no one would see where they were and where they were going.

Kara was sure they could squat in one of the houses overnight. She had done it plenty of times after she had gotten out. Too many times. Garen likened it to some of the times squatting in some abandoned or cleansed village, choosing a house that was in the middle of the scale. Not too intact, because they would be popular targets, not too trashed or collapsed where there was no advantage, only negatives. This also made sense to Kara the first time he taught it to her, mostly because she had thought the same way when she was on the streets prior to the military.

They figured with the new ones being built, they needed one that was framed out with sides and doors, but didn’t need windows. They wanted the doors so they could hide the motorcycles and themselves in a garage instead of having to roll them into the living room. With the saddlebags and such, they were too wide for most standard doorways.

The convenience store had one row of pumps. An older jacked and lifted, primer spattered pickup sat empty on the side closest to the store. They rolled up nose to tail on the outside, Kara first. The signs on the pumps said pay inside first. This worked for Kara, she had to pee and told Garen she would get the pumps started after she peed. Garen didn’t mind, he needed to stretch. He told her he would stay with the bikes, then it would be his turn.
Kara slipped her helmet off and left it on the bike. She kept her radio earpiece and throat mike on, because she had finally gotten it comfortable and didn’t want to squirm around getting it in place again. She double checked her pullover jacket that covered up most of her gear and slipped inside.

At the counter to the right there were two guys sounding like they were having a bit of a heated discussion with the young girl behind the counter. Kara slipped in to the left with not even a glance from the guys at the counter. She went to the back corner of the store to the bathrooms. Once inside, she had some relief at a clean toilet and a chance to wash her hands with soap that hadn’t lived in her saddlebags for a year. Sitting on the toilet, she heard the voices get louder, then a shot, followed by more yelling, and angry female screaming.

************! Instantly she keyed her radio “Spike, don’t come in yet! Two bad guys at the counter, I think they shot the clerk but she is still screaming. I don’t think they know I’m here. Let me eyeball it, get ready for breach!” She yanked up her pants, setting everything in place as fast as she could without causing too much noise. She crept out of the room and down an aisle or two to see the counter.

As she rounded the corner, she could see the bad guys leaning over the counter trying to punch buttons on the fuel authorization machine and the register. The girls screams kept coming up from behind the counter, sounding more like rage than pain at the moment. She could hear the guys talking about the event. Such things as ‘she shoulda done what we said’, ‘don’t hurt her too much, maybe we can take her with us, she’s kinda cute’. At the last, Kara’s temper ignited into cold calculating fury. Knowing the gunmen would be mostly deaf for a few, she plotted with Garen.

“Spike, two tangos, pistols, at the counter. Clerk is down behind the counter. If you come in, it will suck. Let me start. I’ll distract them, you pop them from behind. They are talking kidnap and more.”

“Faith, give me 30 seconds to get in position.” He knew she wouldn’t be calling for it if it wasn’t necessary. He slipped open the case with his gear from work. This is the sort of thing it was made for. He also slung his med bag on his back, he had a downed civ. He made sure he had two extra mags ready and his pistol prepped. He rounded the truck and slipped up beside the door.

“Faith, ready.”

“Spike, I’m 45 degrees to the left of the door, clerk is down, go word is pickle.”

“Copy”

Kara prepared herself. She stepped out into the open and called out.

“Hey, honey, the bathrooms locked! Oh, hi guys, have you seen the clerk, the bathrooms locked and I’m in quite a pickle.”

When she stepped out and began talking, the two guys swung their attention from the counter to her. All her equipment was covered by her jacket, and she had on her most demure and helpless look in her face, hoping they didn’t figure out what was on her head or throat in time to be worried. She shouldn’t have worried. They died with looks of puzzlement on their faces. Garen came in the doors directly behind them quiet and fast. As soon as the muzzle of his submachinegun came on target, he loosed two three-round bursts into each, one in the head, and one in the torso. They dropped into lifeless heaps. There was no worry about them ever getting up again. The noise wasn’t like anything most people had ever heard. A real silenced weapon makes a loud noise, and when the shots come that fast, it’s just a ripping noise, hard to tell they are gunshots though.

The center was performing training for a group that would be deploying with older weapons not normally associated with active US military. They were acquired from another federal agency that had a stockpile. H&K MP5s were the gold standard for CQB in the 80s and 90s. They fell out of favor due to a lack of stopping power from the in-use 9mm ammo. There was one agency that worked that issue and fixed it in conjunction with their handgun upgrades. The agency later phased out the 10mm handguns and with them the 10mm MP5-SDs went into storage. Fast, accurate and powerful up close, it was purpose built for situations just like this. Garen drove it like a champ. It was not his preferred choice but it was effective. Between his bike and Kara’s bike, they had four of them and had set up their training rigs for the class.

Once the badguys were confirmed down, Garen went to the girl behind the counter. She was clutching her thigh, a small puddle of blood was beneath her.

“Ma’am, we are here to help. The bad guys are down, they will not hurt you again. May I look at your leg? I need to get that bleeding under control.” He was trying his friendliest voice and moving toward her. Meanwhile Kara was securing the weapons, gathering the brass from Garen’s gun and flipping the closed sign on the door.

Things just got complicated

And then Tac channel 7 Lit up, calling Gaven.

[Texican]

CCG,

Stupid is as stupid does and shoots the female clerk.... With it falling apart, why wasn't there someone else at the convenience store????

Looks like Kara and Garen have a forgotten child to take care of....

Not a fast escape....

Thanks for the chapter....

Texican....

[ComCamGuy]

“Kara, switch to Tac 7, I think its Allyson.” barked Garen as he pulled out some bleeding control gear.

Kara switched radio frequency, catching the end of a transmission. It sounded like Allyson. She couldn’t remember the call signs from work and don’t know if Allyson had one she would remember, so she improvised.

“Carrot, this is Faith. Wait one.”

Silence

“Carrot, this is Faith, we were standing on the third floor loading bags when we felt a dance coming on.”

“Copy Faith, but it was the second floor.”

“We are a bit busy here right now, what’s up?”

“Checking in, with nothing but me and my vehicle. Wave wiped my place and boss said to call” a tone of exasperation crept into Allyson’s voice.

“Give me a rough location.”

“Backed into a forest trail, just trying to avoid attention.”

“Boss is hearing our conversation, improve your location, hide as well as you can and get some coordinates. We will come to you, but probably not for at least two days. You good for that?”

“I’m good, and we will talk later about ‘Carrot’”

Kara turned toward Garen.

"Hey Garen, we need to work a link up with Allyson”

“I heard, now get over here and help me get her patched up.”

Garen was working a single GSW to the thigh. It appeared that it was a straight through and through. He threw a tourniquet on to slow the bleeding until he could get everything dressed properly. All the while he was talking to her. In short order, he determined that this was Angelique, the 16 year old granddaughter of Mr. Chenkof Sr. She was filling in while he was taking care of his wife. She had been ill for quite some time and it seemed that it may be finally coming to an end. He spent as much time as possible with her.

Asked for the best way to get ahold of her grandfather so he knew what was going on, she pointed to the phone and told Garen the first speed dial on the right was the number for the house. After finishing up the wound dressing, the TQ was removed and the bleeding was controlled. This freed Garen up to talk on the phone. Kara gave Angelique some Antibiotics, and a pain killer.

Garen explained everything to Mr. Chenkof, the wound, the bad guys, and the mess. Mr. Chenkof told him to not worry about it, he would be there in 30 minutes to help take care of everything. He also told them to load up on whatever supplies they needed or wanted. No charge. He wouldn’t hear of it.

While they waited, they refueled the bikes, collected some food for the next day or two, and kept checking Angelique. Around thirty minutes later, Mr. Chenkof arrived. He was beside himself with worry for his granddaughter, heartfelt appreciation for Garen and Kara, and rage to the two dead men.

He told them to not worry about the police, the bodies, and their truck, none of it. They would disappear. The supplies, fuel and food were all gratis for their actions that day. He also insisted on taking them to his home for their meal and rest, but it was half an hour in the wrong way and Garen didn’t want to intrude in Mr. Chenkof’ s wife.

Garen explained the follow on medical care needed. He also gave him the radio frequency and a general location where her father could contact them. This wasn’t new info, Her father was very familiar with the park and had already know of the existence of the compound on the edge of the National Forest.

After a much longer stop than they had planned, Garen and Kara rolled out in search of the subdivision. One more day and they should be home.

[ted]

Thank you!

[Dosadi]

Thank you

Got in; checked the web; Boom the blessing of MOAR

XD

Dosadi

[Sportsman]

Thanks. A little to read each day is sure enjoyable!

[john70]

very good story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Lone_Hawk]

Thank you for the new chapters! I'm really enjoying your story.

[nancy98]

Not ready to stop reading this for the day. LOL Very good work.

[Lake Lili]

Don't things always get more complicated... Thanks!

Lili

[Texican]

After a much longer stop than they had planned, Garen and Kara rolled out in search of the subdivision. One more day and they should be home.

Seems like the odds and karma will interfere with only one more day to be home....

Thanks CCG for the chapter....

Texican....

[ComCamGuy]

Garen and Kara had no difficulties finding the construction site/subdivision. It was just now being built and had yet to have any tenants, which was a big bonus. They found a way across some grass to get into the area. They didn’t want to attract any attention to their presence and, like the old nature saying, leave only footprints. Except they didn’t even want to do that. A spot towards the back was ideal, but not possible. They had to settle for one in the second row. The garage door wasn’t locked so they slid inside and pulled it shut. Once inside, they slid the crossbar, preventing it from being opened from the outside. This should give them enough warning of visitors. A quick sweep of the house showed it to be about 70% complete. The water was turned on but not the electricity. That was good all around.

A single cylume provided enough light in the garage for most of what they were going to do this evening. Kara claimed cooking duties since Garen had to clean his weapon and reset the gear. He also got the duty of pulling the fuses for the lights on both bikes. Their initial run would be in the dark of night using their night vision goggles. This would help reduce the chance of them being seen and or tracked to virtually nothing. The bikes were quiet, the bikes were also dark gray and the bags strapped onto them as well as their own clothes were a mix of earth tones. There was a quarter moon out that would provide enough illumination for their goggles to work.

Garen hadn’t paid attention to what Kara was cooking until he smelled it. It was a familiar smell, from back through time. One of the favorite meals he had during a trip to Bosnia when they were working with the Brits was a version of a Loco Moco with Spam instead of hamburger that one of the Warrant Officers kept making when they were in the field. It got him and the rest of the team hooked on it. It had enough energy and calories to carry most of the day, after you woke up from the food coma. He hadn’t thought of this version in years. She was frying up the Spam in a frying pan she had brought from the convenience store set over a couple cans of Sterno. Next to it was a thing of rice, a half carton of eggs, bottle of hot sauce, and a jar of brown gray.

The aroma set off his hunger, and his stomach answered with lots of noise and growling. Kara chuckled at hearing it. The room was quiet except for the sizzling in the pan, and an occasional metallic click or clack, so the growling sound was quite evident.

The rice and meat were dished into two plastic bowels, followed by three fried eggs with still runny yokes, topped with hot sauce, the whole thing smothered in the brown gravy. This meal would stick with them most of tomorrow. Also, by eating just before they went to sleep, they would boost their core temp as their body processed the food.

They sat and talked a little as they ate, Garen trying to keep it light, and Kara getting deep and philosophical.

Garen pointed a spoon at Kara, a serious expression on his face. “You better have brought an alarm clock, otherwise, feeding me this, we won’t be leaving till noon!”

“Don’t worry, the cell phone will take care of that. Besides, I know it might be the only way to get you some sleep after this evenings activities.”

“It’s not what I wanted to go back to.”

“I know, and I’m sorry.”

“What do you have to be sorry about? You didn’t go in and shoot the clerk.”

“I know, but if I wasn’t so focused on peeing, I might have gotten into the fray earlier and no one would have been shot. Instead, I blundered along and you had to kill two people.”

“You were where you needed to be to make sure both you and I made it out without any holes in us. Those punks were up to no good, and you said yourself they were going to do much more to Angelique than a hole in the leg.”

“Yeah, but to quote one of your recent favorite movie characters ‘I got red in my ledger’”

“Speaking of red-heads, I’m glad Allyson made it. What do you think of her?”

“I think she has skills and heart, but it will be a rough transition to make from being a cop to thinking like downrange. She would have tried to arrest those guys tonight.”

“I agree, but maybe that isn’t too bad of a thing. We don’t know how badly for how long this is going to be. It might be just a couple of months and such like Katrina or Sandy.”

“I don’t know, but I have a really bad feeling it is going to get real bad for a long time, as in recovery not possible as we know it.”

“Are you thinking 10 to 20 years like Bosnia?”

“No, I’m thinking Somalia.”

“I hope not. Let’s get back to cheerier thoughts, so what else do you think about Allyson? Do you think she is a real red-head?”

“You have a one track mind. If I didn’t know better, and that you were beyond happily married, I would think you were shopping for a girlfriend.”

“My wife knows how to use a knife far too well for me to ever think of it. Besides, it’s just one of those things. I would rather look at pretty girls than old sweaty guys, all day long, every day of the week. And you didn’t answer my question; do you think she is a real red head or bottle born?”

“Alright, I’ll play. She’s a real red head.”

“You think, or you know?”

“I know. She isn’t enough of a primp and polish to go to the extent of dyeing both ends of the ‘push-me, pull-me’ to match, her eyes and eyebrows also match up.”

“Oh really? And you know this how?”

“Locker room and showers at work. She’s built nice. She actually has curves, not like me.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. Your body is great. I know, I’ve seen it.”

“Right! The most curves I have are my biceps. Bony hips and a chest size rated like good eggs at the supermarket do not an appealing shape make. No woman in her late 30’s should have to go to the girls dept. to buy training bras because that’s the only place you can find them that fit! Hell, my nipples get hard, I double my cup size. And they aren’t that big.”

“I think you are too hard on yourself.”

“At least I have come to accept it. I’ve had a few partners try to talk me into getting a boob job. That didn’t end well. I’ve done so many things to my body and with my body trying to get people to like me or be attractive for them. That was one of the things about Christian. He loved me for me. He didn’t see me as something that needed to be modified to become liked.” At this, she seemed to fold in on herself and grow silent.

“Kara, Bekka and I have told you a thousand time, you are beautiful and need to stop looking at some imaginary template for what pretty is.”

“Yeah, a skeleton covered in scarred jerky”

“Not at all. You need to see you through our eyes, not how you think everyone sees you.” He stood up, setting aside his plate, and pulled her to her feet. Their embrace lasted until her sobs subsided. When she finally settled down, Garen sat across from her again and looked at her again across the dish in his hands.

“So, you have been checking Allyson out in the shower, huh?”

“Garen, you have a one track mind…and yes.” She blushed.

“I knew it!”

“Well what do you expect, a fiery Irish red head. Now if I could teach her to speak in that soft brogue, it would compound the catnip effect.”

“Well, she isn’t married. And she DID play softball….”

“That is a stereotype! Besides, I didn’t get any vibe or her checking me out in the locker room. Besides, I don’t know if I would feel right anymore being with someone else. After you guys came and got me, I put most of those sort of things behind me. I don’t want to backslide and become what I was after I got out.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that. You are here with us. Bekka and I will keep you squared away. I’m not saying you should capture her and turn her into your love slave. All I’m saying is you can find her attractive without feeling bad or that you are betraying anything.”

“You think you are being funny, but I did that for a while.”

“What?”

“Love Slave.”

“Really?

“Yeah, I did a lot of things, just trying to feel something again. Hell, anything again.”

“I didn’t know. I’m sorry for bringing all of this up. I was trying to just be distracting, and now we are down the rabbit hole.”

“Speaking of rabbit holes, I dressed up as a Slutty Alice in Wonderland one time”

“Now you are just messing with me.”

“Yes and no, it was before I came into the military”

“Kara, I’m sorry for all the horrible things that have happened to you, but they made you the wonderful person you are now. We should get some rest, 0200 comes early. I’ll be back down in a moment. I’ m going up to do my E.T. thing.”

“I’ll wait here.” After Garen left the room, Kara wiped her tears and dirt from her face with her ranger rag, She then cleared her mind and thought of Christian. She wanted to know what he thought. She wished she could talk with him. She already knew Garen and Bekka’s opinion but she needed to know herself. She repeated her vow in her head.

“I will be without fear in the face of my enemies

I will stand brave and upright that the Lord may love me

I will speak the truth always even if it means my death

I will protect the helpless and do no wrong”

Garen went to the second floor of the house to call Bekka on the radio, and to give Kara a chance to compose herself. On the radio, he told Bekka that they should be there by dark tomorrow. When he got back to the garage, Kara was curled in her blanket, her pack for a pillow. He covered the cylume with its wrapper except for the very end and lay down for some needed sleep.

[ComCamGuy]

Carrot. Really? She had to go with Carrot? Allyson sat there stating at her radio mic and thought about the conversation she just had with, it had to be Kara. She had no idea why Kara was ‘Faith” on the radio, and Garen was ‘Spike” what the hell. There were ways to have call signs, and they even had a list of ones at the shop they were supposed to use during the tactical exercises. Phonetic alphabet and numeric were proper. This stuff didn’t make much sense but she would hold off on that conversation until later.

The part she didn’t want to think on was why it disturbed her so much. Growing up, everywhere in school, she was known as ‘the red head’, which was unfair since there were four girls and one guy with red hair in her school. Hers was just the brightest. And she had skin the color of notebook paper. And she had eyes the color of new mown grass. She might has well have worn a bowler hat and whined about them always wanting her lucky charms. As she got older, she spent so much time outside, first with sports, then with the job, she developed a bit of a tan. Ok, ‘tan’ is an enthusiastic overestimation, she was no longer translucent. At least she wasn’t in school when Disney released ‘Brave”. That would have been a nonstop festival of craptastic torment. On the plus side, ‘Merida’s eyes were blue where hers were green.

She shook herself from the path her brain was going down. She had things to do. She looked at her positioning, and her cover and concealment. Tomorrow she might have to move to get a better spot but this should be good for now. This was only her second night here. She debated setting up the rooftop tent but decided against it. Instead, she reclined the front seat as far as it would go, cracked a window some to let in some air and sound, and, using her jacket from the back seat as a pillow, settled in for a nap. Her plate carrier was in the seat next to her, just in case she needed it. She also made sure her feet were on the floorboards, below the brake pedal so she didn’t accidently activate the brake lights. She would reevaluate things in the morning.

[Texican]

CCG,

Thanks for the chapter....

Tomorrow is a new day, unless you do not wake up....

Texican....