If I don't keep this note short, it'll be longer than the chapter is... but I really appreciate your kind words and reviews, guys.
50
The GDF Tower hospital, VIP guest suite-
For some reason, Kayo couldn't sleep. Heart, brain and body were buzzing with energy, as though she'd bitten down on one amazingly potent, high-voltage life wire. Round and round, it all went in her head, as Tanusha washed up and got ready for bed.
Wide awake, she peered at herself in the bathroom mirror, trying to see what she looked like to Wayne. But really, how do you judge yourself? Green eyes, wet black hair, a good figure (sucked in her gut, pushed her breasts up a little by squeezing both arms against her sides, stood on tiptoe, to make her butt bigger). There was a nice smile, too, when she cared to unleash it.
Was that what he saw? Was that what he wanted? Did the rest matter? Because there was more than just body and face. She could cook, too, a little… but much preferred hammering bad guys. Wayne wasn't as strong as her brothers. Would it bother him at all, that she nearly was? Ought she to hide that? Pretend to be weaker?
Staring hard at her own baffled, grumpy reflection, Kay muttered,
"Will you ever respect yourself, if all he wants is a clinger, and you give it to him? Or… maybe just let him get to know the real you, and find this stuff out a bit at a time? Maybe he'll fall in love, and…"
…and maybe she was a besotted mooncalf; one who needed a long walk to clear her head (and possibly catch him coming back from drinks with Gordon). Either way, there was no sleep in Tanusha Kyrano-Tracy, that night.
Leaving the bathroom, she yanked on jean shorts and a flowered tank top. Might've sprayed a little perfume, even… just in case.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Not far enough away-
For some reason, Kat Cavanaugh did not just stomp out of the building to go write a scathing tell-all. The Tracys: Secrets and Lies, would have gotten huge ratings, she was dead certain.
Only, beneath her basic lust to bed a Tracy, lay her knowledge that these people were just plain good. All of them. That, whatever they hid, didn't amount to nearly as much as all that they did. Plus, there was always drugged beer. Wouldn't be the first time she'd used that little trick, to get a story.
In any case, seated in the mostly deserted general waiting room, Kat shut off her tablet, cased it again, and stood up. She'd already downed what felt like a hundred gallons of tea, and was far too restless for TV or reading. A walk, now… that would be just the thing. Pacing the hospital corridors, she could think, plan her story, and decide what the h*ll to do next.
XXXXXXXXXX
A few floors away-
For some reason, Captain Rigby woke up feeling good. Relaxed. At peace with the world. His chest hurt, but he felt warm and comfortable. Almost went back to sleep, again, but… Why did his chest hurt? Self-aid and buddy care said you didn't ignore warning signs, no matter how much you wanted to just roll over and snooze. Gordon… where was he? In here, napping, too?
Somehow, Rigby got himself up on one elbow. Saw the thing… metal, blinking… on his chest. Saw blood, and his breath misting white in the air. Rammed a thought through: Bomb. Then: Freezing to death. Wanted not to care, thinking: So, what? Tired.
Gordon was what. Kay's brother. They'd been talking… drinks… then darkness and sudden shock. Kid was probably in trouble. Kay. Her brother. She'd left… left her brother with him. Responsible. Find him.
He forced himself to a seated position. Saw that he was lying in a big, dim freezer. Saw the others… the staff, but not Gordon. It was almost too cold to move. Limbs didn't want to obey. Made them do it, anyway. Got up, walked… couple steps at a time.
Door was locked, but not pushed to. Was blocked by something, outside. Whatever… it was… hadn't been pushed in very tight. Almost like… wanted him able to… to get out. Rigby got his shoulder up against that cold metal door. Bomb was drilled in, somehow; hurt like nobody's business. Like fire, and stuff grinding that shouldn't be.
Stop whining, Marine, and push, he ordered himself, watching his breath fog up and shrink on the door. Somebody behind him was crying, then throwing up. Typical Marine Corps party… Get plastered, wake up in a freezer with ordnance on your chest, all your friends puking their guts out around you. Wished he had that Mars suit, now… the extra strong one…
Push, dammit!
The door moved. Just a little. Then, a little bit more. Something outside scraped against the tile floor like rattle-screech-bang. Door swung open. Rigby stood there, swaying in the cold-fog. Laughed, too, because, for some reason, 'BOOM' was hella funny, when you'd been tranked, and had a bomb on your chest. Almost fell over, then waved weakly at the freezer guys.
"C'mon… outta there. On your feet. Move."
Had to get them out, get them to safety, then pull fire alarm and find… heh… somewhere to blow up in peace. In pieces. BOOM.
XXXXXXXXXX
Twelve minutes later-
Afterward, no one was sure who met who first, because everything happened so fast. Kayo, looking for Wayne, Kat, looking for Gordon, Rigby, pulling the fire alarm… all of them met on the hospital's first floor, in a tide of fleeing people and rushing emergency crews.
Turned out to be a good thing that Kayo wasn't just strong. That she was also a dab hand at defusing bombs. Really brought a couple together, disarming explosives on a punch-drunk, half-frozen Marine, as he tried to steal kisses. She might have let him have a few, too. At least, that's what the pictures showed.
