JTF Base of Operations
Barracks
The next morning
"Ugh. My head." Kelly groans, trying to push herself out of bed.
"Pff. Lightweight." Sarah replies snarkily, pulling on a pair of cargo shorts. Doing so reveals her somewhat embarrassingly pale legs that, like her arms, are mostly covered with tattoos. The left has pin-up girls from the '40s and '60s, wearing military uniforms, doing salute winky faces and whatnot. While her right has a bandolier of bullets going all the way down to her ankle, starting around her waist. Personally, I think she should wear shorts more often, especially outside, but my insistence usually has little success.
"Am not!" The tired, hungover guardsman replies, throwing her bundled up BDU blouse at Sarah, surprisingly scoring a hit and landing it on her head.
"It's only seven percent." My partner replies, pulling the blouse off and tossing it back. "And you only had three...fairly large coffee mugs of it."
"At your insistence." Kelly fires back. "For 'initiation purposes'. Yeah right." She finally sits up all the way and begins dressing, albeit slowly.
"Don't tell me this is your first hangover, Kelly." I comment, earning a quizzical look from her.
"My first in general? Of course not. My first from wine? Yes."
"What's the difference?"
"Oh, there's a difference." Sarah pipes up. "For wine, it takes less and hits harder."
Kelly pauses for a moment and rubs her temples.
"It lasts longer, too." She continues. "Especially on hot...humid...days."
Our guardsman friend rests her sore head in her hands, plugging her ears with her thumbs.
"Stop it, Sarah." I say with a laugh. "I think she's suffered enough."
My partner frowns mockingly, finishing dressing and sitting down next to me. Together, we watch Kelly carefully finish her morning routine, trying not to move too fast and inflict further pain on her throbbing head. She slowly hobbles past towards the mess hall, likely for water or coffee. Or both.
"We're terrible friends." I say.
"Yep." Sarah replies with a big grin. "And she loves us for it."
Meanwhile
The Ellipse
"Is everything okay, Miller?" Upton asks for likely the third time of the hour. Him, Finnigan and myself had been selected for a morning patrol. Leaving the scene of the Hyena Turkey Shoot, we begin making laps around the Ellipse.
"Yes." I say once again, not looking at either of them. Further ahead in the motor pool, a couple of mechanics work on Sarah's truck, it being the more battered of the two only civilian vehicles. The broken windows, being nearly all of them, have been removed and one of the mechanics is trying to bend the hood back into shape. Sarah hit that Hyena like a ton of bricks, and Finnigan and I were nearly thrown out of the back when she ran her over.
"I'm not so sure about that, buddy." The squadmate in question says. "You seem to be showing...more emotion than usual, which is an odd thing to say about a person."
"How do you mean?" Upton asks.
I close my eyes and let out an exasperated sigh.
"Our Miller has found himself a lady friend." Finnigan says.
"You'll shut your mouth if you know what's good for you." I mutter through gritted teeth.
"I think he has the hots for Lazka." My idiot friend continues, ignoring me. "The one we were talking to at the door yesterday?"
Upton nods, stepping around a large, water-filled pothole.
"Well guess who came up to the roof while we were on watch? Toting beer and friendly conversation, no less."
"Tyler." I say sternly. "Enough."
"Oh come on, Ant." Upton says. "What's the harm in it?"
"I could think of several 'harms' in it." I let my rifle hang from it's sling and begin counting on my fingers. "Even if we do hit it off, and that's a big if, it'll be a huge distraction. We're from completely different parts of the country, and long distance stuff almost never works out. Other than enjoying silence, looking at the night sky, and both enduring massive amounts of loss and suffering, we have nothing in common. And the biggest one, fraternization."
"That last one is total B.S., bro. And you know it." Finnigan says. "What's Manny going to do? Put you both in time-out? And look at Jay and Sarah. They've been going at it since all that shit with Keener ended, and they seem fine."
"I don't know, Ty." I say, finally caving in. "I mean, she's great to talk to. She actually listens, unlike you two assholes."
"Hey!" Derek says in mock offense.
"She's not bad on the eyes, either." Tyler Finnigan continues my sentence. "At least better than we're used to. Other than Kelly, of course."
"Sure, but I mean, we just met her." I say.
"That's why you take it slow." Upton points out. "Treat it like your first girl, unless that ended in disaster. In which case don't."
I pick a pebble up off the ground and throw it at him.
"Rebecca was a lunatic, anyway." I grumble, shaking my head. Finnigan nods in agreement, being present for many of the rather interesting meet-ups of ours. "And this isn't a high school fling."
"Well," My childhood friend says supportively. "I'm sure there's something you can do." He pauses for a moment. "In fact, I already have an idea."
"Oh boy. Here we go." Derek mutters.
"The beers she brought? Replace them with something. A new gun, a new pair of boots, even more beer if you can't find anything else. Just be like 'Here. Thanks for the beer and conversation last night.' or some shit like that."
"Wow." Derek says after a moment. "That's actually a pretty good idea."
"Let's head back and poke through the stuff those Hyenas dropped." Finnigan says. "I think I know just the thing."
JTF Base of Operations
Mess Hall
"So how was your night, Laz?" Mikayla Garvey asks as we work through a small mountain of dishes in the kitchen. She's the closest thing I've had to a best friend in a very long time. Since arriving in D.C., we've learned just about everything there is to know about each other. While she wasn't present at the Roosevelt Island Breakout or the events in Foggy Bottom, she has done her best to help get over the horrible things I saw, and that I was forced to do.
"Quiet, for once." I reply, passing her a large soup pot filled with soapy water. "Hung out on the roof with Finnigan 'n Miller. Two of the new guys in from New York."
"I don't think I've met them yet."
"You'd know if ya did. They ain't as beaten down as we are."
"How did that go?"
"It was peaceful. Talked to Miller for the better part of two hours. Him 'n Finny are close as kin. They grew up in Jersey together."
Mick sets down a skillet on the drying rack. "That's it? Just conversation?" She always was the nosy type, soaking in every detail like a person-sized sponge.
"There may have been some beer involved." I say with a shrug.
"Well that answers that question." She says after a moment.
"I s'pose it does."
"So which of them do you like most?"
"That ain't exactly what I was thinkin' about at the time." I raise an eyebrow at her. "But I guess Miller now that you mention it."
"What about him?"
"He's...quiet. Not like that loud-mouth dope he calls a friend." I answer with a chuckle. "Most of the time we just...looked at the stars."
"Awww-" My friend's cooing is cut off by a handful of water to the face.
"Why do you always go there?" I ask with slight annoyance.
"Because that's adorable! Do you like him? Do you think he likes you?"
"Calm down, Mick." I hold up a sud-covered hand to silence her. "And Hell, I don't know. I just met the poor guy. Give him a minute to settle in, will ya?"
"Oh, alright." My friend replies after catching her breath. "But he sounds cute. Don't let him get too far away."
I simply roll my eyes and shake my head.
"As if."
JTF Base of Operations
War Room
"It's up to you, Faye." Says Manny, hovering over his map of D.C. "The True Sons, Outcasts and Hyenas have been mostly pushed back to their respective Strongholds and larger Control Points.
"Who's the biggest threat right now?" My partner asks, rearing for a fight as usual.
"The Hyenas are harassing the Theater Settlement as well as the surrounding Control Points, killing a handful of Militia members with each raid. The True Sons have been targeting supply groups and field technicians. Some even go so far as hijacking JTF loudspeakers to broadcast their own propaganda. The Outcasts are still engaging everyone they see with fire bombings and biological warfare. Many of their members are infected with the virus and use it as a weapon."
"Each appears to be just as dangerous as the last." Roxwell observes. "I would normally spring for a mass offensive, wiping out everyone at once, but I think this requires a systematic approach."
"The True Sons easily have the best defended Stronghold." Says Alani. "They've turned the Capitol Building into a fortress. Mortars, auto-turrets, anti-air...you name it, they probably have it."
"We'll take them last." Faye says after a moment of thought. "All hands on deck. As for the others…the safety of the civilians comes first."
She studies the map carefully, bouncing back and forth between the District Union Arena and Roosevelt Island and weighing the pros and cons of each approach.
"If our Militia isn't distracted by raids, they can better defend themselves from bio-attack." She says finally. "The Hyenas die first."
"Very well." Manny says. "Assemble your team, and head out. Our recent operations already have the Hyenas spooked. We've got word that The Council will be holding a meeting today. Taking down their leadership will cripple them. Sheriff, Knight and Rocket have missions of their own to deal with," He shoots a glance at each respective Agent, who all nod. "but at least one of them should be able to help if you get bogged down. Just give the word."
With a curt nod, Faye and I leave the room to find Kelly, Jay and Sarah.