| From: | Paul J. Adam ShadowTK@********.demon.co.uk |
|---|---|
| Subject: | A Friend At Your Side |
| Date: | Mon, 27 Nov 2000 22:47:25 +0000 |
>>>>>[The folks you care about will still hide you. Got to be good news.
+++++begin video
The cameraman is looking back at a stretch of highway, with an ancient
jet parked at one end: its drag 'chute half-collapsed, the breeze
tugging at the orange nylon.
The aircraft is tiny, delta-winged, single-engined, sitting on long,
spindly landing gear: a century-old Douglas Skyhawk, lovingly restored
to flying condition. The setting sun lights it with a horizontal,
golden, light.
"She made it all the way, huh?" the white-swathed figure beside him
asks.
"Yep. Hell of a shakedown flight, and a risk... but Ernang's petty
enough to trash her for spite."
Easy looks at Lynch, amused. "And if it were something more modern...?"
"It would be replaceable, repairable, expendable, insurable. A Skyhawk's
rare, though. I still need that lower wing skin before she's fully
cleared, but she held together for a ferry flight... but there aren't
enough A-4s left in the world to waste a flyable example on a
megalomaniac's ambition."
"We'll hide her and keep her safe. The rest... is up to you."
"Good. How about our shipment?"
"Routine." Easy shrugs. "Unusual destination, but there's nothing else
difficult about it. It's on the way. Is La Dona going to be able to get
back into town, after all this?"
"She's got some bases covered, apparently." Lynch and Easy resume their
walk back towards the ranch house, which is set on a hillside amidst
rocky, rolling grassland. Several horses watch them curiously from over
the fence. "Luigi Bartolo's minding the store for her."
"Fair enough." Easy doesn't seem too concerned either way, but that's
normal for her... in fact, even a casual enquiry's unusual for the cold-
hearted samurai. "Busy day for you. When are you leaving again?"
"Tomorrow, late morning."
"Good. Mani picked a horse he thought you'd like, he wanted a chance to
introduce you before you left."
"He takes his hospitality seriously, doesn't he?" Lynch asks.
"He's a Sufi and a Muslim, plus you're his friend and my friend.
Besides, you'd do the same for him, wouldn't you?"
Lynch might be smiling, as they reach the house. "You know, that pronoun
still gives me trouble-"
"Shh. It fits and it works. Mani's male in all the ways that matter to
you. The rest is between him and me." Easy unwinds the white cloth from
around her head once she's indoors, revealing her exquisite features and
platinum-blonde hair. "One question for you. Has Quicksilver surfaced
anywhere?"
Lynch shakes his head, then pauses. "One possible. Juli Hart picked up
on an assassination. Your buddy Morant? Sounded liked Quicksilver was
the sniper who took him out. Tentative, but it fits."
Easy nods, thoughtful. "So she's... he's... it's... still alive."
"I hope that's good news?"
The Elven samurai nods again. "I owe her a lot. So does Mani. Seren
caused... one hell of a complication, but she solved a lot more problems
than she caused. If you ever get the chance, tell her where we are, let
her know she's welcome any time, either for a social call or for a place
to hide." Easy sounds as if she means it. "Tell her... tell her she made
things better this time. I think that would matter, to her."
"I doubt I'll get within a quarter-mile of Quicksilver, but if I get a
chance I'll pass the message. Speaking of which, any problems from your
past troubling you?" Lynch asks.
"Nope. I've managed to retire safely." Easy starts to set up the coffee
machine. "Now I'm a legitimate absentee businesswoman and a low-profile
arms dealer, neither of which put me at risk. Retired at twenty or so.
Pretty damn good, huh?"
"If you like that sort of thing, sure."
"Yeah, well, you're a psycho adrenalin junkie and you _like_ where you
are. I spent the last six years trying to get up and out and I made it.
Every so often I'll have to go kill some scumbags in the Barrens to
protect my investments, but for now I can relax, kick back and just stay
_near_ the edge rather than fight to stay on it. I made my money, now
I'm just protecting it."
Lynch ponders that assessment, nods. "Fair enough."
+++++end video
I didn't have the heart to tell her I _don't_ like where I am. Full
Colonel, transferred to the Regulars, officially on Ernang's staff...
that screws me up big-time in all sorts of ways. I want to be a Reserve
major, or better yet a Reserve lieutenant, again, so I can just fly and
fight and fix shit that's broke in the UCAS.
Oh, well, what the hell, we'll burn those bridges when we get to them.
Anyway, she and Mani are fine, their arms-smuggling business is good and
their horse-breeding better, and Mani turned out to have picked me a
mild-mannered palomino gelding with a sense of humour who took to me at
once.
Mani asked me for a name. I said "Horse". What else do you call a horse?
Mani thought that was hilarious, but then he probably knows what Horse
calls himself. Mani's got a gift with anything equine - horses that try
to kick me to death on sight, go all placid and docile and affectionate
when Mani appears. He says it's a family thing.
Check your history, and her - his - people came from somewhere in what's
now Mongolia and just kept riding west until they found somewhere they
liked, killing everyone who got in their way until they got there... it
fits pretty well.
Whatever... Mani's a friend and Easy and I go back a ways.
One question that bugs me... what do I do with Minnie once this is over?
Mani and Easy are based in Aztlan, I can legitimately ignore them now.
I guess, I treat her like she is. An organised-crime boss who's
demonstrated a willingness to co-operate with the UCAS on major issues
and requests a certain tolerance on day-to-day matters. If she causes
trouble she gets trouble, otherwise we concentrate on _real_ problems.
Fuck it, I'm a colonel, I'm third-in-command of the FRAG, I can do that
if I want to, can't I?
I hate this job. The sooner I get out and get back to Reserve OPFOR and
shadow work, the better.]<<<<<
-- Colonel Jason R W Lynch <22:45:32/11-27-61>
UCAS Marine Corps
