Page 20 of Seamus: Unconventional
He chuffs and lays his head on my leg. I keep my hand scratching his head. It’s a good day, we got what Alder needs and water will be clean before anyone dies…I hope. It’s better than never having known and millions getting sick or dead. That’s the difference in military and here. We live here, it’s not just a job but our home, our people.
The chuff gets me scratching faster. “Good job, Brothers.” I say again.
***
Honor Club
Sitting in the cafeteria, I smile at the ‘K-9 table’ that’s more like a thin bar with a long bench behind it between the wall and the Officer table. My partners are happy enough to sit there watching over me like we’re in the Middle East and I’m wearing a big red target sandwich board.
Red flags come flying at me from the chip making me look up and laugh at Light, Ranger, Max and Izzy. Shadow dropped me like a hot potato as soon as we set down here. “Lording over me doesn’t work for me. I’m never putting in a K-9 bar.” At least not one where their bench is higher than my seat.
The haughty huff comes from Light. He hates the dog reference too but they’re dogs and the bar puts them lording over me. I don’t like it, I like when we’re all at the same height. Mase sits with Asa who is doing the Bit run before hopping into his chair. I’m always amazed at the timing they lift the chair as their ass hits the seat. It’s like it’s choreographed.
Mase shakes his head at me. “We did that one already. It’s weird but it is what it is.”
“It is. Good Op?” He was out earlier but Seth didn’t say where.
“Yeah.” He holds his fingers up for the Prospect so I nod.
I order what he does so I’m out of here in minutes. “Fairy said the boys are having lunch at school.” I wanted to take them out but she said it’s important.
“It’s a test day but lunch is cooking and community. The kids plan, shop, cook and serve lunch. Adults show for the practice but only teachers for the test.”
The school here is different than what I went to but they have good lessons in there. We had international day that I got to make an American meal and serve it but I never got tested on it. It’s a good thing I didn’t because a few times the American meal was shit. I did a fish taco that no one would touch because of the fish stench and the Coney Island sauce for hotdogs was so greasy, it turned even my stomach. Lard should have been measured as a liquid. Now I know and my Coney Island sauce is not only edible but the workers on the farm raved about it. They showed me fish tacos but they didn’t really taste like fish. The texture felt wrong and my partners didn’t care for it so we didn’t repeat that one.
Mase elbows me. “You like to cook?” His seer thing never stops.
“Yeah. We didn’t cook on base. The farm was fun and the cook got me hooked up with American recipes. She made me a conversion chart and we had three days a week of cooking like here. Everyone ate together but the best days were when we all cooked together.”
His smile is infectious. “For us too. We grew up cooking and eating together. I’m Control for your next job. What happened?”
I shrug. “Whoever was on was chattering and laughing. It was weird. I think Pres stopped it.”
He nods. “He said the Control was sent to the Phoenix pool for retraining. It was from the new MC Club in Oklahoma. It’s supposed to be new BSC but Brekan said today the Pres was being challenged. Marks took the Ops room over but Cort suspended BSC Ops from there. He’s pissed so he may show here.”
I roll my eyes, moving for the Prospect. “Great.”
He laughs taking a bite of his half sandwich. I like this one and send it to Light so we can get the recipe to make it at home. He barks once surprising me and everyone in the dining room.
Looking around, then at my partner, I laugh. “You ordered what we got. Get the recipe in the chef and we’ll make it at home.”
A softer bark comes out getting a laugh from the next table.
“I like it with steak,” a Flight Brother two tables over says opening the topic up for everyone in the big Club dining room.
All the tables start giving favorites to Light. I shake my head and eat.
Walking out, I’m not sure where to go so I ask Mase. “The next Op?” If Light knew, I’d have it already.
He smiles and I’m not sure I like this one. “Cort sent MB on the one from the list. You’re going to Oklahoma with a full team of K-9s and two handlers. Zeus is Lead for the other team with is own objectives. I’m not his control, I’m yours. IT leaked the K-9 Op and Cort wants it shut down. Your team is assembling at the Club chopper pads.”
Fuckin’ great. Shut down the spread of K-9 partner gossip. As an objective, it sucks but we’ve had worse. Okay, we got this. With it settled in my head, I give him a nod.
“It’s more than that. I need to get to Ops but I’ll get a better objective. Right now, Cort is pissed so it’s changed twice already. Justice just set down in Phoenix with Mag. We’ll get something concrete soon.”
I smile. “Before we leave or land?”
He laughs pushing me toward the back. “Yeah. Go act like we know what we’re doing today.”
