Raw Deal

by Bella Knight

  "Uh-oh," said Callie and Ivy simultaneously.

  "Grace is brilliant, but Hu has a quicker mind. We need to find something Grace excels at and let her go..."

  "Off the deep end, completely crazy with it. Something that's all hers," said Callie. "I was just thinking about that."

  "Are you saying Grace is stupid?" said Lily. "Because she's not."

  "No, Bao's right. Hu is far more intuitive than Grace. Grace is like her mama, bulling her way through things. An admirable quality, but she doesn't always stop long enough to make intuitive leaps."

  "Well, that's hilarious," said Bella. "Your bio-daughter is like her other mom, and your shared daughter is like you."

  Bao laughed. "Hu has her father's quickness. He was so kind, so gentle. Hu has his heart."

  "Okay, she's not even my kid, and even I want to cry," said Lily.

  Four different pizzas showed up --pesto margarita, sausage with bacon and black olives, a veggie pizza, and gorgonzola almond pizza, drizzled with honey. They fell on the pizza like animals.

  "No crying," said Ivy, when she came up for air. "I must admit, Bruiser's proposal was epic."

  Ghost said, "She marryin' a guy named Bruiser?"

  Killa punched her arm. "Skinny Italian dude at da clubhouse. If I was straight, I'd bang him."

  Callie's jaw dropped. Ivy laughed. Ghost smiled. Lily stared. Bao turned red. Katya laughed. "Awkward," said Bella.

  "You know it," said Inola. "I admit, he's got that something-something. But, my lady is all I need."

  Callie sighed. "Quit making me cry."

  "Can't," said Bella. "I'm knocked up, too."

  Ivy knocked over her water glass. Callie half-rose out of her chair, and was quick with a napkin. She had the glass righted and flagged down a server before Bao, Ghost and Killa could get their jaws off the ground.

  "Who be da fatha?" asked Ghost.

  "Nantan," said Bella.

  "Don't they have enough kids?" asked Ivy. "Sorry, foot in mouth. It's just that, the Wolfpack is growing exponentially, as well as Tam and Nico, and now Josh and Nick."

  "And they're considering adopting them," said Inola. "Their mom is a mess. Can't take care of them. They already have guardianship. Not her fault, too much going on. But, it would keep them tribal, keep Social Services from sniffing around. This baby is for me and Bella."

  "Congratulations," said Callie, as the server cleaned up the water and ice, and brought a new glass over. She got up, went over, and hugged Bella, then Inola. "You're going to have so much fun! And, you're avoiding a summer pregnancy. When it's so hot outside you can cook an egg on the sidewalk, it's a pain to be hugely pregnant."

  "That's why I got knocked up now," said Killa. "Get it out o' da way."

  "When are you having your own?" asked Bao.

  "Not yet," said Ghost. "We so busy we need dem clones. We each got two o' da Soldier Pack. Two on graves, two on swing, two on days. Dey got projects coming outta dere ears. We done added a second floor, even got da elevator for da completed bikes. Turns out dere’s an elevator maker for da bikes dat Harley uses. Bit into our profits sometin' awful, but dem women, dey worth it. Got da PTSD, be havin' da sleep problems, some o' dem jumpy as hell. Once dey get used to da noise, den dey good. Dey too tired from da no sleep, we send dem to da gym, den home."

  "Do you have problems with them fighting with one another?" asked Bella.

  "Nope, we got da rules. No throwin' shade or throwin' down. We work togetha, or haul your fat ass outta dere," said Killa. "Bonnie an' her wrench done got rid o' two fights. She said, ‘you done seen enough fightin' in ya lives. Why bring it back wit’ ya?’"

  "I love Bonnie," said Ivy. "She don't take crap from anyone."

  "Neither do you," said Bao. "I am surprised you are not a Valkyrie."

  "I love them more than life itself," said Ivy. "But, I had an exciting life in the past, for a reason. I'd do anything for Damia. But, I've worked like a dog to put that life behind me, and I don't need excitement in my life anymore. Running the Nighthawks with Henry; with Gregory and Tito as our seconds, it's excitement enough. Confusing, demanding. We got about half the soldier pack, which is more than I thought, a lot more. I thought they'd go for the Valkyries or the Iron Knights, but some of them really do just want a peaceful life. Riding a bike is a great way to de-stress."

  "Word," said Lily. "I've got so many clients, I've hired another CPA and kept the Nighthawks ones. And I hit exhausted so far back that I'm into falling asleep on the floor. I’m serious. I've put them down for a nap, and just stretched out on the rug and slept."

  "I've done that," said Ivy.

  "I stare at the refrigerator and have no idea why I got up," said Bella.

  "I had to become so organized so I remember if I fed the kids or not," said Callie.

  "I have gotten them to sleep, and threatened to kill anyone who woke them," said Ivy.

  "Me too," said Katya. "Gregory is so good, but I have considered killing him. He takes Elena to so many soccer games that she sleeps well. He is coach for her team," she said proudly. "But they are so loud coming in! I have left the house with two screaming babies in anger so I did not kill my precious husband and daughter."

  "I almost killed Grace about a dozen times. No, two dozen," said Callie. "So, I made her carry the screaming babies, one after the other, then she woke up, for hours. Changing them, feeding them. That only worked after they stopped nursing after they bit me. So, now she's a mouse."

  "Good idea," said Katya. "I will try it. Especially since I am having another baby."

  Callie reached out and held onto Ivy's water glass as she threatened to knock it over. Lily was dumbfounded. "You had a baby in a Wal-Mart bathroom for me, and now you're having another one?"

  "They are a firefighter couple, both very strong," said Katya. "Mother is Russian, like me. But, no baby. So, I have baby for them. Then, I stop. Gregory says no more, I need a rest."

  "That's wonderful," said Lily. "But, I agree. You need a rest. Luka and Ivan are wonderful, but they must be exhausting!"

  "And there's my little darling now," said Katya, as the baby started to cry. "Ivan is wet and hungry." She pulled over the twin stroller, changed him, and got him his bottle. "Such a big, fat boy. He is so healthy."

  "Gimme," said Lily. She took Ivan, and he stared at her with huge blue eyes.

  "And is the way it always goes," said Katya, as Luka began to squall. She changed his diaper, and Ivy took him. She fed him and sang Daughters, even though they were boys.

  Both boys took to their bottles, and the other babies awoke and were changed, passed around, and fed. The server took away the detritus of the pizzas, and came around with key lime pie, chocolate silk pie, and cherry cheesecake in little squares for each woman at the table.

  "The manager says to keep you coming back," she said. "Moms come here when they know you're going to be here."

  Other babies had stopped crying, and mothers moved closer. Ivy smiled, and went into the ancient round, Rose, about a man wanting to propose marriage to a woman. Bella came in as well, then Callie, then Lily. The glasses stopped clinking; the silverware was put down. The round came to an end, and absolute silence reigned. Then, there was muted applause. Ivy smiled, and they all dug into their desserts.

  Meanwhile, the men were having a cookout. They had the “Pixies,” the younger girls. They were doing very complex string art, making a desert scene. They passed the strings to each other, weaving over and under, and winding the colored string around nails all around the edge. Damia was fascinated. She'd done hook rugs. She grasped the pattern, and was careful not to make any mistakes. They invited the Soldier Pack, who were quite willing to help marinate and grill the steaks, hamburgers, chicken, and corn. They relaxed with sodas, because they didn't want to get drunk around the little ones, and half of them were on medications for PTSD and various other medical conditions that prevented them from drinking. They played rock and kept an eye on the girls. Gregory was deligh
ted to see how the soldiers seemed to take turns in keeping an eye on the girls without actually saying who had which watch. The laughter was loud and long. Bess, the dog, ran all over the place receiving love, but then she always walked back to the girls to check on them.

  "That is the best dog in the world," said David.

  "Always," said Henry.

  Gregory brought Bannon, his boss at the security company. Like Gregory and most of the people there, he was ex-military. "Recruiting?" asked Gregory, at the avaricious look in the man's eye.

  "Most of it is a rock band needing to keep from being mobbed by fans, visiting VIPs, or stuff like that. Things these highly trained people could do in their sleep. We can set up training programs for the specifics," said Bannon.

  "Well," said Gregory. "Something else to put on my plate for me to do in my copious free time."

  Bannon snorted. "We need the best. These people are the best."

  "Some of our clients are going to turn up their noses at people with artificial hands or legs." Gregory wanted to be honest.

  "Some of our clients are assholes. What else is new?" Bannon took a sip of his drink. "With a little training, these people can do this. Not all of them, maybe just some of them. They may prefer working on bikes."

  "Or want to do both. A lot of this is part time or short term," said Gregory.

  "Let's mingle, and see what we can find out," said Bannon. So, they did.

  Gregory got good feelings from two of the women and one of the men. He mentioned a possible training program, passed out his card and more colas, and moved on.

  He came to a young man whose hands were just beat up. One had a splint. He was sitting in a canvas chair, a cola in the drink hole, and was using a small cooler to rest his feet, his good one, and his blade. He was staring into space, and looked utterly lost.

  Gregory pulled up a camp chair, and sat down next to him. "What's your name, soldier?" he asked.

  "Corporal Mike Simms, Sir," said Mike.

  "I'm Gunnery Sergeant Gregory Neil James, out of the First, Camp Lejune."

  "Gunny," said Mike. They shook hands.

  "What seems to be the problem, son?" he asked.

  "Lost my leg, my best friend, and my boss," he said. "All in the same two seconds. IED."

  "Sorry to hear that, son," said Gregory. "Then you got sent home. Then what?"

  "Alabama happened, Sir. Couldn't get the fucking VA to give me more than a stick with a heavy wooden foot on it that rubbed me raw. The people here, this program, they got me the blade, Gunny. Then my wife got pregnant with some other guy. So, we divorced. She came back around crying when he left her, 'cause she cheated with someone else. I told her to take a hike. I tried to get a job, applied for everything I could. Was on a waiting list for this program in Texas 'bout eighteen months. Then, these people called, said they were setting up a sister program in Vegas, was I interested? I said, ‘hell, yeah.’ They sent me a bus ticket, and I hitchhiked to the bus terminal. Some asshole stole my wallet on the way here, so I had no ID, no money, nothing. The people here fed me, got me all my IDs back. Helped me. But," his eyes teared up, "working on bikes is precision works, and I ain't a precision guy. I'm just basically a guy that points a weapon and shoots it. I ain't interested in doing that no more. You see faces blown off, it loses its cool, ya know, Gunny?"

  "Yeah, son, I know," said Gregory.

  "I done hurt myself three times, and half-destroyed a custom paint job. I just ain't no good at this."

  "Son, what makes you think that's the only program we got?"

  Gregory almost cried as Mike got a spark in his eyes, the first one he'd probably had in years. "What? I know you've been talking to people about a training program for a security company, and I'm sorry, Gunny, that's not my thing, not anymore."

  "That's not the only mission here," said Gregory. "They raise horses and ponies here that have been rescued. They come here half-dead, and Inola saves them."

  "I could try it," said Mike.

  "We got teenagers here, getting their GED. You've had to have gotten through high school to get into the military."

  "I'll teach what I can, but others can do the book thing better than me. I've got dyslexia. Words move around a lot when I read."

  "We can help you with that. But, there's one more mission here. There's people in New Jersey, gave us a discount to start us out. They're doing a project to feed the world. You ever hear of hydroponics?"

  "Growing plants in water," said Mike. "I'm country, but I ain't stupid."

  "I know," said Gregory.

  "Sorry, Gunny," said Mike. "No one here treated me like that, but back in Alabama... they think no foot means no brain."

  Gregory winced. "And vertical farming?"

  "Farming up instead of out. Makes more sense. Land is scarce in lots of places. So's water."

  "What this place does, is it uses ninety percent less water. Anyway, since they were Paiutes, this place in Jersey knocked some off the price. Nantan's done so well that other reservations are doing it, and it's spreading. Best way to grow food in the desert, and some real cold places too, and places that could get flooded. Start on the second floor, work your way up."

  "Hurricanes," said Mike. "My uncle lost his house in Katrina. Then we had that mess with three category fives in just a few weeks."

  "That was a mess," said Gregory. "That's another mission, Project Rubicon. Goes in and cleans up, rebuilds after disasters."

  "Like to do that one, too," said Mike. "So, you think I can grow things? Learn here, and do it somewhere else?"

  "Someplace hungry," said Gregory. He stood. "Wanna see?"

  "Yeah," said Mike. He stood, slowly, too stubborn to allow Gregory to help him up. Gregory gestured to Nantan, and they walked toward the hydroponics farm.

  "This soldier here wants to work on the food mission," said Gregory.

  "Let's talk about what's involved," said Nantan.

  They went to the hydroponics bay, and did the entire tour. Mike's questions were insightful, from the LED lights to the program to cut up and box the veggies and make sandwiches.

  "I wanna do this," said Mike. "We gave half our rations some days to the kids, even though some of their parents used them to blow us up." Nantan schooled his face, but Gregory saw the internal cringe, clear as day.

  "Do you want to stay in your apartment, or move to the big house? We have one room left."

  "Better give my billet to the next soldier," said Mike. "Get that waiting list cleared off. No one should have to wait eighteen months."

  "Let's go get your stuff," said Gregory, clapping Mike on the back. "After we eat."

  "Eating is good," said Mike.

  "Watch out, you'll get fat here," said Nantan. "We grow healthy food, but Vi's cooking is so good we eat too much."

  "What about power?" asked Mike, as Nantan turned off the overhead lights, bathing the plants in their colorful LED glow.

  "Low, with the LEDs," said Nantan. "We've got wind turbines and solar, but the five-hour-energy-drink guy's working on it --Manoj Bhargava, that's his name --he's working on desalinization plants to turn dirty or seawater back into clean water, and a way to ride a bike for an hour and run electricity for an entire day."

  "People power. I like it," said Mike. "Can we install one here?"

  "Don't see why not," said Nantan.

  "Put it in Ivy's house, let those little girls make power. Bleed off some of that endless energy," said Nantan.

  "Wish they could bottle it and give me some," said Gregory.

  The girls were done with their string art project. They set up tables outside, and ate like pigs. The girls, high on sodas, got into a spirited soccer match, with Elena showing off her new moves. The soldiers divided up into teams, very careful not to injure the girls. Little-girl laughter pierced the air. The soldiers smiled.

  Nantan approached Gregory after the ice cream cake. "I am willing," said Nantan, "To do one at a time. But, this young man sees a mission. This
mission is not free. I can talk to New Jersey, see where they are."

  "Nantan, without a mission, that boy will die," Gregory said. "It killed his soul, and we have to bring him back."

  David came up behind them, and said, softly, "Not every reservation has gambling. There are plenty of places here we can do this, get it right before it goes overseas." He looked at Mike, talking to a knot of soldiers, talking animatedly. "And, I agree. His soul has too many pieces missing. I will work with him, with any of them that so desire it."

  Nantan sighed. "They strap bombs to children where he has been. He gave up his food for them. There is no one I would rather help, but this mission will take years. Decades, even."

  "And that's the kind of mission he needs," said Gregory. "Something to keep him going while his body, mind, and his soul heals, together."

  "Come around more often," said David. "You must watch him heal, be the father he needs."

  "I'm not much older than him," said Gregory.

  David touched his arm. "Gregory, I'm not much older than you."

  Nantan laughed. "He's got you."

  "Never, ever ask for a new task," said Gregory, sighing. "You'll get one."

  "Words to live by," said Bannon, coming over. "They're wonderful. I'll set up the training program. I don't have three kids to chase. It's a damn shame that these people are not taken care of."

  "They'll need housing," said Gregory. "When they leave this program, they have to make way for the next on the list."

  "Let's find Tito," said David.

  "Who's he?” asked Bannon.

  "The one who builds for the Nighthawks," said Gregory. "Him and Nico. They're going to kill me. They're already half-dead as it is."

  "Just pick up their latest apartment rehab," said David.

  "Do it," said Bannon. "And get it furnished, ready to go for these people. And, make sure it has an elevator."

  David had beckoned Tito over. "Your latest apartment rehab, does it have an elevator?"

  "Twelve, two-bedroom units on three floors, and yes, it does."

  "How much furnished?" asked Bannon. Tito gave him a price, the two men dickered, and they shook on it. "Send over the paperwork later," said Bannon. "I'll sign it. For now, I'm getting me some more of that spiced apple cider." He headed toward the bowl of nonalcoholic cider.