Base

by Cathleen Ross

  Ruth smiled and glanced at Sue. ‘I don’t think Sue will want me disturbing your little love nest.’

  A wide grin spread across Vassar’s face and he glanced at Sue. ‘She’s great, isn’t she? I can’t believe someone so great has come into my life. Still, think about my offer. Sue will cope and I’d be the most envied guy on base.’

  Sue came to stand by her as Vassar left the room. ‘That was kind. Tom’s devastated about his brother.’

  ‘I’m not always the selfish bitch you make me out to be. I can see these men need me.’

  ‘When you care for a patient, it’s like nothing else exists in the world. You have the best focus I’ve ever seen. That’s what makes you a fantastic doctor, but jeez you’re hit and miss with people sometimes.’ Sue pulled a face. ‘I’m sorry I hit you. I still think you should have told me about the bite, but I shouldn’t have done what I did.’

  ‘You’re right. I should have told you. I can see that now. You and Lea talk about everything. I don’t find it that easy. I clam up when I’m scared, but I do know that I want your friendship. I’m sorry. I was wrong. I hope you’ll forgive me.’

  Sue raised her eyebrows as if surprised that Ruth had actually apologised. ‘Sure.’

  ‘And, Sue?’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Whatever happens, I don’t want us to be enemies. We’re going to need each other more than ever.’

  Sue nodded and gave her a small smile. ‘Let’s get back to work. There are a couple of guys here with breaks. You might be able to manipulate the bones into place. We need to get these men on their feet and back out fighting as soon as they’re able, if we’re going to survive.’

  Ruth grinned enjoying the surge of adrenaline she got from helping her trauma patients. ‘Let me at ’em.’

  Chapter 7

  Jack wound down his truck window as the zoo animals charged out of the front gate at the top of the zoo, where his truck was stationed. It was crazier than Noah’s ark. Zebras skittered this way and that. The mountain goats and bongos were trying to jump the barrier fences to get into the bush land that led down to the harbour. Jack had placed the men in position, and they had herded them on down the road. A frightened sun bear scurried up Bradley’s Head Road looking this way and that. ‘It’s a long way from China, mate,’ Jack said to the confused creature.

  Armstrong, who sat next to him in the truck, leaned forward to observe the animal. ‘Think we should have bagged it and put it in the back of the truck like we did the koalas?’

  ‘It’s a bit big.’ A mob of kangaroos bounded past him. Jack hoped that the kangaroos wouldn’t leap through the windscreens of the trucks that cordoned off Bradley’s Head Road from Military Road, Mosman’s main street. He didn’t want the animals near the barriers at the roundabout on the main street. If one jumped over they’d be braindead food. Kangaroos were never predictable creatures and could leap anything. Hopefully, if everything went to plan, they’d run the animals down Bradley’s Head, turn them right into King Max Street and onto Middle Head Road straight down to the base where there was enough grass to maintain them.

  Most of the animals that had survived were the herbivores. Perhaps their keepers had freed them from their compounds because when his men had entered the zoo grounds, they were roaming free and eating the greenery from the gardens. Unfortunately someone had let the snakes out of the reptile house too, which proved more difficult to shoot than the braindeads. Jack shuddered.

  Armstrong tapped Jack on the shoulder. A two-metre lace monitor ambled out of the zoo entrance. ‘Look at the size of that. They make great tucker. An aboriginal mate of mine cooked one when I lived in Queensland. Do you think we should put it in the back of the truck?’

  ‘I’m not picking that thing up. It’s got a bite worse than a braindead and a tail that whips. You want a candlelit lizard for dinner with Lea, you get it.’ How the hell did Armstrong do well in the romance stakes?

  ‘Nah. Don’t want to risk a lizard bite. I have to keep myself in peak condition for Lea. She said she’s never seen such a perfect male specimen.’

  ‘You must be the first naked man she’s ever seen then because you’re an ugly bastard.’

  ‘Lea doesn’t think so. She’s says I’m handsome.’ Armstrong couldn’t keep the smug looking expression off his face.

  ‘Spare me the details of your perfection.’ Why did Armstrong have it so good? Why couldn’t Ruth worship him? His dick would be grateful. Hell, every part of him would be grateful. Jack focused on the animals glad he’d had the sense to divide the skittish beasts into groups that wouldn’t eat each other, leaving the carnivores in their cages. Some were already dead and the ones that were past saving he’d asked his men to put down. Suffering sucked and he’d seen too much of it already.

  An emu flew past him in mid stride and disappeared down the road. He watched as a zoo keeper, a middle-aged woman, who’d managed to survive the braindeads in the zoo by locking herself in a cage with her charge, a baby elephant, walked past the truck. The baby shuffled alongside her, its trunk wrapped around her arm. He returned her wave.

  ‘Unbelievable, only two zoo keepers found alive and one looks at least forty. Glad I got in early and claimed Lea,’ Armstrong said.

  It seemed like Armstrong couldn’t stop wanting to talk about her. ‘Glad it’s working for you.’ His words came out clipped.

  Armstrong grinned, a little chagrined. ‘So come on, mate, how’s it going with Ruth?’

  Jack shook his head. That morning, when he’d woken he’d watched Ruth sleeping, wanting to wake her, wanting to touch and stroke her soft skin. She would have clouted him. Jack let out a great sigh.

  ‘You didn’t get laid.’ Armstrong chuckled.

  ‘Shut up, Armstrong.’ Jack spotted a braindead ambling towards them. Although they’d placed barriers cordoning off Whiting Beach Road from the zoo, they hadn’t cleared the car park. The commotion and the scent of flesh brought them out. He took aim and fired. It dropped.

  ‘Doesn’t Ruth like you?’ Armstrong persisted. ‘Guess you are kind of old for her, now you’re thirty-two. I’ve heard oldies have trouble with…you know.’

  ‘There’s a new duty now we’re going to have animals on the base. It’s called picking up shit. It’s got your name on it.’

  Armstrong stretched, flopped back in his seat as if every bit of juice had been sucked from his body. ‘It beats collecting the braindead bodies and dumping them in the harbour for the sharks. Besides, I can work in the sun, take my shirt off so Lea can admire how ripped I am. Put on some weight lately, Captain?’

  ‘One more smartarse crack from you and I’ll reassign you to guard the zoo keeper. Helen wants to share quarters with her elephant.’

  ‘Ugh!’ Armstrong sat up.

  Jack changed the subject to something that’d been worrying him. He drew a map on the dusty dashboard of the truck. ‘Balmoral is shaped like an amphitheatre. The braindeads are making their way down the hills. It’s easier for them to amble downhill than expending the energy going up. We need to do a mass take down. They nearly collapsed our southwest fence last night.’

  ‘How many rounds are left on the sub machine guns?’ Armstrong asked.

  ‘Plenty.’ Jack massaged his chin as he thought about the best weapons to use.

  ‘What if we hit them with grenades?’

  ‘We can’t afford to risk damaging the fences. We need to lure them down onto the beach area first.’

  ‘We could blast them with rock music from the patrol boats, try and move them onto the sand and hit them with the machine guns.’

  Jack looked at Armstrong. ‘Now you’re thinking with your head. I think we should mount machine guns on every vessel that can support one. I want a full on assault.’

  ‘Now that’ll impress the girlfriends.’

  Jack grinned and shook his head at Armstrong’s one-track mind. Still Armstrong was getting laid and he wasn’t. ‘I’ll take Ruth for a walk and a swim in the
rock pool down at the Balmoral side of the base. She can watch and admire our naval force.’ It was time she realised how dangerous it was outside the base.

  ‘Going to see what she looks like in a bikini?’

  Jack grinned and started up his truck as the last of his men left the zoo compound. He watched as his man secured the gate and sprayed the message—braindead free zone—on the wall. All he wanted to do was see Ruth naked again. Touch her, kiss her, stroke her silky skin. He replayed the shower scene in his mind. Being close to her, wanting her but not being allowed to fuck her was the horniest thing he’d ever experienced. Man it made his nuts tight. She’d broken her promise and tonight he was going to restrain and punish her for it. Jack eased the truck onto the road and it roared up the hill towards the base. He grinned at Armstrong. ‘Who said anything about her wearing a bikini?’

  ***

  Ruth heard the sound of animals before she saw them. She’d just finished the last surgery. She recounted her surgery in her mind: two broken legs; several broken arms; a collarbone; one case of appendicitis and one torn scrotum all done, followed by one dose of antiviral for Darren, the weeping merchant banker who was now locked up in a separate room. All patients attended to and blood tests taken for non-surgical issues. She peeled off her scrubs, walked to the basin and washed her face and hands.

  Sue burst into the former vet clinic opposite the hospital, where Ruth operated. ‘Come down to Middle Head Road. The animals are coming.’

  Ruth and Sue raced out of the clinic and down Suakin Drive to Middle Head Road, across the street from her apartment.

  Sue rose up on tiptoes, excited by the prospect of animals. ‘Look here they come. Kangaroos.’

  Vassar joined them and put his arms around Sue’s shoulders, a smile on his face as an emu raced past them down the long road to the base.

  ‘Do you realise we’re the only race that eats what’s on our national emblem?’ Ruth said.

  ‘Damn tasty too. My parents in Tasmania own a truffle farm. Roast kangaroo, truffles and polenta. Drizzle truffle oil over the polenta. Yum. It doesn’t get better than that,’ Vassar said.

  ‘I can’t eat Skippy,’ Ruth complained.

  Sue nudged Vassar in the ribs with her elbow. ‘I can. You’re making me salivate. I wondered why you had all that truffle oil stored in your house.’

  ‘My brother and I drown our army food in it. Makes it edible,’ Vassar said.

  Behind the kangaroos came statuesque giraffes, their strides long and elegant. Goats leapt here and there bleating to each other. A confused pigmy hippopotamus ran back and forth butting the navy trucks as it made its way down. In the distance Ruth could hear the growling of braindeads followed by gunshots. Jack was smart to secure the protein source but her heart twinged at the thought of eating their zoo animals.

  Oh look.’ Sue pointed. ‘There’s your captain and Lea’s Armstrong in that truck.’

  ‘He’s not mine,’ Ruth growled, yet her heart beat faster. How did he get to be so damned handsome?

  Jack drove up to the fence and parked his truck. Opening the door and jumping down, he waited until the sentry unlatched the gate on Suakin Drive. ‘There are a whole lot of slower beasts approaching. Can’t stay. Brought you something.’ He reached into the back of his truck and pulled out a bag with a large fur pouch inside and passed it to Ruth.

  ‘I told you I didn’t want a pet. I don’t want anything that ties me here.’ Binds me to you. Ruth adored animals but Jack didn’t need to know that. As an only child, her mother had let her raise lop-eared rabbits until they’d multiplied so fast her mother had put a stop to it. She’d nursed them from the time they were babies, pretending she had a sibling.

  Jack persisted proffering the pouch. ‘Have a look and then say no. You won’t be able to resist a face like this.’

  ‘She’s resisted your mug,’ Armstrong said, winking at them.

  ‘That’s because he is a mug.’ With great reluctance, Ruth took the pouch. Animals made her care. She didn’t want to. In spite of herself, she opened the flap. Two black eyes looked up at her in the cutest white face with pointy ears she’d ever seen. Its bright pink tongue was hanging out under its black nose and a paw waved at the air in front of her. It blinked in the sunlight and twittered. Ruth searched her memory bank knowing she’d seen this charming animal at the zoo. A red panda. That was it.

  Sue peered into the pouch. ‘Oh look, Ruth, it’s your and Jack’s first baby. It’s got your colour hair.’

  Vassar gave Sue’s shoulder a squeeze. ‘And Jack’s look of desperation,’ he whispered out of Jack’s earshot. ‘Look at those big eyes. They’re saying take me in. Look after me. I’m lonely.’

  ‘Gagging for it, more likely,’ Sue shot back.

  Ruth ignored them. ‘It’s adorable. It’s one of those red pandas, isn’t it?’ she asked him, despite her determination not to be engaged.

  ‘You got it. They’re endangered. It seems healthy. I think it’s thirsty and hungry.’

  ‘What does it eat?’ Oh God, how would she take care of this dear, little creature?

  ‘Try water and the bamboo in our garden and it might pull through. Its mother was dead. I didn’t have the heart to put it down.’ Jack turned and got back in his truck. ‘I’ll be back in an hour to take you for that promised walk. Vassar, escort Ruth to the house.’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ Vassar said.

  Jack’s order sliced through the happy moment. She was his to do what he wanted and he made sure everyone knew it. Worse, he’d disarmed her with the needy animal. The red panda was the sweetest thing she’d ever seen, a cross between a raccoon and a stuffed toy. Just looking at it made her happy. She hadn’t had a lot of happy lately. Tears welled up in her eyes and she swallowed. ‘Damn you, Jack.’

  He rolled his window down and met her gaze with an uncompromising stare. ‘Be ready at four.’

  When the baby red panda peeled the bamboo shoot and stuffed it into its mouth, Ruth knew it had a chance. The back of Jack’s garden was full of bamboo and well fenced. The sweet little animal brought a smile to her face and it could wander around without danger. She had no idea how old it was or whether it had weaned. It wasn’t as if she could use the web to look up information. If she missed anything other than a normal life, it was the information highway of the World Wide Web. She heard the door opening behind her and turned to see Jack approach. In his army fatigues, with his strong stance and serious expression, he looked devastating, but she battened down her heart.

  ‘How’s the little critter?’ He came and stood beside her. She could smell aftershave and perspiration, a sexy mix on him.

  ‘Well, it’s eating so that’s a positive sign.’ She took a plastic bowl she’d found in the kitchen, walked over to where the hose was hanging off a hook and filled it with water.

  ‘You ready to explore the base before it gets dark? I have to check the fences and I want you to see what’s it’s like out there before you go all feminist bat-shit crazy again and demand your right to leave.’

  ‘That won’t stop me leaving and I’m not crazy. I don’t belong to you. You should be able to grasp that simple concept.’ Ruth squatted near the red panda and offered it the water. The small creature didn’t appear to be afraid of her. Instead, it drank thirstily.

  ‘You always this difficult?’ he asked her, crossing his arms in front of himself.

  She placed the bowl on the grass. ‘How dare you order Vassar to escort me to this house like you own me? I resent that you have me here as a prisoner.’

  He looked totally unrepentant. ‘If you cooperated like Sue and Lea, I wouldn’t have to.’

  ‘You mean have sex and worship you? Get on my knees and give you a blow job the moment you return home from work?’ She couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of her voice, but Jack didn’t seem to notice it.

  His mouth raised in the quirky half-smile she hated. ‘That would make a good start. Is that why that lucky bastard Armstrong looked so happy tod
ay? He couldn’t stop talking about Lea.’

  Ruth strode up to him and prodded him in the chest with her forefinger. ‘Let me make one thing clear. Whatever it is you’re hoping for isn’t going to happen. Just because you want something doesn’t mean you have a right to it.’

  His green eyes flashed danger. ‘I think I can change your mind.’

  ‘No. You. Can’t.’ Belligerent, she poked him as she said each word to emphasise her point.

  ‘Don’t push me.’

  But Ruth couldn’t heed his growl. He didn’t scare her. Her day had been flat out and his put down in front of other people had pissed her off. She pointed her index finger under his nose. ‘Listen, you jerk, I’m not some sex toy for you to play with. I was awarded a specialist training position. Do you know how hard that is to get? I won’t be treated like a mindless fool. I need to relax at the end of the day.’

  ‘So do I.’ With lightning quick reflexes, Jack grabbed her wrist, pushed it behind her back and locked his other arm around her waist forcing her hips to his. He kissed her before she had a chance to say no. It wasn’t a gentle kiss, one that would get her used to him, this time it was hard and hungry, all sensual lips and tongue.

  Outraged, she attempted to rake her nails down his face with her free hand.

  He jerked his cheek away. His eyes flashed. ‘I’ll give you one warning. You cut my lip once. But no more. You make me bleed again, I’ll punish you.’

  ‘You’d love that.’ Dominating arsehole.

  ‘Yeah, I would. You might like this sample of what’s coming your way.’ He grabbed her other arm and moved it behind her back, pinning both her hands behind her in one of his. He pressed her hips forward, forcing her whole body to arch into his. It didn’t hurt but the shock of his treatment made her gasp. Opening her mouth was a mistake. He was on her again, his tongue probing and tasting. Perhaps she should have been afraid but Jack could kiss. It was the type of kiss that zinged straight from her lips to between her hips and she wanted it to go on. His sheer heat penetrated her skin. Lost in the thrall of it, she returned his kiss, her tongue mating with his. Lust raised its treacherous head even though she didn’t want to feel for him. He marched her backward pressing her against the wall of the house. There was no room between them and he ground himself into her so that his hard cock rubbed against her cleft through his trousers.