by SD Tanner
‘Been better, Mom,’ Gears replied. ‘Wanna coffee?’
‘No I’m good thanks, Bob,’ Mom replied. Gears real name was Bob and Mom never called him Gears. Mom sat down at the table next to Ip and said, ‘A few days ago a man who calls himself the Major arrived on the ship. He says he knows you and he wants to talk to you.’
Looking annoyed, Gears asked, ‘Short little runt is he?’
‘Yes, he’s very short,’ Mom confirmed.
This day just keeps getting worse, he thought. What the hell is that asshole doing on the ship? Last time he’d seen Major major asshole, he’d just killed BD and Hatch and TL killed eight other men trying to kill him for it.
‘Where the fuck is he?’ He asked in a quiet dangerous tone.
Gears shot him a warning look and said, ‘That’s our mom you’re talkin’ to. Stay easy.’
Giving her adopted sons a look of concern, Mom said, ‘I don’t know what’s going on, but maybe you should deal with this in the morning.’
Taking Gears warning on board, he breathed deeply and said calmly, ‘It won’t wait, Mom. Where is he?’
‘He’s already been here for a few days, Pax,’ Mom replied. ‘I’m sure it can wait until the morning, but right now he’s in the restaurant having dinner.’
Without speaking, they all got up and walked out of the suite. Still eating a health bar, Ip trailed behind them as they marched down the corridor towards the restaurant. Walking ahead of his brothers, he found Major major asshole eating at a long table. He walked up to the Major and grabbed him by his collar, hauling him roughly out of his chair. Silence fell across the restaurant while he dragged the Major still swallowing his last mouthful of food across the room.
Gears held the restaurant swing door open and said amiably, ‘Casino briefing room.’
Once they got to the briefing room, he tossed the Major to the floor and quietly asked, ‘What the fuck are ya doin’ here?’
The Major picked himself up off the floor, glared at him and said, ‘You got ads all over the country inviting people to join you!’
‘We doan mean pieces of shit like you,’ he said bluntly. ‘But ya saved me a job. I was comin’ to kill ya.’
‘Why?’ The Major asked in surprise. ‘You attacked my base twice! You killed my men! You stole from me!’
Gears was leaning against the glass wall of the room with his huge arms crossed over his chest and he said steadily, ‘Ya were gonna take out our base. You told BD and BD told us, so don’t claim innocence ya asshole.’
All that was true. The Major planned to take their supply base and when they had reconned the Major’s base, they discovered he had heavy armaments he didn’t know how to use. The Major caught him and Gears during their recon, but with the help of Mackenzie and Ip, they escaped and stole a Black Hawk. Realizing it was a question of time before the Major would be able to attack them, they put BD in as a spy to let them know when the Major found someone who could use the weapons. BD used all her considerable feminine talents to manipulate the Major and she’d done her job well. She let them know when the Major was about to become capable of attacking their base and they attacked him first. The mission was a success except when he had pursued the Major trying to escape the base, the Major took BD with him as a hostage. During the pursuit and to save himself, the Major shot BD in the back and threw her from his truck. He’d broken off his pursuit of the Major and BD died on the dirty, dusty road while he tried to save her. Hatch and TL had pursued the Major’s truck in the bird and they brought the truck to a stop further down the road by shooting it from the air with their M240, but somehow the Major had escaped.
Now he didn’t want to waste time talking to the runt. As far as he was concerned the Major didn’t need a trial or chance to plead his case. He promised to kill the man when he buried BD and he intended to do just that. Although he hadn’t realized it at the time, BD had been his girlfriend and he loved her.
Bending down so he could put his face just inches from the Major, he said, in a dangerously quiet voice, ‘Ya killed BD in cold blood and tonight ya gonna die for that.’
The Major looked back at him angrily and said, ‘You killed her. Your Stryker shot the warehouse to hell and back.’
‘She weren’t in the goddamn warehouse ya asshole,’ he spat. ‘I woulda seen her.’
‘No, she wasn’t,’ the Major spat back. ‘She was behind the warehouse. She was shot in the back by one of your shooters. I dragged her to the truck to save her.’
He felt his head spin. Was it possible? Did he shoot BD? Using the M2 .50-cal on the Stryker they shot the Major’s shooters at the back of the warehouse. Was it possible BD was behind the warehouse? It had never occurred to him that they might have been the ones that shot BD, but even if they had shot her it didn’t explain why the Major threw her injured and dying from his truck.
‘Why’d ya throw her out the truck then?’ He asked angrily.
‘I didn’t!’ The Major stated indignantly. ‘She was dying and we couldn’t take care of her. I thought you’d help her.’
Gears pulled a face and said bluntly, ‘Ya used her as a decoy.’
The Major turned toward Gears and said angrily, ‘Bullshit! She was the only thing stopping you guys from shooting up the truck. With her gone you had your Black Hawk shoot the truck to hell. You killed everyone in it but me.’
He looked at Gears in shock and asked plaintively, ‘Did I kill her?’
Gears turned to TL and said, ‘Watch this asshole.’ Then Gears indicated with his head that he should follow him into the corridor outside the room.
Once outside the room, Gears said intently, ‘Pax, I wouldn’t trust anythin’ that asshole says. He’s tryin’ to save his own hide.’
Feeling slightly dizzy and with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, he said sadly, ‘But what if it’s true. I loved BD and I killed her.’
‘If ya did, then ya didn’t mean it,’ Gears said pragmatically.
It didn’t help to know it was an accident. He’d insisted they leave immediately to attack the Major’s base. Both Gears and TL told him to wait, but he had forced the issue. In his haste it looked like he killed the person he’d been trying to save.
‘That doan help, Gears,’ he said plainly. Shaking his head, he asked, ‘Why is everythin’ goin’ to shit today? Someone infected the island and then the Major turns up and I find out I killed the one woman I love.’
Gears sighed and agreed, ‘We’re havin’ a bad day, but we gotta keep our heads.’
Feeling overwhelmed by the events of the day, he asked, ‘Why? No one else is and everyone keeps dyin’ around us.’
‘No they don’t, Pax,’ Gears replied steadily. ‘We’re jus’ tired. Let’s get some sleep and sort it out tomorrow.’
Feeling deeply low, he said, ‘Ya know when ya think about it, the Major’s right. We did attack him twice and we did destroy his base.’
Gears shook his head and said, bluntly, ‘Get a grip, Pax. That asshole had us in his gun sights. We jus’ took him out first.’ Sighing again, Gears said, ‘I’ll get the combat shooters to hold him tonight. Ya should get some sleep.’
Ip followed him back to their suite and he asked, ‘Whatcha followin’ me for, Ip?’
She stared back at him with her large impassive eyes and said nothing. Looking around their suite, he decided it felt claustrophobic and he didn’t want to stay. Grabbing a bottle of Jim Beam from his bedroom, he walked out of the suite and headed to the lifeboats. Much like the house with the pecan tree had once been his place to hide on land, he now used the lifeboats the same way. He climbed down into the boat from the level above and Ip peered at him over the railing. Like Gears, he always enjoyed having Ip around and he grabbed her under the arms, carefully pulling her into the lifeboat with him. Sitting down on the bench in the lifeboat, Ip sat next to him and leaned lightly against his body.
‘I’m guessin’ ya doan drink,’ he said, as he cracked open the lid of the bott
le.
Taking a deep gulp, he felt it burn his throat. He didn’t particularly like the taste of bourbon, but it took the edge off and that’s what he needed tonight. Offering the bottle to Ip, she surprised him by taking it and after a cautious sniff, she took a sip from the bottle.
Ip thinks: The noisy one is mad tonight. He is still sad and he feels bad. I do not think this drink should be had.
He watched as she pulled a face and handed the bottle back. ‘It’s not all about the taste,’ he remarked. ‘It’s the effect ya lookin’ for.’
Settling back onto the bench on the lifeboat, he looked out to sea and asked, ‘Do ya think I killed BD?’
Ip thinks: The woman he loves is not far away. He seems to think she has had her day. He never learns come what may.
‘Ya know it was my fault,’ he said sadly. ‘Gears and TL told me to wait, but I wouldn’t have it. I doan understand why I care so much. Lotsa people I know have died. Ya know it happens. Nothin’ is forever.’
Contemplating the water in the moonlight, he took another swig and said sadly, ‘I decided a long time ago not to get too involved with anythin’. Jus’ live life in the shallow end. If ya get too involved, ya get all emotional about shit and I doan think that does anyone any good. I doan get why I got so involved with BD. I didn’t mean to. Never happened before, so I dunno what went wrong.’
Ip thinks: The noisy one thinks love is wrong. But it is a feeling that is so strong. Foolish man for now he longs.
Taking the bottle from him, Ip took another swig and he exclaimed, ‘Woah! Gears is gonna be pissed if I send ya back drunk.’ Then giving her a sidelong look, he added casually, ‘Aww screw Gears. Drink up!’
Taking the bottle back from Ip, he took another swig and he could feel the alcohol pulsing through his system and the tightness in his shoulders relax. Ah that’s the stuff, he thought. The alcohol was loosening his mind now and he’d already reached the philosophical stage. Must be the dry dock, he thought vaguely, I’m losin’ my immunity to alcohol.
‘Do ya think there’s any point to all this, Ip?’ He asked.
To his hazy surprise, Ip giggled in response to his question. He’d never heard her giggle before and looking at her, he said, ‘I didn’t know ya could do that.’
Taking the bottle from him, Ip took a deep gulp and immediately spluttered.
‘Taste like shit, doan it?’ He asked and started laughing. ‘Life has gotten stupid.’ Pausing to reflect on the deep wisdom of his words, he added, ‘I should go find BD’s boy. I promised I would, but it’s bin months now. I jus’ keep gettin’ busy with everybody else’s crap.’
Slapping the chair next to him hard, he declared, ‘It’s time I did somethin’ for me!’ Now excited, he added, ‘I should do what I said I was gonna do!’
Elbowing Ip in the ribs so she lurched away, he asked, ‘Ya’ll come with me, right?’
Ip looked back at him with her impassive blue eyes and blinked slowly. ‘One blink means, yes. Right?’ He slurred happily. Ip giggled and he took that to mean yes.
‘What the fuck are ya doin’ down there!’ Gears shouted from above their heads.
‘Uh oh,’ he chuckled happily. ‘The fun police are here.’
Ip squeaked, leapt unsteadily to her feet and lost her balance, landing back on her rear. For some reason this struck her as funny and she started laughing. He thought she had a musical laugh and that amused him and he started laughing with her.
‘Get ya asses back up here!’ Gears growled loudly, still peering down at them. Ip giggled and blew a raspberry at Gears.
‘Didn’t know ya could do that either,’ he remarked, now feeling light-headed. He looked up at Gears and blew a sloppy raspberry that was more spit than air.
By now Ip had unsteadily regained her feet and was reaching her arms up to Gears. Gears grabbed her at both elbows and suddenly all he could see were her tennis shoes waving in the air as she disappeared over his head.
Taking a final swig from the bottle, he shouted, ‘I’m gonna go get BD’s boy. And doan argue with me, Gears. I’m sick of doin’ what you wanna do.’
Decision made, he grabbed for the railing above his head and missed. He felt Gears and TL grab his arms and roughly drag him up, dumping him onto the deck of the ship.
‘Did ya jus’ get my girlfriend loaded?’ Gears asked grumpily.
His head hurt and he didn’t feel like arguing with Gears and he slurred happily, ‘Did ya jus’ ask a stupid question?’
Gears wasn’t there to hear his answer. Ip had wandered off, still unsteady on her feet. Gears picked her up fireman style, slinging her over his shoulder and he followed them back to their suite. Dumping Ip onto the three-seater sofa in the lounge, Gears disappeared into their bedroom and came back out with a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label.
As he unscrewed the lid on the bottle, Gears said, ‘If ya gonna get shit-faced at least drink somethin’ decent.’
TL brought three coffee cups from the kitchenette and Gears sloshed the oily amber liquid into the cups. Feeling slightly less muddled, he said, ‘I thought ya said this was a dry dock.’
‘Screw it,’ Gears said bluntly. Downing the contents of the coffee cup, he said, ‘I’m sick of this shit. We’re spendin’ our lives tryin’ save people who seem to wanna die.’
Having already drunk the contents of his own coffee cup, TL was already refilling their cups and he said, ‘I hear that. I’m feeling pretty disillusioned about what we’re doing.’
Gears handed Ip the now replenished coffee cup, but she pushed it away and continued to stare at them. Shrugging, Gears upended the contents of the cup into his own mouth and sitting down heavily next to Ip on the sofa, he said dourly, ‘Ya know every time I think we know what we’re doin’, somethin’ else goes wrong.’
‘It’s true,’ TL said miserably. ‘It’s like living in quicksand.’
Although he bitched mercilessly about the pointlessness and risk of their mission, this time he genuinely wondered if it was time they called it a day. They didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. Everybody and everything seemed determined to make them fail. He downed the whisky in his coffee cup, leaned back into the squishiness of the sofa chair and dropped his heavy boots onto the coffee table in front of him.
Sighing, he asked, ‘Do ya think we should quit?’
Sounding despondent, Gears replied, ‘I dunno. What would we do instead?’
‘Head for the hills like Pax always said we should,’ TL suggested.
This was the first time he suggested they quit and Gears and TL didn’t tell him to shut up. Now he wished he had kept his mouth shut. He didn’t believe they knew what they were doing half the time, but he had to admit what they did do mostly made a positive difference. BD set him straight on that point. He was about to tell them what BD told him about how she had felt about their base when the door to their suite opened.
Captain Ted walked in and said happily, ‘You guys having a fuckin’ party without me?’
In response Gears held the bottle up and said, ‘Grab yourself a cup.’
Waving the bottle away, Captain Ted said, ‘Everybody saw your fuckin’ show in the restaurant and heard the racket you were making on the upper deck.’ He stood regarding the four of them sternly and asked, ‘What the fuck is going on?’
‘We’re fed up,’ he replied bluntly. ‘Everythin’ keeps goin’ wrong.’
‘Aww, poor babies,’ Captain Ted said sarcastically. Grabbing the bottle of Johnnie Walker from Gears, he took a deep swig and said, ‘You’re just having a bad day and that’s okay, but you need to be quieter about it.’
Sounding offended, TL asked, ‘Why?’
‘Cos you started something here,’ Captain Ted replied seriously. ‘Whether you like it or not people need you.’
Feeling disgruntled, he said sharply, ‘People need a smack in the head.’
‘They sure do, Pax,’ Captain Ted agreed amiably. ‘But you guys decided the world needed a second chance
and that’s your mission. It didn’t mean everybody deserved a second chance, but in balance, more people do than not.’
Gears chuckled and said, ‘You mean it’s a numbers game.’
‘Exactly, Gears,’ Captain Ted replied. ‘People have free will and some people use that unwisely, but that’s always been true.’
TL grunted and said dryly, ‘I think that’s the definition of free will. You get to choose and not everyone will make good choices all of the time.’
Gears laid back on the three-seater sofa, put his head in Ip’s lap and his big boots on the arm at the other end of the sofa. Stretched out with Ip tickling his ears, he smiled up at her and said, ‘I guess so, but the assholes were in charge of the asylum today.’
‘True story,’ he agreed. The assholes had ruled the day. The alcohol was wearing out in his system and he suddenly realized how tired he really felt. The shock of hearing he probably caused BD’s death was also dulling. He knew he had to do something about that, but right now he couldn’t think or feel anything. Vaguely he heard the conversation continuing around him, but he couldn’t stay awake and feeling deeply relaxed, he drifted off to sleep.
When he woke again it was still dark and he was alone in the lounge dining area. He went to rub his face, but his hands were caught in a blanket that was covering him. Pushing the blanket down, he lifted his feet from the coffee table and immediately felt the muscles in the back of his legs painfully complain. His body felt stiffened and he badly needed to pee. Pushing himself up off the arms of the chair, he got to his feet. Walking to his bedroom and into the bathroom, he worked out the stiffness out of his neck and shoulders. The lights automatically came on and while he relieved his bladder, he looked at himself in the mirror. He saw a craggy faced man with untidy sandy brown, greying hair stuck up at all angles looking back at him. I’m gettin’ old, he thought absently as he mentally listed the gear he would need to take with him to go find BD’s son.
Zipping up, he flicked the tap on and ran his hands under the water. Splashing his face, he ran his wet hands through his hair attempting to slick it down, knowing it would dry stuck out at all angles as it always did. He walked back to his bedroom, flicked the light on and as he did, he heard the bathroom light automatically click off. He hadn’t forgotten about his drunken promise from the night before and opening several military-style lockers, he unloaded items onto his neatly made bed. As he mentally ticked off the items, he arranged them into his pack, making efficient use of the space and weight.