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IN THE BEGINNING
BY: DIANA M.

Chapter Seven

  Duke pulled up to the guardhouse at the gate of Parris Island. When he rolled down the window to show the guard his clearance, a hot, sticky wall of air forced its way in and overpowered the air conditioners. Typical of Jarheads, Duke thought to himself, build an important training base in one of the most uncomfortable places they could find. Duke had once thought of enlisting as a marine, back when he was considering options- back when he had time to consider anything. He had to admit, the leathernecks earned a lot of glory. But he had found the army too powerful a draw, what with his stepfather’s own service. Besides, Duke thought, he liked himself too much to live the gung-ho life. Those guys were crazy sons of bitches.

  “Where you headed, Top?” The guard passed back Duke’s clearance papers.

  “Point me in the direction of the gym, soldier. The person I’m after is giving you gyrenes some sort of martial arts demonstration this morning.”

  “Oh, you’re here for her, are you?” The guard winked, “Better take a number, there’s quite a few that want a piece of her,” He handed Duke a small map and pointed to a large block, “You’ll want to head straight back on this road, Top. You’ll hit it soon enough.”

  The guard moved to lift the gate and let Duke drive through. Duke waved as he passed under the candy striped bar, “Thanks, soldier.”

  “Good luck, Top. I hear she’s a tiger!”

  Duke rolled his eyes and drove towards the gym. Hot Damn. Soldiers were some of the biggest horn dogs out there. Show a man in uniform a woman; the only thing he usually saw was a pair of legs with breasts on top and something interesting in between.

  Not that he was exactly an innocent himself.

  How exactly did he feel about serving with women? Duke mused to himself as he drove towards the gym. It was not a question he had really found himself faced with often. Women made good fighter pilots, he knew. Their smaller size and somewhat faster reflexes and recall worked well in the newer jets. Both Cover Girl and this O’Hara had a fine record of surpassing the necessary physical requirements, or Hawk would have never considered them. Duke’s mother was a very strong woman; he never doubted that women could be successful in the military. There had been some tough nurses in ‘Nam. As of yet, though, no woman had served in an combat capacity whatsoever. Duke wondered whether Hawk was experimenting with trouble.

  Could any healthy, normal man serve next to a woman and not go nuts? Cover Girl had quickly squashed any thoughts of sexism the men might have been entertaining. In fact, she had a rather large fan club brewing. Clutch wasn’t the only girly crazy soldier on base. Duke could see the headache that could potentially await him. Jealousy, fighting among the men - morale could take a beating. Two women could make it worse.

  As he parked in front of the gym, Duke determined to forbid on-base relationships one hundred percent. It was the only way to keep things in order. He’d just have to be a hardass about it. Duke slammed the car door with new resolve. He’d lay down the law. From there, Duke thought as he turned the knob, the girls would have to take care of themselves.

  Duke pulled open the gym door and nearly collided with a Marine who flew through the air and landed with a crash amid a bleacher full of classmates at the far end of the gym. The man was hauled to his feet and sent back to the mats by supportive buddies. He dashed towards a diminutive red haired figure in a ghi that looked almost too big for its wearer. The marine must have easily outweighed the woman by at least a hundred pounds. Duke watched, amused, as she grabbed the man and sent him flying once more into the stands. This time, he stayed down.

  “As I said, gentlemen, size really doesn’t matter. Speed and leverage play a role,” she put her hands on her hips and stood proudly, “experience is a biggie too. I recommend you all practice these techniques as much as possible. You all need it,” she nodded to a drill sergeant off to the side.

  “All right, you pigs, go shower. Move it!” The gym quickly emptied.

  O’Hara walked off the mat to a gym bag on bench. She pulled out a towel and wiped her head and neck. She took a swig from a small plastic bottle and began packing everything back carefully into the bag. Duke came up behind her.

  “Sergeant Shanna O’Hara?” She turned and smiled at him, and Duke felt momentarily stunned. He knew why the guard at the gate had wished him luck.

  “That’s me, Top,” Duke could see that although she was small - petite, really, she was very well muscled. The paleness of her skin made her red hair and blue eyes stand out all the more. Her lips... “Top? You wanted to see me?”

  “Yes, sorry,” Duke mentally kicked himself, “I have new orders for you, O’Hara,” he handed her the envelope, “You’ll need to come with me, A.S.A.P.”

  “Can I shower first? I really don’t come out of these things smelling like a rose.”

  “Well... of course..I expected you to,” Duke couldn’t help his own thoughts. It HAD been a while, “By all means..Sh, ahem, shower away.”

  “I have to go to the quarters they gave me. For some odd reason, the guys who built Parris Island forgot a women’s locker room.” She swung her bag over her shoulder and headed for the door. Duke jogged to catch up.

  “Here, let me drive you.”

  She smiled at him, and his heart skipped a beat. Dammit.

  Together they climbed into his car and she guided him to a remote corner of the base. Duke was glad he’d offered to drive; it would have been a long walk. “Put you well beyond reach, didn’t they?” She indicated he should pull over, and he parked in front of some very empty looking quarters.

  “Yeah. It’s a real pain in the ass, let me tell you,” She got out, slamming the door a little harder than necessary, “I can understand wanting me away from the throbbing hormones of the trainees, but this is ridiculous,” She unlocked a door in the middle of the building and went inside. Without being invited, Duke followed. O’Hara dropped her bag on the floor and headed for the bathroom, talking to him over her shoulder, “it could have been worse; they could have put me in some empty quonset hut somewhere,” she closed the bathroom door, and Duke heard her turn on the shower. She shouted to be heard over the running water, “I hope you don’t mind waiting.”

  Duke sat on a chair in the corner. The room wasn’t bad, really, just remote, “No, it’s not a problem,” he fidgeted with his beret and tried hard not to think about what was going on behind the bathroom door. It was a trial.

  She was out in under ten minutes. It took her another ten to dry her hair, thick as it was. Duke wondered why no one had ordered it cut to military standards, but was secretly glad it wasn’t. Cover Girl had managed to get away not only with long hair, but she bleached it as well. That messed with Duke’s own personal preferences.

  O’Hara came out of the bathroom neatly dressed in greens that looked crisp and freshly pressed, “Well, Top, what have you got for me?” She grabbed the envelope from where she had tossed it on the bed and opened it with a nail. As she read, her smile widened, “I see Uncle Sugar has finally decided to give us a piece of the action. About time.”

  “You and another are the only two women. I can’t imagine it’ll be easy.”

  “Being a woman? Never been a problem for me. It’s you guys that have issues with it,” She folded her orders and put them back in the envelope.

  “What I meant was...”

  “I know what you meant, Top,” She grabbed a large duffel from next to the bed and tossed it by her gym bag, “Sex changes everything.”

  Duke was taken aback. She seemed to have no problem whatsoever being totally candid with him. It wasn’t insubordination, or a lack of manners. It was ... refreshing.

  She made a last sweep of her quarters and returned to stand in front of him, “It says ‘effective immediately’, so I imagine we have to leave soon.”

  Duke pulled himself to his feet and smoothed his jacket, “Yeah, I have another pick up to make.”

  She swung her bags over her shoulders, “So let’s go. I can’t wait to get out of here. Marines are pretty good soldiers, but really terrible company.”

  Duke took the heavier looking bag from her and opened the door, “I’ll try and do better, O’Hara.”

  She smiled up at him as she passed, “It’s Scarlett, Top.”

  He couldn’t help grinning back at her, “Call me Duke.”

*************************************************************


  The drive from Parris Island to Benning was a long one. Duke took the 170 to the 95, hopped the state line into Georgia and got onto the 16 just outside of Savannah. It was humid, but clear, and Duke was enjoying the scenery. Scarlett was quiet at first, but her mood lightened once they left South Carolina.

  “It’s nice to be close to home,” she stared out the window at the passing trees.

  “Really? It makes me kind of homesick, getting so close.”

  Scarlett was surprised, “Funny, you don’t sound like a southern boy,” she turned to face him.

  “Well, probably because I’m not. Not this far south, anyway. I’m from Missouri. But I got close a few days ago when I was in Peoria. Wanted to go home pretty bad, to tell the truth. This whole thing started in the middle of my leave.”

  “That’s a pisser.”

  “You bet,” He swerved to avoid what looked like a line of squished turtles. Some real nasty bastard had passed last night, squashing terrapins for fun. Scarlett made a face at the sight.

  “Must’ve been hard on your family, you leaving so suddenly,” she absent mindedly flicked her ponytail over her shoulder.

  “Hrm,” Duke dodged another line of turtle smear, “my mother took it pretty hard, and I think my sisters and brother were kind of sad about it-they’re pretty young though, probably got wrapped up in something else the day after I left.”

  “No one else?” Scarlett turned her attention fully to her nails.

  “Well, my stepfather took it all in stride. He was a career man himself, ‘till mom forced him to retire,” Duke wondered why he was telling her all this.

  “No one else?” Scarlett repeated, very absorbed in her nails.

  “Uhh, I doubt my cousins even knew I was home. All my aunts and uncles are pretty busy. And, um, well, anyone else lives in another country or is dead, so..” Duke was distracted with this odd line of questioning, and ran over a patch of turtle carcasses. Little thumps and clatters as the tires ran over the shell pieces, “I’m pretty sure no one else was too bothered by my going, no.”

  “Oh,” Scarlett polished an invisible piece of dust off of one nail and smiled to herself, “good.”

  It occurred to Duke why she might have been probing so deeply into his family life. He was surprised enough to keep quiet for the next thirty miles. Just outside of Macon, she broke the silence, “My stomach’s growling, let’s stop for some lunch.”

  “Sounds good to me. What do you feel like?”

  “Anything, as long as I get to stretch my legs,” almost involuntarily, Duke’s eyes were drawn down to her thighs. They were pretty nice, although dress greens did a lot to hide...

  “Duke?”

  “Hmm?” Oh God, Duke thought to himself, please tell me she didn’t notice.

  “I said, why don’t we pick up something from a burger joint and find a park?” Her face didn’t let on whether she had noticed his wandering gaze or not.

  “Isn’t it a bit hot? Wouldn’t you rather eat inside somewhere with air- conditioning?”

  “I feel like I’ve been sitting in this car forever. The air conditioning is giving me a headache. Fresh air would be a relief. Besides,” she waved at the landscape blurring past the window, quickly becoming more urban as they neared town, “this isn’t hot. Down here, this is a balmy summer’s day.”

  “You made the call, Red.”

  “Red...” She smiled at him, “believe it or not, people don’t really call me that.”

  “Sorry,” he shrugged, “It slipped out.”

  “Don’t apologize. I kind of like it.”

  In the end, they picked up a few burgers at Burger King and stopped at Central City Park. Duke agreed with Scarlett; it was nice to walk around after the long drive from Parris Island. Eschewing a table for the grass, they relaxed under the hot sun. He had to admit, it felt good on his skin after sitting so long in front of the air conditioner. He took off his beret and let the sunlight wash warmly over his head. He looked over at the empty styrofoam box that had only recently held Scarlett’s burger.

  “That went fast.”

  She burped quietly and daintily wiped her lips, “Excuse me. Let’s not talk about my speed in the face of your sheer quantities. Do you really need three burgers?”

  “Hey, it takes a lot of food to keep a guy my size going. I work out hard; I’ll probably end up burning this up pretty fast.”

  She nodded slowly to herself, “You’re lucky. Its nice you can convert all that to muscle.”

  Duke finished his first burger and took a large bite of his second, “Sometimes its all I can do to keep weight on. I remember in ‘Nam I lost ten or twenty pounds every patrol, sometimes more. You sort of sweat it off.”

  “I don’t.” Scarlett poked a twig through the roof of her box.

  “Ahhh, you got nothing to worry about,” Duke’s last burger was gone faster then either of the first two.

  “Thanks,” she gathered the trash together and crammed it all into one bag, “You know, from the way you were talking earlier, it sounds like you have a big family. Kind of like mine.”

  “It’s bigger than most, I guess. You have a lot of brothers ,” Duke lay back on his elbows and watched kids run over the grass. One of them reminded him of Vincent, when he was younger.

  “Only one sister, Siobhan. I’m closer to my brothers, all three of them. Wait a minute. That was a statement, not a question.”

  “I’ve read your file,” Duke smiled as two boys started fighting over a large yellow toy truck. He didn’t see who won, however. His view was blocked as Scarlett scooted over in front of him.

  “So you already know everything about me. I find that very annoying.”

  “Everything Uncle Sam knows. Not the real personal stuff,” Duke’s cup gurgled as his sucked the last of his soda through the straw, “I’m sure there’s more to you than what’s in your file.”

  “Well, sure,” Scarlett sounder perturbed, “but when do I get to read about you?”

  “When we get back to the new base, I imagine. The man who put this together wanted everyone to be pretty close,” Duke scraped wax off the edge of the cup with his fingernail, “You’ll get to see everyone’s green sheet.”

  “What the Hell is a green sheet?”

  “ A little piece of paper we put together on everybody with all the non- dangerous info. You know, training, experience, attitudes; that kind of thing. Nothing classified,” he rolled the wax into a little ball and flicked it away, “Green for ‘go’, I guess. As in ‘go ahead and read it’.”

  “But you read my whole file.”

  “Everything I had clearance for. I read everybody’s file. I had to.”

  “And I suppose you have a lot of clearance.”

  “More than most,” Duke crushed his cup as he stood up, “We’d better get back on the road,” He picked up the trash and started towards the car. She caught up to him.

  “So, was my file at least interesting?” She walked next to him, looking at the ground.

  “Yours was better than a lot of others I had to sit through,” he threw the bag in a garbage can and put on his beret and sunglasses, “I have to say,” the car keys jingled as he pulled them from his pocket, “I like you much better in person.”

  Duke got on the 80 just outside of Macon. From there it was a straight shot west to Ft. Benning. Duke found Scarlett easy to talk to, and they continued their conversation for the rest of the trip. He barely noticed the time passing, and was surprised to find them near the base with the sun setting.

  “Wow, I guess we’re almost here,” he smiled at her and pointed out his window at an obstacle course, “Just a month or so ago, I was running dogfaces over that course. Used to make ‘em do it three times just for fun.”

  “You taskmaster, you,” her laughter was a pleasant, bubbly sound, not unlike the creek Duke used to wade in as a child, “Don’t tell me you’re going to run us that way.”

  “No ma’am. Near as I figure, you’re trained enough. I expect you to stay in shape and do what I tell you. Besides, “ he turned serious, “the obstacles you’ll be hitting make those look like a playground.”

  “That’s my life,” she sighed, “following orders.”

  “Oh, I think you’ll find things a bit different from now on,” the sun was gone from the sky, “Not that there won’t be orders to follow, or discipline to keep. But I would imagine you’ll get a bit more freedom. Like uniform design, for example. Feel free to put together whatever’s comfortable, as long as it’s decent and can withstand rough conditions. Besides, you’re a sergeant. I’m sure there’ll be someone for you to push around.”

  “Funny. Hey, where are you going?” he had pulled off the highway and on to Flat Rock Road.

  “This turns into Schatulga. We’ll take it to Move and get on base. I’m beat. We’ll have to get Pulaski in the morning. I need some supper. Come to think of it, I might as well pack up my quarters tonight. There are some things I wanted to take with me.”

  “We’re staying the night?”

  “Well, sure. I’m not going to grab Pulaski and fly out of here tonight. There’s stuff I need to take care of. I have a few buddies here. I’d sort of like to say goodbye before I disappear again,” she looked upset, “What’s wrong with that?”

  “Nothing, really. I mean, naturally you’d want to wrap up loose ends,” she sighed and turned to look out the window, “I’m just not looking forward to being stowed away again on base.”

  “Stowed away?”

  “Let me level with you. My stay at Parris was a drag. They packed me off to the farthest corner of the base, as far away from horny cadets as they could get me.”

  “Benning’s a bit bigger. I’m sure we’ll find a nice place for you.”

  “Sure,” she continued to stare out the window, “I don’t know. I guess I was hoping for a little time to relax before this assignment started.”

  Duke understood too well what she meant. He still felt twinges of anger from being pulled away from leave. He pulled the car to the side of the road and stopped, “Look. I know how you feel. Do you want me to drive to Columbus so you can find a hotel?”

  She smiled at him, “That’d be great.”

  Duke turned around and turned left on Macon Road. Soon they were in Columbus. Duke knew the town well. Many an evening he had spent relaxing with off base with a friend or two. Driving through town brought back many memories, both good and bad. He pulled over at the Days Inn; that brought back a memory or two as well.

  “Thanks,” Scarlett opened the door, “This is perfect. There’s even a grill down the block where I can get a drink and a few bites to eat.”

  Duke hadn’t realized how weary he was until he stopped the car, “Dammit, I really don’t want to drive all the way back to base.” Scarlett stopped halfway out of the door. Duke bounced his fist on the steering wheel and looked at the office, “I guess, I guess I’ll stay in town. I’ll take care of everything tomorrow.” He turned to see Scarlett smiling at him, “That is, as long as you don’t mind.”

  “Now why would I mind?” she climbed all the way out, “You’re a decent guy, I can trust you. Its not as if we’ll be in the same room.”

  Duke got out and followed her to the office. He wasn’t sure that this was the right thing to do. He was, after all, officially a higher ranking NCO. Could this be seen as against protocol? On the surface, no; but Duke already felt something going on underneath the surface of things. She intrigued him. They reached the office, and he opened the door and held it for her.

  “Can I help you?” Duke though at first that the gravelly voice belonged to the man he remembered from his last visit. Looking behind the counter, he saw he was wrong. The large pale thing which regarded from behind a haze of cigarette smoke mostly resembled a woman. Still, Duke was not altogether sure. “You soldiers lookin’ fer a room?” From the accent, Duke deduced it was at least native to the area.

  “Two actually,” Scarlett grinned warmly. It was a persuasive smile. Duke figured she used it to get what she wanted.

  “That’s forty bucks a piece, kids. Kind of a chunk to pay fo’ keeping up appearances,” the smile they were presented with lacked class and teeth. Duke pulled Scarlett aside.

  “Forty bucks! We both could have stayed on base for free!” he hissed to avoid being overheard.

  “Some freedoms are worth paying for,” she whispered back.

  “This place has as little to do with ‘free’ as possible, and there’s nowhere cheaper.”

  “You seem well acquainted with Columbus motels.” Duke frowned in response. “Look, Duke, I have an idea. These places usually have one room with two bedrooms. That way parents can get some privacy from the kids. If we rent one of those, it’ll probably be cheaper.”

  “True.”

  Scarlett waved at the lump behind the counter, who was watching them with interest. “I don’t mind it, Duke, if you don’t.”

  Duke thought for a second. It was pushing it, “That’s right on the line of protocol, Scarlett.”

  “Don’t tell me you can’t control yourself around little ‘ol me?”

  Duke was taken aback, and forgot to whisper, “I can control myself pretty much anywhere, Sargent.”

  “Good, then we’ll do it, “ She walked matter-of-factly up to the counter, “do you have one of those double-suites vacant?”

  “I sure do,” the lump grinned toothlessly at them again, “and I’ll let you two have it fo fifty bucks.” Scarlett looked back at Duke. He shrugged. “A ‘course you’ll have to pay now, and I pree-fer a credit card.”

  Scarlett turned to Duke, “I left my purse in the car. In my duffle. I think its near the bottom.”

  “Oh Hell,” he took out his wallet and pulled out a credit card, “You owe me, Red.” he handed his card to the lump, who put ran it through the machine and gave him a form.

  “If ya could just fill this out and sign here, ya’ll are set.” The lump handed back his card. Duke resisted the urge to wipe it off on his jacket before he put it away.

  “What room is it?” Scarlett held her hand out for the key, “If you want, Duke, I’ll pull the car around while you finish up here.”

  “Room six, under the stairs at the end, missy,” the lump pulled a key from the board behind her and handed it to Scarlett. Duke tossed her the car keys. The room rental form had more questions than he remembered.

  “Can I make a local call from the room? There are a few people on base I want to get in touch with,” Duke noticed a name tag that was almost lost in a greasy fold of the lump’s t-shirt. It announced the lump was actually named Mary-Lou. He felt triumphant in the discovery.

  “Local calls are free. No parties in th’ rooms, though, beyond what you two already had planned,” it, she, winked at him. Duke felt sick, “There’s also a porn channel if ya want it. Just put a quarter in the box on th’ tee-vee.” Another wink.

  “Gosh, thanks.” Duke quickly signed the form and gave Mary-Lou back her pen. He could almost swear to seeing her absorb it. He hurried out of the office and found Scarlett unloading the car at the end of the building. She slammed the trunk shut and tossed him the keys.

  “I got your bag already.”

  Duke went in and inspected the room. He was surprised by its cleanliness. It followed the typical hotel layout: double bed, dresser with a television on top, lamps on two matching bedside tables, phone on one side. Duke imagined everything was probably screwed down, including the remote. A door next to the television led to another bedroom. There was only one bathroom, though, in the back of the first room. A paper collar around the toilet seat announced it had been ‘sanitized, for your protection’. Duke wondered what they might have needed protecting from.

  “I guess we’ll have to share,” Scarlett had poked her head in from the second room, “there isn’t one in here.”

  “I guess,” Duke noticed she had already moved her bags in there, and left his on the bed in front, “So you’ve claimed that one, huh? I’d have thought you would have wanted to be closer to the, uh, shower.”

  “Why?” Scarlett turned on the television and flipped it to a news channel, “There’s no TV in there, either. I don’t really mind. Its farther away from the road, and the window faces away from all the lights. Besides, I just feel so much more secure knowing that any poorly intentioned bad man must go through you first,” She clutched her hands to her chest and batted her eyelids dramatically.

  Duke sighed, “why do I feel like I’m doing something wrong?” he tossed his duffel on the floor and sat down on the bed, “It feels so utterly against regulations.”

  “Relax, Duke. Technically, we’re doing nothing wrong,” Scarlett kicked her shoes on the floor and shrugged out of her jacket.

  “Hurm.” Duke dropped his beret on the bedside table and picked up the phone.

  “Who are you calling?”

  “A few of my buddies on base. I figure they haven’t eaten yet. If they can wrangle a quick pass from the L.T., we can grab some grub down the street.”

  “Oh,” Scarlett turned back to the T.V. Duke dialed directly to Dragon’s quarters. The phone managed half a ring before it was snatched up.

  “Simons,” the voice at the other end sounded bored.

  “Dragon, you bastard, I’m back in town.”

  “Duke, you fucker! I was wondering when you’d get back. Where the Hell are you? The troops are happy, so you can’t be back on base.”

  “Nah, Drag, I’m in town, that place down the street from the Bullseye.” Duke knew what Dragon’s next thought would be.

  “No cute chicks in St. Louis, eh? I knew you were crazy for those southern girls. Is she hot?” Dragon chuckled.

  “Well,” Duke glanced at Scarlett, “Yeah, actually. But it’s not what you think.”

  “Sure it isn’t.,” Dragon sounded unconvinced, “she can’t be all that great, or you wouldn’t have time to call me.”

  “Listen, prick, you’ll understand when you get over here. I got a lot to tell you. Badger a few passes out of the L.T. and grab Bear. Then get your lazy asses over here. I’m in room six. We’ll get a bite to eat and a beer.”

  “You act like I’m some kind of miracle worker.”

  “Just do it, Dragon. Don’t whine about it, you son of a bitch!”

  Dragon laughed heartily, “Sure, man, give me forty five minutes. We’ll be there.”

  Duke laughed back at him and hung up. He turned around to find Scarlett watching him with interest. “That’s exactly how I talk to my friends.”

  Duke felt himself blush, “Oh, sorry about the language. I forgot myself.” Duke slipped off his shoes and sat back against the wall, stretching his legs out, “they’ll be here in three quarters of an hour. Gives me a little time to rest.”

  “Do you want to sleep? I could go next door.”

  “No, you don’t have to. Even if I wanted to, you wouldn’t bother me any,” he reached over to the bedside table and grabbed the remote. It WAS screwed down. Resigned to the bad taste of Motel theft prevention, Duke had to slide over closer to read the labels. He switched the channel to a ballgame.

  “Hey! I was watching that!” Scarlett came over and tried to snatch the remote. She was thwarted by the screw, and made a little sound of frustration that brought a smile to Duke’s lips.

  “Go ahead and switch it back. It was only the Braves, anyhow.” she snorted at him and changed the channel back to the news, “Tell me something, Red. You were born in Atlanta.”

  “Right.”

  “Grew up there.”

  “Uh-huh”

  “In a state where even the newscasters sound like something from the country bear jamboree.”

  “Well, to put it rudely,” she threw the television listings at him, “some people consider Georgia the center of the cultural world.”

  “Sure, like Mary-Lou over there in the office,” he caught the listings before they hit him in the face.

  “What’s your point, Duke?”

  “Where’s your accent?”

  “Oh,” she turned all the way around to face him, “a lot of people wonder about that.”

  He nodded slowly, “It is to wonder, yes.”

  “I’m not exactly sure, to tell the truth. I never had one. I think it has something to do with the fact that I grew up around people with a strong Irish lilt.”

  Duke smiled, “You don’t have that either.”

  “No,” she fumbled with the corner of the bedspread, “I guess the two just canceled out.”

  Duke thought about it, “It makes a sort of sense. I imagine you pick up accents pretty easily. Must be a plus when you’re working intelligence.”

  “It helps,” she turned back to the news. Duke felt relaxed. He was surprised how comfortable he was beginning to feel around this woman who had less than twelve hours ago been a complete stranger. He let his head fall back against the headboard, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly through his nose.

  He woke up later to find the television dark and Scarlett gone. The door between the rooms was shut. Duke got up and knocked lightly on it.

  “Come in,” he pushed the door open to find Scarlett sitting on her bed reading what looked like a tattered Robert Parker novel, “You fell asleep, so I thought I’d come in here and read a little. The news started getting noisy.”

  “Thanks. Spencer, huh?” he pointed at her book.

  “Yeah, he’s a good read.”

  Duke thought for something else to say, “My friends should be here soon. I was wondering-” he was stopped by a loud knock at the door, followed by a holler.

  “Hey Duke, are you decent? Open up!” it was a resonant, deep voice.

  “Does she have any friends?” the second voice was much more nasal.

  Duke slipped the latch and opened the door to reveal two men. One was a large black man, the other was tall, but quite skinny. Both were in dress greens. Duke laughed and they took turns slapping each other on the shoulder. “Dragon! Bear! Good to see you two!”

  The skinny man chortled nasally, “She must be classy. Yer talkin’ mighty clean!” Duke felt his ears turn red. He heard Scarlett clear her throat behind him and saw both Bear and Dragon’s eyes go wide.

  “I’m very classy,” Duke turned and saw that Scarlett has put her shoes and dress jacket back on. She looked sharp and professional, and, Duke had to add, drop dead gorgeous. She smiled and the whole room lit up. “Sargent Shanna O’Hara,” she shook both their hands, “Duke is escorting me and another troop from Benning to our new assignment.”

  The skinny man was awestruck, but the large man found his voice, “Call me Dragon, ma’am. This nitwit here is Bear. Pleased to meet you,” Dragon looked at Duke, “New assignment? That means you too?”

  Duke nodded, “Yeah. My days of intimidating trainees are over.”

  “We do have a lot to talk about. Don’t think I haven’t seen that new patch on your sleeve. Lets go grab a beer and some steaks at The Bullseye and hear the story.”

  “You bet, I’m starving.” Duke followed Dragon and Bear out the door. He stopped when he realized Scarlett wasn’t following, “aren’t you coming along?”

  “Sure, I didn’t realize the invitation was there,” he held the door for her as she walked out. Together, they walked down the block to The Bullseye Grill and Bar, a regular hang-out for the troops from Benning lucky enough to be out on a pass or a dare. They sat at a large booth in the corner and ordered a round of beers. Of the selection, Duke only found Heinekin to be drinkable. The rest was swill. He prayed America would get its act together soon. Most of mainland Europe knew how to produce good beer. Germany has brewing laws hundreds of years old. He spent the usual few minutes trying to find something good. The harried bar girl finally delivered their drinks and left. Duke found Scarlett smiling at him.

  “What?”

  Her grin broadened, “Beer snob.”

  Dragon and Bear laughed heartily. Dragon slapped Scarlett on the back, forcing her to swallow a mouthful prematurely, “You noticed too, huh? Lady, you’re OK.”

  “Yeah,” Bear chimed in, “Our man Duke never could settle for the regular stuff. He has to be a pussy about it.”

  “Watch your mouth, Bear,” Duke glared angrily.

  Scarlett laughed with Dragon, “Say, why do you call him ‘Bear’, anyway? He’s not so big.”

  It was Duke’s turn to smile, “We don’t call him that ‘cause he’s big-”

  “We call him that ‘cause he’s a hairy son of a bitch!” Dragon finished, and all three men roared. From there, the conversation wandered. Duke explained as much about his transfer as he was able. Neither Dragon nor Bear had ever known about his double duty in intelligence. That was top secret. Duke wasn’t sure whether the Joes would even learn of his full past. The waitress brought each of them a massive steak. Talk and beer flowed pretty freely. Duke was pleasantly surprised to see Scarlett keeping up on both counts.

  Before Duke knew it, it was one in the morning, and the bar was shutting down. Bear and Dragon both stood, “I imagine we’ll see you in the morning, Duke. You’d better stop by before you go. Brutus will want to say goodbye, I’m sure.”

  Scarlett’s eyes had taken on a glassy shine, “Brutus?”

  Duke patted her hand, “ ‘Smascot. ‘Ol bulldog. Gotta be around ten or so. Good ol’ Brutus. There before me. I’ll miss the mutt.” Duke was sure he could speak more clearly if he tried.

  “Oh,” Scarlett grinned at him, “You like dogs?”

  “Love ‘em!” He patted her hand some more, “and they love me. Never met a dog I didn’t like.”

  Bear sat down, ready to join in again, “Iss true, ma’am. I rememmember. I rememem.. I..I recall once Duke and I foun’ this ol’ poodle pup in the rain, an we-” he was cut off by Dragon’s large hand wrapping around his collar.

  “C’mon, hairy Bear, we’d better go. We’re late back to base, and the L.T.’s a bitch,” he shook Scarlett’s hand, “nice meeting you ma’am.”

  “Bye!” Scarlett waved happily. She turned to Duke as they left, “Are they safe to drive?”

  Duke hauled himself to his feet. It was harder than he remembered. Where did all those bottles on the table come from? “Yeah, they’re fine. Dragon’s a fantastic driver. Fucking amazing, the way he can drive,” he managed to focus on her long enough to take a step or two in her direction, “We’d better go to. It’s way past bedtime.”

  “I’m pretty sleepy, too,” Scarlett yawned, went for the door, and tripped over her own chair, “oops! I’ll be honest with you. I don’t usually drink this much.”

  Duke offered her his arm, “It don’t even show. Lessgo.” Arm in arm, they walked out of The Bullseye and down the street. Duke looked down at her as they made their way back to the motel. She was amazing, really. Strong, smart, funny, and pretty. Duke would have to congratulate Hawk on his decision to transfer her to the Joes. Any woman who could survive a night out with Dragon and Bear was a keeper.

  A cool breeze blew by, rustling the leaves of the dogwoods that lined the street. Scarlett huddled closer to Duke, her grip tightening on his arm. He felt a flutter of something in his stomach. She was very nice.

  “You’re very nice, Scarlett,” dammit! Was that him saying that? That sounded like him. She smiled up at him. Her eyes were very blue.

  “So are you, Duke,” she leaned her head against his shoulder, and his stomach jumped again. They reached the motel, and opened the door to the suite. Scarlett went straight to her room and flopped on the bed. Duke stood for a moment in the doorway, thinking. There was something he always did after a night of drinking, so the hangover wouldn’t be as bad. What was it? He looked around for inspiration. His eyes stopped at the bathroom. Water. That was it, lots of water. He went to the bathroom and took a long drink from the tap. Then he filled two glasses and took them to Scarlett’s room. She hadn’t moved from where she had landed on the bed.

  “You’d better drink these,” she sat up and took a glass, emptying it in one swig. “It’ll help in the morning,” he handed her the other glass. She downed it just a fast.

  “Thanks,” her smile was mesmerizing. Duke found himself lost in it. She was very pretty. Downright beautiful, really. He found himself suddenly unable to catch his breath.

  “Red, I...you’re” he couldn’t find the words.

  “Duke,” she was whispering. She sounded...unsure, “You can stay, if you want to.” Duke knew exactly what he wanted. In a moment of clarity, he also knew exactly how much trouble he would cause for the both of them if he got it.

  “Scarlett, I want to. I really do. You’re gorgeous,” she blushed. “I mean it you are. Normally, I’d be there like a shot. But...”

  “But?”

  “But we’re both very drunk, and we have to work together, it’s against regulations, and the man we have to work under probably wouldn’t stand for it.”

  “You’re right, Duke,” she flopped back on the bed, “We’d probably both regret it in the morning,” he switched out her bedside lamp and went back to his room. He stopped in the doorway and turned back to face her.

  “No, Scarlett, I don’t think I would.” But she was already asleep.

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Continued in Chapter Eight!
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