Watching Yute (22 page)

“
Karl.” Cipriana
greeted.

“
Hi Cip. I take it the
ride’s here.”

“
Yes, go ahead. They’ll
relieve you of the prisoners when you get there.”

“
Hold on,” Colonel Calvert
jumped in, “Take my boys with you. Call me crazy, but I’d feel
better of these fellows were under tighter guard than just pointy
sticks.”

Cipriana shrugged. “So be it, Sir.”
Calvert’s two armed men joined Karl’s group which continued to the
helipad, leaving Cipriana, Cassidy, Cheryl and Calvert to continue
onto the temple.

After a bit of distance was put between
the two groups, Cipriana spoke, perhaps only to herself. “It’s just
as well. Karl’s group is perfectly capable, but I don’t think
anyone would relish firearms in the temple.”

Cassidy couldn’t help but wonder if
guns would suffer the same malfunction in the temple as watches,
cameras and grenades. A growing part of her wanted to know why the
hell this effect happened, but the current situation, not to
mention the lack of a giant hole in her body, made her willing to
let the issue slide for now. It didn’t seem to bother anyone else
too much.

When they arrived at the temple, the
doorways were again guarded as normal. Cipriana just nodded at the
southeast guards as the group passed through. Cassidy took a peek
down the little trench. Yeah, it would have been a good place to
toss the grenade. Up the second set of stairs, they found no one
guarding the north door. Karl of course, was at the helipad by
now.

“
Marcus?” Cipriana’s gentle
voice carried very well in the large hall.

“
Just collecting nasty
little easter eggs.” Marcus’ voice came back, and everyone looked
to see him walking out from behind one of the statue’s rear paws.
“Where in blazes did those two get grenades?” Marcus looked up from
his two ‘eggs’ he had in hand. “Oh! Hey there, Colonel.” Marcus
kept walking, past them, headed for the stairs down. “I’d salute,
but I got my hands full.”

“
Major?” Colonel Calvert
followed behind Marcus, and the ladies followed them as well. “So
they were duds? Replicas?”

“
Nope.” By this time, Marcus
had made it to the front steps. He turned to Cassidy. “Leftenent
Cassidy, you’ve got a good arm on you, don’t you? Wanna see how far
out that way you can throw these? Aim high.” He pointed out across
the ruins, and repeated. “Aim high.”

Cassidy didn’t get the point so much,
but took one of the grenades, and reared back, hurtling it in a
high, powerful arc.

“
What’s the point of th-“
Colonel Calvert was interrupted when the grenade exploded in the
sky.

“
Shit!” Cassidy voiced the
sentiments of nearly everyone around.

Marcus handed her the other one.
“Alright, again, just like that.” Cassidy, a little afraid that the
grenade could go off any second, tossed it without delay. Her haste
made the throw a little sloppier, but it still exploded high enough
as to not even damage the ruins below.

“
What the hell just happened
here?” The Colonel was looking around, expecting to find a rifleman
aimed at the sky.

“
Just disposing of them
safely.” Marcus said. “If you want, we can go pick up the pieces to
have them checked out. I really don’t think taking them away live
would have been all that wise.”

Colonel Calvert was confused. “Were the
pins not pulled earlier?”

“
They sure were.” Cassidy
testified.

Marcus pointed at the north door. “He
just doesn’t put up with that kind of nonsense.”

The Colonel looked at Marcus strangely.
“What? The statue?”

Marcus ignored the silly question, and
went on with important issues. “Those men kind of fit the
description of potential Aguei Rights Activists, but it doesn’t
make sense that they’d attack inside the temple.”

“
A.R.A.? If they are, it’s
often a futile effort to guess the motives of those kinds of nuts,”
The Colonel said, “but either way, it looks like more security is
needed around here. More security than an honour guard with pointy
sticks.”

Marcus grunted. “Well, let’s talk to
the Grand Elder about this before we go making any drastic changes.
For the time being, I want to suspend the tours.”

The Colonel was soon ready to bring in
a legion of troops to sweep the area and set up enhanced security
right on the spot, but Grand Elder Armil was quick to put a stop on
that motion when contacted from the base.

“
I will come.” He said
through the terminal. Marcus nodded, pleased. The Colonel was less
easy with the idea, but knew that Armil’s authority was absolute
when it came to the ruins and the temple.

The Colonel and his two men were
treated with hospitality; fed, and offered bunks if they wanted.
They didn’t have a ride out for the time being, with their chopper
still out transporting the prisoners. Cassidy watched them with
mild amusement. These guys were regular army, getting a taste of
life here. The two soldiers were beginning to relax, and even the
Colonel began to realize that he didn’t need to give orders so
loud. He didn’t need to give orders at all, really. Casual
camaraderie in the mess had a much more home-like feel to it,
especially with Jim baking cookies nearby.

“
It’s just about time for
shift change.” Cassidy said, as she and Cheryl nabbed a
cookie.

“
Just like nothing
happened?” Colonel Calvert asked.

Cassidy chuckled, and patted her
stomach, which was still explosion-free. “Close enough to nothing
for me.” Cheryl failed to see the humour. They stopped by the
barrack, and headed out. After exiting the base, they could see
that the Grand Elder’s airlimb had arrived. Flowing from the hatch
were Armil’s personal guard of G.E.G Storms. Lots and lots of
Storms, led silently by their female Colonel.

Cassidy, Cheryl, and a few other
members of afternoon watch continued on leisurely, and many of the
Storms jogged past them towards the temple. They were more
impressive, more heavily armed than Calvert’s men, but they were
somehow less obtrusive. They moved so quietly, and so fluidly, they
seemed to fit the calm of the place. Those that had to move around
one of the walking guards did so as smoothly as smoke.

When Cassidy and Cheryl got to the
temple, several Storms were lined up across the front, below the
bottom step. Others could be seen wandering the ruins. Perhaps
looking for grenade fragments.

Cassidy stopped by one. “Going in for
an inspection?”

“
No ma’am.” His voice was
fitting of the way these Storms moved. Precise but quiet. “We don’t
need to, and we’d rather not take these inside if it can be
avoided.” He lifted his rifle a moment for illustration.

Cheryl spoke up. “Are you going to be
guarding this spot from now on?”

“
Don’t know,
Sir.”

Afternoon shift was officially
underway, and Cassidy settled into her post with Cheryl at the
south east door. The view was somewhat ruined by the Storms posted
out front. Even if they were less disturbing than the Colonel’s
men, they were still an unavoidable reminder of the morning’s
attack. It was difficult to make small talk with Cheryl when there
was a Storm within earshot. It was plain that Cheryl was still
rattled, and this above anything else, rattled Cassidy.

Off and on, clusters of Storms would
convene in front of the temple. Sometimes just two, sometimes half
a dozen. After a while, Cassidy managed to figure out that yes,
they were collecting the grenade fragments. Cassidy didn’t feel the
need to point this out to Cheryl. Did Cheryl notice what they were
doing?

Cassidy decided to make another attempt
at small talk, using as little verbal communication as
possible.

“
Hey, you.” She caught
Cheryl’s eye and smiled as seductively as she could. It made Cheryl
smile, holding back a smile.

Cassidy bit her lower lip softly, and
threw Cheryl a slow wink, and ran her hands along her spear slowly.
Cheryl couldn’t help chuckle a bit, and threw Cassidy a little
kiss. “Is my Cassie thinking of going camping after the
shift?”

Cassidy smiled sheepishly, tilting her
head. “Damned right.” Cheryl’s mood was well-lifted. Mission
accomplished.

Night arrived for the latter part of
the shift. The few remaining Storms posted out front blended into
the night better, and made them less obtrusive. The Storms had done
their own shift change, and only two remained in front of the
steps.

The normal night shift arrived
eventually. Karl was one of the guards who took over the south east
door, and he had a message. “You two are supposed to check in at
the base instead of going to your camp.”

Damn it. Not ‘before’ going to- instead
of. If people are worried about security, it stood to reason that
Cipriana wouldn’t want two people sleeping out in the ruins, alone
and isolated. But still, those grenade nuts were an isolated thing,
right? And they didn’t even have their own way of getting here. And
the camp wasn’t a prime target, or even a target at all. Cassidy
was pretty sure that not even Cipriana knew exactly where it
was.

During the walk back to the base, the
journey’s lack of Cipriana and Marcus reminded Cassidy that they
had taken the shift off to meet with Armil.

“
They’re not going to take
camp from us, are they?” Cheryl spoke like a timid
child.

Cassidy put her hand on Cheryl’s
shoulder as they walked, and Cheryl moved closer so that Cassidy’s
arm was around her. “I dunno, hon. I hope not.”

When they arrived at the base, it
looked like almost everyone was out front. Marcus was corralling
this sloppy formation, and talking about a route. He called
afternoon shift into the crowd, but Cipriana pulled Cassidy and
Cheryl aside.

“
Ladies, everyone but the
watch at the temple are going for a march tonight. A bit of a
patrol.” Cipriana said. “Tonight I’d appreciate if you spent the
night at the base, we’ll talk about your camp later.”

“
Uh… where’s this patrol
going?” Cassidy asked, a little nervously.

Cipriana smiled softly. “Just taking a
general look around for anything odd. Don’t fret, I’ve made sure
your camp will remain undisturbed. You two won’t be going on any of
tonight’s patrols.” She leaned in with Cassidy and Cheryl, and
spoke very quietly.” I have a special mission for you.”

“
Special mission?” Cheryl
copied Cipriana’s secretive behavior.

“
There’s a folding chair
sitting in the barrack. Your instructions are taped to the bottom
of it.” Cipriana saw Cheryl getting a little worried. “It’s an easy
mission, no danger really, but it must be done discretely.
Understood?”

“
Understood.” Cassidy and
Cheryl nodded.

“
Okay, go. Don’t waste any
time.”

Cheryl and Cassidy discretely passed
along the edge of the group, into the base. Only a few metres
inside, the quiet was noticeable, contrasted from the chatter
outside. They moved quietly towards the barrack and saw the chair,
sitting not far from the washroom door. It was hard to imagine what
sort of mission was waiting for them. What needed such secrecy, yet
was not dangerous?

Cassidy knelt beside the chair, and
reached under it, to pull a note off the bottom. She unfolded it,
and read, Cheryl crouched behind her, reading over her
shoulder.

Happy six months, you two. A little
early, but opportunity knocked. You should have privacy until about
24:00, but don’t rely too much on anything past 23:00. For safety’s
sake, stick to the women’s areas. There’s a bottle of red under
Cassidy’s pillow. Try not to use up ALL the hot water.

-Cipriana

Cassidy and Cheryl stared at it for a
moment or two. Cheryl wrapped her arms around Cassidy from behind
and gave a squeeze. “Best. Mission. Ever.”

“
Remind me to… I don’t
know.. wow. Yay Cip!” Cassidy had no sooner finished stammering,
than Cheryl was simultaneously pulling Cassidy towards the showers
and fumbling to pull off her top, giggling like a demon all the
while.

“
Are we going to use all the
hot water?” Cassidy purred, turning to face Cheryl, and helping
with her top.

“
We’ll sure try!” The two
left a short trail of clothing to the nearest shower stall,
including Cassidy’s hat. Giggles and similar little sounds mixed
with the sound of water spray. Roughly half an hour of love had
passed when they paused to catch their breath, pressed together
against the back wall.

Cheek to cheek, breathing hard for a
few moments, then Cassidy whispered just loud enough to be heard
over the water. “We’re being watched...”

“
What?!” Cheryl jumped, but
was held against the wall by Cassidy.

“
Shh, shh… it’s okay..”
Cassidy reached up onto the wall behind Cheryl, and Cheryl
understood.

“
Oh, ew.. little visitor?”
Cheryl cringed a away a little as Cassidy brought down a young
aeki. In well over half a year, she still hadn’t had an amicable
close encounter with one yet. Maybe it was the fresh endorphins in
her bloodstream, but she felt ready. Maybe.