Soft billowy clouds floated overhead, and a warm summer wind blew off the bluffs ruffling the grass around Casey’s head and tickling his ears. He loved this time of the year. The summer heat was building, reminding him of long days and short nights.
Sitting up, Casey reclined on his hands and looked down the hill toward the central cooking fire where he could easily see Tristan’s blond head bent over the large soup pot currently hanging over the flames. Javier with his darker locks disappeared around the bend in the path, only to reappear moments later with dinner supplies in his arms. The sounds of their laughter drifted on the breeze, and Casey smiled. The only way things could be better is if he could be with Lottie and Greysen.
He worried about how she was doing. He could still feel her tears through his shirt as he held her that night, she’d shown him the baby’s grave, but by morning she’d seemed more melancholy than depressed.
Shaking off the thought, he let his focus drift over the other members of his squad. August was coming, and although it was possible for him to receive a summons from First Lieutenant Green to discuss next year’s personnel, he didn’t expect to hear from his superior. None of his men would be turning thirty any time soon, and unless Noah made good on his promise to Javier, Casey didn’t expect any of his men to be rotating out of his command.
Flopping backward, Casey closed his eyes and covered them with his forearm. He lay there, breathing in the sharp tang of river water and the musky scent of recently scythed grass.
“Staff Sergeant Huxley?”
Casey jerked and sat up abruptly. “Yeah?” he asked inarticulately as he blinked at the backlit figure before him. The bright sunlight not only disguised the speaker quiet effectively, but it also made his eyes burn and water. He ran his hand over his face, brushing sleep grit from the corner of his eyes.
“Hot-damn, Huxley, you’re a Staff Sergeant. Never saw that coming. When’d it happen? Last time we talked you were just a grunt, kickin’ it under Kerner,” the figure said, then asked, “Can I sit?” After a slight pause, he added, “Sir.”
“Yes,” Casey said. He was still confused who stood before him, but at his approval, the soldier sat, and as the sun shifted from being behind the speaker to illuminating his face, Casey recognized who had spoken. “Cameron.” He snapped his fingers. “Cameron Busch?”
“Yep.”
The two exchanged an elaborate handshake. “The hell you doin’ here?” He hadn’t seen Cameron in years, not since they both had a week of leave back in St. Louis years ago. The weekend he earned his promotion, Casey remembered with a start. It felt so long ago. “PGD send you all the way to me?” His heart jumped at the thought of a better power source being installed at his Fort.
Cameron’s lips turned down in a frown. “Power Generation didn’t send me.” The bitterness in his tone was undeniable. “I’m Innercommunication Preservation and Distribution now.”
I-comm?
“Voluntary?” Casey couldn’t disguise his surprise. Cameron had loved PGD.
“No.”
Casey shifted so he could focus on Cameron better. “No… What happened?”
“Sergeant First Class Merril is what happened.”
He whistled. “Shit.”
“You’re telling me.”
“When?” Casey asked.
“Last October.”
“What’d you do?”
“Stole some hooch from Merril’s private stash. Got caught. Spent a few nights in Fort Fenton’s lockdown next to a blonde hottie,”—Lottie?—“then visited my superior for reassignment at Merril’s request.”
“Ouch,” Casey said in sympathy.
“Yeah.”
Casey wanted to know more about the “blonde hottie”.
Cameron said, “You’re telling me!”
Cameron’s gaze raked Casey from head to toe. “Authority suits you.”
The back of Casey’s neck prickled with embarrassed warmth. It had been negligent of him to be taking his daily leave out in the open where he could be caught napping. It looked unprofessional. He should have been in his tent, but the damage was done. He shrugged. “What brings you here?”
Cameron shifted his focus, overlooking the camp. “The usual. Dispatch from HQ.”
Holding out his hand, Casey said, “‘kay, hand it over.”
“You mind if I stay here the day? Clean up. Do laundry?” Cameron asked as he fished in his pocket for the notice. Finally finding it, he extracted it from the depths of his pocket and passed the wrinkled paper to Casey.
“Thanks,” Casey said as he took the document. “Stay as long as you need.”
Cameron nodded and leaned back.
Opening the envelope, Casey took out the dispatch, and after unfolding it further, he began to read.
“…collecting wiring and turbines or panels they may have missed.”
“I’m sorry?” Casey interrupted realizing Cameron had been speaking while he was reading.
“I said, I wished I was assigned to this new branch of PGD they just started instead of IPD. The job sounds like fun. They’re patrolling—”
“Patrols?” Casey asked, clarifying.
“Yeah, near the city,” Cameron answered
The tension in Casey’s shoulders relaxed. He didn’t have to worry about the women. They were west of Fort Sutton and should be safe from discovery by these new PGD patrols, but he’d have to remember to tell Noah or Jaesen about it when he saw them next.
Without missing a beat, Cameron continued, “—for power supplies that weren’t turned in proper-like when they were supposed to or weren’t collected for whatever reason. Then, if they find something worthwhile, they note its location on a map, and when they get back to StL they report on it. First Lieutenant Volpe then sends out a collection team to bring that shit back.” Cameron snorted. “That job doesn’t sound nearly as appealing. But hiking around. Lookin’ for the shit in the first place? That’s… Well.” He huffed a wry laugh. “They’ll never let me back into PGD. I guess i-comm’s not a bad substitute, all things considered. I still get to hike around the countryside. I’m just looking for soldiers instead of solar panels.”
“So you’re doing all right with the demotion?” Casey asked.
Cameron shrugged and sat up. “Ain’t got no choice now.” He glanced at Casey. “If you’re ever faced with the chance to try Merril’s booze without him knowing, don’t do it. Ain’t worth the punishment.”
Patting his friend on the shoulder, Casey said, “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Call to action at the end of all odd chapters: *****If you like Acquisition and Preservation, please add it to your library!
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