“So,” I say, pulling them back into the conversation. “Could you be my ears?”
“I’m in,” Cheddar declares. “That fucker has been a thorn in our sides for years now. I’m happy to have a chat with a few people to see if we can get some more information or evidence.”
“Thank you, Cheddar. That would be really great.”
“We’re all in,” River says. “We’ll need to be careful as to not tip him or Grey off that we’re asking about him.”
“Yes, please be careful,” I implore. “I donotwant any of you getting into trouble.”
“Will you tell the captain?” Kit asks.
Nodding, I stand from River’s bed. “When I have enough evidence, and I know who is involved. For now we need to keep quiet, so when you’re asking around, try not to make it obvious, okay?”
“No worries,” Boot says. “Everyone in the department is used to talking shit about him and Grey.”
“What’s your next move?” River asks.
“I have some more interviews to conduct for the article. I think I might add Lieutenant Pierce to my list. See if I can prod about there. I want to know if Benson treats him as he does other officers.”
“Bloody hell, thisislike Vigil,” Cheddar gasps, making us all laugh.
“I’m not here to make trouble for you or the Navy,” I begin, “but I also can’t sit by and do nothing when I see a problem.”
“We appreciate it,” Kit says. “I think I can speak for us all when I say the Royal Navy is our home. It’s not perfect, but we love it.”
“And I want you to continue doing what you love, without people like Benson targeting you.”
Everyone smiles and nods my way. River stands and walks me to the door. She pauses and looks over her shoulder. Three sets of eyes are staring at us with silly grins.
“About turn, ladies,” River calls. Her bunkies chuckle but turn their backs to us which isn’t easy considering they’re all sitting down.
Happy we’re not being watched, River turns back to me and grins. “Date two tomorrow night?” she asks quietly.
“I can’t wait.”
She hesitates for a second, but then leans in for a quick kiss.
21
River
Should I expect constantbutterflies the entire time I’m within a foot of Cleo? The quick kiss is still lingering on my lips and in my belly, even an hour later.
I endured the ribbing from my friends and appreciated Kit’s involvement. I don’t know what was said between her and Cleo, but I’m happy with the result.
I know it’s not necessary to prove myself to Kit, but I hope in time she sees I’m not the arsehole she thinks I am. All the apologies in the world can’t erase what she said, but I’ve come to terms with it. Now I want to look forward and enjoy my time with Cleo, however that may look.
Our second date is scheduled for tomorrow night, disguised as me showing Cleo the ship, and I’m excited to plan it. I’m going to try to organise a romantic walk around the flight deck, and my buddy in the officers’ galley is goingto leave me a small picnic. I haven’t worked out how to explain that away if we’re caught, but I’ll worry about it later.
Right now I need to focus on chatting to some friends who have been on the wrong side of Benson nearly as much as me. Thankfully we’re all engineers, so we have a legitimate reason to be in close quarters. Cleo will be better suited for reaching those of us on the ship who aren’t as well-acquainted.
If Benson’s behaviour is based on sexual orientation I would expect to hear of other queer crewmates outside of the engineering department getting the same treatment. Not as targeted because he wouldn’t get away with giving punishments out to people in other sectors unless their CO knew about it and signed off. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t thrown out pointed remarks, etc., which I know he would do, because he’s a twat.
Grey is constantly at the forefront of my mind as I make my way to the comms room. I’m on duty to check all the systems are operating correctly, which means hours stuck indoors. It gives me some time to contemplate everything Cleo said, though.
Putting Benson to one side, Grey is a problem. She’s clearly getting something out of being a gofer, and I feel abit sick thinking it could be sexual. What if she’s getting knobbed by Benson on the regular for her cooperation? It would have to be something like that, because Grey is taking a massive risk by alienating herself from her crewmates. If anything happens to Benson, i.e., he gets transferred, or worse, fired, where would that leave her?
Why do I even fucking care? It’s not like she’s a good person. Then again, I don’t know her story. There could be stuff I don’t know about contributing to her behaviour.
