“It is. And he’d have the opportunity to study under some of the best here on base.”
I’d never thought of the military as a path to self-improvement, only a straight line to certain death, whether it be the body or the spirit or both. The soldiers I’d known had been bullies and mindless machines. Could things be different here?
“Well, regardless of the way you got him to enlist, it got me thinking maybe I should enlist too,” I said and waited for her reaction.
The corners of her mouth ticked upward slightly, giving her a haughty look. “I’m delighted to hear it. You’d be a huge asset to our operation as well.”
“But I have some demands.”
She raised one eyebrow. “Oh? Seems to me like we’ve got what you want, Cipher. I’m not sure you have a leg to stand on, so to speak.”
She delivered the pun without the slightest hint of humor, except for the slightest hitch in the corner of her mouth. She was an amputee herself, so I didn’t mind the dig. “Maybe I do. I’m the lab’s star patient. Godara loves me. I imagine it would look good to the higher-ups if you had me around to show off as your in-house success story. Not to mention the added bonus that I was so grateful for the treatment I received here at StarChem Labs that I decided to devote my life to serving my country.”
“So patriotic,” she remarked drolly, “but okay, I’m interested to see where this is going. What are your demands?”
“We want the Humvee back.”
“The Humvee is an invaluable asset to our operation that would greatly help us with our work in the field.”
“Yeah, and it’s the only vehicle I trust to get my family around safely in Rabid Country. We found it, we claimed it. It’s ours. You can’t just take something because you think it’d be useful.”
“You stole it from Jeremiah and we stole it from you,” she said.
“Well now we want it back.”
“I’ll consider it. Continue,” she said with a wave of her hand.
“We need gas for our generators and vehicles. We’d like to trade for it. Produce or scavenged goods or whatever you tell us you need within reason. By the way, where do you get all the diesel?”
“The oil refineries were one of the first assets the government secured. Not enough for civilization to make a comeback, not yet, but enough for us to operate and get around. We have a filling station here on base.”
Maybe the government wasn’t quite as inept as I thought they were.
“So you’re hoarding it for yourselves?”
She cleared her throat but didn’t address my accusation. “Within reason, we can accommodate that request. Anything else?”
“Obviously, I’d like to be stationed with Kitten.”
“That might not be possible for your entire tenure. He expressed an interest in research, and you strike me more as a field asset.”
“Well, I’d want us to have times when we’re both on base then. He’s the whole reason I’m enlisting after all.”
“I thought it was for love of your country?” she deadpanned, and against my better judgment, I was actually starting to enjoy this exchange.
“Back to Kitten, he needs a hearing aid. He can’t be out in the field with Rabids stalking about and only hearing out of one ear.”
“We’ll do a full medical scan and offer whatever disability aids we have available. It’s in our best interest for our soldiers to be well-equipped in the field. Are you finished?”
“Not quite.”
“My, my, this list is getting long. Should I be writing this down?”
“Two nanny goats and a buck for my family. We want to make milk, cheese, and soap.”
“That’s a relatively easy one. The herd is prolific. Are we finished then? I’ll assemble the paperwork for you to sign right now.”
“One more,” I said. “A week of leave for us to go visit our family.”
