12-25-2008, 08:20 AM
Chapter Fourteen
In the Bedroom
In the Bedroom
She didnât get him once.
It was pretty comical.
Becky rushed at Hunt from twenty different angles, and he deflected her every time. What made it doubly comical was that Hunt kept grabbing her and throwing her harmlessly onto the bed with very little variation. She shot back up, he threw her down, she shot back up, he threw her down. After the thirteenth failed attempt, Becky bursted out laughing, but she kept trying. And laughing. When the twentieth and final time was over, Hunt twirled her upside-down, flung her victoriously over his shoulder, Neanderthal-style, as she wriggled and kicked.
Hunt snarled at his helpless victim âNow will you EAT YOUR SPINACH?â, then threw her back onto the bed with finality. Then he threw himself onto the bed, landing like a human tiger overtop of the exhausted redhead.
âI am PATHETIC!â Becky realized, laughing still.
âAinât that the truth,â Hunt agreed. âLike I told you before, Iâm very, very good at what I do. You can still be ad damn good SEAL, with the... skills you have...â
âAre you serious?â Becky asked, not noticing how dangerously close the sergeant was.
âSure. Weâll just call you Private Flipper,â Then he shifted his weight and flopped face-up next to her, laughing like a maniac.
âShut up!â she pounded his arm.
âAh, donât let it get you down. Youâre not here for your martial-arts abilities. Plus, after your running down Deck 13 the other day, itâs probably for the best that we donât teach you any weapons handling just yet.â He smiled and tilted his head to face her.
âNo training with a flamethrower for me. Oh, joy.â she sighed.
âYouâve got the prettiest nose...â
âShut up.â
â...and youâve got a primo pair of eyes.â She frowned and twisted around and saw him gazing at her. âYâwanna get frisky?â
âKevin, câmon,â Becky began. I knew I made a mistake having him here.
Hunt held up a finger. âNo hedging. Yes or no, Fox. I respect directness.â
âNo,â she said, a little too nervously. He could pin me if he wanted to.
âOkay, then,â Hunt grinned and let his head fall back onto the pillow. âSuit yourself,â he said as he stared at the ceiling. âI just thought you might want to have a little Fox-Hunt.â
âCute, Kevin.â
âAddress me as Sgt. Hunt,â he ordered, feigning annoyance. Suddenly his wrist-radio beeped, and a familiar voice spoke.
âAm I gonna see some action or what? This is boring,â Emerson complained.
As Becky shot up in bed in surprise, Hunt grabbed the radio. âDrop deadâ, he answered back. âAnd turn your screen off.â
âRead a magazine!â Becky shouted back and threw a copy of Teen Beat at the camera. She collapsed onto the bed next to Hunt and both remained still for a time. She sighed âEven when I think I have some privacy, I donât.â
Better not tell her I saw her naked, Hunt thought to himself. They half-turned, facing each other. There was an uncomfortable silence.
âCan he hear us?â Becky asked Hunt.
âTurn off the audio, Emerson,â the sergeant ordered. There was a click. âNope.â
Becky wasnât absolutely sure about Huntâs trustworthiness, but she appreciated his current restraint. I just wish he answered the question about Julie.
âKevin,â she said slowly. âI, um... the reason why I didnât... well... want to...â
âGet frisky?â Hunt said.
âYeah... I didnât want to because... I, um... was raped once, and...â
Huntâs face changed gradually. His smile vanished. His eyes moved to the wall, then the ceiling, not looking at her. âOh, shit,â he said softly. âIâm sorry, Fox. I didnât know.â He sat up and swung he legs off the bed. âWhenâd it happen?â
âA couple of years ago.â Becky was testing him for a reaction. He seemed natural, but she thought I should have my head examined for telling him this.
âWho did it?â Hunt asked. Becky couldnât see he face, but she heard some tension in his voice.
âSome animal. Itâs all right, Kevin. Heâs--â
âGive me his name and phone number,â he demanded.
Heâs putty, Becky thought as she smiled inwardly. âHeâs dead, Kevin.â
Hunt faced her, and smiled like heâd never smiled before. âWell, ainât that just too bad. Howâd he die?â
âHe was shot by a cop.â* Becky got off the bed and walked to the sink to get some water. Huntâs manner reassured her greatly.
âServes the @#$%ing bastard right, then. Jeez. No wonder you freaked when Fricker was harassing you.â
Becky thought about her reaction to Fricker, and gulped the last sip she got from the sink. She looked at herself in the mirror and swore to be in more control. And she didnât want to be responsible for anymore injuries. Problem was...
âKevin, whatâs the next mission going to be?â
âI donât know, Fox.â
âYouâre just saying that.â
âIâm telling you I donât know. The orders come from the General to Roberts to me. I never know until the mission starts. Whichâll be... two hours.â
âRoberts scares me,â said Becky. âHeâs getting weirder every day.â
Hunt told her âDonât be scared. Docâs all right. Just a little messed up. Heâs under a lot of pressure. He may seem like a callous guy with ice-water for blood, but deep down he likes you.â
Heâs under a lot of pressure? Becky thought skeptically. âIâm nothing but a weapon to him. A tool for killing. I hate him.â
Hunt motioned an arm around him. âHe got you these quarters, didnât he? Three days ago, you thought I was the Antichrist, and now weâre practically lovers.â With her back to him, Hunt couldnât see Becky blush uncomfortably. Instead, he scanned the room, and caught a glimpse of the Roy Schieder video collection. âHey, Fox, wanna watch Blue Thunder?â
âHey, Hunt, would it kill you to call me Becky?â
âCanât do it, Fox. Itâs called professionalism. Of course, if you want to get frisky...â
âNah. Iâd rather watch Blue Thunder.â She sat down in front of the television.
âMe, too. Not only is it just under two hours, itâs been a major VSO training film since â88.â
? ? ?
âYOU BONEHEADS!â shouted Lizzie.
âEat my shorts, Blondie!â replied Rabikes from behind bars. âIâm being unjustly persecuted for a crime I didnât commit! I never tried anything on HER!â
âPardy shouted simultaneously, âWho are you calling a bonehead, you bimbo! I shot her FIVE TIMES, and she kept on running! Next time Iâll use real bullets--â Pardy was also locked in a cell. The one next to Chrisâ.
Moultyâs arguing overlapped with Chrisâs and Pardyâs. âDiddle-diddle-ditt-ditt-ditt-ditt-DITT-DITT-diddle-diddle-diddle! DIDDLE-DIDDLE-DIDDLE!â He was doubly-locked-- once in a birdcage (the door stuck shut with a spoon), and twice in the cell itself. The three prisoners bickered all at once.
âONE AT A TIME!!â David Furfy shouted. He pointed at Pardy. âYou first. Why the heck did they put YOU in jail?â
Please, thought Lizzie. Donât let it be for...
âAssaulting at least sixteen police officers!â Pardy answered proudly.
Damn.
âThey put me in here with these two after I punched two more for calling me a boy! Theyâre so stupid!â
âTHEYâRE stupid!â Lizzie flared. âYou fly on a Big Wheel 3,000 feet in the sky just so you can get arrested for felonious assault?!? Donât I raise you right?â
âNo!â Pardy seethed contemptuously.
âLizzie, Becky was running!â Chris stressed. âI saw her in the courthouse, I called her name and she ran like a bunny-rabbit! It doesnât make any sense!â
Looking hard at Rabikes, Lizzie said, âConsidering it was you, I think Beckyâs reaction was about the sanest thing that happened all day!â
Furfy smirked. âI was gonna say that.â
âWe did the best we could!â chirped Moulty. âThat crazy dame be jumpinâ through fire! Makinâ whole walls of it! I tried to grab her!â
Lizzie sighed and tried to sound contrite. âI know you tried, Moulty, but itâs not you Iâm mad at. Youâre a bubble-headed booby, you donât know any better. Besides, youâre accident-prone. Besides, youâre not human. Why am I even TALKING to you? YOUâRE JUST A BIRD! ITâS THESE TWO HUMANS I WANT TO--â
Chris banged his cell bars. âLIZZIE, LISTEN! Sheâs talking, too!â
âWhat are you talking about?â she asked him.
âBecky-- is-- talking,â Rabikes repeated. âI heard her voice. And sheâs using her power-- which means she can CONTROL it.â
Lizzie considered that point. âThatâs... wonderful, but... whyâd she run?â
âSHEâS AN ASSASSIN, YOU NITWIT!!â Pardy shouted at the top of her lungs. âDO I HAVE TO SPELL IT OUT FOR YOU? A- S- S--â
âOH, LETâS NOT GO THROUGH THIS AGAIN, PARDY! YOU THINK EVERYONEâS AN ASSASSIN!â
âBecky is NOT an ASSASSIN!â shouted Furfy.
âI demand to SEE the GOVERNOR!â insisted Moulty, pounding the spoon with no success. âMy seedâs gettinâ stale! Nobodyâs changing the water!â
âLizzie, donât believe anything the cops say!â Rabikes said. âThey think Iâm some kind of floating, one-eyed sex deviant! Iâm innocent!â
Lizzie turned away and sighed. âThatâs too easy. Iâm not even gonna comment on that.â
David was exasperated. âWeâre here to bail them out. Can we just bail them out? Can ANY of you agree on ANYTHING?â
Pardy held the bars, eyeing Furfy. âI knew youâd come. Get âem to let us the hell out.â She was smitten the first time she saw him. If only the blast that forced his retirement from the bomb squad could have made him look worse, she could love him even more.
A frustrated Furfy walked off to explain things to the jail officer.
âPardy, heâs taken,â Lizzie told her. âForget about it. Heâs too old-- for you.â
âAw, come on, Ho-Ho! Why should Becky have dibs on the roughest guys? Heâs older than Becky, too! Sheâs taken and sheâs not coming back! We donât need her burning up the place--â
âI donât think he can believe Beckyâs a mutant... much less an assass...â Rabikes began to say, but was cut off by Lizzieâs glare. âPeople, can we all just try to get along for his sake? Please?â
âCan you keep your doohicky zipped?â Lizzie challenged before she walked off to find the nearest payphone.
âWord of honor. God, I hope this doesnât go to trial.â
âIt will,â Furfy said as he returned with an officer, âbut the bird and the kid are exonerated. We can all go.â
âOh, swell. Thanks, Dave.â Chris winced. With the turn of a key, each prisoner was released. Pardy, being the last stuck her tongue out at the officer who was still nursing the black eye she gave him.
âI canât believe that girlâs turned on by this,â Furfy said, pointing at his own face. âYou know, Becky said to me... after the explosion... she didnât care about the scares. She told me she didnât care if I had a face at all. Sheâd love me anyway, no matter what.â Rabikes smiled, nodding. âThat is the most --â
Lizzie sprinted up to them. She just notified Diamond on the phone. Now they had another problem. âFredâs disappeared. He never got back home. Itâs been too long.â
âGreat!â Rabikes cursed. âNow weâve got two mutants missing.â