Kate ducked her head inside the door of the pub, quickly pulling back her hood and shaking the rain from it. She ran her hand though her auburn hair in an attempt to put some life back into the bob that had gotten rather damp in the quick dash between the boat and the quayside pub. That was despite her heavy duty, all-weather jacket. It seemed the Scottish rain could beat anything, even a coat touted to be able to withstand arctic conditions. Given the horrendous weather, Kate was surprised to see the pub was still pretty busy that Saturday lunchtime. She should have known that a bit of rain would hardly be enough to keep the Scots from their drink. In fact she could hear the whiskey calling to her now.
Making her way over to the bar, she found a single malt already waiting for her on the dark wooden bar. Taking it she offered the barman a quick smile before she put the glass to her lips and downed it in one gulp.
“Cheers, Angus, just what the doctor ordered on a foul day like today. I’ll have another, and whatever you’re having.”
“Thanks, Major,” replied the man in his thick Ayrshire accent.
Kate rolled her eyes and then fixed them on the barman as he put her glass to the optics. “Angus, how many times have I told you - I come here to get away from people calling me that. If I wanted to be the Major, I would have worn my uniform. It’s Kate, please.”
He put her fresh drink back on the bar, bringing his finger up to tap on his nose. “Sorry, Kate. Incognito today are we?”
“Hardly,” laughed Kate, “I think everyone in this town knows exactly who I am. It’s your favourite source of gossip isn’t – what goes on at the mysterious army base?”
“Someone has a high opinion of their own importance.”
“So you’re saying no-one ever mentions it?” queried Kate with the quirk of an eyebrow.
“You can hardly blame them,” he said with a shrug, “You turn up here less than a year ago with all you weird and wonderful equipment and your exclusion zones and your secrets. Of course that’s going to be a goldmine for rumours in a quiet corner of Scotland like this. And then you only go and encourage the gossip with nuggets like that little confrontation in here two weeks ago.”
Kate frowned for a moment and looked down at the light brown liquid in her glass. She was unable to keep the dark look from her face as she recalled how she’d had to turn up in the bar and haul Andrea away with her after the young woman had gone against the Major’s wishes and left the island base. Even worse was that Andrea had been meeting and talking to a colleague of hers. Kate just couldn’t believe Andrea’s recklessness sometimes. The friendly inquisitiveness of the locals was one thing, the attentions of a trained police officer was something else. It was hard to imagine Andrea had ever been a successful police officer herself if that was the way she normally went about things - ignoring her superiors and risking the confidentiality of her cases.
Angus noticed Kate’s momentary distraction and obviously realised his mistake in bringing the incident up. “Though that didn’t keep them occupied long,” he added, trying to lighten the tone again, “Before you were relegated back to your usual place as second favourite topic of conversation.”
Kate glanced up at him again. “And what do we come behind?”
“The state of the Scottish football team of course.”
Kate let out another laugh. “Ah yes, I can see how we’d come second to such a rich vein of material as that!”
“Don’t you be starting now!” replied Angus jokingly, “You English, coming up here and rubbing it in, like you’ve done so well since ’66. [6]”
“Ok, point taken,” agreed Kate, sipping at her drink this time.
Angus picked up a glass, starting to wipe it dry with his tea towel. “So, no sailing today then?” he asked, deciding a switch to a safer topic was in order.
“Sailing?” repeated Kate incredulously, “Have you seen the weather out there?”
“That? Och, that’s a just a wee breeze, and you call yourself a sailor!”
It was true that Kate would normally like to spend at least part of her weekend sailing her boat out of Troon harbour, just up the coast from Ayr. However, even she drew the line at taking the Flyer out in a force ten gale for pleasure. The trip over from the island had been bad enough and she wouldn’t have bothered if she didn’t have a meeting to keep.
“Ah, looks like your friend is here,” noted Angus, causing her to swivel on her bar stool.
She quickly hopped off to accept the hug that was fast approaching, along with the kiss on the cheek that followed it.
“Sophie, good to see you,” said Kate with a smile, pulling back from her friend’s embrace.
“You too, Kat, though you could have arranged a bit of better weather for me. I almost bloody drowned between the car park and here!”
Kate chuckled at Sophie’s disgruntled expression. “I thought you would have been used to it, being a hardy Scot yourself.”
“It must be all those years away with the army that have made me weak. Bosnia, Northern Ireland and Iraq have nothing on crappy Scottish weather!”
“You love it really,” commented Kate with a wink. Ordering a drink for her friend, they went over to sit in one of the booths away from the bar.
Kate had met Sophie McAllister at Sandhurst[7] fifteen years ago where they’d quickly cemented a firm friendship, having the common cause of being two women against the old boys network that still prevailed there. They’d both been determined young women back then, intent of making the most of their army careers. Not that it had all been serious – they’d also found plenty of time for fun and games, often at the male officers’ expense. They made a slightly unusual pair, the petite, yet quietly confident and powerful Kate, and the more obviously larger than life Sophie, with her stout, muscular frame. They’d gone their separate ways since then, into their respective postings and regiments, but they’d always kept in touch and met as often as possible.
Sophie scraped a hand through her short, dark hair as she took a swig from her pint of lager. “So how are things going with you at the top secret base then?” she asked conversationally
“Not too bad,” replied Kate, “Though I’m having a bit of trouble with one of my new operatives.”
“Well, that’s what you get for babysitting civilians - no respect for the chain of command. You know you never have told me what’s so special about these people that they need a whole squadron of the British Army’s finest to look after them.”
Kate regarded Sophie with friendly suspicion. “And I’m not going to, no matter how much you try and wheedle it out of me or how many drinks you try and ply me with.”
“Now that sounds like a challenge!” Sophie craned round in her chair. “Angus, another whiskey for the good Major!”
“Sophie! It’s only one o’clock.”
“Since when did you care about a little daytime drinking?” scoffed Sophie, “I can remember you drinking a fair few of those pompous twats under the table at Sandhurst. They never could quite get over the fact that a woman might be able to hold her drink better than them.”
“No,” chuckled Kate, remembering the sight of officers in their dress uniform tumbling to the floor in a drunken stupor, “Though it didn’t stop them coming back for more or trying their hand at other things.”
“Indeed, though as I recall you were a demon on that snooker table too. I know I certainly made a packet from betting on you.”
“I’m glad I was able to provide such a good source of income.”
Sophie tipped her head nonchalantly to the side. “Where do you think I got all those cigarettes and bottles of booze from?”
“I didn’t like to ask!”
Sophie smiled, raising her glass in Kate’s direction. “Well, here’s to beating the twats!”
Kate clinked her smaller glass against it. “To the twats!” She finished off her whiskey, accepting the replacement that Angus had brought over.
“So, can you can tell me about this difficult guy then, the one that’s giving you problems,” asked Sophie, “Or is that secret too?”
“It’s a woman actually,” replied Kate.
“Ah, well that explains everything!” exclaimed Sophie, rolling her eyes, “You don’t have to tell me about women and what a pain in the arse they can be!”
“Oh, she’s that all right,” concurred Kate with a rueful shake of the head.
Sophie looked at her inquisitively having caught the tone. “Sounds intriguing.”
“That’s one way of putting it. You’re right about the civilian thing, though, it does make it tricky since they’re not directly answerable to me as such – it’s not like dealing with your average squaddie where they know exactly who’s boss.”
“So this woman is challenging your command then?” asked Sophie in obvious surprise, “Does she value her life?”
Kate laughed out loud, drawing a few stares from the other patrons. “You don’t know Andrea,” she continued on more quietly, “She’s stubborn, wilful, headstrong and bloody clever too. I think I may almost have met my match.”
Now Sophie’s dark eyes really did widen in shock. “My god, I need to meet this woman! Someone who can stand up to Kate Jarvis and live to tell the tale!”
“Well, she’s barely living,” allowed Kate wryly, “I had to really chew her out a couple of weeks ago for a blatant breach of protocol.”
“Ouch, I bet that hurt!”
“Indeed, though now she’s just avoiding me as much as possible which doesn’t make my job any easier.” Kate took a moment to rub her hand across her temple and down her face as she was reminded of the frustration of trying to deal with Andrea since their talk in the back of the car. She had hoped that Andrea might have seen sense after that, but if anything she was even more obstinate.
“Sounds like you have your work cut out then,” noted Sophie, “Though I have little doubt you’ll win her around. You just need to turn on a bit of that Jarvis charm.”
Kate snorted a laugh. “I hope so, I can’t really afford any more cocks ups, since I already have those two black marks against my name.”
“Two? Iraq and…?”
“Adam.”
The single word was enough to cause Sophie to purse her lips thinly together. “Ah, yes, I had tried to erase that whole mess from memory.”
“Me too.” agreed Kate.
“Well, it’s your own fault if you will insist on involving yourself with men,” remarked Sophie with a shrug of the shoulders.
“Uh oh, I sense the recruiting speech coming on,” sighed Kate, “Weren’t you telling me a minute ago how much of a pain in the arse women are?”
“That’s true,” conceded Sophie, “But they’re also wonderful, beautiful, intelligent…fantastic in bed.”
Kate choked on the latest sip of her whiskey, coughing a couple of times to try and ease its path down her throat.
“Certainly better than you’re going to get from any guy,” added Sophie.
“This from the self confessed lesbian – have you ever even slept with a man?”
Sophie made a face of disgust. “No, and I don’t want to or need to, thank you very much. Urgh, just the thought of penis,” Sophie shuddered. “How can you even look at it without laughing?”
“Well, you never know until you try it,” offered Kate, “I did dabble on your side of the fence after all.”
“Now that’s flattering, I’m a bit of a dabble now am I?”
“No offence, but it really wasn’t my thing…” remarked Katherine. She quickly spied Sophie’s slight frown, “Not that you were bad or anything…” she tried to explain rather tactlessly.
“Carry on, carry on,” said Sophie with a wave of the hand, “I’m just wondering how much deeper you can make this hole before you can’t get out.”
“Much, much deeper unless you take pity on me and pull me out?” Kate attempted her most winning smile.
Sophie narrowed her eyes as she stared back at Kate. Finally she gave in and sighed. “Damn, you know I’m a sucker for that smile, always was,” she confessed. “It’s just such a shame.”
“What is?”
“You being straight, it’s a major loss to the lesbian community, no pun intended.”
“Oh right, like I’d have them queuing up,” remarked Kate sceptically.
“Are you kidding?” cried Sophie, “You’d be fighting them off with a stick, especially if you let them see you in that uniform of yours.”
“Is that your normal ploy then?”
Sophie smiled wickedly. “It never fails.”
Both women laughed heartily. More drinks were ordered and the conversation drifted through a number of topics from more reminiscences of their time at Sandhurst, through their latest postings to the state of their respective love lives. The last subject was fairly short from Kate’s point of view – she didn’t have a love life, at least not since the disaster that was Adam. Sophie on the other hand seemed to suffer from the opposite problem – too many women and not enough time. By the time Kate had moved onto the pints too, she found the discussion had come round to Iraq, where they had both served during the recent war, though with different units. She wasn’t quite sure how they had got onto talking about it, and she was entirely comfortable with it either. As Sophie made some comments, Kate remained quiet, studying her glass intently instead, sliding her fingers through the condensation on the outside.
As she stopped talking, Sophie noticed the other woman’s distraction. “Sorry I didn’t mean to bring up painful memories,” she said gently.
“Forget about it,” said Kate quietly, not looking up.
“Should we though?”
“What?” Kate glanced up. Sophie was regarding her softly.
“Forget about it,” she clarified. “I mean we’ve been best friends for how long now? Fifteen years? We’ve told each other everything over those years, shared the good and the bad, but you’ve never really talked about what happened in Iraq.”
Kate thought there was a good reason for that, it had been painful enough for her at the time and she really didn’t want to be dragging it up now, raking it all over again. She’d been through it enough times over the past year as it was.
Sophie wasn’t being put off by Kate’s continued silence, though. “I left it to begin with, I thought it was just the rawness of the pain that was keeping you quiet, but it’s been a year now and you’ve still not really said much about it. I’m just worried for you - that you’re bottling it up.”
Kate exhaled slowly, deciding she owed her friend some sort of explanation. “I appreciate the concern, and I’m not shutting you out on purpose. The thing is there are aspects of what happened there that are classified and I find it hard to talk about any of it without mentioning those.” That was only partly true, but it made a convenient excuse.
“Classified? Even from me?” asked Sophie doubtfully.
“I’m afraid so,” insisted Kate, “I wish I could tell you.”
“But have you talked to anyone about it?”
“Oh yes, I’ve had enough counselling to last me a lifetime,” she said, closing her eyes and shaking her head as she recalled the parade of psychiatrists and psychologists that she’d been forced before, “They would hardly have allowed me back to command if they didn’t think I was of sound mind would they.”
“Maybe,” admitted Sophie, still unsure, “Though it always struck me as a bit of a strange move. One minute you’re in the infantry with the Devon and Dorset’s and the next minute you’re with the Intelligence Corps, hiding away on some secret island in Scotland. Are you sure they trust your skills?”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence!”
“You know what I mean, the Intelligence Corps is hardly the front line is it? A load of desk jockeys snooping on phone calls and emails.”
Kate didn’t directly answer that, since she herself thought that way sometimes. “After Iraq I was lucky to keep my job at all,” she commented instead, “In fact I might not have if Lieutenant Colonel Parsons hadn’t stepped in on my behalf and arranged my transfer.”
Sophie raised her eyebrows. “I didn’t realise he saved your butt.”
“Yes, well he’s always looked out for me where possible,” replied Kate, “So when there were a whole host of people clamouring for my head or worse, he discretely organised extended leave before getting me the position in charge of the base.”
“Lucky you have friends in high places.”
“Tell me about it,” agreed Kate, “Especially after my other total lapse in judgement six months ago.”
Sophie made to open her mouth but Kate quickly shot a hand up to stall her.
“Don’t even say anything. I know it was stupid, we’ve already mentioned his name once in this conversation, let’s not bring it up again. Anyway, coming so close after Iraq, I was extremely lucky to survive that one and I certainly won’t be getting a third chance. Any more cock ups and it will be court-martial here I come.”
…….
Andrea crouched down in the undergrowth trying to find shelter from the harsh April weather that consisted of rain driving over the island like a million icy needles, whipped in from the Atlantic by the howling wind. The inclement weather only added to her sense that the training games they were engaged in were an annoying waste of time. Her soaked fatigues clung to her body as she dreamt of a warm bath and a good book. She didn’t know why they had to be outside on a day like today and had noted how the Major had buggered off to the mainland and left them under Chadwick’s supervision. She considered that maybe that was why they were stuck out there – the lieutenant was hardly the biggest fan of the superhumans after all. He was probably safely ensconced in a jeep somewhere, watching them run around like idiots in the wind and rain.
“Knock, knock!”
Andrea turned to her companion with a quizzical look. The bright blue eyes of Tom Parsons regarding her expectantly from beneath the brim of his peaked cap. Like her he was soaked to the bone, though it didn’t appear to have dampened his spirits.
“You looked like you were miles away,” he noted.
“Sorry, I was just thinking how pointless these stupid games are.”
“Pointless maybe,” he allowed, “But I still want to win!”
Andrea merely rolled her eyes at his enthusiasm. A grin was never far away from Tom’s face, whatever the situation.
“Oh like you don’t want to?” he commented, noticing her expression, “Don’t try and pretend you’re not competitive - you were practically trampling Bel into the dirt to get there first on the last one.”
“Yes, but that was Tardelli.”
Tom laughed at the deadpan delivery of the remark. “You two really don’t get along do you?”
“Not for want of trying,” said Andrea with a sigh, “You and Harry have been fine, you’ve helped me out a lot in settling in here. But with Tardelli…I don’t know what it is! Even though she practically tried to kill me, I’ve attempted being nice. I’ve tried to entice her into games of pool in the rec room, chat with her over meals, but she just doesn’t seem to like me for some reason.”
“I can’t imagine why.”
Andrea fixed him with a stern look. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, you can come across as a bit…er…,” he searched for the right word, avoiding her penetrating gaze, “…overpowering sometimes. Maybe even a little arrogant.”
“I am not arrogant,” insisted Andrea indignantly, “I’m just confident of my own abilities.”
Tom shrugged nonchalantly. “Like I said, arrogant.”
“Do you want me to trample you into the dirt too?” asked Andrea, raising a single eyebrow as she pinned him in place with her eyes once more.
Tom laughed again holding up his hands in supplication. “I think you just take a bit of getting used to that’s all – all that plain speaking can be a bit of a shock to the system if you’re not ready for it. And you are a bit of an egghead too, so it can be a bit intimidating to us mere mortals.”
“Oh, yes, I can see you quaking in your boots,” said Andrea sarcastically, “And as for Tardelli…intimidated is not the word I would use to describe her attitude towards me.”
“Ok, not exactly, but I don’t think she likes to come second best to anyone, especially not the posh new kid on the block.”
Andrea let out an incredulous laugh. “Posh? Me?”
“Well, compared to Tardelli at least,” suggested Tom.
“I wouldn’t let her hear you calling her common, unless you fancy some of the same treatment I’ve been getting, or maybe your testicles handed to you on a plate.”
Tom was quick to refute her words. “Hey, I never used the word ‘common’, I would say…good, honest working class.”
Andrea shook her head as she made a small chuckle at his choice of expression. “Very diplomatically put. But I’m hardly some upper class twit am I - I did have a normal job before I came here.”
“True, but to someone like Tardelli - who grew up on a council estate in London - you’re from a whole different world. And then you’ve got the fact that she’s somewhat determined and strong-willed, just like you are, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. You just rub each other up the wrong way. That’s probably your problem with the Major too.”
“No,” corrected Andrea quickly, “She just gets on my nerves, full stop. All that army dogma, all those rules, regulations and secrets. Not to mention the embarrassing way she turned up at that pub two weeks ago and then gave me a right bollocking like I was some small child.”
“Well, you did sneak off the base without permission.”
Andrea narrowed her eyes at him. “Whose side are you on exactly?”
“No one’s – we’re all meant to be on the same side, remember,” he replied, “I keep telling you to give her a chance. I know you seem to think she’s got some personal vendetta against you, that it’s all her doing, you being stuck here, but it’s not. She’s just doing her job. If you’d stop and think for a minute, you’d see that she actually wants to help and make your time here as easy as possible. She’s very approachable you know.”
Andrea snorted with derision. “Are we talking about the same person here, because I could have sworn we were discussing Major Jarvis the woman who tore me an extra orifice not two weeks ago.”
“You’re just lucky she waited so long to do it,” commented Tom cryptically.
“What do you mean by that?” Andrea was blindsided for a moment, mystified by his remark.
“Well, you gotta admit you were a complete pain in the arse pretty much since the moment you got here…”
“With some justification…” interjected Andrea.
“Ok, maybe,” allowed Tom, “But if you let me finish, the point I’m trying to make is that, though I said the Major is approachable, she isn’t a soft touch either. She wouldn’t normally have stood for the sort of crap you were giving her for that long.”
A faint dawning was occurring in Andrea’s brain. “Hang on a minute, is this your roundabout way of saying she actually likes me?”
“I’m just going by what I see and hear, and I’m telling you, no one normally gets away with acting that way or speaking to her like that. At the very least, I think she understands what you’re going through and wants to help you, be your friend.”
“You seriously think she likes me?” scoffed Andrea, thinking he must be mad, “Now I know you’re joking!” A stubborn thought flashed through her mind, hoping that he wasn’t, but she ignored it.
“You know what I think,” said Tom, a slight air of exasperation in his tone, “I think you’re just being obstinate because you don’t want to admit you might have been wrong about her.”
“If you say so,” said Andrea dismissively before turning her attention away from him. She’d had enough of discussing the Major for the time being. Ever since the incident in Ayr she’d tried to keep their interaction to a minimum. She was unwilling to even consider that Tom might have a point, though deep down she knew he did. She realised she had been somewhat obnoxious since her arrival at the base and had pretty much deserved everything she got, but the way the Major had spoken to her had wounded her pride.
Concentrating instead on what they were currently doing, she dug out the compass from one of the many pockets in her combat gear, shaking the drips from the peak of her cap so she could read it properly. That was another stupid thing about this exercise – why did they have to use a map and compass when there were perfectly good things such as GPS to navigate with? And to make matters worse they weren’t supposed to be using their powers either. She was just starting to come to terms with her new abilities, and now they were telling her not to use them – it was all very confusing. Not that they’d learnt much more over the past couple of weeks. She still had to wear the special inhibitor armband all the time, to make sure she didn’t have any unwanted seizures from using her powers. Or power, to be more precise since it seemed to consist only of enhanced strength. It was hardly the most interesting of abilities, she considered.
Brushing the rain from the plastic cover of the map she gauged where they were on the island. “So what is this meant to be teaching us exactly?” she asked Tom.
“I don’t know,” he confessed, “Army tactics or something?”
“And have you wondered why we would need to know such things?” she pondered out loud
“Er, I dunno,” he replied, making a thoughtful face, “I thought it was just something to get us out and about a bit, rather than being cooped up indoors all the time, helping the boffins with their research.”
“Right,” said Andrea sceptically, “I’m sure that’s all it is.”
“You know your problem, you’re just too suspicious of everyone and everything. No one would ever guess you were a policewoman.”
“I think it’s healthy to be curious about the world around me,” noted Andrea defensively, “We shouldn’t just accept things without asking questions.”
“And boy do you love to ask those questions,” recalled Tom, grinning, “Christ you even manage to annoy Dr Todd sometimes and that is some feat. I bet you were a sodding nightmare in interrogations. If it were me under the spotlight, I think I would have been confessing to anything to get out of there.”
Andrea regarded him dubiously, sizing him up while he maintained his best innocent expression. “Hmm, I doubt that - I bet you were a handful too, always one step ahead of the law, a right likely lad. I guess it’s lucky our paths never crossed.”
“For both of us,” he agreed, “Anyway, I’m a reformed character now, an upstanding citizen.”
Andrea couldn’t keep the smile from her face. “Sure you are, that’s why I’ve heard all about your stash of contraband.”
Tom looked surprised at her revelation. “Who told you that?”
“Ah-ha,” she said, wagging her finger at him, “I never reveal my sources.”
“It was Nathan wasn’t it,” deduced Tom for himself, referring to the supplies officer and de facto chef, “That man has the biggest mouth this side of the Clyde. You’re not going to tell anyone are you?”
“What, like the Major? As if!”
“It’s not like alcohol is banned on the base, anyway,” said Tom by means of explanation, “I mean they serve it in the bar – the squaddies would be rioting if they couldn’t have a pint of an evening.”
“And you just like to cater to their needs out of bar hours?”
“Exactly, supply and demand - I’m just fulfilling the natural need of your average soldier for booze.”
“And making a tidy profit while you’re at it?”
Tom grinned once more, dipping his head slightly to acknowledge the truth of her remark. “It doesn’t hurt. At least you know where to come if you need anything. What is your tipple of choice anyway?”
“I’m not really that big a drinker,” she admitted. She liked the odd one or two with friends but that was about the limit of it. She didn’t really see the point of solo drinking, not to mention the lack of control that alcohol brought on.
“Call yourself a proper policewoman?” he cried, “Ok, something else then?”
Andrea thought for a moment before replying. “I’m not sure if there’s anything else I need that I can’t get just by asking for it to be brought in. I have to admit that’s one thing they have been good about, and I made sure I asked for some particularly obscure scientific journals, just to see.”
“Journals? Flipping hell? How old are you exactly – sixty? Do you ever have any fun?”
“I’m twenty-seven years old for your information,” Andrea stated, “And I know how to have plenty of fun, but our opportunities are slightly restricted on this island after all. I did get a bunch of cds and the latest playstation games too if that’s more to your taste.”
“Ah, now you’re talking!” said Tom, a smile spreading across his face, “Don’t let Harry know, though, or he’ll be round your room faster than you can say Tekken. But there are other things I can get, things that you might not want to ask one of the stiffs for.”
Andrea’s brow creased together as she wondered at his meaning.
“You know…” he said, tipping his head to the side and raising his eyebrows, before finally adding some crude hand gestures.
“Ah,” she said in sudden realisation, “You mean pornography.”
“Yeah, that kinda thing,” he confirmed, “I’m sure I can get hold of some stuff suited to your particular tastes.”
“You mean lesbian porn.”
“Yeah, come to think of it I wouldn’t mind seeing some of that myself…”
Andrea slapped him playfully around the head as he got a faraway look in his eyes, pleasant daydreams no doubt filling his mind.
“Oi!” he cried indignantly.
“Come on, let’s get going,” suggested Andrea clambering to her feet, “Then we might finally be able to get back to civilisation, or at least what passes for it on this godforsaken island.”
Tom rose too, indicating ahead of him with his hand. “Lead on.”
On the way to their target, Andrea’s mind started drifting back to civilisation anyway, and the life she had lead before coming to the island. She’d only spoken with Maria a couple of times since their curtailed meeting at the pub, and both had been brief conversations, with Andrea being acutely aware of who might be listening in. She just hoped that Maria was having some luck into her investigation of the warehouse incident, though officially she was meant to be on other cases since that particular one was closed. If Andrea had trusted any of the army officers on the base, she might have brought the suspicious way it had been swept under the carpet to their attention, but for now she had to rely on Maria.
Eventually they came out of the meagre cover offered by the small copse of trees and a fresh gust of wind buffeted Andrea in the face, almost whipping the hat from her head. She put her hand on top of it for a minute as she glanced around for the checkpoint.
“There!” called Tom over the sound of the storm, pointing to the top of a rocky outcrop.
They both started running for the red and white marker, Andrea more from a desire to get there and then get back in the warm. Reaching the foot of the slope, she spotted two other forms joining them from the opposite direction and also heading for the top at speed. Andrea pulled ahead of Tom, scrabbling nimbly over the slippery rocks as he floundered behind her. Despite the fact that she could see Tardelli gaining out of the corner of her eye, Andrea stopped for a moment to check on her partner.
“Don’t worry about me,” he yelled as she hopped back down the slope to help him up. She could see he had gashed his arm on the stones where he had stumbled. “Go!” he instructed waving her away frantically, “Tardelli’s gonna get there first!”
The dark haired woman had clambered past them now, intent on the winning post. Harry, meanwhile, was sliding about somewhere back down the slope, far behind them all.
“I don’t care about that, you’re hurt,” replied Andrea, bending down by Tom.
“I care! I’ll be fine, go on!”
Andrea eyed him for a moment, evaluating the seriousness of his injury, before turning and resuming her push for the top. She had to admit that part of her also wanted to beat the abrasive woman. Andrea’s long legs carried her over the uneven ground more quickly than the shorter Tardelli and she drew alongside as they reached the crest. Tardelli suddenly realised Andrea had caught her up, turning to offer her a surly snarl through the rain as they made the final sprint. Andrea ignored her, forging on against the wind that battered them directly in the face now, sweeping across the exposed outcrop. The tag on the checkpoint flapped tantalisingly in the air and Andrea made one final lunge to reach for it.
An icy blast suddenly clattered into her side, spinning Andrea away from the marker. Stunned, she crashed to the ground, tumbling haphazardly across the wet stone that lay over the top of the precipice. She didn’t realise she was at the edge until it was far too late and she was plunging off over it into thin air.
The wind whistled past her face and she just had time to get her arms up in a futile attempt to protect her head before she hit the rocks at the bottom.
Only she didn’t hit them.
It took a couple of seconds for that fact to register in Andrea’s mind and for her to realise she was no longer moving downwards either. Peeling her arms away from around her head, she tentatively glanced down. Her eyes widened in shock as she realised she was hovering in mid air, a couple of feet above the ground.
“Andrea?”
Andrea glanced back up to the top of the cliff where Tom, Harry and Tardelli were all peering anxiously over the edge at her. Suddenly Andrea’s downward movement resumed and she fell the remaining distance to the ground, jarring her right elbow on the hard rock. She was still sitting on the stones rubbing it when the others had finally made their way down to join her.
“How in the hell did you do that?” asked Tom in amazement, nursing his own arm.
Andrea glanced up at him. “I-I don’t know…” she replied, stunned. She looked back up at the cliff as if that would give her some sort of answer.
“However you did it, it was amazing – you were flying!” chimed in Harry excitedly.
“Hardly flying,” noted Tardelli, always one to look on the down side, “More like hovering and then falling.”
“Whatever it was, it’s a bloody good job I did it,” said Andrea, regaining her senses and rising to her feet to stare balefully at Tardelli, “Since you nearly killed me…again!”
“Yeah, but I didn’t did I?” replied Tardelli crossing her arms defiantly.
Andrea was getting increasingly angry at the other woman’s petulance. “Fulla Helvete! We weren’t even meant to be using our powers!”
Tardelli uncrossed her arms, pressing forwards into Andrea’s personal space. “What did you just call me?”
“Uh oh, here we go again…” managed Tom from behind them.
“A loose translation is ‘fucking bitch’” Andrea informed Tardelli matter-of-factly.
Tom just about managed to grab Tardelli before she launched herself at Andrea, hauling her away to the side.
“Just leave it, Bel!” he cried as she flailed in his grasp.
“You heard what she called me!”
“Yes, and you did almost kill her so why don’t you just count yourselves even?” Tom reasoned.
The sound of a vehicle approaching drew all their attention, and Andrea spotted an army jeep bouncing over the long grass towards them, leaving great muddy gouges in the turf behind it. It halted at the edge of the rocks and Lieutenant Chadwick climbed out from the passenger side, a pair of binoculars still in his hand. No doubt he had been watching the whole thing, including Andrea’s “flying”. She still wasn’t entirely sure that she had done it - maybe it had been a freak gust of wind? A really freaky gust of wind.
“Is there some sort of problem here?” he asked, glancing between Andrea and the still struggling Tardelli.
“No, no problem,” replied Andrea succinctly.
“No, everything’s fine,” agreed Tardelli as Tom released her, putting on a united front for the army officer’s benefit. Whatever their differences, they would still stick together against the military personnel.
Chadwick eyed the pair of them doubtfully, before turning his full attention to Andrea. “And what was that? What you were doing off the cliff?”
“I think it’s called flying,” interrupted Harry helpfully.
“I know it’s sodding flying, you moron,” snapped Chadwick at the young man, “But how was she doing it?” he added pointing an accusatory finger at Andrea.
As the two men spoke Andrea was still pondering over how she had done it. She wondered whether she could repeat the feat if she consciously thought about it. She closed her eyes for a moment to help her concentrate. Perhaps if she imagined herself rising off the ground, ever so slightly, just wafting up on the breeze.
“Hey! Get back down here!”
Andrea’s eyes flicked open to see the open landscape stretching out before her, the white crests of the waves on the choppy sea just about visible in the distance. Casting her eyes downwards, she saw Chadwick looking furiously up at her from his position several feet below her dangling boots. This time she made sure she kept thinking about maintaining her position so she didn’t come crashing down to earth with a bump.
“And just how are you going to make me?” she asked cocking her head to the side and drifting slightly further away from him. It really was the most wonderful yet unsettling feeling she had ever felt, just hanging there in the air with nothing to hold her up. Another blast of wind rocked her as she tried to prolong the fantastic experience.
Chadwick’s hand moved to rest on his handgun in its holster. “I could always shoot you,” he said seriously.
“Hey, man, that’s not funny!” Harry said angrily, coming round in front of the lieutenant in a challenging stance.
“Well, tell your freaky friend to get back down here then,” said Chadwick, pulling the gun out and waving it in Harry’s face.
“It’s all right, I’m coming down,” said Andrea, floating back down to the ground next to the two men, “You can put it away, Chadwick.”
His dark eyes turned to her, his lip curving into a nasty sneer. “Let’s get back to base shall we, I’m sure the docs and the Major will have something to say about this.”
……..
Andrea wandered into her quarters, flicking on the light to illuminate the darkness and going over to the fridge to grab a pepsi. As she popped the cap and took a swig, she supposed that ingesting sugar and caffeine probably wasn’t a good idea when she was already on such a high. No matter how many times she told herself, she still couldn’t quite believe it, but it was true – she could fly.
For the first time she actually felt good about the idea of being different from everyone else, of being a mutant. Flying, now that was a super power really worth having, she considered, smiling to herself. Everyone else seemed to think so too, if their reactions were anything to go by. As soon as they’d got back to the base, she’d been whisked off to see Drs Todd and Whitman so they could investigate this latest development in her abilities. However, Tom and Harry had also tagged along, fascinated to see what she could do.
Of course Doc wanted to take things slow as usual, ever cautious for her well-being. She, on the other hand, was itching to try it out and they could barely keep her on the ground in the underground training room. It was just such an exhilarating rush, that feeling of freedom, of floating in the air. She desperately wanted to go outside and just fly off into the sky, but Doc had looked aghast when she had even suggested it.
She supposed she could attempt it anyway, though it wouldn’t be long before they discovered what she was up to, since they had bugged her. That was something that still rankled - that they would have the audacity to plant a tracking device in her arm. She subconsciously rubbed her right bicep where she knew it sat under the skin.
Andrea wondered how they would then stop her, even if they knew she had left. Chase after her in a helicopter? Shoot her down? It wasn’t as if any of the others could fly so they wouldn’t be able to catch her. She might even be able to go faster than a helicopter, or even a jet – she just didn’t know at this stage.
Sitting down on the sofa, she guessed she would have to abide by doctor’s orders for the time being, and allow them to observe and closely monitor her first attempts. It wasn’t like it had all been plain sailing earlier on, and she had been grateful for the padded floor of the room on several occasions. Andrea didn’t really relish the thought that she might lose concentration while several hundred feet in the air over the island. No amount of padding would protect her from a fall from that height.
When she’d pressed Dr Todd for an explanation of exactly how come she suddenly had this added ability, he had been rather evasive. He’d made some noises about energy conversion and needing to investigate further, but Andrea suspected that he was about as surprised as she was. Given that her ability to fly had only come to light nearly a month after the original accident, she wondered if there were any other dormant powers just waiting to burst forth. That thought was a little scary and she considered that the scientists probably thought much the same thing. And as for the Major…Andrea had little doubt that she wouldn’t be too impressed by this latest development when she heard about it. This new power would make it even harder for them to contain and control her. Chadwick would probably be running to her as soon as she got back from the mainland to fill her in, and then it wouldn’t be long before Andrea got a visit, she was sure of that. A small flutter of anticipation skittered through her at that thought.
Needing something to distract her from that last troublesome sensation and her restless to desire to go and explore her powers right away, Andrea leant forwards to grab the large, padded headphones that sat atop her stereo. She thumbed through her cds, selecting a suitable loud funky house compilation. As the thumping beat started in the headphones, she leant back against the cushions and closed her eyes.
…….
Kate strode along the corridor, trying to get her head around the new information she’d been presented with before she got to her destination. Chadwick had been waiting to see her as soon as she’d stepped off the boat from Ayr. Luckily the bracing sea air on the return crossing had gone some way to sobering her up and his news had been an added dash of cold water.
After her initial surprise she realised that the fact that Andrea could fly was fantastic in one way. It was certainly an interesting new mutation for them to get to grips with and could prove very useful. Not to mention how thrilling it would be for Andrea. Unfortunately that was where the problem lay. Chadwick had already told her how Andrea had wanted to fly off when they were outside, how he’d practically had to drag her back against her will. Once they’d got back to the base, she’d been eager to pursue things. Kate was pleased to some extent – at least Andrea was finally showing some enthusiasm about her abilities – but on the other hand she was wary about the level of power she was exhibiting. She considered that she only had Chadwick’s word for what had occurred at the moment, and she wasn’t entirely convinced she could trust her second-in-command’s opinion, especially when it came to Andrea. The pair of them hadn’t hit it off at all. Kate could understand that – she had her doubts about the man too. If nothing else at least someone had a worse relationship with the Andrea than she did.
Given Chadwick’s unreliability as a source of information in this particular case, she had resolved to come and speak with Andrea herself. Kate had gone via her quarters first and changed back into her uniform to try and add that final touch of sobriety, hoping that the last traces of alcohol weren’t detectable on her breath. She was wearing her regular barrack dress of olive green shirt and matching trousers, but had foregone the tie and jumper, hoping that she would come across as authoritative yet at the same time relaxed.
Reaching Andrea’s door, she pressed on the entry chime. When there was no response she tried again. There was still no answer. Kate made a quick call to the security centre to check Andrea’s location, but they informed her that she was indeed in her quarters. Kate tried the chime once more, getting increasingly worried – maybe Andrea had had one of her seizures and was lying unconscious in her room. Kate quickly used her command authorisation to override the lock on the door.
Stepping into the dimly lit room she spotted the bobbing blond head immediately, surprised by the degree of relief she felt at seeing Andrea was all right. Kate crossed the room, seeing that Andrea’s eyes were closed as she listened to her music, the beat of which could just be heard drifting up from the sofa despite the headphones. Kate found herself suddenly unsure how to proceed, an unusual occurrence for her. Should she alert Andrea to her presence, thereby revealing she had let herself in the room and risk her ire, or should she just leave the young woman to it? While she considered her options she couldn’t help studying Andrea’s face - the perfect bone structure, the smooth skin, the full lips.
Kate shook her head – what was she, some sort of voyeur? Watching while the other woman was unaware she had an audience?
Having decided she should take the latter of her options, Kate turned for the door only to be alarmed when a sound issued from Andrea’s mouth. Kate froze in place, feeling like the kid that had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. She swivelled back to Andrea, trying to ready her excuses, only to see that the other woman’s eyes were still closed. Another murmur slipped past Andrea’s lips and Kate suddenly realised that she was actually asleep. Kate almost laughed out loud – how on earth could she sleep with that racket banging in her ears?
Relieved that she hadn’t be caught out after all, Kate was about to leave when she saw Andrea’s brow crease together in a frown, her eyes still firmly shut.
“No…leave me alone…”
The faltering, pleading words surprised Kate - they didn’t sound like the normally confident Andrea at all.
“…I couldn’t help you…”
It was obvious Andrea was having some sort of nightmare, and Kate was faced with the same decision as before – should she intervene or not?
“…no, no…”
Andrea was getting increasingly agitated now, her head flopping from side to side. Kate couldn’t stand by and watch any longer.
She sat down next to the young woman and pulled off the headphones, the music suddenly louder in the room as they clattered to the floor. “Andrea!” called Kate firmly.
“…no…please…”
Kate grabbed the other woman’s arms to shake her. “Andrea!”
Andrea’s eyes flew open, flicking wildly around the room as she tried to get her bearings. They finally settled on Kate, a searching uncertainty in them for the briefest of moments before recognition dawned.
“What are you doing in here?” demanded Andrea, sitting up straight.
It was only then that Kate realised she still had her hands on Andrea’s arms. She quickly dropped them, folding her hands in her lap instead. “I came to talk to you, but there was no answer to the chime.”
“So you just let yourself in?” challenged Andrea.
Kate noted how she ran her hand roughly through her long hair as she spoke and thought the young woman was still rather unsettled by the dream she’d been having.
“I thought perhaps something had happened to you, such as one of your seizures.”
Andrea was momentarily stymied by the show of concern. “Well, as you can see, I’m fine, so I’d be grateful if you didn’t barge in here unannounced in future.”
Kate thought Andrea’s annoyance stemmed more from the fact that she’d been caught in a moment of weakness, rather than Kate’s presence per se. Considering that, she thought it best not to press Andrea on what she had been having a nightmare about for now. Andrea would most likely deny having had one at all in order to save face and then just get more aggressive to cover it up.
“An interesting choice of music,” noted Kate instead, tipping her head to the headphones on the floor.
Andrea bent down to pick them up, putting them on top of the stereo and turning it off. “I like a bit of loud dance music to help me unwind.”
“It was certainly that,” agreed Kate amiably, casting a look at the other cds arranged on the small table by the stereo. “You got all the ones you wanted did you?” she asked indicating the pile with her eyes. She was hoping to steer the discussion onto more lightweight topics while Andrea recovered her composure and calmed down a bit.
“Yes, thanks,” replied Andrea curtly.
“Quite an eclectic mix there,” commented Kate, reading a few of the titles before peering round the rest of the room. She noted how the books that had been all over the place when she had last visited Andrea’s quarters were now neatly arranged in a bookshelf against the near wall. It wasn’t large enough to hold them all, though, with a couple of cardboard boxes at the side containing the overflow. “A bit like your choice of reading.”
“As I said last time,” Andrea said her tone starting to soften, “I like to keep abreast of a variety of subjects, as well as just reading for fun. You can never have enough knowledge.”
Kate turned back to her with a smile. “Ah, is that why you like to ask all those questions of our scientists?”
“I just like to check they know what they’re doing,” said Andrea, shrugging, “It’s not a problem is it?”
“Of course not, it’s good that you’re interested. God knows none of the others have ever shown much of an interest in that side of things. I’m sure Theo and the other doctors are only too happy to share their knowledge with you.”
“You might want to check with them before you make such claims,” suggested Andrea, the beginnings of a smile touching at her lips.
Kate made a small laugh. Theo had moaned to her that Andrea was constantly pestering him with questions, though she thought he secretly enjoyed it. It appeared that Andrea was only too aware of what she was doing too. “I suppose it’s only to be expected with your scientific background,” commented Kate, “And the field of work of your family.”
Kate immediately noticed the thinning of Andrea’s lips at the mention of her family, deducing she had made a mistake bringing them up. She had thought perhaps talk of home and family might be safe, but obviously not.
“What was it you wanted exactly?” asked Andrea, her tone now icy and her body language stiff, “Since I presume you didn’t come here to discuss my taste in music or literature.”
Kate supposed there wasn’t much chance to resume the friendly conversation. “I wanted to talk about what happened earlier, on the training exercise.”
“I thought you might.”
……
Andrea rose from the sofa, putting a bit of distance between her and the Major as she crossed to gaze out at the night sky. She guessed this was going to be the part where she got the lecture on using her powers responsibly and so on, plus a telling off for giving Chadwick trouble, though he had been the one with the problem. She took a few deep breaths trying to calm her thoughts. She still hadn’t quite gotten over how the Major had disturbed her latest nightmare.
“So…?” came the Major’s voice from behind her.
Andrea turned back round. “Hasn’t your little lapdog filled you in already?”
“If by that you mean Lieutenant Chadwick, then yes, he has given me a version of events, but I’d like to hear what you have to say too.”
“I’m sure he gave you full and detailed report, though perhaps omitting the part where he threatened to shoot me.”
The Major looked shocked. “I beg you pardon?”
“You can ask Harry or Tom if you don’t believe me.”
The Major’s expression had now been replaced with one of concern and thoughtfulness. “I didn’t say I didn’t believe you,” she said, fixing her eyes on Andrea, keenly studying her. “And you did nothing to prompt this?”
This conversation wasn’t going the way Andrea had expected, it seemed the Major really did want to listen to her opinion. Andrea had thought the Major would have flown in to defend her officer’s honour as soon as his actions were called into question.
“I was just floating off the ground a bit, but I wasn’t trying to go anywhere,” explained Andrea, “I was interested to see if I could repeat what had happened when I fell from the cliff. And then Chadwick got his knickers in a twist and started waving his gun around.”
The Major shook her head, her auburn bob bouncing slightly from side to side as she did. “I think I shall be having words with the Lieutenant.”
Andrea had been so busy watching the way the light caught the red in the hair that she wasn’t sure she had heard right. “What you actually believe me? You’re not going to check with the others?”
“Do I need to?”
“Well, no…”
“Good,” said the Major simply, actually offering Andrea a smile. “So, how do you feel about it?”
Andrea was completely confused now. “Feel about it?”
“About being able to fly of course, it must be quite an amazing feeling.”
“Er…yes…yes...it’s…”
Andrea was at a
loss for words to describe the sense of joyful wonder she felt when floating
off the ground. The only comparisons
she could think of off-hand were sexual and she didn’t think they were entirely
appropriate for the Major’s ears.
Wondering why her
mouth was suddenly dry, she decided she needed another draft of her pepsi. It was then that she realised her mistake –
she had left it on the coffee table by the sofa, where the Major was still
sitting looking up at her with her soft blue eyes, waiting for an answer. Andrea could hardly go to the kitchen and
get another one when it was obvious she already had a drink. Now she was thinking about the drink, her
conspiratorial mouth felt the need to poke her tongue out and lick her lips.
Andrea quickly
walked back over to the sofa and sat down, picking the can up off the low
wooden table and bringing it gratefully to her lips.
“Hard to describe
is it?” asked the Major, honest
interest in her tone.
“What?” said
Andrea looking to her side. She had
forgotten the topic of conversation for a moment in her desire to just get the
drink. “Oh, the flying, yes, it’s
difficult to put into words.
It’s…wonderful, so…liberating…”
Andrea could
mentally kick herself, it still sounded like she was talking about sex or
something. Why wasn’t the Major
interupting? Why was she letting Andrea
burble on like this? And why was her
stiff khaki shirt open at the neck like that, revealing the slope of her chest?
“It sounds
fascinating,” commented the Major, finally taking pity on Andrea.
Forcing herself
to look the Major in the eye, Andrea decided they needed a change of
subject. She supposed she may as well
go for something that had been nagging her since the Major seemed to be in a
receptive mood. “Can I ask you a
question?”
The Major looked
taken aback by the request, and Andrea stared at her quizically.
“Sorry, it’s just
that you don’t normally ask for permission,” noted the Major in explanation of
her reaction, “But, yes, fire away.”
“It’s about the
accident, at the warehouse…”
“Go on…”
The Major’s tone
had been slightly wary, but she hadn’t cut Andrea off so she pressed on. “Maria told me that the case had been closed
to the police, that all the paperwork had been sent elsewhere. I was just wondering if you knew anything
about it?”
The Major didn’t
reply immediately, considering her response before she spoke. “I’m going to be honest with you, ok?”
“Ok.”
Now this was
interesting, thought
Andrea, the Major was actually going to be candid? Would wonders never
cease?
“I’ve had my own
suspicions about that incident.
Something about it just doesn’t add up, and I don’t just mean the fact
that twelve people were killed. I mean
the whole thing with you and your powers too.”
“You make it
sound like some conspiracy.”
“Not necessarily,
but someone somewhere is keen to keep the details a secret. Remember how I told you about the order to prohibit
discussion of it, after your phone call was cut off. I was telling you the truth, I really don’t know why that order
was made, but I intend to find out as soon as I get the chance to speak to my
commanding officer in person.”
“All well and
good,” said Andrea, “But are you then going to tell me if you do find out
something?”
“Yes, of course,”
replied the Major straight away, “I’m not deliberately keeping secrets from
you.”
Andrea narrowed
her eyes for a moment, studying the Major’s face to assess her honesty. “All right, I’ll trust you for now.” Though she had said the words, they still
surprised her.
The Major looked
quite surprised too, though also pleased.
“Good. Well, this does seem like
a night for progress,” she remarked.
Andrea hadn’t
intended it to be, especially not when the Major had caught her off-guard to
begin with. However, somehow the other
woman had managed to steer the discussion successfully, without even appearing
to try. Andrea merely dipped her head
in acknowledgement of the Major’s comment.
“Since I answered
your question, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something else?”
continued the Major.
Andrea supposed
it would be churlish to refuse and nodded her consent.
“All right. Before I go on, let me just say that I’m
just concerned for your well-being, which is why I’m bringing this up.”
Andrea nodded
again. She was slightly wary of where
the Major was heading, though also a little amused that the normally commanding
woman seemed so nervous about Andrea’s reaction that she had to prefix it so.
“You’ve not
really spoken about the accident with anyone have you?”
“No.”
“I just think you
might want to.”
The Major wasn’t
really pushing, the tone of her voice was gentle, but Andrea was still
uncertain. Though the Major had
mentioned this before, no doubt being witness to Andrea’s earlier nightmare had
coaslesced thoughts of it in her mind once again. Andrea suspected that the Major knew full well that the accident
had been the source of her nightmare.
“Counselling can
actually be helpful,” continued the Major, “And it would be entirely
confidential,” she added, sensing Andrea’s trepidation.
Andrea glanced to
the Major who regarded her evenly, her blue eyes now shading to gray in the low
light. Andrea knew she probably did
need to talk to someone – her nightmares had continued unabated since she’d
arrived at the base – and yet she was still reluctant to confide in a stranger.
“Well, just think
about it,” said the Major eventually, “And if you do want to proceed come and
see me..anytime.”