Dar exhaled again. “Yeah, but.. Mark found out what they did, that new guy told them to make that change, then when it went south he blamed them.”
“Oooo. Yow.” Kerry winced. “They would never see that coming.”
Dar braced her elbow on the arm of her chair and rested her head against it. “Yeah that's what Mark said.”
Kerry leaned over and gave her a kiss, along with a compassionate hug. “Aw, hon.” She felt Dar reach up and take hold of her hand. “Hey maybe those guys will figure out how to fix it, and turn the tables.”
Her partner shifted and looked up at her, eyebrows hiking.
“You never know.”
**
Dar tapped her boxing gloves together and studied the big hanging bag, determining what to pound the crap out of next. The release of the pent up aggravation had come as a relief, and now that she'd spent forty five minutes just whaling at the bag, she had gotten enough out of her system to make her back off, and take it easier.
Kerry was wisely across the gym, doing sit ups. They'd been together long enough at this point for Kerry to know when to leave her alone for a little while, and she knew that Dar would come over to join her at some machine once she felt better.
She was almost at that point.
Dar switched bags, going from the big body bag over to the speed bag and starting a slow rhythm on it. She could feel the stretch in her shoulder muscles, and as she sped up the routine, finally, the stress released out of her and she was able to focus on the exercise and not wish it was a human being taking the punishment.
She spent ten minutes on a rapid patter battering of the bag, then slowed it down and finished, feeling a pleasant ache in her arms. With an exhale of satisfaction, she turned and left the boxing area, working the gloves off her hands.
The island gym was mostly empty at this hour, and she was unimpeded as she crossed the floor and zeroed in on her partner, who was just at that moment taking a break from her routine. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Kerry wiped sweat from her eyes. “Feel better?”
Dar smiled. “Yeah.” She shadow boxed at Kerry. “When you're done, want to take a swim?”
“Sure.” Kerry stretched her body out, one way, and then the other. “Let me just do the leg press, and we can go splash.” She got off the incline board and moved to the next machine, while Dar took her place and hooked her feet under the holders and started a set of sit ups herself.
Kerry settled on the leg press and unlocked it, adjusting the weight and slowly starting the exercise. She could see Dar's profile as her partner moved up and down, and was glad to see the furrow gone from between her brows and a relaxed expression on her face.
Much better. “Guess what I have when we get back?”
Dar eyed her. “Does it start with ice cream?”
“It does.”
“Mm.” Dar looked contented. “Y'know, something you said before gave me an idea.”
Kerry paused at the top of her extension. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Is that good or bad?”
Dar smiled, and boxed a little with her hands as she continued her sit ups. “We'll just have to find out.”
“Ah.”
Part 12
The sun was just thinking about peeking over the horizon as Dar was closing the door to her truck, clicking the lock on the door before she shouldered her backpack and started for the building.
Hers was the first car in the lot, as she'd expected it would be, and she paused at the front of the walk just to look up and regard the sign on the wall for a moment.
Her face scrunched up into an unapologetic grin. Then she shook herself a little and continued up the path towards the door, reaching into her jeans pocket for the hard key as she walked. A bird started warbling in one of the olive trees on either side of the walk, and she pursed her lips and warbled back, the sound fading off as she came around the last bend and saw the figure crouched on the front porch.
“Ah. Nice way to start the day.” Dar muttered under her breath, as the figure heard her boots on the path and straightened up a little in his wheelchair. “Morning.” She said, in a normal tone as she climbed the few steps up to where he was seated.
He blinked at her, bruises evident on his face, one hand wrapped in a makeshift bandage. “That other lady coming?”
Dar put her backpack down on the small wrought iron table and sat down on one of the little chairs next to him. “If you mean my partner Kerry, she's taking our puppy for his checkup at the vets.” She answered. “Something I can do for you instead?”
He avoided meeting her eyes. “I'll wait.”
Dar rested her elbows on the chair arms, glad she had a hoodie on when the chill of the metal transferred even through the cloth. She laced her fingers together and studied him from the corner of her eyes, knowing a moment of unexpected compassion for him. “Your buddy came to see us last night. He was trying to sell all of you as a package.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“That your idea?” Dar kept her voice light and mild. “That's not how civ works, generally.”
He peeked up at her briefly, then looked away. “Wasn't my idea. I showed Joe the jobs. He thought maybe it would be good for all of us.” He shrugged. “Told him you all'd say no way.”
“We did.” Dar acknowledged. “He said it was all or nothing... he change his mind or did you?”
The disabled man stared dourly at his hands for a long moment. “Told him I was going to come back anyhow. No one else round here will even talk to any of us.”
“He hit you for saying that?”
He looked up again, more sharply. “Nah, we just scrapped.” He said, this time keeping eye contact with her. “Not on your fucking sidewalk either.”
Dar smiled. “Thanks. I really do appreciate that.”
He looked away again, a flush rising up his neck up to his ears.
“So. You here on the porch waiting to ask us for something particular?” Dar said, after a moment of silence. “Whatever it is you're going to ask Kerry for, she'll tell me before she answers anyway.”
The man studied her in silence. Dar sat there waiting, returning his gaze in mild neutrality.
He shifted in his wheelchair, his face old before it's time, lines of pain etched across it. He pulled out a folded piece of paper and offered it over to her. “Wanted to ask about this here.”
Dar unfolded the paper and studied it. “One of our tech support positions. Okay.” She said. “This something you do? You do that in the service?”
He shook his head. “Infantry.” He responded. “I did that before I went in. In high school. I was the guy who messed with all the computers, in the lab and all.” He shifted again. “I used to set up the machines from scratch, reload them after all the classes, you know?”
“Yes, I do know.” Dar said. “You fix printers and that sort of thing too?”
He nodded. “I can take apart and fix a laser fuser.” He remarked. “And solder components, that stuff.”
Dar's eyebrows lifted a bit. “Why didn't you stick with that instead of the army?” She asked. “You can make a living with that. Or why not specialize in it? Army uses tech.”
He looked at her. “Went with my buddies. They all wanted to go into the army, and I went too. Stayed with them when we all got picked for grunts.” He scowled a little. “Guess you think that's stupid.”
Dar folded the paper and ran her fingers over the edges. “Not really, no.” She said. “I was a signature away from the Navy myself, mostly because my dad was in and I grew up on a base.” She cleared her throat. “So no, I don't' think that's stupid. But I bet you think so now.”