Refuge - 10. Chapter 10: (8a) Company Leopard

Chapter 8a: Company Leopard

Bryan

I watched the boys in uniform march down the street. Who are they? Will they take new recruits? I wondered. I looked closely at them: most seemed to be between twelve and fifteen years old. I was probably older than they were, but I looked a lot younger than I was. If anybody would be doing SCUBA, it would be they. I had brought my SCUBA gear from Chicago, and there was a lake just behind our town house, but Paul was uncomfortable with the idea of me diving alone. He wouldn’t refuse me if I asked, but I knew he would be hurt if I did. So, I didn’t. Ask, that is. Such was my love for him—and his for me.

I’d come to grips with the notion that it would be years, decades maybe, before things outside settled down enough that I could do any serious undersea exploration. On the other hand, with the power of all these gods behind me, I figured I could start my own expedition, especially since the sea might be the only place to find the raw materials to rebuild civilization. Yes, rebuild. The news we were getting from the outside made it pretty clear that civilization was collapsing. I realized then that these boys who were marching down the street were here to protect the ranch. And I wondered again if Paul would let me join them—and if they would accept me.

It wasn’t just my age. I knew I was getting powers even though I didn’t know what all they were, and I wondered what these boys in uniform would think of someone with powers being a member. On the other hand—the most important hand—I wasn’t sure how Paul would react to me getting powers. I think the word “conflicted” was made up just for me.

Mars

The first afternoon after I died—was reborn? Arrived? I sat on a rock in a field as far away as I could get from the town while still keeping it in sight. The rock had been in the sunshine, and was warm. I felt it through the cammies that the guy who said he was Death had dressed me in. Whatever had happened to bring me here no longer mattered. I was here; I was confused. Shut up and soldier, I thought. Nemesis must have heard me, even though I hadn’t spoken. Something else to get accustomed to—and to learn how to do, I guessed.

“The same thing happened to me,” Nemesis said. He wasn’t beside me, and then he was. That’s how I figured he’d heard me thinking.

“I was forty six or so when this kid woke me up, told me I was going to be his replacement as god of Retribution, popped me with what felt like static electricity, turned me into a twelve year old, and then disappeared. It took me a while to learn just who and what I was, and what I was supposed to do. I had a lot of help. You will, too.

“Come on,” he added. “It’s nearly supper time, and you need a change of clothes. He grabbed my hand, pulled me to my feet, and we weren’t in the field, any more.

Nemesis offered me shorts, an open-collared pullover, belt, socks, and trainers. They all fit, and made me look even more like a twelve-year-old. Then he took me to a restaurant that was more a kids’ playground than a mess hall. It had pool tables, something called “video games,” and skee-ball. I knew what pool tables were, and I think I remembered skee-ball. The restaurant’s grand opening was a private party for the gods and a few close friends.

The adult gods Nemesis pointed out were Gary Walters (Protector of Children), Richard (Asclepius, God of Healing), Uncle George (Avatar of Death), and an older guy named Caden (Apollo). Mortal adults included Tom Clancy who was the construction foreman, and his family; Cyrus, a friend of Gary’s and one of the house parents with a couple of his boys; and an earnest young man named Bob who seemed to be the boyfriend of Tisiphone, a young woman who was a god but who seemed to keep a little apart from the other “child-gods.”

I had to include myself in the “child-god” category. Although I knew a lot of what the old Mars knew, I didn’t know much about myself except that I had been a ninety-year-old soldier and was now twelve years old. (At least, I was twelve some of the time; sometimes I was sixteen. It was something I needed to learn how to control.) The knowledge Mars poured into my mind had pushed aside, perhaps wiped away, many of my own memories. That didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. Mostly because I figured I would need Mars’ memories and knowledge more than my own. Partly because what I remembered of my own life wasn’t all that great: war, battlefields, illness, and then abandonment by the government and society that had recruited me and others like me and then thrown us away.

Besides me, the child-gods were Calvin and his two boyfriends, Bobby and Kevin; and Aiden and his boyfriend Casey, who was Calvin’s younger brother. Aiden was some kind of lawyer, I think. I hadn’t figured that out, yet. There were two girls, sisters of Tisiphone. They and their dates—I thought the boys were mortal—pretty much stayed to themselves. There were a couple of mortal boys, including Ahan and his boyfriend, Benji; and Captain Anders of Company Eagle. And, of course, Nemesis. That’s about it. I was a little tired and a lot overwhelmed, so I may have missed some folks. It was fun, though. A lot more fun than I’d had in a long time. At least, I remembered that much.

Nemesis turned me over to Calvin, who challenged me to skee-ball. I cheered with the others when Gary kicked Uncle George’s butt at the next machine, and then accepted the sympathy of the other kids when Uncle George kicked my butt at eight-ball. I got a hug from him—and most of the child gods, too, so it wasn’t all bad.

That night, Calvin came to my bed. I was surprised, and almost frightened him away. Before he could leave, I called him back. We cuddled. And I felt as if, maybe, I would be able to cope with what was happening, because I knew Nemesis, Calvin, and the others were truly my friends.

Nemesis took charge of me the next morning, and showed me around the ranch. He also helped me learn to translocate. I’d done that unconsciously when I had gone from Anacostia to the ranch looking for Death. After a couple of short-range tests, I thought about going back to Anacostia, to see what had happened there, but Nemesis seemed frightened by that notion, so I didn’t. I knew there would be no one left alive in the hospital, and there was no practical way to take revenge on the mob that had killed my friends.

I spent that afternoon with Captain Anders and his staff planning the training for Company Eagle and inventorying the armory. We talked a lot, and bounced ideas off one another. At first, the boys were pretty stiff. As the afternoon passed, they became relaxed. So did I. It was good to be a kid, and it was good to have other kids with similar passions and knowledge to work with. After we determined what we needed, we called Calvin, who sent for Casey and Kevin, who showed up armed with iPads—something else I needed to learn about.

Captain Anders led off. “We’re going to need a firing range, at least 2,000 yards long with a hill behind it, with nothing behind the hill. We will need targets, and forms to hold the targets. The stuff the old Mars sent includes weapons, cleaning equipment, and supplies as well as a ton of ammunition; however, I want to start some of the younger kids on .22 rifles, and would like to have some of those, and ammunition and cleaning rods for them.

“We need a Tae Kwon Do instructor, and appropriate clothing for the students.”

I saw Casey and Kevin’s eyes begin to glaze, so I added, “You don’t have to get everything. The old Mars left me some memories. I know where to get the weapons and ammunition, targets, and spotter scopes for the snipers. Once you have the complete list, we’ll cross-check, okay?”

The two boy-gods nodded, and Captain Anders continued. “Scuba gear, Kevlar vests, night-vision equipment . . . .”

I stopped listening at that point. I knew what he was going to say and there was something else I needed to think about. Alberto.

Seventy-six years had passed since we were together. We’d both been young teens. I could not remember why we had separated. When I saw him in the ranks of Company Eagle, I had known him. He had known me. We had met that evening, briefly. We had remembered. We had remembered that we had known one another, but only I knew that seventy-six years had passed.

Gary

Company Eagle was the first of the Junior ROTC units that would be coming from Erewhon to Refuge. I gave Mars two days to get them settled and to start their training before telling him another group would arrive early the next morning.

“Eagle Company are ground-pounders,” I told him. “The next group, Company Leopard, are a little less tied to the earth.” I grinned, but wouldn’t tell him anything else.

Mars

I couldn’t get anything else out of Gary, so I decided to see if Nemesis would help. His official uniform seemed to be chiton and sandals. I wasn’t comfortable with my butt (much less my penis) showing whenever the wind blew, but I switched to my twelve-year-old-in-a-short-tunic Aspect before looking for Nemesis.

What I hadn’t counted on was his enthusiastic hug and kiss. I liked it, a lot, until I remembered my penis (which was calling attention to itself). Nemesis caught that thought, giggled, and changed to shorts and a polo shirt with white socks and trainers, which seemed to be the “kid uniform” around here. I sighed with relief, and switched to cammies and boots. I left off the pistols, though.

“If you’re like me, you’ll never get used to it,” Nemesis said. “And you’re lucky. Your duty clothes are what you’ve got on, now—plus the pistols, of course. Mine is that chiton you saw me in. On the other hand, I know I have a cute butt. You do, too, by the way.”

I’m afraid I blushed, which Nemesis seemed to think was funny. He giggled. “What do you need to know?” he asked. “ ’Cause, I know you need to know something.”

“Actually, I’ve got two questions,” I said. “The first one is about this Company Leopard that’s supposed to show up, tomorrow. What did Gary mean about them not being ground-pounders?”

Nemesis giggled again. “Daddy’s a ground-pounder, himself. He appreciates artillery and close-air-support, but his eyes are almost always down and out, seldom up. The Company Leopard kids are pilots.”

“Pilots? There are no planes, here, and . . . .” I started to say that soon there wouldn’t be fuel for planes, but knew that the gods’ word shaped reality, and I didn’t want to do that. Especially since I found out I was one of the most powerful of the gods. At least, that I had inherited the powers of one of the most powerful. I still wasn’t quite sure what I could—or should—be doing with them, but I sure didn’t want to be doing the wrong thing.

“Gliders and hang-gliders,” Nemesis said. “Including some modified with propellers and electric motors powered from solar cells built into the wings. These kids are ingenious. And they know it.”

“Are they going to be as surprised as Company Eagle when they find themselves in Texas?” I asked.

Nemesis’ voice was quiet and level when he answered that question. I knew I was seeing an Aspect I’d not seen before.

“Yes. The roads between Chicago and here have become too dangerous for kids. Calvin and his boyfriends, as well as Tisiphone and her sisters will work together to translocate the entire busload to the ranch.

“We still ship a lot of stuff into Refuge by train and truck, but only stuff that we could do without if we lost it. So far, none of our shipments has been successfully hijacked. The Scions have a lot to do with that. They’ve had to fight off people who tried to steal our stuff. But, we don’t want a busload of kids in the middle of a gun battle. The Company Leopard bus will leave Erewhon at 3:00 AM, but will be translocated here before they leave the campus.”

“They’ll arrive here shortly after 0200? I mean, 2:00 AM?” I asked.

“Yes . . . the cooks at the chow hall know . . . they’ll feed the boys breakfast.”

I thought about what he was saying, and integrated it into my “new” memories. My old ones were still mostly beyond reach.

“There is one more question,” I asked. “It’s kind of personal and a little embarrassing.”

Nemesis nodded and took my hand. The sun dimmed for an instant, and we were somewhere else, and alone. My head spun for a minute, like it was the needle of a compass seeking north. When it settled, I knew exactly where we were. Northwest corner of the canyon, about 100 yards from the wall. Nemesis pulled me onto the grass beside him. “Shoot,” he said.

“One of the boys in Company Eagle . . . I recognized him. But it was from seventy-six years ago, when we both were teens. He still is, but I’m pretty sure I was more like ninety before I changed. How can that be?”

“That’s not the real question, is it?” Nemesis asked.

“No,” I admitted. “The real question is that I know that we were boyfriends, and I’m pretty sure both of us remember that and we want it to happen again, but he’s a mortal kid, and I’m a god and suddenly, a hell of a lot older—and younger.”

I got really angry when Nemesis laughed, until I realized that he wasn’t laughing at me, but at something inside himself.

“Mars . . . Allen . . . ,” he gasped, and then caught his breath. “You have come to the one person who can best answer that question. Like I said, I’m twelve and also forty-eight, no, more like fifty-four by now; you’re twelve and ninety. Not much difference between fifty-four and ninety—compared to twelve, that is.

“My boyfriend is an adult, and it took a long time and a lot of agony and questioning before that could happen. You want to know if you can be boyfriends with a teen, when you remember being ninety? And, you tell me that this teen was a teen when you were a teen? Do you know that Death is both eighteen and more than two hundred years old, and that his boyfriend is barely an adult? His oldest boyfriend, that is. He has two who are younger.”

I must have looked dumbstruck, because Nemesis hugged me, briefly, before continuing. “The world you came from created laws to protect children. Some of those laws prohibited sex between children and adults. Who was a child and who was an adult was not only different from state to state and nation to nation, but also from era to era. Often, it was different for boys than for girls. Still, the laws existed and some may actually have protected some children from some sexual predators.”

“I am not a sexual predator!” I said. “If Alberto is to be my boyfriend, it will be because we are in love—” I had to stop. I could not say it.

Nemesis touched my cheek. I felt his concern. “If you love him, and he loves you, you will find that, again, and it will be right. That’s what it took Gary and me so long to discover and understand.”

Dike

Mars.

I wish I knew what he was thinking when he decided to give his powers to Allen and just vanish from this plane of existence. Damn him, anyway. The planet hadn’t been without war somewhere since the late 1700s, maybe before that, and he’d managed to completely mess everything up. Then, just when things got critical, he gave his powers to a ninety-year-old Army sergeant, pushing the man’s own memories out of his head, leaving him as a teenager, and disappeared. Coward! I wanted to scream, but I don’t think he would have heard me.

The new Mars seemed to believe that his job revolved around Refuge Ranch and the Junior ROTC units that Gary was sending there. Fine. That was part of it, but there were also battlefields all over the world that needed his attention: Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, and don’t even ask me about Africa, the Middle East, and South America—or many of the inner cities of the USA. On the other hand, perhaps it wasn’t all bad. The old Mars, who was one of the original gods, had seen his job as promoting warfare. Maybe it would be better if this new one stayed out of the fray. Maybe, without his constant pushing, humanity would slow down the pace of war. Maybe.

Calvin

An unscheduled semi arrived in mid-afternoon. It had been cleared by the Scion at the front gate and was met by Casey, who had a bill of lading that identified the tractor, trailer, and driver. I’d not been briefed, and was stunned when the ranch hands began unpacking the truck. Unpacking rather than unloading. The truck was stuffed full of rods and wire and fabric that seemed to take on a life of its own as it was removed from the truck: wings and fuselages took shape as the material expanded to its original dimensions. After the first two, I called a halt. “We’ve got to find a place for these things before we unpack any more of them.”

That was when Tom arrived, took a look at what was happening, and said, “I wondered what that building was for. Now I know.” The two aircraft that had been unpacked were light enough that they could be carried by a couple of men. Tom instructed them and the semi to follow his pickup truck up the north road.

I whistled for Silver, and followed. By now, no one—not even I—was surprised when Silver just appeared.

The road straightened on the other side of the hill. It was wider there than elsewhere, too. About 300 yards from where the road straightened out, there was a long, low, building with huge, sliding doors. A hanger, I realized. And the road, here? It’s a runway. Whose idea was that?

Nemesis popped in. He had a big grin on his face. “Mine,” he said. “Tom said it was no big deal to widen the road, and the hanger is pre-fab, so it didn’t take any time at all to erect.”

“You knew about this?” I asked. “Why wasn’t I told?”

Nemesis stared at me. “But you were . . . it was in one of those reports.”

I groaned. I was glad we used iPads. Otherwise, I’d have been buried in paper. Still, something must have slipped through. Nemesis figured out the problem, and showed me where the original report was. He was right. I’d missed opening an email. Sigh. “Is there anything else I don’t know? Something that might get us in trouble?”

Nemesis sobered up right quickly. “I don’t know, but maybe Aiden could help. He’s a whiz at paperwork.”

“Good idea,” I said. “Would you ask Gary to ask Aiden—”

“Why don’t you ask me, yourself?” Aiden had popped in beside us.

Nemesis

I was surprised that Aiden had come. He was supposed to be working with the Congress of the USA to try to—”

“It’s not working,” Aiden said. His thoughts let me know he knew what I’d been thinking.

Athena had convinced Zeus to cede his powers as Eleutherious—guarantor of political freedoms—to Aiden. Dike’s hope was that Aiden could stir the electorate to take charge, once more, of the country. However, fewer than 20% of registered voters even bothered to show up at the polls and most of them didn’t know who or what they were voting for or against. “That’s not enough to make a difference,” Aiden said.

“And, the president has suspended the constitution. That’s not what he said, but that’s what it amounts to,” Aiden said.

“Do you remember the program in California where they compared gun purchase records with court records, and went around searching homes of people who’d legally bought a gun and then got convicted of a felony, or had a restraining order taken out against them, or—get this—pleaded guilty or nolo contundre to getting in a fight at a bar?

“After a couple of years, the federal government decided to fund a national program to do the same. The first thing they did was to build a database of all gun purchases for the past 40 years. Last week, they started confiscating guns unless the owner had a current ID card saying he or she was on active military duty or a member of the guard or reserve—Obama’s definition of an ‘organized militia.’ Nobody caught on until today, and by then, it was too late. They used every cop, marshal, soldier, and DEA, ICE, Acorn, and Homeland Security Agent they could find.

“The citizenry has been effectively disarmed. And, quite frankly, based on their past participation in elections, they deserve it.”

Mars

I thought about having Company Eagle in place to meet the new kids, perhaps give them a sense of normalcy. Jon and I talked about it, and when he found out that the first thing on the schedule was midnight chow, he was all in favor, “As long as the Eagles get fed, too!” A quick check with the cooks, and that was agreed.

Company Eagle rolled out in formation at 0200. The tarmac in front of Leopard’s hanger was brightly illuminated. The doors were open to reveal the two planes that had been unpacked. Everything that could be done to make a bunch of kids believe it was a normal thing to be translocated from Chicago to Texas in an instant had been done.

Gary and Nemesis were present, as well. Casey put his iPhone to his ear, and announced, “That was Calvin. Translocation will occur in ten seconds.

“Eagle Company, Atten-hut!” Jon called. Loudspeakers mounted on the hanger blared National Fencibles, one of Sousa’s lesser-known marches. Fencibles is an old name for the National Guard, and had been adopted by the JROTC units at Erewhon. A yellow school bus that hadn’t been there before shimmered in the arc lights.

In a replay of the Eagles’ arrival, twenty kids scurried off the bus and into a formation beside Eagle. The commander stood in front, at attention, waiting.

When the last notes of the march sounded, I walked briskly to stand in front of the commander. “Captain Duarty? Welcome to Refuge. Captain Anders and his troops would like to join you for midnight chow, after which you will be assigned quarters. Will you follow Captain Anders’ lead to the mess hall?”

In those few seconds, Captain Duarty and I took one another’s measure. He saw a kid perhaps his age wearing the five stars of a General of the Army. I’d remembered earning a Combat Infantry Badge and Jump Wings, and wore those, as well. Captain Duarty knew what the CIB was, and his eyes narrowed. I knew what he was thinking: How did a sixteen-year-old get a CIB? And five stars. I saw a kid perhaps my age wearing three circles, the standard insignia for a cadet captain. He also had jump wings, as well as command pilot’s wings.

The boy made a quick decision, saluted, and replied, “Yes, sir.” I returned his salute, and walked away. Captain Anders commanded “Right face,” and “Forward march.” Captain Duarty’s commands echoed an instant later.

I figured it would be a lot easier on me if Captain Anders had a chance to talk to Captain Duarty, and that perhaps the Eagles could provide orientation and assurance to the Leopards, so I sat with Gary and Nemesis, Calvin and Casey. We watched as the boys went through the chow line and sat together at the tables. Someone had marked the places with Eagles and Leopards, alternating. It took a while, but the room was soon filled with the chatter of excited boys.

“Going to be a long night for them,” Gary said.

“It will be five o’clock in the morning by the time they get settled, even though their beds are already made,” Calvin said.

“Jon knows the schedule and will fill in Captain Duarty,” I assured him. “They’ll all nap until 1000, and then have time to shower and get into clean cammies for lunch. Afterwards, Leopard will go to the hanger to play with their toys. No flying, today. Eagle will have PT. No weapons, today. Both companies should get to bed early tonight. They’re young; they’ll recover.”

My next hurdle, after getting Leopard settled, was Captain Anders. I pulled him aside the next morning, and translocated us to a remote place on the ranch. “Jon, I need to talk to you about Alberto.”

“Yes, Allen” he said. “You do.” I looked at him, and saw that in spite of his fear, there was still loyalty behind his words. I also noted that he’d used my first name, setting the rule that what we would say was between us.

“Have you accepted the magic that you’ve seen? The powers of the gods?”

“I must,” he said. “I accept that things have happened that I do not understand. I accept that you and Nemesis, Casey and Kevin, Aiden, and others can do things that regular people cannot do. I accept that my boys are safer here than in Chicago. I accept that Gary, Calvin, and you are in authority over me. I accept that my boys are going to become soldiers who will fight and perhaps die to protect this place. But . . . .” He paused.

“I will not allow anyone to harm my boys. I will do whatever I have to do, whatever I can do, to make sure that they are never thrown unprepared into harm’s way.”

“Jon, I will do whatever I have to do, whatever I can do, to make sure that neither you nor your boys nor the other boys who will arrive soon, are thrown unprepared into harm’s way. Again, all I ask of you is the loyalty any soldier owes a senior officer.

“And we need to clarify the chain-of-command. I am not your commander. Think of me, perhaps, as a military advisor. Your most senior commander is Gary, although he takes orders from Dike. It’s unlikely that she will ever interject herself, though. Still, she must be given great respect, as if she were, well, the commander in chief. Actually, her boss is Zeus, who is the real C-in-C, but he seldom comes around.

“Calvin is like your base commander,” I said. “He’s in charge of support, but has no military, tactical, or strategic control. He’s a good kid, though, and smart.”

Jon nodded. “Thank you for clarifying that, Allen. Now, What about Alberto?”

“Alberto and I were boyfriends more than seventy years ago,” I said. “We both want to have a chance to renew that.”

Jon sat quietly. I watched his face, and heard the loudest of his thoughts, although I did not try to pry.

“Seventy years ago. And Alberto is only fourteen? And you’re sixteen? Except when you’re twelve? I guess that’s okay. I mean, it’s no more weird than the part about you being a god. But I don’t know about officer and enlisted. That’s supposed to be against the rules. Of course, I’ve got a whole lot of new rules to learn. Can you at least keep it quiet?”

I agreed, and told him that earlier, when he’d seen Alberto and me kiss, that he was the only one who could have done so. “We were screened from others’ view. I will make sure that none of your boys has any reason to suspect, and certainly never sees.”

Alberto

Allen called to me. Not by phone or anything like that. He just called to me. I checked with my squad leader who said I might have some time off. He didn’t ask what for or where I would be. He trusted me. I had to make sure not to abuse or betray that trust. I went outside, where Allen was waiting.

“Allen? Is it really you? I’ve missed you so much!” I was mumbling these things around kisses, just as Allen was saying things like, “Alberto, it is you! I’ve missed you so much!”

“How much time do you have?” he asked.

“Squad leader said until taps, tonight. That’s at 2200 hours. Unless I wanted to eat with the company, in which case, 1800. I don’t want to eat with the company!”

Allen led me away from the barracks that looked like a house, and then took my hand. “Alberto, you know you were brought here from Chicago by magic, don’t you?”

I nodded. Captain Andrus had explained. Well, he hadn’t completely explained, but he had told us that something different was going on, something important, and that we were part of it, and would we please trust him and the officers to take care of us and help us understand it. Of course we all agreed. After all, he’d been our commander for a while, and he had earned our trust.

“Then please don’t be upset by what I’m about to do,” Allen said. And suddenly, we weren’t in front of the barracks but by a lake surrounded by trees. The sun hadn’t moved in the sky, so I knew we hadn’t gone far.

As if he knew what I’d thought, Allen said, “We’re just a few miles north of your barracks; however, this is a private place. I promised Captain Anders we’d not let the others know we were friends.”

I smothered what else he might have wanted to say with a kiss. I hugged him, and then ran my hands down his back and cupped his bottom, like I used to do. His tongue pressed through my lips, like it used to do. I sucked it into my mouth, like I used to do. We fell to our knees, like we used to do. The only thing different was that I don’t remember how our clothes came off, but we were naked, pressed together, holding one another closely, mouths open, tongues twining, breathing each other’s breath, gasping, and then spurting as if we’d not come in years.

Mars

“Uncle George? May we talk?”

Death, for it was he whom I addressed, nodded. “Yes, we need to talk. The Mars whose place you took, and I, were not friends. One of my predecessors had a battle with Mars, and defeated him. There was a lot of bad blood between us. However, we cannot, we must not let that happen to us. There are too many things that are too important for us not to work together.

“I agree,” I said. “And, as I’ve told others, I am not he—the one who was not your friend. I am someone entirely different even though I have his powers. The biggest problem is that I have more of his memories than my own, although some of mine are starting to resurface. I remember the battle between my predecessor and yours, and I remember a lunch, at an oriental restaurant, when you made Mars angry. And I remember a scene—a terrorist bombing of a school, I think—when you called him out, and really pissed him off.”

I giggled.

“And that’s another problem,” I said. “I’m twelve years old, and I giggle!”

What Death said next nearly floored me. “Will you let your Uncle George give you a hug?” But I nodded, and stepped into his arms. It was a good hug, especially when he kissed the top of my head. In fact, I got an erection. Does he want to have sex with me?

“It’s okay to giggle,” he said. “Heck, Calvin’s eighteen, and he giggles. Don’t tell anyone, but sometimes I giggle, too. It wouldn’t do for people to know that Death giggles!”

He opened his arms, and I stepped back. My penis was still pushing at my cammies, and I figured he could see it. I wasn’t ready to ask that question, just yet, though.

“I promise to keep that secret,” I said. “And I promise not to allow the memories of the old Mars to affect our relationship. But there’s something else.”

“Alberto,” Death said.

“How did you know?” My voice was a whisper.

“I remember his death. It was in a naval battle in the Persian Gulf. He was assigned to the LPH New Orleans: Landing Platform Helicopter. It was host to Marine amphibious assault forces. The ship was struck by an Iranian cruise missile; Alberto died leading a team of firefighters.”

Death looked over the top of my head as if he were thinking. “I attend only significant deaths. I didn’t know at the time why Alberto’s death was significant, but I was called there. Then, fourteen years ago, Zeus summoned me, and said it was time for Alberto to return. That was unusual. Normally, Zeus gave such orders to Eileithyia. I escorted Alberto from the Realm of Pluto, and delivered him to Eileithyia.”

Apparently, Death saw my puzzlement. “She’s the goddess of Birth, and the Patron of Midwives and Obstetricians. She took Alberto from me; my job was done. I did not see him, again, until I felt his arrival here a few days ago.”

“Zeus had me do this so I could tell you that Alberto’s death, while heroic, was hard, painful, awful . . . You don’t need to tell him that, though. He was a Lieutenant. I suspect that his mates in Company Eagle will be the cadre for more young soldiers, and that they’ll all likely become officers. In any case, you don’t need to worry—and you can tell Jon not to worry—about officer/enlisted relationships.”