And to fill in some info -- Carli has a knife in a sheath that's been sewn to her belt, to hide inside her pants.
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Zeke tensed. Kept his finger on the trigger. Was it the same woman? The form didn't look right. The hair seemed lighter. But Rho had mentioned she'd been in disguise. Best play it safe.
"You can stay there," he said, his voice carrying the hint of a quiver.
"Sorry," she said. "Just listening to the music. It's pretty."
"Bar’s closed."
"I...I know, I just..."
"So what you doing here?"
"I...I dunno. I was bored. Thought maybe I’d find some fun, but I arrived late..."
"From where?"
It took her a moment to say, "The college."
He couldn't really make out what she looked like, without the moon to soften the darkness. "That’s twenty miles off," he said.
She shrugged.
Moved a bit closer.
Ran a finger over her belt.
Loki's growl went low and dangerous.
"You really need to stay over there," Zeke said.
She stopped. Said, "Nice dog. Protective. What’s his name?" Then she held up a hand, realizing. "No, wait, you said...he's Loki. Right? The trickster."
Zeke just nodded.
She crouched. Offered to let Loki sniff her hand. He did not even think about approaching her. Just kept glaring at her. Softly rumbling. She finally rose.
"You’re doing good," said Zeke. "If he thought you were a real threat, he’d have bit you, by now."
"Is...is that why he was chained?"
"How'd you know about that?"
She hesitated then motioned to the chain lying in the dirt. "I don't think it's there for you."
Zeke leaned back, still wary. "Okay..."
"Oh, you...um, you work here?"
He gave her another shrug, still frowning, the rifle still in hand.
She continued with, "What time do you open?"
"Six."
"A-M?"
He snorted in response.
She sighed. "Yeah. Right. Makes for a nice, short commute."
"Works okay."
"Your...your leg...um, Iraq or Afghanistan?"
"It matter?"
"No. It’s just I..."
He caught on to her hesitation. Her confusion. His voice became more gentle. "You do a tour?"
She hesitated then said, "Yeah. Logistics. Bagram. Few years ago. I was AMS. Saw guys like that, so many times."
Zeke relaxed a little more. "Marines. Three-three."
"Helmand? Wow."
"How long you been out?"
"Oh...just over ten months. You?"
"Eight years. Y’know, bar closed near an hour ago."
"Did it?"
"Don't you know what time it is?"
"Oh, I...no, I...truth is, I was sitting in my car. For hours. Um, trying to talk myself into going inside. Just for a beer. Then I...I couldn’t even get myself to go home."
He quietly propped the M-16 between his legs. "Still want one? Shot?" he asked, his voice gentle.
She looked at him. Everything about her said she was deeply confused. She ran a finger over her belt, again.
"No," she finally said. "I...uh, I...I just heard the music and it was nice so I came over. But that was a mistake."
"Yeah. I know. Even one-on-one can be hard, sometimes. How you handle classes?"
It took her a moment to understand the question. Finally, she said, "Not well. Remote. Mostly."
Zeke nodded. "You did more than logistics."
All she did was shrug.
"It’ll get easier," he said. "There’s a good VA hospital not too far from here. They’ve worked out ways to get around cuts in funding. . I’m Zeke."
"Carli." Then she seemed upset that she had told him.
"Mid-terms're on through tomorrow...oh, but you know that. Good thing is, Saturday night’ll be slow, if you wanna try again. Kids're off on Spring Break. Bikers are gone. I tend the bar. I’ll comp you one."
"You don’t have to do that. But thanks. Maybe I’ll take you up on it...sometime..."
"Your choice."
"Okay. Thanks." She hesitated then backed into the shadows.
Loki did not move.
A few moments later, Zeke heard a truck start up. Saw its headlights flare on just up the road and pull away. He gave Loki a pat and scratch behind the ears, saying, "Thanks, boy."
Woof.
"So you think she's lyin'?"
Woof.
"Yeah, me too. Can't lie to a dog."
Woof-woof.
"We'll deal with her next time she comes. C'mon, buddy, it's chilly out. Let's go in. See if we can find some Rin-Tin-Tin on YouTube." He set the safety on the rifle, used it to steady himself as he rose, then grabbed the guitar and entered the trailer, Loki on his tail.
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