Move the Sun (Signal Bend #1)(44)
It didn’t hurt that she was on her third straight long rotation in camp; with nothing and no one in the States to draw her interest, and loving her job like a calling, she was perfectly content to stay put where she was useful and needed. When she’d requested a third rotation, sitting across from Corby at his insufficient camp desk, he’d contemplated her closely for a long, uncomfortable time, his eyebrows raised. Then, he’d nodded. Since that day, he’d been in her pocket. She was going for a below-zone promotion to Major in a few months; she was fairly certain Corby would do what he could to see that she got it.
She’d earned it. She worked hard, she led well, she was smart, and she didn’t back down. But below-zone promotions were rare. She knew her shot was better because she was a female in combat, and there would be good press if she got another early promotion. She wasn’t averse to accepting an advantage. Her sex worked against her 99.99% of the time in her chosen career. If there was a chance for that scale to tip slightly in the other direction, she’d take it.
When she was done with her debrief with Corby, she came out of the command tent and ran headlong into Captain Ray Hobson. He shoved her off and sneered at her. Hobson had a massive pole up his ass over Lilli. He hated women in camp, he hated women in command, and he damn sure hated a woman several years his junior, in the same rank and doing the same job as he. He hated her with a bitter fire she’d at first found bewildering. Now she hated him right back with an even hotter fire. He was a misogynistic * who found every opportunity to try to make her feel small and threatened. Time was, he’d succeeded. Now, Lilli was just waiting for him to touch her. Just once, so she could put the bastard on the ground.
“Sucking up again, Hot Lips? You were in there awhile. Musta been sucking something. I’m up for nexts.” He grabbed his crotch.
Lilli’s gorge rose at her inability to take him down for that. But she couldn’t go at him physically, not first. And she wouldn’t report him. With one piece of paper, she’d undo all her hard work. No matter how unjust it was, reporting harassment would lose her the respect of just about everyone in camp. Hell, just about everyone in the Army. She would not give this amoeba the satisfaction.
Instead, she sneered right back at him and said, “That’s comedy gold, Hobs. You must’ve kept the boys in the frat house howling. One way or another.”
His voice low, he hissed, “You’re nothin’ but a cunt, Accardo. Never be more than that.”
She brushed past him and crossed the dusty camp to the mess. She needed to get out of her flight suit, which was blazing hot in the 120F heat, but she was starving. And frankly, right at that moment, she wasn’t feeling like stripping down to take a shower. Privacy was at a premium on a Forward Operating Base, and she felt exposed. It burned her that Hobson could still do that to her, but he could. So she went into the mess, got herself a tasteless chicken sandwich, some chips, and a soda, and sat alone, sweltering and fuming.
She was about halfway through her meal, such as it was, when Lopez, her crew chief, sat down across from her. She looked up, chewing.
“Permission to speak plainly, Cap?”
Lilli nodded.
He leaned in close. “There’s some guys around here, their dicks shrink right up around a woman like you. Some, they just about turn inside out. Gives ‘em a second * where their dick should be.”
Well, that was colorful. And he must have seen her confrontation with Hobson, which sucked. Bad enough she had to deal with it; she didn’t relish anyone knowing about it. “Your point?”
“Just don’t let the *s get you down, Cap. We got your back. You should come play cards. Sitting here alone is just… sad. Miller’s wifey sent everybody a personal fan, so it’s only, like, a hundred in our hut.” He lowered his voice even more. “There’s local beer, too. Okada scraped it up.”
“You know I can’t drink with you, Sarge.” Alcohol was supposed to be banned on base, but Corby didn’t enforce that rule, as long as the troops maintained some control over themselves. These troops saw a lot of action, and he reasoned they needed some ease. Grateful for the privilege, few got drunk. Still, Lilli didn’t want to end up in a bad position. It was entirely possible that she could get called upon to fly unexpectedly, and she wouldn’t risk her men. Plus, she was in charge. Wouldn’t do to get loose and flirty around these guys. She’d worked hard to get them to see her otherwise.
“I know. But we’ll be extra entertaining tonight. C’mon. What else are you gonna do?”
With a sigh and a smile she said, “Gimme 15 for a shower and a change.”
“Excellent! Bring lots of cash for us to take from you!” He put up his fist, and she bumped it.
“Dream on, Lopez. I’ll try to leave you milk money when I’m done.”
After her shower, wearing desert fatigue pants and a loose t-shirt, her hair braided and coiled again on the back of her head, Lilli joined the poker game. As soon as she came into the hut, the guys made way for her. They dealt her in on the next hand. Several guys had bottles of beer, a kind Lilli didn’t recognize.
Others had what would look to a layperson like bottles of regular Listerine. Except the mouthwash had been replaced with whiskey, scotch, or gold tequila and sent over in care packages from home. Contraband, but everybody looked the other way.