Taz tracked Po, timing her move so she stepped in front of him at the last second. He bounced back off her suit. “Sorry, sir.” She grabbed both of his upper arms to steady him, then let go. She started a countdown on her display. 15, 14...
“Ow!” He grabbed his left arm and rubbed it. “What was that?”
She stepped back. “My apologies, sir. I must have grabbed you too hard. It’s sometimes a problem with mechanized suits.” ...9, 8...
“Something poked me!” He glared suspiciously at her hand. The activation of his ramper talent felt like pinpricks on her sifter senses.
She raised her hands in front of her chest, one slightly higher and in front of the other, facing her gloved palms toward him. “Do you see anything that could have done that?” ...6, 5, 4...
He looked, then shook his head, then again. His ramper talent blazed as his hands reached for his pockets.
Taz grabbed his arms, harder this time, pinching into his biceps. “Careful, there, sir. Looks like you’re feeling dizzy.” With the drug she gave him, he should have been halfway to oblivion by now, not still standing. Damnit.
He snarled and pulled back with a jerk, freeing his arms. Before she could react, he jumped and launched himself off her chest, sending her back a step as he flipped in the air. By the time he landed, his hand held the beamer. “Step out of your suit or you’re dead. And so are those fucking animals on your back.” A cruel smile played across his lips. “Maybe I’ll do them first.”
The anger she’d been bottling up all day broke through her controls. “Thank you for saying that, sir. Per Regulation 79-A”—she grabbed his neck with her teke talent—“I get to leave your sorry waste of perfectly good carbon and water right here.” She tightened the pressure on his throat. “Be a bloody fucking shame if something catastrophic was about to happen to this building, say, in the basement.” She took satisfaction in seeing the panic in his eyes as he lost consciousness. When she released his neck, he collapsed to the floor. Finally!
Rylando spoke through her earwire. “Make sure he’s really down before you transport him. He’s a twisty little shit.” His voice took on a teasing note. “And if I’m ever foolish enough to make you mad, oh respected Field Commander, please consider this an advance apology. Sir.”
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, imagining she was exhaling the anger out with the air. “Noted, Field Commander.” Chaos, but she was going to miss him. “See you in ten.”
Chapter 9
Salamaray Citizen Activity Center, Perlarossa • GDAT 3242.334
Rylando stood at the top of the shuttle’s ramp, staring out at the trees. Their broad leaves danced in the hot summer afternoon breeze and cast dappled shadows. It had been more than a decade since he’d even been stationed on a planet, and rarely on a base with natural greenery. The unpredictable air currents that tickled the bare skin of his chest reminded him how much he missed it.
The usual adrenaline drop-off effect at the end of a rescue he could handle, but he didn’t know how to handle the end of friendships. Of partnerships. Maybe of his career.
He had zero doubts that the CPS would be happy to sacrifice the GSAR branch to the greater good of keeping the galactic peace. Or more likely, conserving their budget. But he couldn’t imagine what other use the regular CPS Minder Corps would have for a trained and experienced rescuer, much less a mid-level animal-affinity minder with a knack for training.
Moyo pushed her big head into his hand and drooled a little on his shorts. Which reminded him that if GSAR dissolved, he’d have to do something about his team. The regular military hated animals on their bases, stations, and ships. He rubbed Moyo’s ears and raised his talent to check on the recently fed, sleepy animals resting in their nest or surface of choice. Even Shen dozed. “We’ll manage.”
“Manage what?” asked Taz.
He turned back to look at her. The first thing they’d done when Hatya sent them to wait in the shuttle was grab quick showers. Her sleeveless top and exercise pants highlighted her sexy curves and muscular strength. With a colorful towel wrapped around her head, she looked like a pre-flight Egyptian queen.
“Just wondering about the future.” He patted Moyo’s rump and gave her permission to investigate the interesting smells under the trees. She gleefully bounded down the ramp like a puppy.
“Me, too,” she said. “Any predictions?”
He sighed. “The CPS won’t know what to do with any of us, but they won’t let us go, either.” Shen’s brindle-coated form caught his eye. “We’re kind of like her. The controller gives her enhanced abilities to work with humans, but it’s wasted on owners who just want a pet.” He looked back at Taz. “Were you able to connect with her using the codes I sent?”
“No.” Her lips tightened. “I didn’t want to form a bond with her, then be forced to abandon her a few days later. It seems bloody unlikely that we’ll be assigned to the same unit again. I’m going to miss your team a lot.”
“They’ll miss you, too.” He’d wasted so much time pushing her away instead of inviting her in. And now it was too late to change that.
Her gaze dropped to her toes. “If it’s none of my business, just say so, but do you have an emergency-shelter plan for your team? In case the CPS forces you to retire them?” She rocked back and forward on her heels and gave him a sideways look. “I don’t have a lot of savings, but I’d help you pay for long-term boarding. They saved a lot of lives today.”
The usual evasions stuck in his throat. She deserved to know the truth. “I know a place. All I have to do is get them there. It’s a charity for animals that GSAR thinks are missing in action.”
“Oh?” Her eyes widened in dawning comprehension. “Oh.” The corners of her mouth tilted up. “Very clever. Much better than letting GSAR bureaucrats decide what to do with ‘retired’ animals.”
Before he lost his courage, he added, “It’s my life-after-GSAR plan, too. They have a growing sanctuary on a donated tract of land. They can use my talents. Maybe you could come visit, after we both term out.”
She stilled, then studied his face, her expression serious. “Do you like me? I mean, not just professionally?”
“Yes.” He tightened his fists in his pockets. “To be honest, I’m crazy about you. I dream about you. Very nonprofessional, nova-hot dreams.” He was afraid to breathe as he waited for her reaction.
“Oh.” She blew out a loud breath. “I dream about you, too. Especially when you’re gone. You make me laugh. You make me feel safe.” She opened her mouth to speak, then stopped herself and shook her head. “And don’t we have the lousiest damn timing in the universe?”
A rueful chuckle escaped him. “Yeah, we do.”
She crossed her arms and frowned. “In the spirit of full disclosure, I’m no prize. I have a history of epically bad choices in lovers. The last one set me up as the scapegoat for a massive heist. It made me so mad that I put in for a transfer to Unit 1051, then sent the true evidence to everyone in his command structure right before the ship went transit. When he finally gets out of military detention, he might want to settle the score.” She ended with a forceful sigh.