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dishes.
 This is slave labour.
 Who said you could speak? Reeve coolly eyed him.
 You re so funny, Reeve. Astron s face scrunched up.  You
ate, too. You could help me by drying the dishes.
Reeve made an exaggerated expression of profound concern
and scratched his head.  You re right I did, and you re right I
could help you out. The young boy smiled, eagerly nodding.
 But oops I forgot. I m the one who friggin went to work, got the
pay check and bought the food. Astron s mouth despondently
sagged and Reeve leaned into it, snapping,  So not! What do you
take me for, kid, a total bloody idiot? You need to learn how to
do these things if you re ever going to survive on your own one
day. He chuckled.  And besides, I paid good money for you.
He pointed at the sink.  So get at it!
Incensed, Astron grumbled under his breath but then, the
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telephone rang. Leaping down from the foot stool, he raced while
drying his hands to answer the phone. However, Reeve slid out in
front of him, lightly cuffed his head and picked up the receiver.
He then jabbed a strong finger at the sink.  Hello, the Taylor and
Igerman residence& sure. Just a minute please.
Holding the receiver to his chest, the large man watched
Astron stick out his tongue, then he shouted to the back of the
house,  Babe, phone! The boy giggled, wavering over the
steaming water and Reeve laughed.  You think that ll piss him
off?
 Oh yeah, big time!
Suddenly appearing in the kitchen from nowhere, Slade
grimly eyed Reeve and held out a firm hand for the phone.
The cowboy stood back, flashing the swordsman an innocent
grin.  It was Astron s idea. He jerked a thumb toward the sink.
The young boy spun around with his mouth gaping.  It wasn t
me, Slade! Reeve said it. Honest!
Slade shot them both an equally disgusted look and walked
into the hall while talking into the phone.
Reeve watched his counterpart vanish and then he snuck up
to the edge of the wall, straining to hear what all Slade was
saying.
 You want me to what? The cadet commander s voice was
raw.  No, sir. No, I understand, sir, but hell. I just bought a
house near the Basiac Delta. No, but& no, sir I can t, that s
impossible, now. The traveling alone&  Slade gripped the
receiver as his voice sharpened to a noticeably resentful tone,
 Yes I do understand, General, but bloody hell I m no longer
employed by Zone Zero. No I&  Totally exasperated, he tried
his best to remain calm with the uneasy circumstances arising
and he unwillingly listened to the voice on the other end of the
line.  Yes I& I do realize, but I can t just pick up& no, sir, I
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have a son now, plus Reeve, and I don t want to leave them& 
A long pause of silence filled the hall and Reeve became
increasingly worried and inched closer to eavesdrop more
carefully.
Slade pinched his eyes with two tense fingers, then nodded
sighing into the phone.  Fine then, sir. Yes, there is no choice.
Yes, I love my job. All right. I ll pack tonight. Yes, sir, you, too,
sir& goodnight. He clenched the phone, then exploding, threw
the receiver down the hall, smashing the small black piece of
plastic and steel into several pieces. He didn t want to react like
that in front of Astron, but he couldn t seem to control himself.
Whatever the problem was, it was serious and Reeve looked
at Slade for some type of explanation.  You all right?
 No, Reeve, I m not! he harshly barked.  That friggin
prick&  pointing to the broken phone.  & wants me to pack
up, and to leave tonight! Abruptly grabbing Reeve s arm, he
hauled the sharpshooter down the corridor to their bedroom
and leading him inside, slammed the door shut.
The large man stood motionless by the bed, then he eased
down into a seated position when he saw the swordsman tear
into the closet, searching for his duffle bag.
 Where are you going? The cowboy had never seen him so
worked up.
Slade spun round and flung the huge bag on the bed.  To the
Zone, Reeve, and for four months!
Reeve swallowed, then frowned as the words registered.
 What?
 You heard me, four months, cowboy and don t say it, I have
no choice!
He cocked his head to the side.  That s not fair, Slade four
fucking months! We just started to get back to normal, and this
house! And what the hell am I supposed to do with Astron. I do
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work myself.
Beyond disappointed and angry, Slade flopped down beside
him.  I don t know, cowboy. I m sorry. Believe me, I don t want
to leave you and Astron behind.
Reeve bent forward and fiddled with the key on his necklace
as he always did when he was nervous or in deep thought.  Ah
shit, Slade& not now&  He hung his head and rubbed the
smooth gold with a rough thumb.  I don t want to be left alone
that long.
The swordsman leaned forward as well and looked at him
with a morose frown.  I know, Reeve, but I don t have a choice.
I ll miss you both very much.
 I m not stupid& you haven t said why you re going or what s
involved?
* * * *
The smaller man attempted to avoid giving all the details of the
mission and stumbled along with his thoughts.  I really can t say,
cowboy. It s just some minor jaunt to a couple of the other cities
who are under the Zone s protection& two months in both
places and then home.
 Yeah, right& just a minor jaunt. Bullshit Slade! I want a
friggin straight answer and I want it now! He stood up, glaring.
 Is this something to do with that old bloody Triburn mission? I
heard something about the militants rising again.
Frustrated, Slade rubbed his face. No matter what he said, the
cowboy would blow up and he hated the fact that the man was so
bloody knowledgeable at times, more so than expected. The
sharpshooter never read a paper, never watched the news and
never paid attention to the bulletins from work, but somehow he
was always well versed on current events.  Yes, Reeve, it is. He
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looked up at him.  Are you happy, now that you know?
* * * *
 No, Slade, I m not. Shit this is crap and you know it! He sliced
the air with his large hands.  It s just rumour and hearsay, so I
want the truth, blade boy?
 All right, the truth. There has been an uprising, that s getting
worse as we speak and the Zone has been following it for quite [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]