The Bargain

Part II

Location: Afghanistan, Logan Province 2011

Lara watched as the blonde sat there playing with his paper clips. He'd been temporarily resigned to her company. She didn't know why all she knew was that he was waiting to be reassigned and was far off somewhere else. He was always fiddling with something, using a utility knife to shape it. He looked about her age, she supposed, the only other person anywhere near her age around there was Chris Sole, infantry, who was twenty-four and entirely vulgar. He seemed to have the impression that Lara was just here because she didn't have anyone to look after her properly. His conclusion was half right but the reasoning itself was entirely wrong.

A couple of days later Lara worked up the courage to introduce herself.

"You're an EOD technician right?" Lara asked as she sat by him, handing him the meal he'd not bothered to collect. "I'm Lara."

"Thanks," the boy said, taking the meal and setting it aside, returning to whatever it was that he was making.

"You'll need to eat that," she told him, debating whether just to leave the boy and find somewhere else to be. "Doc had me make sure you got one tonight, I think he thinks you need a friend."

The boy didn't say anything, just continued to fiddle with what once was a paperclip. The two were silent for a long period of time. Lara was surprised to find it of the comfortable kind. She'd never been on to really care for social settings. It had gotten worse with the death of her mother and brother but this silence almost alleviated the loneliness, almost. Eventually, the boy set aside the paperclip and began to eat. Lara picked it up and examined it. It was an intricate design of what appeared to be a rose.

"I like roses," Lara told him. "My brother used to buy me a rose for my birthday each year. One of the hothouse roses. I used to put it in our room, on his desk so it didn't get bumped or ruined."

"Alfred's wife liked roses," he told her. "He was going to get her some when he slipped off to meet his daughter."

"They extended his tour?"

"No,"

The reply was stiff and cool. Lara didn't have to be a genius to put it together. No wonder the boy had been distant.

"I'm sorry,"

"What would you know?" he asked bitterly. Lara bit her lip. Only shrugged. "I didn't think so."

Lara got up and walked away, she wasn't going to hang around. The boy wouldn't even grace her with the information regarding his name. She wasn't going to hang around to be told what she did or didn't know.

+ + + + +

"Why you out here?"

"Hmm?" Lara hummed, her head in the hood of the truck. She'd already checked the axles and along the fuel line. She had a torch held between her teeth.

"The sun's just coming out," came the response. "What are you doing to the car?"

Lara pulled her head out, transferring the torch to her left hand. The boy from the other night stood behind her.

"Just checking," she told him, going back to her search.

"We're in a camp, for there to be anything they'd have to have gotten past the watch,"

"Mmm,"

"So why do it?"

Lara shrugged as she came to the conclusion that the truck was clear. Pocketing the torch she shut the hood.

"I don't really have anything to do yet and everyone else is up," Lara told him. "My brother used to work on our car, the neighbour's car, his mates' car. Before he applied for the army he was an apprentice in a garage. It's an excuse to hang around something that reminds me of home."

The blonde smiled at her.

"Is that what you're doing out here?" He asked. "Trying to hook up with your brother?"

"No," Lara ceded, "he never made it out of America. Car crash... I was driving."

The boy just nodded. Following as she moved on to the next vehicle. They were silent until she'd finished.

"I'm sorry I was such an ass last night,"

Lara just shrugged.

"Look, let's restart. I'm Mac,"

"Lara,"