Hunter-Hunted

Chapter 7: Awkward Conditions

Sam lifted her face to the sun, the warm rays bathing her in a light she wasn't used to as the rebel usually lived by night and by shadow. The cool breeze sweeping through the trees, at the edge of the pool where she sat with her feet dipped, lent a slight sense of freedom. When she closed her eyes she could almost imagine being far away from the city - somewhere she could just forget about everything. Forget about the Idols and the Tigereyes, forget about Freen and Charlotte, forget about Engfa... Even forget about both Mon and Lux. Sam had never felt so stifled in her life, thrown into the last situation she ever wanted to be in. She had no idea what she was supposed to do in order to handle the situation. Charlotte sent her to the Idols as a spy, while Freen has placed the most precious Mon in her personal care. The truth was, though, that she'd give her life to protect Mon, regardless of who was pulling the strings. After the way her and Mon had left things, Sam was simply dumped back into her state of longing for the foreign beauty. There was nothing that would change that.

"It's good to finally have you around." Sam canted her head backward to find Kirk standing over her, offering her a beer. She reached for the bottle and idly studied the label, her mind drifting as she brought it down to her lap without a word. "Cat got your tongue, Kwa..." Kirk stopped himself, realising he had better stop using the nickname, especially around the base. "Sam?" He automatically corrected himself and took a seat next to her with his legs crossed. "You don't seem too happy though. Why are you here if you don't want to be? You could have declined Freen's offer." Sam remained silent still, taking a long swig of her beer as her brow remained contemplative. She hated herself in that moment. She couldn't even tell her best friend the truth. She couldn't even face the truth herself - that she had been caught in a snare and was powerless to fight against it for fear of Mon being harmed...or worse.

"Are you here because it gets you closer to Mon?" Kirk asked tentatively, pushing the wrong button. "Fuck off, Kirk!" Sam lashed out in vehemence, though it was more herself she was frustrated with than her friend. "You never know who's listening..." She swallowed down her anger and shook her head as she lowered her voice. A moment later she cast an apologetic look at Kirk, happy that he understood her even when she didn't quite understand herself.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Sam, but you look fucking miserable. Just talk to me..." Sam shook her head slowly at his words and took a deep swig of her beer. Turning her shoulders to the side, she snorted softly and shook her head. "I'm not ready yet..." It was the best she could offer him at the time and she was glad that he knew better than to push the subject.

Kirk nodded and sipped from his own beer, his eyes wandering the horizon where, in the far off distance, he could just just make out the fluffy white clouds that were floating in the direction of the ocean that lay somewhere beyond. "We'll be doing our rounds between the ladies' establishments tonight. Are you joining us?" Sam thought about prowling the streets with the officers, which made her feel both sick and excited. She would love to get out of the compound, despite only having been there a few hours. At the same time, however, she had no desire to be anywhere near a possible run-in with the Tigereyes. She was very well aware that should she kill one more gang member from their side, Charlotte would have her head for it. Or worse - she'd have Mon's head. The thought made Sam's stomach twist and churn, the woman swallowing hard to keep her beer down. "I can't. I go where Mon goes. It's what I was hired for." She shrugged and glanced over at him, allowing him to read the weary look on her features.

"Well, you don't seem particularly happy about that." Sam ran a hand back through her messy dark locks and sighed at Kirk. "How am I supposed to feel, K?" Kirk raised his free hand in gesture as he looked back at her with a small smirk on his lips. "Ecstatic?" He lowered his voice then after taking a look around. "You get to be close to the one person that manages to melt that cold exterior of yours." He straightened his back before continuing in a more serious tone. "Though I wouldn't recommend it, if you value your life."