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Dance up lovers' lane,
Stroll along the river
Where first you became mine,
Lose all our worries
In my ring's golden shine!
The general helped her down and gave her a lip-smacking kiss. Valentine winced, feeling like a man who has just come across his sister in a brothel. Jealousy and disgust, infinitely fouler and more upsetting than the brandy and sweetwater, swirled and bubbled within him.
She looked around the table. "Good evening, Captain Mantilla ... who's the new face?"
"Colonel Knox Le Sain."
"You don't like oldies, Colonel?"
"A bump and grind on top of my dinner puts me off my feed, funbunny," Valentine said.
"Colonel," Hamm growled. "I won't have you talking about Tanny like that."
"I'll give him funbunny," Duvalier said, reaching for a fork.
RC leaned forward. "The colonel just finished off the brandy in the Third Division Cup-and a tab of Horny. Cut him some slack, Ty."
Valentine's former mentor sat back down on Hamm's lap. She didn't flinch as Hamm rested his hand across her shoulder, fingertips touching her breast. Valentine looked away and back at the stage, nauseated.
"You're in for a messy night," Duvalier said, looking at RC.
"You never know," Valentine's escort answered.
"I am feeling a little-" Valentine began.
"I'll get you some air," RC said, as Valentine rose from his chair.
"No, I'm all right... or maybe not." Valentine hurried for the exit. The furniture and decor were an unearthly primary swirl around him. He staggered past the doorman and up the stairs....
When the paroxysm passed he found he was resting against a Dumpster, sweating like a pig and feeling like a small rubber duck floating in a very big lake. He looked around, and reached into his tunic to retrieve the handwritten note. By the blue light of the neon sign, he read Ali's block-capital scrawl.
Must See You AM Good
Will be here one day more then to AFB
Love the (lack of) Hair
Meeyao
T
Apart from her creative spelling of "meow" it was pure Ali; short, to the point and equivocal in case it ended up in someone else's hands. Much of his education in operating in the Kurian Zone had been from her; though she was just under his age, she had twice his experience as a Hunter. While he wondered if she really was good, he was certain the "AM" referred to a.m. AFB probably meant the old air force base to the north as her destination. Hamm had his headquarters there for the refit; Valentine had been told his battalion was to move north and join him in another week or so. Xray-Tango had promised him more time on the range to practice with the new rifles.
For Valentine, it could not come soon enough. He wanted out of the Kurian Zone; Southern Command needed the Quickwood.
"Feeling better, Knox?" a female voice asked from somewhere across the Missouri line. He dropped the note into the Dumpster, startling a rat sniffing at the vomitus within.
He turned, half expecting to see Ali, but it was RC, holding a hurricane glass full of bubbling water.
"I brought you some more soda. It's good for more than just stains."
