The Chronicles of Benjamin Jamison: Call Sign Reaper (9 page)

Andrea helped him out and into the passenger seat of the car. He sat back and closed his eyes. She lifted off and headed back to the farm. The coordinates were already activated. It was not the kind of date he had planned, but in the end it was better — at least for one little girl. One big girl knew she was wrong, and without a doubt Ben was a Superman to her.

Ben slept for most of the flight back to the farm house. Andrea had sent a message to Matt asking for them to be outside to help Ben into the house. Andrea could only imagine how Janet was going to react. She looked around as she flew and could see how this planet would appeal to someone trying to keep a low profile. It was so unlike the more modern planets, which thrived on technology.

On this planet, Ben worked at a hover car repair shop where the owner made the repairs. No robots. On Ares, robots did everything. It was nice, Andrea thought, to hear a real voice and not a synthesized voice take your order or help you in some way. It occurred to her that most of the crime that had happened this weekend she had either caused or been involved in. She had warned that captain to let it go. She didn’t feel any remorse for the deaths of the spacers, but she had started the chain of events that led them to their fate.

Andrea landed the hover car next to the farm house. Everyone came out to see Ben. Andrea had bought him an oversized hospital shirt and it looked like he had armor on. His chest and shoulders were bandaged heavily with thick gauze. He was awake and making a slight gasp every time he had to move; the painkillers were wearing off. He rose out of his seat very slowly and made his way into the house. The sergeants walked on either side of him. The Vander Hoyts watched him but said nothing as he walked. Janet had tears in her eyes. Ben made it up the steps and into the kitchen and sat down.

Janet started getting food out and lining it up on the counter. She made a heaping plate for Ben.

“Dawn, would you like some supper?” she pointedly asked Andrea. Heads turned, looking at her with slight confusion.

“Her name isn’t Dawn,” Ben said softly.

“I didn’t think it was. I just wanted to open the floor up for a little explanation,” Janet replied.  She looked Andrea in the eye. “What I do know is that since she has been around, Ben, you have gotten hurt every day.”

Andrea was trying to think of something to tell Janet when Ben came to the rescue. He put his fork down.

“Her name is Major Andrea Andersen. This is Sergeant Major “Matt” Kim and the other one is Gunnery Sergeant “Bill” Smith. They are here to recruit me back into the Colonial Marines,” he said. He picked up his fork and went back to eating.

Ben finished his food. “I’m going to go lie down. Jen can use the downstairs bedroom for now,” he said, standing stiffly. He kissed Janet on the cheek and hugged her. Harold walked with him to the steps. Ben briefly told Harold how Andrea had taken it on herself to watch over the house last night.  Harold smiled and said, “I will talk to Ma.”

“Do you mind if she stays here tonight?” Ben asked.

“That would be fine.”

“Major!” Ben called out. “Could you help me out here.” He turned and walked up the steps. Harold saw Andrea approaching and stepped in front of her. “I will talk to her,” he said and motioned with his head towards the kitchen.

“He wants you to stay the night,” he told Andrea. “I think you should.” He was smiling at her, a kind, warm smile. She nodded to him and walked up the steps to Ben’s room. He had managed to get his pants off but couldn’t get the shirt. She worked the back of the shirt up and over his head then pulled down on both arms. He lay back on the bed and she pushed the hair from his forehead.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” she said.

Andrea went downstairs and told Matt and Bill they could head back to the hotel. She had the rental hover and would see them in the morning when she returned it. She grabbed her bag and Ben’s weapons and returned to the house. Everyone was sitting around the kitchen table smiling at her when she walked in. Even Janet was smiling.

Back up in the bedroom, Andrea sat her bag down on the floor and put Ben’s katana and knife on the dresser. She took off her clothes and took one of Ben’s shirts out of the drawer to sleep in.  Ben was already sound asleep. Andrea lay beside him, examining his face and chest. There was his cracked lip and slight bruising on his cheek. There was also some bruising on his chest from the repulsor she had hit him with. She guessed his back had scrapes and bruises, mostly due to her and the cat. The cat had done some damage on his upper back and shoulders.

It would take months to heal totally if he stayed here on Anubis. But if he joined her and the team she would get him to a regen center on Ares. They would have him healed up in a matter of days. She kissed him good night, pulled the blanket over both of them, and was asleep a minute later.

The sun was up and shining through the window. Andrea felt its warmth on her face. She was alone in bed. She could hear voices speaking softly downstairs. She pulled on her cargo pants, ran a comb through her hair, and went downstairs. Ben, Jen and the Vander Hoyts were sitting around the kitchen table drinking coffee. Bacon and toast was cooked and they were waiting on the eggs. Janet got up to check the eggs and told Andrea to sit down. She handed her a cup of coffee.

“Can you drop me off at work when you leave?” Ben asked. He was looking at Andrea. “And come by later to help with the contract? It’s probably not to my benefit to have you help, but I want it to be simple and fair.”

She smiled.
This is unusual and not ethical. But it will definitely speed things up,
she thought. “Sure, that should be no problem,” she answered.

A lot had happened since Friday night and Saturday morning. Ben was well aware of his feelings for Andrea and he felt he could trust her. He thought she would be fair to both him and the Corp.

Ben could see that a lot had gone on while they were gone. The sergeants must have helped out. The walls were fixed and everything looked almost exactly like it had been before the fight. Once breakfast was over, Ben asked Harold to walk outside with him. He explained that Jen owed him a debt and would be staying until he felt it had been paid off. Harold just raised his eyebrows. He did that when he didn’t want to ask.

“Put her to work,” Ben said. “She’s healthy and smart and seems to like it here.”

“What if I don’t have much for her to do?” Harold asked.

“Let her get a job,” Ben answered. “I will talk to Gus and see if he wants to take on another waitress or bartender.”

Ben walked to the kitchen and motioned for Angela to follow him. He made his way to the bathroom and got a wash pan and sponge out of the linen closet. She had yet to say anything as he put the sponge in her hand and started filling the wash pan with warm water. He had been shirtless all morning.

“I can’t shower,” he told her finally. “Would you please wipe me down and help me get a shirt on?”

Andrea took the pan of water, sponge and soap. She was smiling as she gently moved the sponge over his back. His wounds were black and blue and scabbed. She worked around the stitches, careful not to get them wet. She had to stop smiling when she turned him to do his chest and face. She didn’t want him to know that she liked taking care of him.

When she was done with the sponge bath, he looked at her and grinned.

“Later I will need a full body sponge bath,” he joked.

“In your dreams,” Andrea answered, already planning it for when he was better.

Dressed, they headed out the door and to Nick’s garage. Ben was still in a lot of pain and was glad that he could trust Nick and Val. Ben hoped they weren’t busy today. He didn’t want to take up a lot of Nick’s time with the contract if they had work to do.

Andrea dropped Ben off and he walked into the office. Nick and Val were in the office, but neither looked up at him right away.

“Nick, I’m not going to be able to work today,” Ben said to the top of his friend’s head. “I was attacked by a long fanged tiger and it tore me up pretty bad.” Both looked up at the same time and could see the bandaging under his shirt. Val jumped up and ran to him, looking him over.

“Are you going to tell us about it or keep us in suspense?” Nick asked. Ben gave them the short version.

“Have a seat, hero, we’re about through with these spreadsheets.” Val pointed to the chair next to her desk.

Nick asked Ben about the contract he wanted help with. Ben told him he knew what he wanted but would need help with all the legal mumbo jumbo.

“I’ve got a few things to do in the shop,” Nick said. “But you can start with Val.”

Nick left, and Ben started detailing his requirements to her. He listed his pay, armor, and records requirements; a main point was that Ben wanted to remain a ghost in the eyes of the government. Val’s eyes went wide with the revelation that the general would contact the Space Authority and push through the inspection to approve the ownership of Freighter SAF X-1064 to Nick Vamos and Benjamin Jamison. He added a few more things and let Val get started on it. Andrea messaged him that she was on her way.

Andrea arrived and walked in the front door of the office. Val was working on Ben’s contract. Ben was in the back with Nick. Val had not met Andrea yet in person and had her standing at the customer counter when Ben and Nick walked in.

Andrea had showered and was wearing a new sundress. Her hair was long, straight and a glossy jet black. She still had her sunglasses on, not sure what was going to happen. Ben walked around the counter and pulled her around to Val’s desk. Andrea took off her glasses and the couple just stared for a second. They had seen her face in the vid the other night, but now they knew that did her no justice.

Even though Andrea knew of Nick and Val, Ben introduced them to each other to break the silence. He introduced her as Major Andrea Andersen and asked her to sit.

“I want you to work with Val on this,” he said. The room immediately erupted in objections,. Ben held up a hand to quiet the three. “Andrea, you have totally deniability,” he said. “Nobody in this room says anything, and we’ll be just fine. I trust all three of you.”

They looked at each other and all nodded slowly. Ben walked to the back of the shop, leaving them to work out the next few years of his life.

A couple of hours later, Val paged Ben to come up front. Andrea handed him a memory chip and told him to read it and then sign if the contract was what he wanted. He took Nick’s vid-com and inserted the chip.

Ben saw that not only was the contract in order, but his friends had added in a few benefits he hadn’t thought to include. Nick walked in and stood next to him. Ben electronically signed and removed it from the vid-com. He walked over and put it into Andrea’s hand.

With that over, Andrea and Ben found a small office and sat there alone.  Angela turned to her vid-pad and messaged the general. Ben knew he had a few seconds before he answered, and he leaned in and kissed her.

She was about to say something when the generals face appeared on the vid.

General Grey was smiling. He seemed in a good mood for a general, although his look turned to one of mild concern.

“Major, your face is flushed. Are you feeling well?” the general asked.

“I’m fine sir,” the major replied, while Ben held in his smirk. “It’s a small office and there seems to be a lot of hot air. I transmitted the contract proposal. Mr. Jamison has signed it and, having read it, I see no issues from an operations stand point. There is almost no fine print. It’s straightforward — like it was written by a marine, not a lawyer.”

The general laughed at that. “ That will save a lot of time,” he said, turning slightly to look at Ben. “If I agree, how soon would you be ready to depart?” he asked.

“ I don’t need a lot of time,” Ben answered. “But I would like 24 hours. I would like to say good-bye to my family and friends.”

“That sounds reasonable,” General Grey said. “I do have a question for you though, Mr. Jamison. What made you decide to consider our offer after what happened to you before?”

Ben looked him in the eye and smiled. ‘The major was very persuasive,” he said..” The general was trying not to smile.

“Good job, Major. Now go get some air; it must be very hot in that room.” The vid went blank.

Andrea was quiet. She got up quickly from her chair. She grabbed her com and made for the door. Ben beat her there, although not without some pain. He put his back against the door, blocking her way.

“Get out of my way,” she said.

“I will,” Ben replied, “but you will listen to me first.”

“I will not,” she answered coldly. “Let me out.” He grabbed her arms and pressed her against the wall. She was furious. He looked her straight in her icy blue eyes.

“I killed five men this weekend because of you,” he began. His shoulders and neck burned. She was the first to look away. He had to let her go.

“You think I’m stupid because I’m living here on this planet?” he said, releasing his hold. “You sent them to the bar. I know you had no way of knowing the captain would get such a hard-on to kill me, but you are still responsible for the fallout.” She couldn’t look at him.

“I’m sorry if I embarrassed you and made you show some emotion in front of the general. But look at what you have done. You hit me with a repulsor, throw me out of a hover car, knock me on my ass any chance you get. What did I do to you? I show your boss you have a fucking emotion or two inside you. Hell, I think he’s happy about it ”