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… And that is what Sparky needs,he mused.
A distraction.
Something, or someone, to get Sparky’s mind from things, to pull him out of his funk, dragging him back into the world of the living… and it needed to be someone he could open up to – a friend that wouldn’t interfere with work, keep him out on the weekends, or give him any bad habits… and he had just the answer.
… If the rumors were true?
Getting up from his seat, he ignored the curious looks of his squadron and walked out into the blazing heat of the hot Afghani sun.
“You!” Reaper barked, walking towards the fence, seeing a man running laps. “You there!”
“What,Zoomie? What d’ ya want?" The man came to a stop, hanging his head down, stretching his back, and leaning his hands on his knees in fatigue.
Reaper bit his tongue to keep from dressing down the young man because he wanted his help with something. Crossing onto another base without express permission was not something he wanted to look into, nor crossing any distinct lines of protocol.
If they were in the States, this wouldn’t be a problem – but here?
Here, things were very different. If there wasn’t a line, he didn’t want to be the one that forced them to draw it – or shine a spotlight on what he was doing.
Nope.
This was going to be something discussed… in secret.
“Tell Captain Logan that First Lieutenant Merrick wants to see him about a pen pal.”
“Oh, geez. Seriously? You too?” the man groaned, straightening up and wiping sweat from his forehead, before rolling his eyes. “Will do, buddy - it’s your life.”
Reaper stood there at the fence, looking off in the distance, and ignoring the broiling sun above him… only to see a man walking towards him in the distance. As he neared, he recognized the captain from a few years ago in that brief discussion he’d witnessed and nodded politely.
“Can I help you, First Lieutenant Merrick?”
“I would like your assistance, sir,” Reaper began, and hesitated. “May I speak frankly?”
“It’s a hundred-and-two-degrees today… please do. Spit it out and make it quick,” the other man replied, crossing his arms in a similar stance, but the curiosity in the man’s eyes didn’t stop him from being there.
He probablywascurious – because this was insane.
Reaper knew it.
You don’t rock the boat – and you sure don’t borrow an anchor from an aircraft carrier… for a dinghy.
Just coming here, opening the doorway between both branches that kept things divided among their remote locations, was strange enough – but to broach something so insignificant?
It was unheard of.
Heck, most of the time the two branches took out separate trucks because they didn’t even ride together into the city. Grunts stayed on their side of the fence… and his airmen remained on their own side.
The two did not mix –ever.
“I’d like to keep this between us – and I have a slight problem…”
“Okaaaay?” Captain Logan drawled, instantly wary. “What does this have to do with me?”
“I have an airman that is struggling and needs someone to talk to, someone he won’t be meeting anytime soon, a person that would email or communicate with him – befriend him – and that’s it. Neither of us needs a problem happening between our branches, but I thought if perhaps you had a person there that was looking for a pen pal, then…?”
“Then I could hook your buddy up with a pen pal on the sly?”
“Yes, sir.”
