Chapter 6

It was good and as a matter of fact it kept getting better. She stayed for the next three days and might have stayed longer if I hadn't been scheduled for a charter. We didn't fuck all the time; although I'll admit we did enough to keep my raggedy old ass worn out and that hadn't happened for a long time.

She sent for a couple changes of clothes and I expected one of her drivers would drop them off. Instead Tink brought them herself. Maybe she was worried I'd kidnapped her mother but she seemed to be more concerned about my health than Cynthia's. She stayed with us for one afternoon while we took a trip around the bay on the Katherine and I swear she gave me some of the strangest looks when she didn't think I'd notice. I thought about asking what was going on in her tiny little mind but decided to leave it alone. Even though I'd known her for only a short amount of time I knew her enough to know if there was something she wanted to talk about she would.

Anyway, when we weren't engaged in strenuous extracurricular activities Cynthia and I basically just hung out. A lot of talking and a lot of just cuddling which to tell the truth was just as nice as the fucking. Okay, almost as nice as the fucking. The fucking might get old after a while ― maybe a century or two ― but the talking and just being with each other I don't think ever would. She did get some work done, mostly through her AI implant and let me tell you that woman could cut like a razor without once raising her voice or uttering a single swear word. I'm just glad I wasn't on the receiving end.

"I'm glad you could spend the time with me," I said the night before I had to go out on the charter. "I know you have to be pretty busy and I appreciate the time you've been able to give me."

"Everything is already pretty much set up," she answered with a shrug. "We've had the people in place to do this for years and they can either do it on their own by now or find a new place to work." The comp was done and "in the can" as they put it so the next step was to organize a tour to coincide with its release. I told you I didn't know much about the music business but in a short amount of time I learned plenty. Artists these days didn't make much off their actual recordings which isn't surprising since anything recorded can be copied and flashed out on the web faster than thought in no time at all. Recording labels and producers didn't even try to stop it anymore, might as well shovel seawater against the tide. No, they made their money on personal appearances and concerts just like musicians have done for hundreds of years. The recordings played on the vid channels are little more than advertising.

The concert tours they put on were quite a bit different than the ones I'd been used to back when I was young. I would have called it more like a festival with sometimes three or four groups playing for almost the whole day with tickets costing hundreds, sometimes thousands of ND apiece. I was quite frankly amazed that the teenagers who bought their tickets could afford it but Cynthia assured me not only could they but they did. In fact their upcoming tour was already almost completely sold out and it wouldn't even start for another three months which also amazed me since the comp wouldn't even be released officially until just two weeks before the start of the tour.

Cynthia laughed when I mentioned this: They'd been "leaking" bits of songs and even two whole ones since the producers completed the contract the day after our cruise. They seemed to know exactly how to keep the interest simmering at just the right level and when to bring it to a boil. Sometimes I think they spent more time in planning the marketing of Antigua and her tour than the generals did planning a major offensive during the war. Hell, I know for a fact they spent more time at it, and did a hell of a lot better job of it without a doubt! Besides, she said, Antigua was "hot" right now and Tink's name alone could sell tickets for a tour even if she wasn't releasing new material.

I thought it was interesting as hell to watch the team and I even got to see their "tune-up" concert over in UniDiz. Sure most of the artists, Tink included, weren't the type I'd normally go see but this one I enjoyed if for no other reason than I got to see Natalie Bernstead play one more time.

You never heard of Natalie Bernstead? Then obviously you're not a vet. I think Bernstead played for the troops in every theater of the war through the whole ten years of the fighting. If they gave out campaign ribbons to USO entertainers, she would have had more fruit salad than most top sergeants that made it out alive. She played everything from small company-sized venues to huge stadiums with battalion-sized crowds. She played so close to the front you could often hear the sounds of battle off in the distance. The girl had guts and if she'd been a man balls the size of basketballs, big brass ones! I remember an interview she once gave to one of the military vid channels where she was asked why she did it. Make no mistake about it, where she went was dangerous, really dangerous. She even had her transport shot down once, or maybe it was twice.

"I go where they are," she'd said simply. "I wouldn't be worth a shit if you put a gun in my hands. I couldn't hit a bull's ass from a meter away." She never minced words and if you had a problem with her language just don't say it loud enough for that soldier in from the front line for a day or two of R&R before heading back out. He or she just wanted some tunes from someone from back home and maybe a look at a great set of legs and some huge tits. I can assure you they wouldn't be disposed to hear anything bad about the person who put her own life in jeopardy to give it to them. Natalie didn't have the greatest voice, not like Tink's, but she could wail it out and put on a hell of a show. Say something bad about the girl who came all that way to give them a little live music, for some the last they ever heard, maybe most now that I think about it, and you're liable to have your balls removed and fed to you with a fork.

"I can't fight worth a fuck," she continued. "But God damn it, if I can do something for our boys and girls out here than I sure as hell will." If there was a bigger star to our troops I sure haven't heard of him or her. I know for a fact Sam was, and still is, more than half in love with her. He had a big holo of her in his room back on base and carried a small picture of her with him when he was out in the field. There may have been better singers and better looking entertainers but none of them were our Natalie. I think she spent the whole war out in the field with the troops and we appreciated it.

She was one of the acts in the tune-up concert although I couldn't for the life of me understand why. She wasn't a hard rocker and head banger like I tend to gravitate to but she was definitely a lot more edgy than was the style of the day. She didn't fit in with what I would think of as a warm up act for Antigua Delmar but Cynthia just laughed and said it was all part of the strategy, whatever the hell that meant. I was kind of surprised by the fact I liked the concert. That Natalie was great was a given; I even half enjoyed the other two acts before Tink and as for Tink ― well, if she sang the tax code to me I'd enjoy it. Her voice is that good. Actually the "fun" part came between the acts.

Like I said, Natalie was great. For the most part the crowd, mostly younger girls sat on their hands or talked to each other while she was on but you could tell there were more than one or two vets out there. Probably daddies or older brothers or sisters that had been hijacked to take the youngsters but they were there in their ones and twos, on their feet trying to make noise. It was easy to pick us out and Natalie did, almost to the person. I could tell the kids were more than a little ambivalent about her but I did notice that halfway through her act quite a few of them had their heads bobbing to the beat. Maybe there is hope for the younger generation after all.

Anyway, we all ― the team, that is ― had backstage passes and went back there between set changes which meant we got to see "the incident." Okay, if we hadn't been there there wouldn't have been an incident. Okay, okay, if I hadn't been there there wouldn't have been an incident. Fine, does that make you happy? Yes, I caused it. Well, actually I didn't cause it, I just reacted to it. I think it makes a difference anyway.

We were back stage and Natalie was just coming off while the next act was standing near us getting ready. I know, I know, I shouldn't have gotten involved but I couldn't help myself. Like I said we were standing there with Natalie coming our way and Sam quivering and getting ready to piss his pants when I looked over at the next act a couple of meters away. She was the cutest little thing, looked to be younger than Tink, and she looked absolutely scared shitless. Standing with her was this much older looking greaseball and some muscle (bodyguards, two of them) who were giving her a real ration of shit. Anyway for no reason I could discern greaseball hauls off and hits the little cutie with an open palm slap right across the face. She's crying and he lifts his hand to do it again and somehow I found myself next to them with his wrist in my hand. A simple little application to a pressure point and greaseball is on his knees screaming like I'd gutted him instead of merely dislocating his elbow. I didn't even think about the muscle which was probably a mistake but I chalk it up to the fact I had my team there and I knew they'd have my back.

I bent down and calmly said to him, "You aren't hitting anyone anymore today, asshole."

"Let go of me you mother-fucker," he screamed. "That's my wife and I'll do whatever the fuck I want to her." Now I didn't know if this was true and to be honest I didn't care. If she was his wife and wanted to be hit then they could do it in private, not where I could see it.

"Ain't going to happen," I told him. "In fact if I see or even hear of you touching her again it will be the last thing you ever do." I bent down a little closer so just he could hear me. At least I thought it was just him, happens the little cutie also heard me. "Since I don't think you're smart enough to understand my subtle hint let me make it clearer. If you touch her again, I will kill you. I will kill you and your body will never be found." I stood back up and said louder, "Do you understand me?"

"Fuck you!" He must have been a slow learner but I didn't have the time to teach him because about half a second after the "you" came out of his mouth the toe of Mike's boot met with the side of his head and he was down and out. I could tell he wasn't dead so she must have been in a good mood; I blame it on the concert. I looked around to see what kind of trouble I was in; I assumed quite a bit. What I found wasn't exactly like the aftermath of a firefight but close enough.

The muscle was down on the ground. Sam had one while Stanly had the other. There were a number of small metal pieces lying next to them and I could tell it had once been a gun only because of my familiarity with them. It had been disassembled down to its constituent components and the barrel was bent. That had to be Sam's doing. It takes a little effort to bend the mono-molecular chromate barrel of a 5mm service pistol so it had to be Sam. Either that or someone was hiding a vise and rebar bender in his pocket.

Brian squatted down between the twins and the muscle and quietly told them, "Don't be stupid, it's over. Are you going to be nice now?" They nodded and grunted something and the twins were about to let them up when I heard a voice behind me that made me cringe.

"Danny, what is going on here?" It was Cynthia and she was pissed. I don't mean annoyed like I just wrecked your car and burned down your house annoyed, I mean pissed! Luckily I had a savior.

"Miss Delmar!" the cutie cried and ran over to Cynthia grabbing and sobbing on her shoulder. "He hit me again! He hit me again and that man," she pointed at me, "stopped him." Cynthia looked at the red welt starting to pop out on the cuties face, down at the greaseball sleeping peacefully on the floor and then at the muscle who hadn't been let up yet.

"What about them?" she asked me. I was about to answer that I had no idea when someone did it for me.

"The stupid bastard tried to pull a piece on the Major there." It was Natalie Bernstead. She was looking rather amused and turned toward Sam. "Well, you going to let the poor dumb-fuck up or just wrench his fucking arm off?"

"Ah, well," a very flustered Sam muttered as he released the bodyguard who stood up looking rather sheepish himself.

Natalie strode over and stood directly in front of Sam. "Mmm, you're a big one," giving him the look over from toe to top. "That was so fast I almost didn't see it. Ranger? SpecFor?" Natalie was no small woman; she must have stood at least 188 centimeters not counting the heels. She didn't have to look up at him all that much.

"SpecFor, ma'am," he admitted.

"Thought so," she nodded. She glanced back over her shoulder at Cynthia. "Delmar, that piece of shit is lucky the Major here and his boys were feeling good today. He should be dead and if they hadn't got to him before me he would be. By the way, Major," she said looking at me, "nice take down."

"Ah, that's Captain, and thanks."

"Close enough," she shrugged. Then she pointed at the two bodyguards, "And you two: What the fuck do you think you were doing? You should have been busting this asshole's head instead of trying to fucking save his ass!"

The one Stan had let up looked like a schoolboy in front of the principal. "It's our job, ma'am," he mumbled.

"Bullshit!" she said getting right up into his face. "If you two are going to let some piss-ant smack around a little girl, then you'd better either find another line of work or grow some balls quick. Now get the fuck out of my sight. Count yourselves lucky and do some thinking! Now git!" They got without a look backwards. Natalie watched them go and just shook her head.

"Fucking infantry, I'll bet!" she muttered. "Stick their hand in a buzz saw if you ordered them to. Not a single brain between the two of them." She nodded once as they disappeared and then her head popped up like she'd just remembered something.