Chapter 3

"That should be that last bit of paperwork to sign. I would expect that you'll get paid for the move in the next five to ten business days," the finance troop told Will.

"Thanks," she said half-heartedly and went back into the hallway. Clean stood leaning against the hallway, silently watching her exit.

"That should be the last thing." She gave him another friendly smile, hoping to break his gloomy demeanor by sheer force of personality. He simply nodded and started walking back towards the squadron's area.

Exasperated, Will struggled to contain a sigh. She had spent almost all afternoon following this burley little man. Well, not little, he was only an inch or so shorter than her, she conceded mentally; but she wondered if somehow this man hated lycanthropes but couldn't fathom why he would be a paw-pal if he did.

She considered some of the people whom she'd met who hated lycanthropes. Generally, they held extremely fundamental religious beliefs and believed lycanthropes to be demons in human form. Will shuddered thinking of some of the horrible and violent hate crimes that had happened. It took a lot to kill a lycanthrope, but torturing one could go on for days longer than a normal human could take. Intellectually, she was aware that this was one of the main reasons people opposed lycanthropes serving openly in the military. There had been fear that, despite the fact that they possessed skills that far surpassed normal humans, other troops wouldn't accept lycanthropes into the various military units. They also argued that you couldn't house them in the same barracks, as if just being next to a lycanthrope would turn you into one.

Will held back another sigh and reevaluated Clean. He didn't seem menacing but this silent treatment bothered her, it was rude and disconcerting. Lycanthrope training touted how close pairs were, just another thing they over exaggerated Willow thought bitterly.

Ahead of her Clean brooded silently as he walked. Lt Col Stahl hadn't been joking, she was easy on the eyes, but Clean didn't want to be suckered into being her paw-pal simply because she was pretty. He'd spent most of the afternoon trying to mentally list who he could introduce her to that might make a good candidate for the Lycanthrope Liaison program. It had strenuous physical requirements and each candidate had to pass a psychological evaluation to prove that they could be trusted in the program. He'd heard that when the program was in its infancy some people had snuck in for the sole purpose of harming their paw-pal while they were vulnerable.

His list of names was disturbingly short as he reached the squadron's door. He opened the door and held it for her. Behind him, Will watched him silently. He gestured for her to enter and saw her shoulders sag slightly. He sighed because he recognized the body language. His brother had done that same thing, whenever he was upset and expecting a reprimand. She scooted past him into the front of the commander's office. She smiled at Beth and eyed Bender as she handed over the paperwork.

"I think that's everything, ma'am," she told Beth.

"Looks like it," Beth said smiling back. Clean saw her shoulders lift slightly at Beth's friendly smile. He sighed internally, he could tell he was botching this already just from her body language. Clean wandered to Bender's desk and sat down on the corner.

"Well, it's almost the close of business. You might as well head on back to billeting. Training flight can start you up tomorrow," Beth told Will.

"Training? I just finished ma'am."

Beth laughed lightly but Bender answered. "Yes, that's true, but you still have to finish the deployment prep. You're qualified to fly the jet. You aren't qualified to go into combat."

"Oh." Clean watched her eye Bender again and started to wonder if they wouldn't make a good pair until he saw, her nostrils flare and eyes narrow slightly. "Well, I guess I'll head back to my room then."

A round of looks went through the room. Beth looked at Clean and nodded at Will trying to say 'Take her to dinner!' while Bender and Will stared each other down. Clean watched their exchange, oblivious to Beth, with a nagging suspicion growing.

"Capt Voss, can I ask you something outside, please?" Will's voice cut through the brief silence.

"Uh, sure." He stood, grabbing his ID from the computer, and strode into the hallway. "What can I help you with?"

"No, outside, outside," Will insisted. They turned and walked to the exterior doors with Clean watching them silently from the doorway.

"Any idea what that was about?" Beth asked him. Clean knew she loved nothing more than a good rumor and snorted.

"I might," he answered vaguely, hoping that she'd leave it be.