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By Root 749 0

carefully lowered the hammer before ejecting the magazine and sliding another round into place. With eight cartridges in the weapon, and a backup clip, he now had a total of fifteen rounds with which to face danger. Not nearly enough for a walk in the jungles of Vietnam, but he figured it was plenty for the dark environs of a city. He could hit a human head with a single aimed shot from ten yards, day or night. He'd never once rattled under fire, and he'd killed men before. Whatever the dangers might be, Kelly was ready for them. Besides, he wasn't going after the Vietcong. He was going in at night, and the night was his friend. There would be fewer people around for him to worry about, and unless the other side knew he was there - which they wouldn't - he didn't have to worry about an ambush. He just had to stay alert, which came easily to him.

Dinner was chicken, something Pam knew how to fix. Kelly almost got out a bottle of wine but thought better of it. Why tempt her with alcohol? Maybe he'd stop drinking himself. It would be no great loss, and the sacrifice would validate his commitment to her. Their conversation avoided serious matters. He'd already shut the dangers from his mind. There was no need to dwell on them. Too much imagination made things worse, not better.

'You really think we need new curtains?' he said.

'They don't match the furniture very well.'

Kelly grunted. 'For a boat?'

'It's kinda dull there, you know?'

'Dull,' he observed, clearing the table. 'Next thing, you'll say that men are all alike - ' Kelly stopped dead in his tracks. It was the first time he'd slipped up that way. 'Sorry...'

She gave him an impish smile. 'Well, in some ways you are. And stop being so nervous about talking to me about things, okay?'

Kelly relaxed. 'Okay.' He grabbed her and pulled her close. 'If that's the way you feel... well...'

'Mmm.' She smiled and accepted his kiss. Kelly's hands wandered across her back, and there was no feel of a bra under the cotton blouse. She giggled at him. 'I wondered how long it would take you to notice.'

'The candles were in the way,' he explained.

'The candles were nice, but smelly.' And she was right. The bunker was not well ventilated. Something else to fix. Kelly looked forward into a very busy future as he moved his hands to a nicer place.

'Have I gained enough weight,?'

'Is it my imagination, or ... ?'

'Well, maybe just a little,' Pam admitted, holding his hands on her.

'We need to get you some new clothes,' he said, watching her face, the new confidence. He had her on the wheel, steering the proper compass course past Sharp's Island Light, well east of the shipping channel, which was busy today.

'Good idea,' she agreed. 'But I don't know any good places.' He checked the compass like a good helmsman.

'They're easy to find. You just look at the parking lot.'

'Huh?'

'Lincolns and Caddys, honey. Always means good clothes,' Kelly noted. 'Never fails.'

She laughed as intended. Kelly marveled at how much more in control she seemed, though there was still a long ways to go.

'Where will we stay tonight?'

'On board,' Kelly answered. 'We'll be secure here.' Pam merely nodded, but he explained anyway.

'You look different now, and they don't know me from Adam. They don't know my car or my boat. Frank Allen doesn't know your name or even that you're a girl. That's operational security. We ought to be safe.'

'I'm sure you're right,' Pam said, turning to smile at him. The confidence in her face warmed his blood and fed his already capacious ego.

'Going to rain tonight,' Kelly noted, pointing at distant clouds. 'That's good, too. Cuts down visibility. We used to do a lot of stuff in the rain. People just aren't alert when they're wet.'

'You really know about this stuff, don't you?'

A manly smile. 'I learned in a really tough school, honey.'

They made port three hours later. Kelly made a great show of being alert, checking out the parking lot, noting that his Scout was in its accustomed place. He sent her below while he tied up, then left her there while he drove the car right