Rest and Recovery, Part 2

Posted on Fri Aug 20th, 2021 @ 3:25pm by First Lieutenant Bethany Harrison & Captain Jonathon Harrison
Edited on on Fri Aug 20th, 2021 @ 3:25pm

Mission: The Factions
Location: Montana Reservation
Timeline: Present Day

True to her word, it only took Bethany a few minutes to get herself rinsed, dried, dressed, and downstairs, pulling her long, thick hair into a ponytail. She hadn’t gotten a chance to see to her gear after returning home, but there was nothing to be done about it. “So, do we have any details on this mission?”

“Just that it’s in Florida,” Jon said. He’d changed as well, and wore a rather loud, tropical shirt, very much not Jon, though his mirrored sunglasses were the same. “Dyami said details would be there when we arrived.” He had already packed everything into the SUV.

Bethany looked Jon up and down, then back up to the strange bright shirt, nibbling a bit at her lower lip, humor dancing in her green eyes. The man never really looked bad to her, but she wasn’t used to it at all. Even during most of their undercover missions, he tended to be bespoke, dark suit, neatly clipped and combed. “What kind of mission is this?” she asked, chuckling a bit.

“Undercover,” Jon said. “You don’t like the shirt, love?” he asked, pouting a bit before getting behind the wheel.

“It’s just very...bright,” Bethany said, smiling at him as she climbed into the SUV. She winced a bit as she hauled herself up, but hid it quickly. “I mean, you never look bad, I’m just used to suits, or combat gear.”

“Well, we aren’t in combat yet,” Jon said. “Have to blend in with the spring break crowd.” He started up the SUV and pulled out of the drive, heading into town from their house on the outskirts.

Bethany glanced down at her own attire, which was pretty typical for deploying on a mission. Black BDU pants, a black tank top, and black combat boots. “I don’t really know what you mean by that. I mean, I’ve heard of Spring Break, but...” her voice trailed off and she blushed, embarrassed by her lack of knowledge, looking out of the side window as they drove into town. She was still trying to play catch up with popular culture.

“There’s a go bag in the back with some clothes if you want to change, love,” Jon told her.

Bethany laughed and looked over, giving Jon a bit of a dubious look. “I think I’ll wait to find out where they’re going to be dropping us first. I mean, any kind of covert entry and you’re going to stand out like a sore thumb,” she teased, glancing at his bright shirt.

“I’d stick out like a sore thumb in the Florida heat in a suit,” Jon reminded Bethany.
As they talked, they arrived at what appeared to be a large warehouse in the small town that they called home. They drove into the parking garage, then paused long enough for security to clear them, before they rolled onto a lift that lowered them into the ground. Within minutes, they were directed into the cargo area, and onto the underground sonic subway that connected them to the mesa.

The young woman had grown up in a separatist compound that shunned most technology, and while this had become old hat, this trip had been absolutely astounding to Bethany at first. And more than a little scary. Just the level of technology seemed so out of place in comparison to the normal looking towns that had grown up in the area. Once they were locked into place, the train took off.

“So, he didn’t tell you anything about the mission?” Bethany asked, not even bothering to get too comfortable for what was going to be a far faster trip than most would imagine. “I mean, other than we’re supposed to dress in brightly colored clothes?” She really had missed out on a lot in life. What was the connection between Spring Break and Jon’s shirt? He was messing with her, but it wasn’t something that felt wrong, really. Just weird.

“No. He said our briefing would be there when we arrived,” Jon reassured Beth.

That wasn’t as strange as Bethany wished it were. Sometimes, intel had to be acted on quickly, but that normally meant they were getting dropped inside some hot zone. “Well, that sounds ominous,” she said, chuckling a bit.

The trip to the mesa was quick, and before long, they found themselves loaded up into the state of the art plane that Bethany still wasn’t used to. Flying on her own was weird enough, but being hauled off by some great metal bird, felt like she wasn’t in control, and that sensation always bothered her.

Jon found a seat on the plane and relaxed. He even mixed himself an umbrella drink, minus the alcohol, so it was just a concoction of fruit juices. He slipped his sunglasses back on against the brightness from the windows as they took off. “You can change if you want,” he said, nudging the go bag he had mentioned with his foot.

The young brawler looked at Jon, then at the team that was with them. Jon was the only one dressed so strangely for a mission. Bethany raised an eyebrow at him curiously. “Okay, this is bothering me. We’re about to be dropped out of an airplane at some random location, and you’re acting weird. What’s going on?” She was a bit socially inept, but the young woman wasn’t stupid.

Jon chuckled. “Relax. Enjoy the flight. Have a margarita,” he told Bethany, though it would be virgin, of course.

Bethany sat down in front of the bag that Jon had nudged and opened it up, now totally curious as to what he had packed that he was so eager to get her to change into. As she rummaged through the bag, her eyes widened slightly, a furious blush creeping onto her face with each item. She finally pulled out a blue bikini and blinked at it a couple of times, then shot a glare at Radar when he cleared his throat and chuckled.

Looking over at Jon, she shoved the bikini back into the bag and closed it. She had been on undercover missions before, some that had worked out to be rather embarrassing for her. “You're hiding something from me,” the green-eyed brawler stated.

Jon just shrugged and sipped his drink.

“In-flight movie, sir?” Radar offered, barely hiding a smirk.

Jon grinned. “Fractal?” he queried. “Got a preference?”

Bethany looked at Radar, then over at the other three that were with them, all of them looking anywhere but at her. “Why do I feel like the butt of some weird joke?” she muttered, settling back in her seat. When asked about the movie, she sighed and shrugged. “You know I don’t know much about that stuff,” she said, looking a bit uncomfortable. She and Jon tended to watch old movies, either at home, or sometimes at the theater when they did special showings, but she wasn’t the type of girl that kept up with the goings on of Hollywood.

Jon nodded. “Put on Shane, Radar,” he told the Texan. “I know you like it, mate.”

“Good choice,” Radar said with a smile. A command through the man’s nano had the large briefing screen flicker on and then come up with the movie studio logo and the soaring orchestral score.

Resigning herself to the fact that no one was going to let her in on what was really going on, Bethany settled in for the flight, and the movie. As was her way, she leaned her head on Jon’s shoulder, partly because flying was still weird for her, partly because she enjoyed the closeness with him, and partly because that was just how they watched movies together. Within minutes the green-eyed brawler was asleep, still worn out after their last mission.

Jon put his arm around Bethany and settled in for the movie, one of his favorites, as well. By the time Shane was riding off into the sunset, the pilot was announcing their final approach. Jon gently nudged Bethany awake.

“We’ve arrived,” Jon told her. “Might want to get changed, love.”

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TBC
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