Out of the Fire

Part 12 - The Home Fires

"Bullshit!" exclaimed Mary. Tears of anger and frustration glistened on her cheek.

"Not bullshit, you cannot take the settlement's defences away on a wild goose chase, just when they are needed here, and when you are needed here. You're the senior commander, you have to get your head around that now. Over two and a half thousand people are now relying on you to protect them, and they are afraid." Charlie responded with painful logic, even as she struggled with her own debilitating sense of loss and despair. "You have to pull it together and speak to the people, let them know you have it under control," she added.

"I have to find him, I need him, he is your baby's father, the people need him, I have to find him," Mary sobbed out.

"What you have to do is get Kai back here, get your shit together and take charge, you know that, I know that and the people know that," Charlie continued not unkindly. "Look, let's have a drink, take a moment and start logically, Fuck, we need beer," Charlie said. She extracted one of the bottles of new wine from the cupboard and poured a couple of drinks into glass tumblers.

Mary meekly accepted one of the glasses of wine, sipped it, pulled a face and placed it down on the dining table. Making her way to the stove, she heated some water and made a hot coffee from her dwindling supply of ground coffee and returned to her seat at the table. After a couple of sips of the coffee, she again looked up at Charlie. "Fuck you're right, but I feel so fucking powerless here, at least if I was in the field, I could do something."

"What could you do?" Asked Charlie, "You are a field commander, not an investigator, you respond to intelligence, not create it. After seeing that video of the unworthy attack, you are needed here more than ever to protect our people, and you need Kai back. You and Kai are the commanders now,"

"You are correct, fuck I hate that. Ok, what can we do? We don't know if Joe is alive, we don't know how this will affect the Clans. I need somebody in Fort Jones, I need coms to Fort Jones and I need it yesterday,"

Charlie could see Mary was beginning to claw back some control so admitting she was tired Charlie made her way to their bedroom. It had been a long horrible day made even worse by the lingering rain, in the silence of the room, Charlie let her feelings overcome her and she broke, allowing herself to be carried away by her grief. The rain had stopped but it was still dark when she woke in Mary's arms. Mary snapped awake when Charlie stirred and Charlie snuggled back into her strong comforting arms.

"I have been thinking, it has to be me and a couple of my best investigators. You can give me a couple of Hummers and a section of Joe's men and I will find him," Charlie said. "It is what we used to do before the Cleansing." She used the Clan word for the Event.

"But you are half pregnant." Mary objected, rubbing Charlie's baby bump.

"And?" Responded Charlie.

"Well, can you..., fuck it of course you can. Ok but you will have a section of the Special Forces as protection," Mary conceded. "Now I'm going back to sleep, the morning is going to be fucked, you had better try to get back to sleep too." Mary said before rolling over.

"I need a piss now." Charlie moaned, threw back the covers, woofing cold air down Mary's back as she swung her legs out of the bed.

"Bitch! pregnancy can be so annoying," Mary muttered as she rearranged the blankets.

First thing in the morning, before attending the Thermae, Mary and Charlie gently gave Little Joe an abridged version of what had happened to his father. He seemed to understand that there was a problem and that Daddy might have got lost but people were looking for him and it would be ok. They hoped this would see him through the next couple of days of intense public attention and speculation. Mary enlisted Jean and Brian to shelter Little Joe during the expected interrogation from the mass of concerned people attending the Thermae that morning. As Mary prepared to shower the first group approached, concerned for her well being and also for the safety of the settlement. Intercepting the group, Charlie gathered them and others around, she thanked them for their concern then informed them that all their issues and concerns would be addressed and any proposed actions explained in the Mess hall during breakfast.