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Post by skybright on Jul 16, 2006 3:08:18 GMT -5
Daws nodded and turned down the street, burying her hands in the pockets of her coat. "All in all," she said, "We didn't do too badly for ourselves on this one, Major."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 16, 2006 3:25:02 GMT -5
"We did better'n we had any right to expect," Vance murmured. "We'll be lucky if we ever have anything this easy again--and anyway, this was a sidetrack. It might've spoiled one little scheme of Nocturne's, but it was no real blow against him."
He gazed up at the darkened sky, rubbing the back of his neck. "For us, this isn't gonna be a Desert Storm. This is Vietnam: long, hard, dirty, and with a bloody awful cost, and we're no more guaranteed a win. If we can't cut off the head of the snake, all we can do is hit it till it bleeds to death--and that could take a long time, and a lotta lives."
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Post by skybright on Jul 16, 2006 3:31:33 GMT -5
Daws sighed and nodded. "You're right -- and there's no sense pretending otherwise."
They had reached Archie's Tavern; Daws pushed the door open and held it for Vance. "But life ain't just about the fight, Vance." She added quietly, "Or just about the hard, losing, dirty parts of it."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 16, 2006 3:47:39 GMT -5
"Not for the people we're protecting, it isn't," Vance growled with a slightly bitter tone, as he stepped past Daws into the tavern. He gravitated instinctively to a corner table, where he settled with his back to the wall.
"When I fought for my country, I was protecting the right of crazy pacifist loons to spit on the sidewalk when I walked by. Now I'm fighting for the norms' right to give me the same treatment." He uttered a frustrated huff. "Every side is a losing one for people like us."
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Post by skybright on Jul 16, 2006 3:59:18 GMT -5
Daws shook her head and took off her hat. "The way I see it, Major, the people who act like that are the ones who lose. Choosing to be better than that -- not just to walk away, but to fight for them -- that's winning. It means I'm the better person, even if they don't see a person here at all. And that's a victory, in my book."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 16, 2006 4:20:03 GMT -5
"And that's the reason I do it," Vance replied, somewhat resignedly. "Doesn't mean it's any easier, or feels any less worth it half the time."
He shook his head. "The Army recruiters talk a good line about doing something to be proud of, but lemme tell ya, pride's not what it's cracked up to be. Maybe we've got nothing else, but it's not much to hold onto either, when you get down to it. It's not gonna put food in a hungry belly, or heal the wounds when we bleed for the cause."
Leaning back, he gazed away toward the far wall. "Pride is just another negotiable. I've learned to trade it for the things I really need."
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Post by skybright on Jul 16, 2006 4:26:06 GMT -5
Daws looked about to reply, but she was interrupted by the arrival of a bored-looking waitress.
She ordered two bottles of beer and then -- once the waitress had departed -- leaned back and studied Vance for a moment.
"What do you really need, Major?" She asked, frowning slightly and tipping her head.
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 16, 2006 4:39:15 GMT -5
Vance shrugged. "Peace of mind might be a polite name for it. You'd call it something else. Only I'm a long way from gettin' it."
He sighed deeply. "The more important thing is that I need to protect my own. I don't get a fat retainer from Tiernan, detective. My job's not just to dream up wild schemes against him--it's to make sure a lotta my people have food and clothes, and some kinda place to sleep. I'll trade my pride, my flesh and blood, and anything else I have to for that."
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Post by skybright on Jul 16, 2006 4:51:16 GMT -5
Daws nodded gravely. "I respect that, Major." She paused. "And . . . if you want any help from me in that, you have it. I don't like taking Tiernan's cash any more than I like takin' his orders -- and I'd as soon it went to helping fight him as anywhere else."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 16, 2006 5:00:10 GMT -5
Vance chuckled gravely. "There's that pride thing again, detective. You look after your own people. I'm holding my own with mine. We've got a little bit of a Robin Hood thing going on--and as a freelance agent for law and order, I don't suppose you mind a few plain old drug dealers and such getting shaken down to feed some honest vigilantes."
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Post by skybright on Jul 16, 2006 5:09:27 GMT -5
Daws grinned. "Not at all, Major. Robin Hood was my hero when I was a kid -- at least, until I discovered Philip Marlowe."
The waitress stopped by long enough to deposit their drinks, and Daws raised an eyebrow at Vance.
"Let me ask you something, Major. Suppose -- just for the sake of argument -- that we can win this thing, and that we both live to see it. After it's over, once you've got your 'peace of mind' . . ." she tipped her head and regarded Vance calmly, "What then?"
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 16, 2006 5:22:23 GMT -5
Vance shrugged. "I dunno. The way my career ended... well, I wouldn't bet on that West Point post happening now. I s'pose I could think about the things I had in mind before I joined the Army--a historian, a curator. The idea of burying myself in a museum with the other artifacts appeals to me."
He regarded his drink almost warily. "I hardly ever have this these days. Part of where my life went wrong was this." He took a sip and grimaced, then set the bottle down and shrugged, turning it idly between his fingers.
"Course, I could just go on doing what I'm doing. There's worse things to do than rob from crooks to give to starving mutants, and I'm gettin' used to it. I could take care of a lot more folks if I wasn't trying to fund a war too."
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Post by skybright on Jul 16, 2006 5:28:27 GMT -5
"Isn't that the truth." Daws muttered, and took a drink.
Then she grinned crookedly. "Y'know, somehow, Major, I think a museum might get to be a little too . . . sedate for you, after a while." She chuckled. "Besides, you're not that antique yet."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 16, 2006 5:41:48 GMT -5
Vance let out a brief snort of humorless laughter. "You'd be surprised, detective, just how 'sedate' I can be. Babysittin' Hubert at the motel wasn't exactly a good example of me on a quiet job, seeing as he was pretty annoying at the time. But just gimme some decent books and old documents to study, and I don't get bored. I toldja I'm for peace and quiet, when I'm not at war."
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Post by skybright on Jul 16, 2006 5:46:58 GMT -5
Daws smiled wryly. "Now I'll drink to that."
She raised her bottle. "Here's to peace and quiet -- and peace of mind." She paused for a moment, and then added "And to both of us seeing it someday."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 16, 2006 6:09:04 GMT -5
Vance clinked his bottle against hers. "Amen to that."
He took a drink, and stared down at the patterns of scratches on the old wooden table before speaking again.
"Maybe I'm better off having some kind of a fight. I made a lousy civilian--and no matter how nice it sounds, I probably would again. Guys like me don't die in retirement homes."
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Post by skybright on Jul 17, 2006 0:22:48 GMT -5
Daws shook her head and chuckled softly. "I'd like to see 'em build the old folks' home that could hold you."
She studied the older man for a moment and then added "I dunno, though. I could see you settlin' down with a couple of grandkids someday, if things went right."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 17, 2006 1:41:39 GMT -5
Vance chuckled humorlessly. "That's about the biggest 'if' that ever was."
He leaned back in his chair, regarding Daws with a light smile. "And what about you, detective? Whadaya see yourself doing in twenty years?"
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Post by skybright on Jul 17, 2006 1:56:22 GMT -5
Daws shrugged one shoulder. "Detecting's all I've ever done -- it's about the only thing I know how to do. I've heard it said that nobody can grow old doing it -- but so far, I haven't run across anything I'd rather try to grow old doing. But besides that . . ."
She hesitated for a moment, then peeled part of the label off her beer bottle and said quietly "I've got a sister I haven't talked to in fifteen years -- and a niece I've never gotten to meet. When this thing with Tiernan blows over, I'd like to think I'll work up the courage to fix that."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 17, 2006 2:03:19 GMT -5
Vance nodded thoughtfully. "I can understand that. Families..." He made an ambivalent gesture. "Better having 'em at a distance when you're fighting. But it's hard, not knowing if you'll have 'em to come home to when it's over."
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