“C’mon, try it on,” Denise said. “You have just got to stop being Miss Military all the time.”
“Advice…from an eleven year old?”
“I’m just saying,” Denise retorted in a near-perfect imitation of Nina.
Forest laughed and took the dress into a curtained booth. A few moments later she returned.
They moved a mirror closer to one of the outer doors to make up for the lack of light inside. The sun bounced off the mirror and cast Nina and her black dress in a sharp glow.
“Wow,” Denise said. “I told you that was perfect for you.”
Nina gazed at herself in the mirror and saw all the things she had never been; popular in school, fashionable in life, sexy in a bar or nightclub, the center of attention at a party.
In that close-cut black dress she could see the allure of being those things. She could see herself-for the first time-as beautiful. And she was not embarrassed. She was not self-conscious. She did not look out of place, she felt comfortable…natural.
For a moment she did not miss the fatigues or balaclava. For a moment she was glad not to have a gun in her hand. She wondered how it might feel to play the role of princess for a night.
“Girl, you are all that,” Denise admired.
Nina realized, yes, the black dress hanging in her apartment closet had belonged to her, and she had worn it. When? For who? No doubt those answers were stolen from her, too.
“So,” Denise interrupted Nina’s thoughts. “Will that be cash or credit?”
“You know, for someone who can’t remember the old days you sure know a lot about them.”
“Hey, I talk to people. You should try it sometime.”
“Right. You talk to people.”
“And watch the occasional movie,” Denise admitted. “We found a Cadillac with a DVD player in it a couple of years ago. Watched all sorts of movies until the battery died.”
“Great, you’ve been taught pop culture. I can see we really need to get you into school.”
Denise jumped at the opening. “Guess you’ll just have to take me back to Annapolis with you.”
A few minutes later they left that store and walked through the mall. Denise carried bags full of shirts and underwear; Nina carried her new sneakers and one other package; a dress box.
Denise lugged her shopping bags inside the beachfront condominium she called home, leaving Nina alone outside with Jim Brock.
He asked, “Hey, since you were out for lunch today what do you think, I mean, how about dinner?”
Nina nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”
The two wandered toward the beach. The Atlantic Ocean rolled in, one white cap after another, the same routine repeated for eons. Seagulls fluttered about in search of scraps, litter tumbled across the sand, and the long shadows of beachfront resorts stretched toward the water.
To Nina, it felt like summer vacation. She had spent ten days in Wilmington, a symptom, certainly, of the delay in General Shepherd’s advance. Nonetheless, other than her apartment in Annapolis, she had not spent this much time in one place for years, nor this much time with anyone other than her Dark Wolves comrades.
“I think it’s great that you spent the day with Denise,” Jim told her. “She really likes you. I’ve never seen her open up with anyone like that.”
“I know what that’s like.”
“I can tell that. Honestly, even with all the years I spent with her I didn’t get to know her that well. There were just so many kids, and I’m a guy. I suppose I spent more time with the boys because I understood them better. Women are different. Harder of figure out. Especially, well, you’re a bit of a mystery, too.”
Nina said, “Me? I’m not really that interesting.”
“You have to be. You are…I mean…you are one of the most beautiful women I have ever met. You’ve got a nice smile, too, you should show it more often.”
The words sounded nice, but Nina heard a familiar tone running beneath.
Jim said, “I don’t think I’ve ever met a girl as tough as you. Probably not many guys, for that matter.”
Yes, there it was. It could have been one of the kids from her elementary school.
“Teacher…why is Nina so quiet?”
Or maybe a girlfriend from junior high.
“Hey, here comes Nina Forest; you trying out for the football team, Nina?”
Perhaps a high school date.
“Ouch! Let go! Geez, I was just being friendly you freak!”
Maybe even Scott from the Philly SWAT team.
“Hey honey, stop acting like you’ve got a dick.”
She knew he did not intend to be mean, he just did not know any better.
“You’ve never met a girl as tough as me,” she repeated.
“I like you, Nina. A lot. I haven’t known you that long, but I can tell that something is bothering you. It’s like you’re looking for something. Maybe you feel out of place. I’m hoping you might find what you need here. You could help us rebuild, and maybe we could help you, too.”
He started to say more but his words were drown out by the roar of a Blackhawk helicopter swinging over the rooftops and descending toward the beach. Nina and Jim retreated to avoid the sand storm that raged to life under the rotors.
Her Dark Wolves unit disembarked from the chopper, moving out from the sandstorm with their heads low.
Jim Brock stood still, nearly frozen in terror by the big machine and the burly men coming toward them, one of whom walked directly to Nina.
“Captain Forest,” Vince Caesar removed goggles and spoke in a voice mixing no-nonsense and respect. “May I have a word with you?”
Nina nodded and walked off with him. The other two commandos hovered next to Jim Brock and waited. They probably did not intend to intimidate the man but, no doubt, took some perverse pleasure in it nonetheless.
Carl Bly said, “Out for a walk on the beach?”
“Um…yeah…” Jim glanced toward Nina who walked out of earshot.
“Say, mate,” Maddock asked, “exactly what are your intentions toward our Captain?”
“Um…”
Meanwhile, Vince leaned close to Nina and said, “We’ve got an assignment, a real rush job just came in.”
Nina grew uncharacteristically frustrated and snapped, “Who’s the asshole who thinks they can just call us out on a whim?”
Vince’s eyes widened and his normally stoic expression morphed to mild surprise.
“Cap, we always get called out on a whim. As for who’s asking, that’d be Trevor Stone.”
This time Nina’s eyes widened and, at the same time, her cheeks reddened. She raised a hand to her temple, closed her eyes, and mumbled, “I think all this R amp; R is going to my head. I’m not used to…not used to staying in one place this long.”
Caesar said, “If Stone called us out personally, it must be important. We have a rendezvous to make.”
“Yeah. Yes, of course. Let me grab some stuff.”
Vince followed his commander as she retrieved her gear from the back of the Humvee parked in the lot, including one box that was not standard issue.
Denise Cannon ran out of the condominium and right to Nina.
“You’re going?”
Nina saw panic-outright fear-in the little girl’s eyes.
“I have to go, but I’ll be back.”
“I don’t want you to go,” Denise glanced nervously at the other soldier standing nearby.
Nina nearly pleaded, “Listen, this is who I am. Do you understand?”
Denise nodded.
“Please, tell me the truth. Do you understand?”
