(no subject)

[nottheboss]

It's late at night. The corridors aren't quiet; they're full of men and women restlessly trying to sleep in their quarters. Bossie should be one of them. But instead he slips barefoot down the hallway to Carver's room, where he knocks.

"Hey, man, you up?"

Comments

[nottheboss]

"When did it end? I mean you two still clearly care about each other." Riley wouldn't be here if he didn't still care in some way or other.

[fortitudosalutis]

Carver's smile is small and a little sad. "It was early days when Pope was rounding us up. I told Riley it'd just be a few jobs, to get us back on our feet. I'd never been that broke before..."

It wasn't a good time. Neither of them could work regular jobs.

"You remember the Siberia job? I asked Riley to come with. Just the one job, I told him. But I think he knew it wouldn't be."

Carver exhales.

"I went, he didn't. And when I got back, he told me he couldn't do it anymore, that he was going to stay with his sister for a few days and he wanted me gone when he came back."

[nottheboss]

"That's not right, man... That's..." Unfair. But when was anything fair?

"It's like Pope says though, isn't it? It's us or them. They make sure of it."

[fortitudosalutis]

"Wasn't his fault," Carver murmurs. It's not the first time he's defended Riley to the others. "He didn't want to go back to war, we had not right to make him."

And now Riley's here, caught up in it regardless.

He makes a mug of coffee, though. Heavy on the cream, just a little sugar, the way Riley liked.

"Just be nice to him, okay?" he tries.

[nottheboss]

He's not sure how nice he can be to anyone who's hurt Carver. But he'll try, so he nods. "I'll make sure he's okay, Carver."

[fortitudosalutis]

"Thank you," he replies softly, holding the mug out. "Say hi to the kitten, too. She's sweet."

She nursed on his fingers when he held her the first time, a sensation that Carver's never forgotten.

[nottheboss]

He takes the mug and nods, promising to check in on the kitten as well.

He walks down the hallway and then up the stairs, stops before Riley's door. Draws in a steadying breath, and knocks on the door.

[fortitudosalutis]

The babysitting hasn't eased off. Every night, there's a tired soldier on watch. They help with the kitten and never once complain, but they don't let him sleep alone, ever. And that's the detail that sticks in the mind, that he keeps obsessing over. Wondering why. Whether it's a control measure or something else. Something stranger.

He opens the door already dressed, tired and tense. "Bossie," he says slowly. "You're one of Carver's."

[nottheboss]

He looks like he hasn't slept in days. The coffee, he realizes, is not nearly strong enough.

He holds it out anyway. "I thought you could use some caffeine." His eyes slide to the soldier on duty and gives him a quick nod of acknowledgment. Nothing bad happened last night.

[fortitudosalutis]

Riley eyes him for a moment, then takes the mug. He drinks slowly, realizing it's not too sweet, just a hint of it, but with a good amount of cream. Just how he likes it.

"Thanks," he says slowly. The kid looks exhausted. Everyone does around here. "Okay. You wanna come in and see the baby?"

Everyone wants to see the kitten. And then maybe he can figure out why Bossie's really here.

[nottheboss]

He can't help the very real grin that flashes, there and gone again, at the thought of seeing the kitten that started it all.

"Yeah," he admits. "Her eyes open yet?"

[fortitudosalutis]

There's something almost boyish in how the kid lights up. There and gone, just brief enough to catch.

Riley sighs and motions him in, sipping his coffee. "Yeah. Both of 'em now. Baby blues. She almost looks like a cat now, and not a potato."

Inside, he keeps her in a little dish with a hot water bottle, blankets, and a toy. He keeps it tucked by the bed where he can check on her during the night. He motions Bossie over.

"Better wake little miss up, it's almost time for her feeding."

[nottheboss]

He reaches down, stroking the kitten's back. "No rest for the wicked," he tells her warmly.

He looks up at Riley. "You know a bunch of us have kittens that we get to bottle feed and raise now, right? Because of you and Carver."

[fortitudosalutis]

The baby stirs and squeaks, flailing a little in her dish. Riley leans against the wall, sipping his coffee. Wondering what the fuck he's doing here.

"I've heard," he agrees, lifting his cup. "Went with Mancea to pick them out. Heard you got one, too."

[nottheboss]

Bossie picks her up, instinctively trying to soothe her.

"Yeah, I did," he tells Riley, rocking the kitten like he might a baby. "But he's a little bigger than this one. He'll be on solid foods next week. You know, so...don't ever think you didn't do anything good. 'Cause the cats are good for us here and we wouldn't have them if not for you and Brandon."

[fortitudosalutis]

She squeaks again, nosing at Bossie's chest, but she settles. Riley watches, holding the mug loosely in his hand. He'd been ready to take the kitten away if Bossie was rough with her, or too skittish, but so far he's been just as careful and conscientious as the rest.

"You worry me," Riley says after a moment, bluntly. "The way your boss runs things, the fact I can't sleep without a babysitter. You worry the fuck out of me."

[nottheboss]

He cradles her close to him and watches Riley.

"You're the most at risk when you're asleep. We're keeping you safe," he promises, but can't imagine what he would make of all this if he didn't know the Devil was real and bore a grudge.

[fortitudosalutis]

“Uh huh.”

Nobody’s explained how that works. Why they’re so afraid of sleeping but not of the perimeter being breached. It doesn’t make sense.

Riley exhales and drinks his damn coffee. “Carver tell you to check up on me?”

[nottheboss]

"I volunteered." He rubs Dulcinea's back. "How are you doing?"

[fortitudosalutis]

“I don’t like being surveilled.”

Especially not when he’s sleeping. It’s true no one’s harmed him, or tried to stop him from moving freely around the compound, but it’s equally true he can’t get a cell signal and he can’t step outside the perimeter. There’s always someone shadowing him ever so politely.

Riley takes another drink of coffee, watching Bossie and the kitten. Dulcinea’s big enough that she has an idea about wrestling and gumming against his fingers, even if she hasn’t quite figured out how to do it yet.

“I want to call my sister,” he adds.

[nottheboss]

"Calling her shouldn't be a problem," he says, which means he can't do anything about Riley being surveilled. "Use my phone, it's a satphone," he holds it out, bulky as it is.

"Just...don't tell her much about us."

[fortitudosalutis]

Riley gives him a narrow look, but takes the phone. They've got a jammer set up, then. He'd suspected for a while, but having it confirmed sends a chill through his stomach. "Why?"

[nottheboss]

"Because I want you to talk to your sister but you can't talk about what you've seen here. I'm sorry. Don't make me enforce that," he says softly, watching Riley, not taking the phone away preemptively.

[fortitudosalutis]

Riley lowers the mug, considering how far he wants to push this. They're not in the Army anymore. There's no blind obedience - or at least there shouldn't be. But how far are these people willing to go?

"How would you?" he asks, very softly. "Enforce that."

He'll make Bossie say it. No vague threats or deflections.

[nottheboss]

"I'll take the phone away," he says, his voice still soft, apologetic even. Whatever he has to do to get that phone, he'll do. "And you won't be allowed to contact her again until you leave here."