possible.
Mike could live with that. He was playing his part to bring water to a region that sorely needed it, which fell under his clear-cut heading of Doing Good. He was with his best buddy. And they'd be heading home in two weeks on extended leave. Life was almost the way he wanted it.
The only thing missing was kids, but he and Livvie hadn't given up on treatment yet. He just needed to hear that she was willing to try one more IVF cycle.
"We're nobody's boys, Rob. No yellow ribbons for us." Mike reached across to flick the peak of Rob's baseball cap. "Chin up. The canteen's getting a resupply of pistachio ice cream today."
"So where's this sodding bus? There'll only be vanilla left by the time we get back."
"Yeah. War sure is hell."
They giggled like schoolboys. Rob went on reading the headlines while Mike checked for e-mails, still looking for a message from Livvie. He found nothing and reset his phone to purge his data.
Kajo wasn't so much an airport yet as an airstrip with a growing collection of buildings, razor wire, and Hesco barriers. A few yards away in the security parking area, Teetotal Mackenzie and Jake the Saffa sat in their own Suburban, escorts for the same bus. Teetotal shrugged at Mike and tapped his ear to indicate he was still waiting for someone to radio him.
Mike nudged Rob with his elbow. "Taken your mefloquine today?"
"Yes, Mum." It was part of their buddy routine, the list of daily health checks that a country like this made necessary. "Hydration. Drink some water."
"Okay, glugging now."
Rob went on reading his phone. Mike thought he was catching up with the sports headlines, but he sat back and made a grumbling noise.
"Shit."
"Problem?" Mike asked.
Rob handed over his phone. "Look. Tom's got a summer job. He's not coming to stay."
The message was succinct: ' Dad, I've got a few weeks' work lined up when the term ends but maybe we can get together later. How does that sound?'
Mike was already calculating. If Tom felt the need to earn money, then there was an instant solution to the problem, even if Rob wouldn't like it.
"He hasn't told you what it is, then."
"No. I bet it's some shit job in a factory or something. I'll make him take some cash. He's bloody stubborn about paying his way."
"Funny. I wonder who he gets that from."
"I'll sort him out."
"Might be a girlfriend involved."
"No, he'd tell me. He always does." Rob had been excited about having Tom to stay. Mike could see his disappointment. "He knows I'll be pissed off, whatever it is."
"His fall term doesn't start until late September. We'll be home for months, at least. Plenty of time to visit."
Mike took out his cell again and mailed his accountant. It really was only money. What was the point of having it if he couldn't spend it on the people he cared about? Fifty thousand in sterling would probably be about right, ample for Tom's needs but just short of Rob's melt-down level. He still hadn't come to terms with the scale of Mike's resources.
"You're not up to anything, are you, Zombie?" Rob asked.
Mike took a mouthful from his water bottle. "Hell, no, Royal."
Rob sat drumming his fingers. A couple of minutes later, airport security radioed to say that the bus – callsign Blue One — was finally moving. Rob hung back to let Teetotal pull out in front of him as the lead car. It was the kind of escort duty they did week in, week out, mostly without incident, but it was always a time to be extra vigilant. The gates opened and a sixty-seat bus rolled out, packed with anxious-looking foreign workers, mostly white and Asian.
"No ladies. Bugger." Rob watched it pass and then pulled in behind it. "I'm going to have to be nicer to Carolyn."
"She'll chew you up and spit out the gristle," Mike said. he thought it was telling that out of four female security operators, Rob picked the one who'd break something if he pushed his luck with her. "She used to be a line MP, remember."
"It's a price worth paying."
Mike had
Mike could live with that. He was playing his part to bring water to a region that sorely needed it, which fell under his clear-cut heading of Doing Good. He was with his best buddy. And they'd be heading home in two weeks on extended leave. Life was almost the way he wanted it.
The only thing missing was kids, but he and Livvie hadn't given up on treatment yet. He just needed to hear that she was willing to try one more IVF cycle.
"We're nobody's boys, Rob. No yellow ribbons for us." Mike reached across to flick the peak of Rob's baseball cap. "Chin up. The canteen's getting a resupply of pistachio ice cream today."
"So where's this sodding bus? There'll only be vanilla left by the time we get back."
"Yeah. War sure is hell."
They giggled like schoolboys. Rob went on reading the headlines while Mike checked for e-mails, still looking for a message from Livvie. He found nothing and reset his phone to purge his data.
Kajo wasn't so much an airport yet as an airstrip with a growing collection of buildings, razor wire, and Hesco barriers. A few yards away in the security parking area, Teetotal Mackenzie and Jake the Saffa sat in their own Suburban, escorts for the same bus. Teetotal shrugged at Mike and tapped his ear to indicate he was still waiting for someone to radio him.
Mike nudged Rob with his elbow. "Taken your mefloquine today?"
"Yes, Mum." It was part of their buddy routine, the list of daily health checks that a country like this made necessary. "Hydration. Drink some water."
"Okay, glugging now."
Rob went on reading his phone. Mike thought he was catching up with the sports headlines, but he sat back and made a grumbling noise.
"Shit."
"Problem?" Mike asked.
Rob handed over his phone. "Look. Tom's got a summer job. He's not coming to stay."
The message was succinct: ' Dad, I've got a few weeks' work lined up when the term ends but maybe we can get together later. How does that sound?'
Mike was already calculating. If Tom felt the need to earn money, then there was an instant solution to the problem, even if Rob wouldn't like it.
"He hasn't told you what it is, then."
"No. I bet it's some shit job in a factory or something. I'll make him take some cash. He's bloody stubborn about paying his way."
"Funny. I wonder who he gets that from."
"I'll sort him out."
"Might be a girlfriend involved."
"No, he'd tell me. He always does." Rob had been excited about having Tom to stay. Mike could see his disappointment. "He knows I'll be pissed off, whatever it is."
"His fall term doesn't start until late September. We'll be home for months, at least. Plenty of time to visit."
Mike took out his cell again and mailed his accountant. It really was only money. What was the point of having it if he couldn't spend it on the people he cared about? Fifty thousand in sterling would probably be about right, ample for Tom's needs but just short of Rob's melt-down level. He still hadn't come to terms with the scale of Mike's resources.
"You're not up to anything, are you, Zombie?" Rob asked.
Mike took a mouthful from his water bottle. "Hell, no, Royal."
Rob sat drumming his fingers. A couple of minutes later, airport security radioed to say that the bus – callsign Blue One — was finally moving. Rob hung back to let Teetotal pull out in front of him as the lead car. It was the kind of escort duty they did week in, week out, mostly without incident, but it was always a time to be extra vigilant. The gates opened and a sixty-seat bus rolled out, packed with anxious-looking foreign workers, mostly white and Asian.
"No ladies. Bugger." Rob watched it pass and then pulled in behind it. "I'm going to have to be nicer to Carolyn."
"She'll chew you up and spit out the gristle," Mike said. he thought it was telling that out of four female security operators, Rob picked the one who'd break something if he pushed his luck with her. "She used to be a line MP, remember."
"It's a price worth paying."
Mike had
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