Page 44 of Metal & Mud

"Sure. I guess to kill the time, how about you set me up over there on lane four?" Logan asked. "I mean, I'm in here often enough that I should be able to at least bowl a one fifty."

Sabby chuckled, and got Logan set up. While she didn't see every throw he made, she did check the score monitor when she had the chance. For a guy she'd never seen bowl before he did a good job, hitting a few strikes even. But Sabby was certain her boyfriend was never going to be a member of the PBA tour, his method seemed to be to throw the ball as hard as he could, relying on the chaos of pins bouncing everywhere to make up for a lack of aim.

Still, as he joined her in the cafe where she pulled out a chicken club sandwich for her dinner, he was pleased. "Not bad for not having bowled since high school. So what did you want to show me?"

Sabby pulled out her laptop and pulled up the file she was looking for, showing it to Logan. "What do you think?"

An electrifying soldier, charging into a scene of chaos with jumper cables raised like weapons. A muscular figure with bolts in his neck, sparks flying from his hands, a hand-cranked generator at his feet. Behind him, an electrified, stylized C with a smaller 3-3 inside it.

"I like it." Logan nodded as he looked the mascot over. "I like that you left the soldier's face shaded, the electric eyes and smile. Where'd you get that?"

"The best graphic designers... steal blatantly from every artist else they can," Sabby said with a laugh. "I borrowed the idea from Disturbed and their titular character mostly, but the idea's been used in quite a few pieces of fantasy and horror artwork."

"It's good," Logan said. "So why'd you make it? I mean, it's awesome and you should show it to Major Kirk, he'd want that painted somewhere in the company area ASAP. But did he order it?"

"No, I did it because I wanted to." Sabby took her laptop back and closed it. "I'll admit, part of it's to thank Charlie Company and the 3-3 in general. Without them bending the rules, signing off on exceptions and more, I wouldn't have the chance I've had to make something of my life."

"I have to say, I'm glad for that too," Logan said. "So are you going to show it to the Major?"

"Sure. I could do one for Alpha and Bravo Companies too if they wanted. But I've never really been big on cheering everyone on, not even my sister," Sabby said. "I mean, I didn't want to be one of those rah-rah cheerleader types. I was more of the quiet thanks type. Recently I've gained a new appreciation for the Army though."

"Hmm... wonder why?"

"Whatever." Sabby rolled her eyes. "So how was your day?"

"I had my six-week counseling session with the chain of command," Logan replied, and for the next few minutes he told Sabby as many of the details as he could. "So in the end, your sister was probably my harshest critic. I've got a ways to go before I can start to reach the level she's set for me. But the rest of my chain seemed okay with how I'm doing things."

"Still unfair," Sabby growled. She knew Jess had to be professional with Logan, but this was too far. "Seriously, she may be my big sister but–"

"Cool your jets, Sabby," Logan said softly, chuckling. "I didn't get to the good part. Afterwards, I talked with your sister about her critiques, and she explained why she has to be a hardass on me. It makes sense. Basically, since we're together, she can't be seen playing favorites. So she's going to fall on the side of being tough on me. And that's okay, I can respect that. I want to keep learning from her, and if I transferred out, it would probably mean leaving the platoon if not the company. I definitely don't want that, I just got my barracks room set up the way I like it. So if Jess is harder on me when I'm on duty, so what?"

"So what?" Sabby asked.

Logan nodded, reaching over to take her hand. "You're more than worth it."

He gave Sabby's hand a squeeze, and she felt herself caught up in her feelings again. "But why, Logan? There's other units, you'd still be on post... why put up with all that just to work with my sister? Because she's closer to me?"

"Because," Logan said quietly, looking around, "I've realized something. I'm developing some serious feelings for you, Sabby. Even when we're not around, just knowing that I'm working with someone who shares some DNA with you means something to me. And protecting her means taking care of you, too."

"Logan." Sabby blinked quickly. "You're going to make me cry, and that's going to fuck up my mascara. Which is going to piss me off, and then I'll cry more."

"Okay then I'll wrap this up quickly," Logan said. "I did the math. You know, because I'm good at that shit. Factored in all the variables I could, and all the results point to one thing. My maximum happiness comes from staying the course. So... get used to me calling your sister Sarge."

"I can do that."

"Can I call her Muscle Mommy?" Logan teased, and Sabby groaned. "What? You do it too."

"Yeah," she said, laughing. "But my boyfriend calling my sister Mommy does not create good vibes."

"Good point."

* * *

21

LOGAN

Logan squinted at the two-story industrial building, a knot of unease tightening in his stomach. Another urban assault course, another reminder of the unknown mission looming over them. He wondered what Major Kirk knew that the rest of them didn't.

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