"For me to be her legal mate or out of this camp, so she can put someone else in my place and have power through them. She doesn't care which, and she's as much as said so to my face."
Kenn laughed, despite wanting to do and say all the right things. "She's got guts, takes care of herself. That kind of woman was rare before the War."
Adrian didn't like the tone, but let it go. "Tonya's strong and we need that, but we're weaker with her too, because she uses that strength for selfish reasons. She would have to do a world of changing for anyone to really accept her here. It would be a hard sell."
Kenn nodded at the warning, but didn't say anything else.
Adrian stood up, eyes scanning the lights, sights, and sounds of his people. A neatly organized camp, fires driving back the darkness, dogs yapping for dinner, echoes of doors closing, calm voices and steady footsteps. Normal as it got now. The Marine had done a good job.
"We'll need to add safety glass to our lists. I don't like how easily a flock of birds put us in danger."
Kenn said what his boss was thinking. "Be too easy for a bullet."
Adrian was more than pleased. Finally, some of the born help was here. "I'll do rounds in about an hour. Wanna come along?"
Kenn fished in the oversized pocket of his black jacket for his smokes as he fell in on the right. "You know it."
3
Adrian headed to his tent, eager to have a little time to himself, and Kenn's mind stayed on Tonya as he joined the dozen camp members setting up base around the huge bonfire.
Many times his eyes had been drawn to the sullen redhead, and he wondered where she was, who she was with. She was definitely selfish, greedy, a troublemaker, and he saw her streak of meanness, too, but she was also strong, smart, and very determined to have Adrian. The people here hated the idea, but Tonya was openly hostile to anyone who spoke against it, and she had even earned a day of hard labor for a slapping contest with Big Billy, a 300 lb. school teacher from Oregon, winning, hands down. Tonya wasn't afraid of anything and that had earned Kenn's respect, something women didn't get much of from him.
Kenn responded to the greetings and congratulations of those around the flames that the cold wind was teasing, taunting, but stood by himself. He hoped this fuel trip would secure his place in Adrian's chain of command. Kyle and Neil seemed tied for second, with Doug in third, but to Kenn's selfish mind, they weren't Marines, and he didn't think it would take long to get what he wanted; just more hard work. No one openly held the XO position here and he'd found himself longing for it at night. Then the birds had come and helped him out.