Armor -- Part 19
by Martin H Slusser

"Screw off."

Pressing his lips together before he exploded, the therapist leaned over Benny.

"Look, Grey, I'm sick of your attitude. The doctors said you had to come down here. You're assigned to me, you little faggot -"

He landed about five feet away. Benny walked on his hands between the rails and smiled down at Lt. Laudon.

"That better, Lieutenant?"

"I'll have you court-martialed for this. Grey?" Laudon moaned and held the pieces of his face in his hands. He pulled them away and almost everything stayed in place.

"Can't. I got a medical coming, remember?" Benny snorted and swung around on the bars and back to his wheelchair.

He turned to lower himself in it, and the chair swung away. Benny looked over his shoulder at the grinning Laudon. Laudon held the chair a few feet away and smirked at Benny.

"What's the matter, Grey? Lost your bravado?"

Arms beginning to shake with strain, Benny swung between the rails. His face grew cold and distant.

"I demand an apology."

The lieutenant scowled at Benny, waiting for a humbling that never came.

In a mocking whisper Laudon said, "Then crawl for it, nig. I hear you're really good at crawling. Always got your nose stuck up some nurse's skirts. What are you, some kind of stud?" his eyes tracked down and Laudon muttered, "I interned at the White House. The president, wow. When he put on the Double-Lightning uniform he made me do things that I never."

Young Stud. Benny's 'working' name at the Manse.

Benny screamed and launched himself at the slender man. Laudon yelped and threw himself back. Benny missed. He thrashed on the floor for a moment, then started crawling towards the man. Laudon's mouth gaped. Jumping up, he staggered just out of reach. A look of contempt passed over his face. With half a smile playing on his face, Laudon reached out with his foot and nudged the silent, struggling Benny. Benny tried to catch the foot to him, but the man was too quick.

"Crawl. Crawl, you trashy little worm." Laudon squatted down and gave Benny a mocking smile. "You aren't worth it, dog-collar. You're a waste of my time and the Corp's money. You'll never be fit to wear the Double-Lightning." He caressed a gold lightning pin on his collar marking him as one of the elite. He stared laughing.

He stood to leave and Benny felt something beneath his leg. A crutch? Hot dang.

"Yo," Benny shouted.

As Laudon turned, Benny jerked out the crutch and cracked it across Laud's shins. The man's laughter changed to a shriek of pain and shock.

Laudon tumbled to the floor. Benny grabbed one flailing leg, suffered a kick in the face, and sank his teeth in the calf.


Myers leaned over Benny and lifted the ice pack from his eye. "My, what a beaut of a shiner, Grey." She dropped the ice pack on the eye and sneered at Benny's yelp.

"Kid, were you dropped on your head at birth, or were you born this way? That little fairy's filing charges on you."

Lifting the ice pack, Benny managed to open his eye long enough to glare at Myers. "Who cares? He deserved it, always acting like he owned the Corp, putting everybody down."

"I care, that's who. We all care, you block head," Boyde snapped. She took Benny's neck in one iron hand and jerked him upright. The ice pack rolled down between his legs and Benny yelped at the chill on sensitive flesh. Boyde wasn't very careful when she fished it out and tossed it at the trash can. "We'll do what we can. I don't know what yet, but kid, you could wind up in the bughouse over this. So do us all a favor and cool it."

Clenching his knees together before anything worse happened to his, ah, important parts, Benny hissed and said, "I ain't no suck-up."

The women gave him a hard look. Benny growled deep in his chest but knew when he was lost.

"I guess I shouldn't o' bit him. But he's always acting holier-than-thou, with his old man's stars in his eyes."

Myers sighed. She smoothed at the clean blousa Boyde had stitched together for her.

"Sometimes I'm a little off, kid, in my head, but he wouldn't touch me for it. That Laudon is a little snot. I guess being a general's son made him that way."

Benny nodded. There were other reasons, but the old woman lived in another world, other days, before the Depression of 2012.

"OK. From now on when the needle dick says jump, you asked how high. Please," Myers' eyes screwed up in her head at the sullen anger on Benny's face, "For us?"

"Yeah, yeah. Like you're giving me a choice, right?"

A woman in need. Myers and Boyde needed him to be nice to the wonder-boy. Ol' Conn, slave-administrator of the Manse, whispered soothing words in the back of Benny's mind. Old-Man Wya groused that what Laudon needed was bullet in the back, like lots of punk shave-tails got in Nam. That idea made him yike in pain and flee Benny's head.

The Eagle-Woman glared after the old man and rolled her eyes.

"Boys will be boys," she said in a mutter and huffed a snort of laughter. "Thank God for it."

Nodding at the women, a golden glow came over Benny.

"Have it your way."

They gusted sighs of relief at him and linked arms, heading for the PX and a few beers before going home.

Sweet-Bottom clambered from under the bed.

"For me, too? She gave him a peck on the cheek. "That was for getting that creep Laudon off my case."

He caught her to him. She squirmed in his arms.

"Linen room?"

Lt. Donnelly hesitated.

"In an hour?" Benny was close to pleading and she grinned, relishing her power over him.

"Yo, yes." Benny tickled her. "Thank you, you goddess of the moon."

She giggled, brushing his hands from under her skirt and walked away with a swing to her hips that set the men in the ward growling with desire and made Benny wish he had that ice pack to sit on.

"How come you're the only one Sweet-Bottom fools around with, Grey?"

Lacing his hands behind his head, Benny grinned at the ceiling tiles.

"Maybe I'm the only one around here who can handle what she got."

Pillows began to fly in his direction. Buried under them, he yelped and spat curses.


An hour on the dot, Lt. Donnelly opened the door to the linen room and slipped in.

"We have to hurry," she said, yanking off her clothes. "I have a class in Survival in ten minutes and just do not dare be late again."

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