M Banner - Silo - Hope's Return

For some reason, the animal had decided to stare at her with his tail low, making her wonder if Barkley had forgotten who she was, or if he was in the process of sizing her up for a skin sandwich.

She thought they had been getting along okay, even after her initial apprehension about a vicious dog who used to do Frost’s bidding. Trust is hard-earned, even for a canine whose recent bath had made him far less menacing.

Her new boss had managed to tame the beast, but like all creatures, you could never be sure what was boiling inside their brain.

That was true for the two-legged varieties, as well as the four-legged, but Summer seemed to have a special connection with the mutt, able to control him when nobody else could. Or wanted to.

When the boy passed by Lipton, the animal lunged and snapped its jaws at him.

Lipton stopped his work in a twisted lurch, pulling his feet, legs, and arms back at all once. “What the hell is that thing doing here?”

Simmer leaned back and tugged with his arms, straining to control the dog. “Down, boy. Down.”

Barkley reared on his hind legs and began to bark as if Lipton were an intruder, spit flying from his mouth.

Lipton pushed the rolling chair back with his feet. “Keep that mangy animal away from me!”

Summer rushed over, taking a position between Lipton and the dog. She knelt down, holding her hand out to the animal. “It’s okay, boy. He’s our friend.”

“You’re damn right I am,” Lipton said. “At least until I get this radio working, which won’t happen if that fleabag doesn’t watch itself.”

Krista laughed. “Yeah, right, Lipton. If Simmer let go of him right now, you’d probably scream like the little bitch you are.”

“Might be fun to watch,” Wicks said from his guard position, breaking his silence.

Lipton shot a piercing look up at Wicks, then over at Krista. “Trust me, all of you would scream, too, if that thing was trying to rip you apart.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Summer said in a light tone, wrapping the dog in one of her hugs. “He probably just got scared or something.” She brought her attention from Lipton to the fur bag. “Right, boy? You don’t want to hurt anyone, now do you?”

Lipton scoffed as he scooted his chair back into position. “Actually, this isn’t the first time. That dog has had it in for me since day one.”

Krista understood why. “I knew there was something that I liked about that dog.”

Lipton peered at Barkley, then at Krista. “Spoken like the true caveman you are—”

“Cavewoman,” Krista quipped.

“Like semantics matter at this point.”

“I thought you preferred accuracy.”

“On things that matter, not when classifying another species of the lowbrow community.”

Krista held out her hands. “So who exactly put you in charge of that task?”

“I did,” Lipton said. “Nobody more qualified than me.”

“So you say.”

“Yes, I do,” Lipton replied, his focus on the antics of Barkley and his display of teeth. “As I was saying, you and Cujo over there would make a good husband and wife team. All fangs, stench, and temperament. None of it good, by the way.”

Summer held out a turned-down hand and shot Krista a look that told her to stand down.

Krista decided to honor Summer’s wishes and keep her lips silent as she folded her arms and leaned a shoulder against the wall. Under normal circumstances, she’d never back down from any man, especially one like this whose only weapon was his arsenal of verbal jabs. Jabs bolstered by a self-anointed sanctimonious viewpoint that made her want to rip his face off and feed it to the dog.

Summer may have had command over her, but not over the instincts of the dog, whose chomping teeth demanded attention of their own. Certainly Lipton’s.

On one hand, she enjoyed watching the dog get the better of the man who thought he was superior to everyone.

On the other, she knew the constant threat of a bite would be a distraction and slow the work down.

Right on cue, Lipton turned to Summer. “Look, if you want me to finish this, then take that rabid mongrel out of here. I won’t spend another minute on this repair until you do.”

Summer held for a moment, then turned to Simmer. “Why don’t you take him for another walk?”

“And miss all the fun?” Simmer said, a smile beaming from his lips.

Summer stood and touched a hand on the young man’s arm. “I know how you feel. We all do. But all kidding aside, we need to finish this.”

Lipton crossed his arms over his chest, matching Krista’s pose, then raised an eyebrow. “Which I won’t, until that Canis lupus familiaris is outta here. It’s him or me.”

Simmer looked at Krista, his eyes waiting for approval.

“Go on, like she said,” Krista said to Simmer, wishing she could have selected Lipton as the one to be hauled away on a leash, instead of the dog. “He really doesn’t need to be in here anyway.”

Simmer turned and dragged the dog away, the shepherd’s four paws skidding across the floor in defiance.

Krista held for a moment, running the recent events through her logic. That’s when a new idea tunneled into her mind, arriving with the force of a grenade.

She walked to Wicks and motioned for the giant to lean down. He did, bringing his ear close to her lips as she delivered her words. “I’ve got an errand for you.”

“Whatever you need, chief.”

“Fetch Horton and bring him here. On the double.”

“What about the Scab Girl?” the guard asked in a whisper.

“She never leaves that cell. Ever. Is that clear?”

“Roger that,” Wicks said, straightening his spine. He repositioned his rifle to the side, then pulled his sidearm from its holster and gave it to her. “You might need this.”

Krista took the weapon before Wicks left the room in a march. Once he was outside, she went to Summer. “You got a minute?”

“Sure.”

Krista used her eyes to motion for Summer to follow her to the corner. She did, where the two of them began a covert chat, using a close proximity huddle to conceal their lips.

“What is it?” Summer asked.

Krista kept her eyes on Lipton as she spoke in a dull tone, just above a whisper. “Do you buy this whole I can fix the radio thing?”

“Seems like he is, why?”

“I’m not sure, but he’s not using that circuit board he pulled from the box.”

“Except the one part he unsoldered.”

“But why is it still sitting on the table?”

Summer shrugged. “Maybe he changed his mind.”

“That’s what I’m worried about. What if he’s just stalling until he can figure something else out?”

“Like what? Escape?”

“I don’t know, but my gut is telling me something is off here. Plus, the way your dog reacted tells me there’s more going on here than we know.”

“Maybe Sergeant Barkley got that same gut feeling you did.”

“If he did, then I’m liking that dog more and more.”

“I told you you would. Just had to give him a chance.”

“That’s not what I meant. I meant tactically. As in adding to our ranks, like any member of the team should do. Otherwise, if they can’t provide some value, they’re just a drain on resources.”

Summer nodded, peering back at Lipton, then bringing her eyes to Krista. “Where did Wicks go?”

“To get Horton. I want to see if he’ll provide a new perspective on all this.”

“Another gut thing?” Summer asked.

“Yep. I’ve learned over the years to trust my instincts.”

“Sort of like the dog.”

“Exactly.”

“So, other than wasting our time, how does Lipton’s stalling matter?”

“If he’s up to something, we really need to know what it is. Especially if he does get that transmitter working.”