Free Planet of Pain by B. A. Bradbury Page B

your captain down?’ she asked.
    Jo shook her head. ‘Not really. We know he must have seen a tape of our interrogation from things he said. The only thing I can think is that he wanted to find out if Bel looked as good in the flesh.’
    â€˜Yeah, that figures,’ Stella said. ‘She’s something, ain’t she, your pal? I reckon she could give a corpse a hard on.’
    Jo looked at her, suddenly suspicious of this apparent preoccupation with female bodies, but Stella just grinned.
    â€˜Relax, lootenant, I’m straight. You’d look too if you had pitiful little titties like mine. Sheer envy is all it is.’
    After they’d dried and dressed Stella went to read the rules, saying she needed to see ‘just exactly what it is we ain’t allowed to do’. Jo rejoined Bel and they swapped experiences while waiting for Vaughan to put in an appearance. Jo came to realise just how lucky she’d been, for at least Taks had let her sleep. The four men Bel had been assigned to used her one after the other, taking it easy till their turn came around again. Though she’d had precious little rest in the ten hours she spent with them she didn’t seem resentful.
    â€˜The way I look at it,’ she said, ‘these assignments are no different from any other mission. Some are cool, some pretty grim, but you don’t get to pick and choose. You take whatever comes and do the best you can. That’s the most anyone can expect of themselves.’
    â€˜Stella says she enjoys it,’ Jo said.
    â€˜Stella?’
    Jo pointed to her new acquaintance, standing by the notice board.
    â€˜That’s a good attitude to have,’ Bel said. ‘You can survive just about anything if you convince yourself you’re doing it by choice.’
    â€˜You think it’s all an act, then?’
    Bel never got the chance to say, for the door opened and Sergeant Vaughan came in. Bel stood up. ‘Here’s our man now,’ she said. ‘I’d like you to tag along.’
    â€˜Er… okay. Why?’
    â€˜Contingency. Maybe cows-ready-for-milking don’t do anything for him. Maybe sweet-and-innocent is more his style.’
    â€˜Sweet and innocent?’ Jo said, genuinely surprised. ‘Me?’
    â€˜You,’ Bel said. ‘Come on, honeybun; time to turn on the charm.’
    Â 
    Vaughan listened to Bel’s request for information about Linda without batting an eyelid. His stoicism was laudable, given the fact that Bel was standing a lot closer than she needed to, and gazing at him from under those long dark lashes of hers.
    â€˜You sure you want to do this?’ he asked. ‘What if someone wants to know why I want to know? Reminding the admiral you exist might not be the smartest of moves.’
    â€˜I understand that, sir,’ Bel said, ‘but I need to know what’s happened to her. She’s our squadmate, and I think she’s in trouble.’
    Vaughan shrugged. ‘I suppose I can ask. What’s in it for me if I do?’
    â€˜Your sergeant’s stripes, for one thing,’ Bel said, flashing a big smile. ‘I promise not to tell anyone you lied about getting us new clothes.’
    He nodded impassively and unclipped his belt com. ‘Vaughan here. Are the prisoners’ outfits ready yet? Sixteen sets… okay, send them right up.’ He put the unit back on his belt and folded his arms. ‘Seems like it’s my word against yours as to when you got them.’
    He glanced at Jo and winked, and that put a different slant entirely on things. ‘You got anything else to offer, Franklin?’ he asked, with a straight face.
    â€˜Maybe,’ she said, absently toying with the top tie on her gown. ‘Was there something in particular you were wanting?’
    â€˜Hell, yes,’ he growled. ‘From the first moment I set eyes on you.’
    Their mutual preoccupation was absolute, and