18% Gray by Anne Tenino

Author:Anne Tenino [Tenino, Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub

MATT was still laughing when the door opened, admitting Pearl and another nun. Of course it was a nun—what else would it be?

The new nun was basically a pinch-faced crotchety old lady. She looked like a barrel of laughs. Not that SEALs were generally the life of the party. “Sister Carmella, this is Matt Tennimore, with QESA, and First Lieutenant James Ayala, Psi-force.”

Then Sister Carmella smiled, and she became a friendly, crotchety old lady. “Hello, boys. Nice to meet you. I’ll skip the BS, Lieutenant. I’m sooo retired. Call me Carmella.” She turned and looked at the bed, and her mouth became pinched again. And sour. She stalked over and ripped off the ’phones. “I see you’re entertaining Sister Maligna.”

James snorted, and Matt laughed outright. Sister Benigna made indignant noises behind her gag. Carmella smiled nastily. “She’s not my favorite nun,” she told them. Unnecessarily.

Pearl just raised an eyebrow and set the tray she was carrying on the table next to the bed. On the far side from Benigna. “Matt, you really need to eat in order to continue healing. I’ll look at your wounds once we deal with Benigna.” She tossed Matt a roll after setting the tray down. He could see butter on the tray, but was too hungry to bother getting it. He took a bite of the roll. Mmmmmm. Homemade. With real wheat flour.

Carmella turned back to them. “So, Ayala. Pearl tells me you can read minds.”

Matt turned to Carmella. Apparently they were going to talk freely in front of the nunette. “Not exactly, but I can pick up feelings and intent. Sometimes a word or two.” James turned and looked at Matt when he said that. Matt reddened (it was becoming a habit). James must have picked up the “b” word earlier, just before kissing him. Shit.

Of course, the kiss might be considered a positive reaction.

Pearl glanced at Matt and then James interestedly, and raised both her eyebrows. Matt looked away and ate his roll.

“And Benigna is interested in going with you when you leave?”

James hesitated momentarily. “She wants out of here. Whether she really wants to go with us, I don’t know.”

Benigna was making more noises behind her gag, pleading noises. James quirked one side of his lips at her. “She has quite the dirty little mind, from what I can tell. I think she feels it’s wasted here.”

“MMMMMPH!” Benigna was now glaring daggers at James. He quirked the other side of his lips. Matt almost felt sorry for her. Except she had almost exposed them to God knows what by stumbling in where she wasn’t wanted. That effectively killed his pity.

“Well, we gotta do something with her,” Carmella said.

Pearl chimed in. “We don’t particularly want to… eliminate her. But if she poses a threat….” Pearl shrugged. Matt bet she was less dispassionate than she seemed. Carmella would probably eliminate Maligna, though, like a bad tumor (were there good tumors?).

Ah, scare tactics. Not his forte.

“But if she went with you, and we could trust her not to escape, that would solve all our problems.

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