Rally was pretty sure she knew where she was, but that wasn’t going to help her much. What she really needed, she thought, was a phone. She glanced at Cowboy who limped slowly along beside her. The tall woman didn’t quite look like dying yet, but for how long? "There’s a place we can stop right up ahead. It’s a hole, but you can rest there." Cowboy nodded but said nothing. The office *was* a hole, but it had a chair and Cowboy sank gratefully into it. Rally closed the door behind her, wedged it closed with the other chair and began opening drawers and cabinets. "What are you lookin’ for?" Cowboy asked. "Something to use for a bandage." Rally replied. "Pretty nasty place for that kind of thing, ain’t it?" Rally smiled. "It wasn’t that long ago that this office was used by the manufacturer’s loading supervisor. Only twenty years or so…there might be something here." She grunted as she pulled out a pile of uniform shirts. The top and bottom shirts were coated in dust, but a few of the ones in the middle seemed clean enough. Rally began to tear them into strips, as she turned to Cowboy. "Get your pants off. We need to stop that bleeding." Cowboy nodded, but didn’t move. Rally walked over and shook her slightly. "C’mon girl - don’t wander off." Cowboy’s eyes focused and she smiled a little. "Damn, Rally, you’re one tenacious lady." Rally grinned. "That’s one way of putting it." Rally changed the bandages the best she could, and they wrestled Cowboy’s pants over the new lump. The sink in the office worked, so they were able to have a drink of reasonably clean water. When Rally was pretty sure that Cowboy wasn’t going to zonk out from shock, she sat herself down on the desk to think. "We can’t stay here forever." Cowboy said, one eye opened and fixed on Rally. "No." Rally agreed. "But we can’t leave yet. Anywhere we come out, they’ll have covered." Now that Rally had a moment to calm down and think, she found that she couldn’t quite focus her thoughts. A moment ago, she had been kneeling in front of Cowboy, and for some reason, that scene kept coming back to her mind. She felt her face get a little warm and turned away from the tall woman. Adrenaline still raced through her system and she could feel her heart pound hard in her chest. Her hands on Cowboy's muscular leg... The room was still. Rally could hear Cowboy’s breathing, a little unsteady, and her own, harsh in the silence. There was a squeak and Rally jumped. Cowboy had propelled the chair close to the desk. "I haven’t really had a chance to thank you for not leaving me behind." Her voice was soft, almost gentle. A little haltingly, she pushed herself to her feet, using her hands to pull herself upright. She leaned on her hands and closed the distance between then. Rally’s brain ceased to function. She could feel Cowboy’s dry lips against hers, and a long heartbeat pass. Moving suddenly, Rally shoved herself away from Cowboy, almost sliding off the desk. The tall woman fell back on wobbly legs, and sat down heavily in her chair with a "whoomph" of effort. Rally stood up across the desk from Cowboy and stared at her, panting heavily. The air in the office was dry and dusty and she couldn’t catch her breath. Cowboy watched her from beneath lowered lids, with an odd half-smile on her lips. "C’mon, Rally. You can feel it, can’t you? After the initial rush passes, you want something more, don’t ya?" Rally glared at Cowboy. "What are you talking about?" "The adrenaline, Rall. The rush, the buzz. Your heart is so loud I can hear it over here. Don’t tell me it doesn’t get to you." "What if it does?" Rally was unsure where this was going. It’s not like she didn’t know about adrenaline rushes…. Cowboy’s eyes widened. "Sonofabitch," she said almost to herself. Maneuvering herself to her feet carefully, Cowboy settled herself on the desk and looked into Rally’s eyes. "You’ve never done it before, have you?" Rally’s face was hot. "What?" Cowboy whistled, as she slid herself along the edge of the desk. "What do you do, Rally, after the edge wears off, when you want something, someone to lose yourself in, someone to take your mind off the pain in your heart?" She reached out and touched Rally’s sleeve. "What do you do?" Rally didn’t move, nor did she answer. Cowboy moved closer. "Don’t you want to be held? Don’t you want to find something real, something more than yourself at the end of the day?" Rally choked on her words. Hoarsely, she croaked, "I don’t think about it." Cowboy shook her head. "How old are you anyway, Rally Vincent?" Rally said nothing. "Goddamn." Cowboy said sadly. Rally hauled her arm out of Cowboy’s grasp. "This isn’t the time or place for this, Cowboy…" but the tall woman interrupted her. Standing slowly, looking down at Rally, Cowboy said, "You’re wrong. This is the perfect time and place for this. Whenever you need it is the right time." Rally shook her head, but did meet Cowboy’s eyes. "I’m sorry if I’ve given you the wrong impression, I don’t need…" "Wrong." Cowboy interrupted again. She grabbed Rally by the shoulder, then slowly let her hand drop along Rally’s chest, just sliding past Rally’s nipple, around the curve of her breast. Rally noted, not for the first time, just how hard they were. "You need this as much as I do." And the tall woman bent down. Capturing Rally with her hands, Cowboy leaned into her again and kissed her, hard. Rally fought against her for a few moments, but Cowboy was strong, and Rally couldn’t get away. The next time Cowboy’s hands touched her breast, this time gently caressing her nipple, Rally gasped. As her mouth opened, she felt Cowboy fill it. Rally responded without conscious thought, holding tightly onto Cowboy’s arms, as they kissed. Once again she could feel adrenaline slide through her like hot ice, once again, she could feel the blood in her veins. Once again, she could feel warmth build within her, in her chest and between her legs. When Cowboy withdrew from her mouth, Rally gasped, "We have to get out of here." Cowboy responded by kissing Rally’s neck, scraping her teeth over it. "Now." Rally managed to say. "We have to find a phone and call May…" Cowboy stopped abruptly and stood to her full height. "Damnation and hellfire." She said hoarsely. She let go of Rally and sat herself down on the desk again. "Just when it was getting good." Rally tried to get her heart rate and breathing under control. He body was on fire, she thought. Any second she’d explode. She watched as Cowboy pulled open her jacket and took a small object out of an inner pocket. Not looking at Rally, Cowboy held the object out to her. Rally took it, being careful not to touch the other woman’s fingers. It was a cell phone. "It’s mine, not the organization’s, but I bet they know the frequency anyway. Who do you think can be here sooner - May or them?" Cowboy pointed upwards. Rally grinned ferally. "No contest." She opened the phone and began to dial. *** Rally looked at her watch. Fifteen more minutes and they could leave. Cowboy lay on the desk on her back, with one arm over her eyes, one behind her head. Rally stood by the door, still trying to pull her thoughts together. Time passed. "Rally." Cowboy’s voice came from behind her. "I’m sorry." Rally started to dismiss the sentiment, but found that she couldn’t. She looked at Cowboy for a long moment. "Me too." She took a deep breath. "You’re right, Cowboy. I’ve never…" "Rally." Cowboy sat up suddenly. "Shut up and come here." Rally found herself moving towards the desk before she could even think to stop herself. Her arm lifted towards Cowboy, moving slowly to grasp her extended hand…when her watch began to beep. Slowly, as if coming out of a dream, Rally pulled back her arm and stared at the dial, her eyes unfocused. Rally pulled herself together with a shake and stepped away. "Time to go." Cowboy watched Rally move away and unblock the door, her eyes soft, but wary. To herself she muttered, "Be careful, Terri. You can’t afford to…" but Rally interrupted her thoughts and called for her to follow. In silence, the two women left the abandoned office and continued down the empty tunnel.
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