"Mac paused, trying not to grin, but failing miserably. " We met before we shipped out, drank a few beers, got to be friends. We found each other in G...ermany, right after the bombing. Two injured guys, two natural leaders who were helpless, scared, haunted. We'd just intended to sleep off base, get a hotel room, try to relax, but ... something happened. Comfort, more, I don't even know. Magic ... He made me feel safe for the first time since the bombing. I slept ... when you haven't slept for a. She flipped Hammer off with a smile when he asked if it was his turn as she walked out. All the guys laughed and wished her a good night. She just focused on the image of a campfire in her head and tried to fall asleep to it. She wanted to relax; she had the feeling there would be a lot of excitement in her near future. She called Scooter early the next morning and asked what she needed to bring and what time to show up. He told her just a toothbrush, and wear boots, jeans, and gloves for. Take her straight up to the bedroom on the left—I'll call the doctor."Billy did as he was told. He laid Karen on the bed, carefully worked the covers back, then undressed her before covering her up again. That done, he lay down beside her, his head next to hers.When the woman came upstairs she took in the scene that confronted her. It took her a few minutes, but then she recognised the strange assortment of clothes that Billy still wore and Karen had been wearing, but for the moment she said. He’d never carried those large barrels of Long Cut ale, though. They were too expensive. He’d carried some of their smaller casks, but not the big hundred-gallon barrels. Besides, he knew of ships that had been boarded by pirates just for those barrels. No, it was safer to not carry anything valuable.But, I knew that there was a market for Long Cut ale. Maybe Filo could use Thunder as an armed freighter? He could carry forty or fifty barrels if he skimped on supplies. Enough men to be safe from.