An Engineer in Paradise

After dinner, they walked out in the crisp autumn air, both ready to discuss what lay ahead. The moon was just rising: a full Hunter's Moon, tinged with orange but not dark enough to be called a blood moon. It looked enormous - or rather she thought, it looked as if it had decided that it wanted to visit its larger neighbour and was on its way over. It appeared to be not far from the trees.

"How long have you been here?" she asked, gazing fondly at the bronze disc sailing serenely between the trees.

"Several years now", he answered, "I think I'm settled into life here. I was beginning to think", he added thoughtfully, "that I'd never get the call."

"And now that you have, are you pleased it's come?"

Jared smiled. "How did you feel when it happened to you?"

For answer she just smiled and pulled a picture of Blaine from her handbag and handed it to Jared.

"This is him?"

She nodded and confirmed that Blaine was living on the East Coast. She hadn't contacted him since the the night of the burglary, although she did know that he had been released from custody. That last fact would make Jared's job easier. She wondered what car he was driving now that she had appropriated his Gremlin.

"So what do you advise? What are his weaknesses?" asked Jared.

"Oh no. No clues. This has to be all your own work. I'm only here to observe."

This was beginning to look like a poor choice by Control; if Jared didn't buck his ideas up, Blaine would defeat him in the standoff.

"OK. The rules are still the same as those I learnt during training?"

She nodded confirmation and gazed once more at the moon. Whilst they'd been talking it had risen to above the treetops, and while it still retained the orange hue, it seemed much smaller now - or further away she thought wistfully - and no longer worthy of the epithet Hunter's Moon. "Do you miss home?" she asked suddenly.

Jared smiled. "Not so much that I want to go back immediately", he replied, "Now, I need to go and prepare to meet Blaine."

They walked back to the hotel in silence, the moon appearing to follow them along the paths. The moonlight had a sharp crystal quality about it which bleached most of the colour from the scene. She wished she was at home with the goats; she felt much safer there. She really wasn't looking forward to the showdown; she remembered too many such scenes over the years, including Blaine's initiation. It was getting harder for her and she wondered if she should resign - or retire! As if. She thought of her lover in the apartment overlooking the sea. When this was over, she would suggest that they take some time off, trade in the Gremlin and go travelling - or - this was a better idea: they could head up to the cabin for a few weeks; they hadn't been there in quite some time. She knew some great tricks for catching bait without wasting water by pouring it over the ground; and her fire-lighting skills were second to none - provided she had a couple of beers (or beer cans at least!).

They parted at the lift and she sighed as she reached her room. Sliding her key-card in the "lock", she was halfway through the doorway before she felt the draught - from a window she had shut before leaving the room.

Partly inspired by the Moon Size question