Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 10

bristling, and a modicum of guilt was evident in his voice. "It's my business to know who comes and goes from the park."
    It had only been a month since poachers had left one of the repatriated rhinos dehorned and too far gone to save. Augie's heart broke for Shon. The man in front of him looked stoic, but the tug of his teeth on his lower lip betrayed the wheels working away in his head. What Augie had heard from his friends at the Society had been many times worse than what the media reported. The loss of that rhino had been crushing for the entire staff, more so for the SRPU and the team tracking the rhino that day. Augie had been too afraid to ask if Shon was part of the team. Now he was sure of it. He crossed the six feet between them, took the tea from Shon's hand and sat down on the ground next to him, leaving only inches between them. "I saw the pictures."
    Shon swallowed and looked back at the fire. "It was devastating."
    "I'm so sorry, Shon."
    He nodded. "Thank you. But it is I who should be apologizing. I failed my duty. I failed to protect those in my charge." He looked back at Augie, his eyes haunted with the surety of his guilt. "I failed you."
    "It's not that simple."
    "Ah, but it is. We let the poachers through."
    "You make it sound as if you welcomed them in."
    "The results are the same."
    "Shon..."
    "No, Augie. It's done." He waved his hand as if dismissing the thought. "It won't happen again."
    Augie knew better. There was a good possibility it would happen again; but it only took a week with Shon to understand what he meant. Shon spoke those words not as a dismissal of the reality he faced, but as an oath.
    "Ok." Augie sipped at the tea. It was bitter, much more so than the green tea back home, but Shon had cut the bitterness with what tasted like honey. He tilted his head toward the sound of water buffaloes in the distance. "So how long does that keep up?"
    "The moaning or the screeching?"
    "Both. Either. It's awful."
    "Never been here in February?"
    "Never been here before."
    Shon looked surprised. "I assumed, since you've been working with the black rhinos for years..."
    Augie shook his head. "I did my research in Germany at the Society in Frankfurt and my field studies in South Africa."
    Shon sat back on his heels. "It feels as if I should know more about you when in reality it is so little."
    "You know everything that matters, Shon."
    "Hardly," he scoffed.
    Shon took the pot off the fire and scooped oatmeal into two bowls which he drizzled with honey, dates, and almonds before passing it back to Augie. Augie accepted it with a smile. Shon seemed to be lost to his own world as they sat quietly and ate.
    Not all of their time together in Germany had been an insane sex romp. There were quiet moments like this, ones which tugged at Augie and made him think of more than he wanted to consider. A dinner at the hotel bar, two stools set close together, pints in hand, soccer on the TV. A coffee run during a session break, arms full of cardboard cups steaming in the chilled spring air. Wandering the streets of Frankfurt after dark, their bodies close, shoulders grazing, the hum of Shon's low chuckle reverberating next to him. Those were stolen moments, the memories which should have propelled him to Tanzania and to Shon much earlier.
    "So why are you here ?" Augie finally got the courage to break the silence, making sure that he put an emphasis on here so Shon understood exactly what he was asking.
    "I have been assigned as your personal liaison."
    "That makes complete sense." Augie didn't bother to modulate his snarky response. "Because the captain of the SRPU, the leader of the new aerial task force, and all-around Maasai warrior badass is necessary for protecting a hot doctoral student from the States." Augie rolled his eyes to emphasize his sarcasm.
    Shon's lip twitched. "You are an emissary."
    Augie raised an eyebrow. "You didn't pull any strings to ensure you were the one with this detail?"
    "Perhaps."
    Augie chuckled, "You're going to follow me wherever I go?"
    "No. You will be accompanying me."
    "In the helicopter? You know that heights and I don't get along."
    "We'll have plenty of time to work on that. I'll take you out on the plane. Then the jeep or on foot. We use many modes to track the rhinos. You will have access to them starting this morning. I made sure to pack up one of the trackers before I headed out. You've also been given permission to request staff time, including the