Tuesday Teaser 12/19/2023

Daniel snorted, “You’re too much of a dick to die, so I’m safe there.”

“If you didn’t care about him, these past days wouldn’t have been difficult at all. Take some chances, Dan. You can’t live your whole life locked up in that mini fortress you have and in the bubble you’ve created around yourself.” Pierre put his hand in the air, waving. “I think young Kyle is exactly what you need. He’s right in front of you, ready and willing for the taking. All you have to do is reach out and let him in, do some taking for once. Really have someone, not just a series of one-night trysts.”

“I don’t even know if he’s interested.” Daniel turned and saw Kyle making his way across the commissary. He immediately felt his mood lighten, and despite his tough words to Pierre, he smiled.

Pierre laughed and slapped Daniel’s shoulder. “You’re a dickwad, you know that? I see how he looks at you, too.”

Daniel waved him off and stood to greet Kyle. “How’d it go?”

Shrugging, Kyle said, “I don’t know. They didn’t throw me out on my ass, so I guess okay.” He smiled and nodded to Pierre. “Hey, Pierre.”

“Kyle, you need to make sure Dan here doesn’t turn into an old, lonely fart at thirty.” He stood, patted Kyle’s back, and winked before ambling away.

“What was that?” Kyle turned and watched Pierre go before swiveling around to face Daniel again.

“Too many drugs? Or maybe not enough.” Resting one hand on Kyle’s back, Daniel rubbed a few times, appreciating the smooth expanse of solid muscle under Kyle’s shirt. “Let’s grab some lunch. We have to stay in the barracks until there is official word on their decision, but you’re right; if it was no, you’d have been booted out by now. Then we start your training.”

Once they received Keller’s official—positive—decision, Daniel took Kyle to begin training in earnest. Most came to the Militia with previous military or law enforcement experience. They didn’t need to be trained to handle weapons or fight hand-to-hand; those skills had been learned elsewhere.
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Kyle was the first new member Daniel knew of starting from scratch. He’d be teaching Kyle, or arranging for others to teach him, and he wanted it done correctly. Kyle trusted him. Daniel wasn’t going to do a thing to jeopardize that trust. His priority was protecting Kyle. Teaching him to protect himself when needed was an important step.

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