“Cowards,” Kitty snorted as she passed a half-filled plastic cup to Lee. 

Wisps of black hair escaped the short ponytail tied at the base of her skull, whipping around her face as she turned at an angle from Zimmy’s mobile phone and smiled. Was she taking a photo or a video? It didn’t matter, because the truck jerked as it ran over another pothole. “Cheers!” she cried merrily raising her cup to Lee but said cup didn’t get the chance to touch her lips before the truck jolted again and Setzer was swerving like a mad driver afraid to miss a pothole. He didn’t. The wheels screeched and traced a tight S on the high way before diving into a rather significantly deep rut that sent the passengers swearing and the bottles of beer clinking. 

“We can’t do this,” she conceded, turning to Lee after only the first drink. “We can’t refill the cup faster than Setzer can find the next target.” Kitty had to give it to the man. When it came to finding dents or fissures or depressions on the road, he was an exceptional marksman. Possibly better than Gideon. Drinking from cups with equal amount of alcohol to avoid cheating just won’t work. 

On her knees on the truck bed, with one hand on the window for support, she pulled the cooler’s lid open and grabbed a beer. When her hand came out of the container, so did a can with a white and red label. Printed on it was an outline of a big cat, possibly a tiger, and characters largely different from the alphabet used in Rassvet. The assortment of beers came with the latest shipment of goods from somewhere else in Yerin to be sold in several of her father’s establishments. If she was going to take over his business in the future, considering that she did not die in the front lines, Kitty would have to know about geography better and where in Yerin did her father import the alcohol from.

Pushing the thought aside, she assumed her place behind the cabin. Struggling for balance and with the wind on her hair, she opened the can and tipped it to both her room mates, then to Gideon, then her drinking buddy that afternoon, Lee. “To our driver and to the motherfucker who authorized his driver’s freaking license,” she grinned then passed the time consuming more and more of the intoxicating liquid with every bump and pothole, laughing and swearing, and losing track of time.  

Until the truck finally pulled over under bright LED lights. The smell of gasoline lingered in the air even though there were no trace of recent use. Gasoline was made of the same stuff as that of what they were drinking, she thought. It should be, especially Lee’s vodka, because it tasted the same. 

Barghest Squad seemed to share the same sentiment when the engine sputtered and died. Kitty stretched her legs and downed the last few gulps of the can she was holding, which was the can number whatever. “We did it,” she grinned brightly at Lee, feeling a silly. They didn’t necessarily follow the rules she set, but they did consume alcohol at a faster than average rate. Her eyelids felt heavy, but there was nothing a cold shower couldn’t fix. 

[hr]

A cold shower, an hour of sleep, and a whole lot of water was what it took to fix her. Thankfully it hadn’t yet come to the point where her drunken condition would require magical attention, and if it did, she trust that either Lori or Lee would do something. Almost a decade training together as a squad and they learned to entrust their lives to one another. She loved this crazy bunch, the family that she chose, and she didn’t even need to verbalize it. None of them did. Besides, it would be mighty awkward if she walked up to Galahad and told him she loved him. Kitty choked her laughter, which she hid with a fake cough, at the thought. The memory of Lee flirting with the amber-eyed WARDEN came to mind, but as far as she recalled, Galahad didn’t even blink. 

That night, Katarina sat on a collapsible stool beside Lori. Both women were holding a bottle, though Kitty resorted to a bottle of water instead of beer. Her hair was still a bit wet from her recent trip to the shower meant to both help sober her up and wash away the dirt and grime from the day-long trip. She had left her jacket in the room and instead went to their makeshift fire pit wearing a plain crop top shirt, shorts, and an old pair of standard issue combat boots. 

The chill of the edges of winter could still be felt through the occasional whispers of the breeze. But more chilling for her was the voice of the reporter announcing the news around Rassvet. Soon it would be them on the news, unnamed soldiers dubbed as “brave” fighting an enemy stronger in number and more experienced than themselves. Granted that they had the advantage of the mist, but looking around, she saw the children she grew up with – the best of their batch, but the least in the front lines in terms of experience. Genuine war experience mattered. How many of them would make it back after a year, two years, three years? She took a swig from her bottle, anticipating the accompanying bitterness and warmth, but then realized with disappointment that it was water and not beer. 

It was Lori’s sudden pronouncement that snapped Kitty off her thoughts. If there was one thing that angered the otherwise gentle Astran, it was anything Vangar. They all knew her history. Kitty reached out and pat the other woman’s back as if to remind her that she was no longer alone in her quest to kill all Vangar soldiers on sight. 

“Barghest Bagels, or Barghest Bags, or Barghest Bar and Grill,” Kitty added to Lori’s ideas of business names. “Oh! We already have a bouncer.” Grinning, she tipped her head to Setzer’s general direction. “I can pummel you all so hard that by the time you wake up the war would be over.” She puffed her chest and imitated his voice, intonation, and expression as best as she could, trying not to laugh as she did so.

The gambling ring was different though. It was fun, but more than the fun and the easy money that financed the squad’s over the top parties, it brought a semblance of normalcy in her life, kept her sane throughout the decade of training at the Citadel. It was supposed to be the squad's legacy, but too bad that it was over.