In the Golden Triangle

Chapter 5: Of Monocles and Men

Devon sat up and groaned. Her back was sore from bending over her notes for the last two hours. She was sitting in one of the tables at the mess hall, enjoying one of the large industrial fans the cooks had set up. Stretching her arms up over her head she enjoyed the popping sound her back made.

Besides the fan, there were other advantages to sitting in the center of camp. All the traffic passed through here. It was a good place to get the feel of the place, and to unobtrusively observe everyone.

As with a lot of military installations, the mess hall acted like a meeting place. People would snag a table to play cards or read a book. Especially in the hot season where the mess hall had the only fans available. Her notes fluttered dangerously but it was worth it to feel that breeze kiss her sweaty face.

Nothing like sweating your ass off in the jungle to appreciate the little things in life.

' Turning on the bench seat she rested her elbows on the table behind her and stretched her legs out. Despite the heat, she still chose to wear her boots and jeans. It wasn't comfortable, but she would rather be hot than be bit by something.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Joom round the turn. He was coming from the direction of the motor pool. There were grease stains on his arms and uniform.

He was also wearing a monocle.

Devon blinked twice and had to make sure she didn't have sweat in her eyes.

No, Joom had an honest to God monocle perched between his right cheek and eyebrow. The chain was attached to the collar of his shirt and it swayed back and forth with his steps. Chokh and Teh were following him.

"Joom!" Teh called out.

He turned and cocked his head at Teh. "Yes?"

"What is that?" Teh pointed at Joom's face.

The handsome man reached up and brushed at his cheeks. "Do I have some grease on my face?"

Chokh's mouth was hanging open. "No...the...the..." his words faded out as Joom stared at him.

Joom shrugged and strode past Devon into the mess tent. Everyone in the tent turned to watch him walk by. No one bothered to hide their blatant stares or whispers but Joom didn't seem to notice. He collected his tray and came to stand next to Devon.

"Mind if I sit?"

Devon was transfixed by the small glass piece sitting on his face. She had never even seen a monocle outside of Colonel Mustard on the Clue box.

"Sure."

Joom put his tray on the table and stepped over the bench to have a seat. Picking up his utensils he began eating his lunch.

Devon took a minute to look him over. She hadn't spent a lot of time talking to Joom. She had heard a lot about the man—everything from he was married with three children, to single and dating every actress in Thailand. Devon's personal favorite was that he was secretly a prince and had a harem of men and women back home. That one had points for originality, but she deducted points for its lack of pragmatism.

Joom was shorter than Kitt, but he was thickly built. His black hair was cut neatly, and his face was classically handsome. When he smiled one cuspid seemed to hang over his lower lip, giving him a wolfish grin.

Teh and Chokh were whispering to each other just outside the tent. They were staring at the back of Joom's head.

"You ask him!"