In the Golden Triangle

Chapter 9: I Like Fish

            Devon knelt and brought her camera up to her right eye. The lens clicked three times consecutively before she brought it down to look at what she had just captured. Teh was on his back under a jeep with his hands hidden in the chassis. His uniform jacket was hanging off the side mirror and he was just wearing a black tank top. Lean arms were streaked with oil and Devon had captured the moment.

Candid photography was her favorite. She supposed it was everyone's favorite, but it held special meaning to her. Being able to capture people's true emotions and fleeting moments in life continually amazed her. She could only imagine how Joseph Niépce felt the first time he captured a permanent photo—after ten years of tinkering with it, he finally had something that would change the world. Literally. How must that have felt? Perhaps he didn't realize the enormity of what he had done.

But Devon did. She knew the power of words, and if a picture was worth a thousand words, then a photograph was one of the most powerful things in the world. It could reduce someone to tears or bring them ultimate joy. It was proof of the unbelievable and something tangible to hold from a fleeting memory.

Had she not felt such a passion for the written word, Devon would have studied photography. But there was something about formalizing her education that took away her joy in photography. Devon was always the kind of person who wanted to be hands on. So, she took her camera with her everywhere and constantly took photos. Learning on the fly with each photo she took.

There would never be any awards for the photos she took, but it made her happy and that was enough.

Moving on from Teh she let her feet take her around the camp. Occasionally she would lift the camera and snap a few photos. The beauty of digital photography was that she could always delete the ones she didn't like, so she just photographed everything that caught her eye.

The cockroach scuttling across the road? Click.

A private adjusting his belt after using the latrine? Click.

Hin watching John from behind a tent? Click.

That one in particular made her smile. Hin had a unique flirting style, she had to give him that. Devon had an affinity for people who went all out and threw their heart into everything they did. And Hin certainly did that when it came to John.

Looking at Hin made her think of Kitt. He was usually with Hin, but she had not seen him at all today. The camp wasn't that big, so where could he be? It's not as if he had to tell her his schedule but she felt a small stab of worry. Was he out on patrol? He was a competent soldier and a routine patrol shouldn't give her anxiety like it did. But she found her head swiveling around and looking for him.

Letting the camera hang from the strap around her neck she went searching for the tall man. He wasn't as conventionally handsome as Hin—not many people could beat Hin's angular face and smirking grin. But his bright eyes were open, and he had a wonderful smile that lit up his entire face. He was a handsome man and had caught Devon's attention immediately.

But now she couldn't find him, and the small stab of worry was beginning to grow.

Devon could admit that she was interested in the man in more than a professional sense. There was nothing wrong with a simple crush. She was a healthy young woman with desires. And if Kitt was the object of those desires, well, as long as she didn't act on her impulses than it was perfectly fine. Devon was capable of separating her personal and professional thoughts. She had done that her whole life.