He drove off, dust kicking up under and behind the vehicle as the propulsors pushed it forward.
The armoury was on the opposite side of camp, and Henry wanted to reach it before the shift change.
That was because the current soldier in charge of gear requisition was a man he knew.
Once he pulled up in front of the armoury, he parked the hover humvee out front and jumped out, walking toward the door.
Jhonny followed him, wondering what gear they were taking out with them this time.
Henry barged into the shop, walking toward the counter confidently.
"Hoi! You dumb gorilla! How are you?!" he hollered at the man behind the counter, grinning.
"Well, if it isn't the bug! Come to ask for a beating from the man of men, ay?!" the man replied, pumping his biceps.
"You? A man? Maybe if evolution took four steps back, you ape," Henry mocked, lifting his nose.
He and the big man looked at each other, making Jhonny tense momentarily before they guffawed together.
"How do you like your new post, Graves? Not too boring?"
"Are you kidding, Calvert?! I'm surrounded by weapons all day, and my hardest duty is keeping them clean. This is a dream post!" he hollered, waving at the rows upon rows of weapons and ammunition.
Henry grinned at him.
"Glad to hear that. I came for a requisition. I believe my CO has already sent it in. But I might have a few things to add to the list. Can I see it?"
Benjamin looked at him and smiled.
"For sure, man. I thought it was a bit empty. You always gave me the over-preparer vibes. I'll gladly add things to it. You helped me get this gig, after all."
Henry smiled, rubbing his hands together greedily.
Benjamin Graves was a space marine lieutenant, but when he was off deployment, like any other soldier, he needed a post. And Henry had greased a few wheels to get him something sweet in a spot where he could use a friend.
Ben pulled out a tablet and shuffled on it for a few seconds until he found the requisition slip for Calvert and flipped the tablet around to him.
Henry quickly browsed through it, scratching his chin.
"Hmm. One laser rifle, four pulse pistols, two sets of survival gear, some climbing gear, plus what I already own. Not a bad list. But it's missing stuff for extreme situations," Henry mumbled.
"That's what I thought too, man. I made an alternate list, with stuff I thought would be useful. Wanna give it a look?" Ben asked, wiggling his eyebrow.
Henry grinned widely.
"Of course. Show me what you got!"
Ben pulled the tablet back, tapping it several times, and handed it back to Henry.
In seconds, Henry was already grinning madly, laughing to himself.
"Oh ho ho! Stun grenades, smoke grenades, some grav-claymores, wire mines. Man, you put some good shit in there. Can you even sign this off?" Henry asked, raising a brow.
"I sure can. That last deployment got me decorated. I saved some high-cap scientist's ass, and he pulled strings to get me promoted," Ben said, pulling out his tags, which now showed a captain rank.
"Well, damn, son! Congrats! Keep working like that; you might be the first gorilla officer in history!" Henry cackled.
Ben punched him lightly in the stomach, making Henry lose his air to laugh, but it was all joking.
"In that case, yes. I would prefer this list. I'll owe you one, Ben."
"Bah! Don't worry about it. Call it even for getting me this post. You can keep your IOU for next time. I'll get right on this. Come back in twenty minutes, and everything'll be ready."
Henry smiled.
"I want to look around. Might find something that tickles the recruit's fancy. I'll be in the rows somewhere," Henry grinned.
"Yeah… About that…" Ben said, looking at Henry with worry.
He leaned over the counter, speaking in whispers.
"Is he supposed to be here? I'm pretty sure that is a child…" he said, trying to be discreet.
But Jhonny heard him and clicked his tongue annoyingly.
This was his role to play outside their personal quarters. He had to behave like a man tired of being compared to a kid.
"I may be small, but that won't keep me from kicking your ass, big guy," Jhonny said, spitting on the ground.
Henry chuckled.
"You heard him. He's a recruit that I'm training. He's eighteen, and he's in the logs," Henry said, pointing at Jhonny's wristwatch.
Ben looked at it and eyed Jhonny up and down before shrugging.
It wasn't his business, and prying into special ops agents' private business never ended well. So he forgot he even asked.
"Suit yourselves, boys. There are plenty of things to see. We even have a new model of exo-suit in the back, if you want to take a look at it. But I can't commission it for missions. It's a purchasable item. I can show it off, though."
Henry's eyebrow twitched.
He wanted to try a new suit so much. But he was broke.
"We can look at it later when you return with the approved requisition form. Till then, I'll show the recruit around."
Ben raised his thumb before leaving for the back. There was a small office where he could access the base network and send in the new form for approval.
His rank authorized him to make changes like this if he reasonably believed it would be needed. And, in this case, he would use his privileges to pay back a favour.
He needed a bit of time to get it through the proper channels to get approved, but it all went without a hiccup, and he sent the new list to the armoury's warehouse, where they would put together the order.
In the meantime, he went back out front, where Henry showed his recruit a bunch of gadgets and gizmos.
Most of these were specialized tools that were utterly useless in any situation, aside from their intended purpose. But Henry had a knack for being creative with tools like those.
He always found new uses for them, making him a wild card with anything he touched.
"Alright! The list was approved. It's already being prepared at the warehouse. It should be ready in ten. Anything caught your eye, shorty?" Ben asked Jhonny.
Jhonny looked at him with a sharp glare before responding.
"No. Nothing I found useful. But I wonder about that exo-suit. Can I see it?"
Ben smiled from ear to ear.
"Of course! Follow me!"