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"So, how have you been, Bev? What's it been, like, nearly a year since you've been up to the Centre?"
Beverly Jones turned to look at her blonde friend, Allison, and nodded. "A little over a year, I guess. I slipped across the border for a day last September while Keven maintained our presence at the campsite."
Allison looked out over the campus Commons and watched the students crossing the large grassy expanse. She'd known Beverly since they were at Uni together, and had briefly dated Keven before she lost him to her friend. There was no animosity over the loss, since the chemistry wasn't there, and they both knew it. "Bev and Kev" had obviously been meant for each other, and it hadn't taken them long to declare their undying love and tie the knot.
"You guys should come up and stay a weekend now that the tunnel at the Station is complete." The secret tunnel connecting the British government's Signals Station at Gretna to the re-aligned Scottish side of the border had been dug by members of the Signals Corps that were sympathetic to the Opposition. They were covert members of the Kink Support Network, the same underground organization that Allison and Beverly aided and abetted.
"We were just talking about that the other night, as a matter of fact, oh...here she comes," Beverly said as she looked towards a shapely young auburn-haired woman walking towards them.
Dressed in the standard spandex body suit that most female students on campus wore, Joanne Hallewell strode confidently towards them. The shiny black fabric hugged her body like a second skin, highlighting her modest bosom and slender form, and forcing Allison's gaze to follow her curves over her hips and down her well toned legs.
"My-oh-my," she muttered under her breath.
"Tell me about it," Beverly said, rising from the bench they were sitting on to greet her student. With Allison standing beside her, both women instinctively, and discretely, scanned their surroundings for Security patrols. No one seemed to be paying them any undue attention.
"Hello, Jo," Beverly said, as Joanne approached. "This is the person I was telling you about..."
"Allison Smith." Allison reached out to shake Joanne's hand. "Let's walk."
The three women headed away from the Commons, following a paved walk that cut through a small wooded area behind the soccer field. It was secluded enough to afford them privacy, and in the direction of Beverly's office, which made it a plausible route to take.
"I'm sorry to be so direct, Miss Hallewell, but this has to be quick. Miss Jones has shared some of your conversations with me and I'd like to hear first-hand your thoughts on the current government in London."
Joanne looked at her professor and saw her nod. It was a little unnerving that things she had discussed with Miss Jones in private had been shared with someone else, but it was too late to worry about that now. Since the woman already had an idea of her thoughts, she just came out with it.
"What do you want me to say? That I think the direction they're taking this country is the wrong direction? That they're driving women's rights into the stone age? That I don't enjoy having to call my brother to escort me home, as if I don't know how to drive my own damn car?"
"Do you worry about the next election? That the Ultras will be voted in again?"
"Voted in?!" Joanne exclaimed. "I'm worried that there won't even be an election; that they'll somehow subvert the process to allow themselves to remain in power without ever holding another election. They're doing whatever they damn well please already!"
Beverly held onto Jo's arm and patted it with her other hand, trying to calm her. Although she was usually a very calm and controlled young woman, her blood seemed to boil when the topic of the regime was being discussed.
"I work with an organization that's trying to prevent the current government from doing whatever they damn well please. We're known as the Kink Support Network."
This stopped Joanne dead in her tracks. "The KSN?" She laughed. "Really? The KSN?" Even though she wished it were true, everyone knew there really was no such thing as the KSN. The newspapers and electronic media had investigated this supposedly 'rebellious faction' and had concluded the Government assertions regarding it was correct. The KSN was nothing more than a myth started by the opposition party to hide their own unlawful activities. Any hooligan with a spray can was calling themselves KSN.
Allison's grin made Jo think she'd been kidding her, but intellectually that made no sense. This woman didn't come here just to swap jokes with her. This was serious shit they were talking about.
Seeing Joanne's demeanor change, Allison took her arm away from her friend and prompted her to continue walking. "Yes, Jo, we're real. Believe me, Whitehall knows we exist, and uses the media to discredit us whenever possible, while at the same time doing everything they can to shut us down. It's a war, Jo, and we need you fighting with us."
Seeing the end of the path coming up, Jo asked, "But what can I do? I'm an English major. How can I help?"
"Are you saying you're interested in helping?"
"If I can, sure. But..."
"We have a very specific part for you to play, Joanne, but you will have to be trained."
"Trained?"
"All I need right now is a simple yes or no. Are you with us?"
Joanne looked at Professor Jones. Here was a woman she admired in so many ways; strong, independent, intelligent, and now a member of the underground Kink Support Network? It was the very last thing she would ever imagine, and yet, it seemed to be true.
No further thought was really necessary. She didn't feel she could just sit idly on the sidelines and not oppose what was happening to her country. This was a war; a war against her gender.
"I'm with you," she said, and shook Allison's hand. Life was about to become a whole lot more interesting.