บท 132: New direction and proposition

"Go back?" Claudia froze when she heard those words. Then, instead of following with the steamy movements of Tom, she caught his hand and held it in place. "Why?" she asked, not wasting her time to elaborate on the question. 

"Isn't it obvious?" Tom shrugged, surprised by the girl's reaction. "Right now, we are severely understaffed. How else can we hope to force our way into a damned battlefield if not by getting more people and equipment for that?"

For a moment, Claudia simply stared down Tom's eyes, as if she couldn't believe what he had just said. Then, she let go of his hand and rested her head back at the pillow on the bed. 

"What?" Tom asked, puzzled by the voiceless reaction of the girl. "If you have something to say, then just do it," he suggested in a light voice, trying his best not to be pushy at all.