Chapter 2 – Chemistry
After being flogged, Colonnello spent a few days in the wards, treated by the head nurse. Once discharged, he was sent to do his cafeteria duties for a week. Lal was impressed with Colonnello who spent only a few hours washing a few hundred dishes without breaking a single one. All of the dishes did not have a single speck of dirt or grim when she did a spot check. It was spotless and Lal was seriously impressed. Colonnello might still have some talent that she can groom. He might not be the fool she thought he was before. Since Colonnello was idle most of the time, Lal made him run errands for her. He did not seem to mind and in fact, he was enjoying it.
The commander was beginning to like this new recruit more and more. HE had speed, enthusiasm, optimism, good build, good stamina, was responsible and perhaps intelligent. He had what it took for an elite soldier. He could even be a commander himself with sufficient training and experience. Lal was determined to groom him to his maximum potential and make him the strongest pupil she ever had. But first, she must find out more about him.
Retiring to bed, the commander thought about the concerns of her other job. Being a commander of US army squad fourteen and the person in charge of the elite force was just her part time job. Lal's real job was a mafia hit man in the underworld society assisting the Vongola family. She had come to the army to form an alliance with the weapons suppliers as well as some important figures. Of late, the Senate Sherbet was getting suspicious of her and she was watched closely. It was difficult to be on her guard constantly. She could bet on her life that some of the new recruits were actually sent by Sherbet to spy on her. It was hard to keep the underworld part of her life a secret but with Sherbet's spies, it made getting what she set out to do even more impossible. How on earth was she going to accomplish anything like this?
Casting all her problems aside, Lal emptied her mind and soon fell asleep.
In her slumber, Lal dreamt of her daily mundane routine of her morning drills. "Run ten laps then do five circuits before returning back to me. The last few to report back will have to do extra two hundred sit ups and push ups. Is that clear?" "Yes madam!" they answered in unison and ran of when she shouted go. The only one remaining behind was Colonnello himself. He stood there and continued to stare at her. "Why aren't you going?" she asked and Colonnello replied "Because I wish to continue looking at you." Lal blushed even in her dream.
"Recruit Colonnello, if you do not go now you would have to do extra push ups and sit ups." she stated. Colonnello just approached her calmly and stroked her face. She took notice of his blonde hair and charming blue eyes. "He actually looks good," she thought to herself as she watched the distance between them got shorter. He said "I don't mind as long as it's you. Punish me all you want, I'm yours to use." Just before they kissed, Lal snapped back to reality. What was that dream all about? It could not mean anything; after all it was a dream. Or was it? Lal did not want to know what it meant. She couldn't possibly like him, can she?
Anyway, Lal was not the kind to ponder over such trivial matters. She got up to wash her face. The cool water touched her skin woke her up. Going back to bed, she saw the green flashing digits on her clock. It was "3.29" a.m. in the morning. Lal clambered back to bed and tried to sleep. She tossed and turned trying to find a more comfortable position for her to drift back to sleep but to no avail. The strange dream had kept her wide awake. There was no way she could drift back to sleep anytime now. Sighing, Lal got up and got dressed. It was only four in the morning when she went outside.
Lal was not very much a morning person. The air was always chill and nothing ever seemed to happen. This time, however, Lal did not mind the cool mistiness of the early dawn. Pulling the coat closer, she headed for the obstacle course. It was her favorite place in the entire camp. On her way, she passed by some night patrol guards going back. They saluted to her and she nodded.
Lal pulled herself up the platform on the obstacle course and sat there enjoying the comfortable silence and the aloneness. After a few minutes, she heard footsteps and turned to see a familiar blonde haired, blue eyed man. "Colonnello!" she thought. Her heart raced at the sight of him. No matter how many times she told her heart to quiet down, it did not obey her. "Hey, what's up?" he asked. "What are you doing here?" she asked. Colonnello threw the same question back at her "What are you doing here?"
Lal was about to say something back when Colonnello laughed. "What's so funny?" she demanded. Colonnello stopped laughing and apologized "Sorry, but I found your reputation so contradicting to your person. They say that you were a fearsome commander but I somehow find you cute. Your expression just now was simply adorable. Sometimes I could not help but wonder why you would not act more ladylike. You have nice eyes and beautiful hair." Lal did not know how to respond to it and just muttered a word of thanks which only resulted in making Colonnello chuckle more and Lal blush more.
The two sat in silence after that, enjoying each others company. Lal was thinking about many things and Colonnello simply enjoying sitting beside Lal. Then, Lal yawned. She was getting tired. Her eyelids grew heavier and she could hardly keep them open. Colonnello saw that and suggested that she went back to rest. Lal was too tired and agreed. The moment she stood up, she lost her balance and almost as if he had been expecting it, Colonnello sprang up to catch her just in time before she could tumble to the ground. Lal blushed. His arms were wrapped around her waist and one hand on her chest. Colonnello however took no notice of it. He asked in a concerned voice, "Are you okay? I think it would be better for me to escort you to your quarters. Lal was not given a chance to protest because Colonnello was already pushing her along.
Once they reached Lal's quarters, Colonnello said "Here we are commander." Lal nodded. Before she went in Colonnello asked "We get along really well don't you think commander?" Lal agreed. Then she posed him a question that left him puzzled. "Do you wish to be part of the elite force?" Colonnello looked at her with a questioning expression. Lal laughed and just told him to think about it before shutting the door behind her leaving a very confused Colonnello.