Charlie: Yes, I'm this bored in Shanghai. Well, not really. My evenings are full of events that usually have me plastered.

Unfortunately, my mornings and afternoons, where my cousins are all at work… are a bit dull. So, here I am, cranking out chapters.

For those of you wondering why I'm not doing 14 Days, it's because that fic doesn't have a set story line. It's mostly improv. This however, has a set line, and since I'm already into the flow of things, I think it's better to get this going while the plot is still fresh in my head.

I will have a chapter or two of 14 Days done though.

Erk: Disclaimed.

Charlie: What he said.

---

Chapter 6

Coming Home

Rose Gardens
Castle Kathelet, Kathelet Province, East Lycia

West Lycia's quick fall didn't surprise Kate at all. Less than a month after war was declared between East Lycia and West Lycia, newly promoted General Steven Flagg had Ostia by it's throat. Etrurian Mage Gunners, although deadly, were weakened by a lack of organization and support due to rushed officer appointments and the death of Arturo Delgato. Flagg's M1 Hectors steamrolled through their ranks and now sat on Ostia Plains, overlooking Castle Ostia and the regal looking Parliament.

Ashton had issued Marquess Ostia, and whoever was in charge of Parliament nowadays alfter half of the members left, an ultimatum: surrender unconditionally or our tanks move forward. Unfortunatly for Ostia, the Etrurian Army could provide no further support. It's Mage Corps were already devastated. The Knight Brigade was in disarray after the Vatican declared Knight General Eugenia Rossi a traitor who had a hand in the assassination of Pope Clement XVI. Great General Cardinal Kalinikov, a bureaucrat at heart and a priest by trade, Kalinikov was a poor tactician and military leader. His bureaucratic mind focused on image rather than practicality. In the end, most of the Etrurian forces were used in parades of might and as Vatican guards rather than off fighting the war.

Bern had offered East Lycia its gratitude in the form of military supplies, weaponry, food, and medicine. The majority of Bern's military were used to protect Eastern Lycian cities from guerilla raids. There were still, unfortunately some hardcore fanatic groups out there, mostly college theology students, who took matters into their own hands. Fortunately, the extra soldiers Bern had provided had kept violence to a minimum.

Kate always loved the rose garden. It was one of the few things about her mother that she liked. The former Marchioness loved roses and had a garden planted. Despite how many arguments she and her daughter had elsewhere, in this garden, everything was sacred. They were simply mother and daughter, sharing the wondrous sight and fragrance of over ten thousand roses.

She came here every time she was stressed or worried, and this time was no different. Her thoughts drifted to Charlie and Virginia McIntyre. Kate wondered how Virginia felt, she knew how close the siblings were, and Charlie's current situation must be putting Virginia through multiple panic attacks.

Kate thought about Charlie himself. The had been nearly two decades ago. They were young, she was only 19 when it first happened, he was 17. It was more or less a misunderstanding that was made worse by her mother's irrationality. Charlie had walked in on Kate changing. At first, the young man balked and wanted to walk out. Then he noticed some scrapes on her shoulder. What the advisor walked in on was him applying some gauze on her shoulder.

But that was ancient history. After Charlie joined the military, the two remained strictly professional in public but remained good friends in private.

Sighing, Kate pulled out her cell phone and dialed Virginia McIntyre's number. She had asked Charlie for his sister's number a year or two ago. She hoped that Virginia hadn't changed it.

The phone rang eight times before the answering maching clicked in.

"Hello, you've reached Virginia. Sorry I can't pick up the phone. Leave a message and I'll get back to you."

Kate smiled slightly. Same old Virginia. She looked down at her watch, it was seven in the evening. Perhaps Virginia was out to dinner. Kate sighed and headed towards the castle. Surely her rather annoying advisors are missing her. It's been nearly two hours since they've last bothered her about getting married and bearing children. She decided it was time to go back in to humor them.

---

Pleasure Street
Etruria City, Etruria

McIntyre shook his head as his cab followed the Cardinal's limo into one of the seediest streets in Etruria City. Named pleasure street by the locals, the street was lined with strip clubs, porno theatres and brothels for blocks on end. In the distance, he saw the limo pull up to a small building with the word "Menland" glowing in the bright neon sign in the window. McIntyre told his driver to pull up to one of the nearby strip clubs and paid the man a large tip to keep quiet. In the distance, he saw Valendez enter the building. As he got closer, the words "young males for the female and gay fantasies await inside." Apparently, the Cardinal had more than just carnal lust in his list of sins.

The Cardinal was wearing a gray wool sweater and jeans. His hair was combed back. The man certainly blended well, if McIntyre had bumped into him on the streets, he wouldn't have recognized the man.

The brothel reeked of deodorant and cheap cologne. Despite the sign, more males than females frequented this place. There was a reception desk where the Cardinal was standing at, talking to the clerk, an innocent looking young girl, oddly enough. There were a few chairs in the lobby McIntyre couldn't imagine what they were used for. There was a hallway left and right of the reception desk and stairs behind it. From the looks of it, the left hallway led to male restrooms and facilities while the right led the female facilities; the stairs obviously led to the buildings place of business. One look at the warn carpeting on the left side compared to the right confirmed McIntyre's belief that this establishment was more of a gay brothel than anything else.

He saw Valendez head down the left hallway and took his chance. Apologizing to the clerk, who he noticed from her uneasy smile, still had braces on, McIntyre quickly headed down the left hallway, as if in a hurry to use the restrooms.

At the end of the hallway, a small door led to a large, if not filthy bathroom. Used condoms and various body fluids McIntyre didn't want to think about covered the floor. McIntyre would have to burn his clothes after this mission. He saw the Cardinal standing in front of one of the urinals. McIntyre went to the sink and waited.

---

Dragon Gate Airforce Base
Etruria City, Etruria

Winters and Kennedy watched from behind a crate of munitions as Sasha and Lucia seduced the guards. Rossi was across the room, deactivating the security system. It was a slow night at the airforce base. It always is. Etruria's military might lie with it's mage gunners, not its airforce. With Lucia and Sasha dressed in their slinky black dresses, there wasn't a guard they couldn't seduce.

From across the room, Rossi signed that the alarms were deactivated. Winters dug a Rebecca-307A Sniper Rifle from his pack and took aim. The girls had purposely stood together to give Winters a better angle of fire.

Winters' stopwatch went off. Two sniper shots simultaneously went off from opposite ends of the room. Winters looked over to see Rossi holding her smoking rifle, satisfied at her work. Lucia and Sasha dragged the guards over, tranquilizer darts sticking out of their necks.

It was Rossi who suggested the knockout formula to killing the guards outright, much to Winters' dismay. But Sasha and Lucia had agreed with Rossi. Blood was a bit too much for them. After a while, Winters reluctantly gave in, swapping out his .510s for tranqs.

The tranquilizer would keep the guards out for three hours. Winters looked down at his watch. McIntyre promised to be at the base within the hour, but he knew where the helipad was.

Heading to the hanger gate leading into the airfield, Rossi placed her hand into the hand pad and looked into the optical scanner. The light clicked green and she left the security systems off. The group quickly filed inside. The helipad was, thank god, close to their hanger. Two more guards hung by the helipad. Two more shots later, Winters was leading everyone onto the Vaida attack copter.

Sasha and Lucia found it awkward, standing in the back of an attack helicopter with heels on. The Vaida was a gunship. The back was usually occupied by a crew of four, operating two side turrets on the copter. A pilot and copilot flew the vessel while a gunner squished between the cockpit and the back compartment monitored weapons systems and controlled pod missiles. If necessary, the pilot could override and fire missiles as well, but with reduced accuracy.

Kennedy sat in the gunner's position while Rossi and Winters took copilot and pilot, respectively. Winters pulled out a miniature television he'd bought from the local best buy and turned on the news. He and McIntyre had bought a set of closed circuit two way radios in case of an emergency.

Winters poked his head out the window and checked the missile pods. They were loaded.

He sighed in relief and went back to flipping through blurry news channels. Behind him, all four girls subconsciously held their breaths.

---

Pleasure Street
Etruria City, Etruria

Valendez zipped up and walked to the sink. The bathroom was filthy, yes, but he was a regular customer here, going under the name Antonio Boulevardez. They had clothes for him. There was a young man next to him, washing up. He was wearing what looked to be a black bodysuit. He was attractive enough, Valendez wondered if he worked here.

-

McIntyre smiled. Valendez was to his right, between him and the paper towels. McIntyre turned off the water and slowly reached over.

-

Valendez glanced over at the young man and smiled. The man was reaching behind him, as if going for the towels. Valendez felt a hand graze against his neck. His pulse quickened as he reached to turn off the water.

-

McIntyre could tell Valendez was hooked. After he left this place, McIntyre promised himself he would find a nice girl and get laid as soon as possible. Valendez had turned off the water, a smile on his lips. McIntyre took the chance. He placed his hand on Valendez's neck. The Cardinal glanced at him.

"Do you work here?"

McIntyre smiled. "No."

His hand pinched down. A brief look of fear and realization crossed Valendez's face before McIntyre slammed his hand down, bringing Valendez's head against the metal faucet. As he brought the Cardinal's head up, his other hand quickly jabbed a pressure point in the man's throat, effectively muting Valendez's screams of agony. McIntyre smiled grimly as he saw the Cardinal's hands scratch at his neck, attempting to find his executioner's hand.

McIntyre brought both hands to the back of Valendez's head and slammed the man forward into the faucet, repeatedly. After the third blow, a loud crack echoed through the room, after the fifth, the Cardinal's hands stopped moving. McIntyre looked at the man's head. A long gash bubbled on Valendez's forehead, spurting a small river of blood. Valendez's eyes were closed, his mouth slightly agape. McIntyre felt for a pulse and found none.

Satisfied, but just to make sure, McIntyre broke Valendez's neck and tossed the Cardinal into one of the stalls, the old man's head hitting the metal flusher with a loud crack.

Four down, McIntyre strode out of the bathroom back to the lobby.

"There's a dead man in the bathroom." He told the girl at the counter and walked out. He walked up Pleasure Street for over a mile, past the wailing police cars and ambulances that were no doubt rushing to the seedy brothel.

Once he was back in civilization, McIntyre pulled off his shoes, went in to the nearby Sears-Lucius Department store, and proceeded to buy himself a completely new outfit.

Fifteen minutes later, McIntyre walked back out onto the street, dressed in a long sleeved shirt, slacks and a pair of sneakers. He looked back one more time and saw some guys wearing matching suits and sunglasses walking towards him.

Shit. Mcintyre pulled his Mani Katti from his waistline. Looking into the street, he found a minivan idling by the sidewalk. Walking over to the driver's side, he waved the Mani in a middle-aged woman's face. The woman screamed. McIntyre wrenched open the door, dragged the soccer mom out, and hit the acceleration before the door was even closed.

A few blocks later, McIntyre saw two black sedans and an SUV tailing him.

'Shit…' He reached for his radio.

---

Dragon Gate Airforce Base
Etruria City, Etruria

Winters almost laughed out loud. Most channels were interrupted for a special bulletin. Cardinal Valendez, while on a "mission to bring Elimine's words to those who have lost their way," was found dead in the bathroom of a seedy gay brothel. Behind him, the girls chuckled lightly. Rossi remained silent. Moments later, a new picture of a fast moving minivan being chased by police and some black sedans. Winter's mind kicked into gear.

The rotors were already going when Winters got the McIntyre's call.

"Where are you headed?" Winters yelled over the loud motor. Beside him, Eugenia called to Lucia and Sasha to strap themselves in. A quick glance told Winters they were both as good as strapped to the plane. He pulled the stick and the Vaida lifted into the air.

"The airforce base is too far. I'm headed for the International Marketing and Trade Center, on the man-made island in the middle of town. Blow a section of the bridge once I'm past. You can't miss me, I'm the only red minivan in the parade right now."

"Got it!"

Winters pulled hard on the stick and the attack helicopter roared towards the clouds. Just then, a squawk came over the copter's radio. Patric looked down confused. The radio went off again, a squeaky voice rambling something in coherent. Winters looked and realized who he was hearing. The traffic control tower loomed ahead of him.

Luckily it was a slow night and they had tranquilized most of the on duty guards, leaving almost no one to work the AA guns. Winters brought the attack copter level with the control tower as the noise over the radio intensified. Behind him, he heard Audrey's fingers fly across her station. Moments later, a missile shrieked from the Vaida's left side and shot into the traffic control tower, unloading over two hundred pounds of high explosives into the command module. The radio shrieked loudly, then fell silent.

Winters yanked the stick and the aircraft banked hard to the right, heading into the heart of Etruria City.

---

Etruria Avenue

Etruria City, Etruria

The bridge was just ahead. Behind him, the wail of sirens remained steady. McIntyre toned them out. Above him, the news helicopter had its spotlight on him, again, McIntyre ignored it, his focus on driving, as fast as he could, to the bridge.

As he crossed the threshold of the long bridge connecting the man made Trade Island to the rest of Etruria City, he saw another craft approach from his left. He was never happier to see Winters in his life.

-

Winters followed the news camera's spotlight down to the red minivan. Then he pulled level with the news copter. One quick pull of the trigger and over two hundred rounds from his front cannon perforated the tiny craft and the people inside it. He felt Rossi tense beside him. He looked over. She was visibly shaken. These were still her people.

Rossi felt Winters' eyes on her and composed herself. She looked back at him briefly before focusing on her controls again. Winters sighed and pulled the copter over. McIntyre was nearing the end of the bridge. His chasers were halfway through.

"Kennedy, what's our missile status?"

Audrey checked the weapon schematics. "Seven Rex Hastas in the left pod, and you'll like this boss… two Raven Cruise Missiles in the right pod."

Winters smiled. "I'm sending you targeting coordinates. Fire on my mark."

Winters pulled the craft into hovering position near the end of the bridge. The bridge was over six miles long. McIntyre was less than a quarter of a mile away from his captors. Winters focused on one point, near the exit of the bridge, about half a mile in and waited. Moments later, McIntyre zoomed past Winters' field of vision.

"FIRE!"

Two consecutive streaks flew out from the right side of the copter as the backwash from the cruise missiles rocked the attack copter a bit. Moments later, the missiles found their mark. The bridge shuddered and went up in a display of heat and smoke. A few police cruisers, unable to react fast enough, were engulfed by the blazing column of fire and debris. The rest of the pursuers quickly made a u-turn or drive in reverse, getting away from the hail of concrete and metal.

"Sweet." Winters smiled as he watched the fireworks. Rossi and Kennedy looked at each other and shook their heads.

Moments later, the two way radio crackled.

"WINTERS! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!"

Winters picked up the radio gleefully. "Dude, you wouldn't believe this, but this thing had two Ravens loaded up. Shit man, it's beautiful."

"THE HELL?! I ASKED YOU TO JUST GET THEM OFF MY TAIL! YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO NUKE THE BRIDGE LIKE THAT!"

"Well, they're off your tail aren't they?" Winters asked innocently.

"YEAH! ONLY NOW I GOT PIECES OF BRIDGE RAINING ON ME!"

"Psh, some people just don't have any gratitude."

"Fuck you man…" McIntyre grumbled. "Seriously. I'll be in the central plaza."

"Is it big enough for me to land."

"No, drop a rope ladder. I'll be fine."

"Okay…"

Winters opened the right side door as Audrey reached over and pushed the rolled up rope ladder out of the open hatch. In the back, Lucia and Sasha clenched their harnesses tightly, their eyes closed in fear.

Winters found McIntyre's car parked in the middle of the central plaza. He reduced speed and came in low enough for the rope ladder to touch the ground. Moments later, a dark figure climbed on and signaled for Winters to go. The general pulled back on the stick. Soon, the Vaida was speeding off into the night, with McIntyre pulling himself up, inch by inch.

---

L.S.S. Florina
Artic Straight, North Etruria Sea

Vatti and his ships were directly North of Etruria now, in the narrow river of water known as the Artic Straight. The currents in the straight were too strong for ice to form over, but it was barely the width of two Florina's side by side.

Vatti had two more days out at sea. The Dart had already gone back with orders to remain in Caledonia Port until further notice. After two more days, he had to turn back. He only had enough food to feed his crew and their families for a week. The trip back would take a few days. Vatti didn't dare risk the lives of civilians.

"Sir?"

Vatti looked over to see the communications officer standing in his doorway, wrapped in a thick trenchcoat.

"Status sailor?"

"We have a beacon lock, two hundred fifty miles inland." The com officer said.

Vatti sat up. "Any communcation?"

"Still out of range of its short waves."

"Send two Fioras out to a hundred miles and wait for the craft. Have them confirm."

"Yes sir."

The officer left Vatti alone. The commodore could only hope that they finally found General Winters.

---

L.S.S. Roland

Badon Port, East Lycia

Admiral James Taylor stared quizzically at his orders, signed by KDI Field Operations Director Daniel Lee and the Marchioness of Kathelet. Should any of his ships receive Charles McIntyre, they are to immediately place him under arrest for high treason. McIntyre was supposedly conspiring with Kalinikov and plotting world dominance. It was an almost childish premise, especially considering Kalinikov's genuine anger when interviewed by reporters about the recent deaths of Cardinal Cunningham and Cardinal Valendez.

Taylor decided to investigate further. He picked up his phone and called a few friends, private investigators. There was something wrong about his orders, and Taylor intended to figure out what. Going over to an ancient looking device, Taylor twisted a few buttons and tapped a switch in a series of dots and dashes.

---

L.S.S. Florina
Artic Straight, North Etruria Sea

Vatti stared at the telegram from Taylor. Once he received General Winters, should Colonel McIntyre be with him, Vatti was to push through the Artic Straight into Ilia's Artic Port, the only port the frozen country had. From there, all sailors and their families will be shuttled back to Lycia via chartered flights, provided the weather remained calm. It was nearing winter, so flights in and out of Ilia were sketchy. Should the weather be unforgiving, Sailors and their families would be put up in any hotel of their choosing, with the East Lycian Navy picking up the tab. General Winters, and all who accompany him would be flown out via a Merlinus Transport for Winter Village. No questions are to be asked.

Vatti shrugged. His own wife and kids were below decks, wondering when their run would be over. They couldn't wait to go home, and, if it came down to it, a free stay in a five star hotel wouldn't bother them too much.

Vatti went over the intercom to announce the news. Before he could click on air, the com officer burst in.

"Delta 1 and Delta 2 made contact. It's General Winters, they're escorting them in."

Vatti smiled. "That'll be all."

Another good news, not only were they making for port where either a flight home or a warm hotel bed awaited everyone, but they were doing it within the next hour. As Vatti clicked over the intercom, his mood was better than it's been since he left West Lycia.

---

Eastern Lycia Unified Armed Forces Field Headquarters
Ostia Plains, Ostia Province, Lycia

Lycia was finally reunited in a manner of speaking. All provinces of West Lycia were now officially occupied by East Lycian forces. Though random religious fanatics would attempt a bombing here or an uprising there, most of the citizenry were peaceful, finally glad that the civil war was over. Nobody wanted to be pawns in a bureaucratic power struggle, especially when the bureaucrats claim to be St. Elimine's voice.

General Flagg though, was puzzled. The woman before him, Natalie Potter had been promoted to Lt. General in a matter of days. All Flagg knew was that now, she controlled the majority of his forces as he was relegated to paperwork. Oddly enough, rather than push forward, Potter opted to pull most of the force back, leaving only a defensive force along the Etrurian border. Additionally, she had drawn up a new strategy that called for securing Lycia and rooting out moles rather than pushing forward and ending the war quickly. With the Vatican in disarray because of the recent assassinations and the conclave, and both the Knight General and Mage General gone from Etruria in one way or another, Flagg thought it was the perfect time to push the offensive, end the war.

But, Potter's plan came with endorsements from President Ashton as well as the governors of five other East Lycia provinces. Flagg didn't dare go against it. So grudgingly, he saw his Hectors get towed off the battlefield, his troops sent to posts closer to him, and his chance for a quick end to the war, rapidly vanishing. Sometimes, politicians were just a little too defensive.

---

L.S.S. Florina
Artic Straight, North Etruria Sea

Lucia and Sasha huddled together, fighting off the cold. They were on deck of a mighty aircraft carrier, their skimpy black dresses doing little to ward off both the cold and the lustful stares of sailors.

Winters and Commodore Vatti were in deep conversation. Audrey and Charlie both stood off to the side, looking normal even though neither wore adequate winter clothing. Finally, Sasha couldn't take it anymore. She marched up to Charlie.

"My crystal says I need to get inside before I freeze."

Charlie looked down at her, then at Lucia. Inside the copter, the large harnesses had covered their bodies well; he wondered why they were wearing heals. Now that he knew they had matching tops, he didn't really want to know why they were wearing such outfits. Although looking from Sasha to Lucia, he began to remember the vow he made when he killed Valendez.

Shaking his head of thoughts, he strode over to Vatti and Winters.

"General, Commodore, sorry to disturb… but our friends are not adequately dressed, nor trained to handle conditions as harsh as this. Perhaps the conversation can wait until they are settled?"

"Why of course." Vatti said. "Unfortunately, with all that's happened lately, I only have two rooms left."

"That's fine." Winters said. "If the girls don't mind sharing four to a room."

Charlie looked over to Lucia and Sasha. "Something tells me as long as there's a heater, they don't care how many people are in a room."

Commodore Vatti smiled. "Then follow me."

Even Eugenia Rossi sighed in relief when the comforting warmth of heaters below deck washed over her body.

---

L.S.S. Roland
Badon Port, Badon Province, Reunified Lycia

Tragedy strikes as last night, the body of Cardinal Valendez was discovered in a seedy homosexual establishment in Etruria City. Valendez was scheduled to return to the Vatican this morning to attend the upcoming Conclave. A staunch supporter of Cardinal Pieter Kalinikov, leader of the conservative Cardinals, Kalinikov's bid for papacy suffers yet another blow as this is his third supporter to die within this week. In other news, Paris Hilton was released from the Badon Penitentiary yesterday morning. We have Ollie Williams with the full story live from Hilton's mansion in Badon Hills, Ollie?-

Admiral James Taylor shut off the television. He noticed the newscaster didn't seem exactly surprised that Valendez was found in a gay brothel, but then again, that fact would probably surprise all of two people. Plus the media seem to be more interested in Paris Hilton than an assassinated Cardinal.

Whatever the case, Taylor turned his attention to the piece of paper in his hand. He released a breath he didn't know he was holding after reading Vatti's telegraph. Winters, McIntyre, Kennedy were fine, and along with them, Knight General Eugenia Rossi had defected from the Etrurian Army.

He would be happier if the Unified East Lycian Armies were actually planning to push into Etruria. But this sudden halt in movement during the enemy's weakest hour puzzled Taylor even more than the claim by Lee and Marchioness Kathelet that McIntyre was a traitor without providing proof beyond supposed field reports that were never released in full.

He knew McIntyre. Lee and the Marchioness were both his friends. Taylor was one of the few who even knows the truth of McIntyre's affair with the Marchioness. The affair was never made public due to safety concerns of the young princess, but Taylor, then a thirty year old commodore in the Navy, happened to be in the castle when the young couple was discovered.

That made the vague claim even harder to believe, especially with Marchioness Kate's daily news conferences where she expressed her wish for General Winters, Agent McIntyre, and all other survivors of the 3rd Army Peace Battalion to make it home safely as soon as possible.

A phone call to Lee had told Taylor nothing. The new director was evasive, claiming he was busy. He did say that Marchioness Kathryn held the press conferences to trick McIntyre into thinking that it was safe for him to come back to Lycia to spy for Kalinikov.

Taylor didn't buy it. Lee was hiding something, or the Marchioness was lying, or perhaps both. Taylor checked his e-mail. His investigator friends promised to send him a message as soon as they found something.

---

Strongwing Airforce Base
Helsinki, Ilia

Lucia couldn't believe her eyes. Ilia was certainly the most unique place she's ever been too. At the airforce base, right next to hangers filled with resting jet fighters, were rows upon rows of stables. Beautiful white Pegasi were roaming around the stables, with even more locked up inside.

Despite the advent of jet fighters, the Ilian Pegasus Knights were still as formidable as they were hundreds of years ago. Their strength relied in their ability to fly among treetops, approach a target below even the most advanced radars, and then unleash hell upon their enemies.

Charlie noticed Lucia staring at the Pegasi and walked up behind her.

"Beautiful creatures. Perhaps you might want to remain here and join the ranks of the Ilian Pegasus Knights."

Lucia jumped at his voice, then smacked him lightly on the arm. "Don't scare me. And you know I can't join the military. You've seen me try to handle a gun."

Charlie chucked. He certainly had. Before the operation in the Vatican, he, Winters and Audrey had tried and failed miserably to teach Lucia and Sasha how to handle a gun.

"It's like that for everyone in the beginning." Charlie said. "Though I do have difficulty imagining you in the military."

Lucia smiled. "All the same. When are we leaving?"

"They're prepping our flight. We're lucky; there's a lull in the weather recently or else we'd be stuck here for quite a while. Even so, they have to make sure the engines and fuel in the copter don't freeze on us in midair."

Lucia nodded. She gazed at the Pegasus. "You think they'd let me take a closer look?"

Charlie shrugged. "Lets go find out."

The pair headed towards the stables.

-

It felt weird to be in Ilia again. Sasha hadn't imagined coming back when she left for Lycia, nor did she ever imagine she'd be returning to Ilia on the deck of a Lycian Aircraft Carrier, appropriately named after a famous Pegasus Knight who had fought against Nergal and had married the then Marquess of Ostia, Hector.

Sasha looked at the Florina, a massive ship that had a unique grace of it's own. A dozen F-18 Fioras, ironically, the elder sister of Florina, sat on the deck, being attended to by dozens of technicians.

Sasha's eyes floated over to the stables, where Charlie watched one of the stable hands teach Lucia how to feed the Pegasus. Sasha was an Ilian girl at heart, and like most of her female friends, had dreams of becoming a Pegasus Knight when she was young. It was the culture in Ilia. Pegasi dislike male riders, and in ancient times, females took it upon themselves to defend their land.

As Sasha glanced around at all the female soldiers and technicians wandering the airforce base, she reaffirmed that the tradition hadn't changed.

"You're from Ilia right?"

Sasha looked behind her to see Audrey walking up, shivering slightly despite the many layers she wore. Sasha smiled.

"Yeah. I see you're not used to the cold."

Audrey shook her head. "I'm from Caelin. It's cold there for a month at most, and even so, the cold there is summertime here."

Sasha nodded. "I supposed Ilians are genetically disposed to the cold." Sasha pointed to the Pegasus Knights roaming around. Their uniforms haven't changed much, long boots and miniskirts all around. "I'm only half Ilian; I can't exactly pull the miniskirt gig, but I come close."

Audrey looked at Sasha's simple jacket, slacks and leather boots. "I can see. Oh, we're leaving in a hour so you better tell those lovebirds by the stables to get a move on."

Sasha giggled. "What about our stalwart generals?"

Audrey smiled as the two looked over at Rossi and Winters, awkwardly walking with the rather oblivious base commander. The two rarely made eye contact, and their expressions were so forced it was comical.

"They'll be sleeping together within a week." Audrey said. "I'd bet my life on it."

"Isn't he married?"

"All the more reason for him to sleep with her."

The two laughed and then headed towards the stables to tell Charlie and Lucia the news.

-

Winters was torn between Eugenia Rossi's cold demeanor and the cute base commander's smooth thighs, which showed every now and then when her skirt rode up. Beside him, he could feel Rossi's disgust at him, but if she were to survive in Lycia, she had to trust him.

Because of weather conditions, long distance communication was temporarily unavailable. Rossi would need Winters to personally act as an intermediate once she arrived in Lycia.

As she walked, Rossi tuned out the droning voice of the girl leading them. She stole glances at Winters and caught him on a few occasions staring at fluttering hems of the base commander's miniskirt. Letting out a disgusted sigh, Rossi continued walking, adverting her attention to the scenery. In her mind, she understood exactly how dangerous Winters was, a man who excelled in both the art of war, culture, espionage…

…'and seduction.' Rossi thought as her cheeks heated, feeling Winters' gaze upon her once again.

-

"Colonel, we're leaving in half an hour." Kennedy had called out. Charlie turned around to find Audrey saluting and Sasha attempting to follow suit.

"Erm… what's with the sudden formality?"

"Our little vacation's over. I think we need to make sure our disposition towards each other is purely professional."

Charlie sighed as he returned their salute. "Why do you go tell Lucia. I don't think the skirts are going to like it if I got too close to their horses."

Audrey nodded and marched off. Charlie finally realized why Winters valued her. The woman could change attitudes within a flash. As for Sasha, the poor girl was still trying to figure out which hand to salute with.

"Don't worry about it, you're not military, you don't have to salute." Charlie said. "By the way, what's your crystal telling you right now?"

"I'm to follow you and Winters, then… stay in Lycia with Winters. It's telling me that you should stick with Winters too."

"Huh? But I'm KDI. Once we get to Lycia, I have to go to Kathelet. Army HQ is in Caelin."

"No, the crystal says you should go with Winters, it needs you and Winters to both be with me."

"Hm… I'll see what I can do." Charlie said. "What the…"

Off in the distance, two figures were approaching him, both wearing dark trench coats and matching sunglasses. As they got closer, Charlie recognized them.

"Agent Pierce, Vittel, what are you two doing here?"

Sasha looked at the newcomers, suddenly, her crystal glowed violently.

"Colonel! Look out!"

Charlie felt Sasha's small frame slam into him as they both tumbled into the snow. Two familiar pops rang in his ear. He looked up and saw Pierce and Vittel holding out Suppressed 9mm Mani Kattis. Off in the distance, Ilian Soldiers were scrambling, but by the time they got there, both Sasha and he would be mere memories. Rolling in the snow, Charlie pushed Sasha off him and watched her tumble down a small incline. Bullets tore into the snow. Charlie's heavy snow coat hampered his movements. Moments later, a sharp pain shot through his nerves as a bullet tore into his right shoulder.

Forcing himself to ignore the pain, Charlie kept moving. Pushing against the snow, he heaved himself onto his feet. A few Pegasus Knights had already gotten Sasha to safety. Shots from the Knights' service pistols rang out, but the bullets slammed harmlessly into the snow. Charlie looked up. Vittel and Pierce were walking towards him steadily, Mani Kattis raised.

Heaving with his legs, Charlie leapt out of the way as two more bullets tore into the space he previously occupied. Finally on his feet, his right shoulder and arm screaming at him in pain and protest, Charlie ducked, dodged and leaped through the snow, throwing off his assailants' aim. His left hand groped inside his coat pocket before he finally found his own Mani. The suppressor was off, but Charlie didn't really care at the moment. Taking a diving roll, he came up to his knees facing one of the two would be assassins and fired, the unsuppressed Mani went off with an ear splitting crack.

Pierce fell, a red dot in the middle of his head slowly billowing out, staining the snow beneath him bright red. Vittel, unfazed by his partner's death, took another shot at McIntyre.

Charlie reacted a split second to slowly and felt the bullet graze his left thigh as he dove to the right. Shrugging off the pain, he quickly used his left arm and pushed himself from the ground, still clutching his gun. Bullets tore passed him. Charlie counted mentally. He had seen Vittel reload earlier. Counting the shot that grazed his leg, Vittel had used five of the nine shots in the Mani Katti clip. Rolling again, Charlie got close enough to Vittel and swing his right leg forward, catching the man in the back of the knee. Vittel's stance buckled. Two shots went high into the air. Charlie tried to bring his gun up but found that left arm was pinned to the ground. Not having time to free his gun and aim at the same time, Charlie rolled and pushed with his right arm, ignoring the screaming pain that shot through his body. In a second, he was back on his feet, but because of the pain in his shoulder, facing away from Vittel

Vittel had composed himself by now. Charlie knew he was a half second away from being shot in the face. He quickly turned to his left, bringing his Mani into the side of Vittel's head. The assassin staggered. Charlie brought his gun level and unloaded. Vittel fell into the snow next to his partner, blood draining quickly from eight bullet holes in his body. Moments later, members of the Ilian Pegasus Knights ran up to him, along with Kennedy, Winters and Rossi. It was then did McIntyre finally fall into the snow, blood from his shoulder wound staining the snow.

A medical team quickly rushed out to him. As McIntyre lay in the stretcher, he looked over at where Sasha stood and caught her eye.

-

Winters had only ever hated four kinds of people in his life: dumb environmentalists, pacifists, bureaucrats, and lawyers. Right now though, he was seriously considering adding betrayers to that list.

The mysterious assassins were identified as Benjamin Vittel and Loran Pierce, two KDI agents, McIntyre's own men. Yet they obviously didn't visit him today for a social gathering. He now sat in a waiting room inside the infirmary with two distraught females and two stone faced ones. It was all together too much raging estrogen for his liking.

Moments later, the door swung open and McIntyre came out, his shoulders wrapped in gauze. Lucia and Sasha ran to him as the doctor came out.

"Doctor?" Winters asked.

"The bullets weren't toxic fortunately. Nothing serious, a graze on the leg and a wound to the shoulder. I don't think he'd be wielding any heavy weaponry soon though."

Winters let out a breath and smirked at McIntyre. "The man insists on carrying that pea shooter of his anyways."

McIntyre rolled his eyes and submitted himself to the tender fretting of Sasha Llunberg and Lucia Valendera.

'Pimp…' Winters chuckled to himself as he thanked the doctor. He went to Audrey and ordered her to go prep the Merlinus Transport Helicopter. Rossi looked at him quizzically.

"Something fishy's going on." Winters said. "I think it'd be safer if we don't trust the pilots the Lycian Navy provided us."

Rossi nodded. It made sense. She turned back to McIntyre who was fretting over Sasha and shook her head.

Things were becoming more and more complicated as time passed.

-

Lucia watched as Sasha assured Charlie over and over again that she was fine. She smiled, even when he was injured, he still worried over everyone else's safety. But then again, Sasha was someone important. Lucia wondered if Charlie would pay as much attention to her if she was the one who was with him during the assault.

After Sasha went off to check with the general on departure details, Lucia went over to Charlie and looked at his shoulder. It was wrapped pretty tightly. Charlie smiled and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about me. I've been shot before in worse places."

Lucia shook her head. She would never understand what made this man put his life on the line over and over again. She decided not to pursue it further though.

"Does it hurt?"

"Not anymore." Charlie said balling his right hand into a fist and grimacing. "Though it is really sore and my right arm feels detached from my body."

Lucia sighed. "Be careful next time."

Charlie smiled. "I'll keep it in mind the next time my own operatives try to kill me."

Lucia rolled her eyes and thwacked Charlie on the head. "You're hopeless."

---

Unmarked Warehouse
Winterhaven, Kathelet Province, Reunified Lycia

"I hear your men failed."

Lee gulped. "McIntyre is one of the best. My men were brash."

"I suppose the Ilians want no part in this?"

"McIntyre is with Winters. They both have many friends in high places."

"But you and I, we are even more connected are we not?"

"Not in Ilia."

A sigh. "What about Taylor."

"He's still investigating us. We caught one of his P.I. friends snooping around Matthew."

"It has been taken care of I presume?"

"Yes."

"Good. What about Flagg and Thomas?"

"Thomas is compliant, although he's one of Winters men. We may have to take care of him in the future. As for Flagg, Natalie Potter is doing an excellent job."

"Good. Keep Thomas under surveillance. I expect Winters to be approached once he's back in Caelin?"

"I'll see to it."

"Good, we need Winters on our side. If he goes rogue, the consequences could be disastrous. You know what to do if he balks on us."

Lee nodded, praying his legs weren't shaking.

"Next time we meet, I want results."

"Understood."

---

Ilian Airspace
South Ilia

Winters checked his course. The air currents were thankfully stable. Kennedy sat next to him, working hard to keep all systems functioning in the cold. They were slowly leaving Ilia, the air getting warmer by the minute, but it would be a while before they reached temperatures more suited to human life.

In the back, Rossi and the other girls were keeping McIntyre company. Winters smirked at the thought. Maybe next time he should get shot, but he couldn't help shake the feeling nobody would care unless he was in critical condition. He pictured Rossi standing by his bed in an ICU, tears in her eyes.

Kennedy's frantic calls pulled Winters from his daydream. He cursed himself for his loss of concentration. He pulled the Merlinus back onto course and stared out into the sky. It was mid afternoon, the sun was slowly setting on the western horizon.

Thinking back to the attempt on McIntyre's life, Winters wondered the true meaning of it. The Intelligence division at the Strongwing Airforce Base had raided the KDI safe house and found nothing but an encrypted message from Matthew ordering the operatives to eliminate McIntyre once he was in Ilia.

Winters thought of the mysterious orders. There was no other explanation; someone had betrayed McIntyre. All of a sudden, Caelin sounded like a bad idea to Winters. The whole plot reeked of a bureaucratic power struggle and the exchange of dirty money. He was sure that McIntyre's mission into Etruria was just a cover, a ruse to keep him out of Lycia, and possibly even killed. After McIntyre had actually successfully completed four fifths of his mission, he was become dangerous. Though it has yet to affect Winters, he knew it would only be a matter of time. Plus there was the deal with Sasha Llunberg. It seems their little group wasn't ready to split just yet.

Winters yanked the stick and punched in new coordinates into the navigator. Beside him, Kennedy looked up at him curiously.

"Change of plans." Winters said curtly. "I don't think it's a good idea to bring McIntyre to Caelin."

"So where are we going now?" Kennedy asked.

Winters stared into the horizon. It was only a few degrees off from Caelin, the view hadn't changed much yet, but Winters knew in a few hundred more miles, his five degree shift would make all the difference.

"Winter Village. I hope my wife's feeling hospitable."

Kennedy understood and fell silent. It would be a quiet homecoming.

---

Charlie: That came out longer than expected.

Erk: You're going crazy I tell you. Absolutely crazy.

Charlie: what did I say about stating the obvious?

Erk: I hate you.

Charlie: Don't worry, I'm putting you in the next chapter.

Erk: Is that a threat?

Charlie: No, it's a promise.