WARNING!!: There's some mature content at the end of this chapter!! Just so all of you know. And this was a bitch to upload. Seriously. It took me twenty minutes to even login and upload a document because the computer I use in my third hour class kept freezing up on me. Anyway, just so all of you know.
The sun rose over Blood Gulch, bringing with it the usual blistering heat. Church peered out at the Red base from atop his own, a grim look on his face. He wondered how long it would be before the Reds responded to Lori's capture. The message he had sent back with Simmons sounded like provocation enough.
"Whatcha doin', Church?" Caboose asked. His cobalt clad leader spun around with shock.
"Rookie, don't DO that!" Church yelled. That had scared the shit out of him.
Caboose kicked at the concrete roof of the base. "Sorry Church… Um… so… what are we going to do with the princess?" he asked.
"Prin—? Oh," Church replied. "Uh… we're going to send her over there." He pointed at the Red base.
"But I thought that's where we rescued her from," Caboose said, confused.
"Yeah, but we found out that… uh… that's where her prince is. Yeah," Church said evasively. "But we have to get them to…" He thought for a moment. "…to give us a gift in exchange for keeping her so… safe."
Caboose paused, considering Church's words.
"What do you want them to give us?" he asked finally.
"Their base," Church replied matter-of-factly.
Caboose wasn't sure that would go over so well, but he knew Church was a smart guy, so he smiled and nodded. "Okay," he said.
"Go get our prison—I mean princess—and bring her outside," Church ordered, turning to take the stairs back into the base. "I've got a job for her to do."
"'Kay," Caboose chirped, going ahead of Church. He strolled down to Lori's room, whistling the whole way. Tucker stood guard in front of her room.
"Oh, thank God," Tucker said. "I was falling asleep standing guard over here." He rubbed his eyes and stood aside to let Caboose in. Caboose knocked gently on the door; after all, it was the nice thing to do.
Lori jumped, roused from a shallow sleep by the sound. "What?" she spluttered, blinking owlishly.
"Can I come in?" Caboose asked politely. "Your highness," he added. Lori bit back a groan of frustration.
"Yeah, you don't need to ask," she replied.
Caboose opened the door and went straight up to Lori to untie the ropes that bound her. He hummed as he did so.
"What's going on?" Lori demanded, wondering why he was releasing her. Had Church planned something again?
"Church has a job for you," Caboose said, confirming her suspicions. "He told me to take you outside."
Lori nodded in understanding, but from what she had learned of Church, she did not feel comfortable with any of his 'jobs.' Still, she had no choice but to follow Caboose outside. Church was already waiting at the front entrance of the base, his cobalt armor shining purplish red in the dawn light. His helmet was under his arm, and he smiled coldly at her. Lori sneered back.
"Morning, princess," Church drawled, sniggering. "We're going on a little trip today."
"Oh, the joy is simply overwhelming," Lori replied in a monotone, giving him the iciest look she could muster.
"Ooh, can I come too?!" Caboose squealed.
"Yeah, sure, rookie. We'll need a bodyguard for our princess anyway," Church replied, grinning at Lori's expression. "Tucker can stay here and watch the base."
"All right!" Caboose cheered, jumping up and down. Church snickered and jerked his head toward the Red base.
"Okay, let's go. Oh and," he muttered as Lori marched past, "try anything and I'll knock you out and drag you."
"I'll make note of it," she spat through gritted teeth.
--
Grif squinted out at the horizon, his eyes red from lack of sleep. All of the previous night, he had tossed and turned with worry. He had finally given up and decided to camp out on the roof. The sun was awfully bright, but through the blaze of light, Grif discerned a small smudge of darkness on the horizon. He shaded his eyes and peered out at the dry landscape. Soon he could make out three individuals: two in shades of blue armor and— his heart beat just a little faster—Lori.
He sprinted inside the base and yelled at the top of his lungs: "GUYS! THE BLUES ARE COMING WITH LORI!"
"Sam Houston's mama, what'd you say?" Sarge uttered gruffly, rushing out of his office. Simmons and Donut soon joined him, roused by Grif's shouting.
"Two Blue guys are heading this way with Lori," Grif explained. "They probably want to negotiate something."
"Well, I'll be damned," Sarge mused. "We best think up a plan then, and quick."
"Definitely," Simmons agreed.
"Suck up," Grif muttered.
Simmons was about to retort when Sarge glared at both of them. "Both of ya shut yer yaps. We don't need no fightin' at a time like this," he said sternly. "Grif," he snapped, all business, "how far are they from th' base?"
"I'd say twenty minutes," Grif replied nervously.
"Well, y'all got twenty minutes to come up with a plan. I got a feelin' them Blue fellers ain't come to wish us howdy doo."
Simmons, Grif, and Donut all nodded, and Sarge ducked into his office, slamming the door behind him. He always shut himself up in there to think. Simmons and Donut turned to Grif and looked at him expectantly. Grif rubbed his temples, thinking fast.
"Okay, this is what we'll do…"
--
"Home sweet home, right Red?" Church smirked as they neared the base.
"Hey, I have a name, you prick," Lori spat, irritated at the reference. "It's Lori." Church shrugged, unfazed.
"I really could care less," was his calm return.
"Once I'm free, I'm castrating you," Lori promised darkly, wishing she had a gun. She didn't even have armor. Everything was back at the Blue base.
Church did not regard Lori's threat, and Caboose just plodded along behind them, humming to himself. Lori sighed, miserable and angry at the same time. As they reached the Red base, she wondered if there was any way out of the situation.
"Hey! Red guys!" Church called. "We've come to negotiate!"
For a moment, no one answered them, but then Sarge appeared atop the base, his red armor glinting in the early morning sun. He jumped down to the ground, landing with an ominous thud. As he straightened, they couldn't see past his visor, but Lori guessed his expression was fierce.
"'The hell do you want?" Sarge demanded, folding his arms. Church cut right to the point.
"In exchange for this chick, we want control of your base."
"We want to talk to her first," Simmons cut in, stepping out from behind Sarge. "We've got to make sure it's really her."
Lori gaped. "Simmons, are you kidding? You know it's me—what about the mole on my butt?!"
"You have a mole on your butt?" Caboose asked. "That's so weird."
"Shut up, Caboose," Lori snapped.
"You never know," Simmons interrupted. "You guys might have switched her with a body double. Lori gave him a skeptical look.
"Fine," Church said abruptly. "You guys can take ten minutes to talk to her. But," he added as Lori shoved past him with relief, "she'll wear this so we can hear what's going on." He tossed a belt with a small microphone attached to it at Lori, who grudgingly put it on. "Take your time, sweetie," he said sarcastically as Simmons led her inside. Sarge remained outside to speak with Church and Caboose. Caboose held the receiver to his ear to listen to Lori's conversation.
--
As Lori shut the door behind her, she breathed a huge sigh of relief. Simmons stopped ahead of her and turned around. He took off his helmet. His expression was one of profound relief, but he put a finger to his lips so that Lori would not betray that he knew she was the real her.
"Grif," Simmons barked officiously. Grif stepped out of a side door and proceeded down the hallway towards them. "Here, check her," he said.
Grif nodded and winked at Lori. She was starting to catch on to their plan. "I can't believe you guys don't believe it's me," she said in an affronted manner.
"We'll just have to run a test," Grif said, his tone grim, but his expression warm. He jerked his head to the room he had just come out of, and Lori followed him inside.
Inside was a table with two chairs and a sticky note pad with two pens. Grif held up the first note. It read: Just play along. We have a plan. Lori nodded.
"Sit," Grif demanded coldly; even his expression was hard. Lori privately thought it was rather attractive to see him so serious. She sat and Grif quietly seated himself as well, scribbling on another note.
"So what's this test, Grif?" Lori asked, playing off her tone as irritated. Grif held up the note as he responded.
"Well, only the real Lori would know we planted something at the Blue base." Was there anything in the room where they kept you?
Lori grinned at the bluff. "Well yeah, of course. In the cardboard box. I was supposed to put a bomb in it, the one you secretly sent me."
Grif looked so triumphant that it seemed he would burst. Now it was a question of whether or not the Blues would take the bait.
--
"Bomb?!" Caboose and Church cried together.
"Son of a bitch!" Church swore.
"That's right," Sarge said smugly, folding his arms. "Y' better git on back t' yer base 'fore Lori sets it off."
Church paused, torn between trying to take down the Red base and saving his own. He had no hope of taking over the Red base with only Caboose, and Lori could destroy their base at any moment, Tucker along with it. Not that he'd mind Tucker getting blown up. He'd never liked him anyway.
"…Fine," he said at length. "Tell her if she disarms the bomb, we'll let her go."
Sarge chuckled good naturedly. "Good man. Now git yer ass on outta here 'fore we do it for ya."
Church gave him a sour look and jammed his helmet onto his head. He looked at Caboose and jerked his head back to the Blue base. "Come on, Caboose. Let's go," he said, his voice bitter.
Caboose nodded, feeling sad to leave the princess behind. "Okay… tell Princess Lori I'll miss her," he said to Sarge as he turned to head back with Church.
Sarge bit back his initial reply and said, "Sure thing, kid." He watched as Church and Caboose walked away, becoming nothing more than smudges on the horizon, then disappearing from view altogether.
--
"Damn it, I didn't think they'd ever think up something like that," Church fumed as they returned to the base. "But how could they have gotten past Tucker? That was the only way in."
"I dunno, Church," Caboose shrugged.
"Shut up, I wasn't talking to you," Church snapped. "Hey, Tucker!" he shouted. Tucker came out of the front door of the base.
"What?" he said.
"Go check the room we put the Red in. Look in the box in there," Church said.
"Why?" Tucker asked.
"The Reds said they put a bomb in it," Church said shortly.
"A bomb?!" Tucker exclaimed. "Son of a bitch!"
"That's what Church said," Caboose put in brightly as Tucker rushed back inside.
--
Back at the Red base, Lori had already smashed the microphone and belt."Are they gone?" Simmons asked Sarge when he returned inside the base. The Red leader took off his helmet and let out a triumphant cackle.
"Went runnin' like a dog with his tail 'tween his legs!" he chortled. "Should've seen the look on his face!"
Grif and Lori burst out of the side room. "They're gone?" Grif asked.
"Yep," Simmons confirmed. Lori pumped a fist into the air.
"Bitchin'!" she cheered. Grif smiled. Simmons and Sarge chuckled. Lori looked at all three of them and smiled gratefully. "Thanks, you guys. I really couldn't have gotten out of all of that myself."
"Well, don't thank all of us," said Donut, who had walked in with a bottle and glasses to celebrate. "Thank Grif. He came up with the whole plan."
Lori turned her face to Grif, astounded. "Really?"
Grif scratched the back of his head, turning a little pink as he laughed nervously. "Well, someone had to come up with something," he said modestly.
"…You fucking genius, you!" Lori beamed. It was then that she did something quite unexpected.
She threw herself at Grif and kissed him fiercely.
"…Well… okay," Simons said stupidly, eyebrows raised. Sarge cleared his throat uncomfortably.
Lori pulled away suddenly, her face a little pink. "Oops… uh… sorry," she stuttered. "I guess I got a little carried away."
Grif was silent, his expression determinedly blank, but his face a deeper shade of red. Thankfully, Donut broke the awkward silence.
"So are we celebrating or what?" he asked, popping the cork out of the wine bottle.
"Hell yeah!" Sarge roared, grabbing a glass. Simmons seconded him heartily, and that spurred Grif and Lori to join them. The four of them proceeded to the mess hall, where a huge assortment of food had been laid out for them.
"All right! Food!" Lori shrieked. She was starving. She plopped down at the table and started loading a plate. Sarge sat down on her right, and to his right sat Grif. Simmons sat across from Lori, Donut to his left. Lori's enthusiasm was infectious, the alcohol encouraging chatter as well. Lori finally felt like the Red base was her home. The way everyone's faces were alight with happiness brought comfort to her. They were really glad she was okay.
She was really glad to be home.
--
"There's nothing but junk in it!" Church screeched, kicking the box and sending its contents flying. All it contained was rusted parts to God knew what. No bomb, no detonator, nothing. The Reds had made a complete idiot out of him.
He whirled on Tucker and Caboose, who were looking at him a little nervously. "Don't just stand there!" he snarled. "Go make yourselves useful!" Tucker jumped and immediately marched off, and Church stormed to his room, slamming the door shut behind him. Caboose stood alone in the hall, listening for a moment while Church cursed and threw things from behind his door. Caboose shrugged.
"…I miss Lori," he said after a moment. "She was my friend." With a resigned sigh, he went quietly to his room, closing the door behind him.
--
Hours flew by, and soon the sun was setting over Blood Gulch but the Reds still partied, though with less energy. Lori rested languidly on her bed, a wine bottle on her nightstand. She giggled, her face a little red from the alcohol. Rays of dying sunlight turned her clothes and bed sheets orange and gold, casting rich shadows on her walls. It felt so wonderful to be back. The feeling permeated her, and she sighed contentedly, closing her eyes.
She didn't bother to see who had opened her door, not even when someone crossed the floor to her bed. Whoever it was sat down gently at Lori's side, their weight causing Lori to shift involuntarily toward them.
Lori frowned a little and rubbed her eyes, shading them from the sunlight that streamed through her window. She peered up at her visitor and gasped.
"…Simmons?"
"Hey," he said softly. He smiled a little. "I'm glad you're back."
"Yeah, thanks," Lori replied, suddenly feeling out of place. Why was he saying that, there and then? He could have said so at the table or something. The air suddenly became heavy.
"I… wanted to apologize too," Simmons said slowly. "I… felt bad for letting the Blues get away with kidnapping you like that."
Lori sat up, shrugging. "Thanks, but you don't need to apologize. You…" She wanted to say more, but the alcohol in her system was making her brain fuzzy. What had she wanted to say again? She shrugged. It probably wasn't important.
"It seemed like the right thing to do," Simmons said simply.
Lori chuckled. "You sure don't do that very often."
Simmons smiled, the smile turning into a quiet laugh, and then a full out riot. His laughter soon caused Lori to burst into a fit of giggles. She was shaking so badly with laughter that she leaned forward and gripped Simmons' arm for support.
As their laughter faded, Lori wiped her eyes, looking up at Simmons through an alcohol-induced haze. His green eyes seemed to sparkle like emeralds. He smiled, his face drawing nearer and nearer to Lori's.
She suddenly grabbed his face and pressed her lips to his. Simmons held her tightly purely on instinct, slipping his tongue into her mouth. Lori could taste the alcohol on him. She groaned and pulled him down onto her. Simmons shifted and straddled her waist. He broke their heated kissing only to pull off his shirt. Lori gazed up at him her vision blurry. She could feel his hands trailing down her sides and lifting up her tank top. Lori sluggishly lifted her arms as Simmons pulled off the garment, leaving her in only a bra and pants. Her lips trembled as she reached up, letting her fingertips trail down Simmons' bare chest. A sharp pain told her that his mouth had found her neck. She groaned again and pulled herself up against his shoulders. His hands found the clasp of her bra and unhooked it, casting it to the floor.
Lori pushed him suddenly, rolling over him and switching him positions. Her lips once again found Simmons' mouth, and she kissed him roughly, pulling his pants down with her hands. She moaned as Simmons used his hands to familiarize himself with her lower regions. He soon slid her pants and remaining undergarment off.
Lori's head was spinning. All she was conscious of was Simmons trailing kisses all down her torso. She closed her eyes, whimpering softly.
Her eyes snapped open and she gasped as Simmons suddenly pressed himself against her. She gripped the wet and sticky sheets beneath them. She cried out softly as he pushed his way into her. Waves of pleasure rolled over her, one after the other with every thrust of his hips.
Her vision faded into darkness as utter bliss consumed her.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: LORI IS NOT ATTRACTED TO SIMMONS AT THIS POINT. She's drunk. She obviously has no idea what she's doing. You'll see when I upload the next chapter, which I haven't started writing yet. Trust me though, she is not going to be happy. Also, you can imagine how Grif is going to feel when he finds out about this.
Another important point: I am extremely disappointed that only one person voted in my poll. I must thank you, Digger2213 for voting. Since you were the only one to vote, I decided to put in a little 'action' between Simmons and Lori. This is the first time I've ever posted such... questionable content anywhere. I toned it down actually. But guys, really. I don't write author's notes just for the sake of writing them. I write them to offer explanations of chapters and information on upcoming ones. They're important!!! So PLEASE bother to read them. They're not long, and often answer a lot of questions!! There's nothing I dislike more (except for flames) than getting a review that asks a question I clearly answered in an author's note. So guys, I'm begging you here: Take my polls. I put them up for a reason. Leave reviews that comment on not only the quality and what could be fixed with each chapter, but what you think you'd like to see in the future. Feedback is the most valuable thing an author can get. Positive feedback anyway. Without reader's suggestions and voicings of what they want to see, authors would not be anywhere.
So PLEASE pay attention to author's notes!!
