AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Spring officially arrived in the northern hemisphere this week, and today (3/24/17) the high temperature is predicted to be 77 degrees in my part of the USA - that's 26 degrees above normal! Awesome!
I love all the positive and humorous comments on the previous chapter of this story that were posted by Loki God of Evil, ninjagogirl luvs iceage21, MMM, StoryMaker7, WillowFalk, Naruby7, MasterofCupcakes, and WalrusWins257! Thank you SOOO much!
A note about one of my OCs, the Purple Sergeant Brossette: I named him after one of my ancestors from Louisiana who fought in the American Civil War. That's why Brossette hails from a bayou area and loves to eat gumbo!
In the chapter below, Kai converses with the Purple Colonel Doolverr, and it doesn't go well...for Kai...
Chapter 36 - A Kryptarium Welcome
Upon the Purple sentry's announcement that Kai had been brought into the building, Colonel Doolverr's head snapped up from the papers on his desk. His eyes flickered from the sentry and settled on the Yellow prisoner. A menacing grin slowly spread across his face as he gestured for the sentry to bring in the detainee.
"So you're Smith, from the 5th Yellow Cavalry, hmm?" the Purple colonel said in greeting as he slowly rose from his chair. The two subordinate officers who were standing on either side of him, both of who bore the title of major, stepped back in order to allow him room to maneuver.
"Yes, sir," was all Kai said in response. He sensed he should say as little as possible so that he could leave the colonel's office as soon as possible. The Purple soldiers who had bushwhacked Kai and Jay several days ago had said that this man could be cruel, and right now the two Garmadon Ranch cowboys were hindered in their ability to defend themselves, due to the fact that they were still wearing their wrist shackles. Thanks to the metal restraints, embossed with the name Vengestone Company, the prisoners could not spread their arms more than 24 inches apart.
Colonel Doolverr turned to nod at one of the two majors flanking him. The major nodded back and proceeded to leave the office.
The colonel once again looked at Kai, maintaining a steady gaze at the prisoner while sauntering around his desk. "Well, Smith," he began, "the report on your capture says you attempted to harm two Purple soldiers. Care to explain?"
Kai could not deny that he had intended to harm them. "I was defending my wife's honor," he replied.
Doolverr stopped walking when he reached Kai. Up close, Kai could see that the Purple officer's height measured a few inches shorter than the Yellow detainee, but his biceps looked to be as thick as tree trunks. Sort of like Cole's arms, Kai thought, knowing it was never a good idea to provoke the ire of the black-haired cowboy. Several inebriated saloon patrons back in Ninjago Town had suffered the consequences of Cole's displeasure when they had paid too much attention to the beautiful saloon girl Brooke, once she had become his sweetheart.
"Defending your wife's honor, hmm?" The officer swiveled around to pick up an envelope from his desk and swiveled back to face Kai, holding up the item. "Would this be the wife who wrote this letter?" he asked.
Kai immediately recognized Sam's beautiful handwriting on the envelope and her strawberry scent still being emitted from the spritzed paper. "My letter!" he involuntarily exclaimed.
Doolverr held the paper out to him. "Would you like it back?"
Kai reached for it, needing to maneuver both shackled arms, but as he did so, Doolverr yanked it back. "Oh, so you just tried to attack me, hmm?" the Purple colonel commented, his eyebrow raised.
"What?! No, I didn't!" the prisoner protested.
"Hmm. It certainly seemed like an attack, wouldn't you say, boys?" Doolverr smiled knowingly at the sentry and the one major in the room, who chuckled.
Doolverr turned his attention back to Kai. "This makes THREE attacks on members of the King's army. And we can't allow that to go unpunished now, can we?"
The major who had left the office returned to stand next to the colonel.
Angered that his simple arm action was being deliberately misconstrued as aggression, Kai declared, "Anyone who believes in that 'King' balderdash is loco!"
Doolverr grabbed Kai's chin with his free hand and jerked it toward him. "Listen to me, you Yellow maggot! No one makes fun of the King!"
Kai's eyes narrowed as he seethed with contempt for the burly officer.
"Ah, the maggot is getting angry," the officer sneered. "You're just itching to hit me, aren't you? I can tell you don't like Purples one bit. Well, I don't like Yellows, especially Yellow hotheads!"
Doolverr let go of Kai, roughly pushing his chin to the side. Still holding onto the letter, the colonel placed his fists on his hips, his grin changing into a frown as he glared at the brown-haired cowboy.
"Boys," he said to his attending subordinates without breaking eye contact with Kai, "let's show Smith our solution to ensure cooperation from hotheads like him, shall we?"
The two majors responded with an enthusiastic "Yes, sir!" The nearest major grabbed Kai by the shoulders, turning him around and pushing him out of the office, closely followed by the other major, the colonel, and the sentry.
"What in tarnation?!" Kai exclaimed, surprised by the shoves. "Keep your muck forks off me!" he warned.
Upon hearing the ruckus and seeing his superior officers enter the main area, Brossette quickly hopped up from the chair he had been sitting in, knowing he was supposed to be standing on his feet while he guarded the seated Jay in their corner of the room. Jay and Brossette watched as Kai stumbled ahead of his Purple captors while being guided toward the fireplace. Just as they approached the hearth, one major suddenly tripped Kai, causing him to tumble to his hands and knees.
Brossette noticed that Colonel Doolverr put the paper he was holding in one pocket while extracting a glove from another pocket and putting it on.
One of the majors kicked Kai's arms out from under him, causing the prisoner to fall flat on his chest. The major then forcefully pressed his foot on Kai's back to keep him down.
Kai struggled to get up but the sound of the cock of the sentry's firearm made him pause. Jay's eyes widened as the weapon was pointed at him.
"Stay still, maggot!" Doolverr ordered. "My sentry has his firearm pointed right at your friend if you keep trying to move. Understand?"
Lying on the floor on his stomach, Kai felt his right boot and sock being removed.
With his now-gloved hand, Colonel Doolverr picked up the fireplace poker out of the hot fire. Sergeant Brossette had wondered why the major who had been in the room a few short minutes ago had left it in the fire after poking the wood. In horror, he suddenly realized why.
"Bracque!" he mumbled under his breath.
"You bastards!" Jay yelled, also realizing what was about to happen.
