Melpomene
Part Five: I Spy
"This sucks, change it." *CLICK* "This sucks, change it." *CLICK* "This sucks, change it." *CLICK* "This sucks, change it." *CLICK* "Whoa! Leave it!" "Powerpuff girls?" "Oh yeah! Bubbles is my kinda babe!" "You seen this episode, Thomas." "So?" "You said it sucked." "Leave it, Karl. Or you lose your hand." Karl picked up the magazine off to the side and opened the pages. Thomas lounged back with the stack of Torengos on his tummy and a bowl of Medium salsa off to the side. The PPG was playing on the old boob tube and the younger Schubaltz had his eyes glued to it. "Bubbles reminds me of Miss Fiona..." Thomas let out a small, thoughtful sigh, Karl just sipped his tea. "Nnn-hmmm." That was the colonel's immediate response. "The toaster reminds you of Fiona." "You're ruining the dream, Karl. Go back to the corner!" The phone rang, causing Thomas to sit up and spill the chips all over the floor. Karl shook his head and walked to the phone, answering it. "Colonel Schubaltz here.... where are you? Alright.... be there right away." Karl hung up the phone and tossed Thomas's uniform over to him. "Let's go..." "Who was that?" "I said let's go." "Alright! Don't be so pushy!"
O'Connell stood at the payphone in the pouring rain, looking around. Soon to join him were the three Imperial officers, Leon was dressed to kill in his black Imperial uniform. The four got into a car, with O'Connell behind the wheel. Little did they know that a black sedan was following them. "Where are we going?" "Sorry to call you at such short notice but Hermann invited us to have a drink with him." O'Connell looked in the rearview at Karl and Leon. "I see." Leon smirked, his hand on Karl's leg. "Talking about business as usual? Or is pleasure your business?" "Not quite..." O'Connell drove down the rainy streets of New Helic City at top speeds. Since this was a government car, the police aren't doing anything about the speed. Leon looked off to the corner of his eyes and noticed something odd, he turned around and frowned. "We're being followed." "F-followed??" "Yes, black sedan..." O'Connell turned the steering wheel at an 720° circle, causing the sedan to make a very sharp left turn. He slammed his foot on the gas and tore down the busy highway, the black sedan following. Leon guided O'Connell's navigation, constantly looking back. "Go down this alley!" Turning into an alley, O'Connell and the others saw it was blocked by a brick wall. "ARE YOU INSANE!!" "KEEP DRIVING!!!" Leon screamed, his eyes clouding over. He closed his eyes, put his hands together and chanted: "Fox be nimble, part the veil of mist, give us exit to leave the hounds behind!" The sedan went through the brick wall like it wasn't even there, which surprised everyone in the car. The black sedan behind them smacked right into the wall, wrecking the car. O'Connell looked back to see the car bits flying, he grinned and breathed a sigh of relief. "Quick thinking, Leon. Who'd know the Veil of Fox would be so effective at such short notice?" Karl smirked with his hands on Leon's chest. "I'm the Exemplar, baby... never underestimate me." Leon slid his hands on Karl's arms, they kissed deeply while tongue wrestling. O'Connell parked in the parking lot of an exclusive officers' club, there beside them was Hermann's motorcycle. Getting out of the car, the four rushed to the doors to avoid the rain, the bouncer let them in. Inside was a woman dancing, singing war tunes and dressed in a fancy red dress. Behind her was a stylish 1940's style band and the Helic Republic flag. The officers inside were sipping liquor, eating pretzels amongst other things and listening and cheering the singer on. O'Connell lead the Imperials to a table in the corner where Hermann was sitting, smoking a cigarette. The teal-haired major sat down beside Hermann, kissing the corner of the blonde Republican's lips. Karl and Leon sat beside each other on Hermann's other side and Thomas sat beside Leon. The waitress brought drinks to the newcomers and smiled, then walked away. "What took you?" Hermann whispered softly to O'Connell. "We were being followed. We had to lose the extra luggage." "Glad to see you are okay." He pulled O'Connell closer to his body. Karl sipped his Scotch on the Rocks and watched the woman in red sing.
"Who's the dame?" Thomas pointed out to Hermann.
"That dame's my sis." Hermann smiled and gave them the thumb's up. "I may have been the only boy in the family but that doesn't necessarily mean I was the only child." "That reminds me..." Thomas looked at Karl in response to that. "Wonder what Samara and Binky are doing now that Ma and Pa have passed on." "I'm sure Samara and Bianka have moved on to better things." Karl sipped his drink again and looked at his brother. "Lst I heard about my brother, his wife was pregnant with triplets." O'Connell smiled as his fingers traced the edge of the shot glass. "....I don't have a family. They died in the 'explosion'." Leon replied with a low, soft voice. Everyone looked at the slate blue-haired major and frowned a little. Leon sipped his Gin and looked at them all. "Enough about me, continue your conversation." Soon after a while, another singer was on stage. She wore an indigo dress and had black hair. Her lips were dark red and she sang just as good as the blonde singer. In a short skirt and a blouse, the blonde woman entered the bar area and walked to the table where the five sat. "Hello, Robby..." She sat on the table, smiling at her brother with a cigarette to her lips. "Hello, Nancy." Hermann lit her cigarette with his lighter. "Work's kinda slow since the war ended." "It also picked up a little with the shit from Hilz." Nancy puffed on her cigarette. "Is this your toy?" She examined O'Connell, sliding her fingers through his teal hair. "Yeah, and please don't call him that." "Sorry, Robby... habit of mine." Nancy grinned, then looked at the three Imperials. "Damn, if I known the Red Coats had some nice lookers, I'd swing on both sides of the political gate." "Nancy, this is Karl and Thomas Schubaltz and their second-in-command, Leon Aethelwulf." "So this is the legendary Schubaltz." Nancy smiled behind her veil, then took another drag of her cigarette. "Word's on the street that you three boys were in town." "However did you guess?" Thomas smirked, sipping his drink. "Your eyes. No one in the Republic has those lovely shade of green. In fact, barely anyone in the Empire has those lovely shade of green. And your second-in-command is quite a looker also..." Nancy slid toward Leon, grinning. "Beside the Schubaltzes, Mr. Studly over here is the talk of the town with a lot of the ladies. In fact, Miss Cleopatra over there on stage has a small pinup of you." "You can look, Nancy, but you can't touch." Hermann smiled, then finished off his bottle of beer. "Oh?? Who's the lucky broad?" Hermann immediately raised Karl's hand, getting a startled reaction from the gorgeous Imperial colonel. Nancy scoffed a little and crossed her legs. "Why are the good ones gay? Well, Alan's supposed to pick me up, we're going to the movies. See you around, boys." Nancy winked and blew them a kiss, then left the club. "Your sister seems nice... in an open sort of way." Thomas spoke, watching her leave. "Nancy was always the talker." Hermann sat the beer bottle down and wrapped one arm around O'Connell's waist. "When are you three leaving town anyway?" "Tomorrow night, possibly early the next morning." Karl replied to Hermann's question. "We have to check in with Emperor Rudolph." "Alright... how about just one more night together?" Hermann suggested before turning to O'Connell to kiss him. "We really shouldn't." Leon spoke before Karl or Thomas, his expression very business-like. "Oh?" Hermann looked at Leon, he saw the look in Leon's indigo eyes. "Suit yourself." "For now... let's the finish this night on a good note." O'Connell finished his drink, then set the glass down. "Alright." They continued the night onward, unaware that a camera was watching them... clicking every time Leon and Karl or Hermann and O'Connell kissed....-Continued-