R_M : I was a bit disappointed by the turnout of the last chapter's reviews . I'm not exactly encouraged , but I don't give up that easily too ... I think ... so in dedication to Mariki and Shadow ...
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The boy stared indignantly up at him .
God ! He had never seen this much defiance in any man's eyes before , more especially , in a boy's .
He knew that his captive realized who he was ; if not who then what he was . Not even the dumbest imbecile could doubt the fact that he wielded more than sufficient power to make even the highest-ranking officers of the SS trembling in their boots .
He studied that expression of silent fury and insolence and he couldn't help but smile inwardly to himself .
Even Goring and Himmler did not dare to openly express their distaste - he knew existed quite forcefully – on him .
And right at this moment he was looking at a boy , a mere child , his captive moreover ; glaring up at him as if he had no right to tie him up on a chair .
" Spying on us , child ?" He said in perfect German . His eyes betraying no emotion ; his movement fluid .
The boy did not reply .
" Ah . Are you afraid of me ?" He asked , knowing full well the reply to his inquiry .
The brown head snapped up , and his prisoner attempted a savage snarl despite the white handkerchief stuffed in his mouth .
Crawford laughed aloud , but there was no mirth in his voice - only calm and surgical ruthlessness .
He crouched in front of the boy , putting his eyes level with the beautiful fuming face of his hostage " You are wondering why I haven't killed you yet , correct ? ... Perhaps I've decided to torture you and ... convince you tell me who you work for ." Not a flicker in the luminous grey orbs . " Or perhaps I am waiting for the corpse of your friend to be brought to me ."
The hard gaze wavered slightly . Crawford knew that he had already made a dent in the boy's defenses ; a small one , yes ; but a dent all the same . Besides , the boy was going to stay with him long enough to discover what Crawford considered as a 'minor' damage .
Yes , Crawford had already decided .
He was going to keep this little rascal alive . More for his personal amusement rather than anything else .
The sudden sound of gunfire made him incline his head towards the opening of the tent , where two of his men were shooting at an invisible assailant . " Sir ! Someone is shooting at us !" The captain of his guards ducked his head inside the tent as he reported to his superior .
" How many ?"
" We can't be sure sir . We haven't sighted any of them yet , but judging from the attack points ; five , maybe more ."
Crawford stood up and brushed imaginary lint from his the leg of his pristine white suit as he headed towards the entrance of the tent , not minding the gunfire around him nor the possibility that he could get shot . He stood there , regal and unafraid as he surveyed the scene with steely eyes .
" How many men are here under your command ? If my memory does not fail me , it is twenty-five , correct ? Well then , has it occurred to you that your unknown aggressors might just be one man ? No ? Then it seems to me that you are too quickly deceived , Captain ."
The man looked dumbfounded and stared at his superior with a puzzled look , his mouth agape . " But sir , it couldn't be ! The snipers are firing from different vantage points and with different types of guns ."
" That is too easily accomplished ." He looked at the man coldly . " Order your men to spread out in a wide circle ; tell them not to compress together in a certain area and keep in constant motion . I want the sniper captured or killed within the next twenty minutes or I will have your head - and trust me , I never joke ."
Without another word , he turned back into the tent .
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Aya had set up his rifles in different positions as soon as he had set his eyes on the camp , choosing vantage points with perfect view of the site , and yet with enough foliage for him to be invisible from the soldiers' vision .
He concentrated his gunfire on the outside , intending to drive them to the center where they would easily be managed with fewer shots . Everything was going according to plan .
The soldiers were slowly inching towards the center of the camp , making it easier for him to decrease their number , but when a tall man in white emerged from the center tent and barked several words to the captain , the soldiers retracted their tactic and spread out even more .
" Damn ." He cursed softly under his breath . The man in white obviously had anticipated the logic in the attack . He did not understand , however , how the man found out that he was only one ?
He tried to aim at the pristinely clad man , who was obviously the highest official among them , but many bereted heads blocked his view just as he was taking aim . The man disappeared from sight immediately .
Five SS soldiers had already gone down , their blood staining the perfect white snow but they had become more cautious , even with his skill , it was difficult to shoot a moving target running through the foliage – a tactic that he himself uses .
He knew it was impossible to kill them all ... but the real question is , how will he save the boy ?
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" How quaint , child . You've a friend who's desperate to save your life – perhaps your little blond companion has managed to ask for help ."
Crawford observed his every tiny movement , every tremor , the tension in the muscles , the tightening of the jaw as he said those words . He knew he was infuriating the boy even more with his cryptic speech . " Would you like to inform me who he is ?"
He tugged disdainfully at the handkerchief , allowing it to flutter to the ground .
" Go to hell . I'm not going to tell you ." The boy spat at him , his eyes burning in fury .
" My my . You are quite a feisty little rascal ... I see you're not Jewish ." He flicked his hand in the pretence of indifference . " We will find out soon enough ; when their corpses are brought to me ."
His voice rose above the sound of gunfire as he called out " Lieutenant ."
" Sir ?" A man , in his middle twenties entered the room and saluted smartly .
" Load the equipment into the trucks , you should be ready for departure within half an hour ."
" Yes sir ."
" And lieutenant -"
" Sir ?"
" Do it with prudence . I would like to return to the headquarters with enough men to salvage the equipment ."
The man saluted again and disappeared , through the opening .
" Well then child . Won't you be delighted to know that you'll be coming along on a little trip ."
" Why don't you just kill me now ?" The torn lips quivered as he said it , and Crawford recognized the courage it must have taken for him to spit those words out considering that Crawford just might take him up on his suggestion .
" Well now , why don't I ?" He withdrew produced a small gun from his jacket and pressed the barrel against the boy's temple . " Pity . I could have even introduced you to the Fuhrer ."
Just a flicker from the grey eyes , and the tightening of his jaw told Crawford all he needed to know , he pressed the trigger just as a small explosion echoed outside .
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Shadow : I'm sorry about the eye mistake . You honestly cracked me up with your review ; and there is no offense taken . I appreciate the heads up . The reason why I switched is because the teaser had been written quite a long time ago (about a year ago , actually) I just decided to continue the story and since I'm generally making Ken's eyes grey these days , the switch did go unnoticed . Please continue reviewing if you feel particularly talkative , and constructive criticism (like this one) is very , very much appreciated . Thanks ! ^^;
Mariki : *whispers , eyes darting in case AyaKen fans hear* I think I love the pairing better too ... but you might be pleased to know that I'm working on a NagiKen thingy ... I won't post a single chapter until I'm finished though (which would take a while )
