Interlude
Disclaimer: Same as before. Just a little fluff before the next case. The guys in Hal's stories and anecdotes will make appearances.
~ ~ ~ ~
13 May 2000: "Excuse me a minute!" Tatiana said and ran to the nearest bathroom.
Ivy, Hal, Armando, and Maria watched as she raced across the hall and to the right from the bullpen. "Morning sickness exacerbated by Friday the 13th huh?" Armando said.
"One of my old Squadron mates, Digger had a birthday on Friday the 13th when he was new to the unit. It was hilarious." Hal replied.
"Why do I sense another one of your stories coming along?" Maria asked.
"Because he's gonna tell one." Ivy said.
"Hey." Hal replied, "Surely my anecdotes about my old days aren't THAT bad."
"Tell me about the time you guys got drunk on beer and started singing the Men in Tights song." Armando said.
"Who told you that!?" Hal said.
"I did, bud." Corso said, walking into the bullpen with a coffee cup.
"Digger, Lucas, Chad, and Mike all decided to get pissed one night at the pub." Hal replied, "That was Digger's birthday when this happened, back when we were the new blokes in G Squadron."
"So what happened next?" Ivy asked.
"I can answer that. They all got Digger blitzed and as they did, they started drinking down screw drivers like crazy. And what happened next was really funny, especially with Hal leading the chorus." Corso said, filling his cup.
"I did no such thing you wanker!" Hal replied.
"Anyhoo, they start singing, 'We're men! We're me in tights! We roam about the forest looking for fights...' like a bunch of crazy bastards." Corso began and started doing a can can. Suddenly he slipped on the floor and landed on his rear.
"Serves you right for lying mate." Hal replied.
"Well, I've got some paperwork to take care of. How's Zack?" Armando said.
"As you say here in America, 'ditto'." Maria said.
"He's getting better, he starts physical therapy tomorrow and he'll be on crutches Wednesday." Ivy replied.
As Corso walked out of the room, grumbling something about wisecracking Brits and Armando and Maria followed in his wake. Hal sat over his coffee cup, looking slightly spacey.
"Hal?" Ivy said, "Hello."
Hal looked like he'd gone catatonic, "HAL!"
"Yeah." Hal said, dazed.
"Are you alright? You just started staring at me like a sprouted another head." Ivy asked, "It's kinda creepy."
"Sorry about that, I just kinda zoned out." Hal replied, "Well, I'm off to do some paperwork. Bloody casefiles. Who'd have thought that shooting the San Francisco Sniper would involve so much after action writing?"
As Hal walked out of the room Ivy sat alone wondering aloud to herself, "What's wrong with Hal? Ever since we met there are times where he zones out and looks at me funny."
~ ~ ~ ~
Hal decided to take a walk through the building. After half an hour of trying to type a report on the incident yesterday where he put a large and sizeable hole through the head of the San Francisco Sniper, he realized there was no way in hell he was gonna get any sort of work done.
As he walked through the building he thought, 'Well I really screwed up there. I was seeing Diane for a moment. Not that Ivy and Diane are a lot alike aside from appearance, but the resemblance is startling enough to blow my mind. I almost called her Diane, and that would really have been an awkward moment.'
As he walked through the building, he noticed a youth, barely twenty years old, walking out of the elevator. He had dark brown hair, gray eyes, and wore a light blue button down collared shirt and brown slacks. Pinned to his shirt was a visitor's pass.
"Excuse me sir, do you know where I might find Tatiana Rossovsky?" the kid asked.
"And you are?" Hal asked.
"Danilov Rossovsky. I'm her younger brother."
"Does she know you're coming?" Hal asked.
"No she doesn't. It's sort of a surprise. The Army gave me a furlough when I least expected it and it doesn't count as leave." Danilov replied.
"She's currently in the bathroom, throwing up." Hal said, frankly.
"Why, is she going to be alright?" Danilov said.
"After the first three months she will be." Hal said, frankly.
"You mean she's....." Danilov replied, eyes wide open.
"Yes she is." Hal replied evenly.
"I'm what?" Tatiana asked as she came around the corner.
"You've got a surprise visitor." Hal said.
"Oh my God!" Tatiana said, smiling broadly. The two hugged each other and kissed on the cheeks.
A rapid exchange in Russian followed, from what Hal guessed were greetings and the standard questions relatives asked. "Hal, this is my brother, Danilov. He joined the Russian Army two years ago and he wants to join the Spesnatz." Tatiana said.
"Really." Hal said.
"If you need training help, ask Hal. He was a British Royal Marine before he joined the Special Air Service." Tatiana said.
At this the youth's eyes went wide, "You're SAS?"
Hal nodded, "Your sister's right."
"So when did you do Selection?" Danilov asked.
"1991." Hal said, "Right after I got in, Desert Storm was underway. So I missed the Gulf War."
"How did you do it?" Danilov asked," How fit do you have to be?"
"Look, in my Selection class I saw those big weightlifter blokes quit after the endurance marches. I've seen scrawny blokes you couldn't imagine playing racquetball make it all the way through. So you have to be physically fit, yes, but you've gotta want to be there with all your heart." Hal replied, "That works with anything, not just Selection. I don't know how things are done in Russia, but I hope my advice works."
"Thank you." Danilov said.
"Hal?" Armando said, "Where have you been, Wells wants to see you and Ivy in his office. You have a new case."
"Bloody Friday the 13th." Hal groaned.
~ ~ ~ ~
TBC
Disclaimer: Same as before. Just a little fluff before the next case. The guys in Hal's stories and anecdotes will make appearances.
~ ~ ~ ~
13 May 2000: "Excuse me a minute!" Tatiana said and ran to the nearest bathroom.
Ivy, Hal, Armando, and Maria watched as she raced across the hall and to the right from the bullpen. "Morning sickness exacerbated by Friday the 13th huh?" Armando said.
"One of my old Squadron mates, Digger had a birthday on Friday the 13th when he was new to the unit. It was hilarious." Hal replied.
"Why do I sense another one of your stories coming along?" Maria asked.
"Because he's gonna tell one." Ivy said.
"Hey." Hal replied, "Surely my anecdotes about my old days aren't THAT bad."
"Tell me about the time you guys got drunk on beer and started singing the Men in Tights song." Armando said.
"Who told you that!?" Hal said.
"I did, bud." Corso said, walking into the bullpen with a coffee cup.
"Digger, Lucas, Chad, and Mike all decided to get pissed one night at the pub." Hal replied, "That was Digger's birthday when this happened, back when we were the new blokes in G Squadron."
"So what happened next?" Ivy asked.
"I can answer that. They all got Digger blitzed and as they did, they started drinking down screw drivers like crazy. And what happened next was really funny, especially with Hal leading the chorus." Corso said, filling his cup.
"I did no such thing you wanker!" Hal replied.
"Anyhoo, they start singing, 'We're men! We're me in tights! We roam about the forest looking for fights...' like a bunch of crazy bastards." Corso began and started doing a can can. Suddenly he slipped on the floor and landed on his rear.
"Serves you right for lying mate." Hal replied.
"Well, I've got some paperwork to take care of. How's Zack?" Armando said.
"As you say here in America, 'ditto'." Maria said.
"He's getting better, he starts physical therapy tomorrow and he'll be on crutches Wednesday." Ivy replied.
As Corso walked out of the room, grumbling something about wisecracking Brits and Armando and Maria followed in his wake. Hal sat over his coffee cup, looking slightly spacey.
"Hal?" Ivy said, "Hello."
Hal looked like he'd gone catatonic, "HAL!"
"Yeah." Hal said, dazed.
"Are you alright? You just started staring at me like a sprouted another head." Ivy asked, "It's kinda creepy."
"Sorry about that, I just kinda zoned out." Hal replied, "Well, I'm off to do some paperwork. Bloody casefiles. Who'd have thought that shooting the San Francisco Sniper would involve so much after action writing?"
As Hal walked out of the room Ivy sat alone wondering aloud to herself, "What's wrong with Hal? Ever since we met there are times where he zones out and looks at me funny."
~ ~ ~ ~
Hal decided to take a walk through the building. After half an hour of trying to type a report on the incident yesterday where he put a large and sizeable hole through the head of the San Francisco Sniper, he realized there was no way in hell he was gonna get any sort of work done.
As he walked through the building he thought, 'Well I really screwed up there. I was seeing Diane for a moment. Not that Ivy and Diane are a lot alike aside from appearance, but the resemblance is startling enough to blow my mind. I almost called her Diane, and that would really have been an awkward moment.'
As he walked through the building, he noticed a youth, barely twenty years old, walking out of the elevator. He had dark brown hair, gray eyes, and wore a light blue button down collared shirt and brown slacks. Pinned to his shirt was a visitor's pass.
"Excuse me sir, do you know where I might find Tatiana Rossovsky?" the kid asked.
"And you are?" Hal asked.
"Danilov Rossovsky. I'm her younger brother."
"Does she know you're coming?" Hal asked.
"No she doesn't. It's sort of a surprise. The Army gave me a furlough when I least expected it and it doesn't count as leave." Danilov replied.
"She's currently in the bathroom, throwing up." Hal said, frankly.
"Why, is she going to be alright?" Danilov said.
"After the first three months she will be." Hal said, frankly.
"You mean she's....." Danilov replied, eyes wide open.
"Yes she is." Hal replied evenly.
"I'm what?" Tatiana asked as she came around the corner.
"You've got a surprise visitor." Hal said.
"Oh my God!" Tatiana said, smiling broadly. The two hugged each other and kissed on the cheeks.
A rapid exchange in Russian followed, from what Hal guessed were greetings and the standard questions relatives asked. "Hal, this is my brother, Danilov. He joined the Russian Army two years ago and he wants to join the Spesnatz." Tatiana said.
"Really." Hal said.
"If you need training help, ask Hal. He was a British Royal Marine before he joined the Special Air Service." Tatiana said.
At this the youth's eyes went wide, "You're SAS?"
Hal nodded, "Your sister's right."
"So when did you do Selection?" Danilov asked.
"1991." Hal said, "Right after I got in, Desert Storm was underway. So I missed the Gulf War."
"How did you do it?" Danilov asked," How fit do you have to be?"
"Look, in my Selection class I saw those big weightlifter blokes quit after the endurance marches. I've seen scrawny blokes you couldn't imagine playing racquetball make it all the way through. So you have to be physically fit, yes, but you've gotta want to be there with all your heart." Hal replied, "That works with anything, not just Selection. I don't know how things are done in Russia, but I hope my advice works."
"Thank you." Danilov said.
"Hal?" Armando said, "Where have you been, Wells wants to see you and Ivy in his office. You have a new case."
"Bloody Friday the 13th." Hal groaned.
~ ~ ~ ~
TBC