I suck at updating! Forgive me you guys but I've been so occupied that I had to push this story to the bottom of my priority list. Thanks for the kind reviews so far!

Chapter 3: Red

"Red," The boss drew a breath, "Sergei was at the tanker that night."

"Have you had any contact with him?"Meryl inquired. Red was her codenamed assigned to her by The Boss...she wasn't fond of it at all.

"No. The man is dead, but his daughter…she still lives."

"You sound almost…happy."

"Happy! If the whole unit isn't out of the way than everything we've done has been for naught. I know Olga she won't just abandon her unit, even if it kills her and her brat." Meryl digested this for a while before beginning a new line of questioning. It was something that had been bothering her although she struggled to keep it to herself.

"Who is the father?" Meryl asked not expecting much of a response.

"Who-is-the-father? Any particular reason why you would like to know."

"No reason. It's just odd." Meryl lied composedly.

"If you are asking because you saw Snake paying her a "congenial" visit, I have serious doubts about his paternity. Although it is peculiar that Olga got pregnant. Her father is a devout member of his Church not to mention a Colonel. You can imagine the amount of discipline she had to endure. She hardly had a childhood much less experience with children."

"It's not that difficult to imagine."

"You're saying this because of your father?" The Boss was strangely sympathetic. All she knew about The Boss's relationship with her own father was that he had been taken prisoner in WWII. It must have caused some shallow crater in The Boss's heart ever since then seeing as how she was sensitive to Meryl's family life.

"Nah. My dad wasn't that strict I'm talking about my uncle."

"Yes…Roy Campbell, I can't imagine how you are going to explain your involvement with me to him."

"I don't owe him an explanation. It's not like I live under his roof anymore."

"I know you…you're green…you probably feel ashamed of yourself, don't you?"

"Green! What makes you figure that?"Meryl hated more than anything to be labeled green.

"You are young, therefore emotional and by that logic you are green. You can't hide the fact that you still care for old Roy, he is of course family. As I've advised you before it's best to keep your family affairs away from the battlefield. Forget about where your father's and uncle's loyalties once lay and develop your own convictions."

"Your logic must be failing. I do have my own convictions…otherwise I wouldn't be wasting my time for this!"

"No need to overreact. That behavior problem of yours is precisely why you are still green. Control yourself better next time…get to work. You have a date with Olga. "

"Fuck you."

"Another thing…don't worry about old Uncle Campbell, I won't tell him what a bad girl you've been." The line went dead and so did Red's expression.

Meryl or "Red" and The Boss weren't complete opposites; both were extraordinary strong, motivated and impulsive women. Not the sort of woman who could ever be happy with what they were given in life and definitely not happy in a traditional setting. They were women built for what they did best. They ideals however were another story; Red still believed there was hope for people whereas The Boss didn't. For this discrepancy arose their dislike of one another but also gave fruit to a mutual respect.

Her cell phone once again vibrated in her coat pocket.

"What!"Meryl wasn't in a pleasant mood after her conversation with the boss...not that anyone would be in a pleasurable mood.

"I got that info you wanted." It was Nita, The Boss's right hand woman. "Sorry to have bothered you. I know The Boss has you occupied."

"It isn't your fault. She's just a bitch."

"I won't tell her you said that." Nita replied holding back an impending chuckle." Guess what I have in my hand?"

"Let me guess…your two weeks notice." Meryl wasn't entirely committed to the big mystery. She wasn't a fan of mind games.

"Oh Meryl! Come on you must remember!" Nita was the only person who liked to refer toher by "Meryl" while she was working.

Nita and Meryl were never close friends but they also didn't have a typical relationship. Meryl had only seen her in person on one or two occasions accompanied of course by The Boss.

"I'm not in the mood," Meryl smeared her hand across her forehead, "My day is already pretty shot."

"Well don't make plans for tonight."

"Why?"

"Because knowing you…after you hear this you won't want to."

"You have my attention." Meryl's hazel eyes flashed.

"THE address."

"Are you sure!" Meryl said with a cautioned arousal.

"Yes don't forget that finding missing persons is my specialty." Nita sounded foolishly proud of her achievement.

"You must be bored today." Meryl jested tearing a shred of paper from her prescription sheet and whipping out a pen."

"So I guess this means you won't be visiting Olga?"

"Don't worry I'm still going to pay her a little visit but this is one of those extracurricular activities." She said biting off the cap of her pen and preparing to write down the address.

"The Boss is going to be very sore when she finds out you've been paying visits to Snake." Nita warned a tinge of delight in the pitch of her voice. "But I guess as long as she doesn't know you should be okay."

"You aren't going to tell her, will you?" Red clutched the phone against her ear and her shoulder clumsily waiting for Nita to recite the address.

"You should feel very fortunate The Boss hasn't executed you yet. That's all I'm going to say!"