Reason to Live
Chapter 6: A Day Spent with You
(Triela's P.O.V)
"Triela…..what're the odds are you doing in my room?" Ask Frederick as he enters his room; the room I'm currently in
"Well……uh……just…..here to take a look at your new PC…"
"Ah….." He pauses for a second as he observes me from top to bottom "You want to watch a movie?"
"Uh….s-sure…." I nod slowly as I try to hide my red face
Koch bought him a Personal Computer, PC for short. Using his own salary, Koch awarded him a PC and a set of movies randomly picked by him, and the junior operatives; I'm included. I managed to pick a World War II movie about snipers in Russia titled: 'Enemy at the Gates'. I've never watched it myself; but after reading the summary, I got a feeling Frederick would like this.
"Hey, here's a good one: 'Enemy at the Gates'. Mind watching this one Triela?" He asks as he picks the movie from the shelf.
"Hey…uh…..s-sure…" I answer rather hesitating as my face burns even more. I mean….he picks my movie at first glance!
"What's wrong?"
"N-nothing."
The movie lasted for around 2 hours. Without my own expectations, the movie has a hint of romance between Vasily and the medic Tanya. My stomach started tingling after that. Frederick seems fine with it, but after watching some scenes between Vasily and Tanya, I couldn't help imagining about it if it were Frederick and I. I was surprised that I was able to think up something like that….though it would be nice if it really happen.
"Triela?"
"Y-yeah?"
"….Vielen danke."(Thank you very much)
I froze….speechless by his two simple words that came from his mouth. I don't know what it's for, but hearing his words…thanking me for whatever reason…...makes me feel like I'm in Cloud 9…my stomach started fluttering as my face starts to get hotter at each passing seconds. The whole room turns silent. The air around me starting to feel un-breathable as the silence grew stronger and stronger; dragging me into it. Frederick himself seems overwhelmingly silent.
"Uhh….Triela…?"
"Yeah…..it's ok Frederick…its ok."
(Frederick's P.O.V)
April 22nd,
Coliseum Square,
1200 hrs
Recon missions…..not something I'm born for. Padania has been missing….no word from them ever since our last attack; where I got myself wounded. Section Two's CO's pissed. They're up to something, we just don't know it. Now they're sending Section Two Operatives to find out what they're hiding using only means of available Intel; along with striking small pockets of suspected Padania Hideouts. The only problem left is: where are these 'small pockets'? Intelligence Department has been working 24/7 trying to figure out any suspicious movements; taping phone calls on suspected peoples, watch-men, and of course, intelligence gathering.
"This will be an intelligence gathering mission." Or so Koch told me in briefings "We've suspected this man is one of the high ranking Padania that escaped the mountain assault. He was last spotted walking around with his guards around the Coliseum square. Your job is to find him, locate him, and capture him by any means possible."
"…Is 'interrogations' necessary?" I ask
"You can interrogate him once we've confirmed him. Before then, make sure he's unharmed, verstanden?"
"Hat verstanden."
"Oh, you might need this. Some Padania are persistent cocky bastards and would require more 'effort' to make them talk." He hands me a German Military Issued Dagger; straight from the wehrmacht. Probably something he got before he left the Army
"You'll be working with Triela. Disguise yourself as civilians, stick together, and watch each other's back. We handlers will be monitoring other sectors around the Piazza."
Then, right before I fully grasp what the hell I'm supposed to do, I was on the streets with Triela. We didn't dress as we usually do during our typical search-and-destroy missions, assaults, ambushes, and assassination. Usually, I would wear a set of trousers, German issued Military Boots from Koch, and dress shirts; topped with a black long coat, concealing my side arms. Today, however, is an exception. Long pants, T-shirt, and a short sleeve jacket is what I wear this time. Triela would wear probably anything Hillshire gave her…..and that's what she wears today.
"……….."
"W-what're you looking at?" She asks as she notices me examines her from top to bottom
"Whoa….."
"F-Frederick! Stop it! Y-you're embarrassing me…." I chuckle as Triela turns her back towards me
"Sorry, it's just that…..you're beautiful in that dress…"
Yup. Hillshire gave Triela a dress…a summer dress, to be precise. She received it just after briefings. I don't know if she likes it, loves it, or despise it; what I know is: she's wearing it. Her footwear, of course, needed to change as well so Hillshire gave her a pair of a more 'feminine' shoe; something that school girls usually wears. What adds is the little purse she's carrying! Of course, the purse hides her P230SL pistol. This surprised me. The Triela I knew usually wears something more……masculine. Today, she looks marvelous! She's cute, I admit that.
"Ok, putting jokes aside; let's get to work, Triela."
(Triela's P.O.V)
'…You're beautiful….' That word rang in my head as we walk along the streets; asking people about the whereabouts of our target.
During the walk, I can't even concentrate on what's going on. His words kept me occupied for each and every passing minute as we walk pass by shops and stores, peoples, cars…Frederick even had to tap me a couple of times to stop and ask people. Along the way, Frederick has been complaining and can't seem to keep his mouth shut. He rambles on all the way about why are we in a recon mission; not in his usual favorite shoot-out missions he longs for after his absence. Once we stop to ask people, he shut his mouth. Ask me a few questions on what I found out, and then continue rambling about how crappy this mission is.
"Frederick…could you please concentrate more into this?" I ask during one of his rambles
"Why?"
"Because…" pausing for a moment, I take a deep breath and sighs "Because it's disturbing. Yes, I understand this isn't your type of mission, but the faster we find this guy, the faster you'll be engaged with Padanias."
By the next minute or so, we've been receiving calls from Koch and Hillshire, asking about our current situations. Frederick answers them with a flat tone before cutting the communication. He doesn't seem to enjoy this job as much as he used to. Not much we can do about it for now.
"Triela…..do you have, or have ever remember about your parents?" he ask suddenly; drawing my attention towards him almost suddenly
"W-what makes you ask that?"
"Well….different from the rest of you guys, I remember them. Dad, mom, and my little sister…I remember them all….how they die, how I was found…I remember them…"
"Well…." I pause taking a deep breath "I don't remember any of them…all I know is that I was found in Amsterdam…"
"Oh…." He reply
"But…" I continue on "Somehow, I remember I knew mother…she wore glasses, and the scent…the scent of her perfume is sweet….."
We start talking about our past; or what we remember of. Frederick told me he had a sister. She died during the Padania attack on Henrietta and José; the day he was found alive. He also told me he had a dog, Freiberg. He died due to old age. Frederick also told me that he once had a girlfriend back in Berlin. Hearing this kinda' shatters me; but after that incident, he's sure she'll forget about him. Sadly, Frederick doesn't remember his original name.
"And you? How about you? You remember your real name?" he asks as he wraps up his story. I shook my head "No, sorry. I don't remember anything about my past…."
As the clock struck three, we were thinking of going to the rendezvous point to wrap up our mission. We don't know what to say to our handlers since we return empty handed….or so it would seem. Lucky for us, we eventually spot the target by accident due to Frederick's urge to go to the toilet. The target coincidentally is in the toilet he's in…doing his 'activity'. As we were early ordered, we were forbidden to engage him until he's into the quite spots.
"Hillshire, this is Triela. Do you read me?" I make a quick call to Hillshire using the intercom as we start stalking the man
"This is Hillshire. I read you Triela, reports?"
"Yes…we've identified the rabbit. Following him to his nest, over."
"Affirmative. Make sure no harm done to him. Tell that to Frederick as well."
We started stalking him; following him wherever he'll go. Sometimes he went inside shops; we follow him. It doesn't take too long before we finally figure out where he's actually heading: the coliseum itself. I'm not amazed that not many people here know where he lives because he's not supposed to be here. As we follow him to the coliseum, roaring sounds of a helicopter; an Iroquois, sail above us as sounds of it grows louder and louder, dirt starts to kick up as it lands inside the dome.
"Well, well…seems like the fun will start soon." Frederick grins as he kicks up his pace
"Remember Frederick; make sure no harm done on our man."
"Yes, yes Triela. You don't have to remind me, I know. Now…I shall take care of the helicopter first!"
Without warning for them, Frederick grabs his holstered Mauser C96 hidden under his jacket and fires three shots at the pilot. He's only able to carry one gun this time, so reloading is one problem he needs to overcome. Running through the arch gate and into the field that's once littered with blood, he's about to turn this field once again into the field where man fights for blood. I don't waste my time as well; my hand reaches for my purse and pulls out my pistol. Raising it, I aim at one of the bodyguards, and fire.
By the time the handlers get here, it was all over. Five Padanias dead and one HVT captured. Now it's really up to him if he's going to make this easier, or difficult. The handlers have been asking him questions for over 5 minutes. Koch and Hillshire agreed that interrogation will takes place after 6 minutes up. They're giving him time to make up his mind before it's either me, or Frederick who will make him talk. In the meantime, we're just watching our handlers asking him questions.
"You know…." Start Frederick as he polish his Mauser "I don't think that guy would talk. He's too stubborn, and Koch and Hillshire are a bit too soft."
"You're saying you can do better then Hillshire?" I stated
"Hell yeah I can! I can make him talk in less then 3 minutes!" Brag Frederick grinning as wide as possible
"Are you challenging him?"
"Oh? Is the 'Princess' against me? Does the 'Princess' thinks my ideas are obsolete?"
"W-what?"
"You know, 'Princess'! Just like one of those knight stories where there's a Princess crying: 'Save me! Oh, save me!' and the knight in shinning armor came to the rescue. But, the knight in shinning armor you call back in the mansion didn't respond! What was it again? Oh: 'Hillshire! Oh, Hillshire! Save me!'! Tease Frederick as he started cackling
"Frederick!"
"Y-yes, Hillshire?"
"You call?"
"Uhh….no…." I giggle afterwards. Hillshire seems to overheard our conversation and thought that Frederick called him
"Seems the 'knight in armor' respond only to you; my 'Princess'." Teasing him, his face grows all red before he decide to face a different direction
"S-shut up…."
The interrogation continues for about three minutes or so without any answers from the Padania. Finally, the handlers gave up and decided to give the task to Frederick. Frederick is more than happy to do the job since he's trying to prove that he's way better than them. Of course, I knew he's way better than the handlers; I just don't want to admit that. If I do admit it during the conversation earlier, the conversation would end faster…..and I don't want that to happen. I want it to last longer; I want to know more about Frederick…what he likes, what he hates, his habits, anything…everything…
"You know…you can choose the easy way, or the hard way. Depending on your selections, I'll go easy on you." Frederick asks his captive as he point out the selections
"Like hell I'll talk! What can a kid like you do to me?"
"Picking the hard way, eh? Want to test it out?"
"Bring it on!"
Bad mistake. Frederick doesn't take lightly on him. He grabs his collar, and gives him a powerful right hook that sends him flying. Not wasting anytime, he grabs him again and gives him another punch in the stomach before he performs a body slam on him. But he's not done yet. A few other hits, moves and some sort of take down moves was performed on him until the sound of 'crack' rings through his body.
"I-I'll talk! I'll talk! Spare me!" Finally, the man opens his mouth after 4 minutes of interrogation
"Good……ok Koch, Hillshire; ask your stuff." He drops the man and walk towards me while wiping his hands off
"Took you long enough Frederick." I said trying to intimidate him "Four minutes."
"Four minutes? Crap….still, its way better than your prince charming!"
"S-shut up!"
(Frederick's P.O.V)
The whole recon mission ends after that. Henrietta, Rico, and Angelica manages to locate a group of Padania, gathered inside an abandoned bar. Marco acts casual, José was impressed, and Jean acted cold as usual. Triela and I managed to gather info about the Padanias. They're gathering they're operatives and terrorists all around Rome. They're up to something, and that something is big; very big. We don't know what it is, but we're sure that they're next strike will be huge. The high ranking we captured will go for further interrogations later at the SWA headquarter. In the meantime, we could have a little more peace and quiet.
"You're back, Triela. Oh, guten abend, Frederick." Claes greets us as we gather inside for a little cookies and tea
"Triela! Frederick! Welcome!" Henrietta, Rico, and Angelica is already here; sitting nicely in Triela's bed with a cup of tea and cookies. Henrietta's the one who greeted us
"How's your day?" ask Claes as she took a sip of tea
"We got ourselves a hardhead. He insisted on challenging Frederick's strength."
"Did he talk?"
"Oh, he did alright. After a couple of broken bones, he talked." I answer, taking a cup of tea and a pinch of milk for my tea
"We sure had quite a rough day today." Start Angelica "We managed to root out a whole group of Padania terrorist!"
We talk about our mission soon after. Claes talks about her daily activity while she's in the dormitory. Sad she missed all the action. Henrietta always brags about how José complimented her earlier for today's mission. She also received an Ice Cream after the mission; which really pleases her. Talk about blind love through medication. Rico mentions how she take-down one of the terrorist barehanded. She's proud of it. Angelica is still wondering why Marco's actions towards her started to feel more liked master and accomplice rather than frattelos.
After our small ritual, I manage to convince Triela for a little walk around the dormitory and have a little talk. We have a little chat for awhile about all sorts of things we manage to get our minds into. Our handlers, sisters, hobbys, rooms, and more. I don't know how I thought about this, but after we pass over the empty obstacle course, the thought came into my mind.
"Hey Triela, want to do a little sparring?" I ask as I watch the empty field where those Italian soldiers train themselves
"W-what?"
"You know, sparring! A test of strength! So, you want to?" she pauses as I anxiously wait for her answer "Ok…sure. It's been awhile since the last time I engaged someone in hand-to-hand combat; besides Pinocchio."
"Pinocchio?"
"You might not know him, but he's a professional assassin; an expert in hand-to-hand combat. I killed him."
"Ah, I see…."
"Well, shall we? I won't hold myself back just because you're older!"
The mock fight I came up with lasted for 3 minutes. It was my loss, actually, but I never intended to give up after my first fall. I stood up again and attack her with Close Quarters Combat techniques Koch taught me. Lack of training proves to be my drawback as each of her moves is effective enough to stop or dodge my attacks before she counterattacks. She hits hard too
"You're good…." I compliment her as I try dodging her moves as best as I could
"Thanks…"
"Should've never skipped training with Koch…."
"You shouldn't…"
Though it isn't intended, but it happened. I tripped myself while dodging her attacks; causing me to fell backwards. One of her palm strikes, which is intended for my jaw missed, causing her to lost her balance and stumble towards me. I was on the ground, she's on top. The next moment seems too awkward, so we thought about ending it there and return back to the dormitory on our own.
"S-sorry about earlier, Frederick." She stated as I started walking towards the dormitory
"I-its nothing…accidents happens….yeah…." I can't hold myself. I can feel, and I know I'm blushing all over
Returning to the dorm, I went into my room as Triela trails behind me. Unlocking the door, I froze as she passes behind me and heads towards her room. My mouth somehow feels like it moves on its own. It wasn't me. It doesn't feel right for me to say it….
"Triela…"
"Yeah?"
"Err….you look great in that summer dress…earlier during the mission."
"T-thanks..."
I close the door behind me and lean on it. Thoughts had been invading my mind after that sparring match.
'What the hell's wrong with me?'
'This isn't me…'
Finally, my thoughts gather and jump into a conclusion I had never expected….
'I like my new life in the agency…'
'I have 5 sisters to look after…'
'Henrietta, Claes, Rico, Angelica…'
'And Triela…'
'Triela…'
'I love them as my little sisters…'
'Just as sisters…'
'Henrietta, Claes, Rico, Angelica…'
'And Triela…'
'Really…?'
'No…'
'Triela's more than just my sister…'
'She's more than just a friend…'
'Triela…'
'I…love Triela…'
Author's Note:
A Chapter created to fill the final gap between the earlier ones, and the final parts of the story. Truthfully, I kinda' dislike chapter 6 since it feels a bit 'blah' and all. Though I managed to pull it through, I'm not quite satisfied with this one since I've never really thought up what should happen in chapter 6 (sorry). Chapter 7-10, however, is now under progress. I promise, next chapter will be better than this one. Updates will take longer than usual. Anyways, enjoy.