444th Airforce Base.
July 24th, 2019 06.45
CLANG
Prez's eyes shot open at the sound. She heard grumbling mixed with angry ranting, as boots stomp their way down the cellbock. She glared a hole into the ceiling, hissing slightly as she was suddenly woken up. "What time is it…" She glanced to her side, towards Trigger's cell, huffing at the sunlight reflected through the hallway. The sun was up, well at least that was a blessing of some sort, right?
Trigger slowly sat up with a barely audible groan. A mixture of confusion and curiosity placed on his face. He glanced over at the hallway as well, came to the same conclusion as her.
She had to stop herself from wanting to go over there and hug him. Sure there was a cell door in her way, but that didn't stop the sudden want. For now, she settled on a simple wave.
He waved back with a small smile.
Oh and there went her heart, she stuffed the feelings down and focused on the task at hand. What the hell was going on. She raised up a hand, making an L shape with her thumb and index finger. She placed her thumb below her chin before slowly curling her index finger twice.
He raised an eyebrow, before leaning forward to glance down the hall, squinting slightly as he tried to get a better look. Eventually, he simply shrugged in response.
Whatever or whoever it was, it was getting closer and louder. She recognized the voice, but couldn't put a name to it at all. "Who the hell is stomping around?"
He took his hand like he was plucking a string, slowly pulling it up, then pointed down with all his fingers, before wrapping his other hand around them, then, he pulled his fingers out.
She rolled her eyes. "Well…yeah! However, I kinda don't want to find out who it is honestly…I really don't want to go back into solitary." McKinsey really didn't interact with them outside of mission briefings, and he would never come down to the cellblocks. But that didn't mean he wouldn't want to throw his power around and randomly choose someone to throw into isolation.
Trigger nodded slowly, his head dipping down with a sigh. Taking the chance to stand up carefully, hissing slightly as he did. His leg was still healing.
She gave him a hard glare, making it clear she was going to murder him if he pushed himself too hard.
He froze for a moment, before raising his eyebrows as if he was going to argue.
She just glared harder.
He pursed his lips, then nodded quickly, chuckling as he did. He pointed to himself, before pointing out with both his index fingers, then put middle fingers pointing inward, before tapping one hand on the other.
"You better! We don't need you reopening a wound." She frowned slightly, yes she was worrying more and more about him now that he was hurt, but it wasn't without reason.
Finally, someone turned the corner.
"Look, Bandog…I know we're not on the best of terms, but I came back like I said I would! Didn't I?"
"Jacker…you're perfectly fine. I'm not mad at you. Hell I'm just glad you're back safe and sound." A loud sigh echoed down the halls. "It's nothing to do with you man." He paused, stopping as he finally came into view. "It's more all about these two."
Trigger frowned deeply.
Prez growled, enjoying the rumble in her throat that made Jacker and Bandog jump slightly. "What does McKinsey want this time?"
Bandog looked to Jacker, motioning for him to move along.
Jacker nodded and waved towards both cells.
Trigger nodded.
"Good to see you Jacker." Prez smiled at him, giving a little two fingered wave.
"Thanks! Glad to be back…Umm…" he turns around. "Was it the first left or first right?"
"Jacker…" Another sigh echoed through the halls. "There's no left turn here, you know that."
"Right then." He grinned.
The AWACS' just raised an eyebrow.
"Fine! Fine! Sue a man for making a joke jeez!" He huffed and made his way down the hall. "Excuse me for being on a bit of a high, I escaped Erusea and came back by stealing a car! You have to understand the irony there is just amazing."
Bandog waited quietly, barely tapping his foot.
Prez could barely hear a broadcast from the Erusean Princess playing from somewhere down the hall.
He waited until the clank of a closing cell was heard, then took a deep breath. "It was a terrible joke Spare Three!" He sighed, turning slightly. "To answer your question Prez…the Base Commander wants nothing right now, in fact last I checked he was in the middle of a nap." He rolls his eyes before moving forward and opening her cell. "It's Clemens again. He'll be here soon and apparently he wants to have a long talk with you two."
She shivered slightly. "Both of us?" Her blood ran cold, she had only heard about Clemens and how…discourteous he could be, especially to Trigger. People just sometimes didn't see them as human.
Bandog nodded slowly. "Yeah…both of you." He turned around, moving forward to pull Trigger's cell open. "Honestly, I'm just glad they actually called ahead this time. Last time they just arrived with no prior notice and pushed everyone around. Sadly, I have no idea what he actually wants and when I asked I got blown off." He sighed.
Trigger stepped out slowly, his eyes squinted slightly in concern. "You doing alright?"
The AWACS' raised an eyebrow at that. "Eh…as best as I can, still kinda shaken up from earlier. I'll never claim I'm the best at what I do, nor am I the best person. But I try damn it. I'm not used to having to watch as missiles fly by almost gutting my plane. It's…terrifying really." He shakes his head and takes a deep breath. "How the hell you two do what you do, I'll never know."
"Look I don't fly the plane, he does." She points at her pilot with a smile. "This'll be my first time meeting Clemens though, any tips?"
"I would say don't get on his bad side, but you're both already there so…" Bandog shrugs. "I'll be there too, so you don't have to worry about him lording shit over you or trying to boss you around. I may not be that high up in the ranks, but this is our base, not his."
Prez raised an eyebrow at him, then looked to Trigger, who slowly nodded in response. "Oh, this is about the shit he tried to pull with Trigger when he talked back to him isn't it?"
"Yeah, yeah. Tried to order us around to throw him in solitary, on the records, he was, and that's all Clemens needs to know."
She grinned at that, looking to Trigger, who she specifically remembered never got thrown into solitary. "Oh I agree. In fact, I think we should pay you back for your hard work Bandog."
"Uhhhh…" The AWACS operator took a step back in confusion and slight fear.
Trigger nodded, fully agreeing that they should give him at least a little bit of something back. Perhaps a drink? It was honestly the most they could do.
"Oh! That's a great idea!" She felt her grin become more feral, as she turned towards their jailer. "Hey Bandog…you guys got a coffee machine here?"
He swallowed loudly, clicking his tongue. "Yeah…Why do you ask?"
"No reason."
Prez let out a happy hum as she sipped at her actual full blown coffee. No instant stuff could measure up to fresh ground beans, even the nice premium stuff she kept on her person. Sure a nice cup of coffee made this game of waiting in the briefing room for Clemens to arrive less stressful. It was infinitely satisfying to see the results of her usual coffee magic put on full display.
Trigger, while quiet as usual, had a very satisfied smile on his face as he sipped from his own styrofoam cup, the tiredness quickly disappearing from his eyes. He was sat next to her, glancing between the table in front of them, and the door behind them.
Bandog meanwhile, had been almost frozen in his seat, only moving to glance down into his mug and take a sip. "Damn…I haven't had coffee like this since…" He finally looked over to Prez. "How did you make this so…well…good?"
She smiled. "Well I had to make money when I was younger, so I worked in my old family run coffee shop." She pursed her lips. "Well…Not exactly a coffee shop…more like the coffee section of the shop my family owns down in Osea."
"You're Osean?" He raised an eyebrow at that.
Prez tilted her head slightly. "Yeah? You…You didn't know?"
"Well I mean I had an assumption from the slight accent. But never anything concrete."
Trigger finally stopped his cycle and turned towards Bandog, confusion on his face, asking how on earth the self proclaimed jailer didn't know that.
"Yeah…how don't you know that? Don't you have files on us? Or something like that? You know…data or info on your inmates so you know who's allergic to what, what each of us was in for, or…where we're from?"
"Ah…" He sipped his coffee. "Hmmm…Well…" He took a deep breath. "Here's the thing, sure, we've got the files on site, we have all that info, otherwise how else were we able to mark each of your planes with the sin lines they have now?"
Oh…that was a good point wasn't it? All the inmates had callsigns associated with their crimes too. "Ah…hold on…I'm guessing there's a 'but' coming along."
Bandog held back a laugh. "Well…"
Trigger giggled.
It really wasn't that humorous, but she could see it on Triggers face that he found it very funny, and was trying not to laugh too hard about it.
"You're not wrong…the 'but' is that while there are files, most of us have either barely seen them, or never seen them." He lets out a deep sigh, then sips at his coffee. "Honestly, it's stupid, I don't know where you're from. I only know about Trigger because of all the news stories about him, and that's all I know!" He takes a breath, lifting one hand. "But…McKinsey just hordes them." He huffs. "I don't even know half of your actual names." He takes a swig of coffee this time, letting his breathing calm down. "I have no idea what Champ's actual name was, I found out Ramirez's because Count told me…Fucking Count. A guy who is in here for fraud, who used to pretend to be a noble of some kind. Basically the biggest lier ever took the time to get someone to force McKinsey off his ass so Ramirez could be remembered. When I went and asked for Champ's name, I got shot down, chewed out, and punished."
"Why?" Trigger raised an eyebrow.
"Because the information is on a need to know basis…and I didn't need to know." He glanced down at his mug, and chugged the rest of his coffee. "This war…it's not helping anyone. The people of Usea deserved better, but now there are refugees trying to get out of the way of the fighting, people trying to just live. Or even worse, some are being forced to fight. The least we can do is honor those who fought in this war. And remember those who aren't coming home, whether they chose to fight, were forced to fight, or were just an innocent trying to get somewhere safe." He gently put his mug down, slumping in his chair as he did. "Hell…all of you deserve better, an actual prison would be better than this greedy shit. McKinsey just sees the war as an opportunity to move up the ranks, and this whole…" he waves his hand. "mess, is his pet project to do just that." He sighs deeply. "Usea deserves better, everyone here deserves better, and you two deserve better."
Trigger's eyes widened, leaning down slightly so he could put down his styrofoam cup safely on the floor. "Bandog…"
Prez frowned slightly, worry pooling in her gut for their AWACS operator.
"And I'm sorry for being an ass in the past to all of you, I've been working on trying to be better, and working on trying to right my wrongs." He shrugs slightly. "Guess it'll soon be my time to work off my crimes." He flashes a forced smile.
Trigger smiled back, a true smile. "Hey, as long as you try, that's all we ask. We're just trying to get by."
Prez nods. "It's true, we know in the beginning everyone here was kind of an ass to us, but things have changed over time. The guards have become downright friendly with us, and we all have McKinsey to thank it seems."
Bandog laughs. "The base commander? Him? How on earth can you thank him? The man can't even do his own paperwork!"
"Oh, it's quiet simple really…it all started with buckets of paint disappearing." She grinned.
"No…You're joking."
"Not in the slightest."
Trigger chuckled and grinned. "Ohhh, I see."
"You see Bandog." Prez grinned as well. "McKinsey has become so controlling, he's left all of you high and dry, with barely any support, he's getting all the credit for all our hard work while he just sits in his office and twiddles his thumbs." She waves a hand lazily. "I mean you guys get paid at least, but us? We don't get shit. We all agree McKinsey and Osea can go fuck themselves."
"But…" Trigger took over, pointing to Bandog. "We know you guys are just as tired of this shit as the rest of us."
"Yeah…yeah…I did overhear a few of the guarddog handlers asking when on earth we would be able to go home. None of us are actual…prison guards. We're all soldiers. We didn't sign on to be cruel jailers that throw everyone into solitary because someone didn't tie their shoes right."
"Did that happen?" Prez whispered, she was asking, but she honestly wouldn't be surprised if the answer was yes. She'd been thrown into solitary for some pretty stupid stuff, like asking for pads. Who the hell does that? McKinsey, that's who.
"Yes, it did. Don't ask, it was weird." He chuckles, "Look…when this is over, when you guys finally get to go free, I'm going my own way. But I won't forget about any of you ever." Bandog smiled, leaning back in his seat. "I just hope you won't forget about me either. I don't want to be remembered as some jackass, cuz to be honest, I don't even know why we're in this war. Osea I mean. I know why Erusea is in this war, the Princess has made it very clear. But when it comes to Osea, I have no clue."
Footsteps echoed down the hall with perfect rhythm.
Prez smirked. "Well…who knows, we might get the chance to ask."
The doors slammed open as Clemens stepped through the door, then froze. He glanced around in confusion, looking to Trigger, then to Prez as his eyes widened in surprise.
Trigger raised an eyebrow, waiting for the Brigadier General to say something.
Clemens glared back, clearing his throat as he adjusted his tie. "I believe I'm supposed to receive a salute." A small smirk appeared on his lips.
Prez chuckled, grinning. "Oh, I'm not official military so…no need to."
"Same here." Trigger shrugged. "Also I don't know the exact rulings or customs for the OADF. Still haven't gotten that handbook, yah know?"
That got a reaction out of Clemens, which just made her grin widen as she watched his eye twitch and his fist clench.
"I demand the proper respect and I order you t-"
"This is the Osean Air Defense sir, we only salute when reporting to you, which we are not." Bandog stayed seated in the back of the room. "But thank you for informing us of your arrival ahead of time, we were able to get everything set up." He motioned to the table and chair in front of Trigger and Prez. "Please, have a seat."
Trigger squinted, slightly confused wondering why it was pointed out that this was the Osean Air Defense, wasn't Clemens a part of the same branch?
She hid her laughter by clearing her throat.
The Brigadier General frowned, but nodded, his head bobbing up and down as he stomped his way over to the table, placing down his bag, and carefully removing some items, a laptop which had post it notes sticking out from the sides, seemingly stuck to the screen edge. A notebook, pencils, and a bottle of water joined the laptop.
It was strange really, the difference between his entrance, and the small man quietly trying to get himself set up like a highschooler about to do a presentation. She simply watched, carefully downing the rest of her coffee as she did. Though she had to say, having possible important info on post it notes slapped onto a laptop seemed a little…unsecured? Unsecure? She watched as a post it note fluttered off and onto the table.
Clemens cursed, snatched the note up quickly and pressed it back onto his laptop with a grunt.
Definitely unsecured. Prez finished her coffee, then deftly tossed it into a nearby trashcan from where she was sitting.
Trigger looked a little surprised, impressed with her throw.
"Thank you, it was a nice shot." She grinned.
"Quiet." Clemens snapped.
Trigger glared back at him.
Bandog slowly stood up from his seat. "Is there anything you are in need of sir? These two have important repairs to get to, so we'd like to get this done as soon as possible."
"Yes, Yes, if it'll get you all to just shut up for two seconds." He huffed.
"Right then sir, we'll give you your peace and quiet." He rolled his eyes as he turned around, walking over so he was behind both pilots.
Trigger looked over at Prez, wondering what on earth Clemens was talking about, and what Bandog was talking about.
She simply shrugged, they didn't have any repairs to report to yet, Avril still had to get the damaged parts of the fuselage off before they went hunting for new bits. She glanced up at Bandog, but he ignored her for now.
"Right then," Clemens finally sat down, looking a little more composed, "As you know, I'm working currently as a liaison for your unit to the rest of the OADF and the IUN, this is because I was originally the officer who handled Trigger's transfer to Osea."
Prez leaned over to her right. "I didn't know that…why didn't you mention it?"
Trigger blushed as she got close, but shrugged, it wasn't important at the time it seemed.
"Hmmm…"
"Can you two, please pay attention?"
She looked back towards Clemens, who was pouting, a fucking high ranking officer, pouting like an angry school kid. Amazing. She nodded.
"Right…anyways. We're here today to talk about Operation Three of a Kind, and the disaster that you left in your wake."
Prez groaned, "Of course…never anything sensible, let me guess? IUN wants to know what happened to their peacekeepers?"
"Well yes, it's ver-"
"Wait a fucking second…"
Everyone turned towards Bandog, his hand was tightly gripping Trigger's chair, making it creak ever so slightly.
Clemens paled instantly.
"Don't you dare say that they're complaining about that operation."
"Well…I…"
"No! Hell no!" He pointed at Clemens. "I have had it up to here with this bullshit! The IUN attacked us with two Peacekeeper Aces and a fucking airship! We have the footage! We have the records and recordings of everything. Radio, radar, guncam footage, footage from my plane as well. What else could they need?!"
"Proof."
"Proof?" Prez cut in, without a care in the world. "I'm pretty sure Bandog just said a bunch of stuff that count as pretty definite proof."
Trigger nodded, his lips thin as he glared daggers into Clemens.
"Well yes, but apparently even with that, they found the loss of one of their highly decorated Peacekeepers, one who was heavily involved with Trigger's incarceration might I add, a little too convient. So when they found that things seemed a little fishy, as their patrol was just minding their own business apparently, because of this, they decided to investigate it further and make demands for us to cooperate. I must say I'm inclined to agree, the lost of a veteran peacekeeper is massive, especially when compared to one of you."
"Bullshit!" A yell from behind her
"Bullshit…" A whisper to her right.
"Bull and shit!" She felt the scowl that covered her face. "They again knew exactly who we were, we let them know. Bandog let them know!"
"I did, I followed proper procedure for friendly contact, they acknowledged our presence in the AO, they acknowledged us as an OADF unit, they followed my advice to leave the area due to a drone presence, they even turned away, heading sou-" The AWACS operator froze, mid sentence. "Wait…hold on." He took a deep breath, holding up a hand. "You did actually review the footage right?"
"Oh yes I skimmed it." He waves a hand as he types on his laptop. "But I wasn't able to see much, way to blurry. I'm not exactly an expert at that kinda stuff anyways, I'm more of an expert with information and politics." He moves over to write down a note. "And in my political experience, it would be best if a punishment was handed out to the two perpetrators of this incident."
Prez felt her stomach drop as if she was hitting a high-G turn while breaking the sound barrier. "You're joking…"
Trigger's fist tightened, his knuckles pale at the strain.
"What do you mean by that? These two took charge of the situation and protected everyone! If it weren't for them, we would all be dead!" Bandog pointed at Clemens. "Speak plainly already and stop beating around the bush. We're here to discuss details, not play mindgames."
"Very well Lieutenant, I will be frank, the IUN is demanding that the pilots Trigger and President be returned to their hands."
Her blood went cold. "No…No no no no no." Her hand was suddenly in Trigger's own, squeezing tightly. She couldn't even tell if he took her hand, or if she took his, but her panic was tempered by the simple gesture.
He kept glaring, almost daring Clemens to try and take them away.
"And?" Bandog raised an eyebrow. "You take them away, you're taking away out best pilots."
"I know. Which is why I pressed for an alternative. This was the best outcome I could get, luckily everything was fully approved." He pulled out a folded piece of paper, holding it up for the AWACS operator. "These orders come straight from the top, ensure that they are carried out. Spare Squadron has become a very valuable asset to the war effort that we cannot afford to loose."
Bandog took the paper with a slight growl, unfolding it and clicking his tongue. "Really? This is the best outcome?"
Prez leaned back to try and get a look at what was listed, but she couldn't get a good a good angle.
"It's better than loosing two valuable assets. Either way, we had to ensure a punishment was dealt, think of it like putting a naughty puppy in it's cage."
"We're people, not fucking objects to be traded around." Trigger growled slightly.
"No, you're prisoners, criminals, and assets." He smiled. "While McKinsey may be in charge of this operation, I was the one who chose which prisoners we would use for this operation. I'm glad to see it's been working out so wonderfully." His smile turned to a cruel smirk.
"Ah…so you're just using us to move up the ladder." Trigger sighed, rolling his eyes.
"No, no, no, nothing as vain as that." Clemens held up his hands. "I want what's best for Osea."
Prez squinted at him, she had a feeling that there was something else. "And what is best for Osea?"
"To ensure that Erusea is put on the back foot, barely teetering on the edge. That way, when this war is complete, we can pull in as many resources and control as possible." He wrote something down in his notes, chuckling as he did. "And McKinsey's plan was just perfect for it. A group of pilots that no one would miss, that we could send on the most dangerous suicide missions that we would normally ignore due to the losses we would suffer. But you've been destroying everything! Knocking it out of the park!" He laughed, it was snooty and full of class. "I've given McKinsey full permission to keep throwing you at problems until the end. By doing that, when the Eruesan government capitulates, they'll meet any demands we make, and we'll ensure that Erusea can never wage war again. Hell if we play our cards right, it might even be a puppet state."
Prez growled deeply. "What the fuck? What do you mean by that?! Do you understand what is going on? This is war, people are dying! And all you are talking about is what can be gained from all of this?!"
"Miss Kuo, you are not in a position to talk, you were a mercenary, you used war as a business, officially your kill count is quite high too." Clemens face pulled into a smirk once more. "Or do I need to remind you of how many people you have killed?"
"I made that choice!" She stood, slamming her fist into the table in front of her with enough force to send the brigadier general's notes flying everywhere. A few post it notes fluttered to the ground. "I made the choice to kill! I made the choice to fight! But I didn't choose this."
He sighed deeply, "We are all aware of your crimes Mi-"
"This is about your crimes! Not mine!" She points a finger, barely an inch away from Clemens' chest. "You and McKinsey both took normal people, civilians! You took them from their homes and put them into a war, a full blown war! They didn't make this choice! None of them did! You abuse us, you treat us like shit, we're constantly threatened with solitary confinement! Then forced to go out to fight and kill in some of the craziest suicide missions ever. And yet this is okay? No one asked for this war, and you need to take time to realize that." She scowls deeply, slowly moving to sit back down.
Clemens' mouth opened and closed a few times as he wilted under Prez's glare. "Well…I think," He took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he did, obviously trying to compose himself. Picking up a pen and paper as he did. "That…your attitude could u-" His eyes opened, and he froze, the pen in his hand slowly fell to the ground.
The sound of knuckles cracking filled the room.
Prez raised an eyebrow, her glare wavering as confusion set in, she glanced at Clemens watching as his eyes widened in almost…fear? It was as if he was looking at something to her rig- "Oh…" She took a step to the side.
Trigger was pissed, that much was clear.
Prez had to take a moment to process the absolute rage that was in his eyes. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to piss off the guy who had supposedly killed a politician while talking about human lives being sacrificed for a better political situation? She shrugged slightly, moving back to her chair and sitting down.
Trigger slowly stood up, his knuckles were pale from the strain as his hands balled into fists once more. "Clemens…"
The man jumped out of his seat, realizing in that moment that he was a head shorter than the ace. "Ah…Lieutenant…if you could…get your inmate under control?"
Bandog scoffs. "What? You want me to put myself between Trigger and you? Fuck that noise, I'd die. I already almost got killed by peacekeepers once this week, rather not be in that situation again."
Trigger took a single step forward. "You want to know something? Prez is right. I think this war is bullshit, I know it because I've been fighting from the beginning. The IUN and Osea have been handling this entire war like children who can't take no for an answer. Of course Erusea is no better, but none of you understand something very important. No one is going to 'Win' this war. There is only going to be one looser in this war, and that will be the people of Usea." He takes a breath. "So just…shut up, and think for once in your life. Maybe if you took time to do that, you'd realize what's going on around you." He looks to Prez as his gaze softens, before taking a step back and sitting down.
She let out a breath. She really didn't care what happened to Clemens, but for the slightest moment she was scared Trigger was going to do something dangerous.
He leaned back in his chair, taking a deep breath, his right hand was shaking uncontrollably, he looked down to hide the panic in his eyes. He clasped his left hand in his right trying to keep it pressed down, before taking his right leg and crossing it over his left, so his ankle was sitting on his left knee. He cleared his throat before looking at her, as if he was asking her to grab something.
She glanced over in confusion, grab something? She wanted to comfort him! Oh maybe that's what he needed for comfort. She followed his eyes down, what did he want her to gra-
There, on Trigger's boot. Was a post it note. One of Clemen's post it notes.
The possibilities of what could be on that note bounced through her mind. She had to get that post it. So, she faked a large stretch, almost smacking Bandog in the face.
He moved back just in time. "Hey, watch it Prez." He barely growled out the whispered words.
"Sorry about that dude." She flashed a smile, and relaxed, letting her body go loose. As her arm fell, she snatched the post it right off Trigger's boot, it disappeared into her hand with practiced precision. In a minute she would cross her arms at whatever Clemens would say, and the note would be secure in her jumper's breast pocket. Though it might be more than a minute.
He was in the far corner of the room now, pressed against the wall, his breathing was erratic, his hand was clutched to his chest, crumpling his well pressed suit, and his eyes were dead set on Trigger.
Prez let a feral grin show, she would count this as an accidental mission accomplished, because there was the most uptight fucker she'd ever met.
And he was scared stiff.
Trigger was taking slow shaky breaths, his hands gripping his thighs.
The room went almost silent.
Moments passed.
Bandog broke the silence with a cough. "So…"
Prez crossed her arms with a huff, trying to hide her worry with fake annoyance. "So…we good?" She slipped the post it note away, resisting the urge to reach down and hold Trigger's hand.
"Good?!"
She jumped, her eyes wide with panic.
"No Miss Kuo we are not good!" Clemens quickly made his way back to the table, gathering his notes and stuffing them into a folder. "I have been disrespected and humiliated at every step on this base! I have had enough of this. My one regret is not increasing your sentence." he hissed slightly. "Lieutenant!"
"Sir?" Bandog raised an eyebrow.
"Take them to solitary, now!"
He grimaced and growled. "Right, let's go you two."
"Wait what?! He ca-"
"Oh? What's that? I can't? Ha!" Clemens laughed once more, stopping in his rush to get things back in place. "I mentioned before that these orders come straight from the top, and they do, so there's nothing you can do. Enjoy your full day in solitary." He sneered. "Now get these criminals out of my sight!"
Bandog nodded, gently pulling them both up by their shoulder. "Come on Prez, it's not worth it."
"Fuck that noise it's completely worth it." She hissed out her words as she was dragged out of the briefing room.
Trigger shivered slightly, following along slowly. "A whole day?" He stumbled slightly.
"Yeah…a full twenty four hours." Bandog sighed. "Prez, can you help out Trigger, I know solitary and him don't get along to well."
She glared slightly, but relented, stepping back as she was released, moving over to Trigger's side. "You okay?" She wrapped an arm around his waist.
"No…no…not at all. I made an absolute idiot of myself back there." He groaned. "God I hate being confrontational in person! It's so much easier over the radio."
She chuckled slightly. "That's what spooked you? A pilot who's taken on multiple aces without breaking a sweat, and telling someone to shut up and stop being a dick got you all shaky?"
"It's stressful okay? Combat is way easier! That's just a simple complete objectives, react to attackers. Confronting someone in person though? Fuck that noise." He huffed. "God I sounded so stupid. 'I know it because I've been fighting from the beginning.' what does that even mean?"
"I mean…you got the point across? You even threw in a slight threat, scared the shit outa Clemens, so I'd call that a win."
He chuckled and looked at her. The sight smile calling her out on her half assed supportive comment.
"Oh shush your face. I'm not looking forward to be locked up all alone for a whole day." Her stomach growled. "Oh fuck me…of course we don't get to eat either."
"I'll bring you something."
Prez froze, causing Trigger to stop as well. "What? But…it's sol-" Her heart dropped, they were already there. Numerous solid windowless cells stared back at her as the fear set in.
However Bandog only opened one cell. "Look, they may be orders, but I'm only going to follow them to here. Now get in before anyone notices."
"Who?" Trigger shivers slightly, taking a step forward, trying to rip the bandaid off.
The AWACS operator squinted slightly. "What?" He looks at them, then to the cell. "No, no, no, both of you, in you go." He motions for them to enter the cell.
"You're joking…that…wouldn't that make it the exact opposite of 'solitary confinement'?"
"Well…technically yeah, but no one needs to know that." he smiled. "Trust me? Please? I just…I'm tired of all of this shit. I'm done being the asshole prison guard."
Prez gently pushed Trigger forward, leading him into the cell as his hand gripped hers tightly. "So…no tricks?"
"None at all, I promise." He slowly closed the cell door behind them. "Look I'll follow my orders, but it's not my fault if I read them wrong." He winked. "I'll bring you guys some food after Clemens leaves."
Prez nodded as he finished closing the door, sitting down on the floor as pure relief washed over her.
They weren't going to suffer for once.
In all her life, solitary had been the worst torture she had ever faced. She'd been shot, almost drowned, had a nail through her foot, broken an arm, and taken a nasty shrapnel hit to the gut. But all of it paled to the sheer loneliness of solitary confinement. There was nothing to do, no one to talk to, so all you could do was sleep and think. And she really didn't like being left alone with her thoughts now a days.
Trigger sat down next to her, his hand starting to shake less and less now as he let out a deep calm breath.
But here they were, in a cell together. They could talk all they wanted, and if Bandog stayed true to his word, they would have food. Which he was proving that to be a pattern, not a one time thing. So for now, it was just Trigger and her.
His eyes were wide as he looked down at her, only one question could be on his mind. What just happened?
She simply shrugged. Hell if she knew, she was still trying to process what happened with Clemens. But hell, confusion was a thousand times better than twenty four hours of torture.
"You're right…" He gasped suddenly as the worry and panic finally fell away. "Prez! The note!"
She raised an eyebrow. "What about it?"
He made a grabbing motion. "It fell off Clemen's laptop when you punched the table."
She squinted slightly. "I mean it could be anything…" She paused. "It could be anything." She looked at Trigger in shock. "Oh my god it could be anything!" She scrambled to open her breast pocket, pulling out the crumpled post it note.
He stared at the note in her hand, anticipation and questions on his lips as he bounced on the balls of his feet. What could it be?
Prez carefully unfurled the note, and gasped. "Oh…"
He froze, quickly leaning over to look, gasping as he did. "Oh fuck…jackpot."
She laughed. "Ohhhhhh, this is perfect." A plan started forming in her mind. However the first step would be tough, as they had to start by patching things up with someone who was very pissed at them.
Trigger sighed. "Oh lord, Full Band…"
"Yeah…Full band." She tapped the note in thought.
There, scrawled in black ink, was a username and password.
The username and password of one Brigadier General Howard Clemens.
I always wondered how Full Band got access to important OADF intel with a password that someone had left out. Well, that is if Prez and Trigger can iron things out.
But yeah! We had Clemens again for a chapter, he may come back again sometime before we get to the Alicorn arc, but we'll see for sure in the future.
This was a tough chapter to write, between personal IRL stuff going to shit, the whole world going to shit, and the subject matter I wanted to get across with this chapter originally being a little to close to what was happening in the real world... Yeah this was a rough session, but I feel like it came out good.
Lastly, to my Ukrainian readers, I simply hope that you are safe, and that you are able to return home soon. Godspeed.
I'll see you all next chapter