Private sat down patiently as Corporal attend to few cuts and scrapes he had received from their not-so-friendly encounter with Doctor Blowhole's henchmen. After, he helped the polar bear with his minor wounds before contacting Skipper when they were far from enemy lines. Skipper deserved to know everything regarding Hans. The puffin was clearly unstable and was unhealthily obsessed with his commanding officer. The other situation with the camera and Classified was something to be discussed at a later time. Unless the conversation led to such a topic and Skipper catches him out on his lie, then and only then would he mention the camera. For the time being, the only thing that truly mattered was keeping his brother safe and out of Hans reach. It took a while but after the sixth attempt, Skipper finally answered.
"Private, explain yourself. Why weren't you answering our calls?"
"We would have been exposed sir. The London's base was swarming with life, we're likely to escape how he did."
Skipper let out an anxious sigh. "What do you mean lucky? Are you hurt solider?"
"Not badly...but Skipper, I think we should cancel our mackerel fishing trip. I don't think it would be right if we went with everything that's going on." Private sighed.
The young penguin waited patiently for Skipper to say something, anything. Private figured it was just the older penguin moving somewhere more excluded but with the current situation who knew? Finally, he heard Skipper take a deep, anxious breath before he spoke up.
"What did you find?" Skipper asked.
"Hans' room. It's covered in photos of you, shelves filled with penguin and puffin plushies. Skipper, the whole thing is scaring me. What if he tries to hurt you or us? We need to come clean, maybe Classified…"
"We are not telling anyone Private, especially Classified. That's an order, besides Hans somehow managed to manipulate himself into the North Wind. We can keep a close of him without anyone knowing."
Private sighed. That was the last thing he wanted to hear. If Hans was part of the North Wind then the puffin had access to everything he wanted and needed to take over the world. Worst of all, he had close access to Skipper and despite what he said, the older penguin still had a soft spot for Hans. It was the main reason why the puffing would always escaped their grasp and would do so unharmed. This only worried Private more, especially when he had evidence that Skipper and Classified were in a relationship. A relationship that Hans could easily destroy.
"Skipper, I know you still care about Hans but if we don't say something...he could hurt you again and everyone else. You know how things were when you and Hans were close, it turned you into a big meanie, please sir."
"My word is final soldier, we will handle this on our own. I don't want anyone else involved. I'll see back at HQ." Skipper said before ending the call.
Private let out a frustrated groan. He knew he had promised Skipper years ago that he would not tell a soul about Hans but if kept his beak close, the puffin could manipulate his way back into his brother's life and hurt him again. He thought long and hard before deciding to hold off for now. Maybe he could convince Skipper to change his mind with the photos he had "borrowed" from Hans' room but he didn't like his chances.
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Blowhole's Volcano Base
Hawaii
0600 hours
Skipper waddled back to Classified, not bothering to hide the anxiety he was now feeling. He knew Hans was a bit unstable even when they were dating but how Private was describing him now, the puffin had reached obsessive stalker. Maybe his youngest brother was right about something, maybe Skipper did still care about Hans. There had been times where he truly missed the puffin's company and the moment they shared. If it wasn't for Private constant support, Skipper may have returned to Hans and never be truly happy with Classified. The penguin smiled, staring at the wolf lovingly. While Classified did share a few qualities with Hans, the penguin knew that the wolf would always been there when he needed him. Not only that but Classified was way hotter than Hans, he figured that was mostly due to his posh accent.
"The IT department will be arriving in a few hours, so we have...Skipper you alright?" Classified asked, seeing how distressed Skipper was.
"Private found Blowhole's operation at his London base. They managed to get out but both suffered minor injuries. I'm just worried it may be worse than what he told me."
"He's with Corporal, I'm sure Private was telling the truth. Like you said before he's a force to be reckoned. I'm sure Blowhole's men ended up worse off."
The wolf picked up his boyfriend and kissed him sweetly. He then gave Skipper a reassuring smile and nuzzled the penguin's cheek with his nose, trying his best to calm him down. The penguin usually hated being man-handled like this but with Classified it was different. Everything was different when he was with the wolf. He hummed softly, loving the feeling of Classified's wet nose against his feathers. Skipper held the wolf's muzzle in place, not wanting him to stop. When it did, the penguin let out an angry huff, earning a soft giggle from Classified.
"Like I was saying before our IT department will be arriving in a few hours and have to wait here until they arrive." The wolf smiled, placing Skipper back on the floor.
"So what are we suppose to do until then?"
"You can talk to me. I'm not blind Skipper, ever since you saw Hans you've been acting off. It was like you're scared of him, which is understandable he kind of creeps me out too. Please Skippy, talk to me."
The penguin looked at his boyfriend and sighed. It's not that he didn't want to tell him everything, he wanted to so bad but he was too ashamed at the whole ordeal that he didn't want Classified to look at him differently. That's why he hadn't told the rest of his family, he was so blinded by his own emotions that he couldn't see just how horrible Hans truly was. He knew from past experiences just how much the truth and communication meant to a relationship. Skipper let out a sigh, studying the wolf's scared and dejected expression. Out of the expression his family and Classified could make, this one was his least favourite. He hated seeing people he loved and cared for like that.
"I told you before, I can't. It's not that I don't want to but for reasons I simply can't." Skipper sighed sadly.
"Even if I give you my full file."
"You would do that…"
Classified nodded. "A relationship is based on trust and I know my past actions has not earned it yours. However, if giving you my file helps me earns yours then I'll do it."
Skipper couldn't argue with that logic but he just couldn't. He should have known better and if he did then maybe his entire family wouldn't be in his situation. Skipper acted horribly as team leader during that part of his life and would rather it kept under the rug. It hurt too much to talk about but he knew if he didn't he could loose Classified, that was the last thing he wanted. So he was prepared to make a compromise.
"You're right, it's just too painful for me to talk about. My team suffered from the mistakes I made during that time and I'd rather not bring it up. That doesn't mean we can't reach a compromise."
"What's the compromise?"
"Like I mentioned before one other person knows. I can inform them on the circumstances and they can tell you everything when we get back to base. I just don't want you to look at me differently when you find out the truth."
Classified looked at Skipper and sighed. It wasn't what he wanted but he could tell this was the best he was going to do. The wolf knew better than to push the penguin, still he was happy that he managed to convince Skipper to give up his personal information. Even if he had to bribe him with his own file to get it.
"I'm done judging you. Look what happened last time I did, I got all of us captured by Dave's octopi. But if it will put your mind at ease, I can compromise with you Skipper. It's the least I can do after everything we've been through."
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Blowhole's Underground Network
London
2100 hours
Hans knew it would be only a matter of time before the North Wind showed up at Blowhole's base. He expected them to look around, maybe hack into the dolphin's system, what he didn't expect was for them to break into his room and steal his property. The puffin had collected the photographs over the course of their separation, it was his way of coping with the whole situation. He didn't care if other saw him as insane, he just saw as devotion to someone he wanted to send the rest of his life with. Unfortunately, he knew as long as that stupid, intolerable wolf was in the picture, Skipper would never be his. Hans never expected the penguin to be so hurt by their past, he thought their reunion would be filled with loving embraces and kisses, not yelling and shoving. The puffin wished he could...maybe he actually could. Hans heard whispers that Dr Blowhole was working on a device that would bare the results he wanted. His line of thoughts was rudely interrupted by one of Blowhole's henchmen.
"Boss wants to see you."
Hans rolled his eyes before falling the lobster to Blowhole's location. Even before they reached the area, he could hear the dolphin yelling at everyone, he suspected it was due to the North Wind break in. The puffin entered the room his suspicions were correct. Too impatient to wait for Blowhole to finish his rant, he soon interrupted the dolphin mid sentence.
"Sir, I may have a plan to prevent anymore unwanted visits from that annoying agency."
The dolphin turned. "I'm listening."
"Whispers around the base say you're building a mind jacker 2.0. What if you altered it to allow you to erase all good morals from a person's mind? We could use it on one of the agents and they can assist me in eliminating the organisation from the inside."
Hans could tell Dr Blowhole was thinking long and hard about the idea. He wasn't worried, he had faith that the dolphin would see things his way. Hans hadn't let Blowhole down before and he didn't plan too. Everyone wins and it was the best way in destroying the organisation that has been a thorn in both their sides.
"Who did you have in mind?"
"I think we both know the answer to that question."
"Are you sure about this? I refuse to fix another mess if he goes rogue." Blowhole scowled.
"He won't go rogue sir. He is the best option for destroying the North Wind. He's in their inner circle, no one will suspect a thing."
"I hope you're right. If this goes sideways Hans, I won't hesitate in dragging you down with me. I'm sure the Royal Agency of Fauna Investigations would love to know how you escaped their Danish prison."
Hans gulped. "Don't worry, Skipper is the best option. Nothing will go wrong."
