Finally the story is picking up. Enjoy the next chapter :)
Chapter Quote:
"I'm sort of fascinated by the whole espionage crime thing."
~Aaron Eckhart
Chapter 9: Crackerjack
We all went to Osea a week later. Our parents flew their jets back home alongside our transport plane. We had our own personal fighter jet escorts. I didn't think anything would happen flying back home, and I was right, but it was nice having that security. Also it was extremely cool seeing my parents fly beside us.
We all pretty much slept the entire way home, exhausted from the week. At least our time in at the Belkan Air Force Academy had actually been up so our friends got to join us on the ride home. The only problem was that my only ally in this terrible situation was back at the Belkan academy. How Allison and I were going to find out what was going on when we were in two different countries, I didn't know, but I'd already told Shiloh that I was bringing Allison as my date for the Osean Independence party at Versailles, telling her it was to throw off any suspicion her brothers might have about her and I dating. She surprisingly agreed it was a good idea and was genuinely excited to finally meet Allison. I desperately wanted to tell Shiloh about what was really going on, but for her own safety, I knew that couldn't happen.
Currently the other boys and I were waiting in one of the living rooms at Versailles for the independence party to start. I'd misjudged the day it was actually occurring and had to tell Allison it was actually in a couple months rather than a couple weeks. She could still come but she gave me endless teasing about getting a couple weeks and a couple months mixed up.
Will and Jem were arguing over whether the Hawks or Cougars were going to win the basketball championship. Alec, Henry, and I were chatting about work. Alec and I had a lot to stress about because we were graduating soon and we were pointing that out to Henry who was stressing way too much about his exams.
The girls still weren't there. They were getting ready. I never understood why it took girls so long to get ready. I'd even asked Shiloh at some point to which she explained they had to shower, shave, dry their hair, style their hair, do the makeup (there's so much involved- don't get me started), paint their nails (fingers and toes), put their dresses on (because apparently some dresses are difficult I learned), and shoes. Knowing Lux and Shiloh, they'd take after their mom with the heels and put on the tallest ones they could find which meant they'd be tall. Very tall. Isabelle, Charlotte, and Tessa wore high heels too, but not quite to the degree the Davenport girls did.
"Hey guys!" Shiloh greeted, opening the door. "Sorry we're late."
The other girls followed behind them. I'd been right about Lux and Shiloh wearing heels that could kill.
"Lux, isn't that a little short for an Independence Party?" Will raised his eyebrows at her white, sequined dress. Lux flipped him off. He laughed. "Love you sis."
"Feelings not mutual. So when does this party actually start? And where the hell are our dates? Can't they come in earlier?" Lux ranted
"Everything okay?" I asked.
"She's just in a bad mood," Shiloh said.
"Thank you for that Captain Obvious," Lux remarked.
"Calm your engines," Shiloh snapped airily as she came to sit next to me. Just as she sat down, someone knocked on the door. I shouted at them to come in. It was one of the ushers (is that the right term?). He announced that our friends were here. Sophie came bursting through the doors and threw her arms around Will. Lydia shuffled her way over to Alec. Simon greeted Isabelle with a quick kiss. Like his girlfriend, he was rather shy at showing affection in public. Then there was Liam who gave Lux a hug.
"Something you want to tell us sis?" Jem queried, squinting his eyes suspiciously at Liam.
"He came as a friend. I was not going to this thing single like Shiloh," Lux retorted.
"Careful Liam, blonde's in a mood," Will warned. Lux slapped him upside the head.
"I'm not going single," Shiloh pointed out.
"What?" Will, Jem, Lux, and I chorused. I received some weird looks from her brothers and a knowing look from Lux but I ignored all of them.
"Who is it?" Jem demanded.
"Axel. It was a last minute thing. Mom invited him and Markus so they're coming with Allison. They should be here soon."
"Were you planning on telling us this before or after they showed up?" I questioned gruffly.
"Do you seriously still not like him?"
"I don't trust him. There's a difference."
"Really? Because you're acting like a jealous boyfriend whenever he's mentioned," she laughed. "Listen, they should be here soon. Since they're coming with your date, what do you say the two of us go down and greet them?"
"Fine," I said, standing up. "We'll be back."
Shiloh and I left the room. The moment we had turned around the corner, Shiloh stopped me and pulled me into a kiss.
"That was to remind you that Axel is of no threat to you," she said after breaking the kiss and walking again.
"I don't really appreciate finding out last minute," I muttered.
"I wasn't joking about it being last minute. I only found out a few minutes ago when mom texted me before she went to talk to President Duncan. I was about to tell you when Lux decided to announce I was going single. I'm sorry. But be more careful next time? Lux is still the only one that knows we're together and Will and Jem aren't stupid. They know that tone you were using wasn't because you don't trust Axel. You sounded like a jealous boyfriend."
"Because maybe I am."
"You don't have reason to be."
I sighed. "I know. Doesn't change that I don't trust him."
"In general or around me?"
"I don't trust him around you although I know very well you can handle him."
"He won't be hitting on me tonight. He knows we're dating. I told him after I found out he was coming."
"You won't tell your family but you'll tell him?!"
"He won't kill you for dating me like my brothers possibly might. Besides, we're keeping this a secret because we don't know if it really will work between us. Relax Percy. Besides, it was a way of preventing him from hitting on me tonight. He knows this is a purely platonic date."
"There's nothing platonic about the way he looks at you." My girlfriend rolled her eyes. This was going to be a fun night…
"Percy!" Allison exclaimed, breaking my trail of annoyed thoughts. I smiled at her as she came up to hug me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Shiloh hugging Axel and Markus. The former pulled away from my girlfriend and gave me a friendly smile.
"Hey Percy, how are you?" he asked, giving me his hand to shake.
I shook it but not willingly. "Good. Yourself?"
"Pretty good. Excited to be here. So where's everyone else?"
"They're in the living room. We've been hanging out in there until the party starts, which is actually in a few minutes so what do you say we go grab the others and head into the ballroom?" Shiloh said.
The five us headed back up to the living room. Axel stood next to Shiloh. Markus stood on the other side of Allison. I was in the middle. I was blocking out the conversations because my mind was on all the research I needed to do for a paper and also on the Gray Men because my mind was never far from that subject.
"Perce, you okay?" Allison snapped her fingers in front of my face.
"What?" I said, looking down at her.
"I was asking you a question and you weren't responding."
"Oh. Sorry. What was the question? And where did everyone go?"
"They went inside the living room. I wanted to talk to you privately for a moment. We can let the others think we're dating. Shiloh, Axel, and Markus know better though so we can't be long. My first question is did you figure out the password to your dad's computer?"
"Yeah, it's Kubinka1151995."
"How on earth did you figure that out?"
"I just figured out when and where my dad met my mom. Also I might've set up a camera in the room and filmed my dad typing in his password. Okay, what's your second question?"
"Are you sure Shiloh's okay with me being your date for tonight?"
"Yeah, why?"
"You two seem like you're arguing."
"We are. I don't trust her date."
"Axel? Why not? He's a good guy."
"I'll explain when we're getting the files on the Gray Men. Come on, let's go to the party." I offered my arm for her to take. I led her to the main ballroom which was decorated with Osean flags and colors. My family was in the center of the room talking with each other and a few other diplomats.
"There you are!" my father exclaimed as I approached. He looked Allison up and down critically. "Percy, are you going to introduce you to your date?"
"Everyone, this is Allison Bells. Allison, this is… everybody," I introduced, feeling slightly embarrassed. It was always nerve-wracking bringing someone into our inner circle. I mean my family was always nice, but we were a tight knit group that didn't trust many. We were always friendly, we were always polite, but outside of each other, we didn't trust most.
"Hello everyone," Allison greeted with a smile.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Major said, offering her hand to shake. My date did. My dad shook her hand as well.
"Percy's told me so much about all of you. It's a pleasure to meet you and an honor to be here."
"How do you two know each other?" Blaze asked sweetly. My godmother was always genuinely nice to people she met, but she was also very inquisitive and I knew she was trying to figure out my relationship with Allison. Knowing her, she might actually figure out my plan…
"I'm at the Belkan Air Force Academy in my last year. Percy has been helping me a lot for my dissertation."
"Your family was okay with you flying down here by yourself?" Chopper inquired, appearing genuinely concerned for my friend.
"I'm putting myself through college. My family isn't speaking to me right now. Different values, different views…" Allison admitted, suddenly becoming shy.
My godmother gave her sympathetic smile. "Then welcome to our family. The adults and I have to go greet some guests but I look forward to talking to you again."
"I'd hardly consider Bartlett an 'adult'," Chopper remarked. "He's more like an overgrown baby that can talk."
"Boy, I will hit you so far you'll land in Yuktobania," dad growled.
"If you're going to hit me, you should aim for Sotoa. It's farther." My godfather said more but I didn't hear it because he'd walked away with the rest of my family. I did see Chopper and dad start punching each other playfully in the arm though.
"They were joking, right?" Allison questioned hesitantly.
"Oh no, they weren't joking. Bartlett never jokes," Lux answered.
"My sister's kidding. Dad and Bartlett get along great, they just banter with each other more than the others. It's a pleasure to meet you though. Percy's told great things about you!" Shiloh exclaimed.
"Hopefully all good things," Allison laughed.
"I haven't found any bad traits to talk about," I said.
"What are you studying?" Axel queried.
"Network Intelligence. I mostly search for threats online but I've gotten quite good at hacking into things. Not that I do it on a regular basis though. I'm mostly hacking into my own accounts because I keep forgetting my passwords for things."
"I might need you to hack into my Instagram. Completely forgot my password," Charlotte said.
"Oh dear, how will you survive without posting a picture to Instagram?" Tessa remarked sarcastically.
"It's very important!" Charlotte argued. "How else am I going to post my fabulous pictures of epic planes and my beautiful family?"
"Literally the only things you post are pictures of you and Jem and planes. I'm nowhere on your Instagram."
"Okay, before we scare Allison off, let's go eat some food. We get cranky when we're hungry," I interrupted. The Grimm sisters glared at each other but complied with my wish. We all took over a table, splitting into two groups because there were so many of us. I sat with Shiloh, Axel, Will, Jem, Sophie, and Tessa. There was an empty seat at our table although I doubted any diplomat would take because I'm pretty sure a table full of college students is intimidating for anyone, whether you know the people or not.
We chatted while snacking on food. Everyone's moods improved dramatically after eating, telling me I'd been right about them being cranky when they're hungry. About an hour into the party when most of the guests had arrived, I asked Allison for a dance on the floor. Shiloh told us to have fun. She remained at the table talking to the rest of the group until the others decided they wanted to go dance too.
I had to admit the party was fun, almost to the point where I almost forgot about my actual mission.
Almost…
After having three dances with Allison, two with Shiloh, and another with Allison, the two of us made our escape. We passed a few security guards and whenever they gave us questioning looks, Allison and I would get all cozy with each other. All the guards thereafter assumed we were going somewhere to make-out (or more). We reached the Razgriz office with no problems. Slipping into the office, Allison went directly to my dad's computer. I locked the door behind us. Thankfully my dad's computer was already on so we could just log off when we were done.
"Kubinka1151995, right?" She asked. I confirmed it, turning on a lamp so we could see. I directed Allison to the folder that it would most likely be in. I wished I'd figured out my mom or godmother's password because my dad had no sense of organisation which meant that searching for the files we needed was going to be hellacious. They all had random names like 'Operation Huckbein', 'Operation Motormouth', 'Operation Kid', 'Operation Kirk', and 'Operation Thirteen'.
"Um, which one do I choose?" Allison asked.
"Try Operation… Motormouth?" I suggested, honestly just taking a guess about what to click. I had a feeling it wouldn't be the right folder, and I was right, but that didn't stop me from reading it.
"God, I can't believe what Mr. Davenport went through," Allison said softly.
"I didn't even know he went through that. I know he was shot down and thought to be dead, and I know he lost his memory for a bit, and that he was taken by Belkans, but I had no idea he was with them for six months, and being tortured as well," I admitted. "I wonder if the Davenport kids know… go back. Click on Operation Kid." Allison did what I said. That file contained information about Blaze, Geller, and Henri being in Emmeria and everything that happened while they were there and what happened when they were gone along with them kicking ass in a massive battle becayse apparently, in my dad's words, they were "scaring the shit out of the enemy because some badass Belkan planes registered as Osean but the pilots were speaking Yuktobanian".
"Wait a second, in an interview with your parents, I remember something about Blaze being called 'Kid' by your dad. What if the name of each operation has to do with the topic of who it was about?"
"Then I say we should be looking for something called Operation Asshole because that's what dad always called the Gray Men."
"There's no file called Operation Asshole."
"Um, what about Assbutt?"
"Percy, be serious."
"Okay… try looking for Ofnir, Grabacr…"
"It won't be that obvious."
"Then I guess we better get scrolling." Allison scrolled through the files. There was Operation Ghosts which was when my dad helped Yuke students steal a nuclear bomb to dismantle it while the Razgriz provided cover. There was Operation Nutmeg which for some reason, dad thought a Christmas party deserved to be in the file. Operation Badass was pretty much all about my dad breaking Prime Minister Nikanor out.
"Operation General Morons. Could that be it?" Allison mused aloud, clicking on the file. Sure enough that was the document. All seven hundred pages. "This was edited recently. I think your parents think that the terrorist attacks have been by the Gray Men. Let me copy this onto a flash drive and then we'll get out of here."
"What have they found out? Can you look while it's transferring?"
"Yeah." Allison scrolled down. "Looks like you were right about that Iron Cross. They've been looking into it too. They even have names of some people. When I get back to Belka, I'll look into the names for you. You read everything they have, see if you can find something out."
"Look into more files. A lot of the stuff they have is linked with each other. I don't want to miss out on any critical information."
"Percy, this is confidential information. If they find out that you have it, you could be called out for treason."
"If they find out, I'll tell them what I was doing. But I need to know. What's Operation Thorn?"
"It looks like it's all about this guy named Hamilton. Allen Hamilton. Do you know the name?"
"He was part of the Gray Men but Blaze fired at a plane in the tunnel in Sudentor. The plane ricocheted off the walls and hit Hamilton, killing him. Copy that file too. He had something to do with the Gray Men so maybe there's something in his file too. The file called Operation Motormouth, copy it."
"I don't see how that's-"
"There's names of ex-Gray Men. I want to know who they were. I'll skip past the parts about Chopper. I don't want to read about that… I don't want to read about my godfather getting tortured." I had a whole new respect for my godfather. I knew he'd been through some sort of hell and back but to the degree that the report went into, I honestly wondered how he could still laugh and smile and love life. It made me wonder how he'd survived six months of that hell.
"Fine. One more thing: why don't you trust Axel?"
"Because it seems like the moment Shiloh started talking to him, we started getting attacked. She met him only a little while before we were attacked in Parsberg and then it seemed after that, we were being targeted constantly. I don't believe in coincidences when my girlfriend is friends with the guy that tried to kill my parents multiple times along with the rest of my family and now the Gray Men are trying to kill us again. That can't be a coincidence."
"Okay, it's all downloaded, we need to-" Allison stopped midsentence when the doorknob jiggled.
"Oh shit," I breathed. Allison stood up and pushed me down in the chair before sitting on my lap. "What are you-"
"Shut up. I don't root for your team remember? Just go along with it," she hissed. Unclipping her hair, she dipped her head into the crook of my neck just as the door opened. Someone cleared their throat. Allison popped up to look over the back of the chair at the intruder, blushing furiously.
"What's going on here?" Henri asked. I let some relief wash through me. Henri would be easy to persuade we weren't doing anything we shouldn't be although I still felt guilty.
Allison smiled bashfully. "Percy was showing me around the palace and um, we uh… started doing other… stuff."
"Percy, why were you showing her in here? It's off limits to everyone but our family. You know that."
I spun the chair around. "Sorry, Henri… I just know Allison is a huge fan of the Razgriz and I was at least going to show her where you all work and then it took a different turn."
"I can see that. You better be glad I found you and not your dad. He's looking for you too. We realized you weren't in the room and went searching for you. Come on, your secret's safe with me but don't do it again."
"Thanks Henri. Could you possibly not mention what Allison and I were doing? Just that I was showing her around? Please? My dad would kill me if he found out I left the party to make out with a random girl."
Henri nodded. Allison and I darted out of the room, mumbling embarrassed thank you's as we walked past him. Henri walked behind us and it was only after we entered the ballroom again that Allison handed me the flash drive.
"You're the best," I said.
"The best I might be, but you are not. Henri is telling your dad who is standing right next to Shiloh who is obviously eavesdropping on everything."
"Oh no," I groaned. "I'll be back. I need to go do damage control."
I finagled my way over to Shiloh only to be stopped by my dad who asked, "Are you dating that girl?"
"No, we're not dating," I said firmly.
"Good, then you might want to let your actual girlfriend know that. I don't think she believed Henri when he said you were just showing Allison around."
"What?" I stared at him with wide eyes.
"Son, I'm your father, I-"
"I know you're my father."
"Watch the snark and stop avoiding the topic. I know you're dating Shiloh. Blaze found out and I'll never figure out how, but she in turn told me and your mom. Now go make sure your girlfriend is okay."
Clapping me on my back, my dad left me dumbfounded in my spot until Lux grabbed onto my tie and dragged me outside the ballroom.
"What did you do?" She demanded.
"Nothing!"
"Then why is my baby sister on the verge of tears?" Lux growled.
"Because she misinterpreted me showing Allison around as me cheating on her. I was going to go tell her but then my dad accosted me, announced he knows I'm dating Shi along with your parents, and as I was about to go to her again, you accosted me. If you want me to fix this, then let me go see her."
"If you don't fix this, I'm telling my brothers and you're dead." Lux stalked off. Taking a deep breath, I started heading back into the ballroom. I scanned the room for my girlfriend but she was nowhere to be found.
"If you're looking for Shiloh, I don't think she wants to talk to you," Axel remarked, walking up to me with a glass of champagne.
I could barely hide my distaste at the sight of him as I asked, "She already tell you what happened?"
"No, I was with her when she overheard Henri telling your dad. It wasn't hard to figure out what she was thinking. I did try to convince her you and Allison weren't doing anything bad."
"And?"
"She didn't believe me."
"Of course she didn't. I need to go find her. If you find her, tell her I need to talk to her."
"I'll tell her. Can't promise she'll listen. Good luck." I maneuvered my way back through the crowd in search of Shiloh. She was nowhere to be found. Sighing, I went to a table and sat down. Alec came over and chatted to me and while I was glad to have a conversation to make sitting at the table less awkward, I also couldn't stop thinking about where Shiloh was.
Allison
The moment I saw Shiloh leave the ballroom, I followed her. I could tell by her face that she was near tears. I made an excuse that I needed the bathroom to the security guards because I figured that was where she was going. Isn't that where all girls go when something goes wrong at a party?
Sure enough, she was in the bathroom. We were the only ones in there. She was washing her hands in the sink but her eyes were rimmed with unfallen tears. When Shiloh saw me, she smiled, but I could tell it was forced.
"Can we talk?" I asked.
"About what? You sneaking off with my boyfriend to make out?"
"We weren't making out."
"Then why else would Percy 'show you around' the building?" she replied, drying her hands.
"Because he was showing me places he wasn't supposed to. We were found in your parents' office. You have no idea how much I idolize the Razgriz. Percy thought I'd enjoy at least seeing the place that they do all their work. That's when Henri caught us. Percy would never do that to you Shiloh. I know that for a fact."
"Really? Because it seems like he's been hiding a lot from all of us recently so it makes me wonder if he's been hiding stuff about you too."
"The only stuff he's been hiding about me is my love life. He really has been helping me with work. I don't have any friends back on base. Percy is my only friend and I was hoping after today, that you might be too. Besides, I would never kiss Percy, and not just because he's your boyfriend. I wouldn't kiss him because I don't root for his team."
Shiloh blinked at me in confusion before I saw the realization hit her. "Oh!"
"Yeah, I don't like boys. Not in that way at least. I know you're probably still a little bit mad at him and me for not telling you that we were going to go tour the place, and I don't care if you forgive me, but at least forgive him."
"I forgive you. Both of you." Shiloh took her hand in mine. "Let's get back to the party. I'll introduce you to a few people."
We did just that. Shiloh introduced me to quite a few diplomats. I was glad all those conversations were short because they all seemed too full of themselves. When I voiced this to Shiloh later, she snorted and said, "That's because they are. Downside of being a kid of the Razgriz- we actually have to put up with them. Thankfully it's not often. They drive my parents nuts. Funny thing is that all the diplomats are scared of our family because of our legacy. Some of them may not like us, but they can't show it."
"Have your parents ever thought about running?"
"They've thought about it but they like their job now. They can work on their own time really, get to avoid most of the politics associated with working with the president."
"Are you going to follow in their footsteps?"
"I want to make a name for myself in the military first, then, if I'm able, I'd love to do what my mom does."
"Where do you want to be stationed?"
"I know relations with Aurelia are tense right now so I'd like to be placed near those borders. I doubt anything will come to a head with them that will require fighter jets but if it does for some reason, I want to be the first line of defense. Belka wouldn't be bad either since I can speak the language but I want to experience a new place I guess. What about you? Where do you want to be stationed?"
"Anywhere but Belka. Too many problems with my family. I want to go somewhere else and start with a clean slate, you know?"
"Well you're always welcome to come talk to us if you need help with anything. My mom doesn't say welcome to the family to many so she meant it when she told you welcome to ours."
"What did I say?" Mrs. Davenport asked, walking up and placing her hands on her daughter's shoulders.
"I was just telling Allison that you meant it when you said welcome to our family," Shiloh responded. "You okay mom?"
"I'm fine. Just searching for your brothers. How are you two doing?"
"We're good. Just talking. Why are you searching for Will and Jem?"
"Just trying to make sure they stay out of trouble. So tell me, is there any particular reason why Percy looks really down? You two didn't break up did you?"
"He and Allison weren't dating," Shiloh answered.
"I wasn't taking about him and Allison. I was talking about you and him."
Shiloh paled. "You knew?"
"Honey, I dated and married my brother's best friend. I know the signs of a secret crush. You're definitely my daughter," Blaze laughed. "Don't worry, only me, your father, Barlett and Major know. Oh, and Lux. We'll let you announce it to the others."
"In answer to your question Mrs. Davenport, Percy knew how big of a fan I was of the Razgriz and he thought I'd like a tour of the palace. We were caught in your office and Shiloh overheard and misinterpreted it. Not only do I not like Percy in that way, but I don't like boys."
"Is that why your family-" Blaze trailed off, not finishing the question but I knew what she was implying.
"Yes ma'am."
"You have a new family in us then. If you ever need anything, you let me know. I'll give you my number at the end of the night, okay? And please, call me Blaze. Now if you'll excuse me, I just saw your brothers go into the kitchen and I don't trust why they're going in there. I'll see you two later."
Blaze disappeared. I glanced over at Percy who was talking to Alec and Henry. He was putting on a brave face but I could tell it was fake.
"I should probably go see him," Shiloh mused.
"I'll stay here."
"Oh no, you come with. You're his date after all." Giving me a wink, she took my hand and led me over to the boys.
"Shiloh! There you are! Did you steal Percy's date from him?" Alec asked.
"Yes. She's great company!" Shiloh defended. "How are you three doing? Where's Lydia and Charlotte?"
"Good. They're talking with Sophie and Tessa. Where's your date?"
"I think he's talking to Helena."
"Ha, people think mom and dad are scary. Geller is terrifying."
"I think that comes with being a Belkan."
"Allison is Belkan and she doesn't look terrifying. No offense," Alex added quickly.
"None taken," I laughed. "Terrifying in person I am not, but get me to hack something, and there's no one better."
"Cyber attacker? We don't have one of those in our family I don't think. At least not of the kids. We could use one," Henry remarked.
"What exactly do we have to hack into?" Shiloh queried in amusement. Percy shifted in his seat.
"I'm just saying, if we ever needed someone to, we could have her."
"Alec! They're playing our song!" Lydia exclaimed, rushing over. "We need to dance!"
In the flash of an eye, Alec was gone. Henry snorted before saying, "I should go find Charlotte. She and the other girls look like they've been trapped by a diplomat."
That left me, Percy, and Shiloh awkwardly standing. I broke the silence by telling them, "Why don't you two go dance? Talk some stuff out?"
"We are not leaving you by yourself," Shiloh replied firmly.
"I'll go talk to Markus. It looks like he's third-wheeling with Helena and Axel."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes! Go talk!" Percy stood up and took Shiloh's hand, leading her to the dance floor. They stood apart from the main dancing group. I could see relief instantly wash over Percy's face barely ten seconds into the conversation. I smiled, happy that they were getting things straightened out. I made my way over to Markus only to be stopped by Major. The woman, I can honestly say, frightened the living daylights out of me.
"Hello Mrs. Bartlett," I greeted.
"Hello Allison. How are you?"
"I'm good. You?"
"Good. Why aren't you with my son? You came as dates."
"He's with Shiloh right now. I came purely as a friend. Also it throws off the others' suspicions about Shi and Percy dating because they don't quite wanting the others knowing. I was going to talk to Markus because it looks like he's become a wingman in a different sense."
Major laughed. "Axel has his hands full if he's thinking of dating Helena. Not only is she a pistol, she has an overprotective dad that actually puts my husband to shame."
"Are you enjoying the party?"
"I am. Are you?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Major, are you interrogating poor Allison?" Chopper inquired, popping up out of nowhere. Blaze was next to him but she kept looking over her shoulder at the twins to keep an eye on them.
"What's going on?" Genette walked up next to his sister. The resemblance between them was startling. I mean of course they should look alike because they're siblings, but you know those siblings that look nothing like each other? These two could pass as twins.
"I just wanted to get to get to know Allison. My son doesn't bring any girls to anything so she is obviously special to him."
"Honey where are you staying tonight?" Blaze asked.
"I'm staying in a brothel," I answered. Genette and Chopper, both of whom had been taking a sip of their champagne, started choking. I stared at them in confusion. "What?"
"Boys stop! You're embarrassing her," Major chided. The two men quickly regained their composure but I could tell they were trying not to laugh.
"Did you mean a hostel?" Blaze asked, glaring at her husband and brother.
"I'm not sure."
"A hostel is an herberge. You said bordell."
"Oh my god! Hostel! I meant hostel! Not brothel! Oh god that's embarrassing." I covered my face with my hands in embarrassment.
"Don't worry. There's nothing to be embarrassed about, especially in front of us. If you knew half the things we've said in front of each other, what you said would be mild."
"Like the long-term penetration instead of long-term potentiation?" Genette chuckled.
"Thank god that wasn't me," Blaze said, looking up at the ceiling.
"No, you just told an AWACs to go screw himself."
"And then said he already had," Chopper added.
"Okay, I was upset and angry and he was not being helpful at all. I needed to shut him up," Blaze protested.
"We're teasing you, love," Chopper told her, kissing her on the head. "Best thing that I'd heard that day."
"I try not to remember that day," Blaze mumbled. "Anyways, Allison, what I was going to say was that you're welcome to stay at our house."
"I wouldn't want to intrude!" I exclaimed. "Honestly, I'll be fine in the hostel."
"It's no trouble. We have a guest bedroom for you. We can drive you to the airport for your flight back. Please, I'd feel better if you were staying with one of us."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"I'd have to stop by the hostel to get my stuff on the way home."
"That's okay. We came in two cars. Jem can drive Will and the girls home and Chopper and I can help you get your stuff."
"That would be wonderful Mrs. Davenport. You have no idea!"
"You're very welcome. When does your flight leave?"
"Not until eight at night. It was cheaper to have a night flight."
"Good. You'll have a nice home cooked meal before you go home."
I hugged Blaze out of sheer gratitude. I'd heard such terrible things about the Razgriz from some Belkans but I couldn't see what they meant. These people were as normal as could be and they had great hearts. I would never want to mess with them or be on their bad side, but I knew I didn't have to worry about that. They were my new family, and I was going to help Percy make sure that no harm came to them. To any of them.
Longer than I expected but certainly enjoyable :) Review please!