Ch. 4

"Can we trust her?" Oreldo asked Alice after Kavi left them.

"Not entirely," Alice admitted, "but she doesn't strike me as deliberately malicious."

"Speak for yourself, LT! You didn't have a gun pointed at you!"

"And you wouldn't have either, if you hadn't lost your temper!"

"She wouldn't have really shot you," Stecchin piped up, "I just know it!"

"Calm down, guys!" Martis said. "Look, we're all on edge because she might know something. I think she does. If she wants the Lieutenant to jump through hoops to get that info, then so long as it's not illegal or dangerous, let's do it and do whatever we can to help."

"Agreed," Alice said. Oreldo huffed but nodded.

"Let's just get some rest," Alice said, standing up. "We can't do anything about it now, anyway. Dismissed, and good night."

"Yes, Ma'am!" they replied.

"Good night, Ma'am!" Stecchin said cheerfully, "Good night, guys!"

"Good night, Lily!" Martis said, yawning.

"Good night, squirt!" Oreldo teased. After Stecchin made a noise of protest, he added, "All right,you're not. I'm sorry. I have to admit one thing. You sure surprised me before. You…look really nice."

Stecchin's eyes became like dinner plates and she found herself speechless. She caught Oreldo's slight, rueful smile before he walked away.

Martis walked with Oreldo and saw his expression.

"What are you up to?" he asked. "I know you won't sleep yet."

"Oh, nothing I wouldn't normally do," Oreldo replied in an innocent tone.

"And you normally don't apologize, either. Are you all right?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah, yeah."

Martis frowned. "Well, something's bothering you."

"Naw, it's nothing, old pal, "Oreldo insisted. "It's just…I guess I didn't realize our favorite airhead has kinda grown up under our noses. I'm just wondering when that happened, y'know?"

"Oreldo…please tell me you're not gonna-"

Oreldo smacked him before he could finish. "Are you out of your mind? I'm not that unprincipled!"

Martis heaved a sigh of relief. Oreldo couldn't help laughing.

"Man, at least I now know you have a perverted imagination, buddy!"

"I do not!"

"You should use it more often!"

"Shut up!"

Alone in her sleeping quarters, Alice began undressing when she heard a knock on the door. Thinking it was Stecchin needing something, she threw a robe on and answered it. When she opened the door, she gasped in surprise.

"Are all the little troops tucked in for the night, my princess?" Lionel asked. He stood over her, his suit jacket and cravat removed, his dress shirt unbuttoned halfway.

"L-Lionel," she mumbled, "What is it? Is something wrong?"

He gave her the onceover, smiling devilishly.

"I could say yes," he said. He made a motion to touch her, but she backed up a step. He sighed, then entered the room and slid the door shut behind him. She suddenly wondered whether or not he had made the motion on purpose.

"I missed you today," he said.

"Oh?" She fiddled with her robe, hugging it close to herself.

"Yes," he said, moving closer. "Here we are, engaged, taking a trip to a beautiful, tropical land, and you spend most of the day discussing work with your men."

"I-I'm sorry," she said.

"You wouldn't even let me be part of the conversation."

"I already explained that to you. Officers in the army know that information that is sensitive cannot be shared with just anyone, even a spouse or a parent. It's too dangerous. Loose lips sink ships."

"Do you really believe I couldn't handle it? Do you still wonder why I feel a little jealous?"

"Well, but…but you know why we're really here, don't you? I'm not even sure I should have told you that much!"

"Of course, my princess," he soothed, letting a finger slide down her shoulder. He then clasped her hand, kissed it, then turned it over and gave a light kiss on her wrist. "You wish to find your precious Gilgamesh. I'm not surprised."

Alice shivered. She didn't tell him the part about investigating the 906 because that was still considered classified. She pulled back but he held onto her wrist tighter. He used his other hand to push up the sleeve of her robe, exposing her bare skin.

He coughed a laugh. "Why is it whenever I'm with you, you're thinking of another man?"

"It's n-not like that," Alice insisted.

"I know you miss him, my princess," he whispered, continuing to kiss up her arm very slowly, "I'm sure he's just fine. But I miss you too, and I'm right here."

"I'm s-sorry," she faltered, unsure of what to do. "But I just…I'm afraid something bad will happen to him! And I have to tell him I…"

He silenced her with a long, slow kiss on the lips and pulled her to him, locking her in an embrace. He released her mouth and looked down at her. His pupils were dilated, and had that look of dark hunger again.

"L-Lionel…?"

He kissed her again, his mouth becoming harder and more urgent. His breath was hot against her temple.

"I've waited so long for you, Alice," he whispered, "so long. Let me stay with you tonight." He pressed his lips to her neck and she gasped. He began moving down, nudging the fabric aside to kiss her shoulder.

"Can't you just forget about him for one night?" he whispered. That made her angry. She pressed her palms flat against his chest and pushed him away.

"No, I can't, and how dare you even say that! A soldier never leaves her comrades behind!"

Lionel turned away and placed his hands on the wall, leaning against it. He slammed a hand against the wall.

"How long must I wait for you, Alice?" he asked, his tone low and rough.

Frightened, she slowly moved toward her sword, which was on the bed.

"You," she said, trying to be firm, "You…you've had too much to drink, my lord. Think about what you're doing."

Anger flashed in his face. She watched his hands ball into fists. "Think about it? You don't know how long I've thought about it."

He suddenly whirled around to face her, only to be met with her blade. The movement shocked and subdued him, and he looked stricken.

"You think I wish to harm you, princess?" he asked softly. He looked genuinely contrite.

"I think you're not yourself, my lord," she replied, then thought a moment. She cocked her head to the side. "Unless I'm finally seeing the real you? Is that what this is?"

His mouth opened but nothing came out. The tension flowed out of him like water. He then chuckled, but it was humorless. He turned away and rubbed his eyes.

"The funny thing is," he said, sighing, "the more stubborn you are, the more exciting it is for me. Please forgive me, my princess. I'll…not trouble you further tonight."

He started for the door. Now it was Alice's turn to be stricken.

"Lionel, wait."

He paused, and turned. Suddenly, they heard the sound of breaking glass outside of her room, followed the sound of a struggle that ended with a terrific crash.

Lionel threw open the door, warding off Alice and stuck his head out. He found Kavi, scantily clad in red velvet with a white robe, on the floor, panting, holding onto the end of her beloved guitar that was now smashed to pieces. She was kneeling over a figure in black with red goggles.

"Madame Minstrel?" Lionel called, as the rest of the team and the other passengers poured out into the hallway, "What happened?"

"Back off!" Kavi yelled. "He's still dangerous!" She scrambled away from the figure as it suddenly dissolved, the acid eating right through the floor of the train. Screams were heard and a few female passengers fainted, while a few of the men looked sick and hurried back into their rooms.

"It's all right now!" Kavi shouted. She began shooing people away. "It's gone! The danger is over! Go back to bed now, it's all right! I'll get the head of security and maintenance to fix this!"

Stecchin rushed to Kavi. She was dressed in pink pajamas and bunny slippers. Oreldo and Martis went to intercept her. Oreldo got to Stecchin first and held onto her. She looked up at him, surprised, and then blushed. His shirt was open and she could see a fading kiss mark. Meanwhile Martis frowned at Kavi.

Stecchin quickly turned back to Kavi. "Oh, Ms. Kavi," she cried, "are you hurt?" Kavi looked back at her and smiled.

"I'm fine, Sergeant-Major," she said, nodding, "sorry I woke you up. Are you all right? Is everyone safe?"

"We're all right, Kavi," Alice said, pushing past Lionel. Upon seeing the two of them, Oreldo's eyebrows shot up and his mouth became an O.

"Shut up, Oreldo!" Martis hissed, but Oreldo couldn't stop himself. He whistled at them and wiggled his eyebrows.

Alice glared at him. "All right!" she barked, pointing her sword at him, "what are you looking at, Sub-Lieutenant Goldbrick? Get back to bed, and I mean in your own room! On the double!"

"Y-yes, Ma'am!" Oreldo squeaked, backing off with a sheepish grin, "I-I-I was only trying to appeal to your sense of humor!"

"Not. Another. Word!"

"Uh…which apparently you've misplaced at the moment! Good night!"

Lionel started laughing and she whirled on him. "As for you, my lord," she said softly, "you can sleep it off. Alone. Don't make me regret not having an escort."

He bowed. "As my lady wishes."

She turned around, but not before seeing the look in Martis' eyes. She gave him an imperceptible nod.

After Lionel left, and she dismissed the others, Alice spoke with Kavi in private.

"I see you've dealt with them before," she said, meaning the paratrooper. "What can you tell me about them?"

"Only once, I'm afraid," Kavi admitted, "but that was enough."

"Do you know what their original purpose was in the war?"

Kavi sighed. "I'm not surprised you don't know. The only reason I know about the Invisible Nine is by accident. I take it this isn't your first encounter, either."

Alice shook her head. "My platoon has…met a few. There was Grau Wulf of the 903rd, and then 908 who Corporal Oland tried to save…"

"Oland, the big dude you're looking for?"

Alice nodded. She didn't mention Oland belonging to the 901st. She thought it was too risky.

Kavi continued. "Well, to answer your earlier question, the 906 were paratroopers, meaning they were flown over enemy territory and dropped off, so to speak. Actually, the term paratrooper isn't exactly correct, since they didn't use parachutes, hence their nickname, the Wingless Divers. They were also meant to be an amphibious unit, able to go on land or in the water as easily as frogs."

"How did they survive the drop without chutes?" Alice asked.

"That's part of the mystery," Kavie replied. "It must be their suits, which seem very high-tech. I've seen them change shape. They become skin tight in the water, and I've seen them balloon out in the air."

"And the acid?"

"A fail-safe, I think. It's as if the suit knows the moment the trooper is compromised, and promptly destroys all evidence."

Alice nodded again. It made sense.

"Tonight, though…why do you think there was there only one of them?"

"Assassination, maybe," Kavi replied, mulling the possibilities. "Could also have been just fear-mongering that went wrong when he met me."

"Are you sure?" Alice asked, frowning.

"What do you mean?"

"Your room is much further down the hall, Kavi."

"So it is," Kavi nodded. "What of it?"

"What were you doing outside my door at 1 a.m.?"

Kavi grinned. "I'm glad you notice details like that," she said. "You're not just a noble getting your kicks, then."

"No, I'm not," Alice said, "please answer me, Kavi."

"Well, to be blunt, I was with your Sub-Lieutenant Goldbrick, as you seem fond of calling him."

Alice's eyes widened and she blushed scarlet. Kavi laughed.

"Don't worry, Second Lieutenant! I like 'em young, but not that young!"

"Then ..." Alice faltered, "what were you…?"

"We made a deal, him and me, that's all," Kavi said, who quickly grew sober. "And I'm keeping my side of the bargain. That's all I can tell you tonight."

*Note: I've always felt that Lionel is a textbook sociopath and narcissist, meaning he has no sense of guilt, no sense of empathy, and seems to believe he's entitled to anything he wants. I think he truly does love Alice, but doesn't know how to express that properly.