DarylDixon'sLover - Indeed!
RandomMoonshadow - What exactly came out of left field?
Claire Randall Fraser - I always look forward to your reviews most of all. They're the ones that fuel this writing machine. So thank you for them!
itsi3 - I actually enjoyed learning ASL in order to write that scene.
This chapter is dedicated to Claire Randall Fraser, because you keep this story alive.
..-~-..
..-~-..
Chapter Thirty-Two: Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
**Carol**
"Major Devlin?"
Carol and Kravitz stared down a long, white, sterile hall where a group of men huddled around something on the floor.
At the sight of the officer in uniform the men scattered, leaving a single man to collect the dice and his winnings.
He stood up at their approach.
"Colonel," the man returned.
Kravitz frowned a little. "Where's Major Devlin?" He asked the man.
"If I had to chance a guess…he's sleeping in?" The Asian officer returned. His name tag read O'Brodovich which struck Carol immediately as curious.
"Where's his quarters?" She asked the men.
O'Brodovich smirked easily. "I wouldn't go there."
"Why's that?" Kravitz inquired.
"He's sleeping in."
"We'll give him a friendly wake up call," Carol stated firmly.
..-~-..
..-~-..
The three of them stood at the top of the stairs to the fourth floor of the building, staring down a dark, unoccupied corridor.
"I think I'd like to go on alone," she said to the two men.
The two exchanged a look, but politely remained where they were, leaving her to walk down the empty hall, heading for the soft, muffled music that played somewhere in the hall.
Carol followed the strains of The Andrews Sisters, until the music was clearer and coming from beyond an unmarked doorway.
Glancing down the hall to where the two men remained waiting for her patiently, she found O'Brodovich shifting uncomfortably on his feet, while Kravitz remained calm, holding his clipboard to his chest.
She knocked on the door gently.
When no one came to the door, she glanced down the hall once more and found only Kravitz standing there.
He shrugged when she frowned at the empty space and took a few worried steps down the hall towards her.
Carol knocked again a little louder.
And the company jumps when he plays reveille,
He's the boogie-woogie bugle boy of Company B.
They made him blow a bugle for his Uncle Sam,
It really brought him down because he couldn't jam.
The music still played, but no movements came from behind the door.
By now Kravitz had joined her, gingerly moving to stand at her side and stare at the door curiously.
"Major Devlin?" She called out, knocking again.
Glancing at Kravitz, she found him trying the knob, pushing the door open carefully, allowing the music to pour out from the room.
She allowed him to step in first, following closely, keeping her eyes darting and her hands ready to defend herself.
The room was virtually empty save for the recorder playing the music and a mannequin made from broomsticks and an officer's uniform.
Kravitz went straight towards the mannequin and plucked a note off the front, reading it before handing it over to Carol.
Sorry I missed your call, leave a message after the beep.
She frowned at the message.
"Beep," someone chirped from behind them.
Carol jumped, ready to pounce, Kravitz pulled his gun halfway from his holster, before recognizing the form that had come up behind them.
A half-naked Devlin beamed roguishly and lit up a cigarette as the song on the recorder started over again.
"What brings you two flies into my parlour?" Devlin inquired, scooping up his note and reading it before tossing it aside in order to sit beside the recorder on the small desk-like table.
"What's with the ceremony, Major?" Kravitz inquired.
"What?" The man asked, leaning forward a little.
"The music? The mannequin?"
Taking a deep drag from his smoke, the man eyed Carol calmly, before leaning backwards on the desk.
"I don't have to explain my art to anyone, Kravitz," the man said, putting a heavy Polish accent on for the Colonel's name, blowing his smoke to the side politely. He smiled at Carol and winked. "You bring her up here for a little touch and tickle, Colonel? She's cute."
"Do you remember me?" Carol asked.
Devlin took another long drag of his cigarette, eyes narrowing at her. Blowing his smoke in the direction of the Colonel, he said, "show me your tits."
Carol's hands balled into fists of their own accord.
"Sorry, sweetheart, I remember tits better than faces."
"I would appreciate it if you were a little more polite to Mrs. Vancoughnett," Kravitz broke in calmly.
Shaking her head at the Colonel, Carol said, "I can handle him." Figuring it was just a flash of her tits, she lifted her shirt and fought the urge to blush as he took her in, still calmly smoking. This was all for her daughter. She could gut the little asshole later.
Kravitz suddenly found the window interesting as angled anyway a little from her.
Smoothing down her shirt, she gave him an expectant look.
"They're not ringing any bells for me. Nice though."
"They're usually smaller," she said firmly. "I haven't expressed my milk yet today."
"Gross," the Major returned.
"Because I have a baby girl waiting for me back home," Carol finished.
The music from the recorder took over the silence as everyone fell quiet.
He was a famous trumpet man from out Chicago way,
He had a boogie style that no one else could play.
He was the top man in his craft,
But then his number came up and he was gone with the draft.
Finally Devlin cleared his throat. "So what do you want from me?"
"Can you get me and my husband out of here?"
Devlin's eyes flashed to Kravitz at her side.
"Colonel," the Major said with a small grin. "Don't you have things to be doing?"
"I could ask the same of you," Kravitz returned. "However, we all know you don't do much of anything around here. Why is that?"
"Just lucky I guess," Devlin stated sliding down from the desk. "Now, I have things to do and unless one of you is going to pop my top, then I'm going to have to ask both of you to get the hell out of my office."
Carol was tempted to shove him down and demand help or answers or something, but he was military trained and even she wasn't that stupid.
Still, it tore her inside to watch another hope for escape pass her by as Devlin approached Kravitz to usher them both to the door.
Exchanging a panicked look with the Colonel, Carol struggled to think of something. If this man could get her and the Lieutenant out and back home safely, if they could do this without risk or…having to seduce someone, then she needed this chance.
With a small twitch of his mouth, Kravitz suddenly turned and grasped the Major by his upper arm, whispering in his soft tone. "Major? Please? Can't we do anything for her?"
Major Devlin looked the shorter Colonel up and down for a moment, before a smug grin took over his features. "Is that an order, Colonel?"
"It's a polite request," Kravitz said.
Shrugging off the hand on his arm, Devlin laughed jovially. "Hahaha! I don't think so, sorry. I have no idea how you got it into your heads that I could help anyone. I'm just a soldier."
"Please?" Carol asked. "I have a baby waiting for me. She needs feeding soon."
"Lady," Devlin said. "I can't help you."
Instantly her mind began to go through her other options, distracting her from what happened next, all she knew was that Kravitz's clipboard clattered to the floor and suddenly Devlin was on the floor right beside it, flat on his face, winded, Kravitz restraining him, kneeling on his mid-back, holding his arms up straight behind him.
"I'd appreciate it if you could help Mrs. Vancoughnett and her husband out," Kravitz murmured coolly in a tone that lost all of its soft warmth. "Or do I have to pull rank on you, Major?"
"While you're back there, I have an itch just above my ass," Devlin replied.
Holding Devlin's arms, Kravitz used his foot to push the man's face hard against the floor.
"Little lower," the man mumbled into the floor. "You're not even close."
"I don't want any trouble," Carol said, suddenly very tired. "I just want to go home."
Both men looked over at her.
She sighed. "I just…I'm tired of fighting. I just want to go home." Her voice broke, but she refused to cry. That was the last thing she needed, was to start weeping over her little girl and Daryl and the home she lost in front of these strange and potentially dangerous men.
Releasing Devlin, Kravitz stepped away and cleared his throat.
Lying on the floor in a Playgirl centrefold style, Devlin smiled up at them both.
Retrieving his clipboard, Kravitz moved towards Carol and said gently, "we'll figure something out, Mrs. Vancoughnett."
She nodded and followed him out, giving Devlin one last, disappointed look.
..-~-..
..-~-..
Stopping outside the closet she shared with the Lieutenant, she turned to Colonel Kravitz and smiled. It was forced, dry.
"Thank you for trying to help me," she said.
He looked her in the eye and touched a hand to her shoulder politely. "I meant what I said. I'll help you best I can."
"Be careful though," she whispered. "I don't want to get you in trouble."
He smiled secretively and leaned in. "I basically run the place," he stated. "They would be stupid to get rid of me." Giving her one last pat on the shoulder, he turned and walked off, leaving Carol to open the door to her closet and step inside defeated.
"You have some balls, lady," someone spoke as she tugged her overhead light on.
Jumping, she spun mid-air and reached for the knife she no longer carried.
Sitting on the bottom bunk, resting against the wall calmly, Major Devlin glowered at her darkly.
"How'd you get here?"
"My mom and lot of liquor if she's to be believed," the man replied easily.
Closing her door, Carol kept her eyes on the man the whole time.
He remained on the bunk looking like he had no intentions of moving.
"I ran really fast," he finally admitted with a grin. "Okay, so…you have business with me?"
"What's going on here?" She asked first off. "Last night you said some very—"
"I know what I said," he growled. "You think this is a fucking movie where a man gets so blitzed he forgets everything? But you're curious about it?"
"I just want to go home, I could care less about…whatever it is going on here."
"Not even a little curious?" He inquired.
"No."
"I really can't get you out, I'm not magic."
"But you wouldn't be here unless you didn't have something for me," she argued.
He smirked. "You're a sharp one. Sexy and smart, I'm in love."
"How fast can I reject that idea without ruining my chances of getting your help?" She asked.
He chuckled. "Look. If you can finagle a meeting with the very top dog, then you'll probably be in a position to go home."
"I tried to see him," she said.
"Haven't we all?" He returned, rising to his feet.
Carol hesitated. "Is it really him? The President?"
Devlin's eyebrows rose to his hairline. "Maybe? Maybe not? Meet with him face to face and see."
"Can't you just—"
"No," he cut her off. "The President! Meet him! Find him! Reason with him in person! Touch him if you want!" He barked as he stepped to the door.
..-~-..
..-~-..
She was in their closet room later that evening, avoiding everyone, just anxiously pacing up and down her small cell which only took a step or two, when the Lieutenant came 'home'.
"There's my little woman," he teased. Seeing her face, his joking smile dropped and he grew grim. "Are you alright?"
"I had a strange day," she said.
"How strange?"
"I couldn't even begin to describe it…"
Taking him by the wrists, she sat them down on the lower bunk and began her tale, not leaving out a single, small detail. When she finished, she waited to hear his opinion, knowing that for all his goofball ways, he would think this over and give sound advice.
What he said instead was, "how much do you trust Kravitz?"
She blinked. "I…don't…I think I trust him," she said after a small moment of reflection.
The Lieutenant nodded. "And this Devlin?"
"I don't know."
"Okay, we need to bring Kravitz in on this."
"What?"
"Look, you said you trust him, yeah? I might have the brain of a tubeworm, but I know that it's better to have a force of trusted men at your back then one tired old Cajun." He patted her knee and stood up. "I think we should pay Colonel Kravitz a visit to thank him for helping my beloved wife today."
She nodded. "Okay." Her feet remained planted in the spot where she rose and she asked, "are you sure?"
He paused by the door and pocketed his hands. "If you feel like I'm wrong, say something, ange. I'm not always right."
Carol thought over her day and all the previous exchanges she had with the Colonel, before nodding. "No, I trust him."
Holding out his hand, the Lieutenant smiled easily. "So? We going?"
She took his hand and nodded. "We go."
Opening the door to their little closet hole, she almost walked right into the chest of Major Devlin.
"Ma—" she began, but halted at the sight of a swarm of uniforms flanking him.
"Mrs. Vancoughnett, is it?" He inquired with a smug grin. "Do you think we could have a word with you and your husband?" His eyes twinkled. "Strictly informal."
"You can have a word with me," the Lieutenant said sternly. "But no one talks to my wife without our lawyer present."
Major Devlin smiled broadly. "That's cute. I can see I'm going to like you. Come along upstairs."
When they remained frozen in their doorway, he motioned with an open hand invitingly. "Come along, please?"
The Lieutenant slid his hand into hers and they started off with the group of uniforms, heading for the stairs.