Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Shooting Blanks. Enjoy the 900-word chapter. I don't own Black Lagoon; Rei Hiroe and a few others do.
Andros hummed and clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. He knew for a fact that Balaika was busy fighting on the frontlines. The woman was a soldier first and anything else second.
Still? He knew very well that she could handle herself. It was not why he continued to monitor her under the pretense of making sure that the mission was going swimmingly.
Andros knew very well that she was almost certainly killing anyone who stood in her way.
"They don't care about us…" Andros muttered more to himself than anyone else.
The other soldiers in the base shared looks at him. Andros knew even as a general, they would kill him if he didn't fall in line.
Andros knew more then to question the soldiers around him. They wanted to shoot him the second he stepped out of line.
His country didn't care about their men at the moment. The war seemed less a way to seize land…. And more of a way to clear the board of more pieces that could unravel their plans.
If someone was to compare Andros to Balaika? They'd diverge at the point that while Balaika was a terrifying warrior… She was much more a planner then a fighter.
Andros, however? He fought; he could kill the enemy better than he could outsmart them.
"Is everything going according to plan?" Andros questioned and got nothing but a hail of gunfire over the radio.
It almost made him chuckle that he managed to cozy up to a woman who could leave him dead in a body bag.
"Area secured." He heard over the radio. He almost pitied the men and woman who shot at his comrades.
Andros knew for a fact that the war would end with thousands of soldier's dead… Not a surprise when one of his countries' leaders was a man who had pruned half the country.
Andros looked at several of the officers who remained stone faced and cold hearted.
It didn't surprise him at all. Andros knew they had earned their positions due to drowning the enemy in an ocean of blood.
He tapped his fingers on the desk. It made him want to chuckle for how most officers lived behind desks. Andros would have rather ended up punching a grenade rather than asking. He really didn't even care at the moment. There were a thousand questions he didn't care to ask.
"Millions of soldiers and they are scared of one that is not here to threaten them." Andros said before he chuckled. "Only weak leaders would be scared of someone who isn't here. Their scared because she's smart enough to displace their entire army if they wanted. It's funnier when it comes down to it." Andros said, tenting his fingers under him.
He knew that Balaika was in danger. People feared her, she had loyalty and charisma. Andros couldn't imagine them trying to kill her, it would cause a public outcry that probably ended with the government being dragged under at the moment.
"I wish she was here. They will not allow her to go free, they will not once allow her to have." Andros muttered to himself as he slowly stood up from his desk. "She has her plans. I must have mine ready for when it comes down to it or such at the moment." Andros said and then slowly began the walk towards the barracks.
He needed to make sure that his men were ready for their move. If they weren't? He'd be gambling with lives, but when did he not already? He longed for the days of field work where here didn't have to worry about life and all its little worries like this.
Then again? If he didn't? Someone would have to, someone smart, skilled, and good at carrying about their men. He doubted many officers really cared about that when it came down to it at the moment. It wasn't like lives benefited them when it came down to it.
"Why do I always get hooked with garbage work?"
(Several years ago)
Andros continued to usher people forward as he lifted his pistol and started to fire at the other soldiers.
"Why are there so many reinforcements?" Andros questioned as he brushed off his coat.
He wondered just how many men the enemy was willing to throw at the problem… He sure wasn't willing to considering how bad things seemed to be.
Plus, he wasn't willing to throw his soldiers away for an assignment he didn't know about.
Andros dropped the magazine from his weapon and hummed as he clicked another magazine into his weapon.
Still? The Lieutenant had things to do, it made him wonder what would happen next. People had to be dealt with, that meant many plans sooner or later.
It meant many plans for the future.
Author Notes
Phew. Another chapter done! I want to point out that next chapter is going to be longer and such. I planned for this chapter to be 1500 words but I don't know what to make it. next chapter will be 900-1500 words or such and will show both more of Andros and Balaika's past and such. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!
P.S: Next chapter is in 2-10 months.