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Chapter 9: Central Command
It was a couple hours of practice before Kokobiel at least understood the basics of sign language. It would take more time to learn more but having conversations with Rykard.
"So where is this job?" Sam asked.
"Wortistan, so we're either going to have to hire a taxi service or wait till Dingo comes back to get us. I don't think we have the credits nor the favors to pay for the taxi service," Morgan said as he boiled a pot of water.
"So we have to wait till Dingo comes back so we can take the van to then go get this device, come back here, then return to base?" Sam said.
"Yeah that's exactly what we have to do," Morgan said as he dug through the cupboard.
"What are you making?" Kokobiel asked as he just watched Morgan move throughout the kitchen.
"Coffee, do you want some?" Morgan asked. Sam looked at him in confusion before he looked between the two of them.
"You don't normally make coffee for others, what's going on here?" Sam asked as she folded her arms. Welp the cat was out of the bag, at least Kokobiel thought.
"I can't be nice to the new guy?" Morgan remarked in defense.
"You? No you can not." Sam rebutled. Rykard appeared from the hallway now at the increasing volume of Sam. Rykard realizes what this conversation is about as a shit eating grin goes across his face as he pointed at the two of them and did the same hand gesture from that morning.
"No Rykard we did not do that, he may have stayed in my bed but we didn't screw!" Morgan yelled at Rykard before realizing what he said.
"Shit." Morgan said to himself. Now Sam had a shit eating grin across her face. Kokobiel shrugged before speaking.
"Yeah we spent the night in the same bed, Morgan is just a big baby. Can I still get that coffee please," Kokobiel said as he looked back at Morgan.
"First of all, fuck you, second of all you're the one who came into the room, and third of all do you want cream and sugar?" Morgan rebutted.
"I can go further into detail if I have to, I have no shame and yes I want cream and sugar." Kokobiel shot back.
"Cmon you can't just say you can go further into detail and then not do so," Sam said as she gripped the arm of the chair.
"Take it up with him, if he doesn't want to talk about it then I won't, you two just can't help but have drama in your lives," Kokobiel said as he got up from the couch.
"Come on Morgan, tell us please we won't tell anybody else we swear, right Rykard?" Sam said as she looked at Rykard who nodded his head rapidly. Morgan sighed as he handed the cup of coffee to Kokobiel.
"Yes we slept in the same bed, we were just talking things over last night, nothing really happened," Morgan muttered out as he sipped his coffee.
"So something did happen!" Sam yelled as she leaned over the chair arm.
"We may or may not have cuddled." Morgan quietly muttered, Kokobiel the only one to hear him as he smirked.
"What was that?" Sam tilted her head.
"We cuddled, is that good enough for you!?" Morgan yelled now flustered. Sam lurched back at Morgan's raise in voice. She then nodded as she sat back down in the chair. Morgan huffed as he went and sat down on the couch, Kokobiel followed him as he sat on the opposite end. Rykard joined in the middle of the two the cat in his hands as he set it in his lap. Rykard signed to Morgan asking him something.
"Yeah sure you can say we're ‘dating'," Morgan said as he did air quotes. Rykard giggled as he petted the cat, Kokobiel wasn't too worried what the other two thought about them but he knew Morgan had some form of reputation to keep up. So for his sake he wouldn't make it too obvious what they were.
"So Sam, how did you end up in the rebellion?" Kokobiel asked.
"Oh I'm technically paying off a debt but I've basically paid it off and Marcus is here so I would like to stay wherever he is." Sam said as she smiled at the thought.
"What about you Rykard?" Kokobiel asked him. Rykard signed back mentioning something about family but Kokobiels sign understanding wasn't the best. But he did recognize the sign of die, or died, it depended on the context.
"Oh sorry to hear that, I never knew my parents." Kokobiel replied back. Rykard shrugged, not too bothered about his parents.
"You were an orphan?" Sam asked.
"Somewhat, we had a lady to take care of us but there wasn't much money or food to go around. I would do anything for my sisters and brother but that life is long gone." Kokobiel said as he lost himself in thought.
"Do you know what happened to them?" Sam asked as she sat up.
"Not really, once I was taken in by the house for some dumbshit I never really saw them again, maybe they are still in Lamtha." Kokobiel replied back, dragging a finger back and forth over the couch arm.
"Have you just not decided to go back there and at least look?" Sam asked.
"No, I haven't really thought about doing so, just figured they wouldn't want to see me come back after disappearing for so long." Kokobiel replied back. That is what he truly thought, it had been so long would any of them even recognize him if he returned. What if they weren't even there anymore.
"Why don't we go up there after this job for CJ, we'll be there for you." Morgan said as he smiled at Kokobiel.
"I don't know, it seems kind of far out of the way." Kokobiel said trying to get out of this now. Morgan tilted his head to the side in a bit of confusion and disappointment. Kokobiel let out a sigh as he looked at Morgan's expression changing.
"Fine, we can go but only to see if they are still there." Kokobiel said as he caved in. Morgan's face lit up as he sat down the coffee mug. A knock came from the door as everybody turned to see the door, Morgan was the one to get up and open the door. Greeted by Dingo who shouldn't have been back yet but was.
"What are you doing back here?" Morgan asked as she stepped in.
"The commander is back at base and wants all his generals back there so I'm here to pick you up and the other three can come with," Dingo said as she stood by the door and looked at the others.
"What does he want? I haven't talked to him in months, Zach handles the letters." Morgan said to her. Kokobiel went to fetch his bag as Dingo and Morgan talked. He had hoped to stay the rest of this day with the privacy and lack of people but that seems it's not going to go that way. Then the idea of having to explain stuff to Tom might be weird but that's something he could worry about later. Plus what would Tom care about? It's not like they had anything going, they were just buddies. Though maybe the fact it was his brother and they had just barely met he would have something to say about that. He was on auto pilot as he came back to the front before he snapped back to reality when Morgan said his name.
"You good dude? You look a little out of it." Morgan asked.
"Yeah I'm fine just zoned out is all. What do you need?" Kokobiel replied back.
"Nothing, just checking in, go and get in the van. I have to grab my stuff real quickly," Morgan said as he walked past Kokobiel. Shaking his head he went to the van, somehow Sam and Rykard had got past him at some point. He didn't know how but he shrugged it off since it wasn't of concern. Leaning his head back Kokobiel was overcome with a sense of nausea and dread, his brain flooded with the idea of returning to Lamtha because what if they remember him what would he even say to them. Then also the thought they forgot him, a stranger returning to your home then what if they hated him and that's why they never looked for him. The thoughts went away as quickly as he came as he felt someone lean on him from the right as his tail was intertwined with. Looking over it was Morgan not paying too much attention to Kokobiel. His breathing settled as he twiddled his thumbs as the van's engine turned on and they began to move. It slowly started to rain, hitting the top of the roof as it slowly picked up, looking through the back window the clouds grew a dark grey over head as thunder struck.
"What do you think the commander wants?" Sam asked.
"Dingo didn't exactly know and I don't know of any regulations we are supposed to follow," Morgan said as he sat up.
"Hey Morgan did you guys go see CJ? What did he say?" Dingo asked.
"He wants us to do him another favor before we get the info, get a device off a house officer." Morgan replied back.
"That slimy rat." Dingo muttered out.
"So where are we going for this favor?" Dingo replied back.
"Wortistan, apparently this guy has a pretty high class device for an officer." Morgan returned back.
"And we have no clue what this device is." Kokobiel chimed in.
"Fucking CJ, next time I see him im going to chop of his tail and wear it like a scarf," Dingo exclaimed as she hit the wheel.
"Okay when we get back go talk to the commander for whatever he wants then we'll make our way out to Wortistan." Dingo explained.
"Could we go to Lamatha after that?" Morgan asked.
"I mean that's pretty deep into blue territory but why?" Dingo asked in return.
"Special request, don't question your general," Morgan said as he gave Kokobiel a wink.
"Whatever you say, ass hat." Dingo said back as she chuckled at the others joining in.
It wasn't long before they were on some back roads towards the checkpoint again, Morgan had already taken his arm off and slid it in the box before tying the shirt himself this time. The van came to a stop as the window was rolled down, a different person this time.
"ID and how many people are in the vehicle?" The guard asked.
"Five," Dingo replied back as she handed over her ID. The rain was starting to pick up at this point.
"The shift from yesterday mentioned you guys, some delivery for some higher ups," the guard said as he looked over the ID before he held it up in the light.
"Yeah you know how house members are wanting their necessities." Dingo said. The guard raised an eyebrow before handing back the ID.
"Go on through and stop at the next guard," the guard said as he stepped away. The van slowly moved forward before stopping, this time they were not greeted with another guard coming to the window but instead a guard going around the van with a metal detector or at least that's what it looked like.
The back of the van doors opened up as a guard waved around a flashlight as the rain got into the cab. The guard stepped in as he flashed the lights at each of them before opening the box and looking inside as he felt around. He made an angry huff as he turned back around as he shut the cab doors and walked around to the front. Signaling for the van to go through as they slowly went out.
"Well that was terrifying," Dingo said as she turned on the wipers and headlights.
"Ya think, what the hell was that even about?!" Sam blurted out.
"You think I know?" Dingo replied back.
"I mean no but that was extremely strange, and my corneas hurt now." Sam complained.
"Maybe just a random search but it was raining and wanted to get it done fast?" Morgan suggested. It was definitely strange to say the least, the guard seemed annoyed about something the way he looked at them. It wasn't long before they were back in the middle of nowhere following an unmarked road, Dingo knew the path and Kokobiel could only guess how many times they'd done this. What did he get himself into and for what somebody he's only known for some amount of months and now somebody he met two days ago.
Not his first time doing that, back when he boxed he ran with a small crew out of the ring and this one girl in the crew always had his back. There was an innate connection between the two and it felt similar to this except he didn't have the same attraction to her that he did with Morgan. It had been a long while since he thought about her as well, Juliet or Julia was her name but they never called her that. They would always call her rag, apparently she had got into a fight and was blinded by a rag but somehow came out on top. They were his family in a sense and they gave him the attention the lady that took care of him couldn't. Kokobiel, lost in thought, was only dragged out as he felt something wet on his shoulder. Morgan had fallen back asleep on him, he tried to act like he didn't notice but Sam smirked at him smugly. Kokobiel flipped her off as he stuck his tongue out before kissing the top of Morgan's head and looking back at her smugly. Sam scrunched her face as she looked away rolling her eyes in the process. Happy with his victory he relaxed back as he stared up at the roof, he hadn't noticed it before but there were a few dozen dents going upward. Static cut on as Dingo fiddled with the radio before a service played through all of the stations, Dingo groaned before she turned it back off. Soon music started up as he heard Morgan's voice cut through, it sounded funny and in an almost sing songy tone.
"Is this from karaoke night?" Sam asked as she moved towards the front.
"Possibly, I do love to have a camcorder around when you guys aren't looking. He was drunk off his ass here." Dingo said through a chuckle.
"Didn't we convince him he was a cowboy and that's why he wore the mask?" Sam asked.
"Bingo." Dingo replied back. The song was an older one Kokobiel had only heard it once in a backtown bar from a guy with a guitar on the stage. Morgan definitely didn't have the best pitch for this but he really put his voice into it. Morgan let out a grumble as he shifted and leaned the other way.
"Damn, he sleeps like a box of rocks, this would definitely wake me up." Kokobiel said.
"Oh do you have a picture of him where he slept through us putting makeup on his face and didn't notice until Dusty mentioned it?" Sam asked.
"I do but it's back at base," Dingo said as she took the tape out.
"Can I see it when we get to base?" Kokobiel asked out of curiosity.
"As long as you don't tell him about it." Dingo replied back.
"I won't unless I really need dirt on him." Kokobiel said smugly. Sam sat back down in her seat before she looked out the van window.
"You think the rain will die down before we get back?" Sam asked.
"Probably not considering the grey clouds go pretty far out." Kokobiel replied back.
"Well that's kinda lame." Sam said as she stared out the window.
"I mean it's been fairly dry the past month we definitely would have gotten concerned about water if it didn't," Kokobiel said as he shifted and rested his arm on the box.
"Well yeah but I wanted to do some jogging in the woods while it was dry and warm." Sam snarled.
"Well that's too bad, do some laps inside the base." Kokobiel barked back at her. Sam angrily grumbled before she folded her arms and continued to stare back out the window. Kokobiel thought for a moment and realized he had not seen Boxes ever get in the van.
"Did we bring Boxes?" Kokobiel asked.
"Boxes? What boxes?" Sam asked.
"The cat? The one named Boxes?" Kokobiel strangled back.
"Uuuuuh I don't know, Rykard?" Sam asked nervously. Rykard reached his arm back with the cat in his hand. It let out a little spat of anger before Kokobiel took boxes from Rykard's hand. Kokobiel caressed its head with one of his fingers as he retracted his arms, kissing upon its tiny little head once in reach. Spending the rest off the ride like this as boxes would randomly bite his finger.
Eventually they were back into the tunnel that led into the base, the van stopped and the engine shut off. Morgan had woken up at some point but only got up and stretched once the van stopped. Opening the van doors there were several chupas running around picking up boxes or grabbing supplies.
"By Omega I haven't seen the base this active since the one time we took down a House pelican," Morgan said as he stepped out of the van. A chupa came running up to Morgan out of breath before speaking.
"M-Morgan the commander wants to see you, h-he's waiting in the meeting room. Private orders no one else to join you." The chupa said before bending over and huffing.
"Right I'll go there now," Morgan said as he walked past the messenger and began to jog away.
"What now?" Kokobiel asked Sam.
"No clue but there's probably something we need to help out with," Sam said as she went to grab a box and follow the rest. Dingo came up behind Kokobiel before leaning on him.
"Whered you get the cat?" Dingo asked.
"We found it before seeing CJ, his name is boxes or her name is boxes idk it's boxes the cat that's all that matters." Kokobiel said.
"You plan on keeping it?" She asked.
"No, I'm going to give it to Tom when he gets back, unless he is back. Is he back?" Kokobiel asked as he put Boxes in his shirt pocket.
"Haven't seen him but they should be back tomorrow, maybe," Dingo said as she pushed off Kokobiel and joined the rest. Kokobiel shrugged before joining them as well. The boxes were heavy and whatever was in them jostled around as Kokobiel carried them, the line of people came in and out of several storage rooms before coming back out with nothing in hand.
"Do you know what this stuff is?" Kokobiel asked Dingo.
"Not exactly sure but it's scraps from a H.A.D.E.S assault. Apparently a lot of H.A.D.E.S agents died and a lot of times we'll repurpose stuff or just use it against them," Dingo said as she set down the box.
Dingo and Kokobiel walked down the hallway to get more boxes but once they got back to the carpool there was no more boxes as Morgan was now standing by a door tapping his foot. He looked up to see Kokobiel and Dingo before smirking.
"What did the commander want?" Dingo asked.
"A status report but also any intel from my recent actions. He's happy with my work but scolded me for my drastic plans." Morgan said back to her.
"Drastic plans?" Kokobiel asked.
"He doesn't like that I sacrificed a couple soldiers as a diversion," Morgan said as he began to walk expecting the others to join.
"Those ones at the freelancer base?" Kokobiel asked as he followed.
"Oh you were there for that, uh yeah those ones. Did any make it out?" Morgan asked as he lowered his shoulders.
"No sadly, just more body bags." Kokobiel replied back in a mournful tone.
"Jeez hope their deaths were painless. Let's go see what's at the canteen, maybe talk some stuff over," Morgan said as he turned a corner. Kokobiel scratched his head as his face contorted into some discomfort.
"I know he's direct and seems unfeeling but I hope you know he truly cared for those people. If he had to do the same I'm sure he would, he practically has. It's how he lost the arm," Dingo said as she pushed past Kokobiel and gave him a smile. Kokobiel stood there for a moment before shaking himself and going forward.
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