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An old, rattling truck, the loading area crammed with boxes full of cabbage and potatoes, bumped along the otherwise dark, deserted streets of the small Edonian village.
Chris watched it pass, before grabbing his gear and backpack from the backseat of the BSAA military vehicle. Above him, on the façade of the shabby three stock building, the neon sign of the hotel he and his men stayed in for the night was blinking.
Chris and his men were equipped to spend the night in the wilderness, with camouflage tents, thermal packs, and gas stoves, but Chris knew they all preferred four walls and a roof over their heads instead of spending the night in a tent. That is why when they came across the hotel in the small village on their two days trip to the military camp in Edonia, he had agreed to stay there overnight.
They rarely afforded the luxury of a hotel room, although luxury was a rather generously chosen term for this accommodation: the lobby was furnished with a sagging sofa, an old tube TV and a collection of plastic chairs and tables. The kitchen, which was only separated from the lobby by a swing door, emitted a smell of rancid fat and half the lights in the hallways didn´t work.
With only a few words of English and with much help of her hands, the elderly woman in the lobby had given them to understand that only three hotel rooms were free. The other rooms were occupied or in no condition to life in. Therefore, they took the three offered rooms.
Chris went inside and was greeted by the rest of Alpha Team in the lobby.
Seargents Benjamin Airhart and Carl Alfonso had made themselves comfortable on the plastic chairs, helmets and rucksacks lay in front of them on the table. Senior Sergeant Andy Walker typed wildly on a notepad while speaking into his headset, while Lieutenant Nivans, his rifle still firmly in his grip, watched the hotel with his eagle eyes - as if there might sit a J´avo behind the sideboard with the tube TV, ready to rush at them at any moment. Only Finn MacCauley seemed relaxed and waved the captain over with a smile. He offered Chris his place on the sofa, which Chris gratefully declined.
"Okay, Captain, the team that set up the station in Edonia has been informed that we will be arriving tomorrow at 1200. Major Johnes is expecting us."
Chris nodded to Andy. "Thanks, Sergeant. Duty done for this evening. Team, well done, today. "
His men smiled and nodded, except for the sniper, who still looked tense. Chris appreciated the professionalism of his lieutenant, his discipline. It was not for nothing that he was Alphas No. 2. But sometimes the young man was just too eager. A real working machine. One could easily forget he was actually a human beeing. But maybe that was the intention of the sniper.To never reveal anything private about oneself in order to never be vulnerable, neither on the battlefield nor off it.
"Nivans, I think you can put the gun away now. I know you love that rifle dearly, but it makes the other guests nervous."
"There are no other guests in this lobby, Sir." Chris smiled. At least the young man
had begun to contradict his boss every now and then. He never questioned Chris`direct orders while in the field, but still....
Chris didn`t mind, not at all. He kind of enjoyed being challenged from time to time. Better than have an ever obedient soldier, who followed
all orders without thinking or ever questing anything .
"Well, then you're making me nervous. Take a break, soldier. Let's get some food into you."
They had dinner together, an indefinable mass, supposedly scrambled eggs and potatoes, if you could believe the elderly woman. She was not only the hotel owner but also the cook at the same time. Regarding the condition the building was in, Chris guessed, she was also the housekeeper and caretaker in one person. However, the men were used to the usual bland military food and otherwise pretty starved, so no one complained. Finn MacCauley even managed to compliment the old woman for her cooking skills in a mixture of English and various foreign languages. That made her smile for the first time the whole evening. Finn was simply incomparable in that regard.
After a few rounds of card games-Nivans won all of them- and one last inspection of the jeeps parked in the hotel's back yard, they decided to retreat to their rooms.
A quick look into the three rooms revealed that only two of them were equipped with single beds. In the last of the three rooms stood an ancient four-poster bed with a duvet with a cheesy floral pattern on top. After Chris pointed out that he was captain and had paid for the rooms and that he´d therefore not sleep under a duvet with roses on it, the men tossed a coin. Finn and Ben Airhart were unlucky and retired to their “honeymoon-suite” amid loud laughter from the rest of the team.
Afterwards, Piers Nivans, declared he´d get his sleeping bag and sleep in the room with Andy Walker and Carl Alfonso.
Chris had secretly hoped not to have to share his room. It had nothing to do with the fact that he felt privileged as a captain. Alpha Team were his comrades, yes, but he needed some time to himself. Time when he wasn't under surveillance, when he wasn't “the Captain” and role model.
However, one look into Walker's and Alfonso's room thwarted his plans. There was not even an arm's length of space between the beds, and the men’s equipment and weapons already took up half of the room.
"That´s going to be cozy," Andy mumbled.
“Do you want to sleep in the shower or on the balcony, Piers? I leave the choice to you” Carl asked only half joking.
"You can stay with me, Nivans," Chris heard himself say even before he saw Piers slightly desperate look. Nivans was his second in command and therefore it was only logical that he shared the room with the captain.
However, his lieutenant didn´t look relieved. In contrary. "But you are…well, the captain, Captain."
"Well recognized.“ Chris replied. "So?"
“You are the supervisor. You probably need to write reports and send the status of our mission to HQ.”
“Don´t want to help?”
Nivans was well known to write the most accurate reports of the whole team. Chris not.
“Er… I thought, maybe you just want your privacy?”
Chris frowned. Did his lieutenant look nervous?
"Tremble with awe, Nivans, a night in the presence of the legend Chris Redfield." Andy laughed and Marco added: "Maybe you are afraid of our captain?" Piers looked as if he wanted to strangle Alfonso: "That is disrespectful, soldier! Stop your stupid jokes in front of your superiors. "
However, Chris only shrugged.
“You could be worse off than sharing a room with me, Nivans. I do not snore and I don’t take long in the bathroom.” Piers mumbled something unintelligible but surrendered.
Walker and Alfonso grinned at each other: "And again, Captain saved the day."
So the sniper followed Chris to his room, not without pulling a slightly unhappy face that darkened as he inspected the small room.
"Which bed, Captain?"
"Pick one," Chris replied and flopped into the only chair in the room. He put his laptop on his lap because -of course- there was no desk, started to write his reports, mail to HQ, and finally replied to three unanswered emails from Jill.
In the meantime, Piers had dismantled and arranged all of his gear neatly around his bed. What a pedant! The sniper cleaned and reassembled his beloved anti-material rifle and, since it took Chris a long time to do the paperwork, he also cleaned Chris’ weapon and then laid it reverently on Chris bed.
At some point, Chris put the laptop aside and leaned back in his chair. He couldn´t pretend he´d write reports the whole night just so he wouldn´t need to talk with Piers.
Chris looked up at the sniper. He was sitting on the bed, still fully dressed in uniform and his ridiculous scarf and was watching Chris somehow thoughtfully. Chris looked down at his watch. It was shortly before midnight, but both men seemed to want to delay the time to go to bed.
Piers, who obviously couldn't stand the silence of his captain any longer, pointed to the television and asked: "Do you mind if ..." Chris just shrugged. The sniper crouched in front of the ancient television, but only got a flickering image and no sound.
Chris finally got a fresh shirt and sports pants out of his backpack, put his towel around his neck and declared he would go to the bathroom. Piers glanced up from the buttons on the TV and mumbled something like "Sure".
When Chris passed the flickering television, he hit it briefly with his fist, which made the sniper cringe. Immediately a clear picture appeared and the sound ran.
"You are a genius, Captain!"
“So they say.”
After showering in the much too cramped, shabby bathroom, Chris found that he´d probably used up all the warm water. Poor Nivans.
“Next” he called and Piers, armed with towels and a change of clothes, went into the bathroom after him.
“Beware of the shower curtain. It's getting clingy.” Chris warned.
"Rodger that."
While hearing the rush of the water and Piers cursing softly, Chris decided that now was a good time to have a cigarette. He'd been rummaging for the package when Pier's phone on the bedside table began to ring and vibrate. Chris was tempted to have a look at who was calling his lieutenant, but decided against it.
So far, the sniper had revealed next to nothing about his private life. With the exception of one memorable evening -Chris nearly ran over Piers with his truck- the two had talked almost exclusively on business. Chris suspected that the young man would not approve of his captain spying on him.
Knowing Pier's attitude towards cigarettes and their smell by now- Piers had lectured Ben about smoking many times, but never his captain-, Chris pried open the jammed balcony door.
He stood on the balcony watching the silent road below. Delayed the time before he had to go back into the cramped room. Before he had to lay down.
Chris rubbed his temple. He wouldn't be able to sleep. It had nothing to do with Nivans. Not with Nivans personally. Chris was sleeping badly when he was on his own, lying awake forever or dreaming restlessly. But sharing his bedroom with someone else would make things worse.
Pier's cell phone rang again. He heard the bathroom door open and Piers dart to the phone.
"Yes? Yes, I´m fine. Just…I told you not to call during the missions. No ... no ... I would have called you. Yes, I promised ... I ... "
Chris had to grin. He could hear from the sound of Piers voice that he was talking to a woman. Probably his sweetheart.
Chris leaned against the open balcony door and watched his otherwise sovereign lieutenant as he struggled for words. The fact that his captain was listening seemed to make it worse for Piers, but Chris was just too intrigued to discover that, contrary to what everyone believed, Piers actually seemed to have a private life. "Everything is all right. We haven´t even reached the camp. The mission will go according to plan. Don't worry, we're a well-rehearsed team.” Piers looked over at his captain, slightly distressed. He blushed, but he didn´t dare to tell his superior to stop eavesdropping on private phone calls.
"Tell your sweetheart, you Captain will take care of you." Chris couldn't help it. Piers blushed a bit more, but quickly recovered. The young man was not good at dealing with jibes and teasing and was feared by the rest of the team for his snappy remarks.
"Tell her yourself," he replied and tossed the cell phone to his completely perplexed captain. Chris caught it more out of reflex “Piers, honey, are you still there?” he heard the uncertain voice of an elderly woman through the speaker. Chris looked at his lieutenant startled, but the young man just smiled smugly.
“Misses Nivans?”
“Who is speaking?”
“Uhh… Chris… hmm…. Christopher Redfield.”
“Captain Redfield? My goodness, am I bothering you during a briefing? I wasn't sure what time it is over in Edonia.”
“No, no briefing. You probably want to talk to your son?”
“It's okay, my dear, that is not necessary. I am no longer bothering you. I'm just a bit restless when he's on duty."
Chris swallowed.
“I assure you, Alpha Team has every mission under control. Your son is a first class sniper. Never had a better one. ” “Thank you, Captain Redfield. Again, I apologize for disturbing you. ”“ No you… uh… no problem. ”“ My thoughts will be with you and the team tomorrow. Good night, Captain. And ... "She hesitated briefly" ... take care. Of my son and of yourself. "
" I will, ma'am. "He heard Misses Nivans hang up and handed the phone back to his lieutenant. “What a lovely lady you have, Nivans!”
Piers laughed sheepishly “I´ve gone to far with that. I'm sorry, Captain, I don't know what came over me. T´was disrespectful. ”
“ No, that was… nice.”
Piers rubbed his neck and sighed. “I've told Mom a thousand times not to call me. That she should wait until I get in touch. My grandfather was in the military, and so was my father. Mom worried about both of them, whenever they left for missions. I think that is why it is becoming more and more difficult for her to wait for news. "
"Then call her, Nivans, whenever you can." Chris said seriously. Piers nodded. A smile passed Chris face. "Otherwise I'll do it!"
"She would be delighted about that, believe me, Captain."
While Piers went back to the bathroom, probably to brush his teeth, Chris looked at his bed sullenly. He decided to have one last cigarette and went back to the balcony.
Much to Chris's surprise, Piers joined him after a short while. In his sweatshirt, cargo pants and socks, he leaned against the railing of the balcony, which creaked under their weight. "Would you like a drink?", he asked and held out a water bottle to his captain. "Wouldn't drink from the pipes here, Sir." Chris waved him off and drew on his cigarette trying not to blow the smoke in the direction of his lieutenant. He could feel the younger man watching him. Obviously, he expected something from Chris. Small talk maybe? Chris was bad with doing small talk. Shouting orders, no problem, but small talk? Chris rubbed his unshaven chin.
"So, our flagship soldier of the BSAA forgets to call his own mother, huh?" he asked after a while of silence.
“I didn't forget, just postponed it. Besides, I'm not the BSAA's flagship soldier. ”
“No? Who is it? ”
Piers grinned: “You of course, Captain.”
Chris snorted."Pah, nice role model."
Piers smiled, seemed to consider something and then asked carefully: "Have you heard from Claire lately?" Chris paused and turned to the young man." Lieutenant, why are you interested in my sister? "Piers raised his hands defensively "I'm not ... I " he hesitated, then said in his very formal voice, normally reserved for field reports: “Claire contacted me two weeks ago before we left. By email, Sir. She asked me to keep her informed of the status of our mission. Only, if you should be to busy to do it yourself, Sir. "Chris sighed and rubbed his forehead." Oh Claire. "He mumbled. He was sure, Claire wasn´t interested in the status of their mission but in the well-being of her older brother.
He turned back to Piers:" And now you want to know if your captain has forgotten to call his little sister? ". His lieutenant turned pale but raised his chin in defense." No, Sir. That is not what I meant.” Of course, it was what he meant. “I´m sorry if the question was disrespectful of me."
"Yes, he did. "
"I beg your pardon?"
"Yes, your captain forgot to contact his sister. Or postponed it, as you put it so nicely. It is very important for Claire to keep in touch. For me too, of course, but I ... I rarely have my head clear for …well, for my family. Report to HQ, report to the director. Personal messages to Claire are often neglected. I know, I'm getting sloppy. And I regret that a lot. Should have called her this evening."
"I could lend you my phone if you'd like to call her now."
Chris barked a lough. "Imagine I have a cell phone, Lieutenant. I even know how to use it." Chris took his cell phone out of the pocket of his sports pants to prove it. It was an outdated model; Claire had left it to him when she got a new one. So that they could keep in touch, as she had made clear. "Use it, damn it!" She had said.
"But?" Asked Piers.
“Claire is in San Francisco at the moment, it is now three in the morning over there. If I call her now and wake her up, she'll tear my head off the next time we meet. Beauty sleep and all that. ” “You could write her a message, Captain.” Chris nodded absently. He usually wrote messages. Short ones. Messages like “Everything is fine here.” “Arrived” and “No problems”. And every time Claire scolded him about how terribly impersonal he was.
"I have a better idea," he said suddenly and picked up the cell phone. "Cheeeesee!!!"
Flash!!!.
The light from the cell phone camera was blinding. "What was that?" Piers asked, blinking in surprise. Chris studied the result of his work. “I took a photo, Nivans. A selfie. Hopefully, that will soothe Claire.” The flash made their faces look pale and part of Chris thumb was visible in the corner of the picture. Nivans had somehow managed to still look great, even though Chris had surprised him with the photo. Or, at least, much better than Chris himself. Chris smiled and hit send. "Why did I have to be on the picture, Captain?"
“Claire thinks you are attractive, Soldier.“ Chris nudged the young man with his elbow and grinned. “I don't know how she comes up with that thought, poster boy. Don't forget, my sister is taboo for you. I just think she likes this better than just an ugly photo of her own brother.“ Piers gave him a cocky smile. "Well, I'm always at your disposal then, Captain." "Do you want a print of this for your mom?" Chris waved with his phone, giving Piers a glance at the photo. "Thanks, I'll forego, sir." "Maybe as a Christmas card?" Piers quickly threw a second glance at the screen. "We'd better try again, Sir."
Chris chuckled.
“All right, Nivans. Do you mind if I have another .. "Chris pointed to the packet of cigarettes. "Go ahead, sir. I think I'll … ”He pointed to the bed. “Of course, Nivans. I need you fit and rested tomorrow. ”Piers nodded and disappeared into the room.
Chris listened through the open balcony door as the bed creaked and Piers rustled the sheets. He gave his lieutenant a fifteen-minute "head start" before quietly leaving the balcony, closing the door behind him, and walking over to the bed. Before turning off the light that Piers had left on for him, he glanced briefly at his lieutenant. Piers was lying with his back to Chris, one arm under his head and the covers pulled up to his chin. His chest rose and fell regularly. His lieutenant was already asleep. Chris took off his socks and sank into the pillows. With his eyes closed, he listened to Pier's regular breaths. In and out. In and out. At least, the soldier wasn´t snoring. What would Chris give for having such a sound sleep? When he was younger, Chris could sleep anywhere and anytime, on a plane, in the BSAA truck between missions, out in the wilderness in his tent, in front of the television. Good old times. Now he tossed from side to side for hours at night before falling into a restless sleep. If he fell asleep at all. Chris carefully turned in his bed and Piers moved a little, his bed creaking under him, but the sniper slept on, breathing calmly. In and out. In and out.
In and out. No, Chris wasn't going to sleep tonight, certainly not. He would lie awake until dawn, listening to his lieutenant.
In and out. In and…
"Captain."
Someone touched Chris lightly on the shoulder and he startled. He was barely able to hold back from reaching for the combat knife under his pillow. Piers stood before him, wide-awake, fully dressed and his hair perfectly styled. How? How did he always manage? Chris groaned. “Sorry, Captain. I didn't mean to startle you. I didn't really want to wake you up either, but Alpha Team will meet in the lobby in 30 minutes. Thought you might want to take a shower, first. ”Chris mumbled something like a thanks and swung his legs out of bed. He rubbed his eyes and did a quick check. He felt fine. A bit stiff from the too soft bed, but otherwise fine. Well rested.
He looked over at Piers, who was already packing his backpack and checking his equipment-again. Piers looked up briefly when he realized Chris was watching him. "Slept well, Captain?"
"I did." He actually did. For whatever reason.
"One could hear that."
"I beg your pardon?"
Piers grinned mischievously at him: "You do snore, Captain."