The present chapter occurs during and after the episode 8 of FMP Fumoffu. Infidelity is one of Skunk Anansie’s most famous songs. ...Your secret smile so quaint In memories foretold Laughing so viciously Your conscience has been sold In my face there’s no more joy I’m more than I should be Cracked up fidelity That’s all you are to me We don’t talk anymore... We don’t talk anymore... We don’t care anymore... We don’t care... You, Only You, Only you Can’t be the one.... Melissa lit a wet cigarette, briefly colouring her face in yellow and orange hues. The smoke she expired was tinted in grey-blue in the poorly lighten pub. It lazily spiralled to the ceiling above her booth. She had discarded her yellow rain coat on the seat beside her. It hadn’t protected her much from the storm outside, her clothes were drenched and uncomfortably clung to her. Judging from the reaction of some of the others patrons, everyone didn’t share her opinion. She roughly ran her free hand in her short wild hair back and forth, trying to get them to dry faster. Then, she reached for her jug of guiness, foam slowly sliding down its length. She had already drunk half of it when a woman approached her booth. She was of average size and wore casual clothes under her similarly wet coat. Though bathed in the shadows, Melissa could easily make out the woman’s fine features. Asiatic - Chinese, actually. Dark, inquisitive eyes like two black diamonds, wet, black hair done in a tight bun just above a graceful neck, full, ruby lips. Her clothes didn’t cling at her as much as her own did, but they didn’t hide the fact that this woman was simply gorgeous either... She set the briefcase she was carrying on the floor, took off her coat, folded it carefully and wordlessly took the seat opposite to Melissa. Melissa set her glass down and they studied each other a long moment. “You’re late...” Melissa finally commented, puffing out a new cloud of grey smoke. A waitress came at this moment. “A Bloody Mary for my friend.” Melissa ordered, her gaze riveted to the Chinese woman’s. Once the waitress left, her guest offered her an indulgent smile. “You haven’t changed at all, have you?” Melissa nodded. “Neither have you, Sieung-Li. And I’m called Melissa, now...” The smile turned bitter. She reached out and softly stroked her face. “I have so many regrets...” Melissa made no move to remove the hand, although her eyes went stormy. “Do you have... someone?” “I did everything I could to scare them away...” Melissa’s voice was flat. Sieung-Li sighed. “No, really haven’t changed...” Once again, silence stretched between the two women. Melissa finally averted her gaze, her voice was raucous when she asked “Did you find what I was looking for?” Sieung-Li let her fingers linger a bit more before taking them away with a sigh. She lifted her briefcase and set it on the table, opened it and took three thick folders out of it. She slid them to Melissa, who took them and opened the first one. Sieung-Li commented it as Melissa stared at the picture as if she had seen a ghost. “Urs Grechtner, a brilliant but not very scrupulous engineer in the ex-RDA. He’s was a pioneer in furtivity systems for A.Ss and other military crafts. He disappeared eight years ago without a trace...” Melissa’s hands were slightly trembling when she opened the next folder, a fact that didn’t escape the trained eyes of her companion. “Paolo Gomez. He used to be a member of the Columbian guerrilla before becoming the right hand of Carlos don Jose, the infamous drug dealer. He is researched for various crimes such as kidnapping, murder, rape and so on.” Melissa’s hand was now badly shaking when she closed this folder. She had bitten her lower lip so hard that blood trickled from the wound. Nevertheless, she opened the last folder under her friend’s concerned gaze. “...And last but not least, Radek Vaszclav, also called ‘Silent’. An ex- assassin trained by the now dismantled KGB. He’s a freelance, but mainly works for the Russian mafia nowadays. Rumours say that he’s got another very important employer but we found no evidence of it. He’s a real brute who likes to ‘play’ with his victims and always get a ‘job’ done.” Melissa had trouble to stop herself from tearing the pages apart. She was surprised to find that Sieung-Li’s hands had covered her own. The waitress chose this moment to reappear with Sieung-Li’s drink, which she hastily placed on the table before leaving. “What happened? Why did you want this information?” Sieung-Li asked. She hadn’t removed her hands. Melissa looked back up in the beautiful black pools she used to get lost into. She smiled at how this woman was still able to calm her down with the merest touch, even after all these years. “I...” She took a big breath. “I’ve... encountered them....” She couldn’t have stopped her voice from breaking at this point, even if she had wanted to. Sieung-Li’s eyes widened, and then watered, understanding everything that Melissa wasn’t saying. “H-How...? Di-did you have... tests?” Her voice was also quivering. She shook her head. “I mean... How are you feeling?” “I was mostly unconscious when they... But the doctor said...” She sighed, it was so difficult to talk about it. “I won’t have any definitive result before at least three weeks...” Her whole body seemed to shrink. “I... don’t hold much hope...” --------------------------------------------- Weber sighed while walking back to his quarters. He rubbed his left cheek, the red shape of a hand still visible on it. ‘Another night wasted...’ Chatting up girls was more and more complicated these days... ‘To think that some people didn’t even need to go through this and didn’t take advantage of it!’ He frowned, thinking about his two fellow soldiers. Fools. All goddamn fools who didn’t even know how lucky they were!!! What in the world was their fucking problem?!? Perfect girls were desperately in love with them and what did they do? NOTHING!!! How could they do that to them? HOW COULD THEY DO THAT TO HIM!!!! Was this all a conspiration to torture him?!? It had to be! A steel resolution welled up inside of him. He wasn’t about to let them make fun of him! He was going to show them, oh yeah... How sweet his revenge would be! The image of Kaname and Thessa in skimpy outfits, inviting him to join them filled his mind, temporarily blocking out any other kind of thoughts. He shook his head, trying clearing his mind. First, he needed a plan. Two major enemies threatened his path to Heaven, Sagara and Mao. One took his orders so much to the letter that he probably wouldn’t have any qualm in killing him - or at least, badly incapacitate him - if he was identified as a threat. The other had all too clearly spoken her mind. One error and he would most likely be sent to the wrong kind of heaven. Of course, there was no way he could get rid of them. What he needed was a way to make them harmless... He was passing by the ‘bathroom’, his mind deep in more or less evil schemes when the idea struck him. He hit his palm with his fist. “Eureka!” He exclaimed aloud. “I’ll invite Kaname, the captain and all their school friends to a onsen in the mountains! It’s the perfect setting to seduce them! And since unsuspecting civilians will be with us, Mao and Sagara won’t be able to act as openly as usual!” He laughed maniacally. “Besides, I’ll tell them about the week-end at the very last moment, so that they won’t have time to prepare anything! Kurz, you are a genius!!!” He turned around and dashed in the corridor. “I’ve just seen a brochure in the mess, ‘gonna book it now!” The ship doctor slowly rose from her seat in her office, shaking her head in despair. The sound of quick footsteps fading away. ‘People on this ship as so loud...’ She sighed. She got to her door and quietly closed it. ‘Nobody seems to follow the rule that no one should shout or run in corridors.’ She got back to her desk, eyeing wearily the pile of folders awaiting her. She picked up the phone and dialled. “Sergent-major?” -------------------------------------------------------- ‘Why is she always smiling? Doesn’t she care at all? But if that is the case, what is she doing here?’ Thessa silently asked her own reflection in the mirror. It seemed to her that she had tried everything to make Melissa jealous. It worked with Kaname, why didn’t it work with her? Poor Sosouke, she felt rather guilty to make him endure all of this, but he was the only man she knew who wouldn’t take advantage of the situation. In her mind there were only two explanations, whether Melissa really didn’t love her, or she knew it was all an act. Oh, how she hoped it was the later! Thessa knew she was acting childishly, but if it meant that Melissa would react, she was ready to do just about anything. She thought she had succeeded when Melissa had produced the hand- cuffs, but the sergeant-major had then just slept soundly while she herself had spent the rest of the night wondering. She rested her head against the cold glass. Why were things with Melissa never simple? It was all so confusing. On the one hand the sergeant-major acted as if she didn’t feel concerned at all and on the other hand, she didn’t remember seeing her that protective. Mardukas had informed her that Melissa had been the one to suggest she should be sent to help Sosouke while she could just have enjoyed her leave at the base before returning to the civil life. Thessa also knew who had really booby trapped the whole forest around the onsen. It was unmistakably Melissa’s style. Sosouke would have had a more direct approach, although he had certainly noticed them. However, what was really driving her crazy was to be so close and so far at the same time. Having to act normally while living in the same apartment, sharing meals, sleeping mere centimetres apart for God’s sakes!!! Her hormones were on rampage! On top of that, Melissa had to gloat about her past relationships in the onsen, and just after that... Thessa blushed. If the others hadn’t been there, Thessa honestly doubted she would have kept control of herself! ‘Then again, it could have been Melissa’s vicious way to take revenge...’ Thessa reasoned. It surprised her how much she hoped it was the case. Despite the fact that she didn’t dare hoping anymore... She couldn’t make sense of Melissa’s behaviour. And here she was, torn by questions that Melissa wouldn’t answer... To think that she had come here to try to relax... AN: Thank you so much, Silverone, Arken, EvilSickCow (By the way, I’m impatiently waiting for the suite of the ‘Bug Repost’ too! Au boulot! Remarque, si tu poste un fanfic pour Noir, ça me derangerait pas du tout...), That Tekka Guy for your comments. There wouldn’t have been a suite without you. The next episodes will probably have more action...
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