Lucifer's Angel

‘’So,’’ I said flatly as Lafayette and I walked.

‘’Are you gonna tell me your first name or do you expect me to keep calling you Lafayette,’’ I asked.

‘’Oh, my name is Jean, you can call me by my first or last name, whichever you prefer,’’ he answered. I smiled.

‘’So,’’ Jean said, grinning at me.

‘’How long have you lived here near the North American command base, Mary?’’ he asked. I stopped walking in my tracks. He stopped as well, looking at me curiously. Hearing that name was almost a culture shock.

‘’It’s been a long time since I’ve been called by my real first name…’’ I said quietly as I started walking again. In truth, it’d only been about a two years but it seemed like more. I’d gone by Allison ever since- wait, how does he know that? I turned to him with a questioning glance.

‘’Wait, how did you know my real name?’’ Jean reached up, rubbing the back of his neck.

‘’We’ll explain later,’’ he replied with a bored tone. Was that the go to answer around here or something? I narrowed my eyes in annoyance and stared off down the hall. I was getting tired of that reply. I wanted my questions answered already.

‘’You never answered my question,’’ Jean stated. I thought about it for a moment, but it take me long to figure it out. Katharine, Miles and I moved so often that I had gotten into the habit of keeping track of when we moved and how long we lived in each place. In a way, with all the stress of moving, starting at new schools and making new friends, keeping track of those things helped keep me sane. Actually, forget what I said about friends, I was beyond the point of ever trying to make friends, because we were never in one place for too long. It was merely a wasted effort on my part. I’d only ever had one close friend in my life and well… I cut off my thoughts, forcing my mind not to think of that.

‘’I’ve been here for a few months. My foster parents and I tend to move around a lot,’’ I replied.

‘’I’m aware of that.’’

‘’Oh,’’ I chimed questioningly. Just how much did this guy know about me? Did that Colonel Michaels guy know these things as well?

‘’If you don’t mind my asking, why don’t you go by your real name,’’ Jean asked, looking over at me. Ah, so he doesn’t know everything. Thank goodness, I didn’t take him for the type to be a creeper…. Then again, he’s military, military personnel have access to all kinds of information and… stuff. I looked down, my washed out, faded jeans and black boots in my sight. I’m sure I must’ve looked strange, a 17 year old girl walking around a military command center in civilian clothes. Surprisingly though, no one had looked my way, but then again, we hadn’t crossed paths with very many people, and the ones we had passed were all, from what I could tell, lower ranked so they probably couldn’t care less. I looked back to Jean, realizing that I hadn’t answered his question.

‘’I’ll explain later,’’ I replied with a smirk. He chuckled.

‘’Fair enough,’’ he replied. I was starting to get the feeling that Jean and I were going to become good friends.

‘’This place is a lot bigger than it looks from the outside,’’ I stated, looking around. The walls were an off white color and the floors were hardwood. Something told me that they were probably slicker than all get out when they were waxed. Every now and then, on the walls, you’d see a picture of an officer or former command general.

‘’I was under major culture shock for about a year after I was stationed here. This place is so small compared to Fort Vermillion,’’ Jean replied. I racked my brain, trying to remember where Fort Vermillion was at. I’d heard Mr. Myung say that name before, but for some reason, I could not place it. I thought about it for another minute or so, and then gave up.

‘’Where is Fort Vermillion again?”

‘’It’s up in the mountains on the northern land border of Asia between the Arctic Ocean and the top of where Russia used to be. That place is massive and it’s twice as cold as former Russia in the winter. I can’t tell you how many times I had to patrol the outer walls. It’s freezing up there. Central’s cold is nothing compared to up there!’’ I laughed seeing Jean fake a shiver, remembering the cold.

‘’I’ll take your word for it, Jean,’’ I laughed.

‘’I definitely learned why they call the men under Major General Briggs’ command the Vermillion bears,’’ he paused for a moment in his speaking. ‘’They’re tougher than nails,’’ he finished.

~~~

As it turned out, the only damage that the car crash had succeeded in inflicting on me was a bad headache, like I figured, so the doctor gave me some pain pills and told me to avoid anywhere with loud noises for a few hours. Then, he’d turned on Jean, who proceeded to snap to attention with a terrified look on his face. Dr. Kennedy walked up to Jean to where there was little space between them, and then he reached up, and smacked the blonde right up side the head. The look on Jean’s face had been so priceless, causing me to laugh my ass off, but even still, I’d heard the doctor say to Jean ‘‘that’s for the Colonel.’’

We turned the corner, heading towards the Colonel’s office. Jean rubbed the back of his head, grumbling something.

‘’Why’d he have to go and smack me for, I was only following Chief’s orders,’’ he ranted. I just laughed. As we walked, we turned down another hall and at the end, walking in the opposite direction from us was a female officer. She smiled upon seeing us.

‘’French fry, I’ve been looking for you everywhere,’’ she called, walking over to us. An annoyed look passed over Jean’s face and he crossed his arms. I couldn’t help but laugh, he looked like a little kid, not a soldier.

‘’That damn nickname,’’ he grumbled. Despite his obvious annoyance toward being called by his unwanted nickname, he put on a straight face as she neared us and moved to stand at attention. Yup, she’s definitely a higher rank than him.

‘’What do you need, Captain Monaco,’’ Jean asked.

‘’Oh drop the formality, you suck up,’’ she chided. Jean’s shoulders slumped and that annoyed look crossed his face, but this time, it wasn’t directed at his superior.

‘’Come on, why do you, your brother, Dr. Kennedy, Colonel Michaels and the team always give me so much hell?’’ Jean half yelled, half growled out. If I didn’t already know any better, I would think that Jean was just having a bad day, but something told me this was how it normally was for him.

‘’For one, when it comes to Dr. Kennedy, you’re a part of Colonel Michaels team, and Dr. Kennedy is his uncle, so it’s practically in the job description that you get some of the same tough love that Roy got when he was younger, and still gets now, and secondly, the reason why you get hell from the rest of us, is because you’re you, ‘nough said.’’

‘’What does me being me have to do with me getting hell all the time,’’ he asked. The Captain standing before him just laughed. I just stayed quiet and listened to them, highly amused.

‘’It has everything to do it,’’ she replied. Jean just sighed in exasperation.

‘’Anyways, what did you need, Monaco,’’ Jean asked.

‘’I wanted to tell you that under the orders of General Armstrong, Danny and I will be going with you to Northern Command, so be prepared,’’ she laughed. Jean’s eyes widened.

‘’Oh god,’’ he grumbled.

‘’You know, I actually was looking forward to being able to sleep peacefully once again, for a little while, only having to worry about the cold, but I guess that’s not gonna happen, is it,’’ Jean replied.

‘’Oh, hell no,’’ Captain Monaco asked.

‘’And by the way, are you going to introduce me to your friend here, you know, she’s kind of just standing here all awkward,’’ Captain Monaco continued. Jean looked like a light bulb had just suddenly lit up in his head.

‘’Oh yeah, I’m sorry, Mary, this is Captain Lucienne Monaco, and Monaco, this is Mary Smith. I think you’ve already met Lieutenant Barrett as well, but she and Lucienne here are well know as the shot gun twins. They look alike and both have incredible aim,’’ Jean introduced. The Captain smiled and held out her hand for me to shake. I accepted with a similar smile.

‘’So you’re Lucifer’s Angel, huh, it’s nice to meet you,’’ she spoke. Confusion crossed me.

‘’I’m what?’’ I asked.

‘’Uh, Colonel Michaels hasn’t explained everything out to her yet, Captain,’’ Jean interjected quickly, before anything else could be said.

‘’Oh, I’m sorry,’’ Lucienne apologized. ‘’You mean to tell me the Colonel hasn’t told you yet,’’ she continued. I shook my head slightly.

‘’Nope, there’s a lot of things I haven’t been let onto yet,’’ I explained. Lucienne sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

‘’That pain in the ass of a Lieutenant Colonel,’’ she grumbled.

‘’Jean, when you get into his office, smack him for me,’’ Lucienne said, turning to Jean.

‘’Uh, how ‘bout not, I don’t want to die a fiery and painful death,’’ Jean laughed.

‘’Anyways, I’ve got work to do, so I’ll see you guy later,’’ she said finally, and then turned to walk off.

‘’See you at Northern Command,’’ Jean replied. Lucienne turned back for a moment and nodded in our direction before turning to the corner. When she was gone, I grabbed Jean by the arm and dragged him in the direction we’d been going. I wanted my questions answered. Jean and I turned another corner, and then stopped at a door. Without bothering to knock, I pushed the doors open to see the Colonel at his desk. I stormed into his office, right up to his desk. Jean simply stayed back into the back of the large office, near the door.

‘’Yes,’’ Colonel Michaels asked. I crossed my arms.

‘’Explain, now.’’