"Don't Miss," He Said Ch. 03

Albrecht struck the wall. I think he probably left a dent; not that I blame him though. We said nothing, just listened to the laughter of Himeko's captor. Peterson suddenly looked up. "The intercom hub upstairs...can it be heard throughout the whole house?"

I pondered the idea for a moment, "Yeah, it can. Albrecht, release the button."

Albrecht took his finger off the button, no longer allowing the captor...James...from hearing us. I turned to Peterson. "What did you have in mind, Peterson?"

"One more question...is the hub for the intercom up there exactly the same as this one down here?"

I responded, "No, it looks pretty different. We never updated it from the old owners, so she looks like a telephone operator from one of those old movies."

Peterson's eyes lit up. The ball was in his court now. "Staff Sergeant, remember Beirut?"

"How could I forget," Albrecht mused, rubbing his head. "Which fight do you mean?"

"I mean the second night after we got there, when we invaded the fuel and weapons depot. There was an advanced alarm system, remember?"

Albrecht, Gibalev and Manstir nodded in unison. Gibalev began to smile, as he slowly realized what they needed to do. "And we needed to trigger the alarm to take out the guardsman," Gibalev reminisced. "So that when we took him out, we took over the post, and declared it a false alarm."

"Yeah," Manstir said, "but that's not what he's talking about. I think he means the way we took out the guardsman. Attention diversion...and a system shock."

"You mean," I reasoned, "you want to distract her, and then send a shock through the intercom system?" I thought further..."In Beirut, that was a huge complex right? This puny system might be able to shock a rat, but I'm not sure about a human."

"That's why," Albrecht said, "I'm doing the distracting. Worst case scenario: the shock only surprises this James character and I have to go in and finish the job. Regardless, here's how it's gonna go down."

As Albrecht revealed the plan, Gibalev began removing the door-barricade. "I'll head upstairs, and get into position outside Himeko's door." Manstir took what was left of his knife, and used it to pry open the wall panel which held the basement intercom which Albrecht had used. "Then, once Manstir has the wires spliced," which Manstir started doing, "Peterson hooks the spliced wires into his computer."

Peterson removed his hard drive and other essential data pieces from the machine before connecting it to the spliced electrical wires. Albrecht continued, "Then, once I'm in position, Peterson's gonna send a jolt of feedback through the intercom. Once this James bitch responds, the circuit opens, and Peterson sends the shock. I breach the room and finish her off. Questions?"

Elena and I merely sat, as everyone else made final preparations. "Alright, I'm heading up there," Albrecht said.

Elena shifted closer to me, and held me against her tighter. I could tell she was worried about Himeko. "Don't worry," I tried to console her, "everything will turn out fine."

She didn't respond, but I didn't expect her to. If she was this broken up, I could only imagine how bad Albrecht must have been, as he mounted the stairs up to Himeko' room.

Peterson radioed Albrecht: "Staff Sergeant, this is it. I'm sending the feedback in five. Five, four, three, two, one, feedback is live." We looked towards the ceiling as a prolonged shriek of pain came through the ceiling. "Cutting feedback," said Peterson, and the shriek died down.

We waited with bated breath, awaiting the response from James. The intercom crackled to life. "You think some loud noise is enough to take me out?" Peterson readied the shock, and his computer whirred and crackled with the effort of building the surge. "Say something you bastards," screamed the voice, and Peterson fired the surge.

The lights dimmed, shined brightly, and went dark altogether. The surge blew the fuses as it travelled upstairs. I heard a thump as Albrecht breached the bedroom. "Let's head up there, just in case," I told everyone.

Gibalev and Peterson helped Manstir up the stairs with Elena helping me. The wound's pain was subsiding, but walking was still a chore. On the first floor, we heard a bad omen. More laughter seemed to permeate the house. This time, though, it was different; older. Manstir went to his good knee, and said, "Gibalev, Peterson, go help Staff Sergeant. Leave me here."

The two obeyed and rushed off upstairs. I hurried as best I could, Elena helping me with the last few stairs. As we rounded the corner into the hallway, I saw Gibalev and Peterson both half-in the room, weapons drawn and aimed. They let us past, as Gibalev untied Himeko. Up against the wall, I beheld a sight which I had both longed to see again, and also hoped to forget.

"Mom..."

Slumped against the wall, Albrecht holding a knife to her throat, was my mother. "Albrecht, let mom go," I said, still in disbelief.

"No! It's not really her," he responded. "When I breached, she was wearing this hood, but it...changed."

The face of my mother moved her eyes to mine. She smiled slightly, and said in the voice I remember, "My little Al, please make your big mean brother stop this."

"You're not really my mother," I said, voice shaking, nearly in tears. "Why would you do this? You knew we couldn't kill something like...like her."

Still in the voice of our mother, James turned to Albrecht. "Go on and do it. If I'm not fooling anyone, then why don't you kill me," she asked, quiet at first, but growing in volume as she continued. "Or maybe this would make it easier."

Her face changed to be that of my father. "How about now," James continued, in the voice of my father, "surely you had thoughts of killing your father; something Oedipal perhaps?" The voice continued, broken with laughter.

The face changed once more, and it was my own. It was odd, and sickening, seeing this woman use my own face and voice to manipulate my brother. "I bet you're jealous of me, huh," James said in my voice, "I've got Relena...no, it's Elena isn't it," she said, as she turned towards Elena.

Elena turned away disgusted, and ran from the room. I'm certain I heard her being violently ill outside the door. "So do it, brother," James continued, "Don't miss, brother...or do! I don't care! Miss my artery and make me die slowly! That's a fun way to get a murder charge, huh?"

The laughter grew. Albrecht released the knife from her throat, and the hood changed back to its neutral green. I looked to Albrecht.

"Why," the woman, James, asked.

"You're unarmed," Albrecht responded, helping the woman to her feet. "And, if you're reserved to your death, then I think letting you live would be a worse punishment."

The woman removed her hood, revealing a tangled mop of blonde hair. Suddenly, the laughter stopped altogether. She looked around, and began breathing heavily. She looked down, and I heard her begin to weep.

"Well, then. I guess there's no joke left. If you won't kill me for it, I guess it just isn't funny anymore," she said.

From her pocket she retrieved a small capsule, which she broke open. Inside was a small tablet. Gibalev entered the room, and saw what she held in her hand. He yelled out for her to stop, but she merely smiled as she put it in her mouth. "But, this..." she snickered again, "this should be hilarious." She bit down on the tablet as Gibalev rushed to stop her.

He knelt by James, and looked at her dumbfounded. "Why kill yourself," he asked her.

"Well," James said, beginning to quiver, this time not with laughter. "Life's just a joke. That's why I laugh at it. But I'm tired, so it's time to be serious; time to die."

*************

Within minutes, James the Just lay dead. I suppose she was ordered to end her life, should her mission fail. Perhaps, though, it was her decision. Gibalev had tried to revive her, but to no avail. He instead turned his ministrations to Himeko, who was shaken, but not injured.

I fell into fitful sleep that night, tossing and turning. I'm embarrassed to admit that my dream was about James. It was the end of my life, and as I entered the afterlife, I saw James, and she was laughing.

I woke with a start; someone had shaken me from my dream. I looked to see a delicate hand. My gaze travelled up the arm to behold Elena, standing at the side of my bed. The pajamas she wore seemed to hang off her, seemingly several sizes too big. Her hair was disheveled, and her eyes looked ridden with fatigue.

"Elena...what is it," I asked, taken aback that she would be in my room. She hopped up onto the bed, and sandwiched herself under the thick, downy covers. She lay face down, as she shifted closer to me, holding my hand with both of hers.

"It was cold in my room. I think there's a draft at the window," she responded, sleepily.

I had a feeling that wasn't the real reason, but decided not to pry. Hell, who would argue with sleeping with a girl this amazingly beautiful? As she turned on her side, she faced away from me, and snuggled tighter against me. I turned as well, spooning her, but trying not to be forceful.

Elena stretched out her arms, and placed them in front of her. She pushed her body back towards me, and I could feel the warmth of her body against me. For a moment, the feeling was wonderful...before the worry set in.

I usually sleep in the nude. This night was no exception. As Elena pushed against me, my bare skin was racked with shivers. I felt the cool, smooth silk of Elena's pajamas against my front. As I put my arm around her waist, she pushed into me further, nestling...something...on her perfectly soft ass.

"Alphonse...you're poking me."

"I'm sorry, Elena. It's not something I can control."

"Well, don't act on your thoughts, okay? I want some sleep."

She shifted once more, sending a shock through my body as I felt her soft ass caress my hard length. I knew it would take a lot of self-control to get through this night without Elena smacking me and storming out of the room.

She'd probably tell Himeko the whole story if I mess up here, I thought. And Himeko would...console her? Comfort her? But how...That would be nice to watch, huh? Hime trying to comfort Elena, showing her what gentle love should have been...Shut up, instinct.

Finally, after many torturous minutes, sleep took me in its embrace. But, even in my dreams, I dreamt of Elena's embrace...continuing this perfect night forever.

*************

Well, thank you for another chapter, Alphonse. This concludes chapter three. Be sure to take a second to comment or vote. Or Both! 24 votes in 7000 views are good, but I think we could all use more, you tracking? Good. Now then...the next chapter...Oh yes.

Next Time: Chapter IV: "No God, Know Fear...Know God, No Fear."

Alphonse and Elena are growing more comfortable, but what of Albrecht and Himeko? Can Himeko see past the attempt on her life, and give Albrecht a chance at love? House Rosethorne is safe for now, but the fight gets taken to two fronts, as Albrecht and Alphonse must separate to fight the next two members of Gospel. Can they defeat the enemies without help from their sibling, and can Gibalev, Manstir and Peterson keep from wrecking House Rosethorne? The answers and the action are all in the next exciting, romantic installment of "Don't Miss," He Said.