NOVEL NEXT Chapter 29: Brief Meeting
After a very lengthy lesson about battle formations, the trainees got a much-needed lunch break after spending almost seven hours exercising without eating. The class was dismissed, letting them return to the base to hang out and eat in the courtyard. With training done for the day, Frost called the rest of Crisis to their private lounge on the second floor of the main building. He headed directly there with Panda and Tricky, but after only a couple minutes, Candy, Kiwy, and Nitro joined them, sneaking in to make sure they weren’t seen entering all at once.
Their private lounge was only a couple of hallways next to the staircase to the third floor, where their commander was busy with a meeting. Since the room was located next to the bathrooms, it wasn’t such a private area; however, they were still the only ones seen on the second floor as the other soldiers were on an afternoon break. The lounge was similar to the one used by Cookie and his friends, except it was much cozier, with not just a bar but an entire kitchen to themselves, as well as a few couches big enough for large guys like Panda to lie down, which he did as he was bored waiting for his teammates. The room was relatively small, at least when the entire team was in it, though they still had enough space to sit comfortably once the rest of the squad arrived.
–Did you all get what I asked you?– Frost asked as soon as Candy arrived, being the last one to join as it looked like she was busy. She was surprised to see that everyone else had gathered around a table on the four couches surrounding it, with Panda taking up an entire one by himself as he continued lying down and fidgeting with a high-caliber bullet. Across from him, Tricky and Nitro sat together, even though she didn’t seem too comfortable and tried to distance herself from him. And as they were all positioned around Frost, Kiwy was left sitting alone on the other couch available, which Candy approached to sit down and relax as she was tired.
–Aren’t you going to say hi first?– Candy asked playfully as she walked towards the group and sat next to Kiwy, who immediately cuddled up with her and happily received some pets before Candy was uneased by Frost’s straight face. He gave her a strict stare that removed her usual cheery smile, prompting her to pay attention like everyone else was already doing, even when it looked like Panda was about to fall asleep.
–We don’t have much time, so let’s do this quickly– Frost replied dismissively, his concise words grabbing the attention of Kiwy and Nitro in particular, who nodded in response.
–Yes, we got it, but I still don’t get why you asked for so much stuff…– Nitro responded firmly, but with a curious grin that surprisingly didn’t receive any scrutiny from Frost.
–Because we basically don’t have any equipment for this mission, and it’s not like we can ask permission. Luckily, Tricky got some stuff from her workshop, so we only need the things I asked you to get– Frost explained briefly, turning to Tricky for her to nod and solve some of Nitro’s doubts, except one, which Candy seemed to have as well, and unlike him, she didn’t hesitate to ask.
–When should we give it to you?– Candy asked prudently, a bit sheepish as she seemed to fear saying something that could warrant another indifferent reaction from Frost, but luckily, he was open to keep answering questions and responded quickly.
–At night… Once dinner is served and before the guards are on post, I need you to come to the office on the training grounds with all the stuff…– Frost replied quietly and discreetly, prompting his teammates to lean in closer to make sure they all heard him clearly. They all seemed to understand and had no further questions, but after a short silence, Nitro opened his mouth again to express more doubt.
–But what if we get caught?– Nitro asked nervously, looking at his teammates to see if they shared his worry; they did not. Instead, they braced themselves in anticipation of Frost’s reaction, which even Kiwy knew wasn’t going to be too positive.
–No one is going to notice if you leave one at a time, alright? Panda and Tricky will be with me, so you just have to sneak out for a couple of minutes and go back to the base before Indie finds out…– Frost responded in a slightly more annoyed tone, staring at Nitro impatiently and speaking louder to get him to understand for once. He shut up and looked away to not provoke Frost, but as his frustration and tone increased, he turned anxious when he noticed someone walk into the lounge. Their teammates couldn’t see it, so they immediately turned to the door, only to see that Indie had walked into their conversation, already approaching them as they tried to compose themselves.
–Before I find out what?– Indie asked with curiosity and a little skepticism, catching Nitro and Tricky off guard as she stood right behind them. They looked up to see that she didn’t seem very pleased to see them discussing private matters without her, though she seemed particularly suspicious of Frost, with him turning apprehensive as well now that she was confronting him.
Panda immediately sat up right after recognizing her voice. Candy and Kiwy remained quiet and looked at Frost to see if he would be able to explain the situation, but as he had to think of a good excuse for a bit under the pressure of Indie’s stare, he wasn’t able to answer right away. In his place, Nitro stepped in after everyone else took too long to say anything, and before he opened his mouth, his teammates were already cringing at whatever he would say.
–Oh hey! How are you, girl?– Nitro asked playfully, trying too hard to be friendly as he concealed his discomfort behind a tense, awkward, and not very convincing smile. He almost talked girly as he pitched up his voice to soften her up. But while she almost made her crack up from his unusual greeting, she couldn’t ignore the clear tension in the room that formed as soon as she walked in. She gave a good look at everyone, but no one seemed as anxious to see her as Nitro, and since he kept trying to play it cool with his weird smile, she couldn’t help but question it.
–You look awfully suspicious like that. What are you planning behind my back?– Indie asked with more interest, approaching the table slowly as she stared skeptically at each one of them, starting with Trick. She nodded and tried to look away, but as Indie’s stare induced so much nervousness in her, she immediately broke her silence after Indie got closer.
–Nothing, we were just… talking…– Tricky replied with a shaky voice, starting to stutter as she tried to come up with something else to say. Indie raised an eyebrow in suspicion, giving her a good look, similar to the one she gave to Nitro. But before either of them could say anything, Panda stepped in with an actual response.
–Talking about the thief that stole Candy’s panties, they just went missing all of a sudden, right?– Panda interjected with a naturally casual tone that sounded like his usual self. He called for Candy’s attention as he addressed her with a lighthearted but taunting grin, making her blush in embarrassment. She stammered for a second as everyone focused on her, but she now had Indie’s attention and didn’t know what to do with it. Candy struggled to look her in the eye, especially with everyone eagerly waiting to hear about her missing panties, until Panda gave her a subtle wink to help her play along with his excuse.
–Umm, yea, I didn’t want to bring it up, but it happened again…– Candy replied timidly but genuinely nervous, which seemed to convince Indie as she became concerned, though slightly amused to hear her admit having her panties stolen. And while the rest of the squad cracked a few forced chuckles to pretend, Indie seemed to take her problem seriously, leaning forward to check on her as she tried to hide her face.
–You think it was one of the new recruits?– Indie asked attentively, growing a little curious about the situation as well as suspicious since Candy just froze and kept stammering to come up with a response. She couldn’t think at the moment, but again, she was interrupted by one of her teammates, this time being Frost, as he had regained his composure.
–Maybe, but at least my students are too busy training and working to do perverted stuff like that…– Frost replied with a straight face, sounding the most authentic of them all. He stared directly at Indie without the apprehension from earlier, garnering her full attention easily, but also staring a bit too much as Indie stared back critically to consider if his word was to be trusted. They stared at each other for a moment, which both stressed and relieved his teammates since now it was up to him to prevent Indie from finding out about their plan. However, as he noticed that Indie was skeptical of his assumption, he loosened up to stop drawing suspicion.
–I think it’s more likely that Nitro did it again…– Frost followed up with a humorous tone, drawing Indie’s attention to Nitro, who was terrified to see her staring into his soul with her typical rigid stare. He nervously looked at his teammates, who laughed in a semi-forced manner, leaving him to sell the story to Indie with his natural uneasiness.
–That was an accident, I swear…– Nitro responded in absolute fright, shuddering nervously as he stared apologetically at both Candy and Indie, with the former looking away and just laughing it off. But as his hysterical reaction seemed to amuse Indie, she was able to crack a smile and dismiss the case. However, the funny moment lasted shortly as Indie was back to asking questions, although she was now addressing Frost directly with a new topic.
–How is the training going by the way?– Indie asked Frost in a more casual and lighthearted manner, to which he was actually taken aback as she was now focusing solely on him. But as she seemed to show genuine interest in her question, and remembering how seriously she took the training program, he tried to be as earnest and open as possible.
–Good, yea, it’s honestly been going better than I expected. They are finally learning something after failing with some exercises, but they are improving fast…– Frost replied with a laid-back attitude, taking a seat on the couch behind him as everyone else relaxed and tried to keep up a normal conversation to avoid Indie digging into their schemes. And since his casual demeanor delivered an unassuming impression to Indie, she didn’t even question him for a second and even seemed pleasantly surprised.
–See, I told you it could work out if you took it seriously. I’m glad you are actually trying…– Indie said with a small, impressed smile, which Frost almost returned after a while, though it was much forced. The rest of the squad watched in silence, but as Frost just kept quiet and continued staring at Indie, with her doing the same, the tension in the room began increasing once again, forcing Candy to join the questionably friendly conversation in a rather awkward manner.
–He is still giving them dumb nicknames, though…– Candy added with a teasing tone, turning to Frost with a playful grin to give Indie something to scold him, which he didn’t take very well, and neither did Indie.
–Really?– Indie asked disappointedly, now turning serious once again and even showing some hostility in her expression. Frost seemed offended by Candy deliberately snitching on him, but as Indie was pressuring him into explaining himself, he didn’t have time to think and just had to talk in hopes of defusing the situation.
–Yea, but it’s a tradition by now. They should be happy and show off their nicknames. I mean, who doesn’t want to be called Shade or Jumbo?– Frost responded with a nervous chuckle, trying to keep up his calm and collected demeanor. And while he was quite persuasive, he didn’t get to fully convince Indie as Candy got in the way again.
–You think someone should be proud of being named Sissy?– Candy asked, slightly upset but continuing to tease Frost by purposefully getting him in trouble, which he could tell was her intention as he saw her mischief behind that perky smile of hers.
–Uh, well…– Frost stammered for a moment, drawing his eyes from Indie to focus on Candy and question her intentions with a distressed expression. She continued smiling as Frost struggled to come up with an excuse, but as he had nothing to say to justify his actions, he prompted a frustrated Indie to reprimand him.
–Are you still doing that? What did I tell you about bullying your students? I hope I don’t get any complaints from them because I will be the one punished if they decide to tell the commander– Indie chided him in her usual assertive and slightly aggressive tone, the one she only seemed to use with Frost, who immediately tried to explain himself, although he waited for her to finish talking to not worsen his situation.
–It’s nothing, just some playful teacher-student banter. Besides, those nicknames give them a reason to work harder to make a name for themselves, even if they are a little sissy, I mean, silly…– Frost replied in a defensive manner, though he stumbled over a couple words as he was desperate to justify himself, having to choose his words carefully to not provoke Indie. And although she wasn’t fully buying it, she seemed to believe him enough to stop berating him about the subject.
–Alright, well, I should check up once in a while. I want to see some good progress by the end of the week…– Indie asserted as her gaze shifted to the rest of the team in an unconcerned manner. They were incredibly tense as they watched her and Frost argue from up close, except Candy, who seemed to enjoy seeing him be put in his place. But thankfully, it seemed like it all blew over after a non-apologetic explanation as Indie headed back to the door.
–You got it, captain– Frost mumbled unenthusiastically as Indie turned around to leave, letting out a big sigh of relief as she walked away. After she left, the tension in the room seemed to fade away almost immediately, though they were still weary and waited until they were sure she was gone to resume talking.
–See you later, Indie. Take care!– Candy shouted in her usual sweet and cheerful voice as Indie closed the door behind her. But once she was gone, she turned her bright smile to Frost, continuing to taunt him silently as they locked eyes. He looked upset at her, even a little embarrassed to be scolded in front of the squad, but as she gave him an impish giggle, he scoffed at her and stood up again to resume the meeting.
–Oh gods, was she listening this entire time?– Nitro asked anxiously, almost panting from the tension that had built up in the room, which seemed to still be affecting the rest of the team.
–I doubt it, I think she just walked in and found us talking, but that was close– Tricky replied self-assuredly while regaining her composure like the rest of her teammates. Kiwy still looked jittery after witnessing such a close call, needing Candy to hug her for comfort. They managed to calm themselves down and focus back on the plan, but even when they seemed to be in the clear, they stayed quiet in case anyone else was listening.
–Good improv, Pax, Nitro almost messed that up…– Frost said with genuine gratitude, though Panda just laughed it off and laid down on the couch again to relax.
–I just remembered what Candy said yesterday…– Panda replied lightheartedly, but as he embarrassed Candy just by glancing at her, Frost and the others couldn’t help but notice that she was actually ashamed of the matter.
–Wait, did someone really steal your panties?– Frost asked with an almost curious smile, though he sounding a little concerned by her reaction. Candy avoided looking at him, choosing to hide her blushing face with her hands as she cowered and tried to hide behind Kiwy, who helped conceal her embarrassment by blocking her body as much as she could.
–N-no… I don’t want to talk about it…– Candy replied timidly, though loud enough for the rest to hear. They stayed silent for an awkward second, but Frost’s first instinct was to look over at Nitro, who also turned to look at him, regretting staring instantly as he turned nervous.
–Don’t look at me, man– Nitro said fearfully, raising both of his hands to beg Frost with his worried frown to get him to believe him. Luckily, Frost just scoffed at him and dismissed him, though Panda and Tricky made sure to laugh at his dumbfounded face.
–Alright, let’s leave before we get caught again, we are raising suspicion. You all know what to do now. I’ll see you later– Frost affirmed prudently before standing up. His teammates did the same shortly after, and after listening to his short order, they all nodded affirmatively and began to leave the lounge one by one, checking the hallway just to make sure no one was outside. And as Frost was the last one in the room, he took a moment to think, becoming apprehensive for a brief second before he readopted his usual stoic demeanor and walked out of the room.