Soldiers of Legend:
Chances
Danielle Kazemi
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2011 Danielle Kazemi
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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Soldiers of Legend:
Chances
Danielle Kazemi
Captain Alexander flipped through the reports he received earlier during the day. It was the third week of them being in the Andes mountains so he assumed they would have had some success as of yet. He knew it would take time to find the exact thing they were sent here for but this was beginning to drag on longer than he imagined.
A knock was heard on his door. “Come in,” he answered shoving the papers to the side. He would welcome any distraction.
Saladin walked into the room, his face puzzled. “I was with the others at the break room and we noticed you weren't there. Can't spend all of your time locked in your room.”
“Some of us actually have work to do.”
He looked around the room. “I don't see any of those people in here. Besides, your girl is waiting for you.” He winked at Alexander.
Alexander could feel himself slightly blush. Saladin was the only one he told so far about his relationship with Boudicca. He was trying hard to keep it a secret from anyone else. It would be too much of a fact to use against him.
“So are you coming or should I tell her that you're too busy?” Saladin asked once more. He was ready to head back. He was winning in their game.
With a slight chuckled, Alexander stood up and headed down to the break room with his friend. It had been a long day already and he did deserve a break. Besides, if everyone else was doing it there was no harm in him being there.
When the door opened, he was able to see that Saladin was correct in telling him all of the others were there. Even Hadrian and his group were in the same room.
“Hey Alexander, glad someone was able to get you out of your cave,” Cleo laughed slapping a pair of cards on the table. Boudicca and Darius threw theirs down as well.
Darius laughed. “I think Cleo has stolen all the luck in the world for herself.”
“If I did, I wouldn't be out here on this chunk of rock playing cards,” she replied. She picked up all of the cards and started to shuffle them again.
Saladin grabbed a chair nearby and pulled it up to the round table. “Deal me and Alexander in as well. We'll show you that she doesn’t have all the luck. It requires skill. Skill that of course I have.”
Alexander noticed that his friend conveniently left the chair next to Boudicca empty. He took his seat and smiled at her. He couldn't help himself. He quickly snapped back into his original mode.
Cleo started to deal out of the cards. “Very simple. I think everyone knows the rules. Pairs, full house, everything in between.” She brushed her long black hair out of her face as she dealt.
Saladin picked his cards up and glanced at them. “What are we betting on?”
Every round was different. The group as a whole didn't have access to much money so usually that was never brought up. One of the main things they wagered on was time.
“Whoever wins this hand, gets out of duty early tomorrow,” Alexander offered. He knew he was the only one in the room who actually had the authority to say this. It would make the game more interesting.
Everyone at the table looked at him. “Seriously?” Boudicca asked. That was a pretty high wager.
He nodded. “Unless everyone wants to quit now and let me take the day off early.”
“Like that would happen. You'd probably spend the time harking after us,” Saladin joked, “I am going to enjoy my time off.”
“My luck has yet to run out,” Cleo quipped. She turned towards Darius.
“Two cards,” he said flinging the other ones down.
“Four,” Boudicca said a little sheepishly. There was no chance in her mind of her being able to take off tomorrow.
All eyes focused on Alexander. “One.”
“One here too,” Saladin replied. He looked over at Alexander to gauge what cards he had.
“And two for me,” Cleo said pulling out her own cards.
They all looked at each other for a moment. They couldn't increase the prize so they would have to show all of their cards at once.
Darius put his down first. “Two pair.”
“Better than me. King high,” Boudicca responded, laughing slightly.
Alexander smiled. “Full house.” He was rather certain he was going to win.
“Impossible,” Cleo said throwing her cards down. This was the first game she lost all evening.
“I wonder how I will spend my afternoon,” Alexander mused aloud. He was smiling, glad to have won.
Saladin dropped his cards and said, “You are going to be spending it on patrol.” He had a flush. He won.
“Congrats on that,” Alexander said, “I'll make sure to let you have your time off.”
“I think I might go swimming. I haven't done that in a long time,” Saladin said leaning back in his chair. He was pleased with himself.
Alexander laughed. “Sounds good to me. It's pretty late though for me now. I think I am going to get some sleep. Someone needs to find the text.”
Everyone in the room began to agree with him. They would have to be up at the crack of dawn anyway to start searching. One by one the soldiers made their way into their respective rooms.
Alexander opened his door and laid down on his bed for a while. He was thinking about the rest of the day and how it had gone. One more day and then they were able to take a day off. The Commander had promised them that ever since they started on these missions. With that thought, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
*****
“Do you think its possible that we actually found the text but we skipped over it?” Boudicca asked Cleo as they walked through the overgrown field. The Incas were supposedly in care of some important information which would save humanity. That was the reason why they were out here.
Cleo thought about it for a moment. “Maybe. It is quite possible. You think you spotted it?”
“Nope.” Boudicca laughed, “I was only wondering.”
The sun was beaming down on them through the sky. “I wish I won last night,” Cleo complained, “I could use the break. All of this traveling and for what? Nothing.” She flipped a stone over and looked. There was nothing important there.
“Me too.”
“Oh come on,” Cleo replied rolling her eyes.
Boudicca smiled. “Just because we are sort of a couple, it doesn't mean he gives me special privileges over other people.”
“Have you ever asked?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know? He might let you take a whole week off if you asked.”
Boudicca shook her head. “Our relationship is not like that.
I'm not sure if really is a relationship. We don't spend a lot of time together. Can you imagine how Hadrian would react? He would try to use me against Alexander. I don't feel like being used by anyone..”
Hadrian, another soldier, was constantly at odds with Alexander. He cared too much about being in charge of them as opposed to actually interacting with them. He had his own little group who seemed to follow him regardless of his actions. It was best to maintain their distance from him.
Cleo held up her hand. “Listen.” They both stopped what they were doing and heard a noise coming from behind them. Turning around, they could see Saladin coming towards them from across the field.
“What are you doing here? Coming to rub in our faces the fact that you have the afternoon off?” Cleo asked, returning her weapon to its holster. She had pulled it out when inspecting who was coming towards them.
“Not at all. I am actually coming to relieve Boudicca of her duty,” he responded with a straight face.
Cleo cast a knowing glance at Boudicca. “Alexander's orders?”
“I noticed this morning she was looking a little pale. I think she needs to get medical attention,” Saladin answered.
Boudicca looked at Saladin curiously. That was odd. He wouldn't offer someone his time off unless he knew something he was not letting on. There was only one thing she could think of. “You know about us don't you? I can't believe he told you.”
Saladin laughed. “I guess I am not the best at keeping secrets. He told me about three years ago. Anyway, go. I'll finish up over here with Cleo. I will see if I can get her luck to rub off on me.”
She wasn't sure if she should take him up on his offer or not. “Are you sure you're going to be okay without me?” she asked Cleo. She didn't want to leave her friend in a bind.
“I'm sure I'll be fine. I'll see you later when we get back. Or maybe not. Depending on how your day goes,” Cleo winked. She and Saladin shared a look between each other and watched as Boudicca headed off with a smile.
“They actually do make a cute couple. Both of them are a little weird,” Saladin remarked.
Cleo gave a laugh. “I have been keeping that secret to myself for years now. It is refreshing to know someone else can talk with me about it.”
He kicked at one of the stones on the ground. “You ever thought about it?”
She shrugged. “I don't know. I don't know if I could handle all of the sneaking around. I'm too direct.”
That answered his question. “So how much more do you have to explore around here?” He could see a small crack in the side of one of the nearby rocks. He assumed that might be the place where they were ending.
“Promise not to tell Alexander?”
“I promise.”
“We can quit right now,” she laughed sitting on one of the rocks, “We've searched this area before and this was double checking.”
He laughed as well. “I think we should switch partners then. Every time Alexander goes out in the field, he is so serious. It becomes all about the mission.”
They sat there on the rock for a moment and looked around them. It was a nice being there in the quiet area. Breaks were always welcomed.
*****
Alexander looked at some of the nearby rocks and made sure that none of the marks on the rocks were the ones they were looking for. The Commander himself was not sure exactly what it would look like. Everything was suspect to inspection.
He turned around and saw Boudicca walking towards him. Her red hair always gave her away quickly. He walked over to her and asked, “Is everything okay? Where's Cleo?” They were not supposed to be in this section. Maybe something happened she needed to alert him to.
“You told him about us didn't you?” she asked with a smile on her face.
Alexander gave a little chuckle. “I couldn't help myself.”
“Well, he decided to give me his afternoon off. So I was wondering, do you want to take the afternoon off too?” She smiled at him.
“I probably...,” he trailed off thinking about what the rest of his day looked like, “Yes. I do.” He was slightly shocked with himself for being able to skirt his duties like that. It was probably because they didn't have a lot of time together. He was willing to take whatever time he could get.
“I saw a nice, secluded place near some water. We could go there. We won't have to worry about anyone else seeing us.”
He grinned. “Sounds great.” He looked around for a moment to see if anyone else was around. Confident they were alone, he leaned in and kissed her. It had been almost a week since they were able to do that. He felt her grab onto the back of his head and pulled him in more to her.
He ran his fingers through her hair, pulling her in closer. His other hand started to travel down her side. He broke from her and placed his forehead to hers. “Let's go really quick.”
“I was thinking the same thing.” She kissed him once more before they headed off. As they crossed through the village, they heard the familiar sounds of boot steps coming up to them.
“Alexander,” Richard, one of the soldiers, said walking up to him, “The Commander needs to see you.” He was glad he found Alexander. It had taken a while to track him down.
A glance from Alexander let Boudicca know that he had to go see what it was about. “Thank you for your time,” she told him walking off. It was always duty before pleasure.
“I'll go meet with him. Thank you,” Alexander replied, lowering his head a bit to watch Boudicca walking off. It better be something very important.
Walking into the base, Alexander went straight to the Commander's door. He knocked twice before opening the door. “You wanted to see me, sir?”
The Commander looked up from his desk. “Yes, Alexander. I know you had to reorganize some of the teams because of problems we had recently,” he said using the word problem carefully, “but you will be pleased to know that we have another member of our team.”
“Sir?” Alexander had not seen anyone new come around the base.
“He's going to be assigned to your team. I want you to take care of him. Train him to become one of the best soldiers our cause has,” the Commander explained, “He is waiting for you in the break room.”
Alexander tried not to let his emotions show. He was called away from going on one of the first dates he had in a while so that he could train a new soldier. It hardly seemed fair. “Yes sir.” He saluted and left the room.
He entered the room and saw a young man stand up. It took Alexander by surprise. He was much younger than what he was expecting. “Are you the new soldier?”
“Yes sir,” the man said with a crisp salute.
Alexander waved his hand down. “You don't have to do that. What's your name?”
“I'm Achilles.”
“Achilles – interesting. How much do you know about what we do here?” He crossed his arms. He didn't want to train someone who was unfamiliar with everything that they were doing.
Achilles looked down for a moment before responding, “I know that we are out here in the Andes searching for a missing text to benefit humanity.”
Alexander nodded his head. “That sounds about right. You've been assigned as my partner. Now, today is pretty much finished and tomorrow is break. After that, prepare to spend all day searching.”
The young man nodded in agreement. “I won't disappoint you sir.” He raised his hand to salute but quickly put it down when he remembered what Alexander said. He gave a crooked smile. It was going to take a while getting used to his new position.
*****
Saladin sat outside, watching the birds settle in for the night. He was bored. It was nice to have a break from searching the city but he wished there was something else to do in this village instead of stare at the sky.
He stood up and started back inside of the base. Leaving, he heard the hum of an aircraft. He couldn't be certain but he was pretty sure he was correct. Looking to see if anyone else heard, he headed off to the noise with his ha
nd near his weapon. Someone might be trying to stop their mission.
The thick foliage gave him great coverage. He positioned himself able to see through the leaves without being spotted. It was a plane. He was correct.
“I hope your flight was pleasant,” the Commander said greeting a heavily cloaked man coming off the plane. A large hat covered the man's face.
“I am always interested in the progression of my troops,” the man responded with a rather cold voice. He stepped off with his cane hitting the ground hard.
Saladin squinted his eyes. He needed to see who was talking with the Commander He couldn't understand why he would refer to the troops as being his.
“I need these mercenaries ready so that I can enact my grand plan. I am growing impatient waiting. The more time we spend discussing the various obscene details, the more my enemies grow larger and more powerful,” the man explained. His tone of voice was sharp, cutting directly to the point.
“As long as I am allowed to keep one. I do have plans of my own which I have placed on hold long enough,” the Commander retorted. He was bristling at the idea of his benefactor taking away everything he worked on.
“Of course. You have been instrumental in accomplishing my goals thus far.”
Another man rushed forward, dressed in the same attire as the mysterious man. He handed a paper to the man and walked away briskly. “It appears as though I have some business I must attend to soon. This had better be a quick briefing.”
The men started to come towards the area in which Saladin was hiding. He caught his breath – careful not to alert them to his presence. When they passed, he shook his head. He couldn't believe what he heard. He needed to find Alexander. He had to tell him what he heard.
He took off through the bushes and made it to the base without being spotted by anyone. He went straight to Alexander's room and knocked.
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