~Chapter Six~
~Raul~421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3j6w6xRzPB
I wake up early as usual, taking care not to wake Yolanda as I suit up. Before I leave, I peer into Melissa's bedroom. Empty. Again.
Ever since her graduation she's been out of the house at strange hours, no doubt with that Montoya boy. I'm sure she's just going through a phase with him. She'll learn he's no good and move on soon enough. She has to.
I head out of the door for the military base. Early morning are always the best time to get work done; that's why I reach the base before dawn most days. That was something I learned from Eugenio early in our careers. With how busy things have been lately, I need to get started as soon as possible.
Yesterday Miro's forces struck again in Illesto, killing one of their lieutenants. He's becoming a nuisance. Lena thinks that they're becoming an even greater threat than the RLA. It took the incident in Sotra's jungle for me to realize that.
I gave the order for Sotra's jungle to be searched extensively after what happened to Juaquin there. After several days of searching, they came across a tunnel covered by shrubbery that must've been used for their escape. When my soldiers traveled inside, they found that the path had collapsed. Miro must've blocked his escape after they fled.
Juaquin and Ilyana's squad go through exercises in the battle room early in the morning. I haven't assigned them to a new Sergeant, and I'm not keen on sending them out another mission after nearly losing them in Sotra. I can't let anything happen to Juaquin. But I could see him resenting me for giving him special treatment. That's just the sort of boy he is. But I have an idea for keeping him safe.
Lena is coming through Uneva today with a present. Her convoy arrives at the military base at noon, prompt as always. I greet her at the gate. She wore a bold looking military uniform, more extravagant than my own.
"Good to see you, General." I keep up formal appearances in front of the rest of the base.
"Good to see you as well, Colonel Rios." Lena has the same dark tan and black hair that all in her family shared. Her long hair was tied behind her into a short ponytail. Her sharp eyes intimidated nearly all who met her; when I was a younger man a look from her would've frozen me in place. But I've known her for far too long for it to affect me anymore.
Lena grips a white suitcase which only a few know the contents of. But that will have to wait. She meets with me and my most trusted subordinates. We update her on the state of things in Uneva. With our recent efforts, we reduced the threat of the RLA in our region greatly. If there are still members of the RLA here, they are few and in hiding. Lena doesn't seem the least bit surprised.
"The RLA is hardly a threat anymore. I anticipate that in the next few months we'll be able to eliminate the RLA completely. " Lena states confidently after hearing our report, "Miro is who we should be focusing on now."
After the meeting, Lena and I leave for my quarters. She sets the white suitcase on my desk and reveals its contents to me.
I look down at it, "This is it?"
"What do you think? Is it the same as what Miro used?" She asks.
"I'm not sure. I'll have to ask a soldier from Corporal Ilyana Ferzo's squad." I respond, "They saw Miro. They would know."
"Do you still want to give it to Eugenio's boy?" Lena prods, already knowing my intentions.
I nod, "He's a good soldier. He'll make good use of it." I know it would help keep him safe as well.
"Alright, call him up."
I call Juaquin to the administrative district of the base. While Lena and I wait we look over some of the photos I have laid out on my desk. There is a photo with Eugenio and I in our teen years on a beach. We were shirtless, flexing what we thought were huge muscles at the time. That was when we were still working as farm hands with our fathers. We had too much drive to settle for that sort of life though.
Another photo has Lena, Eugenio, and I, all in Corporal uniforms standing at attention. Lena started her military career around the same time that Eugenio and I had, and we ascended the ranks in pace with each other, usually Lena leading the charge with Eugenio and I close behind.
As of now, Lena is my direct superior. I wish I could say that she only became a General over me because she's part of the royal family, but she earned the position. I still have much to learn to match her. She has aspirations to become Head General of the entire military one day, and I believe she's capable of it.
Lena looks at the photo of Eugenio for a while. She'd never admit it, but I know she fancied him. However their strong wills clashed with each other, far too much for them to be together. Lena ended up with a man named Antonio, while Eugenio wed Maria.
A knock comes at the door to my office. "Come in." I say.
Juaquin enters my office. "You wanted to talk to me Raul?" He asks. He and Lena's eyes meet.
Lena laughs, "Ha, he really is the spitting image of Eugenio!" Juaquin looks at her with a puzzled but subdued expression. He's never met Lena before. She greets him boisterously with an extended hand.
"Nice to meet you Juaquin Neruda. I'm Lena Veran." Lena says with gusto.
"It's nice to meet you as well." Juaquin shakes her hand and he begins to recognize her name, "Wait, Veran? Like the royal family?"
Lena simply smirks.
I fill him in, "Yes, she's part of the Veran royal family and General of the southern regions. She's the daughter of the Head General of the military as well."
"I'm also a longtime friend of Raul and your father." She adds.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I had no idea." Juaquin stammers, searching for the proper thing to do.
Lena smiles at Juaquin, "You're fine, no need to worry. Come and sit, we'd like to show you something Juaquin." Lena says, drawing him back to my desk where the suitcase waits. Lena circles the desk and stands next to me. Juaquin sits and ponders the suitcase.
Lena pops the suitcase open and pulls out a flat object. She flicks it in the air and it expands into a helmet. A silvery-white helmet with a blue visor, sharing the colors of the Rhiveran flag.
"Does this look familiar to you at all Juaquin?" I ask. She turns the visor of the mask to him.
"Yeah, it looks just like Miro's helmet, with different coloring. His was all black." He replies.
I turn the suitcase to him and revealed a full body suit, sporting a white and blue color scheme. It's surface was hard, and almost armor like.
Lena begins, "This is the latest incarnation of the Survival suit, the 23rd re-design I believe. This suit provides the wearer protection from most gunfire, and still leaves them most of their mobility. Most of the older designs either restricted movement too much or didn't provide sufficient protection. This version is a good balance. Earlier this year our R&D department created this design, but it was stolen. We always thought the RLA stole it but it sounds like it was Miro, based on your mission report. The R&D department recreated that old design. Ideally, if it does well in testing, we'll fund mass production of these Survival Suits. I planned to hand it off to Raul so he could present it to a soldier of his choosing..."
I take it from there, "I would like you to use this Survival Suit going forward Juaquin."
Juaquin was listening closely. Upon hearing that I wanted him to use it, his demeanor becomes more skeptical. "Why do you want me to have it?"
"Well, you've done a remarkable job so far and I think-"
Juaquin interrupts me, "Why do you actually want me to have it?" He glares at me. Lena raises an eyebrow at him, but he continues to stare at me unflinchingly.
I'm honest with him, although I know he'll hate my reasons, "I need you to be safe."
"I don't want special treatment." Juaquin responds sharply.
I respond just as sharply, "Well that’s too bad."
"Why don't you or Lena take it?"
Lena interjects, "We are very rarely on the front lines; we won't make much use of it."
"What if I refuse?" Juaquin asks defiantly.
"Then I won't send you on any more missions." I say sternly.
"You can't do that!" Juaquin snaps back.
"Watch me." He knew I meant it. For a workaholic like him, that is the greatest punishment.
Juaquin glares at me, sits back in his chair with a huff before begrudgingly responding, "Alright. I'll use it."
Lena smirks. She collapses the helmet into its flattened state and places it back into its suitcase. "With that settled. Raul, make sure and give that survival suit a good chance to test itself. If I feel it's not being utilized properly, I'll take it back."
"I'll make sure of it." I shut the suitcase and nudge it towards Juaquin. "Take it and get back to your squad."
Juaquin's eyes dart from me to the suitcase, and back to me, "You want me to keep it?" He asks.
"Past Survival suit users kept their suits. I don't see any reason it should be different with you." I explain, "Just don't lose it."
"Alright. Thank you." Juaquin says in a disingenuous way. I can tell he's bitter about the reason I'm giving him the suit. Juaquin clutches the suitcase's handle and leaves my office.
"Would you have given it to him if he wasn't Eugenio's son?" Lena asks pointedly.
"Yes. He always works to prove himself." I say without any hesitation, "He'll make good use of it."
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In the evening Lena departs for Joldair, the southwest region of Rhivera. There are rumors that Eduardo Santoro himself may be hiding out there, and she wants to investigate it herself.
At the end of the day, I take a transport back home with Yolanda. The house is empty when we arrive. Melissa isn't home. Again. I'm starting to worry about that girl, evne though I know she's smart enough to stay out of trouble.
"Maybe she's at Maria's?" Yolanda points out, trying to ease my nerves.
After getting into our casual wear, we walk the few meters from our house to the Neruda household and announce ourselves when we knock at the door. I don't want them to have to hide Eugenio Jr. when it's just us.
Maria and Juaquin are preparing dinner as we come in. Junior and Melissa are sitting together at the table, "There's my daughter!" I pronounce loudly, gathering Melissa's attention.
"Hi dad." Melissa greets me unenthusiastically. Melissa attends to Junior closely.
"Hi Mister and Missus Rios!" Junior excitedly greets us.
"Where've you been Melissa?" I ask.
"I've been busy." She answers. What could she be busy with?
Maria hollers from the kitchen, "Yolanda, Raul, go ahead and take a seat at the table. We'll have food ready in a minute." We have dinners here often. The Neruda's were family by all but blood. Before Junior was born, we would sometimes meet up at my home. But with the need to keep Junior indoors to stay safe and so he wouldn't be excluded, most dinners and gatherings happen here now.
Junior nervously looks at me from across the table, quickly darting his eyes away whenever I look back at him. He smiles meekly at me. I can't help but be annoyed by his soft demeanor. It's hard to believe Eugenio would beget a son like him. He's nothing like Juaquin or Eugenio. Eugenio would've never been so content with having others take care of him.
Food was served and I greatly enjoy the meal. Maria and Juaquin's cooking is fantastic. Maria must've gotten the cuts of meat from the farm.
"How’s work been going Juaquin?" Yolanda asks.
Juaquin's eyes dart to me, "It's been fine." He says calmly. We haven't told them about what happened in Sotra's Jungles. If Maria found out, she'd be ballistic. She'd probably demand that Juaquin leave the military immediately; an argument I'd rather not have.
A knock comes at the door amidst our dinner. Junior sighs and wordlessly backs his wheelchair away from the table and heads to his room, closing the door behind him. Standard procedure at the Neruda household.
Juaquin opens up the front door. At the doorway is a thin young man with messy black hair standing eye to eye with Juaquin. It's the Montoya boy. Why the hell is he here? I audibly groan, only for Yolanda to scold me with her eyes.
"Hey Arturo! We weren't expecting you!" Juaquin greets. Melissa stands and heads towards the door when she hears his name.
"We're having dinner. Come back later." I tell him, not hiding the fact I'm annoyed by his presence.
"Raul!" Yolanda chides me. She knows I hate the boy. His mother was a woman who only got by on her looks, and his stepfather is a man whose wealth ensures the boy would remain privileged and lazy. The greatest sin is laziness.
Arturo expressionlessly stares back at me, "I only want to talk to Juaquin."
"Make it quick." I demand. Yolanda tugs at my arm.
Arturo rolls his eyes at me before turning to Juaquin, "I want you to leave the military."
"Arturo, we've talked about that. You know I won't." Juaquin responds. I nod in approval.
"It's not safe. I heard that a lot of soldiers were killed in Sotra." Arturo says.
I stand from the table, "How did you hear about that?"
"The news." Arturo answers. "They said Miro's army did it."
I see Maria's concern escalating, "If that’s true, maybe it is time for Juaquin to leave the military."
"He doesn't know what he's talking about." I tell her.
Melissa speaks up, "I don't know dad. I've heard Miro's been giving the military a lot of trouble lately."
Maria grows increasingly flustered. Arturo stands at the doorway with his arms folded. He knew this would upset Maria. "Juaquin, I think Arturo might be right. You should leave the military." Maria says.
"You can't tell him what to do Maria. Juaquin's a man now." I reply.
"I can't let anything happen to him too!" Maria shouts back at me.
"Mom." Juaquin calmly interrupts us, "It's okay. After what happened in Sotra, Raul put me in a safer position. Right Raul?" Juaquin looks at me.
I'm stunned for a moment. It isn't quite the truth, but it isn't a lie either. With the Survival suit he will be much safer.
"Yes-Yes, of course. You know I wouldn't put him in any real danger Maria." I assure her, following Juaquin's lead.
Maria starts to simmer down, "Oh? What do you have him doing now?" She asks.
I blurt out the first thing that came to mind, "Deskwork." Juaquin raises his eyebrow at me. If I tell her the truth it'll still upset her. I can't tell her about the Survival Suit either. Confidential stuff. "Just to help organize things."
Arturo unfolds his arms, "I feel like sitting down all day would drive someone like you insane. Are you really okay with that kind of work?" Arturo asks, genuinely surprised.
Juaquin carries on my lie, "Yeah, it's not very fun. But I still want to help out the military. Is that good enough for you Arturo?" He's a better liar than I took him for. I don't know whether to be impressed or concerned.
Arturo hesitantly nods, "As long as you're not in danger." Arturo seems satisfied enough, "Well, I did what I came here to do. I think I should head home. Raul has been glaring at me pretty terribly since you opened the door." Arturo looks at me and rolls his eyes again. The boy knows how to enrage me.
Juaquin sighs, "Glad you came over. We need to see each other soon man. It's been too long."
"Yeah, it has been a while." Arturo steps away, "We'll do something later."
Melissa goes to Arturo and gives him a kiss on the cheek before he goes on his way. I loudly groan at the sight of it. Arturo heads home, and Junior comes out of his room once he knows the coast is clear.
"You two are better off not associating with that boy." I can't help but say. Unsurprisingly, Maria and Yolanda give me a scolding about how I treated him while the kids finish their dinners in silence. 421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLvG7YWBUfD
