The Assassin & The Mercenary

Chapter 10

James and I entered the vessel side by side with Moxis at my heel. The officer who was designated to show me to my lodgings led the way, consistently glanicng over his shoulder to make sure I was still following. Plenty of other Privates were on board with us and were visibly confused as to why there was a "fucking mutt" on the ship with them. One brave soul decided to voice his concern.

"Hey, Lieutenant! The fuck is a dog doing on here? You just going to let this happen? If I had known, I wouldve have brought one of my bitches with me" he said with a half assed sneer.

I didn't know if his statement was solely about dogs or if his blatantly misogynistic ass implied that it was a woman he was talking about. His sneer was at both Moxis and I before he spoke so it made sense if it was directed towards us both. I looked towards our tour guide to see if he would handle the situation or would just let it be.

Since it seemed the officer did not care for handling it and James looked as if he was about to deck the man, I stepped in. Since it seemed that his problem was more with me having a dog on the ship than anything else, I decided that the best course of action would be for me to clean up the mess I seemed to cause.

I stepped in front of James and grabbed one of his tightened fists behind my back. The officer who was set to be leading was stopped and the soldier who confronted us stepped towards me with a disgusted sneer.

"I just don't see ho-"

I decked the over-greased soldier in the jaw with my left fist and quickly hooked a leg behind his and tugged so he would fall backwards. His head hit the edge of the metal corridor on the way down. The steel wall wouldn't injure him too much but would definitely knock him out for a while.

Now. You all must be wondering why I acted in such a manner that would seem like an overreaction according to the currently provided circumstances.What I will tell you is that I stand on a boat, about to ship off to Europe, filled entirely with male soldiers who think that two to four inches will single handedly be the thing to win the war and simultaneously be God's gift to women everywhere.

I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, silently asking him to shut the fuck up. I would gladly tell anyone who listens that I too have something within that size range that will solve both issues. I mean, my middle finger works great as both a trigger finger and a replacement to whatever flavor chapstick a guy wants to shove up there and wiggle around like a worm on the end of a fishing hook till he's done.

Anyway, where were we?

The hall went silent for a few seconds after the weight of the soldier hit the grated floor. I was close enough to hear the officer in front of me swallow deeply. Moxis made a sound of contempt.

"Christ, Doll," James said from over my shoulder, slowly making his way around to front of me "You've got a mean left hook. Remind me not to piss you off."

"Don't worry. I doubt you ever could" I smiled up at him before turning to the officer so I could attempt to nudge him onward "Don't we have somewhere to be? Sir?"

He stammered for a minute before clamping his mouth shut and turning to continue leading us. We walked for a while in mostly silence with a few murmured conversations between James and I.

"Sergeant Barnes should know where his quarters are, as they are with the rest of his rank as required." The Lieutenant spoke up towards what seemed the end of our walk, "but Ms. Stark's quarters are in a separate location from the rest of us. As requested of course."

His last sentence was said with so much disdain, I'd say that he agreed with the poor soldier, laying on the floor about two levels above us. The separate lodging was most likely due to my brothers nagging to his coworkers who were in a position to do so. Or at least he had them in a position that would sway them into his favor.

The four of us slowed down as we approached a closed door​ that was made out of a solid sheet of steel. As I came to a halt in front of the hunk of metal, Moxis came to stand in front me as if she could be a shield. It was like she could feel the growing tension between the tour guide and the rest of us.

"This room will be Sergeant Barnes' quarters while aboard." He said into the air before turning directly to James "Each room is made up to house two soldiers so you will have a roommate by the end of the day. You showed up early so he is most likely not here as of now. Your bags should be here by the time the sun sets today. Hopefully there won't be an issue of your luggage being damaged."

James reached forward to open the door so we could see inside. Swinging the door open all the way and then flicking on the lights revealed a standard room. Two made up beds with stiff mattresses sat on opposite sides of the room, split down the middle by the door. There was a medium sized wooden trunk at the end of each bed, probably some sort of dresser. A small and private bathroom sat behind an open door embedded into the wall on the left of the room. Only a small toilet and a sink were sat inside.

"Shower room is down the hall on your left. There's about 15 shower heads in there for everyone in this sector to share" the Lieutenant spoke up "I'll let you get yourself settled here, Barnes. I'm going to go show Ms. Stark to her lodgings before the halls get too clogged with the men boarding. We'll leave the dock shortly so you might want to get settled sooner rather than later."

I looked to James just as he opened his mouth to protest the subtle order to stay put. I nodded gently when he took notice, signaling I would be fine to be on my own for a bit. He nodded back after some small hesitation. He slowly walked to the door from the other side of me, stopping briefly before me.

He leaned down to my level and gave me a small yet sweet kiss to my cheek. "Soon?"

Butterflies hummed throughout my stomach, "Don't worry, Jamie. I'll find a way to see you. Luckily my schedule allows for some leniency. I promise to see you tomorrow though."

He smiled at that and reached a hand up to cradle my head. His thumb sat just before my ear and his large palm cradled the back of my head as he pressed a chaste kiss to my lips. It only lasted about 7 seconds before the clearing of a throat interrupted us. He pulled back with a vibrant blush across his cheeks. His soft blue eyes gently staring at me. "Soon, then."

"Soon."

✭✭✭

The officer turned and marched on in front of me and Moxis, leading us up four flights of creaky metal stairs to my designated room. The air was tense between us and Moxis stalked stiffly beside me, as if readying herself for a fight at any sudden moment. The tethered silence seemed to make the walk take longer than it did but soon enough we arrived at an isolated door.

He roughly pushed the door open and stood beside it. "Your stuff should be here soon. Mr. Stark requested some items be put inside prior to your arrival but the rest should be delivered by dusk."

I walked into the room and swept my gaze over every corner. Quickly taking note of everything inside. The room was about the same size as James' if not slightly larger. A tightly made-up mattress sat tucked into the wall opposite of a bathroom. Luckily, this bathroom had a single shower in addition to a toilet and sink. A wooden trunk sat pressed up against the end of the bed and a dog bed sat in the corner parallel to the mattress. A wooden wardrobe sat across from the foot of the bed, most likely for dress uniforms and such.

I swiftly turned back around to thank the officer for his time, but saw that he had left. I walked to shut the door before going to lay on the mattress. Moxis curled up on her bed as I lay my head back on my hands.

Looking over to my trusty girl with a grin, "Looks like we're going to have some fun." I say.