ALICE

Chapter 29: CONSEQUENCES

Chapter 29: CONSEQUENCES 

 Nine escorted her to a small metal building, slightly larger then a big shed. It was of extremley thick iron, and it was the bases armoury.

 "This is the armoury, but everyone calls it 'The Locker'. It's small but... It's pretty full."

 Nine brushed past the half-asleep guard who was leaning against the wall beside the door. He pushed the door open, and waved his arms out at the deadly wonderland beyond.

 "Voila."

 Alice looked, seeing guns everywhere. The room was chilly and air-conditioned, with cold, flourescent lights above. The guns were pushed up against all the walls, sights and scopes in buckets, silencers and other accesories in milk crates. A cardboard box labeled (Italics) 9mm (Italics) was full of small ammuntion. Guns were on top of shelves, knives carelessly left in a pile in the corner, there was nothing like it.

 "Here, all weapons need to be fitted with a suppresor, otherwise the mission'll be over when you fire the first shot." He pulled an M4 off the wall, and twisted a silencer onto the end. After it was tightly placed on, he grabbed an ACOG scope out of a bucket, and carefully screwed it on with a fickle screwdriver, looking through it occasionally.

 After the sight was lined up, and the gun was ready, he handed it to Alice.

 "With a silencer eating up your stopping power and range, accuracy is important. I've also got something else for you."

 He pulled a 1911 custom out of a silver briefcase. The grip was decorated with black swirls on the grey plastic on the handle. Nine carefully installed a supressor, short and slender, onto the barrel. The pistol was a nice one, with well oiled slides and a smooth hairtrigger, and actually custom made to have a silencer on the barrel.

 "So... How have you been holding up?"

 Alice was walking around looking at the guns. 

 "Surviving."

 "Alice... You remember that day... On top of the tent?"

 Alice did, and it was awkward thinking aout, because she was pretty steady with George.

 "Yeah, I do."

 "What was that, Alice?"

 "I... I don't know."

 "Well, I mean, we did... that, and then, you're off to basic, and suddenly... You're sleeping with George."

 "I..." Alice crossed her arms, not sure what to say.

 "I don't mind, I mean... I like you, but... What was that about?"

 "Well... You kissed me."

 "You hardly didn't kiss back!"

 "Look, Nine." Alice turned around to see him, looking actually heartbroken. "I hardly see you, and you're like... 21. George is 16."

 "We could change that... I mean, the seeing eachother part."

 "Yeah, and cheat on the first person that's ever really cared about me."

 "Dammit Alice," Nine came closer to her, and turned her around, they were face to face. "I love you, but I you're shooting me down before I have a chance to shine!" He put his hands on her shoulders. "I care about you!" His hands started to curl around Alice's shapley figure.

 "Nine, what are you-"

 "I love you Alice." Nine said queitly. "I want you... I need y-"

 Alice punched him in the stomach, and kicked him away.

 "I need you to back the hell off."

 Alice grabbed her stuff, and left the bunker, leaving Nine to regain his wind.

 (Break) 

 Alice called for Kendo via one of the messenger boys, who took his time getting there. Nine must have left through a back door, because Alice didn't see him come out the front door, where Alice was standing. When he got there, he had his gun drawn.

 "Where is the bastard? Who do I shoot?"

 "What?"

 "Nine! Where is he?"

 "I don't know... He... Left."

 "I know what he did."

 "What?"

 He pointed up and behind her, and Alice turned around to see a grey security camera staring at them.

 "It was no big thing..."

 "You're his superior. There are consequences for this type of thing no matter who does it."

 Kendo spotted him, skulking in the med-tent. He walked up to him, and punched him in the face, breaking his jaw and dropping him instantly. Nine was still conscious though, and he spat out some teeth and a lot of blood, and returned the favour to Kendo. 

 Kendo was knocked back, but he outweighed Nine by at least fifty pund, and he was a burly guy. He managed to stay on his feet long enough to get his hand on his revolver and pulled it halfway out, before it was kicked straight out of his hands by Nine. Kendo delivered a savage kick to Nine in the stoumach, before, reaching for his gun which lay between them. As the two soldiers got into a scuffle over the .38, one of them pulled out something shiny, roughly 7 centimetres long, and pressed the blade into the other. Kendo backed out of the scuffle, grasping a moonlit knife that was being showered in a constant spray of crimson water. As Nine snatched the gun off the ground to finish Kendo off, Alice pulled the M1911 from her cargoes and aimed it at Nine, making an instant desicion to go for a kill shot.

 She missed.

 The gunshot made the crowd that had gathered around the fight go silent. Nine opened his eyes wide, and a gasp erupted past his teeth out of his jaw that was badly pushed to the right from Kendo's hook. The bullet had gone into his knee. Kendo managed to stay conscious long enough to wrench the knife out of his chest and say something.

 "Consequences."