Legends (Part 8 - Colada)

[Year 1900, Drachma]

Some serious activities in the Drachma Amestris borders were in motion. The Amestrian military had figured out that the smuggling of weapons into the Amestrian land from Drachma had increased. Meanwhile, some tension was going on between the people of Ishval and the Amestrian military. The Ishvalans were protesting that the government is not treating them like other Amestrian citizens. It was a peaceful protest, but for some reasons, the Drachmann were smuggling weapons to Ishval.

1900 was still a year early to the start of the infamous Ishvalan civil war, and the Drachmann government was already anticipating it, at least that's what the Amestrian government was thinking. In order to get the answers, the Central Command ordered Fort Briggs to initiate a spy mission on the land of Drachma. Many small groups were formed and sent to various parts of Drachma, and among one of those groups was the group of Warrant Officer Olivier Mira Armstrong, the eldest child of the Armstrong family, who were among one of the aristocrats of Central City. It was very unusual for a rich girl to join the military and risk her life, but her love for the country was stronger than the life of comfort.

Olivier's team had two other officers beside her, who were very experienced in stealth missions. The leader of the team was Second Lieutenant Colada, who was a tall Amestrian born man in his mid-thirties. The other teammate was Warrant Officer Tizona, who was unlike Olivier, had experience working with Colada. Tizona was also an Amestrian born man and was almost the same age as of Colada, but he was not as tall as the 6.5 feet Lieutenant Colada. Furthermore, Tizona liked to keep a bushy beard unlike his superior who liked the trimmed look.

The group was in Drachma from few days, and because of a mistake caused by Olivier, they were detected by the military and were being chased. They were running from a group of Drachmann soldiers and military dogs in a forest covered with pines and faint snow. The dogs were not far behind, and fortunately, they came across a narrow water channel which could help them to evade the dogs.

While they were running, they saw a pile of broken trees in front of them. At that moment, Tizona came up with an idea, so he spoke while he was panting, "Sir, I think we should wait for the three dogs and shoot them once they reach us. It will be easier to evade humans than dogs."

Colada understood his plan, and said, "Alright, let's hide there," he pointed toward the pile of broken trees, and continued, "and stay separated, but not far away so that we have a better chance to fight and escape."

Tizona and Olivier acknowledged his orders by saying, "Roger that".

They scattered closely and hid behind the fallen trees. Olivier didn't know that the place which she chose to hide was already occupied by a person. She was silently sitting at her position when she heard someone from the back.

"Are you hiding from the military?"

She was startled and looked back instantly, pointing her gun. She saw a man standing there. It was 25-year-old Boris, wearing a brown winter outfit.

"Who are you?" Olivier panted, but she wasn't shaking while holding the gun. Boris could see one of her widened blue eyes because the other one was hiding behind her blonde bang. And in that cold weather, he could see the beads of sweat forming on her forehead. And after listening to the dog barks coming from a distance, he was clear that she was being chased.

In order to make Olivier less hostile, he raised both his hands and said, "Hey…hey…stop pointing that gun to me, lady."

In the meantime, Colada and Tizona got behind Boris and pointed their handgun at Boris. Boris was surrounded by guns pointing at his face, but he was still calm.

"Tell us who you are?" Colada asked.

Meanwhile, they heard the dog barks, and it was closer than the previous barks.

"I think I can introduce myself later. At this moment you need to hide somewhere, and I can help you," Boris said with his hands still raised.

"Why should we trust you?" Colada questioned.

Boris looked at Colada and raised his eyebrows out of disbelief. "Do you seriously want to get caught by the military?" He said.

Boris' rhetoric question was quite convincing, so everyone put their guns back, and Boris put down his hands. Soon after that, Boris quickly pulled out a small bottle from his coat pocket and sprinkled the liquid inside it on everyone's clothes.

"What are you doing?" Olivier asked while looking down at her clothes with creased eyebrows.

"It's bear urine, it will help you evade the dogs," Boris replied.

Everyone was astonished by the reply, and they reacted the same way while looking at Boris with widened eyes. "What!" They exclaimed.

Boris ignored their reaction and ordered, "Now follow me."

The team had no option but to follow Boris. After running for a while, they were finally convinced that the dogs were no more chasing them. And in the meantime they reached an abandoned house at the outskirts of the forest. The house was mostly made of wooden planks. When they entered inside, the house was covered with dust and broken articles.

While getting inside, Colada had a quick look of the internal surrounding and asked, "Are you sure those dogs won't find us here?"

"They will never come to a bear's area man," Boris assured.

"Are you some kind of fugitive?" Tizona asked.

Boris looked at Tizona and grinned. "Nope, I just hate this government, and I will help anyone who stands against this government," he replied.

After sometime, everyone settled down and the sun was about to set. Because it was a cold place, they needed some firewood to spend the night. So, Colada took the lead and said, "Team, we will be staying here tonight. And for that, we will be needing some woods."

"I will get some woods then," Boris said.

Colada had a bad feeling about the fact that after bringing them to an abandoned house, Boris was again offering his help. Moreover, Boris never introduced himself to them. So, in order to play safe, he acted along and said, "Sure. But, before you go, aren't you going to tell us by what name shall we call you?"

"You can call me Boris, and this is not my house," Boris answered and smiled.

"Yeah, I knew that. You must be traveling places to collect bear piss," Tizona joked.

Boris countered by saying, "That bear piss saved your life today Mr-"

"You can call me Mr. Tizona," Tizona replied. Then he pointed toward Colada and said, "That's Mr. Colada." Soon after that he pointed toward Olivier and continued, "And this beautiful lady is Ms. Armstrong."

"Nice to make acquaintances," Boris smiled and continued, "Shall I go to collect woods then?"

To have some precautions, Colada looked at Olivier and said, "Hey Armstrong, why don't you go with Boris?"

Boris looked at Olivier, and he started smiling internally for the fact that a beautiful woman was going to give him some company alone.

"Sure Sir," Olivier replied.

She walked passed Boris and got out of the door. "Let's go," she said.

Boris turned around and got out of the door. Both of them then walked toward the pine forest to collect some wood. Meanwhile, in the house, Colada shared his thoughts with his subordinate.

"I have a feeling that we are in a trap," he said.

"Same," Tizona supported.

"What do you think we should do?" Colada asked.

"I am on board with whatever plan you have," Tizona replied with a smile, and Colada smiled along, knowing the fact that his subordinate had already anticipated his move.