Twenty minutes later, while Henrik, Sabine, and Andrea were planning out their day, the door opened again. Their two visitors were back. Miss pink and green was in the lead.
“So, we were talking and we have an idea. It’s unethical, wrong, and maybe even fattening, but it won’t get you guys in trouble. To make it work better, however, we could use your help.”
Henrik was the first to speak.
“It would help if you explained more. Right now, I’m just confused.”
“OK, that’s fair…”
Vassar girl, Sargent V interrupted her.
“Stop beating around the bush. I bet the same reason he called us is the thing we thought of. Let’s explain, instead of all the cryptic stuff.”
Agent V hung her head in exasperation, then threw up her hands.
“Fine, why don’t you explain.”
“Well, don’t get all snippy. I’ll explain, that way you won’t get your ‘agentness’ in trouble.” She turned back to Henrik. “The Sargent Major had a problem. He has a woman hating ****tard who also had political connections he needed to transport. He was suspicious at some things happening with the transport he arranged to an out of the way holding facility. He reached out to us. He figured females transporting him, we wouldn’t be under his influence, especially once we were told of what happened.”
Andrea was getting impatient for the new part and said so.
“We already got that part, so what is this new ‘thing’ you came back in to talk to us about.”
Agent V answered her.
“Some of it is about why the Sargent Major thought of us. Paige reminds him of her, or at least how she looks.” She gestured to Sargent V.
All eyes turned to Sargent V, then to Paige, and back as they compared the two. It was hard when Paige was bandaged and tubes and swathed, but Henrik, Andrea and Sabine had plenty of other memory images to work with. The more they looked, the more they could see the similarities.
“And?” Sabine asked.
“And he figured to stick it to the Captain by having women deliver him to his fate. We,” she pointed to the both of them, “came up with an idea once we saw Paige and realized the resemblance. Our idea is to stick it to him even more. How well did the Captain know Paige?”
Henrik thought he saw where this was headed, but didn’t know the answer. Sabine did, though.
“The Captain hasn’t been here that long, a couple months maybe, and unless he had a lot to do at the armory, she doesn’t wander around much in the team rooms.”
Sgt. V spoke with a flourish.
“How bad would it stick it to him if Paige were one of the two women who took him to prison?”
Andrea jumped up.
“**** yeah! That will mess with his head! What do we need to do?”
“I’m going to need one of her uniforms and some help with the details, like how she does her hair, her makeup, her perfume, anything to help blur things. It will be at night, and in the dark, I might be able to pull it off.”
Sabine was now skeptical of some other details.
“So, how is it the Sargent Major happened to know two women who were able to fill this unique need, at the drop of a hat, with all the military and the country going nuts, that he trusts like this?”
Agent V looked over at the Sargent.
“We should tell them the rest, Violet.”
“If they are going to be accessories, then they should know the rest, I guess, Veronica.”
Veronica draped her arm across Violet’s shoulders as she looked across the others in the room.
“He saw the resemblance even before Paige was hurt. He told Violet about it a month or two ago. I think it’s part of what makes this so personal to him on top of his rage at such a thing happening at all, much less within his unit to one of his people.”
Henrik was still confused. ‘So, who are you and where does he know you from?” he said looking at Violet.
Violet smiled a little sheepishly. “I’m just a simple Marine NCO.”
Andrea’s reply was quick and succinct. “Bullshit! Who are you?” she then looked over at Veronica, “and while we are at it, who are you?”
Veronica smirked. “Violet and I have known each other since we were in the second grade. Our fathers have been stationed together off and on throughout their entire careers.”
Sabine’s eyebrows went up. She thought she knew but Violet confirmed it.
“The Sargent Major is my father. The Commander is Veronica’s father.”