Operation Honey Trap vs The Emperor of the Apocalypse

The men had wasted no time capturing a brumby each, and the commander hadn't given them a moment to break the ponies in; rather, they were just clinging onto their backs and 'breaking them in' as they forced them to follow the girls' trail.

The commander knew that there was no scenario where they could afford to lose the girls' tracks, or to let them get too far into this unknown territory alone.

He surveyed the huge bridge, using his binoculars to check out the damage.

"Cormac, Magnus, Bo, make us some blinkers for the horses. We're crossing that bridge. We'll need to keep them focussed on the road not the drop."

"Sir!" acknowledged Bo.

The three men started to work on makeshift hoods for the brumbies.

"Niko," the commander gestured him over.

Niko had not been looking forward to this moment when he knew his commanding officer would interrogate him about the events at the lake.

Alton gestured at his clearly bruised lip. "What happened? And don't try and bullshit me. You can't bullshit a bullshitter."

Niko looked broken. He had intended to bullshit his commander for the first time ever, given the heinous nature of his offence. It was something of a relief to have his bluff called and be able to confess the truth to his senior officer. He rubbed his goatee beard; a habit Alton knew his lieutenant had when he was ashamed about something he'd been up to, or stalling for time, or in this case, probably both.

"Come on, out with it," he said impatiently.

Niko sighed. "I came across one of the twins at Swan Lake. She was getting water, completely naked," he said it like it explained everything. "Just a dagger on her thigh," he closed his eyes remembering this heavenly vision.

"Skip the porn and get to the point Lieutenant."

The big man swallowed deeply, coming back from his reverie. "I was hidden behind some rocks when a tubiàn croc attacked her from behind. I saved her life and killed the croc. Then, I fell on top of her in the sand."

He was actually starting to get hard just talking about this scene again, and he reached down and adjusted himself. The action didn't escape his commander's attention, and Alton closed his eyes in resignation. He knew exactly where this sordid tale was heading… 

"Tell me you didn't rape her, Niko," he pleaded with the man, hoping against hope for it not to be the case.

"No!" he cried, affronted. "I would never do that to a young lady! She wanted it. She asked me to kiss her! And we didn't get a chance to do it…" he sounded regretful when he should have been relieved.

Commander Meyer looked at the man. He really wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. He was a strong, but blunt, instrument…

"So, she wanted to have sex with you and kiss you, after her near-death experience with the crocodile? Is that what you're telling me?" he looked incredulous.

"Yes," Niko said confidently. "We both felt the same way, I know that much. The whole near-death thing brought us together."

"And then she?" he prompted the big man. "She, head-butted you in the mouth? She, bit you? Because… she felt the same way? Because her 'love language' is violence?"

Niko scratched his head. "Is that a thing for women who've been trained in martial arts, do you think?"

"No," said the commander witheringly. "I don't think. I think she was scared of being raped by you, so she played along with you. Look at yourself you big oaf. You're bloody terrifying. And I think all of that is by the by. More importantly, why the hell did you touch her Lieutenant? Didn't I tell you not to touch these women sexually Under. Any. Circumstances." he emphasised each word, "if you want to stay alive and get your money and your wives?"

"I know, I know," the man sounded defeated. "I just couldn't help myself Commander. I don't think there's one of these guys who would just hop off a woman who looks like that when she's lying underneath you naked and she asks you to kiss her."

He had a flashback to the beautiful woman underneath him saying 'kiss me baby', and he had to adjust himself again. He absolutely did not accept that she was just trying to escape, and she hadn't felt anything. He thought back to her sassy comment about his 'crown jewels' and he knew there was something growing between them, and it wasn't just his cock.

 "And how do you plan to keep her quiet about this when we get them back to the palace?"

The man scratched his head again. "Is there a scenario where I can earn the right to marry her?"

"No," said the commander in exasperation. "Actually, scratch that, there is a scenario where we get back with the Emperor's wives, who are all eighteen now, and you let our Lord know that you couldn't help yourself falling on India while she was in the buff, and then you couldn't help feeling her up and kissing her, and so would he mind forgetting how he raised her in cotton wool for these last ten years to join his harem with her twin, and could he please give her to you as your wife instead? That is a realistic scenario I would suggest you try when you've tired of this life."

"Commander… What can I do to fix this?" Niko pleaded.

Commander Meyer put his head in his hands and rubbed his temples. "We'll think on it further as we go. You're going to have to throw yourself on her mercy and ask her not to dob you in. And that requires being nice to her man."

Niko brightened immediately at this suggestion. "I can definitely be nice to her! And I'm sure I can get her to agree not to turn me in."

"That doesn't mean buffing her, Niko, if that's what you're thinking."

"Of course not," he said archly, though that was a part of his 'be nice' plan that had already crossed his mind.

He just needed to convince the girl to keep their relationship a secret while he worked out how to extricate her from the palace. He admitted that bit was going to be hard. Which man in their right mind would give up that woman without a fight?

Cormac arrived with hoods for their brumbies, bringing an end to Commander Meyer's painful conversation with his 2IC.

God knows what he plans to do next, thought Alton. He could tell he would have his hands full trying to keep the young man from the gallows.

He would work on that plan as they went. Right now, they had the potential to gain some ground on the young women, who had crossed the estuary the hard way.