Operation Honey Trap vs The Emperor of the Apocalypse-Chapter 107: Does Anyone Smell Vinegar?

Arrie and Lili pushed themselves backwards, sliding on the floor on their tummies until they were out of sight.

"Do you think he saw us?" Arrie’s eyes were huge.

"I hope not," said Lili. "Niko might bludgeon us to death with his rod to keep us from talking."

They both cracked up laughing again, slightly hysterical now. They jumped to their feet to make a rapid escape from the scene of the crime.

As they turned to leave, they found that Delphi stood behind them in the doorway to the vestibule, her arms crossed, tapping one foot, like an angry teacher.

"Really girls?" she asked them. "Are we that juvenile that we need to spy on the men naked? Come on now, how would you feel if they did that to you?"

"I wouldn’t care," said Lili truthfully "I was happy to race with them, remember?"

Well, there was not much comeback she could make to that statement... Delphi was stumped.

"Arrie?" she tried to guilt trip the weaker link.

"I probably wouldn’t like it," Arrie admitted. "But I don’t think they care. I think Niko wanted us to watch. Delphi, we need to get out of here before they climb back up and catch us," she said urgently, glancing behind her at the ladder.

Lili jumped about a foot when she thought she heard a clang on the ladder. She started running back into the control room. She would never hear the end of it from Cormac if he found her here.

"So now you run, do you girl?" Delphi called after her. "Trying to leave me here to take the blame, are you?"

As she was finishing her sentence, she now heard someone on the ladder herself, and Delphi turned in time to see Brenner enter the control room.

She shifted uncomfortably on her feet. She was standing within two steps of where the girls would have been spotted peeping at them.

She turned and looked for Arrie and Lili, but they were both long gone.

Damn those two ratbags! she thought. They really had left her here to take the fall for them...

She had nothing to be ashamed of! She pulled her shoulders back and looked Brenner directly in the eye, trying to look dignified.

Brenner gave her a small knowing smile and raised a single eyebrow at her.

"W...what? N...no!" she said, her face flushing bright red. "It’s not what it looks like, Brenner."

"I’m not worried Delphine. You saw me win the race, so you know I have nothing to be ashamed of, on any fronts. You probably didn’t need binoculars, but if you wish to give my equipment a closer inspection, that’s fine with me too. It’s in good working order I can assure you."

"Brenner! You’ve completely misunderstood the situation."

"We’ll go with that if it helps you sleep at night, General," he winked at her.

She didn’t want to disclose that Arrie and Lili had been the culprits, so she was kind of stuck wearing their crime now. When he mentioned his ’equipment’, did he mean his privates?

She really hoped he didn’t think she crept up here to steal a look at his plonker...

"I sleep fine at night thank you very much," she said primly. "I can lie straight in my bed."

"Well, if you need any help so that you can’t lie straight, or walk straight, don’t be a stranger."

Delphi’s eyes went wide as saucers and her mouth flew open.

"Ahhh! You’ve completely misread the situation Brenner," she wrung her hands in despair.

What did this man think of her? He must think she was a stalker. She was his commanding officer! That would be sexual harassment, wouldn’t it?

"Can we start afresh?" she pleaded

"Sure," he smiled a very cute smile at her, letting her off the big hook she had hung herself on. "Start by calling me Bren."

Delphi slept fretfully that night, wishing she could replay the evening’s debacle, concerned about what Brenner thought she was up to.

She woke feeling hung over, even though she’d only had one drink. She groaned as she dragged herself out of bed. Feifei was already up and dressed in the small room that they shared together.

"What’s up Delph?"

"Slept badly," she yawned.

"Why don’t you get a bit more sleep? There’s nothing that can’t wait. I’ll tell General Meyer."

"No," she yawned again. "We’re assessing the newbies’ skill today, so I have to be there on time."

Down in the training room, Delphi rubbed her bleary eyes. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"What’s up with you sleepyhead?" Alton cuffed the back of her head gently.

"I slept badly," she said grumpily.

"If that ever happens again, just call me, I can help."

"Not you too," she groaned.

"What the hell does that mean? ’Not you too?’ Who else is offering to help you sleep? Give me a name and I’ll teach him a lesson he’ll never forget!"

"No one," she said flatly. "Forget I said anything."

Alton’s brain was in overdrive, running through all of his men, thinking which one could have said anything like that. He arrived at the conclusion that none of them would be stupid enough, and that was saying something, because some of them could be pretty stupid.

"It better not have been that slimebucket Brenner. I saw him panting over you last night."

"Alton, please, I’m too tired to deal with this. Brenner only arrived yesterday. Let’s give him a fair chance before you hang him for crimes he hasn’t committed."

Alton found Brenner across the room. He happened to be looking at Delphi at that exact moment, confirming Alton’s mounting suspicions.

Brenner got that feeling you get when someone is looking at you, feeling his skin crawl with the sensation.

He looked beyond the beautiful Delphine, who looked so cute when she yawned like that... to find the General looking at him like he wanted to stab him in the guts, and then turn the blade a few times for good measure...

Brenner scratched his head, not sure what he’d done to warrant that level of dislike. The man crossed his arms and kept staring at him.

Brenner moved off to join Opal for the first mixed pairs fight of the day. Perhaps the General was unhappy that he wasn’t lined up and ready to go?

Opal and Brenner turned out to be very good.

They had years of practice together, and they knew each other very well, so their skills were highly complementary. They defeated first Niko and Indy, and then Baer and Loveday.

Delphi clapped loudly. "Well done, well done."

Brenner and Opal smiled in thanks at her.

"They’re very good," she whispered to Alton. "We might need to seriously consider them for the mission."

"They’re not that good," he said sourly.

"What are you talking about? They just defeated our two best mixed pairs. You and I should probably take them on."

"Hmmph. Best idea you’ve had all day. Let’s do it."