"Morning, Colonel. Looks like you're quite early, too." Unlike the relaxed and casual manner they would adopt in private, they had always paid great attention to each other's titles at the army base. It was protocol. You always respected a superior officer, and the superior should at least return a salute.
I have to be. You see, today is automobile training," replied Daisy, biting her lip secretly. She frowned lightly as she felt achy all over. Damn it, Edward really showed no mercy last night, and she had to get back to work with weak legs. Fortunately, no special task was assigned to her today, or else she would be too tired to guarantee a good performance and could even make a fool of herself.
"I know. This is a very urgent matter. They must be ready to take control of a car, even in dangerous circumstances and emergency. Imagine driving with two left feet," Kevin agreed with her totally on this point. After all, they had to lend a hand in some major investigations far too often lately, which required that they were skillful enough to cope with various challenges. This was just one of them.
"Right. In fact, we conducted drills the other day, to see if they matched up. To my disappointment, 90 percent of them failed to meet the requirements. So I think it necessary to speed up the training." She wasn't expecting them to be as good as she was, but she had to make sure that they mastered the basic skills.
"Well, I don't blame them. After all, we all know how strict you are with your regiment. So maybe they're just not good enough to meet your high standards." All the soldiers would almost shudder at her name, and she was noted for her rigorous training regimens. One could expect her to be as cruel as the Devil when she trained her soldiers. So Kevin knew how demanding she could be.
Believe me when I say that I wasn't making it difficult for them. As I see it, what they need is a bit more courage. So the main purpose of today's training is to provide them with an opportunity to drive more and increase their self-confidence when driving. Because I know that most of them have never been in the driver's seat before joining the army." Daisy sighed. From her point of view, what she wanted them to achieve was nothing difficult. For example, being able to transport materials swiftly in the battlefield, drift, assault enemies on narrow roads, improve their psychological adaptability when driving in a warzone, seek cover and evacuate areas in a limited time, and master some special skills to drive command vehicles. Many of them were just basic skills, but the last one required driving through gunfire, which was a little more difficult than the others.
"Good luck colonel. Sounds like you'll need it," Kevin responded, turning and casting her a glance. He found that instead of his heart racing, he was now able to maintain a peaceful mind when he was around her. Although he still cared about her and would feel delighted every time he saw her, he believed that he could give up on her gradually and move on.
"Thanks. I'll try my best." They chatted and finally reached the office building. Smiling at each other, they went back to their respective offices. After sitting down, Kevin put his briefcase on the desk and took some documents out, when suddenly a small gift box caught his attention. It was then that he remembered what it was for. He pondered for a while, and decided that he should get it settled before he started to work. So he took the box along and walked to the commander's office.
"Come in, please." Kevin heard the deep voice answer right after he knocked gently on the door. "Good morning, Commander." He entered the room, stopped in front of the commander's desk, and saluted him solemnly before walking up and standing by him with respect.
"Morning, Kevin. What brings you here at this hour?" asked the commander. He always wore a kindly smile when talking to Kevin, for he really appreciated this young man's talents.
You see, I was invited to your daughter's birthday party the other day, and I hadn't prepared a gift in advance. I promised that I would fix that as soon as possible, but never really got the time to do that. So I asked someone to buy a gift for me while I was out training. Could you please pass it on to her and say sorry for me? I should have given it to her long ago," said Kevin, presenting the gift to the commander. He had thought about giving it to Louisa in person, but feared that it might be impolite to go to the military community uninvited. So maybe it was a better idea to ask the commander to do him the favor.
"This is so kind of you, Kevin. You have my thanks. You know, you really don't have to take it so seriously. By the way, why don't you just give it to her personally?" the commander couldn't help but ask with a frown, for he thought that he should never meddle in their affairs.
"I really should make it up to her since I promised. Otherwise, I might as well be a dishonest man. So please do me that favor," smiled Kevin apologetically. He didn't mean to put it off, and would have offered his apology at his earliest convenience had he not been out for training.
Alright. I understand completely. I can't make the decision for her and reject your gift out of hand. You can be sure that she receives it. But promise me that you won't go out of your way for these kinds of things in the future, okay?" asked the commander, shaking his head and smiling. It surprised him that Kevin should remember this matter till now, especially since the birthday party took place so long ago.
"You have my word. Thank you, Commander. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll get back to work." There was another vitally important reason he didn't want to give it to Louisa in person. He didn't want to be alone with her. She'd been giving off signals all night, and he finally figured out that she might have a crush on him. He'd convinced himself that he was imagining things, that she was excited to be back from her time abroad, and was merely curious about who he was and all that. So he forgot about it until now.
Okay, I'll let you get back to it, then." The commander gestured for Kevin to go. He then put the box into his briefcase without even wondering what was inside, in case he forgot to take it back.