That evening, Arianna was literally walking on her arms and legs. Her body ached and her head was still muddled from too much swinging and spinning. During the exercise she had been sent to the swing five times and to the wall four times.
Most of the times it wasn't her mistake but that of Edwin or the other team member. She just felt like taking the punishment for the team. Another reason for the punishments was because of her sharp mouth that kept spewing questions.
She was frustrated not at herself but at the fact that Richard seemed to be employing the same teaching methods of Marco!
Of course she wasn't the only one punished throughout the training. Other people were also sent to the swing numerous times and a few people earned themselves over times which thankfully she wasn't among them.
She glanced at Edwin who was walking sluggishly beside her as they headed for the canteen. He too had his own fair share of punishments in the day. That and the strenuous exercise was enough to make one go to bed with an aching body.
"I can't believe that Richard was just so similar to Marco in the way he forces our body to the limit," she said while massaging her shoulder. "I feel so tired that I might not be able to stomach the food tonight."
"It reminds me of the classic 'all that glitters is not gold' saying." Edwin nodded.
"Why am I so unlucky with the instructors?" she groaned lightly.
Edwin chuckled, ignoring the pain in his leg. "Maybe you should learn to restrain your sharp mouth, eh?"
Arianna glared at him seriously and he raised his hands with a small smile etched on his face. "But look on the bright side; at least you spent a day without being called 'bean pole' or 'short stuff'."
Arianna considered his words silently then nodded. "Maybe you're right. Just a day without the demeaning names makes me feel better."
"I always give good advice."
"And that makes you cute…"
"I'm cute?" Edwin touched his face slightly with a stunned expression.
Arianna held back her laughter and simply shook her head. "No. you just look like Edwin."
He nudged her shoulder playfully but the action triggered the latent pain in Arianna's shoulder and she yelped in pain earning curious looks from the other recruits. They went over to grab a tray.
"But honestly," she continued. "I do find that Richard is better than Lieutenant Loser ball. His techniques are refined."
Edwin nodded. He was after all the biggest fan of the Colonel. He wanted to reply but then something else caught his attention. "The field training seems like it's going to be ten times worse than the regular trainings here."
"I'm not so sure but whatever it is, we'll have to take it head on."
"Yeah, at least not when you have an egg head like me." He snorted remembering his father's embarrassed look the day he met Colonel Richard at the HQ.
Arianna couldn't control herself anymore and burst out laughing. "You're so funny!"
….
Clair stood outside her apartment with a suitcase beside her. She had a scarf around her neck and her hair was tied up in a bun.
She looked at the photos that Donald had given her again and a new sense of mystery washed over her. Every time she saw Bobby dragging the unknown man in the photo with a gun aimed at his head, her body would shiver.
She found it difficult to believe that Bobby—who was so gentle and soft spoken—could be able to put a gun at another man's head. If she hadn't found the gun in his box the she might have doubted these photos a bit.
Donald told her that the photos were taken in Cruderia. That was where she was going. She knew that the clues to his murder were no longer in Crevania but in Cruderia. She wanted to know what he was involved in and why he was murdered.
She looked down at the suitcase. She had brought the uniform along with her in case she needed it along the line but had, however, left the gun behind in the house.
A part of her wanted to pretend that there was no evidence. That part of her wanted her to lock herself up in the house and believe that it was just fate. That part of her wanted her to stay back and not dig into the case more.
Yet, there was another part of her—a bigger one—that wanted to find out what happened. A part of her that wanted to seek out his murderers.
She would often ask herself why she wanted to avenge him. Did she still love him despite knowing that he must have been a member of some secret organisation and that his deeds for that organisation had gotten killed?
She didn't have the answer to that question. All she knew was that Bobby didn't deserve to die like that. That wasn't even a proper death. His body had been ripped apart and his bones crushed. That was not a good way to die.
Clair wiped her eyes with her sleeves and put out her hand to stop a taxi. She put her bag into the taxi and told the driver her destination. The car began moving and she found herself staring out the window at the starry night sky.
She sighed and looked away. Star gazing was something she usually did with Bobby and looking at the sky right now made her insides cringe. Somehow she wasn't able to erase the gruesome scene of his murder from her mind.
Maybe she didn't want to. If she forgot then it would mean that he was never important to her. It would feel like he had just disappeared without a word to her. She had promised him that morning to come back so they could spend the night together. He had been excited about it and so was she. Only, she came home to find his body turned inside out.
Clair took a deep breath. She was determined to find the truth and get her closure.