WARNING! There is a pushing the envelope LIME scene. That's about it.

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Another Murder of Crows: Part 17

"Derfor hvordan De kan hjelpe oss om De ikke har ressursene?"

Trowa turned to Relena and I, gesturing with his hands that the question was directed to her. "He asks ‘How can you help them if you do not have the resources?'"

"Whatever makes you think that?" She asked back. Trowa translated. I, on the other hand, was bored. Very bored. I could almost kill Duo for hurting himself, then I would be outside, with Wufei, enjoying the fresh air or something. This day has been terrible. At five in the morning, we were setting up a few explosives, which we attained through Heero (I didn't ask where, its safer not to know I'm sure) and set up a five foot triangle around the building, so if we detonated them, only the building would blow. One stack we almost lost because a stray dog came along and started chewing on it. Good grief. Then Zechs and Heero almost had joint heart attacks because Duo was burying some dynamite and black gunpowder under a bush while smoking a cigarette. Of course I didn't think anything of it. He always does that. But from how much noise those two were making, I thought Wufei was walking around naked again. At least I know that Duo knows his job SO well, he can smoke half a pack of Marlboro Reds without dropping an ash and blowing himself up. That's skill.

Other than that, through this whole meeting, I have been completely ignored. After the introductions were made, one person after another challenged Relena in her ideals, her beliefs, and how she plans on solving this particular group's problem of unemployment. I sat there, twiddling my thumbs, jerking myself awake when Heero, who was standing back and to the left of me, tapped me on the shoulder, writing out pieces of music in my head, and doodled everything from Cardcaptors to the Dragonball Z cast. I'm about to lose my mind.

I glanced past Relena to Duo, who looked as if he was a tiger searching the area for his prey. His eyes darted quickly around the room, taking in anything and everything at a glance. His left hand rested lightly on the gun handle and the long black coat he and Heero were wearing was thrown back behind the shoulder holster, out of his way. His facial expression was as flat as a sheet of paper, not expressing whether he was angry, happy, sad or tired. The man was on the job.

"Mine menn er gode menn og har har vært arbeidsløs i månedsvisda det er ikke et må må bygge, err...how do you say...mobile suits?"

Those last words definitely got my attention. "Pardon me?"

This was the first time Trowa actually spoke to me during the whole meeting. "He says his men are good men and have been out of work for months because there isn't a need to build anymore mobile suits."

I tried not to let my confusion show, but I'm pretty sure I failed. "What does that have to do with anything?"

He asked them, then turned to me. "They're pilots. It's all they know."

"Are you kidding?!" I almost jumped out of my seat in joy. "They're pilots?! Ask them if they would be interested in working in space." I'm about to scream with joy. Iria and I have been trying to reconstruct a satellite that was destroyed during a battle in space, but there isn't anyone really qualified to handle the work. This should be easy for them.

Trowa turned back to me. "Yes, they are. What would they be doing?" To make a painfully long story short, the next five hours were spent explaining Winner Enterprise to them, taking names and qualifications, addresses, work history, and the active role each person played in the Eves War and the Mariemaia incident. I ended up hiring all of them. If someone was short in one area, the other person was thorough, and they all balanced each other out completely. Life would have been tremendously easier if we spoke the same language, but I picked up a lot of words, and they are trying to learn English themselves. This will work after all.

Zechs had already returned to Sanc by this time and was preparing to leave for space; Une had some business that she needed his help with. So it was a good thing we started early in the morning. It was just about five in the evening when we were ready to go. The sun was sitting low in the sky, its dark orange color sending waves of light gold and red, and a slight, thin cloud was stationary in the middle of the sun, adding even more color. I sat in the back seat of the limo with the window down, allowing the cool air to blow on my face. We left in three cars: the first one had Trowa and Dorothy in it. The middle one had Relena, Heero, Duo and Wufei. I feel so sorry for Wufei. When we were escorting her out, Dorothy suggested that somebody should stay behind for a while to make sure they wouldn't try anything. I immediately volunteered. I just felt like being alone, you know? Of course, Wufei wanted to do it, because he didn't want to be in the limo with those three either. So in a coin toss (five, actually, he wouldn't take ‘heads' for an answer) I won out and got to stay behind, thereby escaping that nightmare. He saw it as a dishonorable act, worthy of death. I saw it as payback for the morning makeup incident. Tee hee.

So I had the entire limo to myself, and I was very happy for it. I hadn't gotten much sleep last night, sitting on the window sill staring at Krahe. I'm starting to think his name freely now, since he is demanding more and more of my attention. All that I remember about last night is us staring at each other, then suddenly Wufei was shaking my shoulder, waking me up from where I was still perched against the window. I might have gotten in two hours of sleep, max. In other words, I feel like someone has put a plastic bag around my head and cotton balls in my eyes. Uhg. If I'm going to feel this way, I might as well have had a few drinks.

We were headed for downtown Oslo [7] to the hotel that we all were staying in for the evening. Tomorrow afternoon, we're going to fly back to Sanc, and who knows what's going to happen from there. I can't see the five of us staying together in the same place, even though it's a palace with plenty of space, without a few disputes breaking out. We're bound to bump into each other at some point or another, and I'd rather not bump into Trowa. So I'm going to try and get all the solitude I possibly can.

When everything checked out, and I was sure that the remaining soldiers of White Fang weren't up to anything, I disarmed the explosives, hopped into the limo and called Iria to tell her the news. She was relieved even more than I was that I finally found someone–actually, thirty people–to be able to work for us with the necessary skills involved. Not only that, but by doing so we prevented another skirmish from occurring between Earth and the colonies. That would've been more difficult to do if Duo hadn't hurt himself, because I wouldn't have been there to offer my assistance to them. Even when that man does something stupid, it ends up working out for the best. Duo is a walking good luck charm.

Suddenly the phone rang, and that scared the wits out of me, even though I didn't jump. There were only ten people who knew the numbers to the limos, so I went ahead and answered it, in case it was important. "Quatre here."

"This is all YOUR fault!" Unfortunately for me, it wasn't important.

"Hi Wufei. How are you doing this lovely evening?"

"Don't patronize me Winner, you're the one that can deal with this shit, not me!"

I tried my best not to snicker on the phone. I could hear voices in the background, which were very loud, indicating that some persons--more specifically Heero, Duo and Relena--were arguing. "Whatever do you mean Wufei?"

"What? Don't toy with me you cheeky bastard! I have to listen to this crap the whole ride back because I'm here instead of you! And do you know what they're squawking about? Teletubbies! God damn teletubbies! Duo insists that they are evil and trying to take over the world by using children!"

I must admit I was curious. "And how would they do that?"

"Because," he basically spat through the phone, "who would kill a four year old to prevent them from taking over the planet?! And what's with that weird ‘la la la' talk? Nobody understands that but children! Makes perfect sense."

I didn't want to ask anymore. It's apparent how Wufei feels about them. Of course, he hates everything that's cuddly, except Sally, that is. Of course, she's not the cuddly type anyway.

"I'll kill you!"

"Like hell! Anyone that wears spandex shorts deserves to die from a teletubby death!"

"You two losers shut up!" I had to pull the phone away from my ear a bit as Wufei yelled at Duo and Heero. He didn't have the grace to cover the mouth piece. "Can't you jerks see I'm on the phone?! Shit! Quatre, you still there?"

I'm about to die from laughter. Of course they didn't stop fighting. I can hear them smacking each other over the phone. "Yeah, I'm still here."

"Will you two stop hitting each other?! You're acting like children!" I couldn't help myself now. "Quatre, are you laughing at me?"

Allah, please forgive me, but I have to lie to save my life. "No, Wufei. I'm not laughing at you."

"You lying wet snail. I oughta–"

"What, I (shhhhhh) can't (shhhhhhh) hear you, you're (shhhhhhh) --aking up."

"Quatre, don't you DARE hang up on me with these three lunatics!"

"Lunatics?" I heard Relena's shrill over the loud collision of flesh hitting flesh.

"Woman, don't start with me! Quatre, I mean it, don't even think–"

"What?! Can't hear you. Gotta go bye!" I hung up and unplugged the receiver from the rest of the phone, falling off of my seat in laughter, picturing Wufei's face as he would try to deal with a fighting Duo and Heero with a screeching Relena. It will be worth all the pain he will inflict on me once I get to the hotel.

***

I was surprised at how far I got actually. I was half an hour behind the others, since I stayed behind to make sure the soldiers weren't a threat. But anyway I made it into the hotel, past the front desk and halfway to the elevators before I was jumped on and nearly strangled to death by Wufei. It took three of the hotel's guards, Heero, Duo and Dorothy to get him off of me. I made it worse though, when I continued to laugh, even though it was difficult to breathe. So now he swore absolute vengeance, which could occur at anytime, anyplace.

I finally made it to my room, took a long, hot shower and got dressed, enjoying the feel of my purple house shoes on my sore feet as I wandered through the hotel lobby. Since our arrival was serious business, and its winter time in Europe, we had the entire place to ourselves, so I didn't have to worry about anyone else besides my coworkers and the staff seeing me in my blue pajama pants and my white ‘I love, which is a pink heart, Sandrock' t-shirt. Finding a table for four, I seated myself and sat my ice tea down, intending to read ‘A Hero of Our Time' by Lermontov, [8] and enjoy a peaceful evening. Of course, I should've known better. Stupid me. "Uh, hi Quatre."

I looked up to see Trowa standing over me, dressed to kill and then some. His black tux was shiny and new, his green and gold vest brought out the color of his visible eye sharply, and the bow tie seemed to make his long neck even more graceful. I can feel the drool threatening to spill over my lip. He is absolutely beautiful.

"W–wow, you look great Trowa. What's the occasion?" He sat down swiftly beside me, and my heart skipped a beat. /Not now!/ I yelled mentally at my body. Ugh!

"Heero's taking Relena out to dinner, but she wanted Dorothy to come, so Heero invited me along to be her date."

I know I'm not jealous. Am I? "That's sounds great. Hope you all have a good time."

He shrugged slightly. "I don't know. I was there when Heero asked Duo, and Duo screamed and locked himself in the room. Then when he asked Wufei, he passed out." Trowa shrugged again. "Is she that bad?"

If it wasn't for my years of private schooling, I would've laughed in his face. "No, she isn't bad at all. Its just...well, when she's around the three of us, she's a different person. She doesn't act that way around Relena and Heero, so you shouldn't have a problem."

"I see," he said softly. Then his eyes flickered up at me. "So, how's your son doing? Everything going along on schedule?"

My eyes widened. How did he know? "He's fine. Right on schedule. How'd you know?"

He shifted in his seat, somewhat uncomfortably. "Uh, oh nothing."

That didn't answer my question, but I let it drop. "So, how's Catherine doing?"

He made a face then, and I chuckled. "She says she will kill me if I ever disappear without telling her again. Worse yet, she has the means to make it look like an accident."

"Yeah, an inch to the left and you'll be done for." We both laughed then, and the sound of Trowa's laugh made me a little, well, warm under the collar. We both stopped laughing as if on cue, and I realized how close he actually was. His knees bumped against mine when he moved, I could see the smooth contours of his skin, his visible eye locked steadily into mine, and I could even smell his cologne. Cool Water. If he doesn't leave soon, I'm going to melt onto the floor.

"Are you ready?" Dorothy asked daintily, as if she was fooling anybody.

"Yes. You look great," Trowa commented as he got up and helped her put her coat on. Dorothy had on a black dress, but the back of it plunged all the way down, almost to her buttocks, where an onyx jewel hung at the base of her back by a silver chain. Relena wore a blond sleeveless sequence dress, that was box cut in the front, but not too low, and her hair was up in a french roll. Heero had on a black tux as well. This beat out Dorothy's pictures from the Nutcracker play. He looked as if he was slowly suffocating to death.

"You guys look fantastic," I commented, feeling a genuine smile spread across my face.

Heero answered me back. "Thanks Quatre, but we better get going or we'll be late for the reservations." Relena said a brief goodbye before the four of them left for dinner. I stared after them a bit, waiting for Trowa to run back in here, drop to his knees and pledge his undying loyalty and love to me. As if. I sighed heavily and reopened my book, trying to read even though I couldn't see the words. If my feet didn't hurt so much I'd kick myself. That's it. No more gummi bears and root beer before watching ‘The Princess Bride'. No no no.

Sooner than I thought, Duo bounded into the lobby with his black pj's and barefoot, flopping himself down in the seat next to me. He propped his feet on the table, and clasped his hands behind his head. "What's up Cat?"

I shrugged, still pretending to read. "Nothing. Just reading."

"Huh," he started, "did Heero and ‘em leave to go to dinner yet?"

"Yep, not even five minutes ago."

"Oh. I almost feel sorry for Trowa–almost."

"Why is that?"

"You don't know?" He asked incredulously, removing his feet from the table and sitting up, facing me. "Dorothy has it for him."

I dropped my book in amazement. Is he kidding? "What?"

"Yeah," he said, "the whole time I was in the limo with her, all she talked about was his legs, how they are so long, how she has a thing for guys with long legs, how tight his pants were, yaddah yaddah yaddah..."

"No way," I said in disbelief. I was caught between wanting to laugh and being jealous.

"Yep," he stuck his feet up on the table again, "she has it for him. I wouldn't be surprised if his ass gets groped quite a few times tonight. Serves the prick right though."

I wasn't going to argue with that last statement. Duo's as stubborn as gundanium, to put it mildly. Then it occurred to me. "Uh, Duo, what were you doing in Dorothy's limo?"

He had his eyes closed by now, but still answered me. "Oh. Wufei had both the limos stop and he kicked me out, and had Trowa come to Relena's to stop us from fighting. They won't be satisfied until all this becomes the land of the tubbies."

"Well, I'm going for a walk. I'll be back in a few." I got up and left my book and drink on the table. There's no need to put it up since we're the only guests the hotel has for the night.

"But Cat, its cold out there. You should get a jacket or something."

I shook my head. "If I start to get cold, I'll come right back in. That way, I won't be out too long."

He didn't look convinced, but let the subject drop. "Alright, but if you're gone too long, I'm coming after you."

I rolled my eyes. "I know Duo."

"And if you get sick I'm kicking your ass."

"I know Duo."

"And if you see some sexy guy out there, make sure he has a cute friend for me."

"Duo, I know."

"Alright then." He stood up and hugged me around the neck before giving me a quick kiss on my temple. "Be careful." Then he released me and disappeared around a plant that we use as a marker to indicate which direction the elevators were. I sighed and headed out, watching as the employees clung to their coats as they made their way back in from working outside, giving me curious glances as I walked about in my pj's, unaffected by the 40ish degree weather. We were on the outskirts of downtown, where there weren't too many buildings cluttering the street. Just to the left of the back door, there was a little area that was completely made of trees and benches, much to my delight. So I sauntered along that trail.

Maybe walking around was a bad idea. Tonight is very peaceful and quiet, but that's the last thing I need. When its quiet, that's when my thoughts start to come up with unpleasant things, and I want to clear my mind, but I don't want to think. Gee, I never thought I would say that.

I came to an old wooden bench and sat down, jumping slightly at the cool wood but adjusting almost immediately. I leaned my head back against the top board and stared at the sky, watching the stars twinkle with ancient knowledge. The moon, which was full tonight, stare down silently at me. As I sat there, I could almost see Sandrock shooting across the sky, its sabers shining brightly, its chest puffed out, standing proudly amidst the stars....

I shook my head, knowing that thinking along that line will only depress me further, and that is something I really don't need right now. The day has gone extremely well, considering what we were facing before, and I don't need to bring myself down. I still miss you though...

Argh! I smacked myself in the forehead and draped my head over the top of the bench, frustrating myself instead of enjoying the cool breeze. I need to clear my mind. Clear my mind. How can I clear my mind? Wufei. Wufei having to deal with Heero and Duo. He is not the one for patience, that's for sure. And to see him actually make both limos stop and kick Duo out?

At that thought, I started laughing. Hard. The tears crystallized on my face, it was so chilly out, but it didn't bother me. The cold didn't bother me. I felt comfortable, and closed my eyes when my muscles finally began to relax.

Then, it happened again. And I honestly think I deserved it for being caught off guard like that. I do. A hand caressed my check, gently prying away my crystal tears. I opened my eyes and saw Krahe standing behind me, a smirk gracing his face as his hand moved under my shirt. I stared up blankly at him, the thought of fighting back never even occurring to me. His touch felt good against my skin, the way he teased my nipples, the way my stomach would clench when he raked his fingernails across it.

Then, without warning, he removed his hand from under my shirt, and still standing behind me, slipped it into my pants and roughly grabbed my erection. Slowly, he started pumping, and as much as I hated to admit it, I was enjoying it. Every little movement, whether it was a squeeze, a sudden movement or the way his thumb ran across the top of the head, sent a bolt of pleasure coursing through me. I held on to the bench itself, wanting to scream for the world to hear, but not wanting anyone to know. And the fact that we were in public made it all the more exhilarating.

He bent down slowly and kissed me hard, still working the magic with his hand. When he lifted back up, he wasn't Krahe anymore, but Heero.

"Odin? No. No!"

He kissed me again, a little more forcefully and I turned my head away. He lifted back up once again, and I found myself staring into blue orbs and Wufei's face.

"W–Wu?"

He tried to kiss me again when I bit him on the lip and jumped up from the bench, spinning around to face with a blue eyed Trowa.

"You–y–you son of a bitch!" I spun on my heels and took off for the hotel, moving as fast as my purple house shoes could carry me. The sticks on the ground made my treading on the shoes slippery and difficult, causing me to fall and busting my knee on a tree root.

"AH!" I started scrapping at the ground in absolute horror, as if it intended on tripping me, when two cold hands grabbed my shoulders harshly and pulled me to my feet. I swatted at the hands feebly, actually afraid to fight back.

"Quatre!" Heero shouted, shaking me, "It's me! What's wrong with you?"

"Don't touch me!" I pushed him away, freeing myself from his grip and took off once again for the safety of my hotel room. I could hear him screaming after me but I didn't care. I didn't want to be around anyone. I couldn't trust any of them.

I sprinted into the hotel, almost running through the glass doors before they had a chance to open completely for me. Duo was in the lobby, pacing in a small circle when he saw me. "Quatre, where the hell have you been? You had me worried sick!"

He stalked up to me and grabbed my shoulders in the same manner as Heero did. That sent me off. "Don't touch me! Don't any of you god damn touch me!" I wheeled myself back from him, cornering myself further into the lobby. Heero stepped in just then, with Trowa and Wufei in tow.

"Stay away from me!"

"Quatre–" Heero took a step towards me. That did it. I picked up a chair and threw it at him. Both he and Wufei ducked, and Trowa had to jump back, else it would've caught him on the side of the head. "I said, don't come near me! Stay the fuck away!"

"Quatre," Duo pleaded, "what happened? Talk to me, please!"

"No, no no no, you don't come near me," I said, backing up, "you're not my friend. They were hurting me, and you weren't there to stop them! You let them do this to me!" I could feel the tears running down my face, but I didn't wipe them away.

"Who? I let who hurt you? Quatre..."

He took a step forward. Instead of throwing a chair at him, I knocked one over and yanked one of the legs off, using it as a baseball bat. "I told you not to come any closer! Are you deaf?! Don't understand English?! Pick a language then!"

Three of them stood stock still, not knowing what to do. Wufei, however, was going to make a move. I could always tell. He wasn't in a body stance by any means, but his muscles were taut, signaling that he was about to make a move. And I was going to be ready for him.

Suddenly, in a blur, I felt the table leg fall forcefully from my hand, and then a sharp pain burned on my cheek. Wufei. He kicked the leg out of my hand and then slapped the hell out of me.

I fell bottom first on the floor, touching my cheek gingerly. It hurt. A lot. The only other thing that hurt that bad was when Krahe kicked me across the face. At least he used his feet. Wufei used his hand. He'd probably knock my head off if he used his foot. "Wufei!" Duo yelled, pushing him hard. Even Heero's face was twisted in fury.

"Duo, no," I said calmly, my breathing slowing down to a normal pace. "No, don't. I...I needed it. I was out of control." He stopped fixing Wufei with a death glare, almost worthy of Heero's, and turned to me to help me up. I couldn't handle that. I jumped up fast, falling onto one of the tables, batting his hands away. "No no no no no, don't!"

He stopped in his tracks, and held his hands up in the sign of surrender. "Whatever you say. Just don't do anything crazy okay? Now tell us what happened. You were gone for damn near three hours. You scared me bro."

I continued to scoot back until I hit the wall. The four of them formed a half circled around me, each slowly inching closer to me. I had no where to run. Even if I did run, where would I go? "I, I was gone for three hours? I c–couldn't be. Duo, you and I were j–just talking. I was out there for maybe fifteen minutes."

"Quatre," Wufei quietly interrupted, "Heero had reservations at ten o'clock. It's almost one now. You have been gone for quite a while, and no one has been able to find you. Where did you go?"

"What do you mean? I was r–right outside, in the back. By the trees, sitting on the bench."

Wufei shook his head. "Quatre, we checked there more than enough times, thinking that's where you would go, but you weren't there."

I feel so lost. "If I wasn't there, then where would I be?"

Heero finally had enough. In three strides he was at my side, and he grabbed my arms, hoisting me up to my feet. I couldn't handle that. "NO! Stop it! Let me go! Don't touch me–"

"Stop it!" He shook me hard, sending my brain scurrying everywhere. I accidentally bit my tongue, but didn't make a sound, afraid of giving him another reason to shake me.

"Heero, what is wrong with you?! Can't you see he's freakin' out–"

"Duo, will you be quiet for a change?!" He turned back to me. "Who hurt you?"

I didn't hesitate. "You did."

He didn't bat an eyelash. "Who else?"

"Wufei and T--T--Tro--"

"How?"

I tried to slump down to the floor, but he wasn't having it. His grip tightened on my arms, keeping me up to his level even though I wasn't standing on my own. My tears started to flow freely now, and I did nothing but shake my head in disbelief. "You, why did you, why?"

"Cat, they couldn't have hurt you. Barton and Heero were at dinner with the girls, remember?" He stepped closer to me and Heero, and so did Wufei, but Trowa stayed where he was. "And Wufei was with me in my room. We were playing Guess Who and watching Real Sex 3000. I saw you were nowhere around when I went for a cigarette break and you weren't in your room, and your book was still on the table with your drink."

Heero face came nearer to mine, almost nose to nose as he gritted his teeth and whispered dangerously, "How?"

I whimpered feebly, sounding like a frightened child. As loudly as I could, even though it was barely a whisper, I told him. "I never thought you would touch me like that. It wasn't what I wanted, it wasn't what I wanted, it wasn't...." I continued to chant this over and over again, somehow stuck on the phrase. I knew the instant I saw Heero's face though, that it was an illusion. The expression on his face showed me just how sick Krahe was. I thought he was going to retch all over the lobby. Those impossibly blue eyes widened and in their depths I saw how much he loved, cared for, and trusted me. He wouldn't do that to me. None of them would. Wufei loves Sally, he wouldn't do that. Trowa....Trowa just wouldn't. He isn't mine. And Duo, he wouldn't let them hurt me. This was a sick trick played on me. A sick game. Wufei's right, he is playing a game with us, except I'm the mouse, he's the cat, and they are the bait. By manipulating them, he is able to control me.

Heero released me, and I quickly regained my balance, wobbling a little bit but otherwise fine. Wufei lurched towards me to help me stand up straight, and I was thankful for that. Staring him in his eyes, his black eyes, I knew that I was wrong. He was sad and worried about me. "It wasn't what I wanted, it wasn't what I wanted...."

"I know," was all he said. "It's going to be okay now, I promise."

"It wasn't what I wanted...." Heero took off his tuxedo coat and draped it over my shoulders. He barked orders to the staff members, who were standing around watching what all the commotion was about, and they scattered like frightened mice. Duo stood next to both of us now, looking about as stable as I did.

"Trowa, tell Relena that something has come up, and Quatre and I need to handle it." Trowa nodded his answer and soundlessly walked out of the lobby. "And Wufei, take Duo up to his room, and make sure he doesn't leave it."

Duo was already shaking his head before he even finished the sentence. "Oh no you don't superman. I'm staying with Quatre."

"Duo," Wufei interjected gently, "I agree with Heero. You need your rest. Come on, lets go." Taking Duo by the elbow, Wufei guided him out of the lobby and they both vanished behind the plant.

I stood there shivering, but not from the cold. Heero silently stepped to me and reached out, holding me tightly against him. I started to cry, wailing into his shoulder as my desperation and confusion came to the forefront of my mind. He held me close, patted my back and whispered soothing things in my ear as I drenched his shirt with my tears.

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[7] Oslo is the capitol of Norway.

[8] Lermontov was a great Russian writer, who ended up being banished from Russia twice because of the things he wrote, and was killed in 1841 in a duel, because a fellow soldier insulted his girlfriend's shoes.

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