Looking at my watch, it was 6:13 PM—or should I say it was 1813 if we were gonna be a little location-accurate with it.
With that said, we definitely had all the eyes on us while we were tearing Lopez a new asshole but judging from everyone's reactions, more shit was about to go down. However, Major Perez couldn't hide the twinkle in his eyes when he briefly glanced at me though he did order medical staff to take care of Lopez's injuries.
"You guys are f-fucked..." the bitch-ass let out before hissing because the medical staff assigned to him just tried to wipe his face with a clean piece of cloth.
I let out a chuckle, "Bitch, you speak one more fucking word I'll make sure to fucking cuck you by the end of the night."
"HAHAHAHAHA!!!"
The moment I said that, Major Perez just started laughing but his face slowly turned solemn as he leaned over, "Kid, you handled that prick nicely but this here's the real shit. If you swear to your fucking life that you're gonna do what you're gonna do, I'll back you up."
"Uh-huh. Mr. In-charge, my ass. I wasn't informed of any general and—"
"You didn't ask. Besides, I DO run this place when he's out and I'm doing a pretty good job at it."
I scoffed, "Really? Sure."
"Hey, you wouldn't be able to do what you just did to that bitch-ass if he's here. And he's about to hear about what you did so you better have someone like me in your corner."
I thought for a moment before I replied, "Hmph. What's his name though?"
"The general?"
"You— Who are we even talking about in the first place?! Of course, the fucking general!"
"Jesus. Easy now, alright? Cheh, he's General McArthur III but he goes by 'General' usually... he prefers it that way."
"Just General, huh?"
"Yep."
"And before you ask, no. He's not related to 'that' McArthur even though they had the same surname."
"But he did come back to this place... multiple times, I imagine..."
"Heh. You got some jokes, huh?"
As Major Perez and I were talking, I didn't even realize that Lopez was just stewing and waiting for the right moment to get his "revenge", but once the General came in with his entourage, he completely ignored everyone else and went for someone I didn't think should be in this particular scene.
The General went straight for the highest-ranking cadet, the Baron, and wore a soft expression before opening his mouth:
"Jameson Prome—"
The Baron kid flinched after hearing what I assumed was part of his name, "General—"
"You know our deal, son. Once it's sunset, you call me Dad and I can call you by your real name. You used to like it when you were a kid, right? Jameson Prometheus Mcarthur IV—"
"Dad— Ugh, I go by JP. Is that hard to understand?!"
I thought to myself, 'Well, this is an interesting development...'
In any case, for the next five minutes was the most—depending on the person seeing it—was the most heartwarming/cringe-worthy father-son scene I've seen in a while.
It started with a quick hug that turned into the exchange of, "So how did your day go?" then ended with the, "I'm proud of you, son." that the Baron— or should I say "JP" was definitely trying his hardest not to cringe and push his dad away who was trying to give him another heartfelt hug any loving father could give to his son.
However, like how I could get hard and soft on command, the General just straight up turned from the loving dad back to the highest-ranking officer in this place that no one should dare speak against.
The General suddenly turned to me, "Hey, kid. C'mere."
"Sure..." I looked at him weirdly as I added him to one of the people who call me by that cursed title.
"Punch me."
"What?" I had to do a double take, much like everyone else that heard him.
"I want you to ball your fist, aim at my left cheek, and punch me hard."
"You sure?"
"I'm sure— GRCK!"
Without batting a fucking eye, I did as I was told but it seemed like I caught him off-guard because he didn't even manage to clench his teeth to somehow mitigate some of the damage. His knees buckled as he tried his hardest just to keep himself from falling down on one knee, but everyone else was just so fucking shocked, it took them a few seconds to point their guns at me.
At this point, all he had to do was say "Open Fire!" and I'd be riddled with holes and this story— err, my life's story would be over. Heck, even JP was raring to give me a piece of his mind but the General recovered and waved everyone down.
"Put them down... Fuck... I didn't think that— Nevermind. Ahh~ That hurts— It fucking hurts! That was solid, yeah... really solid..."
JP seemed to couldn't believe the choice of words his dad was using, "D-Dad? You okay?"
"Huh? I feel great, son! Anyway, he'll teach you stuff while he's here and—"
I cut him off, "Ah... That's not gonna happen."
"Huh? Y-You what?"
"We were supposed to be out of this place two hours ago. We're not staying here especially with that 'important' bitch hanging around."
"W-W-Wait, I'm about to offer you food and lodging in exchange for teaching my kid while you're here. Why are you going out at sunset? Stay the night at least! Or the morning after! Do you guys have a place nearby or are you driving through the dark?"
"Umm—"
'Is... Is this the— Is this the real shit Perez's has been talking about? Umm—'
I was in mid-sentence and mid-thought as I turned to Major Perez and to my surprise, he was surprised as I am for seeing the General act this way around me. I didn't know whether I had a special affinity or the "Rizz" to soften-up old-timers and what-not, but I was pretty sure the back-up he told me he would provide wasn't needed.
And yeah, even Lopez couldn't believe what he was seeing—much like everyone else who didn't know who I was—because I was being given special attention by the most special man in this place.
The General continued, "C'mon! Humor an old man. Why don't you and your people stay here for a week as my guests!"
"I really can't—"
"What's holding you down? Do you have prior arrangements? Can I make something happen?"
"Mr. Mc— I mean, General... With all due respect, you're coming a little strong and my schedule's choking me as it is. I doubt I could teach much to your kid even if we stay the whole week and—"
"What if you take him with you?"
"Wut?"
"DAD! Wha—"
"What? It's for your own good. You'll learn a lot!"
'Why does everyone leave me their child, niece, or whatever... It's... ugh...'