Six: Payment

Klaus had been standing before the hotel room door, looking at the number for more than five minutes. He had a large case in his hand that contained NATO's payment to Eroica for services rendered. All he had to do was knock on the door, hand the case over, and leave.

So why couldn't he bring himself to knock on the door?

As it turned out, he did not need to. Just as he was bringing his hand up to knock for what seemed the hundredth time, the Earl stepped out of the lift at the far end of the hall.

"Major!" Dorian gasped. "Prompt as always."

Klaus did not reply. He stepped back, allowing the Earl to unlock the door before following him into the room. He looked around, his eyebrows going up. "You're alone?"

Dorian bristled, turning back to face him, his eyes blazing. "Meaning...?"

It was only then that Klaus realized how this statement must have sounded and he wanted to kick himself. He held up a hand. "I meant none of your men are with you."

Dorian crossed his arms. "Did you?" he said in an accusing tone.

Klaus put the case on a table and sighed heavily. "Dorian, I didn't come here to argue."

"No, you came to give the common thief his vulgar payment."

"No, I came to--" Klaus broke off as he turned around, seeing the injured expression Dorian was trying to mask with anger. "Oh, hell..." He crossed the distance between them, took Dorian's face in his hands, and kissed him passionately on the mouth. The Earl made several surprised noises that quickly turned to soft mews. When Klaus finally broke the kiss, he found the injured look and anger on the face cupped in his hands had been replaced with a dazzled expression.

"I'm sorry."

Dorian gave a squeak that was a combination of surprise and delight. He hugged Klaus, a purr rising in his throat as the officer's arms wrapped around him. "I'm sorry, too.'"

Klaus broke the embrace and stepped back. "Did you have my pajamas cleaned?"

Dorian could not help laughing at this. "Not yet. Sorry."

"Doesn't matter," Klaus said as he loosened his tie. "We won't be needing them."

# # #

Across town, in NATO headquarters, the Alphabets were in high speculation. The Director had ordered the Major to make the payment to Eroica in person.

"The Major didn't look happy about it, did he?" G was saying.

"He hasn't been happy since the mission ended," A sighed. "Even with that special thank you from the Parisian police for helping catch a serial rapist."

B leaned on his elbow. "I suppose if he hadn't been the one the man was trying to rape, it would be different."

"They're never getting back together, are they?" Agent L sighed. "It's never been this long. Not even at the start."

"Well, time to go home in a few minutes," someone said.

That was when the unmistakable sound of the Major's footsteps could be heard and everyone suddenly found something to do. The door opened and the officer stood on the threshold, surveying his scurrying subordinates. He gave a small snort and continued on to his office, the door closing behind him. A few minutes later, he could be heard humming to himself.

The whole Alphabet froze as one. Then they gave a silent cheer, and high-fives were exchanged. Finally! The Major and the Earl had reconciled. Things would be back to normal for a few months, at least. Tomorrow would be a good day!

A few minutes later, the Earl of Gloria appeared, smiling brightly at the assembled agents. "Hello, boys," he said sweetly. "Don't mind me, I'm just stalking the Major." He walked up to the officer's door, rapped his knuckles on it, and went in before he could answer.

Just as the Alphabet were filtering out, the Major pulled open the door to his office. "G, in here."

At any other time, the agent would have taken the command as tantamount to a death sentence, but since the Earl was present, it was more than likely that it was he who wished to speak to him. G jumped to his feet and then winced, his ankle still very sore. As quickly as he could, he crossed the room, vanishing into the office.

What followed was silence. The other Alphabets exchanged furtive looks and decided on a strategic withdrawal.

# # #

The following morning in the Intelligence office, the agents arrived to find an enormous vase of long stem roses in the center of G's desk that were obviously from Eroica. No one even needed to look at the card.

"G, have you started an affair with the Earl?" A asked in amazement. Christ, if the Major finds out!

G cleared his throat, clearly embarrassed. "No. They're a...a...thank you. I think..."

"For what?"

Again, G hesitated. "Erm...well, you see...he...well, they...erm..."

"Just spit it out!" the impatient R snapped.

"The Earl won the office pool," G blurted out.

This announcement was met with silence.

A was the first to recover his voice. "Say that again?"

"You heard me." G waved a hand in the direction of the Major's office, which, thankfully, was currently unoccupied. "It was a set up. The Major found out what we were doing. And...well, it was supposed to be fake, but they couldn't agree on how to do it. It got out of hand. Turned into the real thing. Then they...well... Then it... Oh, fuck." He dropped into his chair and buried his head in his arms.

"G was for Gloria?" R said in an astonished voice.

G nodded, not lifting his head from the desk.

"He's gonna send us to Alaska forever, now," B moaned.

"No, the Earl talked him out of that," G said as he sat up.

"Oh, good..."

"He convinced the Major he could punish us far more effectively if we stayed here."

"Oh, crap..."

Before anyone in the horrified group could think of any more colorful comments, the Major appeared in the doorway. He was calm, relaxed, and had a small smile on his face. Iron Klaus at his most terrifying. "Good morning."

The Alphabet replied out of sheer terror. "Morning, Major, sir!"

"I want everyone's reports on the mission in Paris on my desk by the end of the day," Klaus said as he crossed to his office. He glanced back over his shoulder, the icy smile still on his face, his eyes bright. "Any bets on whether or not you can fulfill that order?"

# # #