(BL) Hunting The Field Guide - Chapter 104

Chapter 104: Harboring a criminal Chapter 104: Harboring a criminal Receiving a similar style of treatment as Brent, Casper was a little surprised that Kellen was taking care of him.

Unlike Brent, he cast worried glances towards the Captain, whose smile did not relieve his worries.  “Uh, thank you?” He said after Kellen had him in perfect working order, and the Captain laughed.  “Don’t worry too much Casper.

I’ve learned that Kellen has a preference that he’s told others, so I have no issues with him fixing other men’s outfits.” Kellen rolled his eyes as Casper went pale.  “Don’t listen to him.

If I let him worry about that, it’ll be a slippery slope and then I’ll find him not letting me do my job.” Casper glanced at the grinning Captain behind Kellen’s shoulder, before his gaze slid back to Kellen.

He cleared his throat.

“I, unfortunately, agree with you Kellen.” The Captain seemed affronted that the two Guides were in agreement, but it was Hill’s snort in the distance that truly made his face fall into a darker expression.

Hill waved her hand once all attention was on her.  “Oh no, please continue lying to them.

I’ll keep my mouth shut.” Her brown eyes sparkled in amusement while the Captain frowned.  “I would never restrict Kellen that way.” He protested and Hill stopped working, looking up at the Captain.

They shared a long look, until the Captain looked away, clearing his throat and his face slightly flushed.

“Casper, if you wouldn’t mind coming over here.” He ushered his other lieutenant to the side, leaving Kellen alone in front of the screens.

The three other Captains stared at him, and Kellen returned their gaze.  Sakura was the first to break the silence.  “I wasn’t able to convince them.” She admitted, and Kellen frowned, crossing his arms.  “That’s rather bad to hear.

What did you say?

Did you include my name, and that I was asking for a favour?” Kellen asked and she bit her lip.

She glanced to the side.  “You didn’t say anything about that.” She protested and Kellen stared at the Esper.  “You should have known.

We both know their personality, and if you didn’t include my name they weren’t going to consider it in the slightest.” She looked downtrodden, and Kellen didn’t have it in him to feel bad.

Captain Sergei, who had been listening in, leaned closer to the camera he was sitting in front of.  “Who was this person you weren’t able to convince?

Why are they important to what is going on?” He asked, and Kellen glanced at Sakura.

She still seemed upset, so it was up to him to respond.  “They have a specific power that could help us, but I don’t want to force them.

They don’t have a good past with authority figures.” Kellen told him, and Captain Sergei nodded, seeming thoughtful.

“Is there a reason you aren’t disclosing that?” Sakura flinched, and drew the attention of the two other Captains.

Kellen, however, was the one who answered.

“Yes.

They are unregistered.” Kellen crossed his arms in the silence.

Uncle Tom eventually put his head in his hands and sighed.  “Kellen, you know that-” “I am not going to rat them out.

Unlike the terrorists who are attacking others, they have risked their lives to help others.

They have a rare condition when it comes to guiding, which has left them distrusting of others and in pain.

They are a good person, but they don’t trust others.

Which is why Sakura needed to bring up my name.” Kellen was hard in his stance, and Uncle Tom, who had seen the exact same expression on Kellen’s Mother’s face, sighed.

Defeated, he knew better than to try to convince him otherwise.  “But Guide Kellen, even if they aren’t a terrorist, because I do trust your judgement in this, it isn’t safe for them to be unregistered.

What if they got hurt, and then they got found out?” Kellen glanced at Captain Sergei, unsure what he was trying to get at.  “That won’t happen.

For reasons I cannot disclose, they are close to a member of my Guild, and we’ve been making sure they are alright and monitoring their health, both mental and physical.” She admitted, her jaw tense.

She glared at the others, daring them to say something.

Uncle Tom sighed again.  “You children are going to drive me to an early grave.

Anyone else, Kellen, and I would have chased them down.

You understand that, right?” Kellen shrugged.

“You could try, but I wouldn’t suggest it.

For your own health.” He blinked at the clear, obvious threat and Kellen felt an arm wrap around his waist, and warmth against his back.  “Awe, am I here to witness Mr.

Woods threatening another Captain?

What a cute moment.” Kellen turned, confused, as the Captain pressed his lips to Kellen’s forehead.

He smiled down at Kellen, a sparkle in his eye.  “You should have been here earlier.

Kellen was about to rip into me.” Sakura muttered, and Kellen raised an eyebrow.

She dropped her gaze, muttering quietly enough that Kellen couldn’t hear, but by the way the Captain’s lips twitched, he could.  “Well, I shouldn’t have interrupted then.

Mr.

Woods, please imagine I’m not here, and continue.” Kellen frowned, and the others seemed to break out into smiles.

Even Captain Sergei’s lips twitched in the serious situation.  “Captain, I had no plans to ‘rip into’ Sakura.

I was just asking about our shared friend, that’s all.

My wish is never to make your job harder for you to do.” He turned his gaze towards the Captain, who smiled down at him still.

“There is very little you could do that would make my job harder.” That only made Kellen frown more.  “You’re being too general again.

That is giving me too much leeway.

I have a lot I could do that could make your job harder.” Kellen protested.

“He is basically harboring a criminal.” Captain Sergei pointed out, and Sakura threw a glare in his direction.

He shrugged.

The Captain laughed.

“Oh that?

I can handle that.

Captain Tom already said he wasn’t going to do anything, because he was Kellen.

The worst thing I could imagine Kellen doing is…leaving someone for dead?

Intentionally?

You haven’t done that, have you?” Kellen shook his head, hating the idea.

The Captain gave him a squeeze.

“Or, leaving me for dead.

That would also not be an enjoyable situation.

I would be so devastated emotionally, who knows what I’d do?” Kellen patted the Captain’s hand comfortingly.  “I would never do that.” Kellen stated firmly, his gaze hard.

He had no intention of ever abandoning the Captain.

Even the thought of him scared him.

There were times when the Captain got on Kellen’s nerves, but he never, ever planned to leave his pair like that.

It was a lack of responsibility on his part, and he was never going to do that.

He was a Guide.

His duty, his job, was to make sure that the Espers were okay, and nowhere near a surge.

He could never imagine doing that to another person, especially the Captain.  “Awe, you’re so serious Mr.

Woods.

It just makes me want to give you kisses in comfort.” Kellen’s face heated at the Captain’s warm words, and Uncle Tom cleared his throat.  “While I appreciate the change in Captain Thatcher, please stop rubbing it in our faces that you two are together.

Some of us have to leave our partner’s side to be at work.” He said with a tight smile, and the Captain returned Uncle Tom’s smile.  “Ah, forgive me.

I wasn’t aware I was being too upfront.

I just care about Mr.

Woods so much.” Someone behind them snorted, but when Kellen glanced back everyone seemed to be working quietly.

Casper was back sitting beside Hill, his hair beginning to spike, while Brent was still absent, grabbing the laptop.  “Thank you for your care, Captain, but we should now care about the rest of our countrymen.” Kellen told him, and the Captain let out a sigh, before resting his head on Kellen’s shoulder.  “You are such a good, caring man, Mr.

Woods.

I feel like I would be lost without you.” Kellen didn’t think that for a second, but didn’t say anything further.

If the Captain thought that, he was allowed to, but Kellen knew the man did a lot of work to keep others safe, and had been doing it a lot longer than Kellen.  If Kellen remembered correctly, the Captain had been active as an Esper since he was 15.

Sure, Kellen had awakened around the same age, but unlike the Captain, he had to go to a Guide school on the weekends.

Whereas the Captain pretty much jumped straight into working at the D.E.C.

Now that Kellen knew what his powers were for sure, he understood.

There hadn’t been anyone around to show him the ropes, so he couldn’t have that kind of training.  With that being said, he still could have taken time away from the front lines to train, hone his skills, and taken time to go to school and get an education.

From what Kellen knew, the Captain had graduated from High School, but he couldn’t remember when he got his diploma for that.

Because the Captain had gone to the front lines as the youngest person there, and had closed his first gate by the time he was 18.

He was the youngest person to do so.  So if the Captain, a man who had strived to close gates since he was still a teen, said to Kellen that he was lost without him, Kellen felt a little ridiculous for believing him.

The man had been making strides towards what he believed in since he was a teen, and Kellen had only shown up in his life in the last seven years.

There was no way that he had altered the course of the Captain’s life in those seven years.

Kellen didn’t have that kind of power.  “Alright everyone, enough of that.

We have important news to go over.

We’ll be moving the command station for the Nemesis Guild while we are talking, so if I cut out, just let me know.” Captain Sergei brought everyone back into the moment, and Kellen nodded.

They did have a serious situation on their hands.

It was no time to be focusing on what the Captain had said to him.

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS CalyB Thanks so much for reading everyone!