I wanted to be the first to introduce myself. Not a chance in hell I was going to let the other guys beat me to this.
“Enchante,” I said as I approached her with my arm outstretched, deciding to throw a little French into the mix to make myself stick out above the other guys. “My name’s Ivan, pleased to meet you.”
“I don’t give a damn what your name is,” she said, not even bothering to uncross her arms. She spoke with the same French accent as the rest of the people in Candara, though hers had definitely been influenced by American TV and movies. “I’m not going with you. Any of you,” she stated, looking pointedly at the four of us.
I was so shocked by her words that I didn’t even bother to put my hand down, my eyebrows arching with surprise.
“I, ah, think that means you can put your hand down, laddie.” Hud spoke in a low voice, and when I glanced over toward him, I saw that the rest of the guys were barely holding back their laughter at how poorly my attempt at looking smooth had gone.
“Vickey,” Finn chided.
She shot her father a hard look. “Don’t call me Vickey like I’m some little girl. I won’t have you baby me in such a way.”
“Donottalk to me like that, daughter,” Finn shot back, his voice now the booming, commanding tone of a king issuing an order. “I am your father and your king, and I won’t stand for it.” If there had been any doubt Finn was the man in charge, his words settled the matter on the spot.”
Victoria’s face softened just a bit, and only for a few seconds. When she turned her attention back to us, the anger returned.
“Are you serious?” she asked, her eyes jumping from me to the rest of the guys. “You expect me to spend God-knows-how-long withthesemen?”
“Hey, we’re not so bad,” Ajax said with a smirk.
“Yeah,” Hud added. “Maybe give us a shot first, lass.”
“Lass,” she nearly spat. “I swear, no formality, no decorum. It’s like they were dragged in off the street.”
“Boston, more accurately,” Ajax responded. “That’s where our last mission was.”
“And you can go back there for all I care.”
Finn sighed as if understanding that it was one thing to get her to show respect for him, but something else entirely for her to extend that same courtesy toward a group of grimy mercs. She was a princess after all.
“You’ll have to forgive her,” Finn said. “She’s not always this…prickly.”
“I’ve got good reason to beprickly, Father,” she said. “You’re sending me off to the middle of nowhere with four strange men I’ve never met before this very moment.”
Hud chuckled. “The middle of nowhere? Princess, we did an op a few months back in the middle of the Kalahari Desert. You want therealmiddle of nowhere, give that place a try.”
“I don’t care where you didops,” she said. “This place is my home and I’m not going to leave without good reason.”
“The good reason is your life could very well be in danger,” Finn said. “And if there’s even the slightest hint that might be the case, I’m not taking any chances. Besides, it’sBlanc Mont. Aren’t you always pestering me about getting away there?”
“I am. But not with a group of overgrown apes.”
The rest of the guys and I let outoohs, big smiles on our faces. The girl had spunk.
“Apes happen to be my favorite animals,” Ajax said in his brusque, Boston-Irish accent. “They’re amazing creatures.”
Pyke nodded in agreeance, his face serious as ever. “They’re fine animals. Powerful, intelligent—hardly an insult if you ask me.”
Victoria didn’t seem amused in the slightest.
“You all think you’re very funny, don’t you?”
“We have our moments,” Hud replied, grinning.
Finn stepped over to his daughter, placing his hands on her slender shoulders.
“Victoria, I know this isn’t how you were hoping to spend your summer. But please, do this for me. I hate to play this card, but just think about if your mother were here.”