I left Cap before the sun came up, and was down my drainage pipe before the birds started singing.

Out of faint curiosity I'd peered inside the Victoria's Secret bag, and even pulled a few things out. There had been a lot of lace and things I'd never seen before. I knew that bag had to have been in that dresser for a while, and I began to wonder if he planned this.

I'd sat up that entire night feeling down on myself, but I did come up with a plan for redemption. I wouldn't even have to tell the Sergeant what I did, I would just make sure it never happened again. I would even erase the whole thing from my memory by having sex with the Sergeant, I could endure that pain a second time, for him. I was so extremely clingy already- getting drunk in public really bonds two people together.

I was walking like someone had kicked me in the crotch, and that's what it felt like. It also felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach, but I suppose that feeling was dread.

I knew already that no one would be at base, there were barely any people on the streets. The night crowd was quickly withdrawing as pink light began to grow on the horizon line, and people starting their work days were gradually beginning to come.

I went to the arena which was a little livelier than the streets, mostly men in blue jumpsuits sweeping up litter.

I went around back and sat right next to the metal door. I drifted off right then and there, which was probably dangerous- no, it definitely was but I was so exhausted I didn't care. I just wanted to see the Sergeant so I could fix things but at the same time I felt like everything would spill from my mouth the minute I laid eyes on him. I reminded myself that I was a field agent, and discretion was in my job description.

"Cal?" Someone was shaking my shoulder five seconds later. Except when I opened my eyes to swat the culprit away from me, darkness was falling. Jon was standing over me with a guitar strapped to his back and a fedora on his head. "How long have you been sitting here?" He gave a humorous half smile, while I tried not to glare at him for waking me up.

My muscles groaned in protest as I got up onto my feet, yawning. "Not long."

"Well... the shows are about to start, you should probably come inside now." He reached for the keypad and put in a code, opening the metal door for me. We both walked in and I could literally feel his hand coming before it landed on me. I slid out of the way casually, I'd already done enough cheating. There was no way I would risk doing more.

I was looking around wildy for the guys, while Jon trailed behind me. "Cal, we need to go somewhere and talk." Just then I spotted them. Slash was doing a handstand, legs straight in the air. Steven was just laughing, Izzy's gulping down a can of something. Duff was writing in a small notebook, looking pensive. It's funny, never guessed someone like him would've graduated from medical school.

The Sergeant's eyes were scanning the room, and locked on mine immediately. There was a ghost of a smile on his face and a grin on mine, which I quickly subdued before I went over there. I didn't think he'd want the guys to know, being such a hard-ass. "Cal." I heard Jon sigh but I was in a trance. I made a beeline straight for them.

"Callie," Steven laughed, and then laughed some more, writhing around on the floor. I looked at Duff for an explanation, who just furrowed his eyebrows deeply. "The effects of heroin on the human brain. Imagine cracking an egg over a flaming skillet, or... putting concrete down your kitchen sink." He went back to writing.

The Sergeant's eyes were cool as they ran over me. I didn't want to spill the contents of last night, especially when he asked about it. "Where have you been, Calliope? We have shit to do, you know." I wanted to ask what shit, but I felt that if I opened my mouth now something terrible would come out. He cocked his head slightly. "Calliope?"

"Oh, yeah, um... that alcohol have me the weirdest headache, so-" I clamped my mouth shut after that. Maybe he didn't want them to know about that either. He only laughed at me, shaking his head. "Priss. All you drank were daiquiris, it would take any real drinker a million years to get drunk on those. I'm immune to hangover anyway."

Slash got his feet underneath himself and peered at the both of us. "Alcohol?"

"It's great, isn't it?" Izzy slurred, and took another drag on his cigarette before taking another drink.

"Axl, y'all are up now!" Some man in black clothes barked, pointing toward that door leading to the stage. Even then I didn't wanna go near it. Slash picked up his guitar and walked right toward it, Izzy following after. The Sergeant just gazed at me with a weird expression before he leaned over and kissed me.

I wondered if he was still drunk but he didn't taste like it, and soon I wasn't even thinking about who was around. I instantly felt so much better about things, which seems wrong. Maybe it is.

"No! Callie!" Someone was tugging hard on my leg. I looked down to see Steven wrapped around my right calf, staring up at me desperately. "Callie, what the fuck! Why?" I just blinked at him, confused. "I... I have blonde hair, and blue eyes! What more do you want? I swear I was coming onto you so hard, remember the other day?" I chuckled, "You fell asleep on my shoulder, and drooled on me."

"I could've taught you how to play drums... it would've been so hot..."

The Sergeant placed his hand on top of Steven's shaggy head. "Steven, bro. It's done now. It's over."

"Is it?" "It is. You have to let go now." Steven sighed and released my calf, dragging himself across the floor toward Slash. The Sergeant raised an eyebrow at me, and I just shrugged. "I swear I had no idea." He gave in a little bit, "Yeah. It's probably the heroin talking." I wanted to ask what heroin was, but I kept my mouth closed.

Duff was squinting at us, tapping the head of his pencil against his lip. "You know... I didn't see that coming. Is this the effects of alcohol on the brain?" The Sergeant shook his head, and gave me a wink. "Stay put, we'll be back."

Slash and Steven were the first to go on stage. Slash had his arm slung around Steven's shoulder, petting his hair for comfort. "I swear, I thought she was it man. What if it's love?" Slash was snickering under his breath. "It... it wasn't love man. It's like... the opposite." "You don't know that! You're just jealous that it wasn't you!"

"I have a girlfriend, and so do you." "Oh... yeah." They disappeared, with the rest of the band not far behind.

I turned just in time to see Jon stalking away through the crowd, and guiltily wondered how much of that he saw.

****

"Why?"

"Because you need more shorts, I don't think I've ever seen you wear any. It's June- almost July, and you're wearing pants."

"So are you, they just end past your knees."

"No, these are shorts."

We were all standing in front of this huge department store around nine, which is just about when it closes. We were all wearing our work clothes of course, so I didn't know why the Sergeant was bringing that up now. "Listen, we have to go in there."

"Why?"

"Every other week Antonin Scalia goes into this store to buy suits and ties and shit, undercover. So while we're in here for him, we're going to have to get you some new clothes." I crossed my arms as he motioned to the rest of them, pointing to the door. "Go on in."

"But... I didn't even bring money!" He sighed and stuck his hand in his pocket and fishing around a little. He handed me a little rectangular piece of thin plastic with a bunch of numbers on it. "Go nuts."

"What is this supposed to do?" He groaned, dragging me into the store by the hand. We were greeted by the smell of fresh clothing and old lady perfume, it was rather empty to my delight. "Have fun. Chicks are supposed to like shopping." He left me standing there, and virtually disappeared. I couldn't find any of the rest of them, and Jon had been a ghost the entire time.

I found the women's section and reluctantly trudged toward it. It was so empty I felt a little uneasy, knowing that the six of them were here somewhere, out of sight. The plastic card was digging into my skin as I clutched it, searching through the racks. I'd seen enough women on the streets to understand what the Sergeant was going for, and frankly I found it inapppropriate.

But if he wanted it, I'd give it to him. I wasn't listening to Cap's voice anymore...

I picked as many pairs as I could find and went to the dressing room. I didn't like the way they fit me, the hem touching the very top of my thigh. Sighing I kept them all and drifted to the shoe department. I found some more different colored converse and picked every pair I liked, as well as some similar shoes called 'Vans'.

I was getting some more band tees when this woman appeared out of nowhere, scaring the crap out of me. She gave me the most plastered-on smile, adjusting her pearl necklace. "The store is closed now, Ma'am, so if you could come to the checkout as soon as possible that would be most ideal!" I gave her a nod and she relucantly left.

I let out a breath and continued rooting around the clothing racks, picking off shirts until there were none left that interested me. "Hey, are you-"

"Ah!" I swung around again, pressing myself into the tank tops to avoid whoever was there. The Sergeant held both his hands out disarmingly, "Calm down, Calliope." Jon was standing a few feet off with his arms crossed, looking away from me immediately once I noticed him. The others were fast approaching. I let out a sigh of relief, and gave him a sharp glance. "You shouldn't sneak up on me like that."

He examined the clothes in my hand, and nodded toward the little desk where the lady stood, staring at me creepily from across the room. "We'd, uh... better go." I could tell she was relieved when I walked over there, setting all of my stuff on her counter. I was reluctant to give her the piece of plastic with the numbers but she took it willingly, sliding it through this weird machine.

She neatly folded everything and shoved it into a bag, handing me a long piece of thin paper that her plastic card reader thing printed out. "Have a good night."

I turned and went back to the Sergeant, standing in a cirle with the others. "Let's get back to base and get on this."

When we did get back, the Sergeant dropped down into the chair before the computer, turning it on. Everyone else pulled up chairs and gathered around, while I awkwardly stood in the background.

"Okay guys, we've been waiting for this shit for years. You know the first order of business here. Operation name, what do we got?" Steven's hand shot in the air as he took a swig from a can marked 'Bud Light.' "Ooh! I got it! 'Operation Overlord!" Slash cocked his head slightly, "I swear I've heard that before, what was that? The 'Nam war?"

"No, World War II." I quietly said, and they all looked back at me at once. Then they looked at each other, while the Sergeant let out a sigh. He turned around in his swivel chair, and peered up at me with a bone-chillingly serious expression. "Listen, Calliope. Up until now, you've been blindly doing things that I've told you to do, but this is where I draw the a line in the sand. This is your last chance to back out, it's now or never."

I could hear my breathing whooshing in my ears as I nodded to him. "I'm not going anywhere."

His half smile was full of pride as he beckoned to me. "Well, alright then. Sit down." I looked around for a chair, and when I didn't find one I crossed my arms. "Where?" He rolled his eyes and grabbed my arm, forcing me to share the chair with him in the space between his legs. "Well... okay then."

He had all nine files displayed on the screen. "Okay," Izzy burped. "How about this: Operation Kill All Of The Supreme Court Justices and Take It Over?" I jumped, and eyeballed them all carefully. "No, that's shit." Duff said with irritation, rolling his large hazel eyes.

"Wait... that's what this is about?" The Sergeant nodded, placing his hand on my knee. "We achieved the highest office in the whole fucking country in 1978- you wouldn't remember, you were a kid. But, as you know, there are three branches of governement. The Supreme Court is the heart of the Judicial branch, and we're going there next."

"But... why? Kill all of the justices, and replace them with who?"

"This government system is flawed, so we'll manipulate it to our liking. It's what we do, Calliope. The government only puts us down, think about it." I didn't want to. I was seven again, and I saw the man covered in 'tomato soup.' I heard my own soft crying, alone in the hallway. I heard his father's gruff voice as I came face-to-face with death, I saw the Sergeant's face when he saved me.

"We'll replace them with... RUG-friendly justices, and have another direct pipeline to laws in America." The pride plastered all over Jon's face was rather sickening, but it was a refreshing change from his 'I'm a cute puppy that's been kicked' face.

I bit my lip and held my tongue. I had a lot of new information for the CIA, and though what they were doing was wrong I didn't want to rat them out. I wanted to stay true to the Sergeant in any way I could, since I'd already cheated him in one way.

"So, back to the names. Operation...?"

I tried to focus on the fact that these six people were just regular guys, guys who liked to drink, laugh, and talk about girls. They shoved gummy bears up their nostrils to be funny, they had contests chugging their Bud Light. It was just a trivial detail among five hundred other things that they enjoyed undermining the federal government.

I leaned against the Sergeant's broad chest. It rose and fell with every breath he took, I could feel his heart beating through my back.

"Okay, agreed on Operation KSC, Kill Supreme Court. And now, the fun part. We got Antonin tonight, eight more in the next couple weeks."

"What do you mean... got?"

"To bug their phones. We put this little device in their bags, or with their clothing purchases for example. The device is literally like a bug, almost like a remote-control car. It plants itself on the justice's phone, and we hear all of their conversations. We know when exactly they'll be at the Supreme Court Building, making the final Operation much easier." Jon's eyes shone with something unrecognizable in the dark.

The Sergeant glared at him so blatantly that everyone became slightly uncomfortable. "Yeah."

"That's creepy."

Don't go near the telephone, dear. You never know who's listening.

The Sergeant reached for a bright red can sitting on the desk. He wrangled with this weird tab thing on the top and it made a pop sound, before he tipped the can back and took a drink. I watched him as he did it, he seemed to like the taste well enough. "What is that?"

"Coke."

Steven giggled, "And not the good kind, trust me." I heard Duff sigh, shaking his head shamefully at Steven. "I have no fucking clue how you're still alive, it's a medical mystery. I didn't even specialize in Neuroscience and I know that."

"Coke?" "Coca-cola. It's soda." He gave me the can, ice cold and bubbling. I had some and smiled, it tasted awfully sweet and burned the back of my mouth a little, but I liked it. I drank some more, and then some more. "It's a great source of empty calories and sugar." Duff said, running a hand through his shaggy shock of blonde hair. "Yeah, but it's great, right?" The Sergeant stole the can back and drank some more. "This is why childhood obesity is an epidemic," Duff muttered.

I then wondered how I would get the Sergeant to have sex with me. His arms were locked tightly around my middle, and maybe I was missing the signals but he never really came onto me, not like the way Cap did. Did I just ask? Was that something people did, asking each other to have sex? Or did they use body language?

I was getting a little bit hot thinking about it, and knew I should probably get home before I did something stupid. I still needed to a do a little self-convincing about the whole 'take over the Supreme Court' thing, I figured I'd better do it in the comfort of my own room, where I was free to think out loud.

I stood carefully, resisting the urge to sit there in the Sergeant's embrace. "Callie, where you going?" Izzy called as I walked toward the door, letting out an exaggerated yawn while stretching my arms over my head. "I'm tired, and my bed is made of premium memory foam. I'll see you guys later." The Sergeant gave a slight nod as I went.

****

I wondered if God was real sometimes.

I wondered what type of God would put me on a planet with no parents or siblings, a world in which those siblings had been shot dead by radicals during their elementary years. I wondered what God would create a place where slavery and lynchings occurred, and Coca-cola existed to cause childhood obesity epidemics. I wondered what kind of God would create a person like L. Ron Hubbard, while concurrently creating Kevin Bacon.

But the next morning I was lying in bed, feeling so warm and so loved, and I thought it must be God presenting himself to me. I could feel his strong arms holding me tight, reassuring me. I could smell his cologne smell, and I could feel his heavenly head lying on my stomach.

When I opened my eyes to see red hair scattered across my body I was a bit confused. Jesus was supposed to be a brunette, so wouldn't God be too?

Only God wasn't cuddling with me in my bed that morning, and neither was Jesus. Or Cap. I shrieked loudly, scrambling over myself to get out of bed. The Sergeant jumped awake in the process, confusion clouding his green eyes until they settled on me, standing there in my clothes from the night before. He blinked rapidly and groaned, glancing at the clock on the nightstand. "What are you doing, Calliope?"

"I... I could ask you the same thing!" I exclaimed, and racked my brain for something to do next. "You.. you have to leave, before someone finds you! Wait no, someone below us might hear you move around and come to look! Don't... move!" He wasn't entertained at all really, he looked slightly irritated. "You're right, your bed is awesome." "Shh! Keep your voice down."

I hugged myself tightly, pacing. "The Rebel Sergeant... is in my bed!"

"Don't call me that." He snapped, and took a deep breath. "Sorry, it just... it doesn't sound right coming out of your mouth." I stopped pacing to look at him. "What do you want me to call you, then?" "My name would be nice."

"William?" He cringed.

"Axl?" He gave a half smile, "I guess that's about right."

I thought some more for a little while, until it hit me like a ton of bricks. This was the perfect opportunity to wipe away my mistakes! He was literally sitting there in my bed, staring at me. He'd fallen right into my lap.

"I know why you're here!" I said, taking a quick step toward him. "You're here to have sex with me."

His eyes bulged a little bit, and he didn't smile in the least. "Really, Calliope? That's what you think of me?" I darted over to him, and took both of his hands in mine. "No, no! It's good, I want you to have sex with me. We can do it right now if you want," I told him eagerly, placing my hands against his chest. He finally broke a little and gave a sheepish chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I came here because I was exhausted, and my bed is hard as a rock. It also doesn't have you in it. I remembered, 'Oh hey, my girl has a premium memory foam bed'. I climbed through the window, and I went to sleep. Now if you don't mind I'd like to continue with that sleep." His head hit my pillow and he curled up a little, closing his eyes.

"So... you don't wanna have sex with me? Come on, you're supposed to want to. You're a rock star, all you do is drink and bang women." He snorted, not bothering to open his eyes. "Did you just say 'bang'? You've been talking to Steven too much. I do 'bang' women, when I'm not committed to one. Trust me, I'm good right now though."

I climbed onto the bed behind him, and shook his shoulder with frustration. "But Axl!"

"Go back to sleep, Calliope." I crossed my arms stubbornly. "Why don't you want to? Come on, pretty please!"

"If I don't, will you rape me?" He was laughing at me now, pretending to shield his crotch with a pillow. "No, you idiot! Is that even possible?"

He sat up slowly, and stared at me seriously. "We will, eventually. But not now. I've asked around about this whole 'relationship' thing, and apparently we're supposed to have a stronger bond before we do that. So, it's on the to-do list-" he chuckled at his own corny pun- "and it will happen eventually. You're still so young, you're not ready for that anyway." He closed his eyes again, and laid back down.

"I'm seventeen, I can handle things just fine."

"I'm twenty-two, Calliope. Give it a rest, go to sleep."

"I think our bond is pretty strong."

"It's been three days." "Yet here you are, in my bed." He threw his arm over my waist and refused to answer, drifting off for good a few minutes later. I growled under my breath at him, something I'd only ever seen him do before I did go back to sleep, wishing he'd give in and stop being such a prude.

I awoke several hours later, alone. I thought maybe he'd just gone back out the window and back to Rock-Stock, it was early in the afternoon and maybe he had things to do. I knew that wasn't it, when the door leading to the rest of the apartment was hanging wide open.

"Crap!" I cursed, nearly falling out of bed to get him before someone like Cap were to walk in and see.

~fin~

A/N: Many fans of Axl Rose know that he was twenty-six in 1988, but this is called FANFICTION and I did change some things around for the purpose of the plot. XO