With its ever familiar mechanical whirring sound, the C-17's Globemaster's gigantic folding ramp finally dropped all the way, revealing the world outside. Bravo Team was already standing, filled gear bags in hand, waiting for the way forward to be cleared.
Going and coming back from every mission always involved a long flight, and after 8+ hours in the air, even veteran fliers like them ( none of them had gone their whole lives so far having not EVER flown anywhere ) were glad to be walking on the world again. Flying all the way to the Democratic(ish) Republic of the Congo on that op to eliminate a terrorist leader hadn't exactly been 2 hour hop ( though, at least it beat a road trip. Anything beats a road trip. That's why planes exist ).
For Sonny ( and pretty much everyone else on board ), the particular piece of the world that was greeting them was every bit as familiar as the sound of the door opening to show it to them: the tarmac runways that were scorched and burned from the countless landings of heavy lift aircraft ( such as the one that'd brought them here, yet again) , sand colored military admin buildings and barracks, the long low grey bumps of the roof tops aircraft hangars, and the occasional Humvee/ FMTV trucks rumbling past .
It was the JSCOC base they all called home.
Before every mission, this is where they got all prepped and ready, checking and re-checking every last piece of gear and hardware after the CIA spook they knew as Mandy Ellis ( if that was even her actual name, being a spook and all ) had given them their mission package briefing. And, after said mission package was all wrapped up, in one way or another, this was where they found themselves coming back to.
Part of Sonny was always a bit disappointed to see it. As weird as even he admitted that sounded- the base wasn't Texas, of course, but it was still America-, it wasn't completely without any reason. Being in the midst of combat, or at least, even being at least in the field, " outside the wire ", as the saying went, was where Sonny felt more alive than ever anywhere else.
Maybe that said he was crazy ( and not in a good way ), or maybe it said that's how he was getting affected by his repeated exposure to all of said combat all of these years- wanting more of it. Feeling more alive when he was in it. Maybe that was true; Sonny knew he was no shrink, though. How could he know what crazy was ?
What he was sure of, was that he loved what he did, and it was always good to be home again. Even the toughest of warriors needed a rest.
Right. A little R and R. That's why I was all hopping to get back
The Texan lifted his cap momentarily, brushing at his short hair with one weathered hand, before tugging it back on top of his head. He swung his gear bag in a one handed grip, as the rest of Bravo began filing off.
Jason was always one of the first off. As per usual, he was leaving at a brisk pace, no doubt eager to get back to his children for however long it was till their next op. It was getting more and more urgent, it looked to the rest of Bravo, that Jason was devoting himself to being there for them. After what had happened to his wife, he was all they had- he wasn't going to let anything stop him from being their old man. Not even Bravo. Not that Bravo minded. They understood.
He was a few steps ahead of Blackburn, nearly bumping into Bravo's CO on the way as he power walked, nearly at a run, off the ramp and out of the well-traveled Globemaster.
Blackburn took that in stride, all too aware of how much Jason cared for his family, as everyone on Bravo was. He let the Master Chief ( Not 117 ) go by, and continued speaking with Clay, as they descended the ramp. The younger, scruffy haired SEAL seemed to be enthusiastic ( for Clay, anyway ) about, well, something, though Sonny didn't catch what it was. It seemed, though, that Clay was a little bit full of himself. As if he thought he was actually good.
Where in tarnation did he get that idea ? Maybe Jace is puttin' ideas in the kid's head.
Ray, meanwhile, walked off by himself, kit bag hanging off his back. He was looking a little, well, pensive. Well, more pensive than usual. Sonny had always thought of him as the solemn, religious man on the team ( not that Sonny was an atheist himself; Texas was in the Bible belt, after all ) , but after this latest op, he seemed even more so. Sonny remembered seeing him all glum, talking with Jace on the flight here. It didn't look good, and privately, Sonny hoped Ray wouldn't forget himself. Or begin relying on vices- drinking nonstop, in other words- to deal with his issues.
That's always a bad call, using booze as a cure. Ain't nothing but a band aid, not a real fix. Why doesn't he talk to us ? We're his brothers.
Exhaling, the Texan shook his head.
" Wondering why you put up with them, day in and out ? "
In a slight mood, contemplating what was wrong with poor ol' Ray, hearing the lilting voice of Lisa Davis ( Not that Sonny could let it be known that's what he thought of her voice, yet ), put a slight smile back on the Texan's face.
He did his best to look casual turning around to face the pretty brunette Logistical Specialist, standing with arms crossed a short distance away. " Shoot, Davis, I thought you'd gotten airsick all of a sudden, and weren't feelin' good enough to move. "
Lisa rolled her eyes, but grinned back.
" Hey: Jennifer from the Corpsman unit is the one who can't take flying. Hasn't ever even been on a plane. Ever. "
" Woah. Not ever ? "
Lisa shook her head. " Nope. "
Sonny chuckled.
" Come on. Walk with me, m'lady. If you'd be so kind. "
He turned toward the ramp, and as he began to walk down it, Lisa obligingly moved in to keep up. Together, they descended to the airstrip's tarmac, and set off after the rest of Bravo.
" That poor doc, though." , Sonny remarked, " World's too big to not see more of it. Well, unless you're a Texan. "
He drove the point home by tapping the insignia of the state in question that was prominently fixed to the front of his cap.
" Good ol' Lone Star State. Its got no equal. "
Lisa raised an eyebrow. " Is this more of that ' Texan Nationalism ' I've heard so much about ? "
" Now, now, ' Nationalism ' is usually a strong word. " , Sonny admonished. " But, as I said, it don't count if- "
He waved his free hand in a ' Finish my sentence ' way. Against her better judgement, Lisa obliged.
" -you're a Texan, got it. "
" Darn right. Keep it secure, keep it strong, keep it for Texans. "
" Its like you think Texas has some kind of superiority complex. "
Sonny shrugged. " Don't go blaming me, now. I had the good fortune to be born the best state in the Union. "
" The best, eh ? "
" Well, you're a well traveled woman, Davis-which is more than can be said for poor Corpsman Jennifer-
They both couldn't help but grin over that.
" so, tell me, then: What makes you want to come home after each op's is done and dusted ? Something, or, someone, waitin' for you ? "
Lisa rolled her eyes again, but like before, it wasn't done with annoyance. And, again, she smiled.
A bit more warmly, too.
" Sonny. You know why. You're messing with me. That's not too gentlemanly. "
The Texan man put both hands up for a moment.
" Allright, ok, you got me. But, for real, though: Is it someone ? I think I recall you sayin' something about talking to be about that before we hit the deck. "
" Oh, did I ? "
" Hmmm, yeah. I do think you did. "
By now, they'd covered a fair amount of ground from the Globemaster. Jason was nowhere to be seen. Ray was still plodding along by himself, and Blackburn and Clay had evidently vanished from view as well.
Which, in other words, was that they were alone. Not in private, but still alone. More or less. No military installation had any area of it that was truly empty, but this was good enough.
It was the kind of situation that could give one, ideas.
Steady there, Sonny. Don't blow the game when you're on a roll
" Well, how's this: Meet me at the cages. Say, 10 minutes from now ? I'll tell you all about it. "
It was on the tip of Sonny's tongue to launch into the full song, but he didn't trust his singing voice.
Besides, the intent behind what Lisa had said- along with, that certain, glint in her eyes- was all Sonny needed to know.
More than ever, he was grateful that he hadn't died in that damn torpedo tube. That would've been the worst way to die- not because of utterly unbearably slow, and cold it would've been, but because he'd have died without getting to tell Davis how he felt about her. To tell her how he felt.
Or, if nothing else, to be around and with her as much as possible before the slave drivers at OCS got their mitts on her.
She'll be the toughest cake-eater I'll ever meet if she gets through. If ?! What the hell: she's got a great shot at getting through.
Such thoughts took barley a second to go through Sonny's head, but they were still interrupted, when Davis abruptly kissed him firmly on the mouth.
Woah-!
That caught him by surprise- and getting caught by surprise was something which could be fatal for a SEAL.
But, this ? It couldn't be further from fatal.
The kiss lasted about a second- it had to, before Lisa reluctantly pulled back. They couldn't risk anyone spotting them by sheer chance- but even so. It was worth it weight in 24k gold.
The Texan blinked, and his mouth opened slightly, but he couldn't think of anything to say.
Lisa laughed out loud at that, looking a bit smug with herself. She lightly smacked his shoulder.
" Don't keep me waiting, Cowboy. "
With that, she headed off, long ponytail swinging like a pendulum.
Sonny was left standing in place, still feeling a tad tongue tied, as he watched the beautiful LS walk away.
After another few seconds, he finally gave up thinking of anything to say, and smiled fondly.
You were right, Sinatra.
Always, go for brunettes.