So this is my first attempt at an Expendables fic. This is very different from what I've written in the past, so I'm curious to see how it will turn out. It's set sometime after the first movie but I haven't decided yet if or how the second movie will play into it. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1
"Are you sure this is the place?," Lee Christmas asked, lowering the field glasses from his eyes, as he addressed the man beside him.
"Yep. Right place." Barney Ross answered, continuing his own observation without pause, even as the first man rambled on.
"Why the hell would Church send us all the way out here? This place looks fucking deserted. You're certain you didn't write the directions wrong?"
"I'm positive." Barney dropped his own set of binoculars and finally met his stare. "Just be patient. I'm sure we'll see something. Eventually."
"Be patient." Lee repeated, shaking his head. "Last time I heard that was six years ago when I asked you to repay the money you borrowed from me. And I still haven't seen a dime of that yet."
Lee walked away, muttering in irritation as he headed for the line of trees behind them.
"Where are you going?" Barney asked, his tone indifferent as he turned his attention back to the building below.
"To dig my own grave. Looks like we're going to be here a while. When I finally die of boredom, I can fall right in."
Barney smirked as he surveyed the land before him, his partner's familiar ribbing already forgotten as he returned his focus to his work. The frustration was to be expected. The contrasting terrain of the Algerian landscape spread out before them offered little relief from the monotony of their task. Hidden away in the mountainous hillside flanking the barren plain below, they'd spent the past two days inspecting their current surroundings, searching for any signs of life coming from the strange, solitary structure located in the middle of the grassland below them.
This was the hardest part. The watching. The waiting. They all hated it. But he seemed to be able to tolerate it more than the others, with the possible exception of his smallest man,Yin Yang. What Yang lacked in size, he made up for in speed, and perhaps it was because of this exhaustive attribute that he always welcomed the more placid task of keeping vigilance on a potential target whenever the need arose. Unfortunately, sending Yang in alone had not been an option on this occasion. Mr. Church, their employer for this particular assignment, had made it very clear that expedience was of the utmost importance. There had been no time for a pre-mission exploration. Out of necessity, the entire team had been required to make the first trip together. Great for their combined protection. Not so good for their nerves.
It was an almost inconceivable idiosyncrasy. After all the years they'd worked together, after all the jobs they'd completed, the calmest part of their profession was the one component they couldn't seem to get used to. But, when all was said and done, they were men of action, focused on getting the task done as quickly and efficiently as possible. Delays put them on edge, made them impatient. Not an ideal situation at a time when the utmost concentration was required.
Even as he mentally acknowledged his teammates' flaws, his own mind betrayed him by wandering, his thoughts carried back to a time when things had not been quite so dark. Just how many jobs had he completed since that time? He'd lost count long ago, the names and the faces blurring together in one chaotic mass. Was it unforgivable that he did not even know the identities of all those he had killed? Possibly. But he comforted himself with the fact that most of them were not worthy of being remembered.
It had been a lifetime ago since the unseen hands of fate had embarked on their mission to mold him into the man now standing in the middle of this God-forsaken countryside. That cruel grasp that had torn him apart and stitched him back together again a thousand times, each time leaving in its place only an imperfect facsimile of the person he had been before. The coldness of it had burrowed it's way through his tough exterior to lay refuge deep inside his heart, it's numbing essence greedily winding its way through every vein and artery, until there was no room left for anything else. His existence rooted in memories carved from the ruins of barbaric wars, long forgotten by all but those who had been forced to endure them. Battles with the greedy, the worthless, the evil. The loss of love. The disregard for life. Death a constant companion. All the forces of the universe had conspired together to form his destiny. To give birth to the man he had become. And who he would forever be. How could he be anything else? The idea of redemption was beyond his conviction. How could he ever expect to be forgiven for the things he had done?
It was a hard life. One that he would not wish on any other. But it was what he knew. At times, he was ashamed to admit just how comfortable he had become with it all.
But even after all the years he'd spent fighting and shooting, stabbing and killing, he still never failed to feel that small tingle of anticipation with the prospect of each new operative. That little sliver of excitement, the pleasant tension that flowed through every muscle and fiber of his being, bringing his body and mind together into perfect focus. He supposed some might label it as a survival instinct. He preferred to think of it as preparation for a job well done.
But as he studied the building situated below him, the feeling that twisted in his gut and pricked at the back of his mind was one that was not so familiar. The unease that had tormented him ceaselessly since his initial meeting with Church had only grown stronger since their arrival, and he wondered, not for the first time, if he had made the wrong decision by accepting this job.
He glanced to his right, his eyes scanning the cover for signs of his other men, satisfied when he saw none. They were all well-concealed, as they should be, but all focused on the task at hand, searching for any signs of life from inside the structure. Or, at least, he hoped they were. As if on cue, a burst of static issued from his headset, another voice resounding in his right ear.
"What the hell is this shit?" Toll Road growled, from somewhere off in the distance. "What are we looking for? Zombies? Hell, they'd be more alive than anything we've seen so far!"
"Come on guys. You know the drill. We can't just go storming into the place until we know exactly what we're up against." Barney answered, glancing over his shoulder as Lee returned to his spot next to him. "You guys haven't seen anything at all?"
"If you mean besides Caesar making out with his big guns over here, then no. I haven't seen a damn thing!"
"Gunnar? What about you? Have you and Yang seen anything?" Barney repeated, as Lee scoffed in amusement.
"Nope. Nothing here." the big Swede answered. "Of course, Yang's so short he can't see much of anything unless he's sitting on my shoulders..."
A muffled grunt ended the conversation and for a split second Barney felt a splinter of concern at the sound, until he realized Yang had probably silenced the bigger man's insults.
"You guys just keep a low profile. Don't get too exposed back there." Barney instructed, his realization confirmed when Gunnar responded with a quick "Got it."
"I can't believe you put those two together after everything that's happened between them." Lee stated, meeting the other man's glare. "I don't get it. Do you want them to kill each other?"
Barney shrugged, raising his binoculars again. "They've been working out their differences. They'll be fine. Eventually. Just be..."
"Patient. Yeah, I know."
Silence settled over them again, as both men resumed the observation of their surroundings, their curiosity peaked by the lack of activity at their most recent target site. For Barney, it was just one more notch in the belt of disquiet that kept tightening around his mind. Church had been very stingy with the amount of information he had provided for this particular job. For any other client, similar circumstances would have been an immediate deal breaker. But Church had assured him that he would have all of the relevant information necessary to complete the assignment and any other details surrounding the matter would be released only on a need-to-know basis. Considering the fact that they'd done business before, Barney had eventually, although reluctantly, agreed to take on the mission. But now, as before, he found himself second guessing his decision. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he'd felt such concern. Not only for his safety, but for that of his men as well.
"What is this place anyway?" Christmas asked, pulling him from his thoughts. "Doesn't it seem out of place to you? It's like somebody just dropped it out of the sky and it randomly landed here."
He shook his head. "I'm not sure. I think maybe it's some type of storage facility. Or at least, it used to be. Doesn't look like it's used much anymore. At least not from what we've seen."
Barney mulled the question over, unsatisfied with the answer he'd given. Again, he felt that tingle at the base of his neck, as though someone was already tightening the noose around it. There were too many unanswered questions. Too many loose ends that could come back and bite them in the ass if this assignment did not go as planned. For the first time since he could remember, they were facing a virtually unnamed foe. He did not know who they were. Or how many of them existed. Or why they were an apparent threat. And more disturbing, he did not know what he should expect to find once they got inside.
Except for her.
Church had assured him that she would be there.
But gazing at it now, he had to question the credibility of Church's sources. If there was anybody inside of this strange and foreign place, then they worked, slept and lived there. During the entire time of their surveillance, they had yet to see a single person enter or leave the building. There were no vehicles visible. No sign that they should expect anybody to appear. Yet, they continued to wait, Barney searching for something, anything, that might give some confirmation to the reason they were there.
"Alright guys. Take a break." he finally stated, talking into his mouthpiece again. "Come on in and lets reassess the situation."
Two mumbles of accession quickly followed and he glanced at Lee, using his head to motion in the direction of their agreed upon meeting spot. Wordlessly, they moved together toward the location, arriving only moments before Toll Road & Hale Caesar, shortly followed by Gunnar Jensen and Yang.
"Still nothing?" Barney asked the two groups again, although he could tell by the look of frustration on their faces what the answer would be.
"Nothing."
"Not a thing."
"Maybe somebody should take a closer look." Yang finally suggested, glancing at the others to see if they would approve.
"Are you volunteering?" Barney asked, only half jokingly.
Yang shrugged. "If I have to. Beats sitting around here doing nothing."
"And he is the smallest one." chimed in Gunnar, as he pulled a sip of whiskey from the silver flask he kept hidden away in his pocket. "He'll be the hardest for them to see."
Yang turned to glare at him and Gunnar smartly took a step backwards out of kicking distance.
Contemplating the suggestion, Barney glanced in the direction of the building and shook his head.
"Could be risky. We don't know what kind of surveillance equipment they might have, if any. If anybody is inside, they could very well be the kind to shoot first and ask questions later."
"It's worth a shot. Hell, I'll do it myself if it'll get us out of here any faster." Toll Road chimed in, kicking a chunk of rock across the ground in frustration.
"Like you'd be any help." Caesar snorted, as he polished a dull spot on the side of the gun strapped across his massive chest. "With that deformed ear of yours, somebody could sneak up behind you and shoot you in the back and you'd never hear them coming."
"We've been through this before. My hearing is fine." Toll argued, earning more than one eye roll from the group members. "But if it keeps me from having to watch you make out with that gun of yours one more time, I'll take the chance."
"Alright guys, that's enough. Let's just focus on what we've got to do." Barney ordered as he mentally reviewed the slim list of options they had left.
"C'mon man. We gotta do something soon. This waiting is killing us all." Christmas encouraged, earning a nod from the rest of his teammates.
Searching each of their faces for any sign of doubt, and seeing none, Barney threw up his hands.
"Ok. We'll do it." he agreed. "But I'm the one who got us into this, so I'm the one going in."
Without waiting for an objection, he stalked away, heading back toward the overlook where he'd spent most of the past two days.
XXXXXXXX
"There is a set of solid steel doors at either end of the building, each flanked by a couple of windows." Barney explained, as he sketched a rough outline of the structure. No windows or doors on the side facing us. We'll assume for now that the other side is the same."
"Apparently they don't like the sunlight. Maybe it's full of vampires." Caesar quipped. "Hope you brought your silver bullets."
"Silver bullets are for werewolves!" Toll corrected. "You need wooden stakes and garlic for vampires. Or some stupid shit like that!"
Barney ignored them both and continued on.
"We can use that to our advantage. If something happens, I'll work my way back to the side. That way, they'll have to exit the building if they want to come after me. You guys keep watch from up here. If there's any trouble, you know what to do."
He paused for a moment, then pulled a folded up slip of paper from his back pocket. Unfolding it, he tossed it on the makeshift table in front of him.
"Take a good, long look at this picture. Commit it to memory." he demanded, pointing to the face of the brunette woman smiling back at him. "She is the reason we are here. Remember, we don't know who she is or who's side she's on, for that matter. But Church demanded that she be taken alive and brought back to him. Pick your targets carefully. If any of you slip up and kill her, you can be guaranteed that he will make sure none of us ever sees the light of day again."
"What if she's armed? What the hell are we supposed to do if she starts shooting at us?" Caesar demanded, his brows drawn together in a frown.
Barney shrugged. "Hope she's a poor shot."
Gunnar picked the paper up and studied it for a minute, then tossed it back down with a click of his tongue.
"She doesn't look like much of a threat to me." he suggested, rolling his shoulders to help loosen the tension in his neck. "What does Church want with her?"
"Don't know. He was pretty vague about the matter." Barney answered, once again reminded of just how little he knew about this situation.
"So you're just going to hand her over? Just like that? No questions asked?" Toll Road asked, with an unusual display of concern.
"What? Don't tell me you're growing a conscience all of a sudden now?" Barney replied. "You getting soft on us?"
Toll shook his head. "I'm just saying, this whole thing just seems a little crazy to me. I'd at least like to have an idea what we're getting ourselves into."
"It's no different than anything we've done before." Barney argued, pushing his own doubts to the side. "We find the target, we do the job, we get paid. And we don't ask what happens afterward. That's not our problem."
He studied the other men and was rewarded with a couple nods of agreement, although he had to admit they seemed somewhat forced.
"All I know is that she has information that he needs. And he's determined to get it from her, no matter the cost." Barney added, hoping to satisfy everyone's curiosity long enough to get the job done.
"Well, that's too bad for him." Christmas added sarcastically, drawing all of their attention towards him. He was standing behind Barney, field glasses to his eyes, as he surveyed the land below them.
"Apparently, he's not the only one who's interested," he added.
He dropped the glasses and turned to the group.
"We've got company."