The sun rose over Rio De Janiero, the rays of warm sunlight tickling her face. The wind was changing. Rain was coming. She knew that by tonight, a nasty storm would roll into her city.
Alessandra Castillo. Accomplished soldier, and leader of the Recon unit. Now, babysitter for three American soldiers, sent to assist her unit. Just what she wanted. Two strange men staring at her, and a female trying to be nice.
Outrider's opinion of Donnie Walsh, Erin Baker, and David Wilkes had been incorrect. New soldiers with mechanical body modifications. Wilkes, she had learned, was called Prophet. He had not spoken to her. Baker, also called Battery, had been friendly enough, but Les was wary of strangers.
Donnie Walsh, had been a totally different story. She had noticed him watching her movements, and studying her. Just as she did to others. The only difference was, she did so from a distance. Ruin had been kind enough, but she was still wary.
As she sat on the roof, she let her long brown hair loose in the breeze. She heard heavy footsteps on the ladder behind her, breaking her peaceful moment. In a brief moment, she drew her knife from her boot, and slammed a heavy body against the cement wall behind it.
"Easy. I come in peace." came the smooth voice of Ruin, the blade of her knife at his throat. His hands were up in a surrender gesture. She lowered her knife. "What do you want?" she snapped, releasing him. "Easy, girl. Your commander said we have to make nice." he said kindly, his blue eyes watching her.
She loved the sound of his voice. No matter what he said, he always managed to send a chill up her spine. For everything Alessandra was, in the end she was still a woman. He wasn't bad looking, and he was usually pretty calm and level.
"Listen, I know you don't agree with us being here, but I need to know if I can count on you when we go up into the mountains." A small smile crept across her face. "You can trust me." she said, turning her back to him.
She stood with her back toward him, and Ruin took a moment to admire her. She was strong, intelligent, and deadly. She was a soldier, but she also prided herself in her ability to remain a woman. Her brown hair was much longer than regulation, and it held a healthy shine as the rising sun hit it. Her frame was athletic and feminine. Ruin had liked her from the moment he met her.
It was approaching dusk as the Andes Mountains came into view from the plane. Their mission was simple. Detonate a bomb in a drug factory. She would be dropped alone, and recon the area.
Ruin and his team were dropped some distance behind where Les had been deployed. "Outrider, Ruin. Copy?" Ruin asked her through the comm. "Copy Ruin. Outrider providing over watch and sniper support. I have you on my grid. I see you in my crosshairs." came her soft reply.
"Okay kids. We have exactly twenty minutes before the gunship and makes this place disappear. Recon, and plant the bomb." Ruin told the team.
The night over the mountains had brought fresh snow, and a very bitter cold. Visibility was low, and Ruin felt a slight chill as his team passed though the woods. A single shot rang out, producing a loud cling off of his metal arm.
The team scattered for cover, and Ruin found himself pinned down by fire, seconds from the factory. "Outrider, we need support." Ruin barked into his comm. "Roger that Ruin." her voice came back calmly.
A few seconds passed, and there was no sign of Outrider. "Outrider, where the fuck are you?" he barked into his comm. His answer came in the form of an explosion in front of him, followed by several more in sequence, lighting the woods on fire. Ruin turned around briefly, to see Les sliding down the hill, with her bow drawn.
"Ruin, don't worry about me. Advance the team. I'll cover your six." Les said, continuing her slide.
Les hit the bottom of the mountain, and got up, drawing her weapon. She covered the team's advance, firing at what was left of the enemies. She felt a sharp pain in her left leg, powerful enough to knock her down. Reaching for the pain, it was wet and warm.
She attempted to get up, but she could not move. She tried several times to get up, but her leg would not move. She was started to get cold. Cutting off her pant leg, she tied a tourniquet around her thigh. She was bleeding heavily, and she needed help.
"Ruin. Outrider." she said into her comm. "Go ahead." his voice came back. "How far are you from the factory?" "Just cleared the area. Gunship inbound. Why?" he replied.
"I've been hit. I can't walk." she said, calmly.
Ruin looked at Battery and Prophet. "Get out of here. I'm going back for her." he said, cocking his gun. "Ruin! Are you crazy? You'll get yourself killed." Battery snapped, grabbing his wrist. "I have to. She risked her life for us."
"Outrider. Ruin." his voice crackled over the comm. She didn't answer. "Les? Answer me girl." he barked. "Ru- Ruin." her voice was weak. "Hold on, girl. I'm coming."
Ruin noticed her weakness in her voice. His concern was not misplaced. He sensed by her weakness, that she was headed for shock. As a soldier, he knew there was little time, and none to waste. He took his time approaching her, scanning the area for enemies. He found her in a heap, the snow around her red with her blood.
She was barely breathing, and her skin was blue. She was crashing. She needed IV fluids, quickly. Being an infantry soldier, he knew how to fix it. After all, Ruin had the best training out there. He had basic medic training. His DNI stored that information. He looked around at the dead soldiers on the ground. She had killed a medic not too far from where she fell.
There was no way Ruin could be that lucky. He grabbed the medic's gear, and tore the bag apart. As luck would have it, a blanket, and and IV kit. He unwrapped the blanket, and wrapped it around her. It was light, but it would help keep her warm long enough for evac. Pulling the IV kit from it sterile wrap, he quickly set it up before looking for a vein to puncture.
"Commander Ruin. Spectre 34 inbound." the gunship's pilot came over his comms. "Spectre 34. I read. Hold off your attack. I have a soldier down, and need a med evac." Ruin barked into his comm. "Copy that, Commander. MEDEVAC notified and is inbound. ETA is ten minutes." "Spectre, stay in the area in case we need support. I'm on my own down here."
Ruin, shifted his eyes back to Outrider. "Hold on girl. Help is on the way." he said quietly, watching her. Quickly finding IV access in her right arm, Ruin started an IV, as he had done for so many other injured soldiers in his command.
He picked her up, and out of the snow, and held her close to his body, keeping her warm. The familiar sound of an incoming RPG sounded in the distance. "Time to go, girl." he said, pulling her close, and standing.
Looking around, he saw an enemy patrol coming in his direction. With no weapon, and a critically injured soldier in his metal arms, he had to run. He started running. "Spectre 34 open fire on my mark. Light up all areas green in the AO." Ruin barked, moving as fast as his legs could carry he and Outrider.
"Copy that, Commander. Coming in hot with the 40 milimeter. Medevac is landing just north of your position."
Ruin saw the chopper land in front of him, with an Army medic taking Alessandra from him, and continuing her treatment.
Alessandra awoke to find Donnie asleep in the somewhat comfortable armchair next to her bed, snoring away. He had a light blanket on him, and was still in the uniform he had gone into the mountains with. The uniform was covered in blood, and his boots were caked with mud. He still had paint on his face, and his dirty blonde hair was a mess. There were clumps of blood and mud in his hair, but he obviously hadn't cared.
She drifted back to sleep. She awoke again, to find Ruin in the same position. "Good to see you awake." he mumbled, as he shifted his position. "What happened?" "Well you took a bullet to the femoral artery. You're lucky you're alive. Pretty bad shock. Doc said you almost didn't make it." Ruin said, sitting up in the chair.
Les looked around. She was in a hospital. "How long was I out?" she asked him. "About four days." he replied.
His awful appearance and look of concern gave him away. He liked her, and she knew it. "Why did you come back for me? You could have been killed." she said, watching him for an answer. He gave her a small grin. "Men do crazy things when they fall for a woman."