Alrighty, people. I'm taking a little break from TMAtNB, seeing as writers block has fallen over on my muse. So I'm going to set my self down in front of the computer and see what comes out. Trust me, I'll be just as surprised as you are. There is a place called Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife System just outside Monroe, Louisiana, thought I have no idea about the area other than what the Google Gods tell me, so if I screw something horribly and someone notices, let me know and I'll fix what I can. This should just be a nice little fic addressing team relationships. I really have not a clue.
P.S.: Don't forget to give thanks to my wonderful beta, TheDoublemintTwins11.
Cougar and Aisha walked down the road in relative silence, neither of them having much of an inclination towards idle chit chat. Crickets chirped in the night time gloom, birds twittered as they settled in their nests, and the trees themselves sang as a warm, pleasant, wind rustled through the branches. Truth be told, the team van could have broken down in a worse place than an old dirt road in the back bayou of Louisiana.
Aisha had gotten a lead that informed them there was a contact down in some backwoods nowhere town that had inside intel on Max's current whereabouts, and seeing as it was the first lead they had gotten in weeks, they practically jumped at the chance to do anything but sit around.
The contact lived about an hour outside Monroe, Louisiana. I was only supposed to take an hour ride out, enough time to survey the area and verify the contact, time to interview the contact and verify the information, then an hour back to the hotel. At least, it would have, if they hadn't gotten lost on one of the hundred and twelve back roads that littered the state like a damn disease. Pooch had already been swearing a blue streak for going on half an hour before they actually broke down, and that had been two hours after they had gotten lost.
Everyone had been in a bad mood. Clay had been relatively calm about the whole thing, sitting in the passenger seat, sipping from his flask, and pouring over the map looking for a way out of the mess; Jensen was pacing back and forth next to the van, bemoaning the lack of wifi connections, cell phone signals, and good radio stations; Pooch was bent over the engine, and occasionally under the van, elbow deep in the vehicle, and cursing worse than a sailor while trying to find the problem and fix it; Cougar himself had been stretched across the back bench seat, hat tipped down over his face, catching a light nap; and Aisha had been slouched in one of the middle seats picking her nails with one of her knives.
They hadn't been sitting for very long before Pooch announced that there was a leak in the transmission somewhere. He needed to go over most of the system before he could find the leak, but even if he could put a temporary fix on it, they were going to need more transmission fluid if the van was going to take them anywhere. So once Clay had worked out a route that was most likely to lead back to town, Aisha volunteered to make the walk, and Cougar decided to head out with her, not entirely trusting her to come back on her own.
It had been several months since they had first defeated the evil genius known only as 'Max'. Aisha had drifted on and off the team as she needed to, more often than not spending days or weeks infiltrating various organizations looking for information before checking back in with everyone. They rarely heard from her, and even more rarely actually saw her, so despite the fact that they had been working together for so long there was still a big issue of trust for Cougar. It's easier to put faith in someone when you share a sleeping space with them. He wanted to trust the woman, he really did, but with the fact that she still vowed to kill Clay when Max was dead, it was hard to put too much faith in her. He always made sure to have his revolver on him at all times, but before they set off he double checked to make sure the chamber was full. After all, he was going to be alone, at night, in the middle of nowhere, with a woman that could take on Clay without too much trouble, and that in itself was an unsettling prospect.
Aisha was kicking a small rock along the dirt path, and had been for the last few minutes, "I saw that, you know." Cougar just glanced over with a raised eyebrow, before silently returning to staring at the path in front of him. " I saw you checking your gun." She elaborated, "You know, if I really wanted you dead, I wouldn't do it here and now."
Cougar snorted in disbelief, and sidestepped a pothole, "And why is that?"
Aisha snorted now, "You mean, aside from the fact that if I came back to the van without you, the others would kill me? Other than that? Well there's the fact that you're all still useful. You haven't gotten in the way of anything, and you're actually reliable when the shit hit's the fan. I'm actually starting to like you Losers. But, when the time comes, don't think that will stop me. Then, I will kill you. I won't hesitate."
Cougar smiled to himself, "I almost believe you." He paused as the rock Aisha had been kicking skittered into his path. He kicked it back towards her, "You will try. Keep in mind, senorita, many have tried the same in the past. When his past conquests have tried to kill Clay, we stopped them. We even had a young tonto try to infiltrate the group while we were on a mission. He died slowly. I have no doubt that you will turn on us all eventually, but remember that we know this just as surely as you do, and we will be waiting for the day." He glanced over at the woman with a slight smile before turning to admire the way the lightning bugs lit up over the bayou waters. Aisha just smirked and hummed in quiet contemplation.
Neither of the two spoke again until they wandered into the town's nearest gas station. Even then it was only to dispute which brand of oil to buy. The two managed to get a ride back to the van from a helpful local. They arrived just in time to see Pooch half heartedly toss a wrench at Jensen's head, and Clay laughing at the two from the front seat. Pooch nearly snatched the plastic bag from Cougars hand, and stomped over to the raised hood of the van to fix the problem. It was just after three in the morning when the van actually came back to life, and then they were back on the road, heading back to the hotel for some actual sleep.
The next day, nothing changed. They headed out again, and this time the didn't get lost. Everything went to plan, and no one was hurt. The info turned out to be valid so they started planning the next step to hunt down Max.
Cougar always had his revolver on him. Since they first started working with Aisha, he's started checking the chamber more than he used to. He had a feeling he'd be doing it for a long time to come.