Chris.
Chris was fuming. "You have got to be kidding me," he grumbled, driving his black mustang to the miltary base he would be training at for the next two weeks. "I was in Africa two fucking weeks ago. Two fucking weeks. And they call me back for training. You're kidding."
He turned off the Mustang and sighed, dropping his head. He slowly but surely got out of his mustang and locked it; going very slowly in an attempt to make the task last as long as possible. Finally, he decided he couldn't avoid it forever, and walked into the base. It was just like all the others: empty. So empty all the time. It was actually rare that Chris ran into other agents he knew at training; it was usually rookies and his training was always separated. Although, Chris did admit, there was something different about this base. It was bigger and instead of the usual white walls, floor and ceiling, it was shaded lightly blue, and there were different rooms for different training. Okay, this base is kinda weird, Chris thought to himself as someone tapped on his shoulder.
Chris whirled around, restraining himself from just taking the person down. He sighs in relief when he recognizes the face that was staring back at him.
"Sheva! What are you, part spider? You scared the shit outta me!" Chris said, relief evident in his voice.
"Still jumpy, I see," Sheva said, smiling.
"Yeah, I mean...wait, hang on, what're you doing here?" Chris asked and Sheva laughed.
"Here for training, but trust me, I'm surprised to see you, too. I never train with-"
"Other members," A voice finished. Chris and Sheva both turned.
"Well hello there, Jill," Sheva greeted warmly, smiling at her as well.
"Hey all, nice to see you," Jill says, giving Sheva a smile and giving Chris a flirtatious smile. Chris smiles back, and sooner than he liked, they were thrown into training.
"I hate training!" Sheva fumes, laying on a couch in the resting room.
"You and me both," Chris agrees, slumping in his chair. Jesus, this was hard work. Jill came in and grabbed a bottle of water, taking two sips and collapsing in a chair.
"Fucking Christ! Since when is training this fucking hard? I mean, come on, the punching bags? I almost died!" She complained.
Chris opened his mouth to say something, but his voice was drowned out by the intercom coming on. It talked about new trainees in the lower training, therefore, the trio didn't spend much attention to that, but what did catch their attention was that two people were moving into their training circle. After the explanation, the intercom went off, and the three agents looked at one another.
"What do you suppose that was...?" Jill asked, cocking her head.
"Eh, nothing special, I'm sure. Probably just two very lucky rookies," Chris said, shaking his head like it was nothing.
"Who're you calling a rookie," a voice responded. The three turned. Chris was actually surprised. Not two guys like he would have thought, in fact, two girls. One had sandy-brown hair and blue-green eyes while the other had short brown hair and brown eyes with glasses.
"Who're you?" Sheva asks, intrigued.
"I'm Andii, nice to meet you," The sandy-brown haired girl responded.
"I'm Raine, nice to meet you," The other girl said stiffly. The two girls walked in and took a seat, the other three agents examining them.
"So, what did you lucky two do that got you in the big leagues?" Chris asked and the brown-haired girl glared.
"Don't treat me like some five-year-old dumbfuck, Christopher," Raine said, and Chris' eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Oh, yes, I know all about you, big shot."
"Oh really? What else do you know?" Chris asks curiously.
"Everything about you. How old you are, where you come from, your recent partners, your history with missions, the agents you met, I know everything. And the same goes for you two," Raine says in the direction of Sheva and Jill.
"Why do you know that stuff?" Jill asks, and Raine smiles.
"Me and Andii were quizzed on all of you because we weren't sure who we'd be working with."
"That's not creepy," Chris says, and Raine glares.
"Watch it, I know a lot more than I'm telling. I have dirt on all of you, so I suggest you watch your step," Raine states, rolling her eyes. And with that, Andii and Raine get up and wave to the group before leaving. "Deuces."
"That Raine kid is a piece of work," Sheva mutters.
"True that, I don't like her very much," Jill sighs and Chris stays quiet.
Even though he really tried not to be, Raine's smart ass attitude and her cockiness intrigued him. It made him curious as so what kind of person Raine actually was, because the seemingly arrogant attitude didn't seem like it had depth. It also made him curious as to how well she could defend herself and handle a weapon along with handling a partnership. Mostly, though, he was curious on what she knew about him, and what she was hiding about herself underneath. And with those thoughts, Chris went home.
It was almost painful when the alarm clock rang in the morning, but Chris forced himself out of bed. When he got to the training base, the other four were already there. Raine was already busy training, and since she was up and ready, Chris figured he'd head to the physical part of training. Raine was indeed up, hiting at a punching bag with quite a bit of strength. She looked so focused, so utterly consumed, that Chris thought she wouldn't hear him come in, but she did and she turned her head to give him a look.
"Hey Chris, up so early?" Raine said, taunting edge in her voice. Chris almost wanted to tease her back, but he restrained himself.
"Why're you training so early?" Chris asks calmly, actually curious about why she was the first.
"Meh, thought I could use some refreshing on technique,"
"Oh, I see. By the way, Raine, where do you come from?"
"Me? Oh. I come from Portland, Oregon,"
"What about Andii?"
"She comes from L.A., completely different ball game than me,"
"And...how do you view your partnership?"
"Hmmm," Raine starts, thinking. "I think Andii is probably the closest thing I have to a best friend. Our partnership is a lot like that, mostly serious, but we joke a lot even though I'm rather tough on Andii because we're not just partners, I'm her mentor, too. I help her a lot. She's not a rookie, but she sometimes needs some help here and there. That's what I'm there for, so, actually, I'm a mix of her best friend and her mom."
Chris laughs lightly at the weird explanation, and Raine gives him a soft smile. Then the kindness is over and the arrogant attitude is back. She begins to punch the punching bag again and Chris decides that he should probably leave before she becomes all snarky again.
I knew it, I knew that she wasn't really that arrogant, Chris thinks, feeling victorious. Jill was talking to Sheva when Chris got out there, and he really didn't pay any mind to what they were saying. Useless girl jib jab, per usual. He didn't pay any attention until the physical training door burst open.
"Hey!" Raine yelled, and Jill and Sheva looked up. "Jill, I heard what you said about Andii."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Chill your beans," Jill said blandly, and now, Chris was interested.
"No, I won't calm down, Jill. Never, ever talk about Andii about that again, or I promise you, you will pay," Raine said, starting to walk back to the physical room.
"Oh yeah? Says the little girl who hides in her brother's shadow while she sulks because she's been raped?" Jill said, and Sheva moved away as Raine came back and Chris thought that Raine would say something, but instead, he was surprised.
Raine socked Jill right in the jaw.
Chris stood frozen for a good minute, but soon restrained Jill from going ape-shit on Raine. Jill was screaming insults, but they were so loud that they made Chris' ears ring, so he couldn't hear what she was saying. The base security came out to talk about the matter with the two of them and the rest of the group. One of the security guards went to Jill, then the other to Raine. Chris was waiting with Raine and so was Sheva while Jill was questioned. The security guard sat across from her and looked at her.
"Now, Raine, tell me. Why did you punch Jill in the jaw?" he asked, Raine was dead silent. "Do you not want to talk about it? I advise you do, or we'll have to just go off whatever Jill says," Silence. "I hope you know that you're running the risk of losing your place in this training squad."
"No, I'm not just going to sit here and watch you leave the squad," Chris didn't even realize he spoke to Raine until after he said it, and he was going much to fast to second guess what he was doing. "It's not Raine's fault, Jill harshly provoked her. Jill not only talked bad about Raine, and about Andii, and Raine couldn't control her anger. I understand that Raine acted out of line, but so did Jill. Jill shouldn't of said those things and this wouldn't have started in the first place."
Chris then realized that, instead of being on his long-time partner's side, of all people he was on Raine's side. The new kid's side. He didn't even want to think about the way Jill would react to his betrayal. But in Chris' mind, he knew it was Jill's fault. Jill shouldn't have said all of that stuff.
"Yeah," Sheva chimed in, "he's right. It's not Raine's fault, Jill started it."
"Is that true, Raine?" The guard asks, and Raine nods. He then gets up, thanks both Chris and Sheva for the help, and says that the three of them should probably go home. For once, Chris agrees with him. Sheva says that she'll wait around for Jill.
"Knowing you, Chris, you're probably emotionally exhausted," Sheva said, smiling. Chris turned to walk Raine to the parking lot, but she was gone. He ran outside to the parking lot and Raine was still walking. Chris didn't know why he was relieved.
"Hey Raine," He called and Raine turned.
"Oh, hey," Raine was quiet, now, and he suddenly felt really bad for the things Jill said.
"Uh...W-Where's Andii?" Chris asks, trying to keep her mind off the entire Jill-thing.
"Must've left after she heard Jill," Raine says, still quiet.
"Hey, why don't you go with me down to the local bar and get a drink to take your mind off things?" Chris offers, and is suprised by Raine's sudden scoff.
"What, you want to fill me with liquour so you can bang me?" Raine teases, and he glares.
"I was trying to be nice," Chris responds, and Raine turns to him.
"Fine, I'll go get a drink with you. But one drink, got it?" Raine asks and Chris smiles.
"I'll drive us, then," Chris says, ushering her to his car and opening the door.
"Ooooh, such a gentlemen," Raine says, taking a seat in his car and putting on her seat belt. Chris gets in on the other side and starts the car. The drive there was quiet at first, but then Raine asked a question.
"What's your relationship with Jill and Sheva?" Raine asks quietly, and Chris doesn't know why that question makes him so uncomfortable.
"Jesus, you're blunt. Uhm, well, with Sheva we're just really, really good friends. The kind of friends who talk about just about anything and laugh and that. And, well, Jill...I'm not going to lie, I'm kind of confused by her partnership."
"I get what you mean by that. I know what you mean. But what are you confusing her with?"
"I'm confused on whether or not she's my partner or my lover. It looks like both sometimes. But I.. I don't think I could handle mixing a love life with my work life."
"Why's that?"
"Too...complicated. It'll be like leading a double life, and I can't do that. So, for the most part, I've tried my damnest to stay single."
"Noticed. You should see the way she looks at you,"
"Hm. I'm aware that she probably wants more, but I can't."
"Yes, you can. You're making up excuses to stall. You're looking for an excuse to not be in a relationship with her, and she knows that. She's been pushy with you lately because she's scared you've found it."
"...What is it?" Chris asks, and Raine is silent for a long moment. She just looks out the window at the sunny day outside then she speaks.
"Me."
Chris is going to ask why, but they're at the bar now, and he decides to stay quiet. They get into the bar and actually have a few drinks, and Raine is actually reletively quiet. But not the awkward quiet, the thoughtful quiet. Chris notices how different Raine is outside work compared to inside work. After a few drinks, (even though Raine said she would only have one,) they got into the car.
"Now what?" He asks her, and Raine thinks.
"I really don't want to go home," Raine says, and Chris smiles.
"Alright, I have a place we can go," He says, and drives her out of town to the hills. Just a little off the road he stopped the car and got out with Raine. They went out on top of the hills, and, it being night time now, the stars shone brightly, and the moon made everything an eerie black and white. Raine and Chris sat for a while, and eventually lay down next to one another.
"Uh," Chris started after a moment, "what did Jill insult you about earlier?"
"Oh," Raine says, and sighs, "well, I was raped. By the partner I had before Andii. He just, he just raped me and then left me and told HQ that it was my fault. And they believed him. That's why I'm here, I had to leave. And the brother's shadow thing is true, my family favors my brother and think I'm a failure. They don't... they believe that what I'm doing isn't worth shit and believe that what I really do is be a hooker and shit. They didn't believe me when I told them that I was raped, and after that, I just... I haven't talked to them. That was two years ago. I came here for a new life, not to be harassed over things that have happened to me."
Chris cannot beleive it. A BSAA member...raping another? He was stunned silent by everything she told him. She turned her body to face him and smiled.
"You'll get used to it," She says, smiling. He looks in her eyes for a long moment. This poor girl. Abused, neglected, and outcasted into the darkness. Living underneath a rock all this time. Chris turned his body and smiled at her while she smiled back. And before he knew it, Chris cupped the back of her neck, leaned forward, and kissed Raine. Her lips were soft and sweet, and he liked the way his body fit to hers. His hard against her softer one. But what she did surprised him. She didn't kiss back, she didn't grab him. Her body went rigid, stiff and still as a board. After he noticed it, he pulled away, and Raine just stared at him. A dead cold stare.
"Take me home," She says stiffly, getting up.
"Raine, please-"
"Take me home,"
"Please, let me explain-"
"Christopher, take. Me. Home. Now." Raine says his full first name and he suddenly feels cut off from her completely. As quickly as he can, he gets up and they walk to the car in absolute silence. Now it's the silence that Chris finds uncomfortable. She gets in the passenger's side, and he gets into the drivers seat. He drives them back into town and back into the base. Sadly, in town, it's raining. She sighs, jumps out of his car, and he follows. She turns to him.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Raine says quickly, obviously trying to escape Chris' presence.
"See you," He said as he watched her put on her helmet, get on her bike, (which he didn't know she had,) and drive off.
Well, Chris, he thinks to himself. You fucked up big time.