I just can't stop!
Jason glanced up without moving his head. The five men of his immediate team stood shoulder to shoulder in front of him, all looking somewhere but at him. Oh boy, this wasn't going to be good.
Someone had done something, they were all in on it and they were here to 'fess up.
"What did you do?" Jason paused, fork halfway to his mouth. Christ, couldn't even eat breakfast in peace. He really didn't need this now. Or ever. But, especially now. They were four days from flying out and he wanted off this base and out of this country. God, he hated this constant damp, misty weather.
They had to come admit to mischief now? Really? At breakfast?
He'd been looking forward to these pancakes for the last twenty-four hours. Laying sprawled flat on his stomach for over eight of those hours had convinced him a very high stack of flapjacks was acceptable. Hey, it was lite or low-calorie or reduced sugar – maybe sugar free, maple syrup, so that made his indulgence balance out, right? Like drinking a diet coke with a burger. Snark.
Feet shuffled, arms crossed and uncrossed, heads moved, eyes roamed, but no one spoke up or made eye contact.
"Ray?" Jason said finally.
Ray stared at the floor. This was his fault. Mostly.
He'd gone out to the bar with the rest of Bravo, including most from their support team after Jason had decided to stay in, so he'd been in charge of keeping everyone in line. Yes, the bar had been off base. Yes, he knew Charlie was in country. Yes, he knew Beau and Jason didn't get along, would never get along. Yes, he knew Bravo was due to fly out and head to Iraq and Charlie would assume responsibilities here. Yup, he knew all that and more. Didn't help though, he'd still done what he'd done.
Brock spoke first.
"We, ah, played a game of darts." Brock stared at the ceiling, the dog had bee-lined straight to Jason, sat next to him, tongue out and Brock was a bit embarrassed over that. No doubt Cerberus was going to side with Jason on this.
"And we lost." Sonny stared at the wall.
Jason munched on bacon, reached for his coffee. His first thought was there'd been a fight. But no, all five of his immediate team was right there in plain sight – even Clay, so they hadn't lost him – and no one sported a black eye or busted lip.
"I'm guessing there was a bet on the outcome of this game." Jason chewed and swallowed. Suddenly, his pancakes weren't so appealing anymore. The dog put his snout on Jason's knee and Jason reached to give his ears a scratch.
"There was." Trent stared out the door.
Jason shrugged. Nothing uncommon. Teams competed with and against one another all the time. So, his team was on the hook for a round of drinks, or would have to run hills for whoever they played against. Eh.
"Anything else?" Jason asked. No one except the dog would look at him. His gaze settled on Clay, who looked…..well, either amused or disgusted. It was hard to tell sometimes with that freaking bushy beard. Jason was going to have to tell the kid to trim it up. "What'd you volunteer us for?"
"Uh." Ray rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, boss, you see."
"I'm not going to like this, am I?" Jason sighed. He couldn't be too angry. It had been a hard week on the guys. They'd been under 'barracks arrest' for the last week for disobeying orders on a mission, Jason included. No access to emails, computers, or phones. No one had talked to the wife, the girlfriend, the kids, seen glimpses of home via Skype in over a week.
"Nothing too bad." Brock said quickly. "Just…well…uh."
"Okay, let's start with something easier." Jason ate more bacon. "Who did you lose to?"
"Charlie." Trent confessed.
Jason cursed, tossing down his fork that he'd just picked back up. "Beau? You fucking kidding me?"
"Sorry boss." Ray finally raised his head to meet Jason's eyes. "It, uh, didn't go the way we thought."
"No shit. How did you lose darts to Charlie?"
"There was this waitress…" Sonny began but Jason's palm went up, cutting him off. Always a skirt with Sonny.
"What did we lose to them?"
"Yeah, see…..not what." Trent rubbed his neck. "More like…."
Oh, this wasn't happening. It just wasn't. Jason looked at his plate, swirled a piece of bacon around the maple syrup. Thought about throwing it in a fit, but no…..no that wouldn't do.
"What. Did. You. Do."
Silence.
Jason lowered his head, thumbed his eyes closed, elbows on table, hands clasped. And he knew.
"You lost Spencer in a bet." He said finally. God, he really was going to fling the plate to the floor. Coffee cup right along with it. "To Beau Fuller's team."
"Now why would you just assume it was blondie here they won?" Sonny spoke up, tone teasing, hoping to soothe Jason's ruffled feathers by playing it all off as a joke.
"Because we always lose him. Doesn't matter how we do it, how it happens, it always happens." Jason dug deep for control, a battle he was losing. "You took that fucking bet?"
"Not the time Quinn." Ray said quietly. The guys didn't know the entire history behind the animosity between Beau and Jason. Hell, he didn't know all of it either. "Boss, I'm sorry. We bet one of us for one of them, we thought they'd choose me."
"How the fuck did you lose?" Jason's fist hit the table. "Why would you even make that bet?" His mind was already working. Bravo always honored their debts. He'd have to get with Eric, find out what missions Charlie was assigned until Bravo left. "We don't leave for four days…how many missions did you promise them?"
"All of them." Ray admitted.
So, at least three.
They were on a month long deployment, searching for one man who was recruiting members for a religious sect that was gaining wide-spread control, hoping to find him and put an end to his reign of authority before he managed to join forces with someone such as ISIS, the Taliban, Al Qaeda.
"You lost him in a bet." Jason repeated, shaking his head. This couldn't be happening. He could go to Eric, demand they fly out early, tell Beau he didn't authorize the bet, wasn't going to honor the debt…both would work, but neither would do their reputation or image any good. What was more important?
"We didn't bet Spencer." Trent corrected. "We bet one of us."
"But you agreed to let them choose." Jason snapped. "The hell were you thinking?"
"I'm okay with it." Clay said. What else could he say? He'd been there, hadn't tried to talk Ray or Sonny out of the making the bet. To object now would be rolling his teammates under a huge old bus.
"Well, I'm not." Jason pushed his plate away. "Christ Ray, what the fuck? You had to know Beau would go for Spenser just to piss me off!" Clay's willingness to go stumped him. He couldn't decide if he was happy about that or not. If the kid said he didn't want to go, Jason wouldn't make him. But, to say he was okay with it? Huh.
"We thought they'd go for our sniper." Sonny said. "I think they cheated."
"Of course they did." Jason agreed. He was gaining control, able to think more clearly. He had to talk to Eric. "But fairly, get a couple shots of vodka in you, have a piece of ass walk by and you can't even hit the dart-board, let alone dead center."
Sonny looked abashed, blushed, so true.
"And you," Jason pointed at Ray. "Know better than to make a bet and not name the stakes. You gave them the option to choose?"
"We didn't think…..I mean, any team we've ever played – and we've lost before – always chooses Ray." Brock spoke up in defense of their second-in-command. "Our sniper."
"What do you call him?" Jason pointed at Clay with a piece of bacon, then flung it aside. "You guys gotta be smarter than this if you're going to keep him." He sighed, too tired to give them the tongue-lashing they all deserved. What's done was done. "We have more than one sniper and despite our efforts to keep shit quiet, rumors get out."
"Uh, keep me?" Clay said, confused. "Come again?"
"He's just starting to settle in, getting to know us, our ways, and now, he's going to run with another Chief." Jason stood up. "Good luck with that kid. Don't you dare come back hurt." He collected his tray, gave the dog a final pat. "Just make sure you come back, if I hafta come after you, someone's gonna pay in blood."
Jason walked away.
Cerberus gave them a; I-can't-believe-you-just-did-what-you-did-look, shook his head and trotted after Jason.
Clay rubbed the back of his neck, he needed a haircut. There wasn't any doubt Jason wouldn't fetch him if he needed fetching. That knowledge made him feel good but he didn't like thinking his team always planned to have to retrieve him.
"I swear Brock, that damn dog understands everything fucking thing that goes on around here." Sonny sat down at the table Jason had just left. "He judges, you know that?"
"The upside?" Trent sat down as well. "Beau wanted Clay. Now he'll have him, if only for a few days."
"Say what?" Clay looked between all four of his teammates. "How is that an upside?"
"Kid, you're high maintenance." Ray grinned. "Hey, send someone high, I'm glad it's you. You have our backs and Bless you for it, but you have a knack for finding trouble. Let Charlie deal with it for a week."
"Four days." Trent corrected.
Ray's grin faded and he looked away as his stomach coiled into the same knot Jason's always did. Clay running with Charlie meant he'd be out of Bravo's sight, away from their protection. Charlie wouldn't know how to look out for him or why they should. And Bravo couldn't tell them. One, Beau would blow them off. Two, any rumors floating around would be confirmed. Three, other teams didn't need to know how Bravo operated.
"See how cocky Mr. Stick-up-my-ass is after running with the kid for a mission." Brock grinned. "Just, uh, Clay, I know you've run under other Chiefs and leaders on Green Team in Afghanistan, and you led some of those missions, but now you know how different a Tier One Team operates, and Beau ain't nothing like our Boss, you watch yourself, you hear?"
"I bet ole Fuller returns him after their first job out." Sonny cracked. "What say you? I say it's his mouth."
"His habit of bucking authority." Brock said.
"Questioning the boss." Trent added.
"Arguing his case." Ray stared after Jason.
"I'm right here." Clay rolled his eyes. Yeah, maybe seeing how another Tier One Team operated wasn't a bad idea. Yeah, sure, Bravo Team was close, but wasn't every team? Guess he'd find out. "Can hear, you know."
"Will Eric clear it?" Trent asked after a moment.
"Not if Jason doesn't want him to." Ray said, sitting down. "I wouldn't put it pass Beau to claim we threw the game to sneak a spy onto his team."
"Then why pick Spenser?" Sonny asked.
"Why offer that bet?" Trent corrected.
"But, since we are putting a man on his team…." Brock paused. "Wouldn't hurt to know how they run."
"But not at your expense." Ray added. "Don't do anything stupid just to find out something."
"I don't have any idea what you guys are even talking about." Clay said.
Sonny kicked a chair out. "Have a seat youngster. You have some training to go through."
()
"I'm sure Charlie set the whole thing up." Eric told Jason, holding the punching bag as Jason pummeled it. "Not the bet itself, just the outcome. Vodka, women in skirts, Sonny, don't mix."
"But Clay?" Jason hugged the bag, taking a moment to catch his breath. "What the hell's the matter with Ray? Sure, make the bet, play for stakes, but name your man."
"Why would he think anyone would want Clay?"
"Everyone wants him." A hard left jab knocked Eric back a step. "How many requests do you get asking to have him for a mission? Every single Tier One and Two team out there is on a list for that kid if I ever kick him off or he requests a transfer."
"He wouldn't do that." Eric said hastily. "And they want him because of the languages he can speak. He wasn't well liked in training for DEVGRU, remember? Hell, Adam said the guys he was training with nearly voted him out, wanted him dropped from training."
"He has talent, skills, come on Eric." Jason landed another hard, solid punch. "We've been kicking that attitude outta of him for months. We did the work, we're damn well gonna reap the benefits."
"What are you so pissed about?" Eric asked, stepping around the bag and forcing Jason to pull his punch. "Letting him out of your sight, or that he might like running with Charlie better?"
"Say that again." He used his teeth to tug on the tape around his hands.
"He's never known another Chief." Eric said. "Bravo is all he knows and running on a Tier One team is nothing like missions as a Seal."
"He's what? 23? 25? He doesn't get to know another team until he's put his time in here." Jason let Eric unbound his hands. "Half of me wants to demand you get us out of here, take him with us. Part of me wants to go to Beau and inform him I didn't authorize this, the bet's off, they can't have him."
Eric slowly broke into a grin. "And the remaining part that won?"
Jason matched his grin. "I trust that kid to keep his mouth shut on how we do things. I know that's why Beau chose him. So let him have the deep-seated fear in his gut when they can't immediately locate that kid or he comes up with a limp or he goes off all half-cocked on some daring, stupid stunt."
"You wish that on him?" Eric tossed the balled up tape into a trash can.
"Oh, hell yeah."
"Get a shower, we'll go grab lunch."
But Jason sat down on a bench to unlace his sneakers. "They got any dangerous missions coming up?"
"There is always the potential for any job, any mission to turn dangerous." Eric set a water bottle on the bench beside his team's Chief. "But no, Bravo is headed to town, Charlies is headed into the forest. They have coordinates to follow, a drone picked up suspicious activity at what might be a camp but is probably a village, recon only. If they find anything, they are not to engage. They are there to gather information and return. If it turns out to be a holdout or hideaway, we will then plan accordingly."
"Day trip?"
"Couple nights." He saw right away that Jason did not like hearing that. "Jason?"
"A couple of hours is one thing." Jason finished the water and tossed the empty bottle into a recycling bin. "He'd be back for dinner."
"And you could see for yourself he's okay." Eric nodded. "We will be in communication the entire time."
"Command for Charlie will, we won't."
"It's not uncommon for a Commander to pop in to command every so often when one of their team is on a run with another team."
Jason nodded. "Eric, you know him. Know what that kid is capable of getting himself into….."
"You want me to pull the plug on this whole stunt?" Eric would do it without hesitation. He'd take the heat so Bravo could save face.
"I do." Jason stood up, picked up his bag. "But I won't ask you to do it. The kid's okay with going, we lost the bet, Beau's a dick but he's not going to use and abuse the kid to stick it to me."
"They will look out for him Jason."
"But they won't know what to look for."
***000***
His team, Lisa, Eric and Jason included, stood around while he packed. No one could keep their suggestions and advice to themselves. Extra socks, power bars, water, insect repellent, sting-eaze, calamine lotion, eye-drops, flash-light, batteries, knife, scissors, ammo, watch, compass, tinted goggles, binoculars, scope; don't shit in poison ivy, look for snakes, ant-hills, recon the camp site from up high, sleep out in the open, keep your back to a tree, drink water above where you bathe, don't tie your boots too tight, keep them on while you sleep…..all kinds of crazy ass shit.
Clay walked out.
He knew they meant well, were sheepish they'd lost him in a bet, were subdued because Jason still wasn't talking to them, but good grief! He knew how to pack, what to pack. He was going away for ONE night! Maybe two. He had a sat phone from Lisa - wasn't Charlie going love to that - they'd be able to reach him any time they wanted to.
"Hey," Trent reached for his backpack, unzipped a zipper on a side pocket. "You get hurt, only let them give you morphine." He showed Clay the grey pouch with a fat red cross on it. "Everything in here is safe for you to take."
Clay blinked, then nodded, catching his grin. Awww…..gruff ole Trent had a soft spot. Huh, his first mission without Brian or Trent. He frowned as Trent gave his shoulder a pat and moved off.
Jason stared at Beau, ignoring his smirk. "Look after him."
"You admitting your rookie isn't all he's cracked up to be?" Beau taunted. "His first night at a sleep-over and he's away from his big brothers? Gonna miss his daddy?"
"I'm saying if we have to come get him, Sonny will be off leash." Jason cocked his head, arms crossed over his chest.
Beau looked over at Sonny, who bared his teeth and growled. Cerberus bared his teeth and growled.
"I honestly didn't think you'd let him go with us." Beau took the warning as it was meant.
"You've never had a rookie," Jason said quietly. "He's young, he's stupid, he's still learning. Take this seriously and don't let anything happen to him."
Beau let his gaze go past Sonny to Ray, Brock, and Trent. No one looked friendly. Eric and Lisa simply stared back at him. Geesch, the man he was taking from Bravo was a trained Tier One operative. And yes, he was a man – not a kid.
"He has his own medical kit." Trent informed Beau, coming to stand behind Jason. "He has allergies, don't just give him anything, he gets hurt."
"Cerberus is trained for explosives." Brock had come with Trent. "But you lose him, you call us. He can track any of us."
"You boys have fun now." Sonny said cheerfully, beaming like a proud papa sending his son off to camp. "He gets sick on red Gatorade, keep him on water."
Beau didn't mistake Sonny's demeanor for friendliness. Hell, even Davis looked like she'd kick him in the crotch, he returned Spenser with so much as a bruise. Didn't matter what Bravo thought. The only two who could make his life hell were Hayes and Blackburn…..speaking of who…..was right here. Beau frowned. Charlie's Commander was nowhere around, why would he be?
Maybe taking off with Bravo's young rookie wasn't such a good idea after all. He was nudged in the back by one of his men and when he turned to look, he saw Bravo support standing in lines of five, staring him down. So, not just Bravo elite would kick his ass if anything happened to the kid.
"Don't be too hard on him." Ray grinned. "We're still breaking him in, don't go and ruin all our hard work." He gave Beau a fist bump in the bicep. "Just make sure you bring him back."
"Why wouldn't I?" Beau frowned. Man, this was not what he expected when he'd gleefully won the bet and decided taking Spencer over Ray would piss Jason off more.
"He gets captured…" Sonny began,
"Kidnapped…" Brock added,
"Taken hostage…" Trent said,
"Somehow goes missing…" Lisa said,
"You go and you get him back." Ray finished.
Beau was about to say; 'we will assess the situation and call in to report, a search and rescue team will be deployed and we will finish our mission' but seven, uh, make that twenty-two unfriendly faces promised severe retribution if he didn't agree, so he nodded.
Jason wasn't convinced Beau understood what his men were saying. "We fly out in four days and we aren't leaving this god forsaken aquarium without him. You get him back here in time for him to leave with us, we clear?"
"Yeah, Hayes. I got it. Don't leave your baby-boy behind. For Christ Sake, we're hiking into a mountain to set up watch on a camp or village that is probably local farmers." He hid his surprise over Hayes's confidence that if he didn't want his team to leave without being able to take Spenser with them, they wouldn't go. Sure, Hayes was a Master Chief but even they didn't have that kind of authority. He side-eyed Blackburn, hmmmmm, Commanders did though.
Jason hitched a shoulder. "Probably is what I don't like."
"Come on guys!" Lisa called. "Breakfast, good luck Clay!"
Beau watched in disbelief as five of the best trained Seals in the world fell in line, joking and teasing with one another, behind a petite, pony-tailed woman and followed her to breakfast. Once they passed, Bravo support broke ranks and fell in behind.
Wow.
Eric followed Clay as he walked towards the transport that would take Charlie to the hiking trail. ATV's and choppers were out, would ruin the element of surprise. They wanted to sneak in, observe and ascertain whether the camp was a danger and needed to be routed.
"Spenser?" he called. "A moment."
Clay stopped with a sigh, set his backpack on the ground by his feet and turned to face Eric. Now what?
"Be careful out there." Eric said. "The guys are feeling guilty, doesn't matter if you're okay with going, they feel bad they let Jason down, lost you in a bet and put Jason in a difficult position by being a man down on Bravo's missions. Just, take care of yourself."
Clay nodded. He hadn't thought of any of this that way. He thought about himself. He was eager to go, wanted to see how other teams operated. Yeah, he expected they'd be hard on him, would tease him, play a joke on him, pull a prank or two but he could handle it. 'Cause come on, who could be worse than Sonny?
Eric nodded back. "Just so you know, this goes South, Bravo's on that mountain coming to get you."
Awww, that made him all warm and fuzzy. He tried to not to blush, but yeah, even his ears turned red. Eric hadn't said Bravo would come after Charlie, he'd said 'you'.
"Don't let them use and abuse you. You only have to follow Beau's orders in regards to the mission. He orders you to do anything that is out of line, you don't have to obey him. Just think what Jason would do and stand your ground." Eric slapped Clay's shoulder and waved him on. "You need us, you call us, got me? Speed dials 1, 2, and 3."
Clay nodded, didn't need to be told who was on those numbers; Jason, Eric, Ray. Chances were, he hit any number 1 through 0 and he would connect with someone.
"If we aren't back before they fly out, I'll join them?" Clay asked. "Or fly home? This is our last mission, Iraq, right?"
"It is and no, they won't leave here until they can take you with them." Eric said after a moment. "Call in a time or two, set an old man's mind at ease." He didn't add that the reason Bravo wouldn't fly out and leave him behind was because it would mean Bravo was hiking up a mountain after his ass because the op had gone south. "Been many years since I've sent a rookie off with another chief."
"Roger that."