Bravo Team found themselves hiding in one of the few rooms the small African hotel had to offer. The whole neighborhood was practically on fire when they arrived there, and as usual, the escalating situation did not give them much time to waste.

Jason and his team reached their objectives right before the irreparable happened. In a flash, they neutralized the imminent threats and secured the small group of Americans they were there to recover.

The crowded space made them feel trapped, but keeping their cool while they made sure no armed men would approach their location unnoticed was essential.
As soon as Clay and Sonny were well placed in a guard position, Trent could start checking on the civilians, the two children first, then the woman, then the fifty-something aged man, AKA the real reason why they were sent there in such a hurry, and last, completing the picture, the two younger men.

"HVOC we reached 'ruby', package secure. We're ready for exfil," Jason said, looking out the window.

"Solid copy Bravo One, evac will be there in 2 mikes." Commander Blackburn's voice sounded loud and clear from the radio.

"It's okay." Brock ducked near the children, making Cerberus sit next to them. "He will keep you safe. You don't have to worry." He winked at the mother, who was gratefully looking toward him, causing Trent to roll his eyes.

"How many other times are we gonna have to babysit stupid tourists that deliberately put themselves in dangerous situations?" Sonny asked with a grunt while getting into the van, only to find himself facing the VIP tourist they just rescued.

The gray headed man settled in, leaving Sonny the room to enter the van, while his dark, little eyes seemed to peer directly into the soldier's soul, leaving him the urge to explain his words.
"Hey, no offence man, I'm just tired of this damn dusty air I have to put in my lungs every single time I open my mouth."

"Keep it closed then!" Clay felt like he could not lose the occasion to make fun of him, making everyone chuckle while Sonny instead gave him a powerful glare.

"No offence taken," the man said. "I'm sorry you had to come to the rescue."

"This is our job," Jason stepped in. "And we are happy to do it."

"Most of the time..." Sonny grumbled, spotting a smirk on his boss' face.

The rest of the ride was pretty quiet, however, there were children on board, and cracking their usual jokes could put the soldiers in big troubles with the pretty mom.

As the van pulled over inside the base camp, the group of guests found petty officer Lisa Davis welcoming them.
As soon as they were in the open air again, the children's eyes were captured by all the military vehicles coming and going from the camp's boundaries. It was pretty obvious that they had never seen so many uniformed guys -and girls- in their short lives.
Their looks kept going from the barracks to the flagpole with the American flag fiercely exposed, passing by the lavatories and then stopping on the sick bay, a quite small building with a red cross painted on his walls, outside which a head busted soldier was quietly smoking his cigarette.

Their amused gasps quickly caught Sonny's attention, making him wonder what they could possibly admire so much in that damn place. It was surely not the best equipped or best dressed base he ever lived in. Indeed, it's pretty much poor of everything a soldier may need to pass his days in this hell country, he thought.

"Hey, you all good?" Davis briefly checked on the Team members, making sure they all came back in one piece, then she promptly went on taking care of the civilians, escorting them to the tent that would be their home till they would be able to fly back to the U.S.

"I was not kidding Boss, I'm sick of these kind of missions," Sonny said, getting rid of his vest. "We were here for almost a month and the situation hasn't changed a bit."

"I'm afraid it just has." Blackburn joined them. "Disorders are spreading, the rebels are getting bolder, and the national army can't keep up with them."

Sonny's eyes lit up and his hands immediately reached his rifle and tightened it in a solid grab.
"So we're finally getting some real stuff?" He said, getting on his tiptoes with all his muscles tensed, like a child in the sight of the ice-cream truck.

"In the next few days we are expecting the conflicts to reach their climax. Prepare for the action, you will might have to get dirty."

"So no more of those babysitting things, am I understanding correct?" Sonny insisted.

They all stared at their commander's furrowed brow, trying to decode his silence and impatiently waiting for his lips to disclose in a positive answer.

"Didn't say that. It still is our primary task, sorry."

"Oh, come on!" They all let out frustration grunts.

"Go get some sleep now, you earned it," Blackburn ordered, getting back into the command center.

"Yeah..." Sonny waited until the commander was out of sight. "I was thinking more about a drink first. Who's with me?"

And as those words reached their ears, big smiles stamped on all Bravo Team members.

... ... ...

Five in the morning and all Bravo members were reunited in their barrack, or as they liked to call it, the toy's closet.
In other conditions, a confined space full of grownup men -and a dog- all trying to get stock of their assets should not be a pleasant situation, but they all knew how to handle themselves, and the atmosphere there was usually light.

Jason was entertaining Cerberus while Brock filled his bowl, and Trent did not lose the chance to tease Sonny with his phobias' list while making sure the medic kit had all they could need in action.
Only Ray was paying attention at how Clay was quietly packing his bag, with a dead look in his eyes.
He knew that things have not been easy for the kid since his father announced his second book on TV, hinting he had a primary source still on active duty. And despite he wanted with every fiber of his body to believe in Clay's good faith, he felt that something may cracked in his relationship with the Team.

He must be sleepy, just that, he thought, glancing at him now and then to make sure nothing was really off with him. The bunks here are really uncomfortable, none of us have had a really good sleep in ages. It must be just it...

"I tell you one thing guys," Sonny said. "If the national army doesn't give us some space to act, the next time I'm not sure if I can control my aim... I mean incidents happen."

"Don't say that." Jason looked out the door. "We are guests here, remember that."

"Oh! Come on, Jace! Those stupid Bedouins prefer to hide their faces in a camel's bottom rather than help us out saving their own country."

"Hey, easy man!" Clay's eyes lighted up again. "This is pretty racist, don't you think?" He firmly said, not worried about spoiling the mood.

"We have a Bedouin Paladin here?" Sonny moved to face him.

"Racist, says the super white, blue-eyed Blondie." Ray intervened, drawing the attention on himself because he could not let that silent tension between those two rise more.

"Umph... 'cause, of course you think growing up in the black Liberia, looking like this," Clay indicated himself, "was a piece of cake, uh?"

"I keep forgetting about that," Ray admitted. "Well, you may have had your moments back then, but we both live in America now, don't we?"

Clay huffed, shaking his head.

"Yeah, it's not like you are getting discriminated for your skin color anymore." Brock added, petting Cerberus.

"Only for my last name, right?" Clay grinned.

"Well, you can always change that!" Sonny stepped in. "And maybe you really should..." he added, causing all the Team to look worriedly at them.

"So," Ray spoke, feeling trapped in a powder keg ready to explode. "You never told us how you ended up growing up there."

"I didn't." Clay continued whilst prepping his bag, feeling the tension slightly go off.

"So?" Ray stared at him, while all the others cocked their ears.

"Short version?" Clay looked at to the others curiosity.

Ray shrugged his shoulders. "Sure."

"Okay." Clay cleared his throat. "My parents got divorced. My dad was, you know... him, and my mom was, let's just say she was 'a little' messed up... So I just found myself at the age of six flying to Africa and living in a Christian mission with my mother's parents, who ran the thing. That's pretty much all."

The simple and synthetic way Clay could describe it all, made everyone silent as they stared at him.
That story had much more to tell, they knew that, but what, it was not completely clear.
His relationship with his father was clearly not perfect, so could he really be his source in writing the book? And was it on purpose? Or was he unconsciously trying to gain his father's approval telling him about how good he did during that particularmission?
They couldn't know, and they couldn't ask, it would be useless if they couldn't trust his answer.

"Don't look at me like that, it was not that bad... They were the best people in the world." After those words came out of his mouth, they could only continue with what they were previously doing, thinking about the people they left alone while being deployed over there.

In that silence Jason's mind flew back home to Emma and Mickey. Hearing how much consideration Clay had for his grandparents made him glad his mother was home with his children, but at the other end, feeling how much resentment Clay had for his father, despite now being a seal himself, made him wonder if he could really be different from Ash, and if his children could really understand why he is pursuing this life.

... ... ...

Before midday came, Bravo team arrived back at the base camp, with the only hope they could finally catch their breath for a few moments before the next assignment, and started taking their armors off, but Blackburn's voice froze them in their positions.

"Sorry guys, your job is not over yet." The commander approached them. "Conflicts in the area are escalating fast and-"

"Yeah, Capitan Obvious, thank you so much," Sonny interrupted him, borderline disrespectful. "We were just out there!"

"And now you are about to take your asses back there and evacuate St Claire mission 40 miles from here." Blackburn made Sonny down a notch.

"Copy that, sir," Jason made his men a clear sign to gear back up and obey the orders without further discussions.

When they arrived at the humanitarian mission they found chaos, with black and white people running back and forth in any direction.
They jumped off their vehicles and headed to the principal tent, the bigger one right at the center of the camp.
They were told the mission was led by four American citizens, which they quickly found there, clearly preparing for an evacuation.
It was supposed to be an easy job, except that the missionaries didn't want to leave.

As the Bravo members entered the tent, they immediately identified two of the people they were supposed to escort to safety. They were the only white women in there, plus they were the once who were giving orders to everybody else.

"Who's in charge here?" Jason said, drawing their attention.

"What's going on? Who are you? Who sent you here?" A black American entered the tent, followed by a slightly younger blonde guy.

"Master chief Jason Hayes, U.S. navy seals," Jason tried to calm them down. "We are here to bring the four of you to safety."

"Oh, no! You don't understand!" the blonde guy objected. "You arrive here with your big planes, fully equipped, telling us to leave our home? To leave what we earned in the last two years? To go to safety, leaving the people who trust us here, defenseless? How can we do that?"

"We'll try to take who needs a hand with us and leave them in the shelters in the nearest town, that's all I can do for them." Jason tried to explain the leader of the small group.

"Well, that's not enough!" The red headed female stated, directing her green eyes directly to Jason, strong from her colleagues' approval.

"Believe me, I understand how much you care about these people, but my mission is to bring you home safe and sound."

"Your mission? And what about ours?" The lady kept arguing with him. "Who cares, right?"

"It's not what I'm saying miss," he tried to reply as politely as he could, but she went away from him.

"So what now?" Sonny asked. "We can't force them to come with us, can we?"

"They are only being stubborn, they will change their minds, just hope it will not be too late."

"They will not," Clay stepped in. "I grew up with people like this. They are fully committed to this life, this is everything for them. They would rather die than give up on these people."

"If that's what they want, they're gonna have it pretty soon." Sonny said, glancing out the tent.

There it was, the occasion Clay was waiting for to earn his teammates' trust again.
"Let me try," he said, and, as soon as Jason nodded to him, he reached for the woman in charge, who stopped her packing just to glower him with her glacial green eyes.

"You will not do good to anyone if you are dead, you do know that, right?"

"Don't waste your breath, I'm not going to abandon my people here."

"Look, I know how you feel-"

"Really? You think you do?" She interrupted him. "What's your name soldier?" She carefully inspected him with a long stare.

"Clay Spenser, miss."

"Abigail, but call me Abby," she stated, without watching him anymore and frantically continuing to settle some medical stuffs. "You say you do, but you clearly don't. You would not be here talking to me then!"

"Miss, would you stop please? Can you just listen to me for one second?"

"It's Abby! And you are the one who must listen, Clay!" She faced him, watching him directly in the eyes. "You and your team arrive here, do what you have to do, and then go back home while leaving innocent people to pay for your consequences. How can you possibly know how I feel?"

Clay pursed his lips while crossing his arms, his steely gaze locked on the woman in front of him.
"I know because I grew up in a place just like this. It was during a civil war, and sometimes life wasn't good or safe back there either. And every time something bad happened, my grandparents refused to leave. They just sent me visiting my mom in the States.
"I know, because whenever I got back to them, something was changed. The kids I used to go to school with were hurt or even worse, and some of the kids I used to play with were embracing guns instead of toys.
"And every single time I looked in the mirror, I felt guilty, 'cause I had the privilege to leave in those bad moments, while the kids I used to call my friends were dying."

Overhearing the conversation from the distance, Sonny looked up to Jason, his eyes asking his boss if he had any idea about all of that.

"And you are still trying to convince us to leave?" Abigail slightly shook her head.

"Yes! Because when my grandparents played stubborn to stay, it was a bad choice. I mean, as much as I respected that, if they were here now, I would be the first one to bring them home. And that's exactly what I am trying to do for you." He made sure she was looking at him in the eyes.
"You can do nothing against those rebels, they will not listen to your words. You can do nothing to protect these people right now. I tell you again: if you come to safety with us, you can come back later and help pick up the pieces, but if you get yourself killed, you will do no good to anyone."

She stared at him in silence.

"Look around you, your colleagues trust you, they will obey you. If you care about their lives, convince them to leave with us."

"Okay." Her eyes were wide as she stared up at him. "I'll try..."

"Thank you," Clay said, going back to the team to inform Jason on the new situation.

"Good job here." His boss nodded to him.

"Yeah, yeah, I have to admit that your charm never ceases to amaze," Sonny grinned.

"Let's go now, we have work to do!" Jason ordered.

... ... ...

Jason entered back in the tent where the missionaries were still frantically packing things and making sure everyone was present and ready to go.

"Okay, time's up, we have to move!" Jason rounded the people they had to evacuate, and took them up the hill, where two vans and a jeep were waiting for them.

"Wait, May is not here, we can't go without her!" Abigail exclaimed, searching carefully among the small crowd.

"Who's that now?" Jason asked.

"She's one of the orphans we take care of, she was here ten minutes ago... she must got scared and went to hide somewhere. I have to find her!"

"We can't wait anymore!" Jason grabbed her arm. "We have to take you with us."

"I am not going without her!" She quickly freed herself from him.

"And I am not going without you," the black American said, approaching her. "I'm coming with you."

"Alright, calm down here." Jason didn't let them move a single step. "You have both to get on the van, immediately." His tone was firm and direct.

"I said I'm not leaving!" Abigail's tone was even straighter than Jason's.

"I'll help her look," Clay intervened, still trying to prove something to his teammates.
"Only a couple minutes, Boss." He looked at Jason. "You can start taking the others to safety, we'll be right back, I've got her."

"Okay," Jason sighed. "Ray, Trent, you're with the kid. Take the second van."

They nodded.

"Sonny, Brock, we are with the first convoy, let's go."

"Thanks," Abigail said, immediately starting to look for the girl.

"Hey! You'd better reach us in one piece," Jason said pointedly to Clay right before he followed the lady.

"We'll help you!" Two local women stepped up, detaching from the group and trying to reach the two leaving figures.

"Wait, wait, wait." Jason put his body before them, stopping their running attempt. "You're not going after her."

"We are not all going to enter in those first two vehicles," the shirt haired black woman said, facing him straight. "We might as well to help!"

"They're right, Boss." Ray said, mentally counting the van's seats and the amount of people they had to rescue.
"We got them." He glanced at Trent, as to search for his approval.

"Alright, see you at the base," Jason said right before stepping on the jeep. "But be careful, understood?"

"Always." Ray nodded again, while keeping an eye on the two women which were now searching the surroundings.

"May!" Abigail's voice sounded through the desert camp. "May!" She frantically searched every tent and every little narrow angle where she thought a little girl could hide.

"Hey, she's not here, we have to go." Clay tried to take her back to the van.

"May!" Abigail ignored him, proceeding further in her search.

"Bravo Six, you're going too far." Ray's voice sounded from Clay's radio. "Come back, Kid. We're leaving. Now."

"Hey, you heard him." Clay put a hand on Abigail's shoulder, trying to make her desist. "I have to take you back."

"Not without May! Not a chance!" Abigail insisted, freeing herself from his touch.

"Stop!" Clay suddenly grabbed her tight and made her a sign to stay quiet.
"We have to go, now!" He whispered, spotting some militants heading toward them.

... ... ...

"What the hell is he waiting for?" Ray asked, walking back and forth from the van to the edge of the cliff. Something is not right, he should have never gone with her... Damn, what was he trying to proof?

"She's stubborn, we should not let her go in the first place," Trent said, preparing the van.

"May?" One of the woman's voice caught their attention. "You've been here the entire time?"

"That's her? That's the girl?" Ray immediately asked, as the woman made the girl come out of her shelter.

As she nodded, Ray took his radio. "Bravo Six, we have the girl. Come back, we have no time, the fighting is getting closer."

"Closer than you think Bravo Two." Clay's feeble voice come out from their radios.

Trent looked Ray then they both looked down toward Clay's position.

"I have eyes on-" the communication was fast interrupted by the start of a gunfight, and then a loud explosion made them all get duck on the ground.

"Clay!" Ray yelled while dust and send whipped up by the explosion was now covering his visual. "Damn it! Clay!"

"Come on, on the van, come on." Trent promptly made the three females get on the vehicle.

"Bravo Six do you copy?" Ray tried his radio. "Six, this is Two, what's your status?"

"Ray, we have to go," Trent insisted, as no response came from their radios. "We need to take them to safety."

"I am not leaving him behind!"

"We have no choice." Trent made him look toward the scared ladies. "There's no reason to lose five to save two. You know that. Clay knows that. We'll come back."

Ray looked at the three Africans, then back at the last known position of the kid. There were militants down there, already searching the mission's rests, and others were reaching them, ready to blow up everyone who got in their way.
As soon as the militants acknowledge their position they would be trapped there. Another minute waiting and they would be totally screwed.

"Damn it!" He muttered jumping in the van with the others. "Come on. Let's go," he reluctantly said.
But we'll be back, Clay. I promise, he looked back to him while Trent started the engine.
I'll come back for you, Kid, hold on! He repeated to himself as the van got further away from the fighting.

... ... ...


Author's Note: Finding the courage to post again after a period of feeling lost was not easy for me. Please be patient.
I am working really hard to make something good out of this, with setting details and peaking in the Team's minds and emotions.