A/N: June 29th, 2011 - 3:11pm - Okay, I saw this movie recently and my muse got the better of me. I just had to write a story about it. This story is completely AU, so if you don't like, deal. I will use many references to the US Marine Corps, if there is something that is amiss, I would ask that you correct me. I have done research on it, but I'm not in the Corps, so I don't know everything.

WARNING: As with all if my stories, this is a long one. Deal.

This story is kinda of a reverse cross between the movie "The Shooter" and Four Brothers. I don't know. I just had a wacky idea.

Pairings: JackiexOCxBobby

Chapter 1: The Pathway Home

The Syrian Desert. The hottest place in Iraq and also the place that Gunnery Sergeant Geisha Mercer was stranded. The sun beat down on her as she continued to scale the 30 foot mesa. "I . . really . . hate . . the desert." She panted to no one in particular. Sweat trickled down her back and she was sure that she was getting a sunburn. Geisha and her scout sniper partner, green gunny Kaiden Alenko, were doing a recon assignment four klicks down the road when they suddenly came under attack by an Iraqi insurgent air-strike. They had to abandon their assignment when Kaiden had been injured by loose shrapnel.

"Ma'am, I don't think we're getting out of this one!" Kaiden shouted above the gunfire. They were taking refuge in an outcropping of rocks. Carefully, Geisha poked her head out the side and surveyed the battlefield.

"Be calm, Gunny! We'll get out of this yet!" Geisha yelled back. Squinting her eyes through the sun, she tried to gauge the enemies strength. She dodged in time to avoid the shrapnel of a thrown grenade. "Geez! I've never seen those weapons before! They have to be Iraqi insurgents." But something didn't make sense. There was a passing of armored vehicles. The band of enemy soldiers seemed like they were protecting it. But, why? She couldn't find out anymore before the ground exploded.

oOo

But now they were separated. A passing convoy had taken advantage of the situation and attacked her while she ran for cover. She had hid Kaiden in a bed of rocks and taken out most of the enemy; by the time she went back for him, he was gone. That was two days ago.

She was three feet from the top, but it seemed like miles.

Now she was stuck in the Iraqi wastelands and trying to get back to base. "Which happens to be ten million miles that way!" She pointed extravagantly, almost losing her grip on the cliff face. She's separated from her partner, who is probably injured badly, and she's behind enemy lines. "Except," She spoke aloud between breathes, "I'm not Owen Wilson . . . Whoa!" Her foot slipped as more of the rock face crumbled away. She was trying to get to high ground and thought that this ridge looked promising. Little did she know before she started her climb, that halfway up, the rock turned to sandstone which crumbled at the slightest ounce of pressure.

A deep bark sounded above her head. She looked up and saw a large golden retriever standing above her on the edge of the cliff. Apparently he was a stray who happened to have wandered from a neighboring village and was now her constant companion. She shook her head, "Cheater!" Rolling onto the cliff, she swung her rifle onto her stomach. "See . ." She panted, "I told you . . . you would cheat." The dog shook it's head in response. "Yeah, okay." It moved to sit next to her.

Sitting up, she scanned the landscape. There were mesas and mountains to the south and west. Other than that, nothing. "Flatter than Kansas. If that's possible."

"KAIDEN!" She yelled, listening to her voice echo off the rocks. Nothing. She looked down at her welcome companion, "Well, he's gone. But," she said proudly, "he's a marine; he can take care of himself. But he's green. I sure hope he's okay."

Hearing a rumbling in the distance, she cursed her inattention and dove behind a boulder. Fearing that her voice had brought enemy soldiers to her location, she prepped her rifle. Pulling out the magazine, she inspected to see the condition of her ammo. Sand does bad things to guns. Re-inserting the clip, she pulled back the bolt on her M40A3 sniper rifle and snaked her gun around the rock. Aiming toward the sound she heard, she later saw the convoy approaching.

"This rifle has a firing range of 800m. Heh! With my skill, I can extend that to 1500." However she wasn't trying to kill anyone just yet. She wanted to find out what all of the commotion was about.

TBC! Finished!

TBC means to be continued. Finished means that the chapter is "ready" for publishing.

June 29th, 2011 - 3:21pm - I time stamp my work to let you know the last time I work on something.

Reviews are love!

L8ters, Divatox240 (: