A/N: Thanks to my first Reviewer: Beawolf's Pen!
Beawolf: Yeah, I have these issues I think its called self-confidence, but hey its back and I'm going to finish it if it's the last thing I do. The first few chapters are dedicated to you and the rest of DAVID MASON's GIRL FOLLOWERS. XD
Oh where it goes… might end everything.
"Celerium"
Hkababo Razi Mountains, Myanmar
Jillian Hudson / Codename "Phoenix"
JSOC Counter Terrorist Force
April 20th, 2025
The rain beats through her curving across her chin and beading down across her arms. The cold echoes into her soul sending shivers of memories into her heart. The sky is as dark as night, filled to the brim with swollen clouds that arch overtop the expanding mountains. She peruses them as her body gives one final twitch, rebelling against the cold. Jill looks at Javier Salazar, her new partner, watching as he checks each suit again, threading his hands over them with careful consideration.
"It's Fuc…king…Free..zzing." She stutters as the rain permeates her shirt. Salazar does not acknowledge the young woman. He barely nods as he threads his dark eyebrows together mirroring a caterpillar in confusion.
"Hey you okay?" She persists as the man continues to stare at the four packs lined on the edge of the cliff. Jill forces herself from the tree she had been crouched under moving to kneel next to the South American man. She places a hand on his shoulder concern filling her soft features.
"Yeah." He mutters forcing a smile across his features. His response is dazed as if contemplating the world. His large brown eyes turn to saucers as he stares into her hazel ones. The echoing thunder draws there attention no less than two seconds later a clap of lighting barrels down to the ground, cycling in the maze of darkness as an emblem of destruction. The blue light stretches into a tree reminding her of home, of the tree house her father had built for her, it seemed as though that had been in another life. The storm was here and they were not going to avoid it like they had planned to do. Jill moved her hand as she walked over to the opposite ledge looking for signs of Section and Harper.
"Where the hell are they?" She asks aloud. "Mission go time was ten minutes ago and I know Section's he's never late." She forces a shaking finger to her comm, letting the sound of static fill her brain.
::"Section, Harper, you read?"
A few seconds of misery went by before a strained reply filled the duet's ears.
::"Loud and Clear, Phoenix." David calls back to her.
Jill exhales once as the slight panic that had been cultivating in her heart turns to fury. She would kill him.
::"We're almost there, Phoenix, don't worry so much your cream's in good hands." Harper interjected. He could be so unprofessional sometimes, but that's why they loved him and he always managed to get the job done.
Jill let out a chuckle, feeling the heat on her cheeks grow more intense.
::"Last jump." David says shrugging off Harper's comment.
Harper's head pops up like a whack-a-mole. Jill thrusts out her hand helping the burly man on to the cliff face. His face was red as a beet, probably from over-exertion.
"You look worn out." Jill tells him.
"You wish." He whispers back. Jill smiles at him.
"So how'd it go?" Salazar asked from behind them.
"Smooth like…butter." He looks at Jill, swinging Section with the rope onto the edge next to him.
A head of dark, wet brown hair lands a on the ledge. David Mason takes Salazar's hand as the redwood pulls the other onto the ledge. A clap of thunder roars as it signals the rival of its more vicious twin, lightning. Blue light twists down in a second striking a nearby tree, it splinters. The now separated trunk charging down the cliff towards the collection of Seals. Jillian narrowly dodges the hulking death ram as it swerves towards her. The self-created battering ram snags on the rope tethering Harper to Section, pulling them over the edge. The two men immediately react digging the souls of their boots into the mud pushing it over the edge. Salazar jumps into action, putting his 175lbs behind the rope, trying to secure his squad mates. Jill quickly recovers from her near death experience and pulls on Harper's end of the rope.
"Cut it!" Salazar bellows.
David fumbles for his knife almost losing it to the strength of his dancing partner's anger. The tree pulls harder as the end pulls against the 600lbs of weight trying to keep it from taking two men with it. David slices away the black fulcrum and the four Seals crash backwards into the mud. Seconds go by as they thank god that the rope didn't take them over the side. They each take a deep soothing breath in and out, trying to calm their thudding hearts.
"You okay?" Salazar finally asks, helping David to his feet.
David inhales once bending over to take in yet another breath. "Yeah we're okay…thanks to you."
Harper looks at Jillian who is still lying in the mud, her eyes closed. "Jill you ok?" He asks.
"Wonderful, but I'm going to lie here for a little longer." She says in a higher pitched voice than she usually has.
Harper pulls on her arm forcing her into a standing position. She groans as she notices a slight gash on her arm, a faint line of red cascading from it.
"Awesome." She mutters as she wipes the mud from her backside.
"Wide open." Harper starts as he walks over to the gear on the opposite side of the cliff. "Little more than a skeleton crew. Walk in the park baby." He continues finishing his wise crack. He forces his pack onto his shoulders and gears up.
"No seas idiots. Do not underestimate Raul Menendez."
"His followers sure did. And what does "Cords Die" mean exactly?" Jill asks a loud.
Harper answers her in a less than impressed voice. "Its Latin…"Heart Day", some shit like that."
Jill's jaw all but dropped. "Well, color me impressed Harper. I had no idea you were a learned man."
"I'm not a dumbass." He says shoving the horrible helmet over his hair.
"I never said you were, just Latin really?"
"There was a girl." He held up his hands as if trying to protest. "I couldn't help myself."
"Of course." Jill said. "Well, Heart day… it sounds noble." She says grabbing her own pack and forcing it onto her back.
"That's what Menendez wants his followers to believe. Trust me it isn't." David cut in with a less than thrilled tone.
"I gathered. I figured that was why we are here." Jill remarks as she uses her HUD to activate her squirrel suit.
"Jill you're up." Section says doing the same to his own suit. He places the helmet on and maneuvers into position, watching as Jill took a running leap from the cliff face, soaring across the sky in swift angelic movements.
David nods to Salazar, who follows Jill in suit. His muscular form losing distance to Jill's as she swerves past the cliffs with ease.
David turned to Harper. "You just let her go first to stare at her a—" He shouts as he launches himself off the edge. Section rolls his eyes at the enervating man and follows him, lunging off the cliff.
The rain begins to clear as they emerge into a clearing of mountains shrouded in fog from the morning hours. He catches sight of his squad acrobatically dodging the cliffs, banking left and right as they head towards the base.
::"Deploying chute." Jill shouts into her comm.
He sees Jill pull her chute the grey fabric blending in with the clouds.
::"Deploying chute." Salazar follows her lead pulling his own chute's strap less than ten seconds later. They descend together into a bed of tall grass.
::"Deploying chute." Harper leads Section to another clearing. Harper lands without any problems or faltering judgment. He turns to David watching him set himself down.
"Deploying chute." Section says. The wind catches the parachute delaying his decent.
You good?" Harper asks holding up his hand. He crouches down next to David perusing the man's features.
::"I'm good. Salazar, Phoenix, you got the left side?" Section asks into the comms.
Phoenix's voice answers him, her young vibrato echoing in their ears.
::"Covered. Ready on your go."
Section and Harper move through a ventilation shaft watching the enemy soldiers move in waves around the camp. The sound of engines starting reverberates through the almost silent air. The rain has all but stopped, it has faded from a torrential rainstorm into a slight drizzle making their job a lot easier. Harper stops momentarily beneath the shaft, radioing in.
::"Kraken, this is Harper. Come in. Enemies preparing to leave the location, advise." He whispers silently before continuing on.
: "We need firm Intel on their capabilities, you are cleared to engage." Admiral Briggs replies over the comms, almost immediately.
Section watches as a man all but becomes invisible, the only evidence of his location is the gentle flicker of his optical camouflage adjusting to the landscape. Hare watches as another one moves above them unaware of the two's presence just beneath his feet.
:: "Section, you seeing this?" Salazar inquires.
David pauses, readying an EMP grenade. "Yeah be ready to move on my kill an EMP will fry their cloaking system." Section moves silently as if her were a cheetah hunting an unsuspecting antelope. He tosses an EMP into a group of cloaked enemies watching as the blast sends out a shockwave of electricity. Harper and Salazar shoot them down quickly, causing more fighting to ensue.
Jillian launches another EMP into more cloaked targets. Salazar and herself take them down quickly. They watch as enemies rush into the elevator on the far side of the compound near where Section and Harper are.
"Enemies in the elevator!" Jill shouts over the gunfire, dodging out of cover in an instant. She tosses a Frag toward the enemies that have begun cycling out of the elevator, watching as they scramble into cover. She ducks behind a tree, avoiding even more gunfire. Jill readies her scope, managing to hit two enemies before they can reload. Sweat drips down her brow in quick movements; she wipes it away and inhales, readying herself again. She bounds out of cover and takes three more out as she advances to a crate in front of her.
: "Salazar care to take some of the heat off of me?" Jill asks into her comms.
:: "No problem." Jill cranes her neck over the boxes watching as Salazar takes out the last few enemies.
The four of them advance, swiftly moving through the now deserted section of the compound. A sound they immediately recognize as a drone has started to take off. The Drone sits atop a platform prepared to ascend.
"Dead ahead! Drone taking off!" Harper shouts, frantically. "Salazar, Take it out!"
"We don't want that bastard airborne." Section calls to the man as he withdraws his Titus-6, firing it and destroying the drone.
"Drone's down!" Salazar shouts in reply.
"Ok, lets get moving." Section begins as more enemies move into position. Trucks pour out of who knows where, filling the area with gunfire.
"Section, Hack the weapons on the grounded bird!" Jill shouts as she dives behind a collection of crates avoiding the small army's gunfire.
Harper does the same, moving into cover behind another collection of crates that are spread about the platform. "Give these bastards a taste of their own medicine."
Section pulls up his HUD, letting the small mechanical device work its magic in a matter of breathless moments. The mini-gun relinquishes control to the man, firing on the multiplying enemies.
"Come on man, push forward don't let 'me breathe they obviously don't want us to." Harper shouts as he takes out a few more of the Cubans before bullets begin flying once again next to him. Harper looks at Jill who is crouched next to Salazar firing nearly in sync with himself and the Nicaraguan.
"Moving in!" Salazar leaves his cover beside Jill, vaulting over the crates with ease for someone his size. He rams into the side of a shipping container, pressing against it for safety.
Harper shouts orders at Jill, who obediently follows them. "Move in! Clear 'em out!" He calls as he takes his own advice.
Jill, Salazar, and Harper take out at least a dozen more enemies before they realize the bastards are retreating. The quartet presses forward as if scripted to do so, their guns fire, not wishing the Cubans to have the advantage later on.
"They're falling back!" Salazar shouts. They press forward trying to make their way to their intended destination. Jill monitors the area taking point as they move forward. She moves the muzzle of her gun letting it sway from side to side as she patrols.
"Turret!" Jill screams as she catches the glimmer of something black and luminescent. Section reaches out for Jill pulling her into cover on top of him. He locks his eyes with her gazing into hers as the world stops, taking them far away from this war zone and into a bed of white sheets and warm sunrise, a place of memories, a place of hope and dreams and a place in which they wouldn't mind losing themselves in.
Jill rolls off of him as the world slowly reconnects around them, becoming a place where they fight for survival.
"Shit! Fucking turret's got the area locked down. EMP's will fry 'em." Harper tells Section, putting his face inches away from the now squatting Section.
Section pulls out on of his three remaining EMP's and peeks over the rocks that they had dived behind. He launches the grenade at the turret, listening to the electric crackle of an over-heating turret, a sound that allows him to exhale air he had not known he had been holding.
"You fried his ass, Section! Nice goin', man!" Harper pats David on the back, pulling himself out of cover and to the downed turret. He fires one shot shooting the engineer that had been standing next to the exploded turret. His legs had been blown off, a miserable end.
The area was still heavy with artillery, but they had expected this especially with such a prize waiting capture and interrogation. Jill and Harper took the left side as Section and Salazar cleared the left. The ascended staircases gave the wrong side the upper hand, but only for a moment. The four quickly annihilated any resistance on both sides of the map. A group headed towards the middle of the ruins, running and all but screaming for their pathetic, mass murdering lives. They ended up accidently triggering their own traps they had set for the group of Seals. They managed to make it through the maze of tunneling without a scratch.
Harper and Jill were the first to arrive, emerging through a network of vines. Jill pushed it aside, making her way to a large Mayan looking structure.
"No no, He was mine." Harper remarks as they emerge next to the temple gate. The large ancient looking entrance looming above the two.
"Keep dreaming. I had him." Jill told him rather in a tone of nonchalance.
"No you didn't I softened him up. I shot him in the arm."
"No you grazed his arm. You want to go back and look?" She asks as she turns and points back to the way they had just come from.
"No." He states unhappily.
Salazar and Section move into the clearing, staring at the large entryway, a clear façade for what is behind it.
Harper looks at Section refocusing his attention back to the task at hand. "There's gotta be more to this facility underground."
Section turns around moving toward one of the large structures that fill the stone graveyard.
::"Kraken." He begins into his comms. "This is Section. Surface installation is neutralized. Moving to investigate secondary structure." He finishes as he nods towards Jillian.
"Stand clear." She instructs as she withdraws Titus-6 and fires a missile into the large ancient structure. Rubble flies through the air, spiraling past the group.
"That has to be the sexiest thing I have ever seen." Harper jokes to Section as Jillian throws the Titus-6 on to the ground next to her. She rubs her hands on her pockets, a look of disgust stretching across her face.
"What the Hell were you eating when you used this?" Jill asks Harper. "Its sticky." She finishes.
"Wasn't me ask, Sal." He offers a grin in reply. Jill stares her patented you 'I'm going to kill you, later.' snarl.
A/N: So what do you think? First real chapter… not sure if I like all the wise-cracks, but I think it sums up Jill's relationship with Harper pretty well. He's sort of like the immature older brother.
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