The attack
I make sure that the boat we took over here is well hidden, tucked in a small alcove behind some very large boulders. Carlos looks to me when I turn back, and I give him a nod, dropping into sniper mode. I ready my weapon of choice, and he readies his gun as well, checking to make sure it's loaded. He nods to me once it's done, and together we enter the jungle island before us.
I'm disguised as a pirate, my normal dark tank and pants replaced with camouflage pants, a couple belts, weapon holsters, a red skull shirt, and a bandanna. My dark hair is ruffled and messy, and I smell terrible, but I'll blend in. Carlos is just dressed as he always is, like me, but he is generally cleaner than he is right now.
We approach the camp, our target, and that's when I begin to really sneak forward. Carlos starts in surprise when I pull him down with me, and he realizes that I make no sound when I move through the thick brush. He copies me the best that he can, and he makes only a small amount of noise once he figures out the movement necessary. We circle the camp, heading for the rocks toward the back, that will provide shelter and hide us.
We reach the boulders without incident, and Carlos crouches next to me, leaning close to whisper, "What's the plan, chica?"
I indicate the main buildings that form the hub of the camp, and whisper back, "We need to destroy those buildings. I know that Pagan isn't in those, so they are safe to destroy. We get the guys into a panic, and that's when they are going to start shooting. That'll make it safe for me to start really taking them out."
I ready my bow with a special exploding arrow, and Carlos readies his gun as well.
"Carlos, I need you to be my backup. My weapon is silent, and I'm relying on that. I need you to keep an eye out for enemies from behind, and I need you to either silently take them out or tell me."
He nods, and turns to face backwards, his back against mine. He's on lookout, his gun held ready. I ready my bow again, and fire on the explosive barrel conveniently located near the center of the buildings. It explodes violently, aided by the bomb that had been on my arrow. Carlos jumps at the explosion, and looks over his shoulder briefly, eyes wide in surprise.
The camp is in utter chaos. Men are running everywhere, and a few are half dressed, having just tumbled out of bed from a nap. They are shouting desperately, trying to figure out where the shots came from, and they apparently think that Snow White is back. I laugh darkly, and I switch weapons, taking out guys with a silenced sniper rifle. With the range the weapon gives me, I'm able to take out guys on both sides of the camp, and they start shooting randomly, looking for the invaders.
I cheer internally, it's all going exactly to plan. What I wasn't expecting was Carlos's grunt of surprise, and a splattering of blood against my back as he silently kills a guy less than four feet from us. I jerk, as the warm fluid splats on my back, and he growls under his breath.
"You can use your gun now." I say to him, and resume taking out the multiples of pirates spewing out of the main camp we had just half blown up.
"Good. Here comes more. Duck." I crouch down, and keep shooting the guys now approaching our rock. I reach into my hip pouch and pull out a grenade, just as Carlos starts shooting down pirates behind us.
"Ready!" I shout, and throw the grenade towards the twenty or so guys that are approaching us. They shout and then the explosion happens, and they are no more. Carlos whoops, and resumes shooting the last few guys behind us.
I start taking out guys who are still approaching. "How many are there!?" I yell in exasperation, switching to my bow. I'm out of sniper rifle ammo.
"They clone!" he shouts back, helping me and watching our backs, taking out guys left and right with precise shooting. He's got a damn good aim. Remind me not to get on his bad side.
"Yeah, no fucking kidding!" I scream back, exploding a few more guys. As we take out more and more pirates, I realize that we may be in over our heads. I use my last arrow, and un-string my bow quickly, securing it back on my back via the holster I carry. I then charge down to the guys, and begin to take them out using hand to hand combat.
I break one man's sternum and crush his ribs, the other I wrap my legs around his neck and throw myself backward, breaking the pirate's neck and catching myself in a neat handstand. I realize that Carlos is taking out guys on the sidelines who have guns. He whoops when I demonstrate my hand to hand skills, effectively taking out guys almost faster than he was.
I stare as Gwen, my little fighter- jungle girl, is doing deadly acrobatics, strangling guys with her thighs while killing another with a stolen machete from an already dead guy. Remind me not to piss her off. She'll kill me. Over and over and over again. Times 7,000. On repeat. I take out the guys on the sidelines who are threatening to shoot her, and wince as I watch her fight. She's ruthless, and efficient, and so able to move that's it's almost entrancing. Whoever trained her knew what they were doing. Damn.
In time, the pirates are all lying dead, and Carlos and I lower our weapons. Or he does, and I stand there, panting and gasping for breath and wiping blood off my lip where I had been hit in the face.
"See anyone else?" I call up to Carlos. I'm still trying to catch my breath, as I haven't had to work that hard in a very long time.
"No." He calls back, scanning the area for any moving guys in red shirts. He jumps down from his vantage point after he's sure that all the pirates are dead and he runs to me, staying close enough that we brush at the hip as we move down the hill toward the camp.
As we approach the ruins of the once pirate infested camp, we discover that it's eerily still. But we had to find Pagan, and get the hell out of here. Carlos leans down and grabs a pouch of ammo, and reloads his gun as we walk. I find the one building where I knew they kept hostages, and I slowly enter, unsure of what we'll find. Carlos walks backward, watching my back. As soon as I enter, I'm relieved to know that I was right.
Pagan is sitting there, arms tied, legs tied, and mouth gagged, with the most relieved and grateful expression I've ever seen on someone's face.
"Pagan! You're okay!" I say, smiling, and I rush forward, going to untie him. I untie the gag first, and then start on his hands. Once the gross fabric that had been in his mouth is removed, he gags, and then sighs in relief, hanging his head. His forehead rests on my chest, and I can feel Carlos's jealousy from here. I ignore him and cut Pagan free, pulling the ropes away from his ankles and wrists. Once he is free and able to move, I help him up.
"Thank you… for coming for me. I don't even… I don't quite know what to say here." He says, looking at us, eyes displaying everything we need to know.
I pat his shoulder and say, "We know, Pagan. Now let's go, because I stink like bloody hell." Pagan wrinkles his nose comically, and says, jokingly, "Is that what that stench was?"
I shake my head, and turn to leave, and he follows us, moving quietly next to me. Dang was this man hard to track down sometimes. We'd had to storm three camps in order to find him. Geez.
_ Special Epilogue because no one reads these_
I shrink back against the wall, where Carlos has me pinned, his strong arms framing my head. We are outside on the porch, out of view of Pagan, in case if he woke up.
"Uhh… Carlos… what… what are you doing?" I ask, stammering because I'm so confused. I can feel the blush rising in my cheeks. Not cool, face. Not cool.
He glares at me, and I shrink back, expecting to be hit. I close my eyes, trying to brace myself. He'd been acting funny ever since we rescued Pagan, and hadn't said much at all. Pagan was now sleeping peacefully on the couch.
Instead, I hear him pull down his bandanna, and his lips brush mine. I freeze, eyes flying open. His lips are warm, and slightly chapped, but definitely a man's lips. He hasn't moved either, probably wondering if I'm going to respond or not. I close my eyes and tilt my head, kissing him back.
I feel his whole body relax, and his arms come down to hold my back, one hand sliding up to tangle in my clean and slightly damp hair. His lips part against mine, and I open my mouth. His tongue comes out to flicker against mine, and I swirl my tongue along his. He groans when I do so, but jerks when I wrap my arms around his back and chest, pulling him to me.
I can feel the hard planes of his torso against me, and he is so warm. He pulls away for air and looks at me, his eyes gleaming with self-satisfaction and something warm, softer.
"That's what I was doing." He says, the smugness evident in his voice. Men. Geez.
"You idiot. You should've done that sooner." I say, drawing him closer and kissing him again. I can feel his smile into the kiss.
END