Hello from easyl0ve and le'ppo'ek!

We are collaborating for this fun tale, and we hope you enjoy what we put out.

easyl0ve: To explain, we are going to be switching off writing the chapters, and with that switch the point of view will change (it'll make sense I swear).

le'ppo'ek is the author of this first chapter, and mad props if I do say so myself. :)

ENJOY!

Chapter 1: Army of Two

They said she would be reliable, that she wouldn't run off on her own. But with my luck, they lied. She was neither of those. The second we had arrived to the first rendezvous she was gone from sight. I was stuck by myself. Because of her I would most likely die. In the Alps. In the snow. With an unmarked grave.

This job was supposed to be a quick in and out grab 'this' stuff and kill 'this' person type of deal. Easiest thing in the world. Or at least that was the plan before I saw the whole freaking army on the guy's doorstep. Falling back to the high ground, I climbed a tree and took a sniper's perch. It would be easy enough to take down the outer guards, but taking them out undetected? That was a whole other manner. Screwing the silencer on my M40A1, I scoped in on the first target. Deep breaths. Breathe in, breathe out, focus. It was all about consistency. It was all about muscle memory. It was all about doing what I'd done a hundred times before. Safety off, slight twitch of the trigger, and then a thud of a body hitting the ground. One down.

The men on the ground immediately noticed and started walking around the outer courtyard searching for me. All I could do was hope the trees gave me enough cover. Another one went down before I jumped from the tree and ran to a different location. That was procedure. Hit, hit, and run. Kill two and run so they can't pinpoint your location. I ran to the south side of the house, knowing the guards would soon realize where death was coming from. But just as I was turning around a corner, I heard a gunshot.

I stopped dead in my tracks, analyzing where the sound came from. Karma, or as they called her "Davis," was already inside. And she was well into shooting up the place too. I grabbed the key card from the dead guard as I passed him, knowing that right now, time was precious. This girl, from what they had told me, was a veteran. She was the top of the top, and I wanted to show her that I could work with the pros. I wanted to prove that I was just as good as she was.

Once inside the courtyard, I pulled out two pistols and an assault rifle from the bag that had hung around my shoulders. Should be more than enough to deal with whatever's beyond the second gate. I dropped my pack and ran, my long legs taking me up the wall and over, landing solidly on the other side. Hell waited on the other side.

It was times like this where I wanted to search for another job. The chaos. The speed at which my heart beat. My old desk job might have been better. But then I would remember how much I hated the normal life, and turned my head to the task at hand.

I didn't think in the moment, just shooting and reloading and ducking in and out of cover. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, giving me the reflexes I needed to keep going. Before long, I was joined by Davis, who had something big in her hand, the other hand holding onto a pistol. I pulled a smoke grenade from my vest. "Get down!" I yelled, before lobbing it over her head. She wasn't stupid enough to not listen, and she rolled into place next to me.

"Your name's Tee-a-gin, right?" she looked over at me, with a smirk on her face.

"Teagan. I'm guessing you got what we came here for?" I leaned out of cover for a second to gauge our chances.

"One part, still got the dude to take care of," she stuffed the item into a small satchel she was carrying. "Look up to your right, about 2:00. Guy on the machine gun. He's the mark. Can you take him out from here?" Her words were crisp, straight to the point.

"Well, my sniper is back at the front gate," I noticed her shaking her head as she reloaded her handgun. What? Did she expect me to lug that thing in here with all the enemy fire? I continued quickly shaking one of my pistols, "but a well placed shot with this should work. I'll need cover fire though. I say we take out some guys first, kill him, then make a run for it."

"As good a plan as any. Let's get to work." It was a simple task, now that there were two of us. Lean out of cover, shoot, lean back in. We were quiet as we killed, only speaking to let each other know how many were left. It was like we understood each other's thoughts.

We were perfect together.

Men were falling left and right, defenseless against our unstoppable barrage. Soon, only about ten remained. "Take our chances?"

"Shoot the guy and run. I'll cover you." I nodded to her and got ready, taking my facemask off and clipping it to my belt. I couldn't have my vision hindered. Not for this. I only got one shot. Davis signaled.

Three.

Two.

One.

Shot to the head and our machine gunner is down. Job complete. "Go!" I didn't think while I ran to the outer gate. I heard smoke grenades go off, and soon Davis was ahead of me. Just as I reached the gate, I turned my head to see if there were any men running after us.

That was a mistake.

I felt the bullet slice my skin before the pain came. The heat. I put my hand next to my temple, hot blood rushing out uncontrollably. It hadn't pierced my skull, but the length of the wound made me dizzy. Fuck me for not bringing that goddamn helmet. "Davis!" I yelled, knowing she probably wouldn't turn back. Not now. I stepped blindly in front of me, reaching out, knowing the gate was near, if I could just find the thing.

I took another step and was pulled to the side. "Shh. Don't breathe another word." I sat against the wall, opening my pack and handing the leftover ammo to the person next to me, not sure if it was Davis or one of the men trying to kill us. Time seemed to distort itself while I sat there, applying pressure to my wound with my hand. It seemed like hours until the gunshots finally stopped and the person beside me spoke again. "Let me see it." It was Davis? She...wasn't going to leave me? Our employers knew that us mercs were expendable, dime a dozen and selfish as they come. If one died on the job and the other partner/partners made it out, they would get the whole pot. Davis could leave me here and just take my money. That wouldn't have been unexpected.

But she didn't.

"Here," I felt something wrap around my head, covering the wound.

"Am I going to die?" I heard a laugh as she walked away through the snow. She was laughing at me? It was an honest question. We were miles away from the extraction point, and I know I wouldn't be able to make it there soon enough. I'd likely bleed out.

"If I didn't die, then you sure as hell won't." I could hardly make it out, but she stood and I could hear her radioing the extraction team. "Half hour? We'll be there. Have medical support standing by. Yeah, the girl got grazed by something."

"Did they change the location?"

"No."

I felt a hand pull me up from the snow, "I can't make it there in 30."

"I know." She put something over my shoulders, "I put your guns in the pack." Suddenly I was being lifted up, "You just hold on, this'll be a bumpy ride."