AN: All recognizable characters are J.E., All others are mine. I am not making any money.

It's 0345. Thank goodness my team and I don't get hangovers easily, or we would be a mess. We are all sitting in my Navigator headed to the hangar to get on our plane and head to Columbia. Which, if I haven't said before, I hate Columbia. It's the most miserable place to be. But, I have job to do. So, I'll go in to this hellhole, do my job and get the hell out as quickly as possible. I'm also wondering if there are gonna be any injuries to the men we are gonna be rescuing. Since they are being held captive by a drug lord, I'm assuming there will be. But there is no way to know how bad the injuries are until we get in.

0400:

"Alright men, let's go over what we have and perfect our plan. I don't want to be in that hell hole any longer than necessary." They all nodded.

"So our Intel says they are being held captive by Marco Locano. He is a major drug smuggler and has been importing a lot of drugs into the states. He is not our primary concern but if we take him out that's all the better. There is another team of Rangers that will head our way as soon as we confirm that that is where the men are being held and that Locano is there. Remember; as much as we want rid the world of this ass wipe... that is secondary to getting the men out. We have been led to believe, by our informant, that Locano has holed up with the Rangers in the jungle. He has a few huts and a house there, but they are small. This is his way of hiding. Also, he is gonna be expecting someone to come for these men, I know how good we are but we are going to have to be extra careful in case he is expecting us. There is no reason any of us should get hurt on this mission. Once we arrive, we will be dropped about 7 miles where they are supposedly being held. We will then walk that 7 miles hopefully in one day if everything goes according to plan. Once we get deep enough into the jungle, we will start our surveillance. If our Intel is correct there will be a guard on each hut. There are 5 huts plus the house Locano is staying in. They have probably separated the men to try to turn them against each other and our country. So, we are going to have to neutralize guards and then get our men out. I will be getting in touch with our contact before we go in and that way they can get us out of this place as quickly as possible. Be prepared for anything. We have done this before. No sweat off our backs. Let's stay safe, come back alive and bring these men back alive. Any questions or concerns so far?"

They all shook their heads.

"Let's get some rest we still have about 5 hours until we reach our drop zone. Set your watches to be up in 4 hours so we can prepare ourselves for the drop."

"Alright Bomber, let's get this shit over with" Said Hal

After that everyone got comfortable to rest before our drop. Four hours later, the beeping of five watches had everyone starting to wake up. We knew in one hour we would be dropped into our own version of hell on earth for who knows how long. We were ready and we were smart. We had all notified our loved ones as soon as we got the call that we would be 'in the wind'. It makes things easier for them if they know you can't be in contact for a while. I always call my dad because if I speak to my mom before a mission she starts to hyperventilate and then dad has to handle her. So, now I just call my dad and he lets her know.

Once we get about 15 minutes from our drop, we all double check our weapons and packs to make sure we have everything necessary. We know we have a 7 mile trek before we can even start surveillance. Our time is up.

Once we all safely have our feet on the ground, we check out our surroundings. Nothing but Jungle as far we as can. So it's time to start our quiet trek through the jungle. We usually don't do the whole perfect silence thing, it doesn't work for my team. We do however speak very quietly and we all have communication units attached to us to speak to each other so we can be really quiet. We don't have to speak above a whisper and all of the team can hear. Seeing as how we are fifteen minutes into our walk I decide to break the silence, not surprising, it's always me.

"Hey guys, how much trouble do you think we can get in while here?"

"With you here trouble is sure to be here" Hal said with a laugh

"Yeah Bomber, trouble seems to know where you are at all times. Are you sure you don't carry it in your pack?" Said Toni

"Alright assholes, Just so you know every time I end up in trouble one of you are near, so I think you bring the trouble to me" I said laughing and they all started laughing. "So did my boys all enjoy their nights?"

"Yeah" they all replied at the same time

"So who thinks I should retire once we get out of this hellhole?" I ask, might as well get honest opinions right

"Steph, I think you should do what you want, but I am retiring after this one. I figure I will still do some missions but I want the option of which ones I go on and the team I work with. I am getting to old for all this shit and I keep thinking about maybe settling down. I have enough money to not have to work ever again and live very comfortably. Hell, all of us do" Said Slick

"I agree Bomber, you should do what makes you happy" Said Hal.

"Well Hell Bombshell, I don't have an opinion not yet at least" Toni replied.

"Steph, you know my opinion" Cal said.

"Alright so I don't know what I'm gonna do but what are my guys planning on doing after this mission?" I asked.

"I'm getting to where I only go on missions of my choosing" Said Cal.

The a chorus of "Same Here" from all but Toni who didn't respond.

We were all quiet after that all thinking. I wonder what I would do if I decided to retire. I'm still young enough to be able to work but I need exciting and fast paced and of course danger. Like what Cal and Hal do. But I'm not sure I want to be back in Trenton. I left to get away and I'm not sure if I want to go back. Maybe once we are back stateside I can see about applying for Rangeman. Of course, I will want either the Boston or Miami office, preferably Miami. Sun, sand, and beaches that seems like it would suit me well. Then there is Cal. I care for Cal. I would even go as far as saying I love Cal. I just don't know if it the forever kind of love. I know I miss him when he is home, but don't most people miss their best friends when they are apart? I think so, but then I get excited when I see him. Our team knows we sleep together but there is absolutely no PDA between us around the guys. I treat all my men the same, no matter what relationship we have. That's what makes such a good team we all treat everyone the same. No matter what, I think Toni does realize there is something between me and Cal, but Toni is around a lot since we are stationed at the same base and on the same Seals team. He hasn't said anything but the couple times Cal has come up to see us, Toni has made himself scarce for at least a day. When Cal comes he usually stays 2-3 days. We always spend at least one day just the two of us. I'm not sure I will ever want marriage or kids, but maybe a commitment would be nice. Plus, Cal gets me more than anyone else does. He knows I'm sarcastic more so than most. I have a temper; I'm not afraid to take a life nor am I afraid of death. You can't be afraid to kill people or be afraid to die when you do the job I do. It doesn't fit well. He also knows how to read me, which is a task since most of the time I keep a blank face. My team members do the same thing; it was part of our training, never show emotions. Cal can read my past my blank-face and I can do the same thing with him.

The one thing about missions like these, where we have spent an enormous amount of time walking, is it gives me plenty of time to think. I think about a lot of things. What I want in life, what I need in life, and how I plan to get them. After I have sorted through that, I think about my mission and get in my zone. So far, I'm still thinking about what I want and need in life. I really don't need anything in life, I figure I have plenty of money and I have fought for my country. That seems to take care of needs. Wants are another ball game completely. I'm not completely sure what I want but I do think it would be nice to get out of the navy full time, I'm not sure I'm ready to close this chapter completely. I also want to live somewhere sunny and warm and still live an exciting life, with me that should be easy. I think I want a commitment, preferably from Cal, and I think that's what he wants to. Guess we will have to talk about that when we get back stateside. So I have covered wants and needs time to get in the zone so I can carry out my mission. We've only got about one more mile before we get to where we can do surveillance.

We've made it to our surveillance point and there is only one guard per hut and four guards on Locano's house. Once night falls, Slick will get his night vision goggles on and go scope everything out and make sure this is where they are being held. Slick is good so I have no worries about his safety. If he confirms this is where they are, I will phone in through the satellite phone and they will get the other team sent in also. Two missions will be carried out at the same time, quicker and more efficient that way. The other team isn't far out once we get confirmation they will arrive within 12 hours. The sun is starting to set so we all decide it's time to get cozy. We set up guard duty so there is always a lookout. Our shifts are four hours. I take first shift, Cal takes second, Hal takes third, and Toni takes last. Slick will be doing his thing, we don't always know what that is.

Since everyone is starting to bed down and Slick is heading off to do his job, I'll inform you more on our plan. Once the other team arrives we will set our plans into action. My team and I will neutralize the hut guards while the Ranger's team will neutralize the home guards and then Locano. Once all guards are neutralized we will get the men out and start back towards our rendezvous point. Our rendezvous will take place 12 hours after neutralization begins. If everything goes as planned we should be en route to the states within 48 hours, but if I have learned anything in the military it's that usually don't go as planned. I can hope though, right.

My shift is going off without a hitch but it is easy to stay hidden in the jungle. I see Slick slowly approaching quietly as not to attract attention to our location.

"Got good news for me Slick?"

"Well depends. They are being held captive here, but they have all been beat pretty badly. It's gonna be rough getting them to point without attracting attention our way."

"How bad and what can you tell about how they were tortured? We need to go into this smart. I want us all home safe."

"I know Bomber, from what I can tell they were whipped repeatedly and beaten. I'm not sure if any of them will be able to walk. They were also stripped naked, so they have no clothes on. We need to get them clothed before we can start towards point."

"Well we have a pack of clothing that we can dress them in and let's just pray we can get them out of here. There will be ten of us so we should be able to get them to point. It may take longer than necessary, but we will do what we have to. Get some rest Slick, I've got to check on them. I'll wake up Cal since he's got next shift." Slick nodded and laid down. I made my call "Their here. Beaten badly. Get the other team here I want to move fast before it gets worse"

"Teams is on their way now should arrive within 12 hours." Responded the General.

"Thank you sir" We disconnected.

I slowly walked over to where Cal was resting and shook his shoulder softly.

"Cal get up it's your turn to guard."

He nodded and got up and took position. I laid down where he had been laying and slowly drifted into dreamless sleep, knowing it was gonna crazy in a short amount of time.