"Wade, come here a second. I want to talk to you about something," Ace called loudly from the other room.

Wade stepped down the creaking staircase, seeing the back of the gray-haired man sitting on the couch. Each step became slower as he neared the couch, a bit skeptical of what the usually quiet man had to say.

Ace patted the couch space beside him gently, inviting Wade to sit while his eyes remained fixed on the television. Wade sat down, but kept a safe distance between him, feeling a bit uneasy.

Ace turned his attention to Wade and placed his hand on his shoulder. "You've lived here a little over a year, and we've barely said three words to each other, but I feel like I should give you this piece of life advice. You should follow your father's footsteps and join the military. He was a good-"

At this point, Ace's voice became nothing more than a muffled sound in the back of Wade's mind, his thoughts louder than the old-timer's voice. "This could be the perfect chance to get a new start in life. I mean all I'm doing now is sitting around wasting away in this house with this old man that reeks of-" Wade sniffed in Ace's direction, "-mothballs and piss. No family or friends to leave here; nothing to lose." His decision was made.

"-Now you got to admit, those are some good benefits. Aren't they?" Ace anxiously waited to hear Wade's response.

Wade turned his attention toward Ace with a bright smile. "Where do I sign up?"


The drill sergeant marched in front of the line of still soldiers, pointing out even the smallest of flaws he could find on them. Wade looked down the line and silently chuckled at the sight of grown men following the commands of some guy yelling his brains out like a rooster at the sight of dawn.

After a year of seeing the same sight, he couldn't get over how pathetic they looked.

"Do you want to share what you find funny, Wilson?" The sergeant asked, stopping in front of Wade, eying the tackiness of his clothing from the untied laces of his boots to the wrinkles that covered his shirt.

"Actually, I do, sir. I think it's ridiculous how all you do is walk yelling like you got something shoved up your ass."

The drill sergeant, expecting this sort of response from Wade, had a response already planned. "Drop down and give me fifty, and that's just the start of what I'm about to put your ass through!"

Wade shoved both his hands into his pockets, feeling around briefly before turning them inside-out for the sergeant to see. "Sorry, I'm broke but I do have ten fingers; want a five?"

The drill sergeant stepped even closer to Wade and without a thought, yanked back a tight fist. "You better be glad it's against my rules to touch you or I would beat the living shit out of you right now, you wise ass," he said through clenched teeth.

The faint chuckles around them didn't help to calm the sergeant any.

Wade stood at attention, staring at him. He noticed the veins popping up on the man's sweat covered skin; the way his eyes wandered around, his rapid breathing. Wade knew he had brought out the worst in this man with his words.

The sergeant came to his senses. He took a few steps back and cleared his throat, gaining his composure. "I got something special planned for you, Wilson," he said lowly enough that only Wade could hear before continuing down the rest of the line.

Wade looked at the man with a raised brow, wondering what he could possibly have in store for him. He was sure it couldn't be any worse than anything he had experienced before, at least he hoped.

The Drill Sergeant dismissed the group to their daily routine when Wade noticed him shaking hands with one of the recruits before exiting out of the building. He knew what that handshake meant; it was one he had used a lot during a teen. It was the sign of a truce, usually with money passed between the hands.

Wade continued his normal activities, but kept a watchful eye for any suspicious activity from any of the other recruits. He hadn't made many friends nor did he feel like he could trust any of them. The word trust alone brought chills upon his skin.

After a long, hot day of the usual, mixed with the extra precaution Wade had taken, it was finally time to take a shower.

He rambled through his locker, grabbing his stuff up to prepare for what he felt was his three minute reward at the end of the day. He felt a sudden awareness causing him to glance over his shoulder. Instantly he noticed the peculiar stare he was receiving from the recruit who shook hands with the sergeant earlier, standing with some of his friends. Wade grabbed up the rest of his shower attire and closed the metal door before returning its lock.

He walked past the guys with his head dropped, ignoring them easily until one blocked the door to the showers.

Wade tossed his head to the side and slouched his shoulders. "It's been a long day. Do you really want to do this now?"

The boy nodded with a mischievous smile on his face.

With a long sigh Wade dropped everything he was holding and tossed his head from one side to the other, preparing for what he was about to be served.

"Who wants to go first? Don't worry, there's plenty of me to share."

The first sound of a footstep behind Wade's back alerted him to turn around, grabbing the volunteer by his left wrist then twisting him around to grab the other. He placed his knee in the center of the boy's back and forced him to the floor. Wade was glad this boy volunteered himself first since he was the one who the sergeant paid for the job.

"How much did he pay you for this?"

"Fuck you!" the boy screamed out the best he could with his right cheek pressed to the tile.

"Not enough," Wade blurted before shoving his knee deeper into the struggling boy's spine, pulling his arms back until he heard the pop that was music to his ears.

The rest of the boys in the locker room dropped their smiles at the unpleasant sight before their eyes.

As the drill sergeant came out from his eavesdropping he came to a sight he wasn't expecting to see..

"That crazy fuck broke my arms! I think my back too!" the motionless boy yelled immediately.

"This is why if you want something done right, you have to handle it yourself," he told the onlookers before taking off his hat and handing it to one of the boys.

He rolled up his sleeves and got into his fighting stance, moving in front of Wade. After a quick glance at his surroundings, he stepped closer to the lockers.

Wade laughed at the site of the older man bouncing around with his fists raised. As he saw the right side of the man's neck muscles tense he expected the next blow and was able to dodge to the right, sending the man's hand directly into the locker.

"Now, that has got to hurt. You may want to get it checked out," Wade said as he studied the indention the man's fist left.

"Don't you worry about my hand, just worry about what I'm about to deliver to your ass," the man strained out over the pain he was feeling. He took his uninjured hand and attempted to land a punch again. Once again, Wade dodged the hit and grabbed the back of the sergeant's head, slamming his face into the locker. The now unconscious man fell back on the floor, next to Wade's other victim.

He looked at them both and shook his head. "I will never find a guy who can go as long as me...What a shame."

Two of the higher ranking officers charged through the door, astounded by the sight.


The First Sergeant -who was speechless- studied who sat across from his desk. A boy with a full upper body cast, a sergeant with an ice pack to his bloody nose, and a smirking, untouched Wade Wilson; Not even a strand of hair was out of place.

"In all of my years, I have never seen such a thing," he managed to get out before looking at the three again.

"You two, get out. Wilson, you stay here," he ordered.

"But sir, this insane fool-"

"I said get out..."

The officer waited until the two managed to sluggishly make their way out of the room before he got Wade to lean a little closer.

"Now Wilson, I see what you do on the field. I notice how quick you make it through the hardest obstacles and don't even get me started on how good you are with a gun. I've been watching you from day one, but let's be honest, you can't work in a group to save your life. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I can tell you this isn't the place for you."

The man leaned back in the chair and shoved his hand into his right pocket, grumbling out of frustration more and more as he didn't find what he was looking for.

"Ah, here we go." He pulled out a small business card and handed it to Wade. "I highly suggest you give this a shot, you're a talented young man and I don't want to see those talents go to waste."

Wade looked at the blank card with nothing more than a sloppily written number on it. "What is this?"

"Oh, you will find out in time. My advice to you, get out of this fucked place and try out what's on that card. Trust me, you will enjoy it quite a bit. As far as this situation go, don't worry about it. We will take care of it. That sergeant and recruit always keep up a lot of shit but we can't prove it yet. I can't tell you how ecstatic I was to see them walk in here banged up like that. We'll patch them up and send them back out like normal. They can try to go to a higher authority, but let's just say this, I have more pull around here than they think, " he followed with an obnoxious laugh.

Wade laughed with him, but by this point, he didn't care what happened with his current problem. The curiosity of what this mysterious job was had overtaken him. He had got the most out of what this place had to offer. The temptation of a new excitement in his life was too overwhelming.

He took the man's advice and resigned immediately, taking the first bus out of there.