Once the door sealed shut behind Reaper, the infirmary was once again silent. Though now Sam was not sure whether she preferred it as such. She stood over the creature, scalpel in one hand, penlight in the other. The creatures mouth was wide open as she examined its deep throat. Duke had moved off somewhere in the lab. Sam scrapped a sample from the throat. The saliva mixed with her perpetration within the glove caused her to lose her grasp on the penlight, sending it down deep into the creatures throat.

"Shit." Sam muttered. "Duke, hold this open."

Duke walked to her side and looked into the creatures throat.

"Don't be a wuss." Sam jeered.

Oh she'd done it now. She called him a wuss, he couldn't back out now. Duke lowered his weapon and took careful hold of the creatures jaws. Sam reached into its mouth, searching for the light. She leaned over, opening her shirt to Duke's line of sight. He tilt his head forward, trying to catch a peek, but Sam must've realized what he was doing and turned back toward him.

"Little tension between you and Reaper." Duke stated.

"We just went our separate ways." Sam said. She adjusted her arm in its mouth. "Why does a talented student throw it all away and join RRTS?" She grabbed the light and fished it from the creature's throat. She walked around the table to the other side and retrieved another pair of gloves.

"So what was he like?" Duke asked, following Sam to the tool table.

"Who John?" Sam asked.

Duke nodded. "Yeah."

"Empathetic, sensitive." Sam began.

Duke chuckled lightly. "Kinda hard for me to imagine Reaper as sensitive, especially the way he and Mira have gone at it with each other."

Sam leaned over the table. "Well I knew Reaper before 'Mira' and all the 'drop down and give me fifty woo ha' stuff."

"Oh yeah.' Duke smiled. He leaned in. "Well is hoo-aahh and uh...Mira came last."

"Hoo-aahh?" Sam asked smiling. She glanced from Duke for a second, pondering whether or not to ask her next question. "Do you mind if I ask you something, Duke?"

Duke shrugged. "Sure."

"John and Mira." Sam stated. "I...what-"

"They ain't sleeping together if that's what you're gettin' at." Duke asked.

"Not entirely." Sam replied with a smirk. "There's still something going on there."

Duke chuckled. "You noticed that huh?"

"Well I'm not an expert, but the death glares, Russian cussing, flipping the bird. Something went on between those two." Sam replied. "A little tension, maybe."

Duke nodded slowly. "You have no idea."

"What happened?"

Duke took a deep breath and glanced toward the door. He pulled his comm from his ear to keep the other team of hearing in. "Couple months back, we got sent out to Russia on a weapons smuggling. Damn place was what you'd picture hell on ice. We busted out of the compound and started for the rendezvous point. We got hit with an RPG, stranding half of us in the snow. Mira and Reaper are out in the hot zone trying to take cover. That winds going, snows clouding everything, but everyone could hear it."

"Hear what?"

"OSV-96, semi-auto sniper rifle." Duke answered. "Bastard takes one shot and puts it through Mira's chest."

Sam's eyes widened. She couldn't imagine taking a bullet to her body much less an armor-piercing bullet. At one point, Sam couldn't imagine seeing a body in that state, but after seeing Carmack and Goat, it was fairly easy to imagine Mira take one. It made her seem smaller. "Oh my god."

"Bullet's an armor piercing round. Enters through her back just above her heart. Tears through her vest likes it ain't even there. Mira goes down seconds later." Duke continued. "Reapers just a few feet from her and watches her take the shot. But now he's pinned down cause the bastards still shooting at him. Sarge orders him down, but Mira's bleedin' out in front of him. Fucker goes against Sarge's orders and get Mira out of the line of fire." Duke shook his head. "Never seen him move faster. Gets both of their asses into the truck. By now, Mira's already frozen and lost blood. Bullet snapped her rib through the back and punctured her lung. Damn girl was choking on her blood just trying to breathe. I'd never seen any of these guys so scared in my life, hell I've never been so scared in my life. Watchin' Mira choke on her own blood was something I don't ever wanna see again. And shit when she stopped breathing..." Duke trailed off and sighed heavily.

Sam suddenly wondered if she should've kept silent altogether.

Duke shook his head. "Well, if it hadn't been for Reaper, Mira wouldn't have made another five minutes. The second she stops breathin', he's going his medic shit to keep her alive. For two hours until the medevac arrived, he kept her alive. Never seen a partnership that close before.

Sam shook her head. "Then why all the tension?"

"Mira spent two weeks in the infirmary. A week in Russia just to recover from the surgery, and another back in the states. Course she never stuck around for her full time slot. Never does." Duke snorted. "She was doin' good too. Til Portman snapped her rib in training. Mira couldn't breathe again and had to be admitted into the infirmary again. Reaper signed her medical papers that day. Six month leave."

"She upset about medical leave?" Sam asked. She couldn't understand how someone would be mad about it. Sure she hated to take a day off when she was under the weather, but if it was a life or death injury, why risk it?

"You don't know Mira like we do." Duke replied. "Mira's like Reaper, she doesn't talk about her past at all. At least, not to me. Hell none of us knew she was married until she'd signed divorce papers. But I do know, that the girl lives and breathes the corps. It's her home. Hell on furlough. she's hanging with one of us. Signing her papers was like kicking her out."

"But if he hadn't signed them, then she could have easily been injured again on base or a mission." Sam replied. "John did his job."

"Exactly." Duke said. He folded his arms in front of him. "But there's two sides to Reapers decision, even if he ain't admitting it. One is to keep his partner alive, and the other is retribution."

"Why?"

"Cause that bullet was meant for John." Duke answered.

Sam was quiet. She knew her brother's job was always filled with life or death missions. but she'd never heard about them or how close to death he'd come. Hearing how Mira had taken an armor piercing round for her brother suddenly made everything clearer...and scarier."

"Anyway try explaining that to a short tempered Russian. You saw how harsh those two are with each other right now. It was a lot worse when Mira got her orders." He snorted. "Man, that was a bad day for everyone."

Sam arched her brow, waiting for Duke to continue.

"Sarge comes in a delivers the mail. Deliver's Mira's leave papers. Not even five minutes after she gets them, Portman's mouthing off to her. Mira sucker punches him and marches to the track. Now, we all try and talk to her, and she cussed us all out so fucking bad. Half in Russian, half in English. Shit, I heard stuff that made my ears bleed. Goat calms her down enough and brings her back. But it ain't enough. When Reaper talks to her alone, you could hear the encounter."

"What happened?"

Duke took a breath. "She hit him. Not one of her full contact right hooks she gives Portman, but her palm instead. Full on slaps the man, flat palm and all. And that was the last time those two said a word to each other until today."

Sam shook her head. "Crazy."

Duke nodded.

"So they've been like this since her papers arrived?"

"Yep. Sucks too."

"Tension in the barracks?"

"Yeah, but that ain't what mean." Duke said. "See, Reaper and Mira, they got a different relationship. Not a normal cover your partners ass thing like the rest of us. They look out for each other on and off base. Watchin' those two at each others throats is like watching your parents fight in front of you."

Sam was silent. She knew what Duke was getting at. "The way those two act, there has to be something more there. They looked...close."

Duke nodded. "They were. Her, Reaper, and Goat. We lost a buddy few months before Mira joined. Nearly killed Reaper. Mira somehow got him back and brought Goat along for the right. Once you get past the cold shoulder and the creepy glares, Mira's a hard person not to like. Especially when she puts Portman in his place."

Sam chuckled. "How close were? Mira and John?"

Duke cocked a brow.

"Hey, family inquiry." Sam replied. "Gotta know what my brothers been up to."

Duke chuckled. "I'm just messin' with ya. Like I said, they were sleepin' with each other. But damn, we had a pool goin' around taking bets on when they would. Goat let 'em in on the pool and those two royally played us all."

Sam laughed. She could see her brother messing with his unit.

"If I were you, though," Duke continued. "I'd push those two together. They're good for each other."

Sam arched a brow.

"Hear me out. Put aside the cussing, the fighting, and the temper. Mira is by far most bad ass mother fucker I've ever met. Yeah she holds things inside. Especially injuries. Reaper caught her in the showers after training with a dislocated shoulder and popped it before she could stop him. Girl had balls to try and keep that from him. She trains with Destroyer on her own free will, which to me seems like suicide. She's put up with Portman's shit after giving him numerous warnings and injuries. She works with Mac. She'll game with me. Hell, I've even seen her reading her Bible in Russian to Goat. This girl is all about the team and not about her."

"Besides the leave." Sam reminded.

"Yeah, besides the leave." Duke agreed. "But that's beside the point. My point is that Reaper gets through to her and Mmira does the same. Course, I ain't admitting that to either of them. I ain't suicidal."

Sam laughed. "Do you have a family, Duke?"

Duke paused. "I have Destroyer. We grew up together."

Sam nodded. "You know Duke, I bet secretly you have a big heart." She looked down at the creature. She pressed her scalpel into its flesh.

"Oh yeah?" Duke asked. He cocked and eyebrow. "Now that's not the only secret big thing I got."

Sam did all she could to keep from smiling. "Little rusty huh?"

Duke chuckled. "Oh lady, you have no idea. Right now, having sex with me is practically a civic duty."

Sam jerked the scalpel from its flesh, snapping the blade. She looked at her broken blade and sighed. "I need a power bone saw."

"A power bone saw? Girl I've been waitin' on you my whole life." Duke said.

Sam smirked. "There's one in the procedure room, down the corridor on the left. Through the nanowall."

Duke paused. "Through the nanowall?"

Sam nodded.

"Hey, alright. I got. For I got it, cause your pretty." Duke said.

"Cool." Sam smiled.

"I wouldn't do it for a dude." Duke mumbled.

"Off you go." Sam said. She looked back down at the creature.

Duke disappeared behind the nanowall.

next!