Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize from the Stephanie Plum books belong to Janet Evanovich. The Inferna Angelus' on the other hand are solely mine as is the tiny terror tiger that rules them.

A/N: After all that dark stuff it's time for a certain tiger to have some fun with the Merry Men ... and then there's Bobby (sigh) isn't he the greatest?

Chapter 14 – About Fears And Tasty Offers

When the first Rangemen entered the gym the next morning at 0515 hours the Inferna Angelus were already scattered over the room, working on different exercise machines. Vince and Manny jumped on the treadmills next to Terror and Rage who were running at a fast pace while continuously laughing and chatting in ASL. Seeing her laugh put a smile on the men's faces – there was no sound to be heard but the joy was pulsing of her that you couldn't help but smile. When she pulled off her sweaty tank while running, there was a deafening bang and crash next her. Of course she didn't hear it but when Rage's eyes widened and he push the emergency stop on his treadmill, she followed suit. There on the floor to her left were laying Vince and Manny, their expression dazed as they stared at her. Looking around she saw the other men bend over roaring with laughter and slowly she understood what had just happened. With a wide smile she offered the guys her hand and helped them up. When Manny was finally back on his feet she kept his hand, turned it over and wrote with her index finger on his palm Are you hurt?

"Just my pride. It's ok." He shrugged while he held his right arm. Apparently it had absorbed the brunt of his fall.

Gently she took the arm and first kissed his wrist and then his elbow. Her ears may not be able to hear the catcalls and whistles that were coming from the surrounding guys but she felt their envy and longing to swap places. On the outside they pretended they didn't care about intimacy to protect themselves, but on the inside they had yearnings and longings like every other human, too. After all she was living with six such specimens and knew exactly how much they enjoyed their shared moments and how much they missed them when she was away. Turning to Vince she took his hand and wrote What about you? Are you hurt?

Of course he nodded and pointed at the hand she still held in hers. Terror smiled, raised his hand and pressed a gentle kiss on his palm. Anywhere else? Manny nodded again and with a whimsical grin pointed at his lips. The surrounding men were howling with laughter, she saw them from the corner of her eyes. With a grin she turned to Rage and signed "tell him to hold still," then turned back to Vince. He was bare-chested so she put her hand on the nape of his neck to pull him down some, then ever so slowly she rose up on her tiptoes. When their lips were merely an inch apart she stopped. She could feel the tension in him building, the longing to be kissed. After a moment she took a deep breath and closed the remaining inch. The instant their lips met and the men around them held their breath, she blew a vibrating raspberry kiss on his mouth. He startled with widened eyes but before he could react any further she gave him a little peck on his lips and soundlessly joined in the laughter around her.

"Dude," Rage clapped Vince on the shoulder, "you just got your first original Terror-zurp. You can feel honored, man."

"Does she do that regularly?"

"Yep, if you banter her for it – ask Agony and Rev."

Vince smiled. Damn, that woman had style. A kiss was what he had expected, what any bar chick would have given him, but getting a raspberry blown – he watched her stretching. That was one sexy body but the scars were unsettling him. What hell had she been through to be so scarred? Anyway, she seemed to be fun and he couldn't wait to spend more time with her. When he and the guys had started betting who would get to date her first, nobody knew anything about her. Now, after the few days the IA had been here, it became more and more obvious that she wasn't some chick you fooled around with. She had skills, humor, backbone and had just proofed she had style. She was a woman you brought home to your parents and damn if he wasn't ready to settle down.

Two and a half hours later the Rangemen on deck plus the mission team were waiting in the jam-packed conference room on five for the daily morning meeting.

"Damn. Did you see the video feet of Terror sparring?"

"Yeah man. That Agony and Revenge must be fucking dolls to drop like that."

"You're babbling such shit, Junior." Binkie said annoyed. "I was there and the two of them are anything but dolls. But that Terror – fuck – she was like a steam hammer. I've never seen anyone fight like that. A hundred that she can bring every single one of us down."

"I'm in man. She was fucking hot, especially after she lost that tank."

"Yeah, she was so hot that it catapulted Vince and Manny off their treadmills." Sad laughed. "You recovered Vince or do you need another smoochy?"

Vince made a kissy face in his direction. "You're just jealous Sad 'cuz I can still feel her hot lips on me."

"Fuck. Seeing her just in Gi-bottoms and bra made me so fucking hard it was painful."

"Did you see all those scars on her front and back? The words – that were brandings. What kind of pervert would do that to a woman."

"Yeah, I hear you; especially those kinda words."

"Perhaps she was captured. As the tracker of the group she's probably on her own a lot."

"Guess that's why Agony and Revenge are chained to her."

"I'd let myself be chained to her any day of the week. Those tits and ass – yowza – I think I'll treat me to a taste of them."

"Stop that shit, Junior. Fuck man, what's wrong with you? You heard what the Boss said. She's to be treated with respect otherwise he will sit back and watch Rodríguez reduce you to powder."

"After seeing her this morning, I'm sure she can ram him into the ground all by herself."

"Talk for yourself, pussy." Junior came back. "A real man won't even notice her Barbie doll blows. After all, she can't risk breaking a finger nail."

"What do you think about the way they were interacting at the meeting the day before?" Harvey asked. He was new at Rangeman Boston, fresh out of the Army and still had trouble to adjust to the life as civillian.

"Dunno," came from Ace. "How can they respect a commander that is so lax around them? I mean - ok - sometimes I think the boss has some anal tendencies but he scares the shit outta me and I would never question or otherwise disrespect him."

At that moment Ram came through the door into the packed room. "Why do you think you have to fear someone to respect him as commander?" He asked while he worked his way through the men to his reserved seat. Ram was well respected by the men of each branch; many of them had been trained by him at one point and frequently asked him for advice. It was also well known that he was one of the employees of the first hour and a highly demanded sniper with the same rank and clearance level as the core team.

"Come on, Ram. Would you follow commands from someone who is joking around with you?"

"Sure. Whether I respect someone and follow him blindly has nothing to do with his ability to make me fear the consequences if not. It has all to do with whether I trust him to make the right decision in a split second that saves my life." Ram stated calmly. "I trust Ranger to do that so I follow his command blindly and I trust Pain to do that 'cause if he couldn't his team wouldn't be so successful. Besides each one of the Inferna Angelus has leader qualities himself – they don't need a strict command to keep in line."

"How comes you know so much about them?" Harvey asked.

"They saved my ass – twice."

"Was the woman with them?" Sad asked eagerly.

"The second time, yes. Led us through a labyrinth of hostile troops without ever making contact. She's another one I'd follow blindly anytime of the day."

"How the fuck is she doing it what with being deaf and mute? She can neither hear nor communicate for heaven's sake."

Ram didn't answer, he couldn't. Back then he was in no condition to follow the team's interaction, his memories fuzzy. But what he could remember was Terror's tender care when she caressed his face and held his hand while Furor or V cleaned his wounds and changed their dressing. When she had guard duty at their camp and he awoke from a febrile nightmare she was there, sitting next to him, brushing his sweaty hair out of his face. She was always there, smiling at him, and every time he was flooded with a sensation of peace and confidence. He fell in love with her back then but that wasn't something he would share with anybody. Perhaps she would give him the chance to take her out for dinner. He didn't care that she couldn't talk or hear him; they would find a way. Coming back to the present he heard Ice speaking.

"I heard it was her who calmed Rodríguez down after he attacked Bobby. One of the waitresses said he was totally out of control. Ripped the basins from the walls and stood there amidst the water that was shooting out of the pipes in the wall. They had everything on video feed."

"Fucking Rodríguez. Before long he will kill one of us. Curious how Ranger will excuse that one." Junior mumbled.

Ram leveled a glare at him. What he wouldn't give to knock some sense into this idiot but everything around Rodríguez's Muerte persona was top secret. "Junior, over the past week I've heard repeatedly how you made demeaning comments about Rodríguez. If you don't stop that you get tossed out of the mission team."

"And why is that?" Junior challenged.

"Because I outrank you and I won't accept that kind of disrespect. I don't know what your problem is but I've known Rodríguez for a long time. He has served this country for many, many years. Take a seat, Zero, and shut the fuck up. If you can't do that, then leave the room and don't come back."

When the door opened, every head turned to see Bobby and Rodríguez enter. With that the relaxed atmosphere was gone and the men waited silently for the core team to arrive. "The two of you ok?" Ram asked silently when Bobby took his seat next to him. Bobby looked at him and with a small smile nodded yes. Rubén had already talked to Jack who advised to go to Cedar Creed and offered to come with him. After the meeting he would call Dr. Thompson and ask for his opinion but right now everything indicated residential treatment at Cedar Creek. He would love to go with him, to support him; especially now that they were getting closer with every passing day. But that was Rubén's call. If he wanted to go alone to proof himself, he would respect that and stay back. Besides he belonged to the mission team and his medic skills and expertise were probably needed. He needed to talk to Ranger and Pain about that before he asked Rubén whether he wanted him to come with him.

The meeting flowed smoothly. They went over the alarms of the last 24 hours, the day's installations and check-ups were reviewed and lastly the planned takedowns discussed. Ranger was about to finish when there was a knock at the door and Terror entered, along with Furor, Rage, Vengeance, Agony and Revenge. "Gentlemen" Terror signed as Rev took a position across from her while translating her greeting. She had brought a small stool on which she climbed to come at least on eye level with most of the men. The moment she turned her front to her audience there were loud catcalls and mews. Her still damp hair was braided to pigtails and she wore fresh black gi-bottoms and a tight fitted pink spaghetti top. On the front of the top were in black the outlines of a naked busty upper body, perfectly fitted to her own curves and across the breasts stood 'Wanna taste?..."

"Hot damn, yes Beautiful," Lester called while he ogled the curvaceous outlines across from him. T lifted her index finger at him before she turned and showed the men her backside. There with pouty lips at the end was printed "…then catch me if you can". The men burst out in laughter and Lester became a wicked gleam in his eyes. Waggling his eyebrows at her he called across the table "I take that as a challenge, Beautiful". She was glad she knew him or otherwise his predatory look would have scared her.

"Enough!" Ranger barked, working hard not to smile himself. "As announced earlier the mission team has its first physical evaluation today and Terror is your drill master, jury and judge. T, they are all yours." He said, turning to Terror so she could read his lips. "Please keep them alive enough for monitor duty." The surrounding men paled a little at that.

"Ok guys." Terror's hands started to move and Rev's deep melodious voice sounded through the room. "We'll proceed as follows: You'll be divided in four teams. Lester, Ram, Vince, Ice and Scar – Team Blue. Bobby, Zip, Binkie, Willow and Bull – Team Red. Woody, Zero, Snake, Ace and Harvey – Team Green. Cal, Junior, Sad, Knock and Scotch – Team Yellow. Rage, Agony, Rev and I will divide on the four teams to record your performance; Furor and V will regularly supervise your physical health. We start with a four mile run. Each team will have pulse, heart rate and oxygen level checked before they leave and when they get back. The Teams will start with 15 minutes delay and I want the four miles finished in twenty minutes or less. After that you'll hit the gym. Push-ups: at least 100 reps in two minutes then two minutes recovery. Sit-ups: again at least 100 reps in two minutes; two minutes recovery. Pull-ups: two sets à 25 reps, no time limit, between the two sets you'll either do a slow jog or brisk walk – max two minutes. After each team finished I'll do an intense stretching session with them to check your flexibility. After lunch we'll move to the track on the compound for the LSD and CHI testing. The LSD – Long Slow Distance will be maximum distance in 60 minutes at a comfortable pace. That means I want you to talk comfortably in short sentences or phrases, drawing breath between phrases. If you can't speak, you are working too hard, and if you can speak continually, you are not working hard enough. The CHI – Continuous High Intensity will be three reps of fifteen minutes at 90-95% with ten minutes recovery time in between. While recovering, keep moving at low intensity, either at a slow jog or brisk walk. Do not come to a complete stop. Furor and V will check your pulse, heart ratio and oxygen level before and after each test respectively repetition. And if that wasn't enough to wear you down we'll end this beautiful day with the Illinois Agility Test where I'd be impressed with a start-finish in 15.2 seconds or less." Terror smiled after she finished.

The Rangemen stared at her in total silence not sure whether they had heard her right.

She rose an eyebrow, still smiling, and then held up a clipboard. "We," she motioned to her team, "do these things regularly. On this clipboard are my last personal test results from a month before we came here. The person who is closest to my results or even better will get the chance for a little taste of either me or V – whomever he prefers." She added with a wink. That broke the silence with enthusiastic exclamations until a loud whistle broke them out of their daydreaming.

"I'm not finished. Tomorrow we'll do a 16 mile hike in full gear with 60 lbs packs, ending at the trainings compound. The teams will start with 30 minutes delay. At the compound you will directly enter the shooting tests at the Tactical Firearms Training Center. First on ground level with moved objects, then with a small sniper rifle on the top of one of the buildings again with moved objects. After that you'll change to the shooter alley with fixed targets at 100 yards, 500 yards, 1000 yards and 2000 yards – fifty reps at each distance. The aim is accuracy. The third day we will create a demanding hostage situation and the teams's assignment will be to get in, free the hostages and get out with minimal to no casualties on both sides. You will be judged from the moment you get knowledge of the individual situation. Aim is to assess your abilities under high stress regarding teamwork, command and subordination, adaption at hostile situations and small unit tactics. After that we'll go back here for some sparing time. We'll want to see you spare with each other as well as with us. On the morning of the fourth day there'll be the big kick or kiss. Any questions?"

"At the beginning you said that you'll be accompanying one of the teams. Does that mean you'll carry a 60 lbs pack, too?" Lester asked challenging with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Of course, Les. Or do you offer to carry mine?"

His face fell for a second in astonishment. "That's 60% of your body weight; you are fucking crazy, you know that Beautiful?" A kissy face was all he got as response. "Meeting in the lobby in 30 minutes," Terror signed with a smile before she hopped down her stool and she and her team left the room.

The morning went by quickly and soon it was time for the lunch-break. Everybody had done well though Terror could tell differences in the amount of strain it cost the men to achieve the set goals, especially at the second set of pull-ups. To keep up moral, she had voluntarily took part in all exercises which just increased the respect the men felt for her. Giving everyone a two hour break to rest, she made her way to the conference room on five to meet with Furor, Rage, V, Agony and Rev.

"Hey," she signed grinning. "does anyone of you have a set of spare-arms? These ain't do it anymore," she dangled her arms. "Guess, I shouldn't have rumbled with you earlier."

"Aaaaw… does tiny terror tiger ail?" Rev said with mock sympathy.

"Tiny terror tiger?" Furor frowned.

"Yeah man. That's what Muerte called her when we found him at Cape May. Damn, I thought T would strangle him when he didn't stop baiting her."

"Hehe, tiny terror tiger, Pain will love that."

"So what's the verdict, Angel?"

"They are good. We won't have to start as low as I feared. From what I saw so far I'd say the Miami and Boston guys are the weakest link. Since Ranger is mostly here in Trenton they probably are a little lax when it comes to their training. I'd say we put them on a general endurance, calisthenics and strength training to get them on par with the rest. Here from Trenton I'd put Bobby, Cal, Zip, Snake, Sad and Ice on training schedules specific to their individual needs. They are already in good shape but lack in minor areas. Any objection, amendments, remarks?

"No boss, we're fine with that."

"Ok, then I'll go down to three and check on Rubén."

"Why are you suddenly calling him Rubén? He'd always been Rodríguez for you."

"Because of something he said yesterday. Remember, he said he doesn't know who he is anymore, that he tried to be Rodríguez as he was before the captivity but it didn't work. Perhaps going by his forename will help him to stop trying to be someone of his past and help him to find his new role in life," she shrugged.

"Good thought," Furor said. "You like him a lot, don't you?"

"Yeah. All those feelings that are coursing through him, I know them all. It feels good to be able to help him. I told him what you did for me when I tried to commit suicide and that I'd do the same for him now. He was floored and felt a little uncomfortable but it was the turning point; to know that I'm at his side and understand him gave him the courage and strength to come out and ask for help."

"He's one lucky guy to have you," Furor whispered in her ear as he hugged her close.

"Hey," she signed smiling when Bobby opened the door. Then she continued with slow motions so he would have a chance to follow her signed words. "I wanted to check on Rubén. Is he ok?"

"Yeah, scares the shit outta me with his new attitude," he smiled. "Come in. He'll be happy to see you."

When T entered the living room a smile spread across Rodríguez's face. He stood up and in a second was in front of her and drew her in a hug. Hey little one, he thought. Hey big one, she pushed her answer into his mind and just like that a feeling of ease flooded over him. He wouldn't ask again how she was doing it because she obviously wasn't ready to talk about it but this little girl, or better woman, truly was magic.

"Are you hungry? Bobby and I have cooked a little something; wanted to surprise you."

T's eyebrows nearly vanished in her hairline. "You cooked? For me?"

"Sure. Somehow we had to thank you for what you did for Rubén yesterday. It's the first time since almost two years that we cooked something together." Bobby's smile could have lit the whole room; his relief and joy written all over his face. Terror stood there frozen. Thoughts born out of fear were racing through her mind, building up steam, heading to a full blown panic. They cooked for me? What does that mean? What do they want from me? Do I have to reciprocate for that? How? I thought they were gay, why are they interested in me? What if I accept the invitation and they decide they want to have sex with me? I can't do that. I can't. I thought everything was clear; we were friends. Why are they doing that to me?

"Hey little one, you ok?"

When she didn't react, Rodríguez got worried. "You don't have to eat if you don't want to; we won't be hurt. It was just an idea, a little thank you."

"I'm sorry," was all Terror could sign before tears of despair started to fall. Before Bobby or Rodríguez could say anything she turned on her heel and darted out of the apartment.

"Did I say anything wrong?" Rodríguez frowned confused. "I thought it would be a nice surprise."

"Who knows what this offer triggered in her." Bobby said with an equal frown. "You know best what impact the past can have on your daily life."

"I'm worried, Bobby. She was tortured and raped. Some pervert branded the words whore, bastard and traitor into her skin. I want to make it all better but I have no fucking clue how."

"Hey, stop worrying." Bobby put his hand around Rodríguez neck, squeezed and shook it gently. "She is the reason you are alive and kicking and on your way to a bright future. For me that makes her forever an essential part of both our lives. We will find out who did this to her and if he hasn't paid so far, Ranger, Tank, Les and I will make him pay. And then we'll take that little tiger home with us and heal her wounds."

"I like the sound of that. She's doing so much for me; I need to help her somehow."

Bobby smiled and leaned in to kiss him just when there was a knock at the door. When he opened it, Terror was standing there with Pain right behind her; one of his pan-like hands on her shoulder giving her what seemed like a reassuring squeeze.

"Sorry that I just run away. I'm no good at dealing with touchy-feely things, even more so when they come out of the blue. Guess I panicked a tiny wee bit." she signed, looking lost, all her serenity and aplomb gone.

Bobby looked at her for a moment before he smiled gently. "We have jasmine rice and breast of turkey with a sweet'n sour orange-peach sauce. Want to come in and taste a bite?"

When she nodded, Pain gave her a kiss on her temple and a little push in Bobby's direction. "Enjoy your meal, Angel." He winked and turned to go back to seven.

"Look what was delivered to our door," Bobby said all smiles as he brought Terror into the apartment.

Rodríguez's eyes lit up. "Hey little one, why did you just run away?"

"Doesn't matter," Bobby interrupted. Whatever the reason for T's minor panic attack was, he didn't want her to go back there. "The only thing that counts is she's here now. So how about some lunch? I need nutrition; had one hell of a morning. Some slave driver nearly killed me."

"Really?" Terror signed with a grin. "What did that awful person do to you?"

"Physical screening test, can you believe it? You would think as a core team member and regularly contracted top notch combat medic I would be above that test but nooooo … that annoying person made me run and do push-ups, sit-ups and pull-ups like a lunatic." The whole time while he was talking he was stepping closer and closer until he bend and stood nose to nose with her with an impish gleam in his eyes. "And you wanna know what the doozy was?"

Terror grinned and nodded.

"When I was about to fall straight on my ass 'cause my arms were like jello and I thought I couldn't do one more pull-up for the life of me, she led me hang there and vanished. Do you hear me? She v-a-n-i-s-h-e-d; didn't return for h-o-u-r-s. And when she finally came back, she was wearing a button up shirt and baited me she would open one button for each further pull-up; not just a slave driver but a tease, too." And with that he gripped her, hauled her over his shoulder and laughing started to smack her ass. He knew how to deal with lost souls, how to get them out of the labyrinth of their thoughts and every time he managed to do it he felt on top of the world. Now it seemed he had two of those souls to take care of and it made him happy.

Five minutes before the appointed meeting time for their afternoon exercise, Terror barreled through the door to her apartment, running smack into Rage, recoiling from him against V, pulling her shirt of while stumbling out of her gi-bottoms and vanished into the bedroom. The assembled men looked at each other with raised eyebrows. "Guess she had fun," Agony said as he held up her shirt. On the front were various stains in yellow, blue, red, green and something resembling chocolate. Two minutes later T rushed out of the bedroom in fresh clothes and tried to fly past her team. With a well-practiced grip Pain picked her up airborne and pulled her back flush to his chest.

Not so fast Angel. Tell good ol' Pain why his little princess is glowing with happy, Pain thought.

Rainbow jello with chocolate sauce, she thought back.

Rainbow jello with chocolate sauce … that, of course, explains everything. She felt him shaking with laughter behind her. So, what do you think? Was I right that it was worth going back and jumping into the cold water?

Yes, Dad.

Good girl, he thought and pressed a peck on her neck between her pigtails. You know we love to have you around us all the time and we miss you like hell when you are away but perhaps it's time for you to fledge and cut the cord from us.

He felt her shiver in his arms. She had come so far since Grief, Furor and he brought her home with them eight years ago but interpersonal relationships still scared her. When Grief died, he promised him to take care of her; to make sure she would one day be able to build a relationship with someone but time was slipping through his fingers. His end was coming, fast, and still she shyed away when men were showing emotions to her she couldn't immediately pigeon-hole as on cordial terms. He needed to talk to Furor. Furor loved her deeply; she was his only family. He would accept the legacy of taking care of her without a second thought. With a sigh he set her down and turned her in his arms. Of course she had read his mind and there were tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes. Damn, sometimes this mindreading really sucked. That made her smile through her tears.

You know, I think the two are perfect for training some one-on-one time that goes beyond bantering. They are gay, so there's no need to be scared of them sexually. They are both branded by cruelty in their past, so they have a deeper understanding if sometimes running away seems the only way to deal. And last not least Rubén and you share the same horrid experiences; both being captivated, tortured, raped, sucked into darkness, distraught to a point were suicide seemed the only way out. Perhaps the two of you can give each other an understanding that none of us is capable of giving you. Pain pressed another kiss on her forehead and let his lips linger. I love you Angel. All I want for you is to find happiness.

I don't want you to die, Pain. What shall I do without you?

You will go on, that's what you will do, princess. You will rely on your family and friends and make Grief and me proud while we are partying up there on our private cloud. That's right, Angel, Grief and I will be watching you and we'll be there for you in your dreams whenever you need us. Now enough of this sappy stuff. You need to bully some innocent Rangemen and you can't do that with teary eyes and snotty nose. With that he let her go and pushed her into the bathroom to freshen up. How he wished he'd seen a doctor earlier so they could have done something against that fucking tumor growing in his brain. Now it was too late and soon he would die. He was lucky that his team let him stay though it was endangering them but they had a long talk after the diagnosis was made and it was an unanimously decision. Everything was prepared, T already bearing the brunt of his work and ready to take full command at a moment's notice. Another unanimously decision – the team wanted her as their new leader with Furor being second in command. There were no words to describe how proud he was of her but he had tried and the DVD would be given to her at the reading of his last will and testament.

"Ok guys, you know the procedure." She signed to the men in front of her. They were at the track on the training compound and the men had lined up in parade rest. "First Furor and V will check you, then I will bully you. If it consoles you, Rage, Agony, Rev and I will stick to you like glue, means we run with you. Remember, this is about distance. You run 60 minutes at comfy speed while you talk to each other in the described way. Each one of you has a gadget on his wrist that is connected to the laptop over there and counts the laps you do. The teams start with five minutes delay so Furor and V have a chance to check everyone thoroughly before and after we're finished. As today morning Team Red starts first so Bobby can assist with the check-ups on the other teams. Any questions?"

The men were silent. Jeez, Terror thought. Would it hurt to answer? "Team Red, step up." Rev sounded her command. "Furor, V, do your job."

The next four and a half hours were spent with running at different intensities broken up by times of low level jogging. The men were exhausted, their shirts and shorts soaked with sweat, their deodorants had long lost their effect and the later it became, the weaker their legs felt, the more the jogging became a brisk walk. The Miami and Boston guys showed the first trouble on the second rep of the CHI. On the last rep Terror, Rage, Agony and Revenge had to push every one of their respective teams to keep up the strain. None of them slacked off on purpose; they simply weren't used anymore to this kind of strain, to their body and mind's overwhelming desire to shut down. They were all still under government contract but mostly their missions were few and far between and you could tell the difference to those few who still regularly went on missions. The kind of training you do, when you just occasionally go in the wind is based on keeping up your strength and reflexes. The longer you are out of business the less you toil if there's no need. Missions show you your weaknesses quite plainly – whether they are physical, mental or skill-wise. Once you're home you put all your effort into resolving those weaknesses before you're called for your next mission. You hit the gym, the shrink, the mats, the shooting alley – whatever; after all you want to survive. The Rangemen didn't come near the amount of training hours the IAs guzzled per day, every day, and that showed. It was Terror's assignment to bring them all on the same level as her team to increase the chance that they would beat the odds of this mission. Sighing she looked over the men scattered on the grass around her, just lying there, breathing against the exhaustion that threatened to overpower them. She hated to wrack them but she needed to get a feeling for the bottom line, for their individual weaknesses and even more important how they handled them. Overcoming insurmountable situations was all about a strong mind.

"Ok guys, time to stand up and face the last exercise of the day." The men groaned as they dragged themselves to their feet, looking anything else but classy; some showing a visible muscle tremor in their legs. "Come on, no whining. You're on the home stretch; just a few more meters. Furor, V, check Team Red. Rev, call Ella and tell her we'll be back in fifty minutes. Ask her to have dinner and the isotonic drinks ready by then. Then call Tank to send the designated drivers over here. I want to get the guys home."

After they were finished, before the men could drag themselves to the waiting SUVs, Terror stopped them one last time. "Don't worry, you are done. I just want to let you know that in the big conference room on two a rich dinner is waiting for you – all courtesy of Ranger and Pain. I know you want nothing more than shower and plan my early demise but I want to see you on two – no exceptions. After all, snuffing me off will be easier well-fed," she smiled encouragingly.

Twenty minutes later the Rangemen couldn't believe their eyes. The long conference table had been morphed into a banquet, bowing under the weight of every culinary delight imaginable, even different desserts. Ranger and Pain were welcoming them but none of the men really noticed; starved as they were, they jumped at the food like a pack of hungry wolves.

"Do you think they heard us at all?" Pain wondered.

Ranger frowned at the sight in front of him. "You would think they're coming back from a three week tour with neither food nor water."

Nobody noticed that none of the IA besides Pain was present or Vengeance slipping into the room some 15 minutes later and walking over to Hal.

"Hal, would you please come with me? T wants to talk to you outside."

Setting his food aside, Hal followed V out of the room. He had given his best today but he knew it wouldn't be enough. He knew it. Fuck, he so wanted to go on this mission. He always had to bear the brunt of jokes and now there was a chance to proof himself, to show the other guys that he in fact was no joke, and he had to fuck up. Before he could continue his internal tirade they entered one of the accounting rooms and Terror and her team were standing in front of him. He found she was great – smart, tenacious, fun, never mean; one more woman that never would bat an eye at him. Damn. Suddenly he heard a male voice in the distance. Revenge was talking while Terror was smiling brightly, her eyes laughing as she signed.

"Hey Hal, you're back with us now? For a moment I thought we'd lost you."

Shit. He could feel the heat rising in his cheek; sure a great glowing tomato red he was sporting there.

"No worries, I get constantly lost in my mind. If you can keep a secret – that's why I have Agony and Rev with me. It's a fulltime job to keep me on track," she winked. Hal smiled assuaged. Did he mention that he liked her? A lot?

"Hal, the reason I wanted to talk to you in private is your today's test result."