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Finn slept through most of the flight back to Iraq. He made small talk with some of the people around him as well. There was a man from New York who Finn talked to for awhile. He was a former cop, who had to resign after taking a few bullets to his legs and chest. Now the man wanted to fulfill his life's long dream of going to India and visiting the Taj Mahal, as well as climb K-2. Finn and he talked until he fell asleep, leaving Finn to talk to an American Exchange student, going over to Iraq for a few months.
"So what are you studying?" Finn asked with a smile.
"Bio-engineering at the University of South Carolina. This is my first time out of America since I was 4 when my dad was stationed in Germany for some reason." The girl said with a grin as she looked up at Finn.
"Bio-engineering? Wow, someone's going for gold. I majored in Business and Marketing, but right now, I'm in the military." Finn said with a grin.
"Oh really? What's it like?" The girl asked him.
"Well, it's nothing like Call of Duty. What you see on TV is not even close to what really goes on. Believe me, it's ten times worse." Finn said with a small laugh.
"So why are you going back?" The girl asked softly.
"A few reasons actually. I'm going back mostly because my best friend is missing in action and I'm not going to stand beside while he's gone. The second reason is because when you're over there fighting, it can change you." Finn said.
"What do you mean it can change you?" The girl asked.
"Good question…well, when you're home away from your wife for so long, you become dependent on the only thing that surrounds you on a daily basis, and that's brotherhood. Sure, there are girls in the military, but when you're out on the frontlines, in the end, it's the person who is right next to you the whole time that you can call a brother." Finn said with a smile as he thought about what it was like their first time moving out.
"Aw that's amazing. I hope your friend is alright!" The girl said as a tear rolled down her cheek.
"Yeah, same." Finn said in his head as he dozed off for a few hours.
He woke up to the sudden jolt of the plane's front wheels and the ground connecting. Finn looked out of the window and noticed a large amount of smoke coming from Baghdad. He watched in amazement as he saw three Black Hawks fly overhead. Finn grabbed his stuff and exited the plane. A transport truck waited outside for him as he grabbed his stuff from baggage claim. Finn continued to look out at large smoke as they approached the hangar.
The truck pulled up to the hangar and Finn was greeted by several troops, who he fought with before he got shot. Artie didn't know Finn had come back just yet as he sat down on his cot. Finn walked over to him and surprised him, almost giving Artie a heart attack.
"Dude! What are you doing back so soon?" Artie asked as he caught his breath.
"Nice seeing you again too." Finn said with a laugh as he put his stuff down.
"Sorry, it's just…you were shot and I didn't think you'd be back so soon." Artie said with a smile.
"Well, I mean…how could I not come back? We have to get Puck back, don't we?" Finn said with a grin as he sat down on his cot.
"Yeah, but how? We have no idea where he is. I tried looking for him, but his trail goes cold once the car he was taken in hit the pavement." Artie said as he looked at the ground.
"Damn, well good thing I had a long flight. I did some thinking and found a way we can look. We'll take a small group and drop into the nearest city. From there, we'll infiltrate a few buildings." Finn said with a grin.
"Are you trying to get us killed? Look, I have an easier way that will not only work, but will save our asses." Artie said.
"Alright, let's hear it." Finn said.
"Okay, so while you were recuperating, I managed to find someone who is working with us in one of the cities and he said he saw a few armed men carry someone into a building in Basra. I don't know how accurate it is, but it's worth a shot. Now that we know where we can look, we can go with your plan and drop in." Artie said with a smile.
"I like it! Just one problem. We don't know how many armed men there are in the city." Finn said as he changed into his military clothes.
"Does it matter? We're trying to get our friend back. I'd rather die finding Puck, then sit around while God knows what's happening to him." Artie said.
"Okay, okay. Easy there killer. I want him back too, but we've got to do it right, alright?" Finn said to calm down Artie.
"Yeah I know. So when do you want to leave?" Artie asked as he looked up at him.
Santana woke up crying. She couldn't get over the fact that her fiancé was missing overseas. Rebecca still didn't know about what was happening, but she could tell something was wrong. Santana got out of bed and checked in on Rebecca, before returning to her own bed. She turned on the TV, in hopes to hear anything good from Iraq.
"U.S. troops are still looking for Corporal Noah Puckerman." The headline read.
"Oh my God! Finn and Artie better find him!" Santana said as she buried her head into her pillows.
Turning off her TV, she forced herself back to sleep. The next day, Santana met up with Brittany and Quinn. She dropped Rebecca off at day-care, while the ladies went out to a late lunch.
"So how are you holding up?" Quinn asked.
"I'm okay. It's just…I can't imagine what's going on over there. My baby's missing and I can't do anything to help him." Santana said.
"Aw, it's okay. Our men will get him back, I promise." Brittany said as she hugged Santana.
"Thanks you guys. I don't know what I'd do without you." Santana said with a smile.
"You know we'll always be here for you! Here, tonight, we'll go clubbing again. We can get another babysitter. Besides, I can use a drink after going nine months without one." Quinn said with a laugh.
"Oh hell yeah! Can we please?" Brittany asked cheerfully.
"Yeah, I'd love to! Brittany, call up that Katie girl and see if she'll watch the kids again." Santana said with a grin.
Brittany quickly dialed Katie's number and was overjoyed that Katie was able to babysit. The girls finished up eating and drove back to their houses to get ready. Santana and Rebecca drove over to Quinn's to pick her and her daughter up. They headed over to Brittany's and waited for Katie to arrive. Thanking her for babysitting, the girls happily left and drove to the club.
Like before, they walked in with their arms locked. The music was blasting as they headed towards the middle of the dance floor. After a few songs, they sat down at a table and ordered some drinks. They talked and talked, until Quinn's favorite song came on. Grabbing the two girls' hands, she pulled them onto the dance floor and began dancing again. However, Brittany noticed the man who tried hitting on her before. He looked a lot bigger then before.
"Quinn, we should go." Brittany said as she looked over at him.
"Why? What's wrong?" Quinn asked as she looked at Brittany.
"Look." Brittany said as she pointed to the man.
"Oh shit, that's the dude from a few months ago." Santana said.
"Yeah, can we please go?" Brittany asked.
"Come on, Brittany. He probably doesn't reme-" Quinn started to say but was interrupted.
"Hey ladies. Miss me?" The man said with a grin.
"What the fuck do you want?" Santana asked as she put herself between him and Brittany.
"I just want to talk." The man said with a laugh.
"Well, how about I give you my foot to your dick again?" Brittany yelled behind Santana.
"Man, you are a feisty one, aren't you?" The man continued to laugh.
"Let's go." Quinn said as she began to walk towards the exit.
"You're just mad because you're not as hot as these two." The man yelled up to her.
"What did you say, asshole?" Santana screamed in the man's face.
"She heard me." The man said with a grin..
Brittany caught the man off guard again and kicked him in the dick. He dropped on the floor and started crying as the girls walked away, arms locked, and laughing.
"Quinn, don't listen to that guy. You're sexy." Santana said with a smile as she hugged her.
"Aw, thanks beautiful." Quinn said with a laugh.
The girls ordered a few more drinks, danced to a few more songs, and headed home. They paid Katie for babysitting and crashed at Brittany's for the night.
"Alright, let's move out!" Artie said to a small group as they piled into one of the Black Hawks.
Finn was the last to climb. He and Artie sat on the edge of the helicopter and watched the scenery change from hot desert to cooler fields in matter of minutes. The helicopter flew down the road, all the way into Basra. The city was engulfed with smoke and flares as the troops were lowered closer to the ground.
"Be ready to drop in 3…2…1. Go!" Finn said as he hooked up the ropes to the latches outside of the doors.
One by one, the troops slid down the ropes until it was only Artie and Finn. Finn went down first to secure the perimeter. As Artie latched up, he noticed an armed man on the roof with a loaded RPG. He fired at the Black Hawk, missing it by inches. Artie quickly slid down the rope, but missed the landing zone. He landed on top of a roof above. Before the armed man could reload, Artie fired two rounds from his M-16, killing him instantly.
"Artie, are you alright?" Finn asked over the intercom.
"Yeah, I'm good. I'll be down in a second. Secure the perimeter." Artie said as he headed down the stairs.
He reunited with the squad as they looked around every corner. Finn and Artie quickly went over the battle plan and started heading down a long street.
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