Week 15

Day 100 (01/14)

Clark was angry. Deep down, he could feel this emotion that he was brilliantly stifling. Since his conversation with Wayne, he had decided that if he couldn't get away from him, it was up to him to do what he could to cut the ties. He had been silent for hours, practicing meditation techniques he had learned abroad. It didn't take away his anger, but it gave him a sense of clarity about his feelings and his goals. It gave him a sense of what to do.

If he couldn't protect himself physically, he did it mentally. Somehow it made him angry to do that because he was proving Wayne right. But he knew that he would soon stop working with him and maybe even be transferred elsewhere. His loss of control over his emotions had caught the eye of many people and Jones had seen them. That, plus the requests they had each made to stay away from the same neighbourhoods, made the Colonel realize there was a problem.

The guys had been trying to find out what they had been saying to each other while they were playing basketball and so far, Clark hadn't answered them. He wasn't going to and he had shown it to them curtly. Barry realized that insisting on it wouldn't do any good and he convinced Hal and Ollie to drop it. That would give him a vacation for a while.

Clark went to his usual vantage point to look at the stars. The night was really cold but the winter sky was beautiful. He lay on the cold ground for a while, forgetting for a moment the grudge he had deep inside him.

"Beautiful sky, wasn't it? "

The deminer raised an eyebrow and turned his head towards a stocky African-American sitting next to him.

"Always, when the city lights don't get in the way," Clark replied, surprised that someone was coming to talk to him despite the bad mood that emanated from him.

The man reached out his hand in front of him:

"First Class Sergeant Pete Ross. "

Clark shook his hand:

"First Class Sergeant Clark Kent. "

Ross had a big smile on his face.

"Kent? You're the Man of Steel?! "

He nodded and grinned.

"Yeah, I heard that. "

Ross laughed. A frank laugh:

"Wow! I read your report on The Dentist, incredible! I take my hat off to you! It was fascinating. "

Clark frowned.

"The Dentist? "

The African-American nodded his head.

"This is the name given to the artificer who used human teeth as shrapnel. "

Clark frowned. Only those concerned had read his report.

"Are you a bomb disposal expert? "

Ross smiled proudly at him.

"For the past few months. Well, if I had known! "

Clark was expecting more flowers. He was already preparing a rather dry reply when Ross added:

"Still, a blind man could draw better pictures! Not super clean your layout on top of that! "

Clark was so surprised that when he saw that Ross was laughing at him, he had a hard time laughing back.

"You're a funny guy. "

Ross winked at him.

"And you haven't seen everything! "

He smiled. He liked the new kid.

Day 102 (01/16)

Clark was having lunch with Diana. He had become quite withdrawn and that had created tension between him, Hal, Barry, and Ollie. So obviously, the young woman had been sent to talk to him. He should have come miles away to see this situation, but he didn't. He hadn't been able to.

"What's happening to you, Clark? You've been acting weird lately. "

Clark shook his head.

"Nothing serious, Di. I assure you. "

Diana was looking at him with her blue eyes.

"That's what you've been saying since Sunday. And yet you're isolating yourself like a cave bear. You're so scathing that no one wanted to come and talk to you again. "

Clark made a face.

"That was kind of the point. "

Diana sighed.

"So there's something there! "

It was Clark's turn to sigh.

"I'm really not in the mood to talk. "

"You're not in the mood for anything! Is it Wayne that makes you so angry? "

He didn't seem the least bit intimidated by the dark look in his eyes. Instead, she had a satisfied smile on her face.

"That conversation last time looked very serious, I see. "

"And personal. "

Diana leaned forward:

"Well, if it was that personal, you should have this conversation in your quarters! It's not enough to speak a foreign language! "

It was clear that she was right. He weighed down inside. He had turned the conversation upside down in his head and knew that he had chosen to have this conversation in public for some reason. He just didn't know what it was. He sighed again.

"Wayne and I don't get along and I don't see myself working well with him. We exchanged our views and that's the conclusion we came to. "

Diana started laughing, offending the deminer.

"I've never seen Wayne be so complicit with anyone before! What you're telling me now, I really can't believe it! Even by arguing you share an complicity that nobody here has. "

Clark gritted his teeth.

"You stick your finger in your eye up to your elbow. "

Diana put a finger on his lips to shut him up.

"Certainly not! In any case, you have a work dynamic that few people have, it would be a shame to waste your skills because you're getting pissed off! "

He cleared himself to speak again:

"We don't make fun of each other, Diana. Our disagreement goes beyond that. "

The brunette began to laugh.

"Stop, it looks like a couple about to separate there! I don't know what you said to each other but the outcome is certainly stupid! "

Diana lost her smile when she saw the anger on Clark's face. He didn't like the comparison. He then stood up without a word, clearing his tray: he was definitely done with the subject.

oOoOoOoOoOoOooo

He headed to the camp, where he was not likely to run into his colleagues, or Bruce. Fortunately, the place was big enough for that. He calmed down for a moment, watching the soldiers practicing shooting. That calmed him down a bit. He evaluated the shooters according to the hits on the target, their technique, their position,...

Maybe he should go out and shoot a little too. It might relax him. It would keep him busy, it would require him to concentrate. Except that what he did best was not the shooting, but the defusing of the bomb. Big deal. Their training at the military base was always miles away for the explosions. As for the training to master bombing and heavy weapons fire.

He went out of his mind when he felt a presence near him. Pete Ross would move really quietly or else he would not pay attention.

"Aren't you going to shoot? "

Clark shook his head negatively.

"No, it'll be fine. "

He felt Ross's gaze on him as he turned his attention to the targets.

"You look tense to me. "

Clark automatically turned his attention to himself.

"I don't want to talk about it. "

Pete laughed and raised his hands:

"Calm down! It was a simple remark, that's all. I'm not a shrink, you don't have to tell me about it. "

His remark relaxed Clark a little. They remained silent for a while, leaving Clark immersed in his reflections. He and Ross didn't really know each other. He hesitated for a while to confide in him, knowing that Ross would be a better observer since he was not personally involved in all this.

"I actually don't get along with my supervisor. I hesitate to ask for a change of assignment. "

Ross nodded.

"This misunderstanding, do you think it's getting in the way of you doing your job? "

He took some serious time to think about it. Clark knew it would be harder for him to follow his orders, especially knowing Bruce's personality.

"Currently, probably not. But in the long run... I'm not sure it would work. "

The other bomb squad member nodded slowly.

"So, maybe a change would do you some good. We all know how our lives might end, doing this job. It would be stupid to rush into it because you weren't thinking about it. "

Ross was right. Their fate was too uncertain with every intervention. If he made a mistake because he wasn't focused enough, it could be fatal.

"Thank you Ross. "

Ross nodded. Clark then left, immersed again in his thoughts.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoo

It was late. They had been called on an intervention in the afternoon. The tension between him and Bruce had been palpable and Clark knew it was affecting the rest of the team. It had reinforced his idea to change assignments. Even if he and Bruce hadn't hit it off, living with this tension on a daily basis was going to eat away at him.

He heard Bruce go into their room, the smell of tobacco following him closely. He had been smoking again in their room since their fight. In fact, he felt as if he was watching him smoke all the time.

"What is this?" he asked as he saw him writing.

Clark hesitated for a second before answering, without turning around:

"A request for a change of assignment. I'll finish it and give it to the Colonel tomorrow. "

"Okay. "

Bruce's lack of reaction made him turn around:

"Is that all you're going to say? "

Bruce pulled at his cigarette, his steel gray eyes pointed at him:

"You're doing everything you can not to have another conversation with me and obviously you've already made up your mind. "

He then saw Bruce walk towards the door again, throwing it at him before going out:

"All you have to do is recommend another deminer while you're at it! "

And he slammed the door. Clark hadn't expected that kind of reaction. It was anger he had just seen in Bruce. What did he want, in the end?! He put down his pen, hesitating to finish writing when he heard the camp alarm going off.

Clark grabbed his bulletproof vest and tossed Bruce's when Bruce was turned upside down again. They hurriedly got dressed, both putting on their night vision goggles after turning off the lights.

He walked past Bruce and headed for the door. Fire from the turrets raged on an enemy visibly in front of the walls. Then there was an explosion. The first one outside the wall. The second exploded the gate and several vehicles entered in force.

It all happened quickly. Without thinking, Kent fired on the intruders in the vehicles, as did all the soldiers stationed there. A car exploded under fire and grenades were fired in all directions. Another car drove about fifteen meters through the camp before stopping in a barracks, destroying it in the process.

Kent then spotted several enemies entering the camp on foot. He heard behind him the sniper fire from the various snipers and fired on them to stop their advance. It was chaos. A real chaos.

"Hold your positions !" ordered Colonel Hendricksen.

Kent and Wayne joined other soldiers, covered by the barracks. They followed the order by holding their positions, firing on the enemy to prevent them from passing.

"Grenade! " shouted one of the soldiers.

They all retreated. Kent was slightly disoriented by the explosion, but was responsive when the enemy advanced on them and fired.

The whole attack lasted no more than twenty minutes. But it was more than enough to shake them all.

Day 103 (01/17)

The balance sheet had not been very high. The alarm had been sounded on time by one of the door watchers. They had stopped a ram vehicle filled with explosives in the distance, which had surely been intended to break down the door or the walls. Instead, it had exploded about 30 meters before impact.

They had spent the rest of the night recovering the enemy's bodies, counting their dead and wounded and keeping watch. Kent had been one of them. Positioned outside near the ram-vehicle, he stood guard with other soldiers so that experts could examine the explosives. He should have done that too, but when he saw that the old pickup truck contained several dead bodies, memories that were too difficult to forget were brought back.

So he arranged with the other deminers to stay away, without really explaining why. He just needed to see something other than half-exploded bodies. Looking down the road, he could see the first glimmer of dawn, then the sunrise. They hadn't had any relief. The others were too busy inside the camp.

With all this, Kent didn't even know how the others were doing. He knew that Wayne was stationed somewhere, on the lookout with other snipers on the ramparts, he knew that Queen was okay because he had seen him with the Major, but he didn't know about the others. Ross was there too, examining the exploded vehicle and the bodies to identify the explosives used.

It was he who gave the final conclusions when he arrived next to him, his face deformed by a grimace of disgust.

"It is believed that there must have been about ten kilos of TATP. With the impact the explosion could have been more violent, but since the vehicle jumped away, much of it ignited. "

Kent nodded his head.

"If you're done here, we're packing up. Other guys will come and tow the body if necessary. "

Ross nodded, relieved. Everyone was tired. Kent closed the walk, tense. He knew that it wouldn't be long before they would get outside help. They needed it to breathe.

He took a look at their camp and recalled the state of the base next door when it was attacked. They had fared better than they had, the damage inside the base was minimal compared to the others. He then saw Jordan in the distance, collecting the bodies of the enemy. Jordan would surely be aware of the situation. The latter gave him a relieved smile when he saw him arrive.

"I'm glad you're okay. "

They hugged each other.

"Me too, Lantern. Have you heard from the others? I haven't had time to see them. "

And by seeing the look on Jordan's face, he knew something was wrong.

"Barry was hit by a grenade. He was rushed to the hospital with Stewart and Stone. "

Kent felt his heart squeeze. He blamed the shock, trying to be positive to face his fear, thinking they had a chance of survival.

"Do you know the final outcome? "

Jordan shrugged.

"We have four dead and twelve seriously injured. The rest... the infirmary is overflowing. Some of them are being sent to Westford base, they're coming to get them. "

Kent nodded his head, clenching his teeth. Jordan then put a hand on his shoulder.

"Go to sleep, Clark. Two bearings have already been made. "

Clark nodded his head. He was right. He then returned to his quarters to find that they had nothing, they were too far from the area under attack.

When he walked through the door, his heart pounded to see that it was empty. Bruce wasn't there and nothing had changed since last night. Since he had said he wanted to change teams. Clark angrily grabbed the request and crumpled it up. He took off his gun and vest, tossing his things. What a piece of shit! There was so much more serious things in life than all that! Fuck! Fuck! And Fuck again!

He took his head in his hands as the anxiety mounted. He had behaved like the biggest asshole to his friends and this might be the last time he would see Barry, or John. They couldn't die, they had to hold on. They had to hold on at all cost !

He looked up when he heard Bruce coming. Even though he had seen him at his side, he was relieved to see that he had nothing. Except for a small scratch on his chin, Bruce seemed to have nothing more.

"Are you okay? " he asked as he took his things off.

Clark stood up on reflex and nodded his head.

"I've got nothing but... Barry and the others... "

"I know. "

Bruce came closer and held him tightly in his arms. He held him so tightly that it surprised Clark. He felt him put his head against his shoulder. The contact was intimate. Too intimate. But it didn't come off. He couldn't. He grabbed Bruce's uniform as Bruce began stroking the back of his neck with his fingertips.

"Forgive me, Clark, for the last time. I just... wanted to make sure the feeling was mutual. But you've been so busy... "

Clark was too sensitive to the caresses on his neck to react quickly. To think fast enough. Maybe it was also due to the fact that he hadn't slept for 24 hours.

"What are you talking about? "

He heard Bruce's smile before he saw him when he stepped back to face him:

"This. "

Bruce kissed him. Clark automatically closed his eyes, to better feel his lips against his own, to better feel their taste, to better imprint that feeling in his memory.

He felt like he was becoming much more sensitive to the touch. He could feel the warmth emanating from the Major under his hands, Bruce's palm pressing against his neck, his fingers digging into his hip as a tongue went into his mouth.

Clark's spirit gave up the weapons very quickly. He stopped thinking, he just grabbed Bruce, sticking as close as he could to feel his touch, to embrace him even more deeply, to keep him close to him as much as possible. Bruce then broke the contact so they could catch their breath, keeping his forehead glued to Clark's forehead.

"I thought that taking distance was the best solution, but when I saw how much it affected you..."

Clark didn't answer. For once Bruce was giving himself up to him, he certainly wasn't going to interrupt him. Bruce sighed again:

"I can't do it, Clark. I can't do it and still be close to you. When the attraction was all about me, I could keep my distance, but now that I know that's not the case-"

Clark steps back by reflex.

"I'm not gay! I'm 100% straight! "

His reaction was so spontaneous that Bruce was surprised and froze for a moment before laughing slightly.

"100% ? Really? Let me doubt it. "

Clark pinched his lips, realizing that his reaction was more than excessive and more than hypocritical.

"This is only a temporary situation. "

He then saw the flash of malice pass into Bruce's eyes as his expression was more than serious. Clark realized what his words had just implied.

Being on guard is not enough to prevent Bruce's action. He pushed him up against the wall and hugged him eagerly, his hands working to remove his uniform jacket. Clark felt as if he hadn't been wanted that way for centuries. His body reacted quickly and he was quickly torn between giving in to Bruce's advances or resisting.

He violently pushed Bruce away, and Bruce let go of the sections of his uniform shirt in a creak of fabric. For a moment they defied the gaze, the desire visible in their eyes. Clark gave up. He pushed Bruce back to the bed and straddled him, taking his mouth and kissing him again. For God's sake, Bruce had lips to be damned.

Clark eagerly attacked Bruce's uniform, grabbing the shirt to remove both tops at the same time. Bruce pulled on the sleeves of the deminer and the next move, they were both shirtless. Clark stopped for a moment to contemplate the torso in front of him, caressing the various scars with his fingertips. Knife blows, shrapnel, bullets. Bruce's skin had seen many colors and remained beautiful.

The sniper was less patient than he was: he used a fighting technique to turn the situation around and get above Clark. He felt a shiver of excitement running down his spine. Above him, Bruce watched him with a predatory look. It was downright exciting.

He pulled her to him and kissed him again. Bruce pressed his warm torso against his, grabbing his hips tightly. Clark was so stiff in his pants, so tight it almost hurt. It's been so long since he's done all this. Feeling a warm body against his own, feeling desired, being so excited.

He let out a moan when he felt Bruce's erection against his own, sending a wave of excitement and pleasure throughout his body. He then felt Bruce's kisses descend into his neck. His body was so sensitive that Bruce's nascent beard, like his skin, excited him to the max. Without really thinking about it, Clark walked his hands behind his back, clinging to his skin while the other consciously rubbed their two erections together.

Clark couldn't hold back the groans of pleasure that came out of his throat. His desire was growing deeper and deeper inside him, creating an even greater need to be touched, to touch. He reached down with an uncertain hand to the zipper of Bruce's pants. Bruce bent over and let Clark do it while he tasted the skin on his chest.

The deminer could feel the heat generated by Bruce's erection. The position was not convenient for him to do anything more and obviously his partner came to the same conclusion. He stopped abruptly to undo his pants himself and get rid of them like the rest of his stuff, keeping only his underwear. Clark did the same thing, quickly helped by Bruce, and also took off his makeshift mittens.

Their underwear was wet. The excitement had built up between them so quickly that for a moment Clark thought he couldn't resist foreplay. He was too excited for that. But he wanted to get to know Bruce. He wanted to find that body he'd never touched. He wanted to see everything about that body.

Clark took off Bruce's shorts and, before he hesitated too long, he caught his erection. Bruce grunted as Clark shook his hand on him. It felt strange, it was the first time he had ever touched an erection other than his own. It wasn't unpleasant. He knew what to do with it.

First he began to slowly move back and forth, testing, discovering Bruce's reactions. Bruce, who had come back above him, had plunged his head into his neck. Clark could feel his throat vibrating as he... grunted? Bruce grunted with pleasure.

He accelerated his movements, caught up in Bruce's excitement. Too busy. Involuntarily, his pelvis followed the rhythm, his erection meeting Bruce's in his movements, through his prison of tissue. Soon Clark's hand was lubricated and the sound of masturbation began to be heard. Their breathing became anarchic. Bruce's breath on his skin was driving him crazy and all that body above him...

Bruce suddenly steps back, his short breath, the skin of his chest reddened by pleasure. And with a quick and precise gesture, he removed Clark's underpants and took them in hand. Together, energetically. Clark let out a moan before tilting his head back. Then Bruce's hand withdrew very quickly, too quickly for his taste.

Bruce's hand came back to his erection and went down his penis. Then it went down lower. Clark reached out when he felt the moist and naturally lubricated fingers around his anus. Somewhere deep inside him, he knew the instant he gave in that he wouldn't be the one above. And in the moment, even though it was very embarrassing and difficult to accept, he didn't imagine the opposite. It was a strange situation, but at the time he didn't want to think about it any further.

He gave a slight stroke of the basin to allow Bruce to go further. He wanted to see how it felt. The message got through. Bruce grabbed his erection with his other hand, making the penetration of his finger as pleasant as possible. Clark grimaced despite the pleasure he felt. The feeling was weird, unknown and disturbing. Bruce was delicate, he knew it, but the preparation was not pleasant, it was almost painful as the finger moved inside him. He waited a little, hoping that his bad feelings would go away.

He took a deep breath when he felt a new sensation. An unknown pleasure, which took his time to work its way into his head. Bruce had literally just put his finger on something. He reiterated. Clark was slightly startled, the pleasure overwhelming him in waves every time Bruce did this and added his fingers.

He got lost in the sensations. His head was spinning slightly and he clutched Bruce as if he was afraid to get lost in what he was feeling. That was true. When he felt Bruce's fingers pull away, he went back down, unwillingly releasing a grunt of discontent. For any response, Bruce kissed him. The distraction worked without a hitch and the sniper decided to take the final step.

Clark became excited when Bruce's sex penetrated him. Slowly, step by step to get Clark used to him, he tried to focus on the kiss to forget the awkward and quite painful feeling. Then Bruce stopped for a moment, closing his eyes. This guy was beautiful. Clark thought he was beautiful.

The sniper then opened his eyes again and moved. The pleasure reached Clark at the first kidney shot, squeezing his hands against Bruce's skin. The pleasure took over his whole body as they moved. Clark synchronized the movements of his pelvis with Bruce's movements. The pleasure he felt was unlike anything he had felt before. Nothing at all. Everything was totally different.

They moved in rhythm, holding their moans together, their sweaty bodies stuck together. Clark was literally swept away by the pleasure. He didn't hold the rhythm for long. He let out a long, breathless moan as he came on top of him in high spurts. Bruce groaned above him, picked up the pace, finishing Clark off with pleasure. Bruce followed him right after, releasing a long, muffled groan, giving himself a moment's respite before retiring and rocking to the side.

Clark was on a cloud. It had been so long since he had experienced such pleasure and the experience of sleeping with a man wasn't bad at all. Sleeping with Bruce wasn't bad at all. It had its inconveniences, but on the other hand, the pleasure he had felt surpassed everything.

Bruce got up to get something to clean them. Clark was still too numb to move, the new sensation of penetration bothering him enough. Bruce then lay down beside him, kissing him as he passed by. Clark breathed a satisfied sigh, feeling a wave of fatigue sweep over him. He didn't want to think about the consequences. He didn't want to start feeling remorse. He just let himself drift gently into sleep, light-hearted.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

When Clark opened his eyes, he was alone in his quarters. His nudity and numbness in different muscles than usual reminded him of his more than inappropriate sex. As if it was time. As if it was the place.

Clark felt more than stupid and selfish. He took a quick shower and got dressed, ready for service. He didn't get more than five meters before he saw Queen running towards him.

"We need you. "

The serious look on the sniper's face worried him.

"What's going on? "

"Nice suspect. In the hospital. We've got alerts everywhere. We're forced to target the priority."

"Fuck it! "

He followed Ollie and they climbed into the Humvee. Clark was surprised to find Diana in the back, but he made no comment. Jordan drove off as soon as they were all on board.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Kent rejected the idea of putting on his protective gear immediately. When he was described the package in question, it had nothing to do with the bag of clothes from last time. That was a commercial vehicle. It was an ambulance. Suspicious, because the registration was not in the database. Suspicious, because it stayed in the ambulance arrival area without ambulance drivers around.

The military had kept the vehicle. They had not taken the risk. When he saw the ambulance, Kent felt that this time it was serious.

"Do you know how long it's been there? "

"Less than 15 minutes, maybe. "

He nodded his head even though no one could see him. All the soldiers had retreated to the other buildings. Kent knew that the bulk of the terrorist attack would be here and now. With all the recent attacks, the hospital was full of military personnel. On the floors above him, he knew that his friends were fighting for survival.

"Is there any way to get backup? " he asked on the radio.

Wayne answered.

"I'm going to see. Right now we're combing the perimeter with a fine-tooth comb. "

Kent gently pulled himself up on the back step of the vehicle. He had difficulty seeing inside. But already he could see that the door opening mechanism was not trapped. He stepped back and carefully pulled the handle. Closed. That was just his luck.

He took out his kit and retrieved his hooking tools. A deminer also had to know how to pick locks, it could always prove useful. In this situation, it was the case. The vehicle was old and he had to do it the old-fashioned way. It took him less than thirty seconds and then he opened the doors.

He felt a shiver run down his spine. In front of him were piles of stored barrels, but no visible wires. Kent then climbed aboard. That's when he saw the time delay ignition device. He had less than fifteen minutes left.

"I opened it. I have about eight barrels of explosives and 13 minutes. "

He looked for a few seconds at the timer counting down in front of him. Good work for the shot. He took a deep breath and already started thinking about what he was going to do.

"Thirteen minutes is good for you Kent? "

The counter now read 12. It was going to do it, it had to do it. He had defused bombs faster than that. He just had to find the right wires to disconnect the detonator timer.

"No problem. "

Kent sorted the wires and cut the first one. Normal reaction, the timer started counting down even faster. That cut its time in half. But it was wide on time. He cut two more wires when the timer stopped. He then set about disarming the bomb.

It was a good organization. Kent snuck inside the vehicle and opened the hatch to the front. There didn't appear to be a second primer, but he preferred to check. What took him the most time was to do all his checks.

"Kent, how far along are you?" Wayne asked.

"I'm done. The vehicle can be emptied and moved. "

He turned around, passing other soldiers on their way to the vehicle. Then he heard gunfire in the direction of his team. His comrades had the same reflex as he did: gun in hand, they ran as reinforcements.

Kent had only his handgun on him, but he was the ranking officer. He ordered the soldiers to stay behind and cover him as they walked up the emergency aisle. At the end, he could see Jordan and another soldier firing to their right. From his position, he had no visual contact and no way of getting around the enemy.

His heart was pounding. He had a gun, but it was nothing like his usual M4. He felt less protected. It was irrational, he knew that, but that was how he felt, and in the heat of the moment, he was insecure. He drove along the wall and reached the height of Jordan, who was under cover behind a vehicle a few yards in front of him.

"How many of them? " Kent asked loud enough to be heard in spite of the shots.

"I saw four of them on that side! "

Kent nodded his head and held out his ear. Big guns. It was going to be tense. He looked at the other soldier next to Jordan.

"You've got my back. On three, two, one. "

They fired and Clark ducked down to fire on the enemy and get a first visual. The two soldiers shot one of them down and so did Clark. They returned to cover. Kent looked at the two soldiers behind him. It was best that they stayed under cover. But on the other hand...

"Okay, we'll cover you and you'll join them. Three, two, one. "

They fired again. Clark was the first to take cover, running out of bullets. He reloaded.

"Cease fire !" Wayne shouted.

Everyone followed the order. Kent could feel the sweat running down his face as he was tense. The silence put them all under tension. He then heard men moving around and Wayne said:

"The way is clear. "

They all came out of their covers, their fingers still close to the trigger of their guns. Kent freed the two soldiers who had gone towards the bomb. He walked towards Wayne, who handed him his M4.

"Everyone stay on guard. My instincts tell me we're not done. "

Kent nodded his head. The next thing they heard was an explosion at the other end of the hospital and a thick cloud of smoke rising in the air. Wayne's words were visibly heard: their intervention was far from over.

Day 105 (01/19)

Clark laid down his gun and unpacked his things. He was exhausted. The last two days had been very trying and they had barely stopped. It was the first time he had ever set foot in his base after the hospital bombing. On that day, several bombs had exploded in various parts of the city and they were convinced that it was a test. So since then, they were even more on the warpath.

They had lost many men. The link between the targets of the bombs had not been clearly established, but there were many casualties, both military and civilians. So many dead in such a short time and with so many attacks... Clark hadn't seen that for years. It was enough to shake them up and attack their morale. That's what the enemy wanted. The enemy had succeeded. Clark sighed as he began to change his clothes to go to sleep.

"I hate your instincts." he said as he took off his uniform shirt. "I feel like you're never wrong."

Bruce appeared in the room and put away his Barrett. He too began to take off his bulletproof vest and uniform.

"So did I. "

Clark went to the bathroom first. He cleaned his hands, ran water over his face and brushed his teeth after a trip to the bathroom. He would have taken a shower, it wouldn't have been a luxury given the smell he gave off. But he was really too tired for that.

He walked out to let Bruce pass and he let himself fall on the beds. Even tired, his brain was still spinning and he couldn't stop. He was going over and over again for the last two days, their interventions, their stalking,...

He closed his eyes as Bruce walked up to him and turned off the light. A hand reached up to the back of his neck and caressed his skin with its fingertips. Clark smiled, not moving to take advantage of the emotional contact Bruce enjoyed making. He knew it meant something. That their sex wasn't just about physical attraction and desire. Tonight, they probably should have discussed what their actions were going to involve, but clearly, none of them wanted to.