Unexpected Touch
Chapter 2
Piers was standing in the section of the large on-base gym that was dedicated to boxing, martial arts, and other combat training. He was dressed in standard issue BSAA PT clothing - a black, sweat-wicking tank top with a white BSAA Eastern European Division emblem emblazoned on the left breast and a pair of loose, black sweat pants. He was barefoot as he stood on the mats with the rest of his identically dressed team.
Neither Piers nor any of the other three members of Alpha Team said anything as they eyed the other soldiers slowly beginning to congregate around the nearby boxing ring that stood atop a small elevated platform.
"Guess the word is out about Captain fighting Bohan," Carl mused, watching as more soldiers entered the gym and headed straight to the boxing ring.
Piers sighed in irritation.
In some ways he could understand their interest. Captain Chris Redfield was a legend - and rightfully so - for his combat skills. Not only an exquisitely trained marksman almost without equal, the captain was also a force to be reckoned with in hand-to-hand combat.
But so was Captain David Bohan. There were rumors, although Piers wasn't so sure of their truthfulness, of Bohan fighting two hunters unarmed and snapping their necks with his bare hands. It was the sort of story that the sniper would generally roll his eyes at before excusing himself from the conversation, but after seeing the incredible - no, impossible - feats of strength of his own captain, he wasn't so sure that the rumors were fiction.
And while his captain didn't have many positive things to say about Bohan's personality, Alpha's captain had only the utmost respect for Bohan as a fighter. And that respect definitely couldn't be discounted.
This was sure to be one hell of a fight. It was either going to last for some time, or be over in an instant. Piers was certain there would be no in-between. And either way, it was going to be talked about for some time to come by the soldiers of the BSAA.
"Anyone else here hating this?"
Piers could hear the slight nervous undertone in Carl's voice.
"We all do. I really doubt that a cage match was what the higher ups were thinking of when they suggested that we train with Charlie Team," Ben replied quietly. The man was irritated but he was covering it well.
"Where is the captain anyway? This fucking waiting is driving me up the freaking wall," Andy let out an exaggerated huff.
Piers took a break from absently counting the gathering soldiers to look around for his captain. If he was honest with himself, he was also nervous. Nervous? Hell, Piers was practically seething as he stood there, waiting for his captain to join them. He didn't want to see his captain being thrown into a violent fight just to satisfy the ego of an idiot. Chris Redfield was a hero! He wasn't a goddamn punching bag!
A grating laugh drew Piers' attention off of the small crowd and to the entrance of the locker room a little ways away. He saw Bohan walking out of the locker room in a pair of ACU pants and a grey t-shirt. Charlie Team's captain was loudly talking to some other men, though Piers couldn't catch the words over the noise in the gym. He did, however, catch the sneer and mocking laugh that was clearly directed at the members of Alpha team.
Narrowing his eyes and swallowing back the rush of fury that was rising in his throat, the sniper continued scanning the gym for his MIA captain.
"What a douche," Andy muttered, watching Captain Bohan. And for the first time since joining Alpha Team, Piers found himself in complete agreement with the man.
A chuckle behind them had Alpha Team turning to see their captain, barefoot and in his BSAA PT clothes like the rest of the team.
"While I am inclined to agree with you, Andy, please don't let anyone hear you insulting him. I really don't want to have to pretend to punish you." The brunette smiled wryly at his subordinate.
Piers shook off his slight surprise at his captain's sudden appearance. He heard a quiet "Sorry, Captain" as he watched his captain take in the small crowd that was gathering around the boxing ring.
The brunet sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Well, this is less than ideal. I'm not sure how I'm going to spin this circus into a combat lesson for you guys."
After a moment, Chris dropped his hands and put on his best professional 'captain' expression before walking toward Bohan who was already waiting for him in the ring. The other members of Alpha Team gave each other quick, apprehensive glances and trotted after their captain.
The two men stood in the center of the ring. There was no referee or moderator of any kind. There were no rules discussed. Piers assumed it was because there was a certain unspoken code of decency that the soldiers stuck to while practicing combat drills and he hoped that unspoken code would be adhered to in the ring. This was meant to be merely a training session, after all.
Looking at the two men, Piers felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Logically, Piers knew his captain was no push over. The man was 5'11" barefoot and was over 200 lbs of pure muscle. His captain had nearly two decades of combat under his belt and had trained with some of the most dangerous men and women alive (and dead, Piers added mentally, picturing Albert Wesker).
But Bohan? Well, David Bohan dwarfed the sniper's captain. The man was a hulking 6'6" monster. His muscles were barely contained by the grey t-shirt the man wore. Where Chris Redfield had received his military training from the Air Force, Bohan was an ex Army Ranger. Where Chris Redfield had joined S.T.A.R.S. following his military career and spent his time keeping the peace in his hometown of Racoon City, Bohan had become a mercenary for a private firm and had racked up a horrific kill count of cartel soldiers and insurgents.
Chris Redfield fought the good fight to protect those that couldn't protect themselves. David Bohan fought because he enjoyed the violence and chaos of it.
Swallowing the knot in his throat, he heard the small crowd hush as his captain began to quietly speak to Bohan.
"We're keeping this friendly, Dave. This is to teach our guys."
"Of course. Stop worrying, Chris. I won't pound you too badly." Bohan let out a mocking laugh. Piers could feel his pulse quicken with rage. "Now stop stalling and let's treat the children to a show."
Bohan immediately lunged forward, faking a right hook aimed Chris' head only to pull back at the last moment and attempt to stomp the brunet's knee inward. Bohan's heel met air as Alpha's captain had anticipated trickery of some sort and deftly side-stepped the attack. Chris immediately backed up and put some distance between Bohan and himself. Bohan watched as Chris retreat a few steps, giving the audience a self-satisfied smirk.
Piers was furious. He realized that if that kick had met it's target, his captain's knee would have been mangled. Bohan's first attack in what was supposed to be an educational and friendly match was aimed at permanently disabling his captain. Judging by the exclamations coming from the gathered crowd and enraged silence of the rest of Alpha, it was already clear to everyone that this fight was going to be anything but friendly.
The sniper watched as his captain set his jaw in determination and a dangerous light crept into the man's eyes.
"A bit much, don't you think, Dave?"
"Do you always whine like a bitch?" And with that, Bohan dove in again, swinging fists and legs expertly in an attempt to land a blow on the smaller man as Alpha's captain defended himself.
For several minutes the fighting continued. The sounds of flesh colliding against flesh rang in Piers' ears. The crowd, Alpha Team included, stood in awe watching the two behemoths of the BSAA fighting in the ring. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that they were watching two deadly weapons collide. Every resounding smack of flesh resulted in a multitude of flinches and "Ooh"s from the crowd. To Piers, it was both fascinating and terrifying watching his captain fighting in the ring.
After only a few more minutes, when Bohan was unable to land any truly damaging blows, Piers felt himself swell a little with pride knowing that his captain was starting to distinguish himself as the better fighter. No matter what Bohan had to throw at the man, his captain was able to see it coming and counter. However, as Alpha's captain managed to gracefully dodge, parry, and return every blow for blow, Bohan's moves became increasingly reckless. Bohan's moves became increasingly violent.
The two men disengaged each other for a brief moment, catching their breath and reappraising each other. Piers closely looked them both over with his trained sniper's eye now that they were still.
His eyes quickly evaluated Captain Bohan. The man's chest was heaving as his breathed and his grey t-shirt was already soaked through with sweat in several places. He clearly was not holding back any speed or strength in his attacks. The man's plan was obviously to quickly injure Alpha's leader and put Chris out of the fight rather than try to compete with Chris' nearly inhuman stamina. It was well known throughout the BSAA that the man could continuously run and fight over the course of many miles and multiple days without rest of any sort during missions if he had to. Knowing he was unlikely to tire the brunet, Bohan's strategy was to debilitate him. But the captain of Charlie Team was expending a large amount of energy in his attacks and had remarkably little to show for it. Instead, Bohan was himself sporting a bloody nose where a jab had caught him and the beginnings of a black eye.
Piers then turned his eyes to his own captain. Sniper's eyes missing nothing, Piers saw a smear of blood on Chris' chin where the man had taken a blow to the mouth earlier. His breathing was strained, but not noticeably so. Another smear of blood on Chris' knuckles marked where Chris had made contact with Bohan's nose. But other than those small spots of blood and a sheen of sweat on the captain's forehead, the brunet looked otherwise unaffected by the fight.
Piers felt himself breathing slightly easier, knowing that all of those blows from Bohan had done minimal damage to his captain. He watched Chris begin to take a small step toward Bohan, hands raised in a placating manner.
"Listen, Dav-"
Crack.
Piers stopped breathing. It felt like all of the air had been sucked out of the room. The noise from the crowd that had begin to rise as onlookers began to talk during the slight lull died instantly. Shocked silence fell over those watching the fight.
Piers would swear he watched the blow in slow-motion, from the moment Bohan threw the haymaker to the moment the fist landed on his captain's temple, spinning his captain around. He could see the droplets of blood and sweat fly from his captain's face and hair into the air. He could see the sickening, satisfied smirk settle onto Bohan's face the instant his fist made contact. He saw his captain have to grab onto the rope that was now in front of him to steady himself, eyes closed and breathing ragged as he tried to push down the pain from the blow. He saw Bohan showboating behind his captain, congratulating himself on dazing his opponent.
It took a moment for Piers to recover from shock of the cowardly attack to begin moving to the ring, to his captain's side. He absently noticed that all four members of Alpha were pushing their way through the small crowd toward their captain. Piers and Ben were nearly in front of their captain when Ben began calling to their captain.
"Captain! Are you okay?" Ben's voice sounded unsettled, laced with obvious concern for their captain's welfare.
Carl's voice was heard shouting from over Piers' shoulder, "Captain! Do you need a medic?"
Piers reached the ring and looked closely at his captain's down-turned face.
"Captain," he called softly. Somewhere behind him, he vaguely heard Andy shit-talking Charlie Team about low blows and honor. He couldn't be bothered to care about Andy and his antics right now. Right now, Piers needed to hear his captain say that he was okay.
The word had barely left Piers' mouth when stunning blue eyes opened and locked with his own hazel ones. Piers felt the air leave his lungs. He had never seen his captain's eyes up so close. Especially not with the paralyzing amount of rage currently coursing through them.
Quicker than Piers thought possible, especially for someone of his captain's size, Chris spun around and delivered a devastating blow Bohan's cheek, sending the large man staggering back several steps. Without missing a single beat, Chris dove after Bohan raining blow after blow onto the stunned man. This continued a few seconds before Charlie Team's captain was able to recover. Once Bohan regained his wits, the fight resumed again far more violently than it was before.
Piers knew he was gaping as he watched the speed and strength behind his captain's blows double. It was clear to him that his captain had been holding back earlier, pulling his punches before they landed, in accordance with the spirit of a combat drill. But this wasn't a drill. And the brunet wasn't holding back any longer.
The fight ended quickly after that. Bohan had been pretty well spent by the time he had decked Chris in that surprise maneuver, and so was utterly unprepared for the raging monster he had unknowingly unleashed.
Bohan was down on one knee, one hand on the canvas and the other raised in front of his face to ward off the devastating overhand blow Chris was a heartbeat away from landing on the man, when Piers heard the man yell, "Enough! Fucking christ!"
And with that, Alpha's captain regretfully wrenched his fist back out of its trajectory toward Bohan's head.
There was a moment of silence before the crowd of soldiers erupted in cheers for the two captains, compliments for the two fighters audible through the din. It had been one hell of a fight.
Even as the cheering started and Bohan started to pick himself up off the canvas, Piers could see his Captain still shaking with barely concealed rage. The man was clearly trying to reign in his urge to continue beating on the bloody man.
Even though Piers could barely blame the man for wanting to continue doling out punishment, Piers was still somewhat shocked to see this side of his captain. He had never seen the man so angry, so violent. The man standing in the ring over the bloody Bohan was an enraged beast, not his calm, boy scout of a captain. And Piers couldn't take his eyes off of him.
The sniper's eyes took in every detail, memorizing as much as he could in the moments he had. He memorized the wild, feral fire in the man's normally kind blue eyes. The barely contained seething fury in the expression on his rugged face. The restrained heaving of the man's chest. The sweat that collected and pooled in the dips of the man's collar bones peaking through the tank top that he wore. The large, bloody, dangerous hands, still fisted in anger, at his sides.
It was...intoxicating. Piers shivered, despite the humid heat of the gym.
Several long moments passed, as Bohan struggled to get to his feet and as Chris stared Bohan down in rage, before Chris closed his eyes and drew a long, steadying breath. When his eyes reopened, Chris' eyes were once again calm. He took a step forward and gently extended the hand that had just moments before been poised to strike the kneeling man.
Piers watched Bohan eye his captain's hand with contempt before taking it and allowing Chris to pull him gently to his feet. What a douche, the sniper thought, echoing Andy's earlier sentiment. The sniper smiled in pride at his captain as he watched the man give Bohan the use of his shoulder to lean against and helped Bohan exit the boxing ring.
The members of Alpha Team removed themselves from the dispersing crowd and moved back to the mats in the far corner of the gym. Without a word to each other, they sat down on the mats and waited for their captain to join them. No one said anything while they waited, but it was clear that all them had walked away with a healthy appreciation for their captain's skills. And an even healthier respect for their captain's temper.
They watched in silence as their captain helped Bohan back to his team and as the experienced gym staff used a blood spill kit to clean up the blood drops in the boxing rings. They watched as Chris spoke to a man Piers assumed was Bohan's second-in-command. Distantly, he heard Carl sigh and stand up from the mat. He turned and watch Carl approach one of the gym staff and speak quietly before both of them headed to the desk at the front of the gym. Carl was just returning with a small red bag when their captain joined his team at the mats.
"Here, captain," Carl said, holding up a first aid kit for their captain. "Mind if I take a look at you?"
Chris hesitated, looking at the bag held up in Carl's hands. He smiled at Carl before replying, "I think I'll be fine. Thank you."
Piers was expecting his negative response. The captain always refused medical attention from his team. The man didn't care for having anyone's hands on him, even if it was to render aid.
Silence fell over the group, no one really sure what to say. Instead, each chose something different to focus on in the gym.
The sound of a throat clearing had Piers rolling his eyes. Of course, it would be Andy to open his mouth and break the silence.
"So, uh, I'm not really sure. I must have drifted off during the 'lesson' or something." Piers could practically hear the quotations. "What exactly was it you were meant to be teaching us up there?" A cheeky smile was plastered over Andy's face.
The captain thought for a moment. "'Don't piss me off,'" came the tired, gravelly reply.
And like that, the thick tension blanketing the group eased and melted away. Piers watched the team relax as they shared a short laugh. Piers felt a smile cracking his own lips.
"Well, hell, Captain. We already knew that!"
I hope you are enjoying the story so far. Please let me know what you think, good or bad. Any response at all would be appreciated.
