Chapter Seventeen : To Be A Warrior

Even from inside the building, Theresa could hear the chanting of 'go home' from the protestors outside the gates of the Embassy. That made her a little angsty because if those protestors choose to storm the Embassy, they would all be dead. Bravo only has so much ammo. And to top it all off, there was an arrogant and unreasonable idiot that someone, somewhere thought it was a good idea to make an Ambassador, stonewalling every suggestion that was made.

"If this was Beirut, we would have been out two days ago." The man sitting next to Theresa commented, his nervousness showing in the way he was tapping his fingers against the desk they all sat.

"Why we get danger pay." Crowley reasoned, walking past Theresa's back on his way to the head of the table. The female Seal fantasized about cutting out his tongue – for no reason other than to stop the man from speaking anymore."We can't just pack up and leave every time there's a protest. We leave, we send a message that democracy's failed." He sat down, continuing to sprout all kinds of bullshit. "I'm not ready to pull down the flag just yet."

"Well, you wait long enough, they'll come here and pull it down for you." The same man from earlier told him, and Theresa silently agreed with him.

"Dan, how many times have we seen this stuff bubble up and die back down?" Crowley retorted.

Jason, who had been wordlessly listening to the conversation around him, finally decided to speak up himself. "Why don't you just restrict self-driving till things die back down again, like you mentioned?"

"Well, Lieutenant," Crowley started snidely and Theresa got up from her chair, anger burning through her veins at the blatant disrespect towards the Master Chief.

"Sit down." Jason ordered calmly, and although she looked extremely disgruntled, Theresa immediately did as ordered. But, oh, if looks could kill, Crowley would be well on his way to the morgue right now.

"Sorry. Chief. Uh, here in Juba, we don't like to send a message that it's dangerous to move freely in the streets." Crowley told him matter-of-factly.

"Right now it is dangerous to move freely in these streets!" Theresa exploded, voice something short of a snarl, hands shooting out in front of her and she immediately gripped the table, so tightly her knuckles turned white. Jason had already told her no, she can't hit him and to sit down. She choose to let her eyes wander around the room, she didn't want to look at that idiot's face anymore.

Jason, on the other hand, looked calm and collected but Theresa knew him well enough to hear to disbelief and judgment in his voice – no matter how well he hid it to others. "So, your security protocol is, pretend everything's okay?"

"Our security protocol, at the moment, is to bring in a team of special operators to ensure that things remain okay." Crowley answered smoothly.

"Well, just so we're clear, we have six shooters, including myself, and we're really good, but we can't stop a civil war."Jason informed him.

"I know we're supposed to admire a man for admitting his limitations, but I'd always rather see someone transcend them." Crowley's tone and words had Theresa's head whipping to him once more, killer glare in place as her hands gripping the table turned into clenched fists that rested on the table, nails pressing crescent moon indents to her palms. The nervous man next to her inched his chair further away from her. "Thank you, Chief. Now, uh, as I was saying . . ."

Doyle leaned over to the Master Chief, "Appreciate the effort."

"Well, you can't shame a guy who's got no shame." Jason whispered back.

Theresa huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Forget shame. I'd like to put my fist to his skull and knock some good ole common sense into him."

She rolled her eyes and tuned Crowley out as Doyle looked at his phone, then leaned over again, looked at Jason and Theresa. "Some teachers stuck at the American School."

"Need some help?" Jason offered, and Theresa all but sagged in relief. If she had to listen to that dumbass's voice for one more minute, she might just disobey Jason's orders for the first time in her life.

"Won't say no." Doyle accepted the offer.

"Let's go." Jason said, and the three of them rose from their chairs instantly – as eager to escape this room as they are to save some lives.

"I'm sorry," Crowley called to them. All three stopped, but only Doyle and Jason turned around to face him. Theresa kept staring at the door that promised freedom from idiocy. She breathed in deeply, started counting to ten as she exhaled slowly. One, two, three. "Uh, where exactly are you gentlemen, plus one lady, going?"

"We have some business at the American School." Jason answered simply, and also done with this so called Ambassador's attitude.

Four, five, six, seven.

Crowley was immediately on his high horse. "I didn't authorize that."

Fuck it.

"We don't work for you." Theresa spat as she whirled around to face him, withering glare on her face, something feral glinting in her eyes. She needed to get out of here before she decked him, because Jason said no, she can't hit him.

"You're okay with us saving three American teachers?" Jason asked condescendingly, some part of him deeply satisfied when for the first time this ass didn't have an answer ready. "Yeah, I thought so."

Outside in the hallway, Theresa was taking lots of deep breaths, trying to get rid of the anger in her chest. Jason, used to her temper, didn't bat an eye. Doyle, who didn't know her at all, side eyed her warily. He looked at Jason, "She's not going to attack someone at any moment, is she?"

Jason found it in him to give a half smile, "Not unless any further provoked, no."

Doyle eyed her again, took two steps away from her. He nodded, mostly to himself. "Right."

"Can you believe that guy?" Jason let out a little of his own steam.

Theresa scoffed in anger and frustration, "There is something really wrong with him."

He looked her over, "You good?"

"I'd feel a whole lot better if you'd let me punch him." Theresa grumbled, more than a little childish.

"Not happening, Tessa." Jason told her warningly. Not that he needed to, she got the message the first time he said no.

Still, that didn't stop her from huffing in displeasure. "Yeah, I figured."

The conversation between the three stopped for a while as they walked back to the Operations Center. Jason remembered something that he wondered about earlier, looked down at Theresa, tilted his head at her. "I've been wondering."

"About?" She looked up at him, a frown resting between her brows.

"Does the Russian's really have a saying like that?" Jason asked, his curiosity showing clearly on his face.

"Not as far as I'm aware, no." Theresa admitted, smiling up at her oldest friend, tension and anger slowly fading. "But how would that ignorant dumbass know that?"

SEAL TEAM

"We're two minutes out from the American School." Jason let Mandy know over comms. This time all of Bravo – minus Ray who stayed behind at the Embassy – shared one vehicle. Trent was driving, Jason was riding shotgun, Brock was in the passenger seat behind Jason while Sonny sat behind Trent and Theresa was sandwiched between Brock and Sonny. Doyle and his two deputy's was following behind them in their own vehicle.

Theresa couldn't hear what was being said, but wasn't all that curious and was by now used to Jason having one-sided conversations with anyone in TOC. She probably could put in her earpiece and listen if she really wants to know, but she doesn't. She may tolerate Mandy for missions, but when she can, she still tunes the other woman out.

"Not so far. Anything I need to know?" The Master Chief asked. He was silently, listening to Mandy's answer. Theresa shifted a little – her Glock was tucked into the waistband of her jeans, and was digging into her back. It didn't hurt, but it was uncomfortable and a little annoying. She wiggled herself downwards, pulling her feet up and resting them in between the two front seats, back not pressed against the seat again. Much better.

"No change in the evac status?" Jason questioned. The rest of Bravo knew from the way his mood didn't lift that Crowley still hasn't changed his mind.

The car came to a halt and Theresa rolled her eyes. Just as she had found a comfortable sitting position.

"What's the rules of engagement?" Sonny asked before they got out and Theresa put in her earpiece – if their she or her brother's find any trouble, she didn't want to take time to mess with that.

"We don't speak unless spoken to. Guy wants to raise up, kill him." Jason told them and Bravo got out. Theresa adjusted her dark grey-blue v-neck as she got out of the car, eyes sweeping all over the immediate area around them. A few of what looked like protestors were in front of the school, most probably looking for more American students to terrorize.

"I didn't get to say hello." Sonny commented as he threw a smoke grenade, while Theresa grabbed her black leather gloves from the back of her jeans pockets and pulled them on.

Frightened from both the sound and the smoke, the Sudanese men started running away from the building, the one even tripping in his haste to get away, some even shouting in their native language as they went. The Seal's and the Security Officers watched the commotion until the runners all disappeared.

"Okay. Set a perimeter." Jason ordered Doyle and his men before they all started walking to the school building. Inside the building, Jason gave his team their orders. "Alright, Sonny you're with me. We'll take bathrooms and library. Trent, Brock and Tessa, you three clear the classrooms. We meet up outside."

Bravo split up, pulling their guns, removed the safety and flicked on the LED flashlights attached to their weapons, Brock and Trent cleared empty classroom after empty classroom, while Theresa guarded the door and watched the hallway for anyone trying to creep up on them. Trent informed Jason over comms that all the classrooms were clear, and the three Bravo members walked outside to watch the perimeter with Doyle and his guys.

It was under thirty seconds later when Theresa grew restless and glanced back at the entrance of the school with a slight frown. "How long does it take to clear a library?"

"Considering the fact that it takes up half of the school, it might take a while." Brock informed his fidgety best friend.

Trent frowned, "How'd they get that many books over here anyways?"

"Airmail?" Theresa suggested with a shrug, eyes looking at every window, corner and sturdy looking tree she could spot – watching for movement that would show that their being watched. She knew Brock and Trent was doing the exact same thing, even as they were having a conversation, because that's what they were trained to do.

One of Doyle's men eyed Theresa with a whole lot of curiosity. He pulled all of his courage together and asked, "So, you're really a Seal, huh?"

Theresa rolled her eyes. Good grief. Sure, a female Seal was rare, but was it honestly that surprising? No, not surprising, she supposed, just . . . intimidating. The word flashed across her mind along with a pair of blue eyes, blonde hair and a soft smile that left her breathless every time she was on the receiving end of it. Most of the annoyance she felt at the question died down as she thought of how Spenser told her that she is intimidating, how she was so bothered by it, and how relieved she was when he eventually told her that he meant it in a good way.

"Yes, I am." Theresa answered distractedly. Mind on Spenser, and how he's doing with his HALO jumps, while her eyes were focused on her surroundings, looking for any sign of hostiles.

Brock sneaked a glance at his best friend and hid a smirk. She had her 'Thinking of Spenser' look on her face right now which has been becoming more and more frequent lately. It's when she gets this unbelievably soft look on her face – which he's never seen on her before, the corners of her lips turning up ever so slightly. Not that Brock told her that she has a face like that, or she'll remove any and all emotion from her face, impossible for anyone – except of course Jason, and while Brock hasn't been able to figure out what she is feeling or thinking when she slams shut, he hopes to one day reach that point – to read at all.

Before Doyle's man could ask Theresa another question – and inadvertently lighting the fuse of her short temper – Jason and Sonny came out of the school with an American teacher and two students. So that's why they were taking a while longer than expected. Theresa flicked on her safety and put her Glock in the waistband of her jeans.

"We're gonna get you out of here." Jason was telling them as he and Sonny handed the three off to Theresa, Brock and Trent, who quickly checked them over for injuries before handing them over to Doyle's men.

"We'll take it from here, make sure they get to the airport." Doyle informed them, while his two subordinates got the teacher and her two students in their car.

"Right. You want us on your six?" Jason asked as Bravo made their way to their own vehicle.

"No, so far, the airport road is still clear. Crowley's got a job he wants you on. He wants you to evac two American aid workers. He figured he'd send the pipe hitters to bring 'em home." Doyle was saying to Jason as Bravo got into their vehicle.

"Might be the first good decision he's made." Jason commented.

"I'll second that." Theresa agreed as she got comfortable between Sonny and Brock in the back.

Bravo drove in a companionable silence – no words needing to be said. They were comfortable enough around each other that the quiet was noise enough.

"We're approaching the checkpoint." Jason keyed in to TOC.

Theresa heard Mandy's voice coming through comms. "Copy. Be advised, rebels have been taking over checkpoints, but even the officers in the National Army tend to switch side when the weather changes."

"Copy that. Thanks for the warning." Said Jason.

Sonny didn't like being blindsided. "I thought the army was on our side."

"Heads on a swivel, boys. Tessa, get in the back and stay down. Don't know how friendly these guys are gonna be." Jason ordered from the passenger seat.

Theresa gaped then huffed, "Seriously, Jace?"

"Yes." His tone left no room for argument. Theresa climbed over the back seat and did as told, making noises of disgruntlement as she went.

"That DShK right there is gonna rip this thing to shreds." Sonny noted and Theresa peaked a little over the backseat to look and when she whistled lowly, two hands came for her head and pushed her down. She smacked at Sonny and Brock's hands, a little annoyed. Good Lord, she is just as trained as them.

"I'll frag it." Trent said as Sonny handed him a MP7, and he handed it to Jason.

"All right, guys. Let's just try and look friendly." Jason told them.

"I'm always friendly." Sonny claimed.

"Okay, Wreck-It-Ralph." Theresa snorted from where she was laying down, staring at the ceiling of the SUV.

"Inspection. Everyone out." One of the Sudanese National Army members ordered Bravo.

"I'm sorry. That's not gonna happen, boss." Jason denied him, and Theresa silently retrieved her Glock from the waistband of her skinny jeans.

"Inspection!" The accented military man repeated.

"Sorry, we can't do that." Jason repeated his answer as well.

"Are you insane, sir? Do you want to die here?" The Sudanese man asked him, walking closer to the car. Theresa lied completely still, breathing even, hand on her gun tightening and index finger moving to the trigger as an instinctive reaction to the threat.

Jason leveled the man with a look, "Can you lean in? I want to show you something. Come on, I know I can't do anything. That machine gunner there is gonna turn me into pink mist. Come on, take a look in. I want to show you something. Look down. That's a full mag from an MP7 pointed straight at your waist. Now, I know as soon as the shooting starts, that DShK is gonna tear us to pieces. But what I want you to know, whatever else happens, you'll die. Maybe you'll last a couple hours with your balls blown off and your guts hanging out of your stomach. Personally, I'd rather be vaporized by the DShk. Nobody wins. So, what do you say we give peace a chance?"

"Stand back, boys. Lower your weapons." The man ordered and Bravo's tensed bodies relaxed. He ordered some of them in their language, then looked back to Jason and asked, "John Lennon, yes?"

Jason's only reply was a smug little smirk as Trent drove them away. It took a while for them to reach the American Aid Center and if it wasn't for the glorious invention called maps, then Theresa was sure they would have gotten lost out here, bumfuck in the middle of nowhere.

Jason got out of the car and while he and Sonny went to talk to Erik Wilkenson, the rest of Bravo got out of the car but stayed near it, and watched the perimeter for any signs of trouble.

Theresa looked at the children running around and her heart gave a tug. She sighed from her spot next to Brock and he raised a brow in her direction.

"What's that for?" Brock asked, eyes going back to their surroundings.

"Nothing. Just thinking how bad it must be to grow up in a warzone." Theresa shrugged, sunglasses shielding her eyes that was full of emotions.

"Well, I mean, you kind of did." Brock gave her a pointed look, referring to the truth about her past.

Theresa snorted, "No, my mother trained me to be a warrior, maybe even a killer, but it wasn't a warzone. Not at all."

Brock was quiet for a few seconds. "If you could go back, and choose something different for yourself, would you?"

"No." Theresa didn't have to think about it.

Brock frowned. He honestly didn't expect that. With the life Theresa had – and that's talking about before she joined Bravo, or even the Navy – he really thought that she would say yes. "Why?"

"Because then I wouldn't have all of you." Theresa answered simply, gesturing with her head around to the rest of Bravo.

Before Brock could respond, a semi-fuming Sonny walked them. Theresa raised her eyebrows at Jason, who wasn't far behind Quinn. "What's the word?"

"They're not coming." Jason told the rest of his team. "They know what could happen and they still want to stay."

"Is it wrong that I'm weirdly impressed?" Theresa asked, tilting her head in thought. Brock and Jason shook their heads 'no' and she grinned.

"So, we wasted our time?" Trent asked.

Jason dreaded telling his team, especially Theresa, the rest of it, but he doesn't believe in lying without a purpose. "Yeah, and what's even worse, is that Crowley already knew. He spoke to Wilkenson a few hours before we arrived."

Theresa's grin fell from her face and she clenched her fists tightly. She looked at Jason, anger burning hotly through her veins. "Are you sure I can't hit him?"

"Positive." Jason nodded, hiding a small smile as he reported to TOC what happened.

"What do you mean, he already knows?" Mandy asked, clearly incredulous. Theresa was still pissed, and couldn't think of something smart to say.

"Okay, look, what I mean is that the guy we came here to get talked to the acting ambassador Crowley today, right? He told him that he wasn't gonna leave." Jason was telling Mandy as the rest of his team got into the vehicle.

Mandy scoffed, "Son of a-"

"Yeah." Jason agreed. "All right, also, did he send us here to kidnap him? Because I'm telling you right now that's not gonna happen, all right? These people, they know the risks. They're willing to take it, and they're not going anywhere."

Mandy understood what he was saying. "They say they don't want to go, we can't take them. Problem is, now you're a couple hours deeper in the bush and it's a couple hours closer to nightfall. Protests are turning violent nationwide."

"Well, don't worry about us. We're heading back to you now." Jason told her as he got into the car.

"Okay, drive fast. Things are only getting worse." Mandy said right before she keyed out.

Jason looked at Trent, "Floor it."

"Copy that." Trent replied as he started the car and reversed out of the Aid Center.

Time passed and it was nightfall by time they reached the first checkpoint they passed after the American school earlier that day. Theresa was in the back once again, this time out of choice and she wasn't lying down. If she needs to shoot someone, this would give her the best vantage point as opposed to firing a weapon from in between Sonny and Brock – she could do it easily, but why not use the even easier road?

Besides, this way she doesn't blow either of their eardrums out.

"This doesn't look good." Sonny noted as he looked at the new faces guarding the checkpoint.

"Yeah, these definitely aren't the guys who waved us through earlier today." said Jason.

Sonny leaned forward as he looked at them, "Ah, these guys don't look political. They look more like bandits."

"A Sudanese Rebel Leader and his merry band of morons." Theresa commented, MP7 resting on her lap and her Glock by her side, gaining snickers from her team.

"We don't know who they are yet. But it looks like they shot those guards." Jason stated. He looked at the men at the checkpoint, then addressed his team. "Anyone goes for the DShK, shoot 'em in the face." The whole of Bravo looked at the men who started to circle them. Jason, "Call your shots. He's mine."

"Left near. Right far." Sonny stated.

"I'll take the two behind us." Theresa said as she turned around, looking through the glass that wasn't broken yet, eyeing the men walking behind the SUV.

One of the men in front of the vehicle shouted at them, "Step out now!"

Sonny spotted one of the men trying to sneak to their most dangerous weapon. "The DShK."

"On me." Jason told them and as soon as he fired the first shot, Theresa took out the two men behind them, the glass of the back window shattering. Gunfire roared through the air and when most of the men were taken out, Jason ordered Trent to drive. "Go."

Trent hit the gas hard and drove into the vehicles barricading the road, hitting the vehicles out of the way. One of the burning barrels fell over, the burning mess falling onto the road. One of the men who survive kept shooting at them, until he dropped to the ground with a bullet from Theresa's gun in his heart.

"Anybody hit?" Jason asked when they were a distance away from the checkpoint, the gunfire having stopped.

Theresa, "Nope."

Sonny answered for him and Brock, "We're good."

Trent, "I'm good."

"Okay."Jason then turned his head around to look at his youngest member. "Tessa?"

"Fine." Theresa answer as she spun back to face her team.

Jason's eyebrows rose, "You sure? Because you didn't know after getting hit on the Centaurus."

"Yes!" Theresa exclaimed, more than a little exasperated. "Christ, is this going to follow me until I retire?"

"Probably." Sonny answered with a slight grin.

a/n: i know you guys have probably heard this plenty of times, but stay safe people. also, i hope you enjoyed the chapter.