NOW

The small fire snapped. Jack and Desi jumped, their hands automatically reaching for guns. The night was surprisingly quiet. Occasional rustling was the only sound showing anything living moved around them. Mac, Bozer and Riley were curled around the fire, bundled against the dry chill in the air. Jack could feel a slight breeze but the pine trees didn't even twitch. It was a little unnerving.

Desi sat beside him sorting their loot into packs. She and Bozer have found transportation and it was two clicks south east. Jack did not miss that she didn't say car or truck. What the hell were they going to be driving out of here? Jack shrugged his shoulders to loosen the stress on his shoulders. He leaned forward and twisted. Instead of warming, the rock he leaned against cooled his back through his two coats.

Desi sighed and sat back. She looked casual, but Jack knew her well enough to see the signs of alertness. He smiled. He'd known Desi ten-maybe fifteen?-years. Jack looked away into the dark remembering the mission he'd first met the girl. Jack wrinkled his nose. In Vietnam there had been traffickers with ties to an organization in Indonesia who moved weapons for terrorists around the world. Desi was on loan from the Company and was in deep cover as a trafficking victim. Jack and his Delta team blew the shit out of the base accidentally almost killing the victims. They had no idea that there was a shoddy underground bunker dating back to the Vietnam war.

Desi looked like a ten year old. Jack's heart had broken when he helped the women, girls and boys out of the collapsed bunker. Desi was dirty, beaten. Later he learned she'd received severe beatings every day for a month. She had 12 broken bones. Jack never learned which ones. Desi's eyes were cold, no sign of trauma in them-only anger. A lot of anger. Desi was pissed at the world. She his behind a shield that was the wall of China besides the one Jack had been fighting inside Mac.

Over the years, Jack learned her entire family had been killed in front of her as a child and she had raised herself on the streets of Vietnam until she was thirteen. The government caught her and sent her to a reeducation center. She escaped at eighteen. Jack had no idea what had happened to her after that. Somehow she managed to get to America and worked for the CIA.

She was shoved into his Delta team to finish the operation. It took almost a year. She rubbed everyone wrong and didn't care. Jack noticed her grimacing and gasping in private, but in front of everyone else she was a killing machine without any kind of pain, ever. She never cried. The only time Jack saw her tear up was when they came across a shipping container full of dead girls and boys. The men of his team were openly crying. Jack reached out to comfort her, she kicked his ass. He let her. Jack ignored the voice that hissed quietly "yeah right."

Jack took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Mentally he relaxed his muscles one by one. It was a trick he'd learned on the long hours of combat. The air was crisp and smelled of pine. The slight fire added a comforting smokey tinge. It reminded him of camping with his old man. Jack glanced over at Mac. Mac snorted and made a soft sound-something between a whimper and moan. Mac let out a deep breath and stilled. Jack released a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. He glanced over to see Desi watching him amused. He smiled.

"What?"

"You are adorable." She said her voice pitched low. Jack rolled his hours. He had no idea how many hours they had spared. Jack swore he could still feel the bruises. Desi made him a better fighter; Jack showed her how to use the violence inside her as a tool, and that it was ok to let people in, be human once in awhile. Desi felt a bigger debt to Jack than Jack thought she should have. In his eyes, they were even. She protected his boy. Jack studied her with a small smile. She smiled easier, showed emotion, was more human. Mac rubbed off on her, like he did on everyone around him. Jack did not expect them to hook up. He narrowed his eyes. Desi raised an eyebrow. Jack smiled.

"So you and Mac, huh?" Desi rolled her eyes and huffed. She shot the sleeping Bozer and Riley a cold glare.

"I protected him, just like you asked." Jack nodded, his eyes scanning the dark forest around them. He saw movement. There was no rustle or snapping brush-deer.

"I didn't ask you to sleep with him." Desi's mouth flattened and a fire started to kindle in her dark eyes. In the fire, she looked like a porcelain doll. An evil porcelain doll-Annabelle's creepier cousin. Jack shuddered and leaned closer to the fire.

"Who told you I slept with him?"

"You didn't?"

"That's none of your business." Jack smiled.

"So, you did." Desi huffed and stood up stretching. Jack chuckled.

"It's ok, you know."

"IF I did, and I am not saying I did, I wouldn't need your permission." Jack nodded. They both knew there wasn't much he could do about it anyway.

"I'm just saying, I think you both deserve each other."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yup, Jack thought, still a prickly porcupine. Jack shrugged and glanced over as Mac hissed in air. His whole body twitched. Mac quietted.

"It just means, I think both of you are great people and I was hoping-"

"You set me up on a date?" Her voice didn't get louder, but sharper. Like a knife of ice looking to melt in a pool of blood. Jack shivered at the image.

"No, no...calm down. I just thought you would make a great team. If that meant-"

"It didn't." Desi growled. Jack let out a long breath. Desi narrowed her eyes.

"Great, that's what you think of me."

"No, no no. Stop putting words in my mouth."
"What if Mac and I decided to run away?" Each word was a punch, Jack winced with the bruises, "Would you come after me to save your boy? What if-"

"Desi!" Jack hissed adding in a touch of command. Desi automatically straightened. Her hackles were raised and Jack was pretty sure she'd kick his ass if she wanted to. He stood up and walked to her side. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"Look, Mac would be blessed to have a girlfriend like you. I would be thrilled for both of you. Plus, you'd be able to keep him out of trouble 24/7. I am just worried because both of you have…" Jack edited himself at her dark look, "...issues." He finished. Jack knew it was lame when he said it. Desi gave him the full force of her cold glare. Ouch. Suddenly she grinned and broke into a soft laugh. Jack blinked.

"Ok, I'm confused."

"Relax, Sarge. There is nothing between us except a good friendship. He is exactly like you described him an incredibly smart puppy." Both shot Mac a fond look, "It was cute to see someone who could face the hairiest of situations suddenly become clumsy and awkward." Jack narrowed his eyes, a wave of protectiveness flooding over him. Desi shook her head and raised her hand.

"No, I never teased him-too much. It helped him get out of his head. Mostly." Desi sighed her face turning serious. She met Jack's eyes, "Sarge, he is the strongest, most adaptable person I'd ever met...and the most vulnerable. I didn't know him before you left, but Riley, Matty and Bozer told me how he changed while you were gone. I could see it. Jack rubbed his eyes trying to ease the burning.

"Tell me." He whispered. Desi studied him for a long minute.

"He was less focussed, more anxious. I let Riley and Bozer deal with that. I...occasionally, had to snap him out of it. I think they hated me for a long time." Jack chuckled.

"You are gifted at making friends." Jack's voice dripped with sarcasm. Desi punched his shoulder. Jack winced. Stubbornness forced him to ignore the agony burning up and down his arm. Desi smiled. He was glad she pulled her punch. Desi's eyes looked far away.

"He has a way of drawing you in."

"That he does."

"I sang to him."

"You what to him?"

"Sang." Desi glared into Jack's amusement.

"We were at the top of an electrical tower and he froze." Jack dropped his eyes and rubbed his forehead.

"He's terrified of heights."

"Riley and Bozer has told me stories about him riding a plane's landing gear as it took off or climbing a 30 story building using only suction cups?" Jack nodded and wiped his whole face.

"Yeah, he did that and a whole lot more." He didn't try to hide the pride in his voice.

"But he froze?" Jack glanced over to Mac. He could only see a closed eye under the wild fluff of his hair.

"I wasn't there." Jack murmured. Both silently heard the "I should have been." Jack smiled at Desi, "I am glad you were. Thank you, Desi." Desi looked down, Jack swore she blushed.

"Just doing my job, Sarge."

"And singing." Desi shrugged.

"It worked." Jack opened his mouth to respond when both froze. They shared a look and nodded. Jack bent over Bozer and clapped a hand over Boze's mouth. Boze jerked awake prevented from making a noise.

"Boze, it's me. We have company. Pack up camp and get ready to run." Boze nodded, his eyes bright and wide in the dark. Jack backed away. Riley was already throwing dirt on the fire. Jack pulled his Beretta and glanced at Desi. She grinned. Jack was glad she was on their side. She looked like a lioness ready to hunt. Jack nodded. Desi turned and vanished into the woods. Even Jack couldn't separate her slight shadow from the darkness of the trees and stones around them. Jack glanced at the kids. He handed Riley his back up gun, a Ruger LCP. In the dim flashlight she looked pale. Jack had a flash of kid Riley fighting her dad, trying to protect her mom. Jack smiled at her. She took the gun with steady hands. Her face was serious. Jack had never been more proud of her.

Boze leaned over Mac helping the sleepy blonde into his boots. Mac yawned and rubbed his eyes. He bearrily met Jack's eyes and offered a reassuring smile. Jack wasn't super reassured, but half a Mac was a whole lot better than none. Jack nodded and slid into the forest.

Jack smiled and took in a deep breath. His thudding heart slowed and his muscles relaxed. He was in his element. Hunt or be hunted. Jack moved silently among the prickly triangles of pine. He paused. He could smell cheeseburger-Wendy's. Jack's mouth watered. He licked his lips and slid under the tree. He crawled under the low branches without making a sound.

Through the branches he saw a smallish man in full TAC gear with night goggles. He carried a black Remington R5 RGP. Interesting. Once thought to be innovative the gas operating system in the gun had been found to fail easy in combat situations and the barrel tended to rise with each shot. It had been out of use since 2016.

The TAC soldiers back at the Red House had the standard government issued, H&K MP5 or MP10 rifles. This guy was good, but he was not a professional soldier. Jack frowned. He wasn't with an intelligence agency or military. Jack studied his uniform. To the untrained eye, he'd look like a professional. Jack could see the mismatched pants and equipment vest. Lower quality bullet proof vest, one out of circulation for at least the last ten years. Hard soled boots. He didn't walk with the heel to toe step that allows creeping without a rustle. The night goggles-well, ok they were pretty new tactical goggles. Very expensive. Someone outfitted this guy, a very wealthy someone. Jack thought of the area. He thought of the hidden areas in the castle and the domed building that Mac had ended up in. Either this guy was a mercenary or a militia man affiliated with the people behind this mess, possibly a foreign power.

Jack smiled and silently pulled out his black-bladed 10 inch tactical knife. He slithered out from under the tree behind the man. Without a sound he rose to his feet, one hand grabbed the man, silencing any sound, the other slid the knife smoothly to the right of the spine. Jack stepped back missing most of the gush of arterial blood as he snipped the abdominal aorta. Jack eased the man to the ground and slid him under the tree. He snagged the NV goggles and attached them to his belt. His eyes were adapted to the slight star and moonlight. He could see movement better without the goggles, especially along his periphery. He wiped his knife on the guy's shirt and wrinkled his nose. Polyester.

Jack sheathed the knife and crept forward. He heard the soft crunch of feet to his left. He slid from tree to tree until he could clearly hear soft whispers. Terrible operational discipline. These guys smelled like beer. Amateurs.

"Did you hear that?" Jack frowned. He listened. There wasn't a lot of noise.

"There it is again." Still no noise. These guys were afraid of their own shadows. Not only amateurs, bargain-basement amateurs. Still didn't mean they weren't dangerous. He studied the environment and breathed through his mouth, keeping his lips tight. It lessened the fog his breath caused. Ahead of the trio, Jack saw two smaller trees nestled around a boulder taller than he was. Jack nimbly climbed to the top of the stone and looked down. Jack watched his quarry. He could probably yell "Boo" and they'd fall to the ground screaming. Jack thought about it. He almost felt bad for taking out the scaredy cats. Almost.

They were about twenty feet past his position before he dropped silently to the ground behind them. These guys didn't have NVG's they held a giant flashlight that shook as they scanned the forest all around them. Jack flattened to the ground. It passed over him. They didn't notice.

"This place gives me the creeps."

"You know a lot of Indians were massacred around here."

"A lot of Indians were massacred everywhere."

"Yeah, but here there's a curse-"

"There's always a curse."

"Yeah, but-"

"Shut up, both of you!"

"Come on, it's only one half brain-fried guy. He's probably froze to death by now-"

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"You-"

"If you both don't shut up, I'll kill you myself." The last voice was clearly in command. He sounded like a wheezy bully more than any kind of real leader. The three quieted down and continued on their path. Jack rose to his feet and sidled up to the last guy in line. His breath was fast. He was round and out of shape, probably the guy in charge. Jack shadowed him a couple of steps as he pulled out his wire garrote. He snagged the guy's head and in one movement dragged him into the shadows. The razor sharp piano wire sliced through the man's throat snagging on the man's spine. Jack dropped the body then side stepped into the branches of a giant juniper pine. It took ten minutes before the two bumbling commandos noticed they weren't being followed by their comrade.

"Hold on, Billy." The second in line, a tall gangly man who held the flashlight in shaking hands nervously scanned the woods, "Ed! Ed!"

"Where's Ed?" Billy asked.

"If I knew, I wouldn't be shouting would I?"

"Shut up!"

"No, you shu-EEEEP!" The man tripped over Ed's body. He rolled over and skidded back. He squealed in fear when his back hit a boulder.

"Skippy?" Bill hissed. Jack smiled. This was better than the Three Stooges.

"E-E-Ed's dead!" Skippy clung to the light and turned it away from the body. He shone it on Billy who cried out and stepped back covering his eyes.

"Damnit, Skippy!"

"So-so-sorry."

"Are you sure he's dead?"

"Pretty sure."

"Did you check his pulse?" Billy said as he slid beside Skippy.

"No, but he's dead."

"What? You have to-"

"HIS FUCKING HEAD IS ALMOST CUT OFF, alright?" There was silence as the two huddled together shaking with fear. Jack frowned. He was tempted to leave the two idiots to their own devices, he doubted they would even find their way out of the forest. Jack let out a short huff. Even idiots can be dangerous. Jack eased around the tree then jumped behind them. They let out a squeal that would scare pigs and tried to scatter. Jack caught Skippy by his collar and sliced his throat. He lashed out with his left foot knocking Billy's legs out from under him. He followed the man to the ground and stabbed his knife through the costal notch at his neck. Jack was up and moving before he stopped gurgling. Jack wiped the blood off his tactical knife and sheathed it. He heard rustling in front of him. He smiled and moved in that direction.

The sharp retort of two guns stopped him in his tracks. A scream froze his blood. He turned and started sprinting toward their camp.

NOW-Half a klick east

Desi slid through the night like she was a knife parting the darkness. Here, on the hunt, she was alive. She was fine with shoot-outs and hand to hand, but creeping through the night hunting prey-it hit her spot. To be honest night didn't matter, she was fine hunting during the day, jungle, desert-ok, basically it was the hunting. She paused. A group of four hostiles approached from her 3 o'clock. She stepped back and flattened along the bark of a large oak. She didn't bother observing the guys. She knew Jack was a tactical guy and would have everything dissected and figured out before he moved. Desi? Well she figured they can autopsy the enemy after he's down. Her job was getting him there.

She slid two razor sharp 8inch tantos from their sheath's along her thighs. She wasn't completely sold on the small samurai swords, but they went with her outfit. A girl's gotta accessorize. Desi jumped into the group. She slashed her right tanto through a throat as she lashed at the man behind her with her left leg. She whirled slashing the throat of the man behind her as she brought her knee up. The man groaned leaning forward. Desi slit his throat with a double x strike. The final man managed to slam a fist into her left jaw. Desi spun with the movement and almost cut the man's head off. Desi wiped blood off the pair of knives and shrugged. Not bad. She wondered if they would fly true if she threw them. She looked up hearing the soft mumble of voices.

Desi slid back and waited. Five this time. They stopped and freaked out. They broke formation and were shouting with panic. Only one flashlight. Idiots. Desi slashed down. The flashlight and arm dropped to the ground. The man screamed. Desi jammed the tanto into the man's neck. She frowned. A little rough, not so good for stabbing. Still effective though. Desi knelt and sliced half turning. Another scream, femoral this time. Desi stood slashing as she went. Groin. Down and out.

Hands grabbed her around her neck. Sloppy headlock, didn't lock it in-embarrassing really. Desi pushed off a tree. They went over backwards. Desi made sure to land with her elbow out. Chest crunch, Desi followed through with a throat strike. Down and out. Desi rose to her feet and backed up an opponent with a back mule kick. She reached up and grabbed the other guy's head. She bent forward tossing the man over her hip. She used the same move to knee the first guy in his gut. He curled forward out of breath. Desi slashed down with both tantos. The guy's head rolled off. Nice. Desi turned and slammed her knee down on the chest of the last guy. The man's eyes bulged. Desi smiled and jammed the tanto up through the bottom of his mouth into his brain. Does ok stabbing soft tissue, didn't get stuck on bone or gristle. Not bad. Desi wiped off the blood and sheathed her weapons. She stood to go after more. She paused at the double snap of a gun. It echoes too much for her to identify. The scream that followed it sent chills down her spine.

"Crap, crap, crap…" She growled as she hurried in the direction of the scream. Toward their camp. Shit. Shit. Shit.