Author's note: So here's the next chapter. Just a heads up, if you want to be filled in on whats going on with the story, be sure to read the long authors note at the end. Enjoy.
What Will It Take?
Chapter 6
Ela let out a yawn as she woke up. She attempted to stretch when she realized something was constricting her. All the memories from the night before came rushing back to her, as drunk as she was, she still remembered everything from going to the coffee shop to Meghan helping her to bed. She was surprised at herself that she had the audacity to ask Meghan to spend the night, she was even more surprised that the blonde had accepted the offer. Speaking of which, said blonde was holding on to her tight and not letting go, those toned muscles being put to use. Ela really wanted to move, she managed to wiggle herself around to look her friend and paused at the sight of the sleeping woman. For once, Meghan looked calm, at peace, as if she finally wasn't overburdened by the world. It was also the first time Ela had noticed just how beautiful the Navy SEAL was. Her toned mussels, her lightly tanned skin, her pale blonde hair which was partially blocking her face. Without thinking, Ela moved the strands of stray hair and tucked it behind Meghan's ear. This caused the blonde the stir, Ela silently cursed and quickly moved her hand away. Meghan woke up as her green eyes opened to meet Ela's blue ones.
"Morning." The blonde greeted, it seemed she didn't notice Ela touching her hair.
"Good morning." Ela greeted back.
"How did you sleep?" She asked as she let go of her.
"That was actually the best night's sleep I've had since I got here." Ela answered, finally able to stretch.
"I can't remember the last time I slept that well either." Meghan rolled onto her back. "I guess alcohol really helps."
For a few minutes, the two of them just lay there staring at the ceiling, not saying anything.
"Thank you for last night." Ela spoke up.
"No thanks are necessary."
Ela was starting to think that Meghan was too selfless. "I know I was being difficult, you had every reason to give up on me and leave me in the rut I was stuck in, but you didn't. I'd say a thank you is necessary." She rolled back on her side to face the blonde. "Plus, you bought me coffee."
"I'm just happy to help." Meghan said as she turned to look at her. "I'm glad your feeling better after last night."
"So, our date didn't go so bad after all."
"Wait, what?!"
Ela laughed, "You guys were being really loud, I heard the jokes."
"Oh, sorry about that."
"Don't worry about it."
The two continued to look at one another, not saying anything, nothing more needed to be said. The two women were simply content with the others company.
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. "Ela?" Monika's voice came from the other side.
Ela's eyes went wide, if anyone were to walk in right now, they would definitely get the wrong idea. Without thinking, Ela pushed Meghan off the bed, out of view.
"Oof."
"Stay there and stay quiet." Ela whispered, she then threw the sheets on top of her, concealing her completely.
Ela got up and answered the door, greeting the German operator. "Monika."
"Hey, have you seen Meghan around, she wasn't in her room?"
"No, I haven't." Ela lied.
"Well, if you see her could you give her this, from me?" Monika handed her an unopened bottle of bourbon. "Also tell her I'm sorry for Eliza taking the last one."
"Sure. I'll make sure she gets it."
"Thanks. I would give it to her myself, but I have to take care of my idiot."
"Your what?"
"My girlfriend." Monika clarified. "She's hungover from the drinking contest last night."
"Oh, you meant Eliza."
Monika sighed. "A little piece of advice, if you fall in love with someone, make sure they're not a moron first."
"You think your girlfriends a moron?"
"I know she's a moron, but she my moron."
Ela was deeply confused, she had never been in a relationship and had no idea how things worked. From what she understood, it was two people who enjoyed each other's company, so the fact that Monika was calling her girlfriend a moron that she loved was odd to her.
"Don't get me wrong, I love her more than anyone in the world, but her antics are a headache."
"Then why stay with her?"
Monika looked at her, almost offended but realized that Ela was genuinely curious. "Because her annoying habits pale in comparison to the fact that she will do anything to keep me happy and our relationship strong."
"So, she's worth it?"
"Yes, without a doubt."
"How did you two even get together?" Ela was even more curious, the two women from what she saw, were almost polar opposites when it came to their personalities. Monika was always calm and well-mannered, where as Eliza didn't know what calm and collected was. She couldn't help but wonder how they could be attracted to each other.
"She was the first person to genuinely care for me. She would always go out of her way to make sure I was alright, even when I didn't ask for it, or deserve it."
Ela felt like there was more she wasn't telling her, but it was honestly none of her business. "She really cares about you."
"Exactly, and I care about her." Monika thought for a moment. "Speaking of which, I need to ask. In all seriousness, are you and Meghan…?"
"Are Meghan and I what?"
"Are you two together?"
"Oh." Ela was slightly embarrassed that anyone would be given that impression. "No, we're not."
"Oh." Monika sounded disappointed. "Well, that's to bad, whoever gets her will be an extremely lucky person."
Ela thought about the blonde and her caring nature. "Yeah, I guess they will."
Meghan was glad that no one could see her or the blush on her face.
"Well, I better get back to Eliza. I'll see you later."
"See you." Ela closed the door as Monika walked off.
Meghan stood up once she knew it was safe. "Wait, so we're not together?"
"Shut up." Ela responded, Meghan laughed, and Ela simply smiled.
Meghan then felt her stomach growl. "I'm starving, what time is it?"
Ela checked her watch, "Almost noon."
"Crap, we slept that late? I guess that really was the best sleep I've had in a while." Meghan's stomach growled again. "I've got some food we can cook in the lounge. I'll grab everything and meet you down stairs."
"Sounds great."
Meghan and Ela were cooking bacon and eggs for their breakfast, even though it was technically lunch time. They had also taken time to clean up some of the mess left behind from the night before. Meghan had brought more than enough for the two of them, she figured there would be more operators coming to join them at the smell of food.
"Smells fantastic." Ela commented. "Didn't know you could cook."
"After eating military rations for a few years, I decided to pick up the skill."
"Hmm, I guess I just got used to it."
"Looks like the first batch is ready, grab a plate."
Ela got one of the plates they brought, and Meghan placed some eggs and a few strips of bacon on it. Ela took a seat and began eating as Meghan got a plate for herself.
"How is it?" Meghan asked.
"Absolutely delicious, great job."
"Thanks."
"I guess whoever gets you really is going to be lucky."
Meghan blushed at the reference to what Monika had said earlier.
"Something smells delicious." A new voice came in.
"Good afternoon Julien, want some food?"
"Only if we share my croissants." The French operator held up a bag of the bread.
"Wow, where'd you get those?" Meghan questioned.
"My family sent them from home."
"Well, be sure to tell them thank you for us."
"Of course."
Julien made a plate of food for himself before joining the two women and gave them each a croissant.
"Nice to meet you by the way," He turned to Ela, "I'm Julien Nizan with GIGN."
"Ela Bosak, GROM." They shook hands.
"So how are you liking Rainbow so far?"
"Well, I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't this."
"I think that's most of us when we first get here." Julien laughed.
"So, Julien," Meghan chimed in. "how was Spain?"
"Are you referring to the mission, or the aftermath?" The Frenchman smiled.
"Either one, I guess."
"Well, any mission with the Russians is destined for chaos, but none the less be successful. It was just nice to get a small vacation as payment for once."
"Must have been nice."
"It was a nice change."
"So…any progress with Emma?"
"Ugh. At this point, I think I could hold up a neon sign saying, 'GO OUT WITH ME' and she wouldn't get the hint. She would probably focus on the faulty wiring of the sign."
Meghan laughed. "She'll come around eventually. Don't give up."
"Thanks." The poor man had been trying to court the French woman for over two years now, and everyone in Rainbow knew it, except Emma ironically. He would always flirt and show interest for the woman and she was still completely oblivious. Being an engineering prodigy meant she kept one hundred percent of her focus on technology like her drone, leaving poor Julien in the dust.
"Maybe if you dressed up as a robot she'd give you some attention." Another voice joined them in the lounge.
"Hey Miles." Meghan and Julien said in unison.
"You guys making food in here?"
"It's on the counter, help yourself." Meghan offered.
"Thanks." He said as he grabbed some food and joined the trio.
"This is Ela, one of our new operators." Meghan gestured to her friend.
"Miles Campbell, FBI. Welcome aboard." She shook his hand then introduced herself.
"So, Miles happy to be back?" Meghan asked.
"I must admit, I enjoyed this one more than usual, but overall, I'm happy to be back here where I get to see all your pretty faces."
"Fair enough."
The four of them continued to eat as they made small talk.
"So, Ela where are you from?" Miles asked.
"Wroclaw, Poland." Ela answered. "Born and raised."
"How was growing up there?"
"Well, my father was the head of GROM, so you can imagine living with that."
"So, your dad was also your boss? Man, I could never handle that."
"Was he your inspiration for joining the military?" Julien inquired.
"No, that was my grandfather, he fought for Poland during World War II."
"Cool, so where have you fought?" Miles asked another question.
"I spent four years in Iraq, and another year in Afghanistan."
"The Sandbox, nice."
Meghan wasn't saying anything, only watching the conversation unfold. She had to contain her surprise, just a few days ago, getting anything out of the Polish girl was like pulling teeth. Now, she was astonished to see her tell her friends about herself without hesitation. She noticed that she wasn't sharing the harsher details like dealing with her father, but that was understandable. She wondered if it was because of her help from last night. She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice the conversation had turned towards her.
"Meghan?" Julien had pulled her from her thoughts.
"Sorry, what?"
"Ela says you've fought together."
"Oh, yes, we fought together in Iraq and Afghanistan."
"So, you two have a history together." Miles hinted.
"Shut up."
"I'm just messing with you." All four operators laughed.
The four were so engrossed in their conversation, they didn't notice two additional people walk in.
"What's going on in here?" The four turned to see the oldest and youngest operators in Rainbow.
"Hey Mike, hey Mark, welcome back." Meghan greeted. "Want some food?"
Mark simply shook his head.
"No thanks, We're just here to pass on a message."
"Oh, what's up?"
"Monday at nine o clock, all hands in the meeting room, Six herself will be there giving the brief." Ela noticed he kept a serious look the whole time.
"New operation?"
"By the sounds of it, it seems so."
"Already? We just got back."
"Yeah, and it sounds like a big one, so don't be late."
"You got it dad." Miles joked.
"Shut up you fucking wanker." He turned to Ela. "Bosak, welcome to the team."
Mark nodded his head at her as well.
"Thank you."
"Another thing, that also means a lot more training in the near future, so be prepared. I heard about what happened to you, we won't have any more mishaps like that again."
Without saying any more, the two turned and left the lounge, presumably to tell the other operators about the upcoming meeting.
"That guy is always way too serious." Miles commented. "And Mark is way too quiet."
"No kidding." Meghan agreed.
"Well, youngsters tend to be shyer, and you would be grumpy too if you were known as the old man of Rainbow." Julien pointed out.
"I guess that's true."
"How old are they?" Ela asked.
"Mike is fifty-six, Mark is twenty-five." Miles answered.
"Wow."
The four of them made more conversation as finished their meal and cleaned up the dishes. Miles and Julien eventually had to leave to carry on with their day, Meghan and Ela decided to stay in the lounge.
"So, what do you feel like doing today?" Meghan asked.
"I'm not sure." Ela was laying on one of the couches.
"Anyone here?" Three more operators came into the lounge.
"Hey guys." Meghan greeted them. "This is Ela. Ela this is Jack, Gilles, and Gustave."
"Hello." Ela waved as she sat up.
"So, you're the new girl." Gilles commented.
"I suppose."
"Nice to meet you, Gilles Toure." He introduced himself with his slight French accent. "This in my colleague, Gustave Kateb. We're with GIGN."
"Nice to meet you two."
"So, I heard Meghan took care of you in my absence." Gustave inquired.
"Gustave is our resident doctor." Meghan clarified.
"Oh. Yes, she did."
"I've been meaning to ask what happened."
"Well, we were doing some training and a batch of sim rounds were defective. They were overloaded with propellent and hit me with more force than intended." Ela explained.
"She had a few hairline fractures and a lot of bruising, I just had her ice the wound and take it easy for a few days." Meghan elaborated for the doctor.
"Well, I'm glad you're alright, and that Meghan was able to take care of you. If you have any other medical concerns, don't be afraid to ask me." Gustave offered.
"I appreciate it."
"So Ela, what do you think of Rainbow." Jack asked.
"I think the people in it are some very interesting characters." Ela answered.
"I agree," he sat down on the couch next to her. "Jack Estrada, FBI."
"Nice to meet you Jack." She shook his hand. "So, you're Miles' friend."
"Yeah, we're colleagues." He smiled. "So, how did you end up here."
Meghan was sitting in a chair across from the two and she immediately felt uncomfortable where this was going.
"I was a PMC for four years, then transferred to GROM. Eventually, with my record of performance, Rainbow thought I would be a good addition."
"I'd say you look like a very fine addition to the team."
Meghan clenched her fists, she hated the idea of Jack hitting on Ela. She hated it even more when Ela smiled at the comment.
"Well, thank you. I look forward to working with you in the future."
"Well, it seems like we'll get the opportunity soon enough, not sure if you heard, but we got a new op coming up."
"Yes, we were told not too long ago."
"Can't wait to see you in action."
"Should be exciting."
"So, how do you like England? If you want, I can show you around."
"Sure, that sounds nice. Meghan showed me around a little last night."
"Well, I could show you a real good time, if you know what I mean."
By now, the other three were tired of Jack's blatant and cringy attempt at flirting, Meghan was keeping her self from strangling the man.
"Alright Romeo, lets go, we have a meeting to go to, in case you forgot." Gilles interrupted, he picked up Jack by the collar and pulled him away.
"I'll catch you later Ela." Jack said as they left.
"See you around." Ela gave him a smile as the three of them left. "He seems nice."
Meghan could feel her blood pressure return to normal with him gone. "Yeah, he's…something."
"Why did Gilles call him Romeo?"
"What do you mean?"
"It's just, I thought he said his last name was Estrada."
All Meghan could do was stare. Did Ela really not understand what Romeo meant? Did she even comprehend what was happening? "I…don't know." She lied.
"I wonder what he meant by showing me a good time."
"Who knows." Meghan realized that Ela had no idea what flirting was, probably no concept of romance in general. Well, at least that probably meant she wouldn't respond to Jack's advances, but what she didn't understand is, why it made her feel better.
"Guten tag ladies."
"What now?" Meghan thought to herself. She looked over and saw the other half of GSG-9. "Elias, Dominic, nice to have you back."
"Thank you, it's nice to be back." Elias greeted.
"Yes, it's good to see you Meghan." He reached out his hand.
Meghan accepted the handshake and was immediately overcome with the stinging sense of electricity. "OW! WHAT THE HELL?!"
Both Elias and Dominic burst out laughing. "You just fell for the old joy buzzer my dear."
"I thought the joy buzzer doesn't actually use electricity." She said, holding her numb hand.
"Not when you have a custom made one." Dominic boasted.
"You must be Ela." Elias greeted.
"Yes, I am." Ela greeted, making sure not to shake his hand.
"I'm Elias, and this is Dominic, we're from GSG-9 like Marius and Monika. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too, I guess."
"You'll have to forgive him, he's a prankster."
"Prankster is putting it mildly." Meghan stated, by now, her entire forearm had gone completely numb. "Why are you two here?"
"We just wanted to meet our new friends, we spoke to Siu and Liu this morning, they seem really nice."
"What did you do to them? Stab 'em?"
"No, I don't prank people when I first meet them, speaking of which," he turned to Ela, "nice to meet you."
He extended his hand, although he seemed genuine about not pranking her, she still only grabbed the tip of his finger and shook it. "Nice to meet you as well."
For the third time that day Meghan watched as Ela told others about herself without shying away. Luckily, this time both of the guys were genuinely interested in meeting her and not getting with her. She was shocked how one night of progress had helped the Polish girl, Ela finally saw that she could trust the people around her. Meghan couldn't be happier for her friend.
"Hey guys." Eliza greeted as she and Monika entered.
"You're alive." Meghan greeted back.
"Takes more than that to kill me."
"Gentlemen, good to have you back." Monika greeted to her fellow GSG-9 operatives.
"Monika, nice to see you!" He gave the blonde woman a hug and immediately screamed in pain. "AHH!"
Monika stepped back revealing her own custom joy buzzer, everyone except Dominic laughed.
For the next few hours, the six of spent time them catching up and sharing stories about things that happened while they were apart. As different and odd as everyone was, they were a team, and a good one. In fact, with all the crazy and weird people involved, they seemed more like a family, and maybe Ela would fit in after all.
Author's note: And so ends Act 1 of the story. Next chapter will begin Act 2, and here's what you can expect: less character introductions, I still plan on every operator making an appearance, and significant ones (for example, Thermite saying one line in the previous chapter does not count as an appearance). However, they will be introduced in a different way. But with that being said, Act 2 will focus mostly on developing the main characters. I'm also adding a lot more action scenes, I really wanted to write more than two but I couldn't figure out where to fit any more of them in Act 1. Well that's about all I'm willing to give away, I just felt like you guys deserved to be kept in the loop. Also, since I'm starting a whole new phase for the story, the release of the next chapter will be delayed by about a week. As always, I hope you enjoyed and feel free to leave a review. Until next time.