S.W.A.T
Chapter 2
"Colonel!" Aimee-Lee's voice rang out as they rushed to salute. He lazily returned it as he studied each of them. Roxie felt her cheeks burn as his gaze settled on her.
He stepped to the side of the guard, pressing his fingers against the back of the man's neck. Looking up at Roxie, he said finally, "Any harder and you could've broken his neck." His eyes moved to Riley with recognition. Riley met his gaze unwaveringly. "Welcome back," he said simply, causing the others to look at her in wonder of why she left. The Rock glanced around for a second, and then said in a slightly hushed voice, "Thanks for getting rid of this stupid jabroni. He kept asking for the Rock's autograph." They smiled somewhat, not daring to ask him why he spoke in third person. After they introduced themselves to him, he led them on a tour of the complex. A few hours later, all 7 of them were in the cafeteria, their stomachs rumbling for food. Dwayne had told them that their training started the next day at 0700 hours, and that they would meet the other team there, too. Oddly, no one approached their table as they sat and joked around with each other. All was going well until Riley stood up to throw her tray away, and ran straight into Hunter Hearst Hemsley. He grinned cheekily, grasping her arm.
"Back so soon?" she ripped her arm from his grasp. He laughed, and said in a lower voice, "Murderer." All signs of his smile disappeared as she gave him a hard right hook, sending him crashing to the ground. Hunter leapt up to attack her.
"Stand down!" came Rock's sharp order. Riley opened and closed her right fist, trying to get the feeling back into it. His sharp gaze turned to Riley, "What were you doing?" She was tempted to reply with 'kicking his ass', but instead remained deathly silent, glaring at Hunter. "5 laps around the loop," the Rock punished. The loop was a path of beaten red sand that went around the complex, and 1 lap was about a mile long. Hunter was still smiling, despite the fact that the left side of his face was turning red. "Wipe that smile off your face, you're running the same thing." At this point, Colonel Rick Flair interrupted. He laid a hand on Hunter's shoulder as Test, Chris Jericho, Dave Batista, and Randy Orton walked up behind them. Roxie, Kyrie, Aimee-Lee, Katrina, and Caitlin stood up from their seats, confused at what Hunter called her, but standing behind her to even up the odds. They felt an unexplained need to protect their soon-to-be teammate.
"I'm in charge of Hunter, not you," Rick said, smiling, "I'm in charge of this guys, and you're in charge of those sissies." Riley moved to go forward, but Rock prevented her. Rick laughed, "You're out of your league."
The five girls behind Riley and Rock started to comment sarcastically, but Rock interrupted them in a steady voice, "Riley, go do your laps," he said firmly. She passed one last dirty look at Hunter before leaving the cafeteria.
"You're just going to let him walk all over us?" Kyrie hissed in his ear, "Come on!"
"I like my job," Rock said as the others left, "And I'm not going to put it into jeopardy. They have close ties with the General."
Kyrie sighed angrily, but then a smile lit her face, "What room number are they?" she asked. The Rock gave her a stern look.
"I'm not saying that they don't deserve it, but you guys could get kicked off before you start."
"If three people happen to stumble down hallway C, hit a room, and spill a few things, what can the General do without proof?" Aimee-Lee asked innocently.
"Not much besides punish the whole facility, which he probably won't do," he answered, and sighed. "But I don't know why you ask," he said pointedly. They understood – he didn't want them to tell him what they were doing so that he could truthfully say to the General that he didn't know who did it. The five girls smiled, returning to their meals, and eventually back to their rooms to prepare.
* * * * *
A few hours later, the sun had set, leaving the outside with the mere light of the clouded moon and stars. Riley ran on, not really caring that she had long since past the required 5 laps. Her breathing was labored, her eyes were turning glassy, her muscles were burning, and cramps were tearing at her torso. Still, she ran on until she felt someone at her side. Turning her head, she saw the Rock.
"Heard of overkill?" he asked, jobbing alongside her. She didn't answer, just focused on the path in front of her. He grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to stop and look at him. "Running from the past won't change it," he said finally.
"I can try," she replied with a dismal shrug.
"Look at me," he ordered as her gaze wavered, "I have no use for solider who's so far stuck into the past that she becomes a loose cannon, overdrives herself, thus putting my team in danger." His grip on her shoulder hardened. "Do you understand me?"
"Yes," she said sourly, "I do." His hand fell away from her shoulder.
"Forget what happened 6 years ago. Accept it. There are people who need you here now. You've learned. You won't make the same mistake twice." She turned and looked at him sadly.
"But what if I do?" she croaked.
* * * * *
Meanwhile, Caitlin, Katrina, Aimee-Lee, Kyrie, and Roxie were gathering some necessary 'equipment' for the night's travels. They'd decided that Roxie, Kyrie, and Aimee-Lee would go, and that the others would stay behind.
"See if they think we're stupid and weak now," muttered Katrina under her breath as she tossed a honey bottle she'd stolen from the cafeteria onto the pile of things that they were taking.
Caitlin was sitting cross-legged on her bed, already having added quite a few things into the pile. She sighed, watching as the others walked back and forth. "Guys," she said finally. They stopped and turned to her, "Do you hear what Hunter called her?" The mood in the room seemed to shift dramatically.
"He called her a murderer," Roxie responded finally, tossing a bottle of hair dye onto the pile, "And that doesn't mean a thing."
"Hunter could be exaggerating," added Kyrie, "I mean, all the teams are technically murderers – at least each one of them has killed one person on the job."
"But maybe… Maybe it's different. Did you see the way she was glaring at him for saying that?" Aimee-Lee spoke up, "I mean, if what Kyrie said was the truth, do you think that she'd level him for that?" The others paused.
Kyrie tossed a bottle of hair spray onto the pile, "We'll ask her when we see her tomorrow night," she said finally, "I, for one, am not going to sit and think of what Hunter was saying and accuse her of God-knows-what behind her back." The others were silent as they started to fill the backpacks full of the stuff in the pile. Aimee-Lee paused thoughtfully.
"You know," she said, "They keep horses here, for parades and that sort of thing. Remember seeing that stable?"
"This is not going where I think it's going," Caitlin said, grinning, knowing full well it was.
"You know," Katrina said, "I've wanted to check out those horses. Maybe I can visit them now…" she trailed off with a smiled.
By the time she got back with a full, smelly garbage bag, the girls had finished backing their backpacks full of the stuff.
"Rick's team is going to have one hell of a morning," Kyrie said, hefting the backpack onto her shoulders.
Caitlin yawned, "I'll keep watch."
* * * * *
Author's Note: Okay, in the next chapter the training will start, they'll meet the other MS team, and all of the other wrestlers (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). R/R!