Chapter 14

As the team finished their food, they started to get a bit concerned with what Blackburn needed Liz for; what was taking this long before a mission that she would not have much time to eat and rack out a bit before they left. Everyone started to get a few thoughts about why she was there, and all hoped she was not in trouble. First thoughts went to her causing trouble or having a problem with the shrink they needed to be cleared with before full duties. She tended to get feisty and not play well with others when she did not sleep, and with her nightmares and healing, she could be a real pain in the ass. As they headed back to their barracks, they kept an eye out to see if they could catch any sight of Blackburn, Liz or Mandy as they all stayed behind for the secret discussion. With no luck, they all decided to rack out and hope she would slip into her bed for a bit and be ready to go when it was time to leave.

Jason was the first to get up and gather the team to have some time to pack their gear and get their heads out of their sleep fog. He came barreling into the rest of the team's room and was throwing things, really any item he could get his hands on, at the group and joking around as he woke them all up and made his way to Liz's door and knocked before he peeked in and was met with an empty bed.

"Did Pebbles never make it home?" Sonny asked as he climbed out of his bed and started to stretch to get his stiff muscles moving. Those cots were a bed, but no one would ever call them comfortable.

"I hope Blackburn did not pull some stunt and take her off the mission or the shrink pulls back their stamp of approval with her not sleeping." Trent pipped in as he was getting his boots on.

"Jase, did they tell you anything?" Clay asked, getting worried now. It was unlike Blackburn to bring anything up before an op that could cause problems or shift a team member's mental state. He was a little worried they may find her hulled up somewhere avoiding him after their last conversation as she was not herself in the briefing, and he may have stirred up her feathers at the range.

"Nothing; I was pushed out of there so fast as the door was shut in my face. I'm going to get some answers, " Jason replied, pinching the bridge of his nose, he was starting to get a stress headache as something was not right with a team member, and he was being shut out.

Jason stormed out of their room as he was met by Ray outside, and the rest of the team stumbled out of their door as they were putting on their boots and clothes, trying to keep up. There was no way they would not be there for the answers or to save Liz if she was still trapped in that room. Jason made it to TOC in a record of the time, and the rest of the team was on his heels as he punched in the code and barged into the room.

"Jason. I can guess why you are here. " Blackburn didn't even look up to acknowledge it was him entering as he could feel the anger coming from him, giving it away, and who else would barge in through the doorway this hot and furious.

"Yes, I bet you can. Where is she? " Jason barked out.

Blackburn signed and rubbed his hand down his face as he got up and looked at the team standing inside the doorway, surveying the surroundings looking for any clues. He sighed and braced for the furry that was to come from, not one member like he was hoping originally when he addressed Jason, but now the five members of Bravo, known to be hot-headed and tended to blow up. "She… Liz is with Delta. They were wheels up a few hours ago, and General Fisher approved this before our captain or I could attempt to decline. Before you start, it was not my choice to send her when they asked for a sniper to fill in; no, I did not and do not approve, but I had no say. Yes, she will be safe, Metal went along with Delta on this op, and he promised me he would watch over her. They should be back by morning when you return from your run out. "

"Eric! How could you let this happen, she's so green, and you know her track record in JBad. Full Metal or not, she is a walking, talking curse here. " Jason bellowed, furious as he tried to hold back as deep down, he did know Blackburn did not have a choice, but he was still angry he let this happen.

"Oh man, this can not be happening; this is bullshit! Teams were always trying to poach Clay and Liz from Bravo, knowing three snipers fighting for the lead is not ideal, and they hoped they could lure them away with an opening for a lead sniper on a different team. Why did they not take Clay or Ray? No offence to anyone; yes, Lil Pebbles is impressive; but they have years of experience on her for a team going through all this training. " Sonny asked, a little worried to hear the answer.

"General Fisher has a problem with Clay. And no one would touch Ray being Jason's number two. " Blackburn said with an apologetic look towards Clay. They all knew Clay had enemies from his dad, and he was paying the price. "Delta's commander went up the ladder; I am not sure if he or the General made the final decision and asked for Liz. They try to convince her to transfer, but she was already refusing before getting on the helo with them."

Trent and Brock paced a little in small circles as they were unhappy with the news but usually kept quiet in front of anyone in command. They were the strong, silent type with authority and liked to keep in the shadows. However, they felt different with Blackburn as he was more a friend than the commander in situations like this, but they knew Sonny and Jason would have lots to say and need to get out, or they would explode.

"That's crap, and you know it!" Clay spit out as he ran his hands through his hair, as Blackburn sent him an understanding nod. He was in no way ok with this action and stood with Bravo.

Everyone stood there for a moment, tense and unsure what else to do as they were all feeling too angry to settle but also knew that as much as Blackburn was their friend, he was still their commander. They were still in the Navy and had a job to do and respect authority no matter how much they did not approve.

Ray was the first to pipe up as he looked at his watch and noticed they were wheels up in 45 min and needed to get themselves sorted. "It's just one op. Just tonight?" He asked Blackburn as he nodded his head in response. "Ok then, it's one night we don't have her, and the best we can do is ace our op, take out or HVT and return all in one piece knowing she will as well and has Metal watching her back. Then we all start fresh tomorrow together." Ray was the voice of reason, and as much as he did not approve of this decision and keeping the team and Jason in the dark, he understood why Blackburn did as he worked with Jason long enough to know he was a short fuse but come mission time he always locked it away and got the job done. If he had hours to stew and blow up about this, it would be harder for him to get his head back into the game.

As they left TOC and marched to their cages to get ready, they were silent as no one was ready to speak without a blow-up. Clay could not get out of his head as he walked behind the group with his head down and a mixture of anger, worry and regret in his eyes. He could not help but feel he may have pushed her buttons with their game as he would not let it go about the guy she liked, and she was not big on romantic feelings and not open with talking about them. But also worry and anger as he would not be there to protect her safety. Jason looked back, met his eyes, and registered the same anger and fear over not having their youngest member alongside them.

Jason was also worried about Clay. He would risk himself when it came to anything about Liz; he would move hell or high water and did not always think clearly. He hoped he would not do something stupid because he was mad and frustrated. He became reckless and unpredictable without Liz grounding him.

The team trusted Full Metal and Liz but did not trust her to keep herself safe and not put herself in danger for anyone in trouble on any team. And that was what worried them. She was so loyal it could be her fault, alongside the fact that karma seemed to have a bone to pick with her, and she could come across as cursed. She is not as cursed as she could be when the wonder twins are together watching their backs but cursed non less enough to always have some bumps and bruises.

…

Bravos' op seemed to be going without a hitch, and to Jason, that was a bit problematic. He was not looking for trouble or asking for it whatsoever, but having such a smooth op did not fit Bravo's luck. Hiccups always seemed to follow them around; granted, their youngest two members were the lousy luck magnets and maybe only having one of them on this op, the pull was not as strong. Or torn between both on different teams, it decided to give up and bother someone else.

Unfortunately, Jason's hopes would not come true, and a little bit of unlucky karma seemed to show up just as they were trying to leave after getting their HVT. Yup, why would he think anything would be different?

"Bravo, 1, me and 3 are pinned down over here. We need some coverage, or else we will never get loose." Clay called through coms over the gunfire.

Clay and Sonny were up on the hill above their HVT house as they were assigned the shot to take out the HVT, while the rest of Bravo were waiting in various parts of the surrounding foliage that closed in the tribe leader's house for privacy. Sonny was on guard and provided Clay with the spot as he lined up his shot and got the leader just as he got out of his car. Just as he went down, his guards narrowed the shots projectile; it could have been dumb luck, but they caught the direction or just took the idea to go after high ground and used some logic to locate Clay and Sonny propped up on the hill surrounded by bushes. The location was perfect and typically would not have been detected, and in the dark was almost invisible, so this had to be where karma decided to put her grubby little hands into the cookie jar and show the enemy where they were hiding. Jason was still baffled at how they knew the direction so fast and regretted having only Clay and Sonny up on the hill. The rest of the team was more at risk hiding around the property in limited coverage within the foliage or around budlings or cars. How were they not spotted? Oh right… they were not Clay with a big unlucky target painted on his back.

"Bravo 3, how long do you think you can hold out for? Let us swing around and get them from behind." Jason asked as he looked at Ray and started motioning for Trent and Brock to close behind the enemy convoy of cars. About six enemy tangos took cover behind the vehicles and popped up to bring fire on the hillside.

"We can hold off if needed. Just getting little trims off the top of our heads, but nothing too close yet." Sonny called back as he looked at Clay. He knew Clay and him were skilled enough to hold out, and Clay had his head focused on the mission, even if just a few hours on the helo, he was focused on their missing member's safety.

"Copy, we will get you out on my mark; set up some cover fire to the left. We will approach on the right. For now, stay down and stay there … that means you, Spenser!" Jason ordered.

Clay snorted and grinned at Sonny. "It's like he thinks I can go somewhere right now."

"Ha! He knows you too well there, Bam Bam; if I only had a leash for you, then we all would know you would still be here in 20 min." Sonny joked.

As Brock and Trent approached his position, they all set off to round the building and hoped they went unnoticed as they gathered up alongside the building, ready and waiting for Jason's signal.

"Now 3."

As soon as they established cover to fire, the four members of Bravo swept out from the building and laid fire taking out 5 of the enemy tangos before they even had a chance to return fire.

"Bravo 1 we got one squirter." Ray called Jason looking back to see if they were to pursue.

"Got him!" Clay called out in their ears as Sonny looked over, tried to grab him by the vest, and came up with air in his grasp as Clay shot out, running after the squirter heading to the side of the hill.

"Bravo 6, stand down and wait for cover," Jason yelled after him as they all headed for the hill. "Clay!"

The team made it to Sonny's location and was about to ask the direction Clay ran off to; before they could manage, they heard a scuffle to the right of the hill and then one shot. The teams' hearts fell cold in their chests as they rushed to the noise, guns up and ready. Soon, Clay's head popped into view, and as they focused their gazes on him, they could see his cocky grin, allowing their heart to beat correctly and relax.

"Clay!" Sonny squawked at him. "God, stop giving me a heart attack! My poor heart can't take it anymore."

"Yeah, brother, you're going to give Jason and Trent even more grey hairs and send some of us into early retirement." Ray laughed as Trent glared at him and then looked at Clay shaking his head as he let out a long breath.

As Clay laughed at them, his grin got wider, and they could catch his cockiness inflating, "Hey, now it's not my fault I'm running with your oldies that can't keep up. I'm fine, by the way; no need for any grey hairs."

Jason snorted and went over to look at him as he did not trust him to be ok as Clay tended not to 'notice' his injuries until he was either lying on the floor or fully passed out. As Jason looked him over, he noticed a few superficial scraps along his arms and one on his cheek with a slight bruise forming that must have occurred when Clay jumped on the guy, and they fell to the ground and wrestled. Satisfied there were no new holes in him or broken bones, he put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed and let a slight smile pass along his lips.

"Hey Sonny, you look like you're bleeding?" Brock called out to Sonny as they stood there waiting for the clear to start to head to exfil. "Trent, come check on Sonny."

As Sonny looked at Brock, a bit startled and then down his body scanning for this blood, he came up with an eyebrow raise as he noticed a slight red stain on his outer bicep. "Looks like just a scratch on the wing. Nothing serious I didn't even know it was there."

"Let me be the judge of that. You can be just as bad as Clay hiding your injuries. Now sit down." Trent ordered as he came over and grabbed his med kit pulling out some gauze and rolling up Sonny's sleeve. "Yup looks like a clip to the wing; it needs to be cleaned out and maybe a few stitches. For now, ill just clean and wrap it, and when we get back on base with some proper light, I can finish and give you some antibiotics to be safe."

As the team headed out for the helo, mission success, they all started to let their minds wander back to Deltas op, and an unsettling feeling grew in the pits of their stomachs.

"We couldn't have one op with no bloodshed, could we? Why do I keep hoping just once we can all be clear?" Jason turned and asked Ray as they climbed into the helo, ready to take off.