She was at another mission, racing alongside Lee to plant a bunch of charges in an old military complex. They had broken in quietly, but somewhere in the distance there was a bunch of shooting, and Lee and her had shared a look that said "lets get out of here."

She rounded a corner and out of nowhere Lee got clotheslined, sending him down to the ground with a strangled thud. She skidded to a halt, reaching for an arrow to load into her bow, and immediately sent it flying, hitting the guy square in the back just as he held his big, bulky hands up over his head to slam them down into Lee's face. Lee pulled himself away, nursing a bloody nose as the big man fell to the ground in a deathly heap.

A pair of arms came out and grabbed her around the throat then, locking her in an impossibly tight chokehold. She flailed, stomping her foot down as hard as she could, but it brought no reaction. Lee stood and reached for a blade and threw it, though the guy turned suddenly and the knife whooshed by with a whistle. She was glad he hadn't snapped her neck with that move.

Her vision was blurring around the edges and she clawed at his arm, looking towards Lee who was holding out his handgun and saying something that she couldn't hear over the ringing in her ears.

After a second the guy lifted her up and slammed her down. A sharp crack ran through her foot and she wheezed in with a sudden harsh breath. The man kicked her over, knocking her right in the ribs, and sent her into the ground before he turned and went for Lee.

She struggled for a second, wheezing and wincing, her ribs aching with every pull for breath.

"Fuck," she muttered, pulling herself to her knees. A sharp pain ran up one of her legs as she tried to stand, but she fought against it, clutching her ribs and looking around for her bow.

The man landed a punch to Lees jaw and she sighed, watching as Lee stumbled back, his nose still bleeding from before. After a split second of debating, she yanked out her knife and leapt onto the big mans back, stabbing it into his shoulder as fast and as hard as she could. The man let out a yelp and slammed her back against the wall. She swore she blacked out for a half a second, waking up only as she hit the ground. Lee punched the guy in the face with his brass knuckles, his entire body reeling from the force of the shot. Then he picked up his gun and sent a shot into the guys chest.

Amelia groaned and struggled to stand.

"Come on," Lee said, "we gotta get out of here."

She nodded, using the wall as support and throwing her bow over her shoulders. Lee hurried to the end of the hallway, waving her on, but every step was painful and she limped.

"Fucking fuck," she said, stumbling and dizzy.

"You alright?" Lee asked, looking her over quickly, brows furrowed.

"I'm fine- fuck-" she said again, swaying forward until Lee reached out and caught her before she could fall. He held her face in his hands and looked her over.

"We have a run ahead of us. Can you make it?"

She took a deep breath and nodded, pressing her fingers into her forehead to try and shake away the pounding in her head.

"I just need a second," she breathed, leaning into Lee as he supported her.

"We don't have a second," he said, the sounds of gunfire drawing nearer. "Let me carry you. Come on."

She furrowed her brows, opening her mouth to protest, but he had already wrapped his arms under her back and knees.

"I don't have hands, so you're gonna have to shoot," he said, pressing his back into the door. She nodded, slowly pulling out her pistol and clicking the safety off.

He pushed the door open and turned, sprinting out into the humid night against the pounding rain of gunfire. The building started to blow behind them, the explosions getting louder and louder. The ringing in her ears worsened and she opened her mouth to try and get it to stop. There were people shooting down at them as Lee ran, the bullets bouncing and digging into the dirt at his feet.

She aimed up at a guards tower and took out somebody aiming for them both, and then at someone on the ground who fired and missed her by an inch.

"Shit," Lee said, "to the left."

She looked up and pointed the gun at another big guy barreling towards them both, sending out one, two, three- four shots into his abdomen before he convulsed onto the ground. Lee hurried, adjusting his grip on her, and she looked over his shoulder and sent out a few shots in that direction.

"Fuck!" Lee yelled, falling forward and sending her flying. She hit the ground with a hard thump and rolled, landing with her face in the dirt, the side of her head cut and bleeding from a rock she hit in the confusion. She struggled to her knees again, pistol still clenched in her fist, and looked over to Lee scrambling to his feet. She sent out a few more shots and her vision darkened as Lee pulled her up, wrapping her arm around his shoulder and supporting her weight as he wheezed.

"What happened?" She asked, pushing against the pain to keep up with his pace.

"Got shot in the fucking back, didn't I," he said, clenching his jaw. "That's gonna hurt tomorrow."

She frowned, and they finally reached the bike Lee had stashed away at the edge of the compound. She helped him struggle to lift it and climbed on behind him, wrapping her arms tight around his waist and pressing her head against his back. He kicked it to a start and sped off.

She was distracted by a lot of things- the pain, the explosions in the distance, the gunfire- but she noticed her heart skip as Lee gave her hands a comforting pat at his stomach.

"We're almost at the plane. Doing good?" He asked over the roar of the engine.

"Yeah," she called back, though it was mostly a lie. Her vision was going in and out and the pain was loud and obnoxious. She focused on breathing in Lee's scent, which was mostly the smell of last nights fire and sweat, with a hint of cologne embedded in his clothing. She tightened her grip on him, taking the opportunity to sink into him. She hated that he was right about that stupid crush.

The bike started to slow and she looked up, squinting as she saw the plane. Lee stopped the bike and set down the stand, planting his feet on the ground as he shifted his weight off the seat.

"Alright, come on," he said, but she felt weak and dizzy. As he stood, her arms slipped from around his waist and she went to topple over, though he caught her before she could hit the ground.

"Shit!" He yelled. "Hey! We need some help here!"

She tried to shake off her brush with passing out and clung to him to try and stand, but the world was spinning faster and faster with each passing second.

"I'm fine-" she tried, unconvincingly.

"It's alright, just relax," he said, lifting her again and gripping her tight as he hurried into the cargo hold.

"What happened?" Barney asked as Lee set her down on the bench and knelt in front of her.

"Some big guys," Lee said, gripping her head as it wobbled. His thumbs pressed into her cheeks to hold her head straight so he could look her over. "Might need a doctor. Got thrown around pretty hard."

"I'm fine," she tried.

"Liar," Lee said, tugging off his gear with a wince.

"Hit your kevlar?" She asked, looking down at him in front of her.

"I'll be fine." He said, dropping his gear to the floor and reaching up to begin to undo hers. He pulled her bow off of her and discarded it onto the floor. After a bit of a struggle, she shrugged all of her gear off and drew in a deep, trembling breath. Her ribs crackled from the force.

"I think I hit my head," she said, squinting against the lights as the rest of the guys piled onto the plane. The noise was too much, both inside and outside of her body. Lee reached up and steadied her again, and she felt her cheeks start to flush.

"You did, when that guy banged you against the wall," he said. "It was stupid. I had him."

She rolled her eyes, "yeah, right, Christmas."

"Can I?" He asked, taking the edge of her shirt in his fingers. She nodded, lifting her arms so he could tug it off. He ran his fingers over her ribs as the plane rolled forward. The motion made her suddenly nauseous.

"I think he broke some of your ribs, too," he said with a sigh, and she flinched away from his touch.

"Can't do anything about that now," she groaned. "I need to take off my shoe."

He furrowed his brows, glancing down at her feet. Her ribs had a nice deep bruise already forming over them, creeping up just under her sports bra. Lee shifted himself and undid the laces on her outstretched boot, starting to tug it off when she yelped.

"Dammit," she said, planting a hand on his shoulder. "I think its broken."

"Maybe this is why you're a distance kinda guy," he said, gently tugging the boot off and revealing the swollen ankle. He made a face.

"It's not my fault that guy could swallow me whole," she grumbled.

"Probably could swallow two of you whole," Lee said, rolling up her pants to get a better look.

She rolled your eyes and leaned back against the wall.

"Hows your back?" She asked.

"It'll be fine," Lee said. "I've had worse. And clearly, you're in worse shape than I am."

"Not dead yet," she joked, and he glanced up at her, his face still and serious.

"All you can do is rest until we land," he said, letting out as breath as he stood. The rest of the guys were tending to their own issues and equipment. She glanced back towards Lee as he turned away and lifted his shirt off, revealing a deep purple bruise over the back of his ribs. She winced, watching as his muscles contracted with every move.

"What?" He asked, turning to her. She tried to avert her eyes, her face getting warm again. She hated it.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you broke a few ribs too," she said, eyelids heavy.

He shrugged, pulling out a clean shirt and throwing it over himself. He rolled up a pack and pushed all of the gear out of the way on the floor.

"Here," he said, reaching for her, "it'll be better if you just lay down."

"Don't you guys pack any damn ice packs on this thing?" She asked, letting him help her over to the floor. She laid down, placing her hand over her tender ribs with a pained sigh.

"Let me get the first aid kit. There might be something in there," he said, climbing over her.

"I'm joking, Lee. It's fine. It's not a long-" She sucked in a breath as he placed a cold pack against her ribs. He chuckled.

"There you go," he said, sitting down beside her. "All better?"

She rolled her eyes, looking up to the ceiling. "I saved your life, you know."

"Yeah," he sighed, looking down at her. "And I saved yours. We're even now."

She let her eyes close and tried to breathe through the pain, the plane rocking through the climbing altitude. When she opened her eyes again, Lee had gone to the cockpit. She frowned a little, but soon she felt herself drifting off, the pain of the day settling over her, the cold floor against her back, separating her from the sky.

—-

She strapped her gear on and pulled her heavy winter jacket over top of it and gave her bowstring a quick stretch. She flexed her fingers in their guards and checked her pistol's clip one last time.

"I can't believe we gotta do another thing in Russia," she said, turning to the guys. "It's freezing. I need to be able to feel my fingers to shoot."

"I'll keep you warm," Gunner smiled, sending her a wink. She rolled her eyes.

She felt the plane touch the ground with a jolt. The plan was to retrieve some American businessmen that had pissed off some Russian mobster or other, and get them back alive and relatively unharmed. It was a job like any other, except that it was freezing cold, and she hated the cold. She rolled her shoulders and felt them crack, her breath already clouding in front of her lips.

Lee climbed out of the cockpit and grabbed his gear, casually looking her over.

"You look like you're going camping," he teased.

"Good," she said. "At least I won't freeze my balls off when it starts to blizzard."

He chuckled, pulling out his own coat and gear. She plopped her beret atop her head and watched as Barney joined everyone in the cargo hold.

"We're a few miles off from our target. There's a village not far from here with a contact that can give us a vehicle. Let's do this right and make it fast."

She gave him a little two finger salute and turned as the hatch dropped open before she headed out into the weather. The cold wind slapped her hard and she squinted, letting out a deep, frustrated sigh.

"Come on, Dusty, it ain't so bad," Caesar said, holding out his gloved hands and looking around. "I bet a race would warm you up."

"You against me? Can your legs even carry all that weight you got?" She joked, giving him a playful slap on the arm. "You wouldn't stand a chance."

"Is that so?" Caesar said, raising an eyebrow.

"It's the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help me God," she said, taking in the open field they had landed in.

"I'll hold you to that," he said, looking her up and down. "Your fingers might fall off before we ever get the chance though."

"Hey, my weapon requires feeling and precision. Yours is all bang and no finesse."

Caesar shrugged. He couldn't really argue with that. He liked his weapons big and loud, sort of like himself, though on occasion she figured maybe he was projecting.

Lee and Barney came up behind her then, Barney holding a compass out in front of him.

"Ready?" Lee asked, looking down at her as all the guys started marching forward.

"Born ready," she said, looking up at him, fighting the rosy smile that spread across her face. "Are you?"

"Always," he said, returning her smile. "Shoot straight, Dusty."

"You too," she said as he jogged back up to Barney. She drew in a deep breath. There was always something invigorating about the cold air, even though she despised it.

—-

They all bumbled into the city, sticking out like sore thumbs amidst the regular crowd. Barney snapped the compass shut and tucked it away, stopping to scan everything. After a second everybody stepped up and was in line with him, taking in the worn out village while people stared.

"Is it just me, or does something feel off about this?" Dusty muttered, sparing a glance towards Lee. He pressed his lips together and offered her a small, curt nod.

"Lets go," Barney said, and they all followed him as he made his way through the narrow street, heading in the direction of a bar near the end.

"You sure about this?" Lee asked, head glued forward.

"No, but I'm not about to turn around," Barney said, tucking his thumbs into the top of his vest.

He pushed through the door and into the pub, a few guys turning to look at the gaggle of mercenaries interrupting their day drinking. One guy was passed out in the corner with drool dripping from his lips, his strangled snores breaking the silence.

"What can I do for you?" The man behind the counter said eventually, crossing his arms.

"Ross," Barney said, coming to a pause and looking around. "I'm meeting an old friend."

"Right," the man said, looking over the lot of them until his eyes found Dusty's long hair and he hesitated. She clenched her jaw and crossed her arms. Lee seemed to notice as well. "You can take a seat. He'll be here shortly."

Everyone seemed to go back to minding their own business, and they all found a table and pulled up some chairs. Dusty straddled her chair, shifting awkwardly so she wouldn't have to take her bow off her back. One of the downsides of being a female mercenary was the damn stares. They weren't pleasant stares, either. Strange men from all over the world would undress her with their eyes, doubt her, think less of her- sometimes it could be used to her advantage, like when she had gotten stabbed after sneaking the guys into that compound- but most of the time it was belittling and irritating. She huffed and leaned forward onto the back of the chair.

"Something ain't sitting right with me," Lee said, looking around the table, his voice low.

"Me neither," Barney said, lowering his head as he glanced around.

"If that guy looks at me one more time I might have to-"

"Barney!"

Dusty looked up, taken aback by the sudden loud noise. The group did the same and Barney stood, crossing his arms and looking his contact up and down.

"You have what I need?" Barney asked, looking down at the man's outstretched hand and ignoring it. The guy was relatively built and had an awkward face with a twisted, unhealed broken nose. He sniffed and looked over all of the Expendables.

"I do, I do," he said. "But there is- uh- as you say- little problem."

"What kind of problem?" Barney asked.

"Mob came to town today. Took some women, slashed some tires. I am trying to fix up the truck for you, but- ahhh," he sighed, shaking his head. "It may take longer, since my brother has to go get new tires."

Barney dropped his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "So we gotta stay here tonight?"

The man wobbled his head. "I have secure barn you can use. No animals, don't worry. I will have this sorted soon."

"You better," Barney said, shoving a finger at his chest.

The man nodded, holding his hands up in mock surrender. "Yes, yes, and I will, that is a promise, and I am a man of my word. Now, come with me, I'll show you to the barn."

They all stood, following him out and across the dirt road, down an alley, and passed some of the broken down trucks he had mentioned. He pushed open a rotting old door and held out his arm, motioning for everyone to quickly head in. It smelled like horses and mildew and it was dark.

"Here, here," the guy said, lighting some kerosene lamps. "There you go. Please, make yourself at home."

Barney grunted and the man closed the door. He put his hands on his hips and turned to the rest of the team.

"We could've gone back to the plane," Dusty sighed, crossing her arms and kicking at the dirt.

"We'll make do," Barney said, looking around. "We gotta be careful. If the mob was here today, they might've been tipped off about us coming. That's not what we need, so keep your eyes sharp."

"Aye, aye, captain," Lee said, moving deeper into the barn to inspect it. Dry hay littered the ground and the dirt was hard and ice cold, permafrost.

It was gonna be a long, freezing night.