A/N: What's up guys? DPL here with the latest chapter of Agent Reach. I again have to apologize for my long delay; I hit a damn wall with this chapter, and I ended up being stuck for far longer than I would have liked.
*Chapter 53*
If there was one thing Reach couldn't understand, it was why the hell the Reds and Blues complained so much about doing any kind of physical work. 'Why? Why do they constantly bitch and moan about even the most simple of things? It takes more effort to bitch and complain about it than it does to actually do it. I get that they're lazy and not in as good of shape physically as us, but this is fucking ridiculous.'
Right now, the former Spartan was in the gym with Tucker, Simmons, South, and (now that she had been awoken from her coma) Kaikaina, and the simulation troopers wouldn't stop bitching and moaning about how it was too hard for them to do. Reach was seriously contemplating taking a leaf out of Maine's book and borrowing his Brute Shot to shoot at them in order to get them to exercise. 'Maybe,' he thought dryly. 'That would actually work.'
"Come on, man," Tucker moaned, rubbing his legs. "Why the fuck are we doing squats!? It was leg day yesterday!"
"You're a space marine now, Private," South shot back. "Every day is leg day now. Get used to doing things you don't like."
"Fuck you," Tucker said with a wheeze.
"What was that, Private Bitch?" South gave him a glare, her hand ready to sock him in the chest for the umpteenth time today.
"Ugh. Fuck you, ma'am." The black soldier rolled his eyes in annoyance, shying away from the silver-blonde. He had been on the receiving end of her punches before, and had probably learned his lesson that she dished out a lot of pain by now.
'I honestly fucking doubt it,' Reach thought dryly.
"That's better," South said. She gave him a swat with her own armor clad leg, making him yelp out. "Now get to it."
"Fine! Jesus Christ, you don't have to be a bitch about it." Tucker grumbled, but he started doing the exercise again. "Sixty-seven, sixty-eight, sixty-nine…"
He didn't get up from the crouching position, and Reach rolled his eyes. "Tucker, you can't keep stopping on sixty-nine. It was funny the first time; now, it's fucking annoying and really testing my patience with you." 'I'm going to kill him, I'm going to kill him…'
"No, dude, my fucking legs froze for some reason," Tucker defended. He looked down, and his eyes were wide. "The fuck!? Who shot me with lockdown paint!?"
Reach turned around, and he saw Washington and Maine standing at the entrance to the gym. Both men were snickering (or in Maine's case, hissing), and in their hands were two silenced Magnums that Reach assumed were filled with lockdown paint. "Really, you two? I expect this kind of shit from Tex, but you guys?" 'Unbelievable. I don't get it sometimes. Is today someone's birthday or something?'
"Aw, lighten up man," Wash said with a chuckle, aiming at Tucker and shooting him again in the knee. "They need to learn how to work out even when their armor is frozen in some places. It makes it more interesting; Carolina and York used to do this shit all the time to the newcomers."
"You mean they did it to you. Because I don't recall getting hit with it," Reach returned.
"…yeah. They were right about it making workouts more fun, though."
Maine growled agreement, aiming his own weapon at Simmons and shooting him in the arm. He cried out like a girl, making South and Kaikaina laugh at his misfortune.
"Excellent shot there, Maine," Sigma praised.
Maine growled out a response, and Reach sighed and rubbed his head. "Did I miss a meeting or something? Because this definitely wasn't on the schedule, even though I secretly enjoy this spectacle." 'It IS pretty funny, watching them hobble around and complain about not being able to move a lot while they work out. I'm surprised Tex isn't here joining in on the fun.'
"Are you really surprised though?" Eta asked. "She is pregnant after all; every day gets harder and harder for her to move around."
'Forgot you could read my damn thoughts.'
"Comes with being in your head for this long."
"Meeting? Shit, if there was a meeting about this, you know damn well Tex would've been the one behind it," Washington said with a laugh. "I'm sure you've noticed how much fun she has using them as target practice."
"Yeah, I have," Reach returned dryly. "Do you want to know how long the last incident took to clean up? Four hours. I could've had a good power nap in that time...why are you handing me a pistol?" 'Oh no. they're trying to convince me to join in on the fun, aren't they?'
"It appears that way. Maybe you should let your hair down and indulge yourself for a little, Adam," Eta suggested.
'I don't have any hair to let down.' Reach could feel his eye twitch in annoyance.
"Figure of speech, my friend," Eta replied with a snort of laughter.
Reach sighed, looked at the pistol, and made up his mind. "You know what? Fuck it." The former Spartan took it from Washington's hand, whirled around, and with accuracy that made him a hyper lethal vector he shot Simmons, Tucker, and Kaikaina until the pistol clicked empty.
"Whoa, nice shooting there, Rambo," Washington remarked. "Hit them where it hurts and is a pain to clean."
The simulation troopers yelped and tried their best to tug the pink paint from various places on their armor, and Reach spun the pistol in his hands. "All done on purpose. South, think you can manage them a little easier now? I'm going to grab a drink or two." 'That…was more entertaining than I thought it would be. What do you know, they were right about this being a nice way to ease up.'
"Told you," Eta said smugly.
'Asshole.'
"Easily," South answered, smirking at the three troopers grumbling in anger as they tried (and failed miserably) to remove the paint. "These idiots aren't going anywhere. Bring me up one to, will you? Maine knows what I like."
The mute Freelancer nodded and growled, and Reach went on his way down to the kitchens with him in tow. 'It is nice to be able to unwind every now and then. My head is already enjoying it.'
"See? You should indulge yourself in these kinds of things more often," his AI suggested. "It would make things a little bit easier on you, and you definitely need a breather after everything we did to take down the Meta."
Reach sighed. 'Hate it when you're right sometimes.' "Maine, what does South like to drink when it comes to alcohol? She doesn't strike me as the beer type."
Maine growled and shook his head.
'I thought so. Liquor of some kind for her.' "Is she a whiskey fan?"Reach tried again.
Another head shake and growl.
"Well, fuck," Reach grumbled. He paused, thinking hard about the contents of the liquor cabinet. "Hmmm…what about rum? She seems like the kind of person who'd like rum." 'If it isn't that, then I fucking give up. I don't know what else there is in that fucking cabinet.'
Thankfully, Maine gave a nod and hiss, and Reach sighed in relief. "Oh, thank God. I wasn't sure what else was in that fucking thing." 'I need to do an inventory check, and soon. I imagine we're starting to run low on supplies and need to make a pit stop somewhere.'
"I can do inventory for you later," Washington offered, as if he too could read Reach's mind. "Take a break; you've been pushing yourself nonstop since before we found the Meta."
"At least you can count properly." Reach breathed slowly. "And by you, I mean us Freelancers and super soldiers."
"Doc can count. When he isn't shaking in fear and pissing his pants at the sight of Maine's scars." Washington laughed. "Tucker can, too; he just needs to put in the effort."
"That's exactly my problem with the morons," Reach grumbled. "It takes more effort to bitch and complain about having to do work than actually doing it. Every time one of them opens their mouths to complain, I have an overwhelming urge to use their heads as a tetherball." 'It's like they have nothing better to do, and it's really starting to piss me off.'
Maine growled in agreement; hell, Reach was starting to suspect the only reason he didn't actually beat them to death yet was because they had actually showed they can fight when push comes to shove. Tucker had fought well against Massachusetts and came in handy in taking down the Meta, and the Reds and Blues managed to pull off the operation to rescue Donut.
But both times, Freelancers were there to give them instructions. If left to fight by themselves, Reach knew they would have been slaughtered like helpless sheep. 'Even though we're trying to make them ready for just about anything, they're still very far behind. But, maybe Wash has a point; pushing them too hard isn't going to help the matter.'
"Alright," Reach finally said. "I'll personally tell them we'll ease up a bit on their training, though we still won't tolerate any bitching and moaning. But first, I need a goddamn drink." 'I need one. Been far too long since I indulged in it.'
He stopped outside the mess hall and frowned. "Um, does anyone else smell that?" 'What the hell? It smells like…chicken soup? But who'd be cooking at this hour?'
"I believe that smell is—"
"Shut up, Eta. I know what the fuck it is," Reach grumbled, and he opened the door, letting the delicious scent waft out. The ex-Spartan's stomach growled longingly, and Washington snorted in laughter when Reach looked away in an attempt to pretend it wasn't him.
"Well, shall we see what's going on in here?" he invited.
The Freelancers stepped in and were met with a sight that made Maine growl in amusement, Reach sigh in exasperation, and Washington turned beet red and was slowly backing his way out of the door. "Ya know what…I don't think I'm needed here anymore. Um, I'll go do that inventory check now…"
Maine patted him on the back as if to say, 'All you, pal', and he too backed out with an amused grumble.
"Tex, put some fucking clothes on," Reach sighed in exasperation after a pregnant pause. "If I'm not allowed to walk around the ship in my boxers, you don't get to wander around in a damn bustier."
"Meh, you're no fun." Texas winked at him, shaking her chest while she stirred the giant pot of chicken soup. "I thought you'd enjoy this."
Reach let out a sigh and shook his head. "You…are un-fucking-believable at times, you know that?" 'And here I was thinking the Reds and Blues were the hardest to deal with.'
"Yep. And you love every damn second of it." Texas grinned, purposely bending to give him a peek of her breasts.
"I deny any and all allegations." Reach looked away, trying to hide his blush as he went through the liquor cabinet to find his whiskey and South's rum.
"That's not what a certain part of your anatomy is saying," Eta said cheekily.
"Shut up, Eta," Reach grumbled. "You're not helping."
Sandbox
CT growled in anger as he and his men continued to fail to blast through the ancient stone doors of the mysterious alien temple. So many explosives had been wasted trying to open this damn thing, and yet the ancient slab refused to budge. "That's it for today, boys. Alpha Team, you're on first patrol. Secure the perimeter; if it moves, fucking shoot it. Beta Team, try and work on the Warthogs; we'll need them in working order soon if we want to leave this shithole." 'I don't fucking get it! Why won't that fucking door budge!?'
"You got it, boss," Alpha Team's leader, Jones, said. Or was it Jo-nes?
He could never remember.
CT stalked away, resting his rifle against his shoulder.
He and a few of his men from the Insurrection had managed to escape the raid done on their base so many months ago. But while the physical wounds he suffered had healed, quite a few others did not.
Namely, the loss of Connie.
His blood boiled in anger and despair every time he thought about her. He and the love of his life were so close, so close to leaving the stupid war behind and starting fresh lives.
And all of that was stripped from him by that fucking Freelancer who landed the killing blow on her. 'Reach…'
CT could see him as plain as day. The red and black armor, that calm and collected nature that seemed to go right out the window the minute he and Connie took out Agent Texas...
He tightened his fist with a growl, stomping into his tent and pulling off his helmet. It wasn't his, having taken the armor from Connie, and he could picture the bastard's face when he realized that CT was very much still alive.
He grinned. He had set the trap by killing the Freelancer excavation team. All he needed to do now was wait. "Finally, after all this waiting…"
"I can avenge your death, Connie."
A/N: And that's where we end for today. So, how's the reappearance of CT? You guys didn't think I'd honestly leave him untouched, did you? XD he's going to be really pissed off when he sees the guy who killed his woman. Hell, I'd be pretty salty, too.
See you!
Discord: DPL #5371