In his experience coming up through the Canadian Army, Iceman found that a lot of leaders didn't like being questioned by the people they led. He never could understand that. When you have lives in your hands, why would you not let them speak their peace? Every idea couldn't be implemented. Every request couldn't be approved, but he still let the team speak their honest opinion. Looking at the look of indifference and frustration on Tex's face, that was exactly what was going to happen once the elevator doors closed.
"Who the f**k does that b**h think she is?" He asked.
"What? What's wrong with her?" Preacher asked in return.
"It's bad enough that we've gotta drag her along. Now, she's tryin' to change out op plans? F**k that. She needs to learn her place." Tex said.
"Yeah? And what exactly IS her place in your eyes, Tex?" Iceman asked, still facing the elevator doors.
"Out of our way and not askin' f**kin' questions." The agitated Texan responded.
"Look, McCullough set this whole Task Force up. If she's here, then she can handle herself. She was a SEAL for f**k's sake." Preacher said.
"The f**k's that supposed to mean to me? We gotta trust her and she's over here tryin' to throw a damn rulebook in our faces before we ever roll out on our first op? That by the book s**t is gonna get somebody killed and I'll be good and godd**ned if it's one of us." Tex said.
"That's exactly why she's with US. She's lookin' over OUR shoulders, but we can keep an eye on her too. We'll get the chance to find out firsthand what she's REALLY about." Iceman remarked, turning to face Tex.
"Besides, a bunch of heavily armed guys walkin' into a bank in Downtown L.A. in the middle of the day? That'd draw every cop around." Michael said.
"So? F**k 'em." Steve simply replied.
Steve "Tex" Westbrook could be an exceptional teammate in one minute, and a hot-headed lunatic the next. He never seemed to like to talk about his life before joining the U.S. Army, but the old scars on his body suggested that it wasn't a particularly nice life. Sometimes, he would have random outbursts of anger and violence.
"Steve, look. No one here likes this. I CERTAINLY don't like it. I was completely against it when I found out that we were rollin' with D.H.S. until I found out Rae was a SEAL. Look, it's like Nick said, we'll all be watchin' each other's back." Preaher said as he put a hand on the man's shoulder and used real names in the hopes of calming him down.
"Bulls**t. You, me and Iceman'll be watchin' each other's backs. That b***h? She's just gonna look over our shoulders the whole time." Tex said as he shrugged the man's hand off of his shoulder.
"Look, can you just...give her a chance? For Me?" Preacher asked.
Tex looked at Preacher, his jaw clenched. They both knew that he would do anything for the big former Marine. There were times that Iceman had to relay his orders for Tex through Preacher so that the man would listen. The two men had been as tight as brothers since going through Ranger School together. When Michael talked, Steve listened. That arrangement worked.
The elevator stopped and opened to the parking lot. The three men got out and walked to Iceman's vehicle, a large Black SUV and stood around it waiting for Agent Rae.
"Fine. But if she f**ks up and gets one of us hurt or killed, she's gonna die screamin'." Tex said through gritted teeth.
"That's fine by me, brother." Preacher said.
"Don't worry. You'll get your pound of flesh." Iceman said, his arms crossed as he leaned against the back of the SUV.
"Only a pound?" The Texan said to no one in particular.
It was less than ten minutes before Frankie joined the three men in the parking deck. The woman approaching the three of them didn't look or even walk like the woman from upstairs. Her hair was tucked back into a high ponytail at the back of her head with a pair of Oakley sunglasses rested a top her head. She wore a faded and worn grey t-shirt that hung loosely on her torso, a simple pair of slim fitting, black cargo pants with her service issued pistol on hooked onto a belt on her right hip a pair of light-weight, black hiking boots tucked beneath the cuff and her plate carrier in her hand.
"We ready, boys?" She asked once she'd loaded her kit in the back.
With a nod from Iceman, the four got into the SUV and started out for the bank.