No one quite knew what Hunter had planned, but it had to be big if he said he was going to kick the party off with it. There were a lot of questions about the argument they just witnessed between Hunter and his mother, mainly about the fact that Hunter and Audrey had sex before and apparently did it pretty often. However, as much as everyone wanted to know, they knew better than to tick him off today. Hunter said it was his father's day gift to his Dad so genuinely; everyone was curious to what Hunter was going to do. Hunter grabbed his phone and plugged it into his docking station while scrolling through the songs, not that anyone was close enough to see the titles. Finally, he picked one and stepped back.
"I wrote this for you, Dad, so I hope you'll like it," Hunter stated as Salvatore tilted his head a bit while the rest of the room was just as confused, except maybe the nine from Striker One who seemed just to smile knowing what Hunter was going to do. Hunter said he wrote this for his Dad, did that mean he wrote a song for him? Soon the music started, and everyone stayed quiet.
"He's got a corner lot on Dogwood Drive, a year old truck, and a nine to five. Comes home at night to a pretty wife with a baby due. He'll sleep in on Saturday, cut the grass if it don't rain. After church, he'll watch the game and have a beer or two. He'll stand up when he hears the anthem, and that won't ever change..." Hunter sang in tune with the music; there was a brief pause before he smiled at his father who just stayed in his chair watching and listening.
"He's still a soldier. His blood runs red, white, and blue. He put away his gun and boots, but he still believes, the Archian Dream. 'Til his last breath, he'll always be...A Soldier. He's still a soldier," Hunter looked at Salvatore who seemed to enjoy the song.
"He's on his couch for the news at ten, he'll see those places that he's been, and when a brother falls, there's a part of him that does too. And if they called and needed him back, aw, he'd be on that plane," In this, Salvatore only seemed to close his eyes and nod as if to agree completely with the words.
"He's still a soldier. His blood runs red, white, and blue. He put away his gun and boots, but he still believes, the Archian Dream. 'Til his last breath, he'll always be...A Soldier. He's still a soldier!" Hunter sang out as Sal's smile grew, and there was a small guitar solo before Hunter took a deep breath. "He don't wake up anymore when he hears thunder. Oh, but even if he lives to be a hundred...He'll still be a soldier. He's still a soldier; he's put away his gun and boots. But he still believes, the Archian Dream. 'Til his last breath, he'll always be...A soldier. He's still a soldier. He's still a soldier!" Hunter held a note a few seconds, and then the music just faded off.
Sal got up from his seat and hugged Hunter tightly, "That was an amazing song, son. Thank you, I loved it, and I demand you make the chorus my ringtone,"
Hunter only laughed as he hugged his father back and nodded. "I'll do it tonight before I go to sleep. I'm glad you enjoyed it, took me months to get everything right for it," Hunter told him.
"It was perfect, Hunter. I never knew you were so good with music," Audrey mentioned.
"Eh, now and then if something comes to me," Hunter shrugged as he pulled her against his figure and she blushed but snuggled into his embrace.
"Sounds good altogether, man. Good job," Theo mentioned.
"Thanks, Theo," Hunter replied and looked at the clock on the wall. It was about 2:50 pm, the party was just getting started. Of course, Hunter and Audrey were going to try and sneak away at 7:30 pm to make love one more time before Hunter took her home. Then he would go to bed himself since he had to be up at 3 am to get to the airport for 3:30, check in, and board at four. Perhaps it might be cutting it too close so best if he got up at 2:30 and gave himself the extra half an hour to make sure nothing went wrong. Hunter knew his father wouldn't care if he bailed early with Audrey but everyone else might, given they all knew the truth now.
(5 pm)
It was close to two hours later now, and they were all sitting around and talking about anything. School, jobs, home life, relationships. It turned out that Renee and Shane were officially a couple now and had happened during that week when the school was shut down for renovations. Of course, Hunter knew about that because Shane had come to him to ask how to go about asking Renee out. Hunter suggested a movie and dinner, Shane went for it, and everything worked out. Hunter was happy for his cousin. Fisher and Heather were doing great too, yet, Hunter seemed to be picking up that Andrew had a thing for Caitlyn by the way they kept glancing at one another.
That might become an issue Hunter would have to deal with. Caitlyn was fifteen and Andrew was eighteen now. The age difference wouldn't mean that much except for the fact that Andrew was considered an adult and while being with a minor wasn't illegal, them doing anything sexually related was. It could land Andrew time in prison even if Caitlyn consented to it. If Andrew and Caitlyn got together, they wouldn't be allowed to do anything but kiss and hold hands until Caitlyn turned eighteen herself and by that point, Andrew would twenty-one. Hunter didn't mind them dating; he felt better with Andrew in a relationship with his little sister over it being Eddie. The thought still made him cringe.
"So, I have to know. When did you two decide to, y'know, go all the way?" Drew asked motioning to Hunter and Audrey.
"Not that it's any of your business, but it happened the Sunday after I got home from AIT. Audrey and I had talked about it before and agreed to wait until after we had been together for a year then revisit the discussion. However, that night we got lucky with her parents leaving for some dinner thing, and we were alone. Got caught up in the making out, went to her room, and it went from there," Hunter informed.
"Just went at it? No protection or nothing?" Travis inquired.
"What? No," Audrey rolled her eyes. "Originally, Hunter and I went to my room just to engage in a little foreplay to relieve some of the sexual tension from making out. After we both...finished, I guess you could say; I asked him if we could go all the way. Hunter asked if I had birth control, I said yes, and he had condoms," she explained.
"How was it?" Renee leaned in curiously.
"How was...what?" Audrey replied.
"Don't play dumb. The sex! How was it the first time?" Renee asked.
"Did it hurt? I've heard that it can," Heather questioned next.
"And how dare you not tell us, Hunt. We had a deal to tell one another if any of us got laid," Andrew reminded with a smack to Hunter's arm.
"Sorry, things got kind of crazy with work and what not so I never mentioned it," Hunter stated.
"Well great then! Hunter was first to lose his virginity on Striker One," Conner announced as the rest of the team cheered and laughed. Hunter facepalmed hard and then dragged his hand down his face while shaking his head. Only his team would get excited that he got laid last year.
"I love how you are finding out I had sex and it's the highlight of your day," Hunter rolled his eyes.
"So stop holding out on us and give details!" Treyden teased him.
"Yeah, come on. We just want to know how the first time went," Nikolas urged. Hunter looked at Audrey now.
"It's up to you, babe," Hunter asked.
"Ugh. Fine. Our first time was incredible and much better than foreplay. Dear Gods, I've never felt anything like it, and I swear it gets better every time," Audrey enlightened.
"So, it didn't hurt?" Caitlyn asked.
"It stung a bit at first, but then it faded off into pleasure," Audrey shrugged.
"All right, I gotta ask. The night before we left for the tour when you took Audrey to her house to get clothes so she could spend the night, were you two out screwing? It took you a while to get back and when you both came in you looked like you were high as a kite minus the drugs," Treyden inquired.
"Yeah. Parked behind an abandoned gas station and went at it for an hour in the back seat of the truck," Hunter responded.
"And I assume you've been protected every single time, right Hunter?" Viola questioned while arching a brow.
Hunter sighed, "Yes mother, we have been. I keep a four pack in the truck, two in my wallet, and an eight-pack at home in my nightstand drawer,"
"Don't get huffy, Hunter. I'm still not thrilled about just finding out a year later my son has been having sex," Viola closed her eyes.
"There are worse things I could do than having protected sex with my girlfriend of one year during the first time, two years now, and three years come June 2018 after I get back in May," Hunter remarked.
"Such as?" Eddie arched a brow.
"I could be out drinking, smoking, doing drugs, sleeping around with whoever wanted to as just a few examples," Hunter shrugged.
"Lad has a point. Be grateful, Vi. Least the boy had some common sense to make sure they were both prepared and waited until they had some time in before just jumping into it," Gregory mentioned.
"I suppose so," Violet nodded. "Is there word on when you will be home, son?"
"Sometime in May. I assume the end of because we have to get past the 25th first. I don't think I should be back any later than the start of June next year," Hunter replied calmly.
"I can't wait for that day," Audrey smiled while relaxing against her boyfriend contently.
"Same goes for-" Violet was cut off by the familiar beep of Hunter's phone. It was the one that signaled someone trying to use the walkie-talkie feature. Audrey sat up and let Hunter get his phone off the docking station and the music cut. Hunter closed the application down then held the button on the side until it beeped again.
=Ander-= As soon as Harry started talking, a bomb was heard going off in the background, and all of Striker One fell silent and held serious along with worried faces. =Bastards. Haddock, can you hear me all right?=
=Little hard over the noise but I can hear you enough. What's going on over there?= Hunter asked right away.
=No time t-RPG! EVERYONE DOWN!= Another loud explosion was heard, soldiers yelling out, more gunfire. =Haddock, I need you and Striker One at Fort Draco in one hour to return to Draconia Base. I want you all in full gear and ready to fight if this hasn't stopped. It's not negotiable, and I don't have time to explain. I need my A-Team. I've arranged for you to be here in four hours using the fastest planes available. Are those orders understood, Sergeant?=
=Loud and clear, Major. Stay safe, we'll see you in a few hours. Haddock over and out.= Hunter lowered the phone and looked at his team, then his family and friends who looked terrified at the sudden news. "All right, this is not a drill! Let's go, on the double. Move! Move! Move! Get to Fort Draco within the hour!" Hunter ordered. Without warning, all of Striker One got to their feet and hurried out with Trey waiting for Hunter.
"You have to leave now?" Caitlyn asked quickly as tears filled her eyes.
"I-I'm sorry," Hunter started.
"Don't worry about apologies, son. Go on and be safe. Update us as soon as you can," Salvatore stood up and put his hands on Hunter's shoulders.
"I will. Thanks, Dad," Hunter replied. As quick as he could, Hunter hugged his sister and mother then kissed their foreheads, he hugged his father and Greg, did a handshake with his uncle and cousin, another hug for his aunt. Finally, kissed Audrey before rushing out with Treyden and getting into Hunter's truck before speeding off to the Haddock residence.
"I don't understand what just happened," Viola said trying to calm herself down from the shock.
"Striker One got called back ahead of their scheduled time for what appears to be a situation where they need Hunter's squad," Greg stated.
"Yes. Andersen did mention needing his A-Team, that must be Striker One since the rest of the platoons are there still," Salvatore agreed.
"What...will ten soldiers change, though? If Harry had to call them back to a base that holds an entire Division of troops, what will ten more change?" Caitlyn whimpered.
"I don't have the answer to that, sweetheart. All I know is if they are being called back, they're needed badly, and their CO believes it can make a difference. We just have to hope that Hunter will call when it's over and be able to tell us what happened. Let's start cleaning things up and getting home," Salvatore replied, and that's what they did, all praying that Hunter would be all right.
(Fort Draco; One Hour Later)
It was beyond hectic for the members of Striker One to hurry to their houses to grab their bags, give a quick goodbye to their families with little to no explanation and reached Fort Draco within the allotted time slot provided by Harry. When they arrived, all gear was put on and issued their guns. With all ten members geared up and ready to go, they boarded the plane and sat down after Hunter did roll call. Not more than ten minutes following that, Striker One was on their way to Iraq, set to land in four and a half hours, the half was for a quick fuel stop in the middle, but they wouldn't be deboarding for it.
"What could be so bad that we're called back now?" asked Amber curiously.
"I don't know. You heard Andersen; he needs his A-Team. Though, I've never been able to figure out why he calls us that," Zander shrugged.
"It might be something we never know. For now, all we can do is get ourselves together and be ready for whatever awaits us when we get there," Theo mentioned.
"Still, it sounded bad," Andrew interjected.
"It's war guys and girls. It's not meant to be good," Hunter stated from his seat with his eyes closed. Everything had been going great during the party. Music, talking, eating, no drama and now this with being called back early and entering a situation they had no idea about because Harry didn't have time to explain. "It would be in your best interest to try and get some rest. Thor only knows what we're going to be flying into when we get there and with it being 6:15 pm now, it should be around 12:30 am when we arrive due to the time change," he added.
"Hunt's right. When we get there, it's going to be crazy so we better sleep now," Treyden agreed. Deciding that both of them were right, the team of ten soldiers decided to get as comfortable as they were able and rest up.
(1 am)
Unforeseen circumstances had them landing half an hour later than planned, something went wrong at the fueling stop, and it took longer to get the job done. Now, they were in Iraq; the pilots had announced them going into blackout mode to land. By 1:10 am, they were wheels down and coming to a slow on the runway. After stopping, the ten soldiers made their way out of the plane to see Asher waiting for them.
"Lieutenant Holgerson, what is going on?" Hunter asked right away.
"It's been wave after wave. Attacks on the base, neighboring villages and districts too," Asher explained. "We've pushed them back for the now, but there's no telling when another striker will take place,"
"And why did he need us back before tomorrow, sir?" Danielle asked.
"For a very particular mission that your group is known for excelling in. I don't have details on it, but I know it'll be dangerous. I've been asked to take you straight to the heart of Draconia base to meet with the leaders and get briefed. Leave your bags here; someone will bring them to your barrack," Asher informed.
"We're ready," Hunter nodded affirmatively.
"Then let's get going," Asher motioned for them to follow as they loaded into the vehicle and started for the center hub of operations for the Draconia base. Hunter didn't know what was going on, none of them did. All that was known thus far was them being needed for a mission. Driving through the base, there was a lot of smoke, and if they were close enough, they could see fire too. Soldiers were running around; orders were being shouted, injured were being carried to the infirmaries around the base. To Hunter, it didn't matter. Striker One had returned to Iraq and about to be thrown right back into it.
