Plot: Mandy is tasked with gathering intel and Sonny is on bodyguard duty. Things go south.
10: The Fairy and the Longhorn - SEAL Team (one shot)
"Something ain't right."
"Just relax."
"I am relaxed. Something still ain't right."
Mandy Ellis sips her iced tea in an effort to keep from shooting a chastising glance at Sonny Quinn. She'd blame the heat, but there were other underlying reasons for her annoyance. Really, she could have met her contact without the Texan, but Blackburn and the CIA had all but ordered the SEAL along for the ride into the small town. Now that Sonny is sitting at a corner table with a clear view of Mandy and the mom and pop cafe does he let his own thoughts be known.
"I won't be long. Just keep watch and I'll be done in a jiffy."
"Did you just say-"
"Shh. She's here."
Mandy was meeting one of her contacts, who promised to have intel that would help locate a drug lord in the area. However promising that sounded, the CIA told Ellis to be careful, as the drug game in the area had grown greatly. If her presence was discovered, it could prove detrimental for various reasons.
Hence, the SEAL bodyguard.
Sonny watches the scene with intent, trained eyes as the small woman walked into the cafe. He notes everything about her: the loose fitting clothes, the disheveled scarf that hung around her neck, the wind-blown hair. Even the tea stain on her shirt sleeve. The feeling that gnawed at him since he set foot into the building didn't increase or lessen with the addition of the informant. That feeling was just… there.
Everything felt wrong. Sonny did not like it one bit. And it was starting to give him a headache.
"C'mon, Ellis." Sonny mutters as he stirs the tea he has no intention of drinking.
Bravo Three watches the time go by as Mandy continues her conversation. He clocks every person who enters and leaves the cafe, notes which staff are working where at all times. At one point a customer's cell rings near Mandy, and Sonny's hand is on his Glock before he even realized that it is just a kid sending pictures to another kid across the room.
This goes on for another 3 minutes and 42 seconds before the informant stands up and quickly exits the building. Mandy pulls her small bag over her shoulder and leaves. Sonny waits four seconds before following her out to the street.
"See? Didn't take too long." Mandy walks over to the van they took into town, climbing into the passenger seat and shutting the door once she was inside.
Sonny huffs silently, gets behind the wheel and starts the vehicle. "You get what you needed?"
"Yep. The CIA will go over the intel and Echo will be briefed soon after."
Good, Sonny thinks as he pulls out into the road. The sooner than get out of that town and back to the ship, the sooner he can get an aspirin. Maybe he was just dehydrated. This wasn't like one of the many deserts he's been dropped in, but even Texas summers appeared to be mild compared to this place.
Bravo Three continues down the busy street. Venders and shoppers alike milled about, children played in and alongside the road. As Sonny waits for them to pass, he takes a few seconds to drink some water from his canteen. They say water has no flavor, but this tasted like heaven, so Sonny was going to chalk it up to dehydration.
No sooner than the moment he caps the bottle does the feeling of something being off return. He sits up a bit straighter, looks around. The crowd has thinned significantly in the few feet he's driven. Venders have either shuddered their booths or left them altogether. It only takes him a moment of noticing everything for Sonny to press the pedal to the floor.
Mandy doesn't have time to prepare herself for the sudden increase in speed, so she is none too gently slammed to the side as Sonny steers the vehicle down a side street. She spares a glance at Sonny, who's intent eyes are bouncing back and forth between the road and the rearview mirror. Only then does Mandy notice the trucks right on their tail.
Sonny studied roadmaps of the area before he set off with Mandy, but the CIA agent knew the area better than he did. Plus, he was too busy to slow down a read street signs. "Any bright ideas, Fairy?"
Mandy keeps a scowl to herself as he looks at the streets around them. They were quickly coming up on the edge of the small town, and if they played their cards right, they could lose them in one of the many (secret) roads that go to the coast.
"Take this next right."
Bravo Three doesn't even question the fact that there isn't a road for him to drive on. Instead he guides their car to the path that can barely be called a road. They drive over fallen branches and rocks, around holes that look deep enough to house a few fish. Low hanging branches hit the windshield and for a split second, Sonny can't see what's in front of them. But that feeling of the unknown vanishes when they see the coast and the open waters.
"Looks like you lost them." Many tells him after looking out the back window. "Don't think many of the locals know about that shortcut to these cliffs."
"I ain't gonna complain." replies Sonny as he looks at the waves to his left. "Go ahead and radio the ship and let 'em know we'll be on the beach in-"
Suddenly, their car is struck on the rear driver's side.
The American passengers are momentarily stunned, but they quickly gather their wits when they realize what is happening. The other vehicle guns the engine, pushing them closer to the edge of the cliffs. Thankfully aforementioned cliffs aren't very high, no more than fifteen or twenty feet, but that doesn't make the sudden descent any more pleasant.
Mandy holds on to the seat while Sonny tries to keep the car up right. The last thing they need is for the car to do a barrel roll down the cliffs with them still inside. He isn't sure if they'd be able to walk away from a crash like that and fight off any tangos that are inevitably heading their way to kill (or capture) them.
With sheer determination, Quinn is able to keep all four (busted) wheels on the rocky and sandy ground as they roll down the cliff. They grind to a stop next to a boulder just a few meters from the ocean. However, they do not have time to catch their breath as bullets begin to pepper their vehicle and the area around them.
"Ellis, move!" shouts Three as he pushes the agent out of the vehicle, giving her cover from the onslaught of led. Glass shatters and rains around him, digging into his skin as he crawls to the cover of the boulder. "Get the ship on the radio."
"What are you gonna-"
Sonny is gone before Mandy can finish her sentence.
Since this was a bodyguard op, Sonny was not fitted with his usual gear. His Glock and a bowie were the only weapon he had on his person. Those, and of course the four God-given ones he was born with.
The tangos slide down the hill like ants, firing their own weapons as they advance. This makes it easy for Sonny to pick them off. One by one, they fall to the ground with fresh bullet wounds expertly placed. Only having one spare mag with him, Sonny does what he can to keep them at bay while he and Mandy wait for exfil, but eventually, his weapon clicks empty.
Quinn waits for the tangos to get closer before he makes his move. He snakes around the back of the vehicle, kicks the back of the leg and snaps one's neck, while quickly getting another in a chokehold and repeating his actions. Another he throws into the stalled vehicle with a sickening thud.
The guys of Bravo often comment on the fact that Sonny is like a bull in an antique shop (which he corrects to being a Longhorn). His larger frame sometimes means he's the last one to win a match when they spar, though he has surprised them once or twice. By no means is he any less capable than his brothers in hand-to-hand combat. He just prefers to blow things up from afar.
This battle goes on for no more than a minute, but by the end of it, Sonny is gasping for air. That's the thing about fights up close with the enemy. It takes everything out of you.
Sonny looks around, doesn't seen any more tangos. He is about to call for Mandy when he hears her gasp, then yelp in surprise. Now, he knows Mandy is a more than capable CIA agent, trained for whatever her own missions call for. He would never question her abilities to handle herself in the field. But there is just something about having a gun placed to one's head that prevents even the best of fighters from fighting back.
"Let the lady go." Sonny goes to reach for his Glock, but he quickly remembers he lost it in his last scuffle. That and he was out of bullets.
The tango didn't seem to understand Sonny's command, looked between the SEAL and their path to freedom with a good sized package of their own. They continued to pull Mandy back to a path that led back up the cliffs. The agent wasn't resisting very much, stumbling here and there, but that was it.
What are you doin', Mandy? Sonny thinks as he tries to comes up with a plan. He doesn't know if she got a call through to the ship, and even if she did, there was no guarantee that they would get to their pos before the tango got off with Mandy.
Right when he thinks about just charging the tango when they look up the cliff again, Quinn and Ellis make eye contact. It was just for a second, but it was enough. They didn't work together in the field often, but some things were understood, even without saying a word. So, Sonny grips the handle of his bowie and waits for Mandy's signal.
The tango spared a glance over their shoulder, mutters something under their breath. Mandy takes her chance and jams her elbow into the tango's side, which is enough to give Sonny his opening. Right as the sound of gunfire cracks in the air, the Texan brings the knife up, pins the blade between his fingers and throws it at the unsuspecting enemy just as Ellis falls to the ground.
For a second, the tango is stunned. Then they fall to the ground, dead.
"Mandy? Mandy, you alright? You good?" Sonny says after he removes his knife, kicks their gun away and checks to make sure the enemy was dead. "Mandy?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm okay." she replies, then notices the red blotches that speckled Sonny's shirt and arm as she is helped to her feet. "Better than you by the looks of it. Shit, Sonny-"
Sonny waves her off, squinting at the horizon as the sweet sound of a speed boat approaching fills his ears. "Just a little glass, Ellis."
Mandy raises a brow, points at the shard of glass sticking out of Quinn's forearm. "That is not little."
Sonny looks down, a look of confusion crossing his bearded face. "Oh."
"Hold still." Mandy removes the long-sleeve shirt she wore around her waist, then wraps it around his arm in an effort to keep the glass in place until a medic can remove it properly. "I didn't know you knew how to throw knives."
"Little known fact, Miss Ellis. I, Sonny Quinn, am a man of many talents." says Sonny as he waits for Mandy to finish up. "You ain't to shabby with those moves either. Hate to see you in a real fight."
"Did you just say shabby?"
"Maybe."
Mandy scoffs. "And for your information, that was a real fight."
"You know what I mean."
The CIA Agent purses her lips and furrows her brows. "From what I hear, you aren't exactly the best on Bravo at close quarters combat."
"Did you not see me over there?" Sonny points to the number of dead tangos, his eyes going a little wide. "I mean, really, Ellis?"
"Kinda had a gun to my head to really pay attention." With a shrug, Mandy adds, "So, why don't we settle this on the mat? Like adults."
"Oh, no. I ain't makin' a wager with you."
"It isn't a bet. Just a sparring session." Ellis says. "But if you want to buy me a bottle of wine, I wouldn't say no."
"No."
"C'mon, Sonny. What could it hurt?"
"I could hurt you." Sonny walks down the beach as their ride back to the ship approaches. "Ain't gonna do it."
"I'm not worried about that."
"The answer is still no."
"Just one session."
Sonny has something that resembles a "no hitting women unless they are trying to kill me" policy. Being from the South, it just wasn't something he did. His parents raised a good man.
But just this one time? Yeah, he could make an exception for Mandy.
"Fine. One session." he says as they climb into the boat. "I don't know what I want yet, but I'll let you know after I win."
They shake hands and sit back, waiting to arrive back to the ship.
#
Nine days later, their session concluded in a draw.
(Much to the surprise of everyone who caught wind of their match.)
FIN
AN: Just a quick one-shot of Mandy and Sonny. Big thanks to hfish7 for helping me with some of this. :)
I'm in the process of going through all of my WIPs, so keep an eye out for new stories.
