Shoshanna woke up abruptly. The thin, greasy sweat that coated her made her clothes feel sticky; nearly constricting. She tried to remember what happened and where she was.

Ah, right, she sighed. I'm at Rainbow.

Shoshanna looked around the room and saw the digital alarm clock on the desk. It blared a red 3:35 AM. She withdrew the attempt to sigh and got out of her sheets, walking towards her bathroom. A minute later warm jets of water washed away whatever dream caused the sweat. Finished, Shoshanna walked out and dressed in more cleaner, comfortable clothes.

It became apparent to her she only would wake up in about two hours from now, rejuvenated and awakened by the shower. Maybe she'd explore the common area of the building, enjoy some hot coffee before others woke up.

She walked in the dim light towards the room where all the necessities of the operators can enjoy their lunch or breaks. It had a few tables, a couple of coffee machines and plenty of cabinets full of snack food and drinks. It was darker than the hallways, she went maneuvered to the coffee machine and began brewing her own.

"Ah, you must be the new girl."

She would've shot around if it weren't for her years of training. She slowly turned towards a table near the corner and saw a silhouette of a tall, lanky man in the seat. "Don't worry señorita, I'm a friend to other night creatures."

She blew some air out as a sign of a weak laugh and leaned on the counter. "Let me guess, Ryad?"

"In the flesh," he pulled out a chair for her to sit once the coffee was brewed. "I am a regular here in the nights. I'm use to being alone though, so I'm sorry if the lack of lighting inconvenienced you. Shoshanna, correct?"

"It's no problem," Shoshanna said. "And yes, I am not Eliza."

"No, your accent is thicker than hers," Ryad commented. "It sounds like she grew up in New York City than in Tel Aviv."

"From what I've read she grew up more privileged house than I," Shoshanna grabbed a mug from the cabinet and filled her coffee up, adding creamers and sat down with Ryad. "I wouldn't be surprised if she visited the United States more often."

"Well, Eliza is a lot of things. Take that how you will," Ryad chuckles. Shoshanna smiles back, sipping her coffee gently. "Of course, Elena would have much more to say."

"What do you mean?"

"They have a bit of a rivalry. Elena can't say no to a fight and Eliza needs to be the best. It's no secret that Eliza has many rivals here."

"That's not good for team relations."

Ryad scoffs. "It's different when we're on and off the field. We're are como una familía, we have each other's backs despite the differences."

Shoshanna sits and ponders about what he said. "A dysfunctional family, it seems."

Ryad laughs softly and takes a gentle sip of his coffee. It goes silent between them, Shoshanna doesn't want to go deeper into the conversation this early but doesn't do well with small talk. Ryad can notice her conundrum, and speaks. "You've always had problems sleeping?"

Shoshanna looks at him curtly. "Yes, I've had trouble staying asleep for a while now," she drinks more of her coffee, the heat slowly draining away. "It's nightmares, mostly."

Ryad nodded understandingly. He doesn't say anything, but even in the lack of light Shoshanna could see the remembrance of such things in his eyes.

"I'm surprised you live on the post barracks." Ryad takes a different turn with the conversation.

"I haven't found a house here, yet." Shoshanna answered.

"Most people like usually live off base, but some still live in their home countries. I know Gilles stills prefers living in France."

"What if an emergency came up?"

"We still have plenty of operators to fill his spot," Ryad said. "We're going fifty strong, the old Rainbow team had nearly hundreds of operators. We've been doing fine with a quarter of what they had."

Shoshanna smiles and finishes her coffee, pulling away from the chair and setting the mug in the sink for later. "It was a pleasure Ryad."

"Ah, it was mine," he stays in his chair and sips his own cup. "You know, usually when an operator comes in they usually have a partner. That new one—Draubman is it?— is here more as a teacher, and claims that the MARSOC is short on manpower as it is. You came alone though, why is that?"

"The Yamam is the same, short on men. I was lucky to be sent at all," she flashes him a plastic smile. Shoshanna starts walking away. "Thank you for the conversation."

"There's a new one coming in again, from America. US Special Forces, I believe, hopefully you both can get along to be partners."

There was a silence that filled the room. Ryad sighed and sipped his coffee while Shoshanna played with her hands. Ryad noticed her tension. "You should not worry about your role here, I'm sure you'll provide your best to the team. Most of us felt that we weren't going to be used or valued but I've been proven wrong. Relax."

Shoshanna stood still and doesn't say anything, and leaves without breaking the silence.

"Sergeant First Class Isaac Castillo: US Special Forces. EOD certified, Sapper/Ranger tabbed, Airborne, Air Assault, Pathfinder, Jungle Expert, Arctic, this man has more schools on his record than a child genius," Miles Campbell chuckles flipping through the folder. Eliza perused his file more attentively, reading every print that Castillo's long file carried. "And his name means Castle in Spanish too, if you didn't know. Maybe he's my fan."

Eliza snickered, but quickly suppressed it. "Can you believe that Henry is making him the Master Breacher instead of me? He's not even on the Base grounds yet!"

"Well, it does say here he was the Master Breacher for his unit before he transitioned here."

Eliza pouted. "Still, he has no right to already be in a position when he hasn't even been a single mission with us."

"Relax Eliza, I know you wanted that position, but you already know that teaching people you don't … uh, get along with won't be successful."

Eliza simply scowled at Miles, who quickly regretted what he said. "Okay, forget I said anything."

Eliza sighed, and left the room. "I'll be back."

She walked around the training grounds, the pair of aviators she wore being a little useless in the permanent overcast that the UK was always in. She heard the familiar sounds of the explosions of rifles and pistols, heard cadence called with regular Army troops running, even the gentle vibrations of explosions underground or somewhere far off. No doubt that Elena was testing out the newbies gadgets.

A sudden influx of operators this time of year was already showing to be bloated. First with Wamai and Kali, now these two "instructors" and the girl from the Yamam. Eliza became more cautious of the operators, even as their team grows every month.

Harry at that moment entered the room, followed by the new operator for the defensive side, Isaac. He was a tall and sturdy looking man, with a tired expression on him. His hair and his eyes were dark, his skin a healthy tint of rosy and tanned. He was a good looking man, Isaac's hair cropped close and his beard into a heavy stubble. Typical of American Special Forces.

"Ah, Eliza. I was looking for you," Harry smiled and patted Isaac on the shoulder. "Eliza is currently our de-facto leader for the 'attackers' and breaching operations here at Rainbow. I'm sure you two will get along with both of your combined experiences."

Isaac smiles politely and held out his hand. "Isaac Castillo, it's a pleasure to meet you. I've read your file, and I can't be anything less than impressed."

"Likewise," Miles figured that Eliza was forcing a smile. "I'm sure that you would give us better ways to make the mission more… smoother."

Isaac was puzzled by her choice of words. If he was any more stupid he would've not figured out she was simply trying to be polite. He already knew of her conflicts with other operators, guess Eliza already has her quirks with him. His smile became flat. "Yes, I'll do my best."

Harry chuckled nervously "Good to see that you two are, uh, yes. Let's continue with the building, Mr. Castillo?"

"Sure thing Harry, let's continue." The two left the room while Miles held in a laugh. When they were completely gone, he let out a guffaw. "That could've gone better."

Eliza glared. "Oh shut up."

Harry sat in his office, checking over the budget reports and emails regarding recent development in possible White Mask locations and plans. Just busywork and filed that he would go over during the next team brief. He sighed, leaning back in his study as the desk light flickered from overuse.

The monitor of his laptop began to chirp with an incoming call. It was from the secure line to his video chat, with a familiar name on the screen. Director Madsen.

Harry begrudgingly answered the call and a stream of Madsen smoking in his office appeared. He smiled at Harry like he was an old friend. "Harry, glad you can answer at such a late hour over there."

"It's Doctor Parvey, Mr. Director," Harry reminded. "What do I owe the pleasure of seeing you today?"

"I wanted to congratulate you on the recent recruitment of your latest batch of operators. Especially on the recent contract with Nighthaven. Who knew that the team John Clark and Ding Chavez envisioned would resort to using mercenaries from a spoiled brat like Jaimini Shah. What does she call herself? Oh Right, an 'unstoppable force in a largely static world'. Kali, what a stupid callsign."

"What Rainbow chooses to do and to recruit from is none of the concern of the CIA, Mr. Director."

"Of course it isn't, but I would consider a third party a dangerous breach of security. The only thing they are motivated by is money, and who's to say the White Masks won't offer a hefty sum for Team Rainbow's technology?"

"Where are you going with this Howard. Are you trying to sow some seeds of distrust for the team I built."

Madsen feigned hurt. "Of course not, Doctor Parvey. I'm only stating simple facts. This is basic espionage, especially for unreliable or unloyal parties like Nighthaven. I also should confess that losing two of our best JSOC operators to you was a bit of a blow to its operations. People like them are hard to find."

"I assure you, Mr. McKinley would gladly report this harassment to President Baldwin. I suggest you stop Mr. Director."

"President Baldwin is in the process of being impeached. His power is nothing but showmanship." Madsen sighed, seemingly finished with the call and his smoke. "I'm sure they'll be wonderful additions to your team. I wish you goodnight Dr. Parvey. Think about what I said."

The video call ended immediately. Harry brushed his forehead to relieve the tension. Mrs. Arnot wasn't lying when she said that the mantle she'll pass down will be a heavy one. The night was suddenly more stressful. The words of what Madsen said couldn't be drowned out by other words either. It was stuck in his mind. Had he made the mistake of hiring Kali and Wamai?

Why wouldn't they steal information to fatten their pockets up. Why don't any of the nations do it? What if they already gave the information to their command back in their countries.

Who can he trust?

A/N: it's been a while since I've updated this story, can't say I was busy, lol. I still have a big interest in this story, so I'll make slow updates to it. As for my SYOC in the works, I'll be making an app soon. Hope you've had a good weekend, see you all soon