Chapter 1

Something Off

Bravo team is finally whole again. Clay has returned to active duty, Ray has mended his relationships, Jason has adjusted to life with a college student, and things are back to normal. But then, after everything that happened to them, what is normal? Missions have been successful, but yet something feels off. The men notice it, but try to ignore it. When Command sees that the something isn't going away, they decide to reach out to two close friends, and do something about it. The speed bump will come in seeing how the men react to their new assignment: mandatory therapy sessions with professional military psychologists.

Clay stood and pulled up the waistband of his multi-camo pants, glancing only briefly at the scars that twisted around the front of his thighs. As he tightened the belt around his waist, he looked around the room at his team, and realized that they were right. It had been a few months since his accident, and he hardly even noticed the scars anymore. When it was first said, he wasn't so sure, but the more he thought about it, he remembered that each man on the team had their own scar that they rarely pay attention to. Jason had a large, circular one on his left shoulder, Sonny's wrapped around his left side, under his pec and across his top ab muscles, Trent had one on his right hip, Brock's covered most of the back of his left thigh, and Ray had one that twisted around his right bicep. They all had multiple, some more than others, and each one of them had its own story. Before he could disappear further into his thoughts, the door to the team room opened, and Davis walked in.

"Plane's loaded, just waiting on you guys. Wheels up in 10." She said.

"You hear that Blondie? Better get your shirt on the right way this time!" Sonny joked.

"Yea? Well at least I know which feet my boots go on!" Clay shot back.

"Ok, that was one time, and it's not my fault Brock kept me out drinking all night!" Sonny defended himself against the snickers that sounded in the room at the memory of Sonny nearly going face first into the table in the team room when he had tried to book it out of his hutch to fast. The joking continued as the team made their way down the hall towards the plane, ready to board.

Hours later, in country

"Havoc, this is one, passing Kilimanjaro." Jason said, leading his team through the hills.

"Copy one, passing kilimanjaro. Havoc out." Eric replied, and marked off the next box on the board before returning to watch the monitors in front of him.

"Remind me again why we chose mountains? And why they got all these weird names no one 'n pronounce?" Sonny asked, grumbling about the checkpoint names.

"Well I mean, we've cleaned through our rotation of celebrities, movies, and sports, so this was next up. Gotta keep something interesting for Havoc." Ray answered.

"Not to mention the fact that we've been running up these damned mountains for the last hour!" Brock huffed with slight annoyance at the burning in his thighs and calves.

"Cerb doesn't seem to mind it." Clay noted, looking at the dog who trotted along, fully in work mode, but still looking as if he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

"Yea, that's 'cause he's on four legs, an' doesn't have all this other crap weighing him down!" Sonny retorted. Ray only have listened to the guys' remarks behind him, as he was to busy studying the 1IC, and the look on his face. Ray knew Jason better than he knew himself, and he could tell that something was up.

"What's goin' on Jase? You got a look in your eyes." Ray asked, the question soon drawing everyone's attention.

"Not sure yet. Something doesn't feel right… Havoc, is the area still clear?" Jason asked. Ray raised an eyebrow at the man, while instinctively checking his bag for the intel they were recovering. It was of course still in place. Jason was right, something was off. In fact, something had been off for the last few missions. On each one, some detail was missed, and something had gone wrong. Each time, they had been able to quickly correct without any major issues coming from it, but still, it was beginning to feel like there was always a speedbump. No one wanted to admit it though, not after everything they had all been through recently. They were finally whole again, and things had just seemed to be returning to normal, and then just like that, they were slipping again. So instead, they each explained it away in their own minds. Clay chalked it up to getting re-adjusted to active duty, Ray figured they were all just getting used to their bad luck turning around, that stuff was only going slightly wrong because of the negative way they were looking at things recently. Brock had decided the issues were simply mission specific, nothing more. Jason tried to blame himself for each one, per usual, Trent thought they were just getting used to missions that weren't as tough as the ones they faced on deployment, and Sonny just ignored it, not wanting to accept that anything was wrong now that they were back to normal.

Jason waited for a response from Havoc, but none came. He tried again, but no answer. Ray tried, and got the same result. They were on their way to exfil, but still had a way to go. If something happened between now and then, and they didn't have comms? No good. Finally, the earpieces crackled to life once again, but the tone of the voice coming through kicked everybody's senses up to 1000.

"Bravo, do you copy?! Your about to walk right into a camp of insurgents!" Ellis said, praying that the comms had cleared. The comms and ISR had no doubt been jammed by the men in the tent in front of Bravo team. At the words, Jason swiftly motioned for everyone to stop, hardly needing to, as the new information had made everyone stop dead in their tracks.

"Copy Havoc, comms are on the fritz. When the h… when did this happen?! There weren't any camps in the area on the drone sweep 30 minutes ago!" Jason asked, confused. The intel they recovered was time sensitive, meaning that they should already be on the plane's by now, not trying to find a way to avoid a firefight.

"They must've just set up for the night. There's no way around them, and the terrain makes it to dangerous to move the exfil. Plus, the intel doesn't give us time to do it anyway. You'll have to go dark to get through them." Eric said, looking at the ISR and chewing on her lip nervously.

"Well shit. How're we supposed to do that in plain daylight?!" Clay asked, looking at the guys.

"Havoc to one, I hope you guys have a plan by now, because if you guys aren't on those choppers in the next 10 minutes…" Ellis said, interrupting Jason's planning.

"Yea, yea, got it. Alright boys, let's make this quick, and try not to get shot!" Jason said, and turned to lead his team down the rocky turned all their lights off, and started their cautious descent around the side of the camp, doing their best to avoid any loose rocks that would make noise. Their hands were firm on their weapons, trigger fingers ready, because they all knew that getting past the camp without being noticed was nearly impossible. There was no way to create a distraction, because the minute the men left the tent, Bravo team would be hugely outnumbered. They didn't have time to wait for someone to get to over watch, and the terrain was way to rocky for them to army crawl. That left them with the current plan: go as quickly but quietly as possible, and if spotted, hold them off and book it up the mountain to the helos.

They were parallel with the tent when suddenly, they heard a man point and yell. In the next second, over a dozen insurgents were coming out of the door, guns blazing. Sonny's curse words were drowned out by the sound of gunfire. Bravo turned, firing as fast as they could while starting to take off into a dead sprint up the mountain.

"Havoc, this is one, where are those choppers?! If their not here in the next 2 minutes, we're all dead!" Jason yelled as he turned, and pulled the pin out of a smoke grenade, launching it behind him, simultaneously with Trent.

"One mic out Bravo one, should be there any minute. Looks like the insurgents' numbers are going down." Eric answered, watching his team closely. The team continued their sprint up the mountain, dodging bullets as best they could. Jason could see blood on the faces and arms of his men from cuts inflicted by the rocks and branches that were splintering around them and flying up from the spray of bullets. He wouldn't be surprised if the small patch of blood on his arm was from a bullet grazing him. With the sting of debris and the wind from bullets flying past, he couldn't tell which was which anymore. He heard Ray yell a thank god at the sound of helicopter blades getting closer. He moved his head up from where he had been switching between watching the camp behind them and his footing in an effort to avoid twisting an ankle. Finally, the helos touched down, and Jason and his men piled in so that the qrf could unload the gun into the valley behind them as they took off into the air.

Back in the c130, headed home…

Ray looked around as everyone took their gear off, silence of another close call hanging over the room. He nodded his thanks and took the wet towel from Trent to clean the cuts on the side of his face and neck. They all looked up as Ellis walked towards them.

"The intel is safely in the hands of the CIA once again, thanks to you guys." Mandy said.

"Yea, a small miracle considering almost walked blindly into a hornets nest, and then had to run through it anyway." Jason said, the anger evident on his face.

"We would have warned you earlier, had the comms not gone out." Mandy relied, sensing the tension in the air, not just from Jason.

"How much earlier? We were just about to cross that hill, and you can't tell me they got those tents up in 30 seconds." Sonny said, holding a cold beer to the thumb that had puffed up in seconds after he jammed it into the rocky ground when he had slipped trying to dodge a bullet.

"Look, we saw them seconds before we notified you guys." Mandy said, realizing she would now be diffusing a bomb that was the six pissed off men standing in front of her. And alone at that. Davis was checking and repacking the gear, weapons, and command setup as she did after every mission, and Eric was on a phone call with the base. It was up to her to calm them all down, or what Eric was about to tell them would likely throw fuel on the fire.

"How Mandy? How?! You have drone footage in front of you, we don't. Did that go out too?" Jason asked, getting closer. She heard the sound of boots behind her, footsteps that had to be that of Blackburn and Davis, drawn in by the commotion. She matched Jason's gaze, breaking only to look over at Ray, who usually would have stepped in by now. His not doing so told her that he was just as angry, but was trying not to voice it.

"Actually, yes, we did. I can show you the feed if you'd like." Ellis replied in a way that would make any normal guy give in, but Jason Hayes was not a normal guy. Especially when his men were in danger.

"I might take you up on that, 'cause I'm sick of somethin' goin' wrong every damn mission! It's like Shaw put a curse on us!" Sonny snapped.

"That's enough. We did what we could. Although, now that you've brought up the little issues here and there this team has been having recently, I can tell you the new schedule for Bravo over the next few weeks..." Eric said, looking at Davis and Mandy, who knew what was coming, and braced themselves for the reactions that were to come.

"Since you all failed to complete the therapy from a few months ago during deployment, the brass and I have been toying with the idea of a new round of trauma counselling. And after the last few missions, I think we can all agree that something is off. The team is off. Don't take that as a shot against you, you have all been through a lot this year, and I think it's time you all sat down with a professional." Eric explained, watching the expressions change.

"Seriously?! The brass? Who actually suggested it, them or you?!" Jason asked, the flush of anger rising in his neck.

"I did." Eric answered.

"Wow. Jus when I thought you were on our side!" Sonny huffed, shaking his head.

"There are no sides here. We made this decision with you best interest in mind." Davis chimed in.

"Best interest. Right." Trent muttered, taking another sip of beer.

"Look, I know you all feel a certain way about counselling, but a lot of higher ups agree that it can help. Think what you want about psychologists and counselors, but these two are the best of the best. They were handpicked by Lisa and I, who know them personally. Before you dismiss them, they both served in the military, one in special ops. You all can hate it as much as you want, but Bravo team is off rotation for the next 2-3 weeks, effective as soon as we touch down." Commander said, watching the men grow stubbornly quiet. With that, he turned and left them to sulk.

A restaurant somewhere in Virginia Beach...

Davis picked up her pace slightly, her smile growing as she made eye contact with her friend.

"Hey girl! It's been too long!" Lisa said as she stopped and embraced the women.

"It definitely has! Can't the bad guys take a day off now and then so two friends can catch up?! How've you been?" Ellie Macdonald joked as they sat down.

"Good, really good. You? How's civilian life life treating you?"

"It was an adjustment at first, but since I got my Doctorate, it's been smooth sailing! Athena likes it a lot better too!" Mac said.

"Oh my gosh, she's gotta be huge by now! How old is she?" Davis asked, remembering being introduced to the therapists rottweiler when she got her as a present from her parents and brothers for finishing active duty in the Army.

"Just turned eight!" Mac said, pulling up a picture on her phone of the two of them walking.

"You two look pretty badass together! She's adorable!" Davis fawned over the burly pooch.

"Thanks, she's a real sweetheart though! My niece brought her kitten over the other day, and Athena went full mom-mode on her. Didn't even flinch when the little thing pounced on her, claws and all!" she said.

"So cute. I'd love to get a dog one day, but the job hardly allows me a social life!" Davis said as the waitress came and took their orders.

"Yea, I understand that! Speaking of which, I read your email. Tell me a little more about the three I'm getting." Mac said, changing the topic to the other reason they were there.

"Alright! Your getting Senior Chief Ray Perry, Petty Officer Clay Spencer, and Petty Officer Sonny Quinn. Ray and Clay are the snipers, which is mostly why we gave them to you. Ray is the primary, he's been on Bravo for a while now. He's married to a woman who would give us all a run for our money, with two kids. He's fiercely loyal to her, his faith, and his team. He stepped up big time when the Master Chief's wife died earlier this year, for him and the team. Clay is the youngest on the team. He was drafted in the beginning of last year. He was a perfect fit for the team from the start.' she said.

"Any relation to Ash Spencer?" Mac asked.

"Yea, his son, although from what I've seen and heard from him, they don't have a very good relationship. Anyway, the kid took the brunt of physical trauma this year, with just as much emotional. His training officer, Adam Seiver, died in front of him on a mission while Jason was on leave after his wife's death. Adam sacrificed himself for the guys, and got blown up in front of them by a guy with and s-vest. A few months later, he was severely injured during an attack in Manila while the guys were on deployment. That'll all be in his medical records. And then to top it all off, the guy who helped him through pt and recovery, and was there for him while the team was overseas, committed suicide in his truck. Clay found him."

"Wow…." Ellie said, a somber look on her face. She sure had her work cut out for her.

"And then Sonny. He and Clay are really close, have been since Clay joined. They all took Clay's injury hard, but Sonny probably the hardest. He's a redneck in every way, born and raised in Texas, and if he releases his emotions, it's probably in the way of a bar fight. He'll probably be pretty difficult, but I promise he's got a heart of gold." Davis said finishing up her description.

"Please. You just described all three of my brothers! I look forward to getting to know them, and hopefully bringing them some happiness back!" She said.

"Thank you so much for doing this. Really, It means a lot." Davis said sincerely.

"Of course." Ellie replied. The two sat back as their food arrived, the conversation quickly drifting into areas other than work.

Across town in a bar…

"Hey Eric, what can I get you?" John, the bartender and owner asked.

"Whatever's on tap." Blackburn replied.

"Some things don't change, huh?" Eric turned towards the voice and smiled.

"No, I guess they don't. Just like you man! How've you been Warren?" Eric asked.

"Can't complain! How's the wife and kids?" Warren asked after the two old friends shook hands.

"Beautiful as ever. Except Josh. He's just a teenager. Your's?" Eric answered, with a shake of his head at the thought of his unruly son.

"About the same. Cassie's getting into the wild years now, and her sister wants to be just like her, so pray for me!" Warren said, earning a laugh from both Eric and the bartender, who handed them both drinks.

"So I took it from your message that work has been a little rocky recently?" Warren asked after a few minutes.

"Yea, you could say that. The guys have really been put through the wringer this year, and it's getting… I don't know. It isn't getting better though, so that's why we're here." Eric said with and exasperated tone.

"I can imagine. After losing a spouse, two friends, and almost another rookie, I'd be more concerned if Hayes wasn't a little messed up. I've been meaning to stop by the annual cookout to finally put faces to all the names, but life just kept getting in the way." He said. Warren and Eric went way back, sharing a team for a while before they split after climbing the ranks in different directions. Luckily for him, he had kept in touch over the last few years, and had heard many stories

"I understand, believe me. That's why I'm glad your doing this for me. They need it, and I trust you with my life, so it makes the daggers that were shot at me when I told them about this worthwhile." Eric said.

"Of course. Hopefully I can show them the positives after all these negatives." Warren said. Eric nodded, and the two sat for hours longer, catching up.