Chapter 2

The VTOL lowered to the deck for the team to disembark. They were already on their feet and ready to disembark. They were chattering about anything and everything like the girlfriends or wives or what that were planning on doing now that they were back. David listened to the murmuring as he stood ready with his gear bag on his shoulder.

His chat with Spectre wasn't overly long. It was more reassurance. They were close friends brought together by his request and the whole thing did put to rest some ghosts of the past. Not only for him, but for others and it opened a door for him. Granted it was rough, it was pretty good. He smiled as he thought about what was waiting.

The hum of the VTOL cued him to pull out his sunglasses and he held them ready. The doors were sliding open and he put them on since they were facing the sun. He squinted a little and saw that his CO was standing there waiting for them. Of course, business came first meaning a debrief. He gave a slight salute of acknowledgement as he descended the ramp. "General Hendrix."

"Section."

After Admiral Briggs had been wounded, Section's team moved back to Virginia and placed under command of a new CO. General Martin Hendrix was a Marine and tolerated no funny business. He was understanding, but he enforced protocol and regs. It made it difficult the first few months, but he and the general had a pretty good working relationship. They didn't always see eye to eye on things, but they were all about getting the job done.

Coming to stand in front of the general, David looked at the man and gave the proper salute, "Mission success, sir. HVP was recovered and alive and well."

"Good to know," General Hendrix replied with a slight grin. He glanced over as the rest of the team descended and added, "Considering one took one for the team."

David turned to look over and saw Jackson walking with the others. His black eye was obvious in the bright sunlight and he was making no effort to hide it. They were all sporting cuts and bruises, but the Brit was the one being obvious. He turned to look back at the general to see the slight smirk and he replied, "Well initial extraction didn't work out as planned, sir. We had to adapt and move to plan B."

General Hendrix nodded, "And it worked out as you said. Good work, Section." He gave David a slight pat on the back of his shoulder.

David nodded, "Thank you sir."

"Debriefing in thirty," the general replied. He turned and started to head back in. He paused and glanced back at David and added with a raised brow, "Thirty minutes exactly, Commander."

David didn't say anything but swallowed slightly. He was never sure that the general knew about it, but always seemed that he did. If he did, then David could count his blessings since there were certain to be repercussions if things got out. He raised his brow slightly and watched the man leave while trying to puzzle out this continuing conundrum.

"Best not to think too hard about it, brother."

David shifted as Harper draped an arm over his shoulders. It was pointless to, but he did it anyway, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Harper chuckled at that, "Don't even try, man. You, me and Jacks know about your… you know."

David made a slight sound in his throat. "That obvious?"

"To us, but to everyone else, like close buddies," Harper answered honestly, "Except when you were an ass those few weeks."

David made another sound at that. No one was going to let him live that down. General Hendrix thought it was family issues since timing wise it was about right, and David rolled with that. It was his personal friends that knew the truth. He cleared his throat and said, "I don't know. The general always gives me a look every time he tells me how much time before debrief."

Harper was thoughtful about it as they started walking. That did seem unusual and it sounded close to setting up an ambush to catch his friend. "Don't know, man, but be careful about it."

"I know. Could make life hell. For her."

"And you."

"Not me I'm worried about."

Harper grinned and barked a laugh. He gave a hard pat to David's back that would have sent anyone not his friend stumbling forward. "Man, you've got it bad." He patted David's shoulder hard again and strode forward to catch up with the others shouting, "Hey Crumpets!"

"I don't do tea you damn wanker!"

David hummed as he followed them. He adjusted the gear on his shoulder. It was his personal gear. The heavy stuff would be handled by the logistics officer and then the team would spend an hour or so cleaning and putting it away. He had work to do before he got home. Whoever said patience was a virtue was seriously on something.

"I see you still manage to raise hell without me."

David paused and turned in the direction of the voice. He saw her in the doorway to some office. Probably the one she used or was doing her intel work for Spectre. He couldn't help the grin that turned into a full blow smile as he shortened the distance between them, aware that she had moved backwards into the office to allow for some privacy.

Once the door was shut, he dropped his bag and grabbed her around the waist into a tight hug and swung her around. He felt her arms wrap around his neck to hold on and return the hug. Setting her down on her feet, he took a breath as he touched his forehead to hers. "I missed you, Simone," he muttered as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Simone Torres accepted the kiss but made a sound that also sounded like a huff and replied, "We see each other pretty much every day."

David pulled back gave her a gentle smile. His hands came to settle on her hips, his thumbs tracing the top of her pants. "True, but when you don't come with us… it's different. I like being with you," he said in a soft tone as he pressed a kiss to her lips.

Torres accepted the kiss and permitted him entry as he deepened it. She tightened her grip around his neck, pulling him in while standing on tip toe. Her hands moved to cradle his head and her fingers found their way into his hair. She moaned when his hands slid upwards to caress her body and cup her shoulder blades. She pulled away for air and hummed, "Okay, I missed you too."

"I know you did," David countered as he moved in to try and capture her lips again.

It was unexpected when she avoided it completely and grabbed him in a hug. He felt her breathe a sigh of relief on his neck as she clung to him. He was a bit puzzled, but it didn't stop him from tightening his own grip around her. He adjusted his head to hear her whisper, "I'm so glad that you're home. This one…"

David hummed and lowered his head into the crook of her neck more. While they joked about it being nothing, there had been a couple of close calls. They had been outnumbered and the op ended going sideways. The sideways being that Jackson was taken with the HVP and was beaten and would eventually have been executed. Plus, he knew that she worried when she wasn't closer to oversee operations. More so now that they were dating.

"At least you all made it back."

David pulled back to look at Torres, noting her olive toned skin, the almond shape of her hazel green eyes, the dark, thick lashes till his gaze diverted to her bow shaped, pink lips. She didn't need lipstick, but she used a lip balm that shined them up. He reached up and ran a finger through her dark hair, curling it to run the back of his finger gently down the side of her face. He replied, "It's what I aim to do every time, Mone. Do the job and get everyone home."

Torres looked up at David, smiling at his pet name for her. He had tried a few, the worst being he tried calling her 'Sofie' and she punched him in the shoulder. After that, he asked what her brothers or any friends called her. When he came up with 'Mone' she had to think about it. She was sold when he called her that in the tone he reserved just for her. She smiled at him, running her fingers through his hair and answered, "I know. You are good at what you do."

"I've gotten better since meeting you."

"Before or after you had me rope down with you while a freeway was collapsing?"

David shot her a mock glare, "More like when I first laid eyes on you and thought you were a desk jockey with those glasses of yours." He gave an endearing smile in anticipation of her pouting. He reached in her jacket pocket and pulled them out. "These glasses."

Torres narrowed her eyes but was smiling as he held her glasses up. They were thick frames, but stylish for her face. They were the very definition of nerdy, but she made them look good. He opened them and put them on her face and finished by tapping the tip of her nose, making it wriggle and making him chuckle, "There she is."

"You're lucky I like you so much," Torres countered, pressing her finger into his chest. She smirked, not removing her glasses. She put her hands on his shoulders and pulled him close for another kiss. "Otherwise I would have had JSOC do something about it," she added with a mischievous grin as she patted his chest.

David groaned but was still smiling. He knew she was teasing him, but she could make good on her threat if she wanted to. He sighed, smiling and fingered the loose lock of hair. "Same time tonight?"

"The girls planned dinner."

"Stay then?"

Torres smiled as she stepped away. She picked up the tablet she always carried along with some other things. She opened the door and paused to smirk at him, "We'll see."

David groaned as she left. He leaned against the wall and couldn't help but smile. He checked his watch and noted he had ten minutes to get to debriefing. Picking up his gear bag, he left and went to join the team and head to briefing.

As it turned out, Torres decided to stay afterwards and was currently curled up beside him with her head on his chest. Harper would have hooted about it under the impression that something was going on. There really wasn't. It was a desire to be in one's company and sex wasn't involved at all. The first time was when David snuck over to her place and climbed up to the window of her apartment that she shared with Anderson.

It was an impulse and looking back, David realized how easily it could have gone south especially with the dog. It didn't though and it became a regular thing. Mostly when he came back from deployment or when he felt like it. He would curl up behind her and just sleep and leave in the morning. It sounded bad when voiced, but it wasn't to them and it wasn't like he was taking advantage of her especially after the first night she stayed over and she started on the couch at her insistence.

"I think Hendrix is onto something," he heard her murmur.

"So it's not just me," he replied as he absently massaged her shoulder, amused that she was wearing an old college t-shirt and sleeping shorts.

"You were obvious. I was subtle," Torres teased as she wrapped her arm around his torso. She paused and then asked, "Should I worry?"

David thought about it. Harper told him he was overthinking things, but he couldn't help but worry. While she wasn't a soldier, they were the equivalent of colleagues and that never boded well for anyone. The last thing he wanted to do was do something that would cause her to be taken away. Not so much the team but to the other side of the world like what almost happened before his daughters decided on the brilliant idea of going all the way to England by themselves to bring her back. Absently stroking her hair, David voiced, "Not worry, but aware. Just keep things professional."

Torres had lifted herself to look at him to hear his thoughts on the matter. She stared at him as he looked at her and nodded. "Okay," she murmured before settling back down. She sighed in contentment when he repeated his reassurance that things would be okay. She needed that now especially with the news she had received earlier and still wasn't sure about how to tell him. She snuggled into his body, hearing him chuckle as he turned off the lights and drift off to sleep.

"Been awhile since I've seen that look, love."

Spectre looked up from where she was musing over reports and turned to see the man that was her love and life, looking at her like she was the only woman in the world. She gave a slight smile as she replied, "Been awhile since the occasion warranted it."

"I don't know, lass. I've seen you give that look to some of the pencil pushers at Credenhill."

Major John "Soap" MacTavish leaned against the doorframe of the room that was called the study and a favorite place for the children to play in. He smirked at his wife when her eyes narrowed dangerously at him, but didn't flinch. To many years of the same thing and dealing with the tough times made him into the 'hard bastard' he had been called on many of an occasion.

Spectre looked at her husband and relented a little, "Only because I end up getting a rookie that I have to scare into doing everything right."

Her response caused MacTavish to laugh and she allowed a small smile before turning back to what she had been reading and trying to puzzle over a decision. She heard the tread of her husband as he approached, but made no attempt to hide her work. There wasn't a point to it since they had been through more than enough missions in black ops and dealing in secrecy. Sometimes she still marveled how they were still together since she was the spy and he was the soldier; what she called a recipe for disaster.

"Heard that Section and his unit ran into some trouble in Afghan," MacTavish mused as he stood behind his wife. He leaned over to take a look, knowing she wouldn't hide it from him.

"Initial plan when sideways. Plan B."

MacTavish chuckled at that, earning a slight smack to his arm and her saying, "Not that Plan B."

MacTavish didn't buy it. Plan B had become a code word meaning that they shot and blasted their way in and out. It usually involved blowing something up. He looked at his wife as she vainly insisted that it wasn't like that and replied, "Really, love?"

Spectre pouted a little before relenting, "Okay. Maybe a little bit of an explosion. But only to break in."

MacTavish laughed at that, keeping it low since the children were asleep. He endured the scowl from his wife in good humor since she was laughing with him as well. He rubbed a hand on her shoulder and said, "That will never change, Nico. Plan B will always involve an explosion or two."

"Tell me about it. I have to make sure the mess doesn't get too bad."

"You make it work out. You always do."

"Flattery will get you nowhere you stubborn Scottish bastard."

"Maybe with you. Stubborn arse woman."

They chuckled before the mood sobered and Spectre lifted the tablet she was looking at. It was inevitable that she would tell him. Then again, there were little to no secrets between them. They had been in the same business for years. She pulled up what was bothering her and held it so he could see. "This is what has me looking like I'm scaring rooks into compliance."

MacTavish took a look at what she had. He wasn't smart in the bookish sense, but he learned enough over the years to pick up the gist of things. What he was seeing, he could understand why. He queried, "When did you find this?"

"Not too long after Menendez was killed."

"You've been hanging onto it for that long?"

Spectre looked at her husband and saw the look on his face. She could tell he was torn by a few emotions. This was one of the reasons she told him it wasn't a good idea to start a relationship with her. He accepted it though and here they were. He still had his opinions, but he gained another perspective about it. She admitted, "It was too soon."

"You can't protect everyone, love," MacTavish pointed out as he wrapped an arm around her, gently massaging her shoulder.

"It wouldn't have been fair to Simone," Spectre explained. She shook her head and sighed, "She had already went through the big revelation that I found out long before her because of things my father set in motion." She stopped and pursed her lips and looked away, her eyes narrowing at nothing in particular as she added with a huffed murmur, "And fucking cleaning up his mess."

MacTavish had heard it before. He had been there when the mantle of Spectre was handed off to her from her father, the elusive Jensen. He had been there when she opened up Pandora's Box and pushed to manipulating events to correct past mistakes and to stop the world from falling into chaos. He still had trouble believing she did that, but he was also proud of her. He saw the results of how military and government leaders reacted to her. He still found it funny that she cursed like him but forced others to be on their best behavior and not even trying.

"I inherited the mess with Menendez and learned the truth about my old TO all in a quest to help a friend."

"And it worked out."

"For David, yes. For Simone…" Spectre made a slight sound. She looked at the datapad and put it down on her desk and folded her hands. Sighing, she said, "She learned about a life her father was forced to keep from the world because of his job and the secret he held; the reason why they didn't go after her."

"But she got the truth from you. You gave her the video diary," MacTavish pointed out.

"But not the whole picture," Spectre replied as she looked at her husband with a worried expression. "I know she knows about certain ways. She understands compañeros very well. She has Spanish blood and her parents and brothers made the point clear. It's why she is… entertaining when she tries to swear like me."

"You're the master, love."

"Stop distracting me," Spectre retorted giving a playful slap on MacTavish's bicep. She sobered though and sighed again. It was becoming a habit, but this was worrisome. "Anyway, Simone is in a unique position and I did not tap her to be used by in the manner they are asking for."

MacTavish knew who she meant when she said 'they'. Even though his wife worked for the Company when they met, she became head of an international organization that was famous in the espionage circles and like a legend. It was true that no one knew how many assets there were and with the number designations and the way things had changed… It was how his wife stayed a step ahead from being discovered. A thing that he was grateful for, but astute enough to plan ahead for contingency. Knowing her feelings, he asked, "So they know?"

"Hard not to since some assets still work for the Company." Spectre snorted in an unladylike fashion. True she had been an agent, but she didn't always approve of their methods. Even when she had been tapped for SP, she refused to let them dictate all the terms when it came to assignments. "And I still have to play nice. I'm just glad that there are a few people that aren't…" She made a sound.

MacTavish hummed at that, "Have any measures been taken?"

"Surveillance. The team based in Costa Rica has eyes, monitoring. From what I gathered, a move needs to be made and I just got word from Mexico that my DEA agent is missing."

"That one with the drug cartel?"

"Yes."

"Think there is a connection?"

"With the cartel, it's all about business and territory. Alliances are the key." Spectre tapped on the computer that she had opened and pulled up a few more files.

MacTavish studied his wife. He knew that look well. He had seen it when she helped plan the ops when they were persona non grata. He had seen it before that. It sometimes scared him how her mind thought at times, but he trusted her judgement. "You have something in mind," he stated rather than asked.

"I do, but it will rely heavily on Simone going with it."

"It's a good plan logically, but emotionally… you hate it."

"You know me too well."

MacTavish shrugged his shoulders at that. "I know that you aren't ruthless. You consider your options and you make plays in the least likely of places. Chasing leads where none exist."

"And look how well that went for me, for us, in the beginning."

"We're still here. There's the 141, our family, Section…"

Spectre made a noise at that and looked at her husband. "Fine, you made a point. The thing is… I get the feeling that this will test them more than the Credenhill assignment."

"Don't give them so little credit, Nico. If you look at it… kind of was like us."

"And that's what worries me."

MacTavish groaned at that as he hugged his wife. "I get the feeling that it's different for them. Simone is the reasonable one. Like you, she will do what is right and will figure out how to keep the other parts from falling down the hole."

Spectre looked at the screen as she listened to her husband's words. Tactically and logically, it was the right move. Her protégé knew that since she invested time in her to learn the spy game and still be of service to the Treasury. She knew Simone was capable of pulling off what she had in mind and in so doing, taking care of a potential and rising threat. She continued to stare at the screen, reading long after her husband gave her a kiss on her cheek and went to check on their children. She pulled up the video chat knowing that it might spoil a homecoming, but the sooner they started working, the better. Plus, she had a lot of work to do to get this into place.

A/N: A nice homecoming and it looks like something's brewing since we have Spectre aka Nico planning something. Stay tuned next time for more Unfailing Precision...