Through the dust and debris, there were coughs and moans.

"Status is whole, healthy, and delivered like a sinner on Sunday." Taylor replied into the radio.

WASHINGTON

I left the compound and made my way outside where were was no lights, no voices. Just darkness and silence.

My life had changed in so many ways since I was a teenager and so suddenly, that I had no time to think about what had happened, let alone make plans on how to deal with it all.

Years of training and proving myself to get to where I was. But was it enough? Another ladder to climb. But it would never change the past, or bring Kowalski back from the grave.

I missed him incredibly.

I drew in a breath of crisp air, and looked up at the thick clouds that blanketed the base.

It was deceptively calm where I stood, staying clear of the damage Alpha Dogs were creating in the bar as they celebrated a well-earned victory.

Gunfire resounded in my thoughts as if there was a war raging.

I was fighting my own war too. A monster inside my head that wasn't me. It seemed increasingly difficult to tune out and turn off after a day like yesterday.

I could have killed hundreds of men and walk away with little remorse. I felt nothing but anger and sadness. Lonely at the worst of times.

The guys in the force would think I had gotten soft over the duration of my assignment to Alpha Dogs if I tried to talk to them or even make friends. I wasn't here for that.

I was a monster who wanted to control and destroy anyone who got in my way. I didn't believe I could control it.

I continued to gaze up at the sky, lost in thought.

"Hey," A voice said, interrupting my reverie.

I spun around and pointed my glock at him in alarm.

"Whoa- Jaz, it's just me." Flag raised his hands in surrender as he continued his approach.

"Sorry," I shook the haze from my mind and put my pistol back in its holster, but he grabbed it before it clicked in.

"We're in DC, you don't need this." He was watching me warily as he slowly uncurled my fingers from around the gun. My pistol went into Flag's belt behind his back, and his arms enveloped me; carefully, I noticed.

"Of course," I laughed humourlessly. "I forgot. Habit, you know. This seemed like a time out. I figured I'd grab a few minutes while I could."

He glanced in the direction of the violence at the bar, which seemed to have abated for the moment.

"You've gone to hell and back. I get it. You saved my ass back there."

"You were hit in the body armour," I reminded him sarcastically,

Flag scoffed. "Yeah, and I couldn't move after the impact, I was almost out cold and you came back for me. You saved my life."

"You would have done the same for me. Oh, wait, you did." I laughed.

"I guess we're even."

I nodded in agreement. "It feels like this is all a dream. Being away for so long, and then suddenly back at it like I was never gone. Ellis was scared shitless in that prison."

"Honestly, if you think there is some kind of script for being the commander, you know it doesn't exist. I wasn't going to slap her and tell her to snap out of it, she isn't like us. She has limited field experience, and being shot at ain't one of 'em. I was my job to keep everyone calm and exfilled. I wing it."

I remained silent, confounded by him. Inexplicably, I felt something when I looked at him. He was talking to me, but I wasn't sure if he cared if I listened. Flag was just a man. Talking to me. Not Military man of authority. Just another solider seeking a break.

But he wasn't my best friend the way that Kowalski was. Aside from the impossible love I felt for Flag, there was also that other bond, and it ran bone deep.

"I'm sorry I made you anxious before," I muttered. "I just needed to wind down and I wasn't there yet."

He sighed, and relaxed a little.

"Anxious is a bit of an understatement," he murmured. "It was a very long day."

We stared into the darkness in silence.

"I wanted to thank you, for coming back. I wasn't sure you would, after Tehran. You've been different since then, I want you to talk to me about it. Debrief doesn't make any sense." he said.

"This walk is better than I thought it would be," I said, changing the subject. "I know what today is. The 26th."

"I didn't want to say anything." He murmured.

"Why not? Because it's me?"

His arms tightened around me, cradling me to his chest.

Flag was silent for a moment, and then he sighed. "Because it is you. Because I care. Our lives are hard enough without me pulling you down with me."

I narrowed my eyes at him, pulling away from him to look into his eyes. "Is it not the whole point of being with someone to not go through this alone? I don't want you to decide what I can and can't know about you. I'm all in." I paused, waiting for a reaction. Instead, Flag was hesitant as he looked down at me. He was so tall, it hurt my neck to look up at him for too long. "And I promise to fully burden you with all my issues too."

Flag laughed. "You promise that?"

I giggled. "Yes."

He laughed aloud as if I'd just told a good joke.

"What's so funny?"

"You changed the subject." He paused, but shifted to look down at me again.

I ignored this reaction, and looked into the darkness.

"Okay, How about telling me what happened in Urkraine? And don't say nothing. That helo spooked you."

My pulse was thudding in my ears. I put one hand over my heart. It drummed hyperactively under my palm. "Do you think I'll ever get better at this?" I wondered, mostly to myself. "That my heart might someday stop trying to jump out of my chest whenever you figure me out?"

"I really hope not," he said, a bit smug. "Tell me. Please? I know something is on your mind."

I stared for another minute, shocked. I could feel something, panic maybe, building up in my chest. I wrapped my arms around Flag's waist, and leaned my head against his chest, holding on as though the world were spinning on its axis. Something was very wrong, maybe more wrong than I'd realized.

"Is there really no limit to how bad things can get?"

Flag hummed. "No." he took in a sharp breath. "Is this Kowalski? Or Tehran?"

"I don't know," I moaned. "Maybe all of it?"

"Does it help if I tell you how good you are?"

I grinned, and I think Flag felt my cheek bulge against his chest, because a rumble in his chest replied.

"Okay, I know an incredible woman named Jaz Chapman, who will clear a small town suspected of being hostile; building after building. She can shoot a round through a fleas ass at 300 meters, first to fight, and can do more with less." He chuckled, then sighed. "I can't take the nightmares away, but you need to know that it's okay to do what I tell you to do. It's your job, and you're only killing the bad guys. Sure, there's collateral damage from time to time, but we live with it. Oh, and while I'm at it, give Amir a break. He likes you, and wants to make it work."

I instantly regretted the decision to open my mouth. Flag was going to be furious…

"Okay," I felt myself hesitate.

Stop holding back, I told the coward inside me. Just do it, he's waited long enough. Flag always wins…

"I was chained to a chair in a white room for two weeks. I was tortured over and over again." There. I said it. I didn't tell anyone the details, not even in debrief. But of course Flag would have wanted to ask what the injuries were caused by since I didn't include the full extent of the events in that chamber.

"They made me believe Hayes was dead, and that my team had disowned me. The pain... And after Midway City, I get nightmares about that witch. She was nothing I had ever seen. I guess it all gets a bit much sometimes, even for me."

Flag's arms flexed around me.

"But I didn't write everything in debrief like I was supposed to. The stab wounds were from hot knives," I finally let out a slow uneven breath, blinking away the bead of water brimming over my eyes.

"What?" he gasped. "What did you say?"

My heart thudded audibly against my ribs, and my breath seemed to get stuck in my throat. I felt his eyes on my face, but I refused to meet his gaze. I stared straight

ahead, seeing nothing.

He didn't ask again, so I guessed that meant that he was just as troubled as I suddenly was.

"What else?" Flag snarled between his teeth.

I was stuck between heaven and earth. My hunch was true, and I definitely wasn't dreaming. Sounds like a slow painful death is inevitable. If this was the cruel end I get for being a soldier then so be it; but not if Flag has to watch me go crazy because of it.

"They put a gun to my head first… I couldn't hear for so long and-" the air hitched in my throat. I was suddenly more emotional than I was five minutes ago. My life had taken another huge turn. "I'm sorry…"

Falling down into a deep abyss, and I couldn't stop it now. Turning around upside down in all my confusion. Would I survive?

I searched my mind for an explanation. But there was nothing. Just the blankness filling my heart as I imagined Flag, a broken man taking on the evil in Tehran by himself…

He was so silent I didn't notice he had clenched his fists. He looked at me, his eyes grave.

He knew what I was thinking. I could see my emotions reflect back to me through the solemn expression on his face.

I'd seen him angry, and I'd seen him arrogant, and once I'd seen him in pain. But this— this was beyond agony. His eyes were half-crazed. He didn't look down to glare at me anymore. He stared at the flickering compound lights with an expression like someone had lit him on fire. His hands were rigid claws at his side.

I tried to comprehend, through the film of tears blinding me, the surreal fact that Flag would never look at me the same again. I looked up at him from inside my own personal hell, I could see he was as upset as I was, maybe more.

He finally met my stare for a moment and his face was frenzied under a thin layer of control.

"I can't stand to see you like this. Why didn't you tell me? Do you think I was going to bench you even after you were squared away? Because I wouldn't. I know you would die inside if I did that to you."

I did know this-every second I spent talking about it was only going to add to the pain I would have to suffer later. Like a junkie with a limited supply, the day of reckoning was coming for me. The more hits I took now, the harder it would be when my supply ran out.

If he hadn't looked so angry I would've been screaming.

"Jaz, I'm sorry. I don't think you care right now, but we did everything we could to keep you alive, and we're glad you are. If you need a break-"

"No!" I almost shouted, releasing myself from his arms. "No, I don't want that. I just need to keep busy."

Flag put one hand on my rib, on the scar the knife left behind. "But you'll tell me if you need to." The heat from his skin burned right through the thin cotton shirt as he pulled me closer.

He made no effort to pull me in; he just hugged me while I buried my face in his chest. He leaned down to press his cheek to the top of my head.

"It's just me, Jaz." He pulled back a little bit and straightened up. He left one hand on the small of my back and grabbed my right hand with the other. He cradled our hands to his chest; I could feel his heart beat under my palm, and I guessed that he hadn't placed my hand there accidentally. "What doesn't kill you, better start fucking running."

I laughed awkwardly.

"Please, move in with me. It'll be so much easier."

"But Blackburn will find out about us if we have the same address." I sniffed.

"Don't worry about that. I have a feeling Hayes told on us already."

I heart sank. "W-what?"

Flag laughed. "Nothing to be concerned about."

"But it's fraternizing, I'll be put into another unit or discharged-"

"Let's not worry about that. Am I the Colonel? I got my own strings to pull."

I breathed slowly, unconvinced. "Excuse me if it doesn't fill my pockets with confetti."

"Honestly, let me take care of it. But for now, I want to make you feel better."

"The only way I feel better is having you around. The others have no idea what it's like. None of them know what's like to be held hostage and all the world forced against you while you rot. It's like trying to cling to nothing while you drown." I could feel myself descending into the darkness like a stampede, charging straight for it. Descending into the madness.

"Are we talking about your diet and exercise next?" he laughed.

"Hah, hah," I mocked.

He hummed and began to sway, forcing me to dance to the music only he could hear. "You still haven't answered my questions."

I sighed, but I was seriously ungrateful to whatever malfunction it was that kept Flag from figuring out that I had a secret. It was probably driving him crazy; Rick Flag hated secrets, unless he was in on them. How unfair for him to be the only one who knows my darkest memories.

It was hard to talk about my issues with anyone but Flag—we were so much alike, always reverting to trivial things to avoid embarrassing emotional displays. But this was no time for being self-conscious.

So many different kinds of love, harmonious in this one moment. It seemed a very hopeful picture to me.

"You know my mother died when I was very young, she was a victim of the bus bombing in New York. After she died, my father moved our family to Sonoma, and then he became a hateful recluse. I haven't seen him since I enlisted. And Andy was the first one to join the force. I thought, by some small miracle, I would have revenge, find out who was responsible for taking my mother away. But it was all forgotten along the way. This is my life now, and since Kowalski died…" I choked, but Flag didn't stop swaying, just breathing in and out slowly. "Since he died, something in me died too. But you helped me get back on my feet and carry on. I can't do this without you." I tried to sneak my eyes up at him, but he was already watching me, grinning my favourite crooked smile. "And I know you're doing it on purpose."

He laughed.

"So yes. I will move in. On one condition."

"Anything." He whispered and pulled me tighter into his chest. It wasn't exactly as comfortable as a sofa cushion would be, what with his chest being hard. But it was reassuring.

"We have to sort out this Hayes/Blackburn mess. I don't think I can survive if I'm kicked out of Alpha Dogs. I hate that Hayes is so eager to mess with us. He's trying to ruin my career for choosing you over him or something?"

"Listen, there's no way you will be decommissioned. The worst that can happen is that I were taken off Commanding Officer. It's my fault, really."

"No," I almost shouted. "It's fifty-fifty. We're in it together. So, we deal with it together."

*.*.*.*.

I was trying to postpone bedtime; I dreaded the nightmares that were sure to follow. But instead, I fell increasingly tired each day. I still woke up shaking like a leaf and clammy. The nightmares were a constant noise.

My last night in the barrack bunks. My last night as Lieutenant Colonel Jaz Chapman. Tomorrow night, I would be in a comfortable bed the size of Washington. Though the whole moving in ordeal was a thorn in my side, I had to admit that I liked the sound of it.

I let my mind wander idly for a moment, expecting sleep to take me. But, after a few minutes, I found myself more alert, anxiety creeping back into my stomach, twisting it into uncomfortable positions. The bed seemed too hard, too cold.

It was going to be a very long day tomorrow.

I was aware that most of my fears were stupid—I just had to get over myself. Trouble was an inevitable part of life. I couldn't always blend in with the scenery. However, I did have a few specific worries that were completely valid.

Both of our careers were on the line, over something so trivial. We both knew it was against the rules, but we were drawn to each other anyway.

And Hayes-going out of his way to throw us in the deep end. Revenge, perhaps?

I felt horribly guilty for that. A truce with the Lieutenant General was a small price to make up some of that debt, a price we were prepared to pay.

That was the big problem, but there was a small problem, too: my fragile self-esteem.

I'd never been in any kind of trouble with the chain of command but I was sure that meeting with him wouldn't be a pleasant experience for my ego.

"I'm worried." I said as we reached the commanding officers' building.

"Nothing to worry about, I've worked with him for a very long time," Flag assured me with a grin.

It felt like I'd barely fallen asleep when he woke me. I was groggy as he pulled me through the offices struggling to remember how to open my eyes after every blink. It took me a few minutes to catch up with what was going on when we stopped at Blackburn's door.

Across from the hall, was the exact same wood panel door, except the name plaque read Colonel Richard Flag Jnr. I raised one eyebrow, surprised he even had an office at all. Most of the time he was sprawled out in the common room of Alpha barracks with his folders and an entire tree's worth of paperwork.

Flag knocked on the door gently and poked his head in the door. "You free, Eric?"

"Sure, come on in," Blackburn piped, with the sound of drawers closing shortly after.

Flag went inside, and closed the door behind us as I stood against the wall, not daring to go any closer to Blackburn's desk. I saluted as he looked up at us.

His wide-set eyes frowned as they flicked from Flag, then to me and back again.

"At ease," he mumbled, looking down at his computer. "How can I help?" he sighed, realising it wasn't a social call from the Colonel.

Flag took a seat at the desk casually, rubbing his mouth with his fingers as he watched Blackburn fumble around on his laptop. "Something we need to discuss. Hayes has already explained, I'm sure."

Eric Blackburn looked up from the screen, and examined our faces carefully. His eyes tightened. "What's your side of the story, Rick? The truth—don't try to downplay it."

I swallowed hard. "It's a long story,"

He looked up at me swiftly, hearing the double edge in my words. "Hayes told me a long story. Besides, I'm not in any hurry to get back," he said, and then I grimaced as I thought of the trouble I would be in.

"Start at the beginning," Blackburn suggested.

"After the Afghanistan op for Ghani." Flag said sharply. "When Chapman came out of hospital she was struggling with the death of her team mate, Kowalski."

I swallowed hard again, feeling a giant lump forming in my throat.

"We became close, after that. Uh, having gone through similar situations and all, we became close friends. I can't help that, Eric. I mean, have you ever met someone and you just can't stay away? Even if we are tied together in a team environment, I found it hard to keep it professional. First time a female joins Top Tier and we expect fraternizing to occur, right? Remember, we discussed this before choosing Green Team grads-only I didn't expect to be the one involved. Remember what I said about that? As long as there's no compromise in performance on and off the field."

Blackburn sniffed, not taking his serious eyes from Flag, except to glance at me quickly, regaling in Flag's story.

"We can't help what dynamics happen within the team, disagreements, fidelities, it comes with the job. You of all people know how it works. We know what we are doing, on and off the field.."

Blackburn was silent. That was a bad sign. He didn't plan on having this conversation.

I shook my head and took a deep breath, trying to locate some courage.

"Sir, may I speak freely?"

Eric nodded.

My eyes flashed to Flag's face for approval. Despite Blackburn's hidden politeness, I didn't believe I really had a choice. I was horrified at the thought of allowing him to demote both of us, and yet also perversely intrigued by the chance to change his mind.

Flag nodded in encouragement–whether because he was sure Blackburn would listen, or because there was no choice, I couldn't tell.

"If it weren't for Flag I wouldn't have had the nerve to continue my position without some sort mental damage. He has kept me square away, and for that I am forever grateful. I have learned a lot from the Colonel during my time here, and there is always more. I'm not sure I can operate effectively without his guidance, sir."

"So this has been going on for quite some time?" he asked in an unemotional voice,

"Sir," I stood up straight behind Flag's chair. "I understand we should have come clean earlier. Neither of us had any idea we would get this serious."

"Well, I have done some investigating of my own, and what Hayes told me stacks up. After your ARGUS campaign, you both took leave offered to you. You also came back the same day. It found it strange that you," he turned to Flag sitting stiffly. "Seemed to have a sudden attitude adjustment after Chapman took over as CO in Syria. Not to mention the sudden end to your sabbatical while Alpha were in Iran, you went rogue. That's a total of a year in secrecy, Colonel." Blackburn's eyes narrowed and he glared back and forth between the two of us. "In all seriousness, I know all about it. Hayes told me the same story, just without quite as many details."

"Huh," Flag said under his breath.

"Hayes gave me the impression that Chapman's new rank was out of favouritism, but after reading debrief, it seemed like a logical decision from you, Rick. But, I slept on the information and I believe you two are quite the dynamic duo, and that runs DEVGRU's favour. As well as the choice to keep Chapman off the field despite her... eagerness. However,"

I took a deep breath through my nose.

Here it comes, the final judgement, and the consequences that went with it.

"Eric, stop acting like you're not gonna pass this up. You want Jaz and I on different teams or do we need to make more of an impression? Our relationship hasn't made any negative impact on DEVGRU at all, or you would've have picked it up already." Flag interrupted, his voice saturated with innocent surprise.

I could easily hear the sharp huff as the Lieutenant General exhaled. The blood rushed into my face, fuelled by irritation and chagrin. Why was Flag doing this? I glared at the bubbles in the linoleum patterns of the floor, panicking.

"Wait a minute. You want me to choose between protocol and success of Alpha Team? You're not in a position to any demands, Rick." Blackburn asked in a hard voice. "Performance isn't an issue at all. How are lovers meant to keep focussed on any op, when their counterpart is potentially in harms way?" Blackburn looked at me intensely, with some kind of hidden meaning. "Having two operators in…. cahoots can implicate further missions. It may have worked out in Tehran, it may not next time."

Next time? My glare turned icy. "If that's how you want it. Do you want me to clear out tonight? Or can I have a few days to pack up?"

Blackburn's face went bright red.

I instantly felt horrible for playing the move-out card. I took a deep breath and tried to make my tone more reasonable. "I'll do my time without complaining when I've done something wrong, but I'm not going to put up with your prejudices."

He sputtered, but managed nothing coherent.

Flag flinched at the threat implicit in my outburst.

"I haven't passed anything on the chain of command. In fact, I was going to let the entire thing slide, since Colonel seems to have the entire situation under control. I have only great things to say about the both of you, and Alpha Team."

"Alpha Dogs," Flag corrected brusquely.

"You wanna hear this or not?" Blackburn breathed.

Flag shrugged nonchalantly.

"Rick, I've known you a lot of years. And I did notice a shift in you since Chapman's addition to your team. You were borderline suicidal, to tell you the truth. But you got the job done, regardless. I actually decided you weren't going to return from an op one day."

"It isn't as if you hadn't thought the first decision through, is it?" Flag guessed.

"You'll end up doing what you think is right." Blackburn replied curtly.

"I'm not as strong as you give me credit for," he said. "Right and wrong had ceased to mean much to me; I was coming back anyway. Before Jaz joined us, I was already past trying to live through one week at a time, or even one day. I was fighting to make it through a single hour. It was only a matter of time–and not much of it–before Jaz changed everything for me. She is the reason I am still here. So punish us, but don't separate us. Results are better as a team. Jaz thinks like I do, and it works every time. Syria, for example."

Eric cleared his throat and clasped his hands together over his desk as he looked at the two of us. "The pair of you are the President's most valuable asset. Every op you succeed, and results are more than satisfactory. In fact Chapman, your leadership and diligence in Syria saved a lot of lives. You know the rules, and made the best possible call to achieve the objective as well as saving those innocent civilians. You think outside the box, and I need your skill on the front line. Rick, you know your position here. You train the best soldiers, keep them in line. Which brings me to the next part of this conversation." He sniffed and scanned our faces for reactions.

I certainly didn't give him one.

Satisfied I wasn't going to object, he continued. "The General wanted me to discuss your career, Chapman." He turned to look up at me, and I gulped. "Bravo is in need of assembly, now that the newest recruits have some field experience, I wanted to leave the adjustment of CO's to Rick's discretion. But after our conversation just now, I know now that it won't be easy for that to happen. So I'm making the call. Chapman, you are to begin your CO exam in preparation for the position. I am counting on you to lead Team Alpha while Rick breaks in the new unit. It will be that way, until I see fit."

I let out a sigh in protest, but he ignored me. "Great, another soup sandwich," I replied in a mumble.

"As for the consequences of your unethical relationship, I have the perfect punishment." Blackburn sniffed, and tapped the keys on his laptop. Then looked back at us, leaning back in his chair. "You're both assigned by the Secretary of Defence. A.R.G.U.S needs Alpha Team back on the job again."

My mouth fell open and my breath blew out in a sharp gust.

"Dismissed." Blackburn ordered, ushering us toward the door, making his word even more final.

His door slammed behind us as we left.

Flag put his arm tight around my waist, holding me close. That was the only thing that held the tears inside my eyes.

We had some serious problems.

Our lives had been turned up-side down once again at the prospect of another world-changing danger.

If I didn't become a Commanding Officer soon, the Chain of Command would demote me.

And now it seemed that if I did, the life as I know it would different. But I would try to do the job .I didn't think I had any chance really.

Very serious problems. So why did they all suddenly seem insignificant when we broke through the last door and I caught sight of the expression on Flag's discouraged face?

He squeezed me gently. "I didn't expect you to walk out with a promotion, LTC. You're still here. And me, too."

I drew in a deep breath.

That was true. Flag was here, with his arms around me.

I could face anything as long as that was true.

I squared my shoulders and walked forward to meet my fate, with my destiny solidly at my side.

"Hey!" Flag shouted, making me jump. "You!"

I looked around, confused.

That was when I saw him. He would have been hard to miss, towering over the other soldiers the way he did, even if he hadn't been leaning against his black motorcycle, parked rudely on the sidewalk.

"Oh."

Hayes's face was a calm mask that I recognized well. It was the face he used when he was determined to keep his emotions in check, to keep himself under control. It made him look like Taylor. But Hayes could never quite manage the perfect serenity Taylor always exuded.

I'd forgotten how much this face bothered me. Though I'd gotten to know Hayes pretty well- to like him, even - I'd never been able to completely shake the resentment I felt when Hayes mimicked Taylor's expression. It was a stranger's face.

He wasn't Danny when he wore it.

"You jumped to the wrong conclusion as always," Flag murmured.

So I'd misinterpreted Hayes's motives last night. Missing information, that was the problem.

Information like why in the world Hayes would want to talk to Flag.

I groaned quietly.

Hayes's face hardened as we walked toward him.

I noticed other faces, too - the faces of Delta and Green Team. I noticed how their eyes widened as they took in all five foot eight inches of Hayes's long body, muscled up the way no normal forty two-and-a-half-year-old ever had been.

I saw those eyes rake over his tight black t-shirt - short-sleeved, though the day was unseasonably cool - his ragged, grease-smeared jeans, and the glossy black bike he leaned against.
Their eyes didn't linger on his face - something about his expression had them glancing quickly away. And I noticed the wide berth everyone gave him, the bubble of space that no one dared to encroach on.

With a sense of astonishment, I realized that Hayes looked dangerous to them.

How odd.

Flag stopped a few yards away from Hayes, and I could tell that he was uncomfortable having me so close to another fight between them. He drew his arm back slightly, pushing me halfway behind his body.

"You could have called me," Flag said in a steel-hard voice.

"Sorry," Hayes answered, his face twisting into a sneer. "I don't have Chair Force on my speed dial."

"I'm not going to be stuck at a desk."

Hayes's jaw flexed, and his brows pulled together. He didn't answer.

"This is hardly the place, Hayes. Could we discuss this later?"

"Sure, sure. I'll stop by your office after training." Hayes snorted. "What's wrong with now?"

Flag looked around pointedly, his eyes resting on the witnesses who were just barely out of hearing range.
A few people were hesitating on the sidewalk, their eyes bright with expectation.

Like they were hoping a fight might break out to alleviate the tedium of another Monday morning.
I saw Chris Frost nudge Brock Ryan, and they both paused on their way to training.
Two nurses were sitting in a bench seat near the office we had just left, staring.

"I already know what you came to say," Flag reminded Hayes in voice so low that I could barely make it out. "Message delivered. Consider us warned."

Hayes was staring at us with incredulous eyes. "You didn't get your ass chewed?"

I glared at him, and he smiled back impishly - like a kid caught doing something he knows he shouldn't by someone who he knows won't punish him.

"Truce over," he added, so low I couldn't be sure that was really what he'd said. "I'm going to rip your spine out, I swear to God." He snarled at Flag.

"You're going to do as you're told." I snapped.

Hayes scoffed. "Because the rules don't apply to you, huh?"

"Don't do this here," I argued.

"LTC, could I please speak to you alone?" Hayes asked swiftly.

"You're about to make my life harder than it needs to be, Lieutenant," Flag warned him through his teeth. "I'd really rather you didn't."

"This isn't about you, Richard," he shot back.

Flag laughed. Something about his response was funny to him.

"It's not," Hayes insisted. "This is a private thing."

He frowned.

"Let him talk to me," I told him. I was curious.

"You asked for it," Flag muttered to Hayes before he laughed again - half angry, half amused - and strode out toward the common room.

I turned to Hayes, worried now, but he didn't look at me. His bad mood hadn't passed yet.

He went to sit on the seat of his bike, his face dejected.

"What is it?"

"What did Blackburn say?"

"Why are you suddenly concerned about that? You're the one who told on us."

He stared at me with pleading eyes, his long blond eyebrows slanting up in the middle and pulling together, his lips trembling at the corners. It was a heart-breaking expression.

"Fine. I'm Alpha's new CO, and Flag will be breaking in a new Bravo Team. But we've been sent on a wild goose chase first."

Hayes nodded slowly, looking around at the faces that turned away, uninterested.

I lowered my voice, cautious. "We're back on A.R. ."

"Wait- you're not mad at me? I set out to get Flag off DEVGRU, and you're more worried about A.R.G.U.S?" Hayes was abruptly in a rage, shouting the words.

I groaned. "I'd rather face Waller alone."

"I don't get you! You're just as bad as Flag, you know that? Are you going to marry him next?"

This was to be expected. I'd encountered it before, wherever Rick Flag appeared in the equation.

I came off the rail, letting just enough anger bleed through. "Don't fuck with me, Hayes. Like it or not, you took a big bite of something that didn't concern you, and now you're going to either chew it or spit it out. Which is it going to be?"

Only the breeze between us moved, but the cautious murmuring of two camouflaged men broke the silence.

I turned sharply, and headed toward the barracks.

Hayes ignored me. "You shouldn't be with him!" he yelled.

I spun around and he was jabbing a finger at me.

Anger pulsed through me automatically, an instinctive reaction to his tone.

With measured anger, I backhanded him hard across the mouth. He collapsed sideways against the path, losing his hat. The conversation of the young men in desert fatigues stopped abruptly, then resumed with great animation as I cut them a sideways glance. The two female nurses got stiffly to their feet and filed out through the front entrance.

"What happens with Flag and I, is none of your business, we've had this conversation before. The government don't pay me enough to put up with you either."

Hayes sat back up, wiping at the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. To his credit, he managed a bitter smile with the undamaged portion of his lips.

"You think I haven't been threatened before?"

I examined the hand I'd hit him with. "I think you've had very little experience of personal violence, and that's going to be a disadvantage. I'm going to give you the chance to shut the fuck up and get on with your job."

"You're a monster, Trig . Nothing but—"

I snapped folded knuckles into his left eye. It made less noise than the slap.

Hayes grunted in shock and reeled away from the blow, cowering into the seat the nurses has abandoned. I watched impassively until he recovered.

Something cold was rising in me, something born on the white chair of Tehran and tempered with the years of pointless unpleasantness I had been witness to.

I hoped Hayes wasn't as tough as he was trying to appear, for both our sakes. I leaned close again. "You said it, Hayes. I'm a monster."

"What's going on here?" The man's voice was low and confused, pitched a little loud to carry from the door where he stood, hands in the pockets of a long black coat. I recognised the face- Captain Zander Martin.

"DEVGRU problem solving," I replied, wiping my knuckles on my shirt as Hayes scrambled to his feet.

The young men in uniform watched his every step of Zander's way toward us, but if he was aware of their gazes, he gave no sign. When he was about five paces from us, he gave me a look of inquiry. "Lieutenant Colonel Chapman, is everything okay here?"

Hayes scoffed, cupping both hands to his eye. "Knuckle-dragger has lost her mind, sir."

"What's it about?"

"I don't know," Hayes blurted.

"Now why you got socked in the face, twice." said Zander disinterestedly. He hadn't even turned to look at him. "Lucky for you I turned up, I'd say. Chapman doesn't look like someone ready to take don't know for an answer. Am I right?"

"What do you want, Zander?" I asked impatiently.

"Come to help out."

Hayes huffed. "This has nothing to do with you, Captain."

"It seems you don't know your CO when you're looking at her. I wanted to check your boss over before deployment."

"That's too bad," I said coyly. "You want to tell me who sent you this time?"

"Hey, better than that. You're invited to meet the woman." He nodded at my expression. "Yeah, Waller wants to talk to you and Flag. Same as last time, except this isn't a voluntary ride. Seems coercion doesn't work too well with you."

"And Blackburn? He in on this as well?"

Zander drew breath in through his teeth. "Blackburn's, well, Eric's a bit of a side issue right now. Bit of an embarrassment really. But I think we can deal on that as well. I really can't tell you too much more now." He shuttled his glance sideways at Hayes, who was beginning to stand up straight and pay attention.

"It's better if we go someplace else."

"All right." I nodded. "I'll follow you out. But let's have a couple of ground rules before we go. One, no secrets."

"Way ahead of you there." Zander replied. "My instructions are to convey you directly to Waller. In the flesh."

I put a hand on his arm and he stopped moving abruptly. "Two. No surprises. You tell me exactly what's going to happen well before it does. Anything unexpected, and you're likely to be disappointing your boss all over again."

"Fine. No surprises." Zander produced a slightly forced smile that told me he wasn't accustomed to being grabbed by the arm. "We're going to walk out of the base and catch a taxi. That all right by you?"

"Just so long as it's empty." I released his arm and he resumed motion, hands still well away from his sides.

I looked over my shoulder at Hayes. "You stay here. If I see your face come through the gate before we're gone, I'll put a hole in it."

As I followed Zander to the gate, Flag arrived with a clean shirt and jacket, but this time, he carried his high concealment belt and his pistol.

Zander practically tripped over himself trying to stay out of my way, and the look he gave me was mingled disgust and awe. In the wake of the icy fury that had possessed me earlier, I sympathised more than he could have known.

The young men in fatigues watched us go with the dead-eyed concentration of snakes.

Outside the gate, it was beginning to rain. I turned up my collar and watched as Zander spotted a passing taxi, and waved his hand casually back and forth above his head.

"Be a minute," he said, and gave me a curious sidelong glance. "You got a short fuse?"

"Nope."

Flag chuckled.

He shook his head. "Hell of a place for a conflict. Or do you just like living dangerously?"

I shrugged. "Where I come from, soldiers stay out of other people's fights. They're a gutless lot, generally. Much more likely to get interference from a solid citizen."

"Not around here. Most solid citizens around here are a little too solid to get involved in a brawl on some stranger's behalf. The way they figure it, that's what the police are for. Maybe it's that Alpha thing, then. You reckon?"

"Maybe."

A cab came spiraling down through the rain in response to Zanders beacon.

Zander stood aside at the open door and made an irony of demonstrating the empty compartment within.

I smiled thinly. "After you."

"Suit yourself." He climbed aboard and moved over to let me in. I settled back on the seat beside him and Flag slid in after me.

"Good morning," said the cab driver smoothly. "Destination?"

"Airport," said Zander, lounging back in his seat and looking for my reaction. "Private carriers' terminal."

The cab took off.

I looked past Zander at the rain on the window. "Not a local trip, then," I said tonelessly.

He brought his arms in again, hands held palm upward. "Well, we figured you wouldn't want Waller on base, so we have to do it the hard way. Take about three hours."

"Wasting time, much?" I drew a deep breath and saw Flag touch his bolstered pistol lightly.

"You know, I'm going to get really upset if someone asks me to check this hardware before we fly." Flag grunted

"Yeah, we figured that too. Relax Colonel, you heard me say private terminal. This is a custom flight, just for you. Carry a fucking tactical nuke on board if you like. Okay?"

"Where are we going, Zander?" Flag sighed.

He smiled.

"Belle Reve."

TO BE CONTINUED…

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for the next one, with more focus on the Suicide Squad :) please leave a review, I'd like to know what you would like to read in the new adventure.

HERE IS A LINK TO THE NEXT INSTALLMENT. Enjoy xx

s/13176123/1/Soldiers-of-Alpha-Redeployed