Simple Pleasures

Both of their eyes lingered for a second; no longer. Merrick bit his lip, contemplating wether or not he should do the smart thing, which was to get his hands of her. There is was dicipline but it was nothing compared to the eternal devotion he felt towards her. Mila seemed to have picked up on his fear; no wonder he was shaking. Every finger of his softly placed fingers on her face and neck tapped the symphony of his heart beat.

"Did you really think it was that easy?" Merrick throwned at her and she froze. He took his hands off her and made a quick turn to have her face his back. He chuckled a little. She just could blink at his back in shock. She did not know what to say.

"…what…do you mean?" Mila stood motionless waiting for any type of reaction from his side but the only thing she recieved was an angry huff.
At least she interpreted it that way.

"I will never get myself involved with you again!" Merrick gritted his teeth not having the courage to face her, despite his harsh tone. He knew only this way she would understand. He rubbed his eyes realizing how the tears had built up in them. It was hard; old habits die hard. It had become somewhat of a habit back then for them to jump in out of a relationship. Once they both were off duty for a while, they spent time together like a normal couple. Indulging in activities normal people enjoyed.

"Then go!" Mila suddenly found her voice and let the emotions burst out of her. After that she had to take a deep breath. Merrick faced her a expression of shock written all over his face. He studied her; Her body was tense from head to toe. Balled fists made her frustration evident.

Determined he went over to her and next she found herself wrapped in his strong arms. He didn't give her a chance to respond before he pressed his lips onto hers. No breath passed between them until Merrick picked her up to sit her down on the table behind her. She kept kissing him softly while holding his face to make him realize how much she wanted him to stay. He did the same by holding her waist with one hand while his other one reached up behind her head to unleash her hair from their restraint.

Keegan wandered the facility trying to make sense of this place. It all seemed too perfect, at least for him. He shook his head in frustration. He couldn't stop thinking about Logan. He swore to protect him; even with his life, but it never came to that. Rorke really did snatch Logan in front of their eyes this time. Even worse. In front of his brothers eyes.

As soon as he went outside he lit himself a cigaret to calm down. Every draw made him relax more. His thoughts seemed to be more organized and rational now. Tough he still couldn't believe how fast Rorke had turned Logan to his side and made him into this…mess. Time wouldn't make Logan's `condition`better. His obsession with killing Ghosts would make him just as mad as Rorke. Not only would their worst fears come to live but with Logan's face attached to them. With what he did to his own brother he wasn't really far from being Rorke 2.0; faster, smarter and he after all knew most of their tactics. Keegan had admitted way earlier than Merrick that Mila's appearance might have given them the much needed advantage they needed ever since Logan got abducted. Before Rorke had predicted every one of their steps precisely and it made it hard for them to succeed in any missions at all. It truly was devastating.
While he smoked he sat on a staircase outside of the main building. A group of Ghosts went by all carrying their sniper rifles. Stephen was with them too. He stopped by Keegan and glared at him. Both men had nothing to tell each other besides the usual greetings and a little small talk:

„Wanna come along? The boys and me are practicing our marksmanship." Stephen pointed to the group of youngsters who all eyed Keegan with big puppy eyes hoping to convince Keegan to come along. He sighs.
„These green horns could use a lesson or two from a vet like you" Stephen smiled innocently what caught Keegan off guard. He scratched the back of his head nervously.

„Ermm…I am not really the best at this…teaching thing…" Keegan, a loner through and through hated to draw attention, tough he hated it more to be called a vet. Was he really that old? Compared to them he did felt like it. Somehow in the back of his mind he felt flustered. His lips curled upwards when he got up.
„But…I think I can give it a shot." Keegan wiggled his eyebrows and the group just glared akwardly not really getting his pun. Stephen who certainly did, just slighlty face palled but mostly to hide his dorky grin. He guessed being in war for so long rusted Keegan's social skills a little.

„For how long have you been serving?" Keegan had to ask Stephen who smiled at him and answered promptly as you would expect from him. He seemed so full of energy.
„Well…if you count my years in the military academy…" Stephen certainly had a way of playing with his words which made Keegan feel uneasy but not in a negative way. He felt comfortable around the young man. It seemed so rare for Keegan to have a casual conversation with someone he barely knew.
„Hmm?" Keegan grew more curios and raised an eyebrow while one of the recruits had to chuckle.

„I thought seasoned sharp shooters are patient" Stephen quickly stopped to have the recruit who chuckled bump into him. The recruit does so what made the others stop too. They all were pretty young in their early twenties max. Keegan could tell from their looks and deminour. He looked back to Stephen and couldn't help but wonder if he was trying to test Keegan. It seemed childish.
„And always alert" Stephen turned back to them and they all froze. None of them suddenly was up for jokes or smart remarks. Awe, was the best word to describe the youngsters expressions.

"Do you have…dog collars?" David found himself stand in front of the armory assistant. She mustered him from below her glasses. Riley gave a small bark and then dropped on the ground wagging his tail. David realized before leaving the parameter with Riley it was smart to get something more "average" for his dog to wear. It would appear strange to have his dog sport a high military grade tactical west in a simple park. Attention was the last thing he wanted to draw.

"For your girlfriend?" The assistant remarked causing David to thrown a little. She retorted from her statement and sighed as he stayed serious. His eyes shifted to Riley who rose his head.
"Oh ermm…" She chuckled awkwardly and gulps. She wondered why he was so serious and couldn't loosen up a shifted his head to the door when it swung open, David could only make out a big cart of boxes being rolled into the small cabinet before the armory. It stopped, then the breaks engaged.

„Special delivery" Cady peaked her head around the cargo not seeing David at first. The assistant chuckled and took the tablet from Cady to confirm the delivery. Riley wagged his tail and pranced over to Cady who he knew would give him treats.
„Oh hey, Riley. What are you doing here?" Cady petted his head. "Sorry, I got no treats" Cady revealed her empty hands but Riley kept his attention on her.
"Riley, enough" David made the dog back up and lay down again. He glared to Cady who smiled at him, she could tell he wasn't really font of her mum, but she told herself this had to be the case with herself.

"Hi there" Cady waved to him and he just rolled his eyes a little. He didn't need anymore Milas in his life. He just hoped her daughter inherited more from her father. Riley liked her, why not give her a chance? After all, maybe a little company could help him. He wasn't used to being on his own anyway.
„Hi. Cady." He said with a stoic expression. „Can you tell me where I can get a collar for Riley?" He got straight to the point. Useless small talk not needed. „And...maybe some treats?" He looked down to Riley who wagged his tail in agreement. She blinked at him for a short moment, then looking to her side. It seemed as if she was caught off guard by his question, to her it seemed odd; Everyone else would have just used the internet to find a place.

"Well…downtown there is a pet shop." Cady folded her hands nervously in front of herself. Riley tilted his head at the gesture while David let his eyes drift from the girl to the clock above they door. It was midday. As far as he remembered shops are open at this time of the day. Odd how he barely can remember the comforts of a life outside of war. That didn't mean he doesn't appreciate the simple pleasures of shopping. Riley wouldn't mind a trip either to have a little flirt with some European dog ladies. A gentle smile lingered on his face while he asked Cady,
"Would you mind going there with me?" He shrugged while her face mirrored the redness of a tomato. David by no means was unattractive but she felt it made her shift even more into the spotlight if she went to town with the ‚new hot shot' around base. During her breaks Cady often overheard some female ghosts swarm about the youngest of the American Ghosts. Nurses went out of their way to have their shifts switched so that they would have a chance at a glance at his ‚war hardened body'. David himself however was oblivious to the women's crushing nonsense.
"I don't…I mean…Alright!" Cady burst out as she made her way over to the door to lead the way. Her eyes didn't dare to look into Walker's. She hoped he would interpret her abrupt decision as something positive, for she had read in books that a good soldier is comfortable with lightning fast decision making. However expression of convidence is nothing one can learn from pages in a book. It must have taken Captain Merrick years to become as smug as he is now. She admired him deeply.

Hesh put on his jacket as he came to follow Cady. Even tough it had been about a week since the mission which changed everything; when he felt with his own body the wrath Logan was poisoned with. Was his baby brother still inside this monster? Was he a sheep or the shepherd?
"Your eye…it looks better" Hesh commented while Cady kept walking. She kept on looking forward because with her luck stumbling over some type of obstacle wasn't too out there to expect. Little did Hesh know that Cady had perfected the art of covering up bruises with make up by now. She had to; Her mother would have never let her leave the house again if she had known that her daughter engaged in break time brawls more often than she actually did her homework.

"Duh." Cady didn't even look over now; her plan was to prove that she was just as confident and cool as anybody else. For her being a Ghost meant displaying a certain type of coolness. Not as freezing cold as Keegan apparently was but something in between her mother's emotional outbursts and Keegan's ice age. David's eyebrow rose and he took a deep breath of annoyance through his nostrils. Was she trying to hide her embarrassment over it, he wondered.
„To be honest. You got Merrick pretty bad too." David retorted as Riley was prancing in front of them. They exited the building and walked to the main exit gate. Walker had tried to gesture with his hands while talking but is messed up arm gave him a hard time. He grunted in pain. Cady noticed it immediately.

„Are you feeling fit enough? Are you even allowed to leave the hospital!?" She almost yelled at him in a childish tone, even tough she was serious. She stood in front of him and crossed her arms. „Did your commanding officer give you permission to leave base?!" She locked her arms behind her back and blew up her chest. An awkward silence hung between them. Hesh and Riley both made the same puzzled expression.
Cady opened her mouth again to speak but then stopped when she saw Keegan approach from behind Hesh. To her Keegan was this big mystery, nothing scary, but somebody she respected. Her eyes went big as she took a look at him from close up; his frame was rather slim, nothing like Merrick. A warrior perfectly build for stealth.

"Hesh. You…me…crisis meeting…NOW." Keegan made the gravity of the situation clear to the younger Ghost by simply turning around and walking off. David rubbed over his tired features. The elder ghost looked as if he just returned from mission. Mud and dirt covered his clothes and gear even his trusty rifle. What had Keegan been up to?
„Cady–" He tried to word a sentence but she immediately interrupted him. „Don't worry…" She winked and then chuckled embarrassed. "Leave it to me! I will get Riley something nice." She smiled brightly as Riley barked. He gave her a soft smile and went after Keegan while Riley went with Cady.

It's been such a long long time since I found the joy in writing again! That's why I feel so happy I could finally finish this chapter. I know there wasn't much plot in this but character is equally as important!

Please leave a Review or a Fav if you like the story so far!

Pixeltrix141…out