Chapter 30

Being in Special Forces taught a person one thing: that even the best laid plans went awry. That was where the ability to adapt came in. It was just a matter of finding out how to make the situation work for you. Sequoia knew that the moment she saw that things weren't going to be exactly as planned but then again few things were in this line of work. She looked ahead but her eyes roved everywhere, looking at everything.

Rorke was planning something and it wasn't the thing that she was certain was going to happen. What it was, she was going to have to find out and then figure out what to do about it. She was going to have to be the hunter here and hunt the other. And it was going to have to force her laughing pup to become a hunter as well.

Seeing Logan lag, she played her part and gave him a boot on his butt, "Get going you slow piece of shit."

Logan hadn't meant to stumble but his legs had cramped even though he had been forced to play it rough with his best friend. He knew she was playing her part when she kicked him and the words meant nothing but they still stung. He turned to look at Sequoia and narrowed his eyes at her but didn't say a thing. After all he was to pay the submissive role and that usually meant something more.

Logan had always been the quiet one and Hesh was the louder brother. It wasn't that he wasn't much of a socializer, he just believed that there was a lot that didn't have to be said and could still be understood. Plus he picked up on things because he did less talking and more observing. When he and Hesh would patrol the wall back at Fort Santa Monica, he was the one who would spot their advantages and point them out to Hesh. His brother was just as good but Hesh relied on him and Riley to see what he couldn't. So in this case, he kept his eyes open.

"I see Little Charlie has you by the balls, kiddo."

Logan looked at Rorke. It was tempting to retort back but he didn't. Instead he narrowed his eyes at the man. He managed to keep that look when he saw the brief flicker of surprise flash on the man's face.

"He is who I want him to be," Sequoia repeated. Her voice sounded almost tired but it conveyed boredom at the whole thing. "He won't speak unless I tell him to. He is a POS."

Rorke looked at Sequoia and Logan could see that the man wasn't sure of what to think about her. He had to admit that it had him a bit nervous about the whole thing but he trusted Sequoia and he knew that if things went FUBAR, they would adapt. He said nothing but stored away the information that he gathered by watching her. When this was over, they were going to need a serious talk.

They crossed the courtyard and made it into the main operations center. Along the way Sequoia would occasionally boot or push him and Logan just took it. He couldn't do much anyway since his hands were tied. She wasn't but she was held by two armed men. Logan figured that Rorke had the situation under control by doing that and it occurred to him that this was a test of sorts. For both him and Sequoia.

They made it to central command and taken to an observation room. Logan looked around and took notice of the video monitors and they were showing images of the compound. He was drawn by Rorke's drawl, "Welcome to the beginning of a new phase."

Sequoia looked around and took everything in. Like Logan, she hadn't failed to notice the monitors. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she focused on Rorke. Something wasn't quite right here. She played off the man, "Doesn't look impressive."

The slap was unexpected but she took it. She looked at the man that hit her as he said, "You will speak when spoken to."

"And you will leave off Little Charlie, Mateo," Rorke said as he grabbed the man's wrist. He glared at him.

"Yes, sir."

"You're lucky Little Charlie is in a good mood. She would have killed you."

"I doubt that."

"Never underestimate," Sequoia butted in as she rubbed her cheek. The blow wasn't hard to split the skin but it would leave a nasty red mark. She already had the beginnings of bruising from Charlie Leader and Hesh's fight. "And lay off the arrogance." She narrowed her eyes slightly at the man Mateo.

It would have been a standoff but Rorke chuckled, "Listen to her. You might learn something."

Sequoia found Rorke's arm around her shoulders in a familiar manner, like they were friends. She didn't like it but sometimes a hunter had to do a few things in order to get to the goal. It was as she had hold Hesh when she handed him Elias' dog tag: that in order to get what you needed, you sometimes needed to make your captor see what you want them to see. A good hunter knew when to lie in wait and when to strike.

She let herself be led to the window to observe. She noticed troop movements along with the containers. "Impressive."

"And all because of you Little Charlie," Rorke replied as he released her shoulders. He stepped towards the window. "With the last of the chemicals, those two scientists were able to concoct something that will bring them to their knees and the Federation will rise. And there will be no mistakes like with Loki."

"You presume much," she replied.

"And why shouldn't I? I have the heart of the Ghosts working for me and have been for a while." Rorke turned and stood toe to toe with Sequoia. He looked her in the eye almost tender like. "I had you Little Charlie. And now that you realize you can never go back, you can hunt the Ghosts and destroy them."

Sequoia was well aware of what she had done. She couldn't do much in terms of resistance but she did manage to make things a bit difficult. She only had to hope that it would kick in when it should. She kept her composure though when Rorke walked over and picked something off one of the consoles and waved it at her and said, "Now I know that you resisted and probably still want to. Did you think that I didn't know what you were up to?"

"You are referring to a time when I was confused and still believed that they would take me back," she replied smoothly as she crossed her arms looking nonplussed. "You forget that they rejected me."

Rorke grinned at her as he held the disabled device. It was a piece of shit anyway and wouldn't have worked. "You're right. And I forgave you for your transgressions because even I knew that you had the seeds of doubt. And now you're working for me."

"With you. I will not work for you."

Rorke raised a hand to hold off Mateo and laughed. "You're right. You will never work for me. It's not in you Little Charlie. You are too much like your predecessor only better."

"Sir, we have movement on the perimeter."

Rorke walked over towards the monitor and took a look. He grinned as he saw the image and said, "Well, well, well. Right on schedule. Alert all patrols and have them ready to commence Operation Clean Sweep."

Sequoia blinked as she listened to what was said and barely glanced at Logan. She didn't move from her position since she didn't want to give any indication that she was too interested in what was going on in the courtyard and the perimeter. That feeling she had in the pit of her stomach gnawed at her though.

Rorke turned to look at her and said, "I figured that Merrick would try something; follow you back. So I made an extra special welcome for them. So that team that is infiltrating is walking into a trap. You think that I would allow you to walk away so freely with all that information without a little backup?"

"Never thought less of you," Sequoia replied calm as she could. Inside she was quaking. Hesh, Keegan, Kick and everyone out there were going to get skewered if they didn't watch what they were doing. "You always were one step ahead of us."

"It's called anticipation, Little Charlie. You're good but you will get better. When you want something bad enough, you will learn how to cover for everything," Rorke replied as he unholstered a gun. He checked it and made sure it was loaded. "Of course, you did reveal my plans when you left."

"A risk since then I was determined to get away from you."

"After betraying my trust. I should kill you." Rorke pointed the gun at her and approached her to press it against her temple. "But I won't. You came back to me and you managed to do what I want and that is make the kid here obedient." He removed the gun and put the safety on and holstered it. "Most important, you came to me willingly."

"That could be loosely defined," Sequoia replied, relieved that she wasn't going to get her brains blown out then. "I had little choice when they rejected me and tried to take me prisoner, claiming I was a traitor."

"But you still had a choice. You could have run off into the jungle but instead you came back to me." Rorke approached her and got close once again. He raised a hand and caressed her cheek, cupping the side of her face. "You came back."

Logan watched the exchange and tried not to be sick at the sight. He could tell she didn't like it at all. He marveled at her ability to stay calm in light of the fact that Rorke almost pulled the trigger on her and now was within her personal space and touching her. He didn't like it since on some primal level he had to protect his brother's girl from bastards like Rorke. Yet he had a job to do and as much as he didn't like it, he would stick with it.

Sequoia deftly removed the offending hand with poise, almost like she was flirting, and said, "I came back but even I have my standards. It's why I'll never work for you." She looked at Rorke as if to dare him to say otherwise.

Rorke was grinning like a madman. "Oh I love having you here Little Charlie. We're going to do great things together." He gestured at the window and continued, "Full shipments of the virus will be dropped on enemy troops and they will be decimated, leaving everything for the Federation to take."

A beep sounded and the operator checked it. "Sir, I've got something going on."

Sequoia shifted on her feet but didn't move when Rorke when over to take a look and demand what was going on. She glanced at Logan and gave a slight movement that he would understand and looked around. She had been aware of the positioning of the men in the room. Now it was a matter of luck and timing.

"What is it?"

"I don't know. Bravo team hasn't responded. Communications just got cut."

Rorke looked at the monitor and then caught sight of who was moving. "Ah. So junior decided to play hero and rescue little brother. Mateo, take care of it."

Mateo left along with three others. That reduced the numbers in the room as Sequoia assessed the situation. They became even more reduced when Rorke told the others to leave and nothing remained behind except for the operators of the monitors. Now was the time. "Seems like they managed to figure out a few things."

"Nah. Junior there is good but he doesn't have the balls. Not like the kid here." Rorke gestured at Logan. He then decided to taunt him, "So how does it feel knowing that you're going to have to watch big brother die?" He looked at Logan and grabbed a handful of his hair to pull his head up so he would look him in the eye.

"Not… going… to happen," Logan grunted, feeling his hair being pulled.

"Oh it will. I couldn't make Elias suffer by having him see you die but having you watch your brother die is just as good." He looked at Sequoia and added, "You see, Little Charlie? You have your way and I have mine."

Sequoia felt the tremor in her cheek from trying to keep her temper in. She took a breath to calm down and replied, "But my way is better."

Rorke turned and looked at her, "And what makes you think so?"

"Because I make hunters," she said as she looked him in the eye. She then called out Logan's name and then delivered a quick strike to Rorke while pulling his gun. She tried to aim but Rorke grabbed onto her wrists and she struggled.

They were locked and Rorke started laughing, "Oh I love the fire in ya Little Charlie."

Hesh and Harris managed to make it to their spot and Hesh went to work on the security. He opened up the box and started messing with the wiring. Harris was covering his six just like he expected him to even though they weren't in agreement on much and it was clear that Harris didn't like Hesh over much. Hesh ignored it and was secure that Riley was also around and keeping watch.

He was to take out the perimeter security system since more than likely it was set to watch for the rest of the team. Besides they couldn't take any chances. Any element of surprise would be the most beneficial to them considering what the Federation was trying to do. He pulled out the set of pliers he had and glanced around before looking at the wiring. It was just like shutting down the power in Caracas. And the nice thing was that they were labeled. Even though the writing was in Spanish, he could still make out what each one was.

"You gonna do it or what?"

Hesh glanced at Harris with a slight frown. He heard Riley make a high pitched whine. Ignoring Harris, he muttered, "Easy Riley." He then turned and started clipping the wires they needed clipped. "Done," he said when he was finished.

"Let's move out."

Hesh let it slide since he was technically the superior officer. He wasn't going to start a fight in the middle of an operation and one that depended on Logan's and Sequoia's life. Instead he said, "To the auxiliary station. Secondaries need our attention. Riley."

Hesh led the way, not looking at Harris but followed Riley as they snuck past the guards that were guarding the entrance they needed to get to. The auxiliaries needed to be cut to keep the power from coming back on. It was a failsafe of sorts for a lot of things. Hesh walked over to the box and started to get it open but it was stuck.

"What's the holdup?"

"Stuck."

"Fuck. Get it open!" Harris went to check to make sure no one was going to come in their direction.

"I'm trying," Hesh grunted as he tried to pry the box open. He managed to get it open but their window was getting cut short and he ended up cutting his finger on the edge. It wasn't deep because he was wearing gloves but it still drew blood. He shook his hand and gritted his teeth since it hurt like a bitch and reached for his pliers.

"Thirty seconds before the power is back," Harris warned. He had lost the slight edge in his voice but it was clear that he had disapproval for Hesh still.

Hesh had cut a couple and was going to cut the last when he heard Riley growl. He knew Harris heard it too. He moved to cut the last wire.

"Don't even think about it," a voice called out.

Hesh heard the click of the gun indicating that it was locked and loaded. If he moved he could die but if he didn't, that meant the mission could be a bust. He heard the order to put the pliers down but he glanced at the asshole that was trying to stop him. He just needed to make one snip. Narrowing his eyes at the Federation bastards, he squeezed on the pliers and cut the wire. He wore a defiant expression on his face.

The next thing to come his way was a rifle butt and it caught him across the temple. Hesh felt the coppery taste of blood in his mouth and let it come out as he landed on his hands and knees. He heard Riley barking until a pained whimper sounded after the soft sound of metal on flesh. He was hauled to his feet and held to face the bastard that told him not to do it and stared defiantly at him.

Harris was struggling like mad. If Hesh stopped to think about it, the man was behaving like he would have done not too long ago when riled to anger. As it were, the roles were reversed or rather he was behaving more like Logan would; slow to anger but when erupted, full of fury. That was if anyone stopped to think about it. As it stood, Hesh was only thinking about what he needed to get done and that required a calm demeanor.

The bastard that had warned him, looked at him and asked, "What is it that you think to accomplish?"

Hesh said nothing but slowly raised a hand and wiped the blood that spilled from the corner of his mouth. He looked at it and then back at his captor. He said nothing but that seemed to anger the leader and he got another punch across the face and demand to know what it was he was doing. Finally Hesh said, "Maintenance."

That earned him a punch to the gut and across the face. "You think you're funny?"

"No. That's Logan. The hilarious one." Hesh looked at his captive with a somber expression. "I'm the not so funny one."

Harris had been struggling but he had also been listening to the conversation and watching what was going on. He watched as Hesh's non responsiveness got him and then his first answer got him a few punches across the face. The last response would have been funny if it hadn't been so serious and it earned Hesh a small beating. Harris struggled since that was a member of the team. He may be pissed with Hesh but he was a teammate and you didn't leave them to dry.

When the leader finished beating on Hesh, he asked him, "Still think this is funny?"

Hesh was on his hands and knees by that time. He felt the punches but they were nothing like what Rorke had given him. He was going to be covered in bruises and cuts and that would probably get him a scolding or two but that was nothing. Feeling the sanguine taste of blood in his mouth, he managed to spit it out a bit and wiped his mouth before getting to his feet. He made grunting sounds since it did hurt and he had to feed an ego here a bit. Looking at his captor, once he was fully vertical, he replied, "Never said it was."

For a moment to Harris, it looked like Hesh was going to get another blow or two but it didn't happen. Instead the leader pulled his gun and pointed it at Hesh. Most people tensed when a gun was pulled on them and Harris was no exception even though it wasn't pulled on him. Hesh though didn't bat an eye at it. He merely stared at the man. It never occurred to Harris that Hesh had seen and experienced this situation before; it wasn't the first time that he had gun pointed at his head.

Hesh merely stared. It was a calm that he just assumed and didn't really know why. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he had a gun pointed at his face before and he had been shot and, according to Logan, he had died and then was brought back. He didn't know what to call it. All he knew was that he was doing his part in a plan to stop the Federation and to rescue his little brother and the woman that held his heart.

The blandness and calm demeanor seemed to spark some interest in the leader since he gave a grin and lowered his gun but it was ready to pop up if necessary. "Not bad for an American. The boss will be pleased since he said you were a little too hotheaded."

"I learned a few things," Hesh offered before shifting his gaze to the window behind his captors.

The leader chuckled and then said, "So you think to disable the security so your team can sneak in? Not a chance since we have anticipated that something like this would happen. You think the boss trusts that little harlot?"

Hesh smirked and chuckled and turned to look at the leader while saying, "And do you think we trusted her? Her own mistake was teaching us about contingency."

Harris blinked, at first thinking that Hesh was going to give away the entire plan. That would screw them all over but then he paused to look again. Hesh was playing off the asshole and making him think that they didn't trust Sequoia either when that was the furthest from it; he was trying to gain some rapport from their captors.

"Contingency?"

"You know… a backup," Hesh replied in a slightly mocking tone. He then turned to look out the window again. His tone shifted to a bored one, "So are you going to kill us or take us to Rorke? What is it?"

The leader looked at Hesh and then motioned towards his men and barked at something in Spanish. They took Harris out first and then dragged Riley out on the harness, his jaws clamped shut with a muzzle. Hesh was the last to be led out but not before the leader and Hesh had a private word.

"I am supposed to deal with you and for the most part that means kill you."

Hesh scoffed at that, "Then I say you failed at that."

"There is a reason I'm keeping you alive," the leader replied. "Call it my leverage." He then pushed Hesh out of the room and into the open and barked orders in Spanish.

Hesh listened to the orders being given and looked at Harris. He knew that it didn't look good since he was the last to go but… He gave a slight nod and then looked ahead at nothing in particular. He felt the push behind him and started walking away with the guns pointed at their backs until the explosion sounded from behind. That was their cue.

A/N: Looks like Rorke and Hawk exchange words and Hesh and Harris are in position... sort of. Keep watching for more of The Hunt...