Chapter 2-A Random Buck Appears
Third Person:
John sighed as he walked into the airport at exactly 6:57 in the evening. He had been friends with Beni since she was in Basic. She was one of the easiest to teach. They hadn't known each other for long before John realized that Beni was a naturally hard worker. She had the work ethic that ten guys stronger than her didn't have. She also had the brains and the willpower. She had all guts, and didn't really care for the glory, and was one hell of a smart ass, and a prankster, to top it all off. Just being a guy to say hi to her could mean you as a victim. How she had no friends in high school, he would never understand. But seeing an old friend like Beni would brighten his mood. And Carla would keep Beni from doing any stupid pranks on the way to Beni's new apartment.
"Where's your friend, Daddy?" Carla asked. He shrugged and pulled his six year old daughter up and onto his shoulders. She giggled and grabbed onto his face with a nearly vice grip. He chuckled and put a little more bounce into his long strides, making her giggle a little more. Once they were inside the airport they stopped and did a full circle. There were about six or seven army guys waiting for their own rides. He sighed and took out his cell phone to check the time. He sighed and looked around.
"What does she look like?" Carla asked.
"Well, she has blonde hair with green and blue stripes, and she's wearing an army uniform."
"You mean like the one over there with the crutches?"
John looked to where Carla was pointing and his jaw nearly dropped to the ground. Yeah, it was Beni, and like always, Beni had her own, tiny little fort to sleep on. But that wasn't the problem. His jaw clenched and he quickly walked over to her.
"Beni!" He said sharply, using his commander voice. She was instantly awake, and was struggling to get to her feet until she realized that it was just John, who needed to get her awake. She yawned and grabbed one of her crutches, hauling herself to her feet. Well, foot, as John could clearly see.
"What the hell, Jon-Bon?" She asked. She blinked a couple of times and looked on top of John's shoulders. "John, I know you said you could get any girl in the world, but I didn't think you meant anyone under twenty," Beni said with a cheeky grin. John just sighed and set Carla down. Carla, without being asked to do so, picked up Beni's other crutch and gave it to her.
"My stomach is going to explode because of all the rainbows," She said, ruffling the girl's hair.
"What happened?" He asked as he grabbed Beni's duffel. She gave a disapproving look to John for grabbing it for her, but she didn't protest either.
"I fell asleep after you called me."
"You know what I mean," He replied sternly, going from his commando voice to his dad voice. How he did that, Beni would never understand.
"Will she be listening?" She asked, shooting a glance to Carla. John shook his head and Beni sighed, letting John open the door for her. It had begun to rain, and now everything was just foggy enough for Beni to squint for her to see things almost properly. Either that or she just needed her reading glasses on.
"Then I'll tell you in the car."
Much to Beni's relief, John had parked super close, so it didn't take very long for them to get there and get inside. Once John started the car and drove onto the real roads, he turned to Beni and gave her an expectant look. She sighed and leaned against the window, looking at John and then outside.
"Cain," She said, trying to hide as much venom from her voice as possible, but it didn't really work out as well as she had hoped.
"Cain? Cain Mayes? The same guy who saved my ass on three seperate occasions and got promoted to Captain?" John asked in disbelief. Beni nodded. "Are you sure?"
"Dead sure. We were on our way to a rescue mission, and he calmly stopped the car, got into a helicopter, and blew us off the road. Troy, myself, and Derek survived the blast, but we were taken prisoner as well. Tammy didn't make it. Anyway, Troy lost an arm, I lost a leg, and Derek got first degree burns pretty much everywhere. Ironic, I know. John...I don't wanna talk about what happened when we were prisoners of war. Not yet anyway."
John looked from the road, to Beni, to the road again, and back to Beni. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder and he tried to ignore the flinch. He squeezed it reassuringly. She smiled slightly and sighed, one hand gripping her right leg where her knee down should have been. Then she turned her attention back to the road, only to get wide eyes.
"John stop the car!" She yelled, just as a dark figure jumped in front of them. John slammed on the brakes, and he put a protective hand over Beni's chest while Beni put a protective hand on Carla's chest. It was more of a reflex than a habit because of John's naturally shitty driving. But they unfortunately stopped a hair to late.
They ended up hitting the man.
They watched in silence, a mix of horror, surprise, and guilt in both John and Beni as the dude flew about ten feet in front of the car.
"Oh, shit," Beni said.
"Beni, watch your language, I got a kid in the car."
"Are you fudging serious right now? Priorities, Jon-Bon."