Hello fellow readers! Thanks again for the reviews! If you all know any friends or people who may be interested in the story, I'd greatly appreciate you informing them of my story. You all are great! Also, this update came quick because I'm productive at times and when I have an urge to write something in particular I just go ahead and do it. It pays off eventually once I find a place in the timeline to put it.

Chapter 17 - Merida's Welcoming Crew

Price stared down with mixed feelings at the envelop he held within his strong hands. He recognized the beautiful, neat handwriting. It was handwriting he hadn't seen in years. He swallowed hard as he was met with memories from his distant past. The envelope had found his grip a week prior to the current day, and he hadn't opened it yet; his stomach twisted. His eyes suddenly shot up and looked out over the far-away valleys of Merida. Talon members scurried around as they established the temporary base and erected large, comfortable tents which would soon be housing their amenities.

He flipped the letter over and slowly ran his pointer finger along its seal; the man was impressed with how TTF had even managed to get this letter to him. Just because they had a mail distributor location in Germany, doesn't mean he was still receiving mail from God knows where. Yet here he was, holding a letter containing a world of memories that, once opened, would only bring a tidal wave of potentially unwanted emotions. He sighed and looked back ahead. Shorty, Trevor, Tatiana, and Ivan all sat near each other on a distant table while they enjoyed a smoke.

Suddenly, an all too familiar deep voice broke him from his trance.

"So, are you going to open it?"

Price flinched and looked over his shoulder where he was met by Soap's profound stare.

Soap lowered his brow. "...Didn't mean to startle you, old man."

Price waved him off and grunted. "You always were a quiet walker."

Soap blinked before gesturing his head towards Price's hands. "Who's it from?"

The old man furrowed his brow and opened up the front of his jacket to hide away the letter. He cleared his throat. "Doesn't matter."

The Scotsman rolled an imaginary object around in his mouth. "So, why haven't you opened it yet?"

Price sighed and turned to Soap just to poke him harshly in the broad chest. "Mind your own business."

Soap smiled faintly. "It's just you've been gawking at the letter every evening this week. You've gotten me intrigued."

"Yeah, yeah." Price mumbled as he walked past Soap. "Go find something to do, muppet."

Soap had to relish in a quick chuckle. He realized that he had captured Price in a corner, and it was rather amusing. Yet, he still wanted to know what that envelop contained. His eyes suddenly found Rico who had tossed a ball to a far-off location causing Gretel to jump with joy and sprint off towards the ball on a retrieval mission. A wide smile grew across her face as her German Shepherd picked up the ball in her mouth to bring back to her master.

Soap's mouth angled as he sighed. They hadn't spoken yet about the incident, in fact, they hadn't spoken much at all. They had gone from chatting daily to hardly any. He was beginning to find it rude. On Talon's vessel during the journey across the Atlantic, he hadn't been able to resist the urge to glance into her room at night, had the door been open. A few times their stares met if she had been awake and sitting on her bed Indian style with her eyes locked onto the pages of a book. She would merely smile at him before he pulled away in mild annoyance. Being analytical, he was trying to be reasonable with the whole ordeal. They hadn't really had the opportunity to be in secret to discuss the topic without fear of a bystander listening in. It was something they both wanted to keep very private.

Soap's thoughts were interrupted once Samson appeared by him to place a hand gently on his shoulder. Soap turned to face the dark-haired man as Samson removed his hand to place in his pocket.

"Soap, I've been wanting to speak with you. Maybe now's not the best time," Samson's eyes moved away to watch all of the activity in the area, "but with the meeting with this informant coming up in a few days, I'm really going to need an extra set of hands."

"Oh?"

Samson nodded. "The goal for Price is for him to be promoted into the Darkhorse commander. He fits the criteria, has a fantastic track record, and knows all of us personally. But being commander also means no more field-work."

"So, once the old man becomes the commander, he will no longer be fighting alongside us." Soap wondered.

"Right. And that's why we've been looking at an extra member or two. But he'll still be staying in our presence, commander or not. It's just his duty to operate behind a desk, so to speak."

"Why hasn't Lemann been around then?"

Samson had to sigh. "Well, that's because Lemann is on his death bed. He used to be stationed with us, but obviously, not anymore because our base can only provide so much medical treatment until it is required for a person to be transported elsewhere."

Soap crossed his arms. "So, if you don't mind me asking, what's the point you're getting at?"

"Well, that means you'll be a team leader. Price's position needs to be filled. You have experience as a captain, and you'll do just fine leading a team."

Soap had to raise an eyebrow. "What about Trevor? He's been here longer."

"Honestly, he's not interested in a position like that. Trevor isn't really a fan for leading, he'd rather be that sturdy "right-hand man". And he does a damn good job at it. So that means you're the next one in line."

"Sounds understandable."

"So…" Samson shifted his weight. "That means you'll be able to partake in organizing missions, conducting the briefs, establishing your designated choices for a mission, and so on. Pretty exciting, right?"

Soap nodded.

"With all of that being said, it means you get to begin to coordinate the surveying we have to do before we meet with Ricardo Gomez; that's our informant. I want you and a few others to survey Merida and the outskirts. We meet with Gomez in three days so that gives you a solid two days to learn the area."

"Right, so simple as picking some members to head to town with me to learn the area? Look for hotspots, potential locations for a meeting with Gomez...the works."

Samson moved his head in agreement. "Yep."

"Alright. Sounds like a plan. I'll start getting the group together."

With that, the two went separate ways. Soap's gears in his head began to spin as he plotted a strategy in his head. He went to do his planning in some minor seclusion, before finally returning to the outside to find Trevor.

By now, Trevor was off doing something different. He threw ball with Shawn with a placid expression on his face. His eyes were quick to dart towards Soap after having caught the ball.

"Alright lads, we got our schedule laid out for us today." Soap spoke causing both of the brothers to perk up.

"What's that?" Shawn inquired.

Soap waved some papers out before his face. "Surveying. We're heading down to Merida after lunch. Going to get accustomed to the area and mark down prominent landmarks. Gear up soon, keep any weapons concealed. We don't need to go alerting the town by drawing attention to all of our pale arses."

Trevor smiled faintly. "Don't know who you're planning on taking down, but I highly recommend Shorty. Sure, she's just our pilot, but she's fluent in Spanish-"

"Plus she's mostly beaner." Shawn commented.

"That too." Trevor jutted a thumb in Shawn's direction.

Soap pointed to Trevor. "You can do me the honors of announcing that to her. Everytime I ask her something now she just tells me to 'stop being so bossy'."

"Well...you do get kind of bossy." Trevor murmured.

"Just get ready. Samson said lunch is at 1300 today." Soap responded before walking off.

Shawn and Trevor looked at each other with mildly amused smiles.

"This should be fun." Shawn stated.

After lunch, a team was all assembled for the trip down to Merida. The team consisted of Trevor, Shawn, Rico, and Shorty. They all bore different expressions. Soap twirled a set of keys in his hand as he ambled for one of the Jeeps with the group following shortly behind. Everyone hopped inside the tan, four-door Wrangler and got situated.

Shorty huffed front the back seat. "Why am I stuck behind Soap's seat. My knees barely fit."

"Because you're the shortest one here." Shawn replied with disinterest.

Shorty sighed and stared out the window. She wasn't looking forward to being drug around town, taking mental notes, and learning the area.

"So, how long is our intended stay in the city?" Rico asked from her center position in the back.

Trevor scribbled on some paper in the passenger seat as Soap kept his eyes on the narrow road.

"Starting on the east side and working our way westward." Soap glanced at the rear-view mirror and found her eyes staring back at him. "Going to stop once we get to the center of town. The rest we can complete tomorrow." He scratched his nose. "So however long that takes."

She nodded in understanding while the others stared out their windows. The Jeep bumped along the dilapidated road. Once they drove to the eastern region of Merida, they found a place to park and pulled themselves out to journey on foot. The weather was warm and the sun was bright. It was a glorious day.

"Hmm, so we can start on the main drag until we come up to the first set of streets that run north and south. Based upon the map Echo gave us, we should come up to Calle 48 first. But this map is also two years old." Soap stated as his stride began to move him along. He turned to hand off a tablet to Rico after skimming over the map in his other hand. "Here."

She took it from him and started up the screen. "What will you have me do?"

"Just update the landmarks on that digital map. We'll see how much it matches up with the one in my hand. We can print off the updated map later. All I have are street names and gridlines. Got it?"

"Yes."

"Good. Trevor, stay up on the notes. We need to look for a designated spot to meet Gomez. We're picking the location, not him." Soap ordered before returning with his strut.

Trevor nodded in agreement as the group began to follow Soap's lead. After having surveyed several streets and endless alleyways, the early evening was beginning to crawl near. Some of their stomach's growled.

"Anyone else getting hungry?" Shawn asked as he watched the many tanned faces pass him up.

"Yes! Let's get some food." Shorty was quick to speak.

Soap stopped in his tracks to let the team regroup on the sidewalk. He glanced at his wristwatch. "Hm. It's 1837." He looked back up and peered at the surrounding buildings. "Well, we can eat here. Let's find a place."

"Sweet!" Shorty cheered. "Authentic Mexican food!"

"Woohoo! Yeah! Diarrhea!" Shawn mocked back.

Trevor was staring down at his notes with a pen in hand. "Just don't go drinking the water."

"Hmm...one second." Rico murmured as she scrolled through the tablet. "There's a place called Pancho's on Calle 59." She peered up at everyone. "Will that work? That'll place us near the center of town."

"Yes! Food is calling my name!" Shorty responded as she turned and began her walk for Calle 59.

Rico had to laugh. "Wait up, Speedy Gonzales." She began to follow the determined woman through the crowd.

"Guess we're doing Pancho's then…" Shawn commented as he followed after the girls.

Trevor and Soap simply shrugged at each other before catching up with the group. The five of them all were quick to find the restaurant and bring themselves inside where they were meet by a sea of hungry people. The nightlife was beginning to flourish.

Shorty was already at the hostess podium. "¿Cuánto tiempo hay que esperar? (How long is the wait?)" She asked the petite girl who stood behind the wooden stand.

The girl looked down at list before her as she chewed on the end of her pen. "45 minutos."

Shorty sighed and looked back at her friends. "You guys hear that?"

"We don't have 45 minutes." Soap responded.

"Yeah, I know."

The hostess was quick to grab Shorty's attention. "Todos ustedes siempre se puede ir a sentarse en una mesa alta. Es turno libre. (You all can always go sit at a high-top table. It's open seating.)"

Shorty perked up and just made an executive decision for the team and confirmed their acceptance of a high-top table. The hostess nodded and handed off some menus for the other hostess to grab as if they were passing off a baton. The new hostess led them to a table and set down menus and silverware, wished them all a pleasant meal, and returned to her position.

Everyone opened up their menus and looked over their options. Everything sounded appetizing. A change in menu options was always enjoyable.

After ten minutes had passed without any service or at least some sort of acknowledgement from the staff, Shorty exhaled with impatience and leaned forward.

"Ok, this is bullshit. Where is our server. I demand service!" Shorty scanned the area around them.

"Oh my God. Not so loud." Shawn scoffed.

"Whatever, you're not my dad." She replied with annoyance.

Shawn rolled his eyes before looking off towards the bar. "If you're that impatient, just go up to the bar and get our drink orders for us."

Shorty enjoyed the sound of that as she stood. "Perfect idea. What do you all want to drink?"

"Honestly, I haven't had a Coke in forever. Get me one of those." Shawn was quick to reply.

Soap and Trevor were keeping it simple with water bottles.

Rico rose up from her chair and gestured her head towards the bar. "Here, I'll go up with you."

Shorty nodded in agreement as the two women walked past several tables before finding the countertop of the bar. The men watched them as they ambled along.

Shawn eventually sighed and sat back into his chair. "Ok, I don't know about you two, but I honestly get this sense that shits about to hit the fan."

Soap simply raised an eyebrow as Trevor peered up with confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?" Trevor inquired.

"I just feel like we're unwanted here."

Trevor had to snicker and look around at the many faces. "I don't think I follow. We're not the only white people in here."

Shawn sat back up quickly. "This place, the people, the way we're getting stared at...just the tension. It's building up already." Shawn answered as he looked over towards the bar. "Yep, there we go. Just like I predicted."

Everyone looked over to see a man had join the women's sides. Rico was taller than him, but he managed to look larger with his stocky build. Soap had already noticed the movement, but now everyone watched closely. They were close enough to manage to hear some of the conversation.

Without moving his eyes away from the seemingly potential conflict, Trevor spoke. "It's a guy talking to them. Let them handle it. We have a clear shot of them. Nothing will happen."

Shawn shook his head. "I don't like it. I don't like his face. He looks rough, like he's seen some shit."

"Shawn, we've seen plenty of shit." Trevor replied with contempt.

"Yeah, but he looks like a slick Mexican mafia gang member."

The three men sat in silence briefly as they observed the transaction from afar. The man had a hungry stare, and Shorty and Rico were making it obvious that they weren't interested. But the man was persistent.

Suddenly, Trevor noticed something. "He has some friends."

"Huh?" Shawn began to look around for what Trevor was referencing.

Trevor gestured off to the left. "Right there. Three men. One has a golden chain, the other two are just your typical douche."

Shawn looked at his brother. "How do you know they're his friends. They're just bystanders for all we know."

Trevor shook his head. "No, they're watching too closely. Just like us. Must have sent their slicker friend up there to do the talking."

Soap and Shawn shifted in their seats; both were ready to take action. Trevor saw their anticipation and concern. He tapped his hand on the tabletop. "It's two pretty girls waiting at a bar. They just look like easy targets. They can handle it. Wait it out."

Both Shawn and Soap were on the same wavelength, because neither wanted to 'wait it out'.

"Would it kill one of us to just go up there to make a point?" Shawn said with irritation.

Before Trevor could reply, Soap chimed in. "I'm going to have to agree with Shawn on this one. I don't see the benefit from simply sitting here and watching everything unfold." Rico's eyes then landed onto Soap's face as she bit a lip.

Trevor straightened in his seat. "Wait it out. Let them handle themselves. They want to prove to everyone that they don't need a man by their side every time something happens. Let them do that. We're right here. Nothing is going to happen."

Shawn had to emit a quick chuckle in amusement. "Ha, right...because Mexicans are just so polite and well-mannered." His eyes peered around at the crowd.

Suddenly, they caught a major portion of the conversation.

"We're not interested." Rico claimed with seriousness in her voice.

The stocky man flashed a mischievous smile and looked the two girls up and down. "Aw, come on, chica. My amigos and myself can give you two a good time. Two chicos per chica. Us Mexicans are known for being sexual charmers."

"Ew, God." Shorty said with disgust.

"I said we're not interested." Rico stated a second time.

He was persistent and wasn't ready to back down. He bit the inside of his cheek and glanced at each girl's chests. "It's a shame to see those beautiful bodies go to waste and not get appreciated."

"You know nothing about us. Fuck off, you sleeze." Shorty glared through lower brows. Their drinks finally got set down before them.

"Oh? You both a bunch of whores? Already hit up the whole bar now your pretty little vaginas are sore and worn-out?"

"Excuse me?" Ricochet turned her body to face him, growing insulted.

"Yeah...the real sexual charmer, this one." Shorty commented with impatience. "Do us a favor, and go back to your buddies and go fuck yourself. Because all you're getting tonight is your hand."

The man's mannerisms drastically changed as his eyes flashed with a growing rage. Rico and Shorty's friends were now beginning to lean forward in their seats. Soap was already half out of his as Trevor's hand snagged his shirt. He could sense Soap's anger swirling around him. From past experience, it was usually the first thing to surface before a feral, bear outburst.

"Wait, Soap." Trevor ordered.

"Listen, you dirty, fucking skank. It's your loss. Just you wait. You'll get yours." The dirty man stated with a hiss.

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Rico crossed her arms before her chest as Shorty stared daggers into his soul.

He flashed a wide smile and took a sip from his glass as he stared at them from over the rim. "You missed the easy way out. Now it's gonna end badly for you two." He then brushed his hand across Shorty's face and smacked Rico's ass. Growing appalled and annoyed, Rico threw the liquid from her drink onto his face and told him to 'fuck off'. Soap pulled from Trevor's hold and began to walk his way through the crowd.

"Oh God…" Shawn lowered his head.

The man then grabbed Rico's jaw as he grimaced at her. Soap quickened his pace, pushing someone out of the way before reaching out to grab the man's collar. His large hand snagged the man's shirt tightly, as the man looked up at Soap just in time to receive the hardest blow to the center of his face he had ever experienced. His nose cracked under Soap's large palm that he had sent flying with extreme velocity. His head and body flew back against the bar top as Soap's mass towered over the man. Not being satisfied with the first hit, Soap planted two well-placed punches into the man's face; blood shot from his nose as the bones in his face cracked under each blow. Rico and Shorty took a step back with widened eyes as Trevor jumped up to shield them from what he knew was coming; the man's friends had now stood.

Soap, growing disgusted, threw the man to the side where he hit his head against the hardwood. Spanish curses could be heard as Soap's grey-blue eyes flashed up. One of the friend's took a swing, but it was quickly blocked and countered with an immensely powerful palm thrust to the jaw. He then went tumbling backwards as his mind was sent for a loop and went black. The other two eyes flashed with nervousness but they were determined to make a point.

Without missing a beat, Soap dislocated one of their knees with a heavy stomp before jabbing him in the sternum which launched the injured man towards the tables and chairs where he barreled his way through, bringing the bar furniture down with him. Onlookers were now watching everything unfolded with fear and eyes the size of dinner plates. While this happened, Soap hadn't noticed the one remaining friend who approached with a chair in the air.

"Look out!" Rico shouted causing his eyes to peer up towards the converging threat.

He brought a forearm up quick enough to block the hit. A normal man would have staggered backwards from the blow, but Soap's feet kept him planted. The attacker suddenly realized just how deep of shit he got himself in as Soap lowered his arm revealing the rage in his eyes that screamed 'bitch, you're dead'. Reaching out, Soap's large hands twisted the man's arms behind his back. Soap followed through with a devastating kick into his lower back. He went fumbling forward with so much force, that it caused a table to fall over on him. Everyone was still as the four men lay motionless and scattered across the floor. Soap hadn't realized the yelling of the bartender until the rage in his head began to dissipate as he looked over the many faces bearing wide-eyed expressions.

Shawn looked towards the man that had just fallen who was now pretty much sobbing as he tried to move his legs. Shawn's green eyes then landed on the first guy who had received the first three blows from Soap's massive fist bringing the force of a professional boxer along with it.

"Dude...I think that guy is dead." Shawn whispered to Trevor.

"Get out! Get out, now! You crazy! Look what you done!" The bartender yelled with manic hands in the air. Soap was breathing heavily out of his nostrils and looked over in the bartender's direction with lowered brows. He then felt Rico's hand land on the back of his arm.

"Come on…" She said silently to him as Trevor and Shorty walked past.

The bartender continued shouting incantations as Trevor waved him off. "We're going, we're going."

Soap and Rico then followed closely behind as everyone who stood near parted and took several steps away from Soap as he created an opening for them as if he was parting the Red Sea. Once the group gathered themselves all up and left, they found themselves standing outside in the setting sun and the growing nightlife.

"What did I say? What did I fucking say, guys?" Shawn claimed with his arms in the air. "All of that could have been avoided had we simply just intervened before shit went down hill."

Without turning his head, Trevor spoke flatly. "It's done, Shawn. Lesson learned."

"Fucking unbelievable…" Shawn shook his head in disbelief.

Soap still had adrenaline pumping through his veins; minding her gestures, Rico remained close to him, which he wanted at the moment because he needed her near and out of danger.

"Well, now we know who to call to save the day." Shorty mumbled as she crossed her arms. "Not going to lie, that was pretty fucking awesome. The blood that went flying…"

Shawn shook his head again. "Yeah, that was real awesome! Now the whole fucking town knows about us. So much for staying under the radar...I'm pretty sure Soap critically injured one man. The other needs facial reconstruction surgery."

"Shawn, quit bitching." Trevor ordered from his position in the front of the group.

Shawn narrowed his eyes at him. "Trevor, it's a legitimate concern."

"Yeah, well, there's fucking nothing we can do about it now," Trevor finally peered over in Shawn's direction with annoyance glowing brilliantly in his metallic-blue eyes. "I'll gladly admit you were right, though. Now we know how to handle that situation next time. Even though I still believe it would have turned into a fight to begin with."

Shawn's hand found his dark hair as he ran his fingers through it. "Well, at least that way Shorty and Rico wouldn't have ended up sexually harassed."

"That asshole wouldn't have done shit if someone's Soap size approached him pissed off. He had like ten inches on that cocksucker." Shorty said with agitation.

"Exactly my fucking point." Shawn let his hand out before him, palm facing the sky.

Soap was gradually letting all of his emotions sink in and couldn't resist having to rub his brow with his fingers. As his mind ran over the events that had just transpired, he knew he probably went overboard again. But it was coded in his DNA now, he couldn't simply just put one uncoordinated punch into a man's face, he had to get the point across.

"Shawn, drop it." Trevor glanced back at his brother as they paced along.

"This was supposed to be a surveying mission. And it ended in blood. I'm not fucking joking, Soap literally probably broke that man's face." Shawn commented flatly.

"But it was so cool!" Shorty added-in.

Rico was feeling the emotion pouring off of Soap and knew he was done with the subject. "It's over now, guys. Time to move on."

"Exactly. Fucking gotta drag on the damn topic for ten minutes…" Trevor commented from his spot from up front.

With that, the group was met with silence as they returned to the Jeep near the eastern portion of town. Soap didn't speak, and only replied with short answers if asked a question, so everyone picked up on it quick that the man wanted to be left alone.

Once the group returned to camp on empty stomachs, the tents had all been set up and were ready for functioning use. The food they came by back at camp was cold but it was better than nothing. Soap was quick to grab up some food and disappear in search of some solitude. He still needed time to cool down.

He found a natural history book, a table in the tent used for briefs, and began to eat and read silently. For some reason, just learning and reading about the Earth's physical past was always interesting and calming to the man. It was a great way to get his mind onto completely irrelevant things in relation to what was going on around him. He was especially a sucker for dinosaurs, but that was his little secret.

After some time had passed, his meal was finished and he felt more at ease, he retrieved some sticks and string and began to tie them together. His mind drifted as he grew more and more content. Eventually, he felt a presence. He looked over his shoulder to see Rico now standing in front of the tent's entryway. She crossed her arms as if she was feeling chilly.

He bobbed her head. "Hey."

He nodded at her.

She looked off to the side before finding him again. "Am I interrupting anything? I can go-"

Soap straightened up and shook his head. "No. You're not."

She swallowed before bringing herself fully into the room and approaching him. "So, thanks for earlier," she said softly. "I hope you didn't feel obligated to do that."

"What? With dealing with those cocksuckers? Not at all." He had to clench his jaw before looking back down at his hands. "I probably went overboard, but those cunts should have hopefully learned their lesson. I can't tolerate that shite."

"What's that?"

He gestured off towards nothing. "Men like those. My sister had dated a fair share of losers. She always had a way of ending up with a degrading prick." He sniffed and ran his hand through his thick hair. "So, are you going to sit?"

Her eyes widened slightly before she nodded slowly and brought herself over towards the table. His hands found a chair to move it out for her.

Once she sat he looked her over. "And don't thank me for that. It wasn't something I did to earn praise." His voice sounded from deep within his throat.

She glanced at him in wonderment before her eyes found the tied up set of sticks laid out before him. She lowered her brow and gestured her head towards it. "What's that?"

He looked down and had to chuckle lightly. "Ah. Right. This." He picked it up before his face. It appeared to be a tiny person constructed of grass, sticks, and string. He shook his head at it. "It's a stick doll."

It caused her to smile with intrigue. "What for?"

He sighed and set it down. "When I was a wee lad we weren't necessarily the most well-off family. My mum, naturally, would get creative with arts and crafts. So we used to make little stick people together and play games with them." A faint smile was appearing on his face. "Guess it just stuck with me. Either way, it's fucking insane, I know."

She had to smile at his profile. "No. I think it's interesting. It's good you were able to hold onto something like that. A lot of people just let that part of themselves go. And I think it's probably real easy to do." She began to narrow her eyes and cock her head at it. "Does it have a mustache?"

"Heh, aye. Nice catch." He stared down at the doll and began to string on some arms. "It's supposed to be the old man."

"Price?"

Soap nodded. "On occasion I'll make him one of these. He fucking hates it. Pisses him off. Doesn't quite understand the intended humor behind it. So, I made him this one for tonight. I plan on putting it right on his pillow."

Her radiant smile had returned to her face, a smile he hadn't seen in awhile. "That's hilarious."

"It's actually really fucked up." He said with a grin.

"But that's what makes it funnier."

"The old man is unimaginative in that sense. Great with strategy. Terrible with creative imagination." He lowered his brow in concentration as he finished tightening all of the limbs together. Raising it up slightly, it wiggled it in the air as if flaunting it. "Price probably thinks I'm making voodoo dolls of him."

Rico smile and nodded. "That's actually exactly what it looks like."

He shrugged. "Maybe that's why it pisses him off."

Their eyes met up and silence filled the tent as they stared at each other. Both of their thoughts trailed off down the path that they knew would eventually come.

Sensing his thoughts, she ran her hand through her ponytail and sighed. "So, I think I'm finally ready to discuss...that night."

He leaned back into his chair. "Alright."

She swallowed hard and waited patiently for him to say something else, but she realized that he was purposefully leaving the ball in her court. So she looked down and started to look over a remaining tiny, twig.

"So, alcohol probably had a lot to do with that...I most likely acted upon a well-up of emotions that I hadn't had time to digest yet." Her eyes slowly moved away and returned to his face. It was observant and mindful as always.

"Well…" He trailed off as his hand found his mouth and chin. "At least you can acknowledge that." They both took a moment of silence before he returned to talking. "What I really want to know is if you regret making that decision or not."

She bit her lip and returned to playing with the twig. It had been so long since...well since anything like this had happened to her. Her last moment was with a fellow sniper in the Air Force. Dingo was his name. But that had been years ago.

"I...I don't think so." She pondered momentarily. "No. I don't regret it." She held her breath with anxiousness.

He narrowed his eyes. "You sure did stumble over that sentence."

"I'm just nervous, that's all."

"Look, I can drop this now and back off if that's what you want-"

"No." She sat up straight and looked at him. "Things had just gotten overwhelming. But-" Her eyes darted around the room as she sighed. "I actually enjoyed it. I guess I really did need it." She bit her lip.

He was staring at her intently, not sure how to respond.

She perked up as a thought occurred to her. "But hey, we need to keep quiet about this. It's a strict policy that members aren't allowed to become...sexually involved with each other."

He nodded in understanding. "Right."

"So, I'll be seeing you around, ok?"

She rose up from her chair but Soap was quick to follow. They both were now standing before each other. He pointed at her. "Will you soften up again, though? I can't have you hanging your head down and avoiding eye contact with me."

She had to smile faintly. "Sure. I can promise that."

He nodded slowly at her before snatching up the tiny Price stick doll. "Alright. Now go enjoy your evening."

He let her leave first before he finally released a heavy exhale and headed for the exit. It was getting late and he was ready to give Price his present. Finding the tent, he placed the little doll down against Price's pillow and waited patiently for his return.

Price came in, gestured his head in greetings towards Soap, then stopped in his tracks to frown.

"Really? Again with this shit?" Price turned and raised the stick doll up, only to receive a wide, toothy smile from Soap. Price rolled his eyes and tossed the doll away as he shook his head. "You're odd. You know that?"

Soap stretched out in his cot and rested his arms behind his head. "Someone around here has got to cancel out your terrible attitude."

Price simply grunted with impatience before taking a seat. Some time had passed and by now, the two men were immersed in their own things. Soap wrote and doodled in his journal, snacking on some peanuts, while Price read silently.

The old man kept glancing up at Soap to verify his level of distraction before finally bringing out the envelop to finally read. Once out before his face, Price stared it over with curious eyes. He felt a lump in his throat and his heart race. Looking up one last time at the Scotsman who was absorbed within the pages in his journal, he finally tore open the envelop gingerly and began to read the contents of the letter.

After a minute had drifted by, Soap peered up at Price as he munched on his peanuts. He narrowed his eyes in wonderment as he noticed a unique smile on Price's face.

Soap waited momentarily before speaking up with a tone of intrigue. "Well now, there's a smile I've never seen before."

Price nearly jumped a foot before glaring up at Soap.

Soap let that smile return to his face before taking a drink of water. He lowered the plastic rim down from his mouth and gestured the bottle in the old man's direction. "Must be a lady friend."

Price closed up the letter and continued to stare down Soap before even he had to look away from the Scotsman probing stare. "You're cheeky."

"And you're awfully rosy." Soap cleared his throat and sat up. "Am I sensing embarrassment?"

Price's hand come up into the air to wave him off. "Get some rest, bugger. You got another early day in front of you." He then grabbed up a book he had been reading about Karl Marx and scratched the bridge of his nose.

A faint smile remained on Soap's face as he returned to relaxing back against the metal headboard to his cot. He couldn't help but be interested in this new world of mystery.

To clear up some mild confusion, and because I've already have had a few people ask (you guys are making me give up spoilers), Rico and Soap DO things again. AND YOU KNOW WHAT KIND OF THINGS I'M REFERENCING.