Distraction from Pain

"Hey, keep your eyes on the sky before we crash," Lee waved his hand before Barney's face. He was daydreaming again. During the worst of times: he was conducting the plane.

"Sorry, man." He apologized. He couldn't get Sandra out of his head. He was so excited to see her. He told her that he would come to Vilena to visit. And now, almost a year later, the Expendables decided to give him a break to spend some time with his woman. Lee was the only one who was reluctant to come; he was about to propose to Lacey, but then the whole 'trip to Vilena so Barney can get some' popped up. He didn't get the chance to. But he promised himself that he would soon.

"You ready?" He asked his nervous best friend, whose face was turning pale at the thought of seeing Sandra again. They were nearing the dock where they had landed the plane what seemed like ages ago. She wasn't notified of his arrival; he wanted it to be a surprise. And he couldn't wait to see her reaction.

"Here we are."

The mercenaries stepped off the plane, taking in their surroundings. Vilena had definitely changed. No doubt Sandra did it. Many streets were paved, the buildings looked more modern, there were even some electrical wires running above the city. "Well she cleaned up well," Lee commented as they all walked on the streets. Barney smiled in agreement.

They all walked into the small restaurant where Lee and Barney first met Sandra before. They had no idea where she would actually be in Vilena; they decided the restaurant would be a good place to ask around for her whereabouts, considering one of the waitresses already knew Barney and Lee from their visit long ago. But, sure enough, there she was, sitting alone at the very same table they sat at before. It was as if she was waiting for someone. Gunner opened the thin curtain, which served as a door to the restaurant, for everyone. Barney stepped in first, his friends following behind him. Sandra's eyes widened at the sight of his familiar black shirt, aviators, military boots, and cargo pants.

"Barney Ross?" Her words lingered in the air with an accent.

"Sandra," he responded with a smile.

She looked stunning. She donned a light, yellow summer dress, her hair was loose and she looked like she could brighten up even the darkest days. He didn't let another word slip from her lips as he pulled her into a romantic hug. The rest of the boys sat down on nearby tables, witnessing the moment. He didn't even notice how restrained she was until she broke the hug. "I-I don't know what to say..." she stuttered nervously.

"You can say 'welcome back'," he grinned, waggling his eyebrows playfully.

"It's not that I am not glad to see you, Barney, I am," she turned his grin to a frown at the seriousness of her tone.

"Shit," Lee whispered to Toll Road.

"But...things are not the same here anymore."

Barney chuckled lightly. "Of course they're not, you've transformed this place."

"Well, that also. What I mean is...well," she sighed desperately.

"Señora, su esposo la espera," an older woman interrupted from outside.

"Un momento," Sandra told the woman, who left after hearing this.

"Oh, shit." Lee repeated. He understood what they were saying. But Barney didn't. This was going to kill him.

"What are they saying?" Yang asked Lee. "You'll find out soon enough," Lee said softly, looking at the not-so-happy couple before them.

"Is something wrong?" Barney really looked upset now. Confusion and worry were written across his face. Sandra kept switching her focus between Barney and the curtain from which the woman had emerged seconds ago.

"I wish you would have come sooner..." she frowned. Her eyes glistened a little. He couldn't tell if it was him or if she really was about to tear.

"Wh-" he began.

"¡Cariño! ¿Qué esperas? ¡Tenemos cosas que hacer!" A man's voice came from the street. He entered the restaurant. He was a well-built man, and wore a rather official-looking outfit. Almost like what Sandra's father once wore, but it looked less depressing and didn't have 'murderer' written all over it. The way he looked at her, and the man standing a little too close to her, said it all. Though Barney didn't register quite yet, the Expendables understood.

"¿Sandra, que pasa?" He asked her, moving closer to them.

"Espera un poco, por favor Jaime," she held up a hand that stopped him in his tracks. Barney looked at him, then at her, then back at him. This was when he realized they were still partially holding onto each other from the previous hug. He let go of her and stood back to see Jaime a few feet from her.

"Barney, I am...married." She said with a frown. Moving closer to Jaime, she held his hand. "Oh." He replied, crushed.

"Not good," Toll Road commented softly so Barney wouldn't hear. The Expendables knew their leader well. He wasn't normally the guy to show much emotion. He also didn't show feelings or affection towards women. But they could tell that Sandra's words had devastated him. Still, he kept composure.

"I uh..." He started. Silence filled the room. "Well, I'm happy for you." He put on his sunglasses to hide his eyes. "We'll be going now. Got stuff to do. Just wanted to see how you were doing." He cleared his throat. With a nod to his team, they exited with him slacking behind.

"Barney," Sandra grabbed his arm. Even just her touch hurt him. "I am sorry," she said solemnly with tears filling her eyes.

"Don't be. You got a good thing going here." He walked away to join his team.

To say the trip back to the states was quiet, even extremely quiet, would be an understatement. It was as if the air, the passengers and pilots of the plane, hell, even the world, were completely dead. The mercenaries knew better than to speak to Barney so early prior to his conversation to Sandra. Still, they couldn't bear to see him at his weakest point.

"You gonna be alright?" Lee asked. His friend sighed.

"After a couple beers." He sounded extremely depressed. Lee decided to leave it at that for now; his friend needed some time to think. After they touched down and headed to Tool's to chat and drink for a bit, in a few hours, only Lee, Tool, and Barney were left.

"Hey, Ross, you're lookin a little empty there brother," Tool commented, offering him a third beer.

"Just one of those days, man." He replied, taking the beer.

"You know we're here for you, mate." Lee put his hand on his shoulder. A sigh escaped his mouth and he nodded.

It took a few days with the boys to get him to talk, in fact, almost a week. It took even longer for him to get that frown off his face. Finally, he decided it was time to get back to work. It would probably be the only thing to keep him occupied and stop him from thinking about Sandra. Sandra... The woman broke his heart so easily without a moment's notice. Just like that. 'I am married.' Three little words. Not the three words he thought would come from her. Women these days. Merciless heartbreakers.

"Hey, Ross! We got a contract waiting!" Hale Caesar called from the briefing room.

Barney got out of the kitchen, bringing with him the six pack of beer he retrieved from the fridge before his memories and thoughts flooded him. He walked into the briefing room, glancing at each mercenary he called friend. To his left was Hale Caesar, heavy weapon specialist and maybe even a little insane sometimes. Beside Hale was Yin Yang, martial arts expert and best friend to Hale. Sure, he was the shortest of them all, but he sure could hold his own. The way he handled himself when fighting Gunnar was all the proof needed. For one, the guy didn't die. A few feet ahead of Yang was Lee, Barney's second in command, standing before a large computer screen displaying information. No doubt it concerned their next mission. To his right stood Gunnar, sniper and recently reinstated Expendable, and Toll Road, demolitions expert with weird ears as well as a flaring temper.

"What's up?" Barney asked, setting the beer on a desk as his friends waited patiently for him.

"Old guy, Rupert Pelham. Says he wants us to take out an enemy of his." Toll Road informed him as he took a beer.

"Payment?" he asked.

"$10 mil, cash." Yang answered.

Lee motioned to the large screen in front of them, saying "Location is Salcedo, a small town in Mexico. The city's split up between a team of mercenaries, one of which is the target, and a powerful gang. Seems like they'll be going to war any minute. It's a perfect opportunity if you ask me."

"Who's the target?" Barney asked.

"We don't have much information; looks like the mercs do a pretty good job of hiding their footprints. But Pelham did give us some intel on the target's appearance."

"This guy, Pelham. What's his background?"

"I did some research on him," Yang piped in. "He was a successful crime lord a few years back, but he had some violent run-ins with a few enemies. In short, his business declined after that. Most recently, a mercenary, our target, killed off most of his guards and took down much of his merchandise, supplies, and reputation. Before he had a chance to kill her, she escaped. He lost an eye during the battle."

"Slippery bastard," Hale commented.

"And now he wants us to finish the job," Gunnar stated. The team reviewed satellite images of the whereabouts of the mercenary base, their activity, weapons, and members. After a few minutes of discussion, they reached a decision. Pelham could consider his enemy dead.

SPANISH TRANSLATIONS:

-Señora, su esposo la espera—Madame, your husband awaits

-Un momento—One moment

-¡Cariño! ¿Qué esperas? ¡Tenemos cosas que hacer!—Darling! What are you waiting for? We have things to do!

-¿Sandra, que pasa?—Sandra, what's going on?

-Espera un poco, por favor Jaime—Please wait a bit, Jaime