Negotiations
She walked them over to the edge of the tower, where there was a ladder that led to the ground. Once they all slid down, Jess opened a trap door concealed by dust and dirt. This led to another ladder connecting to underground tunnels.
"Cute basement," Gunner's voice echoed throughout the dark, dim pathways.
"Ssh!" She slapped his arm, inching herself cautiously against the left wall. She motioned for Yang and Gunner to mimic her movements.
"I don't know if they know about our basement…" She explained in whispers as they weaved through mazes of tunnels. It was silent, save for their echoing steps and the drip-drop sound of condensation hitting the cement floor. After a few minutes, they came up to a steel door.
"Okay. I'm breaching in 3. Cover me?" Jess turned to them. They nodded and she turned back to the door, bracing herself against it.
"3…2…" She placed a C4 she gathered from the Cinco Reyes members on the watch tower and set it. The three mercs ran away and hit the ground to protect themselves when the explosion initiated. Debris and shredded steel rained upon them, but they emerged unharmed.
Jess stepped in the room first, with Yang and Gunner trailing behind her. The tallest mercenary let out a low whistle as he took in the contents of the room. Bright fluorescent lights reflected off the steel walls, which were lined up with a variety of equipment.
Along the far wall was an assortment of pistols, rifles, and sniping equipment. To their left and right, in the corners, were three black motorcycles and two Escalades, also black. Stacked up along half of the right wall were fuel tanks. And scattered around the room were spare car parts and mechanical tools.
"Correction: Sexy basement."
Jess smiled and shook her head at the two men gazing at their surroundings. Her eyes followed theirs when they landed on a small pile of black luggage bags just behind one of the Escalades.
"What the hell?" Jess whispered, slowly approaching the bags. She opened each one and investigated the contents.
Two bags were full of clothing-her clothing. The next one held precious documents and other trinkets that she'd never discard if her life depended on it. The last bag contained cash, no more than $150,000.
It seemed that Los Pistoleros had been prepared to leave Salcedo. But how? Things seemed to be going well until it looks like they might have run out of time.
Out of time.
Was Jess out of time?
Gunner and Yang noticed her sudden quiet behavior, so they drew her attention back to them.
"Something wrong?" Yang asked.
She froze, stuck between a question she had no answer to and her own list of unanswered questions.
"Uh..." She stammered. Silence befell them for a brief seconds.
"Never mind," she shook her head, as if all the worrying thoughts and doubts that swarmed her mind would fly off like water droplets from a wet dog. She took a deep breath and forced herself to regain composure. Quickly, she loaded up the two bags into one of the Escalades, using this opportunity to mentally smack herself back into the present. She turned to face the two mercenaries.
"Well, first stop at the base tour," she began walking across the room.
"This is the emergency underground exit. We've got escape vehicles, weapons, ammunition, fuel for the jet-"
"You fly?" Gunner inquired.
She nodded, pointing to the bandana wrapped around her leg. "Served in the US Air Force for a few years. But that's a story for another time."
She walked up to a keypad on the far right wall, punched in a few codes, and waited.
"The elevator is the only other way up to the main building...let's just hope Cinco Reyes haven't realized that yet."
A ding alerted them that their ride had come. They all stepped inside, clutching their rifles protectively and waited anxiously as they rose aboveground. Another ding signaled their arrival and the doors slid open to reveal a brightly lit hallway. They stuck to the walls of the elevator for protection from anyone who might be on patrol.
Jess popped out her head and strode out first, limping as swiftly as she could with her pistol cocked back. Yang followed five seconds later and Gunner came behind him. As she neared the end of the hall, Jess pressed herself against the wall. She peered carefully around the corner and sped off down a stairwell when she saw that there was no guard nearby.
Running silently through a maze of hallways, Jess finally stopped at a set of steel double doors. She heard the soft thuds of Gunner and Yang's feet slow down as they approached her. She took a deep breath. A small layer of sweat accompanied her racing heartbeat.
"This is it," she paused and turned to them. "Once we step through that door, it's guns blazing on both sides of the battle. It's a big room shaped like an octagon. But watch out, the cover in there won't be very effective or nearby, so stick to the wall instead."
They nodded in confirmation to her instructions. They leaned against the wall for cover as per her advice. 3 seconds later, Gunnar kicked open the door, and several yells and screams erupted from the room.
"Mátenlos! (Kill them!)" A male voice boomed from inside.
"What the hell?" A female voice from inside yelled afterward.
Cinco Reyes thugs sprayed their bullets aimlessly at the wall, hoping to destroy it. This made counteroffensive plans very frustrating and difficult for the three mercenaries, seeing as there was a never-ending shower of gunfire coming at them. Once their opponents paused to reload, they popped out in turns and fired in rapid succession, starting with Yang, then Jess, and finally Gunner.
Once Jess peered from behind the wall her eyes took notice of about 15 armed men when a group of tied up people caught her attention. She recognized their faces immediately as decade-old memories flooded her vision. They were her friends, people she had grown up with and went through countless struggles. Together, they took the lives of countless men in exchange for cold, hard cash. And here they were, tied up like pretty princesses while she got off scot-free.
Once they made eye contact with Jess, it was hard for her to look away. So she didn't.
A trigger-full burst of bullets would have penetrated her skull if Gunner hadn't yanked her out of the way in time.
"What are you doing?!" He chastised as Yang fired his gun.
"Sorry. Lost focus," she breathed anxiously as the sound of gunfire resounded in her eardrums. By now her heart beat was pounding so loud she thought she might confuse it with the gunfight going on around her.
Gunner gave her an acknowledging nod and popped out from his cover to back up Yang. He knew it must have been tough for her to see her team tied up and vulnerable like that.
Suddenly, the ceiling above them collapsed into the room. Dust, ceiling lights, glass, and sheet rock fell from the heavens and everyone ducked for cover in response.
And then the cavalry arrived.
As shadowed figures rappelled down, they fired their rifles, eliminating the rest of the Cinco Reyes gunmen. They touched ground and unhitched from their gear, meeting face to face with Jess, Gunner, and Yang, while the rest of Los Pistoleros-still tied up-were in the middle of the room.
The first face to come into visibility once the dust cleared was Barney's, who earned a relieved look (masked by curiosity) from Jess right away. Behind him were Lee, Hale Caesar, and Toll Road. It was almost like a reunion, if it weren't for the piles of dead bodies, blood, and debris everywhere.
"Long time, no see," Jess quipped, more to Barney than the rest.
"I hate goodbyes," Barney gave a small smile back. He knew the guys would definitely get at him for this later, but at the moment, it seemed right.
She nodded and turned to her own group of mercenaries, who were bombarding her with confused questions.
"What the hell, Jess?! Didn't these guys just kidnap you?!" Lopez yelled.
"Well, you can keep her!" Hale Caesar responded.
"We don't take refunds!" Lopez yelled, just for the hell of it and to get attention. Jess rolled her eyes at his behavior. What an idiot.
But his plan worked, and he had everyone in the room chuckling, knowing that given Jess's aggressive personality, there would be no surprise if future kidnappers wanted to return her. Laughing, she spoke to her team.
"First of all, you guys are the ones tied up like you're in some bondage type porno. You're in no condition to be interrogating me. Second, we can all sit around a campfire and share stories later. Right now, we need to get the hell out of here. These fine boys," she motioned over to the Expendables, who had now regrouped together to one side of the room, "gave us a short window of time. We're not letting it go to waste."
"So," she walked over to Alexis and Lopez and used her blade from her shin to cut off the rope that tied their hands together.
"Let's get your hands untied, and we'll head off to the jet."
She moved to set free the rest of Los Pistoleros with assistance from Barney and Hale Caesar, while the Expendables searched the room for weapons to hand out to Los Pistoleros. Once their hands were all free and wielding rifles and handguns, Jess spoke again.
"Alright, is there anything we're missing before we ditch this place?"
She kept a straight face, though it pained her as much as it pained her team to know that they were going to leave the place they called home. She knew by the looks in their eyes that they hated to have to start anew again. The people of Salcedo-whatever was left of them-were their friends. Jess knew that Los Pistoleros felt like they had let them down. They were fleeing the scene while they still could, which was not the same that the citizens of Salcedo could say about themselves.
"Well, just to get you up to speed, all our files and data are safe and sound in a hard drive that's been removed from the base's systems. All we need now is a direction to go," Luke told her, a hint of solemnity in his voice.
She nodded to him when a loud explosion was heard from somewhere in the base. Her eyes widened in fear that they might not have enough time to escape, but she forced these thoughts away and focused on getting everyone to the basement elevator. The Expendables and Los Pistoleros managed to squeeze in it, literally, reaching the basement before any Cinco Reyes members.
After everyone loaded up their weapons on the two Escalades, Victor, Roberto and Jess searched the basement for last minute things they might need or shouldn't leave behind for Cinco Reyes. By the time they were finishing up their second sweep of the place, Los Pistoleros and the Expendables had already buckled themselves inside the two vehicles. Now all they needed was the last driver: Jess.
She was walking over to the driver's side and almost touched the door handle when a big bang sound echoed through the tunnel opening to her left. Seconds later, she heard yells and sounds of cocked rifles and booted feet pound against the floor. She peeked her head to see several armed men running towards her.
Shit! She thought, immediately regretting blowing up the door a few minutes ago. Now she couldn't slam a steel door on the face of danger. Now was the time to run. She raced to the car, swung the door open, and hopped in the seat. Driving the other car was Hale Caesar, who, among everyone else, was yelling for her to start the car already.
"I'm going, I'm going!" She yelled back frantically, placing the keys in the ignition and slamming her foot on the gas pedal. Escape became dependent on speed and control.
Jess led ahead as she drove through the escape route with Hale following closely behind. There was a muddy road weaving through the edges of the forest and was surrounded by the darkness of night that would lead them to a paved airstrip that was home to Jess's baby, her prized possession: the jet.
The only problem was that a blazing wall of fire rose in the sky at least 12 feet high at their destination. Through the flames there were bits and pieces of the jet that could be seen. Jess's eyes widened at the sight.
"…HELL NO!" She gripped at the steering wheel as she slowed the car to a stop.
"Damn. She's gonna shit puppies right about…now," Victor drew out a sharp breath as she hopped off the car and stormed towards her flaming jet.
"Those MOTHERFUCKING, COCK SUCKING, SON OF A BITCH PRICKS!" Jess fumed. A sea of threats and curse words left her mouth as Alexis joined her.
"They were staking out the place when we moved in," she deduced.
Jess tried to compose herself through deep breaths. "What if they knew we were moving in beforehand? What if they were just preparing all this time?" She said with worry.
"Shit." Alexis crossed her arms, puzzled.
"Hey! You can have your tea and crumpets later. Right now we have to leave!" Lee yelled from the second car.
"Leave?! We can't outrun them by car, they've got plenty of cars!" Jess yelled frantically.
"Exactly!" He replied. Jess and Alexis exchanged confused looks.
"Just follow us!"
"You sure we should trust these guys?" Alexis whispered to her friend as they made their way back to the cars.
"You have a better plan?" Jess asked. Alexis shrugged and they hopped back inside the car.
Hale Caesar sped off into the forest and Jess followed him into the densely packed territory. She could hear a mixture of yelling, screaming, gunfire, and the troubling rumble of several vehicles approaching.
"Where are they taking us?" She muttered to herself as she stared at the headlights of the car before her.
The ride was bumpy but suddenly they left the forest territory and entered a spacious parking lot to one of the big chain supermarkets in Salcedo. They cut straight through the lot and headed towards rolling, dusty roads. These wove around and in between many clumps of small neighborhoods until they transitioned to rocky terrain: the ports.
There was a shape of large mass nearby as they approached it. Lopez walked ahead of the others in curiosity and read the text on the tail with a large image of a raven perched on a globe.
"'Global Wildlife Conservancy'? Nice." He chuckled, knowing it was total bullshit.
"What are we doing here?" Jess asked the same thing that the rest of her team was wondering.
"I bet they don't have planes to chase us down," Lee grinned at the confused faces of Los Pistoleros.
"Load up, I'll explain on the way," he continued.
In minutes, the cars had been emptied as the bags they once carried were now loaded onto the Expendables' plane. Los Pistoleros and the Expendables squeezed in as Barney started the engine and took off. While her team got itself acquainted with the Expendables, Jess was led into the cockpit by Lee. He closed the door behind them so the three could have privacy and he sat in the co-pilot seat next to Barney. Jess leaned against the door and gave Lee a confused look as he turned to her. He handed her a headset so the three could chat without the plane's engine muffling their conversation.
"Okay, what's this about?" Jess crossed her arms and looked at them suspiciously after putting on the headset.
"We have a proposition for you," Lee said. Jess scrunched her brows in confusion, but didn't interrupt.
"Since you helped us out there with Pelham, we decided to help you and your team out." Lee told her.
"Look, not to be ungrateful or anything, but you helped us out with the ambush, don't you think we're even now?"
"You want to hear the rest or not?" Lee looked stern. Jess sighed and nodded for him to continue.
"Right now, we're en route to Chalmette, Louisiana. It's the place where we store the plane until it's needed for another mission. From there, we drive to our HQ in New Orleans. Here's what we propose: from the looks of it, you and your crew are running from an enemy that's slowly closing in on you. Since it's been a while since you've been in the US, you probably won't ruffle Uncle Sam's feathers very much, so you've got a new country to call home for the moment. That can give you time to figure out who's been behind the ambush; I think we all know that Cinco Reyes didn't sneak up behind you by a lucky chance. There's an empty building right across the street from our HQ. If your team buys it out, we can easily stay in touch. You guys can get back up on your feet, and find out who's been messing with you."
"That's a generous offer. What's in it for you?" Jess crossed her arms over her chest and eyed him suspiciously.
"We want an alliance...at least for a while. We want to know everything you know-enemies, black market deals, criminal hotspots, etc. Additionally, we want you to assist us in taking on some of the bigger missions that would run more smoothly with the extra manpower."
"You want to combine our teams?" Jess asked.
"Basically," Lee answered.
"Temporarily," Jess added. Lee nodded to her response.
"At least until you find out who's tailing you. Chances are, they know us too. They'll be searching for us together now. Why not combine our resources and eliminate a common enemy?"
She mulled the idea over in her head, thinking of all the pros and cons to agreeing to an alliance. "How long do we have to decide?"
"How much time do you need?" He asked.
"Enough time to talk about it with my team, get their heads wrapped around the idea, and reach a consensus. Before all that happens though, I need to talk alone with Alexis." Jess bit her lip as she thought.
"So..." Lee pushed for a concrete answer.
"Give us 3 days," Jess said.
"3 days?" Lee asked and she nodded. "That'll work," he nodded in agreement.
"Alright. Then we'll chat again in 3 days." Jess uncrossed her arms and gave a slight nod in his direction before taking off her headset and excusing herself from the cockpit. When she left, Lee turned to Barney to gauge his reaction.
"What do you think?" Lee asked.
"She's a careful one. I bet she could make a decision in 1 day. She wanted 3 just to keep us in suspense," Barney muttered with a cigar between his lips.
"Yeah, she is." Lee remarked. This was bad for them because that meant she could play mind games. She also seemed to be a hard negotiator. "You think she trusts us?"
"Not really," Barney replied. She might have been grateful that the Expendables just saved her and her team, but she didn't look ready to risk her life for them.
"Well, if shit hits the fan, we can take them down quickly. They're still licking their wounds. I doubt they're ready for another fight." Lee stated. Barney let out a puff of smoke and nodded as he continued the flight to Louisiana.
The trip back would take a tiring 24 hours. Fortunately, Jess was also a pilot, so she agreed to take shifts with Barney. It was suggested that she join him in the cockpit as his co-pilot during his shift, and vice versa during her shift. Lee left his seat beside his best friend and joined the two teams of mercenaries in the back, who seemed to surprisingly get along well.
Up in the cockpit, Jess sat in Lee's seat, put on her headset and adjusted her mic so she and Barney could communicate more clearly. The first few moments were quiet and awkward, seeing as they didn't know each other well and were now obligated to work together as a duo to get their teams back to the US in one piece. Jess busied herself by looking at a map of Mexico and examining Barney's route, which he had taken when the Expendables traveled to Salcedo earlier.
"So how long you been flying?" Barney asked, bringing her mind to focus on their current situation.
"Almost 5 years," Jess cleared her throat. "I did ROTC during college, dropped out of school, and joined the Air Force. You?"
"US Army Ranger with some flying experience." He replied.
"So what happened?" She inquired. He was a mercenary now, and she was curious as to how an Army Ranger like him transitioned into the mercenary life.
He hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell her an edited version of his past. "Went rogue after seein' some crazy shit. I made amends with Uncle Sam through bounty hunting and doing their dirty work. Now I work for myself."
Jess wanted to ask what he had seen that changed him so much and put him in such a dark situation, but she knew better than to poke and prod into someone's past. She decided to compensate for the memory of his trauma by telling him her own story.
"A while back I was doing a mission in Brazil," she cleared her throat so she wouldn't choke up, also grabbing Barney's attention in the process. "I had transferred from the Air Force to working for a private security company. We were flying in pairs of three, me and my partner being the squad leaders. The mission was to protect the area from incoming attacks-air, ground, naval, all of it. At one point, we had called in for backup so we could focus on the aces in the air. My partner and I were trying to corner one of them when his plane was hit by an incoming missile."
She forced down the lump in the back of her throat. "It spun out of control when I managed to take out the ace. When I realized he was going down, I saw that the rest of our squad was attacking the city we were paid to protect. Turns out our company was dealing under the table the whole time. And it looked like the rest of my squad was in on it."
"So what did you do?" He asked, genuinely curious now.
"I turned on them," she replied, her voice no longer shaky, but angry. "My partner was shot down from his parachute by our own squad members. I wasn't gonna let that fly by. I blew up each one of those motherfuckers. I went solo for a while after, doing jobs here and there. Later on, I met up with Alexis and the rest back in the states to catch up. We ended up forming a team together, and we've been in the merc business ever since." Jess finished and chewed on her lip during the following silence. She wanted to slap herself. She couldn't believe she just told him, a complete stranger, about her past.
Barney had a thought to add, but decided not to mention it just yet. He responded instead by sharing his sympathy for her loss. Now it was his turn to be comforting.
"You got a good team on your back. Seems like there's a big bond between all of you." He said.
Jess smiled at this. "Yeah. I guess they're like my family. They act like children so often it's annoying, but they're good people." Barney smirked at how her team acted childishly, because it was the same for him and his team as well.
"Hm. I can relate," he chuckled. They shared a smile together, then spent a few hours or so in silence or with little conversation. Suddenly, something came to Barney's mind.
"So what's the deal with you and Pelham?" He could see Jess stir nervously ever so slightly from his peripheral vision.
"Uh...long story?" She weakly tried to get out of it, already knowing what he would reply with.
"Long trip," he smiled, knowing that if it was something she was reluctant to tell, it had to be interesting. She sighed and gave up.
"I used to be one of his bodyguards, actually. I was fine with doing the dirty work, killing people, pushing drugs, stealing shipments. But, one time it was just too much. He ordered his own bodyguard to be executed. The guy was a friend of mine, he never did anything wrong. But Pelham thought he was sneaking around and was suspicious of him. Ryan wasn't a saint, but he didn't deserve to be killed for something he didn't do. Pelham wouldn't listen to me anyway. So...I turned on him too. I'm not gonna say I regret it, but it did make my life hell."
"You seem to get in a lot of trouble for helping out your friends," Barney remarked. Jess shrugged.
"They're all I've got."
"So you never go solo?"
"Lots of times. And when I do, they help steer me away if I'm in over my head." Barney smiled to himself. The Expendables did the same thing after the Sandra incident. Even her name made him cringe. But his friends definitely helped him through the feeling of betrayal and loneliness. The alcohol helped as well.
"Yeah. I know what you mean," he said. A few more hours of flying in silence followed, then it was Jess's turn to be the pilot. Barney could feel his heavy eyes slowly close, and finally sleep overcame him. Jess looked over at her co-pilot and smiled at his sleeping form. His muscled arms were crossed over his chest, and his head was bowed down slightly. He still had his aviator sunglasses on, but they couldn't cover up his dozing behavior.
Hours into Barney's shift, they noticed they were low on fuel. Suddenly, Jess wished she would have brought the jet's fuel. But of course, it was still in the underground basement. Way back in Salcedo. They decided to stop at Monahans, a small town in Texas. They landed the plane at a safe location and Jess went to tell their confused passengers what was going on.
"Alright kids, time for a pit stop," she announced.
"Pit stop? What's the matter?" Lee asked in confusion as the plane's propellers slowed down.
"Out of fuel," Barney exited the cockpit and answered the question. A mix of groans and sounds of joy were emitted from the mercenaries.
"Let's go find a rental and a hotel," Jess suggested. With Los Pistoleros' luggage in hand, they all exited the plane in search of a place to rent cars. Once they stepped foot on solid ground, complaints about the arid climate soon followed.
"Shit, Jess! My balls are gonna fry in this fuckin place!" Lopez exclaimed, leading the group into the town.
"Don't worry, nobody gives a fuck about your tiny dick anyway," she snickered in return, lagging behind with Barney since they were more tired than the rest of the mercenaries. Many laughs and 'fuck you's were said after her taunt when they came up to the car rental place. They decided on two Escalades since they already knew everyone would fit fine.
Then, they set out in search of a hotel, which wasn't very hard to find; the problem was finding enough rooms for everyone. Barney and Jess asked the concierge if there were enough rooms for each person.
"I'm sorry, but we only have double bed rooms left. I recommend you make reservations next time," she smiled at Jess with dull eyes, taking more interest in her manicured nails than the customers before her. Barney could see that Jess had the urge to punch the woman, so he stepped in.
"We'll take them." After paying for the rooms and grabbing the keys, the two leaders walked back to their teams. They looked bored out of their minds, wanting to run, stretch their legs, do something productive and exciting. When they saw Barney wave the key cards, their eyes grew wide and shiny, like a child's in a candy store. They wanted to get their rooms as soon as possible to finally get to do something fun with their time.
Originally, Jess was going to be with Alexis, since they were the only girls; but Los Pistoleros and the Expendables-minus Jess and Barney-weren't tired because they had already slept enough during the trip. What they really wanted was excitement, so they partnered up based on who was planning to go out for drinks. Additionally, Jess and Barney still needed to find a place to buy fuel for the plane, so that left Alexis with no other alternative but to pick from the rest of the mercenaries.
In the end, the pairs were Luke and Roberto, Lee with Hale Caesar and Yang, Lopez and Victor, Erik and Gunner, and since Alexis seemed to get along fine with Toll Road, she partnered up with him. That left the last room for Jess and Barney. Gunnar, Luke, and Roberto stayed behind to find something to do around the town, while the rest took off on one car to look for a bar or a club. Meanwhile, Jess and Barney used the other car to find a place that sold gas cans.
Driving through the old and not-so-populated city, Jess and Barney grew tired and anxious as it got dark. They had a map, but had no idea where the next gas station was located, so try resorted to aimlessly searching street by street until they finally came up to one a few blocks from the hotel. Logic worked in their minds as they saw supermarkets and cheap makeshift stores around it. The station itself also looked pretty rundown. Jess could hardly believe that it could sustain the entire town, as small as it was. They pulled up at the gas station, standing out in all its solitary glory.
For some reason, the gentleman bug bit Barney at that moment, compelling him to exit the car and walk to the other side to open Jess's door for her. Meanwhile, Jess had been focused on observing the area around them, noticing the poor conditions, when her opened door alerted her to turn to her side. There was Barney, holding the door open, looking at her with a straight face, despite her silently suspecting that he never did this, and him knowing that he never did this.
She shyly mumbled her thanks and got out, mentally slapping herself for gawking around like an idiot instead of opening her own damn door. It's not that she wasn't thankful, but she wasn't as fond of chivalry as most women were; she preferred to be independent, to do things on her own. Her pride demanded her to refuse help whenever possible, to hide feelings of insecurity and fear, and to never back down. Barney had caught a glimpse of her stubborn behavior when she mouthed off to Pelham, and when she refused to leave Los Pistoleros behind in Salcedo.
He closed the door after her and they proceeded to walk to the store to talk to the clerk, both examining their environment for any suspicious activity or danger. They spoke to the clerk, a middle aged man with extra weight on him who seemed to take a liking to Jess's body. She could practically feel his eyes glaze over with lust and a late-night hard on as he walked around the counter and held out his hand in front of her.
He waved to the door they just entered from, trying to be a gentleman in hopes that she'd give it up for him. She gave him a fake smile, hoping to get this over with ASAP so she could wipe the smile off her face. She walked ahead, but before the clerk could storm after her to get a view from her behind, Barney stepped in right after her. He knew that the man was hoping to get lucky. Not tonight, asshole, he thought.
The clerk walked them around to the back, seeming to give up on Jess after he saw Barney's efforts to be at her heels. As the man began to fill up 5 canisters for them, Barney and Jess stood together at a distance from him, speaking in hushed tones.
"Get back to the car, I'll stay with him," Barney told her. Jess clicked her tongue.
"No way, I'm staying," she muttered, her pride taking over again. Just because the guy was ogling her didn't mean she couldn't defend herself if he got too close.
"Get to the car," he repeated, this time annoyed. "Keep the engine running, I got this," he grabbed her arm firmly and looked into her eyes sternly.
"My ass," she jerked her arm away and crossed her arms defiantly, meeting his stare with a rebellious one of her own. "Just cause this idiot's staring at me doesn't give you permission to be my fuckin bodyguard. You go to the car, I'm staying here," she spoke in a low and threatening tone, with a menacing look to match. Before he got a chance to really knock some sense into her, she quickly approached the clerk.
"Here, I'll help you," she offered, looking at Barney with a satisfied look as he glared at her. The clerk handed her two full canisters to take back to the car. On her way there, she passed by Barney with a challenging look and he responded with another pissed glare as he walked up to the clerk and picked up two canisters as well. When they both returned, Barney paid the man and Jess picked up the last canister from him.
"So," he began counting the money and flashed Jess a mischievous look. "Think I could get your number?" He smirked at her.
Jess reacted with a scowl on her face. Barney held in a chuckle at the fire in her eyes. She seemed ready to claw his eyes out, but instead she scoffed and replied "Not a chance in hell." The man's jaw dropped slightly as they walked away. Barney snuck a look at her, and she gave him a small smirk, one that he responded to with a chuckle. Just like that, their little feud over chivalry and Jess's stubborn attitude was over. She put in the last fuel canister and they entered the car; this time Barney left Jess to open her own door since she made it clear she liked it that way.
The drive back was peacefully silent as they made their way to the warehouse where they stored the plane for the night. When they arrived, they got straight to work, Jess handing Barney a new canister each time he emptied one in the plane's tank.
"So, I take it you don't like getting hit on?" Barney asked, attempting to fill the silence as they slowly emptied out the canisters one by one. Jess chuckled.
"I guess so, considering I only attract the douchebags." Barney chuckled at her reply and tossed away another empty can.
After they filled up the plane, they drove back to the hotel, eager for a shower and some rest. Jess got a text from Alexis, saying that Los Pistoleros and the Expendables were all eating pizza together at the pool. Barney and Jess couldn't deny their stomachs food any longer; after all, they had been flying the plane for over 10 hours with just a few snacks to sustain them.
They walked over to the pool and saw that two rectangular tables had been put together to seat all 11 mercenaries, and two empty seats were reserved for their respective bosses. Jess and Barney sat in them, noticing four 12-packs of beer, or what used to be, on the table. There were also 3 large pizza boxes, 1 of them already empty. The mercs were enjoying themselves, sharing jokes, laughing at each other, and making stupid remarks, all the while trying not to fall over in their chairs and trying not to slur their speech. In other words, they were crossing the line from tipsy to drunk.
Jess rolled her eyes at her team, who tried to string insults about her having a pole up her ass when she declined a beer, though she dug in gratefully on the pepperoni pizza. Barney, on the other hand, gladly took one to refresh his parched throat.
"So what happened with the fuel situation?" Toll Road asked after he burped ungracefully.
"Taken care of," Barney replied and took a gulp of his drink.
"What's up with you guys? I thought you were clubbing?" Jess asked the mercenaries.
"We were hungry! And there was only one club we found and that shit sucked ass!" Lopez remarked bitterly at the memory of the shitty club they went to.
"Hm. Colorful language, Lopez. Very academic," she remarked with a stern, motherly tone while chewing her pizza.
"Look who's talking!" Victor replied, suddenly wanting to get in on the action.
"Oh, fuck you, Vic. It's not my fault you didn't get pussy tonight," Jess laughed. The rest of the mercenaries 'ooh'ed and chuckled at her sassy remark. Then Victor returned with a burning fire.
"Hey! I'm up to my neck in pussy!" He bragged, wanting to re-inflate his ego.
"Yeah, his mom's pussy!" Erik chimed in.
"Man, fuck you guys!" Victor said and chugged down the rest of his beer as the mercenaries all laughed at the previous argument.
"Shit, you guys sound like Toll Road and Hale Caesar," Lee chuckled and drank some beer. Yang and Gunner nodded and laughed in agreement.
"So, Christopher Columbus: what's the plan from here on out?" Gunner motioned his head towards Barney's general direction.
"Get up early in the morning and take off, no later than 5AM. Then-"
"Whoa, wait, do you mean get up at 5 or take off at 5, cause those are two different things," Alexis interrupted, already dreading the thought of getting up early. The groans from Gunner, Toll Road, Victor, and Lopez assured her that she was not alone.
"Take off," Barney continued. "We need to set ourselves up for a good head start; chances are your 'friends' back in Mexico are searching all over for all of us."
The groans from the 5 mercenaries mentioned before escalated dramatically, and they all chugged their beers to give themselves some satisfaction. Jess rolled her eyes at her team and stood up.
"On that note, I'll leave you guys to your drinking and throwing up. I'm gonna go take care of a stab wound. 'Night," she said as she made her way inside the hotel.
"She's not much fun, huh?" Hale Caesar remarked as she went inside. Lopez scoffed.
"Not really. She always has something up her ass," he crossed his arms and ate a pizza.
"She just takes things more seriously than the rest of us, that's all," Erik defended her calmly.
"Yeah but she's allowed to let loose every once in a while," Victor muttered quietly.
"It's not like it's anything new. She's always been like that. Even in high school," Luke added.
"How long do you know each other?" Yang questioned.
"As a group? About 4 or 5 years," Alexis answered.
"And individually?" Lee asked.
"Well, Jess and Alexis have been best friends since middle school. Erik and Jess know each other from elementary school. The rest of us met her in high school," Luke explained.
" She was always a serious, mature person. But that just got intensified when she came back from the Air Force a few years ago. She didn't even come right away; a few years passed until she actually contacted us," Erik added.
"Back in Mexico; you guys were confused about why we came to get her..." Toll Road began. Los Pistoleros stayed quiet, then Alexis answered shyly.
"We had no idea what was going on. We didn't even know that she had beef with somebody in the past."
"Must have been before she came back to meet us, then," Roberto said.
"So between the time she left the force and reunited with you guys, you have no idea what she's been up to?" Barney asked, remembering what she told him about working with Pelham after leaving the private security company she worked for.
"I mean, she's never been that talkative in the first place," Alexis said, thinking about times in their friendship when Jess always opted to let someone else talk about a touchy subject, such as the past.
"Doesn't that sound a little fishy to you?" Lee asked with suspicion in his voice.
"Look, we've known Jess for years, there's nothing 'fishy' about her." Erik snapped. Alexis nodded with a stern look in her face, offended by Lee's doubt in her best friend.
"Except her vagina," Lopez chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.
"Man, you're just jealous that she never gave it up to you," Victor taunted.
"Shut up, Vic. Alexis didn't give it up when you guys were dating," Lopez smirked, downing the rest of his beer.
"Shut up, asshole." Victor muttered while Alexis shyly drank her beer, her face red at the mentioning of her relationship with Victor years back. Sure, they were just friends now, but the past was still awkward. The rest of the mercenaries eyeing the two made them uncomfortable, which opened the door for peering into the subject.
"Oh, so you two had a thing, eh?" Hale Caesar smiled from behind his beer.
"High school. You know how it is," Victor faked indifference even though his ex and now friend seemed the opposite.
"Any of you guys still dating?" Toll Road asked. Erik was the only Pistolero who raised his hand. Suddenly Lee got interested, happy that he wasn't the only one 'tied down' as his team would call it.
"How long?" He asked the other mercenary.
"4 years," he announced proudly, his chest even puffing out to accentuate his honor.
"On and off," Lopez killed the happy moment by mentioning that minor detail.
Erik scowled at him. "Not since last year. Shut up," he ate his pizza silently.
"Does she know? About your line of work?" Lee leaned closer, wanting to know the perspective of another mercenary who was in a relationship.
Erik seemed nervous at his question. "Sort of. She thinks I work for the military, as in still spec ops, and that I kill people sometimes...if necessary. That's partially true..." he fidgeted with his beer bottle, swishing it around.
"I know it's tough. My girl called it off when I wouldn't tell her what I do for a living." Lee sympathized.
"Does she know?"
Lee nodded. "How'd you break it to her?" Erik questioned.
"Well, I saved her from her abusive douche of a boyfriend. Then one night I told her everything, and we had a long talk about it," Lee explained.
"How'd she take it?" Erik asked, wanting to find the best way to finally break it to his girlfriend that he killed people for a living.
"She was shocked, no doubt about that. But it wasn't a complete surprise to her given my military background and my personality. We spent days talking about it all. I spared her the details when I could, introduced her to the boys," he gestured to the Expendables. "Eventually, she came around and accepted me and my lifestyle. We've been doing pretty good ever since," Lee explained to a hopeful Erik. Maybe that could happen to him. He dreamed of a day when he could be honest with his girl and she could accept him and his career.
"Who knows? Maybe that could be you and Nancy," Victor nudged Erik.
"I hope so," he stared thoughtfully into the bottom of his beer bottle.
"Hey, if you need any advice, I'm willing to help out. Us taken men need to stick together," Lee smiled at Erik.
"Thanks man," he smiled while the single mercenaries rolled their eyes.
"Man, enough of this loverboy shit. Next thing you know, we'll be talkin' about feelings," Toll Road complained and Lopez and Victor laughed.
"Amen to that, bro!" Lopez gave him a high five and all the single mercenaries drank a toast to their promiscuous sex lives, excluding Barney, who just drank for the hell of it.
A few more drinks later, everyone grew considerably drunk. So much so that they didn't even want to stand from their seats. Barney was glad that he had been wise to choose his sips carefully, and was at most just a bit tipsy. He was surprised that even Yang was having trouble speaking coherently. If anyone had a good hold of themselves when it came to drinking, it was Yang. Now he was alone with 11 drunk mercenaries who could barely stand, much less walk, a Mexican cartel on their backs, and a curfew to escape said cartel by morning the next day.
What the fuck is going on? he thought to himself, wondering how he got himself and his team in this situation. After Jess had helped the Expendables learn of Pelham's betrayal, it only seemed fair that he could at least give her a ride home. When they arrived in Salcedo and he saw the destruction that Cinco Reyes had caused, he could have easily just left her to deal with it on her own. It was none of his concern to help her with her problems. Yet he saw that tenacity in her, that stubborn, loyal air that motivated her to charge towards an entire army. He hadn't seen half that courage in men, yet Jess possessed just that, and more. The last time he was impressed by a person was when he met Sandra, though now her name made him cringe inwardly and long for a few beers and maybe a cigar.
The Expendables leader shook his head, trying to fling her memory away and focus on the task at hand: how the hell was he going to lug 11 drunk mercs to their hotel rooms without grabbing attention? He was going to require some assistance, and the only person sober enough to help was Jess, who was still in their room. He sighed and ran his hand over his face, thinking of how awkward this was going to be.
"Hey guys," Barney called to the mercenaries. Some of them looked up briefly, then dropped their heads tiredly, and some of them were asleep or in the process of falling asleep. Damn, he thought. They looked in bad shape right now. "I'll be right back. Don't do anything stupid," he warned before rising from his chair and making his way to the hotel room he shared with Jess.
One elevator ride and a few hallways later, he was knocking on the door, half expecting her to be asleep and not answer. To his surprise she did, and judging by the sound of an advertisement and the flickering lights bouncing off the walls, Barney realized she was watching TV.
"Party's over already?" She raised an eyebrow at him as she opened the door wider for him to step in, but he didn't.
"Actually, I'm having trouble carrying the drunk ones to their rooms." He replied.
"Who's drunk?"
He paused nervously. "Everyone."
"Nice," Jess rolled her eyes, expecting this behavior from her team.
"Think you can help?"
"Why not? Some heavy lifting will be good for me," she shrugged and slipped on some sneakers before joining him back to the pool. All 11 mercenaries were accounted for and were more or less in the exact same spots that Barney had left them. He began with the bigger mercenaries: Hale Caesar, Toll Road, and Gunner. Due to her injury, Jess couldn't give it her all, but she certainly tried her best as she and Barney dragged them one by one to their rooms. First was Hale Caesar, and while the man was quite drunk, he managed to get some words in during the elevator ride.
"R-Ross? S'that you?"
"Yeah, it's me," he replied.
"Everythin's so b-" he was interrupted by his own burp. "Bright."
"That's cause the elevator has lights," Barney replied.
"Dass cool man," Hale Caesar slurred. "Y-you cool, you know dat?"
Jess and Barney chuckled and took him to his room. They laid him down on the bed and Jess placed a trashcan near him in case he needed to throw up. Next was Toll Road, who seemed to be ranting about cauliflowers and such, even while they were walking away to pick up the next mercenary.
"Hey, Jess," he called out to her.
"Yeah?" she replied and stopped halfway to the door. Barney leaned against a wall nearby, curious as to what the bald mercenary had to say to her.
"You-you like callifowr's?"
Jess chuckled and replied "Yeah."
"Ya like my ears?"
She smiled and nodded "Uh-huh."
"Thanks," he gave her a large grin and closed his eyes. Barney and Jess walked out of the room and laughed together as they made their way back to the pool. They found Victor and Lopez taking a piss in the shrubs nearby. Jess's eyes widened.
"What the hell are you guys doing?!" She whispered sharply at them.
"Fertilizing! These flow'rs aren't gonna grow by themselves!" Lopez smiled and Victor nodded in agreement as they half-heartedly zipped up their pants and tried to get back to their seats. Lopez made it, albeit ungracefully, but Victor landed on his chair at an angle, causing the chair and himself to tip over. Jess rolled her eyes and ran her hand over her face, slightly embarrassed by their drunk antics. But then again, it wasn't a surprise that they'd do something this stupid, even when they were sober. She sighed and turned to Barney, who already had slung Gunner's arm over his shoulder. Jess walked over and did the same with his other arm and they made their way back into the hotel.
Gunner was too drunk to even form coherent words, and he seemed on the verge of falling asleep, which made him even heavier as he relaxed under the support of Jess and Barney. Next were Lee, Erik, and Yang. The three were pretty much as passed out as Gunner, if not, more. They were probably the best behaved of all the mercs, purely because of their inability to even speak or move. After them were Luke and Roberto, who were just plain weird and oddly giggly. During the walk back to his room, Roberto 'informed' Barney and Jess of the conspiracy that mermaids were real and that the government was hunting them down to find a cure for cancer.
"Guys, guys, guys, hear me out," he slurred.
"Oh we hear you, alright," Jess pacified his rising vocal volume.
"No, no, nooo. You don't get iht. They live in Washington. Washington! You know, with Obama?" He persisted, determined to get his point across.
"Tell you what, Rob. Whenever we get free time, we'll visit them, ok?" Jess told him.
"Jess, I heard they got spears. Spears! Kin you bel'ive dat?!" He tried to dramatically swing his arms out, causing him to stumble and Barney hefted him back up to his feet.
"That's amazing, man," Jess said in a whisper, hoping he would follow suit.
"We can take a fuckin' mermaid, any day," he said softly before passing out.
The last were Victor, Lopez, and Alexis, who proved to be the more difficult ones. Victor refused to co-operate and be carried to his room unless Lopez was with him, so Barney took Victor and Jess took Lopez, who was slightly lighter. This by no means meant that the journey to their room was made any easier.
"Eey, Jess! Guess what's under my pants! Guess!" Lopez chuckled.
"Marijuana?" She guessed sarcastically.
"Nooo! A pipe cleaner! HA!" He laughed loudly and while Jess clamped her hand over his mouth to not disturb the hotel's guests.
"Good one, man!" Victor tried to high five him but missed terribly. He seemed to not care, and Lopez never even noticed his drunk friend's gesture. Barney shook his head at the two and continued helping Victor not to trip on his own feet.
Finally, Alexis had been the last one, though when Barney and Jess made their way back outside, she was not in her seat. Instead, they found her teetering dangerously over the pool's edge, her intoxicated mind clearly replacing her conscious one.
"Alexis, what the fuck!" Jess yelled and ran towards her friend, whose foot was almost dipping in the water, Barney following right on her heels. She reached for Alexis, though both girls lost their balance. Startled, Alexis grasped Jess's arms and pulled on them to regain her footing. In the process, she accidentally had pulled Jess into the water, following shortly after her. Barney stopped at the edge of the pool, reaching for the shorter mercenary's elbow and pulling her harshly out of her would-have-been watery grave. Unlike her best friend, Alexis had fallen in the shallow end of the water, her feet touching the bottom of the pool.
Seeing her shiver at the cold water, Barney quickly sat Alexis down and patted her back as she coughed out the pool water. Meanwhile, Jess, who was drenched from head to toe, resurfaced and swam to her friend's side. The worry in her face dissolved as she saw that Alexis was safe and out of the pool. Instead, a glare found itself on her face.
"You couldn't fall into a damn hot tub, huh?" She said bitterly as she shivered and tried to acclimate to the night breeze and cold water. Alexis ignored her chastisement, preoccupying herself with getting the pool water out of her lungs and respiratory system. Plus, she was drunk, so she conveniently tuned out her best friend's voice and tried to focus on staying alive. Soon enough, she began to sob.
Barney looked at Jess, confused as to what to do with the bawling mercenary. What the hell did he get himself into? Jess coughed out some pool water before she sighed. "Sometimes she's an emotional drunk. She's just in shock, she'll be fine," she explained, shaking her head in disappointment. There was a moment of silence only disturbed by Alexis's quieter sobs.
"This is why I don't drink," Jess mumbled, not intending for Barney to hear. But he did.
So that's why she declined a beer. He stored the information away in his head for future reference.
He looked at her, noticing that she was completely soaked. "I'll take her back. You go change." He told her. She nodded and he held his hand out for her to take so she could get out of the pool. She shook her head at him with a shy smile and pointed to the steps nearby. He dropped his hand lamely, feeling almost foolish as he watched her step out of the pool slowly, her injury limiting the vigor of her movement.
Water dripped down her body onto the ground below her. And for the oddest reason, Barney couldn't remove his eyes from her. The white tank top that she wore stuck to her torso, outlining her flat, toned stomach and revealing her bra underneath. Her chest was smaller than Alexis's but not by much. It was humble but welcoming to Barney's eyes. Her thick low-rise jeans clung to her legs, hugging her hips for dear life. She looked good wet.
He wanted to slap himself for being so stupid. This was wrong. His train of thought was going in the wrong direction. He should be worrying about how he was going to wake up everyone tomorrow, not staring at Jess. Luckily, she didn't seem to notice his eyes glued to her wet body. She was too busy wringing the water from her hair. A groan escaped her lips as the pain from her injury gnawed at her leg. She sighed and composed herself, looking at him one last time before turning to leave. Alexis's head rose as she heard her best friend prepare to leave.
"Jess?" she called out weakly, desperately.
Jess sighed and turned to her wasted friend. "What?" The bitterness in her voice was clear, even for Alexis, who had trouble with perception in her inebriated state.
"Can-can you come with me?" Her bottom lip quivered; she was probably going to cry again, Jess figured. But seeing the hurt and lack of independence in her face pulled a bit at her heartstrings. She looked pretty bad: unkempt, wet, drunk, and sloppy. Jess sighed at Alexis's state. "Fine."
They made their way back to the room that Toll Road and Alexis shared. He was fast asleep, snoring away the night. Jess gathered some clothes, got Alexis into the shower, and sat on the toilet, helping her friend should she accidentally fall and crack her head open. Barney stood outside, sitting on a chair in the room and kept watch, simply because he needed something to do. When Alexis was more or less clean and in dry clothes, Barney and Jess easily got her into bed and walked out. In the elevator, Jess looked down at her transparent shirt with disgust.
"Wonderful," she said sarcastically. Her toned abs were on display and so was her white bra. Thank God that wasn't see-through.
"I'm guessing you'll call the shower first?" Barney put his hands in his pockets, trying to avoid eye contact for fear that his eyes would wander somewhere else.
"Please?"
"You got it," he chuckled briefly.
Back at their own room, Jess stepped into the shower, the warm water attacking the number Pelham did on her leg. Fuckin prick, she reminisced bitterly. She lathered away the dirt and sweat from her skin and emerged clean and fresh. She dressed in shorts and a tank top and exited the bathroom to retrieve bandages to wrap around her wound. Barney made his way into the shower and did some freshening up of his own; today had been a long day.
Finished, he found her sitting at the edge of her bed, her injured leg dangling over the side and the other folded up underneath her to support the laptop on her lap. She glanced over at him and spoke. "Come here," she beckoned him. He followed, leaning over her shoulder to see what was on her computer.
It was an article, recently written, about a shootout in Salcedo, Mexico. The article referenced those involved as Cinco Reyes and 'rival gangs'. It described the firefight that Los Pistoleros and the Expendables barely escaped and the base that was infiltrated. The Mexican police was investigating at the moment, though it was debatable whether they would come up with anything substantial, given that many Mexican police were corrupt and worked with gangs.
"You thankful for leaving?" He inquired. Obviously they had all narrowly escaped death. Who knows what fate they would suffer if Cinco Reyes caught up to them.
"Maybe," she replied.
"Maybe?" He repeated, incredulous. She looked up at his confused face.
"'Every man for himself' isn't the noblest of phrases," she replied solemnly. Ain't that the truth, he agreed and nodded. A few seconds of thoughtful silence followed, then Barney changed the subject.
"How's your leg?" He looked at said wound.
Jess turned to examine her bandage. "Bitchy."
She adjusted the bandage and sighed. "I'm gonna be out for a few weeks. That's gonna make me bitchy, too."
He chuckled and pointed to her leg, "May I?"
"Promise it won't hurt?" She looked up at him.
"Promise," he said and kneeled down to undo the white cloth wrapped around her leg. It became increasingly red as he neared the end of it, a substantially large puncture in the form of a slash oozing a little blood as well. Barney gently poked around the wound to see how much, if any at all, blood would pour out. Jess gritted her teeth and winced, turning to her wound, the cause of her pain.
"Starting now," he added and asked her where extra bandages and antiseptic were. She directed him to her bag on the table and he returned with these items. Without warning, he applied the burning antiseptic on her wound, which made her wince and groan in pain. He blew on her leg to cool it off a bit, though it wasn't much consolation for her. She let out a pained sigh and tensed when he began wrapping a new bandage around her leg. It seemed to tighten around her wound, squeezing the life out of it like an anaconda would do to its prey.
"Night," he finished and walked over to the queen sized bed opposite hers. She echoed his word as he turned off the lights and they both went to sleep.