'Friends like that'
5 Months prior
Sgt. Gary Sanderson
Delta Force transferee
Creedenhill, UK

11:00:23

I froze in fear when the skull masked man stopped in front of me. "And you are?" He asks in a heavily British accented voice. I keep my eyes away from his piercing gaze and instantly snap to a salute.

"Sir! Sergeant Sanderson, Gary! Delta For-!" I begin, but stop when the man holds up a gloved hand.

"Relax kid. You always this jumpy?" He asks, raising an eyebrow at me in curiosity.

I chance a look at the older man, "Just excited to be here sir." I respond nervously. A smile crease formed in the man's skull mask.

"Well the fun hasn't even started yet." He replies shortly before turning to the rest of the recruits. "Alright men that's enough. As far as introductions go, I'm Lieutenant Riley but you can call me Ghost. For now, head to the barracks and get settled in. Lunch at 1200. Dismissed." He orders us. Slowly we all begin to disperse, heading towards the entrance of the base. But I firm hand on my shoulder stops me from following the pack. I look back and nearly jump out of my skin when I see a grinning skull mask staring at me. "I believe the Captain wanted to have a word with you sergeant." he informs me. Immediately after those words left his mouth, my whole body tenses up.

I gulp, shifting uncomfortably. "Um sir if I may for what purpose?" I ask trying to conceal the shakiness of my voice. The Lieutenant, now known as Ghost, merely shrugged.

"He wasn't specific. But you needn't worry; the Captain is really down to earth with the men." He assures me. I nod in understanding, though tension still seats precariously in me. Quietly I follow him into a building, cool air conditioned air embracing us. We walk in silence until we arrive to an office, where a large Mohawk man sat going over a heap of paperwork. "Captain Mactavish. Here's the new recruit you asked about." Ghost reveals, speaking to the man.

The man looks up from the mountain of paperwork, looking relieved at the sudden distraction. "Ah yes. Have a seat, lad." He said gesturing to the seat across from him. He then glances to Ghost. "That'll do Ghost. Now go help the others get settled in." He regulates to Ghost, who nods and disappears out of the room. The captain then shifts his gaze to me.

"Welcome to the 141 Sergeant Sanderson. I'm your captain John Mactavish." He greets warmly extending a hand. I shyly return the gesture and smile self consciously. Does he do this for everyone? "You're probably wondering why I wanted to see you." He said. No, I was wondering why the sky is blue and you're the only one who knows. Of course I'm wondering why you wanted to see me. I thought sarcastically, though I don't chance saying such a thing to a higher-up. So I just nod."Well I've went over your file and it says your an excellent soldier, but it also goes on to mention your reluctance to socialize with other soldiers." He explains, glancing down at my file and then back to me.

"Well yeah. You see I sort of have Asperger's Syndrome, a form of Autism." I reply scratching the back of my head.

Mactavish nods, "Yes it mentioned that as well." He continues. I could feel my face reddening, the captain immediately notices this. He gets up and walks around the desk.

"You needn't worry lad. In my unit we judge a person not by their differences but by the actions of their heart." He said placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.

I run a hand through my hair and look to the floor. "Sir what if the men don't like me?" I ask, concern weighing heavy in my voice.

Mactavish shakes his head, smiling reassuringly. "Nonsense they'll love you. You look like quite the character, Rambo." He jokes pointing to my bandanna. I let out a chuckle, my concern lifting slightly. Well, at least there's one person here who's genuinely non judgemental. "Now come on. I'll show you to the barracks." He said motioning for me to follow him. I rise from my seat and trail after him out the building. There's a light drizzle outside as we make our way toward the barracks.

"Y' all don't get a lot of sunshine here, do y' all." I comment out of the blue. Man why the hell do people always talk about the weather?

The older man shakes his head, "Nah not really. What's the weather like where you're from?" He asks, glancing over at me.

I blink, smiling slightly as think back home. "Oklahoma? I couldn't accurately tell ya. One day it's drier than the Sahara, the next it's colder than fuckin Antarctica." I comment humorously.

"Sounds like a real hellhole. How do you deal with it?" Mactavish asks, continuing the light conversation as we walk through the light rain.

A small smile crosses my lips. "That's the beauty of Oklahoma, if ya don't like the weather just wait a day." I reply as we make our way into the barracks. Some men sit on their bunks conversing loudly.

"Bro I'm tellin ya Iron Man could so kick Superman's ass!" A dark toned man shouts to a black haired man sitting in a metal chair.

The black haired man rolled his eyes. "And just what makes you say that?" The man questions, crossing his arms as he waits for an answer.

The dark tone man furrows his brow, "Dude he's covered in all that metal armor and shoots missiles!" The other man yells back, gesturing wildly.

"Big deal! Superman can bend steel with his bare hands! And he shoots lasers from his eyes! His mother fucking eyes!" He accents, pointing to his own eyes for emphasis.

Mactavish blinks, looking from each arguing man in slight confusion. "Um guys I hate to interrupt this 'highly intellectual' discussion but we have new recruit." Mactavish cuts in. Everyone looks to me with curiosity. "Well, I'll let you boys get to know each other. Try to go easy on him." He warns before he disappears out of the room.

I then feel all eyes on me, inspecting me from head to toe. "So does the F.N.G have a name?" The dark skinned man asks, grinning from ear to ear.

I glance over, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. "Um, yeah. It's Gary Sanderson." I respond nervously.

"Just Gary Sanderson?" he asks, raising an eyebrow as he waits expectantly for something.

A bemused look crosses my face. "Huh?" I ask, hoping I wasn't being awkward.

A man lying on his bed, reading a book answers. "We go by call signs on missions." The man explains to me.

I look to the reader, "Why?" I question.

The dark haired man in the chair leans back in the chair, stretching. "Officially we don't exist, so our identities are concealed by call signs." The older man said.

"So everyone has a call sign?" I ask, glancing from the dark haired man to the rest of the occupants in the room.

The dark haired man nods, placing his hands behind his head. "Yep, except the captain. At least I don't think he does." He states, looking up to the ceiling in thought.

I nod in understanding, smiling awkwardly. "So what are y' all's names?" I inquire to everyone, causing a few people to snicker, "What?"

"You said 'y' all'!" The dark skinned man answers, laughing full out.

My face flushed red. "Oh sorry." I mumble, apologetically.

The dark skinned man finishes laughing, "So where are you from, Billy Bob?" He asks.

I blink, "Oklahoma." I respond positively. Everyone in the room bursts out laughing again. "Is that a problem?" I ask defensively, crossing my arms across my chest to try and look tough.

"No man it's just the only other redneck here is Toad." Another soldier responds.

I instantly shot up a hand. "Whoa dude, hang on. I may sound a little hick but I ain't no redneck." I state shortly.

Everyone begins to laugh-again. "You 'ain't'?" Everyone shouts, laughter spilling over into their words.

I face palm, Oh you got to be kidding me-. "Relax bro. We're just messing with ya." The dark haired man utters, patting me on the back.

I look up at him and smile. "So without anymore awkwardness, what's y' all's names." I question, wincing slightly at my use of 'y' all'.

The dark haired man smiles considerately. "Well I'm Sergeant Dave Mackenzie, nickname's Royce." He tells me.

With a smile, I extend a hand to him. "Well it's a pleasure to meet you Royce." I reply optimistically. Royce grasps my hand firmly, nodding at me.

Royce then glances over to the dark skinned man and gives him a slight punch to the gut, causing him to spit out some of the water he was drinking. "And the genius right here is Todd Buckley, nickname Meat, for obvious reasons." He said pointing to him as he sends a smirk to Meat.

"Fuck you Royce." Meat coughs, whipping the spew water from his mouth angrily. Royce just rolls his eyes and continues with the introductions. After about thirty minutes, I'm introduced to a very interesting lot. There's Sergeant Peter Brooks, a former Navy SEAL nicknamed Worm. Then there's Billy Jackson or Toad, the aforementioned Alabamian. He's a skilled sniper who likes to attribute his shooting ability to his hog hunting days. I'm also introduced to Ozone and Scarecrow but the ones who seemed to stick out the most were Royce and a former marine.

"The names Jack Snyder, but you can call me Snake." He greets, extending a hand to me. I take it, shaking briefly.

I glance at the lot, then back to Snake, "So if I may ask, how does a person get all these nicknames?" I ask.

Snake smiles. "Well Worm here got his cause of his time on the low wire crawl course, Toad cause of his obsession with Frog gigging, Royce from his love of the Rolls-Royce line of automobiles, Ozone for his habit of hovering, Scarecrow for his frightening face, and Meat cause well Meat is an idiot." Snake finishes. Meat throws up a middle finger, mouthing 'fuck you' to the former marine. Snake simply laughs, returning the gesture jokily.

I laugh slightly at the exchange of silent taunts, "So how did you get yours?" I question, interested in the answer.

"My old Marine instructors used to tell me I was meaner than a rattlesnake." He replies with a smile. Looks like this was going well so far, not too much teasing. "So what unit did you transfer from?" Snake asks, leaning back in his chair.

I blink, "Delta Force, I was a marksman and demo specialist." I state nonchalantly.

"Ooh looks like Toad may have a little competition." Meat said laughing. Toad ignores the comment and looks at me.

He points at me, "Me and you may hafta have us a little shoot off later." He challenges, a cocky grin playing on his face.

I laugh at this, nodding in agreement with this challenge. It's then that I wonder when I would be able to run the pit, if they had one. "So do y' all have a pit here?" I inquire.

"Yeah but I think were mostly doing PT after lunch." Snake responds knowingly.

Royce glances at his watch. "Speaking of lunch guys, we got about five minutes till it starts." He broadcasts to us. Everyone exchanges a few 'oh shit' looks before shooting up. We all exit the barracks and head towards the mess hall in a rush.

Mactavish's point of view.

I sit down next to Ghost at a table at the end of the mess hall. "So what's the F.N.G like?" Ghost asks as he lifts up his balaclava slightly to take a sip of coffee. I know why he always prefers to keep his face hidden but we keep it between ourselves.

I nod in response, "He's a nice boy but a bit fidgety and awfully shy." I reply.

Ghost lets out a small chuckle. "Cat got his tongue?" He questions.

I shake my head. "No. He's Autistic." I state shortly.

Ghost becomes completely still. "Sir?" he said, inquiry in his comment.

I nod. "Yes, I'm afraid so. I have a feeling he's been a victim of bullying because of his difference." I reply.

"I see. What led you to believe this?" Ghost inquires, taking another sip of his coffee.

I scratch the back of my head, "Well he seemed worried that the others wouldn't like him." I inform him.

Ghost nods shortly, "Ah. So anything else I should know?" Ghost asks.

"Just try to make him feel accepted. And be careful when pushing him today in PT. I know it's your way of encouragement but he may not realize that. So push everyone randomly so it doesn't look like your singling him out." I said. Ghost nods in understanding. The doors to the mess hall open and several of the men walk in laughing wildly. Gary enters in after them and they all got in line. The group of men sits at the common tables after getting their food except for Gary who just stands with his lunch tray looking around awkwardly. "Sergeant Sanderson!" I shout waving a hand.

He immediately jumps and salutes crisply. "Yes sir?" He inquires shakily, almost as if he thought he was in trouble.

"Pull up a chair lad." I order, pointing to the front of the table. He nods shortly, grabbing a chair and sitting across from Ghost and I. "So how you liking it here so far?" I asked.

Gary shrugs, "Well the men seem pretty cool." He comments as he takes a bite of roast beef. His eyes widen in surprise when he chewed the dark meat.

My eyebrow raises slightly, "Everything OK?" I ask worriedly as I remember hearing something about Autistic people's intolerance to certain foods.

He nods, smiling brightly. "Yes sir, its just-it's pretty good. Is this how the food usually is? He questions, taking another bite.

"Yeah. What, did they feed you trash back in the Force?" Ghost remarks jokingly.

Gary shakes his head. "No, it's just most military food is shitty that I've just forgotten what food tastes like." He replies as he continues eating. He looks so rigid; almost like he was 'sitting in attention'.

I cough, "So ya ready for PT after later?" I ask to keep the conversation going.

"Yes sir. If I may, what exactly will we be doing?" He asks politely.

A smile crosses my face, glad the keep the conversation alive. "Well I'm glad you asked. This specific training exercise is based from SAS training. Three hours after lunch we will march ten miles cross country in full equipment and secure the objective in under three hours." I explain to him.

Gary blinks, "Damn" Was the only word he could get out.

"Yeah it's tough but possible." I told him reassuringly.

Gary nods slightly, gazing down at his food as the smile slips from his face. "Sir, am I sitting here because I am different?" Gary questions, changing the subject.

I shake my head, grinning widely, "No you're sitting here because we want you too." I state truthfully.

"You should be happy. You're sitting at the cool table." Ghost adds, nodding slightly. A small smile crosses Gary's lips and he gets up to put his tray away.

"Oh, and Sanderson. There's something else I wanted to let you know." I call after him.

Gary turns at the mention of his surname. "Yes sir?" he asks.

"Ghost has his own special way of encouraging people, so don't take it personally." I explain him shortly.

Ghost nods, "Yeah. If anything it means I like ya." Ghost said with a smirk forming in his mask. Gary then salutes and walks off.

I turn to Ghost, smiling. "So?" I inquire, waiting for him to answer.

Ghost shrugs, "I like the boy, a little jumpy but he looks like a good kid." He replies. I nod in agreement, letting out a pent up breath. "Has he met the girls? They're bound to love him." Ghost said. I immediately froze in terror as I realize I had forgotten to mention the task force's 'female' operatives.

Sergeant Veronica 'Ruby' Summer's POV

I sit in my room, resting up for today's PT while Gadget lies on her stomach on the adjacent bed, typing away on her laptop. She's so zoned out that she doesn't even notice the pillow I throw till it makes contact with her face. "Ow! What was that for?" Gadget shouts, rubbing her face over dramatically.

I roll my eyes, "Gadget you've been on that damned thing for the past hour, take a break." I told her, running a hand through my long blonde hair.

Gadget rolls her dark eyes as she throws the pillow back at me, continuing to type away. "Can't." She said swiftly.

Easily I catch the pillow, raising an eyebrow at her, "Why not?" I ask, taking the pillow and resting my elbows on it.

She looks up from the screen; a distraught look sits on her face. "My brother is worried again. Every time he sees me he says I have more scars than before." She responds dismally, pointing to a scar that wrapped all the way around her wrist. Nearly everyone in the task force knew that she had gotten that injury on her first mission when she was captured by a drug cartel.


A/N: (Jacob) see chapter 6 of 'Where It All Begins' by Emily Gadget Robins. I would also like to state that Gadget and Erin's characters belong to them but they were awesome enough to let me include them in my story.


It was a miracle that she survived at all after being given poison by her captors. Everyone who knew her well had grown even closer to her, especially Ghost, but those two had seemed to have a connection at the beginning. I remember staying up with her during her 'imprisonment' in the infirmary after Ghost and Mactavish made her stay longer. We have been best friends ever since. I let out short puff of air, waving her off, "He worries too much about you. I mean, I know you're his baby sister but you're perfectly capable of handling yourself. You take down Meat on a daily basis and he's twice you size!" I remark, smirking at the diss on Meat.

Gadget nods, smiling haft heartily. "I know it's just I hate for him to worry." She replies, before going back to her laptop. Suddenly there's a knock at the door. "It's open." Gadget said, not taking her hazel eyes off the computer. Mactavish enters with a stressed look on his face.

He scratches the back of his Mohawk, "Um ladies. We have a new recruit today and-" Mactavish begins before I cut him off.

I perk up, my green eyes sparkling with excitement, "Really! Gadget! Let's go meet him!" I exclaim and Gadget nods in agreement. We both start to the door but Mactavish blocks the way. I puff out my cheeks, placing my hands on my hips in annoyance. "Hey! What's the big idea!" I ask.

Mactavish's blue eyes look at me sharply, "Ruby, look. As much as I agree with you about welcoming him, I have to warn you to be easy on the boy." He states in a serious tone.

"What?" I question furrowing my eyebrows in confusion as I exchange a look with Gadget.

Mactavish sighs, "The lad is Autistic." He replies shortly.

Gadget steps forward, a look of disgust on her face. "So that doesn't mean he isn't a person!" Gadget snaps.

Mactavish face palmed. "I know that. It's just that he's most likely been unpopular his whole life. He was shy at lunch with the men earlier so he's sure to be extremely shy around two women. So please be careful. We want him to feel welcome." He cautions.

I grin widely. "Don't worry bout a thing, Jonathan." I respond with a chuckle, using his formal first name.

Mactavish rolls his eyes, looking at the two of us seriously. "Seriously." he states as he walks out of the room.

My eyes roll up to the ceiling as I stick out my tongue after him. "Fine Mr. Grumpy gills." I huff as Gadget and I follow him out of our room.

We come to the men's barracks.

Mactavish stops, turning to us, "Hold on" He said stopping us both, "Boys are ya decent?" He calls into the room. A chorus of yes's came in reply and Mactavish motions for us to follow. We walk into the room where a bunch of the guys were on their bunks conversing, except for one person who was away from everyone prepping his gear for the upcoming PT. That must be him. We approach him. "Sanderson?" Mactavish asks. Instantly the man spins around and snaps to a salute.

"Sir!" he said sharply, standing rigidly.

Mactavish nods, "Easy now lad. There are two people I would like you to meet." He states, gesturing to me and Gadget. The man glances at us and his eyes widen like a deer in headlights, his face beet red. "Well I'll let you three get acquainted. Remember PT in thirty minutes." Mactavish said as he walks out the door.

We walk out to the front of the building. "Um it's nice to meet you. I'm S-Sergeant Gary Sanderson." He stuttered extending a shaky hand.

"Sergeant Veronica 'Ruby' Summers. This is Sergeant Emily Robbins, she goes by Gadget." I replied as I shook his hand. I could feel him flinch when I touched him. Poor guy, he really is nervous. Gadget and I will have to fix that.

Gary's POV

I was in the barracks beside my bunk preparing my gear when I heard the familiar Scottish accent of the captain. "Boys are ya decent?" I heard him ask. Loud choruses of yes's shout in the captain's direction. I continue preparing my gear for PT, if a general or something was coming into the room I wanted to look busy-No need to make a bad impression on the first day. "Sanderson?" I heard the familiar voice of the captain call out.

I turn around. "Sir!" I respond, saluting promptly.

"Easy now lad. There are two people I would like you to meet." he said as he gestured to two men- wait! Oh fuck! I could immediately feel my face going red as I realize that the two people he revealed were two women. "Well I'll let you three get acquainted." Mactavish said exiting the room. I look into the jaded eyes of the smiling girl in front of me. Damn I look like an ass right now. She motioned me to follow her and her friend outside.

Which I don't blame them for; these guys were goofy as hell. "Um it's nice to meet you. I'm S-Sergeant Gary Sanderson." I said as I put out my hand.

The green eyed girl smiles and shook it. "Sergeant Veronica 'Ruby' Summers. This is Sergeant Emily Robbins, she goes by Gadget." She replies gesturing to the girl next to her. "So ya ready for PT?" she asks me.

I nod awkwardly, "Yeah. I hear it's supposed to be pretty tough." I reply.

"Well I bet a tough guy like you can handle it." Gadget remarks with a mock punch to my shoulder.

I gulp, grinning slightly, "Yeah I hope so." I said. Well they're talking to me so they can't be that bad. I thought, trying to get rid of my embarrassment.

Ruby nods towards the barracks we had just left, "So what do ya think of the guys?" she asks, a kind smile still present on her face.

I shrug, "Eh they seem pretty crazy." I state.

Gadget laughs, waving the remark off, "Oh don't mind them, they're always like that. I occasionally have to threaten 'em with a garden weasel when they get out of line." Gadget said.

"Well Gadget and I have to go get ready. But we'll talk to you later." Ruby said with a smile as they walk off towards their barracks.

Ruby's POV

"I like him, He's shy as hell but he's really nice!" Gadget comments with excitement as we walk back to our room.

I know, grinning, "Yeah I know. I wonder if he's like that around all girls." I reply, pulling my long blonde hair into a ponytail, tying it with an elastic hair tie.

Gadget frowns, looking up in thought, "Who knows. Poor guy. I wonder why anyone would ever be mean to him?" she said, putting the question out that also sat on my mind.

I shrug, a wide grin flickering across my face. "Well whatever it is me and you are gonna fix it." I said, smirking. With that, we both walk to our room and got ready for the hell that is to come.


Author's Note: (Erin) Sorry for taking so long to get this up, last semester was hell for me. Word to the wise people, never take Chemistry. It's a math class disguised as a science class. Lol that and don't take it with another math class. (stupid Geometry). But now I have easy classes, so updating will be faster.

This is a collab with Jacob0392, so please rate and review. Characters belong to their respected owners.