Okay, back again and still in one piece - but barely (goddamned recruits!)
This chapter is mostly about combat, at least as far as Max is concerned (hey, I told you she would kick ass, right?) Sorry for those of you who would have liked to see more interraction between her and her teammates but this will come later, promise.
Now, thanks to all my readers again and most of all to my reviewers!
Taeniaea: Thanks again, fast as usual!
Divine Fighter: You'll see about Wolf in this chapter and yes, Kyla's got something to do with it. I don't think Brin is already enough of her old self again to try and escape, but perhaps I'll see about that later. Thanks!
JOUNOUCHI sama: While I appreciate and encourage any reviewer to express his opinion I must say I do not like being blackmailed. But to assure you once again: I've told you before you will get your pairing and so it will be but as you should know by now I like to take on those things slowly. But don't worry. If you read between the lines you'll find out about the pairing in this chapter already.
452max: Did she die? Did she die? Hm, read and find out ;)
Alan Grey: I hope your exams are going well and don't worry about you not being able to review every chapter. You are right, I'm military. As a matter of fact I'm a professional instructor in the infantry which sometimes also includes future snipers. I hope this doesn't offend anybody in here and if it does, well, sorry about it. I can see your point with the snipers having made some important appearances and I can assure you I try and not use them too often, they just were too perfect for the missions unit two had been on until now; but as I said I hope I don't exaggerate. If I do so, kick me ;) I must say I never really could warm up to the idea of the Conclave although I can't say they will never make their appearance. An enemy which tries to enhance its soldiers with implants just seemed to be a new idea for me. Glad you liked it. I will give you a little hint why it seemed to be so easy to capture the base in Italy and also what it is about with the troops in Fortress Delta in this chapter. They're neither Russian or Italian, by the way, most of them are Swiss but there are also others. You'll see soon but not in this chapter already. And yes, you're right, the Italians don't have the Cougar. About me getting old...*sigh* okay, you just know me too well. Of course I didn't kill her. Perhaps I really have to think about some mean things to surprise you again. We'll see about that. Thank you very much!
Geminangel: Welcome on board and thank you for your review! I'm glad you like the story until now and I hope I can keep up to meet your expectations!
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X5-154 aka Nova The blond transgenic is the medic of unit two. She's one of the smallest X5 but nevertheless can take care of herself just fine. Other than that she's one of the X5 with the most experience in missions outside Manticore. Has no shark DNA.
X5-194 aka Blade Member of unit two. The Asian woman is one of the few that could actually beat her CO or her 2IC in a hand-to-hand combat. She is almost obsessed with any sort of blades and usually tries not to use firearms. Has no shark but snake DNA.
X5-210 aka Jondy As children Max and Jondy had been in unit one and escaped together in '09. Jondy got caught by Lydecker months before Max and has joined unit two. She is loyal to Manticore and her unit but this doesn't mean she likes everybody around the base. Eventually she even refers to Lydecker that he 'can be an asshole sometimes'. Nevertheless she chose to stay out of her free will and hopes Max will be in her unit for she deeply cares about her younger sister.
X5-258 aka Nitro Member of unit two. The young blond man adores every sort of vehicle. He's one of the more unsettled X5. KIA after the mission in Joliet.
X5-301 aka Kyla 2IC of unit two. Usually paired with Wolf during their missions. The two of them have the most experience throughout the X-series when it comes to combat missions and search and destroy and both of them are very well trained in close quarter combat and hand-to-hand fights. Over the years she has developed a strong affection towards Wolf but being soldiers first and inexperienced with this kind of emotions none of them has had the courage to make the next step yet.
X5-367 aka Havoc Member of unit two. The black haired and tanned transgenic is the unit's expert when it comes to explosives. He is almost as calm as 439 and is known for his subtle sense of humor. Has no shark DNA.
X5-439 aka Artemis Member of unit two. She's the sniper of her unit. Her rather calm and controlled self helps the others from getting out of hand too much. Like Wolf and Kyla she keeps her brown hair very short as she thinks it would hinder her otherwise.
X5-451 aka Wolf CO of unit two and Max's genetic brother. Just like his partner Kyla he had been developed for combat operations. His intense grey eyes and very short black hair clearly let him look like the soldier he is and his knowledge about almost any sort of combat makes him a deadly enemy. Over the years he has developed a strong affection towards Kyla but being soldiers first and inexperienced with this kind of emotions none of them has had the courage to make the next step yet.
X5-494 aka Alec Member of unit two and third in the chain of command. He has become sort the unit's unofficial leader as Wolf and Kyla often are on outside missions. He can be sort of a smart ass sometimes but he usually knows when to stop. Has no shark DNA.
X5-526 aka Bear Member of unit two. He's the biggest and strongest X5 in the unit and prefers heavy weapons. Nevertheless he's very gentle and almost never gets angry. Has no shark DNA.
X5-734 aka Brin After her return to Manticore she underwent a very brutal reindoctrination which left her brainwashed and only partly able to make independent decisions. She has been under Director Renfro's command until Renfro had to leave the Wyoming facility. Currently Brin's not part of a unit but assigned to where she's needed.
X5-798 aka Jace She was the only one staying behind during the '09 escape out of her free will. She's currently a member of unit five.
Montpellier, France
Max was about to hack the computer they'd found in the bedroom of the small apartment while Jondy and Jace were looking out for any possible attacker, weapons ready. This was much too easy. There had been not guards, they had found no video cameras and the alarm system was very old. And the computer wasn't too difficult to hack either. Just when she'd managed to get past the security program she heard Alec over wireless once more and he sounded nervous.
"Max, Jace, Jondy: Get out of there, right now! I repeat: Get out, get out, get out! Brin, change your position, but try and cover the others when they come out!"
"Roger!" was the only answer the Asian X5 gave from her sniper spot.
Max hesitated for a split second with the external hard drive already in her left hand; she had hacked the system, she was only seconds from getting access to the files! But she knew Alec; he was an experienced operator and he had sounded more than just a little bit worried so she put the hard drive back in her pocket and the three women left the apartment as quickly as they could. The darkness didn't slow them down as their enhanced sight made them see almost as if all the lights had been on. When they were running down the stairs she opened a channel to her temporary CO.
"Alec, what's going on? We were almost done!"
"I've got a call from Wolf" came the tense reply. "He's in Italy. According to him we've been compromised. We have to move, right now! Come back to the hotel as fast as you can!"
A few streets away three black vans silently stood in the darkness. Inside however thirty soldiers in combat suits waited for their leader to finally give the signal to attack. They were equipped with a variety of weapons from sidearms to heavy rifles but all of them also had taser guns. Their primary objective wasn't to kill the X5 that currently searched their old safe house but to capture them alive.
The team leader was sitting in the first vehicle looking at his second in command who had a detonator in his hand and calmly looked at him waiting for the signal. But it wasn't time yet. The team leader looked at the men and women who were with him and he was barely able to suppress a grim smile; these were some of the best soldiers they had, all with combat experience and battle hardened. The majority of the military force his organization had in this part of the world was now concentrated here; they had even called in the team from Edinburgh and most of the guards from their Italian base which was now only occupied by a few men, most of them technicians and intelligence officers. But it didn't matter; if their intel had been correct Manticore knew nothing of their base in Saint-Vincent and even if they did they at least wouldn't attack during the next 48 hours as no such mission had been approved by the committee.
No, this time they would succeed. Everything had been carefully planned; the team was ready, the surveillance in place and they had even linked the hidden surveillance cameras in the safe house to the Italian base; if the transgenics noticed the electronic signal and tried to track it they would perhaps find out it was coming from somewhere in Italy, but none of them would suspect there was an attack team waiting for them only a few hundred meters away. Yes, this time the mission would be a success and unlike in Joliet the captured X5 wouldn't escape them again; his organization had learned from past mistakes. He only had to wait now until his bravo team had reached the transgenic sniper and neutralized her and then the officer in charge in Saint-Vincent who was watching the whole action on his screen would give the attack order.
Suddenly his cell phone ringed and he frowned.
"Harris!" he gruffly answered the call.
"Harris, this is command!" the voice was not that of the officer in Saint-Vincent but of somebody else the team leader knew very well. And his superior didn't sound happy at all. "Saint-Vincent has been destroyed by forces of the Swiss army and Manticore transgenics. Begin your attack immediately before they can warn the team in Montpellier!"
Saint-Vincent attacked? How on earth was that possible? This was a disaster! His thoughts were racing but nevertheless he didn't lose his focus. He answered a brisk 'Understood!' and hang up, then opened a com channel to all units:
"All units, all units, this is Alpha leader! Initiate attack, I repeat, initiate attack!"
Without hesitation the driver of the van started the motor and slammed his foot down on the accelerator and the vehicle made a jump forward and rapidly gained speed.
Harris looked at his 2IC who still had the detonator in his hand.
"Blow them up!"
"But bravo team hasn't neutralized the sniper yet!" the other man objected.
"They've been warned, we have to move, sniper or not!" the team leader shouted angrily. "Blow them up!"
The other soldier nodded and detonated their dangerous surprise hidden in the safe house.
Just when Max, Jace and Jondy left the building through the front door dozens of charges hidden inside the house exploded. But those weren't the usual sort of demolition charges. Instead of destroying their environment and sending shrapnel everywhere almost no damage was done to the house and its interior except for the windows which were all shattered to pieces; they were more like highly boosted flashbang grenades, creating an acoustic shock of over two hundred decibel and an overpressure that would have severely injured an ordinary human being.
Even outside the building the three female transgenics cried out in pain, dropped to their knees and covered their ears, their enhanced hearing making the pain even worse.
After a few seconds when the first shock and the immediate pain started to wear off Max tried to stand up but found it extremely difficult to keep her balance. She moaned and pressed her eyes shut for a second but it didn't help. Her ears were ringing and her head was swimming. Suddenly she felt something wet on her upper lip and had the smell of blood in her mouth and quickly found out she had a nosebleed.
When looking at Jondy and Jace she could tell they weren't in a better shape.
"…happened?" she suddenly heard Alec's voice in her ear but could barely understand him. "Max, Jondy, Jace? Talk to me!"
"Explosion" Max answered over wireless but talking seemed to be a very bad idea for she suddenly felt like throwing up.
"I can see them, Alec" Brin announced from her spot on a rooftop across the street. "There was an explosion but it looked like some sort of big stun grenade. Shall I go and get them?"
"Negative, I'm coming to you. Cover them."
"Got it."
Suddenly Max got aware of the distant sound of screeching tires and approaching vehicles.
"We gotta go!" Jace shouted. Her fellow X5s only nodded and Max was glad to find out her senses slowly started to work like usually again. Just when they started to run in the direction of their command center and Alec three black vans rounded the corner and sped towards them. It didn't take the three women much imagination to know who was in the vehicles.
Like one they stopped and turned around, taking aim and sent a hail of bullets towards the first vehicle. Again tires screeched and the car suddenly came to a stop just like the second one did a blink of an eye later when Brin shot the driver from her sniping spot. The two motionless cars blocked the street so the third one was not able to pursue them further. Nevertheless they could see armed men in black clothing leaving the vehicles and coming after them. The three transgenics turned around again and continued running towards where they knew their CO and the apartment which hopefully would provide them safety for some moments. Just when they were about to disappear into a side road they heard Brin over wireless again, cursing heavily.
"They found me!" the Asian X5 shouted and Max could hear gunfire and screams. "I have to jump!"
The three young women watched in shock as their teammate suddenly appeared on the rooftop and jumped over the small balustrade.
"No!" Jondy chocked but it was too late.
Even over the distance Max could hear the thud and a sickening crack when Brin hit the ground. The Asian X5 screamed in agony but nevertheless tried to stand up almost instantly but screamed again and fell back to the ground. Without thinking the three X5 started running towards their injured team member although it brought them awfully close to the soldiers from the vans who were closing in fast.
When they arrived Max picked up her injured sister and threw her over her shoulder while Jondy and Jace fired some volleys at their enemies forcing them to take cover. Jace threw three smoke grenades hoping it would slow down their enemies. Subconsciously they already knew their attackers didn't want to kill them but capture them alive for none of them had shot at them until now except for those who had surprised Brin on the rooftop.
Nevertheless they all knew the danger and when four of the black clad soldiers managed to flank them, cutting of their only way of escape Max was cursing silently but still kept running towards the men for they had no other possibility to get away and to safety than through were those soldiers were waiting for them now.
Just when the transgenics got in range their four opponents left their cover and shot their tasers at them; the three women tried to dodge the electronic guns but Max, who was slower than the other two with Brin on her shoulders got hit by one of them and dropped to her knees again, screaming. Too close to use their guns anymore Jondy and Jace jumped at the four soldiers, driving them back with the force of their first attack and fortunately for Max Jondy hit the one that had shot her with the taser and the pain stopped. She angrily yanked the two wires from her body and stood up again, never letting go of the semiconscious Brin.
Meanwhile Jondy and Jace had a hard time ducking and dodging their enhanced attackers' blows and kicks. From the way the black clad men were fighting there was no doubt they were facing the cyberneticaly enhanced cyborgs they had been looking for as they were more than able to keep up with the transgenics. And the Manticore soldiers had to move quickly now; behind her Max could already hear the rest of the attackers approaching; due to Jace's smoke grenades they had to move slowly and cautiously through the thick cloud that now filled the street but they were coming closer nevertheless. When Max joined the battle it was more to get them some air and make it possible to escape than to actually win the fight.
Still she couldn't suppress a grim grin when she broke the arm of one of her enemies but the blink of an eye later another one broke through her defenses and when his jackboot connected with her upper body she could hear her bones crack.
The pain she felt was nothing like she had had experienced before. It felt like a burning spear had been rammed into her side and wouldn't stop moving. She couldn't scream, couldn't call out for help, she could barely breathe. She managed to look up and saw the triumphant grin on the soldier's face as he stroke out to deliver the final blow. Max knew with her and Brin out Jace and Jondy wouldn't stand a chance against the four soldiers and their comrades who certainly would be there in a few seconds.
Out of nowhere a shadow appeared and a gun cracked. The soldier who was standing over Max didn't stand a chance and dropped dead to the floor. Without a second look Alec turned towards Jace and Jondy and attacked.
With his unexpected help they were able to finish off their opponents quickly and just when the rest of the attack team rounded the corner and sprinted towards them they finally made it past the last enemy who had tried to hold them back.
All the time Max had tried to get up but the pain in her side seemed to get worse with every breath she took. Suddenly Jondy was at her side and helped her to her feet ignoring her chocked screams while Jace picked up the now fully unconscious Brin. The two women ran towards the next side road as fast as they could dragging their wounded friends along while Alec was quick to follow them, but turned around from time to time firing a volley at their pursuers trying to slow them down.
After a few more minutes it seemed like their attackers had lost track and the transgenics stopped in a dark alley breathing heavily. The fight had not lasted longer than a minute but all of them were exhausted and in pain. Jace who was bleeding from a gash on her cheek and a laceration on her forehead took care of Brin who had a broken leg and obviously had passed out from the pain. Jondy who had three broken fingers helped Max to sit down and cringed when her little sister winced in pain and panted for air.
"How are they?" Alec asked over his shoulder still aiming his weapon towards the end of the alley.
"Broken leg" Jace announced briskly ripping Brin's left trouser leg open and then cursed under her breath. "Compound fracture."
"Can you fix it?"
"Temporarily, but I'm not a medic.!"
"Where's Nova when you need her?" Alec muttered and turned towards Jondy and Max who had her eyes half closed and looked awfully pale. "Jondy?"
"I don't know" the brown haired X5 answered and shook her head. "She can't breathe; perhaps one of her ribs has punctured the lung. Alec, we have to get her to a hospital!"
"Dammit!" the male transgenic swore. There was no possibility for a medevac, they had no allies here and Manticore would need too much time to send a rescue team. As much as it pained him to see his fellow X5s, especially Max, in pain he knew they couldn't get them to a hospital, not with two dozen enemies around. And they couldn't go back to their hotel room either. "Get them up, we have to move!"
"What are we going to do?" Jace wanted to know.
"Don't know yet" Alec had to admit but his mind was already coming up with several possible plans. "We'll have to make it up as we go but for now we have to get as far away from here as possible."
Saint-Vincent, Italy
Kyla stumbled forward and fell to the ground, suddenly feeling a heavy weigh on her back and smelled blood but she knew how it felt when you got shot and she didn't feel like that at all. There was some shouting and movements all around her and she heard several gunshots and a distant cry. Apparently the sniper had been taken care of. She tried to move but it took her several seconds to turn around and stand up, that was when she found out what had happened.
One of the Swiss soldiers was lying in the grass beside her, not moving anymore. Apparently it had been him who had collided with her. She could see the hole in his back and the blood oozing from it. He was the one that had shouted at her to get down and had taken the bullet that had been meant for her!
Suddenly Lieutenant Linder and Wolf appeared at her side, the young officer lifting up his motionless soldier and dragging him towards the Cougar.
Wolf looked at her for a brief moment before he grabbed her and pulled her towards another helicopter.
"Move, soldier!" was all he said.
They got into the Cougar and a second later the Lieutenant joined them; apparently there had not been enough room for him in the other helicopter.
The three Cougars took off and flew towards the north as fast and as low as they could, barely avoiding the treetops. After he had made sure Kyla wasn't injured Wolf was listening to the pilots talking to each other about if they were low enough to avoid detection from the Italian radar and he was silently praying that they were; the Cougars were equipped with antimissile defense but when the Italian jets found them they still would be screwed as no helicopter was able to out-fly a pursuit fighter.
All the time Linder said nothing but was looking out at the first Cougar, the one who carried the soldier that had been hit protecting Kyla. The rest of the soldiers were very quiet, too; they all had noticed one of their comrades had been at least critically injured and they were worried as there was no information about how severely his injuries were.
When they finally entered Swiss airspace and at least didn't have to worry about the Italian air force anymore they relaxed a little bit but still almost nobody talked and when they did they talked in a hushed tone as if they were afraid their words could attract further danger.
When they arrived at Fortress Delta the hangar's roof was already open, allowing the first Cougar to land immediately and the two others followed quickly. Before they touched the ground Linder shouted some orders over wireless Wolf didn't understand and when the doors opened the young officer jumped out and followed the medics that were already leaving the hangar with the motionless soldier from the first Cougar on a stretcher. Only one soldier, the female team leader from blue team followed him, the rest of the platoon stood around the three Cougars until the leader of red team – apparently the 2IC of the platoon – ordered them all to go to the debriefing room and wait there or – if injured – go to the infirmary first.
Out of instinct Wolf and Kyla ran after the platoon leader and the NCO. The two Swiss soldiers were running through the underground corridors at a very high speed, much too high for ordinary humans and the two transgenics had to watch it if they wanted to keep up with them. When they reached the infirmary they could already see through the window that separated that part of the base from the outside that an emergency team was trying to reanimate the soldier that had saved Kyla's life. Linder wanted to enter the room but Colonel Meyer, who was there too and watched the whole scenery as well held him back.
"Your job's done, Lieutenant" the old officer said to the young platoon leader and then nodded towards the doctors, "now let them do theirs."
Reluctantly the younger officer nodded and watched the men and women in their light green coats together with his CO and his team leader. The two transgenics stood a little bit in the background, not wanting to disturb the three soldiers and both were thinking back to the night in Joliet when almost exactly the same scene had taken place and Nitro had died.
After about twenty minutes during which nobody said a word the doctor who had performed cardiac massage on the motionless soldier stopped and stepped back. He took of his mask and blood smeared gloves, angrily tossing them into the waste bin before he looked at the soldiers through the window and sadly shook his head.
"No!" the female NCO whispered despaired and placed one hand onto the glass, supporting herself. Lieutenant Linder was trembling and had his hands clenched into fists. Wolf could sense the anger, grief and frustration the other soldier was feeling and remembered his own emotions he had felt when Nitro had been taken from them.
Suddenly the young officer calmed down and looked at his team leader. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.
"There's nothing you can do here anymore, Diana" he whispered quietly. "Go back to the others; I'll take care about things here."
The blond woman – Diana – viciously shook her head and tried to get away from him but he only tightened his grip and suddenly embraced her into a tight hug. She continued to fight him for a few more seconds but he didn't let her go and suddenly she stopped, not moving anymore and cried against his chest. The sounds of pure grief and emotional pain coming from the woman made Kyla cringe and she felt the blond team leader had lost more than just a fellow soldier. When she finally calmed down Linder let go of her and took a step back.
"Come on, Diana" Colonel Meyer said quietly. "You need to get out of here."
Carefully the old officer placed a hand on her shoulder and directed her out of the room with a calm kindness.
When they had left the room and the door was closed behind again nobody spoke a word until the outburst Wolf had expected for some minutes finally came.
"Goddammit!" Linder suddenly spun around and hit the concrete wall with his fist. He breathed heavily and it took him some seconds to regain his usually calm composure before he addressed the two transgenics.
"I am sorry. Are you two okay?"
"You don't need to apologize" Wolf assured him, "we understand. And yes, we are okay. Thanks to you and thanks to him."
Linder looked at his dead soldier once again and sighed heavily.
"Was he a friend?" Kyla asked quietly but the young officer shook his head.
"No" he replied in a grave voice. "Daniel was…he was much more."
"And the woman? Diana? Were they…" she trailed off as she felt it was not her place to ask but Linder nodded
"They were in love." He sighed again. "I'm sorry, but if you are not injured I have to ask you to go back to your quarters. Take a shower, get some sleep, somebody will inform you when the debriefing takes place. Until then I must ask you not to talk to anyone outside my platoon about this mission."
"Understood" Wolf answered quietly. He had many questions towards the young officer but he knew that would have to wait although after having seen him and his soldiers being able to perform the way he had only seen transgenics do it until now was something that still bothered him. The two Manticore soldiers turned to leave but Wolf looked back once again. "Lieutenant? We are really sorry for your loss."
"Thank you, Captain."
Nine hours later – Fortress Delta, South of Switzerland
"Summarized the mission was partly a success, leading to the destruction of a hostile base. Nevertheless we were not able to gain the intel we were after and we got three wounded" Colonel Meyer said at the end of their debriefing and sighed before he added "and one dead: Corporal Daniel Rader."
The whole platoon who had gathered for the mission debriefing looked terribly sad and some of them had unshed tears in their eyes.
"I know how you feel. Losing a fellow soldier, a friend, a brother" Meyer's voice was serious but soft at the same time and he looked at Diana who was crying silently "or even a beloved one is something nobody should ever experience."
There was a choked sob from the blond leader of blue team and everybody looked at her with concern and sympathy. Meyer nodded and continued.
"But always remember that this is what we're doing, and that it is our mission to protect our people and our country against our enemies even if the price is very high. We have to live with that. Now, I want you in your quarters for the rest of the day. Try to get some rest and remember your fallen brother. Daniel's funeral will be in thirty-six hours. Dismissed!"
One after the other they left the room and soon reached their quarters. Kyla and Wolf entered theirs and closed the door behind them. Kyla took off her uniform jacket and sat down on the mattress while Wolf opened his locker. Suddenly he turned around and his eyes found hers and he frowned upon the weird look she was giving him.
"What?" he asked.
"What?"
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Why don't you tell me?" It sounded more hostile than she had intended to.
He frowned and shook his head after some seconds and turned towards the locker again. "Whatever!"
Enraged she was on her feet in the blink of an eye and pushed him back against the wall.
"Can't you stop being jerk at least while we're alone?" she hissed angrily. "And stop acting like wasn't there because right now I'm quite pissed off at you!"
"Take your hands off me, soldier" he growled slowly and in a very low voice.
She reluctantly let go of him and took a step back. It was true, he had been acting weird ever since they had left Manticore and after they'd come home yesterday he had ignored her, tried to avoid her most of the time and was not even looking at her and she had enough.
"Tell me at least why you're acting like you don't know me!" she demanded.
"Why?" He looked at her and she could see the spark of anger in his eyes but also something else she didn't immediately recognize. "Why? Because what I saw out there was not you! Because you didn't listen to orders! I ordered you to come back but you didn't! You were doing a reckless, stupid and totally idiotic stunt out there when you went for that soldier!"
"Somebody had to get him and I was the closest to him!" she objected.
"It's not what you've been trained to do! First you have to find and neutralize the shooter, then you can go and rescue your wounded. Did you forget everything we trained?"
"No, but I also did not forget that no matter what you don't leave a member of your unit behind" she snarled.
"Perhaps you should remember from time to time that no matter what you always have to listen to orders!"
"I did what had to be done and if you had been in my situation you would've done exactly the same thing and you know it!"She suddenly narrowed her eyes. "Or don't you anymore? Did PsyOps take such a toll on you?"
"This is not about PsyOps and me" he snapped finally losing his temper. Deep down in his heart he knew she was right but he was scared of the truth and he was afraid to confess to her why he was acting like that. Trying to shield himself from her and not thinking fast enough the next words were out of his mouth before he knew what he was doing. "But the way you're talking perhaps you could use some of their medicine."
She slapped him. Not a punch, that's what he would've expected but no, she slapped him. He stumbled back against the wall feeling the stinging pain on his cheek but he didn't really notice it. He stared at her in shock, not believing what he'd just said. He could see the shock, confusion and disbelief over her own actions in her eyes as well but most of all the pain his words had caused.
"Gods, Kyla, I…" he stammered and approached her slowly. "Please, I didn't want to hurt you."
When he came closer she suddenly held up her hands like in defense and retreated until she felt the cold concrete wall against her back.
"I'm sorry" he continued. "I don't know what made me say that, please believe me!"
She refused to answer or to look at him, too confused by her own actions and unsure what to do next. When he carefully touched her shoulder she flinched and pushed him back half-heartedly but he ignored her and pulled her close. First she tried to get away from him much like Diana had tried to get away from Linder the previous day but eventually she stopped. Wolf could feel her trembling and breathing heavily and he suddenly understood what she was feeling; fear. Fear that he had changed after all, that the scientists had won and that she'd lost him.
"I didn't want to say that" he repeated again. "I'm sorry."
"Me too" she finally mumbled against his shoulder. "Is it PsyOps?"
After some seconds he shook his head.
"No, it isn't" he answered slowly. "Not entirely. It's me. I've told you before, Kyla, when we're out there I'm always worried about you, more than about the others. When I saw you running towards that soldier all I could think was in what danger you were at the moment and if it hadn't been for that Corporal you would be dead."
"But I'm not!" she said and looked at him.
"But it easily could have been you!" He sounded despaired and where she had seen anger in his eyes a minute ago she now saw fear. "I want you to be safe, not searching out the danger all the time. I want you to live because I don't know how I should be able to live without you…!"
Hearing him talk like that scared her and she didn't want to be scared anymore. She was scared of failing, of dying and most of all she was scared of losing him. She was scared of so many things and she didn't want to be anymore, not now and not here. She finally needed somebody who held her close, somebody she could rely on and trust.
Out of a sudden instinct she kissed him, making it impossible for him to speak anymore. He was reluctant at first but relaxed and responded to her soft touch. He knew he was acting childish; he couldn't protect her from everything and everybody, they both were soldiers after all, but in Joliet he had been worried already and this time she had almost died and the thought of losing her alone was almost too much for him. He was afraid and didn't know what to do so he had tried to distance himself from her. He was confused and scared and all he wanted to do right now was holding her close to him and never let her go again.
Suddenly he felt her hand slip under his shirt and over his chest and he broke the kiss.
"What are you doing?" he asked quietly.
"Why?" she answered with a quiet smile. "Don't like it?"
He didn't answer but the sudden kindness in his eyes told her enough. His jacket fell to the floor first followed by his shirt. They kissed again, more passionately this time and he suddenly pulled her hips against his, making them both groan.
They grinned at each other, both of them feeling a little bit nervous but at the same time strangely happy. They weren't thinking logically anymore, but they felt what they were doing was right and just followed their feelings. She wanted to touch him, feel him, taste him. It wasn't a rational thought but she felt she wanted – needed – him. They slowly moved towards his bed, kissing each other passionately, their hands exploring each other's body with curiosity but still almost timidly.
When they finally lay on the bed with all of their clothing lying around them on the floor he was on top of her and his hands slowly trailed down her legs pulling them apart slightly so he could fit his body between them while he softly kissed her neck. She moaned happily with her eyes half closed, feeling pleasure and desire and she also felt how her body reacted to his touch, having craved him for so long. Suddenly she frowned and looked up at him when he stopped moving. She could see the desire in his eyes as well but also the concern that was there.
"Are you sure you want this?" he whispered hoarsely.
She smiled again at his kind concern and softly caressed his cheek.
"I don't want this" she said emphasizing the last word. "I want you! Only you! I love you, 451!"
He smiled warmly upon hearing the words he'd wanted to hear for so long but had been afraid to say out loud himself until now.
"I love you too, 301, with all my heart and my life!"
She smiled, feeling happier than ever before. She placed a hand on his neck and gently pulled him closer, claiming his lips once again. Not breaking the kiss he then slowly pressed his hips forward slowly sinking into her and they both moaned in pleasure when their bodies finally became one.
A few minutes later Lieutenant Linder was approaching the quarters of the two Americans. He had to inform them about when one of the Cougars would bring them back to the airport. He was about to press down the door handle when he suddenly stopped upon hearing a strange noise coming from inside the room. He frowned and listened carefully but when he heard a soft moan again he was sure he hadn't been mistaken and a broad smile appeared on his lips. Carefully trying not to disturb his guests he let go of the door handle and left the place trying not to make a sound. While he was walking back to his own room he was still grinning. There had been losses and the world certainly still was a bad place most of the time but it seemed like at least those two had found their happiness.
Not much to say here. I hope you liked it.
In the next chapter you're finally gonna find out who I will pair Alec with (if you haven't already;) )
Give me some motivation and I give you an update (subtle as usual, I know)