Chapter 14: Common Criminals
[Patch, Five]
You know those times when you ask for something over and over again for something until it seems like your parents finally give in? Than you get super exited and constantly ask and ask about it and then when the day comes you're going to get your awaited treasure you are nearly hyperventilating. Your opening your present and BAM it's not what you asked for.
"What the hell is this?" The Lt inquired.
This was one of those times.
"The location of Rommel as promised…." The 'location' didn't look like any map we had ever seen and last time I checked maps don't piss all over themselves.
"This better be a joke…."I had warned him about dealing with a mob boss but it had at the time fell on deaf ears.
"This guy right here." Kale said while patting the faunus "Knows where your man Erwin is, I don't see the problem here."
The faunus struggled against his bonds trying to roll out of the trunk in a futile attempt at escape. He looked be in his early thirties and of a high position if his clothes were any indicator, His once nice clothes though were soiled by his own body fluids and blood. With his brown hair he almost looked like my oldest son.
What was there we could do though? Are we just supposed to tell command that we risked doing a big operation in uncharted territory for absolutely nothing? Just like that we had been demoted from soldiers and had become common criminals.
"Look we even have a place set up for the interrogation for you." Explained Shauno trying to defuse the incoming violent situation.
Delroy looked like he wanted to tear the younger man's head off but didn't want to risk making too much noise, I found myself wanting to do the same. They had to know this isn't what we wanted but they gave it to us anyways with a smile on their faces.
I left the stressing situation behind and instead opted for a more pleasing atmosphere, I could feel a smirk find its way to my aging face as I entered the store my younger cohort had entered with her new 'Friend'.
Surprisingly the shop owner looked to be older than me, a large feat unfortunately. The store was loaded with all sorts' commodities to suit different customers, A little lacking in the dust compartment but still quite an impressing inventory by most standards.
Four had taken her little friend to the very back and was trying to have a serious conversation with the girl but from the look of it the ball of energy was having none of it.
"I have friends my own age!" She defended herself
"Give me a name."
"what….?"
"Give me a name of one of these friends of yours."
"Oh well I can't really tell you that…you might be a stalker!" Four gave her a 'am I really the stalker here?' look "Who's that old guy?"
It was Fours turn to stutter "A Fr-iend"
Black hair with red highlights, baby face and childish personality to match. She was so cute, I remember when mine was this adorable…than she grew up "Hello little miss I'm an old guy"
She seemed to take this to part seriously as she turned to Four with large grin on her face. All at once she dropped the grin into a mask of no emotion and straitened her shoulders "You should find friends your own age." She mocked Four
Three who must have followed after me burst into a fit of laughs using one of the shelves for support, I smiled around my cigarette. Those who don't know Four would look at her and think that the jest was ineffective on her but to someone who has known her for a long time the slight closing of her eye lids and her whole body slouching a bit was all I needed to summarize not even the mighty Four was immune to the girls charms.
"I'm Ruby' she held her hand out to me introducing herself.
"Leo" my fingers were bigger than her hand making the whole handshake a bit weird.
"Names Fletcher…..Clayton Fletcher." Said the demo man taking a heroic pose
"She didn't ask you" I honestly think Three is the only one on this team Four hates.
"I'd watch out for this one Rubes, she eats little girls like you for breakfast."
"Ok…"
"I'd watch out for this one Ruby, Standing next to him for too long causes your brain cells to commit suicide." The sniper shot back.
"Ok…."
"Little miss you may want to take a few steps back away from both of them." I warned the girl about the incoming slug fest.
"Ok…"poor girl didn't have a clue what was going on
[Vale, Fort Amada]
"So right when I'm sighting in on him his buddy come up and gets in the way so I'm thinking hell yeah I got a two for one, I fire killing both of them but one of their gun discharges and kills another one!"
""You're so full of shit Auburn" Thomas informed Alpha-Five nicely.
"I'm not lying it happened, not my fault you aint got game anymore."
"The sweat on my ass cheeks has seen more action then you."
After saving the infamous Delta's team ass Alpha returned to base going back to stand-by, the rescue operation only serving to moisten the mouth of some of the more battle hungry members but leaving them with unbearable thirst to quench.
Alpha was sitting at their self-proclaimed table in the mess hall, the army and marines couldn't find the balls to oppose the headhunters on the matter. Currently all the members of Alpha were present, the two bickering were Alpha Two and Five, Alpha-One or Robert was at the end of the table praying to Agese for the meal, Alpha-Three the medic of the team was scanning through folders she had retrieved from the med-bay and Alpha-Five was poking his food with a fork making sure it was dead.
"How can you eat this…I'd call it food but that would be an insult to food everywhere." Four asked his commanding officer.
"Any meal given to us by Agese deserves proper admiration, I really wish you would accompany me to the bases next worshiping session Leon."
"No thank you" With all of his military responsibilities he barely had enough time for himself as is, but he respected Roberts's beliefs.
"Peach" Robert said gaining the medics attention "What are you doing?"
The medic quit chewing on her pen to answer him "See this?" She asked holding a folder filled with papers "These are your medical files, everything we know about your physical and physiological health is in here, including your past injuries and sicknesses."
"Oh never mind then, you just seemed a bit engrossed."
"I wasn't finished." She chastised her CO, who does that? "Now look at this folder" she brought up another folder that had not a single paper in it.
"Must be mine, I'm so badass I don't get shot." Auburn cockily said
"On the contrary you get lots of shots, says here that you personally discovered two unknown stds…..fascinating."
"Kids sticks his dick any willing hole he happens across." Thomas smacked the sniper on the shoulder.
"Because I got game old man!"
"Ahem" Both men were silenced by the medics glare "This folder is actually Bravo-One's"
"Ok so the guy has a strong immune system to bullets and viruses, big deal."
"That's not it at all stupid, he's a shadow peach what do expect? They aren't going to just hand you information about one of their operatives." Thomas being the only one who knew anything about the Shadows informed the medic.
"I was going to ask him personally but he disappeared with a group of doctors when we got back." She was a little pissed at the man blatantly disrespecting her role as a field medic. Bravo-One had ordered the driver of the vehicle he had boarded to drive when she tried to ascertain the damage he had received.
"He probably got bored and went to go find some children to murder." Auburn joked
"Auburn! At the moment he is a member of this team and you will respect him." It was bit surprising for Robert to get on to anybody.
"That's probably not far from the truth Rob, as a former member I can tell you that some of those guys aren't human or faunus, listen to me carefully when I tell you to forget about it Peach."
The table grew quiet.
"What can you tell us about them Thomas?" Leon asked
"Only what you already know, they usually work as lone wolves but occasionally shadow teams with the power to take command if they see fit."
"I don't care about any of that but…..it really REALLY annoys me to see one of my squad mates no matter how temporally get treated by another doctor, it's like getting married than cheating on your wife." The others scooted away as far as they could without falling off "This isn't over."
"I don't know who to feel sorry for, her or Bravo." Whispered Auburn
"Teams Alpha and Charlie please report to your sectors briefing room. Repeat, Teams Alpha and Charlie please report to your sectors briefing room." The loud speakers in the mess hall announced.
"Thank god, something to do." Auburn sighed
[Patch, Three]
"Please" I whined
"No."
"Please!"
"NO"
"PLEASE!"
"Three! I'm this close to shoving my hand up your ass and ripping out your prostate."
"…please?"
"Three we have a person in the back of this car we can't just stop at some fast-food joint!" Of course I didn't care though, I could only watch as we passed Happy Burgers. If there is a god he's a cruel son of a bitch, Lt could give him a run for his money any day.
Why they wouldn't have just had the guy in the interrogation room already was beyond me. As soon as the thought passed through my mind so passively I found myself a bit disgusted with myself. I would have no part in his interrogation…..'Leave that to the psychos' I mentally sneered looking at Biggs and Four who looked completely calm about the recent turn of events. Biggs even looked a little eager.
I'm a soldier I know what I signed up for but it wasn't this. Soldiers are supposed to be the embodiment of will to protect his or hers countries hopes, dreams and way of life. A little blood on my hands for what I believe in was to be expected but I didn't think I'd have enough to swim in.
In a few months my enlistment service would end and I would have the opportunity to reenlist into another branch. Despite my hate for them I was severely leaning going back to the marines if I could get my old rank reinstated.
Every tumble in the back managed to pull at my heart strings, enemy or not he was still a member of this country he was just forced into unfathomable circumstances by the actions taken by man. Instead of trying to reason or form common ground with them we kill them after they've surrendered and torture them when we've captured them.
"Fight fire with fire and they'll only burn each other out." I mumbled quietly enough to pass for just being mouthed.
"What" Four asked, apparently not quiet enough.
"Nothing, go back to fantasizing about the sick demented things you're going to do to that man back there.
"First of all he's a animal not a man second of all what's your problem?" Biggs defended the sniper
"Seriously? Just because his features are different from ours makes him a animal?"
"I call em like I see em, speaking of which your acting a bit treacherous don't you think?" he accused
"Both of you shut up, Fletcher some evils are necessary you know that." It surprised me hearing Lt say anything to me that wasn't berating.
'A world where any evil is necessary isn't the world I want to live in'
AN: More of a step chapter for the next one, don't worry though you won't have to wait long for the next one.