Chapter 2
The building was falling. They had stopped the launch but they had to get out before the building was leveled. And then Irons showed up.
"He's hacking into our exos," Gideon was saying as he struggled to move. Mitchell was caught too.
"You rely too much on those things," Irons said as he walked up towards them.
Connor struggled as he glared at Irons. The man looked at him with cold disappointment. He glared back and was well aware that he was displaying intense hatred. He worked for the man trying to do good and the man had him killed.
"You did your job a little too well. You were on your way to being what I needed. You have the conviction but lack of follow through."
Connor spat back, "I'm not a twisted fuck like you. I know what needs to be done when I see it and I don't… risk… LIFE!"
The explosions started coming as the airstrikes began. Irons looked at them before leaving them stranded. Connor wasn't going to let that happen. Trinity wouldn't let this injustice happen and she did what she had to do to get him out of the exo. It left him free and clear to chase after Irons.
The explosion threw them off their feet but he ran forward and tackled Irons and they went over the edge. Mitchell held onto them with his arm or rather Irons was hanging onto him and he was hanging onto Irons. It was a bad position to be in. But Connor had an idea.
Looking up at Mitchell, he gave him the look that it was okay. He watched as Mitchell cut the prosthetic from his body and fell back while clutching onto Irons. There was only one way that bastard was going to go and it wasn't quietly.
As they fell, Irons twisted around and grabbed him by the front. The man stared at him with cold, dark eyes. Connor stared back and he was swallowed into those dark pools. He was falling into darkness. He waved his arms as if trying to get his balance, everything he learned about freefalling went out the window as he fell.
The fires burned as his body plummeted downward. He heard the screams… Wait… Screams? They were wails of pain, death and suffering. He heard the cries of pain from… Hastings?
Connor turned and twisted. He started seeing other people. They weren't at the final assault until he landed hard on the ground. It was enough to break a couple of ribs but he was lucky. He slowly sat up and looked around.
It was New Baghdad and there were bodies on the ground. He recognized the effects of Manticore. His throat convulsed as he recognized Knox and other soldiers under Kingpin. Some were dead from bullets but all were affected by Manticore. He then turned to see Cormack, Ilona, Gideon, Mitchell… Magda.
It wasn't right. He had seen the effects of Manticore. Then their eyes opened. Slowly they sat up looking like death. Those he knew who had died before Manticore and during that… they were all rising and looking at him with hatred. Connor stood there and looked at them.
"Look at what you've done."
"You killed us and you lived."
Connor turned to look around until he came face to face with his family. They were glaring at him with hate and disgust. He took a step back especially when he saw his mother. She was looking at him with disappointment and hatred. She stepped towards him and reached out towards his face. She caressed his hair like she used to do when he was a boy. Then she grabbed his hair and yanked hard and she glared at him with her eyes blazing and she said…
Connor opened his eyes and sat up in one fluid motion. He could feel the sweat cling to his body as he took a couple of deep breaths. He looked around and recognized his quarters and felt his eyes water slightly as he remembered his nightmare. Absently he raised his right and rubbed his head, his locks brushed by his fingers. He lowered his hand and rested his forearm on his knee.
Blinking as if in pain, he thought about the nightmare he just had. It was the same one he had ever since he came out of that hell hole alive. It always was on that last engagement when he told Mitchell not in so many words to let him go. And his friend cut his arm off to make it so. His gaze shifted to his right and he looked at it. He stared at it for some time before narrowing his eyes in a frown and then making a low growl in his throat, he got out of bed and grabbed his shirt and left the room quietly.
The garage was like a haven at times and it was where Connor liked to spend his time when he had a free moment. If he didn't do a hobby he would go insane since Command liked to parade him about as a legend and it didn't help that he had found that cache that would have killed a lot of good men and women and disabled it, saving them all. He snorted at that as he entered the garage and picked up a work light. There was no need to wake up anyone else… not that anyone else ever came in there apart from the engineers and at all hours.
He picked up a kit and walked over to what had been dubbed as the tinkering pet project. He studied it for a moment before getting to work. Life was always made easier tinkering or, as he liked to claim, calibrating it. He pulled out the crawler and got down. He took a moment to stare at the ceiling before pushing himself under the cloth covered project and started getting to work.
He became lost in his work but he was still alert. He knew when someone was near him. It was a skill that he acquired after Irons had him killed or rather honed. He always had it since he was once a street rat orphan before he was adopted. So it was not unusual for him to slowly pause in his work, pull out the pistol he kept nearby and aim it at the entrance.
"No matter what anyone does, you always have to point a gun on them."
Connor raised a brow as he lifted his head to get a better view of who he was pointing his gun at. He lowered it once he saw who it was and put it aside as he rolled out and sat up on his crawler. "Call it a sense of caution. Had to hone it since…" He looked away and clicked his tongue against his teeth.
Magda Gaines stood in the doorframe hugging the robe she had put on for warmth around her body and stared at the man she had put up with for over four years. She noted his seated posture and for a moment he looked like he was defeated by something. She didn't hold it against him that he had pointed a gun at her. She didn't blame him really.
Watching him she stepped forward and kneeled in front of him. "Another nightmare?"
"What makes you think that? Can't sleep."
Magda knew that he was trying to be strong. Even in private he tried to hide his pain from people. It was no wonder he had the reputation amongst the men that he was indomitable despite appearing to be an asshole as well. It wasn't that he was trying to be. Rather he just didn't want people to see him in pain or feeling anything that resembled being human and he was not exactly a people person; making friends was not really a talent of his. She suspected the only people he ever showed his caring side was his family; it was clear to her that he loved him even though he wasn't a blood relative and they loved him in return.
Knowing that she reached out to caress his locks and was startled when he pulled away suddenly. Her hand was left poised in the air as she watched him took a couple of hissing breaths while looking away. It wasn't her but it did hurt mostly because he was affected by whatever he had been dreaming about. "Connor."
Connor hissed his breath in and out. He hadn't meant to hurt her feelings but that last part of his nightmare… it was pretty fresh in his mind and what he had been thinking of while he was working. "I'm sorry, Mags."
Magda lowered her arm to rest it on her knee. She stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "It's alright. Nightmare?"
Connor looked down and nodded. He took a couple of breaths as he hid his face from her. He didn't like sharing his troubles with anyone outside of his family. Gideon and Ilona were rare exceptions and mostly because they were persistent bastards. He could add her to that list but Magda was in a class all by herself.
Magda studied him and risked touching him. She put her hand on his shoulder and let her thumb rub circles gently on it. "You wanna…" She went silent since the question was often futile. He either did or didn't say anything and mostly it was the latter.
"It was the same as the others," Connor said after a moment. He closed his eyes and took in the fact that she was rubbing his shoulder. "Same thing when we went after Irons and then I fall."
"At the time you didn't know if you were going to live or die."
"Maybe. I often wonder what it was that prompted me to use my grapple and then…" Connor pursed his lips together as he looked down. He then took a breath. "I fell into some pit and when I woke up, I was in New Baghdad. I saw people I had fought and killed before I joined Atlas and then afterwards… My mother was there."
Magda studied him as she continued to rub her thumb on his shoulder. She knew that his mother meant a lot to him. From her understanding, they had a very close relationship that was the same as if he were her blood son. It had been hard for him when she died and she learned that it caused a rift between him and his father. Luckily he mended it before the final standoff with Atlas. "Was it bad?"
Connor made a slight motion with his head. He wasn't sure he wanted to talk about it. It was bothersome because all he ever knew from his mother was her love. She told him and showed it to him since the day he was accepted into their home. In his head… it was like she hated him. His whole family hated him as he remembered that. He felt his throat convulse at the memory of it. He sighed and managed to say, "Bad."
Magda nodded but didn't say anything. She wasn't going to press about it. Right now he looked despondent about the whole thing. War did make a person see terrible things and it left its marks. They never went away; they faded but never went completely away. She stopped rubbing his shoulder and gently wrapped her arm around him.
Connor felt her arm wrap around his shoulders and felt himself relax. He gave in and leaned into her embrace. His eyes lighted on his right hand and he closed his eyes. He lifted it and touched her arm and started caressing it as he opened his eyes to stare at nothing.
Magda adjusted her position to let Connor settle into her embrace. She let him lean into her and felt him caress her arm. She had always liked the touch that came from his right and she hummed from it. Slowly she wrapped the other arm around him and encased him in a hug. She blinked when she felt him shift and bury his face in her chest and started quietly sobbing. She just kept her arms wrapped around him and held him as they sat there until the tears were gone.
"I'm not even going to ask what the bloody hell you did last night."
"Good because I'm not in the mood." Connor stared blearily at his cup of coffee before taking a sip. He made a slight face and took another sip.
Gideon hummed at that as he studied his old friend. He knew that today wasn't going to be a good day. And in truth he was worried about Connor. He knew that the past year hadn't been easy for him. It hadn't been for all of them.
Connor had broken his arm surviving the fall like he did apart from scrapes and bruises not to mention that he had been shot in the shoulder when they were escaping the Atlas compound. It was a fracture and he didn't feel it until it was felt and then x-rayed. He was a bastard as usual about having it treated but it was a cover for the nightmares that started after that. Gideon had to kick him off base to go home to his family and it seemed to help; he did reconcile with his father and Gideon felt that it was best to keep up the good work. The stories he had heard about the old man were enough to make sure his friend stayed the crazy bastard he was.
It didn't help when Command decided to make his friend a symbol for the military in terms of being an example of a soldier and all that fancy to do that had Connor be a bigger bastard than normal. In all honesty, Gideon thought it a good idea. His friend always had a knack for coming back and with a resolve to fight harder. There were a couple of missions when Connor had to step up and even though he was in a bad state like everyone else… It was one of the reasons why Gideon recommended him for leadership.
On top of that they still had a fight on their hands. Even though they had taken out Atlas HQ, there were still auxiliaries that had to be accounted for and there were those that were trying to carrying on Irons' work. Sentinel had been at the forefront of that campaign and it put Connor in the spotlight so it was no wonder the rookies started fawning over him once they realized he was the one kicking their asses.
Gideon took a sip from his cup of coffee and was in the same thought as his friend, "And this shite won't improve matters. I wouldn't use it for a hangover."
"Sam told me that to deal with a hangover is a SPAM sandwich and a dirty ashtray," Connor said a little too loudly. It turned into a grin when they heard a low moan that sounded painful but there was no sympathy.
"I fucking hate you, Hayfield."
Connor chuckled as he took another sip. "You love me, Joker. And not my fault you decided to celebrate too early."
"I had a fucking concussion and still do… asshole," Joker wandered in rubbing his head. He stumbled towards the sink to get a glass of water.
Gideon shook his head. He knew that Connor loved to fuck with everyone on base. His favorite was Joker but he could say that it went both ways. After they found the man and convinced him to join, Connor seemed hell bent on hazing him to death. Joker hadn't been drinking since he did have a concussion from the last job and he had been monitored and given painkillers that made him stumble like he was drunk.
"If I'm an arsehole then you must be a dick," Connor countered smoothly before fishing out the vial of painkillers. He stood up and walked over to the man and fished out two and held them out. "Which is why you made me your fucking medicine cabinet."
Joker took the painkillers with a slight scowl and popped them in. "Better you than that fucking sadist you call a doctor."
"Golly?" Connor raised a brow with a slight smirk. "She's a saint."
Gideon couldn't resist the laugh and it bellowed out while Connor grinned over his cup of coffee. "Sonofabitch."
Joker merely scowled before starting to chuckle and retorted, "Hell no. That gal is crazy. I don't know what you see in her, Hayfield."
Connor grinned as he shrugged his shoulders. He knew that it baffled the team how he always managed to stay on the medic's good side despite the fact that he could be a bastard like the rest of them when it came to getting injuries treated. It was a gift and one his father said he inherited from his mother; the man would always say it with a bemused expression. "Golly is what she is. You have to figure it out."
"Hurts my head," Joker claimed.
"Figures since you have a hard head," Connor allowed. He sobered slightly now that he had his fun. "So I suggest that you follow Golly's orders otherwise you won't be on my squad for a couple of decades."
"Whatever you say boss." Joker became immediately contrite for his earlier behavior.
Connor gave a slight smile and a pat of reassurance on the man's shoulder. It wasn't his fault he had a serious concussion that gave him headaches. "Just a few more days," he offered. He watched as Joker nodded and shuffled out.
"And you wonder why I recommended you for your own squad and still do."
Connor shifted to look at Gideon and gave a wry look, "Still do."
Gideon gave his friend a pat on the shoulder, "You shouldn't. But then again you always were a shit arse when it came to yourself." He looked at Connor and noticed him still in thought. "Joker will be fine and to be honest if you didn't harangue him every day more likely he'd die of boredom. He respects you."
"And how much of it is because I'm a good commander and not because of the other fucking thing?"
"Doesn't matter. He knows you're good. Now if you start moaning I'll kick your arse."
Connor scoffed at that, "I'd like to see you try old man."
They stared each other off in a glare until they both broke down in a chuckle. It helped to lift the mood that Connor had been in when he woke up. He finished the vile brew that was called coffee and made a sound, "And you'd think that they could come up with better shite than this."
"More likely to put a few hairs on your chest. How else are you going to keep getting out of the trouble you get into?" Gideon gave Connor's shoulder a slap for good measure. "Come on. We've got a meeting."
Connor made a slight face at that. They were to report in to Kingpin. There was the slight chance that they would be sent out on an op. It would be a welcome change despite the fact that the week previously he was on an Intel op. It was how Joker ended up with a concussion. The man put himself in the line of fire to save him. "Let me guess, security for me and you going in your way."
They left the mess and headed towards ops command. Gideon looked at his old friend as they walked. "You know that op was important."
"Oh I know. I'm just not a dog and pony show man." Connor paused as he looked ahead. Occasionally he surveyed the base as they walked across it. He could see the training and daily activity that was going on. "But I was commanding that op. My responsibility."
"And there is the honorable bastard that everyone knows exists being the arsehole." Gideon grinned as he said that since he knew very well that Connor was a good man. He may appear surly and downright a bastard that rubbed you the wrong way but he was a good man and did have a heart.
"Nah. I'm a bastard straight through. I never claimed otherwise." Connor grinned at that. He made a slight gesture with a twist of his head.
"And I'm sure your sisters would say different." Gideon knew he was toeing a fine line by mentioning Connor's sisters. It was more of a tit for tat kind of thing since his friend would hit him just as hard. "Of course they don't know you like I do and about half a dozen other people here you old piss pup."
Connor gave a backhand that was blocked by Gideon. He gave a wry grin and brought his other hand up to strike. Gideon recognized he challenge and countered. He swung his arms as Connor would block them and he would block when Connor struck back. The stakes were upped when Connor decided to add in kicks and knee strikes.
Their sparring started to draw a crowd since they were going at it without exos and full speed. Neither Gideon nor Connor noticed as they sparred back and forth. Each got satisfaction at the sound of the thuds generated from hitting each other. Gideon was surprised that his friend had gotten sharper and crisper in his moves but enjoyed it all the same.
In the end they locked limbs and were so close that they were staring at each other. Gideon grinned thinking he was going to get Connor like he always did. He was caught off guard when Connor shifted and flipped him onto his back and held his arm in position to break it if it were for life and death. Connor grinned at Gideon, "You've gotten soft, old man."
Gideon glared and tried to break out but couldn't until he twisted around and used his legs to knock Connor on his backside. That had the crowd wince since it was a hard hit. He said, "There's room for improvement."
Connor couldn't help but laugh out loud. It encouraged the others to laugh since it was the Commander they were watching. Connor sat up and chuckled while catching his breath. He looked up at the men watching and got to his feet. "All right gents. Dog and pony show over."
It was enough to have the men go back to work. He held out his hand to Gideon and helped him up. They shared a wrist handshake before dusting off and heading into ops. Waiting for them was Kingpin. They entered and gave a salute to the man. Gideon voiced, "You sent for us sir?"
Kingpin looked at the two men and noted the hastily dusted uniforms. He figured something must have happened on the way there but wasn't going to call them out on it. For all he knew they were busy training a group of men that asked them for their insight. It wasn't uncommon since the men had heard of the story of the Phoenix that rose from the ashes. It was a story to tell and even he wasn't sure about how the Commander managed to survive the fall even with the corroborating reports. They took it and ran with it. He turned and gestured for them to follow. "We are in an interesting position."
"I agree sir," Gideon replied, "We hit Atlas at the heart and we're mopping up the last of their forces." He went silent when he noticed that Kingpin was thoughtful. "Something's happened?"
Connor stepped up silently and listened as Kingpin explained, "It is true that we have routed Atlas and while Irons cannot be hauled in front of the Hague, we still have a responsibility. There are others who are stepping up."
"Usually is the case,' Gideon countered.
"True." Kingpin crossed his arms behind him as he stared at the map from the latest intel they had received. He was silent for a moment before pulling up the footage. "One of our patrols disappeared. They were to link up with the team recovering a downed intelligence drone in the Sudan. We lost contact with both teams."
"So you want us to go in and investigate?"
Kingpin turned to look at the pair. "Recovering the data is important. We believe that there is viable intelligence about a new group that may have allied itself with the fractured remnants of Atlas."
Connor was watching the data with a practiced eye while listening to Gideon and Kingpin talk. Something about this mission was going to be different from the others. He shifted his gaze towards Kingpin as he was given his assignment.
A/N: And it looks like they are getting a mission to do and something to satisfy the Connor/Magda shippers out there. Stay tuned for next time on Into the Breach...