The sun was setting over the skies of Fort Carson, Colorado. The clouds glowed with various shades of gold, pink, and red as the huge yellow fireball slowly started sinking beyond the horizon. The far edge of the sky transitioned from blue to navy, then to black as darkness began creeping across the sky. Tiny pinpricks of light dotted the sky as millions of stars started to show as the sun's last rays disappeared, signaling the end to another day.
Almost oblivious to the beauty around him, Cory Hughes sat on a hill overlooking the flightline on Fort Carson. Any passerby not familiar with the big Army sergeant would have looked at him and marveled at how calm he was. But the calm was merely a façade.
Only his eyes gave away his true feelings, and even then, you would have to know him pretty well to see the unease veiled in the stunning emerald green of his eyes. Tall, muscular, and powerful, he was an intimidating sight. From his booted feet, planted solidly on the grass, to the beret on his head, he was five feet, nine inches of muscle and sinew, as solidly built as a bull and just as strong.
Cory had been waiting on the hill for two hours, watching for the inbound C-17 that was carrying Dr. Temperance Brennan and FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth. Not like I have anywhere else to be, he thought as he shifted his one hundred-eighty pound bulk slightly before letting his gaze wander the starry skies once more.
It had been a little over three months since Cory had last seen Brennan and Booth. He hated to admit it to anyone, much less himself, but he missed the both of them. A fleeting smile crossed his rugged face as he remembered what had happened the last time he had been up in D.C.
Ah, those were some fun times, he thought. Dr. Brennan got so drunk that she fell off her barstool, and Agent Booth was laughing so hard that when he tried to help her up, he went down, too. Took me damn near twenty minutes to get those two out of there.
Cory chuckled as he remembered what had happened the next day. Those two were hungover as hell the next day...don't know how I managed to convince them to go to the gym to work it off. Man, that was funny while we were there, though. Those two were complaining up the wazoo, and they reeked of alcohol! The looks we got from all those people were so worth it...
Then the sergeant spotted a flashing light off in the distance. Watching it closely, he waited until it got closer before getting to his feet and heading to his vehicle. There they are. Hopefully they can help. Hopefully, this isn't what we think it is. No one is ready to deal with this. Not so soon.
He turned and watched the C-17 for a few more seconds before he got in his truck, started the engine, and headed down to the flightline. Not again. Not again.