CHAPTER 68
CHAOS IN THE CHAOS
Jason got a beer from the cooler, while laughing at Sonny's new finding.
"Oh, come on, dudes. You can't deny it. My beard is the best of all Bravo" he formally declared opening his arms and then combing his beard with his delicate and small comb that he carried in his pocket.
"Oh dear God. You're just saying that because it's the longest. No way it's the best one. It's always filled with crumbs, dude" Clay stated, indignant.
"My beard is longer" Ray was the one offended now, and stood in front of Sonny, trying to measure it against his.
"Well, that's romantic" Jason mocked, because Ray and Sonny were almost kissing each other, but they didn't even listen to him. They were focused, while Trent and Clay used their fingers to measure the beards against each other.
"Hey, Jace. Finally, huh" Jessica affectionately approached Jason, and he quickly turned, then glanced around the outdoor area. Dianna wasn't there yet, so he decided to throw some charm at Jessica. He needed to gather some proof that she was listening to them, ASAP, so they could inform the CIA and then move on with their lives. And Jason would finally be able to wear the puffy jacket around Dianna again. She loved that jacket, he knew that, and he loved it too. He even dreamed that he fucked her when she was wearing it, and nothing else. The jacket was really comfy and huge on Dianna in his dream, and he needed to confirm that.
"Jess. Hi. True, we haven't seen each other lately. How are you, any news?" he affectionately asked her.
"Oh, you know. Not much. I've been dealing with the ops from other Seals. Not DEVGRU, of course. You? Heard you guys have been going on some top secret ops. That must be exciting" she stood close to him, smiling a lot.
"Oh, yeah, we've been doing that, u-hum. But it's more of the same, to be honest. Nothing new" he casually said, and she nodded. Jason decided to start some topic, so maybe she'd let something escape. "And, you know, I haven't seen you that much because Dianna and I are trying to work things out. Our issues".
"Oh. I thought you were doing better. What kind of issues are you having? Still about the job?" she asked, and seemed truly surprised. Jason frowned, confused.
"Hum, family stuff, mostly. I'm trying to understand her side, but it's hard".
"Oh, I see, yes. I had an issue like that with my ex. He wasn't supportive enough sometimes. Like, my mother-in-law didn't like me that much, and he never defended me. That was horrible. We could never work things out about that" Jessica said, miserable.
Bingo.
"Yes, exactly" he gestured with his bottle to her, excited. "Her brother hates me" he admitted, annoyed.
"I don't understand why" Jessica came a little closer to him, staring at him with wide eyes. "You're a hero, Jason" she affectionately said, slightly touching his forearm. Jason looked at her fingers on his arm, then looked at her again. "You saved so many lives doing what you do. More than you can imagine" she quietly said, looking into his eyes.
Jason had a strange feeling in his gut, and followed it.
"Dianna tells me that sometimes, but I think she just says that to make me happy. I don't see truth in her eyes" he mumbled, looking into her eyes too.
Jessica licked her lips and smirked.
"I believe that, Jason. I do. I don't know what she thinks, but I'd always defend you. I mean, you risk your own soul doing what you do. And it's distressing for me to watch. I'm just so grateful for what you endure, every time. More than you can imagine".
Jason gasped, and Jessica smiled at him. He blinked, and nodded, quiet.
"Thanks, Jess. I appreciate it" he stuttered, astonished.
"You're welcome. Just remember, anything you need, I'm here for you. I appreciate your friendship" she stated, nodding.
Jason glanced sideways, and saw Dianna talking to Davis in a corner of the patio, discreetly glancing at him and Jessica.
"I, huh, Dianna is here. I'll talk to her" he said, and Jessica's smile faded. "But, seriously, Jess. I really appreciate what you said. Seriously" he said, stern, and held her arm while saying it, looking into her eyes. Jessica grinned, and shyly nodded at him, while he walked to Dianna.
Dianna watched as Jason left Jessica, acting all seductive with her, then walked to where she and Davis were.
"Davis, could you please find Nick and meet us at your cabin?" Jason casually said, and Davis frowned, but nodded and left.
"What?" Dianna asked, confused, while Jason gently guided Dianna to the side, a little further away from Jessica.
"Huh, you see. I have some good news and some bad news" he explained, hesitant.
"Okay. Tell me the good news" Dianna frowned.
"I have confirmation that Jessica is bugging me" he proudly stated, smirking, and Dianna grinned. Then stopped.
"And the bad news?" Dianna asked, suspicious. Jason pouted.
"Yeah. About that. She kinda heard us fucking".
"But you said you weren't wearing your jacket, man" Nick wasn't understanding, also because Jason was agitated and not explaining anything. Dianna was livid and silent, with her arms crossed and staring at Jason, making him more nervous. "Dianna, could you please calm down and let him explain?"
"So. Hum. Dianna mentioned she likes to see me in fatigues, right, so I thought, why not? So, huh, I went to the gear cabin real fast and came back with a bag with my uniform for the snow" he gesticulated a lot, and Davis glanced at Dianna, amused, when she heard about the white uniform. She loved it too. "What happens is, Jessica was right outside and bumped into my bag-"
"That bitch" Dianna grumbled, still with her arms crossed.
"...and it was like just a slight bump, I didn't even realize at the time, I mean, I barely talked to her, I was obviously in a hurry to get back to my beautiful lady here" Jason desperately tried to kiss Dianna's ass.
"That treacherous slut" Dianna grumbled again, and Nick and Davis glanced at each other, amused, trying hard not to laugh.
"But what happens is, last night, like, Dianna and I, huh, had sex, and we said some things to each other, after, not during ok? Well, during too, but mostly after" Jason clumsily continued, sweating. "Aaaand there was a moment that Dianna said that I saved more lives than I could count, and then I said that I always wanted someone grateful and supportive, well who doesn't right" he joked, but Dianna was still grumpy, so he got serious again, walking around the cabin to remember. "So, thing is, Jessica said that to me, almost in those same words. Oh, and she also heard Dianna and I talking the other day about how her brother hates me, which is a lie, but Jessica talked about that too. So, she heard us when I was with the puffy jacket, and last night, when I left my bag in Dianna's cabin, after she bugged it when she bumped into me. That snake" he grumbled the last part. He couldn't believe he didn't notice her gluing a bug on his bag.
Nick thought for a second, registering his words.
"Okay, but did you guys talk about the op last night? And where did you take the bag after?"
"Oh, fortunately I took the bag back to the gear cabin still last night, with my uniform, she probably got back the bug then" he explained.
Dianna was walking around the cabin too, pensive and agitated.
"We talked about the op, yes. But I don't think we said anything concrete. I remember Jason telling me not to worry because they'd dismantle the cell, get the guys, just that" Dianna was trying to remember, still grumpy. "I can't believe she heard us having sex, Jason. I could kill you right now" she almost yelled at him, annoyed, while Nick and Davis were sitting on the chairs, awkward.
"Well" Jason squirmed, standing in front of Dianna, "You put on some loud music, so".
Dianna sighed. "Not the second time, Jason" she quietly reminded him, hurt. They made love the second time.
"That was the third time of the night, actually" he cockily reminded her, raising his eyebrows.
"Ok, I'm very envious of you two right now" Davis grumbled, and Nick nodded, annoyed too.
"Well. Can you just tell the CIA, so that bitch is out of our lives for good?" Dianna asked Nick, angry. She didn't want to look at Jessica's face anymore.
Nick thought for a few seconds, quiet.
"Oh, come on" Jason almost yelled at him, anxious.
"Ok, fine. Jeez" Nick raised his hands, pressured. "Ok. Yes. I think we can officially inform the CIA, ok? I'll call them from a safe line" Nick calmly explained.
"Well, go on then" Dianna pressured him too, gesturing for him to get the fuck out of Davis' cabin and move his ass.
"Jesus, you guys are grumpy, huh. Wonder what the fuck you said to each other last night" Nick said as he was leaving the cabin, and he almost ran away when he finished teasing them, because Jason was about to go after him and kill him many times.
Davis pouted, while Dianna and Jason stared at each other on opposite sides of the cabin, both of them with their arms crossed.
"I don't wanna be insensitive, but I'd love to go back to the fire pit. I barely drank" Davis casually let them know. The couple sighed in unison and made their way outside of her cabin, grumbling.
"I want to kill her" Dianna gestured, squeezing the air between her hands. "Can't believe she bugged you. I said I only made love to you" Dianna remembered out loud.
"She must have hated what she heard" Jason reminded Dianna, with a smirk. She turned to look at him. "She heard that we always made love to each other, Dianna. That you're all I wanted" he reminded her, still smirking. Dianna smirked, shy.
"That's true" she admitted, then turned serious again, and ashamed. "She heard when I admitted I'm a frog hog" Dianna walked fast, blushing. She wanted to die.
"Dianna" Jason held her forearm, with a hungry gaze. "You're my frog hog" he quietly said, and held her waist, bringing her closer to him.
She smirked at him again, and felt the need to repeat some things without Jessica listening now. She distanced from him, still smiling, and walked away from Jason, without turning to look at him. She made her way on the path and looked to her side, where there was a very narrow and dark alley, and Dianna glanced behind her to make sure Jason would see her getting into there. He did, as she knew. He was a few steps behind, calmly following her with a naughty smirk. Jason would always follow her. Anywhere she chose.
Dianna walked fast to the end of the alley where there was a wired fence. She barely turned around to see Jason and he was already advancing at her, holding her face and kissing her lips. Jason pushed her until her back touched the wired fence, and Dianna moaned, not of pain, but because Jason wanted her so much.
"You're crazy. I love you" he muttered against her lips, smiling while he kissed her, and Dianna smiled back at him, clumsily trying to open his belt and pants while Jason opened her jeans.
"I'm so angry right now. I need you to change that" Dianna explained, almost pleading, while Jason lowered her jeans to her knee. Dianna turned and held the wired fence with her hands.
Jason gasped and couldn't fuck Dianna fast enough. She was much shorter than him, so he held her hips and lifted her, then pushed into her fast, from behind, releasing a low moan. She was so tight like this that he shuddered. Dianna hummed, and turned to look at Jason behind her, smirking. She was ready for him.
"She hated it, Dianna" Jason dangerously said in her ear, and started to thrust fast and hard into her, squeezing her against the fence. "She's so jealous" he quietly grunt at each thrust, "She knows we're happy" he reminded her. Dianna closed her eyes, hearing Jason's husky voice and delicious moans and grunts. He sped up the pace and squeezed her hips harder. "She's done" he continued, with his grunts louder. He tried to muffle them on her hair, but he barely could. "You figured her out".
"Please don't stop" Dianna pleaded, firmly holding the fence and already squirming her legs.
"Fucking you or kissing your ass?" he dangerously asked, remembering when he was also talking trash about Jessica on the night of Dianna's birthday, in Serbia.
Dianna remembered that night too, and chuckled.
"Both" she could barely say between moans, smiling. "You're amazing, Jason" Dianna said, panting.
"Oh God" Jason thrust much faster, and smiled on her neck. "You're fucking delicious, Dianna. God" he dangerously said in her ear, panting too.
Dianna heard it and reached her limit, crying out loud. She tried to muffle her sounds against the back of her hand, but they were still quite audible. Especially because there was only the desert outside of that wired fence. Jason came with her, feeling her wrapping his erection. He exploded and cried out loud too, muffling the sound on her neck.
They tried to catch their breaths and calm their hearts, and Jason held her hips for a few seconds, then slowly put Dianna down on the floor.
"You okay?" he affectionately kissed her head.
"I'm a lot better. Thanks" she answered, turning to look at him. He smiled and put his junk back inside his pants, then helped Dianna pull her jeans and panties up.
"Anytime. Just pick a spot and I'll join ya" Jason chuckled, but he was serious. He would follow her anywhere, especially if it was for a quickie.
"I'll see if I find us another spot" she smiled, softly kissing his lips while they both closed the buttons of their jeans.
Dianna had her hands on Jason's hair when she heard a whistle sound and the ground shook beneath their feet. She suddenly fell, and, somehow, got deaf at the same time. And all turned black around them.
Jason was dizzy and tried to open his eyes, but they immediately burned. He heard, far from him, a muffled sound of a siren. He moved his hand up to clean his eyes from whatever he had in them, they were burning like crazy, and he yelled from the pain. But his arm wasn't moving. He shook his head, fast, and got dizzy again, but finally he could open one eye, even though it was still burning. He endured the pain to try to see something. He saw concrete blocks and wood over his body, and one big piece of wall was over his arm. The other arm was down. He was facing the floor, but there wasn't the floor under him. Suddenly he felt something moving on his stomach, and managed to recognize Dianna's hair next to his face, under him.
"Dianna" he said, with a shaky voice, and moved his arm that was wrapping her waist, shaking her a bit. Her face was facing the floor, and there were concrete blocks over her body too, even though most of them were over Jason's legs, back and arm.
"What" Dianna mumbled and tried to turn her head to see Jason. "What happened" she said, and he breathed relieved.
Jason used all his strength to raise his right arm with the piece of wall over it, and Dianna reacted and moved her hand up to help him, even though she was so confused that she didn't even know what she was doing. He took his hand to wipe the dust off his eyes and face and take off the rest of the blocks and wood over his body, and helped Dianna turn. They both saw, shocked, that Camp Larkin suffered an attack, and was still under attack, apparently.
"What the hell" Jason desperately tried to stand up to see better, he could barely see anything in that alley. One of the concrete walls next to them crumbled over them, and the wooden cabin on the other side crumbled a bit too. He grabbed Dianna's hand and made her stand up, then they quickly checked each other's heads, face and bodies. They only had minor cuts and bruises, nothing serious.
"Oh God" Jason mumbled when he finally reached the path, out of the alley, and saw tanks and jeeps starting to pour inside the Camp, close to where they were, and soldiers shooting anyone at sight. He had only a handgun with him, on his thigh, and since he just undressed Dianna he knew that she wasn't carrying any weapon, so he knew he needed to get the hell away from there ASAP.
Jason quickly concluded that an enemy fired a long-range missile very close to where they were, bringing a watch tower and the wall down, and part of that wall crumbled over him and Dianna. And now the enemy was coming in, invading an American military camp filled with guns and armed people. Jason wasn't understanding who would be crazy enough to do that, maybe some suicidal group, that wanted to inflict pain on many American soldiers before losing the battle. Unless the enemy had a lot more armed power, soldiers and tanks than Jason thought.
Dianna saw what happened and they both ran as fast as they could, with Jason holding Dianna's hand, to try to find the guys. The path was deserted where they were, and the cabins and fire pit were close; Jason just hoped that they arrived there before the enemies, but the soldiers didn't seem to be heading their way. Just in case, they approached the fire pit from the side, and saw Davis and a couple of American soldiers running close to them, already armed with rifles.
"Davis" Jason called, and Davis turned to look. Her eyes widened when she saw they were completely covered in dust and had some cuts on their faces and hands. "There are soldiers invading the Camp. They bombed the external walls and a watch tower. Where is everyone?"
"We were here, drinking. It was a long-range missile, Jason. One of those that sometimes fall close to here, so when we heard it we didn't mind, but we heard the wall crumbling soon after. I don't know what happened, it hit two of the external walls, it seems. The guys are gearing up and heading there" Davis quickly explained, yelling and jogging with them to the gear cabin. The siren of the Camp, alerting of an enemy attack, was still on.
"Davis, they're invading really close to here, maybe they're coming our way. Take cover" Jason said, almost carrying Dianna with him, to the gear cabin, and Davis ran with them.
They finally reached the gear cabin, and Sonny, Trent and Clay were still there, wearing their vests and grabbing riffles. No sign of Ray and Brock.
"What the fuck. What happened?" Clay yelled at Jason as soon as they arrived, covered in dust.
"A wall crumbled over us. They're on the southwest side of the Camp. Jeeps and tanks, and a lot of soldiers. I think they were yelling in pashto. We need to get to there, now".
"Who the fuck would be crazy enough to invade an American military camp? They know they can't overtake it, there's another camp close, they'll arrive to help us" Sonny yelled in disbelief, while Jason was already gearing up and Davis was choosing a few weapons for Dianna too, she already had a rifle and a handgun with her.
"That guy. The one I interrogated a few hours ago. He was the leader. He must be" Dianna said, stuttering.
"They're rescuing him" Jason concluded, amazed, and the guys frowned, in disbelief.
"One of the guys that we released a few hours ago must have warned the terrorist cell, and they decided to invade. Maybe the other one I suspect is also some type of leader. All I know is they came for the leader, then he'll disappear somewhere" Dianna explained, anxious, to the guys.
"Those bastards sons of bitches" Sonny grumbled, and looked outside. "They must have had a contingency plan ready in case their leader got caught, then" Sonny said, and they all nodded, agreeing. "We gotta go. Ray and Trent went to the Command Center, to get Blackburn. We were going there".
"Ok, let's do this. Dianna, Davis, you come with us then stay in the Command Center if there are people with weapons too. Take a few extras for them, just in case. The Command Center is far from the prison cells. We'll reach the cells where they're holding the guys prisoners from behind. From the sound of rifles, the guards and some soldiers must be be already putting up a fight against the tangos" Jason commanded, and they all nodded, understanding.
Clay led the way, with Jason behind him, the girls in the middle, and Sonny and Trent at the end of the group, all walking like on a mission, but fast. They reached the Command Center and Ray and Brock were there, leaving the place with Blackburn at that moment. Jason quickly told them what they saw and what Dianna thinks that happened, and Blackburn told the girls to stay in the Command Center with some soldiers that were there, guarding CIA personnel and interns too. They quickly agreed, because they knew their presence would be a distraction to the team, that needed to focus on intervening on the rescue of the prisoners. Blackburn said that he already called backup to the other camps nearby, and they were on their way.
"Careful, Jason" Dianna said, touching his arm, and gave him a quick kiss on his dusty lips.
"I always am" he assured her, stern, and walked away with the team.
"Where's Nick? And Jessica" Dianna asked around, they interns and agents all shrugged. Davis and Dianna looked at each other, concerned.
"Maybe she went to help the terrorist cell, if she's involved with those too. But Nick would have definitely come here when he heard the siren, Dianna" Davis stated, they were both thinking it was too strange.
"He said he'd talk to the CIA through a secure line. What if the line is close to the prison cells?" Dianna asked to no one in particular, because Davis obviously wouldn't know that either. "I think we should go check his cabin, come back here, then check if we find Jessica, she may be up to something" Dianna suggested.
Davis glanced around them, she knew it would be better to just stay at the Center, but she knew that if Nick was in the middle of the battle, the guys needed to be informed on the comm, to get him in safety too. Davis nodded, and they both discreetly left the safety of Command Center to go get their friend, if he even was in his cabin.
"Guys" Clay called their attention, as soon as they arrived close to where the chaos was installed. They were all seeing it perfectly. The American soldiers were being overrun by the enemy, because there were many of them who came with full force to invade the building where there were the prison cells, rescue their leaders, then get the hell out of there as quickly as possible. Their hunch was right, they didn't want to overtake Camp Larkin, they just wanted to get two prisoners out of there and disappear back to where they came from. And they would be able too, soon, because they made almost a safe corridor with tanks, jeeps and machine guns pointing to outside, where the prisoners would safely walk inside until they reached the crumbled exterior walls. The guys could bet there was a helo waiting for them just outside, too.
"Son of a bitch" Blackburn loudly grumbled, surprised to see the efficiency of the terrorist cell. "The sons of bitches are trained in advanced military combat" he didn't know what else to call the tangos, he was too indignant.
"American advanced military combat" Clay wisely pointed out, watching how the enemy was perfectly aligned and stood in a perfect position, with their machine guns reaching a long range and angle, but its shooter was completely covered from the sides. They couldn't get any closer unless they took a big walk around the building, taking more time.
"But they don't know the secrets from us, Tier-1 operators" Jason reminded them, and turned to Ray. "I know you can take a shot from here, Ray. We need those machine guns out" he said, and gestured for all of them to follow him to the side, while Ray went behind them, finding an angle. "Can you take both of those out, just so we can make a run to the building?" Jason asked, and Ray nodded. "Do you need Clay too?"
"No, I can take both of them" Ray cockily said, but he wasn't lying.
"Trent, cover for Ray, just in case. Open the comms. We'll need you two inside with us as soon as you are able" Jason informed, and they all nodded, Trent and Ray too. They laid out a plan, and got in position. "Brock, did you get the grenade launcher?"
"Of course, boss" he tapped his back, proud. Jason nodded, smirking, and they continued the plan, taking only a minute to decide a course of action. They had to make sure the prisoners survived, because if they were the leaders, for sure they needed them alive.
Ray took position, with Trent next to him, and as soon as he shot the shooter closer to the team, Jason led the team inside the building, and a second later Ray shot down the second shooter, and he and Trent ran inside the building too, before the enemy soldiers replaced the dead ones for new shooters. The tank wasn't fast to react either, so the guys made their way, but barely, with a few shots fired by enemies rifles when Trent and Ray were almost inside the building.
They regrouped and divided into two groups, searching for the prisoners, but as soon as Jason found a couple of guards shot down, by handguns, he knew they had a traitor in Camp Larkin. The cells were all empty, and they quickly make their way to the right, to where the tangos had placed the corridor, and they could see, far away, one of the prisoners shooting a couple of American soldiers from behind, and four tangos managed to get to him, and they all made their way to the corridor, running. They didn't know if the other one already left or where he was.
Jason and the guys shot the tangos, but they were too far away and covering for the prisoner, so they only managed to shoot two of the enemy soldiers; two other tangos and the prisoner were safely inside the corridor.
"Son of a fuck" Jason grumbled. "Blue, blue" they yelled to the American soldiers that had their back to them, so they knew they were friendly, and the poor guys were young and had no idea of what was going on, because someone shot at them from inside the building, and the enemy force was also completely focused on that building, to their despair. They probably thought the enemies would try to make their way around the camp, or to the weaponry cabins, and not advance at that building, so they were caught off guard.
The team almost immediately crossed the fine line of American soldiers and chased the prisoners, since now the tanks and jeeps were retreating. They were too late, they were already with their prisoners safely with them, and shooting around them with machine guns, to keep the Americans in a distance. But the guys could see a black helo waiting outside the walls, they knew the leaders would be escaping in the helo.
"Brock, Clay, with me" he called, he needed a shooter, just in case, but also Brock's grenade launcher. The rest of the guys was led by Ray and were shooting the enemy, managing to get some, but they were more of a distraction, while Jason, Clay and Brock walked around the building and got closer to the helo.
"I don't have the shot" Clay said, looking through his night goggles. "There are, like, three tangos around the guy. I'm not even sure which one is the prisoner, I think there's only one of them. Maybe a second one, behind this one" he said, zooming his lenses. "It's four enemies total, and one or two of those are prisoners" he explained.
"Brock, the launcher" Jason asked, he wanted to kill the dude himself. Brock gave it to him, and he waited. "Clay, tell me as soon as the four of them are inside the helo, for sure" he said.
"Wait" Clay kept looking, and in the meantime, Brock killed an enemy close to them, who noticed what they were doing. They were close to the tanks and jeeps retrieving now. But Jason and Clay didn't even move, trusting Brock. "Wait, there's still one of them outside" Clay mumbled, and Brock walked to his side and shot another enemy, one of the last ones retrieving. Now the American soldiers were shooting at them full force too, livid because the enemy had the audacity of invading their camp.
"All in" Clay mumbled.
"You sure?" Jason mumbled, aiming, but Clay's lenses were a lot more accurate than his.
"Sure".
Jason immediately shot the grenade launcher, aiming at the middle of the helo, and as soon as he launched, he re-charged it and launched another one aiming at the motor of the helo, just in case. They watched the people in it being blown up, but maybe someone survived, but not when the other grenade hit the motor. The entire helo blew up, certainly killing all inside. They celebrated, and the other guys celebrated on the comms too. The enemy force retreated even faster now, followed by angry Americans, but their jeeps and tanks were too far ahead, so they were disappearing into the night.
"Come on guys, let's help the other ones, we still can get some of them" Jason said, and the guys nodded, happy as hell to kill more tangos.
"One, this is Blackbird. And Havoc" Dianna's voice appeared on the comm, and the guys all frowned. "The bitch is next to the prisoner building. CIA's safe line is there" she anxiously said, with a shaky voice, then it seemed like someone murmured close to her. "The safe phone is inside a white cabin with navy blue door, right beside the prisoner building. Please, arrest her or, you know, kill her. She's armed and dangerous" Dianna quickly said, and sounded furious. The guys looked at each other, then at Jason, waiting for his command.
"Copy that, Blackbird. Heading that way" Jason answered, angry too.
"Who's the bitch? The leader?" Sonny asked, as confused as the others.
"It's Jessica" Jason said, angry, and immediately gestured for the guys to follow him. "She's a double agent" he explained, and they all frowned and jogged with Jason.
"What? No" Brock was confused and hurt, and jogged with them too, but held Jason's arm. "Why would you say that?"
"We have proof. Sorry, Brock" Jason said, but didn't stop jogging, and Brock stopped, pensive, but soon followed them, too.
He needed to see it with his own eyes.
.
