Wildlands (rskde & BurningWillows)

[BurningWillows]

"Take one shot at me and her throat gets sliced on my way down," he threatens, Serena shaking in his arms, "I want those girls back. All of them now."

Serena tries to suck in air, to regain her voice and her ability to breath but his sucker punch leaves her silent, and the knife is pressing too hard for her to breath properly without cutting herself. Her eyes remained shut, praying Alex knew what he was doing, trusting him with her life.

 

[Risky]

"How about this. Let me tell you who I am. My name is Alex Miller, I am a Marine Corps trained sniper, and a special operator from the United States. I'm giving you give seconds to drop the knife and put your hands in the air before I shoot you." Al says.

"One.. Two.. Three.. Four.. Five." On five he takes the shot. A 7.62mm bullet flies out of his gun, connecting with the man's wrist and blowing his hand clean off.

 

[BurningWillows]

Its was one hell of a shot.

The minute the knife fell so did she, Serena's knees giving out as she hit the ground and her hands wrapped around the back of her neck, curling into a ball. The knife lay under her one knee, and she pressed into it to keep it in her possession, her heart beat racing and her lungs gasping for air as she took in gulps. She huddled there frozen, letting Alex take out the last man. She could hear footsteps running towards her, but she didn't have the heart to look up, terrified it would be more cartel men.

"Serena, are you injured?" it was Red, leaning over her to try and move her.

He got her to stand, her arms remaining wrapped around her waist as they ran. One of the taller man's hands stayed on her back, pushing her forward as they made their way back up the cliff, Serena in shock over what had happened.

She didn't snap out of it till she reached the top where the freed women all sat huddled together. And Alex. Serena's arms dropped to her sides and she flung herself forward into him, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you," she whispered, sniffling back tears, "God, I was so scared. You saved my life Alex. Thank you."

 

[Risky]

Al hugs her back, feeling the jealous gaze of Red as he does so. "All in the job description." He says with a laugh. "Sorry I didn't shoot sooner, is your neck okay?" He asks her after she breaks away.

He puts his rifle over his back again and looks at the crowd of ladies. "Red, you can pick one of these ladies, but I've got Serena." He says jokingly.

"Speaking of which, what're we doing with them?" He asks.

 

[BurningWillows]

Serena kept close to Al, staying at his side almost timidly. After what had happened, she trusted him more than anyone in present company.

"My neck is alright," she murmured, wiping blood away, "And we need to get these girls home. Can Ghosts call in airplanes to bring people back to America or something?"

Looking over the girls, only two of them looked like they had Bolivian roots. The rest were youngand mostly white, saved for a few african american girls.

 

[Risky]

"Yeah, and then the government can make a big deal about how they saved a bunch of hostages from terrorists." Al says with a chuckle.

"Red, you ought to get them to the airport, contact the agent there while I get back to Shrake and debrief." He orders the younger man.

He walks with Serena over to the helicopter that Shrake had just landed. It takes off and heads back towards Casper Main.

 

[BurningWillows]

He fucked up, and Al was gloating over it. From the moment Serena saw Al she was stuck to him like a lost puppy, never moving from his side. He was her hero, having saved the day with one shot through that assholes hand.

Rounding the girl's up, it took them the rest of the day to travel to the airport where an unmarked airplane waited to take them home. Most were quiet, but they all seemed relieved to be free. Red watched the takeoff and then began his trek home, hotwiring a Jeep at the airport to help his trip run faster. On the way back he thought over what had happened. Eventually Serena would get bored of tagging along Al's side, and maybe then Red would have another chance to make amends for his mistake. It wasn't like she was going to get anywhere with Al - the man was still grieving over Em. He just needed to find a way to apologize and get back in her good books.

Serena was quiet the whole way back to base, the only words out of her mouth being a thank you to Shrake when they landed. She headed straight down for her room, slipping inside and leaving the door open as she took off the armor Al had lent her and curled into her bed. She wasn't cut out for this. Serena knew that, and it terrified her that she had tried to be the hero and failed. At least they could properly bury her sister now, but still. Al probably thought she was some scared little girl now, losing her mind the second that knife hit her throat and she heard his voice.

 

[Risky]

Al walks down to his room and strips off his armor and hat, leaving him in BDU's and a t-shirt. He walks into the door way of Serena's room, knocking on the door frame lightly before walking in. "How was your first mission?" He asks her.

He walks over to her and sits down on her bed, watching her as if waiting for an answer. She reminds him a lot of Em, and he was glad he could bury his former lover. But that reminded him that Emberly would've wanted him to move on.

 

[BurningWillows]

She feels the bed move as he sits down and Serena curls her legs to give him more space, her head turning to look at him.

"Awful," she replies, "I almost got myself killed and I was no help. If it wasn't for you, I'd be dead."

 

[Risky]

He shrugs. "It was Red's fault for leaving you alone, other than that you did great." He says to her reasuringly, moving back and placing his hand on her upper arm. "You're a natural at this.. But you can go home, if you wanted to." He explains.

"You'd have CIA watching you at all times and all of that, but if you reLly have your heart set on leaving then I can secure you safe passage into Miami."

 

[BurningWillows]

His hand warmed her arm and she felt her heart beat increase. A part of her was yelling at her to stop that, to stop thinking that way. He had dated her sister. He was not interested in her, he couldn't be.

"You can do that..." she asked, sitting up really quickly so she was facing him on the bed, sitting with little space between them, "...for me?"

 

[Risky]

"If this place isn't for you, I shoudnt be keeping you here." He says to her quietly. "So if you wanna leave, just say the word and I'll get you sorted."

A part of him hopes that she doesn't leave, that she stays here with him and the team, that she only wants to go back when the rest of the team goes back.

 

[BurningWillows]

"I'm just out of place here," she admitted, placing her hand on his, "I'm not like you. I'm not some badass hero who can shoot a man's hand off from miles away. I don't know how to use a gun, or how to fight people. I'm just me - I'm awkward, and I like to snoop, and I'm into badass brunettes with nice smiles and an affinity to saving cute redheads in trouble."

She blushed, rambling on and realizing she was not being all that subtle.

 

[Risky]

He feels a smile growing on his face as she speaks. "I've got a thing for freckled redheads." He says before leaning forward and quickly pressing his lips to hers, closing his eyes while he does so. He feels himself pulling himself closer to her, bringing her into his embrace.

 

[BurningWillows]

Shock rocked her first, his lips against hers. Then she leaned back into it, feeling the spark between them. It was electric.

This is wrong, a voice in her head scolded, Your sister dated him. You're not supposed to be kissing him.

But she liked it. Maybe it was the weeks of being alone and scared, or the way he had swooped in and saved her today. Whatever it was, she didn't mind as he pulled her in closer, their kiss growing deeper.

When she finally did pull back she just let her head rest on his shoulder.

"Well maybe I'll stick around a little longer."

 

[Risky]

He grins at her comment, glad that she was deciding to stay with the team. "Good, I wouldn't want you leaving anytime soon." He says to her, his arms still wrapped around her.

Why are you betraying Emberly? A voice in his head asks him.

Didnt she say she wanted you to move on?

I don't think she meant with her sister..

The voices within his mind continue to argue while he holds her. He kisses her forehead softly. "I'm sorry I didn't help you sooner." He says to her quietly while eyeing the cut on her neck.

 

[BurningWillows]

Her head rested in the nook of his shoulder as they spoke.

"Alex, you weren't even in the compound and you helped me. Don't worry about the cut, it'll heal. Honestly, I his punch to my side hurt more than the knife cut."

You're snuggling now. What would Em say if she knew?

She'd want him to be happy. Me to be happy.

Would she? With him?

Go away. Let me enjoy this.

~~

Two weeks past, and in that time they held a small funeral for Em, burying her. Arya and Kyle also finally woke up and with Arya's instructions both of them got onto morphine, helping them heal faster. By the two week mark Kyle was able to move around with the help of crutches or a fellow team mate, and Arya could sit up in her bed without collasping.

Behind closed doors, Serena was getting more comfortable with Alex, loving to hear all his war stories. He'd helped her set up the radio equipment on a desk in her room, and she felt a little more productive when she worked on it, listening and translating. Outside their bedrooms they kept a platonic front, relationships mostly frowned upon, especially with his ex's sister.

One morning Serena woke to find him still in her bed fully dressed, both of them being up late chatting.

"Hey Alex," she murmured, brushing hair from his face, "Wake up."

 

[Risky]

His eyes open slowly and he sits up, pulling her on to him and smiling up at her. "Morning." He says to her quietly, his eyes seemingly lost in her chocolate brown eyes. "I haven't slept this peacefully since I was home." He says, attempting to avoid talkigm about how peacefully he had slept next to her sister.

"What's in the to do list today? Anybody tell you anything?" He asks her quietly.

 

[BurningWillows]

She giggled as he pulled her on top of him, her lips grazing his momentarily.

"Nope, I'm still out of the loop," she sighed, "I think Shrake is waiting on Kyle or Arya to heal enough before starting a new mission. But I did hear Arya took herself off morphine and there's talk she'd healed enough to try and stand."

With her stitches so fresh three weeks before it had been fatal if she stood or walked, with a high chance of the stitching ripping open and killing her. Now though it was mostly scar tissue so she could stand with help, although Arya was saying she still couldn't have any physical activity for another week or so.

"We can go watch that, or if you have a guard shift I can do some translating. Or if neither of us have anything, we could spend the day hiding in my room? If you're super bored you could always go down and talk to Shrake."

 

[Risky]

He feels the blush touching his face. "Talking to my old buddy Shrake or spending time with a beautiful woman who wants to spend time with me.. Tough choice." He says jokingly. His thumbs rub her sides gently as he looks up at her.

"I guess I'll be forced to spend time with you." He says with a laugh. "Anything you wanna do? I have cards if you wanna play a game." He offers

 

[BurningWillows]

Serena grinned, "Cards sound nice. I can totally whoop your ass at a game of poker."

She jumped up with a laugh, letting him get up, "Do we have anything to bet on? I have no cash. The only other things I've ever used is chips...or clothing."

 

[Risky]

"Oh yeah, seeing you with no clothes on while being fully clothed would be great." He says with a laugh. "You'd be surprised, I've picked up a lot of poker skills in my days." He says while reaching for his pack, grabbing a deck of Special Forces cards.

He grabs the deck and takes out the two jokers before shuffling it. "You wanna sit on the bed or on the floor?" He asks her.

 

[BurningWillows]

Training was grueling.

She finally was getting a afternoon off, able to sleep or read or do whatever for a few hours of winddown time. Lion owned the bed beside her, but she hadn't seen him yet. After a long shower she got dolled up in a loose shirt and shorts, then grabbed the burner phone she'd bought and skyped the laptop she had left behind with Kevin. Even after throwing it at a wall it had survived, somehow refusing to die. Katerina hoped he was in the room and available to video chat with. It was hard not being around him, feeling like she had no support. She'd sent an email to the laptop a week ago telling him when her one day with downtime was, and all she could do was hope he'd seen the email by now.

Please pick up...please pick up.

"The bed is comfier," she replied, rummaging in the desk drawer for a book big enough to put the cards on steadily.

"Challenge accepted," she sat down, crossing her legs under her, "I won't mind seeing you in boxers."

 

[Risky]

"Just my boxers? Or would you mind seeing more?" He asks with a laugh, he puts the deck in the middle and hands her the cards that are hers, and then gives himself his cards. He looks them over, just a pair of threes, which wouldn't do him any good if she had anything better.

Kevin jumps when he wakes up to the sound of Skype on the laptop he had left next to Katerina's things. He gets out of bed and opens the laptop, accepting the Skype call.

"Hey sexy!" He says cheerfully, blowing her a kiss through the video camera.

"How's training going for you so far?" He asks.

 

[BurningWillows]

She had a ten, queen, and king. Damn she needed a jack.

"I wouldn't mind seeing more," she replied, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Kevin," she can't help the smile that stretched from ear to ear, way too happy to see him, "God you're hair has gotten longer. Training here is hard, but I like the challenge. Lion's doing great here too. You'll be happy to know the two of us get along quite well.Aw baby I miss you. How's things over there?"