Houston, We have a Problem..{Team thread}

[Lt. Gabriel "Curse" Jordan]

You're sick of feeling numb
You're not the only one
I'll take you by the hand
And I'll show you a world that you can understand
This life is filled with hurt
When happiness doesn't work
Trust me and take my hand
When the lights go out you will understand
Pain, without love
Pain, I can't get enough
Pain, I like it rough
'Cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all

There were some moments in life that a man questioned everything he stood for. Instances where everything he believed about himself and those around him was tested beyond all endurance. Times when a man had to move forward on faith and not on fact or logic.

Curse suppose that was just the way life worked at times but that didn't make it any easier to swallow.

Hence the drunk fest he'd been on for the last two weeks since his best friend had gotten turned into a blood sucking vampire and started bonking the commander.

Yeah, life sure as hell was funny at times. He didn't know what was more fucked up.. the fact that John had to die in order to get into Kats pants or the fact that his friend had managed to do it in such a dramatic way. Honestly, he didn't know whether to slap him on the back or slug him for putting them all through this by playing the god damned hero!

Not to mention Curse now owed the asshole $50 for that bet.

Shaking his head, the soldier picked up the whiskey bottle he had setting on his bed stand and took another long drink. Having just come from the gym, he'd hit the shower and slipped into a pair of jeans in order to relax a bit before pulling out his medicine. Three Days Grace blared from his BOZE system and he found the heavy lyrics suited his mood just right.

And considering he was usually a country music kind of guy.. That truly said a lot.

Just as he was about to take another drink, a knock sounded outside his barrack door. Frowning a bit, he slid the bottle on the table and headed to open it.

"Yeah.. whats up?" he said before he even got it open.

[Lt. Kalii Duran]

Kalii stalked her way across the compound. Her strides long and quick. She was walking with a purpose and she was a little bit frustrated. It had been a hard couple of weeks. The whole team was out of sorts it seemed, her included. Her mind was still tumbling around everything that had happened. Lieutenant Sheppard was now a vampire. He and the Commander were definitely exploring a new avenue of their relationship. Rules were all thrown out the window or so it seemed.

Letting out a heavy sigh Kalii kept walking. She wasn't sure what she was going to do or what she was going to say but something needed to be said. Everyone was keeping all this shit to themselves. The bottom line, she was a little bit worried. That's why she was on her way to Curse's quarters.

The man had been down right distance for the last couple of weeks, not at all his usual self. Kalii didn't like it at all. He was the first person she had met on the base and they had at least formed some kind of 'friendship'. He sure as hell shouldn't have been avoiding her at the very least. They usually sparred and talked, occasionally maybe even sharing a drink or something. Jordan was always his usual flirty self, happy go lucky, good for a joke and a laugh. Not these days he wasn't.

Kalii could hear the music blaring before she even arrived at the door to his room. She stood their for a moment, then took a deep breath and let it out slowly before she pounded on the door. Folding her arms across her chest she waited a moment before she heard Curse's voice yell out.

"Yeah.. whats up?"

It only took a few more seconds and he had swung the door open. Without waiting for an invitation she walked past him into the room. She saw the bottle sitting on the table and gave him a stern look.

"You planning on sharing that?"

Kalii pointed toward the bottle, keeping her eyes on Curse. Then she crossed her arms over her chest again, raised and eyebrow.

"There is something wrong. If you don't want to talk, then we can sit here and drink our asses off till we're blind. I don't really care one way or another."

[Lt. Gabriel "Curse" Jordan]

Pain, without love
Pain, I can't get enough
Pain, I like it rough
'Cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all

Curse couldn't quite mask the surprise that flickered over his face when he swung the door open and found Lt. Duran standing outside. The last few weeks he'd seen her around and spoken to her when he'd had too but when it all boiled down to it.. He hadn't exactly been the worlds friendliest guy. His normal smart ass nature had ditched him and he just hadn't felt like playing his part as the team clown up when he felt like shit.

Needless to say, her presence outside his door was a bit of a mystery.

Then again, maybe not. It wasn't like all of them hadn't been suffering from the effects of that night. Hell, Foster had even taken off from the compound with DeVoux in an attempt, he suspected, of getting a grip on her emotions and feelings. She was, after all, still in charge of this operation, no matter if she was sleeping with Sheppard or not.

If he were a beating man... He would say that she was having a harder time with all the changes than the rest of them were. Miss In Control at All Times had definitely lost control of these events.

Jerking his attention back to the moment, Curse glanced at the bottle and then back at Kalii. His brow arched a bit but he shrugged and stepped out of the door frame.

"Why the hell not... All work and no play makes a soldier a real dull dude, huh?"

Turning back to the bed, he went over and picked the Jack up and took a drink before handing it off to her. Throwing himself on to the bunch, he didn't make any more to further dress since this was his room and she was the one who'd decided to crash his party. Eyeing her as she took a drink, he laced his fingers behind his head.

"Things get boring down in the gym? Or is Rae just getting on your nerves again? Must be some reason you've come slumming... We both know I've not exactly been real friendly the last few day soooo..."

Yeah, he was being an ass but he just couldn't seem to help himself. Between beating the poor idiots into the mats that dared to think they wanted to join their happy little family and dealing with the shit going down, he was tired, cranky and all together to tense to measure.

[Lt. Kalii Duran]

Kalii watched as Curse moved to grab the bottle. She waited while he took a drink then handed it to her. Taking hold of the bottle of whiskey she tilted it back, taking a long pull from it herself. She eyed the man as he plopped himself down on his bed.

After a long moment and another drink from the bottle she moved to the bed as well. She perched herself on the edge and then handed the bottle back to Curse. Her eyes still bore into him. Mulling over what she wanted to say. Wanting to scream out her own frustration on one hand but trying to determine a way to get through to Curse on the other. A screaming match didn't seem like a good idea, though if that's what it came down to then so be it.

She frowned a bit as he spoke. Framing her reply in her mind as she eyed him.

"Rae is Rae. We rattle each others cages, we just go to our separate corners. No big deal."

Kalii paused for a moment. The tension was heavy in the room. Normally, there wasn't this kind of tension between them. Maybe some kind of sexual tension, physical attraction, things that they generally tried to play off. But, nothing like this. Things were just wrong. She sucked in a deep breath before she went on.

"God damn it Curse. Pull your fucking head out of your ass. None of us have exactly been kicking our heels up and having a good time lately."

Eyeing the bottle he was holding she shook her head. With a little growl she snatched the Jack from his hand and took another good long pull from the bottle. This time she held onto it. She let her eyes drop down to it as she spoke. Her voice a little softer this time.

"I know John is a good friend of yours. This whole thing is twisting you up inside. I can't imagine how much. I haven't been around all that long and it's got me out of sorts. Trust me. I want to crawl inside the bottom of this bottle just as much as you do. Hell, maybe we should. Just say fuck everything for now. I don't know. But, I don't think we should be doing it alone."

Kalii took another drink then fiddled with the bottle in her hands. Bringing her eyes back up to meet Curse's. With a heavy sigh she held the bottle out to him.

[Lt. Gabriel "Curse" Jordan]

Pain, without love
Pain, I can't get enough
Pain, I like it rough
'Cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all



Curse couldn't help it. He really couldn't.

One moment he was moping around like a sorry ass and the next.. The next he was laughing. He didn't know who Duran thought she was to be taking him to task like some five year old but he had to give her credit... She had guts. Most of the rest of them had been pussy footing around the issue and Curse was sick to death of it.

Shit happened in life. You dealt with it and then you moved on. Wasn't as if any of the rest of them were exactly normal now was it?

"Shit." he retorted at her before taking the bottle and eying her over it. "I ain't fucking wallowing in the bottle... I just haven't really been in the touchy feely mood. Call it a budding awareness of my own mortality but this whole damned thing has got me thinking.... What if it was me out there? What if I was the asshole laying dead on the ground? Would I want the chance to live again too?"

Lifting the bottle, he took a long drink before continuing.

"You know your really fucked up when the answer is not only a resounding "YES" but a "HELL YEAH!"! If the chance was there... I'd sure as hell want the same opportunity that Commander gave Sheppard. It sucks being human at times in the battles we fight. While I like my beating heart just fine..... If the choice came down to having the chance to live a different life as something else and being dead??? You can damn straight bet I'd choose life as something else."

Sitting up suddenly, Curse spun his body so that his back was against the bunker wall and he rested an arm on a raised knee. His eyes were keen as he looked at Lt. Duran.

"What about you, Lt? Now that the issue is raised... What would you choose?"

[John Sheppard]

Gotta break it loose
Gonna keep 'em movin' wild
Gonna keep a swingin' baby
I'm a real wild child
I'm a real wild one
An' I like a wild fun
In a world gone crazy
Everything seems hazy
I'm a wild one
Ooh yeah I'm a wild one



How long he had been there? Sitting on that chair, looking at that empty room? Probably too long, dammit.

His fingers came to his lips, feeling the sharp fangs in his teeth. He had fangs now man! How screwed up was that? And the thought of blood…shit, it got him repulsed, hungry and turned on at the same time. Kat said he had to feed, but he always hoped for a rare steak and baked potatoes, not blood. First time he tried from that blood bag – and he had to do it alone, didn’t want anyone seeing him drinking it, especially not Kat – he eyed the bag for a good half hour and when he couldn’t take the hunger anymore guzzled it down…only to throw up when it registered what was that he was drinking. Since them, he had avoided feeding the best he could, it unnerved him, got him moody, angry.

And to make matters worse, everyone was watching like a hawk to see if he didn’t go into full monster mode. Those he called friends, they all looked at him funny now.

So John Sheppard had hid himself into Kat’s bunker. The only times he’d get out was to go train with general jackass, and only because Kat told him to. Heck, why didn’t she just let him rip the man’s head out and be done with it? Because it was obvious neither man cared much about each other. Oh wait, they cared alright if they hated each other guts. But John did take some pleasure on calling him ‘general asshole’ just to anger him.

And he couldn’t even call home. What he was going to say? ‘Hey father, guess what, your crazy ass son died and just came back as a freaking vampire?’
HA!

And now Kat was out on a mission, she said she had to go alone with Derek for tactical purposes. Yeah right! As if it wasn’t obvious she was itching for a while alone, apart from him.

He had thought about asking Curse or Rae to sneak in some booze for him now that he couldn’t even take a piss without someone watching out for him. Made a guy feel paranoid, like he was really a monster. But the amount of alcohol that would take for him to get drunk, they would have to sneak in a damned full keg.

He wanted out. Out of that room, out of that freaking base. To hear the music playing, make passes at hot girls just to get jealous boyfriends pissed at him to start a fight and get drunk like there was no tomorrow.

Sighing, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
Man how he wanted it.

Ah screw this!

He was a big bad assed vampire now wasn’t he? If he could slip out of this place unnoticed when he was still alive, why wouldn’t he when he was dead? He’d just had to find a way to get the whole freaking base distracted while he made a break for it right? Like taking candy from a baby right? Riiiiight.

Heck, if he was doing that he needed his best pal. Curse was going to help him out, like him or not. Jumping to his feet, John walked out of the room and wandered into Curse’s bunker.

Opening the door, he started speaking.
“Come on buddy, I need some booze and you’re helping me out. Hope you aren’t getting on with that inflatable doll in there…”

His eyes caught Kalii in there and he smiled broadly. Curse you dog!
“Oh sorry, didn’t see anything…” he moved towards the door and looked back for a second, “by the way, nice job buddy! Oh…wait…wait…wait…”

He frowned.
“Curse! Buddy! Didn’t I tell you already you have to get the girl to lose her clothes before doing what you two so obviously are aching to?”

[Lt. Kalii Duran]

On the ground I lay motionless in pain
I can see my life flashing before my eyes
Dead I fall asleep, is this all a dream
Wake me up, I'm living a nightmare

I will not die
(I will not die)
I will survive

After Curse took the bottle Kalii rubbed her hands across her face and then scrubbed her fingers through her long dark hair. She held her head in her hands for a minute before she looked back up. She raised an eyebrow when Curse said he wasn’t wallowing in the bottle.

“Oh, really?” she muttered, shaking her head slightly.

Then she just listened as he continued on. What he said made sense. Whenever something happened on a mission like this, well this was a special case. But, usually when a comrade was killed it made you think about your own life and how precious it was. In this case, it opened a whole new can of worms and that’s what Curse was talking about. Truth be told, Kalii had been thinking the same thing. A lot of the team probably was as well.

She nodded her head as he spoke.

“Yeah… that’s the question, right? Would you? Would I?”

Kalii watched as he took another drink and then continued on. She couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face when his emphatic answer to his own question was yes.

Kalii shifted on the bed as he moved so she could still see him. She leaned back against the head of his bed while he leaned back against the wall. Holding her hand out for the bottle she waited until he passed it back to her then took another hard pull on the bottle while he fixed his eyes on her and asked her the question point blank.

Pulling the bottle away from her mouth she licked her lip. There really was no thought needed on this one.

“I’d choose the same as you. I mean, come on. What we see? What we know? We know that not ALL these things we hunt are ‘bad’. Look at you. Your long time best friend, Derek was born a shifter. You’ve never had a problem with that. We’ve never had a problem with him on the team. Now, one of your other good friends, John, he’s a vampire. So what. As long as he’s in control. What’s the big deal right? AND… we both know that you CAN be in control. We’ve SEEN it. Hell yeah, I’d choose it over death. And then I’d keep on fighting.”

Kalii paused and took another drink. Just as she was taking a good long gulp of the gut warming whiskey the door flew open and in walked the man of the hour. With a little chuckle and a shake of her head she couldn’t help herself.

“Well, speak of the devil and he shall appear.” Kalii said sarcastically as the man came waltzing in.

Rolling her eyes as she listened to Sheppard’s smart assed remarks. She knew it was just his way. The banter between the two friends, John and Curse. That’s why she was grinning wickedly when she picked up a pillow off the bed and threw it at him.

“Like you’re one to talk John. You still have those scratches all down your back that Kat put there?”

Kalii smirked, looked between the two men and then guzzled down another drink from the bottle. Hell… This might be a night were heavy drinking was going to be needed after all.

[Lt. Gabriel "Curse" Jordan]

After my dreaming
I woke with this fear
What am I leaving
When I'm done here?
So if you're asking me
I want you to know
When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed

Kalii's response didn't surprise him in the least. He'd actually kind of figure she might be thinking along the same lines as he was and he couldn't hid the approving light in his eyes as he nodded.

"Thats about the sum of it." he started to reply just before a knock on the door sounded and John Sheppard's face appeared.

In all actuality, Curse wasn't all that surprised to see him because he'd been figuring his old friend would get bored and come looking for the rest of their happy little family at some point. A smirk settled on his face as he heard the words the dark haired vampire issued and then a full laugh rang out as Kalii chucked a pillow at him.

"A devil he is!" said the warrior by way of agreement and greeting before tossing the whiskey bottle to his friend. "Whats a matter, Mr. Powerful Vampire? To good to fetch your own liquor these days? Shit, Duran, the change might just be worth it if it gets all the lowly mortals to wait on ones sorry ass."

Grinning to take the sting out of the insult, Curse was about to go on when the tune of "Shoot To Thrill" by ACDC rang out and he frowned. Reaching for the phone on the bedside table, he glanced at the id and then gave them all a weird look before hitting the talk button.

"Yo, buddy. What the hell? Things in New Orleans so dead that your missing my pretty face? Sorry man, I don't swing that way." he drawled into the thing.

A split second later and all the amusement had fled his face.

"What the fuck happened, DeVoux?" he growled, shooting straight up on the bed and sending John a cryptic look before cussing a blue streak that would have had his momma turning over in her grave. "What the hell do you mean Kat is missing? Wasn't she with you? Fuck Derek! You know what a hair trigger that womans got! Could she have gone in after the target alone?"

Bounding to his feet, Curse glanced at the others and then snarled.

"Sheppard and Duran are with me now. We'll mobilize and be there as soon as Zeke can get the bird ready and Hawk gets us as much info on the city as possible. Just hold tight, wolf, you hear me? No doing anything stupid till we get there."

Then, flipping the phone shut, the sandy haired shoulder turned back to the other two with a glimmer of silver to his normally easy eyes.

"The Commanders gone missing... DeVoux thinks that the case they went down to investigate might have something to do with it.... Lets move."

[John Sheppard]

Tonight, my head is spinning
I need something to pick me up
I've tried but nothing is working
I won't stop
I won't say I've had enough
Tonight, I start the fire
Tonight I break away



Vampire, yeah shit.

He was so aching to forget about it for a while at least. Ignore the questions and concerns that there had been rocking in his mind back and forth. Forget that everyone in the freaking place was looking like a hawk, like he was some freaking time bomb. Well, they already thought that before…but now? Now it was like some were expecting him go into crazy vamp bloodshed mode at any time. And all the while his stomach rumbled and he was hoping for a big, greasy stake to sate his hunger, but his stomach insisted in wanting something else. Wasn’t that freaking lovely?

Even then when he was acting like his usual self, all he needed was a whiff of air to catch Kalii’s female scent and practically feel the blood cursing through her veins. Maybe it was just in his head, but he could feel it, and surely enough he had to struggle with the urge of leaping forward and craving those fangs of him in her neck and drink deep. Crap.

Curse too, he could feel the blood in him, but the idea of biting his friend, latching onto a man’s neck sickened him. While Kalii’s seemed delicious and sickening at the same time.

When the pillow was thrown at him, he latched to the thing and smile. Some sense of normalcy washed over him…at least as normal as his life had been since he had signed on to fight the bad things that bump into the night.

“Handsome devil babe, handsome devil,” he replied with an arrogant smirk before letting go of the pillow and snatching greedily the bottle from her hands. Ah, that was what the doctor ordered, he mused as he guzzled it down. After he had a few good pulls, he moved the bottle away from his lips and wiped his mouth with the back of his free hand.

“Hey, I’m all in favor of doing the crazy monkey dance! If Kat was back already, that would be what I would want to be doing right now instead of chatting with you two losers,” he said with a playful smirk, even if yeah, he would rather be doing that alright. “And yeah buddy, you think you can distract the whole freaking base for me while I go out to catch a few dozen beers and start a few fights just for kicks and laughs?”

John had just brought the bottle back to his lips again and started swallowing when Curse’s phone rang. He raised a brow as the words registered while he still gulped. When the words ‘Kat missing’ reached him, he pulled the bottle away and squeezed with such force that the damned thing burst into glass shards right in his hand.

Growling inwardly, he clenched his jaw and an angry expression came to his features as his brown eyes grew darker and seemed to take a dark red tone. If Kat was hurt…man, she was the only thing holding him sane right now, if she was hurt he would lose it.

Ignoring the dripping blood from the glass shards etched in his hand, John turned to the door. “Let’s get moving, NOW!”

Shit, he didn’t care if Zeke and Rae were going at it in the chopper again or how scary the guy was when he was angry, he wasted one minute, he was going to place his bald head on display in a pike.

[Lt. Lucien Calugarul]

((Hey Zeke, I hope this' okay with you! John's little quip about the helicopter rocking made Rae start going insane in my head. XD If it is a problem, just PM me on here and I'll change it!))



The dull smack of flesh on leather echoed in the large gym inside the compound, seemingly grounded by the grunts of physical excursion from those throwing the punches. It was fairly crowded tonight; soldiers from all over the facility had seemingly swarmed in, looking for a reprieve of some kind. Some had the vacant looks of distant battlefields as they took their pain out on punching bags, and others had the twitchy, adrenaline-high looks of those itching to get out on a mission. He knew those feelings; knew how it felt to come back from an op aching for some kind of emotional release, and how exactly the opposite happened when he was stuck at base for more than a few days. It was a dichotomy of ironic proportions; scarred coming back, and itchy for more.

Ah, soldiers; the world’s most patriotic masochists.

Unlike most of his trips down to the gym, however, Lucien wasn’t included in those particular categories tonight. While others were attempting to sweat out their sorrows, he found himself on a very different kind of territory: holding his woman in a backwards hold, as he instructed her how to break out of it.

“Yes, you raise your arms like that,” He said in her ear, cheek pressed against the side of her head. “And then you swing down. If you connect with bone, you have done wrong; you want flesh. Bone will hurt you, but muscle will cramp under strain.”

He went on to explain how slamming her foot down on his instep and bringing her head back against his neck would also succeed in breaking the hold, an amused smile on his face. Normally the quiet, stoic face in the Shadow Team, he wasn’t surprised when a few shocked faces stared in their direction. When did the ever scowling ‘Vlad’ actually chuckle when his woman did her best not to use her supernatural strength to throw him off of her? But there he was; doing just that for the past two hours.

God, who would have thought that he’d be at this point in his life? He was with a wonderful woman with secrets as life changing as his own, and who didn’t care about his choice of profession. She didn’t think him a monster for his ‘specialty,’ she didn’t condemn him for hunting other supernatural beings like herself…Du, he was in heaven!

And really expecting something bad to happen and finally break the little bubble he was living in. Truly, something horrible had to be coming, for such happiness as this…it couldn’t be lasting. Could it?

Pausing in his instruction, he couldn’t help but tug her closer to him as he nuzzled the side of her neck affectionately. Impending doom or no, he was seriously enjoying her presence in the compound, even if it awakened his more…possessive side. While the others grunted and danced around them, he held the doctor close, reveling in her nearness.

…Which was why the intercom demanded that he head down to the hanger, wasn’t it? He was too damn comfortable and too damn content, so someone had to go and ruin things.GOD DAMMIT, if this was someone freaking out over an informant, he was going to KICK some ASS!

Pulling away from Mercy with an irritated noise, he cupped her face with his rough palms and placed a kiss on her lips. The others gasped and gurgled around him- the Romanian wasn’t exactly known for his love of PDA’s either- but he ignored them, falling into his woman’s eyes.

“I must go,” He said, pulling from her reluctantly. “I do not know when I will be back, but I will call you when I am en route, yes?” He’d recognized the urgency in the intercom message and pulled from her with a growl, running toward the hanger as quickly as he could.


And while Lucien spent some quality time with his lady friend, Rae was doing the same…sans the lady friend and any coochie-coo tenderness that ran between them. Laughing as the helicopter rocked under them, she hung onto the leather seat for dear life and did her best not to wrap her naked arms around the stocky shoulders above her.

Ever since dear old John decided to get himself turned into a vampire, she’d found herself filled with all kinds of emotions that she had no idea how to deal with. She saw the guy as a freaking friend, now, which seriously pissed her off…as well as frightened and excited her. For the first time in a very long time, she had the feeling that, if things went down badly, she had someone at her back that didn’t look at her like she was a psychopathic moron, as Lucien did. And, at the same time, she knew first hand that if anything happened to the lady-chasing, Bruce Campbell quoting schmuck, she was liable to break in half.

Crap, she really did miss the days when she could go through life thinking everyone was a pawn in her game. She hadn’t cared about anybody or anything, but now…now that she was a part of this crack ass team?

God, she’d turned into some kind of wimp! A sexy wimp, but a wimp nonetheless! Ooh, when she could stop seeing John and giving him death-hugs, she was going to sock the motherfucker silly!

With a mental snarl, she pushed the thoughts from her head, instead concentrating on the fact that she had a very sexy guy doing very sexy things to her very sexed up body. God, the things that the man could do with a towel and a screwdriver! When he’d said that he had a good imagination, he really hadn’t been kidding—

Gravity shifted as she was flipped over, and Rae couldn’t help but let loose a happy purr…that immediately turned into a surprised yelp, as she caught sight of a group of familiar faces charging their way. Jack knifing up, she practically careened out from under Zeke and stuck her head out the sliding door.

“If y’all are looking for a ride, you better stop right there!” She called out with a strangled laugh. “Just…stand there and appreciate the beauty of a helicopter for five minutes. That’s right…stay. STAY.”

Popping her head back in the small plane, she eyed Zeke with an impish grin. “I think this is gonna have to be continued later, Sexy,” She sighed, quickly throwing on her shirt and shorts. “By the looks on their faces, something big is going down…even Curse looks pissed off, and that doesn’t happen.” She paused, looked at him with her trademark evil grin, and smacked his butt before hopping out of the chopper. “God, you’re just too sexy for words. Hey, guys! What’s going on with the long faces and the stomping around. Did somebody die? I see John over there, so it can’t be a vampire-relapse…”

[Mercedes Rowe]

This was a different situation for Mercedes. She was typically standing over the wounded, trying to heal their ailments. To have her man teaching her self defense, that was something she would not have seen herself doing. It never occurred to her that she needed it. She just assumed that her werewolf would take care of her if needed, much like the one night at the coffee shop. Though, she would not have complained. She knew how important it was to Lucien that she learned how to take care of herself. Plus, the idea that he would be pressed up against her had her excited.

His instructions were being memorized, even though her body was stirring from his nearness. His breath tickled against her ear, sending a shiver down her spine, but it didn’t impede her movements. She did as he instructed, playing around with this backwards hold and trying to get him out of her grip. Of course she was going light on him, but she would never use her full shifter strength on him. If she hurt him she would be devastated.

Then he tugged her closer, pausing in his teachings. Her eyes shut, reveling in the feel and smell of him while her hands latched onto his arms, keeping him close to her. God, she could stay like this forever, to hell with all the people staring at them. One thing was for certain, being in the compound together had brought them even closer together. She saw him more than she would have before. And it was all she seemed to look forward to as of late.

The intercom buzzed to life, calling out for Lucien. The voice sounded urgent and brought her lids up, hazel eyes now full of concern. There was a strange feeling in her gut when Lucien pulled away. She looked up in his eyes, not wanting to voice her concern. This was his job. She was slowly learning to accept it, though she worried about him. He was only human.

Her eyes searched his as he cupped her cheeks. She brought her hands to his wrists as the kiss deepened, which had her whole body buzzing. Her hands clung to his wrists as he stepped back, not wanting him to leave her side. No begging, she told herself. She believed in being strong. “Okay, Lucien, I’ll await your call. Be safe.” She despised those words.

She turned to watch him run off. It hit her that she hated it. She didn’t like to see him leave, knowing he was probably going into something dangerous. So, this was what it was like to be an army wife? Kiss your man goodbye and hope he returns. Oh, she suddenly felt sick to her stomach.

“I should be going with him,” she spoke harshly to herself, forgetting that she was in a room full of people. Before she knew what had overcame her she was running out of the gym to chase after Lucien. What if they needed a doctor on sight? She could help. Plus, she could watch over Lucien while she was there.

Her sneakers hit the hallway with a squeak and she followed after Lucien. “Wait! I’m coming with you!” Like hell she was going to pace the floors while waiting for his return.

[zeke]

They scream and yell
And fight all night
You can't tell me
I lose my head
I close my eyes
They won't touch me
'Cause I got somethin'
I been buildin' up inside
For so fuckin' long



Vampires, huh?
Zeke remembered a simpler time, when dead people stayed dead and didn’t go around getting cozy with the commander. Then again all of his CO’s in the past had been ugly bastards and he figured that if you rip your target’s head apart from its body and they would have a hard time coming back. It was the same freaking game, just different rules.

Ah, who was he to say anything anyways? When he was on the field with that bunch of misfits, he had turned into freaking Babe Ruth from hell, swinging guards like weightless baseball bats and cracking skull and bones with them. Yeah, he wasn’t a pretty sight when he lost his temper, make him better they said. They had turned him into a freaking monster – let’s get the eternally pissed guy and turn him into the hulk when he gets mad, fucking brilliant idea, wasn’t it? –

The reason that kept him there? It wasn’t because he loved the bozo’s there, no it was the big fucking scar in his chest that marked the spot where was that damned bomb that could blow him to pieces if he misbehaved. Weren’t he lucky?

At least he had his bird – and no one dared to come near it without his say if they knew what was good for them – and a hot assed crazy girl who had the libido to match a bastard like him who had spent six months in a prison without getting laid, so that’s why they were going at it again and again.

There was the annoying touch and die detail, but they worked their way around it with a little dose of creativity. In truth it helped him from going nuts and start bashing skulls just to pass the time. And she was damned hot.

When he heard the sound of footsteps approaching and Rae jumped away, Zeke growled. Fuck, someone better be dying, because if not they would be about to.

Pulling himself into his feet, he slipped back into his jeans, not caring about his shirt and shoes. He was home after all, it was his freaking chopper and he expected everyone to wipe their feet before they came aboard his bird.

“Unless someone is about to croak, you better give me a good freaking reason not to kill you all! Make it short, four words or less.”
It wasn’t a joke or a polite suggestion.

John stared at the man with a furious glare in his eyes – ah gotta love the anger in a vampire that made he want to drain the big bald guy before him, if it wasn’t for the idea of touching him with his lips…anyone had a crazy straw? –

Alright, four words or less.
“Kat. Is. Missing….” He raised his brow, mentally counting the words, that was three? He had another word for the guy to make him happy.

“Asshole.”

Immediately turning away from the man, John moved to the seat into the far corner and started to check on the weapons he got on the way there, refilling the pistol clips, a sawed of shotgun that when he was in a good mood he would call it his boomstick, and enough explosives to level a city block.

Yeah, he would love to shove a couple of those tactical explosives down the throat of any bastard that dared to hurt his Kat. Fuck, HIS Kat? Yeah, he was crazy about that but he had never actually told her. He wasn’t much for the touchy feely shit, but she better not die on him or he would bring her back and kick her ass for dying and not letting him look like an ass as he tried to express that to her.

He looked to the others for a second as they readied themselves, an annoyed urgency in his eyes. Man, he would rip Derek apart for letting Kat go in alone! Ah crap, it wasn’t his fault. No one could hold that woman back, got to love that about her.

But John needed something to beat on, and by the look on Zeke’s face as he prepped the chopper for departure, he wasn’t the only one.

He gave an annoyed snarl to the others.
“What you’re waiting for? Christmas?”

[Lt. Kalii Duran]

Get your motor running
Head out on the highway
Looking for adventure
In whatever comes our way

Yeah, darlin'
Gonna make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once and
Explode into space

I like smoke and lightning
Heavy metal thunder
Racing in the wind
And the feeling that I'm under

Yeah, darlin'
Gonna make it happen

Everything seemed to be on a fairly normal level now with John in the room. Trading barbs and drinks back and forth. Even laughing. That was until Curse's phone rang. All three of the soldiers posture changed at the same time. They became alert and shifted into their work mode simultaneously.

From the one side of the conversation she could hear, it was Lieutenant DeVoux on the other end of the phone and something had happened to Kat. Kalii didn't need the "let's move" urging of the other two, she was already on her feet and on her way out the door.

------------------------------------------------------

All three of them headed toward the helicopter. The only stop they made was to get fully geared up. Strapping on weapons and their fighting attire. Then they were off again.

Arriving at the hanger, Rae called out to them telling them to stay put for five minutes and practically giggling like a school girl. Kalii rolled her eyes, she'd give her exactly one minute and then they were getting on the chopper whether anyone liked it or not. This was so not the time to be playing games.

It didn't take long before Zeke spoke up and John snapped back the fact that Kat was in trouble. That changed the couple in the bird's tone immediately.

With a shake of her head, Kalii climbed into the helicopter. Took a seat an went about adjusting and checking all the armament she had strapped to herself. Her twin .45 automatics holstered at her thighs, various knives tucked in various places, she even had her katana sword sheathed on her back, everything covered up with her long black leather jacket.

They really had no idea what to expect. She didn't really care, the commander was in trouble and they were going on a mission to get her. That's all she really needed to know. Kalii sat with her jaw clenched. What the hell was taking them so long to get the bird into the air?

[Lt. Gabriel "Curse" Jordan]

And they say that a hero could save us.
I'm not gonna stand here and wait.
I'll hold on to the wings of the eagles.
Watch as we all fly away.




And just like that... playtime was over.

The moment that cell shut down, Curse was on the move with John and Kalii already heading out the door. Reaching into his weapons stash, he paused long enough to suit up, call Hawk and get info and then he was following them to the pad. As the next officer in charge, his mission was simple. Get in, rescue the commander, kill the bad guys and get all their asses back to the base safe and sound.

Yeah, sounded pretty fucking simple but promised to be anything BUT simple. Didn't that just make him wannas hit bricks? Good thing he was trained for this sort of thing. He was going to have his hands full keeping the company in line and John from vamping out and doing something stupid.

Shit, Shit, Shit. It couldn't be helped though and at least they were all experienced enough that they knew what parts each man played. Kat had trained them all well if nothing else. She knew her business and had whipped them into a mean, lean fighting machine.

Reaching the bird hanger, Curse saw the others already rearing to go and meet Hawk just as he entered the bunker and tossed him a loaded file.

"This was what DeVoux and Foster were going to check on. There seems to be a vampire problem but we aren't sure who, what or why. They arent normal vampire killing with savage thirst but sadistically tortured bodies.... Where were she is... I'm guessing it has something to do with this."

Nodding, Curse took the file and headed for the chopper. Hawk watched after them for a moment before swearing and putting his hands on his hips. He wanted to go with them so bad but someone had to remain in control of the situation and he could only do that from here.

Son of a freaking bitch!

Climbing into the bird, Curse sent Zeke a look and then eyed everyone else. He could hear more footsteps coming and looked out to see the rest of the team arriving on the run. Once they were all in and settled, he nodded and strapped on his own belt.

"Lets go kick a little ass."