ARROW INFERNO [Man X Man]

Chapter 18: A perfect balance of danger and charm...His Better Half!

Stanley 'STAN' Norris vs. Ian 'WILL' Williams

Pix: Just because...

Video: All Over by Tiwa Savage

Dedicated to: shesuccs

Enjoy!

***

"Hey, if you think you're not up to this..." Ty addressed Will quietly as the Arrowheads headed for the military aircraft waiting on the lawn of the White House.

"I'm fine, Ty," Will muttered.

"No, you're not," Ty sighed. "You're clearly not yourself. I can speak to the admiral..."

"At this time?" Will scoffed gesturing at the military chopper whose blades were already turning with speed. "Have any idea how pissed the admiral would be if we pull a stunt like that?" he chuckled.

Ty signed. "I know. Maybe all that excessive workout must have taken its toll on you."

"Huh?" Will looked confused.

"I mean you do look great but maybe you worked yourself too hard." Ty pointed out.

Will's colleagues had been surprised at how amazingly fit he looked when they'd seen him after his 'trip to Quain Islands.' Will had had to lie to them that Stan had taken him through a vigorous workout routine during their stay on Quain Islands. He'd added that thanks to the instructor, he hadn't even been able to explore the Island.

"I'm fine really."

"Good. Promise me you're bringing your A-game, bro. You heard the president. We can't fail. And if you're distracted in any way, it might cost us."

"Is there an alphabet before A?" Will drawled.

"Huh?" Ty looked momentarily confused.

"Just trying to say I'm bring something even better than an A-game." Will shrugged. "If you could just give me an alphabet higher than A to use..."

Ty burst into laughter. "You're nuts. But I trust you. And I'm confident that we're going to make Mr. President proud."

The Arrowheads had just left the president after listening to his pep talk as he'd termed it. The mission they were about to embark on was very important. They were to find and retrieve a coded file that had been stolen from the Australian Secret Intelligence Service before it fell into dangerous hands and got decrypted. The lives of several United States operatives were at stake. As the president had sternly put it, failure wasn't an option. Immediately that file got decrypted, lives would be lost. They had already spent a day getting briefed and talking strategy. Meeting the president had been the final item on their agenda before flying out. And that had been one worried president.

"Well, he doesn't have just the Arrowheads on the case," Will said dryly, "He has the best squad on the team. So he has nothing to worry about."

"That's what I'm talking about!" Ty gave a fist-pump.

They were four Arrowheads going on the mission. Will, Ty, Jackson, and George. As they always said, the fewer the swifter. It would be crazy to lose all those sleeper agents and undercover operatives. That would be a terrible way for anyone to go. Will was hopeful that they were going to retrieve the sensitive file in less than a month. He was a frigging supernatural being after all. That should count for something, right?

The Arrowheads got on the aircraft which took off even before the hatch got shut. It was a sixteen-hour flight to Australia. There was no time to waste.

***

Stan watched Deloris intently. His fingers were crossed, his toes were crossed, and...

"What in hell are you doing?" The warlock burst into laughter.