Enemies And Allies ×Jason Kolchek× House of Ashes

|3| Trip To The Underworld

🍒Cerise🍒

I look around at this desolate place and though it might seem like a good place for a weapons cache I seriously doubt that this is it. "Compound is secure. Prisoners are playing ball," Nick tells him and Jason nods. "Roger. Get Corporal Merwin to pop yellow smoke at the LZ and bring in the Colonel."

He nods and walks away to carry out the orders. Seeing as they've been apprehended I take off my respirator mask and take a breath of fresh air, putting the mask away inside my pack. I lean against the wall of the hut while we wait for the Mr and Mrs to get down here. "Cerise…" I look up at Jason who also had taken his mask off and was looking down at me with those eyes of his.

"You speaking to me again?" I ask with slight contempt and he sighs. "Look, I'm sorry for what happened back at camp. It's just…" I look up at him expectantly as he searches for the right words to say. "What you said made me think about something I never ever want to experience."

"What would that be?" I ask him and his gentle gaze turns serious. "A world without you in it." My eyes widen and my heart does that thing again as my face heats up. "I mean, we've become good friends. My greatest memories have you in them and if- if I ever lost that… well, I don't even want to fucking think about it. I hate the idea of you not being on this blue marble with me so sue me."

He shrugs, clearly uncomfortable and I can't help smiling. "I don't think I've had the privilege of seeing you so wordy." He groans but the happiness is back in his eyes and I laugh. "So we good?" He asks me and I nod. "We're good."

Nick comes back out of the hut and Jason turns to look at him. "This raid's a bust! These people are not the enemy. They're just shepherds." Jason doesn't respond and we turn to approach the Kings. "Lieutenant Kolchek, a sitrep, if you will."

"No shots fired, sir. No casualties. The farm is secure and we're processing the captives."

"Captives?" Rachel asks with surprise, but she's obviously not familiar with Jason's dislike of Iraqis even though not all of them are the bad guys. "Have you located an entrance to the underground silo?" Eric asks and we shake our heads.

"Negative, sir. If there is one, it's well camouflaged," I tell him and he stops in his tracks, turning to face me and Jason. "If there is one? What does that mean, Lieutenant Renard?" Jason steps forward and takes Eric's attention off me.

"Colonel, we don't think these men are hostile. I'm starting to think they're just shepards." I look up at him in pleasant surprise. "Are you sure? Couldn't it be a cover?"

"He may be right. If these are civilians, Lieutenant Kolchek made the right call to not go in guns blazing," Rachel chimes in and he turns to look at his wife. We resume walking towards the hut and Merwin comes out to meet us. "That went smoothly."

"You think?" Rachel asks him rhetorically, but he keeps talking. "Got the place locked down tighter than a virgin's—"

"Corporal, if you finish that sentence then there will be a casualty today," I threaten him and he holds his hands up in mock surrender. "Yeah and if she doesn't shoot you I will," Rachel adds and I fight against a smile. "Are they ready for questioning?"

"Yeah, just don't ask them any tough physics questions."

"Let's go," Rachel orders and we follow her inside to ask these men a few friendly questions. "Stay sharp. If anyone so much as raises an eyebrow, I want to know about it," I hear Jason behind me and Nick's the one that answers. "Copy that."

I follow Rachel into the first room and see a marine patting one of them down, checking him for weapons or anything else that might surprise us. Rachel moves to the first man and crouches down beside him, speaking in Arabic. “I'm going to ask you some questions and you must answer truthfully. Where is the entrance to the silo?”