The Kill Order

Chapter 9

I wandered the hallways of the base blindly after leaving the debrief. Any sense of exhaustion I'd felt before the meeting was gone, and replaced entirely by a throbbing mess of confusion that made me more angry than upset. There shouldn't be a conflict. I knew my place, and I knew my job. Hell, I was the best there was at said job.

Since when was killing a monster something that inspired confusion?

I was disgusted with myself.

Another hallway, another corner. The agitation wasn't settling, and I considered going for a drive until I remembered that, like an idiot, I'd left the Mustang parked in a field somewhere.

That settled it. I was going back for the Mustang.

Luck was on my side when I rounded another corner and came face to face with Troyan and Jennifer. Her face was tilted up towards his, and his eyes were locked onto hers. For once, there was no smirk on his face, and no slight scowl on hers. Shock was enough to stop my pacing — there was something so intimate in the way they were looking at each other. Like for just that moment, they understood each other so completely I could imagine they were reading each others minds. I wanted to look away from seeing something that private.

My presence broke the spell, and Jennifer immediately went to drop Troy's hand. I rubbed the back of my neck, possibly more embarrassed than either of them, and mumbled a greeting.

"What's up, Shep?" Troy asked easily, not seeming bothered by Jennifer's swift movement away from him.

"I'm, umm... looking for a ride. Johnson insisted on leaving the Mustang when he came to pick me up," I explained, still a bit flustered.

Jennifer glanced at Troyan, and I saw the slight softening of her usually stern expression. Troyan met her eyes with a slight smile, and the feeling of intimacy was back.

"Go help her," my medic friend answered their seemingly telepathic conversation with a light shove to his arm.

Troyan nodded, and blew her a kiss as we headed down the hallway. I just caught Jennifer's blush before giving her a reckless grin.

"So, you and Jen, huh?" I asked teasingly, elbowing Troyan in the side a few times.

My squad-mate let out a groan and covered his face with his hands. "You guys are never going to let me live this down, are you?"

Despite the morning I had, I couldn't help but laugh. "After all the crap you give the rest of us? Not a chance, Troyan. Remember when Collins dated that girl on the mission to eradicate the wolves in Yellowstone?" Troy had teased him mercilessly and, using some patented FBI stalking techniques, figured out where Collins and his girl met to have some alone time. He then blasted "Achy-Breaky Heart" loud enough to make the walls shake every time they tried to have a little fun.

After a month of really consistent Billy Ray Cyrus interruptions, I thought Collins might actually shoot someone.

Troyan's wailing was the soundtrack of our exit.