To Hell and Back // Alex Keller.

Consequences.

Heavy raindrops were knocking on the fragile glass of an open window. The brightness of the blue sky disappeared under the blanket of gray fluffy clouds, as the storm got closer to the small town. Tall trees bent under the power of the wind, letting the green leaves catch drops of the rain for a split moment. The sparkle of electricity entered the dark house, bringing the light into the dusty rooms. The angry roar of the thunder echoed in the silence of the walls, as another lightening kissed the warm ground on the other side of the river.

The storm got quiet for some time, before coming back stronger. Rare drops of rain found their way into the house, leaving a hint of a puddle on the cold, concrete floor. Soft grunting of the man echoed in the silence of the large house, as the two crutches carried his body towards the open window. Life after losing the leg was difficult for Alex. Not even a single mission far away from home was as difficult for him, as the acceptance of the weakness his body was hiding. The angriness planted its roots deeply into Keller's body and mind, as the everyday tasks suddenly turned into impossible assignments. The window closed with a loud bang, echoing through every room in the empty house. The blue eyes of the officer looked outside of the window, glancing at the tantrum of nature.

The years in service stationed Keller anywhere in the world, except for his home state. The sandy horizon and rocky mountain peaks of Urzikstan felt more familiar than the thunderstorm back home on a spring day. The loud ring of the incoming call made Keller come back into the room from the trap of his thoughts. The space between the floor and his thigh was an everyday reminder to Alex of survival or an unsuccessful sacrifice. But just like every other mission, Officer Keller was finding his own ways to keep on fighting. The tattooed arms of the man were no longer holding a weapon on a battleground but fought with his own body bare-handed.

"Price." The first call ended at the same moment when Alex rested his body on a wooden, yet comfortable chair. The laptop sat in the middle of the dining table, surrounded by the old cups of coffee, and notes with the messy handwriting of the man which only Keller himself could decipher. It took a while for the man to join the call, and the company of Keller through the distance of a thousand miles.

"I see you are occupied, Alex." The thick smoke of the cigar reached the camera faster than the captain's face appeared on the other side of the screen. The dim light of the lamp was the only source of light in the middle of the night on the other side of the ocean. The darkness of John's office kept the man's secrets away from the ears of anyone at the base.

"Doing the best I can." The cold coffee in the cup turned into the best drink Alex could find on a rainy afternoon. The ring of the cup touched his trimmed moustache, as the deep voice of the officer echoed in the walls of the empty house. Thunder was trying to join the conversation, as another lightening hit the ground somewhere further away from the house.

"Medical team mentioned you're healing fast." Price's voice was calm, as the gaze of his deep blue tired eyes sat on the screen of the laptop. It wasn't a friendly conversation between the two friends, but rather an exchange between the teammates. Price was back in his office, waiting for another deployment to the place some people couldn't even find on the map. Alex, on the other hand, was in hiding. Making choices for the greater good has its consequences, especially if this choice goes against the orders of the higher-ups.

"It better be true, captain." Keller leaned against the weak back of the chair, letting his stiff muscles relax for a moment. An empty porcelain cup sat on the hardwood surface of the table, joining the pile of notes beside the open laptop. For a moment, Alex felt as if the mess was all around him. In his own thoughts and surrounding him in every corner of the cold house.

"Any issues with the recovery?" John rubbed his eyes, as the cigar sat in the ashtray on his desk. The long day of the captain was finally coming to an end. His facial expression tensed, as he looked back at Alex on the screen in front of the man.

"The wound is healing, getting a prosthetics is just a matter of time." The bright blue eyes of Alex looked up at the date. The time was running fast, and the summer was just the corner. Little did the captain know that the officer was almost crossing the days on the calendar, counting till his prosthetics would finally be ready. Keller knew that it would be just the beginning of a more complex time in his life. Learning to walk, run, and do everyday things with 'a new part of him' would be even harder than learning how to walk in the younger years. But, Alex would do anything it took to come back to work, even if he had to crawl on the ground with the sniper rifle in his hands.

"You will have enough time to recover and get used to it. The charges will be pressed any day now." An email from Laswell opened on the background of Price's computer and was one of the main reasons for the call. The commanders could not close their eyes on of the best former CIA agents joining the rebel fighters of another country and defying the orders. The consequences of Alex's actions were coming to catch him, but would he do that all again if the man had a chance? Absolutely.

"What charges?" The lightning hit the ground next to the house, letting Price hear the anger of nature on the other side of the world. The wrinkles between the eyebrows of the man got more noticeable, as the shadow of confusion sat on Alex's face.

"Desertion after defying the orders." John moved closer to his desk, forwarding the mail that had been sitting in his inbox since the morning. Laswell's report in detail went over every little detail that happened during the mission of the team back in Urzikstan. Alex's eyes were running along the lines of text, even though the officer had plenty of time to read every single word on countless pages of the report.

"I did follow the order." Keller's voice was calm, yet a note of angriness did hide in it. The rain outside of the walls of the house was picking up its speed, as the raindrops were hitting the windows harder as if trying to get the man to open it for the uninvited guests.

The silence took over both, the house in upper New York and the dark office of Captain Price on a base in Herefordshire. Little was said, but the two did understand how complex the situation was. A part of Alex's brain was getting under the wave of unusual emotions and waving goodbye to the career, and another was still fighting for a rational solution. Keller could spent years in hiding if the end result was worth it. Alex did follow the order. But it wasn't the order from Price or Laswell. In a perfect world, it wouldn't matter whose orders the man followed. Barkov was dead, and the chemical plant and sarin gas were no longer a threat to the people of Urzikstan. The heroes of the story always get the glory. But the real life is far away from fiction.

"What do I do now, sir?" Keller was the first to break the silence between the two men, as John lit another cigar. Thick smoke was noticeable through the screen of the laptop to the gaze of the officer's bright blue eyes. It wasn't a plea for another order, but an attempt to seek advice from the captain.

"Wait, Alex. Think about getting yourself a company, your return won't be quick." Price took a long pause, letting himself swim in the ocean of thought for a moment before it would take him deep to the very button. Alex was a part of his team, and Captain Price was not used to leaving his men to their own devices in the dark times. However, there was nothing more the captain could do in this situation. Time in hiding could benefit Keller, letting him get used to the new prosthetic, before coming back to work of keeping the world clean.

"I'm good on my own." A hint of a smirk hid on the edge of the officer's lips, as he looked around. The long-forgotten house on the further edge of town was empty. Throughout the years rooms collected dust, instead of memories and loud laughter. Keller enjoyed the company of his own self. Deployments from one side of the world to another taught the man to detach from every little thing that could keep him in one place for way too long. And now, Alex couldn't help but let the demons occupy his head and thoughts.

At the end of the day, no one needs a burden in their lives.

"I have heard this phrase today already. You two would get along." A cigar found a place in between the fingers of the captain's rough hand, as the tobacco was slowly burning. A loud chuckle echoed in the silence of the office, leaving the pressure of the conversation somewhere outside.

Little did Alex know about the idea that was hiding behind the captain's chuckle in the middle of the night far away from the cold house and the thunderstorm.

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