Agent Arizona: Recollection

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"Grif! Where the heck are ya? Grif! Grif? Grif! Come on!" Sarge had been running all over Red base trying to find Grif. Zone and Lopez continued to work on the Warthog. 

"I'm in here!" Grif shouts from inside the base. 

"Where are you? Grif, I need you!" 

"In here, in the base!" 

"I can't hear you! Get out here!" Sarge orders. 

"Okay. Geez, what is it?" Grif then runs out of the base and sees Sarge. 

"Where's Simmons?" 

"Simmons? If you wanted Simmons, then why didn't you yell like a lunatic for Simmons?" Grif states. 

"Dang it, Grif! I entrusted you with one duty! And that's to know exactly where Simmons is at all times so I can find him! Simmons watches Donut, Rex watches me." 

"Yeah, who watches me?" 

"Nobody. You move less than Donut does. Now where's Simmons?" 

"I don't know, he's downstairs in your hologram simulatron or whatever the hell you call it." 

"Excellent work, Private Grif!" 

"Wow! Thank you, sir." Grif says surprised. 

"I'm gonna recommend you for a big shiny medal!" 

"Okay, you're being sarcastic right now, aren't you?" Grif asks. 

"Oh, absolutely!...Wait, was your question sarcastic?" 

"Who knows? Probably? Unless, wait, are you being sarcastic right now by asking that?" There's a silence between the two. 

"Hm. Maybe we should drop this conversation." Sarge suggests. 

"Yeeah..." 

"What's Simmons doing downstairs?" 

"Sorry! Not in my job description!" 

"I'll ask him myself..." Sarge grunts. 

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/- 

Meanwhile, Zone and Lopez were busy putting the Warthog together. 

<So let me get this straight: You fought in the Great War, you became a Freelancer after the War was over, and then the Project itself was corrupt and you were rescued by aliens?> 

[In a nutshell yes. That is an excellent summary. Hand me the power drill.] Lopez does so and Zone begins to replace the tires. 

<What happened with you and Carolina?> Zone stiffens at the question. Xi then appears in front of Lopez. 

"That's a sensitive topic Lopez. One Zone isn't comfortable with." She says crossing her arms. 

<Oh sorry, I shouldn't have asked.> 

[It's fine Lopez, we're cool.] Zone offers Lopez a fist bump which he gladly accepts. Sarge then comes out of Red base. 

"Rex come here, I need you!" 

[Coming dad, be back in a sec.] Zone tells Lopez. He gives the drill to Lopez and Xi follows him. Zone stands next to Grif as Simmons walks up. 

"Finally! Maybe now we can get started!" Sarge says crossing his arms. 

"What's your problem?" Grif asks Simmons. 

"Nothing. Leave me alone." Simmons sighs. 

"Men, as you know, the Blues have been erased from Command records, for some unknown reason." Sarge reminds them. 

"Unknown? Sir, we're the ones that did it!" Simmons stated. 

"You can't prove that." 

"I think we can-" 

"Prove it to who?" Grif interjects. 

"Because we're the ones that did it." 

"Allegedly." Sarge adds. 

"Not allegedly. You told me to do it, and I did it." 

"Reportedly! Let's not go accusing people and inviting a lawsuit until we know the facts!" 

[Really dad?] Zone says. 

"Who's gonna sue us? Us? We're gonna...wait, we're gonna sue ourselves?" Grif asks. 

"I'm going to defer this conversation to my legal team." Sarge says. 

"So, that means the staff meeting is over?" 

"No!" 

"Why not?" 

"We have too much to discuss! Isn't that right, Simmons?" 

"Absolutely, sir. No one has ever been more right than you." Simmons sighs. 

"Wow, someone's phoning it in." Grif scoffs. 

[Do you ever stand up for yourself?] Zone asks. 

"Shut up!" Simmons retorts. 

"If the Blues aren't in Command's database, that means even if we destroy them in a resounding victory, it still won't count as a win! It's like we didn't even beat anybody!" Sarge cries. 

"Hey, that's right! I never thought about that, sir!" Grif says in realization. 

"Meh. Whatever." Simmons says uninterested. 

"So that means, we can't kill the Blues." 

"Exactly. Because if we defeated them, it won't even count. And that's the best part about winning a war: getting the points." Grif says. 

"Bingo!" Sarge agrees. 

"No, why would we try to win, it's only what we're supposed to do." Simmons points out. 

"We need to find a way to get them back into the database first." 

"So, your plan is to hold off our attack until our superior officers take notice of one of the teams in this canyon?" Grif asks. "And, notice them well enough to actually go out of their way and add them back into the database? Or, do anything at all in any way to formally recognize us in an official capacity?" 

"You got it." Sarge verifies. 

"This is probably the single greatest plan I've ever heard in my entire life." 

"You would think that, idiot." Simmons tells him. 

[It's Grif what do you want from him?] Zone mutters to him. 

"Simmons! Can it! And thank-you, Private... ugh... Grif? Urgh!" Sarge says uneasily. 

"You're...welcome? Am I...saying that right?" Grif asks. 

"So! Our first order of business should be to fortify our own team! Get ready for the big battle! Let's get Donut back on his feet." They all look around. 

"Hey, where's Donut?" Xi asks. 

"Simmons, where'd he go!?" 

"How would I know?" 

"Keeping track of Donut is one of yer duties!" Sarge reminds him. 

"Oohhoohoo, busted!" Grif exclaims.

"Meh, who cares." Simmons shrugs. 

[Well there's only two places he could be: A. Taking a bubble bath or B. He's at Blue base.] The Reds, Zone, and Xi stare at one another. 

"Let's go with Blue base." Simmons suggested. 

"Yeah, I think I already have enough mental scars to last me a lifetime." Grif agrees. 

"Well let's go." Sarge then leads the way as they trot over to Blue Base.