Operation Killjoy

IV

Everyone turned at the sound of the strange voice, guns at the ready, however Moore was a step ahead. Moore had turned with a handgun pressed firmly against the woman's chest. She eyed him, he hasn't changed much since she last saw him.

"Agent Killjoy." He said with a rough and low voice. Unsurprisingly, he didn't recognize her at all.

"They send you in to babysit or what?" He asked sarcastically. She looked at him blankly, the rifle once strapped to her leg was now in her hands, and she was covered in blood and mud. Her intense gaze fell over the cavalry, she managed eye contact with almost every soldier surrounding them.
"Send your men to rest, but we'll need a few here and there." She stated, disregarding Moore almost entirely.

"Excuse me, Agent?" Moore asked with the usual authoritative tone you get from military superior's for disobedience. She chewed her lip as she strapped the rifle back to her leg and dropped her bag next to a crate of first aid.
"I don't know what you were told, Colonel, but maybe you should read this." She said harshly, retrieving a piece of paper from her back pocket and shoving it into his chest. He grabbed it roughly and glared at her.
"While you're at it, do as I say." She snapped, returning the glare ten fold. Moore seemed taken aback by this for a moment before unfolding the worn piece of paper.

Operation: Killjoy
Type: Emergency
Class: X
Description:
In the event of an Operation Killjoy, all command rights of affected units are to be forfeited to Agent Killjoy.

Moore finished reading and pulled a hand down his face, crumpling up the paper and tossing it to the side. This kind of order was too vague. When you read something so straight forward as an approved military document order, it's hard to believe. He didn't trust her or this document, he needed more information.

"Agent Killjoy, you have command of my troops." He said in a voice she wasn't expecting, however satisfied by. She nodded, crossed her arms and turned to the surrounding army men. Her deep set eyes cast a grim shadow over her face.
"Get some rest, I'll need 15 of you. Five will rotate watch every 3 hours with Colonel Moore, and me." She stated simply. They all sat and stared at her like she had 3 heads. She let out a heavy sigh through her nose.
"MOVE!" Moore boomed and they all hustled into action, moving into the resting area. The resting area was basically just a small clearing shaded by trees that the men set their packs down and used as pillows. As they all moved in, it was just Colonel Moore and agent Killjoy having a standoff.

"Why didn't they tell us about you?" Moore broke the silence. She could tell he was testing her.
"They tried, Colonel. What do you think that high profile meeting was for? The one you refused to go to?" She sassed, her arms still crossed around her chest. Moore just looked at her.
"Why are you here then?" He questioned. Killjoy eyed him wearily for a moment, unsure of what to say.
"After you called broken-arrow Johnson must've realized how unprepared we were.. They called me in to get the seventh cavalry home. Those are my orders." Once she finished explaining she turned to the vast darkness that was the Vietnam wilderness.
"Go pick 15 soldiers, the ones that are in the best shape. Pull five for me now." She ordered, reaching into her front side pocket and removing a single, bent cigarette. Stale probably. Moore nodded, turning back to the troops.

She knelt down and lit her cigarette on a barely lit ember of what was a fire, returning to take a drag of it when she heard a twig snap in the field maybe 20 feet in front of her. With the cigarette still in her mouth, her reflexes caught the gun at her hip and aimed in the direction of the noise.

"One...two...three... four..." She counted under her breath, no other sound came from the vast emptiness in front of her. She trembled slightly.
Just then Colonel Moore returned with 5 young men no older than her. She never turned away from the fields, only sat at the ready with her handgun, letting her cigarette burn. Moore noticed first and rushed in behind her
"Again?" He growled, sniffing the air like a dog.
Killjoy shook her head.
"Not yet, they'll wait till we're comfortable." She responded matter-of-factly. The five other men readied themselves along the perimeter facing the fields. They were nervous and obviously trigger happy.

After a few seconds of silence, she dropped her aim.

"Two of you need to defend to the back perimeter. We wouldn't want our friends dying in their sleep would we?"
Moore pointed to the two soldiers in the farthest back of the front perimeter and signaled them back.

"We need more men on watch if you're expecting an ambush, Agent." Moore tested as he scanned the darkness. He himself was getting nervous, what she said earlier settled deeper the longer they waited.
"It's not your job to question me, lieutenant." She said in a low voice, never taking her eyes off the fields for a second. She stared as if observing something, but it was entirely too dark to see.
Moore glanced at her, then back to the field. He didn't know why, but he knew she was their safest bet for the night.