Operation: Pointed Spear

The return

Alik's pov
     I stopped outside the door to Six's office as Monika looked at me, I flashed a smile as she opened the door and we walked in. Six and Doc stopped talking immediately as the MPs stood on either side of the table, I looked at either of them before Six stood and ordered "sit, both of you" Monika and I threw confused glances at each other as we sat, I shifted my rifle so it sat more comfortably as Six spoke "I understand the Masks have taken an interest in both of you, this worries me" I saw Doc looking at Six with suspicion as he continued "what did the mask say to you? Monika?" She spoke "Not much, just that they knew about my siblings and that it'd be a shame if something happened to them" he looked at me "Alik, what'd they say to you?" I answered "well they told me that Feral has plans to try to make me become a turncoat and that I'm already on the path. It was a bunch of cryptic bullshit" he asked "how do I know you're telling the truth?" I narrowed my eyes "are you calling me a liar, sir?" Monika tossed the record to Six as he replied "no, I'm simply trying to make sure I don't have any additional threats"
     He played the audio recording and at the sound of grunting asked "what happened at this point?" Monika replied in her accent that I found increasingly attractive "Alik gave the scum an... attitude adjustment. He wouldn't cooperate" Harry asked "what did you feel when the mask told you Feral wants to make you a mask?" I replied simply "I wanted to kill the wanker right then and there but he had too much worth. Fuckin' bullshite" Harry asked "why did you have such an aggressive response?" I responded "those fuckin muppets killed my team! They let them sit there and choke to death, I had to listen to my team die slowly and painfully. So when I got told they wanted me on their side, I LOST MY SHITE, THE FUCK WOULD YOU DO?!" Harry spoke as Monika put her hand on my shoulder "easy, no need to be hostile" I breathed heavily as Six asked "do you truly hate the masks that much?" I looked at him with hatred burning brightly in my pupils.
     He nodded and spoke "I see I have nothing to worry about" I replied for both of us "no, you don't. If anything Monika and I are your most secure operators" he nodded and motioned to the MPs as they walked out and Six spoke "I have a couple questions for the both of you" I sighed as he asked "was there any hint of Feral on target?" Monika answered "ja, team 2 spotted someone running away from the AO. They went to try to detain but couldn't get their hands on him" Doc asked "did we take any wounded?" I shook my head no as Six asked "did you see anything that seemed out of the ordinary?" I thought about it as IQ spoke "they didn't have an outer guard, they always have one but tonight they didn't" he nodded and spoke "most troubling" I spoke this time "there wasn't an bombers there, from what I've figured out the Masks always have at least one bomber on a target" doc nodded confirming my assumption "most of the time it's 2" Six spoke "one last question, Monika who do you want as close security with you for your family? I can spare your team but I only want 2 operators with the family while the other 3 are an outer perimeter"
      she spoke confidently "Alik, he's an officer and I'm sure he's done body guard work before. Plus he'll get along with my family better than most of the other team members" six looked at me and asked "would you be willing..." I answered before he finished "yes, I'll do it" six asked "you don't want to know the conditions?" I replied simply "sir, I promised I'd help her protect her family. Whatever the conditions I'll keep my word" I saw Monika looking over intrigued as Six spoke "alright, here's the conditions. Civilian clothes only, no carrying weapons past sidearms outside of the property, no assisting with any calls. No work on the job other than protecting the family" I nodded as Monika stood and asked "when do we leave?" Six answered "you leave tomorrow at noon, go pack and get some rest. Good luck" I stood and saluted before opening the door and holding it before I followed Monika into the hallway, my anger at being suspected of being a mask turncoat surfaced as I punched the wall gripping my hand as the pain shot through and the sensation of blood dripping across my knuckles was felt.
     Monika looked at me and spoke "come on, let's go pack" I breathed heavily before I punched the wall again and breathed out one final large breath "Okay" she started walking while I looked at the tops of my hands and saw they were a deep maroon color, my anger was immediately replaced with waves of pain while I watched my blood drip from my finger tips. I heard Monika ahead of me "Alik, you okay?" I looked up and saw her at the corner as I nodded and jogged to catch up. We walked to our dorm and I immediately walked into the bathroom turning on the cold water cleaning off my split knuckles. I dried them off and poured hydrogen peroxide on both of my knuckles feeling the same old stinging watching the wounds bubble a mix of pink and white as Monika leaned on the doorframe and spoke "danke, for helping me protect my family. It means a lot" I replied with gritted teeth "a Gardner always keeps his word, I told you I'd be there" she nodded as the stinging started to subside.
     I sat on my bed after wiping off my hands as I started to slowly wrap my knuckles with gauze, I was struggling which Monika noticed before she crouched infront of me and slowly wrapped my hands. Once she finished she stood as I spoke "thanks" she nodded as I looked down before speaking randomly "you know you're my first real friend" she looked back surprised "seriously?" I nodded and spoke "no one else has been able to understand my train of thought, it's hard to connect to everyone since my mind is problem oriented." She nodded and spoke "I get it, a signature case of too smart for your own good" I looked down and spoke "it's hard to find people that get you, that you don't have to change yourself for. That's all I've ever done, change who I am for people to understand, for just that glimpse into a normal life" she sat on her bed and answered "careful how far you go on that road, go too far and you'll lose yourself completely" I chuckled "I think my mom would like you, shes always trying to get me to make friends. To connect"
     Monika asked "yours too?" I nodded as she spoke "I'm glad you're my friend, it's nice to have someone who can help solve problems" I smiled a genuine smile "I appreciate that, I'm glad to help" she chuckled as we kept packing. An hour later, a knock at the door grabbed our attention, I opened the door and saw Mike "Howdy" he asked "can I come in?" I stepped aside as he walked into the room, I closed the door and walked back into the room as Mike spoke "Taina got the fucker to crack, we got names, dates, locations, plans, passcodes, caches, the whole nine yards" I sat down and nodded as Mike continued "sadly, we're not at the tip of the spear. The honor is being handed off to the other 5 teams." I listened as Monika asked "did you get briefed on our next mission?" He nodded and replied "I've got the team packing now, we'll be ready to go by Noon tomorrow" Mike looked over at me and mused "you look happier, did something happen?" I shook my head no. He looked unconvinced as I stood and pulled out my cigarettes and lighter "I'm going to smoke, you're welcome to come with me"
       I walked out and headed to my spot before I leaned against the wall feeling the familiar warmth of the flame my lighter created as I breathed in the calming fumes of tobacco. Everything was peaceful until I heard the door open behind me, I saw Monika walked out shivering slightly in the night as I pulled off my leather jacket and handed it to her "here, wear this" she replied "nein, I'll be okay" I pointed out "you're shivering more than a chihuahua, put it on" she sighed but mutter "danke" as I took another drag and asked "so what brings you out here?" She replied by asking "mind if I take a drag?" I looked over surprised before asking "you sure?" She nodded and spoke "I want to know what it feels like" I took my cigarette and handed it to her watching the ember glow a bright orange color before she started coughing. I chuckled and spoke "don't breathe in the smoke, exhale it" she nodded still coughing as I took the cigarette and continued smoking as she asked "why do you smoke? Really?" I sighed before answering.
      "I do it so I can accept that I'm different, to get my mind off the fact I've been alone my entire life, to deal with the fact I disappoint my parents by being a cop instead of a rich and famous inventor. It's my crutch, it saves me from my demons, it helps me accept who I am" she spoke softly "there it is, the truth you hide from the world" I sighed as I stomped out my cigarette and looked up at the sky "it just helps me love me" she spoke gently "look at me" I looked back as she smiled and spoke "you're a good man, don't keep destroying yourself because you're blind to a fact everyone else sees" I asked "who's everyone else? You're my only friend, everyone else is so different from me. How can I be friends with them when I don't understand them? I'm a perfectionist, I can't accept losing, I can't sleep peacefully at night.... I can't win" Monika stood and slapped me, I looked back at her shocked "get your head fucking straight, no one is going to tell you that the end is the end. All you do is keep your head down and keep moving forward, you can't win because you haven't reached the end yet"
     I asked still shocked "did you just slap me?" She nodded and gripped my head "stop changing yourself for others, live your life for another person and you'll never be happy with yourself" I thought over her words before I nodded "okay." She smiled before speaking "now let's finish up packing" I replied "give me a couple minutes, I wanna finish up here" she gave a small thumbs up before speaking "don't take too long, I don't want to pack your stuff too" I didn't reply as I waited for the door to close before speaking "it's rude to eavesdrop Corey" he stepped out of the shadows "I couldn't help myself, it's not often I hear Monika talk that much. She's pretty reserved with everyone but you" I replied simply "we understand each other, we grew up in similar situations" he answered "I hope you give the rest of us a chance to get to know you, maybe you'll find we're more similar than you believe" I spoke to no one "I knew there was a reason you intrigued me" he asked "what's that?" I turned and walked past him "in due time, how about this? Tomorrow morning when Monika and I grab our food, you and Tina sit with us. I'll give you guys a fair chance" he nodded with a confident glint in his eyes "you'll see you have more friends here than you think" as I walked into the building and back to the dorm.