Benghazi, Libya (The Past)
"Dude! Get your shit off my cot!"
The snappish demand greeted Angel as he pulled back the tent flap of his unit's temporary housing and stepped inside. Folding his arms, he watched silently as two of his unit members—Snapshot and Shrapnel—engaged in their usual bantering, which had become a regular habit over time. Snapshot was tossing magazines, wires, and what looked like small red balls off his cot and onto Shrapnel's, which was already overflowing with various bits and pieces of homemade explosive materials.
"Careful! There's fresh glue on those!" Shrapnel grumbled loudly, shooting him a dirty look while scooping up the dropped pieces.
"Serves you right!" Snapshot bit back. "Your shit's all over the damned tent! We'll end up serving a whole 'nother tour just to get it all squared away."
"Guys." Brute spoke up from his wooden chair in the corner, trying to concentrate on a thick, hard-cover book. "If you yell any louder, you're gonna give away our position."
"Kids." Panther clicked her tongue while working with some free weights in the corner. "Glad I don't have any."
Angel smiled as he observed his team—his friends—arguing playfully. The underlying tone of their voices was lighter than the words they spoke, and he knew they were just letting off steam after an exceptionally long tour in the desert heat. Over the past six years, he had become well acquainted and close with them after being assigned to their unit following his first two-year tour, and these moments were some of the best he had enjoyed with them.
"If you can't pick up your toys," he barked in a commanding tone that got everyone's attention, "there won't be anything under the tree this Christmas!"
"Aww!" Snapshot pouted. "And the new Sony Cybershot is due out in the fall, too!"
"I'm really glad I don't have kids." Scowling with an underlying grin, Panther set the dumbbells down and sat on her cot. She trained her eyes on Angel. "I'm guessing the meeting with the Colonel means you have something for us?"
"I do. We're tasked with a clean-up mission and ordnance retrieval."
Closing the book and placing it on his lap, Brute asked, "So, we're not shipping out with the rest?"
"No. We'll wait until the last units clear out tonight and tomorrow to give the impression that no U.S. military is still in the region."
"Just clean up?" Shrapnel frowned. "No kaboom?"
Angel laughed. "Oh, there will be kaboom. You'll be the distraction and the signal to start the operation. We're just waiting on one more addition before I start our briefing. Colonel Tag has assigned a communications officer to be our eyes and ears, relay our mission to the trucks, and watch our six."
"An outsider?" Brute shook his head. "Sir, we know each other inside and out; we function as one because we can read each other's movements and thoughts. Who else is going to be able to do that?"
"Blood, maybe?" a feminine voice quipped from behind.
Angel turned, eyes widening as he recognized the woman in the tent's entrance. "Cassie!?"
Standing just inside the flap, Cassie Collins grinned, dropped her duffel bag, and saluted playfully. "Surprise, lil brother."
It took him a few extra seconds to shake off the shock of seeing his sister again after so many years. Then he returned the salute. Both lowered their arms, stepped closer to each other, and embraced. "I…I can't believe this. It's so good to see you, sis!"
"You, too, Kevin," she beamed as she squeezed her arms around him.
The others blinked and exchanged confused glances, while Snapshot looked at her with an appreciative expression. "This is your sister?"
"Yes," Angel exclaimed, then added in a playful warning, "Stop ogling my sister, Snapshot."
Cassie glanced around Angel to size up the guy with an equally appreciative look. "Don't mind my brother, soldier. You just have good taste."
He held up one of his cameras from his cot. "I have an eye for beauty."
"Okay, that's enough, you two." Angel shook his head and let go of Cassie to take a step back. "How is it that you got assigned to this mission?"
"Colonel Tag called me a couple of days ago. He knew I was assigned to the Fifteenth in the outer region and was scheduled to ship out to the States tomorrow. He informed me of your mission, saying it was too important and he wanted the best communications officer in the service, acting as your eyes and ears. He also thought it would be a nice surprise for you, since he knew we hadn't seen each other in years."
"Why didn't you call me?"
Her tone shifted to something more serious. "You know why."
"I'm sorry."
"Let's not go there." She forced warmth back into her voice. "How about some introductions?"
"Right," he nodded, relieved for the change of topic, and turned to address his unit. "Cassie, meet Snapshot, Shrapnel, Brute, and Panther. My family for the past six years. Each one is considered the finest in their fields, and the absolute best badasses in the whole military."
"Aw, you sweet talker, you." Snapshot waved him off, pretending to blush.
She acknowledged each in turn. "Nice to meet all of you. In the field, I go by Chatterbug. I know this is last-minute, having me assigned to your unit, but you can count on me. I'm one of the best field communications officers in the service today."
Leaning back on her cot with a smirk, Panther smirked, "Modest, too, huh?"
Angel spoke up with commanding authority. "I trust Chatterbug to carry out her assignment, as if she's been a part of our team from day one. I expect the same from all of you."
"Well." Standing, Brute stepped up to Chatterbug and gave her a once-over. "I admit I'm a bit trepidatious about adding someone to a mission like this with no time to prepare." He extended his hand. "But I trust your brother with my life. If he trusts you, then so do I. I know you'll be a fine addition to the team."
"Thank you." She took his hand and they shook. She then quipped, "But squeeze any harder, and I'm going to question if you're worried about your manhood. Trying to make an impression?"
With a smile, he let go. "Trying to get an impression, Bug."
"And?"
"I'd trust you at my six."
"Good. Same."
A flash startled them. They looked at Snapshot, his camera up as he had just taken their photo. "For posterity. Welcome to the team, Chatterbug."
"Welcome!" Shrapnel echoed.
Panther acknowledged her with a nod before focusing on Angel. "Are we getting briefed or what?"
"In ten." Turning toward the flap, Angel directed a command to his sister, "Chatterbug. With me."
With a nod to the others, she followed him outside. They walked about twenty yards away from the tent, stopping beside a parked Jeep and away from the hustle and bustle of the camp.
Backing up against the Jeep, Angel leaned against it and shot her an inquisitive look. "What's your field experience like? Have you been on the front lines, or staying safe in a command tent?"
"That sounds awfully condescending, Kevin." Her eyes narrowed. "Are you questioning my skills after you just boasted about me to the others?"
"No. I'm accessing you. Tag's little surprise means I don't have your dossier, so I can't review your past missions. Besides, you're communications, not combat. You don't take point, and you're not backup. I need to know what you've been through. I can't afford to worry about you tomorrow."
"Look, I admit I haven't had much field experience with my assignments, but that doesn't mean I'm not trained for combat just as much as you are. I can handle myself just fine. I'm no coward." The last bit was said with a touch of defensive venom.
"It's not about bravery or training. It's about experience. Tag may have thought this was a good idea, but I don't. Honestly, you're going to be a distraction."
"Thought you could plan for any variable?" she snapped, now quite angry. "Isn't 4D Chess your game; what your team calls you? Yes, I've heard stories about you. All the time, and each time, I pray the story doesn't end with you in a casket. When Tag called me and told me about your mission, I jumped at the chance. You've taken on countless operations in countless wars, but you've always had other units in the region as backup. This is a first for you and your team. You need me." She paused. "Or? Is this a personal complaint, not a professional one?"
He shook his head, frustrated. "Making preparations with my team is straightforward. While I don't consider them expendable, I also don't worry about them when we're engaged in combat. I'm able to switch off, concentrate, and do my job. But with you? I've never had to account for you as a variable before. Worrying about you in the back of my mind was one thing as you did your job elsewhere, but now I have to be responsible for you. If Tag had given me the choice, I would have told him no."
"Well, I'm here now." She hissed, her eyes cold and clear, but they held a threat of wetness on the edges. "On orders. So you're just going to have to suck it up, Sergeant!"
"Cassie!" he started.
"It's Chatterbug, Sir!" With that, she turned to stalk back to the tent.
He caught up and got in front of her, holding one arm out. "Stop, please?"
She complied, folded her arms, shot him a glare, and snapped, "What?"
He lowered his arm and clasped his hands together. "Look! I'm sorry. It's the first time I've seen you since you left home."
Why did his big sister always make him feel so timid? Probably because she had always looked out for him, guiding him and covering for his mistakes at home, which would have earned him weeks of grounding from their parents.
They shared almost everything, looked out for each other, and had been best friends as well as siblings. And right now, despite being the commanding officer and her boss, he was feeling a lot more like the little brother who had been abandoned at seventeen.
He admitted to her, "I spent the last four years at home growing up without my big sister to look out for me." Shaking his head, he sighed, "You had always been there for me. But then you left, and… and now here you are, and I don't know if I'm ready to watch out for you."
The admission was not what she'd expected. Chatterbug's eyes softened. "Kevin, I promise you won't have to worry about me."
"It's not that easy, sis," he grumbled.
"I know. But I'm a professional; I know what I'm doing, and I'm not to be coddled, okay?" She put a hand on his shoulder. "I can handle myself."
"This is not how I envisioned our reunion."
"I've missed you, too."
Angel breathed out a sigh. "I didn't miss the fighting."
"It wasn't how I wanted that last day to go at home." Chatterbug lamented. "I guess we never completely resolved that."
"I tried. I thought I'd closed that door on it until I saw you again." He took a breath. "I know why you left; it just took a few years to understand."
"Doesn't mean I didn't have any regrets about leaving. Mom and Dad were just so—so!"
"Mom and Dad." Angel agreed, then added, "If it's any consolation, they mellowed a bit after that. I think they were worried I'd follow you."
"You kinda did," Chatterbug snorted.
"When I was old enough, yes. But they do miss you. Consider giving them a call."
"I will think about it," she promised. Then, with a slight smirk, she turned serious. "So? Are you okay with my assignment, Sergeant?"
He clicked his tongue. "I trust you'll do your part. When Tag mentioned we'd have a communications officer for the mission, I started working on a plan."
"Chess master." His sister's smile was full of warmth.
"Which only works when you have all the pieces." Angel pushed off the Jeep and stepped past her. "Come on. We have less than twenty-four hours before the mission's set to begin."
"Yes, Sir!" Chatterbug winked and followed him back to the tent.