Soldiers Of Fortune (For Crim)

The small knife in his hand shook with all the information that was running through his mind, all the new knowledge was against his leader, the one who pretty much raised him, and it hurt so bad to realize that that it was all true. Alexis didn't know if he should cry, laugh, be even more mad then he was already, and it showed on his face before he removed his shirt, letting it drop to the ground.

"If... if you knew everything, then, then you wouldn't have given me just a small check up," He stammered, holding the knife now to one of the scars on his arm, still shaking as he ran the blade along the silver mark, reopening a wound a few months fresh. "You, you would have known about this..."

The blade went deeper into his arm, not a wince of pain as the teen dug around in his flesh before pulling it out, a small piece of metal the size of a button clinking onto the tiles beneath his feet, Alexis stepping back and pointing at it with the knife.

There was no look of shock. No look of surprise or confusion, nor worry for the kid's well-being. Rache just continued to watch, eyes following the tip of the blade to the small button-like disc of metal.

"A tracker, is it?" He questioned rather flatly. He wasn't worried, even when he should have been. If this was how it was going to go down, then this was how it was going to go down. The Rebellion never went without problems in any story told.

"So your little Boss-Man used you like an expendable chess piece." It seemed that this just summed up all that he'd said about Lynch. Didn't have a care in the world for his little Soldiers. He never had, and never would. Rache knew that rather well.

"How the fuck should I know what it is?! I don't even remember it being there, just felt it about three months ago!" Alexis answered, knife cluttering to the ground as he too, sank slowly to the floor, kneeling down and feeling very weak and feeble. Whole world, turned upside down in the space of a few days, mostly in the space of ten minutes.

He stared at the little disc on the floor that oozed his blood before looking up at Rache, utterly lost and quite possibly about to break down. "What... what do I do?"

Empathy shot through Rache's expression as he watched the kid slide to the ground. He remained where he was for a few moments more before calmly making his way over to Alexis, crouching down beside him.

"You let us take care of you." He said softly, taking up the teenager's shirt and tearing a long strip of material from it; it was one of many, so had no real value. Taking Alexis' arm, he carefully, yet firmly, wrapped the fresh wound, applying pressure as he went.

"Unlike Lynch, we don't force people into doing things. We don't use people without their knowledge and consent." He murmured, tying off the make-shift bandage. Without a second thought, he hauled the other to his feet, his hands firm his good arm and opposite hip.

"But we'll worry about that later. I know you hate hospitals, but you've made it hard to avoid."

It wasn't just his hands that shook now, but his whole body as Rache wrapped up his wound with a bit of cloth, hauling him to his feet, or at least he was pretty sure he was on his feet, he was so numb right now, he wasn't sure what was going on. Staring hollowly at the older male holding him upright, Alexis couldn't hold back the torrent of tears now streaming down his face, nodding at whatever the man was saying.

He didn't care where he was about to be taken to, he just felt colder then what the isolation room was or streets ever were, almost dead inside now. What... was he now?

Giving a little sigh, he hauled Alexis off his feet, hooking one arm under the teenager's knees and the other across the back of his shoulder blades.

"You're a handful." He murmured. Their breakfasts were left untouched, blood staining the tiles of the floor, and the little metal disc was abandoned. He'd have someone clean up and retrieve it later. When Alexis was physically sound again.

Carrying the boy out of the kitchen and down the hall, he had a few stares from the orderly's pinned on him questioningly. Only pausing to ask that the kitchen be cleaned up, Rache quickly made his way to the hospital ward, unsure of exactly how bad the kid's situation was. For all he knew, he was probably going to bleed out and die.

Better safe than sorry.

Placing Alexis down on one of the crisp hospital-grade beds, he beckoned a nurse over and quickly explained the situation.

"They won't bite." He reassured Alexis, glancing down at his once again blood-stained shirt and giving a small tsk. "I'll be back later to check on you."

Alexis was pretty sure he wasn't walking, there was no effort in moving his limbs as he moved down the hall. In fact, he could see his feet dangling over the other side of Rache's arm hooked under his knees, slowly realizing that he was being carried away to somewhere new.

What he realized right away when he was sat down on a nice, clean hospital styled bed in the ward, was that for the first time ever, he had the hiccups. He was scared, nearly out of his mind, and the hiccups was the surest sign of it. Bobbing up and down a little with each wave of hiccups, Rache stated that he was going to go for a little while, and come back, leaving him in the good hands of the nurses.

The brunet nearly pleaded for him to stay, but instead hung his head and did nothing but nod in obedience, wiping a little of his tear soaked face with his hand.

Gentle prods, gestures and questions were thrown in Alexis' direction.
"Where does it hurt?", "Can you feel this?" and "Tsk, you should be more careful." were repeated casually by each individual nurse as they checked him over.

One nurse in particular, the first he'd met in the place, came by his curtained off section of the ward, rolling a tray of different bits and pieces. Sutures, gauze, anti-bacterial. But that was only the top tray. Beneath was an array of food; a plate of sliced fruit, a bowl of steamed vegetables, some freshly made sandwiches, a jug of iced water with a glass placed neatly beside it and an open pot of what looked like honey roasted cashews.

"Hullo Dear." The nurse greeted with a warm smile, rounding the bed to his injured arm with a gentle sigh. "What've you done to yourself?" She murmured quietly, gently picking up his arm and turning it over in her hands, inspecting the wound.

It didn't take her long to clean it, numb it, stitch it and wrap it in fresh gauze, and when she'd finished and cleaned up, the tray of food was set on the swinging table by his bed, a small note placed by the cashews.

"Rache wants you to eat as much as you can-- but take it easy." The nurse gave him another smile before rolling her cart out and pulling the curtains to behind her, leaving Alexis to his own devices.

--

Hours would pass before Rache would return. Guards remained outside the hospital ward, the nurses checking up on the teenager every ten minutes. It was a calm environment, but there was hardly a large amount of privacy.

Alexis watched Rache leave, eyes on the man until he was out of sight and the nurses started their routine of poking each bruise, cut and bump, asking if his limbs hurt as they stretched, moved and bent them, the teen giving nothing but honest yes or no answers for each. The nurse that wrapped him up the night before, rolled in a huge layered trolley, assorted medical items upon the top tray to aid his healing.

She was kind, quick and efficient in numbing, stiching and settling him down a little when the needle was used to give him a local anesthetic and another to calm him down with a light sedative and relaxant, swapping the trays over on the swinging table for one laden with food for him.

Leaving him to it, the nurse left the teen to eat behind the curtain, leaving him alone and staring blankly at the tray of assorted foods, picking at bits and pieces until he realized that nothing was left except for what he dared to believe was his favourite food. Swallowing in nervousness, he picked one up and popped it into his mouth, a thin, happy smile forming on his lips.

That was until he spied the note by the bowl, picking both that and the bowl of cashews up off the tray and swinging it away from the bed, Alexis finally laid down, bowl nestled in the crook of his arm as he opened up the note to read.

Rache wasn't going to let Alexis die. Why should a kid throw away his life like that, when he had a perfectly reasonable choice to make?

The clock ticked monotonously on the wall, a constant reminder of the hours Alexis had spent in the ward. A small window allowed the natural, warm glow of sunlight to burst through it's glass before it sunk below the horizon, the fluorescents of the room flickering to life as darkness settled outside.

--

Almost as if his biological clock was tuned in with the time of day, Rache showed up directly on 20 00 hours looking worse for wear than he had earlier that day. Now dressed in a suit, of all things, pulling his tie off as he walked in through the door, the young leader of the Aufstand looked more like the son of a rich old business man, heir to his fortune.

Quietly, Rache made his way through the different sections of the hospital, checking up on the individuals. He spent what seemed like at least three times the amount of time he had at any other bed at one in particular, leaning against the wall and mumbling to the patient. There was a sadness to his expression, but his words were so muted that they didn't carry across the room.

Finally he made his way to Alexis' bedside, pulling the curtain open just enough for him to slip through before drawing it behind him, his eyes dark, pinned on the teenager's face. The bags under his eyes were heavy, and the rims red as if he'd been crying. Prying the tie the rest of the way over his head, Rache sat himself on the edge of the bed, remaining silent.

Alexis wasn't in bed when Rache came back a few hours later, instead standing at the window as he had been since the sun went down, now watching the stars come out to light the night's sky, the note still in his hand.

Slowly turning around, he noted the puffed cheeks and swollen eyes of the man who had brought a new life to the teen, letting the note drop from his hand to flutter to the ground as he walked up to him, sliding his arms around the man's waist and giving him a hug, a completely new thing for the trained assassin to do, but the man looked like he needed one.

Stepping back after a short moment, he bowed his head. "I've been a complete dick head, so as my penance, I will fight. I won't let my talents go to waste, and I doubt I'd be a very good civilian..." He half joked before he became serious.

"I have a request though..."

To say he was surprised at the teens actions would be an understatement, but he didn't let the emotion seep through his expression. Rache merely allowed Alexis to do as he would, only lifting his face when the teen stepped back, announcing his decision.

Rache's eyes remained focussed on him a few moments longer before he dropped his gaze again.

"What sort of request?" He asked on a drawn-out breath, running his hand through his hair and standing, sasily towering over the other. He was glad that Alexis had chosen to fight; the kid was right, he definitely wouldn't be a very good civilian. At all. Soldier's hardly ever did.

"Two actually, but I figured one would be part of my service to you anyway, but the first would be to be retrained, or at least let me go through the training program you have here, let me become stronger," He asked, hoping that he was going to be put through the motions of whatever they did for combat and stealth training here. He knew that he had become weakened since being here, but he knew that he could be so much more.

His voice dropped to not much more then a mutter, talking to the floor more then he did Rache as he voiced his second request. "I want to see Devin."

That was a given. The new recruits always had to be retrained, what with how they were treated before now. But that second request. Rache paused, averting his gaze before closing his eyes and exhaling through his nose.

"The first I can do." He murmured, staring at the folds of the curtains. "But-- Why? Why do you want to see her?" It was almost like he couldn't say Devin's name, the way that he spoke, but eventually he managed to drag his gaze back to Alexis', his eyes questioning.

"If you don't trust me to be near her, I-I understand," He replied, wondering if she had died while he was gaining his freedom. If she had, then he wanted to know. He would like to know if she was the first person he killed in his new found mind.

"You can cuff me, collar and leash me, I don't mind, but... from one warrior to another, I just want to see her."

There was a moments pause before Rache sat back down on the bed, running a hand over his face. For once, he wasn't all together.

"She passed a few hours ago." He replied, giving Alexis a flat stare. "So now, you can't see her." There was no hatred, no blame or distrust in his eyes. Just guilt. It was his fault she was dead.

"You don't deserve to be punished for it. No one is blamed for their actions before the Aufstand." He gave a light shrug, scratching at his head. If the teenager felt bad, he felt bad. These things happened when you lived this life.

No, no that wasn't right. She wasn't supposed to die. Not yet! Yes, he was supposed to kill her, and yes, that had now been accomplished, but he felt so torn by it. She was supposed to hang on just a little longer so he could whisper to her that she had to get better, to wake up and kick the crap out of him for being such a jerk!

"I just can't do anything right..." He muttered, kneeling to the cold floor, doubling over so his head rested on the tiles, arms wrapped around himself as he shed more tears. That was until he stopped crying, wiping his tears away and standing up, throwing the curtain around his section of the ward room open and walking for the door.

He was standing within seconds of watching the teenagers actions, following Alexis, close on the boy's heels. This was always the most difficult part of the transition; even if others didn't agree, Rache was always the one that dealt with them.

"You did your job." He offered calmly, hesitating before reaching out and placing his hand on the teen's shoulder to stop him.

"What do you plan to do? There isn't anything that can undo this." He was trying to be his usual, calm and reasonable self, but it was difficult. This was Devin. He let out a small sigh, but kept his eyes pinned on Alexis'.

The hand on his shoulder forced him to stop, turning around to face Rache, unable to look him in the eyes. "I need, I need to find those guys that wanted to beat me up for hurting Devin. I need to... I need to do something to fix this. What... why? Why do I need to do this? What is this called?"

He knew anger, slight happiness from eating the cashews, sadness and confusion, but beyond those four emotions, everything else was a whole new world for him, and he wasn't handling it too well. Alexis wanted, needed answers, but this man was on his own last two legs himself.

"What, what do we do? What should I do now? I need... I need an order. Tell me, something, anything, just, tell me what to do!"

The confusion was obvious in Alexis' words, his eyes, his actions. He was so lost, it was obvious, and all Rache could think of to do was to pull him into a tight, comforting hug. He wanted to let the teenager know that he was here, at least physically, to help him through this. He was always there to help those that needed it.

That was what made him so much better than Lynch. He wasn't scared of his Soldiers.

Holding Alexis against his chest, chin rested on the top of his head, Rache gave a small hush sound.
"What you need to do is move on. Direct all the anger, and the guilt-- all of it toward Lynch and the Scriosta; toward those that did this to you." It was a similar story every time; vengeance.

Hugs were strange. Never had he had a hug until today, and he was the one that tried them out on the leader now returning it, and they were nice, comforting, safe. Hugs were safe and right now, that's what Alexis wanted to feel more of.

"I'm gonna... I'm gonna tear that bastard's insides out and hang him by them," He muttered into Rache's shoulder, clawing a little as his shirt. "I'm going to take my sweet time killing that cruel son of a bitch."

"Just a suggestion, but maybe we should both sleep."

"You'll have to get in line." Rache murmured in response, quietly in the other's ear before hesitantly pulling away. Sleep did sound good. It sounded Heavenly, even. But he didn't have time to sleep. There was too much to do; there was always too much to do.

"I'll show you to your quarters-- but I can't sleep. I don't have time." He replied, stepping back and moving toward the sanctioned off area that Alexis had resided in for the day, collecting up the pot of cashews and a few different items; painkillers, gauze and antiseptic, before making his way back toward the teenager and moving past him.

"You'll be issued clothing-- but we do have facilities available for personal choice in attire, which I'll have someone show you tomorrow." He paused in his step a moment before continuing. "I'll try to see you tomorrow." He added. "But.. There's a lot I have to do." He hoped Alexis understood that he couldn't spend all his time with him.

A slight chuckle and Rache pulled away from him, leaving Alexis a little time to wipe his eyes dry and compose himself for encountering other people that weren't nurses as Rache explained that he was going to be shown to new sleeping quarters.

He listened as he was told that clothing was going to be given to him, and that if he had a preferance to clothes, the teen would be shown those later on. He was fine with that, and the brunet nodded that he understood that the man could not be with him all the time, as much as he didn't like the idea. He felt like he needed to be close to Rache, and he had no idea why and hoped it was just a phase of his new found frame of mind.

"Rache, if there's something you want me to do, even if it's just filing papers for a day to help you out, please, let me know? I'll drop training and eating any meal to help you out," Alexis offered as they walked, brushing his hair out of his face, combing it a little with his fingers. "I don't want to feel useless. Not to you. Not at all."

"Thank you for the offer." Rache replied warmly, giving Alexis a smile over his shoulder. "But you'll be busy with your training-- and your training is more important than my paperwork." He lead the teenager down a series of halls, the clean white walls of the reintegration facility melting away to a warmer, more homely surrounding, before stopping outside a numbered door.

"Your room-mate will take it from here." He gave a sharp knock on the door, movement quite instant inside the room before the door opened to a baggily dressed Soldier who's gender was.. Questionable. Obviously their day off.

"Jordan this is Alexis. Alexis, Jordan. I expect you to take care of him." Rache briefly introduced the two, stepping aside from the door. He gave Alexis another warm smile before glancing to Jordan, giving the Soldier a sharp nod.

Jordan obediently stood aside, glancing over Alexis before disappearing back into the room, kicking the mess that littered the floor over to one side of the large area.

"Jordan's a little different." Rache admitted, placing a comforting hand on Alexis' shoulder. "But... You should be fine." He gave a small squeeze to the teen's shoulder before dropping his hand. "I'll try to stop by when I can." He assured before half turning away with a small wave.

--

Reappearing at the door, Jordan watched Rache's retreating form before looking back to Alexis, giving him a half gesture to come into the room.
The Soldier had managed to somewhat tidy the room and was now standing over the other, cleaner side of the room-- the untouched part of the room-- with a rather bulky pack.

"Room-mate?" Alexis repeated as Rache knocked on the door, it opening to a person standing by the door, the floor littered with well, the contense of the room by the looks of it. Obviously this person hadn't had a person sharing for a while.

The Brunet gave the other soldier a quick glance over before the person, Jordan, moved back into the room, still quiet, to attempt to clean up so the teen had a clean space on his side of the room, his new home.

It wasn't much, a bed on either side, a desk and drawers for clothing and such, a door off to the side which might be the toilet. Simple, and effective.

Rache left, leaving the pair alone, Alexis glancing back over his shoulder as the older man disappeared, Jordan sort of ushering him into the room, which he did, closing the door behind him and blinking at the pack being held out, gingerly taking it.

"Uhh... thank you. Does... I'm guessing it's normal for guys and girls to share rooms then?"