Soldiers Of Fortune (For Crim)

Rache closed the door behind him, leaning against the doorframe and staring at Alexis.
"Don't do that." He stated quietly. "Don't play that game. You know I only said what I said because I know Murdoch. I know what he's like-- and you need to respect your Leader, no matter who he is." The man folded his arms, clearly not knowing what else to say. He didn't deal with these situations often, and when he did he didn't do it well.

-

Murdoch shook his head in response to Natal's question, rather busy with occupying himself on the computer in front of him. He was going through files, video footage-- anything that could really tell him what Mitch had been doing, how he would have tipped Lynch off. Why.

"You be careful though. I need you alive."

"And he needs to..." Alexis started, cutting his own sentence short before nodding. Rache was never going to start a conversation, he didn't even know why the man was down here. What was he trying to do exactly, since they hadn't really spoken to each other since Rache stated that he didn't really want Alexis the way that he'd hoped for, and the teen was having a terrible time getting over that. All his pent up feelings and no one to talk to about them.

"Yes Sir. Will that be all?"

-

Natal snorted a little. A combined effort of slight amusement and hope in that little snort. Hope that Murdoch's joke wasn't an omen of things to come, finally turning away to the hall and the kitchenette two doors down. Once there, he dropped to his knees and shook, gathering himself as the kettle boiled to ease his caffeine need. It was a close call today, and he hoped nothing further would happen for the next few.

Rache frowned at the teenager, seeming somewhat uncomfortable with the entire situation; it was clear that he wanted to say something more, and that he wasn't about to leave until he'd said it. But figuring out how to word these things, or even buck up the balls to speak out was likely to take time. Possibly even too much time.

He inhaled through his nose, averting his gaze and shoving his hands into his pockets.
"I'm no longer your leader. I'm a comrade, and I like to think also a friend." He commented after a short bout of silence; he couldn't just sit in the silence. It was awkward, moreso with his own thoughts than anything. "So don't.. Don't treat me that way. You didn't when I was in charge, and you shouldn't now."

Finally the man lifted his gaze to the other again, his brow furrowed, an explosion of words brimming his lips; he so badly wanted to say so many things, but it was hard. He hadn't had to deal with these things since his late partner, who he'd lost amongs everything else when Lynch had taken his life.

"I.. Care about you, Alexis. I do. I just.. This isn't the kind of situation that.." Excuses. He was starting to spout excuses again, and that wasn't right. Not in this conversation; he couldn't just escape again. "I've never considered myself to be good with words, or people. Especially not relationships. I just don't want to hurt you more than I already have." Rache finally managed, swallowing a thick lump in the back of his throat. He felt like a teenager again, or at least what he assumed would be feel like a hormonal teenager that didn't know how to deal with anything in life. Like those characters in those movies he'd taken to watching at one point just after his escape from Scriosta, in order to gain a little normalcy back to his life.

"But I do care for you. A lot." He tried to catch Alexis' eye, waiting for a response, any sort of response; he'd understand if the other couldn't accomadate such feelings any longer.

-

Murdoch waited for Natal to leave the room before completely relaxing into the seat, lifting a hand to his forehead and closing his eyes. It had been quite a stressful few days, and it was finally taking it's toll on the man. He was human after all, and couldn't cope as well as he liked other's to think he did. He was just able to brush the feelings aside until he was alone. Luckily for him they didn't impare his judgement at all.

Silently he hoped the next few days would settle down; though with Mitch as he was, and Lynch hot on their trail, it was hard to believe for a second that they would actually be able to relax.

He felt rotten now, Rache knew how to knock him down a few pegs, pull him in line as he talked. Alexis listened, slowly sinking back down to the cold floor, burying his face into his knees and arms. "You didn't seem to have a problem with people when I made you lay down and sleep before you passed out. You didn't seem to mind me force feeding you so you'd eat. You didn't even mind being in the same bed as me," He retorted, not able to look at the man.

"You say that you care for me, but you never say how. As a friend? As a comrade? A brother in arms? A lover? I believe you, that you care. I just... want to know what page I am on with you."

"That was different." The man snapped in return, bunching his fists against his arms as he spoke. "That was innocent, that wasn't.. This." He added in a mutter, unfolding his arms and shoving his hands into his pockets. "And you know that-- so stop trying to turn this around." The teenagers second bout of words was somewhat off putting, causing the ex-Leader pause.

"Why're you making this harder for me?" He questioned finally, "Harder for yourself. I feel like no matter what answer I give, you'll still have questions, or accusations-- even if I admit I have feelings for you," Rache stopped mid-sentence, scowling at his own words. "Forget it. I've tried, you won't listen. Just forget it." He went to turn and leave, placing a hand on the door, only to remember that the door was locked, keeping them both in the room. He'd hoped that Natal had been at least watching, but by the sudden halt of the door handle it was clear that he'd ben respectable and given them their privacy. He was stuck now, after having said that.

"Please don't leave...." He cried out, scrambling to his knees as Rache stopped with a hand on the door handle, lowering the hand reaching for the other to his side, head hung. "I want to make up excuses, about how I'm confused, upset, stressed... lost, but I can't. About how I have no clue if I'm training our future right, about how Angel hates me now and that I left him all alone in his room by himself cause I have no clue how to deal with kids. About how the trainees hate me, and that I'm about to loose the most important person to me because I'm a mouthy, stuck up, stubborn, sorry excuse of a human being."

He was crying, the tears streaming down his cheeks and hitting the feathers on the floor. "I want to be able to tell you that I still have nightmares since we escaped the last time, so I barely sleep. I feel guilty for what I did to Angel to survive, I just... left him there. I would never do that to anyone else, so why him? Why a child? Am I that evil to do that?"

"I'm sorry, give up on me." Shaking his head, Alexis got to his feet and unsteadily moved for the door, shoving past Rache to try the handle. "Let me out. Let me out. Let me out, I need to get out..." He repeated, trying to turn the handle, harder and harder with each try until he was banging on the door to be let out.

Rache haf merely stopped. Paused, listening to Alexis' words, his confessions and.insecurities. He turned to face the Soldier, watching him in silence. He felt bad. Guilty that he hadn't been there for him, that he still wasn't there. When he was brushed aside, Rache followed the other with his gaze, a frown crossing his features at the escalation in noise and desperation.

Reaching out he grabbed the teenager's shoulder roughly and spun him around, pushing his back against the door with his hands on his shoulders.

"Stop it Alexis." He snapped through clenched teeth, a clear pain in his eyes as he held him there. "You need to stop. You need to calm down.." Hesitabtly he lifted a hand to the other's face and wiped at the tears staining his cheek with his thumb.

"I'm not going to give up on you. I never intended to do such a thing. I just.. I couldn't.. But when this is all over if you can still.." He couldn't finish his sentences, fragmenting what he was trying to say. "I'm sorry I haven't been there. But I'll be there now. I'm here now."

It was hard, but Alexis slowly lifted his head to view the man who so roughly pushed him up against the door to his room, vision blurred by more tears to replace the ones wiped away. "I love... I love the way you seem to think that we are actually going to get out of this alive. That we will survive and then have this happy ending and that everything can wait until then..." He smiled weakly, holding the hand at his cheek gently.

"I wish I could see it myself, that happy ending. But I don't... I don't think that we will live through this. How can we when, when Lynch is after us to the point that I'm afraid of going to the bathroom without a pistol just in case someone, or even he is in the room the moment I come out, ready to shoot me dead?"

Lowering his hand, he lent his head into the one still upon his cheek, nudging it a little. "If I died tomorrow, would you hate yourself for not acting sooner?"

Rache grimaced, his grip on the other's shoulder tightening a moment before he slid his hand behind his head and pulled Alexis against his chest, wrapping his arm around the teenager's shoulders and holding him there, close, protectively.

"I already regret it." He admitted quietly, tightening his hold on the Soldier ever so slightly. "Just knowing that we probably won't make it-- that I've fooled myself into thinking that there'd be time after this, and in doing so-- I've just wasted what time we could have had." He was spilling his guts in an outburst of word vomit. He didn't really know what he was saying, but he was saying everything.

"I'll protect you Alexis. I'll protect you from him, I'll protect everyone, but I won't die for anyone. Only you. I'll keep you safe." His words were possibly empty promises, ones he couldn't keep, but he really believed he could protect Alexis. He really wanted to, and he'd do his damndest to keep him safe. He'd already failed one person he'd cared for, it wasn't going to happen again. Not again. He'd make this one happy. He'd make Alexis happy.

He didn't know how long he stood there, crying into Rache's shoulder, all the doubt, hate, anger ebbing away with each sob and inhale of cotton fabric the the teen took. He didn't know when he pulled away, able to wipe the tears but not the puffiness for his eyes. One thing he did know though, was that he felt like he could take on the world by himself.

Giving Rache a small peck on the cheek, he smiled, still weakly, but with more joy this time. "I think I need a new room, I kinda broke everything in here. Could I maybe, see you tomorrow night if you aren't busy? Just to talk? If I'm allowed out of here, I'd like to go fix a few things up," He asked.

Rache didn't let go of him, in fact holding him closer. He didn't know how long they stood there, but he didn't let go until the other pulled away, the man keeping his hands connecting with him for as long as possible before dropping his arms back to his sides. He honestly hadn't wanted that moment to end, but he had to admit that the gentle peck on the cheek was a nicer ending than any.

"You can stay in my quarters. I can keep a closer eye on you that way.." He gave a slight smile to the other, reaching out and mussing his hair with his fingers. "I'll get Natal to let us out but.. Just watch your back okay? With what happened with Mitch.. It's hard to know who we can trust anymore." With the lockdown lifted he was able to communicate through his mobile, messaging Natal that it was safe to unlock the door.

The hair ruffle and the acceptance to Rache's quarters brought the smile out fully, giving him another hug before opening the now unlocked door. 'I'll be careful, don t you worry about that. I'll talk to you tomorrow," and with that, he raced out to come to the door where Angel stayed, knocking on the door and entering without an answer.

Without warning, he scooped the boy up and settled them both on the bed, hugging him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you alone. Forgive me? I'm still learning about the world myself, so maybe we can teach each other?" he pleaded, wiping his face to try and show the boy that he was brave.

Rache didn't have much time to give any sort of response, merely watching Alexis dart from the room.. Happy, almost. It was the only way he could describe it. The man seemed to relax at that fact, slumping slightly with a shy smile pulling at the corner of his lips. He made his way from the room with a quick glance about the trashed area, deciding it wasn't the best idea to linger in the room, and headed back to the War Room, intending to ask for permission for Natal to go and interrogate Mitch now, rather than later. He was anxious to get this over and done with. He only hoped the brain was up for it.

-

Angel had glanced up at the knocking, only to be scooped up from where he'd been huddling, his hands clutching at the bracelet in his grip, a rather shocked expression playing his features as he stared at Alexis. It took him a long moment to realise what the other was saying before he seemed to relax slightly, an uncertain look on his face. He analysed the teenager's expression for a short moment, searching his gaze, before his face contorted with sadness, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes and he wrapped his arms around the other's shoulders, clinging to him and crying into his shoulder. The kid had been so alone all his life, that it was such an overwhelming idea that maybe that would change for good. He'd been excited before, when he'd first been brought here, but this time-- this time felt final.

After returning with two cups of coffee, one for himself and despite Murdoch stating that he didn't want one, one for him also, setting it down on the desk before returning to his own seat, tapping on the screen and keyboard before slumping down over the desk. Before he knew it, he needed more coffee if he was going to survive the rest of the time he was required to stay. "Just... going to get something more to drink, maybe food also. You need anything?"

-

Alexis cried silently along with the child in his arms, rocking back and forth to comfort them both before laying Angel down on the bed, curling up next to him and holding him close. "Settle, okay? I'm not going to leave you alone any more. We both need sleep, I'll be here when you wake, okay?"

Murdoch had left the coffee untouched, and again shook his head at the other's question; he didn't want, nor need anything to eat, or drink, or to even keep him awake. When he needed to be the man was like a machine.

Rache reached the door just as Natal was leaving, blinking at him questioningly a moment before furrowing his brow.
"You look exhausted." He commented. "Go and get some sleep." It seemed he didn't care whether he was in charge or not; the health of his comrades was more important than an order from Murdoch. If Natal was half asleep he wouldn't be able to function properly. It would just mean that he would have to deal with Murdoch, and Mitch would have to wait until the next morning. He was sure Ashahn could deal with the giant until then.

-

Angel continued to cling to the teenager, burying his face into the other's shirt, his tears already staining a wet patch into the material. He didn't let go even when he was layed down on the bed, and merely snuggled closer when Alexis lay beside him. He whimpered slightly, trying to stop himself crying, to no avail, and nodded hesitantly at the other's words. He found it hard to believe him, but he so desperately wanted to.

It didn't take long for him to cry himself to sleep.

"Oh, I'm fine," Natal smiled, stopping for just a moment as Rache spoke to him. " I haven't really had coffee in a while, and I just need another cup is all. You want one?" He asked, stifling a yawn. Usually he'd be awake for a few days on end, but the shock of the attack today, which happened so quickly, forced a sudden need to hibernate for a few days. He didn't want that to happen just yet.

-

Shifting them both enough to drag the blankets up over their bodies to keep warm, holding the young boy close to his body to comfort the kid, staying awake for a few more hours until falling asleep himself, completely exhausted.

"No, you're not. You're dead on your feet-- you look like a zombie. Besides, I need you well rested. I want to be able to interrogate Mitch ASAP. We need to figure out who he contacted and how sooner rather than later-- and why." He clapped the teenager on the shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. "You're stressed Natal. You just need to relax." He gave a small smile before gesturing for him to head to the personal quarters. "So just go sleep. I'll let Murdoch know you've turned in for the night."

A small snort of amusement and Natal shook his head. "Thanks for the vote of confidence there Rache, but honestly, I'll be fine. You don't want me to sleep for te next few days," he mused, stretching his arm above his head.

"I know exactly who Mitch contacted outside of the base, it was the first thing I went searching for once the lockdown was lifted. I also went looking for abnormal signal outputs and anything else that might give us away. Nothing out of the ordinary which is good for us."

Rache blinked at him; he didn't think even Natal was able to work that fast. He hadn't expected that from him in this short amount of time either. The teenager continued to surprise him even now.

"Who did he contact?" He seemed to have completely forgotten about sending the other to bed. "C'mon, tell me while we get something to eat." He added, remembering vaguely something about Natal mentioning food. "And if you don't plan on sleeping-- then we can go deal with Mitch once you've eaten yeah?"

The teen was glad that the thought of bed and sleeping had been forgotten so instantly, scratching his head as he headed off for the kitchen, glancing over his shoulder as he walked and talked. "Mitch used the land line, to a mobile number within this country. I wasn't sure about the number at first, but he called my old phone that I lost when we last encountered Lynch. This place jams any signal outside of here that doesn't go through the system, so we are safe."


Which was good considering he really, really didn't want to have to move house again after just getting settled. "We are very lucky he never told anyone where we were. But I'm guessing he just rounded it off between here and the other holding bay."

Rache nodded absenlty, somewhat disconnected from the other's response. He didn't really want to hear what he was hearing, but it was somewhat a relief that they hadn't been compromised. Anyone else but Mitch would have been fine, but with being as close to the blond as he was.. It was still hard to process what had actually happened.

"Good." He muttered under his breath, pausing in the doorway of the small kitchen and running a hand through his hair. "I need you to find out why-- was he under the Obedience, or.. Did he just go nuts?" Either was likely, but he really didn't want to think about a third option; that he just plain hated the Aufstand.

Natal entered the kitchen and sighed, placing his hand on the fridge door, turning to look at Rache as he shook his head. "I'm sorry, but you might have to ask Mitch yourself. I'm far behind on what I was originally going to do once I got back here, and the more we waste time, the less of a chance I have to see if I can make it..." He said, thinking about the impossible that he wanted to make back at the old base.

"Unless you feel the need to come with me, or to stop me, I have to leave pretty much after I have something to eat. Murdoch's going to hate me for it, or try to lock me up himself, I bet."

Rache frowned slightly, but didn't give any sort of sign of objection; he understood that what Natal wanted to do was important. But he also understood that it was overly dangerous, a risk the other didn't need to take.

"Take Alexis with you." He murmured after a moment of debilitation. He didn't want to let the teenager go, but he felt that letting him out of the facility was probably the best idea. And as long as he was with someone trustworthy.. "I'll keep Murdoch off your back until you make it off base." He added with a clearer tone. "Just.. Come back alive. Just make sure that both of you come back alive. If it's too dangerous, get out. If you see someone there, get out. I don't care who it is. And keep constant contact, Natal. With me, not with Murdoch." He was trusting the brain with someone he cared about; he'd be going himself, but he didn't want to leave Alexis here alone. He felt better sending the teenager out with Natal. That, and he knew it was either himself or Natal that would need to question Mitch, so if both left base it wouldn't get done.

Again, Natal shook his head, opening up the fridge and peering inside. Ham, pickles, bread, cheese... enough to make a few sandwiches for the both of them, so he dragged everything out and set it on the bench before delving back into the fridge. "I can't take Alexis, not after the fit he threw. He needs the rest, and I don't think he'd like it if I took him away now. I can... I can stay until Mitch has been interrogated, but I think it's a simple case of everything getting to him and just snapping. But we shall see on that one."

He didn't stand up, not yet, he was afraid of what look Rache would have on his face. "I can go at this alone. I'll keep in contact and let you know how everything goes. If anything gets too rough, I'll come back. I think you should spend time with those close to you, as should Murdoch before things get too messy again."

There was a very stern look of disapproval plastered across the Soldier's face; he was unhappy, and completely against what Natal was suggesting. He was slightly relieved that Alexis wouldn't be going, but the fact that the brain would be trecking it alone on such a dangerous objective was not okay. It could even be considered suicidal.

"Then you'll take Rory. I won't have you going alone, or you won't be going at all." He responded flatly, clearly not about to be moved on the idea. There was no way he was going to let Natal, one of the most important people both to him and the Aufstand, go on a mission this potentially dangerous alone. "He may be a civillian but he's still a Soldier at heart. He'll at least provide backup."

"It's either that or you deal with Murdoch, and clearly he isn't nearly as tolerant as I am."