《Coyote Two, this is Mailman Two-One Actual. We are on approach and ready to go dark. Over.》

On the other side, First Lieutenant Kolchek received an answer from the operator before closing the call; fortunately, Colonel King had accepted the idea of ​​asking for help from air support if it was needed.

When Jason took his fingers off the radio, he accidentally caught your eye and noticed that you were already staring at him.

《How's the tour going?》  He asked as he leaned forward resting the elbows on his knees.

《I would say good since I didn't pay anything for that.》  You answered ironically without letting him read your expression behind the sunglasses.

《My team will get off first. We need to make sure there's no danger before proceeding.》  Jason explained that you, Rachel, Eric and Clarice would have to wait before getting off the helicopter.

《I see, be careful over there.》  You said when he finished speaking and Jason cracked a smile.

《Sure I will. Don't worry, Miss Marshal.》

Despite that, you couldn't help but be a little tense.
But suddenly, an arm stretched out beside you with a small box in hand.

《Want a gum?》  Clarice asked turning to you, but you refused.

《No thanks. I don't like this stuff very much.》  The brunette girl shrugged and put the box back in her pocket.

But when you looked at her, you noticed instead the colonel was fixing what looked like a wooden prosthesis...you didn't know what he had been through, but perhaps the others were wrong to judge him right away.

Soon, the air inside the helicopter began to heat up thanks to Nathan and Joey's sexual jokes and they seemed good at relieving tension, until Rachel stopped them.

《You two wanna cut the bullshit and focus on the mission?》

Anyway, Merwin didn't take that well.

《Hey! Only one place I let a woman boss me around like that alright? And that's between the sheets.》

You really didn't understand how the others could handle him all day; apparently, the corporal seemed to have clear ideas about women and they weren't very good...

But Merwin's satisfied smile faded as Rachel's reply went out.

《...I'm surprised your mom lets women into your bedroom, don't want her getting jealous now.》

Not only Joey, but you started giggling too...in a way, you expected such an answer from her.
Because of that, you squeezed your eyes and when you opened them again, you saw Jason staring intently at you before speaking to Nick.

Well, you thought you did something wrong...but the truth was that Jason really liked your smile and had been staring at it the whole time, until he realized his friend wasn't answering him on the radio and went to check; anyway, when he sat down again, he was surprised to see you silent and with an almost sad expression on your face.

The others were too busy chatting to each other to notice the two of you.

《Hey, what's happening to you again...》  Jason did the same thing as before, but this time his palm touched your right knee. You weren't expecting that sudden contact, but it gave you relief, in a way.

《Uhm nothing, I just thought the jokes sucked after all.》

Still, Jason didn't believe it as he had seen you laugh out loud, but he didn't investigate further, you were probably just immersed in your own thoughts, and sat down in a composed manner; in that moment, you turned back to the window and just now realized that place was the same everywhere; rocks and sand were the main elements and there was literally nothing moving beneath you...

Or rather, nothing on your side that your vision could miss.

• • •

Once you reach the site, Jason and the other soldiers prepared to get off the helicopter wearing a gas mask; they remained lowered and with their rifles pointed towards the houses, awaiting further orders.
At that point, Rachel used Arabic through the speaker to convince those people coming out with their hands up and once immobilized, you others left the helicopter.

Eric and Rachel walked in front of you and clearly heard Jason tell them that all the prisoners had been neutralized, but the entrance to the underground silo hadn't been discovered yet...however, Colonel King complimented Lieutenant Kolchek for the work they had done.

The couple stepped inside the house first, but Jason paused before doing the same.

《Aren't you going in?》  He asked turning slightly towards you.

《I think I'll go ahead and scout around here.》  You answered convinced of your decision; if they had decided to search inside the houses, well, you would have done the same for that rocky area.

Jason didn't object, but he was definitely baffled by your choice and you knew it from his reaction.

《Stay sharp. If anyone so much as raises an eyebrow, I wanna know about it.》  He turned to the sergeant who received the order clearly, before he crossed the threshold of the door.

《...I don't know about you guys, but something doesn't feel right about this place.》  Clarice looked around, obviously wrinkling her nose.

《Oh yeah? So is that this, uh, women's intuition I keep hearing about?》  Unfortunately, her sentence caught the corporal's attention, always in the mood to play some more jokes.

《Yeah, you want to see what happens when you piss it off?》  Merwin took Dr. Stokes' warning lightly and she was starting to get bored with that. Well, that was definitely a fun thing to see...

《I advise you not to underestimate it, Corporal, we women can be much more sensitive than you men about everything.》  You responded by unexpectedly moving to the brunette's side.

《Ahaha really? And where you'd be most sensitive, princess?》  The man's eyes traveled up and down your figure with the intention of embarrassing you...

《Oh trust me you don't want to know that Corporal, just like you don't want to know where you'll be sore soon if you keep fooling around like that...》  You said with a grin and a haughty expression, knowing full well that you could have knocked him down in less than ten seconds, despite your kind and seemingly harmless appearance.

Tell me, what's the point of being such a dick with a rifle in hand if you don't even know who's in front of you?

But then, you thought again about what you had to do there and started walking towards the deserted plain, ignoring the umpteenth provocation of the corporal.

《I come with you, boss.》  Clarice followed you not interested in staying there much longer.  《Anyway, what exactly do you think you're looking for out here?》

《If what we need to find is underground, we are more likely to find it in this area.》  You explained while you were going around the fence of the first house.

Anyway, if there was something so precious and dangerous to guard, how come there was nothing to protect it?
The more you looked, the more it seemed to you that place was just a shepherd's refuge...

Meanwhile, the scientist's questions moved to another field.

《You two get along, I mean you and the hotshot...I noticed how he touched you first in the helicopter...》

Of course, there was someone who noticed that, but you turned to her with an air of disapproval, confused by that strange nickname she had given to Jason.

《Do you think it's time to think about certain things? In any case, a pat on the knee is not something to be scandalized about...》

But because of that, the kiss and caresses you had exchanged with the first lieutenant that morning came back to your mind vividly and luckily she couldn't see your face, because of the sun.

When you said that, Clarice raised an eyebrow.

《Sure, but that means you're giving him free access.》  And she finished with a slight chuckle.

You sighed deeply, you didn't understand how it was possible to had reached this point in the conversation...until you realized that you really walked away from the perimeter.
It was better to go back, you thought, but before you turned, you saw something in the distance.

《...what is that?》  You said stopping abruptly on the spot.  《It looks like a chasm. The rock must have collapsed at that point.》

Clarice narrowed her eyes to see in the direction you were pointing.

《So? You say it could be there?》

She seemed to believe it little, that's why you intended to get closer, but the other stopped you.

《I don't think it's a good idea to leave without permission. Better go back.》

You were curious as to what might be down there, but she was right, before anyone noticed you had breached the border...

But a call from the radio in your ear took you by surprise.

《–what the hell are you doing over there, Officer Hale??》  There, you recognized Jason's annoyed voice.

Perfect timing.

《Answer me, Hale.》

His voice began to get impatient and as you quickened your pace, you placed your finger on the earpiece.

《Copy that. I'm coming, Lieutenant.》

However, you took one last look over your shoulder before retracing your steps.

• • •

Once you got back to the others, the first person you saw was a very angry Jason Kolchek. You sighed before he spoke.

《Why did you walk away like that and say nothing?》

Of course, Clarice stepped aside so as not to take the scolding with you.

《Sorry for that, but I had definitely seen something interesting, that's why I went–》

《You shouldn't have done that. Nobody gave you permission. Neither the Colonel, nor me.》

You were surprised by those harsh words of his; beyond that, he didn't seem to have the slightest intention of listening to you and that made you lose your temper.

《Hey, I'm just doing my duty like all of you.》  Before passing him, you stopped beside Jason as you kept your head down.  《And don't try to treat me like a fucking soldier again, Lieutenant.》

Jason stared at you as you walked back towards the houses with pursed lips, he wasn't going to speak in that tone...but the truth was that he was worried when didn't see you there anymore.
Nick and Joey were there with him too and had seen all of this.

《Relax man, there's no need to heat up that much.》  But the sergeant couldn't see his friend's face under his cap before he left.

He wanted to talk to you and tell you he didn't want to be so rude, but he froze when he saw that Joey had preceded him.

《Don't be mad Y/n, I'm sure he didn't really mean it.》  The Spanish one had approached you and you listened to him as you took a long look towards the mountains.

《...I'm not. I know I was wrong, but there was no need to make that scene, that's all.》

With the rifle down, Joey looked at your face profile and, although you were wearing sunglasses, he was sure he saw something fall on your cheek before you shook your head.

It's just dust...no?

《Jason cares a lot about you, it's obvious. He just wants you to be okay.》  In that moment, you looked at Joey's smile on his face and saw that he knew...

《I know, otherwise—》

But you stopped when you realized what you were going to say.

And you smiled.

Otherwise I wouldn't like him so much.

But all of a sudden, the silence around you vanished, when you heard an explosion and saw the helicopter catch fire and plummeted above you.

《Go! Go away!!!》

You and Joey started running in the opposite direction, when you heard gunshots coming from the mountains...until a discharge of bullets threw itself in the middle of the field.

It didn't take long to realize that you had been ambushed.

Joey ran after you and that protected you from being hit, as he was the one who got shot and fell to the ground, injured.

《Joey!!!》

You screamed when you noticed that, but you couldn't reach him, as more shots were fired and you couldn't help but throw yourself behind a wall.
With the gun now in hand, you leaned over to see a group of soldiers coming down the mountain and run towards you. Their different uniforms made you realize they were Iraqis.

Fuck, they knew we were coming here!

Then, you heard a voice scream in your direction.

《Get down! Get down!》

There, you saw Jason and Nick running uncovered to reach a fence wall. And so did Merwin.
You were exactly where Joey was, but you were far from him and those bastards kept shooting nonstop, preventing you from passing.

Meanwhile, Jason had seen the soldier was lying on the ground, unable to move, but also that the wall you were sheltering behind was breaking down too quickly...if he didn't think of something right away, he would lose both of you.

《I'm gonna flank 'em. Give me some cover and get Joey out of there!》  Jason yelled at the two men before climbing over the wall and firing at the enemy who had taken up position a few meters away.

《You're not hurt, right!?》  Suddenly, Jason was standing a few meters from you behind barrels.  《Come here. I'll take care of these fuckin' assholes!》

You did as he told and, at the right moment, you ran towards him; meanwhile on the other side, Nick had taken Joey and laid him behind the tractor. There was blood on him, but you hoped that he would be fine in the end.

《Stay here for now, I check if there's anyone else.》  Jason woke you up before walking away again; you had lost sight of everyone else and you two were there now, looking for a way out of that situation.

But in addition to those shots, there was another sound that alarmed you...and it was definitely coming from under your feet.

And the chasm you had seen earlier came back to your mind like a threatening image.

No, don't tell me it's going to...

You were about to warn Jason, but something stopped you and before you could react properly, you were thrown to the ground.
The man who hit you spoke Arabic and wore a distinctive beret on his head, as well as a pair of sunglasses.

He was aiming the rifle at you, but you also noticed that he had put his feet between yours and you took advantage of that to close them and make him lose his balance.
Then, you slid towards him and with both hands you grabbed his rifle, waging a fight against the soldier to get it off him and there, the Iraqi started yelling a name, obviously calling for help.

Fortunately, an earthquake separated you two and although it was difficult to stand, you managed to run to find the first lieutenant.

《Jason—》

But you saw him face to face with another Iraqi soldier; you held the gun in your hand, but Jason gestured to you not to move as they had their rifles down.

Behind you, you heard the man screaming again and this time another one approached the group, but he couldn't do anything, because another earthquake, stronger than the previous one, knocked all of you to the ground.

Soon, the earth began to open under you and you did everything to avoid falling, by holding onto the rocky edge that hadn't sunk yet and there you saw Jason grabbing your arm tightly.

He gritted his teeth to try to pull you up ignoring that the ground beneath him was beginning to collapse.

You looked at his eyes for the last time, now scared of what was about to happen, before your hands lost contact with each other...

You remembered screaming as you were inevitably swallowed in that deeper and deeper abyss.