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Introduction:

Our Character has returned to his hometown to try and pick up his old life

DISCLAIMER:
This is a story of fiction, the author makes no recommendations and does not condone, or condemn, any actions taken by the characters in this story. The characters are completely fictional and any similarities to any person or persons, living or dead, real or fictional, are completely coincidental. The Author takes no responsibility for any actions or inactions taken by any person or persons who read this fictional portrayal – so read at your own risk! This is an original piece of fiction written by the author who goes by the pen name Magusfang, any other person who wishes to post this story, or download it, may do so as long as they retain this paragraph.



Going Home II: Resurrection

Steven sat in the truck, his cold grey eyes spanning the distance to his childhood home; he barely recognized the structure, his mother having built an addition and a large garage, the two new structures dwarfing the house they were attached to. He knew that Sam and Tommy lived in the apartment above the garage; he was right, Sam was never leaving and he thought that was a good thing, at least his mother would never be left alone. Steven knew that Beth and her little girl, Michelle or Mickey as they called her, lived in the large addition; he knew this partly because it was logical, but mostly because he had broken into the house and bugged the place; he wanted a chance to watch them for a while, to build up the courage to finally step out of the mist and face them in the sunlight. Steven laughed to himself, he remembered when he had first heard what he and his, now dead, comrades had been called; “Ghosts of the Mist”, it was a rough translation of an African tribal language. They had received the moniker when doing a job in the Sudan region, taking out a particularly nasty warlord; like it had done a lot of good, the man had been replaced with someone even worse in less then a month; Mr. White thought it was poetic and the moniker stuck.

Steven watched Beth and their mother working on dinner as Tommy and Mickey set the table, with a lot of teasing and laughing; this was a happy family and he wondered if he had a right to turn their world upside down. Maybe there was no stepping from the mist, no resurrection for a ghost like him, maybe death was his only reward, the only penance that could absolve him of his many sins…

Alex, that evidently was his new name since Steven Conner had accidentally stepped on a landmine three days ago and been vaporized; he wondered if the cover stories were so unbelievable as a sign to other covert agencies, or if the people making them up were
just stupid – vaporized indeed! Steven, or Alex, he knew he needed to start thinking in terms of his cover identity; a simple slip up like that on a mission could get him killed, and in turn anyone working with him as well.

Alex didn’t relish the thought of working with someone again; after his spotter had been crushed by a burning helicopter in a Middle Eastern desert over a year ago, he had worked alone exclusively, he didn’t want the responsibility of another life on his hands, didn’t want to have to watch someone’s back. Mr. White had assured him that they would do everything in their power to entertain his wishes, most of the operatives preferred solitude as well, but some missions were just too big for a single man and he would have to learn to play with others again. Alex shook his head and wondered what kind of cabal of psychopaths he had just joined; then laughed, figuring, after what he had done to Beth’s boyfriend, he would fit right in.

He continued down the white cinderblock hall, bathed in the harsh neon light like the school rooms of his childhood, the cheap tile floor echoing his footsteps to announce his arrival; he stopped at a single desk in the hall and handed his new identification to the bored looking guard. Alex knew that it was all an act, knew that this was a highly trained soldier and even in an empty hall this man would be hyper vigilant; Alex knew that the man had no choice, it was a price paid for dancing with the reaper and Alex paid it as well. The man kept one hand under the desk as he reached for Alex’s paperwork and both men smiled, it was obvious that the other hand held a weapon ready to cut Alex in half if he so much as farted sideways. The man checked the paperwork, nodded and handed it back, turning and nodding to a camera that unblinkingly watched both men, his hand never leaving the weapon; Alex knew that even if you belonged here, there were several infractions that would instantly cost you your life, no review board, no trial, just instant death.

“Have a nice day!” Alex said with a snide smile, breaking the silence when he heard the soft click of the security door, indicating some one on the other side had pushed a button to unlock it; the man just continued to stare at Alex’s face, no sound or emotion, as Alex turned and pushed the door open. He entered the hall and instantly noticed the walls here, while still painted white, were riveted steel instead of the ever-present cinderblock that most government buildings were constructed of; obviously these people didn’t want any uninvited guests in their house – or was it to keep the invited guests from leaving? Alex nodded at the man sitting at the desk just inside the door, the desk was a clone of the first and the man could have been as well, right down to his cold stare and unemotional face; the only difference was that this man openly pointed his weapon at Alex, he had entered the inner sanctum and there was no longer any pretense of civility needed or bothered with here and the meaning was plain - follow the rules here or die!

“Hello Steven…oh I’m sorry, hello Alex!” Alex turned when he heard the cheerful voice and saw a middle-aged man with a wide toothy grin approaching him, his hand held out in an offering of, if not friendship, then greeting, “My condolences on the untimely, and rather grisly I might add, death of Gunnery Sergeant Steven J. Connors, most distressing I’m sure. But let me be the first to congratulate you on the birth of Alex Stephan Standish, and may I say I love your new name – I can hardly wait to see your new monogrammed shirts.”

“It came to me in a dream.” Alex joked back, actually he hadn’t consciously realized what his initials would spell and figured it was his subconscious making a joke – but he felt it somehow fitting!

“Well believe it or not, no one else in Control caught it, or if they did they appreciated the joke as much as I did.” The man laughed as Alex took his hand and was impressed with the light grip, most macho he-man types tried to crush your hand not realizing strength is not the real achievement, self-control is, the ability to harness the strength you posses and only use it when needed is much more impressive than crushing beer cans, or people’s hands, for that matter. “I don’t think anyone will give you grief over your little jest, and by the time they do it will have been a fait accompli anyhow. Oh, I’m Michael Harrison by the way, your handler; I’ll over see your training here and will forward your assignments to you after you leave. If you have any requests or questions while you’re here, or after you’ve finished your training, I’m the man to see. You will have no contact with anyone else in the organization without prior authorization, understood?”

Alex heard the threat under the pleasant voice and nodded, “Understood.”

“Great, then let’s get you settled shall we?” Michaels replied as he released Alex’s hand and turned, walking down the almost painfully bright hallway as he continued to speak, “You’ll spend the next six months or so here, depending on how fast you pick everything up; six months is about the average, there’s a great deal to learn but I’m sure you’ll do fine. Your luggage will be held in storage, although I understand you have just one small bag, is there anything you require from it?”

“No.” Was his only reply.

“Good, good; it’s always best to make a clean break from your past; reminders are just depressing and you can’t afford the distractions, distractions can get you killed – even here!” Michael continued in, what Alex would soon learn, his normally cheerful voice; the older man always smiled, was always cheerful, and never seemed to loose his temper – not even on the day he finally died, in great and prolonged pain! “So, everything you need should already be in your rooms and if there is anything we overlooked, please don’t hesitate to ask; we want you to be very comfortable here, your training will be difficult and comfort during your downtime is very important to facilitate your learning, as well as your mental stability – at least that’s what the headshrinkers say!”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine.” Alex replied, keeping his answers short and direct like the good Marine he was, the good Marine he would always be.

Michael stopped halfway down the hall, in front of a grey metal door that had Alex’s initials on it and both men chuckled softly when they saw the one foot high white letters stenciled on the door, “I think I’m going to like you immensely young man!”

Alex turned and smiled at the older man, he couldn’t help but like him already, “I’ll try and live up to such high expectations!”

“I’m sure!” Michael laughed as he waved at the security camera above the entrance, the cameras here were obvious and plentiful; everyone knew that every inch of this facility was under some sort of surveillance and there was no reason to be covert about it, plus the obvious cameras helped keep incidences of unplanned violence to a bare minimum – they did train unstable and violent men here after all! “After you good sir.” The older man said as the grey metal door slid silently sideways and into the wall; Alex walked in and stopped, staring at the poshly furnished apartment that was so out of place here as to be funny; but what stopped his laughter before it started was the beautiful blonde dressed in a well tailored business suit skirt, her well fitted jacket unbuttoned to reveal a set of obviously firm and impressive breasts, Alex knew they were firm because they stood proudly and the outline of her nipples was evidence that she wasn’t wearing a bra. “This is Miss Taylor, she is your secretary, aide, all around girl Friday…anything you need, just ask her.” The older man interjected as he saw Alex turn to him, eyes wide with curiosity; Alex turned back to the woman as she spoke while walking towards the two men.

“Please call me Shannon.” Her voice was soft and sweet sounding, but Alex knew she could probably snap his neck in the blink of an eye. As she stopped, he was surprised to notice that she was nearly as tall as he was as she held her neatly manicured small, and most likely exquisitely soft, hand to him and continued speaking, “I’m here to help facilitate your training, make things easier for you, help you relax so you can concentrate on the things you need to learn…and maybe teach you a few things that the other instructors neglect to pass on!” Alex heard the subtle change in her voice and as he reached out to take her hand his cold grey eyes locked on to the deep blue of hers, searching for hidden answers to unasked questions but finding nothing but the deep blue pools that threatened to drown his soul.

“Really.” Alex quietly replied as he released her hand and caught a whiff of her sweet musky scent, knowing it was all her because human’s could never duplicate such an exquisite and heavenly aroma; he clenched his teeth and used all his training, his will power, his self-discipline to regain his composure and hoping his military bearing would be enough to protect him from the sexual creature even while he knew it wouldn’t.

“Yes sir, anything you need, and I do mean anything…” Shannon replied with a wink and a small enticing smile that gave little but promised everything as she stepped around the stunned young man, giving Michael a small kiss on the cheek before walking from the room, disappearing through a heavy wooden door that led to another room that Alex could only guess at. His eyes widened as he took in her body from behind and noticed that at the end of her long shapely legs she wore only bare feet, very pretty bare feet at that.

Alex jumped slightly as Michael, good-naturedly, gave his back a slap and laughed as the heavy wooden door closed, “She’s here to do anything you ask…and I do mean anything! But ask young man, because there are certain things she won’t do and if your tastes run in that direction…well another secretary will be found for you! I can’t emphasize this enough; if she says no, then the answer is no, we can always find a girl that will say yes!”

“Are you saying…?” Alex started to ask as he turned to his new handler, a small blush on his cheeks. Michael’s eyes widened in surprise as he saw the tall dangerous man before him blush like a school boy, it was rare that an applicant surprised him and he suddenly knew that this young man was something special.

“Is there a problem…would you rather have a male assistant or is she too old?” Michael asked, already knowing the answer to his questions but wanting to see Alex’s response.

“Old? What is she twenty-three, four?” The older man was surprised again that Alex completely ignored the subtle insinuation that he was gay and focused on his calling Shannon old; this told him that Alex wasn’t gay, but also wasn’t homophobic, which was actually very rare in soldiers as accomplished as he was. It also told him that Alex wasn’t a pedophile, for which Michaels was eternally grateful, he truly hated the bent ones; and he was pretty sure, judging by the blush on the young man’s cheeks and the genuine surprise in his steel grey eyes, that he didn’t belong in the whips and chains club. Michael wondered what this young man’s kink was, and he was sure he had one – they all did! The two men stared at each other for a few moments before Alex realized that the older man was going to force him to ask, so with a small resigned sigh, “Am I expected to have sex with her? Is that part on my training as well?”

“No, she is here to provide you with comfort, help you relax, and take care of the details such as keeping appointments, Making sure you show up on time for training, manage the apartment for you…things like that. But if you are asking if she will have sex with you…well yes, part of her duties is to help you relax and if that involves sex the she will be available to you.”

“Look, I don’t need a hooker!” Alex replied with a snort of disgust, “I’m a Marine and I do have some self-discipline!”

Michaels sighed, unsure of how to continue; after a moment he shrugged his shoulders and decided the truth was the best recourse; it wasn’t something he was used to since the truth was not something his kind dealt with often. “Look, when I say she is your secretary, I don’t just mean here. Once your training is complete, she will be joining you at whatever safe house you decide to live at; her job is just that, she is your secretary and she will continue in that function when you are placed on the active rolls. Whether or not you decide to have sexual relations with her is totally up to you, but I can tell you this – she likes you!”

“I thought I would be working alone.” Alex replied as his eyes narrowed, his warning bells were ringing loudly.

“And you will be if that is what you want, she will not accompany you on missions unless you specifically ask her to, how you two work together is your business.” Michaels replied quietly, pausing slightly before dropping the bomb Alex had to know was coming, “Just be aware that she’ll be filing weekly reports on you; you couldn’t have expected us to spend all this time, money, and effort on you and then just set you free into the world without keeping tabs on you!”

Alex sighed; no he knew that wasn’t realistic, “So she’s my babysitter…I guess I can live with that.”

“Alex, do me a favor…” replied quietly as his normally dazzling smile faded to a mere shadow of its usual brightness

“What’s that?” Alex asked suspiciously, trust was hard to earn in a place where people were taught to trust no one and nothing.

“Give her a chance, she’s had a hard road getting here and you are her first assignment.” Michaels replied softly as he took the young man by the arm and led him to a pair of comfortable chairs near the quietly burning fireplace, Alex looked around and shook his head at the furnishings that belonged more in a eighteenth century English mansion then in a super secret government training facility. He sat in the chair and turned back to look at Michaels and saw that his ever-present smile was uncharacteristically gone, gone completely and replaced with a sad frown as he continued speaking, “Look, I don’t normally go over backgrounds, I usually let the agents hash that out themselves, but Shannon is a special case. I was her handler at our previous agency before coming here; my replacement was an incompetent idiot, who I hope is driving Satan to distraction right now, and he screwed the pooch; he got her exposed then captured. She was…well she was treated poorly, broken in fact; when we got her back she was a real mess physically and mentally. It took months to get her well enough so they could fire her, she wasn’t fit as an agent anymore and I doubt she ever will be again; but I felt responsible for Shannon so I brought her here. Give her a chance, she might be an asset you never counted on; and if she doesn’t work out, well I’ll find you a replacement, no hard feelings.”

“Ok.” Alex’s face softened and he nodded slowly as Michaels realized what young man’s kink was, he was truly a nice guy and that was the sickest, most twisted perversion possible in this happy asylum of psychopaths; but it was precisely what Shannon needed!

“Great, why don’t you and Shannon get acquainted and I’ll be back in the morning for your orientation briefing.” The smiling man said as he stood and turned for the door, speaking as he walked through the dimly lit, dark wood paneled room, “Shannon can show you around the apartment, show you how everything works…oh, you probably won’t believe me, but there are no camera’s in your living space, there are ears however.” Alex nodded, Michael was right, he didn’t believe him but it did turn out to be true as he found out later. Alex drove the security troops nuts by constantly finding and disabling their listening devices; when they complained to Harrison that he was costing them a fortune, the older man laughed and told them to hide them better. After a month, they just gave up and let the young Marine be; he was a war hero after all, so they considered that he was a minor security risk at most.

Alex walked through the heavy wooden door Shannon disappeared behind and stopped cold, she was laying on the bed asleep, her clothing neatly folded on a nearby chair, “Um…”

The tall blonde stirred, then smiled slightly, never opening her eyes, as she spoke softly, “Mmmm, so Mike is gone I take it…good, high time we were better acquainted.”

“Shannon…ah…um…” Alex stammered shyly, he was by no means a virgin, but he was also not used to walking into his bedroom and finding a beautiful, and very naked, woman asleep on his bed either.

Shannon opened her eyes and smiled when she saw his nervous expression, and blushing cheeks, and was instantly drawn to this large unassuming man; she was surprised at his shyness and level of embarrassment, but she had to admit it was a huge turn on for her, “Alex, didn’t Mike explain everything?”

“Ah…yes, but ah…well, I thought…um…that we could…could talk…ah you know…” Alex stammered shyly, drawing an even wider smile from the softly laughing blonde as she crawled from the bed and stood, slowly walking towards Alex. He was transfixed by her beauty, his eyes drawn to her naked form, tall and thin, her lithe graceful movements hypnotizing; even the few small scars that marred her otherwise smooth and radiant skin couldn’t detract from her ethereal beauty and Alex soon found himself lost in her clear blue eyes once again, those deep azure pools drawing his soul in to drown it in pleasure and ecstasy.

“Do you want me to leave?” Shannon whispered softly, her sparkling blue eyes positing her soft question as a dare.

“Doesn’t matter what I want.” Alex replied softly, finally finding his voice, “What matters is, do you want to leave?”

“Don’t you like me?” Shannon asked playfully, pretending to pout; she had been trained by masters in this game and she was sure this boy wouldn’t be much of a challenge.

“I don’t really know you, but I really like what I see.” Alex replied, his deep blush growing to include his entire face, as well as his neck, while his ears burned so hotly he was sure they were smoking.

“Then why would you ask me to leave?” Shannon purred as she wrapped her arms tenderly around his large muscular form, gently pulling her body into his and smiling softly as she felt his reaction to her nakedness.

“If you stay, it has to be because you want to, not because you think you have to, not because it’s your job…” Alex whispered back, his eyes still locked on hers, he wasn’t sure what he was feeling but he knew he desperately wanted her to stay. Shannon blinked as she stared into the cold grey depths of his eyes and realized that they held warmth and caring for her; at that moment she knew she had failed, it was her job to steal his heart and use his love to control him, but he had stolen hers instead. She watched helplessly as his hand came up and gently caressed her face, pushing her golden locks from her face and softly tucking them behind her left ear as his other arm slowly, carefully, snaked its way around her waist to hold her firmly, but with a genuine tenderness that she had never known before. “Do you want to stay with me?”

“Yes…please…” She whispered, her eyes wide with desire, her pulse quickening and she felt lightheaded, the room slowly beginning to spin around her as she trembled slightly in his warm embrace, “Kiss me? Please Alex…please kiss me…”

He leaned in as his right hand slid behind her neck and gently cupped her head, their lips softly touching as he paused slightly before pressing in and slowly, lovingly kissing her soft quivering lips. She moaned quietly as he held her trembling body firmly, their mouths meeting for the first time, as she prayed silently that it wouldn’t be the last. He leaned back and searched her stunned face, her eyes wide with confusion at the strange warm feelings filling her breast, her heart beating rapidly in her chest as she felt his strong heartbeat, even through his shirt, against her naked breasts, “So, do you want to stay?”

“Please…” Shannon whispered, knowing she was completely lost to herself; she belonged to him now and would for as long as she lived, even longer if possible.

“I have one favor to ask first…” Alex whispered with a soft genuine smile and Shannon’s heart leapt in joy, she not only wanted to do something, anything, to please this man, but she desired it so strongly that she knew she needed to please him. She returned his soft smiled and nodded slowly, not caring what the favor was as she watched his warm smile grow, “It was a long flight and I stink, I could really use a shower, I want our first time to be special…so…would you bath me and let me bath you?” Shannon nodded before resting her head on his shoulder, she knew she was irrevocably lost, she belonged, heart and soul, to this gentle loving man who held her so tenderly and she couldn’t have been happier. Alex smiled, he truly liked this beautiful woman in his arms but it was obvious that she was broken, damaged somewhere deep inside; he thought that fitting that as broken and damaged as he was, he would find another tortured spirit to comfort, and in turn be comforted by. He didn’t realize how much she loved him, and would love him until her death, or how much he loved her until that terrible day tore them apart.

Steven shook his head trying to dispel the terrible daydream that had ambushed him; he looked down at the laptop and saw that he had been held captive by his past for over ten minutes. His family was just setting down to eat and he knew that after dinner the children would retire to the living room to finish homework while the women would clean up the dishes; they would all meet on the couch and watch some television as the day failed and bedtime approached, just enjoying the company of the ones they loved. Alex saw the end of their day unfolding in his head as he watched them laughing with each other around the dinner table and felt a strong, almost irresistible, desire to jump from the truck, sprint the hundred yards to his boyhood home, throw the door open, and beg their forgiveness while he pleaded to be part of their family again. As all this went through his confused mind, one thing stopped him, held him fast, fear; fear that they wouldn’t forgive him, fear that they wouldn’t welcome him home, fear that they hated and loathed him, fear that he would lose those he loved without even the illusion that they loved him back.

Steven slammed the laptop shut and turned the ignition key to the truck, pausing as the engine roared to life; he couldn’t stand it here anymore, couldn’t stand being so close to all that he had lost; no, not lost, to everything he had held dear and then turned his back on! Steven shook his head in anger and frustration as he slammed the large vehicle in drive and pulled away with a squeal of the tires. He drove downtown towards his hotel but then pulled into a parking spot on Main Street, he really didn’t want to be sitting in his hotel room tonight, wallowing in his own self-pity. He killed the engine and stepped from the large pick-up, a sedan would have been more inconspicuous but he had a soft spot for large vehicles and he decided that since he wasn’t actually on a mission, he would spoil himself.

Steven looked around in the failing light, laughing softly as he recognized where he was; the town had changed a lot but the bar he stood in front hadn’t changed a bit since that horrible day when his life had taken the most surreal turn imaginable. Steven stood staring at the old, almost ancient, neon sign that informed anyone who bothered to look that the disreputable looking drinking establishment was indeed open and not, in fact, scheduled for demolition. Steven looked at the windows, clouded with age, and shrugged; what the hell, it wasn’t like anyone would recognize him, the last decade hadn’t been overly kind. His face was leathered and scarred and he was already going grey; in fact if not for his taught and muscular frame, he was sure people would thing he was an old man instead of one who had yet to see his fortieth year. Steven walked through the door and stopped cold, there behind the bar was a face that he thought to never see again, and she was as beautiful as the day he had left; he wondered if she still feared him or if the longs years had softened the horror he had seen in her beautiful brown eyes. He took a deep breath and stepped into the nearly empty bar, walking to the bar with his head down as he felt the butterflies rampaging through his stomach; one thing he missed from being a shade, a specter with no ties to the living was the absence of fear. Steven sat on a stool and said a silent prayer that he wouldn’t vomit on the dark, stained and dented wood of the bar as he watched Char washing a beer mug, her pretty face lost in thought and he wondered what she was day dreaming about as his own mind drifted away…

It took Shannon a moment to respond to the touch of Alex’s strong arms as they gently snaked around her waist from behind and he tenderly kissed the soft skin of her thin elegant neck, so lost in thought she was at that moment, as she stared out at the gentle slope of the wooded and snow covered valley that lay stretched out before her. She sighed as she pulled his arms tighter around her thin lithe body, relishing in the warmth his naked flesh added to her, “Mmmmm, morning lover…sleep well?”

“Always when I’m in your arms…I feel safe with you.” Alex whispered before he licked her neck, sucking her cute little earlobe into his mouth and teasing it with his tongue, causing her to shiver and giggle softly as she leaned back into his loving embrace.

She turned in his arms and saw what she already knew, that he was standing naked in the cold winter air, small tendrils of steam rising from his strong, scarred body, a happy smile on his face. “You’ll catch pneumonia silly!” She laughed as she stretched up to kiss his smiling, and rapidly bluing, lips, “You need to put some clothes on…”

“Awwww, but I wanted to play!” Alex whined playfully as he pulled her in for another soft kiss, “With my favorite girl!”

Shannon smiled as she laid her head on his strong broad shoulder, “I really love you Alex…”

“Good, I’d hate to think it was all one sided.” He teased back, gently rubbing her back through the layers of flannel she wore as proof against the biting morning air and freezing as he felt her hot tears running down his chest. “Shannon?”

“I’m so sorry Alex…” She whispered as she began to softly sob in his arms, “It was a dirty trick to play on you, but I wanted this so badly and was afraid you would refuse…I should have asked you, and…and…oh god Alex, please don’t hate me!”

Alex took his tall blonde lover by the shoulders and gently pushed her back so he could look into her teary and frightened blue eyes, worry etched on his face, “Shannon, what’s going on?”

Shannon took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she held his gaze, “Alex, I’m pregnant!” She stared at his slowly blinking eyes as he tried to process this unexpected news, her stomach spinning and flipping as her fear grew exponentially every second he remained silent; finally it was too much for her and she cried out in pain and fear, “Oh God Alex, say something…anything, scream yell, something!” Alex jerked at her wail of misery, then pulled her tightly to his body and started laughing hysterically as she lifted her head to look at his ridiculously happy face, “Why are you laughing?”

“Because I’m happy!” Alex replied, his grey eyes twinkling with joy.

“You don’t mind that I’m pregnant?” Shannon asked quietly as she relaxed slightly in his strong arms, hope filling her mind, she almost couldn’t believe how pleased he was, almost afraid it was some cruel trick.

“Mind? Mind? Shannon, I’m ecstatic!” Alex exclaimed as he began kissing her beautiful face and soft red lips, wiping her tears, and her anxiety, away with his own smiling lips, “Shannon, I love you so much and I can’t wait to hold our child, to be a real family.”

“Oh God Alex, thank you, thank you so much! I was so scared you would be furious!” She replied, returning his kisses with tears still in her eyes, but tears of happiness now. “I love you Alex, more than I can say…oh I don’t know how I got so lucky and I know I don’t deserve you, but I’m so glad you love me!”

“You do deserve me, you’re a beautiful, wonderful woman and I’m lucky to have you.” Alex replied softly as he kissed her pretty little nose, “And now you’re giving me the greatest gift a woman can give a man, and you’re thanking me? Shannon, I should be thanking you, should drop to my knees and kiss your feet in gratitude…in fact…” Shannon laughed as Alex fell to his knees and began kissing her small slipper clad toes as she laughed happily and dropped to her own knees as they wrapped each other in a tight loving embrace, “God, you’re so stupid sometimes…don’t ever change!”

“Not a worry, I do stupid better than anyone!” Alex laughed as he held the woman he loved in his arms; grateful the Gods had deemed to bless him with so much. They stayed there holding each other until Shannon felt her man shiver, ever so slightly, in her soft arms and leaned back to kiss his cold blue lips.

“God Alex, you’re freezing!” Shannon scolded with real worry as she stood and pulled him to his feet, quickly ushering him back into the welcoming warmth of the small cabin they called home as she continued to chastise him while he just smiled sheepishly, “Why didn’t you say something?”

“I liked holding you.” He replied with a small shrug as she shook her head and laughed softly, using her small delicate hands to try and rub warmth back into his near frozen body.

“You can hold me in the nice warm cabin just as well as the nasty cold porch, in fact I was thinking of the nice warm bed you big goof!” Shannon laughed as he smiled and scooped her up into his strong arms, turning to walk to the bedroom as she laughed happily in his arms.

“Sir? Sir can I help you?” Steven looked up and into Shannon’s smiling face as it slowly dissolved to be replaced by Char’s as she gave him a strange look.

Steven sighed sadly and grinned apologetically, “Sorry, daydreaming I guess.”

Char smiled back, that easy lopsided grin he had always found so adorable, “That’s ok, I do it all the time! So what’s your poison of choice?”

“Ah, Appleton rum, neat if you have a twelve year old, otherwise on the rocks.” Steven replied quickly and watched as her eyes widened.

“Um…we don’t have Appleton’s…um is there anything else that would be ok?” Char asked quietly as she turned away, her voice breaking slightly while she pulled a whiskey glass from the shelf and turned back to look into his light grey eyes with a start, but quickly regaining her composure as she continued speaking, “We have Bacardi white and gold but they’re not really good neat or even on the rocks…”

Steven looked past her and saw the bottle of Appleton’s twelve year aged reserve, “Um…there’s a bottle right there.”

Char turned and looked at the bottle she had put on the shelf over a decade ago, the black ribbon wrapped neatly about the bottle she had lovingly cared for since the day she had gone to the funeral of the one man she had truly loved, taking a deep breath before turning back to the large stranger with the hypnotic grey eyes; grey eyes the likes of which she had only seen once before. “That bottle isn’t for sale…it’s more of a…well its in memory of a friend.”

Steven smiled slightly as he watched her mind work, “Go ahead and open it, I don’t think Steven would mind – in fact I know he wouldn’t!”

Char took a step back, not believing what her eyes were telling her, as she stammered quietly, “How do…do…yo…you know his na…name?”

“Have I changed so much Char?” He asked quietly, his smile fading slightly.

Char stepped back again and bumped hard into the back counter, the bottles rattling quietly; Char dropped the whiskey tumbler she had been holding, jumping slightly as it shattered noisily on the dark, worn wooden floor, her eyes never leaving his as she gasped in horror, “You’re dead!”

Steven continued to smile, shrugging slightly as he spoke softly, trying to make a joke out of the surreal situation, “I got better!”

“You…you got better?” Char whispered back as her terror and confusion slowly morphed into anger, “You GOT BETTER? WHAT THE FUCK!?!”

“Char…”

“SHUT UP!” Char screamed as she stepped forward and stared at him, her rage coming off of her tense body and assaulting him in waves as she snarled at his stunned face, “I went to your funeral…I cried for days…you bastard – I loved you!”

“Charlene…” Steven started and stopped as the crack of her slap echoed through the bar, causing the few patrons inside to wince at the painful sound, their attention having been drawn earlier by her angry screams.

“No! You don’t get to speak, the dead don’t speak!” Char added in a low menacing tone as her tears ran freely down her face, “Do you know what you did, how your death ripped my guts out, broke my heart?”

“I’m sorry, I had no choice…” Steven replied miserably, not knowing how to explain or apologize for what he had put her through.

“Why Steve, why did you do this to everyone…do you know how bad Beth and your mother were, even Sam was so distraught…” Char replied as her tears began falling even harder from her sad brown eyes as Steven saw the pain there and knew it was just one more sin he would have to pay for…

Steven stepped from the taxi and sighed, this was definitely not the safest neighborhood he had ever been in; he saw the distrustful and angry looks he was getting as he paid the driver, who lost no time in departing the area, and as Steven turned, he surveyed the unkempt and ramshackle houses that lined the street. There were a few that actually looked neat, if worn, sprinkled among the neglected shacks that were fronted by overgrown and weed filled yards that were also filled with angry, and intoxicated, young men staring at him with undisguised hate as they took long draws from tequila bottles or beer cans. They were probably wondering what a well-dressed gringo like him was doing in their shabby little world, even as they wondered how much money they would be able to pull from his bleeding corpse. Steven sighed as he checked the address written on a scrap of paper in his hand and realized that one of the neat, and actually welcoming looking, homes was his destination; with a nod of determination, he started to the small, orderly looking home.

Steven stopped and dropped his head when he saw several of the angry looking men approach and spoke loudly in Spanish, hoping to avoid the inevitable, “It would be best for all if you rethink this.”

“Hey gringo, just give us your money…oh an that pretty watch there, and maybe, just maybe we let you crawl out of here.” One of the toughs replied with a snicker and nodded cockily as he joined in his comrade’s laughter.

“Son, you and your friends can walk away now or be wheeled away on stretchers later; I really don’t care which.” Steven replied with a sad sigh; he knew they wouldn’t take this one chance to escape unscathed, knew he would have to hurt these men to prove he wasn’t to be trifled with, knew that he would have to sin again to try and atone for a prior sin.

“You think you tough gringo, well maybe we cut your balls off and see how tough you are then, huh?” The thug added, angry that Steven wasn’t crying, sniveling, or in some way begging for his miserable life. “You beg, maybe we let you live.”

“Fine, I’m begging. Let me do what I came here to do and I’ll leave.” Steven replied quietly, the sadness in his voice confusing the young men; the fear they expected was absent and the sadness seemed to be directed at them, this was not something they had encountered before and it made them nervous.

The young men were about to back away when their leader, at least he seemed to be in charge, snarling like the animal he was, “Too late for that gringo, you must bleed for showing disrespect!” The dirty, greasy youth growled as he drew a cheap wooden handled knife from his waist band and charged Steven who easily caught the youth’s undisciplined and sloppy strike by the his filthy and sweaty wrist, quickly twisting hard and snapping several of the small bone located there as he used his other hand to deftly pluck the knife from the stunned roughien’s failing grasp; Steven took a small hop forward and lifted his right foot, driving it hard into the man’s knee and bending his leg nearly ninety degrees sideways with a loud stomach turning crunch that was quickly drowned out by a tortured scream that emanated from Steven’s latest victim. He let the ruined man fall to the weed filled grass and turned to face the stunned and frightened men who were so recently laughing at what they were going to do to him.

“You can still go…” Steven said quietly, hoping against hope that these young men would be frightened enough by their comrade’s screaming that they would beat a hasty retreat; but that was too easy and Steven didn’t do easy, not that he wouldn’t like to try it someday. Steven’s body reacted a split second before his mind even registered the threat and the knife left his hand, before he even realized he was throwing it, to fly straight and unerringly to one of the young men’s hands, burying itself to the hilt, cutting muscle and tendons as the boy screamed and dropped the rusting pistol that looked more like it would explode if fired then present any real danger to whoever it was aimed at. As the boy dropped to his knees, screaming pitifully, his good hand hovering shakily above the knife’s dark oil stained wooden handle. The boy was unwilling to touch the offending object for fear of causing himself even more pain as he slumped over into the fetal position and his screams turned into sad strangled whimpers. The two remaining boys looked at each other, then, to Steven’s relief, turned at began running just as fast as they could; Steven turned, ignoring the pitiful whimpers of the two less intelligent boys, before straightening his suit coat once again and resuming his short journey to the tidy little house where he would destroy two more lives. He had something to give them though, something that he knew wouldn’t replace the terrible loss this woman and her young daughter had suffered at his hands, but hopefully, something that would allow them to rebuild their shattered lives.

Steven stopped in front of the faded door and took a deep breath before knocking softly, it took only a few moments before a strong looking and proudly beautiful woman opened the door, a pretty dark-haired and dark-eyed girl curiously peeking around her mother’s skirt, “Can I help you Senor?”

“Yes, my name is Alex Standish and I knew your husband.” Steven said without preamble as he handed the letter and picture of her and her daughter to the stunned woman, “I’m afraid that he was killed in a terrible accident, I’m truly sorry…”

“Carlos…” The woman whispered, her tears tearing at Steven’s resolve as he sighed and dropped his head, “I’m afraid his body was unrecoverable…but there is something I can do for you…” Steven reached into his pocket and removed the black passbook that detailed the account he had opened in this woman’s name, an account that held two million dollars. “I know it can’t replace Carlos, but perhaps it can provide a better life for you and Isabella, and that’s what he desperately wanted.”

The woman took the passbook and nodded at him, her tears still falling as the small child looked up at her mother with fear and worry in her eyes, “Thank you Senor, thank you for coming in person.”

“It was the least I could do, Carlos was a good man, he…he will be missed.” Steven replied quietly as he fought back his shame, “My name and number are in the small book, if you need anything, anything at all, please call me.” The woman nodded as she stepped back and slowly closed the door, she had known something was wrong when several weeks had past with no word from her husband; it was actually a relief to know for sure.

Steven had barely taken a dozen steps when the door he had just left flew open and the woman quickly ran to him, her daughter following closely behind, and stopped with wide eyes as she held the small book in her shaking hand, “Senor, there is some mistake…the money, it is so much!”

“There is no mistake, I promised that I would take care of you…please let me.” Steven answered as the woman stared at him then threw herself into his arms.

“Thank you so much Senor, Thank you Steve…Steve?”

“Steve, are you ok?” Char asked with concern as she gently touched his face.

“Wha…what?” He asked as he focused on Char’s warm brown eyes, her trembling hand slowly caressing his face, using her fingertips lightly brushing his tears away as she continued to stare at him a few moments longer, before grabbing is coat lapels and pulling him up as she crawled partway over the bar top and kissed him hard with a scared desperation, almost fearful that he would fade away before her very eyes.

“I missed you so much!” Char whispered before she crawled over the bar and into his arms, “Steve, I hated myself so much for letting you go that night, for letting you walk away thinking I hated you…”

“I’m so sorry I left…Char…I don’t know what to say except I love you, always have and I’m so sorry that it took me ten years to figure that out!” Alex replied quietly as he watched her mouth began to twitch, a smile slowly spreading across her pretty face before she leaned back and yelled.

“GET OUT, THE BAR IS CLOSED!” She laughed as she pulled herself back up and kissed him again, “Take me home, it’s been ten years and I’m not waiting any longer!” Steven turned as the three people still in the bar stood and smiled, one actually giving him a wink and a thumbs up before laughing and walking out of the front door. Char quickly hopped off his lap and ran to the door, flipping the switch and dousing the open sign as she quickly locked the door before running back to him, grabbing his arm and leading him across the bar just as fast as she could.

“Can you just shut the place down like this?” Steven asked with a small laugh. “Won’t the owner get pissed?”

“I’ll get over it!” Char laughed as she stopped and turned to kiss him softly, “Now, do you want a history lesson, or would you prefer sex education?”

“Mmmm, tough choice, but I think I’ll go with the second one!” Steven laughed before kissing her again.

“Good answer!” Char whispered softly before breaking from his loose embrace and urgently leading him up the stairs that led to her small apartment. She was already shedding clothes and as soon as the stepped into the small living room and soon began tearing at his clothes as he laughed at her.

“Whoa, what’s the rush?” Steven laughed as he took her pretty face in his hand and kissed her again.

“ I told you, it’s been ten years!” Char growled, grabbing his scarred face and pulling them together for another passionate kiss, “I’m not waiting any longer!”

“Char, are you saying…” Steve asked quietly, stunned by her words.

Char stared at him and began laughing as she resumed stripping him, “No stupid…hell, I was even married once, nice guy too!”

“What happened?” Steven asked as he smiled in relief, he really didn’t want to have the responsibility of being the first to break a ten year drought, talk about performance anxiety!

Char shrugged as she looked into his light grey eyes, “He wasn’t you.”

Steve stopped and stared at her before leaning in and kissing her tenderly before whispering, “I love you too!”

Char was almost desperate in their lovemaking, she pushed him onto his back and attacked him without any preamble, demanding what she wanted as she took from him the pleasure she had been denied for so long, a pleasure she thought she would never feel again, not from this man she loved so dearly. They both truly enjoyed their explosive, almost animal love, but it all ended with her crying in his arms, her fears getting the better of her as they held each other tenderly, “Steve, are you gonna leave me again?”

“No, I’m home and if you’ll have me I’d love to stay home…with you.” Steven responded quietly, he hadn’t planned any of this but when he saw her again, he just knew, “Char…um, I know this is kind of sudden and I would understand if you just slapped me again…um, Charlene Marie Henry…um, will you marry me?”

“What?” Char replied as she laughed and turned in his arms so she could see his face, her laughter slowly dieing on her lips as she crawled onto his chest, “You’re serious…”

“Yes.” Steven replied, “But you don’t ha…”

Char cut him off with an excited kiss before she propped herself up and smiled brightly, “Damn right I will!” Char screamed happily as he pulled her back into a tight embrace, kissing her passionately as he caressed her softly, he had forgotten how good they were together, how much he loved her and he silently cursed himself for wasting so many years. This time their loving was slower, less desperate as they shared themselves instead of taking what they needed, their love not so much rekindling as setting their passions ablaze.

Alex woke slowly, something he couldn’t put his finger on nagging at the edge of his consciousness as he turned and jerked back when he saw that Shannon wasn’t in the bed, “Baby?”

“Here.” Shannon laughed from behind him as he turned and smiled at the sight of her naked body profiled in the light streaming from the open bathroom door, “Your little one keeps stomping on my bladder!”

“Well come here and we’ll just have to have a word with her.” Alex laughed softly, holding his arms out to her as she giggled quietly and rubbed her protruding stomach softly.

“Her?” Shannon asked as she raised her eyebrows and smiled lovingly at him, “You know something I don’t?”

“Well it has to be a girl, a boy would never be so inconsiderate!” He teased as she tilted her head and laughed again, “Besides a boy would never get up in the middle of the night just to kick you in the bladder, much too much effort!” Shannon shook her head as she took a step forward and stopped with a surprised look on her face, “Oh!” Alex heard the tinkle of glass and saw her hold her hands over the stomach as he stared in unbelieving shock at the blood streaming between her small thin fingers, “Alex?” He looked at her in horror for a moment more before he started to move and saw her head snap forward, spraying him with blood and bone before she collapsed to the floor in a crumpled heap. Alex rolled out of the bed and quickly crawled to her, slipping in her blood and brains that pooled on the smooth wooden floor as he pulled her slack body to his, cradling her ruined head, her small head that had been so beautiful only moments before. Alex heard the door kicked open and his sudden rage forced him into action as he dove for the bed, a shower of bullets further violating Shannon’s corpse and splintering the floor where he had just been; he grabbed the weapon that he kept at the bedside and spun quickly, firing three quick rounds from the large forty-five, the painfully loud explosive report of the large weapon making his ears ring as his rounds struck the assailant; two in the chest, to straighten his target, and the last bullet tearing the man’s skull apart. Alex dropped the partially used magazine from the weapon, turning and grabbing a fresh on and ramming it home as he scrambled towards the dead intruder on his hands and knees, scooping up the man’s silenced weapon as he took cover by the door.

He pulled a spare magazine from the man’s combat harness and recharged the confiscated weapon as well, before low crawling out the door, hitting the switch that bathed the living room of the cabin in light, smiling coldly when he heard the grunt from the other side of the room as another intruder’s night vision flared in overload. Alex pushed against the doorframe with his powerful legs, the gore from Shannon and the man he killed acting as grease and allowing him to slide forward into the room as he fired a quick burst at a shadowy figure standing in the open front door of the cabin. The muzzle flash of the suppressed weapon lit up the room and he saw another man tearing at his night vision goggles just to the right of the first man; Alex arched his body and fired another quick burst as the first man’s nearly headless corpse was still falling to the floor. He felt the burning as splinters from a near miss dug into the naked flesh of his side; he quickly rolled towards the two dead men, the thuds of two more misses smashing into the polished pine floor as he bumped against a corpse and pulled another magazine from the second man’s harness, dropping his handgun as he recharged the small submachine gun.

Alex turned as he grabbed his large sidearm and low crawled to the shattered window the shots had come through, ignoring the pain of the glass shards as they cruelly bit into his the unprotected flesh of his legs. As he neared the window he saw a small dark spherical object sail through the panes of shattered glass and knew instantly what it was; he dropped the silenced weapon as he snagged the grenade out of the air like a shortstop and fired four quick rounds through the window, which was rewarded with a pained grunt, before tossing the little metal ball of death back through the window. He slid to a stop next to the wall and closed his eyes tightly as he opened his mouth so the overpressure of the explosion wouldn’t rupture his eardrums. When the shaking stopped, he took a quick peek out the window and quickly pulled back as three more rounds passed through the space where his head had just been and slammed into the back wall of the ravaged cabin; he had seen two more torn corpses laying in the blood spattered snow and realized the count was now five, and since the largest team hit team he had ever dealt with was six men, that left one last shooter…he hoped.

Alex scooted over to the second man he killed and pulled his hood off, a snarl of rage escaping his lips as he saw a face he recognized, a man he had worked with and anger filled him as he knew who had ordered the hit – Harrison! They must have found out about Shannon’s pregnancy and decided to kill two birds with one stone; well they only got one and they would pay dearly for that mistake! Alex crawled into the bedroom, glancing at Shannon’s ruined body as the tears came unbidden, his terrible grief leaking through the wall of rage that now contained it; Alex pushed back the pain in his chest, ignoring the almost crippling sense of loss, now was not the time. He crawled to the nightstand and pulled out the laptop, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw it was undamaged; he opened it quickly and keyed in the password, the screen quickly blossoming in a map of the area surrounding his cabin. He saw two red dots and saw that the one on the hill overlooking his once happy home had to be the last shooter; Alex smiled as he saw the red dot was almost perfectly superimposed over a blue one. “Well isn’t that convenient…” Alex whispered and keyed in the command mines identification code, pausing with his finger over the enter key, “Yeah, I thought that was the best sniping position around as well.” He smiled coldly before pressing the button and feeling the light rumble as yet another explosion ripped through the cold night air. Alex dropped his head and sighed before turning to look at the shredded body of his lover, the body that held his unborn child who would never be born now…

“Steven? Steven, wake up!” He heard the frightened voice urge, a voice that he knew and knew well – Char! “Oh Steve, please wake up…please, what’s wrong?”

“Char?” he asked quietly, as he felt the tears on his face and sighed as he wrapped his sweat drenched arms around her frightened body, feeling her relief wash through her, “I’m sorry I scared you Char…”

“Oh baby, you were screaming in your sleep…” Char cried softly as she let him pull her into a tight hug and slowly regained her composure, he had frightened her badly, but she loved him and whatever demons he held, they would deal with them together; she lost him once and it took ten years to get him back, she wasn’t going to risk it again. But there was one thing she had to know, “Steve…um, who is Shannon?”

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