Page 26 of Fast Vengeance

“What’s on the agenda for this afternoon, Cap?” Maka asked as he took his M4 apart.

“Haven’t decided yet.”

“Well if there’s nothing going on, maybe we could do some more PT and throw a little wrestling in there for fun.”

Brock laughed at him. “You just want a rematch because you’re a sore loser.”

Maka looked up, annoyance stamped all over his bronze face. “Sore loser? That’s my belt in your office. You didn’t win it or earn it, you ganged up on me and forcibly took it from me. Big difference.”

“Can we do a lip sync battle instead?” Granger asked, busy stripping his Glock. “I don’t think Taggart would be too impressed if we started breaking tables here.”

“He’s got a point,” Prentiss said, reassembling his rifle. Then to Maka, “You sure you want more of that punishment and humiliation?”

Maka turned an incredulous look on his teammate. “I had like, six of you on top of me and you put me through a freaking table.”

“A flimsy collapsing table. Come on.”

“Whatever. I held my head as high as my neck would allow afterward.”

Lockhart was as quiet as always, methodically taking apart his sniper rifle. “What about you?” Brock asked him. “Any suggestions for how we should spend this afternoon?” He wasn’t really asking, since he already had things to review with the team per Taggart’s request, but it was fun to get the banter rolling.

“We should rent an actual wrestling ring at a gym,” Lockhart said without looking up from cleaning his scope. “Make it real.”

“Hell yeah, we should,” Maka piped up, looking excited by the prospect.

“Only if we dress up in costume for the matches,” Granger said.

“In leotards,” Khan put in with a smirk. “I’d pay money to see that.”

Brock burst out laughing at the mental image.

“They wear bodysuits, dumbass, not leotards,” Granger said to Khan. “Deadpool is badass in his. And what are you laughing at, Cap?”

“Oh, nothing,” Brock said. “Just picturing a human tank like Maka wearing a leotard—if we could find one to fit him.”

Now Maka looked offended. “I would so rock a leotard.”

“We need to make this happen,” Colebrook said, all enthusiasm.

The guys all started jawing at each other, trash talking and making bets about who would have the best shot against Maka in the ring one on one. Brock took advantage of the opportunity to squat next to Lockhart, who had now bowed out of the conversation.

“Hey, you heard anything about Oceane? About whether they’re going to keep her here for a while longer?” His teammate checked in with her pretty regularly.

“Last I talked to her, that was the plan. What about Victoria?”

He kept his expression impassive even though the mere mention of her name stirred up all kinds of emotions. “She’ll be leaving early next week, unless something else comes up in the meantime.” It was driving him nuts to stay away from her, but with his schedule it couldn’t be helped.

Three days had passed since that not-so-perfect ending at his place. He’d talked to her on the phone each night to catch up on each other’s day, mostly just to hear her voice. Damn, he hated how things had gone the other day. And with the deadline of her impending departure speeding toward them, tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough.

Hoping to shake things up and make her more relaxed, he’d arranged for them to meet at a fancy hotel downtown. He’d gone to the Marshals Service about it and they’d agreed because of her situation, and because they were familiar with the security protocols of the hotel since it was frequently used by political figures.

“She know where she’s going?” Lockhart asked.

“Not yet.” A heaviness settled in his chest. She hadn’t even left the city yet and he already missed her. She was so deep under his skin at this point, the idea of never seeing her again was hard to deal with. But he wanted her safe, and he wanted her happy. So if he had to let her go, then he would find a way to live with it.

A musical ring tone cut through the banter and trash talk going on in the room. Brock glanced at Rodriguez as he leaned over to grab his phone, looked at it and answered. A second later he shot to his feet, his expression taut as he put one finger in his ear to block out the noise. “What?”

The room went silent, all eyes on him.

---