The balm for old wounds // John Price.

2.

The thunderstom was forming over the base. The blue sky was taken over by the dark gray clouds, and the wind was knocking on the few windows of the building. After a sleepless night, the captain realized that there was not even a single way he could include a girl in the upcoming mission. It was impossible without knowing what she was capable of. Everybody's personal file was always containing the best sides of any soldier, the skills, but not the weakest points. Price wasn't doubting the flying skills of Hill, but there was more than the ability to take off, maneuver, or land the plane needed. After all, not everybody could be part of Task Force 141, and Price could bet on his mustache that a lady won't last even two weeks.

The heavy footsteps of the two were echoing in the empty, dark corridor. The silence was all around them, but it wasn't making the situation uncomfortable; it felt as if the silence helped them both to escape the conversation none of them wanted to be a part of. John opened a heavy, rusty metal door and, being a gentleman he was deep inside, let Faye enter the training facility first. The white artificial light was turning on one side after another, letting her take the first look at what she had gotten herself into. The place wasn't much different from the army days of hers, but something inside of Faye's soul was telling her that everything else would be much different.

- Let's see what we have to work with, - John's deep voice was traveling around every corner, as if he was shouting to a group of people, with the loud clap in the air.

- Where do we start? – Faye looked around, trying to understand what was on the man's mind, but maybe even he didn't know what was in there deep inside.

- Not we, kid, you. - The captain crossed his hands on the muscular torso as he turned around, meeting eye contact with the brunette. - I already know my strength and weaker sides. You're the one who's new here.

The understanding that the time for the conversation was over quickly came up in her mind. Faye sat down for a moment, tying her shoes a bit tighter and catching the look of the man on herself. She knew that it wasn't "an exciting opportunity to teach someone" for him; she was more like a rope around his neck.

Her green army shirt was turning darker under the drops of sweat after long rounds around the place. John stopped the stopwatch after another round, giving a girl a break for a moment. His facial expression was saying everything instead of the words out of his mouth. He wasn't satisfied, as if the results were good but just not good enough for him.

The cold water felt like a cure from everything, when Faye took a break. The dry air of the building was worse than the hottest desert. There she was, a sweaty mess in front of the captain. And it was just the beginning, not even the middle. John didn't want to waste his whole day on this, and a moment later, they both had shotguns in their hands and two targets in front of them. Feeling anger from her disappointment over herself, the woman counted to three and shot all the bullets she had. Price took a quick look, realizing she hit close to the '10' but not the target itself. The man turned around and blindly shot at the target, getting all of them right in the middle and making a brunette catch her breath for a moment. She knew he was good, but seeing the man's skills right here was another kind of amusement.

- Fight me, - John dropped the gun on the floor, looking inside of the girl's green eyes. His voice was serious despite the smile on the man's face.

- What? – Faye looked and sounded confused. By all the possible calculations in this world, she would last between 5 to 10 seconds in a fight with Price. Her eyes ran on his muscular hands, and realizing that this man had been practicing his skills for a longer time than she was alive.

- C'mon princess, I don't bite, - He took one more step back in case the distance between them was too short or made her hesitate if the man was even serious about it.

She took one step after another, preparing her knuckles to meet with the rough skin on the man's body. The luck and skills were not on Faye's side, but you'll never know before you try. Immediately, he blocked her first move, feeling the smirk appear on the captain's face as he was reading her every move. The woman's steps reminded a cat that was playing with her prey before being attacked. A feeling of self-confidence appeared inside of her when John softly groaned, feeling the kick right in his leg. Trying to repeat her luck, the brunette made the mistake of aiming for the same place and was immediately blocked by Price. A couple more attempts resulted in one more successful kick, but not good enough to get the captain down or at least erase the smirk off his face. The man took over the fight with a couple of light punches, making her lose stability and focus on him. The only thing left to the lieutenant was to bring the man down with her instead of letting him enjoy the view of her defeated self on the concrete floor.

- You might be a great pilot, but not a fighter - John was on the top of her, seeing now the reason why she was sent here. Being the best in the course of flying wasn't enough. You can't just fly into the building and kill the target on every mission, having a small percentage of survival and actual success.

- I supposed that is the reason why I am here, - Faye tried to catch her breath while her eyes were discovering the man's face. Deep wrinkles were seen on his forehead, while a couple of gray hairs were seen through the perfectly trimmed facial hair. She realized that her silence for too long could be suspicious and tried to keep herself together under the gaze of his deep eyes. - To become both.

Price offered her a hand to help get up from the cold floor and led her out of the building, having even more questions now regarding the upcoming mission than ever before.