Operation: Healing Shadows

Connections

Mason's POV
        I looked out the door as Aaron continued to tell stories over comms, I heard Harry ask me "How's your father?" I continued watching the ocean pass below us "Mom says he's doing well, busy but well." He replied happily "I'll have to let him know you're running with us now, I think he'll be proud" I nodded, not once daring to take my eyes off the landscape "I know he will, might take a while to reach him. He's been swamped with work almost as much as I have" I heard Nøkk "Sounds like you have no love for him" I shrugged "I respect him, he's a good man but my parents weren't around much when I was growing up. The Nanny taught me most stuff" I heard Jäger in my ear "I never pegged you for the pampered rich boy" I chuckled as I spoke "I'm not, well I am but not anymore. I stopped being that in high school" I heard Seamus to my left "and what are you now? If you're not the pampered rich kid who's had daddy buy everything for him" I looked over as I spoke confidently "I'm just your friendly neighborhood PJ, swooping in to save others" Aaron spoke as most of the operators chuckled "Trust me as the poverty born city boy, Mason isn't your typical rich kid. He's yet to let me down 3 years later" I joked with him "I knew you loved me" he laughed.
     I spoke to everyone "Don't worry, even if you hate my guts, I'll have your back" Aaron voiced his agreement before Harry spoke to us "I'm glad you share that viewpoint, I knew you two would make good additions" I smiled as I ran a finger through my long unkempt hair. Max asked Jäger "Hey Marius, how far out are we?" I made the mental note of the pilots name as he spoke "'nother hour" I hear Aaron "hey Harry, do we have any tests or anything we have to do when we land?" I heard Max "Can I tell em? My versions way more fun" Harry chuckled as I looked back and saw his head bobbing "Yes, Max you can tell them" he first pumped holding his wrist as he punched the roof and Jalal scolded him "Calm yourself, you'll only do harm to those around you with your antics" Aaron spoke jokingly "Well I guess it's a good thing Mason and I are here" Max ignored the scolding and spoke excitedly "So you're gonna land and look at the base and go "Oh fuck me, this place is beautiful" then we're gonna drag you inside and have you take a common sense test, don't think too hard it'll be pretty common sense. Then we'll bring you to the Gym and you'll spar with one of the operators, then we do basic PT challenges like a mile run pull ups stuff like that. Now HERE is where it goes tits up, you have to go and meet every other operator and then set up your station in the shop"
I heard Nøkk beside me translating since Max talked just past Mach 2 "What he's saying is you have to do a short psych eval, then you have a fight with one of our CQB experts, you meet the rest of the team and then we bring you to the shop where we work on project and our gadgets, understand now?" I nodded with a small smile "Thanks, Max you're an energetic fellow aren't you?" I looked back and saw him nod quickly as Seamus spoke "It's like having a toddler at the base" I chuckled as Jalal spoke "It's funny now but give it two weeks and you'll be losing your mind like when Marius and Dominic get into their prank supplies" I heard maniacal cackling from the cockpit causing me to look at the panel behind Nøkk worriedly.
      She teased "What? Scared of a little prank?" I shook my head no as I grew an evil grin "Just looks like Aaron and I have competition in town" she sighed as the cackling from the cockpit stopped "Oh? So you're challenging me? Brave of you, foolish yet brave" I heard Aaron speaking "I didn't bring my supplies, I left em to Sean" I sighed as I replied "I didn't bring mine either" I heard the triumphant laugh of Marius as I spoke "Guess we'll have to ask my parents to send me my supplies I left at the house" I heard Jalal "You don't have your own house? At 30?" I looked at him as I felt several pairs of eyes on me "I'm rarely home, I do 11 month tours. I'm only home for 3 weeks before I return to war, what's the point in paying taxes on a house I don't get any use out of" Nøkk nodded in understanding while Seamus asked "Really? 11 month tours? I didn't do that when I was at the SAS" I shrugged before I heard Aaron "11 months is the usual for us, we like saving people. I only know a handful of PJs that have done 6 months before returning home" Harry spoke to us all "You have to remember that they have to be ready at a moments notice, it's easier to respond when you have people in country. The more experience someone has the more they can treat."
I nodded as Aaron sighed "Guess my leave got cancelled again, shit, I was hoping I could be at her party this year" I heard Harry "Who's party?" Aaron replied "My daughter's, she's turning 8" Harry nodded "When's her party?" Aaron replied "1 week from tomorrow" Harry was quiet for a second "You can go to it, you won't have missions for a week anyway" I sighed dramatically before I asked "Why not?" Harry spoke to me with a chuckle "The first week is for you to settle in and learn the layout of the base" I tsked before speaking "well that's boring" Max spoke extremely hyper "But it's a week of relaxation, it's so laid back" I looked as the sun peaked over the horizon "I like feeling like I'm doing something productive, or I'm bettering myself" I heard snoring in the headset as I heard Harry "Well there goes Seamus" I chuckled as Nøkk sighed "Marius, how much longer?" He spoke sheepishly "half an hour" I sighed before lifting my left leg and pulling off my prosthetic off before I placed them next to me and laid back. I buried by face in the crook of my arm as I heard Nøkk ask "What was it like?" I asked in return "What was what like?" She clarified with a simple "Losing your leg" I nodded quickly as I joked "oh, it was easy. I blinked and it was gone" she chuckled quietly before asking "Seriously though, what was it like losing a limb?"
      I asked "You've never been wounded while in duty have you?" Her veil shook side to side causing me to speak "It's hard to explain the pain you feel when you lose a limb, it's so painful that it doesn't hurt. The adrenaline is pumping so violently, you feel yourself coming in and out of consciousness as your mind tries to figure out how to stop the pain. Then the curiousness takes over and you wonder why you can't feel your leg, you start poking around places you shouldn't and as you feel the end of your leg and your mind pieces it together and then the pain receptors lose their battle and the white hot pain is the only thing on your mind, there's no thoughts like "what happened?" It's only white hot pain. Finally once you realize what's happening the horror hits, I remember screaming until my voice was hoarse." Her wall slipped for a second as I saw her body language show intrigue and horror, as Max spoke horrified "You went through all that?" I heard Aaron "He's told us about it a lot, we all had a sort of sick fascination with it. I couldn't imagine losing a limb" Jalal's head shifted in his sleep as Marius asked "You joined the military after that? I wouldn't be able to do it, I'd constantly be afraid of losing another limb" I spoke to him "I was, I was fuckin' terrified going through basic. Sometimes all you need to break fear is motivation, I felt at home when I got back to Special Forces, I got my brothers back and I got to the unit I owe my life to" I heard Nøkk "You mentioned the Raiders, what did you do there?" I heard Aaron "Yeah, what did you do? You never told me" I sat up and looked at the coast approaching quickly "I was a sniper, one of the best" Max asked excitedly "how many kills do you have?" I replied dreamily "167, one less than Chris Kyle" I got interrogated by Aaron next "what sniper did you use?" I replied "A Barrett M107 Anti-Material rifle, you could be on the other side of 9 inches of concrete and if I wanted to I could put a 4 inch hole in your chest" I heard Marius "Is that legal?" I shrugged as I replied "Some people think it shouldn't be but I can assure you they went down" Harry wasn't asking questions which raised a flag to me I looked back at him "But you already knew that, didn't you Harry?"
      He chuckled as he spoke "sharp as ever, yes I had looked over your military record" I chuckled as Nøkk asked "If you're a sniper, why do you have a rifle and medical supplies?" I spoke to Aaron "Hey buddy, you're up" he chuckled as he spoke "Well Ms. Nøkk, we're pjs. We do a lot of search and rescue, medical and direct action missions, we get attached to other units as medics for their missions and a medic isn't very useful when they're hundreds of meters away. We just don't have place for a sniper in PJs now back to my partner Mason" I asked Harry "Think I'll be able to get back to being a sniper again?" He sighed before speaking "Alright let's level here, I put you through some sniping tests and if you pass them I'll put you on the roster for over watch, deal?" I smiled as I watched London pass "Deal" I asked Marius "hey bud, what's our ETA?" He spoke "2 minutes" I sighed as I rolled up my pant leg and expertly fitted my prosthetic back on.
      2 minutes later I watched as we passed over high fences and then a cement wall, I mused to myself "Lot of defenses" I heard Nøkk causing me to look over "We had a Mask sect in London make an attack a little while ago, we started upping the defenses since then" I nodded slowly before Aaron spoke "Christ, and I thought Pakistan was bad" I lifted my legs as Marius spoke "Contact in 10" I felt the familiar jolt as Marius spoke "We're down, clear to dismount" I slid off the floor of the helicopter before I gently shook Jalal recoiling as he gripped my chest plate tightly "Jalal, Jalal it's good, it's okay. We're at base" he took deep breaths as Nøkk took a shot "جلال ، لا بأس. لن نؤذيك ، أنت بأمان(Jalal, it's okay. We aren't going to hurt you, you are safe)" he muttered under his breath before he released my chest plate and apologized "I'm sorry, Mason, I get a bit... flighty.... when I'm woken up" I smiled before patting his shoulder as he slid out of the helicopter "It's okay, my friend, it's okay I understand" he looked down before looking at me and nodding before he walked past me. I turned and saw Harry, Aaron and Nøkk looking at me intrigued before Aaron asked "So what's first?" Harry asked both of us "What do you want to do first?" I heard Aaron immediately "CQB" I shrugged "CQB it is" as Nøkk turned and started walking, I started following her as she called back "Aaron, be careful with your eyes or I might just take them" I chuckled as we walked.
     I glanced back and saw his eyes glued to the ground as Harry looked confused I clarified "Back in Pakistan a certain someone was looking at her ass and she heard him speaking about it." Harry chuckled as we walked through the base and I began the process of mentally mapping out the layout, when we reached the gym I saw half of it was work out equipment while the other half held an MMA octagon I whistled "Woah, is this what my tax dollars go to?" Harry spoke "Some of them, yes." I sighed happily "fuckin' worth" I heard Aaron next to me "Amen brother" I saw Nøkk taking off her shirt causing me to shield Aaron's eyes "Look away child or she'll take your eyes for sure" as he chuckled and Nøkk pulled off her veil and helmet before looking at us. I continued to stare under my glasses as Harry spoke "Gentlemen, I'm pleased to introduce you to Luna Andersen of the Danish Jaegercorps" I heard Aaron next to me jokingly "keep looking at her like that and I'll think you love her" I shoved him as Nøkk, now dubbed Luna, asked "Which one of you is going first?" I grabbed Aaron and dragged him infront of me "He is" as Luna spoke "So you first, got it" I sighed as Harry laughed and Aaron chuckled.
     I took off my sunglasses and tacvest laying them on my rusksack of gear before I pulled off my shirt and stretched before I looked at Luna and asked "What's the cut point?" She looked at me with a menacing smile, I felt a shiver claw it's way up my spine as she spoke "Until one of us can't continue anymore" I joked "what? Gonna take my other leg?" She smiled as the others laughed and Aaron called "Better hope she doesn't, you'll never get laid again" I flipped him off as Harry spoke "Lets begin shall we?" I nodded before speaking to Luna "Take it easy on me alright? I am a cripple after all" she rolled her eyes as she walked up the stairs and into the octagon and Aaron yelled "I'll tell your mom you said you love her when we're at your funeral!" I shook my head chuckling as I waited for Luna to pick her side before I walked to the other side and got in my ready position: the tops of my fingers were inline with my eyes and my elbows were inline with my shoulders and and inch and a half above the bottom of my rib cage and my left foot had the heel lifted.
      I waited until Luna came running at me before she jumped as I spun to the left as she flew past me only to spin the moment her feet hit the ground and throw a heel kick that I ducked under and followed it up with 3 quick jabbed into her stomach before she threw a right right cross snapping my head to the left, I felt her grab my arm and try to flip me over her back only to have me jump as she started lifting me and land on my feet before I spun 180 degrees and fired my shin into her stomach causing her to double over before she did a handstand and kicked me in the face. I stumbled back in shock before yelling "That was totally wicked!" As Aaron yelled "Oh shit! That just fucking happened!" I saw a faint smile on her face as she charged forward I got ready to defend as she threw a punch only to feint it when I went to block it and wrap her hands around my head and fire her knee into my abs, I grunted with each hit before she released my head and fired her elbow into my eye I hissed as I felt a cut open on my face. She swept my legs and slammed me to the ground as she got on top and threw heavy punches into my forearms as I blocked and Aaron yelled "God damnit! Mason do something! She making you look like a bitch!" I shouted back "Shut the fuck up! You aren't fighting!" I bucked my hips and tossed her off before rolling back and getting some breathing room.
     I spoke shaking my arms "Ooh this is fun, you're good" she smiled as she nodded before turning serious and running towards me as I responded by running towards her and catching her before she jumped by grabbing the back of her knees before lifting and crashing her against the cage wall before I lifted her up and over me before slamming her back first onto the mat. I heard the gasp as the air exited her lungs before I gripped her waist and shoulder ripping her into my knee, only to have her finally get enough air into her lungs to retaliate as she spun around on her shoulder and kicked me across the face again, I spit blood before chuckling as she stood while I backed off breathing heavily as she wiped some blood from her nose as Aaron yelled "What the fuck is this fight?!" I nodded to Luna which she returned before we charged at each other trading blows until I sweeped her leg as she hit the ground she must've redirected her momentum because she instantly rolled into another handstand that I used both my forearms to block before she jumped to her feet as I ran forward and gripped her chest and back before lifting her and slamming her on the mat as she rolled back trying to get me in an arm bar to which I kicked with both my feet and fixed the angle so we were in the same position as before she tried.
     I backed away as my breathing grew increasingly harder before I called "let's finish this shall we?" She nodded silently as we charged at each other one last time I jumped throwing a kick at her temple that she sidestepped under before I spun and threw three jabs which on the third jab she grabbed my left wrist with her right hand before she fired her elbow into my ribs 3 times before spinning and kicking me to the floor with her heel. I laid on the mat splayed out breathing extremely heavily as Harry unhinged the door and Aaron and him entered the octagon as Luna appeared in my view "You fought well... for an American" I heard Aaron "What's that supposed to mean?" As Harry spoke looking at a tablet "it means he's currently ranked as our 3rd best American operator in CQB" I smiled as I looked at Luna "Good effort everybody, really, good effort. Aaron, you're a shit cheerleader but I give an A.... for.... effort" I sat up and felt my body ache as I saw Luna sit down and look at her bruised and bloodied body while I looked down and saw most of my tattoos being covered in black and blue until I saw the blood slowly dripping on the mat. I stood and slowly hobbled over until I sat next to her before I spoke "You know, people often say you get the truest sense of who someone is when you fight them... what do you think about me?" She looked over at me and offered a kind halfhearted smile "I think we'll be good friends" I nodded with a chuckle "sounds good"  as Aaron spoke "Boo! This love story sucks, anyway Mason Mom said it's my turn to get my ass kicked" I chuckled at his antics.
      Harry spoke "tomorrow, for now we go and take a test" I looked at her before asking "Wanna join me and Aaron for some food after we finish this test?" She asked inquisitively "Do I have to pay?" I shook my head no "I'll pay this time, consider it a thank you for a fun match" she stood and nodded "Ja, I'll join you then" I chuckled as I motioned to Harry "It's your gun my friend" he spoke with a chuckle "then follow me my bullets" as I fell in line behind Harry next to Aaron. I heard him speaking lowly as I continued to map out the buildings "Fuck man, that fight was impressive. I thought you were going to win and then I didn't and then I did, it just kept switching. Like holy hell, dude I've never seen you get man handled like that" I spoke quietly in reply "It's not everyday someone's a CQB goddess, like fuck mate kicking you air force weaklings around I miss that. At least now I have a proper sparring partner" I chuckled as I put him in a headlock and gave him a noogie. I heard Harry "So you believe Luna is a goddess of CQB? Interesting outlook" I shrugged before speaking "its easily one of the longest fights I've had while sparring, definitely the most fun I've had in a spar in a while." Luna chuckled "Good, I had fun too" I smirked as Harry opened a door and sidestepped, motioning through the doorway "If you would" I saw Aaron was hesitating to enter causing me to speak as I passed him "you's a bitch" I heard a quiet laugh as I looked around the room.
      Harry walked in with Luna close behind him and motioned to the table in the center "Sit, you've got a short 30 question eval and then I'll show you to the your room and the mess hall" I nodded and looked at the layout and saw it was on a scale of 1-5 from never to always, I read the first question and saw it said "I love roses", I shrugged and marked in a 5 "everyone loves roses" and then I got to the second question, "I want to decapitate kittens" I reeled as the words sunk into my brain. I hear Aaron "What the fuck? What are these questions?" I sighed "fuck, I don't know" as I marked a 3, this went on for another 10 minutes as the questions bounced from topic to topic and never made sense. I sighed at the last question "you would sacrifice yourself to save a civilian or fellow operator" I marked in a 5 before I stood and handed it to Harry "here's my answers." I looked back at Aaron as I heard his chair scrape against the faded floorboard. I watched as Luna plucked the paper from Harry's hands and started reading the answers "You'd decapitate kittens?" I shrugged before replying with a half grin "Well I've never been put in that situation, I had to guess" Aaron rested his elbow on my shoulder as he handed the paper to Harry who nodded pleased with the results at a glance "Follow me, I'll bring you to your room and you can drop your gear off" I shifted my rucksack as I slung it on before I hissed as my hand snapped to my left flank "Shit...." I saw Aaron grab the bottom of my shirt and lift it before muttering "Jesus Christ, bro that's a huge bruise" as he poked and prodded around it causing me to slap his hand away "Don't poke it, you shit, that fuckin' hurts" I saw the victorious grin on Luna's face before we heard Harry clear his throat "ahem, come on" I moved carefully making sure my bag didn't rub against the bruise as Aaron asked Luna a question "Where'd you learn those moves? The handstand kick one" I glanced back for a second before I asked Harry "So when did you become the Director of Rainbow?" He looked over with a proud expression "Last year" I nodded happily.
I looked at the wall and mused "So that's why dad was so happy a year ago, he kept speaking about someone getting a promotion" Harry nodded he was one of the first to vote yes on my taking of the position" I patted his shoulder "You deserve it" he smiled as we moved quietly past the doors that bore the names and call signs of operators. Harry spoke quietly "We need to be quiet, most of the operators are asleep" I nodded as Aaron gave a thumbs up and Luna activated a small contraption on her left glove as she dropped from quiet to near silent in her movement. I wanted to question it but she seemed pleased with my sudden interest as Harry paused next to a door and held out two keys, one for each of us, as he motioned us to the door. I pushed Aaron forward and took a step back and away from the door in case it was pranked before Aaron looked at me "Why me?" I smirked as I replied slowly "You're. The. Breacher. I'm the point man, we aren't the same" he sighed before he carefully put the key into the lock before twisting it and bracing as he pushed the door open, I stared into the black abyss as Aaron spoke "Well Pointman, you're up" I walked forward and reached around the doorframe before I found the light switch and flicked it up, I watched as the room lit up. I carefully walked in and looked around as I saw the long room and the two beds were placed on either side of the room at the back.
I turned and nodded to Aaron before I saw the small living room, one loveseat and two armchairs facing each other with a wooden coffee table in the middle. There was a flatscreen tv on top of a tv stand filled with movies, I glanced to the middle of the room between the living room and the beds and saw two gun lockers and a table with tall chairs surrounding it. I glanced further back into the room and saw a foot locker at the foot of the bed and two night stands next to either of the the beds, I whistled my impression "Wow, this is amazing. Harry if this is a joke you're not getting this room back" I heard Luna "Nej(no), my room is much like this one but it's mine alone" I sighed before replying "Tsk, Lucky, Aaron snores like Seamus" as Harry spoke "Drop off your gear and Luna can bring you to the cafeteria so you can get your food" I gave a thumbs up "Are we meeting you anywhere tomorrow for the rest of our tests?" Harry spoke to us "Meet me at the Gym at 07:30, got it?" I heard Aaron behind me "A-ffirm boss, we'll be there" I saw Harry smile before disappearing from the doorway.
I heard footsteps behind me causing me to turn as Aaron asked "So Luna, what do you do here?" She looked at me curious "I thought it was obvious" I spoke to Aaron "She's a scout, advanced guard most likely" he looked at me before accusing "How do you know?" I replied "Her movement, it's swift and silent, that gizmo on her left hand made her almost silent. The Jagercorps are notoriously hard to spot in the wild, her weaponry is an SMG and her reflexes are cat like, it's the perfect combination for a scout" he looked at me confused "how'd you figure all that?" I looked over as I spoke "I'm still a sniper at heart, details like that save your life" he rolled his eyes and spoke "yeah well she hasn't said you're ri-" she cut him off "he's right" as Aaron deflated "God damnit, you just had to say something" as I chuckled and grabbed my wallet and placed my R5 into the gun locker before locking it and speaking "Let's get some food shall we?" Aaron was next to me in a second "Free food, let's go" Luna chuckled as she turned and walked away "how much of daddy's money are you using?" I rolled my eyes "none, I don't take money from my parents, I haven't for years, not since I was a kid" she looked back "then who's paying? because I was promised free food" I replied easily "Mine, why is it so hard to believe I have my own money? The fuck?" Aaron spoke for Luna "Because you're from a rich family, people always search for a reason to hate the rich. I did, I'm sure she did to" Luna spoke "I, myself, come from a prolific family, it's just in my experience rich people are arrogant and rely on their parents" Aaron spoke in my defense "I told you, Mason isn't your typical rich kid" i laughed.
     We walked into the cafeteria and I saw three long tables stretching the length of the room and to either side were self help stations, and at the end of either were two cashiers. I nodded growing increasingly impressed with how well Harry treats his operators until I felt Aaron grip my bruised forearms and drag me to the nearest of the stations I chuckled as the pain subsided and we started piling on foods we'd never tried before before I headed over to where Luna was standing next to the cashier I asked "how much is it?" The older woman around 70 spoke kindly "$40 honey" I pulled out my wallet and swiped my card before putting in my pin and confirming that I paid before the old woman said kindly "don't stay up too late now, get some sleep" I have a salute with a goofy laugh "Yes ma'am" as we walked away and sat at a table. I set about the massive task of eating everything I wanted to experiment with, I heard Luna "you took a lot, any reason?" I replied with a chuckle  "Well I've been living off MREs and subpar food for years, it's not everyday I get to taste good food from around the world" she nodded as Aaron sat down excitedly "Oh my god, Mason they have so much good food. What is this place? It's heaven, that's what it is" I chuckled as I spoke "Easy mate, easy. I know" he looked at Luna before narrowing his eyes at me.
I asked confusedly "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" He spoke suspiciously "you're always mad when you lose a spar, why aren't you now? What happened to you? Is it because she's hot? Is that it?" I glanced over and saw her suddenly tune into the conversation he yelled "AHA, got your ass!" I looked at him "no you fool, I'm not mad because it was a fun match. I'm mad when I lose to you scrubs because I'm a marine through and through, besides always fun watching you lot train harder to try an' beat me" Luna was still listening though she tried to pretend she wasn't until Aaron spoke "Yeah no, my moneys always on the "it's because she's hot" card, you're not changing my mind Mason because I've been your best friend for 3 years. I know you" I placed my elbows on the table as I leaned forward and interlocked my fingers "Obviously you don't know me well enough" Luna asked a simply question "Why does it matter?" I heard Aaron "Luna, my friend, you don't understand how competitive this man is." She leaned onto the table and said "Then make me" Aaron leaned forward and had an evil twinkle in his eye as I said "you're not" he nodded "I am" I shot back "no" he replied to Luna "So you want to know how competitive this man is? Alright, I'll tell ya. Once I said "I'm gonna go make a quick run to take a piss" this motherfucker waited with his watch and timed me while I ran to the bathroom. When I got back he said "Took you a minute and 46 seconds to take a piss, bet I could do it faster" and then proceeded to do it! He ran to the bathroom took a piss and ran back shaving off 11 seconds from my quote unquote time and then started teasing me that he could piss faster!" I shrunk in embarrassment as Luna laughed, she was dying, everytime she composed herself she'd double over laughing again causing me to groan as Aaron spoke the smile audible in his voice "I told you, I'll never forget it" I looked up with a slight glare "I'll murder you tonight, sleep with your eyes open" he shivered.
Luna spoke "Alright, I'm heading to sleep. It's 01:28" I looked up at the wall and found the clock "Fuck me" as Aaron yelled "Luna will!" Before he took off running towards the room. I stood and turned to her "Sorry about him, he never grew up past 14 mentally. You gonna be at the gym tomorrow?" She nodded before speaking "Night, I'll see you tomorrow" I replied "night, see ya then" as I picked up mine and Aaron's tray before tossing the trash in the trash can and placing the trays on top of them. I walked through the halls and saw a zombie looking man walking groggily through the hallway I asked "Hey you good?" His frame froze as his head slowly turned towards me causing me to freeze before he wordlessly disappeared around the corner. I blinked a couple times before I started walking back to the room, the halls were dark and quiet the only sound being my foot steps and the occasional drip of water impacting the floors. I reached the door and opened it walking in as I saw Aaron walking around in his underwear placing his gear in their assigned positions in the small closet we had next to our gun safes, I opened my rucksack and started unpacking looking at the picture of the team I chuckled as I remembered the day. I place it on my night stand as I pulled out my tools for working on my rifles and placed the box in the top drawer of the stand. The unpacking process went quickly since I didn't have much besides standard issue gear and the hygiene equipment, I walked into the bathroom and placed my stuff in the cabinet before I pulled off my necklace, watch and pants replacing them with shorts. I sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Aaron as he pulled on some shorts "Excited for tomorrow?" He shrugged before replying "I guess, I'm just starting to wrap my head around the fact we're here" I nodded before carefully pulling off my prosthetic and leaning it against the nightstand before I turned off my lamp and laid in bed drifting off quickly after the years of falling asleep in seconds took over.

A/N let me know if you want Mason to be a sniper again or not, it'll help fine tune the plot line