Normally I go for a low strike, aiming for the legs to try to get my opponents on the ground since everyone else is twice my size. Mori knows this, so he’ll be expecting me to do it. I hate that he seems to know me so well, yet chooses to continue avoiding me.
I make a sweeping motion with my foot to allude that I’m going to try to trip him. He reacts by lifting his leg and shifting. Just as he’s about to counter and plant his foot in my chest like he’s systematically done so many times before, I leap back with the motion and grab his heel as he brings it up.
Got you, dickhead.
I smile to myself as his eyes flash my way, but instead of finding concern I only recognize a sly and knowing look across his face. A gasp rolls from my lips as he jerks forward and grabs my wrist. We both tumble to the ground.
He quickly flips me on my side, his chest against my back, and secures me in a headlock. I struggle and try to get out of it, but he holds firm, adding pressure the longer I take to tap out.
Goddamn it.I smack his arm twice and he releases me.
I take a few labored deep breaths and glare at him as he slowly rises. The coldness in his stare remains the same as it always has, distant and unwavering. My eyes linger on the vertical scar that cuts through his left eye. He notices my studying of his features and scowls at me before running his fingers through his lovely white locks and walking back to the other two without so much as a word to me.
Asshole.I deflate and take a calming breath.
Part of me wishes that he’d speak to me more, offer some advice orsomething.
“That was pathetic,” he calls over his shoulder. Fire races up my spine.
Yeah, never mind. Mori can eat shit.
It’d be nice if we could have some civil conversations without him trying to piss me off. I long to get to know him better, even if he insists on keeping his distance. He has to knowsomethingabout who I am.
My gaze briefly dips down to his shoulder muscles, flexing as he stretches his arms above his head. I force my eyes away and glower at myself for wishing to indulge in someone like him.
Gage walks over casually and slaps his hand on my shoulder. “Doesn’t feel so good being in a headlock, does it, Morphine?” he teases. His sandy blond hair is short and straight, even when drenched in sweat like it is right now.
I roll my eyes as he pats my arm and bumps me against his chest. He’s the same height as Mori, which means he’s a fucking giant. They all are, but Gage and Mori are the largest soldiers on our squad.
“Whatever. Aren’t we pushing the time to get back for the briefing?” I say as I shove him away. Gage smirks and looks at Thomas, who’s already gathering our discarded jackets and tossing them at us. I catch mine just before it smacks me in the face.
“Yeah, we should probably hurry if we don’t want to be doing push-ups for the rest of the night.” Gage rubs the back of his neck as he yawns.
“Lieutenant Erik is more of a jogging for the rest of our lives kind of a guy, don’t you think?” I mumble. Our squad leader is more brutal than the others, but I think it’s a good sign. It shows that he cares about us. At least I think so. Gage and Kayden like to complain that it’s because he wants us to suffer for pissing him off.
I know Mori respects Erik a great deal, so I do too. He’s always trying to gain our lieutenant’s approval. I see it in the way he pushes himself harder than the rest of us and only has a bit of solace when Erik gives praise. Gage told me that his onlycare in the entire world is to move up in the ranks and become a sergeant.
I follow behind Thomas and Mori as they lead us back to the barracks. My mind is always elsewhere when we walk through the California base. It’s nearly identical to the one in Alaska, but this base is larger in every capacity and ten times warmer. Which is a godsend for my joints.
It’s the main hub for all the Dark Forces’s squads besides Riøt. They play over somewhere on the eastern shores, or so I’ve heard. From what I know, they don’t get along well with others because they hunt the rest of us if we step out of line. Not just us though, the upstairs soldiers too. Terminating traitors is their specialty.
As such, they remain separated from us. Most of us have no clue what any of them even look like. It seems intentionally set up that way. We wouldn’t even know who they were until it was too late.
The remaining squads, Fury, Warsaw, and Malum, reside here in California. I wish I could tell if there are any familiar faces from my time in the Under, but no one in particular stands out.
I nod curtly at a few of the Navy SEALs as we walk straight to the lower-level barracks. They let their eyes follow me, and it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I’d love to give them a fist to the face, but I don’t want to get in trouble…again.
“Hey, what makes you fuckers so special that she gets to have long pink hair? And the douchebag over here gets to have tattoos under his goddamn jawline?” one of them snaps at us.
Well, we can’t exactly come out and say“It’s because we’re heinous criminals and get to do whatever we want to our appearances”now can we?
I grit my teeth and keep moving forward, but Mori abruptly stops and turns on his heel. I run straight into his chest, quicklygasping and stepping back. His cold, sage eyes are on me for only a moment before he blinks and focuses on the men behind us.
Dark Forces soldiers are not supposed to interact with the “upstairs” soldiers for any reason. Especially to fight.
“Come here. I’ll show you what makes us special,” Mori says with a crooked grin on his face. It’s painfully easy to tell when he’s having bad days, because he’s much more likely to pick fights with others. Usually it’s shared aggression with Thomas, though. I spent much of my time during the first week watching those two fight until blood was shed, or until Kayden and Gage pulled them apart. Followed by nights spent jogging as punishment for the entire squad.
I know the consequences will be much more severe if the fight is with someone outside our division.
