LEO
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09/09/2002
Phoenix, Arizona
Redhawk Base
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It's been three months. I didn't get to return home.

I swear to God, it sometimes feels like we are actually going to be able to tolerate each other, like we're going to have a breakthrough in our relationship. But as soon as we're on duty it just dissolves. This is a prime fucking example.

"I can't believe you two managed to fuck this up, yet again."

Drug bust. Reynosa, Mexico. We did royally fuck it up. Because of our stupid goddamn disagreements.

—

"What the fuck are you doing? This isn't what we planned Leo!" She hisses at me through the comms as I head towards the front entrance, crouching down outside the doors and planting a small explosive, working on timing it correctly.

"Just shut up." I jab back at her, trying to keep focused.

A single shot is then fired from her as someone drops down to the floor a few metres away from me.

"You fucking idiot! You just gave away our damn position!" I seethe through the comms as commotion erupts from inside the apartment block, causing me to retreat immediately

"You went waltzing up to the goddamn front! Our plan was to go through the back! Of course you were going to be fucking spotted!" She yells at me now since I've reached her side, just as the doors of the building swing open.

Shots immediately get fired back and forth as me and Nova dart around a corner. Reynosa is a busy city. The Cops could easily get called right now, then our whole cover is blown. And since the cops in this city are in fucking kahoots with the cartel, it wouldn't be good for us.

"Why did you fire that goddamn bullet!?"

"Would you rather have had me let you die!?" She yells back at me over the gunfire we're returning.

I'm urgently trying to get in contact with Marcus, but my comms isn't connecting to his line.

"Fuck!" I yell, fighting the urge to just whack it into the ground. I feel a harsh sting as a bullet skids right against my cheek, slicing it in a close call instead of my head. Nova yanks me backwards by my vest and practically starts dragging me through these unknown streets.

I can feel the back of my neck pouring with sweat that runs from underneath my helmet. We're both panting as we hear cop sirens, forcing us to take off into a sprint. We'd been sent on this mission as a pair to try and get us to work better together, hasn't ended well.

We take cover in an alleyway, shielded by the shadows of trees that block the streetlights. Nova's comms beeps, and Marcus' voice is music to my ears.

"Location?" He asks, calmly but urgently.

"Alley we entered just off of Hidalgo St. I think it leads through to another street, meet us on the opposite side stat, over."

How the fuck did she know that? She must have kept tabs as we were sprinting the soles off of our shoes.

"Copy."

We both take off again towards the opposite end of the alleyway. Within a minute, Marcus is parked in front of us.

We dive into the car and instantly take off our tactical gear to avoid suspicion. He drives past a landfill as he steps out and ditches our guns.

We weren't exactly getting back into the US with AK-47s in tow. Luckily, North has a trusted contact here. Practically got them to us as soon as we crossed from US-MX.

What a waste of guns on a waste of a mission.

We drive back to the border in complete silence apart from the Mexican radio station Marcus is playing, humming along without a care in the world.

North is going to be furious.

—

I was right. He is furious.

"It was a simple mission! A simple mission! Not only did you both have the cops hot on your asses, you didn't even manage to fulfil any goddamn objectives!" He seethes; the paper cup in his hand crumpling, sending coffee splattering all over the table.

I think a splash or two hit the gauze on my cheek.

"That was a mistake. This whole fucking partnership was a mistake, and God are me and Vincent fools for thinking this was a good idea!" He yells, storming back and forth behind the desk.

"That's now two goddamn missions the pair of you have managed to fuck up, out of the three!"

San Antonio. Another mission we completely messed up. Involved the Sinaloa Cartel, Banksy nearly lost his leg.

"You're both so goddamn skilled, couldn't you have just cooperated for once like fucking adults!?" He seethes, whacking a pen pot from his desk and across the room before pinching between his eyebrows.

This is reminiscent of getting yelled at by my principal, but a whole lot worse.

"I can't do this any longer. How many times, how many goddamn times do I need to speak to the pair of you about this for it to actually fucking stick!? I've given up." He sighs, completely exasperated.

"That's it. Shields, I'm deporting you back to the Falcons."

What? He's kicking her out of the group?

The temperature in the room plummets a good ten degrees, both of us tensing up.

If someone had asked me how I thought I'd react to Nova being deported, I'd have said I'd be jumping for joy like a madman.

Now it's actually reality, I'm just completely silent. I glance over and Nova, who has a stressed expression plastered across her face.

"Sir-" She gapes, leaning forward in preparation to defend herself. Why the fuck is she so bothered? She wanted this.

Why the fuck am I pissed off? I wanted this, for Christ's sake. Although, base will be significantly less interesting.

"No, Shields!" North barks, slamming a fist down on the table that surprisingly makes her flinch. "No questions! You want a damn answer? Count how many fucking times I've had to go down this endless cycle with the pair of you! It's only just been 4 months!"

We both sit in silence once again. North sighs and cuts through the tension.

"I don't want to have to do this. In fact, this is the last thing I want to have to do. I just can't afford for the pair of you to be sabotaging missions over and over again because of your goddamn animosity. My decision is final. I'm sorry, Shields." He says, a whole lot calmer than a minute ago.

Nova's chair squeaks as she stands up, pushing it backwards. She raises her hand forward towards North's and shakes it lightly.

"I understand, Sir. I appreciate you giving me a chance. I'm sorry it didn't work out the way you planned." She speaks with so much maturity that it sounds completely foreign to me.

North nods and puts his hand back against his desk. "I'll give you two days, since I will need to speak with Vincent first and explain the whole situation. You can both leave now."

I look up at Nova as she nods back to him, her jaw clenched with so much intensity it looks like a knife. She glimpses back down at me with a completely disregarding expression before pacing out of the office, the door swinging back and forth as she disappears onto the other side.

Can I stand her? No.

But do I want her to leave? For some fucking incomprehensible reason, it's also a no.

I stand up swiftly, shoving my chair back under the desk with a screech before following out after her.