Sandra led us to a rusted blue truck where Barney sat in the front with Sandra and I had to sit in the back with Lee. There was no way for us to comfortable sit in that little truck since our legs were practically squashed together awkwardly but we managed. " Well this is cozy" Lee said trying to make more room for us to be able to sit easier but didn't succeed. "Yeah no kidding" I replied as the truck started. My gun was seriously digging into my hip.

" Sorry, I would have gotten a bigger car I just didn't think there would be three of you" Sandra explained in her thick Hispanic accent. I shrugged it off though, it wasn't terrible. I honestly didn't mind being squished up against Lee.

I looked up at the ceiling of the truck to see small drawings on white pieces of paper of woman's faces. Each was delicately drawn and different. Some showed masked or painted girls and other showed natural faces. " You draw these?" Barney asked gesturing to the drawings I had been looking at. Sandra nodded " Yes, take one. A gift" Sandra offered. " I don't take free gifts" Barney replied and selected one of the drawing that showed a woman with an almost feathery helmet on with blood seeping from her eyes like tears. " How much you want for it?" Barney asked curiously.

"Nothing, taking money for something is not a gift, taking nothing for something is" Sandra said back abstinently. Barney looked ready to say something else before we passed by several soldiers harassing two young men and an elderly woman. " Was it always like this?" I asked watching the soldiers cuff the boys before I lost view of them. " The place was a beautiful place once,the one day they came with money and General Garza sold his soul" Sandra responded gravely.

"You said "they" came with money? Who's they?" Barney asked.

" Some Americans, that's all I know. But someday this will all change" Sandra claimed hopefully. Barney looked at her skeptically " You really believe that?" Barney asked.

"Yes. The best day will be the one when we can say that our lives are our own again" Sandra told us. I rose a brow, she really did sound like she believed her words.

" You have any family Sandra?" Lee asked randomly.

" My Mother, when I was little, she died and my father.... he's gone too" Sandra replied hesitantly and I felt a small bit of pity for her. My mother died of old age a couple years ago and my father was in a nursing home with a terrible case of Alzheimer's. Last time I went to see him he couldn't hardly remember who I was. He didn't even know that my team was gone I don't think.

"Sandra how close can you get us to the Palace" Barney asked innocently. " The Palace?! Why" Sandra asked sounding rather alarmed. " We just wanna, check out the view" Barney replied casually. Sandra shook her head " There is no view" She said quickly.

" Why don't we just go there any way?" Barney asked softly and Sandra complied as she turned down a street. We pulled up onto a hillside and were soon surrounded by towering tropical trees. " How far from the palace?" Lee asked as he looked out the window at the foliage. " It's just right over there" Sandra replied gesturing in front of her.

" Pull over please" Lee asked and Sandra did so and Lee got out of the truck. " Lee what are you doing?" I asked curiously shifting my legs now that I had more room. Lee shrugged " Let's just say I like seeing the world, from different views" Lee answered causing me to quirk a brow. He was probably going to scout ahead.

Lee was about to take off when we started up the Truck and continued driving to the palace. The road got continually bumpier as we drove further until Sandra stopped when the muddy road ended. We got out and surveyed the scene, it was mostly all just tropical trees and shrubs but off in the distance you could see the palace. Was this really the closest we could get?

" What are you looking for?" Sandra asked tensely sounding like she didn't want to be there. Barney glanced at me before turning to Sandra. " Sandra, how do I know you aren't setting us up?" Barney asked with just a hint of suspicion.

" What's is this " Setting us up"" Sandra asked confused.

" You just don't look like the kind of person we normally deal with. How did you get involved with this?" Barney continued and I turned as well to look at Sandra.

" An American came here, he asked my friend to show you around. He was afraid so he asked me to" Sandra replied simply.

" Your not afraid?" I asked crossing my arms over my chest.

" I'm afraid. But he said that maybe you guys could help Vilena" Sandra answers with her thick Hispanic accent. Barney had his hands on his sides " I don't think so" Barney stated.

" Look if I were you I would just leave" Barney continued and Sandra's eyebrows rose. She obviously didn't like being told that as she took a few steps closer to Barney. " You should leave" She countered.

Suddenly before Barney could even reply two gunshots rang out like a bell. A truck appeared with similar soldiers that we had seen earlier. They started getting out of the truck with large guns that might have M4s. I placed my hand on my gun ready to get it out. " Don't say anything. Let me talk" Sandra instructed hurriedly and I looked at Barney who gestured for me to stand down. I subconsciously wondered where Lee was.

Sandra began speaking in Spanish to one of the men who looked like he was the leader. About a dozen and a half men now surrounded us. I couldn't understand what exactly Sandra was saying since they were talking so fast but the words " General's Daughter" caught my attention. Sandra was getting ready to argue further with the man when one of the soldiers took her by the hair and hauled her away. I was about to try and help her but was A man behind me hit me in the back with the brunt of his gun forcing me down. Adrenaline pumping profusely through my veins.

One of the other soldiers put a gun in my face and asked me something in Spanish that sounded something like "Why are you here?" But I didn't get to reply because a knife sunk itself into his face. The stunned soldiers turned to look where the knife came from witch gave me time to while out my Walthers and shoot the nearest one twice. Once in the neck and the second time in the face. I rolled a little clumsily from the circle of men gaining a better vantage point. I hadn't felt like this in a long time. This strange almost drug like excitement.

Lee shoved another knife into one of the soldiers throats and then went to slice the nearest soldier. Three soldiers came started coming to me. I first shot the two with guns first, hitting both in the chest or face, but the third held a knife. I dodged at the last moment and allowed his momentum to drive him right past me and he shuffled to regain his footing. This gave me plenty of time to sink three bullets into him immediately killing him.

" Ferris! Lee! Get Sandra!" Barney ordered as he wrestled a solider on the floor with his arm around his neck. I nodded and raced over to get her since one of the soldiers, the leader was dragging her roughly to the large truck they had come in. Lee got there first and launched a knife into the man who was holding hers back. But a second man appeared in the doorway of the truck holding a gun.

" Lee!" I yelled and rose my Walthers shorting the man several times. The bullets were just a foot from missing Lee. He looked back at me kind of pissed off.

" Are you crazy!?! You could have killed me!" Lee yelled and I rolled my eyes and walked towards him since all the other soldiers were now either dead or dyeing. " You welcome" I said back sarcastically with a half grin. It was kind of funny watching him get mad. It reminded me of someone, someone who wasn't here any more.....

He just threw up his arms in an an aggravated way and I returned the gesture. " Ok stop flirting, we need to get back to the docks and get to our plane" Barney ordered as he headed to the truck. We piled in quickly and sped down the dirt roads quickly.

" If we get out here it's a miracle" Lee said next to me.

"She's coming with us right?" I asked looking back at Sandra who looked a bit startled from the recent events. " She better" Barney advised as he continued speeding down the roads and into the city.

" How can we leave?" Sandra asked.

" We got a plane" Barney explained as we turned a sharp corner that basically forced Lee to press up against me.

"No I can't leave" Sandra objected.

" You have to Sandra" I told her.

"No!" She said stubbornly.

"They will find you in under an hour!" Lee warned.

"I'm staying" Sandra stated firmly.

"For what? There's nothing here!" Barney

interceded.

"Maybe not to you" Sandra claimed.

Barney took a moment to reply since he seemed a little annoyed at her stubbornness. " No, you stay here your dead. She's coming with us" Barney stated. As we approached the customs dock where the plane was.

"I got the guys inside" Barney said referring to the Toad man and the two soldiers.

" Give us a 60 second lead"Lee ordered and got out of the truck and I followed in suit.

" Ok let go" Lee said and we took of towards the plane with an unwilling Sandra in tow. We got to the plane and tried to get Sandra in but she refused. " No, you go" Sandra said and backed away from the plane.

" Sandra you have to" I said back becoming slightly anoyying. Who in the right mind would even want to stay in this God forsaken place? " No I have to say" Sandra continued.

" There's no time!" Lee pressed and I glanced at him as we gave each to her the same look. He would have to leave her.

" Come on Lee let's start her up" I stated as we quickly got into the plane and to the cockpit. I had been copilot with my former team so I had an idea of what we would need to do to make the plane start even if this plane was a older than the one we used. I pressed the Initial Dampener button as well as a switch for the engine pistons to start up.

" Ferris hit that green button when I saw now ok?" Lee ordered as he sat in the main pilot's seat and looked out the window. I nodded in understanding positioning my and above the green button he pointed at. " Hurry up you bastard!" Lee yelled as three trucks full of soldiers appeared. " Ferris, now!" Lee yelled and I obliged hitting the button and Lee pushed the accelerator lever forward.

I turned around looking at the door way expecting to see Barney but instead all I saw were what looked like Barney's arms. " Oh Sh**!" I cursed and and dove to grab his hands and hauled him aboard. He landed right next to me, absolutely soaked in water. He groaned rubbing his face " Thanks" he offered before getting up and rushing to the cockpit.

I got up as well as we took off into the air. I went with Barney to the cockpit where Lee was flying. " Where's the girl?" Barney asked looking around.

" Gone, she wouldn't leave" Lee replied sourly as he held his hands firmly on the controls of the plane. Barney sighed " Wouldn't leave? Why would anyone want to stay?" Barney asked as we got higher into the air.

" I have no idea" I answered absently and for a moment there was silence right up until Barney took a hard turn with the controls. " We going back?" Lee asked sounding a bit jubilant. " Fry and die" Barney said with a small smirk. I didn't really know what fry and die meant but I could guess it had something to do with explosions, gunfire, and those soldiers by the dock dieing.

" Let's go" Lee said and got out of his seat grabbing a flare gun and a pair of sunglasses. Then crouched down so he could get to the nose gun. " Ferris you take his spot" Barney ordered and I complied sitting down in the old but comfortable pilot seat. I watched as Lee's shaven head appeared from the nose of the plane as we rounded up on the dock we just left from. Dozens of soldiers were all there and Lee started firing.

The dock went up in splinters as he did so, blowing holes through wood and humans alike. When we were right on top of it we dropped gasoline all over the dock completely drenching it. Lee the turned and shot the flare gun straight at it and it burst into bright red flames and exploded outwards. Plumes of thick grey smoke followed.

Lee let out a triumphant whoop as he sought to come back into the plane from the nose gun. I moved so Lee could get back into his seat. "Good job" Barney said absently. I snorted softly at that remark. " That was a statement" Lee said back looked bemused.

I rolled my eyes before sitting back down in the body of the plane. The drug like adrenaline rush was now wearing off. It felt oddly good to be back in the line of fire. To hear gunshots and explosions. That overpowering smell of aviation fuel.

How could I leave this?