The Sun barely glanced at them from behind the horizon, shy rays of sunshine caressing their cheeks when Jerico almost killed a man.

One of the Shadows, the shortest one out of all of them named George decided it would be funny if he spilled his water on the still-sleeping Urzik man. And Jerico being the worst morning person on Earth thought it was fair to carve a few curses into his skin with his knife in return.

Now, the two of them were as far away from each other as they could, as Senna ordered them. She was pissed and missed Farah dearly – maybe it was her poor leadership skills that caused all this to happen so fast. If Farah were here, nothing even similar would've taken place.

Jerico led the group with Senna's map and a compass in hand, not even glancing back if they were following. Senna was too angry at them to try and make some conversation, so she just followed after him a few feet behind, the others trailing behind her, leaving some space as well.

The only noise was the occasional gunshots far ahead where Senna and Jerico already knew they would probably stumble into some trouble. But the Shadows barely noticed it above their casual chatter, making her more cranky.

Why can't they shut up for a second?

"And what about you, German boy?" George asked, some laughter accompanying him. Senna rolled her eyes and tried to ignore the tension in her shoulders as she listened.

"I think that's the Austrian flag, dude," one of them countered with slight amusement showing in his voice.

"Shut the fuck up, Cody," George snorted, earning another laugh. "It's the same."

Ignorant dogs, Senna thought. She started to understand why Jerico didn't like them so much.

"So?" George pressed. "Why are you hiding your face?"

Senna paid close attention, trying to hear his voice, but only silence answered them. Deep down, she was glad he only spoke to her – which was a one-time thing and only his name, but that was still something.

"Are you ugly, bro?" George snickered. Her hands tightened around her gun, ready to step in if needed.

Some people never grow up. Some people remain bullies or just shitty people, making other people's life's harder. George was one of those people, and Senna already had enough of him.

The rest of the Shadows weren't that bad so far, but she hoped to get rid of him as soon as possible.

"I think he's mute," Cody commented, his tone somewhat quieter but still loud enough for her to hear. Which meant that even though he tried to be subtle, König heard every word as well.

"Do you even-"

Senna's head whipped around, the end of her braid slamming against her chest from the momentum. Her cold stare cut off George's sentence, all eyes looking at her like they forgot she was even there.

A loud explosion broke their little moment, everybody turning towards the sound. Senna's eyes found Jerico's form up ahead in an instant, her feet picking up pace as she approached. She could see some smoke a few miles ahead – just in the direction they needed to go.

Approaching her partner in a light jog, Senna narrowed her eyes at where she thought the smoke was coming from. They were closing in on a small village that was known for its hostile locals, the place always echoing of gunshots and explosions. The people around here called the village Almutahar, which translated to Purgatory. The name was definitely fitting in Senna's opinion.

Jerico got on one knee as he pulled his binoculars out of his backpack, scanning the terrain in front of them. Everything was mostly deserted and only hollow skeletons of small houses remained around them. Most of them didn't survive the hostile nature of the people of Almutahar out here, a lot of houses being in similar shapes to the one they rested at.

"Hal taraa shayyaa?" You see anything?, she asked quietly, directing her words to her partner as she looked for any signs of threat. The smoke came from inside the village, but from this distance and so many buildings surrounding it, it was impossible to see what happened exactly.

"Naeam," Yes, Jerico murmured back, the slightly deeper tone giving away his rising anxiety about the situation. "Taeadad alrajali. Qital baedihim albaedu." Multiple men. Fighting each other.

She knew that Jerico had a past with this village, but it was too traumatic for him to talk about it. And Senna respected that. He didn't want to go near this place ever again, which made the planning a little harder than originally, but they didn't have time for alternative routes.

But the look on his face made guilt eat away her heart.

"Fuck," Senna hissed, dread seeping into her pores. She knew they would stumble into something like this. Especially around these terrains.

And the worst was still yet to come in the form of Almutahar. The woman knew how bad that village was with its blood-thirsty locals; like they never knew peace in their lives. Their first reaction to outsiders was to shoot first and ask later. But whenever the locals didn't agree on something, or something political lit the fire of rage between them, they didn't hesitate to start fighting each other.

Like the few men ahead of them. And by the sound of rapid gunfire, Senna and her team knew they weren't playing around – this was a war of kill or be killed. Which only decreased their chances of survival out here.

"What the fuck is happening there?" George yelled ahead to the pair, carefree as ever. Jerico sent him a heated glare, one that could make him combust in flames if he looked long enough.

"Locals," Senna gave the short answer to them. "We have to wait out the shootout."

"We don't have the time for that," Callum, their supposed leader interjected, with his mate, Cody nodding along. "Maybe we could speed up the process a little bit."

"Good thinking," George already pulled his rifle in front of him, ready to jump into battle.

Senna didn't even have the opportunity to argue with them as the four of them started forming a plan, using their trusty code language that made the other three stick out like a sore thumb. Jerico was fuming, cursing under his breath in Arabic nonstop as he turned away, not having the energy to hold himself back much longer.

König stood just off from the Shadows, occasionally glancing towards Senna in a questioning way like he had no idea what to do now. And Senna looked back at him with the same questioning look fired with Jerico's hatred: she was pissed and confused at the same time.

And before she could have the chance to protest, the Shadows were already heading off towards the chaos, ignoring the approaching gunfire and angry shouts chasing ahead of them.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of it," Callum patted her shoulder as he passed by her, making her slightly flinch.

She was so dumbfounded by their stupidness that she couldn't find her voice for a few seconds. And when she finally did, they were already off.

"Hsnan," Well, Jerico stood with his hands on his hips, staring after the four dark men, moving around like literal shadows. "Ealaa al'aqali takhalasna minhum." At least we got rid of them.

Senna snorted at his remark, shaking her head with a small smile on her face, but her amusement was short-lived when she remembered that she was supposed to be in charge of the group. Which meant that she was responsible for all the lives lost here on the battlefield.

She looked back at the tall hooded man, standing a few feet away from the pair, waiting for order. She actually liked him the most at the moment, he caused the least amount of trouble out of all of them, and Senna was fucking grateful for that. At least she still had one member she could trust not to act out of madness. Like the rest of them.

"They're running into death," Senna glanced back at Jerico, sticking to English so König could get a clue what they were talking about.

Her partner gave her a look that clearly said 'and?'. She tried not to get bothered by his nonchalant attitude.

"We have to help," the woman clarified, her voice just as dead as the ground beneath them. She didn't have the energy to deal with the chaos caused by the Shadows and Jerico's attitude at once.

"Laqad dhahabuu 'iilaa hunak bi'anfusihim. Qulna lahum la, " They went there by themselves. We told them not to, he shrugged his shoulder, clearly not eager to join them in their pointless fight. "Kan bi'iimkanina 'an nastarih libide saeat hataa yantahiwa. Lakin la, li'anahum 'amrikiuwna." We could've just rested for a few hours until they were done. But no, because they're Americans.

"You're doing this for me, not them," Senna let out a tired sigh and started walking towards the nightmare that broke out ahead of them.

König followed her without a question, and soon Jerico was forced to come with them if he didn't want to get left behind. While he sulked and occasionally murmured a few curses under his nose, König walked by her side in silence, finally giving her a break. She was thankful that he didn't start whining like Jerico and didn't ask questions she probably wouldn't have the answers to. He was just there to help and carry this mission to success, which was more than enough for her.

"You're the only one who's not giving me a headache," Senna quirked, looking up at the hooded man. He barely glanced down at her before deciding not to answer. But that didn't discourage her as she leaned closer to him, her eyes glinting with humor. "Don't tell Jerico, but I would rather have you as a partner than him."

"La yazal bi'iimkani samaeuk sakhif!" I can still fucking hear you! Jerico hissed back at her, making the woman burst out laughing.

The Austrian man may not have speak Arabic, but Jerico's tone spoke louder than words, and finally, König felt included in a conversation. And she didn't miss the slight glint of amusement in König's eyes before he turned his head away.

**

Their little rescue mission didn't go as planned.

George got shot, which meant good and bad at the same time. The good thing was that he finally shut up. The bad thing was that they had to stop to make sure he would live after all the shootouts, forcing them to rest for a few hours.

Senna was beyond pissed at the Shadows, though. Maybe Jerico's anger started to seep into her more and more.

"Albulha'!" Idiots!, Senna finally burst, not being able to control her anger anymore.

Her raised voice gained the attention of the men, even George's who was sitting on the floor of an abandoned house. Jeremiah, the quiet Shadow was in the middle of patching George up, him taking a bullet to his left arm and a metal part stuck in his side.

"I told you not to go, but you decided to go against my orders. Look where that got you!"

Everyone was injured. The Shadows almost got blown up, Jerico burned his hand with a Molotov cocktail, König had to fight three people at once and almost got his throat slit (it was just mere luck that Senna had one last bullet in her gun to take out the guy that held the knife to his throat), and Senna was on the verge of having an aneurism from all this stress.

No wonder Farah was always so moody and didn't want to speak to anyone at the end of the day.

"You're foreigners on this land," Senna continued, pacing up and down, hoping to relieve some stress from her body. "This is my land. Not yours. My mission. Not yours. So, from now on, you do as I say and don't go into random fights we don't need. Clear?"

"Clear," the Shadows echoed at once, George's voice being the smallest out of all of them. Good. She was tired of hearing his voice anyway.

Leaving the Americans to themselves, Senna sauntered across the house, its layout giving the illusion that it was a big house. It had long hallways and seemingly big, barely furnished rooms. It wasn't in the worst shape, only part of the roof was missing.

She headed towards the small kitchen where she found the remaining two of her team. Jerico's arm was burnt at an awkward angle, so König had to be the one to help him out while Senna was busy putting the Shadows in their places.

It was an odd sight, alright: König seemed way too big for this kitchen; even with his back slightly hunched, his head wasn't too far away from the low ceiling. The houses around here were mostly built for the average height, which in men's case was 5'8, all of the furniture and architecture made for average people, so it was a comical sight. But what brought a smile to her face for the first time today was the fact that both of them were enveloped in a comfortable silence, like just two friends chilling with each other.

Even the constant frown on Jerico's face disappeared. Which was a first.

"Everything good here?" Senna asked, making both men's heads turn her way. Jerico only gave her a thumbs-up, which was good enough.

"I'm no medic, but I did my best," König secured the gauze around Jerico's forearm before stepping away, finally straightening his back a little. Not all the way, though, like he was still aware of how the small kitchen closed around him.

"Thank you," Jerico twisted his arm to left and right, trying to get a better look at his arm with little success.

König only seemed a little bit surprised when he heard him speak English, but he just nodded in acknowledgment before stepping around the small, circular table in the middle and walking towards Senna. She gave him a thankful smile before stepping aside, leaving room for him to exit the room.

She tried not to chuckle when he had to duck under the doorframe a little.

____________________________

my sleep schedule is fucked beyond belief, i havent known what a normal meal means for days now, but im ready to fight god.

also i know i said next chapter will be delayed but i just couldnt let you guys hang like that, so i did my best. i split this chapter in two cuz it was way too fucking long, and i hope you enjoyed the first part!!

and i know our boi könig doesnt have that much role rn but its a SLOW slowburn guys, so just bare with me. (we all know the longer the burn, the more intense it gets ^^)