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𝕋ℍ𝔼 sound of helicopter blades slowly faded as the Commander climbed out, his boots thudding heavily against the ground. His voice cut through the air, rough with frustration. "I was told you three were supposed to be 100 klicks from here!"

Nick, always quick on his feet with an excuse, snapped back, "Yes, sir! But based on intelligence, we had reason to believe the insurgents were holding civilian hostages." He was walking with purpose, but Everlyn was close behind, the mischievous glint in her eyes never fading. Vail, ever the sceptic, muttered under his breath to Everlyn, "Smartass."

Everlyn grinned, twisting the knife of humour. "Nah, I'm the smartass, not him." She flicked her eyes to Vail, his voice light but sharp. "Then what am I?"

Everlyn raised an eyebrow, a small, half-smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "The dumbass."

Vail shot her a glare, delivering a quick jab on her arm. "Ow." Everlyn rubbed her arm, her playful expression now a full-on pout as she glared back at him. Nick, oblivious to the exchange, continued, "We had to make a call, wait for Delta to respond or go in alone!" Vail couldn't resist, his voice dripping as he chimed in, "It was Sergeant Morton and O'Conner's idea to go in, actually!" Everlyn's eyebrow quirked. Before the Commander noticed, she threw a punch to Vail's arm. He winced, rubbing his sore spot. "Only to find out the villagers had long since evacuated," Everlyn spoke, barely keeping the laugh in check.

Vail grunted, adding, "Yeah, lucky for them. Not for us."

The Commander's voice cut through the air again, pointing to one of the soldiers. "Delta, south-side perimeter!"

As they continued walking, Everlyn's eyes twinkled with mischief as she spoke up, "Sir, when we realized we were smack in the middle of the insurgent stronghold, it was too late. We started taking on heavy fire. But Corporal Vail here is too humble to admit it. He risked his life to save ours." Vail looked at her in confusion, but Everlyn only smiled sweetly, her tone laced with the kind of humour that only came when she had her partner in crime exactly where she wanted him.

Nick, always eager to back her up, threw in, "He's a hero. In fact, I'd like to recommend him for a citation."

Vail shot a glare at Nick. "Didn't need you to say that, Sergeant," he muttered.

The Commander stopped in his tracks, then turned to face Nick with a look that would've frozen water. "Let me run another scenario by you." Nick, Vail, and Everlyn stopped, standing at attention, unsure of what to expect next. "Sir?" Nick asked, already bracing for the worst.

The Commander let the silence hang for a beat, then began walking again, his voice turning cold. "One in which three assholes from long-range reconnaissance — that'd be you — run all over northern Iraq, just one step ahead of the enemy."

The three of them shifted nervously as the Commander's words hung in the air.

"Except," he continued, his voice low and deadly serious, "instead of hunting for the enemy, you hunt for antiquities, stealing whatever isn't nailed down and selling it on the black market. Meanwhile, these fanatical insurgents, trying to erase 5,000 years of history, unwittingly cover your tracks. It's a pretty good scam."

Everlyn stepped forward, her hands raised in mock surrender. "Sir, if I may..." The Commander's glare could've melted steel. "No. Not a word from you, Sergeant." She smiled innocently and raised her hands up in defeat, stepping back as a voice from behind interrupted the tense moment.

"Sergeant Morton!"

They turned to see Jenny striding toward them, her eyes locked on Nick. Without warning, she slapped him hard across the face, the sound sharp and echoing in the desert air.

"Where is it?"

Nick staggered slightly, his face reddening from both the sting and the shock. "What? Where's what?" Jenny was all business now, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "The letter. The map you stole from me." Everlyn backed away quietly, letting the scene unfold. Vail shook his head, muttering, "I knew there was more to this than we thought."

Jenny looked at Nick, her eyes a storm of fury, before turning to the Commander. "Okay. Sergeant Morton here thinks I'll be too embarrassed to tell you that I had him in my hotel room three nights ago in Baghdad. And while I was sleeping, he went through my things."

Nick's face drained of colour as Jenny's words hit like a thunderclap. He stammered, "I—how would I have had an opportunity to steal anything from you, Miss... Miss..."

Jenny, not buying it for a second, let out a small chuckle. "Really?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Sergeant Morton, you think I'll be too embarrassed to tell them?" She gave him a sharp, mocking glance before turning back to the Commander. "Okay. Sergeant Morton here thinks that I'll be too embarrassed to tell you that I had him in my hotel room three nights ago in Baghdad. And while I was sleeping, he went through my things."

The Commander's expression didn't change, but Everlyn could see the faint twitch at the corner of his mouth. If anyone could read the tension in the air, it was him. And he was not impressed. Everlyn, meanwhile, was watching the whole thing with an almost alarmed interest. Nick might have gotten away with a lot of things, but this? This was something else.

"I'm not embarrassed, Nick," Jenny said, her voice smooth as velvet, laced with a smug, almost playful smile that danced at the corners of her lips. There was no shame in her words—only a quiet certainty, a knowing. Her eyes sparkled, sharp as glass, as they locked onto Nick.

Everlyn stood to the side, watching with a sense of amusement, her lips curling into a smile of her own, lips twitching as if holding back an entire symphony of laughter. She glanced from Jenny's poised demeanour to Nick's flushed face, his eyes darting nervously from one person to the next. But the real spectacle was Jenny's unyielding composure—so composed, so elegant in the midst of everything.

Nick turned to the Commander, who was standing a few paces away, arms folded tightly across his chest, his expression an unreadable mask of exasperation and judgment. He shook his head slowly, almost imperceptibly, his lips tightening as if he had seen this far too many times.

Jenny continued, unfazed by the scrutiny of the room, her words cutting through the thick tension like a scalpel. "Disgusted, yes. Regretful? Certainly. But mainly..." She paused, her gaze flickering momentarily to Nick, before returning to the Commander with that same unsettling calm, "...just amazed at your ability to mimic all the qualities of genuine human intimacy—if only for fifteen seconds."

Everlyn chuckled softly, the sound barely above a whisper, but it was enough to send a ripple through the group. She couldn't help but marvel at Jenny's words, the way they landed with quiet precision, like delicate yet sharp feathers floating through the air, each one hitting its mark.

Turning away from the bickering, Everlyn's attention shifted, a sudden pull tugging at her. She glanced over her shoulder toward the edge of the ruins, where the airstrike hit. The face stared back at her, carved into the stone like a forgotten relic, its features weathered but enduring. A presence lingered there, the eyes empty yet full of stories.

The wind began to stir, brushing against her skin like a lover's caress, sending a gentle breeze through the air. It kissed her cheek softly, pulling her closer to the hole, to the face, to whatever secret was in the hole. The air felt heavier now, as if it whispered ancient words only she could understand. Every breath she took seemed to draw her nearer to it, to the pull of something deep and mysterious.

She took a step forward, her boots shifting across the dirt with quiet resolve. The group behind her faded into the background, their voices merging into a dull hum as she closed the distance between herself and the face. The wind whispered through her hair, teasing strands of it against her face, and she didn't fight it. She stood there, at the edge, captivated by the strange allure of the hole.

There was something in that stillness, in that quiet pull, that spoke to her on a level deeper than words. The coolness of the wind, the scent of earth and stone—it all felt ancient, like stepping into a forgotten dream. Everlyn's breath caught in her throat as she lingered in the moment, her gaze drawn to the face. It was as if time had stopped, as if the wind itself held a secret it was waiting to share, and a gentle voice was heard so quietly as though it was a whisper.

"Satiah." 

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By: SilverMist707

I hope this is okay as I am trying to find motivation to write this story