Thank you so much for the response I got!

As always, I don't own The Expendables, this story is just for fun and I make no profit out of it

Please Read and Review! I forgot to ask that last chapter!

Chapter 1: "Deadly Somalia"

~ Expendables Plane ~

How did this happen? How did he not see that a good man needed help?

Barney Ross glared out the window of his cargo plane as he flew his team home from a successful mission. He was practically kicking himself in the ass for not noticing the signs about Gunnar.

He sighed. This shouldn't have happened at all.

"Barney?" His second-in-command Lee Christmas asked. "Barney." He sighed.

He hated when Barney did this to himself, it was like another piece of his heart was chipped out and a black spot its place.

If there was one thing that Lee refused to accept and let happen, was Barney turning dark. That wasn't going to happen on his watch. Yeah, sure, they had been blind-sided by Gunnar's actions but this was something they could overcome.

"BARNEY!" Lee yelled.

"What?" The growled answer that Barney gave, caused Lee to sigh.

"Where were you mate?" Lee asked quietly. The best way to handle Barney when was in one of these moods was to get him talking.

Barney took a deep breath and then sighed again. "I was thinking." Was all he said.

"What ya thinking about?" Lee replied, his British accent thicken from exhaustion.

"How I didn't see it comin' Lee." Barney firmly growled and gripped the wheel of the plane. "I should've seen it when I noticed Gunnar sneaking off more than usual but I ignored it because I thought he was good."

"We all did brother," Lee said in a voice that broke no argument. "Especially when he and Darcy started dating. He was in a good place. But between then and now, somethings change."

Barney could only nod his jet black head in agreement.

He would be the first to admit that he had been shocked when Gunnar had shown up at Rusty's with a woman. And not just any woman, a gorgeous woman at that. She was about 5'5" with bright red hair and blue-green eyes.

Darcy LaComb had curves in all the right places and Barney wouldn't be much of man if he didn't look, her chest was what did it for him, but he was a gentleman. And both his mama and grandmother would box his ears if they found out he had even thought about touching another man's woman.

Not to mention the mere fact that Gunnar would throw him around the room like a rag doll and probably ground his head in while he was laying on the ground and call him "Insect"!

The truth of the matter was that Darcy had been good for him. Kept him clean!

That was until a week ago. All Gunnar would say was that he and Darcy were taking a break.

And this was the result! A relapse! And it very near cost him a good man in Yin.

"But now the question remains: do we let him stay or let him go?" Barney sighed again.

Lee looked, a loss for words. How do you answer something like?

Barney stared at Lee for a good minute before he looked back out the windshield. He nodded his jet black head as he sighed again. He had his answer.

Then it was Lee's turn to sigh. "What do want to do?" He asked as he pointed towards the back of the plane.

Barney never said anything for a few minutes, after he sighed again he turned back to Lee. "He's had his cool down, let him go." His gruffly said.

Lee stood and reached for the sheathed Bowie knife that hung beside Barney's suspender shoulder holster.

"And this?" Lee asked. If Barney didn't okay it, there was no way in hell he was releasing Gunnar Jensen loose on this plane with a weapon.

Barney glanced over at the weapon in Lee's hands and grunted his reply. "Yeah, that too!"

"Alright!" Was all Lee said as he made his way back.

The muscles in Barney's jaw ticked as continued to stare out into the blackness.

"Hanging a pirate!" He muttered under his breath as he gripped the steering wheel.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~

Lee slowly made his way to the very back of the plane, where they had placed a tied up Gunnar in a makeshift brig. He stared at the broken man in front of him, Lee couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for the big man.

As he watched him, he noticed that Gunnar looked so small and vulnerable.

It was like the big man was broken!

"You've come to kill me?" Gunnar asked gruffly. He turned his sharp blue eyes towards Lee and stared.

Lee sighed. "Not unless it's absolutely necessary." He gruffly replied back.

All Gunnar did was held up his hands.

"Don't give me a reason to use this." He told the blond man in front him as he flipped the long blade out of his switchblade knife.

"If I do, I'll take myself out," Gunnar said looking down.

After Lee cut the rope, he pockets his blade and then started to hand Gunnar his sheathed big knife. Gunnar raised his hand on top of his as he robbed he wrists and shook his head.

"Keep it. It's my gift to you man. Wear it with pride." Gunnar gave him a huge grin and shrugged his broad shoulders. "Who knows, maybe it will bring you better luck than it did me."

Lee drew the sheathed knife back and stared at it in opened mouth shock.

He looked from Gunnar to the knife and back again. Then he nodded.

What else could he say or do? When a former teammate offered you a 'Big Knife', you didn't turn it down.

And of course, everyone knew how much Lee loved 'Big Knives'. It wouldn't be a realm of possibility for him to have a huge knife, especially when it was a Bowie knife at that.

He always liked the balance of a Bowie knife. They may be huge, but they were good for throwing.

Lee looked back at Gunnar and gently patted him on the shoulder. He then turned and made his way back towards the front.

When he entered the cockpit again, Barney noticed his shock expression.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked gruffly. And then looked at the knife in Lee's hands. "Gun didn't want it back?"

"No!" Lee began, still in shock. "He told me to keep it. That maybe this knife would bring me good luck."

Barney's chuckle reverberated off the cockpit walls. "You and your knives. I guess Gunnar realized that his little friend was going to a good place." He teased.

"Yeah. But it's still his if he wants it back." Lee spoke firmly. Barney raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, I see. So you assume that Gunnar will get clean with the snap of your fingers?" Barney's sardonic question had Lee rolling his hazel eyes.

"When did I blink my eyes and you became Harry Potter with the mighty powers of divination?" He finished sarcastically.

Lee sighed and rolled his eyes again. "Okay, first of all, Harry Potter did not have the power of divination. He cheated death," Lee began but was interrupted by Barney's snort.

"I'm not sure if I should be shocked that you know that!" Came Barney's sarcastic reply.

"Can I continue please or do I have to listen to the play-by-play commentary that will force me to put a bullet in you?" Lee's own sarcastic question was met with a raised eyebrow from Barney.

"Oh please continue Your Majesty, please dazzle me oh wise one!" Barney said.

"Thank you!" Lee sardonically said. "The second is that I have a gut feeling."

Barney's head swung back so fast towards him, Lee was afraid his best friend would have whiplash. Then the wanker burst out laughing.

"I..I..I'm sorry," As Barney continued to laugh. "Y..you have a gut feeling!?" Barney exclaimed as he burst out laughing again. "Do you have indigestion issues that I should be aware of?" He asked between chuckles.

"You're an utter wanker!" Lee exclaimed in a huff as Barney burst out laughing again.

"Oh damn!" Barney said as he wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes. "So what's this gut feeling of yours?" He asked as he chuckled again.

"Barney, we've always known that Gunnar had a screw loose. It's what made him so effective on missions. But he's always struggled with his drug use and the Darcy came along and he did manage to get clean. But something happened from then until now and he's using again. What makes you think that with our help and Darcy's, he won't get clean again and stay that way?" Lee finished with a raised eyebrow.

Barney's sharp brown eyes seemed to cut right through Lee's soul but Lee wouldn't back down.

"Yeah, I know!" He finally said with a sigh. "But he's got to admit that he has a problem. He's got to want to get clean and ask for our help, not the other way around."

Lee nodded his brush cut head and rolled the sleeves of his tight black long sleeve shirt up his large forearms. "Sometimes it's hard for an addict to ask for help when they can even admit to themselves that they have a problem." His deep voice spoke volumes.

"Man, you should be a politician." Barney teased as he gently punched Lee on the arm.

"Please!" Lee scoffed as tuned back towards the windshield. "Too much paperwork! And besides, I'll leave that to your man Trench." He said with a teasing grin.

Barney laughed again. "Yeah, his speeches have brought me to tears, honestly!" He sarcastically replied.

When Barney and Lee looked at each other, they shared a laugh. If only Trench had been there to hear them. He would have made some sarcastic reply but he knew that Trench would take it in stride and get payback on him later.

"What do you want to do Barn?" Lee asked seriously an hour later. Barney shook his head and blew a deep breath out through his mouth.

"That's heavy!" He said as he ran a hand through his jet black hair. "At this point, I just don't know."

And that said, they turned back towards the window and let the silence speak for itself. This was a difficult situation. And it was one that they needed to tread carefully or they could fall off their double-edged sword.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/

~ The Hanger, New Orleans ~

When the plane landed an hour later at the hanger, his team disembarked the plane, tired.

"Okay guys, good work today," Barney said as he finally addressed the team. "Go home and get some rest. You've earned these next couple weeks off."
There was loud cheers and clapping all around.

"I need to talk to you soon when you have the time Barney," Yin said as he grabbed his gear.

Barney turned to Lee and raised his eyebrow, who in turn just shrugged his broad shoulders and gave his best friend an even confused look.

"That's fine Yin. Give me a call tomorrow and we'll set it up." He replied in his usual gruff manner.

"Roger will-co!" Yin exclaimed as he took off towards his Harley.

As they watched Yin drive away, they turned back towards each other with raised eyebrows.

"Roger will-co?" Barney asked slowly. "Whose been teaching Yin military lingo?" He exclaimed.

"How the hell would I know, do I look like Yang's keeper?" Lee sarcastically asked.

Barney looks at Lee and gives him a dumbstruck look. "Well I don't know Lee, sometimes I wonder which side of the plate you play for." His nonchalant reply seemed like an everyday answer.

"Keep it up, you rotting sod, keep it up!" Lee growled as he swung to face his best friend. He could hear Caesar and Road trying to keep the snickers quiet. "I still have a bullet for your bleak brain with your name on it."

"Try it, sweetheart, just try it!" Barney answered as his lips puckered and he sent an air kiss Lee's way.

Before he could say anything, both Hale Caesar and Toll Road lost it.

"Anytime time Darlin'." Came his reply as he gave Barney a salacious wink.

There was silence for a minute before the two co-leaders before they burst out laughing right along with Caesar and Road.

"Get out of here you vultures!" Barney said between bouts of laughter as he kicked out his boot towards the three big men.

"About bloody time!" Lee exclaimed as he grabbed his gear and headed for his bike. He was halfway there when he was stopped by Hale.

"Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute there Father Christmas," Hale yelled to get Lee's attention.

"What!?" Lee yelled back with a cheeky grin that caused Hale to roll his eyes at him.

"You two assholes need to clear your schedules this weekend," Hale announced. "I'm doing a joint a Bar-B-Que for my youngest daughter's birthday and Toll's anniversary to his wife Emerson."

It was that moment that both Barney and Lee pull Toll into a bro hug.

"Congrats man," Barney said with a grin.

"Thanks." Toll couldn't keep the smile off his face. "Em, and I couldn't decide on a date for the party so Latoya suggested that we kill two birds with one stone."

"I have to something first but count me in for this weekend," Lee said as he hoisted his gear higher on his shoulder. "Barn, I'm headed out."

"Okay, stay safe man," Barney said loudly to Lee's retreating back, causing the other man to wave behind him.

After he finished strapping his gear to the back of his Ducati, Hale yelled towards.

"Don't forget the parties and Bar-B-Que are Saturday at 2 pm." Hale's voice vibrated off the walls of the hanger.

"Damn man!" Toll exclaimed as he stuck his finger in his ear. "I think I'm deaf!"

"Bitch please, what are you complaining about?" Caesar said. "All you have is two little holes on either side of your dumb head!"

Toll shot the other beside a death glare as he wrapped his large arm around the other big man's neck. "Jackass!" He exclaimed.

"Ladies!" Barney yelled with a teasing grin.

"I've got it, Caesar, Saturday at two. I'll be there." Lee rolled his eyes as if needed to be reminded.

He gave Barney one last wave as he placed his black bike helmet over his head, closed the visor, swung his leg over his bike, turned the key and started the bike. Lee revved it a couple of times as he kicked the kickstand back into place and then pulled out.

"Will we count on you being there, Barn?" Caesar asked as he pulled away Toll's chokehold.

Barney chuckled and shook his ruefully. "I'll be there Caesar. I may be Italian but I could never miss your Bar-B-Que!" He said with a teasing grin.

Both Caesar and Toll released sighs of relief as they each grabbed their gear and made their way to their bikes.

"The art of a great Bar-B-Que is the slow char that forms from 15 minutes of cooking Barney." Hale began as she stowed his gear. "And cajun spices help improve the flavor."

"The only reason you put cajun spices on the meat is the hide the fact you burnt the meat in the first place." Toll good-naturally rib the man.

The African American slowly turned towards the other man and gave him his best death glare.

"Get home to your wives, you knuckleheads!" Barney said with a rib of his own as he playfully shoved the two men towards their bikes.

Not having to be told twice, both Toll and Hale revved up their bikes.

"See you on Saturday!" They yelled in unison as they threw up their kickstands and took off out of the hanger.

Barney's hand rose and waved them goodbye. And then it was silent. It was one of the things he hated about after a mission. The sheer silence that filled the shop was enough to drive any sane man turn towards drugs, just to forget about the silence.

But the minute he was sober again, that silence would come back tenfold.

He aimlessly wandered towards the pictures that lined the shelf in the far end of the lounge area.

As he stared at the pictures, he couldn't help but smile.

In all of the pictures, a girl with Sun-kissed brown hair and deep blue eyes stared back at him with a grin as large as life. That was until one particular photo caught his eye.

It was a picture that Trench took when Dakota was 16 and dressed up for Halloween. That night she was going trick and treating with friends, that would be followed by a Halloween dance at Benjamin Franklin followed by a Halloween party. The photo had been taken before she left.

In the photo, Dakota was dressed like an Expendable. She wore a tight black long sleeve shirt, a black tactical vest, instead of black cargo pants she wore a pair of tight black leather pants, black fingerless gloves, black combat boots and a military grade gun holster that was strapped to her thigh complete with a plastic pistol.

Trench had captured the moment perfectly. Both he and Dakota were standing back to back, guns drawn with stoic looks on their faces. Dakota's look was complete with her sun-kissed brown hair braided down her back and placed on her head was her father's signature beret.

Looking back at the photo now, he couldn't help the proud grin that formed on his face.

He slowly moved away from the shelf and made his way to his 55' Ford F-100.

He opened the passenger side and reached into the glove compartment.

Barney sighed when he found the worn envelope from 4 years ago. He never put too much thought into it, but spending his weekend with Caesar's girls, brought back memories of his daughter.

A daughter that he hadn't seen or heard from in over 4 years. A month after she returned from Colombia.

He really didn't find out what happened there but he to gather that it had been pretty bad if his little girl didn't want to talk about it. He also had a feeling that Tool knew where his daughter was or at least somewhat of an idea.

He walked towards the steps that led to his three-bedroom loft apartment and sat down.

He wiped the tiredness from his brown eyes as he sighed again and reached into the envelope and pulled out a worn letter that had repeatedly folded numerous times.

Barney had no idea why he pulled this letter out but maybe hearing Dakota's words would give him some semblance that she was beside him.

Daddy,

If you're reading this letter then you must know by now that I'm
gone. But know that I'm not dead.

I would get into the real reason that I'm leaving NOLA but that would take to much time explain. And time is on my side. There are a lot of factors for the reason I'm leaving, but the main factor is Colombia.

I'm not the same girl I was before I left for my CIA mission, Daddy. Colombia changed me and not in a good way. A lot of things happened to me down there that I can't delve into at this moment. It would be so much better to do drugs at this moment to forget what happened down there, but I can't.

I have no window Daddy! NOLA is hazardous to my health right now, so it's better for everyone if I left for a while before things get worse.

You know the old saying, everything gets worse before it gets better, and for your safety alone I have to go. It's hard! I don't want to leave Daddy. But I don't have a choice.

Life is full of choices and this time I'm choosing to live because it's what's best for me.

Tell Yin I'm sorry. He's always told me that life is a circle and that your not complete until you find your center, well part of my circle would be incomplete without him in it. My center is out there, some where, but I won't find my center until I complete my circle. I need to heal in order to do that.

I love you Daddy and I'm really sorry. I hope you will forgive me one day when we meet again.

All my Love,

Dakota

Barney swung around on the stairs and leaned against the wall. He silently wiped a tear that escaped his eye.

He was never a man to cry, but his daughter was out there somewhere.

He took a moment to calm down before he came up with a plan.

There was only one person he knew who could help him out of the shit mess he was in. He didn't want to do it, he had no choice.

He was going to have to call him. In for a barrel, out for a pound!

If there was one person who could make sense of this mess, then it was Tool.

Barney reached into his pocket and pulled out his burner cell and dialed the familiar number.

"Tool!" He said as his old friend picked up on the first ring.

"Barney, brother, when did you get back?" Tool said on the other end of the line. Barney could hear his grin from there. "Everything okay?"

Barney sighed and rubbed his jet black hair. "The mission went fine, but I'm a man short." The seriousness in his voice caused Tool to sit straight up in his chair.

"What happened?" Tool asked all trace of humor left his voice.

"Well let's see," Barney began with a sigh and leaned back against the wall. "Gunnar was high again, he tried to hang a pirate, tried to kill Yin; when we got back, I had to send him home. And I'm undecided as to what to do"

Tool took a deep breath on the other end of the phone. "Man, that's a lot of shit to happen to you in one day. But the question remains: you're a man down, who are you get to replace Gunnar?" He asked as he smoked his pipe.

"I was hoping you could help with that," Barney said with hope in his voice.

"I'll look into it brother. I'll see if Bonaparte has anyone he can spare and maybe get him to help me on his end as well." Tool explained as he reached for a note pad and pen and began writing things down. "In the meantime, keep your noses clean until I can find you another team member."

Barney released a sharp barking laugh. "That's easier said than down brother. But I'll give the guys a mini vacation until the spot is filled."

"I'll call you when I have something." Tool said. "Talk to you soon brother!"

"Yeah brother, keep the shit in the rearview!" He said as he hung up.

With that out of the way, Barney put away his cell and pulled out a Cuban cigar and lit it.

As he blew the fragrant smoke in the air as he sat back against the wall. He knew one thing for sure, if Gunnar found out what he was doing, he would be in the Swedish sniper's sights. He got a feeling that Tool was going to find the perfect guy.

And between Tool and Bonaparte, they only recruited the best of the best.