One of my favorite bands is on tour this summer in...EUROPE! My husband didn't take me seriously when I told him I was off to the Netherlands come July...told me to console myself with SEAL Team returning next week...I'm happy with my consolation prize.

So many Airbourne songs make me think of this show - somehow, someway or another.

"Come on, you can't be serious." Jason fussed, palms flat on the table as he leaned across it. "Take who? No."

"Do what?" Ray added disdainfully. His job was to talk Jason down and he really didn't see the need to do that. This time, he was firmly on Jason's side.

Blackburn didn't reply. He stood with his hands on his hips and stared Jason down. This wasn't his call, not his choice, not a decision he agreed with, and what little he could do about it, he'd done.

"Hayes." McCall warned. They'd been at this over an hour. How the hell did Blackburn do this, day in and day out? "Alpha, Charlie and Delta were all assigned…"

"I don't care about other teams." Jason spat. "You don't just go and assign some flunkie to my unit and expect me to be happy about it."

"Oh, no one expected that." Eric muttered. Jason glared. Eric stared. McCall blustered.

"We've been through this," McCall began again. "It's for one mission Hayes." He held up one finger as if Jason needed a visual to help him understand how many 'one' was. "One." He waggled his finger. "One, short mission."

"Yeah, yeah. The new Echo team. Whatever." Jason pushed up from the table, ran a hand through his hair. "You tried to break up my team." McCall grimaced, ah, there was the real reason Jason was being so stubborn. "Not forgiving you for that."

"With Echo fully functioning, they will be back on rotation. That will give Bravo…." McCall wilted under the look Jason gave him. "Blackburn? Little help here."

"Told you that wouldn't matter to him." Eric sighed. "Take the newbie Jason. Your mission is a simple one. Eliminate a target from a distance. Sniper shot. Easily done. You'll be back home in two days."

And boy, had he had to wheel and deal to get such a mission for Bravo: 'Yes sir, I can bring Hayes around. No sir, he will not agree easily. Right, yes, short mission, correct.'

"That's it?" Jason saw no way out of it, knew Eric had gone to bat for him to get an easy, short mission. "Still don't like it. We operate as a team of six. The guys don't take to change or disruption or the addition of newbies. Disrupts the flow of the team."

"Kairos?" McCall smugly reminded him.

"What about him?" Ray countered. After the incident where he'd taken Clay off base and lost him, no one was really speaking to the EOD specialist.

Bravo was not known to easily forgive. They never forgot.

Eric shook his head at McCall, waved him off with the motion of his finger across his throat.

"What?" McCall demanded. "You asked for and received..."

"Let's go get a drink." Eric said hastily. "Hayes, we clear?"

Jason nodded, but he wasn't happy.

***two days later***

"Your job is to protect him. That is what you do. You get me?" Jason stated emphatically.

"Yeah, but on Echo….." began poor Wes.

"You're not with Echo. This isn't Echo." Jason struggled to keep his temper. "Forget Echo."

The new Echo team was not a favorite among the platoon. Delta, of course, had no issues with the new team, but then, Delta hated Bravo.

Alpha firmly had Jason's back, no issues there and Charlie? Well, if push came to shove, Jason was fairly sure Beau would grudgingly, reluctantly side with Bravo – if for no other reason than Beau was fond of Ray – but that was a fight Jason never wanted to have.

And of course, it was only Bravo that had the issue with the men that had replaced the Echo team that had been led by Jason's close friend, Steve.

Or rather, it was Jason.

Because the dick who had been promoted/assigned to be Echo's new leader, had come after first Clay, then Trent because he felt he should be allowed to have whoever he wanted on his team. Pulled the 'I'm-building-from-scratch' bullshit card.

Nunt-nuh, Jason hadn't seen it that way.

Hell, it wasn't an expansion draft, where Jason could only protect four men and lose the fifth to the new team. And if it had been, well then, Eric would have had to find some way around it because no way was anyone taking any of his men from his team.

He hadn't - wouldn't ever - even entertain the thought one of them might have wanted to go.

First, McCall had tried to talk Ray into applying for the position of Echo's Team Leader. Then, when Ray had turned down the offer, it had been decided by the 'brass' that Bravo didn't require two highly-qualified snipers and allowed Dick to come after Clay. Jason still didn't know how Eric had managed to shut that talk down, but oh yeah, he owed his Commander one big bottle of Scotch…..maybe there was a bottle-of-the-month club he could subscribe to for a year – have it delivered to Eric's house.

No one was taking Clay. Yes, he was qualified to fill 2IC on Echo, but he wasn't ready to leave Bravo, Jason wasn't ready to let him go and no one, Clay included, wanted to him to go.

Then Dick, 'cause that was the only name Jason was ever going to call the asshole who had attempted to pick apart his team, had claimed he needed an experienced medic, had insisted there was no medic more qualified than Trent. Dick had pointed out Jason was still running missions, Sonny still walked the earth and Clay was still all in one piece and if that wasn't testament to how good Trent was, then nothing was.

Which was true. But no, not happening.

Then – and then – Dick had asked for the dog, which meant Brock and while Jason had been exploding in a fit of fury with McCall, Eric had had enough; had taken it a step further by somehow communicating to whoever that until Bravo was ready to split ways on their own, no other team was going to have a say in breaking them up.

So yeah, Echo could go jump in a lake, pound sand, eat shit.

Bravo was stressed, anxious, tense and pissed off.

As for Jason? Pfft. No one wanted to be anywhere around him. Even Ray kept a respectful distance. The only comfort Jason would even accept was that offered by a furry head on his lap.

Everyone worried and fussed about Clay having lost his best friend to a freak accident, his mentor/trainer in self-sacrifice to save the team, his girlfriend because of his job, any chance of a relationship with his old man because papa Spenser was a complete and utter ass.

But, what about Jason?

He'd lost:

Nate, his youngest member on his team; Steve, a friend he'd come up the ranks with; Adam, a friend who trained the men he'd selected to his team – all in action.

His ex-wife in a car accident.

He'd suffered a head injury in a chopper crash that had taken nearly six months to heal before he could resume active duty. He'd had a parting of ways with Ray. He'd put his kids first and left Bravo. Yeah, he'd taken some pretty hard hits himself.

"Okay, yeah, but see…"

His patience fled, his temper snapped. Jason grabbed the kid by his vest, pulled him close so he was in his face. Had a brief moment of Deja-vu….? Oh right, he'd had Spenser in his hands like this once…what was it with kids questioning his authority? Challenging his orders?

The difference?

Clay was his. This punk wasn't. Thank God for that.

With time, guidance, training and teaching, Clay had come around…well, Jason hedged, with his own team anyway. And their support team. Anyone else and Clay was as cocky and arrogant as he'd been when he'd first started training on Green Team.

Clay bonded with few people, was slow to trust, hard to get close to, kept people at a distance to avoid being hurt. But once you had his trust, he was attached – committed to the relationship. He took loss and betrayal hard.

Brian. Adam. Stella. His Dad.

Jason shook it off. "No buts. This is Bravo, not Echo. I don't care how you – they – do things. Their way ain't my way and as long as you're running with this team, things are done my way. AM I CLEAR? Get it through your head." Jason gave the kid a teeth-clattering shake, poked him in the forehead with each word. "You. Protect. Him." He pointed at Clay, who stood quietly, expression blank.

Oh, the punk wanted to argue. Jason could see it. He best hold his tongue or so help him, Jason would….

"Yeah, but…."

"What are you thinking Wes?" Ray asked quietly, stepped between Echo's youngest member and his Boss. The selection to rebuild Echo had stomped on toes all across the platoon. He'd been offered to 'apply' for the team leader, uh, position. He was a Senior Chief and had the experience and qualifications to step up and take on the role.

He hadn't.

He'd had a long discussion with his wife, with Jason, with Eric but the men on Bravo were his family and he was content, happy, proud right where he was.

"Okay, yeah. But….well, why? He's the sniper, right? Isn't his job to go high and protect his team?"

Ray blinked. Good Grief, was the idiot still trying to argue with Jason?

Jason started, held it to a growl when Ray extended a hand to hold him off.

"His job is to follow orders." Ray corrected calmly. "As is yours. Protecting his team isn't his only duty."

"Yeah, but….."

Ray again held Jason off.

"He's the better shot. He has the more powerful rifle. He's faster. He sees better. His reaction time is quicker. He's going to notice things you won't, it's his job, it's what he does." Ray was going to need a couple shots after this, beer just wouldn't do. "You're assigned a job on this mission and it's to make sure nothing happens to Clay."

"Ain't so hard to understand." Sonny drawled.

"Why me? Can't one of you do it?"

"Because it's your job," huffed Sonny.

"We have done it. We will do it again." Ray again waved Jason off. "But not today. Today, you will do it."

"Yeah, but you're the other sniper, why don't….."

"That's it." Jason was patient no longer. "You're with Clay. Suck it up, deal with it and keep your fucking mouth shut or so help me, I will tie you to a tree and eventually radio HAVOC to have someone find someone to send someone to look for you."

Wes blinked, it dawned on him Jason wasn't joking. Have someone find someone to send someone? That was a lot of someones. So, like…who? HAVOC was, uh, Davis and Blackburn. Wouldn't that, like, take a while? And what did it mean, look for him? What, Jason wouldn't tell them where he was? Hey, wait a gosh-darn minute. Tie him to a tree?

"Uh, hey." Wes managed to respond finally. "That's not very nice."

Sonny turned his back, choked on laughter. Not very nice?

Ray just stared at Wes. "Do you have a problem with Spenser?"

Wes didn't even know Clay except by reputation. It was all he knew about anyone on Bravo. He hadn't wanted to be assigned to the team but Echo was nearly ready to join the platoon and their last act before being released to go on rotation and operate was to join another team and see how they operated.

And he'd gotten Bravo. Whoopee!

Four men from Echo, each assigned to another team and he'd gotten Bravo. Sucked. Their leader and 2IC hadn't had to be reassigned for a mission. Really wasn't fair.

"No." He told Ray. "I just don't know what I'm supposed to do."

Trent shouldered his backpack. Brock helped him ease his opposite arm through the second strap, pulled it across his back.

"Shoot anyone who takes aim at him." Trent buckled the fasteners across his belly, adjusted the weight. "Don't let anyone approach him. If he says shoot, don't question him, just shoot."

Wes stared at the team medic with wide eyes. Shoot what? Who?

"You can spot, right?" Clay asked doubtfully. Why was the boss sticking him with the unwanted newbie? It wasn't usual for Jason to let Clay out of his sight…..let alone send him off with someone none of them knew.

Wes's eyes widened. "Spot? You mean…?" He paused, shook his head. "You're not going to be shooting long distances, are you? I don't even know you."

And that made what sense?

"This guy's a Seal?" Brock rolled his eyes. "Really?"

"Seriously?" Sonny added. "Boss, you want me to go with the kid, give yo-yo here to Ray?"

Yes, that is exactly what Jason wanted but he didn't admit it. Wes had to learn to obey orders without questioning them. No one got out of a job Jason ordered them to do merely by arguing.

"Anything happens to him, your ass is fried." Jason grabbed and spun Wes around so he was facing Clay. "Take a good look at him, you see him? That's how you return him, you got me?"

Wes hunched his shoulder, took a step away but the movement didn't break Jason's hold.

"Uh." Wes was beginning to feel…..anger. "Or what?" He dared.

Sonny shook his head, clapped Trent on the shoulder, shared a grin.

"I'll make your military career short-lived and your life a living hell." Jason smiled/sneered, lips drawn tight over his teeth. "Have a nice hike."

Wes gulped, finally shrugged free and moved out of Jason's reach. "I didn't know better, I'd think you were threatening me." He didn't really believe Jason could do any such thing, but then he remembered some rumors….maybe the Bravo boss could. He rubbed his shoulder, was sure he'd have finger-shaped bruises come morning. Ow.

"I am." Jason admitted. "Move out." He motioned to Clay to get going. Wes shot Jason a glare, picked up his gear and fell in behind Clay.

Soon, as they were out of sight, Jason turned to Sonny. "Keep him in your sights."

Sonny nodded. "Roger that." Him = Clay.

He was relieved. He'd been beginning to believe Jason was trusting Clay's back to someone none of them knew. Bravo was stuck taking a soon-to-be elite Seal from another team with them on a mission to hunt, locate and eliminate a target on a hit list, but that didn't mean they had to trust him to do his job.

God knew how hard it was for them to keep track of Clay and keep him safe and they had, technology, experience and knowledge on their side and still, they lost him.

He bumped fists with his teammates, started after Clay.

Wes, still simmering over Jason, kept pace with Clay as they started up the side of the hill. It wasn't hard going, plenty of foot and hand holds, but the climb was steep and Wes began to wonder just where the hell Clay was going.

"Why does your Chief hate me?" Wes asked when Clay finally picked a place to stop and drink some water.

"Jason?" Clay sat down on a rock, opened his bottle of water. "He doesn't hate you. Doesn't hate anyone. Where's that coming from?"

"Um…..the fact he admitted he was threatening me."

"Eh." Clay waved him off. "That's just Jason. He doesn't mean anything by it."

"Liar." Wes replied. Clay shrugged. "We stopping here?" He wasn't thirsty, couldn't imagine Clay really was. Why then, had the sniper stopped to drink water? "Guess you're thirsty."

"Blackburn has a thing about hydration." Clay stood up, walked left, right, looked up. "Up there."

"Care to elaborate?" Wes asked, Clay shook his head so he let it go. "So, what's the plan? Sit here and wait until the target comes by, shoot him?"

"Yup."

"Just like that?"

"Yup."

"How long?"

"Long as it takes."

"Hey, you blue-eyed bitch." Sonny cackled in Clay's ear. "That's enough water, don't you think?"

"You got eyes on me?" Clay asked. Wes looked around, wondered who Clay was talking to. "Don't trust me?"

"You're not taking a shot from there." Sonny observed. "And it ain't you I don't trust."

"Nope, going up to the over-hang."

"Shit kid, you fall off of there, we aren't getting to you anytime soon."

Clay saw Wes's bewildered expression, sighed, slapped him upside the back of his head. "Turn your comm's on."

"Punk turned his comm's off?" Sonny whistled. "Gonna be runnin' with some weight on his back for that."

Clay didn't know Wes from Green Team training or any other deployment. He was familiar with most of the guys on the other teams, but not this guy. Might not be a bad thing, either.

"Wes?" Ray said. "You with us? Spenser? He tune in?"

"I'm on."

"There better not be a time we can't reach you." Ray warned. "You hear me Wes?"

"Yes, sir."

"Let me know when you're set up Spenser." Ray said. "You're the furthest away from the road, but most likely, you will have the best shot."

Translation: Don't give a flying leap where or how long it takes you to set up. Just want to know so Sonny can set up below you so no one gets anywhere near you.

"Roger that." Clay capped his water, put the bottle in a pocket of his backpack, left it behind. He climbed up on the rock over-hang, set up his rifle, laid flat on his belly. "Bravo six, in position."

"Bravo seven, you good?" Jason asked, waited. "Bravo seven." Silence. "SEVEN!"

"That'd be you Wes." Trent said dryly.

"Oh. Right. Me. Good here."

Silence.

"Six, you good?" Jason asked finally. "Three can be up there in less than a minute."

So, Jason wasn't trusting Wes to have his back, Sonny would likely settle within hearing distance without comm's. Clay grinned, savored the warm feeling that knowing that gave him.

Wes had the training and knowledge to be an elite Seal, they were supposed to trust him. Why, then, did no one on Bravo feel they could?

"Go with your plan." Clay replied. "From this distance, don't need him to spot. Just watch my back."

Wes was quiet. Echo had just completed the requirements to operate as a team. They'd run training simulations on base for months, competed with and against the other elite teams that made up the east coast platoon/squadron, were ready to go on rotation. But this was the first time he'd ever seen one of the teams operate off base.

"Do you think you're the best sniper the Navy has?" He asked Clay. "Or is it Perry?"

Clay spared him a WTF look, went back to his scope. "Glasses up."

"We should have a contest." Wes said eagerly, going flat on his stomach next to Clay. "You have more experience in these kinds of situations, but one on one, on the base, shooting at targets, see if you live up to your reputation."

He had a reputation? Clay squirmed flatter. Yup, that did it. Sun glare was gone. What reputation?

"You're better than Ray, right?" Wes also went flatter, found the position uncomfortable, went up on his elbows. Duh, sun glare. He went flat again.

"You can recognize the target, even in head robes, correct?" Clay asked as Brock related the convoy was mobile. "He's reported to be in the third vehicle." What the hell made the punk think Clay was a better sniper than Ray? That wasn't discussed on Bravo.

"10-4." Wes replied. "How come they don't want him alive?"

"Not our job to know." Clay sighted in. "Or care. Anyone got eyes yet?"

"Affirmative. Five vehicles." Sonny said.

"Bravo six." Ray broke the silence. "Affirmative ID, third vehicle, shotgun, rear seat," and that put the target on the side where Clay had the clear shot.

"Rear seat?"

"Repeat, rear seat. There is no third row, vehicle is a sedan. Target is behind passenger."

"You have eyes yet?" Clay asked Wes. Clay did, saw the sedan, trusted Ray's confirmation the figure in the back passenger side seat was who he was to eliminate.

"I do. Agree with two." Wes was all professional now. "When will you implement the plan to halt the progress of the vehicle's movement?"

"Negative," came Jason's voice. "Six, on you. Take the shot when you're ready."

"Car's moving at 40 miles per hour." Brock related. "Holding steady."

Wes held his tongue. Take the shot? With the car moving? What the hell was that? Was Clay doing math calculations in his head?

"Still 40?" Clay asked.

"Roger, still 40."

Clay fired.

Wes blinked and the car came to a screeching halt. Doors flew open, three men, the driver included, spilled out and fired in every direction. Bravo did not engage.

The two vehicles behind the stopped car came to a halt but no one emerged. The lead two cars continued on. Bravo let them go, had no orders to stop them. Only the middle car had anyone get out of it. Once the three men realized no one was shooting at them, one got back behind the wheel, the other two went to the passenger rear door, opened it, pulled a body out, left it in the sand.

"Kill shot." Trent reported.

They all watched as the two men got back in the car, and the three vehicle parade resumed their forward progress, soon out of sight.

"They just gonna leave him there?" Wes wondered. "Why?"

"Not our job to care." Clay rested his forehead against his scope, took a moment, eased his finger off the trigger.

"Good job little buddy." Sonny said, wished he were with Clay to give him a reassuring pat on the back. "Wait for you here."

Clay didn't reply, content to stay on his belly for another minute or so scanning the area. He didn't want to rush and miss something or someone that could prove a threat. He soon located Sonny's location, watched him.

"Meet up." Jason ordered. "Six, you good?"

"Aah….no." He sounded amused.

Silence.

No? What the hell did he mean, no?

"Come again?" Jason looked at Ray who sought out Trent and Brock's location with binoculars. Finding them in no danger, he sought out Clay's position.

Though Ray knew where Clay was, he couldn't see him through the dense foliage and sight lines. The kid had chosen his spot well.

"Three." Clay said simply. Ray swung the glasses to search out Sonny. Clay had seen Sonny fall down but he was moving, so Clay didn't believe he'd been shot. "Anything you want to tell the guys?"