A/N: Not a super long one for y'all this time around, but preparation for Whumptober is consuming my writing at the moment (but don't worry; that just means a full month of whump comin' at ya before long!).

Quick thank you to frankiemcstein and OllieCollie.

Standard disclaimers apply.

It was a chilly desert evening as Magnum strode down the street toward the local cafe where he was supposed to be meeting his buddies. None of them had to be on duty until the next day, so they'd decided to take advantage of the break. But Magnum had gotten caught up in some last minute tasks and was now a good fifteen minutes late to meet the others.

He was hurrying along, trying to make up as much time as he could, passing alleyways and dark side streets on either side of the street. As he neared his destination, noises off to his left caught his attention. It sounded like a struggle, and he could hear men's voices as well as what sounded like a distinctly female—and distinctly terrified—voice.

Magnum stepped closer to try to make out what was going on just as the woman cried out. One of the men reached forward and the sound was immediately muffled. Magnum felt anger wash through him. "Hey!" he yelled, darting into the alley with his fists clenched by his sides. "What do you think you're doing?"

The two men turned to face him, the bigger one dropping his hand from the woman's face but keeping his grip clamped around her arm. When Magnum got close enough to make out facial features, he groaned inwardly. He should've known. If anyone was going to cause trouble, it would be these two geniuses. Dyson and Forrest weren't part of his unit—thankfully—but he'd already tangled with them a few times. As far as Magnum was concerned, dishonorable men like the two of them had no business wearing a uniform.

Dyson squinted at Magnum's uniform, then rolled his eyes. "Get out of here, Magnum," he snapped, stepping closer threateningly. "This doesn't concern you."

"See, that's where you're wrong," Magnum returned, not giving an inch. "Now, I'm pretty sure the lady here asked you to leave, so why don't you both just get on your way?" He glanced at the smaller figure by Forrest and realized with a start how young she actually was. And she looked absolutely terrified, a fact that only served to make Magnum more angry at the two buffoons in front of him.

"I'm warning you, Magnum," Dyson said threateningly. "Leave now and we won't tell your CO you've been rendezvousing with the Taliban. I'm sure he'd love to know how those last two convoy routes got compromised."

The look Forrest and Dyson exchanged was one of self-assured victory, and neither were prepared for the sudden rush of fists as Magnum threw himself forward.

He caught Dyson around the middle and drove him backward to impact the wall of the alley. Magnum could feel the air leave his opponent's lungs in a rush and took advantage of that opening to follow up the tackle with a fist.

Movement to the side caught Magnum's attention, and he glanced over to see Forrest rushing him. He briefly saw the girl race around the corner and back down the street before he was forced to duck a very fast blow from the very angry larger soldier. The problem with that was it left him open to Dyson, who had regained his breath much quicker than Magnum had expected. Forrest recovered from his missed swing as well, and now Magnum found himself with his back literally against a wall and two opponents coming at him.

Taking a deep breath, he ducked another punch from Forrest at the same time as he tucked his shoulder and slammed into Dyson's left side. Both Magnum and his opponent went down in a heap, and Magnum managed to get in one decent blow to the guy's jaw before Forrest grabbed his shoulder and threw him violently off of the other man.

Magnum hit the pavement and rolled a few feet before he managed to stop himself, feeling the rough concrete scraping his palms. But then Forrest was on him, and Magnum threw up his arms to block the heavy series of blows now raining down. At least two or three found their marks, and Magnum growled in pain.

Planting his feet, he bucked Forrest off-balance, pulled himself out from under the other man, and scrambled to his feet. He came up with his hands raised defensively, but he barely had time to take a breath before Dyson rushed him, and they grappled as they staggered backward to hit the wall yet again. Magnum felt his back slam into the unyielding surface, and he grunted in pain as the collision reverberated through him.

He was gasping, the impact having forced the air from his lungs, and he gritted his teeth as he forced his arms up to ward off the rapid series of blows now coming from Dyson. Everything hurt, and Magnum's vision was starting to fade at the edges. He knew he needed to get the upper hand, but he was out of ideas on how to since brute strength alone wasn't enough to hope to compete against two larger men—especially when they were as eager for trouble-making as Forrest and Dyson were on any given day.

Magnum clenched his jaw and threw all of his weight forward, catching Dyson by surprise and taking the man down to the pavement. He slammed a fist into the side of the man's face and pulled his arm back for another, but then he felt Forrest grab his arm from behind. The other man wrenched it back and upward, sending pain radiating through Magnum's shoulder and forcing him to his feet as his arm reached the edge of its range of motion.

Using the momentum, Magnum swung himself around with a yell, channeling the pain into force as he kicked Forrest's knee, hoping to unbalance him enough that a follow-up blow would take the man down. Unfortunately, his plan didn't quite work, and Forrest used his height to his advantage as he twisted the other man's arm savagely. Then he pushed Magnum hard, sending him toppling back to the ground, and followed after him with clenched fists.

Magnum rolled onto his stomach and pulled his legs underneath him, but, before he could spring to his feet, something hard collided with the back of his head and sent him sprawling forward again. Everything around him faded as he felt himself slump limply, and he breathed deeply, trying to focus so he could get back into the fight. There was no doubt in his mind that he needed to either win this fight or somehow get away; neither of his opponents seemed like they would be content to just walk away at this point.

"We warned you, Magnum," he heard Forrest snarl from somewhere above him as what felt like a knee dug into the small of his back. "Just wait until we drag you back to base and tell the captain we caught you selling intel to the enemy. We have the evidence to bury you."

Magnum grunted and clenched his teeth, gathering his strength to throw his weight and send the man stumbling to the side, but that was as far as he seemed to be able to go. He felt himself being flipped over onto his back and barely got his arms up again in defense—and then there was a shout from somewhere in the direction of the entrance to the alley.

"Hey!"

Relief sprang into Magnum's chest as he recognized the voice. That was Nuzo, no doubt about it. Forrest had heard the sound as well, and he turned from Magnum to face the new arrival.

'Arrivals,' Magnum corrected himself as he squinted in the direction of Nuzo's voice and saw two other familiar figures next to his buddy.

As the realization that the immediate threat to his health was now gone, Magnum realized just how tired he was and how much everything hurt. He groaned and closed his eyes, trusting his friends had the situation under control…

"Hey, buddy. You good?" Nuzo grinned down at his friend as his voice pulled Magnum's eyes open. "I should've known you yourself in trouble just walking down the street."

Magnum rolled his eyes in response, wincing as he felt the gesture pull against what was certain to be one monster of a shiner. "I'm fine; thanks for your concern." He started to sit up, unable to stop the groan as his sore muscles protested. Accepting Nuzo's outstretched hand, Magnum took a deep breath to steady himself as his friend pulled him to his feet.

Glancing over toward the others, Magnum noted how Rick and T.C. had Dyson's hands pinned behind his back—although he didn't see Forrest anywhere.

"He got away," T.C. replied, catching Magnum's look. "But don't worry. With what we just saw and heard, he's gonna get what's coming to him."

Rick nodded and glared at Dyson. "These idiots really thought they could frame you for treason?" He shook his head in disgust. "Guess we know what really happened to those convoys now."

"How'd you guys get here anyway?" Magnum asked, swiping the back of his hand across his chin.

"Oh, we got worried when it had been half an hour and you still hadn't shown up," Nuzo offered. "So we figured you might've gotten into trouble and came looking for you."

"And it's a good thing we did," T.C. added. "Seriously, Thomas. We can't even trust you on your own for an hour?" He chuckled.

Magnum shook his head as he moved over to join the others, Nuzo beside him. For what was probably the millionth time since he'd met these guys, Magnum found himself thinking how lucky he was to have them as his brothers-in-arms. They might give each other a hard time sometimes—okay, most of the time—but they were always there when it counted. He wouldn't trade them for anything.

Fin.