Mettle

He moved his fingers along the soft skin of her stomach, not quite feeling the fine, almost invisible hair. It was odd, this terrain so familiar yet so different too. She trembled as his hand ascended the soft hill of her breast then paused in momentary as his mind drifted from the firmness of her nipple. A twinkle of light caught his attention and he watched a bead of sweat roll down her breast toward her throat where her dark skin showed the first hint of bruising.

Her breath was ragged as she wept quietly. The slight hissing sound she made as she inhaled reminded him of before.

*****************

"Target acquired, permission to fire."

"What are we looking at?"

"Ten, maybe twelve unfriendlies..."

"Are they armed?"

"Does it matter?"

"Of course it matters, are they armed?"

"Yes, yes, see it there... yeah one on the left."

"Looks like a stick, a baseball bat..."

"No, back there... RPG, see it?"

"RPG?"

Nodding.

"Fire, fire now."

"Roger that. There you are."

The bright light flared onscreen. They paused.

"Movement?"

"No, nothing. We got them all."

"Okay, let's mop it up."

************

Stepping into the dust, he walked away from the chopper reflexively ducking his head from the rotors above. He heard an odd hissing sound as smoke rolled away from several small fires. Choking a bit from the stench he moved closer looking for weapons. A small boy held a long stick reminiscent of the ones sheepherders always carried in the stories his mother had read to him as a child.

A woman wandered from a nearby building crying out in a language he couldn't understand. Several other women appeared trying to get to their children, their anguish sounding like the buzzing of bees to him. He looked at two more of the bodies, one of the boys held a baseball bat, the nearby ball was charred black.

*************

He'd met her in a bar... actually outside a bar when the last of the customers staggered out and the door was locked behind them. When he asked if she needed a ride home, she'd replied, "Sure."

He drove slowly, not wanting to attract any attention as he wrestled to keep the vehicle going as straight as possible. Her place wasn't far and, considering the neighborhood, she accepted his offer to walk her to her door. She was less enthusiastic when he asked to use her bathroom, but relented. "First door on your right."

When he stepped out of the bathroom, he immediately grabbed her and pulled her tight against him. She seemed to push him away, but then opened her mouth as she pushed his tongue in. The kiss got more passionate, but she turned her head when he grabbed her breast, "No, I can't, I've got to get up early in the morning."

He pulled at her blouse and then heard the odd pinging sound as buttons began to bounce on the wood floor.

**********

Ducking instinctively, he glanced around while shouting on his radio, "Taking fire, small arms... looks like from those buildings over there." He grabbed a woman and pushed her away from her dead son.

"Get back in the chopper, I'll call in a strike," he called out to his companions.

Following the rest of the men, he ran back and rolled onto the chopper as it lifted from the ground. A few puffs of dust seemed to leap from the sand as they gained altitude. Turning back he watched as two buildings erupted in a fiery mass of chaos.

As they flew away from the desolation he was asked, "Well, were they armed? Did you find the RPG?"

He paused, then looked back at the column of smoke rising from the small village. "Ah, yeah, one victim had the RPG, saw some other AK's," he lied.

*************

She moaned as he pulled down her bra and his kisses strafed across her breasts. Firmly grabbing her arm, he persuaded her to go into the bedroom where he quickly removed the rest of her clothing. She tried to move from under him but his grasp at her neck was held her down. Unfastening his pants, he eased his cock out and moved in between her legs as she responded in an odd buzzing sound. "Like bees," he thought to himself as he worked his cock into her.

He smiled as he heard her whimpers of pleasure and quickened his pace. She had stopped pushing him away, simply closing her eyes and apparently enjoying what he was doing. Wondering if she had come, he felt the pleasure building inside him and then he came, his cock exploding inside her, spurting his hot, fiery cum deep into her.

Rolling off her, he gazed over her trembling body. Wanting to touch her, he reached out, worked his fingers into her mound of pubic hair and then slowly moved upward. His mind wandered.

***************

The reports were filed. They had wiped out the group of insurgents and destroyed their cell without any friendly causalities. Reports of numerous civilian causalities were categorically denied. He even was recommended for a medal for valorous conduct under fire.

**************

Zipping up his zipper, he whispered, "Good night," and headed for the door. Before opening it he called back to her, "Hey, maybe I'll see you at the bar and we can do this again."

Closing the door behind him he walked away from the desolation as a voice in his head asked, "Did she want that, didn't she say no?"

He paused, looking back at her building. "Yeah she wanted it, she said 'Sure' didn't she?" he mumbled, remembering how he offered her a ride. Sure she wanted it. Suddenly the image of the boy and his shepherd's stick came to mind. "Damn," he spit, walking towards his truck, "I need a drink." Looking for his flask he reached into his pocket and found a tarnished metal star. He stared at the bronze star for a moment and then threw it as hard as he could. It hit the ground with an odd ping.