Quaranteam - AU Ch. 06

Damian flinched, but the smile didn't falter. "Well, I suppose I deserve that, huh."

"Fuckin' oath." Tiberius paused, giving his brother a glare, then shook his head and smiled. "Thank fuck you're alive, you dumb cunt. Got all your bits and bobs? Nothing broken? Aside from what's supposed to be in that head of yours?"

Damian's smile softened and he nodded. "Ten wigglers on top and bottom, and all dangly bits present and accounted for, Major."

"It's Lieutenant Colonel now, Damo."

The younger man did a double take as the words registered. "Piss off! Some of us actually have to earn our promotions, you bastard. You get shot, go on leave and get promoted."

Ty laughed. "You mean 'piss off, sir.'"

"Get fucked, bro." Damian grabbed a glass of water from offscreen and turned to look at Lettie, who had remained silent. "Hey Leticia. Great to see ya. My bro treating you and Charlotte ok?"

"Hi Damian. Not just me and Lottie, but all four of his partners."

This time, Damian did a spit take. "Four? What the fuck, Ty? You go from 'oh I can't choose', to fucking master of a harem? What, did you call me here to gloat? At least let me meet them then, so I can be proper fucking jealous."

Ty barked a laugh. "Nah mate. You're all I got left for blood, so I needed to see you for myself." Letting the smile fall from his face, he leaned forwards and continued. "And I'll introduce you later, but for now I need to talk shop. Captain Marshall. I need your report."

Damian's expression went flat and he nodded. "If you'll excuse the expression, sir, it was a fucking trainwreck. You're correct that we messed up by not confirming the orders, but it was too late once we were on the move. At any rate, we had no trouble getting into the country since the borders are basically unguarded. But we had limited supplies, and our intel was scuffed. We tried, but someone beat us to the punch."

"That other team."

"Yes, sir. No real clue as to their identity or country of origin. Nondescript gear, local weapons, nothing to identify them. I made the call to not engage, as we were ill equipped to deal with that kind of force, so the mission was a failure." He paused, giving Ty a look. "Well, since there wasn't really a mission to begin with, I'm not sure it counts."

Tiberius nodded, gesturing for Damian to continue.

"We were about to enact our plan to exfil, but we got approached by one of Amélie's people, and they smuggled us back here. After that, well, here we are. And hey, turns out that Finland's pretty nice this time of year."

Ty just gave his brother a crooked smile. "Good to hear. No casualties, you said?"

"No, sir. One of the lads turned an ankle, but he's fine. They're looking forward to coming home."

It was time to address the elephant in the room. "And you?"

He actually blushed and shrugged. "You know that I always regretted breaking up with Lou. But our careers and that made it tough. You know she works for the DGSE now? Behavioural analyst for their Counter-Terror division. Well, she's still single and we still click as well as we did, and we're both older and wiser too. I'd like to do this, Ty. I'd like the chance to see if this relationship can go the distance."

Ty said nothing for a moment, giving his younger brother a deadpan stare, and Damian's expression started to crumble. Finally, Ty nodded, fighting the smile. "Christ, you looked like a kicked puppy, Damo. Yeah. Ok. I don't know if you understand what you're actually agreeing to, but we'll get you filled in and squared away. Amélie, you're still listening, correct?"

The blonde stuck her head back into frame and smiled. "But of course? What can I do for you?"

"I accept the proposed exchange of personnel from our side. Captain Marshall, you are hereby elevated to the rank of Major. I'll get that signed off tonight. Ams, who did you have in mind for your side?"

Ty knew he had put his foot in it the moment her smile began to grow. "We shall be sending you one of our technical specialists. Software and hardware. She is also a very capable systems engineer, but she spends the majority of time tinkering away at her various projects. My only condition is that she is partnered to you, Tiberius."

He sighed, knowing this was going to happen. "I won't promise that outright. We'll need to test our compatibility, meet face to face, and both of us will have the right of veto. She'll also be meeting my other partners. If any of them clash too badly, it's not gonna work."

"Naturally. I would not expect Damian's brother to act the brute, and of course she will need to get along with your family. But I warn you, if you bring her harm, it will not be pleasant for either country."

"I would never allow that to happen. And so? Who is this mysterious woman?" Ty already feared he knew the answer.

"Why, have you not figured it out?" There was no mistaking the amusement in her tone. She was in fact, almost cackling, and Ty was certain now. "I know you have met, and since he has reappeared in our lives, she has been asking Damian about you nonstop."

Ty felt the weariness threaten to overtake him again. It had been one date, at Louise's insistence, and he had been a gentleman. Her fixation on him was baffling.

"Béatrice."

--

Marshall Household, Melbourne Southeastern Suburbs, Victoria, Australia - October 27, 2020 - 9:05 PM AEDT

--

Ty had intended to spend a bit of time afterwards sorting out the details, but the French had already prepared to transport everyone, so it would be as easy as setting out within the next two days. So, he had instead used that time to catch up with Damian and introduce him to his partners. Louise had joined Damian, and eventually so had Béatrice. She was so eager that Ty was taken aback. Fortunately, it seemed that she and his existing partners would get along, but Ty just hoped it would be so easy. Now, he was making his report to Lt. General Hoffmann, and the old man seemed to be holding back laughter.

"So, the woman had you completely wrapped around her fingers. You, of all people?" The old man burst into raucous laughter as Ty explained the meeting with Amélie and Damian. "Well, you gave away nothing we didn't plan on sharing anyway, so it's of no consequence. But you seem rather flustered at the idea of this, what was her name? Bea...Bernice?"

"Béatrice, General."

"That's the one. You seem rather flustered at the idea of this Béatrice joining your family. What's the problem? A lovely French girl for your growing harem of beauties. God, your team is becoming fucking international." Grace's face flashed briefly in Ty's head and he fought back a spike of guilt. Hoffmann's laughter cut off as he fixed a raised eyebrow at Ty. "Is she going to be a problem?"

"No, General. It's not even that. She's...she's, well I kinda feel bad about what happened with her. I mean, I didn't do anything wrong. We went on one date, because Damian and his girlfriend, Louise, wanted to do a double date, and Louise's sister, Béatrice, was in town. So, I agreed, since I wasn't seeing anyone and it was just going to be night out. She on the other hand had wedding bells in mind and was struggling to accept that I wasn't going out with her that day as the start of a long-term relationship." Ty tried to shrug but felt his shoulders sag as he continued. "She looked so disappointed at the end of the evening, and I felt pretty bad about it. She was a really nice girl. The next day, I told Louise I was sorry if I led her on, and she told me that it was fine, because I had made it very clear what my intentions were, and I never led her on or took advantage. But I also heard from Damo that Béatrice was pretty stuck on me, and I kinda felt like I had done her a disservice. Speaking to her again after all that...was kinda awkward."

The old man snorted. "I don't see the problem, Tiberius. You said it yourself; you didn't do anything wrong. It was just a conflict of expectations. But you both have the opportunity to make something new. She seemed enthusiastic, right? So, roll with it."

Ty nodded. He'd been told the same thing by his partners after they dropped the call and he'd explained the odd reaction he'd had. He looked away from the screen and grabbed his phone. Lottie had replaced his lock screen photo earlier, and it made him smile. He'd taken it just before dinner, a simple photo of all four girls in the kitchen, working together. It might feel strange to add more people to the mix, but he knew Grace had told him a dozen. Unbidden, his mind threw Grace into the image, and even Béatrice, and he hated himself for the thought that it didn't seem out of place.

The General's next words brought him back from his self-loathing. "But, well, I'm sorry to say this son, but I'm about to make your day a whole lot more complicated."

Ty sat up straighter, and the General continued. "Bill, Colonel Anderson has managed to pick apart some of the loose threads regarding Connors. I'm told that the money trail was exceptionally convoluted, but they traced it back far enough to get a good idea. However, upon doing that, we learned that there are still active agents within our borders."

The doorbell rang, and Ty leapt out of his seat. No one had told him they were having visitors.

"Relax, son. That'll be your door, right? Go down and answer it. Bring your tablet with you so I can explain."

Ty did so, striding down the stairs as Lottie opened the door. The General spoke as he did, completely businesslike now.

"As of 7:35 PM today, the residence of Jaxson, Wendy and Elizabeth Connors was burned to the ground in what we believe to be a deliberate case of arson. No witnesses to the incident have come forward. We now have solid reason to believe that the perpetrators, insurgents we believe to be from an entity or entities in the middle east, were sending a message, but with Jaxson incapacitated, it falls to us to sort out this mess. So, Lt. Colonel, while we handle that, I will have you handle our other problem."

"Sir...you can't be serious."

Lottie stepped aside and looked back at Ty; her eyes wide. A young woman stepped into the house, brushing her sandy brown hair back out of her face. Her expression was one of curiosity, at least until her eyes met Ty's and she froze. He knew those eyes, but he'd never seen them in that head. She was appraising him, and he had no idea what she was looking for, but she smiled and nodded, continuing into the house as she spoke with Lottie.

The General's voice bored into him, driving home the words. "You are hereby ordered to partner with Miss Elizabeth Connors. She has already agreed and signed the NDA, and it will be up to you to enforce it."

Tiberius couldn't stifle the groan. "Sir, all due respect, this is a terrible idea. Does she -"

"Lt. Colonel, this pairing is a military decision and we have established that you have sufficient compatibility, therefore you do not have the right of veto under these circumstances."

"Oh, for fuck's sake."