The Saint of All Sinners

I awoke before dawn the next morning. The barracks, and rest of the fort, were quiet as I dressed in my usual black uniform. I replaced Leon and Barb in their holsters. I made an effort to avoid the mirror before leaving the bedroom. I didn't turn on any lights as I moved though the building. I walked out the back door and took a seat on the small table that was placed outside.

The air was humid but a soft breeze made it bearable. The stars were starting to fade with the coming light. I let my mind wonder. Thoughts of my past, present and future flowed though my head. Thoughts of Wade and his annoying actions, Sabertooth and his brutality, and others found their way into and out of my mind. Unfortunately, my free thinking was cut short when I heard the door open.

I turned, with Leon raised, to face the interruption. I kept the gun pointed as Wade, who ignored me as he took a seat next to me. "Would you please remove your gun from in front of my face?" Wade asked stubbornly. Reluctantly, I complied.

"What do you want?" It came out more rudely than I wanted.

As usual, Wade ignored my question. "What did you do to your hair? You look like a little German boy." Wade then produced a small green apple from his pocket and took a bite of it. The sound of it echoed loudly though the air.

"It’s your fault! You and your stupid swords!" I said rather loudly. I was surprised at how much my loss of hair bothered me.

"Maybe you shouldn't be so slow." Wade took another bite of his quickly disappearing apple.

I remained silent, having grown tried of the short conversation. When Wade finished his apple, he threw it into the distant air. Another ten minutes of silence pasted and the sun started to appear in the east. The stillness was interrupted when the door opened again.

"Hey, love-birds. Stryker's here. He wants to talk with us." I didn't have to turn around to know it was Zero poking his head out the door. My annoyance level was still growing when I followed Wade back into the barrack.



The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, and a lot of bitching. Unfortunately, the bitching never stopped, thanks to Wade. After a brief explanation on Stryker’s part and a lot of questions and complaints on the men’s part, the team and I were lead to the airplane hanger by Stryker. We were loaded into a rather sophisticated-looking jet and half an hour later we were in the air.

“Where the hell is Lagos?” Wade said, interrupting Stryker’s little speech.

“Its in Nigeria, you idiot. And you call yourself a mercenary.” I mumbled under my breath, but Wade and the rest still heard.

“What does me being a mercenary have to do with Nigeria?” I tried to ignore him but it was really difficult.

“War is God's way of teaching Americans geography.” My voice grew louder and my tone ruder.

“Again with the God stuff, Gabby? Really?”

“I swear to God Wade, if you say one more word I’m going to kill you! Trust me.” Maybe it was my lack of sleep or possibly the stress from the recent transition. In truth, my attitude was due to the fact the Wade seemed to know exactly how to get under my skin.

“I don’t trust anything that bleeds for five days and doesn’t die.” I was on my feet so fast it gave me a minor headache. Wade was located at the back of the plane, next to Wraith and across from Victor. I sat at the other end, next to Bradley and Stryker. It was a conscious decision, to sit as far away as possible from Wade.

I had taken three steps in Wade’s direction while simultaneously removing my gloves. A thick leg blocked my path. The leg belonged to Logan, who gave me a serious look before saying, “Sit down, kid.”

“Oh, come on, Logan. I wanna watch her rip Wade to shreds.” The voice of his brother, Victor, floated up the plane.

I intended to step over Logan’s road block and continue on my path to Wade but Stryker finally spoke up. “Richter! Sit down.” With my anger draining, I slowly complied with Logan’s and Stryker’s request. Stryker continued his explanation of the mission. It was clear he wasn’t being completely forthcoming. All he told us was our destination, Lagos, Nigeria and details of environment and climate. Not once did he mention why we were flying half-way around the world on such short notice.