The Amerrickan Fighting Force

The redheaded woman's phone buzzed from inside her bra as she stealthily exited the building after kicking out a window, and she scowled. Whoever it was had better be important. Without bothering to check the ID, she pressed accept.

"Hello?"

"Hey there, princess. Got any new leads for us?" Desiree rolled her eyes. Alexander Gaskarth, also known as Soundstream, was a ladies' man. And she wasn't fond of that.

"Yes. Anton was apparently working for the Illuminati."

"Was? What do you mean, was?" Alex's bafflement could be heard through their shitty connection, and Desiree grimaced.

"Well. I kind of, y'know...killed him."

"Desiree!" Alex groaned. "You really have to stop doing that!" She felt herself bristle defensively.

"He touched me! No one touches the Viper without her consent."

"Are you okay?" He questioned protectively. She could almost picture his brown eyes narrowing in anger.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Have Zack come pick me up in ten?" The woman could feel tears prickling her eyes. She was drained in more reasons that one.

"Will do. Rian just locked onto your location. Hang tight." The line went dead, and she sighed with relief. The truth was, she wasn't okay. She hadn't been for two years. Holding her hands in her hands, Desiree took a deep breath. And then another. And then another. And then Rian was there, hugging her, carrying her onto their aircraft.

"What happened out there?" He asked, concern shining through his brown eyes. She stared at some invisible spot on the foor.

"I'll tell you when we get back to headquarters." Rian nodded understandingly.

"Your call, Des." The engines roared to life as Rian piloted their vehicle expertly. The silence between them was a comfortable one, and Desiree curled up in her seat, strands of red hair falling over her face as she fell asleep.

The redhead woke up later on a familiar couch with a familiar blanket draped over her. She blinked twice, her blue eyes still adjusting to the bright light coming in through the window. Her feet hit the soft beige carpet, and she padded further into the room to see if its owner was occupying his bed.

"Alex?" She murmured softly, crawling under the covers. He stirred and put his arms around her small frame.

"Mmm?"

"Thank you." He stroked her hair in response, and they fell asleep together, their chests rising and falling in sync. No one bothered to question them anymore. They were fiercly protective of each other, fiercely loved one another the way that best friends do. They ate together, they watched movies together, and once, just once, they'd even...well. They'd both had too much to drink after a particularly dangerous assignment and had almost died. Emotions were running high, and Desiree had desperately pressed her lips to Alex's, guiding him to his bedroom and begging to help her forget. And he did, if only for a night. They never spoke of it again, hoping that the other had long since forgotten about it. But it was there, boiling in the back of their minds, like so many other things.

"Hi, sleeping beauties." A hand tugged on the redhead's hair, and she blindly swung at its owner, nailing him in the jaw.

"It's just me, you guys! It's Zack." He chuckled and ruffled Alex's hair. "Ready to tell us about Anton?" The tall, muscular brunette squinted his nearly green eyes suspiciously. "Speaking of the prime minister, where is he?"

"She killed him!" Jack called, bursting into the room and waggling his eyebrows at Alex and Desiree in bed together.

"You're joking." Zack shook his head, clearly angered.

"Calm down, Captain Amerricka. He...didn't respect my personal space," Desiree said delicately, avoiding Zack's intense gaze, mouthing 'fuck off' to Jack, who merely stuck his tongue at her and frog-hopped out of Alex's bedroom.

"Please tell me that you retrieved some information about France's upcoming attack on Britain." Zack ran a hand through his hair, exasperated.

"It's not the French, Cap'n. It's the Illuminati." The noise in the room abruptly ceased. Desiree felt her muscles tense up.

"Are you serious?"

"You know I wouldn't lie to you," she said quietly, realizing the gravity of the situation.

"Guess it's time to suit up." Zack sounded grim as he marched out of Alex's bedroom, and the redhead was left alone with him for the first time in a very long time.