Price Wished He Looked This Good

Léon the professional (1994) dir. Luc Besson

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Publisher: Activision Developer: Infinity Ward Platform: Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 Year: 2009

His silence made her uncomfortable, though she didn’t show it. It also didn’t help that he was practically staring her down at this point, his eyes never once breaking away from her. Regardless of this though, War continued to stand there respectfully and wait for him to say something to her. Hell, she’d take a grunt at this point. When he finally did speak, the question caught her a bit off guard, though it probably shouldn’t have. Age seemed to be everyone’s biggest concern with her. "I’m in my early twenties, sir.“ It wasn’t an exact answer because there truthfully wasn’t one she could give him. All she could do was speak confidently and respectfully to him.

Sanderson was early twenties. Less than a handful of the 141 were early twenties. While someone younger might not notice the difference between a teenager and a baby-faced young adult, Shepherd had lived far too long to be fooled.  The sheer vagueness of the answer only confirmed his disbelief, because who else but a child would think that a valid answer? At least Sanderson would own up to being young enough for Shepherd to have sired him. “Hmm.” That was it, a breathing spot between the two of them, a hum that didn’t carry any overt reaction. Whatever his thoughts, the General was content to keep them to himself for the time being. “Who is in charge of you?” Not a CO, since he was beginning to doubt the girl had one of those, but just someone in charge. A parent. A chaperone. Someone who needed a good chewing out for her presence on-base.

“My sincerest apologies. I must have lost track of were exactly my quarters are.”

“I’ll give you a hint: Nowhere near Captain MacTavish’s room.”

[ok, so randomly out of nowhere my mom calls from work and tells me to start getting my stuff together. Apparently at some point this week, we’re heading to Texas. There was even the offer I could spend my birthday anywhere between home and Dallas. This is unexpected but pretty dang cool, if I do say so myself. So anyway, I might not be on a lot in the near future, but I’ll give a more concrete update as plans begin to appear. I’m still here for now, no worries!]

“I was under the impression that you knew of my arrival, sir.” He looked confused and War wasn’t entirely sure that he knew she had been here all this time. “I’ve been serving under the 141 for a while now.” Perhaps he only recognized her as War instead of Alpha 104? He had never met her face to face. Perhaps he had assumed War was a call sign and was picturing someone entirely different? Some older soldier.

Oh, he could hear everything she said with perfect clarity. He might not answer or act like it, but he heard War all the same. The General stood quiet for some time, staring at the girl as if she were a part of the scenery, an art piece that had been installed on the grounds for visual consumption. Unwavering, steely blue eyes dared not even blink, perhaps believing the girl would vanish if he looked away for even a moment. When he finally spoke, it was as if the task at hand were any other conversation. “How old are you?” His tone was so even that it didn’t even carry the lilt of a question.

Nope. His careful constructed poker face shifting into a casual joking. “Still that noticeable? I was hopin’ it was starting to fade by now.”

The affair was a one-off, for now, and Shepherd would press it no further unless McKinnley chose to out himself. The threat against further nonsense in the hangar -- and Shepherd was sure that whatever had happened to McKinnley’s face was a direct result, the way he danced around confessing --  would hopefully keep him in line. Maybe the luck of the Irish would set in and the boy would spread the word, put an end to whatever had happened before it could spread.

The response was immediate, almost primal in its reflexive quickness. Sandman was, if nothing else, well-trained. A sharp salute accompanied his monosyllabic answer.

“At ease, Rogers. I just wanted to know how you and your team were settling in. I know Scotland can be a bit of a culture shock coming out of the sandbox.”

“I work here…” She wasn’t even that young… God. “I’m Alpha 104 of the United States MES, sir.” Yeah, like that would jog his memory. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her military ID that Rose had been kind enough to make for her.  

Absolutely not. Taking the ID in one large, calloused hand, the old man scanned it, looking for anything to declare it fake so he could turn this girl loose. When faced with the realization this was legitimate, he could not help but chuckle. This was not happening. No task force under his command was working with children.