I Remember Love 26 Caught In The Crossfire.

His mind went back to their days at the barracks in basic. Hunter had been the poor kid. He had joined the Corps only to help pay for his education. At the time, he had been young. Roughly around the same age as the punk. The other recruits laughed at him often. They underestimated him. Hunter had withstood all the hazing they other recruits could throw at them. In spite of all their efforts Hunter would not cave. Unbelievably he became tougher, stronger, and rose in the ranks putting all the naysayers to shame.

Cage could still remember the first time they were called into duty. When the helo had dropped them off, it was in the middle of a very tense crossfire. Men on either sides were loading weapons with desperation, firing they guns rapidly. The fields were covered in corpses from both sides. Their comrades were bleeding were either or dead or bleeding out.

Hunter had been calm. It had been his quick judgement which had saved the day. Immediately he dispatched man and formulated a strategy which saved the day. Thanks to his plan they were able to set up a decoy and rescue many of the wounded. He watched while Hunter himself had carried many of the wounded on his shoulder.

It had been during this time that Cage had taken a bullet as he covered for him. It had pierced his side and lodged itself in his stomach. Clutching his stomach he did his best to follow his men out and complete his job. Somewhere on the way to the extraction point, Cage had collapsed.

When he woke up, he was in the helo. Hunter was leaning over him, knife in hand digging out a bullet. He had been in and out of consciousness the whole time. He would never forget that moment for the rest of his life.

In the days to follow Hunter had been summoned by the Jag. At some point during their extraction mission, he had deliberately disobeyed an order. A decision which had saved lives but ultimately cost him his career. Given the choice between an honorable discharge or a court marshall, Hunter chose to leave.

For the life of him, Cage could not gather why. But he owed this man his life. In light of his sacrifice, Cage had decided to follow him out

Upon leaving the Corps, Hunter had been disillusioned. Having discovered first hand how corrupt the legal system and government could be - he did the only logical thing he could at that time - he rebelled.

Out of that rebellion the Solider's were born. It had started with a handful of carefully selected men. Hunter and Cage worked around the clock, training the men and instilling fear. Building a reputation for their gang. It was crime, but it was organized. It kept the streets free of violence and mostly clean. And the money from their more underhanded deals was supporting his younger brother and sister. Something which Cage respected.

All of that, seemed to be suddenly going down the drain for one spiky haired c.o.c.ky little girl.

Cage would be lying though, if he said he didn't understand the bosses interest. The girl was an enigma. She was violent and yet fragile. She fought light a rabid lion but she gave the impression that if you looked at her the wrong way, or moved the wrong way, she would break. She was quite literally just barely holding on these days.

He watched her train with a sense of desperation he couldn't understand. He watched her struggle to stay awake throughout the day, and he had to admit he even felt his heart break a little watching as she would collapse on the sofa at the end of the day.

He had seen men like her in his time on the field. He knew it better than she did, she was running. He just wasn't sure which demons she was running from. His only concern was the club would got caught in the cross fire. He would die before he let that happen.

******

In the meantime, Charlie continued to skirt around Luke as though he was walking on gla.s.s. He worked hard to avoid being caught in his line of sight. He refused to speak to him. His pride wouldn't allow it.

The two boys had been friends for years and while Luke was naturally secretive, he had never intentionally dodged a question. This was the first time he felt Luke was deliberately lying. It hurt more than he could say.

There was a protective side to his nature though wouldn't allow him to leave Luke entirely alone. So he watched from the shadows refusing to be seen but determined to ensure Lukes safety.

Luke continued on with his routine, fighting back his frustration and doubts, he trained like his life depended on it. It was a lifeline of sorts. It kept the weakness and distractions at bay, it made him stronger and gave him something to vent his anger on.

It had been weeks since his last visit to his grandfather, even though he called him regularly. He couldn't help the guilt that ate him over that. He kept telling himself he would go check in on him, that he had to. Especially now that Charlie and him weren't speaking. His grandfather was all he had left.

Day after day would pa.s.s however and Luke, absorbed by his routine and his own troubles, would bury them in his sparring. In his endurance training. And at the end of the day, after cla.s.ses he would be so tired from it all he would crash in Hunters office. It was the new routine. One which he would regret.

It was one of these days in which Luke was violently racing around the tracks of the school yard when he got the call. Out of breath he stopped, panting, he looked at the number of the phone confused. Very few people had this number.

Hesitantly he answered the phone.

"h.e.l.lo, is this Ms. Patterson?"

The formality immediately took her off guard. Luke had to blink as he answered clearing his throat, his heart racing rapidly in anxiety.

"Th-This is she."

"Ms. Patterson, is the the Arcadia District Hospital. We need to come here immediately, its in regards to your grandfather."

Luke felt his world tilt out of control, the phone dropped from his hand as he ran, hands raking through his hair to tame the wild spikes. He didn't bother wash the make up off. Nor did he bother to change. The only thing he could think of at this moment, was his grandfather, and he desperately prayed he was ok.

As Luke entered the hospital his face was pallid. His eyes d.a.m.n with unshed tears. He had whispered every prayer imaginable to every G.o.d he could think of on his way there.

A doctor he did not recognize approached him in a white coat. The look on his face was grim.

"Ms. Patterson?" The doctor questioned. " Are you Ed Patterson's, next of kin."

Luke was fighting the lump in his throat. All he could do was nod his head silently. If he spoke, he would cry. It would be would game over. He wasn't prepared for that.

"Ms. Patterson," the doctor cleared his throat, "you're grandfather has had a stroke. We have done everything we can for him, but at this point, the only solution we can offer is surgery. We need you to sign these papers."

Luke looked helplessly at the papers in front of him, the words blurring on the page as the doctor's words registered to his brain a little at a time. Ideally, it wouldn't be him signing these papers. But their family was broken. His aunts and uncles spoke to their father as much as they had spoke to his dad.

Luke took a deep breath, his heart aching as he said one last prayer. And signed the papers.