We're gonna need a Team {Shadow Ops}

[Lt. Gabriel "Curse" Jordan]

"Oh NO!! OH HELL NO!" came the sound of a deep, baritoned voice laden with shock and denial. The sound of heavy booted shitkickers followed it and then the "thump" of what was no doubt a gym bag hit the ground.

From out of the dark stepped the hard muscled form of a man dressed in an ugly Hawaiian shirt and swim trunks. His sandy hair had licks of sun kissed gold and his tan gave evidence to his recent time no doubt at some bikini beauty ladened beach.

"Unless your about to tell me that you've had a change of heart and now wanna accept my proposal to have my love child.. I'm fucking out of here." he practically snarled as he flipped dark shades up on the top of his head and stared at the fiery haired woman leaning on the hood of an expensive looking car.

When the woman simply stared back, Lt. Gabriel "Curse" Jordan let his head fall back on his neck and sighed.


"So you haven't reconsidered what your missing and you don't want to have my babies? Then what the hell am I doing here? Cause last time i heard.... We were all told not to be in contact with each other on threat of court marshal. Not to mention, I thought that we'd been disbanded? Some new global terrorist threat been identified that the bastards at the oval office need us to take out?? Sorry, Commander but they can shove that shit where the sun don't shine!" he said when he ungritted his teeth enough to talk. "Not that I mind keeping your fine ass out of danger but this chumps got better things to do than sticking his neck out for a bunch of ungrateful tight asses in Washington."

Even as he spoke, the former specs officer registered another body that was making its way out of the darkness. When he saw it was his long time friend and Colonel, Derek DeVoux, he blew out a long sigh. Then and only then did his belligerent stance relax a bit.

"Shit....And the morning started off with so much promise.... I woke up to two beautiful women in my bed and I'm going to go to bed looking at your ugly mug.....I must of really pissed someone off in my former life. Karma's a real bitch."

[Commander Katarina Foster]

Some things never changed.

Commander Katarina Foster leaned against the hood of her Audi and listened to her Lt.'s snarky mouth as he approached. There were times when the redhead wondered if Curse even knew how to approach anything seriously and his wise ass remarks only made her roll her vibrant eyes.


"Lt. Jordan, so glad you could join us. Who chose your ward robe this time? Another color blind girlfriend? Cause if it was you yourself.. I'm seriously going to have to reconsider letting you anywhere near a gun with that eyesight." she tossed back, only half joking. "What happened? You lose a bet or something? I heard you were down taking in some sand and surf but.. Dude, that shirt is beyond description...."

Crossing her arms over her chest, the slender redhead let a small smirk spread across her face even as she heard the sounds of footsteps beside her. She didnt have to turn her head to know who it was and her instincts were confirmed when Curse continued on and greeted his best friend and Lt. Colonel, Derek DeVoux. As the wolf slide his shades up, Kat caught the glimmer of amusement in his dark eyes before he leaned on a cement column and gave a short shrug.

"Last thing I wanted to see was your creepy ass too." Derek snarked back at Curse. "I thought I had gotten ride of your dumb ass once and for all."

This did cause laugh to escape the auburn haired beauty and she shook her head. Lt. Jordan gave his friend a one finger salute and Kat raised an eyebrow in a mock scold.

"Children, children.. Can't we all just get along?" she chided with a dry humor that did nothing to hide the amusement in her gaze. "We're waiting for a few other people to arrive and then we'll get down to business. There are a few things that you all need to know about and if you decide to walk away when you have all the info... Well then.. thats your call... However, Due to the nature of it all.... I thought you'd want to at least put your two cents worth in."

Then, falling silent, she glanced at "The boys" and arched a cool brow.

"We'll also be having a few new players joining our team. A few of our old members went back to their homelands so we are going to need a few more good men or women."

[Lt. Kalii "Slayer" Duran]

"I'm back in the saddle again
I'm riding,
I'm loading up my pistol
I'm riding,
I really got a fistful
I'm riding,
Shining up my saddle
I'm riding,
This snake is gonna rattle
I'm back in the saddle again"

Kalii parked her new Metallic Blue Mustang GT500 a little ways off from the place she was told to meet. She had no idea what was really going on. Felt like it was better to be safe than sorry. By instinct she stuck to the shadows as she moved, gracefully and quietly.

As she walked toward the meeting place she was aware of someone in front of her. She slowed down a bit and focused on not being detected. Not sure who was a head of her. After a few moments she could see something coming into view.

There was a dark car with a long haired redhead leaning against it. A man in a horrendous outfit with a crazy looking Hawaiian shirt, swimming shorts and cowboy boots. The third man, the one she had been following behind was a dark broody and burly sort.

When she got closer she could hear the back and forth between them and couldn't help the devilish little grin that creased her lips. She knew all three of them and knew them well. Waiting a few minutes while the Commander chastised the bickering men. Then she stepped out of the shadows and made her own entrance.

The first thing she did was shade her eyes like she was being blinded.

"Jesus Fucking Christ, Jordan. What the hell did you do? Get dressed in the dark? Is that actually clothing or some weird science experiment."

The smile she gave was becoming a grin from ear to ear. Damn it felt good to say that.

Then she turned toward the darker and surlier looking man. Though, she knew that he could kick ass like nobodies business, he really was a softy at heart. Good hearted, good man.

"Colonel DeVoux," she said and gave him a little nod.

Finally, she turned to the redheaded fire ball. Gave her a quick little mock salute and smiled again. Her own little show of respect to the woman who used to be the commander of their unit. Katarina Foster, one feisty half human/half vampire that you don't want to get on the bad side of.

"Good to see you Commander. New players joining the team? Thought there wasn't a team anymore. Game called on account of Government interference?"

Kalii looked between the other three. Well, color her intrigued for sure now. Something was up. Hell only knows what it was, but she was definitely itching to find out.

THE LOWDOWN
TAG - Shadow Team
WORDS - 466
WEARING CLICK
NOTES - Woot!!

[Tessa Jordan]

"I'm a red hot fox, I can take the knocks
I'm a hammer from hell, honey, can't you tell?
I'm the wild one, yes, I'm the wild one

I'm a touched up freak on a winning streak
I'm gonna own this town, you can't hold me down
I'm the wild one, yes, I'm the wild one"

Tessa had no idea how fast she was going, but she was no doubt breaking speed limits. Awhile back she had totally gotten into motocross racing. So much so, that she had even had herself a custom bike built and was riding around the trails and any track that would let her.

She was decked out in her full riding attire. Taking the back roads and even jumping off the road when she could. The bike was buzzing along and she loved the feel of it. It was freeing riding a motorcycle. Her brother didn't exactly love it, but oh well, he'd have to deal with it.

Curse Jordan, really, Gabriel Jordan but since he had come home from the military he insisted on being called Curse. Tessa mostly complied, as it was kind of a cool nickname. But, she was the little sister and she wouldn't be doing her job if she didn't give him grief now and then. Her brother was the reason she was speeding along at the moment. He had asked her to meet him. Said there were some people he wanted her to meet.

It had all been very cryptic. He wouldn't tell her why or what was going on. She had wanted to be stubborn and tell him no. If he couldn't give her a better reason to go. However, Tessa was too damn curious for her own good so she couldn't stay away. And, damn it if Curse hadn't known that. Using that against her to make sure she showed up.

She was just about there. Up ahead she could see a few people gathered together. OH MY GOD, she thought to herself as she got close enough to see better. What on earth was her brother wearing. He could be such a dork sometimes. She was already practically dying of embarrassment. She could have turned around and left right then, but damn it all... That curiosity just wouldn't let her.

Tessa kept the throttle wide open as she approached. Just for fun she decided she'd do a power slide to a stop right behind where her brother was standing. Tilting the bike back completely upright she cut the engine, swung her leg over the bike, and pushed the kick stand down with her foot. Reaching up she pulled off her helmet and hung it on the handlebars. Then she lifted up her hot pink and black goggles and set them on top of her head.

Grinning like a fool she looked around at the assembled group of people. There was her brother and his best friend Derek DeVoux and then two women who she had no idea who they were.

"Hey big brother, what's shakin'? What did you bring me out here for. You know, I have things to do. I saw this really hot guy at the track the other day. What do you think, should I make the first move? Ask him out before he asks me?"

She continued to smile from ear to ear as she knew that little nugget of information was going to drive her brother nuts. After she greeted her brother she nodded and said hello to Derek.

"How you doing Uncle D. You keeping my brother out of trouble? Some how I seriously doubt it. Not even sure why I asked."

Tessa chuckled a bit, still a little amped up from the ride. Not to be rude, she acknowledged the two women with a little wave and tilt of her head in their direction. She figured someone would make some introductions at some point. Now that she was here, her mind kicked back into analyze mode. What the hell did her brother want her here for a meeting with strangers in a quiet outdoor area. It was odd indeed.

THE LOWDOWN
TAG - Shadow Team
WORDS - 758
WEARING CLICK
NOTES - Ooooh, Tessa is gonna give Curse fits!!

[Ilani Moonblood]

“No, Dare, I didn’t say you could come visit me. Now lemme get off the phone already! I’m ninja.” A pause, followed by a curse, sounded in the empty street. “No, you moron, I’m not trying out for a movie! Are you insane? I’m following Derek into one of his top secret 007 thingies. No, you can’t come. Would you just shut up already! Good bye! I’m hanging up now!”

Peeking out from around the corner of the parking garage’s front entrance, Ilani snapped her cell phone closed and tucked it into the pocket of her jeans. Derek had been quite cryptic when he’d slipped out that afternoon, making every single one of her ‘trouble antenna’s’ go on full alert. Some stupid, juvenile part of her wondered if he was sneaking out to see another woman- because other than drinking, gambling or selling themselves for heroine, what other reason did a guy need to sneak out?- but she smacked it away. If anything, her lover was as loyal as she was.

Maybe it was the wolf inside, she thought absently. They didn’t sleep around when they found themselves falling into a relationship, now did they? Not that the two of them had actually ‘fallen’ in the normal way of a normal couple. They’d met so randomly and dove headfirst into their current ‘togetherness’ so quickly, that she sometimes wondered if it was such a good idea to stay with him.

But, then again, whenever those particular thoughts came popping up, Derek always came over and made her feel special, almost girly-bubbly in all the right places. Damn, if he had some kind of ESP, she was going to ET his butt right into the nearest hole in the ground—

She paused in mid-sneak, as the sounds of voices sounded from somewhere in front of her. Oh yeah, pay dirt! Hiding behind a parked car, she peered around a tire and let her jaw drop at what she saw. Wait…was that Curse? And Kat? And two other ladies she’d seen around but didn’t know? Anger swelled in her chest and the urge to march on over to the lean shifter and punch him square in the face was almost too much to ask.

Disbanded her ass! Retired her fuckin’ butthole! Oh, when she got home, she was going to do some damage to the inside of her bedrooooooooo--!

Something hard pushed itself into the small of her back as a voice growled in her ear, ”I don’t think you were invited to this party, lady,”

Turning, Ilani paled when she caught sight of the face peering out at her from the shadows. Holy shit, where the hell had HE come from?! She was really getting slow in her old age…

”Stand,” Came the growl, and she obeyed without question. Given that there was a rather large gun pressed into the small of her back, she would have danced a hula if he’d asked her to. With a little push, she started forward, toward the group of supposedly ‘discharged’ soldiers.

Emotionless eyes swept over the group as he urged the spy toward the others. After being contacted by General Hawk, he’d immediately packed up his things and moved from the base in Virginia where he’d been stationed, and came to California. Something moved through the numb haze he was used to, but it quickly faded.

Ever since his capture in Venezuela and a few crazy-minded doctors got it in their heads to fuck with his genetics, he’d been subjected to feeling…nothing. No fear, anger, distrust, love; nothing. Fearing that he might easily turn on them, his superiors had forced a discharge on him, declaring him unfit for duty. If not for Hawk, he’d probably be selling his services out to the highest bidder. He owed the man…because, though he was as empty as a broken glass, he was still loyal to his mother country.

It was all he had left; his loyalty. And he clung to it like a baby with its sleepy blanket.

”Were we expecting one more?” He asked, giving Hawk a little nod as he pushed the strangely dressed woman toward the others. ”I found this one spying on us near the BMW over there. Should I kill her, Sir?”

Ilani squeaked out a ‘NO YOU SHOULD NOT!’ but it went unheard by the robot-sounding man behind her. God, she expected him to start screaming ‘danger Will Robinson’ at any moment.
Could the night get any worse?

[Lt. Colonel Derek DeVoux]

Well, well.. it looked as if the gang were all here. Mostly. Except for the exclusion of a few of their mainframe, the Shadow team was once again almost operational. The only question remaining was.. What the fucking hell for? Lt. Colonel Derek DeVoux really wanted to know the answer to that one.

After being disbanded six months ago, he'd thought that they were done. The government had made it clear that any communication between the squad was forbidden but when that cryptic message had come across his phone.. .He'd known immediately who it was. And the fact that Katarina Foster was pulling rank was enough to make him show up and at least figure out what the hell was going on. If there was anyone more protocol anal than he was.. it was she. She wouldn't issue the message unless it was something important.

So, here he was. Miles and miles from New Orleans and his sexy mate. He hadn't liked leaving her there but he'd not known what he was walking into. For all he knew, it could have been a trap and he didn't take chances with her safety. Thankfully though, it seemed to be just what it was. A secretive meeting of minds between members of a secretive squad.

KIND OF.

At least, thats what Derek thought until the figure on the bike showed up and made Curse start swearing a blue streak. The former ranger really had to admire the young woman's style as she reduced the formerly unphaseable seal into a mass of one word sentences and some pretty inventive Spanish cuss words. If he hadn't been so "WTF?" himself, he probably would have laughed.

While he was still recovering from "Tessa's" entry, sounds of a small scuffle rang out in the shadows. Derek had sensed two more people coming in but he hadn't a clue who they might be. He assumed more members of the past squad but was surprised by the tall, unfamiliar dude who emerged with a woman in tow. A woman that instantly made his hackles rise and eyes narrow. A long, low warning growl escaped him as he spotted the gun trained on his mate and the wolf inside snarled, pulling his lips back to show sharp canines.

Before he even registered what he was doing, Derek had shifted out of his normally cool and collected pose and bounded forward. His eyes glinted furiously as he faced the stranger and focused all his sensed on him.

"That is my mate you've got your hands on, soldier.... If you know whats good for you, you'll back the fuck down or I'll take you apart limb by limb..." he fairly snarled out, his inner wolf enraged to the point of almost breaking free. "I'm giving you leave this time but if you ever touch her again... It will be the last thing you do....."

[Ilani Moonblood]

With a muttered curse, Ilani stumbled forward, propelled by the gun at her back. Damn, but these people really knew how to recruit the stiff shirts of the world! If she didn’t know any better, the guy behind her was going to start screaming ‘DANGER WILL ROBINSON’ in his robot-like voice and really annoy the hell out of her. It took most of her self control and the amount of surprise and anger in her boyfriend’s voice to keep her from rearing back and giving the Neanderthal behind her a real Moonblood greeting.

Well, that and the little declaration of ‘mates’ from Derek. What, was he calling her his buddy? Or was that his wolf making claim-sies on her pretty hide? Either way, she had the strange urge to run on over there and climb that ripped ass body of his like a deranged monkey. Ooh, but he was sexy as hell when he was possessive.

She had to bite back a laugh at that one. Man, if she would have thought that she’d be in a solid relationship with one guy about a year and a half ago, she would’ve died on the spot. Now? Shit…now, she really just wanted to make out with her Lieutenant of Love until his eyes rolled back into his head.

Behind her, Troy gave the spy one more little ‘nudge’ forward before he found himself face to face with an angry shifter. Some muffled part of himself registered the fact that he should be feeling something along the lines of wariness or downright fear…and when none came, he had to bite back a sigh. Okay, so he’d handle everything in a cool, composed manner.

Hopefully, Lt. Piss Ass over here wasn’t about to take that as an insult and bite his face off.

Immediately, the soldier clicked the safety back onto his pistol and held it up along with his free hand, in an ‘I surrender’ pose.
”I apologize, Sir,” He said, voice toneless. ”I assumed she was a threat when I caught her spying on all of you on the edge of the perimeter. She didn’t identify herself.”

Ilani just growled and hopped on over to Derek. She was half in the mind to reply with some choice cuss words at that one, but managed to bite her tongue. Something told her that, when he was done snarling at the robot-soldier, she was next. ”Yeah, you tell him, baby!”

[Mercedes Rowe]

A strange text came onto Mercedes cellphone. She wasn't sure she trusted it. It had been almost a year since she'd heard from the Commander, ever since the team had broken up. Everyone kind of went their own way, but she was happy to say that she was still with Lucien.

After speaking with Lucien she found that he'd received the same message, so they were apt to believe that it was a message from the Commander. She already knew they were both hoping that the team was being brought back together, even if Mercy still didn't know all of them all that well. She had just joined the team before they were all broken up. One good thing, they lived in the vicinity, so it wasn't a long trek.

Grabbing her car keys when it was close to the time to meet the Commander, she strolled over to Lucien and kissed his cheek. She had to push up on her toes just to meet it, but she loved the height difference between them. "I'll drive," she grinned and dangled the car keys before strolling towards the door.

Five minutes later they were on the road, and she was cruising along at a good, respectable speed. She had a brain that told her she didn't need a ticket.

She was in a pair of tight jeans, white top that clung to her hips, and a black blazer over that. The windows were down, blowing a nice, warm breeze around in the car. Her hair was flying all over, but she always loved the breeze more than even air conditioning. She believed that was mostly the wolf part of her. Also, she loved to crank the music. She wasn't sure Lucien really cared for it, but they all had their niches.

The black SUV they drove came to a halt near the meeting place. She reached towards the radio to turn it down as she whispered, "Oh shit...looks like the whole team is here.." Now she had to really wonder what this was all about. Was the Commander forming the team again?

Her hazel eyes looked across the space between her and Lucien with a shocked look. "You think...?" She left the question hanging and decided they'd find out. Killing the engine, she hopped out of the SUV, yes...hopped...it was kind of tall for her, but she liked things bigger than her. It made her feel powerful.

[Lt. Lucien Calugarul]

Looking down at the text in his hands while Mercy drove, Lucien couldn’t help the feeling of dread that assaulted him. The past six months had been a dream; heavenly in its simplicity, its…love. Even though he’d fallen for her so thoroughly in the graveyard that fateful night, he’d never known that he could become so dependant on one person. On seeing her every night and ever morning; hearing her voice over the phone, when he called to check in. She’d went back to what she’d done best, working for the underprivileged of New Orleans’ society in the Round the Corner Clinic, run by a longtime friend. And he, now that his work in the army was done, had managed to find himself a nice little niche in the local carpenter community.

Everything was quiet, comfortable…until that damned text.

At one time, he’d lived for the adrenaline that came with a call; the expectation of a fight, of the unknown, of doing what he did best. But now that he’d had a taste of normal life with the woman he loved? He hadn’t wanted to leave it.

Yet, duty called. And when Commander Foster and General Hawk ordered him to come, he had to obey.

Of yet, he hadn’t been able to find his one-time partner, Raven. According to his contacts, she’d fled the country; probably assassinating Colombian drug lords for money, as she was want to do. If anything, Hawk would find her soon enough and drag her kicking and screaming back to the base.

Unfolding himself from the car, the soldier stretched and eyed the parking garage meeting place. Indeed, there were more than a couple familiar faces gathered around a few feet away. Self consciously, he smoothed a hand through his now short hair and tossed his outing hat into the car before closing the door. When the Team had closed shop, he’d decided to look more respectable for social outings with his woman. Where he’d been scraggly and half-bearded before, like some kind of wild man, he’d taken pains to clean himself up; even gone so far as to put himself in clean slacks and nice shirts, instead of the cargo pants and high top boots he’d been want to wear.

Lord knew how the others would take that. Let the ribbing begin.

”I do not know,” He murmured in reply to Mercy’s question. Snagging her hand when she moved around the SUV, he gave it a squeeze before releasing her, and leading the way to the others. Seeing a small standoff had begun, he eyed the short haired woman and the unfamiliar soldier standing across from her.

”Some things, they never change. Commander Foster. Is good to see you again.”

[Phoenix Jameson]

Phoenix was running late. She hated being late. So, the fact that she was behind schedule was irritating her to no end. She wove her Black Mercedes Convertible Hardtop through the Los Angeles traffic. Even at night this place had traffic. It was grating on her nerves. The one good thing about L.A. though, she could pretty much ride with the top down year round. At this moment, that was about the only positive she could think of. Hell, she missed Washington D.C..

Stomping on the gas she accelerated and moved around a idiot driving slow in the fast lane. Damn, she really hated that. It took all she had not to flip the dipshit off and blast her horn at them. Her mind was focused on other things though.

The exit she was supposed to take was coming up fast, she cut across four lanes of traffic like a race car driver and zipped off the freeway. She followed the direction on the GPS to the location that Kat had given her. Now winding her way through city streets and residential areas before she got out to a more desolate place.

Thank God she was almost there. She was curious about what was going on. Kat hadn't said much. Only that she wanted to meet. Nix had some suspicions about what the Commander wanted to meet about, but she couldn't be sure. It was a guarantee that it was going to be interesting though.

Phoenix slowed down as she approached the location. She could see a few other cars, motorcycle and a grouping of people standing around. This must be the place.

Pulling off the road she parked her car next to one of the other vehicles there and hopped out. She walked toward the group that was milling about. As she got closer she could make out some of the people. She saw Kat, Derek and Curse. There were a few other people she recognized but was having trouble placing the names. Phoenix hadn't been with the team very long before it was disbanded. So, she hadn't gotten the chance to meet everyone.

Giving the Commander and the Lt. Col both a little nod of acknowledgment she walked over. Taking a place standing in the loosely formed circle of people.

"Sorry I'm late. Friggin' traffic around here is a nightmare. Who's bright idea was it to come to Hollywood?"

She raised an eyebrow as she looked around at the faces of the others. Her head snapped back in a double take when she noticed what Jordan was wearing. Only that man would be seen in public in that outfit. She shook her head and mumbled quietly.

"Jesus, Jordan. You are one bold dude to let people see you like that."

With a little smirk and a chuckle, the irritation from the drive started to drift away. But, she only had a moment to settle in. She directed her attention to Kat. Ready to hear what she had to say.

THE LOWDOWN
TAG - Shadow Team
WORDS - 500 something
NOTES - Phoenix is grumpy!

[Cole "Batman" Armstrong]

So, Cole figured he better meet up with the team. He was always the late one. He arrived last at everything. He always had a good excuse, even if everyone thought he was bluffing. However, he had done it enough that he was pretty sure that they all expected him to be late.

His reason for being late this time was the blonde bombshell in the passenger seat next to him. He had decided she needed to come with him. He was worried about leaving her alone, especially after she told him what and why she was on the run from. Also, he was hoping that the Commander might help Mariah.

The music in his G-Class was kind of thumping a little loud. He was hitting his thumb against the steering wheel to the beat. It wasn't too loud to drown out blonde and beautiful next to him though.

As they approached the group he chuckled hard at the Hawaiian shirt that Curse was wearing. "Looks like we are late," he told her with a shrug. If the Commander knew him well enough then she shouldn't have expected him on time.

Killing the engine, he opened the car door and stepped out. "Hey gorgeous!" He called out to the Commander with a grin. "I brought company...hope you don't mind."

He slammed the car door and stepped in front of the vehicle, waiting for Mariah to join him. He wore black shorts with a gray t-shirt and black shoes. It was nothing too special, not like Curse's outfit. Speaking of Curse, he looked towards him and his blue eyes looked him over. He had to chuckle again. "Was your vacation interrupted or do you always dress like that?" He was such a shit starter, but he couldn't help it. The man was asking for it with that get up on.

He leaned back against the grill of his car and crossed his arms. "So, what's going on?" He asked.

When Mariah came around the corner, he jerked a thumb at her. "This is Mariah. She needs our help."

[Commander Katarina Foster]

Well, well... Looked like the gang was all here. About damned time, Kat thought to herself as she saw the last vehicle pull up and Cole "Batman" Armstrong climb out. Giving him an arched look at his lateness but saying nothing, she eyed the blond who stepped out and seemed to be hiding behind him. Deciding that introductions might be in order, she glanced over at her other charges and shook her head.

Man, what a rag tag group they were.

The different personalities were enough to make her head ache already and the snarling DeVoux did nothing to ease it. Derek was normally the man she relied on for logic but obviously.. who ever the dark haired woman was.. She wasn't exactly making him act like the shifter she knew.

Yippee Kiii Yay.

Deciding to take control of the meeting before shit got out of hand, the red head pushed away from her car and clapped her hands. Instantly, eyes turned towards her and Curse shut his mouth on any retort he was going to give the digs about his shirt.

Smart man after all. Taste in clothing withstanding.

"All right, children." she drawled out dryily. "I'm sure your all wondering why I called you here today. As my team is no doubt aware, we've been "Officially" disbanded on threat of military court marshall should we ever gather in one place together again. So... What exactly is so important that I'd ask you all to risk it, you ask? Simple. The Shadow Team was formed to protect the nation and the world. Just because the government doesn't agree doesn't mean our job is over. The baddies don't rest just because the idiots in Washington get a little nervous about the fact that we've got mad skills."

Glancing around at her former team, she met each and every gaze before moving on to the newbies.

"For those of you who weren't former members of the team... You were invited here for the simple fact that we think you might have something to add to our little family. If you decide to high ball it out of here, we'll understand and your memory of this encounter will be wiped from your minds." she continued, giving a little shrug. "Just good business, you understand. Who we are and what we do is top secret and it wouldn't be fair to you or us to risk someone snatching you off the streets at some point and pulling answers out of your head."

Turning on her heel, the commander began to pace a bit restlessly.

"For the sake of our newbies, I will introduce my squad. I am Commander Katarina Foster but my call sign is "Kitten"" she said somewhat ruefully, ignoring Jordans snicker. "The comedian in the Hawiann shirt is Lt. Gabriel "Curse" Jordan and hes our weapons expert. Lt. Colonel Derek "Wolf Man" DeVoux is the snarly guy over there and hes our surveillance expert. Lt. Kalli "Slayer" Duran is our flight engineer. Nix Jameson is our magic expert and while shes not military... She is a Special Agent for the FBI."

Pausing to catch her breath and look around, Kat smiled before continueing.

"Lt. Lucien Calugaral helps keep everyone in check and Dr. Mercedes Lowe will be the one patching you up if you ever get injured. Be nice to her or you may regret it." she said, with a bit of a teasing edge. "Lt. Cole Armstrong is our explosive expert and always late to any party. He likes to man an entrance, I suppose you could say."

[Lt. Gabriel "Curse" Jordan]

Everyone was a comedian these days. Damn, the shirt wasn't that bad was it? Ok, maybe it was but then...He hadn't wanted to upset Melissa... Miranda... Melinda? Oh, whatever the hell his blond bombshell had been named, when she'd presented it to him. Besides it had served his purpose of watching his old teams eyes bug out so it had been good for something besides burning at least. Right? RIGHTTTTTTTTTT.

Besides, he was a bit sentimental even if he didn't wanna admit it to anyone else. That night on the beach had been truly memorable with the inventive things the woman had down with pineapple. The shirt was a good reminder of better and brighter times when he didn't have to see these fools ugly face.

So what if he was secretly relieved to be called back into action and have a purpose once more. Not to mention, he'd seriously missed the psychotic idiots. Not that he'd be telling them that but... Yeah. He was just as big of an idiot as they were.

Leaning back on his truck, Curse crossed his booted ankles in front of him and flipped all his nay sayers off. "yeah Yeah.. Screw ya'll and the horse you rode in on." he retorted good naturedly. "I'll have you know, this shirt was a gift from a lady friend and I couldn't crush her poor little heart by not wearing it as she sent me off into danger again now could I? I'm a bastard but I aint that much of a bastard."

Giving Duran a nod, he wondered what she was thinking and let his gaze rove over her lazily. "Still looking mighty fine there, Lt. Duran." he teased before going back into serious mode.

For the next few minutes, things happened quickly. At one point, he tensed himself to retrain Derek as his friend suddenly bristled like a rattled hedgehog and bounded at a new guy holding a gun on some spunky chic. Damn, the woman was HAWT. No wonder the Wolfman was so territorial. Holy shit! Mate?? When the hell had that happened? He'd totally been out of circulation too long at this rate. He really had to get the low down on this.

When he was assured that DeVoux and soldier boy weren't going to start tearing into each other, Curse glanced around and scowled at his sister. He wasn't at ALL happy with her being there but at least this way he could keep an eye on her. The dirt bike though.. They were going to have words over that. It was entirely to dangerous for her to be riding and what the hell kind of outfit was she clad in? If it got any tighter, she might as well spray her body with a paint can and call it good. Oh , yeah..They were going to have words later.

Hearing more vehicles pull up, Curse nodded hello to Lucien and Mercy before snorting at Cole. Flipping his friend off with practiced ease, he smirked before his eyes went to the blond who slipped from the car and seemed to peek over the man's shoulder.

Arching a brow at Coles next words, Curse opened his mouth to say something but was cut off as Kat stepped forward and got the ball rolling. As she spoke, the sandy haired soldiers expression went from one of amusement to absolute seriousness. When his introduction came round, he nodded at the newbies and then waited for a pause in the commentary.

"Excuse me, Commander... Don't get me wrong when I say this, I'm just as anxious at the next person to get back to work but... If we aren't backed by the government.... Aren't we lacking in a few things? A base? Headquarters? A lab? Training facility? Military money? Those things are pretty important if we are going to operate on the same level we were before. We need transportation, safe houses, weapons, intel. None of that is cheep. NOt to mention if the government gets wind of this.. All our asses are gonna be in the slammer."

[Dr. Mariah Cooper]

How was it she'd come to be in this car with a perfect stranger and allowed him to race her away to god knew where again? Oh, yeah, it was cause someone had taken a shot at her and she'd decided that he was the better part of valor. He'd no doubt saved her life and then wisked her to safety before she'd even been able to think beyond “I”M GOING TO DIE!”. The shock of it all had left her completely unprepared for making plans so she supposed it was a good thing that she'd run into him and he was willing to help her out. Not to mention that she couldn't help but notice he was sexy as hell and there wasn't an once of beer gut on the body that had tackled her to the ground. Oh yeah, she'd been in shock but she wasnt dead and her womanily intuition had definitely taken notice of how good looking he was.

Not that she was going to be able to do anything about the attraction she felt.

God, wasn't that just her luck? Finally meet a guy who actually interested her for something besides science and she'd about gotten him killed. He was surely already wishing that he hadn't stopped in that gas station. She had to be the most troublesome pick up he'd ever had the misfortune of trying to hook up with. Here he'd probably only been out for a good time and he'd landed in the middle of Mission Impossible. It was enough to make her wanna crawl under a rock and die. Leave it to her to complicate something that should have been so easy. No wonder the other women at the lab had thought her hopeless.

Letting out a soft sigh at her own train of thought, Mariah slanted a glance under her lashes at her companion. He was definitely what the other ladies had termed “HAWT” but closer observation had shown her that he wasn't just a pretty face. No, this man had a spark of intelligence in his blue eyes and his fast thinking made her think he'd been in tough spots before. Her own keen mind evaluated what she knew about him and instinctively... she knew she could trust him.

At least for as long as she needed to before striking out on her own. She had no doubt that a reward would be place on her head and there would be those who came after her so she wasnt' about to tempt fate by staying in one place to long. After all, she didn't know a thing about her companion and what if he were some sort of bounty hunter? Ok, so maybe that wasn't very likely but he was still a mystery and she still was on the run.

Dr. Mariah Cooper was on the run. Huh. Who would have thought. If only all those people who'd accuse her of being boring could see her now! The thought was enough to make a soft snicker escape her. Oh yeah, she was becoming all sorts of interesting these days.

Before she could continue in her thoughts, however, they were suddenly pulling into some sort of parking garage. Casting Cole a glance, she tensed and began to absently chew on a fingernail in anxiety. She wasn't exactly sure where they were going but he'd said something about people who could help her. As if anyone could. She'd looked at him like he was loco but off they'd went anyways. Now, it looked like they'd arrived.

Happy Happy Joy Joy.

As the car pulled to a stop and Cole got out, Mariah exited at a slower pace. Shutting the door softly, she edged around the side and then high tailed it over to her “savior” where she could practically hide in his shadow as she observed the others. Her intelligent mind immediately noted that all those gathered looked like what some termed “bad asses” and the red head that stepped forward to speak had an air about her that Mariah knew was not human.

Shit. What the hell had she managed to land in NOW?

[Troy 'Iceman' Garretson]

Well, wasn’t this a party? Troy stood there, staring down the snarling Lieutenant DeVoux, while the strange little woman scurried over to him and felt…nothing. No fear of being dismembered by a guy who could probably rearrange his appendages in less than a second; no guilt for holding a gun to a civvie’s head. Just that regular, everyday numbness.

Was it wrong to say it was comforting to know some things never changed? It probably was.

His back was ramrod straight when Commander Foster began to talk, and he immediately gave her his full attention. He doubted the other man currently glaring daggers at him would make a move in front of his superior officer…and in any case, they weren’t his concern anymore. If the guy wanted to allow his ‘mate’ to infiltrate what was supposed to be top secret business, let him. His concern was only for the mission he was being signed up for.

He looked at each original member as they were introduced; memorizing faces, stances, weight and eye color for future reference. Was he supposed to introduce himself right now? He opened his mouth to speak, to give the rest the short version of his own credentials, but the arrival of two more members and Curse’s sudden barrage of questions had him pausing. That was true; how would they operate without the resources of the government?


For Ilani, the entire exchange was boring as all get out. Blah, blah, blah; these are the other schmucks that like to steal the love wolfy away from his smokin’ hot girlfriend. Blah, blah, blah; you’re a douchebag, oh yeah? No, YOU’RE a douchebag. Blah, blah, blah…how are we gonna keep stealing the love wolfy away, if we have no top secret Bat Cave…blah, blah, blah!

If someone didn’t start explaining what the hell was going on- or maybe, she didn’t know…notice the fact there was a random woman standing in their midst- she was going to spontaneously combust!

“Told you, you should’ve stayed home,” Cash’s voice drifted in over the other soldiers and she sighed. “But do you listen to me? Nope! I’m just the voice of reason.”

“Shut up. Tryin’ to eavesdrop here,” She replied through gritted teeth. Standing at Derek’s side, she eyed the others with distaste.

And then that Kat woman started talking, and her hackles REALLY started to rise. Okay, so she’d never thought of herself as a possessive person…or one who really gave a crap about anything, for that matter. She loved her bar and her lifestyle, sure, but she prided herself on being much more laid back. But when it came to Derek? And the thought that he might be leaving again, because the damn Shadow Team couldn’t leave him well enough alone?

Oh MAN, if she didn’t wanna grab a gun and put two into the Commander’s forehead! Her mate was NOT going to be going off and putting himself in harm’s way! She would not fucking allow it!

…And that was just about when Ilani realized that she was shit-scared of her own psyche and took two steps backward, away from the group. Okay, that was just creepy. She was creepy, and possessive, and obviously turning into a psychotic girlfriend with she-claws. No more sappy romance movies for her!

Biting her tongue to keep from snarling at the others on the team, the psychic crossed her arms over her chest and proceeded to eavesdrop. Obviously, nobody cared that she was there, so…information gathering time, it was! Oh, she should’ve never gotten out of bed that morning.


((Okay, I'm gonna skip over Lucien 'cause he's just gonna be staring at everyone. XD Curse just kinda just said it all, for my boys. lol ))