Battle It Out

mouth firmed. The man wore a black beanie pulled down over his bright head and black pants clung tightly to his hips and thighs. Dragging his eyes upward, he crossed his arms and planted his feet apart.
Their gazes locked.
“Maybe?” Isaac smirked. “Do you need to be taken down a peg or two, Master sergeant?”
A rush of heat filled relief kickstarted his heart. He hadn’t heard that teasing tone of voice in forever. It seemed his fumbling in the hallway was forgiven.
Holden cut him off from responding.
“You’re Sergeant First Class, right?” Holden asked Isaac.
“No, I’m Staff Sergeant,” Isaac responded.
“Oops, sorry.” Holden gave Isaac a warm smile.
“No worries.” Isaac smiled back at Holden.
“Well, now that you two have introduced yourselves again, let’s get to the fucking job,” Zane said through clenched teeth.
“After you, Master Sergeant,” Holden snorted and acknowledged him with a sweep of his arm toward the house.
Isaac rolled his eyes and squinted at him. Then a glare swept through those blue depths. Great.
“No wait!” Pia interjected and everyone paused.
“For fuck’s sake, what now?” Zane scowled, throwing up his hands.
“I thought the colonel said we’re supposed to observe them,” she said. She did have a point.
“We are, but we’ll do it in Infinity style,” he answered her with a smirk.
“Ooooh.” Pia’s eyes went wide and she laughed.
“Infinity style?” Holden’s brow wrinkled.
“Up close and personal,” Isaac tacked on with a grin for Holden.
Spinning away from the sight, Zane stomped toward the porch. The cracked wood groaned beneath his weight and he leaped up the stairs. The rest did the same.
The screen door hung on its hinges with a gaping hole next to it where a doorbell should have been.
“Fuck,” he muttered with a grimace and pushed the broken screen aside to knock loudly. The door rattled.
“Who is it!” a woman yelled.
“We’re looking for Sergeant Joshua Greene, ma’am,” he called through the closed door.
“Joshua! It’s for you,” the woman hollered.
Several minutes later, the door was yanked open and blurry eyes gazed at them through narrowed lids. Sweat dampened and dirty hair clung to the man’s shoulders and his beard and mustache were so thick they covered most of his face. A stained and ripped wife beater covered the man’s big frame along with boxer briefs in the same dismal state.
“Sergeant Greene?” He squinted.
“Yeah, I’m Greene. You here with my fucking discharge papers?”
The stench of alcohol and cigarette smoke wafted toward him.
“How’d you know we’re military?” Holden growled.
“Is he for fucking real?” Greene squinted at him.
Zane snapped an arm out to keep Holden from clocking Greene.
“Stand down,” he murmured, never moving his eyes from the man in the doorway.
“I’m Master Sergeant Gannon, they are Sergeants Thorne, Rosario, and Wreck.”
Greene barely acknowledged the others. “Like I said, you here with my papers?”
“Have you been drinking, Greene?”
“What’s it to you?” the man spat.
“Answer the question,” he said flatly.
“I haven’t been sober in two fucking weeks,” the man sneered, chin tipping, daring him to do something.
“Thank you for your time.” Zane tipped his head and turned away.
“And you tell them to cut me a fucking check!” Greene shouted and slammed the door.
“That’s it?” Isaac asked incredulously.
“That’s it,” he said and jogged down the steps.
“Fuck,” Holden muttered, and jumped off the porch.
“We could have questioned him!” Isaac insisted, coming after him.
“About what?” he asked, but kept on going down the cracked walkway and out the opening where a gate should have been. Isaac was right, he could have asked questions, but he didn’t.
“Hey!” Isaac caught his arm and he turned on the man.
“He’s stinking drunk. He wouldn’t have remembered a fucking thing,” he growled.
Isaac stepped back with a glare.
“What now?” Pia asked, jogging to catch up to him and Isaac.
“I believe it’s the next guy on the list.” He pulled his phone, looking at the names, but his attention remained focused on Isaac.
“Just text us the fucking location,” Isaac snapped, irritation thick in his voice, and marched toward his SUV where Blade stood waiting. Pia grinned, waggled her fingers, and trotted across the street.
“Aye, Aye, Captain,” Zane called after Isaac.
Isaac stopped, yanked off his beanie, and fisted it in his hand. He hesitated, like he was on the fence about turning around and chewing him a new asshole. Come on, do it. Fucking do something! Anything. But Isaac didn’t… instead he stalked to his SUV without another word.
Arguing might have relieved the tension between them. Was that what he wanted? Yes, but not here. The strain was too thick, too volatile to address there in front of the others.
Zane squinted after Isaac’s ass and then slid behind the wheel of his jeep.
“He obviously needs a refresher about who’s in charge,” Holden said, slamming the jeep passenger door.
“When you’ve been with this unit as long as we have, then you can question what we do. Until then, watch your fucking mouth.” He squeezed the steering wheel.
There was a long, uncomfortable silence before Holden grudgingly nodded.
“I’m sorry.” Holden grimaced ruefully. “I don’t know what the hell’s gotten into me. I’m normally quiet.”
“It’s growing pains,” he said with some measure of sympathy. Although, his own attitude wasn’t helping matters. It wasn’t Holden’s fault, he reminded himself.
“Can I ask you something?”
“I can’t promise to answer.” He started the engine, but didn’t put the vehicle in drive.
“Why do you goad him like that?” Holden squinted at him.
He didn’t need to ask who the “him” was. No way in hell was he ready to talk about Isaac. Not to Holden, not to anybody, really. He just wasn’t ready.
“We go back a long way,” was all he said. Lifting the laptop, he sent an email to the colonel.
Sergeant Joshua Greene: May be on some type of administrative leave? He said he’s waiting for a check and discharge papers. He hasn’t been sober in two weeks.
He sent the email and then a text to Isaac along with the next target address.
Roger. Was his only response.
“Make yourself useful and pull up that location.” He pointed to his phone. “Tell me what kind of area it’s in.”
Holden snatched