𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐁𝐈𝐀 ━ jason x reader.

Two

"You have to admit that it was a good one..." Joey whispered under his breath, looking down at the ground and then pouted slightly which caused Y/n to gently jab his ribcage to get his attention. "It was... okay..." Y/n complied, playfully rolling her eyes. This alone lifted Joey's spirits once more.

"Alright, that's enough, Merwin." Kolchek's Southern accent caused the two to shape up and focus their attention back on the conversation being held. "Sir, what's your call?"

"I'll put in a request for air support to be on standby," Eric responded, obeying the minorities' superstition. "Our birds can fly low under the radar. The site is in the Zagros mountains, so we'll have plenty of ground there." Rachel reassured.

Eric nodded, understanding, "We go dark until the weapons are secured. If we don't break radio silence within 24 hours, CENTCOM will mount a rescue operation." His voice echoed throughout the abandoned ballroom.

Joey's nose crinkles in disgust when he heard that Eric was not planning on being lenient with the time they had. "A lot of shit can go down in 24 hours." He said, panicked, as he looked over at Merwin and Y/n.

"Aw, quit being a bitch." Merwin groaned, readjusting in his seat to make himself more comfortable. "I'm just saying, that's all." Joey became defensive.

"This is why we went to war!" Eric shouted, showing no compassion for the soldier. "This is what gets us out of bed every morning!" Y/n stifled her laugh as she quietly scoffs, mentally disagreeing with his statement. "Make no mistake, ladies and gentlemen, this is how we stop Saddam from using these weapons. Be ready in one hour, dismissed!"

After the grim pep talk, everyone scattered around the room in getting ready for the reconnaissance mission. "Clarice, help me set up the equipment." Eric barked orders.

"I'm on it."

As the two spoke with each other, Merwin, Y/n, and Joey began to stroll to the other side of the table. "I don't know, man. This don't feel right." Joey stood beside Y/n as he shook his head, trusting his gut instincts.

Merwin then stopped in his tracks, turning around to face the pair. "Aw, sweetie, look." He teased and then placed a hand on Joey's shoulder. "A good rub down will sort that right out, huh?" This prompted Joey to shove the older man away from him.

"I'm serious!" He harshly whispered. "I've got a real bad feeling about this." Y/n met Joey's gaze, giving him a sympathetic look. Before she could say anything though, Rachel King interrupted.

"That's what you get for spending too much time with Eric." At the sight alone of the designated Queen Bitch, Merwin and Y/n scurried away to do business elsewhere. "Is there anything you can do?" Joey questioned Eric's ex-wife who stared at him, dumbfounded, and walked away without saying another word.

"I'm going to download the latest satellite data," Clarice spoke with Eric, but when she saw Rachel approaching them, she decided to meet her halfway. "You can have some alone time with him." The physicist swiftly added and then returned to her computer.

"Thank you, Clarice." Rachel plastered on a false smile. Fixating her attention back onto the blond, "Eric..." she started, hesitantly. "We need to talk. There's something I have to tell you."

"You should know, it wasn't my decision to take over your operation," Eric avoided looking at Rachel. "It's been a long time since we last saw each other." He changed the subject, smirking, as he looked over to Rachel who sighed.