Pray For War

Sinister

Your heart is full of broken dreams
Just a fading memory
And everything's gone but the pain carries on

Sam's POV

Sam waved to the marines that filed out of the infirmary, her light eyes watching her brother bicker with Sin. There was a story there. Behind the constant need, he had to stir the military Commander. A good story she hoped.

Beneath her curiosity was deep-rooted fear that clung to her chest. This fleeting glance might be the last moment she saw her brother alive. Saw any of them alive.

That feeling settled, knowing that same Commander who absorbed John's bitter rage and bit back with her own would keep him safe. That when it came down to it she'd protect them, perhaps even die for her team. For John and he would for her. United they would be a weapon. But with that lingering nastiness that cast a dark cloud over them, they'd remain divided. Sam sighed, allowing herself to breathe amidst the chaos.

Sam turned her shoulder to Duke as the automatic door snapped shut and her brother's voice faded into nothingness.

"Tell me about Sinister" Sam spoke with her silver scalpel and penlight in hand, prepared to conduct an autopsy on the creature splayed at her waist. Lifeless on a metal gurney.

"Not much to tell, except she's the scariest woman I've seen in training. Not always the best opponent but she was always the last one standing", Duke walked from across the room and placed a hand on the side of the gurney to steady it.

"Meaning?" Sam grunted as she pointed her scalpel into the thick skin of the creature. The blade buckled.

"She was a cage fighter and a damn good one. I saw her break a guy's forearm in half just from sparing with him. But I've never seen anybody with her balls of steel in the field though. For that trait alone she crawled up the ranks fast, faster than Reaper, Goat or Sarge, and in five or six years she was promoted to Commander of a temporary task force. The youngest woman in the history of the marines to be promoted to such a high rank. While we all bitched and whined. We all knew she deserved it.", Duke explained in articulate detail.

"I'm guessing something happened?" Sam spoke distractedly as she examined the creature's throat. Its skin was too tough to cut by hand.

"There was a breach in our task forces. A mole within our ranks. We didn't know who it was until Sin's own teammate, an acclaimed sniper and her friend, shot her in the stomach with an armour piercing round. The bullet went straight through her and hit her second in charge, Brian, centre mass.", Duke tapped above his heart, motioning while he spoke.

"Brian died and she lived. But there's a reason we opt for "Sinister" now instead of Syn...When she had made it to the RRTS helicopter with Brian as dead weight, she locked sights with Athena in the distance and shot 3 bullets, not just a single bullet to the skull...no...she took out that bitch's knees first and while she was writhing on the ground in pain Sin put a round in her skull. The shot was impeccable. Babygirl sniped the sniper", He smiled with a sense of that marine pride. "That bodycam footage between Brian, Athena, Goat and Sin is still used in training and recruitment today",

"They showed you the footage?", Sam asked with shock. That was appalling. Absolutely depraved in her mind. To witness that.  

"Only the whole footage once", Duke breathed out. "Ain't never seen Reaper cry but he was close to it when they showed us that. Brian and Valkyrie man. They were bound until the end", He breathed out softly, rubbing his chin in his hand.       

Duke glanced to the bullet holes in the creature's skull and curled his hand around the bar that structured the gurney.

"Was Brian her boyfriend?" Sam asked distractedly while shining a small light into the beast's throat.