We find another to place to rest, away from Jeremy and getting nearer to the stadium. We got to sit down and catch our breath for five minutes. Meanwhile I wrestled with my thoughts. It bugged me not knowing what caused it.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I went back to my past.

In a corridor of military base I stood awaiting General Mynde who attended a meeting. "A few more minutes to go," I muttered to myself looking at my cheap analogue watch. A few soldiers passed me by in the corridor saluting me heading to where ever they were required to be.

I was waiting for two hours and that I didn't have much to do that day. I had looked around my environment in wait. I was patient, very patient.

After a few minutes all those in power left the room, including General Mynde. "Captain," he called out. "You coming with me, we need to talk." I was inquisitive yet I walked with him to an area he knew.

"Look, Captain I appealed to the higher ups and they want you to change platoons effective immediately." He said.

"What?" I asked in confusion. "I thought we talked about this, why now? You told me that you would get this motion stopped and yet here we are. You gave me a solid answer which was move and you have no choice."

"I tried to stop it, Captain. They had my hands tightly tied and had to pick between your current platoon dissolving and placed into different platoons or you go to another platoon. Only two options. Which do you pick?"

"…."

"I know how you feel, Captain. It isn't easy on me either but I got instructions from higher ups. Even generals have to answer to someone."

"As much I have to answer you. I wonder how I ended up in all this."

"Things happen, some coincidental, some not. We don't know what is what. Captain, I understand your frustration so we will continue this talk at our favourite bar. We will meet up at 6 o'clock."

"Continue what talk?"

"This one."

Just before I could utter another he walked away heading to his office or another place where he was needed. Leaving in the hallway, I took my leave and went to my office.

It was a quaint and small room, which had medals, shelves full of files, a wooden desk, plastic chairs for those visiting my office –even though it was a military base- and a few other useful and miscellaneous items spread in my office in respective areas.

While I was working and reading on reports, someone knocked on the door and I called them in. I glanced up to see who opened my door and it was Jeremy Davis, who was a sergeant at that time before he got promoted.

"Captain, it's been a while since we last seen each other," he said with a smile on his face. He was elated to see me after six months of deployment.

"It's good to see you too, Jeremy. You must have gone through a lot in your deployment?" I said.

We began chatting for quite a bit before the conversation became grim. "How's Terry, heard he is getting married in a couple months to come?" he asked. Any look of happiness I had put on disappeared and was replaced by a dark and grim expression before I spoke to him about what had transpired.

"Terry died, two months after you left without a word, out in the field."

"What?"

"You know Jeremy, a lot has happened since you had left. Marcus was KIA, Keith was MIA then we found him mentally broken, Dexter is in the ICU and Joshua had been sent back home without an arm, just to name a few. All this happened while you were nowhere to be found on whatever Spec-Ops mission you that God knows what you were doing and you come back six months later. Maybe I am overreacting about the whole situation but I have been dealing with all these and another upcoming frustration. You never gave us anything to notify us of your absence."

"Captain, it's not like I had a choice in the matter. I got called up and it was urgent."

"Everyone has a fucking choice Jeremy, you just chose poorly. Imagine the relief we could have had if we knew you were gone for some time instead of you giving us nothing and hoping all of us cope with it, thinking you had died, went AWOL, are MIA or you had gone rogue. All of us were trained to not breakdown like this and lose focus however you are the most valuable persons here in this base making you an asset that could easily become a liability in the wrong hands."

"Captain, you can't really be jumping to conclusions like that you know?"

"I am not the one who came up with those conclusions, everyone did! Meanwhile you were lollygagging where ever you were, protocols had to be initiated to reduce risk and exploitation."

"What the hell were those for?"

"For you!"

"…"

"…"

"Wow, is that how you are going to welcome me back?"

"Sigh! Jeremy I don't have time for this I have to leave,"

During our conversation I had checked my watch and looked at the time. It was 17:30 hours and I had to leave to go meet up with General Mynde. Jeremy I believe still didn't understand the weight of his decision. I may have not had a valid reason as to why I had that conversation with him nor will I justify my words. Jeremy's actions aren't to be taken for granted.

We had lost 2980 men and women on the frontline because they were not in the right emotional state to be fighting. That protocol called Blare Lights was forced upon them. Training had to be rigorous and they were torn down bit by bit emotionally, mentally and physically. They recovered physically in like a month during his absence but that was it. They were pushed to far and I couldn't do much about it.

I had a little time to spare when I arrived at Jameson's Diner and Bar just past the DCPD. Though I had occupied my self with dealing with crooks with tainted souls and a few dangerous demons that had slipped through into the world.

Inside the bar was more olden and middle west themed. By the bar sat General Mynde on a stool sipping on a glass of whiskey. He wore his favourite brown leather jacket, blue shirt and blue denim jeans. He glanced once and sat his glass down.

"Glad you could make it, Captain," he said with a bright grin.

"You wanted me to be here for a word," I told him.

"You have to loosen up a bit and enjoy the moment while you still can."

I said nothing but gave him a deathly stare. He didn't react in any way I had thought, he just sighed and got down to business. "Grab a seat," he told me and so, I did.

"Well, what did you bring me out here for?" I asked him.

"A little chat of course," he said.

"Go on,"

"You aren't enthused? Well, I expected that much from you anyway. Let us continue our prior conversation. Captain, I tried to get it extended longer but they were fed up with it and wanted you to make your choice now. However I gave them a proposition of placing you under a special program that is to take place in a day or two, and you will have a team to lead and take care of. They are going to be your responsibility.

"I know that you have trained and taken care of hundreds but these three were placed under special consideration into the program. You have Dante, Lieutenant Donny Winters and Sergeant Marie Silver, they are gonna your teammates and also your friends that you must do all you can to take care of them."

"What is all this about? Why me, why them?"

"Somethings I have planned for you and your new teammates, and this is the beginning son."

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