Page 25 of Men of Fort Dale: The Complete Series

And if the almost terse quality of the message, delivered by a rather haggard-looking private, was any indication, the meeting had not gone as well as Sean would have liked.

He wasn’t surprised when the man’s head jerked up, eyes flashing in his direction. A moment later, the tension in Matt’s shoulders eased when recognition entered his eyes.

Matt flashed a smile. “You’re early.”

“Could say the same about you.”

Matt shrugged, turning his attention back to his phone. “I like being where other people aren’t. Lets me focus better.”

Aidan watched him fiddle for a couple of minutes before continuing. “Something wrong with your phone?”

“Eh. I’ve been trying to streamline some of the processes. You know, integrate different messengers into one app, linking it with the calendar, photos, stuff like that.”

Aidan cocked his head. “Why?”

“Well, I already know Java as a language, and really, I could probably manage this if I was actually using Java. But I’m trying to teach myself Python, which I’m not so good with, so all I’ve managed to do is make a mess. But hey, unlike the other phones, I haven’t broken this one...yet.”

Aidan chuckled. “Broken them?”

Matt winced. “Nick says I never know how to take it slow and...maybe he’s right, just don’t tell him I said that. I might have tried to do too much with the last few phones, and when you screw with programming enough, sometimes you end up with an expensive brick instead of a phone.”

“And I imagine that doesn’t do any good for the warranty.”

“Nope! Something Nick likes to remind me of all the damn time.”

Aidan sat down in the grass a few feet away from Matt. “You know, I can’t tell if he drives you nuts or if he’s your best friend from the two times you mentioned him.”

Matt chuckled. “Sean says we’re like brothers, but I think that’s only because we argue.”

“Brothers are also pretty close.”

“I think that’s why he says it too, though he’s never like...said that was the reason.”

Aidan thought back to his brief interaction with Sean and nodded in understanding.

Sean hadn’t even taken the friendly handshake, and Aidan could easily see the team leader having a hard time passing out compliments.

While he didn’t want to be too harsh on a man who was obviously struggling, Aidan had difficulty seeing Sean saying anything positive.

Matt lapsed into silence as he tapped at the phone, seeming not to notice Aidan was there anymore.

Aidan wasn’t surprised. He’d taken the opportunity to catch sight of his team members whenever possible as they went about their business on the base.

With nothing else to do and no access to records, Aidan entertained himself by seeing what his soon-to-be team members were like when they thought they weren’t being observed.

As far as he could tell, Sean didn’t know how to give a genuine smile.

Matt was always attached to a device, whether a phone or a tablet.

Ricardo barely spoke, and when he did, it was typically only to Sean.

Nick was a strange one, looking like he was more asleep than awake and unaware of most things around him.

Matt stirred, looking at Aidan curiously. “So, you’re really going to be our fifth?”

Aidan nodded. “Whether anyone wants it or not.”

“What about you?”

Aidan blinked. “What?”

“You said whether anyone wants it or not, do you want to be here?”

That was a damn good question, but Aidan wasn’t sure it would be a good idea to tell Matt.

They barely knew one another, and Aidan imagined no one on Team Maelstrom was happy about his presence.

While Matt was at least making an effort not to be an ass, Aidan wasn’t so sure it was a good idea to start talking about his motivations.

Aidan shrugged. “I’m here, so that has to count for something, right?”

“Not when you’re ordered to be here.”

Aidan smirked, hesitating as he heard footsteps approaching from the woods. “Would it make you feel better if I promised to try to play nice?”

Matt smiled briefly, looking in the direction of the forest. “I don’t know if you were trying to get a rise out of Sean on purpose or if that’s just how you are. He can be a little serious, especially lately, but he’s not a bad guy.”

“Just a little grumpy,” Aidan said.

“Yeah, something like that,” Matt said.

As if summoned, Sean stomped through the brush, stopping short when he caught sight of the two of them.

The sight of him twisted in Aidan’s stomach, even though he knew his reaction was irrational and stupid.

Sean might not have been the most pleasant person to deal with initially, but he wasn’t Jason.

The resemblance was uncanny, at least at first glance.

Sean had the same pitch-black hair and bright, flashing green eyes that called to mind a polished jewel.

He even had the same bulky frame, which Sean used with surprising grace, even if he did tend to stomp whenever his temper flared.

The similarities stopped there, and Aidan had to admit Sean was better-looking.

There was a strong cut to his jaw, enough to make him handsome but not square and blocky, though Aidan had to admit the almost constantly furrowed brow detracted from Sean’s looks a little.

“What are you doing here?” Sean asked brusquely.

“Last I checked, you told me to come here for team training,” Aidan said dryly.

“I meant this early,” Sean said, not sounding apologetic.

Aidan cocked his head. “I am a prompt person. I didn’t want you to think I’d miss this for the world.”

“Why would you when you’re supposed to be on this team?” Sean asked.

Aidan was tempted to dig in a little harder and ask how the meeting with General Winter went but held his tongue.

Sean wasn’t the first snarly person Aidan had dealt with, but something about his dismissive attitude toward him dug deep into Aidan’s nerves.

It wasn’t enough for him to lose his temper, but he found he couldn’t help trying to poke at the man a little, if only to ease his frustration.

“Sparring again?” came a deep voice as Ricardo appeared to melt out of the forest.

Aidan chuckled. “That’s a pretty neat trick for such a big guy. We heard Sean coming from a mile off.”

Ricardo eyed him, a ghost of a smirk on his face. “Years of sneaking out of the house as a teenager.”

“Ooh, a delinquent, I like it,” Aidan said, giving Ricardo a wink.

For a moment, Aidan thought the shadow of a smile might become real before even that hint of amusement disappeared from the man’s face.

Aidan watched as Ricardo moved his attention back to Sean, and he wondered if the big man had forgotten how to be amused or if he was attempting to show solidarity with Sean.

Nick appeared. “Sparring?”

Sean sighed. “Yes, sparring. Our last CQC training ended prematurely, so here we are.”

Aidan once again had to stop himself from speaking and reminding Sean it had ended early because Sean had got pissed off.

“And I want to see what our newest member is capable of,” Sean continued.

Aidan leaned back, not bothering to hide his amusement. “Really? You want me to fight?”

“If I’m going to know what you’re capable of, then yes, and we’re going to start with CQC. And you’re going to start by fighting me.”

Ricardo tilted his head. “Really?”

“I need to know, and what better way than to have him go up against me?”

“And the fact that you’re the best hand-to-hand fighter we have on the team?”

Aidan could see Sean struggling to find a response, either because he wasn’t sure himself or he didn’t want to admit in front of everyone what his real motivation was. In truth, Aidan couldn’t argue with his logic, even if it hid a desire for Sean to smack Aidan around a little.

If the guy wanted to work out some of his aggravations, Aidan would be more than willing to give him the opportunity. Whether or not it would work out the way Sean thought, well, that was something else entirely.

Aidan shrugged, pushing himself up and dusting his hands off. “Alright, fine.”

“New guy is confident,” Nick noted.

“Just happy to be here and doing something,” Aidan said.

Sean stepped forward, over the edge of the circle, and into the makeshift ring. “Good.”

“Any rules, restrictions, rituals, little dances I should know?” Aidan asked as he too, stepped forward.

“No trying to kill or cause serious damage,” Ricardo said.

“And you go until someone says quit,” Sean added.

Ricardo frowned. “But someone from outside the fight can stop it early.”

“So, don’t try to kill or hurt my team leader, got it,” Aidan said.

Sean took a readied stance, shaking his head. “Not me I’m worried about.”

“Aw, are you saying you’re worried about me?” Aidan said, unable to help the tease.

As expected, he could see Sean’s eyes flash with irritation and anger before the emotion faded.

It was the same in their first conversation, where Aidan watched Sean struggle to rein in his emotions every time Aidan spoke.

He had yet to tell if that was his new team leader’s personality or if the guy was just pent up and couldn’t let go of the wheel.

It didn’t matter. Sean was obviously spoiling for something, whether a simple fight or a way of asserting his dominance, Aidan was curious to see how it would go.

While he was willing to admit a bit of curiosity at what Sean was capable of in a fight, he wouldn’t admit that part of him found it amusing that Sean thought he’d be easy prey.

Sean watched him, snorting. “You going to start?”

“This is your party. I figure you should have the first dance,” Aidan said.

And again, that flash of temper, followed by a brief struggle and then nothing. Even then, Aidan wasn’t surprised when Sean advanced on him, ready to start the fight. In Aidan’s assessment, that was either a product of Sean wanting Aidan to shut up or his temper starting to get the better of him.