Disclaimer: I DO NOT own any of the Operators or Deputy Director Six. I only own the OC.

I apologize if chapter 3 was lackluster. I just wanted to get something out before college starts for me next Tuesday (02/11/2020) and I do not want to delay anything. This chapter will explore Roman's history with fellow operators that he met in the past. Also, I will be explicitly talking about how some operators get along with one another, stuff like that. Small spoiler here, Meghan, Zofia, and Vicente will be mentors to Roman, which will help him grow as an officer, operator, and a human being.

Some of the things that I will be talking about in this chapter may be sensitive to some readers so take this as your first and final warning.

Chapter Four: Heavy

Present Time.

September 13, 2017.

Rainbow HQ, Herefordshire, England.

Operator Roman Y. De La Rosa, Rainbow.

13:00 hours.

It seemed to Jack that time stood still as Roman and Taina glared at each other in silence. The former's facial expression was a mixture of anger and confusion while the later wanted to beat the living hell out of him. Polar opposites.

American and Brazilian, Marine Raider and BOPE, did it matter? They had a history with one another and it seemed to the FBI operative that the history wasn't pretty. He looked at Roman and Taina, noticing that neither had blinked once. He had a bad feeling that either one was going to start a fight. The last thing he wanted to happen was two Rainbow operators trying to kill each other.

Taina increased her glaring eyes as Roman slowly took another sip of what remained of his hot chocolate. He had nothing to say, a loss of words perhaps? He hasn't seen her for quite a while and they didn't part amicably in their last encounter with one another. Never in his life has he struck a woman before but he became tempted as seconds pass by to punch her square on the jaw. Even yet, he wanted to smash the mug over her head and hopefully incapacitate her.

A few civilians that worked for Rainbow looked at the three operators in curiosity as they passed by. Neither of the three said a single word in what seemed like hours. Thor knew who Taina was and fought the urge to rip her throat open. In his eyes, she was the spooky lady his handler didn't like.

Roman placed his mug down on the desk to his right, remembering the failed joint MARSOC/BOPE operation in Rio De Janeiro's a few years back.

"Miss Pereira, a delight to see you." Roman sarcastically said.

Taina scoffed in response, not wanting to play the American's game.

"You two know each other?" Jack.

"Unfortunately, yes." Taina curtly responded.

Roman was going to say some smart-ass comment until a voice called his name.

He turned to where the voice came from and was surprised to see one of his mentors, Vicente Souza, otherwise known to Rainbow and BOPE as "Capitão". He approached the young captain to greet him, which gave Taina the opportunity to sneak away from the small group. Jack parted ways soon after.

The Marine noticed the Brazilian lady walking away but didn't bother to call her name. She wasn't worth it nor does he care about her.

"Olá Capitão, é bom te ver. Faz alguns anos desde a última vez que te vi." Roman greeted in perfect Portuguese.

Vicente chuckled as he shared a manly hug with the young officer. He had three adult children (including Taina) but he also considered Roman to be one of his own. He saw Roman as the younger, American version of himself. Courageous, intelligent, strong, confident, integrity, and everything else that was necessary to be a splendid officer. He hoped that the Marine took his words of advice and built himself to be a better person despite the failed operation that was wholly blamed on the Americans.

"Mr. Roman, it's a blessing to see you again. I had a feeling that you were the new operator despite just finding out right now. How are you, my friend?" Vicente patted Roman's shoulder.

"I'm doing well. I will admit that I was very reluctant about leaving Joker Team but I honestly couldn't pass up this opportunity. It's definitely something new and the environment is completely different but I will adjust accordingly. Thankfully, I'm still listed as active duty so nobody could find out what I'm doing currently. Anyways, how are you and how long were you here before I tagged along?"

"Taina and I have been a part of Rainbow for a little over a year now. Rainbow was re-activated a few months prior to us joining. I'd say that I was a little surprised that you weren't here from the start. You definitely have the credentials to be the top candidate. By the way, how did your little conversation with Taina go?"

Roman became hesitant. He truly hated Taina and didn't want to talk about her in any way, shape, or form.

"Nothing too surprising. My last meeting with her didn't end well so I don't blame her for not wanting to talk to me. Though, I still have some ill-feelings towards her for almost killing me."

"You're still alive, are you not?" Vicente joked.

Roman laughed.

"Yeah, I am still alive. I do not expect myself to repair the quote-unquote, friendship she and I had. It's clear as day that she doesn't like me and I do not like her. She thinks I'm the cause of all of her problems."

Vicente patted Roman's shoulder again.

"I do not blame you for not wanting to repair your friendship with Taina. She hasn't been the same since Code Veronica."

Roman cringed at Vicente's words. Operation Code Veronica was a complete failure and it was all on him. Though, his chain of command somehow managed to cover it up and draw the attention away from the eldest De La Rosa sibling.

They stopped at the chow hall to get something to eat. They walked towards an empty table across from each other.

"I know that you don't like talking about Taina but I just want to let you know that she wasn't the same woman when she was younger."

Roman closed his eyes for a moment. What Vicente said was true. Taina was different, completely different. He remembered the times where they used to get along quite well. Exchanged text messages, phone calls, and even funny pictures found on the internet. They would practice their BJJ against one another whenever Roman would visit Brazil and their training sessions normally ended up with someone getting choked out or almost having their shoulders getting popped out of place. She was a sweet lady, her mother was too.

His recollective memory was extensive but he couldn't remember what caused Taina to turn on him.

"You don't remember what she used to be, do you?" Vicente stirred his coffee.

"No, I do not. It's been over a year since it happened and like I said earlier, she nearly killed me." Roman rubbed his head.

Vicente laughed as he mixed his favorite condiments into the hot liquid.

"Well, let me tell you something if you don't mind."

"Sure, I guess." Roman groaned.

"Do you remember Operation: Code Veronica?"

"Of course I do. It's the joint MARSOC/BOPE operation on the White Masks South American headquarters. It failed, resulting in the deaths of two Marine Raiders and four injured if you include myself, ten BOPE operators dead and twenty injured. Code Veronica was considered a political failure as it strained the relations between the United States and Brazilian governments. It was also considered a failure due to my incompetence and misunderstanding. I thought the home I set on fire was one of the outposts that belonged to the White Masks. Due to my actions, I mistakenly burned down the house that belonged to Taina Pereira and Paulo Acosta. That itself led to a confrontation between Taina and I." The Marine explained.

"What happened after?"

"Taina and I got into a very bloody fight. It resulted in me in receiving a large laceration on my left pectoral muscle that almost resulted in my death while Taina herself received numerous puncture wounds to her hands due to Thor gnawing on them. If I am sure of it, she also has a massive scar on her left shoulder blade, which she got from me slicing her with her own knife. Now that I think of it, I am surprised that you didn't kill me on the spot nor did any of your subordinates.

"A small part of me wanted to but that's the hateful side of me that I manage to keep away from everyone. Besides, it was a personal thing that needed to be settled between you and her and I am saddened by the fact that neither of you decided to make up. Taina used to be a very forgiving person but I will admit that I am surprised that she didn't forgive you. Going on, how long were you in the hospital for?"

"Ten days. Thankfully it was a private hospital or else someone could've killed me while I was in a comatose state for the period of time."

Vicente nodded as he stretched his legs to keep the flow of the blood circulating.

"Paulo Acosta, BOPE operator, does his name come to mind?"

"Yeah, I know him. He used to be your right-hand man, just like how Miller was mine. He was a decent guy. Very smart, caring, the other fun stuff. Stood around the same height as Taina, maybe shorter. He was around eleven or twelve years her senior. I didn't know she had a preference for men that were much older than her. Wasn't she engaged to him?"

"Yes, but the history between the two of them isn't my business to tell. Maybe when you do decide to fix the friendship that was once there, you could ask her. Though I must warn you that she might not take things lightly." Vicente said.

"Wasn't Taina pregnant at the time?" Roman asked.

"You are correct."

"What happened to the child. I'd be surprised if that child was dead."

Vicente sighed for a moment. He truly liked Roman, he did. He was like a son to him but he had to remind himself that the young man had no filter.

"Like I said Roman, that's not my business to tell, ask her." Vicente smirked as he pointed behind Roman.

Roman turned his head slightly as he saw Taina with a tray full of food looking for a table to sit at. She saw Vicente and decided to sit next to him but when she saw Roman, she instantly turned the other direction and opted to eat inside her room.

"Why are you even asking me all these questions anyway?" Roman inquired.

"I'm only asking these questions you could have a better understanding of what Taina used to be."

"Do I have to sit here and listen to all the fabricated lies about Taina. All I know that she's a fake bitch, a manipulative liar, and a whore that likes to throw herself around men."

To Roman's surprise, Vicente wasn't agitated at his words. Rather, he was very amused by the words and wanted to hear more.

Jack sat next to Vicente, greeting himself again.

"Roman, I understand where your anger is coming from, what's your true honest feelings of Taina?" Vicente said.

"What do I think of Taina? I think she's a stuck-up bitch with her knife up her ass. She's rude, disrespectful, doesn't follow orders, and likes to get very physical. I mean, she bumped into me and didn't even apologize! As I said, Taina almost killed me. Why should I be sympathetic towards some low-life poor harlot? She's also a damn fucking criminal for crying out loud.

Jack shook his head while Vicente was amused once more. It was entertaining to see one of the "nicest" and wealthiest people on Earth berate someone who's status is way below his. The latter could tell that Roman was starting to get agitated as they continued to talk about Taina. Though, he wanted to continue just a bit more.

"What's going on?" Jack asked.

Roman palmed his face as Vicente spoke.

"Oh, I'm just asking the young captain about what he thinks of Taina. So far, he's been, how do I say this, very explicit."

Roman exhaled deeply.

"Whatever, go ahead. I'll try to listen" Roman said.

"Taina used to be a sweet woman. Despite never completing high school, she displayed strong intellect inside the courtroom when the judge was deciding her fate. True, she has a big criminal background but people can change Roman, so can you."

"It still doesn't change the fact that she committed those atrocities. I'm surprised that you allowed a criminal within your ranks, Vicente."

"Yes, I too was surprised at allowing someone like her into BOPE. Though the final decision belonged to the judge and I guess that Taina made the right choice. Sure, we caught a lot of flack for accepting her, but I'm glad that I did. Taina's a person that's willing to help others and puts other people's well-being before hers." Vicente explained.

"Well, that woman certainly did not put my well-being before hers." Roman retorted.

Both Jack and Vicente laughed.

"What can I say, Roman? Continuing on with my explanation, Taina strives for greatness. She used to be a very happy woman, always making sure that everyone is happy as well. If anything, she's the female version of you Roman, minus the vast amount of money and assets that you have."

Roman spat out the water as he heard Vicente's words. There's no way in Hell that he was compared to Taina.

"Vicente, did you just compare me to that woman?"

"I think Vicente just did." Jack said.

Roman didn't allow his anger to get the best of him as he continued to eat. However, his patience was wearing thin.

"Look at it. Both of you are very adept at what you do. Like Taina, you also have a fondness with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and I know how good you are. Hell, you defeated all of my subordinates and managed to put Taina on the defensive several times. You and Taina are very similar in so many ways, haha. I just want you to keep an open mind, that is all."

"Fine, but don't expect me to be kind about her."

Vicente smirked as he and Roman talked about various topics along with their previous encounters with other Rainbow operators. The one-eyed man mentioned that he, Taina, and a couple of BOPE operators trained with a Delta Force platoon. According to him, there were two operators that stood out from the rest of the team. He couldn't get their names but they went by "Ghost" and "Inferno". According to Vicente, many of his colleagues enjoyed training with both operators. Ghost paid attention to detail and offered his input but other than that, he was considered a "loner" and would often keep quiet unless spoken to.

"I would like to meet this Ghost guy." Roman said.

"Haha, I forgot to mention that he was hard to get along with. Some of my BOPE colleagues brought to my attention about his attitude. They mentioned that he was very stern with his words."

Roman took a bite out of his food.

"What about Inferno?"

"Well, Inferno was much easier to work with, even some of the female operators tried flirting with him. He's a good guy, would be fun to work with more often. He's a very energetic guy and a comedian."

Roman scratched the back of his head for a moment. Ghost and Inferno, those two names sounded very familiar to him. He's an avid fan of fanfiction and swore to himself that he saw those names before in a fanfic, but he couldn't point his finger to it.

A few moments later

Indoor firing range

Roman laced up his boots as he prepared to go to the armory. It wasn't a requirement for Rainbow operators to conduct firearms training in their combat gear but the Marine was a firm believer in training in them no matter the situation. Luckily for him (according to himself), he wasn't in charge of anyone just yet, which means he doesn't have a say in Rainbow's training.

"Let's see what I'm feeling like shooting."

Out of everyone in Rainbow, Roman possibly had the smallest arsenal of weapons ever, not that he needed a lot. He only has three rifles and two pistols on the racks.

His personal cage was customized to his preferences. He had the Marine Corps flag hung on one end and the United States flag on the other. Both fabrics represented his status as a Marine and as an American. He took great pride in both and swore that he will hold both in high regard. There were some photos of him that were from his old office in Camp Pendleton that were now displayed in front of him.

He looked at his M200 CheyTac, his most prized possession as the modifications made the rifle a 1 for 1 rarity. Classified, of course. He had a Marine Raider who was a Machinist from a different team modify on his rifle under the table. It was a true piece of art despite it being expensive for obvious reasons. He was sure that he was the first Scout Sniper to use the M200. Roman would consider himself as one of the greatest marksmen in history but him not taking the role seriously for several years set his skills back by miles.

There was a picture that was hidden behind his M27. It was a photo of Joker Team and BOPE. Ironically, Roman was posing next to Taina with their arms around their shoulders as if they were best friends. He threw the photo down in an aggressive manner and stomped on it.

Looking down to his left, Roman saw a little girl, no more than four years old. She was petting Thor's head as he looked at the girl in confusion. She had brown her and she spoke with an accent that he was familiar with.

"Hi!" The little girl smiled, her arms hidden behind her back.

"Gdzie jest twoja matka?" Roman asked in Polish.

The little girl giggled as she ran out of the cage, leaving Roman and Thor in a confused state. The good boy looked at his handler for answers but got none.

"Co ci mówiłem o bieganiu po zbrojowni?" A woman's voice was heard.

Roman peeked his head out and saw the lady who had a big impact on his career.

Zofia Bosak.

There she was, kneeling down to tickle her daughter. Roman noticed that her hair was much shorter than the last time he saw her. Zofia's signature shades were perched on top of her beret. One of his mentors, he was glad to see.

"Zofia." Roman greeted as Thor trailed right behind him.

Zofia rose to her feet, a small smirk on her face. Her daughter stood behind her and peeked her head to look at Thor.

The elder Bosak sister studied Roman for a bit. From her point of view, nothing much about Roman had changed, minus the numerous tattoos and the growth of the mighty German Shepherd.

"Rybko." Zofia said in Polish.

Roman anticipated Zofia's next move. Out of all the operators that he previously met, the woman in front of him was the most intriguing by far. She was very skilled, sharp with her combat skills, and unpredictable at times. One time, she nearly took his head off with a roundhouse kick due to him not paying attention to what she was teaching him.

Zofia extended her glove-covered hand for Roman to shake. He wasn't going to take any chances though as he knew she was going to trick him once again. He instead pulled her into a hug, which she returned gladly. Again, for like the hundredth time, Zofia blindsided by sliding her glove off, revealing a hand buzzer that made Roman jolt a little.

Her daughter laughed as Roman rubbed the back of his neck.

"That's not funny Zo, you're setting a bad example for your child." Roman groaned.

"Actually, she's the one that's setting a bad example for me, huh you little diabeł." Zofia kissed her daughter.

"Yeah, like mother like daughter." Roman thought to himself.

Zofia nudged for her daughter to introduce herself to Roman.

"Have you introduced yourself yet Zaneta?" Zofia asked.

"Not yet mama." Zaneta responded, hugging her mother's thigh.

Zofia nudged Zaneta again. Despite showing signs of being outgoing earlier, she was shy in greeting herself.

"Hi, I'm Zaneta."

Roman knelt down to Zaneta's level to show that there was nothing to be shy about. Zofia's daughter reminded him of Hera in a way, the little girl he saved during the Staples Center hostage crisis.

"Hey, I'm Roman. I'm your mother's friend. We used to train a lot. It's an honor to meet you."

Zaneta peeked at Roman and shyly handed him his knife that she secretly took. He smirked at the little girl, impressed that she was able to take something that was very valuable to him and not have him notice. But it did worry him a bit as well.

"I'm fascinated if I must say, Roman. It seems that you're still using the knife that I gifted you."

"Yeah, I still do. It's a very durable knife and I do not have to sharpen it often. I like it a lot. I must admit to you that I've been using this mostly to cut my steak rather than its intended purpose."

Zofia nodded.

"I was going to the range with Zaneta for some extra practice? Do you want to have another competition?" Zofia offered.

Roman smiled. He remembered the friendly shooting competitions he would have with Zofia. Out of the eleven competitions they had, Zofia holds a 6-5 edge, winning the last three encounters.

"Absolutely, you're in the lead and you know how much I despise losing to you. You sometimes make me look like an amateur. It is impressive."

Zofia returned her own smile. Outside of her own sister and late father, Roman was the toughest challenger she faced on multiple occasions. Though, not that it mattered anyway.

Several moments later

If there was one space, room, or whatever it was that Roman hadn't seen yet, it was the testing area/room in Rainbow's Research & Development department. Under the supervision and control of Dr. Elena María "Mira" Álvarez. Since her recruitment into the organization back in 2017, she brought her knowledge in metallurgy and her mechanical engineering skills helped advance Rainbow into the counterterrorism unit that it was known today. She helped craft and upgrade several gadgets and devices under the use of the Rainbow operators, most notably the development (with the help of Specialist Emmanuelle "Twitch" Pichon) of the CCE Shield that belonged to Morowa "Clash" Evans.

There were several programmers, scientists, engineers, and other civilian workers that were under contract with Rainbow. Without them, Elena wouldn't be able to do what she loved to do.

"Pinche mierda!" Elena yelled as she accidentally dropped a heavy object on her hand.

She removed her welding helmet to properly examine the current project she was working on. It was the newest version of the deployable shield used by some of the operates. It now featured tiny bulletproof window slits that allowed anyone on either side to look through the shield. Though, it still didn't protect anyone from a concussion or flash grenade. Elena grasped her hand in an attempt to ease the pain. It became worse as her fellow GEO "colleague" walked into the room.

"¿Qué te pasa, mi amor?" Ryad gently removed Elena's glove to observe her hand.

Ryad "Jackal" Ramírez Al-Hassar, Rainbow's prolific tracker and known insomniac. He was recruited alongside his partner Elena but was placed in a lower but still important position within the organization. His gadget was one the unique side as the Eyenox Model III allowed him to track the footprints of whoever he was looking for. After several changes, he was now in a good spot despite several of his colleagues complaining that he was too overpowered during their virtual training exercises. Many operators were interested in his Eyenox helmet, which helped him form several friendships within the team, Specialist Pichon and Flament are his two closest friends, despite the two constantly bickering with one another.

His strongest and closest relationship in Rainbow was obviously with Elena. The two served together in GEO for several years prior to their recruitment to Rainbow. They went on countless hostage rescue operations, served multiple arrest warrants, protected and escorted several state assets, the lists goes on. Some questioned their intimacy, as they were "too" close. Ryad couldn't blame them though. Elena was gorgeous and much more intelligent than he was. A lot of his male and female colleagues on multiple occasions tried asking her on dates, she, of course, refused. Him being diagnosed with chronic insomnia due to the death of his brother does not help him at all. Matter in fact, his obsession in trying to find his brother's killer somewhat strained the relationship he had with Elena, and it could have ruined the potential romance he could have with her, the one he wanted for so long.

"Estoy bien Ryad, it doesn't hurt that much." Elena sighed.

"No, you're not okay, let me see."

Elena tried pulling away but Ryad held a firm, yet gentle grip on her hand. He examined the bruise that started to form on the back of her hand and also noticed the scars that were left behind. He looked at the heavy metal cylinder, the object that was the source of the pain.

"Elena, you should get this checked right now. It looks serious and if you don't let Gustave treat this, it would mean that you wouldn't work on your projects for a while."

"Ryad, estoy bien. He sufrido peor."

She pulled her hand away from Ryad. He looked at her at disbelief and amusement. Despite suffering something that could sideline her for a few days, she continued to work, like always.

"You've been working too hard Elena. You need a break, like a very long one." Ryad suggested.

"I should, but I have important things to attend to Ryad."

Elena tried to place her glove back on but couldn't as the pain shot through her hand. She grasped her injured hand with her uninjured one. She was being very stubborn, refusing to seek medical attention.

At least from Ryad's point of view.

From his understandings and from the countless stories Elena shared with him, she was very much like her father. Obstinate yet loyal to the craft. Neither sought perfection for their work but sought for the best version. That's why Ryad liked her a lot. She never thought of herself to be perfect or thought that she was the best at what she does. Again, she could be really stubborn at times and she didn't like it when others tried to stop her from what she was doing.

"Elena, I insist."

"Ryad, I insist that you should leave if you're just here to talk to me. I need to finish my work and you're distracting me. Vete, por favor."

"Ele..." he was cut off.

"Lo digo en serio Ryad, vete."

Ryad only yawned in response as he walked out of the room. Elena looked at her fellow Spaniard as she cupped her hand. She thought that she was being too harsh on him and that he was only looking out for her. He didn't do anything wrong, he just wanted to help her. She sighed as she looked at Ryad disappear around the corner, a loud yawn coming from his direction. She looked down and saw a note that apparently belonged to Ryad.

She bent down to retrieve the note and tried to read it but Zofia, Zaneta, Roman, and Thor walked in. She stuffed it in her pocket to read later.

"You must be the woman in charge of the Research & Development department of Rainbow?" Roman extended his hand to shake.

Elena was thankful that it was her weak hand that got hurt. She shook his hand.

"Of course, I'm Elena María Álvarez. You can call me Elena, Maria, or Mira if you want to call me by my callsign. I do have one request for you and its for you to not call me doctor. It makes me feel old." Elena joked.

Roman chuckled.

"España?" Roman asked in Spanish.

"Sí, soy de Madrid. Y tú?"

"Soy de Newport Beach. Soy medio Mexicano. Mi madre es de Monterrey, México y mi padre es de Manila, Philippines."

"Of course, I've done my research about you young man. I'm impressed by your background and I'm very eager to work with you. What brings you here today?"

"I heard that you and Emma are looking for three operators to test out the new virtual training machine. Zofia and I are wondering if we could be the first two to test it out if it's okay with you?"

Zofia crossed her arms as she stared at Roman for an answer. When he couldn't come up with an answer, she spoke.

"Sure, I was going to train with Roman and embarrass him yet again but I am in a good mood today and I do not want to humiliate him. It would be a great experience training with the young Marine. He still has a lot to learn." Zofia winked at Roman.

Roman scoffed, Zaneta giggled, and Thor barked in agreement.

Elena smirked. She didn't have to look far. She walked over to the machines and removed the cloth that was covering them. It looked like one of those massage chairs people would sit down at the mall for several minutes or even hours. There were ten machines lined up and ready to use. Each one of them was hardwired to monitor the vital signs of whoever was going to use them. Roman walked over to one of the machines and fiddled with the headset.

"What's the catch if I agree to this?" Roman asked.

"I can hook you up with one of the females here." Zofia joked.

"Yeah, no thanks. I've learned my lesson already. Anyways Elena, how does this work?"

Elena turned to face Roman, a look of curiosity plastered. Zofia was good to go but Roman was still trying to figure out the functionalities of the headset.

"You've never used a VR headset before?"

"During my time in the Marine Corps, no."

Elena hummed as she walked over to her new colleague.

"Have you played videogames before, Roman?"

"No. I've sort of lived under a strict household. I was never exposed to videogames except for the times I went over to one of my friend's house or whenever Joker Team would play. But I never owned my own PS4 or Xbox One nor have I owned a gaming PC. My parents forbade me to play, I was stuck with martial arts, school, and basketball. You could say that I was limited to what I could do in my free time. My mother was definitely more strict than my father."

"I see. Well, I can say that Virtual Reality training is a mix of real-life training and videogames, I'm sure you'd like it as you strike me as someone that likes to try new things. You wear the VR headset just like you wear your goggles. Before you do that though, you should sit. Here, let me help you."

"What else do I need to know?" Roman questioned.

"Emma, along with Mark and a couple of programmers employed by us encoded everyone's loadout into the system. I must say that re-creating Thor was the most difficult thing the programming team has done so far. All of our gadgets are not a living organism so trying to make a digital version of him was something else, especially when trying to keep him balanced as you will be training with fellow operators in several 5v5 scenarios in the future. Another thing, some of our friends look completely different in the VR training compared to real life, especially Taina. The VR that you're about to experience is not the usual thing. Once you load in, you will know."

Roman pretended that he didn't hear the last part.

"What's the scenario?" Roman asked.

"You'll see." Elena responded as someone else walked into the room.

Elena attached three cords onto Roman as he laid back into the machine. Elena placed earbuds and a soundproof headset on his ears, to obviously block out any outside noise. He closed his eyes for a moment, the audio that signaled the start of training. The Spaniard brought Zaneta and Thor to a room where they could watch the training on a large television. She walked out a moment later.

"Wow, I get to see mommy train!" Zaneta shrieked.

Thor barked in agreement, knowing that he'd get to see his best friend train as well.

VR simulation.

Roman stepped out of the helicopter, followed by Thor, Zofia, and another operator.

"What's our objective again?" Roman scratched his head.

"We are to extract Doctor Mackintosh and bring her to the extraction point. Ash thought this was too dangerous but Doc insisted that Mackintosh could help with the situation if she could come up with a cure or not. Female, mid-60's, short gray hair, and wears a lab coat." Lion answered.

Roman knew the man that knelt right beside him. Olivier "Lion" Flament, one of Rainbow's CBRN specialist. He knew about the Frenchman's reputation within and was fully certain that he's not on good terms with his fellow GIGN colleagues. He apparently got several medical workers killed two years ago in Nigeria, which increased the tension between him and Gustave "Doc" Kateb. He hasn't met the latter yet and he was interested to hear his side of the story.

Zofia didn't say anything. She stood quiet, covering their flanks.

"I guess I'll take point." Roman said.

Roman raised his rifle, walking past Zofia and Lion to take point. The place looked like something out of a horror movie. There were cars flipped over, some were even caught in flames. Carcasses of unknown origin littered the streets. The gusts of wind were quiet yet eerie at the same time. Dismembered body parts scattered. Some torsos were even ripped off entirely. Even the police officers didn't fare well as their heads were severed. Spikes were rooted from the ground, giving the place the appearance of an alien planet. Maybe it was an alien, or aliens?

"What kind of scenario is this?" Roman asked.

"I'm not sure either, beats me." Zofia responded.

Roman surveyed the area again. He silently admitted that he was a little scared. He wasn't a fan of horror movies one bit and for him to be in "one" didn't help him that much. He managed to retain his calm demeanor despite the loud screeches that came within the building.

"Funny, a hospital out of all places." Lion commented.

There were several figures that appeared to be combative. One of them slowly approached Roman. It had a torn-up white tank top and denim pants. It swung its arms aimlessly as if it appeared to be drunk. The sounds coming from its mouth were incoherent. Despite showing signs of aggression and Thor barking at it, Roman wanted to help.

"Sir, please identify yourself." Roman said, keeping his rifle aimed at the ground.

The creature turned towards him and screeched, slowly walking towards him. Roman was adamant about not shooting unarmed people, or whatever was in front of him.

"Sir, I'm ordering you to identify yourself!" Roman yelled.

The creature was provoked, it caught Roman off-guard, lunging at him, knocking him to the ground in an instant. The Marine tried to remove the assailant off of him but it was impossible for him to move his rifle around. Neither Zofia or Lion could help as they were occupied with killing several more creatures charging at them.

"Fucking monster!" Roman tried crawling.

Fortunately, Thor bit the monster's neck and ripped it off from the rest of the body. Thor then sniffed the body, thinking that it was going to be his next meal. Two more "monsters" tried to approach Thor but Roman shot both four times each. The good boy barked once at Roman, telling him that it was rude for him to interrupt his attempt to eat.

"Dude, that's a zombie or some mutated shit. What are these things called anyway?" Roman shot another "monster".

"They're called grunts my friend. They're the lowest and the simplest forms of the infected. Be warned, we're going to encounter different variations of the infected and they're much more aggressive than the grunts." Lion said as he activated his EE-ONE-D.

Roman looked to the sky as Lion's drone began to scan a portion of the hospital. After three seconds, several outlines appeared in front of him. All of them were moving slowly in random directions. Some were walking and some were crawling. There was one hulking figure far from where the were, which made Roman swear under his breath. There were a lot of infected that he had to clear out and hoped that he had enough ammunition to get through them, even the mighty Thor would get tired at some point.

He unsheathed his knife and attached it under his rifle. His Marine instincts were kicking in.

"Both of you, stay close to me at arms length. We don't know what we're going up against and I really want to succeed, so let's keep clear comms shall we? We're obviously running on limited ammunition so burst fire or singe shots only. Aim for the head so we can drop them with lead."

Lion and Zofia nodded as they followed Roman and Thor into the hospital. They dispatched a few grunts as they moved towards the office. A button was needed to press. There, they ran into a couple of breachers. They were the first special infected that the operators encountered. Unlike the more common grunts, they were on all fours and had large yellow orbs on their backs. And they also explode upon death, evident by Zofia incinerating three of them with her KS79 Lifeline.

"I see that you're still using that old grenade launcher of yours." Roman joked.

Zofia snickered "Yeah, and it still sees a lot more action than you do."

"Wow, a real low-blow." Lion added.

Roman was a little hurt but decided to not reply back. He was focused on what lied ahead of him.

They got to the room where the button was. Roman entered first but was suddenly knocked off his feet as several spikes in a circular shape rooted under him. He shouted in pain as he felt the spikes shoot through his legs and back. He tried to withstand but the special infected appeared right in front of him.

"odpierdol się!" Zofia pushed the special infected away before it disappeared.

Zofia helped Roman up, Lion providing covering fire with his .308 rifle.

"What was that?" Roman asked.

The new special infected appeared for a brief moment before disappearing, nearly avoiding being mauled to death by Thor. Similar to the breachers, "rooters" as they were called, had several long spikes erecting from the back of its body. The rooters were all female in appearance, being clothed by a shredded yellow top and denim jeans. Instead of having arms though, the rooters had two long spikes that were longer than its body. The rooters were terrifying no doubt.

Roman slung his rifle to his back, opting to use his KaBar instead.

The rooter appeared in front of Roman. It tried slashing at his head and it nearly succeeded in doing so. Though, the Rooter didn't live long enough to attempt another attack as Roman closed the distance and performed a sode tusrikomi goshi (takedown). The Rooter tried to escape but Roman stabbed its head repeatedly, coating the knife in alien blood.

They cleared the rest of the infected before going into the room that separated them from the serology lab. The door closed behind them, allowing the operators and Thor to catch a quick break.

"What kind of training is this?" Roman questioned, collection ammunition from the resupply box.

"The kind of training that all new Rainbow operators go through to test their mental fortitude. We haven't got to the hard part yet. I trust that you're going to pass my friend. You're a Marine, the toughest of the toughest my friend." Lion threw a thumbs up.

"You're doing a good job so far Rybko. There are two special infected yet to be seen. Be on the lookout." Zofia said as the door began to open in front of them.

The hallway was clear of infected, at least for now. Some doorways were blocked off, which made Roman think that there were at least some survivors outside of the doctor he and his fellow operators were going to save.

They reached the serology lab, dispatching the infected prior to reaching the doctor.

"Hey Doctor Mackintosh, we're here to extract you to safety." Roman knelt down to help the doctor.

"Thank goodness! I was beginning to worry that I was not going to live for any longer. Just call me Ellen, that's my first name." Mackintosh said, sitting herself up but the pain from her injured arm shot up.

Thor and Roman helped the injured Ellen sit upright, the latter checking out her arm for any possible injures. Lion was busy fending off the remaining infected.

"I don't think we need to ask what happen since we've cleared the front section of the hospital but I want to hear your story. How did the outbreak happen?" Roman helped Ellen up.

"There was an old man that walked through the main entrance with visible signs of illness that matched with the other patients I was treating. I initially thought it was a homeless guy that needed help but then I saw him mutate into one of those things you were shooting at. They started to kill everything that walked, the infected didn't discriminate. I am not even sure if any of my colleagues made it out alive or not, I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't."

Something triggered within Roman, making him grasp his forehead as if he was suffering from a headache. He stumbled back a little, Ellen catching him before he could slip any further. The Marine waved it off to make it seem that he was okay.

"Is there anything that you need to take with you doctor?" Zofia asked.

"Yes, I need to retrieve all of my research of this unknown virus. Unfortunately, it's on the other side of the hospital."

"We can get it for you doctor." Roma quickly responded while he radioed in, not allowing input from his fellow operators.

Lion smirked at Roman while Zofia glared at him. They checked their ammunition to fight their way through the hospital.

In real life

Harry's office

16:00 hours.

Harry sat in his office going over several top-secret documents that were released to him and Director Six by the United States Department of Defense, the Ministry of Defense of Brazil, and the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. He was intrigued by all of the information that was presented to him. Some of the details were questionable, and some were even blacked out. Then again, he needed to read them to see how he would handle the day-to-day business of the Rainbow operators to prevent any internal conflict.

He kicked his feet onto his desk, leaning back a bit. A cup of coffee in hand and a sheet in the other. He was reading the report Roman's after-action report that he wrote hours after the Battle of Los Angeles.

"Hmm, he could've killed him but he didn't. I wonder why." Harry commented.

Harry looked up as the door opened. Jack, Taina, and Timur walked in. The FBI operator looked delighted to take part in the interview despite his female colleague not wanting any part in it. She was obviously displeased and it appeared that a mere insult could ignite her anger. Tim, however, remained calm as he adjusted the beanie on his head.

"Welcome, welcome! How's everyone doing?" Harry smiled, standing up.

"Doing well Harry. I was playing poker with Jordan and Miles for a bit until I was called up for the meeting. I was about to scam Miles out of his money, damn."

Timur chuckled "Well, evident by my appearance my friend, I just stepped out the shower."

Harry turned to Taina to hear her answer but she crossed her arms and sighed, electing to not answer. Harry chuckled, amused by her sudden change in behavior.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it, Miss Pereira?"

Taina sighed again, know that the man in front of her won't stop asking until she gave a clear answer.

"Why does it matter Harry? I thought we came to an agreement where you agreed to not ask me questions pertaining to what I do in my private time seu corno."

Harry kept his smile. He knew that Taina insulted him just by going off the last two words she said in her native tongue. It didn't bother him though as he was accustomed to her rebellious behavior to authority.

"Are you absolutely sure there's nothing that you're willing to tell us Taina?" Harry asked again.

Taina rolled her eyes "Fine. I was busy learning a new language. I will admit that I'm having some difficulty doing so."

"And what language were you learning?"

"Tagalog." Taina replied, sounding irritated.

"Kung ganoon, mabuti na lang kalahating Pilipino si Roman at marunong siya mag-Tagalog. Siguro dapat humingi ka ng tulong sa kanya?" Harry asked in near-perfect Tagalog.

"Kailan man hinding-hindi ako hihingi ng tulong sa tarantadong yun." Taina responded.

Harry nodded his head. He only asked those questions to assure his opinions from one of the classified files that he read. He was a little amazed by how fast their relationship turned. He wasn't going to comment or ask any questions regarding it, yet.

"Well, do either of you two know why you are here today?"

Taina and Timur looked at each other.

"No, I do not know." Timur said.

"Well, the reason why the two of you are here is that out of every operator here in Rainbow, you and Timur have, how do I put this into words, a very enthralling history with Roman."

Taina stiffened in her seat while Timur remained calm, though if anyone had a sharp eye, they would be able to tell that he was shocked. The Brazilian tried to get up but a firm hand from her Russian companion told her otherwise. She sat down hesitantly.

"Are you serious right now Harry? How many times do I have to tell you that I have no interest in talking about my history with that insufferable man! Not now, not ever! I'd rather freely talk about my private life than to talk about him for five seconds."

Timur looked at Taina with a reassuring look, letting her know that he was going to do all the talking instead. After all, he had a darker history with the Marine Raider.

"I guess Мадам Taina is going to talk. I will if you permit me to do so." Timur said.

Harry nodded, turning back to his desk to retrieve a folder labeled "красные ангелы".

"Before I start Timur, do you have any resentment or hatred for Roman." Harry asked.

"Despite what happened six years ago and what almost happened to me, no I do not. Frankly, I actually thank him for not killing me even when he had every right to do so."

Jack, who was quiet and calm the entire time, looked at Timur in surprise, along with Taina. Harry also looked intrigued.

"According to what I've read, Roman and two other Marines wiped out your entire squad save for you, and yet you're here telling me that you don't harbor any ill-feelings towards him. How can I be certain that there won't be an altercation between you two."

"Well, I must admit that I had a massive resentment towards America, the Marine Corps, and especially Roman. My thoughts changed as I recovered from my injuries. My former colleagues back in Russia became the monsters I saw that I thought the Americans were. They tried to make me kill innocent civilians multiple times, I couldn't do it. Realistically, I was afraid to fight in the battle, I wanted to run away. My former colleagues followed no rules and committed various human rights violations. None of the things that they did were the reasons why I joined the military. I wanted to help Mother Russia turn into a better country, not worsen it. I repent for everything. I have learned a lot from my past and I would like to believe that I am a different person."

Jack notices Timur rubbing the scar on his face. No verbal comment from him, opting to write it down on his notepad instead.

"What did you do or what are you currently doing to better yourself?"

"I'm taking painting more seriously now. It helps me stay calm and focused. I've also been taking Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu lessons from Taina and Vicente. I'm a predominant striker so I like to add some ground game to my arsenal. It's been going on for a few months now and Shuhrat has been nagging about wanting to spar with me." Timur chuckled, Harry, joining him.

"Well, I have seen you spar a couple of times and I am quite impressed by your progress. Keep it up and you might have Miss Pereira here drag you to BJJ tournaments." Harry joked.

"Maybe." Taina thought.

Harry took off his glasses, placing them the center of his desk. He pulled a chair and sat close to Timur and Taina.

"Let me ask you something serious Mister Glazkov if that's okay with you?" Harry said.

"Absolutely, ask me anything." Timur responded.

"Is it true that the scar on your right eye is from a weapon kick?"

Timur inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. There was some truth, however. The scar was from the bump-stock of a rifle but it wasn't from the kick. He wasn't ready to reveal the whole truth, not yet at least.

"Yes, the scar was from the rifle I always shoot with." Timur half lied.

Harry wasn't buying Timur's words, but the scar was to be talked about another time. He turned his attention towards Taina, who was fiddling with the necklace hidden under her jacket.

"That's an interesting necklace you have there Taina. If I may ask, where did you get it?" Harry asked Taina.

Taina looked down at her necklace, a locket to be specific. She opened it slightly with her thumb before closing it.

"It was gifted to me by someone who I hold dear to." Taina responded, looking at Harry with a small smile.

"My assumption is right then. Anyways, I want to know something. I know you and Roman have a strong dislike towards each other. Too large in fact, to the point if physical harm happened to either you or him, I wouldn't be surprised."

Taina knew that Harry was going to keep pressuring her until she caved in. She didn't like it at first when it happened to her but she got used to Harry asking her personal questions over the course of her tenure in Rainbow. She even answered some of them despite his constant nagging. He was like a therapist to her and she appreciated it.

But there are just questions that should remain unanswered.

"Roman and I used to be close friends. We'd trade pictures of our pets, exchange funny memes, anything and everything you can expect from two people who are close to each other. Some of my BOPE colleagues thought I was in a relationship with the American. He was a kind and a very caring person, that's what I thought back then. Now, he's an incompetent fool who shouldn't be leading a team. Not now, not ever!"

Taina got up from her seat and stormed out of Harry's office. Timur shrugged his shoulders as Harry excused the Russian operator.

"That went better than expect." Jack shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah. It truly did. Just be ready to have more meetings between us two and Taina. I might bring in Mr. De La Rosa for a few of those sessions to see how they interact with one another while there are other people present. I'm sure that we'll hear a few kind words."

"We will." Jack responded.

Meanwhile

Timur looked around to find Taina. She usually doesn't run off without him as they were assigned as partners, meaning that they did almost everything together. He headed towards the recreation room, mumbling under his breath. He knew that he should've told her the truth a lot sooner but he worried that it would ruin what they had together. Yeah, he had his issues with the Marine and it could've been a lot worse, however, Timur decided to forgive Roman and forget about his vengeful past. He shook his head as he continued to walk to his desired location.

Timur walked into the recreation room. Taina wasn't there but he found a few of his colleagues there. Ela, the four GSG9 operators, Miles, Eliza, Jordan, Craig, Meghan, and the Koreans.

"Looking for Taina?" Vicente asked, walking towards Timur.

"Yeah, she just ran out of Harry's room and apparently sprinted far enough for me to not find her." Timur responded.

"You haven't told her yet, did you?"

"No, not yet. And yes, I should've told her a long time ago."

Vicente chuckled, patting Timur's shoulder as he walked into the rec room, leaving the Russian man by himself in the hallway. He sighed as he went to Taina's room, hoping to find her there.

"This is getting worse than I thought." Timur muttered.

He arrived at Taina's room and found that the doorknob was unlocked. He knocked to see if she would open the door instead of him barging right in. She didn't after several seconds, Timur attempted another knock. No response from the other side again.

Timur opened the door slowly. Taina was sitting by her desk, arms and legs crossed, staring at Timur with confusion on her face. They stared at each other for a few seconds. Both waited for the other to say something. Taina wanted him to speak first to explain himself for withholding very sensitive information that could potentially hinder the synergy of Rainbow.

"Care to explain yourself?" Taina stood up, gently kicking her chair back.

"I know Taina. I really wanted to tell you, believe me. I didn't want you to get angry. I... I just didn't realize how much you hated him."

"You're damn right I do hate him. That pedaço de merda almost burned down a fucking favela. Do you know what makes what happened even worse? USSOCOM somehow managed to sweep everything under the rug. The Brazilian government tried everything in their damn power to bring it to light, no damn luck! Damn Americans! I bet almost everyone in his country hails him as a hero but I can assure you if any of them heard of what truly happened about the Rio incident, they would call for his court-martial!"

Taina was about to raise her fist and punch another hole in the wall but Timur held her wrist just in time. She held her frustration in as she felt his arms pull her closer to him.

"Yes, I fully understand your frustrations with Roman, I truly do. I too had my own resentment but I can't blame him for what he did."

"What are you talking about Tim?" Taina pulled Timur down to the bed, sitting next to each other.

"Do you see the scar on the right side of my face?"

"Yes, yes I do."

Taina brought her hand up, slowly tracing the scar. She brushed her thumb over it once. Her four fingers drummed lightly on the side of his head. It was obvious to her that the scar was not from his own rifle. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together.

"He did this to you, did he?" Taina whispered.

"Yeah." was all Timur said.

Taina gritted her teeth. She was about to storm out of her room and give Roman a piece of her mind.

"I don't like my mind right now. Stacking up problems that are so unnecessary."

Timur grabbed her wrist before she could reach the door.

"Taina, I know that you're infuriated with him but that doesn't give you the right to hurt him." Timur calmly said.

Taina shook her head and gritted her teeth. She couldn't believe that Timur would hide something from her. As much as she wanted to punch the lights out of the Marine, she calmed down a bit and unclenched her fists.

"Promise me that you won't cause Roman any bodily harm. My issues with him are in the past, I forgive him and I hope that you do the same."

"Okay, I won't lay a finger on him but I will absolutely not forgive him under any circumstances whatsoever."

Timur lightly smiled, kissing Taina's cheek as he walked out of her room. As soon as the door closed, Taina locked the door and slumped, kicking off her boots and throwing them across the room in frustration. Her unbraided hair gave her a messy look, not that she cared about her appearance in the first place. She sighed, bringing her knees to rest her chin on, arms crossed. Taina didn't understand why God was being so cruel to her.

She thought she could get over the grief, she truly did. She thought she could overcome and forget about her troubled past. She thought that she could try again, to find happiness in her life. She thought she finally "found" the "one" but her world began to crumble once more, her strength standing on its last pillars. She pulled out her locket from under her shirt.

Taina opened the locket. On one side, the names "Paulo & Santiago" were engraved. On the other side, a picture of Paulo and herself a few weeks pregnant.

If she could go back in time to change things, she would but she couldn't.

Taina sighed, closing her eyes to soak in the silence.

Translations:

1. Olá Capitão, é bom te ver. Faz alguns anos desde a última vez que te vi. (Hello Captain, it's good to see you. It's been a few years since I last saw you).

2. Idoso (Old man).

3. Gdzie jest twoja matka? (Where is your mother?)

4. Co ci mówiłem o bieganiu po zbrojowni? (What did I tell you about running around the armory?)

5. Rybko (Fish. Nickname Zofia gave to Roman).

6. Diabel (Devil).

7. Pinche mierda! (Fucking shit).

8. ¿Qué te pasa, mi armor? (What's the matter, my love?).

9. Estoy bien (I'm okay).

10. Ryad, estoy bien. He sufrido peor (Ryad, I'm fine. I've suffered worse).

11. Vete, por favor (leave, please).

12. Lo digo en serio Ryad, vete. (I mean it Ryad, leave).

13. España? (Spain?).

14. Sí, soy de Madrid, y tú? (Yes, I'm from Madrid. What about you?).

15. Soy de Newport Beach. Soy medio Mexicano. Mi madre es de Monterrey, México y me padre es de Manila, Philippines. (I'm from Newport Beach. I'm half-Mexican. My mother is from Monterrey, Mexico and my father is from Manila, Philippines).

16. odpierdol się! (Fuck off!).

17. Kung ganoon, mabuti na lang kalahating Pilipino si Roman at marunong siyang mag-Tagalog. Siguro dapat humingi ka ng tulong sa Kanya? (Well then, it's a good thing that Roman is half-Filipino and is fluent in Tagalog. Maybe you should ask him for help).

18. Kailan man hinding-hindi ako hihingi ng tulong sa tarantadong yun (Never in my life would I ever ask that a*** for help).

19. Мадам (Madame).

20. красные ангелы (Red Angels).

21. pedaço de merda (piece of shit).

Author's notes (06/6/2020): I know it has been a couple of months since I've last uploaded and I want to apologize for that. College, work, and other personal things took priority over this so there was much delay. However, with the coronavirus, schools being online now, the protests and the riots, and the other crazy stuff that's happening right now, I have more time to type out new chapters but I can't promise monthly updates. Also, I know each chapter on average is over 10k but I will be aiming for quality chapters instead of aiming for the length of the chapter. I'd very much rather have a very nice chapter that's around 7-9k words rather than something shit that's over 10k.

If you have any suggestions, please leave me a review or DM me. If you're also interested in joining the R6 fanfic discord server, DM me!.