" Black Tie Affair "

SSgt Rick Lawson

26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU)

0532 hours, March 13th ,2011

Fallujah, Iraq - Fire Support Base Lewis

He had spent a week in the shit, gone for two days without sleep, and lost not only his best friend, but his best spotter. Rick Lawson stood outside his tent holding a satellite phone to his ear. He had just arrived back in base two minutes earlier and he could barely keep his eyes open.

Now he was talking to his wife and her lawyer who was calling to notify him that she was divorcing him. "Let me talk to my wife" He clenched his fist as the lawyer was telling him the terms.

"Mister Lawson she would prefer me to discuss the details", "Let me talk to my fucking wife!" Rick threw the canteen he was drinking out of down to the ground.

"Rick?" A cautious voice answered.

"Baby…what is this all about" Lawson calmed down at her voice.

"I just heard you signed up for another tour with your unit, you said you would rotate to a position back home"

"I cant Jen…you don't understand" Rick gestured at no one in particular.

"Understand what Rick, the fact that you want to be a sniper and live in danger all day. Me sitting home with your son not, knowing whether your alive or dead!" Her voice yelled over the phone.

"Its not that I want to do it Jen"

"Then why do you do it?"

"Because" Rick kicked a plume of sand up with his boot "I'm good at it, that's why"

"I cant do this Rick, your not providing to your family" A neutral tone crept into her voice"

With those words he let loose all the rage that had been building up inside of him "Are you kidding me, I have been married to you for eleven years. And in all that time I have paid the bills and worked my ass off for you and Nick, while you sat home I was getting my ass shot off providing for you. ELEVEN YEARS!, I always took leave when I could to come home, Jesus Christ my fucking partner just died…I almost died and you put this shit on me!".

"Fuck you Rick!" She yelled through the phone

"Let me talk to Nick"

"Goodbye Rick" She said with finality.

"Let me talk to my son!" He screamed

"Mr. Lawson this is her attorney we need to talk about"

"Go to hell" Rick closed the phone and put the antenna down. A few soldiers were standing around staring. "What the hell are you looking at!" he yelled at them, and the started walking.

"God Dammit!" Rick kicked over his supply crate.

Sand swirled around the base as if reminding the infidels that the desert could be quelled but not beaten.

The base was mostly deserted as the night shift was returning from the patrols and the day shift was mostly asleep, some just waking up.

Rick walked to the portable PX* a Hispanic clerk was sipping a coke when Rick walked up.

"Hey boss what can I do for you" The clerk leaned against the counter.

"Give me a six pack" Rick placed his ID on the counter.

"Little early eh boss…you on duty" The clerk pulled out six beers

"Does it look like I'm on duty?" Lawson paid the man and started his walk back to his tent.

Sitting on a foldable chair with an ammo box as his table he cracked open the first beer. Soon enough he had worked his way through the six pack and was holding a bottle of Jack Daniels that he and Lou Castillo had promised to drink the day they rotated back home. "Ill drink it for you Lou" Rick popped the top and fished out a shot glass from his pack.

"Excuse me mate I'm looking for Rick Lawson" A man stood before him dressed in ACU* pants and a tan heat gear long sleeve shirt topped with a tactical vest.

"Look no further" Rick filled his shot glass and downed it.

"How's that" The man looked at him angrily

"You found him partner, look no further, the search is over" Rick laughed and poured himself another shot.

"What's with the whiskey" The man asked

"I'm gonna to drink it friend" Rick abandoned his shot glass and took a long swig out of the bottle.

"Man drinks like that he's gonna die" The operator watched as he drained half a quarter of the bottle.

"When?" Rick asked smiling.

The operator pulled up a chair and sat down next to him "Got another glass?"

"Of course why?" Rick pulled out a shot glass and picked his up and cleaned it off.

"A bloke should never drink alone" The operator waited till Rick poured him a shot and he raised his glass "a toast?"

Rick thought for a second "To scorned women, lost friends, and good alcohol, may it forever pollute our blood"

"Ill drink to that" the man laughed and they downed their shots. "So do you know who I am?"

Rick once again poured another shot for him and the operator "Absolutely, never forget a face…mid thirties blue eyes multiple facial scars, black Mohawk, probably five foot ten, Heckler and Koch* sidearm custom grips and slide. We met a few weeks ago when you and your boys took a briefcase me and my spotter busted our ass for. Now with words I'm not so good…I believe you admired my shot and told me that I might here from you in a bit"

The man looked mildly impressed but covered it quickly "Very good, yes most of it anyway. Would you believe that I am part of a multinational special forces anti terrorist group"

"Possibly the tattoo on you right arm is labeled SF" Rick smiled and poured another shot beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol.

"You like being a smartass, or can you just not turn the sniper off?" The man downed his shot and smiled

"Little bit of both actually" Rick gestured for another

"No I'm good" The man gave Rick his glass. "Anyway…I've seen you shooting talked to the brass, they gave it a go"

"Well hell how's the hours" Rick asked

"Shit" The man answered

"Any desk work"

"No"

"High life expectancy" Rick pressed on

"No" the man answered once again

"I like it sign me up" Rick smiled raising his bottle

"Alright" the man laughed "You can get ten days leave before we call you in"

"No, Ill go now" Rick frowned

"Even better, grab your gear and follow me"

It took him five minutes then he was packed up and ready to go he grabbed his rifle and Castillo's and took it with him.

"You gotta turn those in?" The man asked

"Fuck em" Rick followed the man to the airstrip

"So should I wear something flashy?" Lawson asked as he walked beside the operator

"Strictly Black Tie Affair" The man smiled

Rick laughed and followed him aboard a C-130 cargo ship.

"Who is this?" The man with the skull mask stood by the hatch.

"I'm the asshole whose briefcase you took" Rick walked by him

"Right…where's the other asshole" The man closed the hatch

"He's dead" Rick dropped his gear next to a seat.

"Really…sorry mate" The skull guy walked next to the other operator

"Rick Lawson , Ghost, Ghost , Rick Lawson" He pointed to each of them "And I am Captain McTavish"

"No nickname?" Rick asked

"Don't know me well enough yet" McTavish smiled and walked up to the cockpit.

Rick sat down as the plane started down the runway. Its cargo ten something odd men and ammunition crates strapped down the middle.

Even though he desperately wanted to sleep he couldn't get His wife and kid, and Lou Castillo out of his mind. Lou should have been here with him, instead he was taking his last ride home.

"Mind if I sit down?" The operator called "Ghost" walked over to him.

"Sure…not hanging out with your boys?" Rick asked as the man sat down.

"Not much of a people person, sure you can relate" Ghost took off his sunglasses to reveal pale blue eyes.

"Yeah…I can relate to that" Rick agreed

"Well welcome to Task force one four one Lawson" Ghost held out a hand

"Happy to be here" Rick shook his hand.

Ghost didn't talk much, but then again neither did Rick, they talked a bit then both retreated into their mental shell to meddle over their thoughts.

"My word is thunder" Rick thought examining his rifle "Better enjoy it" because both the word speaker and the wicked listener weren't doing gods will…and they would all receive the big mans word in the end…

thanks for the review/help, stoneface glad someone likes it...then again this isint a zombie story ha ha ha.

Thanks for reading! - T.D.F