Hope you enjoyed this little side-tracked ficlet! It enjoyed you!

"Two targets, north bound, half a click captain."

"Take them out soldier, then get down here."

Clutching tighter, pulling the rifle butt comfortably and knowingly into the nook of lean shoulders, Piers lined the shot, one round between his lips, the other in the slide, locking it and leading the runner. Three more steps, one, two, squeezing the trigger and plucking the last round from betwixt his lips, it took approximately less than a full second to prepare the shot, lined up the entire time, lead, the second round echoing. Splatter of flesh and brain smattering the ground, the corpse joining its other friends. Reloading his weapon and slinging it in place, Piers pulled himself out of prone position, sliding his legs up under him and using hands to shove him upright, climbing to his full posture, hand cupping his hip. "Targets eliminated captain, on my way." Two fingers came away from the side of smooth features and the com device. "ETA twelve minutes." Glove covered fingers gripped the steel beam to his right, dropping down the beam fireman style until he could grab the cross bar, swinging down two more levels until the remains of the unfinished building turned into the final four floors of the abandoned construction project. From here it was three flights of stairs, two steps at a time and taking two single shots by his own machine pistol, fixed shots that dropped the T creatures with with well trained bullets to the left eyes, sending them both sliding down to the bottom landing of the steps, jumping them. He was fast, always was. Zombies had nothing on lickers, and he'd taken those before. This was child's play. The idea, was to take care of the remaining hostiles and get back to Alpha unit (their task harder than his own), as they made their way toward the rendezvous point. Split parties always worried their captain, but this wasn't a party, it was a solo, and he could do this job with his hands behind his back.

Dropping to street level Piers took note of each body. Hole in the head, that's all that mattered and if there wasn't one? BANG! Left eye. Always the left eye. Confirming the shot Piers continued on, listening to the conversation in his ear between Chris and the rest of Alpha team. 'We've got thirteen more of these things loose in basement level three. Rose get to work on the explosives, try and find a way to funnel them so we can taken them one at a time.' 'Yes captain.' 'Nivans, ETA?' "Eight Minutes captain, clearing up the remaining infected up top." 'Roger. Clean shots men, remember, aim for the head.' Checking over each body Piers nodded, doing one more run down the alley that led perfectly toward destination 'Pandora's Box.' Taking this mission was practical suicide for any other team, but Alpha worked well with containment. Throwing back the grating covering the mine shaft elevator, Piers finally had the briefest of moments to wait, take in the sounds of what was happening below.

When Headquarters was warned about this mission they were told it was simple. Some terrorist looking to build up for himself needed the land, people wouldn't move. So infect them. What the son of a bitch didn't realize was what he was suppose to do once this place turned certifiable and every inhabitant was trying to eat him. Why was it always a terrorist? Piers shook his head, hearing the screeching roars from below and over his com at the same time, tossing his MP-AF over his shoulder and recovering his lover. A hand ducked inside his mag holders, pulling free two bullets, one between the lips, the other slipped into place in the shaft and locked into place. Piers job had been cover work. Three teams. Team one, take care of the above ground hostiles, zombies and the such, team two (Piers only), took the up top, covering team one and taking out any targets 'attempting to escape' or find their way toward the source of the infection. Team three (led by Chris), take out the B.O.W.s down in the mine. All three were to meet at the elevator, but when Chris' team needed back up it turned into everyone rendezvous down below. Who infects a mining town in southern Utah? Whatever the case was it had been a good plan. Send a crate below filled with two lickers, they bite and infect the miners, miners go home, die, infect their families, soon everyone is infected and the town is over run with undead. Those men didn't deserve to die like this, but at least the most he could do for them was take out the problem.

Clanking, the metal box hit the base, rattling in its trapped position while freeing Piers with one swift jerk of the cage door, rifle snapped up at the ready. "ETA four minutes captain. Have we accounted for the rest of the miners?" Headquarters had supplied them with the numbers. How man families, how may in each, how many were miners, how many people were registered on the town registry. Car license plates and their owners in case they were out-of-towners that weren't originally on the census. It was a clean mission, the plan was S.O.U. takes care of the B.O.W.s, B.S.A.A. sterilizes the town, the state rebuilds the town. A one and done job. So long as the lickers didn't get free or take out their team first. Combat position run, and Piers was off down the tunnel, swinging mine lamps and flickering broken cords sparking. The place was a hazard. It was a coal mine. Meaning any amount of methane leak and they would be fucked. It would take care of the mission though. Coming to a fork in the 'road' Piers never stopped stride, calling it in from a distance."Left or Right captain?"

'Left.'

"HELP!"

Combat boots halted, the only thing that could have stopped the him, did. "Captain... were all the miners accounted for?"

'No. Why?'

"I've got signs of life. Right tunnel off the main entrance." Piers raised his rifle looking down the tunnel, lights flickering and listening for further sounds. "Captain, change in route, ETA un-

'Hold Nivans.'

"Captain, I can hear-

'Nivans.' The line was static for a moment, just the weight of Chris' words hanging on the edge of his tongue, Piers jaw clenching as he listened to both the comset and the noises coming from the opposing tunnel, taking steady slow steps forward. 'Nivans switch to com channel 3 now.' Piers took another step, observant eagle sharp oculars scanning the structural integrity as another faint 'Heeeeeelp' came from below. Fingers reached to his side, flicking the com channels to his radio, hand immediately back to his gun, using the scope to view down the winding thing but only getting so far before the lights died out, flicking on the thermal on his scope, nothing there so far. 'Piers come in.'

"I'm here captain. Tunnel looks clear."

'I said hold soldier, you wait for backup end of story. Do NOT disobey direct orders soldier. You remember what happens when you disobey?" Piers stopped his steps, blinking a few times before lowering his rifle. 'Do as I command boy.' It was no wonder they switched to a different channel, was Chris really going to talk to him like that... in the field? Piers' jaw clenched again threatening to do dental damage at this rate, flicking up his weapon again to scan one more time. 'I said to hold Piers, are you really going to need me to say it again? Remember Nivans..., good boys get rewarded. Do I need to remind you what happens when bad boys don't do as daddy says? I will more than happily-

"Holding captain." Swallowing Piers stepped backward slowly, turning his head. After what happened week ago in Chris' office, Piers wasn't even certain he'd be able to sit without getting the command. They'd spent hours with Chris giving non-stop commands. Like a sick game of simon says only every time Piers refused the movement Chris leaned him over and beat him bloody. The commands were simple at first, sit, stand, don't move, pick up your rifle, put it down, salute, at attention, things he'd normally do, but they increasingly got more degrading as time went on until Piers could even think, just act. He was drilling it into his head, and when he wouldn't follow those commands punishment got increasingly painful. His insides still hurt, but it was such a good pain. The welts wouldn't be gone yet, not the ones on his thighs, and they burned with just the implication of what Chris had suggested. There was another scream, one long and low, agonized and the sniper's eyes flicked from the exit of the tunnel back toward the place of its resonating madness. Part of the sniper wanted to move, but there was another part, the part that had made all those promises while being reminded he was an agent now, not just a soldier. His first duty was to listen to his captain, not matter what, listen or get completely destroyed. Listen or have Headquarters throw him off the squad. Chris was just protecting him, by... playing daddy. Piers tried to concentrate on the mission, his face turning red, feeling the heat in his body flare, chewing the inside of his cheek until finally there was a crashing noise from deep in the bowels of the tunnel, hand flying to the com. "Captain, I-

"Did good." Chris smirked, brushing and hand across the front of his ace's thighs, giving a smirk when he jumped in his skin. "It'll take time, you'll get use to it rookie. One step at a time. Lets go, You take my six." Chris' coy grin drew back his lips until his teeth shown in the light, touching his shoulder once more. Chris chuckled raising his assault rifle up into position.

Fin!

Hope it was entertaining while I work on my other things!