Chapter Text
”I don’t know what you did to piss off Morgenstern,” Jace grumbles and kicks a rock. “But don’t do it again. I hate coming out here at night.”
“You just don’t like that you won’t get to have much sleep tonight.” Alec looks around at the strangely noisy village. “And I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Jace scoffs. “Don’t give me that ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’ garbage. You and I both know that Colonel Morgenstern has got it out for you. He’s been glaring at you the last few days and even made you clean the toilets. It’s been a couple years since I had to clean a toilet. The new guys get the pleasure of that.”
Alec shrugs and watches a little kid run across the street ahead of them. Their squad walks behind them, grumbling almost as loudly as Jace. They were all going to be feeling this in the morning when they were woken up at the ass-crack of dawn. It wasn’t uncommon that they got only a few hours of sleep. Sometimes they were allowed to sleep in the villages but Morgenstern wanted them to come back to base.
God, that was going to take forever.
“So, whatcha do?”
“Nothing.”
“Mhm. Sure.”
More than a few of the civilian’s stare at them as they pass. That wasn’t uncommon. It also wasn’t uncommon for the civilians to ignore them either, nor for some to approach and offer gifts of food and water. Alec and Jace had been wary when they joined up in the army five years ago, fresh out of high school. They’d been deployed together and they’d been worried some of the food or water was poisoned. Now it felt like second nature to accept whatever was on offer.
Just a few weeks ago one kind, old woman had hobbled over to them and offered Alec some chocolate coins to share with his friends on base. He’d wound up giving them away since the Lightwoods were notorious for sending lavish care packages stuffed to the literal brim. Alec had nearly cried when he got his first box and opened it to find a mini mountain of chips, cookies, and gummy candy. Their whole squad longed for the days Maryse Lightwood’s packages would arrive.
The generosity of the civilians wasn’t limited to food and water though. It gets hot as fuck in Afghanistan during the summer and the snow is horrible in the winter. It wasn’t uncommon for a civilian to offer comfort in their home for a soldier who was suffering from heatstroke or from the cold. Some of the kindest people he’d met were here. Of course, the opposite could be said as well.
One of the cruelest wasn’t even one of their enemies. No, the cruelest to Alec was Colonel Valentine Morgenstern.
Alec hadn’t met Colonel Morgenstern until this deployment. Everyone had said the Colonel was a hardass but always got his job done. Fuck around, and he would be on your ass faster than the worst drill sergeant you ever had. He wouldn’t kiss your ass if you did your job right but he always acknowledged when you succeeded.
Morgenstern had barely glanced at Alec at the beginning. Alec needed a commander recommendation to get promoted to sergeant and he knew getting one from Morgenstern would tremendously help his career. Jace thought the whole thing was silly, as they both rank Corporal now and that was what their father demanded of them.
Their father… Robert had insisted on both of his older sons to enter the army after they graduated high school. He was a military man himself as a Captain and wanted his sons to learn the discipline that came with being in the military. They were allowed to choose which branch they joined but they had to stay in for five years and reach Corporal rank, or the equivalent. If they did, they could leave and he’d pay for whatever they wanted to study in college. He hoped they’d stay.
Jace hated the military. He hated the rules, the shouting, the running, and everything else that came along with it. He especially hated the heat of the dessert, which is where most of their deployments have made them wind up. The only thing that kept him sane was that Robert pulled strings to get the two of them deployed together each time.
Alec was different. The rules didn’t bother him and he’d learned to tone out the drill sergeant even when spit was flying in his face. There was order in the military and discipline, like Robert had said, and Alec actually liked that. Some of the people were dicks but for the most part, they were young kids that joined up to protect their families and country. Most of them wouldn’t actually see combat. Alec had only killed six people in the last five years, and honestly, he wasn’t even sure if one of the six had actually died considering he’d ran for the fucking hills after the shot was let off.
It was going to suck staying in the military after Jace left. That was why Alec was fighting so hard for a sergeant position. If this was going to be his career, he wanted to rise high in the ranks, just like his father did. That meant getting a good recommendation. Which meant, not kissing ass really, but showing Morgenstern that he was good at his job. For the last few months, this has proven to be… difficult. Morgenstern barely glances at people when they come in office.
Something changed last month and Morgenstern started actually listening when Alec talked to him, even making direct eye contact. Alec’s embarrassed to admit that he acted like a little puppy dog after that, jumping and running at whatever command the other man gave him. That changed a few days back.
Alcohol was generally not supposed to happen on base but some commanding officers were more lenient than others about it. Morgenstern didn’t care as long as the soldiers didn’t act like fools and were up and at it in the morning. Jace had somehow got his hands on a bottle of whiskey and he and the rest of their squad got a little bit too drunk. Even their sergeant partook in the drinking. Alec was probably the most sober of them all, but he’d still been stumbling a little when Morgenstern called him to his office.
Morgenstern had locked the door, which wasn’t completely unusual, but he’d also closed the blinds. None of that bothered Alec until the other man came up behind him and grabbed his ass. Alec had been bent over the desk with a hand down the back of his pants before he came to his senses and brought his foot down onto Morgenstern’s and managed to free himself. Ever since, Morgenstern glared at him every chance he got and gave him all the terrible jobs. He could kiss that recommendation goodbye, and all because he wouldn’t let his boss cop a feel.
“Alright, guys,” Their sergeant, Jacob, says, as soon as they reach the end of the village. He yawns. “I think it’s time to head in.”
Some of the others groan and one even mutters, “Thank god,” but those noises are soon drowned out by gunfire. Some of the civilians start screaming and run to hide inside. Alec throws himself off the road and against a wall. A flash grenade goes off and a ringing starts up in Alec’s ear. He deafly starts moving forward and pulls his night vision goggles down over his eyes. Over the ringing, he can hear Jacob shouting into his radio for backup.
Alec looks around for Jace but doesn’t see him. He starts to panic and lifts his riffle. Out in the hills, he can see a figure hunched over and he takes aim. Three more die just as swiftly as that one, but there seems to be no end to them. Alec and Jacob duck behind another building and Alec shouts at him, “Where’s Jace?”
“I don’t know.” Jacob shakes his radio as if that’ll make help arrive faster. “He went running in the opposite direction. They were waiting for us to get to the end of town.”
A child darts past Alec and he grabs her before another blast of gunfire hits the street not five feet from him. She screams but he holds onto her tighter as he and Jacob rush to hide behind another building. They were seriously outmanned. The child squirms.
“Let her go.” Jacob says reluctantly. “We can’t take her with us and her family’s probably here.”
“Her family might be shooting at us.” Alec lets her go and he watches her rush away, wanting to go after her. “I need to find Jace.”
“We just need to hold our position until help arrives.” Jacob lifts his riffle. “Got my back?”
Alec lifts his and follows Jacob. “Yes, sir!”
It doesn’t take long, though it feels like a lifetime, for reinforcements to arrive from the base. The village is checked from top to bottom and they even risk going out into the hills to look for Jace.
Jace isn’t found, dead or alive. The military pile up the bodies of the dead, among them is the girl that Alec had tried to save, and they leave. Alec would never forgive himself for failing to protect his brother…
Or the girl.