The Expendables One Shots and Imagines

A Strange Place To Find A New Recruit - Christmas x Reader

I thought that I would try something a little different with this one, so I hope you enjoy 😃. Includes lyrics from "The Fear", by The Score. 🎵

"I enjoy a strip club as much as the next man, Tool, but why the hell are we here? I thought we were coming to look at a new recruit." Christmas said, as he, Tool, Barney, and the rest of the boys sat at a VIP table in a brand new club that had just opened up near Tool's tattoo parlour.

"Who cares about a new recruit; just enjoy the view." Gunnar chimed in, as one of the girls came out on the stage to perform.

"We are here to find a new recruit, just be patient." Tool reassured Christmas, raising his glass of whisky in toast to the rest of the boys, and then downing it in one.

After an hour, everyone of the team had forgotten what they were there for, too busy enjoying the lovely women, and the alcohol to remember anything else.

The new burlesque club had become quite the spot to be, attracting both the famous, and infamous through its doors, the captivating acts of the high end performers, making it the new hotspot in town.

As Tools eyes shot up to the stage, a well dressed man walked out through the curtains, the crowd falling silent as he stepped up to an old fashioned looking microphone.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for being with us at Le Mystique tonight. Now, I would like to introduce you to the star of the show. (Y/n)!" The man announced, the venue descending into darkness as music began to reverberate through the club. Tool watched with amusement as the team looked up at the woman that had just stepped out from behind the curtain and into the spotlight, knowing he was the only one to know what was to come.

Smiling into his drink, Tool listened as the woman began to sing.

"Whoa-oh-oh
Whoa-oh-oh
Whoa-oh-oh
Whoa-oh-oh
Whoa-oh-oh
Whoa-oh-oh
Whoa-oh-oh
Whoa-oh-oh

Knock me down
All the demons creeping in, no
Another round trading shots with my ego
Runnin' can't help me now
Your chains only drag me down."

Christmas' eyes grew wide as he looked at the woman on stage; her smoky, dark makeup, accentuating her breathtaking features, the thigh high black boots, and black corseted lingerie that she wore, complimenting each and every one of her supple, voluptuous curves.

"I've battled hard with the face in the mirror
Every scar makes me dig down deeper
I push it 'til there's nothing more
'Cause I'm stronger than I was before"

The team watched as Tool and the woman seemed to smile and wink at one another, that was everyone except Christmas saw it, the British man too transfixed by the woman's swaying body, to notice anything else.

"It's time to stand up, stand up
Show me what you're made of
Hands up, hands up

Fight the fear
Fight the fear
Rise up from the ground
Gonna make you a believer
Fight the fear
Fight the fear
Blood, sweat, tears make the pain taste sweeter
Whoa-oh-oh
Whoa-oh-oh

Fight the fear
Fight the fear
Whoa-oh-oh
Whoa-oh-oh
Rise up from the ground
Gonna make you a believer"

The eyes of the team grew wide as the woman made her way to where they sat, holding out her hand for Tool to take, as he helped her down from the stage.

"Feel the pulse in my veins like a fighter
I'm the rush like the heat from the fire
Nothing can stop me now
I'll scream until my lungs give out"

The woman continued to sing, as she leant over Christmas, her fingers lightly tugging on the collar of his shirt, as she moved her face so that she and Christmas were a breath apart.

"So it's time to stand up, stand up
Show me what you're made of
Hands up, hands up

Fight the fear
Fight the fear
Rise up from the ground
Gonna make you a believer
Fight the fear
Fight the fear
Blood, sweat, tears make the pain taste sweeter

Whoa-oh-oh
Whoa-oh-oh
Fight the fear
Fight the fear
Whoa-oh-oh
Whoa-oh-oh
Rise up from the ground
Gonna make you a believer"

Taking hold of Christmas' chin, she pulled him up from his chair; slowly letting go, she turned around and pressed her back flush against his chest, her backside seductively swaying against his body.

"Stand up, stand up
Show me what you're made of
Hands up, hands up
Show me what you're made of
Stand up, stand up
Show me what you're made of
Hands up, hands up
Show me what you're made of
It's time to
Stand up, stand up
Show me what you're made of
Hands up, hands up
Show me what you're made of
It's time to
Stand up, stand up
Show me what you'r made of
Hands up, hands up"

Christmas wasn't used to being flustered, but as his heart pounded in his chest, all he wanted to do was pull her back to him as she moved away back towards the stage, Tool helping the woman back up the steps.

"Whoa-oh-oh

Fight the fear
Fight the fear
Rise up from the ground
Gonna make you a believer
Fight the fear
Fight the fear
Blood, sweat, tears make the pain taste sweeter

Whoa-oh-oh
Whoa-oh-oh
Fight the fear
Fight the fear
Whoa-oh-oh
Whoa-oh-oh
Rise up from the ground
Gonna make you a believer"

When she finished singing, the patrons of the club broke out into thunderous applause, as the woman smiled, moving back towards Tool who held out his arms to let her jump down from the stage.

"Boys. I would like you to meet a dear friend of mine. (Y/n), these are the boys, boys this (Y/n)." Tool told the team, as he held the woman to his side, smirking when he noticed that Christmas' eyes had never left her.

Before (Y/n) could reply, a sudden commotion caught her attention, as four men began to fight violently.

"Oh, hell no, not in my damn club." (Y/n) growled, as she let go of Tool and headed towards the fray.

"Watch this!" Tool said with a chuckle as (Y/n) picked up a chair and swung it at the back of one of the men, knocking him flat to the floor.

Grabbing an empty bottle from the bar, she swung and broke it over the head of another, watching as he fell to the floor unconscious. As the two other men rushed at her, (Y/n) side stepped and forced one into a headlock, as she kicked the final man in the guts, the man falling over and gasping for air, as the man in the headlock slowly fall insensible, and hit the floor.

"I take it that she is the new recruit." Barney chuckled, as he watched the woman in action.

"Yep. (Y/n) is an expert in martial arts, and hand to hand combat; she served as a captain in the first airborne infantry for nearly a decade, and she can basically fix anything with an engine." Tool said, smiling as the woman re-joined them, holding her hand out for Barney to take.

"So, do I pass muster?" She asked, smiling at Christmas as he moved next to Barney.

"You'll do." Barney told her, as he chewed on his cigar, a small smile on his face as he shook her hand.

"Does that mean that I can get to know you better?" (Y/n) asked Christmas as she as she stood in front of him, their bodies almost touching.

"Sweetheart, you can count on it." Christmas said with one of his usual irresistible smiles, as he took her hand and kissed it.

A burlesque club may not be a strange place to find a new recruit; but for Christmas, it was definitely the best place.