War Dog

Chapter 10

Silence. A pin could be heard from a mile away. With my hearing, I probably could have too. I knew Soaps expression was sour because I was holding another man's hand after I'd been flirting with him. Ghost smelled like he was about ready to launch into action to stop Soap from doing something stupid. Price was simply looking between me and Shane gobsmacked, clearly wondering how the hell I'd been holding him. That all changed as I broke the news. They all froze to the spot, even Ghost showing visible expression of shock. Shane stood beside me like a happy puppy, glad to see me up and about as me again, but I could sense his mischevious spirit lapping up the stunned silence. 

"Brother?" To my surprise it was Price who spoke first. My glance slid to him, a bright smile on my lips. "Yeah. My middle brother. Our youngest did the smart thing and went to uni. Shane here decided to follow my footsteps. I only just found out about four months ago. He came out of surgery right as I began to lapse into my feral states." I didn't like the way Price was eyeing off my brother, like he was a piece of steak for dinner. I figured two things, Price wanted my brother, a matching set as it were, and the Australian military wouldn't want to lose a second very expensive operative to the British SAS. 

"How the hell did you bloody catch the monster?" Ghost exclaimed, drawing my attention back to him, and I smiled smugly. "Why Princess, you want me to catch you like that too?" I tease, the nickname drawing Ghosts ire to the forefront. Shane grinned wickedly at Ghost and I felt is amusement flare up as he stepped behind me. I braced my legs and core as he wrapped his arms and legs around my body like a spider monkey. I sighed and rolled my eyes at his antics, but stood there with my knees braced. "My brother is a lightweight. He just looks big." I hook my hand under his hooked foot and lift his foot up until he let's go falling to the floor. "Hey!" he yelps as he thuds. I just continue to ignore his antics while he lays there sulking. "Ever since he found out that the DNA splicing allows me to increase my strength significantly quicker than just as a plain old human, he just leaps at me." I nudge his foot with my own. "Get up, stop goofing off. Shane, this is my handler Ghost and his team." Shane stood up immediately, his tail between his legs as he reached out a hand. "Sorry, Sirs I didn't realise you were Ceri's new team. I'd heard rumours, but no concrete evidence." I smiled pleased as Ghost took his hand, grip firm. "Shane, this is Captain Price," I say warmly gesturing to Ghosts Captain. "And this here is Sergeant Mactavish." 

"Pleasure to meet you all," Shane says with a very serious expression. Before I can get even so much as a hint of warning he steps into Ghosts personal space. I can sense Ghost tensing for a split second before they come to some sort of non-verbal agreement. I'm not entirely sure what's going on as I stare bewildered between the two men, but Ghost nods, almost imperceptibly and Shane relaxes stepping back again. Price and Soap just seem vaguely amused by the interaction.

I suspect some macho bullshit has just gone down between the two men, but I'm not entirely sure what. He steps to Soap next. "Sergeant Mactavish," Shane greets warmly, inhaling deeply before smirking knowingly. "Good luck with her, she'll chew you up and spit you out if you're not careful." His voice is a conspiratorial whisper with a dark chuckle. Soap for his credit just grins back at my brother with a shit eating grin. "Oh, I have no doubt about that, lad."

"Captain Price, pleasure to meet you, Sir." He turns back to me. "Alright Sis, I've distracted you long enough, I'll catch you tomorrow, yeah?" He leans down to give me a tight hug before departing back down the hallway. 

I look back at my brother with a soft bemused expression before turning back to the 141 team. "So, your brother, what hybrid is he?" Price asked, his voice casual, but his expression was keen. "Malinois. He decided it suited him much better than the German splicing." I was really not liking the keen look in Prices eyes.