?Come on, Colt. Chin up. You should smile more!? The scorn was mixed with good natured laughter, along with a more than good natured punch to his chest. The laughing one was brown haired, hair wavy and cut to his ear?s length.

The flashlights danced every now and then, but haystacks had wonders for hiding small boys. And no old man wanted to find a pair of stow-away human needles in a train car full of haystacks. Colt may have been a quiet boy, but he was practically a human spider with train cars. He didn?t need to make webs to climb into corners and hide in ceilings.

?We?ll come back for her, right?? He wore a simple wife beater, and jeans. Sandals donned his feet, as they swung back and forth. As Colt sat against the wall, the brown haired counterpart sat on the edge of the train. They were both filthy. But the brunette boy couldn?t have been happier. ?We said we would.?

Colt, on the other hand, had a half-grin on his face, along with a shy glance outside into the sun. ?She?ll be fine. It was her idea in the first place. She knew what would?ve happened if we stayed.?

Clatters and a constant rocking of the train car had the back of his head constantly bobbing against the wall of the train car. Screeches of metal against metal became nearly hypnotic. He fell in and out of sleep, while the brown haired boy sat on the edge of that train car. The air was warm and cloudy with the dust of age and rust mixing with sun.

Of the two, Colt was the worry wart. The one that wasn?t easily convinced. He was cautious. It was why the heaviness in his stomach kept him from smiling. He wished he could smile like his brother. And nobody like his brother could carry them through escaping with the attitude of a weightless feather.

One of the many times he woke up from his doze, he saw his brother still looking out into the zooming grass, trees, and roads. Still gazing at the sky, and setting sun. And as if he could sense Colt had awoken, he looked back at him. And smiled. He let him sleep, while he kept watch. That was how they worked.

?Where are we going?? He got the courage to ask. Finally.
And as always, that smile of his said that he didn?t have the slightest idea. Not an inkling of a clue at all.

?A better life, Colt. You?ll see. Just leave it to me.? It was as if he knew the answer, and didn?t want to tell him. But Colt knew that his guess was as good as his brother?s.

As the waves of sun light were chopped apart by zooming trees, the flashes of light seemed to get brighter and brighter. Until..

?Wess!? In a cold sweat, he woke up to the set alarm on his watch that was on the nightstand. 4:30 AM read its arms on the face. He was heaving air, until he realized it was another dream. Just another dream. The same one, again. Hands came to catch his head as it collapsed on the side of his bed. Another day to begin on the fields. On the cows, the bulls, and the hay. He?d need a day of work to shake it off again. Nothing else ever worked.

?What have we got, Major?? Into a conference room walked the inquiring figure, as a number of other high-ranking officials were already seated.

Each had folders in front of them, and an occasional clear glass pitcher of water. All other officials instantly rose, saluting in a rigid way in perfect sync as the newly entered figures came to seat themselves. When they arrived to their vacant seats, the Major spoke at last in response to the inquiry.

?At ease, gentlemen. Thank you for coming on such short notice. As you know, our operations have been fruitless thus far. All of our attempts have been creative, but ineffective. I was just talking to Colonel Matthews here about a recent suggestion that has my interest. It?s a radical idea, but it just might be crazy enough to work.?

All the high ranking military officials glanced to one another in silence, until another General vocalized the question written so clearly on their faces, ?And what is this ?radical? plan of yours, Major??

The Major smiled, and proceeded to explain. ?The window of opportunity for a preemptive strike has passed, gentlemen. And we?ve exhausted all efforts to cross enemy lines by force. Negotiations have failed time and again with the enemy spitting in our faces and on all the olive baskets we?ve offered. They aren?t even interested in reclaiming any of the hostages we have in custody.? He paused, looking around at all the agreeing nods and expressions of frustration. ?Anyway, it?s obvious to all of us sitting here that we?re nearly out of options. I am approaching you today with a possible solution.?

A long olive-colored sleeve rigidly reached to crease, as a hand came to salute the officer standing in front of the door behind which were the Superior Officers, already in the meeting. ?Identify yourself, soldier.? The guard commanded.

?Sergeant First Class Weston Farley, reporting upon request of Major Caster.? The soldier nodded, and reached for the doorknob. ?They?ve already begun their meeting. You?re expected.?

Those long reckless curls were nowhere in sight. His scalp was shaved down to the standard military buzz cut. Another characteristic was missing on his face?his smile. The smile that was easily his best quality. He entered the room, and the Major rose to greet the new arrival while all other superior officers remained seated.

?Ah, Wess. Glad you could make it.? The Major offered his hand, and placed a hand on his broad green shoulder.

?Thank you, Major.? Wess responded plainly in a near monotone as he shook the offered hand.

?Gentlemen, this is the man I have in mind to lead our operation. Sergeant First Class Weston Farley. He will be leading a team of 4 other officers to a checkpoint I designate. It?s a two-way border for rations and weapons only. They will be disguised as civilian merchants delivering the goods to the enemy?s warehouses. The Sergeant will select the four officers to accompany on this mission. Once they get past the checkpoint, they report to us via radio contact and infiltrate the nearest base. They will then overtake the base while reinforcements await to be deployed to their location. We?ll know where to drop our reinforcements, and the enemy won?t know what hit ?em.?

It was radical. It was small scale, and already debates were occurring among the Generals gathered. After much discussion, the Generals ceased speaking and left the highest ranking to speak on their behalf.

?Major Caster, we have considered your operation. It is.. a questionable tactic. But with our limited remaining options, we have decided to give your operation a shot. And Wess.? They addressed him separately, and the man who stood up straight the entire time turned in his direction and waited. ?This will be your first isolated mission, and we are aware that your record has been nearly impeccable since you?ve joined. We anticipate your performance to reflect what has been made so clear to us by your supporting Major Caster. If you complete this mission in a timely manner with minimal casualties to your team, we will strongly consider a promotion for you upon returning. We wish you all the best, son.?

Wess nodded, and saluted to the gathered Generals. ?Thank you, Sir.?

?You?re dismissed. As are you, Major Caster.? The two officers exited the conference room and as they walked out of the hall, they began to converse on casual terms. With all the formalities gone, they seemed to snap into a casuality rarely seen.

?Congratulations, Wess. You just got your first shit storm.? The Major joked and slapped a hand against the Sergeant?s bicep. It was obvious that they had worked together in the past, whether in battle or in other affairs wasn?t clear. Wess, however, dawned into his old self again.

He melted into laughter, and those dimples accompanied smile lines.
?Thanks John, thanks a lot. You were the one that talked me into this whole mess. Don?t you let me take all the credit, alright??

?So, any idea which sorry bastards are comin? along with ya?? For something this serious, with both of their lives and reputations on the line, the two were pretty laid back. With war being your livelihood, one is accustomed to making humor out of horrors and risks. It was how they coped with it.

?Well, I got Stabler, Croix, and Balway.? He was set on them. Wess didn?t only consider them. He had already approached all of them privately on a strictly personal level to gain their approval.

The Major scoffed. ?You losing your ability to count? You?re missing one more. Don?t start making me look bad just yet. You haven?t even briefed them yet!? More chuckles tumbled out of him.

Wess shrugged at that little jab. He took a joke with stride, still smiling that happy-go-lucky smile of his. It was a wonder why he hasn?t acquired the nickname ?smiley? yet.

?Nah, I?m saving that spot for my brother. Corporal Colt Farley.?

The Major frowned. ?Son, I don?t think you should have your brother go along. It could put you on a lot of strain if you get all overprotective over him, or give him special privileges.?

That?s when that smile faded. ?Major, I?ve done myself a healthy portion of contemplation in this pretty ol? noggin I?ve got here, and I?ve made up my mind. If I?m gonna go risk my neck out there for my country, I?m bringing my brother with me. I haven?t seen him in over 4 years, John.?

?And that?s what leave is for. You have time off, and you save that for family. You don?t bring your brother out there just because you miss him.
Especially if you miss him. If either of you get killed out there, it?ll look bad on me. And I doubt your faculties as team leader will remain if you see your brother shot into Swiss cheese before your eyes. It ain?t right to have him come along. It?s risky.?

?Major..? He heaved a sigh and stopped walking. ?With the way this system works, and the assignments we?ve been given, our scheduled leaves are not scheduled at the same time. They haven?t been the entire 6 years of our service to America and her interests. We ain?t got nobody else. We?re all each other have got. Now with my rank, I can choose whosoever I want to accompany me on this mission.?

The Major shook his head slowly as Weston continued on. ?Son, you could die out there. You really wanna give your brother those kind of nightmares for the rest of his days? And if he dies, I can?t be there to hold you back when you want to take the whole country?s military force on by yourself. It?s too risky.?

?You have my word that I won?t lose my head out there. I haven?t in the past, have I??

?No Wess you haven?t. But your flesh and blood wasn?t involved those other times either. It could cloud your judgment.?

?With all due respect, Major, if I die out there I want my last moments to be with my brother. No better way to die than to go out sayin goodbye to the one guy I can call ?family?. And I?m ready for whatever?s out there.?

The Major could see that he was inconvincible. His mind was set on it. As the Major stayed silent, Wess stiffened, stomped the floor, and brought his hand to his temple in proper form. ?Permission to be dismissed, sir.?

?Granted, Sergeant Farley.? The Major sighed heavily, and brought a hand to his forehead. Too many wheels were in motion. All of a sudden, the thin ice all of them were skating on just got a whole lot thinner.