#carlos 'cougar' alvarez

[cxce15]

NEW CHARACTER OBESSION DROPPPPPP

Drumroll please ladies & gentlemen

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

Carlos Alvarez my lovely people aka Cougar from The Losers

Which to my surprise is technically DC

Movies great in my opinion a lot of people only watch for Chris Evans which is valid but come on...

Look at this man

Anyway I would love for my some fanfiction to be created as soon as possible for this man if anyone who writes sees this post.

Thank you for stopping & listening to my Ted talk - goodbye

[scuddish]

ÓSCAR JAENADA as CARLOS “COUGAR” ALVAREZ THE LOSERS 2010 | dir. Sylvain White

[buffaluff]

the losers (2010) is the best comic book movie adaptation ever made, i WILL be dying on that hill.

[kiytsunebi]

i've always liked cougar/jensen's dynamic so i don't know why i was surprised i fell in love with ghostsoap

[i-rec-this]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Losers (2010) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Carlos "Cougar" Alvarez/Jake Jensen, Franklin Clay/William Roque Characters: Carlos "Cougar" Alvarez, Jake Jensen, William Roque, Franklin Clay Additional Tags: First Kiss, Hurt/Comfort, Canon Character of Color, Podfic, Podfic Length: 45-60 Minutes Summary:

Figured that Roque would pass out and make Jensen carry his lazy ass halfway across Afghanistan.

[olderthannetfic]

Reading Comprehension – The Film Version

I was talking to someone a while back about the grammar of film editing and how they'd like to know more, but info isn't really available. This is one of my soapboxes. It floors me how simple a lot of this shit is to explain, yet even top film schools just assign In the Blink of an Eye and call it a day. Walter Murch is a great writer, and he has the film cred to back up his treatise on aesthetics, but can we really not manage at least a couple more books anybody cares about? (No, On Film Editing and that book of interviews with Murch don't... cut it.)

For all that film has supposedly been democratized, Youtube et al. are a wasteland for actual discussions of film grammar. Every Frame a Painting has some stuff. Lindsay Ellis has a couple of videos. But most educational film content is very much aimed at either the technical side of camera and editing or is waaaaay too obsessed with the screenplay. (I await the whiny-ass anons from last time who insist that their favorite youtubers discuss this all the time. Nah, dude. If they did, you'd have been willing to name names.)

It's an approach that's overly literal and overly verbal, which makes sense given that what reading comprehension we're taught is all focused on picking apart some essay or maybe a classic book.

Unfortunately, words aren't what define film: reaction shots are.

Having a command of film grammar matters for everything from detecting political propaganda to recognizing when Hollywood is like "Ohhh, but we gave them liiiines in the scriiipt" but the actual product they put out completely undercuts those characters, whether it's not even filming a single or stuffing them behind other characters in the group shots or being embarrassingly incapable of lighting dark skin properly or a host of other obnoxious shit.

Anyway, I made a couple of my own little attempts to put out some free educational materials about how film grammar works.

Carlos "Cougar" Alvarez: Human Exclamation Point is about how to make a character feel like a lead when they have no lines and like two seconds of screen time.

Aisha is the Object; Clay is the Subject is about how to make someone not a protagonist by training the camera on their butt all the damn time.

IDK why I was suddenly thinking about this this afternoon, but I was.

[andydrysdalerogers]

Undercover - One - Jake

Pairings: Jake Jensen and OFC Samantha Matthews

The Losers have made it back to their families and are out. Well, almost. A threat against the British crown needs to be handled and the CIA has tapped the Losers for one final mission. And they are sending in Jensen.

Jake Jensen hasn't been a civilian in years but now he's undercover to find out why his target is where he is and who he's after.

Enter Sam, someone who Jake doesn't expect and well, he didn't know he was looking for.

Can Jake handle his mission and falling in love? Especially when the truth leads to a bigger mission than expected?

*~* A Jake Jensen Story *~*

Author's note: this story continues after the events of the Losers. I may weave other characters into it but they are all minor.

The playlist is available on Spotify.

cover photo by me! Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Warnings: angst, death, smut, and a bunch of stuff a can’t say because it gives away the plot!

"Alight Losers, focus up.”  

Colonel Franklin Clay looked at his exhausted team.  It had been a long, few months, getting back from Bolivia, getting to Max and Roque’s betrayal of the team. They had just received their pardons, visiting the families that thought them dead and were now back together for their final debrief.  

Or so they thought.  

“We got tapped for an undercover ops,” Clay explained.  “It’s going to be a long one but the request is coming from an outside source.”  

“So not your typical ops.” Sgt. Linwood ‘Pooch’ Porteous commented while kicking his feet onto the desk in front.  

“Not this time.  One will be in deep cover at a company where the target works.  The mission is to recon and discovery of the target’s mission.”  

“Who’s asking?” Pooch flipped a pen in the air. Sgt. Carlos ‘Cougar’ Alvarez caught it and put it down shaking his head.  

“Dunno.  Our handler should be coming in…” 

“Right now.”  A tall, dark hair individual came in, suit, no tie, followed by another man.  “Nick Fowler, CIA director of Foreign Affairs.” 

“Clay.  That’s Pooch, Cougar, Aisha and… Jensen!” 

A blonde stood up from the snack table, licorice in his mouth.  He wiped his hands on his jeans and walked over.  “Hi!” 

“Great.  This is Inspector Harry Hart, British Intelligence.”  

“How do you do?” He shook everyone’s hand before clearing his throat.  “We would normally send in our own man but since our target is based in the US, we need an American to blend in.  We need someone who can also blend in seamlessly and get close to the target.”  

“That would be me,” Clay said.  

“Excellent.  And this is our target.”  He flashed a picture.  “John Fitzgerald. He is a former MI6, turned mercenary. He has been keeping low until just a few days ago when we intercepted intelligence that he is a threat to the crown. The King has been informed of the situation but is obviously not involved for his safety and the safety of his family.”  

“Shit,” Clay mumbled. He picked up the photo of the target.  “I know him.  We worked together 20 years ago.  I can’t go in.”  

“Who can?” Fowler asked.  

Clay furrowed his brow. “What company?” 

“It is,” Hart shuffled his papers, “ADR Diagnostics.  A tech company.”  

The Losers all swiveled their heads and looked at Jensen, who looked back with wide eyes. “What?” 

“Jensen can go in,” Clay said.  

Hart stepped forward.  “Name, rank and qualifications?” 

Jensen stood up straighter. “Captain Jake Jensen, masters in computer science and Data Analytics.” Jake started to sweat a little as Fowler and Hart inspected him.  

“Well, he does have the look of an IT guy,” Fowler commented. “What do you think, Inspector?” 

“Captain, you understand that you will essential be a civilian working undercover to find out what is going on with Fitzgerald?  There is not a timetable.  The faster you discover his motives, the faster you are out.”  

“Colonel,” Jake turned to Clay, “I thought we were out?”  

“They haven’t given us our papers yet Jake.  This would be our last mission.” Clay turned to the team. “It’s up to you.”  

“I’m in,” Pooch said.  Cougar tilted his trademark hat. Aisha shrugged.  Clay turned back to Jensen.  “The company is based near your family’s hometown.  You can stay near them and visit like normal since you do have to keep up appearances.”  

Home. Something that Jake had longed for.  His reunion with his parents has been joyful.  Especially since his cousin Savannah and niece Grace had been visiting.  Her husband and two other children had stayed home with the flu, which was a bummer but still.  

“Alright,” Jensen clapped his hands together.  “I’m in.”  

“Excellent. We will get you planted as a manager of an IT group.  You start a week from Monday to allow you time to get settled.  The apartment we have procured for you is in the town center and you should be able to walk to the office,” Hart explained.  

Civilian life.  

Not something he was expecting. But here he was, Captain Jake Jensen, IT guy. He stood in front of ADR Diagnostics and looked up. The weekend had been interesting.  His parents had been thrilled that he was going to be closer to home.   He settled into his loft apartment and set up his reconnaissance equipment to maintain contact with the team.  He was to check in every Friday, under the guise of drinks with old friends.  He had studied his target.  

Fitzgerald was a handsome man, loyal to the crown, until an accident killed his partner, and he went sideways.  He left the service, went underground.  The threat that brought him back into radar was interesting.  Fitzgerald was looking for leverage against the old King of England.  His Majesty, King Harold had just stepped down to his son, Anthony, his only child, in a swirl of worry as Anthony had not had any children of his own.  

Jake found it curious on the line of succession the next person would be Anthony’s cousin, Lewis, to inherit.  From what Jake found online, the people of England despised Lewis for his snotty attitude to the common people and his utter disdain for his uncle and cousin, so much as speaking out against them. What could Fitzgerald be looking for to hold over the old King? He must be connected to Prince Lewis in some way, Jake noted to himself.  

Walking in, he was greeted by his new supervisor. “Jake?” 

“Yeah, Jake Jensen.” He offered his hand.  

“Michael Anderson.  Follow me.”  

Jake internally snorted remembering his break into the last company.  He followed the man to the bank of elevators and went up.  

“So, Jake, you’ll be heading a team of techs checking for security for our clients. Your team is four plus you and you will be reporting to me.  We do a daily report due at the end of the day before you leave. You have to send that to Sam, my assistant.”  

Jake nodded along. “Cool. No problem.”  

Michael looked over Jake. “I know it’s your first day but lose the tie. We’re pretty casual here. Polo and jeans will do.  Fridays can be a t shirt.”  

“Sure.” Jake pulled off his tie and stuffed it into his backpack. Getting off on the 14th floor, Michael directed him to an air where five desks were situated.  “Guys, focus up.” Four heads popped up.  “This is your new team leader Jake Jensen. This is Fred, Dave, Rob and Pete, your team. Make him feel welcome and shit. I’ll check in with you guys later.”  

“Uh, Mr. Anderson?” 

“Mike, please.” 

“Right Mike. Uh computer?” 

“Right.” He pulled a laptop out of his own bag. “Email is set up and will have all your system logins. Sam should have emailed you your report instructions and everything you need. Have any questions, ask your team or send a message to Sam. Otherwise, own your team, Jake.”  

“Thanks.” Mike walked away and Jake turned back to the guys. “Hi.” He awkwardly waved his hand.  

“Sup, boss man, I’m Fred. De facto mouth of the team.  That Dave, Rob and Peter,” pointing to each guy. “Uh I’ll let you set up.”  

“Thanks. Just set up and you guys can tell me where you are.” Jake moved to his new desk and took out a frame. Pictured was his niece Grace with his cousin Savannah. They had lost touch for a few years when his asshole aunt and uncle cut Savvy off. Now she was married and happy and Jake got back in touch with her. A perk of no longer being dead.  

As he set his desk up, he looked up to see a beautiful brunette walk across the floor. Her long dark hair with blonde tip bounced with her curls in a sleek ponytail.  She wore an emerald-green blouse with dark jeans and heels. Jensen couldn’t help but stare. And then she looked up. Cupid lips, soft pink cheeks, cat eyeglasses framing big eyes with lashes. Her smile made Jake swoon. When she looked in his direction he ducked and moved to open his email. “Stupid,” he muttered to himself. No way a girl that gorgeous is single. He concentrated on the task at hand, reading the first email in his new inbox.  

From: Sam Matthews  To: Jake Jensen  Hi!  Below are your logins for the system. I’ve attached a sample excel sheet to use for your daily reports. Any questions, you can email or instant message me.   Welcome to the team Jake!   Sincerely,  Sam Matthews  Assistant to Michael Anderson  

Jake reviewed all the info given and then sat with his team.  But his mind never left the beautiful brunette. I wonder where she works, he thought to himself.  

Closer than you think, Jake.  

The day went smoother than he thought, ADR’s systems sophisticated but simple. He was able to catch up to where his team was at and log in the progress.  He caught glimpses of his dream girl as she walked around the office. Lunch time with the team was easy, the guys were really nice about inviting Jake and keeping him in the conversation.  But it was around three that Jake got his break.  He was headed into the break room for a much needed pick me up in the way of coffee. Making sure that he didn’t get lost, his eyes wandered around the floor before his reflexes caused him to dodge someone.  

“Excuse me, sorry,” he heard and looked to see a flounce of curls walk away.  It was dream girl. He was about to say something when someone else caught his attention.  

“Pardon me, I just… you’re new.” A British accent hit Jake’s ears and he looked to find himself face to face with John Fitzgerald.  

“Yeah, hi. I’m Jake, IT.”  

“John, accounting.  Sorry, did you see a brunette pass by?” 

Jake stared a second too long at Fitzgerald and shook himself back to the present.  “Uh, yeah, she went into the elevator.”  

“Sly minx, she is.  You must know how that is,” Fitzgerald flashed Jake a rouge smile.  Jake swallowed and nodded unsure what to say.  “Well, I’ll see you around Jake.”  

“Likewise.”  

This guy? Jake shook his head as he poured himself a cup.  Dammit. Now I have to be all douchebag around this guy, he thought to himself as he took a sip.  Another voice startled him that he spilled his coffee a bit.  

“Is he gone?” 

Jake turned to see his dream girl in front of him. Her glasses were pushed up into her hair, showing off her big eyes that he now knew were brown with flecks of green and gold in them. She was chewing on her bottom lip, making it fuller.  Jake was memorized.  “Uh, yeah.  I told him that you went up the elevator.”  

“Thank you.  God, he just won’t take no for an answer.”  

Jake was captivated by her voice. It had a slight accent to it but barely noticeable.  “Sorry for my species.” He wrinkled his nose at the comment and went to leave, knowing he had just made a fool of himself.  

But then he heard it: her giggle.  “Thank you for apologizing.  I’m Sam, by the way. Sam Matthews.”  

Holy. Shit.  

His new boss’s assistant is his dream girl.  

And suddenly, being undercover was not so bad.  

NEXT

Taglist:

@patzammit

@texmexdarling

@slutforchrisjamalevans

@firephotogrl74

@tinkerbelle67

@before-we-get-started

@bunnyforhim

@alexakeyloveloki

@sunnyhummingbee

@whiskeytangofoxtrot555

@peaceinourtime82

@saucy-sassy-sparkly

@kmc1989

@kandis-mom

@lokislady82

[forever1kay]

DC Masterlist

MISC

The misc masterlist will feature characters I don’t plan to write about often. That list will be created eventually, but as of now we’ll just focus on the masterlists below!

-

→ Titans

This list includes characters from the 2018 series Titans. Works about Dick Grayson and/or Kory Anders will frequent more, but I do still write about Conner Kent, Gar Logan, Rachel Roth, Donna Troy, and Jason Todd. You can request other characters such as Hawk and Dove, Tim Drake, or Blackfire but they will be in the misc masterlist.

→ The Losers

This list includes characters such as (Jake) Jensen, Carlos “Cougar” Alvarez, (Franklin) Clay, (William) Roque, Linwood “Pooch” Porteous, and Aisha Al-Fadhil.

→ Black Lightning

This list includes characters such as Jennifer Pierce, Anissa Pierce, Lynn Stewart, Grace Choi, Jefferson Pierce, Khalil Payne, Issa Williams, and Peter Gambi.

→ Justice League

This masterlist includes Henry Cavill’s Superman, Ezra Miller’s Flash, Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, Ben Affleck’s Batman and Jason Momoa’s Aquaman!

→ Young Justice

Including characters from the 2010 DC cartoon show Young Justice. Including characters such as Conner Kent (Superboy), Wally West (Kid Flash), Robin/Nightwing (Dick Grayson), Kaldur’ahm (AquaLad), Karen Beecher (Bumblebee), Jaime Reyes (Blue Beetle), and Virgil Hawkins (Static Shock).

→ My Adventures With Superman

Here I will write about Clark Kent/Superman. If you would like anything written about Lois Lane or Jimmy Olsen, you can request it but it will go in the misc masterlist.

→ Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

I really only planned to write about Clark Kent/Superman, Jack Milner and Jimmy Olsen but you can request works about other characters. If I fulfill your request, those works will go into the misc masterlist.

→ Smallville

Okay, you caught me! I haven’t actually watched the show yet. I’ve only seen short clips. For now, I only plan to write about Clark Kent. This list may possibly be updated after I watch the show.

[amethystina]

💗 Five Comfort Characters, Five Tags 💗

I got tagged by @miss-ingno! Thank you so much 💜

I honestly don't think I have any "comfort characters" as such unless we're talking about my own OCs, but I'm going to assume that no one wants to hear about those. So I'm going to pick characters that I like or find very fascinating instead. This is by no means an exhaustive list because they're basically just the ones that popped into my mind while writing this, but yeah. Also, I'll be splitting it into female and male characters because I can.

Female characters:

Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter. I just find her so incredibly lovable. And her whole aura and outlook on life just makes me so relieved.

Brienne of Tarth from Game of Thrones. Never mind that I never finished it. I still love her to bits (I also have a crush on Gwendoline Christie but that's neither here nor there…)

Evelyn Carnahan/O'Connell from The Mummy. The movie is a childhood staple and I always looked up to how much braver and more capable she became as the story progressed.

Edith Cushing/Sharpe from Crimson Peak. This might be partly because I love the movie so much, but I just like how HUMAN she is. There's something relatable about her even if we have so very little in common and I find that fascinating.

Joan Watson from Elementary. I just really like her. She's smart, she's funny, she's resourceful, she's badass, she's human. In the best way possible.

Male characters:

Seifer Almasy from Final Fantasy VIII. I mean, he's an asshole and all, but he's been a favourite character of mine for so long that it's probably hardwired into my DNA at this point.

Carlos "Cougar" Alvarez from The Losers. Because he's just calm and sensible and I can probably write him in my sleep. That's how comfortable I am with him.

Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Grimm-Pitch the Third from the Simon Snow series. I just finished reading this series and there's just something about Baz that I find very likeable and relatable. I'm very partial to Baz.

Arthit "Oon" Rojnapat from SOTUS. Look. When Arthit cry, I cry. It's as simple as that. And I'm always a sucker for "seems like an asshole but is secretly a big softie."

Dean Winchester from Supernatural. Okay, so this one is partly just nostalgia, I will admit, because Supernatural played a big part in my life at the time I was watching it. And Dean was just always the character I gravitated towards.

Bonus — My UNcomfort Character:

Kang Yo Han from The Devil Judge. I love the fucker to death but it also makes me incredibly uncomfortable to know how similarly we seem to think and work as human beings. It's like watching a "Worst Case Scenario" of yourself x'D

And I'm still terrible at tagging so just do it if you want to! :D

[ao3feed-ineffablehusbandz]

Истории, написанные мною за учебниками

Истории, написанные мною за учебниками

by Blood_like_lemonade

Тот самый сборник драбблов и миников, который должен быть у каждой авторки

Words: 1888, Chapters: 5/?, Language: Русский

Fandoms: БИ-2 | BI-2 (Band), The Losers (2010), The Losers (Comics), 我在惊悚游戏里封神 - 壶鱼辣椒 | I Became a God in a Horror Game - Pot Fish Chili, Nochnoy Dozor | Night Watch - Sergei Lukyanenko, Nochnoy Dozor | Night Watch (Movies), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, Good Omens (TV)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: Gen, M/M, F/M

Characters: Shura Bi-2, Lyova Bi-2, Carlos "Cougar" Alvarez, Jake Jensen, Mu Sicheng, Tawil, Bai Liu, Mu Ke, Tigress | Tigrerra, Bear (Nochnoy Dozor), Tiger Cub (Nochnoy Dozor), Crowley (Good Omens), Aziraphale (Good Omens)

Relationships: Lyova Bi-2/Shura Bi-2, Carlos "Cougar" Alvarez & Jake Jensen, Bai Liu & Tawil, Tigress | Tigrerra/Bear (Nochnoy Dozor), Bear (Nochnoy Dozor)/Tiger Cub (Nochnoy Dozor), Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)

Additional Tags: Drabble Collection

From https://ift.tt/wGWSIVN https://archiveofourown.org/works/46367239

[scuddish]

ÓSCAR JAENADA as CARLOS “COUGAR” ALVAREZ THE LOSERS 2010 | dir. Sylvain White

[msbarrows]

Jake Jensen is sixteen when he meets Tony Stark at MIT. He's nineteen when he joins the US army, and twenty-four when he becomes a Loser. Becoming a Loser is also when he happens to discover that DADT might apply.

But that is not where this story begins. It begins on a cold, winter morning in Massachusetts, when a little girl with hair the colour of cornflakes meets her newborn brother for the first time.

(In which there are evil toasters, all-around nerdiness, and ohana).

Published: 2015-09-22 Completed: 2015-09-22 Words: 50202 Chapters:  9/9

Probably my favourite The Losers story, mostly for how beautifully it fills in a back story for Jake Jensen - in this case one with a bit of a crossover, since it involves him ending up at MIT at the same time as an AU version of Tony Stark. Though the main pairing in it is with Cougar, since Tony is busy with tiny artist!Steve.

Yes there was a close tie, my other option would have been coinin’s A Home’s Heart Is The Kitchen series. Because food is a love language.

[goatsoupfics]

Honestly,depression and self-insert fics just don’t mix. How am I supposed to fantasize about Geralt&Yennefer or Stucky or McDanno or Cougsen running their hands across my dry ass dehydrated skin or touching my unshaved legs like ??? Ma’am I’m not even attrated to myself rn pls I can’t 

[future-dregs]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Losers (2010), The Losers (Comic) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Jake Jensen, Carlos "Cougar" Alvarez, Linwood "Pooch" Porteous, William Roque, Franklin Clay Additional Tags: Gift Giving, Christmas, Fluff Summary:

Jensen is new to the Losers, and he really wants to stay.

[lienwyn]

This is for @shi-toyu since she participated in Trading Losers last year! She wrote this lovely fic right here (which is not as painful as the title might suggest) and wanted a picture of JJ and Cougar clinging to each other in return, preferably from the fic. So this is that!

I hope you like it! <3

[whumpdoyoumean]

Whumptober #23

xxx hold him down

Clay can’t help but enjoy his surroundings as he gets a fire started. They’d completed their assignment early, and now it’s just a matter of waiting. Ordinarily, waiting is one of the worst things to be doing in this line of work. But as far as exfil points go, he really can’t complain. The tiny island in the middle of the South Pacific is lush and green, surrounded by crystal blue water and, best of all, it’s uninhabited. They’d found a small clearing a little ways into the trees to set up camp, and now it’s just thirty-eight hours of peace and quiet. After the week they’ve had, he thinks the team has earned it. 

The fire is just beginning to crackle to life when he hears a commotion from the beach. He doesn’t think anything of it at first; the guys had gone down to the water to wash off the grime, and he wouldn’t be surprised if they’d descended into rough housing. As the noise moves closer, though, it’s obvious that it’s not the fun kind of ruckus, and Clay stands. 

Pooch is the first to stumble into the clearing, eyes wide. “Jensen’s hurt. Cougar says we need to get hot water.”

“What the hell happened?” Clay asks, already moving toward their bags to pull out the mess kit while Pooch gathers their hydration packs.

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

That’s when the other three break through the trees, Cougar and Roque supporting Jensen between them. The young man’s not putting any weight on his right leg. From the way Pooch was acting, Clay was half expecting to see Jensen with a limb dangling, or a chunk out of him from a shark bite. He can’t stop a small relieved smile from creeping onto his face. 

“What, you twist an ankle soldier?”

“I wish.” Jensen’s voice is low and tight, and there’s no trace of his usual sarcasm or humor. Now that they’re closer, Clay can see how pinched his expression is, the sweat beading his brow. 

And then he looks over at Cougar, and his blood runs cold. The sniper’s face is deadly serious. 

“Stonefish,” he says. 

Clay doesn’t know much about marine wildlife, but he knows about those. “Oh, shit.” Suddenly the hot water makes sense. And the urgency.

“Where are we with that hot water?” he calls over to Pooch as Roque and Cougar lower Jensen to the ground.

“I’ve got a pot on the fire,” Pooch responds, while Cougar grabs his pack from the pile.

Jensen lets out a low groan, and Roque sits on the ground next to him. “How we doin’, J?”

“Hurts,” Jensen grinds out.

Clay sees Cougar’s shoulders stiffen slightly and he moves quicker, pulling out his IFAK. Clay moves to his side, keeping an eye on Jensen. 

“What can I do?” he asks. 

Cougar pulls three more items from his pack--his multitool, canteen, and a knife, and then stands, looking Clay in the eye. “Your flask.”

Clay nods, pulling his flask out of the front pocket of his pack before following the sniper over to where Roque and Jensen are. Both look up at Cougar’s approach, Jensen’s eyes widening as they land on the knife in Cougar’s left hand. 

“What-what’s that for?”

“I have to remove the spine.”

Jensen’s face goes pale. “You sure?”

Cougar busies himself opening his IFAK, and Clay can tell he’s deliberately ignoring the question. He and Jensen are close, and Clay knows this isn’t easy for him. Cougar pulls out his pill pack and tears it open, putting several in Jensen’s hand. Jensen swallows them without question.

“Lay him down.” Roque helps Jensen into a lying position while Cougar opens his flask and pours alcohol over his knife blade. He doesn’t look up when he says, “Keep his foot still.”

Roque positions himself near Jensen’s leg, putting weight on his hip and thigh. Clay props Jensen’s foot in his lap, then puts one hand on his heels and one one his toes, holding him firmly. Cougar uncaps his canteen and pours water over Jensen’s foot. The man hisses in pain. 

“Cougs--” he begins, but Cougar is already moving, putting his knife point in the middle of Jensen’s foot. Jensen jerks with a cry, and Clay does his best to keep his foot steady. 

“Easy, Jensen,” Roque says. “Try not to move.”

Clay looks at Cougar. “We got him.”

Cougar nods, then continues his work, making an inch-long incision in the bottom of Jensen’s foot. Jensen is staring straight up, his jaw clenched, breath coming in short bursts through flared nostrils, and Clay can feel him trembling, but he manages to stay still. Cougar sets the knife to the side and pulls out his multi-tool, opening it up and grabbing the flask again. Clay’s stomach turns as he watches Cougar pour alcohol over the needle-nose pliers.

“Now the hard part,” Cougar says. Clay tightens his grip and sees Roque do the same as Jensen lets out a thin, desperate, “What?”

Jensen only screams once before he faints from the pain, and that buys Cougar enough time to get the spine out of his foot. It amazes Clay how much agony can come from such a tiny thing. Now that Cougar’s finished, Roque shifts so he’s sitting behind Jensen, then pulls the man up into a sitting position in front of him. Jensen groans, his head moving against Roque’s chest, and his eyes flutter open. He grimaces immediately but doesn’t say anything, clearly exhausted. Clay turns to Cougar.

“What now?”

Cougar nods toward where Pooch is sitting, heating the water over the fire. 

“How’s that water looking, soldier?” Clay asks.

Pooch dips a finger into the pot and pulls it out quickly. “Hot.”

“Good.” He grabs a shirt from the pile of clothes the men had made before thundering down to the beach and uses it to grab the hot edge of the pot (glorified pan, really) and carries it over to Jensen and Cougar, setting it down next to Jensen.

“What’s that for?” Roque asks. 

“Hot water helps weaken the venom,” Clay answers. Roque looks at him questioningly, one eyebrow quirked up. “What? I did an op with some Australians once.” He turns his attention to Jensen’s foot, noting with concern how rapidly it’s begun to swell, and lifts it carefully into the hot water. 

Jensen’s leg twitches and he makes a sound in the back of his throat. “Fuuuck.”

“Sorry,” Clay says sincerely. “Hang in there.” He straightens and turns to Cougar, who’s staring at the ground, his jaw working. “Hey, Cougs.”

The sniper startles slightly and looks up. Clay nods toward the edge of the clearing, then walks that direction Cougar following him. 

“You okay?” he asks quietly once they’re a little ways away from the group. Cougar doesn’t look at him, just nods once. Without his usual cowboy hat, his damp, wavy hair falls down over his face, hiding his eyes. Clay turns his head to the side, leaning forward a little. “Hey, look at me.”

Cougar raises his head reluctantly and Clay locks eyes with him. 

“Are you okay?” he repeats. 

Cougar nods again. “Si.”

“Good. Because you and I both know that he’s in for a long couple of days. It’s gonna be rough. If at any point the answer to that question changes, you step away and you take five, understood, soldier?”

Cougar stares at him for a second, just breathing, and then he says, “Si, boss.”

Clay holds his gaze for one more second before giving him a clap on the shoulder. “Good.”

Just then, Jensen lets out a loud cry. Cougar is running before Clay can react, and then he’s running, too. 

“Hey! Hey, easy, J!” Roque is saying, and Pooch is standing to one side, hands on the back of his head as he watches, helpless, as Jensen writhes in pain. 

“We’ll need more hot water, Pooch,” Clay says, and then kneels in front of Jensen, putting a hand on his good leg. “What’s happening? Talk to me, Jensen.”

“It’s--it’s bad, boss. Really bad.”

His whole right leg from the knee down is swollen, now, and he’s sweating bullets, his face ashen, eyes glassy.

“I can feel him shaking,” Roque says. There’s a fear in his eyes that Clay rarely sees. “And he’s clammy.”

“Caffeine,” Cougar says suddenly. 

“Caffeine.” Clay is already moving to his pack. “Okay.” He doesn’t know why caffeine, but he trusts Cougar. It takes him a second, but he finds his small packet of caffeine pills, and he jogs them over to the others, handing them to Cougar. 

“Wha-will that help with pain?” Roque asks. 

Cougar shakes his head. “Blood pressure.”

He pours the two pills out of the packet and grabs his canteen, then kneels in front of Jensen, murmuring quietly in Spanish as he puts the pills in the man’s mouth and then holds the canteen up to his lips, carefully helping him to drink. Clay’s surprised that Jensen is able to get them down; it’s obvious that he’s in agony, and he’s looking pretty out of it, eyes half-lidded and wandering. Small groans escape his lips every few seconds, and he squirms uncomfortably against Roque. Roque, whose tough-guy facade is currently full of cracks. 

“Roque. Let’s trade places,” Clay says. “You need to get dressed, anyway; it’ll be dark soon and the last thing we need is you freezing.”

“Let me,” Cougar says quickly, already backing toward the pile of clothes and throwing on his shirt and vest.

Roque seems grateful for the change, and he slips his hands under Jensen’s armpits and stands, holding the man while Cougar sits down behind him. 

“Hey, Pooch,” Clay calls, turning to the man crouched at the fire. “Go get dressed.”

“But the water--” 

“I’ve got the water, go get dressed.” Pooch nods and joins Roque by the sandy clothes pile. 

Clay takes off his coat, grateful that he’d dressed in layers for once, and drapes it over Jensen, tucking it around his shoulders. 

“How we feelin’, soldier?”

At first he’s afraid that Jensen hadn’t heard, but then the young man’s lips part and he says, voice strained, “Like…like my leg’s on fire…” He blinks heavily, and his eyes roll up to meet Clay’s. “‘m I dyin’?”

“No!” Clay says, too quickly. He tries to cover with a smile. “Don’t be so damn dramatic. Just gotta change the water out. You’ll be fine.”

He moves to the water that’s on the fire, relieved when it turns out to be hot. He dumps the cooled water out of the pot, then brings the freshly heated water and pours it over Jensen’s foot. He barely responds this time, his jaw clenching and unclenching while his lashes flutter. He’s still sweating like crazy, and his breathing is noticeably labored. 

“Hey.” Clay reaches forward and grips Jensen’s shoulder. “I said you’ll be fine. You hear me?”

The young man doesn’t answer, his barely-open eyes moving aimlessly. 

“Jensen!” Clay barks, using his best colonel voice, heart sinking when  it doesn’t get the desired response (or any response).

“We’ve got flares.” Clay turns at the sound of Pooch’s voice. “We could send one up. That’s gotta be faster than waiting for ex-fil.”

“Yeah, great idea Pooch. What Jensen could really use right now is a-a bunch of pirates. Or fuckin’ shark poachers. Or maybe we’ll get lucky, and it’ll be the guy Jensen just stole classified intel from!”

“What, you have any better ideas?” Pooch steps forward, closing the space between himself and Roque, staring up at the man who’s easily got three inches on him.

“Guys,” Clay says. Roque is right, but now’s not the time to be taking sides. “There’s probably not even anyone close enough to--”

“Yeah, but if there is--” Pooch begins, and Roque groans loudly. 

“If there is, it could be anyone. You could get all of us killed, man, get your head out of your ass!”

Pooch glares, shoulders squaring. “This is Jensen we’re talking about, or do you not care?”

Roque’s face darkens, and Clay knows that look all too well.

“Guys!” 

They both ignore him, and Clay’s getting ready to break up a fight when Jensen lets out a sharp cry, his arms curling around his stomach as he leans forward and vomits.

“Fuck,” Roque breathes, turning away with a grimace, and Pooch just stares as Jensen is sick again.

“There’s gotta be something I can do besides boiling water,” he says. 

“You think fighting Roque is gonna help?”

Pooch’s shoulders sink a little. “No.”

“The fire needs fuel. Roque, you go with him.” 

The man looks like he wants to argue, but he finally nods, and he and Pooch stomp off into the woods. Either they’ll talk and figure it out, or they’ll beat the shit out of each other but at least it’ll be far enough away that Clay doesn’t have to deal with it. He waits until they’re out of sight before he turns to Cougar. Jensen is leaning against him again, eyes closed, and Clay can see the tremors running through his body. 

“Cougar, what’s the prognosis here?”

Cougar looks up at him. “Probably it will get worse before it gets better.”

Clay lets out a long exhale. “Jesus.” He doesn’t know what worse looks like, and he doesn’t want to know. Even unconscious, Jensen is letting out pained sounds, his right leg twitching. 

Clay remembers the day Jensen showed up, all spiky hair and dorky glasses and stupid jokes and technobabble to hide his nerves. He’d thought then that the kid would definitely die out here, and was promptly proven wrong. The techie’s strength and fast thinking under pressure have continued to surprise him since. He’s had no trouble keeping up with the rest of them. And he’s survived his fair share of terrifying shit.

And now this. Stepping on a poisonous fish while waiting on extraction. 

What a stupid fucking way for it to happen.

“He better not die.” He says it mostly to himself, but Cougar answers anyway, his steady fingers running idly through Jensen’s sweaty hair.

“Ya lo sé.”

Clay lets out a long, exhausted sigh. It’s gonna be a long day and a half, and there’s nothing to do but hope and wait. 

Waiting is one of the worst things to be doing in this line of work.

xxx