Second Person: Steve

"You take point Joe," you order as we laid out our plans, you look pointedly at Joe, almost daring him to argue.

"Why me?" Joe asked petulantly. He dared, and you had to fight back your frustration.

"Because you are the best at spinning a line of bull. Plus, I told you to," you replied, staring down the younger man. Joe could get whiny. Being the youngest on the team, You rolled your eyes at his antics. But you know that Joe is a good man, a great soldier, and an even better friend.

Joe was sullen and the twins were not helping, you want to head slap them, but you know it wouldn't do any good. You turn to look at the others.

"Brian and Mark, you two are responsible for acquisition and deployment." you said made motions to the schematic that was stretched out on the table.

You can almost see the thoughts darting through their minds.

"What will you be doing?" Joe asked, resigned to his position.

"I will be running the op from here. Someone needs to make sure it goes smoothly." You rolled up the plans as you spoke. "Alright men," you continued in an official voice, "We have a go. Meet back here at 17:30. Full deployment by 19:00."

You sit back as the others darted off to accomplish their tasks. Good men, you mused.

You thought back to your beginnings, the training, the long hours, the forced trust that springs up between men who watch your back.

You shook your head, standing up. You are glad that you had a domestic motheras you move to fulfill your roll in the op. Grabbing the blank cake you set to decorating it as the others periodically checked in with you. You were just putting the candles on the cake after decorating it with a picture of the Camero when Brian and mark returned.
You look up and see them carrying a black duffel bag between them that bulged with items. They looked extremely pleased. "We've got it!" Mark said. "Yeah, everything," Brian added.

"Excellent. You know what to do."

You only pay passing attention to what Brian and Mark are doing. You can hear them tousling in the background. After they are finished you reach over and flicked off the light, throwing the room into darkness. You can hear Joe faintly in the hallway.

"They told me to tell you that they were going out to the club. They were just going to leave a note, but Steve put me on disciplinary, so I had to stay." Joe's voice had a pout to it. You flinched slightly at the tone in your commanders voice as he drew near.

"I don't care, you should have stopped them. Do you have any idea how much this could jeopardize..." David opened the door and flicked on the light switch.

"Surprise!" You yelled.

"Happy Birthday!" the rest of the team chorused.

You watch as David's eyes widened in surprise and see the slight emotion in his otherwise still face. You can see what it means to him.

"Well boss, make a wish and blow out the candles." you said from beside your commander.

David leaned in, drawing in a breath. He paused for a moment and then blew out all the candles.

"Thank you Steve."

"Your welcome boss. What did you wish for?"

"You know I can't tell you that." David said with a smile.

Behind them Joe, Mark, and Brian were busy hosing each other down with silly string.