Annie's Ride

Danny's helmet tilted over his eyes, sweat running down his face. The building behind him was on fire, but he seemed oblivious, crouching down in the grass to drink of water from his canteen. He wiped the dust and sweat from his face with his arm. His sleeve shifted, revealing a tattoo of a raven-haired woman riding on an arrow. Her legs were wrapped around the shaft, her ankles crossed with one hand holding on in front of her as she leaned forward in anticipation. She had a smile on her face and a look of exhilaration in her eyes. Frank pointed at the image, "Annie enjoying the ride?".

Danny flicked open his lighter, staring at the flame for a moment before answering, "Yeah, she loves watching the bastards burn." he lit his cigarette and took a drag, the ground shaking as more explosions erupted from the surrounding buildings. Frank nodded and clamped his hand onto Danny's shoulder. It took almost ten years to track down the terrorists that bombed the embassy and killed Danny's wife along with four others, but finally it was done.

"I'm going to check in with the others," Frank said, stepping away to give Danny a moment alone.

Danny took another drag and looked around, "It's done Baby." he whispered. He crushed his cigarette into the dirt and stood, ready to move out and move on with his life.