"The<span style="font-style: italic">fuck</span>off me," Lex bit back, tossing the water bottle off to the side and pushing Russell enough to at least get an arm's length of personal space back. His hands trembled from the surge of adrenaline, fingers twitching in desperation to throw a fist. However, it wasn't until Lex had actually shoved Russell that he realized their immense size difference. The voice was an indicator, to be sure, but Lex had no physical qualifiers before they'd actually made contact. It didn't matter if Lex was lankier and faster; fast didn't mean anything when you couldn't see where you were moving to.<br/><br/>The grin that Marcus previously wore had slipped from his face as he watched Lex and Russell size each other up. And then the dumbass fucking<span style="font-style: italic">pushed</span>the man, and Marcus dropped his things onto the bed closest to the barracks door. "Whoa,<span style="font-style: italic">whoa</span>, hold up," he interjected, slipping himself between Lex and Russell, tangling one fist at the front of Lex's shirt and holding his other hand out defensively to keep at least an arm's length's distance between them and Russell. Lex tried to shrug out of Marcus' grasp, but he only tightened his grip and shook his brother a bit. "Cut it out," he ordered, glaring from Lex, to Russell, and finally to Jenessa who was still perched on the bed. "You want to tell me what happened?"<br/><br/>Jenessa stumbled over her words, and when she'd finally found her vernacular, Lex knowingly or unknowingly cut her off. "Just get me out of here." It came as an instruction, but Marcus knew his brother well enough to know a plea when he heard one. He trained his eyes on Jenessa, wishing for the world that you could kill someone by staring at them.