Russell moved through the camp, quietly awakening the other soldiers of the 13th Recon Group and directing them to the western perimeter. He hoped that he would have enough time to awaken the rest of the team before the infiltrators arrived, but that depended on -<br/><br/>And as he rounded the corner of the Humvee he saw a crouching figure with a blade in its hand stalking towards Jessie Mitchells.<br/><br/><em>Shit!</em>Russell's hand flashed to the combat knife sheathed upside down on his combat webbing, yanking it free in a swift motion and lunging forward, only to force himself to a halt a moment later when he recognised the person holding the blade.<em>"Dammit, don't scare me like that!"</em>he hissed at Niko in Gatespeak, glaring at the elven girl before pointedly glaring at the sword in her hand. Reaching out he roughly shook Jessie by the shoulder. "On your feet, Mitchells," he growled in her ear. "Stop your grinnin' and grab your linen." Once the redhead had rolled out of her sleeping bag Russell waited until she had picked up her rifle before giving her orders. "We've got potential hostiles coming in on the western perimeter, but you're staying here to protect Lady Niko," Russell growled. "We need a backup option in case they flank us, and you're it. She goes somewhere, you follow her. You get me, Mitchells?" Once the Army private had responded the Marine turned to look at the elf.<em>"Lady Niko, people are trying to sneak up on us from the west,"</em>he told her in a quiet but urgent voice.<em>"We don't know if they're friends or enemies, so stay here. Jessie will be here to protect you, so you'll be safe,"</em>he promised.<br/><br/>By the time he headed back to his foxhole on the western perimeter Russell had quietly alerted the entire 13th Recon to the potential threat. As he slid into position behind his M-249 and snugged the weapon's stock against his shoulder the young man noticed that other soldiers had moved into position alongside him.<em>We're ready and waiting,</em>he thought as he gazed through the M-249's iron sights, his eyes picking out where the intruders had hunkered down.<em>You want to come up here and get us? The hall's set up, the orchestra's ready and the music is ready to play...<br/><br/>Let's dance, motherfuckers.</em><br/><br/>