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[Author's Note-this story was inspired by, and heavily borrows from, an episode of Soldier of Fortune that I thought would have made a great Scarecrow & Mrs. King episode. This story takes place in-between the Scarecrow & Mrs. King episodes "All The World's A Stage" and "Stemwinder"]
Now: Germany, Day 0 Time 0:00
The Agency chopper lowered itself onto the red cross of the roof helipad of the hospital. A NEST medical team waited just out of reach of the strong winds radiating from the long, rotating blades. As soon as the skids met concrete, the team raced forward, dragging the gurney with them. A hatch in the chopper's side slid open and a man in blue coveralls gestured them to hurry. The burned and bloodied figure was lowered, the oxygen mask making it impossible to identify the features of Billy Melrose.
Another gurney took the first one's place, and a woman was handed out and helped onto it, her eyes swathed in bandages. Francine Desmond leaned onto the flat surface, her hands reached out to blindly steady herself.
A third person -- another casualty. The doctors huddled around, frantically monitoring EKG and IV lines. Amanda King's head and neck had already been immobilized. Without looking back the medical personnel raced away. A dazed, but mobile, final lone figure came to the darkened hatchway and lowered himself out.
Lee Stetson's eyes never left his friends being wheeled to the roof's doors.
A paramedic pitched his voice to carry over the helicopter's engine noise. "You okay?" But the agent didn't seem to hear him. "Are you okay?" he yelled again.
Lee ignored the question for one of his own. "We got 'em here in time, didn't we? They're gonna be okay, right?" he shouted over the backwash of sound.
"Sure. Sure, sir. They'll be fine." The medic nodded, not at all certain, but Lee headed after his teammates without waiting for the answer.
Dr. Smyth intercepted him inside.
"Stetson. We need to clear the air."
Lee turned on him, snarling. "Your intel isn't worth the paper it's printed on, that's as clear as it gets!"
"This wasn't my fault," Smyth defended angrily.
Lee shook his head. "Your target. Your contacts. Your communications." His voice rose with each item he ticked off on his fingers. Then those fingers clenched together. "It was all yours!"
"Intel was ours -- the operation was yours," Dr. Smyth pointed out sharply.
Lee fixed him with an icy glare. "You sent us," he stated with finality
Before: Washington DC, Day -4
"Who thought this one up?" Lee asked for the fifteenth time.
"Listen, Scarecrow! This is of the highest level," Dr. Smyth ordered.
"How can this even get assigned? There are so many unconfirmed areas in this proposal that it looks like swiss cheese." Lee threw up his hands in disgust.
"You're not irreplaceable to this operation."
Lee and Billy had been in Dr. Smyth's office all morning to discuss what had been labeled by some judicial desk-jockey as a top priority assignment. After four hours cornered with the bureaucrat, tempers had begun to run short.
"I think we're getting off track here," Billy interrupted smoothly, trying to forestall another insult match. "Let's review the facts again. We have Herrera, an established negative influence on society." His lips took on a wry twist. "Who is currently in prison for arms dealing on a scale that many of us can only blink at. He had agreed to give-evidence against his co-patriots for a deal, but is now unwilling to talk about anything, including his last bank statement, because he's under pressure from a Middle Eastern weapon's cartel who have kidnapped his daughter."
"Ensuring his silence," Dr. Smyth added.
"If he testifies, she pays the price," Billy acknowledged.
"And that's all the facts we have," Lee reminded his superiors again. "It's not enough," he insisted fiercely. "We've got nothing on her, what her affiliations are, the backgrounds of the people holding her or even how they grabbed her in the first place."
"Not your problem." Smyth waved an unconcerned hand to dismiss Lee's reservations. "Your only concern is to get her out of Iraq -- ASAP."
Lee clenched his jaw in an effort not to explode. Smyth just didn't get the big picture and Lee wondered if the man had ever been out in the field. "And you think he'll talk then? Have you seen his rap sheet?" He shook his head. "This guy's pond scum. Why would he deal fair?" Lee's skepticism remained as fresh as the first time they'd gone over this new scenario.
Dr. Smyth slapped the profiling folder on top of his desk. "He's a snake, but he will still be our snake."
"He's a father and he's not going to take any chances with his daughter's life," Billy agreed, shifting uncomfortably in his chair.
Lee could see Billy's unease about this new alliance. The whole situation seemed a little too pat -- too convenient. A daughter no one had any record of just happened to pop up and get kidnapped two days before the man was supposed to give his deposition to the JAG.
"You and your operative here don't seem to want to understand me, Billy." Smyth narrowed his eyes in warning. "Your job is to get her back into this country. Shutting down a major weapons trade is my concern. You get the girl, I get the weapons. Comprende?" Smyth jabbed his cigarette holder at them to emphasize his point. "And I want the best kiddies." He stared pointedly at Billy. "Only the best for this one."
Now: Germany, Day 0 Time 0:00
Forced a step back by Lee's angry glare, Smyth took a new tact. "All right, we had a glitch."
Lee shook his head. "Glitch, hell. We never should have taken the damn job in the first place."
Before: Iraq, Day -1
Lee crouched against the old garden wall. Adjusting his night vision goggles, he pulled back the cover on his watch and checked the time. The mechanized piece agreed with what his eyes had begun to detect -- a faint hint of encroaching gray in the darkness. Dawn was not far off. He keyed his throat mic and softly spoke into it, checking the positions of his team who had spent the night quietly surrounding the old stone house that lay 300 yards on the other side of the fence.
"Gimme a run down."
"Position one -- check." That would be Miller. Lee hadn't worked with him before. He'd only joined the Agency a year or two ago, but he'd heard all the rumors. Off duty, the brash, ex-fraternity man was still hell bent on getting into as much trouble as he could handle. But on the job, word circulated he knew how to handle himself. Leatherneck had even hailed him as his star pupil in marksmanship. Faint praise indeed.
"Position two -- checks out." Francine. It still amazed him that beneath all the glitzy, southern charm, she proved one of the best field operatives he'd ever worked with.
"Back door -- ready." Then there was Davis. On loan from the Marines, and an explosives expert, he'd won just about every field award available to someone in his position. He came across as a quiet man, obviously not used to small talk. Lee had held back a grin as Amanda tried to make him feel welcome on the transport plane over. Their conversations had largely involved her speaking for minutes on end with Davis replying in one syllable responses.
Speaking of his partner. "Amanda?"
"Here," the response came, accompanied with the slight pressure of her hand on his shoulder. He studied her, not thrilled she'd accompanied them on such a dangerous incursion. But Billy had pointed out they had to start including her in on more critical mission profiles sometime. Better ones where they were both present than not. And the mission specialists had indicated Amanda's unique interpersonal skills might be beneficial if Herrera's daughter proved resistant to rescue. Still, that didn't prevent Lee from pulling her aside and making certain she knew her position was at his back and not in the line of fire.
"All right, Billy," Lee sent to his superior. "Looks good to go."
The two taps that plinked back through the earpiece notified him he'd been heard.
Now: Germany, Day 0 Time 0:00
Smyth held up a placating hand. "Stetson, if warranted, then I apologize."
"Sorry doesn't work when my people are in there cut to ribbons. I need more than a friggin' apology."
"I understand how you must feel..."
Lee cut him off, "You don't know a damn thing about how I feel." His words lowered menacingly. "Believe me, you don't want to." He slapped the door open and continued down the trauma wing's corridor.
* * *
Lee sat uncomfortably on the examining table, his shirt and armored vest lay in a discarded heap on a nearby chair. A man in green scrubs carefully wielded a needle and thread in order to repair the long bullet crease in the agent's shoulder.
"Where are they?" Lee asked, not seeming to notice the slight tug of the suture pulling through his skin.
"Surgery," the doctor stated distractedly, knotting and cutting the thread. "And the burn ward."
"One of the women... her name's Amanda," Lee persisted.
"She's in intensive," came the reply. The man squinted down at his work.
A blonde woman dressed in a blue surgical cap and gown with a stethoscope hung around her neck, interrupted him from the doorway. "They'll tell you when they know more." She moved to the far counter across the room and slid a closed chart into its slot.
Lee angled away from the hands now trying to apply a butterfly bandage to the cut on his forehead and moved to face the woman. "How is she?" His voice was rough.
"Just wait here. The doctor'll come as soon as he can," she responded gently, but there was an undertone to her words that made the knots in Lee's stomach tighten.
She left, stepping to one side to allow the tall man in a business suit to enter.
Dr. Smyth's words picked up as if over thirty minutes had not gone by. "It was a righteous mission, Scarecrow." But he found himself talking to Lee's back when the agent bent to pick up his shirt. He pushed onward. "You know that."
Lee savagely tugged the black material over his head. "Right."
"We were given a short deadline."
"And that was a lie wasn't it?" Lee pointed out, his tone anything but sweet. He pushed past Dr. Smyth and headed into the hallway. He checked his direction and with only the briefest of hesitations headed left.
"Call it bad intel," Dr. Smyth's reasoned, exasperated, as he followed.
"Bad intel or not, my people are paying the price."
"You're overreacting, Scarecrow," Smyth insisted, sounding like the near-politician he was.
Lee halted abruptly. "Really?" He swung around to face the bureaucrat. His hand shot out towards the entrance of the room they stood before. "Maybe you want to tell that to him, huh? Maybe he's overreacting," he spat out acidly.
The expression on Dr. Smyth's face didn't change, but his eyes flickered to the view beyond the doorway and then away, unwilling to return.
Lee strode past him.
A doctor immediately moved forward from her position by the room's only occupant to intercept Lee. "You can't be in here." The words came automatically from her lips, but then her gaze took in Lee's bloodied, black fatigues and something else -- something reflected on his face. Her tone changed and lowered.
"Third degree burns… nothing more we can do... just keep him comfortable," she related, speaking soft truths.
Her words washed over Lee in waves, one after another. Slowly, he brushed past her to stand beside Billy Melrose: Supervisor. Mentor. Friend.
He cleared his throat. "Hey, chief."
Billy lay strapped on the bed tilted at a forty-five degree angle to let the fluids drain. His body was nearly mummified in a swath of moisture-soaked bandages, applied to stop the burning heat his charred skin still felt. His not-quite-focused gaze moved to Lee and seemed to sharpen in recognition. "We all made it back didn't we, Lee?"
Lee leaned forward. "Yeah, Billy we all made it back," he lied.
"Mission went bad. Never use… unconfirmed reports," Billy stated groggily "No matter where… the orders… from. I knew… I knew that…" he murmured through cracked lips.
Before: Iraq, Day 0 Time -4:00
Lee knelt in the brush beside Amanda and checked in one last time with Billy and Francine. He searched for his agents, rewarded with a nod from Miller. So far everything looked good.
"Moving forward," came Billy's quiet notification over the earbug.
Billy and Davis crept ahead with Francine covering their movement, observing their progress through her rifle's scope.
Billy elbowed past piles of wet leaves and paused by the low garden hedge, taking up a spotter's post as Davis continued onward. The younger man angled to the right and fifty paces down. He held up a hand and signaled he was in position. Billy jerked his chin up and down once in a sharp motion.
Davis huddled before a cluster of green wires nearly hidden in the dirt. Tapping into the security lines along the garden's decorative low hedge, he carefully attached a series of black boxes, then crept back into the surrounding foliage. "Diversion's are set," he relayed to Billy.
With the black shadows starting to turn a dark gray, Lee and Amanda edged by Billy and out into the perimeter, leaving Miller to cover their planned exit route.
Lee spotted a guard making his rounds and froze behind a large sculpted plant. The sentry passed within a yard of them and turned the corner of the house. Lee checked his watch. The man was right on time.
Amanda peered toward the dimly lit windows of the brick structure. There was no movement from the house.
In the odd leap frog pattern they had plotted out only hours before on the situation room's map, Francine steeled forth from her hiding place to the corner of the garage past Lee and Amanda. Leaning into the shadows, her dark clothing made her nearly invisible.
Lee keyed his mic. "Davis, give me a five count and trigger your charges."
"Roger that. Counting -- five, four, three, two, one," Davis murmured, then pushed the switch on the black box.
Nothing.
Davis muttered an expletive and slapped the mechanism against his palm. Still nothing.
"Davis? What's going on?"
Davis ignored Lee, concentrating on the malfunctioning equipment.
Billy frowned and signaled to Lee as he crawled toward the other agent. "Give us a minute."
"Lee!" Amanda called.
Lee's attention swung to the entrance of the house where a young woman, perhaps in her late teens, was being dragged out by six heavily armed men. They began firing their semi-automatic weapons into the greenery, pulling the woman along. "That's done it." Lee cursed. "Heads up. They know we're here."
"That's her -- Herrera's daughter!" Francine's voice rang across the line.
"Go people. We've gotta take them out," Billy ordered. They'll kill her if we let them get away," Billy ordered.
Lee took aim and pulled the trigger, knowing he was too far out of range for much accuracy.
Billy swore and raced to a better position behind Davis as the bullets hit all around. Things were going south fast and definitely not according to plan. He motioned for Davis to keep cover and snuck forward to reset the charges on the security line. If they could still get the distraction going, maybe it would cause enough confusion. He dropped to his knees and began yanking at wires, re-plugging them into the softened gray putty. "Damn! Stuff's expired," he growled. Gunfire spat across the lawn seemingly from all directions.
"Billy, get out of there," Lee yelled into his pickup, suddenly cut off as he ducked against a tree to avoid the hail of bullets swarming past his face.
Flying lead bit into the ground at Billy's feet, then there was a flash. One of the projectiles penetrated the black rectangle attached to the security line, instantly triggering the device.
The concussion knocked Billy through the air like a child's rag doll, the fire of the explosion flaying at his skin. He hit the ground ten feet from where he started.
"Billy's down!" Davis shouted, unable to move as he exchanged fire with the night guard who'd come racing towards the fight.
"Amanda?" Lee yelled.
"Here!"
"Help him."
Amanda reached Billy's side and knelt by him in the wet leaves. She tore the gloves off of her fingers with her teeth, reaching out a shaking hand, she felt for a pulse. His burnt skin crackled unnervingly under her touch.
"Amanda?"
She pushed at the button hooked to her collar. "He's bad, Lee. We've got to get him to some help."
Sparing a moment to check behind him, Lee gauged the distance to Amanda and Billy but his attention was forced back by the ricochet of bullets across the compound.
More flashes of fire spat from one of the house windows. His own rifle kicked against his shoulder as he returned the message. Crouched against the garage beside Francine, Miller echoed the fire as she reloaded. Desperately they tried to stop those who were dragging the teenager away. But the men were getting closer and closer to their ultimate objective -- the black van parked in the driveway.
Then everything seemed to slow down. Explosions bled past Lee's ears in great, long-lasting reverberations. The terrorists reached the vehicle and from his vantage point, Lee could see several more men joining their attackers from the courtyard, traveling along the wall toward Francine and Miller.
Lee shouted a warning as he realized the newcomers were in his fellow agents' blind spot. It seemed to take forever for the words to travel the thirty feet. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Davis jerk and stagger, slowly sagging against the garden wall, leaving a dark trail of red behind him. Lee's gun barked out at the two men who appeared on the roof. It seemed to fire in slow percussions with his heartbeat. One. Two. Three. Amanda threw herself across Billy to shield him from the hail of metal coming from above. The mission was shot to hell.
"Pull out," Lee ordered, his voice distorted and elongated to his own ears. "Pull out."
Now: Germany, Day 0 Time 0:00
"We blew it." Billy's words were nearly inaudible, but Lee leaned forward catching them all the same.
"No, I blew it," Lee corrected grimly.
"Never got the girl," Billy continued, not hearing him.
"Don't think about that now."
"Too old for these kind of..." Suddenly, Billy began to choke -- red, frothing bubbles came to his lips.
"Doctor. Doctor!" Lee shouted. His hands hovered over Billy, uncertain how to help. "Hang in there, Billy. Hang in there," he ordered, feeling completely helpless.
The physician appeared at his back. "They need you down the hall." She yanked the stethoscope from around her neck.
"Who?"
The doctor began checking for lung sounds. Billy's spasms lessened but his breaths continued to make great sucking noises. "The woman -- she's asking for you."
Lee's glance shot to the doorway then to Billy. A great unnamed fear that had been hovering in the background settled on him like a cloud. This was turning into the worst 24 hours of his life.
He gripped the older man's heavily bandaged shoulder hoping his touch would convey more reassurance than pain. "Stay with us, Billy. Fight it." He left and moved through the corridor, his eyes frantically searching every window.
A man in green scrubs appeared at one door. First scanning the hall, then his gaze rested on Lee. A look of relief crossed his features. "In here." He gestured.
Lee pushed past him and froze at the sight of the fragile form laying in the bed. His gaze swept over Amanda, devouring her. Her eyes were closed, her skin an icy white. A neck brace cradled her delicate throat. She looked dea... a pain took hold of him and he inhaled sharply. He'd brought her to this.
Why had he picked her out from all those people in the crowd? On that day, what had made him look up and trust her? Of all the people in the train station, why not the man with the baseball jacket? Why not the girl in the running shoes? What had drawn him to this one woman? He hadn't thought about it -- had simply let instinct choose for him as he shoved past the line of boarding passengers. Not her. Not him. Yes, this one. He'd swung her around and handed her the package. He remembered the events so long ago.
I'm in trouble. Help me. Please, I'm in trouble…
Originally he'd barely noticed that face, wide-eyed and alight with life -- and an energy he would come to know so well, come to... cherish. At that moment, she had looked straight into him and taken a leap of faith, hurtling herself into his life.
What is it you want me to do?
The words echoed in his mind as he now stared at those pale features. No hint of their natural color or sparkle suffused its surface. God, why had he ever dragged her into this?
The doctor stepped up to his side. "Mr. Stetson. Mr. Stetson?" He gestured for Lee join him outside. The man spoke low so Amanda wouldn't be able to hear, even in her unconscious state. "The bullet entered above her vest. It's a serious T-1 injury. There's no feeling south of the wound."
"But she's breathing," Lee pushed stubbornly, unwilling to acknowledge what the man's expression had already hinted at.
"Her vitals are unstable. They're bouncing all over the chart."
"Okay, okay. But you're doing something, right?" Lee insisted.
The man's voice became even softer as he shook his head. "She wouldn't make it through surgery."
"What are you telling me?" Lee searched the man's face. "That she's...?" He felt like a wind had been knocked right through him, leaving only a hollow shell.
"She won't make it 'til morning," the doctor apologized.
Lee stared, finally, looking into the room where Amanda lay.
A moment passed, then two. He nodded, his eyes not leaving her still form. "Thank you." Taking a deep breath, he straightened his spine. Wiping all expression from his face, he returned to Amanda's side.
Before: Iraq, Day 0 Time - 3:45
Continuing to lay a suppressing fire, Lee yelled to Amanda. "Take cover!" But instead of getting out of danger, she flung herself across Billy's injured body, protecting his head with her arms.
Aiming desperately at the dark silhouette of the man on the roof, Lee half ran, half crawled to reach Billy and Amanda side. Another round of bullets blew past him in a wave -- a cry echoed. He wrenched around. Amanda crumpled sideways -- slowly -- slowly, her hand outstretched to him. She fell.
Now: Germany, Day 0 Time 0:00
Softly the heart monitor beeped.
He lowered himself into a chair by her bedside. "Hi, partner."
Dark lashes fluttered open and her brown eyes rested on Lee, reaching into him. "Hi," was her wavering response.
He swallowed and looked down at his hands. "You know, you really should have stayed back like I told you."
"I know," she replied hoarsely. "Pretty silly, huh?"
Before: Iraq, Day 0 Time -3:44
Amanda turned. Her hand rose up and pointed. Words flowed past her like water in time. "Lee look! They're taking Herrera's daughter… Billy, he's hurt bad… Take cover… Amanda get down." Then came the pain.
Now: Germany, Day 0 Time 0:00
"Pretty silly wasn't it?"
"Oh, Amanda. If only…"
She made a small negative motion. "No… No if onlys." She gasped and choked, then seemed to regain herself. "No regrets."
He looked away then back up at her, his gaze fiercely intent. "You're going to get through this. You're going to get better. And whatever time is left, whatever we can enjoy, we're going to do it together," Lee vowed.
Her eyes roamed over his strong features and she let a small smile tilt up one corner of her mouth. "You always were a lousy liar," she whispered.
"Don't say that." He grabbed her hand despite the fact he knew she could no longer feel his touch. "It's gonna take some time, but I'm going to get you out of this. It's gonna be a new life," he choked out.
"Lee."
He studied her numb fingers lying beneath his own. "Listen. I think it's time we're honest with each other... about how we feel. How I feel." He swallowed hard, his jaw tightening. "I know I'm not the most open guy about this stuff, but we've been circling each other for a long time, you and I." He leaned an arm across the top of her pillow. He couldn't tuck her into his shoulder so he gently lay his cheek against hers. "I'm in the batter's box now… and I think it's time I made a move to first base. Don't you think?"
"It's... too complicated." She loved him so much and now it was too late. "It's easier this way." Tears filled her eyes.
"Don't. Don't you say that," he pleaded desperately.
"Lee…" Her words became faint. "I'm scared," she gasped.
The heart monitor hit a single, low tone.
Lee squeezed his eyes tightly shut and lay with his face still pressed into her hair. The pain ached too intensely to leave her just yet.
He felt as if he had died right along with her, only his body just hadn't yet realized it. His eyes burned behind their lids, re-living those last moments of the fire-fight again and again… God, how had things turned out so terribly wrong?
"Lee?" Francine gently called. Her eyes were now heavily bandaged so she used the walls and door frame as a guide. She held onto the molded wood, listening for his response.
Lee said nothing, then gently kissed the hand still held tightly in his own and lay it by Amanda's side.
"I think... maybe..." she faltered and then continued, "maybe she's better off."
He stiffened every fiber of his body screaming out its denial. A single word like a moan of pain escaped his lips. "No…" Followed swiftly by a more vehement cry. "No, you're wrong."
Chest heaving, he stood, fists clenched at his side, unwilling to turn towards Amanda, knowing that to do so would be the last time he would see her.
Despite the swiftness of the denial, Francine's words settled into his chest like a rock that had been swallowed. They hung there, pressing and heavy, making a mockery of his own heart's steady beating, hinting that it might be true. He gazed down at the solemn features now closed in seeming sleep. Amanda would have hated the life of inactivity her injuries would have imposed -- that she might have, in time, grown to hate him and everything else she loved in the ongoing struggle to simply preserve the ability to breath. His mouth twisted, holding back the cry that tried to claw its way up his throat. Hand shaking, he reached out to tuck a final stray lock of hair away. But it wouldn't have mattered, not to him, he would have loved her all the same.
A long moment passed. He could hear the small sounds of Francine behind him. He still had members of his team to take care of.
After a last wrenching glance he turned to take a step toward the blonde woman. Bleakly he observed her bandages. "What did the doctor say?"
"That I should find another line of work," she responded "Problem is, there isn't that much call for socialite spies who are blind." Francine's mobile mouth formed a bitter smile below the gauze. "Funny isn't it?"
Before: Iraq, Day 0 Time -3:40
"Pull out! Pull out!"
Francine and Miller heard the words shouted over their comlink and began edging back the way they'd come. Bullets whistled past. Miller stopped and knelt beside her, aiming at a sniper in a second floor window of the L-shaped building. Francine checked behind them as they came to a corner, her gun held at the ready. A hand shot out and hit her arm with numbing force, but she didn't release the weapon. It was one of the security force they had originally tracked when they had entered the compound. She and the guard struggled for a moment, his large size doing its best to overwhelm her, while Miller frantically fired his gun trying to gain enough lead-time to help her.
One of the man's hands wrapped around the wrist with the gun, the other reached for her throat, slamming her head against the cinder block wall. Desperately Francine fumbled to bring the muzzle up into the man's chest. He smashed her against the wall again. She saw stars. Using her training, she shifted her weight and the man's body mass moved with her, allowing the leverage needed to bring her weapon up under his ribs. But the motion also changed their position along the wall just enough so they were now opposite a window. Even as she fired a bullet into the man's belly, he slammed her face through the plate glass.
Before: Iraq, Day 0 Time -3:25
Lee waited expectantly at the opening of the evac helicopter that had arrived on the border of the compound only seconds before. Amanda and Billy and been slung inside like sacks of potatoes and the pilot was champing at the bit to be out of there and away from the hostile fire.
"Not yet. Not yet," Lee chanted as he visually searched the lightening dawn for the other members of the team.
There. There they were racing around the far end of the wall. Miller helped a stumbling Francine, her arm flung across his shoulder, while he shot his weapon randomly behind them in the off-chance he might dissuade their pursuers.
Lee bent to grab Francine, pulling her into the waiting medic's arms. Then he reached out a hand for Miller, but the gloved fingers slipped from his grasp as twin blooms of red burst through the other agent's chest, followed by the sound of bullets slamming into the bottom rim of the helicopter.
Now: Germany, Day 0 Time 0:00
"Miller was a jerk who hit on me at the Xerox machine every chance he got," Francine stated, shaking her head sadly. "But Miller was still Miller. He might have been a cute jerk, but he was still... he was…"
Francine swayed dizzily for a moment and Lee reached out a hand to steady her. She shrugged it violently away, stumbling through the entryway. "Let go of me. Let go." For an instant he stood stunned at the fury in her tone, then she tripped backward over her own feet.
Lee grabbed Francine before she could hit the floor and for his efforts she took a blind swing at him.
"We all did the best we could," Lee assured her.
Momentum caused them to fall against the wall in the hallway. "No," she sobbed, aiming another punch toward his face, not caring that it connected with his shoulder instead.
Lee tried to steady her as she slipped to the floor but she would have none of it. "Francine. We all did our best."
"You call that doing our best?" she shouted. "I don't, Stetson!"
"Hey! Hey!" Hearing the commotion, a nurse came running. She saw the one-sided fight and pushed between Lee and Francine. "Do you think this is doing anyone any good?"
Lee stood back as the nurse leaned over Francine, checking her bandages. "Do you think I wanted this to happen. Huh?" he bit out brokenly. "You think I wouldn't change this if I could?"
Francine sat in a heap breathing heavily, ignoring the nurse's prodding. "To tell you the truth, Lee. I don't know what to think anymore."
"Code Blue, Room 1234," announcement the PA system, startling them both.
A frown marred Lee's face. "1234?" That wasn't Billy's room. Puzzled, Lee peered up and down the corridor. 1234? Somehow it seemed important.
"Code Blue. One and Two and Three and Four."
An odd ringing began in his ears. It had a strange rhythm to it -- coming and going like the ocean -- Like a train. It beat against his ears until it pounded in his head, making his teeth ache. No, not a train. The sound was… was what? Grayness began to steal its way over his vision and he felt dizzy. It was a helicopter…
The thumping sound of a helicopter's blades.
Rising up like a tidal wave of force, darkness pressed down on him to the tempo of heavy metal fighting against air. Above the sound, for one brief instant, he heard voices whispering words, whispering his name and the black swallowed him.
Now: Germany, Day 0 Time 0:01
The Agency chopper lowered itself onto the red cross of the roof helipad of the hospital. A NEST medical team waited for it just out of reach of the strong winds radiating from the long, rotating blades. As soon as the footrails met concrete, the team ran forward with a gurney. A hatch in the chopper's side slid open and a man in blue coveralls gestured. A bloody figure was off-loaded, an oxygen mask covered his face. The doctors huddled around the patient, frantically monitoring EKG and IV lines. With their new charge, they raced away across the roof.
As soon as they were away a dazed but mobile figure came to the door and lowered himself out. Reaching back, he assisted a woman down. Then another filled the entrance and he lifted a hand to help her out too. Together, the trio ducked beneath the chopper blades and headed toward the hospital. The man waved away the other emergency personnel who converged around them like flies. And the woman with the sad, brown eyes rushed past -- ahead -- into the doorway and beyond.
Now: Germany, Day 0 Time 0:02
Amanda was only a step behind the medical personnel now. Lee had been lifted down and placed on a gurney. His eyes remained closed. He hadn't regained consciousness during the entire flight, hadn't even stirred when hoisted into the helicopter. She wondered if he was still aware of what was happening, if he knew they were all there with him. Or had he drifted off into some nebulous place away from the pain, away from all of them? Did he dream? Or was he even now hovering too close to death for pain and dreams to reach him. She bit her lip and hurried through the trauma room doors, followed grimly by Francine and Billy.
* * *
"Please, how is Lee... um, Agent Stetson?" Amanda asked the nurse taping down yet another IV at Lee's elbow.
"Get these people out of here," the trauma physician demanded. He never looked up from trying to ascertain the extent of Lee's injuries.
Stepping up beside her, Billy took in Amanda's determined face. "We're not going anywhere," he declared resolutely.
Another woman in a blue medical gown reached behind her for a second set of surgical packs. "He's bad but we're doing everything we can," she calmly explained.
The first doctor frowned while barking out orders to his staff. "You want him to have a chance, I need this room cleared." He paused long enough to announce.
Francine took Amanda's arm. "Come on." Gently she tugged. "Let them do their jobs."
Pale faced, Amanda allowed herself to be pulled back slowly, but her eyes remained focused on Lee. There was so much blood. How could anyone survive the loss of so much blood?
"Give me a BP."
She couldn't turn away as she found herself pulled from the room.
"95 over... 85 over..."
"Is the OR prepped?"
Somehow she knew that if she let herself lose contact with Lee, for even the briefest instant it took to blink, then the darkness would have a chance to swallow him up.
"We're losing him."
"Give me some adrenaline!"
"Damn. Start CPR."
"One and two and three and four and..."
Resolutely she didn't blink, she continued to stare even when the doors shut in her face. So fixed on her concentration, she never even felt Francine's arm come around her shoulders or her whispered words. "Lee's strong, Amanda. He'll get through this."
The tap of Dr. Smyth's dress shoes sounded loudly on the hall's tiles. "How is he?"
Billy turned to his superior. "He's been better," he replied curtly.
Amanda still stared at the wooden doors as if she could see beyond them by sheer force of will. "No, he's going to be okay. He's going to pull through," she insisted hoarsely.
Dr. Smyth glanced only briefly at the double doors then returned to his primary concern. "What happened down there kiddies? Who dropped the ball?"
"Who dropped the...?" Francine bit back the response clawing at her throat. She took a shuddering breath deep into her lungs and carefully selected her words. "Hard to say... sir. We were on sight, working the plan, when suddenly the rules changed." Her words took on an acid twist. "It was a hostage rescue where the hostage started shooting back." Her eyes narrowed accusingly at the section leader.
Before: Iraq, Day 0 Time -4:00 to 0:00
Lee crouched in the bushes beside Amanda and checked in one last time with Billy and Francine. Behind him he saw Miller's nod. So far everything looked good.
"Moving forward," Billy quietly notified over the transmitter.
Davis knelt, carefully attaching a series of black boxes. When finished, he crept back into the brush. "Diversions are set."
Lee and Amanda left Miller covering their planned exit route and moved past Billy out into the perimeter.
Lee keyed his mic. "Davis, give me a five count then trigger your charges."
"Roger that. Counting. Five, Four, Three, Two, One."
Nothing.
"Lee!" Amanda called.
Lee's attention swung to the entrance of the house. A young woman was being dragged out by heavily armed men who fired their semi-automatic weapons into the greenery. "That's done it." He cursed. "Heads up. They know we're here."
Billy swore and raced to a better position behind Davis who was returning fire. He knelt and began yanking at wires, re-plugging them into the softened gray putty. Flying lead bit into the ground at his feet when there was a flash. One of the projectiles penetrated the black rectangle attached to the security line, instantly triggering the device.
The concussion knocked Billy through the air like a child's rag doll, landing him ten feet from where he started.
"Billy's down!" Davis shouted.
"Amanda?" Lee yelled.
"Here!"
"Help him."
Amanda reached Billy's side in the brush.
"Sir?"
"Uh…" Billy blinked his eyes furiously, trying to focus faster.
"Are you all right, sir?"
"Just stunned. Give me a hand, it's not safe here."
Amanda's static laden report buzzed into Lee's ear, but was drowned out by the sounds of gunfire. About to risk a look backward to check on her and Billy, Lee saw movement by the van parked between the garage and the house. It was the guards and Herrera's daughter. He frowned, something didn't look right, but he didn't have time to figure what it was as slivers of bark chipped from the trees in a sharp hail. He ducked.
Shifting position, his mind raced. What was it? What? A young woman, dark hair caught back in a ponytail, black jacket and jeans, running with her captors. The men were well-armed, probably ex-soldiers or some sort of mercenary faction... the woman had been running with her captors. That was it.
Bullets bit even closer to his hiding place. Re-seating his rifle at his shoulder, he raised himself up and fired off a volley in the direction of the sniper on the roof. The man-shaped silhouette withdrew.
Lee searched the carport. The woman had reached the van. Instead of climbing in, she yanked open its rear door and began handing out weapons to her men. Keeping one for herself, she turned and fired, spraying a hail in greeting at her would-be rescuers.
Lee shouted a warning to Amanda and Billy to take cover. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw them dive for the dirt. He reached for a new clip. He had to stop the rooftop shooter if they were going to be able to get out of...
Pain. Pain. Pain.
It slammed into him from every direction, cutting off all other sensations. His breathing suddenly became very loud in his own ears. The clip fumbled and dropped out of his right hand.
Disoriented, Lee watched Davis yelling at him from the garden retaining wall, but no sounds reached him. Lee shook his head, but that only made him dizzier. The marine nodded his head as if understanding and leapt up, shooting towards the top of the house.
More men poured in from the lower courtyard, their motions slowed as though underwater.
Lee tried to bring his rifle to his chest, but his hands wouldn't respond. He could see Francine struggling with an assailant against the side of the garage, the shadows no longer protecting her. As they fought, glass exploded around Francine's head when the man's fist went through the window. Miller moved in to help.
Fuzzy whirls began to take over Lee's vision as a distorted and elongated voice reached his ears. "Pull out! Pull out and fall back now!"
Now: Germany, Day 0 Time 10:00 Post-surgery
"Three rounds, huh?"
"Yes, he was hit in both legs. Tore open the femoral artery. Penetrated the left shoulder. Between the traumatic injuries and the loss of vascular integrity, I'm surprised he's still alive."
"He'll make it, Doc?"
"Barring complications, he should."
The news being exchanged between Billy and the surgeon seemed to wash over Amanda in a tidal wave of relief. They stood outside the ICU watching through the windows as the technicians hooked Lee up to the monitors.
Billy walked to where Amanda and Francine waited. "The next 48 hours are the most critical, but with a little luck he'll be back on his feet in a few months."
Francine now sported a bandage over one eye -- a medic having finally cornered the remaining agents to repair their wounds. "With the luck we've had lately? It's been all bad."
"I'm sure the debrief will get to the bottom of all of this," Smyth put in from the doorway.
As if waking from a dream, Amanda turned to him, white-faced. "The bottom…?" She gestured to the ICU windows and Lee beyond. "This is the bottom, sir."
Disturbed, Dr. Smyth couldn't meet Amanda's haunted gaze for long and he turned to Billy. "You haven't given me a clear answer. What went wrong, Melrose? This was a simple game of catch the mouse."
Billy wearily rubbed his face. He hated it when Dr. Smyth started pulling out the mixed metaphors. He shook his head. "It was way off base from the beginning -- borrowed equipment, inadequate prep time..."
"…And the information on little Miss Muffit was bogus," Francine added pointedly.
Laser eyes cut towards her. "Desmond?"
"We were within striking distance of that Herrera girl. She started shooting at us." Her words were harsher now, as if they burned to say them. "I'd say her old man sold you a bill of goods and sold us up the creek in the process." She looked to the ICU's occupants and swiftly away. "Now somebody's got a bill to pay." She stomped out, obviously upset.
Hesitating a moment, Billy sighed and went after her. He mumbled something about stopping Francine before she hurt somebody, which left Amanda and Dr. Smyth alone together, both facing the windows of the intensive care unit. For a few moments the air seemed unnaturally heavy with neither willing to break the silence.
Out of the corner of his eye, Dr. Smyth examined her. In a world where he controlled everything in sight, this one woman somehow eluded him. Oh, she was unfailingly respectful and polite, but still... Dr. Smyth shifted. He'd never been able to put his finger on it, but the King woman somehow always made him feel as if her mother's gaze saw right through him -- to all the secrets buried inside. It was an uncomfortable sensation and he didn't like it.
"Lee almost died back there."
"I know that, Mrs. King. It happens."
She didn't even look up. "It happens? Is that all you have to say?"
No, he didn't like the feeling at all. "It's part of the job. The job of a professional."
Amanda shook her head. The cold-bloodedness of his words was nearly unbelievable.
"This job is pure unmitigated danger," Smyth continued. "You have to expect to break a few eggs on occasion. Scarecrow knows that and so do you." He threw a look towards the fallen agent then gazed at the drawn features of Amanda King and those eyes that conveyed in their unwavering steadfastness an emotion that made him want to cringe back in embarrassment. He needed a cigarette. "Lee Stetson is a genuine hero, Mrs. King. Don't disgrace his sacrifice."
"And how would I do that?" Amanda murmured.
"By failing to be the surprisingly intelligent person you are and by letting yourself wallow in defeat and fall apart. By letting your personal feelings for Stetson keep you from doing your job." His words lowered as if imparting home truths. "Don't forget what Lee Stetson is all about, what keeps him going." He took one last glance at the figure lying in the bed and turned away. "The Agency -- it's all he's got."
Amanda felt the words wash over her. Raising her eyes, she stared at her own reflection and waited as the sound of Smyth's receding steps echoed away telling her he had left the room. Slowly, she lifted her hand and placed it against the glass separating her from Lee. Her fingers fanned out against the cool surface, reaching out to him. "No. Not any more," she whispered in reply.
* * *
Lee woke to darkness. He blinked, trying to bring the dim room into focus. It was nighttime. The last thing he remembered, it had been early morning. Slowly, he realized he was lying in a hospital bed.
He felt a warm weight at his side -- Amanda. She sat hunched forward in a chair, her head pillowed on the side of the bed, holding his hand. Somehow he knew she'd been there for a long time, the pressure of her small palm against his having worked its way deep into the layers of his unconsciousness.
Reality began to pour back into his fogged mind, competing with the lies his subconscious had created out of the last images his brain remembered receiving. Images of Billy being flung back by a misspent explosion -- of Francine with blood pouring down her face from the ricochets of broken glass, of Miller ducking a hail of bullets -- of Amanda falling to cover Billy and getting caught in a crossfire. Although he'd seen no bullets hit her, his unconscious mind had assumed... He stirred. But Amanda was here, his senses corrected. She was all right.
The movement woke Amanda from her half-doze. Seeing him awake she sat up in surprise, but she still held tightly to his hand -- to the lifeline she dared not release. "Hey," she whispered.
Hazel eyes searched her face, seeking injuries. He could find none. She really was all right. The emotions poured through Lee, nearly overwhelming him. A deep-seated loss that had struck at the very center of him was suddenly renewed and whole again. She was alive. She was all right. She was his lo...
Not ready yet to put those feelings into words, even to himself, he spoke of others instead. "Billy? Francine?" His voice rasped from disuse.
"It's okay," she assured. "We all got out okay, even Miller and Davis."
Relief seemed to lighten his features. Had all the nightmares been lies? "We all came home?"
Amanda nodded her head, tears rolled down her face. She realized how close she'd come to losing him. "Yes, you're home now." It was more than just words, it was a renewal of a silent vow she'd made, despite what Dr. Smyth had said. She gazed deep into those beloved eyes that were even now drinking her in, her very soul pronouncing a kinship of spirit and love that had nearly been destroyed before it had ever been truly realized. Teary-eyed, she squeezed his hand even tighter and he laced his fingers between hers in reassurance. It was a bonding that once begun would last the tests of time.
Oh yes, my love, you're home now, she thought, gazing down at their hands that fit so neatly together that she couldn't tell where he stopped and she began.