(Story continued from "First Meeting".)
Somewhere near Jacksonville, Florida
2004
The rain was a nice and slow soaker, with the occasional roll of thunder and flash of lightning. Rocky had taken point and Matt was at the rear. She didn't really know where Jay had gone but she was moving through the woods like a ghost, no cracking branches, no getting caught in the kudzu thorn vines. Her tac-vest was loaded with extra ammo magazines and there were two bags to either side. She made the motion to her eyes, then pointed ahead, meaning that she could see the camp and then the two fingers up meaning two guards on patrol.
Stone shifted his weight, adjusting his gear, then switched hands with the M4, as he looked from Chris then back to Rocky. He made a slash across his neck then a flat palm toward the ground before making a fist. Stand fast, but do not engage.
Chris nodded his head at Stone and then remembered what he'd learned and formed a circle with his forefinger and thumb to signal he understood. He was wearing a flak jacket and the hat that Rocky had given him to shield his face from the rain. He was carrying a M4, just like the other two, along with the Glock she'd given him. Like the others, he was wired for communication between the team.
Rocky's voice came over the earpiece. "Guys, I have two on patrol. A truck just left the compound, and I am moving closer, over." She moved then, closer to the compound, as the guards moved away. "Seeing barbed wire and dogs, over."
Chris' first instinct was to tell her to stay put, but he bit his tongue and trusted she knew what she was doing.
"Mother Hen here," Stone said. "Surely there are more than two guards and some dogs, take precautions. Over." Stone shifted and moved to Chris, tapping him, as he wiped the rain from his face. "What do you see, Son?"
Rocky slipped out of their sight, but she was certain that Jay was still watching her six. She didn't know the man well, but he had the look of one that took his job and protecting his companions seriously.
Chris was peering at the camp through a pair of binoculars equipped with night vision. He didn't see much going on, at least not at the moment. "Not much. It's quiet." Maybe too quiet, but it was night time, after all. He was drenched through and miserable. He hated recons in the rain, but he knew better than to complain. He had a job to do and he'd do it.
"Lock their signals to send and receive." Stone whispered, then tapped the mic at his throat. "Mother Hen to Roadrunner, stand fast or move up?" He waited for a reply. There was silence on the radio. "Mother Hen to Roadrunner, Over." And silence. "Eagle, do you have Roadrunner, over."
"Eagle here,? Jay replied from a hidden perch, not far from where they stood. ?I've lost Roadrunner. Can't see shit in this rain."
"What do you mean you've lost...?" Chris' voice went up an octave before he silenced himself.
"Roger. Sparrow and I are drenched to the bone. Keep eyes for Roadrunner, we are moving forward." He nudged Chris. "Check their comms, see if they've seen her."
He began searching the area in front of them with the binoculars. "Jesus Christ," he muttered to himself, as he let the binoculars drop against his chest and started listening in on their comm signals. He knew bringing a girl on the team was a bad idea, and now she was proving him right.
"Roadrunner." Her voice was quiet, almost whispered. "Almost spotted so I'm under building A two."
"What do you mean under building..." He shot a look at Stone. "What does she mean under building A two? She's too close. Tell her to pull back."
"This is Eagle," Jay's voice sounded on the comm. "I've got the truck heading back in."
"Mother Hen, repeating message. Under A two, there are no less than thirty here. Do not see Quarterback, just the rest of the team. Heavy sticks and sacks. Grounders and Pounders, Over." Rocky repeated her message, meaning Sparks was nowhere to be seen and they had crates of US Ordinance, landmines, and RPGs, which meant they were well funded.
"Jesus Christ." Stone said and looked at Chris. "Move up closer, we may need to do this tonight, before it gets worse. Mother Hen to Eagle, what's in the package?"
"Tonight?" Chris echoed, pushing his glasses up and hoping they didn't steam up. Maybe she had a point about contact lenses. He grumbled a little to himself as he moved forward, slowly and carefully. He hated recons in the dark, especially in the dark and the rain.
"Roadrunner, beneath A three. Bunks, and the babes are asleep." Rocky said as she had made her way to the next building, as she looked with fiberoptics and listened for footsteps.
"Dozen or so incoming. Can't tell if they're friend or foe,? replied Jay.
"Slow down, Roadrunner." Stone said into the mic then.
"Mother Hen, Guard tower North side, rifles and night vision. Watch your six." Rocky was still on the move, and was nearly silent as she slipped right past the guard tower.
Chris had disappeared into the cover up ahead, moving slowly toward the camp.
"Eagle, if they are rolling into the playing field, they are opposing team, over." Stone said, then he turned looking to speak to Chris. "Sparrow?"
Chris was intent on covering Rocky's six himself if he could get a bead on her. Stone had told him to move closer, and he'd moved closer.
"Repeat, Sparrow!" Stone wasn't happy about having lost Chris in the weeds so he moved out as well, intent on finding him.
"I'm here," came his voice over the comm. "She's too close. We doing this tonight?"
"She's fine, don't go personal." Stone said calmly.
"Sparrow?" Rocky said as she saw where he was. "Stand fast, two incoming at your three o'clock."
"What?" His voice went up a notch again and he quickly took cover, crouching down behind some bushes and holding his breath.
The two guards heard the rustle of bushes, and stopped where they were watching and waiting moving toward the bush, weapons were at the ready.
"Sparrow, do NOT move." Rocky advised, and Stone dropped where he was.
"If Sparrow is made, we move." Stone growled into the mic.
Chris held the M4 close to his chest, pulling his backup piece just in case he needed to shoot someone silently at close range.
The guards talked a moment, then they tried to call in their suspicions on comms, receiving nothing but static in reply.
Chris was silently whispering a prayer that the pair didn't see him. He'd already jammed their communications, so they weren't getting any help from home base. At this point, he was all for finishing tonight. He really didn't want to revisit the place the next day. Might as well get it over and done with.
"Roadrunner, ready to shake, rattle and roll." She was cleared of the camp for the time being on the other side, and she was watching Chris through her own rifle sight. "Sparrow, two more coming at nine o'clock. I'm moving in." Rocky said.
"Roadrunner, stand fast," Stone commanded. "Eagle?"
Jay's voice came over the comm. "Eagle here. I've got Sparrow and company. Say the word."
"Damn it." Stone muttered. "Take it."
It didn't take Jay long to react. Two shots fired, two men down, just like that.
"Sparrow, when your party leaves, you double back to my location." Stone hissed into the mic as he checked the M4. "Roadrunner. Stir them up, please, on my mark." He said as he waited for Chris to be clear of the buildings.
The other pair of guards witnessed their buddies go down and they started shouting as they ducked for cover.
"You've been made, Mother Hen, the nest is stirring." More men started shouting and gathering weapons. "Sparrow, move your ass!"
"Shit," Chris muttered, knowing they'd been made. He was going to earn his pay tonight. He came out of hiding and started toward the two he'd seen take cover, ducking through the trees.
"In five, four, three, two..." Rocky?s voice trailed off as the camp lit up with their halogen lighting system, it was like daytime around the place and everyone was shielding their eyes.
"Mark." Stone said, and not a moment later, a fireball erupted into the sky. The smell of burning fuel and the force of the blast rattled buildings and broke windows.
Chris dove to the ground as the fireball lit up the sky and found himself facing the pair who'd taken cover. He managed to get a shot off at one before the other knocked the Glock out of his hand. "A little help here," he muttered into the comm.
"Eagle, a little darkness if you would." Stone was adjusting his nightvision gear again, getting ready for the darkness before he ran toward Chris and company, watching as one fell grabbing at his throat where Chris had shot him and the other was drawing down on him.
A couple of shots were fired from somewhere above and behind them, and Jay shut off the lights. He then spotted Chris before Stone got there and put a hole in the other one's head.
"Nice one, Eagle. Roadrunner, A three." As he said that, the tin and wooden structure turned to splinters and shrapnel with another earth shaking blast.
Chris ducked his head again at the sound of the blast as he climbed to his feet and recovered his sidearm.
Men were rushing around the camp, firing wildly around them, not knowing where they were being hit from. Bullets flew past and over head. "Attack, attack!" One screamed, then their alarm system started blaring, with a recorded voice. "We are under attack!"
Jay was busy watching Rocky's six and picking off anyone who got close.
"Mother Hen, we don't need survivors. Shut them down." He'd given the kill order, and Rocky ran in the direction she'd last seen Chris. Once she was clear, she pressed the button for A five, and the blast force threw her through the air easily.
Chris saw a silhouette of her body against the blast as she was thrown through the air, and he started toward her, running through the brush and bramble. "This is Sparrow. I'm going after Roadrunner."
She hit the ground hard, but brought the m4 up and started firing at the guys that ran her way, she pulled a piece of tin out of her pant leg, then pushed to her feet again, the ground exploding around her as she ran from enemy fire. "Roadrunner, coming in hot through A six, when I'm clear, it's going up!" Her adrenaline really kicked in as more bullets flew her way, ripping through tin and wood as she ran through the structure. She saw Chris coming up in front of her, he fired the M4 at her pursuers, then took the rear and covered her six, as they both ran from the blast, putting himself between her and the enemy. He brought the gun up and fired at a pair of men emerging from the woods, before continuing after her, ducking his head as more shots were fired their way, but then Jay took care of that.
"Sparrow, down!" She shouted as she dove behind him, reaching for his collar. She was pulling him toward some makeshift cover, trying to keep him from getting his ass shot off.
He got yanked toward cover, bullets flying everywhere, no time to argue.
Stone said into the mic loud enough to be hear "Incoming heat!" as he fired two grenades into the crowd of enemies.
Rocky popped up to lay suppressing fire, and handed him a switch. "A seven, fire!" She ordered as she laid down more fire with Stone's explosions
He was sitting with his back against a tree, something sticky seeping down his leg. He took the switch without argument, waiting for her orders.
"Now!" She shouted, then dropped back to reload.
"Sparrow, Roadrunner, the truck is heading your direction." He warned.
Chris hit the switch on the explosive, then swung his gun around to give her back up fire. He aimed the grenade launcher toward the truck and fired.
The center two story building shook violently and came crashing down, causing a lot of the enemy fire to cease. She looked his way as he fired the grenade and thought she saw something on his leg, but she couldn't be sure with mud and rain and God knows what splashing on them, the fired grenade struck the truck in the grill just as one she had tossed rolled beneath the truck exploding the fuel tanks. The heat from the blast was intense to say the least.
Jay was covering their retreat as best he could, but it was hard to see through all the smoke and fire and rain.
"Eagle, fall back to rally point. Enemy is few and weak. We will clean up and circle back for you."
She slid to a stop near Chris, looking at him before turning to fire into three men running their way. "Are you hurt?" She shouted, since she was partially deaf from guns and explosions.
Jay's voice was heard in the comm acknowledging the order.
"I'm fine," Chris lied. "We gotta get out of here."
Stone had a few guys on him and even a bullet grazed his arm which only seemed to piss him off more. He fired the M4 dry, then brought up his side arm, finishing the rest of them off. "Roadrunner, Sparrow, Status?" The only noise around them now was the rain and the occasional moan of the not yet dead, as well as the occasional pop of something flammable in the rubble of the area.
Chris climbed to his feet, leveraging the M4 against the ground to push himself up. "We're good, Mother Hen. On our way."
"Roadrunner, sweep the camp. Sparrow, call in the Coords so they can come clean up this mess."
Rocky looked at Chris a moment, with worry in her eyes. Her hair was slick with mud and grime, but he could tell she was worried. "Mother Hen, Roger." She slipped away from him and went through the camp hurriedly.
"Roger. Will do." Chris took a lean against that tree again, wiping the rain from his forehead. In all the excitement, he'd lost the hat somewhere in the brush. He called in the coordinates to HQ and informed them of the situation, requesting clean up. He watched as Rocky slipped away, looking as worried about her as she was about him, maybe more.
The camp was cleared out, she stopped only to shoot one of the men that was trying to pick up a weapon to fire at her. She was more concerned about getting back to Chris. "Camp's clear, heading to Sparrow, meeting at Rally One, Over." She ran back to Chris' side, and looked him over. "You are lying to me, aren't you?" she started looking him over, as HQ Answered.
"I said I'm fine," he told her as he finished with HQ and slung the M4 over his shoulder to push off the tree.
"You are a shitty liar." She looked him over, then looked at his leg.
There was a dark stain on the back of his pants and a hole where a bullet had lodged in his left calf.
She dropped, and ripped his pants, looking at the leg. She pulled a belt from her side bag, and wrapped it tightly around his leg, as tight as she could. "You are going to have to lean on me, and we are getting out of here."
He was obviously favoring the leg, careful not to put any weight on it. He bit his lip against the pain as she wrapped her belt around his leg, balancing himself with one hand against a tree, a hiss of breath as she tightened the belt.
"Mother Hen, Sparrow was clipped, we are moving out to rally one." She said with a tap to the mic at her throat.
His face had turned a little paler than usual. "Can we just go, please?"
"We are going, but we gotta move quick in case they have friends." She moved to his left side and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "C'mon Cheers, let?s get you outta here."
"I'm never gonna hear the end of this, am I?" he frowned at her as she helped him limp along.
"Right now, I'm worried about blood loss and lead poisoning." She was serious, and for the first time she wasn't picking at him or busting his chops. "You owe me a date, and don't think this is getting you out of it." She had to tease a bit, she couldn't stay too serious cause that made her vulnerable.
"A date. We get out of this alive and I'll take you anywhere you wanna go."
"Seafood, remember?" She chuckled, and kept moving him trying to find the smoothest trail.
He clenched his jaw, gritting his teeth against the pain, letting her take some of his weight, hoping they didn't have much farther to go, sweat pouring down his sides.
Before long, Stone was standing there and staring at them in the pouring rain. "He gonna live?" He looked at Rocky, then at Chris. "You hurt, or injured?"
He made no reply, just focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. "Isn't it the same thing?"
She nodded to Stone, and was thankful the man offered to help get him onto their borrowed van.
"Pain lets you know you aren't dead yet." Stone said with a chuckle. "Two miles to get Jay and the hell back to the rack for a hot shower."
Stone's question went right over his head, his brain feeling muddled. He let them help him into the van, no arguments. Fresh out of comebacks, exhausted, and in pain.
The two of them got Chris into the van and buckled in after removing his gear, and Stone got into the driver's seat. Rocky climbed in next to Chris, checking him out, and worry showed in her face.
"Sparks won this, but in the morning, Chris sends the pics to command, and we are Casper." Stone turned the key and hit the gas, heading to pick up Jay.
"Sparks won?" Chris muttered, barely conscious. "We blew the camp. He didn't win shit." And then he passed out.
Somewhere near Jacksonville, Florida
2004
The rain was a nice and slow soaker, with the occasional roll of thunder and flash of lightning. Rocky had taken point and Matt was at the rear. She didn't really know where Jay had gone but she was moving through the woods like a ghost, no cracking branches, no getting caught in the kudzu thorn vines. Her tac-vest was loaded with extra ammo magazines and there were two bags to either side. She made the motion to her eyes, then pointed ahead, meaning that she could see the camp and then the two fingers up meaning two guards on patrol.
Stone shifted his weight, adjusting his gear, then switched hands with the M4, as he looked from Chris then back to Rocky. He made a slash across his neck then a flat palm toward the ground before making a fist. Stand fast, but do not engage.
Chris nodded his head at Stone and then remembered what he'd learned and formed a circle with his forefinger and thumb to signal he understood. He was wearing a flak jacket and the hat that Rocky had given him to shield his face from the rain. He was carrying a M4, just like the other two, along with the Glock she'd given him. Like the others, he was wired for communication between the team.
Rocky's voice came over the earpiece. "Guys, I have two on patrol. A truck just left the compound, and I am moving closer, over." She moved then, closer to the compound, as the guards moved away. "Seeing barbed wire and dogs, over."
Chris' first instinct was to tell her to stay put, but he bit his tongue and trusted she knew what she was doing.
"Mother Hen here," Stone said. "Surely there are more than two guards and some dogs, take precautions. Over." Stone shifted and moved to Chris, tapping him, as he wiped the rain from his face. "What do you see, Son?"
Rocky slipped out of their sight, but she was certain that Jay was still watching her six. She didn't know the man well, but he had the look of one that took his job and protecting his companions seriously.
Chris was peering at the camp through a pair of binoculars equipped with night vision. He didn't see much going on, at least not at the moment. "Not much. It's quiet." Maybe too quiet, but it was night time, after all. He was drenched through and miserable. He hated recons in the rain, but he knew better than to complain. He had a job to do and he'd do it.
"Lock their signals to send and receive." Stone whispered, then tapped the mic at his throat. "Mother Hen to Roadrunner, stand fast or move up?" He waited for a reply. There was silence on the radio. "Mother Hen to Roadrunner, Over." And silence. "Eagle, do you have Roadrunner, over."
"Eagle here,? Jay replied from a hidden perch, not far from where they stood. ?I've lost Roadrunner. Can't see shit in this rain."
"What do you mean you've lost...?" Chris' voice went up an octave before he silenced himself.
"Roger. Sparrow and I are drenched to the bone. Keep eyes for Roadrunner, we are moving forward." He nudged Chris. "Check their comms, see if they've seen her."
He began searching the area in front of them with the binoculars. "Jesus Christ," he muttered to himself, as he let the binoculars drop against his chest and started listening in on their comm signals. He knew bringing a girl on the team was a bad idea, and now she was proving him right.
"Roadrunner." Her voice was quiet, almost whispered. "Almost spotted so I'm under building A two."
"What do you mean under building..." He shot a look at Stone. "What does she mean under building A two? She's too close. Tell her to pull back."
"This is Eagle," Jay's voice sounded on the comm. "I've got the truck heading back in."
"Mother Hen, repeating message. Under A two, there are no less than thirty here. Do not see Quarterback, just the rest of the team. Heavy sticks and sacks. Grounders and Pounders, Over." Rocky repeated her message, meaning Sparks was nowhere to be seen and they had crates of US Ordinance, landmines, and RPGs, which meant they were well funded.
"Jesus Christ." Stone said and looked at Chris. "Move up closer, we may need to do this tonight, before it gets worse. Mother Hen to Eagle, what's in the package?"
"Tonight?" Chris echoed, pushing his glasses up and hoping they didn't steam up. Maybe she had a point about contact lenses. He grumbled a little to himself as he moved forward, slowly and carefully. He hated recons in the dark, especially in the dark and the rain.
"Roadrunner, beneath A three. Bunks, and the babes are asleep." Rocky said as she had made her way to the next building, as she looked with fiberoptics and listened for footsteps.
"Dozen or so incoming. Can't tell if they're friend or foe,? replied Jay.
"Slow down, Roadrunner." Stone said into the mic then.
"Mother Hen, Guard tower North side, rifles and night vision. Watch your six." Rocky was still on the move, and was nearly silent as she slipped right past the guard tower.
Chris had disappeared into the cover up ahead, moving slowly toward the camp.
"Eagle, if they are rolling into the playing field, they are opposing team, over." Stone said, then he turned looking to speak to Chris. "Sparrow?"
Chris was intent on covering Rocky's six himself if he could get a bead on her. Stone had told him to move closer, and he'd moved closer.
"Repeat, Sparrow!" Stone wasn't happy about having lost Chris in the weeds so he moved out as well, intent on finding him.
"I'm here," came his voice over the comm. "She's too close. We doing this tonight?"
"She's fine, don't go personal." Stone said calmly.
"Sparrow?" Rocky said as she saw where he was. "Stand fast, two incoming at your three o'clock."
"What?" His voice went up a notch again and he quickly took cover, crouching down behind some bushes and holding his breath.
The two guards heard the rustle of bushes, and stopped where they were watching and waiting moving toward the bush, weapons were at the ready.
"Sparrow, do NOT move." Rocky advised, and Stone dropped where he was.
"If Sparrow is made, we move." Stone growled into the mic.
Chris held the M4 close to his chest, pulling his backup piece just in case he needed to shoot someone silently at close range.
The guards talked a moment, then they tried to call in their suspicions on comms, receiving nothing but static in reply.
Chris was silently whispering a prayer that the pair didn't see him. He'd already jammed their communications, so they weren't getting any help from home base. At this point, he was all for finishing tonight. He really didn't want to revisit the place the next day. Might as well get it over and done with.
"Roadrunner, ready to shake, rattle and roll." She was cleared of the camp for the time being on the other side, and she was watching Chris through her own rifle sight. "Sparrow, two more coming at nine o'clock. I'm moving in." Rocky said.
"Roadrunner, stand fast," Stone commanded. "Eagle?"
Jay's voice came over the comm. "Eagle here. I've got Sparrow and company. Say the word."
"Damn it." Stone muttered. "Take it."
It didn't take Jay long to react. Two shots fired, two men down, just like that.
"Sparrow, when your party leaves, you double back to my location." Stone hissed into the mic as he checked the M4. "Roadrunner. Stir them up, please, on my mark." He said as he waited for Chris to be clear of the buildings.
The other pair of guards witnessed their buddies go down and they started shouting as they ducked for cover.
"You've been made, Mother Hen, the nest is stirring." More men started shouting and gathering weapons. "Sparrow, move your ass!"
"Shit," Chris muttered, knowing they'd been made. He was going to earn his pay tonight. He came out of hiding and started toward the two he'd seen take cover, ducking through the trees.
"In five, four, three, two..." Rocky?s voice trailed off as the camp lit up with their halogen lighting system, it was like daytime around the place and everyone was shielding their eyes.
"Mark." Stone said, and not a moment later, a fireball erupted into the sky. The smell of burning fuel and the force of the blast rattled buildings and broke windows.
Chris dove to the ground as the fireball lit up the sky and found himself facing the pair who'd taken cover. He managed to get a shot off at one before the other knocked the Glock out of his hand. "A little help here," he muttered into the comm.
"Eagle, a little darkness if you would." Stone was adjusting his nightvision gear again, getting ready for the darkness before he ran toward Chris and company, watching as one fell grabbing at his throat where Chris had shot him and the other was drawing down on him.
A couple of shots were fired from somewhere above and behind them, and Jay shut off the lights. He then spotted Chris before Stone got there and put a hole in the other one's head.
"Nice one, Eagle. Roadrunner, A three." As he said that, the tin and wooden structure turned to splinters and shrapnel with another earth shaking blast.
Chris ducked his head again at the sound of the blast as he climbed to his feet and recovered his sidearm.
Men were rushing around the camp, firing wildly around them, not knowing where they were being hit from. Bullets flew past and over head. "Attack, attack!" One screamed, then their alarm system started blaring, with a recorded voice. "We are under attack!"
Jay was busy watching Rocky's six and picking off anyone who got close.
"Mother Hen, we don't need survivors. Shut them down." He'd given the kill order, and Rocky ran in the direction she'd last seen Chris. Once she was clear, she pressed the button for A five, and the blast force threw her through the air easily.
Chris saw a silhouette of her body against the blast as she was thrown through the air, and he started toward her, running through the brush and bramble. "This is Sparrow. I'm going after Roadrunner."
She hit the ground hard, but brought the m4 up and started firing at the guys that ran her way, she pulled a piece of tin out of her pant leg, then pushed to her feet again, the ground exploding around her as she ran from enemy fire. "Roadrunner, coming in hot through A six, when I'm clear, it's going up!" Her adrenaline really kicked in as more bullets flew her way, ripping through tin and wood as she ran through the structure. She saw Chris coming up in front of her, he fired the M4 at her pursuers, then took the rear and covered her six, as they both ran from the blast, putting himself between her and the enemy. He brought the gun up and fired at a pair of men emerging from the woods, before continuing after her, ducking his head as more shots were fired their way, but then Jay took care of that.
"Sparrow, down!" She shouted as she dove behind him, reaching for his collar. She was pulling him toward some makeshift cover, trying to keep him from getting his ass shot off.
He got yanked toward cover, bullets flying everywhere, no time to argue.
Stone said into the mic loud enough to be hear "Incoming heat!" as he fired two grenades into the crowd of enemies.
Rocky popped up to lay suppressing fire, and handed him a switch. "A seven, fire!" She ordered as she laid down more fire with Stone's explosions
He was sitting with his back against a tree, something sticky seeping down his leg. He took the switch without argument, waiting for her orders.
"Now!" She shouted, then dropped back to reload.
"Sparrow, Roadrunner, the truck is heading your direction." He warned.
Chris hit the switch on the explosive, then swung his gun around to give her back up fire. He aimed the grenade launcher toward the truck and fired.
The center two story building shook violently and came crashing down, causing a lot of the enemy fire to cease. She looked his way as he fired the grenade and thought she saw something on his leg, but she couldn't be sure with mud and rain and God knows what splashing on them, the fired grenade struck the truck in the grill just as one she had tossed rolled beneath the truck exploding the fuel tanks. The heat from the blast was intense to say the least.
Jay was covering their retreat as best he could, but it was hard to see through all the smoke and fire and rain.
"Eagle, fall back to rally point. Enemy is few and weak. We will clean up and circle back for you."
She slid to a stop near Chris, looking at him before turning to fire into three men running their way. "Are you hurt?" She shouted, since she was partially deaf from guns and explosions.
Jay's voice was heard in the comm acknowledging the order.
"I'm fine," Chris lied. "We gotta get out of here."
Stone had a few guys on him and even a bullet grazed his arm which only seemed to piss him off more. He fired the M4 dry, then brought up his side arm, finishing the rest of them off. "Roadrunner, Sparrow, Status?" The only noise around them now was the rain and the occasional moan of the not yet dead, as well as the occasional pop of something flammable in the rubble of the area.
Chris climbed to his feet, leveraging the M4 against the ground to push himself up. "We're good, Mother Hen. On our way."
"Roadrunner, sweep the camp. Sparrow, call in the Coords so they can come clean up this mess."
Rocky looked at Chris a moment, with worry in her eyes. Her hair was slick with mud and grime, but he could tell she was worried. "Mother Hen, Roger." She slipped away from him and went through the camp hurriedly.
"Roger. Will do." Chris took a lean against that tree again, wiping the rain from his forehead. In all the excitement, he'd lost the hat somewhere in the brush. He called in the coordinates to HQ and informed them of the situation, requesting clean up. He watched as Rocky slipped away, looking as worried about her as she was about him, maybe more.
The camp was cleared out, she stopped only to shoot one of the men that was trying to pick up a weapon to fire at her. She was more concerned about getting back to Chris. "Camp's clear, heading to Sparrow, meeting at Rally One, Over." She ran back to Chris' side, and looked him over. "You are lying to me, aren't you?" she started looking him over, as HQ Answered.
"I said I'm fine," he told her as he finished with HQ and slung the M4 over his shoulder to push off the tree.
"You are a shitty liar." She looked him over, then looked at his leg.
There was a dark stain on the back of his pants and a hole where a bullet had lodged in his left calf.
She dropped, and ripped his pants, looking at the leg. She pulled a belt from her side bag, and wrapped it tightly around his leg, as tight as she could. "You are going to have to lean on me, and we are getting out of here."
He was obviously favoring the leg, careful not to put any weight on it. He bit his lip against the pain as she wrapped her belt around his leg, balancing himself with one hand against a tree, a hiss of breath as she tightened the belt.
"Mother Hen, Sparrow was clipped, we are moving out to rally one." She said with a tap to the mic at her throat.
His face had turned a little paler than usual. "Can we just go, please?"
"We are going, but we gotta move quick in case they have friends." She moved to his left side and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "C'mon Cheers, let?s get you outta here."
"I'm never gonna hear the end of this, am I?" he frowned at her as she helped him limp along.
"Right now, I'm worried about blood loss and lead poisoning." She was serious, and for the first time she wasn't picking at him or busting his chops. "You owe me a date, and don't think this is getting you out of it." She had to tease a bit, she couldn't stay too serious cause that made her vulnerable.
"A date. We get out of this alive and I'll take you anywhere you wanna go."
"Seafood, remember?" She chuckled, and kept moving him trying to find the smoothest trail.
He clenched his jaw, gritting his teeth against the pain, letting her take some of his weight, hoping they didn't have much farther to go, sweat pouring down his sides.
Before long, Stone was standing there and staring at them in the pouring rain. "He gonna live?" He looked at Rocky, then at Chris. "You hurt, or injured?"
He made no reply, just focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. "Isn't it the same thing?"
She nodded to Stone, and was thankful the man offered to help get him onto their borrowed van.
"Pain lets you know you aren't dead yet." Stone said with a chuckle. "Two miles to get Jay and the hell back to the rack for a hot shower."
Stone's question went right over his head, his brain feeling muddled. He let them help him into the van, no arguments. Fresh out of comebacks, exhausted, and in pain.
The two of them got Chris into the van and buckled in after removing his gear, and Stone got into the driver's seat. Rocky climbed in next to Chris, checking him out, and worry showed in her face.
"Sparks won this, but in the morning, Chris sends the pics to command, and we are Casper." Stone turned the key and hit the gas, heading to pick up Jay.
"Sparks won?" Chris muttered, barely conscious. "We blew the camp. He didn't win shit." And then he passed out.