Rescue Mission - It's a TRAP

[notjustaface]

Leaving Canada was about the hardest thing he'd done yet - harder still knowing that they were all flying into heavy enemy territory where not only would there be insurgents breathing down their necks there would almost certainly be a US Military ambush to capture them.

The mission itself was straightforward, two non-combatant civilians (reporters, Hannibal thinks) were captured three months before and being held in a camp a few miles outside of Baghdad. Three teams had already been sent in to extract them; two came back wounded and empty-handed, the third didn't come back at all. By Hannibal's reckoning the problem was that they were sending in too many people and taking the small compound through a single strategy - the first by air, the second full frontal, the third undercover. The real trick - and the trick to getting out of the trap - was to divide forces.

Hannibal goes in undercover, giving BA just enough time to create a nice explosive distraction for Face to set up with a sniper rifle and start taking out anyone that stands between the prisoners and the gates - no matter whose uniform they're wearing. Murdock had the most important job of all; air support. He'd have to wait undetected as close as possible before coming in and laying down enough cover to get everyone safely in the chopper before getting them the hell out of there... while being shot at.

"Think we can pull this off?" Face whispers quietly as they load magazines together in the relative privacy of their tent - less than two hours before going in.

Comments

[notjustaface]

It could have been worse, a lot worse, and he appreciates that. The ankle is swollen and dark, and it doesn't take a doctor to tell him he managed to fracture it when he landed.

"And yet I'm still so damn pretty." He flashes a wide grin, batting his eyelashes.

[notthatcrazy]

"I prefer to think of you as ruggedly handsome," he teases, knowing full well he's called him pretty plenty of times.

He presses a brief kiss to the back of his hand as the doctors work on him.

[notjustaface]

"Rugged?" He snorts, clearly Murdock hasn't seen him after a nice facial and mani/pedi.

"Whatever you say, babe."

[notthatcrazy]

"Handsomely pretty?" he amends, still smiling.

Sure, let's go with that.

[notjustaface]

"I'm not sure that's right either, but... uh... this is really starting to hurt right now so I'm just gonna squeeze your hand while they sew me up and pray Hannibal comes with some painkillers soon."

As expected, he clasps Murdock's hand and squeezes gently, letting out a slight sigh.

[notthatcrazy]

"I ain't gonna say I told you so..."

But he totally told him so.

"You just hold on as tight as you need to."

He catches Hannibal's eye across the room as Face hangs onto him.

[notjustaface]

Cleaning out the wound is actually worse than the stitching - by the time he's being sewn up and Hannibal comes around with a palm full of small white tablets he hands to Murdock in a paper cup, Face is mostly fine just squeezing hard and gritting his teeth against the tug of the needle and line.

Better than field medicine, at least. He's had to do some patch up jobs that were far less pretty.

"I want a vacation after this, Hannibal. You hear me? Somewhere with bad shirts and bikinis and drinks with umbrellas in them."

[notthatcrazy]

He laughs softly, still holding his hand as tries to comfort him through the procedure.

"We just had a vacation."

He's still avoiding Hannibal's stern look.

[notjustaface]

"I got shot." He fires back with a clearly terse tone; "I should get hazard pay for this."

Hannibal shakes his head and presses a pair of tablets into Face's hand before patting Murdock's shoulder. "We need to talk, he'll be fine here."

"You realize I can hear you... I wasn't shot in the head..."

[notthatcrazy]

"I'll be back in a minute."

He gives his hand one last pat before reluctantly turning to follow Hannibal.

"Well? If you're gonna chew me out you might as well get it over with."

[notjustaface]

Leading him outside, the colonel lights a cigar - pensively drawing on it for a long moment as he considers what Murdock has to say.

Finally, he says quietly; "You did the right thing."

[notthatcrazy]

"Yeah?"

It's not what he was expecting to hear, but he knows better than to think Hannibal's going to leave it at that.

[notjustaface]

Of course, there's always more to it.

He nods, exhaling sharply. "You also disobeyed a direct order and put all of our lives at risk."

[notthatcrazy]

That's more along the lines of how he thought this talk would go.

"And I'd have done the same for any one of you, so don't you dare try and make this about me and Face."

[notjustaface]

"I am going to make this about you and Face because you didn't do it for us... you did it for him." Hannibal shoots back quickly, with only a little sting to his voice.

"You need to be able to face the worst, Captain. What would you have done if he hadn't made that jump?"

[notthatcrazy]

"Gone on without him."

They both know that's a half-truth at best, though. Particularly as he's avoiding Hannibal's eyes again.

[notjustaface]

"I don't think either of us are stupid enough to believe that."

He lets a quiet, almost awkward pause linger between them before adding; "Your judgement's clouded."

[notthatcrazy]

He doesn't trust himself to say anything, but he does finally manage to look his leader in the eye.

"So what are you telling me here?"

[notjustaface]

"I'm telling you that you need to think about your actions," he raises his eyebrows; "Captain. And how the effect the rest of the team."

He knows he can't ask the situation to be outright avoided, it's not possible, but he needs to consider his actions very carefully.

"We're not playing house here. There's a reason they frown on fraternization in the Army."

[notthatcrazy]

He stifles the impulse to tell him that they're not in the Army anymore, and that he was the one leading them into what they all knew was a trap. He keeps his mouth shut, for a change, staring determinedly at the ceiling.

[notjustaface]

"We all knew the risks tonight... we all know we were flying blind into a bad situation."

He puffs a little more determinedly on his cigar.

"Any one of us could have fallen or been left behind."

[notthatcrazy]

"Yeah."

He's still staring up, not looking at him. He's being a stubborn idiot, he knows, but letting his emotions get the better of him now would only prove him right.

[notjustaface]

Letting out a soft sigh of smoke, Hannibal leans against a column and stares out at the black night - composing his words carefully. After a long moment, he says; "We can't do this forever, Murdock. The longer we go on, the more likely it is that one of us won't make it out."

[notthatcrazy]

"So what do we do?"

[notjustaface]

It's a good question, one he's been mulling over for a very long time.

"I told Captain Sosa we'd be willing to do more work if she's got anything that'll keep us on the radar. I don't want them to forget us, but they need to see that we're doing good things."

He sighs again, shaking his head; "It doesn't help that Face killed one of our gunners."