The wonderful fiction of WildCat Abby (if you haven't read it, just go do it!) and a Bones fiction I've read a long time ago, inspired me this one.
I hope you'll love it and reviews always make my day :D
(I'm almost done with the next chapter of Breath, I've been struggling with my English and with how to end the chapter!)
Afghanistan, Nuristan Province.
Jaz never missed a noise. She was a ninja after all. Nothing escaped her.
So, when she heard a soft "click" under her foot, she froze instantly. She knew that noise. It was the nightmare of every soldier, and unfortunately, many of them didn't hear it until the blast knocked them off of their feet, killing them or crippling them.
She had to stay still, even if her position and the weight of her equipment were not comfortable.
The others were still walking in the area, they hadn't noticed yet. They were somewhere in a forest, at the east of Afghanistan, near Pakistanis border. The Taliban were nearby and they had to be fast enough to evacuate after a hard, but successful mission.
"Guys…"
They turned around, and she could see them frowning at how immobile and tense she was.
"Jaz? What's wrong?" Top asked.
"I can't move…"
"What do you mean you can't move?" McG asked.
She saw blood draining from Top's face as he understood what was happening. He took a step towards her. It was instinctive.
"No! Don't move! Don't come closer!" Jaz exclaimed urgently, panicked at the idea of Top being killed with her. He stopped and forced himself to breath slowly. He met her big panicked eyes and nodded calmly.
"Okay, Jaz, don't move, just... Just don't move..."
"Fuck!" McG shouted when he understood.
"Okay, guys, I need you, the Taliban aren't far behind…"
"Roger that…" Amir said.
Both him and McG settled to provide overwatch, but kept glancing at her with concern.
"Everybody, just stay calm, okay? We have to figure out what to do… And Jaz, stay still…"
She had never seen Top look that terrified. She had seen him afraid, a few times, like when they got her back from Iran, or when they had come to the base to find the hut destroyed, Preach almost dead, and Hoffman gone… But never the pure terror she could see all over his face at that very moment.
"Not planning to dance right now, Top, believe me..." she breathed, trying to lighten the mood.
Top didn't smile, his jaw was tense, he ran a shaking hand across his beard.
"Preach?"
The man had already crouched at her feet, staying at distance but assessing how bad it was.
And by the look he gave her, it was very bad.
"Not good, Top, not good at all..."
"Can we switch her with something that could..."
'No, Top, we can't, the second she moves, it's going to blow..."
She saw Top swallowing hard. She didn't want to die, but she'd rather die alone than be responsible for her team's death. She took a deep breath, mustering the courage to send them away.
"Top, you have to leave..."
She was relieved that her voice remained steady. She couldn't break down, not when she could kill them in a blink.
"No, we're not leaving you..."
"Top, we're somewhere in Afghanistan, the Taliban are behind and can find us anytime if we don't move... And since I can't move, you have to go!"
Top shook his head, staring at her with disbelief.
"No fucking way, Jaz, do you hear me?"
She saw the looks the rest of the guys exchanged. And not for the first time, she wondered if he had been reacting that bad when she had been taken in Iran.
Top ignored them and looked at her straight in the eye, sending a shiver in her spine at how intense he was.
"We're not leaving without you, okay Jaz? You have to hold on, because no matter what, you're coming home with us"
She couldn't talk, her throat so tight she was barely breathing. So she nodded. Top nodded back and took a few steps back to call the DIA.
Jaz looked at him, at how pale and angry and determined he looked while probably asking for reinforcements. She was aware of that something between them, even if they couldn't name it, she knew she had never felt that way. But she knew that he was willing to protect her no matter what, because she would do the same.
"Preach..."
"It's gonna be okay Jaz..."
She looked at him.
"I have my foot on a fucking anti-personnel mine somewhere in Afghanistan…" she replied dryly.
He shrugged apologetically.
"And I thought that you had a quote for every situation" she mocked him. Her smile faded quickly.
"Preach… You have to leave, you know that... We don't have time for a team to come and work to defuse the mine..."
"Jaz..."
"No, listen, you have to convince him, he'll listen to you..."
Preach smiled sadly.
"He's not leaving your side, you know that, don't you? No one, not me, not even Patricia, will be able to convince him... He'll do everything to send us home safe and sound, but he'll stay with you..."
Jaz wanted to shake her head furiously, to move her hands. She was used to speak with her whole body. Being still wasn't like her.
« This is suicide, Preach, we all know it! If the Taliban don't kill us first, there are still high probabilities that it will explode or that whoever is coming won't be able to diffuse it in time…"
"Would you leave him?"
Jaz opened her mouth to retort, but no sound came out.
"Would you leave him there, if the roles were reversed, Jaz?"
She averted her eyes and huffed.
"I hate you sometimes…" she muttered, making Preach laugh.
Top came back to them.
« Okay, command is sending us a team, based in Pakistan, not far away… The thing is they'll have to join us on foot… "
"Top…" she started.
But he stopped her, raising a hand.
"Jaz, stop. Just…"
He licked his lips, taking a deep breath through his nose, his eyes not leaving hers.
"Hold on, it's an order."