The blades from the chopper sliced effortlessly through the air, kicking up sand and dust as it was lowered slowly towards the ground. The blades slowed their motion to a lazy trail as the engine shut off, slowly coming to a complete halt. The two occupants in the helicopter, a German Shepherd and its handler, waited. The male knelt beside the dog, holding onto the Kevlar vest the war dog possessed, the Shepherd sitting beside the male, ears perked up and listening as it panted.
The male left go of the vest, and the dog darted from the helicopter, taking off through the sand, focused on a single thing. The handler shouted after the dog, commanding it to heel, however, the dog ignored the order, causing the handler to curse as he reached for his Honey Badger and jumped from the helicopter, chasing after the dog at a hard, steady pace.
"Riley, heel!"
But the German Shepherd had already stopped, its attention focused solely on the male laying next to the rock, unconscious. Riley whined softly as he pawed at Hesh's shoulder with his right foot, trying to rouse his unconscious master. Keegan knelt beside the dog, gently pushing at him to get him to move. "It's alright boy, he'll be fine." The Ghost sniper turned to face Hesh. "Now wake the hell up so I don't have to feel bad because I lied to the pooch." Keegan shook Hesh's shoulder, gently at first, but slowly getting more forceful when the male didn't wake. "Hesh, wake up, now!" The black haired male shoved roughly at the other Ghost's shoulder, which seemed to do the trick. Hesh's head moved slightly to the side, eyelashes fluttering slightly as his fingers twitched. Keegan sat back and waited.
Riley barked, bending his head to lick at Hesh's face, which really did the trick. Hesh's eyes scrunched shut tightly as he moved his head to the left, hands reaching up to shove the dog away. "Quit it Riley." His voice was hoarse as he spoke, and unsurprisingly, Riley didn't listen. Keegan laughed softly as he pulled Riley back by his Kevlar vest, allowing Hesh to sit up, which he did with some difficulty. "Keegan?" The elder Walker questioned, his hand moving to pet Riley's neck. "Where's Logan?" He paused, his eyes widening as he looked around. "Where's Rorke?"
Keegan knelt beside the male. "Rorke's dead Hesh. You and Logan killed him."
Hesh shook his head furiously from side to side, then grabbed onto the hem of Keegan's inner shirt collar and pulled him closer. "No he's not Keegan. The bastard's alive. He took Logan, Keegan. Keegan," Hesh paused, tightening his grip on Keegan's shirt collar. "He said he and Logan were gonna destroy the Ghosts together." Hesh stared into the eyes of his comrade, his own flashing in defiant anger. The elder male stared into the Walker's eyes for a long moment, before nodding his head.
"Alright Hesh. I'll notify Merrick." Hesh nodded, letting go of Keegan's collar as his body lost its rigid posture and he sank back onto the sand, his eyes closing. The elder Ghost placed a hand on Hesh's shoulder, glancing at the male. "We'll find your brother, Hesh." He pressed the side button on his radio, the familiar cackling sound filling the clearing when the communicator was used. "Merrick, it's Keegan."
A bit of crackling from Merrick's end before they heard the voice of their acting commander. "Keegan, have you found the Walker boys?"
"Hesh is with me, but Rorke took Logan."
There was a pause on the other end. "Roger, Keegan. Find our boy and bring him home."
Though the male knew Merrick wouldn't be able to see it, he nodded anyways. "Roger that." The transmission between the two stopped, and Keegan knelt closer to Hesh, shifting his weight onto the balls of his feet as he leaned towards the younger male, lifting his right arm around his shoulder, supporting the weight Hesh couldn't hold himself. "Let's take it nice and easy Hesh." As Keegan stood, the male adjusted Hesh's weight until he was satisfied Hesh could handle the weight he was left with, and Keegan could walk however far he knew he'd have to. Once that was done, he turned to look at the younger male. "How's your other arm? Think you'd be able to shoot a pistol?" Hesh didn't even look at him when he nodded. Keegan handed Hesh his sidearm, which was kept at the other male's side, gripped loosely in his hands.
It was Hesh that gave the order to Riley to find Logan's scent, which the dog obeyed immediately. When Riley caught the scent, he turned to the two humans and barked once, his tail wagging as he waited for the command. Hesh told him to track the scent, and Riley had his nose to the ground, following the same path Hesh had watched his brother being dragged from earlier.
Keegan's eyes remained towards the ground; it was clear that someone had been dragged. He didn't doubt it was Logan in the slightest. The shifting sands were starting to hide the small dips in the ground and starting to make it look more natural, but Keegan was a sharpshooter. He was alive because his eyesight was keen enough to spot subtle differences in shape, color, or even size. He had once picked out the muzzle of another's gun sticking out among the rubble fifty meters away; picking up the difference between natural dips in the sand and that caused by some human intervention was like child's play for him.
The pair trudged onward, and Keegan was aware that the longer they walked, the more weight Hesh leaned onto him. It was a gradual increase, and Keegan only noticed it when he was practically supporting all of Hesh's body weight. The male really had taken a beating, and Keegan couldn't blame him. "Hesh, slow down, let's rest for a bit. I'll call in Kick, and you ca-"
"NO!" Hesh, whose head had been lobbing towards the side, shot towards him suddenly, startling Keegan. The voice was forceful, and Keegan could make out the panic in it. "No, I won't rest until we find Logan."
"Hesh, we may not find him. Rorke has the advantage here."
If glares could kill, Keegan would have died under the one Hesh sent him. The younger male's eyes were blazing in a myriad of emotions: anger, determination, and fear being the most forceful. Keegan knew Hesh would never rest until the missing brother was found. It could be an issue, and he'd have to speak with Merrick about it. In any case, the elder Ghost was sure Hesh would need to be watched that he didn't do anything stupid in rage, fear, or panic.
Their progress in tracking Rorke was slow, due in whole to the stubbornness of Hesh, who despite his beaten and tired body, refused to remain behind while his brother was missing. Perhaps it was better that Hesh stay with Keegan anyways. Keegan was aware of the very slight chance of finding Logan on the beach, but he would follow his track wherever it led. Hesh was weak from his previous mission, and Keegan wouldn't risk a Federation patrol finding a weak and helpless Hesh. They already lost one brother that day, and Keegan wasn't going to add their new field commander to the list of growing deceased Ghosts.
Riley's whine had the two men pausing as the canine sniffed the ground. "No," Hesh muttered beside him and Keegan felt the male's body sag against him. He had been hoping against both hope and logic they would find Logan, and they would stop Rorke, once and for all. Keegan glanced at the male, knowing what he was thinking. Hesh was blaming himself. He knew the feeling, and he didn't comment on it. There wasn't any reason to tell Hesh that it wasn't his fault, the eldest Walker brother would not believe him and probably would have shrugged him off.
"I'll search the area. Riley, stay with Hesh." As Keegan started lowering the wounded Ghost to the ground, Hesh started to protest. The other's teammate shook his head. "No Hesh, you are staying here with Riley while I go on alone. You're slowing me down, and right now speed and stealth is the only chance Logan has." Hesh didn't respond to Keegan's words, but he stopped struggling and settled on the ground, the sidearm gripped tightly in his arms. It seemed he was trying to prove to either Keegan or himself that he was not helpless. It could have been both. Once satisfied that Hesh wouldn't get up and search for Logan the moment Keegan turned his back, the sniper went to work searching for the male and quickly locating the tracks of a jeep he spotted earlier. Keegan started following them.
The sun was blistering hot against his back, and the farther he walked, the more his original suspicion that they wouldn't find Logan became less like a suspicion and more like an assurance. Still, he did not want to return to Hesh without having at least some indication of where Rorke had taken Logan. Keegan stopped abruptly when he saw the jeep, seemingly abandoned. The sound of an engine was absent, and the back door on the left side was open. "I've found the jeep Hesh, but it looks abandoned. Moving in to check it out now."
Donning his Honey Badger, Keegan approached the vehicle slowly, blue eyes watching for any kind of movement. He approached the vehicle from the left side, his rifle aimed towards the open door. As he approached, Keegan quickly scanned the inside of the vehicle with the muzzle of his weapon and found it empty, probably for a while now. With a sigh, the Ghost lowered the gun towards his side, searching inside the vehicle for any type of clue that would lead to Logan's location. The back left seat was covered in blood, which he assumed belonged to an injured and missing Logan Walker. He was not looking forward to delivering this news to the other Walker brother. "Hesh, I found the vehicle. It's abandoned. There are signs a helicopter landed here recently." He paused. "I'm sorry Brother, Logan's not here." The Ghost checked to see if the keys were still in the vehicle, but found no sign of them. It looked like he was walking back. "I'll notify Merrick and have him check to see if anyone's spotted a helicopter, friendly or otherwise, in the area."