Chapter Four
"This is going to hurt" Callum warned his friend softly.
"Just do it" Quinn stated through gritted teeth. The young medic winced on behalf of his injured friend as he took hold of the man's calf. He nodded at the team leader.
"You need to hold him, and tight" he instructed.
"A three year old girl could hold Quinn down" Rob stated with a grin. Quinn rolled his eyes, knowing full well that his team leader was attempting to get him to bite, he lacked the energy so settled for closing his eyes and taking deep steadying breaths. Callum nodded at Rob whilst Quinn was distracted and in one swift motion he had hold of the man's calf and was pulling with a twist watching as the knee shifted back into place.
"Holy Shit" Quinn exclaimed as he bit down to avoid screaming out and blinked furiously to clear the stars that clouded his vision.
"Just breath Peter" Callum instructed softly, noting the pallor of the injured man and praying that the man didn't pass out.
"I'm ok" he stated, his body language making it obvious he was anything but.
"Sure you are Quinn" Rob muttered with a shake of the head. "Finish up- we move in out in fifteen" he added, moving away to gather the rest of the team.
"What's the damage?" Quinn asked the medic when Rob was out of earshot.
"Dislocated knee- well it was, fairly nasty tear to the quad, couple of broken ribs, gash to the side which hopefully the stitches should hold together, and a mother of all concussions that I am pretty sure you can more than feel. Not to mention lots of beautiful bruises. All in all you are a complete mess man- but you should live" the medic finished as he applied field stitches and dressings to the worst of the wounds.
Quinn smiled slightly at the description- it was still worth it, they had taken out more than thirty I.S members in one hit- that had to hurt them. He had to admit he wasn't looking forward to the next few days- best case scenario it was at least three days of walking through rough terrain in high temperatures in the hope of hopping across the Turkish border and taking refuge at a safe house whilst they awaited their next instruction. Worst case scenario his wounds would get infected and he would slowly burn to death from the inside in, whilst also slowing his team down and putting them at risk.
He shook his head to clear in thoughts and swallowed back on the nausea that the action caused.
"You gonna be ok?" the medic asked him, his voice barely above a whisper.
"I'll be fine- I always am" Quinn replied with a grimace, holding his hand out to the big man for him to drag him to his feet. When he was upright he took a moment, leaning against the medic completely against his will as he attempted to get his balance, the World tipping dangerously in front of his very eyes.
"Steady man- take deep breaths" the medic instructed gently, holding the man upright as he gathered himself together. Quinn gulped, he felt sick and his head was swimming- his body on fire as his injuries made themselves known.
"Let's go" Quinn stated as he pushed himself away and stood under his own steam, bergen on his back and rifle over his shoulder.
Within minutes the group were out of the barn and yomping across the uneven ground. Rob took point- making sure he kept his pace slower than normal to allow for his injured team mate to maintain pace.
Quinn took as deep a breath as his battered torso would allow and concentrated on placing one foot in front of the other, each step an effort and he was paying his surroundings no attention, simply trusting his friends to look out for all of them. All they had to do was get to the border, and pray that their contacts would come good and help them to safety.
CIA-CIA-CIA-CIA-CIA-CIA-CIA
Hours passed as the team moved through the dangerous territory, taking cover in trees and sheltering from the blazing sun, finally as the sun started setting in the sky the team moved into an outcrop and deeper into the woods to rest.
Quinn leaned against a tree, swallowing furiously to fight off the nausea. He had no concept of how long they had been moving, he had drunk water as the medic had handed it to him, but he hadn't dared to eat any of the ration packs- he knew his stomach would rebel. He closed his eyes as he took a sip of water, his injured leg was throbbing and the rest of him was a mass of bruises. He knew his eyes must look massive as the concussion was winning.
"You should eat something" Rob stated as he sat down beside him, his watchful eyes surveying their surroundings. Quinn opened his eyes slightly to glare at the smaller man. Rob chuckled in reply. "Feel like shit hey?" he asked, deliberately stating the obvious.
"I'm fine" Quinn whispered.
"Just hang in there man, we'll make some more ground tomorrow and then hopefully be able to risk the sat phone" Rob commented.
"Don't make any risks on my account" Quinn stated, now fully alert. Rob sighed and went to speak. "I mean it man- we use it when it's safe to do so and not be for- I can manage" he argued, the most words he had uttered in days. Rob sighed before nodding in agreement.
"You got it" he stated as he moved to check on the deployments of the rest of the group. Quinn watched him leave, he hated that he was slowing the team down- putting them at risk by his own weakness. He knew how it worked in the team- there was no way they would leave him, so he had to make sure he kept up- just bit through the pain and kept moving. He took another small sip of water- knowing that it was nowhere near enough for what he was putting his body through, leaning back once more he closed his eyes and waited for sleep to claim him, M4 gripped tightly in his hands.
CIA-CIA-CIA-CIA-CIA-CIA-CIA
Sunrise came all too soon for the injured operative, a night sleeping on dark, cold ground with his back pressed against a tree had done him no good whatsoever, and somehow he felt even worse than he had the night before. He groaned as he attempted to get to his feet, a hand hooking up under his arm to steady him. He closed his eyes to gain control of his breathing, before looking up to see who had come to his assistance. He locked eyes with the team medic.
"Thanks" he stated, his breath finally calming.
"You should sit down Peter, I need to check those dressings" Callum stated, still holding on to the other man's elbow.
"And you couldn't have said that before I made it up?" Peter stated with a grimace. Callum chuckled despite himself and helped the other man back to the floor.
"You know you shouldn't even be moving with that head injury" the medic stated. Quinn rolled his eyes- or at least tried to. "At least the stitches have held up" he commented, checking the dressings. "We need to make sure that no infection gets a chance to settled in Peter- take these" he instructed handed the other man a handful of pills. Peter didn't even question as he dry swallowed the pills and flinched as an injection made it's way into his hip. "You need to eat and drink whilst that takes effect- Rob says we move out in twenty" the medic informed him as he handed him a ration pack and his canteen of water.
Quinn popped the tin and watched as it heated up- he had no appetite whatsoever- yet he also had no desire for the antibiotics to make him nauseous due to his empty stomach so he forced down a few forkfuls of food and a quarter of the water. He knew he needed to gather himself together, focus on the task at hand and get moving, or they would all be at risk.
"You good?" Rob asked as he held out his hand to help the other man up. Peter accepted the offer and allowed his friend to gently haul him to his feet. He checked the clip in his sidearm- rechecked his M4 and looked up.
"Good to go" he stated, his blue eyes filled with steely determination as the group moved out.
CIA-CIA-CIA-CIA-CIA-CIA-CIA
Quinn had mustered himself together and was making good progress- the strong painkillers numbing him enough he could at least walk slowly, although god knows what further damage he was doing to his injured body in the process- it was a necessary evil. He could hear his own breathing as he struggled to maintain the effort- but he knew he couldn't slow down.
He focussed on the men in front of him, knowing they would guide him right. Luckily he was concentrating, otherwise he may have missed Rob raising his right hand and dropping to his knee. The rest of the group copied, Quinn included out of habit despite the shockwaves of pain it sent through his injured knee. He just managed to avoid crying out, although he felt his eyes welling with tears. He couldn't even think of the pain as he gripped his rifle tightly surveying the surroundings carefully- squinting against the burning sun. Carefully the group raised to their feet and moved into the protection of the woods.
"What is it?" Quinn whispered to Rob once they were in the bushes.
"A glint in the sunlight- possibly a sniper sight" Rob stated pointed into the distance. Quinn reached into his vest and pulled out his own scope- looking through it in the general direction Rob was pointing towards.
"Get the asset into further cover- they would rather kill him than risk him talking to us" Quinn stated with a sigh.
"And what are you going to do?" Rob asked uncertainty in his tone.
"Play them at their own game- get into the higher cover and take them out" Quinn replied, already looking towards a small gap in the mountains behind them that should give him exactly the cover he needed.
"You're crazy Peter- you can barely walk" Rob argued.
"I don't need to walk, I just need to lay down and take the shot. Perfect position to lay down covering fire for if more appear" Quinn reasoned- he was more than aware of his body's current limitations- but he knew he could make the shot. He didn't even bother with further discussion, he simply picked up with rifle and shuffled towards the high ground, no idea he was going to climb up he just knew he would manage. Rob watched him walk away, shaking his head.
"Stubborn bastard" he muttered under his breath as he turned towards the rest of the team and quickly explained the plan. Two of the less experienced members grabbed their prisoner and moved further into cover, determined that this would not all be for nothing they secured him and stood in front of him with weapons poised.
To describe Quinn's ascent to the little cave as a climb would have been generous and he was dripping in sweat by the time he made it into position. He leant back against the cool rock and took several breaths to quell the nausea in his stomach and regain his focus. After a few moments he was satisfied he had won the battel against himself and carefully shuffled into position- flicking out the legs of the sniper rifle and setting the scope in well practiced motions. He pushed the stock into the crease of his arm pit and relaxed his neck. When he was as comfortable as he was going to get he closed his left eye and looked through the sight with his right- he relaxed his breathing and acquired the sight picture. With one gentle squeeze the bullet was flying through the air- hitting true to target in a shot that only ten people in the world could have made- and that was when they were able bodied.
"Well I will be damned" Rob exclaimed as he watched through his own scope as yet again Quinn proved why he was such a vital member of the team. He no further time for delay as the rest of the enemy group came out of their cover, picked off one by one by Quinn's undeniable talent. Rob nodded to Liam and the rest of the remaining guys and they joined in the gunfight. As quick as it had started it was over- Rob breathed a sigh of relief- the quicker they made it to that border the better.
CIA-CIA-CIA-CIA-CIA-CIA-CIA
Quinn rested his throbbing and dizzy forehead against his forearm as he regained the energy to climb back down and rejoin his team. He had done what he needed to do- and now the adrenaline had worn off he was suffering for it.
He was exhausted and his whole body was on fire from the exertion and the painkillers wearing off. For the first time he started having doubts whether he would make it, they had potentially several more days of yomping through the unforgiving grounds all whilst dodging enemy troops. He was ripped from his thoughts by the sounds of approaching footsteps. He carefully pulled his sidearm from his holster and made it ready, barely moving but knowing with no uncertainty that he would hit anyone that was a threat.
"Put it away douche bag" Rob's familiar voice stated. Quinn breathed an involuntary sigh of relief as he saw his friend. "Now are you coming back down or is this your new place?" the smaller man asked with a wry grin.
"Well it is quite homely….." Quinn replied as he pulled himself upright- "but I suppose we still have a job to do" he added with a grimace.
"You are getting slack buddy- one of those rounds missed" Rob stated as he held out his hand to aid his struggling friend.
"I'll work on that" Quinn muttered, grunting with every motion as the pain threatened to overwhelm him.
"Let's just get down, then in an hour or so we can hole up for the night- we can't stay too close to this Peter" Rob told him regretfully, wanting nothing more than to allow his friend the rest he so clearly needed. Quinn nodded, not wasting any energy on speaking- he had known that was the case without his friend saying so. \
End Chapter Four