Murdock gripped the back of Hannibal's seat as they bounced along the dirt roads leading out from the camp.

"So, where are we going Boss man?" he yelled, "What's the plan?"

An open top Jeep wasn't the best place for discussing plans, but Hannibal had literally been too furious to speak when he got back from Croxton's quarters and swung by to pick up Murdock and BA. They had signed out the fastest vehicle they could find, and it was only once BA had left the compound far behind that Murdock felt he could risk asking Hannibal about the mission.

"Croxton has sent Face out to meet with an informant of his," Hannibal's face was blank and carefully controlled, but his eyes were still blazing with fury so Murdock knew there was more to come.

"Well, that's not so bad, Boss..."

"On the road to Zahuk."

There was a moment's silence as both BA and Murdock processed this fact before they simultaneously exploded.

"And people say I'm crazy!"

"Zahuk? Man, Hannibal, what's he going there for?" BA hit a pothole in the road as he glanced over at his CO, but he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Everyone knew about the road to Zahuk; the Marines had nicknamed it 'Kidnap Alley' for obvious reasons. And needless to say, those who were kidnapped from the road generally turned up in the middle of the desert. Minus their heads. Now Murdock knew why Hannibal was so furious.

"So," Murdock leaned further over Hannibal's shoulder to be heard over the noise of the Jeep's engine, "Why Zahuk, Hannibal?"

"Croxton says he's a great informant, but he's got a little twitchy lately. Thinks he's gonna get picked up and brought in. So he's trying to hide out in Zahuk."

Murdock nodded. Well, he could see why the guy thought that, it certainly happened often enough. "But Face has gone in with the unit, yeah? Plenty of back up?"

Hannibal was squeezing the roll bars so tightly his knuckles were white. "No. He's gone in alone Captain. We're the back up."

Murdock felt the air rush out of him and he slumped back in his seat. Face didn't stand a chance.

The plume of smoke drifting up from the bridge and the distant sounds of gunfire alerted the team to the trouble ahead. BA instantly swerved off road and started heading a course in from the west. Hannibal could see that he planned on using the scrubby trees bordering the road to try and get as close to whatever was going on without being spotted. Within two minutes they were as close as they could get and Hannibal jumped down from the Jeep whirling to speak to BA and Murdock as he landed.

"BA, stay with the Jeep, bring it in fast if I holler," BA nodded as Hannibal turned to Murdock, "Take the right, Murdock, see what you can see, but do not engage without my word, okay?"

Murdock snapped off a quick salute and disappeared into the bushes as Hannibal grabbed his gun off his back and headed off towards a low hill to his left.

Night fell quickly in the desert and visibility was already failing as Hannibal pulled his night vision scope from his belt and tried to fasten it on as he ran up the incline. Gunfire sputtered sporadically from the other side of the hill and he doubled his pace, heart thumping hard against his ribs. There was always the chance that this was nothing to do with Face, that this was an internal spat between insurgents or even a patrol caught out in the twilight. But Hannibal doubted that, somehow he just knew this had everything to do with Face.

He reached the top of the hill and threw himself down on the rocky ground quickly scoping out the area below. He yanked the night scope off again as, miracle of miracles, the street lights were actually working, a rare occurrence in these parts, and the dull orange lights lit up a scene of carnage below him.

There was a bridge spanning a dark gully, it was impossible to see what lay in its depths, but Hannibal knew it was a slow and turgid river, occasionally dry when the weather was particularly hot. He could see a car on its roof in the middle of the bridge surrounded by three Jeeps abandoned at angles all around it. As Hannibal squinted against the street lights and tried to work out what was going on, a figure suddenly broke clear from the upturned car and sprinted towards one of the Jeeps Hannibal was instantly on his feet as fresh shots rang out in the night; the running figure had been Face, he was sure of it. The ground on this side of the hill was loose, rocky scree and Hannibal began to slide down the escarpment on his backside, all the while keeping his eyes fixed on the melee on the bridge.

The gunshots kept exploding into the night, but Face kept running until he lifted his gun and shot the driver of the Jeep, just as he had raised his gun to shoot at Face. Arabic shouts rang out as he yanked the body out of the way and dived into the driver's seat himself Hannibal was on flat ground now, but kept stumbling as he ran, trying to watch the action on the bridge instead of his feet. Face had obviously been trying to start the car, but as Murphy's Law will always predict, it wouldn't cooperate. Hannibal had scoped the other guys from the other cars moving in, closing Face down and cutting off his exit routes. Fear gnawed at Hannibal's spine as he forced himself to run faster. He wasn't near enough to help yet, but just a few more seconds and he would be, a few more, a few more...

Suddenly one of the guys from the Jeeps made a break for it, charging Face's position, yelling as he went. There was one shot from Face's Jeep that obviously missed its mark and then no more. Hannibal was frantic, wondering why Face wasn't shooting the attacker, wondering why he wasn't driving off, wondering what the fuck was going on and why he couldn't run any damn faster! Suddenly, just as Face's assailant was only metres away from the Jeep, the passenger door burst open and Face flew out. Gunshots followed him as he ran and Hannibal tried to work out what he was doing. And then it hit him – Face was going for the edge of the bridge.

Hannibal knew he was just about in range now, still a little touch and go, but what the hell. He opened fire, blasting at the guys who were blasting at Face and getting them too. But still Face ran. Of course he would Hannibal reasoned later, he didn't know who was shooting, how could he tell that help had arrived in the nick of time? As far as he was concerned, he was running for his life. And then he jumped.

"Shit!" Hannibal saw Murdock appear off to his left and left the captain to watch his back as he threw his gun down and sprinted to the edge of the bridge just in time to see Face disappear into the black nothingness of the gully.

It was almost 11am by the time Murdock returned with the chopper. Hannibal and BA had combed as much of the sides of the gully as they could on foot whilst waiting for the pilot to return, but had turned up a depressing blank. It was a sign of BA's worry that he climbed into the chopper without complaint, although he did look pale and drawn as he fastened his seat belt ridiculously tight.

It was on the third sweep of the gully that Murdock suddenly pointed out the figure slumped against a rock at the water's edge. They were about three miles downstream from the bridge at this point, and Hannibal wasted no time in leaping into the river as Murdock flew as low as he could over the water.

Three minutes later he was dragging himself out of the water next to Face's slumped figure and turning him over to check for signs of life for the second time in a week. This time there was no hysterical laughter; Face was grey and still, with watery blood washed across his forehead, the graze from his first mission for Croxton bleeding freely again. Hannibal wondered if that was a good sign as lay his head on Face's chest, fumbling on his wrist for a pulse at the same time.

Relief broke over him with the force of a Tsunami as he heard a strong thumping heart under his ear and felt the pulse with his finger tips. "Jesus, kid..." Hannibal muttered as he dragged Face's long legs out of the river, "Just what are you trying to pull here?"

Forty eight hours later, Face eased his aching bones off the cot and started dragging his clothes back on. Hannibal had been conspicuous by his absence since he had come round in the medical unit yesterday, and Face had decided to head off before his CO could bawl him out in front of an entire field hospital full of people. He knew he was in deep shit with his CO, Hannibal wouldn't forgive the blatant disregard of his orders easily. But Face really wasn't in the mood for apologies, and he certainly wasn't going to spend the next few days on lock down again if he could help it. He was already restless, it was like electricity was running up and down his veins, burning and fizzing and making him want to just get out and do something. If he went anywhere near Hannibal at the minute he would find himself locked down for probably the rest of his life, and he just couldn't stand that. The four days he had spent in his quarters, even with Murdock and BA swinging by as much as they could, had nearly driven him insane. It was easy, when you were running and planning and shit scared and pumped up to the top with adrenalin, to just stop thinking about things. But when you were shut up in your quarters, with the same four walls to stare at all day, thinking was inevitable, and Face really didn't want to go there just now. Or ever really. There were things in his head that he really would just prefer to ignore for the rest of his life; he would take shit scared any day over that. It was in this frame of mind that he found himself outside Croxton's quarters once more, and with a deep breath he steeled himself and knocked.