Chapter 6

Words were being yelled in the distance, people were running around toting guns, knives, machetes and whatever else they could use to fight. Explosions and gunfire rumbled in the distance and dust fell from the ceiling as they were pulled and pushed through the confusing network of tunnels, people rushing past not slowing in their haste regardless of who was in their path. Unfamiliar with the path they were being led on, Mia and Yinsen were tripping over their own feet on the worn dirt floor as they were lead with urgency beyond their physical means after all the time cooped up in a small space with just enough food to keep them alive but not really healthy. Mia was struggling even more so, hardly able to keep herself walking and upright at the same time.

Both Yinsen and Mia were taken to the same area by the extremists who'd roughly grabbed and led them from the cell. Like the other areas of the cave, the cavern they'd been taken to was cool and dank but instead of cells or prisoners, this one was bustling with activity as injured extremists sat or laid haphazardly along the walls and randomly on the cold ground. Many were being carried in and deposited in whatever space was available. They were stifling their moans as they lay bloody on the unyielding ground, believing that they were just and their cause was true.

Already familiar with his role among the injured, Yinsen got to work once a fully stocked medical bag was thrust into his arms by a guard. He glanced back briefly to Mia who had a pained look on her face before she was led away to the other side of the cavern to heal the more severely injured. He did his best to focus on his own task as assigned hoping that the sooner he finished, the sooner he and Tony could begin the escape. Already, he could see that Mia had healed two of the injured and the horrid stain of blood was already blossoming on her right side. He cringed at the thought of her being used as she was but his goal right now was to finish up and return to Tony for the escape before it was too late for any of them.

Tony was still staring at the door in shock at the abrupt departure of his friends. This was the first time since waking with a battery attached to his chest that he found himself truly alone during his captivity. He brushed his hand over his hair as light debris fell onto it from the ceiling, shaking the string of lights above him, causing them to flicker.

It was quiet now except for the occasional shuffle of feet outside the door as someone ran by.

Guards still stood in front of the heavy door blocking the exit but they were nervous and unsure of their post. The regular guards had been called away and two young and inexperienced men had taken their place before the door was fully closed, leaving Tony alone to make sure the suit was completed and ready to go.

Hours later, Tony sat frustrated at his lack of progress. The wavering power in the cave had caused the laptop to turn off a few times before he had resigned himself to leaving it alone in case a surge damaged it permanently. He was worrying about Yinsen and Mia both as he sat alone in the cave drinking the dark colored water from the spigot to refresh himself. After concluding that he couldn't use the laptop, he'd worked tirelessly to make sure the suit was completed and ready. Waking up, feeling refreshed as he had, he'd pushed his body to its limits to finish the suit that would be integral for their escape. The last piece was cooling to the side and the rest was hanging on a frame, ready to be assembled around his body.

Each piece had already been meticulously inspected but he went over each piece of the suit again and again, nervous and anxious about what was to come. He took a part off the hanging frame, tested it, oiling the joints where needed, sanding a sharp edge and tightening screws and bolts for optimal efficiency. He knew that nothing in this situation was ideal, but if they stood any chance of escape the suit had to come first. It came first before Yinsen, first before Mia and first before himself to an extent.

He grimaced as he tested the pieces out knowing that with no buffer between the heavy plates and the person wearing them, heat and friction would rub skin raw and sore and that some of the joint pieces were likely to pinch the skin severely, possible cut deep enough to draw blood. The suit had been made with speed and functionality in mind. There was no time to consider aesthetics, safety or comfort. His clothing of a sleeveless shirt and baggy sweats with no shoes was minimal and there was nothing with which he could fashion an under suit. In his mind an image of Mia all beaten and bloodied came to the surface and he couldn't even imagine the pain she was in for the majority of her capture. The pain he would feel wearing the suit wouldn't be nearly as prolonged as what Mia had suffered and he resolved to do his very best to make the escape a success. He used Mia as his source of encouragement and strength and continued his work checking the suit.

Yinsen was returned hours later, bloodied and looking tired. Worried for Yinsen whom he considered a friend, Tony ran up to him quickly and helped his sit by the dwindling fire.

Although it was a regular occurrence in the beginning, being taken to treat the injured as needed, since being tasked with Tony's well being, Yinsen had remained at the billionaire's side most of the time so it was especially unnerving that he'd been taken away so close to the launch of their escape plan.

"Don't worry for me Tony. I'm exhausted but otherwise unharmed. This blood isn't mine." He motioned wearily to his bloodied clothes with one arm, seemingly too tired to do much more.

Frantic and high-strung Tony spoke louder and more harshly than intended. "What the hell is going on out there, Where's Mia? I'm losing power in here, can hardly see what I'm doing when that happens and I have no idea if I'm going to die forgotten and alone." His hands were making sweeping motions with each sentence, conveying his strong emotions to the older man who did his best to reply calmly.

"There's been a fight of some sort outside and many were injured. Mia and I were taken to tend the injured but after things settled, she was taken elsewhere while I was returned here." The older man closed his eyes momentarily, weariness making him drowsy.

Tony wanted to know why Mia would be needed to help with injuries but before he could ask more about the happenings on the other side of the door, Yinsen brought up the subject of their upcoming escape.

Yinsen looked up as the lights flickered but didn't seem surprised at the development. Tony was anxious for news of happenings beyond the door of their cell but there was little that Yinsen could tell.

"Tony, I understand your worry and can relate but I must remind you that not only the suit but you, yourself are also instrumental to our escape. I'll tell you what I know and after that, you must rest for the night. We have approximately five hours until we must act and you need your energy if you are going to go running around in a nearly one ton suit 'blowing things up.'"

Standing to join Yinsen at the disassembled suit, Tony chuckled at the verbal quotation marks around the last part, recognizing the words from Yinsen as those that were first used by Mia when she'd been brought into the fold and informed of what they were really building.

The older man walked around the metal frame which was now holding up the fully completed suit of mechanized armor and marveled at the size of it and how quickly it had been completed. He turned to look at Tony and could see the weariness in his body but knew he would not be able to rest without some news of what was on the other side of the door.

He and Mia had been dragged or guided around the network of caves but Tony had been in the cell almost the entire time of his capture. He'd been dragged out in the beginning with regular bouts of beatings and torture but once supplies had been delivered to build the missile, he'd been left in the cave consistently.

With a sigh, Yinsen took a seat by the fire which he started at idly and began to speak once more of what little he knew of the current situation and of Mia.

"I was across the way from Mia when we first started our assigned tasks but I became absorbed in what I was doing. She was probably moved to another area from where I was treating the wounded but I heard some talk of where she'd been taken after they were done with her and I fear she doesn't have long. Raza will see her in the morning but in the meantime, I heard she was being beaten for distracting you from building the missile before being deposited in a solitary cell."

Tony's eyes widened at the news as he paced the cell but Yinsen did his best to calm him down. "Remember her strength and don't fret. She knows the plan and I'm certain she'll be waiting for the planned escape."

Ideally, the escape would be easier to facilitate if all three were in the cell together. Tony would take the lead with Yinsen and Mia following. Knowing though that the only certainty in the cave was uncertainty, plans had been for the escape if either Yinsen or Mia were not in the cell when the time came.

Both men silent, mulling over their own thoughts and gathering their courage for what was coming, didn't even notice when the cave became silent once more.

Yinsen knew that Mia would no doubt have broken bones after only a few hits due to her severely malnourished state but kept quiet on the subject, knowing that the knowledge would not serve any purpose regarding the escape.

Yinsen knew that Mia had experienced too many days and nights with no food or water and on the occasional times she was provided anything, it wasn't enough to properly nourish her. What he'd also kept to himself had been that although she had eventually been taken elsewhere than himself after being dragged out of the cell, she initially had been working on mending the injured in the same area as himself.

He'd noticed her among the injured terrorists, being forced to lay her hands on the most injured and heal them to the point where they weren't in danger of death. When she was close to unconsciousness she was injected with something in the neck and they would then drag her to the next man to be healed.

Her gift was amazing he'd thought as he'd witnessed internal bleeding, evisceration, and hanging limbs being mended under her hands but quickly he'd also remembered the consequence of her gift as well. His amazement had turned to horror when he saw that each injury she healed had immediately shown itself on her own body. Her body was being torn apart by an invisible force, blood and tears covered her from head to toe as she cried in pain and fear. He'd been roughly reminded of his place when out of instinct he'd tried to go and help her and a boot to the back had knocked him to the dirt floor with words he didn't care to repeat.

Looking up from the fire into Tony's eyes he could see the worry about everything that was happening and would soon be happening and he could also tell that he was having trouble holding himself together in light of their plan. He decided that at the moment he would keep further details about MIa to himself. He didn't want to risk Tony pushing the planned escape to an earlier hour and to put everything at risk. The man was tired and needed to rest before taking on the task of liberating them.

Yinsen spoke his piece and hoped he wouldn't be questioned further. "Our captors attempted to grow their territory and clashed with an opposing force. Many of them were injured and needed medical attention." In truth, this was a stroke of luck since it had thinned out the numbers in the cave and would make escape easier. He said as much to Tony and the other man nodded as he stopped his pacing and joined Yinsen by the embers.

"She should be safe until we are ready." Not sure whether he was comforting Tony or himself with the words that sounded hollow to his ears, Yinsen looked away from Tony and distracted himself with cooking their last meal in the cave.

Feeling guilty for not being more truthful about the state of their friend. He knew that Mia wouldn't have wanted Tony to be distracted either and he hoped that his lie would pay off during the escape. The more focused they were on the escape the sooner they could rescue Mia. He only hoped she could hang on a while longer. The men ate quickly in silence, tomorrow was the escape.

After finishing the meal Yinsen joined Tony by the suit and also checked the armor and practiced working with the clasps and bolts that would hold Tony inside. It would be him that would assemble the suit around Tony and he wouldn't have time to fumble with any of the pieces. He needed smooth and precise movements that would maximize the small amount on time they would have to get everything going. They'd been working in a sort of blind spot from the cameras and ensuring that one of them was always in view while the other worked on the suit. When the time to escape would come, both would be in the blind spot for longer than what would be considered acceptable by their captors and it would undoubtably raise suspicion to those on the other side of the cameras.

The power, once again steady in the cave, Tony booted up the old laptop and reviewed the programming for the suit a final time while Yinsen continued to open and close the various parts of the suit. He made sure that every sequence would execute exactly before shutting everything down for the day. There was no opportunity to test anything and the first run would be tomorrow. So much could go wrong and it was eating away at him as he gingerly lay on the cot and tried to fall asleep.

If the power in the cave fluctuated during the booting of the laptop, the program wouldn't be able to launch. If any of the cables connecting the laptop to the suit were faulty, the suit wouldn't engage. If estimated weights and torque were off by too much the arc reactor in his chest would get too hot too fast or the suit wouldn't draw enough power. So many things could go wrong. That was Tony's last thought as sleep finally claimed him and took him to a restless sleep filled with pain and death.

*0*0*0*

In the cell she'd been tossed into Mia curled up against the wall hugging her knees to her chest and feeling like she was literally holding herself together. She'd been beaten and drugged. She'd been forced to heal so many with horrific injuries but no matter how many drugs they'd shot her up with she couldn't save everyone.

She felt blood on her hands from several sore spots on her body as she tried to survey the damage by feel. The clothes she was wearing had long since turned red and brown with blood both dried and fresh but she couldn't see any of it now since there was absolutely no light where she currently was. The cell wasn't large enough to lie in, it was more reminiscent of a closet and the best she could manage was to lean against a wall and hope that she would make it to the morning. One way or another, her time in the caves would be over by then.

'I'm so tired and I've been hurting for so long I can hardly remember what it's like not to be in pain. Everything burns and aches and is hot and cold at the same time. The ringing in my ears is worse than it's ever been and my head is spinning so badly. I felt my stomach clench and I turned to the side to heave but there was nothing left to heave. I feet empty physically and emotionally.

I saw Yinsen briefly after we were removed from our shared space and I'm glad he's doing well. I hope he tells Tony I'm OK so he'll focus on the escape. Everything was done when Yinsen and I were taken away so the escape shouldn't take long. I wonder if they'll look for me or leave me behind?

Will I even be alive when or if they find me? I've been wishing to die this entire time and now that there's a chance it might happen, I don't want to. What if I actually do?'

Horrible thoughts and images ran through Mia's mind as her body tried to heal and consciousness left her as the drugs in her system wore off. Curled up uncomfortably against the cold, rough wall, tears dried on her face her last thought was a question of whether this was the final time she'd close her eyes.

*0*0*0*0*

The following day was a flurry of activity in the cell with Tony and Yinsen. Final preparations were being made for the escape, Tony and Yinsen had eaten their morning meal quickly, not knowing what would happen if they escaped and when the next opportunity to eat would be. As they had planned, a bomb had been put together on the main door; it would detonate as soon as the door was disturbed. This would hopefully be enough of a distraction to give them a few extra minutes if needed. Once that happened there would be no turning back.

They were working as one unit, swiftly and without delay. Tony was being helped into the suit by Yinsen while the computer booted up. They had been working in the blind spot of the camera that constantly watching them. Until this point, they had been careful to always have one person on camera to make it less suspicious to their watchers when they worked on the suit. Now that both of them were out of the camera's view to work on the suit, they knew it wouldn't be long before their captors would be coming to investigate in person regarding their absence on the screen.

Just as the thought had gone through their minds, the eye level slot in the door opened and a guard yelled something through it.

They needed a bit more time, Yinsen spoke loudly to the guard hoping to stall but then there was a loud rumble and bang followed by the sound of the heavy steel door falling. The bomb had gone off; this was it.

The suit's startup program was just finishing up as Yinsen got the helmet on Tony's head covering the frightened and bloodshot eyes, there was no time for last minute chatter and farewells.

As discussed previously, the plan was that once Tony was ready he was going to walk out of their cell to clear the way for Yinsen who would then lead them to Mia. Once she was rescued, Tony would move on ahead and they were to wait a few moments behind before following the trail of bodies that would be left. Once outside they would go right but none of them knew if that was North, South, East or West. They would know only after they finally looked up at the sky.

They would have only moments to get clear of the caves upon their escape as Tony was planning to take care of the weapons stock pile by blowing it up before he too would later fly in the same direction as his friends. No one was sure if flight would be possible in the heavy suit and there was no way for it to be tested. All they could do was try. Once the leader returned they would all be killed anyways, at least this way it would be on their own terms.

The program finished and the men held their breath waiting for Tony to successfully make a part of the suit move. It was immensely heavy and bulky. The idea was that the program would hold it all up and keep it moving using hydraulics and Tony would only have to control it. If this didn't work Tony would be trapped under the full weight of the suit and Mia and Yinsen would most likely be killed in a very unpleasant manner.

Outside their cell was chaos as the troops gathered to help their comrades and investigate the explosion. Orders were being yelled out and all available men were grabbing their weapons ready to kill. Little did they know that they would not be doing the killing and injuring this time.

Inside the cell the men looked at each other in amazement and excitement as first the left arm, then the right leg moved. The movements were choppy in the beginning, but smoothed out as Tony became accustomed to how it moved. It worked!

Without any words being said Tony maneuvered the suit to the door and started shooting.

The two of them walked out at a brisk pace, Yinsen jogging to keep up with the larger strides of Tony in the suit. There were bodies everywhere and he tried not to look but the path he was on had become slick with blood in places and he had to be careful not to slip.

Yinsen noticed the guns beside the bodies of the killed terrorists. He sighed but picked one up against his better judgement. He was a doctor and had taken an oath to heal not harm or kill yet that is what a gun was for. He looked back at Tony who had cleared the current area and was now waiting for Yinsen's direction. With a surge of adrenalin Yinsen led him down an empty hall that would lead to the cells where Mia would hopefully still be.

The hallway in front of them was lit by a new string of lights hung on the ceiling in a single strand. The lights flickered with Tony's steps and made it difficult to see. There were rotten, thick pieces of wood down one side of the hall. Some were open and others weren't.

This area of the cave was colder than where they'd been staying and even through the suit where Tony was sweating with adrenaline, fear and exertion he could feel the cold seeping into his pores.

Yinsen could see his breath as he took in a lungful of air. They must be deeper than they previously were and that meant they were still far from the entrance of the cave. Yinsen called out with caution hoping that Mia would respond but knowing she would most likely be unable to. Dead or unconscious, he didn't know which they would find but neither of them were going to leave her behind.

He went to the first door and looked in finding only a pile of putrid rags. The next few doors were the same and a couple of rats ran out from another. Looking inside Yinsen felt bile in his throat when he saw they had been feasting on a body. Behind him Tony was silent and Yinsen strode up to the body and felt relief that it wasn't Mia.

Tony was angry and now desperate to find Mia and get out. He no longer wanted to wait patiently for Yinsen to open the doors and so he instead knocked them in as they passed being careful not to knock them down in case Mia was crushed. By the sixth door they were losing hope but just as they were going to turn away the bundle of rags in the previous cell moved unnoticed by them. There was a groaning sound and Yinsen ran back to investigate. By the time Tony had managed to turn the bulky suit around in the narrow space Yinsen had already gone into the dark space and moved the rags in the cell enough to reveal Mia's face. She was bloody and beaten but still alive and even better, was coming out of her unconscious state.

Tony was shocked at Mia's condition and angry that Yinsen had kept the severity of her condition from him. He knew why the older man had done it but was still angry just the same. Had he known what Mia was going through he would have moved up the schedule for the escape and saved her some pain. He was seeing red at the moment and he quickly moved the suit towards the sound of yelling voices amped up to take his anger out on those that caused their suffering.