Big thanks to Coffee Monsta and .581 for your reviews. Well, anyway, this is the last chapter. It's gonna be a long one. I'll delete the Reader Appreciation chapter the day after this goes up so that this'll be a good, clean ten chapters. So, without further ado, here it goes! Chapter Ten! I'm excited, I've been working on this thing for so long, and now it's almost over!
Thanks for Reading, Fly High Aim Higher
~Spitfire out
Toad tried to tune it out. They'd been playing it on a loop for hours, tormenting him with Ian screaming for him to respond using his name, not his call-sign. Then the alarms sounded and drowned it out. He let out a breath of relief. Then the interrogator punched him in the stomach as hard as he could.
The force of the hit forced all of the air out of his lungs and left him coughing and sputtering for a breath. The interrogator seemed satisfied and ran off to see why the alarm was going off.
Toad sat in silence for a long while, waiting to see what would happen. He was sure it was the team, come for him and Alex, he just hoped Archer hadn't managed to sneak his way into that team.
They found Alex first. He was unconscious with a scientist that had a yellow trim on his coat poking and prodding at his bleeding back with odd looking tools. They cleared the room, taking the scientist hostage, and untied Alex. Jayhawk checked him for vitals.
"It's weak, but it's there," he commented, "I've got him, you guys go on ahead and find Toad."
Ghost nodded to him and left Roach with him to watch his back while the rest of the team moved on to find out where they were holding Toad. They found him beaten bloody and the recording of Archer screaming still playing.
"Somebody turn that damn thing off," Ghost ordered, approaching Toad.
Toad looked up at him and gave a small smile, "Man am I glad to see you guys…"
Ghost gave him a smirk that was hidden under the mask in response and cut the ropes holding Toad to the chair. Toad rubbed his raw and bleeding wrists and stood up slowly. He wobbled a little and walked with a limp, but seemed okay otherwise.
Ghost activated his com, "Jayhawk, we've got Toad and are heading back your way."
"Got it," Jayhawk responded, "Alex is waking up now."
Jayhawk eased Alex into a sitting position, keeping a careful eye on his back. Alex grimaced as it caused him pain and Jayhawk nearly laid him back again. Alex resisted and sat up under his own power.
He turned to sit properly on the table, with his feet on the floor, and motioned for Roach to help him stand.
Roach took his arm, and took some of Alex's weight as he slowly started standing up.
He got upright before taking a breath, "I'm okay…" he said slowly, taking a very shaky step forward, and then another, and then his knees gave out and he collapsed.
A strangled cry of pure panic and fear left his throat as he tried to get up again, only to the same result.
Jayhawk knelt down beside him and touched light fingers to Alex's back, checking for damage other than the obvious. Alex whimpered in fear and used his arms to try to move away from Jayhawk and his prodding fingers.
Jayhawk caught his arm, "Easy, easy, I'm not gonna hurt you, just hold still."
He whined when Jayhawk's fingers brushed over the damaged metal on his spine.
"Does it hurt?" Jayhawk asked curiously.
"N-not badly…" Alex answered.
Jayhawk nodded and looked at his back again before making a face and shaking his head, "I don't… this uh… thing… is beyond me," He admitted sheepishly, "Do you think you can walk with help? You seemed to be able to move alright, I'm not sure what the problem is."
Alex nodded slowly and turned over on his back, sitting up for the most part, and reached out to Roach for a hand up. Roach grabbed his arm and pulled him up with a small, hopeful smile. He pulled Alex's arm all the way around his shoulders, taking the Irishman's weight, which wasn't a whole lot compared to the others. Alex took a cautious step and Roach followed, helping him forward. It seemed Alex simply couldn't hold his weight, he was moving just fine. A little slow and shaky, but honestly, who wouldn't.
He took a deep, shaky breath and looked up as the others came in. He didn't want anyone seeing his back and tried his best to take a step away from them.
Jayhawk saw the problem and took the sheet from the table Alex had been strapped down to. He wrapped it around Alex's shoulders, effectively hiding his back from the others. Maybe it wasn't the most sanitary thing, but it was what they had.
Alex gave him a thankful look and held the sheet in place with his free hand.
"Alright, now, let's get the hell out of here before they send in reinforcements," Ghost ordered, already taking point to lead them out.
Nikoli was waiting outside with a small team of his own.
"Have you been taking your pain meds?" Doc asked curiously, making a note on his clipboard.
"No," Archer sighed, already knowing he was about to be lectured for it.
Doc stopped and looked at him, "And why not?"
"I don't need them."
Doc gave him a pointed look and moved Archer's shirt aside to examine the shoulder, "It's swelling again, you need to take them or it won't heal properly."
Archer nodded and looked over at Doc's radio as it beeped.
Doc sighed and picked it up, "Go ahead," he spoke into the receiver.
"We've got them and are on our way back," Jayhawk's voice cut over the channel, "There's something wrong with Alex's back, but its way over my head."
Doc looked at Archer, who was staring at the radio, "I'll take care of it when you get here. How's Toad?"
There was a pause and Archer felt his heart sink, "He's alright, a little bruised and battered, but alright," Jayhawk finally answered.
Archer let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and Doc gave him a look.
"Got it. See you when you touch down, Doc out," he set the radio down again and turned to Archer, "Better?"
Archer nodded and turned to walk away.
"And where do you think you're going?" Doc questioned, "We are not done here."
Archer rolled his eyes and turned back to Doc and motioned for him to continue with the exam.
The chopper arrived back at base in the wee hours of the morning, when everyone was still asleep. Everyone save for Doc and Archer, who waited on the helipad to welcome their lost friends home.
Archer didn't waste any time pulling Chris into a tight hug, completely ignoring the pain it caused his shoulder, "I was so worried…" he admitted very quietly against Toad's shoulder.
Toad smiled and wrapped his arms, being much more careful than Archer about his injured shoulder, "It's okay, Ian. I'm here. I'm okay-"he rubbed soothing circles into Archer's back-"Let's go get some sleep, you look tired."
Archer pulled back from Toad and nodded.
"Oh no you don't," Jayhawk stopped them, "You-"he pointed at Toad-"are coming with me."
Toad and Archer both frowned heavily at him.
"Don't you give me that look," Jayhawk protested, "I just gotta make sure he's as okay as he seems, it won't take long."
They reluctantly went along with him. Doc and Roach were behind with Alex, who had absolutely refused to sit in the wheelchair they'd brought out for him. That was okay, Doc guessed, he seemed to be moving okay, better than he'd expected. Maybe the wheelchair wouldn't be necessary. Maybe. Doc worried about what it would do to him mentally, rather than what it would do for him physically. He'd do everything he could to keep Alex out of the chair.
Doc was still working on Alex when Jayhawk finished fussing over Toad and released both him and Archer to their own room. Doc was no biotechnical expert like the people who'd created the 'exo', but it wasn't terribly difficult to figure out, it had been designed to behave like a natural spine, aside from the enhanced capabilities of it. It would repair itself over time, even the damaged 'nerves' would be repaired by the nanites, but Alex's blood seemed to be low on the nanites that kept him and his 'exo' in shape. Doc was lucky he'd decided to have a bunch of them sent to him once he'd found out he'd be working with Alex again. It was now only a matter of administering the injections. He would do the first two now, while he was unconscious and couldn't feel it.
Toad flopped down on his and Archer's bed with a sigh, "It's good to be home…"
"Chris… are you okay?" Archer asked cautiously, sitting on the edge of the bed.
Toad sat up slowly, "Yeah, I'm alright… What makes you ask? Jayhawk already told you I'm good to go."
Archer shook his head, "That's not what I'm talking about, Chris."
Chris paused, oh, he moved closer to Ian and wrapped his arms carefully around him, "I'm okay, babe, promise. They didn't do anything too nasty, they were waiting for Makarov to get there."
"Makarov was going to be there?" Archer questioned.
Toad nodded, "I overheard the Captain of the base on the phone when he thought I was out-cold. I don't think they knew I speak Russian either," he chuckled, "Makarov had been heading towards the middle-east, I think, but once the Captain told him that they had a couple members of the one-four-one, he had the chopper turned around and was insistent he was the only one to interrogate us."
Archer nodded, "So… what they did to Alex…"
Toad shook his head, "I don't know anything about that, I heard him scream and shout at the scientists, but that's about it… I'm assuming, from what I heard about myself, that Makarov ordered the experiments, else they wouldn't have done them," he shrugged, "but I don't know."
Toad yawned and Archer chuckled a little, "Alright. Let's go to bed, you must be exhausted."
Toad smiled and nodded as they laid down, Archer on his back to protect his shoulder and Toad curled into his opposite side. They both fell asleep quickly, aided by varying levels of exhaustion and pain medications.
Alex didn't wake up until the next day, a little while after lunch. He tested his legs, moving his toes around, then rotating his ankles, and then bending his knees. Satisfied that he could still move them and feel them, he sat still and waited. He wasn't entirely sure what he was waiting for, but he didn't have to wait long. Doc came in a little while later, carrying the next, and hopefully last, injection Alex would need.
"Alex," Doc greeted, "How are you feeling?"
Alex shrugged, "Alright I guess. I can still move, so that's a plus."
Doc nodded with a chuckle, "Your back is repairing itself rather quickly," he admitted, setting the nanite injection aside for the moment.
Alex eyed the large needle and made a face, "Is that really necessary?" he asked warily.
"Yes," Doc answered, "I know it's not exactly the most painless shot you could get, but hopefully this'll be the last one you need. I did the first two while you were out."
Alex nodded, he supposed he should be glad for that, and sighed, "Alright, get it over with then…"
Doc gave him a sympathetic smile and cleaned a spot on Alex's arm with peroxide. Alex took a deep breath and tried to relax as Doc pressed the needle into his skin. He winced and grimaced as Doc pressed down on the plunger.
Three days later, Alex was on his feet with minimal help and Toad had given his debriefing to Shepherd, informing the General that Makarov had intended to go there to interrogate him.
Shepherd hadn't been exactly happy with that news. He claimed that if the team had done as they were told and forgotten about them, Makarov would've been caught in some elaborate trap involving Shadow Company. Archer doubted there was any trap at all. He wasn't the only one that had doubts about this new 'Shadow Company' Shepherd had formed. Someone had done some digging on some of its members that they'd met very briefly. They typically dealt in espionage and black ops. Unlike the Task Force, which dealt in full-fledged battles, stealth ops, and black ops. Something about that struck Archer as suspicious. Why would the good General need two black ops teams? Why separate them, when he could've brought Shadow Company's members into the Task Force's fold? It made no sense.
Archer supposed it wasn't his place to question the General. After all, he was a General, someone trusted this man to make these kinds of decisions. Maybe Archer couldn't see the reasoning behind it, but he was sure there was some, somewhere. Archer pushed his doubts aside and went about what work he could.
Alex was recovering quickly, and was back to running within four more days. He spent his time on the track and in the pit, sharpening and polishing his now rusty skills. Toad spent the same time on the range, with Archer watching him carefully, taking any excuse to be closer than what was really necessary.
"Toad!" MacTavish called, entering the range and throwing off Toad's next shot.
The captain earned two glares for it. He chuckled and apologized.
"Command center in five, we've got some new intel," MacTavish instructed.
Toad sighed and Archer took his rifle, "Don't worry, I'll clean up here, you go ahead," Archer assured.
Toad nodded and followed MacTavish out.
Archer watched them leave and turned and eyed the hand-gun that had been left out. He picked it up cautiously in his left hand and checked it for ammo, which was more difficult than it needed to be with only one arm. He sighed, it was empty. Archer set it back on the table and picked up Toad's rifle, struggling a little to sling it over his good shoulder so that he could carry it back.
Then Ozone appeared next to him, "Let me help you," he offered, moving to take the rifle from him.
"I've got it," Archer snapped, getting the rifle properly slung over his shoulder, he sighed, "Sorry, that was a little harsh…"
Ozone shrugged, "No problem, you're probably fed up with being down an arm, huh?" he chuckled.
Archer nodded his reply and stood up. He headed back towards the armory and Ozone followed after picking up the pistol and a few other pieces of equipment Archer hadn't been able to pick up. Ozone put away what he'd picked up and helped Archer set Toad's rifle on the table for cleaning later.
"From your report and some intercepted radio chatter, we've narrowed down Makarov's location to two sites. A possible safe-house on the Georgian-Russian boarder, and an aircraft boneyard in Eastern Afghanistan," Shepherd himself was giving the briefing, "I want them both scouted out and a full report detailing any and all enemy activity. Williams, I want you on the safe-house. McKay, take the boneyard."
The two marksmen responded in sync, "Yes, sir."
Ghost handed them both files containing the rest of the details of their respective missions.
"Dismissed," Shepherd turned around again to study the map covering the wall.
"Aye, sir," They again responded in sync, and left the room.
Toad sighed and opened his file. He was going in alone. Archer would not be happy about this at all. He made his way back to the range, then the armory. He found Archer there, cleaning, or attempting to clean, his rifle. Toad sighed and walked up. He dropped the file on the table next to his rifle. Archer stared at it for a long moment before looking at Toad.
"Chris…"
"I know…"
Archer hugged him.
"I have to, Ian. You know I do. This comes straight from Shepherd," Chris said softly, rubbing Ian's back.
Ian sighed and leaned back to look at Chris' face, "I'm not happy about it."
"I know," Chris gave him a sad smile, then leaned forward to kiss him lightly, "I'll be okay this time, promise."
"That's what you said last time…"
"And I was okay. Just took a little longer getting home."
Ian sighed and kissed Chris again, "Just please, please be careful," he begged, pressing their foreheads together lightly as he ran his thumb through the short hair on the side of Chris' head.
"You know I will. Now, come on, I want you to help me look this over, I get to pick my over watch this time around."
Archer nodded and Toad put his rifle away. They headed off to their room to study the map for Toad's upcoming mission.
Toad left the next morning for the Georgian-Russian boarder. Archer saw him off and Doc appeared next to him on the helipad.
"You worried?" Doc asked curiously.
"Yeah…"
Doc put a hand on Archer's back, "Come on, it's about time to get you out of that sling and into a brace anyway."
Archer nodded and followed Doc to the infirmary. He'd been told that, because of the strain to his back and shoulder, he may end up having to wear the brace for many years, if not the rest of his life. It was discouraging, but didn't necessarily mean he'd be out of the job.
Toad sighed as he peered through his scope. It was chilly here. He was just glad this would only go on for one day, then he'd fall back and be picked up by a helicopter and a waiting and probably impatient and grouchy boyfriend. The thought made him smile through the bone-chilling cold as he made another mark on his map.
Alex ran through the boneyard, using the plane carcasses for cover while he made notes on his map. This was tiring work, and the heat was really draining him. No one ever saw him, he moved too fast for that, but moving that fast burned a lot of energy and he could only pack so much in terms of water and rations.
The day moved on slowly for both scouts, but was eventually over and uneventful and both made their way carefully to their rendezvous points. Archer was on the chopper to greet Toad with a hug, now that he was allowed to use both arms, although minimally. Roach greeted Alex aboard the other chopper and both began the journey home. Toad slept on Archer's good shoulder and Alex stretched out across the benches with his head in Roach's lap as he slept.
The next afternoon saw both choppers and all four operatives home safe. Toad and Alex dumped their gear and Alex dashed straight for the mess hall, claiming he was starving. Toad and Archer simply laughed at him a little before Toad left to hit the showers and get warmed up. The day was spent resting and recovering, with a little of Toad fussing over Archer's shoulder and the fact that he could now get at least some use out of it. It didn't last long, though, as Toad had been awake for a little over twenty-four hours and was very, very tired.
Archer rolled his eyes at him as he finally passed out in their bed. He left to the mess hall, he hadn't eaten today after all, and got his food. He'd take something to Toad later, after he'd had some rest. He looked up at the sound of laughing to see Alex scarfing down his food, practically inhaling it, and laughed as well. You'd think the man hadn't eaten anything in weeks, but it had only been a day, and he had eaten.
Archer returned to his and Toad's room a while later with food and water to set aside for when Toad woke up. He smiled at Toad, who was still very much asleep, and left the man in peace. He sat down on the couch in the rec room, watching Roach and Rook playing a video game.
Toad slept clear to the next afternoon, when Archer woke him up for his debriefing with Shepherd. The food Archer had taken him had gone bad while he slept and had to be thrown out, but he drank the water and a cup of coffee before getting dressed and heading down to the command center with Archer and Alex.
Both maps that Toad and Alex had drawn were spread out on the table.
Toad pointed a couple sentry locations on his map, "These are new. Were just getting in place towards midday. It looked like they were preparing for something. Increases in security at all possible entry points, nearly didn't make it out undetected."
Alex nodded, "I saw the same in the boneyard…"
The captain nodded thought fully, looking over both maps and written reports carefully, "We'll take some time to go over these. Dismissed."
"Aye, sir," the marksmen responded and turned to leave.
"So," Toad drew the word out, wrapping an arm around Archer's waist, "How do you want to waste the day?"
Archer chuckled at him and ruffled his hair, "Maybe hit the range?"
Toad laughed, "I just got back from an op, Ian, maybe give the range a break, huh?"
Archer shrugged a little, "Yeah, okay, good point."
Jayhawk walked up at that moment, "Archer, Doc's looking for you."
Archer sighed, "Alright, I'll be there in a minute."
Jayhawk nodded and walked away.
Toad frowned, "What now?" he questioned no one in particular, "He's sure been pulling you a lot…"
Archer rolled his eyes, "Says it's healing quickly. Check-ups went from weekly to daily."
"That's… good news… right?" Toad asked curiously.
Archer shrugged, "Hell if I know. Probably," he stepped away from Toad and in the direction of the infirmary, "I'll catch up to ya later."
Toad nodded and left in the direction of the rec room, while Archer headed to the infirmary, and Alex to the track.
Doc greeted Archer at the door, "How do you feel?" he asked curiously.
"Fine," Archer shrugged with his good shoulder, "Been better," he gestured at his busted shoulder and chuckled.
Doc chuckled at Archer's sarcasm, "Well I'm glad you can find some humor in this," he commented, motioning for Archer to follow him.
Archer sat down on the exam table he was led to and carefully removed his shirt. Doc helped him take the brace off, he still wasn't really used to it yet, and set it aside for the moment. Doc looked over his collarbone and shoulder carefully, pressing lightly in some places to test how well it had healed.
"Alright, now make a fist," Doc instructed lightly, one hand resting on Archer's collarbone, the other guiding his arm up to bend at the elbow, "Good. Now slowly raise your elbow."
Archer complied slowly. He very cautiously followed Doc's instructions and moved his arm in different directions. Finally, he was told to straighten his arm and lift it as high as he could. Archer took a steadying breath and slowly straightened his arm out and then raised it over his head.
Doc nodded appreciatively, "Looking good, Archer. I'd say you can go back to training now. You'll have to keep wearing the brace because of the strain to your back and shoulder, but other than that, you're good to go."
Archer nodded his heart beating a little fast, he was excited, "So, you're saying that I can shoot now?"
Doc sighed and nodded, "Yes, you can shoot now, but I recommend building muscle mass back first. You haven't used that arm in a long time, so you've lost a lot of muscle."
Archer rolled his eyes, "Yes, Doc, I know how muscles work, thanks."
Doc chuckled and helped Archer back into the brace, "Alright, smart guy, you're free to go."
Archer hopped up and slipped his shirt back on quickly. He practically broke into a sprint to go find Toad.
Toad hadn't been expected to nearly be thrown off his feet by an overly excited Archer. Archer hugged him tight and he chuckled, patting Archer's back lightly.
"Good news I take it?" he asked curiously.
Archer pulled back, grinning widely, "Doc said I could start training again!"
Toad's grin matched Archer's as he pulled the taller man back into a tight hug, "That's great, Ian."
Archer grabbed his arm and pulled him in the direction of the range, "Come on! I want to get started as soon as possible!"
Toad laughed and followed. It was rare to see Archer this excited and open. It was a rare and great thing, because in these moments, Ian wasn't thinking about all of the bad things to happen to him over the years. Normally he was plagued by them even if they were just in the back of his mind. But, right now, there were only two things on Archer's mind: shooting and Chris, so, as Toad helped Archer fit an M14 EBR to his arm, he was arguably happier about this than Archer was. Maybe not quite as excited, but maybe happier.
They set the rifle on the table after adjusting the stock. Toad stared at Archer for a long moment, he wanted to kiss him, but it'd have to wait, now was not the time. Archer wasted no time in finding his shooting glove and sling.
Fuck it, Toad decided and caught Archer's arm lightly, "Hey, Ian, hold up a sec."
Archer stopped and set his things on the table next to his rifle, "Yeah?"
Chris simply smiled at him and hooked an arm around Ian's waist, pulling them close, and kissed him. He felt Ian smile into the kiss before returning it.
They parted before long and just stood there for a moment.
"What was that for?" Ian asked curiously.
Chris smiled at him, cupping his face in his free hand, the other was still wrapped around Ian, "Nothing. I just haven't gotten to kiss you in a while."
Ian smiled back at him and gave him another peck on the lips, "Alright, we got a lot of work to do, let's go."
Toad nodded and grabbed the rifle while Archer picked up his sling and glove.
Archer was set up in a matter of minutes, with Toad kneeling next to him.
"Alright," Toad started, "The recoil on this is next to nothing compared to your Barrett, so it'll take you some getting used to."
Archer nodded and snapped an empty magazine in before closing the chamber, intending to dry-fire until he got a feel for the trigger. They went through the process of sighting in and practicing with the rifle for a few hours, Toad showing Archer different ways to hold the rifle in each position now that he didn't have to worry about recoil control as much.
It went on for a week. Archer trained and practiced for hours on end each day until he was strong enough and accurate enough to handle ops again. Doc gave him the all clear and in that moment he'd felt like he could run laps around the base forever if he wanted to.
"Sounds like we gotta be in two places at once…"
"Impossible?"
"Not for the one-four-one."
Ho-ly shit bucket. (If you get the joke you're a legend xD). I never thought I'd finish this! But here it is! Wow! Okay, okay. I know you guys are probably less than happy with me finishing it here, of all places. But, I promise, it'll pick back up in the sequel to come, To Dust. Loose Ends and everything after will happen there. Wow… Okay… This is big, I'm excited. Please, please, please review and let me know what you think, this is by far my biggest and best story and I really need feedback. More feedback = Motivation = To Dust is published sooner rather than later. See you guys soon!
Thanks for Reading, Fly High Aim Higher
~Spitfire out