Clarke pulled Lincoln aside as they left the Commander's tent after the briefing. "I need to talk to you."
She led him to another tent. This one was empty. She stood there, watching him without speaking, looking for something, perhaps a tell. Lincoln remained impassive.
"I asked for you specifically because I know you can work with us," she finally spoke. "I meant what I said, Lincoln. You are my people."
He pursed his lips together, wanting to ask her how she could leave Octavia to die yet still call him her people but he remained silent, biting his tongue instead.
"Did Octavia talk to you?" she finally asked.
"Don't worry. We won't say anything." If either of them did, it would mean their death sentence.
"I was protecting Bellamy."
At the expense of Octavia's life. He didn't want to hear her excuses. "I'll fight with you, Clarke. We both want our people out of that Mountain."
"Maybe if you could talk to Octavia…."
The withering glare he shot her made her stop mid-sentence. He folded his arms over his chest, done with the discussion, done with her. He had started to consider her an ally and even a friend but after finding out about Tondisi, he had lost all trust in her and that hurt him worse than he realized.
She sighed heavily, giving up for the moment. "I'll send Monroe and Sergeant Miller in to work with you on getting that door open."
She left and moments later, the tent flap moved as the fire-haired girl, Monroe, entered followed by Sergeant Miller, carrying Raven's package in one hand and a tube of papers in the other.
"Clarke says to report to you?" Monroe asked.
Lincoln nodded. He was in charge of the task force assigned to get the door open.
"I'm Monroe and this is Sergeant Miller," she said, gesturing behind her.
"Lincoln."
"I just wanted to say…." She lowered her head, staring down at his feet. "I'm sorry for what we did to you before."
Lincoln barely caught what she mumbled out. He could only assume she was talking about the torture they had inflicted on him. "Thank you." He wasn't sure what else to say but he appreciated her apology.
Monroe nodded back, finally looking him in the eyes. "I'm at you're command, Sir."
The corner of Lincoln's mouth threatened to tug up into a smile, but he managed to hold it back. Instead, he led her and Sergeant Miller to the table in the middle of the tent, holding his hand out for the rolled up paper in Sergeant Miller's hand. "Are these the drawings from Raven?"
"Yes," Sergeant Miller said as he passed them to Lincoln. "The schematics she pulled up on the door."
Lincoln spread them out on the table, inspecting the clock-like mechanisms and intricate gear work of the mechanical portion of a door that hadn't been opened in ninety-seven years.
"What's Raven's plan for the door?" Lincoln asked.
Monroe pointed at a spot on the diagram. "I drill a hole here. Raven says this will get us close enough to the wires connecting the door to the backup generator."
"Then I plant the hydrazine bomb," Sergeant Miller set down the metal cylinder he had brought to Clarke. "We trigger the explosion to short circuit the whole thing before the generator kicks in and the door defaults to unlocked as a safeguard. After that, it's simply a matter of prying it open."
Lincoln eyed Raven's bomb. "How does that work?"
"Hydrazine," Sergeant Miller said. "Highly explosive." He pointed out the wires and circuitry at the top. "This is the ignition source. Once the bomb is in place, I turn it on and we get back and wait for the electricity to turn off." He pulled out a metal box. "This is the trigger. Press the button and…. Boom!"
Lincoln nodded. "Let's start drilling, then."
Monroe grinned widely and hurried out of the tent to begin her assignment while Sergeant Miller lingered. "My son is in there," he finally said. "I think you met him."
Lincoln at last made the connection to Miller, one of his captors, the one he had spent the most time with aside from Bellamy, the same one he had head-butted. "I'm not sure what you've been told about me."
"Monroe and I had a long walk from Camp Jaha. I know what he did."
Lincoln wondered if another misplaced apology was coming. Maybe he had been wrong about these Sky People and their heartlessness; they seemed more compassionate than his own people. But then he remembered what they had done to Octavia, what they had done to their own children, and his jaw clenched.
"It's my fault. I was the one who arrested him. My own son." Sergeant Miller shook his head. "I caught him stealing again and…." His eyes filled with tears. "What if I never get a chance to tell him I'm sorry?"
Lincoln reached out a hand to the man's shoulder, squeezing it in comfort. "You'll see him soon."
Sergeant Miller shook his head. "After what I did, I don't think he'll want to see me again."
"The important thing is to keep fighting," he said, repeating what Octavia had told him. He clumsily patted the man on the back. "Let's go get him."
Lincoln stood behind Clarke, Lexa, and Sergeant Miller as Monroe maneuvered the drill into position in front of the colossal door sealing away the residents of Mount Weather from the rest of the world. The whirring sound of the motor was soon joined by the screech of metal grinding against metal as the drill dug into the door.
It was slow going. She had to stop often to lubricate the drill and even had to replace it a few times. The whole while, Lincoln scoured the surrounding areas and the ridge above the door looking for danger. Koff was in charge of the bulk of the forces and should already have an eye out but Monroe was Lincoln's responsibility.
Monroe shut off the drill, extracting it from the door. Lincoln wondered if the drill had broken again.
"That should do it," she said. "Bombs away."
Two of the Sky People guard came up and removed the drill from in front of the door while Sergeant Miller stepped forward to place the hydrazine bomb. He looked quickly back at Lincoln, a defeated weariness across his face.
"Be careful," Clarke said.
Lincoln stepped around Clarke and followed after Sergeant Miller.
"Archers, watch the trees," Lexa ordered.
Lincoln backed his way up to the door, scanning for signs of imminent danger, the lack of retaliation from the Mountain Men for drilling into their door making him apprehensive. He glanced over at Sergeant Miller and noticed his hand shaking. He reached out, grabbing hold of his wrist.
"Hey." He waited for Sergeant Miller to look up. "You can do this," he said, once again sharing Octavia's words.
Sergeant Miller looked around uncertainly. "What if we're too late?"
"What if we're not?" Lincoln leaned in close and whispered, "draw strength from your son." As Lincoln drew strength from Octavia.
Sergeant Miller saw the truth in Lincoln's own eyes. "This mountain has taken too much from both of us, hasn't it?"
Lincoln lowered his gaze before he gave an imperceptible nod, letting Sergeant Miller know he wasn't the only one battling demons.
It seemed to help because Sergeant Miller returned to his duty and removed the bomb from its protective cylinder with a steady hand, the color of the hydrazine so similar to the Red drug that Lincoln thought it poetic. Sergeant Miller slipped the bomb into the hole Monroe had drilled, ensuring it was firmly seated. He pressed the button to arm it and they both stepped back out of range from the bomb. Now all they had to do was wait for the power to go out.