CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN
Pooch was finishing up his repairs when he heard the proximity alert from the cockpit. Someone or something was coming in hot and it was headed his way.
He activated his comm as he slid to the ground, bracing himself for the pain the impact would cause.
'Clay... Roque, I may have visitors.'
He wasn't expecting Clay to answer, considering the fact that he was currently standing on a land mine. Pooch knew if it were him he would not be sounding quite so calm about the whole thing.
'Seek cover. I'd rather lose the transport than you.'
'Copy that,' Pooch answered as he gathered up his survival pack.
He took one last look around the hovercraft and headed deeper into the jungle. While the trees would obscure him from visual contact, he knew his opposite number was just as likely to be running FLIR or some other heat detection algorithm. He had to find a place that would cover his heat signature. That meant finding something he could hide in, like a cave (preferable) or a body of water that would lower his temperature (less than optimal especially since water tended to get in the way of breathing.)
As he moved through the jungle, he scanned the local frequencies, wishing Jensen was there to back him up. From the chatter he was getting, he was going to have to hunker down for quite some time to come.
#
Roque saw the change in the mage's face as soon as he removed the mask. The man's eyes were glowing as he prepared to lash out at his attackers.
Roque could understand that need all too well. The only problem was, the mage was surrounded by allies and the enemies littered the ground.
He felt his own power come to bear in response. "We are not the enemy," he said, his voice still showing signs of his own ordeal. "And the ones who did this to you are beyond our reach..."
He saw the rage in the man's eyes but what worried him was the madness behind it. Rage he could deal with. Rage could be channeled, but madness had its own cost. He felt his own hackles rise as the man looked ready to unleash his wrath on all present.
"Mike," the man who'd introduced himself as Nick called to the mage, stepping between Roque and his friend. "Mike... these are the good guys. They were captured... just like we were... Mike?"
Roque smiled as the madness faded slightly, blending into rage. That was better. Rage, he could work with.
"Mike isn't here right now... but if you leave your name and number..." the mage stated giving his friend a semi reassuring smile. Roque could also sense the rage deepen as the mage assensed his friend and saw what had been done to his friend, but at least the man was controlling it: for now.
He gave a sigh of relief and looked to see how Casey was doing. What he saw made him bite his lower lip to keep from laughing.
The man she had freed was staring at her, with the same intensity of a man who'd been alone in the desert for a week spying his first glimpse of fresh water. He all but latched onto her, making untying him that much more difficult.
Opening his senses, Roque studied the man's aura for damage and for an answer. Again he had to fight to keep from laughing. Unless he missed his guess, the man was a Druid, and he was totally enamored with Casey.
#
Clay listened as Roque led Casey through what she needed to do. At least she was doing something closer to her training, although he could tell something was going on judging by the odd sounds he was getting from Roque's transceiver.
Almost as if he sensed Clay's thoughts Roque subvocalized, 'One of the guys we've rescued: he has an affinity for trees and really, really likes Casey.'
'How's she holding up?'
'She's good. She's a trooper and to be honest this guy is keeping her mind off of what she's done.'
'What did our girl do?'
'Our girl took out seven guards. Well, to be honest, four of them took out the other three and she took out the four of them, but still not exactly non-violent and not exactly pain free. She's all right for the time being, but we're going to want to be with her when this all catches up with her.'
#
Roque could tell the moment Casey clicked over into Medic Mode, there was a kind yet impersonal shift in her attitude as she divorced herself from the people and dealt with their situation. It was the first time he'd actually seen her do it.
When she'd worked on him and the others, she had treated them as people, but it seemed that the Druid, Richard, wasn't allowing her to work the way she preferred.
He was still working on Mike's hands, but at least the man was cooperating. Richard wasn't.
"Casey," he called. "Can you help me here. I think they tied this one tighter than the others."
He watched as she gently patted Richard's shoulder and told him to hang on. Roque also couldn't help but notice the relieved look she gave him as she took a look at Mike's bindings.
She paused and began working on cutting the mage free with the same focused intensity she'd used on his own.
"I'll go see what I can do for Richard."
Casey nodded then gave him a worried look. "How's Clay holding up?"
Roque debated about not telling her, but he couldn't lie. "Almost as well as you were when we found you," he admitted.
He saw the pained look on her face as she let her breath out.
"He's holding on," Roque assured her. "And once we've got everyone here taken care of we'll get him out of this. He knows that."
#
Clay listened wondering who Roque was trying to reassure the most, Casey, Roque or himself. At this point it really didn't matter: he was a liability and Roque would do everything he could, including wasting precious time trying to save him.
All he had to do was step off the switch while they were still in the cave where they'd be safe. He closed his eyes, praying it would be quick and that the others would forgive him.
#
Roque had just finished untying Richard and was taking stock of the others when he felt the shift in Clay's aura. His eyes flared as he all but ran out of the cave.
"Dammit Clay! I'm going to kill you myself if you do something that stupid," he yelled and transmitted at the same time.
Clay froze and looked up at him, a devil may care smile replacing the resigned look. "That would be rather counterproductive wouldn't it?"
Roque smiled at the response, realizing that Clay wouldn't do it right in front of him like this... well, maybe in front of him, if he thought it would keep Roque from getting himself killed, but not in front of Casey, not after everything she'd been through and Roque could sense her coming to a stop beside him.
"Casey," Clay called. "Go back in the cave and keep the others safe, Roque and I are going to see a man about a bomb."
Roque chuckled and shook his head knowing full well that Casey wasn't going to buy it.
"That was an order," Clay added sternly.
"Sorry Clay," Casey answered with a shrug. "But while you're standing on that bomb: Roque's the doc."
#
Clay stared in disbelief. He expected this kind of behavior from Roque, but he knew he could make Roque see reason. What mattered was the mission and the lives they needed to save. In the end, Roque would eventually see reason, he wouldn't like it, but he would accept what needed to be done, but Casey... Casey would not stop fighting until the end.
"Casey." he said in his best no non-sense tone. "You agreed that in this, I'm in charge."
"And you were in charge, right up until you stepped on the mine. Doc gets hurt it's up to the medic to save his butt and the doc has to accept that he can't treat himself and people outside have a better chance of helping him. Now be a good patient and let Roque do his job."
Clay shook his head in a combination of disbelief and pride in Casey's ability to stand up for herself, even against him. It also meant, he couldn't talk her out of this, so he didn't even bother trying.
"Roque, you know as well as I do that you can't shield me without putting yourself in danger. Get everyone back in the cave."
Roque studied him and the area for what felt like a very long time before he shook his head. He waited expectantly when Roque looked at him.
"Can't do that Clay."
"Why not?"
"Too much paperwork. Now nobody is going anywhere until we figure this out.
Clay shook his head, his expression an odd combination of amusement and annoyance. Now at least he was curious to see where this was going.
#
Pooch was about to breathe a sigh of relief as the fly over seemed to be just that, then he heard the unmistakable sound of an Ares Mark Four Wendigo Engine. The sigh turned to a growl. Wendigo meant troops and troops meant they were going to scour the area looking for him.
He had waited five minutes to be sure and for five minutes the sounds of the jungle begun to return to normal. Then that damn high whine was back and he knew they were looking for him, or more to the point the supposedly crashed rotorcraft.
He was in no shape to hoof it to the others which meant he was going to have to work some pretty serious technocraft if he wanted to get out of there in once piece.
He sighed. It was why they paid him the big nuyen. Well, they paid him.
#
Clay tried to remain patient as Roque squatted down. From where he stood, it looked as if his SIC was trying to get the lie of a putting green. He knew Roque was thinking, but part of him felt like he was just delaying the inevitable. As he watched he could almost picture Roque standing there in shorts and a pastel polo shirt discussing his next move with his caddy.
#
Roque gave Clay a worried look when he saw an odd smile cross his commander's face. He knew Clay was thinking about something but for the life of him he couldn't find anything to smile about here. From the looks of things there were at least seven other mines in the area and even if they weren't chained together he was fairly certain they were close enough together to set each other off.
That gave credence to Clay's assessment of the situation. He let his breath out in frustration. Clay was usually the one who worked the plan, but he'd always depended on his team to provide a sanity check. The problem was, sanity had gone out the window hours ago.
As he studied the ground and the signs of human intervention, Casey squatted down next to him, trying to see what he could see. He paused and pointed out the slight indentations in the ground.
"They haven't been there long enough for all of the land to fill in around the holes," he explained.
Casey nodded. He could tell from her expression she knew what a Bouncing Bet could do to a human body, but wasn't familiar with how they worked. He could also tell she'd figured out the basics.
"The trick," he told her, clicking off the automatic transmission. "Is slowing down the switch's release long enough for him to get out of there alive. Levitating him would get him out quickly, but not nearly quickly enough..."
"How do you slow it down?"
"Freezing it can buy a few seconds, but in this heat... it's not going to last that long."
"Replacing his weight?"
"Again, that messes with the balance. We'd have to switch them at the exact same moment, otherwise as soon as Clay's weight's removed... "
He shook his head.
"How do you normally work it?"
"If possible I get an earth elemental to hold... the ... switch..." He paused looking at Casey, a smile coming to his face.
Casey closed her eyes. "I'm not going to like this am I?"
"Probably not."
#
Pooch scanned the available frequencies searching for the Wendigo's comm. channel. He wished Jensen were there, knowing the man had some sixth sense when it came to analyzing radio transmissions. As it was he had to scan through each one individually, listening for the familiar sounds of high frequency digital encryption, and the occasional unencrypted conversations.
It took him ten minutes and three flybys to find it and when he did, he almost wished he hadn't. As he ran it through the decryption software the conversation turned deadly.
"... probably a goner... do a patrol, then head back to the holding area-7th group hasn't reported in."
These were not the enemy's transmissions, frequencies, encryption or even their own language. These were members of the UCAS Military and they were gunning for his people.
He moved out and headed back to the Rotorcraft. He had to get it up and get the others out of there as quickly as possible.
#
"I don't like this," Jake exclaimed as he all but bounced on Duck's bed.
M.A. Martinez looked at Jake, then turned first to Cougar and then to Tracker as if they could answer his question.
"He does not like sitting around," Cougar explained, quickly holding up his hand when the M.A. started to object. "He does not like sitting around when he is not jacked into a system. "
"And right now, there's not a lot we can do," Tracker added.
"We've rounded up the people who infiltrated the system," Martinez offered.
"But we haven't undone the damage they've done," Jensen stated.
"And we only caught the people we know about," Tracker added.
"And we still don't know who or what has done a number on the magically inclined or the first thing about undoing it," Duck stated softly.
Jensen turned. Duck's voice was uncharacteristically disheartened and it concerned him. He wasn't entirely surprised to find her looking at the other members of her team, Bear and Whisper. He knew if it were Roque or Clay or well... anyone from his team laying there like that he'd be feeling pretty much the same way.
He prayed that wherever they were, the other Losers were safe.