Dash found the remaining three members of her team seated around a conference room table with a series of maps and lists laid out in front of them. Nikolai was talking on a satellite phone with one hand while writing on a notepad with his other, as MacTavish and Price studied one map in particular.

"Rook's out of theatre," she said as she walked up, setting a small cardboard cradle holding a set of coffee cups down between her and them, "and Hangman showed me where the coffee maker was." She snatched her own and let out an appreciative sigh after taking a sip. "Oh my god, I've needed this so badly…"

MacTavish chuckled at her as he took his own, "We all have… I take it that this Hangman is one of our newfound allies?"

"Mhm," Dash answered with a nod, cocking her head in thought, "You know, who would've thought that of all the potential forces that might operate in this region, we'd find a unit where one of us came from."

Price looked up from a map to look at Dash, a little puzzled by her statement, "I thought Rook was SASR, not a Commando."

"No, these are Shade's guys. Hangman was actually promoted to fill Shade's slot after his transfer last year," she clarified, pulling up a chair. "Between him and another old friend of his, a guy called Jaffa, I've got maybe two years worth of blackmail material on him now." Dash glanced down at the maps and frowned a little in confusion. "So… what's all this for?"

"It's where Shepherd's more than likely hiding, Site Hotel Bravo," MacTavish answered, turning a map around for Dash to see better. "It was originally constructed as a forward operations base for our task force, but when we realised that Makarov was centered more towards Europe and western Russia, Shepherd pulled the pin on finishing it out."

Price snorted, "Looking at this latest satellite imagery provided by the intel office here, Shepherd had the site finished and fitted out… plenty of men in black there."

Dash nodded, inspecting the map closely, "So this is where we'll find Shepherd then? What's the plan? I see a few good approaches…" she leaned over the table a bit to get a look at the plans the Captains had started to make. She looked up after a few seconds of silence, and saw them both exchange a look. "... what, what is it?"

MacTavish rubbed his face, "Dash, while I appreciate your enthusiasm, I don't want you on this op."

Dash narrowed her eyes at him, "You want me to stay back. You want me to stay here and sit on my ass and do nothing? While the two of you go, all alone, with no backup, to hunt down a General of the United States Army." She stated plainly, clearly far from understanding.

"Yes," Price answered just as plainly, crossing his arms for effect.

"Dash," MacTavish jumped in before the pair could come to blows, "I know that you want a piece of him as much as any of us do, but this'll be a one way trip. There's going to be no exfil."

She frowned at the two captains, "You think I fuckin' care about that? The team's gone. My family is gone now, thanks to that bastard. Ya damn right I want a piece of him!"

"And if he kills the three of us, there'll be nobody left to take him down," Price pointed out, "You can still play a part in this even if we fail. You and Rook. That's the other reason."

"Shepherd's still likely got his men out on the hunt, I don't know if he's just got it out for us or for the entire unit; the assault teams and our supporting staff. We need someone back here who can run damage control, maybe even turn this thing around on him." MacTavish said, coming around the table to rest a hand on her shoulder, "I trust that you can do this for us. Besides, someone needs to keep Rook company as he recovers, and keep him safe."

Dash was silent for a long moment before growling in frustration, "This is bullshit."

"Welcome to the real world…" Price muttered grimly.

"So?" Shade stood up from his waiting spot outside of the outpost's large medical tent, walking to where Chemo had just exited.

"I was expecting a few more jokes regarding the Air Force, to be honest," the medic said as he peeled off a pair of gloves, rubbing his face once they were off. "They're working on Toad now, he should become a lot more stable once they're finished. Ozone's improving slowly too. The pair of them just needed a fresh set of hands and a few more units of blood in them to keep them going."

"What about Roach and the El-Tee?"

Chemo shook his head, "Nothing much else we can do for them out here. They both need a proper hospital for their injuries."

Shade frowned and rubbed the back of his neck, "Fair enough… can't win 'em all now, can we…"

"How're we doing for other supplies?"

"Well," Shade began, beckoning for Chemo to follow, "I spoke with the outpost commander, Captain Miller, and they're going to see what they can do for us regarding food, water, ammo and other basic medical supplies. Fuel's the main concern though."

"That's no surprise," Chemo said, letting Shade enter the outpost command and control structure first, "I'm a little bit surprised we got guys out this way."

"Yeah," Shade said with a nod, "While a lot of the forces got recalled after the invasion broke out, their higher ups decided it would be prudent to keep at least one finger in the pie over here. These guys are a reconnaissance battalion from the Fourth Marine Division." Shade continued ahead for a few steps before realising that Chemo had stopped dead in his tracks. "Chem, you 'right mate?"

"Fourth Recon Battalion?" The medic questioned, a disbelieving look on his face forming.

"That's what Miller said… why, what's up?" Chemo started to laugh to himself, his volume starting to grow steadily to the point where he had to sit down against a wall. "Chemo, what the fuck?"

"Dude, this is Dash's home unit." The medic said as he started to contain himself, wiping a tear from his face. "Oh my god, the fucking odds…"

"No fucking way," Shade said, coming to terms with this new piece of information, "You cannot be bloody serious…"

"As serious as a sucking chest wound, Shade," Chemo responded as he picked himself back up, "I'm surprised you didn't remember yourself."

"I knew she was Recon, just didn't remember which one," the Aussie defended, the pair resuming their walk, "You can't expect me to remember her exact posting now, do you? I don't remember what squadron you came from, only that you're from AFSOC. Scarecrow's from Delta, which is super-fucking-secret anyway, and Robot's from the SAS. Anything more than that is just a detail, as far as I'm concerned."

"Shit, would've thought you'd know just a little bit more about your girlfriend's history."

"My what now?!" Shade said with barely a shout, "Do I need to see if you've been self-medicating mate? Because you're high on something if you think that we're an item…"

Chemo shook his head, "Dude, you and Dash… not the world's best kept secret. And that whole 'sneaky final words' thing you two did before we left for this shitshow? Come on, give us some damn credit." The medic laughed and patted Shade on the back, "If you ask me, it's about damn time anyway."

"Excuse me?!"

"You two were awfully chummy after that snatch and grab in Monaco, plus that small 'fake dake' thing you went out on just before this all began?" Chemo pointed out, "Pretty sure the entire Task Force is in on the betting pool at this point."

Shade could only sputter and stammer in response as the pair reached their destination, a small room set aside for the Marines to pass the time in. It was somewhat reminiscent of their own base's rec room, but just with plywood walls and ceiling, and far less comfortable. Scarecrow, Robot and Archer were all seated with a group of Marines that were off-duty, and the entire group seemed to be chatting rather animatedly.

"The Navy docs are working on our boys right now, but at this stage it'll all upwards from here," Chemo said as he and Shade joined the group.

"Finally, some good news," Archer spoke up. Shade had noted that the sniper had been rather quiet throughout the entire ordeal, and had been a near-constant fixture at Toad's side, "Any idea on what to do from now?"

Shade shook his head, "Not as yet. Captain Miller's working with his guys and trying to scrounge up an option for us. They've got enough supplies for us, but fuel's the main concern."

"We do keep an aviation fuel reserve on base, but we save that for the CASEVAC flights that come out here, as they're generally close to fumes by the time they reach us," one of the Marines, a female First Sergeant with the name of 'Robins' on her utility uniform, spoke up. "I could have a word with the Captain. Just depends on how much you have in the tank right now and how much you need."

"I'll have to see where Gale's disappeared to, in that case." Shade nodded appreciatively.

"Shade," Robot interjected, "We, uh… still no word, right?" He asked after a moment's hesitation. The table grew silent as his question sunk in with the Task Force members.

"... no, still nothing yet mate."

"How many of you were there, exactly?" Another Marine, this one named Burnett, asked.

"Twelve in our team to begin with, though that's been slowly whittled away to a grand total of… what, three active members now?" Chemo answered unsurely, "Archer was attached to us for the op, so that's four if you include him."

The last Marine, a rather solid man with an air of calm that followed him and the name of Ortolano spoke up, "You've definitely taken quite the hit, in that case…"

Shade nodded, "That's an understatement, but when your target is the Devil himself, what else do you expect?" He shook his head, "Makarov's been the goal for this unit since day one, and we were so close…" Shade looked up as he noted the three Marines stiffen at the mention of Makarov.

"You're after that Russian dick?" Robins said lowly, barely restrained anger lacing her voice. She calmed down once Ortolano rested a hand on her shoulder.

"We lost a number of our own in that detonation all those years ago," he explained.

"Including PFC Jackson's older brother," Burnett added, "Kid joined up just to avenge him, so he told me."

Shade chuckled darkly, "Well, he can get in fucking line… half of our team, including our Captain, went dark in Afghanistan the same time our own damn General turned up to wipe us out." The Marines all winced in sympathy, "So we don't even know if they're alive or not, and if so, they have no idea that we're alive. All we have is the charred remains of our SATCOM set, and no-one to transfer crypto over."

"I can take a look," Burnett said, catching the attention of all the Task Force operators, "I mean, there's no guarantee I can actually get it working, but there's no harm in trying…"

Shade and the others shared a look, and with a careful hand, he handed over the half-melted SATCOM handset over to the Marine, who frowned when he took it into his grasp. "Give us a shout if you have any luck, alright?"

"You'll be the first to know," Burnett responded, giving the Australian a reassuring smile.

"Hey, if you don't mind me prying," Robins jumped in with a smirk, "but what were you and the Doc here stammering about when you were walking in?"

"... what's it matter to you?" Shade shot back defensively, causing Robins to smirk more.

"Shade's just a little more wound up because his new girlfriend is on the other half of the team," Chemo answered gently, nudging Shade's shoulder with his own. Both Robot and Archer shared a glance, then Robot chuckled as Archer fished out a pencil and notepad to write up an IOU.

"Girlfriend?" Robins questioned, quite surprised by the admission. Shade opened his mouth to argue the point but Scarecrow beat him to it.

"She's the only female member of the Task Force's assault teams, but she's more than earned her place with us. Shade here had a few issues, but she beat it out of him both figuratively and literally…"

"Thanks 'Crow, really feelin' the love here…"

"And I think that op you two pulled with Roach and Ozone in Monaco really turned things around." Scarecrow finished, looking over towards the Marines. "Dash has him around his finger at this point." At this detail, the three perked up.

"This 'Dash' you speak of… she's short, rather feisty, really quick on her feet, but absolute trash with an M4?" Robins questioned, leaning towards Scarecrow.

"That's her alright," Shade answered, smiling genuinely for the first time in ages, "But she's mean with a sub-gun and shotty. Not to mention how'll she's able to tear you down verbally too. Gave that target in Monaco quite a run for his money a number of times." Beside him, Chemo was doing his best to conceal a shit-eating grin.

"So that's where Myers went after she transferred out," Ortolano mused out loud, "She did say she got picked up by a Tier One group, but MARSOC hadn't opened roles up to women at that point in time."

"We all thought she'd jumped over to Force Recon instead," Burnett added, "guess that wasn't the case…"

"Wait… wait a second," Robins spoked up, catching everyone's attention, "that means that… Bec…" the realisation that she had come to now hit everyone, and the table fell silent.

"Not yet," Shade said after a few moments, "As far as I'm concerned, she's still alive. Until I can physically see and touch her body and confirm it myself, she's alive."

"Sergeant Williams!" Shade turned around to look at the doorway to the rec room, where Captain Miller had just entered, "A word with you and your team. I think we've got something for you."

Dash sat quietly, watching over the sleeping form of Rook as he recovered from his recently completed surgery. The medics at this base had done wonders, patching up the most serious of his wounds despite the rather shoddy field medicine her and the others had performed. It'd been an hour after he'd been brought out, which was an hour after the revelation that she'd been sidelined once again from a mission.

"You know… I can hear you beating yourself up despite the anesthetics…" Rook croaked softly, catching her attention. His voice was rough from disuse, and she stood up to retrieve a cup of water that was on his bedside. "That's twice you've pulled my ass out of the fire now."

"And twice I've saved a member of my family," she responded, helping him sit up a bit so he could drink, "How you feelin', man?"

"Like I've been hit by a truck after running a full marathon in full kit, after two back-to-back crucible runs…" he said with a dry chuckle, "but I'm still alive, so I can't complain…"

Dash nodded, pressing the cup into his hand, "I hear that… 's been a rough day."

"Rough is having to put up with Meat's crazy conspiracy theories while waiting for a target that never arrives…" Rook shot with a roll of his eyes, "Today is well beyond rough… I think even FUBAR is selling it short…"

"Got a point there," Dash agreed with a sigh.

"Hey… where the hell are we? I mean, there's a distinct lack of shackles and chains, or men in black uniforms guarding the doorway…" Rook asked after a few moments.

"Safe," Dash answered simply, "Al Minhad Air Base. Got a bunch of Shade's guys wandering around actually."

"No shit… we're being guarded by the Commandos? Might as well surrender now…" Rook said with a smirk.

Dash chuckled with him, "No shit."

Rook sighed and leant back into his pillows, "Nah, they're alright. I mean, they've gotten us SASR guys out of a tight spot once or twice. Much like the Army Rangers. We're better at sneaking around and making things go bump in the night; they're better at storming the castle and poking bears three time the size of them. Probably explains why Shade's such a cheeky bastard, now that I say that out loud… hey, where's the bossman and his boss?"

Dash sighed and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms, "Planning for an op. They're goin' after Shepherd."

"Right… reckon they can dig up a pair of crutches for me? Or at least take one on my behalf and shove it up his ass?"

She gave a wry smile, "I'll take it up with them 'fore they head out." Rook frowned at her.

"Wait, you ain't going with?"

"Tav sidelined me for this one…" She answered, casting her eyes down at the floor, "It's a one-way trip apparently."

Rook nodded in understanding, "Ah… guess that makes sense… they do have the element of surprise though, if Shepherd thinks we're all dead. What does that mean for us though?"

"I don't know… We still don't have contact with the others, getting back to the States is risky… Honestly I think all we can do is lay low…"

Rook sighed and moved to fold his arms across his chest, but stopped and winced as it pulled on his freshly stitched wounds, "Bad move… and to be honest, laying low sounds like the best option. Besides, we're not far from Dubai, right? I hear it can be a party town if you look in the right places."

Dash faked a smile for him, "Yeah man, soon as you're up and around we'll go looking for those places."

"That's the spirit," Rook said with a laugh that turned into a yawn, "Ugh… I only just woke up and yet I feel like I could sleep for a damn week…"

"You rest up, man," Dash nodded at him and stood, "I'm gonna go find the gym. Or a track. Or somethin'..."

"Jeez Dash," Rook said as he laid back down, shaking his head mockingly at her, "Why don't you practise what you preach and get some rest too. You've earned it, for fuck's sake." He finished with a chuckle as Dash simply flipped him off in response. "Love you too!"

Shade and Captain Miller stood to the side of the helipad, watching as a team of Corpsman and Marines loaded the four wounded men back into the Osprey. Gale and NJ were standing with a few other Marines as they worked on filling the fuel tanks to the brim. They'd been at the camp for quite some time now, and the light was beginning to fade.

"You sure you can't stay the night?" Captain Miller asked for what felt like the tenth time to Shade. "It'll give your men more time to rest and recover."

"I appreciate the offer, but the longer we're here, the easier it'll be for General Shepherd to trace us and take us all out. Not saying that I don't trust you, but I can't risk it either. We don't know who he has in his pocket, or what other assets he'll bring to bear," Shade said politely, "I can't thank you enough for what you've done for us already…"

"Doesn't matter what flag we're under, we all gotta watch out for one another," Miller started, turning to face Shade and offering his hand, "If it means that you finally manage to pin that asshole Makarov to the wall and make him pay, then I'll gladly do it again. You be safe out there."

"No need to tell me that twice, sir," Shade shook the officer's hand firmly with a smile.

"Sergeant," Burnett spoke up as he approached the two men with a newish-looking SATCOM handset in hand. "I don't know what kind of tech you have access to, but be sure to start sharing it around soon. The encryption software on that set you gave me was nothing like I've seen before." He handed over the new handset to Shade with a triumphant smile, "I got everything I could swapped over: frequencies, presets, encoding and decoding matrices… all that it needs is to have the receiving handset active."

"And that's the million dollar question… what good is only one end of the link," Shade remarked dryly. "Better than nothing, I guess."

"You have that list of frequencies as well as the navigation plan for your pilot from Lieutenant Salt, right?"

"Yeah," Shade said, looking over to Gale for a second, "No sooner had I got them, I handed them off to our pilot. You sure we've got the fuel for this?"

"We're giving you as much as you can load, and then some. As long as you're on the right frequency by the time you're feet wet, you'll make it to your destination." Miller reassured, "Lieutenant Salt has a knack for these kinds of things, and it's something I trust him with all the way."

"Let's hope this all goes to plan then…" Shade said, "Again, thank you… and hopefully you and your guys get home soon and in one piece, sir."

"If it's all the same with you Sergeant, I'd rather be out here and not get shot at, then be back at home and getting shot at…" Captain Miller said, then shook his head, "Can't believe I'd ever say anything like that."

"The world's gone crazy, what can I say?" Shade shot back as he made his way towards the aircraft. "Gale! Let's get this show moving, a'ight!" The pilot shot Shade a thumbs up as the Marines disconnected the fuel hose. With everyone else on board, the doors closed and Gale fired up the engines.

Captain Miller and the rest of the Fourth Recon Battalion watched as the MV-22 slowly rose and started its long journey southward, all of them wishing the men on board the luck they needed to get to Dubai safe and sound.

Authors' Notes:

(Shade)

Going to have to play with time and fuel physics for a bit. There's a reason why I never specified the exact location of 4th Recon's FOB, as it's too much mucking around to make sure that both the safehouse and Al Minhad are within a 's maximum range. I mean, realistically, they'd barely get to Kuwait (one way), but you gotta play with these things for the sake of plot… so yeah.

It's looking like the reunion of our two characters is looming… that'll be fun to write.

Until next time!

(Spitfire)

Dash has been sidelined again. She's not happy about that, not one bit. Rook's ok, so is everyone on Shade's side of things, things are starting to calm down for our poor exhausted teams. Uh… That's all I got lol

Thanks for Reading, Fly High Aim Higher

~Spitfire out