Chapter 28

"CLAY!" Sonny shouted as he ran over to the edge of the cliff, trying to get any small glimpse of his best friend, Trent trailing behind him, gun up and scanning the trees to see if anyone was going to try and ambush them again.

The team took out the last tango and could not keep their focus on the trees keeping up their protection. No one was ready to process what just happened, watching Clay fumble in pain and then seeing him hit with multiple bullets, not being entirely sure where they hit as it happened so fast and then within seconds, he was falling over the cliff and out of sight.

"We need to go down and get him!" Liz cried as she kept fighting Jason's arms as he still held her to his side, scared to lose her.

The cliff was not overly far up, about the height of a three-story building, and falling into the water without hitting the rocks along the edge could allow for survival. But there were way too many unknowns to confirm any information about Clay. Did he hit the edge of the rocks? How deep is the water to absorb his fall? Did he pass out from the fall, hitting the water and float down the river face up or down? And the biggest one- where did he get hit? Did he even have a chance of survival from the bullets?

"Son, any sight of him?" Jason barked out as he was trying to process the next move; go down and fine him and risk the General, contact HAVOC and Ray to get approval, go downstream and risk the ambush waiting for them but needing to get to Clay before the Russians. There was no way he could leave Bravo 6 behind, but he stood there frozen, holding Liz closely, unsure what to do. He knew he was being unprofessional, but he had just lost one of his children and almost lost the one in his arms a few weeks ago. He was acting on instinct at this point with no time to process.

Sonny shook his head, unable to speak as he searched the river and river banks for any sign of black clothing or a dirty mop of blonde hair. Anything and any sign of life.

Bravo 1 took over Jason's body, pushing aside feelings and instincts. He needed to move if he was going to get Clay back, dead or alive. "3, come grab General Markov, keep him here; if that bastard moves again, shoot him." Sonny nodded, knowing that order was not something he could follow up with, but it did feel nice to know Jason was on the same page. If this asshole did not run, they would have held formation and not been in this situation. "4 set up in front and keep those trees in sight, 8 watch across the banks, I'm not having another ambush."

With that, they all stood a moment, processing the need to move to Jason's words. He stood still, willing his legs and arms to move and spring into action. There was no room for feelings right now, or else they would never get back to Clay or even make it out alive. Their numbers were already low going into a country with no support, no coverage, and no contact and knowing if they were spotted, they were on their own and more than likely put in front of a firing squad if caught. There was a reason they knew this was a suicide mission, and things were becoming a reality fast.

Jason willed one more time for his limbs to shoot into action, soon taking a few steps forwards and starting the train for the rest of the team to jump into action. "Bravo 2 copy?"

"Good Copy." Ray came into their ears, sparking a small jump as the team's minds now caught up with their actions trying to push back the thoughts of Clay.

They were still on a mission and signed up for this job, knowing the risks and procedures. It was hard to put that foot forward. Still, the fate of nuclear warfare was resting in their hands, as the General was their key to advancing and learning everything about the Russian program. Still, their family always pushed in their minds the need to keep them safe over duty. It was an internal fight they always faced, and it got harder the closer they all got.

"We got ambushed and lost 6."

"Good copy; please clarify your last. Lost?"

Jason went silent, not too sure how to respond. His following words were vital to explain the situation for Ray to pass along to HAVOC and have them make the orders for what to do next. Binding orders that may pull them home… alone. "ahm 6 caught sight of an ambush, and on our way to cover, he was hit by an unknown amount of fire falling into a river. We do not have sight of him and have intel to suggest another ambush waiting for us downriver. We have the General and are waiting on orders."

"Copy," Ray whispered while he and Brock stayed on the other end of comms trying to process this information. "Stand tight. I will radio HAVOC."

Jason winced as he saw the stone faces of the team as they relayed the facts. The facts he forced himself to spit out, knowing that if he added any feelings in, there would be problems and possibly court marshalls for them all. Going against orders was one thing and usually justified and backed up by Blackburn, but being in Russia on a covert mission without the support of their country or knowledge of Russia made things a bit difficult and severe. There was no way Blackburn would get them out of this like every other time. He always had their backs, but on covert missions, he was a low man on the totem pull, and all orders did not come from him but from the Generals and Admirals overseeing.

"There is no way we are leaving him. I am going after him." Sonny barked as he glared at Jason. Liz peeked over her shoulder and added a sharp nod alongside Trent, agreeing with Sonny.

"Stand down." Jason barked louder, with the most force he has ever had to establish towards his team. Usually, he would be right there with them, and hell, he ached to be there with them, but he was not letting anyone get court marshalled and risk their lives or careers. He, on the other hand, alone, was different, but he was not letting everyone go up in flames alongside him.

As they all stood there fuming and thinking the worst about the situation below them, they waited for Ray to come back into their ears with hopefully good news. Underneath it all, they knew the protocol for this type of situation, but all sat there praying this was going to be an exception and they could get their baby brother.

"Bravo 1." Ray qued in after the most excruciating wait. He cleared his throat, waiting for a reply.

"Good Copy."

"Ahh." Throat clear again. And the team stiffened, knowing this would not be good news. "You are to return to the border and exfil as planned with the General. Orders directly from Admiral Jones."

"You've got to be kidding me." Trent huffed over comms.

"I'm sorry, Blackburn tried all he could to change the orders, and I'm not sure what went down, but HAVOC 2 came on and advised they would be the main contact from now on. I got a text saying Blackburn was being hulled out of TOC by the MPs. Things are dark over here, don't do anything stupid right now."

Sonny scoffed off comms looking at Jason. "You can't be following that bullshit. You know we need to go get him."

"I know."

"Jase!"

"We have to go."

"This seriously can't be up for debate."

"Give me a moment," Jason shouted back towards his team as they all pipped up at him; as he took a few steps over to the cliff edge away from the team, he clenched his fists, looking for something to punch. "FUCK."

Ray came over comms again, he knew this struggle was hurting his team, and he could not help. Having to physically make this decision and move out, taking a step further and further away from Clay, would kill them all. "You know you need to follow this order. It will be the hardest order we ever have to fulfill, but we can't go against this one and risk everything. Clay would not want that, and he would kill us all if any of you died for him or lost your career. His family meant everything to him, and we must do this for him."

"Your talking like he is dead. You don't know that!" Liz cried out, filled with anger and sadness.

"I'm sorry. I'm not saying he is; I'm praying he is okay and will find his way back to us. But they have officially marked him as MIA."

With those three letters, the team sucked in a breath, and all fought down the anger boiling over. Any soldier marked as MIA was left behind. No one would go to get them or retrieve their body. They were alone and lost.

"He's not dead!" Liz whispered again as Jason's eyes snapped to her, breaking the silence that fell over them.

As Jason met her eyes, he saw her crumbling and knew she was about to fall, and he could not let her fall alone. Not in front of the team. He rushed over to her, pulled her up on her feet, and nodded to Sonny for him to shift his position, keep an eye over the General, and scan the bank across from them. Jason then left Liz away from the group and pulled her into his chest, blocking the team's view.

"Jellybean. It will be ok. I promise."

"You can't promise anything." She spat out.

"I know, but Clay and that stubborn bastard will not go down without a fight and will not let his family down."

He's not dead." She whispered again, leaned out of Jason's arms, looked him dead in the eye, and then walked away.

Jason sucked in a breath, trying to compose himself and bring Bravo 1 back into focus. He saw the look in her eyes, which broke him inside his core. As he stood there for a moment as Bravo 1 slowly pushed himself up to the surface, he took one last look down into the water but came up short.

"Let's move out." Was all he could get out as the team glared and stood up, gathering together along with the General and taking aggressive steps towards him, leading the way to the Mongolian border. They were still a few hours away, and raindrops started falling onto their exposed skin as their luck could not get any better.

….

The trip back was long and silent. No one wanted to leave and wanted to put up a fight, but they knew it was not fair to put all that on Jason. Whatever happened to Blackburn scared them all, and they knew going up against an Admiral's orders was suicide, and they already had enough of that to deal with being in Russia. Everyone put the job first to get back and then work out a plan to return and get their boy. No questions were asked as they knew this was something they needed to do, even if they went in alone. He was coming home.

Other than being cold from the rain, wet and miserable, allowing them to feel numb about everything, they made it to the border towards Ray and the awaiting helo. They did not come across any more soldiers, and thankfully the General followed them silently. He tried to mumble a few ill words against Clay, and his face met Sonny's fist a few times alongside the threat of a gun barrel along his temple, and that seemed to keep him mostly quiet the rest of the way. No one talked, no one looked at each other, and no one dared to think as the first thought that surfaced in all their minds was- Clay was gone.

...

PAIN.

This was the only thing he could focus on as it took over every thought trying to slip into his mind.