"I never should've agreed to go anywhere with you," Aisha hissed, kicking at a pebble that was in her path. Always aggressive, no matter the circumstance. Jensen couldn't really blame her for being prickly, since they were in a pretty bullshit situation, but it wasn't technically his fault. Sure, he'd been the one driving the jeep when it flipped, but if she'd shot at the bad guys better, they wouldn't have had the chance to shoot out their tires at just the right angle to send them spinning. She should actually be thanking him, since he controlled the crash enough that she escaped with only minor cuts and bruises. He was the one with a concussion.
"Well, maybe if you hadn't stabbed Clay the other day, you could've been out here with him," Jensen pointed out.
"It was barely a stab and he lived, so shut up about it. You just don't understand our relationship," Aisha snapped, rolling her eyes.
"And thank goodness I don't. I thought my ideas about love were messed up, but you two take the fucking cake," Jensen scoffed. It hadn't been a life threatening wound, but he still didn't quite understand how it happened. Not even a minute before, Jensen was sure they'd been screwing, so he wasn't sure where the knife came into play. And Clay wasn't giving up any details. He'd just asked Cougar to patch him up and informed Jensen that he'd be going with Aisha for this little excursion, since the timetable couldn't be moved. Pooch couldn't go, because he was getting well deserved time with his wife and son. And Cougar couldn't go because he couldn't be trusted not to shank Aisha when she least expected it. He was still holding a grudge over her earlier betrayal, even though Jensen was the one she'd shot. So somehow he was the most mature one these days and he'd been tapped as her backup.
She'd gotten a tip, through one of the mysterious channels she didn't share with any of them, that Max's new right hand man would be coming through this area today and she wanted to intercept him and take him somewhere for questioning. Questioning obviously meant torture, which was whatever, that was Aisha's deal. He was just going to be there in case anything went wrong. But even with him there, things went wrong.
Aisha's tip had been shit and they ended up walking into an ambush. They barely got out of there alive and now were in the middle of nowhere, with no transportation or means of communication. Jensen wasn't even sure which country they were in, since Aisha had shoved him into the back of a random cargo plane and told him to shut up. Wherever they were, it was hot, which wasn't helping his pounding headache. At least the bleeding had stopped, since that was a problem he didn't need. They were currently walking along a desert road, hopefully toward some sort of civilization. All roads had to lead somewhere, right?
"We aren't in love," Aisha muttered.
"Whatever. I don't really care what you put as your relationship status on Facebook. Just try not to maim him next time you guys decide to get kinky. I had very important things I planned to do that I had to miss, thanks to you," Jensen grumbled.
"An online gaming tournament is hardly important."
"Excuse me for having hobbies that don't include violence."
"Isn't it a shooter game?"
"But not real life violence. Don't think I couldn't see the glee in your eyes when you slit that guy's throat. You are not normal."
"He was about to kill you."
"Still doesn't mean you had to look so happy about it."
"Don't people say it's a good thing to love your job?"
"Sick in the head, that's what you are," Jensen muttered, taking his glasses off so he could rub his eyes.
"Says the guy with a concussion."
"Don't remind me," Jensen sighed. He'd be puking his guts out right now if he could risk the dehydration. He'd been a bit out of it after the accident, so when AIsha pulled him from the wreck, he couldn't do much more than just follow blindly. It had only been after a while of walking that he realized she'd prioritized grabbing weapons over silly things, like food and water. Granted, guns were important when there were people out there trying to kill them, but what he wouldn't give for a bottle of water right now.
"Are you okay?" Aisha asked in a surprisingly worried voice. Well, worried for her just meant without the normal bite, but it was still a noticeable change.
"Jeez, if you're asking about how I am, I must be dying," Jensen snorted, waving her question off with an annoyed hand.
"Don't say I didn't try," Aisha snapped, quickening her pace with a huff.
"I'll be sure to put it in the non-existent report I give to Clay," Jensen mumbled, groaning under his breath as he had to jog to catch up with her. "Stop walking so fast."
"The faster we get to civilization, the faster we can get a little space from each other, which is quickly turning into priority number one for me."
"Well, you aren't going to be able to move very fast if you have to drag me," Jensen muttered, rubbing at his ribs as they protested the extra jostling.
"Like I wouldn't leave you here to rot," Aisha said, glaring at his midsection. "Where else are you hurt?"
"Don't act like you care, Nurse Ratched."
"I don't care, but I need to know all the ways you're going to slow me down."
"I'm still here, aren't I?" Jensen shot back, spreading his arms wide at his sides. "Worry about yourself."
"I'm only worried about my sanity, after being stuck with you for so long," Aisha laughed, picking up her pace again. Jensen mocked her behind her back before sighing and jogging to catch up with her again. Why couldn't Clay have stabbed her instead?
They walked for a few more hours before they finally saw something in this big expanse of nothing. It was hard to tell what it was at first, but there were buildings and buildings held possibilities. Jensen ignored his discomfort and broke into a light jog alongside Aisha. They both kept their eyes and ears open, since danger could be lurking as well. Any threats during their walk would've been obvious, since there was nowhere to hide. But now they could be walking into another trap. There wasn't really any avoiding it though, so on they went.
"Stay behind me," Aisha hissed, checking her gun as they ducked behind the first building they reached.
"If you want to put yourself in the line of fire, by all means, be my guest," Jensen scoffed, getting into position. Being the point guy had never been his thing, so if Aisha wanted to lead this two person operation, she could have at it.
"Go," Aisha whispered, creeping around from their protective wall. It seemed to be a small cluster of abandoned buildings, but Jensen wasn't going to bother wondering why they were there or what they used to be. All he cared about was finding something to help them.
It was eerily quiet and there were no signs of life that he could tell, but he wasn't about to let his guard down. Aisha led them through the first building, which held nothing but dust and various kinds of animal droppings. Jensen was the best at what he did, but even he needed more than that to MacGyver their way out of this mess.
"Think we can get a good deal on a timeshare here?" Jensen mumbled, sidestepping another pile of crap. If there were animals around, hopefully that meant there was also water.
"You're on your own with that little investment," Aisha muttered, signalling for him to follow her back outside. He complied without question, still the dutiful little soldier. He really hoped they'd be able to find Max soon so he could figure out some sort of life for himself. Being a ghost was getting kind of old.
They went through another building, with the same results. Jensen knew there wasn't going to be a little Starbucks tucked into one of them, but anything would be better than the whole lotta nothing they were getting. Was a tiny bit of electricity or a smidgen of running water too much to ask?
"I don't think we're going to find anything here," Jensen sighed, stopping to take a breather before Aisha took them into another building.
"And what do you suggest we do?" Aisha snapped, continuing forward without him.
"I think we need to decide either to hole up in one of these buildings overnight or stop wasting time here and keep going," Jensen suggested. He didn't think walking through the desert in the dark sounded like the most fun and they only had a few hours of sun left.
"Well, maybe you should-" Aisha was turning around to glare at him while arguing her point when she suddenly went silent and pointed her gun at his head.
"Again with this? Whatever, we can go with your plan," Jensen grunted, rolling his eyes at her overreaction. "All I wanted to do was have a discussion."
"Jensen, get over here. Now," Aisha demanded, with a bit of a wild edge to her stare.
"What is your-"
"Been a while," a smooth voice drawled from behind him. Jensen closed his eyes in resignation, because this couldn't be reality right now. That was a voice he was sure he would never hear again. That was the voice of a dead man. He slowly turned to face the source of the words, staring in shock at what should've been an impossible sight.
"How-" that was as far as Jensen got before he was doubled over, spilling his stomach contents all over the dirt road. Even without the head injury, that seemed like the only reaction he could have right now. He felt like he had been sucked into an episode of The Twilight Zone, because what he was seeing just couldn't be right.
Roque was alive.
