Daniel Folten: Unknown Cuban River

March 13, 1981 Hours: unknown

Cutting the rope was the easy part. Landing in the river was entirely different. Although they both managed to land in deeper parts of the water, that didn't mean they landed right next to each other. In fact after Bell came in contact with a few tree branches he saw Park land at least twenty feet away from where he did, before they both went under. The current was especially strong where he was, wedging him between a fallen tree and a massive rock, which looked much smaller from above water. Not only was the tree log suffocating him by it's heavy weight leaning on his torso but the current was moving debris such as small pebbles into his face. After several attempts at trying to free himself from under water, he decided to try something different. If he was ever going to get back to the surface he was going to need to get rid of some dead weight. He quickly unzipped his vest and grabbed the health stims he found earlier and attached them to his belt, letting his vest be lost to the current. He could feel the water begin to creep into his now burning lungs. This time he pushed and managed to slip from between the log and the rock. Swimming to the surface as fast as he could, he started to see black spots in the corners of his eyes. Air, something he would never take for granted ever again, as he broke the river's surface, coughing up water. He removed what was left of his balaclava and it too got swept away in the current. He quickly swam to the nearest shore and threw himself on the stable ground, lying face first.

"Just need a minute to recuperate and then I'll go find Park." He thought to himself. He never did.

The dream was different this time. "I didn't think he'd recover so fast." Adler admitted. He was in some sort of lab, a recovery room? He couldn't tell the difference. This time he was in a medical bed with IVs in his arm. His body felt like it had been run over by a train.

"The doctors said he'll be ready to undergo procedures in two weeks time." Park said, the both of them observing Bell in his somewhat recovered state.

"Within two weeks Perseus may have already gotten this much further to shifting total power to the Soviet Union. We're starting within the next three days." Adler said sternly

"If we start before he's medically cleared-" Adler interrupted her, sounding frustrated.

"I don't know how they do things over in London but if you're gonna be on my team then I expect you to do your job. And as far as I can remember I don't think personal input is part of your occupation."

The last thing he saw was a red door before it too faded away, changing the scene. This time he was in a field, in the center there was a target. He was holding some sort of rifle.

"Again!" The man had a Soviet accent. He stood behind Bell, yelling at him.

"Shoot again!"

Bell shot multiple times, each time not even coming close to the target. It didn't help that it was cold, and the rain falling from the sky was interfering with his vision.

"Stop!" The man from behind ordered. Bell sat the weapon down on a nearby crate. The man came into Bell's peripheral vision, finally putting a voice to a face. He wore a uniform with symbols indicating he was some sort of ranked military official. From the corner of his eye he could see a few other people watching everything go down, but for whatever reason he couldn't see their faces. They were simply just a blur. The man pushed Bell down, making him fall on his back.

"Worthless!" He shouted as Bell saw his first start to come closer to his face.

That was what woke him up. Everything felt so real, just like the last dream. The cold rain falling on his face, feeling of having IVs running in his arm. The fact that Adler and Park were a part of this 'dream' made him conclude that the first one wasn't a dream at all. He awakened with a joult, realizing he was sitting on the ground leaned against a tree. He quickly stood up, still panicky breathing. He observed he was the only one by the small, barely lit fire. As he was remembering the most recent events that led him to this point he heard footsteps behind him. On instinct he swiftly turned around and performed an arm drag on them, forcing them to the ground.

"What the hell Dan?!" Park exclaimed

"Sorry, my mind was elsewhere." Bell said, offering her a hand and pulling her back to her feet.

"Dont worry about it, I just went to go get more wood for the fire."

Bell looked over at her attempt at a fire. She saw the expression on his face.

"Well what else did you expect, I've really only got one good arm."

"Why don't you rest for a bit, I'll go get some more wood, and while I'm at it, hopefully some food."

"Sounds good, after dragging you with one arm, I could use a minute to relax." She said without looking at him. Bell could see that she still had a somewhat stern unhappy expression on her face, probably still mad at him for going back on his word.

He himself had many bruises all over his body from the explosion and from branches breaking his fall as he landed into the river. Not to mention how hard he hit his head when on the ground when that RPG rattled them all. He was surprised the back if his head didn't bust open. There was a small hole on the shoulder of his uniform, along with blood and dirt stains all over the rest of his clothing. He had a few cuts on his face, but it was his head that hurt the most, probably a small concussion. However he knew his injuries were nothing compared to Park's. He was surprised she was even still standing. She wasn't on the verge of death but she wasn't ready to go infiltrate another abandoned compound either.

Bell came back about an hour later with more wood and two dead birds. He got the fire started and began working on getting their food cooked.

"How are you holding up? I managed to grab some stims from the compound if you need them." He said, sitting across from her, at the now lit fire.

"I managed to tear off a piece of cloth and wrap it around the cut on my head. It's gonna have to do, for now that is until we find a way back to the team."

There was silence between them for a good moment. Bell stared into the fire, watching their food cook.

"So, I see you didn't drag me very far. I can still see the river from right around the corner over there." Bell said motioning over towards the tree behind her.

"No, I thought of setting up camp elsewhere but since we have a water source right here, it made sense."

"I see."

Pulling their food off the stick, he handed her her portion while he ate his. He could tell she was still holding a grudge against him from earlier, the reason she was there and Lazar wasn't. He tried to ease the tension with a lighter mood.

"Not bad for survival food huh? Who knows, maybe I should pursue cooking instead of the CIA." He smiled, as they finished up their food. It was nearly dusk.

"Why did you go back on your word, Dan?" For the first time in hours she actually looked him in the eyes.

"Do we have to talk about this right now? I saved your life, that's it. I don't know what more you want from me."

"Dan I asked one thing of you, and you didn't do it. Why!" She demanded.

"You never should have asked me to make you a promise we both know I couldn't keep! Don't you realize that us and the entire team practically get paid to lie as a part of our occupation. Plus, it's not like your being totally honest with me either!"

"Are you mad, what are you talking about?"

"You must really think I'm that stupid don't you Park? You know there was a time in which we both knew each other better than we knew ourselves, I know when you're lying." His tone began to get aggressive

"Don't turn this on me!" She said, unaware of both of them standing up in defensive positions.

"Really? Then what were you and Adler really talking about then? Because I know damn well it wasn't about Mason!"

"We don't have time for this, we have to figure out a plan to make it back to Adler."

"No no, you brought this up, we're gonna finish this."

"Fine. You want to know what we were talking about? He was giving me orders to make sure that if for whatever reason out plan went south, like it already has, that you be top priority. Meaning that we had to put your life before ours."

"You better not be lying to me about this." He lowered his voice.

"I'm not."

"Then tell me why he asked that of you." He could tell she was telling the truth.

"Your special Dan. I mean who wouldn't want one of the world's best all around agents on their side in the war. Adler thinks of you as a valuable asset to the team."

"Oh" was all he managed to say. They both sat back down.

"So, your turn. Would you mind telling me why I'm here and Lazar isn't."

"I already told you, it wasn't a good idea to ask me in the first place." He said looking down at his feet.

"Why not?"

"I dont know."

"Yes you do."

"Why are you trying so hard to get this answer out of me?"

"Because you made a deal and you broke it. Now tell me why?"

"I… It was an instinct. You know why." He said putting his head in his hands.

Guessing where he was going she simply nodded in acknowledgement.

"Lazar's death is something that will haunt me for the rest of life, I'd rather it be this way than the other way around."

"Well I guess now that I think about it, being alive is nice." They both laughed, now having moved on with their outbursts of anger and frustration.

"We need to get moving soon. Our fire gives away our position. So I say another hour or two of rest and we get moving, and find the crashed plane. I'm counting on the fact that the radio isn't blown to bits. We'll use that to make contact with the team."

"Lets just hope they found a way out of there. Toss me a stim will you?" Park said holding her hand out.

"Yeah, I've got four more left so we need to use them wisely."

Bell kept a lookout while Park got some shut eye. He just couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else she wasn't telling him. Otherwise he would know why he kept having these odd dream sequences. He put the thought in the corner of his mind for now. Perseus was out on the loose and now with the capabilities to detonate multiple nukes. If they didn't configure a plan soon, then the Soviets will have already gained the power they so desired. And the US will have been left to pick up the pieces of a mess that was blamed all on them.