CHAPTER 9

The Glee club was all gathered in Rachel's basement, and they were having another Glee party. They were almost a month into the summer, and they all wanted to hang out. However, it wasn't the same with Finn, and everyone noticed it.

"Guys, who are we kidding?" Puck said. "It's really weird here without Finn here."

They all nodded in agreement. "Yeah," Mercedes said. "He's literally the glue that holds this group together."

"How is he, Kurt?" Tina asked her friend, concerned. Kurt took a deep breath. He knew that he couldn't tell them the truth, but could use the lie that Finn told him.

"Um… he… he's getting deployed." Kurt murmured quietly, but everybody heard him.

"WHAT?!" Rachel shouted.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Puck yelled.

Everyone was shouting all at once and they were swarming Kurt with questions.

"OK, listen guys!" Kurt declared and they all shut up. "I don't know much about it, but Finn was granted phone privileges for like 5 minutes yesterday. He said he's being deployed, but he didn't tell me where. He should be back by the end of the summer, provided nothing happens to him. All we can do is just pray that he's okay... "

Meanwhile, Finn had just touched down in North Carolina. They flew on a military jet straight into the base, and the journey took less than 1 and a half hours. When Finn stepped off the plane, Lieutenant Colonel Brandt stood on the ground, and led him into a room with 6 people already in it.

"I believe we need to make introductions. Firstly, as you know, I'm Lieutenant Colonel Brandt, your superior officer. The two other commanders are Commander Thompson and Sterling. They don't go into the field with you but they'll be in your ear the whole time. This is Commander Thompson," he said, pointing to the man on his left. He was probably around 6'7 and heavily built too. He had a completely bald head as well, making him look like a giant.

"And this is Commander Sterling," he finished, pointing to the man on his right. He was a lot smaller than his fellow Commander. Around 5'11, he had extremely short hair and hazel eyes. Finn shook hands with the commanders.

"Guys," Brandt said, looking at the soldiers. "This is Private First Class Finn Hudson. We recruited him from the Air Force for this mission. He's gonna be the close combat fighter for the mission."

Finn nodded and shook hands with the other soldiers in the room.

"Hudson, this is Private Second Class Jack Daniels. He's a sniper."

Jack had short blonde hair, a scruffy beard and piercing blue eyes. He smiled and raised a hand in greeting.

"Your medic, Private Second Class Clint Eastwood."

Clint had long brown hair that was tied back in a small man bun. He also had quite a large beard.

"Your pilot and advanced driver, Private Second Class John Morrison."

John Morrison was Asian-american, with spiky black hair and dark brown eyes.

Your Driving Supervisor and Maintenance Repair, Private Third Class Fernando Sucre. Although you just heard your role in the team, you may well have to be a footman alongside Hudson at some point. You are soldiers first, and specialists second. Follow me to the conference room for the debriefing." He said.

Finn instantly committed the names and their roles to memory. Jack, Clint, John, Fernando. They all shook hands with each other.

Everyone smiled and followed Brandt out the room. They walked towards the common room, whilst introducing themselves to each other. Finn trailed to the back, where he started a conversation with Jack.

"So, you got a family back home? Like a wife or kids?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, I got a wife and one baby boy. They're the reason I'm fighting. I won't let them live in a world where events like 9/11 happen. And they also give me extra incentive to come back in one piece."

Finn nodded.

"What about you? Anyone special in your life?"

"I'm actually only 17. I'm about to go into senior year of high school. I was hired from the Air Force just for this mission. This isn't my full-time job."

His jaw dropped.

"Wait, you're not a Delta Force officer like us?" He asked. Finn shook his head.

"No, I wasn't even in the actual Air Force either. I was in the fucking Air Guard. I had exactly 3 weeks of training. So I'm basically on a goddamn suicide mission."

"Well, man I don't know what to say. I've never been on a Delta Force mission before, however I did have 6 months of training first."

Finn sighed.

"Well lucky you," He remarked sarcastically. "I'm just hoping that even if I die, the mission still succeeds. I don't mind dying for the cause."

They finally made it to a conference room, and they all walked inside. Commander Thompson, Sterling and Lieutenant Brandt stood at the front of the room. The soldiers took a seat around the round table.

"OK guys," Brandt said. "There is an emergency. The Ambassador of the US to India's daughter has been kidnapped by the biggest drug lord in Bangladesh for a ransom. Your mission is to pay to extract the hostage unharmed. We can't send in an army or they might kill her. It will just be 5 of you on this mission, no SEALs. Thompson, explain to the men the mission."

"Well, I think, so that they don't hear us and shoot the girl, Hudson alone should travel to the compound. Jack will be at a sniping distance away and I think that John should be waiting in a Mark V Special Operations Craft on the stream a couple of miles away. Then, Hudson, Morrison and Daniels can sail to this point," he said, pointing to a spot at the border of the country. "Sucre and Eastwood will be waiting for you there in a chopper. You will escape to a nearby US military base via the helicopter."

Finn nodded. "Although that's a solid plan, I still don't understand why you recruited me all the way from the Air Guard, with only 3 weeks of formal training."

"Well Hudson," Brandt said. "Even though you haven't had much training, you are still one of the best recruits in military history. And you're perfect for the mission because I already know that this girl isn't gonna trust anyone. She's 17, and she's just been kidnapped and probably raped. She's not gonna trust a huge, threatening looking military man. You're also 17, so if she trusts anyone, it's gonna be you."

Finn's jaw dropped. "Are you kidding? You're sending me on a suicide mission with no training, just because we're the same age?"

"Don't worry, Finn. We have faith in you. We wouldn't have recruited you for the mission if we didn't."

Finn sighed and nodded. "OK, I'm in…"

They spent the rest of the day preparing for the mission. Finn spent most of the day on the shooting range. He knew that he couldn't travel to the compound carrying a gun, but probably would grab one from one of the hostiles. His favourite gun to use was a Kalashnikov, but he was also competent with M4s, M16s and many other guns.

In the evening, they finally got on the plane. It was a 15 hour flight to Bangladesh, and Finn planned to make contact with the hostage takers after they touched down in Dhaka, the capital city. They had nothing to do for 15 hours so the men slept for most of the flight. They were an hour from landing when the pilot woke the Delta Force officers up. They landed in Dhaka and shortly after and immediately split up when they reached the airport. It was midday in Bangladesh, and the sun was glaring down at them. They were lucky they had trained in California so they were used to the humidity. However, they weren't prepared for the filth and dirtiness of the city. Finn didn't bring a weapon with him, as he knew that if he did, they would shoot the girl. He stepped out onto the street and called the number he was told to call. It rang twice and then was picked up.

"I'm here, and have the money. Where do we meet?" Finn growled into the phone.

"22 Beraid Street. Come alone and unarmed or we shoot the bitch." A strong Bangladeshi accent responded and then immediately hung up the phone. Finn walked to the location that the man on the phone mentioned. When he arrived, he pulled out his phone and called the man again.

"I'm here, now what?"

Suddenly, a van pulled up and 3 men with guns and ski masks jumped out. They grabbed Finn and threw him in the van, securing his wrists with zip ties. Finn wasn't worried though. He knew where they were headed and knew that Jack and John were already waiting in their positions. Five minutes later, he was dragged out of the van and into the compound. They took him into the basement and pulled the bag off his head.

There were 3 men, two carrying Kalashnikovs and one holding a pistol. The guy with the pistol was smoking and the smell was choking Finn slightly. He stared straight ahead at them, showing no fear in his eyes whatsoever.

"Proman dao," Finn said in a low tone. It meant 'Prove it' in Bangla. He wanted proof of life that the girl was still alive. The men stared at him.

"Proman," he repeated.

"Teka," the man with the pistol said. That meant that he wanted the money.

"Proman. Proman dao," Finn growled once more. The man moved so that he was an inch away from Finn's face.

"Teeeka," he drawled.

"Listen," Finn spat, in English. "You show me the girl, I'll call my people and they'll pay you. You understa… "

Finn was cut off when the guy blew smoke from his cheap cigarette into Finn's face. Finn got slightly annoyed.

"Fuck… come here," he slapped the guy's cigarette hand with his two cuffed ones. All three men immediately drew their guns. Finn sighed.

"Listen, you boys seem like real busy professionals so I say we cut this shit and get down to business, eh?"

The pistol was put against his head.

"Okay," the man whispered, and then pulled the trigger. There was no gunshot as the gun wasn't loaded, and Finn knew that. He didn't even flinch, and the men laughed at his reaction, or rather his lack of reaction.

"Hey man, you crazy or what?" one of them asked.

"There was no magazine in it," Finn said, still keeping his clear, level tone.

The man nodded. "Enough talk, let's get to business," he said, and led Finn to a side room, where there were 7 more men and a girl tied up to a chair, a bag over her head.

"Take off the bag," Finn stated, quietly but firmly.

The man gestured to his partner to do so. It revealed the girl that they were looking to extract.

"Now you go," the man with the pistol said. "Tell them, pay. If not, I take this," he gestured to his pistol, "and I blow her insides out."

Finn nodded, and was led out of the room by two of the men with the Kalashnikovs. He started to walk towards the window, making an invisible gesture with his hands, to let Jack know that it was time for him to start the mission. Sure enough, a suppressed shot from Jack's sniper buried into the skull of the first men. Finn moved immediately, snapping his zip ties like they were made of paper, and flipping the other man over, knocking the gun out of his hand, and silently choking him. When neither men had a pulse, Finn stood up and grabbed one of their Kalashnikovs. None of the men in the side room with the boy had heard the commotion. Finn blasted through the door of the side room and started mowing down men, left and right. He took out 4 of the men with his gun, before a man with a machete managed to slash it out of his hands. Finn took down the men with his fist at this point, using the sharp corners of the tables, TVs and their own weapons to inflict damage. Finn could hear shooting coming from outside. He knew that there were men keeping watch outside and he knew that Jack was taking them out. He just hoped that Jack didn't get shot in the process. Suddenly, two more men burst into the room. Finn took them out easily, and then finally walked into the room with the hostage.

The hostage was still wearing the black bag over her head so didn't know if it was Finn, or an enemy. She clearly heard the shooting outside though, as she immediately started pleading with Finn as soon as he entered the room. Finn quickly removed the bag once again.

"Who are you?" she asked through her gag. Finn ignored her and started untying her.

"Can you walk?" Finn asked.

"Yeah."

"Good, put this on." Finn said and he gave the girl a hoodie that was hanging on the laundry line in the other room. They crossed through the main room on their way out, and the girl looked like she was about to throw up. Bodies were lying all over the floor. They either had blood seeping out of their motionless bodies, or their necks were disfigured at horrifying angles. It was times like these, that Finn realised how immune he was to gore and that fact made him sick. Finn led the girl out the door, and out of the compound through the back exit. As planned, there was a car waiting for him 2 minutes away from the compound, and he forced the terrified girl into the trunk. Finn drove for ten miles, and parked when they were two miles away from John and the boat. He opened the trunk of the car, and pulled the girl out, coughing and spluttering.

"Here," Finn said, giving her a bottle of water. She took it and drank from it gratefully. "Look, you want to survive, you do exactly as I say. Now here, put these on." he continued, giving her some camo clothing. Finn also quickly changed out of his blood-stained clothing, into some camo gear. The girl noticed the numerous scars and bruises on Finn's back. As the girl walked towards a bush to change behind, Finn could see that she was moving extremely sluggish. She came back moments later.

"Here, eat this. Your blood sugar is low. That's why you feel like shit," he said, tossing her an energy bar. Finn quickly put on his military vest, containing ammo, a phone/walkie talkie and a headset.

"2 miles out. In possession."

He got a response from Commander Thompson. "Copy. Alpha is with the boat. In position."

Finn then handed the girl a bulletproof vest. He helped secure it on the frightened teenager. Finally, Finn took out his phone, turned the camera on, and pointed it towards the girl. He heard a beep, and it started recording.

"Okay. All right. Name?" he asked the girl. She was frozen to the spot. "Say your name." Finn repeated. Again, no response. "Say your bloody name, come on," he said once again, starting to get annoyed. He tried to be sympathetic as she had clearly been through a lot, but they didn't have much time.

"B… Bella," she stammered, finally.

"Last name?"

"Dawson."

"Age?"

"17."

"Your birthday?"

"Twenty-first of October, 2007."

Finn nodded, and was suddenly uncomfortable asking the next question.

"Look I know this is an awkward question for me to ask, but did your capturs sexually assault you? Because if you're pregnant, we need to slow down the extraction. We don't want you to be physically pushed too far and have a miscarrage and get really sick."

She shook her head, and Finn let out a sigh of relief. It was one less thing for him to think about. He was about to attempt a suicide mission: the last thing he wanted to think about was her having morning sickness and all the other drawbacks of pregancy.

Finn turned the camera so that it was pointed towards himself. "Proceeding to extraction." he turned off the phone and put it away. "Let's go." They ditched the car, and started walking quickly in the direction towards the boat. They had purposely chosen a location in the middle of the forest, as it would be hard to find them while they were in the middle of the forest. Little did they know how much that decision was going to backfire…

Meanwhile, on the boat, John was waiting restlessly. "We're 1 mile out. Are you ready for us?" he heard Finn ask.

"Ready and waiting," he replied.

"Copy, see you soon." Finn murmured into the walkie talkie. Jack was also closing onto the location of the boat. He was hidden in the trees, but had eyes on the boat. Finn and Bella were still jogging through the forest, when Bella started stumbling.

"I… can't… breathe," she panted. Finn nodded and slowed down. They stopped to rest for a second.

"Deep breaths. You can do this." Finn said. After 30 seconds, Finn helped her up. "We gotta keep moving. Come on." They started running again.

Suddenly, another boat could be heard approaching John and the SEAL boat. A whole platoon of Bangladeshi troops quickly surrounded John. Jack, who was also moving in towards the boat, watched from the trees. He knew that his friend was gone, so silently retreated away from the clearing and sprinted full pelt away from the lake.

"Guys, we've been played!" he shouted into his walkie talkie. "The bangladeshi troops are in on it. They just attacked the boat. I heard gunfire and I think they killed John!"

"John come in.." they heard Commander Thompson speak into the walkie talkie. "John, give me verbal." A few seconds later, Lieutenant Colonel Brandt came onto the line.

"Guys, John is gone. His heart rate just dropped to zero."

The four remaining men hung their heads in sorrow. One of their men had been killed.

"Hudson, something's wrong. hold your position." they heard Brant say, and Finn and Bella stopped moving immediately. Just then, Finn heard it. There was faint movement somewhere in the woods.

"Guys, there's someone else here," he whispered and readied his gun for firing.

"Jack, come in." he heard Captain Brady declare

"I'm here, Captain. What do you want me to do? Find Hudson, keep moving, retreat?"

"We need to keep moving. The girl is safe with Hudson. You both will meet up at safehouse A."

"Copy that," they both whispered to their captain. Finn could still hear the faint rustling of leaves. Suddenly, he saw a glint of white.

"GET DOWN!" he shouted and dragged Bella down. A split second later, a bullet ripped through the air, and into the tree behind them. Splinters rained down onto Bella and Finn. Finn returned fire and they slowly got up and started running, keeping their heads down. They started running towards a nearby town, where they had a safehouse. They stopped running when they were a safe distance away. They knew the person, or people, was still pursuing them. Finn spotted him shortly after. It was a man, about 6 foot tall. He was dressed fully in black, complete with a mask and gloves. The man hadn't spotted them yet and Finn used it to his advantage.

"Hey, move fast, stay low." Finn murmured. "NOW," he shouted and they sprinted further away. The man still continued chasing them. After another 5 minutes of running, they hid behind a large boulder, and the man hid behind a tree. Finn took a grenade out from his vest.

"Okay, when I tell you to, run like hell or I'm gonna accidentally kill you both. Understand?" Finn tossed the explosive. "GO!" he yelled and they stood up and sprinted off. The man started firing at them while he was chasing them. "Go, kid, go!" Finn shouted. "Move! Faster!" They finally reached the car that they had driven earlier. Finn gestured to the front seat. "Here, get in the car! Get in the car!" Finn slid across the hood and dived into the front seat. Finn covered fire as Bella clambered into the passenger seat. Then, Finn started the car and they sped off. They were being pursued by police cruisers as well as the hooded man, but Finn knew that they were both enemies. Finn was being chased by the cars and shot at as well.

"Look, I need eyes. Radio is compromised. Call my sat!" he shouted into his headset. Sure enough, a second later, Commander Thompson was calling his phone. Finn answered.

"Turn right at the bridge," he calmly said.

"How far past the gate?" Finn bellowed.

"What gate?"

Finn didn't bother slowing down so went barrelling straight through the gate. The gate shattered into smithereens.

"Turn right?"

"Can't. Bloody truck is in the way." Finn shouted and had to turn left instead.

"On your right!"

Finn turned in time to see third police cruisers speeding towards him. They were now right on his tail and hit the back of his car.

"FUCK OFF!" Finn shouted as his car shook a little. People on the street dived out the way to avoid being hit by the cars. The sound of car horns cut through the air, as well as the sound of civilians screaming. Suddenly, one of the police cars shot the three other cars' tires, making it clear to Finn that he wasn't actually a policeman. It was the hooded man from the forest. It was suddenly just Finn and the man.

"Up ahead, turn left."

Finn prepared to turn.

"No, no, no! Left! You just passed it."

Finn swore and started to reverse. He shoved Bella down, and fired his pistol at the approaching police car, preventing it from completely t-boning their car. He made the turn and started speeding up again. More people dived out of the way of Finn's manic driving. Finn noticed Bella swaying wildly.

"Put your belt on!"

"What belt?"

"Your fucking seatbelt!"

"It's been on. You drive like you're fucking insane!" She screamed. Then, Finn started reversing again.

"Hold tight!" Finn shouted as he reversed straight into the hooded man's hijacked police car.

"You OK?" He asked the terrified girl. She nodded.

"I'm fine." She put on a brave face.

They got out of the car and saw the man in the police car attempting to stand but failing. His hood had fallen off and Finn saw his face. He was clearly part of Bangladeshi special forces.

"Move! Up the stairs! Go!" Finn shouted, pointing to the building opposite them. Suddenly, there was a platoon of Bangladeshi forces pulling up outside the building and they began to storm the place.

Finn and Bella tiptoed through the building, hearing the military men on the floor beneath them. The Special Forces men split up as they searched the house - a big mistake. Finn started to take them out one by one. He used his knife and pistol so he could stay mobile. He proceeded to take out most of the platoon. One of the men started to grab at Bella. Bella started running and ran through the compound. She was eventually grabbed by one of the men and was dragged back out into the hallway. Suddenly, a bullet buried into the neck of the soldier and he immediately let go of her. Finn stood over the body. They continued running through the compound. Finn took out the next few officers that came before them.

"MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!" They made it up to the roof and looked around. They were completely surrounded on the ground, so they only had one more option.

"Do you trust me?" Finn asked.

"No!" She shouted back. Finn rolled his eyes.

"Good!" Finn shouted and he threw her off the roof. She landed on the roof of the compound next to them. Finn leapt off the roof and landed next to him.

"Get up!" Finn said, whipping out his pistol and climbing down the stairs from the roof. He kicked open the door of a random house in the compound and they ran through it. The residents of the house looked at them, terrified. They left through the main entrance of the house and they approached a staircase. They slowly walked down and walked through the balcony of the second floor. They turned the corner, and suddenly Finn's pistol was knocked out of his hand. It was the hooded man from the forest! Finn threw the man off the edge of the roof, and they both went tumbling down onto the street below. They both groaned. They were both struggling to get up. Then, they both noticed the pistol lying on the ground and they raced for it. Finn grabbed it, but the other man took out a knife and threw Finn against the wall. Finn kicked the man away, and took out his Karambit knife. They proceeded to have a knife fight for the next couple of minutes. Finn won that fight by kicking the man through a wall. Suddenly, a car barrelled straight into Finn. Finn rolled over the hood and lay on the ground. Both men were still very much alive though, but struggling to get back on their feet. The hooded man suddenly heard shouting.

"Help me! Let me go!" he heard Bella shout. The hooded man turned the corner on a backstreet and saw a police officer dragging Bella away. The man put a bullet in the officer's head and grabbed Bella. He proceeded to pull her back towards the main street. They could hear a car engine getting closer, but they didn't realise how close it was, until it rammed the hooded man and sent him flying. Finn opened the passenger door of the vehicle.

"Come on kid! Get in!"

Bella climbed into the truck and they started moving.

"You hit him with the truck," Bella said, still in shock.

"Yup," Finn replied, bluntly. They started driving and were quickly followed by a chopper.

"There's a helicopter following us!" Bella shouted.

"Yup." Finn said again and drove faster. "All right, I need you to slide on over here," Finn said, gesturing next to the driver's door. Bella immediately obliged. "OK we're going to jump on three."

"What?" Ben shouted, astonished. Finn opened the door

"One…" he shouted and then shoved Bella out the door of the still moving vehicle. They fell onto the ground but were shielded from the view of the helicopter due to a tunnel. The vehicle kept moving and drove into a collection of gas tanks, causing a massive explosion. The helicopter hovered over the scene briefly, then flew away. Probably to let the leader of whoever was after them know that they had been blown up.