Chapter 38


"So when the local wears off this is going hurt a lot, it's also going to get infected because people naturally sweat and the wound can't breathe in the cast. So this will only cause more pain in your arm as it will swell, you can also look forward to fever, aches and shakes. Then it will get worse with nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, rash and if that wasn't enough fun. It'll eventually give off a foul odour. Now the good news is that we can track you and monitor your vitals." Doc told Larrin as she put the final stitches in Larrin's arm.

"Great. So I could go septic if it stays in there long enough and die." Larrin said, she had to admit she liked Doc. The woman was straightforward and pragmatic it helped Larrin keep her emotions in check as she felt like she was two seconds away from crying all the time.

Wolf stood in the corner looking pissed off. He had been quiet ever since they left Michener's office. She didn't blame him as she knew it was hard for him to let her go, hell it was hard for her to move as every action she did moved her closer to being back in Julian's hold. A place she didn't want to be.

"Yep, but that would take a few days and they will pull you out before that happens." Doc told her, she looked at Larrin's expression and gave a sigh as she had seen that look on so many people before. "Look, it's a good thing as they won't think to look there for a scanner. If they use a metal detector. Just tell them you have two plates and screws in your arm to hold the bones. So let's get the plaster on it." Doc told her with a smile.

"Ok." Larrin said, she looked down at her arm at the small stitches as they'd put in a GPS tracker meant for birds. It was odd feeling something under her skin. Her brain baulked at it wanting to tear it out of her arm but it was the only thing that would save her. Without it they wouldn't be able to find her.

"I think you should also take some pain meds for the next couple days. Just so you're able to get some proper rest and to help your other injuries mend." Doc told her.

"I'd like that." Larrin said as she could use the escape of drugs just for the next 48 hours so she was sharper when she saw Julian. Her stomach rolled at the thought as her heart pounded in a panicked tempo. Doc must of saw her thoughts and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Look, they'll get you out. I know Lt Commander Burk and the operators. They've been doing these kind of ops for months. They will rescue you. You just gotta persevere." Doc told her, Larrin nodded as it was the only advice she'd been given so far that helped.


"I like my operator. She sounds really butch. I'm imagining her to look like a 6ft sexy muscular amazon of a woman." Cruz said to Danny as he, Burk and Miller were visiting with the man to get him up to speed on what was happening and to just blow off some of the tension of the upcoming mission.

"How can you tell if she's sexy?" Burk asked incredulously as he was in the room. While he wasn't able to participate in the mission he was going to act as support in the Command centre in helping coordinate teams tasked to pick up captured scavengers and also assist Operators in locating their partner.

"She has a sexy timbre." Cruz added as he opened the bakery box that was set to the side of the room and snagged one of the three cinnamon rolls from inside and chomped into it.

"Maybe you should marry her, you sound half in love with her already." Danny told Cruz, he wished he was helping in some way but he knew if the Captain needed him then he'd call him in or visit. So he tried not to let it get to him that he hadn't gotten the call yet.

"Nah,-" Cruz started as if dismissing the idea but stopped and gave it more thought. "Maybe I'll wait and see. It wouldn't be a bad thing to have a girlfriend who can spot me when I'm bench pressing weights in the gym." he said thoughtfully. The others in the room chuckled at him.

"There's looking for the positive." Burk said from his chair. He winced as his bruised torso pain him but it was nothing he couldn't handle. He was just grateful he wasn't in Wolf's shoes. The man had been completely shut out of the mission. Sure he could know some of the specifics and could watch in the Command Centre but he wasn't allowed an active role.

"She could be the Peeta to my Katniss." Cruz joked before he took another bite of the cinnamon roll enjoying the pastry.

"I think you're missing the hair to be Katniss." Danny told Cruz, as he knew better than to clarify that Katniss was the female character as he'd made that mistake before. It only led to him being told how Cruz believed himself to be an emotional rock while Peeta was completely unbalanced. In Cruz's opinion. In everyone else's opinion, they wished they had never watched Hunger Games as it had just rolled out to be a thing on the ship.

"No, he's Katniss going through a Latino Demi Moore G.I. Jane phase." Miller offered, Burk smiled and shook his head while Cruz smiled and nodded in agreement of the assessment.

"Yeah, that's right." Cruz said, he pointed to Green "So don't rain on my parade dude. If I want to be Katniss, I'll be Katniss." Cruz told Danny in a mockingly serious manner.

"This isn't the Hunger Games. You guys didn't volunteer as tribute." Danny said shaking his head at them in amusement.

"You are right. It's more like Pokemon." Burk offered, which was much worse than referencing Hunger Games as the many of the crew had kids who were mad for the show. So when it hit it's peak in popularity suddenly the crew were asking themselves 'What kind of Pokemon am I?'.

"Oh yeah which makes me; Ash and her; Misty on an adventure capturing Scavenger Pokemon." Cruz said with a smile, Larrin shook her head smiling as she liked they were making light of what was happening. It made it seem like they were going to have a fun adventure.

"Just a shame you can't catch those baddies into tiny little balls like they do on the show." Kara said as she came into the room.

"Hey," Danny said to her.

"Hey, how are you?" She asked him as she moved over to where Cruz was naturally gravitating to the food. Danny would've been offended given he wanted a kiss 'hello' but knew they were so ingrained in keeping their PDA to minimum that he'd have to go without until the guys left. At least he could look at her without getting into too much trouble and she was definitely a sight in her maternity BDU's and her hair slicked back into it's usual hair style. He couldn't help but feel a zing of excitement whenever he thought of their future together and the children they'd have.

"Good, the guys were telling me what's going on with their mission." Danny said to her, making a mental note to mention to the guys after the mission to help him out. He hoped that their pay was sorted as he knew they'd help out if he paid for pizza and beer.

"I heard Pokemon references." Kara said as she looked at the three cinnamon rolls in the box wondering if she should indulge or not. But then caved in as it had been a long time since she had a cinnamon roll and she could always blame the baby if someone felt the need to shame her for poor food choices.

"How is it you know about Pokemon?" Burk asked Kara, she turned around with the biggest of the cinnamon rolls in her hand trying not to look guilty for not offering.

"I know people with kids, what's your excuse?" Kara asked before she took a bite of the cinnamon roll. It might be cold but it tasted freaking amazing.

"I'm a guy, I'm allowed to like anything I want without it detracting from my looks." Burk informed in a matter of fact. Kara rolled her eyes at his statement.

"How's Wolf?" Danny asked Kara as he'd asked the guys but they hadn't had a real answers only speculation.

"Pissed, I heard he shouted at the Captain and the President." Kara told him.

"Can you blame him?" Miller asked, he knew he was pissed at the part of the plan that meant Larrin would be handed over Julian. He knew she had a choice but he also felt she was guilted into it. She had been resigned to them handing her over because she felt that she 'deserved' it.

"Hey I wouldn't mind my brother being traded but this guy's not into tall black men." Burk said with a shrug.

"What's up with you and your brother?" Cruz asked Burk as the man usually had nothing but good things to say about everyone as he tried to keep a positive attitude. Sure his view on America has soured after they'd lost, right now Burk felt vindicated on that front but Cruz would be glad to find his family alive.

"Nothing, he's just the 'perfect' one in the Burk family." Burk said with a shrug.

"Awwwh, we think you're pretty special." Cruz told him in a mocking manner, Burk threw him a dark look.

"Eat your cinnamon roll, dude." Burk told him.


"I'm sorry about this." Larrin told Tex as the man was tapping her arm cast with camouflage tape. Everything they'd been doing for the past few hours have been about prepping her for the exchange. They'd gotten her woodland digis, boots and made sure she ate at regular intervals so she wasn't hungry and kept her hydrated. All in the hopes of her being completely bolstered and ready to go. Larrin would have felt like cow being fattened for the kill but the pain meds Doc had given her kept her in a fairly pleasant buzz. So the lack of pain helped her emotional state somewhat.

"I don't think you did all this on purpose." He said to her with a wry smile.

"Wolf's fairly pissed off and everyone else is looking at me like I'm a sacrificial lamb." Larrin said, she tried to keep her arm steady but it was hard to do given she was getting tired from her injuries and all the shuffling around.

"That's because you are." He told her with a humourless smile. "You don't have to do this." he added, he felt the need for her to feel what she was doing was optional. She could back out.

"I do, Dr Scott is important and Dad always told us that we take care of our own messes. This is my mess." Larrin told him, Tex gave her an odd smile as he was only slightly privvy to the kind of upbringing Wolf and Larrin had. He did know that when he told Kat to clean up her messes. He was talking more about toys, spilt food etc. Not this situation.

"You didn't release the Scavengers on America. That's on the immunes and it's on the Americans who kept it going instead of standing up for themselves." Tex told her.

"I know, but I should have killed Julian. It's just that it was in close quarters, the blood freaked me out. The others were traps, I didn't have to get close." Larrin confessed to Tex, she didn't know why but it was easier to talk to him than the others as she felt he understood human nature a little more than the others. Maybe because she knew how much he cared abut Kat and how he hadn't cared about her actions to survive. Only about how she was, it just spoke to Larrin on a level that gave her comfort.

Tex pulled on the tape pulling off another strip, he pondered on what he should say to her but decided right now she needed to just get whatever was in her system out. He was just glad Wolf and the others weren't home as they were too inexperienced to react in the way Larrin needed. He knew Wolf would flip his lid and Kara would become still. While he had years under his belt, years of seeing the worst side of humanity and he knew the darker sides of himself that he was comfortable with the conversation without bringing his own baggage into it.

"I just never understood. My Dad made us hunt rabbits when we were kids but Wolf and my brothers always killed mine for me. They'd even skin them and gut them, it wasn't until after they all left I had to do it. It was so awful." Larrin said staring off into the distance.

"But you gotta eat." Tex said as smoothed the tape over part of her cast. Larrin gave a closed lip smile and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, you do. Julian called me his little rabbit cause he said I ran as fast as one. He'd whistle this old song 'Run Rabbit, Run' by Flanagan and Allen. In some parts of the forest it would just echo so I would have no clue where he was. Just that he was out there." Larrin said, Tex knew the song, it had played on the TV a few years ago for travelling to Melbourne, Australia when he was doing a training exercise in Sydney. It was a tune that stuck in the head and it became a bit of joke among the men.

"So I should expect to hear it." Tex said as placed another piece of tape on her cast.

"Yeah, he really thinks he's untouchable and he is. He's got us doing exactly what he wants." Larrin told him with a nod.

"But it won't end the way he wants it to. That I promise you." Tex told her.