Looking like some kind of commando team on a mission, they march into post-op, where Kellye, one of the nurses on duty, gives them a wide-eyed look. "Sir?" she addresses Potter. "Is there a problem?"
"Private Cooke," he barks a little too harshly. "Which one is he?"
She points. "He's the third bed on the right, sir. He's doing just fine… he's been quiet as a mouse, hasn't given us any problems at all. We hardly know he's here." She flashes a smile but then seems to sense the gravity of the situation and her dimples disappear.
Hawkeye puts a hand on Potter's arm. "Right three," he says softly. "And he's the third bed on the right."
B.J. feels goosebumps break out on his arms.
All six of them head for Cooke's bed, Potter in the lead, and B.J. realizes they must look very imposing… if not menacing.
The approaching horde has alerted Cooke, and he sits up in his bed, his expression one of surprise. He doesn't say anything, though… instead he leans over and appears to be reaching underneath his mattress—
Potter's too fast for him. He pounces on the guy, and the much larger B.J. and Charles are instantly there for backup. They manage to shove Cooke onto his back again, though the man struggles against them. It's no contest. Three against one, and the one is still recovering from a chest injury.
Amidst the mayhem, Hawkeye kneels down to see what exactly is underneath the mattress that the private had been reaching for.
In one hand, he pulls out a rifle. In the other, he pulls out a revolver.
"What the hell?" Hawkeye asks. "How did he manage to hang onto these? Don't all weapons get put into the gun bin?"
Of course nobody knows the answer to that question, except for Cooke, and he's too busy grunting and fighting back, as if he stands any chance of actually overpowering six people all by himself.
"Kellye!" Potter calls out. "Sedative—stat! Radar, get on the horn to the MPs. On the double!"
Radar scurries out to his office. Hawkeye, looking a little wild-eyed, leans toward Cooke and demands, "What the hell is wrong with you, fella? We're all on the same side!"
Cooke doesn't say a word. His frantic eyes flick from Hawkeye to Potter to Charles to B.J. to Margaret. It looks like he might have something to say after all, but in the next instant, Kellye's there with a needle, and she calmly injects a sedative into his vein.
In mere seconds, Cooke has gone limp, and B.J. and Charles release their hold on him. They take a step back, none of them saying anything, just looking around at one another… bewildered.
And then Hawkeye empties the guns of their bullets.