"Okay these are the coordinates. But how are we going to find Walter?" Toby said looking at the rows and rows of small stone houses and shops that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see in the cramped and crowded town. Some of the buildings were connected and formed large complexes.
"Has anyone through about how we are going to get past terrorists with guns?" Sly asked as they walked through the street.
"I took some subtle advice from Katherine and got us some help. Our contacts should be up ahead." Cabe said.
"Is this really the sort of place we can trust someone?" Paige asked feeling oddly exposed in a veil.
"I think we can trust these guys. They've started a base camp, that building with the red cross by the right window." Cabe pointed.
Paige held her breath telling herself that she trusted Cabe and there was just that one time that they got betrayed by their contact.
The small group trudged through the flag that covered the opening.
"Team Scorpion. Glad to see you again."
"Corbette?" Paige asked recognizing the soldier they had helped years ago.
"Yes Ma'am. When I gave Walter our company challenge coin, it made him one of us and we don't leave a man behind. We were getting ready to go on leave when we were approached to help on this mission. We all agreed immediately. We're going to get Walter home just like he made sure our man got home."
Paige didn't know what to do other than hug him. She was so grateful for any help. They were going to get Walter home. It all still felt like a dream and she knew that there was nothing that would truly convince her that Walter was alive other than seeing him with her own eyes.
"Have you found out anything?" Cabe asked.
Corbette frowned. "No sir. We don't want to cause too much attention. Nothing spooks people in a rural area like this more than a bunch of Americans that don't belong. Our interpreter just arrived not two hours ago and we sent him out to see if he could find out anything."
Cabe nodded.
"Do you have satellite of the area? We need to try and narrow down where the cell could be. It's a big town but if Homeland still doesn't know where the cell is it must be pretty hidden."
"With all due respect to Homeland, I'm not sure they tried very hard. They seemed to have a plan they wanted to implement and were just looking for reasons to go for it." Corbette said shrugging at Cabe.
"No offense son. I'm not thrilled with their plan of action either."
"Why didn't Walter just say where it was to the informant?" Sly asked.
"Because he didn't know exactly." Tim said. "He was always hooded when they took him out of hiding and they always took a different route. He was able to pass notes to our informant and told them the steps and turns he took but when the informant followed this route he never found the entrance to the base. Walter would say he needed supplies and that he had to be the one to pick them in order to make sure they would work but they never really trusted him."
Tim stayed in the corner. Scorpion had all agreed that he could be useful on this mission but they told him he was relegated to the corner lest he want another punch from Happy.
"Well, that's so helpful. Glad you put my best friend in with some real winners." Toby muttered.
Tim laughed. "You always were a jerk to Walter."
Toby looked up from the satellite image. "From the moment I met him Walter has been there for me. Saving me from bookies and gambling and giving me a real family for the first time. I give Walter a hard time for the same reason kids are worse around their mother, I know instinctively no matter what he'll still be there for me. And I'm going to be there for him, even if he can be an egotistical putz." Toby clenched his fist thinking how good it would feel to punch Tim. The jerk had no right to make any assumptions about his family.
Happy's eyes widened a bit at Toby's declaration, but it was exactly how they all felt.
The flat to the building opened revealing a Middle Eastern man with a young boy in tow.
"I found someone who might know about the missing American."
"Irishman." Happy and Toby mumbled causing everyone to glare. "What? If he was American we wouldn't have our little problem."
"Shut up Toby." Paige said. "What did the boy say?" Paige asked.
"He say he watch them bring hooded man to the store. He say hoodman need things for computer."
"So they are walking someone around in a hood? How does no one else notice? No one knows where he came from?" Sly asked.
"Oh, they all know. Adults know better than to talk. Kids with families are told not to talk. But orphans make the best informants. They don't know how dangerous it is to talk and no one pays attention to them. They are also willing to do just about anything for some food." Corbette explained.
Paige tried desperately to put aside how wrong that sounded to focus on Walter.
"Does the boy know when he last saw the hooded man?" Happy asked.
"Five days ago." The interpreter answered after asking the boy.
"And does he know what building the hooded man came from?" Happy continued.
"Yes" the interpreter said guiding the boy to the satellite image. He pointed to their current location on the map and the location of the computer store. The boy then pointed to a nearby cluster of buildings.
"That's gotta be their hideout." Happy said.
"It won't be that easy. It's gotta be hidden and we don't know where in there Walter might be. They might have tunnels and who knows what underground." Cabe said.
"Right. We don't want to let anyone know we are here until we have to. They could get spooked and just kill Walter." Toby said.
"These buildings are just made of organic materials which means we should be able to see through them with a Xaver 1000, provided you have one?" Happy asked.
"Yes one of our vehicles has one to be able to look for IEDS." Corbette said.
"I see where you're going with this. If we can increase the power a bit we should be able to see people in the building and even underground. It's our best chance of not going in blind." Sly said.
'Pretty sure they will notice if we show around their compound scanning with this thing." Paige offered.
"But they won't think too much of a low flying bird." Toby offered.
"I didn't bring Birdrino 3." Sly said.
"No but I did, I figured we could benefit from aerial surveillance." Happy said.
"Why do you always take my drone." Sly asked.
"To be fair every time I take it I do it to save Walter's life. So really, it's his fault." Happy defended.
"Okay this will take some we'll need to figure out how to get the sensors attached to birdrino without making it too heavy and still getting the communication back to us."
"You are like swiss cheese and still you say nothing. Who are you protecting?"
Walter was barely conscious. He couldn't focus on understanding the Arabic dialect he had only learned three weeks ago, or was it longer? He had no idea how long he had been a prisoner anymore. He was starved and even with the hot iron several his wounds were sluggishly bleeding.
"We try something else."
Another man came into the room with a car battery and if he'd had the strength Walter would have rolled his eyes.
"You like electricity? Maybe we teach you to hate it."
"I'm just surprised it took you so long for such a cliché. Watch too many movies?" Walter groaned each word in broken Arabic. He was going to die and soon but at least he wouldn't give them the satisfaction of breaking him.
"Tell me smart guy. Where does all this smart mouth come from? Who do you fight for? You stop my missile and my war and yet there is no thanks for you. They leave you to me. Why do you stay loyal to them?"
Walter wanted to have more of a retort. Something snarky but pain and starvation made his brain fuzzy enough that what the psychopath said almost sounded like it made sense. But then Walter remembered his motto, the reason he agreed to this suicide mission.
"It is for the greater good. One man isn't worth the risk. I'm not worth the risk." Walter gasped out finally.
"One man. How many would do what you did? How man men would stay quiet through torture? I think whatever country you come from they would miss you more than you think. Tell me and I'll tell them where to come get you – for a fee of course."
Walter's breath started coming in short bursts, painful bursts that made it hard to talk. Toby would know what that meant. Walter wondered if Katherine had written him off as dead. If she finally relieved his family from the guilt of being unable to save him. Did Sly tell his parents? Were they planning a stone for him next to Megan? He wished the nonsense of the afterlife was real, at least then he would get to see Megan again when all this pain finally ended.
"You fall asleep on me? Don't worry, I've got something to wake you up."
It was ironic, Walter thought, this was exactly how he kept himself awake while bleeding out on the side of a cliff. To go through all that just to die here.
Walter groaned. There wasn't the strength to scream.
"Okay our bird is heading over the compound. Definitely seeing evidence of tunnels. Looks like lots of guys with guns walking around. That must be the missile over there and that – " Happy trailed off, cut the video and turned to Sly.
"Can Ralph access our video?" She whispered.
"Of course. He wanted to know, he's on coms too." Sly said.
"Break the connection." The serious look in Happy's eyes left no room for argument.
"Happy? You're scaring me." Paige said.
"Happy I want to help." Ralph said.
"If we need you we'll let you back in kid, I promise." Happy said.
Once Sly confirmed that Ralph was locked out, at least temporarily, there was no one that could keep that kid out for long.
Happy turned the screen back on and the rest of the team gathered around. The image on the screen showed the shape of a man hanging from the ceiling and two other men near him. One looked like he was holding battery cables.
"Oh my god."
The hanging body jerked as the cables touched but they saw that the head remained drooped. Despite the feed not providing sound, a scream echoed in their minds. They watched as the cables were pulled away only to be brought right back.
"That's it. I need a field medic kit and we're going in." Toby said.
"Right behind you kid," Cabe said.
"Wait." Corbette said and he seemed conflicted. "We don't know if that is Walter. We go in they will know we are here and they could take Walter somewhere else or just kill him."
"Someone is being tortured down there." Paige said.
"Yes Ma'am. I just wanted to be sure you know the risk and what could happen if that's not our guy." Corbette explained. The team was silent for a moment.
"We're Scorpion." Sly finally started, "we save everyone. Walter wouldn't leave someone to suffer if he could stop it."
The rest of the team nodded slowly. Cobette nodded back.
"Alright then here's the plan, my team will lead and clear the way for you to get to the prisoner. The faster we move the better chance we have of getting there before they know it and kill him. Doc you want to take lead or do you want my medic?"
"He's my patient." Toby said firmly. There was no way he was going to let some medic that might give up too easily be the one to save Walter, if it was Walter.
"Paige, Happy, Sly, you stay here. Keep Walter on cameras and Sly you try and knock out their coms . Tim and Doc you're with me." Cabe said.
"What! I'm coming!" Paige cried.
"No way that dumbass gets to go and not me." Happy protested.
"Is she talking about Tim or me?" Toby asked only to get a glare from Happy. "Right Tim. I knew that."
"Paige you got a little boy at home who needs you to come home, especially if things go south here. Happy you need to help us with your radar bird. Tim might be a dumbass but at least he's a trained Navy Seal." Cabe explained. "Now the sooner we move out the sooner whoever that is gets to go home."
Within minutes the team was prepped and ready. Paige gave Cabe a tight hug. "Be safe. Please. And find him." She whispered in his ear as tears threatened to fall.
"I won't let you down kid." Cabe said.
Happy and Toby shared a quick hug before Happy realized anyone could see.
"Paige – " Tim started.
"The only way you could begin to make this right is to bring him home. But don't expect any of us to trust you again." Paige answered coldly but then added, "be safe."
"Move out!" Corbette called taking the lead with his men. They moved quickly trying to duck around buildings for as long as possible to maintain the element of surprise. They reached the building in minutes breaking through the wooded door with guns raised.
"Happy, it's just an empty room" Cabe voiced over his com.
"I'm looking. Try the southwest corner there seems to be a metal hinge there." Happy replied.
Corbette went to the corner and removed a wall hanging. Behind it was the faint outline of a door right in the wall. Corbette signaled to his men and moved aside enough to be able to push the door open while the others kept their guns pointed at whoever might be on the other side.
Once the door opened it was a blur of movement as they moved down through the tunnels, Cabe and Toby bringing up the rear. One by one the soldiers and Tim cleared the rooms but there was no sign of the prisoner.
"Happy which way?" Corbette asked.
"I don't know for sure it's hard to tell the levels of the tunnel on this thing. There's got be an entrance to another set of rooms om your left." Happy answered.
"Captain! Here!" One of the soldiers called having found another hidden door. They repeated their same process and pushed through but as they did a gunshot rang out.