A/N: Sorry for the longer wait, but this chapter is extra long to make up for it…Thanks for all the reviews so far!

xxxx

They set Jensen up to be as comfortable as he could be, his computer on a flimsy card table and a fold-out chair in front of it, a bowl to vomit into on the floor. They would have preferred him to be lying down, but realized that only increased the already high chance that he would fall asleep. Not that sitting up would help him if he was going to pass out.

"Okay, you know what your job is, right?" Clay asked, crouching down next to the hacker. Jensen was sweaty, his hair plastered to his forehead, his skin slightly jaundiced, tinted a disconcerting yellow. He looked terrible, and Clay hated that he couldn't just rest, but the sooner they got done, the sooner they got out, and the sooner Jensen could get the care he needed.

It took him a minute to answer, but Jensen finally nodded.

"Hack his security feed and loop a video of empty hallways. Monitor radios and let you know if they've detected you."

"You got it. Jensen, do you think you can handle that?"

"Hell yes," Jensen slurred. He held up a bottle of fever reducers, a can of Mountain Dew, and a blanket. "Good to go."

Clay sighed and shook his head, and Roque snorted loudly.

"Yeah, you look ready to go alright," he said, patting Jensen on the back. He and Clay stood up to leave. Cougar walked over and knelt next to Jensen.

"Vaya con dios, my friend," he said quietly. "Be safe."

"Thanks Coug," Jensen answered. "I'll be fine." Cougar nodded and stood up, stretching his arms above his head before shouldering his rifle.

"Take it easy, Jensen," Pooch said, handing him a bottle of water and a carton of chocolate milk. Jensen managed a wan smile.

"Where'd you get this?" He asked, holding up the carton. Pooch winked.

"Can't go giving away my tricks now, can I? See you soon, Jensen."

Jensen smiled listlessly as they walked out, then turned back to his computer. He normally loved his laptop. She was fast and sleek and sexy, and he'd affectionately named her Lucille as soon as he'd gotten her. Today, though, the monitor seemed too bright, making his eyes ache and his head spin, and his back and knees and elbows and fingers all hurt, and he just wanted to lie down…

As he waited for word that the guys were in position, he shivered and wrapped himself up in his blanket and resigned himself to the fact that it was going to be a long night.

xxxx

Clay was worried. He knew that they would likely be able to complete the mission without Jensen fully on board, but if the hacker became unable to help, it would make things a hell of a lot harder, not to mention more dangerous. And to be completely honest with himself, Clay was pretty doubtful that Jensen would be coherent enough to provide the support they needed, despite the tech geek's reassurances. The whole team seemed tense, a combination of worry over the mission and worry over Jensen; Pooch wasn't talking as he drove, Cougar sat with his hands alternating between his lap and running through his hair, and Roque's knee was bouncing up and down and up and down.

"He's fine, guys. We need to focus," Clay said, and the others nodded. He wondered if the lie was as blatant to the others as it was to himself.

They reached the compound with few problems, Pooch parking the van and watching as the others headed out. Clay activated their comm. links; they would be open the whole time to make things as simple as possible for Jensen.

"Pinball, this is Alpha. Do you copy?"

"Copy," Jensen answered. His voice wasn't as strong as usual, but he seemed pretty alert, which was great, considering.

"We are approaching entry point," Clay said. Cougar broke off from the others, heading towards the area where he would be staked out for the best view.

"Eagle is in position," Cougar's voice crackled over the comms.

"I've got the security feeds hacked," Jensen said, coughing hoarsely for a second and clearing his throat loudly. "I'll loop when you give the word."

"Roger."

Clay and Roque moved forward together, silenced assault rifles raised and ready. It was easy to take out the two guards posted by the side door, and then they were in.

"Okay Pinball, we're in."

There was a bit of a hesitation on the other end.

"Copy that, Alpha. Cameras are on loop."

"Copy," Clay repeated. He and Roque continued down the hallway, Clay silently grateful that Jensen had managed to accomplish his most important task.

xxxx

Pooch loved his job. There was nothing more satisfying than driving a huge van or truck over rough terrain as fast as he could. Well, maybe flying a helicopter or an airplane, but that was it. The one part of his job that he didn't look on so fondly was when he had to just sit and wait for his team to come out.

He listened idly to Clay and Jensen's chatter, letting out a sigh of relief when Jensen said that he'd gotten the security feeds looped. And then it was back to pretty much silence. Pooch managed to stay alert, training his binoculars on the exit, but he was a little bit bored and found himself playing with the Chihuahua on his dash. He was brought back around abruptly by a choking noise coming over his comm. piece.

"Alpha, do you copy? Is that you?"

"I copy. Bowie and I are fine."

"Eagle is fine."

"Shit. Pinball? Pinball, do you read me?"

The choking sounds continued, mixed with a strange gagging noise, and then a crash.

"What the hell is going on?" Clay hissed. Pooch ground his teeth.

"I think Pinball is having a seizure."

"Shit," Clay whispered. "We need to get done and get the hell out of here."

"No arguments there," Roque said.

"Holy shit," Pooch whispered. He tried to keep himself calm, tried to tell himself that Jensen was fine, but the evidence told him clearly and unequivocally that, in fact, he wasn't okay, not by any stretch of the word.

"Pinball? Pinball, if you can hear me right now and you're messing with me…" He left the threat hanging, listening to the continued disturbing sounds.

"Pinball?" Cougar said tentatively. "Pinball, do you copy?"

Finally, the choking noises stopped, but they were replaced with worryingly raspy breathing, shuddery gasps for air that were almost as disconcerting as the gagging.

"I-I'm…shit, I don't kn-know what just happened," Jensen said suddenly, his voice weak.

"You don't remember?" Pooch asked quietly.

"No. But I feel like shit."

"Okay. Just hang in there, Pinball, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can, okay?"

"Copy that," Jensen said quietly.

"Target is in sight." Clay's voice crackled to life over the comm. "Approaching target now."

There was the clear sound of silenced shots, and then some shouts.

"We have been compromised. Eagle, we'll be taking your exit, Mojito, be ready to run like hell."

"Copy."

"Copy."

"Eargh…copy."

Pooch found himself praying for a quick exit and for Jensen to hang on for just a little longer.

They definitely got a quick exit. Roque and Pooch came flying out of the compound in a hail of gunfire, Roque limping and Clay clutching at his arm. Cougar ran out of the shadows at their side, quickly ducking under Roque's arm and helping him to the van. They barreled into the van, and Pooch squealed backwards as more bullets started hitting the van.

"Hang on," he roared, as he quickly shifted gears and plowed forward. Clay heaved open the back doors of the van and all three men in the back threw themselves down onto the floor, opening fire at the men who took up their pursuit.

"You're gonna have to lose these tails!" Roque yelled, ducking as a bullet ricocheted near his head.

"Ya think?" Pooch yelled back, wrenching the van to the left. He was glad for the research he'd already done as he wove through the dirt streets. He was painfully aware that there was the added pressure of getting back to Jensen as quickly as possible, but the tails were damn persistent and he couldn't risk leading them back to the warehouse.

"G-guys?" Jensen's voice came over the comms, thready and quiet. "I-I, uh, I don't f-feel so good."

"Hang on, kid, a bit longer," Roque growled, biting his lip as he tightened a bandage around his leg.

"C-can you hurry?" Jensen whispered. Pooch felt a stab of panic at the vulnerability in the hacker's voice and stepped on the gas.

"We are, Pinball, we'll be there soon."

"C-copy th-that."

xxxx

It seemed like forever before they were finally in the clear and able to get back to the warehouse, and Clay could feel his anxiety ramping up. He hadn't felt so helpless in quite awhile. Gunshots he could deal with, and had, but malaria he had no experience with, and he had no way to help the youngest member of his team.

As soon as they reached the warehouse, all four men scrambled out of the van, Cougar again helping Roque inside.

"Jensen? Jensen, answer me!" Clay bellowed as they entered.

"'M here," Jensen said weakly. He was slouched over in the chair, shivering under the blanket, his skin pale and bags beneath his eyes . There was a pile of vomit to the side of the chair.

"Hey, hey, how you feeling?" Pooch asked, dropping to his knees next to Jensen.

"Not s-so good," Jensen answered, twitching slightly.

"What's goin' on?" Pooch asked as Cougar came back with a damp washcloth. He handed it to Pooch and then went toward Clay and Roque, needle and thread in hand.

"Back hurts," Jensen answered, gritting his teeth. "Chest t-too."

"Okay, let me take a look, alright?" Jensen nodded, wincing as Pooch lifted his shirt. Pooch's eyes widened.

"Ohhhhh, shit," he said under his breath, gently palpating Jensen's abdomen.

"What is it?" Clay asked, hissing as Cougar tied off his stitches.

"His abdomen's swollen. I don't know what it is, but I don't think that's normal."

"Sure as shit it ain't normal," Roque muttered. "We gotta get to a damn hospital."

"A Nigerian hospital?" Clay asked skeptically.

"We gotta get to our transport. They might be able to get us to Britain or Germany."

Clay nodded. "Sounds like a good idea. Pooch, when's our transport scheduled?"

"Tomoroow at 2400 hours."

There was a pause.

"Can he wait that long?" Cougar asked finally. They all turned to Pooch, who had helped Jensen back to his cot and was wiping Jensen's forehead down.

"I don't know," he said with a shrug.

"'M fine," Jensen said, trying to smile and failing. "'S okay."

"Okay, kid, we'll just hang tight for a day, okay?"

Jensen nodded, lying down and trying to take a calming breath, and Cougar replaced Pooch's place at the hacker's side.

A few minutes later, Jensen looked up, his cheeks getting a hint of color for the first time that day.

"Can y-you h-help me to the b-bathroom?" He whispered, and Cougar smiled slightly.

"Of course," Cougar said. He helped the hacker to his feet, grunting slightly under his friend's weight. Jensen managed to shuffle his feet, but most of his weight rested worryingly on Cougar. They managed to get to the outhouse out back that they'd been using, Cougar lighting the way with his flashlight, but another problem quickly arose as the sent Jensen into another round of vomiting. Once it was done, he stood shakily and Cougar helped him to the hole where he would do his business.

"'M sorry," Jensen whispered, clearly embarrassed that he was too weak to stand on his own.

"It is okay," Cougar said, helping him with his fly. He looked away as Jensen relieved himself, but turned to face him when Jensen grunted in pain.

"I think s-somethin's wrong," Jensen muttered. Cougar looked down, shining his flashlight towards Jensen.

His urine was bright red.

"I think you are right," he whispered, heart sinking.

xxxx

A/N: So this is going way longer than I expected, but it should wrap up next chapter. I have some more chapters planned, but if any of you have any requests, feel free to ask in a PM or review.