A/N: And we're back! Sorry, took longer to update this than it was supposed to... Blame Ais! She distracted me with 'Ambush.' ...Then blame my muse for distracting me with another 'Losers' short that'll be heading your way soon...
"Come on Jake, time to come back to the real world," Clay gently coaxes as he continues to clean the blood from the blond's face and neck. Pooch looks up from the wrap job he's doing on Jensen's hands to see if there's any reaction, disappointed when there isn't any. The hacker's eyes remain glazed over, almost empty as they stare off into some unknown void. If not for the slow, shallow breaths and the occasional tremors that pass through his body, he would look dead.
"You need some clean water?" Pooch asks, nodding at the shallow tray Clay is using to dampen his rag. The Colonel looks down to see that the once clear water inside is now a dark crimson color. He is about to hand the tray over to Pooch when Jensen suddenly sits up, ramrod-straight, in the chair.
"Do I it didn't!" he shouts, then jerks back as if he's been slapped. "What?"
Pooch and Clay share a confused look.
"I was just about to say the same thing," Pooch comments. "You okay?"
Jensen blinks a few times before scrunching up his face in thought. "No," he finally answers.
"What can we do to help?" Clay asks.
"You unless arms make…" Jensen stops talking and shakes his head. Taking in a deep breath he then focuses on one word at a time, leaving lengthy pauses between them. "Arms…won't…move."
"Fuck," Pooch whispers, running a hand over his head. "You sure?"
Jensen shoots him an irritated look. "Trying," he snaps.
Clay sighs and looks over at the computer. "Can you walk one of us through whatever it is you need to do to grab a few of these bots?"
Another shudder rolls its way through Jensen's body and he inhales sharply, closing his eyes until the pain passes. Nodding as he lets out the breath he's holding, he sighs out a simple, "Yes."
Clay looks him over again, his face a mask of concern. "If you're not up for this right now-"
"I'm…fine," Jensen tells him with a stern voice, even as a fresh trail of red begins to ooze from his nose.
Pooch shakes his head and grabs the tray from Clay, walking it over to the lab's sink to rinse it out. He grabs a fresh washcloth from a drawer and chucks it at the Colonel, who tries to press it gently to the hacker's nose. Jake jerks away from it and shakes his head.
"Later," he says, and looks over at the computer console, determination in his eyes.
Without turning away from Jensen, Clay straightens up and takes charge again. "Pooch, get him over there and both of you get to work on that damn virus. Aisha, Cougar, what's your status?"
"Leading these assholes on a wild goose chase," Aisha informs him. "Too bad no one ever taught them geese bite back. How's Jensen?"
"Hanging in there," Clay says, catching the younger man under his arm as his knees begin to buckle. They get him settled into the computer chair and wait patiently as another wave of pain rolls through him.
"Glasses?" Jensen asks as he squints at the screen. Pooch and Clay search around the lab until they find where the scientists stashed them, settling them on the tech's face. When he gives them the nod that he's ready to continue, Clay steps away and lets Pooch handle the carefully given directions.
"Cougar?" the Colonel asks again.
"Busy," is the curt answer, a definite fire in the sniper's tone.
Clay smirks. "Hope you're not doing anything stupid."
His smile widens when he's only met with silence for a response. Checking his watch, he fingers the remote detonator in his pocket with his other hand. "How long do you think this'll take?" he asks the two men working on extracting the bots.
"All day at this rate," Pooch mutters.
"Sorry," Jensen nearly whispers, failing to cover up a wince.
Pooch looks at him. "Hey. This is not your fault, all right? Now come on, give me the next code so we can end this and get the fuck out of here. Sounds like Aisha and Cougar are throwin' a party out there and I don't want to miss it."
"I don't either," Clay smirks, slamming a new clip into his gun. "Open the door. I've got a rat to catch."
Aisha curses as she starts to turn around a corner and nearly runs smack into a group of several armed, angry soldiers. They open fire on her immediately and she just barely has time to correct her course before she hears the bullets slamming into the wall behind her. She takes the next hallway she comes to, instead, risking a glance back at the sounds of too many footsteps close at her rear. Using the darkness as her only cover she attempts to make her own footfalls lighter, doing her best to mask her location.
As she rounds another corner a hand suddenly shoots out and pulls her against the wall. Her initial instinct to lash out is stilled when a single finger is pressed to her lips.
"Shhhh," a familiar voice whispers.
She nods as Cougar slowly guides her back down the hall he had appeared from, both silent as jungle cats as the horde of troops run right past them.
"Aren't you supposed to be outside?" she asks quietly when they're out of danger of being caught.
"They stopped coming," Cougar responds, his tone completely serious.
"Good," she nods. "Not that I can't handle these guys on my own, but glad for the help." She peers back down the hall, making sure it's clear. "One of us needs to make a pass by the lab. I keep catching these fuckers trying to tamper with the door."
"I'll go," he volunteers quickly.
"Thought you might want to," she smiles back. "Tell the boys I said hi."
With that she slips off again, heading in the opposite direction Cougar needs to go in. He waits a few minutes until the sounds of gunfire echo down the hall, then quickly disappears through the unlit building. He makes it back to the lab without incident and, just as Aisha said, found himself observing the efforts of a group of six men doing their damnedest to pry open the metal barrier that is keeping Pooch and Jensen safe. Slowly, quietly, he lowers himself to the ground and sets the closest man to him in his sights. He silently shifts his gun from man to man, counting off the timing it would take between shots. Satisfied, he draws a bead back on the first man and proceeds to swiftly take out all six, only the last man having the chance to return fire before he goes down. The shot flies neatly over Cougar's head, the sniper not so much as flinching at the sound of it embedding into the wall above him. He stands up and quickly moves the bodies away from the door, then circles around so he can look through the viewing window. Inside, he sees Pooch typing numbers slowly into a computer, Jensen sitting beside him with smeared blood all over his face and shirt despite Clay's earlier cleaning. Cougar pushes closer to the glass, noting the obvious exhausted slouch in the hacker's position and the way he keeps slowly blinking his eyes as he strains to stay focused on the screen.
"Pooch," Cougar calls, tapping on the glass.
Pooch smiles and without looking away from the computer taps in a few keys that open the door. Cougar rushes back around and steps into the room, waiting just inside until the lab is once again closed off from enemy forces.
"Hi…Cougs," Jensen greets him with a tired smile.
"How long?" the sniper asks, the concern on his face evident.
Pooch frowns. "I don't know. Didn't think it would be this complicated just to transfer some of these little bastards to a drive."
"Not," Jensen informs them. He looks up apologetically. "Reprogramming."
Pooch stares at him. "Reprogramming? That wasn't the plan, Jensen. The plan was to get in, have those assholes pull some of the fuckers out of your head, put 'em on a drive, and get the hell out of here; or did you forget that last part?"
Jake shakes his head. "No…time."
"Time for what?" Pooch argues. "Once we get out of here you have all the time you need to... what'd you call it? Change the orders on your soldier bots and send them back in?"
"Mind's…slipping," the hacker explains. "Now…or…" His body shakes with another violent tremor and he blinks in confusion when it passes. "Saying?" he asks.
"Now or never," Cougar finishes the sentence.
Jensen nods solemnly, his eyes flicking back towards the apparatus that Pooch had shoved into the corner. Pooch follows his gaze and his eyes widen in alarm.
"Oh, we are not using that thing again," he argues. "Just do that thing with the earplugs. It worked just fine the first time."
"Different…machine," the hacker argues back. "Have…to."
"Dammit," Pooch whispers and turns away. "Clay, you hearing all this?"
"Yeah," Clay answers quietly. "Just let me know before you put him back under that damn thing. I want to be there."
"Roger that," Pooch replies, then gives Cougar a questioning look. "What'd you do with the lab coat?"
Cougar smiles. "Outside."
"Would you mind…?" Pooch starts
He doesn't have to finish the question before Cougar nods, sending the man on his way to take out whatever revenge on the scientist he thought necessary. Showing the sniper the code to get the door open and shut, Pooch grips Jake's shoulder in support before heading out, letting Cougar take over on the computer.
"Okay?" Cougar asks the hacker.
Jensen sighs and forces himself to look back at the screen. He begins the process of rambling off numbers and letters again, not bothering to answer Cougar's actual question. He doesn't really have to; it's painfully obvious to both of them that he's most definitely not okay.