"Why don't you boys try to get some rest," Hannibal says gesturing to Face and B.A., "the Captain and I need to discuss a few things."
"Not a bad idea, old man," Face responds climbing to his feet and making for his cot, B.A. following close behind.
"What's up, Boss?" Murdock asks, still swaying with his reclining sister.
"Boss..," Dolly mouths the word softly, echoing her brother.
"I think you know, Murdock," Hannibal replies, "How am I supposed to approach this with the General?" he waves at Sophie. "Think about it, HM, we're in the middle of a military camp, no one's come questioning the screaming stranger. What do you think is happening here?"
"Here ..." the Murdock sister intones, "No one's here... Simon said, 'Take them apart and send them home.' Simon said, 'Go to Jammy and take apart anyone in the way.' I always know where Jammy is, even when the others don't. You're not in the way, are you, Boss..?" she lifts HM's hand from her face and looks sideways at Hannibal.
"Dolly!" the pilot says sharply, grabbing his sister's chin and forcing her gaze to his. "Why would you ask that?"
"You know," is the accusing reply.
"What're...?"
"We'll never hurt you, Hetch," her voices changes with each word, breaking on the pet name, she stares up into Murdock's face with his exact same eyes.
"Sophie," HM whispers, the barely audible name falling from his lips.
Silent tears build against her lashes and slide down her cheeks. The pilot clutches his lucid sister tightly, burying his head in her hair, knowing that at any moment she could be gone.
"Sophie, Sophie, Sophie, I thought you were dead," Murdock mumbles into her hair. "What happened to you? How did you get here? How long do you have?"
The questions tumble from him in a rush. Hannibal clears his throat; he'd rather yell, assert his authority and demand an explanation but the thinly veiled threat from Dolly still spins through his mind.
"Hannibal! THIS is Sophie," Murdock says excitedly, pulling the woman up and turning her to face the Colonel.
"Hetch, I don't have long," she states, "I never do."
Smith can see the clarity in her eyes despite the waiver in her voice.
"Why? What will happen?" Hannibal asks, jumping at the opportunity to get some answers.
"She'll be catatonic… for a while," the pilot runs his fingers through his sister's hair, refusing to let her go. "There's no way of knowing how long she'll be here for or... how long she'll be away."
"Hetch, I'm hungry. I don't know when I've last eaten," Sophie shifts, plucking at her brother's sleeves.
"Damn, Murdock," Hannibal looks as though he's seeing Sophie for the first time. "You two look so much alike."
Two pairs of unfathomable hazel-green eyes take in Hannibal's surprise; they have the same slightly crooked smile, too.
"Not twins?" Smith asks, rising from his chair.
"No," she says.
"Not twins," he finishes.
"Huh. Amazing, Sophie, I'm Col. Hannibal Smith. Your brother's been part of my team for about seven years now, he's a helluva guy," Hannibal offers Sophie his hand and helps her to her feet. Murdock stands as well, still holding onto his sibling.
"Let's get you fed, young lady," Smith smiles, "..Aah, let's get you dressed first, Murdock?"
"Right. Here," HM replies, pushing Sophie into Hannibal.
"Wha!"
"If you hold onto her, sometimes she stays longer," the pilot explains, gathering the medic's uniform from the gurney.
"Yeah.. Heh, it's true," Sophie admits shyly, placing her hands on Hannibal's arms. "Ooooh, look what they do to me...," she sighs, taking in the sight of her own flesh, some of the scars still an angry pink-red.
"Can I ask..." Smith wraps a fatherly arm around her, taking one of her hands gently in his own.
"I'll answer as best I can, Colonel; I don't make much sense, though," she replies, casting about for her brother. "HM?"
"Right behind you. With clothes!" the pilot says brightly, "It may be blue o'clock but we should still cover you up."
"Captain," Hannibal says as they stroll through the quiet pre-dawn of the camp, "You seem so level with your sister here."
"That's not in the form of a question, Boss. Does St. Helen's seem like a big volcano when compared to Mauna Loa?" Murdock replies, his arm wrapped around his sister's shoulders.
"I see... Well, let's take it slow then," Hannibal holds open the door to the Mess, it's mostly empty and sparsely lit; the cooks can be heard banging around in the kitchen preparing for the first meal of the day. "Is there anything you won't eat, Sophie?"
"I eat food," she answers with Murdock's smile.
"Not twins," Smith mutters, shaking his head, making his way to the food.
"Are you aware of the others?" Hannibal asks Sophie as she ploughs through a second helping of S.O.S.
"Only as phantoms. The docs let me read my file a few times over the years... Sometimes I see them," she responds through a mouthful. "This is so good..."
"Do you know about your incarceration and death sentence?" There was no way to approach that one gently, so Smith just put it out there. He had thought that a direct question would be best, especially with Sophie lucid and tucked safely in Murdock's embrace.
The Murdock in question seems to be dozing on his sister's shoulder while the Colonel probes for answers; his eyes fly open, though, at Hannibal's question, fixing his superior with a warning gaze, the arms around Sophie's middle tighten possessively.
"Not so tight, Hetch," she complains, "I'm still eating."
"You don't have to talk about it," HM says into her neck.
"As your lawyer, I advise you not to comment," his sibling mocks, turning slightly to face him. "I... remember that I was supposed to go back... to a facility I had been in before... something happened... IT told me I was going to be executed... because I killed you. IT showed me that They would never hurt you... but I couldn't be trusted with your safety anymore... I stopped fighting them, then... there was no more reason... no more need to be aware..." her voice trails off.
She's quiet and still for a moment, long enough to make HM nervous.
"Sophie?" Murdock says sharply, shaking his sister, turning her face to his; she blinks and smiles sadly.
"Still here and you are, too. I didn't kill my brother. It had tasted so wrong but who was I to argue with my own mind?" She gives Hannibal a contemplative glance. "IT never lied before. So what did happen?" she asks the Colonel.
"Well, I'm still digging for your files but I understand that the Captain was keeping tabs on you from his time in Mexico," Smith replies, "Murdock?"
The pilot clears his throat and glances around awkwardly.
"HM, tell me what happened," his sister says sternly.
He whines unhappily. "The hospital was bogged down in red tape trying to take custody of you so the judge ordered you to be put in general population in a county prison."
Murdock feels his little sister tense in his arms.
"And?"
"...And... you killed eleven inmates, three guards and the warden in less than forty-eight hours... That's when you got the death sentence," he finishes softly.
"Oh. But I'm not dead, am I? I was never executed," confusion is written all over her scarred face.
"No," says Hannibal, "and that's where the real questions start."
"Hetch..." Sophie starts, Murdock knows where this is going.
"No!" he replies.
"I NEED proof, Hetch," she states.
"Proof? Of what? With time, we can get you proof," Smith replies, not understanding what she's asking for.
"I don't have any time. When is it, by the way?" Sophie's shaking now, nervous but determined.
"2009, and no, no proof. You have to take my word on it," Murdock answers quickly. "I can't do something like that again."
"Then find another way but this might not actually be real. I might not even be conscious right now. I could be strapped to a bed, screaming," she snaps, agitation rolling off her in waves. "I don't even know where here is. Why would I be in a military camp?"
"Simon," Hannibal jumps in, "Simon told Dolly to find your brother."
"Are there..." Sophie freezes, speaking carefully, "any empty buildings? Solid ones? It's not safe here."
"I don't follow," Smith says.
"IT sent them here for a reason. You're only safe as long as IT wants you that way. A solid building is the best way. It'll be safer for everyone," Sophie whispers, her eyes darting about, sparkling with madness.
"It? Do you mean Simon?" Hannibal asks, the Murdock's agitation is infectious.
"Yeah, she means Simon," the pilot puts in, stealing his sister's fork for a bite of beef. "Sophie... What about George?"
"He's old," she says, calm but trembling. "He would know something, though."
Her voice is sluggish, her movements becoming jerky and forced.
"What's happening? Is she okay?" Hannibal reaches for Sophie's hand, it shakes under his palm; her sparkling eyes flicker and she blinks slowly, mesmerized by nothing.
"She's leaving," Murdock says sadly, shifting his sibling to lie against him.
"Hetch.., don't forget proof," Sophie sounds almost drunk, fighting the sleep that's claiming her mind. "It confides in..."
She's gone, slipped into catatonia. Only the most basic physical functions remain.
"Thank you, Captain," Hannibal says in the weighty silence that follows.
"For what, Boss?" Murdock replies, smoothing back his sister's hair.
"For letting me take up her time. I appreciate it," Smith slides his hand up Sophie's arm to Murdock's.
HM nods, heart sick, "Will you help me carry her back to the tent?"
"Of course."