Suicide Mission? & Who Has Blondies Six?
Four Weeks After Explosion – Military Aircraft Enroute to Afghanistan – Close To Arrival
Sam was sprawled across the metal bench seat in the very back of the plane with an arm thrown over his face. He'd been there the entire flight. He hadn't bothered to move at all.
He was an unlisted passenger on this flight and kept solely to himself. He talked to no one. By the look on his face when he boarded no one wanted to engage in conversation with him either.
Sam readjusted himself as his right side twinged for the hundredth time in the past eleven hours. He knew the look he wore. It greeted him every morning when he shaved this past three weeks. Bruises healed. Gash above this eye now just faint line. Funny it was in nearly the same place as the one he got in the gang war. Same with the knife to the arm. So three more injuries but only one new scar.
His mind did this a lot lately, started one place and ended up someplace else. It had been all over the place during the flight. He thought about his SRU family, his unit buddies, his mom and dad, his cousins and niece and nephew. Sam thought about the rookies in that last mission, about Daphne and Ben and about Matt. His mind never staying in one place and making some very strange jumps.
But back to his face. His face was no carefully crafted a mask he showed to the world this time. No it was real, very real and it kept everyone at arm's length. Exactly what he wanted.
His features were set resolutely in antipathy. He never smiled, not even a hint of one. He never laughed. He existed for this mission but just barely as attested by his lifeless eyes.
If the look on the two young Private's faces in the armory was a good indication, no one would bother to interact with him. As he requisitioned the items he needed the Privates could not wait for him to leave. They had taken one look at his face, one look at the code name Sutton had given him and one look at the items and raced to get them. As he left he heard one say 'wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley' and the other replied 'hell wouldn't want to meet him in broad daylight, he's deadly, no life in those eyes'.
In order to complete this mission, Sam needed everyone at arm's length. He could not afford to care about anyone. It hurt too much when they were ripped away from him. He had committed to the life of a soldier and he would do his job and he would do it to the best of his abilities.
But following through on commitments didn't change the fact that he was lost some where deep down in the chasm unable to climb out. Every time he tried to climb he only fell deeper down. He stopped trying to climb and accepted his fate.
He had pulled on a mask with the General. He had gone military efficient to handle being in that safe house with him as his physical wounds healed. Sam needed his father to think he was capable of handling this mission.
It had worked. The fact was, he was capable of handling it. But there were things his father didn't know that he did about this mission. His own personal need to know, it was better this way.
Sam had accepted that he was not a murderer. His dad and he had a long conversation about the differences between killing and murdering. In fact, they had spent nearly the entire day discussing it.
He could see now that he had reacted to a threat. That Qasim had pulled the knife. That he had killed to protect himself and in the end it had protected Ben, Daphne and quite possibly Ed too.
Bile still rose when he thought how close Ben had come to being tortured by that sick bastard. Sam dropped his arm and reached down to his pack and unzipped a small compartment on the outside. He slipped his hand inside and held onto the soft love-worn duck. Ben was okay, Ben was alive, Ben was happy, repeated over and over in his head as he held the duck.
His life for Ben's. Ben was worth it. He had woken up a week ago to find the duck next to him.
Apparently, Ben had wanted his Unca Sam to have the duck. Blaze had given it to Sutton and demanded he find a way to get to Blondie. Strange how something so little and innocuous as a child's stuffed duck had helped ground him and kept him from falling further into the chasm.
That night when he went to sleep he tucked the duck under his pillow. The night terrors that had plagued him constantly multiple times each night started to reduce and finally came to a stop over the course of last week. Every time he woke from one, he would reach under the pillow and hold it as he calmed.
Part of him thought it might be because it was in some small way a connection to Matt. But mostly it was because it reminded him that there were things worth fighting for, worth dying for. Ben was a small fragment of the mosaic that was the beauty of life. Ben was a piece of the beauty of life Matt created.
He shouldn't have brought it with him. It was too personal. Sam knew he should not bring anything personal where he was going. But he could not help himself, he could not leave it.
Sam squeezed the duck tightly and concentrated on calming his breathing. He would do this. It would not be pleasant but he would do it. Too many innocents would die if he did not.
Again Sam thought, he really should not have brought it. Without thinking, Sam pulled the little duck out and tucked it close to his heart.
He had to do this alone. He needed the strength to do this. He would do this because he was a soldier and it was expected. Sam knew none of his SRU family would understand. They would think it was just him taking unacceptable risk again.
But what they didn't understand was he never saw it as unacceptable risk. If he could save someone by taking an action, then he took the action. Even if he lost himself.
His mind landed on image of Ben again. He would do this for all the little Ben's of the world. His life was a fair trade to keep them safe. Sam pulled the duck out of his vest and tucked the duck back into the pack and zipped it up.
He really, really should not have brought it with him.
Sam sighed and shifted on the bench. His side twinged again. Damn thing still hurt.
He had lied outright for the first time when he told the General it no longer hurt. He was tired of waiting around for it to heal completely. He wanted to get this over with.
It didn't really matter whether it healed completely. It was healed enough for him to do what he needed to do. It wasn't like he was coming back from this, so really, it didn't matter.
Special Forces Base – General's Office – 1000 (10 am)
A knock sounded on his door. "Enter" General Braddock called out as he closed the folder and looked up. "Sutton, good to see you man." He stood and strode around the side of his desk.
Sutton closed the door and entered fully and saluted "Sir. Good to see you too. I came as soon as I heard you were back on base. How's Hell-Froze?"
The General sat on the edge of his desk. "Honestly Tom, I'm not sure. He appeared operational. Has all the right answers. Physically he is well and mended. But there is still no light in his eyes. It's like he is going through the expected motions but he is not really there. We both know his heart is not in it. But he never backs out on a commitment. It's too ingrained in him."
Tom slightly shook his head but was supportive as he said "Will, like I said before. He's a tough one. He will get through this. Sam always has, he is resilient."
Sutton could see his words were falling on deaf ears. The look in his General's eyes was far away and concerned. Something was up "Sir. Where is he?"
William turned to look at his friend of nearly forty years. "Need to know basis" is all he said.
Understanding dawned and Sutton yelled "Christ man you sent him on a black ops mission. What the hell are you thinking?"
Riled himself now the General yelled back "He was the only one for the job. It had to be done. Believe me if I had any other option I would have taken it." He strode to his window and stared out trying to calm himself before he lashed out physically.
God dammit he didn't want to send Samuel out there alone with no back up. But the reason Samuel had called it Priority 1 warranted it. He wanted to send someone with him but none had the security clearance. The last three months had decimated the JTF2 level five soldiers. The only ones with the right level were either dead or injured.
Besides Samuel, only Blaze and Trigger had level five and both of them were down with serious injuries. The other four who had level five were now dead. They could not wait for the vetting process. It took weeks and they had to move now. Hell they might even be too late already. Damn it all to hell.
A hand was placed on his shoulder and William turned his head to find his friend next to him. He didn't say anything for a long time.
Sutton finally said "Perhaps you could talk to the committee and get them to agree that whatever it is he is doing would warrant an early release from his contract."
Braddock sighed "I tried. They said no. At this point there are no other options. If he succeeds they are going to see him as to valuable an asset to release early. If he fails …" he didn't finish that statement.
Sutton replied "There are always other options. Not ones we always like but there are options."
William stared disbelievingly at Sutton "Are you implying what I think you are Tom?"
Tom nodded and said "I'm sure Holleran would look past it and accept him back at SRU no questions asked."
"Are you fucking serious? There is no way in hell Samuel would go for that. He would rather die than get a BCD" the General responded with firm conviction.
He knew his son. He would never go for being released due to a bad conduct discharge no matter how much he hated being a soldier. Samuel would serve his time and serve honorably. He knew no other way to be.
Sutton look seriously at his friend "There are still other ways. You said there was no light in his eyes. You could order a psych eval and …" he never got to finish.
General Braddock stormed from the room. He could not listen to the insane, idiotic, suggestions of his friend anymore. If he didn't leave he would have decked him for even suggesting those courses of action. BCD, PTSD, conscious objector those terms never applied to a Braddock.
As he stormed down the hall the words played in his head 'you said there was no light in his eyes' and 'he would rather die'. Ah Christ he sent his son out alone when he clearly wasn't ready. Mentally he wasn't focused yet. Dammit!
Then a lightning bolt of realization shot through his heart burning and searing a path. He halted and placed a hand on the wall to steady himself as breathing stopped. Oh god, Samuel didn't expect to make it back alive. Samuel saw this as a way to save people but in the end it would be his death.
Suicide by mission?
William slammed his fist into the wall making a huge hole. God dammit! Why didn't he realize it sooner?
Could he recall him now? No it was too god damned late. Samuel would have already landed and was dark.
William slammed his fist again before storming out of the building. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he just sent his only son to his death.
Temporary JTF2 Camp in Afghanistan – 0100 (1 am)
The sky was filled with stars. Sam lay with his head on his small pack looking up at the beauty of it. The duck was tucked close to his heart inside the vest in the little pocket he normally used for maps. Maps relocated to another pocket. He should have left it with the rest of his belongings at the main base before hopping a ride to the temporary JTF2 camp this afternoon. But he just couldn't.
It was a new moon. Perfect for his mission tonight; completely dark except for the stars. In another hour the helio would be here to take him to his drop point deep in hostile territory. The mission had been arranged and then went dark. No communications would be allowed until he completed it. No words in or out.
They would never know when and where he died. But he fully expected death. Sam had run every tactical scenario in his mind and they all ended with his death.
Sam even used some of the tactical planning he had learned from Ed and he still got the same result. He hoped he could complete his mission before that occurred though. It was important to complete the mission. So many would be saved if he succeeded.
It was quiet here. The stars glimmered. Sam focused on the brightest ones and gave them names. In the past hour he had named them for all his family and unit buddies. Now he was working on his SRU family.
He just found one that reminded him of Jules. She was such a beautiful, strong, and loving woman. Of everyone she was the one he would miss the most. He had said they would talk after they saved Ben. But he never got a chance.
Sam never got to tell her that she was the only one for him. That no other woman would ever compare to her. That he would wait until she was ready and he wanted to marry her.
They were not dating now. Couldn't date because they were on the same team. They had broken the rules once but neither felt good about lying to the team. So they stopped. Well really Jules dropped him. He could have moved teams to be with her but he didn't, he still needed the team too. It was a damned catch 22.
But now, he wished he had openly broken the rules. Some rules were just asinine. They could do their job and be in a relationship. Hell they were better as a team because of it.
Sam snorted, hell the team most likely knew how they felt about each other already. They weren't stupid. They surely saw all the signs. Well maybe not. Both he and Jules were pretty good at hiding their true feelings. Sam knew he was not the only one on the team that wore masks. To some degree they all did.
As Sam lay looking at the stars part of him was glad he didn't have a chance to tell Jules how much she meant to him. This way she could just grieve the loss of a friend, not a lover. That caused a small stab of pain to his heart.
He found a star that reminded him of Ed. All bright and larger than life. Yeah that one was Ed alright. Theirs was a strange relationship but one Sam cherished too. Ed taught him so much these past few years.
His eyes shifted and Sam thought, ah there's Wordy. A large star surrounded by a medium one and three little ones. Allie, sweet Allie. He still had her drawing up in his locker.
Sam's heart seized. When he was sitting with Ben in the conference room while the little boy slept in his arms he had thought he might be able to add one or two picture from Ben too. But that's not going to happen now.
Sarge, found him. One with a trail of others that looked like they followed it. Boss knew how to lead a team. He was strong and confident and calm. He always knew the right thing to say to help the team. He hoped Greg would help the team get through him not coming home.
Spike was hard to find. Sam scanned and scanned until he found the right one.
Three stars clustered tight together surrounded by what looked like an explosion of stars. The three were Spike, Lou and himself. The three amigos Spike had joked the night they all went to that Mexican bar and got drunk together wearing stupid sombreros.
That was just after Jules had broken up with him. Spike didn't know why but Spike knew that he was hurting and tried to help cheer him up. Sam was so out of it he actually let Spike talk him into watching that horrible movie by the same name.
He hoped losing two friends so close together didn't completely crush Spike. If Jules was the heart of the team, Spike was the innocence and humor that glued them all together.
It hurt to know that he was hurting all his family, biological and chosen. The blackout protocol had to be driving everyone nuts. Sam had wanted to reach out to all them but he could not.
Before he left, he had tried to write them to tell them goodbye and how much he cared for each of them. But the words never came as he stared at the blank piece of paper.
As he had named each star he had said goodbye to each of them. His mom, his dad, Natalie, all his cousins, uncles and aunts. Saying silent goodbyes to Blaze, Winds, Mason and Jim was tough. They had worked so hard for so long to keep him alive. Now that was all for naught.
His mind quieted a bit as the images of all his SRU family rolled through his mind. It was time to say goodbye to them too. Sam reached his hand into the small pocket and held onto the duck.
Sam softly whispered to the stars "Boss, Ed, Wordy, Spike and Jules, thank you for everything. You will never know how much the past years have meant to me. With you I felt I truly belonged again. I'm sorry for the pain this will cause you. Take care of each other. Goodbye."
Scott Braddock's Home – Ottawa
Bouncing Anna on his knee Jeff Braddock smiled. They had grown so much. He was so happy for Scott and Laura. He looked over at Jerrell doing the commando crawl on the floor. "Scott you're lucky. Anna takes after her beautiful mom and Jerrell there is a spitting image of you."
Jeff then laughed and added "Or is he a spitting image of Sam?"
He ducked as the wadded up dish cloth sped past his head and landed on the floor next to Jerrell who immediately crawled to it. Jerrell was an inquisitive one, Jeff thought as he watched Jerrell play with the towel. Just like Sam was at that age as his Aunt Yvonne had told everyone at last week's get together.
It had been an awkward family gathering. They were minus Uncle Will and Sam. Everyone kept asking him if he knew anything. He didn't. All he knew was that Sam had been injured. Then nothing. He was gone from the hospital within ten hours after surgery.
Jeff only knew that because Mason had visited Cameo in ICU to check on his condition and was finally allowed into the ICU area. Mason and Winds had tried to get in earlier to check on Sam but had been rejected entry.
It took eight MPs to subdue the two of them. They actually had to be handcuffed and dragged back to their rooms and they were cuffed to their beds. Apparently after Sam was gone they were released from the cuffs.
Scott finished putting the last of the plates away and turned to Jeff "So you never told me. How did Mason deal with Apollo. Me personally, that rookie would not go on a mission for a very long time."
"Man you should have seen it." Jeff smiled as Anna grabbed at his finger and began chewing on it. "I'm surprised you didn't hear him all the way here. Mason dressed Apollo down long and hard for over sixty minutes publicly. Mason never does that. Always was sensitive to men's feelings. But he let loose like I've never seen before. Drill Sergeant material if you ask me. Apollo looked rightfully shamed by his actions."
Scott interjected "Da… Darned good to hear." Laura would kill him if she heard him cussing in front of the kids. "The little shi… jerk nearly cost everyone their lives from what little you told me about it. Hopefully he learned his lesson and won't be so rash."
"Yeah and when Mason was done with him, my go… goodness Pawn laid into him." Man it was hard to clean up the language sometimes Jeff thought but you never want to get on Laura's bad side with the Commander-in-Chief being her dad.
Jeff then continued "The look on Apollo's face when he heard that Cameo may not make it back to JTF2 because of his actions. Apollo looked crushed. From what I've heard Apollo has been doing nothing but cleaning latrines, garbage cans, helping in the physical therapy department and running laps the last four weeks. Mason is even considering sending him back for retraining."
Scott shook his head "Nah, I think that what Mason is doing right now will have the desired effect. Helping in the PT department will give him a first-hand view of the injuries that soldiers suffer. What he could cause by not thinking and acting rashly. That'll probably do more to get rid of his rashness than anything else ever could."
"Ow, man she bites hard" Jeff yelped as he pulled his finger from Anna's mouth and set her down next to Jerrell. "I wish we knew something about Sam. It is so hard. He called a Priority 1, I know that. It must be something big but it still hurts." He looked up into Scott's face.
Scott could see pain. Jeff had not shared anything other than Sam was hurt, no details. He walked over and lean over the counter close to Jeff "Cuz what is it? I can see something is bothering you. Something more than just not knowing, that is bothering all of us."
"But we can all handle that. Something we are all prepared to deal with from the cradle. Wait? You said he call the Priority 1. How could Sam do that? He's with SRU. They were just assisting Winds and Mason. How the hell could he call …" Scott trailed off at the look on Jeff's face.
Jeff look at Scott "Sam was … I mean he … I didn't want to tell you all. I wanted Sam or Uncle Will to explain. But I have to tell someone. It is eating me up inside. I need to talk to someone about it."
"Tell me, talk to me about it." Scott moved to the other side of the counter and patted Jeff's back.
"Scott, he was in full military uniform. Sam was in charge of the mission. Mason said Sam reactivated. I didn't believe it but Colonel Sutton confirmed it. It's not a temporary special assignment either. He's stuck there for another full five years per the contract he signed for early release. They have this damned committee in charge of Special Forces stop loss. They make the decisions who can get early release. Sam's dad can't make that decision for him now" Jeff blurted out.
"No he couldn't, he wouldn't. We talked about it. Nothing would ever get Sam to reactivate. Nothing short of imminent threat to the country and all he holds dear would cause him to reactivate. Why?" Scott said in confusion.
Jeff sighed "Sam was covered in so much blood when I found him. I had thoughts of the last time. Turned out it wasn't his, well most of it anyways. He was carrying a small stuffed toy in his inside vest pocket. Turns out it belonged to Blaze's nephew."
Scott interrupted "Blaze has no family. How could he have a nephew?"
"He does, they were there to rescue Blaze's sister and her boy Ben. I saw the boy. Sam re-upped for the boy" Jeff stated.
Scott looked at Jeff confused not really following why Sam would re-up for a boy.
Jeff closed his eyes remembering the boy's face. He had meet Matt only once but he had seen the picture of Sam and Matt many times on his aunt's mantle.
"The boy turns out to be Matt's son. Sam did it for Matt's son" Jeff said then scooped up Anna and held her close needing the dose of hope that only comes from innocence.
Scott went and picked up his son. Jerrell reminded him so much of Sam. He held him close. Scott didn't know Matt had a son. But Sam would have done it for that reason in a heartbeat, personal consequences be damned.
Jeff should have told them before but he understood why he hadn't. Scott knew he was going to have to call the cousins. No one was going to like it one bit. He could hear his uncles raging now. Uncle Will was in for a hellava lecture from his brothers for allowing this to happen.
Laura popped into the kitchen at that moment and took in two grown men cuddling two adorable babies. She smiled. But then she felt the somber mood. "What's wrong Scott?"
Scott said nothing, he just pulled her into a hug needing her strength.
Somewhere in Afghanistan – 0300 (3 am)
The drop had gone off without a hitch. Sam adjusted his pack and his MK12 SPR rifle. He liked his Remi better but the MK12 was adapted for his needs here.
He pulled on his night vision goggles and set off north east. He had only two hours to cover twelve miles. Not so much a challenge in daylight but at night relying on the night vision goggles it was fraught with danger. One wrong step could mean failure before he even got to his first point.
Sam kept his mind solely focused on his objective. Get to the one safe location he knew of in this area. The one place he and Blaze had taken shelter years ago. Mile by mile he was making it closer.
He checked his watch and his GPS. He had made good time so far even with the pain in his side. Sam slowed his pace and grabbed his water bottle and took a very small sip. Just enough to wet the insides. It was still cool now but it would be very hot soon. But at least it was a dry heat. He rechecked his direction then set off at a faster pace.
Thirty minutes later he removed the night goggles. It was predawn and there was enough light to guide him now without them. He picked up the pace. It would be better to arrive before the sun crested the horizon.
He saw the small collection of buildings. They looked no different than they did four years ago. Thank god for small favors. The people here were anti-Taliban and hid him and Blaze for a full week while Blaze and he recovered enough to make it out on their own. He was hoping the same people were here.
Sam located a strategic hiding place that would allow him to observe until night fall. He settled in and waited. With any luck they might still recognize him. The children had been intrigued by his blonde hair. They all wanted to touch it and he allowed them to. They had never seen anyone with his color hair before.
It was such an isolated locale and they lived roughly. No electricity, no running water, very basics. Last time they had nothing to leave or give as a thank you. This time Sam had brought a few items to leave with them. He brought them some medical supplies and some candy for the kids. It wasn't much but he couldn't carry more than that.
He watched as the small village came to life. One building in particular. Two hours later the door opened. He would recognize Ali Radwan any day.
Ali was missing the lower part of his left leg; lost to an IED. He still used the wooden peg. His son Amjad just exited. That boy has changed so much. He was only fourteen then. Now full grown and eighteen.
Sam settled back to rest until night fall. He would go see Ali tonight. He needed information to determine his next location. It had to be one of three. Maybe Ali would have some information that would narrow his search.
He readjusted himself. When would his damned side quit twinging? Sam was sore and tired, not quite his full strength yet. He was well-hidden so he decided to nap.
Just before allowing himself to drift off into a light sleep, Sam thought Ed would definitely not approve of this nap location.
Five Weeks After Explosion – Special Forces Base Hospital – Blaze's Room
The General was not looking forward to this one bit. But he needed to visit Blaze. He needed information. Samuel had not made contact as planned. Samuel had been out there for fourteen days now. He was overdue by three days.
He stepped into the room, Blaze was alone. Good. From reports Mason or Winds were often around. He needed Blaze alone. "Captain Blain. How are you doing?"
Blaze looked up from the book he was reading and quickly set it down and saluted "Sir. Doing okay. Would really like to get out of here."
The General pulled a chair close to the bed "We need to talk. I need information."
Blaze looked quizzically at him hearing the urgency of the request "Sir. What kind of information?"
"Four years ago you and Braddock did an op together, alone. You know the one I'm referring to I assume. I need you to draw out as detailed a map as you can remember of the tunnels you two encountered" the General stated.
"Sir. Aren't they in the records? I know Blondie drew them out and turn them over" Blaze replied.
His voice dripping with disgust the General explained "No. Major Plouffe was in charge of the records. The tunnel locations and maps are missing. We have found a lot of missing data from critical files he was in charge of. If he wasn't dead we would charge him with treason too."
Blaze was surprised "Wow that bastard is still causing problems from the grave. I can draw them Sir. I don't recall them all but I have a fairly decent memory. Blondie was always better at that. When do you need it?"
"Now" the General said as he pulled out aerial maps, paper and markers.
Blaze was concerned. The General would not quite look him in the eye. That never happened. General Braddock was silent as he quickly drew the maps. There were three locations and three sets of tunnels. Blaze marked a spot almost central to all of them.
Pointing to the mark, Blaze stated "Sir. This last mark is a friendly village. Whatever you are planning please be aware they helped us immensely. Neither of us would have made it out without their help. There is one man in the village by the name of Ali Radwan. He kept us in his home in concealed room in the basement."
The General looked over the maps and asked a few questions before tucking them away. Mason stopped in the doorway about to enter and say hi to Blaze when he saw the General sitting in the chair. He held back allowing Blaze and the General to finish their conversation without interrupting.
Blaze was still disconcerted by the General's lack of eye contact. He knew a Priority 1 had been called by Blondie but not why. He knew protocol and accepted there would be a blackout even if he didn't like it.
He tried to wait patiently for word on Blondie. Well not quite so patiently. He and Winds and Mason had contacted everyone they knew trying to find out information on Blondie. But nothing could be found. It was like he didn't exist.
But the General's behavior coupled the request to draw the tunnels was making his gut churn. Something was wrong he could feel it. In his gut he suspected it was to do with Blondie so he asked "Sir. How is Blondie?"
The General just stared at his hands.
"Sir. Where is Blondie?" Blaze asked suspicion growing tenfold.
The General remained silent and still looking down.
Blaze demanded loudly "Sir. Who has Blondie's six?"
Alarm bells were ringing loud and clear in Blaze's head. He needed to see the General's eyes to confirm his suspicions.
General Braddock finally met him eye to eye. Holy hell! Blaze clearly read what the General could not say out loud. He sent Blondie there. He sent Blondie alone. He was asking for information because Blondie was overdue.
Blaze exploded "What the hell have you done? How the hell could you?" and punched the General two times.
The General did not react at all. He just stared. His eyes communicated I had no choice. Blaze hit him twice more.
Mason was dumbfounded watching Blaze strike the General and the General take it. Just what the hell was going on? Blaze settled back into the bed and glared at the General.
Silent communication ensued.
Blaze's eyes yelled 'You're a dead man if Blondie doesn't make it'.
William's eyes responded 'I know'.
The General rose and left the room without saying a single word.
Mason walked up to Blaze "What the hell was that about? You're gonna get court martialed for striking an officer. A General no less."
Blaze was silent. His throat clammed up. He knew those tunnels. They had barely made it out alive the last time. They had each other, that's the only way they made it. Blondie was overdue. The General sent Blondie to his death. They would never know when or how he died. Blondie sacrificed himself to save his sister and his nephew.
He would never be able to live with himself if Blondie didn't make it back. He leaned back and closed his eyes. His son, the only one he would ever have, had no one to watch his back. He was going to lose the man he thought of as his son and he could not do a damned thing about it. It hurt too god damned much too even cry. He tuned out the world around him. He heard nothing but his own heartbeat.
He didn't hear Mason ranting at him for several minutes before slumping stunned into a chair. He didn't know Mason sat there for the entire night and next day either. He didn't know that Winds replaced him and tried to talk to him or get a response from him for hours. He didn't register the doctors or nurses.
In his mind he was in the tunnels with Blondie watching his six.
Six Weeks After Explosion – Somewhere in Afghanistan – Home of Ali Radwan – 0430 (4:30 am)
Sam had stayed with Ali for three days last week before checking out the first location. He had been more exhausted then he thought. The pain in his side and the twelve mile run had sapped him and he needed the rest. By the third day he felt more himself and pushed himself to get moving. He really didn't have time to lay about.
The first location was a two night trek each way. It was too dangerous to travel during the day. So he found cover and rested lightly during the day. Never fully sleeping.
When he got to the first location, it was completely abandoned. It had been for years by the looks of it. He searched anyway for clues or other useful information. Then he had returned to Ali's house. Sam slept one full day and night then made plans to recon the second location.
It had taken him three nights travel to get there. Again it was not what he was looking for. It was occupied and he did sneak in and set charges on a delayed timer. He was nearly five miles away when they went off. The explosion was so forceful he imagined he felt the shock wave in the ground. He clearly heard it though.
That armory was now completely obliterated. Good. It had a huge supply of M224 60mm mortar rounds. Highly likely most of the tunnels collapsed too. Someone was gonna be pissed.
It was going to make searching the third tunnels more difficult. The terrorists would be on higher alert after that explosion. But Sam had to set the charges and destroy the stockpile. He couldn't leave a stock of munition that large functional.
He was returning to Ali's house to plan his recon of the third site. Sam had run flat out the last five miles. He needed to arrive before day break. He was only a quarter of a mile away from Ali's house now.
Sam was utterly exhausted having not slept more than a few light naps in six days. But everything was going fine until his foot hit a divot and he went crashing to the ground. As he fell he reached forward to catch himself and when he rolled his right side impacted with a sharp rock.
He lay there panting from exertion and pain for several minutes. He needed to get moving. Sam sat up and tested his ankle. It hurt but it was not too far and he could make it to Ali's then assess fully.
Sam managed to get to a standing position and was testing putting weight on his foot when he heard the clicks of guns being cocked. He froze.
"Siz qaerda qolish."
(Stay where you are) the man loudly commanded.
Sam froze standing with all his weight on one foot just using the other to balance. He did not want to acknowledge he understood. They were speaking Uzbek.
Three men came around in front of him. Sam recognized one from the village but not the other two.
"Siz kimsiz?"
(Who are you?) the man demanded.
Sam remained quiet.
"Men sizga kim aytdi?"
(I said who are you?) he demanded again.
Sam remained quiet. Ali had provided him local clothing so he did not stand out too much but he was too pale and his blue eyes and blonde hair would be a dead giveaway in the daylight. Luckily it was still dark enough to hide those things.
The man shined a flashlight into his face. All three guns rose to Sam's head. Damn I hoped to complete the mission.
The men were spread too far a part to get all before one got off a shot. But the men just stared for a long time at Sam's face. One turned to his companions.
"O'lik ko'zlari. Siz o'lik ko'zlarini ko'ryapsiz? U yuradi lekin tirik emas."
(Dead eyes. Do you see the dead eyes? He walks but is not alive) the man said surprised.
Sam thought, yeah pretty much. But kept his mouth shut.
"Fateen , yo'q, yo'q , bu men sizga aytgan odam. To'xtatish , to'xtatish . Iltimos."
(Fateen, no, no this is the man I told you about. Stop, stop. Please) Ali was yelling as he ran towards them.
The man turned to Ali and lowered his weapon.
"Biz nur oldin uyiga uni olish uchun lozim qiling."
(Please we need to get him into the house before light) Ali said as he stopped next to Sam.
The other two lowered their guns too. Ali made let's move motions to Sam.
Sam had been so caught up in what transpired he forgot about his ankle. He took a step forward placing all his weight on the foot. Sam crashed to the ground as his ankle gave out. He grunted in pain.
Ali's hands and one of the man's hands helped him to rise. They helped him to Ali's house. The three men left quickly. Sam hobbled down to Ali's basement then to the concealed room. Ali followed.
Sam assessed his ankle. Only a twist. If he wrapped it tightly he would be okay. He put his hand under his shirt and pulled out a bloodied hand. "Shit."
The rock hit him directly where the knife wound was. It was still tender and sore but healing. Well until now. The rock had ripped into the tender area and made a deep gouge. Nothing he couldn't tend himself thanks to Patch's training but he was so sick of this area of his body hurting. Sam pulled off the shirt to tend to his wound.
Ali gasped staring at Sam's chest.
Sam looked up at him. Ah crap, Ali was reacting to his scars.
"Long oldin . Suv Ali uchun men alam mumkin? Faqat bu off yuvish kerak ."
(Long ago. Can I trouble you for water Ali? Just need to wash this off) Sam said flatly.
When Ali returned Sam quickly dealt with his wounds. He then redressed into his own clothes.
"O'sha odamlar meni ko'rib , chunki siz xavf ostidadir ?"
(Are you at risk because those men saw me?) Sam asked.
"Yo'q, yo'q, ular Birinchi bo'lib Siz xavfsiz ishonaman. Bugun bu erda dam , ertaga ham, siz kuch kerak. Uchinchi sayt oyoq va oyoq Bilagi zo'r va ko'kragiga ko'p qo'shimcha hisoblanadi."
(No, no, they believe as I. You are safe. Rest here today, tomorrow even you need your strength. The third site is much further on foot and your ankle and chest) Ali implored concern in his voice.
Sam shook his head and told Ali that he would be leaving as soon as it got dark. He was losing the stealth that the new moon had given him two weeks ago. Sam needed to make it to the third location and quickly.
Ali watched as the young man settled down to sleep. He remembered this young man very well. He wondered what had happened to make him so dead inside. Ali had remembered bright eyes full of light, a lopsided grin and hearty laugh the last time he was here.
Then he thought, those scars were horrible, that could do it. And soldiers see so much death and destruction. It has to take a toll. It was so sad to see.
Ali bowed his head as he walked up the stairs as he grieved for the young man who had shone brilliantly like the northern star and was now a black hole.