Adrianne was struggling to keep up, but she hadn't complained yet. Face had a firm grip on her hand, and with his other he held his gun ready. It was a quick scan in any – every – direction as they ran through the jungle, stumbling every few steps over loose ground and unsure footing.
"Face wait." She was out of breath, dragging on his arm as she slowed. "Wait."
He slowed, and turned to glance back at her. "What's wrong?"
"Please." She doubled over, clutching her side with her free hand. "I can't run anymore. Please."
Another quick scan before he stopped, and turned back toward her, stepping closer. Releasing her hand, he grabbed her shoulder instead and pulled her up straight. Her eyes remained down as she gasped for breath. "If you stop here, you're dead," he said firmly, seriously.
She shook her head. "I don't want to stop. I just want to rest for a minute. Just a minute…"
He put a finger under her chin, tipping her head up. Her eyes met his reluctantly. "If you stop here, you're dead," he said again.
She studied him for a long moment with a pained expression. Then, finally, she nodded. He grabbed her hand again, took two steps, and stopped in his tracks. Something not right. Something had changed in the scenery behind him. He didn't know what; he didn't give himself time to figure it out. He trusted his instincts.
Without hesitation, he ducked down into the nearest foliage, dragging Adrianne with him. She almost fell on top of him, but he directed her behind him and she ended up sitting on the jungle floor. Eyes wide and full of fear, she didn't question him. And after only a quick glance at her, he turned his attention to his surroundings. That sixth sense was screaming at him. Something he could neither see nor hear. Something very real, but intangible.
He waited. Long minutes passed. Adrianne had clasped a hand over her mouth to quiet her breathing, but it gradually slowed and her hand gradually drifted to his arm. He left it there; she wasn't in his way. Yet. But as the threat came closer – close enough to make out the slow-moving silhouette of the NVA soldiers – he slowly withdrew his arm. He was going to need it.
There were two of them. Where there were two, there would be more. They were definitely hunting, and they sure as hell weren't out here alone. The rest of their unit was nearby. Whether looking for them, specifically – Face doubted that – or just following their own instincts, they were expecting to run into something.
Slowly, Face reached for the pistol on his thigh. If he was going to have to sit here anyways – lay low and wait for them to pass – he might as well do a little hunting of his own. Their position was well enough hidden, and based on the way he was walking, they were doing a sweep, not closing in. They were looking for something, but he didn't know where. They probably didn't even know what.
Face knew his abilities. He knew when the men were within range for his shot to hit its mark. He pressed down flat against the ground – moving slowly – and held his arm out in front of him. Looking straight over the barrel, he measured the shot carefully, let the guy come another step closer just to be sure, then fired. Once. The bullet went through his left eye, and his finger reflexively squeezed the trigger of his AK as he fell, sending a burst of fire into the air well over their heads. A second shot similarly hit the second man, who'd spun and started spraying bullets at the sound of the shot. He fell silent as he hit the dirt.
Adrianne gasped. He glanced at her quickly and saw her hand over her mouth, stifling the cry that nearly escaped. He looked back, scanned the area. If they were smart, they'd follow the sound of the shot and circle around to trap them. Given that he didn't know how many of them might show up, and that his vantage point wasn't ithat /igreat, and that he did have Adrianne with him, he wasn't about to stay put and shoot it out. Hannibal would; no doubt about that. Then again, maybe not with a civilian. In any case, he didn't find risk quite so thrilling. And Adrianne was his first concern.
He shoved the pistol back into its holster and looked to Adrianne. "Back up," he whispered. "We've got to move back. Stay low."
She rose to a crouch and waited for his lead. He took it, tracking back over the path they'd just made through the overgrowth, ducked down. Twenty yards or so back, he stopped.
"Now what?" she breathed.
He flashed her a smile. "You about ready to start running again?"
She winced. "Not really."
"They'll converge in that area, but depending on how many there are, we may run into one or two of them. If that happens, you just keep running. Understand?"
She nodded, her expression worried.
"If we get split up," he whispered, "istop /irunning and find a place to hide. Like that place we were in last night. I will find you. Do inot /ilook for me. Understand?"
Again, she nodded.
He extended a hand, palm up, and she hesitantly placed her fingers against his. She took a deep breath, pushed her shoulders back, and nodded. "Okay. I'm ready."
He turned and started slowly, heading east in a wide circle around the fallen NVA soldier. Before they'd gone fifty feet, they were walking faster. In another hundred, they were running again.
***
"Wait here."
Adrianne ducked down in the exact spot that Face pointed to. He could feel her eyes on him as he stripped off his shirt, dropping it on the ground. Given that it was an enemy uniform he was wearing, it was less likely he'd be shot on sight if he was shirtless. "If anything goes wrong, scream," he instructed her. "We're close enough to the camp that they should hear you."
She nodded mutely and he rose slowly to his feet, putting his hands above his head as he walked out into the clearing surrounding the camp. He knew they'd see him immediately, and called out just as soon as he was close enough for his voice to carry. "Don't shoot! I'm an American!"
He advanced slowly towards the gate. When he was within a hundred feet, the gate finally opened, and a dozen armed Yards rushed out to meet him. "American?" one of them called.
"Lieutenant Peck, Special Forces."
"Oh! iTruong Si/i!"
He let his arms lower as they shouldered their weapons and surrounded him. "Adrianne," he directed, pointing into the jungle. "She's over there."
Leaving him in the company of two of the soldiers, the rest went to find her. Face turned back and waved at her, signaling that it was safe, and she stepped out into the clearing. He waited, not moving into the camp until she caught up. She was unsteady on her feet, weak with hunger and covered in filth. But she gravitated toward him like the opposite end of a magnet, latching onto his arm.
They led the procession back through the gate just in time to see a fifty-something man in jungle fatigues emerge from one of the buildings. Hannibal was a step behind him. "Adrianne?"
The moment she saw the man, the light returned to her eyes and she found the strength from somewhere deep inside of her to run. "Daddy!"
Face let her go, stopping to watch as she collapsed into her father's arms, embracing him tightly. By the time the rest of the team stepped out of the building behind Hannibal, Adrianne's father was sobbing unashamedly. Her father held her, murmuring over and over again unintelligible words about his little girl. Too tired to smile – or to walk much further – Face stood still and let his eyes close for the first time in days. The realization that he was safe hit him with the force of a Mack truck, and his guard lowered all at once. He very nearly passed out right then and there.
"You look like shit, Face."
Cruiser's voice forced him to open his eyes, but he had no words. Hannibal was still near Adrianne and her father. The rest of the team had surrounded him.
"Yeah, you smell, too," Murdock observed.
"You okay, Face?" Surprisingly, BA was the one to show concern.
"Right as rain," he slurred back. "But if I don't find a place to sit down pretty quick, I'm gonna pass out on you."
***
Face stood at a distance as Adrianne and her father walked across the camp to the chopper. Funny that he'd spent so much time with her and yet this was the first opportunity he'd really had to study her face. She was fair skinned with long, dark hair that she'd pulled up behind her head in a ponytail. Dressed in fatigues and boots that looked just a little too big for her, she might've passed for a soldier with the way she carried herself, if she'd been a few years older.
She followed in step with her father, who was talking to Hannibal as they prepared to leave the camp. Too far away to hear what they were saying, Face could still hear her laugh as her father put an arm around her shoulders. Face smiled.
The small group paused a few yards away from the LZ, and Hannibal took a small step ahead of them. He exchanged a few words with Adrianne, then pointed in Face's direction. Leaning against the crumbled wall of what had once been the mess hall, Face dragged on his cigarette but didn't otherwise move as Adrianne turned to see him and made lingering eye contact.
She ducked away from her father and he let her go. Face put out his cigarette as she came closer, grinding it into the dirt underneath his boot. "Face?" she asked as she approached.
He answered her with a signature smile. "Adrianne."
She giggled quietly. "You clean up real nice."
"So do you."
She smiled, and lowered her eyes briefly as she stopped right in front of him. Face cast a quick look over her shoulder to where Hannibal and the other colonel were still talking, watching with relaxed smiles.
"I wanted to thank you," she said quietly. She looked up at him through her lashes. "You saved my life."
He smiled softly. "You're very welcome."
"It doesn't seem like enough, you know?" She lowered her eyes again. "Just a few words. But I'd probably be dead right now if not for you. Or worse…"
"It's enough," he assured her. "Ultimately, I do this for me. You just got to be a part of this chapter." He reached out and tipped her chin up, drawing her eyes to his again. "And I'm glad I got the opportunity to meet you. You'll make a good soldier someday."
Whether or not she had any intention of going into the military, it was the highest compliment he could've given to a colonel's daughter. She smiled, put her hands on his shoulders, and stood on her toes as she pressed her lips to his. Startled, it took him a moment to respond. He slid an arm around her as he returned the kiss, keeping his hand modestly high on her back as she deepened it, melting into his arms. He let her lead, returning the gentle caress of her tongue and lips until she finally, slowly pulled away.
When she finally opened her eyes to look up at him, she was smiling. He returned it. "I'll never forget you," she whispered, moving one hand to touch the side of his face. "My hero."
That line sound a lot less corny in real life than it ever did in the movies. With a smile, he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "Take care of yourself, Adrianne."
She nodded, and pulled away slowly. Halfway back to her father, she turned to look over her shoulder as she walked. He winked at her, and she giggled as she turned back and hurried to where the two colonels were standing.
At a distance of about fifty yards, too far to exchange words, Colonel Rodman turned fully toward Face as his daughter passed him and continued toward the chopper. Face stood still as the older man gave a formal, lingering salute. Face nodded his acknowledgment before returning it.
As the man turned and headed for the helicopter, Face heard a boot scuff behind him and turned to see Murdock approach. "Too bad she's only fifteen," he grinned, resting a hand on Face's shoulder and leaning on him. "I think you've got a fan for life."
"I'm just glad she's alive," Face answered, watching as they climbed into the chopper. "I really wasn't expecting to recover her in one piece. Much less virtually unharmed."
Hannibal backed away and seconds later, they were in the air. Face lit another cigarette as he approached and Murdock called out something about General Westman on the radio. Murdock left once he'd said his peace, but Hannibal came close, clapping Face's arm. "You did good, kid."
The smile that crossed Face's lips was cocky and self-assured, and he was not the least bit ashamed of it. "Yeah. I know."