Chapter 4: Left for Dead

==FLASHBACK (Billy)==

"It's not for you is it?" Barney sat across from him.

"I thought it was," Billy shook his head," You gave me a chance to be one of you, you've got my respect forever."

"And you've got my respect too."

He looked at the beer in his hands," I don't want ya to think that I'm desertin' ya," his drawl showed when he was drunk, when his feelings surfaced. It was rare, but on occasion he let them show.

"No, listen, if I had to do it all again at your age," Barney smiled," I'd be doin' what you're doin'," Billy smiled back at him," Why don't you freshen up that beer?" Billy nodded and went to the cooler.

==END FLASHBACK==

Lee approached the building with his hands up," I'm here for the kid," he called to the guards.

"What's in your bag?" one of the men shouted back, gun pointed at Lee's chest.

"The disk your boss wants, a spare change of clothes, medical supplies, a cell phone," he kept his hands up and took a few steps forward.

"Drop the bag and kick it away from you," the taller of the two shouted.

"You got it," Lee set his rucksack on the ground and pushed it away with his foot.

"Did you bring any weapons?"

"Not even a pocket knife," he put his hands on his head," come search me if you like, but first tell your boss to bring me the boy," the other man nodded and went inside.

Lee waited, his hands still on his head even after the man had searched him. Vilain stepped outside after a few moments," Are you alone?" blood spattered his face, not a good sign.

"Yes, and I have the disk you want," Lee took one hand off his head," bring me the boy and it's yours provided he's alive," he swallowed and prayed Billy was alive.

"He's alive," Vilain stepped forward, followed by a few body guards," but I need to be sure of what's on that disk."

"I'll stay as collateral," Lee reached slowly into his pocket and retrieved the case the disk was in," Let him go, I can have someone come pick him up."

"And how will you find your way home?" Vilain asked.

"I'll figure it out," he scoffed," I made it here didn't I?"

"And how did you plan on getting your friend back without a vehicle, since I see you didn't bring one."

"Either by air lift or if I have to I'll carry him."

"Dedicated," Vilain smirked.

"Enough of this," Lee was growing agitated," Either produce the kid or I'm leaving."

"Come with me then," he motioned for Lee to follow him.

Lee was almost certain he was walking into a trap and was about to be killed, he had been truthful when he said he hadn't brought any weapons; but that didn't mean he couldn't take one of theirs if he had to. As he entered, he heard the doors slam closed behind him. Computers and electronics scattered tables all over the room, their command HQ. Two guards emerged from the hallway, arms beneath Billy's dragging him. His head hung lifelessly and blood dripped from it after they'd stopped. Lee straightened his jaw, he was sure the kid was dead. There was too much blood on him for him to have survived, Lee lowered his gaze. The guards pushed him to the floor at Lee's feet, he groaned,' Jesus he's alive?" Lee dropped to kneel next to him, Vilain's hand on his chest stopped him.

"My disk?" he extended his hand, palm up," As you can see he's alive."

Lee pressed the disk into his hand and pushed him out of the way, he knelt and pulled off his glove. Pulse was weak but there, blood was caked and dried to his back and Lee saw the video had only shown a fraction of the lashes Vilain had given him. He was reluctant to move him yet, until he'd seen a place he could touch him without hurting him more. Billy's breathing was shallow, it rattled from his chest and a finger twitched," Billy?" Lee whispered. He coughed, barely conscious, blood spilling from his lips," Can you hear me?" no response.

"Everything seems to be here," Vilain turned to face Lee and Billy," you can have his body, he'll be dead soon anyway so he's of no use to me now. With the blueprints and the last remaining locations of Plutonium you and your merry band of idiots can't stop me now."

"I'll need a truck," Lee stood.

"You expect me to just give you a truck?" he laughed.

"I gave you everything you wanted, either let me call a friend to pick us up or give me a truck."

"Does your friend happen to be an Expendable?"

"I can call one who's not affiliated with us," he pulled his cell out of his other pocket.

"Put it on speakerphone and note that I'll kill you both if you're lying."

Lee dialed a number into the phone, he prayed she'd answer. He got nervous as the phone rang a third time, then," Hello?" a voice answered sleepily.

"I need your help."

"Lee do you have any idea what time…"

"It's an emergency, I need you to get me and a friend out of a bad situation."

A sigh at the other end of the phone," We're even after this," she sounded annoyed.

"Thanks."

"Where are you?" he gave her the coordinates," How in the literal hell am I supposed to get there?"

"Plane, car, I don't care," Lee answered," but if you don't come alone they'll kill me."

"I'll have to take a helicopter, your friends got one I can borrow?"

"Call Barney, tell him not to ask any questions and just get here," Lee looked down at Billy," tell him I swear I'll explain but that I have the kid."

"Gotcha," rustling in the background.

"Oh and don't bring any guns or weapons with you, I need this to be a peaceful pickup," he looked at Vilain.

"Okay…" she sounded unsure.

"Bring your trauma bag though, one of us is injured."

"Ten-four," she sounded a bit concerned.

He hung up," Happy?" he looked at Vilain.

"Very, but you and your friend can wait on the roof," he motioned, the guards picked up his rucksack and Billy. He followed them to the elevator.

Once on the roof, the men pushed Billy into Lee and threw his pack near them. They stood by the door near the elevator and waited. Lee lowered Billy onto his lap as he sat down, making sure his back faced the door," Kid, can you hear me?" Billy's eyes flickered beneath their lids," I'm getting you out of here," Lee wasn't even sure the boy could hear him. He pulled a bottle of water out of his bag and pulled the cap up with his teeth, he dripped water onto blood-stained lips. Billy choked and coughed, he put his hand on Lee's chest and pushed away weakly," You're okay," Lee lifted his head and held the bottle to his lips. Billy swallowed as Lee squeezed a few drops at a time into his mouth, it was the first taste of water he'd had since he was abducted besides the water boarding. He moaned and pushed against Lee again, still not fully conscious.

"I've got a friend on her way," Lee set the water next to him, he cursed as he surveyed the damage," She's coming to get us," Billy's breathing quickened as he started to wake up. Lee rubbed his cheek to help rouse him, Billy closed his eyes tight and squirmed. He shook his head and his eyes flew open as if he'd just awoke from a nightmare, he gasped for breath and tried to escape Lee's arm. Agony immediately twisted his face," It's me," Lee held him tight," you're gonna be okay."

Billy looked at Lee confused, he blinked a few times and grabbed onto his friend's vest," L-leee," he stammered," y—you shouldn't have…" he mouthed the words but very little sound came out.

"Don't talk," Lee shook his head," help is on its way," he pulled a vial from his vest and popped the cork with this teeth," Drink this," he held the vial to Billy's lips," I had to make sure you wouldn't spit it out first, this stuff's really hard to get ahold of," he tilted his head back and poured slowly," It's liquid Morphine," he answered the boy's question without him having to ask," it'll help a bit," he could see the life draining from Billy as he held him,' At least you won't die alone,' the risk was worth it if the boy wasn't scared and if he could ease his pain even a little and help him move on. Billy's eyes closed and his hand fell into Lee's lap as he passed out.

Chopper blades thundered not far away, Lee turned and looked. A black helicopter came closer and prepared to land near them, the wind was harsh and the sound almost deafening. The guards aimed rockets as it landed. Lee waited for one of them to frisk her as she stepped out with her hands up, good girl. When they were sure she was clean she rushed to Lee, he picked up Billy and carried him to the passenger's hanger. She grabbed his rucksack and water bottle, once inside she got into the pilot's seat and sealed the doors. The helicopter lifted from the ground, Lee put an oxygen mask over Billy's face.

"Who's he?"

"His name's Billy, listen thank you so much Mychal."

"We're even, Lee," she replied.

"Almost, love," he moved to the cockpit," I'll drive, you tend to him."

"It is your chopper," she gave up the seat and moved to the hanger," I brought the bigger one since you said you had an injured passenger."

"I don't know if he's gonna make it," Lee was honest," Do everything you can, I just bargained with thousands of lives to save his."

"Fucking hell," she breathed as she saw Billy. She surveyed the damage," I don't know how much I can do until we get him back on land, this isn't sterile at all and if he moves…" she covered the stretcher he lay on with a blanket and fastened seat belts over his body.

"I'll hurry then," Lee looked at the navigation system," Not too far away, we were right on top of Vilain and didn't even know it."

"Looks like that wasn't an actual base though," she commented," Not enough security."

"He was just holding the kid there, he guessed our general location and set up as close as he could. Best I can figure he planned this to get one of two things. He would either get information from the boy or we'd hand-deliver the disk with the locations on it that he wanted. No matter how he'd looked at it, he won."

Barney and the others ran to meet the chopper as it landed, Lee threw his headphones to the back of the small hanger and jumped out. He grabbed one end of the stretcher Billy lay on and pulled it halfway out," I know I'm an asshole," he handed one end to Barney and took the other himself.

"Clear a table!" Barney yelled as he kicked the door open with his foot, Gunner raked a table clean. Mychal washed her hands in the bathroom as they put the stretcher on the cleared space," How in the fuck did you get him out of there?"

Lee lifted Billy's head and put a towel under it, Billy stirred beneath his touch. He squirmed and tried to move, his eyes opened and he tried to sit up. His shoulders came off of the fabric as his adrenaline spiked, Lee put a hand on his shoulder," Calm down, Kid," Billy's eyes searched the room, wide and scared," You're safe," Lee unfastened the belts," See? you're okay," Billy turned towards his voice.

"Lee," he licked his cracked lips and lay back.

"I told you I'd get you outta there," Lee ruffled his hair," I've got a friend here who's gonna fix you up, she's real good," Mychal's boots squeaked across the floor as she neared him," She's nursed me back from the dead a few times."

"I'm Mychal," her voice was soft, her hair a deep purple almost black was pulled away from her face but a few stray pieces hung around her ears. He winced as her fingers grazed his arm, she pulled the blanket back and Barney felt sick. He turned and walked away with Gunnar.

Mychal started with a central line, she hung some fluids to rehydrate him and spiked the port with another shot of Morphine. His shirt was in shreds and had dried to his skin," get me a basin of water, bottled water preferably," she instructed Lee," and wash your hands, I'm going to need some help."

She laid out her trauma kit and flexed her fingers. Lee put the basin next to her tools and nodded," Now what?"

"Fill this syringe with water and squirt it on the areas I'm working on," she pointed his stomach," It's probably dried to his back too," she lifted his arm and peeked beneath him," We'll work on getting his shirt off and see which side is worse."

Over the next half hour they worked the fabric away from his chest and stomach, Mychal cleaned and dressed the cuts. Billy did his best to keep still and didn't protest," Help me get him to his back," she slid her arm under his, Lee did the same. She supported his head as they sat him up, he growled as his skin stretched," I'll give you something else to ease that when I get you on your stomach," she spoke near his ear to be sure he'd hear her. Lee reached for his pants and rolled him over, he slid the stretcher from beneath him as he rolled him over. Billy braced on his forearms to keep his chest off of the table. Mychal put both her hands on the back of his arms," Lay down for me," she knew he wouldn't have the strength to stay that way for long.

"It hurts," he panted.

"I know," she ran a hand through his hair," but if it gets infected it'll hurt worse," he didn't believe her, nothing rivaled this pain," Come on," she pulled on his elbows gently, his breathing quickened but he let her move him. As his chest and stomach touched the cold surface beneath him he winced and balled his hands into fists.

She peeled his shirt from his back as Lee squirted water on it to loosen the dried blood, he writhed and couldn't stifle a few moans. Lee's hands were steady, even though he wasn't sure the boy would live through this. As they worked their way down his back Billy got more and more restless, his muscles jumped and twitched. Mychal reached for a syringe and loaded another dose into his IV, he relaxed within seconds and his body went slack," That should be better," she let him settle before continuing. Once they'd gotten the shredded material off of him she washed his back with cool water and a cloth to get rid of the blood, he lay still and his breathing was even,' Whatever she's given him it's working,' Lee breathed a sigh of relief. Once the blood was gone, they realized that the cane's lashes weren't the only things marring his back. Raised burns blistered on his sides shaped like knives, she cleared her throat and proceeded.

They'd sat him up and wrapped his entire torso in bandages,' Heavy son of a bitch,' Lee noted as he picked up an unconscious Billy. He'd fallen asleep during the worst of it, Lee said a silent prayer of thanks to whomever was listening as Billy's head rested on his shoulder. Mychal lay him back, she unbuckled his cargos while Lee took off his boots. Lee decided to respect the boy's privacy and draped a towel over his groin as Mychal slid the stiff material past his thighs. She felt for broken bones before lifting each foot and tossing the bloodstained khakis to the floor. More burns and lashes scattered down to his shins where his boots had protected him.

She took her time and washed each wound before wrapping them up so the tape wouldn't pull the hairs and irritate the area," Finished with the bad part," she turned to Lee," Get him a pair of shorts please."

"Right," Lee went to a closet and grabbed a stack of spare clothes, he handed them to Mychal.

"No shirt," she eased him into the fresh shorts and threw the towel onto the floor," I'll just be taking it off to check on him and it'll rub and irritate his skin."

"Right," Lee looked at the mass of gauze covering the majority of Billy's body.

"Get him to a bed," Mychal put her arms beneath his shoulders and nodded," While he's still asleep and won't feel this."

"Down the hallway to the left," they had forgotten Barney and Gunnar were still in the vicinity," I'll get his shoulders," Barney replaced Mychal's hands with his own. They carried Billy into one of the bedrooms, Mychal pulled the blankets down and they lay him gently on the sheets.

"He should wake up in a bit, the sedatives won't last long," Mychal rummaged through the cabinets.

"We don't have anything else to give him really," Barney ran his hand through his hair beneath his beret.

"You're gonna have to order something, steal something, I'm not overly concerned with how you get it," Mychal began writing in a notepad," This is a list of the medications he'll need."

"Bloody fuckin' 'ell," Lee's accent thickened as he read the list.

"Well manage," Barney took the paper from Lee," For now, Vilain has what he wanted and now we've got to stop him from killing thousands of innocent people with the blueprints on that disk. I'll send Maggie to the hospital to get Billy the medicine."

"He'll need these asap," Mychal pulled the blankets over Billy's chest as she noticed him shivering," Go finish the mission, he'd tell you to himself if he was awake I'm sure. I'll stay here and take care of him."

"As soon as Maggie gets you the medicines she'll be joining us, are you sure you're okay here alone?" Barney questioned.

"I can't move him yet, he wouldn't survive the trip without being sedated and even then I'm not sure he'd come out of the shock or the exposure. After he gets a bit better I'll transport him to my house, I'll be fine here until then," she nodded.

"I can't thank you…" Lee started.

"I'll send you updates by text message, just keep your phone on silent," she hugged Lee," Be careful out there, asshole," she punched his shoulder playfully as they broke.

"I want to at least see him awake," Lee pulled a chair near the bed.

"It could be a few minutes or an hour," Mychal raised the head and sat on the bed next to Billy.

"I'll wait," Lee settled in.

"I'll go get everything ready," Barney said from the doorway," I'm sure if we're gone you can catch up."

"Thanks."

Mychal swabbed at the blood on Billy's face, gently washing it with a wet towel. Lee watched and smiled," This is why I called you."

"I'm sorry?" she didn't look up at him.

"I knew you'd take good care of him, your hands were always gentle," the two exchanged a knowing glance as she rinsed the towel in the sink.

==FLASHBACK (Lee)==

His heart raced, he'd never been shot before. Pain exploded in his chest and made it hard to breathe, he thought he was dying and there she was. An angel with hair as dark as a shadow, pressing her fingers to his lips as she started working on him. Whatever she'd given him acted fast, he'd relaxed and fallen asleep in seconds.

When he woke up she was there," Where…?"

"Safe at the base's hospital," she smiled warmly and held a straw to his lips.

He drank as the last few hours came back to him, she explained that she was the appointed medic since there was no one else on the base with any training. When she cleaned the wound, he'd barely felt her fingers on his skin. Her injections were almost unnoticeable, she had a gift for this sort of thing and he knew it when she touched him.

He'd been on another mission, before the Expendables, before the girlfriend, before his life got complicated. They'd became friends, she was good conversation. Gun-loving helped, although she was no sharpshooter she enjoyed going to the range and blowing off steam. She preferred Jiu Jitsu as an art form and studied diligently, as he recovered they'd sparred and shared laughs. When he'd healed enough he took another mission," Mychal," he looked deep into her eyes, she was the closest thing to a real relationship he'd had in years," I'm leaving in a few hours for Cairo," he held her hand.

"I'll be here waiting when you get back," she smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"I know darling," he leaned in and kissed her cheek," Thank you."

==END FLASHBACK==

Mychal had been kidnapped when the base was compromised, the Egyptian military had taken her as a hostage. Lee had fought his way in and saved her, she was shaken and bruised but they hadn't hurt her yet. What she didn't know is he'd broken away from his unit, went AWOL to find her against his orders. He'd dropped off the grid for almost twenty hours to get her back. Once they were in the truck and on the way to safety she curled up on the passenger seat and fell asleep with her head on his thigh. It was the closest thing to love he'd ever felt for someone other than family, he knew they'd always be friends and he'd always be able to count on her if he was in trouble.

"You took good care of me," he saw the memories in her eyes.

"You needed it, just like he does," she rubbed at the blood on Billy's neck.

"I missed you," Lee propped his feet on the nightstand and leaned back.

"I missed you too," she wasn't supermodel gorgeous but her smile was genuine and warmed a heart hardened from war.