Chapter 6: Haunted

"So, I'm going to go fuck this guy up," Lee smiled," If you want I'll take pictures for you."

"Make. Him. Suffer," Billy readjusted on the pillow with a grimace.

"I thought about cutting off his balls and feeding them to him," Lee pulled out a knife from nowhere and inspected it.

Billy laughed, he coughed and spit blood into his hand. He looked at it surprised and a bit freaked out," It's normal," Lee handed him a towel from the cabinet," I take it you've never had your ass kicked before?"

Billy felt sick, he coughed again and more blood came up. He let Lee wipe his mouth to avoid touching his busted lip and the cut on his chin. He also didn't think he had much more strength left, he was cleaning the blood from his hand with a wet towel when Barney walked in.

"Hey Kid," Barney's voice low, a smile on the corner of his mouth when he saw Billy awake.

"Sir!" Billy almost choked on the word, he sat up and blood dripped down his chin," I-I didn't…" his body hurt so badly his eyes watered," tell him…"

"Relax Kid," Barney put a hand up," You did good," he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Lee sh-shouldn't have c-came," Billy stammered, the taste of blood making him sick," I'm not w-worth…"

"Stop it," Lee pushed on his shoulder," Lay down and rest. If I'd died getting you out of there or traded places with you it'd have been worth it."

"B-but…"

"I mean it, Billy, you survived until we came and got you," Barney shrugged," We'd have done the same for anyone on our team."

"I'm sorry," he cradled his arm to his stomach.

"What that Vilain has the disk?" Barney smiled," We're going to go get him, just wanted to be sure you'd be all right. Maggie's gone looking for some medicine and Mychal will be moving you to more of a hospital setting soon."

"But he's gonna…" Billy couldn't finish the sentence, his head spun and he bit his lip to keep from throwing up.

"We'll be back with Vilain's balls on a platter," Lee wiped Billy's face again, Billy nodded.

"We gotta go now," Barney checked his watch and glanced at Lee," Mychal will keep us up to date."

"G-good luck," Billy managed without getting sick.

"Take care of him," Barney hugged Mychal on his way down the hallway," Thanks again."

"Text me when you can," she smiled and turned to Lee. He embraced her and held her close to his chest before kissing her cheek," Good luck," she kissed his cheek in return.

"Thanks, love," Lee put game-face on as he left her.

Mychal returned to Billy's room and sat in a chair near his bed, she opened a book and started reading where she'd left off," I don't need a sitter," he said glumly.

"They say differently," she didn't look up.

"They're wr-rong," he readjusted on the bed, his back stinging.

"I'm here to take care of you, not babysit," Mychal glanced in his direction," You're a grown man, there's a difference between babysitting someone who isn't responsible and taking care of the wounded."

Billy was silent for a few minutes," Sorry," he said finally.

The hours passed in silence, Billy drifting in and out of sleep from the quickly diminishing stock of pain relievers. Mychal hoped Maggie would come back soon with antibiotics. She stretched and looked at the man in the bed, his eyes closed. He was sprawled on his side, hugging the pillow and snoring lightly. It was a definite improvement from earlier, she knew it was only a matter of time before he'd start getting sick. She was about out of meds and without them being uncomfortable was an understatement. She quietly scooted her chair next to him and looked over his back, not bleeding anymore but heat radiated through the bandages,' You'll spike a fever soon at this rate,' she ran a hand through her hair as she stood. She took a bathroom break while he slept and rinsed herself off in the shower, the only clothes available while hers dried in the shower were 'wife-beater' like muscle shirts and cargo pants or boxers. She opted for the boxers as they were cooler and didn't sag off her waist as badly and the tee shirt. She grabbed her laptop and started searching for nearby hospitals,' Nearby,' she smirked,' we're miles away from civilization of any kind, there is no such thing as nearby,' still she looked, it was better than doing nothing.

He slept hard that night, not waking up even after she was sure the medicine had long worn off. She took this opportunity to get some sleep herself, she slept restlessly in the chair with one arm on the bed next to the sniper in case he woke up and needed her.

She woke when the sun peered into the room through the window, Billy still asleep and hugging the pillow beneath him. She smiled and got up to make some coffee, no birds sang this morning which was odd. She put on a pot of the obviously not gourmet coffee, the Expendables liked their coffee black most of the time with little room in it or their lives for sugar and spice and everything nice. She almost giggled as she remember that Lee took his coffee more like a syrup of sugar and cream with some coffee thrown in for good measure. Stretching, she pulled on her tennis shoes and stepped outside. The day was beautiful, clear sky without a cloud in sight and quiet. She went back in when she heard the coffee pot stop and poured her and Billy a cup.

She brought both cups with her as she returned to his room, he was awake and looking around nervously," You're on ba—"

"Shhhh," he put a finger to his lips.

She shrugged her shoulders and mouthed a 'what's wrong' at him.

"There," he whispered.

She looked around and stepped as quietly as she could. He rubbed his forearm nervously and scanned the room, after a few minutes of silence he lay back," Everything okay?" Mychal set the coffee on the table and waved the steam away.

"Thought…." he shook his head," I'm paranoid…" he flexed his fingers.

"Understandably so," she blew on her coffee to cool it.

"Y-you don't have to…"

"We've been over this," she raised an eyebrow.

"Right," he shifted restlessly.

"You have a girl back home?"

"I promised someone I'd take care of their little sister," he took a sip of his coffee," I care about her, but it's not like….I don't know it's complicated."

"With the line of work you're in I think complicated is part of the resume," she smiled.

"Probably," he set the cup back on the table," I just don't know…" he coughed, blood speckled the back of his hand.

"Normal," she handed him a towel.

"Right," he felt groggy, like everything he did was in slow motion. He blamed the drugs, but was thankful they'd managed to pull something together for him.

"You feel any better?" she was hopeful since he was a bit more active, but this didn't mean anything long-term.

"Stiff," he didn't trust his hand to pick up the coffee again," my back," he winced as he stretched a bit.

"Can I have a look then?"

"Yeah sure," he tried to sit up, the look on his face was all the evidence she needed. For a split second he'd shown her how bad he was hurting.

"The Morphine is probably making you uncoordinated," she put her hands under his arms and braced a knee on the bed, he leaned into her shoulder as she sat him up. She checked his back over,' We've got to get you out of here,' she knew the bandages wouldn't last long and they were out of anything usable to redress such a large area,' I hope Maggie gets back soon,' she sighed, heat radiated through the bandages," You hungry?"

"A little."

"Okay," Mychal went to the kitchen, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Maggie.

"Hello," Maggie answered on the second ring.

"Hey, did you find any of the things on the list?"

"I've been all over, I have one more stop to make but I can't find anything."

"What are our options?" Mychal's heart sank.

"We have to take him to the base," Maggie's reception began to crackle.

"Where? Which one?"

"Japan is the closest."

"Japan?!" Mychal glanced in Billy's direction. He was inspecting the damage on his body while he thought he was alone, she turned and focused on breakfast," How will we get there? The guys already left."

"Take the Jeep," the phone started to break up," Have him lay down in the backseat and hang the IV on the back of the headrest.

"I don't have an IV in him," Mychal shook her head.

"Damn, just hurry and get him there. I have a contact in the village about an hour from you, I'll tell them to look for a Jeep."

"How will I know it's them?"

"Code word is Marigold," Maggie's phone crackled again.

"Marigold," Mychal confirmed," Got it."

After they'd eaten , Mychal informed Billy of the new plan," Vilain isn't going to leave you alone here for long," she packed her bag," We're taking the Jeep and getting you out of here."

Billy wiped his mouth gingerly, the sutures on the side of his lip and his chin catching on the napkin," Good."

"I'll put the bags in the car and come back to help you up," she grabbed as many supplies as she could and scurried out the door before he could answer. When she came back she put a knee on the bed to brace herself and slid her arms around Billy's chest," Reach up and hug your arms around my neck," she instructed. He locked a grip behind her head," Good," she sat him up and pushed his legs to the edge of the bed with her knee. He groaned and his arms flexed, but he didn't flinch," When I stand you up keep and arm over my shoulders and lean on me if you need to," she looked up, their faces were so close their noses were almost touching. She straddled his lap with one foot on the floor and the other knee on the bed, he stared into her eyes for a moment. She shook away the gaze and helped him stand, he drew in a breath as his weight shifted to his legs and he staggered into her," I'm strong," she comforted him," lean into me," he took slow baby steps towards the exit, stopping a few times to catch his breath as the lashes on his back and stomach burned.

Once inside the vehicle she helped him crawl into the back seat and wedged pillows all around him and covered him with a light blanket," Comfy?" she smiled.

"Yeah," he licked his lips, the medicine was wearing off and he was quite uncomfortable actually.

The village was small but busy, Billy had either fallen asleep or passed out on the way there Mychal wasn't sure which. She parked at a what looked like a diner and waited, nervous that one of Vilain's men were onto her. Minutes seemed like hours as she fiddled with her phone, finally a man approached the vehicle. She rolled down the window just enough to be able to hear what he was saying and fingered the gun beneath the steering wheel.

"Marigold," he said in a thick accent.

"Get in," he walked around the front of the Jeep and settled into the passenger's seat. Billy stirred but didn't wake up.

"That him?"

"Yes."

"He doesn't look so good," the man frowned.

"How are we getting him to Japan?" she put the Jeep in reverse.

"I have a plane," the man leaned back in his seat and stretched," follow the road this way," he nodded.

"Who's flying it?" she asked as she pulled out of the small dirt parking lot.

"My friend and I will take you to Japan, no worries."

Mychal sent a quick text to Barney and Lee,' Something doesn't feel right, call me.'