Chapter 7: Drop Zone

Mychal decided it was a better idea to let the man drive and crawled into the backseat with Billy, she laid his head in her lap and brushed his hair with her fingers. Through the ride, he didn't wake although his face suggested his dreams weren't pleasant. She almost jumped when her cellphone vibrated, Barney had texted back,' I've sent a text message to his phone, if it goes off in a few minutes you'll know you're with the right guy,' she breathed a sigh of relief. She looked down at Billy to distract her, despite the swelling and sutures he was very attractive. A few minutes ticked by and the cellphone did not go off, Mychal began getting antsy. Billy's eyes moved restlessly beneath their lids as she shifted in the seat, he groaned and she cupped his cheek in her hand. His eyes opened and blinked up at her, questioning.

He could immediately tell she was nervous, her usually relaxed shoulders were tensed and raised as she texted . She reached into the backpack on the floorboard to get the gun she'd packed just in case that phone didn't go off in the next few seconds," Something wrong?" the man driving shifted so he could see Mychal. She continued rummaging through the bag," Is something wrong?" he repeated, annoyance showing in his voice.

"I'm looking for some medicine for him," she didn't look up," I was sure I'd packed it in this bag."

"I wish you'd sit still," he tried to hold his composure.

"It must be in the bottom of the…."

The vehicle rolled to a stop, nothing around them he noticed. Nothing but trees and what looked like jungle although he wasn't sure where they were," I said keep still," he turned and looked behind him, a gun in his hand casually pointed towards her. Billy stiffened, this was not the right driver," If you no want to listen," he pointed the barrel down towards Billy.

"Okay," she pulled her hands up," What do you want?"

"There were soldier in town, they say look in next few days for wounded man being move. Nothing personal, they tell us they kill us if we no bring him."

"You don't have to…"

"Lady, if I no bring him my family die, they want him not you," he turned around and continued driving," You do well to remember that."

"Why do they want him?"

"They no say."

Mychal's phone buzzed, thankfully the man didn't notice. Lee had sent a text,' Maggie is coming to get you, call her phone and leave it in your bag. She will find you,' Mychal dialed Maggie's number and locked her phone when she picked up. No noise on the other side of the call, good sign. She dropped the phone into her backpack in between some gauze.

"I no hesitate to shoot you," she knew he meant it by the tone of his voice.

"I can protect you and your family, no one has to know I was even here," Mychal nudged the gun onto the top of her foot.

Billy shook his head, he mouthed something Mychal couldn't understand. His arm dropped as if it had fallen, his hand reached for the gun. She pushed her foot towards it and he gripped the handle, it felt awkward for once, heavy. He gripped it as best he could and tried lifting his arm, he winced and almost dropped it onto the floor.

"Something wrong?" the car slowed again.

"His meds are wearing off, I need what's in my backpack," she tried.

"Fine, get pills and *nothing* else," he was firm and accelerated again.

She reached down and grabbed the gun from Billy's hand and rummaged through her bag as if searching for his meds," I'm asking you one more time to please take us to our friends and not the soldiers."

"Lady, I sorry but mi' familia es…" she pushed the barrel of the gun against his neck," You crazy?!" he broke into his native tongue and started rambling.

"Turn the car around," she cocked the gun for emphasis, he shook his head," TURN AROUND!" she demanded, the car stopped.

"Take car," he took his hands off the wheel, she helped Billy sit up and moved towards her door.

"Mychal!" Billy grabbed her arm and pulled her into his lap, the gunshot cracked through the confines of the vehicle deafening all inside. She realized he'd taken the gun from her hand, a second and third shot fired. The compression waves hit like battering rams, then it was quiet except for the ringing in her ears. She lay across Billy's lap, his arm over her protectively. The driver door was open, she guessed the man had fallen out when Billy had shot him.

"You okay?" her voice was muffled and far away, her ears hadn't adjusted all the way. She sat up, Billy was leaning into the door and grabbing at his chest. Blood spread down his shirt, she tried not to panic," Billy!" she pulled him into her and lay him across the seat, realizing he'd just taken a bullet for her. His breathing labored, she pulled a handfull of gauze out of her backpack. She moved his hand and ripped his shirt, she pushed gauze into the wound and pressed down to try and stop the bleeding. His back arched and he growled to keep from screaming, she grabbed the emergency dose of Morphine she'd been saving and pulled the cap off the syringe with her teeth. She buried it into his pec above the wound, within a few seconds he stopped squirming beneath her. She dialed Barney on her cell as she taped the gauze to his chest as tightly as she could. She wedged bags between him and the front seat to keep him from moving and hopped into the driver's seat. The man driving lay dead on the ground, blood pooling around him.

"Hello?" Barney answered.

"Barney!" she put the Jeep in drive and floored it," Your guy didn't show up, someone else knew the code word and…"

"Okay, use the Maps app on your phone and set it to the destination 'pick-up', it should bring you to where Lee's landing."

She entered the coordinates," I'm two hours out," she steered towards the marker.

"Lee should beat you there, I sent him out as soon as I got your text. It's a good thing we weren't too far out, how's the kid?"

"He's been shot," she glanced into the backseat, Billy was unconscious and breathing heavily.

"He was what?!"

"The man was going to shoot me and he puled me into his lap and…" she started crying," he took the bullet."

"It's not your fault," Barney tried to calm her down," Where's he hit?"

"His chest, in the middle but to the right a little," she dried her eyes.

Lee wished the chopper would go faster, he'd taken the smallest one he could find. They'd had to pay a hefty price to rent it from military property but it hadn't mattered. He could almost see the destination and prayed they were okay, his cell went off and a text from Barney appeared,'What's your ETA?' he typed back,' 30m.'

His cell beeped again,' Kid has a GSW,' Lee's stomach leapt into his throat, he prayed silently.

==FLASHBACK==(Lee)

Lee zip-lined down the wire in front of Barney, bullets whizzed past their heads, the two dropped as the wire snapped," I've got your back," Lee called as they hit the ground.

"Why always me?" Barney stood up stiffly.

"You hit?"

"Yeah twice," he took Lee's hand and stabled himself.

"Better you than me," Lee smirked.

"That's nice," he rubbed the vest where the bullets were buried.

Men suddenly surrounded them, guns pointing at their heads. They screamed orders in a language neither of the Expendables understood," You order room service?" Lee's sarcasm masked his annoyance.

"Not really," Barney put his hands up.

"This is gonna be a piss-poor ending," Barney made his hand into a mock-gun and started pointing it towards the soldiers, Lee shook his head," That loaded?"

"We can only hope," Barney pointed a one soldier, his chest exploded and blood sprayed the ones next to him. Barney turned and pointed at the rest and the same happened to each of them.

At the other end of those bullets, a sniper ejected the magazine," Sorry sir, I had to adjust for wind-shift."

"No problem," Barney's voice was in his ears through his headphones," Hit the last position."

"Movin' out, over," Lee finally saw him through the shrubbery and brush on the hill a few hundred feet away.

==END FLASHBACK==

It was the first experience he'd had with Billy on the team, he remembered asking himself exactly how he'd hidden so well and that he'd never seen a sniper's camouflage he couldn't see through. He landed the chopper and started watching for the Jeep. He checked his cell, nothing. He texted Barney,' I'm here.'