Come home

No gore, just angst.

14/5/98

"So, if their drops so far have been there, there and there," Greg said, marking red dots on the map on the table, "and ours were here and here, they, and consequently Adam, are probably somewhere in this area." Greg began to draw out a shape on the map between the dots with a pair of compasses."

"That's only two square miles." Sarah said. "That's almost searchable."

"Not on foreign soil." Sam reminded her. "We can't start setting up road blocks, and as soon as they know we're close, they'll bolt and leave Adam's body behind." Fiona bit the inside of her mouth.

"Add another point to the map, Greg." Chris walked in, brandishing an envelope. Fiona almost jumped upright. She wasn't the only one. "Found here." Chris tapped the map. "And we're to reply here." He tapped a different place, dropping the envelope. Fiona, Sam and Sarah snatched at it. Sam was nearest, so pulled out the folded piece of paper and read.

"Josif Mihaillovitch has been executed as a traitor to his people. We are being remarkably lenient towards Adam Carter considering the crimes he has committed against Serbia. Do not doubt that we will punish him adequately if our demands are not met. Also, we suggest that you do not continue to waste our time. Tomorrow, this dog will be set on the oppressor." Sam turned the paper over. "Which dog?" Tash picked up the discarded envelope.

"This dog." She threw a photo on to the table. Everyone looked. The dog had been jumping at the camera when the photo had been taken, teeth bared, eyes wild and rolling. "Looks rabid."

"Any dog will look like that if you bait it." Chris said calmly. "A rather useless piece of paraphernalia, intended to scare us, if you ask me." Fiona privately felt that it was doing its job. The dog's head and neck were muscular, its teeth curved long and curved like scimitars. What those jaws could do to living flesh, a human body, Adam's body, didn't bear thinking about.

"You're OK Fi." Sarah seemed to read her mind. Fiona nodded, jaw set, Adam's screams reverberating in her ears again.

"Chris, this isn't useless." Sam said softly. Fiona looked at him. There was a glaze to his eyes, a glaze that usually meant he was thinking very hard. What had he seen? What had he seen that the rest of them had missed? What had he seen that could lead them to Adam? Fiona watched him with bated breath. "Greg, how much smaller do the two new points make our area?"

"Ten-fifteen percent?"

"Mile and a half area." Sam seemed to be talking half to himself. "Not searchable, not on foreign soil, but..." He looked up suddenly. "In a mile and a half of residential area, how many dogs like that can there possibly be?"

"It's a fighting dog, Sam." TAsh said incredulously. "That's a rough area, there'll be loads of 'em." Sam shook his head.

"Brindle coat, white throat, chest and paws except right fore. I think that's a man's shoe behind it, so it's not more than... what? 25 inches in the shoulder? And not much longer than it is tall. Left ear missing, right ear tatty, scars all over the left side of its neck. How many dogs like that could there possibly be in that area?"

"It's not a pet, it's not going to be taken for walks, Sam." Chris said.

"No, but..." Sam ran a hand through his hair. "It's a residential area. The houses are all quite small. The job doesn't feel like part of a big, well-funded operation. The drill they were using..." Sam tailed off. "It looked like a drill anyone could buy from a hardware shop. They're probably not keeping the dog on site, so to set it on Adam, they've got to either move Adam, which is a huge risk or-"

"Move the dog." Fiona finished. "It will have to be out in the open, even if it's just for a few minutes."

"How many eyes can we get there?" Sam asked.

"Ten assets at a push, five of our own stationed out there." Chris said slowly.

"And a couple of us?" Sam suggested.

"I'll go." Fiona offered, before anyone else could.

"No, Fiona, I-"

"For God's sake Chris!" She shouted. "I'm not some nineteenth century officer's wife who'll just wait at home indefinitely, not knowing a thing while her husband went off in to danger, until somebody deigned to tell her he was captured or dead! You know I'm competent, let me help!" There was a very long silence.

"Fiona, please be rational. You've never been to Serbia, you can barely string a sentence together in Serbian. I'm sending Sarah and Tash. Not Sam, his cover's blown. Even if you knew the area, I wouldn't send you. I don't know if it's just concern for Adam, but you've been emotionally unstable and I consider your judgement to be impaired. You're emotionally compromised. You must realise that."

"Oh, give her a break, Chris." Sarah snapped. "She's pregnant, God knows she's got a reason to be emotionally compromised." Fiona bowed her head. There was a very long silence.

"Fiona?" Chris asked. "Is this true?"

"Unconfirmed." She replied coldly. "And the rules say it's mine and Adam's business up to eight weeks. If I am, I'm barely five weeks."

"And you've wondered all the time..." Sam started. "Fiona, I'm so sorry."

"It's in no way your fault Sam. I'll see if I can get flights for Sarah and Tash." She needed to get out. She needed space to breathe. No one challenged her.

She had no idea why she felt so go at, why it bothered her so much that everyone knew she was pregnant, or knew she might be. But she felt different somehow, the vomiting hadn't stopped, she was a full week overdue... She hated that Adam would be the last to know, assuming he survived long enough, assuming she ever saw him alive again- It felt like being watched in a cage, with nowhere to hide. Hormones? Fear for Adam exploding anywhere it could?

They had a lead now. Sam's idea might well work. Adam could be home in 24 hours. She had to keep her eyes on that.