Chapter 5
He moved swiftly through the corridor, punching through any guards that were unlucky enough to be in his way. They would try to shoot through the armor, but it was futile. Every shot would simply bounce harmlessly off.
He went over the directions again in his head, trying to remember the way to his freedom. It was straight until the fork. From there it was right, then another right. It was that simple. All he had to do now was get there. The men ran ahead of him, whether it was from fear or to try to stop him before he reached the door, he didn't know. For some, it was probably both.
He could see the door ahead of him as the group ran behind it and shut it, leaving one of their own behind. So much for honor among terrorists. The man screamed and jumped at the door banging as loudly as he could in an attempt to escape. Tony came up to the terrified man and gave him a hard smack with the side of his arm, knocking the man out and putting a dent in the door.
With the man out of the way, he continued to bang on the door, putting several large dents in it before it finally gave way. The men behind began yelling orders at each other and continued to fire at him. Swinging his arms around, he hit several of them, sending them to the ground with a loud thud. He aimed for another, but the man ducked, causing Tony's arm to become imbedded in the rock.
He jerked on his arm, hoping that it would come out, but the piece of armor was stuck tightly. He gave several more tugs before he heard a loud clang on the side of his helmet. He turned to see a man on the ground, a circle of red coming from his forehead. Apparently the helmet worked better than Tony had anticipated.
With a final tug his arm came free, and he was ready to continue his quest for freedom.
He saw the light at the end of the tunnel, joy and dread welling up inside of him. He was almost there and yet still so far from sweet freedom. Where was JC? Were they going to use her as a hostage to make him surrender? What if they had already killed her? No. They wouldn't do that. JC would never let them kill her so easily. She was a fighter, a warrior. But Yinsen wasn't. He might have bought time with his madman routine, but he doubted that they would spare the man. He only hoped Yinsen was still alive, that both his friends were alive.
The corridor widened to reveal the entrance of the cave. He scanned the area for assailants only to find Yinsen laid out on sacks of U.S. supplies.
"Yinsen!" he cried, praying that the man was still alive.
"Watch out!" Yinsen warned weakly.
Tony turned in time to see the leader firing an RPG directly at his armor. He dodged and shot off his own rocket. The explosion sent rocks and debris from above, rendering the leader unconscious.
When Tony was sure he was no longer a threat, only then did he move to Yinsen, pulling off a bag of grain.
"Stop," Yinsen breathed.
"Come on, we gotta go." Yinsen didn't move. Tony could see the blood, saw how pale he looked. There was part of him that said the man was a lost cause, but he refused to accept that. He had come this far, and he wasn't about to give up now. "Move for me. We've got a plan. We're gonna stick to it," Tony urged quickly.
"This was always the plan."
"Come on. You're gonna go see your family. Get up."
"My family is dead," he admitted with a strange calmness. "I'm going to see them now, Stark."
Upon hearing this, Tony's face fell. He felt such pity for the dying man, and yet such great respect. He had given his life so willingly for someone he barely knew.
"It's okay. I want this," he said gently. "I want this."
"Thank you for saving me," was all he could think of to say.
"Don't waste it. Don't waste your life," he said, his breath becoming labored as he breathed his last.
Tony set his jaw and looked out at the bright daylight re-energized by his newfound rage. Yinsen was an innocent, desperate man, and they had shot him down like an animal. This could not be forgiven. It would not be forgiven.
He pulled his mask back down, ready to go out and turn the camp into an inferno when he heard the groan of a woman. He turned around to see JC lying on the ground, half conscious, blood spattered across the back of her head and neck.
"JC!" he choked out as he frantically made his way over to her, praying he was not too late to save her. He wouldn't be able to bear it if she died, too.
"Tony? Is that you?" she asked, half dazed as she stared up at his iron face. He saw now that she had a fresh cut on her face, a trail of blood covering her cheek. She looked like she had been beaten a bit, but judging by the number of bodies around her, the terrorists had been beaten a lot worse.
"Yeah, it's me. Are you all right? You're covered in blood," he said worriedly, as he helped her up and untied her hands.
"It's not my blood. Someone broke their face with my head. Where's Yinsen?" she queried, worry lacing her voice.
"He's dead," he answered her solemnly.
She looked over in the direction of Yinsen's body and stifled a cry. "Oh, God, no. No, no, no! I tried to stop him, but it was too late. Oh, God," she wailed, beginning to go into hysterics.
"JC, don't lose yourself," he demanded, grabbing her shoulders with both bulky, iron fists. "I know you're scared, but I need you here. I need you in this moment. Can you do that?" He remembered those words that she had used on him in Japan when he had started to succumb to fear. If anything would work on her now, it would be those words. And he needed them to work. He knew he wouldn't be able to finish this if she fell apart now.
It took her a moment to register his words, but she quickly calmed herself. "I'm fine. I'm here," she responded automatically, a tone of seriousness coming over her.
"Good. Now, stick close to me. It's about to get hot," he ordered, releasing her.
"Wait! There's another way out. There are a couple of Humvees back there. We can get out without a problem," she explained quickly.
"You go that way. I'll meet up with you as soon as I'm finished."
"No, you have to come with me. There's no need for you to go that way."
"I have to, JC. I have to destroy my weapons."
"But, Tony-"
"No, JC," he interrupted gruffly. "I have to do this. I created those weapons out there. It has to be me that destroys them. It's the only way I can be sure."
She stood there in shock for a moment. The look in her eyes was indiscernible; it was as if she was staring at a stranger.
"Okay, Tony. Do what you have to. Just do one thing for me."
"What's that?" he asked.
"Whatever you do, don't die," she pleaded, a hint of a smirk passing over her lips.
"Only because you asked so nicely," he replied, also smirking beneath his helmet.
"I'll find you out there," she said by way of an answer, then ran back down a different corridor to where he assumed was the other exit.
He turned back around to the entrance of the cave and stepped out into the light with several loud, booming steps. After a brief moment, the rest of the camp erupted with weapons fire, each shot aimed right at him.
When the barrage finally ceased, he looked out at the faces of the remaining terrorists, shock and fear present in their stares. "My turn," he declared darkly, and let loose his storm of fire.
She ran back down the hall to where she had seen the Humvees. She was nearly there when she caught the glimpse of the weapon storage room. Inside there was a man looking for fresh ammo. She stopped and ran in, disabling the man before he knew what had hit him. She grabbed his gun thinking it would no doubt have some use, but then another thought struck her. Tony was trying to destroy all of his weapons, but with these in here, he'd never succeed. Quickly glancing around the room she found a box of grenades, dynamite, and fuses. Working quickly, she grabbed the fuses and dynamite and rigged them to give her just barely enough time to get out before they went off and stuffed it in the box of grenades. The confined space would easily amplify the blast enough to destroy the weapons and probably most of the caves. Searching the body of the guard she found a lighter and lit the fuse.
Not wasting another moment, she picked up her stolen gun and ran down the corridor. She figured she had about two minutes before the dynamite would go off. That left very little room for error.
As she ran through the opening of the cavern that held the vehicles, someone began to fire at her. She ducked quickly behind one of the vehicles, trying to find the source of the shots. She hadn't expected anyone to be in here. From the sound of the alert, she had assumed everyone would have moved to the main entrance. Obviously, she was wrong. And she didn't have time to waste with them.
Moving quickly, she opened the door of the vehicle and got into the passenger seat. The gunner let off several more rounds, shattering the windows. She ducked down, shielding her head with her arms. She didn't dare shoot back. She had a limited supply of ammo, and she might need it if they managed to chase them down in the desert.
With only seconds remaining she quickly crawled over to the driver's seat and turned the key in the ignition, slamming her foot against the accelerator. The vehicle shot through the exit and out into the desert, following the man-made trail through the mountains. An instant later she could hear the sound of explosions from with the cave and barely caught the sight of tumbling rock. But that wasn't the only thing in her rear view mirror.
Sparing a glance behind her, she saw two more Humvees following closely behind her. "Crap! You have got to be kidding me!" she exclaimed angrily.
The path ended abruptly opening to the vast, desolate desert. With the extra room to maneuver, she began to serpentine across the sand, hoping that one of them would get careless and slam into the other. With no such luck, she spun the vehicle around and headed straight for them.
They swerved aside, letting her pass between them as they too spun around. She cursed again and tried to come up with a new plan as one of the drivers began shooting at her. "What the hell? Don't you guys ever run out of ammo?" she bellowed. In the distance, an explosion could be heard as a cloud of smoke billowed up from behind the mountains.
"Geeziz, Tony. Could you make a bigger explosion?" Looking closer through the smoke she saw some sort of projectile shooting away from the cloud and arcing over the mountains. "That is the exact opposite of what I asked you, kamikaze! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
She watched carefully where he landed and headed straight for him, a plan formulating on how to lose her pursuers. She sped over a dune spotting the dark shape of Tony against the pale sand.
She spun around again, facing one of her pursuers while the other kept close behind. Cursing, she grabbed her gun and jammed it against the gas pedal with the steering wheel, going faster toward the other driver. Neither made a move to turn away from their course. The driver behind her kept his own course, probably unaware of where she was heading.
With barely a hundred feet left between them, their deadly game of chicken came to an end as she jumped out of the vehicle and rolled across the sand, letting the three vehicles crash into each other and causing an explosion that killed the other two drivers. She surveyed the damage sparing one final thought for the fact that she had just lost her gun.
So much for protection, she thought lamely.
Getting over the shock of what had happened, she got up and ran towards the dark spot against the sand that she knew to be Tony. When she reached him, he was trying to free himself from the wreckage of what had been his armor. "Tony, are you okay? I saw you flying over those mountains," she said as she began to help him out of the hole.
"Ow!" he exclaimed when she tried pulling on his right arm.
"What is it?"
"My shoulder. I think the landing screwed it up," he said with a grimace.
When he was finally out of the hole she gently pulled his jacket off to inspect his shoulder. She could see blood, but it wasn't profuse, and it didn't look like it was dislocated. Both were good things.
"Looks like you're just cut up a bit, maybe jammed your shoulder. You're gonna be fine," she declared.
"I'll believe it when I hear it from a real doctor. Your idea of fine is getting stabbed a few times and shot."
"At least I don't try to blow myself up," she countered. "That smoke can probably be seen for miles."
"What about you?" He motioned to the three flaming vehicles. "Cutting it a bit close, weren't we?"
"Don't turn this on me. I'm allowed to do that. You're the one who said he wouldn't get himself killed. How is that not trying to get yourself killed?"
"You just said 'don't die'. You never said I couldn't try," he pointed out.
"Don't," she said, smacking his good shoulder, "try to be cute with me, mister. You're not that funny."
"Ow! You know what? You need to grow a sense of humor," he complained, rubbing the spot where she had hit him.
"I'll think about it. Come on. We need to get out of here, in case there's anyone left. They'll follow your trail right to us," she announced, scanning the area.
"Any suggestions on direction?"
"Hang on. I'm almost positive," she said, doing her final calculations. "That way should lead back to the base," she added, pointing.
"'Should'?"
"I can't say for sure, since I was busy trying to keep you alive when they brought us here. That direction is our best bet. Now, unless you'd like to stand here arguing some more, I suggest we leave," she said, and marched off.
"Wait up!" he called, rushing to catch up.
Hours later, they were still walking across the desert. The sun had begun to sink down, turning the sky a bright orange, but that didn't make the heat any less unbearable. JC, who had been the leader of their escapade, had fallen behind, obviously fatigued and dehydrated. Tony had tried to offer his jacket for sun protection, but she vehemently refused.
Tony kept on, every so often looking back to make sure JC was all right. He wasn't worried until he looked back to see her sitting down in the sand. "JC, are you okay?" he called to her.
"I'm fine. You keep going. I'll catch up in a minute," she yelled back.
"I'm not leaving you alone," he said, walking back to her.
"Tony, I'm only slowing you down. You need to keep going. If you find help, they can come back for me," she explained, bleary eyed.
"I'm not taking the chance on me forgetting which direction we came from. Now, come on. Let's go," he said reaching his hand down to her.
"No, Tony," she said weakly, slapping his hand away.
"Yes, JC. I'm not gonna abandon you. Give me your hand. We've gotta keep moving."
"No, Tony!" she growled again. "Don't you get it? We are lost out here. We're going in damn circles. We could be heading in the opposite direction, for all I know. We don't stand a chance, not together. You might be able to, but I can't." Any energy she might have had simply drained out by the time she was finished. "I can't do it," she admitted weakly. "I don't have anything left. I can't make it."
"So that's it then? You just give up?" he challenged. "We spent God knows how many months in that hellhole, barely escaped with our lives, and you just want to give up and quit now? What the hell, JC? Yinsen died to help us escape. You're just going to sit here and waste that?"
"Don't you dare patronize me." Her voice was weak, but the glare in her eyes still had the power to burn him. "You think his death means nothing to me? It means everything. I was there. I watched them kill him, and I couldn't do a damn thing to stop it. You think I want to give up? I have a family just like he did. My child is the only thing that has kept me alive, but happy thoughts don't keep you alive forever. I want more than anything to see my son again, but I don't even have the strength to stand anymore. You still have a chance. You can survive. It'll be worth something."
Tony stood there for a moment considering his options; leaving her was not a choice. "Then I'll carry you."
"You can't. Your shoulder is injured, and there is no way you can go the rest of the way with over a hundred pounds on your back. There's no telling how far the base is. The only logical solution is for you to go on without me. Your life is more valuable right now. You're the only one anyone is going to be looking for."
"My life is worth nothing!" he exclaimed, infuriated at her. "All of this will mean nothing if you die. All I have ever done is make weapons that have killed God only knows how many innocent people. You think anyone back home would even mourn me? I have no one, JC. I don't have a family waiting for me to come back. Hell, half the world would probably be ecstatic if I died out here. But you have people waiting for you, family and friends that would give anything to see you home." It galled him to say those words, but they were the truth. There was no one. Maybe Rhodey would care. He wasn't sure about Pepper or Happy. Sure, they might care that their paycheck was gone, but did they actually care about him? He honestly didn't know, and that was more terrifying than anything else.
"Why do you even care?"
"Saving you has been the only good thing I have ever done with my life. And I'll be damned if you try throwing it away by asking me to abandon you now. Now, give me your hand."
"Tony, please, don't. Just do what I say for once in your life without questioning me," she half whined.
"For once in my life, if I obey you, I'll be doing the wrong thing. I can't do that. You're coming with me if I have to drag you, which I would prefer not to do," he said softly, kneeling down to her level. "We're going home together or not at all."
"Who are you, and what did you do with Tony Stark?" she asked with a chuckle.
"He's taking a permanent vacation."
"I hate you so much."
"I know," he said, grabbing her by the arm and hoisting her on to his back. "Hang on tight." He tightly wrapped his arms beneath her legs for support. His shoulder was screaming at him, but he forced the pain back. He had managed to get her this far. He wasn't going to abandon her now.
"If we live through this, I'm going to kill you," she said leaning her head wearily against his shoulder.
"If we live through this, I might just let you," he replied, continuing in the direction she had told him. After that, she didn't complain anymore.
The sun was nearly covered by mountains now, turning the sky to a dusky pink. Tony didn't know how far they had gone, but wherever they were, they were nowhere close to the base. He assumed if they were getting closer, there would be some sort of sign. Tracks, aircraft, noise of any kind, anything to give him a clue.
He went over the next dune, hoping to see something. Without surprise, more desert greeted him. With a heavy sigh, he was about to continue when he heard the sound of propellers behind him. He turned, a sudden sinking feeling in his stomach. Did the terrorists have a helicopter?
Two helicopters flew overhead, American flags stamped to their sides. Tony yelled at them with glee, trying to get their attention. "Oh, my God, we made it. Put me down. I can make it from here," JC said happily.
"Are you sure?"
"You've carried me long enough. I'm walking to that helicopter if it kills me."
He helped her down before saying, "We're going home. Thank God, we're going home." He walked with her and watched as several soldiers jumped out of the closest aircraft. In the lead was Rhodey. When he saw his friend, Tony couldn't help but leave JC and run to meet him. He wasn't really sure where the energy had come from, but he was glad for it.
After sliding down the sandy hill, Tony was finally face-to-face with his friend and after a brief moment of formality, he hugged his comrade, overcome with joy that he was finally getting out of his hell. They both were.
"Come on, JC. Let's go," he said, turning to her. What he saw made his stomach drop. "JC!" In the few moments he had left her side she had fallen to the ground, her body making no movement to pick herself up again.
Goddammit, no! Not now! Tony yelled at himself. Had the reactor given out? Was he too late to save her? No. he wouldn't accept that. He couldn't. He ran to her and pulled her up into his arms. "JC?" He shook her gently, forced her to look up at him. "JC, look at me." Her eyes were unfocused slits, but she was still breathing steadily. That meant the reactor was still working. For now.
"Is she all right?" Rhodey asked as he joined him.
"I don't know. She needs a hospital. Now," Tony said as he gathered her up and carried her to the nearest helicopter. Once they were situated, a medic began looking her over.
"Is she okay?" one of the pilots asked. Tony looked up at him, the man's face etched with worry. Was he a friend? "Doc?" the man demanded when the medic said nothing.
"She's severely dehydrated, Masters. Get her back to base," the medic finally said. Without another word the pilot turned back to his job and pulled the helicopter into the air.
"Is there anything you can do?" Tony asked.
"I'm gonna try to start an IV. Hold this up," the doctor said, handing Tony a bag of fluid. After tying a rubber tourniquet around her left arm he started looking over her elbow, the needle at the ready, but he made no move to insert it. "Dammit, I can't see it."
"See what?"
"Her veins are so constricted." He moved from her elbow down to her hand. "I can't see or feel a damn thing."
"That's never stopped you people from digging around anyway," Tony said dryly. He'd never had that particular experience, but Pepper had complained about it every time she went to give blood.
"You don't understand. I blow the vein, that's it; we're done. She can't afford a mistake," he tried to explain as he moved to the other arm.
"And if you can't find a good vein?"
"I won't have a choice. It'll have to be sub q, but it works too slow. It needs to be IV."
"You realize I have no idea what you just said."
"Tony, just shut up and let him do his job," Rhodey finally said. Tony glared at him, but he had to concede the point. The doctor had to know what he was doing, and Tony had to trust that he would do something to save her. That didn't mean he couldn't be impatient about it. This was his friend, a woman he had fought for, tooth and nail, to save from those monsters.
"There," the doctor exclaimed, pushing her hair away from her temple.
"Seriously?" Tony asked skeptically.
"It's not ideal, but it'll do." The man pressed against her temple to enlarge the vein before poking the needle and releasing the stop on the IV line. "Hold it here," he said, putting Tony's other hand against the needle to hold it place as he reached for tape. After he taped the needle in place he took the bag of fluid from Tony and attached it to the roof of the helicopter.
"Here," Rhodey said, holding out a bottle of water. Tony didn't hesitate, all but ripping the cap off the bottle before taking several long gulps. Some had managed to go down the wrong tube and made him choke, but he didn't care. It was water, good, clean water. He'd never thought something so simple could be so wonderful. Leaning his head back, he savored the sweet taste for another moment before swallowing another mouthful.
JC stirred from her position leaned against his chest and muttered a name just barely audible through the noise of the propellers. "Darren."
"What did she say?" the doctor asked.
Tony looked down at her with a small, wistful smile. It was the same name she had said before she fell into her coma, the one person she loved in the world. "It's her son."
AN: Hope ya'll enjoyed the revised chapter 5. Let me know what you think with a review :)
