The morning sun struck her face with intense heat the next morning. She had packed her bags and they were heading out of the tent towards the trucks. She walked behind the rest of their section as the first members of her team climbed into the armoured truck. She approached the steps just as Jones walked around the side of the truck, carrying his gun and bags as they all did. He simply looked at her and nodded towards the inside of the truck. She took that as her cue to move and she clambered up and sat on the end of the bench, on the opposite side to Jones. Neal stood on a raised platform at the centre of the small space with his head out of the roof and his hands on the gun that protects them all.
"The kids are going to school." Neal said from above. "Don't run over the little blighters or the whole thing will have been a bit of a waste of time." He joked.
"Our work here is done." Jones said quietly with a small smile on his face. The lads clapped and cheered as Emma looked out of the two small windows at the back of the truck. She saw a group of children running towards the school and furrowed her eyebrows as she realised that there were no girls.
"Sir, there's only boys." She said, looking to Jones.
"It's not our concern now, Swan. The ASF will handle it from here."
"Yes, Sir." She whispered, looking back at the ground. The truck drove on in silence until Neal started up a sing-along. The very out-of-tune group of men were singing 'The Wheels on the Bus' as if it was their last day on earth, which in their line of work was quite possible, and she welcomed the distraction from her own mind. Suddenly, the truck jolted forward and the section fell onto the shoulder of the person next to them.
"What the hell was that?" Jones called.
"Sir, there's a roadblock. White sheet pinned down by rocks. Looks like there could be a body under it." Neal spoke from above. Jones looked alarmed and they all mimicked his expression.
"I'm ready, Sir." Emma spoke before anyone could get a word in. He took a breath and grabbed his gun before opening the back doors.
"Right, Cassidy stay on that gun. Hood & Jeff covering me. The rest of you surround the truck, stay low. Swan with me." He ordered their section to their positions then took the metal detector from the back and gestured for Emma to follow him to the front of the truck. She looked up to his face and for the first time since the Leila incident she saw something in his eyes, fear. "You wait here until I call you." He said, looking to her and placing his hand around the hold of the metal detector.
"Yes, Boss." She whispered. Holding the base of the gun to her shoulder she stared straight ahead, following his every move through the scope on her gun. Jones moved further and further forward. Thankfully, not blowing up as he approached the body. She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't take it anymore. She followed his footsteps until she reached him. The others all called her back to the truck but she refused and kept walking. He turned to look at her.
"Do you have a death wish Swan?" He asked, looking furious. She ensured her comms were turned off before answering.
"No Sir." She said honestly.
"Well then, what the hell are you doing out here?" He asked, turning around to continue the mission.
"I wanted to talk to you Sir." She saw him tense but that wouldn't stop her. "Nothing happened with Smurf. We're mates that's all. I especially wouldn't want you to think we were anything more." She said, somehow gathering the confidence that she really didn't think she had in her.
"What are you trying to say Swan?" He asked, continuing to walk so that the others didn't get suspicious. She took a deep breath before replying.
"I'm… I'm fond of you Sir." She finally admitted. His head jolted back to face her.
"This is neither the time nor place for this conversation." He replied bluntly, turning back to the sheet that now lay just ahead of them.
"Do you love me?" She blurted out. He turned to look at her again as they now stood just by the sheet. Suddenly, a hand grabbed at his boot and both their heads jolted down to look. Jones threw the detector on the ground and yanked the sheet away from the body. They both froze when they saw who lay in front of them.
"It's Sahau!" She screamed down her comms. She threw herself down next to him and began an initial examination. His face was covered in blood, his lips were cracked and he could barely speak. Jones ripped open the medical bag next to her and she began listing what she needed. She could hear Humbert calling the base from the sat phone ordering an urgent Medical evacuation.
"Please don't die on me." She kept repeating as she treated what wounds she could. She didn't know what his chances were but she knew they wouldn't be good.
They stood on opposite sides of Sahau as he lay motionless in the hospital bed. He was covered in bandages and stitches, he looked so weak. The nurse approached the bed carrying his notes in her hand.
"How is he?" Emma asked.
"He's still unresponsive. We're doing everything we can but it doesn't look good." The woman explained, a pitying look in her eye.
"Thank-you." Jones said to her. They stood for a moment in silence as the nurse retreated back to her station. She looked at his face as his fingers moved slightly and his eyes began to twitch open.
"Hey." She said, coming closer to the bed.
"Where am I?" He asked huskily.
"Bastion Medical Ward. Sahau, who did this to you?" Jones jumped straight to the point.
"Taliban. Went out of the camp, saw a man with a gun on the outskirts of the area. I walked out and they put a hood over my head. They knocked me out and took me to a bunker. They tortured me."
"What did they want with you?" Emma asked.
"Information. On Leila. Kazim wants his daughter back." He spoke weakly but Emma kept pushing.
"You didn't tell him where she was did you? They mustn't know where she is." She said.
"I didn't tell because I do not know. But, that is not the only reason they took me."
"Why else would they want you?" Jones asked.
"They tortured me because I wouldn't kill someone." He spluttered.
"Who? Who did they want you to kill?" Jones asked. His head rested back against the pillow and he took a deep breath as he moved his arm. He raised it up and left all but his index finger loose. He was pointing directly at Emma. The blood drained from her face and she looked up at Jones who had the same expression as her. Fear. Suddenly, the machines around Sahau blared with beeps and screeches.
"He's gone off." She said. "He's gone off!" She shouted this time back towards the Nurse's station. A crowd of nurses and Doctors filled the room and took Sahau out of the room towards the operating theatre. She stood frozen to the spot, Jones moved to stand next to her as they watched Sahau's motionless form taken away.
He turned to look at her as a single tear streamed down her cheek. He stepped forward, placing his hands on either side of her face. She let more tears fall as he rested his forehead on hers.
It was her fault. All of it was her fault.