AN: I am so sorry for the delay in updates! It has been longer than I ever intended between updates but real life happened. Now I'm trying to sneak in writing around 3 kids under 5, one of which is now just 5 weeks old!

Thank you for your patience, and for coming back for more.

Chapter 9 – Rescue

SRU Headquarters

SRU Headquarters was silent as those gathered around Winnie's desk listened to the audio from the Hot Call in progress. They had miraculously found a lead on Team One and Team Two had been dispatched to bring them home.

Norman Holleran was leaning against the dispatcher's desk next to General Jason Braddock as Team Three was gathered around. They were listening intently to what was going on, all while praying that both teams made it out alive.

Rollie: "Alpha Team in position. Prepare to breach on my mark."

Shawn: "Snake cam shows hallway is clear."

Rollie: "Copy. Silent entry in three…two…one."

Everyone at the Barn stood stone still as they listened to Team Two silently breach the warehouse. As rooms were cleared General Braddock turned from the desk and started to pace. With each passing minute he feared that the intel was wrong. That his son wasn't really there.

One would think that Jason Braddock was used to waiting around as his men completed a mission. It's not that he wasn't, but missions that involved his son were different. They always had been. He had a reason to be more interested in those missions and he had always paced his office as he waited to hear word of how the men did on the mission, if there were injuries, and so on. He absolutely hated when he knew his son was injured and there wasn't a thing he could do about it.

This was one of those cases. He knew his son was injured. He knew there were boots on the ground doing their best to bring Sam home. Yet he paced. He paced as he worried about the damage to his son, both physically and emotionally. Jason would continue to pace until the mission was completed and he had word on Sam, until he could see Sam for himself.

He stopped in his tracks as a single shot was heard over the comms.

Rollie: "We have an active shooter. Does anyone have eyes on him?"

Lucas: "Sarge, I think I may have found the subject, and Team One."

Rollie: "Darryl, Shawn, finish clearing the rest of the building. Everyone else with Hanson."

Even as Team Two moved they could hear the yelling from the room.

Mark: "… on a ridge two kilometers away with his .50 cal rifle and blew a hole through my brother's chest. The damage to Matt's body was so extensive that… Braddock was supposed to be Matt's best friend! How could a best friend do that to someone? How could you do it? How could you kill my brother you heartless son of a…"

Jason Braddock sucked in a breath at the words. His heart ached every time the friendly fire incident was brought up because he knew how much pain his son was in because of it.

Rollie: "SRU! Hands in the air!"

Lucas: "Hands in the air!"

Doug: "SRU! Put the weapon down!"

The calls echoed through the room as Team Two poured in, guns at the ready should Mark make even the slightest of wrong moves.

Mark: "You can't stop what's to come."

Jason could hear the complete lack of emotion in Mark's voice and his heart dropped. Was Mark really going to shoot his son even with SRU pointing a weapon at him?

Rollie: "Sir, if you don't put the gun down then we are going to have to shoot you."

Jason stood rooted in place for a long moment. He wished with all his being that he was there to resolve the situation himself. Instead he was falling back on his General persona and allowing those in the field to do their job.

Sam: "NO!"

Jason Braddock's heart skipped a beat as he heard his son cry out followed quickly by two gunshots.

Rollie: "Subject Neutralized."

Lucas: "Winnie, we need EMS in here ASAP. We have an officer down with a gunshot wound and six others with various injuries."

"Copy, EMS is on their way in to you." Winnie responded before taking a deep breath. She was beyond relieved that Team One had been found.

"Rollie, who is the officer down?" Commander Holleran asked anxiously.

Rollie: "Braddock. He sustained a gunshot wound to his left shoulder. Braddock also has numerous other injuries Sir."

Those around Winnie's desk could hear Rollie's team speaking with everyone on Team One, assessing them and taking stock of injuries.

"Report back when you have an update on where they are taking Team One." Holleran ordered as he turned to Jason Braddock.

"Sam." Jason whispered as he finally drew in a full breath.

"Sergeant Cray will keep us updated on his status and which hospital they are taking him to." Holleran placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "He's strong Jason, he'll pull through this. You have to believe that. Not just for yourself but for your son as well!"

Jason simply nodded his head in agreement. Holleran was right. His son was the strongest man he knew. He turned and resumed his pacing as he waited for more word on Sam.

Warehouse

Sam's cry of "NO!" echoed through the room as two gunshots rang out and three people fell to the ground.

"Sam!" Greg rushed to where his rookie had fallen after the gunshot rang out. Wordy quickly dropped down next to him and Rollie appeared on the other side of Sam.

Greg and Wordy heard Rollie reporting back to the Barn on the status of the call but their attention was elsewhere. Greg was carefully rolling Sam off of Jules where he had landed when he jumped to push her out of the line of fire.

"Jules?" Greg asked cautiously.

"Fine. Sam?" Jules asked. She was finally able to take a full breath as Sam's weight was shifted off of her. They had hit the ground hard and she had not only had the breath knocked out of her, but she had hit her head pretty hard as well.

"He's hit." Greg answered.

Wordy was already taking his shirt off and pressing it to the gunshot wound on Sam's left shoulder.

"Come on Sam. Hang in there." Wordy said softly as he watched Rollie check Sam's pulse.

"It's weak, but it's still there." Rollie commented as he met Wordy's eyes. "What happened here?"

"That's a long story Rollie. But the short version is that Mark Simmons was the angry brother of a man that died in Afghanistan. " Ed answered as he walked up to his friend.

"Ed, are you okay?" Rollie asked as he took in the sight of his friend and former TL. Ed looked like he had gone ten rounds in a boxing ring.

"I've seen better days but I'll live. Where is EMS?" Ed asked as he watched Greg and Wordy with Sam.

"Here." Hanson answered as he ushered several paramedics into the room.

Steve took one look around the room before turning to Sergeant Cray.

"Sergeant, who is the most critical?" Steve asked, he needed to know where to start.

"Braddock took a bullet to his left shoulder." Ed answered for Rollie. "Then check on Spike and Lou, they were hit with a Taser several times."

Steve immediately dropped down next to Sam and began working to stabilize the man. He didn't miss the fact that Jules was there, shirtless, as well. However, he pushed his thoughts about Jules aside and concentrated on the man before him.

Steve was shocked to see the map of scars on the man's body that were clearly from another time overlaid with new wounds. He worked quickly with his partner so that they could get the constable to the hospital as quickly as possible.

Greg took a step back and looked around the room. Paramedics were working on Sam and checking out Lou and Spike. He had heard that two more EMS rigs were en route and would be here shortly. Greg was thankful for that. He really wanted his whole team to get checked out at the hospital.

"Sarge." Rollie strode over to his former Sergeant and mentor.

"Rollie, thanks for coming for us." Greg turned and shook the other man's hand.

"Looked to me like you all had things pretty well in hand." Rollie stated as his gaze slowly traveled around the room. He didn't miss the pools of blood and vomit on the floors. "Just what happened here Greg?"

"How long have we been missing Rollie?" Greg asked. He was curious, but it would also help him put things into perspective.

"Two days." Rollie answered simply.

"I'm sure you've heard the gossip that surely been going around the Barn since our last call." Greg stated.

"There is a rumor. They say that Sam shot a friend in Afghanistan?" Rollie hated gossip. Too many times it ruined the lives and reputations of good people.

"Sam was cleared to take out a hotbed of terrorist. The rec was done and he was clear to fire. He didn't realize until he went down to do the ID's that one of the men he killed with his .50 cal rifle was his best friend Matthew Simmons." Greg took a deep breath and pointed to where Mark lay, dead. "Mark was his big brother and decided to come after Sam for killing his brother."

"So he was going to torture you all because of it?" Rollie couldn't believe it. It seemed like Sam Braddock had quite the past.

"He was going to torture us to get to him." Greg stated as he watched Steve and his partner move Sam to a gurney. "He knew that if he hurt us it would hurt Sam. Mark was trying to break Sam both physically and emotionally."

"Were heading out. Is anyone riding with Sam?" Steve asked as his partner finished strapping Sam to the gurney.

"I will." Wordy spoke up. "Where are we going?"

"St. Simons." Steve answered simply as they rushed Sam out.

"We'll meet you there." Greg called as Wordy rushed out to follow. He knew they would need to get Sam to the hospital as soon as possible. The other man had lost a lot of blood.

"Boss, we're heading out too." Lou informed Greg as he walked up and put a hand on Greg's shoulder.

"Wait! I want to look at this first." Spike commented as he broke away from the group and knelt down next to the metal plate that both Sam and Jules had spent time on.

Shawn, Team Two's techie, joined Spike. "What are we looking for?"

"This plate was chilled. I want to see if it was rigged to do anything else." Spike answered simply as he looked under the plate.

It only took moments for both Spike and Shawn to gasp.

"He didn't!" Spike swore under his breath.

"What is it Spike?" Ed asked as he and the rest of teams one and two gathered around.

"This plate it rigged to not just freeze whoever is on it…" Spike started.

"But it's also rigged to heat up too." Shawn finished.

"So whoever was on this thing…"

"Could have been barbequed." The techs once again finished each other's thoughts.

"Is that all?" Greg asked curiously. He wanted to know just how much danger Sam and Jules had been in.

"No." Spike stood, a look of horror on his face. "There is enough explosives under here to bring the whole building down."

"Is it armed?" Ed asked, the Team Leader in him bristling at the thought.

"No, but it will have to be carefully removed." Spike answered.

"I can stay and supervise a bomb squad." Shawn offered as he looked to both the Sergeants in the room.

"Sir, we're ready to go." One of the remaining paramadics stated as he approached Greg.

"Okay." Greg nodded his head in acknowledgement before turning back to the gathered SRU officers. "Rollie, Team Two, thanks for coming to get us."

"Anytime Boss." Rollie smiled. Old habits died hard, he still called Greg 'Boss'.

"Team One, let's go. They need to do a full check on each of us and I need to know how Sam is doing." Greg stated as he looked at his team.

Rollie watched as the rest of Team One left the room. Only after her knew they were safely away did he turn back to his team.

"Just what happened here Sarge?" Lucas Hanson, Team Two's sniper asked.

"One soldier was looking for revenge on another for something that happened in the field. Team One was tortured as a way of torturing Sam for something that had been completely out of Sam's control." Rollie answered.

Hanson turned and slowly walked around the room. He took in all the restraints, the pools of blood, the vomit and water on the ground. Whatever had happened here had not been pretty. He closed his eyes for a moment as he stood next to a broken pipe on the ground. Lucas knew who Sam Braddock was, he had met the young man many years ago. He hoped and prayed that Mark Hanson had not been successful. Sam Braddock was too good of a man, he didn't deserve whatever had happened to him here over the last two days.

St. Simons Hospital

It had been over an hour since Jason Braddock had listened to Team Two breach the warehouse where his son and Team One were being held. It had been a very long hour. Thankfully he was finally at the hospital where his Son was being treated, even though he was still in the SUV. Commander Holleran had graciously offered to give him a ride over and Jason had taken the time to call his wife Sarah. That had not been an easy call!

As the SUV was put in park Jason took a deep breath and turned his gaze to the building before him.

"They arrived with Sam twenty minutes ago. Wordy says he's in surgery now." Holleran shared the information he had been given. He could see that the man beside him was a very worried father.

Jason closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the headrest. He took several deep breaths as he tried to calm his racing heart.

"Your son is a very strong young man. If anyone can come through this it's Sam." Holleran kept his gaze on the building in front of him.

"He's been through so much." Jason said softly as he opened his eyes. "I just want my son to have a happy life, a life without so much torment. Sadly that doesn't seem possible for him."

"Sam may have been through trying times in his life but there is one thing that I know for sure. Samuel Braddock always comes out the other side stronger." Holleran turned to look at Jason. "Just think about it. What did Sam do after his sister's death?"

"He decided that he wanted to be a police officer. That first responder truly made an impression on Sam, even in his grief." Jason answered as he met Holleran's eyes.

"And Sam went on to become an officer. When he found that Jack Martin had been released from his sentence early he had been devastated. But instead of letting it eat him up he went and did more with his life."

"He joined the Army. Something I never thought he would do." Jason sighed and turned back to look out the windshield.

"Sam became the best sniper in the history of the Canadian Army. Sam isn't one to let something beat him. He is a survivor, a phoenix. He has gone through many trials in his life, but he always comes out the other side better and stronger than ever before." Holleran took the keys out of the ignition and looked at Jason once again.

"Sam comes out the other side because he has parents who love him unconditionally. No matter how much he thinks you do Sam really knows deep down that you don't blame him for Anna Marie's death. He knows that you love him. I, for one, believe that that is what keeps him going. He knows that no matter what you are there for him. Even if he doesn't realize he knows it."

"Thank you." Jason whispered. He always struggled with knowing that Sam thought they blamed him for his sister's death. But maybe Holleran was right. Maybe deep down Sam did know that they loved him. With that in mind Jason knew he could do this.

Jason exited the vehicle and strode purposefully to the emergency entrance of the hospital. He needed to know how his son was doing, and the extent of his injuries. As he entered the building the Emergency Room was a flurry of activity. Two ambulances had arrived while they had been sitting in the parking lot and the space inside was a hub of activity. Jason quickly identified the information desk and headed straight for it.

"My name is Jason Braddock. My son, Samuel Braddock, was brought in about thirty minutes ago with a gunshot wound among other injuries. Do you have any information you can give me?" Jason asked, he drew upon his General persona and stayed calm even as he anxiously awaited news for his son.

"May I see your ID please?" The nurse at the station asked.

"Yes, of course." Jason pulled out his wallet and passed her his military ID.

"General Braddock, your son is currently in surgery. The only information in the system is a gunshot wound to his shoulder. I'm sorry I can't give you more information at the moment." The nurse looked up at the General. I can show you to the private waiting room and inform the surgical staff that you are here. I the meantime there is some paperwork that needs filled out. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes, of course. Thank you."

The nurse handed him a clip board of papers just as Holleran walked up next to him.

"Commander Holleran, here to check on your officers?" The nurse asked. Sadly she recognized the SRU Commander. He often had officers in their care.

"Hi Stella, Yes. You should have constables Braddock, Lane, Parker, Callaghan, Wordsworth, Scarlatti, and Young in your care."

The nurse took a moment to look up the information.

"Braddock is in surgery with a gunshot wound to his shoulder. The rest of Team One is still in the ER being checked out." She was hesitant to give any info without privacy.

"Do you have any information on their conditions?" Holleran asked. It was then he noticed Stella's hesitancy. "He's with me, you can share the information."

Stella nodded as she quickly browsed the notes.

"So far it looks like Parker and Wordsworth don't have any injuries reported. Callaghan has a slight concussion. Constables Scarlatti and Young are being treated for electrical burns. Lane is being treated for injured ribs. It looks like the doctors are going to want to keep everyone overnight for observation and blood work." Stella then met the Commander's eyes. "If you want to wait with General Braddock in the private waiting room I can have someone come update you as soon as we have more information."

"Thank you Stella."

"Of course Commander. General Braddock, I'll come up in a bit to collect the paperwork."

"Do you need paperwork on the rest of my team?" Holleran asked.

"No sir, they are all able to complete their paperwork this time. Thank you for asking though."

Holleran simply nodded before turning to Jason. "Come on, I'll show you where the waiting room is."

Jason simply nodded and followed Holleran. Once they reached the waiting room Jason sank to one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs in the room and started in on the paperwork. Holleran paced the room as he set out making phone calls. He had to call the families of the officers and tell them which hospital they were at. Phone calls he always hated making, but at least this time it seemed the news wouldn't be as bad as it could be.

Nurse Stella came in after half an hour to check on the men and collect Sam's paperwork. When she noticed how tired the men were she went and got them piping hot cups of coffee from the nurse lounge. It tasted better than the stuff out of the machine down the hall.

Over the next hour the waiting room slowly filled. The first to arrive was Wordy's wife Shelly, then Mrs. Scarlatti and Lou's sister Andrea. The last to arrive was Sophie and Clark Lane with sack lunches. Holleran was beyond thankful for Sophie Lane who always took good care of anyone who was in the hospital.

Jason sat in the corner of the waiting room with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. He had a headache building and with each passing minute his worry for his son increased.

The door to the room swung open once again and all eyes, except for Jason's, turned to the door. Each person hoping it was hospital staff with an update. Jason knew it wasn't a nurse though, the footsteps weren't that of hospital staff. He didn't even bother to look up.

Sarah entered the waiting room and immediate sought out her husband. She didn't miss the group gathered, or that they were looking at her, but she didn't care. Sarah needed Jason, and she knew that he needed her too. She found him seated in the corner with his head in his hands. She didn't miss the exhaustion in the slight dip in his shoulders. Most wouldn't notice, but she did. She knew him so well that she could see that her husband was exhausted, worried, and stressed.

"Jason." Sarah knelt down in front of her husband and placed her hands on his. "Jason."

Jason looked up as he left familiar hands on his, hear a soothing voice call his name. "Sarah." He breathed.

The Braddocks embraced and held each other for a long minute.

"How is Samuel?" Sarah finally asked. She almost dreaded the answer.

"No news yet, he's still in surgery."

Just then the door opened once again and three doctors entered the room. It seemed they finally had news.

AN: Thanks for coming back for another chapter. I do hope to be able to post another before the end of the week. Here's hoping real life allows it! I'd love to see your thoughts in a review!