"Mark."
Pushing himself six inches beyond the rock, he leaned onto his side and shot five rounds up into the woods; guessing on the area where Harry had been looking and praying he was at least close enough to the sniper to pull their fire from Sam. There was another crack, as Jack slid back behind the rock. He heard the impact in the ground next to his head, and covered his face with his arms as gravel kicked up around him. "Ah!"
Sam's heart was racing as she heard the second shot ring out and echo around her. She could tell the sniper was staying trained on Jack because the impact wasn't anywhere near her position. As soon as she hit the tree-line, she doubled back to where Harry had emerged from earlier and ducked behind a big spruce. The silence was deafening. Peeking out from behind the tree, she exhaled shakily when she laid eyes on Jack still crouched down behind the rock, unharmed.
It wasn't until she saw Harry blink that she realized he was still alive…although she didn't know for how long. Sam shifted to the other side of the tree and peeked out again in time to see the flash of light from the scope. On the other side of the stream, the trees sloped up and the sniper had taken the high ground as expected. Fairly certain she was hidden well enough by the trees in front of her, she shifted back to the other side of the spruce and sprawled onto her stomach.
The prone position allowed stability, which was going to be crucial if she was going to have any chance at getting close to the sniper. Wishing she had a rifle of her own, she braced her elbows on the ground like a human tripod and shifted her hips before spreading her legs wide and turning her feet outward. Then she concentrated on slowing her breathing and waited for another flash as the sniper searched for her.
A minute later, she saw it…there one second and gone the next. She focused in on the area, lined up her sights, and breathed out slowly, depressing the trigger and taking out the slack. She waited until her lungs emptied completely and squeezed the last fraction of an inch. When her shot rang out, she yelled. "Move!" Her next shots were in close succession, measured off the first shot as she saw Jack in her peripheral, running to Harry. He turned and grabbed him under the arms; dragging him across the gravel and into the trees just to the right of her.
She brought her knees up and slid back up behind the tree, looking over at Jack. He glanced at her and nodded. They hadn't heard any discharging, and she hadn't seen another reflection of light. She stayed low and ran to them.
"Jack, get out of here." Harry coughed. The shot looked like it had missed his heart by a couple of inches and the blood was quickly pooling below him.
Jack knew one thing for sure, whoever this sniper was…they were good. "Shut up Harry. Come on, I need you to stand up…let's go." Jack hooked under his arms but Harry shook off his hold.
"I can't Jack…"
Jack's face twisted in frustration, "Goddamn it Harry! Either you stand up or we're all going to die…right here…right now!"
Sam turned and assisted with her left arm as Harry groaned, standing up against the tree with Jack's help. Once he was upright, Jack bent down and grabbed his arm, pulling it over his shoulder and hefting him into a fireman's carry. "Which way?"
He stuck out his arm and pointed with a wheeze. Jack started out as Sam covered their six, still seeing no sign of the sniper and hoping at least one of her shots hit pay dirt. The other possibility is that they were being flanked, in which case they were going to be in a world of hurt and probably walking into an ambush at any moment.
They were thirty feet away when Sam stopped, "Oh no…the bags."
Their eyes met and Jack shook his head, "Forget 'em."
She walked backwards. "I need to at least grab the bookbag and the documents. They're next to the rock…it'll just take me a second." She turned and ran, throwing a quick wave over her shoulder, "I'll catch up."
Jack's stomach lurched as she took off, "Carter!" He braced them against the next tree, warring with himself on whether to drop Harry and go after her or keep moving. "Shit," he muttered. His heart pounded; filling with dread as he awaited another loud crack from the sniper rifle.
It felt like forever before he heard the sound of running, and saw Sam with the bag slung over her shoulder as she came out from behind one of the trees. He closed his eyes and blew out a breath, wanting to shake the life out of her and kiss her senseless at the same time.
"What are you still doing here? I told you I'd catch up." She smiled and winked at him as she jogged past him.
He shook his head incredulously as he shifted Harry with a grunt and walked after her, "Carter, what've I told you about scaring me…. it's all fun and games until my heart gives out you know."
By the time they found Harry's rental on a dirt path fifty yards away, Jack's breathing was labored and Harry was in and out of consciousness. Sam dug into his pants pockets and found the keys. When she opened the door, Jack bent down and flopped him onto the back seat. "Shit Harry, you're heavier than you…" Then he stopped, bracing against the car door and bending over to catch his breath "No, I take that back…you're exactly as heavy as you look."
Sam handed Jack the keys and got in the back with Harry; lifting off his blood-soaked polo to see how bad it was. When she saw the hole just above and to the right of his heart, she pulled him towards her and saw the bigger exit on his back, just under his shoulder blade. She stuffed his shirt against his back and laid him flat before sticking her thumb into the hole in his chest to stem the bleeding. "We need to get him to a hospital."
Jack adjusted the mirror so he could see them as he sped off the dirt road and finding pavement, "Hang on Harry, we're going to take you to GenMed and drop you off."
"No," Harry's voice was barely audible as he opened his eyes. "They'll find me…"
He drifted back out and Sam put her fingers against his jugular. "His pulse is faint and thready."
"Shit," Jack muttered. "Hang on." She grabbed onto the back of the passenger seat as Jack veered the car around a bit of traffic and took a hard right. Sharp turns followed down some small residential streets and into an alley before he pulled into an empty parking lot behind a stark grey building. "Stay here."
Jack threw the car in park and got out. He jogged to the unmarked back door of the place and pounded on it hard with the side of his fist. Sam watched nervously, noticing the back of his t-shirt and jeans were covered with Harry's blood. Suddenly the door opened and Jack pushed his way inside.
"Jack? What the hell…?" The younger man's brown eyes were wide behind the silver rimmed glasses.
"Mike, I need your help. Anyone here?"
Mike stuttered, distracted by the blood covering Jack's shoulder, "Well…yeah…I mean Mrs. Stewart with her…"
"Can you get rid of her?"
"Uh, yeah…I mean, I guess. Jack…"
"Just do it…is Chaunte here?"
"Sure… but…"
"Good, once the woman is gone, turn the sign, grab Chaunte and meet me in the back."
Mike raked a hand through his shaggy brown hair, "But Jack, what…"
Jack reached out and put a his hand on the chest pocket of Mike's white lab coat stopping him. "Please Mike…just do it."
Mike managed a nod before he turned around, while Jack pushed out the back door, flipping out the stopper to prop it open and ran to the car.
When Mike came into the back room with Chaunte behind him, his jaw dropped. Chaunte's eyes widened comically and she found her words first, "Aw hell no. Jackie baby, what type of shit is this?"
Jack smirked at the short older light-skinned woman peeking out from underneath Mike's arm. "Hey Chaunte…listen I need your help. My friend got shot. He's lost a lot of blood, and we can't take him to a hospital."
Mike's looked almost as pale as Harry. "Jack, I'm a vet."
Jack rolled his eyes and raised his hands, "Yeah, the dog smell clued me in. Come on Mike. I know! Can you just imagine he's a Great Dane and please try to patch him up before he loses what little blood he has left?"
Sam pushed through the door behind them with the backpack, and they spun on her.
"Ooo damn girl!" Chaunte clutched her chest.
Jack nodded to Sam. "This is Sam…Sam, Mike and Chaunte."
Sam managed a small smile and a 'Hi' as she stopped at the sink to wash her blood stained hands before heading over to the other side of the metal table Harry was lying on and feeling for a pulse. "How's he doing?"
"Uh…" Jack turned and considered Harry's clammy complexion. "Not good, he hasn't come around since that moment in the car. Harry?"
Mike scooted past Jack and picked up Harry's wrist. "Chaunte grab the surgical cart and the AED from the front."
"You got it sweetie."
As Chaunte disappeared, Sam gave Mike the rundown. "It was a large caliber round, based on the size of the entry, probably a .308. It's through the through, the exit wound on his back is a bit larger."
Jack walked around to Sam's side, "Mike, I'm O negative if you need blood."
Mike raised his eyebrows and nodded emphatically, "Oh we're definitely going to need blood."
Chaunte came through the swinging door pushing a big cart on wheels and stopped it next to Mike, using the tip of her fluorescent green clog to engage the wheel brakes. "Chaunte, we're going to hook up Jack and…." He glanced up at Sam.
"Harry," Sam offered.
"Jack and Harry for a direct blood transfusion. I'll walk you through it...as soon as I remember," he muttered.
Jack grabbed a chair from the desk in the corner of the room, set it down on the left side of the table, and took a seat; rolling up the short sleeve on his right arm and placing it next to Harry's.
"Damn, I knew I should've retired last year," Chaunte mumbled before exhaling a deep breath and snapping on some gloves. She grabbed an IV kit from the cart, and walked around the table. Tilting her head down, she peered at Jack over her wide gold rimmed glasses and smirked. "Alright handsome, you ready for this nonsense?"
Jack shrugged and flashed her a lop-sided smile, "Piece of cake."
As Chaunte ripped open the kit, Sam moved over to the cart beside Mike, "How can I help?"
Mike walked over to the sink on the far wall, "I have to scrub in…just open the top drawer, there's a silver metal tray with surgical instruments on it. Pull the whole thing out and place it on top of the cart. Then we'll trade places; I'll need you to scrub in as well."
He slapped his foot on the pedal to turn on the water, soaped up and let out an exaggerated exhale, "Chaunte, after you're done with that, call my wife and tell her I'm going to be late…" He shook his head in disbelief, "apparently I'm performing an emergency surgery on a Great Dane."
An hour later, Mike pulled off his gloves, paper gown and mask, looking exhausted. "Well, we stopped the bleeding at least. Your friend's pretty tough. I was almost positive we were going to need the AED earlier."
Jack nodded, "Thanks Mike."
"Don't thank me yet. I'm not sure how long the local anesthetic will last and all I have on hand for humans is Tramadol." Mike shook his head, "I don't know...he's lost a lot of blood. I'm thinking of risking another half hour on the transfusion if you think you can handle it."
"No sweat."
Mike put his hands on his hips and canted his head. "Jack, If someone finds out about this or he dies here, I'll be in a world of trouble you know. I'll lose everything."
Jack's look back apologetically, "I know Mike, and I'm sorry I got you mixed up in this mess. Whether he wakes up or not, we'll be out of your hair as soon as we can. And if anyone comes asking questions, you need to tell them that I threatened your life so none of this blows back on you."
There was an awkward silence before Mike blew out a breath and shook his head, "I'm going to help Chaunte with the cleanup. Let me know if there's any changes."
Sam came up behind Jack and feathered her fingers lightly through the hair on the back of his head, her voice soft. "How're you doing?"
He looked down at his arm, "I feel bad putting them in this position. Suddenly feels like I'm taking advantage of anyone that's ever befriended me. First Harry, then Bill…now these guys."
"I know, but you didn't have a whole lot of options and it probably saved his life." She sighed and bent down, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and nuzzling her face against his neck. "What made you think of it?"
Jack shrugged, "Mike is a poker buddy and I've been known to bring in strays from time to time which is how I know Chaunte."
Sam chuckled, "She's fun…and a big fan of yours."
He huffed a laugh, "Yeah, she once told me that I was her hall pass, whatever that means."
Sam snorted and laughed, kissing him on the cheek as he glanced sideways at her, "What?"
She shook her head, "Oh no, that's too good."
"Come on, tell me…I mean I think I know what it would entail but…"
Flashing a big grin, she tilted her head. "I don't know…it's going to cost you."
His eyebrows raised, "Oh yeah?"
Sam nodded with a suggestive smile, "Mmm hmm."
There was a little growl in the back of his throat as he tugged her around to the side of him, palmed her ass with his left hand and pulled her to his face; managing a nip between her thighs before she squeaked and pushed back, her face blushing. "Ooo you're so bad!"
"Hey, you like bad…I mean, you liked it earlier." He wagged his eyebrows as she grinned and slapped his shoulder playfully.
A gravelly whisper interrupted them, "Get a room."
They both startled and looked over at Harry. His eyes weren't open, but he was managing a small smirk.
Jack barked out a laugh, "Harry, you creepy sonovabitch. I should've known something like that would wake you up."
Sam walked over to the other side of him, "How're you feeling?"
"Like I have a big hole in me." He winced and grunted as he shifted his shoulder. Then his nose scrunched up. "Why's it smell like wet dog in here?"