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Post by The Fixer on May 26, 2016 13:14:18 GMT -5
Turning around to see Moose and Coop, she calls out to them, “Guys, it’s me! It’s ok.”
Lower his weapon a little, Moose is suspicious of the man with Clue. Stepping between Will and Moose, and more into the sliver of dying moonlight as clouds roll over, Clue reaches the spot where Moose and Coop are, pushing Moose’ weapon out of low ready so he’ll relax. A brother, a protector, and friend, he will be leary of Will until they can all get some answers.
Glaring at her, Moose and Clue exchange words, barely audible to anyone but them. Turning to Will, Clue makes quick introductions: “Will, this is Major Jordan Lyons aka Moose, and Captain Curtis Cooper, aka Coop. Gentlemen, I present to you Captain Willard Lawrence. Guys, this is Will.” Nods from the men to each other happen. Moose turns to enter, not the house he came from, but the one next to it, opening the door and letting Clue and Will pass through, Coop bringing up the rear.
All activity in the house ceases. All eyes turn to stare at Clue and then at Will. Mac is fuming. Moose is stoic and displeased. Coop shrugs and pulls a chair out for Will to sit on. Before Clue can do anything else, she has a coughing fit that doubles her over in pain. In the light the men can see the bruising starting on her neck from the Agent’s paw of a hand. Turning back to the room at large, the bruising on her face is fully visible for Will now too. Grabbing the bottle of water from Doc, she sits, as instructed, so he can look her over. She knows they have little time left, but that everyone needs an explanation of why she disappeared, and came back up one friendly and looking like she’d been in yet another confrontation.
Raspy and rapid, Clue quickly introduces everyone to Will, and lays out what happened after leaving the safe house on her way to see Anna, one more time. The stuff they found didn’t make sense to her and she wanted another round with Anna about it all. Before she could get there, she was attacked by what appeared to be one more Agent. Looking up at Moose, he nods and disappears to collect the body of her attacker and make sure it is handled while they still had darkness helping them. Finishing her debrief, she is still having trouble reconciling how in the world Will is here.
At Mac’s order, the rest of the men go back to scrubbing the safe house, and disappear to the one Moose walked out of originally. Knowing better than to ask about it then, Mac, Will and Clue are left in the room. Corporal Austin MacKenzie, is beyond displeased with her, cannot understand how Will is alive, much less rescuing her again, and is rapidly running out of time before the team needs to be at their exfiltration coordinates to get the heck out of Baghdad. Moose returns from his task.
Mac pulls Clue up out of the chair clearly indicating a conversation in another room needs to happen, and motions to Moose to watch Will, with but a look. Shutting the door behind him, Mac turns on the bare-bulbed light too look her over, winding up for the confrontation she already knows is coming. Mac lets fly.
From outside the room, Will is still sitting in the chair warily watching Moose watch him, listening to the yelling coming from behind the door and the intermittent pauses of almost silence.
Clue’s voice is giving out, the consequence of talking through the damage in her throat. She let’s Mac in on why she was heading to see Anna in the first place, even as he takes yet another strip off of her. In the end, they need to know if Will is coming with them, or meeting them later, so they can get moving quickly. Baghdad has proven fruitful, despite losing a few good people along the way.
Finishing his rant, Mac turns in a huff and leaves Clue staring after him. Pulling a chair up in front of Will, Mac begins grilling him quickly about what happened. Barely getting one question out before asking another, he is not giving Will a chance to answer. Clue, watching Will’s face, can read he is becoming ever more agitated at the questions and the inability to answer.
Placing a hand on Mac’s shoulder, Clue implores him to stop, though her voice is barely above a whisper now. Will, having none of this, stands, agitated himself, looking pointedly at Clue asking “What the hell is going on here?”
Tempers flaring, all men standing, Clue has to try to make sense of it. Walking to Will, she touches his cheek briefly, asking him to listen to her. Looking at Mac, she pleads with her eyes for him to take a moment and just listen. Moose takes a position leaning against a wall and only nods at her.
In her quiet, raspy little voice, Clue looks at Will and starts.
She lays out for him how General Allenby called while she was still in the rehab hospital to tell her that he was dead and that they couldn’t find the body. She had his will and the information he’d gathered from the facility. The story she got had glaring holes in it, so she begged Mac, against his better judgment, to let her come to Baghdad. To get there, she called in a favour with a Greek Diplomat she knew. Things went south when she got here. She left out several details, for now, because she needed Will to know that everyone, including his General Allenby, thought he was dead.
She continued by telling him that since being in Baghdad she thought she was starting to show signs of stress because she had been hallucinating that she was seeing his face. That was the reason she didn’t immediately drop her guard outside, and why she reacted the way she did.
Looking at Will, Clue, in barely a mouse voice now, squeaks out “What happened?”
Before Will can answer, Mac jumps in. “Captain Lawrence, we are leaving Baghdad tonight. You are welcome to come with us, but we do not have much time. We have to move quickly here, and we still have to secure our detainee. Your choice, but make it fast.”
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Post by W.R. Lawrence on May 28, 2016 21:51:04 GMT -5
"Oh, I'm coming with you." Will spit through gritted teeth. "We'll have to make some calls to get me new paperwork as everything I had was lost during the raid. Allenby should be able to help with that and it might be good for him to know I'm not dead. I'd hate to lose my back pay for this gig." Will said with a wry grin. His grin vanishing Will turned to Mac and stepped forward, "After that you and I will finish our conversation." Wordlessly, Mac nodded. A phone call and a quick trip to headquarters later Will had a new passport, clothing and a handful of rations to help get his strength back up.
By 0200 local time Clue, Will and the team were wheels up headed north to the next target. With Clue by his side Will filled Mac in on the gaps between leaving the hospital and his sudden appearance in the alleyway tonight. After blowing the charges and being knocked unconscious Will tells how he awakens to find himself in the tent of a local Bedouin called Mohammed al-Aziz who had found him while looting the bombed out factory still breathing. Under constant care of Aziz's wife Fatima and with the help of a doctor in neighboring Syria Will's wounds had healed in time and after working for Aziz long enough to repay him for his clothing and for a camel Will had set off through Iraq's porous northern border for Baghdad. Arriving as the Canadian team was sacking the safe house Will wasn't sure who it was and decided to tail the team back to learn their identity before revealing himself. "I would have made contact with my own people first but when the agent I was tracking jumped Clue in the alley I had no choice but to come in this way." Leaning back in his seat, Will looks across at Mac, "That's what happened. As much as I know. Now if you would do me the courtesy of filling me in on the last few months I'd be much obliged."
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Post by The Fixer on May 29, 2016 20:32:08 GMT -5
Mac blows out a breath. “First I’ll start by apologizing for being short and blunt back there. The case and mission have taken quite a detour. You and I need to talk privately. I think most of this should actually come from Clue, so I’ll give you the highlights. Clue can fill you in later. For a while, after you left, we played a shell game with her to get her to rehab. Once there, isolated, and only two people knowing where she was, her rehab came along better than expected. We added a little more training, which has unfortunately been necessary more recently. While there, Clue found several other facilities, and identified a host of Agents, and we were able to take out a few. Just as we got the go-ahead to release her from rehab Allenby contacted me about you having been presumed dead, body MIA. I had Allenby tell Clue directly, knowing she would want to hear it from the source. Clue called in a favour, after receiving your effects and Will and Testament. Her Greek pal got her to Baghdad to see what was left of the facility you took out, and because she needed to see the place you supposedly died. I had a team with me, in another country; tracking and neutralizing other Agents she had found through the information you left for her. Having no idea Anna, the agent behind the bomb at Clouds Hill and everything that happened, would be in Baghdad, I let her come. Our detainee is Anna. You can thank her for the work done on Clue’s face. You can thank Clue for making sure Steede will never bother you again. Those are the highlights. When we touch down in Bulgaria, you both will have 2 days to talk and get your strength back. On the third day we have a lot of work to coordinate, so all the help you can offer would be welcomed and appreciated. It is good to meet you Will. I’m sorry it has to be under such harsh circumstances.”
Scrubbing his face with his hands, Mac is showing his own signs of exhaustion. Extending a hand to Will, Mac attempts to alleviate some of the tension. Will extends his hand to shake Mac’s, staring him down a little. The group grows quiet, many of them catching snatches of sleep on the plane.
Several hours later the entire group disembark the plane, break off into smaller groups and head to the pre-arranged safe house. Three times during the journey so far, Clue has randomly reached out to touch Will – on the arm, tentatively brushing her finger tips across his cheek, squeezing and releasing his hand. Her mind still reconciling that Will is real and there. Twice so far she has absently rubbed her throat, and tried to clear the soar from it. And twice so far, she has turned away from the group to conceal the tears silently falling from her eyes while she wrangles the emotions running on overload.
Once at the safe house, the group disburses to the rooms set up for them. Standing in full light of the small kitchen, she watches Will. Her face and throat a rainbow of colour from the bruising, taking very small sips of water.
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Post by The Fixer on May 31, 2016 10:23:27 GMT -5
Waking to the sound of raised voices, having no memory of how she managed to find a bed, Clue, groggy and disoriented, makes her way to the source of the noise. Entering what would be the living room, she sees Will and Mac, in a semi-heated discussion with each other, over something she can’t quite figure out. They have not yet noticed she is standing in the doorway. Before she can interrupt them, Doc tugs her into his little room to take a better look at her throat, concerned over a broken hyoid or damage to the trachea. At the same time, he tells her to leave them be until they have worked it out.
Her voice is still raspy but doing fine. Rest, though a luxury these days, is the only thing that will heal her, on all counts, and there are less than 48 hours of that available now. Moose sticks his head in the room, doing his head count to make sure everyone is still here. He took a little grief from Mac for not noticing Clue had left the safe house the night before and gone and gotten herself nearly killed…again.
Just then Mac pops his head in, grunting at the small group with Doc now. Disappearing quickly, Doc, Clue and Moose all exchange that “what crawled into his butt and died” look. Moose follows Mac out. Clue leaves Doc to tidy his instruments, and goes to find Will, knowing it is her turn to fill him in.
Finding Will seated on the couch, arms braced on his knees, hands clasped together, staring at the ground thinking, she crosses to him barely making a sound. Touching his hands, he looks up at her, and she down at him. Pulling a folding chair up so she and Will are sitting face to face, she sits in front of him, sunlight from a crack in the curtain illuminating the bruising on her face and neck. Pulling the chair in close enough to be able to place her hands over his, she struggles with where to start and what to say.
Wiping a tear away as the words get clogged in her throat. She whispers through the emotion that changes her voice, and the pain still there from the injury “I missed you so much.” Touching his cheek, the words begin tumbling out, her voice croaking and hitching as they come, “I’m so glad you are real and I’m not losing my mind. Thank you for saving my life. There is so much to tell you. I killed Steede, and we have Anna. I love you. General Allenby is not pleased with me and Ian is dead. We have a pretty good idea of where Vevoda is thanks to your information and what we have been able to get out of Anna.”
She stops to take a breath, everything is jumbled around and she feels like she is rambling. She looks at Will, searching his face for so sort of direction or guidance or anything. He looks tired, like he has aged years in such a short period of time. She wants so much to crawl into his lap and wrap herself around him but there is a weird, almost awkward tension and she does not know what to do. He is sitting there, leaning back on the couch just looking at her and for the first time she cannot read him at all.
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Post by W.R. Lawrence on Jun 2, 2016 12:46:31 GMT -5
Letting out a long sigh Will leans forward putting his elbows on his knees and hunches forward looking past Clue. " Sorry if I seem a bit aloof. Everything has happened so fast it's hard to take it all in." Leaning back again and looking her square in the eye Will reaches out and takes her hands in his. The electricity between them is still there and the feeling of her skin on his, a feeling which he thought he would never experience again begins to melt his heart once more. "I know you got my letter and I want to make sure going forward that I have no more regrets involving you. So for what its worth I want you to hear this from me. I love you Clue. I love you so much. When I was wounded at the plant and pushed the trigger on the detonator to blow the chemical dump I knew I was going to die. So I decided to give you the only thing I had left, my last thoughts. As the place crashed down around me my last thoughts were of you and our dance in the square." Taking another deep breath he continued, "I'm sorry I left you in that hospital. I didn't want to do it but my hope was that I could collect more intel, rattle enough cages and to buy you enough time to heal. I wouldn't blame you for being upset with me for it but I want you to understand why." Pulling her in and wrapping his arms around her he holds her close. Lightly kissing her forehead he looks deep into those eyes he loves so much, "Man, I've missed you."
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Post by The Fixer on Jun 2, 2016 20:32:01 GMT -5
Smiling as she looks back into the face she has seen everywhere, and nowhere, “I’ve missed you too, so very much.” Without thinking, she kisses Will. Briefly timid, then wholly passionate, deep and intense, conveying everything she has felt for him. Breaking the kiss to snuggle in, her head on his chest listening to his heart, his arms feeling like home to her.
“We have a lot of details to finalize still. Before all that, I just want another minute right here, just like this. I got your letter. It is the only thing that survived the Greeks, and rehab, and kicking Anna’s butt, the time in the clink and the safe house, and killing Steede.” Looking up into his eyes, “it kept me company most nights.”
“You should know something too. Your General Allenby told me a story with some pretty significant holes in it. That’s why I was in Baghdad in the first place. I’m not sure how much help Allenby is going to be, or what Mac told you about any of that. In any case, I’m out of favours with him. Anyway, the plan was for me to get in, learn what I could about what happened to you, then to end up here. That was a couple of weeks ago now. The original plan went sideways fast once we got here. A Greek diplomat lost his life helping get me into the country, and to the facility site. As a result, the Greeks were ready to lynch me, and Vevoda’s Agents, Anna specifically, got close enough to try poisoning me, and I ended up in the back of one of the convoy vehicles from your group. Apparently, for my protection, they left me in the clink until Mac’s team could get here a week later. Mac had tracked a few other Agents here too, which is why I was still here. We found Anna, purely by chance, on the street early yesterday…or the day before…anyways. Steede was with her. She and I exchanged a few fists, hence my face. The guys pulled her off me, after they subdued Steede…then before they could do anything else, in my own rage and without thought, I shot Steede in the alley…” Stopping, she shudders and pulls back from Will. It is the first time she has said any of this out loud to anyone other than herself.
“I’m sorry…” she whispers to him.
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Post by The Fixer on Jun 3, 2016 9:09:49 GMT -5
Before either of them can say or do anything else, there is a throat clearing from the door. Both look over to see Moose standing there. Clue can read his bashful look at having interrupted the reunion between the two and knows the interruption comes because there is work to be done.
“Are you guys ready for us already?”, asks Clue, of Moose. Nodding, he turns, heading down the corridor to where the rest of the team are waiting. Not wanting there to be a break in contact yet, Clue wraps her arm around Will’s waist and walks with him side by side to where the group is waiting.
Finding Mac in his brooding mood, speaking to Hunter and Beckett, pointing to a map, Clue is well aware that the intel they had is now at least two weeks old. With Anna effectively out of the way, and secured at another location, Vevoda no longer has one of his Senior Agents helping him. It means this part of the mission is now a wild card and nobody is happy about it.
Taking Vevoda out will require a little more time and updated intel. Stepping all the way into the room, Clue looks down at the map laid on the table. Pushing aside the notes and photos piled in sections, she studies the map again. They have the location of the castle, and the surrounding area, marked clearly on the map, but seeing it against the actual geography and topography, she starts thinking again. Turning to the wall, she can see where they’ve laid out all of the locations of facilities and plants believed to be under Vevoda’s control.
Beckoning Will over to where she is, she says to him, “we think the castle in Cerbère, yes? But take a look at Banyuls-sur-Mer, here.” pointing to it on the map. “Does this look like a winery here? Domaine St. Sébastien? Have we been looking in the wrong part the whole time? It is smaller than I was expecting, but fits for a castle domain for Vevoda, with potentially a second location in Cerbère and access to Spain through a mountain extract and by boat. Does that make sense?”
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Post by W.R. Lawrence on Jun 8, 2016 18:57:52 GMT -5
Bending down over the charts and photos on the table Will quietly peruses the information. "It makes sense." Will mused. "Small enough to be overlooked, high on the hilltop and in the center of his ancestral homelands. He can see anyone coming a while off. If the world was against me that's where I would hole up." Pacing by the table Will suddenly stops. "Mac, can you get us additional satellite photos of that area? As low level as possible. In addition, I'll need some topographic and geologic maps of this area. I want to take a good look at the rock this fortress is sitting on." Mac nods and adds, "Sure but it will take a little time. What do you propose to do in the meantime?" Will turns to Clue with a broad smile on his face, "Up for a boat ride?"
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Post by The Fixer on Jun 10, 2016 11:18:40 GMT -5
Smiling mischievously back, Clue says "Absolutely! Though your arms will be mighty tired if you row us over from here."
Turning to Mac, Clue says "Are we ready to scrub this place and get moving?" Nodding, Mac looks at the room at large. He knows he already has two other teams in play in a couple of areas closer to the main target site that he will have to coordinate with. And he has to acquire the necessary maps of the area, as per Will's request. But it is time to get out of Bulgaria and get Vevoda neutralized. His agents have cost some good men so far, Clue got lucky finding Anna, so they still have something they can use if needed, and now that Will is back, she seems to be completely back. And about time too.
"Clue, Will, take Moose and Coop and get moving. The rest of this team will meet you in several days with the information you requested Will. Find a man named Andrè Durand when you get to your destination in France. He will help you with the boat. Do what you can to blend in gentlemen. Hard as this will be, civilian clothing will be a necessity. The area you are heading to lends itself to a little more privilege than we've had until now." Looking pointedly at Clue, just as the thought of having to figure out the attire of her three male companions, and herself, hits her. Turning to size up Moose, and barely stifling the groan, and Coop, and then chuckling as she looks at Will's face, and the look of silent dread that briefly flashes across his face, Clue is fairly certain she will need a custom shop, much like that one back in England.
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Post by The Fixer on Jun 10, 2016 12:00:12 GMT -5
Having acquired a few items to help the men appear less military regimented and more common-folk, Clue, Will, Moose and Coop set out for their french locale, flight hoping for a day and a bit, then boarding the train to a smaller town near the coast, and finally a taxi to an even smaller more coastal town and their base for this next phase. The safe house resting in a beautiful area of Saint-Cyprien. The wary travelers rest for the night, after making contact with Andrè and arranging for a meeting the next afternoon.
Arriving mid-day to seek out Andrè. How Mac was able to get word to him, Clue is not even pretending to figure out. With Andrè's help, and some guidance from his local tailor and a make-up artist at his disposal, all four of them are now set with attire more fit for the area. From discussions at the safe house, Clue was able to persuade Moose and Coop to stay behind and check out the local area, with she and Will venture to open waters.
Arriving at the wharf, where Andrè's boat is moored, Will and Clue appear like any other tourist of the area, preparing for a cruise of the local waters. Holding her wide-brimmed hat to her head, while the breeze whips her skirt around her legs, Clue stops to admire the day. No fishing vessel for them, it seems, now understanding why Andrè insisted on sending them all to his tailor. The totes they both carry resembles the picnic baskets and large day-bags others are carrying for a day on the water. Perfectly concealing the gear they will need for a few days of sailing and recon work.
Taking Will's hand to steady herself, Clue boards the vessel, Will right behind. Heading below deck, Clue turns to Will, once they have finished their decent, now understanding why they were here. From the outside the vessel looked like a beautiful family sailing yacht. Below decks, the modifications made were custom and extensive. Their time on the water would be comfortable. "Looks like this will be a wonderful trip along the coast", she says to Will, not yet sure of how much information their Captain has on what they will be doing. Depositing their items in the cabin below, the pair head up to sit out on the deck as they cast off and head for open water.
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