Rescued?

[neverwrongagent]

When the posters went up showing the two members of the Marine sniper team who'd gone missing, Carrie Mathison stood and stared at them. She didn't see two Marines in their uniforms, though, she saw only one of them half dressed on a rooftop looking up at the blanket of stars. She saw a sweet smile from a man who was too far from home and was trying to hold onto his humanity. Every time she passed the posters, even if she didn't turn to look, she was as aware of them as if someone had reached out and grabbed her. Months went by and the sensation never weakened.

Then came word that they'd been found, that two Marines had been found in neighboring camps. Both men were in rough shape: dehydrated, beaten and demoralized. One was worse than the other, but first reports didn't make it clear which it was and Carrie held her breath until she knew that Brody was in better physical shape. Not that she asked or spoke to anyone about knowing him. The moment she said a word, they'd pull her out of it all and that wasn't happening.

The men were kept apart while they were cleaned up. Carrie read both files, but it was Brody's she kept going over and over in her head. She knew every detail of what they'd found out so far. On the outside it probably seemed cruel to interrogate the men so soon, but the sooner they got it done, the better. These men were headed home, at least for a while, and it would be harder to get solid information from them when they were there.

It wasn't until minutes before she walked into the room that Carrie knew for sure which man she was going to debrief. She was ready to bounce out of her skin by the time she walked in, a feeling that vanished immediately when she saw him. "Sergeant Brody? I'm Carrie Mathison. I'm here to ask you some questions."

Comments

[posterboymarine]

Brody sighed deeply, then nodded and stood. "Yes, sir." He glanced at Carrie with a raised eyebrow, waiting for her approval to go with the plan they'd discussed.

[neverwrongagent]

Her nod was only barely perceptible and directed straight at Brody. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was the only one they had. If she was going to figure out Nazir's plan and get Brody clear of this, he was going to have to take the chance.

The one thing she could do was keep her promise and stay with him. She moved toward the door, making it very clear she was a part of any visit he was going to make. The evil look she got from her team mate made it that much sweeter.

[posterboymarine]

Brody did not leave the room until he was sure that Carrie would be with them. Then he followed the spook, the MP behind him, as they traveled to a room not terribly dissimilar to the one they'd just left, save that there wasn't a bed in it.

Upon seeing Walker, Brody smiled, relief washing over him. If he was going to play this, he was going all the way. He went to his shooter and embraced him. "Jesus, Tom, I thought you were dead."

[neverwrongagent]

Instead of the bed, there was a long table with two chairs on each side and two chairs along a back wall. The MP took up a spot by the door and the other agent took up a spot where he could see both men from full profile. His attention was evenly split between them. Carrie wasn't sure what he was looking for because he hadn't been able to articulate any thing from what Walker had told him that was useful.

Carrie, on the other hand, moved to a spot where Brody could see her. The room was too small for them to slip a note or whisper much of anything useful and she didn't know Walker well enough to study his face for reactions. If he said something off, she'd do better trying to spot it in Brody's reaction to him. And she'd be keeping her word to be there with him so much better if he could see her.

Walker flinched visibly at the embrace, but only for a moment. It could as easily be attributed to his injuries as anything else. When it passed, he grabbed Brody's shoulders and laughed loudly. "Can't kill us, man. We're too damn tough."

[posterboymarine]

Brody noticed the flinch, knew the cause, and ignored it. He was playing a role now. "Semper Fi, man." He moved to sit down, making a show of giving the eyeball to their chaperons.

"Is your food any better than mine? Cause mine makes MREs look like a four star meal."

[neverwrongagent]

Given that Carrie had shared one of those meals and knew it to be at least a slight exaggeration, she was getting a piece of data regarding Brody and the truth. It was a small thing, but every bit on both sides helped.

Walker was less dismissive of the others, but he did nod at the classic joke about food. "It was slightly better in the hospital than here. Very slightly." He gestured slowly with one shoulder in Carrie's direction. "You've got better scenery than me."

[posterboymarine]

Brody glanced at Walker's spook and nodded. "Almost makes up for the food." He gave the very slightest of smirks, whether for Walker or for Carrie was open to debate.

"How are you healing?"

[neverwrongagent]

Carrie didn't hide her smile. Like the food joke, it was the usual kind of masculine posturing Marines would do. She had the freedom to show her amusement at it. If she met Brody's eyes in that instant, it didn't mean anything. That her colleague was scowling at the banter, which only made it better.

"There's a ringing in my ears," Walker replied. "And I've got a bunion." He looked Brody over. "You?"

[posterboymarine]

"Jock itch." He smirked again, then leaned in close. "Glad you're in one piece. I was worried."

[neverwrongagent]

Walker nodded briefly, then leaned in slightly. He didn't move nearly as close, but it still had the effect of closing the two men off from the others emotionally. That didn't mean his words were muted at all. "Takes more than them to put an end to us, right?"

Carrie's eyes narrowed very slightly at the amazingly vague nature of that statement.

[posterboymarine]

Brody noticed the distance but didn't comment on it. That would have been silly and would have blown the plan. Instead, he nodded. "Damn straight."

[neverwrongagent]

Carrie watched the set of Walker's shoulder, his jaw, but he was hurting physically and that masked a lot of other markers. She was suddenly sorry she hadn't spent any time with him while he was still in a hospital bed.

"They tell you when we're getting out of here?"

[posterboymarine]

Brody was having as hard a time reading his shooter as Carrie was. It certainly didn't help that half the people in the room knew that Brody had beaten Walker fairly severely. And, hopefully, the other half wouldn't ever know.

"They haven't told me shit. But I would love to get out of here. I've got a list of things I'd like to do."

[neverwrongagent]

Nodding slowly, Walker watched Brody's hands for a long moment, then he met his eyes. "Me, too. Whole long list that start the moment I truly breathe free air." There wasn't any particular bite to his tone, more a sense of frustration that they were being guarded and marched around after everything that had happened.

[posterboymarine]

Brody also looked at his hands. Then he nodded again. "Like feeling the sun on your face. Looking up at an unobstructed view." He bite his lip. "Seeing old friends."

[neverwrongagent]

Carrie wished he would look up so she could give him even the smallest smile. When this meeting was over, she was taking him back to the fountain immediately. She could feel the tension in him.

"After this, we might not see our friends for a while." Walker's gaze never left Brody's hands. "We'll go home to heal up. Won't see anyone."

[posterboymarine]

Walker was right. They would get sent stateside. But they wouldn't stay there. Not for long. "Old friends at home, too. And we'll be back. They always send us back."

[neverwrongagent]

"Might." He shrugged. Carrie could see enough of his face to see a slight smile. "Might not. Might treat us like mother fucking heroes."

Carrie found herself nodding. They'd made the news and unless she could prove something was going on, soon, they'd be doing the rounds of interviews instead of going straight back to duty.

[posterboymarine]

Brody snorted softly. "Always wanted to be a hero. Put on the blues and go to parties. Hobnob." He looked at his own hands again, then glanced at Carrie for a brief moment. But he caught her nod.

[neverwrongagent]

It wasn't until the fantasy of standing at his side, dressed for a gala where he wore those fancy blues, was fully formed that Carrie realized she'd even gone there. She blinked hard to get herself refocused. The worst part wasn't that she'd had the idea, the worst part was how bad she wanted something so unrealistic.

"Think we'll get a medal? Meet a Congressman or something?"

[posterboymarine]

"Oh, we're getting medals. Several of them, I'm sure." Brody's smile broadened. "Probably meets lots of Congressmen."

[neverwrongagent]

Walker's gaze went to Brody's and his expression hardened for an instant, then he laughed. "Make 'em come here to do it, show 'em what it's like."

[posterboymarine]

"Those guys couldn't handle it here. Not the sand, the heat, the people. Nothing. That's why they send us."

Brody rubbed his face and leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. "Tired of being in a hole, man."

[neverwrongagent]

"And we do what has to be done, what they can't." Basic truths of the soldier, but Carrie thought she heard some edge to that, something more. Of course, she couldn't be sure she wasn't projecting that.

"Won't be much longer, brother."

[posterboymarine]

Carrie wasn't sure, but Brody was. There was something else there. "What are you gonna do first, once the guard's gone?"