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

[neverwrongagent]

She pulled back a little, her forehead crinkling as she processed his words. The expression only lasted a moment before she leaned back toward him, her voice soft. "Tell me what happened to him." Better to play at ignorance and see where that led. If he really believed that, that was something that had been done to him.

[posterboymarine]

Brody exhaled hard and looked down at his hands, seeing the cuts on them for what they were. But he couldn't tell her what they were. He couldn't tell anyone. So, instead, he described hearing Tom being beaten, then being forced to dig the grave. He left out his role or that of his captor.

[neverwrongagent]

Unfortunately for him, she knew something that he didn't, which amplified his smaller gestures. His story held together, made sense as far as it went, but she knew there was something else. About the time he finished, one of her colleagues came in with a couple bottles of water. Carrie opened one for Brody and handed it to him before asking for something else. "Could you bring something so I can clean up these cuts on Sergeant Brody's hands? They should have treated those already."

The man left and Carrie didn't ask anything else until she had gauze and an antibiotic cream in her grasp. When they were alone again, Carrie put her hand out for one of Brody's. "Why do you think they killed him?"

[posterboymarine]

He gave her his hand without looking at her. "Because we had no more information to give. It was just luck that it was him first and not me."

[neverwrongagent]

She ignored his answer in favor of gently cleaning his hand, then wrapping it slowly. She was taking care of him, trying to get him to feel her compassion for him. It wasn't a hard thing to convey, she felt it. When he found out his friend was alive, he was going to be confused as hell. "How did you hurt your hands?"

[posterboymarine]

He shrugged and shook his head. "I don't know." Given all the other marks on his body, from when they were trying to get information, not remembering made perfect sense. She had the pictures. She knew.

[neverwrongagent]

"You don't remember?" She nodded slightly, accepting that for the moment. Not that she was convinced. And it wasn't that she had any clear idea what she was aiming for, it was only that the wounds on his hands were clearly from fighting back and it hadn't sounded like he'd done a lot of that lately.

When his other hand was bandaged, she didn't let go of it. Her thumb rubbed against the side of his hand in a way that would have been wildly inappropriate if they didn't have a history. She gave him an understanding smile. "There's a lot to try and sort through, I know. It just seems like there has to be more of a reason they would pick Walker."

[posterboymarine]

Anyone watching was going to have several questions about her behavior. He licked his lips and looked down at their joined hands, sighing softly. "They used him against me. I'm sure they used me against him. I'm sure someone was already picked to dig my grave."

[neverwrongagent]

She kept his hand in hers, still caressing him gently, but she sat back a little, looking almost embarrassed by what she had to say. "Maybe they did. It's a pretty good mindfuck. It's just..." She paused, biting her lip and looking even more uncomfortable. "If you didn't have anything more to tell them, I'm not sure what they hoped to get out of setting up such an elaborate charade was going to accomplish."

[posterboymarine]

Looking away, he shrugged again. "Just because I didn't have anything else to tell doesn't mean they didn't think so."

[neverwrongagent]

"I guess not." She tightened her grip on his hand for a moment, almost in warning. "Nick, there's something you don't know and I'm not really sure how to tell you so I'm just going to come out with it. Corporal Tom Walker is alive." She shrugged. "He's in rough shape, even rougher than you, but he's alive."

[posterboymarine]

He jerked his hand away from her and shook his head. "No. I sa... I buried him. I dug the fucking grave. Don't fuck with me, Carrie. Don't play games with my head."

[neverwrongagent]

She made no effort to hold onto him. His pulling away was expected. She let him finish, then reached into the files she'd brought in with her and pulled out a photo of Walker standing by the same wall that they'd had Brody stand by when they took pictures of his injuries. One of the men in the background had been with Brody, too. "I'm not fucking with you. I wouldn't do that."

[posterboymarine]

He looked at the picture, then stood up, pushing hard away from the table. He started pacing immediately, shaking his head. "I buried him. I ki... He was dead. I saw it with my own eyes. This is all just some fucking head game and..." His rant ran out of steam, even if the pacing didn't for another few moments.

When he stopped the nervous crossing of the room, he was near the corner. There wasn't a bit of thought in his moving into it and leaning into the dark, just shaking his head.

[neverwrongagent]

That was the second half word he'd gotten out and she replayed them both over and over in her mind while he paced. By the time he ended up in the corner, Carrie had an awful idea of what he'd been subjected to. She hoped beyond all hope that she was wrong, but it was exactly the kind of thing that Nazir and his people liked to do. Talk about fucking with someone's mind.

She stood and crossed to him slowly, giving him time to hold her off in some way. "You're right. It is a head game, but I'm not doing it."

[posterboymarine]

He didn't let her close, retreating even further into the corner as he held his hand out at her. He didn't want her any closer. He was too raw for that at this point.

[neverwrongagent]

She didn't press because that wasn't going to help. He had to trust her and it was a simple matter to let him have his space in that moment. It reinforced her idea that he'd been a part of Walker's supposed death, even if it was just an intimate witness. He'd seen much more than just a body going in the ground or even a man being hurt. He'd been right up in it.

"He's alive. Alive enough to be giving a statement from his hospital bed right now." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "I know you barely have a reason to believe me, but I'm not lying to you and I won't lie to you."

[posterboymarine]

The idea that Tom was giving a statement froze Brody right up and he groaned. He would tell them what Brody had done. He would tell them that Nazir had been there, had made him do it. It would land him in jail.

[neverwrongagent]

That wasn't even close to the reaction she'd expected, but she didn't jump on it. Once she had him calmer, and hopefully still trusting her, he'd tell her more. If she pushed, she'd lose him. Instead she had to restore the ease they'd had with each other on the rooftop.

"You know what? We need to get you out of here. Too much time inside."

[posterboymarine]

He simply nodded, still not looking at her. Being able to see the sky would help. Maybe they would go someplace where he could get away. He would go to prison if they found out what he did while he was still in custody.

[neverwrongagent]

Carrie risked touching him, reaching for his hand for just long enough to brush her fingers over his. "I'll be right back. Five minute at the most while I figure this out." They wouldn't ever be alone, it would all be an illusion, but she thought it would be one he needed.

She left him there while she went to figure out how the hell she was going to swing it. Convincing the team that he should get outside wasn't the hard part, figuring out where was the bitch of it. In the end, the picked the courtyard of the next building over where they could put guards around the perimeter and see in from above.

When she went back in, she waited just inside the door. "Well, that was easier than I expected."

[posterboymarine]

While she was gone, he sank down to sitting in the corner, his arms wrapping around his knees. When she came back, he had his forehead on his knees. And when she spoke, he didn't look up right away.

"We can go outside?"

[neverwrongagent]

She put her hand out to him. "We can go outside. There's a patio with benches around the outside walls and a fountain in the middle. It's kind of nice." She waggled her fingers. "Just you and me."

[posterboymarine]

He slowly took her hand and stood. He knew they wouldn't be alone. He wasn't that foolish. Still, outside would be nice. He'd take outside, even if he didn't say anything else.

[neverwrongagent]

For the first time she took his hand firmly, although she was careful of his injuries. They were left largely alone on the short walk across to the little walled area. It was about the same size as the rooftop they'd been on, with the fountain off to one side and a large table with chairs in the middle. The walls were seven feet tall, plenty tall enough to give them some privacy.

When they got there, she let go of his hand and stepped back to let him decide how to be in the space.