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]

That got him a slight blush in return. "I'm glad." She gave him a very quick kiss. "I want to help you. I want to be here for you." The minute the words were out, she realized it was true. She didn't want it as much as she wanted Nazir, but she didn't want air as much as she wanted Nazir. Still, it was a real thing. A very real thing and she wanted him to know it.

[posterboymarine]

He nodded, then buried his face back against her neck. He was asleep again a few moments later, still clinging to her.

[neverwrongagent]

They were only allowed another two hours before anyone came knocking on the door. Per her original request, they brought a tray off food and a pot of coffee. She'd asked that no one come for as long as possible, as long as they could tolerate no questions being asked 'officially.'

She tried to wave them off, but the food was put on the chair she'd abandoned and she got a serious glare before her co-worker backed out of the room.

[posterboymarine]

When the food was dropped off, Brody woke up, but stayed hidden. Dreamless sleep was a blessing and he didn't want it to end. He continued to not move even after the door closed.

"The questions have to start again, don't they?"

[neverwrongagent]

She petted his hair softly. "You knew they'd have to, eventually." She sighed, not really ready either. "But you can eat first. And get cleaned up. That's about as long as I can push it."

[posterboymarine]

He nodded. "Thank you." He believed that she was doing the best she could for him and that was enough. He kissed her shoulder, then pulled away.

"You're going to be in trouble, aren't you."

[neverwrongagent]

She shrugged as she got herself loose from him and want to get the tray. "I'll have to answer some questions, but they're used to me doing things my own way." It was useful sometimes to be a little reckless.

[posterboymarine]

He sat on the edge of the bed and watched her. "Well, thank you, for what you've done for me."

[neverwrongagent]

She poured him a cup of coffee, then poured herself one and sat back so he could eat. "Wish I could do more, but I'm pretty close to the limit." If he produced real intel, she would be able to keep him in a pleasant room with her company until it was time for him to go. That was also going to hinge on if she could make everyone understand what he did and how it could be used. "But I'm on your side here."

[posterboymarine]

He drank the coffee and nibbled at the food as she reassured him. "I believe you." He actually snorted softly. It was a hard thing, believing anyone. But she still hadn't lied to him.

"Ask your questions."

[neverwrongagent]

Carrie exhaled slowly, running over the dozens of possible openings she had, but in the end, she went to her first instinct. "Why did Nazir tell you Walker had to die? And why did you have to do it?"

[posterboymarine]

He took another bite of food, then shrugged. "He said my choices were to kill Tom or be killed by him. He said I'd never see my kids again if I refused."

He set his cup down and looked at her. "He said Allah had a plan for me and I needed to be shown the way."

[neverwrongagent]

She frowned, considering both parts of his answer. The first part was simple enough. Get a man to do a horrible thing and you could see what his limits were, what things he would fight to keep. It was pretty clear what things Brody wanted to keep. "Did he say anything about what kind of plan?"

[posterboymarine]

He shook his head. "He said that would be made clear later. When I was worthy and ready." He looked at his hands. "I beat my shooter to save myself. We're Marines. We don't do that."

[neverwrongagent]

He was a man and men did things that they had to when survival was at stake, things they'd never imagine, but he didn't want to hear that. "Marines make the best of what they get handed which is what you're going to do now by answering my questions."

[posterboymarine]

He had to accept her answer, since it was true. So he nodded. "I'm finished in the military. After this, no one will trust me."

[neverwrongagent]

"I think you've given enough of yourself to the Marines at this point." And there were parts he was simply never, ever going to get back. He was probably right, though, in that this was going to keep him from a lot of things, enough that they might as well cashier him out. "You'll get back to your kids."

[posterboymarine]

"That'd be nice. I'd like to see them grow up." He shuddered a moment. "Be nice to get out of the sandbox."

He had the good grace to glance at her. "No offense."

[neverwrongagent]

She snorted loudly. "Please, don't apologize. It takes a special kinda crazy to want to be here." And she was way crazier than anyone knew. "They like it better when I'm out here." Much like him, the minute anyone knew the truth of who she was and what she'd done, she'd be out.

"Besides Nazir, who else did you see?"

[posterboymarine]

Brody thought for a few moments, remembering, then rattled off several names of other high-value targets. Then he went back to his coffee, giving her time to mull that over.

[neverwrongagent]

Carrie sat back, stunned. Right there Brody might have redeemed himself. It took her a while to regain enough focus to get back to questions. She scrambled back to the chair so she could go through her files and she started taking notes. When she started back up, her questions were more pointed, more direct, then they had been before. This was the business portion of their time together.

Someone came in with more coffee and she bustled them out as soon as she could so she could go back to a round of redirected questions, looking for more details.

[posterboymarine]

He answered each of her questions as best he could, with as much information as he could give her. He kept reminding her that he was not privy to the day to day details of things, but he still listened. He managed to avoid giving her too many more of the details of his torture, but it was hard for some of her questions.

[neverwrongagent]

She didn't want to drag him through the worst of it any more than she had to. Doing that would put up distance between them and that was the last thing she wanted to do. She needed him to feel close, to be able to talk to her. Finally, she realized just how long they'd been going. Had he been a bad guy, she'd never have stopped, but she made herself grind to a halt. "This is amazing stuff, Nick. I can't tell you how valuable this is."

[posterboymarine]

When she finally stopped with the questions, he laid back down. He sighed softly and rubbed his eyes. "I hope it helps." What he didn't say was I hope it was worth it but, again, it wasn't her fault and he wouldn't blame her.

[neverwrongagent]

He didn't have to say it, she could feel it in the way he went back on the bed and she felt a twinge of guilt. It wasn't her fault, but she was contributing. She gathered up her files, and her notes, and went to sit next to him. "I have to report in, talk to the rest of my team, but I'll come back." She put her hand on his leg, rubbing gently. "Is there something I could bring back?"