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]

"Is that how you've been getting by?" He noticed that Walker was not drinking his beer, something uncommon for the younger man. They'd always knocked them back on their off time.

"You find religion?"

[neverwrongagent]

Walker shrugged slightly and repeated himself. "They tell a good story, always something worth listening to."

Carrie leaned forward, trying to puzzle out what Walker's point was. It didn't sound like he found religion.

"But if you go, go on a Thursday." He smiled slightly. "Better stories."

[posterboymarine]

"Thursdays. Central Union Mission. I can do that." He went back to his beer with a faint smile. "I can do that."

[neverwrongagent]

Walker nodded and even from a distance, Carrie could see that his expression hardened for a flicker of a moment. "I hope so." Then his expression was bland again. "Everyone needs some direction."

[posterboymarine]

Even more than a little buzzed now, Brody caught that hardening, too. It scared him. But he wasn't about to let that show. "No argument from me on that one."

Brody finished his second beer with another swallow, then put the bottle back and got another one.

[neverwrongagent]

Meanwhile, Walker had only had about three sips of his first beer. He sat for a while, contemplating the bottle in his hands. Finally he swigged down about half of it. "What happened over there wasn't about us. I put that all away."

Carrie could see he made some kind of movement, but she couldn't see that he'd clenched his hand in a fist and lightly tapped his leg with it.

[posterboymarine]

Brody watched his hand and sighed, then looked away. "I can't. I had to live with the knowledge that you were dead, that I killed you. I can't just put that away." Half his third bottle was gone in two swallows.

"And I don't think you can, either."

[neverwrongagent]

Carrie kept her expression in control, managing to show some surprise when she heard Brody admit to beating Walker to death. She even glanced over at Saul to see his reaction.

Walker shook his head. "I put it away. Don't need it anymore. Neither do you."

[posterboymarine]

Saul's eyebrows had lifted very high at Brody's little reveal. He had to know they were listening. So what was the Marine hoping to accomplish.

"I might not need it, but I've got it." Brody finished his beer and threw the bottle in frustration. "How'd you put it away?"

[neverwrongagent]

Walker finished his beer and stowed it in with the others. He appeared undisturbed by Brody's outburst. "Because it gets in the way. It's not going to get us where we need to be." He looked at Brody. "It got us where we are, now we move forward."

[posterboymarine]

"And where the fuck would that be? Looking over our shoulders, if we even go outside?" Brody was a little drunk and a lot angry. Which meant he went for another beer. He was not going to be driving anywhere for a little while.

"I'm sorry. It might not matter to you, but it does to me. And I'm sorry I had to do that."

[neverwrongagent]

Walker reached over and took the beer from Brody. "Now you've said that. Does it help? Can you focus better now?"

Carrie leaned forward as if she could hear better that way, straining to hear Brody's answer. Clearly Walker had something in mind, something beyond what had happened with them, but he wasn't saying. She wanted Brody to say something magical that would get Walker to open up.

[posterboymarine]

Brody looked at the beer, then closed his eyes. After a moment, he rubbed his face, then nodded. "If you accept my apology, it helps."

[neverwrongagent]

"I accept it." Walker downed a big swig of the beer in his hand, then poured the rest of it out. "You should go home before that hits so you don't get pulled over for driving drunk."

By now, even that bit of excellent advice sounded off to Carrie.

[posterboymarine]

Brody nodded again. "I'll just walk. It's close. Be a shame to live through that and die from stupidity." There was still one more beer in the six pack and Brody eyed it hard. Then he stood up, a little wobbly.

"Thursdays? I'll be there."

[neverwrongagent]

Walker nodded, finally smiling broadly. "Take care of yourself, Brother. There's so much ahead of us."

Carrie looked over at Saul again. Whatever was going on, it was something.

[posterboymarine]

Saul shook his head. They needed to talk to Brody. Who was now probably drunk. This was not going to go well.

"You, too." Brody nodded back, then turned and started walking toward home. Hopefully, he'd get picked up before he made it there, since he was not, at all, up to dealing with his wife. Especially when he probably still smelled like another woman.

[neverwrongagent]

Not well didn't even begin to cover it. And doing it in front of Saul wasn't going to make it any better at all. The van pulled out, heading around to where Brody was walking. She felt a little like a perv picking up a kid off the street as they came up on him.

[posterboymarine]

Brody looked up when the van pulled along side him, then looked around before climbing in. Surely the CIA wouldn't blow his cover yet.

He sat down against some equipment, not looking at either of the people in back with him. Saul, he knew, was scowling. And Carrie was likely doing the same.

[neverwrongagent]

Carrie wasn't scowling, at least not when she looked at him. Occasionally Saul got blasted by a sour look. Finally she sighed. "That went well. In case anyone was wondering, it went well."

[posterboymarine]

"That's great," was the extent of Brody's response for another few moments. Then he gave Carrie a resigned look. "Can we just get somewhere I can lay down? I'm not feeling so good."

[neverwrongagent]

She didn't bother pointing out that downing all that beer so quickly on a nervous stomach would put an ox out of commission. Instead she nodded, then looked over at Saul. They would have to take him somewhere official, but not back to their offices. Instead she gave the name of a semi safe house not too far away that had long couches.

Traffic was on their side and they got there quickly.

[posterboymarine]

Saul stayed quiet for the whole ride, just watching the other man.

And Brody ignored everyone.

When they arrived, he got out and followed Carrie inside, looking right away for that promised place to lay down. He dropped his body onto the couch and closed his eyes, passing out pretty much right away.

[neverwrongagent]

Carrie watched him fall asleep without too much surprise. She'd seen him over stressed before, without the booze, of course. She got him a big glass of water, put it where he'd see it when he woke up, then went to sit near where Saul was clearly trying to restrain a growl.

"I should never have answered the door."

[posterboymarine]

Saul glared at Carrie. "Did you know he was going to do that? Did you have any idea at all? And did you know about what happened between them? What did you know, Carrie? When did you know it?"