Mike strolled over from the truck driver he'd been giving directions to. Since he 'worked' for the Red Cross there were
certain things he wasn't supposed to be involved in. He pressed his luck often enough in that area but interrogating
prisoners they weren't supposed to have... well, that stretched it even for him. Plausible deniability or something like
that. It was one thing to take a bit of a bang up in a scuffle subduing intruders in the dark - Sam had already
threatened to write him up, which would have been funny considering the reprimands he was used to getting when
he'd been in the service. It was another thing to actually be physically present. A couple of the Delta on duty slipped
into the tent as Hector and Swanson exited it to truss up the prisoners again and keep an eye on them until the blue
hats arrived. Mike angled his path to intersect, watching the blond Delta chortling as he pulled latex off himself.
"Since you're both dry I guess you didn't have to resort to water-boarding." Mike commented mildly. "Get anything
good out of your 'conversation'?"
Hector nodded. "Yup, the name of the guy who hired these guys, and the name of the guy who hired him, who was
supposed to be cashing the paychecks." He said and handed the paper to Mike, where the name was. "I figure I'll
give it to my guys, let them follow up on it."
"Course, they think we're Rangers, nearly knocked their block off for that one." Swanson said, chuckling still, but a far
more sane laughter than the one he had affected back in the tent. "Rangers. They wish."
Hector just shook his head at that, though it was amusing. "So I'll go radio this in. Should be taken care of in a few
days, maybe hours. This guy is a leader of a cell we've been after anyway."
"Thanks." Mike took the paper and locked the name on it into his memory before handing it back. He might not be
doing what he once had but information was always power. The better the intel the better you could do your job.
Hector and the D-boys would follow up and the chances of the Red Cross having a problem with that particular group
trying to lift goods would probably be eliminated. Probably. But it never hurt to have the name just in case.
"You ever find out why they're so organized or how they came up with that list, I wouldn't mind hearing about it." he
stated mildly. Delta wouldn't be here forever and then it was back to just him keeping an eye on everything.
He glanced over at Hector and Swanson.
"They're moving Clancy tomorrow." He informed both the men flatly. "Word came down this morning from your end."
He raised a hand to forestall anything and met Hector's eyes. "Its doable. Rough, but doable. We'll know by the end
of today if we should red light it and stall somehow or if he'll be well enough to travel. When you talk to your boss
today you might want to request a medic or two. Military or otherwise, he needs someone along for the ride that can
monitor. Not sure if they're taking him to Germany or not." News delivered, he gave the Delta next to him a clap on
the shoulder. He knew compared to their usual routine, this time in the camp for the Delta and Rangers, particularly
the undercover ones, had been a nice cake walk. And he also knew why leaving wasn't something for this particular
operative to be looking forward to. "You want to make things official you can use our radio." He gestured to the tent
near Sam's. Added casually: "Andi's in there finishing up her phone time. If you needed help figuring out our rig or
anything."
"Sam should be hopping for joy." Swanson remarked. "Even if he is losing the best accountant he's ever had." He
gave Hector a sympathetic look, though Hector maintained an expressionless face as he nodded at Mike.
"I should touch with base." He said. And he really should, especially if now he'd have to organize moving Clancy as
securely as possible. And the rest. Because if Clancy was leaving, you could bet the rest of the injured Delta and
Rangers would be going with him. The scenarios played through his head quickly, convoy, choppers, airlifting, until
he thought he found the most suitable one, depending on how stable Clancy really was when the time came. "They
won't tell me until probably after where they've taken Clancy, it’s a need to know thing, and they'll figure I don't need
to know." He nodded at Mike about the radio. "Thanks." He said and moved over toward the tent containing the radio
and Andi.
"If its any consolation," Swanson said, far more perceptive than his surfing slacker appearance let on. "He's not
exactly known for making personal waves wherever we go."
Mike watched the Delta walk away and shook his head, giving Swanson a crooked smile.
"Hell. I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse. My life would be a hell of a lot easier if I didn't like the guy."
Andi was laughing. Not out loud but, cradling the phone to her ear with both hands, legs tucked up under her on the
folding chair, she was silently laughing. And somehow managing to carry on a conversation at the same time.
"Um hm. Um hm." She pressed her lips together and then protested. "No, mum! I'm not laughing!" A brief paused
where she honestly did fight it and then, wide eyed: "I'm not! Mum - " She saw Hector duck in and crossed her eyes at
him with a wide grin. "Honestly, Mum, I know its serious." She bit her lower lip. "I'm not laughing! Really! And tell Da to
stop with the background comments. Fine, fine, put Da back on." Her voice softened. "I love you too, Mum." There
was a brief pause and she made the international sign for 'crazy people' for Hector's benefit and then her face
brightened again. "Oi, Da! Mum says - " she cut off and then started to laugh out loud in honesty. "Africa doesn't
have kangaroos!" she protested. And then. "I know. I know. I won't. Don't you dare tell Mum I was laughing. No. No!
Fine. But only because I love you and she can't hurt me this far away." There was a longer pause and her face
softened along with her voice. "I love you, Da. More than words." There must have been a disconnection then but
Andi continued to cradle the phone in her hands for a minute more, eyes soft and distant before she settled the
phone back into its cradle. Without a word she opened her arms and reached for Hector.
"Hey." He said, enveloping her in her arms, just enjoying that moment before he'd have to tell her the news, which
she'd probably like as well as he did, but accept it just like he did. After all, it wasn't like either didn't know it would be
coming after all. It just...well, even then it was a surprise, too soon. Far too soon.
"That looked like a pleasant conversation." Far more comfortable a conversation than on the rare occasions he
called his father and stepmother, that was for sure. Usually he'd just make the requisite small talk until he could be
passed off onto his sisters or his brother or whoever else happened to be there. "I should use the radio," he said,
remembering his original mission in coming in here, "But it can wait." He said and kissed her, he just really liked to
kiss her, even if they were hiding in the radio tent and they both had other things they should be doing at the time.
"Mm," she managed to get in her hum of confirmation before his mouth closed over hers and took her breath away. It
sighed out of her and she let her head fall back to surrender to him. Welcome him. Hand winding in his thick hair to
keep him close as her other arm wound around his wide shoulders. Still full to overflowing with the life and laughter
and love her family had called up in her. Wanting to share that with him. Wanting to be held like this forever. Kissed
like this forever. Tomorrow and a year from now and ten years from now simply skipped out the window and there
was only now. And here. And Hector. And that was perfect.
"Da's chasing kangaroos." She explained with a smile against his lips before tipping her head to kiss him again.
"Again."
"Is that like Don Quixote and his windmills?" Hector asked with a grin, though a bit confused there. He pushed her
long hair back from her face with his hands gently as they just stood there in the communication tent. "Course, there
could be a pack of kangaroos about, seems we got everything else, right?"
She laughed, letting her hands slip down to rest against his chest as she looked up at him.
"Da used to tell stories about kangaroos in the bush." She explained with a glowing smile. "And one day when I was at
the wise old age of maybe seven I told him that kangaroos didn't live in Africa, they live in Australia. So Da insisted we
go on a kangaroo hunt so he could prove it to me. We had to think like kangaroos, yeah? Hop about and think about
leaves and roots and how not to trip on our big feet and whether we could fit a torch into our pouch or needed to
bring a pack instead - " she shook her head and admonished without any actual sincerity. "Don't laugh. It was serious
business. Mum said she was embarrassed to share our last name. Anyway, no kangaroos but every now and then
since then Da insists we need to kangaroo hunt again. Mum caught him jumping about the other day and thought
he'd lost his mind. Turns out it was ants but it brought up all the kangaroo jokes again."
Hector laughed, for the sole reason that if his father did such a think, everyone would rightly assume he'd spent a
wild night at the local bar. "Now, see, that's status quo behavior for some of the Garretts off where I come from." He
commented, then turned serious as he looked at her thoughtfully.
"Word came down." He said, looking into those dark eyes of hers. "Clancy should be all right to move by tomorrow.
So they figure we should be too."
The laughter and the light faded from her face and she almost, for a second, looked as if she would protest his
statement. Her slim fingers even curled against the fabric of his shirt. But then she closed her lips and her eyes sank.
"Oh." Her knee jerk reaction was to say Clancy wasn't well enough to be moved. But if Hector was telling her then
he'd already spoken to Mike. And if Mike thought it was all right then it was. She'd known this would happen. But it
was soon. So soon. Too soon.
She'd grown up knowing you couldn't always have what you wanted.
"That's good then, yeah?" She asked, giving a barely there nod and raising her chin. Working up a tight smile so she
could meet his eyes. "It means Clancy's going to be all right. If he can be moved. He can go home and get married
now."
"That's the plan." He said, his eyes serious and grave. It was ridiculous. He'd known from the moment he spotted the
Red Cross camp and headed his convoy over there that he'd be leaving, that he would not under any circumstances
be staying. He'd known that. And he'd even repeated it in his head that he'd be leaving, that he would not be staying.
And also, truthfully, that she'd be staying and he'd be leaving.
"Yeah, for Clancy that's a great thing." He said, nodding a bit. This was hard, no second thoughts about that. But
better she hear it now than in a few minutes when he'd call base and arrange transport, right?
She nodded. Telling herself it wasn't as if she was never going to see him again. That he'd said he'd write - and the
American base wasn't really all that far away from here. Just -
She reached up. Gently cupped his cheek with her slim hand. He looked the way she felt. And that helped. Maybe he
wouldn't forget about her...
"Hey." She copied his word, voice soft as her thumb moved across his cheek. Looking for the good side to this. "Your
friend's going to okay. He's not in danger anymore. You don't have worry about him now." How could she miss him
already when he was standing right here in front of her? Searching his eyes, wanting to memorize his face, she gave
him a soft smile. Because she couldn't ask him all the things she wanted to. "So that's the good part, yeah?"
"Yeah, that's the really good part." He agreed. "I hate worrying. I mean, I do it anyway, and I'll worry about him when
he's in Germany anyway, but I still hate it." He smiled a bit, her hand slipping across his cheek. He hadn't had time to
shave today yet, not that Deltas were bound by strict military grooming standards. The Rangers were tripping over
each other every morning just to accomplish that or get marked off, while he and his men laughed at them.
Tangential thoughts, he knew that. Besides, it wasn't really good bye, right? For the time being he wasn’t going too
awfully far away, and he'd always have her letters to look forward to, right?
Then why did it feel like good bye when even if it was, it was a good day away anyway? And not right now.
"Let me call this in and get it over with." He said, wanting the business side away.
She nodded again. Realizing that she was doing that a great deal. It took the place of having to say anything. And
there was so much she wanted to say and yet didn't want to say at the same time. So saying nothing was the easier
way to go. Which led to the substitution of nodding. Which looked oh so smashingly intelligent.
She had morning duties to attend to. They'd already taken care of a group from a nearby mission that had come in
earlier. Mostly vaccines. But there was still clean up and set up and - and she thought they could all wait. She took so
little time for herself and never minded. Surely she could take a bit of it now?
Sliding her arms back around his shoulders, she looked up at him, meeting his dark, dark eyes, and softly asked:
"Do you want me to wait outside for you?"
"No, its okay. Nothing top secret or anything. Just military gobbly gook." He shrugged and reluctantly moved away
toward the radio to get that over with. He flicked on the buttons, the set up wasn't much different than the one they
used, and turned it to the appropriate channel.