She knocked loudly on the door to the tent. Thankful it had a door as opposed to a flap the way most did and then
gave it a good half minute afterwards. Since there were papers and such in there, the tent was a bit more secure than
most against outside weather and Andi wondered if she should be glad for the extra protection against her hearing
anything. Than she pushed the door open.
Saw the accountant and Suz looking busy with paperwork neither of them probably even knew what was written on it.
She met Swanson's eyes. Wondered what his first name was.
"One of your friends might need some help down near the motor pool on the other side of the camp." She stated.
Even a bit blurry, his eyes still sharpened up fast at her phrasing. "Suz," Andi turned to her friend. Wanting her close.
"I could use some help in the med tent."
"So what's up?" Mike asked Hector calmly as Hector stood there, smoking a cigarette. Well, he wasn't really smoking
it, more like making it look from a distance like he was. Perfect cover for standing there, catching a quick smoke.
Especially since his 'lady friend' just stomped off. At least that's what he wanted it to appear like to the eyes in the
darkness.
"We're being cased." He said, as if discussing the weather. "Twelve o'clock, four o'clock and nine o'clock. Just don't
know what they're casing for yet."
"Supplies, medicine, food...."
"Soldiers." Hector added and Mike had to nod. "Can we move Clancy? At all? I really don't like the idea of this whole
camp being out in danger because of us."
Suz looked at Andi strangely as Swanson quickly left, making apologies and promises to meet later. "Friend? He's
new...thought I was his only friend." She said with a bit of a naughty smile. "What's going on?"
Andi stifled a chuckle at the look on Suzette's face and shrugged calmly.
"Don't know." She stated. Which wasn't a lie in the least as frustrating as that fact was. She gestured absently as she
started toward the medical tents. "One of the new guys stopped me on the way past and asked me if I'd ask him to
come help with something in the motor pool if he was on my side of the camp." Her mother had always been vaguely
disturbed with the ease and utter conviction with which Andi could lie while looking someone directly in the eye.
"You could have looked a little bit less hard." Suzette commented with an affected pout.
They stopped at the tent Clancy was in. Ducked inside and while Suz went and talked to the nurse to get an update,
Andi stopped near the Delta sitting next to their sleeping patient and softly commented that something might be up.
Which got the coiled, relaxed response she found so odd and yet was getting used to seeing. Then she and Suz
made their way to the clinic and its sleeping inhabitants.
"So you need me for something?" Suzette asked. Confident enough in herself that a minor interruption in tonight's
plans for her was only going to remain minor.
Andi paused next to Mark and gently squeezed his shoulder so that he woke up and blinked up at her.
"I want a quick head count on everyone." Andi explained softly, tapping the pillow she knew Mark was hiding a gun
under, her body blocking the move from Suzette as her eyes found Mark's. "I think one of the children might have
wandered off but you know how they move from bed to bed when your back's turned if you're not paying attention."
It wouldn't be the first time one of the children had wandered off in the darkness. And usually ended up in the mess
tent. Though once they'd had one stealing medical supplied. Suzette sighed.
"There had better not be." She stated. "I should hate to have to scold a child for taking me away from more interesting
business."
Mike rubbed his jaw, shifting so that he could watch the angles Hector couldn't without looking like he was doing
anything other than moving upwind of the smoke from the cigarette.
"Shouldn't smoke those." He commented. "They'll kill ya." In a lower tone, he added: "You saw today. I just got done
cutting him up again. He's as bad as he was when you brought him in at this point. We can move him. But there might
be damage. Serious damage. You fly him all the way back to Germany, he'll be dead before the plane touches down."
As an after thought, he added: "Swanson's on his way."
Hector just chuckled at the cigarette comment. He wasn't even smoking it. He had learned how to suck it into his
mouth and blow it out to feign smoking, with just enough exposure through out his life that should some go down to his
lungs, he wouldn't embarrass himself by hacking.
"In high school I thought I was tough shit, smoked a pack of these a day. Then I went through basic and couldn't catch
my breath after a mile run. So I quit, now I can do a mile just over four minutes." He said conversationally as he ashed
the cigarette, his dark eyes studying the darkness.
"Could be militia. Could be parents looking for their lost kids, could be villagers looking for supplies." Mike said as
Swanson joined them.
"You remember where we put everything?" Hector asked, not looking at the blond man, who looked like he'd be more
at home on a beach with a surfboard.
"Got Dwayne going for them now." He said, also lighting up a smoke, except Swanson really did smoke. Hector
nodded.
"We can't move Clancy." hector said. "Not without killing him." And he hated this situation more than he could say. He
had done this. He had made the decision to detour to the Red Cross camp when Clancy had started to go bad, really
bad, really fast. now he might get everyone else killed. "Set up a perimeter." He looked at Mike. "This is your camp,
bro." He said. "What are the weak spots?" Hector had only do done a surface investigation of such so far. But he
recognized Mike as the expert.
"Fuck," Mike commented calmly. "What isn't a weak point?" But he settled down on his heels in a position that looked
relaxed and casual and actually gave him a wider range of movement should the need arise. Old training kicking in so
automatically he hadn't even thought about it in years.
"We keep the important stuff here." He stated, drawing a soldier's map in the sand, the moonlight and light from the
generators enough to see by. "Clinics, post op tent, supplies. Worse comes to worse, we can ditch the supplies but
that's going to hurt us in the short term. Still worth ditching if it comes down to it though. Here and here is junk tents.
Extra canvas, batteries, useful shit. Still fetch a good price on the black market so its worth stealing but we can do
without if we need to. Food tent's even less important. Our problem's here," he drew several rows. "Bunk tents. That's
where everyone's sleeping. Packed pretty close but we've got a lot of people and they don't sleep near the med tents
because of all the activity there. Gives you two targets really. And here and here are the latrines. Way off to the side
and anyone there's fresh meat just waiting to be grabbed." He paused. Glanced calmly over at Hector. "You've got
jurisdiction. I'm just a doctor. What do you want to do about our shadows?"
"Wait them out." Hector said with a shrug. "We'll put people by the tents, playing cards or something. Weapons
hidden." He grinned at Mike. "Sam didn't go through the boxes enough, I checked earlier. There's a box in the med
tent labeled ace bandages that's actually weapons taken apart. If no one can hold it till morning, they get an escort to
the latrines, even if it’s a shadow escort. Recommended for the women especially." Hector said, pointing at the marks
in the sand.
"If anyone moves, do we have license?" Swanson asked.
Hector shook his head. "Nope. We don't. No shooting until we're shot at. We have to treat this place like a friendly
area. Wait for them to make the move, then make them regret it." Hector said. "You remember how to shoot, Mike?"
The doctor nodded.
"Unfortunately it’s not something you forget. Haven't done it in a while, so give me something with minor kick back." He
said.
"Got it. Let's go stand a post and wait. But I want the med tents definitely covered, front and back. Make sure you
recognize everyone who goes through. Especially if they look local." Hector said. It was profiling sure, but he'd rather
err on the side of caution with possible insult than let a suicide bomber into one of the tents due to political
correctness.
Mike smoothed away the 'map' with a automatic practiced motion. It had been - a long time since he'd worked this way.
With a team no less. Definitely bringing back memories. He dusted his hand off on his pants as he stood back up. Part
of him was remembering just why he'd become a Red Cross medic. And the other part of him was actually enjoying
itself in a traitorous 'feeling useful again' kind of way.
"We should make sure your man in Clancy's tent gets a head's up." He commented mildly. Paused and added: "If Andi
hasn't already. Last I heard she was rounding up Suzette. Wouldn't hurt to give her a head's up. Just ah - don't send
Swan." He glanced at the other blond Delta, mild amusement in his eyes. "Suzette ever finds out what you really are,
even I'm not going to be able to stitch all the pieces back together. You go too far with her and I'm not even going to
try." He added.
"Everyone's here." Suzette commented from the back of the tent where she'd just finished their count. Andi gave a
nod and her usual 'mm' response to show she'd heard. Several of the Rangers in the tent were awake now too and
Andi gentle picked up the last child that had had a bed near the entrance of the tent. Adults always slept on the edges
and children in the middle anyway, as much for safety as comfort purposes. And there was plenty of space between
the front area of the tent and where the cots started. As well as the 'office' between the back of the tent and the beds.
But they had unused beds and Andi felt better if everyone was less spread out so she'd been quietly moving the
children closer together. She supposed it also made for an easier target but she seriously doubted an RPG was going
to care much whether everyone was close together or spread out if it came flying in.
Trusting little arms wound around her neck and she murmured a soft lullaby in the child's tongue, lowering her face to
press a kiss to the soft forehead. Rocking the child slightly as she moved deeper into the tent. Now only soldiers
remained on the outer edges. Suzette, standing near the back, rubbed her own forearms lightly.
"What's really going on?" She asked.
"Hey the military has a strict don't ask don't tell policy." Swanson joked. "She doesn't ask, I don't tell. Besides, this
should blow my cover for anyone paying attention anyway."
"Poor guy." Hector said. "Okay, Andi already knows, so I guess I'll go in and break the news. Can the rest of you get it
all set up?" He headed toward the med tent, and saw Andi and Suzette there making last preparations. he grimaced a
bit, knowing he and his men were the cause of this. He heard Suzette's question and moved her and Andi away from
the door and the children. "We're being cased, so we're taking precautions. Might be harmless. But never hurts to be
cautious."
Andi tucked the last sleepy child into bed and then followed Hector over to the side. Listening to what little he did tell
them.
They'd lost supplies before. They were careful about things but nothing was fool proof and even with the amount of
people up at all hours in the camp, things got lifted often enough that it was factored into the budget. It could easily be
the case right now.
Or not.
She hoped it was. She'd willingly sacrifice some medical supplies.
Suzette meanwhile had a face that was reflecting through her own reactions to the news. And the flash of fire in her
eyes declared she'd suddenly realized why Andi had really been looking for the 'accountant'. But the emotion that
settled on her expressive face was a fierce protectiveness and she shifted her gaze from Hector to reassess the
sleeping arrangements with the new situation in mind. Andi, only vaguely more informed than she was, watched
Hector's face. She'd already done what seemed like logical steps to her. But this wasn't her usual situation either. One
of her palms showed briefly as she shifted her hand.
"Short of 'nothing stupid' what do you want us to do?" She asked calmly.
"Nothing stupid is always a good start. You'd be surprised how many people skip that step." Hector said, seriously. He
stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, feet shoulder width apart, and looked pretty formidable. What made
him look even more formidable was that he wasn't even trying to look that way. It was just his 'battle stance' as he
thought through the events that might occur and how to make them work in his favor, and not the unseen enemies.
"We're all getting into position." He said, as Mark moved to one of the windows, weapon out of sight, but Hector knew
he had it on him. Just as Hector had one well hidden on his person. Mark rested his bad leg on a stool he had
dragged over and started searching the darkness in his own shadow. "No one goes anywhere unescorted. That's the
plan. Just thought I'd tell you girls, since its going to happen anyway. You have the choice of seeing your escort or not
seeing your escort. But most likely your shadow is going to be me anyway."
Suzette made a face and looked away. "I cannot believe this. Do you see what you've brought?"
"Yes, I know very well. And I've talked to Mike. If we move him, he'll die. You want that on your head? Then go ahead
and get him ready for transfer." Hector nearly snapped. Suzette at least had the good grace to look nearly ashamed
and look at her feet.
"Shh." Andi soothed gently, but whether it applied to Hector, Suzette or the situation, she didn't indicate. She rested a
hand on Hector's arm, feeling the muscles tense and ready underneath. Suspected he was feeling guilty about this.
She was. She'd practically asked them to stay. And she was standing by Mike in putting Clancy's life, if not above
everyone else's lives, at least above everyone else's safety.
"We've had ghosts in our camp before." She stated softly. "Remember the one I accidentally ran across last month?"
She gave Suz a smile, coaxing her back to herself with the joke. "Scared us both so badly the screaming woke Mike
up." It had actually been the man screaming in surprise since Andi didn't scream and he'd only been after food, a new
arrival to one of the refugee camps that didn't trust them to share what they did have yet. Suzette and she had gotten
a laugh over it. Afterwards of course. At the moment it had been happening it hadn't been nearly as humorous.
"Chances are this is the same thing, except someone actually noticed them this time. Once morning comes they'll
have disappeared again and we'll just be left doing inventory to find out what's missing."
She truly hoped that was all and the odds were good for it. But they weren't the only odds on the table. And tent walls
did very little to stop bullets if anything went wrong.
"It would be the first time I would be happy to count boxes." Suzette agreed, accent heavier than usual. She wasn't
about to apologize to Hector but in light of the situation it was as close to a truce as she could offer.