Oh the timing could not be worse. He'd been promised five minutes with the man, but he could hardly do what he
wanted with Andi on his back. But he slowly turned and saw the mumbo jumbo warlord crossed with a shaman right at
his left and froze. The area was semi clear except for the two men.
It was then that Wekesa noticed him as well. "Andi." Hector said slowly, lowly. "I'm going to put you down. Keep your
head to the ground, and do not look. Stay by the tree, you'll be safe." He said. "do you trust me?"
Andi slipped easily to the ground, favoring her ankle. Hands against Hector's back. Suddenly breathing hard and
feeling the shakes that were running through her. A shaman she could deal with. Had. That was demons and spiritual
power and the hearts of the people. But the warlord - that was human. What he did, he did because he enjoyed it.
Wanted to. And he'd played a game of cat and mouse with her that she hadn't dared lose. Not for a second. He had
always looked at her the way he did now. As if she was his possession and he was tolerating her pretending she
wasn't because it amused him. Her stomach clenched up and she felt physically ill. She'd never feared a specific
person before. But she was afraid of him.
Wekesa watched them now with the same look. The white soldier was trying to take his pretty pet witch from him. He'd
thought of the challenge she'd given to his witch doctor just the other day when he'd heard the beginning gunfire. And
he'd also wondered if she'd been the cause of it. Now he saw that she had. Which was clever and another reason to
keep her at his heel. His body guard had died to get him this far, though there might still be some of them about.
Which left him and a single soldier between not only escape but reclaiming the woman. He wasn't a fool to think they'd
sent simple soldiers after him but he wasn't exactly a simple soldier himself. And he too had a gun. Though it would be
more satisfying to settle this with his bare hands.
"So you won't forget who you belong to, I'm going to paint your pretty pale face with his blood after I kill him." He told
her. In perfect English. Voice smooth and rich and calm.
Andi, lowered her face enough to touch the back of Hector's neck.
"You know I do." She whispered. And then she limped carefully backward, not willing to turn her face away from the
monster in front of her until her back hit the tree where she sunk down. Trying hard to breath in something other than
painful gasps. Careful to stay entirely out of the way, she lowered her face into her hands and pulled her knees close
to her body.
Hector waited until Andi was clear from his direct presence before speaking to the warlord. "Was hoping we'd meet.
Was hoping for sooner rather than later, but this will do." Hector said, slipping the safety off his weapon with his thumb.
Somehow, he had the weird thought he was in the middle of the Old West, in a pistol duel with some one. Not a
comforting thought, and just proved to him he needed a vacation.
"But I'm not here for you, I was here for her. And she's not yours. Say that again and you'll be eating the leather of my
boot, that I promise you." He said. "Whether or not you have a bullet in an unfortunate place first I haven't decided."
Wekesa's eyebrow rose. Picking up on the way the man in front of him responded to the woman the same way a
territorial lion would. He'd thought Americans were too cold blooded and heartless to come after their own women. Gun
held at his side he started a slow circle, moving slowly inward, eyes never leaving the man in front of him. He had the
advantage. The soldier would make it a point to stay between him and the white woman in question.
"I don't want to use a gun on you. I might 'accidently' miss you and hit my pretty white witch. And it would be a shame
to destroy her hands and leave her only her mouth to prove useful with." He grinned suddenly. "Do you think she
enjoys hearing things like that?" There was no protection from his words, after all. And, once he dealt with the white
man, there wouldn't be any protection from the rest of him either. He'd been far too lenient with her already.
Hector stayed still. Absolutely still, like a piece of granite, even as his eyes flared black fire at Wekesa.
"You should worry more about my reaction to things like that." He shot back, his arm coming out from his side and
taking the gun away from Wekesa, the man had held it far too loosely, and far too confidently than the situation had
warranted. "Because now I'm going to have to kill you." Hector said.
"Better." Wekesa's teeth flashed in both a smile and a snarl. All he'd wanted was to get in range. Guns were such a
crutch. Even as the soldier moved and caught the gun, he was throwing himself into the soldier and sending them both
to the ground. Aware of his own gun getting knocked free and digging his fingers into the tendons on the soldier's own
gun arm. Bringing his knee down as they fell. He was done talking. Now it was time for killing. And he was very, very
good at that.
God he prayed Andi wasn't watching this part. Because this was beyond physical already. He wasn't going to grant
Wekesa any quarter, and he was sure he wasn't going to get any in return. Fists flew, feet tangled. It was all over too
soon and took too long.
Somehow a knife had appeared. Wasn't his, his was with his gear. But Wekesa's large black hand was wrapped
around his throat as Hector used both of his own hands to keep the knife from his chest or his throat....just away from
him. Fighting the blackness that asphyxiation can so often bring.
"See you in hell." Wekesa snarled.
"Save me a seat." Hector gasped out, clawing at his wrist enough to draw blood, finally gaining control of the knife and
turning it on Wekesa. Wekesa's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he died, as Hector shoved the knife in further
into the neck for good measure, the whites of the eyes in stark contrast to the blackness of his face and the blackness
of the surrounding night.
He rolled Wekesa off him, not removing the knife. Blood would spit out everywhere. He knew that. And it was such a
terrible testament to his work that he knew that. He coughed and gasped for air now that his throat wasn't being
constricted until going over to the tree and behind it, to where Andi was cowering.
Andi was cowering. Now he felt no guilt he might have over Wekesa's death.
"Come on." He said, speaking first before touching her.
She made a choked noise and flinched. It wasn't flinching away from Hector. She just couldn't seem to stop flinching.
She couldn't - she couldn't - that man - her arms went around Hector's shoulders as if he was the only thing that was
left in the world. Trying to breath and not doing well at it.
"Tell me." She managed to get the words out between her chattering teeth. "Please - tell me."
Tell her what? There was certainly a lot he wanted to tell her. Impossible to get it all out in one breath. So he decided
on the simplest thing to say as she clung to him and he held her.
"I love you and I'm taking you home."
Somehow it undid all the knots inside her and what little control she'd been hanging onto by her nails.
"Oh God." It came out of her a second before the tears. The wash of fear and horror and the impossible sadness and
helplessness. She was shaking with it and she couldn't stop the crying. She never cried. And she couldn't stop it. She
knew they should be moving. That she was being foolish. That she should apologize. But she couldn't stop and her
hands fisted against him, needing him. Because he was the only thing that kept her from being swept away in those
tears to somewhere she knew wasn't entirely sane. She simply needed him.
"It's okay." He said, just stroking her hair. They had a few seconds to spare. He knew the rest were still securing the
med hut and taking prisoners. "I promise, it’s okay now." He said, and hoped she hadn't forgotten that he had yet to
break a promise to her. Wekesa couldn't bother her any more.
He was definitely taking her away from all of this for a little while, for both their sakes.
She held on to him desperately. Absolutely lost without him there. Knowing nothing but him and his touch and the
sound of his voice until the tears had run their wrecking course and she could start to calm against him.
"I'm sorry." She managed around a choking hiccup once she could get words out again. Shivering now instead of
shaking. Feeling hollowed out and more than a little lost. "Sorry." She sucked in a breath, trying to level out. "Are you,"
she tried it again. "Are you all right?" Because she hadn't checked the way she should have. And even now, knowing
he'd lie, she still couldn't bring herself to loosen her death grip on him enough to check for herself.
Billy, finally out of his tree, approached enough to take in the scene and give Hector a nod before moving away.
Securing the area and promising a bit of privacy before the rest of the team arrived.
"I'm fine." Hector assured her. He had a couple of new bruises, but right now, knowing and feeling she was here with
him, he felt better than he had in a long time. "Come on." He said, standing up, taking her with him, and picking her up
so she didn't have to let go of him. It was comforting to his own soul that she was hanging on also, along with hers.
"Mike's probably waiting at the pick up point, and Suzette says she's going to cook for you. Not sure if that's a bad
thing or a good thing." Filling the space with the non important chatter. To let her know her life was waiting for her just
as he had.
She coughed a laugh. If possible winding her arms tighter around him and tucking in close as she pressed her face to
the side of his neck. She'd been very good for what felt like a very long time and now she didn't think she could take
anything more. She couldn't stop shaking. Why she was falling apart now, when it was all over, she couldn't
understand. Just - she couldn't bear anything but him right now. And she didn't think she could bear anything without
him right now. She shut her eyes and clung.
"I love you. I do. I'm so sorry I put you through this."
Because she didn't think for an instant that she had been the one this had been hardest on.
"Shh." Hector soothed as he walked through the darkness until they got to the first helicopter and put her down on the
edge of it so he could look at her, in her eyes. "You didn't put me through anything, got it? And I did promise you I'd
always find you, didn't I?"
The crying had died down enough so it was simply lodged in her chest now and her hands, still surprisingly strong,
caught at him when he set her down. But she met his eyes. Swallowed and nodded without looking away. Answering
only one of his questions.
"You did." She agreed. Wanting him to know. "I waited for you."
"It’s over." He said as the rest of the team started coming through the woods. "Brought the SAS with me. Always
thought those boys should get out more." He said with a hint of a smile. "We're going to get back to the camp. Your
parents are there."
She nodded again. But the thought of her parents was very far away and the huge men approaching were much
closer and more real to her. They'd helped her. Come all this way just for someone as unimportant and forgettable as
her. Risked their lives, so many more lives, than just her single one to get her back. How did you pay that back?
And, how did she keep from shrinking away when everything tonight was too huge and too hulking? Because they
deserved so much more than that. She forced herself to sit very, very still. Hands still not letting go of Hector's vest.
"Dr. White?" It was a rough English accent and she looked up at the man addressing her. Nodded as if he wouldn't
have known who she was if she didn't agree. He knelt down in front of her.
"My name's Wills." His voice was gentle. "We're going to take you back to your camp now. And I don't want you to
worry about anything. Everything's going to be taken care of. Yeah?"
She blinked at him. Wondering what in the world she would worry about now? And realizing that, in shock situations,
people sometimes did worry about the strangest things. Work themselves up horribly over them because it was
something small and easier to deal with and spend the emotion on than what had just happened.
She just couldn't seem to think of anything worth worrying over. So, mute, she nodded again.
"Good girl." He approved and then stood up. All without touching her. He shot Hector a look he thought she couldn't
see, and there was a warning and a promise of later words in it. And then, before her brows could even finish coming
down in confusion, he was moving away to another helicopter. Most of the team would be staying here to secure the
area and wait for transport for the prisoners.