Rainbow Six: November Sun

22: "REALM OF UNCERTAINTY"

Finka heard the medical bay doors close as Alex and Monika exited, and she tried once more to open her eyes against the lights overhead.

"Still too bright?" asked Dr. Keeba.

"No. I'm getting used to it."

"Good. So, what do you remember before you lost consciousness?"

"Bright spots. I got lightheaded. My vision was hazy."

"Blurry? Out of focus?"

"More like a big white spot blocking my field of vision." Finka frowned and tried to find the right words to describe it. "It was like I had looked at the sun."

"Mm." Dr. Keeba held up her hands and made 'L' shapes with her thumbs and pointers. "If this rectangle here was your entire field of vision, what were you seeing? Where was the spot?"

Finka pointed. "The top left corner. Like... a fourth of my vision."

"Was it still there when you closed your eyes?"

"Yes. Whether I blinked, shut my eyes. I couldn't see the damned screen in front of me even if I tilted and turned my head."

"So, top left quadrant. It was your left eye?"

"No, both eyes. Whether I shut one or the other."

Dr. Keeba nodded. "Well, good news for you is I was an ophthalmologist in a past life."

"I'm not going blind, am I, doc?" Finka grinned, but she was nervous about the answer.

"I highly doubt it." Dr. Keeba smiled and reached for her clipboard. "However, we're gonna do an eye exam just to be sure. Rule out any serious optical issues."

"My vision's a perfect 20/20."

"I don't doubt it, but you won't be reading letters off a chart for me, Ms. Melnikova."

"You can call me Lera."

Dr. Keeba flashed a thumbs-up. "Noted. So, have you ever had your pupils dilated before?"

Finka groaned.

"Fun, I know - but I want to take a look at everything and just make sure there's nothing going on behind-the-scenes, yes?" Dr. Keeba crossed a leg over the other. "I suspect this is an ocular migraine, brought on by stress."

"Ocular migraine?"

"Mm. It's rare, but it's caused by reduced blood flow, or spasms, of blood vessels in the retina, or even behind the eye." The woman straightened the collar of her lab coat. "Temporary vision loss, or even blindness, in one eye. Now, we'll have to run tests, of course, and it won't be pleasant, but the good news is I highly doubt this is anything more serious. I know your CMT is a concern of yours, and as you haven't shown symptoms in quite some time, I don't want you to worry."

Finka cringed inwardly. She, of course, had not formally reported the return of her symptoms.

"Any questions, Lera?"

"Will this affect my operating status?"

"Too soon to tell. We'll conduct the tests, I'll relay the results to Director Six, and it will be up to him whether or not to keep you active."

Finka nodded. "And what will the tests consist of?"

"The usual stuff. We're going to examine your pupils and retina, a slit lamp test to magnify your eyelid, cornea. Tonometry, which is that puff of air that gets blown into your open eye. Checks for glaucoma."

Finka groaned again. She remembered Tachanka's apprehension months before when she had injected her nanobots into his bloodstream, and figured this was probably how he had felt.

Dr. Keeba smiled ruefully. "Then, I'm gonna take a closer look at things. I'll have to use a Q-tip on the surface of your eyeballs."

"What?"

"Numbing drops will be applied to your eyes and the Q-tip before doing so, and I'll be directing you to look in certain directions while I examine things through some mega-awesome magnified lenses. It won't hurt, but it'll be uncomfortable."

Finka sighed. "Okay. Can we get this done sooner rather than later?"

* * *

Director Six and his Rainbow teams were en route back to base via plane. The man gazed out the window at the English Channel as they flew over its waters towards Hereford.

He cast a glance behind him at his operators. Most of them were asleep, their heads bobbing and swaying with slight mid-flight turbulence.

Harry smiled. He was proud of the men and women under his command.

Ash was struggling to get comfortable in her seat, and she pulled the brim of her cap over her eyes in an attempt to sleep. Beside her, Nøkk was resting her head against the window, her eyes sleepily peering down at the tablet in her hands.

Behind them, Maverick was sleeping soundly, and Harry had to stifle a laugh when the man snored so suddenly that Sledge nearly shot out of the seat next to him in surprise.

Six turned back to his laptop. Yes, he was proud of his teams; but more importantly, he realized that he was looking at them as children sleeping in the back of a car during a long road trip. How silly he felt, to be protective and paternal over the killing machines onboard the plane with him.

But when Harry looked at his people, he saw more than the grit, the toughness, the tenacity. Behind every gun was a man or woman who had lived an entire life up until that very moment. Fate had seen fit to bring him and them together for the betterment of the world, and for that, Harry could not be more grateful.

Theirs was a strange line of work, was it not?

Tasked as guardians for a world they could only hope would invite them in; never knowing what each day would bring; at any moment, Rainbow could be disbanded or shut down by faceless men in the shadows of the U.S. government. Any day could see a new threat, and any threat could spell the end of a life of one of Harry's operators.

Rainbow operated in a realm of uncertainty.

Nearby, Valkyrie was asleep, and her head nodded off to the side and landed on Twitch's shoulder. Neither woman so much as stirred in their slumber.

Harry smiled again. When it came to uncertainty, there was no other group of men and women he would rather be with. Every day brought new challenges, and every day, Rainbow grew stronger.

That strength was required to continue evolving, as groups like November Sun sprang up across the world.

Their leader's proclamations referring to the Beslan School Hostage Crisis of 2004 tugged at Harry's curiosity. Yes, Belgium had Nøkk's prisoner in custody - but that did not mean Harry wouldn't be looking into things on his own.