Marcus ~
Fear took hold of Marcus' lungs as he and the rest of Charlie team heard Caroline's distress signal.
His veins filled with adrenaline, but he refused to panic because his Caroline needed him calm. She needed him to be logical and tactical in all of his decision making and he was determined to be that for her despite the fear that had wrapped around his spine.
Viper was on the phone with Nate instantly, getting a read on Caroline's location and Cooper's face paled in disbelief.
"We have to go get her." Cooper said in a voice just over a whisper.
"We will." Marcus confirmed, meaning that statement from the depths of his soul.
"No you don't understand if it's Hashim, I've seen what he is capable of. I've seen his victims. I've seen the women he's trafficked...we have to go get her now." Cooper said desperately as if the team was already aware of the gravity of the situation.
"Yeah we get that," Diesel huffed, trying to shut him up.
Nate had given them Caroline's coordinates and they were comparing them to the drop point on the map when the door to the room flung open.
"Something went wrong. Liz has been taken captive." Fox said loudly, signaling for Cooper to follow him.
Yeah we know. You set the whole thing up you fucking bastard.
Every man in the room exchanged confused glances as they tried to understand why Fox would out his own plan.
"Is it Hashim?" Cooper asked.
"Yes. He somehow got wind of the drop point location and ambushed Liz. He's asking for ransom and gave us a location for the exchange." Fox said flatly.
Is this asshole really going to stand there and act like he didn't orchestrate this whole thing?
Marcus' blood was boiling as he glared at Fox, trying and failing to control the rage he felt toward the traitor standing in front of him.
"I can get a bird there faster than a convoy, Cooper can you be ready to go in fifteen?"
"Yes Sir,." Cooper said immediately as he stood.
"You too Cordell. Thought you'd want to be the one to draw first blood." Fox added, sending waves of disbelief and confusion throughout the room.
He wants me to go on the ransom exchange? But the ransom is bullshit. Isn't it?
Marcus knew there was an ulterior motive but didn't have enough time to decipher it.
"Absolutely." Marcus replied, getting a raised brow in return from Viper.
"Fuck, I don't know what happened, but we've gotta make this right. We'll send in Cooper and Cordell first and I can have another bird that's thirty minutes out to take the rest of the team. I assume Hall wouldn't mind the four of you tagging along? We need all the help we can get at this point." Fox said directly to Viper.
"I'll put in a call, but if you need us, we are ready to roll out." Viper said, shooting his gaze back toward Marcus.
What the fuck is going on here? If this is a set up, why is he sending us to rescue her?
"Good, You've got ten minutes." Fox said to Cooper who instantly followed Fox out the door to get his gear.
"What the actual fuck?" Dallas said once Fox and Cooper left the room.
"Mac you can't trust this dude. Somethin' ain't right." Ace added.
"What choice do I have? If I don't go and it's legit, then I've abandoned Caroline with her only hope being Cooper the boy scout."
"And if it's not legit? If its a fucking trap?" Viper asked.
"Then I'm fucked." Marcus grumbled, running his hand harshly through his hair.
"I don't like this one fucking bit." Dallas muttered.
"Send me with a SAT phone, so I can cross reference Caroline's coordinates with where ever this pilot is taking us." Marcus said, as he headed toward the door.
He took off running for his bag and his weapon, trying to run through ever scenario in his head so he could mentally prepare for them.
"You aren't seriously considering this are you?" Viper said, jogging beside him.
"I have to Vipe, Caroline doesn't have time for me to sit around and mull over my options. I have to treat this lead like it's legit, because if I don't...What if..." Marcus couldn't even bring himself to say the words out loud, choking on them when he tried to.
"I get it brother, I just fucking hate it. We need more time to plan." Viper said.
"You think I don't know that? But Caroline doesn't have any time." Marcus said as he checked his bag and threw on his vest, grabbing his gear and equipment left and right as he made his way back to the tarmac.
"What if Fox is counting on me to run to Hunter for help, what if he's counting on me to take my time and gather intel? What if that's the reason he told us? Because he's counting on us to act slowly so she'll be dead before we can get to her?" Marcus said, feeling like a crazy person as the words left his mouth.
Fox had figured out a way to make Marcus and the rest of the team doubt everything they knew and every piece of intel they received. The team was so hung up on finding the truth in the sea of lies that everything started to look the same, which made tactical decision making nearly impossible.
Dallas came over and handed Marcus a satellite phone and gave him an endearing pat on the shoulder. Marcus knew his teammates were scared as hell for his safety, but he didn't have a choice. He had to go.
Cooper passed by him, climbing on board the small chopper and Marcus knew it was now or never.
He pulled Viper in close, looking like he was giving him a quick slap on the back but subtly spoke into Viper's ear.
"If anything happens to me, you find her and you get her home...and if you have to choose - choose her...Give me your word." Marcus said harshly.
"You've got my word, Brother." Viper said, pulling away and giving him a nod.
Marcus climbed on board and felt the chopper lift off, sending a spray of dust and air swirling around his teammates, watching them become small in the distance.
What the fuck am I doing?
Monitoring the location of the chopper, Marcus followed their route on map and saw that they were heading straight for the coordinates that Nate had given them. A small glimmer of hope washed over him as they got closer and closer to her location and his heart nearly stalled out when they landed just a few klicks out.
Maybe this is legit. Maybe Fox isn't the culprit here.
"You ready?" Cooper asked loudly.
"Born ready." Marcus confirmed as they both climbed out of the chopper, ducking as it took off above them, leaving them to walk rest of the way.
Once they were alone and the air became still again, Marcus looked at the map at the coordinates that Nate had given them.
"She should be on the other side of that ridge." Marcus said, pointing to their left.
"So what's the plan?" Cooper asked.
Marcus had run through dozens of plans in his mind, but only one seemed to make sense at the moment.
"We need to try to get eyes on her. If we can confirm she's here and...alive...we can go from there, moving in if we feel we can handle her captors on our own, or waiting for back up from the rest of the team if we're out-manned." Marcus said.
"Copy that." Cooper said as they made their way silently up the side of the ridge.
The plan was shit, but it was as good as it could be given the circumstances.
Marcus was feeling good about it right up until five armed men stormed from over the top of the ridge yelling at Marcus and Cooper to drop their weapons.
Fuck.
Complying with their request for his rifle, Marcus lifted the strap over the top of his head as he displayed his palms out to the combatants.
They quickly moved to zip tie Marcus' hands, but Cooper refused to give up his weapon.
Don't be stupid kid. Do what they say, you're outnumbered.
The men forced Marcus to walk up the side of the ridge, leaving Cooper to fend for himself in a violently loud conversation that wasn't going well for him as one of the combatants, put the barrel of his rifle right against Cooper's temple.
Marcus couldn't dwell on Cooper's predicament for very long because as soon as he reached the top of the ridge he was greeted by fifteen to twenty armed men, but standing in the middle of them, gagged and bound was the one face he needed to see in order to keep fighting.
Caroline.
Her eyes met Marcus' and she started to scream against the gag in her mouth, throwing her body weight around, trying to break free of the restraints on her hands. Three men held her down on her knees, giving her sadistic grins as she thrashed beneath them.
Don't worry baby I'm gonna get us out of this.
"Fox send you here?" Hashim said, as he appeared from behind one of the guards like the coward he was.
"Sent me here to pay her ransom." Marcus said.
His words elicited laughter from almost every single one of Hashim's men, which wasn't a good sign.
"Is that what he told you?" Hashim hissed.
Fox you're a fucking dead man. My team will find out what you've done and they're going to skin you alive for it.
Suddenly the sound of Cooper's unsteady footsteps sounded from behind him and Marcus frantically turned over his shoulder to see Cooper standing alone.
Had he taken out all five of those men? Holy shit.
Cooper lifted his rifle and aimed it directly at Hashim, sending a mixture of hope and terror through Marcus' veins. He knew that if Cooper killed Hashim that a firefight would ensue and he wasn't sure if he couldn't get to Caroline in time.
The clicking of Cooper's rifle echoed nearby, but the sound was close to Marcus' ears...too close. Before he had time to react, he realized that Cooper had adjusted his target and was now pointing his loaded rifle directly at Marcus.
"What the fuck?" Marcus said, taking a step back, but bumping into one of Hashim's men.
Cooper was trembling with tears in his eyes as he took aim at Marcus' chest.
"I'm sorry...Fox has my sister. He's been blackmailing me...torturing her unless I agreed to help him...I didn't have a fucking choice." Cooper's words were anguished and desperate and only fueled Marcus's hatred for Fox for hurting so many people for his own personal gain.
Caroline had twisted her neck and jaw enough to free her mouth from the gag and screamed desperately.
"Cooper! Don't!" She begged at the top of her lungs.
"I'm sorry Liz...I have to." Cooper said as he lifted his rifle put his finger on the trigger.
"No!" Caroline wailed in protest as tears ran tracks down her cheeks.
"Look away, Red." Marcus commanded, feeling a lump in his throat as he watched Caroline thrash against the men holding her back.
"Please no! Cooper, don't do this! Please don't do this!" Caroline's screams were gut wrenching and painful and Marcus could barely stand it.
"I love you, Caroline. I love you so damn much." Marcus screamed, bracing himself as he saw Cooper take aim and blow out a breath.
Say it back, baby...One last time. I need to hear it.
Marcus accepted that this was the last time that he'd see Caroline's sweet face and turned his head so he could look at her as he took his last breath.
"Hashim, please stop him! I'll do anything you want! Anything, just please don't hurt him!"
Hashim looked down at Caroline then pulled his attention back to Cooper as he raised his hands.
"Stop." Hashim yelled forcefully, pulling Cooper's attention from his rifle.
"Stop." Hashim repeated, walking toward Cooper and Marcus.
With his arms outstretched to Cooper, Hashim gave him a wide smile as if he was proud of him.
"You did good, son. I will tell Fox that you upheld your end of the deal flawlessly." Hashim said.
"But Fox told me to..." Cooper started, but Hashim cut him off.
"Yes I know what you were told to do, but I've changed my mind. Using this man to bend Liz to my will is going to be far more entertaining than leaving him here on the desert floor, don't you agree?"
Hashim's voice was sadistic and menacing as he spoke the vile words with a smile on his face.
"But my sister..."
"Shh. Shh. Shh. Your sister will be fine. You on the other hand...are no longer needed."
Before Cooper could register the words, Hashim raised a small hand gun and fired a shot through Cooper's chest at point blank range, sending Cooper stumbling backwards to bleed out on the dusty ridge.
"Now, where were we? Ah yes, hearing Liz...or shall we call her Caroline now? Hearing Caroline beg for your life, offering me anything I desire was quite an intriguing concept, one that I'd like to explore. Having her compliant and submissive is appealing to me and you might be the only thing to help me accomplish that."
"Fuck you." Marcus growled, feeling multiple men take hold of his restrained arms, adding an extra zip tie for good measure.
"Now that's no way to speak to your new master." Hashim hissed, giving a nod to one of the men who promptly threw the butt of his rifle into Marcus' side.
The impact was enough to send Marcus down to one knee as he grunted and regained his breath, but Caroline's screams were worse than any physical punishments that Hashim could dish out.
She watched in horror as the man delivered a second blow to Marcus and unleashed her rage on Hashim himself.
"Stop it Hashim, I'm fucking warning you." She screamed, throwing her body weight forward, trying to claw her way to Hashim.
"Or else what, my little red rose? What are you going to do? You don't even have a weapon my love." Hashim was patronizing her, taunting her knowing that she was restrained and unarmed, but he had no idea what she was capable of.
Marcus watched from one knee as she lifted her head, keeping her eyes locked on Hashim with a deadly stare as he walked past her.
"How about I rip your skin off with my teeth." Caroline snarled up at him, her voice thick with hatred.
Hashim's hand shot out and grabbed her chin harshly, sending jolts of rage through Marcus that fueled him enough to stand and take a few steps forward before the men around him restrained him again.
"So much hatred in you, little red rose...I'm going to enjoy beating that out of you."
The sight of another man's disgusting hands on Caroline's perfect face set Marcus' blood on fire, but he had to bide his time, he and Caroline had to wait until the rest of the team could come for them and he prayed like hell they were on their way.