Nine

Nine

For a full two days, Sean was stuck at the hotel. Randy's fever kept him in bed for twenty-four hours. He could have left him, and Randy had tried to get him to go, but it was too dangerous. Randy would be left with no way of defending himself. When the fever finally broke, he could barely get the energy to move. It took another twenty-four hours before Sean was able to leave so he could contact Lassiter.

"I should be back within a few hours. Hopefully, I can get a hold of Lassiter without too much trouble."

Randy nodded. "Tell him I'm not all that thrilled working for him."

"Will do."

But he hesitated.

"Go. I can deal with the situation."

He did as Randy ordered and started off to the nearest town. He needed to get somewhere with good cell reception. Sean knew he had limited time before he was recognized, and he also had limited time he could leave Randy. He had to admit; it hadn't been as uncomfortable as he thought it would be. Caring for someone he wasn't really familiar with should have been awkward, but it wasn't. They seemed to have a connection. Most of it probably had to do with the situation. Desperate times and close quarters helped diminish any normal barriers. Sean figured they would sort out what it meant between them later.

He didn't have to go into Bulusan, but he knew he needed to get as close as possible. And they needed to get the fuck away from there. They were very close to an active volcano and, going by the rest of the mission, Sean didn't want to take any chances.

As soon as the satellite phone picked up a signal, he dialed Lassiter. They weren't supposed to have support, but he knew his boss would want to hear from them. Lassiter picked up on the first ring.

"Where the fuck are you?" Lassiter growled into the phone.

"Well, hello to you too."

"Sean, don't fuck with me. We've had our hands full trying to find you. Is Young there?"

"No. He's back in the room."

"Injuries?"

"Young, but just a flesh wound. You want to tell me what the hell is going on?"

Lassiter sighed. "You were hit the same time Jaime was."

Even after the year apart, his heart lodged somewhere in his throat. He didn't think he would ever get over her. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah." He sighed, sounding weary now. "She's doing fine now."

Sean wanted to ask more, but he knew Lassiter well enough to know that he wouldn't tell Sean any more.

"So, you're saying this was planned?"

"Yes, and it has to do with something you two must have worked on, but I have yet to figure out what it is. I have a transport I can set up on my command. How soon can the two of you get to Bulusan?"

"Slow down. Can't travel for another day or two."

"I thought you said Young was okay."

"He is, but he had some kind of flu. It knocked him down. It will take at least another twenty-four hours. Also, he doesn't trust you much right now."

"Damn, and we need him. I'll make sure to make it up to both of you. Be there on Thursday, midnight, your time. Chuck is going to pick you up."

He knew the man well, and Lassiter knew that. Especially since they didn't know who to trust at the moment.

"Gotcha. So, is Jaime going to be okay?"

"She's fine. We should be back in the states by the time you two get back. Maybe we can put our heads together and figure something out."

"Got it. See you in a few days."

He turned off the phone and started on his way back. It wasn't going to be an easy trip. While Randy had finally gotten some energy, a trek through the rainforest over mountainous areas was going to be hard. They could make it to Bulusan by Wednesday no problem. It gave them three days.

It took him less time to make it back, or at least it seemed like it did. He still tried his best to muddy up his trail just in case anyone was following him. They didn't need any more problems on this mission.

When he arrived back at the room, Randy was sitting on the bed, ready to go. His pack was beside him, and he was dressed.

"Do we have a transport?"

Sean nodded.

"Let's go."

"Don't you think you should take a little more time?"

The look Randy gave him told him exactly where he thought Sean could stick that idea.

"No. I have a bad feeling, and those usually pan out. We need to get out of here as fast as possible."

"We have until Thursday at midnight."

"Someone you trust is going to pick us up?"

Sean nodded. "I've worked with Chuck. Former SEAL like yourself, but he lost a leg, so he's been doing transports."

"Good. Let's go. It seems there is a break in the weather, but I heard a couple of the guys talking, and they said they expect a bitch of a storm in about thirty-six hours. We have got to get there before the rain hits."

"Fuck, this job has been shitty from the first moment we landed. I have to tell you something." Randy stopped moving and looked at him. "This might have been a retaliatory hit for something I did with my old partner. She got hit around the same time we did."

Randy sighed. "Well, shit. Is she okay?"

"Yeah. Lassiter is with her wherever she is."

"Yeah. Let's get to Bulusan. Last time I was there, I stayed at a nice little resort. They don't ask questions, especially for the extra cash.

"I think we should lay low."

Randy shrugged. "The bastards after us are probably long gone. But, if they aren't, they won't be looking for us at the resort. Plus, we can just hang out in the room."

He wanted to say no, and his training told him he should, but instead, he studied Randy. He was a bit pale, and Sean knew he had also dropped a few pounds.

"Listen, I want to make sure that you don't catch whatever I have. If we're stuck out in the jungle hiding and you get sick, we'll miss the transport. At least this way we have a better chance of making it."

He couldn't really argue with that and, at the moment, he wanted to just sleep for days. This would give them the option.

"Let's go."

Randy smiled. "Great. I'm sure we can come up with something to do with all that time."