Round 1, Part 1 - Three picture prompt from WattpadMilitaryFiction

We had under eight hours to locate and extract the hostages, and since the incursion we had put down amid a group of hostiles, lost our supply pack in the tree tops, and had spent four and one half hours fighting and evading the enemy.

Our tactics finally gave us some relief, and we holed up in the crumbled ruins of an old bunker. The aural amp on my helmet fed the night sounds into my head. Andy's breathing was the loudest. I turned and spoke, making sure he was still awake.

"Have you figured out or position yet?" I nudged his arm.

"The wrist computer can only give me last co-ordinates without the use of the satellite. If we break communication silence they'll be on us pronto."

"Can't you use any of those other gizmos you carry to give us an idea of where the hell we are?"

"The stored data shows where the targets are. It also shows where we were during the fire fight. Rough calculations put us about two and a half miles from there. Depending on whether all the evasive tactics we used didn't screw up the computer's GPS before we shut it down, we are between three and five miles from the target."

I crept to the edge of the bunker while he talked, and scanned the surrounding territory with my goggle array.

"Okay, we should be able to cover that in good time without any interruptions. Which way?"

"Good question. Best guess is northeast."

"Best guess? You carry millions of dollars in researched gadgets that are supposed to tell us everything we need to know, and you say, best guess?"

"I can break silence, John, and tell you within an inch, but a five-mile run through unfamiliar ground, swarming with hostiles is a bad option."

I finished a three-sixty scan of the area and hunkered down beside him again. "At least the array shows nothing close by." I slipped the water tube into my mouth and drank then tucked it away.

"Christ, this was supposed to be a cakewalk, now we have to become bloody heroes." I shook my head. "Let's go."

"Northeast it is, partner."

******

The cabin sat in a hollow, hidden by a forest of trees and scrub. A battery lamp set at low provided the only light inside for the two hostages. The raid on the research facility was a horror show. The kidnapping of the couple had left death and destruction of staff and equipment, eliminating years of dedicated work smouldering in the rubble.

"All those young and clever people, Lawrence . . ."

"Don't think about it, dear, nothing can be done now."

"What do they want with us?"

"Knowledge and leverage. The project was ours, and we both know it's all still here." He tapped his head, offering a weak smile.

"But they had everything at the facility."

"My guess is they felt it was easier to defend two old people than a large building full of personnel." He patted her arm. "I won't let them harm you, Vivian."

She leaned close to him, comforted as she had been for over fifty years.

The door opened, and a shadow crossed the room into the lamplight. The man looked down at the couple, his face an arrogant sneer.

"We have sent our demands to your corrupt government. They were given eight hours to comply."

"They won't, you know, Captain. They don't deal with terrorists or kidnappers." Lawrence looked up at the angry face.

"They'll deal for you, Professor Duggan . . . or your companion will be delivered dressed for the table like a wild animal."

"You, sir, are the wild animal. You and your kind--"

The blow was swift. Lawrence spilled sideways into Vivian, who screamed.

"One hour left, Professor."

******

"We're going to have to go to ground soon, it's getting too light to keep going at this pace." Andy messed with his computer, cursing and swearing when he couldn't get what he wanted.

"How far have we come?" I asked.

"Maybe half way - if it's the right way."

"Not so bad. You said between three and five miles. We could be very close. Hold on while I do another survey." The infrared showed movement off to our left, and I yanked Andy quickly to the ground. "Activity to the left," I whispered, charging my pneumatic weapon.

We lay silently, listening with our aural amps. As the sound increased, I sighted the rangefinder laser scope . . . waiting. Out of the bushes we spotted the head of a wild boar, it stopped and raised its snout.

"Keep still. See what it does."

"I don't think it senses us," Andy shifted his weapon back.

I agreed, and we watched it root around in the scrub, then both of us crunched down in the dirt as shots rang out, sending the squealing animal right for us.

The gunfire was followed by yelling, and three men came running after the boar. I raised my weapon and fired. The boar lifted into the air, blood spraying in a red film, then crashed to the ground. Two more quick shots, and the one remaining man just fired wildly around, no idea where we were.

Taking him down quickly, Andy wrapped his wrists with ties, rolling him over and holding his carbon knife near an eye. I came up, activating my audio translator and listened to his babbling.

"Sounds like your calculations were damned good, partner," I said. "They were hunting food for the group that are holding our targets. There's a cabin somewhere close by and a small force of nine watching it."

"Somewhere close by . . . I think an eye will get it more accurate than that."

Andy smiled menacingly, and I switched to vocal on the translator. The man gave it up and fainted.

"Half a mile through there," I pointed. "They will have heard the shots."

"We need a plan."

"Brilliant, Sherlock."

******

Outside the cabin, men were laughing and cheering at the sound of the shots.

"Get a fire started! Fresh meat is coming."

The men laid aside their weapons while wood was gathered and a spit was constructed.

Inside, Vivian gripped her husband's arm." Lawrence, I'm frightened."

"It sounds like something good has happened judging from the cheering."

"You think the government--"

"Not a chance, darling." He held her close.

"Was it all worth it, Lawrence?"

"Our research? Of course it was. It still is. We did manage to send most of our data before they overwhelmed us. It will help millions, Viv."

"They won't let us live, will they?"

"Don't worry, they won't harm you - they won't harm either of us."

"What are you saying?"

"This." Lawrence held up a small vial he had secreted in his jacket lining. "It is the only way, Vivian. It's instantaneous and painless - and there is enough for both of us."

"Oh, Lawrence . . .' She began to cry.

"We'll be together, Viv, don't worry."

Angry shouting was heard outside and then noisy gunfire. They heard the Captain's voice screaming orders.

"What is happening, Lawrence?"

"I think we're under attack . . ."

Bullets thunked into the cabin door, and it opened slowly, a gun barrel poking through.

"I love you, darling." He opened the vial and tipped it toward her.

She looked longingly at his face. "I love you too, Lawrence." Her hand came to his cheek and she closed her eyes, swallowing from the vial.

He felt hot tears as he took her hand in his, with a last squeeze of her fingers, he drank.

******

I stepped into the cabin just as I saw the man drink something. "No! No!" I quickly cleared the room, stopping over the two bodies cradled together. "Son of a bitch!"

"What?" Andy came in behind me. "Oh. Oh, shit."

"They committed suicide. Break silence and report in," I said, removing the vial from the man's hand. I went back outside and stared around the compound. All for nothing.

Andy joined me. "I sent them photos for confirmation and received co-ordinates for an extraction point."

"We'll bury them first," I said. "There's a shovel in the cabin." I walked among the bodies, delivering the coup de grâce as needed, then wandered away from the cabin into the forest, looking for a suitable spot.

Near a clump of pines I stopped and stared at the red flowers poking up from the ground cover. Perfect. I picked a number, clearing a place to dig among them.

"Over here, Andy!"

An hour later we had buried the professor and his wife together, erected a small marker and, after a brief eulogy, placed some of the flowers on the grave.

"Real heroes, partner. Took guts." I shook my head in admiration, feeling my eyes mist. I tucked a flower inside my uniform, feeling the mist turn to a tear.

"Okay, we have to make time to get to the extraction point. I figure a two-hour trek." Andy checked all his newly activated gadgets.

"If only we had been sooner." I gave the site one last look and followed Andy at a slow trot out of the compound.

A/N: Chosen for the WattpadMilitaryAction Anthology