As the appointed medic, Agent Kawamura gives me a once-over and agrees that I’m not about to drop dead anytime soon. He approaches the Asset, while Agent Rollins covers with weapon pointed at the Asset’s head. Agent Kawamura confirms a gunshot wound to the lower right thigh, passing all the way through without hitting anything vital. The Asset allows him to apply pressure and field-dress the wound, then tries to get away. Agent Rollins makes sure that he doesn’t.
I ask Agent Stinson why the fuck he took the shot. He says his intention was to hit the ground next to us, to scare the Asset. I ask him why the fuck he thinks that would scare the Asset and exactly what the fuck that would achieve. He says he doesn’t know - all he could think was that the Asset would kill me if he didn’t act. I commend him for his loyalty and then chew him out for fucking shooting our fucking assassin when there are other fucking ways to get the Asset to stand down.
(I’m glad he did it, though.)
“What would you do if he’d killed me back there?”
Jack looks up from examining an errant thread on his sweater. “You already asked me that.”
“I’m asking you again. Now that we’re - now that it’s over. What would you have done?”
“I would’ve shot the bastard in the head,” Jack says, without hesitation. “Like I said before. And I stand by that.”
“They’d have you in front of the firing squad for that.”
“I know.”
We’re all too fucking keyed up to sleep and it’s about 0100, so I authorise staying awake until dawn. The world’s worst fucking slumber party is made of the four of us, sitting in sleeping bags in a rough circle around the Asset with our weapons directed at him. I order him to lie on the ground and not even fucking think about moving. As far as I can tell, he doesn’t.
Approx. 0245, day 6. Agent Kawamura is intermittently falling asleep. He decides to make safe his weapon and rest against his kit, and Agent Stinson shifts round to cover his position.
0300, day 6. Agent Stinson asks whether lighting the portable stove will attract bears. I tell him that I don’t fucking know. The consensus is that a bear attack would be welcome at this point: it is predicted by Agent Stinson that we’d all fucking die, the Asset would kill the fucking bear, and then it’d be his ass on the fucking line when the extract team came and found what happened. Agent Stinson lights the portable stove and boils some water, and steals the cranberry and rooibos antioxidant detox tea bags we know Agent Kawamura keeps in his kit bag. To be fair, it’s not bad stuff. Agent Kawamura does not wake up.
0330, day 6. The Asset moves and I ask him what the fuck he thinks he’s doing. He says he’s stretching out a cramp. I figure it’s fucking cold as hell out here and the ground is damp, so he’s probably telling the truth. I authorise him to stretch, as long as he’s careful with his leg. He does, and then sits there inspecting his wound for a long-ass time.
0340, day 6. Agent Stinson says sorry for shooting him. The Asset asks what happened to warrant it. Agent Stinson looks to me for approval - given - and tells him that he tried to murder the squad commander. The Asset says ‘oh’ like he fucking forgot, and apologises to me for trying to tear my fucking face off. I am too fucking tired at this point to be mad at him for doing it in the first place, so I say it’s ok. He stares at his left hand.
0350, day 6. The Asset asks where we are. I tell him to shut the fuck up.
0355, day 6. The Asset asks where we are, in Russian this time. I tell him, in English, that our location is classified, we are on mission, and I am his CO, and that thing he’s staring at is his left arm. He wiggles his fingers and does that freaky thing with the outer plates and says he can’t remember losing his arm in the first place. I say it’s fine, he doesn’t need to remember.
Fill: Make Your Puppet Dance 11/?
I ask Agent Stinson why the fuck he took the shot. He says his intention was to hit the ground next to us, to scare the Asset. I ask him why the fuck he thinks that would scare the Asset and exactly what the fuck that would achieve. He says he doesn’t know - all he could think was that the Asset would kill me if he didn’t act. I commend him for his loyalty and then chew him out for fucking shooting our fucking assassin when there are other fucking ways to get the Asset to stand down.
(I’m glad he did it, though.)
“What would you do if he’d killed me back there?”
Jack looks up from examining an errant thread on his sweater. “You already asked me that.”
“I’m asking you again. Now that we’re - now that it’s over. What would you have done?”
“I would’ve shot the bastard in the head,” Jack says, without hesitation. “Like I said before. And I stand by that.”
“They’d have you in front of the firing squad for that.”
“I know.”
We’re all too fucking keyed up to sleep and it’s about 0100, so I authorise staying awake until dawn. The world’s worst fucking slumber party is made of the four of us, sitting in sleeping bags in a rough circle around the Asset with our weapons directed at him. I order him to lie on the ground and not even fucking think about moving. As far as I can tell, he doesn’t.
Approx. 0245, day 6. Agent Kawamura is intermittently falling asleep. He decides to make safe his weapon and rest against his kit, and Agent Stinson shifts round to cover his position.
0300, day 6. Agent Stinson asks whether lighting the portable stove will attract bears. I tell him that I don’t fucking know. The consensus is that a bear attack would be welcome at this point: it is predicted by Agent Stinson that we’d all fucking die, the Asset would kill the fucking bear, and then it’d be his ass on the fucking line when the extract team came and found what happened. Agent Stinson lights the portable stove and boils some water, and steals the cranberry and rooibos antioxidant detox tea bags we know Agent Kawamura keeps in his kit bag. To be fair, it’s not bad stuff. Agent Kawamura does not wake up.
0330, day 6. The Asset moves and I ask him what the fuck he thinks he’s doing. He says he’s stretching out a cramp. I figure it’s fucking cold as hell out here and the ground is damp, so he’s probably telling the truth. I authorise him to stretch, as long as he’s careful with his leg. He does, and then sits there inspecting his wound for a long-ass time.
0340, day 6. Agent Stinson says sorry for shooting him. The Asset asks what happened to warrant it. Agent Stinson looks to me for approval - given - and tells him that he tried to murder the squad commander. The Asset says ‘oh’ like he fucking forgot, and apologises to me for trying to tear my fucking face off. I am too fucking tired at this point to be mad at him for doing it in the first place, so I say it’s ok. He stares at his left hand.
0350, day 6. The Asset asks where we are. I tell him to shut the fuck up.
0355, day 6. The Asset asks where we are, in Russian this time. I tell him, in English, that our location is classified, we are on mission, and I am his CO, and that thing he’s staring at is his left arm. He wiggles his fingers and does that freaky thing with the outer plates and says he can’t remember losing his arm in the first place. I say it’s fine, he doesn’t need to remember.
He asks me what year it is.