Alex threw her helmet into the wall and roared in frustration. "Right under our noses and he slips away!"
"Yeah, do you know how much those are?" Ray asked carefully. She slowly turned her head and glared at him. "Just asking, 'cuz I do."
"Let me get this straight." She snarled, advancing on him. "Fuse disobeys an order, turns traitor, blows my men up, blows me up, cuts off my fucking arm, then slips away after having an eighteen day break surrounded by GA soldiers, and you're worried about a fucking helmet?"
He chuckled nervously. "Just looking out for you?"
"Where are Yolanda and Tristan?"
"Out in the blizzard, trying to pick up a trail with some local uniforms." He replied instantly. "The girl, Lin, won't be moving fast given what you found in the hotel room. He's a great field medic, but she's too emaciated to have recovered in two weeks and was still on IV fluids."
"From the detox." Alex muttered, awkwardly using her left arm to pour a cup of coffee. "She had a false recovery once he started pumping her with fluids and antibiotics. Then he forced her to undergo induced detox. Risky, if he was trying to keep her alive."
"Cruel, too. I've heard from a few guys how painful it is and they were in much better condition than the girl had to be in." Ray added.
"Calculated risk. That's always been his thing. He doesn't make snap decisions. He thinks it through, weighs the risks, then acts. He wouldn't have left the hotel if he didn't get a heads up that we were onto him. Which means we have a spy in our ranks."
"Which means Echelon's involved. They were the ones who gave him the opposing order."
Alex paced, ignoring the growing pain in her shoulder. "He'll be heading to Coast City, then."
"I know our orders are to capture him and eliminate the girl, but what do you think Echelon wants with her? She was C-Corp's golden goose when it came to cutting edge tech, but they don't want her anymore. Echelon's an intelligence organization, so they wouldn't have much use for her."
Alex stopped. "They're after Fuse. They don't have any use for Lin, but a soldier of Fuse's skill would come in handy if they were considering making a move to break away from The Five."
"Why Fuse, though? I mean, I get that he's a big deal with HQ and the GA, but he's also a relic from the Liberation. The Vanguard were meant to replace and improve upon the Program's failures, wasn't it? And the next generation of armors are supposed to be the first step before mass production. Makes him obsolete, doesn't it?" Ray asked, his brow furrowed.
"Reputation." Alex replied. "He's the only one from the Program to make it out of Keystone. Then there's Wardham. He's revered as much as he's feared for what happened there. If it's made public that he's defected and joined with Echelon, people will follow."
The two soldiers thought in silence for several minutes before Ray picked up his helmet and pulled it on. "I'll go set up perimeters. Just in case he managed to catch a ride in this weather."
The blue eyes flashed and he walked through the door into the sub-zero temperatures beyond. Alex reached up and grabbed her shoulder, gritting her teeth. She played along with Ray in his game of theories, but she had a more deeply personal reason to ensure that Fuse never made it into custody. And she'd make sure that he suffered for every second of pain she had to endure.
~
A snow drift had Fuse choking on snow and Lin's grip around his neck tightening as her silent screech sent a puff of hot air onto his ear. Grunting, he forced himself back to his feet and adjusted the grip on the sword she was using as a seat and continued forward.
They were well clear of Nykberg and he was considering turning east to find the road, but thought better of it. He'd told Ray about Echelon and Alex wasn't an idiot, so they'd anticipate him heading east once he thought he was clear. So he had to start thinking and acting in a way they wouldn't expect, one that ran counter to his established methods of action. And that would mean heading further south than necessary and basically walking right up to Edgeton where HQ and the GA's main base was.
Lin shivered against him and was speaking to him, but the words weren't anything more than warm breath on his frigid skin. He turned his head and she gave him a look of concern, squeezing him slightly.
"I'm fine. Keep that hood up and breathe through your nose into your coat." He replied. "We're going until I can't go anymore."
She nodded and lowered her head against his shoulder to tuck her chin deeper into her coat. He kept concerns of hypothermia and frostbite in the back of his mind, but as long as he kept her dry and she kept her core warm, she'd be fine until they stopped.
The storm had finally broke a few hours later and when the sun came up, it provided them with some respite when the wind would slow enough for the light to warm their coats before a gust would rob them of it once more. Fuse, who'd been playing pack mule through the blizzard was nearing the end of his energy, but he wanted to go a few more hours.
However, a poorly placed step stopped their progress prematurely as he and Lin both heard a snap. He couldn't feel it, but his left ankle wasn't supporting the weight anymore. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to move to a small alcove before setting Lin and their packs down, then dropping himself onto the cold ground. He pulled his boot and sock off and Lin winced at the jagged white bone sticking through the skin.
"That's not good." He grumbled, grabbing a knapsack and pulling out a lantern that doubled as a portable space heater. Clicking it on and pushing it closer to Lin, he looked around until he found a space to work and crawled over to it.
Bracing his leg in the wedge formed between the leaning boulder and the ground, he carefully slid another heavy rock over and pinned his foot in place before grabbing a stick and biting down on it. After a deep inhale and a slow exhale, he slowly pulled his body backward until he saw stars from pain as the bone slipped back inside.
With that done, he pushed the rock away and with another deep breath, stuck two fingers into the hole and worked the bone back into place, stifling screams of pain with his other arm. It took longer than it should have due to the numbness in his fingers, but the blood warmed them and he was able to complete his task before passing out.
Lin watched in a mixture of horror and admiration as Fuse recovered, blood still leaking from his leg, slowed only by the frigid air. She thought with everything, he'd be out for a while, but his eyes opened after five minutes and he sighed heavily, sitting up.
"Toss me the other bag." He said, his voice hoarse and strained.
She hurried to do so and he emptied the contents, rifling through them until he found what he was looking for. It looked like an injector, but it left stitches in his skin. She recognized them as the dissolving staples she'd invented and gestured to herself excitedly. He looked at her, his eyes exhausted. She pointed to the device, then to herself.
"You don't have any open wounds." He said bluntly, but she shook her head and repeated the motions again. He stared at her, trying to comprehend. "Are you trying to tell me you made this?"
She nodded, then pointed at his leg.
Realization dawned on him and he nodded. "You made the staples."
She beamed and nodded excitedly, wanting to explain how she'd done it, but her notepad was buried in her coat and Fuse looked ready to pass out at any moment. Instead she let him focus on mending his leg, which he wrapped tightly with medical tape before grabbing the support struts from the knapsack and and fixed to his leg.
"Won't support the same weight for a while. But I should be good to move again tomorrow." He explained, packing the bag back up and dragging himself over to the lantern where he removed his other boot and set them both along with his socks right next to it.
Lin gave him a look, not understanding. He exhaled sharply, almost reminiscent of a laugh and rested his head on the other bag, tossing the softer one to her. "I heal fast. Get some sleep."
~
Healing fast was something of an understatement, she figured out when they set out again. Fuse was carrying both bags and clearing a path through the knee deep snow, but even with that, the breaks she needed grew more and more frequent. Her frustration at her inability to keep up with someone who had a broken leg culminated in her kicking a tree stump and falling on her rear for the effort.
She looked up at the face of the one who'd been doing all the work and felt tears sting her eyes as she accepted his hand and pulled herself back to her feet, the right one now throbbing painfully in her boot.
"Our only objective is staying hidden until reaching Coast City. We're not in any real hurry, so don't push yourself to keep up. Take the breaks you need." He said, brushing snow and dirt from her backside.
Her fists clenched, but she nodded and they waited until her breathing slowed before pushing forward again. This pattern continued until she shook her head, holding onto his arm to remain standing. He scanned the area before picking her up and carefully picking his way over to a copse, setting her down with a wince and dropping next to her.
After pulling off the packs, he fished out a handful of protein and energy bars and pulled out the lantern, which she was grateful for when its warmth started radiating. Fuse began scraping snow into a small pot and set it on top of the lantern to melt. When it was just melted, he picked it up and handed it to her.
"Drink all of it." He said after she took a few sips. "Then take your boots and socks off."
She steadily drank the entire pot and as she began releasing the clasps on her boots, he refilled the pan with snow and then stripped his own boots off. When their footwear was drying, he pulled two thin packs out and began filling one with the water. She realized they were water bladders and examined one of them, figuring out how it worked.
"Wanted to wait until we were deeper in. The snow'd be cleaner, so I won't have to boil it. Not the cleanest water, but we shouldn't get sick from it." He explained, setting the refilled pan on the lantern and shoving the frozen bars closer so they'd be easier to chew.
She nodded, then fished in her coat and pulled out the notebook. Fuse had the forethought to give her a pencil as well, so she used that to write out a question.
"How do you know how to do all these things?"
He read the note and shrugged. "Training."
She frowned at him, knowing there was more to the story than that. He tested one of the bars and handed it to her, then continued the process of converting snow into water. Accepting that he wasn't going to elaborate, she tore open the package and took a bite. It was still tough to chew, but it wasn't like stone anymore.
Fuse continued working in silence until both bladders were full. He had her test one and he tested the other before arranging them next to the lantern so the water wouldn't freeze and checked their socks. Frowning at their dampness, he picked up one of the bars and finally ate, nudging the last one to her.
"You need it more than I do." He said dully, reclining and resting his head on one of the packs as he chewed.
She picked it up and pulled the package open carefully, then pulled the brick of red fruit and grain out of it. Looking down at Fuse, she tore it in half and held the larger one out to him. His eyes turned and he smirked, plucking it from her fingers and taking a bite. "Thanks."
Dark had fallen, but the warmth from the lantern kept them from feeling the full brunt of the winter air. Lin checked their socks while he rested, but they were still a little damp so she lay down and curled up, resting her head on the pack designated as her pillow.
"Come here." Fuse said, grabbing her coat and pulling her over to him. "The wind'll eat you alive."
He tucked her in close against him and she instinctively grabbed the front of his coat. He half expected her to slap him or try to push away as he'd seen plenty of women do to some of the men in his unit, but she only stared with a slightly surprised expression, then relaxed against him.
He studied her face as she seemed to be doing to his. Her eyes were only just slightly too large for her skull size and freckles peppered a clean line across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. Her nose had a slight upturn to it and her ears stuck out slightly, the exposed one missing a chunk in the cartilage from where her comm had been sliced off.
They realized how intently they'd been studying one another and even in the dim light could see their faces darken. Then they started laughing until tears fell from Lin's eyes. Not long after, it was quiet and the winter insects began making their relaxing noises.
"A man named Blitz taught me survival techniques." He said after a few minutes. "I was assigned to his squad after flunking out of the Program."
She raised an eyebrow, but he shook his head. "Story for another time. Anyway, these guys practically lived in the wilderness. Not just woods like this, but the mountains and forests on the border. It was meant to be secondary training, but they didn't want me there. Nearly let me starve until Blitz took pity on me. Said he'd educate me, but I had to do all the work myself. About four months before the Keystone Incursion, I was transferred back into the Program and I learned a few years later that they'd defected shortly after I left."
He sighed. "Guess they taught me more than I thought, since I wound up defecting as well."
Her grip tightened on his coat and her eyes found his, giving him a look of concern. He pulled her hood more securely over her head and patted it awkwardly. "Don't worry, I put too much work in keeping you alive to just abandon you."
She sighed in relief and pressed herself against him tightly. He tucked his hand between them, closing his eyes and letting his mind drift as he slowed his breathing. Sleep was slow to come as Lin's gentle breath tickled his face, but eventually exhaustion won out and he drifted off.
~
They were putting on their boots when the crack echoed through the air and Lin felt warmth on her face. She didn't have time to wipe it out of her eye when she found herself being thrown over Fuse's shoulder. By the time she recovered enough to see, their camp was no longer in sight and he was panting heavily, something she'd never heard him do before but it made her scared.
There were a few more cracks and a tree spat wood at her as they moved past it. Her startled brain finally pieced together that they were being shot at and what had hit her in the face was blood. Fuse's blood.
"...up ahead!" Fuse was calling back.
More cracks and a moment later, she was in the air. When she landed, she frantically searched for Fuse, who was holding his abdomen. With a growl, he pulled off his coat and tossed it at her, grabbing the sword he'd dropped as well and turned to face whoever was pursuing them.
She tried calling out to him, begging him not to go, but he'd already disappeared. Fear and panic flooded her veins when there was an increase of gunshots followed by a sudden silence. She had no survival skills, she was alone, and she had no idea where she was. Without Fuse, she had no chance for survival.
Tears fell as she pulled the coat tight to her chest and looked around frantically, hyperventilating and shaking violently while the silence only grew more terrifying.
"Lin."
She flew from her spot and slammed into the man leaning against the tree, crying so hard her chest hurt. His hand wrapped around her for a few seconds, before pushing her back. "We gotta go. There's a town up ahead."
He looked pale and the sword dragged behind him as he stumbled toward the edge of the woods. Manic energy fueled her as she did her best to support him, only really recognizing the height disparity between them when he could only use her shoulder as a crutch. She estimated him to be just over six feet tall and the top of her head barely reached his sternum.
"Wait, wait." He panted, leaning against the back of a wooden building. "Give me my coat."
She hadn't realized she was still holding onto it until she looked down in her arms. She held it out and watched as his face contorted from pain as he shrugged it on and fumbled with the buttons before letting out an annoyed sound.
Her hands worked more deftly than they had before as she took over, buttoning it up. She tried to pick up the sword, but it wouldn't budge from its place on the ground. She looked at him and he waved it off. "Leave it. C'mon."
In an incredible feat of willpower, he straightened and walked down the alley at his usual gait. If she hadn't seen the trail of blood on the ground or known he'd been shot multiple times, she wouldn't have had any clue he was even hurt.