Security in the Field

Paul had taken a wrong turn as he looked for an open store, and found himself in what looked to be a deserted ghetto. The only sign of life was a man wearing cammofladge clothing kicking on a door.

The old farmboy grunted and stopped his truck, then retrieved his lever action rifle from the seat when he saw the door swing open.

Without a word he chambered a round and stormed towards the apartment that the man just broke into.

Audie stood back, cringing as Kendal forced the door without any finesse at all...although she didn't blame him, but she would have at least looked for a hidden key. A lot of folks did that, and a quick check wouldn't have hurt. Still, she doubted that anyone would need the door any more.

Glancing behind them, her heart skipped as she noticed the man coming at them with a rifle. Fortunately, if it could be deemed that, she had shoved the pistol into her medical kit -- she wasn't going anywhere without it after what had happened at the Mini-mart. Digging in the pack, she pulled it out, flipping off the safety as she backed up to Kendal.

"Just stop right there, Bubba, and we'll all be happy," she snarled in her best imitation of someone who knew what they were doing!

Paul stopped his advance when the woman behind the man spun on him. Now standing back to back with the man. He'd never threatened a woman before.

"Lady, stay outta this."

Kendal spun and drew his pistol, this was the second time he left the SAW in the truck, there wouldn't be a third.

With one hand on his pistol he reached out with his free hand and grabbed Audie by the back of the shirt and tried to pull her into the house.

"Leave us alone man."

Audie moved willingly, not only letting Kendal pull her back, but moving so that she was now behind him. She kept the pistol trained on the newcomer, though. Any negotiations, she would leave up to the Marine.

Paul almost started growling as he shouldered his rifle. Primal in nature, and spat. "Ya'll aint breaking in there. Yer thirty yards from me holding pistols. Im holding a .44 mag rifle. Get back in yer truck and get lost."

Kendal thumbed the hammer back on his M9 and hollered back. "Look man. Im just here to get my baby. Nothing else."

Stepping beside Kendal where she could be better seen, Audie lowered her pistol, hoping that she wouldn't be seen as much of a threat. "He's right, sir," she called out, hoping to defuse the situation. The guy obviously thought they were looters, and he might back down if he believed them. "We're just here to find a little girl. We think her mother is...sick. Nothing else."

Paul responded in kind to Kendal. But when Audie lowered her pistol he stopped switching his aim between the two and instead kept it trained on the Marine and said. "You, lady. Go find the mother and kid. He stays where I can see him."

"Yeah, all right." Audie looked up at Kendal and muttered, "Don't do anything stupid, all right?" Then she took a breath and moved into the apartment, her nose wrinkled in disgust. She'd seen worse, but whoever lived here was a lousy housekeeper.

"Hello?" she called, moving slowly through the rooms. It was in the bedroom that she found the woman sprawled on the bed, unmoving. Beside her, a little girl was wrapped in a blanket sat, looking up at her.

"Hi, there." Stepping closer, Audie reached past her and felt for a pulse on the woman, but, as she suspected, there wasn't on. "I'm Audie," she continued softly, happy when the girl reached for her. "You must be Sara. Come on, let's go outside." She picked Sara up, holding her tightly, then moved back into the living room, staying well away from the doorway, and the sight of the man outside.

"She's all right, Kendal," she said quietly. "Sara is all right."

Kendal briefly glanced over at his daughter. Then in an act of faith lowered his pistol, put it on safe and put it back in his holster.

He turned to Audie and held out his arms. Looking at the filthy child he smiled and said. "Come here baby."

The scared little girl clung to Audie for a second, then a hint of recognition flashed into her eyes. Daddy. Mommas sleep." And tried to crawl out of Audie's arms and into her father's.

When Kendal made his leap of faith, and Paul saw the young girl he decided to also lower his firearm.

He took it out of his shoulder and lowered the hammer.

Holding the rifle in his left hand he slightly shook his swollen right, and said. "Sorry, I thought ya'll was going ta rob the place. But even if ya did I don't guess it woulda mattered."

Audie released Sara to her father, then stepped between them and the man outside. "I'm Audie Fitch and this is Kendal..." She couldn't remember his last name, but it hardly mattered. "We came from St. Louis to get his daughter. Her mother is..." She shook her head, then looked at Paul. "And you're wrong, it does matter. Things are already so insane, it's good that someone cares."

Taking a step toward him, she glanced from his hand back to his face. "Have you had that looked at? Looks infected, could get to be a problem for you if you don't get it checked." Smiling, she gestured down to her medical bag that was just outside the door. "I'm a paramedic. I can look at it if you'd like."

Paul shook the hand again and said. "I used alcohol after it happened. Wernt nobody around to actually check it out."

He thought over her proposal for a second and nodded his head and said. "Yeah, thanks."

Paul thought over her proposal for a second and nodded his head and said. "Yeah, thanks."

Moving slowly, so as not to alarm him, Audie got to her bag, laying her pistol aside, then digging through the kit and pulling out some gauze bandages. "I'll try to be gentle," she said, grinning as she stood, holding her hand out. "Remember, if you cry you don't get a sticker. So, do you live here?" Despite his gruff appearance, he didn't look quite raunchy enough to live at a place like this.

The big man now held his rifle only in his left hand, it hanging at his side, and nodded to her as he held out his right. "Naw. Come in for supplies and took a wrong turn."

Kendal held his daughter close for a long time. After he finally stopped hugging her he walked over to Audie, and the big bearded man. The Marine didn't notice how big he actually was until all the guns were put away, or no longer being pointed at him.

Standing off to the side he nodded at Paul and said. "I'm Kendal, this is Sara." Indicating his daughter. "Do you know of anyplace around here to put up for the night?"

Sara finally getting over the shock of the loud noise at the door, and not being able to wake up her mother said softly. "Im hungry."

The big man now held his rifle only in his left hand, it hanging at his side, and nodded to her as he held out his right. "Naw. Come in for supplies and took a wrong turn."

"Some wrong turn." Audie chuckled, looking up at him, feeling dwarfed by his size, but no longer intimidated, although she was still wary. "Let me get this cleaned up." Gently, she started to scrub at the wound with peroxide that foamed as it came in contact with the raw flesh.

Standing off to the side Kendal nodded at Paul and said. "I'm Kendal, this is Sara." Indicating his daughter. "Do you know of anyplace around here to put up for the night?"

Sara finally getting over the shock of the loud noise at the door, and not being able to wake up her mother said softly. "Im hungry."

"There's food in the Bronco," Audie called over her shoulder, smiling at how natural Kendal was with the child. Neither had felt like eating after the incident at the mart, so they still had all that. "It's all junk food, but it should take the edge off for now." The poor kid needed to be cleaned up, and Audie hoped they could salvage some clothes for her.

Kendal sat his daughter in the back seat of the bronco, and gave her some of the junkfood they still had, then picked up his SAW from the front seat and slung it over his back. He thought it a bad thing to leave in the truck with a curious little girl.

Back over by Audie he looked over what she was doing, and the big man, and said. "I'm going to look through her stuff and try to find some good clothes."

Paul stood there and let her clean the small puncture wound, and didnt complain.

Finally he asked. "So whats with cammies over there? Couldn't change before he left?"

Audie glanced in the direction that Kendal had gone, then back to Paul. "He got a call from his daughter's mother that she needed him here right away, what would you do?" She shrugged as she started to wrap his hand. "We both walked away from our jobs in St. Louis. He's in the Marines and I'm a paramedic. Guess there's not much to go back to, anyway. People were dropping like flies..." Sighing, she shrugged. "What's it like around here?"

Paul was instantly disapointed with the Marine, but after he thought about it for a second he understood and would have probably done the same thing. So he said quietly. "I'da come to get my daughter. Sometimes it takes balls to do the wrong thing when there is no right thing. I respect that."

In reference to her second question he shook his head and said. "Ain't as bad as most places, people are running scared or dying. But there hasn't been any rioting like in some cities."

"Yeah, that's why he's with me.. I mean, why we're together. He was assigned to protect my unit. People were trying to hijack us for the medications and stuff." Sighing, she shrugged. "People were scared, but we can only do so much. But when we left...there was no where left to take people, the clinics and hospitals were overwhelmed with patients and running out of staff."

Looking up at him, she hesitated a moment, then added, "This is like a nightmare, some awful horror flick, only it's real." She knew that she still hadn't processed the whole thing, but this wasn't the time. "Anyway, I have some antibiotics I can give you for that, so long as you aren't allergic."

Kendal quickly searched through the dark house with his SAW slung over his back. It didn't take him long to find where his ex kept Sara's clothes.

After filling a backpack he found on the floor with her clothes he went back outside, and found Audie still working on and talking to the big bearded man, who's name he learned earlier is Paul.

"I think Ive got everything she will need." He said interrupting their conversation.

Paul nodded his head like he understood her all too well. "Im not allergic ta anything that I know of. So where are ya'll gonna go?"