Wildlands (rskde & BurningWillows)

[BurningWillows]

She nodded, "This stays between you and me okay? No one else knows this and I'd prefer it that way. So..."

Katerina sighed, knowing there was no good way to explain it, "So Narcos left me a parting gift. And quite the big one. Um, he left me the cartel. The entire business left to me, like some cruel joke. Narcos knows the CIA will eventually catch whiff of it, and it will make my life hell. Or at least that was his plan. My plan is to use it to an advantage, to give me a boost for my newest mission."

She shook her head before he said anything, "I can't tell you about the other mission though. That's FBI territory and I can't divulge what I'm doing to someone discharged dishonorably. Yeah I know. You let slip over the phone you were with your wife and kid - they should think your dead, and it didn't take long for me to put the pieces together. It explains the scene at the airport now, and why Al's been secretive. I'm not judging you Shrake, I'm just being honest."

Katerina turned to look out the window, seeing only clouds, "We are going into Bolivia so I can take over what's left of the cartel. I'm going to use that leverage in the world of criminals to get an edge on the new target I have. You can stay with the plane, I only need you to pilot. I promise I'll pay you two grand for each flight. That's four grand so far, and another two if you fly me back."

 

[Risky]

He just nods as he listens before standing. "Sounds fine, we still have an hour to Bolivia." He says before walking back to the cockpit.

An hour later they land, Shrake stays inside of the plane while Katerina does her business.

 

[BurningWillows]

She left the plane wired, so Shrake could know her whereabouts in case things went awry.

They had landed in the La Paz airfield and it didn't take her long to snag a jeep. It took her an hour out of town to find the small town she knew she could find them.

Getting out of the jeep she wandered up to a saloon, kicking open the door and strolling in.

"You bitch," one of the patron's swore as he saw her but she continued walking up to the bar, ordering a rum and coke.

"Got some nerve showing up here, Katerina," another one snapped, standing up.

"I think I have every nerve," she snapped back, looking over her shoulder, "Or do they not serve pretty blondes here?"

"Nothin's pretty about a backstabbing ghost bitch."

"I see nothing ghostly about me," she pinched her arm, "All just flesh and blood."

A second man stood up, pulling out his gun, "Still a backstabbing bitch. You got Narcos killed."

"I got no one killed," she turned around, "except for your sorry ass in about two seconds. Narcos slipped up, as is dead because of it. Nothing I can do there."

Another table stood up, gun's out and ready.

"All of you," she sighed rolling her eyes, "Shoot first, realize your idiots later. Ever fucking heard of a double agent?"

The bartender passed her the drink before ducking into the back, obviously keen on keeping his life. She shot back the tequila, dropping the glass on the counter before stepping towards the closest thug.

"Double agent?" he asked, looking semi confused, "You were working for Narcos."

"I loved that man," she lied, her acting skills still as good as they used to be, "He found out I came down to Bolivia on CIA orders and I agreed to double cross them to gain intel for him. How do you think the CIA went years without shutting the cartel down? When we realized there were ghosts around I infiltrated them to keep tabs on how close they got. None of you figured that out? That whole staged kidnapping...no one questioned how I walked out of that unharmed? Twice?"

Now she had there attention, their minds churning. Finally one of them reached a conclusion, looking up at her.

"So why you here then?"

"Great question," she pointed at him as she lifted herself onto the bar and swung her legs over, "I'm getting the band back together, so to speak. I run the cartel now, didn't you hear?"

She found herself the bottle of tequila, drinking straight from it.

"We heard Hawk was after the position. Been running your ghosts down, trying to get to you."

"Hawk can stuff it. He doesn't have the brains or the looks to run this business. Neither does Narcos snot nosed kid. "

"I think she's full of it," one of them piped up, "Just shoot her down."

Now the entire bar was standing, guns being pulled and raised at each other and some at Katerina.

She just shrugged nonchantalay, mimicking Narcos, the one tutor she had to understand these thugs.

"When your all done shooting each other, I'll take the leftovers," she sighed, swigging her tequila and ducking as a bullet whizzed past her head.

Chaos broke out, chairs flying, bullets blazing and punches thrown. Even Katerina got into it, taking down three men at once then moving on to whoever else wanted a piece of her. The fight brawled out until only those on Katerina's side remained, the rest dead or unconcious.

"Let's go," she snapped, strolling out.

~~

It took the better part of the rest of the day to collect what she needed and return to the plane. By then she had about two dozen men and six trucks caring cocaine and weapons. When she arrived she knew Shrake wouldn't be pleased to find out he was smuggling drugs and weapons, but that was why she had called him and no one else. She trusted him, and that was a rare thing for Katerina.

"Load the plane," she ordered as she climbed out of the jeep, "And make it quick. I'm going to make us rich again boys."

While they loaded she went into to the cockpit and found Shrake, who didn't look pleased. He had been listening the entire day, so she was unsure if it was the cocaine and weapons being smuggled that was the problem, or the lie she had told that she was a double agent. Katerina had been convincing enough, she just hoped she hadn't been so convincing that even Shrake believed it.

"Good thing its a cargo plane," she murmured shutting the door, "Everything should be loaded in ten and then we can leave.

 

[Risky]

Shrake watches the thugs loading his plane. He sighs and grabs his pistol from his holster, his knuckles white as he grips it tightly, expecting them to open fire at any moment.

 

[BurningWillows]

"They think you switched sides for me," she commented, noticing his white knuckled grip on his pistol, "You needed the money, and I could provide blah blah blah. I did all this without a gun by the way. Even I'm impressed with myself."

He was still watching the closed door, like it would burst open any second.

"Shrake. They aren't coming in here unless they want their heads blown off. C'mon, I still need you as a pilot. I've wired the four grand to you, if you don't believe me. Another two when we land in Afghanistan. I got the money, trust me."

She waved a small black card before pocketing it into her bra. It was Narco's personal bank account, where all the blood money sat. He only ever had two cards: one on his person, and one with the three women bearing his children, so they could provide. His card had been destroyed when Narcos died, but it hadn't taken much effort to steal the other one. She had left the women a couple thousand dollars in an envelope so they wouldn't go hungry, but the last thing anyone needed was one of those children growing up and starting another cartel with this blood money. For Katerina's purposes, she was going to blow most of it on this mission, effectively killing Narco's legacy while taking down a bigger threat in Afghanistan.

 

[Risky]

Shrake just sighs and slides his pistol back into its holster, shaking his head. "Make sure they know their place." He simply says before turning back to the controls. About half an hour later, the plane is loaded and he takes off, headed back towards Afghanistan.

 

[BurningWillows]

They got back to Afghanistan and Katerina made a few calls -now that she had Narcos phone book. Sure enough she ended up getting a hold of someone who got her a meeting with the notorious leader she was after.

They unloaded the plane then set up tents at the abandoned airfield they were using, make it their ground zero.

Once all was set up she climbed back into the airplane where Shrake waited, shaking his hand.

"Thank you," she smiled, "The last two grand is in your account now. I'll expect you can keep this to yourself please? Last thing I need is Kevin thinking I've gone rogue."

 

[Risky]

The man raises his eyebrows at her. "Oh, so now you're bribing me." He says to her teasingly as he shakes his head. "I won't tell anybody, I've been doing a bit of sneaking around myself." He admits to her as he leans against the door of the cockpit.

"Don't be afraid to give me a call if you need me, I'm always in for the money." He says with a chuckle as he turns and walks into the cockpit, expecting her to just say goodbye and leave his plane and continue on with her mission, whatever it was she was doing.

 

[BurningWillows]

She did just that. After saying goodbye she left the plane, watching him take off before turning back towards her new men, the persona she had perfected for almost seven years now falling back into place with ease.

A week past and Arya practically lived by her phone. After that inital shift she took the week off, the stress of working being too much to handle on top of grief. The hospital understood when she explained, giving her the week off. So Arya spent her days and nights at home, barely leaving the couch as she stared at her phone, waiting for the call. Every time she heard a knock she flinched, thinking it was the front door, that behind it waited a marine officer to tell her Kyle was dead. In her head she knew it was unlikely he was alive - in her heart she prayed he would make it through.

By the end of the week she looked exhausted, barely eating or sleeping, only moving from the couch to use the bathroom. Arya was a complete wreck, and she knew it. She was waiting for Kevin to eventually say something but he hadn't said anything, at least not yet.

A week past and she was still in confinement with one week to go. The withdrawals were awful, but the therapy was working. She didn't need the wheelchair anymore, now using crutches.

She still wasn't allowed visitors, and she wasn't sure what Alex had been doing for the last two weeks she hadn't seen him. The time apart was driving her crazy though, a part of her just wanting to hear his voice, to tell her he loved her and everything would be alright. She had finally gotten a letter to him through one of the nurses, apologizing and begging him to come see her, to find a way to her. Serena wasn't even sure it had been delivered, but it had made her feel a little better any which way.

 

[Risky]

Kyle is guided out of a black SUV in San Francisco, he looks around as he is guided to the apartment, Max hot on his heels as he walks up the stairs. He had been given a two month leave, once he healed fully he would go back into active service, as the damage done to his brain was.. Fixable, but still obvious at this point.

He walks up to the door and knocks, the doctor next to him as they wait for someone to open it up.

 

[BurningWillows]

"I don't need to sleep," she was arguing with Kevin, although all he had said is maybe she needed a nap, "I'm fine. It's only been..."

Three days.

"...uh, its been a while," she muttered, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and ignoring the dark rings around them.

Her hair was a mess, and she wore black sweatpants and a white dress shirt she'd stolen from Kyle's things before he left. It smelt like him and it was comforting, even though she swam in it.

When the knock sounded she practically jumped out of her skin, staring in shock and somewhat horror at the door.

"No," she whimpered, "No it can't be."

If he was alive, he'd call. Right? The only reason someone would be at the door...

With tears in her eyes she got up, her body shaking and shivering from fatigue and hunger, although she ignored both. She'd eaten a bowl of cereal the day before and it had been all she could stomach. With trembling fingers she reached for the doorknob and opened it, feeling Kevin's eyes on her back, watching the procession.

The door opened and her eyes landed on the stranger dressed in military gear, her heart jumping to her throat as tears started to fall down her cheeks. Then her eyes landed on...on Kyle.

"Kyle?" she choked out.

And just like that she fainted.

 

[Risky]

He watches the woman in front of him fall, how did she know his name? He turns to the doctor and raises his eyebrows in question, as if asking what exactly he was doing here, why had the doctor taken him here specifically? Was it meant to trigger some memory a 5.56mm bullet had erased from his mind? It wasn't working.

 

[BurningWillows]

She didn't even feel the floor as she crumpled, her mind going blank as darkness wrapped around her and she fainted into unconsciousness. Not even dreams soothed her, just the empty darkness as she floated, stunned, unable to wake.

 

[Risky]

The doctor leads Kyle inside before explaining the whole situation to Kevin, expecting him to relay the information to Arya, who still seems to be unconcious on the floor.

Kyle walks over to the couch and sits, rubbing Max behind his ears as he stares out the window, seemingly transfixed by the light peering through it.

 

[BurningWillows]

When she finally does wake she's in her bed, lying under the blankets. At first she just stares up at the ceiling, trying to remember how she ended up in her room. Then his face comes back to her and she flings back the covers, rushing her tired body out into the main room.

"Kyle," her eyes are saucer wide, staring at the man on her couch, "Max."

The dog looks at her with recognition in his eyes, giving a playful whine at her to say hello. Kyle doesn't give such a response.

"Kyle?" she's leaning against the wall, her eyelids fluttering as she refuses to let sleep win, even as her knees buckle and her body feels like its ready to shut down, "Kyle your alive."

 

[Risky]

He simply nods, he is alive, but he has no idea what exactly he's meant to be doing here, or who anybody around him was, aside from Max of course,

Winters grabs Arya by her arm, walking her into her room before closing the door. "We've gotta talk." He says to her. "The bullet gave him brain damage, he can't form words and he doesn't remember anything besides the Marines and Max." He explains to her. "We've gotta treat him carefully."

 

[BurningWillows]

She sat down on the bed, rubbing her eyes and ignoring the growls from her stomach, "Way to tell it to me gently Kevin. So your saying he has no idea who I am, or where he is, but they just dropped him off and abandoned him?"

She didn't mean to be irritable, but it was the sleep deprivation talking.

 

[Risky]

"They think that dropping him here will help trigger some memories, so in other words you have to make him fall in love with you again." He explains. "He sees a doctor every Sunday, so that's in three days."

 

[BurningWillows]

She looked at him in disbelief.

"Fucking marines," she snapped, finally losing her temper, and her tongue, "They get him almost killed, then expect me to fix their fucking mistake. That's my boyfriend out there, and he doesn't even know it!"

Arya dropped her head into her hands, overwhelmed. When she did finally look up it was only to shoo him out, asking him to babysit their new roommates while she slept. At this point she couldn't hold it off any longer, or she'd be hospitalized herself.

~

She slept the rest of the day away and through the night, waking at 7 am feeling a little less like crap. Next came eating, knowing it was dangerous that she could see her ribs when she pulled her shirt up. After showering and changing into cleaner clothes she made breakfast for three, gobbling hers down without waiting. At least knowing that he was alive pushed Arya back in motion.

 

[Risky]

Kyle walks over to Arya, sitting down. He holds a pen and paper in his hands. He starts writing on the paper before sliding it over to her.

'Kevin told me about you, about us.'

He stands and walks to the other room, he seems to be getting better by the day, but writing that seemed to almost.. Exhaust him.

 

[BurningWillows]

She follows him with a plate of food, leaving the other for Kevin, and the leftovers on a plate on the floor for Max to munch on. Handing him the plate she motions at him to eat.

"Did he tell you how I've been the last week?" she asked, understanding that it would have upset the old Kyle about her eradicate behavior but unsure how this Kyle would take it if he knew.

 

[Risky]

He pushes the food away slightly before shaking his head, watching her carefully. His eyes which were once warm and welcoming are now cold and calculating they are.. Different in a sense, like they've lost their color, they look afraid, frantic, always on alert, almost as if he believes he's still on deployment, he doesn't seem to trust anything around him.

 

[BurningWillows]

"Please," she speaks only softly, pressing the plate into his hands, "You need to eat as much as I need to. Look its safe, trust me. It's just eggs and bacon."

She could see the mistrust though, see him calculating what could be in it. Arya needed to think on her feet, and she needed him to trust...someone.

"Max," she called, hearing the dogs feet click on the hardwood floor as he came to his name, "Here boy."

As he came in she picked off a piece of bacon from Kyle's plate, telling Max to sit, then lie down, then bark, before finally handing it to him. She's been watching Kyle for months and months and she knew all his signals, everything he had taught Max. If there was no other way to show that she was an ally, at least he could see that Max trusted her. And that she wasn't lying when she said she knew him. How else would she know so much about Max?

"See, the food is safe," she commented, rubbing Max between the ears, "Please eat some Kyle."

 

[Risky]

He nods before taking a bite, deciding it is safe before finishing the rest of it, he places the plate down next to him before moving back on the bed, his back pressed against the frame.

He watches her as Max jumps up on to the bed, sitting down next to Kyle.

 

[BurningWillows]

She's not sure what else to do. Arya's expertise is physical wounds, not mental. She continues to pet Max, something comforting in at least knowing the dog remembered and loved her.

"When we first met," she began, deciding a story would help ease the tension in the room, "You were fresh out of ghost training. You joined our team in Bolivia, and when I went to knock on your door and greet you Max was there. He scared me so much I practically bolted. The next time I met him you told him I was a friend, that I was trustworthy.

Then...then we went on our first mission. We just needed avian fuel, and I got stupid and reckless and almost ended up dead. I threw a grenade into a gas station and tried to outrun the blast. I was half buried, unconscious, as good as dead in that jungle. But Max found me. And you left the fuel behind to make sure I got to safety, carrying me all those miles to a hospital. Fuck, you stole an ambulance to get us out of there, and almost died on me. Took down an entire fleet of Bolivian cops, just trying to save my life. When the team came for us, I forgot my own injuries to save you, even though it pushed me into a mild coma for a few weeks. I've trusted you ever since Kyle, because I always knew you had my back."

It wasn't meant to be a sad story, but it made her feel miserable, that memory and all the others erased from his mind. She wasn't trying to jog his memory now, or ask him to love her. She just wanted a little trust.