Butterfly and Flame - Alina and Evan

"Welcome to Hell"

Miranda closed the door on a sleeping Alina. Exhaustion, fear and anxiety had given way to a deep sleep that didn't need to be aided by any medication. Once she had arrived, Alina shared all her thoughts in a steady stream of words and gulps of tears. Miranda simply held her shoulders and let her speak her truth while she nodded her understanding and provided much needed female companionship. She managed to get her to drink some water and eat a small sandwich. It had been enough to get her glucose back up and to finally calm her down some. When the news came that they had found and captured Kyle, and that he had been secured; everything finally gave way to much needed sleep. Miranda walked down the hall and down the stairs to the large kitchen where Christian had set up base camp. He sat facing the ocean, with his back to her as he looked at his laptop and listened intently through his AirPods. Even now she could tell the conversation was intense as his neck muscles were chorded and his biceps were flexed. His right fist clenched and unclenched and Miranda knew instinctively that something was wrong. She pulled out a chair from the round kitchen table and sat to his right and waited for him to notice her. His face was drawn and when he spoke her blood seemed to freeze in her veins. "How badly?" he said with barely contained anger in his voice.

Christian listened to the full report after watching the shootout on the deck. The cameras were clear but the sound was muffled by the ocean waves and the wind that had picked up. There were cameras in the hold where Kyle had been placed but when the guard arrived to check on him the only thing Christian saw was a blur and then they were taken out. Somehow that animal had managed to get free and now his brother was in serious danger. "A team is on their way to meet you at the dock. Where's the injury located?" Christian clenched his hand and grimaced as he realized the severity of Evan's situation. "How badly?" He slammed his open hand on the table and that's when he noticed Miranda staring intently at him. "The med team has everything they need to transport him back and we have a surgeon and staff at the ready". He paused for a moment and spoke in a lower and succinct voice. "James.... I'm counting on you. Don't  let my brother die man. Not today!". He tapped his ear and the connection was gone. He looked at the ocean and blinked his eyes a few times trying to get hold of his emotions. When he felt the warmth of Miranda's hand on his fisted one he looked over at her and starred at the beautiful woman who looked scared and worried. "Christian.....?" He didn't have anything to say, nothing that could bring her any comfort; certainly not anything he could comfort himself with. So he said the only thing he could. Willing his words to be reality. "He's hurt badly and it's going to take at least two hours to get him hear. He won't die. He can't die. He can't". A small sound like that of a child whimpering made them both turn around. Alina stood next to the kitchen counter with a pale face. Her body seemed to crumple in on itself as her cries finally escaped her mouth. Evan made it to her before her head hit the floor as she collapsed in a heap. Miranda raced to her side as she lay motionless.

The noise was unbearable as if every horn was being blasted at the same time. He felt like his eyelids were weighted down by some unseen force and nothing he could do would allow him to open his eyes. He couldn't quite make out the noises but he could tell that there were at least three people near him. Suddenly he felt himself being lifted and a searing pain jolted him to his core and his eyes flew open. The pain in his upper leg was indescribable and he barely was able to remain calm. He heard himself scream in agony as he was hoisted again into another transport. Someone stuck him with a needle and someone else put a mask over his mouth and nose as he looked up into the eyes of someone he thought he knew. Voices were yelling out orders and someone was repeating his name and asking him questions. How was he supposed to fucking answer with a mask on. He tried moving his hand to lift it off but it was strapped down. The man looking down at him spoke again. "Evan, nod your head yes or no. Can you hear me?" He moved his head up and down. "Do you know who I am?" Again he began to nodding up and down. "We're taking you back to the compound where we have a team waiting to patch you back up man. Your brother is there with Alina and all is well. Do you understand?". Evan tried nodding his head but the effort exhausted him. The movement was slow but he made himself understood". "Now you listen to me. You stay alert. As badly as you want to sleep don't you go to sleep. Not yet. I'll tell you when you can slumber man. You're gonna be fine brother. Just fine. You're damn lucky that son of a bitch missed your artery and your ball sac. Don't worry, your still gonna have lots of pretty babies." Evan saw the older man grin down at him and all he managed to do in return was to lift his thumb pointed up." The man grinned wider and said "that's right buddy. You stay alert. These guys right here are gonna take real good care of you and I'll meet you when your all patched up. Right now I've got an animal to collect. Don't worry, he's no longer mobile but we have some questions for him. Hell be lucky if he makes it until sunup". The older man stood up and moved away. Evan watched as the nights sky around him lit up with light and soon they were airborne. The man to his left fixed the IV and pushed the meds in quickly. Next he ripped of the remaining part of his soaking wet pant leg. He looked directly into Evan's eyes and said "I'm sorry but this is going to hurt like a sob, there's nothing I can do about it, but you'll feel better once the meds kick in". Evan nodded and then felt a fire corse through his entire body as fingers inspected his wound. He growled and fisted both hands. Having been in the field for years he had experienced plenty of pain but this injury was unlike any other. "Sorry boss, had to be done. You're clean, no fragments". Evan couldn't nod and felt himself slipping away. "Brother.... Evan. You fucking hold on. Don't you dare die on me. Don't you do it". Alina's face appeared in front of him now and he tried reaching out to stroke her beautiful face. The pain in his leg was overwhelming him now and the loss of blood was making it harder to concentrate. "Evan.... If you want to see your girl again you will fucking stay with me man". He watched her fade away and then the blue eyes of Derrick Smith, his trainee from a few years back; came into focus. "There you are boss. Your gonna feel a lot better in a few seconds. I got ya buddy. I got ya".