The Loneliest Stars

Chapter 39

It hurt to move, immeasurable pain spread through his body whenever he moved an inch. His head throbbed and his mouth felt cottony. When he opened his eyes, they felt like they had been shut with lead weights.

He registered the sound of a beeping monitor first and a familiar, big bulky figure obscured into a blur by the drugs still pumping in his system.

"The asshole is awake. If you wanted attention..."

"This is the thanks I get for saving your life?" Gabe rasped and he regretted it instantly. As his head exploded with pain. "What happened? Where am I?"

"You got shot and hit your head pretty badly. We're still in Mali at the French base. They wanted you to wake up before they moved you stateside."

Gabe looked around the room as much as he could from his position. Dan was sleeping in a corner, and Ty sat with a big backpack under his legs.

"You didn't..." Gabe said, making the connection.

"I sure did. I told them fuckers it got lost in the attack."

Gabe laughed despite the situation. "If they come after you, I'm not involved."

"Those harebrained idiots couldn't organise an orgy in a stripclub, I ain't worried about them. Besides, we have new issues. We gotta find a money launderer. I sure as hell am not paying my ex any more alimony."

Gabe laughed for a second time and felt the world tilt on its axis. "Get out fucker, you're giving me a headache."

The doctor chose that moment to come in, he read over his medical chart before making some quick observations.

"Captain Mercier, how are you feeling?"

"Like I got shot."

The doctor twisted his mouth in the barest hint of a smile. He was a military doctor, stern and professional. They looked the same no matter what country they served.

"You have a GSW to the shoulder. We got the bullet out, you're expected to make a good recovery after physiotherapy. The bullet damaged some of your muscle, but it didn't shatter any bone, it was a clean break. That's good news."

"Now your head took a hard knock. You might have some headaches for a while, we should monitor the symptoms closely. Please let your doctors know if there are any changes."

Gabe nodded, and then regretted the painful motion.

"How are we getting home?" Dan, waking up from his slumber, asked Ty.

"We're getting a ride from a Navy cargo, your bastard squids are making themselves useful for once."

"Fuck you, jarhead."

Gabe drifted off to sleep to the sound of their bickering. The next time he woke up, there was a nurse prodding at him. Measuring his pulse and shining a light into his eyes. Dan and Ty were nowhere in sight.

The room was quiet, save for the steady beats coming from the electronic monitors and the whirling hum of the hospital background noise. It brought back memories of being on the other side of the hospital bed, waiting for good news or divine intervention, anything to break up the monotony of reliving the same awful day in a stark white room.

The third time Gabe woke it was at an airport hangar, being wheeled into the belly of an aircraft. He wasn't aware of much, everything was blurry with figures and colors all morphing into the same indistinguishable objects. He was out before the plane had started its ascent.

It was hard to figure out what time or what day it was. All he could feel was the white hot prods of pain coursing through his body. His medicine, whatever that was keeping him sleepy and pain free must have worn off. It forced him to open his eyes.