Chapter 64: Dangerous Plan

"Help! What do you mean by that?" Sharon asked, confused.

"I may have military training, but I'm just one man. You just shot a gun for the very first time in your entire life and Addicus is rich and powerful. He has too many men and the two of us won't be enough to stop him," Peter said to her.

Sharon became disheartened by this realization that she had never thought about until now. What were they going to do? She wondered and stared at Peter in hopes that he could provide the solution.

"I have to visit a friend and ask for his help," Peter said while putting on his drawers, and after he was partially clothed, he walked over to his desk.

"And will this friend help you?" Sharon wondered.

"He has to. He owes me one," Peter said while staring at his old army pictures.

Sharon got up, covered herself with the sheets and walked up behind Peter, staring at the picture also.

"Chris? You still keep in touch with him?" Sharon asked with surprise.

"Barely! We haven't spoken in almost eighteen years," Peter said unhappily, almost like he was upset at himself for letting them grow apart.

"Why?"

Peter took the picture off the wall and took a seat while rubbing his face.

"Why? That's a good question, Sharon," Peter's mind travelled back to the depths of the past to recall the events that lead to him growing apart from his best friend in the whole world.

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**Exactly From The Moment Chris Was Shot in The Eye...**

"Medic! Medic!" Peter cried out and the medic ran to him and Chris.

The medic pumped Chris full of morphine and put a bandage over his head.

"That's it? That's all you can do for him?" Peter said in anger at the medic.

"We need to evacuate the field and get him to an emergency unit where we can perform surgery and get the bullet out," the Medic explained.

"Let's go, then," Peter said and picked Chris up on his shoulders.

They got into their trucks and drove back to base.

About a day later, Chris was finally conscious in the emergency unit and the first face he woke up to was Peter's.

"Hey there, buddy," Peter said with a happy smile, "You scared me for a second there."

Chris stared at Peter like he was looking at a stranger, which made him realize that Chris might not recognize him anymore.

"Who... who are you?" Chris asked in confusion.

"It's me, Chris," Peter said and moved closer to hold his arm, "It's Peter, your friend," he said with sadness, almost in tears.

Suddenly, Chris smiled at him and began laughing, "Oh, you should see your face. You look like you're about to pee yourself."

Peter sighed in relief, "If you weren't already badly hurt, I'd give you a beating right about now. Why would you do that, man? You scared me."

"I couldn't help it," Chris said with a chuckle.

They stared at each other intensely for a moment and Chris looked around, shocked to see that Peter was the only one who came to greet him.

"Where's everyone else, Peter? Where's Martin, James, Omega?"

Peter's head and shoulders dropped. He managed to look at Chris and gave a simple shake of his head, which meant the worst.

"No! That can't be true." Chris said aloud.

"It is, Chris! It is. There's gone, all of them."

Chris fell back onto the bed and covered his face in his hands. He couldn't believe that his buddies were all gone in just one day. It was a very traumatic experience and it took its toll.

**BACK AT THE BUNKER...**

"Chris was very distraught over the death of the squad. He was allowed to quit the army because of his disability and he left," Peter told Sharon.

"What happened between the two of you?"

"We stayed in touch for a while. He wrote me letters, trying to convince me to quit as well because he didn't want to see me dead but I didn't listen to him. I continued my service, and he stopped writing back to me. After I finished my service, I found his location and went to see him. I knocked on his door but he didn't open," Peter said.

"Are you sure he was around that day?" Sharon asked optimistically.

"Oh, he was around, but he didn't want to see me so I left and never tried to contact him again."

"Why not?" Sharon inquired.

"I didn't want to bother him. He seemed to have found peace with himself and I didn't want to disrupt that," Peter said.

Sharon didn't understand what he meant and Peter noticed it. He held her close and put his hands around her face.

"Fighting in a war affects different people in different ways. For me, it made me stronger and more appreciative of the people I had in my life but for others, like Chris, it hurts them. It breaks them and leaves them afraid and unsettled," he explained.

"Is that what happened to Chris?" Sharon asked.

"Something like that. He never even got married and didn't have any children," Peter added.

"If he's so unwilling to try anything new, what makes you think he'll agree to help us?"

"He's a soldier. Soldiers love fighting. We just need to have something worth fighting for, and I do."

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"I want to go with you," Sharon said to Peter as he prepared his things for his trip back to America to see Chris.

"I've told you, Sharon, it's too dangerous. You're much safer here until I return," Peter said.

"What do you mean it's dangerous? We get on a ship and sail to America. Isn't that all we have to do?" She asked.

"I wish it were that simple."

He sat on the mattress and put on his boots.

"When my family and I sailed to Costa Rica, the boat sank, and I lost all of my travel documents. After I reached the island, I never bothered to get new documents so, in the eyes of the law, I've been living here illegally," he began explaining.

"We need help fast, so I can't stow away on a boat. I need to get to America a lot quicker, which is why I called up a buddy of mine who has a small plane with which he'll smuggle me back to America. Once I find Chris, I'll get the copies of my documents, and we'll return here and take care of Addicus."

"But...?"

"The plane will be searched by customs when we land, which is why I'm not landing but jumping out of it," Peter told her.

"You're going to jump off a plane?" Sharon was surprised.

"Yeah! Like I said; **dangerous**."

Sharon became worried about Peter's safety and didn't want him to go.

"Don't worry about me, love. I'll be alright. I've jumped off a plane before and I'll be back before you know it," he said with a promise, and gave her a warm kiss.

The sun was just setting and Peter opened the door of the bunker and walked over to his car, taking off the bush mat he used to conceal it. He got in and turned on the engine.

"Peter?" Sharon called out to him.

"Yes, love?"

"Come back to me, okay?" She said pleadingly.

"Always!"