"You need a sharpshooter on this one, Chris! I’ll last the distance. Once the mission is over, you can drop me off here and throw away the key, but you ain’t goin’ on this without me!"

"You’re staying here where you can be looked after." Their faces were less than two inches apart, their stances threatening.

"I don’t need no &*%@in’ lookin’ after!" A small group of nurses and doctors were collected off to one side, watching the confrontation with a mixture of fascination and trepidation. It looked like a brawl was about to break out.

"You’re ill!"

"I’m ‘gettin’ Jungle Fever! I ain’t got it yet!" The pair’s raised voices echoed off the corridor walls. They were standing just inside the entrance of the mobile military hospital. Chris had dragged his Lieutenant this far, but now Vin flatly refused to go any further until Chris agreed to take him on the mission.

"I’m ordering you to..."

"Stuff your orders!" There were gasps from the spectators.

Chris grabbed the younger man by the front of his shirt. "Either you walk into that examination room under your own steam or I’ll knock you senseless and carry you in there unconscious."

"Let me go, dammit!" Vin struggled against his colonel’s vice-like grip. Buck, Josiah and Nathan shook their heads sympathetically. Vin was more than struggling physically. This was emotional hell for their ill team mate. Vin couldn’t stand the thought of his mates going into battle without him there to ensure their safety. None of them liked the prospect. "I said, let me go!"

"Make me," Chris insisted. Vin’s futile attempts became feeble. He was weak from the illness that was attacking his system. Try as he might, he simply didn’t have the strength to extricate himself from Chris’s white knuckled fists that held the front of his shirt. Finally, the Lieutenant’s struggling stopped and he lowered his head in both defeat and exhaustion.

"You’re ill, Vin. You know how serious Jungle Fever can get if it’s not treated," Chris whispered. Tanner nodded, but his head didn’t come up. "Come on," Chris coaxed, dropping his arms and placing one hand on his friend’s shoulder. "Nathan’s already talked to the doctor. They want to run some tests. We can’t afford to let this get away from us."

"Call the mission off, Chris." It was whispered plea.

"You know I can’t do that."

"Please." Vin’s tortured eyes came up and grabbed his best friend. "Please."

"Vin..."

"I got a bad feeling, Chris. I need to go with you or something terrible is going to happen. I know it sounds silly, but I got this feelin’ and..."

"Vin, stop worrying," Josiah stated, stepping up and placing his huge paw on the younger man’s other shoulder. "We’ll be fine. Now you do what the doctors tell you. Besides, you aren’t going to be alone. We rang Mrs. Travis. She should be here tomorrow some time."

"We’ll be away for three days. We’ll be on radio silence once we leave here," Chris explained. "So you won’t be able to contact us."

"I know," Vin muttered.

"If you need anything, ask Mary. She’s agreed to stay in camp until we get back." Vin glanced up at his leader.

It ain’t me I’m worried about.

"It’ll be okay, Vin," Chris reiterated.

I’ve got a bad feelin’, Chris.

The mission is important to the war effort. We can’t turn our back on it.

Together, the men escorted Vin into the examination cubicle. Dr. Warwick eyed them with interest. Normally it didn’t take four men to bring in another who was capable of walking.

"You may leave. I assure you Lieutenant Tanner is in good hands."

"See you, Vin. You listen to what the doctors have to say," Nathan ordered, shaking his distressed friend’s hand.

"Brother, it’s important you follow the doctor’s orders."

Dr. Warwick glanced at Vin. "Am I to expect trouble from you?"

Vin continued to stare at Chris, their eyes never leaving one another. "He won’t be any trouble," the STF1 leader growled softly. "He’s under orders to do exactly what you tell him."

"And you know what you can do with your damn orders, Larabee." The sting had gone from Tanner’s voice, however. Now, the only thing evident was fatigue and worry.

Buck stepped up and threw his big arms around Vin. "I’ll catch you on the flip side," he laughed. As he was pulling away, nevertheless, he whispered, "I’ll keep an eye on him, Vin." Tanner nodded his thanks and watched as Nathan, Josiah and Buck retreated and waited at the door.

The trio watched their colonel and lieutenant - each man fully understanding exactly how difficult this was for them.  They had become close… closer than most brothers. 

Vin started to open his mouth.

"We haven’t a choice, Vin. Buck will fill the sharpshooter’s position. He isn’t as good as you, but he’s no slouch with a rifle."

"Chris..."

"You do whatever the doctors tell you. We’ll be back in three days."

"Be careful," Tanner whispered. His and his leader’s arms snapped together in a full forearm shake. As Chris went to drop the embrace, Vin held on for a split second longer than necessary.

Goodbye, Chris. That strangely final and silent message, communicated via the strangled look on Vin’s face, was one that would haunt Chris Larabee’s dreams in the days, months and years to follow.

"We never saw Vin again," Nathan whispered, his eyes clouding with tears.

J.D.’s huge hazel eyes blinked several times. "He died before you got back?"

"Jungle Fever is that severe it can kill?" Ezra clarified.

"It can, if untreated," Josiah stated.

"But Vin was in the hospital," J.D. argued.

"He was only there two hours," Mary murmured. Her mind wandered back to that fateful time in history that had altered the lives of four good men....

The moment Mary arrived in camp she was summoned to the VIP building. She tried to explain to the soldier she needed to go to the hospital, but the corporal insisted she report to General Travis first.

"General Travis?" Mary was surprised. Her father-in-law wasn’t meant to be in this part of the country at the moment.

When the reporter entered the largest office in the compound, she realized something was terribly wrong. The staff looked haggard and brow beaten. Clearly, her father-in-law had been in good voice.

General Travis appeared and beckoned her to take a seat.

"Orin, I didn’t know you were here."

"I dropped in to check on Vin."

"How is he?" There was something disturbing about the older man’s face and sleep-deprived eyes. "Orin?"

"Sit down, Mary."

"What's wrong?"

"Just sit." Mary did so, her heart thumping in dreaded anticipation. "I won't beat around the bush. Early yesterday, the STF1 dropped Vin off here to be tested for Jungle Fever while they left to complete a three day mission."

"Yes, I know. Orin, what’s going on? Is Vin okay?"

"Vin had the tests for Jungle Fever and they were positive. He’s got the fever." Mary couldn't see the problem. Obviously it had been detected early and could be treated. "But about two hours after Vin was diagnosed, he disappeared from his bed."

"What?"

"I arrived late yesterday afternoon and I’ve spent all night and today trying to establish what the hell happened." The General sank into the large chair on the other side of the desk. His fatigued face was lined with worry, his hands clenched tightly in his lap.

"And?"

"According to the man in the bed beside Vin, Vin had a visit from an American Major - he didn’t catch the name. Apparently, the Major told Vin there was a squad of Australian soldiers walking into a Kat Cong trap and because the squad was on radio silence, there was no way to get a warning to them. He asked Vin if he would run the orders in."

"Why Vin?" Mary demanded.

"Apparently, because Vin knew the area and he knew the Sergeant in charge of the squad. The Major insisted no one but Vin would be able to get in there and warn them in time."

Mary stared at her father-in-law wide-eyed. There had been a great many mix-ups lately, which had lead to the deaths of entire squads of men. Soldiers were now wary of accepting orders from strangers, so it was understandable the Major may indeed have asked Vin to run the orders, particularly in light of the fact the sergeant in charge of the squad knew him.

"So Vin accepted the mission?" Mary asked. "Even though he had Jungle Fever?"

General Travis nodded. "Only thing is, there's no record of the mission anywhere - no sign of the mystery major and the pilot who flew Vin out of here has gone missing."

"What are you talking about?" Things were beginning to become clear. Vin had accepted the mission, got onto a helicopter and been dropped off in the middle of nowhere to run a set of orders into an Australian squad. "You mean he’s not back? Vin’s still out there!"

"Mary, we don't know who the Major was, who the pilot was, what squad was in trouble and therefore, where the hell Vin was headed."

"Someone's got to know!" Mary insisted frantically. She was no longer sitting, but standing staring at Travis.

I don't know what happened. I’ve spent all night trying to track down the Major, but..."

"Why the hell would Vin run a mission for someone he didn't know?"

"Exactly. Vin must have known this guy, but I’ve contacted every Major I know. No one was here yesterday or knows anything about any mission. I've notified every senior officer in Katinda - nothing. Whoever it was, either hasn't heard the message, or isn't coming forward. And as for the pilot, his chopper was returned, but he's nowhere to be found."

Mary stared at the General in horrified silence. "It was a trap," the reporter murmured as the dreadful thought surfaced. The STF1 had successfully turned the war in the favor of Vanguard International Legion’s forces. Taking out one of the members of the efficient unit would be a major achievement for the Kat Cong and a huge blow to the world peacekeepers.

"I'm beginning to think so. Vin was vulnerable. He was told a squad containing men he knew was in trouble and he, and only he, could rescue them. Tanner would never turn his back on a mate, no matter how sick he was."

"Oh, God." Standing had become too difficult and so Mary sank weakly into the chair. The many different ways it could have happened played in her mind. The pilot may have dropped Vin out in the middle of enemy ground and left him, or dropped him for the fanciful mission and never returned. Vin would have run the orders into the designated position, Jungle Fever and all. Then again, the pilot may have murdered Vin on the plane and dumped his body somewhere in the jungle. "Oh, God," Mary repeated. She desperately tried to hold back her tears. Then self-preservation moved in. She had to believe Vin had a chance. If the pilot had dropped Vin off to run the mission then...

"He could still be alive."

General Travis stared blankly into his daughter-in-law’s fiery eyes. She was clutching at the same wisps of hope that he too held.

"Anyone else and I'd say no, but you're right, Vin could still be alive. If anyone has a chance, it’s him. He knows how to live off the land and how to look after himself, but... but the medical results weren’t good. According to Dr. Warwick, Vin has a very grave case of Jungle Fever."

The fever could take many forms of severity. From just fever and nausea in it's mild form, to delirium, hallucinations, fits, amnesia and even brain damage, if allowed to progress untreated.

"He’s been out there for over a day. If the fever develops quickly, he may not even know what’s going on. Another twenty-four hours in this rain and there's no way..." The General’s voice dropped to a whisper. "If we don’t find him soon..." The bottom line was, if the fever itself didn’t kill the likeable sharpshooter, the Cong would. In his weakened and probably delirious condition, Vin’d be easy pickings for the ruthless Kat Cong. Not to mention pressure mines, K.C booby traps, carnivorous animals...

All too clearly, Mary understood the implications of what her father-in-law was saying. A horrible silence descended in the office as the two thought about the unthinkable.

"There's got to be something we can do!" the young woman cried desperately.

"I've done everything possible. There's no way of knowing where the hell Vin was dropped without the pilot or the guy who gave him the orders. Hell, Vin may not have even been alive after he left here!"

Mary looked helplessly at the General. There had to be some way of finding out - of finding Vin.

Mary’s mind turned to thoughts of the STF1. How the hell could the General tell them? More to the point, who was going to tell Chris? Mary had never before felt so caged, useless or helpless. "There's got to be something we can do!" she cried.

The next day and a half shed little light on the grave situation. Hopes of finding Vin were turning to just that - hopes. The only thing Mary and the General had discovered was the pilot did return after dropping Vin. He had been seen entering the bar and so by Mary’s calculations, Vin had been dropped within a two hour radius of the camp - if he had indeed been alive beyond the chopper trip. A two hour radius encompassed a hell of a lot of ground, much of it venturing into enemy territory.

After speaking to the doctors personally, the dogmatic reporter finally resolved herself to the fact that after almost three days in the harsh jungles of Katinda, Vin could no longer be alive. The test results spoke for themselves. Unless he had found shelter and medical help, the fever would have already taken his life.

Although Vin’s description had been given to every squad, camp, base and hospital in the area, no one reported back. No one had seen or heard from Lieutenant Vin Tanner.