Higher Further Faster (Universe 13,400,063)

Chapter 79

Thor blinked a few times, sitting up from the ground. His entire body was sore from laying in the dirt for hours. The Sun hadn't even risen in the sky, but the sky was a dark blue. Carol was already awake, quietly eating a granola bar.

"What time is it?" Thor whispered. 

"Just past five. You've been asleep for ten hours." Carol responded. 

He brushed the dirt from his hair, trying to clean himself up as best as he could. It didn't do much since he had several nasty cuts along his face. Dried blood caked his forehead right below his hairline, along with more dirt. 

"There's no point in trying to make yourself look good if you're going to look messed up after this battle." Carol smiled. 

"I'm trying to look somewhat decent and dirt keeps falling into my eyes." Thor said. 

"I've already given up."

"You look better than I do right now."

"Not by much."

He continued to brush the dirt off of himself, or what he could actually manage to clean. Despite him spending a good ten minutes, he still looked as bad as everyone else. The camp was getting ready to move to Kabul, slowly packing everything into military trucks. 

"You're finally awake. I thought you were actually dead." Rhodey smiled. 

"None of us are that lucky." Thor responded. 

"Don't say that Sparkles." Carol looked at him. 

"It was a bad joke." Thor answered. 

"You guys ready to go?" Steve asked. 

"Depends." Thor said. 

"In other words, he means yes." Carol chuckled. 

Thor and Carol left the pit, finally relieved to be leaving it. Kabul was going to be worse than this but it was still better than the pit. The entire group were worn out, but their only backup was the Howling Commandos. 

"We got a plan?" Steve noted. 

"We are going to have to split up into groups." Carol stated. 

"Who's going with who?" Sam wondered. 

"Our normal ones. You and Rhodey, Steve and Bucky, and me and Carol." Thor said. 

"Works with me." Steve nodded. 

"Carol and I will take east area, you two got south, and you two get north." Thor explained. 

"Any objections?" Rhodey stated. 

"Nope." Carol replied. 

"The Howling Commandos will be waiting as backup in case anything goes wrong." Thor said. 

"Which shouldn't happen." Carol looked at him. 

"You guys have your targets. Get in, complete the mission, and get out. Simple as that." Thor finished the plan. 

Bucky gave everyone extra supplies, making sure they were all prepared. The truck started moving along its designated route, following multiple armored vehicles. It was another three hours before they made it to the outskirts of Kabul.

"Looks like a normal city." Sam said. 

"The Ten Rings are in here somewhere." Steve warned. 

"Why is there so many people?" Bucky wondered. 

"Be on the lookout. Try and blend in to the area. Don't give away our position." Rhodey informed them. 

"If you spot anyone, alert all of us." Carol declared. 

"Ready Avenger?" Thor smiled. 

"Always." Carol grinned. 

They split up, heading in opposite directions. The city was full of life, and looked ordinary. Thor walked along the streets, trying to find anyone suspicious. Cars drove in the busy streets, passing tons of small shops. 

"See anything?" Carol asked. 

"No. Stay right beside me though." Thor said. 

"We need to blend in." Carol stated. 

"Over here." Thor gestured for Carol to follow him. 

They sat down at a small cafe table, trying to look normal. So far nobody had seen anything. Steve and Bucky were clear across the city, along with Sam and Rhodey. All of them were doing perfectly fine, but kept a sharp eye out for the Ten Rings.

"It is way to peaceful for a terrorist base." Carol raised an eyebrow. 

"They are well hidden." Thor nodded. 

"What's our plan if we get caught?"

"Fake identities."

"This is where our relationship comes in handy."

"I'll be Chris, an Australian actor filming in Afghanistan."

"That means I'll be Brie, an American actor."

"Make your backstory believable."

"We are a couple filming a movie here."

"Good plan."

"All we need to do now is locate our target."

"Still haven't seen anyone."

"At this rate we're going to be here for a few days."

"If that's what it takes."

"This is going to be very interesting."

"Indeed it will."

They checked in on the other groups, making sure they were fine. None of them had seen a single terrorist which was good and bad at the same time.