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Face was stuck in a sniper nest, only moderately sheltered from the rain, damp and bored, but his hands were steady. The second his mark walked in front of the scope, they were toast. Face wished he was toast, because he was freezing. The less glamorous parts of the job seemed to get more and more miserable.
His phone rang, vibrating against his thigh. Thinking it might be a status update, Face tapped his earpiece to answer it.
"Face."
"How can you tell if you've broken a toe?"
Face paused, and said, "Murdock?"
"Murdock yes, possibly minus a toe. Is there like a test I can take? Do I ask it?"
"Hold up, you broke your toe?" Face kept it to a low roar, but more than likely the pattering of insistent rain would keep his cover. He adjusted his scope, focused but listening.
"That's what I'm trying to ask you. How do I know?"
"Um. I don't know, I'm not a doctor. Is it still attached?"
"Yeah, it's still on there."
"Is it bent?"
"I don't know, I don't know what it looked like before."
Face felt an amused smile pass his face despite himself. "Just compare with your other foot, Murdock."
"What if it was bent before and I didn't notice?"
"I've looked at your feet lots, Murdock, you didn't have a bent toe."
"I knew I could count on you to look out for my feets, Facey. It's not bent, but it's purple."
Face frowned. "Purple like that weird cake we had in Vegas, or purple like that fuzzy mascot thing you tried to chase?"
"The cake. Before we ate it."
"Of course I meant before we ate it. Does it hurt when you touch it?"
Murdock snorted. "It's purple, what do you think?"
Face smiled, and adjusted his wet grip on the rifle. "Well I've broken a toe before and all they do is tape it to the toe beside it."
"Do we have any tape?"
"No, like, medical tape."
"What's the difference? I think there's some duct tape in here."
Face was struggling not to laugh. "Please do not duct tape your broken toe."
"Why not? You just said."
"What about when you gotta take the tape off, man?"
"It'll take my toe hairs off. But you knew that, because you know what my feet look like."
"Yes, Murdock, you have the feet of a hobbit. Don't duct tape your toes. Go look in the first aid kit."
Murdock made an annoyed noise, and then there was shuffling.
"Don't just upend the whole kit." Face said.
"What's that?" Murdock said, too innocent, so it was too late.
Face rolled his eyes. "Just pick it up before BA sees."
"He won't know it was me." More shuffling.
"Because it would totally be Hannibal."
"It might be. He can be wiley and unpredictable."
"Hannibal has a plan down to our socks, I wouldn't use those words to describe him. You, on the other hand."
"Yeah, but you love it." Murdock said, cheery.
"I do." Face agreed, just as warm, feeling the conversation keep him both awake and in better spirits than miserable in the rain. "Did you find the tape?"
"Yup. I'm going to tape all my toes together."
"Whatever floats your boat, man, as long as you catch the broken one."
Sound of tape running. "So you do think it's broken?"
"I can't see it through the phone. What'd you do, anyway?"
"I stubbed it on the doorframe. It was dark and I couldn't see."
"Ouch, bud."
"I tried to tell BA I wanted to sleep with the light on but..."
Face's grip tightened on the rifle. "Did you explain why?"
"I told him I need a nightlight."
"He would've understood if you just said you were afraid of the dark, man."
Murdock was quiet. No shuffling or tape in the background. "I'm not afraid." He said at last, a little more distant. "I just don't like it."
Movement in the scope, and Face straightened up. "Hold." He breathed.
The mark walked cleanly into his line of fire. Face took a calm moment to confirm the correct identity, then there was the muffled thunk as he took the shot. The man collapsed, shot cleanly through the neck.
Face released his breath, and sat up, stretching his sore limbs. "Well, since you're awake, do you wanna tell Hannibal I'm done here?"
"Sure!" Murdock said, thumping down the line. "Will you sit up and play rummy with me?"
"I'm frozen. I'll play if you give me all the blankets from your bed."
"Deal." Murdock said immediately.