Darko Cernovsek
Soul Of Vengeance
Dramatis Personae:
The Rebels:
Colonel Marco Royez - callsign 'Redbull' , age 43
Bio: Formerly a highly placed field commander in the Hegaemony Guard until he defected, now leads a detachment of rebels to take out a Hegaemony command post in the capital city... and hopefully rescue his wife, whom the Hegaemony imprisoned in response to her husband's treason. Royez is a career military officer who developed a crisis of conscience, following the Hegaemony's latest campaign against the rebellion, where he lost the stomach for casual war crimes committed against the civilian population of the breakaway rebel regions. Despite everything he'd seen and forced to be a part of, during his career, a part of him retains an idealistic mindset, that things can be better then they are. Maybe that slightly naive outlook, was what made him defect in the first place... but he is a good man. A good man, in bad times. He is willing to put up with Rose's... morally questionable... methods, in the interest of completing the mission, but only up to a point.
Consultant Annalene Rose - callsign 'Edge', age 38
Bio: A Southern Expanse mercenary leading her own outfit of cutthroats and privateers, working for the highest bidder, Annalene was recruited by Royez himself into this squad, for her expertise as a sharpshooter, scouting, and infiltration, literally half an hour before she was to be executed by the Rebel high command, after she and members of her group were captured on a mission for the Hegaemony. Many in the Rebellion's hierarchy were opposed to giving the unscrupulous merc a chance, but expertise matters more then morality, in time of need. A chance to avoid the gallows in exhange for taking part in the op, in a 'specialist consultant' capacity - she said yes. In sharp contrast to Royez's idealism, she's a hardened, ruthless cynic, ever only looking out for herself, and having zero moral centre, given some of the horrific things she and her outfit had done, in the past.
Sargeant Andrey Beretic - callsign 'Singer', age 26
Bio: An unfortunate recipient of early experimental Cyber-trooper programme of the Hegaemony, once his body began rejecting the implants, Sargeant Beretic was left to die out on the streets, his entire upper cranium missing, bits of brain and cyberware exposed to the elements. He was rescued by a Rebellion-affiliated physician who managed to save his life and prevent total rejection, though not before severe brain damage could occurr. As a result, Andrey is a bit... slow... to pick up on things, and has reverted to almost child-like sensibilities over the following months. Somehow, his extensive expertise with explosives and demolitions equipment had remained mostly intact, thus earning him a place on Colonel Royez's team for this mission. He has a rather... one-sided crush on Annalene, who is bound to manipulate that, and his face-value simplemindedness, to her advantage.
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23:30, Local time, Capital District 7… 30 minutes past curfew
A shadowy figure took a peek over the hedge at the end of the parking lot near the moss-covered wall of an abandoned gas station, being very careful to remain in deep shadows cast by the darkened building behind. The figure ducked back down as soon as moonlight's treacherous sheen fell on the hedge.
"Redbull in position. Checkpoint in sight, end of the block. Three AV's, a half dozen riot cops. Assault weapons, nightvision equipment, kennels… possibly K9's. Keeping distance."
"Edge, check. Got eyes-on. Eleven hostiles, three dogs. Say the word." – a cold female British-accented voice came back into his headset. He peeked up again as he withdrew behind the gas station,, this time focusing his binocs on a distant church rooftop near the city's centre, roughly half a klick away. He could see a slightly darker shape prone on the dark roof, and a faint glint of a scope, reflected in the moonlight.
"Hold. Singer?" – he countered.
"Boom boom ready. Singer gonna sing soon!" – a second male voice came, a rather… distracted… quality to it.
He scowled at that. 'Soon' wasn't good enough.
"Singer, give me a number!" – sharply.
"Hundred-eleven seconds. Out." – the other male voice came, slightly more focused-sounding. He breathed in relief.
"Edge, hold until boom, then open up. LT first, then the comms-guy. Advancing to attack position now." – he ordered.
***
"Check. Out." – the female murmured, signing off. Her attention never wavered from her target, one of the riot cops at the checkpoint, his rank insignia visible through her sniper's IR scope. She defocused only slightly, for a moment, to reacquire the second target… still manning the comms unit in the guard-shack next to the vehicles. Roughly five metres apart. Normally she'd have a spotter to keep her abreast of secondary targets' movements… but for this particular situation, Redbull was filling that role, up to a point. She still preferred to verify, herself.
One-two. Second-and-a-half, if all went well. Two degrees angular-shift to the right, after the first shot, assuming the other cop stayed where he was. Second shot, before the rifle would finish the recoil motion… nullifying the aim drift. She already had the scope adjusted for current windage and distance. Both shots during a single exhale.
Seconds stretched, each one a small eternity, as she maintained perfect focus on the mark, not blinking even once, even as her eyes began watering slightly. The kill had to be timed perfectly in sync with the detonation, to maximise the element of surprise, and cover up the noise of her rifle's first shot. The second kill had to be quickly enough on the heels of the first shot, that the other cop wouldn't have time to move, at all. She'd had plenty of practice, waiting. Patience was an art, more important then any other, when it came to scouting. And especially for a sniper, it often meant the difference between life and death. Her expression remained blank, her conscious mind focused on the primary and secondary targets, while her subconsciousness kept a running tally of the countdown, without the woman even thinking about it.
Finger on the trigger… steady, putting ever-so-slight pressure, caressing it, just a shade short of firing. Steady, controlled breathing… almost meditative, sensual, in rythm, timed precisely so the final exhale would come just as her mental countdown reached zero. A soft, eager bite of her lower lip… unconsciously. The cool, calming feel of her rifle's stock against her cheek. Controlled power. Thrill of the hunt. Understated… ecstasy, to come.
***
The blast transcended sound, as the windows across a three blocks radius shattered. In a flash, the district's power grid was out, as all the street lights winked out in unison. Emergency generators would be taking over within an hour… but for the time being, there would be no juice for the local proximity scanners, and automated turrets. They could move in.
The cops manning the checkpoint jolted out of their routine stupor, rifles in hands. The LT opened his mouth to begin issuing orders, but no words came out… as his chest suddenly sprouted a ragged, meaty crater where his heart had just been, an exit-wound, before the explosion's blast had died down. He sank to his knees, dead before he hit the pavement. A heartbeat later, the interior of the guard shack was sprayed in blood, as the comms operator suffered the same fate.
"Where's it coming from?! T-take cover… !" – one of the others barked, fear in his helmeted tone, as the nine remaining men dithered in shock, for a long couple of moments, all three K9's barking their heads off. Long enough for another man's helmeted head to suddenly explode, while a barrage of automatic fire came at them from closer to the side, taking another man down, one of the dogs, and wounding a fourth.
"Rebels! S-somebody g-get on the comms and sound a perimeter breach!" – another cop yelled, as they finally began taking cover and scattering. One tried to use his handheld transmitter, only to find out the frequencies were static. The explosion clearly had an EMP component to it, scrambling small electronics within a wide radius. Another cop made a dash for the guard shack, only to catch another hi-powered round before he made it there. Whereever the sniper was, they were still there.
***
Ducking back from a bracket of return fire splattering against the concrete block he took cover behind, part of the checkpoint's perimeter, Royez cocked his weapon's underbarrel grenade launcher. He popped up briefly again, letting loose a 40mm white-phosphorous incendiary grenade in a shallow parabolic arc, aiming for the centre of the checkpoint. The ordnance detonated on impact, sending three more armoured shapes off their feet, while covering half the clearing and one of the AV's in searing flames.
He vinced slightly at the screaming he could hear, as clearly a couple more caught fire, but used the opportunity to switch cover, edging ever-closer…. weapon tracking. One of the dogs was rushing him… the animal went down in a controlled burst, whimpering. Another cop popped out from behind one of the AV's, letting loose… making Royez instinctively throw himself prone off his feet, the rounds zipping centimetres over his head, as he returned fire, taking the hostile down. Then he hastily rolled aside, behind another concrete block, as another armoured shape popped out, aiming… the fire impacting his cover.
Suddenly, a dark, snarling thing bounded over top of the block at him, pinning him on his back to the pavement. The last of the dogs! A mixed breed, the animal was huge, as it twisted it's head to the side, about to sink its teeth into the man's neck. With a snarl of his own, Royez wedged a forearm between them, making the animal bite down on it. Even through his thick uniform jacket, he could feel those teeth breaching his skin, as the dog began worrying his arm from side-to-side. Ignoring the pain, the man used his free hand to reach for a trench knife, stabbing it brutally in the dog's side. The thing still wouldn't let go… if anything the bite force escalated. It was a proper beast. He stabbed it a few more times, before the dog finally slackened, blood painting it's right side. He shoved the dying animal off of him, rubbing his bitten forearm briefly, before he grabbed his weapon again and peeked over his cover.
No more armoured shapes could be seen mobile. Clearly in the meantime, Rose had cleared out the rest. A couple of them were on fire, riving on the pavement in agony, as he stepped closer and put them out of their misery with two clean shots to the heads. No doubt some of the rebels would've let them burn alive… but he wasn't the sadistic type.
"Status report?" – he muttered into his headset, hiding the pain from his tone.
"Checkpoint clear. No additional hostiles. You may move into the city." – the cold female tone returned. Then he jumped in surprise, as an echo of a distant shot reached him, accompanied by a young female death-scream from inside of the residential buildings across the street. She had just taken out a civilian, possibly a teenager. He could hear other cries of dismay and horror from within…. possibly the family.
"The hell are you doing, Edge?!" – he barked into his headset. There was a brief pause.
"Cleaning up. Filmer inside, with a phone. Took out her phone with the shot too. Better clear out of there before more civvies start filming." – the cold tone returned.
Royez's jaw worked soundlessly at that, but he just nodded to himself. They couldn't have witnesses. That didn't mean he liked it.
"Check your fire from now on, Edge. Understood? And move to Rally Point Beta. We'll talk about this." – he snarled, as he dashed for a side-alley.
"Can't bloody wait. Out." – he thought he heard an undertone of contempt, in the woman's reply. He suppressed a sigh. She was a cold-blooded killer, no doubt… one who enjoyed it, to boot, if his reading of her mindset was correct, but the fact was, they had nobody else available who was as good as she was, at recon and long range support. That meant he had to put up with her fast-and-loose rules of engagement. And… it did make sense to not leave loose ends and witnesses. Even if he hated it.
"Singer? Rendezvous with us at Rally Point Beta. Your fireworks did the trick. We got 45 minutes of blackout and confusion. At most." – he instructed Beretic, as he reached the far end of the alley, taking a look onto the paralelling street. It was deserted… for the time being.
***
23:45
Rally Point Beta, was an operational name for a subway station Royez chose as a meeting point following the initial phase. It had the advantage of being one of the central metro hubs of the city, and they'd be able to get almost anywhere from it. During curfew, and especially following the bombing, the place was deserted, aside from a single police patrol of three, easily dispatched.
"How'd you guys like the fireworks show? I'm kind of proud of the boom I made this time!" – Andrey began without preamble, a slightly-stupid grin playing across his lips.
"Yeah. Nice boom. What's next?" – Annalene retorted noncommitally, setting her .338 sniper rifle against the wall. Her cold gaze on the Colonel. Royez completely ignored Andrey, making a beeline for her, outrage in his eyes.
"What the HELL were you thinking?! Even if that civvie got anything on camera, we'll be in and out before the footage would make any difference." – he began, trying to grip her by the forearm. Casually, the woman deflected the attempt, shoving him slightly away.
"Spare me the bleeding-heart act, Colonel. We can't abide witnesses. I just saved your ugly mug from showing up on all Hegaemony news-feeds by tomorrow afternoon! Unless you seriously think they wouldn't be using the footage to paint you and the whole Rebellion as terrorists, because of this? Say what you will about the Big H, but they're big on information-control. I just took it away from 'em by killing that stupid little cunt and her phone." – she growled contemptuously.
He glared. But the glare lacked force behind it, as he clenched his fists.
"You're welcome." – she added after a moment, with a smirk, turning to walk off.
"I'm not finished!" – he snapped, stepping in front of her again; "Civvies are OFF LIMITS, from now on! No matter the circumstances. Understood?! Our cause stands for something, and if we adopt our enemy's methods–" – as she cut him off, getting in his face.
"OUR cause?! Let me remind you Royez, that I'm NOT some weepy-faced rebel with his head in the bleedin' clouds. I'm on MY side. Nobody elses. We clear? I'm along for your little save-me-squeeze ride, because I want off the hook. And you bloody well NEED me. Don't forget that. After we're done and you get your smoochies with your wife and live happily-fuckin-ever-after, you can be sure you'll never see me again. Unless you come looking." – the hard stare, coupled with a soft voice, she gave him at this last, made it no doubt it was a threat.
"So you can go back to playing both sides for profit, merc scum? What makes you think you'll be free to do that and cause more damage to–??" – he growled at that, barely resisting the urge to throw a punch… then reflexively yanked out his sidearm… staring at her cold, unblinking snake-eyes across a barrel of her own gun, aimed unwaveringly at his forehead, in a quickdraw flash of movement almost too fast for his eyes to follow. A Mexican standoff, as two barrels faced each other.
"Then we've got a problem, right here and now, Royez." – she emphasised, surprisingly calmly. Moments stretched.
"Guys… we can't shoot bad guys if we shoot each other!" – Andrey spoke up, angrily, stepping in between them and forcibly pushing both gun arms down.
Royez vacillated, but nodded. Rose remained stone-faced.
"I won't let you act against the rebellion, mercenary. Take it as a threat, or a promise. But the chance you were given is conditional on that. At some point, even YOU have to realise that some ideals are worth fighting for." – he growled, eyes narrowing at her, as he slowly holstered his sidearm. She nodded, pursing her scarred lips, holstering her own a moment later. Her cold gaze retained the patient intensity of a coiled snake, ready to strike.
"I'll take it as a promise, in that case. And I've got one of my own to make. I won't go back to rebellion death row. Or be a little tin yes-man soldier on anyone's chessboard. Not for your 'noble'rebels, not for the big H. Nobody. All governments are fucked-up, it's just a difference of degree. But the cupcake here's right. Let's hold off on blowing each others brains out, until afterwards. Up to you." – she growled.
"Oh, you think I'm cupcake? Thanks! I like you too!" – Andrey smiled, blind to the subtext as usual. But the innocent rejoinder served to ease the tension, in its own way. Royez shook his head with a brief amused twitch of his lips, while Rose rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.
Deciding to table the matter for the time being, Royez pulled out a tactical PDA, setting it on a bench, and motioning the two closer.
"Alright. Next phase is…." – he began the briefing. But the look in the mercenary woman's cold eyes was something he wouldn't forget. Before this was over and done, one way or another, he could tell she wouldn't be backing down. And neither would he. He knew her resume. He read the criminal charge reports given to him, by those bitterly opposed to her inclusion on this mission. He knew he couldn't just let her go, given what she'd done in the past. Killing civilians, was just the tip of a very large, and ugly iceberg. There was a reason Southern Expanse mercenaries were the go-to outfit when it came to off-channel wetwork ops the Hegaemony needed done without getting it's own hands dirty. And she was the worst of them.
Which meant one of them would be dead, before morning.
***
00:10 – Tamiri Square, Hegaemony Federal Prison outskirts
The three soldiers on patrol never saw it coming, as they rounded a stairwell to the deserted subway station. A limber, wiry-strong female shape hopped down from the railings above, to tackle one of them face-down to the hard concrete floor, as she yanked back on his head, exposing his throat, stabbing her trench knife into it, before she slashed-out sideways, severing a carotid, and opening up his asophagus in a shower of blood, some of it ending on her knife hand. Her eyes defocused ever-so-slightly, with barely-suppressed pleasure, for that fleeting moment, as she scented her victim's blood. With only a wet gurgle, he was dead. Before the second trooper could react, the woman twisted around, with a sharp flick… the thrown blade spinning through the air to impale itself into the second trooper's right eye, under the helmet, penetrating to his brain. He was dead before he hit the concrete.
The last trooper gasped, raising his assault rifle, only for a pair of muscular arms to grab him from behind in a rear naked choke… making a sharp twist. Andrej was on-point. With subtle cracking of vertebrae, the man's neck went sideways at an unnatural angle… before the choke was released and he slid bonelessly to the floor, dead.
"Edge. In position. We… got a clear run to Tower Gamma." – Rose reported softly, her tone slightly… airy… with suppressed arousal, as she retrieved her knife, then began to drag her first victim into deeper shadows under the stairwell. She motioned Beretic to drag the other two to join him.
"Redbull, confirmed. I'm at the basement sewer access, about to break in. Take position in the tower and begin laser-painting the barracks and backup generators. Airstrike inbound, ETA twelve minutes. Singer, begin setting charges on the admin building supports." – Royez's tone came back, over both their headsets.
She nodded, then turned to Andrej, back to her usual cool professionalism, wiping the blood off her hand.
"Go ahead. I'll clean up in the tower. Don't get spotted from the admin areas, though… take the back way through the maintenance tunnel. Less chance of someone up there seeing you." – she suggested.
"You sure? It'll take me longer, and you could need backup to take the tower! I… I don't wanna see you get hurt." – the young man protested, but she shushed him with a sudden smile, looking somewhat out of place, but pleasant, on her scarred face.
"I'll be fine! You go make another big boom, sweetie. Make it big enough, and I'll make it worth your while!" – she winked at him. As expected, Andrey beamed in delight, flashing her a huge goofy grin, as he nodded and vanished down the maintenance hatch.
"Retard." – Annalene allowed her fake smile to drop. Acting certainly wasn't her strong suit, but the subtleties were lost on her audience here. She adjusted the frequency on her headset, setting it to scramble-mode. She waited until he was out of sight, before she spoke.
"Code Black-Zero-Zero. Acknowledge."
"Code Black confirmed. Report, Edge." – an entirely new voice came back.
"It's a go. Repeat, it's a go. Take out the sapper after he sets the charges, he should be on his way to the Admin backyard. Make sure to let him detonate them first. Sell the whole thing. Airstrike inbound. I'll laser-paint Cellblock X, when Royez makes his way to the prisoner." – she reported, with a glint in her eye.
"Good job. Having the Rebels bomb the compound gives us plausible deniability. And having them kill our traitor for us, is an added bonus. Along with all those collateral prisoners, and an innocent civilian. What a tragedy." – the voice came back, eminently satisfied. Rose just rolled her eyes.
"Glad you're happy. Just make certain my payment is wired to the account I specified. Make sure Tower Gamma is clear. And don't renege on our deal… I'm live-feeding this whole little exchange to ArchCloud, with an auto-broadcast protocol in case I don't countermand it in three hours." – the woman replied, signing off, before she took off at a stealthy jog, towards the tower.
***
00:20 – Cellblock X
Outside the complex, Royez could just hear the echo of a massive detonation, as he could see the Admin building collapse slowly onto itself, through the window. Rounding into another corridor, he took out another guard, as he tried to get in contact with Singer. For some reason the man wasn't replying, though.
"Redbull to Edge. What's Singer's status? Did he make it away from the explosion?" – he spoke into the headset, a minute later, as he emerged on his wife's level.
"Unknown. All targets painted, though." – the woman's tone came back, cold as usual. But there was a slight pause before she replied. He thought he heard a sigh, but he probably imagined it.
"Good! ETA to strike, thirty seconds. They won't have a chance to scramble any reinforcements… I'm almost to the objective." – he was about to sound-off, before Rose's tone came back – to his surprise, abandoning the callsigns.
"Tell me something, Royez. Was it worth it?" – her tone unreadable.
He scowled. What the hell… ?
"Edge, stick to comms protocol!" – he hissed.
"Having a cause to fight for? The whole 'doing what's right' noble act? Coming back for your wife, even if you HAD to suspect she was just bait? As idealistic as you are, you ain't that stupid. Only reason why they hadn't killed her yet." – Annalene continued, undeterred. But there was no malice in her tone. If anything, it sounded almost… apologetic. Or the closest the woman ever came to it.
The man's whole body went cold, as a sinking feeling set firmly into the pit of his stomach. He glanced out another window. There they were… the distant specks of two Rebel strike aircraft, their running lights specks against the night sky. But their approach pattern seemed… wrong, somehow. They weren't heading for the barracks and the generator building… they were heading directly towards him.
The sinking feeling in his gut got stronger, as he approached the window, looking down in the direction of Tower Gamma… to see a faint greenish sheen of a laser-designator. Aimed at the building he was in.
He swallowed, in a mixture of rage and… a strange sense of tragic vindication.
"Rose…—"
"Say hi to your wife for me. And for whatever it's worth – it ain't personal. Just business." – the woman signed off.
Marco Royez closed his eyes, even as the sound of the approaching planes got loud enough to be heard. Right about now, they would be letting off their ordnance…. trying to picture his wife's smile, in his mind. A single tear slid from the corner of his left eye.
Then a bright flash came, and for a briefest half a second, he thought he felt – heat. Then he felt no more.
~~All war is deception.~~
Sun Tzu
THE END
The Rebels:
Colonel Marco Royez - callsign 'Redbull' , age 43
Bio: Formerly a highly placed field commander in the Hegaemony Guard until he defected, now leads a detachment of rebels to take out a Hegaemony command post in the capital city... and hopefully rescue his wife, whom the Hegaemony imprisoned in response to her husband's treason. Royez is a career military officer who developed a crisis of conscience, following the Hegaemony's latest campaign against the rebellion, where he lost the stomach for casual war crimes committed against the civilian population of the breakaway rebel regions. Despite everything he'd seen and forced to be a part of, during his career, a part of him retains an idealistic mindset, that things can be better then they are. Maybe that slightly naive outlook, was what made him defect in the first place... but he is a good man. A good man, in bad times. He is willing to put up with Rose's... morally questionable... methods, in the interest of completing the mission, but only up to a point.
Consultant Annalene Rose - callsign 'Edge', age 38
Bio: A Southern Expanse mercenary leading her own outfit of cutthroats and privateers, working for the highest bidder, Annalene was recruited by Royez himself into this squad, for her expertise as a sharpshooter, scouting, and infiltration, literally half an hour before she was to be executed by the Rebel high command, after she and members of her group were captured on a mission for the Hegaemony. Many in the Rebellion's hierarchy were opposed to giving the unscrupulous merc a chance, but expertise matters more then morality, in time of need. A chance to avoid the gallows in exhange for taking part in the op, in a 'specialist consultant' capacity - she said yes. In sharp contrast to Royez's idealism, she's a hardened, ruthless cynic, ever only looking out for herself, and having zero moral centre, given some of the horrific things she and her outfit had done, in the past.
Sargeant Andrey Beretic - callsign 'Singer', age 26
Bio: An unfortunate recipient of early experimental Cyber-trooper programme of the Hegaemony, once his body began rejecting the implants, Sargeant Beretic was left to die out on the streets, his entire upper cranium missing, bits of brain and cyberware exposed to the elements. He was rescued by a Rebellion-affiliated physician who managed to save his life and prevent total rejection, though not before severe brain damage could occurr. As a result, Andrey is a bit... slow... to pick up on things, and has reverted to almost child-like sensibilities over the following months. Somehow, his extensive expertise with explosives and demolitions equipment had remained mostly intact, thus earning him a place on Colonel Royez's team for this mission. He has a rather... one-sided crush on Annalene, who is bound to manipulate that, and his face-value simplemindedness, to her advantage.
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23:30, Local time, Capital District 7… 30 minutes past curfew
A shadowy figure took a peek over the hedge at the end of the parking lot near the moss-covered wall of an abandoned gas station, being very careful to remain in deep shadows cast by the darkened building behind. The figure ducked back down as soon as moonlight's treacherous sheen fell on the hedge.
"Redbull in position. Checkpoint in sight, end of the block. Three AV's, a half dozen riot cops. Assault weapons, nightvision equipment, kennels… possibly K9's. Keeping distance."
"Edge, check. Got eyes-on. Eleven hostiles, three dogs. Say the word." – a cold female British-accented voice came back into his headset. He peeked up again as he withdrew behind the gas station,, this time focusing his binocs on a distant church rooftop near the city's centre, roughly half a klick away. He could see a slightly darker shape prone on the dark roof, and a faint glint of a scope, reflected in the moonlight.
"Hold. Singer?" – he countered.
"Boom boom ready. Singer gonna sing soon!" – a second male voice came, a rather… distracted… quality to it.
He scowled at that. 'Soon' wasn't good enough.
"Singer, give me a number!" – sharply.
"Hundred-eleven seconds. Out." – the other male voice came, slightly more focused-sounding. He breathed in relief.
"Edge, hold until boom, then open up. LT first, then the comms-guy. Advancing to attack position now." – he ordered.
***
"Check. Out." – the female murmured, signing off. Her attention never wavered from her target, one of the riot cops at the checkpoint, his rank insignia visible through her sniper's IR scope. She defocused only slightly, for a moment, to reacquire the second target… still manning the comms unit in the guard-shack next to the vehicles. Roughly five metres apart. Normally she'd have a spotter to keep her abreast of secondary targets' movements… but for this particular situation, Redbull was filling that role, up to a point. She still preferred to verify, herself.
One-two. Second-and-a-half, if all went well. Two degrees angular-shift to the right, after the first shot, assuming the other cop stayed where he was. Second shot, before the rifle would finish the recoil motion… nullifying the aim drift. She already had the scope adjusted for current windage and distance. Both shots during a single exhale.
Seconds stretched, each one a small eternity, as she maintained perfect focus on the mark, not blinking even once, even as her eyes began watering slightly. The kill had to be timed perfectly in sync with the detonation, to maximise the element of surprise, and cover up the noise of her rifle's first shot. The second kill had to be quickly enough on the heels of the first shot, that the other cop wouldn't have time to move, at all. She'd had plenty of practice, waiting. Patience was an art, more important then any other, when it came to scouting. And especially for a sniper, it often meant the difference between life and death. Her expression remained blank, her conscious mind focused on the primary and secondary targets, while her subconsciousness kept a running tally of the countdown, without the woman even thinking about it.
Finger on the trigger… steady, putting ever-so-slight pressure, caressing it, just a shade short of firing. Steady, controlled breathing… almost meditative, sensual, in rythm, timed precisely so the final exhale would come just as her mental countdown reached zero. A soft, eager bite of her lower lip… unconsciously. The cool, calming feel of her rifle's stock against her cheek. Controlled power. Thrill of the hunt. Understated… ecstasy, to come.
***
The blast transcended sound, as the windows across a three blocks radius shattered. In a flash, the district's power grid was out, as all the street lights winked out in unison. Emergency generators would be taking over within an hour… but for the time being, there would be no juice for the local proximity scanners, and automated turrets. They could move in.
The cops manning the checkpoint jolted out of their routine stupor, rifles in hands. The LT opened his mouth to begin issuing orders, but no words came out… as his chest suddenly sprouted a ragged, meaty crater where his heart had just been, an exit-wound, before the explosion's blast had died down. He sank to his knees, dead before he hit the pavement. A heartbeat later, the interior of the guard shack was sprayed in blood, as the comms operator suffered the same fate.
"Where's it coming from?! T-take cover… !" – one of the others barked, fear in his helmeted tone, as the nine remaining men dithered in shock, for a long couple of moments, all three K9's barking their heads off. Long enough for another man's helmeted head to suddenly explode, while a barrage of automatic fire came at them from closer to the side, taking another man down, one of the dogs, and wounding a fourth.
"Rebels! S-somebody g-get on the comms and sound a perimeter breach!" – another cop yelled, as they finally began taking cover and scattering. One tried to use his handheld transmitter, only to find out the frequencies were static. The explosion clearly had an EMP component to it, scrambling small electronics within a wide radius. Another cop made a dash for the guard shack, only to catch another hi-powered round before he made it there. Whereever the sniper was, they were still there.
***
Ducking back from a bracket of return fire splattering against the concrete block he took cover behind, part of the checkpoint's perimeter, Royez cocked his weapon's underbarrel grenade launcher. He popped up briefly again, letting loose a 40mm white-phosphorous incendiary grenade in a shallow parabolic arc, aiming for the centre of the checkpoint. The ordnance detonated on impact, sending three more armoured shapes off their feet, while covering half the clearing and one of the AV's in searing flames.
He vinced slightly at the screaming he could hear, as clearly a couple more caught fire, but used the opportunity to switch cover, edging ever-closer…. weapon tracking. One of the dogs was rushing him… the animal went down in a controlled burst, whimpering. Another cop popped out from behind one of the AV's, letting loose… making Royez instinctively throw himself prone off his feet, the rounds zipping centimetres over his head, as he returned fire, taking the hostile down. Then he hastily rolled aside, behind another concrete block, as another armoured shape popped out, aiming… the fire impacting his cover.
Suddenly, a dark, snarling thing bounded over top of the block at him, pinning him on his back to the pavement. The last of the dogs! A mixed breed, the animal was huge, as it twisted it's head to the side, about to sink its teeth into the man's neck. With a snarl of his own, Royez wedged a forearm between them, making the animal bite down on it. Even through his thick uniform jacket, he could feel those teeth breaching his skin, as the dog began worrying his arm from side-to-side. Ignoring the pain, the man used his free hand to reach for a trench knife, stabbing it brutally in the dog's side. The thing still wouldn't let go… if anything the bite force escalated. It was a proper beast. He stabbed it a few more times, before the dog finally slackened, blood painting it's right side. He shoved the dying animal off of him, rubbing his bitten forearm briefly, before he grabbed his weapon again and peeked over his cover.
No more armoured shapes could be seen mobile. Clearly in the meantime, Rose had cleared out the rest. A couple of them were on fire, riving on the pavement in agony, as he stepped closer and put them out of their misery with two clean shots to the heads. No doubt some of the rebels would've let them burn alive… but he wasn't the sadistic type.
"Status report?" – he muttered into his headset, hiding the pain from his tone.
"Checkpoint clear. No additional hostiles. You may move into the city." – the cold female tone returned. Then he jumped in surprise, as an echo of a distant shot reached him, accompanied by a young female death-scream from inside of the residential buildings across the street. She had just taken out a civilian, possibly a teenager. He could hear other cries of dismay and horror from within…. possibly the family.
"The hell are you doing, Edge?!" – he barked into his headset. There was a brief pause.
"Cleaning up. Filmer inside, with a phone. Took out her phone with the shot too. Better clear out of there before more civvies start filming." – the cold tone returned.
Royez's jaw worked soundlessly at that, but he just nodded to himself. They couldn't have witnesses. That didn't mean he liked it.
"Check your fire from now on, Edge. Understood? And move to Rally Point Beta. We'll talk about this." – he snarled, as he dashed for a side-alley.
"Can't bloody wait. Out." – he thought he heard an undertone of contempt, in the woman's reply. He suppressed a sigh. She was a cold-blooded killer, no doubt… one who enjoyed it, to boot, if his reading of her mindset was correct, but the fact was, they had nobody else available who was as good as she was, at recon and long range support. That meant he had to put up with her fast-and-loose rules of engagement. And… it did make sense to not leave loose ends and witnesses. Even if he hated it.
"Singer? Rendezvous with us at Rally Point Beta. Your fireworks did the trick. We got 45 minutes of blackout and confusion. At most." – he instructed Beretic, as he reached the far end of the alley, taking a look onto the paralelling street. It was deserted… for the time being.
***
23:45
Rally Point Beta, was an operational name for a subway station Royez chose as a meeting point following the initial phase. It had the advantage of being one of the central metro hubs of the city, and they'd be able to get almost anywhere from it. During curfew, and especially following the bombing, the place was deserted, aside from a single police patrol of three, easily dispatched.
"How'd you guys like the fireworks show? I'm kind of proud of the boom I made this time!" – Andrey began without preamble, a slightly-stupid grin playing across his lips.
"Yeah. Nice boom. What's next?" – Annalene retorted noncommitally, setting her .338 sniper rifle against the wall. Her cold gaze on the Colonel. Royez completely ignored Andrey, making a beeline for her, outrage in his eyes.
"What the HELL were you thinking?! Even if that civvie got anything on camera, we'll be in and out before the footage would make any difference." – he began, trying to grip her by the forearm. Casually, the woman deflected the attempt, shoving him slightly away.
"Spare me the bleeding-heart act, Colonel. We can't abide witnesses. I just saved your ugly mug from showing up on all Hegaemony news-feeds by tomorrow afternoon! Unless you seriously think they wouldn't be using the footage to paint you and the whole Rebellion as terrorists, because of this? Say what you will about the Big H, but they're big on information-control. I just took it away from 'em by killing that stupid little cunt and her phone." – she growled contemptuously.
He glared. But the glare lacked force behind it, as he clenched his fists.
"You're welcome." – she added after a moment, with a smirk, turning to walk off.
"I'm not finished!" – he snapped, stepping in front of her again; "Civvies are OFF LIMITS, from now on! No matter the circumstances. Understood?! Our cause stands for something, and if we adopt our enemy's methods–" – as she cut him off, getting in his face.
"OUR cause?! Let me remind you Royez, that I'm NOT some weepy-faced rebel with his head in the bleedin' clouds. I'm on MY side. Nobody elses. We clear? I'm along for your little save-me-squeeze ride, because I want off the hook. And you bloody well NEED me. Don't forget that. After we're done and you get your smoochies with your wife and live happily-fuckin-ever-after, you can be sure you'll never see me again. Unless you come looking." – the hard stare, coupled with a soft voice, she gave him at this last, made it no doubt it was a threat.
"So you can go back to playing both sides for profit, merc scum? What makes you think you'll be free to do that and cause more damage to–??" – he growled at that, barely resisting the urge to throw a punch… then reflexively yanked out his sidearm… staring at her cold, unblinking snake-eyes across a barrel of her own gun, aimed unwaveringly at his forehead, in a quickdraw flash of movement almost too fast for his eyes to follow. A Mexican standoff, as two barrels faced each other.
"Then we've got a problem, right here and now, Royez." – she emphasised, surprisingly calmly. Moments stretched.
"Guys… we can't shoot bad guys if we shoot each other!" – Andrey spoke up, angrily, stepping in between them and forcibly pushing both gun arms down.
Royez vacillated, but nodded. Rose remained stone-faced.
"I won't let you act against the rebellion, mercenary. Take it as a threat, or a promise. But the chance you were given is conditional on that. At some point, even YOU have to realise that some ideals are worth fighting for." – he growled, eyes narrowing at her, as he slowly holstered his sidearm. She nodded, pursing her scarred lips, holstering her own a moment later. Her cold gaze retained the patient intensity of a coiled snake, ready to strike.
"I'll take it as a promise, in that case. And I've got one of my own to make. I won't go back to rebellion death row. Or be a little tin yes-man soldier on anyone's chessboard. Not for your 'noble'rebels, not for the big H. Nobody. All governments are fucked-up, it's just a difference of degree. But the cupcake here's right. Let's hold off on blowing each others brains out, until afterwards. Up to you." – she growled.
"Oh, you think I'm cupcake? Thanks! I like you too!" – Andrey smiled, blind to the subtext as usual. But the innocent rejoinder served to ease the tension, in its own way. Royez shook his head with a brief amused twitch of his lips, while Rose rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.
Deciding to table the matter for the time being, Royez pulled out a tactical PDA, setting it on a bench, and motioning the two closer.
"Alright. Next phase is…." – he began the briefing. But the look in the mercenary woman's cold eyes was something he wouldn't forget. Before this was over and done, one way or another, he could tell she wouldn't be backing down. And neither would he. He knew her resume. He read the criminal charge reports given to him, by those bitterly opposed to her inclusion on this mission. He knew he couldn't just let her go, given what she'd done in the past. Killing civilians, was just the tip of a very large, and ugly iceberg. There was a reason Southern Expanse mercenaries were the go-to outfit when it came to off-channel wetwork ops the Hegaemony needed done without getting it's own hands dirty. And she was the worst of them.
Which meant one of them would be dead, before morning.
***
00:10 – Tamiri Square, Hegaemony Federal Prison outskirts
The three soldiers on patrol never saw it coming, as they rounded a stairwell to the deserted subway station. A limber, wiry-strong female shape hopped down from the railings above, to tackle one of them face-down to the hard concrete floor, as she yanked back on his head, exposing his throat, stabbing her trench knife into it, before she slashed-out sideways, severing a carotid, and opening up his asophagus in a shower of blood, some of it ending on her knife hand. Her eyes defocused ever-so-slightly, with barely-suppressed pleasure, for that fleeting moment, as she scented her victim's blood. With only a wet gurgle, he was dead. Before the second trooper could react, the woman twisted around, with a sharp flick… the thrown blade spinning through the air to impale itself into the second trooper's right eye, under the helmet, penetrating to his brain. He was dead before he hit the concrete.
The last trooper gasped, raising his assault rifle, only for a pair of muscular arms to grab him from behind in a rear naked choke… making a sharp twist. Andrej was on-point. With subtle cracking of vertebrae, the man's neck went sideways at an unnatural angle… before the choke was released and he slid bonelessly to the floor, dead.
"Edge. In position. We… got a clear run to Tower Gamma." – Rose reported softly, her tone slightly… airy… with suppressed arousal, as she retrieved her knife, then began to drag her first victim into deeper shadows under the stairwell. She motioned Beretic to drag the other two to join him.
"Redbull, confirmed. I'm at the basement sewer access, about to break in. Take position in the tower and begin laser-painting the barracks and backup generators. Airstrike inbound, ETA twelve minutes. Singer, begin setting charges on the admin building supports." – Royez's tone came back, over both their headsets.
She nodded, then turned to Andrej, back to her usual cool professionalism, wiping the blood off her hand.
"Go ahead. I'll clean up in the tower. Don't get spotted from the admin areas, though… take the back way through the maintenance tunnel. Less chance of someone up there seeing you." – she suggested.
"You sure? It'll take me longer, and you could need backup to take the tower! I… I don't wanna see you get hurt." – the young man protested, but she shushed him with a sudden smile, looking somewhat out of place, but pleasant, on her scarred face.
"I'll be fine! You go make another big boom, sweetie. Make it big enough, and I'll make it worth your while!" – she winked at him. As expected, Andrey beamed in delight, flashing her a huge goofy grin, as he nodded and vanished down the maintenance hatch.
"Retard." – Annalene allowed her fake smile to drop. Acting certainly wasn't her strong suit, but the subtleties were lost on her audience here. She adjusted the frequency on her headset, setting it to scramble-mode. She waited until he was out of sight, before she spoke.
"Code Black-Zero-Zero. Acknowledge."
"Code Black confirmed. Report, Edge." – an entirely new voice came back.
"It's a go. Repeat, it's a go. Take out the sapper after he sets the charges, he should be on his way to the Admin backyard. Make sure to let him detonate them first. Sell the whole thing. Airstrike inbound. I'll laser-paint Cellblock X, when Royez makes his way to the prisoner." – she reported, with a glint in her eye.
"Good job. Having the Rebels bomb the compound gives us plausible deniability. And having them kill our traitor for us, is an added bonus. Along with all those collateral prisoners, and an innocent civilian. What a tragedy." – the voice came back, eminently satisfied. Rose just rolled her eyes.
"Glad you're happy. Just make certain my payment is wired to the account I specified. Make sure Tower Gamma is clear. And don't renege on our deal… I'm live-feeding this whole little exchange to ArchCloud, with an auto-broadcast protocol in case I don't countermand it in three hours." – the woman replied, signing off, before she took off at a stealthy jog, towards the tower.
***
00:20 – Cellblock X
Outside the complex, Royez could just hear the echo of a massive detonation, as he could see the Admin building collapse slowly onto itself, through the window. Rounding into another corridor, he took out another guard, as he tried to get in contact with Singer. For some reason the man wasn't replying, though.
"Redbull to Edge. What's Singer's status? Did he make it away from the explosion?" – he spoke into the headset, a minute later, as he emerged on his wife's level.
"Unknown. All targets painted, though." – the woman's tone came back, cold as usual. But there was a slight pause before she replied. He thought he heard a sigh, but he probably imagined it.
"Good! ETA to strike, thirty seconds. They won't have a chance to scramble any reinforcements… I'm almost to the objective." – he was about to sound-off, before Rose's tone came back – to his surprise, abandoning the callsigns.
"Tell me something, Royez. Was it worth it?" – her tone unreadable.
He scowled. What the hell… ?
"Edge, stick to comms protocol!" – he hissed.
"Having a cause to fight for? The whole 'doing what's right' noble act? Coming back for your wife, even if you HAD to suspect she was just bait? As idealistic as you are, you ain't that stupid. Only reason why they hadn't killed her yet." – Annalene continued, undeterred. But there was no malice in her tone. If anything, it sounded almost… apologetic. Or the closest the woman ever came to it.
The man's whole body went cold, as a sinking feeling set firmly into the pit of his stomach. He glanced out another window. There they were… the distant specks of two Rebel strike aircraft, their running lights specks against the night sky. But their approach pattern seemed… wrong, somehow. They weren't heading for the barracks and the generator building… they were heading directly towards him.
The sinking feeling in his gut got stronger, as he approached the window, looking down in the direction of Tower Gamma… to see a faint greenish sheen of a laser-designator. Aimed at the building he was in.
He swallowed, in a mixture of rage and… a strange sense of tragic vindication.
"Rose…—"
"Say hi to your wife for me. And for whatever it's worth – it ain't personal. Just business." – the woman signed off.
Marco Royez closed his eyes, even as the sound of the approaching planes got loud enough to be heard. Right about now, they would be letting off their ordnance…. trying to picture his wife's smile, in his mind. A single tear slid from the corner of his left eye.
Then a bright flash came, and for a briefest half a second, he thought he felt – heat. Then he felt no more.
~~All war is deception.~~
Sun Tzu
THE END
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