Eastern Expedition(Concluded)

[Haktiva]

"You should see it from my perspective", Max replied, annoyed as usual.

[Page]

"Well, I suppose not being able to leave the room and explore the fascinating ruins does suck" Nirai conceded.

[Haktiva]

"There ya go", Max said, satisfied for the first time in a while.

[Page]

Pagian Broadcasting Network

We're continuing to follow a crisis near the city of Salkar in Eastern Haktiva, in which Nirai Kanan, from the State Department's Office of Foreign diplomacy, has been abducted by Haktivan terrorists while on state business. Miss Kanan had joined a cultural expedition along with Dr. Josef Saingir from TASA; invited by a Haktivan archaeologist and along with an Eastern politician and socialite; both of whom are rumored by unconfirmed reports to potentially be hostages to the terrorists as well.

An anonymous source alleges Dr. Saingir made a daring escape and alerted the authorities to the situation. Dr. Saingir, who remains in Salkar, declined to comment on this matter or give any statement. However, we do know that yesterday morning, a disturbing video was distributed on the internet which showed Miss Kanan on film with her captors. They depraved terrorists had inflicted a knife wound to her face, and may have carried out other acts of brutality. She is mocked by the terrorists on camera and at risk of torture and death is coerced into pleading for her life.

This is the second major incident in just one year involving a diplomatic worker at risk, following the infamous embassy shooting in Havana in which security worker Lieutenant Erik Nairan was murdered by enemy-sponsored thugs. The question of why Pagian officials are not better secured remains unanswered, especially as it appears Miss Kanan which treading through a lawless Haktivan territory without adequate protection.

The potential for a rescue remains unclear. The Department of Defense declined to respond to a question about whether a platoon of Rangers might be given permission by the Haktivans to deploy and engage the terrorists in order to recover Miss Kanan and the alleged Haktivan hostages.

Riigar Kanan, Nirai's father who lives in Amiindan, told PBN correspondents there that he just wants to see his daughter returned safe and doesn't care how that is accomplished. The terrorists have yet to issue demands or a ransom; although the State Department maintains a strict policy of absolute prohibition of any negotiation or dealmaking in hostage situations.

[Haktiva]

Unknown
"It's all according to plan"
"Indeed Sir, as cliche as that sounds"
"Haktiva's glory days shall be upon us soon enough. The Old Man would be proud of what we will accomplish"
"Do you think our next steps will be so successful?"
"Absolutely. With Page still rebuilding, a few helping hands will always be welcomed"
"And the Representative?"
"I foresee his health failing in a few years. In the meantime, we can gain popular support"
"Very good Sir"

[Page]

Nirai was wide awake again, despite being immensely bored and exhausted. She and Max had gradually drifted apart in terms of physical distance since she hugged him the day before. Preferring to sit in the corner and not upset with Max laying on the bed most of the time, she could tell he wasn't getting to sleep either, probably kept awake by hunger.

She quietly sung to herself a song from a band she'd like since high school, though her rendition slowed the melody and generally sounded much more melancholy.

"Sounding the alarms inside of me, hoping like hell the sound cuts through the water and the broken trees and reaches you, before the creatures of the night descend on me, no help in sight. Won’t be long before we lose daylight."

The rest of the words she continued only in her thoughts, and then just barely mouthed the last words of the chorus "my will to live is wearing thin, I'm running out of... time."

[Haktiva]

The door opened up, the Captain and three of her men appeared. "Get up", she said to Nirai, her demeanor stoic as usual.

While Max was held back at the point of an assault rifle, Nirai was escorted by the Captain back to her quarters. "Leave us", she said, her men saluting and walking out. She turned back to Nirai. "My contract is pretty much over with", she explained, her voice sounding more like a sigh than anything else. "There's just one last thing I... need to take care of".

She pulled out her pistol, chambered a round, and pointed it dead center at Nirai's forehead. The Captain stepped forward as Nirai shut her eyes, her fear apparent.
"Kosame", the Captain whispered into the Pagian's ear. Then, just before Nirai could open her eyes, the Captain lightly pressed her lips to Nirai's.

[Page]

Nirai blinked rapidly and stared with bewilderment at the Captain after the kiss.
"That's not a parting gift before executing me, then?"

[Haktiva]

"Not quite", Kosame replied, stroking Nirai's cheek as she pressed closer, her armed hand coming around behind Nirai. She ran her gloved fingers through her hostage's hair, breathing softly. Then, Niriai felt the mercenary's gun strike the back of her head.

Kosame smiled at the unconscious Nirai, before her expression changed back to normal. "I'm done", she said to one of her men as she walked out of the room. "Put her back with her friends".
"Yes Captain"

Nirai woke up to Max's hand slapping her face lightly. "Hey. Hey come one", he said, a little concern in his voice, but not much to make seem different from how he normally acted

[Page]

"Psycho kissed me" Nirai whined to Max, trying to stand but feeling too dizzy. "I don't know how I got here, if she made me swallow something or..." she felt the back of her head. Small spots of bright red blood were on her hand. She groaned and said "of course they'd do that. If Kosame likes me she has a fucked way of showing it."

------

Abel's eyes had to adjust to the darkness of the buried city once more, as he returned from the surface where the sun was shining bright and hot at high noon.

Among his current comrades, he stood out more than most others, and not just because he was Pagian. He was far more attentive to keeping himself clean and groomed than most of the others, shaving his hair down to a fresh crew cut at least twice a month. Despite being well into his 30's, he retained a relatively youthful appearance. He had symmetrical and smooth features, except for a long scar from a piece of shrapnel which ran the length from the edge of his right eye to the tragus of his ear.

Strapped around his back with a long sniper rifle; which was becoming somewhat of an obstacle down here, where sometimes it was very necessary to pass through tight spaces. The gun was his since hooking up with the mercs and long before that - in fact, of the three dozen felonies he was wanted for back in Page, possessing stolen Ranger property was the least severe of any of them. And he never let it out of his sight.

He was an ace sniper - he learned from the best. But he had many more talents than just that. Scouting was a prominent one, and Abel ascended to the surface without being ordered to. He had a feeling - had to confirm his suspicious. It was fortunate for the group that he did.

"Captain."
She was back to her listless default state of being, only ever showing enthusiasm for the poor Pagian girl she had taken prisoner. Something which both amused and unnerved Abel. He hoped, for all the faithful service he provided, she'd let him join in the fun when she dragged the hostage down to the bath chambers. But the Captain sent him away then.

"I did some recon. I don't know a lot but I can tell you one thing - they know we're here and they're moving tactically, probably preparing to move in. I didn't get a look at them, but if I had to guess, I'd say we should anticipate the worst."

He didn't have to tell her what the worst meant. SPECTREs.
"If we make a good stand and inflict heavy losses, they may pull back and give us a short window to evacuate. Otherwise, consider us already dead."

[Haktiva]

"Sorry to hear that", Max said, grinning a bit.
--
"Guess it was too good to be true when he paid us up front", the Captain said. "Their priority is the hostages, so that gives us a better chance for survival". She placed two fingers to her ear. "Clear out of the palace, avoid contact if possible", she said, then turned to Abel. "They're most likely going to surround us. Find the least defended area and plant enough explosives to blow whole big enough for us to get out and kick up enough dust to cover the escape. Might have to ditch the hovercrafts".

[Page]

"You look like you're in despair, Captain. Like you wanted to take your new pet with you. But I suppose that would ruin the contractor's plans."
Abel walked off and began to assess their options. She was definitely right that blasting their way out would be the way to go. And yet it seemed like such a waste to leave all the hostages, and the hovercrafts. But survival, at any cost, was priority.

Even so, Abel took a detour on his way down.
He opened the door to Max's and Nirai's room.

"Stay right on that bed" he told Max.
Nirai immediately recognized his accent. He must have grown up in Kiilyyvendrei, Page's Northeast metropolis that was in many ways, far more traditional than the southern cities like the capital Andryand and Talyn, where she Josef where from. In fact, Kiilyyvendrei was the only District where Pagians didn't always learn English as a first language, but tended to adapt to it later in life after spending their childhood years speaking in the ancient tongue.

This man's dialect was thick and Nirai wouldn't fault Max if he didn't even realize the man was Pagian at all; Sardorpagians were far less involved in national politics and travelling abroad.

Abel shut the door behind him and informed Max "if you get up, or make any noise, you're going to see me cut her tongue out all before I castrate you."
Really, Abel wasn't that cruel, but a little intimidation never hurt, and it probably went further for the man who was shot in the arm.

He approached Nirai and knelt down next to her.

"Daragii'nati. My'ta'simmar syyn kiatir aliturn voltyyk an'my'jun tyy'raischa. Syy brial'tyyn, mair. Kircyntia'tynn. Aun driia vai'harna, zrilima'taska."
(I will be honest with you. I can't help but notice you are very special to the Captain, in fact I fear her heart would break if I ruined you. You are a fragile little thing. And I've been wasting away in this fucking desert, not had a real girl in years.)

He bit her neck, not hard enough to draw blood but only just holding back that much. Nirai cried softly and looked over to Max. She didn't want him to do anything stupid, but wanted some hint of reassurance at least.

Abel let go of her and stood up, running his hand through hair hair and keeping a hold of it.
In English now, he said "if we ever do a job like this again, I'm going to make sure the video a lot more interesting. And if you ever see the Captain again, I suggest you thank her that she didn't leave you with me."

Then, he pulled a scroll out of his satchel, the one Max was translating before their group came, and handed it back to him.
Abel laughed and said "don't want the poor lad to be bored, especially if we end up sinking this place and burning all of the wonders here. Besides, he'd rather read than console you and I just find that insanely funny."

He walked out and slammed the door behind him, and got to work on rigging the place up for the incoming SPECTRE attack.

[Haktiva]

Max set the scroll down and approached Nirai. "Bad?", he asked. He knew it would be pointless to ask if she was okay, but he felt like spiting the mer, even if he couldn't see him.
--
Noveria Team checked their gear as they prepared to enter tho city. Sohara, Zen and Alex had visors on their helmets with HUDS similar to the SECS, but these were more additional gear, not survival equipment. Spitter was the only one without the system, preffering his rifle to anything else.

The soldiers accompanying them surrounded the dome. There were about fifty of them in total, but more were concentrated on the south side, where the mercenary hovercrafts were
--
The Captain strapped on her extra body armor. She'd fought all around the world, but Spectres were a force to be reckoned with, even with her. She placed her mask on and exited the palace with her men. "You all know I'm not one for speeches, so I'll be blunt, It's likely we'll have people killed. Those of you that escape will get their bonuses early. Those that don't we'll give it to your families or whoever you named in your will. If you try and ditch or sell us out, I will personally hunt you down", she said, her voice as serious and proud as it always was.
The mercenaries saluted her, which she returned. "Prepare to defend yourselves, gentlemen", the Captain added.

[Page]

Nirai reached out for Max's hand.
"Can I sit on the bed with you?" she asked. Actually, Nirai wasn't waiting for a direct answer and didn't expect Max to give it. She looked at the scroll with some interest.
"There's nothing to talk about, if you want to read, go ahead" Nirai said, but again was holding on to him. She laid her head on his chest and stared at the wall, breathing softly.

The sound of gunfire shook her back awake when she was nearly asleep, and she held on to Max tighter than before.

------

"Incoming at the dome!"
Abel took up the role of being a group leader, not from any official chain of command but the simple belief that the Captain let the mercs get too anarchaic and a little discipline and structure could save lives.

More than 30 kilograms of weapons and armor weighed on his back. He had a simple but effective FAMAS as he primary. Emerging from behind a column, Abel gave the signal, and he and four others sprayed fire up toward the sky, forcing the SPECTRE's to draw back from a moment. He doubted he killed any of them, but it was an adequate intimidation tactic. The real threat for the intruders was spring razor trap he set in the entryway to the first hallway.

"You got a flak jacket? No, then get back idiot!" he snapped at one of the younger mercs who was right in the line of fire. As it turned out, it was not an explosion which tore him apart but a well placed shot through his head.
"Vaia trugitzi vai'sija!" he growled to himself, a string of Pagian profanity.

They were coming inside now, using smoke grenades to cover their positions. Abel fired careful bursts at the shadows emerging from the smoke, and ran diagonally back from doorway to doorway, retreating only a few meters at a time.

[Haktiva]

"Guess that's our rescue", Max said, his tone a little indifferent.

Esmerelda heard the gunfire and smiled. Perfect, she thought in her perverted little mind.
--
Noveria Team dashed for cover by an old well, Zen laying down cover fire.
"Max is going to kill us if we destroy anything", Alex joked, flinching from an incoming round.
"He'll have to get in line", Sohara said. "Shut you eyes!", she shouted, pulling a flair gun out. In the near pitch darkness of the city, the flare was like the sun suddenly shining.

Many of the mercs were blinded by the light, giving the Spectres a chance to slip by the wall of fire.
"They're most likely holding them in that palace over there", Zen said as they sprinted.
"Yeah the light kinda gave it away", Spitter said sarcastically.
--
Kosame squinted through the flair as she watched the fighting. She had to make sure the Spectres were more concerned with the hostages than with her men. She shadowed them as they occasionally traded fire with her men, her pistol out just in case they saw her.
"Don't engage to seriously", she said over the mic. "We need to buy some time before we can make our exit".

[Page]

The next time Abel returned to the room where Max and Nirai were held, he kicked down the door and barked at two other mercs "grab them and take them back!"
The longer they held on to the hostages, the more cautious the intruders would be, and the more time it would buy them to escape.

The SPECTRE leading the assault rounded the corner. Abel unleashed a burst of fire at them and then pivoted into Esmerelda's doorway. At least two of them returned fire, and Abel felt a surge of adrenaline as the ancient masonry held up little better than barricades of wood. He closed his eyes so shards of the bricks wouldn't fly up into them.

Answering them again, Abel emptied his clip and watched one of them stagger back as a few well placed rounds hit them squarely in the chest. But he knew their armor wasn't cheap and didn't want to take for granted he slowed them down.

Abel slammed a new magazine in his gun.
He watched another of the men in his group fall dead. Again, he cursed furiously in Pagian.
He chucked a grenade, cooking it just long enough while concealed, hoping they'd try to throw it back and have their hand taken off instead.
Not looking back when he heard the explosion, he grabbed Esmerelda by the arm and retreated deeper into the palace's interior.

[Haktiva]

"Moron", Kosame cursed under her breath.
--
Spitter was tossed back by the rounds, Zen shielded him with his larger size as the grenade went off.
"Zen, I got a wife", Spitter said, trying to push his comrade off of him.
"Hey, when was the last time she shielded you from a grenade?", Zen joked.

"I saw them grab the hostages", Alex said, pointing in the direction the mercs took them.
"Right. Spitter, get to the top and get a beat in them", Sohara said.
"Aye", Spitter replied, sprinting up the stairs.
--
Esmerelda did her best to keep from killing the merc that grabbed her. She knew how to defend herself, but she wanted to keep up her appearance. "Help me!", she shouted, faking it, but it was hard to tell"

The mercs that grabbed Max and Nirai panicked and ran for the exit, firing at the Spectres as they fell back, the relative struggling of Max and Nirai greatly throwing off their aim.
--
"Got two heading outside. Max and the Pagian", Spitter said.
"You got a shot?", Sohara asked.
"Not for much longer. I don't wanna hit the hostages"
"Take the shot! We can't risk losing them"

Max gritted his teeth and fired, hitting the merc holding Nirai in the lower jaw, the bullet going through his spinal cord. The merc released his grip on Nirai as she dove down, hands over her head, screaming in fear. The other merc was distracted one fatal second as he looked to see his comrade fall. Spitter put a bullet through his left temple, blood and brain splattering the wall.

"Down", Spitter said.
"Right.", Sohara replied. "Zen and I will extract. Alex, get Esmerelda"
"Aye", Alex replied.
--
"Abel, drop the bitch and fall back", the Captain shouted into her mic, detonator in her hand as she ran down the alleyway, detonator in hand.

[Page]

Abel had no personal reasons for defying the Captain's orders, but right as soon as he was going to let go of Esmerelda, the SPECTRE's entered the hallway with guns drawn.

The woman tried to twist her wrist free, but this wasn't Abel's first time restraining someone. A few bank robberies, some successful and others botched, provided good training for that.

He wrapped his arm around her neck and whispered "keep struggling, bitch, see where it gets you. Alive or dead, a shield is a shield - you're just a body to me."

Memories of when he was still a Ranger flooded back. He wore the black mask then, the SPECTRE's didn't recognize the man standing before them. But he knew them, in a way - he sensed their familiarity. It was an old Ranger doctrine that everyone had their own way of combat, unique as a fingerprint. The key to victory was to fall in line and hide that fingerprint as well as one could; that's what teams were for.

Alex and Abel were like two predators ready to kill each over some prey. And that prey, consequently, met a whole lot more to Alex than it did to Abel. Still, Abel knew he was as good as dead if Esmerelda ended up a corpse; that would ruin everything and the Captain would probably end up harsher than the SPECTRE would.

Shoving Esmerelda off him hard enough to cause her to hit the ground, Abel backed out of the SPECTRE's line of fire, but not before letting off two shots from his pistol. One missed Alex entirely and the other landed in his shoulder. Abel didn't stay to witness the results.

He sprinted to the evacuation point and sprayed erratic covering fire, just to suppress the advancing SPECTRE's long enough for the rest of his fellow comrades to escape first.

[Haktiva]

The bullet didn't penetrate very far tanks to the Spectre shoulder armor didn't, but the tip of the bullet bore into Alex's flesh, causing quite a bit of pain, though not enough to make him collapse to the ground. "Bastard", Alex cursed.
"My hero!", Esmerelda cheered, grabbing onto the young Spectre.

Alex wrestled his right arm, his good one, out of Esmerelda's embrace and placed two fingers to his ear.
"Got her", he said, through gritted teeth, his adrenaline kicking in.
"Roger that. Get her over here and we-"
"Wait a second", Alex interrupted. He saw someone run clenching something tightly in their hand out the window. He shoved Esmerelda off and poked his head out. Detonator, he thought.
--
The Captain ran down the alley as quickly as she could, but dived to the side when she heard a bullet whizz by.
"Fuck", Spitter cursed. He missed. The Captain recovered quickly, but the sound of another burst of gunfire made her duck.

"What the hell are you doing kid?!?", Spitter demanded, unable to get another shot off thanks to Alex's interference.
"She's got a detonator. I gotta stop her!", Alex replied, emptying his clip as he approached.
"What about the hostage?!", Sohara demanded, gunfire erupting over the mic.
"She's fine. This has taken priority!", Alex said.

"You really should listen to your superiors kid", the Captain replied calmly, though her voice was loud enough to hear from a distance.
"Drop the detonator!", Alex commanded, pulling out his side arm.
"Hm", the Captain said. Glancing at the Spectre for a second, she turned to the device and squeezed, an explosion erupting from the opposite end of the dome, sand flooding in.

"Move out. I'll catch up", the Captain said into her mic.
"Bitch!", Alex shouted, firing off his gun. The Captain dodged most of the bullets, ditching her coat, which caught the rest. Before Alex could reload, she was right in front of him, fist nearly making contact with his face. Alex reacted and spun out of the way behind her, dropping his gun and grabbing her fist as he did. The Captains kicked her right foot out, hitting Alex in the groin. He groaned in pain and loosened his grip. The Captain came around and jabbed him in the side of his jaw. Alex recovered and spun around, his knuckled making contact with the Captain's right temple.

The Captain reeled back a little in pain, but ducked down when Alex came in with a knee. She caught his leg and propelled him forward, sending him to the ground. Alex jabbed his foot into her side where the body armor was thinner, the Captain grunting in pain. She stuck her elbow into one of the pressure points of his thighs, Alex screaming in pain as she broke through his guard. Once on top, The Captain pummeled her fists into Alex's face.

With one last bit of effort, Alex bucked the mercenary off of him, getting in one god shot to the face, splitting the Captain's lip. Then, the Captain grabbed his arm, placed her leg between his, and tripped him into the wall. Alex fell unconscious as the Captain let out an exhausted breath and ran off.

[Page]

Nirai didn't take long to calm down this time. For reasons maybe the others didn't understand, coming close to death by being caught in the crossfire wasn't so bad, not compared to the other things she endured. Or, was it just that she expected to die? She didn't know.

Regardless, she was grateful, and made sure to thank every one of the SPECTRE's before heading out. She looked to be in pretty awful shape. Bags under her eyes, oily skin with the one bath she was given no longer relevant, blood caked on the back of her hair where she'd been hit by the gun, the scab on her cheek from the knife wound, and worst of all, the bite mark still deeply embedded in her neck.

Alex was the last of them she talked to, after his team seemed to be able to wake up him and made sure he wasn't gravely wounded.
"Hey, hope they didn't fuck you up too bad" she said with sincerity. "It means a lot to me that you saved me. I know it's your job, but you're the one who did it. So, yeah, thanks. The last few days have been hell."

------

Sweating under the scorching sun, Abel stopped to make sure they weren't being followed. He looked through the scope of his sniper rifle, the best thing he had in the way of binoculars.
"Clear" he said. "I swear by my ancestors, I really would like a motorcycle. I don't care how I get one, the next time I come across one I'm taking it. If it means cutting a throat, so be it."

[Haktiva]

"That was me", Spitter said, acting cocky.
"Want me to tell your wife you're flirting with other women?", Sohara threatened
"I'll shut up", Spitter replied, defeated.

Max walked over to Nirai and sighed. "So you think that bath chamber still works? May as well resume my work there. But I get first dibs", he said.
"Is that your idea of a joke?", Alex asked mockingly, an ice back over his black eye and a few bandages as well.
Before Max could think of a reply, Esmerelda ran over to the young Spectre and latched onto him. "My hero. Oh you were so brave", she said in an overdramatic tone, Alex clearly wanting nothing to do with her.

"Looks like Josef has some competition", Max commented, grinning that the Easterling wasn't his problem now.
--
"Just keep walking", the Captain said calmly, eyes closed as she and her remaining nine men marched through the desert

[Page]

"Been walking all my life, Captain" Abel replied. "Walking from one country to country, walking out of jail cells with dead guards at my feet, walking from job to job."
He smirked and said "quite honestly, maybe walking somewhere else if I ever find better money. Lucky for you, I haven't yet."

------

"So, I guess this is the last time I see either of you" Nirai said to Max and Esmerelda. "At least for awhile. I know you want to stay here, Max, and I can't stand to be here one more minute. Maybe if a few of the lesser pieces are donated to a Pagian museum, and we'll send some artifacts of ours your way. That's my job, I'd be the one to set that up."

She smiled weakly at Esmerelda and said "seems like you were really strong and sure through this whole thing. I hope I can be like you one day."

[Haktiva]

"Please don't say that", Max said, his tone hinted with a little dread. "I like you the way you are"'
--
"With the crap you've pulled, I'd be glad to see you go", the Captain replied, the slightest trace of a grin on her face.

[Page]

"Did you take some of the professor's LSD, Captain? I saved your well-formed ass thank you very much" Abel snapped.
------
"What do you like about the way I am, Max?" Nirai asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.

[Haktiva]

"Sounds to me like you're the one who grabbed the drugs. I don't need anyone, but others always seem to need me", The Captain replied, little emotion escaping her icy veil.
--
"That you're not like Esmerelda", Max replied honestly.