The time passed by ever so silently and slowly as I holed up in the building, in one of the very few rooms on the second floor, my pistol never leaving my hand the whole damn time as I rested, well rested as WELL that I could. After all, in order to get some good rest, one would normally need to sleep, so that they're body could recover faster, but something tells me that I don't really have that luxury now do I?
My aches and pains gradually began to dull as I stayed still, my nervousness and anxiety not leaving me at all. Man, I could really go for a smoke right now, or a coffee. But something tells me that it's better to play it safe and hunker down in this room for as long as I can, until I can move properly at least.
Time was the important factor here. I have only a set, finite amount of time before Sofiya Pavlovna inevitably finds me. And when she does? Puts a bullet in me. A fate that I would rather not face thank you very much. I was in a time crunch here. I need to get out of this city as fast as possible. I had to both be mentally and physically fast. Unfortunately for me, I knew my body. And it would take time to heal. No more than a week by my guess. I want to be out of this city within a day or two. That leaves a very big problem now.
How the hell am I going to leave within two days? There's only so much I can brute force my body through all the pain before it all falls apart and gets even worse. The worst part was that I was mentally fast, I knew I was fast. I'm a good thinker, give me time and I'll generally figure whatever it is that you've tasked me to solve. But there was simply nothing I could do to fix my body in such a short time frame, unless a senzu bean happened to be lying around of course, but that shit isn't real.
I'm at a crossroads. There's no way in hell I could possibly hunker down here in this building for an entire week, this building is obviously a house. It was empty now, but something tells me that it's inhabitants left at the first sign of trouble. Something tells me that the people living here didn't want to be around a certain group of people armed to the teeth led by a very volatile leader. This building's inhabitants would come back, and I'd rather not deal with the drama that entails when people return to their home only to find it occupied by people that had no right being in their home again. God knows I've dealt with situations like that to last a lifetime back in the Mujaheddin.
There's also the fact that they could just comb the area once more, more finely than they did the first time. So no matter what, staying here was an absolutely bad idea. But leaving was also a bad idea as well. With Sofiya Pavlovna and her men looking for me and all that. See what I mean when I say that I was at a crossroads?
If I stay long enough, I could get caught by Sofiya or by this home's rightful owners. If I leave, there's a high chance that I will get caught. And you know, die. I also don't have a map either, I've never been in this city before, I can only assume that the entire city is hostile to me, ready to swallow me up at a moment's notice so that certainly will not help the situation at hand. There's also the fact that I haven't healed properly...Shit, this was a terrible situation no matter how I looked at it.
If I stay, I'm fucked, if I leave, I'm fucked. So what can I do? How the fuck do I unfuck this situation? No matter what I do, I lose either way! This was a rigged game from the very start. A game of poker, and my very own hand had absolutely nothing but shit. I couldn't leave, I couldn't fold, I couldn't check or call, I was stuck in the same goddamn round that seemed to last forever. The only thing that I could do was bluff and raise. But you know how it is, eventually somebody will call your bluff, and the house of cards all comes tumbling down.
It was absurd. My life was nothing but a sequence of stupid and unfortunate options. Everyday something terrible happens to me. And when I think that there's ABSOLUTELY no way that anything could top that. Something goddammit, tops that! It's a bunch of bull shit. I have a gun to my head and somewhere deep down inside, I'm starting to not care whether or not the trigger is pulled.
Sigh. This was a goddamn mess. I need to get out of here. Leaving was the only thing that mattered. I'm in Thailand, I'm a mere boat trip away from Japan. I was this close to my home. This close dammit, this close. I could practically taste the freedom, the joy, the liberation on my tongue. All I had to do was get myself on a boat that was traveling to Japan, and that would be it, I would be home. Home sweet home-
A noise cut me off from my thoughts. It wasn't loud, on the contrary it was small, subtle. Exactly the sound one would make when sneaking into a building. It was like...how do I put this? Like a raccoon sneaking into a trashcan, or microwaving a meal and then desperately sneak running to it before the time ran out, not wanting to awaken or risk awakening the people living with you with the loud beeps that entail when the microwave is done heating up your food. Something I've done several times when I was still back home in Japan.
A second passes, then another. I'm anxious, could they have found me? Gritting my teeth and clenching my pistol, I position myself against the door, my ear straining against the wooden make of the door trying to catch even more sounds. I was without eyes, I cant open the door and risk getting lit up like a goddamn firework. So that leaves me with my ears to detect the enemy. Another moment passes by before I hear something akin to a slump, like a bag of potatoes dropping or something.
Hesitantly, I slightly open the door just a tiny bit after a solid minute or so. If they knew where I was, then I would have to leave, like right now. Exiting through the window was obviously out of the question. My body was simply not in the condition to withstand such a fall from the room that I was currently in. I couldn't Rapunzel this shit either, the enemy would no doubt have surrounded the building, meaning that I would get smoked the moment I opened the window. Meaning that I would have to fight my way through. Shit I hate this already!
I could only hope that there's only a light enemy presence down stairs. My pistol is a stechkin, that means twenty rounds. I have twenty bullets to shoot, and I can't afford to waste even a single bullet. Very well, I hate those odds but ill take them regardless, not like I can just opt out anyways. Opting out here means dying in Thailand, and I won't die, not when I'm so close to home.
Slowly, I creep my way out of the door and into the hallway. Nothing. That means they're waiting for me downstairs….Shit, If I go down the stairs, they'll shoot me willy nelly. I need a distraction. I know that they're ALL downstairs as well. There wasn't any other movement than the initial ones, no footsteps going up the stairs, no footsteps entering the other room, nothing. Groaning inwardly, I rustle through my pockets for anything that could be of use. Lets see here...50 rubles… A quarter...some gum wrappers… Fuck it, quarter it is.
With one hand, I flick the quarter down the stairs. Waiting for any movement, the racking of guns, the whisper of men...Only to find nothing. Not a sound, not a peep. Nothing….Was I wrong? Was it truly just a cat or something?
With the utmost caution, I silently make my way down the stairs, straining my body to not make any sound at all. It was hard in my current condition, but it was doable. Funny how stealth hiki still holds up to this day huh? As I finally leave the stairs, I look around quickly. Looking at the window, I could see that it was still open, albeit this time with blood smeared all over it. Strange. Sensing a small motion of movement, I quickly turned around.
Crouching, my pistol was aimed at a dark area in the kitchen in this building. It was dark, yes, but I could see a faint outline of a humanoid figure laying with it's back against the stove. Soon, the moon's light shone through, and I could see the edges of two black rubber boots resting on each other. Inching closer, a pistol soon appeared through the darkness, the muzzle of the pistol revealed by the moon's glean.
"FLASH!" Exclaimed a feminine voice in a hushed tone.
..What? Why would she say that? Who was she expecting-
"FLASH!" She said again, cutting me out of my thought process. Her pistol now slightly trembled as a result of her hands. I recognized it. It was a beretta. Those CIA operatives carried it around all the damn time back in Afghanistan...could she be?-
"I'm gonna say this one last time...FLASH!"
Ah crap, I was gonna get shot...or would I?...What the fuck am I even doing?
"...Thunder?" I say hesitantly, unsure if that was the correct response. This was a call sign. Those American and Pakistani special forces practically drilled this shit into my head back when I was with the Mujaheddin. But the reason why I was so hesitant was because of the simple fact that thunder and flash were such old and well known call signs,that it couldn't possibly be the right answer. But it was the only one that made any logical sense in my head given the few milliseconds that I was given.
"..."
"...Sigh."
A sigh and pause, great looks like I really hit the nail on the head there now did I?
"You really scared me there, you know? Leprechaun? What took you so long? I contacted you like crazy on the radio." The feminine voice started speaking, audible relief being heard in her shaky voice as she trembled all too slightly.
"Sheesh, the first time I actually tried to meet one of our contacts and this shit has to happen…" She continued on, muttering in disapproval.
"Erm...My apologies, I got caught up in something, my radio was gone as a result…" I say, lying through the skin of my teeth. Taking advantage of the situation as I walked to her. Her guard was down as her pistol was held by her side.
"Yeah, I know. ARCHANGELUS RAPHAEL right? As soon as the cats back in DC overheard about it's sighting from the NSA team, they went absolutely wild. Hell, they were practically frothing from the mouth."
"...Yes, Sofiya Pavlovna and her men went absolutely crazy the moment they saw it and the-" I say, getting cut off by her.
"The beast of Panjishir. A legendary fighter and martyr in the Muslim world. He went completely off the grid for the last few years, but now he's suddenly here, along with the ARCHANGELUS." She said with a shaky voice, her arm supporting her as she tried to get up.
"Indeed. What do we do now?" I say, offering her a hand. It was a simple question, but still nonetheless baited as hell. She was from DC that much I knew, but what branch? If she was in the NSA, she wouldn't have said the word, overheard. There was something unsurprisingly more to this story here.
"Well, I'm in no condition to be looking for either the Beast, the files of the ARCHANGELUS, or hell, the ARCHANGELUS itself. I need to recuperate my wounds for the moment, but I can't go to any hospitals or clinics unless I want to be found out." She said, accepting my hand.
"That's why I called for you. You were expensive to buy out, hell you're pretty greedy with your demands, but it looks like it was worth shoving money down your throat. Your goal from today onwards is to find out if your boss, Balalaika has the files of the ARCHANGELUS and if not, then her relationship to the BEAST." She continued on as I led her upstairs to one one of the rooms that had a bed.
"I don't know all that much, all I know is that he infiltrated our unit and posed as one of ours, Yuri Sokolov was the name I believe. But that's all I know really. And what's the deal with the ARCHANGELUS even? It's just a scrap ball of iron isn't it?" I asked, fishing for even more Information as I helped her into the bed. Getting a good look at her now, she wasn't bad on eyes at all. Her blonde hair and blues unfortunately reminded me of another woman.
"Well, I suggest you do your JOB and find out more. Balalaika isn't the woman to react the way she did given our sources. I've read her files probably about a hundred times on the boat ride here to Roanapur. I know what type of person she is, and she wouldn't react that way, there's just no way she would. She's a stone cold killer. Not an estranged woman who loses her shit at an imposter."
"And also? The ARCHANGELUS isn't just a scrap ball of iron. It may have been made during the 60's, the height of the cold war, but it's still the pinnacle of science. In the wrong hands, American military dominance could be threatened, just like that. Made with state of the art technology, It can funnel large amounts of electricity throughout its body and form blades of pure energy. It can also fly, which means that it can assist in both land and air attacks." She said with a scowl as I pulled out the first aid kit that I had pilfered from the bathroom.
"...I see now...as armored as a tank or armored vehicle, can shoot out beams of pure energy, can move both on its legs and fly… It could change the way war is waged." I say, faking excitement and playing dumb as she nodded her head.
"Let me guess, you saw it too? Tell me EXACTLY what happened. EXACTLY EVERYTHING." She said as she opened the first aid kit, her eyes never leaving mine.
"Well...Um...we were fighting the cubans...and all of a sudden, an explosion happened. It was shaky...But I believe I saw the BEAST appear and get absolutely destroyed by the ARCHANGELUS. He got hit with one of it's arms I believe." I replied,not entirely sure myself….Why was Sofiya fighting against the cubans...wait, why were the cubans here, in Thailand anyways?
"Alright, that's still better than nothing. He's wounded. That must mean he's not in good shape right now...Alright, new task for you, check every single hospital and clinic in this town. Check it with prejudice. Do you understand me? Prejudice. I tell you, prejudice. Every Single one is to be inspected." She said as she pulled out the surgical scissors.
"...Was it just you that made it here? Where are the other agents? I can't do this and everything else you tell me to do, I'm only one man." I say with furrowed brows, displeased with what I'm hearing.
"Well listen up here bub, ALL the OTHER agents couldn't come! Roanapur is essentially on defcon ONE right now. One wrong move and the proverbial powder keg EXPLODES. EXPLODES! You hear me? I'm the only one that could be sent right now. Because simply moving in a group is unviable in this situation. Besides, we have contacts like you for a reason. So unless you want your money, I suggest you DO your job!"
"...How about you? You're not exactly in good shape either. What will you do?"
"I'll stay here, rest up. I can't call for backup, so you're the only guy that I can rely on. DON'T let me down, understand?"
"Erm, yeah sure. But are you SURE that you can pull this off with nothing but that Beretta?" I ask with a raised brow, wanting to appear as if I'm giving her advice and ingraining myself further into her mind as an ally.
"..Shit! Good point. Did you bring any weapons and ammo?" She asked with a scowl.
"...No."
"...Crap...Well, did you take a car here?"
"No, I walked. Harder to be followed when you can just slink into an alleyway." I say, making shit up on the spot.
"Good man! There's a car just a ways from here. Do you know where the fireworks avenue is?" She asked me, wincing as she started patching herself up.
"...No?" I say, putting on a confused face. The hell is a fireworks avenue?
"Jesus fucking christ….Alright here.." She muttered in disbelief and frustration as she dug through her pockets for a small miniature map.
Along with digging out a pencil, she gently and delicately placed the map on the edge of the bed that she now laid on, gasping as she hunched over to circle little areas on said map. Sweat already appeared on her forehead as her fingers slightly trembled.
"Here, this is fireworks avenue. When you get there, knock eight times. And when they ask you whether you like your coffee with sugar or milk, reply that you prefer it black as the beans. You'll have access to any of the guns they have there. Pick some things up and come back to me. On this circle here is the car. Follow the main road from here and take two left's and you'll find it." She muttered as she pointed at the map.
"One question."
"Speak."
"You spoke earlier of the files of the ARCHANGELUS. Why would you think Balalaika has it? She, along with everybody present had no idea that the BEAST would show up, even less the ARCHANGELUS. In fact, I'm pretty sure that every single person in hotel Moscow didn't even know about such a thing...until now at least." I say, eager for an answer.
"...You don't know? Didn't you see your boss be given the files from the black lagoon company? Wait-" She asked with a confused and mortified face, her hand already reaching for her pistol.
"Do not worry. I am Leprechaun. I was just busy along with everybody else hunting for the BEAST of Panjishir. Forget seeing Kapitan Pavlovna with the black lagoon company, I was nowhere near them. When she received those files, I was working my ass off running around the streets looking for the bastard."
"...I...I see.." She said after a pause, relaxing her grip on her pistol.
"Do you have any idea where he is now?" Yeah, he's right in front of you, you stupid btich.
"...We think he's in the tunnels. The rat has a better chance of evasion down there." I say, tricking her as she furrowed her brow in deep thought.
"...Alright then, check all of the hospitals and clinics near the sewer systems then."
"...Very well." I say, taking the map and already going for the door before being stopped.
"Oh, and Leprechaun? Catch." She says as I turn around, catching the walkie talkie and car keys just in time.
"We'll use these to communicate.Call me MAEVE. Just a precaution for the time being. God knows if I'm compromised or not, but it's still better safe than sorry.
"....As you command." I say, leaving through the door and quickly making my way down the stairs.
I may not have the exact story, but I still have a story nonetheless. The Americans were involved. And that was very bad. Considering the fact that they're not only looking for me, but the files of the ARCHANGELUS itself could mean many things, all of them bad things. Very bad things indeed.
Checking through the window, I crouch and to the best of my abilities, leave the building with a low profile, risking everything as I make my way to the location of the car as humanly possible as I can. Thank god it was night, making my job slightly easier.
Sorry not sorry MAEVE. But you're not getting any guns from fireworks avenue, hell you're not getting anything at all. Anything except failure that is. Before you know it, you're gonna have to talk to your fat cats back at DC explaining why the files for that scrap ball of iron isn't recovered, why the damn thing is still roaming around southeast Asia, and why you still have no clue as to what the relation and correlation between Sofiya Pavlovna and well, me was.
Soon making it to the car, I quickly make my way into the driver's seat, and insert the keys into the ignition hole. As the car powered on to life, I pulled out the miniature map that she handed to me and looked at it, studying the streets and roads with squinted eyes on the map. Now was the perfect time to escape. Brilliantly and miraculously,not only did I have a car to drive off in, but a map as well. Now, I know that they've most likely trapped the entire city, having people at the exits and what not, but I have a map.
All I need to do is look for the ones that seem more...conspicuous, make my exit, and bam, i'm free. It's not my first rodeo, breaking out of a checkpoint that is. I know with plenty of experience that no matter who and how many men you station a checkpoint, the moment you break through, it's over. The only issue was that I'm not familiar with the area. Meaning that I would have to drive slowly and look at my map almost every inch of the way…. Ah fuck it, for now I'll start driving, if I see a check point, or a long line of cars anywhere in font of me, i'll just pull off and try somewhere else.
With my eyes now on the road, and my hands gripped tightly on the wheel, I put my feet on the pedal, and started driving. The small wiring and humming of the engine, the soft and gentle sounds that the rubber wheels of the car made reminded me that I was once more, in the jaws of society. And oh how I hated that small, small hypocritical twinge of joy in my heart.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The rain continued to gently drop on the windows of the car. Making small splashes as they broke on contact with the window. The sudden appearance of a small group of people made me break. Stopping the car as I rolled down the windows and stuck my head out at them, I angrily shouted at them. Both from the fact that I had been driving for about half an hour now, only with no results, and that they suddenly appeared in front of me, forcing me to stop and causing me to almost hit them in the process.
"Hey get off the road! I'm driving here!"
To my exclamation, one of the people from the group, a female in a suit, pulls out a pistol and points it at me.
"Get out of the car, it's ours now-....Oh thank god!" The woman started, only to let out a sigh of relief as she lowered her pistol.
Wait, what?
The woman now made her way to my car, and opened one of it's side doors, then she proceeded to wave the rest of her group into MY car. Looking once more at them in utter confusion, I saw that the rest of the men in the group were wounded. Thankfully it was of group of four people including the woman so they could all fit and-...wait, the fuck was happening?
She then proceeded to open the shotgun door, and then sat down, all the while talking to her group members.
"Thank god we ran into you comrade, quick we need to get to hotel Moscow headquarters now!"
...Wat?