Chapter Text
Outskirts of Norilsk, Russia [ 2:03 AM] [ December 14, 2006 ]
“Tch..! Seriously, you didn’t need to go that far but… Good job nonetheless”
“M3”
"Come, mission completed, it's time to leave"
- << 000 >> -
[ 12:00 AM ] 2 Hours prior
"Zapustit'! Nado pryatat'sya! (Run! Quickly, we have to hide!)"
Says the man wearing a blue winter parka, with his right hand tightly holding another figure obscured by the heavy snow falling from the sky, while his left supports his stomach, he starts panting as his breath condenses and forms misty clouds in the cold winter air. He’s been shot, a bullet wound lodged deep into his ribs caused immense internal bleeding, his skin was starting to turn milky pale, he was severely dehydrated, gasping at the cold air. Meanwhile the figure whom he is holding tightly was nearing her limit, she’s been running since the afternoon of the day prior and she could feel her legs give out. It is especially hard to run in the deep snow, not to mention her last meal was 3 days ago, she calls it a meal but in reality it was just a piece of bread, some butter and goat’s milk.
“ Zhdat'! (Wait!) I-I can’t… just go! You need to get to the shelter!”
The woman finally gives in, her legs were shaking against the snow.
“What do you mean!? This entire operation was meant to rescue you, you have the files, come, I can’t afford to let you die here…!
The man frantically tries to pick her up despite being wounded himself, but the woman holds on to his hands tight, she spreads his fingers open and places a flashdrive on his palm.
“Take it and go! Marcel will now what to do with it, as long as SERN doesn’t have this, we will succeed”
The man tries to argue and pick her up, but from a distance, he can see flashlights scouring the environment… were they followed? He thought for sure that they had lost the security all the way back in Dudinka . Still the man tried to pick her up, trying to calm her down. She was convulsing, her entire body was jerking violently, what’s happening to her? He takes a moment to survey the environment once again, the lights were getting closer and closer. He takes inventory : a frozen bottle of water, a box of matches, some kevlar rope, and 3 daggers. He checks the chamber of his gun, he only had four more 9x19mm bullets left in the magazine. Racking up his brain to come up with a plan, he leans in closer to whisper unto his comrade.
“Stay here for a bit, I must eliminate the enemies before we can pro-”
AHHHHHH-!
He lets out a loud cry before quickly covering his mouth… he leaned in to grab his comrade by the waist to reposition her better against the snow, but when he expected to feel cold skin firmed up due to the cold weather,
He felt something much more… slimier, a viscous liquid in the place of flesh. Her “body” or whatever it was turning into was warm, and not the good kind of warm. He couldn’t hold back, he was shocked, once again he’s gasping for air. He couldn’t see much because of the dark, no… he didn’t want to see. Though they were trained to stay calm, collected and composed under any circumstance, the mere thought that his partner for 12 years would turn into… one of them, he couldn’t help but feel his heart sink into despair. He composed himself for a moment before taking a match from his pouch, as scary as it may seem he had to confirm it… whether she was indeed…
*strike*
The match was lit, and the first thing he saw through that light was her face, eyes wide open, nose and mouth gasping for air, her lips dry from the cold.
1… 2… 3… 4…
In a matter of seconds, what used to be skin turned into a thick slimy green mass, her head whose shape was supported by a thick skull sank down in and on itself. Like an ice cream cone melting in the summer heat, her entire body melted into a green gooey mess in the winter cold.
The flames of the match burned out and with it… his sanity
The lights were steadily approaching but he could not care less, on the palm of his hand was the flashdrive that she entrusted him. He could still remember the warmth of her grasp, and her gallant voice, she sought to complete the mission through and through, giving up now would only make her sacrifice be in vain. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, once he opened them he felt a heavy hand grasp his shoulder, he jolted in shock and instinctively wrapped his legs around his assailants neck, and in one swift motion, shifted and transitioned into a leg triangle
“Stop! Stop! It’s me!”
He hears a familiar voice, and loosens his grip, the figure coughed as he held his neck and massaged it to alleviate the pain.
“Still as sharp as ever eh? But you could have at least checked who I was first, no?”
The man jests, as he gets back up to his feet, lending a hand to the man who just nearly choked him to death
“Sorry, it was instinct… and reflex”
“I know, I know. Now come, we have to get to the base before more of these troopers get to us”
It escaped his mind, there were troopers scouring the area closing in on them. He was too shocked with what he just saw that he completely forgot about them
“Quick! We have to go! They’re closing in on us!”
He jolts up back to his feet and attempted to run as fast as he could, but as he was about to cover some distance, he felt the same heavy hand pull him back.
“Calm down, I took care of them, I just told you boy. You never listen do ya”
He surveyed the scene only to find the flashlights on but stationary and no longer moving.
“See?”
“B-but… how did you-”
“Up bup bup! No more questions, we need to go now!”
“Wait! We can’t just leave he-”
He rushes to go back for his partner and try to at least give her a proper send off but his body suddenly got heavier and heavier, his vision got blurry, ears ringing and a sharp pain in his temple. Was it a headache? He could only wonder for so long until he finally collapses.
- << 001 >> -
[ 1:04 AM ] 1 hour prior
“Kakiye? (What?) Where am I?”
“So, you’re finally awake. I thought agents like you were supposed to be nimble, you’re heavier than 3 gas cans! WAHAHA”
The man laughs at his own joke, his deep voice matching with his enormous body as he chuckles loudly while driving what seems to be a reworked Snow Service Patrol vehicle.
“I jest, of course. Don’t worry, we’re almost there, we can treat your wounds and then you report what you’ve gathered”
The man noticed that he is no longer wearing the parka, it was neatly folded and kept on the side of the cargo along with his other belongings, he is currently enveloped in a comforter, one that circulates your body heat to keep you warmer for longer.
“H-how did you acquire this vehicle? I thought that Headquarters is unable to transport huge cargo such as a vehicle. Wait… did you steal this from neighboring quarries?! You know we mustn’t use registered vehicles! We might get tracked!
“Calm down, will ye? Tis an old service vehicle I found near one of the bunkers, it’s service date is way past the regulation period, we’re riding on a relic. Surprised it’s been working as well as it is at present”
He quiets down but he can’t feel a bit uneasy, he knows the risks of bringing in a registered vehicle, he also knows what happens when they’re being tracked, he knows painfully well what happens when their location has been compromised. But this is Marcel he’s talking about, he trusts him enough to know what he’s doing.
“Alright we’re here, can you move?”
“I don’t have a choice do I”
“Haha, good lad”
The man struggles to stand, but gathers enough strength to dismount the vehicle, he takes inventory once again and unloads his things. It wasn’t much, just his weapons, a backpack, and of course the comforter that Marcel probably laid over him in his sleep, he tries to put on his parka when Marcel interrupts
“Oy! That’s unhygienic, wear this instead”
Marcel tosses him a black puffy jacket, it was warm and comfortable but not very advisable to use in combat, the puffiness restricts articulation and is heavier than most coats.
“Whatta’re ya waitin fer? Come help me unload the cargo, these firewood won’t put them inside now would they?”
Marcel notices that he might need a little more time to compose himself, after all he’s been bleeding for a while and just underwent a recovery mission that he failed, resulting in the loss of his comrade. No matter how much you steel your heart, that’s still gotta hurt. He decides to let him be for a while
“Look, I’ll go ahead and ready the fireplace, just come inside when yer ready, I’ll get us some ale then we can discuss our intel”
And with that Marcel disappears into the campsite and he is left alone. He has a tendency to look up to the stars at night, thinking about anything and everything really. When asked about it he’ll just look at them straight in the face and say “I don’t really know why either”. It’s one of the most interesting things about him really, his partner even said so whenever they would spend harsh winters near the campfire while on a stakeout or simply setting up camp to rest. He recalls the uproarious laugh his partner would do whenever he fails to make a fire or when he burns his rations because he’s too preoccupied looking up at the stars.
It was when he finally gathered himself and snapped back into reality, that he noticed something… odd. Like there was something missing aside from his partner. Also, the stars that night seemed clearer, like it was the only thing he could focus on. That’s when he realized that the station lights were off when they would usually be on at this time because it was pitch black to see anything especially when the trees would block the moonlight. Those lights were terribly bright and would fight with the glimmering stars.
“That’s… odd”
He circles around the back of the campsite to check if all of the lights were turned off, and they were. And that’s when he smelt it… that disturbing stench of iron. It was quite faint, his senses are in disarray that’s why he couldn’t notice it nearly as quickly as he usually would but he was sure of it, it was blood.
“MARCEL! MARCEL! ZHDAT'! (WAIT!) THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG!”
He quickly rushes to the entrance, turning off the safety of his gun, reloading it and equips his flashlight. There was something wrong, those lights should be on at this point, and if there were an intruder, the alarm system would trigger and set the camp ablaze, the transmitter they have on would automatically give them a warning when things went south. That’s when he realized… “When was the last time he checked his transmitter?”. So he quickly took it out of his pocket, there was no signal even if the artificial antenna was literally right in their base, he should have the strongest connection here, but he didn’t, in fact he had no connection whatsoever.
That’s when his heart dropped for the second time. He was alone, Marcel wasn’t responding and worst of all he was injured. Even if there was an intruder, and if he was able to apprehend them, then that only means that their location was compromised. And without the campsite self destructing, all of the intel they’ve gathered from past missions up to know would also have been compromised, if he remembers correctly Marcel also put up security measures for their intel, but who knows if it could be cracked, he wasn’t that much of a Tech Wizz himself so he wasn’t sure.
He composes himself and point the flashlight at the door, he slowly approaches it while reaching for the doorknob to turn it open.
*click*
*twist*
*pull*
*creak*
He opens the door, but the lights were closed as suspected. The security system would have detected authorized agents coming in and would automatically turn on the lights, but nothing turned on. It was quiet, too quiet, too quiet for comfort as he treads the hall towards the curtains leading toward the main lounge. Nothing seemed out of place, but that’s only what it seems, he braces himself for the worst possible outcome and imagines multiple scenarios on how to act in case multiple enemies come at him all at once. He thought of pulling the curtains and using it as a distraction to disorient the enemy as he shoots one in the head and takes their weapon for himself as he uses the corpse to shield himself from the incoming attacks. Another was to wait it out until one goes outside, but who knows how long he’ll last. His priority right now is to notify Headquarters and burn down the campsite, even if there really was no intruder or if it was just a system malfunction, they couldn’t afford to be complacent.
He envisions his plan of attack in his head multiple times running it through and memorizing what he needs to do.
He enters the lounge and what instantly greets him as he pushed away the curtains was the body of Marcel kneeling down, bloodied, bruised and beaten. His arms were tied behind his back, his eyes blindfolded tightly and red with his own blood. His mouth was gagged and was bloodied as well akin to the blindfold. He thought something like this would have happened, but he refused to consider it, though it’s pretty hard to refuse to believe in something especially when it is right in front of you. He scouts the area with his flashlight…
But no matter where he pointed, he could see the color red, glistening like a river underneath the shade of the moonlight. He recognizes each and every one of them, they were the agents currently stationed in this campsite. He couldn’t take a more detailed look at each and every one of them as he tries to locate a possible entry point of the assailant, or at least the light switch. But what he knows for a fact was that each and every one of his comrades weren’t just killed carelessly, some were tortured, slowly and carefully broken down as if being interrogated, needless to say, according to those wounds none of them yielded, they kept their oath of silence to their bitter end. Though some of the other unfortunate ones were swiftly executed, a clean deep cut across the throat, no signs of struggle whatsoever. The intruder wasn’t a trooper, troopers would just shoot to kill, they weren’t smart enough to set up traps, disable alarm systems or interrogate enemies. This intruder was an agent, a Rounder, and a terrifyingly good one at that.
“(Blyad'!) Fuck! Shit who did this… where are they? Marcel was alive just moments ago, they’re still here”
Just as he reaches for the light switch,
*thud*
He couldn’t move his hand, what happened? That’s when he realized… a dagger impaled his palms and pinned in to the wall, the hit was so clean and so flawless that it made minimal sound, he couldn’t even notice that his hand had been impaled until a few moments later, that’s how clean of a throw it was.
“GAH!”
He flinches and reacts for a split second before using his other hand and attempts to turn on the lights.
*patpatpat* *patpatpat*
He hears footsteps quickly approaching, as if dashing at full speed toward him and yet it made very minimal sound. The room was empty and quiet, that’s why he could hear it very clearly, that’s also what made it even scarier.
He flips the lever, *flick* *flick*, the lights turn on and for a split second he sees a fist right between his eyes. He quickly fainted due to the force of the punch and the impact of his head against the wall.
- << 002 >> -
[ 1 : 33 AM ] 30 minutes prior
“Wake up”
*splash*
He felt hot water splash across his face, it stinged for a bit but the cold air quickly cooled him down.
“Kto ty? Chto ty khochesh'? (Who are you? What do you want?)”
Of course he already knows what they want, but he couldn’t help but ask.
“YA zadayu voprosy, a ne ty (I ask the questions, not you)”
The pronunciation was kind of lousy, like it had some sort of accent, he just couldn’t pinpoint where. Nonetheless he understood it completely, the intruder was fluent in russian. He chose to stay silent, not responding to the assailant. He couldn’t see anything he was bound to what seems like was a chair, and his head was covered in a sack, he could still smell the blood and other faint but familiar scent, he was still at the campsite
“Who do you work for? Europol? Stratfor? Which organization do you belong to?”
He remains unfazed, staying silent, he knows he’ll experience excruciating pain soon enough, but if he speaks now then that would be dishonoring his comrades who died keeping their mouths shut. He knows that they’re looking for the Flashdrive, but as long as he keeps his mouth shut, he can at least hope they won’t loot his body or look everywhere else, but he knows that’s too good to be true, he knows how efficient the Rounders can be
It was quiet for a while, until suddenly he felt a sharp pain on his ribs, this time he was stabbed, not shot. He was ready to hear another question, but instead he felt cuts on his arms, legs and other muscles, he tried to squirm but couldn’t. The assailant targeted his joints and a few vital arteries. He was bleeding out, he already lost a lot of blood, he knows he doesn’t have much time left especially now.
“It doesn’t matter who you work for, you’re going to die either way. But I can make yours quicker if you tell me where the Flashdrive is”
He remains silent
*thud* *crack*
The intruder kicks him straight in the ribs, cracking a few more. He remains silent except for a few labored pants and gasps for air
“I’m going to find it nonetheless, make this easier for both of us”
Even then he still refuses to respond, another kick follows, each one more painful than the last. Was the intruder holding back?
“Last chance”
More kicks followed, he couldn’t even keep count how many times he was hit, or where he was hit, the pain and the bleeding made his senses go numb. He felt his head hit hard, he was knocked down by the last strike.
*Click*
He felt a gun against his head, it was warm, as if it had been used just recently
“Very well, any last words?”
The intruder grabs him by the head and removes the sack covering his face. What he saw shocked him once more, probably for the very last time. The assailant was of a slender figure, a bit smaller than what he expected, the figure was definitely male according to his uniform. He couldn’t see the Rounder’s face but for some reason, he felt like the intruder was younger than most Rounders, in fact, he looked like a child, in his teens or so.
“Y-you know, ch-children like you shou-”
*BANG!*
Before he could finish the sentence, the Rounder blew his brains out, in stark contrast to the other victims, he was executed in a somewhat careless and lousy manner, as if the assailant got ticked off.
*Click*
The door opened, and from the outside, a huge figure appeared, he looked much more intimidating and was towering over the teenage assassin.
“Tch..! Seriously, you didn’t need to go that far but… Good job nonetheless”
“M3”
"Come, mission completed, it's time to leave"
“The Flashdrive has not yet been found, mission not yet complete”
“You mean this flashdrive?”
The huge figure pulled out the Flashdrive from his pockets
“Huh!? But I thought-”
“They never got it in the first place, it was with me the whole time, what they got was a decoy”
“Decoy? Then what was this mission for?”
“Gahaha! Don’t get all fed up, we meant to take them out in the first place. This is your first mission, think of it as an initiation. We wanted to gauge how well you’d perform before assigning you to bigger tasks”
“I see...“
“Right! As a reward for a job well done, here, take it”
As if remembering something the man took what seems to be a book from within his winter coat. It was loosely wrapped with some paper and a ribbon
“Tanjōbi omedetō (Happy Birthday)”
M3 took the present in hand, at first he was confused as to why he was given one. But as he checked his watch he realizes…
“It’s that time of the year, huh…”
These types of things seem to be irrelevant and unimportant in this line of work, that’s why he never paid much mind to it. But receiving something like this once in a while doesn’t seem too bad.
“Arigatou”
- << 003 >> -