Chapter 1:
"Kestrel, wake up" Archer said as he nudged Kestrel slightly. Kestrel awoke with a start and looked around. He realized he was on the silent boat the navy seals let them borrow along with a captain. "Are we there yet" he asked with a thick Russian accent. "Look for yourself" Archer answered. Kestrel looked forward and saw the huge cargo ship coming closer and closer. After Kestrel fully awoke, they ceased their conversation until they were right next to the huge ship. "I'll try to keep her steady" the navy seal said as Archer and Kestrel got their grappling hooks out. They threw the grappling hooks unto the ships railing and checked to see if it was tight enough for them to climb. "We're good" Archer told the seal. He nodded and veered to the left, speeding off to the direction from where they came. "You ready" Archer asked Kestrel. "As ready as ill ever be" he answered. They both climbed up to the railing. They jumped over the side of it and dropped their hooks into the ocean. "No use for them now" Archer muttered. "Did you hear about the riots in Iraq" a voice said from behind a container. Another voice answered, saying that he did. Archer and Kestrel quickly, but quietly ran over to the edge of the container and peaked around the side. They were far enough to be taken down at the same time, but it was too risky to take them down on at a time. "I'll go up" Kestrel said, climbing up the container. He crouched down above the man farthest from Archer. Kestrel jumped down, imbedding his knife deep in the man's throat. The man grabbed at the knife, collapsing forward. "What the fuck" the other one said putting up his AK. Archer kicked the back of his knee, making him collapse. In one fluid motion he snapped the man's neck like a twig, killing him immediately. "Bitch" Archer said as he stepped over the body and walked over to Kestrel. "I'll go look around" he said, disappearing in the shadows seconds later. Archer searched the bodies and found a card with a phone number on it. "Might be useful" he muttered putting it away. "There are two guards, but they are patrolling. One goes to the left the other goes to the right, and they meet up in front of a door to get into the ship" Kestrel says from the shadows. Archer nods his head. "All right, you go right, I go left" he said dropping into a crouch and heading to the right. Kestrel went to the corner of a container and waited. When the guard started rounding to bend Kestrel punched him in his stomach and snapped his neck, pushing the body back. The man's gun dropped with a loud clatter. "What the fuck... Are you alright" the other one called. There wasn't an answer and he started going to where the sound came from. Archer brought his knife crashing into the man's chest. He collapsed and Archer tried getting his knife but it wouldn't budge. "Guess ill borrow yours' he said grabbing the guard's knife "Nice kill" Kestrel said, studying the body. Archer shrugged. They quickly looked around the whole outside area to make sure that they hadn't missed anybody. "You ready" Archer asked. "Конечно, мой друг" Kestrel answered. He had used that phrase many times and he knew that it meant of course my friend. Archer slowly opened the door and quickly dove towards the shadows. Kestrel did the same. "What's wrong" he whispered to Archer. "Enemy, coming towards us" Archer whispered back. The man walked right past them. Archer snuck up behind him and grabbed him in a chock hold. "Что" the man said. He dropped his gun as Archer started putting pressure on his neck. Kestrel went outside and Archer followed, with the guard of course. "Where is the engine room" Archer asks as he turns the man around and grabs his throat. "Я не говорю по-английски" the man said quickly. "What did he say to me" Archer asks as he punches the man. "He said he doesn't speak English" Kestrel says. "So I beat the crap out of him and you ask questions" Archer asked. "Yes" Kestrel answered. Then he turned his attention to the man. "Где машинноe отделении" Kestrel asked the man. "Я новый здесь" the man answered. Archer looked at Kestrel for confirmation. Kestrel nodded. Archer punched him in the stomach and threw him at the wall. He crashed head first and fell down. Archer grabbed him again and picked him up. "Tы обманываeш" Kestrel yelled into the man's face. Archer knew that meant that he was lying, so Archer kneed him in the stomach and punched him in the face, breaking his nose. The man's face was bruised, bloody, and most of it was broken. "I speak little English" the man said with a very thick Russian Accent. "It is at the lowest deck, at end of long corridor" he said. "Thank you" Archer said, grabbing him by the neck. He walked over to the railing and slit the man's throat. He fell forward, limp and lifeless. Archer pushed his body over the railing and looked over at Kestrel. "Let's go" he said heading to the door. Kestrel nodded and they went back inside. They quickly found a tight, enclosed stairway. They took it and went down to the deck. They encountered no enemies until they were at the lowest deck. They heard the engines nearby and realized that they skipped half of the way. "Have you heard section two check in" a women's voice said. "No, but we have confirmation that they are up there" the second voice, also a female, said. Archer took out his snake eye and wiggled it under the door and looked from side to side. The women were in front of them, their backs turned to the door. "Alright, on three we grab them and drag them in here. They are unarmed so do not kill them" Archer said. Kestrel nodded. Archer slowly and quietly opened the door. "Three" he said. They grabbed the women and dragged them into the stairwell, Kestrel kicking the door closed as he got in. They held the women in that chock hold until they went limp in their hands. They gingerly laid them down and went down the long corridor that the man told them to go down. The sound of the engine came closer and closer until they saw a door. They tried opening it, but it was locked. "What do we do" Kestrel asked. "Wait here. I'll get in and open it" Archer said as he spotted the vent. Kestrel went over and crouched down on one knee, his hands cupped together. Archer ran forward and used Kestrel's arms as a trampoline. He bounced upward, grabbing the side of the vent. He wiggled inside and started crawling through the ducts. Kestrel patiently waited for Archer to open the door. Archer took a right, went at an upwards slope, and then took another right. After a long stretch he finally saw the vent door. He crawled towards it and opened it. He looked down. "Holy shit" he said backing away. There was a twenty foot drop down. There was a thin pipe a little bit past the vent door. He crawled back to the entrance and looked down. He looked around the room and saw to guards with AK-47s aiming at two engineers. "Make it go faster" the bigger man said. "If we do the ship might capsize" one of the engineers screamed. "Don't make me ask twice" he said hitting the engineer. Archer tuned out their conversation and thought about how to get down. The ship suddenly lurched forward and Archer tumbled out of the vent. He reached for the pipe at the last second and managed to grab it. One hand slipped and he hung on, his fingers slipping quickly. He tried desperately to get a hold of the pipe with both hands but kept missing. He finally grabbed it and sighed in relief. Then he heard a sound of something being torn apart and the pipe broke in pieces. He lost his grip and fell, landing on top of a container. He tried getting up but fell back down, the darkness taking a hold of him. He finally slipped into unconsciousness. After a good fifteen minutes Kestrel started worrying about his friend and partner. He looked around and found a crate. He pushed it against the wall and climbed on top of it. He wiggled into the vent and crawled through it, taking the same path as Archer. He saw the opening and crawled towards it. "Son of a bitch" Kestrel said hitting the side of the vent as he looked down, seeing Archer's body on the container.