The Whistling Gale
Bullet and Blossom
Written by:
Lone Wolf NEO
Conceived by:
Lone Wolf NEO
PROLOGUE
PURPLE PETAL
// August 27th, XXXX. Undisclosed area, Sicily //
"This is Alpha Squad. Base Command, situation report."
"This is Base Command. Area is clear. You may proceed."
"This is Alpha Squad, negative. There are still guards standing at the main gate. Please clarify."
"Beta Squad has neutralized all threats. Those are the only ones left. It's up to you to take care."
"Roger. Over and out."
The man switched off the transmitter. He gazed at the young girl standing next to him. He sighed. "Looks like we have to do this on our own," he said and loaded his USP. "Are you ready, Mariel?"
The young girl said nothing. She took out a meteor hammer and wrapped its rope around her hands. She, then, glanced at the unaware guards who were patrolling in front of a warehouse. "I am ready whenever you are, mentor," softly she spoke.
"Good. Let's move."
The duo walked out of their cover. They ran down the road that lead to the warehouse and took the guards by surprise. "Halt!" The girl in simple school uniform pounced at the guard and threw the meteor hammer onto his head. She made a somersault and slammed the unconscious guard's buddy from above.
"What the hell is going on here?!" The last guard was silenced as the man who accompanied the girl fired a couple of times on his body. He caught up with the girl and resumed their run.
"Alpha Squad to Base Command," the man spoke through the headset, "we've passed the guards. We are now heading to the warehouse."
"Remember to stick to your main objective. Once you retrieve the documents, leave the vicinity and meet up at the rendezvous point."
"Roger."
The duo reached the warehouse. They wasted no time and stormed in. While the man shot down a couple of armed personnel, the girl dashed forward and delivered killing blows to the technicians. The rest of the personnel were alerted and immediately they opened fire at the intruders. Hundreds of 5.56mm bullets were sprayed at their position, but the duo already took cover behind a truck.
" Mentor, I need advice," the girl requested while ducked low to avoid shrapnel.
"You're free to do whatever you think best," the man answered and reloaded his USP.
The firing stopped, and the girl immediately seized the opportunity. "Understood." The girl snatched a nearby M4 Commando with the meteor hammer. She jumped out of cover and fired several headshots at the gunmen. She rolled toward a crate and fired at them from the position.
"Alpha Squad, we hear gunfire. Is there anything alright?"
The man turned on the headset. "Alpha Squad to Base Command. Situation under control. We're just facing a bit of resistance."
"Do you need extra backups?"
The man ducked an RPG. "I think we should."
The glass was shattered. Everybody looked up and saw a girl jumped into the warehouse from the ceiling. The girl gave them no chance of retaliation when she fired torrents of spray pellets from her SPAS-12. The duo took the advantage from the chaos and charged at the remaining gunmen, firing more bullets at them. The synchronized attack sent everyone in chaos and the opposing gunmen were unable to outwit them despite their advantage in numbers.
The shootout ended. The trio of operatives stood out amidst piles of corpse in the warehouse. The stench of flesh and blood did not distract them. They merely stood in the middle of the 'battlefield' and looked around. The silver-haired girl dropped the assault rifle she was holding and clipped the meteor hammer onto the belt's strap. She yawned softly and outstretched, only to be playfully embraced by the athletic girl who proceeded to rub her cheek against her scalp.
The man left the girls. He approached the computer and examined one of the DVDs. "This is Alpha Squad. All documents have been secured," he reported.
"Good job, Alpha Squad. Retrieve everything you see. Don't leave anything behind."
"Copy that." He signalled at the girls to help him with the DVDs. They obliged and approached the single man, helping him to gather the digital disc. Occasionally the silver-haired girl would ask whether she could watch some of the DVDs before the athletic girl reminded with a playful chop on the head.
"This is Base Command. The police are arriving. Pull out."
"Roger." He turned to the girls. "Let's get out of here." Without hesitation, they headed to the backdoor and left the bloodshed scene.
x-x-x-x-x
// several hours later //
"What do you think, Jean?"
"This was not done by the mafia. I can tell."
"Do you have any evidence to support your statement?"
The blonde man knelt. He picked up a bullet and gazed closely onto it. "This is of military-grade," he uttered and put it into an envelope. "If mafia did indeed do this, they must surely have done the execution with military-standard perfection. Besides--"
He stood back. He glanced at the tan-skinned, ponytail girl who was prodding one of the dead bodies with the Remington's bayonet. She was seen leaving the dead body and approached the red-haired girl who was examining the empty DVD cases on the desk.
"Mafias wouldn't even bother going as far as this just for a couple of pirated DVDs," he continued. "Unless…"
"Unless?"
He approached the girls. He examined the messy desk and found a piece of purple-coloured petal on the keyboard. The girls were intrigued by the presence of the petal, and they looked at him who was staring sternly at the petal.
"Bougainvillea flower…"
x-x-x-x-x
Author's note: I have decided to split Heart of Melting Blood: the Whistling Gale into several separate premises. Bullet and Blossom is one of the premises, with the story of the Bougainvillea Brigade being the main focus. This also allows me to further work on the special operation unit without disrupting the current events in The Whistling Gale's Feathers of Memory Arc.
And this is just the beginning…