It was a cold night in Verkhoyansk's forest. The Boss was taking Jack to the drop-off point on a roofless jeep. It was Jack's first solo mission in the field. He felt confident, but a smidgen of doubt could be seen deep in his eyes. Boss looked at him.
The Boss - We're almost there. How are you feeling?
Jack - I'm fine. This is supposed to be an easy mission, after all
The Boss - Things can go wrong, even in the most simple missions, Jack. What we have to ask ourselves is "Are we are prepared for the worst?" and be alert at all times.
Jack - "I know, Boss"
The jeep arrived at the drop-off point. The Boss powered off the vehicle, turned to Jack as he was leaving.
The Boss - Remember, I will be with you at all times. I'll be supporting you over the radio.
Jack - Got it, Boss. I'll be done in a minute. You've got nothing to worry about.
The Boss - Good luck, Jack. I'll be waiting for you at the evac point.
Jack got off the jeep and went straight into the jungle. He was armed with nothing but a knife and a tranquilizer gun. As he was approaching the base, Jack broadly reviewed the mission in his mind. The mission was simple: Infiltrate a secret Russian facility located deep within the jungle of Verkhoyansk, locate and extract documents related to Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky's research on rocket science, and escape without being seen. According to scout reports, the facility is only guarded by two patrols. Jack let off a smug grunt as he thought how a piece of cake this mission will be for a soldier such as him, Boss's most precious disciple. The most effective, lethal and surreptitious young soldier the world has ever s—
Jack was startled as he heard a loud voice in Russian to his right. A Russian patrol had spotted him. "WHAT, SPOTTED ALREADY?!" - he thought. In the flash of an eye, he equipped his Mk22 pistol (modified to shoot tranquilizer rounds) and shot the patrol right in the head. After half a second, the man was sprawled out on the floor. Jack ran quickly to the body to inspect him. It didn't look like he had time to call in reinforcements. Still, the scream could have alerted someone else. Jack surveyed his surroundings for extra patrols. It seemed like the soldier who was now snoring on the floor was all alone. Regardless, Jack decided to move quickly away from the body, in case anybody had heard what happened.
After about 20 minutes of walking, Jack thought he should be getting close to the base by now. He had decided to go around the base instead of taking the most direct path towards it. This is done to avoid getting intersected by patrols from the base who might have heard the other guard and decided to check out what happened.
There was a clearing up ahead. "It must be the facility", Jack thought. Before peeking the clearing from the depths of the forest, Jack went prone and approached the clearing slowly.
There it was. It was a small building surrounded by a fence. One guard could be seen at the entrance. He was carrying an AK. There was no sight of any other guards. Jack took cover behind a tree and called The Boss with his radio.
Jack - Boss, I have reached the facility. There's only one guard on sight.
The Boss - Good work, Jack. What are the possible points of entry?
Jack - The whole facility is surrounded by a fence, and there seems to be only one entrance.
The Boss - Keep inspecting the perimeter from different angles before you make a move. Use the First Person View to survey the area from a safe distance. It is an old installation. There may be a damaged section of the fence you could sneak through. Engaging with the enemy should be your last recourse.
Jack - Understood.
Jack hung up the call. He decided to move around the base before approaching it. After looking at it from the back, the fence did seem to be fairly damaged. He could try to get in from there. There was one thing bugging Jack's mind, though. There was no trace of any other guards. It did not seem likely that there were only two guards deployed in the area. The reports said that there were only two guards patrolling the base, but it's most likely that the first guard Jack encountered was not part of that unit, as he was stationed far away from the base.
Regardless, Jack decided to finally move in. He cautiously approached the fence at a fast yet silent pace. It was a haphazardly put together chain link fence which was fairly rusted and damaged. "How cheap can these Russians be?" - thought Jack, as he spotted a small section of the fence that looked slightly loose and lifted from the ground. "If I could pull it up just a bit, I might manage to squeeze in", he thought. He started to pull the fence from the bottom, trying not to make too much sound. He pulled until there was an opening big enough where he could fit through. He awkwardly dived into the opening while holding onto the fence. It took more than a few minutes and more than a few scratches, but he successfully got to the other side, at last.
There were two windows on that side of the building. Jack went to inspect one of them. It was locked tight. There wasn't a chance in hell that he could force his entry through the window without alerting the whole facility. He took a peek inside. He could see nothing but file cabinets, only lit by moonlight. He moved towards the other window. He was slightly taken aback by what he saw. His instinct was to take cover, but realized it wasn't necessary. The lights of the room were turned on! Jack's mind started racing. The facility was supposed to be closed at night, according to the scout reports. Who could be inside at this time?
He decided to call The Boss for assistance. He took cover against the wall and tuned in his radio to call her.
Jack - Boss, I'm right outside the facility. The lights of one of the rooms are turned on. What could this mean?
Boss - That is odd. It's supposed to be closed at night… You're gonna have to investigate.
Jack - But this wasn't in the report. This shouldn't be-
Boss - Okay, Jack. You have to calm down. What did I say before I dropped you here? Unexpected things will happen. A good soldier must be able to adapt to unforeseen changes in the mission, and act accordingly. Do you understand?
Jack - Yes, but-
Boss - I won't be able to be right by your side forever, Jack. The time where you'll need to think and act on your own two feet will come sooner or later. You have my trust. You can do this. Now go.
Jack - …Alright.
Boss - Just remember about our CQC techniques. They'll probably come in handy.
Jack - Got it. Jack out.
Jack took a few seconds to absorb the conversation. He felt soothed and safe. The Boss often had this effect on him. He began to wonder what would have happened to him if she didn't show up on his life, back when he was 15. He would had probably died. He felt an immense amount of gratitude for The Boss. She was more than a mentor, or a teacher. She was a life companion. The one person which made life bearable to him.
Jack decided it was time to better to focus on the mission. He got up and looked around the place. "There's probably a back door around here somewhere", he thought. He turned around the corner to inspect the other side. There were still no other guards on sight. The one he saw earlier must still be guarding the main gate. He kept walking slowly until he came across a door. It was ajar. It looks like whoever turned on the lights was so careless that he forgot to close the door all the way through and lock it. Who could it be? Maybe a scientist who forgot some papers? Unlikely. Chances are that he wouldn't be allowed to enter the facility at this time.
Jack took a peek inside before opening the door. Nobody seemed to be directly on the other side, so he proceeded to slowly open the door. Just as The Boss taught him, he was holding the tranquilizer gun with his right hand, while opening the door with his left one, which was also holding his combat knife. He entered the building. The door led to an empty hallway. It was connected to many rooms on both sides. The ones Jack was interested in were on his left. There was light coming from the one closest to him. The door was ajar. It was the lighted room he peeked through the window moments before. He placed his back against the wall and tried to listen. There was a voice coming from the room. He could not hear what was being said but he could tell the mumbling was in Russian. It appeared that the person inside was talking to himself.
Jack decided to inspect the empty room first. If he gets lucky, he won't need to confront the intruder. As he entered the room, he saw how it was filled with file cabinets. He could make out what some of the labels said with some aid from the moonlight. Each drawer was labeled with a letter, probably referring to the first letter of each file inside. Jack started to look around for the letter "Ц" for Циолко́вский (Tsiolkovsky).
A few minutes passed. No luck. Jack finally conceded that he needed more light to properly inspect the room. "Couldn't they let me take a flashlight with me, at least?", he thought with frustration. He headed towards the light switch. He figured that maybe the intruder would not notice the room next to his was lit if the door was closed. Just as his arm was reaching the switch, he heard something on the hallway. They were footsteps, and they were coming towards Jack's direction. Jack took cover behind a file cabinet, and waited expectantly. He hoped that whoever was on the other side of the door would continue walking down the hallway.
But the sound of footsteps suddenly stopped. The doorknob started turning immediately after. Jack hid his head behind the file cabinet to take full cover. The door opened. The lights were turned on. The person said "Ohh, man, what a mess this room is. It'll take me forever to find that thing…". It was the voice of the intruder from the other room. What could he be looking for? Could he be working for a rival intelligence agency? A Russian defector? Jack thought about the possibility of interrogating him. He did have the advantage of surprise, and he was at about 4 steps away from him. He could surprise him from behind before he could even reach his weapon. The risk of failure was low.
Jack waited for the intruder to open a cabinet. He planned on sneaking on him while he was distracted reading files. "…Man, my boss is gonna kill me…", the man whispered to himself. He began to walk around the room and stopping to read labels. A drop of sweat trickled down Jack's forehead. He measured that he won't be able to remain unseen for much longer. After a few long minutes, the man finally stopped moving, to seemingly open a drawer. Jack heard the sound of a drawer opening. He waited for a few seconds before approaching him, to make sure the man's attention was on the files.
Jack leapt from his hiding spot, running straight towards the intruder. He placed his left arm around the intruder's neck, pressing his knife against his throat, while locking the man's right arm with his own. An AK was hanging from the man's shoulders, but Jack didn't worry about it, since he was certain his holdup CQC technique he developed along with The Boss did not physically allow the victim to reach for anything. Jack had a look at the man's face. He didn't look much older than him. He looked terrified for his life. Jack proceeded to question him:
Jack - Who are you?
Man - I'm … I'm…
Jack - Want to die, kid? Start talking!
Man - I'm Johnny … Johnny Sasaki … I'm a guard here!
Jack - A guard? Why are you in here, then?
Johnny - I was bored so I took something to read, then I misplaced it! I screwed up! It was just a mistake! Don't kill me!
Jack - I don't give a crap about that! How many guards are here?
Johnny - It's just me and Andrei, he's at the entrance… Please don't k-…!
Johnny was cut short by the act of his head hitting the ground at full force. He was knocked out instantly. Jack observed the body for a few seconds to confirm that his knockout move was successful. It was the first time that he used it on the field. After keeping an eye on the guard's motionless body sprawled out on the ground, Jack resumed his search for the documents. He tried to feel indifferent, but he couldn't help but feel good about himself for his performance.
If there's only one guard left, then the rest of the mission shouldn't prove much of a challenge. Jack kept ruffling through files while stopping every 5 minutes or so to listen to his surroundings, in case the other guard decided to check up on Johnny. Finally, he found Tsiolkovsky's file. He opened it to check it was what he was there for. Even though he was fluent in Russian, Jack couldn't understand a sentence; but after spotting a few pictures of rockets he figured that it was it.
Jack stored the file on his pouch and prepared to leave. He checked up on Johnny before leaving the room. He was stone cold, but a muffled snore coming out of him confirmed he was still breathing. He took his radio, in case he need to check on enemy transmissions in the future. As Jack was leaving the room, a thought kept nudging him from the back of his mind: "Was the smell of crap coming from the unconscious guard?".
Jack left where he came from. He crawled through the beaten-up gap on the fence he used to get in, and ran towards the forest. He took cover behind a tree after he made sure nobody was around, and called The Boss:
Jack - Boss, I have the files.
The Boss - Good work, Jack. I expected nothing less. I'll head to the evacuation point. I'll wait for you there.
Jack - Hold on a minute, something's going on.
Loud voices were coming from the radio Jack snatched from the guard:
Radio - I FOUND AN UNCONSCIOUS GUARD IN THE STORAGE ROOM. INTRUDER DETECTED. ALL GUARDS: MAXIMUM ALERT!
Radio - Understood. Backup has been deployed to the area. All guards, stay alert.
Jack - Crap! They have discovered the body!
The Boss - "The body"? Did you kill someone?!
Jack - What? Oh, no. I just knocked him unconscious. He was on my way. There was no way to avoid him.
The Boss - …We'll talk about that later.
Jack - But Boss, I executed that technique you taught me! It works, and it felt great. It was awesome!
The Boss - I'm proud for you, Jack, but now you have to focus on the mission. It's not over yet. Backup is coming, is that right?
Jack - Yeah… But I'm already deep into the woods. The chances that they'll run across me are low.
The Boss - Stay alert, Jack. I'll be waiting for you on the evacuation point.
Jack hung up the call. As always, Boss was right. The whole area has been alerted. He'll have to be very cautious if he really wants to make it out of there alive. He kept moving through the jungle at a rapid pace.
Twenty minutes have passed since the call. Even though it was -13F degrees, Jack's combat outfit was soaked in sweat. It wasn't clear to him if it was because of how fast he was traversing through the rough terrain of the forest, or because of stress. Jack wondered if he was on the right track. He had to make sure he was moving on a straight line from the enemy facility through his own means, since a compass wasn't provided. As he was analyzing his surroundings, he noticed something that made his hair stand up. There were lights from flashlights coming from the front. Jack froze for a second. He didn't know what to do. He began to desperately look for hiding spots. He heard dog barks. Jack started to panic. Hiding wouldn't do him any good if they had dogs. He crouched and tried to calm himself down, while thinking of a plan. He couldn't think of anything other than running. The flashlights were blocking the path that would go directly to the evac point, so taking a little detour will have to do. Maybe the guards will run past him and he'll have a clear path towards Boss. Boss… Is she in danger? "I better hurry", Jack said.
Jack turned 60 degrees from where he was going and started running. He ran, and ran. Breaking tree branches, making lots of noise. He didn't care anymore. He just wanted to get out of there. Dog barks were coming from his back. He just kept on running. His brain was locked down. His awareness only occupied the task of running. He didn't dare to expand it any more. He wondered if he was gonna see the face of The Boss again…
He felt a deep and sudden force applied on his left ankle. He tripped to the ground. He couldn't move his leg. The pain took over his whole lower body. He let out a loud, raw scream. He never felt that much pain in his entire life. Fighting through the pain, he rolled up his pant's sleeve. Blood was pouring out of the wound at a rapid rate. He had been shot. He applied pressure on the wound with both his hands while looking around his surroundings. He was lightheaded, couldn't think straight. His eyes were wet. The pain was so intense that he felt completely disoriented.
He spotted guards coming from the back. He didn't care to count them, it did not matter. Jack was too tired to care.
They shouted something in Russian. He didn't bother to translate what they said in his mind, it did not matter. Jack was too tired to care.
A guard swung the butt of his AK on Jack's head. He didn't care to listen to their demands, it did not matter. Jack was too tired to care.
Jack opened his eyes. There were at least 4 infuriated men pointing guns at him. He looked at them with indifference. But then, something caught his attention. Someone wearing a white outfit was approaching behind them. The woman grabbed the guard furthest to Jack. She locked his arm, broke it, and thrust the guard towards another one. She then swiftly moved through them to grab another guard. The sound of cracking bones and screams effused the night, almost with a rhythm. Jacks' eyes were wide open in amazement. "Boss…". In what seemed to be the blink of an eye, the battle was over, and only The Boss was left standing.
They locked eyes. Jack forgot about the pain and his situation for that moment. Time seemed to have stopped. There was a hint of a faint, caring smile on her face hiding behind her stern tough look, as the face of a mother wanting to look tough to her child but failing to conceal the joy of knowing he's safe. Jack felt soothed and comforted by her look. He wanted that moment to last forever.
The Boss directed her eyes to Jack's wound. Her eyes opened in horror. She ran and sat next to Jack to inspect the wound.
Boss - "Oh my god, Jack! You got shot! How are you feeling?"
Jack - "I… can't move…"
Boss - "Come on Jack, we have to get out of here. There are medical supplies in the jeep"
The Boss squatted down, placed Jack's arm over her shoulder and lifted him up. With her help, Jack began to slowly walk with a limp. He looked at all the bodies sprawled out around them on the floor. He counted six. He wondered how it was even possible for one unarmed soldier to take out six armed men. Boss surely was beyond human capability. "How far is it?", he asked. "It's only about three hundred meters. We'll be there in a second". "'Only' about three hundred meters?", Jack thought. Will they be able to make it? Surely, enemy reinforcements will come soon.
After walking together for about ten minutes, Jack let out a sigh of relief at the sight of the jeep. Boss helped him get in the back seat. She pulled out a box full of supplies from under the passenger's seat and handed it to Jack. "Can you do it yourself, Jack? I have to drive right now. We cannot waste any time", she said with a calm voice, despite the urgency of the situation. "Yup, I got it. You drive", he said.
They were kilometers away from the evacuation point. Jack's wound was patched up. The pain had lessened to a tolerable level. He was laying down across the back seat of the jeep. Boss's eyes were locked on the road. They had been silent for a long time. Jack wondered if she was disappointed in him. What was she thinking? Boss turned her head, as she was reading his mind, and looked at him. She asked him if he was feeling better, and he answered. She turned her head to the road again. Jack waited patiently for her to say something else. He really wanted to talk… Finally she started talking:
Boss - Jack…
Jack - Yeah?
Boss - About the soldier you knocked out…
Jack - …Mhhm?
Oh crap. Jack already began to feel bad about himself for the 10 minute long lecture he was about to receive. But, to his surprise, Boss turned her head again, looked at him in his eyes with curiosity and a warm smile, and said:
Boss - Tell me all about it.