Ch. 2
Tear Shit Up
The secret of change is not fighting the old, but building the new. –Socrates
Ajay was in deep thought as he was staring out the window. He was taking in the beautiful and breathtaking scenery that Kyrat had to offer. He had to admit, the place was beautiful. He almost wondered why his mother would ever leave to go to a polluted and crowded country like the United States. Ajay looked over to Pagan.
"This is a beautiful country, sir."
"Why thank you Ajay and call me Pagan, please. We're family after all."
Ajay was a bit hesitant about that. This man was obviously dangerous and insane, but he was also someone his mother fell in love and had a child with. So he couldn't be that bad. He had to admit, Pagan hadn't said or done anything to harm him yet. He was willing to give . . . his step-father, maybe . . . a chance.
"Though don't let the beauty fool you Ajay. This country is a tiger, majestic and dangerous. If you're not careful this country will tear you apart like it did me." Pagan said solemnly.
Ajay didn't know what to say to that and just looked out the window again. He saw a large field with rows of a very familiar plant.
"Are those . . .?" Ajay wasn't sure how to ask this.
Pagan chuckled at Ajay's hesitance. "Poppy flowers, yes. Dope, O.P., Hop, the Big O, or Opium, if you want to keep it simple. We need to bring this country out of the dark ages Ajay and we can't do that by hunting animals and sacrificing them to some superstitious god. Did you know that the locals here worship something called a Tarun Matara? They're apparently little girls that are raised up to be living goddesses. To me, personally, that sounds like some kind of scam for old men to just fuck little girls. Disgusting!"
Ajay didn't know much about the culture of the land, but he'd imagine it would not be easy for some little girl to be named a goddess and be pressured by such a title.
Pagan than looked Ajay right in the eyes. "Now I won't sugarcoat it Ajay, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a good person. In fact, I'm pretty much your typical villain." He deadpanned. "But I really am trying to help Kyrat and really, the Golden Path is no better than I am."
"The Golden Path? What's that?"
"That terrorist group that you've been hearing about. They're led by two people, Amita and Sabal. A bitch and a cunt they are. The Golden Path takes children from the villages and turns them into child soldiers and Sabal is so stuck in ancient traditions that he's practically a zealot. Now, I've done some bad things, but I'd never stoop so low as to force children to fight in wars or kill people just because they didn't believe what I believe. Though I have killed people that have disagreed with me. Anyway, what I'm saying is this, as bad as I am Ajay, I would never want any harm to come to you, but the Golden Path would use you and throw you away when you run out of use."
Ajay merely blinked at that. He knew next to nothing about this country or the people that are in it. He knew nothing about this Golden Path party and only just met Pagan Min. But . . . Pagan has been nothing but honest and polite with him so far, give or take a few violent outbursts. Not to mention, the flamboyant tyrant helped fulfill his mother's dying wish. So for now, Ajay trusted Pagan and what he said about the Golden Path.
Suddenly Ajay saw something out of the corner of his eye and panicked once he realized it was a rocket.
"Get down!" He grabbed Pagan and pulled him down. The helicopter was hit and the vehicle started to spin out of control. The helicopter spun around five times before it crashed into some rocks and plummeted a small distance. Miraculously, Ajay and Pagan were alive.
Ajay gripped his head in pain as he was still dazed. When his vision settled, he looked at his gloved hands and saw blood. His head was bleeding, but he'd live. Ajay checked on Pagan and saw the pink-suited man was out. The pilot, however, was dead. Apparently the helicopter landed head first and Kamran was crushed when they landed. Ajay unbuckled his seat and tried to wake up Pagan.
"Pagan wake up." Ajay shook the man. "Pagan, come on. You need to wake up."
Pagan stirred and blinked several times before groaning in pain. Unlike Ajay, Pagan was only bruised.
"Fuck, what hit me?"
"A rocket launcher and I'm sure the guy that shot it isn't too far from us. We got to go." Ajay said urgently.
"Mm, yes." Pagan unbuckled from his seat, he stood up and saw the pilot and cursed. "Damn it, he was my favorite pilot too. And this was my favorite chopper! If I ever find the cunt that shot us down, I'll castrate him."
Ajay walked over to the pilot. The part of his body that wasn't crushed still had a walkie-talkie and a kukri. Ajay took both and Pagan took the guns that were stored in the helicopter. Unfortunately, the crash destroyed most of the guns and all that was left was an AK-47 and an M-712 handgun.
"I'll take the handgun, I have more experience with pistols than I do assault rifles." Ajay said.
"Very well." Pagan pulled out a map and Ajay handed him the walkie-talkie.
Suddenly a voice came out of the walkie-talkie. "King Min, come in. Are you alive! Your helicopter sent out a signal saying you were shot down please respond!"
"This is King Min, Ajay Ghale and I are still alive, but we need immediate assistance."
"What is your position my King?"
"Not sure yet, we have to move quickly. The Golden Path shot us down and are heading towards us as we speak. We will head to the nearest bell tower triangulate where our helicopter crashed and send forces to the nearest bell tower." Pagan ordered.
"Already done sir. There will be Royal soldiers when you get there. We'll send more as back up. Return safely my king." The walkie-talkie then went silent.
"Well Ajay my boy, are you ready for the up-close experience part of the tour?" Pagan joked.
"Is this the part where we tear shit up?"
"Ha! Yes it likely will be! Have you ever killed someone before Ajay?"
"No I haven't . . . At least not directly."
"I'm sorry to put you through this, Ajay, but the Golden Path will likely take you prisoner, in order to make you join them. But, they will try to kill you as they try to kill me. This is probably the closest they've ever gotten to killing me." Pagan said amused.
Ajay smiled. "You watch my back, I watch yours."
"Good boy!"
Ajay and Pagan took off towards the tower. Pagan kept complaining about nature and getting mud on his shoes. Ajay however, kept focus as they moved. Ajay quickly went on alert and pulled Pagan behind some trees. There were Golden Path rebels searching for them.
"Pagan's body wasn't at the crash. He's still alive. Search for him."
"What about Ajay Ghale? He's supposed to be with Pagan right?"
"Sabal said to bring him in alive, but Amita went over his head and said to kill him if he gets in the way."
"Figures. Those two can't piss without getting in each other's way."
"Sabal won't be happy if Ghale gets killed, but this is the closest we've ever gotten to Pagan, so I don't think we have to worry about Sabal skinning us."
"Isn't that a little harsh?"
"You're obviously new, give it time and you'll see what working for those two is like."
Ajay and Pagan listened to the rebels ramble and rolled their eyes. They snuck passed the rebels and came to a river. They saw a rebel just standing around and by his feet was a dead goat. Ajay silently got behind the rebel and slit hit throat with his kukri. Before they kept moving Ajay took the rebels bag which had goat meat and fur in it. He figured it would come in handy later.
The two arrived at a small cliff and below them were three Golden Path rebels that were blocking their way to the tower. The only way through to the tower was to take down the rebels.
Pagan lined up his AK-47. He had a shot, but Ajay stopped him.
"Hold on. I have an idea that won't draw attention to us." Ajay reached into the bag he took from the dead rebel and pulled out a slab of bloody goat meat.
"What are you going to do with that?" Pagan asked. He held his nose when the bloody smell entered his nostrils.
"Watch." Ajay smirked and tossed it over to the rebels. The Golden Path didn't hear the wet smack as the meat hit the ground and continued searching for their targets. For a moment nothing happened, until a bear rushed out of the bushes and mauled the rebels to death.
Pagan had a stunned look on his face as he watched the beast maul the terrorists to death. Couple of the rebels shot at the bear, but all that did was make the creature angrier. He looked at Ajay, with that surprise look still on his face.
"How did you know that would work?" Pagan said as he turned back to the bear with morbid fascination. The bear was now chewing on the face of a screaming rebel.
"When I was young, there was this dog that would sometimes chase me for several blocks. One day I had some beef jerky with me and when the dog chased me again, I threw the jerky and the dog went after it instead. I used that method to escape most animals for a few years and when bullies came along I'd use the same trick to make the dogs attack the bullies instead. One kid actually got rabies."
Pagan just stared at Ajay, until he burst out laughing. "Ajay, my boy you are genius! You must be a riot at parties."
The two left the bear to its new dinner and continued on their way to the tower.
They came to a small remote village that was literally in the middle of nowhere and was covered with Golden Path rebels. Ajay and Pagan managed to just sneak around the village and kept going. Several minutes of walking and they got to a tall cliff face. At the top was a female Royal Soldier.
"King Min! Up here!" She shouted. The soldier tossed down two ropes and the two pulled themselves up, where they were greeted by the female soldier. "King Min, I am relieved you are safe. And Ajay Ghale, it is an honor to meet you." She bowed respectfully to the both of them. "All of the soldiers are waiting for you at the tower. Your escape helicopters will be here soon to take you back to the palace."
"Thank you my dear. I wouldn't have gotten here if it weren't for Ajay. Come along Ajay, let's leave this place."
Pagan and Ajay walked up the hill to the tower. They were greeted by several soldiers on the way up and when they entered the tower, the commander approached them.
"My King Pagan, it is a relief to see you alive. You as well, Ajay Ghale. We sent for a rescue chopper it should be here soon." Outside they heard people shouting. "Damn, the Golden Path tracked us here. Everyone, be ready for a fight!"
Ajay and Pagan ran out with the soldiers and took cover. The Golden Path started to charge from all over.
"Here they come. Hold your ground! For King Min!"
The soldiers opened fire on the Golden Path and the rebels opened fire on the Royal soldiers. Ajay pulled out the weapons he got from the bell tower. He pulled out an AK-47 and open fired. He shot a few Golden Path rebels. Pagan also fired back with his assault rifle. Ajay got in a few headshots and then shot a rebel that was running at him with a blade. Ajay chucked a grenade and it exploded around a few rebels. He then popped a few more Golden Path that were trying to circle around their perimeter. Ajay quickly fell back into cover when he saw a big group of Golden Path suddenly open fire on him. A bullet grazed his jacket, but nothing bad.
Gunfire could be heard everywhere and it was echoing out into the valley. Pagan threw a knife at a nearby rebel and then shot two rebels with his assault rifle when they thought he was distracted. Pagan shot his assault rifle several times, killing more Golden Path, before ducking into cover.
Ajay looked over at Pagan. He saw the self-proclaimed king breathing heavily. His coat was torn up and he had blood on his face. Whether that was his own blood or the blood of his enemies, Ajay couldn't tell.
"You alright?" Ajay yelled over the gunfire.
Pagan looked over at Ajay and didn't say anything for the longest moment.
"Are you kidding me? I haven't felt so fucking alive in years!" Pagan smiled excitedly. He popped out of cover and shot many rebels with his AK-47. One rebel got in close, but Pagan stabbed him with a kukri. He took a grenade from the fallen rebel and chucked it behind some rocks the rebels were covering behind. Some rebels died from the blast and those that managed to escape in time Pagan shot with his assault rifle.
"King Min! Our reinforcements will be here soon!" One of the soldiers yelled out.
"Not soon enough, these terrorists keep coming. By the time they get here we'll be overrun!" Pagan shouted.
Ajay ran back inside the tower to grab some ammo, but then saw something awesome.
"A rocket launcher?!" How he didn't see that first, he didn't know. He grabbed the weapon, loaded it and took aim at a big group of rebels coming down the mountain. Ajay fired and the rocket blew all the rebels away.
"Nice one, Ajay!" Pagan shouted approvingly.
However, everyone in the area stopped shooting as they heard a familiar rumbling. Everyone looked up and saw an avalanche coming down.
"Shit , maybe that wasn't such a good idea."
"Avalanche!"
Everyone tried to take cover as the snow washed over them. Ajay ducked behind the stone fence, but the snow still covered him up. All Ajay saw for a while was white. He was completely buried. He tried to dig himself out and before he was completely out, Pagan had run up to him and pulled him out.
Pagan looked really relieved to see Ajay alive.
"You're a tough man to kill, Ajay"
"Is that a good thing?"
Pagan laughed and examined all the damage they caused. Most of the Royal Army survived as they had better cover than the Golden Path, so most of the rebels died from the avalanche.
"We really teared shit up." Ajay said.
Pagan just looked at Ajay for a moment, before he laughed out loud.
"Yes! Yes we did Ajay!"
Several helicopters arrived shortly after. Ajay and Pagan got on one of them and the soldiers boarded the rest, with a few staying behind to check the Golden Path corpses. The helicopter was taking Ajay and Pagan back to the royal palace.
"Well that was exciting." Ajay said
"Indeed it was. I must say it's been a long time since I've been out in the field. You! You most definitely impressed me Ajay, you handled yourself quite well." Pagan paused for a second before he spoke up again. "Ajay? What were you planning on doing after you scattered your mother's ashes and your business in Kyrat was finished?"
"I don't really know. I mean I planned on sight-seeing, since this would be the first time in my homeland since I was little, but I hadn't really thought about what I'd do after Kyrat." Ajay answered.
Pagan looked down in thought for a moment. "Ajay, I have a surprise for you, but I think I'll hold onto that surprise just a little bit longer. For now I want to ask you. Could I ask you to help me in taking down the Golden Path?"
Ajay was a bit surprised by that. "But, I'm not a soldier."
"You don't have to be. You handled yourself against the Golden Path quite well, if you ask me. With a bit more training and exercise, we can smooth out those rough edges and make you something truly deadly. And you wouldn't be a soldier, no no no no no, you will be more of an independent general. I won't force you to fight Ajay, but I feel that this matter with the Golden Path can be settled much faster with your help. Not to mention, you can still travel and sight-see your homeland. You'll just have to shoot, stab, and possibly blow up, a few people while you're out."
Ajay looked out the window for a few minutes and gave Pagan's offer a little thought. Pagan was likely the only family he had left, maybe not biologically, but his mother always said that blood was not everything. Pagan loved his mother and he helped fulfill her dying wish. Pagan may not be the kindest man in the world, but he was kind to Ajay and his mother. He stared at the land of his parents. He had no memory of this place and his mother had good reason to not want to remember it. But he felt a calling here. Like something deep inside his soul was telling him he was supposed to be here. To put an end to this civil war. Ajay turned to Pagan.
"Alright. I'll help."
Pagan had never smiled so big since Lakshmana.
"Awesome."