Chapter 10: Paris in Autumn/Paris en Autumne

(HUNK)

He hadn't been in France in…longer than he cared to admit. Not since before he'd joined the Company, anyway.

Paris was different to him, now. He wondered if it was because he was viewing it through the eyes of a man, not the rosy tinted lens of youth. That thought made him chuckle softly to himself. He viewed the world through a rosy tinted visor when he wore his helmet in combat. Maybe maturity wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

GOBLIN 6 sent him a confused look, clearly disconcerted by his unexpected noise. HUNK made a mental note to be more careful. If his team thought he was unhinged, they would be less likely to trust him in combat. That might have disastrous consequences for the mission. That it might also cause his death was something HUNK didn't even consider. He knew he was untouchable, or nearly enough that it made no difference. Besides, everything died. There was no sense in worrying about the inevitable, especially not when there were other, more pressing matters at hand.

Across from them, slouching in the same uncomfortable chairs as HUNK and the two members of GOBLIN team were TIGE NUIT, a French USS unit. HUNK wasn't especially impressed with their name. NIGHT STALKER, it meant. In his experience, military groups who had to try to make their name sound dangerous did so because their reputation couldn't.

He could by the way they sat that these Frenchmen were thugs, not professionals. He always sat ramrod straight in his chair, and even GOBLINs 6 and 9 had better posture than these individuals. Were he a training sergeant, he would've reamed them out. But he wasn't, so he didn't. If he went into the field with these soldiers, though, he'd have to be extra careful, and warn GOBLIN to do the same.

He'd more or less adopted his fellow former members of the UBCS. Both GOBLIN 6 and 9 had been inducted into the USS along with him. He'd insisted; he wasn't quite sure why himself.

He didn't like sitting in the office. It made him feel exposed; the walls were paper thin, and even 9mms would be able to punch clear through. He could tell by the looks on GOBLIN 6, 9, and the French soldiers that they didn't share his discomfort at their situation, although 9 kept sending him concerned looks, as if he thought their teammate was dangerous. Not that HUNK wasn't.

It never occurred to him that the others could read his face. He was so used to his mask; he'd never gotten good at disguising his emotions. When he was tense, his face showed it.

He wore his black fatigues, minus the mask, just like GOBLIN. The French wore dark blue colored fatigues, which looked far too new to have seen any real use. HUNK's BDUs were torn and stained from years in service; GOBLIN's weren't in very good repair, either. That the French team had new looking fatigues only adding to his distrust of them. After all, what could you expect from a group so obviously as inexperienced as these men were?

The receptionist looked up from her computer when her phone rang. She spoke a few terse words into the receiver in French, then addressed the waiting room. "Doctor Isaacs will see you now" she said, her English sing-song with her Parisian accent. The mercenaries stood almost in unison and tromped toward the door. If the receptionist was disconcerted by being in such close proximity to so many armed men (and, in GOBLIN 6's case, woman), she didn't let on. HUNK wasn't sure, but he envied her calm; if he hadn't known better, he would've thought she did this every day.

He took a moment to look over TIGE NUIT. They weren't carrying much of anything in the way of weaponry: snub nosed Manurhin Special Police F1 .357 magnum revolvers and combat knives. He also carried a knife, along with the rest of GOBLIN. They'd also held onto their Sigs. HUNK wore Matilda on his hip, using the VP-70's stock as a holster. If it came down to a shootout with the French soldiers, though, he wouldn't need the handgun. He was close enough to TIGE NUIT that he could be in among them in seconds. He calculated he could break two of their necks before any of them managed to finish drawing their magnums; by that point, numbers would be sufficiently down that he could move more freely and kill the others at his leisure.

The office they entered was large, but not well furnished. There was a desk in one corner, an overhead projector sitting on a table in front of it. There were no extra chairs. HUNK could appreciate that. The office had an air of temporariness to it; clearly its occupant didn't keep anything inside other than what was immediately needed.

The man standing next to the projector was immediately familiar to HUNK and the two GOBLINS. Doctor Samuel Isaacs, the Umbrella scientist who had dragooned them in the USS after his attempt to liquidate them had failed. HUNK didn't bare him much ill will; Isaacs wasn't the first person to try and kill him.

He didn't waste any time with preamble or introduction. If TIGE NUIT didn't know him, that was clearly their tough luck. "You've been chosen for this operation because you are among the best in our forces" he said calmly, turning on the projector. "You will be inserted into a Corporate laboratory deep underground, where you will make contact with an assistant, Monica Green." A picture flashed up on the overhead; a rather hawkish woman with dark brown hair and the look of someone who knew how to get what she wanted. "Green will assist you in the acquisition of these samples" Isaacs continued, at which point a new image appeared on the projector, a pair of vials, one containing a blue liquid, the other green. The liquid formed a helix inside the vial, like a DNA strand. "The content of these vials is extremely valuable to the Company; return of them to Company hands is your top priority."

Isaacs clicked his pointed again. The image of the two vials was replaced, now with a middle-aged man of Spanish decent, with an athletic build and a smug look that HUNK found he hated immediately. "This is Doctor William Birkin" Isaacs continued. "If Green is unavailable or was unable to secure the samples for you, then you will locate this man and take the samples from him, by force if necessary. You will then exit the labs the same way you came in, then signal for and await extraction. Maps of the facility and alternate extraction points will be provided for you. Any questions?"

"What about this Green?" HUNK asked. "What do we do with her after we have these samples?"

Isaacs shrugged. "If she becomes a liability, remove her. Otherwise, she will not be harmed. Leave her at the facility."

"And the other staffers?" HUNK asked next.

"Expendable." Isaacs paused. "And that includes Doctor Birkin. Should he be unwilling to surrender the sample, you are authorized to use deadly force. Is that sufficiently clear?"

HUNK nodded. "Understood, sir. When do we leave?"

Isaacs glanced down absently at his watch. "In half an hour. Any gear you don't have with you now will be provided once you arrive at your location."

"And where is this lab?" GOBLIN 9 asked.

Isaacs looked at him blankly. "Back in the United States. Further instructions will be given as needed." He looked around at the other soldiers. "Any other questions?" No response. "Dismissed."