I'll Be Home For Christmas- Part 2
(Original Story Concept: Limit Break)
December 23
Mountaintop Outpost Codename: Frost Peak, 0600 Hours
The sun rose high over the mountain, but it did nothing to warm the freezing wintry environment. Irvine was roused at 0600 to get into position. He hadn't slept at all, but he figured that once this mission was done, he could get all the sleep he needed.
He headed over to the sniper spot and waited for any sign of the Sorceress, and her party. Xu, Nida and Squall sat in front of a small space heater they had packed. They didn't dare start a fire, lest the Sorceress see it and reveal their sniper's position. They drank lukewarm coffee to try and fend off the cold and began discussing what would happen should Irvine miss.
"It's the exact same scenario as the Deling City op," said Squall. "If Irvine misses his target, then we engage the Sorceress ourselves. Our air patrols will be in position at approximately 0710. They will drop us right next to the Sorceress's party. Every decoy that hasn't been forced to turn back will be joining us in this assault. I want it nice and clean."
"I thought we were going to use a zipline," Nida said.
"We were, but it's too long a drop and I we'd be sitting ducks on the way down. Plus which, I highly doubt we'd survive the landing, at those speeds," Xu explained.
0630 rolled around, and the soldiers were arming themselves, preparing for the engagement they hoped would never need to occur. If all went well, they would be picked up by the air patrols at 0710 and return to Balamb Garden.
Squall walked over to the power station, where Irvine had been sitting for almost a half hour now.
"How you holding up?" Squall asked.
"No sign of the Sorceress yet," Irvine replied. "But I've got a gut feeling that she's the real deal."
"That's all, huh?" Squall asked skeptically.
"My instincts are usually on the money," Irvine qualified.
"Remember," Squall said. "Don't think. Just shoot. Even if she's a fraud, she's still a threat to Esthar's security. They hired us to make this hit, and we're more than willing to do it."
Irvine nodded. "She's not an innocent. Sorceress or not, she still needs to go."
"Right," Squall said. "Take the shot whenever you see her. Don't wait for a signal, because there won't be one. Just like last time. You're our signal to move."
Irvine nodded again, but said nothing.
At 0645, Irvine began to angle his rifle. Xu, Nida and Squall, ducked low against the cliff edge. Squall pulled out a pair of binoculars and saw nothing.
"He must be testing out his scope," Xu said with a sigh of relief.
"The poor guy must be nervous as hell," Nida said sympathetically.
"Well, he's done this once before. But it didn't go well," Squall said. "He'll have either learned his lesson and succeed, or let the pressure get to him once again and fail. Either way, his part in this mission is just a failsafe. Even if he doesn't make the shot, we're still engaging her group."
0700 had barely ticked off on Squall's watch, when Irvine suddenly made a vast sweep with his rifle. "Target sighted!" He called out. Squall looked downrange with his binoculars. A woman in a long black dress was walking alongside an escort of 12 cloaked men. She wore a mask and kept her hands behind her.
"She's not in range yet," said Irvine. "Holding fire."
Squall's heart leapt as he saw something troubling. The woman's hands were not being held behind her by her own will, but they had been bound there.
"Taking the shot!" Irvine called.
"Hold your fire!" Squall shouted. Irvine barely had time to alter the course of his shot, but he managed to avoid hitting the woman by inches. He hit the foot of one of the men. The woman broke into a run, her mask slipping off to reveal the face of a woman who was clearly not their target. She had long brown hair and dark blue eyes.
"Everybody move in now!" Squall shouted over his radio. "Do not attack the woman, she is a hostage. Repeat, the woman is a hostage!"
The light chopper touched down behind Squall a moment later and everybody huddled inside, including Irvine, who was still shaking. Two sea vessels went blazing by on the shore far below and 20 SeeD members leapt out onto the Stone Fields. Another chopper had already unloaded their package and the second land team had joined them. The chopper took off and headed to join the battle.
"Good God," Irvine said, tears in his eyes. "What if I hadn't missed?"
"Don't think about that," Squall shouted. "I need you focused and ready to do your job Kinneas!"
Irvine nodded, but he didn't open his eyes. And one thought still troubled Squall. If the woman was a hostage, then where was the Sorceress?