Since today is Antonio's birthday and since I'm in the mood to play Ace combat Infinity today, I'm going to drop this chapter for everyone. I hope you like it. Stay awesome.
Chapter 28 – Take a Walk
December 20, 2010 1132hrs, Kirwin Island
Life on the Kestrel was more fucking boring than life on Sand Island. There was nothing to do. At least on Sand Island we had a PS3 and Ridge Racer that featured Kei's sister. I already went through weapons testing on the fleet's mountable defenses and I had a lot of fun firing a .50 Cal again along with a 25mm Bushmaster. I would've had even more fun if I was permitted to keep doing live ammo training, but the fleet needed to conserve its ammo because of our top secret agenda. This was the same reason we were all grounded. Things got so bad that Kei and I got our asses chewed out by Captain Anderson for racing a couple of buggies on the airfield, even though no harm really came out of it. We were all limited to what we could do and I even asked about setting up a polar plunge for everyone, but my request was denied. I needed to get out of here because I felt like we had eyes on us and it was driving me crazy. Anyways, I ended up lying in the middle of the flight deck while I played some boring ass game on my phone when Genette came up to me.
"What are you doing here, Captain?" he asked.
"Being bored out of my goddamn mind," I grumbled.
"So, you're not busy?"
"I can't say that I am, why?"
"I was hoping to finally get an interview from you. I managed to interview everyone else, except for you."
"Sure, why not?" I sighed as I got up off the flight deck and followed Genette into the hangers.
He brought out his tape recorder and camera so that he wouldn't miss anything during the interview, but I honestly didn't think my opinion on this war really mattered. Once he was set up, he began to ask me a series of questions that I thought were just as pointless as the ones the psychologist at Pitbull usually asked me.
"Where are you from, originally?"
"I was born in Honolulu, Hawaii back on Earth, but I grew up in Wesson."
"How old were you when you came to Strangereal and when exactly did you move to Wesson?"
"I was five when we left Earth. My parents were both in the military and they had orders to come here. Dad was a 0311 (Rifleman) and mom was a 3043 (supply). I lived in Pike until the end of the war and moved to Wesson in the beginning of 1996."
"Since your parents were both in the military, I'm correct to assume that you lived near Camp Curtiss, right?"
"Yeah," I replied.
"Were you there during the…."
"I'd rather avoid that topic."
"I see," he said softly. "Do you mind if I ask you why you joined the military?"
"It mostly centers on the fact that I really didn't know what else to do with my life. While I was growing up in Wesson, I was constantly getting into trouble with the wrong kind of people. Things got so bad that I ended up on everyone's shit list when they didn't even know me. I wasn't allowed to join the Osean military because of an incident that I was a part of, but the remnants of the US military offered me a second chance. I don't want to talk about the incident."
"Okay, why did you decide to become a pilot?"
"It was the only MOS the Marine Corp offered to me. Lucky for them, it was the only one I wanted. I fell in love with the sky when I was five and I always wanted to become a pilot like Cipher."
"Captain Nagase tells me that that's not the only reason you joined. Is she correct?"
"She's right, but the other reason I joined is entirely personal."
Genette was starting to become irritated about how I wouldn't answer his questions completely. This was the reason that I never wanted to be interviewed by him in the first place. "How did you feel when you were thrown into the war when it first started?"
"I hated it. I thought after the last two wars on Strangereal, war would've been a thing of the past. Taking on such a huge responsibility while facing overwhelming odd at the beginning of the war, is something that no one should have to deal with. When Captain Bartlett was shot down and I was promoted as Wardog's flight lead, I honestly didn't know what to think. I was responsible for the lives of three other people while we were constantly asked to do the impossible…. I never asked to be flight lead," I said gravely.
"Do you still feel that way now?"
"Yeah, I still fear for the lives of my team, but I was ordered to take on the responsibility of leading them. As a soldier, I'm expected to do what I'm told. However, my superiors are well aware of the fact that I would turn on them for something that conflicts with my morality."
"Do you feel like you would've turned on your superiors if you knew the truth sooner?"
"Absolutely, I can understand the reasons Belka did what they did, but I don't buy it. I might not have been able to do much just by myself, but I would've tried to reveal the truth to everyone."
"How far are you willing to go to reveal the truth to everyone?"
"I'd do whatever it takes, as long as I don't lose my humanity in the process."
Genette was about to ask me another question, but Pops came to tell me something. I thought he was going to wave Genette away so that he could talk to me in private, but he didn't. He motioned us to follow him and we ended up heading towards one of the hangers on the airfield. When we got there, we met up with two of the Marines that rescued the President. I was surprised to find that one of them was a woman.
"What's going on, Pops?" I asked.
"Something came up that requires your specific set of skills, Captain."
"I'm not the only you could've called for this, you know?" I said.
"I'm well aware of that, but I need you and Genette specifically," said Pops.
"What's the job," I sighed.
"These guys are going to take you up river to a small town where you can stretch your legs," said Pops.
I could only look at them like I was expecting this to be some kind of joke. Apparently, Harkin heard about how restless I was getting because he knew how I got when I had a bad feeling about something. I guess he didn't want me to get everyone else riled up. We gathered our things and loaded up into a zodiac that was waiting for us at the end of the airfield. Along the way, I introduced myself to Harkin's Marines. Their names were Jamie 'Gargoyle' Elson and Elliot 'Angel' Sherman. They preferred to go by their call signs. We left late into the afternoon so that way we could ingress into the town under the cover of night. The boat ride in was rather relaxing, but it would've been a hell of a lot better if the weather was warmer and if Kei was the only one with me. I could already imagine her laying on the bow while she soaked in the sun. That or a slow cruise in the moonlight would've been great.
December 21, 2010 0021hrs, Strasbourg, Osea
We disembarked from the boat when we were about two miles away from the town and we hiked the rest of the way through the forest. We had to keep stopping for Genette because this guy was getting winded. I and the other two had no problem navigating the rough terrain. The snow and the darkness of night wasn't really the best way start to the day, but I thought this was way better than being stuck on the Kestrel.
"Come on, Tenderfoot. We don't have all day for you," I said to Genette.
"This is bullshit! Why did I have to come with you people?" he exclaimed.
"Think of this as bonding time. If I remember correctly, we didn't finish your interview."
Genette gave me an annoyed glare and he tried his best to catch up. Angel took point while I brought up the rear with Genette. He continued his string of questions that focused more on my ethics than anything else. I don't know how the thought crossed my mind, but I got the feeling that he was starting to become scared of me. My ethics on killing another person weren't black and white. It probably had every shade of grey in between. I think that's what worried him the most. I'd like to think that my morals stood for the greater good, but that wasn't something that I could determine. He kept asking me his questions until we reached our destination on top of a hill that overlooked the town Pops wanted me to visit. It didn't look much like a town, but more of a modern day village. Even though the only lights that were on were the street and porch lights of the houses, we still kept our heads down while we scoped the place out.
The center of the town consisted of a church, a supermarket, a couple of pubs, restaurants, shops and a police station. In the center of the square was a large decorative fountain that was just as tall as the surrounding two story buildings. Judging by the surrounding area, I assumed that most of the village's occupants lived in the farming community that was about a mile from the rest of the town. The river we followed ran through the northern part of the town. It played a vital role at the community's main source of water.
"So, were we just going to watch everyone there, or were we going to head in to rent a hotel?" asked Genette.
"You forget that we're considered to be traitors to our country and that we're supposed to be dead," I said.
"You mean we're going to spend the night out here?"
"You're more than welcome to head into town and rent yourself a room, or…." I began and pulled out a straw and handed it to him. "You can suck it up with this."
Genette let out a heavy sigh and I activated my USD to retrieve the tent I packed. I figured that he'd bitch about this trip so I figured that I should be prepared for his sake. We set up his tent and while he slept, Angel, Gargoyle, and I kept watch over the area. Pops wouldn't have recommended that we bring weapons, but I thought it was better to be safe than sorry. I brought an L96 along with my M9 equipped with its suppressor. The others brought their own personal rifles so that they could give watch over us while Genette and I headed into town tomorrow afternoon. I asked them if they wanted to come with us, but they said that this was enough for them. Angel and Gargoyle were friends who grew in Onslow, Osea together. Staying in the cold for long periods of time was nothing for them. As we all watched over the town, I still couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched. I was carefully scanning every possible hiding point through the scope of my rifle, but I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. I tried not to let it bother me too much until it was time for us to head into town.
Genette woke up around 1000hrs and he started to get ready while I changed into a pair of blue jeans that I wore over my tan recon boots. My brown leather jacket was worn over my white long sleeved shirt and to top it all off, I had to wear a hat. I didn't think anyone would notice who I was right away because I had let my facial hair grow out, for whatever good peach fuzz counts for. After Genette was ready, we began our hike towards the village. It was relaxing to walk through the woods. The overcast that's been present ever since we came to Kirwin Island was getting kind of old. The only thing I did like about to day was that the gentle snow fall added to the Christmas spirit that the village showed when we scoped out the people's activity.
"I think that this is going to be the first Christmas I spend away from home," said Genette.
"That's the way it usually goes in the military. I'm just glad that I saw my mother twice this year and I was lucky that my sister was stationed on Sand Island with me," I said.
"Are you still worried about her?"
"Of course I am. She and my mom are the only family I have left on this planet."
"Is the rest of your family back on Earth?"
"Yeah, I have several aunts and uncles, along with their kids back there. I also have two half-sisters that I never really knew. What about you?"
"I came here with my dad and his brother. My mom died back on Earth when I was just a kid. Dad didn't want to get caught up in Cold War and he managed to gain passage for us on one of the last ships to leave the planet. I lived in Tirpitz, Osea for most of my life. It was there that we met this one guy who inspired me to become a journalist. He took care of me when my dad and uncle died ten years ago."
"Sorry to hear that," I said.
"It's okay; it was because of him that I got to become part of this adventure with everyone," said Genette.
"How so," I asked.
"He tried to find out who Cipher was, but gave up two years ago. The closest he got was interviewing Pixy in Belka during a war simulation. Anyways, my friend told me that if I was ever going to follow a well-known pilot, I should meet him or her as soon as possible. When I heard about Captain Bartlett being a skilled instructor, I wasted no time trying to get permission to head for Sand Island."
"Why exactly did you seek out Captain Bartlett?"
"In all honesty, I was hoping that I could pick up where my friend left off in his search for Cipher. Captain Bartlett was the next person to be interviewed, but he was going through a rough time when my friend found him. If Captain Bartlett still didn't want to talk about Cipher or the war, I would've used his training methods as a fall back topic."
"I see…"
Genette and I continued to talk as we walked towards the village. By the time we got there, it was noon and no one really seemed to notice or care that we had walked into town. The first place we headed was towards a diner where I ordered a bacon burger and a tall glass of soda. This kind of food wasn't something that was usually served on the ships, but it was so good. I could finally pig out like this for once. If Kei could see me now… While we were eating, Genette and I kept our hats on to block everyone's view of our faces. However, I could still feel someone's eyes on us while we ate. Genette was nervous about the fact that we might be made at any moment, but he didn't know that I knew how to minimize our chances of getting caught. Genette was surprised at how much cash I had on me. It was one of the things that Lieutenant Colonel Harkin left me before he left, granted that it was my own money.
After we got done eating, I paid of the food and headed out to explore the rest of the village. The people were friendly for the most part and they even had a holiday parade going on. It might not have seemed like it, but I was having fun just being here. It wasn't until we headed towards town square that the feeling of us being watched intensified. Genette and I had gotten lost and we doubled back in the direction that we came. It was then that I caught sight of a man who I thought was dead. No way… I grabbed Genette and began to walk towards one of the nearest shops.
"Captain, what's going on?" he asked.
"I just remembered that I had to pick out something for Kei for Christmas," I said.
"What did you plan on getting her?"
"I don't know, I'll think of something." The shop we entered turned out to be a jewelry shop. Genette went off on his own as soon as we entered the place and I activate my USD to retrieve my radio. Once I had it, I latched it onto my belt and put the earpiece on. "Over Watch, come in," I hailed.
"This is Over Watch, what do you need, Captain," replied Angel.
"Tenderfoot and I have been made by Ghost. We need a watchful eye over us, however, do not leave yourselves open."
"Don't worry, Captain we've got your back."
When I heard the radio cut off, I headed over towards one of the counters and started to look over some of the necklaces until my eye caught one of a sapphire blue dove that was swooping down. Kei did consider me her Blue Dove and she was my Princess. This'll do. I told the shop keeper that I'd like to buy it and she just looked at me like she knew I was a fugitive when I paid for the thing in cash. After the lady wrapped the box up, I stuffed it in my coat pocket and headed out with Genette. I was still weary of our tail as we continued to walk through the square.
"Captain, I have visual confirmation on your stalker," said Angel over the radio.
"Roger that, we'll keep in your line of sight as much as possible until we deal with the threat," I replied.
"What are you talking about?" asked Genette.
"Do what I tell you and we'll get out of here alive."
We headed through the town square where it was packed with people doing their holiday shopping and other daily routines. They had no idea some shit was about to go down and I had to plan this carefully. However, as we continued to walk through the square, my radio erupted with chatter. I could hear men screaming for someone to put their hands up and I knew right away that Angel and Gargoyle had been compromised.
"Sorry Captain, you're on your own," said Angel. I looked up towards the hill they were positioned on and saw a lot of movement up there. The local police had been called on them and they had all the evidence they needed to incriminate those two.
"Hold on. I'll try to give you two a chance to make a break for it," I said before their radios were confiscated.
I wasn't sure if they heard me, but I had to wait for them to get to the police station. Luckily for us, we were a short walk away from it. My main goal was to head in there so that I could intercept them and sneak them out of the building. However, I thought about how the others ended up in custody in the first place. Our stalker had to have been the one who knew about them. If that was the case, he was expecting me to go and save them. That would be the easiest time for him to kill us.
"Captain, what's going on?" asked Genette.
"Have you ever heard of a man called The Ghost?" I asked.
"Yeah, he was an assassin that died five years ago. One of my friends actually did a report on his death."
"Well he isn't dead. He's following us right now," I said and Genette was about to look back and spot him. "Don't look at him! You need to do exactly what I tell you or else we're both going to die."
We both continued walking as I tried to think of something I could do to save all of our lives. The only thing I could think of though was to incite a full on panic within the village. I also needed to kill Ghost for good before we left or else he could compromise the rest of the fleet. I led Genette down an alley that had an entrance to the sewer system. I had to shoot the lock off the door with my suppressed pistol to gain access and I barred the door behind us so that we couldn't be followed. The tunnels were poorly lit and I had to pull my ear mounted flashlight from my USD. I was surprised at how bright it was for its size. Technology is a beautiful thing. We continued down the tunnels until they branched off in multiple directions.
"So where do we go from here?" asked Genette.
"Now, we have to throw the town into a little bit of a panic," I said as I pulled out my phone and got the layout of the sewer system.
"Okay, how exactly do you plan on doing that?"
"First, I'm going to tamper with the fountain. Then I'm going to put people on edge. Finally, I have to set off the trap."
"That still doesn't tell me anything, Blaze."
"Shut up and let's go," I said and I began to run down one of the tunnels. The tunnels were rather disorienting to travel through because I felt like we ran down the same ones over half a dozen times before we finally made it to what I was looking for. We were in a maintenance tunnel that was on the edge of the river and I found one of the control panels that I could plug into. "This is it."
I busted the door panel off, pulled out my laptop from my USD, and plugged into the system. I was lucky that this was easier to hack into than Sand Island's security system. Once I was in, I disabled every open water valve in the village except for the fountain's and I also increased the water's temperature to the point that it began to boil within the pipes. In order to stop them from rupturing, I had to bleed off some of the pressure by opening secondary valves.
"Sweet, let's get going," I said as I placed everything back into my USD.
"What did you do, Captain?" asked Genette.
"Science," I said.
Genette didn't say anything as he followed me down one of the tunnels and climbed out of one of the man holes. Once we reached the surface, we back tracked towards the town square. I could see fog starting to billow up in the distance and I could hear sirens approaching from the direction of where Angel and Gargoyle were. With everything going the way I expected, I figured that now was the time for me to finally make my next move. I pulled out my phone and dialed the local police department. It didn't take them long to answer.
"Emergency hotline, what's your emergency?"
"Yes, I believe that a bomb has been placed inside of the police station. I saw a sketchy looking guy who looked like he was in his mid-thirties with silver hair poking around there earlier with a bag. He didn't have it on him when I saw him walk out of the police station." I didn't give the dispatcher the chance to ask any further questions before I hung up on her.
"Seriously Captain, what the hell are you doing?" asked Genette.
"I'm trying to save everyone without getting anyone killed. As soon as we get the others to safety, you're going to head back to the Kestrel without me, got it?"
"But why, why are we…"
"Stop asking questions and just do what I tell you!"
We continued to head towards the town square and the fog kept getting thicker the closer we got. Most excellent! A couple minutes had passed before I could hear the police sirens approaching from behind us. As the police vehicles passed us, I was able to point out which vehicle the others were in and Genette and I began to run after them. The police vehicles had stopped a good distance away from the police station, but they still couldn't see through the fog.
"Where did all this fog come from?" asked Genette.
"Remember how you asked what I was doing in the sewer? I raised the temperature of the fountain water so that it would give off enough steam to create this fog. It's cold enough for boiling water to condensate like this," I said and Genette looked at me like he still had no idea what I was talking about. "It's like a bathroom when you take a hot shower."
Genette just decided to go along with what I was saying and we continued to make our way towards the police vehicles. All the cops inside the police station had gathered outside while some of them dressed up in bomb disposal gear so that they could search the building for the bomb I warned them about. I told Genette to wait for me while I went to free the others. The fog was thick enough for me to approach the police vehicles unnoticed and once I was there, I had to decide on one of two things. I could either hijack the vehicle with the cops chasing us, or I could try to free them in the hopes that we won't be spotted. I decided the latter and quietly ran up to the police vehicles. The drivers had left them unoccupied so that they couldn't see what was going on outside the police station and they didn't notice me ducking behind their cars. I slowly made my way to the car that the others were in and when I made it, I quietly opened the door.
"Captain, what are….?"
"Shut up and let's go," I said.
Angel and Gargoyle both got out of the back seat of the police car and followed me as we backtracked towards Genette using the passing crowds of people as cover. However, I could feel Ghost's eyes on us again. I undid their hand cuffs before I told them to head back down river. I gave them explicit orders to head back on foot because the zodiac we came in was more than likely booby trapped. If they wanted to travel back down river, they needed to either go on foot or find another boat.
"You're not coming with us?" asked Angel.
"No, I have to stay and deal with our tail or else he might give up the Kestrel's position," I said. "Go, I'll cover you."
The three of them gave me some worried looks before they headed off. When they were finally out of sight, I sat at one of the tables outside of a nearby restaurant. I was all alone and I pulled out my pistol from my USD and I took off the suppressor to replace it with the recoil compensator when no one was looking. I sat there patiently as I waited for Ghost to show himself and after a minute, he began to walk through a crowd towards me. Ghost hadn't changed much since I last saw him five years ago. He had a scar on his left cheek that I guess he received from when I cut him with my knife when I first encountered him in Wesson. I also saw that he was missing two of his fingers on his left hand where I shot them off with a shotgun before I kicked him off a fifty story building. This begged the question; how did this asshole survive?
"You must be surprised to see me alive," he said in Russian as he took a seat across from me.
"You could say that, but what I want to know is how you survived," I said in the same language.
"It's called a grappling hook," he said and he opened his overcoat to show me the tools he had on his belt. "As you can see, I'm a lot better prepared than I was last time. You won't escape this village alive."
"You forget that I was the best out of all the others."
"The only reason you nearly killed me was because of that little bitch you had with you."
"There's no shame in asking for help. If you're as good as you claimed to be, you would've had no problem killing us last time. Speaking of 'help', we still have a score to settle after you almost killed her last time. Do you want to die by sniper rifle, or would you prefer a knife to the side of your head?"
"As arrogant as always, I see."
"Just confident that I'll out smart you again," I said and I started the last phase of my plan by firing a couple of bullets into the ground next to me. "He's got a gun! He's got a gun!" I shouted and everybody scrambled in terror. A few men tried to hold Ghost down while I used the confusion to slip away. Once I was out of Ghost's line of sight, I entered one of the clothing shops, grabbed a dark blue jacket off one of the racks, and donned it after I paid for it. I put my other jacket into my USD and I snuck out the back of the shop so that I could try and get a bead on Ghost before he got sight of me first. I was using the fog to my advantage and I tried to think of a way to spot Ghost in the crowd without giving myself away. The first place I had to check, even though I knew I would more than likely be walking into a trap, was the police station. More than likely Ghost had escaped and the only way for me to draw him out was to reveal myself. When I finally made it, the police still had the place blocked off and it turned out that I was right when I suspected that Ghost had planted a bomb in the building. A bomb squad had been deployed to dispose of it while another large group had been assigned to finding Angel and Gargoyle along with Ghost. My allies still had the chance to become captured again and I needed to make the police focus more on apprehending Ghost more than anything. I wanted to play a hunch and tell the cops that I and the others were a special government team assigned to capturing Ghost, but I couldn't reveal my identity to them. Think, Castillo. How can you get these people to help you find Ghost? I began to look around and spotted a single police officer standing around with his metaphorical thumb up his ass and I noticed that he had a radio on him. It was right then that I had the idea of tuning into their frequency so that I could gather any information I had on them. The cop wasn't paying attention as I walked up to him and snatched his radio off of his belt. I plugged in my earpiece and began listening in on the police communications, but they hadn't made any progress in finding anyone. I need them to focus on Ghost.
"All units, be advised. Middle aged male suspect with white hair is believed to be a high value target. He's believed to be responsible for numerous murders over the past ten year. Deadly force is authorized," I said over the radio.
No sooner did I finish giving out the warning did I see all the cops in town run to their vehicles and pull out shotguns, assault rifles, and body armor. They were now on full alert and I had to take advantage of this situation to finally end this game of cloak and dagger.
"Dispatch, can you give us any more information on the suspect?"
"Suspect has a scar on his left check and is missing a couple fingers on his left hand. He was last seen wearing a black over coat, but he's been known to change appearance. Suspect is considered highly dangerous. Approach with caution," I said over the radio.
I gave the police all the information I could before I headed for a back ally and made my way towards the river. All the pedestrians had already cleared the streets so that they wouldn't get caught inside crossfire if a gunfight did break out, but that was highly unlikely. Ghost's methods centered on making his hits look like accidents. He rarely engaged in open conflict and it was extremely rare that he actually kill someone with a gun. Whenever he did, he would pin the blame on someone else. I was thinking about the possible ways Ghost planned to kill me when my phone went off.
"Hello?"
"You are clever, I'll give you that much. But this won't save you. Your time in coming very soon, One-Eighteen, and everyone will know that you were the failure they labeled you as," said Ghost over the phone.
"The only thing I ever failed at was keeping my promise to one of the women I loved. That and chemistry in high school," I muttered.
"But you still failed," said Ghost.
"Yeah, but if I gave up after every failure, I wouldn't be where I am today," I said indifferently. "I'm like you in the sense that I won't stop until I reach my goal. Plus I got some unfinished business with a certain man who's been dogging me for the past fourteen years."
"I could've found him for you if you paid a good enough price."
"I know that, but this is something personal," I said as I placed my phone on a window sill behind a dumpster along with the police radio. I then tuned into my radio and walked into a nearby building. The building I entered was someone's home and I headed upstairs when I saw that no one was home. "This is something that you probably wouldn't understand."
"Don't act like you know me," snapped Ghost. "I've had a personal vendetta against you ever since Oured."
"You don't realize that your pride is what's going to kill you, do you?" I asked as I stared out a window that over looked my phone. "I'll admit that you have a lot of skill for someone who hasn't been through what I have. However, that doesn't mean that you have what it takes to kill me."
"You might be skilled in a one on one fight, but you still don't have the intellect that I do."
"You might be right. But seeing as your fell for my trap, I guess this goes to show that you're not as smart as you think you are," I said as I saw Ghost coming down the alley I came through. He froze in realization when I had him dead in my sights. I knew he was going to track the signal of my phone. "It's almost indescribable knowing that you've run out of moves." Ghost knew he couldn't get away this time, but I wasn't planning on killing him just yet. "Tell me, where does a person like you go when they die?"
"In the ground," said Ghost as he tensed up.
"Wrong answer, they stay in purgatory until they accomplish their goal," I said. "Killing you would make my life a hell of a lot easier, but I can't really decide your fate right now. Care to give me some motivation?"
Ghost began to relax a little and I saw a smile start to form on his face. He knows something…"I can tell you when you should move the fleet before they become surrounded."
Shit… Ghost knew this bit of information would draw me out, but I didn't really have much of a choice. He would spill everything to me only if I had him knocking on hell's door. "I could just shoot you in both your legs and then pop you in your arms until you decide to talk," I said.
"You know that won't be enough to make me talk," said Ghost.
"Alright, should I give you a ten second head start?"
"I'd rather you came face to face with me and settle this like we did back in Wesson."
I opened the window I was looking out of and jumped out so that I landed in front of was shocked to see how close I was, but he quickly regained himself. Ghost took off his overcoat and tossed it behind him to reveal a compact M4 slung on his side, two shoulder holstered pistols, and a combat knife on his belt. He took off all of his weapons, unloaded them, and placed them neatly on ground, except for his knife. I had already pulled out my K-BAR from my USD and I had already brought my fist up in preparation for us to fight. Ghost knew that I more than likely wouldn't be able to keep him alive long enough to get what I needed out of him. If I only tried to knock him out, he'd be the one who'd more than likely kill me. I was stupid to tell him the flaw in my training, but I honestly thought he was going to die last time.
Ghost rushed towards me and I jumped back when he tried to swing a punch at me. He then tried to thrust knife into my forehead, but I leaned to the side just enough for it to miss. I could've stabbed him in the gut now that he was in reach, but I decided to head-butt him and break his nose. Ghost staggered back in pain and I proceeded to punch him in the ribs a few times before I heel kicked him in the chest. I just wanted to put some distance between us so that I could wait for him to go on the offensive. He didn't think that I knew that he was probing my abilities. His next move would be the deciding factor on how he was going to continue on with this fight, so I had to make sure I hurt him good enough so that I could fight him with less effort.
Ghost charged at me again and tried to stab me in the abdomen, but I stepped out of the way and broke his leg that he had placed more forward so that he was now on his knee. I held nothing back as I delivered a powerful roundhouse kick into the center of his face. Ghost fell back with blood running down his nose and I could tell that he was in a lot of pain. I was a hell of a lot merciful than I was the last time we fought, only because I had to protect the fleet. If Ghost knew something that could endanger our mission, I was going to get it out of him one way or another. I grabbed Ghost by the throat and forced him to stand up.
"Alright, there's no way you'll be able to win with the condition you're in. You might as well tell me what you know. Let's start with why you're here," I said. Ghost tried to stab me in the ribs with his knife, but I forced his hand to the right side of my body where I grabbed his wrist with both of my hands. From here, I spun around and brought his elbow to my shoulder so that I could break his arm and gain control of his knife. When he let it go, I grabbed it and stabbed Ghost in the lower left side of his back. He was about to fall to the ground again, but I quickly grabbed him by his neck again so that he was still on his feet. "You're dying now; I suggest you come clean."
"When did you become so heartless," asked Ghost.
"Since I told myself that I wasn't going to be played like a fiddle anymore. Now, do something meaningful for once in your miserable life, tell me what danger the fleet is in," I said.
Ghost took my hand off his neck and hobbled over to a wall so that he could lean against it. He then took out a cigarette and lit it up before he started talking. "Ever since you rescued the President, the Belkans have tried everything they could to try and find you. They knew that Wardog was responsible for all of the trouble they've been running into, but they didn't know where you were operating from. So, they hired me. When I heard that you were part of the group, I jumped at the opportunity to hunt you down again," said Ghost.
"So how did you find me?" I asked.
"All I had to do was follow your trail. When I heard that you and the others were shot down, I suspected that your deaths were faked since the Belkans were convinced that it was you giving them so much grief. All I had to do was follow Captain Snow's trail, which led me to the 3rd Fleet."
"So how did Belka plan on dealing with us?"
"They knew that direct action would bring about their involvement in this war, therefore exposing the truth. They needed to think of a way to deal with your task force without involving the Belkan military."
"They needed the Yukes to deal with us…" I muttered to myself.
"Exactly," said Ghost. "Can you guess how they planned to use the Yukes?"
The remnants of the Yuke Air Force weren't in any condition to fight. They probably wouldn't be able to make it past Osean occupied territory without being intercepted by Osean fighters. Plus, I didn't think that they'd think that sinking five ships was their top priority at this stage of the war. Ships… "They're bringing in a fleet," I said in realization and Ghost nodded. There was really nothing the Yukes could use their fleet for, so they probably didn't have a problem conducting a mission to sink the carrier they originally targeted at the beginning of the war. "When will they reach their destination?"
Ghost began to cough violently as he burnt up the last bit of his cigarette. He continued coughing until he collapsed on the ground and began to have a spasm attack of some kind. I rushed over to him and held him as he continued to tremble violently. "It's too late," gasped Ghost.
"What do you mean? When is the Yuke fleet going to arrive?" I demanded.
"They'll be there within a…" said Ghost before his body went limp and he died.
"Ghost, wake up! You can't die on me now! When will they get here," I shouted as I shook him, but it was no use. The smell of almonds from the cigarette smoke made me realize that Ghost had poisoned himself through smoking. He never wanted to give me the satisfaction. I began to dig through Ghost's pockets until I found his cellphone and a bunch of smoke pellets that he used to make his signature escape if he was ever compromised.
"Freeze!" shouted a voice from behind me.
The sound of two guns cocking made it obvious to me that the cops had finally caught up with me. I got all the information I could out of Ghost and now that he was dead, there was no point in me sticking around. I activated my USD to pull out my pistol and I dropped Ghost's smoke pellets to make my escape. However, I shot Ghost in the head and grabbed my phone before I ran to make sure that he was dead. I didn't ever want to deal with that guy again. After that was done, I ran down the alley before I turned a corner and headed into the main street. The steam from the fountain was slowly engulfing the rest of the town, but it hadn't reached the river yet. My best bet was to head there if I wanted to escape the police and make it back to the Kestrel. With every cop now trying to find me, I had to make it back to the river without them knowing where I was. I had to hide in plain sight again, but the streets were now empty and all the civilians had already gone home. I tuned into police radio frequency to get an idea of what they knew about my current location. They were all headed for me and I couldn't run in any direction to escape. Just when all hope of my escape seemed hopeless, I looked down to see a manhole cover in the middle of the street. Sweet…
"All units, suspect has entered the sewer system. It's believed that he's trying to head to the river."
"Dispatch, we don't have enough personnel to cover the whole area."
Hmm, I still have a chance to escape. I kept heading down the sewer tunnels as I followed the layout on my phone. The police were coming in after me and I knew that they would try to approach me from multiple directions to cut me off. I was now on my own with nothing but my instincts to rely on as I navigated my way out of the tunnels. Eventually I came across a manhole that was located at the edge of the village. It was the closest I could get to escaping, but there were cops waiting for me when I reached the surface. I had three guns pointed at my head when I undid the lid of the manhole. The police were good, but they still didn't know that I had a few tricks up my sleeve when they cuffed me and put me in the back of their car. I was actually surprised that they didn't recognize who I was.
"Dispatch, this is Kilo 62. Suspect is in custody. We're proceeding east on Eton," said the driver of the car.
The cops began to whisper among themselves about how I killed Ghost, but they didn't know I could hear them. Ever since we escaped Sand Island, I began to keep a paperclip under my watch band again. I quickly got it out, unfolded it, and picked the lock of my handcuff. Once I got loose, the cop that was sitting next to me tried to draw his gun on me. I snatched it out of his hands and judo chopped him in the throat before I kicked him out of the car. The cop in the passenger's seat tried to turn his gun on me, but I shot him in the forearms before he could shoot me. However, he misfired and shot the driver in the leg, causing him jerk the wheel over to the right. I barely had enough time to reach over and throw the seatbelt over my chest before we ran into the side of a building and came to an abrupt stop. I was somewhat dazed as I got out of the car and began to sprint as fast as I could towards a car that I spotted parked on the side of the road. After running my fist through the window, getting in, crossing the blue wire with the red wire, I was off towards the river. I would've tried to drive casually so that I wouldn't draw any attention to myself, but the cops I had escaped from were hot on my trail.
I pressed the gas pedal in as far as it would go and took off down the street of the village. The roads were pretty narrow and there weren't really any curved roads. There were only ninety degree turns and straightaways that I could take. I wonder if these guys know how to drift. The police cars were faster than the one I stole and they were gaining on me quickly. I flicked the wheel over to the left and pulled the car's E-brake so that I could enter a drift. As the car began to slide, I down shifted and let up off the gas just enough to keep the car under control as it slid around the corner. To my surprise, the cops knew how to drift as well, but not as effectively. This allowed me to keep a good enough lead on them so that they couldn't catch me. My frustration was starting to grow as I kept sliding around the corners of the road. Police sirens were coming from every direction and I had to keep turning down side streets to avoid roadblocks and firing lines that nearly killed me numerous times.
Shattered glass flying into my face and being chased by the cops were the least of my worries. I was more concerned with getting to the river so that I could finally get the hell out of dodge. However, if I couldn't lose the police before then, then I was going to lead them towards the fleet. If that happened, we'd come under investigation and compromise our mission. The more I thought about it, the more I thought that coming here was a bad idea. On the other hand, I did manage to get some information that could actually save the fleet, so I guess it was kind of worth it.
I kept driving through the village until the fog had finally reached the edge of the river. The police had back off for some reason and I heard that they set up another roadblock over the radio. When I came around a curved road that ran along the edge of the river, I could barely see them off in the distance with rifles pointed towards me. Shit. I stopped in the middle of the road and thought of something I could do to get away. Distracting them was my only way out and I was close enough to the river to make my escape. I got out of the car, tied the seatbelt to the steering wheel, took out Genette's tent from my USD, and placed it on the gas pedal. I then put the car in drive and watched it speed down the road. It wasn't long until the police saw the car coming down the road that I heard them open fire on the car. More police were coming in from behind me and I would soon be surrounded if I didn't escape. With no other options left, I dove into the river. The water was freezing, but it wasn't anything that I couldn't handle. Under the right conditions, I could hold my breath for seven minutes. But in this water, I could only hold it for two minutes. I was treading the water and tried to swim towards a nearby jetty when I saw a police boat headed for me. Dammit. There was no way I was going to escape this one and I decided to just wait for my next chance to escape.
"Holy shit, I didn't expect you to jump into the water, Captain," said Angel.
I was surprised to see him as I swam over to the boat and climbed in. Once I was in, Gargoyle did a one eighty turn and headed back down the river towards the Kestrel. I was freezing my ass off in these wet clothes and the rushing winter air didn't make me feel any better. I discarded the blue jacket I had on and put on my leather jacket back on. It felt a little warmer, but not a whole lot. Genette kept staring at me as I curled up in the corner to try and keep myself warm and I wanted to snap his neck the longer he kept looking at me.
"What's your problem," I growled.
"Nothing, I was just thinking that you must be miserable right now," he said.
"I've been through worse," I muttered.
"Right, the day we were branded traitors," said Genette.
"That doesn't even make my top three."
"I see, the Curtis…."
"Shut the hell up," I snapped. "For your information, the worst day of my life involves me murdering over fifty people, killing myself several times, and having the first woman I've ever loved die in my arms. Do you honestly think I feel that miserable?!"
Genette just glared at me because I guess he finally had it with my pompous attitude. The thing was that I never liked talking about this war or any of the other operations I was part of. Hell, I never even liked talking about them with Kei and she was one of the few people who understood why. Genette never saw the war through our eyes and I knew that there was no way in hell that he'd be able to handle some of the things we've seen or done. The thought that I might be succumbing to PTSD worried me because it was something that I couldn't stand to go through again. What's worse was that I might give into it before the war ended. I had to keep it together until then.
1703hrs, Kirwin Island, OFS Kestrel
I got out of the police boat while Gargoyle rigged it with C4 so that she could destroy the evidence. While that was being taken care of, I headed towards my room so that I could take a shower and warm myself up. Even though the water was just a little warm, it felt like boiling water. I was in there for twenty minutes before I finally decided to get out and get dressed into my flight suit. When I was finally changed, I retrieved Ghost's cell phone from my USD and began to go through it.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
I looked up to see Kei enter the room. "Just looking for some leads on who ordered a hit on us," I replied.
Kei sat down next to me and I told her everything that happened to us on our little trip into town. I told her about how I ran into Ghost and how I risked my life numerous times to kill him and evade the police just so I could make it back here.
"You got me a Christmas present?" she asked.
Seriously, that's all she took from that? I was about to say something about it, but I figured that it was a hell of a lot better than scolding me for almost dying again. "Yeah, but you're going to have to wait until Christmas to get it," I said and Kei gave me a pouty face.
"Anyways, why did you take that guy's phone?" she asked.
"Ghost might've been good at his job, but even a dumbass like him made mistakes. Forgetting to clear his call log was one of them."
I looked through his call history and I noticed that he had made multiple calls to Osea. More specifically, he called the CIA office in Wesson. The IOSS was created to counter the CIA from gathering any information on Strangereal so that they couldn't send it off to Earth for whatever reason. The world leaders of Strangereal didn't want to become caught up in some kind of diplomatic mess with the US back on Earth. All of the reports I've read stated that the US was pretty policing the rest of the planet and everyone on Strangereal figured that the US would do the same if any interplanetary relationship was formed with Earth. This was the one reason why I didn't want to go back. Anyways, I went back to Ghost's phone and called the number. It rang only twice before someone answered.
"Ghost, tell me the good news," said Green.
You… "The good news is that I'm still alive so that I can personally fuck you up," I said. "I look forward to the next time we meet. No matter what you throw at me, I will kill you."
I hung up the phone and Kei looked at me in more worried than I had ever seen her before. "What's happened to you?" she gasped.
"What do you mean?"
"You've become cold hearted lately. What's happened to you?"
I thought about everything that's happened ever since we rescued the President. Some of the things I've done lately weren't exactly something that would help bring peace. Peace… We've all been fighting to bring peace back to the world. But in the process, I've lost my inner peace. I was so focused on ending this war by doing whatever it took and I told myself that I wouldn't lose my humanity in the process. But what if I already had and I just didn't know it? The fact that Kei pointed out that I changed was a dead giveaway that it had already happened. She had backed away from me and was now standing with her back against the door. Kei was afraid of me now and I didn't know what to do. I had become the one thing that I hated and the woman I loved was here to see it.
"Kei I…" I began, but I couldn't think of anything to say. Kei just walked out of the room and left me alone. The last thing I wanted was to be by myself.
I wanted to talk to someone, but I didn't know who else to talk to. Pops was always busy helping out the Andromeda's crew or talking with Captain Anderson and the President. Grimm and Snow couldn't really do much to bolster my moral because they weren't exactly the best people to vent to. Hell, if Chopper was here, I would've asked him to us his psych skills to give me some advice.
You really do have issues, Kid.
"You have no idea, Davenport," I muttered to myself.
I know that you have good intentions, but you really need to keep sight of what's important to you.
"My friends are what are important to me," I said. "Everything I do is for them. I'd risk everything for their happiness."
So you're telling me you'd risk Nagase's happiness for everyone else's?
"No, I…"
Think about it, Kid. Nagase loves you more than anything in the world. If she losses you, you just gambled away her shot at being happy. If you really don't believe that, then you've already lost this war.
"But I'm doing this for her!"
It's all meaningless if you die or if you turn into a demon.
I didn't want to admit that this was where I was headed with all of the stress this war was putting on me now. If I was going to keep Kei, I had to fight these murderous urges that had recently entered my head. I was more confused than I've ever been in my life and I needed to get my mind right. We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. I sighed to myself when I knew what I had to do. It's been ten years since I last felt like this and there was only one way for me to deal with this. I grabbed my jacket and headed out of the room so that I could head up to the flight deck. From there, I headed towards the stern of the Kestrel where I sat down on edge of the flight deck, crossed my legs, placed my hands in my lap, and gazed out towards the ocean as I thought deeply about my current state of mind.
The last time I actually meditated was when Miranda died and it was actually the reason as to why I was able to move on. However, this was different. I wanted people to die for the sake of world peace. But deep down inside, I knew that this wasn't the right way to do it. The President wouldn't accept what I wanted to do and neither would Kei. I guess that's what bothered me the most. I didn't want Kei to see me as a demon, even though I thought of this as very ironic. She was the reason I kept pushing myself to do whatever it took. But now, I knew that I was pushing myself too hard. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath so that I could focus on getting my mind right. Can you take it all away, this pain you gave to me.
