Welcome to chapter 15! This is going to the final chapter of 2019. The chapter after this however, it'll be to a new start in 2020. The year where this story goes places it has never been. Rather than basic Rainbow chapters like I have been doing, things shall be getting a little more serious and I will be taking the story to higher and more meaningful bits. As well as looks into Luca's life in the past.
For those who are interested, a discord has been set up that contains me, the writers of the stories down below, and a few others. Please feel free to shoot me a message if you would like to join it, as its a community discord server for Rainbow Six Siege readers and writers alike.
As you will see, I mention other OC operators from the stories: The Unsung Hero, Perfidy, The Spirit and the Man of Fire, and Hunter Becomes The Hunted. I made sure to receive permission before using them as small easter egg appearances.
I do really hope everybody who reads the chapter enjoys it as well as looks forwards to what's to come in the future. Take care you all now!
Asian Pacific Archipelagos
August 20th, 2019
7:00 AM
"Saya yakin kedua-dua ini bernilai banyak."
"Of course they're worth a lot, that one over there, American military. They'll pay fortunes to get POW's back."
"Dan anda pasti mereka tidak mati?"
"Of course they didn't fucking die. I'm a professional mother fucker. All the goods I sell are top tier even if they're rough around the edges and bloodied up. In fact, watch this."
The two men walked up to the cage where their tied up prisoners were held captive and sleeping, a small smirk appearing on one of their faces in pride of the men he had captured.
"Wake up you stupid mother fuckers!" He shouted, "OR I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD, I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!"
His two prisoners jolted awake, one groaning in pain due to the number of bloodied glass shards that stuck out of his body.
"Ah yes, good morning my two subjects. I hope you enjoy your sleep after we knocked your asses out after such a beautiful plane crash if I do say so myself. As you can tell, you two are now my hostages. Even with the bags on your head, I can tell you're obviously lost and scared out of your little minds, aren't you?"
No response came from the two men.
"Do you neither of you two pathetic wimps even have a mouth? I'm talking to you fucking runts. I expect a god damn answer! Azmi, Azrul, remove the fucking bags. Let me see the mother fuckers I get to work with until we get some ransom cash from the U.S of fucking A's government."
"Sudah tentu tuan." The two men went to their prisoners and yanked the ragged bags off to reveal their freshly unarmed operators.
"Jesus, you should be more gentle towards your hostages." Luca complained, "I think you'd get better reactions out of it." His eyes finally laid rest on the man who was keeping them hostage, his brain going crazy over who it was.
"Are you - the little bitch who is tied up - trying to tell me how I should treat my fucking merchandise? DO I HAVE TO SHOW YOU HOW I RUN THIS SHIT? YOU MAY BE MILITARY TRAINED BUT I COULD KICK YOUR ASS ANY DAY OF THE FUCKING WEEK!" The bipolar man shouted in Luca's face, slightly spitting during each of his anger filled words.
Rather than respond and continue to taunt the man, Luca wiped his face on one of the bamboo bars that his hands weren't tied to.
"Smart ass, I have a question for you." Her said, pulling out Luca's phone. "What type of phone is this? It's really fucking nice. I like it, it's a good phone. It's just so damn complicated though when it shouldn't be. Your friend over there had some stupid custom fucking blowtorch or whatever. It's fun to play with but what's the point of carrying it around with you? The phone however, it seems like it has all sorts of usage available despite me having not a single clue on how any of these extra apps and what not works. You must be a fucking nerd man, being able to work with all this wacky shit you've got here."
"Do you actually want me to answer that question seriously, or just not answer at all? All, it seems pretty rude of you to not introduce yourself. We are your guests to this island afterall."
"First of all," The man said whipping a knife from his pocket and pointing it directly towards Luca, don't you dare fucking speak to me that way you piece of shit. Second, of course I want you to fucking explain whatever the fuck is going on when it comes to the gadget. And finally, my name is fucking Vaas. You obviously aren't native to this area if you have little to no god damn idea of who I am. ME! ME OF ALL PEOPLE, YOU DON'T KNOW! I have a problem with that you know. Everybody knows who the hell I am."
"Well, I'll just say this about the phone. I built it on my own, it's built specifically for my use only, so good luck first of all getting a good ninety percent of what's on there. Second of all, of course I don't know who the hell you are. We're western obviously."
"You son of a bi~"
"Tuan, hukuman mati sudah siap."
Vaas' glare dug straight into Luca's skull as the news broke out to him. "Very well then, let's take our guests to go witness what happens when nobody gives a flying fuck about your life."
"Wow. How dare you show me my life from like 2007 or something until late 2018."
"SHUT THE FUCK UP! I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD, I WILL BE THE ONE TO SLIT YOUR THROAT IF YOU DON'T LEARN TO SHUT YOUR GOD DAMN MOUTH! I AM FUCKING SICK OF HEARING YOUR FUCKING REMARKS!"
Luca shook his head and gave the angry man a shrug in response to his little tantrum.
"Azmi, Azrul, let's escort these lousy fucks to our little play area. Simpan mata anda pada mereka."
Vaas' two soldiers grabbed two Czech looking AK-47s from behind a box and approached the cage. One kicked the door while the other untied the two operators.
"Keluar sekarang. Get move on." One demanded as he aimed his rifle at the back of Erik's head."
"Yeah yeah, we're moving…" Erik grumbled.
"Lead the way Vaas, let's see your little festival you're throwing with the rest of the people you've caught to sell off."
"Stop fucking speaking to me or you'll be part of my little festival for fucks sake. I FUCKING HATE MOUTHY LITTLE TOYS WHO CAN'T SHUT THEIR GOD DAMN MOUTHS FOR FUCKING FIVE MINUTES YOU FUCKING CUNT!"
"Alright pal, whatever you say. I'll sit back and enjoy the show."
The two followed Vaas, checking back every once and a while to see the man's henchmen following close behind them, sights already targeted at their heads if they made any funny moves. While Erik and Luca had no clue where they had been shot down at, they had a pretty damn good idea it was in a tropical area. The soil seemed to be gleaming with nutrients, the sun's flares forcing their warmth into anything the light touched, nature and all its wildlife thriving despite the corruption of the human nature they lived with. Blood. Blood was what they noticed most though, there was enough to stain the scenery, varying in color and moisture based on how recent the spillage was. It could be found on the ground, trees, bushes, bushes, houses, boxes, vehicles, and even weaponry. The blood covering the entire surrounding area began to make sense as Vaas' party. Cheering, gunshots, and screams of plea could be heard through the surrounding foliage. A huge crowd of loud and rowdy pirates came into view, their attention all focused on a cheap wooden stage that was drenched in blood and covered in many different devices that could be used to kill a person.
"Welcome to my fucking paradise you pathetic fucks." Vaas said, stopping in the clearing. "You two get to stay here, I have some business to tend to. Anda dua. Menonton mereka dan jangan menutup mata anda."
The two men pushed Erik and Luca forwards to allow them to spectate what the crowd was absolutely roaring about. They watched as Vaas appeared on the stage, multiple hostages with their hands tied up and heads covered by bags following him as well as what seemed to be some sort of janky camera crew on their trails to record whatever Vaas was doing.
Once everybody was in place, Vaas grabbed himself a megaphone and prepared to speak. "Shut up you fucks, we have some special guests who decided to drop in recently so they get to view our wonderful weekly event. This shit is only possible thanks to the families of our fellow seven hostages. Rather than cooperating with our needs and giving us our compensation for their loved one's lives, they chose to show us how they truly felt! They turned down our requests and chose to let their family members die with no second thoughts or remorse! We have no use for them anyways, so they are better off six feet fucking deep at this point. Or in a burning pile, whichever we end up deciding to do. But that's besides the fact, let's get this show on the road! First up, Joseph Walker! Despite his fucking parents being god damn doctors, they refused to cough up ten grand to get their son back. How disappointing, there's an easier option to explain this to him however! Boys! Get him in our nice little toy."
Luca, Erik, and the two guards watched as they ripped the bag from his head and freed their wrists from the ropes before forcing him into the lunette, locking his arms and neck into place.
"Time to free this fuck's mind from worrying about how his family hasn't loved him for the last 34 years."
"Bunuh dia! Bunuh dia! Bunuh dia!" The crowd chanted.
Vaas grabbed the loose rope that kept the man's head intact with the rest of his body. "Off with his head!" With one hard yank, time seemed to slow as the blade dropped. In one fell swoop, the man's head came clean off and dropped with a thud onto the wooden planks. Luca noticed Erik cringe at the sight of the man's neck spewing blood onto the platform and laughed to himself.
"It's not all that bad bud, I've done far worse."
"You're sick dude, can't believe you can watch this and hardly react…"
Luca shrugged, "It's far worse up close and when you're the one doing something like it. You end up getting used to it eventually."
"That's fucked, how did you get into Rainbow knowing how that shot is?"
"The feds. It was help you people with an issue I was working on alone originally, or rotting in a prison cell somewhere. Thankfully, my stubbornness got me out of them trying to learn my identity or from receiving fingerprint samples due to hair and skin samples coming up with zero results. That's why it took months for my name to get out to… our organization and why even now, it's redacted from everybody except for the leaders of everybody's nations."
One of the guards smacked Luca in the back of the head, "Less talk, keep watch show."
"Fuck you, but fine."
Luca rolled his eyes at the guard's glare, continuing to watch the show Vaas was putting on for them.
"Our next contestant! Piers Nivan! This old chump has four kids we've learned, all in their thirties too. They could easily pay the fee we set on this cock's head, yet refused, no matter how hesitant they were. I guess he doesn't get to live to be any older, say goodbye to any hopes of you reaching your seventies!"
Vaas set down his megaphone and grabbed the older gentleman by the shoulder to lead him towards a clear box that was the shape of a coffin and filled to the brim with water. Vaas forced the man into the coffin and sat him down while a group of four men carried a stone slab onto the stage. Luca sighed as he could already tell where this was going and was bored of it. As soon as the slab above the man, Vaas quickly plunged the rest of the man's body under the water and allowed the others to gently put the stab down on what Luca presumed to be glass. The crowd cheered at the sight of the old man flailing around helplessly in his watery grave.
"I don't fucking know how long it'll take for this fucker to drown, so while he does his thing, I'll get our next contestants out."
Vaas left the stage in a hurry but shortly returned with three more hostages he had collected from somewhere off the stage. "These three are Steve Burnside, Alexander Johnson, and Melissa Ramirez. We have a microphone attached to each of them so you can hear those glorious cracks of their necks snapping as we hang the bastards. Had to find some way to make this one fucking interesting to watch and a good loud snap will be perfect! You three, take them to the upper stage and get those ropes tied up. We have to speed this fucking process up."
The three men managed to get their stragglers up the stairs and quickly used the ropes they had by their feet to tie a noose for each of the three hostages. It wasn't long before the masks were ripped from their heads and the loops around their neck.
"Are you sick fucks ready?" Vaas shouted into his megaphone, the crowd roaring in response. "Let these bitches meet their makers!"
His three men forcefully pushed the hostages from their spots, a clean snapping noise cracking through the speakers surrounding the crowd as the bodies began to dangle and swing back and forth.
"Jesus fuck that was loud. I don't know about you guys but I think I heard me a nice echo shared between our speakers. That's not it though, we have a finale!" Luca and Erik watched as close to twenty different people, varying from the ages of early preteens to about their late 60s. "We love to chase our prey, here are our prey for the apex predators of the group to use as moving targets!"
At this point, Luca was getting sick of watching these innocent people being killed just because somebody close to them didn't pay their ransom money. It sickened him in all honesty to see more than just a few lives go to waste. Luca sat down and slowly moved to grab his hidden knife from behind the heel of his right foot. He flipped the blade up, just out of sight of the guards and began to cut his wrists free. The rope was obviously cheaply made as it snapped silently and easily. "They really should have tied our legs up. They made this far too easy."
Luca stood back up with his arms in front of him to not raise any suspicion, waiting for a window of opportunity to open. The sound of a voice came through one of the men's radio alerted them or something that was going on as part of this little hunting act. Thanks to humans having peripheral vision, Luca watched as the guard responded to his comrade in the radio, beginning to start his short trek on the small path back to the cage area.
"Erik." Luca whispered, getting the man's attention. "Make a distraction."
His fellow American turned to face the man, "So… how is life here on the beautiful islands."
"Turn 'round now. I no say twice." The man said pointing his gun at Erik."
"Wouldn't be too sure about that." Luca flicked around and chucked the knife. Just as Luca was hoping, the knife dug itself deep into the man's trachea, muffling his scream of agony. Luca dashed towards the man and rips the blade from his throat before slitting it horizontally to ensure a silent kill. Erik walked up to the man and stuck his wrists out, allowing Luca to cut the rope the bounded him.
"So what's the plan? We're on a fucking island where the only civilizations is fucking psychopaths."
"I'm going to be one hundred percent honest with you. I haven't got a fucking clue what we are going to do. Vaas has my phone and even if he didn't, I doubt the middle of butt fuck nowhere is going to have reception. Let's just hope the plane's black box does something for us. I don't know if they need to find it to access it, but let's hope not. I don't want to be here too long."
Erik facepalmed at Luca's response, "Unless we were being tracked by a live data feed, I'm assuming it'll be a lot longer than what you want. Just get that out of your head, we have to find safety so we can get the shards out of you and patch ourselves up. We're lucky to be alive thanks to the face that we went unconscious during the crash. Ragdolling saved our lives because our bodies decided to go fucking limp."
Luca shrugged, "Okay. Would you like my knife then since you aren't being constantly stabbed in different parts of your body?" He sarcastically said.
"I'd be delighted." Erik replied, snatching the knife from Luca's hands. "Our best chance of survival as much as I hate to say it, is to make a run through the jungle. Beaches and clearings are too open and we will get found if we go down those pathways."
"Lead the way."
Luca took one last look at the roaring crowd and the now fleeing hostages with nice big red targets on their back and shook his head. He followed Erik into the forest after grabbing the dead guard's Czech AK.
The two were careful with each step that they took, they had suspicions that it wouldn't be long before the guard's body was found and the jungle would have patrols wandering its floors in hopes of finding their expensive hostages so they had to move quickly.
In hopes of easing the tension, Luca whispered "Hey man, least it was us that this happened to. I'd say me and you are two of the best operators when it comes to shit like this, working alone or with one other person. Though I do wish Sanaa was with us as she's a survivalist expert."
"Me and you work good undercover with intel known ahead of time, not when we're shot down into a situation where we weren't prepared for the shit we are up against. So no, we are probably not the best operators for this. We just know how to work within enemy lines and not let the stress get to our heads."
"Jesus Christ, way to be a party pooper buddy. Where's the more outgoing Delta Force guy at when I need him?"
"Where's the Luca when he first joined Rainbow who would hardly speak so that we can listen to what's happening with our surroundings?"
"Touché."
The two men had been walking for a solid twenty minutes before sirens could be heard from the pirate outpost approximately a mile behind them at this point. Luca and Erik covered themselves and the gun Luca had stolen in sap so that any twigs and leaves they found would stick to their bodies and act as a sort of poor man's ghillie suit. Anxiety rose between them as gunshots could be heard coming from all around them, deep into the jungle. The lack of cars though kept their confidence high as the men who were looking for them were forced to remain close to the same pace as them. The two had no clue what time it was as they could hardly see the sun through the dense jungle and Erik's watch had been looted off of his body during the times of him being unconscious along with their weapons and gadgets.
"Do you know anything about what's edible and what isn't?" Erik asked without looking back at Luca.
"Not a clue. I blended in to society, not the wilderness. Best I know is any water is good water since the animals and people have to survive on something inland."
"Then we're not being omnivores without knowing what berries, fruits, and vegetables to what. Strictly meat for us."
"Fine by me. Exotic meat is always fun to try out since I rarely got the opportunities to go and try out fancy restaurants since a solid ninety percent of them require reservations for some bullshit reason."
"Stop bitching about first world problems. This is a fight for our fucking lives. I don't even know how you're functioning while you're at a constant state of slowly leaking blood."
"And you're acting like I haven't been in a predicament where I'm just trying to survive while. Pain has become something I can bear with and not let overcome me. If it was bad enough though, I would be searching for morphine ASAP."
"Shush! Senyap. I think I heard something."
Both of the American's eyes grew wide, both ran to the base of a tree that had a bunch of debris already at its base and hit the deck, both of them lying on top of their weapons to better conceal them. They fell silent, holding their breath to avoid making any noise possible. The sound of snapping twigs and crunching leaves alerted the Americans as the footprints could be heard getting closer and closer. They couldn't quite make out how many were in the group, but they suspected there to be four or five from small chit chat between the seekers.
"Are you sure they made it this far? We have yet to see a damn set of tracks as well as one of them in caked with once shards. I highly doubt what you're hearing is going to be them. With the one being in the American military, I don't even think he would allow himself to become so careless and get himself and his buddy caught.."
"I second that." Another man said, "He's gonna end up coming out of this fine because he is incredibly intelligent. The other guy who was dressed in more casual wear is some sort of nerd or something according to Vaas since he stole the dude's supposedly heavily modified and customized cell phone. If I had to guess, he's gotta have a basic idea of survival of the fittest."
The five men came into sight, all just carelessly glancing around their surroundings in search of the two injured operators. "See Muhad? Nobody. Not a single living animal. This is why we don't listen to you when you say something."
"I swear to fucking god," the chubby and heavier accented man said, "I heard voices. They sounded American. I'm not going bat shit, I know that they have to be here. There's no way that they aren't."
"Well clearly you're wrong. I'm amazed Vaas hasn't fired or killed you in the past. We should get moving and cover more ground, we'll surely find something, even if it's just tracks or even as low as a pile or shit or something."
Three of his men agreed while Muhad was left grumbling and cursing to himself, yet didn't hesitate to follow them off into the jungle once again. Once Erik and Luca were one hundred percent sure that they were out of earshot and far enough away to not hear the sound of the leaves covering their bodies, the two stood and began to whisper to each other. "Let's refrain from speaking from here on out, if any speech is required for communication, keep it to a maximum of a whisper. We can't risk something like this happening again because we will eventually run across of group that isn't filled with idiots." Erik declared.
"Fine, we'll do it your way. Hopefully we find a stream or something because I'm fuckin thirsty."
"Oh shut the fuck up, you'll live to get a few hours without water."
"I know, I'd just prefer to be hydrated for our little trek to find a place where we can go into hiding for a little. Besides, we're going to need some food. We've seen a good amount of snakes, they're just deadly as fuck most likely. If we kill one, out only issue is going to be their high levels of mercury."
"I saw some boar shit. If we find one of those bastards, we'll risk our position and use a gun to give it a third eye. Cook us up some pork chops or some bullshit."
— 9:30 PM
Hours passed as the sun was seemingly beginning to set, the two operators hadn't come across any of their hunters, only there many traps they had set to catch the two escapees, yet were all so blatantly obvious to anybody who was to pass by. Luca and Erik had eventually swapped weapons as they both came to a mutual agreement that the man who was still somewhat numb to his injuries would be better off with the stolen firearm. They had spent the entire time in silence and serenity, the only noise was the sound of the jungle thriving around them. It has started to annoy Luca as he would always make attempts to talk to the locals as he knew small talk in most of the South American languages thanks to the amount of time he spent in the region.
"We haven't seen anybody for fuck in ages, I'm going to start speaking again, but I'll keep it quiet."
"Fine. Just shut your trap if you think you heard something. Play it the safer route just in case so we don't get found."
"If that's the case, I can say I hear the sound of running water nearby. Maybe a small waterfall or something."
Luca and Erik fell quiet to listen to their surroundings, and sure enough, the sound of rushing and crashing water could be heard off in the distance straight ahead of them. The two shared looks and began to creep it's direction, keeping an eye out for any scouts knowing that there was a high chance of them guarding the local water sources in hopes of the operators to make an appearance. It took 10 minute of silently creeping along the forest floor before they finally stumbled upon the source of the sounds that had been hearing. It was a decent sized pond surround be rocks on once side and side and grass on the other. It's source of water coming from a small waterfall pouring from the higher set of rocks. Woven baskets and a small wooden shack lied not too far off the banks of the pond.
"What do you think?" Luca asked.
"We get a drink, check the house for locals or if it's the part of the pirate's group, then get away from here while we can. It's dangerous to stay at a water source for too long, especially a fresh one."
"Whatever you say man." Luca responded, walking up to the pond. "I'm fuckin thirsty, you do you."
Erik facepalmed as Luca began drinking the water he cupped in his hands. Before getting his own drink, Erik approaches the old shack with hesitation. He wasn't sure whether to knock with his gun drawn or or keep it on his back. Saying fuck it and playing with fate, he wrapped the gun's strap over his shoulder and kept in on his back, the safety off just in case. Erik gave the door two hefty knocks before backing up so that there'd be distance between him and whoever may possibly answer the door.
Sounds of grumbling and cursing could be heard inside followed by the clicking of locks being unlocked before the door swung open. "Fuck off pirate, I'm not joining."
"I'm no pirate sir. My friend and I are escaping the pirates actually and we're wondering if you know where civilization is if anybody else inhabits the island others than those sick fucks."
"Where's your friend at?"
"Drinking some water. He's bleeding slowly due to a bunch of glass shards penetrating him after they shot our plane down. We were heading to the Philippines for a mission briefing."
"Military?"
"Something like that. More of a counter terrorist unit."
The man nodded his head knowingly, "I could possibly help you. We've been needing some professional hands to rid the infestation on the island of pirates and terrorists called White Masks it whatever."
"Then we're your guys to help clear this shit up while we're stranded here. Once a rescue unit arrives for us, I'll talk our boss into sending a few of us here to clear out your issue."
"It'll take you more than a few trained people. But forget that, follow me. You and your friend seem to be in rough conditions so I shall take you to the nearby village."
Hereford Base, England
August 20th, 2019
1:30 PM
"So, how long until you think it'll be until your boyfriend gets back? The Philippines are a long way from here, I'd say it's easily a 16 hour long flight or so with a regular air liner. Not sure how long it would take for one of our transport planes." Eliza said, flipping through the TV channels to find something interesting to watch.
"I don't know. I just wish I had gotten to go with him as well but Erik was chosen instead. Harry hasn't even told me what the two of them are out there doing in the Philippines, just that they're out there. I'm sure Sanaa would love to know as well, she seemed to have been getting mighty close to Erik since their time here. She's an explorer and somebody who dedicates time to searching for answers, so she's probably actually dying to know what he's up to now that I think of it." Grace replied, sinking lower into the couch cushion, "Do you think that if I asked Harry what they're doing, he would tell me? Or do you think it's one of those things that's really secretive and has to do with private country things?"
"I'm not sure but he is quite the open person. Enjoys conversations so you may be able to get something out of him."
"Yeah but he could be busy. I don't want to bother the guy, he's already busy as it is, I'm sure you've seen the amount of paperwork he always has to do, meetings, both in person or over video chats, briefing us on missions, making sure everybody has been training, even going as far as to help Gus with checking in on everybody's mental conditions and psychological profiles. He does his best to maintain a family life as well. Harry does have a wife and a little girl that he has to take care of. The other operators with families, Alexsandr, and Zofia being two who had moved their family to the U.K so that they could see them more often."
"Speaking of children, have you thought about having any? Ya know, before getting older? I'd say children after 35 is a bit confusing if you can understand where I'm coming from with that."
Grace pondered for a moment, "I'm not sure if Luca wants children…"
"Awww, I'm sure he has at least thought about it. Just imagine life. You and Luca, have a nice little family. A mini you and a mini Luca running around the house, loving life, growing up to learn how badass their parents are. After they're all grown up and out doing their thing, it'll just be you and Luca living the rest of your lives together, doing whatever you please."
"It would be really nice… I just don't know how it would work with Luca refusing to be compliant with not just the British or United States governments, but anywhere in the world that's nice. He isn't even eligible to be on legal documentation of any kind. I'm the only person who has an idea of went on with him from the ages 18 to when he first joined Rainbow. The rest, not even Harry knows. Even his own form of identification is an old driver's license that is invalid now due to its age."
Eliza hopped over the back of the couch and scooted herself next to Grace, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "You're his sweet girl. I'm sure you could talk him into trading in that mysterious aura surrounding him and being able to get away with anything for your sake, well being, and happiness."
"He's stubborn, he wouldn't do that. Knowing him, he'll find a loophole. He always seems to do that."
"If it works, then hey, good for him. If not, he's got the options of being on the run putting you in danger, or just obeying legal procedures. He isn't stupid girly."
"But he isn't compliant with anything government or political based."
"Hello everybody! I'm afraid we have some seriously bad news to report. As you all know, Ghost and Maverick were sent out on a mission not too long ago. I'm afraid it'll be awhile before we see them again. To not put any euphemisms on what I'm saying, I have been told that the plane that they were deployed on has either, A, crashed. Or B, been shot down. Thanks to Black Box recording, we do know that our operators did survive the initial crash so there is hope that they are alive. On the downside, we only know the general location of the wreckage due to transmission errors with the Black Box. For our two operators, closest two Ghost and Maverick, I would like to speak to you. Dokkaebi and Nomad, could you please come to my office to further discuss this matter."
Grace's body tensed up in fear that she lost the one she had fallen for and worked so hard to get him to return those feelings. The man who took her on so many glorious dates, spent countless hours together, all their laughs and memories made in the last 9 months. Just for it to all go down the drain with her man potentially dead thousands of miles away. Apparently she had completely frozen up, eyes wide and mouth gaped with Eliza violently shaking her to snap her out of it.
"Grace! Grace! Come on, everything will turn out fine! He is more than likely alive and can survive as well as having the added help of Erik! Come on!"
Tears swelled in her eyes before gently dropping to her cheeks, racing to the bottom. Eliza went to take her comrade's glasses off to wipe her tears away, but was met with Grace pushing her hands away. "Please wait for me outside of Harry's office…" She mumbled, her voice cracking in despair.
Eliza took a deep breath and nodded reluctantly before following close behind her korean friend.
Sanaa met up with the group in the hallway towards Harry's office. "I suppose that you should go in first and have a one on one with Mr. Harishva. You are broken and devastated by the news as I'm just merely saddened as I had began to form a close bond with Mr. Thorn. After all, Six is trained in psychological studies and he may be able to help your worries young one."
More tears dropped onto Grace's face as she sniffled multiple times. "Uhm.. yeah, I guess he is… That he could help me with the grief I'm going through…"
Eliza opened the door for Grace and hurried her inside before shutting the door behind her. In front of Grace was Harry would seemed to be jotting multiple things down on what looked to be a map of every island that was south of mainland Asia and near the Philippines.
"Ah yes, Grace. I'm glad you came in alone. Allows me to talk to the two of you on a more personal level so I can explain fully what's happening and what I'm attempting to do to solve it. Please, sit down if you'd like, or stand if you prefer to. Whichever you're more comfortable with."
Grace took a seat and balled up, hugging her legs, no words left her mouth.
"I understand that you are devastated over the news provided, as I am to. You see, I am doing everything within my power to go and search for that wreckage. I have search parties, professional and amateur, rescue teams from all nearby countries, and even our sister CTU team, consisting of operators Roman De La Rosa, Harding Fletcher, Mitchell Packston, Kade Summers, and Rylan Winters shall be scouring the ocean and it's many islands over the next week to help find both Ghost and Maverick. It is futile to keep looking for them, dead or alive. It's always better than an M.I.A label over their heads. They are essential to our cause and a part of our family, we guarantee to bring them back as soon and as fast as we possibly can to return them home. Chances are that if they landed on an island and not in the ocean, they will be able to survive for quite some time depending on their injuries if they did manage to survive the initial impact. If they're in the ocean, then all we can do is hope and pray that they are found soon. Not many can last in the ocean for without some sort of flotation."
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Grace asked, finally wiping some of the tears off her face.
"I'm afraid not."
Grace's hopes began to drain into oblivion before she heard Harry say a single word. "Unless."
"Unless what? Just tell me, I can attempt to do anything."
"Is there a way to tell Luca's phone apart from other phones based off of cellular signal?"
"It's not completely impossible, I could try."
"I'm going to need you to search through a huge area then. We have hundreds, maybe even thousands of islands that they could have possibly been stranded on."
"There's a chance but that's if he had some sort of cellular, data, or WiFi connection or signal out there. His phone has a built in VPN to go with it and my tablet is the only device that has access through it without putting up any kind of fight. I can actually control his phone as well through my tablet if I'm within an approximate one mile proximity from the device."
"Which would be faster and better for our situation?"
"Honestly?"
"Yes."
"Me searching the entirety of the area for him. It would take too long to cover that amount of ground. Months, maybe even a year… I'm not waiting that long to find Luca and Erik." I don't have the patience to… to do so. I'd like them back as soon as possible."
"I understand that Ms. Nam. We're doing everything that we possibly can. We have government support from different countries in the region, it's all down to timing and their will to join the hunt. That is, if they want our continued support against the terrorism they may face in the future."
"Is there anything that you suggest? I'm always happy to take input and advice from my operators. After all, you're the geniuses who keep Rainbow alive, well, and running."
"Is it okay if you gave me some time? I can see what else I could possibly do for us. Check with some personal connections as well maybe…"
"Very well then, take as long as you need, the search has already begun so we're going to need all the help we can get Ms. Nam."
"Is it okay for me to take my leave now?" Grace asked, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes.
"Of course. Feel free to stop by at any time, my doors are open."
Grace nodded and stood from her seat to exit the room. Outside the doors awaited Eliza and Sanaa her we're talking about the two lost men.
"So. How did it go?" Eliza asked, patting Grace on the shoulder.
"It's gives me hope to say the least. I'm not sure what else though. I've received a walk through of what Harry is currently doing to search for our American boys. While I can say I'm impressed with everything that is currently being done, I don't know if it is going to be enough though. There's hundreds, maybe even thousands of miles that are going to be being searched through, and I'm sure that if no sign of them is found within a few weeks, I think that the attempts are going to become sparse and nearly nonexistent."
Sanaa looked uncomfortable over the situation at hand, yet remained completely calm and composed. "What about Olivier? Do we know if his drone is going to be used? I know we won't be able to spot specifics but if we see anybody out of the ordinary or away from civilization, we could at least take a chance and check it out. Hell, if they even spot the drone, there's a good chance they'll try to stand out from the crowd if they're in one. That is… well, if they lived. They did crash, we don't even know if our operators and pilot. What I don't get is how we don't know their location. It's almost like that Malaysian plane crash all over again, just with three people instead of however many were on the airliner. I'm not scared that we lost them, I'm sure they had to have survived the initial crash, I'm just scared of the possible injuries sustained or how they could have just disappeared without a trace."
"I think that it's best that you talk it out with Harry," Grace suggested, "It helped me with at least some of my worries. He'll go over what he's doing to find the two as well as talk over your personal connections with Erik. As Eliza said, he is good with anything psychological related. He can read me with ease and knows how to solve any emotions that mask my face."
Sanaa sighed and stood up. "You two go run along, I'm not sure if I'll be as fast in there as Grace was."
"Good luck Sanaa, see you around."
"You too."
Grace and Eliza watched as the Arabic women made her way into Harry's office, leaving after the door slowly forced itself closed.
Eliza looked at Graces saddened and worry filled face, concern and grief filling her body.
Without any hesitation, Eliza brought Grace into a tight hug. "Don't worry girl, we'll find our boys. They're part of Rainbow after all, they are some of the roughest, toughest, and smartest men around. It's just a matter of how long it takes for us to find them. I'm sure with lots of help, scanners, and drones, it won't be long before they're back here at home."
It took everything Grace could give to not start breaking down under just the thought of the time it would take if they were found. She knew that not many have survived such brutal plane crashes. Those who did, sustained serious, even life threatening injuries from them. "I don't know Eliza. There's so many 'if' factors that are apart of the situation that has occurred, that I'm not expecting us to find them anytime soon. I'm not even going to be worried about if they're dead or not, I'm wanting that to be a last resort. I couldn't stand to learn that our operators died due to outside factors rather than an actual mission."
"Everything will be okay! Jäger survived the helicopter crash when we had that god damn outbreak thing, Ghost and Maverick must have survived their crash, especially if it was in the water near some sort of island. They are survivalist, I'm sure everything turned out fine on their end of things."
"I do hope so…"
Aalborg Air Force Base, Denmark
August 20th, 2019
3:30 PM
"We all gain unexpected contacts over the years of services. Some of them though, provide more uses than others. Some become closer to you than just another contact. Most people disagree with me on this, but being friendly and being friends with somebody you're working side by side with change everything about a battle. When you're friendly with your partners, your obligations are a solo matter. You're working for yourself and your own needs, it's a matter of survival for you. It isn't until the end of the mission that you feel the sensation of pride for your nation. But when fighting alongside a contact who you deem worthy enough to put the title of 'friend' on? It's a whole different story. You have something to fight for. You aren't alone, you have somebody where their death would change something in your life. All it takes is a single perfectly landed bullet to watch the life drain from a friend's rage, followed by a lifetime's worth of grief and rage. Some of us however, don't get to that stage. We're forced into a situation that pushes us into a primal stage hidden deep within our bodies. To keep on fighting, even when pushed into a corner with no escape. You're giving it all you've got but in the process, that friend of yours gets shot multiple times in both the stomach and leg. Things seem hopeless as fear and anxiety fills your head. But then, poof. An opportunity shows itself. You don't like it's requirements and you offer to stay till the end. With your friend's last bit of fight and will they had in their body, they force you to take the chance to escape, to survive, to lose your worry over them and to think selfishly with somebody who you've been nothing short of selfless with. It's a life changing moment, you expect to see that person waking up the next day. Just to go on day by day, week by week, month by month, now year by year just waiting for your chance to apologize, to see them one last time in a non-bloodied and injured form. But you have to move on from those experiences. They make you stronger, they make you like a spider. In my instance, the only thing I feel when I pull the trigger is recoil. I have no remorse or mercy to give to my enemies anymore."
—
"You're at the coffee shop as I asked, correct?"
"Of course Lieutenant, you said that I had the opportunity of a lifetime awaiting for me. So I am at the meeting point you decided. I assume it is some sort of promotion?"
"That one is up to you m'lady, as it's up to you whether you would like to accept the offer. I hope you don't mind another phone call once I do arrive, it's with somebody with far more power than I retain in this world."
"Of course sir, my entire life has been about decisions. I'm prepared to make the decision here as well as many more in the future. It all comes with the job."
"Well I'm glad to hear that Nøkk. I'm just down the street."
"Of course, our drinks have already been ordered, black as you like it."
"Thank you, I'll see you in less than five or so minutes."
"Don't keep me waiting for too long."
Nøkk put her phone down and played with her hair and fingers, waiting for the arrival of both her upper commander and their drinks. To much of her surprise, her commander had actually arrived before their drinks.
"Lt. Soren," She spoke, standing to shake his hand, him returning the gesture, "Glad you could make it, you were mighty speedy to have beaten out drinks here."
"Of course, I told you I wouldn't be long dear. After all, this is a very important phone call. Though I should warn you this, the man you shall be on call with is going to be… well, vague in different properties of his explanation. I'm sure you'll understand what he will be speaking about though."
"Are we awaiting a call from him or do you have access to him?"
"We are awaiting a call from Mr. Pandey, he can explain what you'll be getting into, the pros, cons, and your duty while under him."
"Of course sir, expect no less."
"Good, good. I hope you're prepared for the extent of what you're going to put through."
Nøkk went to respond but was shortly cut off by the waiter delivering their drinks. The two thanked her and continued their conversation.
"I'm sure that you'd enjoy the new company though, I can assure you of that."
"And I trust that you speak the truth. However, you know me. I am not a woman of small talk, no matter what the situation. I prefer either a full on conversation or silence if you don't mind." Nøkk said, flashing the man across from her a smile.
"Fair enough my friend, we shall await for the call in silence while we enjoy our coffee. As you already know, I'm not a man who wants to waste my breath."
"Let's keep it that way."
He gladly nodded and began sipping on his coffee. The two were perfectly at home in the silence, comfortable with the lack of awkwardness it held between them as they anticipated the phone call. Nøkk watched the clock consistently, five minutes passed, the danish girl was slightly impatient but didn't let it get the best of her. Luckily for her, Lt. Soren's phone sent vibrations through the table.
"Took a little while longer than I had personally expected, but I'm sure he's probably busy, especially in a situation like this." Lt. Soren said, scooting the phone towards his acquaintance.
"Thank you sir," She replied, accepting Mr. Pandey's call. "Hello?"
"Ah yes, hello there! I believe you must be Ms. Nøkk?"
"Indeed I am, Mister."
"Ah, perfect! I'm glad to finally meet you. My name is Harishva Pandey, but you can just call me Harry. May I ask if you're in a public place or in a private area quickly?"
"Lt. Soren and I are currently at a coffee shop, I could go outside where people will more than likely be ignoring me if you were to prefer that." Nøkk said, before muting the call. "For somebody who is oh so powerful, he seems really laid back joyful, and honestly, way too casual and lacks seriousness."
"Just take my phone and go outside. You'll learn more." She rolled her eyes and unmuted the phone.
"Whichever you would prefer to Ma'am, I trust that you'll pick the area that seems like a better choice."
"Okay, just give me one moment please." Nøkk swapped the call from speaker to a regular call and stood up from her seat to talk outside.
"Good luck, make the decision you think is best for your future." The Lieutenant assured her.
Once outside, Nøkk resumes the conversation. "My apologies, I'm outside now."
"Ah, perfect. Before I say anything about my offer, I do have a question for you if you don't mind. It's a little personal and has due to your previous records if that's okay."
"Go on."
"Do the names Erik 'Maverick' Thorn and 'Ghost' sound familiar to you at all?"
Nøkk's eyes widened as she held her breath at the question. She quickly shook off her shock, "They do indeed ring a bell."
"I'd hope so as I've been informed of your relationship with both. You played a major role in finding Thorn after he been M.I.A for two years back in Kabul, Afghanistan. I was informed of you two having shared experiences in combat afterwards afterwards. Is there anything you have to say about him that I should know?"
"No sir, but I do have a question of how it's brought you to me. All of my information is hidden from the public eye."
"It must be a good thing that I'm not considered the public then. As for my other operator, Ghost, do you know anybody who went off that alias?"
"I do but I can guarantee you see the Ghost I know isn't the one you're talking about."
"I would believe you if it weren't for the fact that one of my operators brought up to me about a danish woman he knew by the name of Nøkk. After plenty of searching, you're the only one I have found who matches the profile of both his friend, as well as meeting Mr. Thorne. Is there any information I should know about Ghost?"
"Sir, the Ghost you are talking about is not the Ghost I know. The one I know died years ago."
"Maybe, maybe not. I guess there is only one way to surely know, that is, if you are interested. You see, I am extending an invitation to you to join the Counter Terrorist Unit 'Rainbow', a special group that contains some of the best operatives from around the globe. While we normally wouldn't send out these invitations for another month or two, this is a special circumstance. Those two exact operators I asked you about have gone M.I.A after a plane crash occurred somewhere in either the Indian or Pacific Oceans. Due to them missing, we have need of recruiting two more highly skilled and trained candidates. With our first one being chosen, Collinn 'Warden' McKinley from the United States' very own Secret Services, we would like you to be our very first operator from Denmark's very own Jaeger Corps. You meet our requirements and we here at Rainbow would be honored to have you join our team, other information about the group however, will be given upon arrival to our Headquarters so that we don't have the public eye forced down our throats."
"Where do I sign up Mr. Pandey?"
"Nine AM on the 29th at Aalborg Air Force Base. Bring bags with your weapons, uniforms, and other gear that you require as well as a few other bags filled with things that make you feel at home to decorate your room with. This includes clothing and other personal objects as well. Am I clear?"
"Yes sir, I will do my best to arrive early."
"Good, I'll have a plane sent to the Base to bring you to us. I do hope that you very much so have a wonderful rest of your day. If you do have any questions or concerns that I may possibly be able to answer later on, please contact Lt. Soren as he'll be your only access to me."
"Okay, thank you. You also have a good rest of your day, goodbye."
"Goodbye to you too dear."
Nøkk ended the call and walked back into the coffee shop, taking her seat back next to Lt. Soren.
"So how did the talk go? You accepting the offer?"
"I already have and I'm going to have to cut our time together short as I'm due to pack my stuff up, I leave tomorrow morning from Aalborg AFB."
"That's wonderful news. I do hope you'll consider calling or writing to us back here at home sometime for the duration of however long you'll be in that sort of work force."
"I plan to. But I need answers first on who knows something about somebody I know. So if you don't mind, I'll be taking my coffee to go. I'd like to be ready in advance."
"Fell free to just call me if you need help with something or change you mind."
"Of course Lieutenant, you've always been one of the closest people to me."
Asian Pacific Archipelagos
August 20th, 2019
11:00 PM
Erik warmed his hands by the fire as he watched one of the locals carefully picking the glass shards from his friend's backs. The two hadn't talked much as they were just enjoying the warm cups of tea provided and the fire to keep them company.
"So… You starting to feel better now that any small movement doesn't cause you to get partially stabbed in the back?" Erik asked, partially joking.
"Dude, I don't think you understand how much it hurts having this woman yanking everything out from my body. I'm just trying to keep my cool so that we don't have attention brought our way."
"How about we just have a conversation? Maybe it'll get your mind away from the pain. We can just talk and maybe even get to know each other better since who knows how long we're going to fucking be here. I've been undercover over in Afghanistan before, but this is completely different. I loved the culture there, the people who didn't have terroristic intentions were some of the nicest men, women, and children I have ever met. Here? All we've come across other than a small group of locals are some Asian pirates or whoever the fuck they are. I'm not too keen on having to deal with them, especially with only a knife and an AK-47 with only a single magazine."
"Sure thing man, what would you like to talk about then?" Luca asked, cringing as the Asian woman yanked another chunk if glass from before quickly putting three more stitches into his back.
"I'm not sure, I guess we can get to know each other better. Like, uhm, what did you do before joining Rainbow? I know we're buddies and all, but I don't think we've actually talked about your life before joining us. You've definitely got some sort of training and some other advanced shit under your belt. I'm curious to know more actually because you're a very mysterious man. I've heard that Grace is the only person who knows anything about your past minus the name."
"There's a reason for that, it's not a very bright last I've got shining behind my back. There is no pride, there is no glee, is a cold, dark road."
"Well, lets fucking hear it because now you piqued my interest." Erik said, stretching across the log he was sitting on to get more comfortable.
"Where should I begin? I have plenty to speak about."
"Your persona, Ghost. You've proven multiple times that there seems to be something that differs you from your actual self when that mask goes on. I'm interested to know why that is, it has to do with pains from inside, doesn't it?"
Luca glared at him before wincing at more glass being pulled from his upper back. "You do realize how personal a lot of these questions are, right?"
"Of course I do."
"Because I'm sure we're going to be here for a while, I have nothing to fucking lose with you knowing this information. Should I just tell you my life story? I'm not going to give you everything, but I'll give you the basic that even Grace could give to you."
"Whatever you're comfortable with."
"Then I guess I'll begin with how this shit started. You remember that terrorist attack at that one mall in Nevada, January 29th of 2009?"
"Yeah, I was in my early 20s at the time, I was furious over it because they had killed twenty or thirty innocent people."
"Rightfully so, my family and I happened to be there during that shooting. They weren't as lucky as I was."
"Did the security guards save you?" Erik asked, intrigued by where his friend was going with this story.
"Fuck no they didn't, I'm the one who fucking killed them. I found the body of one of those damn security guards and fought for my ducking life with that shitty pistol of his and fucking booked it. The White Masks cut all camera feeds so they just fucking guessed or something of who died and they must have seen the body of somebody who was my age at the time and considered it me. I was verified as dead for nearly thirteen fucking years man. I got to do whatever the hell I wanted thanks to being off the radar."
"Wouldn't you have wanted to prove to the world that you lived though? It's a great thing to be an American citizen, so much freedom in our country than others."
Luca glared into Erik's eyes, "Tell me this Thorne, where's the fun in freedom when it renders you a slave?"
"How the hell does freedom render us slaves?" Erik asked, throwing his hands up.
"Because it forces you into fucking routine. Doing the same shit over and fucking over with very little change. You become a part of a huge fucking group, thinking you have the power but you don't. Me? I was able to literally do whatever the fuck I wanted. I was young and fucking desperate so I did what I needed to do for the next nearly decade after the death of my parents. My life was nothing but crime so that I could feed myself, I was nothing but a petty little thief for two years before I went full fucking professional with it. Ever heard of the Payday Gang?"
"I swear to god if you say you were a member of them…" Erik mumbled to himself while nodding slightly for Luca,
"I was offered to work for them thanks to me being off the radar, they trained my ass to be a silent fucking killer and even helped me with the two things I loved most, hacking, and working on shit so I took up the opportunity. Can you see why I'm so quiet about my background? I'm not a good person."
"Wait, I don't get it," Erik pondered, "Didn't you do shit against the White Masks as well? I remember talking to Jordan and Craig about you before and they mentioned you clearing entire Mask outposts dating all the way back to 2008."
"Redemption is a hell of a thing brother. I may have been apart of Payday, but I vowed to never put civilians in danger. Not once did I kill during our heists except for our raids against crooked PMCs, Gangs, or even crooked cops. I may have been apart of the world's most infamous crime group, but I'm for the fucking people. Not once did an innocent soul die to my hands." Luca said, not including parts about how he would kill innocent people if needed to get to the White Masks, "I've been for the people even since I lost everything. I still am to this day. As for you original question, it's because of the mask. It's something I had from a few Halloweens before the death of my parents and it's what I put on immediately after I got home to quickly grab shit I needed before leaving to live with a friend as I hadn't graduated high school yet and I had already been removed from its books shortly after they learned of my supposed death. I robbed people in the streets at night and that mask hid my identity, and it stuck. I needed a mask as I started to get into bigger jobs and shit. I got the name Ghost from the White Masks and the CIA because the could never find me as well as never were able to learn who I was. I was undetectable for the most part, nobody could track me down worth of shit, but you're right. I did work alone against large numbers of those terrorists."
So you were a good guy in a bad guy's skin is what I'm understanding from this. How the fuck did you manage going from the biggest crime syndicate the world had even seen, to one of the most secretive and unknown Counter Terrorist Unit around? That shit doesn't add up."
Luca raised his arms to allow the local to begin the bandaging process after she managed to pull all the bloodstained glass from his back, shoulder, and even a few parts of his neck, "That's where I even lose track of it. But I do think that it is because they have no clue that I was apart of a giant ass fucking criminal syndicate, I would be put behind bars fucking immediately despite no innocent casualties coming from me. I actually left the Payday Gang back in 2014 or 2015 after helping pull off what our leader I guess you could call him the ultimate heist which is part of why Payday is disbanded now, I strictly went after White Masks only. Whether it was back in South America like the Santa Blanca Cartel in Bolivia, the Cambridge Takeover in Massachusetts, or even the hunt for the hidden base near Baker Lake in Nunavut, Canada, the last place I worked with one of my best partners, a danish gal that went by the name of Nøkk, she was part of the military over there but I honestly have no clue what she was doing in Canada, but she was interesting and good company. We got into a shootout with the White Masks and I had been shot in my right leg twice, once in the stomach, and once in the shoulder. My body was running on pure adrenaline for a while before it finally gave out, I forced her to leave me behind. I don't remember much after that except for talking to Canadian military members who tended to my wounds and kept trying to find out who I was. Left as soon as I got the chance despite the injuries and never got to see that Dane again. I'm just hoping she survived the incident, she helped keep me under the radar and away from the public."
"A danish woman named Nøkk? I think I do actually know who you're talking about."
"Oh, do you now?" Luca deadpanned, "You just so happen to know the same gal as I do but you were in the Middle East."
"We met her at different times shitwad, she's the one who found me after I went undercover for those two years in Afghanistan, never got to see her face but I know that everybody called her a frog lady due to that veil thing she hid her face with."
"I guess we are talking about the same chick then as I doubt there's more than one Nøkk in the Jaeger whatever the fucks they call themselves. I don't know. Know anything about her?"
"Not much really. Never even saw her face. You?"
I know a decent chunk and have seen more than just her face lad. Lady looks good in purple lipstick though I tell ya."
That got a small chuckle out of Erik with a bonus smile from seeing Luca basically being mummified by his Asian tender. "So, what was the scenario that had you end up joining us over at Rainbow?"
"The fucking feds, who the fuck else? I swear, I was just slightly too slow and careful during a damn firefight I got caught up in and it caused the C.I fucking A to bust in and arrest me after I gathered everything I needed for my next hit. Not only did the fucks take all that from me for their own usage, but I was stuff in some fucking glass cage that had a label saying 'Ghost' for a few days followed up by them questioning me, seeing if there was anything I knew that they should as well as more identification bullshit as I wouldn't come up in their database. I mean, I did tell them everything I knew about the Masks that I thought they should know, but those greedy bitches wanted more and kept pushing. It finally came to a standstill where they gave up and took what they had before throwing me back in that glass cage. Took an entire week for somebody to come by and offer me two choices. A. being a life sentence at a maximum security prison under strict supervision some place off in a desert so I couldn't escape and if I did, I wouldn't survive after a week. B. being my ass got shipped to the United Kingdom and I join Rainbow, a group I had known existed but didn't know if had a name as Taina, Meghan, and Emma had all talked about it when I had first originally met them back in Bolivia while dealing with the cartel."
"Sounds like it was a pain in the fucking ass my friend."
Luca shook his head, just a nuisance man, nothing more. My moral standards kept me with them for far too long. But thats enough about my life as now you know too much. Any stories you feel like sharing to me?"
"Fuck it dude, where should I start about my life before Rainbow?"
Fuck, 12k words later and the chapter is finally done.
Not much to say in this author's note except for late Merry Christmas everybody as well as a happy 1st birthday to this story. In a single year, this story has gained 48 favorites, 57 follows, 23 reviews, and 13,000 views. That is fucking insane and I thank everybody who reads this for making it nearly my most popular story. I fucking love you all.
As for the next chapter, I will try to have it done by the end of January or early February.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, favorites, follows, and reviews are appreciated and welcome as well as criticism is welcome too. But until next chapter, I am out. Ciao!