"A-…. A contract?" Samson replied flabbergasted.
The 3rd Company soldiers and mercenaries alike were just as stunned as their leaders, Samson and Saras.
"That's right, a contract." Ajay confirmed.
"I-…What-…." Apparently Samson was resigned to taking responsibility for the death of his comrades with his torture to death.
"How much did Solomon pay you last time?" Ajay was already talking rates.
"I-…Ah!- Ten grand a month!" He said hesitantly but forgot to mention that was his pay as the senior member and leader.
"Mmmm…. Would you accept in stones?" When Ajay mentioned this Samson's mouth hung from his mouth, the mercenaries had the same reaction. Payment in precious stones.
"Badala, it this really wise?" Saras inquired on behalf of her Company and Maya and herself. Maya nodded her head.
"As it is we're nineteen short in manpower and they're twenty-one plus Samson. I figure we'll need everyone in the fight tonight. You've all had a taste of how dangerous their attacks are, can you imagine the same on the Golden Path?" He reasoned.
"What do you say? Or perhaps just an agreement till tomorrow afternoon then you can sod off to whatever place you came from."
Samson thought long and hard about Ajay's generous proposal.
"Do we have a choice to refuse?" He asked.
"Saras, get the shovels! They're be digging their own graves!" Samson couldn't help but come to fear this man despite his own years of brutal one sided killings. Ajay gave him the cruel response although he had every right to decide their fate, he was already being overly accommodating by offering a contract to them. At the moment they were still enemies, unless Samson changed that.
Samson took a brief look to his mercenaries who nodded their heads incessantly for him to agree. "We accept your offer, sir!"
"Good! Welcome aboard then! Tonight we'll have a trial run with you lot to see how you fare then you can decide again whether you want to have a deal with me!"
"I-… Yes sir! What are your orders?"
"Have your men gather at the Airport hangar after they disarm you. Bring your wounded along, we'll have them checked."
"T-Thank you, sir!"
Samson ran back to organize with his fellow mercenaries while Ajay was confronted by Saras and Maya.
"This seems like a highly unsafe plan, what if they turn on us when the moment is right?" Maya reasoned with him.
"You're not wrong on that, but that Samson seems rather professional at handling things. I'll be casting my lot on him to stay loyal to his agreement and I'll stay true to mine."
"I hope you know what you're doing." Saras said.
"I'm sorry about your men, Saras."
"No. It's fine, we knew this could happen. I know you're looking out for all of us, I'm sorry for putting doubt in your plan." Saras smiled at him sweetly.
"I wonder who's the lucky bastard that'll get to marry you." Saras laughed away. Maya kicked him for flirting.
"Read the mood!"
"Oh!- Come on, Maya! He was just trying to lighten the mood for little old me! Don't get jealous!"
"W-Who's jealous?!" She said with a reddening expression before storming off. Darshan looked at Ajay for a while then followed after his leader, Maya.
"That girl isn't being true to her feelings!" Saras chuckled.
"That's one of the worst jokes I've heard from you yet. Newsflash! I said she's sent to spy on me and kill me on her master's whim!"
"(Sigh) Is there a denser idiot than you?"
Samson's return prevented him from retorting.
"Sir! We're all ready, the wounded have been secured." Samson came back to report to him.
"I've keep in touch, go settle your new playthings in!" She purred.
Samson caught sight of her walking off.
"You've got quite the girl, sir!" He complimented Ajay.
"Yeah? You should meet her father, he'll make sure you don't even have ashes when you die!" He said in a sarcastic tone. Ajay rubbed his head from the headache he was having.
"Come on! Let's get you sorted out back at the Hangar."
The mercenaries obediently sat in the supply trucks with Ajay and the hunters who were having a watchful eye on them.
Ajay left Bipin to get men from Saras's 3rd company soldiers to teach on how to operate the armored vehicle.
Samson sat in the passenger seat next to Ajay who was driving.
"So, were you formerly a military man, Samson?"
"Italiano Folgore, I was….. discharged for an offense I didn't commit."
"An Italian paratrooper? What was the charge?"
"My superior left my platoon for dead, when I returned intact he charged me for leaving my post to save his sorry ass!" Samson was surprisingly open to Ajay, that or he was doing it to suck up to him.
"What went through your head when you gunned down the four?" Ajay tested his psyche.
"….. I thought-…. I knew you'd kill them if I didn't make my decision fast! Those men, I killed them because they were the most harmful to the rest."
"That sounds more like a person making excuses. Since when did others' lives become cheaper than another's." Ajay's words made him reflect upon his actions.
"Y-You're right!... In the end I killed them-."
"And in doing so preserved the lives of twenty-one others. I'm not gonna lie to you, Samson. I intend to use you to get my way until you and your men can barely walk. When this battle finishes tomorrow I'll give you and them the opportunity to fly out of this country if that's what you decide!"
Samson couldn't decide whether this person was magnanimous or malevolent, either way he was a scary person beneath that mask.
Samson sighed as he found it hard to decide and no longer bothered. His priority was fulfilling his new employers wishes.
"Thank you, sir."
"I wonder what kind of face Solomon would have when he sees you on this end?"
Samson laughed aloud, so loud that his fellow mercenaries and the hunters heard him from the front compartment. But his laugh assured them that the genuine prospect of death was gone and their hearts felt a little off the edge.
The Golden Path commanders gathered at a table with charts placed on it under the moonlight. The Golden Path guerillas were lining up to receive their weapons and magazines from the supply trucks before gathering to form a formation at the ready.
Sabal by the table, looking upon Solomon with contempt, he was the only one to return at the cost of his own private army whom they weren't sure made it or not. If he didn't need Solomon's connections to procure arms and other helpful resources he would have thrown him to the hungry dogs a long time ago. But this showed how serious the situation up at the airport was, an entire group of professional soldiers were killed trying to take the airport themselves.
"Have a seat."
"I'll stand." He refused.
"Who took the airport?"
"The Royal Army, I've never seen women in the Army before have you?"
"Stop playing about with your words."
"I'm not playing!" Solomon shouted.
"Then why are you here instead of there?"
"When did you get the balls to order me around?"
"…." Sabal could be bothered to look at him any longer.
"What's the status of our preparation?"
"Just waiting for your call, Sabal!" The commander responded on behalf of the table.
"Then your orders are to retake the airport with minimal collateral to the infrastructure."
The commanders at table nodded and went back to their relaying with their groups.
Sabal walked over to Solomon who was leaning against a tree lighting a cigarette but fumbling with the zippo. Sabal took the zippo out of his hand and lit it for him with his steady hands.
"Mmmm…thanks!" Solomon took deep breaths to calm his nerves.
Sabal silently waited for him to construct his thoughts, what he knew could be critical in retaking the airport.
"He is there-…."
"Who's there?"
"The one who took Ratu Gadhi, I'm sure of it!"
"Did you see him?"
Solomon shook his head.
"The composition of that Royal Army contingent was weird."
"As in-?"
"When was the last time you saw women in the Royal Army? It wasn't just that, they were officers leading the trench line on the front. They put pressure on my men despite being militia, trained men! And I don't even know if they made it out at all."
"A death squad?"
"Close, I was thinking something on those lines, meaning they were destined to confront heavy pressure from us. That also spells out that they were anticipating our arrival."
Sabal was starting to understand what Solomon was getting at.
"The question is where is the main force?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, I checked with my sources at King's bridge, there were a few trucks passing through this evening. I thought they were evacuating the strongholds in the South!"
"…"
"So are you gonna continue with the assault knowing their somewhere nearby?"
"If I don't move, they'll still be lurking around. I need to get a fix on them."
Just then, a few armored vehicles like the one from the hangar drove by them.
"Bringing the big guns already?"
"If we don't take this airport quickly enough we can't respond to whatever surprise they have for us."
"…"
"Where's the spook?" Solomon asked about what Willis was doing right about now.
"He's working on my movement onto De Pleur's territories and Paul himself." Sabal said, meaning he wouldn't be involved in their activity at the airport any time soon.
"There's a shipment coming in tomorrow, if this airport isn't taken by morning we'll have a really big problem on our hands." Solomon warned him.
"Don't worry, my brothers and sisters will ensure that the airport falls back into our grasps."
"I hope they do…Rakshasa!"
The hunters and mercenaries arrived at the hangar where Ajay would process them and brief them on their job coming soon. The wounded from both sides were sent to a triage centre hastily assembled in the control tower building, there they were given equal medical treatment under Ajay and Saras's orders.
Anish seemed to hit off well with the mercs, probably their shared interests in money. He was sitting with them and gossiping when Ajay returned with Samson after having a short discussion with him.
"Boss! Everything alright?" One mercenary asked on behalf of everyone else.
"No worries, Badala promises that after tonight if we want to we will be given safe passage off this country on the next flight out."
There were lots of sighing of relief among the mercenaries.
"What?"
"Anish here's been telling us crazy stories about-… our employer, that he was the one who took that Stronghold overnight!" The same mercenary informed him.
Samson darted his head towards Ajay as if he had just met a famous celebrity behind him.
"What?" Ajay asked.
"No- It's just-…. We've been hearing stories about you from the Golden Path! Taking the legendary stronghold with six men and decimating the previous expeditionary force, led by Golden Path leader like Sabal."
"That was just careful planning, the one who really did damage to Amita's forces was Pagan." He gave a casual response not accepting the credit for that day but he released a bomb that was Pagan's actual participation. Even if that fella was simply blazing away with his minigun at helpless exposed fighters.
"Humph! That's not all, he even took down that tiger with his barehands!" Anish boasted proudly. Ajay wanted to throw his shoe at Anish for being such a braggart.
The mercenaries stared in awe at Ajay, he didn't like those starry eyes stares, it was embarrassing.
"I remember Anish in that one-…." Ajay said, Anish smiled thinking Ajay was going to incorporate him into the story somehow.
"You were frozen stiff with a yellow trail running from your pants." The other hunters and mercenaries laughed at his embarrassing story. Anish turned red at Ajay disappointing his expectations. "Aja-Gurgh!" Anish unconsciously was about to shout Ajay's name but was saved by a timely kick to the butt by Maya adding to his embarrassment.
Ajay gave Maya a thumbs up as she returned one to him.
"Uh- Is he your fool?" Samson asked.
"No! That's just tonight, he's still my most hardworking minion." Ajay corrected him and Samson nodded.
"So what's the plan boss?" Another mercenary asked eagerly.
"We're going to act as an advance scouting party for the Royal Army. At the moment, the Golden Path are unaware of our switching of sides so we'll go deep into the enemy command post and study their movement then hopefully Solomon will give us the order to return to the front. Which we will and without problems at all." Samson grinned deviously as did his men.
"We're with you till the end Boss!"
"That's right!"
"Can't leave you doing all the work!"
The mercenaries showed them their camaraderie with Samson.
"Good lads!"
"Follow me, I'll get you resupplied." Ajay led them to the supply depot hangar where they went to pick up weapons and equipment from the crates.
"Maya, Anish, Darshan." He called out the remaining hunters.
"Yes?" Maya asked.
"Take some of the explosives and plant them around the hangar, the supplies and the runway. Have them linked to a single control on the air control tower."
"What?-"
"In the event we fail to hold this airport by morning we'll make sure the Golden Path get nothing out of it!" Ajay was explaining to them literally scorched earth.
He would rather destroy these benefits than let the Golden Path have them again. Maya processed her thoughts on his decision.
"Alright, we'll do it!"
"Great! Head back down to the defense line after you've all resupplied." Ajay gave his instruction and they went to collect the right amount of charges to place around the airport.
When the mercenaries were reequipped they went back on board the truck and went to the first line of defense where they would make their way back to Solomon.
The soldiers were still cautious over the mercenaries and shot arrows with their stares as they walked by.
The mercenaries weren't blind to the stares, but they didn't say a word.
"Aren't you worried?" Samson asked.
"Mmmm?"
"That we might run back to Solomon and report your capabilities?"
"Not at all, if that were really the case then it will just show that in the end that was all your honor as soldiers amounted to."
The mercenaries were wary of his challenge to their professionalism.
"Besides, It'll only make it more fun for me to chase you!" An inverted crescent waned from Ajay's mouth sending dread amongst the mercenaries and soldiers alike.
"That wouldn't be the case, we sweat on our honor we will abide by our contract!" Samson placed his fist to his heart as he said it.
"I'll take your word for it then. Happy hunting!" Ajay told them as he waved back to him while they went on their way.
Saras was there to see the interaction Ajay had with the mercenary leader.
"You've seen to have won their respect! Were you serious about what you said if they turned?" Perhaps she was expecting him to say it was just to intimidate them but Ajay gave a diabolical laughter instead.
The soldiers in the trenches were so glad he was on their side.
"Jokes aside, how's Bipin managing?" Ajay asked about his right-hand who was supposed to be instructing some Royal Army soldiers Saras personally selected to operate the tank destroyer.
The tires screeched from Bipin making a hard turn with the eight-wheeled vehicle, men on board shouted in excitement.
-He's having way too much fun!-
The hatch opened and Bipin popped his head out of it.
"Ajay! Ready to have a go again?"
"Bipin, get off the vehicle." He said so clear it sounded like a threat. Bipin heard this tone and dared not dally, climbing out of the hatch and ran towards Ajay and Saras.
"How's their progress on the vehicles controls?"
"They've learnt everything and practiced a few. I was just taking it for a spin just to see how far its tolerances were!" Bipin confessed. Saras giggled at his adolescence showing.
"I'll leave the tank destroyer in your command then, Saras!" Ajay handed her full control over the tank destroyer.
"Thanks, I'm gonna need it!" Saras ordered some of her men to position the vehicle in a hidden place to provide fire support for them.
"There will likely be armored vehicles like this one coming, I'll advise your men to conserve the tank rounds for them." Ajay warned her.
"Mn! I'll relay it to them! Where will you be going?"
"I'll be thinning the waves if that's alright with you."
"I'd welcome it!"
"Ma'am! Scouts report the first sightings of Golden Path groups have been spotted at the base of the hill!" A lieutenant reported to her.
"Yes, thank you." She thanked her subordinate for the heads up then turned back to Ajay.
"Once wave one arrives get rid of them quickly! Don't leave them to report the layout of you defense line." Saras nodded.
"What about the mercenaries?"
"Samson's smart, he knows somethings happening soon and he doesn't want to be in the maelstrom when it happens. My offer for him to fly out is the best he'll get anytime. As for the Golden Path, they've move cautiously. They're under the impression there's a 'main force' out here lying in ambush, so destroy them quickly before they realize!" Ajay advised.
"I will!"
"Mmm!" Ajay walked off to sneak behind enemy lines, but a hand grasped his sleeve and pulled him in.
Saras pressed her lips against his and dug her tongue into his mouth. Her men who saw this made oh so much of a racket, but Ajay was just as shocked as they were. She finally returned his mouth after what seemed like a while.
"Damn! I thought I was gonna suffocate." He said wiping his mouth with his sleeve.
Saras chuckled in her usual alluring fashion.
"A good luck kiss, we may never know if we will make it out of this one!"
"We will! If we can't, I'll make sure you and your men aren't there to suffer the consequences!" He said to her with a determined look before picking up a rifle from the stack and disappearing into the dark of the forest.
Saras smiled at his sweetness to her, he had shown that he was looking out for her more than once.
She looked back to the trenches where Bipin and her soldiers in the 1st line still had trouble closing their mouths.
"Shall I give each of you one, just in case?"
The soldiers gulped down their saliva in unison but quickly turned back to doing their duty.
"Man!..." Bipin sighed to himself.
"Maya's not gonna like this."
Maya and her hunters rejoined with Saras at the first line after they had finished planting the bombs, calling Ajay on the radio only to find out he ran ahead of them while the Golden Path had yet to come. They had missed their opportunity to link up with him now that the Golden Path were upon them.
"Glad you could come!" Saras said over the gunfire and whistling of rockets passing overhead.
"We bought the RPGs your lieutenant asked for, what's the situation?" Maya asked.
"As you can see!-….."
The Golden Path had amassed a substantial force of over two hundred for the first wave of attack, all fully equipped with the latest bulletproof armor and weapons. For the time being, the 3rd company was just as well equipped with the captured supplies from the airport hangar but they'll be subjected to fatigue whereas the Golden Path will send waves to weaken them.
"Your brother took the armored vehicle to the rear to reload and stay in cover for when we move to the second line!"
-Boys and their toys.-
"I think we'll need that ingenuity you displayed the last time to get us out of this mess! Badala said not to retreat from the first wave!"
"Alright! I'll think of something, just don't waste your men's strength." Maya took out the binoculars to observe the enemy movements once more.
Saras had full confidence that Maya would get them out of this pickle, she had nearly done so before with the mercenaries. But these were Golden Path guerillas, they weren't as combat harden or trained as the mercenaries and would break if they saw too many of their allies die around them.
Just then they heard the sound of screaming bombs about to land. "Mortar! INCOMING!" A soldier screamed at the top of his lungs to warn the rest.
Fireballs of explosive compound detonated around the area of the trenches forcing nearly all the soldiers to hug the walls of the trenches for cover. Maya and Saras were doing the same. The mortars were indirect and were not crewed by skilled men but were able to provide suppression for their comrades advancing and scoring some hits with their shrapnel hitting and injuring some from 3rd Company.
"As if things couldn't get any worse!-"
"Don't jinx it!" Maya warned her.
"…."
"There's nothing much we can do from here! We don't know where the mortars are and the Golden Path fighters will be upon is any moment!"
"…..Then we'll just have to depend on Badala." Saras pressed her hopes.
"I'll comms him, get your men to reload and prepare for close combat!" Maya instructed.
Saras nodded and left to give her lieutenants orders to relay.
"Badala come in! We're receiving mortar fire-."
*I know.*
"Then do something!" She shouted.
*I've found the mortars but I'll need some help. Remember what I asked your brother to do at the stronghold?*
Maya remembered clearly, she went to one of Saras's lieutenants to request an illumination rocket from the RPGs she brought. She threw it over her shoulder pointed skywards.
"Where'd you want it?"
*South-West.*
She turned the rocket launcher to that direction and depressed the trigger sending the illumination round off into the night sky in that direction.
A miniature star blossomed into the night sky catching the attention of the invading Golden Path wave, the mortar team and the Command centre where the Golden Path field commanders and Sabal was.
-Hurry!-
Previously Ajay had evaded the Golden Path's first wave with careful stealth and use of darkness to mask his position. Before, when the mercenaries tested their lines Ajay hadn't position anyone in the front to flank the attacking forces, hence it became a battle of how hard the opposing forces pushed.
He would not let that happen again. The remnants of Saras scent was in his mouth was quite pleasant throughout his journey. For some reason, the image of Maya frowning appeared in his mind.
-That woman!-
Saras planted the idea in his head even when he knew there wasn't in hell's way that was happening. But then impossible things happen somethings… just like time travel.
Ajay shook his head to clear his thoughts, he was midday on a mission to take the airport for the Royal Army. He had just reached a cliff where the mortar team had position themselves to get a overhead view of the battlefield, they had clear visibility to the trenches and their own comrades fighting up the slope.
There were three mortars and tons of ammunition for the respective weapon assembled at the end of the cliff. Crewing them were three fighters each and four guards watching over the security of the mortar positions.
A bright light flashed in front of the mortar team and all of them covered their eyes from the harsh light of Maya's illumination shot.
Ajay took this chance to attack. Dashing forwards at the guards he lodged his blade into one and pulled his grenade pin before kicked him at the other guards. Tossing another grenade at one of the mortar assemblies while the men had yet to recover their eyesight. Two explosions erupted amongst them killing eight out of thirteen. The remaining fighters stood frighten at the visage of a Yalung mask standing before the burnt corpses of their dead comrades, it was barely even five seconds for that to happen.
One fighter fought against his fear and sprayed his assault rifle, earning himself a kukri to the head that was used as a throwing knife.
Ajay didn't give them time to recollect their thoughts as he converged on them and massacred them with brutality. Blood stained the mortar tubes and crates from his viscious strokes of the knife slashing away at the fighters.
Ajay stood standing over a corpse with a terrified last expression and began having a reflection upon his work.
-In the end, that's all I was ever good for….-
A break in static from a radio transmission broke him from his stupor of staring at the corpse.
*Badala, are you done?!* She asked frantically.
"A-.. Yeah! Send me a fire mission!" Ajay said over the radio as he went to position the mortar tube to the direction of the trenches and firefight.
*On grid, south-east one hundred metres from our position! Fire for effect!*
Ajay adjusted the mortar screws to position the tube right, he read the reference material on the sheets of paper they wrote on and measured through the sight with the reference stakes.
The mortar was already pre-adjusted to hit the trenches so all he needed to do was redjust to change the target to where Maya had told him.
"First salvo, away!" He dropped a mortar round into the tube and it self-ignited sending the round flung into the air.
Ajay took out his binoculars to see where it landed.
An orange mushroom cloud blew the trees seventy metres from the trenches.
*Off by fifteen metres away from target towards you! Send another!*
He picked up a mortar round from the box and dropped it down the tube and peered through the binoculars. Another explosion happened in the tree line, this time he could make out flying shadows of people where he hit from the bright orange explosion.
*Dead centre! Adjust in five metre increments towards us!* That sounded like the Golden Path fighter were trying to get out of the barrage area and closer to the defense line.
He adjusted the mortar again and lobed two shells before adjusting the tube again like Maya asked and repeated the process till it was measured in forty metres away from the trenches where it was unsafe to fire any closer less he hit his own men.
*Keep it raining! They're breaking!* Maya sounded jubilant over the radio translating into how the situation was unfolding over there.
The Golden Path fighters thought their own mortars had made an accident with the salvos and cursed under their teeth but found out that wasn't the case. They tried to get out of the kill zone by advancing further up front but Maya's forward observing help correct the barrage to hit them with lethal efficiency.
Being unconditioned to this type of warfare in direct confrontations, the Golden Path fighters were on one mind to retreat from the front. Those that were alive retreated into the depths of the forest back to where the Golden Path main force was waiting.
The forest in front of the first trench line was devastated with broken trees, craters from shell and rocket impacts and littered with hundreds of mangled and tattered bodies. Men and woman lay on the leaf covered slope, the smell of burnt fresh permeated the air.
But this did not dampen the 3rd Company's morale. They cheered for the first victory against the Golden Path after a long time. For years under previous commanders they sustained casualties to guerilla attacks by the Golden Path without inflicting any damage back on the illusive fighters. So today when they killed hundreds of those same partisans, they were washed with a satisfying feeling that they had avenged their fallen comrades who died without so much as sending back hurt.
"Great job, Badala! We managed to repel them!" Saras voiced out into her radio.
*I was merely supporting. You did great holding!*
"Modest as ever. Just accept that you contributed in some way!" Maya said on her own set.
*I couldn't have sent those shells if you didn't send me the right directions. You did well too, Maya.*
"Uh-..Yeah! I did!" She stumbled in her speech.
*Right, I'm coming down. Don't know when the Go- (Gunfire) -Shit!* Automatic fire erupted on Ajay's end of the radio.
"Badala?! Badala come in!" Maya's complexion turned pale as she knew what was happening.
An explosion resounded in the distance. Maya grabbed her rifle and proceeded to climb out of the trench. But an iron grip pulled her back down.
"Let go, Saras!" She said calmly.
"I know you're worried about him but going into uncharted places alone isn't helping him either!" Saras told her sternly.
"Then you want to just leave him?!"
"We have a plan to abide by, he knows the seriousness of the situation he's gotten himself into he'll get out!"
But Maya's stubborn attitude prevented her from believing otherwise and slapped the hand away as she rushed to climb. Saras was helpless to stop her. Maya was nearly out again when a hand chopped her on the back of her neck and she plopped onto Darshan's shoulder. He climbed down with his superior on his shoulder and walked towards a stack of sandbags, gentle placing her against them.
"Thank you, I don't know what she would have done!" Saras thanked him.
"She's always been this way…." Darshan said in his usual manner.
"She's really lucky to have such good subordinates!" Darshan turned around to look at the direction the Golden Path were in.
"He'll be alright, the Golden Path will find it hard to kill him." A simple sentence but one that assured Saras that Ajay was indeed alright.
-Ten minutes ago-
Solomon was sitting by the command table where Sabal and the field commanders were discussing the following waves, he smoked down a cigar provided to him by Willis as he watched the ready Golden Path fighters converge on the airport pass by him with a boring look on his face.
He noticed familiar faces coming out from the direction of the airport towards them and got up from his seat. A grin planted itself on his face.
-So they did survive.-
The faces that he recognized were the mercenaries, with Samson still in the lead. They were tired and blood soaked but alright, only twenty-one of them were remaining out of the forty that he originally had on his pay roll but that was alright still. He could have other uses for them.
"Oh, your back! Go wash up before coming back to me, you smell!" He dismissed them casually as he walked towards the command table to listen in on the current situation.
Some of the mercenaries were gritting their teeth and tightening their fists. He sent them into a sure death situation while he sat his ass in the safety of the Golden Path command group. Their friends and comrades were dead because he insisted they climb up the slope and engage the Royal Army to test their defense and was the first to run off.
Samson raised a hand to calm them down.
"Boss!" A close member of the mercenary group called out at him preventing them from getting flustered.
"Not now. We have a job to do, he'll get what's coming to him sooner or later. But we need to relay intel to Badala, our employer."
"Are we really gonna work for that masked demon? He made you kill some of our buddies! The way I see it he's no better than Solomon but scarier." His friend since his Italian Paratrooper days asked.
"He did that to protect those important to him so that we wouldn't fool around in his presence. But if you're asking me to choose between Solomon and Badala, I'd still stick with Badala."
"Why?"
"Do you see any future working for Solomon after what happened back there? Badala is at least offering an avenue to leave this god forsaken country while the ambers of the civil war are still small. He knows that as well. So if we want to continue surviving then our lots need to be cast with Badala."
His friend nodded after being shared a rough idea of what was on Samson's mind. It was due to Samson's foresight that the entire mercenary group survived this long, because he could see the outcome of conflicts and steer clear of danger. So whatever Samson chose they would follow till the end.
"Will he keep to his word?"
"He has our wounded friends, we don't have a choice." His friend realized the guise of which Badala's charity had as he held their comrades' hostage.
"But he'll keep to his word, provided we keep to ours. This is the chance he gave us to prove ourselves, it's time to show that we can be trusted!"
"You seem really taken to our new employer here!" His friend chuckled.
"Of course, until now all our client has been self-entitled little shits! This is the first one I've seen with real balls!" Samson admitted.
"He is rather scary!"
"Aye! I'll agree on that! So let's try not to be his enemy, he'll only take pleasure in hunting us!"
The mercenaries nodded in unison, Ajay was just dreadful.
"Achoo!" Ajay sneezed as he was aligning the mortar tubes. "Damn Maya….."
The mercenaries went around observing the site where the Golden Path had assembled at the base of the valley on route to the airport. They sabotaged supplies and other essentials when it was convenient and took in the surrounding layout of the temporary base as well as the kind of units assembled. The numbers were exceeding two thousand and were growing by the minute. It just showed how important the airport was to the Golden Path and how much Ajay was endangering their plans.
A radio operator reported to Sabal and the field commanders on the situation with the first wave.
"It's terrible Sabal! The first wave is suffering heavy casualties and is receiving mortar fire!"
"Oh?" He said curiously and looked at the map on the table that showed the geography of the location.
-They wouldn't be able to send mortar barrages from that close a distance and so steep an angle unless…. It's one of ours!-
He scanned the areas that were plotted with troop positions and found his target. Sabal started to have a familiar feeling like when their sniper position was taken by someone else, the person who gave him that scar on his face and the most humiliating feeling he ever felt. His face started to burn red hot with fury at the thought.
-It must be him!-
"Assemble a hunting party! I'm going hunting for our mortar man!" Sabal made up his mind to pursue the person who might possibly be that person.
"Now hang on a sec!" Sabal threw a twisted glare at Solomon who spoke of stopping him.
"What!"
"You sure you'll be fine with just those ragtags you call fighters?"
The field commanders' faces were filled with anger at Solomon's insults.
"What are you suggesting?"
"Who are you to judge our brothers and sisters in arms?!"
"You're nothing but a slippery worm!"
The commanders tossed insult after insult back at Solomon who chuckled to their naivety.
"Take my men with you, Sabal. Maybe they could teach your brothers and sisters a thing or two about warfare!"
"Sure!" Sabal was not opposed to the idea of having help when it was given.
"Right, Samson!" Solomon called out for his mercenary leader who came running.
"Yes, sir?"
"Follow our friend here on his hunt, if possible don't get in his way! He doesn't like anyone stealing his kills, but if they need a hand then give it!" Samson nodded.
"Good! Off you go then!"
Samson gathered his mercenaries and followed Sabal and his Golden Path fighters in the direction that was unspecified.
They later came to understand what they came for not too long later.
Hiding behind some sandbags at the edge of a cliff, and firing back when there was an opportunity. His metallic mask gleaming terrifyingly in the pale moonlight to cast a frightening image on the Golden Path fighters who were expecting a few soldiers, but instead….
….. it was their new employer.
