Nineteen silhouettes waddled their way through snow knee deep, the weather had turn for worse and a blizzard was threatening to cancel their expedition to the Uttar Region, otherwise known as Northern Kyrat.
These brave men were the Force recon marines of USSOCOM, on a mission that deviated from their original briefing. They had been caught in a silent war between the pen-pushers at home and the field Agent gone rogue. Willis had the current Director of overseas operations in South-East Asia by the balls and they were helpless to change it. Pressure from Command was for them to follow that arrogant bastard till whatever he was doing was complete.
In the end, Captain Goh and his men were the patsies.
They spent a day to clear out targets for that coup de tat hosted by the right-wing leader Sabal, which successfully took total control of the Golden Path. Unfortunately, his rival a woman named Amita and her supporters and contingent were nowhere to be found. While he did take over Banapur, Sabal was anything but happy with the hollow victory. He sent a team to capture the Tarun Matara, some sort of spiritual leader but failed when an asset went rogue and took the little girl to away into hiding. David watched as Sabal executed the survivors of that mission in a silent corner, that guy was just as disgusting as Willis and he wanted nothing to do with him but it wasn't his to choose.
"No word from JSOC. We've got nothing, no air support, no satellite imagery, no on-site assets. Nothing, sir." The communication specialist reported to Captain Goh. It was to be expected, Paul probably wants the activity coming out of Kyrat to remain minimal in case NSA monitors this sight and catch him red-handed. He was a real pussy.
"Fucking spooks!" Perkins cursed as he threw more fuel to the fire which warmed them during the night in the chilling mountain tops.
"Everyone shares the same opinion Gregor, it can't be changed." Said Captain David Goh.
"Is there nothing we can do?" His other sergeant asked him.
"The most straightforward option would be to kill this Badala, who's a lieutenant of that Pagan fellow."
"Assuming that's all Agent Huntley wants us to do!" Perkins thought more deeply into the situation than the others did.
"….." But it was true, who ever said it'll stop with the vice-lord's assassination. David knew they were on their own in this and there was no guarantee that's all Willis wanted. He was willing to threaten the highest ranking officer all the way in Langley, they were nothing but mere chess pieces.
Their target was in the Northern Region of Kyrat in a place called the Valley of Death, not a very imaginative name but easily recognizable. The only pathways to the North were through a heavily guarded bridge or through the snow packed mountain slopes with unpredictable weather patterns, today wasn't their lucky day. The Sherpa leading them through made them set up camp inside a cave. Currently he sat near the outside of the cave entrance on lookout.
"The other alternative would be to get the files and dirty records on Lynch, but then we'll have Lynch to worry about." If Paul ever knew they somehow got their hands on his secrets he'd call in a fuel air bomb on their location, just to make sure.
"Urgh….. I think I've got frostbite!"
"Where?"
"My ass cheeks!"
"You sure, I thought that was the hottest part of you?"
The marines always remembered to crack a little humor in their direst of times, now was one of those moments.
"So what's so special about this guy that the spook can't handle him? I heard Willis arranged an entire airlift of weapons and armor for those Golden Path rebels." Perkins asked his superior.
"Badala, real name unknown. In his mid-twenties and apparently an American-Kyrati. Reports suggest that the King brought him in to deal with the Golden Path which he successfully dealt with. He has special links with the Kyrati Military High Command which give him exclusive access to their assets and equipment. The Golden Path guerillas call him the 'Northern Demon' because he lives in the north go figure, but also because of a trademark mask he dons in battle. Made in the likeness of a local demon."
"So he tried to establish himself as the local boogeyman, eh?" Perkins could understand their targets intentions. David nodded.
"The liaison commander from the Golden Path says he gave Sabal the pretty looks he has now, the psychopath hates him more than hell."
"I'm starting to like him already!"
"You should hear the track record this guy has. Ending a previous invasion into the North led by that rival of Sabal's, Amita by taking a fortress with six guys. Has over four hundred confirmed kills in two weeks. Often charges into a firefight with a knife." David was finding it more and more unbelievable himself as he briefed his sergeant on the target's known abilities.
"Recently, he orchestrated an attack on the Golden Path supply chain with just a hundred men and a few mercenaries that switched sides with their employer who was an arms dealer for Sabal. The Golden Path tried to retake the airport which was bringing in the equipment we sent and failed miserably. If I remember the numbers correctly it was a little under two-thousand warriors that died that day."
Perkins whistled at the beyond impressive kill-count.
"Damn! No wonder Willis wants us to do the job for him. So what do you think our odds are?"
David wasn't sure about it, he never encountered anyone like this before. He doubt anyone in JSOC had either.
"I dug around for intel on Badala from the survivors but all of them say the same thing…. He can't be killed. He's a demon. I shouldn't be alive." The warriors were too stuck in superstition and Badala used it against them to his advantage.
"That's not very helpful, what about the terrain over there?" Perkins always asked the more practical questions, much to David's favor.
"We've got nothing, Willis just gave us an old map of the North he got years ago but there's no guarantee there hasn't been any changes. The North has been cut off for so long, the Golden Path barely even knew what went on over the other side except from rumors from the people that travel to and from."
The guerillas couldn't exactly sneak past the territorial guards without risking detection so only warranted traders and those from the North could freely go between the bridge.
"Supposedly his fortress in the centre of this Valley of Death, the place as a lot of large rocks so we'll have good concealment till the walls of his fortifications."
"Valley of Death… doesn't sound very appealing, what do you think he does there?"
"Some nasty shit. Probably torture POWs and dumping them once they've been run dry on intel?" Sergeant Grilles suggested.
All of these were assumptions with no real hard evidence to back them up. They'd have to scout the place in advance before proceeding to zero Badala's location. It wasn't an easy mission to undertake even for soldiers of their caliber, that's why none of the Golden Path warriors ever attempted it.
(Roarrrr)
A piercing roar echoed into the mountain top and entered their cave.
"What was that?!"
"Local wildlife maybe….. Probably a bear."
"Nah, man! It sounded bigger!"
"You don't think it's the Yeti, right?"
The marines broke into a hearty laughter.
-Yeti….. Yeah right!-
Ajay took a quick shower that was afforded to him and changed into a new set of clothing which he bought from the market. A simple traditional attire that kept him warm and comfortable in the chilly weather they were having. He waited for the girls at the door, they were taking their own sweet time to prepare for dinner.
-What could they possibly be putting on? It's just down the hill.-
Despite complaining internally, he waited patiently for them.
"We're ready! What do you think, Badala?" The three of them appeared together. Saras asked him about their appearance.
They were also wearing traditional garbs but with more vibrant colors which brought out there figures in the subtlest of ways yet very matching.
"Need I say? Bhadra looks very cute in that, your skirt is a little too short." Saras looked down as the length but found no flaw.
"Ha! Made you look!" Ajay was actually poking fun at her, and she pouted for not being on her guard for such a simple ruse.
"And Maya… You should stop wearing a uniform." Ajay told her honestly.
Maya suddenly felt her cheeks rise in temperature and was tongue tied by his compliment.
"Ah- Thanks… I guess!"
"Why couldn't you give me praise like that!?" Saras complained.
"When you look like you're gonna pick up some young guys and squeeze them dry all night?" Even in a traditional dress the garments focused on bringing out the already voluptous proportions she held.
"Or just one man…" She said with a smirk. Ajay walked ahead, not wanting to get dragged into another meaningless conversation.
Maya made a whistling sound the hunters did to call in their animal friend. For her case, it was Bishal the white tiger cub, or should he say young adult tiger. The cub grew to tremendous proportions the last time he saw it, as the tiger saw Ajay it bent submissively when passing by him. It was still afraid of him, its mother was killed by Ajay and right after that, Ajay grabbed him and threw him to its doting owner, Maya. Ajay thought it would growl or try to avenge its mother but it didn't seem so, for now. Ajay had once tried to approach it out of curiosity and the wild feline jumped in the air like a scaredy cat.
"Hello boy, let's go for a walk, 'k?" Maya scruff Bishal's well-groomed fur which the tiger thoroughly enjoyed and let out a chuffing noise.
Bishal walked next to Maya, leaning against her leg looking to be showered with care and affection from her. "Wow! So cool!" Bhadra couldn't conceal her excitement to seeing an actual domesticated White Tiger.
"You should have seen him when he was this tiny!" Saras emphasized Bishal's small proportions when Saras met it as a cub still.
The four of them made their way down the pathway on the hill towards the town where they hoped to get some grub, perhaps at the inn.
It was night time, and the streets were packed with the movement of people. Some were had just arrived in town and were looking for a place to stay, others were workers taking a night walk with their family to have dinner just like Ajay and company. Overhead were lanterns dangling from wires slung across the buildings adding to the ambience of the towns plaza.
Having Bishal around was quite convenient especially when everyone recognized who was with it.
"Ah! It's lady Maya!"
"Lady Maya's here!"
"Going for a late night stroll, milady?"
The crowd stop and turn to cheerfully greet her, some of the newer folks came to see what the head of the Arsenal looked like.
Maya maintained a dignified smile and curtly waved to the people as she walks through the crowd to make way for the rest. Bishal was receiving pets and treats from the people that passed by.
"Wow! You really weren't kidding." Ajay said to a chuckling Saras. "I told you, she completely assumed your role as the head of the Arsenal."
"Well she deserves it." Ajay was well aware of the work she had done in his absence, he only asked her to maintain operational capacity of the Arsenal. Instead she created an entire town that oriented around the Arsenal, even providing the basic necessities needed to sustain living in the area such as the well, the inn and the road planning for the entire town.
There was no way anyone wouldn't know her, she even gave out loans to certain shop owners she felt were essential to a community to set up a business here. Although she did use a considerable amount from Ajay's budget and his private funds, he didn't mind so long as she used them properly.
"So where should we eat them, your treat of course." Saras already set the dinner to be his to pay for.
"Since I'm deciding, I'll get to decide right?" Ajay hadn't had much time to explore the new town but there was one place he wanted to stop first.
The inn stood right in front of them, it stood three levels high with the reception and dining on the ground floor. After much greeting of folks Maya rejoined their group, apologizing for breaking off without informing.
They entered the dining where waitress stood at a front counter to coordinate seats between customers.
"Welcome in- Ah! Lady Maya and Huh!- M-My lord?!" The waitress was stunned to have to high officials of the town in the small dining.
"Table for four please." Ajay represented their small group.
"Uh- Yes! One moment!" The waitress quickly went to the back of the kitchen to find the manager to inform him of the situation. A few seconds later the waitress walked back with the manager in tow, rubbing his hands together.
"Greetings, Your lordship! Lady Maya to what do I owe the pleasure-."
"Just a table for the four of us, in a quiet part if possible. We can wait."
"Yes! We'll get that sorted out immediately!" He gave clear orders to a few of the waiting staff.
"Manager." Ajay called out.
"Yes, milord?" The manager responded crisply.
"Calm down, we're here to have chow just like everybody else. There's no need to displace your customers to accommodate us." Ajay informed him.
"Uh- Very well." The manager went out to sort them a table without moving the existing occupants.
They were directed to a table at the balcony that overlooked the plaza which was quite fortunate of them. The manager personally took it upon himself to waiter for them and awaited their meal orders.
"Right, what do you guys want?"
"You're paying, you chose." Maya reminded him.
"Mmmm.. Ok. Manager, what's this joint's special?"
"Yes. The specials we have for tonight is a combination of lamb casserole with Naan bread, stir fried vegetables and a curry fish head."
"That sounds nice, may we have it?"
"Yes, lord. We'll have it ready as soon as possible!"
"Tell the chef we're in no rush, so take your time. Thank you, manager."
"Thank you, milord!" The manager disappeared after taking his order.
"I'm already watering from hearing him say it!" Bhadra confessed.
"I'm sure you are! Squirt!" Saras who was sitting next to her tussled her head.
"We have Maya to thank for bringing this town into this state."
"Indeed you do!" Maya proudly stuck out her chest.
"Sooo… Badala, mind telling us what you did in the Golden Path for the last three weeks?" Saras initialed the conversations.
Ajay began to share most of the details in his adventures in the Golden Path that he was allowed to disclose to them in public.
"Well, aside from communicating two ways to clear the 'trash' in the Royal Guard and Army. It was mostly patrols around the Golden Path camps and meeting up with Bhadra here."
"Ehehe!... You would not believe what Amita and Sabal thought of him then when he killed the captain of the Royal Guard and his attacking force."
"Really….. what was that about?" Maya asked curious.
"Those two idiots were too busy like always arguing over all the pettiest of things to even do a proper background check on me. They actually wanted to use me as a deterrent against myself."
-I guess which ever timeline they'd still be fighting.-
Maya and Saras laughed at the possibility.
"It was like asking me to hit myself!" (:-I) Ajay wore a deadpan look.
Even Bhadra was giggling at the idea.
"So what have you both been up to in the Royal Fortress and the Arsenal?" It was their turn.
"Mmmm… Maya's been mostly contracting my company to build her town for her, and at a hefty price might I add. I bet your treasury is completely empty by now." Saras chuckled as she whistle blew Maya. Ajay turned to Maya who took defensive measures against his incoming accusations.
"W-What?... I needed to spend that money to support the town! It's not like I spent exorbitant amounts on a single purchase like you!"
"Relax, Maya. I'm not accusing you of anything, you've done a pretty good job thus far."
"Your damn right I have! Which reminds me, what was with that purchase you made weeks ago from Switzerland?" It was the opportunity she had been looking for to ask him.
"Ah! That! Well, I did it because I could afford to at the time. So I sent Longinus to collect it and give the payments as well, you should have seen him all shaved and wearing a fine fitted suit! You'd hardly think he was the crazy arms dealer at all!" Ajay chuckled at the thought.
"Still, to get the machinery that could have been purchased like last time through the blackmarket-."
"That was because we desperately needed it, to start operations and fix all the bugs before starting production. But I intended to have one of the very best in precision machinery at my disposal so It'll ease on the errors of production and give us the best money's worth of using our precious raw materials in Kyrat. Besides, the valley isn't the only place we'll be having an arsenal."
"What?!" She almost got out of her seat.
"You think an army can be supplied by a single small arms factory? Ratu Gadhi fell in the first place precisely because the defending forces ran out of ammo." Ajay unveiled the real reason the fortress fell into the grasp of Amita's field commander then.
"I see….. so it was all part of a bigger plan was it?"
Ajay nodded. Maya made a fist of her hand, she didn't know why but being told her work was only a fraction of contributing to Ajay's motives made her feel used and manipulated. It was as Yuma said, he really didn't care about her.
"It's not like I planned this way in the beginning, I'm not that smart."
"Huh?"
"It was just something that I decided when things were going so well here thanks to you. Look around you, Maya. Do you remember what this place use to be? The barren valley of death, now it's the centre of trade and commerce because you pull a little effort into even the smallest of details. I can tell you, out of all the other territories I've seen I'm proud to call this my own. If the same could be done to other parts of Kyrat then I don't see why not." Ajay took a drink from the lime juice that was provided to quench his dry throat.
Maya's thoughts were jumbles, she once again made an assumption of Ajay. One that would have made her regret her childish actions against him. Her mood darkened.
-Why did I even care what he thought about me?!-
"Looks like someone was overthinking something!" Saras was not blind to Maya's thoughts as she expressed it through her eyes.
"Uh- What?"
"Little Maya was almost disappointed Badala didn't pay enough attention to her that she almost threw a tantrum!" Saras said laughing to her embarrassment as she turned red pouting.
"Cool off, Maya. You should be familiar with how Saras likes to tease us, so don't let her get a kick out of your reactions." Ajay advised her.
Hearing it from Ajay she let out a breath to calm herself once more, but it did nothing to improve her mood.
"Muuu… no fun!" Saras pouted when Ajay spoilt her enjoyment.
"Milord, Lady Maya. Dinner is served!" The manager came with a few assistants holding the tray full of dishes. They put out the spread on their table for them to eat.
"Woah! I'm famished!" Bhadra declared as she saw the wide and luxurious spread of good food laid in front of her.
"Dig-in! If it's not enough, I'll ask for more." Ajay announced.
"So generous of you!" Saras chuckled as she helped herself to the spread.
"Manager, I'll have a bottle of your strongest whiskey." Maya asked.
"Right away, madam!" And went off to retrieve it.
"You sure that's alright before eating to drink, wouldn't you get tipsy faster?" Ajay was worried about her.
"I'll be fine….. I have a craving for it that's all!" She smiled sadly, Ajay was having complex thoughts about what kind of emotions she was having.
-What could possibly make her so upset?-
The manager came back with the bottle and an extra glass, but she drank straight from the bottle instead. And it became her drinking alone at the corner of the table.
"Seems you're rather concerned over little Maya over there." Saras whispered into his ear.
"Why wouldn't I be? What the hell's got her so upset, did I not praise her enough? I really meant what I said you know!" Hearing Ajay say that, Saras let out a sigh but more of relief.
"It seems you're still poor at reading a woman's heart, my darling!"
"I thought that's the one thing that was impossible to read for us men."
Saras laughed at his honest yet quite true remark.
"Quite right. Then let me give it from a fellow woman's perspective. She's angry with herself."
"What?"
"I'll leave it to your imagination." Saras went back to eating and making sure Bhadra had enough on her plate. Ajay threw a raw steak that the manager seemed to remember about Maya's furry friend to Bishal in the corner so it would be fed as well, the white tiger happily gorged itself into the fresh meat.
Ajay shifted his cup in front of Maya.
"If you're gonna drink at least have the decency of sharing."
"…."
She poured out some for him but still held the bottle to herself.
Ajay ate sufficient portions of food with his drink, Maya on the other hand had not even touched her food. Bhadra seem to stuff herself in all the nice food, she went for seconds which surprised Ajay and Saras at her eating capacity. Saras poked fun at her for having a stomach of a whale making her a little conscious of her eating.
Those two were fine but to his oldest friend, was in a spot of trouble and he didn't seem to have a solution to it.
"Saras, could you take Bhadra home after she's had her fill, I'd like to take Maya on a little walk to help her blow off some steam." Saras smiled and nodded. She understood that Maya wasn't feeling well and Ajay was doing something about it.
At the counter, Ajay paid in advance and asked for another bottle of the same whiskey to bring with him and a flask of cream soup with a naan to carry on the way.
"Come on, Maya. We're going for a trip." Ajay returned to the table wiggling the new bottle in front of her.
By then, she had already finished the first bottle and her face was all red, her movements weren't straight either.
"Hmmm?…. Pass me the bottle." She reached out for his second one.
"Not so fast, you'll have to work for it!"
"I'll just get one from the restaurant." She raised her hand to call a waiter.
"There's none left, this is the last one. I've checked with the manager."
"Tsk!" She clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction.
She got up with little difficulty and walked out of inn.
"What are you waiting for, let's go!" She grumbled, the white tiger Bishal followed her wherever she went so Ajay needn't bother about it.
"Don't stay up too early, you two." Ajay said to both of them before leaving to follow her.
Ajay brought her to the jeep parked near the homestead the four of them lived in, Bishal seem to return to the homestead patio where it was shaded to sleep.
Ajay drove for a long while, the cold wind awoken Maya's senses a little from the intoxicated state she was in. She made him stop midway to puke at the roadside. That was what she got for drinking before eating.
"Where are we going?" She recovered some wit to ask that question.
"A rather special place I have in store for us, we're not too far from it now." Maya took the time to close her eyes to rid some of the dizziness she had still in her head.
The sound of the tires stopped and the engine turned off.
"Come on, let go." Ajay said as he brought out a pack with his things and a shotgun for emergency.
Maya followed him quietly, by now much of her senses returned and she was out of her drunken state and feeling hungry.
(stomach grumbling)
"I've packed some soup and bread from the inn you can have first before a few glasses." Ajay chuckled at her.
"T-Thanks…" Maya continued to hug her growling stomach to hold her hunger at bay.
Ajay had led her through a cave in near the mountain slopes, there was no need for a torchlight because the other side of what appeared to be a tunnel they were travelling through had ambient moonlight shining through it. There was the sound of water flowing on that side as well. As they got closer, lo and behold. They appeared to be the within a vertical cave on the opposite end of where they were, was a waterfall trickling down into a lake at the very bottom. And above….. above was the most catching collection of stars that could be seen through the top of the pit.
Maya was left with her mouth agape to the most jaw dropping of scenery she had ever seen. There happen to be a shack that was built into the wall of the cave, whoever lived here previously could have this scenery almost every night.
"How-….."
"Come over and have a seat." Maya turned around to find Ajay had already laid a rug to try and soften the rocky floor. On top of it he poured out the soup from the flask into a cup.
"Hurry up and fill that stomach of yours, then we can have a drink together!" He handed out the cup to her.
"Uh- T-Thank you…" Maya was still in a daze from the gorgeous scenery. The sound of the waterfall, the calmness of the night and the dazzling stars overhead collectively added to an ambience not found anywhere in Kyrat or most other places for that matter.
As Ajay had instructed, she drank down the warm soup, he also passed her the naan bread to go with it which she wolfed down on it like she hadn't eaten in a while.
"I'm sorry for ruining your appetite back there." Watching her eat, Ajay felt partially responsible for her situation with her drinking instead.
"Uh- No! It wasn't your fault!"
"Well…. I hope this letting you in on this place of mine will make up for that." Ajay smiles wryly.
"This place… I don't think I have any words to describe something so magical. How did you…?"
"I came here by accident one day, I was looking for a certain family treasure and my grapple broke from the rocks and I landed right here." He pointed to where they were.
"When I came to, it was already night and I got to see exactly what we're seeing now."
Ajay and Maya gazed up into the sky when suddenly a flash of light passed by.
"Was that a shooting star?"
"What an occasion, what'll you wish for?"
Maya closed her eyes for a while to make her wish and opened them when she finished.
"What?" She turned to Ajay who was giggling away.
"You actually believe in wishes? How old are you?"
Maya felt she could die of embarrassment from what Ajay did to trick her and got up to kick him several times. Ajay was a mixture of laughs and grunts from her kicks.
"So what did you wish for?"
"You don't need to know!" She went back to drinking her soup.
"Was it for Yuma to get hooked up with Pagan? I'm still thinking on that and even now, I don't have a clue." Ajay held out the flash to pour more for her.
She gratefully accepted it, Ajay was full of surprises. It was difficult to stay mad or happy with him for long.
"No…. it wasn't." She took a while to respond.
"That's weird, I thought that Yuma was usually priority one on your commitments."
"…"
"What would you wish for then?" Maya asked him.
His expression changed to one of deep thought as he stared up into the sky.
"… Solace."
Ajay sighed as he scratched his scalp.
"There's nothing so cruel as memory. Things you wished you didn't do, things you wished would have happened and things you wanted others to do instead. All collective pieces of an unperishable part of me known as past."
Maya always wondered what Ajay's past was like that he'd become how he was.
"You might be wondering, where did I learnt to fight like I did, to kill without flinching. The answer is practice, practice that came in the form of thousands upon thousands of dead corpses. Until I came to the conclusion that the only thing I was ever capable of was taking another man's life. Sometimes I wish I wasn't born into this life where I was made to choose this path, why was I born with these hands? Why couldn't I just live like all the other kids at school?"
Ajay gazed upon his hands.
"That's why I don't believe in wishes."
Maya felt he had gone through an unforgiving childhood to turn out this way.
"I'm sorry, Ajay. I really am, no words can express my sorrow for the life you've lived. To be honest, you might have already known mistress Yuma ordered your death at her whim."
"She'd only be doing me a favor." Ajay smiled.
"…. I've-… I've tried telling her about you…. To make her understand the life you've gone through but-."
"It wouldn't work. Pagan was everything to her and within a few months he was stole by my mother. Her wrath can't be quenched even in this lifetime, I kinda understand her grief a little."
Ajay had a taste of treachery himself from Sabal and his hatred passed over to this life.
"And if she realizes the target for her misery is gone, she'll become self-destructive and hurt everyone and everything regardless of whether she once cared about it or not."
It was the catch to solving Yuma's wrath, because it was the only thing she clung onto in her existence.
"But neither will killing you free her." Maya was intelligent enough to figure that out.
"Maybe, maybe not. She isn't the only problem, the only woman in Pagan's life was my mom. He even told me a few times, and look what it did to him. It threw this country into this pitiful stalemate."
Ajay remembered Yuma once told him, she loved Pagan for his strength but when his mother came into the picture that strength vanished into thin air. Could his talk the other day rouse Pagan back into action? He wasn't sure, it could have been a once time feeling for him.
"When the time comes, and Yuma gives the order. I want you to follow it."
"Wha- Ajay!" Maya was so shocked by his declaration she stood up.
"Don't worry. If she sends you or Darshan to hunt me, I can still run. But if you betray her by standing up for me, she'll become beyond saving."
Ajay was telling her the seriousness of the situation in saving Yuma.
"I understand." She said after some thought.
"Great, now let's enjoy the bottle of whiskey shall we?"
"Let's!" Being reminded of the one full bottle still in Ajay's possession made her expression lighten considerably, it would help wash away all the negative thoughts they both had over a drink. That was what the ambience was for anyway, these feelings they conveyed were merely a way they shared their anxieties with one another and then they'd let go of it right after.
"Um…..Ajay?"
"Hmm?" Ajay poured her a cup full from the bottle he had.
"…. Why Darshan?" She seemed puzzled by Ajay's choice of people chosen to hunt him.
Ajay cocked his head slightly, it seemed Maya wasn't aware of how unfathomable the hazy man that had accompanied her for so long was truly actually capable of.
It may have been a hunch, but there were rarely instances his hunch was wrong.
Trundling through the forest towards their destination after weathering a blizzard, the marines came had finally arrived into the North and were at a cliff that overlooked the valley of death.
"I was not expecting this…" Perkins spoke his thoughts exactly.
"Seems we've all had the wrong impression of Badala all this while." The Golden Path's description of him was vague, it encompassed him being as dreadful if not worse than the other governors. Yet they were looking at a small settlement that looked like a frontier town of the old west but with a slight Kyrati touch to it. Either way it was far from the chains and wailing of prisoners behind high thick walls.
The scouts in disguises returned for their report, also bringing with them food they purchased from the stalls too conveniently as one would have expected.
The marines ravished the meals hungrily after that long and strenuous trip through the mountains.
"Stew, how's the terrain over there."
"You mean, what's the town like, sir. I checked with some of the travelling Sherpas, this town is totally legit. It revolves around an Arsenal for the Royal Army sponsored and run by yours truly. From our intel, our man lives in a house on top of a hill not far from the weapons factory."
"And here I was expecting a palace or castle!" Sergeant Leon expressed his eagerness to go out to finish the job.
"We're not going anywhere, we still need intel on the garrison here. He wouldn't just leave his Arsenal unprotected. They're definitely forces lurking somewhere else." David remained coolheaded in his approach, they were after all alone behind enemy lines without support from JSOC or the Golden Path.
"Speaking of forces, I heard there was an armed group of mercenaries in the area going by the name Condat- Condie-…um, what was the name of those venetian mercs?"
"Condotierri." David answered for him.
"Yeah! That's the one!"
"Who did you hear this from? Didn't the Sherpa that guided us leave after his contract was finish, how did you speak hindi?"
"Actually it was this redneck that I met at the pub, said he worked for Badala."
"You met an American civ all the way here? And was working for Badala, how and why did he feel like telling you all of this?" David wanted to confirm the validity of the intel he was receiving.
"I didn't need to ask. He was just bragging it over a pint I bought him, his name's Hurk by the way."
"Boss what do you think?" Perkins had a rough idea of how they could use that Hurk fellow but he wanted to confirm with his superior.
"Does he know you're an outsider?" David asked the scout.
"It didn't seem like he cared, he was brattling on about how he and Badala infiltrated the Golden Path weeks ago under false alias and stole their holy woman, that Tarun Matara right under their noses."
David was surprised by this news, he and that weird fellow American went in and took the most valuable person to the Golden Path by themselves. David wondered if they were stupid or something.
"Wait, I think I heard something about this!" Perkins recalled something.
"They said a mute warrior took her away when the coup was in progress, I think that may have been our guy all this time!"
"Right, I'm gonna make a satellite call to our friendly neighborhood spook to get all the info on that warrior. In the meantime, Perkins. Follow Stew into the town and gather more intel on our targets house and locations, also scan the Arsenal's perimeter."
"We planning to blow some stuff up?"
"That Arsenal spells trouble for the Golden Path, the longer they take to manage their resistance on their own, the longer Agent Huntley's gonna dally about!"
Author's notes:
I've opened a forum in Far cry on regards to the better paths that should have been but were simply not implemented into the game due to developers rushing the release:
forum/Farcry-4-The-Alternate-Routes/196003/
I'd love to hear your grievances of the game's lack of positive choices.
On deleted Anonymous review:
A while ago some anonymous guy posted a comment while positive quoted this story was a harem.
That was never my intention, originally.
While nothing needs to be said about Saraswati, Maya's case was never about an early romance. Maya's not some dumb broad that falls for a hunk because he saves her from certain death. In fact, I intended for her to cover certain aspects Ajay wasn't capable of handling on his own. Ajay may be a monster in combat with Mary Sue abilities, and plot armor but he's still far from the be all end all. She was meant to be a person Ajay trusted but also had troubles of her own, as for the romance in her avenue it may be later in the story but not now.
Then for Bhadra's case, regards to her age when 'playing' with the other orphans. I had never mentioned Ajay telling her to play with them, that was the elder because what else would an elder tell two younger folks to do to enjoy their time. I planned for Ajay to introduce her to same age peers to rebuild social confidence, particularly that one lovestruck kid, Biraj. Perhaps I'll cover the orphanage another time to explain, perhaps the kids might take up part-time jobs to keep the place running.
I respectfully removed that review because it gives the wrong idea of the story and worried it might affect other's story reading experience; other's might have a different interpretation of the story.
Spoiler:
Maya is the Main OC. And her story is quite elaborate.
