Escape From Tarkov

by Needle Gunner

Fifteen years after the Survival Game, Yukiteru Amano is now a mercenary sent into the Russian Wild West to investigate any illicit activities by a shady multinational corporation. Rival mercenaries, scavenger gangs and other factions hound him every step of the way. Will he get out alive? The story is subject to change due to EFT being in beta as of this writing. UNDER RENOVATION

3. Chapter 3

"CONTACT!"

The newcomer's burst narrowly missed Yukki's brand-new helmet by a few inches. The latter retaliated by sending a bunch of single shots towards the intruder's group, instantly taking out the shooter with a 7.62 NATO round to his head. His black Crye Precision AirFrame helmet might as well have been made out of paper. The dead shooter's comrades instantly returned fire, forcing Yukki to get down. The newcomers then took advantage of this to attack the dorms. At this point Yuno got out of cover and fired wildly at the goons who shot at her beloved Yukki, but the latter forced her back into cover before her AKS-74's magazine ran dry.

"What was that for, Yukki?"

The unknown assailants immediately bracketed their position with rifle and light machine gun fire. Yukki motioned for Yuno to stay down while he got on the radio and warned his comrades that the dorms were under attack. Meanwhile, the Scavs inside the two-story building were checking out the loot the BEAR team left behind when gunfire erupted somewhere around the highway. They instinctively went prone, while the BEARs accompanying them immediately took cover and began contacting their teammates as they tried to find where the new attackers were.

"Pennywise to Snowman, Pennywise to Snowman, what's your status, over?!"

"We're taking fire up here at the observation deck, and they're currently pushing towards us! We need immediate assistance, over!"

"Acknowledged. Hostiles in sight, engaging now!"

The BEARs then opened up on the new assailants, but were soon forced back into cover by their targets's other teammates, who had split up to secure the two-story building. At this point Fence's men took position and began engaging the newcomers.

"Hey, I know these fuckers - they were just like the assholes rolling with the Dealmaker's guys earlier!"

"Are you sure about that?"

"I'm absolutely fucking sure!"

As one of the Scavs pulled his phone out to try and call for help while his homies had also begun engaging the newcomers, the rest of the BEAR team had managed to position themselves inside the three-story building. Naturally, they too had begun engaging the new attackers, who were dressed and equipped similarly to some of the raiders they've encountered before. As the newcomers' fire was shifted to his teammates, Yukki then wasted no time giving Yuno a crash course in how to properly make use of her new rifle, using his AK-105 as an example.

"So this is how I'm supposed to hold it?!"

"Yes, now take it to these fuckers! Fire in short, controlled bursts! I say again, short, controlled bursts!"

"Got it!"

The childhood sweethearts then started to open fire on the raiders below. Yukki had switched to his AK-105 at this point, sending burst after burst of 5.45 at any hostile he saw, with Yuno doing more of the same, although she was having some trouble controlling her full-size AKS-74.

"If you're having trouble with the recoil on full-automatic, try switching to semi-automatic and see if it feels better for you!"

The young woman then did as she was told and managed to get some shots off, but she was forced back down by return fire from the raiders. 5.56x45mm rounds flew dangerously close to her head, so close that she could feel the heat on her cheek. It was the operator's turn to take a shot, but he too was forced back down by enemy fire. In his frustration, he reached into one of his plate carrier's pockets, pulled out an M67 grenade he looted from one of the dead USECs earlier and pulled the pin. As his childhood sweetheart looked on, he stood up and threw the grenade at the attacker's direction before getting back down.

"Have some lemonade, you fucks!"

"Yukki, what was that for?"

"GRENADE OUT! GET THE FUCK DOWN!"

As luck would have it, the hand grenade landed close to one of the raiders. He picked it up to try and throw it back at the BEARs, but he was hit in the neck by a 7.62x54mmR bullet from Spartan's PKM. The would-be grenadier was dead before he hit the ground, and the grenade exploded in mid-air, causing serious damage to the other raiders. Inside the two-story building, Joker then began firing grenades at the raiders, knowing that he might fuck up and hit his homies instead. Pennywise was busy juggling between his radio and his AK-74M, communicating with his teammates at the other building while blasting away at the raiders outside.

"Grenades! Take cover!"

Soon enough, the surviving raiders were forced to withdraw from the dorms and headed for the factory area, carrying their injured teammates with them. They tried to mask their movements with a smokescreen, but the wind was blowing in the wrong direction. They got away under the cover of sniper and machine gun fire from their guys at the so-called stronghold east of the old gas station. Yukki wasted no time switching back to his HK417 and immediately engaged the shooters at the stronghold. A 7.62 NATO round came within half an inch of Yuno's head as she shifted her fire to her beloved's targets. The sight attached to her rifle - a Belomo PK-06 compact reflex sight - just wasn't the right one for the job, however. The young woman was subsequently told by the operator to get back inside the building as he was already engaging the shooters, and that she had done enough. Just as she had reached the stairs, the top of the two-story building was suddenly hit by a series of explosions.

The raiders had managed to bring the mounted automatic grenade launcher at the stronghold to bear, and it was bearing down at them. Yukki couldn't get a clear shot at where the grenade launcher was, although he did manage to take out the sniper and machine gun team opening up on him and his team earlier. He immediately got up and ran like hell back inside, where he was met by a visibly worried and shaken Yuno.

"Yukki, are you alright? What was that?!"

"The bastards have a grenade machine gun, and they can hit us with it from there! We're leaving!"

"What do you mean, they have a grenade machine gun? Is that even a thing?"

"It is! Now go!"

Goblin's voice was on the radio calling for the BEAR team to disengage and get out of the dorms immediately. Upon reaching the second floor, Yukki and Yuno were met by Anton and Yuri, who had just finished putting whatever loot they could still fit inside their rucksacks.

"You have to get the rest of the loot out now! We're gonna get our asses blown up by that fucking AGS!"

"Hurry up! We need to go now!"

"This won't take long, I promise!"

"What the fuck are you waiting for, then?! Go!"

Yukki made a mad dash for the kitchen, where the rest of the loot and his backpack were, while Yuno headed to the shower room to collect what she had taken. The two wasted no time trying to fit whatever they could inside their backpacks, all while 30x29mm grenades were raining down around them.

"Man, I really fucking hate this shit."

A few moments later, the bombardment suddenly stopped. The two hurriedly closed their backpacks, put them on and went back outside. The BEAR could see his first love struggling to even stay upright due to the weight of the loot and gear she had. He then suddenly took his backpack off, put it on the ground and ran back upstairs, heading for the observation deck. The young woman followed suit, wondering why her man was going back up despite the danger he told her about a few minutes earlier.

"What are you doing, Yukki? Didn't you tell me that we need to leave as soon as possible?"

"I know, I know! This won't take long!"

"What do you mean?"

The operator then switched back to his battle rifle upon reaching the observation deck and scanned the stronghold for targets. He then saw that the raiders had moved the automatic grenade launcher to a position where they thought they could hit the dorms from better. He immediately began engaging the raiders, while his childhood sweetheart had just arrived at the observation deck. At this point Anton decided to call Yukki up on the radio.

"Foxhound to Snowman, Foxhound to Snowman, what the fuck are you doing up there, over?!"

"Snowman to Foxhound, I have a clear shot at the grenade launcher crew! I'm engaging right now, over!"

After a brief exchange, the raiders were forced to ditch the mounted grenade launcher - and two of their buddies who were put out of their misery by Yukki's fire - and disengage through fire and maneuver, forcing Yukki and Yuno back down to the floor. Once the BEAR operator was sure that the enemy has indeed left the area, he pulled the young woman back up and led her back downstairs. On the way there he called Anton on the radio to report what just happened.

"Snowman to Foxhound, Snowman to Foxhound, the grenade launcher has been neutralized, two hostiles are down, and the rest has retreated. Going back down, over."

"Good job, Snowman, but don't fucking make us worry by not telling us beforehand next time. Are you seriously trying to show off to your girl? Anyway, we're positioned outside near the northern fire exit. Hurry up - they might come back in greater numbers. Foxhound out."

"What was that all about, Yukki?! Are you alright?! I almost got shot again! I know this would be pretty rich coming from me, but what the hell were you thinking?"

"Sorry, Yuno. I just... I'm sorry."

As he approached his backpack to put it back on, he suddenly felt his childhood sweetheart's arms wrap around him. He could feel them shaking through his plate carrier and jacket as she put her head on his rear armor plate. Part of him wanted to break off, put his backpack on and carry on downstairs, but at the same time he really wanted to feel her embrace even for a while. He decided to turn around and wrap her in his embrace, which made her cry.

"Don't cry. Don't cry. It's alright. I'm sorry for making you worry about me. I'm sorry for putting you in danger again. I'm sorry for dragging you into the mess I'm in."

"Oh, Yukki..."

He pulled out the same cloth he used earlier and wiped the tears from her eyes once more. After putting it back inside the pocket he pulled it out of, he pulled his skull balaclava down and gave her a quick peck to the lips before pulling it back up. He then went back to putting his heavy backpack back on. Meanwhile, the young woman went to pick her backpack up and put it on. He noticed that she was visibly struggling to stay upright due to the weight of her backpack and gear. He went over to her to try and take her backpack off, but she assured him that she can handle the weight.

"No, you can't. Gimme that."

"I told you, Yukki, I can handle this. I've endured much worse for you, remember?"

"Ah, fuck it. Let's go. The boys are waiting for us downstairs. Just don't hesitate to drop the shit when it gets too heavy - I'll carry it for you."

"Okay."

The young woman did end up dropping her loot-filled backpack just so she could run down the stairs as fast as she could. The operator, who was more accustomed to carrying heavy loads, opted to drag it down the stairs as he ran, hoping that it wouldn't cause much damage to the contents. The weight of the loot and his gear was starting to get to him, but he didn't think about it too much as he continued towards the now-opened northern fire exit, where his childhood sweetheart was waiting for him, panting heavily while laying down on the ground. The other BEARs were positioned outside scanning for nearby hostiles. He noticed that his teammates weren't wearing their backpacks. Then he turned to see two carts full of bags. One of them had enough space to fit the backpacks he had, with room to spare for at least two more.

"What the fuck took you two so long?"

"I had to carry both of our bags. She can barely handle all the gear she has. Did Fence's boys get the loot out of the two-story building?"

"They left to meet up with some of their homies. They said they'd come back here to pick the rest up, but I told them that we'd be long gone by then. And put your bags in that cart over there."

"Oh. Are we going to push these things or pull them all the way to the extraction point?"

"If we had any rope on us we might be able to attach them to our belts and pull them, but for some reason we all forgot to bring some."

"Good thing we found some rope on the USEC goons we took down earlier. I hope it would be enough..."

Yukki wasted no time taking the rope from inside his bag and laying it down on the floor while Yuno just sat and watched as she continued to catch her breath. He then took his knife from its scabbard and began cutting the rope in half. Meanwhile, Joker was on the radio trying to contact any other BEAR team still out there that hasn't either gone rogue or gone dark trying to escape.

"All friendly stations, all friendly stations, this is Phoenix, does anybody read me, over?"

"Say, does anyone know what happened to Skif? I haven't heard from him in a week."

"I don't know, he's probably still looking for that fucking TerraGroup case his runaway USEC buddy gave him."

"You mean Mike, the guy that was on all the networks a few days ago with photocopies of supposed TerraGroup files?"

"How did you - oh yeah, I forgot we still have an Internet connection at the hideout. Anyway, how did he manage to get past the ring of patrol boats they have a few miles away from the port? And wasn't the port occupied by UNTAR after our guys left due to that big attack a month and a half ago?"

"He didn't really enter into the details of his escape, but he did say that he had to sneak into fishing boats and merchant ships just so he could get into international waters, and the last ship he got onto just so happened to be heading for Finland."

"Wait, don't they regularly check every damn ship and boat they come across for stowaways and contraband, particularly TerraGroup cargo and personnel?"

"Of course they do, and they even seize the fucking bribe money nowadays. Either he got very lucky, or he was caught by the feds and he somehow ended up in Finland due to a series of shady deals between Moscow, Helsinki and Washington regarding the information he has."

"And that means our friend Skif might be in even more trouble than we originally thought."

"Yeah. I just hope we can find him and that damn case before those fucks in black or some other bunch of shady fuckers get to him."

While the other BEARs were still talking among themselves about what to do next and what was happening outside the region, Yukki went over to where Yuno was and sat down next to her. After he was done cutting the rope, he went around in his bag to get himself and his first love something to drink. He then pulled out a clean, dry cloth from his plate carrier and wiped her face with it, seeing that she was sweating profusely despite the rather cool weather. After that, he took the can of General Sam's RatCola he looted earlier and handed it over to her.

"Here, have a drink. I'm pretty sure you're fucking thirsty after all of that shit. And don't worry about this fine beverage here - not only is it of exceptionally high quality, I made sure that it's absolutely safe to drink. As for food, I guess we'll have to eat at my team's hideout."

"Aw, thanks, Yukki. What was the part about the drink for, by the way?"

"Let's just say that the brand name doesn't really sound like something you'd sell to people."

And unlike you, I don't give my loved ones spiked drinks. Unless they piss me off enough.

"Oh, okay."

As the young woman opened up the can and took a sip of the still-cold soft drink, the operator pulled out another can of the beverage she was drinking and drank from it. While T-Rex and Spartan watched the road nearby, the rest of the BEAR team was also catching a break after they were done tying the rope he cut to the carts. After a while, Yukki brought his smartphone out again - having set down his now-empty can of cola - and began taking pictures of his team lounging around before turning it on Yuno. It took her a full minute to realize that her beloved was taking photos of her and everything around them.

Come to think of it, we barely had any photos of each other we personally took back then...

"Is that thing really a camera, Yukki?"

"This, Yuno, is what cell phones are like nowadays. Do you remember Kousaka's prototype phone? This fucker's the latest version of it. And apart from very poor people and people who miss the mid-2000s, no one uses flip phones nowadays."

Speaking of that fucking sell-out piece of shit, I wonder how he's doing in the third world. He's probably still a fucking asshole, I bet.

"Oh, I see. Can I borrow it? I wanna see what it does and how it works."

"I'll show them later, but there's some stuff in there that I don't really want you to see. For now at least."

"Like what?"

"You'll find out later. Now would you kindly come closer for a moment? There's something I have to do."

"What is it?"

He opened up the camera and took a few photos of himself with her using the front camera, taking his helmet, headset and skull balaclava beforehand. After that he put it back inside the pouch on his rig it was in. He was going to put his headwear back on, but he decided to give his childhood sweetheart another peck on her lips instead. She answered it with a hug, which she then followed up with a deep kiss to his lips.

"Are you lovebirds done flirting over there? Get the fuck over here, we're getting the two of you a room at the hideout!"

"He do be flexing his 3D waifu in the field though."

"Shut the fuck up and cover the fucking rear, Joker."

The other BEARs who heard Joker's quip in English towards Yukki shook their heads and chuckled quietly as they prepared to move out. Yukki himself could barely hear what his comrade said, but he still ended up laughing in Yuno's face, which left her dumbfounded and confused. He then gave her one last peck to her lips before he broke off from her embrace and put his skull balaclava, helmet and headphones.

"What was THAT all about, Yukki?"

"Don't worry about it, it's just Joker being himself. Let's go, we gotta get to the hideout as soon as we can."

The operator then motioned for his first love to follow him before heading towards his guys and the carts loaded with loot-filled bags they were pulling. The two jogged until they caught up with the BEAR team at the pipeline near the bus terminal. Anton then had the two get on the cart he was pulling - the one with their bags - and cover the team's rear as the team continued towards the highway.

"Are you sure about this, boss man? I don't think the cart can handle us, our gear and the bags all at the same time. And let's not get started on the bags' contents."

"Spartan and Pennywise had it covered. The cart held, and nothing was broken. Now get the fuck on - I'm sure you lovebirds are tired after all of that shit. And don't worry about me. Have I not told you about that time me and my old squad had to pull our BTR out of a ditch? This is nothing."

"Whatever you say, Tony."

Yukki wasted no time helping Yuno get on the cart, telling her to be careful with the bags as she did so. As he climbed onto the cart, he thought of checking the barrel cache inside the abandoned shipping container past the pipeline, but he decided that getting Yuno, the boys and the loot into the hideout was more important right now. Besides, whatever's inside the cache might not be worth stopping by for, and even if something really valuable was inside, it was pretty much too late to get the team to stop so he could check it out.

As the BEAR team turned at the highway and headed towards the new gas station, Fence's men had re-entered the dorms, having followed the barricade wall path to avoid being seen on the road.

"Where did the BEARs go, Dani? You said they were gonna hand over some of the loot, right?"

"Yeah, but the plans changed and they had to leave in a hurry after the fucking raiders attacked. Anyway, you take Robert, Dima, Nik, Lev and Grisha with you and check the two-story out. Me and the rest are going inside the three-story. We meet back up at the courtyard. "

"Alright. Come on boys, let's go!"

Meanwhile, the BEAR team had just reached the new gas station. Since the highway was blocked by a barricade made out of debris, sandbags, crates, abandoned vehicles and barbed wire, they had to go around it by going inside the gas station. The floor was teeming with loose trash, dried blood stains, leaves and pieces of flesh, bullet casings, empty magazines, grenade and bone fragments, scattered pools of fuel, and they saw at least two dead bodies near the entrance to the convenience store. The fuel tanks, pumps and abandoned vehicles inside had multiple bullet holes on them, and the abandoned convenience store had broken glass all over the place. One of the abandoned vehicles inside was an ambulance, and it wasn't spared from the looting and damage. The combined smell of propellant, rotten flesh, dried blood, leaked fuel and other nasty stuff was never a welcome scent to the operators, but they were all used to it. Although they were the only ones inside, they were still on edge as they made their way through the gas station, their eyes scanning every inch of the place. Yuno was so intrigued by the scene she was passing through that she quietly asked her beloved Yukki about it.

"What happened here, Yukki? Why are all these cars and trucks abandoned? And is that an ambulance? Where'd everybody go?"

"They all left in a hurry, as you can see from all this shit. Russian government forces tried to secure this place from the inside, but they also had to leave their positions within the region, which explains the abandoned army trucks and shit. Yes, it's an ambulance, and as you can see it's got so many holes it might as well be Swiss cheese at this point. Last I checked most of the locals went to the neighboring Leningrad Oblast, with the luckier ones managing to reach Saint Petersburg. Others decided to leave Russia entirely and fled to the European Union through either Finland or the Baltics - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania."

"Why did they leave? What was the Russian government doing here?"

"I'll tell the rest of it later. Right now you need to quiet down and keep your eyes peeled. Someone might be preparing to ambush our asses."

I don't know, something about this place doesn't sit well with me. If it was just me in here I'd just go up and find a way out of here by myself, but Yukki's here too, and I can't leave his side, not after having to spend too much of my life without him. Will I also have to get to the bottom of this mess with you, Yukki?

The group left the gas station through a gap in the fence as the exit was blocked by more abandoned vehicles and debris. Once they got past it they went back on the road and headed for the abandoned military checkpoint. On the way there they noticed that the abandoned, dirty white GAZ Tigr armored car the Peacekeeper had them mark with beacons a little over a month ago was gone.

"The blue helmets apparently decided that they would take the cars wholesale instead."

"Wouldn't that be more difficult considering the situation?"

"Yeah, but they probably thought that the image of abandoned UN vehicles would be a bigger loss than the shit they spent getting those armored cars out."

"And they might make more money just selling the fuckers whole, too."

Curious about what the others were talking about this time, Yuno thought of asking Yukki again, but she instead decided to wait until they were somewhere safe - wherever that may be. As she continued to look around with her rifle in a low ready position, the young woman tried to suppress the thoughts of everything she had done and gone through, and what they might do to her in this new world. While she looked to her beloved that she was just covering his group's rear like he was, she was being torn apart from the inside. He then decided to put his left hand on her right shoulder before leaning closer to her and whispering in her ear, making sure to stay focused on covering the rear.

"Take it easy, Yuno. Relax. I got you. Once we're at the hideout I want you to open up, to tell me everything you never got to tell me, and speak up about what's been troubling you. Just relax for now, okay?"

The young woman took a deep breath. She then slowly and quietly exhaled, which made everything feel somewhat lighter and calmer for her. At that point she wanted to pull her first love's skull balaclava down and kiss him again, but she also remembered that she had to help him watch his teammates' backs. She then noticed that he was also scanning the sky, as if he was watching out for aerial attacks. It didn't take long for the team to reach the abandoned military checkpoint. One of the first things they noticed was that the barricade wall near where the other UN armored car was - it was also apparently taken whole by the peacekeepers - was pulled down, revealing the pipe behind it. They also noticed the military checkpoint gates being wide open, as they were usually closed everytime they went by. The guard post was also open, requiring a closer look by Yuri, T-Rex and Pennywise as the rest of the team positioned themselves away from the road. It turned out that someone had been here before them, and they somehow managed to open the gate and unlock the guard post door.

"Did they also take all the shit inside?"

"Yeah, and they left their fucking trash in there."

"There was also this dead Scav on the second floor. He looked - and smelled - like he was dead for a while now. He took at least two to the stomach, one to the chest, three to the left leg, and one to his crotch - we couldn't really discern if it hit his dick, balls or both."

"That's gotta fucking hurt. What did he have on him?"

"He only had a scoped SKS in his hands. His fisherman's vest held at least forty loose 7.62x39mm rounds. His pockets had a few hundred roubles in cash, some keys for rooms in the dorms, and an empty chocolate bar wrapper. His small bag contained more spare ammunition, an unopened bottle of water, two packs of crackers, a can of tushonka, and a loaded Tokarev. It looks like whoever ransacked this place didn't have enough space for his shit. And that's if they even noticed he was there. Good thing Foxhound's cart had space to spare."

Meanwhile, Yukki was with Yuno and T-Rex on the second floor of the guard post. The childhood sweethearts had gone up to relieve Pennywise and Yuri, who took the loot from the dead Scav and put it inside the cart Anton was pulling. As the two marksmen scanned the area for potential threats, the young woman took the sights of the place in. A flock of birds flew overhead and into the distant unknown, probably to a safer part of the region. The air was surprisingly fresh for an abandoned war zone. The forests looked absolutely beautiful, with the branches and leaves moving gracefully with the wind. Despite the visible scars of war all over the place, she still found the place beautiful, and the fact that she was enjoying the view with her one true love made her feel even better.

Oh, how I wish whatever's going on here had stopped so Yukki and I could enjoy the view by ourselves...

"When you turn around, I lose vision. You got me running deep in the superstition and I can't believe my fucking eyes. In a thousand years I never thought I would see you come from beneath me, and I feel like falling, I feel like falling, ay..."

Wait, Yukki can sing very well? How did I not know about this when we were together? Did he learn how to sing after I left this world? Now I really want to hear him sing for me...

"We fall again, we fall again. We fall again, we fall again..."

"I like how you serenade your girl while you're looking for more shady fuckers to put down, my friend. You might wanna quiet down and focus on searching for threats, though."

"Oh really now? Do you really think I'm intentionally singing to impress Yuno? You know damn well I sing whatever I like, whenever I like."

Fuck, he caught me. I just hope Yuno doesn't think we're talking shit about her...

"Hah. Just quiet down and keep your eyes and ears open. Blackbeard's radio intercepts are indicating that we might run into more of them fucking tourists around here before we can get the fuck out."

"I know. My gut's telling me the same thing."

Soon enough Goblin called for the three to leave the guard post as the team was about to move again. T-Rex was the first to get up and head for the stairs. Before he went down, he turned to Yuno and said something to her in his native Russian. She could only respond with a nod and a confused smile. She then waited for the marksman to leave before she asked Yukki - who was busy taking pictures of his vantage point - what his comrade said.

"He said that you need to be careful with me as I might have plenty of STDs from all the pretty ladies I've fucked. And that you need to take better care of me."

"What?"

"Don't worry about it, he's just fucking with you. But seriously though, even though I may not be the same ol' Yukki you used to know and love, I sure hope you love, take care of and look out for me all the same. Anyway, let's go. The boys are waiting."

His words gave her pause as he readjusted his helmet strap and checked before heading for the stairs. He then turned to her and quietly called her over, knocking her back into reality. The two then made their way back down and regrouped with the rest of the team. Goblin then took point as the BEAR group went through the open gates and turned towards the highway, which was littered with more trash, debris, abandoned vehicles and hastily-built fortifications. The group crossed the road as fast as they could, their gazes and weapons pointed at every possible direction. While on the move they noticed he gap in the wall that separated the road from the industrial area near the factory had widened, with the forklift nearby having been moved inside. They then passed another abandoned checkpoint as they went on their way - one that was normally populated by Scavs. Once they were inside the industrial area, they immediately turned left towards the administration gate before turning right and continuing down the road in the direction of the factory, past the big oil tanks.

The group then turned right and reached their destination - a concrete structure labeled "ZB-1011". Goblin, T-Rex, Pennywise, Spartan and Yuri immediately took positions on both sides of the road to cover their teammates. Joker then began removing the rope on Somali's belt, which connected it to the cart he was pulling. Anton then did the same with Yukki, who had removed the rope from the former's belt and tied it to his own. Yuno was still sitting on the cart, covering the factory.

"Where are we now, Yukki? I don't know about you, but I don't feel like staying in this place any longer."

"We're almost outta here. Just sit tight."

Once the ropes tying the carts to the BEARs had been untied, Yuno got off the cart she was riding on and followed Yukki as he and Anton went downstairs. When they came upon a heavy door, she asked her man again about where they were.

"Behind this door is the an entrance to the network of tunnels and sewers that lies underneath this whole region, Yuno. This shit dates back to the late Soviet era. And once we get past this door, we're in the clear."

"Oh. Does that mean that we'll be safe once we're inside?"

"Yes."

"Are you two done? Help me out here."

On his signal, the two operators turned the crank that kept the door closed, straining quietly all the while. Then, once the lock was disengaged, they pushed the door open until there was enough space for them to fit through.

"Are you alright? Can you still handle all that shit all the way to the hideout?"

"Yeah, I'm good. I could really use some sleep though."

"Alright. Let's get back upstairs."

The two operators then went back upstairs and informed their comrades that the door was open. Yuri immediately ran towards the concrete structure as he was going to help Anton carry their loot and bag-filled cart downstairs over Yukki's insistence that he help his comrade lift the cart. Yuno could already sense that he was fatigued, and that he needed to take a break as soon as possible. She then watched as he posted up near the entrance to the concrete structure and covered his homies as they made their way inside and downstairs. As soon Goblin was inside - Spartan, Pennywise and T-Rex having gone in before him, with Joker and Somali lifting their cart downstairs - he closed the gate and motioned for his childhood sweetheart to follow him downstairs. Before that he thought he saw a younger Yuno wave at him with a sad smile and tears falling down her face. He then saw a younger version of himself appear next to the younger Yuno and waved at him with a big, happy grin on his face. He could only reply with a slight smile and a wave as he saw the younger versions of himself and his first love turn around and disappear from view. Once they were inside the tunnel, Yuri and Spartan pushed the door closed before turning the crank to lock it behind them.

The operators soon realized that they had just survived their first encounter since they lost two of their comrades in the mall near the interchange a few days ago. They were all so tired that they were more focused on getting back to their hideout as soon as possible so they could all get some rest. They didn't even think of the fact that they were about to bring an outsider to their hideout - an outsider they came to know quite well despite having never met her before thanks to one of their own frequently telling them stories about her - and all that it entails.

And then Yukki noticed that Yuno was still shouldering her rifle, ready to shoot anything the group came across.

"Yuno, lower your weapon."

"But what if somebody comes up and opens fire, my love?"

"There's one out of many unspoken rules that our guys, USEC goons, Scavs and others follow: No fighting in the safe zones. This tunnel system is one of them. So lower your weapon, Yuno. Calm down, but stay alert."

"Oh, okay."

She was thinking of celebrating the fact that she had just reunited with her one true love and survived two firefights with him. But like him and his soldier buddies, she was also tired and in need of rest, preferably with her beloved in her arms. She also wanted to know what had happened to him ever since this world's Survival Game ended, and how did he end up in the state she found him earlier. As the group she accompanied got deeper into the tunnel system, she started to feel dizzy, and she was wobbling and stumbling around. Her childhood sweetheart noticed her trouble and offered to help her walk to the hideout despite having some problems himself thanks to his injuries and fatigue. She reluctantly rebuffed his offer, saying that she was fine and that she can handle it, even though she was on the verge of collapsing due to exhaustion and stress from the earlier firefights.

"No, you're not."

Then, just as he was about to grab the canteen from his belt and give it to her, she inevitably fainted, dragging him down with her. He landed on his back, and her rear plate landed on his rig. The operator ignored his gear and immediately checked on his first love to see if she was alright. In his tired rush he didn't realize that he had his gloved left hand in between her plate carrier and her left breast, the back of his hand facing the plate carrier. He was then forced to use his right hand to get the canteen on his belt so he could give her some water.

Fucking hell. She'd been pretty busty the last time we were together, but to think that her tits would grow like this... What the fuck am I thinking, I'm supposed to be helping her!

"Don't let go just yet, darling. I actually feel better with you holding me like this. I'm sorry if I took you down with me."

"I should be the one apologizing, Yuno. I didn't mean to grab you like this. Hell, I'm not even psupposed to be touching you like this. Here, have some water."

"What the fuck is happening over there?!"

"She collapsed. I caught her. We're both alright."

He then pulled his hand away from her chest and got up so he could help her get back up on her feet, having returned the canteen to its slot on his belt. She did try to get back up but she almost collapsed again, forcing the operator to carry her. Although she wasn't that much heavier than she was fifteen years ago, her gear was weighing her down, which added to his problems.

"Are you sure you can still carry me and my gear, Yukki? I can feel your legs shaking from here, so I think you should put me down and let me walk."

"I've carried heavier loads than this, and under worse circumstances. Hold on tight, we're almost there."

"Yukki..."

Yuri, who was now pushing Anton's cart, overheard the lovebirds talking in their native language, turned towards them and spoke up.

"I don't know what the fuck you two just said, but it really doesn't look like you can carry her all the way to the hideout. Put her back on the cart and board after her."

"I can handle this, Yuri. Don't worry about me."

"Sure, just don't fucking call us for help when you inevitably fall to the ground from exhaustion."

"Yeah, whatever."

Save for their comrade softly singing to his childhood sweetheart, the group was quiet for the rest of the trip to the hideout. Yukki kept on alternating his gaze between Yuno, who had fallen asleep in his arms, and his comrades around him. He could already sense the fatigue about to overcome him, but he wasn't going to stop and rest until the group was back inside their hideout - an abandoned late-Soviet era bunker they had discovered a few days after they first entered the region. As the group came closer to the entrance, his mind was filled with memories of the last time he had carried her like this - the time when they parachuted out of the just-demolished Sakurami Tower, leaving the dying Sevenths behind, along with what they talked about while they were falling to the ground. And then there was the shit that happened after he landed, shit that he wished had never ever happened.

"Detective Nishijima? What are you doing here? What's going on? Where's Mom?"

"I don't know how to say this, Yukki-kun, but your mother.. She's-"

"Heads up. We're here."

Almost immediately, the BEARs sat down around the bunker entrance to take a badly-needed break. Goblin's voice snapped Yukki back into reality, which prompted him to set Yuno down next to him. Once she was back on the ground, he sat down, looked up on the ceiling, breathed in deep, and sighed. He then felt the young woman lean on him, with her head on his right arm. As Goblin and Anton began opening the bunker door while the others were spending their time quietly eating, drinking and wiping sweat off their faces, Yukki wasted no time taking Yuno's helmet and headphones off before taking off his own, along with his skull balaclava. He grabbed the cloth he used earlier from his rig and wiped the sweat off her face and neck with it. He put the cloth back where it was and wiped the sweat off his face with the sleeve of his tan tactical jacket. He then turned to his first love, caressed her face and hair for a bit and then planted a deep kiss on her lips, which woke her up.

"So, are you feeling better now?"

"How can I not feel better when my knight in drab armor woke me up with a loving kiss? Anyway, where are we now?"

"Home. Or at least the closest thing we have to it here. Anyway, I'm pretty sure you're still thirsty, so here's some more water."

"Thank you, Yukki."

The young woman happily drank from the canteen while the operator took the near-empty bottle of water from his rig and drank from it. Once it was empty, he then took the canteen from his childhood sweetheart, who was just about to hand it over to him. She didn't leave much behind, but it was enough for him. He didn't realize that he placed his lips on the exact same spot she placed hers, as if he was unintentionally getting an indirect kiss from her. A few minutes after having planted his lips directly on hers, no less. He then turned towards her, who was busy giving him a cute smile that made him want to kiss her again. He then leaned in to give her another kiss, but suddenly he felt a hand push his head towards hers. He could feel his teeth make contact with hers, and her forehead made contact with his. And then he heard his comrades laughing, followed by Anton of all people throwing shade at him and his first love.

"May you two be frequented by a whole fucking colony of ants!"

"Man, fuck you! Are you okay, Yuno?"

"I'm okay, alright... What was that for, Yukki?"

"The door's fucking open, Romeo and Juliet. Get the fuck in and get a fucking room. And don't fucking leave your fucking cum stains and condoms on the fucking bed."

"Fuck you, Tony. Come on, Yuno. Let's go inside."

"What did he say, Yukki?"

"Some stupid shit he shouldn't have said. Come on."

Yukki then gave Yuno a proper kiss before he took her hand and helped her up. The rest of the BEAR team noticed them and started hooting and hollering again, prompting Yukki to flip them all off with his free middle finger and urging Yuno to do the same, while Goblin, himself shaking his head and silently chuckling amidst the ruckus, alternated his gaze between the lovebirds and the rest of the team. He was thinking of how lively it would be if Batman, Karl, Thor and the other homies he'd lost in the past two months were still with the group today. The three in particular would have done much more to tease Yukki and Yuno, among other things. As he continued to take a walk down memory lane, he could feel a single tear drop from his eye, which he quickly caught and wiped with his jacket sleeve.

He then composed himself and got the group to unload the bags and loose loot from the carts, while letting the childhood sweethearts go straight to the main bedroom - but not without having them hand over their weapons and ammunition to him so he could put them in the armory, making sure that they unload their weapons first. He then called Anton over and waited at the door for the BEARs to finish unloading the loot so they could close the bunker door. Yukki took the opportunity to show Yuno around the bunker before the two of them went to the main bedroom.

"So, how do you like the place so far?"

"I think it could use some more work, but for an abandoned Cold War bunker it looks pretty good. And I don't know if I should say this but any place that's safe and lets us be together is automatically good in my book."

"Yeah, this place really needs some more work. But we don't have enough stuff to work with, and we barely have enough cash on hand to buy materials with. Anyway, welcome to the Norvinsk Region, Yuno. Hope you enjoy your stay. Or at least don't find it as bad as what you've gone through."

"Thank you, Yukki. I really hope we can get out of here soon."

"Me too, Yuno. Me too."

Soon enough the operator led his first love to the bathroom, since she told him that she needs to use the toilet. He also had to wash his hands and face. As soon as they stepped into the bathroom, the young woman immediately made a dash for the toilet, pulling her trousers down upon reaching it and sitting down on it. While she relieved herself on the toilet, the operator took off his gloves and opened the faucet. He wasted no time getting his hands and face wet, and then he grabbed a nearby bar of soap to use in washing his hands and face. After a while, his childhood sweetheart called for him as he was washing the soap off of his hands and face.

"Uh, Yukki, can you please pass me some toilet paper?"

"Sure thing, just let me dry off first."

He immediately dried his face and hands with the towel hanging nearby. Once he was done, he grabbed a roll of toilet paper from the cabinet next to the sink, which was in between it and the toilet. As he approached his old flame to hand her the toilet paper, he could already see how her bottom, hips and thighs have developed. Although her hands and shirt were covering up her crotch, seeing the exposed portion of her lower half was enough to satisfy him. She then caught him staring at the parts not covered by her pants.

Hot damn! Now I really want to fuck her so bad. But at the same time, it might be way too early for that shit, so I guess I'll just have to ignore it and try not to jack off about it lest I get caught and be forced to clean the air filters again. How the fuck did she grow like this? Gah, it's making me think harder than my dick is right now.

"Oh, so now you want to check me out. I don't mind, really. We haven't seen each other in a long time, after all. Do you want to see more? Or would that be for some other time?"

"Nah, I'm not really in the mood for that right now. Here's your toilet paper."

"You're not in the mood, you say? What does little Yukki over there think, then?"

"Ah, fuck. Look, just do your business, okay? I'll wait for you outside the bathroom."

"You're such a tease, Yukki."

"Are you two fucking in there already? Hurry the fuck up, I really need to take a fucking shit!"

"We're almost done, Joker! Hang in there!"

"What'd he say?"

"Hurry the fuck up - he needs to take a shit soon."

"Oh."

As the young woman hurriedly cleaned herself up, the BEAR in the room with her was staring at himself in the mirror. He was trying to make sense of everything that has happened so far - the initial contact at the bridge, the fight with the Dealmaker's men at the dorms, reuniting with Yuno after said fight, an encounter with raiders not long after that, the trip to the bunker and everything else in between - and was thinking of how today might affect him and his comrades tomorrow and afterwards. He then thought of how his beloved childhood friend would fare in here, before her voice telling him that she was done snapped him back into reality.

"Let's go."

Right as Yukki opened the door, Joker ran like hell towards the toilet, almost tackling Yuno to the ground as he did so. He pulled his pants down as fast as he could once he reached it. His body began unloading wastes exactly when he was firmly seated on the toilet. Yukki then took a bottle of spray-on hand sanitizer and used it on Yuno's hands, telling her to rub her hands afterward as he did so. The two then left the bathroom and made their way to the main bedroom. On the way there Anton instructed the two to take their plate carriers off and hand them over to him.

"We can't risk having the plates get fucked up now, can we?"

"Yeah."

He also told the two to remove any personal items they still had inside the plate carriers' pockets before they went to bed. Yukki took his phone, his 128GB personal thumb drive which contained personal and mission-related files, his old photos with Yuno, and a bunch of other stuff from his rig. His olive green tactical pants barely had enough space for his stuff, forcing him to either carry some of them in his hands or have Yuno put the others in her pants' cargo pockets. Among the stuff he had his first love carry on her were their old pictures together, including the one taken at the wedding expo.

"You're my light, you're my light, itsudatte boku no kokoro ni sashikomu..."

"You're my light, you're my light, donna ni hanareteitemo todoiteru..."

"How the fuck do you know that song? It was released, like, thirteen fucking years after you fucking died!"

"I don't know how to break it to you, Yukki, but you've been singing that song for a while now, even while we were going through the tunnels earlier. Also, I don't know if I should say this to you, but I think you're a bit too affectionate towards me for someone who's supposed to be this big, scary, stone-faced soldier guy. I don't mind, because I definitely understand why you're like that."

Understatement of the fucking century.

He was thinking of a response to her when she kissed both of his cheeks before planting her lips on his and wrapping him in her arms, which interrupted his train of thought. She let go of him after a few seconds. They reached the bedroom just as the phone in the intelligence station rang. The grizzled BEAR opened the door, insisting that his first love went inside before him. Meanwhile, Anton went to the intelligence station immediately after stashing the lovebirds' gear inside a large box full of chest rigs, body armor and plate carriers near the entrance to the armory. The rest of the crew were either hanging out at the living room or eating lunch at the dinner table.

"Foxhound here, who am I talking to?"

The man at the other end of the call spoke with a distinct Polish accent, giving away his identity immediately.

"It's me. How are you holding up over there?"

"We're doing fine so far. What'd you call for?"

"Well, at least one of my informants over at Customs told me that you and your boys were in a big fight at the dorms a few hours ago, but he didn't give any further details. I would like to ask you what exactly went down over there, but there's another thing I need you gentlemen to do for me."

"What is it then?"

At this point Goblin went over to the intelligence station to find out what Anton was on the phone for.

"You know that our team at the very least makes it appear that we work in the best interests of the local people. The blue helmets regularly deliver relief supplies to civilians stranded in the region, but as you know we also get attacked by those fucking Scavs from time to time. That's what happened to two Ural trucks that were carrying UN-marked crates and had to be abandoned around the shoreline. We wouldn't be upset if not for the sensitivity of the cargo, because this time the crates contained a little help not only for the people, but also for a stranded group of USEC kids holed up nearby trying to get out of this hellhole."

"Go on, this sounds interesting."

"You of all people should understand that we cannot allow this incident to leave a black mark on UNTAR's reputation. Get a UN uniform - preferably an UNTAR helmet and UNTAR body armor, but should you find them not to your liking you should put UN patches on your helmets, rigs and clothing - and teach the local scumbags a lesson. Also, locate the spot where the trucks were abandoned, mark them with beacons, and bring me several MRE ration packs so I could present them as evidence, just in case. And if you can, try to find the USEC kids I told you about earlier - they must be somewhere around the resort. If they ask, tell them you're with me."

"Now this has gotten more interesting than I thought. What do we get for fixing your mess?"

At this point Goblin went over to the intelligence station from the living room to find out what Anton was on the phone for. The latter was scribbling down notes on a nearby piece of paper when he noticed that his comrade was right behind him.

"Let's see... Does a thousand US dollars sound good to you? I'll add two boxes of assorted weapon parts to that if you like. And if you manage to find those USEC kids alive and help them get out in good shape I might even add a little bonus on top of what I told you."

"I'd be fine with the $1000, and we do need some spare parts over here, so I guess we're in. I'm a lottle curious about that bonus though. When do we move?"

"Preferably as soon as possible, but at the same time I'm sure you need all the rest you can get. Anyway, I still have a lot to attend to, so I'll get in contact with you again once I've received word that you've done the job. Until then, take care of yourselves."

"Same to you."

Once the call ended Anton handed Goblin the note he had written, and went over to the dinner table to discuss what the Peacekeeper told him over the phone. Back at the bedroom, Yukki had just finished putting his personal items in his footlocker save for his thumb drive, smartphone and the bottle of water, while Yuno was too busy laying down on his bed and sniffing his scent on it. While her beloved hadn't taken his boots off yet, she had taken hers off as soon as the two of them had gotten inside the bedroom. The BEAR then went over to the table next to his bed, grabbed a dart from a glass full of pens and darts and threw it at the board across the room. The board had a picture of the Dealmaker's face on it.

"Yukki, was that -"

"Yeah, it is what you think it is."

The dart landed right where the bullseye would normally be. It also indicated where the fatal bullet from Yukki's carbine hit the Dealmaker's head. Yukki then went over to the cooler near the door, presumably to get himself and Yuno some alcohol to help the two of them fall asleep though getting drunk. He instead got on the bed and laid beside Yuno, thinking that giving her alcohol was at least for now a bad idea. He stared at the ceiling, wondering what to do next. He then felt his dearest childhood friend take his left arm and wrap it around her.

"What's wrong, Yukki? Are you also having trouble falling asleep?"

"Yeah. I wanna get some sleep but there's a lot of shit inside my head that just makes it hard for me to relax and keep my eyes closed."

"I'll be honest with you, I have no idea what to do about it other than, well, just being with you like this. I wish I could do more, since I'm basically only good fkr for killing people I see as a threat to us and not much else. And your problem is something inside your head I can't kill - not without killing you, at the very least. We can't have that now, can't we?"

"Yeah, but right now, you being here with me like this is enough. I guess you might be right with the whole killing people for me part, but it's been fifteen years - surely you must have been up to some shit since we last saw each other. What have you been up to after you won the Survival Game, anyway?"

After a few seconds, he could feel his left sleeve become wet. She was crying again. He then turned to her and wiped her tears away with his bare hands, having left his tactical gloves inside the bathroom. He took her in his arms and silently comforted her as she kept crying into his shoulder. He didn't know if he should apologize for asking her the question, or if he should tell her that it's okay for her to continue crying all of her pain, sorrow, sadness, guilt and negativity away.

Fuck, maybe I shouldn't have asked her that shit.

"I... I mourned you, Yukki. I mourned you for what felt like an eternity after you died. Sometimes I would reminisce the good times we had together, and other times I would imagine what we could have had, what we should have had - what that damned game took away from us."

"I got stuck in the void for a while too. I did the same too, Yuno. I went through that shit too. It's okay. It's okay. Let everything go. I'm here. I'm here. You don't have to mourn me anymore, and I promise that you will never have to mourn me ever again."

I really hope I get to live up to that shit, because for all the shit she has done she doesn't deserve to go through losing the only person close to her heart for the third time. And I really hope I could get her some help with whatever the fuck's in her head as soon as possible. Did you really have to put Yuno through all of that fucking shit to satisfy yourself, Deus?

"Yukki..."

"It's okay. Let it all go. Tell me everything you've wanted to tell me. Whine, complain, throw a fucking tantrum if you have to. Say whatever the fuck you want to say. I'm here. I'll listen to you."

For all the things the young woman wanted to tell her first love, she could barely say anything coherent other than his name. Nevertheless, he tried to understand what she was trying to say through all the sobs. He also wanted to let his own tears go and tell her everything he had wanted to tell her, but he decided that it wasn't the time for that yet.

"Like I told you before, I'm only good for killing people trying to keep us apart and not much else. I will only be weighing you down, wasting your time. Honestly, Yukki, I don't deserve you. I don't deserve to be with you. I'm just some-"

"Some crazy bitch who's just gonna be trouble for me? No. You're more than that, Yuno. You're not dead weight to me. Any moment I spend being with you is a moment worth spending. Sure, you may have done a lot of fucking shit, but considering all that fucking bullshit you had to go through, you deserve to be with me even more now."

"Oh, Yukki..."

It didn't take long for Yuno to stop crying and fall asleep. Yukki also noticed a smile on her face, likely from the fact that the two of them were going to sleep in each other's arms for the first time in what might as well be forever. He smiled back at her in return, before planting his lips on hers once again. As soon as he was done kissing her, he almost immediately fell asleep. For a moment before he closed his eyes, Yukki forgot about the shitshow he was in, the shitshow he dragged Yuno into. In his mind he wasn't in an old bunker somewhere in Northwest Russia, having returned after killing a big-name criminal in his quest to get at the bottom of TerraGroup's nefarious plans. He was back home in Sakurami, in the house he grew up in. He was lying in the bed in his old room, with Yuno in his arms.

And then the door opened. Yuri and T-Rex were about to ask Yukki to come to the intelligence station, but they found their homie sound asleep with Yuno in his arms. The BEARs decided to quietly close the door and turn around, seeing that their comrade was getting some badly needed sleep. They then went over to the intelligence station, where Anton and Goblin were talking to the rest of the BEAR team save for Spartan, Joker and Pennywise. The latter was on guard duty at the entrance, while his two comrades decided to sleep in the other bedroom.

"Where's Yukiteru?"

"He's sound asleep, like Spartan and Joker."

"And he's got that girl in his arms, that lucky motherfucker."

"Leave them be, they really need that fucking sleep. After this we'll go to sleep too."

After a few more minutes of discussion among the BEARs about what the Peacekeeper wanted them to do for him - and what was in it for them, they went into their respective bedrooms to get some sleep. Goblin went with Anton and Yuri to the main bedroom, while T-Rex went to where Spartan and Joker were. Somali stayed at the intelligence station, as it was his turn to monitor intercepted communications. A walkie-talkie on the table ensured that he would be in constant communication with Pennywise.

Back at the main bedroom, the three BEARs couldn't help but take a look at the lovebirds sleeping on the bed near the entrance.

"From sleeping with a rifle in his arms to sleeping with a crazy girl in his arms. I don't know if it's better or worse that way."

"At least when Yukiteru sleeps with his rifle he makes sure to point it in a safe direction, and unloads it before going to bed. I'm not so sure about how he can keep this Yuno girl from turning on us at the drop of a hat."

"She's got a nice body, that's for sure."

"That's true, but a nice body alone isn't usually worth putting up with the crazy shit. Trust me, I've been there before."

"I know. You always keep on telling us about Anna's stalker tendencies, Tony."

The three then saw Yukki tighten his grip on Yuno. Apparently, he heard what his comrades were saying, which made him react that way. The BEARs then went to their respective beds and laid down. Soon enough, they too had fallen asleep. Save for the sounds of the air conditioners running, the operators' snoring, and small talk between Somali and Pennywise through their walkie-talkies, the bunker was quiet. Which would be unusual, since it was only a few minutes until 1PM local time.

---

A few hours later, Yukki woke up, having been aroused by his grumbling stomach. He then saw Yuno staring at him with a smile that toed the line between creepy and cute. He could only close his eyes and snicker while shaking his head as his childhood sweetheart continued staring at him. She only began talking once he patted her head, her creepy smile having transformed into a cute and confused one.

"What's so funny, Yukki?"

"I remembered something funny when I saw you staring at me. Anyway, have you been up for a while, Yuno?"

"No, I woke up a few minutes before you did. Don't you know that you look cute when you're sleeping? Hahahaha~"

"Oh, really now? You act as if you didn't regularly watch me sleep all those years ago. Ah, fuck."

"What is it now, Yukki? Why are you like that all of a sudden?"

"It's my stomach - I woke up because I got hungry. Wanna get a bite with me?"

"Sure. I also woke up because I was hungry."

The lovebirds quietly got off the bed and opened the door, seeing as the other BEARs were sound asleep. Once Yukki closed the door, he led Yuno to the dinner table. He then pulled up a chair and had her sit there. After that, he told her to wait for a while before heading over to the intelligence station, where Somali was busy monitoring intercepted communications - or at least, he was supposed to be.

"So the Snowman has awoken from his slumber. I hope you slept well with that girl in your arms."

"Yeah, I got the best sleep I've ever had in a long fucking time. Shame I had to wake up early because I got hungry - we didn't eat lunch before going to sleep. Anyway, did you pick up anything interesting?"

"Well, I didn't really get anything worth writing home about, but I did manage to find this."

Somali turned Yukki's attention towards the laptop on the table before opening up a .pdf file he received over the Internet.

"What's this?"

"Someone sent me this through e-mail earlier. Apparently, it's a copy of the testimony Skif's USEC friend gave to the FBI. It's also got a version translated to Russian over here. It looks like it was first sent to our embassy in Washington."

"Ooh, nice find. Have you read what's in it?"

"At first I briefly skimmed the original document and the translated version to see if any translation errors were made, and if there were any redactions. Even so, I've read enough to say that it paints a very fucked up picture."

"What do you mean?"

"I'd say you'd be better off seeing it for yourself, but I think you should fill that fucking stomach of yours first. And before you go, the Peacekeeper called earlier while you and your girl were asleep."

"Really? What'd he say?"

"Foxhound told us that a UN aid convoy was attacked near the shoreline, and two trucks with supplies had to be abandoned."

"Shit like that happens all the time. Why did he call?"

"He wants us to secure them while we wear UN gear. As it turns out, they were also carrying illicit cargo - supplies for a group of USEC goons trying to get out of this shithole but got trapped near the resort instead."

"Well, shit. That's not surprising, to be honest. What'd he tell Tony about what we would get out of it?"

"He said he'd give a thousand Yankee dollars and two boxes of spare parts if we manage to plant beacons on the trucks and bring him some MREs from them as proof. He also promised a bonus if we somehow manage to help those USEC goons get out alive."

"Alright. I'm gonna go eat now. Let me know if something else comes up."

Yukki then left the intelligence station and went over to the dining area, where he came upon Yuno checking out the fridge and the assortment of packed, bottled and canned goods the BEARs had stored in the cupboards and boxes near the dinner table. He then told her to sit back down. After that he went over to one of the cupboards above the kitchen sink, opened it, and grabbed two American MREs from inside. He then set the packs on the dinner table after he closed the cupboard, and grabbed four cold bottles of lemon-flavored green tea from the fridge after that.

Meatballs in marinara sauce and chili macaroni, courtesy of Uncle Sam. Accept no fucking substitute.

After that, Yukki gave Yuno one of the green tea bottles and set another down in front of her. The rest were his. He then opened the MRE packs and carefully laid the contents out on the table. He put the contents of the meatballs with marinara sauce pack on his side of the table, and the contents of the chili macaroni pack on Yuno's side.

"Uh, Yukki, what's all of this you put on the table?"

"Lunch. They're meals, ready to eat or MREs - American army rations. We found them a few days earlier, inside a dead enemy's backpack."

"Oh. Are they safe to eat?"

"Yep. The packs haven't been opened until now. As the name suggests, they can be eaten right after opening, although if you want it hot there's an included ration heater, which only needs water to work. It's gonna take long, however, so we'll just eat them straight out of the pack."

"I see. What's this in front of me?"

"Chili macaroni. All the GIs I've met and worked with when I was in the Self-Defense Force say it's the best MRE around. I got me some meatballs in marinara sauce, which is also pretty good, although its reputation is somewhat more disputed."

"Wait, you were in the Self-Defense Force, Yukki?"

"Yes, Yuno, but that's for another time. Right now let's just enjoy what we have here. We haven't eaten together like this - just the two of us - in a long time, after all."

"Right. Thank you for giving me this meal, Yukki. Even if it doesn't taste as good as you say it is, I'd still enjoy it, seeing as you gave it to me."

"You're more than welcome."

The couple then tore their main entree packs open and started eating. Yukki could see the surprise and satisfaction on Yuno's face as she tasted the legendary chili macaroni for the first time. Even so, he wasn't sure if she really thought it tasted good or she was just putting on a show so she couldn't make it look like she hurt his feelings by saying that the chili macaroni was bad.

"Hey, Yukki, can I have a taste of yours?"

"Sure, here you go."

"Thank you."

After the former goddess got a taste of the meatballs, she gave the pack back to the operator and continued on eating hers until it was empty. She then chanced upon the side dishes and began to try them all, starting with the vegetable crackers. Meanwhile her beloved was scarfing down on the beef sticks included in his MRE pack, having already finished his saucy meatballs. The young woman was having a hard time focusing on what she was eating as she would often take a peek at her beloved to the point that she almost bit her finger while she was eating a vegetable cracker. After a while, the door to the other bedroom opened, and Joker walked out of it.

"This is not really what I would call a proper date, but hey, as long as it works out for you two.

"Oh, you're up already, Joker. Want me to get you something to eat?"

"No need for that, Snowman. We already ate lunch while you lovebirds were asleep. Just a can of cola would do."

While Yuno was still busy eating, Yukki stood up, went to the fridge and grabbed a cold can of cola from it. On his way back to the dinner table, he threw it in Joker's general direction, the latter catching it perfectly with his right hand.

"Thanks, man."

Joker then went back inside the other bedroom, presumably to drink the cola there. It didn't take long afterward for the couple to finish eating lunch. Once she was done with her bottle of green tea, Yuno began collecting the trash on the table. Yukki then collected the leftovers and put them in the fridge, along with his half-empty bottle of green tea.

Just as Yuno had finished putting the trash in the nearby trash bin, the relative silence was disturbed by someone knocking on the door from outside. Yukki immediately grabbed his childhood sweetheart and went to the bathroom, while Somali left the intelligence station and racked the charging handle on his tricked-out AK-74M before taking position near the door where Pennywise was.

"What's going on, Yukki?"

"Quiet down, whoever's outside might hear you."

After a few more seconds of knocking, Pennywise made the decision to ask who was outside.

"Alright, who's out there?"

"Open up, it's me."