Chapter 54: The Stakes

April 30th 2011 1500 Hours

Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Humewood Hotel, Koko's Suite

The silence was starting to make Lutz uneasy. He sat by himself while he watched Mao clean his Glock, Ugo munching on chocolate, and Tojo and Wiley sitting on a couch reading. One with his laptop and the other a book. The crew was doing their best to try and keep it business as usual but he knew a façade when he saw it. What each of them did for a living was not a gentle thing, much less even kind. That didn't mean that they weren't human. Damien always had an angry side, it was forced upon him by events he should've never been a part of. But no one expected he would have went this far.

And against Koko of all people.

"Alright fine if nobody is going to say anything I will." The sniper said standing up to get everyone's attention. "Getting this out of the way I'm for the bosses plan. But I took plenty of time to think and the one thing that's going to be for damn sure, this isn't going to come without consequences. I need to know for sure if you guys are still behind this all the way. Because I want to be prepared for anything that's going to happen once Koko executes her plan."

Everyone knew what and who he was talking about. There was no need to discuss what was obvious. After putting the last piece of his sidearm together, Mao set the gun down and went first.

"I was wondering when someone was going to say something. To me personally business is business. But there's a lot of things that happen in life that affect everyone everywhere. What the little lady has in store is one of them. Every generation has it's epic moments, it doesn't matter whether it's great or tragic. It's the event that happens that gets people to listen, realize, think, and come up with better alternatives to things. And numbers in the long run don't really mean much if you think about it." He then looked to the tech expert. "Hey Tojo, didn't you say that at least two times the amount of people the Little Lady said die in car accidents around the world?"

He looked up from his computer as he heard his name. "Anywhere from two to two and a half."

"Well since you're the only one out of us that took the analytical approach to this. What are your thoughts?" Lutz said.

"I for one am more than excited to see a world without war. Not even in my lifetime I'd dream of seeing something like this. It's no secret that I always wanted to follow a career in espionage but when you see war in its light, you also see how useless it can be sometimes. Now I don't want to sound like a fully indoctrinated post war Japanese citizen but there's one particular part of Douglas MacArthur's speech he said on the Missouri when the war ended.That really stuck out with me on how we as people need to not rely on violence all the time. I memorized this by heart."

He cleared his throat before he began.

"Men since the beginning of time have sought peace. Various methods through the ages have attempted to devise an international process to prevent or settle disputes between nations. From the very start workable methods were found insofar as individual citizens were concerned, but the mechanics of an instrumentality of larger international scope have never been successful. Military alliances, balances of power, leagues of nations, all in turn failed, leaving the only path to be by way of the crucible of war. We have had our last chance. If we do not now devise some greater and more equitable system, Armageddon will be at our door."

Tojo had said his piece as well as on how much he desired peace. Lutz then looked to the driver. Unlike the rest of them, he didn't receive any real type of training until he joined up with HCLI. Or be involved in anything bigger other than making sure his employer got to his destination on time. Koko picked him up on impulse and in the long run her gut had paid off. Lutz trusted him just as much as she did to make the best getaway if a situation went belly up.

"I second what Koko said about the world hating people like us. Above all else I back her, the plan's irrelevant to me. No matter where we've gone, nothing really changes. And people have this weird combination of being ignorant while at the same time wanting to be greater or some shit. They think guys like us are all of the exact same mindset. Nobody really came to support or comfort me when my brother shot up all that crap into his arm. My parents were too busy blaming each other and arguing so fucking much that they didn't realize he got that stuff from one of the guys my dad worked for. After beating my way up to working with the real wise guys I just ended up driving for another dealer. No matter how many marches, awareness, or speeches happen the bad neighborhoods will always be bad. Body can't get better unless you get rid of the disease. Or at least what causes it."

Ugo often got sensitive when he started talking about his Mafia days. Growing up outside of Red Hook near Brooklyn was not an easy life for any youth. Especially if his father was a tough guy for the Gambino Crime Family who at the time was under John Gotti. Your respect was earned through ruthlessness. But Ugo sought to break himself away from that method by adhering to the Mafia rules of old; tradition, respect, and dignity. He changed a lot more though when Koko spared his life and took him in.

Lutz looked to one of the two most senior members. Still reading about the Industrial Revolution.

"Wiley." He said to get his attention off the book. "What are your thoughts man?"

He was still listening while reading at the same time.

"Well after working for Koko for so long I've come to realize that I consider myself a true artisan. It doesn't matter whether it's construction or demolition. I will keep serving her until she no longer needs my particular set of skills. But I want to make sure that when that time comes, she won't be looking over her shoulder anymore. I owe her more than once."

Lutz figured that the decision was carried unanimously but there were two he was hesitant about asking. The old man would have just continued to say that it was a fun gig. He had a habit of making answers simple. But the last one was probably the most doubtful out of all of them. While Lutz had seen her loyalty to Koko as a bit zealous, she always exercised thought before action. But now her emotional state was anything but stable. Everyone knew of how she and Damien felt about each other. On occasion when they didn't see anyone else around they acted far more normal than anyone on the job. The light flirting, the embarrassed smiles, the way they leaned on each other, just the simple things that signified a man and woman in love.

They would die for one another.

Now one of them did just that by crushing her heart into oblivion.

She didn't talk to anyone since this morning, much less even look at anyone. Once they got to the hotel she shut herself in the room for her and Koko. They all knew that she'd be permanently scarred by Damien's betrayal. Not just to Koko but her love for him. But sitting in the dark sulking would not make it any better. As a friend Lutz couldn't let her be weak now of all times. Lehm might have told them to give her as much time as she needed but he wasn't him. If she didn't pick herself up and dust herself off now. It'd be worse if something happened in the future and she would freeze up. And someone would get killed.

"Alright. I'll be right back."

As he exited the room, he didn't look at anyone as he left. And if they asked where he was going he wouldn't answer. He got as far as the hallway before he paused outside of her room.

"Lutz."

The sound came from a tired old Delta Force operator. He and Koko were back from Marchen with multiple bags of food in their hands. He didn't see them at first but both of them knew what he was about to do.

"Trust me. That's not a good idea."

The sniper didn't respond. Instead he looked to Koko, a neutral look on her face. Either giving him a choice or letting him know to listen to Lehm. But he knew she hadn't eaten since last night. So he decide to take the halfway approach. He walked over to Lehm, took one of the bags from his hand, and went to the door.

He knocked twice. "Valmet? I'm coming in."

The girls room wasn't entirely dark. Just very dim with the afternoon sun peeking through the shades. The first thing he noticed was that there was running water coming from the bathroom sink, but she wasn't in there. The second thing he noticed was a very familiar smell that was normally associated with what happened if someone either drank too much, ate something rotten, got too disorientated, or in some cases witness something with horrifying disgust. The third and final thing was something he didn't want to see after he turned on the light. The mirror was smashed and there were traces of blood on it. Lutz didn't need to ask Valmet if she was alright, he would have been stupid to ask that question.

After shutting off the water, he left the light on. Lehm was right, she wasn't ready to talk. The moment he saw her, he'd drop the food off and leave. After seeing that her suitcase was on her bed still unpacked, he walked over and saw her sitting on the floor next to her bed still and silent. Knees brought up to her chest and resting her head and arms on them. Her black hair a mess instead of her preferred method of neat and straight. The same blank look of sadness but with a bandaged right hand from punching the mirror. Lutz always knew she was a beautiful and well-endowed woman under the scars, muscles, cold stares, and occasional angry outburst but there was nothing pretty about her now. Just a broken shell instead of one of the best of the team. The mental damage done did far worse than any punch, cut, bullet, or blast.

He hated him for what he did to her.

I hope you're proud of yourself Damien. She's like this because of you.

Lutz held his personal thoughts to himself and didn't get any closer.

"Koko and Lehm are back with dinner. I don't know what they got though, I didn't check. We're flying out early tomorrow morning. That's all."

He set the bag at the end of the bed and left normally. Before he closed the door he heard the ruffling of plastic. At least she was eating.

As he shut the door, the former GSG9 operator took a few moments to breathe before he joined the rest of the crew to eat. Clenching his fists and teeth, he had to keep his mind clear. He knew just as well as everyone else that Damien would be back. How, when, and where he didn't know but this was not over by a long shot. He nor Koko will give up the fight until one of them was dead.

After he calmed down, he went back into the suite like normal. It looked like they brought back sandwiches only customized with the local flavor. But as he sat back down on the couch to dig in, he noticed that some eyes were focusing on him. He didn't care what they thought. Eventually he would have to go against someone who was his best friend.

Was.

"He shot at her. How the fuck would you feel?"

2100 Hours

Cape Town

I'd feel better if I was set on fire, shoved under a lawn mower, and sodomized by a mule with a dick made of rusty spikes. At least I had some privacy in an old empty store where I could sleep and wait until I could plan my next move. It ends in me marching straight over to Port Elizabeth with a big fucking hammer and start smashing anything that had to do with a computer, either machine or person. Easier said than done though, she's more than likely tripled her detail at the place and let her thugs there know to shoot on sight. And I'm woefully underequipped to take her head on right now.

"All I really have to do is wait until I'm out of the country. And pray to God that Hekmatyar hasn't figured out that I literally ran to my dad like a kid who just had his lunch money stolen by bullies. Shit…that just sounds so pathetic."

I often found that thinking out loud helped me focus more. It often falls on good, bad, or indifferent but today was a worse day.

"Aww hell. Speaking of which."

I did say I'd have to call him back. It was quiet enough now. And he needed a slightly better understanding of what's going on. He picked up immediately.

"Son?"

It felt good to hear his voice this time. The conditions were a lot less stressful.

"Hey dad. I think I have an open enough window where it's safe enough that I can talk now. Don't mean to cut to the chase but when's my ride out of here coming?"

"It's not the first time I've had to plan missions under the radar with a limited time frame. I have a Delta Team on the way and should be there in about seven hours. We'll need to make this quick though. Are you near the airport?"

I didn't really have time to look at a map when I ran, I just bolted to where technology was either low or non-existent. But after a while I realized I just walked one big fucking circle today.

"I did drive past it but I think I'm just outside the center of town. Been walking almost all day just doing my best to keep low but…Christ I think I'm starting to get paranoid. It's just that you don't know how big her reach really is. I mean this is like some dumb shit that only exists in a George Orwell novel but…"

"Boy!" He said to get me to calm down. I did have a panic moment there. "Calm down. She needs to find you first. She only has a computer on steroids, not a tracking device. Plus she can't teleport so it takes time for them to get somewhere if they found you. Which I know your smart enough to cover your tracks. So breathe and answer the question. Are you near the airport or not?"

It seems as though dad got Bookman to spill the beans about what Hekmatyar has been plotting. I did have a few questions on he knew the woman was building the damn thing but I think he and the rest of the CIA might have been skeptical. Dad might be more focused on getting me to safety but I hope he realized how much of a threat she really is. Also to probably talk to me face to face about what the hell I've done during my three year AWOL.

"Yes. I can actually look east towards the intersection of the two big highways that cut through the city."

I heard him speaking to someone in the background before coming back on the phone. I'd love to see the house right now. Probably breaking every rule in the book.

"Ok good. I know where you're at. Triangulating your position…plenty of places to hide, easy exits, choke points. You've jumped up on the skill level quite a bit son. I'm impressed."

I sighed. "Don't be dad. I told you I'm not proud of what I've done. Some of it was to survive but a lot more of it was just…part of a job."

I stood up to check out the old shop window for any cars I might have seen a second or third time. Naturally he didn't say anything before he continued.

"I did go over a few things when I got Black to give me what he had on you. But that though, is for much later."

"Don't rely on that sack of crap too much. He let his guard down and got played by a twenty something year old girl. Needless to say I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him."

I must have been more tired, both mentally and physically, then I realized. I felt like an complete idiot for saying that out loud. I got played by that exact same girl.

"Damn it!" I shouted as I kicked an old two by four across the room. Echoing with each tumble until it hit a wall.

I then squatted down with my fists balled to the side of my head. I needed to stop this shit. No matter how I once felt about her, my former friends, or the woman I thought I loved, they were now my enemies. None of them realize that they are about to start a war, a true war. It just hurts so goddamn much that I actually did care for them. But all that time I didn't realize that while I was tearing away what ruined me, they had already devalued the price of human life to worthlessness. Going up against people you already know, personally in fact, is not something any sane man would do.

"Have you gotten rid of what you didn't want out of your system?" Dad always did let me blow off steam in my own way.

"Yeah. I just truly can't believe that all of this is happening." I looked at her shield again, cursed, and got back on my feet. "So back to the tactical situation. Since you know about her quantum computer, what did Bookman tell you?"

"Bookman?"

"It's one of George Black's nicknames. Fancies himself as a bit of a scholar. If one really likes to learn everything about someone then espionage is right up his alley. Too bad he couldn't figure Hekmatyar out until it was too late."

"Hmm. Well I'll just call him useful until otherwise. And yes I did know about the computer to an extent. Didn't think too much of it until I read what it could potentially do. It's been in the theoretical stage for years. The next generation of computer technology that can revolutionize how we live from finding cures to disease, engineering workarounds, artificial intelligence, and practically makes all current computer viruses and worm clusters useless."

"Or in Hekmatyar's case it's a digital Pandora's Box."

I knew better, and she knew as well. I'll have to make an insurance policy now since I've got the time. It might cause dad to lose his job but I don't think he'll care. While the situation was not what I wanted, it was good to at least hear him again. If something happens to me I don't want him going in blind. He needed to know what was really at stake.

"And I know exactly where it is." I said knowing how exposed Hekmatyar truly was.

"You do?"

"Marchen's Facility right outside of Port Elizabeth. That's Mike, Alpha, Romeo, Charlie, Hotel, Echo, November. She's got everyone thinking it's a fucking toy factory but no one had enough balls to see for sure. Take that out, she'll have to fight on a level playing field. Being an arms dealer gives her firepower but her real talent is her golden tongued influence and ability to easily vanish. She, as well as HCLI, has a lot of hidden real estate across three continents."

I then heard him talking to some more people again. I used that moment to look at the old doctor's phone and saw that half a charge was left. There was no power inside the old store so I'd have to find someplace to charge it tomorrow.

I was running on real limited tech use right now. I gutted the hard drive from my laptop but I left the rest of it behind. Along with my cell and sat phones, camera, even my damn iPod. Anything I couldn't use or would leave me exposed I didn't take. Living off of the land is one of the basic rules of the Green Beret. But an urban setting gave me way more options and abilities to fight that the middle of an actual jungle didn't.

"You sound like you know Koko Hekmatyar pretty well."

I knew that statement or something similar was gonna pop up sooner or later. I didn't want to do this part yet.

"I thought I did." I sat down, unfolded the ACR in my backpack, and chambered a round. It was time to rest. "Listen dad, this old phone's on half charge and I got no place to charge it. I'll call you back before dawn, in this time zone. Tell me where to meet the cavalry when they land."

"Wait please." He said abruptly. "Everything that's been going on and what we've talked about has just been about a crisis. For three years I thought you were dead. Talk to me. It doesn't even have to be about where you've been or even how you've gotten involved in this unless you want to." His voice was breaking up. "How have you been Damien?"

Regardless of the shock. He did deserve to know I was still alright. At least holding myself up properly.

1520 Hours

Bull Run Estates

"Hard to know to where start dad. I guess I could say that I'm still pretty healthy considering what I've been through."

The difference in discussion changed the mood in the General's library from urgent to somber. Regardless of Damien's information dump, the man did just find out his son was alive after all these years. And needless to say that the sudden absence from his post was causing a lot of annoying cell phone calls from some of his staff still at the Pentagon. Wondering where the hell he disappeared to. As long as it wasn't from Olsen or the Chairman, he could care less. He took his son off of the speaker, but the light amount of company in the room still wanted to see the touching moment. They couldn't leave anyway, they had to direct the Delta Team en route to Cape Town.

"I would say. Not having a home cooked meal would slim a man down after three years."

"I…uhh…well shit. This is a little hard to believe but I did have access to a kitchen almost all the time. And in the last year alone I've mostly eaten at some of the most exclusive restaurants in the world. This was a while ago but look up the Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee."

"Glad to see your French is still good." He said standing up while making his way over to Burns on her multiscreen workstation. "Excuse me Alice. Ok let's see…good God."

The General had a hard time looking at the numbers. And having two stars on his shoulders meant he brought home a considerable amount of service pay. But most of it just went to keeping the bills, car loan, and mortgage paid off. A portion went to his own gear as well. And little was left over for luxury.

"The portions served were a bit small for my appetite but they literally made delicious works of art."

"What were you doing in France?"

"I in no exaggeration have made a full circle around the globe. Mostly I was drifting around Asia and parts of Europe until I ran into Hekmatyar's older brother Kasper in Burma. Hell I didn't even know HCLI even existed until just over a year ago."

The General formed a confused look on his face. His son was getting around. But he was starting to worry on why that was.

"It really opens your eyes to all the shit that really goes on in the world."

"What does?" The General said as his cell phone buzzed for the dozenth time today, ignoring it.

"Seeing things from more than your own perspective." He grunted. "I can't judge it though. I don't have that right. But in some mad delusion of superiority, she thinks she does."

He heard the growl in his sons voice as well as the growing agitation behind it. He only wanted to talk to him but it sounded like Damien was too focused on stopping this supposed "war". He sounded desperate, that wasn't like him.

"Son I told you, we don't have to talk about this if you don't want to. It can wait until you're safely back home."

"Depending on her plans I might not have a home to go back to!"

The loud outburst over the phone drew attention from the three he trusted the most to keep a secret for a while. Colonel Raiser looked at the General if he had been found out again. Andrushko just waived him off motioning it was nothing. His son sounded terrified and he wasn't sure that he wanted to hear what was next.

"Ok son. Tell me. What does Koko Hekmatyar really want?"

He sighed over the line. "You're gonna think I'm as crazy as she is."

"What's crazy is you vanishing for three years without a damn word. What has got you so riled up?"

…

"Peace."

…

"What?" The elder Andrushko said flatly.

"By making sure that there's no one left on Earth to fight each other."

The father couldn't formulate a proper response to the son. He somewhat considered that he might actually be crazy.

"Damien I've been through my fair share of guess work within the last month alone. Give me a straight answer."

"Shit. Ok, there is no straight answer. So I'll give you the important parts."

He mumbled away from the speaker. The General could still hear stressed profanity.

"She calls her computer 'Jormungand' from old Norse mythology. Appropriately named because of a massive amount of communication satellites that she's been launching for a while. That originally had to do with her father's companies project called the Global Grid. But now I realize that logistics bullshit was just a show. She's going to use those satellites as a catalyst for her computer. Using them as a relay she could control any type of information on the planet at will. But that's just a byproduct. I don't how the hell it works and I don't care but her real plan is to use it to remove militaries…fuck…existence from people's lives all at once. It'll start with disrupting and disabling the GPS and navigational control for EVERY aircraft in the sky in real time. Even if we're dealing with best case scenario of the most skilled pilots we're looking at close to over half a million people crashing into the ground all at once in a worldwide catastrophe. Nationality, economics, and politics mean shit to her and the scary part about all of this is that she's intent on doing this no matter what. I wish I was making this shit up but I'm telling you dad that this damn thing is real!"

SOCOM's best tactician not only listened in shock of what the arms dealer was going to deliberately do but grew increasingly concerned about the growing fear in his sons words. Information control on an authoritarian level? Removing the presence of militaries of every nation in the world? Hacking airplanes to crash all at once? He sounded like the world was coming to an end. Little did he know, his son knew that if they didn't do something about it, it would.

"If she does that, she's just kicked every single terrorist, war criminal, and extremist off of the top ten most wanted list and just replaced it with only herself. There wouldn't be a place on Earth she could hide."

The General's input on common sense did little to dissuade his son's firsthand experience.

"I just told you dad, she has a pretty big reach. That and she doesn't care. And you know as well as I do that it won't end with just the aerial disaster. I don't need to explain that the fallout from this thing is going to be chaos and doesn't matter where on the map." His fear was then replaced with what appeared to sound like sobbing. "I pleaded with her on my knees for her to stop but she wouldn't listen. It was if she was obsessed. I just…can't believe everything I've been through was helping her to just let the world burn. She saved my life and in return she expected me to go along with full scale genocide. I had no choice but to run. But then I realized that she never had a choice for anything in her entire life. She wants to judge the entire human race based on the only thing she really knows…war."

Marcus Andrushko had never heard his son sound so saddened since his mother died. He managed to get the worst parts out that were the most important. But he was struggling to not say something he wanted to admit. There was only slightly more to this story. But for now, it would have to wait. This was bigger than the breach in SOCOM's network and the United States was not the only nation under threat right now. If word got out about this, the White House would be shitting bricks and the JCOS would be clamoring for DEFCON 2. This had to be dealt with quietly and the General needed two things, hard evidence and more manpower. But only from those he trusted. Anyone else would peg him as mad.

That and his son needed to collect his thoughts.

"Boy. Why don't you get some rest and call me tomorrow? I think you've had enough for one day."

"Yeah." He said with a deep sniffle. "No shit."

The father smiled. "I love you son."

"…I love you dad."

As he heard the click he knew his staff was still looking at him and he didn't care. Alice Burns had tears in her eyes since she heard the best out of the conversation. She did her best to look busy as the Green Beret stood up and made his way to her.

"Get me Black at Langley." He said motioning to the monitors for a video call.

"Yes sir." She said wiping her face off.

"Raiser. Get Pete Carlyle. Tell him to get over to my house as soon as he can. I'll explain the emergency when he gets here. We're gonna need a lot more help."

"On it Marcus." He said picking up the General's cell.

"Shumaker. Best call back Coleman and Krauser. Tell them I'll explain what's going on once I'm done with this asshole."

The F-16 flyer merely nodded as Bookman came up on video call from Langley's top secret control center. Bookman in the center as he handed off a form to one of his staff. Both of them had to keep names on the low for now.

"General." He said plainly while some of his staff were looking at the monitor perplexed at the sight of one of SOCOM's senior officers dressed like he was on his day off.

"I just got off the phone with him. We have his location and he'll contact me tomorrow. Did you make those arrangements like I asked?"

"He'll get into the country no problem and he will be placed in your custody. I expect that I will be included in his debriefing?"

"It goes without question Black. I wish I had a choice in leaving you in the filth because a majority of this mess is yours but I'm gonna need all the help I can get. It appears that you didn't have Koko Hekmatyar figured out at all."

"Well I found that out when she set me up in Algeria. What's the latest word?"

The General sighed. It was going to be a long next 72 hours.

"You're not gonna believe this."

May 1st 2011 0800 Hours

Cape Town

As the citizens of Cape Town were beginning their normal morning commutes to work and their daily necessities, its nations Special Forces along with two HCLI representatives were continuing on with their hunt for the rouge bodyguard of Koko Hekmatyar. With a last minute tape on of its nations military on their Little Bird to dissuade suspicion, Keith Gordon and Nathan Rothrine were flying over the city. With the sun at their back, they also flew high enough to ensure that no one did a double take and see that the little chopper was toting a weapon that could spit out up to 6,000 rounds a minute. While recalibrated to fire at a slower rate of 3,000 rounds per minute, the chopper wasn't just carrying a weapon. It also included a down looking camera with thermal imaging, signal scanner, and tracking sensors for locating specific things. Whether it'd be vehicles, phone signals, or even people. Koko made sure that her pilots had the best available tech from HCLI to track down Damien.

"Sky Fire to Condor One. Morning sweep has not picked up any trace of the target. Returning to the Nest to refuel." Rothrine said keeping an eye on the extra monitors on the console.

"Understood Sky Fire. Negative contact since we discovered our missing vehicle yesterday. Plain clothes rovers will continue to send in reports."

Gordon then turned on the pilots only frequency after Vorstedt stopped transmitting.

"This is taking way too long. He could be out of the city by now."

"Every form of public transportation short of the space shuttle has his face on the detain list. Since Koko froze his cash he can't really get a ticket either. And where's he gonna go on foot? He's also been on the move since after midnight of the previous night. Green Berets can do a lot of impossible shit but he's still human and according to Vorstedt's men he left a lot of stuff behind. He'll tire out and slip up eventually."

"You're making him seem predictable Red." Gordon said skeptically.

"It's because he's desperate. He ran off with no plan. And if the Cape Town police finds him before we do with some of those very illegal weapons he has, it's over. He's alone. Who's gonna help him?"

Gordon adjusted his aviator sunglasses as he silently agreed. Koko was the one that normally pulled off miracles and Damien was the one with the consistent bad luck. But theirs changed when Vorstedt came back on the radio with urgency.

"Sky Fire this is Condor One. Suggest you hurry up with your refuel. We have a lead on your missing man."

The Nightstalker's looked to each other in surprise as Gordon put the hammer down and Rothrine responded.

"How'd you find him? Over."

"We were covering a lot of bases and pulled some public phone records within the last several days. We found a consistent number making long distance calls out of the country. It's the same one that goes to a scrambled end we can't pinpoint but it used to belong to a civilian. That doctor that was killed yesterday along with one of my men."

"Told you." Rothrine said as Gordon rolled his eyes under his aviators. "Can you track him down?"

"Already triangulated his position. Sending the coordinates now. If he calls again, we'll know exactly where to strike. Over and out."

"Guess he's not so useless after all." Gordon said sarcastically.

0842 Hours

"Abyss, this is Blackjack. Diamond and Spade teams ready for intercept. Club and Heart teams standing by for support and exfiltration."

"Copy that Blackjack. Jackpot is en route to designated pick up zone. Beware thought that we have confirmed the allegations of SASF being involved are NOT representing the will of South Africa. Protect the Jackpot by any means necessary."

"Understood."

Major Thomas Temishenko had his family breakfast ruined in Ft. Bragg when he was told to get his men ready for a rescue mission and be on a cargo plane bound for South Africa. As with the nature/hazard of being a Tier 1 Operator they were expected to deploy anywhere in the world for a mission within 24 hours. The details were a little light on mission description but he was used to the blurred out spots. The mission was to take an individual into protective custody that was on the run from a compromised undercover mission. Which organization it was, wasn't provided but most of the team held their guesses. Along with the eleven veterans of his team, he felt good knowing that there was no need to haul around extra equipment and be covered head to toe in camouflage for an urban operation. But it could have been a little easier if they didn't had to map out the details of the city in their heads on the plane ride over to South Africa. He was a black ops man through and through with the stare of a hawk and the voice that ranged from gentle downpour to violent torrent. That didn't mean that he had one direct personality, Special Forces of all types are trained to blend in.

The last contact from "Jackpot" came from around the time his team entered the country. Temishenko was told that he'd recognize him immediately when they would see him at the public park that was the meeting spot. He along with five others were sporadically placed around the park keeping an eye on each other as best they could. Around them were people continuing on with their daily lives of going to work or families having the day off. As he was "reading" a newspaper he did feel a little uncomfortable with this whole ordeal. A rescue operation was one thing but in a situation like this, a million things could go wrong.

"Alright guys he's on his way." He said out loud to his earpiece on his closed network radio normally used for Presidential protection detail. "Keep an eye and ear out for anything out of the ordinary."

Each team member acknowledged.

Temishenko was at the edge of the park next to the street. His Sergeant Major, Lucas Finbar, sat parked across the street in their rental SUV which would be their getaway vehicle. They both had talked in private that in case if something happened, Finbar would speed his way towards "Jackpot" and get him to the safe zone. But for now, they'd play the waiting game.

0904 Hours

Don't want anything to happen. Just watch what does.

Going by foot took a little longer to get to where I needed to go. Partially because I didn't eat since yesterday so I had to take care of that first. I was running on fumes. No matter what I was going home today, though not the way I wanted. That didn't mean that I would just stroll over to these Delta's naked. Only until I was on the plane would I disarm. I just had to get through this and then I could rest and then find Hekmatyar. It was obscenely hard though, with the average everyday people around me just going about their normal lives.

Businessmen going to work, children going to school, mechanic's fixing cars, shopkeepers selling their products.

Innocent ones.

Ones that don't deserve a petty girls blind anger. Ones that have no idea about what is about to happen and soon if I don't do something about it.

"Goddamnit. I gotta stop thinking about her and get outta here." I then looked around to see which street I was at. "Ok. Construction site for a new building is over there. Go East and I'll come across the park."

I went up one more street and then I would hit the park in about three or four more blocks. But then I noticed that traffic started to thin out as well as people on the street. Urban noise still filled the air but also the feeling of uncertainty. I was too hasty in my escape so once I got to the first crosswalk, I decide to wait for traffic was left to pass.

That's when I knew I was being surrounded. They looked like they weren't paying attention and blending in but a soldier can't really hide his form or the slant in his eyes he gradually builds over time. It also didn't help that a few of them had the same damn haircut. They were taking positions in different spots on the intersection.

Fuckin hell. Just one break. That's all I ask.

Acting like I wasn't paying attention, I brought my bag up to my chest and unzipped it. Faking the appearance to see if I had what I still had in my bag. When in reality I was going for my already loaded shortened M870, flipping off the safety and putting my finger on the trigger. It would probably be the last time I use it. The crosswalk then beeped signaling to go, but I wasn't ready yet. Someone else behind me though was.

I just glanced behind me for a moment as if I was uninterested. There were two of them fifteen feet away. Unshaven, sports coats, cargo pants, and boots. Any more you'd have to hang a friggin sign on them. But the bulge of a weapon underneath their jackets and their hands ready to reach under them was telltale enough.

"Don't make a scene. Just come with us and you won't get hurt." One of them said in English.

Hekmatyar seemed to want me alive. There's no way that SASF would just let slide the fact that I killed one of their men.

"Hey! We're talking to you!" The other one said.

The light for traffic was about to turn green. New plan, fight my way out.

Not saying anything, in a fluid motion I took the shotgun from the bag with on hand, pivoted around, took the time to properly aim, witness the look on their faces that they were caught in the open with no cover and…

BOOM!

The one on the left flew back with the force of the buckshot.

CLICK! CLICK! BOOM!

Quickly pumping a new shell in the barrel the second one was blasted back into a door before he could take his machine pistol out from under his coat.

Knowing that the rest of them would be on me in a heartbeat, I sprinted into the street just as the light turned green. Horns from the cars blaring from me dodging the oncoming traffic. Gunshots sharply piercing the air as Cape Town citizens screamed in fear of the ever growing chaos of SASF chasing me on foot. Digging deep, I didn't plan on stopping. I just kept going faster.

I couldn't bring this fight towards the park. So I had to find a spot to hide and call dad back. Let him know the situation went belly up and find another spot for the Delta's to come to me. So I bounded back to the construction site with the nine story building. Hide there and then sneak out when they'd lose track of me seemed like the best option for now.

After sprinting past several construction workers shouting in Afrikaans I took out my pistol and fired a few shots in the air. They ran like scared rabbits. I then took out my stolen phone and made one last call after I ran up the still being built stairs.

"Dad! I got ambushed in the street! I need a new spot for them to get me out of here!"

"I know son. They heard the gunfire from the park. What the hell did you do?"

"I don't know. Bastards must have finally traced my calls. I'll have to get rid of this phone so give me directions. I'm hiding in a construction site about three blocks from the pickup zone."

"Alright hang on." As I did, I saw a few SUV's pull up to the fence surrounding the site. "There's a rail yard northwest of your position. The tight back streets will let you lose them."

"Can't you just send the cavalry to my position?" I asked.

"They don't know they're there. You want to start a full scale battle in the middle of Cape Town?"

Déjà vu. "Dad they're surrounding me. Even if I shoot my way out of here they'll just follow me in twos and threes. Can't you get your guys to take some of the heat off?"

"Son of a…" He must have got on their radio while still on the phone. "Blackjack this is Abyss. Jackpot is about to be stolen. You should see a building under construction. Draw their attention away from him."

Dad came up with some colorful names. But after peeking out of cover to get a count of how many there were, I saw a shape in the sky getting closer. I then saw that I was getting screwed by the second.

"Dad! Scratch that! Keep 'em back! They got a gunship rolling in!"

"What!?" He said as it got closer and giving me a better look.

"It's a Little Bird armed with a minigun. Unless they brought rockets they'll be mowed down before they can even get close."

And so would I even I stepped outside. I was trapped.

"I'm not leaving you in there son. I'll get them to move. Once you see an opening, you run."

I didn't escape from Hekmatyar just to notch another slaughter on my belt. There had to be a way to get past them or create a big enough opening.

But then I realized I was at a construction site with a lot of tools at my disposal. Things that can really hurt people if not handled properly. Those saw blades, cement blocks, and acetylene tanks gave me quite a few options.

"Wait dad not yet. Tell them to hold fast and give me some time. I've got an idea."

"Mind sharing that idea with me?"

"This building is about to get very hazardous. I'll thin their ranks first. Then I'll get that birds attention. When your men get close enough, shoot its tail rotor out while it's distracted."

"…You stay alive. Got it boy?"

"I gotta get rid of this phone dad. We'll talk later."

As I threw the old phone to the side. I made my way to a workbench and started to look for anything sharp, heavy, flammable, or poisonous that I could use for a trap. But as I started to put one together, I heard a bullhorn with an Afrikaans accent behind it.

"Damien? Is it? You're surrounded! There's no way out of that building alive! If you don't give up now, I can't be held responsible for what happens next."

I ignored him as I started to tie together a few blow torch tanks with a exposed end of an extension cord. I had only a few minutes before they would decide to breach. Two or three at max before they would finish sweeping the first floor. But as I pondered what I could do with paint thinner I heard a familiar drawl from a much louder speaker.

"It's over kid. She wants you back alive. Don't make this any worse than it already is."

"Son of a bitch."

Keith Gordon's jaeger form of speaking was coming from that Little Bird. Rothrine had to be with him too. At least I knew who specifically was pulling the South African's strings now. It's not the first time I've been out numbered but now I'm facing an enemy on a somewhat equal playing field. There was no time to put my hair in a ponytail.

It's them or me. There ain't no going back.

"Alright." I checked my clip in my ACR to see that it was full. "Come and get it."