Chapter 8
Denerim City Gates
It was like waiting for an High Value Individual (HVI) based on the way Gray Chameleon, AKA Theresa as she was known in the field, kept fidgeting from her place outside the Denerim City Gates. The whole team had expected some form of response to their report of the Arl's son's actions, but they certainly did not think it would warrant Big Boss himself coming into the field. At most, another detachment of Diamond Dogs' best, not their commanding officer himself.
As was his reputation, Big Boss had a habit of working alone in the field, with only the bare minimum of outside support. Whether it was simply how he was used to working, his way of reinforcing his image of the Legendary Mercenary, or something else, Big Boss admittedly was the most capable man she had ever known.
And he was coming here!
It was only due to her training, and subconscious effort to not stand out amongst the other visitors to the city, that "Theresa" was able to keep her composure. Part of her job in the field was to be unnoticed when she had to be. And she was very good at her job.
That didn't mean she couldn't get a little excited at the possibility of seeing her Boss in action. She, like many of her fellow members of Diamond Dogs, had joined because of the stories surrounding Big Boss. After hearing the stories of his previous missions and seeing what he had done to Skull Face and XOF, she was eager to see him put that despicable son of the Arl in his place.
And as if her thoughts had summoned him, strolling down the road to Denerim was Big Boss himself. Unlike the Denerim dispatch team, Big Boss had not discarded his weapons and don the clothes of a lowly traveler from this new world. She recognized the basic olive drab fatigues common among Mother Base soldiers; Big Boss favored them when he was in a hurry and had no time to wait for the Support Unit to put his usual loadout together.
As was his nature, Big Boss made a beeline straight for her, obviously determined to get started. Theresa had situated herself apart from the Denerim gate and the other visitors seeking entry and the guards so there wouldn't be any eavesdroppers around while she and Big boss spoke.
"Boss," she said, resisting the urge to salute him in public. "It's good to see you. Thank you for coming."
A nod was his response. She didn't take it personally. Big Boss was a man of action, and of few words.
"I've got a contact in the city guard, Boss. If I slide him a few silvers, he'll wave us into the city without a search or papers. No muss, no fuss."
"Let's go then," Big Boss said, "see the results of your team's work."
Things went as smooth and quick as Gray Chameleon had assured. She had led them to one of the guards of the gate, handed him a small sack of silver coins, which he pocketed. He had directed them to the street leading to Denerim's market square and then turned his attention to the next person in line. From there, Gray Chameleon gave him a brief tour of the marketplace on their way to the team's base of operations in the Alienage.
"Your reports said you were set up in an abandoned apartment building?" Big Boss asked as his guide navigated them through the back alleys of Denerim like someone who had lived there all her life.
"Yes, Boss," she said, peaking around a corner to ensure the road was clear before continuing. "When we first arrived, we scouted out several sites to set up our base of operations. There were a few prospective candidates, but the abandoned apartment we settled on in the Alienage was the most efficient choice. It's one of the taller buildings in Denerim, giving us a decent overview of the city; it's abandoned and unclaimed, allowing us to come and go as we please and keep our weapons and equipment safe and unnoticed; and its location in the Alienage means a large portion of the population automatically avoids it."
"Excellent work, Gray Chameleon," Big Boss complimented her, a tint of genuine praise in his words.
"Thank you, Boss. We're getting close to one of the bridges that leads into the Alienage. There should be no-"
She was cut off when the two turned the corner and saw a very distressing site.
The bridge leading to the Alienage she was guiding them to was blocked off by a wall of guards; all armed and armored with their shields out in a defensive formation. A small crowd comprised mostly of elves with a few humans nearby stood in front of the guards, shouting and protesting.
"What the hell?" Gray Chameleon said. "This wasn't here when I left. Wait here, Boss," she said, "let me see if I can't figure out what's going on."
Big Boss only nodded, wordlessly giving his permission, not that there was a chance he was going to deny her. She was one of Diamond Dogs' best, he wouldn't insult her by denying her request for something that was not only well within her field, but also so simple he would feel comfortable allowing a rookie to do it.
His attention was diverted, however, when he felt, rather than heard, quiet and light footsteps behind him. Trusting instincts honed after decades of experience, he sensed no hostile intent and refrained from drawing a weapon as he turned to face whoever was approaching him. He was glad for his self-control.
It was a child, a young elf girl. She was dressed in a ratty, faded dress, her hair was tied into pigtails and she was clutching a poorly made doll in her hands. "Everyone's yelling." She meekly said.
Uh-oh.
In Big Boss' experience, children that stumbled into his line of work didn't remain children for long; they either were forced to grow up early or died. The children Diamond Dogs took in from Africa came to mind…not to mention Eli, that little bastard. Unbidden memories of his last confrontation with Eli on his parasite infected island of paradise came to mind and were banished quickly.
He kneeled so he was at eye level with the girl. "Are you alright?"
Her eyes darted from side to side, as if afraid she would be in trouble for speaking with him.
"It's okay," he said, trying to be reassuring. "Maybe I can help you."
A surge of hope sprung up in her eyes as she asked, "Really?"
Big Boss felt his scarred heart tear a little as the possibility that he couldn't do anything for this girl occurred to him. "Maybe," he said, purposefully vague. Unfortunately, the girl's young and naïve outlook interpreted that as "yes".
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Amethyne, ser." The now-named elf girl answered.
"What are you doing here alone, Amethyne? Where's your parents?"
The light he had kindled in the girl's eyes seemed to brighten at his question. "She's in Highever, ser. She's the lady-in-waiting to an actual noble lady!" She began to bounce as she said this, clearly proud of her mother's position. Her excitement was infectious as Big Boss found it difficult not to smile at her.
His good mood evaporated instantly, however, when he remembered what happened to Highever only a few days ago. He recalled a noble lady was visiting Eleanor Cousland the day Howe launched his coup, and there were several attendants that had arrived with her. Elf attendants.
Shit.
"She said she'll be back to visit me soon!" Amethyne continued, seemingly unaware of Big Boss' inner turmoil. "But," she stopped bouncing and her excitement died down a little, "she was supposed to have sent me a letter by now. Why hasn't she sent one yet, ser?"
"Umm…"
"Boss!" Gray Chameleon called out as she returned from the crowd, unknowingly sparing Big Boss a difficult conversation.
Turning his attention back to the young girl, he said, "Amethyne, would you please excuse me? I have to talk to my friend for a minute."
"Alright!" she said with a bright tone that only an innocent child would be capable of.
"I'll be right back, Amethyne." Big Boss said as he stood and brushed the dirt that clung to the knee he kneeled on. He turned and walked a small distance to where Gray Chameleon was. The crowd was still out of earshot of their conversation, and no one else was around. Still, Gray Chameleon lowered her voice.
"One of the guards blocking our way happened to be one of our new informants. He said they were ordered to cordon off the Alienage and allow nobody in or out, by order of the son of the Arl. Sounds like that slimy bastard wants to punish the elves but doesn't have the authority to yet."
"Did he say how long this will last?"
"No. But he did imply that it isn't going to stay this way. Either the elves snap and do something stupid, like riot, or the arl's son pushes his authority and does something stupid. Either way, if something doesn't change, something stupid and violent will happen. When that happens, a lot of people are going die."
"Someone's going to die?" a new voice said.
The suddenness and unexpected presence of the new voice startled Big Boss and Gray Chameleon, almost causing them to draw their weapons and attack were it not for their training. Once they recovered and were on-guard again, they turned to the source and, to Big Boss' dismay, saw Amethyne.
A moment ago, Big Boss' mind was occupied with this increasingly deteriorating situation. Now, it was trying to figure out a way to get out of this situation without a crying elf child drawing attention. Fortunately, he did not have to take the lead on this one. Gray Chameleon, either sensing Big Boss' blank mind on this situation or taking initiative, stepped forward, knelt to be at eye level with the girl, and spoke to her in the most comforting, maternal voice she was capable of.
Big Boss did not listen to what she was saying to Amethyne; not that he wasn't interested, but with her taking the lead on that problem, it left his mind free to wonder about their current predicament.
Despite Big Boss' nature as a soldier, a damn good one too, he understood the sanctity of life. He never reveled in taking the lives of others, but that did not mean he was a pacifist. He understood that there were people in the world that, very simply, needed to be put down. There were much worst individuals in the world than a mercenary commander, especially one with as many codes and rules as Diamond Dogs. At least, that's what Big Boss told himself.
Not that it was hard to believe. In their home world, one that arguably was "older" than Thedas in terms of civilization, there were still many parts that were underdeveloped and many unsavory characters that were a threat to the status quo. Big Boss and MSF was, at one time, considered one of them, but there were others: modern-day slavers, genuine terrorists, rogue governments, and even other PF's, all that could be considered by the majority to be threats.
During Diamond Dogs' rise to power on Earth, they had undertaken many jobs; varying from working for large Western nations to smaller local guerillas and everything in-between. Sometimes their jobs were humanitarian, such as escorting a group of civilians from a war zone; sometimes their jobs called for saboteurs, such as detonating an oil pipeline to destabilize a small eastern government; and sometimes their jobs were the opposite, preventing coups and preventing the assassinations of foreign heads of state.
"Theresa," he said to his subordinate, pulling her attention from the young elven girl she was comforting, "is there another way into the Alienage?"
"None that wouldn't be blocked off, Boss. We've had so much on our plate we've just been using the official paths in and out of the Alienage. We haven't had time to find an alternative."
"What about the sewer?" Amethyne asked.
That drew the two adults' attention.
"What sewer, Amethyne?" Big Boss asked.
The sewer in question Amethyne had been referring to was more of a large drainage pipe that fed into the Drakon River that ran through the middle of Denerim. Actually, calling it a "large" drainage pipe was giving it too much credit. While it was big enough for Amethyne to move through hunched over, Big Boss and Gray Chameleon had to crouch through the whole trip. Professional though she may be, that didn't mean Gray Chameleon liked dirty work like this. Big Boss, on the other hand, merely made a note of this as an alternate means of infiltration for future reference, the stench barely registering.
Finally, their journey ended at a wooden ladder that led up to the drain entrance on the surface. Big Boss was only too pleased he was wearing one of his spare Olive Drab Fatigues, rather than his preferred Sneaking Suit. Having deployed in such a rush, the Support Unit didn't have the time to prepare his usual loadout, forcing him to make do with the uniform he happened to be wearing and the spare equipment he always made sure was prepped in Pequod's helicopter.
He hoped it would be enough.
As the grate shut behind them, somehow cutting off the stench of Denerim's sewage, Big Boss looked around their new surroundings and instantly saw the difference in standards of living between the elves and their human neighbors.
From what little he saw of Highever in the relatively short time he was there, Teyrn Cousland seemed to treat his human and elf subjects the same; going so far as to ensure their living conditions were equal to that of his human subjects. Not only that, it seemed his people had followed their good Teyrn's example and, at the very least, acted amiable with each other.
Here, in Denerim, it was quite another story. The Alienage here was practically a shantytown in the middle of the city, built so that it could be easily cordoned off at a moment's notice, like it was now. The buildings were in disrepair, the area was filthy, even the sky seemed duller than it did outside.
"This was fun!" Amethyne said, with all the enthusiasm capable of a child who was not entirely aware of the significance of why she was locked out of her neighborhood. "But it's time for me to go home. Bye!" Without another word, she bolted off around the corner, out of sight.
The abruptness of her departure stalled the minds of the two soldiers for a few seconds.
"Let's go, Boss," Gray Chameleon said, bringing him out of his musings. "Our base isn't too far from here."
It was paradoxical how the base really wasn't that far but felt like it took an hour to get there. Despite the relatively small size of the Alienage, in comparison to the whole city of Denerim, it seemed larger on the inside than it did outside. Winding walkways that barely qualified as roads, haphazardly built multi-level hovels, and the fact the two humans were trying to reach their destination unnoticed by the elven inhabitants made the trip longer.
Finally, Gray Chameleon was leading Big Boss up the steps of one of the taller buildings in the Alienage. When he asked why this one upon their arrival, she had said the building had been empty for years, likely due to the very real dangers of the building collapsing with the smallest amount of force. At least, that was the case, according to their recent contacts. When the dispatch team inspected for themselves, they found that, while it certainly wasn't suitable for long term occupancy, it worked well enough for a temporary headquarters.
The only problem Big Boss had with it was they had to walk to the top.
"You walk up and down this building every time?" Big Boss asked as they took a breath once they reached the top floor.
"Unfortunately," Gray Chameleon said as she stretched her back. "Since this is only temporary until we find something permanent, we decided it would be a waste to expend resources to fix it up." Big Boss couldn't argue with that. Once they had their breath, Gray Chameleon led him to the last door in the hallway. "Anyways, Big Boss, welcome to headquarters."
With little flourish, she opened the only door and stepped inside.
With the heads-up of Gray Chameleon's words, Big Boss did not have high expectations for the state of this "headquarters" and did not let that reflect on the efforts of his team, knowing their reasons. The room itself was bare and unkept, yet far cleaner than the rest of the building seemed on his way up; a table was set up against one wall with the weapons of the dispatch team on it, dutifully cleaned and maintained, much to Big Boss' pleasure; and the other four members of the Denerim dispatch team standing at attention in the middle of the room.
Upon his entry, they snapped to a salute and greeted him all at once. "Boss!"
He saluted back and said, "At ease."
Dark Wolf, the leader, he remembered, stepped forward. "Boss, thank you for coming on such short notice. We could really use your help."
Getting straight to business, Big Boss asked, "Then let's get started."
It took the dispatch team an hour to fill him in on everything, but considering they barely had half a day to prepare for a briefing in a medieval world without even electricity, Big Boss was impressed. Among the things the dispatch team accomplished in their time here was collecting an impressive amount of information on the places and people of note.
Including a brief background, gathered from observations conducted by the team and accounts by others, and the location of one Vaughan Kendells, son of the Arl of Denerim.
"Team," Big Boss said, speaking for the first time since they started briefing him, "excellent job."
Though his compliment was simple, it meant the world to the five dispatch team members.
"Thank you, Boss," Dark Wolf said.
"Is there anything else I need to know about this Vaughan Kendells?"
"Nothing we haven't already said, Boss."
Looking down at the table covered with reports and maps, Big Boss asked, "What about the Arl of Denerim's estate? Do we have any information on it? Layout? Guard rotations? Anything?"
"Not very much, Boss," Glacier Mongoose, the one elected by the team to gather information on the estate in question, said. "Unfortunately, I've so far been unable to get any eyes or ears on the inside of the estate. All I know for sure is that there is a back door that leads to the kitchens guarded around the clock. This Vaughan guy may be an asshole, but he's not a complete idiot."
"And there are no alternate routes into the estate?"
"I apologize, Boss, but none that I'm aware of."
Several seconds of silence passed as Big Boss contemplated his next course of action. He crossed his arms as he took a deep breath.
"What are you thinking, Boss?" Hissing Harrier asked, slightly more comfortable than the others on interrupting his thoughts thanks his familiarity with their Boss from his days with MSF.
Bringing his prosthetic arm up, he looked at his watch for the time. "About three hours until night." he mumbled to himself before speaking again to the room. "How quickly can we get a wagon?"
That threw the dispatch team for a loop. "A…wagon, Boss?" Fire Ox asked.
He ignored the question. "And I need to see the estate guards' patrols again."
"Boss," Gray Chameleon said, "what's the plan?"
Though none of them saw it, Big Boss smirked. "We're going to create a distraction."
Three hours later…
It never ceased to impress Big Boss at how accurate the iDroid's ability was to tell when the sun would rise and fall. Perhaps it was seen as one of the lesser impressive accomplishments of Diamond Dogs R&D by most, but Big Boss knew the value of it. So many of his missions had hinged on planning his infiltrations down to the second and would've failed if his timing was off.
"Sun will set shortly." The feminine voice of his iDroid said into his earpiece.
It took about an hour for Big Boss to outline his plan to the dispatch team before he left for the Arl of Denerim's estate. He spent the next two hours on the roof of a building opposite the mansion doing nothing but making notes of the guards he saw, how often they patrolled, when they were relieved, etc.
If Big Boss didn't have an exceptional memory, not to mention incredible observational skills, he would think there was a veritable army guarding this estate. But since he did, he was relieved to see the number of guards on the outside equated to one of his usual outpost takeovers in Afghanistan.
As he waited for the signal, his disciplined and trained mind quickly ran over the mental notes he took of his opposition.
As with many other things he discovered since his arrival in Thedas, Big Boss felt underwhelmed at the quality of guards he was faced with. Yes, they had sentries posted at key points along the mansion's battlements, the bare minimum. Yes, the door seemed imposing and impregnable. And yes, the two paths around the mansion that led to the back property had one, one, guard each to prevent intruders.
The entire plan for this mansion's defense seemed to rely on the idea that no one would be daring enough to break into the Arl of Denerim's estate.
Professional though he was, Big Boss could not help smirking and thinking to himself, Piece of cake.
A beeping in his earpiece signaled someone was trying to call him. He answered.
"Everything's all set, Boss." Dark Wolf said. "We're ready on your go-ahead."
"And the rest of the team?" he asked.
"Retreated to a safe distance within eyesight of the AO, Boss. Once you give the order, Hissing Harrier and I will begin the diversion. We'll retreat to join the rest of the team and wait for you, as planned. If the worst should happen Boss, Hissing Harrier and Glacier Mongoose are prepared to render aid. Gray Chameleon is also ready to treat any wounds you may receive when you return."
"Good," Boss said, under no delusions he was beyond such precautions. With no further questions, confident in the preparations of his men, and with no dramatic buildup, Big Boss said, "Begin diversion."
Once the call was disconnected, Big Boss prepared himself to leap into action. While Big Boss knew he could take a remarkable amount of punishment before it impaired his performance in the field, he did not go out of his way to test his limits in the middle of a time-sensitive mission. So, when he picked this particular building to wait on, he did so because there was a pile of wooden crates stacked up against the side of the building, just about half the building's height.
Plenty high enough for him to fall and not hurt himself.
As he waited, his body tense like a snake, his namesake, ready to strike, he silently counted down the seconds until the plan began.
He did not have to wait long for, after ten seconds, two carts full of hay came into view just outside the estate's gates. They were pushed into place by a seemingly invisible force as there were no horses tethered to them, but Big Boss knew better. Though he was barely able to see the two darkly dressed figures, one behind each cart, he was able to see them once they both lit the torches in their hands and tossed them into their respective carts.
Shouts from the guards could already be heard just from the noise of the carts being pushed into place, but when they practically exploded in flames, every guard who witnessed it seemed to lose their minds. The ones posted on the battlements, any guard inside that could hear the screaming, and, most importantly, the one guard stationed at each of the side paths that led to the estate's back.
Hitting "Play" on his Walkman, Big Boss vaulted over the edge of his building.
The Legendary Mercenary was on the move.
(Play "Midge Ure" – "The Man Who Sold The World")
As if it wasn't bad enough that Big Boss' expectations were so low in regards to the security of this mansion, they just had to go and lower the bar by proving to be even more inept inside the mansion.
Within ten minutes, Big Boss was already inside and working his way to what he guessed was the mansion's living quarters. Even inside and on the opposite side of where all the commotion was happening, Big Boss could slightly hear the minor bout of chaos taking place. So he was confused as he passed though half a dozen rooms and not one of the sleeping guards or servants inside stirred.
Shaking his head, Big Boss decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth and continued as quickly as he could.
It took several more minutes of careful, quiet, undetected searching, but eventually Big Boss found the most likely room of his target. Hiding in the shadows at the beginning of a hallway, Big Boss looked down at the opposite end to see two more guards standing on either side of a door. Not having the time to search every room in the mansion, Big Boss decided to take a chance on this one.
He quietly slipped out his binoculars to get a closer look at these two obstacles. Dressed from head to toe in armor, the only place a well-aimed tranquilizer shot would do any damage would be the face openings in their helmets. He put the binoculars away and took out two different items. In his left hand, Big Boss held an empty magazine. In his other, he held a WU Silent Pistol Grade 3.
Unlike his personalized model of the same gun, this one was a lower grade, standard version. Though it was more common among the Mother Base staff due to its lower cost to manufacture, calling it "cheaper" wasn't accurate, as that would imply it was poor in quality as a weapon. It would be more accurate to say it simply wasn't Big Boss'.
To those who do not understand the significance of this, it means that the pistol in Big Boss' hand was not as effective in the potency of its tranquilizer, not as quick to fire, and had a lower range of accuracy.
Bringing his left hand up, he judged the distance that would best put them in range yet not give his position away and threw it.
"Hmm? What was that?" one of them said.
"You heard it too?" said the other.
"Yeah. Let's check it out."
"Alright."
Holding the pistol in both hands and bringing it up to aim, Big Boss took long, deep breaths, steadying his aim. Once he judged them close enough, he fired. The head of his target jerked back as if someone had punched him in the face, but he didn't utter a sound as he collapsed to the ground. His fall, obviously, alarmed his fellow guard, but he didn't have a chance to react as, by the time he noticed, Big Boss had loaded another dart into the pistol and fired.
There was one detail Big Boss had failed to consider in his plan: the fact that the guards of this world wear heavy sets of metal armor, not fatigues. Consequently, when he collapsed to the ground, they created a loud racket. Once this occurred to him, Big Boss froze, ears straining to hear the slightest hint of someone coming to investigate the noise.
Fortunately, it seemed that everyone was still preoccupied with the diversion out front as no one came within the thirty seconds Big Boss waited. Letting out the breath he had been holding, Big Boss looked down at the two unconscious guards and tried to think of what to do with them. Recalling an empty closet he had passed a couple doors back, he hoisted one of the guards over his shoulder, which required more effort than he was expecting, and quietly carried him there.
It took a couple minutes, but the empty hallway that didn't have a single clue that anything was amiss was worth it. And if anyone questioned why the two guards were absent from their post, it could very easily be chalked up to the diversion out front.
Speaking of which, it had been almost twenty minutes since this operation had started and he could barely hear anything now. Taking shelter in the empty room, now occupied by the two unconscious guards, he called Dark Wolf.
"Yes, Boss?" he answered.
"What's the situation outside?"
"Winding down, Boss. The fires got their attention, alright. It took them a while, but they're dousing them with water now. It won't be long before they return to their posts on high alert. Boss, I have to recommend you hurry it along."
"Got it." Big Boss replied. "I think I've found the target's room. I should be coming out soon. Radio me if there's any developments."
"Understood, Boss." And then the connection was cut.
Shutting the door behind him, Big Boss headed back to the door the two were guarding.
Leaning up with his ear against the door, he heard nothing and hoped that signified its occupants were asleep. Trying the doorknob revealed it to be locked, so he knelt down and pulled out his lockpick gun and had the door open within seconds. Again, he closed this door behind him; perhaps it would slow him down on his way out, but the longer he went unnoticed, the better.
The room he found himself in wasn't a bedroom, actually, but looked more like a waiting room. To his left there were several benches and to his right a desk, perhaps for a secretary of some kind. On the opposite side of the room was another door, through which, Big Boss found his target.
The room itself was rather nice, fit for royalty, even if the man occupying it wasn't royal in Big Boss' eyes. Seemingly unaffected by the commotion outside, Vaughan Kendells slept deeply in his large four-poster-with-a-roof bed.
Once he was sure there was no one else in the room, Big Boss rose to his full height and was about to approach his target before he paused. This was the private room of one of the highest authorities in the city. While not the King, not even the actual Arl in charge of the city, the son of the Arl was still in a position of authority. Which meant, hopefully, he was aware of things meant only for those in power.
Taking another look around the room, his gaze fell on the wooden desk set up in a corner facing the room. Quietly making his way there, Big Boss picked up several sheets of paper and was relieved to see the writing on them was in the familiar "English" language of this world.
Taking out his iDroid, Big Boss quickly began taking scans of as many papers as he could. Maybe they would have some useful information, maybe they wouldn't, but it couldn't hurt to be sure. Tucking his iDroid away, Big Boss pulled out his WU Silent Pistol again and quickly fired his target in the head, just to be sure he wouldn't wake mid-extraction.
Now sure he wouldn't wake, Big Boss grabbed Vaughan's arms and pulled over his shoulders, wrapping his left arm around Vaughan's left leg before securing him by grabbing his left hand, leaving his right free to grab his sidearm in a pinch. As he approached the door leading out, however, he received a call.
"Boss? Are you there?" the voice of Dark Wolf said.
"Yeah, I'm here." He replied. "I've got the target. We were just on our way out."
"You're going to need to hurry then. The guards have cleared the diversion away and are returning to their posts. I'm only surprised they haven't alarmed the entire district by now. You need to get out of there now before the entire estate goes into lockdown."
Deciding that getting a move on was more important than answering, Big Boss disconnected the call, made sure Vaughan Kendells was secure on his back, and pushed the door open.
Right away, Big Boss encountered his first problem: two guards carrying torches coming down the hallway toward the room he was in. Growling in frustration, he quietly closed the door before they noticed and tried to quickly think of a plan.
As he did not know every nook and cranny of the estate, Big Boss was not aware of any other ways out of the room and back outside, apart from the way he came in and the undoubtedly guarded front door. Though there was no guarantee that his infiltration route was still a viable option, he didn't have the time to come up with another option.
Carefully, so as not to wake him, Big Boss shrugged Vaughan off his shoulders and placed him on the ground next to the door. He cracked the door open and was relieved to see the two guards had stopped several feet away from the door looking in the opposite direction. Big Boss pushed the door open, stood up, and slowly approached the two from behind. He brought his hands up to the back of their helmets, took a deep breath, and acted.
He grabbed them by the back of their helmets and slammed their heads together, disorientating them enough for Big Boss to trip the guard on the left and bring his fist down on his face, knocking him out. The guard on the right didn't have a chance to react as Big Boss again grabbed him by the head and slammed it into the stone wall, before he vaulted him over his hip and spiked the poor guard onto the floor.
The two guards were incapacitated within five seconds.
Rolling his shoulders, Big Boss couldn't help but feel the smallest satisfaction at his efficiency before he returned to retrieve Vaughan's still unconscious form.
There were two more close calls in Big Boss' exfiltration, though neither of them was beyond his capabilities. One was a half-asleep guard that somehow stumbled right past the shadow Big Boss was clinging to, and the other was an elf servant stubbornly preparing the kitchen, the last room before Big Boss' exit, for the next day. Unfortunately for him, he was a servant, and so had no armor to protect him from a tranquilizer dart to the back of the head.
Big Boss was sneaking past him before his body even hit the ground.
Stepping out of the mansion and into the night, Big Boss took a deep breath of fresh air, but did not allow himself to relax. Out of the mansion he may be, but in friendly territory he wasn't. In fact, he was still literally in his target's backyard. Needing information, he called the dispatch team.
"Dark Wolf," he said once the call was accepted.
"Here, Boss. What do you need?"
"What's the situation in the front of the mansion?"
"All quiet now, Boss. The guards got rid of the carts we used for the diversion and returned to their posts. They seemed to have dismissed it as a prank, or something, but they still look on edge. But it looks like there's no guard on the path you used to get in. I don't know if that means they're doing a guard rotation or he's taking a piss somewhere, but now looks like a really good time to get out."
"Got it. I've got the target and am making my way back through the estate's backyard. I'll be out in a few minutes."
"Understood, Boss. We're set up here to provide covering fire, if necessary. See you soon."
It was quite a hassle, carrying an unconscious man up several flights of stairs, even for someone in shape like Big Boss. Fortunately, when Dark Wolf and Glacier Mongoose offered to "share the load" halfway up the building, Big Boss had no cares for making himself seem invulnerable and practically tossed the unconscious "load" at them. Immediately, once his shoulders were free, Big Boss felt a soreness settle in.
The remainder of the exfiltration went as smoothly as they hoped. The guard had not returned to his post at the estate's side entrance allowing Big Boss to literally walk out with his target. From there, it was a simple matter of navigating their way back through Denerim to the Alienage and their HQ. Being night, the fewer people out worked in their favor, not to mention only having to worry about getting back unseen and not the added tasks, such as setting up the diversion.
Vaughan Kendells had stirred half-awake several times in their journey, but a quick application of a tranquilizer dart from one of the dispatch team members ensured he did not fully awaken until they had him secured.
And secure him they did: bound to a chair, his arms tied to the armrests, his legs ties to the two front legs, and a rope around his neck tied to the back of the chair with Glacier Mongoose and Dark Wolf standing behind him with knives out.
While they waited for their "guest" to wake up, Big Boss took a chair to one side of the room and was eating a quick MRE, needing the calories after the jog across town with a grown man on his back.
"How long until they get here?" Big Boss called out to the room.
Gray Chameleon answered. "Fire Ox said he made contact while we were on our way back. They should be here soon, Boss." To which he nodded and turned his attention back to his "meal".
It wasn't until the group had reached the Alienage did it occur to Big Boss that it might be a good idea to have eyes and ears on the estate. Though his plan was to have the arl's son back in his bed before anyone noticed, and it was only midnight, there was no guarantee a particularly foolhardy guard would enter his room without permission and notice his absence. When he voiced his thoughts, Hissing Harrier immediately volunteered.
Big Boss acquiesced to one of his oldest subordinates request only if he kept in constant contact with the rest of the team and immediately retreated at the first sign of discovery. Cleared for duty by the Medical Team he may be, but Big Boss couldn't help but feel protective of all of the "Wandering Mother Base Soldiers."
The silence that reigned in the room for the last few minutes was broken when the door opened and in walked Fire Ox and the interrogation specialist Big Boss called in before this operation started.
Standing in the doorframe was another Diamond Dogs soldier, dressed in simple clothes befitting a commoner, a light pack slung over his shoulder, and a cocky grin on his face.
"I understand I'm needed," Sadistic Panther said.