Chapter 6: Flyer and Sniper

Kyle did not have the best night after his meeting with Faith. The entire time on his way back, his head was filled with images with the woman of the past and Faith who seemed so like her. He had thought he had repressed this memory but now that it was free, it was all he could think about. Things didn't get much better when he got back to the bunker. Jess was waiting for him at the entrance. Normally he would be all for explaining things but his mind wasn't in the right place. Jess didn't need to know about the past, at least not yet. Kyle brushed her aside without saying a word which didn't sit well with Jess. Surprisingly, all she demanded was to look at his eyes. She wanted to make sure that Kyle wasn't under the effects of the bliss. But when she gazed into them, her expression immediately changed. She didn't see the hardened look of a mercenary or the white, milky eyes of someone affected by the bliss. What she saw were eyes filled with regret, fatigue. Jess immediately felt a sense of shame for getting angry with Kyle and let him pass. He went right to bed but didn't get much sleep. The visions continued in his dreams, at times he felt like he was reliving the past. Needless to say, he didn't get much sleep.

Kyle woke up staring up at the ceiling. The visions had finally subsided but they lingered at the back of his mind. Knowing that being busy would help the issue, he got up to shower and get ready for the day. However, this time when he entered the main room, Jess was waiting for him with two cups of coffee. She handed one to him.

"Look, I just want to apologize for being a bit of a bitch last night. I don't trust Faith so who knows what she could have tried to do to you. I'm glad that you were able to make it back without any noticeable bliss effects."

Kyle eagerly took the cup and started taking sips. "Its fine. You guys have more experience with Faith than I do. You had a right to be suspicious." He quickly finished his cup and felt a little more refreshed. "I'll tell you what you want to know but not here. Your uncle is a good man, but I'd rather keep everything just between us two."

Jess didn't respond but nodded in understanding. Dutch entered the room a few minutes later. "Hey kid, you made it back. So how did it go?"

"Fine, all things considered." He quickly changed the subject. "So what's on the agenda today?"

Dutch eyed Kyle but decided to play along. "Well I've been thinking. Freeing Falls End will give us a base to strike at John and maybe give us a few people to help out. But I think we need to round up more people for your little squad. No offense kid but no matter how good you are, you still can't be everywhere at once. We need more like-minded individuals to fight the cult when you're busy doing something else."

Kyle studied the map. "So what do you suggest?"

Dutch pointed to a location on the map. "Well here's where the Ryes live. I'm pretty sure that Nick Rye owes a plane that would be very useful to us. Problem is the cult has been harassing him a lot lately. Then there's Grace. She's an Afghan war veteran who's good with a sniper. Would pair up nicely with you. Problem is that I don't know where she is. Cult burned her home down and she went missing. I'll try to find out where she is while you guys go meet up with Nick."

"Got it?" He looked at Jess. "You ready?"

She nodded but before they could leave, Dutch stopped them. "Oh, more thing kid. Store owner from Falls End called last night while you were gone. He said to stop by when you get a chance."

Kyle nodded then headed for the outside. As soon as they got outside, Kyle opened up.

"To be honest, I'm surprised that the meeting wasn't a trap."

"So it was just her and her guards?"

"No, she actually came by herself. I brought Boomer just in case to detect any more people but it seems he wasn't need. Funny enough, even though Boomer growls when he's around cult members, with Faith he was actually pretty friendly."

Jess rolled her eyes. "I hope she didn't give him some blissed-up treat while you weren't looking."

Kyle eyed her as they got in the truck and started driving. "Anyways, of course I figured the purpose of the meeting was to find out more about me, about my past. She told me about herself first. How she was miserable before she met Joseph and how he basically gave her a new life."

"I hope you didn't believe her."

"I was skeptical, but I sensed that a good deal of it was true because…"

"Because what?"

"I'll get to that. After she told me her story, she asked about me. I didn't tell her anything. Instead I offered an information that might prove helpful to her."

"You what?! What information did you give her?" Jess' temper flared up.

Kyle gave a side smile. "I told her to back off the jail. I told her even to start sending food shipments. Said it might get a few people to switch to her side."

"Did she believe you?

"She seemed on board with the idea. Either way, no matter what happens, at least it will buy the people at the jail a little more time. That was mostly the meeting anyways."

Jess calmed down but still wore a frown. "That still doesn't explain about what I saw last night from you."

Kyle took a deep breath and let out a deep sigh. "Even though Faith didn't learn anything about my past, her appearance and questions brought up something best left forgotten."

Jess snorted. "What? She remind you of an ex or something?

"No….its more complex than that. Jess…" Memories of years back came flooding back. "I'm not a good person."

Jess' face showed confusion. "Why do you say that? You sure have been putting on a hero act ever since you got here."

"Would you believe me if I told you I started out as a gang member?"

Jess couldn't help but chuckle. "Hell no! You're way too professional and tactical for me to believe that."

Kyle gave her a brief glance. "It wasn't always like that. I started off in the business by telling a gang leader in Chicago that I could eliminate one of his rivals for him if he let me in. He laughed it off of course. Didn't believe I could do it. Who could blame him? A nobody 18 year old claiming they could take out a gang leader with his buddies guarding him all by himself? It was one of the scariest things I've ever done, mostly because it was my first time. Maybe I was lucky. When I hit the place, half of them were drunk. I managed to gun down enough to get to the leader to take him out then get the hell out of there. It was front page new the next day. The gang I tried getting into couldn't believe it. It wasn't like a hit on the streets, this kid actually raided the home and killed this guy. Instead of just membership, I was offered the right-hand position. Things went from there."

"So you went around with a gang shooting up stores and robbing people?"

"Thankfully not. The one thing I can say is that I was able to be in a position where I wouldn't have to kill innocents. Based on my previous work, I was mostly used as a hitman or when that wasn't needed, a bodyguard. That was how things were even with I moved on from gang life. I worked for mob bosses, or powerful individuals who needed muscle to expand their interests. I guess I was so good at my job that they started calling me The Wolf. Been doing this work for 8 years, up until I got here."

"And what made you come to here of all the fucked-up places you could have gone to?"

"Needed a break. I made enough money where I'd be good for a bit. Just needed to get away from everything for a while. Forget some things…."

Jess leaned in. "What things?"

Memories of the boss' girlfriend flared up again. "Maybe another time Jess. Honestly, you're one of maybe two people I've told my past to. So, count yourself lucky."

Jess smirked a bit. "Well its about time you stopped being so mysterious. But now we're even. I told you my story, and now you've told me yours. And just in case you're wondering, no I don't fucking judge you for what you've told me. It is what it is. Didn't stop you from helping me or kicking the cult's ass."

Kyle returned the smile. "Good to know that I can trust you. Looks like we're about there."

Falls End finally came into view. Kyle parked on the street in front of the store. The town looked like it had been cleared of any traces of cult occupation. There were a few people milling about. Kyle and Jess entered the store to find the proprietor moving some stuff around behind the counter. When he saw the duo, he broke out a wide smile.

"Hey! It's the Falls End heroes! Glad you could make it. I'm assuming Dutch gave you my message since you're here?"

Kyle nodded. "Yeah. What did you need?"

"Well I guess you could say that I have some hidden product I would like you to look at. Luckily the peggies were too stupid to find it and I wanted to reward you for saving the town." He pushed a button beneath the counter and a hidden door opened behind him revealing a room. The man motioned Kyle and Jess to follow him in. Inside was a whole slew of weapons from assault rifles, to LMGs, to grenade launchers. It had been a while since Kyle had seen such a well-stocked armory.

"Quite impressive" He remarked.

The man smiled and bowed slightly. "This is my secret stash. People around here really prize their guns so I've been able to make a good deal of business selling weapons. I don't know where the peggies have been getting their weapons but I've been able to maintain my stock for the time being scavenging guns from them. So here's the thing. Normally for helping me out, I'd just give you a discount. But you helped the whole town out, so I'll let you have a pick from two weapons for free."

"I appreciate it." It took a few moments to decide what he wanted. "Do you happen to have a proper sniper with a silencer?"

"Hmm, you're in luck. I managed to get my hands on a dragunov before the peggies closed everything off. It doesn't have a silencer attachment but I believe I have a few of those lying around that should work."

"Do you have a MP5A3?"

"Sure do. You need a silencer for that one too?

"Nah, just give me extended mags if you have them."

"You got it. Just give me a few minutes and I'll have everything for you."

While the man was getting everything ready, Kyle turned to Jess but she already knew what he was going to say. "Before you ask, no I don't anything. I have my bow and I craft my own arrows."

Kyle shrugged "It wouldn't hurt to diversify a bit."

Jess leaned against a wall. "How bout this? You use a bow and I'll use a gun."

The merc shook his head. "Guess we're sticking with status quo then."

"That's what I thought."

After a few minutes, the man came back with the dragunov and a large crate. "Here's everything you wanted. MP5 is in the crate will all the ammo for dragunov and the extended mags. Stocked a good deal of bullets for you because I'm sure you'll need it. If you need any more, come back and work we'll work something out."

Kyle slung the sniper over his shoulder and took the crate. "I got a bunch of rifles we took from some cult members. Seeing as I don't really have access to my account, how about we trade you whatever we scavenge from the cult for whatever we need?"

The man nodded. "That works really well for me and sounds fair. You have yourself a deal."

Kyle took the things back to the truck to better organize and equip himself. He had the dragunov slung over his one shoulder while having the mp5 on one hip and his pistol on the other. His vest was stocked with mags for his two new weapons and a few he had left for his pistol. Everything else was store in the back of the trunk where he figured he would trade them in later. Soon, him and Jess were on the road heading towards the Ryes' place. When they got close, they could hear gunfire. Kyle parked behind the hanger where he and Jess hopped out to take a peek at the gunfight. It looked like 4 cult members were engaged with one person who was shouting at them. Kyle and Jess were not noticed.

"You think you can take out all four of them with your bow?" Kyle challenged.

"Watch and weep dude."

Jess took out an arrow and aimed at the first person on the left. The arrow hit home and nailed the man in the forehead. None of his comrades heard his death as they were too busy returning fire. Jess immediately cocked another arrow and aimed it at the second person. She experienced the same fate as the first. But this time one of the two remaining cult attackers noticed that they were being killed by arrows.

"Someone else is here! Lets get out of-" An arrow prevented them from finishing followed by another which took out the last person. Kyle was impressed with Jess' marksmanship.

"You know what? Forget what I said earlier. All you need is a bow." Jess gave him a smug look and they made their way to the hanger where they found the man who had been exchanging fire with the peggies. He seemed shocked that he had survived the ordeal.

"Oh man, was that you guys? Thanks for that. I would have been a goner for sure. I knew I didn't have much chance but those sons of bitches took Carmina and I'll be damned if I let them take it without a fight." He moved up to get a closer look at his rescuers. "Hey, you're Jess Black aren't you?"

Jess folded her arms. "Nick…"

"So who's your friend here? Honestly I'm surprised you're hanging out with someone else. He your boyfriend?"

Jess rolled here eyes and stuck a thumb pointing at Kyle. "This is Kyle. He got stuck here because of the cult. All you need to know is that he is as good with a gun as I am with a bow."

Nick put out his hand to shake and Kyle shook it. "Hey man. Appreciate the support. Sorry you got stuck here. Since Jess is vouching for you, maybe you can help me out. Those bastard peggies stole my plane. Its my family's lifeline to get out of here. I overheard those peggies saying that they were taking it to John's ranch. Please man! I'm begging you to get back that plane."

"So what's your plan?"

"We need to get over to John Seed's ranch, sneak in and fly the plane out of there before anyone knows what's going on. Oh, but the plane can only hold two people and I gotta fly it so one of you is going to stay behind. My wife Kim, she's in the house. It would be nice if one of you could stay behind with her in case those assholes come back."

Kyle turned to Jess. "Can I trust you to stay here with Kim?"

Jess sighed. "I guess. Babysitting duty huh?

"Well Kim is pregnant so technically…." Jess glared at Nick to clam him up then turned back to Kyle. "You owe me."

He nodded. "Don't worry, I'll definitely pay back. Trust me."

"I do." Jess muttered low enough that neither man heard her. She made her way to the house.

"So I guess we can't take a vehicle there if we're both going to be getting a plane huh?"

"That's right. Sorry man." Kyle had a thought and made his way back to the truck. He moved it so it was on the side of the house facing the road in case Jess and Kim had to make a quick getaway while they were gone. He also left his new sniper in the truck as he felt it wouldn't fit in the plane. When he was ready, he came back to Nick.

"Let's go."

"Hold on" Nick protested. "That place is heavily guarded. We can't just waltz in there."

"I know that. If I remember the map, there's a main road that leads into the ranch. I'm assuming that'll be what's most heavily guarded. So we could come from the south along the river or come around from the north."

Nick pondered for a moment. "I think his airstrip in in the northern part so its probably best if we go that route."

Kyle nodded and the duo started their journey on foot. After some time, they came across a road junction.

"That way leads to the ranch." Nick pointed at the road leading west. "I think there's a forest north of this field we can use to sneak around." Nick was correct. There was a forest at the edge of the fields. As they snuck through, they heard gunfire coming from the fields and they feared that they might have been spotted. But on closer examination, they spotted that it was just peggies shooting at targets for practice. The duo continued along the edge of the forest until the ranch was finally in view. Kyle cursed to himself for not having his sniper to scope out the guards. Thus, they proceeded more cautiously. Indeed, most of the guards were concentrated on the road to the ranch. There were stationary guns and firing positions but luckily, they faced away from where Kyle and Nick were.

"There she is!" Nick pointing at a yellow plane that was on the strip just outside the garage. It was only guarded by a singular cultist who was on a smoke break. Kyle took Nick aside.

"Here's the plan. Just follow close by me. We'll try sneaking up on him but if he spots us, I'll take him out. They'll hear the gunfire though so you better hurry to the plane if that's the case."

Nick nodded and followed Kyle as they creeped slowly towards the plane. Kyle has his pistol ready in case the cultist ever turned around. The man never did. He seemed to be preoccupied watching what the others were doing over by the buildings. Kyle was able to get behind him and choke him out. He then motioned Nick to get the plane running. Nick boarded the plane and began to rev it up as Kyle prepared his MP5 for anyone that heard the noise. The plane starting up did attract the attention of the cultists guarding the road and they saw Kyle standing by the plane. Bullets started to fly and he returned fire. He had planned to escape back into the woods while Nick flew away but Nick urged him in. Kyle didn't like flying but he obeyed and boarded the seat behind Nick. They started taking off as bullets peppered the side of the plane but they managed to take off.

"Woooo wee! Feels good to be flying my plane again. I didn't think it would be this easy."

Kyle didn't respond. He was too busy looking down and seeing how high they were. He was never a fan of heights and he didn't like the fact that he was in a small plane with not much between him and the outside.

"Let me do some maneuvers to make sure they didn't mess with her. Hold on partner!"

Nick did some turns and some rolls. Kyle did his best to hang on. He was happy he didn't get airsick but the whole ordeal was making him uneasy.

"We heading back?" He asked nervously.

"Yeah! Just let me give these peggies a nasty surprise."

Kyle could see that they were coming up on a red silo that was guarded by a turreted truck with some cultists milling about.

"Watch this man!" Nick strafed the group with the gun that was mounted below the plane's nose. As he pulled up, he hit a button that dropped a bomb. It took out the remaining cultists with a sizable explosion.

"Man! It feels good to be back in the air!" Nick cheered.

Kyle looked back to glimpse at the carnage and was glad that Dutch had suggested Nick. Having a plane of their own could definitely make things easier. They finally landed back at Nick's airstrip. Kyle was surprised to find that there were no cultists back for revenge. Perhaps John's men were not as bloodthirsty as Jacob's men. Or perhaps they learned that the last time they sent reinforcements, one of their planes got shot down. Nick led the way to the house with a smile on his face.

"Kim we're back! We got Carmina! So pack your things, we're getting out of here."

As Nick went to look for Kim, Kyle found Jess sitting on the couch in the living room looking bored.

"Look who's back. Took your sweet time didn't ya?"

Kyle shrugged. "We had to take the long way around but it was the safest. We took the plane right under their noses. Anything happened while we were gone?"

"Nope. Jack shit. I'm glad you came back. I was so bored I was thinking of just going out to hunt."

"And Nick's wife?"

"She told me to make myself at home. She was happy that we were helping out. She mentioned that she was going to tell Nick that they were going to stay to help out instead of flying out."

They then heard arguing. Nick was coming downstairs with a couple of suitcases while Kim was following behind him.

"Nick, this is your grandfather's home. We can't just give it up!"

"I know but I gotta think about you and our….son's future."

"Nick, you know the scans said it was a girl…"

"Bah, those scans could be wrong! Anyways we can always come back later when things die down."

"But these people just helped us with the cult. We can't just turn our backs on them. Especially with your plane, I'm sure you can be a great help."

Nick turned to Kyle who shrugged. "Its your decision but we'd appreciate the help." He turned back to Kim who was giving him a glare.

"Fine. I guess I really owe you for getting my plane back which is basically my livelihood. You got yourself a pilot."

He went to shake hands with Kyle. "I'll try and get some people to come by and help watch your place in case the cult comes back again. Looking forward to seeing more of your plane in action."

Both parties said their goodbyes to each other and Kyle radioed Dutch while he was outside.

"Dutch you there?"

"What's up kid? You find Nick?"

"Yeah, we did. He' with us. He, you think you can radio Mary and have her send a few people over to Nick's place to help watch it? Cult might retaliate after we took back his plane from them."

Sure kid and I'll do you one better. I finally got word about Grace. I heard the peggies talking about her being at a church in the northwest part of John's area. She sounded like she's been cornered so you better heard over there. I'll let Mary know about Nick.

"Thanks Dutch. We'll head there right away."

"Finally, some action." Jess complained. "I know the church that Dutch was talking about. Just take the road west and you'll eventually come to it."

Kyle followed Jess' directions and headed west along the main road. A cult patrols passed by but it seemed that they were heading toward John's ranch. Kyle figured that they were most interested in finding out what happened than retaliating at least for the time being. Eventually the pair made it to the church as Jess pointed it out. This time Kyle was fully armed with all his gear, expecting a firefight. But the place was unusually quiet. When they advanced into the graveyard, they found the bodies of dead cultists. Most of them had been shot in the head but a few had bullet wounds around the chest area. Seems like the markings from a sniper.

"Hey! Up here!" A voiced called out. Kyle and Jess looked for the voice on top of the church but couldn't pinpoint in. "I'm in the bell tower. There are ladders leading up here along the sides. Get up here." The voice ordered. The duo found the ladders and made their way to the top where they found a woman in military gear wielding what looked like to be Kyle's old weapon, an AR-C with a scope.

"Nice to see some friendly faces for a change. Name's Grace. Cult chased me here why I decided to make a stand. As you saw, I took them out but they'll be back and in greater numbers. You think you would be able to lend a hand?"

"Sure thing. How bout this? Jess, you take the ground. You can use the tombstones as cover. I'll sit on the other side of the roof with a sniper while Grace remains here. We'll give you covering fire while you go to town. Sound good?"

Jess cracked a slight smile. "Let's kick some ass."

The trio than took their positions and waited. Sure enough as Grace predicted, the cult came. Some came by foot from the nearby woods while others arrived in vehicles. Kyle saw that Jess had things mostly covered as she would duck besides the stones, pop out to shoot an arrow or two than duck from fire. Thus he really only targeted cultists that Jess was not focused on that were firing from other angles. Grace seemed to understand what Kyle was doing and changed her view to watch a different side. Jess took care of the peggies coming from the forest while Kyle and Grace took care of the road. The cultists were only expecting to fight one sniper. They were not at all prepared to fight two snipers and a master archer. As the casualties mounted, there was finally a shout for everyone to fall back. Jess took a few more shots a some fleeing cultists and then it was clear. Kyle made his way back to Grace.

"Seems like we gave them a good thrashing seeing that they called back their attack. I owe you and Jess big time. Do you have a name?"

"Kyle."

"Well Kyle, if you ever need a hand, I'd be happy to return the favor."

"About that, are you just on the run? Do you have any place to stay?"

"Not really. Cult burned my home down and have been chasing me around for a bit. Just been surviving off the wilderness with my gun here."

"Do you know where Nick Rye lives, or Falls End? I figure it would be best if you went to either of those places as I'm pretty sure we have them secure and consolidated. Also, if we need to meet up, we know where to find out again."

Grace gave a smile. "So you guys actually liberated Falls End? Now I can see why we had such an easy time here. But yeah, that seems like a good plan. I'll make my way over there."

"Do you need a ride?"

"Nah, I think I can make it there on my own. Hope to see you again soon. Stay safe."

The two went their separate ways as Grace made her way southeast while Kyle met up with Jess who was surveying the damage and scavenging. When she saw Kyle approach, a grin appeared on her face.

"Those fuckers never had a chance. Now we got some primo loot we can use to trade in later. See, killing these bastards does pay off."

Kyle returned a smile. "Seeing as you did most of the work, all the stuff we trade in will go towards whatever you want. Maybe we can get you one of those fancier bows, or see if this guy has explosive arrows or something."

Jess chuckled as the pair finishing looting the bodies and loaded everything on the truck. Kyle radioed Dutch back that everything went fine and that they were heading back with the spoils of war.

Meanwhile…..

Faith was busy filling out paperwork on inventory. Bliss production needed to be recorded and she was proud to report that it was increasing. But now she had to monitor food storage as well. Ever since the plan was put in place, Faith had to make sure the right amount was sent and that there was still enough for the project. Food was not as easy to come by in the Henbene so occasionally she would send requests to John to send shipments over. Her work was than interrupted by a phone call.

"Hello?"

"Hello Faith."

"Jacob, this is a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?

"I would like to make a request. I need more bliss containers sent to me. I'm afraid I've run out during my preparations and would like more just in case."

"Yes of course Jacob. I will send some over right away."

"Good. Have you heard any word from 'him'?

"No, I have not."

"I see. Apparently, he's been causing trouble for John again. Even raided John's ranch to steal a plane." Jacob sighed. "Fortunately, my plan is ready to go. John should be able to finally relax."

Faith hesitated as she ponded what Jacob was up to. "May I know what you're planning brother?

Jacob chuckled. "Just pay attention to your reports. We'll finally put an end to this nuisance."

"Very well. If there's nothing else brother, I must be getting back to work. Goodbye Jacob."

"Faith."

As the call ended Faith couldn't help but wonder what Jacob was planning. She wasn't sure if Jacob was planning to capture or kill Kyle. She hoped for the former but Jacob was known for coming up with permanent solutions to problems. As Faith resumed her work, she silently hoped that her brother's plan wouldn't go too far.

Author's Note: Man what a doozy. Honestly this could have been broken up but I decided to fit it all together. More of Kyle's past has been revealed, he's bonding with Jess a bit and they've got new allies. What will happen next will Jacob plotting up north. Find out on the next episode of Dragon-the story.