Chapter 7: The Wolf's Hunt
Dutch took a sip of his coffee as he studied the map in his command room. Everything was going well which seemed to be a miracle as only a few days before, everything had gone to shit. At one point, Dutch had accepted Joseph's rule an inevitable. In a few years, he had taken control of everything. Dutch had figured to keep to himself and hope that the cult would leave him alone. But than the raid happened and one of its participants miraculously appeared on his doorstep. Dutch had only hoped at getting Jess to safety but Kyle surpassed all his expectations. His skill reminded Dutch of the commando raids back during the war. But Kyle was doing it by himself, then with just Jess. The duo were seemingly unstoppable, tearing through John Seed's territory, liberating Falls End, and rescuing important people who would be able to help in their fight. It was amazing that they had survived all that but even more so in that they didn't have a scratch on them. Dutch was proud that his niece had become a fine warrior but he still worried for her safety. They couldn't keep winning like this forever, could they? But they needed to keep up the momentum.
As Dutch was reminiscing, a voice came over the radio. "Hello? Is anyone there? I need help!"
Dutch went over to the radio to respond. "Who are you? What's goin on?"
"I'm a member of the Whitetail militia. My unit was on patrol when we got ambushed by Jacob's men. The peggies came out of nowhere. We were surprised and outgunned. We tried to fall back but they cut off our route back to base. We all just ran as fast as we could. I think I might be the only one left. Please you need to help me!"
"Okay son, calm down. Do you think you can tell me where you are?"
"Um, I think I'm southeast of Baron's mill. In the woods over there. The cult has that place and the roads guarded so I'm afraid to leave. Could you please help me?"
"Yeah just stay right where you are. I'll send some people to get you out. Just stay out of sight."
"Okay. Thank you." The radio then went to static.
"Who was that?" Kyle asked walking into the room.
"Guy whos unit got ambushed by Jacob's men up north. I need you and Jess to go rescue him."
"One of Eli's guys is in trouble?" Jess entered shortly after Kyle.
"Yeah, I need you guys to go get him. Think you can do that?"
"Why? Is he important?" Kyle questioned.
"No. He's just a guy who asked for help over the radio."
"Then why would we waste our time with him? Its his own damn fault!" Jess complained.
"Look you two. Dutch explained. "It's not about who but what. This guy may be a nobody but if you go and help him out, I'm sure you'll catch Eli's eye. Now that's someone who's help could be beneficial."
"Who's Eli?"
"Eli's the leader of the whitetail militia" explained Jess. "They've been fighting Jacob for a bit up north now. He was how I got my intel on the Cook."
"Right, which means he could really help you guys out if you help out one of his boys."
"Alright, alright. Did he say where he was?" Kyle went to look at the map.
"He said he was southeast of Baron's Mill in some woods. I'm guessing he's right here." Dutch pointed to a spot on the map.
"Got it. I guess we'll leave now then. You ready Jess?"
"Always." The two then made their way to the truck and started driving. Kyle decided to take as roundabout way in order to avoid going past Baron's Mill which was probably already re-occupied by the cult. Even taking the long way around, he noticed something that made him feel uneasy. Usually there were vehicle patrols on the road. They sometimes varied in number but they would always pass by at least a few. It seemed like there were none on the road. He voiced his concern to Jess.
"Do you think its strange we haven't passed by a single patrol?"
Jess was staring out the window. "Who knows. They could all be attending a sermon or something. At least they're staying out of our way."
The apathy convinced Kyle to pursue the matter no further. They soon arrived at their intended destination. The lack of people continued.
"We're probably going to have to get out and find him. Hopefully he didn't see our vehicle and take off"
"Fine by me. Lets go." Jess took her bow and arrows, while Kyle had all his weapons and some ammo. He left the radio in the car. The duo made their way into the nearby woods searching for their pickup.
"Where the hell is he?" Jess asked. They then heard sounds. It sounded like dogs barking.
"You hear that?' Kyle asked as he looked deeper into the woods.
"Yeah, but it might just be wolves. There's a lot around here. Lets go back."
But Kyle ignored her and continued deeper into the woods. He soon found the source of the barking. Three dogs, all trapped in cages like Boomer was. But there was something different. Inside each of the cages was a barrel with green mist spewing out. Before Kyle could make his way to the cages, Jess grabbed his arm.
"Hey! Don't go any closer! That's bliss in there. It'll do shit to your head. They've been using on dogs and wolves and turn them into things they call judges. All they do after that is kill. There's nothing you can do Kyle…"
Before Kyle could contemplate her words, there was an explosion. Both looked over and found that their ride had just been taken out. Soon the sound of a helicopter filled the air.
"Shit! It was a trap! We gotta move!" Bullets started flying in from the chopper and from cult members advancing from the west. The duo managed to take cover behind the tree.
"We should just take them out here and now! We've dealt with a plane, we can deal with a chopper!" Jess was already returning fire with her arrows.
"Jess! Don't be stupid! Even if we kill the ones after us now, they'll use that time to surround us. There's no telling how many they'll throw to take us down. You can return fire to make them back off but you stay moving with me alright?!"
"Fine!"
Kyle started running towards the east with Jess right behind him. Every so often he would return fire with her to keep their pursuers from getting too close. The helicopter fired on them when it got a chance which it didn't have many. The woods hampered its line of fire. Kyle figured it was mostly there to keep them from venturing out into the open or head back south. Kyle and Jess kept up the pattern of running and firing behind them until they got to a point where they were able to take a breather.
"I have no idea where we are. Radio was in the truck when they took it out. Sooner or later we're either going to hit the mountains or run out of woods." Kyle surmised
Jess thought for a minute then came up with an idea. "I have an idea. I'll split off and head north while you continue east. I'll draw them away."
Kyle seemed concerned. "That's a bad idea Jess. There's no telling how many are after us and we're stronger together than by ourselves. If all else fails, we'll just make a last stand somewhere."
"Oh, drop the hero bullshit! I know these woods better than any of these peggies. I'll eventually lose them on my own. We'll both make our way south and meet up again soon."
"Oh? And just a minute ago, you wanted to go Rambo and fight them all there." Kyle teased
Jess came up to him just inches from his face. Kyle noticed her light blue eyes but also the intensity they gave off.
"Look, sometimes I let the anger get the best of me. But you've been able to pull me back and keep me calm. Ever since we met, you've shown be a better way to do things. I went after Cook full of rage and it got me captured. Then you come along and we take him out just like that. I spent a long time tracking that bastard….Eli and the Whitetails wouldn't help me even though I told them that taking out Cook would be a blow to Jacob. I feel like I was the only one doing anything. Ever since then, you and me, we've gotten shit done. We took liberated Falls End, took down a chosen plane, and massacred a bunch of peggies in front of a church. We accomplished more in just a few days then I feel I have in a year. We make a good team and I don't want to ruin that because of my personal shit.
Kyle sighed. His protective instincts were telling him not to agree with Jess but he knew she was right. "Are you sure about this Jess?"
Jess gave a sheepish smile. "Yeah, I'm sure. I'll make you a promise. Those fucks won't kill or capture me until we meet again at least. Can you at least give the same promise?"
"I promise." Kyle couldn't ignore the small feeling that he might never she Jess again. She had been probably the best person he had worked with though he usually had worked alone. "I promise that we'll meet again and start kicking fucking ass again."
Kyle smiled as Jess' smile grew wider at his last words. Then suddenly he closed the distance and hugged her. He didn't know why and part of his regretted it but he felt that it needed to be done. Jess earned and deserved it. He was relieved that she didn't pull away and even returned it.
"Take care of yourself Kyle." Jess than sprinted up a little ways north before turning west and shouting at the top of her lungs. "Hey you fucking peggies! I thought Jacob trained you better than this! Come fucking get us assholes!" She then continued to run further into the woods up north as Kyle started to continue to make the trek east. Jess' plan seemed to work. Kyle didn't have any bullets flying at him or people following him. All he could do was keep going and hope that Jess got away.
Soon he reached an area where mountains blocked his path and he needed to shift south. There was a bridge that went over a stream. Kyle crossing a north of the bridge to keep of the road then continue his journey. After some time, he decided to take a break and get a look at his surroundings. Looking through his sniper, he looked for any place where he might be able to take shelter. His number one goal right now was to find a place that had a radio so he could get in contact with Dutch again. Kyle spotted what looked like smoke coming from the south. It was on the other side of the road so after scanning for any patrols, he crossed the road and headed toward the smoke. The smoke's origin was a marina. It had a helipad, a dock, and some warehouses. Creeping forward, Kyle spotted some cult vehicles nearby which meant they were already here. Now he faced a dilemma, he could bypass the place to avoid trouble but there would be no telling when he'd find another place again. Or he could continue and see if this place had what he would looking for. Kyle chose the latter option and made his way down until he was behind one of the warehouses.
Reconning the area, he spotted a pair of cultists on the other side having a conversation.
"She talk yet?
"Yeah, she talks a lot. But she claims that she hasn't seen the sinner. Doesn't even know who we're talking about she says."
"She might be telling the truth."
"Maybe, but we can't afford to take the risk. The majority of us went north to chase those two down. But Jacob wants us here in the sinners lose them and try to escape south here again."
"He always knows what he's doing."
"Of course. But we shouldn't be here long. Either the Drubman lady tells us what we want to know or we catch those sinners and report the good news.
"Do you want me to go and interrogate her again? She's been shouting non-stop."
"Nah. Let her see the futility of her pleas. Once she understands that we're in charge, I'm sure she'll be more cooperative."
The cultists' conversation told Kyle that Jess' plan had succeeded, mostly. He was relieved to hear that there was no new of her being captured. Plus, he had been tipped off that this was probably only a small band that had been sent south. If he could perhaps take it out, he would have more freedom to get ahold of the situation. Picking up his sniper, Kyle watched the two that had been previously talking. He waited until one of them moved away from the other then took out the isolated one with a bullet to the upper chest. He quickly moved forward to take out the other and dispatched him before he could turn around and see what happened to his comrade. There were no other enemies in the immediate vicinity so Kyle moved the bodies so they were out of the way. He then slowly made his way towards the docks.
He spotted two more by the docks. While he was getting into position, he heard shouting from a nearby building. Must be the woman the cultists were talking about. Kyle would deal with that later. First, he needed to finish his current task. He lined up his scope on the two on the pier. He again waiting until they were facing away from each other than took the shot. The body fell into the water and made a splash which cause his partner to turn around and see his friend gone. That was the last thing he saw as Kyle sent him to join his friend and the man's body fell onto the pier. There seemed to be no alerts but Kyle couldn't be sure that there weren't more cultists. Moving forward, he came to a corner of a warehouse and saw two more cultists coming his way. They would soon be able to see the body on the pier so they needed to be taken out quickly. Kyle made the decision to just use his smg as it would be quicker however it wasn't silenced. He was gambling that these were the last two cultists in the area. Popping out of cover, he shot a quick burst at each one and both went down before they could draw their weapons. Kyle waited to see if anyone would show up to investigate the noise. When no one appeared, he accepted that the area was clear. After scavenging and hiding the bodies, he proceeded to the building where the shouts were coming from.
"You guys better let me out before you're in a world of hurt!"
Kyle unlocked and opened the door before she could yell again. She saw him and cautiously stepped out, a shocked expression on her face.
"Honey, you came at just the right time. Those Edeners were pissing me off. So, you're not one of them, so what, are you a member of the Whitetails, the Cougers?" She eyed his weaponry.
"Neither. You could say I'm one of the 'sinners' these guys have been hunting."
The woman's face changed to a smile. "Well I guess that explains why there's no more of them around huh? Those bastards mentioned a second person was with you. Where are they?"
"She went up north to draw them away so I could escape. That's kind of the reason why I'm here. I need to find a radio to get in contact with someone so I can go find her. Do you happen to have one?"
The woman frowned. "No honey, I'm afraid not. The cult took what we had. But I have an idea that might help you. You see, I have this helicopter, Tulip is her name. Maybe I could fly you somewhere where you could find one?"
Kyle thought for a moment. "The jail! Could you fly me to the jail south of here?"
"I could, but isn't that place surrounded? They might shoot us down before we can land."
Kyle gave a slight smile. "That won't be a problem. Trust me. So, can you fly me there?
"I would like to darling but Tulip isn't here. Cult took her too. Good news is she was low on fuel so there's only three places they could have taken her." The woman pulled out a map. "Here, here and here. These are the only places where they could fuel her, so she's problem at one of those areas. You can't miss her, she's a pink helicopter. Bring her back here and I'll fly you to wherever you need to go."
"And how am I supposed to get her back here?"
"I don't know honey. But you seem resourceful. I'm sure you can figure it out. You can keep the map so you know where to go. I'll be waiting here cleaning up this mess. Good luck darling."
Kyle nodded then made his way over to one of the trucks the peggies had left behind. The nearest location was not far, just a few minutes from where he was. As he started driving, he took a deep breath. Things had gotten hairy during the ambush. Kyle was more worried about Jess then himself. It wasn't because he knew he could take care of himself, but he worried that Jess might do something reckless and try to strike back at the cult and risk getting captured. She had been with him through thick and thin since they had met. It was one of the few times in his life where he could trust a person to watch his back. It would be his number one priority to find Jess again but to do that, he would need a radio to get in contact with Dutch.
He arrived at the first location. He had stopped at a fair distance away from it so he could recon the place. He took out his sniper and peered through the scope. There were a few cult members patrolling about. He looked around for the helipad and finally found it. To his disappointment, there was no helicopter on it. He doubted that there would be more than one helipad so he prepared to head to the next location. But then a thought crossed his mind. Should he take these people out? They had not done anything to him but they could always come after him at a future date. After a moment's deliberation, he decided against any hostile action and made his way back to the truck to drive to the next point.
The next location was further south. Kyle was glad that he was driving a marked cult vehicle. None of the patrols bothered him and he moved quickly enough that no one could get a good look at him. Sooner or later, the cult would wisen up but until then he would continue to take advantage of his disguise. The second location was similar to the first, patrolling cult members and an empty helipad. Kyle did notice that some of the patrols carried RPGs. It seemed this cult was more heavily armed than he thought. He hoped that the helicopter was at the third location or he'd be back to square one. He could always just drive to the jail but his marked cult vehicle would make him a target for its residents. Then the cult might see one of their own getting shot and the truce would be over.
The third location was even further south. It seemed to be in an isolated area away from the major traffic. Kyle was relieved when he spotted the pink helicopter on the helipad. But that was the easy part, finding it. Now he had to find a way to get it back to Adelaide. He didn't know how to fly a helicopter. Hopefully the pilot who stole it was still here. Kyle crept forward, this time avoiding the guards instead of taking them out. There was always a risk that the bodies might be discovered and the helicopter might fly before he could do anything. Thus, stealth was of the upmost importance. When he made it to the helipad, he spotted what he assumed was the pilot having a smoke next to the copter. He was also muttering to himself.
"Man, how long are they going to take? How hard is it to find white paint to get rid of this pink? They told me that Jacob would be expecting me to fly north and join the hunt. I get the feeling that he's not really the patient type. They need to hurry up."
As he flicked his cigarette away, he felt a gun barrel pressed against the back of his head.
"Don't move. Are you the pilot of this copter?
The man raised his hands up. "Yeah, whats it to you buddy?"
"I need you to fly this thing back to the marina."
"Are you fucking nuts? The cult would kill me with the trouble they went through to take this thing. Sorry buddy but no."
The barrel was pressed further against his skull. "Would you rather I kill you now?"
The man turned to look slightly behind himself. "You got a death wish man? You don't want to be crossing the cult. They'll either kill ya or send you to one of the Seeds, and you don't want that."
"Look at it this way. Fly me to the marina and I promise you'll stay alive. You have my word."
"How can I trust you?"
"You'll just have to take me at my word."
"What about the cult when they learn what I do?
"Faith is a forgiving person. I'm sure if you explain things to her, she'll be very understanding."
"You know her?"
"There's your reason to trust me."
"Ok, hop in."
Kyle kept his gun aimed at the man while he took his seat at the pilot's end and Kyle sat in the passenger seat. The man started up the helicopter and started taking off. Kyle was lucky that the people he was waiting hadn't come yet. They might have tried to stop them. The trip was a silent one. Kyle kept his gun on the pilot as he flew to his destination. There were no incidents. The cult figured the pink helicopter was just being transported to another base. They arrived at their destination without any trouble. The pilot landed, got out, and put his hands up to wait for further instructions.
"You're free to go. There's one more truck parked over there. You can use it to drive yourself out of here."
The man looked perplexed. "You're actually letting me go? Aren't you worried about what they'll do when they find out?"
Kyle grinned. "Pretty sure I didn't kill anyone right? I think I'll be fine."
"Well thanks. Good luck."
The man then ran for the truck and hightailed it out of there. Adelaide came up to Kyle while he was watching the man leave.
"Well honey, I must say that you've surprised me again. I can't believe you force done of their own pilots to fly tulip back here. I would have figured that they would try to crash the thing with you in it or something."
"Guess I found a timid pilot. Lucky me."
"Definitely. But either way, I owe you a lot darling. I have my tulip back which means you have a ride to the jail. Do you want to go now? I'll have Xander watch the place."
"Yeah, lets head over there."
They both boarded Tulip and southeast towards the jail. Since Kyle didn't have to worry about the pilot, he was able to watch his surroundings. It also gave him time to think. Did he make the right choice with the pilot? It might have been better just to kill him to tie up a loose end. But he had a feeling that things wouldn't get worse for him at least for the time being.
*At the Jessop Conservatory*
Faith was doing more paperwork when one of her commanders who was in charge of her personal guard burst in. He seemed worried.
"Lady Faith, we've received a report that a helicopter that we had confiscated was stolen from us. What's more, this same helicopter looks like its heading towards the jail. Shall we shoot it down?"
Faith put down her pen, sat up from the table and smiled at him. "William, that will not be necessary. As long as there is no hostile action against us, we will continue to honor the truce. Now, do you have any details on what happened?"
"Well ma'am, apparently the pilot that was forced to fly the helicopter returned to us. We interrogated him to find out what happened. He says that a man snuck up behind him and threatened to kill him unless he flew back to the marina. The man gave him his word that he would not kill him if the pilot obeyed. So, the pilot did what he was told and the man kept his word. We've prepared to execute him for cowardice. Do I have your permission ma'am?"
"No William. We need not go that far. Just reassign him to work with the angels. Let him earn his way back into our good graces. Do we have any information on the man who did this?"
"No ma'am. The pilot barely got a look at him and all he said was that he had never seen the man before."
Faith was curious. "Are their any reports of anyone missing or being killed?"
"No ma'am. We called every single area with a helipad that the man might have been looking to find the helicopter. All patrols reported in. Everyone is accounted for."
That clued Faith in to the man's identity but she would remain silent on that for now. "Well, that's good news. You are dismissed William. Thank you very much for the report."
The man was confused. "And the helicopter?"
"Like I said, leave it alone. It hasn't done anything to us. Just keep an eye on it."
"Yes Lady Faith." William then bowed and left. Faith made her way to the window and looked outside, on the faint hope she would see the copter in the sky. She had received reports that Jacob had sprung his trap and had Kyle and his partner on the run. But it looks like Kyle gave him the slip. Despite being somewhat worried about Jacob's reaction when he found out, she was glad that Kyle was safe. But why was he heading toward the jail? She hoped it was for good intentions.
"Welcome back Kyle." She whispered.
Author's Note: You'll have to forgive me on Adelaide. Her mission is one of the most forgettable for me. Never remember the exact locations and I can't do the mission again to find out