November 12, 2557
Austal clicked the continue icon on his computer to view the next page.
It was now the fifth page he was searching for a place to rent or own and yet nothing turned up. He found irony in having a pair of rich parents who'd wipe their asses with bills and now he is here, trying to find a place where he could be able to save more. Well, dead rich parents, but that didn't help him now.
He was sort of exaggerating. He still managed to pay his bills with plenty left over, but he was beginning to see more of his time spent outside of his place than inside and he wasn't really getting his worth.
His comlink buzzed and he looked over, it was a text message.
Hey!
He smiled before picking it up, typing a response in the green holokeys.
Hey.
I'm still set to leave on schedule.
Good. Can't wait.
Austal had just sent the message again when he got a ring, someone was calling him with the ID Captain.
"Austal."
"Marcus, it's Bowman."
No idea how it could've been pulled off, "Captain? How did you get my number?"
"That's not important." Marcus knew he had to listen carefully. It wasn't everyday a 37th Lead called you on your personal comlink. "Can you come into the base tonight? Get enough things to be gone for a couple days."
"I'm not sure. Can it wait?"
"I'm afraid not. This is an urgent matter. Fowler and Pine are already here with me and we're just waiting for you. Your armor and armament's already packed."
Austal looked at his messages, it had to wait. "Alright. See you soon."
"Likewise." The line clicked dead and he sank back into his seat. Of all nights something at work had to crop up, it was this one. He already dreaded the response he was going to get. He thumbed another message, quickly sending it.
I'm sorry. Work just called.
Oh. What did they say?
We're doing some more analysis. I'm afraid I won't make it today.
Aww. That's too bad.
I know. I know. I'm really sorry, but things like these are cropping up left and right. Whoever we're studying is growing restless.
I guess it's okay. After all, you need all the money you can get.
Haha. Thanks. Really. I'll make it up to you sometime. I promise.
Ok. Miss you.
Miss you too. When I do get a chance, I want to talk with you about something.
Be careful.
I will. Thanks.
Austal pocketed the device and slipped on his coat before leaving.
The weather on Reach was already starting to cool down immensely. A light dusting of snow was falling lazily from the gray skies. That light was reflected on the ground giving everything a dull look.
The wind had yet to pick up, but it was there, very notorious for biting away at any exposed skin. Austal wanted nothing more than to head back inside and curl up in his own bed or sit next to one of his heated vents and enjoy a hot coffee.
Being a Spartan sometimes sucked.
FFG-173 UNSC Ferdinand en route to Earth
"Just in time." Bowman gave a lopsided grin as Austal dropped his bag on the empty bunk. The Spartans had been transported out of Firebase Noble and onboard a frigate whose patrol took it by Earth.
"Save it." Austal shot back, "What's going on?"
"Shit's going on that's what." Hades said as he materialized in the holotank at the room's corner. "Why you so upset? Happy to kick some more ass?"
"Not really." He accepted a bottle of water from Ross and took a swig. "You still haven't told me what we are headed to Earth about."
"Just in case nobody has noticed." Fowler declared, arms outstretched, "Austal's date got interrupted and he's pissed off."
"You have a date?" Hades excitedly said, "That's so cool! I wish I had a date. You know, flirting and all. Like Cortana; she was pretty sexy." When he saw that the four Spartans were giving him perplexed looks, he opened his mouth as if to say something else, but saved it for later. "Never mind. Sorry."
"Now that everybody's here," Bowman said, "You're probably wondering why you've been interrupted from all your activities. I got a report hours ago that the Colonial Natural Resources Department's new Earth headquarters was overrun and taken over by armed gunmen. Police and elite counter-terror units in response have been held back due to the prospect of hostages being executed. These guys are well armed and well trained."
"Well trained?" Pine asked, "By who?"
"Some of them are ex-UNSC Marines, Army washouts due to instability or various reasons for discharge. Others are from PMCs and they've all gone dark after some strange event. Done about an hour ago, I got this."
Bowman slid aside the holotank's display and pulled up another image.
The horrifying display showed a hologram of a man lying on the concrete with a bullet wound in his chest and streams of stained blood in his clothing. The unnatural angle his body was positioned suggested that he had been thrown out of the building, no doubt at a high level. The police report already determined that he had been dropped alive and died upon his impact on the hard concrete.
There was a piece of paper attached to his clothing and "WANT TO STOP US? SEND SPARTANS" was scrawled over it by a thick black marker.
"Now you know why we're going to be there." Bowman closed the display, now just leaving Hades on the tank. "We'll be onsite during negotiations for show, but we're not engaging."
"We're not engaging?" Typical Fowler.
"No. The police major onsite believes that she'll be able to negotiate a release for the hostages and resolve the situation peacefully."
"You know that's not going to happen." Austal said, his agreement perking Fowler up as well, "Those guys are armed to the teeth from what we've been told. They're obviously giving the authorities one way to resolve it. Theirs. By the looks of it, they want to fight and kill or be killed by Spartans."
"Makes sense." Pine agreed too, "You kill a Spartan, you break our myth of invincibility. You die by them, shows their lethality. That's why they asked for Spartans in particular."
"Why us?" Austal said, "Why not send Infinity's contingent?"
Hades spoke up, "That's where I have even more to the puzzle." He winked off and brought up a sheet displaying a dossier.
Bowman saw Austal's gray eyes turn icy. "That's exactly what I thought."
"What's going on?"
He turned to Fowler, "That man is Zachary Gustafson."
"Gustafson's a lone wolf terrorist that's been off the grid for years. No real cause for him just recruits mercs and randomly attacks places to instill instability." Hades said, "Thing is, while they look random, they're actually hiding something even deeper."
"Like what?"
Austal had done forensics for this purpose in part of his spare time; this was mainly something he had kept from others close. It was because he did not want anyone else to know. Soon, he knew that he would have to reveal all his secrets eventually.
"Like a certain gas outbreak in Los Angeles nine years ago. At attack killed many and left even more incapable of recovering for life. The mass attack itself was actually done to cover up its true targets."
"Marcus, you don't mean that-"
"I do. The detectives conclusively agree with me that Gustafson is responsible for the death of my parents."
Ah yes, you may have noticed something different! I've changed my pen name! Think this is better than MWIM? I'm not sure, so it can be subject to change back to the original if I'm not enjoying it. Hope nobody's disappointed at the fact.
As always, thanks for reading and reviewing. You give my writing purpose!