Dog Days

by xThat One Personx

Those who man the eternal vigil often go unnamed and unrewarded... doing whatever is needed to protect humanity from those who conspire against it. These men and women are hunters, but not the kind that attend prestigious academies. They do not use Aura or semblance or handcrafted weapons... these are the headhunters... this is their vigil.

32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Peacekeepers, part seven,

AN:Split this chapter into two. Shouldn't take a few days to release the next part.

[Clayton]

"Tell them we don't need a fucking replacement!" I screamed as I smashed my hands onto the table reserved for Headhunter officers, of which many were present. I didn't care, I was too blinded by rage to make rationalized decisions.

Instead of snapping at me like he usually would, my Lieutenant looked up to me with shallow eyes. If I was in a better state of mind I would realize that taking it out on him was pointless, it wasn't his decision.

"It's out of my hands Fletcher, we can't operate at full effectiveness with only a four man team. To do so would jeopardize our unit cohesion, only resulting in more casualties. Is that what you want?" He said in a tired tone, being easy on me without making a fool of himself in front of the other officers,"Is that what she would of wanted?" She didn't want anything, the dead don't have the capacity to desire.

Before I could retort, the newly promoted Captain Jacinto addressed me with his usual creepy monotone voice "If you haven't noticed private then I find it my duty to inform you that we are eating at this very moment. If you wish to blatantly disrespect your team leader then do it on your own time" He regarded my form as he twirled spaghetti around his fork "Besides, I think you'll like this one, picked her out myself"

Great another emotionless asshole "Sir with all due respe-"

"Fletcher!" Delroy interrupted slightly raising his voice; saving me from a trip to the brig "Get your ass back to the bunks" he ordered sharply, leaving no room for argument.

I stood there for a moment just to openly glare at the Captain, he didn't seem to mind returning the favor. Always hated his type, the patriotically stupid that is. Using some misguided sense of the public good as an excuse to do whatever they want. How was that any different from the White Fang? Turning away and giving my own team leader a hateful look I answered him "Aye aye Lieutenant" practically spitting the words.

He started to speak again but I didn't stop to listen, I was doing my best straining the amount of leniency Delroy was giving me. He pitied me, they all did. Familiar faces were always stopping and offering their condolences with fake smiles and shity optimism, telling me they understand how I feel. I'm not sure which one pisses me off more, the fact that they really thought they were helping or that they believed they had a grasp on what I was going through.

The walk back to our racks was a long one, I found myself wishing for someone to say something smart, anything would be good enough just as long as it was a reason to fight, I needed to vent on something or more preferably 'someone'. No one seemed willing to pick up that gauntlet, for good reason too. Before I had joined the marines as a young and impressionable teenager, really I only joined because I thought it would get me laid more, I was a mixed martial artist. A very good one at that, could of gone pro if I stayed a civilian. But again I was young and stupid, still am to a certain extent.

Marine life wasn't bad, crowd was a little ruff and the pay wasn't great but it was a descent life. I thought I could do better. I volunteered for Headhunter training and was approved shortly after. Training was worse then all of the hardest things I've ever done in my life combined. Not too mention the amount of work they put into dehumanizing you, you were immediately shipped off for communicating to anyone but your company commander and his sergeants; they didn't want you to form any type of companionship, your name was stripped from you and replaced with a seven digit number and you better hope to god that you memorized it fast. By the time it was all over we had been reduced to nothing more then flesh and bone; our starting class of ninety-five had been whittled down to six. Most would be proud of such an achievement.

I didn't feel anything.

They assigned me to delta team, a surprising choice because at the time delta was known for its battle hardened veteran members. I wasn't exactly green, no Headhunter was, but I was lacking in real time experience. Back then Delroy wasn't our Co, and the other members included Bart our number one, Leo, Val and..Alice; one of the most beautiful woman I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. The others weren't unwelcoming but it was plain to anyone who had eyes that they weren't very happy about me replacing one of their friends. Not that it mattered to me at the time, my prime directive was to ensure that I was a superlative killer at all times.

However; Alice didn't buy that human machine bullshit. She was all the time trying to evoke reactions from me, whether that included flustering me to the best of her ability or trying my patience didn't make a rats ass. It didn't take long for the little conniving witch to break me out of my shell, I would never fully be what I use to but I was at least worthy of being called human again. The others started to warm up after that, actually including me in their conversations and banter. I became a real member of the team.

My relationship with Alice changed to, as in it really 'warmed' up. It was different to say the least; all my life I had been a bit of a playboy, taking one girl for a date and leaving with another. Though it wasn't the fear of her coming for my winky with that large machete that kept me faithful. No, for the first time ever I was completely infatuated with a girl to the point of me relating to old cheesy romance flics, ya know like the ones where the man rushes to the airport to stop the woman of his dreams from leaving.

We tried to keep it secret. Keep in mind we work with infiltration specialist, men and woman who were experts at reading people. So that didn't last long, yet they didn't scorn us like we thought, actually quite the opposite. Bart encouraged the relationship: he said to us that people who've seen the things we have need something to fight for, having that reason close would make good to remind us. He was a good man, I respected him a lot. Its been almost a year now since he took a piece of shrapnel to the neck.

And only nintey-eight hours since Alice died in my arms. I could still smell the blood, no matter how much I washed.

Finally I arrived at the plain wooden door of our bunkhouse, inside was a small room with four bunk beds, like its namesake. A small table on the left side of the room and individual lockers on the right, recently we had purchased a small tv and placed it on the wall opposite of the bunks. Minus the tv there were other doors down the hall that led into the same layout. The officers slept two to a room with much better furnishings. I pushed my way through the door hoping nobody was on the other side, I wanted to be alone right now. I loved my team like a family; just right now I didn't want too see those pitiful looks they kept giving me. My hopes fell on deaf ears. Inside wasn't Biggs or Leo, which I could probably stand to be around at the very least; even if Biggs was fairly new himself, the replacement for Val after she retired.

This was cruel, even for Headhunters. Out of everyone it could possibly be it had to be our new number four. The little shit didn't even look nineteen, her hair hadn't fully grown back from training yet and was only just reaching her shoulders. She was tall for a girl, id say around five-eleven. From my position at the door I could only see half her face. So this is Jacinto's personnel draftee.

She stopped putting her gear and belongings into Alice's locker to turn and regard me. Her eyes were drooped like someone who was trying to stay awake, underneath those she was bolstering some pretty noticiable dark circles. Fresh out of training. "Fuck are you looking at boot?" I asked angrily

This was no doubt her first real interaction with someone in almost a year, so what happened next was no surprise to me. As if I was I drill instructor and she was under my charge the girl snapped to attention with her hands by her side. "Apologies Sir"

I brought my hand up to massage my temples "We are the same rank you idiot". This wasn't something I wanted to deal with today.

"Apologies Sir" Nope, not going through this. I already have enough shit going on, I really don't need this. Dealing with a brainwashed teenage girl was very low on my give a fuck list.

Her eyes and body posture did not change direction as I walked passed her to my bunk, the one that until recently I had shared with Alice. When she wasn't playing the part of girlfriend then she was doubling as my alarm clock, at about 4:30 she would start squirming for some reason only known to god and being on the top bunk usually woke me up on the bottom, being a Headhunter meant that even the slightest sound would rouse me from the deepest of sleeps. I always hated it, complained about it a few times. She always won those arguments because of her not so secret trump card called sex. I learned to keep my mouth shut less I be cut off temporally.

It felt unwelcoming to me now, like your home had been burned down and all that remained was its lifeless husk. All the memories and possessions it once housed were nothing more then charred remains. Only way I ever got any sleep now was if my body just shut down due to exhaustion. Even with that I only got a few hours of sleep at most.

The 'thing' still hadn't moved from it's original position, most likely waiting for orders from me to do so. She would probably stand their all night if I didn't say anything, seeing as I had no plans to interact with her at all we would soon test this theory. While watching her I wondered if I was similar when I was first arrived, until Alice intervened that is. My recollection of those days are hazy at best as I wasn't thinking for myself back then; I had been a creature of habit, only doing what I had been taught was acceptable. It would seem our new number Four was no different.

My wrist mounted scroll buzzed causing to look down and see a message from Biggs, it read: 'Yo man did you see the new meat? Not much of a body but shes got a nice face! Defiantly my type!' I read the text with slight disgust. Did he really think that this would cheer me up, Was he a complete idiot?

Quick fingers danced across the screen as I typed up my own message with precise antagonism, intentionally trying to sound like an asshole 'Looks like a zombie to me, didn't know you were into necrophilia'.

'We are all like that at first, training fucking blows!' He replied seconds later 'You wanna go for drinks later?'

Yes because putting alcohol in my already bad decision making system wasn't a recipe for disaster, smart Bigg's very smart. I didn't even bother with reply to the ridiculous request. The screen flashed before going dark with a swipe of my finger to turn the gadget off, I didn't trust myself to be very accommodating if he sent me another idiotic message.

Deciding it would be best to try and get some shut eye, I Leaned back in my bed get comfortable. It took me mere seconds to realize it was a lost cause. Every time I closed my eyes I was assaulted by pictures of her and every time I opened them I was faced with the reality that she was gone, an unwinnable situation if I ever knew one.

I turned to our new number four "Finish unpacking your things and get the fuck out, I'm getting tired of having to look at you" With a sharp salute she did as she was told, it appeared to me that she had only just started when I walked in as her duffel was still mostly full. Idly I wondering what kind of personnel junk an adolescent Headhunter carries around with them I watched as she pulled things out and arranged them in her locker, listing the contents in my head as she went. When she was done I couldn't help but sneer "You're fucking kidding me right, no picture of mommy and daddy?"

"No sir, that would require having parents" She replied back while making her way to the door.

I stopped what I was doing to look her back over "You're an orphan?" I asked incredulously before realizing how pitiful I sounded. Clearing my throat I tried again "You trying to earn some sympathy? Pathetic. Take your pity party somewhere else."

/

"I guess this is it" Delroy observed and at the same time bringing me prematurely out of memory lane. Blinking, I took a moment to take in my surroundings. The eight of us off us including Biggs and Alpha (I guessed they only came because of our team leader's connection with theirs) were standing on a concrete sidewalk about twenty miles from Fort Amada an on the outskirts of the city of Vale. Too most the entire area would look like a base itself with all of it's patrolling soldiers and watchtowers. Looking closer you would see the guard was made up marines wearing their red dress uniforms and carrying ancient bolt action rifles made of wood and metal. Next to us a proud towering VDF soldier made of copper stood in front of the only entrance to grounds; forever saluting where the sun sets.

The air was crisp and chilly due to it being later in the year forcing us to don coats over our civilian suits, compared to freezing climates Atlesians were forced to endure this was a mild discomfort at worst. Besides, it wasn't the weather that was responsible for the current mood.

"What did you expect LT, we all know her past." I asked coldly "All her service and the best her beloved Kingdom is going to give her is a generic ass tombstone and ensured that she's forgotten in a few decades."

"There's nothing we can do about it, trust me I tried everything but legally only her family is allowed to bury her and if they won't or aren't able to then the responsibility falls to the military." He informed while we walked past the gate checkpoint. "We should be thankful that they actually recovered her body, the whole operation was a mess."

"Would of been worse if not for her" Was selfish to say that I wish I could of stopped her? Undoubtedly many more Headhunters would of died if not for her actions, she was by all account an unspoken hero. Had she survived everyone would be buying her drinks and over embellishing her acts, but she didn't. 'Why didn't I do anything? If I went to her could I have saved my best friend's life?' This was the fate of those who made it back alive, constantly second guessing your actions. You wonder to yourself if you just did something differently would it of changed anything. It was enough to drive someone insane.

Passing rows upon rows of deceased men and woman didn't help me feel any better, some were in various states of disarray and weathered down to the point the writing was no longer literate. With the passing of time they were slowly forgotten by the citizens who they gave their lives to protect and left to age. Was this Julia's fate? It felt weird calling her by that name after so many years, but it wasn't our choice to do so, she had always been pretty annal about the whole thing. Always insisting we call her by a number rather then her name, some shit about a name holding no real value. It wasn't until someone passed on that you realized how very little you knew about that person. Questions you wished you would asked them that could of saved a little of who they were in the world forever lost in time. I never knew her reasons for joining the army, where she grew up at, favorite color or even swapped raunchy stories (The quiet ones are always the biggest perverts) and now I never would.

I watched a marine silently make his round on the walkway adjacent to us, he walked slowly making sure to make the least amount of noise possible in respect of the dead. It was of no fault of his but I couldn't help but feel anger towards him as we were about to entrust our beloved teammate into his care, it was like we giving her away because she was a burden. It didn't feel right at all. "Why hasn't the preacher arrived yet?" Robert asked gaining my attention. The simple question brought a small smirk to my face.

Delroy looked uncomfortable as he thought of a way to answer his long time friend without offending him "Four" he started but reversed himself "Private Snow always made it very clear on her religious views" When Robert raised a brow he continued "She held extreme contempt for it" I noticed he didn't mention how she use to say all religions were for the weak minded who couldn't live their life by their own standards and values. If Alpha's commanding officer had any argument to make he kept it in check in respect for our deceased friend.

/

"-Let us never succumb to our greed or the sweet temptation of lust ole great Agese, please look on at your creations with pride, Yet let not your godly vision lay on us linger indefinitely as not to spoil your most purest!" The robed man droned on a boring dry tone.

Shorty following the month after the events of Alice's death the Lt had forced me to attend the base's weekend worship sessions. So instead of using this time to do something stupid and reckless I was instead listening to the preachings of a senile old man, sometimes it would only last a few hours and other not so fortunate times it would go on until the light faded away from ornate windows. I had no interest in what he was saying, shit I slept most time if I could get comfortable. Which was in itself a feet when it came to these hard as benches. They were made too look pretty and that was about it, a sentiment this entire place shared.

Around me others possessed looks of strenuous concentration, they would bow their heads when told to do so and stand when they were commanded. They were like a colony of insects that were all of one mind. Truthfully, it was kinda creepy. I never considered my self much of a religious man growing up, only time I ever went was to pick up girls. That may sound like a horrible idea but actually most of them are easy lays, always surrounded by uninteresting religious boys left them weak to the charms of a silver tongued devil like myself.

So here I was, a well minded individual amongst this inculcate flock. My own personnel hell if you would. Though it would seem that I wasn't the only one here that didn't have much interest in the spiritual side of life I noticed from the corner of my eye. I guess the Lt decided that it wasn't enough to just make me go here beyond my will but he even made sure to send me with my favorite someone. Send wasn't the right word actually, it was more like he half turned me into a glorified babysitter in all but name. Seated next to me in our spot in the very back was our newest addition, Julia; who seemed to be focused on everything that wasn't the noisy preacher. Sometimes I wondered how far exactly did Delroy have his head up his ass.

"Rejoice brothers and sisters! No matter the horrors that this world holds Agese shall always be with you. I would like for you to turn to a section from the Sancto Libro if you may, chapter eight: page seven." He asked. His eyes scanned the crowd, waiting for everyone to open the right page. "A group of petty thieves has approached our great benevolent in search of food. Instead of asking if he had with him enough to spare they simply took what they desired as he slept, unaware that the fruits he bared with him were not for consumption, rather for poisoning his great blades of steel to take up arms against the sinful Grimm. The lesson here is plain to see to anyone who has eyes capable of sight. By doing such horrid acts you are only hurting yourself!"

Who actually buys this shit? It sounded like a skit for a cheesy children's show, the kind that was played out by overweight part timers in cartoon costumes. On the surface it was nice and friendly but underneath it was just like any other business, we're talking sketchy business deals, underpaid faunus workforce and maybe even some under the radar illegal activity, all to line the pockets some wannabe Schnee.

I turned my attention back to my unwanted compatriot, dressed in the Army's plain gray drab. A big no no when you were attending worship; Men were to dress masculine and woman were to dress feminine, apparently the fact that we were on a military base didn't matter much to these people. Ever since we had arrived there's been no shortage(more like surplus of) dirty and condescending looks thrown her way, judging by her posture she didn't notice, highly unlikely considering her occupation, or just simply didn't care. My personnel feelings aside it provided me with a decent amount of amusement, in exchange making her presence slightly more bearable. Slightly. "Not much a follower of Agese are you?" I asked snidely.

A full thirty seven days has passed since Alice was killed yet it still doesn't even register as so in my head. The event was so fresh in my head that it couldn't even be considered a memory, to me Alice was still bleeding to death in my arms and I had no way to help her. She looked into my eyes with pain clearly evident on her features, she wants me to end it. To take away her pain. She wants me to let her go. Of course I realize this is just some bullshit envisioned by my disconsolate mind, doesn't make it any less painful.

"No sir" Was the best explanation she could cough up.

I let out a very audible sigh " .Rank". Was I this bad in the beginning? I would hope that I at the very least managed to say more then a dozen words in the time of a month. Even with that said her popularity with the rest of the team was startling. Leo babied the hell out of her which in retrospect was no different the taking care of a baby doll personality wise. I could only assumed this was caused by his experience fathering his daughter. Biggs was undoubtedly...creepy, had this all happened before my life went to shit I probably would of seen this as the holy grail of teasing material. The way he followed her around like a malnourished/neglected puppy could only be described as mournful. Delroy being the old vet he was only really cared about results, judging my her scores in the shoot house that wouldn't be a problem. "Try again"

/

I kept a straight face as we finished the walk to our destination. A little ways off I could see it now, the freshly dug grave and the plain wood military coffin that would be Julia's permanent place of refuge. No family meant to wake viewing. This was the best she was going to get, we would come and send the enigmatic sniper off with our final words. Then she would begin her decent beneath the soil. Never to return again.

Before we made it completely there one of the Army soldiers specifically here to oversee the burial of one of their own made his way to us, his stripes identified him as a Sergeant Major. From what I gathered by his looks he was well into his fifties, and cleanly shaven with a face that resembled a pug. His name tag read Jenkins. He saluted the corresponding officers of our teams before speaking, when he did it was with a gruff nails on the chalkboard voice: "Lieutenant Delroy?" he questioned looking between the two commissioned officers.

"That would be me" Delroy answered back as he steeped forward to make his presence known.

"Everything is ready and accounted for, on your word sir" The Sergeant Major informed, waving his hand to their little set up.

/

At first I didn't think she was going to answer me so I just laid my head back down on the bench, the angle gave me a headache but it was the best I could do. "Religion is for cowards" said a quiet voice. Oh? I sat back up surprised that she actually voiced her opinion for the first time.

"Why is that?" Her answer wasn't what I expected and it only left me more curious about her resolve. Again I had to wait a moment for my reply, I guessed it must be somewhat difficult to string sentences together after so long.

The girl's face scrunched up as she tried to think of the right way to word it. "Theist pray, atheist do" came the hesitant reply after a few seconds "Like sheep, they need a farmer to protect them."

"If I were you I would keep that little comparison you just made to yourself" I advised off offhandedly, the followers of Agese didn't take to kindly to non believers. An I especially don't believe they would be too happy about being compared to farm animals.

"Yes sir" How jealous Biggs would be if he knew I was having an actual conversation with his precious 'snow white' as he called her, a title that didn't make much sense given her slight tan.

After she was through speaking I laid my head back making it clear our little exchange was over. Didn't want her to get the wrong idea and think we were friends now just because I asked her a few questions. Alice was a caretaker not me. Sparing one last glance in her direction before I closed my eyes I wasn't shocked to see her usual neutral expression.

No there was something else.

Covertly I peeked through one tightly closed eye, even through her stony expression I could see something else, something new. I knew the look but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Anger maybe? Was she mad that I was ignoring her again? Looking harder I finally understood what it was I was seeing...disappointment.

/

"I never knew you personally, to be honest I think the only conversation we had involved which round was superior the, .308 or the 30-06. Which by the way me and 30-06 make the best team in the whole damn VOF" Auburn smirked slightly "That being said I know you hated my guts, everyone knew about our little unspoken rivalry. It even got pretty crazy after I broke your record for the longest shot ever made. Don't think I don't know how those laxatives got in my food." He laughed in good humor. The ceremony had started but it all seemed like a blur of events to me, I couldn't even remember who said their part first. "All those pissing contest disguised as friendly practice we had at the shooting range really kept me on the edge of my game, Robert should be grateful for that as it's pretty hard to get my lazy ass motivated."

"Ain't that the truth"

"Shut up sir, fellow snipers talking here." Ordered the much lower ranked man. Robert didn't look like he minded, lucky Delroy wasn't his CO. "So back to what I was saying, beat your longest shot I may have but that two hundred-thirty seven ck you have under your name may take me a little longer, don't get cocky though, you've been at this longer then I have. I'm just getting warmed up!" His smile faded somewhat as he prepared to speak again "I'll miss our little competition, I couldn't of asked for a better opponent. The next bullet I put through one of those White Fang terrorist will have your name on it, seeya bud" He saluted the coffin before he stepped away.

/

Finally! It was fucking over! I don't think my neck could take much more of that, listening to his damn monotone voice always left me feeling exhausted. It was like the man sucked part of your soul out every time he opened his mouth. But I did my time and now I was out which forced to face another delima every depressed man faces in his life. Drink and possibly do something you'll regret or spend countless hours in a bed you're never going to sleep in. Simple choice really.

Fort Amada, the most expensive maze ever built I thought to myself as I transversed the many hallways to the one of the closest surface entrances/exits. Many a young enlistees have lost their way here, sometimes disappearing for hours until a pissed of non commissioned officer came and got their ass. It was understandable, even I got lost sometimes when I ventured into deeper parts. Especially if I was drunk. Speaking of which, whiskey or vodka today? Let's see, whiskey puts a fire in my blood turning me into someone you don't want to be around and vodka makes really friendly and laughy. Another simple choice. Poor denizens of Vale.

Before I even rounded the corner that lead to west wings exit I could already hear the MPs giving somebody a hard time, from the sounds of it he tried to smuggle pornographic magazines in. Fucking hypocrites, nobody seems to realize that they keep half the shit they confiscate for themselves. As I made my turn I could see that my suspicions were proven correct. Three MPs had a young looking scrawny soldiers against the wall as they patted him down for anything else he might be harboring. Next to them on the table were three magazines, two dvds, a...massager an- for fucks sakes can't they see this kid already hates his life, just give him this meager bone. I entered the left exit lane where two MPs were waiting to scan to make sure I wasn't carrying any weapons off base and to check my military id. I knew the drill, without having to be told I positioned my arms horizontally on both sides and waited for him to run the metal detector along my body. "Your clean" He stated as he moved passed me. Thanks dick bag.

I reached into my back pocket for my wallet that held both my ids, my civilian card that everyone got when they turned eighteen and my military id that identified me as a member of the VOF. They looked about the same besides the wording/uniform. The man on the other side of the table snatched it from my hands before I could even got it halfway to him. New MP huh, this'll be interesting. He swiped it through the card reader to pull of my credentials on his table integrated scroll. Wait...wait for it and-His jaw dropped slightly and his eyes got as big as dinner plates, he looked back up to me with slight horror on his features. There it was. With a shaky arm he handed me back my card, which I deliciously swiped out of his hand. We call this the Headhunter effect. We had a bit of a reputation as indiscriminate killers, not that some of us weren't don't get me wrong. There is defiantly some real freaks among our ranks but for the most part we loved our Kingdom. We would have too to do some of the shit we do. If I was in a good mood I might joke around with him a bit, lighten him up. As it stands though: Fuck him.

Passed the checkpoint was two sets of escalators with four lanes each; one lead down and one led up. Wonder which one I was going to use. Placing my right foot onto the step first left my other suspend in the air for a moment as I ascended. I always loved these things because of how big they were, if you didn't walk up to speed up your ride(Why the hell would you do that?) it took a solid two minutes to reach the top. Me and Alice use to fuck around on these things all the time, just going up and then riding back down to repeat it all over again. The first and second time the MPs made us stop but after that they quit wasting their breath. It was great...fuck and I was doing good too. Just had to think about her didn't I? Great job asshole.

Then there was this "Why the hell are you following me boot?" I asked out loud before I even turned around. Just as I had figured, below about six steps was Julia.

Apparently she thought she was being sneaking as her masked cracked slightly while her mind races to think of an answer. "The Lieutenant ordered it" her eyes widened slightly after the words fumbled out of her mouth.

"Weren't supposed to tell me that where you?" Despite being angry at her for tailing I couldn't stop the small smile that I felt tugging at my mouth. It only grew in size when she averted her eyes away from with a light blush on her cheeks. Machine my ass. "It'll be our little secret".

/

"Private, never have I ever had a soldier under my command that carried out their orders as effectively as you have. When I needed something done I knew you wouldn't disappoint." My Lieutenant looked older then he really was as he spoke "I'm sorry, I'm not very good at this. As many much practice as I've had I should be an expert at this by now, they say that you become cold to this kind of thing after going through it enough. The one's who say such a thing are no doubt nice and cozy in their little homes why they debate on their little scrolls about things they know nothing about. I'm human, nothing more, nothing less. I've buried too many young patriots in my time, I question whether they really died for this Kingdom or some big shot committee member. Did their death's change anything, did they die for nothing? However I can tell you with a full heart that your death meant something, you saved countless numbers of our brothers and sister that get to back to their families because of you. You and Leo both yo-u" he cleared his throat while breathing out slowly "You pricks, making me tear up like this. I bet you both are laughing right now, that's fine have fun with your games. Just you wait. When I catch up I'm going to make your afterlife hell."

/

I waved the bartender over to my place on the bar "Give me the nastiest tasting whiskey you have." Then I remembered I wasn't alone "And a pop for the kid!" I called to his retreating back. It only took us fifteen minutes to make walk here from the base, wasn't to sure why I let her tag along. Too late to second guess myself now.

"Why the nastiest? Asked the alcohol virgin.

"Simple. It's most likely the cheapest and the taste takes your mind off your personnel shit" Came my smartass reply "You're just the little chatter box today aren't you?" She didn't reply. The bar was a nicely sized pup, other then us there was about two dozen drunks here. Most of them were seated at tables rather the bar like we were. The place had an ole timey feel with it because everything was made mostly of wood, it made for a homely place to drink. My only complaint was that no here had any real taste in good music and to make it worse they largely monopolized the jukebox.

The bartender came back and placed a shot glass in front of me and a pop with a Schnee label on it for the underage Julia. I instructed him to leave the bottle, making sure to throw enough money to ensure he didn't come back to bug me. My face scrunched up as I knocked back the strong smelling amber liquid that burned as it went down my throat. First one was always the worst. I wasted no time filling it back up and repeating, I did this a few more times before I started drinking straight from the bottle.

"Fuck that's disgusting" I breathed as detached my mouth from the bottle.

/

"Am I late?" A familiar creepy monotone voice asked behind me. Everyone present quickly snapped a salute to the new comer. Everyone that wasn't me, these were one of the freaks. The one's that didn't care about life at all, only obsessing themselves with how they can take it. I turned my head to look at him in all of his nightmarish glory. The black dress uniform fitted him perfectly.

"To be late don't you have to be invited?" I challenged.

"Funerals hosted by the military don't have a guest list. Least of all for an orphan" To anyone else it would sound like he was just being informative but I could caught the barbs in his words.

"Fletcher" Intervened Delroy like he use to in the old days "Everyone who wanted to say something has done so, you're the last one"

/

"I'm no-t drunk" I defended.

"You are" Argued the bartender "Now you can either leave on your own or I can have some of my friends throw you out. Your choice" He had a stupid face, I hated it. People with stupid faces just need to go die. He sighed loudly before whistling to the men in the back "You know what to do guys" This how he rewards a paying customer for his business. This was what was wrong with Vale economy now days, no one wanted to go out and find a job.

I got up out of my stool clumsily almost falling on my face, would of if boot didn't have a grip of steel. Looking up I could see three overly large men making their way from the back to my position. My blood ran cold as I noticed they all had stupid faces. The gull of them to come in here with their stupid faces and think they could tell me what to do. I got into my fighting stance and waited for them.

The tallest one and defiantly the fattest one, we'll call him porkins for now, was shouting for no apparent reason. I thought he wanted to fight? Why he's shouting? Who is he even shouting out? I turned around behind me to see who it was that he could be possibly yelling at. The only ones were the bartender and no one. Wait a minute, wasn't there someone else here? I waddled back up to the bartender "Was I with somebody?" I asked him politely. The little fucker didn't answer instead his face grew confused and slightly horrified...The Headhunter Effect! "Ooh your scared now aintcha ya little cunt. Call me daddy bitch and bring me another bottle of whiskey if you don't wanna get your ass kicked!"

Suddenly remembering the reason why I stood up in the first place I turned back around to destroy the three bouncers, what I found gave me hope for Vale's economy. Self destructing bouncers! Now that's something that'll sell! All three of them were stroan around the floor with different disabling injuries. Broken noses, dislocated limbs man the designers really didn't hold back did they?

Someone grabbed my arm and slung it over their shoulder almost getting themselves clocked in the process, they would've if I hadn't realized who it was. "Jewls! Where ya been? You missed the self destructing bouncers!" I told her as she led me out of the bar. "Where are we going?"

"Back"

"All cmon! Quit it with these short responses! Mellow out!" I breathed into her face. An action that didn't look very appreciated."You know what? I like you." After tripping over my own feet a few more times I realized it was probably better to focus on walking then talking.

[Jacito]

I met his glare with a blank stare. He didn't hold it for long before he turned and walked over to the coffin that unbeknownst to him was completely empty. The former private wasn't even remotely close, no she was right where I wanted her to be. I held no malice for him or other men like him, very much the opposite. He was the weak and I was the strong, I would always take the necessary actions to ensure that Vale would prosper. If that cost the lives of a few expendables so be it. The strong must protect the weak.

This was all for show, an act that only kept the opponents guessing. The major players would see through it if they hadn't already but I'm not worried about that. Let them know that the girl is alive it makes no difference. The end result will be the same no matter what. Everything was beginning to fall into place, I would have to act soon. Getting Snow out of that prison is my first priority, not such a hard thing with my contact. He's a criminal but not a dull one I'll have to be careful when dealing with him.

And speaking of major players, here comes one now. I didn't turn my attention from the service as the older bald man stepped in line next to me. I expected intervention from him much sooner, I could only guess he was merely observing the situation for now. "You know your predecessor was a pain in my ass too" Came the rude remark.

"Keeper" I greeted.

"Don't play dumb with me Headhunter, any bullshit you think you can come up with I've already heard a thousand times." He informed.

"A thousand times? Is that the exact number or rounded off to the nearest hundredth?" I asked genuinely curious.

"You're a class act comedian, you should switch professions. Would defiantly make my life easier." Fletcher passed the others to stand at the front of the coffin getting ready go give his last words to an empty box. Maybe the Keeper was right about my talent. "Enough games, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

I didn't even have to put thought into the answer "Saving Vale"

"Why don't you leave that to me?" It wasn't a question. "I've dealt with your kind before. You don't want to save Vale, you're programmed to save it."

Fletcher took his spot where the others had said their peace, I knew what he was about say wasn't going to involve any words of endearment. He took a small breath and gazed at the coffin before he started "Considering your religious beliefs I'm not sure whether you can actually hear me or if I'm just talking to a lifeless course" His words not being what anyone was suspecting some looked like they wanted to stop him "So I'm going to make a one sided promise. I will not cry. I will not mourn."He retched inside his jacket for something.

"Congratulation's" Said Keeper "You've just created a monster"

He found what he was looking for and pulled it our. I recognized it immediately. There were obvious signs of age but weapon was well maintained, the slick handle had a 4 engraved into it. Snow's machete. The weapon made no sound as it slid from its sheath "Until I've brought you the fucking heads of those responsible"

"And you've got another enemy"