Chapter 8: The Fucking Numbers!

The screen flashes back to random clips.

"What's up with the game showing us this random stuff before the mission?" Yang asked.

"I guess it's a small brief before the action starts, to let us know what's happening next," Blake guessed.

Interrogator: We have the dossier that the defector gave you at MACV. We'd ID'd all of Dragovich's men, Kravchenko, Steiner, and Clarke. You know them.

"Out of the three of them, you only saw one," Ruby said.

Interrogator: Masterminds of Project Nova.

Mason: Nova 6. Reznov called it Nova 6. Dragovich…

Interrogator: What do you know about Doctor Clarke? We know that Clarke was the chemical engineer who helped formulated Nova 6. Malignant narcissist. Degenerate prodigy. Your handler Jason Hudon was sent to Kowloon to interrogate Clarke. Do you remember?

"Why do you keep asking? You already know everything," Weiss said.

Mason: Why keep asking? You already know everything.

"Man, the dialogue becomes predictable after some time," Weiss added.

Interrogator: No Mason. We don't know what the numbers mean.

"Then just ask us about the numbers instead of us having to go through this bullshit!" Blake exclaimed.

Interrogator: We don't know where they're broadcasted from.

"Hudson should know, he's the one who did the interrogation," Yang said.

Mason: Why don't you ask Hudson. Kowloon was his mission. He interrogated Clarke.

The flashes to show Hudson, and flashes again to begin the mission.

Numbers

Transmission #23-119. Designate: Victor

Target: Dr. Daniel clarke located in Kowloon City, Hong Kong.

Extraction team: Hudson, Weaver and Station 3 operatives on the ground

1700 hours, February 9, 1968

Voice: Don't you morons get it? If you think your government-sponsored brutalities intimidates me, you clearly don't know anything about Dragovich. I have nothing to gain by talking to you.

The game flashes to Kowloon, where Clarke is sitting in a chair and a crow is sitting on a window next to him,

"Of course, but you do get a lifetime prize of tortures!" Yang exclaimed.

"Is this going to be another torture mission?" Ruby asked.

"I hope not, I'm sick to death of that," Weiss said. The game tells Blake to break the window and Hudson breaks the window. THe crow sitting on the window flew away. Hudson grabbed a shard of glass and placed it in Clarke's mouth.

Hudson: Think about what you have to lose.

Weaver shook Clarke's head forcefully, having the glass into his throat.

"Damn, that sucks," Yang said. Blake punched Clarke three times.

Weaver: We can do this all day - We got plenty of windows…

"That's a waste of perfectly good windows," Weiss said sarcastically.

Hudson: Or- You can give us what we want, and we guarantee your safety...

Clarke coughs up blood and glass.

Clarke: I'm already a dead man… I've been hunted across every corner of the globe…

"Oh, we have a badass over here," Blake said sarcastically.

Clarke: And if you found me, so will they…

"Can these people ever be specific on who's doing whatever, instead of him, or they!" Ruby exclaimed.

Clarke: They know everything you know… They're probably on their way ow.

Hudson: Why?

Clarke: Dragovich doesn't like loose ends… I've never even dealt with him directly, only Steiner - The German…

Hudson: What was the nature of your business?

Clarke: I was hired to help stabilize certain "volatile compounds."

Hudson: What kind of compounds?!

"If you were listening, he said "volatile" compounds. What does volatile mean?" Ruby asked.

"It means threatening to break out into something really violent (Definition came from )," Blake said.

Clarke: Nova 6. A biochemical weapon.

Bullets fly through the window, but didn't hit anyone inside.

"Worse aim of all time," Yang said.

Clarke: You led them right to me!

Weaver:Get your head DOWN!

Weaver flipped the tabled and took cover behind it. Clarke ran and took cover behind a desk. Hudson took out two dual wielding pistols, and Ruby couldn't help but punch the wall.

"Really Ruby?" Yang asked.

"It looks so bad," Ruby muttered.

"Remember, this is in another world and another time so stop judging it!" Weiss exclaimed. Blake tried to aim down her sights, but pressing the left trigger only fired the left gun. Blake quickly figured out that there's no aiming down the sights while dual wielding. Blake fired blindly at the incoming enemy. Since the pistols are inaccurate, she grabbed the weapon on the dead weapon. It's called the Kiparis.

"Ew," Ruby commented.

"She's getting so annoying when it comes to weapons," Blake thought in her head.

Blake aimed at the enemy and fired the entire mag at the enemy. Out of nowhere, green gas is bursting out of nowhere.

Clarke: Gunfire's ruptured the canisters!

Weaver: What's your escape route?!

"Are you sure you want to trust him? He's been hunted around the globe for a reason," Yang said.

Clarke: There's a hatch in the ceiling! This way!

Blake and the rest climbed up the hatch and escaped the room.

Clarke: Did you inhale the gas?!

Hudson: I don't think so.

Clarke: You're lucky. Direct exposure is always fatal.

"So from what I'm guessing is that Dragovich is going to use that gas all over America because of it's America and kill, how many lives?" Weiss asked.

"I think America has over 300 million right now," Ruby said.

"Wow, just why would you that?!" Yang asked.

"Because no matter what, if anyone is different from one another, there's always going to be fighting," Blake said.

Weaver: Spetsnaz inbound!

A Spetsnaz soldier tried to roll into the room, but Blake killed him as he rolled in. Blake turned right on a hallway corridor and a Spetsnaz soldier is leaning on the wall. The soldier shot Blake several times, but she killed him quickly. Blake was about to die so she quickly hid in the room near her and camped out until she's fine.

Weaver: Which way?

Clarke: Up the stairs! To the roof.

Blake peaked out of the room and carefully took out the enemy down the hallway. Blake moved through the hallway and was attacked by three enemy soldiers. She took out the two that were closests and the other enemy was behind a barred door. The enemy shot Blake with a shotgun, hurting her close to death. She took cover again and peaked out of it to kill the enemy. Once she fully healed, she moved up the stairs. On her way up, she switched out the dual wield pistols for the Spaz-12 shotgun.

Blake slowly walked up the stairs, preparing herself for any enemy ambush. She slowly approached the window and saw a shadow of someone when lightning flashed.

"There goes the stealthy approach for them," Weiss said. Blake quickly ran up to the window and blasted the enemy. She continued to go upstairs and into the roof. There several enemies were waiting for them. Blake jumped down and took out the two that were on the roof. Out of nowhere, a plane is roaring through the skies and flies over them.

"What the hell was that?" Yang asked.

"Is that ours or…" Weiss wondered without finishing her sentence.

Weaver: Chyort! Snipers!

Clarke: We need to get to the opposite tower!

Weaver: How?!

Clarke: We jump!

Hudson: You've got to be kidding me!

"It's not the most ridiculous thing that ever happened so far, so why are you complaining?" Blake wondered.

"What's next, zombies? Aliens? Exo-armor?" Weiss asked. Snipers on another building were firing at Blake and the others and they jumped to the next building. It turned into another slow-motion event. Blake took out the enemy on top of the roof and in the building. Blake fell and landed on a pile of mattresses on the building's balcony.

"Wow, I'm glad that someone put out all these mattresses for no apparent reason so he can land safely," Ruby said sarcastically. Clarke tried to push the fridge that's in the room out of the way.

Clarke: Here, help me move this!

Weaver assisted in Clarke and moved the fridge out of the way. Behind the fridge was a room full of guns, and Yang couldn't help but feel excited.

"I really wished that I can play," Yang eagerly said.

"I don't with weapons like those, nope," Ruby said.

Clarke: Grab what you need - They'll be here before you know it.

Hudson: You are very well prepared for a dead man.

Clarke: Just because I accept the inevitability of my fate does not mean I'm in a hurry to embrace it!

Weaver: Whatever you say, English.

Blake switched out her Kiparis for a gun known as the G11.

"I still don't trust him, he's going to betray us when he gets the chance. We made him eat glass for crying out loud," Weiss said.

"Why would he when there's people who are willing to kill him, Hudson and Weaver just wanted information," Ruby said.

"Maybe at the end, they escaped and they're alone. Clarke could've shot them at their backs as they leave," Yang predicted. Clarke opened the door and Blake pushed through the enemy in the hallway, killing off everyone who stands in her way. At the end of the hallway, Blake approached an open room.

Clarke: Flashbang!

Out of nowhere, a flashbang was thrown into the room and Blake was blinded. She went prone and fired blindly at the people in front of her. She moved up into a room full of glass windows.

Weaver: They're breaching through the windows!

Blake killed the enemy that jumped through the window. They fight their way until they reached enemy Spetsnaz soldiers were rushing in. Blake ran towards cover and decided to use the G11 to kill the enemy. When Blake fired the weapon, Ruby couldn't help but cringe.

"Augh, the weapon…" Ruby moaned.

"What is it now?" Weiss wondering what's the problem.

"It fires weirdly!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Ever heard of three-round burst weapons?" Yang asked. Ruby nods no. "It's when you pull a trigger and three rounds are fired at the same time."

"I never see a point in three-round burst weapons. Don't understand because automatic and semi are more effective," Blake commented as she climbed onto a balcony. She quickly threw a grenade outside into another room in her left. She quickly ran into the room and took out the last enemy in their. She continued to make her way through the roofs and cleared out the enemy on the roof below.

Clarke: Quickly- Downstairs!

Blake and the others ran downstairs and below there were even more enemies. Blake threw a flash into the room and make quick work of them.

Clarke: Down the pipe- Go!

Blake jumped onto a tall pipe and slid down on a floor of wires. Blake crouched and moved forward. On her gith were two enemy Spetsnaz soldiers.

Weaver: (Whispering) Two more assholes below.

"They're not assholes, they have families and feelings too," Weiss said sarcastically.

Hudson: No problem. I got it.

"Of course," Yang said unsurprised that Blake has to kill them even though Weaver can. Blake jumped down and knifed the two soldiers. Weaver and Clarke followed Blake as they continue their escape.

Weaver: Dragovich is going to a lot of trouble to shut you up… What are you not telling us?

Clarke: I told you about Nova 6…

Weaver: Where is there base? Nam? Loas? Cambodia?

"I predict somewhere in Cuba, since from what I heard is close to America and would be a great place to store it," Ruby guessed.

Clarke: His home turf, the Ural Mountains - Yamantau.

Clarke: That's where you find Steiner - in his final preparations for Nova 6.

Blake ran through the roof and slid down the roof towards lower grounds. Everything started to slow down.

"This game has an obsession with slow-motion, doesn't it?" Yang asked. Four enemy soldiers were scanning the area for Blake and the others. But she quickly eliminated them.

Clarke: Shit… They've sent in a clean up crew to steal what's left of my research.

"I thought they already have everything to know about Nova 6," Weiss said.

"Maybe some additional information would be nice before you unleash a biochemical weapon," Blake said.

Clarke: Well, no thank you, Dragovich… I can clean up my own mess! [laughs]

Clarke detonates the building with exploding, with the helicopter being caught in it. Clarke removes the cover and reveals the weapon stash.

"Do you just leave a bunch of weapons hidden within random people's home?" Yang questioned.

"That's dumb, what if the citizen discover an entire weapon cache behind the fridge, he would call the cops and have them confiscated," Blake said.

Clarke: This way!

Clarke opened the gate and the three moved on. More Russian soldiers rushed into the area. Blake fought her way down towards the lower. Blaek and Weaver continued to follow Clarke's route.

Clarke: Back outside -Balcony on your right!

Blake and the others jumped onto the balcony and walked inside a building.

"Where are the people that live here? Asleep?" Ruby wondered.

"Or evacuated, if I hear some random explosions and gunfire, I would lock my doors or run," Blake said. A random enemy walked in and started firing at Blake. It shattered the aquarium in the room and you could see the fish falling down on the floor.

"Avenge the fish!" Yang exclaimed. Blake fought her way outside and continued to follow whatever route Clarke laid out. They made their way to a random cache of weapons.

Clarke: Not far now! Weapons and ammunition - Grab what you need.

Blake switched the Spaz-12 for a weapon known as the HK12. She also switched out the regular G11 with the one with a powered scope.

Weaver: Spetsnaz inbound!

Russians started to attack Blake and her team. She aimed down her sights with the G11 and Ruby couldn't stand the reticle.

"I'm so sick of seeing Earth weapons right now," Ruby said. Blake shot each soldier one by one.

Clarke: Watch my back! I need to unlock this door. Cover me as I get this door open.

"Let's just blast it, I just saw a rocket launcher on that rack of weapons," Weiss said. Blake looked at the weapon rack and saw a weapon labeled Grim Reaper. She decided to use it and switch it out for the G11. It was a boxy looking weapon with a reticle.

"That's how you design rockets, lame," Ruby said.

"Really, can you be quiet about weapons for one second," Blake begged. Blake fired the Grim Reaper two times and switched to the HK12 and started killing off ever Russian that ever set foot here.

Clarke: Okay.. it's been awhile.

Weaver: You forgot your own combination?!

"Wow," Weiss said with a palm on her face.

"Just blast the door open!" Yang demanded.

Clarke: It's the damndest thing... 54... 23... what is it? 5... 11... 19... 45? Of course...Lucky 7!

"Okay, can we move on?" Blake asked. Blake and Weaver followed Clarke out.

Clarke: Come on! Just one more leap of faith!

Clarke jumped and Blake followed. Clarke slipped on his feet and started slipping.

"Fail," Ruby said.

Clarke: Ahhh! I'm slipping!

Weaver grabs Hudson and he also grabbed onto something.

Weaver: I got you!

Hudson grabbed Clarke before he fell.

Clarke: What about the numbers, Clarke!

"Now is not the time," Yang said.

"We have people on our tail and they're armed, we need to go to a safer place, like that interrogation room Mason is in," Weiss said.

Clarke: Oh yes… The numbers… They're the key to…

And just out of nowhere, Clarke was shot in the head.

"Of course the killed him off," Blake said unsurprised.

"They shot Clarke, but not us who know the information and is holding Clarke near his death," Ruby said.

"Russians are so terrible," Weiss said. [AN: Russians are not terrible people] Hudson lets go of Clarke and he slammed into the sign. The team couldn't help but chuckled. Clarke's body continued to fall down to the streets.

Weaver: Tug boat this is Red Eye…

"Oh eye get it, he is called Red Eye because of what happened in the Russian rocket place," Yang said.

Weaver: Immediate distraction - street level. Tower four, South Side.

Agent: Roger Red Eye.. on the way. Been watching the fireworks down here…

"Some help would've been nice," Blake said.

Agent: Did you snatch the asset?

Weaver: Negative… he's dead. Red Eye out. Come on Hudson… I see way down.

Blake fought down to the streets, clearing each floor full of enemies Blake slid down a ramp and fell down. She saw a pistol and she picked it up.

"Where did our massive machine gun go?" Yang asked.

"The plot took it away," Weiss said. civilians ran away and Russian soldiers appeared on the scene.

"Clarke's dead, now leave," Ruby said.

Blake fought off the Russian soldiers and shew as getting closer to death. A white van crashed into the wall and cleared out the rest of the Russian soldiers.

"The only time a white van became friendly," Yang joked.

Agent: Where we headed?

Hudson: Clarke ID'd a Nazi scientists working for Dragovich. His name is Steiner. We're going to Russia. Mt. Yamantau.

The screen flashes white.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the late chapter. I needed a week off to do random stuff I wanted. Anyways, leave a suggestion on what happens next, follow, favorite and review and if you need me, I'll return to tf2.