RE-UPLOAD
Dark Zone South
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Pfc. Garrett Parker
Virginia Army National Guard
3 Hours Later
Dear Mr. Fantasy
Play us a tune
Something to make us all happy
Do anything to
Take us out of this gloom
Sing a song
Play guitar
Make it snappy
"How's things up here?" I ask sniper, lookout and best friend, Sgt. Rose Li. Looking out at our surroundings from the museum roof, I kneel down next to Rose, who is in a prone position behind her L96 rifle.
"All quiet." She says, turning down her small radio. "No Outcasts today."
"Oh, we'll see them, I'm sure." Adjusting my respirator, I look out over the street again. Once busy with traffic, now an ocean of abandoned cars. "You hear the El Tee wants to take another shot at a break out?"
Rose huffs and shakes her head. "Fat chance of that."
"Don't think we can do it?"
"No. I've lost all faith in that idea." She takes her eye away from the scope and looks back at me. "We've been trapped here how long?"
I perform a mental tally. "Two years? Give or take."
"Precisely. Other than those Division Agents having a spat a few months ago, there's been no friendly faces around. Every time we've tried, the Outcasts ambush us at that intersection there. No matter how prepared we think we are, no matter how hard we hit that little camp of theirs, we get crushed. There aren't many of us left, Gaz." Rose pushes away from her rifle and sits up. "We're never getting out of here."
"Start talking like that, and we've already lost."
"It was sealed ever since Rossland came up with the brilliant idea of scavving for extra guns before getting to the extraction." Rose snaps. "In that time, our thirty have been cut down to twelve. Twelve. Our only hope now is that the Outcasts or maybe Hyenas decide to show some empathy, and we know how good they are at doing that."
"I'll never join them." I declare. "And you won't either."
"We might not get a choice."
Before I can protest, we are interrupted by gunfire being exchanged somewhere close by.
"That's close." Rose confirms, picking up her rifle and moving in the direction of the firefight. She lies down again, looking through her scope.
"I see some Outcasts. Figures. Can't tell who they're shooting at." I pick up my friend's pair of binoculars and try to find what she sees.
Down 14th Ave., in the direction of the gate that has been taunting us all this time, a large pack of Outcasts open fire on...someone. Appearing overwhelmed, a few begin to retreat. Close behind is the first of the attackers, wearing a respirator, backpack, and toting an ACR.
"For scavvers, they've got some nice gear." I remark.
"Wait a sec…" Rose says, adjusting her scope again. "That watch...is it orange?"
"Division?" I ask hopefully.
The Agent stands again, blasting away at an Outcast Thrower. He drops his lit molotov, engulfing himself and a nearby Controller in flames.
"Got another one." Rose says. "From the JTF it looks like. And…..oh boy."
"What?"
"The other Agent, in the back. With the machine gun?"
"Uh oh." I say as we exchange glances. I look back to the fight first, seeing someone running towards the Agents.
"Rusher!"
"I see him."
*BOOM!*
"Who shot that guy?!" Kelly shouts over the gunfire, blind-firing over the taxi we're using as cover.
"Dunno!" Sarah calls back. "But they don't like the Outcasts. Enemy of my enemy, right?!" She kneels down lower, taking a break from the long burst she just dished out. "I see an America unafraid of beauty and grace!" My companion screams at the Outcasts. "But you beasts aren't helping!" She pushes herself back up, lifting her SAW and opening up again. The few Outcasts who felt brave enough to peak over their car quickly duck, likely trying to figure out a way to get around Sarah's gun.
Oddly, it feels like someone is helping us from somewhere…
"Nice shooting." Gaz says as I reload my rifle. Each of my shots has at least incapacitated or seriously injured an Outcast, and at most blown a few up from a Rusher's bomb. My sights linger on the supposed 'Rogue' Agent, but despite suspicion, we are very relieved to see them.
"Head downstairs." I say to my partner. "Tell Rossland we may have help."
Garrett drops the binoculars and excitedly retreats to the stairway. In the street below, the last Outcast to survive the ambush has the Division team pinned with his machine gun. He stops firing for a moment and appears to begin shouting at them, likely angered at the loss of his friends. My crosshairs settle on him, finger resting on the trigger.
"The fire of a THOUSAND Suns will burn this city to the ground! Along with all of- *BANG*.
Jay and I look at each other for a moment, then I peek up to see the last Outcast collapse. I slowly rise, unsure if the hidden sniper will gun me down next, but am instead greeted by silence.
"I think it's over." I say quietly. Jay stands next, looking around at the nearby rooftops.
"Who was helping us?" She asks.
"No idea."
Mere moments later, my eyes spot movement on the roof of a nearby museum. A person in a very worn-looking JTF uniform holding a sniper rifle waving at us.
"Up there." Kelly observes, waving back. The figure on the roof waves us forward and gestures to the front entrance, before disappearing from view. Down the street, a pair of uniformed men appear, waiting for us.
"These guys look like True Sons." Jay says worriedly, slowly standing.
"No." Kelly insists. "They look to me like JTF guys who tried setting up an outpost and got left behind."
"So are they good abandoned JTF or bad abandoned JTF?" My companion asks.
"Well, they won't shoot us on sight if that's what you're asking."
"Good enough for me." I say with a shrug, climbing up and over our cover.
Meanwhile…
D St. Southwest
Southwest
Lazka
"Hope the Outcasts aren't giving the others too much trouble." Upton says from the tail end of our patrol through the neighborhood. Aside from some gunfire heard from the other side of the Quarantine Zone walls, nothing interesting has happened.
Thanks to the Offensives launched against the True Sons, we haven't seen many of them in what was once a high traffic area. Even the Castle has been able to pick itself up off the ground, much to our surprise. The DC62 chemical's presence has been greatly reduced, likely thanks to the several recent rain storms, and some members of the Militia were there as we passed, cleaning up the mess.
"Haven't seen the True Sons in a while." I muse, hearing the others murmur in agreement.
"Well, we are pretty close to the DZ." Miller says. "Not exactly prime real estate."
"I wonder if we'll find any?" Finnigan asks.
"You won't have to look far." Says a voice up ahead. Everyone instantly takes up a fighting stance.
"Who said that?" I bark, having taken the place as the patrol leader. "Come out where we can see you!"
Two men quietly emerge from a nearby alley, weapons holstered and hands up.
"Uhh...names David." One says awkwardly after a moment of tense silence. "This is my friend James. We overheard your conversation and felt we should introduce ourselves."
"What do you want?"
"Well...not everyone liked what General Ridgeway was doing in the...latter stages of his life. In our unit there have been talks of trying to make peace with the local Militia, possibly return to the JTF."
"Hold on." Miller pipes up. "You're saying you want to surrender to us?"
"Yes." James says with a nod.
I exchange glances with the men behind me. "How many are you?"
"About twenty in total. We made a small base out of the hotel a few blocks that way." David gestures behind him. "Our CO, Captain Parker is there. If you'd like you more than welcome to follow u-"
"We aren't following you anywhere." Miller cuts the man off. "You stay here, and your friend can go get your boss. We'll talk here."
David nods in understanding and turns to his friend. "Head back and grab the Cap. Tell him we have an out." James backpedals a few paces before turning around and hurrying off. I turn to my comrades and gesture to lower their weapons, then look back to David, who looks genuinely happy to get to talk to us.
DZ South
Holocaust Memorial Museum
Jay
Ten Minutes Later
"Didn't think we'd find someone here who wasn't trying to kill us." Sarah remarks, still receiving sideways looks from many of the JTF soldiers inside the building. She wrote it off as them not seeing any friendly faces in a long time, but I have a feeling it's something else.
The two men who greeted us lead our group to an information desk area, where a small gathering has formed around a map of the Dark Zone. One of the men looks up as we enter.
"Agents." He says with an exhausted-sounding voice. "I'm Captain Rossland, First Battalion, 116th. Welcome to what's left of Able Company." He glances at Kelly for a moment, eyeing her uniform and unit patch. "I can't say you look familiar, First Sergeant."
"Sergeant Kelly Lambert." Kelly replies respectfully. "From the 69th. New York City."
"Hmm." The Captain muses. "I would ask what brings you here, but I'd imagine the current situation is more important."
"Actually, Captain." I begin. "It seems our missions are connected." The three of us step up to the map, Sarah taking the lead.
"A PMC group by the name of Black Tusk has taken over the Tidal Basin. They have stolen a shipment of an antiviral medicine that can combat Green Poison. Not just a vaccine...a cure." My companion's words turn a number of heads throughout the room. "We're planning an assault on their base, here, to secure the shipment. To do that, we need to perform recon from the nearby rooftops. Since none of us have been to DZ South," She glances around for a moment. "and since the only one who was isn't here, we're hoping you can help us with that."
Rossland scratches at his unkempt beard for a moment.
"The Outcasts have had us pinned in here like animals." He looks around at the museum. "Over a year. Kind of ironic, given the nature of this building. We have a lookout on the rooftop. She knows all the ins and outs."
"She helped us get through those Outcasts who jumped us." I say.
"Sergeant Li!" Rossland calls out. Moments later, a pair of boots bound their way down a flight of stairs. Rounding the corner is the same sniper we saw on the roof, carrying an L96 rifle that appears to have a distortion camouflage hand painted onto it. The many different lines and shapes make my eyes hurt, so I look away for a moment.
"Sir?" The sniper replies, rifle resting on her shoulder.
"Take these Agents upstairs. Find them the best vantage point for the Tidal Basin." Sgt. Li nods, then gestures to us to follow.
Meanwhile
D St. Southwest
Lazka
With Miller, Upton and I creating a small perimeter, Finnigan sits with our True Son 'prisoner' on a park bench. The two have been chatting since James left, and there has been no sign of any elaborate trap, so I decide to return to the bench and join the conversation.
"Wow." I hear Tyler say, picking up the very end of a story David had been telling. "That couldn't have been easy to hear."
"It wasn't." David says, shaking his head. "I knew people at the Castle." He's pulled down his bandanna, revealing a fairly young looking man, likely fresh out of high school before the collapse.
"At least it was Wilson who gave the order. Taylor would've had a mutiny on his hands."
"What about?" I ask, resting my boot on the bench next to David.
"Bombing the Castle." Finnigan answers. "Apparently, not everyone was in the know."
"That was the last straw for our unit." David explains. "Breaking off from the JTF I understood. Nothing was getting done...no offense." He looks around at us.
"None taken." Tyler says with a shrug. "I wasn't here anyway."
"Yeah, well I was." I say coldly, eyeing David. "Pardon me if I find this whole situation just a bit too convenient."
"Trust me, I know exactly how this looks. I've seen the movies, read the books. You all think it's a trap. But this time, it's for real."
"Hey Shel!" Miller calls before I can press further. I look up at him and he gestures to a group of True Sons approaching from down the street. Nodding, I push away from the bench and follow him.
Captain Parker stands in the middle of the street with a small team in tow, including our new friend James. The Captain looks around at the group of myself, Miller, David and Finnigan that has formed.
"You must be the Captain we've heard so much about." I say.
Parker nods. "My boys were honest, I hope. Mike Parker." he offers a hand to shake, which I confidently accept.
"Shelby Lazka. I understand y'all are lookin' t' broker a truce?"
"That we are. My men and I agree that that the happenings at the Castle were taking things too far. To some extent, chemical warfare is what got us into this mess to begin with."
"Well, bio-terrorism, but I see what you mean." Miller points out.
"And that was not in the M.O.. We want out, but the local Militia don't seem to be interested in conversation, which to be honest isn't surprising. I've ordered my scouts to attempt peaceful contact with any Militia members, Division Agents, or JTF soldiers they find, and they haven't had much luck. And now, there's these Black Tusk folks raising Hell all over the city." The Captain shakes his head.
"Sounds to me like we share a common enemy." Finnigan points out. I remove my cap and wipe my brow with the back of my glove.
"There's a plan in the works." I begin, fanning myself with the hat for a moment. "To hit Black Tusk where it hurts. There makin' trouble with us, too. Nothin' concrete yet…"
"I'd wager that some extra numbers with military training would really help." Captain Parker says after a moment of thought. I tug my cap back on, looking up at him.
"What didja have in mind?"
A/N Quite a few references in this one, so I'll just leave it at that.
I don't have much to say, except that things are coming to a head.
I didn't expect this fic to get to this many chapters. Hopefully that isn't turning anyone off.
Thank you all for reading. See you next time, Agents!
Edit: This re-upload removes Roxwell from the chapter, as I feel he would be better suited elsewhere in the city.