"And how do you know they're going to have what we need?" The Commander paced slowly across the CIC, tapping on his earpiece.
"Let's just say I've heard from a little bird that they've just hit a workshop on the outskirts of town, they've hauled off a great deal of salvage into the edge of the yellow-zone. There's no guarantees, but I take it you'd much rather deal with bandits than the police?" UMP-45's voice sounded from the other end.
"Yeah...Going to have to stay clear of the green-zones for a bit, the URNC's probably close to dialing us in thanks to that stunt M4 pulled. We don't want to attract any more heat around their stomping grounds, even outside the quarantine walls."
"And some more good news - this seems to be a pretty small, isolated encampment. Apart from some transport trucks, all we've spotted are light infantry."
"These the same guys that have been sprouting up in the yellow zones lately? What were they calling themselves, the Var...ajers or something?"
"Varjagers" 45 corrected. "...Or at least people who want to look like them."
"From what I glanced over back at Griffin, the cells popping up don't seem to have much in common other than the markings." The Commander contemplated.
"Well, from what I can tell, these guys are amateurs. A bunch of half-wit junkies trying to play gangster. I'll forward the details to your tablet."
"Just so it's out there, 45, my bank account was frozen by the URNC, and the rough-stones I buried are still back in Ukraine."
"Call it an investment in one of my favorite customers, here's hoping you live long enough for me to collect my return~" 45 hummed.
The communicator clicked as 45 terminated the call.
"Great..." The Commander grumbled, not being thrilled about the prospect of being indebted to 45.
Turning around, he found ST AR-15 patiently waiting behind him.
"What's the damage?" He asked with a hint of reluctance.
"Well, nothing proprietary's broken. The designers didn't seem to have any delusions of how often this thing would be breaking down. I've already compiled a list of the things we need and forwarded it to your command tablet." STAR replied.
"So this might actually be salvageable...By the skin of our teeth, of course."
"Over the last three years, when hasn't it been?" STAR gave the Commander a light punch on the shoulder.
The Commander chortled. "I guess that's our style, isn't it?" He turned back to his communicator. "RO, we're ready, grab the rest of the team and report to the CIC."
"On it, Commander." RO replied over the comms.
A short while later, the AR Team had gathered in the CIC. Once everyone had made themselves comfortable and patched into their Zener, the Commander began the briefing.
"Alright team, as you are well aware, we are well up shit creek, and the closest thing we have to a paddle just blew its engine. Luckily, a mutual friend has gotten in touch, and according to her, a cell of Varjagers in the area has recently acquired themselves a hefty haul of salvage from a raid on a workshop belonging to a local mechanic. With a little luck, hopefully they'll have what we need to get this scrap-heap up and running again."
"I know we're on the outskirts, but an attack in the green-zone? Are bandits really getting that bold?" M4 asked.
The Commander nodded. "The authorities are too busy circling their own wagon to care about what goes on anywhere close to the yellow-zone. They won't admit it out loud, but as far as they're concerned, anybody in that general area is on their own. Anybody who can't afford 'round-the-clock PMC protection is pretty much ripe for the picking by bad actors. Cops won't set foot in there unless they have absolutely have to."
"Such as a group of wanted fugitives who have been deemed a threat to national security being sighted in the area." M16 added.
"So, they'll go after us, but gangs of bandits can just kill and pillage to their hearts content?" M4 pressed, disgust manifesting in her voice.
"The Varjagers have played it smart, so far, they've been sticking to the bottom of the food-chain, being careful not to punch above their weight. As long as they keep the shit rolling downhill and not up, the relevant authorities won't go out of their way to pick a fight with them." The Commander affirmed, RO casted her eyes down solemnly in the background.
"But now we've got a shot at them..." STAR spoke up.
The Commander nodded again. With a few swipes of his tablet, 404's intel began to display on the team's Zener. "404's tracked them to their encampment a few klicks past the border to the yellow zone. Based on the recon they did, this outfit's set-up is purely amateur stuff. I don't think these guys have even used their guns on anybody who didn't have their hands tied behind their backs."
"Yeah...look at this guy's AR - he doesn't even have sights. No optic, no irons, nothing, how the hell's he aiming with that?" M16 added.
STAR nodded. "Reminds me of those guys we bagged in Sector 09...Remember? The ones that had their AK's rear sights slid all the way to the highest setting because they thought it made the gun shoot bullets harder?"
"Pff...I remember the guy's face when we told him before handing him off." M16 chuckled.
"Ahem." The Commander cleared his throat. "These guys shouldn't be too much trouble compared to what we've all been through by now, these guys are traveling light and there's been no other sightings of Varjagers in the area, so the probability of an enemy QRF is low, if not outright nonexistent. As always though, keep your guard up and don't get complacent - amateurs or not, anybody can get lucky, and it would be a hell of an anticlimax for us to go down to a group of thugs after all we've survived." The Commander turned to STAR. "How's the transport truck doing?"
"Gassed up and ready to go, thank god we got the tires changed before that mess went down with the URNC. It's still got the bullet holes from Bohnsdorf, though."
"Well, with the way things go for us, it'll probably have a few more by the end of the day..." M16 commented.
"In any case, you girls know what to do. Maintain concealment for as long as you can, neutralize all hostiles and secure the area, then bring the truck in and load up anything we can use to get this shit-heap rolling again. Any questions?"
After a brief moment of silence, STAR shook her head. "Let's do this."
Some time later, Contamination Zone Sector Y_2035_8011...
As the box truck drove beyond the border of the green-zone, the ride grew bumpier as the road gave way to a endless stretch of cracked asphalt and gaping potholes, the vegetation beginning to work its way through and threaten to swallow the road whole as nature began to reclaim this desolate land. It had been almost 30 years since this road was last maintained, they were beyond civilization now, as well as "the long arm of the law".
STAR threaded a suppressor onto her PDW, snugly securing it against the crown of the barrel before slapping a magazine into the well, "SUBS" scrawled onto the side with a white marker. M16 dropped an ACOG into her carry-handle and threaded the nut, wrenching it tight enough to hold firm. Her imprint technology delivered her the alignment of her optic and the ballistic data of both her rifle and the ammunition she was using, and she adjusted her zero accordingly. SOP took inventory of her 40mm grenades, the launcher fitted under the handguard of her rifle.
The Commander checked the fit on his gas mask once again, tugging on the adjustment straps to make sure it was tight enough to seal.
"Is this really necessary? The weather forecasts showed all clear, and Collapse Storms barely even touch this sector." M4 asked.
"Not taking any chances after Bohnsdorf. God only knows what the hell Lyons was thinking sending us after bioterrorists without a lick of CBRN protection."
"That if one of those things went off, there'd be no reason to keep you around to begin with." M16 surmised.
The Commander chuckled bitterly. "That sounds like The Earl alright..."
RO's voice sounded from the cab's driver's seat. "We're coming up on the drop-off in a few minutes, time to get ready."
"Right." The Commander nodded, and began booting up his Command Interface.
"Here I was thinking you were going to join in on the fun this time." SOP remarked.
"I'll be there in spirit." The Commander replied. "Since we're officially off the reservation, I won't have much to go on except for your Zener feeds. There may be moments where you'll have to use your own-"
"Actually, about that." M4 interrupted. "I've tapped into a GDR satellite in Geosynchronous Orbit. I've already patched it through to your command interface."
The Commander's brows raised. "...A military satellite?...This won't be traced back to us, will it?"
M4 smiled confidently. "Please. Remember who you're talking to."
"You're scary, you know that?" The Commander turned to the rest of the group. "Looks like it'll be the usual drill then. I'll monitor the situation from here and notify you of any developments. M4, you've got the ground team, RO will stay with me and bring the truck in when you've secured the area."
"Rules of engagement?" M4 asked.
"Anyone holding a weapon or otherwise tries to attack you is fair game, though it would be nice if we could grab one of them alive and find out more about who's funding these 'Varjagers'. If we're going to be sticking to the yellow zones for a while, I want to know more about what we're dealing with. All the intel I've read over definitely paints the picture that they've got some kind of benefactor."
"That means don't level the whole camp, SOP." STAR jabbed.
"I knooow..." SOP whined, her eyes sulkily turning downwards like a child who got told to put a toy back on the shelf.
"We're here, Commander." RO called back, the truck's suspension jolted as the wheels pulled off from the road.
The Commander turned from the cab back to the bay. "You heard her ladies, this is your stop. Time to get your game faces on."
The truck softly slid to a halt, the rear door promptly slid open, and the squad of dolls speedily filed out. They began to cautiously move their way towards the target coordinates.
"Comm check." M4 sent over her Zener.
"Five-by-five. I've already plotted you a route around their lookout...if you can even call him that. Still, tread lightly and watch your footing." The Commander's voice sounded at the other end.
"The easy way is always mined." M4 recited.
"Good girl."
"Look at us, the original four...How long has it been since we've last fought like this?" M16 remarked.
"2062...back when Sangvis made a go for Kryuger and the Commander during that joint meeting, so about two years. Feels like a lifetime ago now..." STAR reminisced.
M16 nodded. "It pretty much was. How long have we been active, four years? We were together as a full team for barely a year of it. By now we've been apart longer than we've been fighting alongside each other."
"We're together again now, so let's have some fun! Like old times!" SOP gleefully chimed in.
"Police the chatter, we'll be coming up on the camp soon." M4 interjected.
"Right, M4's navigating, let's not break the L-T's concentration." 16 smirked.
"Want me to pour your Jack down the drain when we get back?" M4 hissed back.
"She's all grown up, Sixteen." STAR patted the elder sister on the shoulder.
A short while later...
The derelict fuel station sat in a clearing beside the road, boards of plywood covered the windows of the convenience store, shards of broken glass lining the border. Yellow light seeped through the cracks of the plywood, muffled laughter and the rattling of glasses sounded from inside, the bass of a speaker system pulsed against the walls as Slavic rap music blared. A small garage sat nearby, the bay doors shuttered closed. A set of crates encircled a makeshift firepit outside, charred wood filling the border of cinderblocks.
The door of the store suddenly swung open, a rough looking man in a dark green jacket dragged a preteen girl by her black hair behind her.
"LET GO OF ME!" The girl screamed out, kicking and thrashing as she was dragged outside towards the garage.
The man paid her no mind, even as she pounded her fists against his leg, her blows bouncing off him like her hands were made of rubber.
He pulled her back behind the garage, and all but tossed her against the wall. "Ehehe...I like the feisty ones. The boss wanted you 'pure' when we sold you off, but I think it would be a waste not to sample the goods...We'll get a fine price for you regardless, there's always a market for something 'exotic' like you."
He pinned her wrists down, and leaned to kiss her.
"Pfuh!" The girl spat right as he leaned.
The bandit's brow furrowed as he slowly wiped the spit off his face, and then smacked her across the face forcefully. "I'd just lean back and enjoy it if I were you. I could get much more...adventurous if I wanted..."
Meanwhile, behind a small section of a crumbled brick fence, ST AR-15 kneeled out of sight, her hands clenching around the grips of her PDW. "Commander..."
The Commander didn't even need her to ask. "Do it quiet."
The child continued struggling, whimpering helplessly as the bandit overpowered her with ease. He leaned down once again, his face contorted into a menacing grin. "I think I'm in love...Maybe I can convince the boss to let me keep you. We could have such a-"
A burgundy glove suddenly seized him around the mouth, his head violently wrenched to the side. In the blink of an eye, a blade slammed down through the side of his neck, the scream bottled up inside his chest came out as little more than a hollow sigh as blood gushed from his jugular, the life faded from his eyes. The body fell limp, the doll gently let him down to the ground as the girl sat frozen in terror.
The pink-haired woman paid her no mind as she slipped her knife back into its sheath. A brunette with a green-stripe briskly trekked up behind, and knelt down beside the child. Putting a finger over her lips, she took her by the hand and lead her back behind the wall, while a blonde shuffled up to the other as they hugged the wall of the garage.
"Sixteen, we're inside the camp perimeter." STAR communicated over her Zener.
"Copy, I see you." M16 replied, the team in view of her scope as she lay on a nearby hill, the body of the camp lookout slumped over a chair beside her. "From what I can see, you're all clear up to the door."
"Commander?" M4 checked in.
"Still no movement in the surrounding area, doesn't look like they have anybody out on patrol." The Commander relayed.
STAR's eyes switched to Sonar. "...No signatures in the garage...looks like...six in the lobby of that main building sitting at some kind of table, and one more in the back office - guessing that's our boss man."
M4 turned to the little girl. "Hey...are you alright? Can you talk?"
The girl trembled as she clung to M4's hand, breathing raggedly. "W-Who are you?..."
M4 knelt down to her level. "It's okay, we're good guys. What are you doing here?"
"T-They...robbed the workshop...tied me up and took me here..." The girl whimpered out.
"These bandits?"
"Y-Yes..."
"Is anybody else with you?"
"N-No...I-I...I'm all alone..." The girl uttered shakily.
"Those people in that building over there...Are they all bad guys?"
"Y-Yes...t-they...were going to..."
M4 placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "They didn't. I'll stay here with you, okay? Nothing bad's going to happen to you now." She switched to her Zener. "Alright, SOP, Fifteen, stack up and prepare for entry. I'll keep an eye on the girl until RO and the Commander get here."
"Got it. Let's move up, SOP."
STAR crept around the corner of the garage, SOP trailing behind her. The dolls cautiously approached the building, their guns trained on the entrance.
Suddenly, the door flew open, another man in a green jacket stormed outside. "Mikhail! You'd better not be damaging the goo-Who the fuck are-"
SNAP
The man's nosebridge violently split open, a bullet tore out the opposite end of his skull as the report of M16's rifle echoed from the hills. He crumpled to the floor in an instant, dead before he even hit the ground.
"NIKITA!" A voice shrieked from inside, the source sprang from the table and charged straight to the front door, a Draco carbine in his hand. "YOU MOTHERFUUUUUCKEEEEEEERRRSSS!"
In an instant, a hail of gunfire tore through his torso, wincing in agony, he explosively spun around, his dominant hand clenched...with his index finger inside the guard, and the safety set to automatic. His draco erupted in a storm of fireballs, the muzzle wrenched up towards the table, his comrades dove for cover as bullets flew around the room, but one was too slow.
Bursts of splinters blasted from the table as the bullets tore through it on a collision course with the unlucky bandit's groin. A wail of agony filled the room, the legs of his chair shattered from the hail of bullets, sending him spilling off of it, kicking and wailing as his hands covered his crotch, a massive blotch of crimson permeating his pantlegs.
The shots continued, the muzzle flipped up towards the ceiling, and then, into its owners face. The crown of his head exploded outwards like a budding flower, the remains of his head and torso smacked straight into the ground, though his hips protruded upwards and left him in a fairly degrading position.
Meanwhile, another one of the Varjagers whipped out his brand new toy from behind an overturned table - a Glock 40 with a full-auto switch.
"AUUUUUUUUUUUUUOOOOAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!" The bandit's war cry reverberated through the room as he extended his gun sideways, training it on the door.
Automatic fire burst from the gun, he struggled to keep the gun pointed straight as he let loose its fury - but then, almost as soon as it started...
Click
The slide locked back, the two figures in the doorway reappeared in a flash completely unscathed.
"Oh no! NO! SHIT!" The bandit threw himself back behind the table, his gun clattered to the floor.
One of the other Varjagers reappeared, sporting a freshly lit Molotov cocktail. "BURN YOU BITCHEEEEEEEE-"
As he stormed forward, he tripped over his now ballistically castrated comrade, sending both him and the glass bottle tumbling to the floor.
SWOOSH
A storm of flames quickly engulfed both of them, cries of agony once again filled the convenience store. The "grenadier" quickly jumped to his feet, screaming in terror as he swatted the flames permeating his clothes. Without thinking, he grabbed a bottle from the table and dumped the liquid onto him - liquid from a bottle of 151 proof rum they had been passing around moments prior.
FWOOM
The flames erupted in fury, the inferno nearly swallowing the Varjager whole.
"AAAAAAHHHHH! HEEELP HELP MEEEE!" The bandit wailed, thrashing wildly as he stumbled around the room.
"NO! GET AWAY! GET AWAY!" One of his comrades cried out as the burning man trudged towards him.
"HEEELP! HEEELLLP!" The burning bandit pleaded as he flailed closer.
As he got within reach, the flaming man tripped over, tumbling straight onto his partner. More screams echoed through the room as the flaming man pinned the bandit to the floor, the flames spread onto him...and onto his belt where a fragmentation grenade sat at the ready...
BOOM
A deafening explosion tore the room to shreds, a storm of shrapnel, debris, and severed bodyparts were sent flying in every direction. When the dust settled, there was nothing left but a pile of mangled rubble and barely identifiable human remains - not a single survivor amongst them.
STAR and SOP-II sat frozen at the door, their mouths agape as they gazed upon the aftermath.
After a lengthy silence, STAR finally spoke over her Zener. "...Commander...Tell me you saw that."
An affirmative sigh sounded over the communicator. "Boy am I glad we don't have to explain things like this to Helian anymore..."
Meanwhile, In the back office, the head honcho of the group breathed raggedly as he trained his Desert Eagle on the door. He silently told himself that it would be okay, this gun was his cannon - his problem solver. One shot from this, and they would know who's the boss, who owns this sector. Even if he couldn't do it, he was going to go out big, like a true gangster. His name would become legendary as the one who stood his ground...
"Come on you bitches...You want a piece of me? Come and get it..." He uttered out, his trembling hands clenching the grip.
CRASH
Glass shattered behind him, he spun just in time to catch glimpse of a silver-haired woman diving into view. He threw his gun up at the figure, but before he could squeeze the trigger, she swished out of view in a flash.
BANG
The desert eagle blasted out its payload, the weak one-handed grip of its user doing little to tame its violent impulse. The gun flew backwards in a blink and slammed straight into his nosebridge, his nose burst into a raging torrent of crimson as the cartilage shattered.
"AAAAAHHHH" A tormented howl filled the room, the gun clattered to the floor as his hands rushed to his face.
In an instant, he was swept from his feet and taken to the floor, his hands wrenched behind his back and forced into a ziptie.
"Got a live one for you, Commander." M16 announced over the comms.
"Copy, Sixteen. Star, how's the rest of the sweep doing?"
Cracking the door open ever so slightly, she did a quick scan for a tripwire before gently shoving it open the rest of the way, raising her weapon as she briskly stepped aside, SOP moving in behind her. Sonar still showed no signatures, but that was no reason to let her guard down. A mountain of various parts and pieces had been piled inside, haphazardly tossed around with no regard for organizing anything. Jackpot.
"Garage is clear so far, Commander." She communicated over Zener.
Cautiously making her way through the dark building, she carefully peeked through every nook and cranny. Doing one final look around, she exchanged a glance with SOP, who lowered her weapon and shook her head.
"We're all clear, RO, you can start bringing the truck over." STAR declared. "SOP, see if you can get some lights on."
A few minutes later, the box truck rolled up to the station, and backed up near the garage. The rear door slid open, giving way to the Commander, who promptly hopped out of the cargo bay, and up to the gathering of T-Dolls and their prisoner, RO making her way to his side once she hopped out of the cab.
The Commander gazed down at the kneeling prisoner, his head ashamedly casted downwards. "I see you've made a new friend."
"Shoulda' joined in on the fun, Commander. These guys would of been just your speed." M16 teased.
The Commander chortled, shaking his head. "From what I saw over your Zeners, I've met grandmothers with sandals back in Mexico who were tougher than these guys."
The prisoner slowly turned his head up, looking perplexedly at his captors. "Americans...you're from Mangi? What the fuck is this?! I paid up this month!"
"You didn't pay us, so now we're going to help ourselves to a little tribute." The Commander replied dismissively.
"So Mangi's in charge of this block...That explains why thugs like this are prancing around." RO muttered.
"What the hell...who are you peop-" A forceful slap on the back of the head cut the prisoner off.
"We're asking the questions here." M16 sternly declared.
The Commander turned to M4A1, catching a glimpse of a small black-haired girl hiding behind her, appearing to be of East-Asian descent. "How's she doing?"
"A few scrapes and bruises, it doesn't look like she's eaten in a while either, not to mention that she's pretty shaken up."
"Hope these guys have some rations stowed away we can give her in the meantime. I take it Star's still taking inventory?"
M4 nodded affirmatively. "It looks like these people just tossed everything in a pile. It'll take a little bit to dig through it."
It was a long process, tools, parts, most if it had been jumbled into this heap. Still, at least progress was being made. She had already found several parts that could get the engine up and running again, that wasn't even mentioning the other stuff that they had been stowing in here - rations, batteries, ammunition. Might even have to make a second trip from the way things were looking.
She noticed a single pile of parts in a corner that had escaped her attention. Making her way over, a familiar object caught her attention.
"Doll battery cell...Hm, we could definitely use more of those."
She kneeled down to pick it up, as soon as she pulled it from the pile, the mount of parts was jarred loose, parts spilled down the sides and clattered to the floor. Feeling something knock against her foot, STAR looked down...And was greeted by a set of eyes staring back at her. A blonde head gazed blankly at the ceiling, severed wires dangled from its neck. It was than that STAR began to make out more features in the pile - arms, legs, neural cores...
"Motherfucker!" STAR exclaimed as she jolted backwards, nearly tripping as she all but jumped away from the pile, letting out a series of ragged, panicked breaths.
The Commander knelt down to the prisoner's level, his eyes falling on the familiar patch stitched to his jacket's shoulder. "Nice patch...Wheredja' get it?"
"Your mommy sew it for me." The prisoner spat.
"Oh, that's a good one." The Commander chucked insincerely. "I've been seeing those patches on a lot of dead guys lately. Why don't you fill me on this new fashion fad you guys have got going on?"
Silence.
The Commander continued. "You hauled quite a lot of gear out of that workshop you hit a couple days ago, much more than you could possibly have use for...Who's it for?"
More silence.
"We both know you're too small time to be the mastermind behind all of this...But if you want to take the fall for them, I'm not squeamish about holding you responsible..."
The side door of the garage suddenly burst open, STAR stormed outside and up to the gathering. Before anyone could say anything, a severed doll arm was tossed into the dirt before them.
Another brief wave of silence washed over the group.
"I-Is that..." M4 finally uttered.
STAR nodded, her hands clenched as she stared daggers at the prisoner. "There's a whole mound of them in that garage - butchered remains stacked up to the ceiling, tossed in a pile like fucking trash..."
The Commander's gaze shifted from the arm to the prisoner, still hanging his head down, eyes glued to the dirt in front of him.
Finally, the Commander made his way over to the young girl, and knelt down to her level. "What's your name, kiddo?"
"M-Mayling..." The girl shakily stuttered out.
The Commander turned his head to RO, and motioned her to come over.
"Mayling, this is RO. She's going to look after you for a bit while the bad man and I have a conversation for grown-ups, alright?"
"A-Alright..."
The Commander turned back to RO. "Take her back to the truck and keep her away from the windows."
RO nodded slowly, and took the girl by the arm. "Hey, come on Mayling. Let's go over here for a bit, okay? I'll look after you until the Commander gets back."
After the two began walking over towards the truck, the Commander turned back to the prisoner. "...Kidnapping and Doll trafficking...I already don't like you. I wouldn't make things worse for yourself if I were you."
After another bout of silence, STAR shook her head. "I say we truss this pussy up and drag him deeper into the zone - let him cook in the radiation for a couple hours. Bet there'll be no secrets between us then."
The man twitched at the suggestion. Finally, he began to speak. "The parts...they were for another outpost a distance away...they wanted parts to build some kind of mech or something."
"That's why you hit the workshop?" The Commander asked.
"Yes...They were going to send people to pick them up a day or so from now."
"And the girl...Who is she? Why were you holding her here?"
"We...took her from the workshop...I knew people in the Sector who have...connections. There's a market for girls like her, ones who don't have any ELID scarring especially fetch a premium..."
"You goddamned freak!" STAR snarled as she trudged forward, M4A1 extended an arm in front of her.
The Commander continued. "The doll parts, I take it that's the type of work you did before the workshop?"
"...That's how we made our money before the Varjagers took us in. They can't fight back, people pay for their parts, and there's plenty of them working on the green-zone's border. Most of the time you can just walk right up and take them..."
The tension in the air grew palpable, even M4 felt a calling inside of her to lower her arm and let her sister loose upon him.
"What?!" The Prisoner exclaimed defensively. "Who the fuck are you to judge me how I make my money, mercenary?!" The Prisoner's gaze leapt between the group encircling him before fixing on the Commander, and continued his outburst. "I bet you grew up in a fucking green-zone, didn't you? Had Mommy and Daddy around to clothe and feed you? Buy you whatever toy you wanted? Never had to worry about where your next meal will be, where you're going to sleep for the night?! Huh?! I never had such luxuries! All my life, I've had do what I have to do to survive!"
"You're a two bit thug that can only feel big terrorizing people who can't fight back. I've seen your type from here to Juarez. Even now, at the end of it all, there's no regrets, no remorse, just excuses."
"It's the natural order of things!" The Prisoner defended. "If you can't protect what you have, you lose it. The strong eat the weak, no amount of sitting on that high horse of yours is going to change it! There's no point in fighting it, you either adapt and get stronger, or you die! If I have to gobble up the people who refuse to in the process, then so be it! It's their fault for not adapting, for being too weak, too stupid to protect what's theirs! I am not going to apologize for surviving! If this way of life means that I never have to see that pissant shantytown ever again, then fine! I'll scrap a million of you tin cans before I ever go back to that!"
STAR broke free, her foot drove into the Prisoner's chest and knocked him to the ground. Without delay, the tip of her boot speared him in the stomach as M4 rushed to pull her back, before the prisoner could so much as catch his breath from the first blow, another, more forceful one slammed right into the same spot.
"Hey! Hey! HEY!" M4 cried out, grappling her under her arms and struggling to pull her back. "That's enough! You got your hit in! Now cool it!"
STAR ceased struggling, letting out a deep exhale. M4 slowly released her.
The Prisoner shrimped inwards, his face contorting before his mouth wrenched open, a stream of bile projected out of his mouth and spilled onto the ground before him, tinged with specs of crimson.
M16 gripped him by the hair and forced him back to his knees as he heaved in pain.
The Commander knelt back down. "Who's your runner? Who hired you to hit the workshop? Who's coordinating these Varjager gangs across the yellow zones?"
"I-I don't know...I swear!" The prisoner heaved out.
The Commander stood back up and motioned his head to STAR. "You want me to let my associate have another round with you?"
"I...I really don't know...I was contacted anonymously...I was warned not to try and find out...The uniforms, the weapons, the supplies in the garage...they were all delivered by a third-party. All I knew is that the jobs they had us doing paid well..."
STAR's hand inched towards the rifle dangling from her sling. "That's bad news for you."
"G-Goddammit...I helped you! I told you everything I know, what the fuck more do you want?!"
The Prisoner's gaze shifted around his captors once again, falling back onto the Commander who was leaning casually against a nearby crate.
As the Commander's eyes met the Prisoner's pleading look, he callously shrugged his shoulders. "What are you looking at me for? It's the natural order of things, it's your fault for being too weak and stupid to protect yourself...Right?"
STAR's rifle raised, the muzzle trained on the Prisoner's chest.
"W-Wai-"
BANG BANG
Two shots tore straight through his chest, he dropped forward and smacked straight into the dirt, weakly writhing and groaning as the doll stepped closer, and turned the muzzle on his head.
BANG
Blood gushed from the now deformed head, rapidly pooling around it and staining the dirt red as STAR leaned over.
"Pfuh." The doll spat before turning back to the garage. "Come on, help me load this crap up."
M16 and SOP filed behind her as they walked off, M4 hung besides the Commander.
"Commander...once we get the Elmo running again...are we going to follow up on this?"
The Commander nodded. "I'll have 12 and 94 run recon over here, when the guys who wanted these parts show up, I'll have them tail them back to their hideout...I take it you're interested in this 'Mysterious Benefactor'?"
"Mhm...Call it a 'gut feeling' as you humans say." M4 turned back to the truck. "What are we going to do about the girl?"
"We'll keep her with us for now until we can figure out a more permanent solution. I won't just turn her loose out here."
M4 let out a relieved sigh.
The Commander motioned to the garage. "Come on, let's get all this stuff loaded into the truck. I think we've all had enough of this place..."