“Angel Ramon is next at bat for the Yankee’s. He’s had an incredible season this year for the team. A .314 avg right now and is leading the team with runs batted in.” The announcer said.

“You’re right Chris. Angel Ramon came out of nowhere. A name that practically nobody had heard of last season and was called up by General Manager Logan Shipley. Now, Ramon has come up and virtually blown the doors off the clubhouse with his performance.” The second announcer proclaimed.

“You got that right Jim, this kid has been incredible! His jersey has been flying off the shelves so much that they simply can’t keep it in stock! I would not be-”

{…} | [:::]

The icon in my Heads Up Display, (HUD) flashed. The messenger notification appeared directly next to my neurochip interface. I mentally reached over and clicked on the icon, the message appearing directly in the center of my HUD.

“Sweep, be advised. Booster is requesting immediate assistance. She can’t extract her target. She’s been compromised and they’re closing in on her. I will patch you through here in a minute.”

I read over Todd’s message and got to my feet. My hand reached over and grabbed hold of my M4 Carbine in its’ SOPMOD configuration. It was the same thing I had carried with me when I served as a Tactical Air Control Party Airman in the Air Force. My hands had spent more time on the rifle system than any woman there was on the planet. I trusted my rifle more than anything, it hadn’t failed me yet and I didn’t expect it would any time soon either.

{…} | [:::]

I proceeded towards the door but first stopped by the main operations area. My hand reached out and clicked on the computer screen, enabling the advanced security measures. My mind quickly opened up and activated my neurochips messenger application as I sent a message to the pilots. “Ripper, Drum-stick, we’re moving, get the bird going.”

Ripper immediately replied to my message. “Waiting on you sunshine!”

A soft thud as I placed my rifle down onto the break table and started to retrieve my armor plate carrier. It flopped over my body and was attached in a mere few seconds. My fingers felt the coarse grip of my Staccato P side arm as I latched onto it and pulled it up. A quick pull back on the slide and confirmed that it still had one in the chamber. I was positive, but, old habits are hard to break, and triple checks never hurt anyone.

A quick tug on the side straps of my plate carrier to keep it ultra snug on my obliques, my rifle in my hand and I was out the door. The hot and muggy, nasty ass evening air of Oman greeted me once my face crossed the doors archway. I was welcomed next by the humming sound of the MH-6 helicopters’ engine as it sprang to life. My feet stepped onto the side skid of the helicopter and I clipped my riggers belt onto the safety lanyard. The last resort should Ripper or Drum-Stick have to make some serious evasive maneuvers.

>COMM OPEN< | [:::]

The bird launched us into the evening sky. It was just over 50 miles to my insertion point. The little bird would have me there in roughly twenty minutes. The fuel tanks on the bird would give us roughly 40 minutes of availability to provide overwatch before it hit BINGO and would have to depart back to home station and refuel. I opened up my communication link and selected Boosters’ name from my drop-down menu. She accepted the comm link without delay.

“Sweep, can you hear me?” She asked.

Her voice was quiet. Practically at the level of a whisper with a slight muffled sound over top of it. I was sure she was wearing the traditional niqaab. The Muslim head dress which covered everything but her eyes. It only took me a quick second to adjust the audio setting to boost her volume inside my head space.

“I got you. You safe?” I asked.

“For the moment. I’m with the target, but they know I am somewhere in the area. They’re searching for us and have us surrounded.” She replied.

She didn’t sound scared but the frustration in her tone was clear. Booster was determined to get this target and extract her under all costs. I could clearly remember the day we were standing in the Scalpel HQ in Salem, Oregon and the mission flashed across the screen. A few other field agents said they’d take the mission, but Booster was ready to draw blood over it. There was no way she wasn’t going to leave that room unless her name was assigned to it.

My mind flashed back with the memory of the mission details. They were clear as day and I could see them practically scroll down my vision like a computer screen.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

MISSION: RECOVER THE JACKPOT

OBJECTIVE: TARGET RECOVERY & PROTECTION

LOCATION: UNKNOWN

HOME ADDRESS: 319 TUNGSTEN ST, HENDERSON, NV 89015

REQUEST: FIND & RECOVER

TARGET: GINES, HANNAH A

AGE: 15

HEIGHT: 5’ 2”

WEIGHT: 105 lbs

ATTIRE: LAST SEEN WEARING BLUE HOODIE, BLACK LEGGINS

CLIENT: GINES, JEREMY (FATHER)

TIMEFRAME: ASAP

COMPENSATION: SUBSTANCIAL

INTEL: GINES, H was abducted in Las Vegas on 5 SEP at approx. 1923 HRS. GINES, H cell phone was discovered 5 blocks away from her abduction site. GINES, H/was enticed by a social media account to meet on the Las Vegas strip. The social media account utilized to communicate with GINES, H appeared to already have a buyer lined up through the dark web communication message boards known as FUNNEL. The FUNNEL account appears to be the third party who is coordinating a potential buyer for GINES, H.

OBJECTIVE: Utilize SCALPEL resources to continue to track target location. Proceed towards target identified location. Recover GINES, H and protect at all costs until delivered to CLIENT: GINES, J.

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Booster had worked around the clock to try and locate and triangulate Gines exact location. The third-party buyers that utilized the FUNNEL system were quite versed in staying off the radar. Booster had hit their home location where the computer systems that coordinated everything were located. The site had no signs of Gines though. Booster continued to dive further down and into the sewer tunnels of the black market and human trafficking rings until she finally had a solid lead.

That was what led us to the outskirts of fucking Gaz, Iran. Booster had spent practically a month to work her way into the local community. We were glad that she had gotten the mission then. A woman had a much easier time of infiltrating Muslim communities, especially ones on more of the extreme end such as Iran.

The full head garb gave her the ability to walk right down the street and nobody would tell she was an American. The neurochips implanted in our heads made things even easier with the auto translation function. Though it got wonky in some areas when it attempted to decipher local dialects and idioms, it was still accurate enough for us to normally squeak by. Booster could easily just nod her head as a response to anything that came her way.

“Where are you currently?” I asked Booster.

The helicopter was now streaking across the Straight of Hormuz as fast as the bird would go. Ripper and Drum-Stick had already programmed the GPS coordinates into their navigational aids. We were headed straight for our initial insertion point that we discussed earlier in the day.

“We’re down inside the well. The one that is located in the center of the courtyard.” Booster replied.

Shit… I thought to myself as my mind went back over the satellite imagery of the location. There was no telling why Booster had hidden themselves down in the well, but if she did, there was a damn good reason for it. She was the agent on the ground, out in the field. She made the choice that she felt was best within that moment. I as the Arch Angel Team Leader had a sole responsibility once I was called into support. Get them out at all costs.

“Got it. Be advised. I will be coming in from the south side of the compound.” I informed her.

“This could get hot real quick Sweep.” She warned.

“What are you talking about?”

“A platoon of soldiers from the Iranian 1st Marine Brigade out of Bandar Abbas arrived just down the street in Mastu earlier in the evening. They’ve already sent a servant out to warn the soldiers of their suspicions and to pay them to help search the surrounding areas for us.” Booster replied.

“Well, aren’t those silly ducks in for a bunch of fun.” I said in my usual sarcastic tone.

I started to mentally go over the different moving pieces this now presented to our giant jigsaw puzzle. My mind went over and muted the comm link with Booster and opened one with both Ripper and Drum-Stick’s. The last thing I wanted was my pilots being taken by surprise if we swooped into the area to only be greeted by tracers streaking all around us like a god damn space battle.

“Booster relays that a platoon of Iranians from 1st Marine Brigade are right down the road from our insertion point. Additionally, we know the businessmen had at least 50 thugs on his pay roll. We are not sure how many are on site, but, needless to say, I would assume we’re going to unlock a kill streak or two tonight boys.”

“Fuck’n A Sweep!” They both replied in practical unison.

Those were my boys though. I had specifically selected Ripper and Drum-Stick when they came on board with Scalpel. Both had flown together for nearly 13 years with the Army’s elite 160th Night Stalkers. The best of the best when it came to rotary wing aviation. There was nothing these two wouldn’t do for me, or my team.

My eyes squinted and I narrowed in on the horizon. I could see the soft, faint glow of lights in the distance. The bird started to dive down towards the deck of the earth at an aggressive angle. I knew we were close.

“2 Mike” Ripper came over my mindscape through our comm link.

“Copy” I replied.

I switched over and unmuted my comm link with Booster. Another quick mental adjustment and now she was on the same comm link channel as the pilots. “2 Mike, inserting now. Going silent.” I informed her.

Ripper had adjusted our course so we would approach the compound from the south. There was a small two story building just outside the compound’s walls. Our intel informed us the building was being utilized as a sleeping quarters for Darius Heydari’s guards.

Darius Heydari, or otherwise known as Sleeper. His nickname had been given to him by Interpole, for he was in bed with everyone he could be. The Russian’s, Chinese, North Korea, Israel, Sudan, France, Germany, Brazil… and the list went on. This fucker was as dirty as you could get. He had a very distinct taste and preference for young light skinned women we found out though. His only mistake was that this victim’s dad had money and connections.

The agency and Booster didn’t go down the long historical records to find out how many victims had already suffered under him. All we knew is that it was going to end tonight. Either by Booster’s hand, or my own. Booster was a viper in one regard and a ninja in other regards. She had been a go-to field agent when it came to stealth missions. In my experience though, not all situations turn out the way you plan them. That’s when you call for one of us Arch Angel’s to assist, or as I like to call us, the fucking hammers of God.

My hand reached down and unclipped my safety lanyard. I could see the rooftop of the building that I was going to insert on. I told my neurochip to start recording my visual feed, because I knew this insertion was going to be fucking epic with Ripper behind the stick.

I had a smirk on my face and I was ready to get to work. My gaze focused on the rooftop when I saw the small flicker of flame leap upwards into the night. The glow against the targets face told me he was lighting up a cigarette on the roof top.

My hand raised my rifle up and I wrapped left arm around the small hand hold. My red dot focused directly on his upper torso, my finger quickly slid down and the pad of my finger greeted the cool metal of my trigger.

My finger squeezed back without hesitation, and I heard the small snap of my rounds fire off. Jack back at Scalpel had made sure to get my rifle fitted with the new graphene composite infused suppressor. The accessory took my deadliness to a whole new level.

I watched as all three of my rounds slammed into Target 1’s chest. His body fell onto the rooftop with a louder thud than what my shots had produced. The bird was now a mere 10 feet from the top of the two-story dwelling. Ripper tore the helicopter through the air as he sped directly over the rooftop. My foot left the skid, and I dove into a baseball slide against the small dirt and dust coating which remained over the surface.

The bird had arched back and was already gone by the time my feet caught a rough patch and I launched myself back upright. I noticed there were three other bed mats laying on top of the roof. Target 1’s body lay just off to the side of them. I assumed Target 1 had headed up here in preparation to call it a night. The other two mats warned there would be another two targets, at least, with the same plan as corpse I now stood over.

My muzzle guided my body in an arch as I swung over to my right. A small cutout in the roof was off to the side. The end of the ladder which granted access to the second floor protruded upward. I quickly walked towards the opening; my red dot guided my steps as I kept it focused on the final rung. I was practically two feet away from the exposed hole when I saw a hand reach up and latch onto the rung.

I dropped my knee down onto the rooftop and waited. It was a mere three seconds before Target 2 exposed his head. My finger squeezed back on my trigger with ease. His head snapped forward and collided with the ladder. Target 2’s body began to fall downward as gravity did the rest. A loud cry rang out from the second floor and I quickly darted up and stood over the opening.

My red dot narrowed in on Target 3 who struggled to shove off Target 2’s corpse as they lay there in a giant heap. A smooth squeeze from my finger and my rounds sent Target 3’s head bobbing backwards in rapid succession as two rounds punched through his forehead. My left hand guided my rifle off to my left side, the sides of my feet squeezed on the exterior sides of the ladder and I slid down into the unknown.

I landed on the piled carcasses and was greeted by two screams as my body instantly snapped around to scan the rest of the area. Two darkened figures darted out of the room as my right hand immediately latched onto the pistol grip of my rifle. My left hand brought my muzzle back and into my shoulder’s crux. My left thumb pressing down on my tac light which was attached to my front picatinny rail. The room was instantly bathed in blinding white light and exposed the remainder of the room. Clear of threats.

The screams continued down the hallway of the house, and I was positive the two darkened silhouettes that had evaded my arrival were the sources. The area was quickly being awakened to my presence. I could hear their chatter continuing down to the first story and what I felt was outside. I quickly dashed over to a window which was directly in front of my position.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

An exterior streetlight illuminated the two fleeing individuals. My red dot instantly centered on the first one and I squeezed back without mercy. Three rounds punched into her upper torso, and I shifted my aim to the second. It only took two rounds for her to meet the same fate.

My ears latched onto the sounds of thudded footsteps. The all too familiar sound of them lunging up steps in an undisciplined manner. I quickly shifted back towards the hallway entrance and glided carefully over towards the fatal funnel. I planted my right foot directly against the wall and then leaned back on my left knee, my rifle shifted over into my left shoulder as I bent over at my waist.

I then counted down after two seconds and as I heard the commotion arrive at the final few feet before the threshold, I leaned forward enough to catch a shooting angle on the corridor. My left finger quickly pulled back in rapid succession as my red dot shifted from the first target all the way to the one at the back of their staggered column. The four targets accordioned backwards and onto each other as my 5.56 millimeter rounds created a pile of Swiss cheese.

I could hear one of them as they gurgled for air. Their suffering was ended quickly as I gave each corpse an extra round to the head as I drifted past them. My ammunition display in my HUD showed my magazine was spent after the final gifts imparted into their heads. A quick reload brought my display back to full as I slammed the bolt of my rifle back forward. At the end of the hallway where I now stood, there were two rooms, one to my left and the other to my right.

My right foot launched the door back as I blitzed into the room on the left. Nothing. A quick flash of my tac light showed it was nothing more than an office. I then darted across the way and I shoulder checked the door open and pressed into the center of the room. I was greeted by a storage room with random household goods.

“Sweep… there is a lot more commotion going on. It sounds like people are rushing about the area. Some of the individuals are asking where certain people are. I am assuming they are looking for guards you may have just taken out. The poison I slipped into Heydari’s drink should have taken effect by now as well.” Booster whispered in my ear.

I mentally texted her back, “Copy.”

There was a chance that I still had targets within the guard house, and I didn’t want to risk giving anything more away than what I needed to. My feet guided me down the stairs and I hated the fact that I would be exposed for a brief period. I crouched down and scanned the bottom floor, but I couldn’t see anything. My body finally took the plunge and rushed down as fast but as quietly as I could.

The first floor was empty upon my arrival on the stairwell platform. My muzzle swept around, and I cleared the rest of the lower level. It was clear and I found nothing else of any further importance. I proceeded over to the main entryway and found the door had been left completely open upon the women’s departure. I gazed outside and towards the target compound. Three male individuals appeared to have just arrived at the bodies of the women who now laid prone out in the middle of the street between the two structures.

My red dot focused on the one who appeared to be the leader. His hand waved about and gave commands to the others up and until the point that his head exploded with pink mist. My trigger finger continued to squeeze back in its smooth, but rapid succession as the other two quickly dropped one after the other.

The final body to fall alongside his comrades had pulled back on his trigger and sent a volley of 7.62 mm ammunition pounding into the earth in front of him. The chopping sound of the AK-47 echoed out into the night like a rallying cry to everyone else around. My eyes caught sight of a small pickup truck roughly 100 ft away from the intersection, nestled up along side the wall and I pressed ahead towards it.

FUCK! I screamed internally as things just became more exciting with each round that was fired off before the weapon stopped. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit –

“Well, that is one way to get their attention!” Booster quietly snapped at me in our comm link.

There was no point in being quiet any longer. I proceeded down the west facing exterior wall of the compound and could easily hear the commotion come from inside the complex. The interior portion now appeared to be fully prepared to receive me, or whoever they had assumed I was as I attempted to gain entry. My hand grabbed hold of one of my flashbangs and pulled the pin. I lobbed it directly over the wall and did my best to angle it away from the wall I currently attempted to overcome.

The device erupted and caused a few loud cries to bellow out immediately after. I was now at the tailgate of the small pickup truck and climbed up into the bed, and then made my way on top of the cab roof. I quickly scanned the rooftop of the main house inside. Two targets stood on the edge of the rooftop and actively scanned about the area in search of the threat coming for them. My red dot centered on the first ones chest and I squeezed back on the trigger. Two rounds punched into him, he hunched over immediately as his body fell over the small rooftop wall.

His counter part caught sight of me and began to raise his rifle up towards me. His head snapped back before he had a chance to engage me. I didn’t wait to confirm his death but proceeded to scan the rest of the roofline. Clear. I lowered my rifle off to the side and reached out with my hands. I latched onto the top of the exterior wall and with a quick leap was launched over the wall and entered the interior portion of the complex.

“Two targets, left side” Ripper said in my head.

My feet thudded upon the earth and my rifle was back in my shoulder as quickly as I could manage. The two targets to my left had seen my arrival. They started to unload a volley of gunfire towards me. Their rounds cracked all around me as they began their engagement. A few rounds skidded down the side of the wall as they ricocheted in my direction, small chunks of mud and bricks sputtered out as they did.

My finger started to rapidly pull back on my trigger. I started to slice up the center line of the first targets body. The wall directly behind him splattered with bright red blood as rounds ruptured the backside of his skull clean open. The second target tried to dart away and behind cover. He didn’t make it. My round punched clean through his cheeks, shattered his jaw, and spewed chunks of flesh and bone out in front of him as he fell towards the ground. My final round punched directly through his throat, and he remained lifeless upon the tiled walkway.

“Vehicle approaching, directly across the compound from you. Opposite side of the wall.” Ripper warned me.

As soon as his warning entered my headspace, I could hear a vehicle roaring into the alleyway and come to a screeching halt. I turned and faced that direction. My eyes narrowed in on a solid metal door that was in the wall. They had left the headlights the vehicle on. The dust was kicked up and lofted all around the vehicle. The reinforcements didn’t realize their shadows were being cast within the dust cloud and I could at least count five separate shadows that were now working to get the door unlatched and opened.

I reached down and found my high fragmentation grenade. My right-hand grabbed hold of it like a baseball and in one fluid motion, I launched it towards the doorway. My site focused back on the fatal funnel as I saw the door burst open and a string of bodies come barreling inside. I didn’t fire right away, I waited for them to clammer inside the wall.

The countdown in my head told me now was the time and I squeezed back on my trigger and started to shred the first target in their formation with rounds. His body danced backwards and was pelted against the wall. The others directly behind him all froze and looked about in an effort to find their attacker. My grenade exploded immediately after and not a single one stood back up once the dust settled.

“They look to be down Sweep.” Ripper told me.

“Thanks.” I replied.

“Shit! You might want to hurry Sweep. That grenade seemed to be too tempting for that Marine Brigade. We have some movement off to the north-west. I’d say it’s safe to say they’ll be coming your way sooner rather than later.” Ripper updated me.

Ripper, Drum-Stick and I had all done this before. They knew they were our only way out of this shithole. They had a small arsenal on board the bird, but would only come tearing in if we truly needed it. His aerial overwatch was exactly what I needed right now. My remote analyst Todd could have utilized our back door feed into the satellites streaking above us in the upper atmosphere. But there was something about having that close range surveillance that you couldn’t beat.

“Got it.” I confirmed.

I did a quick reload and launched myself towards the main building. There was a small passthrough which connected the yard to the inner courtyard area. I stayed in the passageway and slowly scanned over the area. There was a well directly at the center and I was positive that was the one Booster was in.

“Ripper, anything on thermals?” I asked.

“Only thing we’re seeing in the courtyard is Booster’s heat signature glowing from the tube of the well, and your heat slowly emitting from the passthrough.” He replied.

“Tango.”

After Ripper confirmed what my eyes had also seen I pressed forward and I arrived at the well. A quick glance down inside and I found two sets of eyes reflecting up at me from the moonlight. The clouds had rolled back for a brief moment and let the full moon fill the area. I hated these nights for this specific reason. There is no better friend than darkness on nights like tonight.

“Well your game of hide and seek was a success Booster. Now how about we play the game of let’s get the fuck out of here?”

I could see a head shake slightly. “Will you just start lifting up the damn bucket?”

Hannah was already standing inside the water bucket and I started to crank down on the handle and hoist her up. I got her safe and sound next to me top side and followed suit with Booster. I handed my pistol over to Booster and she quickly removed the traditional Arabic garb she had worn as her disguise.

“Jackpot, I repeat, Jackpot” I said over the comm link.

“Hell yeah!” Ripper replied.

I looked at the women knelt down before me. “Alright… let’s go!”

We stood back up and started to return the way I had come. Booster was taking up the rear security with my pistol, Hannah directly in-between us. I could hear the hum of the little bird off to the east and knew Ripper would be bringing the bird down soon. We made it into the main area of the back compound to only hear his message warn us.

“Sweep, vehicle inbound! You have five coming through the courtyard and headed towards you!” Ripper’s voice rang out in a fearful alarm.

“Clear to engage Ripper!” I called back as I snapped around and fixed my red dot on the left side of the dwelling.

I heard the little bird whip around in the air above us and within a few seconds her the buzz followed by the roar of the miniguns come to life. The 4 to 1 tracer ratio in the miniguns ammunition lit of the sky like a god damn laser beam. It was almost immediately after the guns sprang to life that a giant explosion erupted. A massive fireball heaved upwards into the night sky a short distance down the roadway from our compound.

“Truck is neutralized.” Ripper said.

The clouds began to roll back in and covered the moonlight. The fire from the truck, however, started to glow throughout the area. The luminance still provided our pursuers with assistance as we found cover behind some large wooden crates. My neurochip translated the wording on the wooden paneling. ‘Fruit’

Well… it’s not as good as concrete but it’s better than fucking nothing. I mentally told myself. Booster immediately started to open fire and began to engage targets that approached us on our right side. It was almost at the same time that two targets poured out the left side of the home. My finger squeezed back and our guns began to match each other’s battle rhythm.

“I’m out!” Booster yelled over to me.

My hand reached down, and I grabbed hold of my other three pistol magazines. She latched onto them and did a reload while stuffing the other two in her back pants pocket. She was back up and gunning when she suddenly stopped and screamed out.

“INCOMING!”

My brain didn’t register her warning but naturally flinched as the rocket propelled grenade streaked over our location and missed by no more than a foot. The back wall exploded behind us as the round took a massive chunk out of the wall.

A lucky round from one of the sons-of-bitches then punched me in my left shoulder. I ducted down behind the fucking produce crate as more tracer rounds streaked all around us. My shoulder felt like it had been hit with a hammer, the pain quickly shooting down my arm and over into my chest. Thankfully my neurochip was already engaged and worked to dissipate the pain receptors in my body.

I was done playing games though and was ready to be out of this mess. “Ripper… bring the fucking rain!”

There was no audible response from Ripper or Drumstick; we saw it first over our heads as the pulsating neon red tracer rounds streaked through the sky mercilessly. The swoosh sounds of the 2.75 inch rockets followed up soon afterwards and our ear drums rang out from the concussive blasts of their impacts upon our pursuers.

The entire south side of the home was now in practical ruins as nothing, but crumbled bricks and shattered plaster remained as a giant cloud of dust, dirt, and smoke filled the area. I instantly grabbed hold of Hannah and helped her up as we bolted for the wall. The smoke from the explosions was the best concealment we could have asked for. I launched Hannah up and over the partially crumbled wall portion where the rocket grenade round had impacted. Booster was next and then me.

We waited outside the wall and covered our position. My head leaned around the corner, I gazed down the street and caught site of the burning truck. I could see a few of the bodies lying on the dirt road next to it, their bodies were still burning like human candles. It was the headlights down the road beyond the lit truck that worried me.

“We’ve got incoming Ripper, we need to hurry.” I warned.

The little bird was already on top of it though and landed only seconds later. Booster and I helped Hannah get into the chopper and quickly buckled her in. Booster sat next to her but I stayed on the skids and latched my safety clip on. We didn’t have time to waste, and we were already cutting it close with another group of reinforcements getting closer by the second.

“We’re good!” I called out.

The engines roared to life, and we were vertical as fast as the bird could safely take us. My head twisted back just in time to see the newly arriving vehicles began to unload more troops than we would have been able to handle. We were lucky, far more than what I wanted to admit. It was Booster’s call to take this mission and accept the risk that she had. Hannah was too important to her and she wouldn’t take the chance of having her sold off again, or worse yet, killed.

>COMM CLOSED< | [:::]

{…} | [:::]

I closed out the comm link and switched back to the messenger application in my HUD. The names dropped down, and I mentally clicked on Todd’s name.

“Todd you there?” I asked.

“Yo.”

“Jackpot. On route to base now. We’ll refuel and head to Dubai International. Make sure the bird is ready to take Booster and package back to the states.” I instructed.

“What about the rest of Delta Group?” He asked.

“What is the status of their missions?” I inquired.

“All we have left out in the field is LDS and Skippy. The status I am getting from Nate and Cliff is that their almost done with their missions. No concerns. Everyone else is standing by for further instructions.” Todd updated me.

“Good copy. Send out notifications to Delta Group that we’re heading out. I want everyone to rally up at Headquarters in Salem.” I instructed.

“Roger.” Todd replied.

----------------------------------------

|||MISSION ACCOMPLISHED^|||

\SKILL ACHIEVED: HELO INSERTION – LEVEL 9/

[|]WEAPON SKILL PROGRESSION: RIFLES – LEVEL 9 [|]

[|]WEAPON SKILL PROGRESSION: RIFLES \ SUBSKILL SEMI-AUTO – LEVEL 8 [|]

The notification flashed into my HUD once we landed back at our compound. Ripper and Drum-stick immediately went to refuel the chopper as I darted inside and packed my items back together in my small backpack. It was only a few minutes that we were on the ground before we were back off and flying towards the airport.

The Scalpel Aircraft was already spun up with the engines whining away in their pre-flight sequence. Todd had coordinated with our remote pilot Eli Gardner and she was ready to fly us back home. Booster helped get Hannah squared away inside the plane with one of the spare sleeping quarters. We made sure she got a nice hot shower and a new set of clothes that we had laying around in our general use items.

Thankfully the plane was still stocked with a good amount of food and provisions from our trip out to the area. Booster and I worked together to make a quick meal for our new guest. A bowl of rice and some grilled steak strips. Overall, it wasn’t too bad given the circumstances.

Booster went up to the command center room at the front of the plane and began typing up her report for the analysts at Scalpel to pour over. She and I would have our own After Actions Report and Analysis together, but it was nothing pressing and I was in need of some rest. As my head crashed on top of the pillow I opened up my neurochip interface and looked over my stats screen.

<<

{SS} | S (A5)(E7)(R7) | D (A5)(B5)(H5)(S5) |

Journeyman… Level 4. Shit, I could remember when I was Novice, Level 1. I was one of the first agents to receive the neurochip implant when Brian Nordon had created them at Scalpel. Being one of the first gave me the advantage of building up my skills faster than the others. There was a few draw backs here and there, but overall I couldn’t complain.

It was crazy though to see all the years of hard work culminated in two small lines of text. My Agent Attribute of Steal Skin, indicated by the {SS} had come in clutch on a multitude of mission. The protocol which continued to override my pain receptors and practically reprogram them overtime allowed me to do what I did tonight.

My right hand reached up and grabbed hold of my shoulder. I could tell it was bruised by the discoloration of the skin, but to my mind, I felt like normal. That was the power of the Steal Skin attribute at work.

I couldn’t help but chuckle as my Neurochip Enhancements rattled off to each side also. Brian always loved to give me a hard time regarding them. With four primary categories of Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Wisdom; it was always comical that the majority of my field agents in Delta Group all primarily chose the same as me. Heavy in the Strength and Dexterity categories.

I did ensure, however, that I balanced out my enhancements within the two categories. 5 points were added to my Athletics, 7 points to my Endurance, and 7 Points to my Resilience. My Dexterity class was even more rounded out with 5 points in Acrobatics, 5 points in Balance, 5 points in Sleight of Hand, and finally 5 points in Stealth.

Though I appreciated what the Intelligence and Wisdom categories could assist an agent with. The fact remained that an Arch Angel was the team member who came in to save and rescue the others when shit got bad, really bad. In the years I had been serving in my position, there really wasn’t a big need to have those two categories when most of the phone calls I got from my team members could be summed up to, ‘Situational Normal All Fucked Up!’

{…} | [:::]

I dismissed my status screen and let out a long exhale as I closed my eyes. The peace was short lived as my message notification chimed in my mindscape and I mentally gazed at the icon. A slight grunt came out of me as I dreaded what the message might entail.

“Good job out there Sweep.” Brian said.

I mentally started to tap away my reply. “Thanks, one down and more to come.”

“Well we didn’t want to wait to inform the family, especially given the circumstances of this mission. You all did good out there.” Brian continued.

“All the credit goes to Booster. She is the one who tracked Hannah down and didn’t let up until she found her. I was just along for the ride with the air taxi.” I smiled at my response.

“I do have some other, really, really great news also!” Brian continued.

“Scalpel is finally giving me the pay raise I’ve been asking for?” I asked.

“Trevor is awake!” Brian countered.

“What? Are you serious?” I quickly sat up in bed, not really believing what I had read.

“Yes! He just came out of his coma roughly 30 minutes ago.” Brian continued.

“Is he okay? How is he doing?” I got out of bed and started to make my way to Booster.

“He is okay, but there is somewhat of a downside. He doesn’t remember anything regarding Scalpel at all and has to start back at Novice – Level 1. But, other than that he is good.” Brian finished.

I walked into the doorway of the command room. My eyes were wide with the information Brian had just told me. Booster was locked onto the computer screen but finally turned to look at me. Her head reared back slightly as she looked over my expression.

“What is it?” She asked.

“Bloodbath is back!”

The story continues in CALLSIGN: BLOODBATH, A Scalpel Chronicle: Book 1