*Earth – Iraq – Auctor’s POV*

“Ugh, why is it still so freaking hot here!?” We were sitting in a random, kind of run down, café watching a guy loading weapons into a car. There was a laugh from beside me and I looked over to my beautiful girlfriend and partner Violetta. She was smiling after she got done laughing, “It’s the Middle East doll, it’s almost always hot here.” I grumbled under my breath which brought another laugh from her.

We were the only ones in the café and the waiter had just brought us a small glass of water while we were watching the man. We were still fully suited up, but this wasn’t a surprise to any of the residents. They were used to seeing soldiers and mercenaries coming and going through town. I dropped a small pill in the water and it dissolved leaving no trace of it behind. I smiled and then took a drink of the water. The pill that I had just used was something that the wannabe Sheldon gave us at the airstrip. When you add it to a drink and it dissolved completely then there is no poison, but if it explodes like a small firecracker then the drink is poisoned.

I don’t really know how it works and neither did he, but he said that it has saved many of his man. When I tried it for the first time I wasn’t convinced, but after having it explode in my face at another café once I started to trust it more. We silently sipped our waters while we waited and after a few hours of waiting the guy was done and got in the vehicle.

Violetta stood up, “Let’s move.” I downed my water and stood up to follow her. We got in the Jeep we had sitting outside of the café and followed the truck that our mark had got in. We have been in Iraq for almost a week now and we still haven’t found the location of the base. We are really close to finding it though. The guy we are following right now is one of the weapon suppliers that make weekly trips straight to the base.

Violetta was driving while I was riding along in the passenger seat. We followed the truck at a good distance for a few dozen miles. I noticed that the truck turned off the road and headed into the desert. We pulled off of the side of the road and parked by were the truck turned. Violetta looked at me, “Your food and water good?” I checked my bag and saw that I still had a weeks’ worth of food and water. I nodded my head towards her, “Yeah.”

She pulled the car and hid it behind a sand dune so it wouldn’t be seen from the road or the direction that the truck took. We hopped out of the car and took off walking in the direction that the truck took. The base had to be within a few miles of this road, because the type of truck that was carrying the weapons really wasn’t meant for traveling across the loose sand dunes. They wouldn’t want to be too far out if the vehicle got stuck.

Our guess was correct when after two and a half miles we saw the base come into view. We both laid down behind a sand dune and pulled out a set of non-reflective binoculars. We crawled to the tip of the dune and looked towards the base. We saw the truck we were following had just been let through the gate after its inspection. Violetta pointed, “This is the base we are looking for, see that emblem on the watch tower?”

I looked at the watch tower and saw that there was an emblem painted on the side. It was a picture of a grim reaper ripping the bible in half. I nodded my head, “Seems like it.” The terrorist group that we were sent to take out was actually a fairly new group and had only been around for a few months. Their base was surprisingly well built and secure for a group that is only a few months old.

When I mentioned this to Violetta she nodded her head, “According to what I read in the intelligence file, they took over one of the bases of an old terrorist group that had been attacked by the United States military during the time they were stationed here.” I nodded my head, “That makes sense.” She was staring at me, “You didn’t read the intelligence file did you?” I put a hand on the back of my head, “No, I read it.”

She glared at me, “What is the name of the group we are attacking?” I stuttered, “The Reapers?” She sighed, “So you didn’t read it.” I shrugged my shoulders, “I looked at the pictures.” She hit me in the head with the binoculars, “The next time we get an intelligence file and you don’t read it I am going to hurt you.” I smiled, “Don’t threaten me with a good time babe.” She turned red, “You!” I quietly laughed and then looked back at the base.

We studied the base’s layout for a few hours before we decided to come up with a plan. It was quite simple actually. We decided to sneak in after dark and used silenced weapons to kill anyone that got in our way of planting the plastic explosives. After we planted our explosives we would meet up at the sand dune we were sitting on and push our buttons at the same time.

We waited on the sand dune until the sun went down. When it was completely dark we moved our way towards the base. There was a spot light on each corner of the base that was scanning back and forth. I moved towards the right side, while Violetta took the left. I moved to just outside of the lights range and put on the night vision mask that was in my bag. I also put the silencer on the weapon. I was seriously wondering why I didn’t do this back at the sand dune.

I brought my ACR up and aimed at the sniper sitting in the tower. I had the red dot on his head and when he turned around I pulled the trigger. My weapon was set on semi-automatic so a single bullet left the chamber and hit the sniper in the back of the head. He fell forward onto the platform. I waited for a second to see if anyone noticed, but nothing happened.

I snuck by the spot light and moved next to the wall. Luckily the wall was made out of sandstone, I pulled out some gloves that I had in my bag. On the palm side of the gloves where some small sharp spikes sticking out. I put them on and then pushed my hand against the wall. It took a little force, but the spikes soon penetrated the wall some.

I put a foot on the wall and then tested the strength of the spikes. They held my weight decently so I pushed up with my foot and pushed my other hand into the sandstone. Fifteen minutes later I was able to slowly peak over the wall. I looked down at the ground and noticed a guard walking next to the wall. I smiled and then looked around towards the two snipers that were left in the other towers. Violetta had already taken care of her sniper so the only ones left where the ones in the back.

They were both looking towards the horizon so I pulled myself up on top of the wall. I put the gloves up and pulled out my combat knife. I waited for a minute and when the guard was underneath me I dropped down. I landed on him and before he could scream I had stabbed my knife into the back of his throat. I pulled my knife out and then stabbed it into his head. I wiped the blood off of my knife by stabbing it in the sand and then wiping it on my pants. I sighed while thinking about having to sharpen it after this mission. Stabbing it into the sand will dull the blade pretty quickly if it is done multiple times.

I dragged the body into a corner that was shrouded in darkness. I moved towards a building that I saw was a barracks. I pulled out a spare pistol that Violetta had given me. I had my Desert Eagle on my hip, but I didn’t have a silencer for it. She had given me a M1911 and a silence before we left the sand dune. I walked forward with the gun in front of me and made it to the wall of the building.

I walked to the middle of the wall and planted an explosive charge. I then walked around the back and did the same to the other wall. I made my way around the base planting charges on a few buildings I deemed important. I found a garage after a few minutes and saw a few people playing cards at a table. I crouched against the wall and scooted closer to them. When I was close enough I quickly dispatched them with a bullet to the head. I quickly too their bodies and threw them in the back of one of the trucks.

As I was planting my charges on all of the vehicles in the garage I was seriously wondering why I wasn’t repulsed by taking their lives. The more I thought about it the more I thought it had to do with that event that happened the day after we got here.

*Six Days Ago*

“Let’s split up and gather some information dear.” came the sweet voice of Violetta walking next to me. I nodded my head, “Okay, I will take the south side of town you take the north.” She nodded her head and gave me a quick kiss before heading north. I smiled and headed towards the south side of the town we were in.

I was looking around and speaking to a couple of locals about the group we were looking for. Most of them didn’t know English and the rest were scared to talk to us. I had been asking around for a few hours, but I wasn’t able to find anything. I was about to head to the rendezvous point on the east side of town when I saw a little girl walking up to an elderly couple I had just talked to. The elderly couple was talking to the little girl and they were smiling. For some reason I thought that something felt off. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I had a feeling that something was about to happen.

It was at this moment that I realized the cruelty of the world. I noticed that the little girl started crying and I could see the color leave the couples face. I was probably a hundred and fifty yards away from them, but the fear on their face was evident. I looked back at the little girl and that’s when it happened. There was an explosion with the little girl at the center. I saw bits of red fly everywhere and the elderly couple were caught up in the explosion.

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The buildings around the explosion collapses and you could hear the screams coming from inside. I was blasted off my feet by the force of the explosion and my ears where ringing. After a few seconds I finally stood back up and a few more seconds later I was able to hear. There was screaming and crying everywhere. I heard a few cries that sounded like a baby. I looked over toward where the little girl was and there was nothing left but a small burnt crater.

I stood up and stumbled over to the crater. When I got there I saw a small ribbon floating down from the sky that was burnt on the ends. I caught the ribbon and that’s when reality hit me like a Mack Truck. I remembered that the little girl had a purple ribbon in her hair just like this one. I was overwhelmed with different emotions; there was anger, sadness, quilt, and many other emotions running through my heart right now.

I dropped to my knees and gripped the ribbon. I could feel the hot tears running down my face and I screamed. I kneeled there for a few minutes and then I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw Violetta standing next to me. She had a look of worry on her face when she spoke to me, “This is part of the reality of the universe. There are cruel people out there and they will do whatever they want, whenever they want.”

I looked down at the ribbon in my hand, “She was just a little girl.” She sighed and then wrapped her arms around me, “That’s how evil and cruel they are. Who would expect a little girl to be strapped with a bomb? It’s a daily occurrence hear and even the locals still don’t expect it.” I gripped the ribbon even harder and then I saw something a few feet away.

I stood up and walked over to what I saw. I bent down and picked it up. The thing I was holding in my other hand was a small piece of burnt metal with a burnt emblem on it. There was a grim reaper ripping the bible in half on the burnt piece of metal. I could feel the anger rising in my gut and I squeeze my hand on the metal. It surprisingly crumbled up in my hand and then fell to the ground when I dropped it. I looked towards Violetta, “Let’s go.” She nodded her head and followed me out of town.

*Present Day – Terrorist’s Base*

Thinking about that day, six days ago, I could feel the anger rising up in my gut again. I squashed it down and continued to place the charges. I checked my bag and noticed that I was down to about five charges. I looked towards the main building in the middle of the base. I headed towards the building and found the back door. I pulled on the door and it was locked. I cursed and looked around; I noticed that there were cigarette butts on the ground next to the door.

I smiled and then hid behind a few barrels a couple dozen feet from the door. After fifteen minutes there was someone that opened the door. He put a wooden block between the door and the wall and propped it open a bit. He leaned against the wall and lit his cigarette. I took aim at his head from between the barrels. I pulled the trigger and his blood mixed with some brain matter splattered on the wall.

I moved his body into the shadows and slipped into the door. The lights in the hallway were off and it was still dark. I walked down the hallway a bit and placed a charge on the wall. I found a mechanical room and cracked open the door. There was nobody in the room so I stepped in and looked around. On the far side of the room I found an old school boiler that was acting as the heating machine for the building. I smiled at my luck and placed a charge around the boiler.

I looked around for a few minutes and then left the mechanical room. I walked down the hallway and saw another guard turning the corner. I slipped into another room and waited for him to pass. After a few seconds he walked past me and I slipped back out of the room. I turned the corner that he had just come from and walked up the stairs. I was looking into the doors of the rooms and after a few minutes I finally found the room I was looking for.

There was a room that had a bed in it and there was someone sleeping in it. There were expensive items all over the room and even some stacks of cash lying around. I finally found their bosses room. I snuck over to the bed and had to fight the urge to stab my knife in his dick. I placed a charge behind the headboard to his bed and I placed one under his bed. I heard him move and I froze in my place. After a few minutes I heard him snoring again and I slid out from under the bed.

I walked over towards the computer desk on the other side of the room. I placed my last charge under the desk. I looked back at the disgusting excuse of a human being before leaving the room. I made my way through the base and back to the part of the wall I climbed in on. I checked the snipers again before I climbed my way up the wall. I dropped down on the other side and made my way back to the sand dune.

When I got there I saw that Violetta was already lying there sipping on a bottle of water. She smiled when I arrived, “Took you long enough.” I quietly laughed, “I didn’t know we were racing.” She smiled, “So when you want to push the button?” As soon as the words left her mouth there was a blaring alarm sounding out from the base. I looked back at the base and then towards her, “I guess now.”

She laughed and pulled out her detonator. I pulled mine out and we looked towards the base as we clicked the buttons. The explosion that followed put any Fourth of July celebration to shame. Fire and smoke flew into the sky and metal was falling down like meteors. There were some screams here and there, but when my charge in the boiler room went off everything went quiet.

The main building in the middle of the base exploded outwards and fire engulfed the base. The force of the blast blew out the walls of the entire base and we could feel it slightly from where we were standing. Violetta whistled, “Where did you plant your charges?” I smiled, “Boiler room of the main building had one. It was actually more explosive than I had hoped.” She laughed, “I never would have thought that they were still using a boiler to heat there building at night.”

I nodded my head and looked back at the base. The last charge had finished going off and we were left with silence and a big mushroom cloud above the base. The explosion from the boiler was enough to leave a mushroom cloud. I was a little shocked at this, but it kind of made sense. I looked over at Violetta, “I guess our mission is over?” She smiled, “Not yet.” We have to wait a little while and take care of any units that come back to base.”

I nodded my head and dug into the dune we were lying on. We spent the next few days eliminating the straggling units that were coming back to base. It wasn’t really much of a fight, they would drive up to the base and we would pick them off from the dune. Most of units coming back were recruits and weren’t really used to combat.

After a few more days of waiting there weren’t any more units coming back. We were starting to run low on food and drink anyways so we decided to head back to the Jeep. Violetta jumped in the driver’s seat and I jumped in the passenger’s. We headed back down the road towards town. We resupplied a little bit in town and started to head back to the airstrip. We were only a quarter of the way to the airstrip when I noticed a few vehicles following us.

I looked back and smiled, “We are being followed.” She checked the mirror, “By who?” I laughed while checking my ammunition. I loaded a magazine into my ACR and looked at her, “Leftovers.” I poked my body out of the window and sat on the windowsill. I aimed at the closest driver. I led the target a bit and then pulled the trigger. I didn’t have the silencer on my weapon and the gun roared while a bullet traveled across the desert.

I hit the driver of the closest truck in the head and the vehicle slammed into the one next to it. The vehicle rolled over and came to a rest. I could see the sand being kicked up by the other trucks returning fire. I pulled a grenade from my harness and pull the pin with my teeth. I held it for a second before throwing it towards one of the trucks. It hit the sand and then right when the truck drove over it, it exploded.

The car flipped forward and landed on its roof. I aimed my rifle at another truck and pulled the trigger. I missed the first couple of shots and cursed myself. It was honestly very lucky that I hit the first driver like I did. I switched the weapon to full auto and pulled the trigger. I shot about ten rounds towards the driver and finally managed for a couple to connect with his chest. The vehicle collided with another one and it flipped over as well. I had about half a mag left and I emptied it into the driver’s side window of another vehicle. Only a quarter of the remaining mag hit its mark, but it was enough for me to have to curse, “Fuck! It’s bullet proof.” The other windows on the two other trucks I shot weren’t bullet proof.

It was getting harder to aim because Violetta had to swerve a bit to not get hit so much by the bullets that were heading our way. I chunked another grenade and took out the vehicle with bullet proof windows. There were to vehicles left and I didn’t know if they had bullet proof windows. So instead of waiting ammo on the windows I shot towards the tires.

I managed to hit one of the front tires on a vehicle and it slammed into the other one. I saw a metal gas canister on the side of the vehicle with the flat and I shot it. The fumes in the tank ignited and the tank exploded taking the cars with it. I laughed and then slid back into the car. Violetta was looking at me and I smiled, “Leftovers usually always fuck with me in some way or another. They are almost as bad as the food from the local taco place in my hometown.” She laughed and shook her head while we continued towards the airstrip.

We pulled up to the guard shack at the airstrip and the guard stopped us. He noticed that it was us and then looked at the vehicle. He whistled a bit after checking it out, “You’re vehicle looks like Bonnie and Clyde’s.” We both laughed and I answered him, “Yeah, except this time we fought the law and won.” The guard had a small laughed as he signaled for the gate to be opened.

The gate opened up and we drove onto the airstrip. We made our way over to the plane that we came in on. We saw the pilot and when we pulled up he was fuming, “You guys were supposed to call me in for this? What the hell happened” I sat there smiling while Violetta tried to calm him down a bit. He was talking about some cool lines and whatnot that he had prepared.

I finally laughed and looked at him, “You do know that the character you like so much is pretty much useless in the new game right?” He sighed, “Don’t remind me okay. I am trying to keep my image of him from the second game.” I laughed and shook my head. Violetta was looking back and forth between us, “What are you guys talking about?” The pilot and I laughed before we both boarded the plane. I could hear Violetta stamp her feet as she was ignored. This caused me to laugh even more.