Chapter 26 - The deal...

Nicole: Come on!! Step on it!! You’re getting soaked!! [br]
Blain: Hold up!! [br]
Nicole: You’re lagging!! Haha!! [br]
Blain: What’s the point in running if we’re already soaked?!![br]
Nicole: I have no idea!! Just keep on running!! Whoooo!! [br]
Blain: I’m actually beginning to think the rain is starting to get nice if it keeps on going like this!! [br]
[br]
Nicole: I haven’t seen it raining like this for years!! [br]
Blain: I’ve never seen it raining like this at all!! [br]
Nicole: We can take shelter in that tree over there!! Come on!! Jump up!! [br]
Blain: I can’t jump that high!! [br]
Nicole: I’ll jump first and give you a hand!! [br]
Blain: Ok!! Just hurry up!! [br]
Nicole: Reach it!! Yeah!! There you go!! Haha!! [br]
Blain: Whoa!! [br]
Nicole: Don’t slip!! [br]
Blain: The tree isn’t doing any good, you know!! I’m still getting soaked!! [br]
Nicole: Then sit over here! It’s dryer![br]
[br]
Blain: Hehe… [br]
Nicole: *smiles* [br]
Blain: *smiles back*[br]
Nicole: It might take a while before the rain stops you know… [br]
Blain: Yeah… [br]
Nicole: Hehe… [br]
Blain: Well, I don’t really mind… [br]
Nicole: What, being soaked…? [br]
Blain: Yeah… [br]
Nicole: Why is that…? *smiles* [br]
Blain: Because I’m here with you… [br]
Nicole: Aww… You can be really sweet some times, you know that…? [br]
Blain: Thanks… I guess, hehe… [br]
Nicole: You know… [br]
Blain: What…? [br]
Nicole: I know you only for like a year now but… It feels so much longer then that…[br]
Blain: Yeah… Did you ever think of how it turned out like this…? Because I never imagined I’d be with you…[br]
[br]
Nicole: No… But I’m not complaining… I got everything I want right here in my arms… That’s all I ever needed… [br]
[br]
Blain: Same here… [br]
Nicole: Blain…? [br]
Blain: Yeah…? [br]
Nicole: … Can I kiss you…? [br]
Blain: You still need to ask…? *smiles* [br]
Nicole: Naaah… [br]
Blain: Hehehe… [br]
Nicole: Pucker up, pincushion! [br]
Blain: Whoa, whoa, whoa!! [br]
Nicole: Whoa!![br]
Blain: *lifts Nicole back up the branch* Don’t slip… [br]
Nicole: Eh… Hehe… Let’s just forget that happened… [br]
Blain: … No… *kisses Nicole* [br]
Nicole: *kisses Blain* [br]
Blain: Maybe I could use a laugh… [br]
Nicole: … [br]
Blain: Hehehe… *gets pushed of the branched* Whoa!!! [br]
Nicole: Maybe I could use a laugh too! Whaha! Come on… *reaches out hand* [br]
Blain: *climbs in the tree again* [br]
Nicole: I’m sorry… Hehehe… *kisses Blain again*[br]
Blain: *smiles*[br]
[br]
That was one of the many memories I had with Nicole… Every now and then, my eyes closed and I could picture everything again of how things used to be with her. I’ve been thinking about her for hours in bed, trying to catch any sleep. The difficult things to remember was her voice whenever she was comforting me… Whenever I had a serious conversation with her, she always talked quietly… It’s something I can’t really explain… You gotta hear it to understand… She never looked you in the eyes when you were having a serious conversation with her… But she always managed to say the right things to make you feel better… And I had the feeling I had the same with her… It made me wish she was here right now, so that I could tell her everything I ever wanted to tell her… I never had the guts to speak up, but she knew I loved her… [br]
[br]
Blain: You often think about the future Nicole?[br]
Nicole: Nope… I’ll just live every day like it’s my last and not worry about the next, because the next day has its own worries…[br]
[br]
Blain: Yeah but, don’t you think about how you’ll end up in ten years, or even twenty years, or… Maybe even in thirty years…?[br]
[br]
Nicole: Of course I do…[br]
Blain: Really…?[br]
Nicole: Yeah… I know I’ll be old. I might have a kid… Maybe even two… I might even be married even though I can’t really imagine that…[br]
[br]
Blain: But what if those things are never to be realized…?[br]
Nicole: How would you know…?[br]
Blain: Well…[br]
Nicole: How do you know that it’s not gonna be realized…?[br]
Blain: …[br]
Nicole: Exactly… Maybe it doesn’t go the way I planned... Maybe there are lots of things that are not gonna be realized in 30 years… Hell, maybe I’m dead in thirty years... But I know that at least one thing will be realized…[br]
[br]
Blain: Which is…?[br]
[br]
Nicole: I don’t know… That’s the point... Maybe I’m way different in thirty years… I bet you never thought you would end up like this with me on a porch talking about the future… I guess that indicates how much you changed over the years…[br]
[br]
Blain: Yeah… I never imagined that…[br]
Nicole: Hehe…[br]
[br]
That conversation was the one I remembered the most… And she was right… Everything she said was true… If I knew back then of the things happening now, I would have made different choices in the past… I wish she was here… Even if it was for just five minutes… I wanted to see her, hear her, feel her… To touch her long hair and feel her soft fur… To tell her everything I ever wanted to say to her… Maybe she could hear my soft crying over her… Maybe she knew I missed her a lot, and that a part of me died with her… What am I going to do after the war is over without her…? I’m thirty nine years old now… The Chaos Drive that keeps me alive only works for another thirty eight years… I cant live that long without her… I need her more then anything else… And every time I realized that she’s not coming back, I felt loneliness… Like her… She was scared to be alone as much as I hated to be alone… And over the months, I found out and that’s why we became dependent on each other… I’ll see her again one day, along with everyone else I lost over the years… But not yet… Not just yet… [br]
[br]
Tomorrow night would be the night that the war ends. Maybe that was the reason why I couldn’t sleep. Besides thinking of Nicole all the time, I also thought what to do after everything ended… I would have to start all over again… And it wasn’t something I was thrilled to do… It was a difficult time back then and I don’t want to experience it again… [br]
[br]
The next day, I wasn’t really myself for some reason… I had to stay sharp and alert because tonight was the night that everything would end. Nothing should go wrong. I sat at a table, nervously twiddling a pen through my fingers. I nervously jumped up immediately when I felt a hand on my shoulder… [br]
[br]
Blain: Shifty?! [br]
Shifty: Hello sarge… [br]
Blain: It’s good to see you again! [br]
Shifty: Yeah, likewise, sir! With all due respect, but you’ve become a nervewreck… [br]
Tavish: Hell, you can expect the same reaction from me if I saw your face… [br]
Shifty: Piss off, I just got out of the sickbay, gimme a break here. [br]
Blain: You just got out…? [br]
Shifty: Yeah… I missed a lot of action. And I hear everyone saying the war is gonna end tonight, so I guess no action for me. [br]
[br]
Blain: Well I hope so… What’s the plan then? [br]
Shifty: Jarod shows me around and introduce me to the new guys and- Helloooooo… [br]
[br]
I turned around and noticed Vilani standing behind me… [br]
[br]
Vilani: Eh… Hi. [br]
Shifty: And who is this fiiiiiiiiiiiine looking feline?[br]
Jarod: … That would be your commanding officer. [br]
Vilani: MNAD Second Flight Lieutenant Vilani. [br]
Shifty: … No shoot…? [br]
Vilani: … No shoot… The stripes don’t lie. Stand in attention when I’m talking to you. [br]
Shifty: Yes ma’am! *salutes* [br]
Vilani: What you just said is considered to be an offensive against a superior officer. State your rank, name and regiment. [br]
[br]
Shifty: Private Shifty, 506^th regiment, ma’am! [br]
Vilani: You haven’t heard the last of me, private Shifty. Continue as you were. [br]
[br]
Vilani kept on having a serious expression when she walked away… And as she walked passed Jarod and me, I noticed she had trouble holding her laughter. Then we all just laughed at Shifty… [br]
[br]
Shifty: What?! You could have said it sooner that she was a lieutenant!! [br]
Jarod: Dude, she’s messing with you! *laughs* [br]
Shifty: … You sure? [br]
Jarod: Yeah!! *laughs* [br]
Shifty: frack, dude! I almost shat my pants here!![br]
[br]
Then we laughed even louder… [br]
[br]
A few hours passed by while Jarod, Shifty, Tavish and me sat around the table, informing Shifty of everything. He was really stunned by the things he we told him, and even though nothing really made sense, it does shed a light on certain things… [br]
[br]
Shifty: So where’s Rico…? [br]
Tavish: Rico is out in the field with Regan as a medical advisor. They’ve been gone for two weeks now. [br]
[br]
Blain: Yeah. They keep having contact every few hours to let us know of their situation. Also, unmanned aerial flight is available to them, so no worries. [br]
[br]
Shifty: *nods* [br]
[br]
Then it stayed silent for a while again… [br]
[br]
Shifty: How come everyone knows for sure that the war will end tonight…? [br]
Tavish: Because, Scyth is send in there alone to keep to the bargain. After a positive ID on Miller, he takes Miller out as we take out Zakhaev. Then the most important political bastards are out of the way, and we watch how the human regime will rumble… [br]
[br]
Shifty: You so sure about it…? [br]
Blain: Well the government is based a Junta one… If the military hierarchs collapse like a house of card, it’ll be all over soon. [br]
[br]
Shifty: … Yeah… I guess… [br]
[br]
It stayed silent again for a while… I guess everyone was a little tired of the things happening for the last few weeks and this was our first time we get to relax a bit. But then again, we were bored a hell and tonight we would get to see action. No one was really nervous but just… Bored… I kept on chewing on bubblegum as Tavish was chewing on a toothpick. Shifty kept on making irritating sounds as Jarod just stared blankly into space. After I followed his eye movements for a while, I noticed he kept on staring at Vilani, who was… Doing something I didn’t know. She kept on walking around and talked to people… And at some point, everyone noticed Jarod was staring at Vilani… [br]
[br]
Shifty: You like her, don’t you? [br]
Jarod: Yeah- I mean- [br]
Shifty: Dude… [br]
Jarod: What? [br]
Shifty: Just go and talk to her, you know… [br]
Jarod: Yeah but… [br]
Shifty: But what? [br]
Jarod: I don’t really think it’s such a good idea… I mean-[br]
Shifty: Bullshoot, remember back in college?! You could have every girl you wanted with your smooth talks and shoot! Remember those twins?! [br]
[br]
Jarod: Yeah, thanks for reminding me… [br]
Shifty: Come on dude, don’t be such a pussy. No pun intended… [br]
[br]
Jarod: This is different, man… I mean… shoot… Look at her… [br]
Shifty: Yeah so!? [br]
Tavish: Oh for frack’s sakes, Jarod, just go to her already, will you?! [br]
Shifty: See?! Tavish agrees with me! [br]
Tavish: I only said that to make you shut up. [br]
Jarod: *sighs* [br]
Blain: What’s the problem? You talked to her before. [br]
Jarod: *sighs* Alright, alright… I’ll go…[br]
Shifty: Great! Finally! [br]
Tavish: And whatever you do, don’t mention you’re genital wards![br]
Jarod: Man, frack you… [br]
Tavish: Whaha!! [br]
[br]
Then Jarod got up and walked towards Vilani. As soon as he reached her, he looked back at us, and we embarrassed Jarod by having big grins on our faces and putting our thumbs up. And as we looked at Vilani, she had a smile on her face as she was looking at us again… [br]
[br]
Vilani: Hey, wassup Jarod? [br]
Jarod: Hey, Vilani… I eh… I was wondering… [br]
[br]
Then he stopped talking and looked at us again, and we did the same thing… Grinning and putting our thumbs up as Vilani looked at us and tried to hold back her laughter… Poor Jarod… That guy was fracking nervous…[br]
[br]
Vilani: … Wondering what…? [br]
Jarod: Eh… How’d you manage to keep that shirt so white? [br]
Vilani: … Wash it at forty degrees with a fabric softener… [br]
Jarod: *nods nervously* Alright, thanks. [br]
Vilani: Is that what you wanted to ask? *smiles* [br]
Jarod: Yes! … Pretty much… [br]
Vilani: Alright then… [br]
[br]
Then he turned around and walked back towards us while his head was red as a tomato. We all laughed, but Shifty laughed the loudest of us all… [br]
[br]
Shifty: Holy shoot!! Dude!! That’s gotta be the shoottiest opening line I’ve ever heard!! Holy frack!! *laughs* [br]
[br]
Jarod: *sighs* [br]
Shifty: No! Seriously!! This is a serious issue!! You lost your touch, dude!! What the hell?! [br]
Tavish: Don’t worry. I know what you should do. Here, take this. [br]
[br]
Tavish gave Jarod a radio earpiece… [br]
[br]
Jarod: Where the hell did you get that? [br]
Tavish: From my helmet. [br]
Jarod: What the hell?! You busted MY helmet?! [br]
Tavish: Stop doging, it’s removable and you can use it as invisible earpiece. [br]
Jarod: Yeah but did you need to take my helmet!? [br]
Tavish: Yes, seeing it’s still my helmet. [br]
Jarod: That because I took your helmet after you fracking puked in it!! [br]
Tavish: Hey, want us to help you or not? [br]
[br]
[br]
Shifty: What?!! Tavish puked in you’re helmet?!! Oh man, this is fracking priceless!! What else did I miss while I was away?!! *laughs*[br]
[br]
Jarod: Right… Ok… [br]
Tavish: Take this earpiece and we’ll talk you through. Don’t worry. [br]
[br]
After Jarod placed that earpiece reluctantly in his ear and walked off to Vilani again, Tavish got a big grin on his face… [br]
[br]
Tavish: Who’s up for some fun…? *grins* [br]
Shifty: Oh dude… You can’t be serious… [br]
Tavish: *keeps on grinning* [br]
Shifty: *laughs* Oh man… Respect!! *slaps fist again Tavish’ fist* [br]
[br]
Shifty: *grabs radio* Alright Jarod, listen up. As soon as you approach her, walk how you normally do. [br]
[br]
Shifty: He’s walking as if he has a chicken shoved up his @$$…!! This is fracking epic…! *laughs* [br]
[br]
We couldn’t resist not laughing to see how he was walking towards Vilani… He tried to stay relaxed as possible, but it still showed of how nervous he was just to talk to her… Poor Jarod, he must really like her to make such an @$$ out of himself… [br]
[br]
Jarod: Vilani…? [br]
Vilani: Hey Jarod, back so soon?! Wanna know how I keep my pants in this shade of blue? *smiles* [br]
[br]
Jarod: No… Eh… [br]
[br]
Tavish: Alright… Just say how much you like her… [br]
[br]
Jarod: I know you for a few weeks now and I really like you… And… I was wondering… [br]
[br]
Shifty: *grabs radio from Tavish and puts up a deep voice* “Vilani… There’s more to you… Than meets the eye…” [br]
[br]
Tavish/Shifty/Blain: *laughs* [br]
[br]
Vilani: … Wassup…? Just tell me… *smiles*[br]
Jarod: Eh…[br]
[br]
Shifty: *puts up retarded voice* “Ah wanna shove mah dokey up you’re cha-chaaaaaa…!”[br]
[br]
Tavish/Shifty/Blain: *laughs* [br]
[br]
Shifty: *grabs radio from Shifty* No, no, no! Ignore that! What Shifty is trying to tell you is… “Vilani, you’re hot! You take it up the butt?!* laughs* [br]
[br]
Shifty/Blain: *laughs* [br]
[br]
We were seriously dieing of laughing and to see Jarod’s reaction to everything Shifty and Tavish were saying through the radio. Although I gotta admit, I was feeling a bit sorry for Jarod, seeing as I know what’s like to speak up to someone you really like… Then at that moment, Jarod took out the earpiece… [br]
[br]
Jarod: Vilani, under normal circumstances I would love to ask you for dinner and a movie but… Seeing the current situation, I can only offer you cookie crumbs and a crossword puzzle… [br]
[br]
Vilani: Was that so hard…? *smiles*[br]
[br]
Jarod: As a matter of fact, it is, seeing as those two idiots are trying to help. Hehehe… [br]
Vilani: How about we ditch the cookie crumbs and the crossword puzzle and go somewhere to talk instead…? Well… If you want… [br]
[br]
Jarod: Yeah… Sure! … Where do you wanna go then…? We can’t go outside… [br]
Vilani: *shows keycard of the flightdeck hangar* [br]
Jarod: You serious…? [br]
Vilani: Yup… You can even sit in the cockpit of the gunship if you like… [br]
Jarod: Sweet… [br]
[br]
Then we saw Vilani and Jarod walking away together… [br]
[br]
Shifty: Whooo!! He did it!! Hell yeah!! Mah boi is back!! Respect!! [br]
Jarod: *grins and puts up the middle finger*[br]
[br]
When evening fell, I went to look for Scyth. I haven’t seen him all day and was wondering where he could be. And when I finally found him, I noticed he was in a room, sitting on his bed, staring blankly in front of him as all sorts of high tech gadgets were spread out on his bed. The door was open and I knocked, but he didn’t respond, not even when I called his name. I walked towards him and nudged his shoulder. He quickly turned his head and I could see he had been crying… [br]
[br]
Blain: Hey, you ok…? [br]
Scyth: *shakes no* [br]
Blain: What’s wrong…? [br]
Scyth: I’m fracking nervous Blain… Zakhaev isn’t a guy you should be messing with, especially when you’re attempting to kill him…[br]
[br]
Blain: Hey… Don’t worry, we got your back, ok…? Thirty of us who got you’re back… You got nothing to worry… [br]
[br]
Scyth: *nods*[br]
Blain: We’re gonna end it… Tonight… Hoo-ah…? [br]
Scyth: Hoo-ah… [br]
[br]
I looked at him and then walked away… [br]
[br]
Half an hour later, everyone who was going with us prepared to go. Scyth wouldn’t carry any weapons otherwise Zakhaev might suspect something. Instead, Scyth has a tracker ID that he has to place somewhere on Zakhaev in the event that something went wrong. Also, he had another gadget that resembled some sort of tracker to see if the guy Zakhaev was gonna deliver to us really was Miller. An earpiece is placed deep inside of his ear to keep him up-to-date on what we see, and from the outside, it’s invisible. We carried a lot of weapons and we should be fine… Nothing could go wrong… [br]
[br]
Then not long after that, we headed towards the abandoned warehouse on an industrial terrain 43 miles south west of Azerbaijan. We walked towards it, and tried to stay low encase there some scouts. Luckily, we had a UAV at our disposal, and no enemy activities could be seen… At around 10 o’clock in the evening, we arrived as everyone took positions among the ruined buildings and surroundings… And we basically just blend in with our environments. Before Scyth moved a few hundred meters away from us, I pushed a packet of smokes in his hands. We still had to wait 2 hours before Zakhaev would arrive, seeing as they would meet at midnight…[br]
[br]
One hour passed by… Two hours… Three… Still no sign of Zakhaev… Four hours… [br]
[br]
Radio: Heads up, UAV shows that 4 units are closing in on our perimeter, stay sharp. [br]
Blain: Scyth, 4 humans are closing in on you. Keep you’re eyes peeled we got your back. Put up your thumb if you got my message. [br]
[br]
Then Scyth put his thumb… I could see Scyth was shaking a bit because he was so nervous…[br]
[br]
Blain: Alright… Good luck, Scyth… [br]
[br]
Then finally, we could see in the distance that Zakhaev showed up along with two armed soldiers with a guy walking in the middle who had a black bag shoved over his head… Once Scyth noticed them, he wasn’t shaking anymore as he flicked his cigarette away… [br]
[br]
Scyth: You’re late… [br]
Zakhaev: Yeah, well, ran into some trouble… [br]
Scyth: Nice place you picked… [br]
Zakhaev: Yeah, and you’re actually alone and unarmed. I wouldn’t expect that from you. [br]
Scyth: I didn’t expect that from myself either… So… That’s him…? [br]
Zakhaev: Yup… *lights up cigarette* [br]
[br]
Scyth: Tell you’re guys to back off. [br]
[br]
Zakhaev nodded to the soldiers to step aside as Scyth yanked off the black bag shoved over the person’s head… Scyth examines him for a moment… The head of that human looks all battered and bloody… [br]
[br]
Scyth: That’s Miller alright… [br]
Zakhaev: I never rat out on someone… Not even you… [br]
Miller: Zakhaev, you backstabbing country matters… [br]
Zakhaev: *grins* It’s just business, nothing personal. You still owe me a paycheck. [br]
Miller: frack you… [br]
Zakhaev: Yeah, you’re right. frack the paycheck. I’ll let you have the honour, Scyth. [br]
Scyth: … [br]
Zakhaev: You can even use my gun. *reaches gun to Scyth* [br]
[br]
Jarod: For being sworn enemies, he sure is friendly towards Scyth… [br]
Blain: Yeah… That crossed my mind as well… Something’s wrong… [br]
Jarod: Yeah, I think Scyth realized that too… [br]
Blain: No signs of any other hostiles though… [br]
Jarod: Zakhaev’s up to something… I don’t trust this… [br]
[br]
Zakhaev: Come on then… Shoot him… [br]
[br]
After hesitating for a moment, Scyth pressed the gun against Miller’s head and shot him… Then Miller dropped dead on the ground… [br]
[br]
Jarod: Engage…? [br]
Blain: No… Wait for Scyth’s signal… [br]
[br]
Then Scyth lowered the gun and looked at Zakhaev… [br]
[br]
Zakhaev: *shrugs* A deal is a deal… Right…? [br]
Scyth: Yeah… This little deal doesn’t mean we’re best friends now… [br]
Zakhaev: I wouldn’t expect otherwise from you… Look at you’re stomach… [br]
[br]
And as Scyth looked down, we noticed a lasersight going on and off on his stomach… Then the lasersight moved up to his head… Scyth looked really scared… [br]
[br]
Scyth: You fracking rat… [br]
Zakhaev: No, like I said, I’m don’t rat anyone out. Guaranteeing your safety wasn’t part of the deal… So… Can I have my gun back please…? [br]
[br]
Scyth: … *throws gun towards Zakhaev* [br]
[br]
At that point, we started to worry and already started making a plan on how to get him out… But then, we noticed something from the sky… Something came out of nowhere, as the front of a gigantic Titan was seen… Everyone who were hiding gawped at the massive floating object in the sky, knowing we wouldn’t stand a chance if we wanted to try and save Scyth… Then the whole Titan was visible… [br]
[br]
Jarod: fracking hell… Active camo… [br]
Blain: No wonder we didn’t see anything on the UAV… [br]
[br]
I saw how Zakhaev punched Scyth to the ground and kept on beating him in the face… Then he kneeled down next to Scyth who tried crawling away… [br]
[br]
Zakhaev: The only reason why I’m not putting a bullet through your head is because I want some info from you… I will beat EVERYTHING out of you… And I promise you… I will bust you up… *spits on Scyth* Take him away. [br]
[br]
Scyth: *whispers* B-Blain……? [br]
[br]
One of the soldiers violently pressed his knee between Scyth’s shoulders as he cuffed him… And we couldn’t do anything… We watched how Scyth got carried away and we waited for the Titan to leave… When it did, we made our retreat… But we’ll get him out… I just hope that Scyth doesn’t snitch on us, knowing what humans would do to get information they desired the most… [br]
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