Post by Admin on Feb 27, 2016 4:57:00 GMT
(02/26/16 : 16:40:03)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
: -The plane touched down and I finally landed in Turkey... 'Thank God' … It was one of the poorer areas of the country, but also one of the less guarded areas. It had taken four hours to fly out here from England and I had felt sick for the entire flight... 'That shit was never going to get any easier' … I hated flying, something about not being in control of my own safety just didn't sit right with Me and I was glad to be walking out of the airport... I had brought no luggage with me and I didn't bother with a Taxi.. Harvey had called me last night and given me clear directions from the airport to where I needed to Be... Rather than write it down, I had decided it would be safer to commit it to memory... 'I should have drawn a map.' … It wasn't like we were doing anything illegal. But it was still frowned upon... “off the record” unlicensed mercenary work... I didn't work for an legit agency or major corporation. It was just Me, and the others. Remnants of an Ex British Army Regiment that had seen far too much war to ever go back to 'normal' now... It was not my first rodeo and I knew far more about living in a war zone than I did about living back home, in civilisation... We didn't call ourselves Mercenaries though... We merely referred to ourselves as Hikers...-
-At the end of the street, I looked back to make sure that the airport was still behind Me and then I took a right turn, down a steep road. Harvey -The leader of Normandy Squad- had said the third left and I counted them carefully before moving through a crowded market area.. It was all a little overwhelming as people approached me, trying to sell me all sorts of shit. Sombreros, Turkish Delight treats, knock-off clothing, and even watches that were apparently Gucci or Rolex brand.. At twenty euros a piece, I couldn't help but doubt their authenticity... At one point, somebody even tried to sell me a bloody Donkey.-
-When I eventually made it through the market, I found -what I hoped- to be the correct street and headed along it quickly... I was supposed to take the second right from here but after counting the first right, I passed by the opening of an alley way and paused... It wasn't a street... or a Road... but it did appear to go all the way through a clutter of buildings... 'Does this count as the second right?” … I glanced further up the street and saw that there was a road that turned right too. The alley way was technically the SECOND RIGHT that I had come to but Harvey had never stated if it would be a road, or an alley.-
“Stop over thinking it.”
-I told myself, quietly under my breath... and so, with a sigh of frustration, I started to make my way into the gloomy passage way.... Ten Minutes later, I returned back to the start after reaching a dead end... 'I knew it wasn't that way!' … I grunted at myself and continued up the street to take the correct right turn... Definitely should have drawn a Map.
(02/26/16 : 16:51:39)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
: afk RT
(02/26/16 : 17:00:57)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
: Returns and goes back to typing
(02/26/16 : 17:56:06)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
: -The rest of Harvey's directions went without a hitch and it only took me a further twenty minutes of walking to find the beach. I moved up to a high point and studied the shore line until I spotted a Tiki hut in the horizon that matched the description given to me by Harvey. I passed by several cheap hotels and when I drew close enough, I saw that the sign on the roof of the wall-less straw hut read: Costa Del Party... I headed down a set of steps and onto the beach itself.. 'This has to be the place.' … Harvey had specifically said a tiki hut -on- the beach and I couldn't see another. But there were a few up on the walk way and earliers wrong step had me feeling overly paranoid. Thankfully, it wasn't busy, most of the customers had wandered off to relax or sunbathe closer to the crystal clear waters. But there were still a few lingerers and I scanned their faces briefly until I found the one I was looking for.-
-Lee Christian... A suave man who wouldn't look out of place in a James Bond movie. He always appeared like the odd one out in the squad. The rest of us were so gruff and lad-like. But Christian had grown up in Oxford and his -posh- roots always managed to break through. He was one hell of a combat medic though... Today, he wore a cliché tropical holiday shirt, a pair of khaki shorts, and some sandals... I moved to the stool beside him and sat down, motioning the tender towards me but speaking to Christian.-
“Enjoying your vacation?”
-Christian grinned and drained the rest of his own drink... “I didn't think you were coming.” … I chuckled at that and explained to him about the flight arriving late to begin with and then my detour that turned out to be a wrong turn... The tender approached us. It was a young woman and she was dressed in little more than a bikini top and some hot pants. I asked her to give me a beer... “What kind of beer?” … she asked with a dazzling smile. I liked her accent and offered a smile of my own.-
“Surprise Me... And one for my friend here too.”
-Two minutes later, she returned to us and placed two coconuts down on the bar top. The coconuts had been hollowed out and filled with a pink beverage. A slice of pineapple was hooked onto the rim, along with an umbrella, and a very colourful straw. I tried not to grunt at her but I had not expected something quite as flamboyant and would have been happy with a bottle of Bud. Still, I had asked to be surprised and that is exactly what she had done, so I paid the tender -with tip- and she moved away to serve another punter.... “These are delicious!” … declared Christian who was already sucking down all of his own. I rolled my eyes and held it up in front of my face with mild disgust and scrutiny-
“Sure... if your name is Barbie.”
(02/26/16 : 18:11:23)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
: -I put the drink back down on the bar top for now and asked Christian if he had heard from the others... “Not since I got here. But we are the last ones in.” … He paused and checked his watch... “We're going to meet up with them when we get across the border.” … Travelling in smaller groups was how we always tackled these types of contracts. Airports and such liked to watch for groups of unlicensed Hikers so that they could flag us, and if we got flagged in the system, it would be very hard for us to go anywhere unnoticed. It just looked less suspicious than six ex infantry soldiers trying to cross the border at once. In groups of two, we would be less likely to raise any alerts or be found during the crossing itself... “It's going to be just like old times” … I had to chuckled at that comment. It had been a long time since I had agreed to do any Hiking like this. I was anxious, and nervous. I didn't even know if I still had the physical fitness to do this any more... I snatched up my drink and started to chug it down. It was very strong -which was good- so I tried to distract myself by the burn of it washing down my throat instead. I had grown up as a child always wanting to be a soldier in the British Army. Royal infantry had been my calling. The grunts of the British Forces. During our tours together, we had come under conflict more than a few times. But for the most part it had always been at a distance. Long range fire fights. With the support of Apache choppers bombing every location that we called in on the radio. It had always been relatively safe... But now, the six of us were heading deep into hostile territory. No Apaches. No Radio. No Army at our back. No support at all. Just the six of us. On our Own. And that was honestly.... pretty fucking terrifying.-
“Hopefully this is going to be cut and dry work. No complications.”
-I said as I continued to drink the girly drink that was actually quite delicious. Not that I would admit that.... “It will be fine.” … Christian said, assuredly.... “No fighting. No Trouble. It's pretty much going to be all clerical work anyway. Our job is just to help the local rebels set up a base camp so that they have a headquarters whilst they try to take their zones back from terrorists. We'll be back home before the fighting even starts. Easy Peasy.” … I nodded as he repeated our objective. I knew that I was just on edge. We would be fine. We were always fine. We might not work for a big corporation like that Atlas thing. But we were good at this. Real good.-
“So what is our plan from here then?”
-I asked... “Well” … Christian said, as he finished the last of his drink and stood up... “Drink up. And Let's get going.”
(02/26/16 : 18:35:40)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
: The day went by long and slow... We took several buses throughout the journey, and they were not the types of buses that I was used to, back home. No clean, cushioned rows of comfortable seats. These were cramped and dirty buses. If they had any seating at all, it was hard wooden benches, but mostly – everybody had to stand. Squeezed in shoulder to shoulder. Sometimes up to forty passengers huddled in a vehicle that was only big enough for twenty.... Seven hours passed before we stepped off the last bus and continued our South-East journey on foot... Near the edge of a small goat village we managed to find one of the locals who spoke our language and was willing to give us a ride further South. The condition was that we had to sit in the back of his wagon among several small -but irritated- goats. It was pretty funny. I didn't seem to bother them, but a couple of them kept trying to butt Christian and I teased him that it was because of his holiday shirt.-
-Two hours later and we were dropped off along some narrow dirt lane deep in the wild countryside of Turkey, close to it's Syrian border. The sun had set and the darkness swept in all around us but we just kept moving. Christian had the map and the compass, so he lead the way as we moved in single file, up into a valley of hills, that turned into a valley of mountains... Time passed well into the night as we took it slow, careful to avoid border patrols as we crossed through to the other side.... “We're running late.” … He said as we slowed to a stop a couple of miles across the border. We were officially in Syria. A Place I had sworn that I would never return to. After last time... when it had all gone wrong. But what were the chances of it going wrong twice in a row? After all this time... I should have known better.
“By how long?”
-I asked as my eyes swept across the baron land. It was too dark to see anything other than the silhouette of low rolling of dead dirt, sitting against the backdrop of a starry sky. It would have looked quite beautiful if not for the fact that I was feeling the heavy strain of all the travelling and I felt to … Exhaustipated … Too tired to give a shit.... “A couple of hours” … answered Christian after he finished studying the map. He was holding a small torch between the bite of his teeth and holding the map up to his face... “It's a straight path now though, we could probably double time it.” … I nodded and clapped my hands together, It was getting cold anyway and I just wanted to find the others.-
“Let's do it.”
(02/26/16 : 18:52:37)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
: -And so we set off jogging. I was leading the way this time . I was suddenly glad that I had spent the three weeks leading up to this moment, preparing and training. I had gone to the gym every day to work on my cardio and endurance... We ran for hours on end with no break in between, but persistence paid off when we finally spotted a faint glow in the distance... “That should be it.” … said Christian, and we picked up speed with renewed enthusiasm, glad for our journey to almost be over... at least for now... The dull 'glow' turned into a structure and I saw that it was a small building sitting alone against a sandy hill... When we were thirty feet away from the building, I held up my hand to signal to Christian that I was slowing down, and he should too... We lowered into a crouch and shuffled a little closer for a better look at the area.... It was flat roofed and made from a mixture of mud, sand, and clay... There was a square, glassless window in the wall that we faced and I could see shadows moving around inside.... Christian put two fingers into his mouth and gave a shrill whistle... a couple of seconds passed before the same whistle was returned. Relief washed through me and I rose up to my feet, know that it was safe to approach, we crossed the remaining distance quickly... “Glad you made it!” said a short stocky fellow standing in the doorway. Christian moved up to the man and they hugged, clapping each other firmly on the back... When it was my turn, we didn't hug, but I did shake his hand... “How's it going, Thornton?” … he asked with a grin. He had sharp chiselled features and dirty blonde hair that was mostly hidden beneath the NYC baseball cap he wore.-
“Good to see you, Harvey.”
-And it really was good to see the Captain again. His rank might suggest he was a typical pen pusher, but he wasn't. Captain Harvey was hardcore and a bad arse. It was as simple as that.... “Get inside, lad. Have a cuppa.” … He stepped aside and I headed into the building, leaving him outside with Christian... I found three more men sitting on the floor in the middle of the room. Three familiar faces. The 'glow' had come from a camping lantern that sat on the dusty concrete floor and those three men were huddled around it... “Here's Trouble!” … cheered one of them … -Macintosh, the inexperienced one out of us all. He'd fought in the army, but never as a Hiker. He rose to his feet and moved over to punch me in the front of the shoulder. A greeting of Comrades. Rea – a Hulking, ginger bearded Scotsman sat cross legged against the far wall. He was cooking rice and peas on a small portable stove but he looked up and shot me a wink.... “You're just in time.” … said Northman, the final fellow, from his place near the lantern. He had his own stove on the go and was currently boiling a pan of water.... “Brew's almost ready.” … I smiled broadly at the news. After the harsh journey here, I would kill for a good cup of tea. I sat down with them and Northman poured me one out into an empty baked beans tin that would serve as a mug... “How was the trip?” … asked Rea in his think Scottish highlander accent, whilst stirring his rice.
“Uneventful.”
-I admitted as I added two sugars to my brew of tea. And then a spoonful of powdered milk since we didn't have any fresh.-
“But Long.”
Everybody nodded in agreement... “Yeah it sucked” .. added Macintosh... “Me and Rea got in this morning. Harvey and Northman turned up a few hours ago. I'm going stir crazy out here.” … I chuckled at that, I had been to Iraq and Afghanistan plenty of times, but I had only ever been to Syria once before, and I knew that if he thought -this- was making him crazy... he hadn't seen anything yet... Just as I took my first sip of tea, there was an Earth shaking crack of thunder and I jumped out of my skin. The tea spilled everywhere as I leapt to feet, ready to kill...
(02/26/16 : 19:17:33)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
: -The other three men in the room burst out laughing hysterically. My heart was racing and I didn't like them laughing at me. It had been a deafening boom and the first thing that had come to my mind was that we were under mortar fire.-
“What the bloody hell was that!?”
-I snapped angrily as they continued to sit there laughing and snorting their heads off.... “It's Thunder, you nutter” … cackled Northman … “Calm Down.” … Thunder? During my last trip here, I had never heard it thunder and I had spent almost a year in this dry dump. It had never even rained. Not once. But as I walked to the window I saw that it was spitting with rain outside and in that second it took me to observe the land, that spitting rain became a heavy downpour. Rain hammered the building and the hills around us.... “I didn't even know it rained here.” … said Macintosh.... “You'd be surprised” … said Rea who had hiked these lands plenty of times. I sat down and began to mop up my spilled tea with a cloth whilst he continued … “It's actually down to climate changes and torrential storms are becoming almost common in Syria these days.” … I shook my head in disbelief but Northman glanced at Rea and scoffed … “You. Are such a nerd.” ...-
-Christian and Harvey had been talking quietly among themselves by the doorway but appeared to wrap it up and moved inside. Christian sat down next to me and Rea gave him a share of the rice. Captain Harvey stayed on his feet.... “Listen up.” … he said and we all turned to look at him. There was no door in the doorway, and no glass in the windows. The wind blew heavy and the rain splashed in through all the openings. It was very cold and very uncomfortable, but we would prevail through it, because we knew that we had to. No Option. … “Firstly, Welcome back to Normandy Squad.” … Everybody cheered, except for me, I just smiled quietly and continued to listen. Normandy Squad had been our code name every time we came out here, but it had been a while since we had all been together, and not all of the original Normandy Squad were here... because they were dead … oh well, that sucks. Moving on... “It's good to see all of you.” … continued Harvey … “I know I've explained the job to you already, but lets just go through it again, for Clarity's sake... It's a straight forward contract and at the end of it, you will all walk away with ten thousand each, in cash.” … Macintosh whistled eagerly, but Harvey continued to speak... “Now, I know I don't need to remind you, but I want to repeat that by doing this, there is a risk that when you go home, the British Government will be waiting for You.”
(02/26/16 : 19:40:29)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
: -We all knew that was true. We were not professional, licensed Mercenaries. We didn't have Private Military sponsorship or funding. We were just six ordinary guys, doing extraordinary things.... “Let them be waiting for us.” … said Northman with a scoff... “We are not breaking any laws.” … Harvey nodded in agreement to him and said... “That's true. But the British Government is a joke. You know that. They don't like us coming over here to help out the locals. And they like to try and paint people like us as war criminals... So I just need you all aware that if you were flagged flying out, they might be waiting for You. And if they are, They can't arrest You, but they can hold you for questioning... You just need to stick to a very simple story... You are Hikers... You were just on a vacation. Travelling the countries and enjoying the sights. That is All. Stick to that and only that. They can do Nothing.” … I processed the advice. It had actually been my idea and I was glad that Harvey had told the others to follow it too. Ain't nothing wrong with a little hike. I also had other concerns and I chose that moment to enquire about them.-
“What if we bump into British Forces here? Or the Yanks?”
“Or the chinks?” … Added Macintosh.... “We Won't” .. Harvey said.. “But for the sake of anonymity whilst we are out here... I got us these.” … He stuffed his hands into the pocket of his black winter coat and pulled out half a dozen sets of dog tags. Steel plates, rimmed in rubber, that hung on a silver chain. They looked like proper Army dog tags, and yet were still 'bling' enough to look like jewellery in the eyes of the government... “Once we leave this building, we will no longer be using our names... most of you already have your code names from before, but I've had code names put on these and from here on out, you'll address each other -only- by those code names.” .. He handed them out and I looked at Mine … -Apex- … As it had always been. I didn't mind it, after all.. I was an Apex Predator type of person, so it fit. I nodded in approval and hung them around my neck.... “Grapefruit?!” … Scoffed Macintosh in disgust and the rest of us laughed loudly. He had never been with us before, and it was typical of Harvey to give him a 'Noobie' type of code. Macintosh stared at his Dog tag as though it was poisonous... “REALLY?” … Northman was hysterical, falling back in fits of manic giggling... When he composed himself, he clapped Macintosh on the shoulder... “Chill out, Grapey” … Macintosh responded by elbowing him in the ribs and I couldn't help but snicker.... “Moving On.” … Said Harvey, who was also holding back his own laughter... “As you know, We are Called Normandy Squad, and that isn't going to change... Though it is none aggressive, we will be operating this task in a Military fashion. Using the same structure and rank that we used every time in the past because it is just the most efficient way and it just.. well.. It works.” … Harvey paused just long enough to see if anybody had a problem with that. Of course – nobody did … “I'll be team leader as usual, and Christian is going to be my Two. I. C.” … 2IC stood for second in command. It was a good foundation and I had no issues with it. I had more experience than Christian due to all of the time I had spent in Iraq, But I was younger and he was better educated than I and since this was a clerical based contract, it made more sense to have him as second. If only I could see the future, I would have known at this point, that none of it would matter. Things were going to get Really Bloody.... Really Brutal... Really Fast.-
(02/26/16 : 20:01:07)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
: -Harvey appeared to take a break from talking and it was Christian himself who spoke up next... “So, you all recall how I told you guys to make a list of desired supplies since we couldn't risk bringing any of it with us? … Well -for the most part- I got everything you asked for, My Contact in Eastern Syria had it dropped here waiting for us, so before you get your heads down and have a couple of hours kip, you should check it and make sure everything functions correctly, etcetera.” … I glanced to the back end of the room and saw the six large crates stacked up against the wall... Then I glanced down at the dog tags hanging against my chest.... I suddenly had a bad feeling... It just.. Didn't feel right..-
“What is the plan?”
-I asked, trying to put my mind at ease and settle down the demons in my head.... “We'll be moving out an hour before sunlight..” .. Said Harvey, interjecting... “We'll move five miles South and then head East for thirty two miles. There is a village and our contact has had a vehicle placed there ready for our collection, so it should be waiting for us when we get there.” … My demons roared back to life and the first thing that entered my mind was what would happen if somebody rigged that vehicle with a bomb whilst it just sat there, in some third world country plagued by war. It was not an unthinkable possibility.-
“Who even is this contact?”
-I didn't care that I appeared to be the only one here asking questions. Nobody seemed to want to snoop about it, and yet... they all listened closely just the same. It wasn't snooping, not in my eyes. It was gaining a clear understanding of the task ahead so that it could be completed with... you know... Clarity... And It was also slightly because I didn't trust my fate in the hands of some anonymous contact who could be a fuckin' terrorist for all I knew at that point.... “I'm glad you asked.” … Said Harvey with a grin... “You remember Thomas Hall?” ...I frowned, the name wasn't familiar... “The chubby guy who was always playing Dungeons and Dragons?” … asked Northman with a frown. Harvey nodded and I suddenly remembered. An insecure fellow, but he hid it well with his heavy knowledge on anything role-play related... “That's the one” … confirmed Harvey. Rea was shocked and spoke up with a mouthful of rice... “That fat bugger is out here?” … Harvey nodded... “He's thriving out here. Actually made a career out of this. There's good money in private soldiering now. The work we are doing here is actually contracted to the man he works for.... Now, anymore questions?” … He glanced around at everyone but his gaze lingered on me and I shook my head... “Good. I'm off for a shit... Christian, get the kit handed out.” … And then he marched out of the building and vanished into the rain. Christian rose to his feet and moved towards the crates... “Like I said earlier, I got -almost- everything.. but before you ask me, Northman... No I did not get the inflatable Sheep.”
(02/26/16 : 20:26:18)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
: -One by one, Christian handed the crates out... “And I couldn't get you cigarettes” … he said to Rea whilst sliding his crate over.... “But I got you a couple of pouches of tobacco instead.” … Rea nodded, it was fine by him. My crate was handed out last, but I had never given them a list. I didn't care what supplies they got for me and had just told them to sort me out with the basic set up. Macintosh handed a crowbar around and I tore the lid off Mine... Inside I found two sets of desert camouflage clothing. Standard army apparel when touring in these regions. They were good sturdy clothes and I folded them up neatly into two piles. I then pulled out a military vest. It had Kevlar plating and a few carry pouches strapped to it. I also had a baseball cap, a pair of shades, and a pair of military boots. There were several pairs of socks and several pairs of boxer briefs. It was a lot of gear, but essential. I had a couple of pairs of long-johns, some thermal vests, to help me stay warm, and to store it all I had a large military bergen that already had a heavy duty Arctic sleeping bag rolled up and strapped to it. I packed everything into the bergen and then carried on digging through the crate... A Few ration packs, biscuits, tea substance n, a small camping stove, some fire coals, a pair of clothes, a few stitching pieces, emergency medical box, a packet of condoms and a grooming kit. When I looked back into the crate, I smirked devilishly to myself-
“Oh baby... I've missed You.”
-I reached inside and pulled out a Military hatchet. Holding such a tool in my hands was like deja-vu. It was a carbon steel, multi-purpose axe. It was very effective in combat and could also be used as a climbing pick, or digging spade... Christian crouched beside me, watching me admire the deadly tool.... “I figured you would like that.” … he said quietly with an almost nostalgic look on his face... “Just like the one you had before.” … I had possessed one during every single one of my tours and it had been my most prized possession right up until it was destroyed during my last contract here in Syria two years ago... but that was another story.-
“You could have just bought me flowers.”
-I said, smirking quietly. Having the familiar tool actually helped me to feel at ease. It felt right in my hands and everything was starting to come back to Me. I could feel myself slipping into soldier mode.... into Hiker Mode... I put the axe aside for now to finish up unpacking my crate.... “Brownie Nine Mil. Standard side arm in these parts.” … Christian explained when he saw me pull out the pistol.... “It's fully loaded and you have a spare magazine in the box.” … I nodded and put it with the axe to take out my final weapon. An AK-47 Assault Rifle. I held it in my hands and felt an immense sense of power. Once you held a rifle in your hands for the first time... once you had been to war... Once you had -killed- with a rifle... You never forgot that feeling, the grip in your palm, the weight in your hands, the cool touch of the trigger against the pad of your finger... It never went away, and that itch to hold one again was always there. It felt so good to hold the loaded rifle, but it also darkened my thoughts... I pointed out to him that it was supposed to be a peace keeping contract.... “It is.” … Christian replied with a nod... “But it's better to be safe, than sorry, right?” … I nodded slightly. He had a point. It was better to have it and not need it... than to need it and not have it... “Relax.” … Christian said.... “I don't expect any of us will ever have to use our firearms whilst we are here. But we do need to take precautions. Just in case.” … He rose up to his feet and addressed the group... “All we are here for, is to teach the local how to farm the lands and thrive self sufficiently. We do that, and we all go home fucking Rich.”... Little did any of us know, that None of us would ever go Home again...-