Post by Damon on Feb 29, 2016 1:07:41 GMT
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
|-|In Syria, Somewhere within a Militia Camp|-|
-Within a large temporary militia camp that Normandy Squad has spent weeks building up alongside the local Militia. It is situated within the hills and wild canyons of Syria and consists of over forty tents sitting up against the foot of a Ridge's cliff face, hidden out of plain view.-
-Day eighty three... I skewered my fuckin' knife through the scorpion and pinned it to the ground. It was a Deathstalker, a very dangerous type of scorpion and one of the many creepy crawlies I had been forced to get used to whilst in Syria. The one month contract had not lasted a month at all, There was always some form of delay, or something else that needed doing. IN fact, Almost three months had passed since I arrived in this desolate, horrible, piece of shit country. I hated it. So much violence, so much evil, and so much brutality. Since that day when Christian had almost lost his arm, there had been countless more confrontations with the terrorists. The Terrorist group had caught wind of a bunch of English veterans helping the local militia and had started to throw everything they had at us. The entire event here has changed my life significantly... It had changed -Me- significantly.. My work here had ended up included disarming minefields, helping locals who did not want our help but needed it anyway, and killing every bad guy that we came across. I had witnessed so much death, and murders, massacres, and blood... Oh, a lot of blood... Thomas Hall, our original contact out here in Syria … the chubby guy who liked Dungeons & Dragons… He had died two months ago with another I.E.D explosion that had taken a total of four lives... It was a living nightmare and at first, I had just wanted to go home, but as time had passed on by, I had forgotten about home. I didn't have one any more. This was my home, right here on the battlefield. All that violence, and all that death, almost on a daily basis now, I had become completely numb. Fighting in fierce battles, dodging bullets and taking lives had become just... Normal … I was simply going through the motions... “You gonna eat That?” … Northman asked from the back of the tent.
“Don't be Stupid.”
-I grunted in disgust... “Can I have it then?” … He could be my guest. I held the knife out to him with the skewered scorpion still wriggling on the tip and Northman took it eagerly. He drew his own knife to slice off the stinger before he held it over the open flame of the camping stove, slowly roasting the creature... I looked away... I sat by the opening of our tent and watched the camp. This is where we had been based during our stay here, working with the local troops to build it into a fortified position that they could work effectively out of. It was a foothold in the hills and teaching them how to build it from the ground up had allowed them to learn how to go off on their own and build more base camps elsewhere, in the future. We had also spent some time teaching them how to set perimeters, plan patrols, and deal with enemy threats... Because of Normandy Squad's work here, the Syrian forces in this region were better prepared to face the terrorist rebels and would actually stand a fighting chance for once... It didn't look like much though... Four dozen tents set up in a tight web formations and nestled against the cliff face of a high ridge. Sandbag walls were set up in various places to provide choke points and a solid defence against any possible attack.. Around sixty Syrian troops were busy working around the camp, or improving the camp with necessities such as clean water collectors, sewage ditches, and there had even been talk of mining into the cliff face to build tunnels through the hills that would allow them to connect various camps together... The majority of the transport used around the area now were horses and camels, but I could never get used to them.. we still had a few vans and flat bed cars though, but fuel was scarce, and I.E.Ds were aplenty and so we only used the vehicles these days when absolutely necessary.... “Here comes Macintosh.” … Rea said, from his place opposite me, He motioned up the dirt path and I leaned my head out of the tent to see the rookie sauntering towards us. Macintosh had discovered a very lucrative business set up in many parts of Syria.
....Prostitution....
(02/28/16 : 14:04:28)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
|-|In Syria, Somewhere within a Militia Camp|-|
-Within a large temporary militia camp that Normandy Squad has spent weeks building up alongside the local Militia. It is situated within the hills and wild canyons of Syria and consists of over forty tents sitting up against the foot of a Ridge's cliff face, hidden out of plain view.-
The majority religion in this area saw that most of the locals were Muslims, But despite their insistence to be Prudish females, The local women were all too eager to spread their thighs and offer a dry crusty cunt for a crate of food, or a few pouches of tobacco. Nobody else in Normandy Squad had found interest in that though except for Macintosh. He would occasionally make the six mile hike out to a certain village in order to get his... happy ending... I found it a disgusting habit and my opinion was that Macintosh was weak, taking advantage of those willing to do whatever it took to survive.... “here he is!” … cheered Northman when Macintosh ducked inside the open flaps of the tent... “How was it?” … he asked before starting to chew on that crispy fried scorpion like it was candy... “It was amazing” … Macintosh said in a smug manner... “You wouldn't believe how flexible these bitches are”... Rea cackled and spoke up to add into the conversation... “That's because they ain't nothing but skin and bone” … … ... “Nothing wrong with that” … insisted Macintosh as he puffed out his chest and sat down... “And what they lack in curves, they make up for with enthusiasm.” … Northman cheered with him and they gave each other a high five.-
“Sure they do.”
-I said in agreement. I had been trying to ignore the conversation but I turned back into the tent now and looked at Macintosh.-
“Why wouldn't they be enthusiastic? They get to give their kids their first meal in days. And all she had to do was let a little prick violate her.”
Macintosh scoffed and pulled out a cigarette... “Come on, man” … He said, ignoring my bitter sarcasm... “You should give it a try one day, you might actual enjoy it.”
“I don't think so.”
-I said without even having to consider it... I had never been remotely tempted and I knew that my opinion on that would not change any time soon... “You don't enjoy sex?” … asked Macintosh in a taunting manner.-
“Oh I like sex... but usually, when I fuck, It's with a woman who wants me as much as I want her, and I definitely don't pay for it.”
-Macintosh laughed... “Oh she wanted it!” … He insisted as he grabbed his cock... “She sucked on this until her lips went numb, then neighed like a horse as I rode that bitch into brown town” … Northman joined in on the laughter and they gave each other another high five. I simply scowled, staring directly at the rookie.-
“You completely disgust Me. Do you know that?”
(02/28/16 : 14:37:51)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
|-|In Syria, Somewhere within a Militia Camp|-|
-Within a large temporary militia camp that Normandy Squad has spent weeks building up alongside the local Militia. It is situated within the hills and wild canyons of Syria and consists of over forty tents sitting up against the foot of a Ridge's cliff face, hidden out of plain view.-
-The laughter in the tent faded to silence, Rea turned away to look out of the tent awkwardly and pretend to be distracted by something going on out there. Northman watched with curious silence as he chewed on that scorpion, and Macintosh stared at me, trying to decide if I was joking or not.. “What is your problem, mate?” … He asked, eventually as a glare set across his baby faced features.-
“You're my problem.”
-I snapped quickly. My tone harsh and direct. I was in a foul fucking mood, but didn't seem to care. I didn't know it, but it wouldn't have mattered what the topic of discussion was at the time. I would have found something to take offence to, it was inevitable.-
“You practically blackmail those women. If they don't fuck You. They'll starve. What a bloody hero -You- must feel like.”
-Macintosh looked offended and shook his head... “I don't blackmail anybody” … He insisted as he looked around the tent for somebody to speak up for him. When nobody else spoke he added … “They offer it willingly.” .. I had obviously got under his skin with my opinion and he didn't like it one bit. But that was good, it further fuelled my own feral mood.-
“They offer it willingly because they are unwilling to let their children starve.. if you are such a good bloody Samaritan, why not just give them the food? with no catch? It's not like you paid for it.”
-Macintosh scoffed again, and I could tell that he was trying to think of a better way to justify his actions. Even if I was unreasonably irritated. Even if I was an Arsehole, I still made a point that he struggled to argue with. Because regardless of -how- I said it, it was still the truth and every stupid motherfucker in that tent, knew it.... In the end he simply said... “I paid for it! … With sweat, and time, and effort... I've worked my arse off out here.. Just like You... I earned that food and it is my right to take it... It is My right to do whatever the fuck I want to do.” ...-
“And it is their right to Live” … -I said. Not even bothering to listen to anything coming out of his mouth. - … “Without You abusing them. But you are too stupid to understand the point I'm trying to make so let me break it down for you into the most basic form … You are pretty much a glorified Rapist.”
-Northman gasped from his watching place... “Fuck You, arsehole!” … Roared Macintosh, leaping to his feet. But I was just as quick to move and before anybody in that tent could blink, I had snatched my pistol from my belt and was pointing it at Macintosh's head. There was no real law out here. No little police officer would come and arrest me. I could empty the entire clip into his face and nobody would be able to do fuck all about it. I knew that. He knew that.... And That rising anger of his had quickly faded... now all I saw was fear in his eyes as he froze in his skin and started to turn pale.-
“Fuck Me?” … -I repeated Quietly- … “How about I fuck You? How about I put a bullet through your fucking head and then fuck your corpse?”
(02/28/16 : 17:43:13)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
|-|In Syria, Somewhere within a Militia Camp|-|
-Within a large temporary militia camp that Normandy Squad has spent weeks building up alongside the local Militia. It is situated within the hills and wild canyons of Syria and consists of over forty tents sitting up against the foot of a Ridge's cliff face, hidden out of plain view.-
-Everybody in the tent was frozen in the moment. Nobody dared move and it was Rea who spoke first, directing his words to Me in a calm, soothing manner... “Easy, laddie... It's not worth it... This war is getting under our skin, That's all... Just put that away, there ain't no need for it, You hear me?” … I wanted to. I wanted to put it away, it was like I wasn't myself... Part of me wanted to Kill him right there, for nothing more than swearing at Me. I growled inwardly as my finger flexed against that trigger... “WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!” … Barked a Voice. It was Harvey, marching into the tent with Christian following closely at his side. His arm was still injured, but he wasn't using the sling anymore at least, so that was a good sign... I reeled in my composure and holstered my pistol. I didn't know what had come over me. It had rocked my nerves and I immediately felt bad about it... everything was just... Stress... I hated the situation and my anger was on a knife's edge lately... It wasn't the rookies fault.. It's this bloody country... I sat back down by the camping stove and rubbed at my temples.-
“Nothing Captain... Just settling differences.”
-Macintosh sat back down too but didn't say a word. It had scared him, I could tell that, and I really did feel guilty about it... “Okay.” … said Harvey... “Well I consider those differences as settled now and you two better consider it the same.” … When nobody objected to his words, he moved over to sit down in between Rea and Northman. Christian remained on his feet by the opening of the tent. He hadn't been the same since his injury. He was quieter, more reserved... and in my opinion... Broken... “So, what's happening, Chief?” … Rea asked, directing his attention to Harvey... “I hope you are about to tell us that we are out of here in the morning. I want to get back to Scotland and forget I ever know this dump.”... “Speak for yourself.” … Said Macintosh, who appeared to have recovered from his confrontation with Me... “I could stay out here another year. We've got food, a bed, and we've got freedom. What more could you ask for? And besides that, we've been saving lives man, we're heroes out here.” … Rea chuckled, and Northman scoffed... “Yeah, but nobody will ever know about it.” .. he added... And I silently agreed with that. We had done a lot of good... Our work out here had greatly reduced the hostile presence in the air and improved the way of life for a lot of people. We were Heroes, but nobody would ever know us as heroes, or know what we had been through out here. The British Government would likely label us as terrorists ourselves, and we all knew that once we got back to the United Kingdom, we couldn't tell anybody about what we had done... So I could understand Northman's bitterness about it... We all could... “That's because the politicians don't give a shit.” … declared Macintosh... “They only care about how things look on paper, not what goes on in their shadows... fuck 'em.” … Everybody in the tent nodded in agreement. Harvey turned to Rea and answered his initial question... “I'm afraid none of us will be going home tomorrow” … Surprise, surprise... “But you should all be happy to know that at the end of the week, we -will- all be on our way home... We are Done here.”... Northman and Rea cheered loudly, Christian grinned, and nobody else reacted...-
“What about our money?”
-I asked. I had lost my conversational skills out here, and in its place had been born a bluntness that I would likely never shake... I tended to get straight to the point and didn't care that my question interrupted the celebration... “It's right there.” … Harvey said with a smile as he pointed at Christian... Christian stepped further into the tent and tossed them each a large brown envelope... I caught one and was the first to open it up, But when I looked inside, I was not happy with what I found inside.-
“Euro bank notes?” …-I scoffed and pulled a handful of the currency out.- … “It was supposed to be English Cash”
(02/28/16 : 18:01:09)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
|-|In Syria, Somewhere within a Militia Camp|-|
-Within a large temporary militia camp that Normandy Squad has spent weeks building up alongside the local Militia. It is situated within the hills and wild canyons of Syria and consists of over forty tents sitting up against the foot of a Ridge's cliff face, hidden out of plain view.-
-Harvey held up his hands in resignation as though asking everybody not to shoot the messenger and that he had done what he could... “Some complications came up... General Abdul couldn't get the British stuff... but that is twice as much as we were promised.” … Twenty thousand pounds. Once it was converted. But I wasn't impressed, How the fuck was I supposed to just walk into a bank when I got home and convert this much currency without raising suspicion? … It might be twice as much as the ten thousand that we initially agreed to, but it was also for three times as long as we initially agreed to.. in the end, I decided that the debate just wasn't worth it, so I said nothing, stuffing the money back into the envelope and then storing the envelope away in my bergen... “The locals are throwing us a party” … Christian said as he handed out the last envelope to Northman... “A Farewell feast in our honour.” … Northman had emptied his envelope out into his lap and was counting out every single bank note, but he looked up at the mention of a party... “I'm guessing that when you say … party … you don't mean bottles of lager and sausage rolls?” … Christian laughed and shook his head... “By party I mean, they are going to roast a lamb and share some of their local moonshine with us.” … Harvey rose to his feet and cleared his throat... “I expect you all to be on your best behaviour. They take this shit seriously and the last thing we want now is to insult the General and his attempt at hospitality.” … I had to bite back a scoff, my bitter mindset was trying to break through again and I did not like how Harvey insinuated that the general of the local troops was doing us a favour. They wouldn't have any of this if not for Normandy Squad... “Another thing that we don't want to do so close to the finish line is let our guard down. So I want sentries on duty tonight as normal... Since it's a party, I'm not going to allocate anybody. You can decide among yourself who misses the feast” ...
“I'll do sentry.”
-I said immediately, I did not care about the party in the slightest. I was not here to party. The contract had changed me so much that I was not even sure I knew how to switch off Hiker mode anymore.... “Well, I don't like lamb.” … Stated Rea... “So I'll do the other sentry... but save me some of that moonshine, lads.” …
“Why? Tastes like battery acid anyway.”
-I said, remembering the last time I had sampled it... “Because I haven't had a whiskey in months” … said Rea... “ And I plan to pretend that it's a delicious glass of Glenn's scotch on the rocks.”
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
|-|In Syria, Somewhere within a Militia Camp|-|
-Within a large temporary militia camp that Normandy Squad has spent weeks building up alongside the local Militia. It is situated within the hills and wild canyons of Syria and consists of over forty tents sitting up against the foot of a Ridge's cliff face, hidden out of plain view.-
-Day eighty three... I skewered my fuckin' knife through the scorpion and pinned it to the ground. It was a Deathstalker, a very dangerous type of scorpion and one of the many creepy crawlies I had been forced to get used to whilst in Syria. The one month contract had not lasted a month at all, There was always some form of delay, or something else that needed doing. IN fact, Almost three months had passed since I arrived in this desolate, horrible, piece of shit country. I hated it. So much violence, so much evil, and so much brutality. Since that day when Christian had almost lost his arm, there had been countless more confrontations with the terrorists. The Terrorist group had caught wind of a bunch of English veterans helping the local militia and had started to throw everything they had at us. The entire event here has changed my life significantly... It had changed -Me- significantly.. My work here had ended up included disarming minefields, helping locals who did not want our help but needed it anyway, and killing every bad guy that we came across. I had witnessed so much death, and murders, massacres, and blood... Oh, a lot of blood... Thomas Hall, our original contact out here in Syria … the chubby guy who liked Dungeons & Dragons… He had died two months ago with another I.E.D explosion that had taken a total of four lives... It was a living nightmare and at first, I had just wanted to go home, but as time had passed on by, I had forgotten about home. I didn't have one any more. This was my home, right here on the battlefield. All that violence, and all that death, almost on a daily basis now, I had become completely numb. Fighting in fierce battles, dodging bullets and taking lives had become just... Normal … I was simply going through the motions... “You gonna eat That?” … Northman asked from the back of the tent.
“Don't be Stupid.”
-I grunted in disgust... “Can I have it then?” … He could be my guest. I held the knife out to him with the skewered scorpion still wriggling on the tip and Northman took it eagerly. He drew his own knife to slice off the stinger before he held it over the open flame of the camping stove, slowly roasting the creature... I looked away... I sat by the opening of our tent and watched the camp. This is where we had been based during our stay here, working with the local troops to build it into a fortified position that they could work effectively out of. It was a foothold in the hills and teaching them how to build it from the ground up had allowed them to learn how to go off on their own and build more base camps elsewhere, in the future. We had also spent some time teaching them how to set perimeters, plan patrols, and deal with enemy threats... Because of Normandy Squad's work here, the Syrian forces in this region were better prepared to face the terrorist rebels and would actually stand a fighting chance for once... It didn't look like much though... Four dozen tents set up in a tight web formations and nestled against the cliff face of a high ridge. Sandbag walls were set up in various places to provide choke points and a solid defence against any possible attack.. Around sixty Syrian troops were busy working around the camp, or improving the camp with necessities such as clean water collectors, sewage ditches, and there had even been talk of mining into the cliff face to build tunnels through the hills that would allow them to connect various camps together... The majority of the transport used around the area now were horses and camels, but I could never get used to them.. we still had a few vans and flat bed cars though, but fuel was scarce, and I.E.Ds were aplenty and so we only used the vehicles these days when absolutely necessary.... “Here comes Macintosh.” … Rea said, from his place opposite me, He motioned up the dirt path and I leaned my head out of the tent to see the rookie sauntering towards us. Macintosh had discovered a very lucrative business set up in many parts of Syria.
....Prostitution....
(02/28/16 : 14:04:28)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
|-|In Syria, Somewhere within a Militia Camp|-|
-Within a large temporary militia camp that Normandy Squad has spent weeks building up alongside the local Militia. It is situated within the hills and wild canyons of Syria and consists of over forty tents sitting up against the foot of a Ridge's cliff face, hidden out of plain view.-
The majority religion in this area saw that most of the locals were Muslims, But despite their insistence to be Prudish females, The local women were all too eager to spread their thighs and offer a dry crusty cunt for a crate of food, or a few pouches of tobacco. Nobody else in Normandy Squad had found interest in that though except for Macintosh. He would occasionally make the six mile hike out to a certain village in order to get his... happy ending... I found it a disgusting habit and my opinion was that Macintosh was weak, taking advantage of those willing to do whatever it took to survive.... “here he is!” … cheered Northman when Macintosh ducked inside the open flaps of the tent... “How was it?” … he asked before starting to chew on that crispy fried scorpion like it was candy... “It was amazing” … Macintosh said in a smug manner... “You wouldn't believe how flexible these bitches are”... Rea cackled and spoke up to add into the conversation... “That's because they ain't nothing but skin and bone” … … ... “Nothing wrong with that” … insisted Macintosh as he puffed out his chest and sat down... “And what they lack in curves, they make up for with enthusiasm.” … Northman cheered with him and they gave each other a high five.-
“Sure they do.”
-I said in agreement. I had been trying to ignore the conversation but I turned back into the tent now and looked at Macintosh.-
“Why wouldn't they be enthusiastic? They get to give their kids their first meal in days. And all she had to do was let a little prick violate her.”
Macintosh scoffed and pulled out a cigarette... “Come on, man” … He said, ignoring my bitter sarcasm... “You should give it a try one day, you might actual enjoy it.”
“I don't think so.”
-I said without even having to consider it... I had never been remotely tempted and I knew that my opinion on that would not change any time soon... “You don't enjoy sex?” … asked Macintosh in a taunting manner.-
“Oh I like sex... but usually, when I fuck, It's with a woman who wants me as much as I want her, and I definitely don't pay for it.”
-Macintosh laughed... “Oh she wanted it!” … He insisted as he grabbed his cock... “She sucked on this until her lips went numb, then neighed like a horse as I rode that bitch into brown town” … Northman joined in on the laughter and they gave each other another high five. I simply scowled, staring directly at the rookie.-
“You completely disgust Me. Do you know that?”
(02/28/16 : 14:37:51)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
|-|In Syria, Somewhere within a Militia Camp|-|
-Within a large temporary militia camp that Normandy Squad has spent weeks building up alongside the local Militia. It is situated within the hills and wild canyons of Syria and consists of over forty tents sitting up against the foot of a Ridge's cliff face, hidden out of plain view.-
-The laughter in the tent faded to silence, Rea turned away to look out of the tent awkwardly and pretend to be distracted by something going on out there. Northman watched with curious silence as he chewed on that scorpion, and Macintosh stared at me, trying to decide if I was joking or not.. “What is your problem, mate?” … He asked, eventually as a glare set across his baby faced features.-
“You're my problem.”
-I snapped quickly. My tone harsh and direct. I was in a foul fucking mood, but didn't seem to care. I didn't know it, but it wouldn't have mattered what the topic of discussion was at the time. I would have found something to take offence to, it was inevitable.-
“You practically blackmail those women. If they don't fuck You. They'll starve. What a bloody hero -You- must feel like.”
-Macintosh looked offended and shook his head... “I don't blackmail anybody” … He insisted as he looked around the tent for somebody to speak up for him. When nobody else spoke he added … “They offer it willingly.” .. I had obviously got under his skin with my opinion and he didn't like it one bit. But that was good, it further fuelled my own feral mood.-
“They offer it willingly because they are unwilling to let their children starve.. if you are such a good bloody Samaritan, why not just give them the food? with no catch? It's not like you paid for it.”
-Macintosh scoffed again, and I could tell that he was trying to think of a better way to justify his actions. Even if I was unreasonably irritated. Even if I was an Arsehole, I still made a point that he struggled to argue with. Because regardless of -how- I said it, it was still the truth and every stupid motherfucker in that tent, knew it.... In the end he simply said... “I paid for it! … With sweat, and time, and effort... I've worked my arse off out here.. Just like You... I earned that food and it is my right to take it... It is My right to do whatever the fuck I want to do.” ...-
“And it is their right to Live” … -I said. Not even bothering to listen to anything coming out of his mouth. - … “Without You abusing them. But you are too stupid to understand the point I'm trying to make so let me break it down for you into the most basic form … You are pretty much a glorified Rapist.”
-Northman gasped from his watching place... “Fuck You, arsehole!” … Roared Macintosh, leaping to his feet. But I was just as quick to move and before anybody in that tent could blink, I had snatched my pistol from my belt and was pointing it at Macintosh's head. There was no real law out here. No little police officer would come and arrest me. I could empty the entire clip into his face and nobody would be able to do fuck all about it. I knew that. He knew that.... And That rising anger of his had quickly faded... now all I saw was fear in his eyes as he froze in his skin and started to turn pale.-
“Fuck Me?” … -I repeated Quietly- … “How about I fuck You? How about I put a bullet through your fucking head and then fuck your corpse?”
(02/28/16 : 17:43:13)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
|-|In Syria, Somewhere within a Militia Camp|-|
-Within a large temporary militia camp that Normandy Squad has spent weeks building up alongside the local Militia. It is situated within the hills and wild canyons of Syria and consists of over forty tents sitting up against the foot of a Ridge's cliff face, hidden out of plain view.-
-Everybody in the tent was frozen in the moment. Nobody dared move and it was Rea who spoke first, directing his words to Me in a calm, soothing manner... “Easy, laddie... It's not worth it... This war is getting under our skin, That's all... Just put that away, there ain't no need for it, You hear me?” … I wanted to. I wanted to put it away, it was like I wasn't myself... Part of me wanted to Kill him right there, for nothing more than swearing at Me. I growled inwardly as my finger flexed against that trigger... “WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!” … Barked a Voice. It was Harvey, marching into the tent with Christian following closely at his side. His arm was still injured, but he wasn't using the sling anymore at least, so that was a good sign... I reeled in my composure and holstered my pistol. I didn't know what had come over me. It had rocked my nerves and I immediately felt bad about it... everything was just... Stress... I hated the situation and my anger was on a knife's edge lately... It wasn't the rookies fault.. It's this bloody country... I sat back down by the camping stove and rubbed at my temples.-
“Nothing Captain... Just settling differences.”
-Macintosh sat back down too but didn't say a word. It had scared him, I could tell that, and I really did feel guilty about it... “Okay.” … said Harvey... “Well I consider those differences as settled now and you two better consider it the same.” … When nobody objected to his words, he moved over to sit down in between Rea and Northman. Christian remained on his feet by the opening of the tent. He hadn't been the same since his injury. He was quieter, more reserved... and in my opinion... Broken... “So, what's happening, Chief?” … Rea asked, directing his attention to Harvey... “I hope you are about to tell us that we are out of here in the morning. I want to get back to Scotland and forget I ever know this dump.”... “Speak for yourself.” … Said Macintosh, who appeared to have recovered from his confrontation with Me... “I could stay out here another year. We've got food, a bed, and we've got freedom. What more could you ask for? And besides that, we've been saving lives man, we're heroes out here.” … Rea chuckled, and Northman scoffed... “Yeah, but nobody will ever know about it.” .. he added... And I silently agreed with that. We had done a lot of good... Our work out here had greatly reduced the hostile presence in the air and improved the way of life for a lot of people. We were Heroes, but nobody would ever know us as heroes, or know what we had been through out here. The British Government would likely label us as terrorists ourselves, and we all knew that once we got back to the United Kingdom, we couldn't tell anybody about what we had done... So I could understand Northman's bitterness about it... We all could... “That's because the politicians don't give a shit.” … declared Macintosh... “They only care about how things look on paper, not what goes on in their shadows... fuck 'em.” … Everybody in the tent nodded in agreement. Harvey turned to Rea and answered his initial question... “I'm afraid none of us will be going home tomorrow” … Surprise, surprise... “But you should all be happy to know that at the end of the week, we -will- all be on our way home... We are Done here.”... Northman and Rea cheered loudly, Christian grinned, and nobody else reacted...-
“What about our money?”
-I asked. I had lost my conversational skills out here, and in its place had been born a bluntness that I would likely never shake... I tended to get straight to the point and didn't care that my question interrupted the celebration... “It's right there.” … Harvey said with a smile as he pointed at Christian... Christian stepped further into the tent and tossed them each a large brown envelope... I caught one and was the first to open it up, But when I looked inside, I was not happy with what I found inside.-
“Euro bank notes?” …-I scoffed and pulled a handful of the currency out.- … “It was supposed to be English Cash”
(02/28/16 : 18:01:09)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
|-|In Syria, Somewhere within a Militia Camp|-|
-Within a large temporary militia camp that Normandy Squad has spent weeks building up alongside the local Militia. It is situated within the hills and wild canyons of Syria and consists of over forty tents sitting up against the foot of a Ridge's cliff face, hidden out of plain view.-
-Harvey held up his hands in resignation as though asking everybody not to shoot the messenger and that he had done what he could... “Some complications came up... General Abdul couldn't get the British stuff... but that is twice as much as we were promised.” … Twenty thousand pounds. Once it was converted. But I wasn't impressed, How the fuck was I supposed to just walk into a bank when I got home and convert this much currency without raising suspicion? … It might be twice as much as the ten thousand that we initially agreed to, but it was also for three times as long as we initially agreed to.. in the end, I decided that the debate just wasn't worth it, so I said nothing, stuffing the money back into the envelope and then storing the envelope away in my bergen... “The locals are throwing us a party” … Christian said as he handed out the last envelope to Northman... “A Farewell feast in our honour.” … Northman had emptied his envelope out into his lap and was counting out every single bank note, but he looked up at the mention of a party... “I'm guessing that when you say … party … you don't mean bottles of lager and sausage rolls?” … Christian laughed and shook his head... “By party I mean, they are going to roast a lamb and share some of their local moonshine with us.” … Harvey rose to his feet and cleared his throat... “I expect you all to be on your best behaviour. They take this shit seriously and the last thing we want now is to insult the General and his attempt at hospitality.” … I had to bite back a scoff, my bitter mindset was trying to break through again and I did not like how Harvey insinuated that the general of the local troops was doing us a favour. They wouldn't have any of this if not for Normandy Squad... “Another thing that we don't want to do so close to the finish line is let our guard down. So I want sentries on duty tonight as normal... Since it's a party, I'm not going to allocate anybody. You can decide among yourself who misses the feast” ...
“I'll do sentry.”
-I said immediately, I did not care about the party in the slightest. I was not here to party. The contract had changed me so much that I was not even sure I knew how to switch off Hiker mode anymore.... “Well, I don't like lamb.” … Stated Rea... “So I'll do the other sentry... but save me some of that moonshine, lads.” …
“Why? Tastes like battery acid anyway.”
-I said, remembering the last time I had sampled it... “Because I haven't had a whiskey in months” … said Rea... “ And I plan to pretend that it's a delicious glass of Glenn's scotch on the rocks.”