Redemption

CHAPTER XVI: The Last Mile

They were already at the armory.

To them, this was it. The last and final straw to pluck out in order to detain and defeat Shepherd. It wasn't clearly the end yet because they still had to interrogate and mock him once they capture the vile man, and the most ironic thing is that Graves himself would do the deed for everybody. It's crazy on how he came so far for this moment: turning against his old leader who was secretly using him for his evil deeds. It was nauseous, yet experiencing that made him know that not everybody can be a mere sheep, but a wolf in disguise.

Yet, neither of those can describe Shepherd. He was a menace.

—-

Graves was trying to find equipment for himself as he scavenged throughout the armory, specifically picking the vests and guns that he wants. Of course, he went and change his shirt beforehand so it would provide better camouflage at the dead of night. He was wearing a black shirt with a tint of grey, so it would be labeled as a reflection in the shadows. Ironic.

He picked out the most complicated looking vest to store his extra utility in, but mostly for his sake of style. Though, the only thing that bothered him was that the vests inside the task force's armory didn't have any secret compartments in them. Part of him wishes he didn't remove the vest and threw it in the pyre – but it was to symbolize that he wasn't going to turn back anymore.

He has already found his home – an embodiment of his past reality.

After getting his vest, he quickly came over to the guns section. He went for another rifle since it was the only gun he knew how to use. It was kind of ridiculous, but this wasn't any sort of scavenging mission back on the Russian Base – they were against Shepherd, a powerful tyrant capable of commanding the largest arsenal of shadows. That would mean bullet hell.

Graves also got a pistol and an extra gun – an AK-47. In honor of Nikolais, he decided to try out an automatic gun for this mission as a backup if he ever loses the rifle. He didn't pick it himself, but he picked it because he somehow missed the man.

Although, it was now all dust – nothing remained, but he could still feel him. No signs of guilt, but he can somehow miss him. What was that feeling?

Graves snapped out of it as he walks over to the transmitters, meeting with Alejandro and Rudy just chatting from that area.

"Hey amigos." He tried to chat in Spanish, but his knowledge of speaking it wasn't exactly that good.

"Oh, Graves." Alejandro replied back to him in an austere tone. Graves could've sworn that Rudy swallowed as he eyes them both equally.

"Are you ready for showtime?"

"Always."

The cold man replied back and just swiftly walked away from both Graves and Rodolfo, leaving them both standing in that one spot. Rodolfo looked at Graves with sympathetic eyes, trying to make him realize what was wrong.

"...I'm sorry about Ale, Graves. He's not that comfortable with you yet despite telling you earlier that he accepts you in the team.",