ODYSSEY (Punishing: Gray Raven X Arknights X OC Characters)

Vol. 2/ Chapter 4: Hard Contact

“What's here boss?” he was pointing at a spot, where, much to Watanabe's surprise, was an old facility half buried by the elements.

“Another tech lab left by those chums up there to rust.” he glances above before giving Ingra a modified transreceiver.

“This one is more secure. Use it. We can't have traitors listening in on the same frequency.”

Ingra takes the device on Watanabe's palm and places it on his ear, testing it. He was suddenly flooded with voices of the men under his command, which is good enough. They were talking over the shared frequency, which was private and untraceable from others.

“I'll take six men.”

“Make it ten.”

“Hah, ten it is.”

They shook hands, both of them knowing full well that this might be the last time they see each other. Every mission they take is a risk, and with almost all of the Forsaken soldiers had their Inver-devices removed, it's safe to say that there's no second chance for them.

Ingra picks up his weapon and exits the room, and only does Watanabe turn towards the interrogation room. Two soldiers, both girls, were standing arms crossed over their chests. They were alert, and had their eyes set on the four members of a task force belonging to Babylonia.

The white haired girl, Attila, hands him a data pad.

“It's where they landed sir. Kali dispatched a squad of scouts to see if there are other task forces operating in the area.”

Watanabe reads the smalls texts, which mostly consisted of messages of the squad. He picks up a plastic chair on the far side of the room and sits in front of the group, eyes affixed at the Commandant.

“So... Rozzi, yes? Either you spill the truth or this room will get messy. What are you doing snooping inside Forsaken territory?”

The Commandant, head tilted slightly to one side, stared at him with a neutral expression. Her eyes held no hint of malice, but there was no point being attracted to a woman. She suddenly opens her jacket, and for a moment, Watanabe thought that she was going to remove her clothes.

“To us, stopping more of these.” Rozzi tosses bloodied I.D cards clumped together on the table. The faces of dead people– non-existent people– made Watanabe inhale sharply.

Of course I'm a liar, I'm trained to be one.

I'm a two-faced counterfeit.

“...and to your organization, well, killing more of those.” she points her index finger towards Kali, and the captain hands the pouch full of charred dog tags and identification patches to Watanabe.

“Hmm.” he picks one and stares at it, conflicted.

“We have one, unified goal here.”

“Unified, you say?”

“Yes, you heard it right. Babylonia wants to stabilize the region, and so do you. We can't have our F.O.B being hit twice a week everytime. There are personnel in those offices being hit by stray tank rounds,” she taps her fingers on the I.D cards.

Oh, what a life to live.

“...and the higher ups want those indiscriminate attacks to stop. Surely, you would also want some peace of mind in this dreadful times, do you?”

Watanabe and Rozzi stared at each other, so much so that the tension in the air was palpable. In the ensuing silence as she waited for his answer, she could even hear her own breath. The pounding of her pulse made her head throb too.