War: A Business

Chapter 28 : Suspended

    We arrived at the gates. Two sentry robots scanned the van. Then the tall, thick metal gates opens.

"You can enter." a feminine robotic voice echoed.

    Then we drove through the gates. In the military compound, we saw heavily armed soldiers with small spherical drones floating alongside them and Advance Integrated Military Systems(AIMS) with armor made of Ultranium-thermal resistant material.

     I almost forgot that our top mercenaries, the Spartan Legion, with their top of the line equipment, are here, guarding the headquarters.

     We got out of the hover-van. A mech lumbered past us, armed with its missiles and laser cannons. The walking machine is very intimidating. I always wanted to ride one, but I'm not good in operating them during training. Then, we walked to the headquarters building.

    The inside is lighted by a few lights. A lonely plant is sitting on a corner. The place is very dim and cold. There is no receptionist in the reception counter. An elevator is at the middle of the room.

   The elevator opened suddenly. It almost made me jump.

"Please enter the elevator. Boss will see you now." a robotic feminine voice echoed the room.

   Then we walked to the elevator and we entered it and we ascended to the top floor.

   The elevator played slow, but cheerful elevator music. My brother bobbed his head, tapped his fingers and hummed to the music. He is very weird.

    Then, the elevator stopped. The elevator doors opened. A double door entrance is at our front. We exited the elevator and we saw a sofa and a table in front of it.

   A restroom is at the edge of the corridor. The corridor is lighted by a few lights, making the place dim.

"Please wait until the boss calls you." a robotic feminine voice echoed.

  Then we sat on the sofa and waited. Minutes later, the four mercenaries who survived the last operation were called in Boss's penthouse.

   Later, the four mercenaries got out of Boss's penthouse.

"You're next." one of the mercenaries called, pointing to our direction.

We stood up from the sofa.

"No, not you Francis, you don't have war crimes to account for." he pointed to my younger brother.

   War crimes? Another one of those briefings again, I suppose. Such laws are ridiculous. By that logic, war in itself is outlawed. War is literally a crime against humanity. The brutal the war, the sooner it will end.

   Then my brother sat down. Out of me, my stepbrother, and my brother, he is the only one who still had some empathy for the enemy.

   We entered Boss's penthouse.

   The penthouse is a mix of a bunker and a luxury penthouse. The walls were gray. The place is lighted by a single large glass chandelier. The furniture is very luxurious.

   A rack of weapons is standing on either side of the room. Displayed at the walls is Boss's past combat gear when he was in the army, the same army I served in before I became a mercenary, the Philippine Army. Instead of windows, Holo-vision is placed on the walls to see whats outside.

   Boss appeared in one of the rooms. He looked very serious.

"Well, the GA filed us with war crimes leaving us with more sanctions! Almost all of our establishments is now controlled by the fucking GA!" he shouted furiously.