You start the car as Kendrick shuts the door. You shift the car into high gear and take off down the road.
"You need to keep low and make sure you keep me in your sight, you lose me, and I lose you" you say, speeding down the road.
"You be careful, and you shout my name if you need too, I'll stop what I'm doing, know that, if you want to stick close then you have to be prepared for fighting."
"This is absolutely terrifying" He mutters his English accent heavy in his words.
Your walkie talkie sounds static, and you grab for it.
"Headquarters come in soldier" it says with a slight scratch.
"Soldier, copy" you speak, keeping a hand on the wheel as you watch the world whip by.
"Laswell here, this is soldier-?"
"Rookie" you speak.
"Callsigns are mandatory Rookie, you're wasting time."
"Callsign Caltex" you report.
"Location Caltex, copy"
"Heading west, -54, 120, copy"
"Copied, over"
You look across at Kendrick as the walkie talkie cuts. You looked ahead, shifting gears as you sharply turn the car. "Talk to me" you say.
"About?" He says sounding less panicked.
"What are you feeling?" You ask.
"I'm afraid, but adrenaline is enabling my fight or flight" He reports.
"What do you want to do?"
"My body wants to flight, but I want to fight, you said they have Kai, Kais like a brother to me" He mutters.
"Kais going to be safe" you say with a nod while you speed through the forest. The mud paths flicking up and splattering onto the car with your speed.
You're precise with your turns. You guide Kendrick into the glove box before asking him to fill slots of his gear with medical supplies.
He does as told and you wire up your mic passing him one. You change the stations and speak. "Callsign Caltex, copy?"
"I heard that" Kendrick says to you and you give a thumbs up trying to speedily navigate the forest roads.
"Callsign Caltex, do you copy?" You speak again, louder and firmer.
"Ghost online, received Caltex, over" Ghosts voice comes through, and you let out a sigh of relief.
"Soap online, received Caltex, over" You nod to yourself hearing Soaps voice relying on one more.
"Bravo six online, position Caltex, sign".
"Far west, coming in from west east, over"
"Life count, sign, copy" Price voice cuts through.
"Two, locations sign?" You speak.
"Ghost online, second floor, out"
"Soap online, lower floor, over"
"Bravo six, north rooms, over"
"Life two callsign bud, copy" you say glancing at Kendrick.
"Copy"
"Copy"
"Copy"
"Caltex offline" you finish, flicking the mic up. Kendrick following your moves.
"Your callsign is bud" you say to him, watching ahead with intense focus. "You hear someone say bud and you answer, understood?"
"Understood" Kendrick says. "Do I get a gun?" He asks slowly.
"If you want one" you say.
"It'd make me feel safer."
"Then a gun you get" you say with a firm nod. "Blunt please" you say.
He takes one from his mouth and holds it to your lips as you drive. You inhaled as much as you can and more, holding it in before coughing slightly.
"Kai's codename is target or K2, remember his reports" you say.
"Rory what happened to Jasper, that's what this morning was, does Jasper work with you?" He asks.
"No no, jaspers a teacher there" you say. ".... isn't he?" You ask slowly.
"Yes, but he's not permanent" Kendrick says.
You furrow your brows, "Sorry?"
"He's not permanent, he's only temporarily filling in for studies."
"How long has he been there?" You ask trying to keep your voice steady.
"Weeks ... maybe a month ... why?" Kendrick asks.
"No reason, Jasper, he's fine, he's grown enough to take care of himself" you mutter gripping the wheel harder.
"So, Rory isn't really you huh?" He says, sounding a little sad.
"Clearly" you shrug, not being mindful of his feelings in the moment.
"Well, can I ask then?" He says looking across at you.
"My names Y/N, I go by Rookie, my callsign is Caltex, I work at LS12 as part of TaskForce141, uh I'm 23." you say listing off basic information.
"Keep going, won't you?" He says quietly watching as you drive.
"Well what else do you want to know?" You ask taking note of his calming body language. Your talking keeps him occupied, focusing his brain on something other than what waits ahead.
"What do your parents think?" he says with a glance.
"I have no parents and no known relatives; I grew up with my dad in this town at my current house" you say.
"Well, what's LS12?"
"That's the overall military service I serve for, we travel in groups and classes based on rank, taskforce141 I recently joined as a new addition" you report.
"You're 23?" He says surprised.
"That's right" you nod.
"You're only five years older than me and, and look at you" he says sounding somewhat defeated.
"It wasn't easy Kendrick" you mumble. "My life was dedicated to training, overworking, driving my body, searching for the approval of my father, I didn't have a childhood, I didn't experience school in first person, I sold years of my life for something I didn't even know I'd end up in."
"You trained that hard?"
"I was brought up on it, it's like breathing, it's just what I knew. It's not that I didn't want to, I just didn't know I had the choice to stop, it became nature to work" you explain.
"It's sad, not something to admire, don't admire it" you mutter.
"It's impressive what you do" he says sitting up. "I'm terrified, you're not."
"I never said that, it's there, but if I ignore it then it doesn't exist, chose to acknowledge it and it'll take advantage of your vulnerability."
"So, I ignore it?" Kendrick says.
"No, you can be afraid, you have every right to be afraid, it's not shameful, it's natural" you say.
"Keep aware of your surroundings, reply to bud, trust no one but me and my team, it's simple, keep low, keep hidden, I'm right here" you say.
You seen flashes of a dark colored building through the trees as you speed along. Flickering in and out of view, black Subarus parked outside. Hidden in the shadows casted by the concealing forestry above.
You shifted gears, pressing down on the brakes as the car slides to a halt. You're a distance away from the building and you get out of the car quickly. Your breathing is steady, your heart is not. Still, you keep yourself composed for Kendricks's sake.
You make your way to Kendrick and open his door. "No time to be afraid now, okay?" You speak.
He nods, taking your hand as you pull him up. You harness a gun to your back and hold the other. Passing Kendrick, a simple Assault rifle.
You go to attach a suppressor onto his gun, but he takes it from your hand and attaches it himself swiftly. You give him a nod, "good work."
You tighten your helmet around, flipping down the eye shield. You do the same to Kendrick, double checking his mic placement. You're not sure if it's really the best thing to bring him with you but that's not currently on your mind.
You nod at him, and he nods back, his eyes darting about. You turn, looking through the tree line before quickly making your way closer.
You take large steps with bent knees, pressing against trees for cover. You hold a hand up for Kendrick to keep still as you flip down your mic peering out from behind the tree.
"Caltex and Bud online, arrived at location, unseen, entrance status, copy."
..."Soap online, all entry points except for South and West East are secure, copy."
"Copy, over" you say into the mic. You motion Kendrick over and he ducks past the tree line towards you. You turn, aiming through your scope.
You scout the enemies ahead of you. Three discussing just outside the Subarus by wire gates. "You take left, I go right" you whisper to Kendrick who nods.
"On three" you whisper aiming down sight. You line your shot and switch your gun to burst fire. "One ... two ... three-"
You press the trigger, the gun popping against your shoulder as the bullet leaves the chamber. You lower the gun watching the three drops in sync.
"Two birds one stone" Kendrick says from behind you.
"You're doing great" you say turning to him with a nod.
"It's the weed" He grins. You duck back down low, making your way through the surroundings. You take moments to sneak a look at Kendrick.
He's holding up well, keeping up at a steady pace. You press against the wire fence and Kendrick does the same. You look at him, "report our location" you say.
You grab your knife from your belt swinging it across your fingers smoothly before hearing Kendricks's voice through your earpiece. "Uh, callsign bud, uh, by the, doors?.... copy?"
You stab the blade into the tires of the vehicles, listening as he tries to report.
"Copy bud, over" Prices voice comes in.
You make your way back quickly and sneak across the property. The green rooftops darken the area, straining the light that filters through.
You kick open the doors, opening fire and quick scoping the scattered enemies barely missing bullets. You duck behind cargo and Kendrick races after you.
His chest rising and falling as you reload your magazine. You give him a smile before peeking out and shooting enemies. Few are difficult to shoot, and you miss every so often. Your eyes dart around trying to locate their positions. You press your back against the cover of the cargo.
Kendricks hands tremble on the gun and you flick your mic down so he can hear you clearly over the gunfire.
"Bud, keep like that if you're afraid, I've got you" you say.
He flips his own mic down, seeming relieved to hear you over the noise. "Ror- uh"
"Rory is okay" you say peeking out once more and aiming your gun to the higher platforms.
"I'm freezing up" he mutters as you come back around to safety. Your footing is firm, your back pressed as much as you can to the cargo.
You hear soft clanks beside you and look down as Kendrick barely manages to say. "Grenade-".
You grab his arm before he can run off and pick it up. Tossing it back across the room and covering behind the cargo as an explosion sounds, followed by pained groans.
"Bud, you're doing great, just wait here" you speak into the mic, and he nods, letting you know he heard you.
You dart to another cargo pile before rolling out into the open, you shot a steady line across the top platforms where enemies line and watch them fall, some folding over the railings and dropping.
You moved fast, making use of your surroundings and covering behind them while keeping an eye on where Kendrick is. Your breath hitched gently as a bullet whizzed by. You waited for a pause in the constant fire before peering out.
You reload your mag and shove it back into the gun before you pull the pin on a frag grenade. You hold it in your hand, estimating the time before throwing it.
You peek out as it explodes perfectly sending limbs and chunks of enemies flying. You take down the last few with your pistol before running back to Kendrick.
He looks at you with wide eyes. You look down beside him, seeing a dead enemy with an AK shot to the chest. You smile before you can think.
"Whoa, good one" you say hearing your echo from his mic. He gives an uncertain chuckle before shaking his head. His eyes wide with fright and his face pale.
"Can we go?" He asks.
You flip your mic up with a nod, you take the route of the boxes and keep hidden as you move on. You move deeper into the base eliminating enemies without hesitation.
You step into a room with blood splatter all over the walls and dead bodies riddled across the floors. You step over a few keeping your gun high.
You stop, inspecting one that has a knife plunged into its neck. You pull it out, dropping the body as the remaining blood spills out. You wipe you gloved hand over the blade and offer it to Kendrick.
You make it out of the room, looking down intersecting hallways. "Soap online, upstairs floor clear, Copy"
"Copy" the team replies in sync. You motion Kendrick to follow as you walk down the dangerously open hall. No doors and no cover. You need yourself in front of him, protecting him while checking behind you often. Kendricks gun firing alerts you and you raise yours.
You look past him seeing a few enemies dropping. You nod up at him and he offers a small smile with worried eyes. His face is quick to drop the smile like he can't keep it up. You get to the end of the hall that branches off left and right.
"Taskforce, lower floor, report here" Prices voice cuts through.