Chapter 8

Dyne: Nothing beats a morning ride!

I said as I felt the wind on my body as the resistance pushed me back.

It's been 2 days since I met Yugi back at Jack's restaurant and nothing major has happened since then. Though just as I was about to comment on how great this day was, I heard Dispatch talking.

Dispatch: Unit 376U return to HQ immediately!

This time, the voice was female and unlike last time's call, there was a certain urgency in her voice that was barely noticeable.

Without losing a beat, I accelerated and headed to HQ. Once there, I was instructed to go to a briefing room where 4 people sitting around a circular table waited for me.

One of those 4 was Lissandra and the other was another member of Urias, Constantine. I didn't recognize the other two people but I didn't say anything for now not knowing the situation.

:Now that Walker is here let us begin!

Said a middle-aged man wearing a military uniform. His voice reminded me of a certain Cave Johnson from Portal 2.

:For the one person who doesn't know me, I'm Thaddeus Ross. As of 38 minutes ago, a group of 4 people have occupied a building that belongs to Carbon Corp.

A hologram of a multistorey building appeared in the middle of the table.

Thaddeus: We have confirmed that a known psychic terrorist, Phantom, is among the four. He is dangerous, skilled and should not be underestimated. They have successfully captured 41 employees as hostages and from our intel, they've planted a bomb on the seventh floor the building. Your job is to infiltrate the building and strike simultaneously from 3 different points and neutralize the terrorists. Our scans have indicated that the bomb is on a timer and linked to 3 deadman switches so you can't kill your targets. While chief Lissandra, Constantine and Walker engage them, Jones will go to the seventh floor and defuse the bomb. The moment everyone has eyes on a target, we will scramble their comms so you have to be quick.

I picked that moment and raised my hand.

Thaddeus: What is it Walker?

Dyne: Sir, while I can hold my own against a fight, I've never had formal training for hand to hand combat so perhaps someone else should take my place on this operation.

Thaddeus: Don't worry Walker, we won't send you people in like this. You 4 are authorized to use solid vision as you see fit but remember, they have 3 deadman switches so nobody can die before the bomb is defused.

"Huh? So we can kill AFTER the bomb is defused? Isn't this a bit...I dunno, excessive?"

Thaddeus: Now, for the points of entry, Walker will be dropped off on the roof by a helicopter. The other three will enter from the ground floor, move through the elevator shaft and split from there. The targets are on the 5th, 12th and 21st floor.

The position of the elevator shaft and the location of the bomb were highlighted on the hologram as well as the floors that were mentioned.

Thaddeus: Remember though, Phantom's position is unknown. Jones, if by any chance you encounter Phantom, you are to disengage and wait for backup from the other 3.

After everyone was ready, we mobilized. I got onboard a helicopter that was too silent for some reason. And got dropped off on the roof.

"Technology is nice"

I commented inside my mind.

Dyne: I've landed on the roof and I'm proceeding inside.

I said through the comms and entered the building. Everything was quiet but as I approached the stairs to the 21st floor, I heard steps. They echoed throughout the place and as they got closer my heartbeat quickened. Closer and closer until they stopped a few meters away from the corner that I was hiding behind for a couple seconds. Then I could hear them going away.

"It seems that he's patrolling the area. We have to time this right."

Dyne: I'm in position, target in sight.

I whispered as softly as I could and informed my team.

Lissandra: Copy that, standby for my signal.

Dyne: Roger.

As the seconds felt like hours, the footsteps were close to me again. I clenched my hand as I heard Lissandra countdown through my comms.

Lissandra: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 go!

I ran towards him as the terrorist recoiled and quickly took out his earpiece. The interference from the scrambling of their comms masked my footsteps.

I was ready to use a card to take him out but a weird feeling washed over me. Instead of using solid vision, it pushed me forward and I continued to ran. I threw a punch as he turned around and it met his nose. He took a few steps backwards, dazed from the blow.

Without wasting a second, I closed the distance to punch him once again but he blocked.

Something in the back of my head tingled as a "Duck down" surfaced on my mind. As I did just that without thinking, a wild haymaker whooshed past my head. Those...messages continued to appear in my mind one by one. "Uppercut to the jaw", "Discombobulate", "Knee strike to solar plexus", "Finish with strike to the back of the head".

My body instinctively took a boxing stance as those 'suggestions' filled my mind. An uppercut to the jaw broke his stance, palm strike to his ears disoriented him, followed by a knee strike that made him double over in pain presenting me with a clear shot that knocked him unconscious.

The 'thud' sound as the guy fell down broke me out of my...whatever that was.

"What the hell was that? It almost felt as if someone was guiding me through the fight."

Dyne: System, did you do anything to me?

System: Negative host! The system didn't and can't do anything that directly affects your actions.

Lissandra: Target 2 down!

Constantine: Target 1 down!

The voices of my teammates made me realize that perhaps this is not the place to ponder what the heck happened. Whatever it was l, it could wait after this operation.

Dyne: Target 3 down!