INTERVENTION

A big group of people piled up around the windows of the hospital's north side, attracted by something in the plaza outside. However, only a few brave ones stood in plain view, holding weapons. The rest either took cover or stayed several meters away from any openings. They whispered among themselves, not daring to raise their voices.

Julien made a conscious effort to stay calm, and approached the balcony in front of him. He immediately spotted the cause of the commotion. Two military trucks, parked at both sides of the statue of Saint Marie. The trucks' cabs had long metal poles pointed up towards the sky, adorned with white flags, which occasionally fluttered in the morning breeze.

'White flags…? That's usually a sign of peace and negotiation. They're being quite careful, aren't they…?'

Suspicious. Why would the military keep their distance and preemptively bring out white flags?

'They know. They know we don't trust them. Damn it… Maybe there's one of them in here with us…!?'

"B-Boss? What do we do…?"

"…"

******

"Captain Isaac, someone is coming out to a balcony on the sixth floor." said Connor, sitting on the passenger seat.

"I can see him. Keep your eyes peeled." replied Isaac.

He focused his binoculars on the target. Male, ordinary civilian attire, no visible weapons. His face expressed nervousness and insecurity. He didn't look like a threat.

The man carried a big piece of cardboard, which he raised into the air, exposing a message written on it:

[YOU'RE NOT

WELCOME HERE

LEAVE]

"It seems like the intel we got from [Fox] is accurate. You'd expect people to be happy to see us these days. But not them, huh…?"

"How should we proceed, captain?"

"Private Erik, tie a white rag around your arm and go out there, we'll send a message back to them. Keep your weapon down and don't show any hostility. We don't want to trigger a violent reaction."

"Yes, sir!" answered a voice from the back compartment of the truck.

According to [Fox]'s discoveries, someone was seeking to seed those people with hatred and distrust towards the Army, possibly attempting to ignite an armed conflict. However, hostile or not, they were still civilians.

Isaac knew what they had to do; it was only a matter of making the right choices. All he saw were people they had to rescue, and a mystery they had to uncover. Nothing else.

He spotted Erik on the side mirror, walking around the back of the truck, carrying a paper sheet and a sharpie. There were no signs of retaliation from the hospital.

'Does this mean they are willing to negotiate, after all…? That's convenient.'

"Alright… Erik, write this…"

******

"[Donovan], this is PT-01, do you copy? Over."

"Affirmative, Prometheus. I hear you."

"Both parties have established peaceful communication. There's a possibility they might end up reaching an unfavorable outcome for us. Fix it."

"I'm on it."

[Donovan] hid the radio back inside his tracksuit, and left the room. All things considered, that result was to be expected. The Army wouldn't charge recklessly into the unknown without assessing the threat first. And Julien wasn't stupid either. One didn't have to be a genius to realize that these events weren't happening out of random chance.

Both sides were testing the waters. And a little bit of turbulence might be all that was needed to break that fragile stalemate.

He walked in front of an open doorway, and he heard a sound. Out of the corner of his eye, something moved in the shadows, but he had no chance to jump out of the way.

An arm grabbed him from behind in a chokehold.

"What the—!!?"

"Who the fuck are you!?" asked a male voice, almost screaming in his ears.

'Who is this guy…!!?'

"Didn't you fucking hear me!!? Who are you working with!!?" the arm tightened around his neck, strangling him.

'A spy…!?'

He threw his elbow back, burrowing it into his attacker's stomach, and making him release his hold. Wasting no time, [Donovan] lunged forward, trying to get as much distance as possible with the unknown man while gasping for air. He grabbed his radio.

"PT…!! We have a problem…!! There's—!!"

A knife emerged seemingly from thin air, plunging into the radio and shattering it to pieces.

'Shit…!!!'

He threw his opponent back with a kick, and armed himself with his own combat knife.

The two men, a couple of meters apart, observed each other in tense silence. [Donovan] knew he had no chance of getting away without putting up a fight. Judging by his posture and demeanor, the man in front of him was no amateur.

He had made a critical mistake by reaching for his radio. Even an instant of distraction could have costed him his life. A trap his opponent hadn't fallen for.

'Strike first, ask questions later, huh…?'

…

With their five senses focused on their enemy, both of them jumped into action. Knives clashed. Fists were blocked, diverged or dodged. They grappled each other, quickly breaking free either by force or by technique. Some hits were landing, but the surge of adrenaline prevented them from feeling pain. The bladed weapons grazed their targets, shredding clothes and scratching skin.

With a flurry of blows, the two veteran fighters engaged in deadly combat.

******

"PT…!! We have a problem…!! There's—!!" *Bzzzzzzzzzzzzt*

[Donovan]'s panicked report was suddenly cut off, with only static remaining.

…

"Prometheus, this is PT-01. PT-03 might have been compromised, and is now to be considered killed in action until proven otherwise. We'll now proceed with the auxiliary plan. PT-04 and 05, you are to remain in position and report any abnormalities on your side."

"Yes, sir." replied two different voices on the other side of the radio.

Three building blocks away, the massive hospital was in plain view. From their vantage point on that rooftop, they could see the negotiator on the balcony. They didn't have line of sight with the military forces on the ground, but they didn't need to.

Sitting on the floor beside him, PT-02 held a sniper rifle with a bulky silencer socketed at the end of the barrel.

"Get into position." said 01. "We need to fix this before whoever got 03 turns the tide against us."

"Yes, sir."

PT-02 laid down on the floor, prepped the weapon, and centered his sights on the target.

"On your signal, sir." he said.

…

"Fire."

With minimal noise, akin to that of an air gun, the rifle delivered its fateful message.

…

"Target down."

"Alright, get ready to move. We're leaving the area." said PT-01.

The fuse had been ignited. All they needed to do next was wait. All outcomes would now play in their favor, one way or another. Their biggest obstacle would end up removed from the scene, and their most valued prize would be presented to them on a silver platter.

******

"They're saying they want to meet and talk, boss…" announced the man with the binoculars.

Julien was growing more and more impatient. Meet and talk? Verbal communication would indeed be easier, and it might be convenient in order to reach a proper agreement; but it'd also give them another potential avenue for deception. The suspicion of a spy within the hospital was already bad enough. The idea of establishing close contact with them didn't please him. He wanted them gone.

'They sure are persistent…'

He faced the negotiator, who stared at him anxiously.

"Let's see, write this—"

A dull, muffled noise was heard.

…

At first, nobody really understood what had just happened. The man on the balcony was no longer standing. Instead, he had fallen sideways, crumpled like a rag. There was a hole the size of a tennis ball through his head. Blood pooled down on the floor below him.

Screaming filled the room.

"T-They're shooting…!!!"

"Fuck, they killed him!!!"

"Oh god, nooo…!!! Honey, no…!!!" a woman rushed towards the balcony. Several others tried to stop her, but she brushed them off and approached the fallen body. "A-Aaaah…!! Aaaaaahh…!!!!"

"Those bastards…!!" one of the armed men took cover beside one of the windows, aimed his weapon towards the soldier standing in the plaza outside, and opened fire.

"W-What are you doing!!?"

"What am I doing, you ask!!? They really are coming to kill us, damn it…!!! I'm not gonna let some government dog blow my brains out without putting up a fight!! Hell no!!" he shot again in the direction of the trucks. "Smoke those motherfuckers!!"

******

"Get back inside, Erik!! Now!!!" ordered Isaac. "What the hell happened!?"

"The negotiator was shot, sir!!!" replied Connor, still watching through the binoculars. "The shot definitely came from the east!! A sniper…!!"

A rain of bullets fell on the trucks. Most of the shots missed, cracking the pavement. The ones that did hit their mark had little effect, bouncing off the vehicle's armor and bulletproof glass.

"Bravo, this is Alpha! Report your situation! Over!" said Isaac, glancing at the other truck on the square.

"This is Bravo! We've seen what just happened! We've redirected the drone in the direction of the shot, we're scouring the area!" replied Bravo.

"HQ, come in! This is Captain Isaac from Alpha team! We have an unexpected situation, over!"

"This is HQ. We've heard what happened, Alpha. Stand by."

…

"HQ, this is Bravo! The drone has spotted two unknown individuals on a rooftop three building blocks away from our position! They've just retreated back into the building!"

"Acknowledged, Bravo. These are your new orders: Alpha team will infiltrate the hospital at once, and secure the Sting-resistant subject inside. Avoid confrontation if possible. If you need to resort to violence, shoot to incapacitate, not to kill; unless you're left with no other choice. However, the safety of the target subject is of the utmost importance. Do whatever it takes to ensure they make it out alive. Bravo team will follow the trail of the enemy snipers. Apprehend them alive if possible, and extract them for interrogation. We can't allow—"

"This is Delta, talking to all units!! We've detected a large number of stingers moving in the direction of Saint Marie Hospital, following the sound of gunshots! What the hell is going on over there!?"

"This is HQ. Teams Charlie and Delta, keep your positions and report any further developments in your sectors. Alpha team, you must hurry. Not only will stingers soon surround the hospital, but it's also very likely the hospital's nest will be awakened by the noise. Expect stinger resistance."

"Roger that…! Shit…!!" Isaac watched as the other truck's engine roared, speeding away from the square in pursuit of the enemy. "Alright, boys! Check all your equipment, and make sure to gear yourselves with inhibitor capsules! We're moving in!"

******

"What's that noise…!?" said William.

The other people around him were equally as confused. It came from above. Gunshots. Lots of gunshots.

"We need to go up!" yelled Marcus, barreling down the corridor. "This is a very bad sign!"

"Up!?"

"All that noise will attract shamblers to the area! Also, the nest…!"

"Damn it, Marcus…! Do you know what's going on, at least!?"

"There's no time…! We need to gather everyone and go up!"