WARZONE - König

5

As the year was reaching its end, the temperatures during the day began to cool. 76 degrees F wasn't exactly sweater weather, but for the two soldiers out on their mission, it was a relieving temperature drop.

They head down the deserted streets of Al-Mazrah where ahead Nadja spots what could be a cell-tower atop a brutalist building, its structure still standing strong. She looks to Konig with eyes of determination as they head that way, wary of any enemy that may be active within the building.

Conversation was short and dry, Konig not wanting to push Nadja any further into a state of anger or frustration as he could see it already lingering in her eyes and expression. Shutting oneself away was an action he was familiar with, and he understood that sometimes alone time in ones mind was what a person needed to find peace again.

They approach the ground level of the building, signs of disturbance inside as the doors were left wide open, cash registers seemingly emptied at the front desks and bullet holes riddling the walls as civilian bodies laid across the open floor. They circle around to a stairwell, a persistent scent of death surrounding them as they make their way up. They keep their steps quiet, ascending up the staircase on their tiptoes, weapons hot and ready for any threat.

The lingering scent grew stronger as they approached the rooftop, a stench they were all too familiar with. As they approach the last case of stairs, a trail of blood was spotted dripping down, staining the cement steps. And just at the top, a dead female civilian corpse. Nadja's eyes stayed glued to the body as they make approach.

A fiery rage flows through her veins as they stop across the body. The stairwell was hauntingly quiet as they halted their steps, the only sounds coming from the winds clashing against the door just on the other side of the corpse as a chill shivered down their spines. With Konig behind her as support, she finally breaks her sight from the body and brings it to the door ahead. With respect, she carefully steps over, looking back to Konig who awaits her to open the door.

With a huff, she holds her AK with one hand as her free hand twists the metal doorknob slowly until she hears it click, where she then kicks it open, bringing the AK down in both hands as she aims, spotting two AQ's caught unsuspecting by the communication tower center of the rooftop. She fires and downs them before they had the chance to react but was surprised to see another by the door to her left. 

The large soldier didn't have time to grab his weapon, so he charges at her like a bull, Nadja throwing her AK up between them in defense, but he successfully manages to push her back close to the edge of the roof as she was unable to fight back his brute force. Konig finally steps in, hurrying behind the AQ soldier and grabbing him by the collar of his uniform, yanking him back and on the ground.

Before the AQ even had time to recover, Konig fired his shotgun, blasting the soldiers head to chunks. Nadja sighs, nodding to Konig with gratitude as she glances down to the gory sight before her, walking past it to the communication tower.

She dropped her bag, taking out the tablet used for her drone and connect it to the tower, typing into the keyboard on the screen the appropriate codes to reach Graves. She watches as the progression bar pops up, slowly filling up.

"The tower is ours now, but this is gonna take a minute." She says to Konig, approaching him as he stood at post by the doorway some distance away. She leans against the wall, lowering her weapon as she reaches into her pocket, pulling out the packet of crackers she was saving. She holds it up before her face as a frown overtakes her lips.

"Aw man, they got crushed." She looks over to Konig who returns a shrug as she shakes the crumbs around in the bag.

Regardless, she tears it open and pours the crumbs in her mouth, crunching on the dry, un-salty pieces of the crackers. She lets out a sigh after swallowing them, looking down to the ground with her arms crossed. "Not as satisfying as I was hoping for. I feel like I just ate sand."

Konig chuckles, shaking his head. "Trust me, I've had worse." He replies.

"What, boiled piss? Or is there something worse?" She retorts, referring to their previous conversation.

"Eh, probably nothing worse than the piss."

Nadja upturns her lip as she's grossed out at even the though, reaching for her water bottle inside her bag and washing down the dry residue left from the crackers, wiping the water that dripped down the corner of her mouth. But just as she checked her watch, the tablet by the tower let out a short ring, catching her attention.

She puts away her water bottle, hastily approaching and checking the tablet where the progression bar was full, and her comms had been successfully connected. She smiles as she reaches for her radio, turning the volume up and flipping through the channels.

"This is Echo-1 to Graves, requesting callback. How copy?"

A few moments pass as the radio crackles in silence, when finally a voice breaks through. "I hear you loud and clear Echo-1. What's your status?"

"We're closing in on the hostages, but I received further intel directly from the AQ--they're working with the Russians. They have an agreement of some sort and they're trafficking the hostages to the Russians."

There was no response.

"Graves? How copy?" She calls again.

"Echo-1, we have a situation. Taskforce 141 has gone AWOL and they're attacking the Shadow Company. We won't be able to send any reinforcements, supplies or exfil for an undetermined amount of time."

"Lt. Ghost is AWOL?" She questions back without hesitation.

"As for now, your mission remains the same. You're on your own until further notice, but we'll be in contact once we sort this mess and send an exfil your way. Over and out."

Nadja pulls away from the radio with a look of contortion, looking down to her feet as thoughts flood her mind. "Lt. Ghost? AWOL?" She mumbles to herself, shaking her head in disbelief. 

"What's wrong?" Konig asks from afar, slowly approaching with his hand on his hip, curious of her thoughts as her expression gave her dissatisfaction away.

"We... don't have a way back home. We've been abandoned." She says, her voice soft with shock.

"Oh..." He replies, backing away as he looks around. "Well, at least it's a beautiful day." He tries to cheer her up, pointing to the sky with one small cloud floating by itself.

"Konig, I don't think you understand the gravity of this situation. We're stuck here until further notice, and I have no idea when that further notice will be!" She raises her voice as the reality begins sinking in.

"Stuck in a foreign country in an active warzone. This is nothing new to me." He simply replies.

"Okay, well it may be nothing to you, but I specialize in recon-- meaning in and out."

"You're a soldier, Siren. You will be fine. Haven't you ever been deployed?" He reassures her.

"Once, but we had plenty of supplies and backup. Right now, we only have enough MRE's for one more day between the both of us!!" She says in panic, her arms flailing in exaggeration every time she talks.

Konig chuckles, crossing his arms as he looks down to her. "My friend, es gibt keinen Grund zur Panik. You have me!"

"Tobias, what the fuck is that supposed to mean? How is that gonna get us home?!" She shouts. Konig jerks his head back from her aggressive tone, uncrossing his arms and stepping back. "I-I'm sorry, I don't mean to take it out on you. I'm just so stressed." She sighs, dropping her head as it shakes in worry.

He steps closer again once he sees her expression. "I can't get us home, but I can help you survive until your American saviors come." He says kindly.

Nadja sighs, pressing the palm of her hand to her forehead. "Let's just stay focused. Those hostages are on a timer, we don't know when they'll be transported to the Russians, so we need to act fast. Let's get moving." She commands with stress in her tone, taking her tablet and disconnecting the tower, readying her things and exiting the building as Konig followed quietly behind.