Viper 1-1, on standby.

29: The Assassin

John PoV:

Stepping out of the helicopter and onto a large open field, my comms beeped.

Kali: "The main objective of this mission is to capture and interrorgate a White Mask lietenant. He is living in a pasture not far north with his wife and son. Remember, do anything possible to get information." Kali explained thorough the comms. 'North... That would be a good codename.' I mused.

"T, which way?" I asked.

T: "To your left, sir." I quickly looked left and saw a ranch.

"Got'cha." I pointed towards the ranch and ordered thorough my squad to move.

Hernandez: "Hostiles."

"Where?"

Hernandez: "By the humvee." I glanced around and activated my overlay.

"Ryan, gimme your drone tablet." I heard shuffling behind me as the drone popped into my peripheral. I laid out my palm and felt the tablet.

"T, move drone view to my overlay." I heard a beep and then another which gave me view. I laid back and lifted my hands up. I used my optical camoflauge to blend in and focused. I flew the drone above the house and counted nine hostiles around the perimiter. "Nine lining it, no obvious pattern."

Hernandez: "Fire?"

"If you want to, yeah." He nodded and fired and took out the humvee guy. "Nice." I moved the drone over the side of the house Kali was at and spotted.

"Hey, two guys on patrol on the driveway."

Kali: "Eyes on." I gave the tablet back to Ryan and held my hand up.

"Stay here 'til my go." I grabbed a rope and wrapped it around a tree. I pulled on it twice, testing the stability. I grabbed on and started rapelling down the ledge. I kept going down smoothly until I reached the ground.

"C'mon, get down here." I ordered. One by one, all my squad was off the ledge. We moved up on the house and went to the sliding glass backdoor. I ran the invisibility system and walked up to it. A small timer showed up on my display, showing me how long until I would run out of energy leaving it on.

"Hey, Kali, I see the liutenint at the couch."

Kali: "Grab him. We'll blast open the front door, neutrilize all threats, and grab his relatives."

"Kali, are you going to shoot unarmed men?"

Kali: "Remember? 'Do anything possible to get information'." I realized she could shoot the guys son. I knew he was a part of the White Masks, but his son and wife had no part in this. I said my prayers for the innocent and opened the sliding door. I checked the room for threats before moving my gun towards the VIP.

"Now." I told Kali. The door blasted open and debris flew around. The debris neatly missed the VIP, his son, and his wife.

NHVN: "Special forces, get on the damn ground!" I heard bullets, most likely to silence all the people who didn't comply. Me, Ryan, Hernandez, and Austin all took the people who did comply hostage. The infiltration went smoothly, with all the hostages taken outside at the nine-minute mark.

"Nice job guys." I complimented my squad. They nodded.

Austin: "Some of the best there is, ye?" Kali walked up as Austin stopped talking.

Kali: "Let go of him." I let go of the VIP and she punched him before his knees even hit the ground.

"This personal?" She ignored my question and gestured the NHVN grunt to bring the VIP's son.

"I mean we could go somewhere else if it is." She ignored me yet again and I looked towards Ryan. He raised his shoulders.

Kali: "Load your gun." She told me.

"Yes Ma'a- Wait, your not gonna?" She looked at me sternly and I shut up and loaded. She grabbed the VIP's son and dropped him in front of my barrel. The VIP laughed, probably thinking it was bluff.

Kali: "Where is the Nighthaven technology?" She questioned.

VIP: "Thats a bit classified, like you guys." She punched him in the face and spit particles flew. His son was scared and looked me in the eyes.

"Don't worry kid, he won't die." I hoped. He might've been a Mask but we had no reason to kill him. He barely even put up a fight.

Kali: "Wrong answer." She spoke. "John, take aim on that kids head."

VIP: "You wouldn't kill a seven-year-old!" He stated.

Kali: "So then, you any more interested in speaking?" She asked.

VIP: "I'll take my chances."

Kali: "Shoot." I held my finger over the trigger but didn't fire.

"It's a kid, Kali."

Kali: "Do anything possible to get information."

"I'm not going to shoot a kid, Kali." I moved my aim away from the kid and holstered my pistol.

Kali: "Then what the fuck are you doing here?"

"Going on an operation, not killing a kid!" I remarked.

Kali: "Fine, someone else do i-" She was interrupted by a silent sniper shot my helmet picked up.

"Mo-!" The bullet landed in the VIP's head, and he slumped onto the ground. The blood splattered on my suit and mask. I rolled towards the closest cover, the humvee. "Fuck..." I wiped my helmet and got a smear on my glove.

"T! Scan this shit!" I screamed from the loudness around me. I ran my invisibility and ran towards the ledge overlooking the ranch.

T: "Hostile, dressed in ghille."

"Where?" A magnifier appeared on my overlay and switched to thermal view, showing me a bush, where I could see the blurry image of a male gathering something. I ran towards the rope that was hanging from the ledge and started climbing up fast. I got up the rope in three minutes, long enough for him to get far. I ran towards the bush and slowed down my pace. I crouched on the ground and looked at some blood on the ground. He was bleeding, but how? I head farther forward and find a van. It looks abandoned. I check it out and see scratches on the drivers door. I open the door and find the ghille suit on the seat. A pair of dice are hanged on the rearview mirror, with a gold chain nearby.

"Has taste at least." I mutter to myself. "Kali, i've found a van. Seems to be left for shit by that blo-" I get cut off by a knife being put to my neck. 

Assassin: "Oi, you better get your nose out of my shit or I won't address formalities next time, yeah?"

"Aussie? Nice."

Assassin: "Yep yep mate. Sorry about this, hate to do this to a fellow bloke." He grabs my head and slams it into the car. I black out.

1074 words

Sorry for the wait!