COD Oneshots / shorts

Psych Warfare

Summary - A KorTac official is brought in to help Price's team with psychological warfare tactics. König and Horangi are tasked to assist and will not make it easy.

Warnings - manipulation, mentions of violence, threatening behavior

The meeting began like every briefing before it. All of the available 141 soldiers in a room, sitting on cheap folding chairs, looking straight ahead.

A woman in a grey suit stood in front of the room, her hands folded behind her back, chest puffed out. "Hello," she began, her voice smooth but direct, "my name is Dr. Howell. I'm the head of psychological tactics for KorTac. I have been invited to your base with a few of my men to teach all of you about the art of psychological warfare."

No response, that was fine. Dr. Howell continued her introduction. "As Price has told me, a lot of you seem to believe you can withstand any torture, wether it be physical or mental. I'm here to prove you all wrong. Two of my men are going to be assisting me in my teachings; Colonel König and his colleague, Horangi." The men behind her stood at attention, waving slightly when their names were called.

"Any sign of disrespect to my men during our stay will be punished harshly. We are here to help you be better, you will be thankful." Her tone was rougher now, as if she were biting every word.

"Now, to begin." She said, pointing at a board behind her. "There are three things the human brain cannot ignore. Those three things are danger, food, and sex." Howell studied every face in the crowd, looking for any slight changes in demeanor. "As soldiers, I'm sure you have all mastered ignoring danger; at least as much as possible. Unfortunately, the other two are more difficult." She began pacing the room, leaving the slide show up.

Howell's breathing stayed steady as she made eye contact with every operator. "Throughout the next two weeks, each one of you will be interrogated for a two hour period. Before each session, you will be taught a new skill in how to survive a psychological attack." Harsh words hit the ears of everyone in the room. "Before you begin, you will be given the information you are trying to keep from your interrogator. You will be given a safe word; if you use this word you will be made to redo the exercise another day. There is no shame in needing a break." The last sentence hung in the air. "My men will not touch you, the will not bring you any physical harm unless you become violent and need to be restrained." This was a warning, one that should be taken seriously.

König and Horangi were vastly different in build, but equally strong and intimidating. None of the operators had any doubt they could be restrained by those men. "As I said before, we will not be playing nice. Any issues you have with an interrogator should be brought to myself and Price immediately. If I find out any of you has been causing issues for my men, it will be dealt with promptly and harshly."

"Do I make myself clear?" Howell yelled.

A "yes ma'am" reverberated throughout the room. Good answer.

"I appreciate your cooperation, soldiers. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to find me or my men." Her finishing statement was softer than her prior speech. Even though she was there to essentially torture these people, she wanted them comfortable in her presence.

Price dismissed his people back to their normal lives for the time being. They would have twenty-four hours before any interrogation took place.

"König?" Howell spoke, looking back at the giant Austrian man. He stepped to her side, leaning down to hear her. "I want you scoping out the soldiers, figure out what makes them tick. Take notes." The order did not fall on deaf ears.

"Yes, Doctor." König spoke softly. He always was soft spoken with her, despite his intimidating stature.

As he left, Dr. Howell approached Horangi. "You'll be helping König with his task, but you need to find out weaknesses amongst the teams. Find what drives them apart and take note of it." Horangi did not give verbal confirmation, instead he just nodded, leaving her in the room with Price.