Escape from Remnant

Chapter 2: Prapor

The Verkhneye urban settlement, a small town sliced in half by the Russian army's blockade of the tarkov region. Its original inhabitants have long since been evacuated to the other cities leaving the settlement to be transformed into the main sustaining base enforcing the Norvinsk region blockade making sure no one gets in or out as it could very well threaten the last stable parts of the former special economic zone of Norvinsk.

Verkhneye thrived off the large supply warehouses built near the town for military purposes in the soviet era in case war ever broke out with the nation bordering the region and when the soviets fell thirved off trade to and from europe.

But like most of the Russian military, the men enforcing the blockade, specifically the higher ups and those in charge of logistics and supplies were deeply corrupt often selling off random equipment from simple grenades for 2 drunk blokes to throw into the woods for fun to whole tanks and their parts which would've been rotting since the cold war in their warehouses anyways. At the top of the pyramid was Prapor, a trader who used to aid the BEARs during the contract wars. Now he just sells off military equipment to anyone, scavs, raiders, pmcs, gangsters, anyone.

As such, it was agreed upon by the various factions not to mess with Prapor or stirr shit up in his zone of operations. One he still was a Russian army officer at the end of the day and could send his men to absolutely slaughter anyone putting his black market dealings in danger and two it was detrimental for everyone involved as he was the one with guns at the end of the day. Who else would provide a constant supply of guns to those stuck in tarkov? Peacekeeper? Too expensive. Skier? The abandoned containers of the tarkov port could only provide so many guns and ammo. Jaeger? He hates scavs. Fence? You'd be a complete idiot to buy weapons and gear from Fence. The flea market similarly, like Skier, has a limited amount of gear that is in stock to be sold being perpelled by the cycle of looting and death.

The 3 mercenaries arrived at the wall surrounding the Verkhneye urban settlement. The area around was burnt, wreckages of cars left to rot by their owners trying to get out of the conflict dotted the road leading through the settlement. They walked up the road bypassing the wreckages, guns clearly stored at their back on their slings. Pistols in their holsters. Knives in their seaths.

When they got in close enough, they saluted the 2 soldiers guarding the makeshift door. They nodded, and one moved to open the door for them. Inside was a makeshift room made out of scavenged materials, the foundation being made out of an old bus stop. Around 75% of the room was designated for a guard to sit in, it was just one of Prapor's men in wearing a Russian army uniform except for the fact he had no helmet or goggles at all.

His workspace was decently comfortable, a dining table which had his AK-74M on it alongside various personal items like magazines and ash trays, office chair, dozens of candles to serve as illumination He takes a peek out at the 3 pmcs who had walked before him from his magazine, "You know the drill give me your guns, knives any weapons really." Each one of them hands in their weapons, the man at the desk looks at the volume of weapons and sighs putting his magazine down and putting the weapons one by one in an old school locker. "No need for a ticket this time. This shit takes up a whole locker..."

They were finally past the checkpoint and in the market, old soviet era gear, and some more modern Russian stuff were on sale, prices, and availability for each item on chalkboards. From the simple scav to other mercenaries to men loading AKs by the boxload onto trucks. Others were selling weapons and equipment to prapor, he wasn't just a seller but a buyer, sometimes his guns would be sold then resold to him after whoever bought them was no longer on this plain of existence. Further down the market and to the right was a heavily guarded and recently excavated bunker that used to be nothing but a barren hill where children would play in the day and young couples make out when the moon rose.

This was Prapor's office, and where they would report to him about the failure of their mission. The 3 walked up and explained why they were there to the guard, to which in response, he opened the rusted metal door. Inside the hallway is nowhere near completion, the bunker only had one room which was the man himself's office. The concrete was cracked and showed signs of decay chipping off the rebar. Probably not the best place to put your office if I'm being honest...

Prapor was at his desk filling out some stockpile log on what was sold, bought, and gained. He looked to the 3 mercenaries that had just entered his office and closed the log book smiling at the trio, leaning back into his comfy leather chair. Piles and piles of weapons surrounded him, boxes full of factory new guns from the soviet era to the modern day. On the walls were several old soviet weapons posters it up by lights opposed to candles. Safe to say, he lived in luxury when compared to his underlings. "Texas and friends! Its good to are you again...?" He looks to the group, last he checked he was paying 5 of then, 3 BEARs and 2 USECs plus his own man that he had sent with the group to find his missing stuff.

"Wait a minute. Where's the other 2 bears? Where's my guy???" He asks, intending to get an answer on the discrepancy. "Dead, all dead, your package was gutted by scavs, when we arrived at the dorms there was a groups of scavs looting your dead guys bodies but your package was already gone so another group probably came in before the ones we despatched. The problem is we were ambushed by Reshala's men." Texas explains, Prapor leans back further into his seat, letting out a breath as he processed the information. "Then what?"

"Then they killed Boris and your guy. Sniper scav killed Ubel."

Prapor leans forward, hands locked in together, "Reshala...that gangster fuck has been causing me trouble lately. He and his gang of ex-servicemen guards have been a thorn in me and the other traders trying to operate in the customs area...I'll try to deal with him. Since you did technically complete the mission..." He reaches in a drawer underneath his desk and pulls out 3 stacks of 40,000 roubles, and 3 AK-102s as reward for completing the mission.

"Here is your pay, all good?" Each mercenary in front of him takes their cut and counts the wad of cash to make sure it was the amount they had agreed upon. There were no discrepancies, and thus, everyone left, able to be unsatisfied by the events. For the mercenaries, they had lost 2 men in their group, and for Prapor, he had lost his package and a man, which he would have to bribe his family into silence since he was a proper service man.

The trio begins to make their way out of Verkhneye, intent on getting home to their stash. "What do we do now..." Floridaman asked, unsure of how to feel as he pockets his quest reward.

"Well, we return to the stash, I need to get to the mechanic however, got something to sell to him..." Texas mentions.

"Ah well in that case Tex...you mind handing in something to mechanic for me? Got this gun he asked me to help build, said it was for the Therapist's head insurance item collector lieutenant or some shit..." Moron mentions after hearing Texas mention mechanic's name.

"Yea yea yea, I'll stop by the Stash then..."