Unmasked (Simon Riley)

Chapter 6

*Brooklyn's POV*

I lay on my stomach, the heat of the sun being blocked by the trees above me. It's still early, maybe 9:00, but we are already in position, watching our designated location. Ghost is on his stomach beside me, scanning the house once more with his rifle. We don't talk, him being completely engrossed and focused on the task at hand.

The day goes by terribly slow, as we lay here and watch, waiting. It's actually quite weird, we haven't seen a single soul. The building is two stories, and looks sort of like an office building. It's secluded, not a single car driving on the nearby road. The parking lot is barren, and overgrowth climbs the outer walls.

We can see two entrances from our location, along with many windows to peer inside, and still nothing. It's a ghost town. And still, we sit and watch, the daytime heat slowly seeping into my back as it breaks through the trees.

"Is this weird to you?" I whisper, keeping my eyes on the area ahead of us. He doesn't respond, instead speaks into the comms.

"Squad two to base, how copy?"

"Loud and clear squad two, what's going on?" A voice I don't recognize responds, some soldier on based tasked with being on standby for the groups we split off into.

"Nothing, that's the problem. No targets in the area."

I glance over to him as he speaks, wondering what we will be told to do now.

"Copy squad two. I'm going to check in with squad one and three, I'll be back with an update."

Ghost sighs, "copy," then the line goes dead. "Let's move," he states, pushing himself up and crouching. I follow his movements, as we creep along the tree line to watch the building for a different angle.

We settle in once more, but I see nothing as I scan the building. "This place is completely abandoned. I don't think it's even livable," I inquire, looking in each window through my scope.

"Base to squad two, how copy?" The man's voice returns. Ghost tilts his head towards his shoulder as he replies, "loud and clear, what's happening with the others?"

"Both squads reported activity at their locations. No eyes on target yet."

Ghost looks towards me, "of course we got the bad intel location," he huffs, then turns to respond to base.

"Copy. We're moving in. Have exfil on standby, we are going to clear the area."

"Copy squad two, exfil on standby."

I give him a confused look, but he motions me up, and I follow behind him. We approach the building, slow and silent, guns up and senses focused. He approaches a door, twisting the knob and swinging it opening. He goes first, flashlight on as we scan the hall, clearing each room we pass.

We come to the end of the hall, a closed door on the left. He opens it, and I quickly turn into it with my gun up. It's another hall, the right side a dead end, left extending out, with rooms lining the sides. Graffiti covers the walls, broke glass, chairs, and other miscellaneous items litter the floor, an occasional desk along the wall. Paper also liters the floor, but it's covered in foreign writing.

As I walk, another hallways joins ours from the right, I brace myself by the wall, before turning the corner quickly and scanning. Nothing.