Beyond The Frontline

Fragment India

BANG

A gunshot rang out, shattering the tense silence.

BANG

Another shot followed swiftly.

Colt had made his decision. The two disfigured Black Dogs, their faces mangled and covered in makeshift bandages, were of no use to him. Unable to speak clearly, they couldn't offer any valuable information. Without hesitation, Colt tied up those loose ends, eliminating the ones who couldn't contribute. The remaining mercenaries stood frozen, their fear visible as they realized their situation.

The two remaining Black Dogs stared at Colt, speechless, their eyes wide with horror after witnessing his cold and decisive actions. The once-defiant mercenaries now looked like cornered animals, knowing they were seconds away from death.

Colt turned to them, his expression unreadable. "Talk," he ordered, his voice low and commanding.

In their fear, they spilled everything they knew. But as Colt listened, his expression grew more and more unamused. Most of what they said was information he had already extracted from the previous mercenary he had interrogated. Colt figured this was a waste of time. He was about to tie up the final loose ends, wrap things up, and head back to the village.

The two mercenaries, seeing Colt's unamused face and knowing what was coming, trembled with fear. As Colt began to raise his rifle, ready to end things quickly, one of them suddenly yelled in a panicked voice, "Wait, wait, wait! I got something you might wanna know!"

Colt paused, one eyebrow cocked in interest. "Go on," he replied, his grip on the rifle loosening slightly. The mercenary had his attention, but for how long depended entirely on what he had to say.

Colt kept his gaze locked on the panicked mercenary, waiting for him to spill whatever desperate information he had. The man, trembling under Colt's stare, took a shaky breath and began to speak.

"There's...there's someone inside the village," he stammered, his voice quivering with fear. "Someone who's been working with us, with the Black Dogs. The village...it was supposed to be...an easy target."

Colt's eyes narrowed, his grip tightening on the rifle again. "Continue," he urged, his tone cold.

"The village was supposed to be turned into an outpost," the mercenary continued, his words tumbling out in a rush. "He even made sure that the village had a small number of guards, said it would be an easy takeover. But when we lost touch with the first party, we figured something was wrong. That's why we came here with a larger force. We thought...we thought it would be enough to take the place. But..."

He trailed off, glancing nervously at Colt, unsure of how much more he should say.

"But things didn't go as planned," Colt finished for him, his voice laced with disdain. He looked at the mercenaries, his mind racing with this new revelation. A mole in the village, someone who had betrayed them all, and nearly cost the lives of everyone.

The mercenary nodded weakly, relief mingling with fear as he saw Colt lower his rifle slightly. "Yes...things went wrong. We didn't expect...this."

Colt remained silent for a moment, processing what he had just learned. His heart skipped a beat as the weight of the news settled in. The village wasn't just under attack; it had been compromised from within. His expression hardened as he absorbed the mercenary's words, but the turmoil inside him was undeniable. This information changed everything.

"Give me his name," Colt demanded. The Black Dog mercenary shook his head frantically.

"I don't know!" The mercenary stammered, fear evident in his eyes. "I wasn't given any specifics. Just orders to avoid attacking the largest house in the village. That's where they said he would be."