Kong: Skull Island- Beneath the Surface

Chapter 15

Garret kneels near the entrance to the cavern, listening. His hand gently grips another grenade. Silence. He waits patiently. Did I kill them already? I thought they'd put up more of a fight. No. They will put up more of a fight. I know it.

Garret had been in the U.S. Special Forces. He was trained as an assassin and spy, having done many covert missions overseas. Especially during Nam. But when nam ended his country abandoned him to the ghosts of his regrets, telling him all that he had done was for nothing.

That can do something to a person.

He had wondered the streets for a while. His skills were of little use in the regular world and, try as he might, he couldn't leave his military life behind him. That's when MONARCH found him, or specifically, a cold man with a chiseled face. His name was Oliver Sanders.

He had approached Garret with an offer--help him protect the world from the knowledge of monsters and he'd give him purpose again. Not to mention a handsome retirement. Sanders had told Garret that Nam did have meaning, the world was simply too delicate to understand all that Garret had sacrificed for his country. If the world couldn't handle nam, how would they handle the existence of these monsters? Sanders told Garret he would protecting the world from a truth they couldn't handle.

Garret wasn't stupid. He knew Sanders was a salesman making a pitch to a possible mercenary. But he did long for a purpose. He wanted to stop thinking and just take orders again. Yes sir this, no sir that. He wanted to do his job. Not think about the war and whether he had truly served his country, or become one of the very monsters he was now working to conceal.

So that is exactly what he was going to do. Follow orders. He doesn't have to kill the other three, just Mason. If she wants to get them killed that's on her head. Not his. Garret leans closer to the opening, wary of getting within sniper range. He had studied his teammates' files days before he had met them. He knows both Jin and Bo are excellent shots. James is the only wildcard. That idiot Sanders had brought him a mere day before takeoff. Garret had barely had time to scan his file. Suddenly a voice echoes up to Garret from the darkness. It belongs to the girl, Mason.

"Stop!" she shouts, "ok? Just stop! I'm coming out."

Garret listens. Her footsteps echo off the cave walls. He frowns.

"I want everyone out where I can see them," he calls down, "Then you'll give me the camera."

He hears Mason's careful, steady steps pause for a moment. She's hesitating, Garret realizes, his eyes narrowing. He had been right: they wouldn't go down without a fight. Judging by the sound of her steps, Garret figures Mason is almost below the hole. Close enough. Garret takes the pin out of another grenade and holds the release switch tightly in his hand--if he lets go now without replacing the pin, it'll go off.

"I have a grenade in my hand," he calls down, "if anything happens to me, I drop it. You're a smart girl Mason, you know by now I'll kill you and your friends if you play any games with me."

He leans his upper body through the hole, knowingly exposing himself: daring Bo, Jin, or James to shoot him. If they do, it'll mean the death of Mason. They're too far away to be injured or to protect Mason from the blast. Garret's headlamp shines down on them. He only sees Mason, James and Bo in the clearing. Little Jin must be taking the role of sniper today, he thinks to himself.

"Now," Garret calls down, "Give me what I want Miss Weaver. And I'll give your friends a chance to live."

Her face contorts in anger. She grips what appears to be a small film canister, her knuckles white.

"You're not planning on letting any of us live," she shouts back to him, "The moment I give you this film we're all as good as dead."

She's smart, Garret thinks, I'll give her that.

"No miss," he calls back, then says quieter, "I only have orders to kill you."

"Over my dead body," James snarls from farther back.

Garret's eyes dart over to the sound of James' voice. He quickly sees that James is edging his way closer to Mason. Garret leans further out of the hole, letting the hand holding the grenade dangle just over Mason's head.

"Not another step, Conrad," Garret says calmly, "This is between me and the lady."

James stops, his eyes on Garret. Garret turns his gaze back to Mason.

"I have no reason to kill your friends," he says, "You know was well as I how resourceful they are. If you let me finish this, I'll toss the rope down to them and walk away. That gives them a fighting chance."

"And why would I believe anything you have to say," Mason says, lifting her chin defiantly, "your words are meaningless."

"You don't have a choice," Garret says, his steely blue eyes holding her fiery hazel ones in a powerful stare down, "But tell me this, anti-war photographer, if I am telling the truth, do you want to be the cause of your friends' death?"

She says nothing. Her jaw clenches. Garret glances over the rest of the group, making sure they don't try anything stupid. Bo is tense but his eyes unsure. A movement in the corner catches Garret's attention. Ah, Garret thinks, there's Jin. Unable to take the shot without killing Mason, her head pokes out from a rock in the left side of the cavern. James' entire body leans towards Mason but his feet are planted firmly. His eyes shine with anger. Good boy, Garret thinks, just stay there. I don't want to kill you if I don't have to.

He looks back at Mason. Her eyes glare at him but don't see him: she's lost in thought. She sighs sharply through her nose and takes a step forward.

"Mason. Don't." James growls, taking a half step towards her.

Garret reaches back and grabs his gun from his holster. He fires one shot, barely grazing James' shoulder. James recoils back. Pain is etched on his face and the material on his shoulder begins turning a dark red.

"James!" Mason shouts, then looks back at Garret, "Don't! Leave him alone. Leave them alone!"

"Then make a decision," Garret says shortly, "I warned your boyfriend not to move and he didn't listen. I mean what I say, Miss Weaver. You want them to live? Decide."

Mason looks between a now bleeding James, a helpless Bo, an injured Jin, and the lethal grenade. Her eyes narrow with resentment. She grabs the rope and begins to climb up. Garret slides the gun back into his holster but leaves the grenade in his hand. He's not taking any chances this time. He's following orders. Mason Weaver will die. The film will be burnt. Her friends will be left to fend for themselves in the cavern.

A job well done.