Gamer of the Dead

Book 2, Chapter 42:

A man in a dark cloak watched Bobby leave from the entrance of the North Base HQ. Next to him in the shadow was the voluptuous secretary of Col. Sorya, the base Commander. Her name is Stella, and she is puffing her third cigarette for the day. Her thoughts and worry are in the fact that she is down to 4 packs of her favorite menthol and it won't be replenished any time soon.

"Well?" The mysterious man in the cloak prompted.

"Well, what?" Stella asked irritably. "I've done what you asked and listened to that two talked for hours, and there is nothing. The kid is a nobody, and you are wasting your time and resources on him."

"... He didn't say anything... interesting?"

"No," Stella answered immediately. "Sure the kid is hiding a few things, but so is everyone else. No one really wants to stand out in those kinds of interviews. But as someone like me who has been doing this for the military intelligence for the last 7 years, I can tell you that the kid is as boring as hell. I can tell you that he is highly intelligent and a bit more mature than his contemporary age bracket, but-"

"Mature? How?"

"Well, for one thing, he barely tried to take a peek at my boobs and ass, unlike the Colonel, ... and those eyes..."

"What about his eyes?"

"That boy had seen things... bad things."

The mysterious man waved a hand. "Many of us had seen bad things during this apocalypse, that is nothing special."

"It is not just that... It's the tension of his shoulder, the bent of his neck, the hardness of his muscles, It is all in there. It is like this kid is holding the faith of the world in his shoulders. The stress of responsibility, I call it."

"And you don't find that interesting? A rare trait of a leader?"

"If he is a leader, yes, but he is not. He probably felt responsible for his team, and that is it. The way I see him, he is not ambitious enough to want to be a leader."

The cloaked man returned his gaze to Bobby's back who is slowly walking away. All he can see is a physically fit teen who is walking with confidence. "Not a leader eh?"

The two of them stared at Bobby's back for another few more minutes until Bobby disappeared into the crowd. They were silent for a few more until the cloaked man coughed loudly. "I will send you a messenger tonight, and I want you to give us your report. A much more detailed one for the leader to read. In the meantime, please continue serving the Colonel for now."

"And the operation, when will it start?"

"The leader has decided to postpone the operation for the time being."

"What? Why? We are as ready as we can be, a few hundred additional recruits will not make a difference!"

"Because the leader said so!" The cloaked man said dangerously. "I do not presume to understand the working of our great leader's mind. You better think the same way."

Stella kept her mouth shut. The mysterious man looked at her and decided to throw her a bone.

"The test run last night in the Supply Building was... less than exemplary. It appears that our men need more training before they can deal with the seasoned players."

Stella didn't say anything.

"So there is no other information you can give me about this man?" The Cloaked man said, returning the conversation to its original subject.

"None," She said easily. "But I know someone who might..."

"Who?"

'A certain Alfredo Ampil, I believe he is a mid-tier member of the covenant."

The man searched his extensive memories for any information about Stella's new info, then It clicked in his brain. "Engineer Alfredo R Ampil. Team leader of the 2nd Construction Team, a good leader and a loyal sheep. How does he know the target?"

Stella smiled wickedly. "It appears that his daughter, Malou Ampil, the head doctor in HOPE hospital is a close friend of the college boy. A good operator such as you can easily find a way to exploit that friendship for the betterment of the covenant."

Slowly, the cloaked man nodded his head. "Indeed," was all he said. Silence engulfed the dark room for a moment as both operatives were lost in their own thoughts. Then finally, ever so slowly, the cloaked man turned back to Stella.

"Your job remains the same," continued the cloaked man. "Keep an eye on the colonel, and continue sending tactical information about the whereabouts of the colonel's elite teams, specifically Team 4, 6 and 7."

Stella held on tightly to her anger. One wrong move and this man will kill her without a second thought, but it galled her that she will continue to suffer the eyes of the tainted and the more 'accidental' brushing hands of the more senior staff over her body. She wanted the operation to move now so she can kill all the tainted, not tomorrow but today. She gave a huge sigh and then reluctantly nodded. "I understand, and I will continue serving the covenant."

After all, patience is a virtue, she thought angrily, letting the smoldering fire of her hate grew and consume everything around her.

"Good," was all the cloaked man said as he prepares to depart. "May the light shine upon you, sister."

Stella's gaze followed the man with hate in her eyes. "And you, brother."