EXO Legacy

File 08: Change of Plans

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File 08: Change of Plans

Location: Dead Sea Works Ltd, Israel

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The last time I saw dad climbing with a sense of urgency was when I was in an indoor rock-climbing/gym club and dad was racing me for the top for a wager of the first one to the top to take the trash out. There was some rotten stuff in the fridge, so we had that...

Here and now, dad and I were racing to the top of a new climbing scene, a new and much for challenging framework to negotiate.

A new terrain with much more lethal risks...

Trading plastic hand holds for steel and plastic pipes and railings...

Changing a safety rope and belay partner for bio armour plating and invisibility...

Switching a wager for rubbish duty...

....for the lives of our squad...

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Naturally, I got there first. Since we were invisible climbing up right infront of their rifles was not so much of a problem, my head being right next to the rifle when it goes off... problem...

*bang!* *bang!*

The pair of rifle reports rang through me like a dinner bell. The one thing that the suits don't seem to protect against is my stupidity.

The pair of snipers at the top had been resting on their chests to make a low profile but weren't leaving proper breaks between shots to reorient themselves. These Iraqi snipers were barely sticking their rifles out so I didn't see them. While we were climbing I was more focused on climbing safely and for a second forgot they were there.

It's stupid I know.

The tenacity of our squad and the unpredictability of KONG were making sure things were in our favour though, and the snipers had to stop and reorient themselves every so often.

At the moment none of this was of benefit to me though. I raised one hand up to cover one of my ears and for a second I was immobilized. Paralyzed by the ringing in my head. I was still holding onto the edge of the steel grating of the floor I was climbing up to, but I had slumped slightly after the shock.

I felt dad squeeze my leg but I didn't respond immediately.

Dad banged his fist onto the grating near my hand just to jolt the  snipers concentration but being careful not to make me fall.

I shook myself out of the daze and felt my blood boil as I looked stupid infront of my dad. I moved quickly up the grate, over the railing and ran straight up at the snipers.

I decloaked, armoured up, and grabbed the two snipers off the grating and  knocked their heads together just to knock them out, a part of me was still not sure about killing for real...

Dad stood beside me and wondered why I had knocked them out instead of just throwing them off the side of the railing. He also wondered why I didn't shoot them with the silenced pistol I had in holster. We were all issued with silenced weapons, although dad and I would rely on our suits more. I took a pistol and he took a rifle.

Dad wanted me to take a rifle, and normally I would have, but this time I wanted to put more reliance on the suit, especially for close quarters engagement. In this case, it was face to face.

"Sometimes a big gun gets in the way of fighting and climbing and ya just gotta use your head," I grinned like an idiot. I was okay now.

"Or theirs."