Operation: Pointed Spear

A new crack

Corey's POV(3 weeks later)
     I kicked in the door and lifted my Mk18 and scanned the room seeing no one but a laptop on a table open to what looked like a map. I walked forward carefully as I radioed "Wendigo, I've got a potential IED, it's a laptop." He replied "what's on it?" I slowly shifted it so it faced me and spoke "A Location" I listened as Frost asked "to what?" I leaned down looking closer "IQ's mother" I heard Wendigo "bag it, we need to finish this up. At this point it's secondary. Watcher, we have intel on IQ's mother" six replied happily "Grand, grand. When you return bring me it, I've had an impatient Achilles and IQ in my office several times today" I chuckled to myself muttering under my breath "Sounds like them" as I slid the laptop off the table and into my bag. I lifted my mk18 and started back out of the room as I heard heavy breathing and saw a faint blue light. I slowly stepped away from the door as I heard Frost "Rodion, where are you? We're getting ready to egress" I replied "I've got a bomber near me, hold"
      As I saw the 6p42 barrel begin to come around the corner of the doorframe, I felt my adrenaline begin to pump through my veins as I shouldered my rifle and slowly stepped away. I saw him look into the door as he turned and started into the room, waving his LMG lazily as I slunk away behind the shelves as I took aim. I whistled catching the masks attention as I sent a long burst into his mask watching him drop, I slowly sidestepped around the corpse just in case his explosive vest detonated as I radioed "Bomber's down, moving to rally" as Wendigo replied "west side, first floor, dining room" I answered "check" as I started walking my way through the base. I heard beeping on the floor below me as I got flipped by the floor detonating beneath me. I crashed to the ground hearing only ringing as Ying radioed "Rodion, what's your status?" I didn't hear her until the ringing started to subside and wendigo spoke "Affirm, Frost, Blackout, move to assist" I coughed as the dust filled my lungs before I pulled my bag from my waist and saw the screen of the laptop had shattered.
       I swore as I looked at it "shit, Wendigo we have a problem" he replied sounding tired of bad news "what now?" I spoke growing nervous "The blast damaged the laptop, I don't know if the intel is any good" Harry spoke "Bring it still, I'll have Dokkaebi take a look at it. Maybe she can pull the intel" I stood as Frost came around the corner "oh my, babe, you okay?" I nodded as she pulled me to my feet "Just dusty" Frost asked "can you walk?" I gave a thumbs up as she turned and lifted her smh "On me" I patted her shoulder as she started walking forward Blackout pulled rear guard as we moved back to the rally point for the team. I crouched once we reached the makeshift command center and Wendigo spoke "Get everything packed, our ride is here in 2 mikes." I shoveled in files of potentially useful information into my bag, I looked at Wendigo and asked "think Dokkaebi can recover the intel?" He looked over and smiled "If anyone can it's her, she's a genius with tech" I sighed in relief "thank god, I feel bad that Achilles and IQ are so antsy and I could've lost intel that would save her parents" we started out of the hole in the wall as Jäger spoke "I'm hovering outside, we're lowering the ladder. Climb up folks"
Alik's pov
       I walked into Six's office after grabbing Grace "You asked for us?" He nodded and spoke "Jace's team recovered some intel on the location of Monika's mother." I smiled "great, why is Grace here then?" He replied in monotone "a detonation damaged the laptop, I need Grace to try to recover the intel" I sighed "Awe fook" Grace spoke confidently "of course I can, I just need time" Six spoke "grand, their team just landed" Grace stood and replied "let me grab my tools and I'll be back" as she headed for the door. Six looked at me "I don't know how long it'll take her to recover the intel if she even can, but be ready. I'll have a chopper on standby" I nodded and stood and walked out of the door. I headed through the base to the dorm where Monika was sitting at the counter "What did Harry want?" I replied "potential intel on the location of your mother"
      She stood and asked "where are we going?" I replied sadly "the laptop took damage, Grace is gonna start working on recovering the intel. We're on standby" she slumped back in her seat as I crouched infront of her taking her hands and spoke "well save her, you have my word" she looked at me and started crying as I stood and pulled her into a tight hug "I know, I'm worried about them too." She replied "I just want this to be over" I nodded and tightened the hug "you and I both" I heard Zara behind us "Am I interrupting something?" I released the hug as Monika replied "nein, I just need some reassurance. We might have a location on mama" Zara asked "Really? When are you getting her?" Monika looked at me as I spoke "the moment the intel is regained" Zara sat down and looked at us "you're going to save her right?" I nodded as Monika replied "of course, I'm going to make my family whole again. No matter what" I asked "and if you have to kill one of our team?" She paused for a second "sometimes you have to make sacrifices"
      I stood and pulled my pistol chambering a round and spinning it so the grip was to her "then make your sacrifice, I'm ready to go right here, right now" she stared at my pistol in shock as I heard Zara "what are you doing?" And I stared at Monika "I'm the reason Feral took your family, kill me and he has no reason to keep them. Do it, make your family whole" her eyes flicked up at me showing her surprise and fear as I placed it in her hand and put it to my head. Zara yelled "Monika, tu es nicht!(monika don't do it!)" just as Jace walked in freezing when he saw the position Monika and I were in "what the fuck is happening here?!" And Zara yelled "er sagte ihr, sie solle ihn töten!(he told her to kill him)" as Jace walked forward and tore the pistol from her grip putting it on safety before he slammed it on the table and yelled "what the fuck are you doing?!" Monika stared at her hands in shock as I spoke "Monika said she'd kill teammates to save her family, I called her bluff. I was in that position, I made that call and trust me, it'll haunt me forever. Don't make promises you can't keep Monika"
      I turned and walked away as her knees gave out, I arrived at my favorite hide away at the top of the clock tower and waited. I heard someone climbing up the rusting ladder as I kept staring out over the expanses of the base until I heard Mike "I heard about your stunt" I replied with a voice devoid of emotion "it wasn't a stunt" he sat next to me "Christ, I'm too old for this shite. So why's you do it?" I replied "she thinks saying she'd make that sacrifice is the same as resolving to do it, it's not. I knew I was going to pick Zara and I still struggled to do it, I have to live knowing I was the reason my friend died. Do you have any clue how badly that fucks me up?" He replied "no, I can't say I do. I don't want to, it's a hell scape to deal with. Answer me this, do you have any idea how having someone you love give you a pistol and tell you to kill them makes her feel?"
      I shook my head no "I hope she never makes that call" he nodded and looked down at the group of operators searching for me, I saw Monika pushing hard being 15 meters or so infront of the group "see that? Even after your stunt, she's still worrying about you" I spoke to no one "all the gods, all the heavens, all the hells are within you" Mike asked "what's that?" I answered "something I read earlier" he replied "I'll have to think on that, come on. Let's head down" I looked over "I'm gonna stay here and smoke" he replied "I'm staying here then, I don't trust you not to throw yourself off this tower" I replied "if I wanted to I would've done it before you got up here, I'm not suicidal" he laughed "says the muppet that put a gun to his head" I replied simply "I was making a point" as I lit my cigarette and took the first drag just as I heard Corey "He's up there!" I looked down and saw the group on the ground at the base of the tower, I saw Monika looked upset as I took another drag and sighed "fuck"
I heard the group climbing up as I just stayed on the edge leaning on the lowest bar of the railing occasionally taking drags until I felt the ember burn my finger causing me to swear as my cigarette slipped from my grasp "shite." I heard Mike "what happened?" I looked over and replied "my cigarette burnt me" as Monika walked over and started speaking in German quickly and angrily "Was zum Teufel ist los mit dir? du sagst mir, ich soll dich töten und dann weggehen, nachdem ich es nicht getan habe, warum zum Teufel?! Gott, du bist so egoistisch! Weißt du nicht, wie ich mich dabei gefühlt habe?(what the fuck is wrong with you? You tell me to kill you and then walk away when I don't, why the fuck?! God you're so selfish! Don't you know how that made me feel?)" I looked over as Jace spoke "she called you selfish and asked what the fuck is wrong with you" I asked her "I'm selfish? Really? I killed my friend so you COULD HAVE YOUR FUCKING SISTER AND I'M THE SELFISH ONE?! you didn't even think about what it made me feel to hear you say you'd kill one of our team members to save your family when I did it! I killed a team member, a guy I knew since I was fucking 7! So your sister could be here, but no I'm selfish. Fuck off" Her resolve was cracking as I stood and stormed past her as Mike spoke "you fucked up now lass"
Mike's POV
I looked over the edge seeing him storm off before Monika spoke "he should've thought about how it would effect me" I turned and spoke disapprovingly "you love him and you only talk about how it made you feel. Did you miss the part where he's responsible for a childhood friends death? Did you miss the part where he made the call you didn't have the nads to? He decided to save your sister who he's only known for 3 months over a friend he's had for 34 years! And in return, you only focus on the pain you feel! Get your head out of your fooking arse!" She stepped back as I stopped next to her "you need to get your fookin' priorities right and stop hurting those close to you before you have no one" I heard Harry on my radio "Thatcher's team report to briefing room 3, we have a location"