Chapter 70: EXODUS
(One hour ago)
"Phineas found them," said Xiao Tian, relaying the information to his comrades.
"That's good," said Nanami in relief.
She looked up on her HUD, glad to see that they are approaching the camp made up of armoured vehicles.
A platoon of operators are stationed there, wearing Exo-suits in the UNSSD woodland camouflage, just like the Team Zero operators, though theirs' are much cleaner and well polished, evidently just taken out of the armoury not too long ago.
Seeing their uniform weapon loadouts of the UNSSD standard issue HK-416 rifles and the SG-552 rifles that are issued to paratroopers, Ariel knew for a matter of fact that they are seeing a Tier 2 unit. Unlike them in Tier 1, they do not have the privilege of choosing their own gear to use.
As they got closer, Ariel frowned seeing a machine gunner tracing his FN Minimi machine gun in their direction.
"I know we are in hostile territory, but aren't they a bit TOO VIGILANT?" she thought.
Nanami glanced at the Assault Pathfinders, they are all tensed up for some reason, making her uncomfortable.
An Inari Pathfinder raised her hand, telling them to stop. Just as they did, a few more Pathfinders walked over, surrounding Team Zero in a loose circle.
"Erika Chan?" exclaimed Ariel in surprise, recognising her. She wound up her face plate, smiling and waving, Louis followed suit.
"Guys..." muttered Erika in shock seeing her old comrades. A smile crept to her lips, though she quickly bit her lower lip uncomfortably, evidently troubled by their presence, much to the confusion of Louis and Ariel.
"It's been some time," said an Angel Pathfinder next to her, winding up his face plate. "Good evening, Instructors," he greeted Nanami, Xu Qing and Xiao Tian.
"Karl Schneider?!" smiled Ariel, glad to see him. She happily walked forward, only for 2 Pathfinders to block her.
"What's wrong guys?" laughed Ariel, still perplexed by their passive-aggressive behaviour.
"Are you doing it or am I doing it?" asked the commander.
Karl sighed, "I will," he said.
"Comrades, please kindly lay your weapons on the floor and follow us," he said.
Santos frowned. "What's that for?" he asked.
"Just do it," said the commander rudely.
"We don't take orders from you," retorted Santos.
"I will watch my tongue if I were you," retorted the commander.
"What the f**k did you just say?" asked James, walking up, only to be stopped by Louis.
Erika pulled their commander away.
"Don't do that, don't do that. You know this Number 92, no one has to get hurt here," said Karl.
"Are you threatening us?" asked Jay. In the meantime, Xiao Tian is carefully eyeing the positions of the Pathfinders around them, looking for an opening.
"With all due respect, I don't make threats, I tell you the consequences," said Karl. "So let's, not, be, rash," he said slowly, enunciating each word, avoiding eye contact with them.
"Ah...Why will you not look into my eyes sweetheart?" cooed Nanami with a fake smile. "It's meaningless to avoid my gaze... because I already know exactly what's on your mind...guilt, perhaps? So tell me Number 23, what's bothering you~"
Karl remained silent.
"I am calling General Yashar," said Louis, winding up his radio.
"General Yashar is unavailable," said Karl. He sighed. "Instructor Maia warned us that you all won't take this well."
"The UNAME high command has been relieved of duty by orders of the military commission, you all are order to stand down and come with us for investigation," said Karl.
This news dropped like a bombshell, shocking all of the Team Zero operators.
Xiao Tian glanced at Nanami, passing her a message with his eye contact. He discreetly disengaged the safety of his QBZ-97.
"I have my orders, and you have yours. This is not a negotiation," said Karl.
Just then, the commander walked up. "WHERE'S THE OTHER 3?!" he roared. "WHY IS THERE ONLY 8 OF YOU?!"
"They are missing!" yelled Ariel. She walked to Karl and Erika. "SEAN IS AMONG THEM!" she yelled. "Please, send someone to look—"
"BACK OFF TRAITOR!" yelled the commander. "You are all detained!"
He raised his SG-552 rifle, only for Xiao Tian who had been preparing himself to shoot first, hitting him in the knee, wounding him.
"Karl, what the f***?" asked Louis, fighting off 2 Pathfinders that tried to pin him down.
He threw them off with a wind punch. Nanami threw a cluster flashbang, disorienting the Pathfinders.
"Shoot to wound!" ordered Xiao Tian. "Follow me!" Despite his comrades still being confused of the situation, they followed his orders.
Ariel generated a huge blast of energy, toppling all of the armoured vehicles, careful to control her strength to not seriously injure anyone. They fired at the non-lethal areas of the Pathfinders,throwing more flashbangs and smoke grenades. They then ran and slid off the hill, disappearing into the night.
Xiao Tian checked his radio again, true enough, they had been locked out of the UNSSD network.
He then quickly gathered them at a small rock hill, telling them what to do.
"I know you all are still confused, but right now, we cannot trust anyone else, especially not UNSSD," he said.
He ordered them to pull out their communication devices' batteries, then taking out 4 GPS modems from his backpack. He then sent Phineas' group a coded message using the public frequency.
"Here's the location of a safe house, in order to be discreet when we retreat there, we will split up into groups of 2. Remember what to do when you arrive, otherwise you will be shot by the caretakers."
He randomly assigned his teammates, putting himself and Ariel in one group. The operators redistributed their supplies among each other.
"See you all at the safe house," said Xu Qing. "Good luck!"
They fist bumped each other. James revved up his machine gun. He and Santos group volunteered to leave last, covering their comrades running off in separate ways with suppressive fire.
Santos fired a smoked grenade from the under barrel grenade launcher of his HK-416.
"Ok, let's go!" he said, seeing that their comrades have already drew a considerable distance, tapping James on the shoulder. James reloaded his final ammunition belt, running off. Santos fired a few more shots before leaving.
(Present time)
"F***ing hell..." cursed Sean.
"We're excommunicated now," sighed Phineas.
The 2 did as Xiao Tian instructed, pulling out their batteries after they copied the coordinates into the vehicular GPS of the three-wheeler.
They hoisted Frederica onto the back, covering her with a tinfoil blanket. They drove off, with Phineas driving, using his NODs to see the path, not wanting to use the lights for fear of attracting attention. Sean meanwhile sat on the back, scanning his surroundings carefully.
It did not take too long for them to find the safe house, it's a 2 storied cabin located on the outskirts of a small town in a Muslim majority area. The cabin is so unassuming that they almost missed it among the rocky terrain and the trees. Since it's late at night, the narrow street that connects the lonely house to the rest of the town is barren, with no human activity, allowing them to arrive there unseen.
Noticing the motion sensor activated claymore trap, the 2 carefully walked over it, arriving at the front door.
Sean took a torchlight, shining at the door 3 times, once each in red, green and blue. That's the signal to the caretakers inside, acting as a passcode.
A soft shuffle is heard on the other side of the door. The door then quickly opened, revealing a familiar Bethorian lady.
"Charlotte?" exclaimed Sean in surprise. He is carrying Frederica on his back while Phineas parked the three-wheeler in the garage.
She quickly ushered them in, while deactivating the motion sensor trap temporarily.
"She needs medical treatment," said Sean, pointing to Frederica on her back.
"Sayyid!" yelled Charlotte, and soon an Arabian man came over.
"Bring her to the basement, I will check on her with the medical robots," he said, bringing them downstairs.
Sean laid Frederica on a bed, letting Sayyid and the medical robots tend to her. Phineas disinfected himself, volunteering to help. After repeat assurances from Sayyid, Sean, who knows that he is of little help, walked back into the first floor, flopping down on the couch. He removed his helmet.
"F***ing hell..." he muttered, burying his head in his hands, feeling overwhelmed by the events that happened.
From barely surviving a deadly encounter at London, to being tried in a military court, then being accused of treason by the comrades that he will lay down his life for, and worse, figuring out that the organisation which he had dedicated his life to serve has been compromised by the very same group of people that he has vowed to vanquish.
A pile of clothes being thrown onto him rudely jolted him out of his state. He turned to see Charlotte looking at him, arms folded.
"Go get yourself cleaned up, there is a washroom to the left of the living room. You reek," she said with an irritated glare.
Sean chuckled. "Kinda surprised to see you here, must be tough for an 76 year old to travel such long distances from France to here."
Charlotte's expression turned sour, her remaining eye twitching from her rising fury. Sean is holding back his laugh, knowing that she is extremely self-conscious about being called old.
"Sean!" said a voice in the kitchen. "Care to help me a bit?"
Before either Sean or Charlotte can say something Nguyen Khai dashed out from the kitchen, pulling Sean with him inside as fast as he can.
"You are really brave," he chided.
Sean snickered. "Where's Shirley and the rest of Bravo Team?" he asked.
Khai closed the induction cooker, letting the pot of Pho, or Vietnamese prawn noodles he will be serving them for supper to cool.
"They are at the HQ in Paris," said Khai. "Instructor Charlotte wanted to keep this low profile, hence only taking one contractor with her."
"Didn't expect to see Spades International," remarked Sean.
"While your leader is talented he ain't just gonna buy a house in the middle of nowhere in the Middle East for fun," replied Khai. "When Instructor Charlotte received the request from Lieutenant Colonel Zhou for a safe 5 days ago she brought me over to meet up with Sayyid here."
"5 days ago..." thought Sean. "That was when we first arrived here, so he was sure that something will go amiss, hence finding a safe house outside of UNSSD?"
"It would have cost him hefty sums, but thankfully he was able to offer her an offer she cannot refuse to off-set it," snickered Khai.
Sean laughed, knowing that Xiao Tian must have invoked Louis' name.
Just then, a commotion outside caught their attention, and the 2 rushed out to see what happened.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!" roared Charlotte, her left eye swelled with tears, holding Xiao Tian by the collar. She had her blaster pistol drawn, aiming it at Ariel who has her CZ P07 pistol raised at her. Next to her is a stunned Jay whose Exo-suit is barely intact, peppered with holes, the aftermath of a fierce firefight, he is holding onto a severely wounded Louis who is already losing consciousness from the blood loss.
"Stand down!" yelled Ariel.
A series of footsteps is heard as a fuming Phineas walked upstairs.
"Pointing a gun at your comrades? Are you all out of your mind?" he scolded. "If you want to fight then get the f***k out! Here is not a place to be childish!"
Charlotte calmed down, throwing Xiao Tian onto the couch. Ariel withdrew her pistol. Charlotte then carefully carried Louis from Jay, rushing downstairs, with Phineas following behind.
"What happened?" asked Sean worriedly.
Jay sighed, taking off the Exo-suit, bandaging his wounds with the bandages in his medical pouch.
"Me, Nanami, Louis and Xu Qing got ambushed during our retreat by the Zionists, we got separated," he said.
"After some time, I found Xiao Tian and Ariel who had rescued a badly wounded Louis from the thick grass. It turns out that the Zionists have taken the others prisoner after wounding them, and Louis only managed to evade capture as the Zionists thought he was dead," explained Jay.
"My god..." muttered Sean.
Khai had came over with 3 bags of fresh clothes.
"There's nothing you all can do now, how about you all wash up first? We can figure out what to do after you all are refreshed," he said, trying to make them feel better.
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