Capítulo 16: Testing. Testing.
"Affirmative."
A soldier was sprawled in the vicinity of an encampment. If you didn't know he was there, you wouldn't try to look for him because he was wearing a ghillie suit and was as still as water in an untouched pond. (For reference : A ghillie suit is a type of clothing meant to resemble the background such as foliage, snow or sand.)
"Commencing report. The target has been stationary for 5 minutes. He has been staying absolutely still. Over."
The soldier was part of a recon corps. He was assigned to watch over an enemy unit and specifically the commander of that unit. However, his target has been staying eerily still for the past few minutes.
The target closed his eyes and stood still. He has not made any move at all since doing so. This confused his observer, the soldier in ghillie suit, so much that he failed to notice that everyone else in the target's unit were no longer within the target's vicinity.
'They began moving!' The soldier thought. He hurriedly tried to report to his commander by pressing the buttons on his uniform. This toggled his radio communications on and then he would soon start informing his unit.
"10-5. This is Romeo 1. The target's unit has moved out. Over." He said this in a weak voice. He wouldn't want to get found out within enemy territory but he needed to tell them of the enemy's movement.
"10-4. Soldier. Do you have visual on the target's unit?" A voice replied from the radio.
However. The soldier could not reply back. He stopped moving and just stared in front of him. He was afraid due to a certain cold pair of eyes looking at him dead in the eye.
'I was found out!?' Was the thought that prevailed over his thoughts of replying.
"Found you."
"Romeo 1. Come in Romeo 1. What is your status?" The voice on the radio continued.
The soldier could not reply in kind. He was terrified about his situation. For all he knew, the unit that was suddenly missing could be right behind him and then take him hostage.
With shaking hands. The soldier pushed his buttons.
"10-6. This is Romeo 1, signing out." He said as he closed cut his communication.
His vision then faded to black.
"So much for their recon. Let's cut all of their vision." The target said as he properly took care of Romeo 1.
He looked around for a while but it was strange. He was closing his eyes while looking around. However, a few moments later, he said -
"There are two more. They are alarmed due to us subduing this one." The target informed his unit.
His unit moved stealthily and one of them knocked the soldier out. They were only able to identify that the bush was a person due to their leader's words and actions.
"One of them is at 4 o'clock with respect to my position. And the other is in a sniper ghillie suit, further at 12 o'clock." The target said with poise. He grabbed the passed out soldier's radio comms and started pressing the buttons too, he was trying to turn it back on.
"Subjugate them." He said in a cold while crouching down. The radio soon booted up.
The radio connected to the other side of the line. Soon enough, a voice came from the radio.
"Romeo 2. Romeo 3. Status. Withdraw if necessary." The voice on the radio said urgently.
However, Romeo 2 and Romeo 3 were also swift subjugated by the target's unit. It was a very clean capture. It was only possible due to the target identifying their locations and giving signals to his unit to move.
'Team leader sure is scary when he displays his abilities.' A member of the Alpha Team praised his leader, but he didn't say it like a praise at all.
The reason for the swift subjugations were clear. Everyone has abilities and due to some of them being overpowered, they can quickly take out hostiles. This is true for all of the members in the Alpha Team that the target was commanding.
"Let us move. There should be no more surveillance but staying here is not the best choice." The target said with a smile on his face. He then stood from his crouching position.
"But nobody ever told us to withdraw. Let's go bring the party somewhere else." His sinister smile showed on his face.
The members thought of the ability their captain was given. It was not such a powerful ability but its uses were very broad and the way their leader utilizes it is very effective. This is the reason why they respect their leader who does not have offensive capabilities.
However, they couldn't be more wrong. The ability they thought their leader was granted 10 years ago was not it. The ability he was given is actually much scarier and more sinister that it would surely be put in the S class category.
"Let's not dilly-dally. There is only a little window of opportunity to strike, move." Their leader commanded.
In another place. A soldier who was operating radio communications was alarmed. He removed his hands from the receiver and rushed outside of his tent. He then began to scream.
"Sir Brian!" He shouted as he looked for Brian. He repeatedly said Brian's name over and over again.
A few moments later, a hand raised in the air amongst the crowd of soldiers.
"I'm here. Anything to report, radioman?" A person in uniform with black hair and black eyes said as he rushed towards the radio operator.
"Sir. They're wiped out. All three of the recon experts we sent were eliminated. Presumably alive, sir." The radio operator said. His last sentence was a speculation due to not hearing death throes as he manned the radio station.
"Fiddlesticks. We spent the whole night to identify their location, we were only able to find out due to them making an encampment. But now we have no way of knowing where they would be." Brian said in an irritated manner.
A little context. Brian was a commander. He is leading soldiers to defeat the other side and win. If he is not able to do so, then he would face a few consequences that he could not want to imagine.
The other side was just as strong as they were. The abilities of the common soldiery may vary, however, their skills were roughly the same bringing the fight to a standstill. Nevertheless, Brian did not like this situation at all.
"Damn. If only I could use my magic. This restraint is too darn cruel." Brian cursed at his own situation. His actions were restrained and for the right reasons.
They were at an impasse. That would mean that the side that could do a better job at infiltration and impede the enemy's actions would have the advantage at this battle. And the way things were, Brian's side has not made any significant advancement on that part of the battle.
"Call the others. It is time for another meeting." Brian said to the radio operator.
"Sir, yes Sir!" The radio operator saluted then went back to his tent to contact the officers.
A few minutes later, the officers were gathered in the commanding officer, Brian's, office. There were 7 of them inside the room and that includes Brian.
"Things are not looking good.��� Brian did not hesitate to state their current situation.
"We have lost too much ground to gather intel on their side. Their special forces are too strong. The reality of the situation is that we are going to lose if this continues." Brian continued.
"It is because of him, correct?" An officer said with a tone of certainty. He had no doubts that the one that keeps on hunting their bugs was the person in his head.
Brian nodded at his statement. He could not risk to send any more of his soldiers towards certain elimination. That is also the reason why they were looking for that target's unit and observing their movements.
'Avoid them at all cost. Stay within a reasonable distance and do not engage in combat.' Those were the commands given to the observers. However, it was not easy to find the enemy's location and if ever found, they would lose their tail and quickly eliminate any witnesses.
"So. I called all of you here to brainstorm an idea. We need to stop that guy, and quickly. The more time he's left in the battlefield, the less we know about their side. For all we know, they could already be entrenching themselves and we can't do anything about it." Brian put both of his hands on the table. He was desperate.
'Damn it. Why do they do this to me?' Brian was angry about his limitations.
"Sir. I suggest we put someone of similar power level to tie his feet. Buying us time to infiltrate their bases." A clueless officer suggested.
"That won't work. If you haven't been informed, that bastard is only using an ability that is deemed worthless." Brian educated the officer.
"However, that asshole knows how to utilize his ability like a goddamn professional." He continued.
'And sending in a strong unit or two at him would make him happy instead. We can't afford to spread our forces thin anymore' He only kept this to himself.
After an hour of senseless talking. They made no progress at all. The guy was an enigma, and during their constant bickering-
"Sir! A forward base is under attack. Our defensive line is going to be breached if we don't send in reinforcements!" A radio operator rushed as fast as he could towards Brian's tent.
"Authorize reinforcements, quickly!" Brian exclaimed.
The forward base, as the name suggests, is the encampment at the forefront. The trenches at this base were highly damaged but so are the entrenchments on the enemy side.
However, they spent too much time looking for that person's team that they were chasing ducks.
Usually, it was not a matter of concern as the forward bases are always under attack. However -
"Sir! The forward base was attacked from behind!" Another radio operator came to bring bad tidings.
Everyone's eyes bulged after hearing the second operator's statement. Then they all looked at each other with anxiety written on their faces.
"Send in the Class B soldiers, post haste!" An officer suggested towards Brian.
This officer, along with two others, was the officer that handled the affairs at the forefront bases.
"Go back to your stations and report the situation." Brian said towards both the radio operators.
"The meeting is adjourned, be on high alert, this attack is only a precursor." He continued his commands. Every officer in the tent did a salute and soon went out.
He was not happy with the way things were progressing. He was sure that this attack was done by the observation target. But with a limited space and limited power, he could not stop the assaults from happening himself.
Brian went towards the radio tents and gave out commands.
'This is not good.' The situation was bleak.
"Where are the damn reinforcements?" A voice came from the radio.
"We are losing numbers quickly, where is backup?" Another voice complained.
"Woi. This is serious. Where are the.. Ah, I've been eliminated." Then the line cut off.
There were no more calls coming in from that forward base. This signified that the place has been fully captured by the enemy. And that would mean they were now on the defending side.
However, a call suddenly came through.
"Testing, testing." A voice came from the other side.
"Ah, Brian, can you hear me?" Adam's voice could be heard from the other line.
"You shouldn't have focused too much on me, Brian." Then the call ended. He didn't even wait for Brian's reply.
Brian clenched his fists and gnashed his teeth.
"Damn you Adam, you son of a bitch." Brian cursed but the call already ended beforehand.
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