Erazi,
Kandahar, Afghanistan
Russian
Communications Outpost
May
13, 2001
1150
Local Time
Dimitri looked at Blake tied to a
chair while being interrogated by his men. Blake was a strong marine and was
able to resist most of the torture the Russians had in store for him. Dima
tapped Dimitri on the back to bring his attention.
“Sir, the soldier we caught at the
British Embassy is ready for interrogation.” Dima reported.
“Good, show me.” Dimitri ordered.
“Follow me sir.” Dima walked down
the hall.
The pair approached a door where a
soldier stood guard. Dima nodded and the soldier opened the door. In the center
of the room was Zyrok tied to a chair.
“Why am I not surprised?” Dimitri
laughed as he immediately recognized the captive marine.
“And should I be surprised?” Zyrok
mocked.
“I see the UNSC left you to die.”
Dimitri pointed.
“I’m sure they’ll come and find me.”
Zyrok answered swiftly.
“I’m not so sure about that.
Wouldn’t they have sent a team out to get you? After all Captain Zyrok, you
helped your team carry away valuable information.” Dimitri challenged and
crossed his arms.
Dimitri had decided to he wanted to
do his interrogation differently. Instead of torturing, he was going to lie to
Zyrok and make him defect. It would be much easier if he spilled everything
instead of forcing out partial and potentially inaccurate info.
“What do you want Dimitri?” Zyrok
struggled in his chair.
Dimitri grabbed a chair beside the
wall and sat down in front of him. Dima stood next to the door with his arms
crossed unsure of what Dimitri’s intentions were.
“Look, I want to help you. I know
you’ve been abandoned by your team and you’ve also managed to bring along a
girl.” Dimitri spoke softly.
“Don’t you dare hurt her!” Zyrok
growled.
“Oh
no, we’re not going to hurt her.” Dimitri replied.
“Yeah right, your incompetent
soldiers cut her neck in the scuffle.” Zyrok spoke angrily.
“I’m sorry to hear that, I will find
whoever it is responsible. Look Zyrok, we don’t hurt women and children.”
Dimitri sighed.
“I find that hard to believe.” Zyrok
scoffed.
“Fine, as a gesture of goodwill, I
will remove your restraints and reunite the girl with you.” Dimitri waved at
Dima.
“What do you want? You weren’t a
good person the last time I checked.” Zyrok watched as Dima removed his
handcuffs.
“People change…just like how the
UNSC ditched you.” Dimitri reminded.
“Are you that certain?” Zyrok rubbed
his wrists.
“Well, wouldn’t they be here by
now?” Dimitri laughed.
“Where’s Sarah?” Zyrok demanded.
“Oh, that’s her name? I’ll have her
sent over here.” Dimitri nodded at Dima.
Dima walked to the door and opened
it. He waved his hand out and a soldier escorted Sarah to the door.
“Sarah!” Zyrok called out.
Sarah turned her head and saw Zyrok
and felt a sense of relief. The soldier let Sarah go and she quickly ran
towards Zyrok. Zyrok embraced Sarah with a tight hug and crouched to look at
her neck.
“I’m so sorry.” Zyrok spoke
apologetically.
“Now that the reunion is over, let
me offer you accommodation.” Dimitri waved at the door.
“Follow me.” Dima spoke in a flat
tone.
Obediently, Zyrok grabbed Sarah’s hand
and walked her out. After turning a few corners, the pair had been escorted to
a room.
“This is your quarters.” Dima opened
the door.
“Not bad…what’s the catch?” Zyrok
examined the room.
“We’re locking you here until we
trust you.” Dima replied and watched Sarah lie on the bed.
“Ok.” Zyrok nodded.
“We’ll see you tomorrow.” Dima
closed the door and locked it.
Zyrok turned to look at Sarah and
then walked to her. He sat down on the bed beside her and yawned. They were
both exhausted and confused by the Russians’ act of kindness.
“Sarah, come closer so I can look at
your neck.” Zyrok patted the empty spot on the bed.
Sarah crawled up beside Zyrok and
raised her head. A cut was visible on the neck, but it was a flesh wound.
“You’re going to be fine. It’s a
small cut.” Zyrok assured with comforting eyes.
Sarah looked down at Zyrok and
touched her neck. Zyrok noticed a plate of biscuits beside the bed and motioned
for Sarah to eat.
“Let’s eat while we can.” Zyrok
suggested as he picked up a biscuit.
“Okay.” Sarah began to munch on her
biscuit.
Suddenly, the door opened and a
soldier walked in with two trays. It contained a can of tinned tuna and the
other was a can of tinned salmon. The soldier placed the tray beside Zyrok and
walked out.
“Wow.” Zyrok looked amazed.
The soldier walked back in with two
bottles of water and handed it to Zyrok.
“Lunch.” the soldier mumbled and
walked out.
“What do you want Sarah?” Zyrok
pointed at the tin cans.
“I don’t know.” Sarah shrugged.
“Well, in Canada we have a lot of salmon.”
Zyrok chuckled.
“I’ll take tuna.” Sarah decided.
“It’s up to you. Salmon has more
nutrients than tuna…I think.” Zyrok laughed.
“As long as I’m full, I don’t care.”
Sarah smiled.
“Here, take the salmon. I want the
best for you.” Zyrok handed the tinned salmon to Sarah.
Clifton, Karachi,
Pakistan
UNSC
Cobra Squad’s Camp
May
13, 2001
1400
Local Time
“Gentlemen, are you ready?” Frederick looked at Dau
and Hariprasad sitting on the couch.
“Yes ma’am.” Dau stood up slowly.
“We’ll make them pay.” Johnson
walked in the room wielding a Washington
1100.
“I’m ready LT.” Hariprasad gritted
his teeth and stood up.
“We’re going to do a quick snatch
and grab of the assets if they are still there.” Frederick briefed.
Daniels rushed into the room with
his helmet on while holding a Lock 17 pistol.
“Falcon’s ready ma’am.” Daniels
holstered his sidearm.
“Let’s go gentlemen.” Frederick ordered.
“What about Parker and Sears?”
Hariprasad asked.
“They’re staying behind to watch base.”
Frederick
replied.
The group of marines quickly headed
for the roof and gathered around the Falcon.
“Ok, listen up marines.” Frederick clapped.
“Dau and Hariprasad, get on either
side of the mounted turrets. Daniels, get it started up. Hariprasad, take a
seat, we’ll be needing you soon.” Frederick
commanded.
“Understood.” Daniels rushed into
the cockpit and closed the hatch.
Frederick watched as the marines got into
their positions before setting foot on the aircraft. Once she was in, Daniels
lifted the Falcon off the ground and steered right. From a distance, the shores
littered with ship debris and bodies.
“What a mess…” Dau examined the
distant shores.
“A slaughter.” Johnson replied.
“I knew people on that ship.” Dau
spoke with a hardened look.
“We all did.” Johnson sighed.
“Alright, we’re going to increase
altitude.” Daniels chirped on the comms.
Daniels ascended the Falcon into a
steady climb until it was just below the clouds. The wind was choppy, but the
aircraft remained leveled. From the ground up, the Falcon looked like a small
speck in the sky hiding from any potential threats.
