Chapter 12 : You have failed me for the last time....
Private First Class Delnugir knew the General didn't tolerate failure. He knew that his leader always wanted results and to only retreat when it proved to be a tactical advantage but this was a fight unlike anyone could be prepared for. First the group had difficulty seeing with the fog, secondly the temperature was well below freezing causing weapons malfunction and finally each fully trained soldier was dispatched as if they were flies to be swatted away. Worst yet he couldn't even get a bead on their foe as they were moving in a blur! However he was certain the General would see what they faced and understand why he had to report back. At least that's what he kept telling himself as he was escorted to the General's HQ on this isolated rock.
The escort made their way past the temporary hangar through the demolitions area where specialized soldiers were testing the latest explosives. They then went through a long tunnel carved out of the rock which Delnugir noticed was not done by machinery. He didn't have long to ponder on how or what did this, however, as the escort stopped at a large metal door. The door slid open to the side and he was quickly shuffled onto a platform with two of his escorts. After the door closed, the platform began it's descent into the lower portion of the HQ which housed the General's command center.
Following the two soldiers who accompanied him, Delnugir was lead along the side of a large circular platform which resembled a stadium. Randomly spread out where desks with computer terminals and digital screens each bustling with activity ranging from reports to tactical displays to battle scenarios. He didn't linger on this scene too much since he was soon at what a large wooden door. This door seemed to be carved by hand out of a tree from Dezolis as it gave off a cool blue hue. One of his escorts stepped up to a retinal scanner and waited patiently until it was done, allowing access to the inner sanctum and briefing area of the General himself. Stepping in cautiously he was greeted with the door closing behind him and silence.
The room Delnugir found himself in was lavishly adorned with paintings depicting different scenes ranging from battles to opening ceremony's. There in the center of the room was a wooden desk of a similar wood to the door as well as a large chair of the same make. The room was lit enough to also show trophies of various hunts the General had been on, yet the seemed to not penetrate all the darkness that laid in wait along the walls and corners of the room. The private was soon snapped out of his musings as a cool voice commanded his attention :
"I understand that you have a report from the field private."
Delnugir swallowed before answering "Yes sir!"
"Let's hear it soldier."
"Sir! We followed the target as ordered and cornered her. Closing in, we initiated the capture only be blinded by fog, beset by chilling temperatures and attacked by an unknown force, sir!"
Silence floated amongst the room and Delnugir wondered if the General was even listening but he didn't have to wait too long for a response.
"So your team found the prisoner and had her in your grasp when an unknown enemy attacked you. How did this enemy destroy a whole team of elite men?"
"Sir! The enemy attacked us in a icy fog which..."
"Which you have been trained to deal with."
Delnugir swallowed again but said nothing.
"Why is it you are still alive?"
"Sir! You advised everyone to retreat if it offered a tactical advantage. I moved away from the battlefield to lure the enemy away from the target."
"Did it work?"
"No sir."
"I see...."
The silence that followed made things worse. He knew the General did not tolerate results like this but he hoped that this information would make ease things.
"Private, you have disappointed me. I took you from that warehouse job and made you into an efficient and effective machine capable of holding your own. Yet you cannot seem to capture a young girl. I will not tolerate this type of failure. Do I make myself clear?"
"Sir, yes sir!"
"Excellent. You are dismissed."
"Yes sir!"
Relieved, Delnugir turned around to leave and was stopped by a man in a dark blue uniform similar to his commanding officers but had a mask covering the face. The mask had two slanted eye pieces and a mouth twisted up in a maniacal grin. He didn't have much time to react as a blade pierced through his armor and in his gut. His eyes grew wide and his mouth fell open as if the scream but the masked man put a gloved hand over his mouth and quickly twisted the blade, instantly ending his life. The masked man lowered his arms, the blade disappearing in a flash.
"General Ricario, what do you make of this information?"
"I am not certain Agent Orange, but we will have our answers soon enough. I want you to take the Black Hand and go out and search for this mystery opponent and see what kind of information you can dig up."
"Yes sir!"
With a quick salute, Agent Orange slipped into the darkness and disappeared as General Ricario was left to ponder if he found what he has been seeking all these years...
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