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June 12, 2008 Petrenko's Dacha 0315 hours The killer-becoming ran quickly through the open area to the Dacha and planted herself against the wall. Some 200 yards from her Safara was doing the same. "Alpha six report," she said quietly. "Alpha two, Alpha four, you are in the clear," Jaime reported back. They had set the scenario just as the original plan was, had gone over it multiple times back at the staging area. Bella had been spared most of them and Paige was concerned with her reaction to the drugs the Moonlighter had given her. A bad reaction was expected, but Paige had never expected the extreme. So, they had let Bella sleep, let her get back to herself, and had gone over the scenario only once with her. It didn't matter though because the rest that had gone over the scenario multiple times did it more out of boredom than actual necessity. So, Bella took her post on the west side of the Dacha protecting egress, Jordy roved between her position and Saf's, and Jaime on sniper watched all of them. The guards were fewer than had been during their first assault, to which Paige was grateful, but there was still a lot of them. Paige stepped along the wall finding a small black wire running up the side of the building. She took off her backpack and retrieved from it some wire cutters and piggybacks. She stripped the wire in a matter of seconds and placed one of the piggybacks to it. "Tac 1 from Alpha two, piggyback on," she said quietly. "Received Alpha two," Simon said quietly. She had to wait for him to do his magic now. Bella had told them of her time with the Moonlighter, how she had been unexpectedly come upon in the darkness outside of the Dacha, not far away, Paige thought, from where Bella now guarded. His name was Ruhzyo, the Rifle, Bella had said, the team leader, the one with the pretty eyes, Paige's Moonlighter. It was an intriguing name though everything about him seemed to intrigue her. A few moments passed, what seemed almost an eternity before Simon gave the okay that he had disabled the alarms and they were free to break in. Paige took the time to pull out a small grapple with rope and when she received the okay she stepped away from the building and swung it up onto the ledge that was the third floor. "Alpha two, scaling," she reported. "Alpha four scaling," Saf said almost at the same time. The killer-becoming climbed quickly up the wall hauling herself onto the third floor ledge and sat quietly listening. Nothing. The Dacha was dark. She pulled up the rope and attached the grapple to her waist belt and looked up towards the fourth floor. She had to move almost twenty feet further than she anticipated to find a small balcony. A quick jump and she pulled herself onto it gaining the fourth floor. "Alpha two, on fourth, going in." A quick look to her right and a message confirmed on her comms, she saw Saf mimicking her movements on to a balcony further north on the Dacha. Ruhzyo, Rifle, Moonlighter, so many names for one individual. She could see his eyes, those deep set hazel orbs, as flicking snapshots in her mind that pulled and taunted the curiosity in her being. His hand (always these hands), in hers, the warmth, the steadiness and strength, the only real contact they had ever have, begged her to find out where it had been, who else had held it, and who it was it belonged to. She had to find out who he was. She would have to ask Gray, she thought, no, demand from Gray what they knew of him...because surely they knew something. They must. Paige pulled out the picks out of her bag and quickly navigated the lock to the french doors. She opened them the slightest bit listening to any movement inside. Hearing none she stepped in closing the door behind her. "Tac 1, Alpha two is in," she whispered. The room was dark and it took a few moments to adjust to it as shadows of furniture formed in her sight. She moved through the room making her way to the door that would lead to the hallway. She opened it carefully, just a smidgen, and looked out. The hallway was clear. She moved quietly to the east to the next doorway and opened it moved quickly inside and crouched in one swift motion. This was Petrenko's bedroom, or so they believed. She knew the chemical reactions in her eyes that had started when she first set out on foot would take a full forty five minutes to achieve true night vision, and she was quickly approaching that mark. The room she was in was large and a huge bed with a white comforter occupied the center of it. Petrenko, she thought. She stood and walked towards the foot of the bed taking in every shadow and crease of the white coverlet. Shame, she thought, to ruin such a beautiful white spread with blood. But the killer-becoming quickly admonished the thought for the task at hand. It was another chance, she thought, for her coping mechanism to catch a glimpse of what lay beyond the living world. If there was anything. The killer-becoming stood at the foot of the bed staring at the figure that slept peacefully in it. She could feel the numbness, the hollowness, the cold calculating killer in herself take over completely. The killer-becoming had once again ascended to the killer-become. She needed not the Watcher that surveyed the scene from a van eight miles away. She needed not the Sniper that protected her from a hill on the outskirts of the Dacha's grounds. She needed not the Assistant that stood outside in the woods. She needed not the White Rabbit that crouched in a room three doors down. She needed none of them for this. She may be the deliverer of a great evil, and she may deliver that with mercy, but she delivered it with a vengeance this time. Retribution was the cornerstone of this act. She needed not to see his eyes as he passed from this world into whatever lay beyond. Or so she thought. She lashed out hitting a bulge in the coverlet that was the target's foot. The figure stirred and upon seeing a figure standing in the dark at the foot of his bed sat up quickly. "Chto? Kto dela? The killer-becomes eyes narrowed slightly, she was never good with language. But her sharp ears picked out the inflection in his voice. He was asking a question and she promptly ignored him. He should, she thought, at least know who it was that passed this final judgement and the killer-become pulled off her mask. "Fifty eight Americans," she said quietly as she raised her weapon and aimed at his forehead. He took a breath, one large enough that had he the chance he might scream something out, but she pressed on the trigger of the weapon sending the silenced bullet tumbling towards the center of his forehead. The gasp was lost in an eternal look of surprise as his head jerked backwards and his body followed. The killer-become scowled wishing the lights had been on so she might see a glimpse of what lay beyond life. These opportunities to witness the passing from the living to the dead were few and far between. Though they were witnessed and tendered with great care, somewhere inside of her, she knew, these chances would come again. Still, this question of life after death eluded her and she turned away in disgust as the white coverlet turned crimson. There was still much to do. "Tac 1 from Alpha 2, target acquired," she said quietly staring at the floor. "Tac 1, all units, egress initiated," the Watcher responded. Egress. Paige looked up focusing on the headboard of the large bed and trying not to look at the dead body that lay in it. She still had to get out. She felt the killer-become slipping away and her focus became less detailed. "Alpha two," a voice hissed in her comm. That was her. She put her mask back on and whirled stalking towards the door which she had not two minutes ago entered through. She opened it and entered the hallway. She looked left noting it was empty and turned right expecting to see Safara. Who was that? Noting the figure there was not Safara, Paige walked towards it her head down and eyes focused on him. He said something in Russian but the space between them was minimal and within seconds she had reached him and lashed out. Her left hand still with the weapon contacted with his head and though his arm had went up to defend himself she still hit him hard enough to knock him down. She followed the hit up quickly grabbing his head and wrapping her arm around his neck and locking it in her casted arm. He fought for only a moment before he became limp in her arms. "Let's go," Safara, who had suddenly appeared in the hallway gestured for her. She let go of her hold letting the body slip to the floor before following her. They moved silently down the hallway, two doors, and entered another room. They made their way across and opened the door to the balcony. There were sounds in the hallway and Paige glanced back briefly to the door wondering if they had locked it. It didn't matter though as they would be gone within seconds. Paige pulled the grapple off her belt and fixed it between the slats of the balcony railings. "Age before beauty," she quipped as she took a step away from the railing. Safara snorted at her as she climbed over the railing and disappeared out of her view. Paige swung her leg over the balcony just as the door to the adjoining room burst open. Two men shouting things at her in Russian ran in. "Alpha six, I got company," she said calmly as she grasped the rope and began letting herself down quickly. The adrenaline rush she thought would have come earlier finally seeped into her system as she stared upwards towards the grapple just waiting for a figure to appear. And appear it did. The head poked over the railing when she was still at the second floor and it pointed its weapon down at her. Fuck, she thought, before the figure jerked back and disappeared from her view, and she thanked the Sniper silently. Another one took its place but not for long as it only looked down for a moment before disappearing. "You're clear Two and Four," Jaime's voice came over the comm. Paige let go of the rope dropping the six or so feet to the ground and grinning despite herself, "thanks Alpha six," she said as Safara helped her up and they ran into the woods. They met up with Bella and closer to the staging area, met with Jordan and Jaime. The five proceeded their way back to the staging area without any further problems. Return |
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