| "Getting Out" | ||
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Tokyo Forestry Commission Forest June 15, 2008, 0030 hours They moved out as quietly as they could. Maksim was keeping them informed of the enemies movements, guiding them through a maze of Japanese officers who would shoot first and ask questions later. Nikolai was used to that, but the man he was leading was not. That made things a little more difficult, but not too much so. Despite his tender years he had some experience of mortal danger, and Sergei had trained him in how to overcome his fears to the point where he could be shot at and not think about it in depth. It was a useful skill. All he had to do now was apply it to changing nappies. That thought made him chuckle silently, though he dismissed it straight after as he needed to keep his concentration if he were going to get out of here. Maksim had been drilling it into him that even the best make mistakes, and in their business a mistake means one of a few things: hostages are killed or injured, your team-mates are killed or injured, or you are killed or injured. It wasn't a computer game; you couldn't start the mission again. Game over. As they moved through the forest that thought stayed with him. He wanted to emulate Maksim, to still be alive at that age, something that was hard to achieve in their business. He knew he had the ability to complete almost any task he was set, but he also needed to minimize any dangers, and for him that was a hard thing to do. He wasn't a compulsive risk-taker but he did think outside the box, and a lot of his ideas and methods were considered to be dangerous. He would learn how to balance these in time. It was just a matter of making sure that that time came. "Ok, the area is clear," Maksim said. "Affirmative Bear, heading for the first store." Another Maksim teaching: Communications can be compromised, so always play safe. Code had become an integral part of Team Myech's radio discipline. Volkv tapped his shoulder. "Is it safe now?" Nikolai gave him a scornful look, pressing his finger to his lips in the universal gesture for keep quiet. Now was not the time to break fieldcraft. They may be nearly out of the woods (literally, his mind informed him) but there were still things that could go wrong, and attracting the enemies attention and giving away your position was an easy way to make things difficult. They headed on towards the small building in which they had changed into there gear earlier on. Maksim would be there already, his eyes looking out for any signs that they were being followed. Nikolai couldn't see him though, so well the clothing camouflaged them. If he couldn't see Maksim then the enemy couldn't either, and that was a good thing. "Wait here," he told Volkv. The man looked at him with fear in his dark eyes. "I will be back in a minute, just checking its safe." A pat on the shoulder calmed the man slightly, and allowed Nikolai to set off slowly towards the building, his eyes traversing the path in front of him for anything out of the ordinary. Two minutes later he returned. A silent nod to Volkv indicated that the coast was clear. Nikolai took the lead and carefully made his way towards the building, each step being placed after careful examination of the ground. Silence was still their best friend, and it would not do for Volkv to trip or snap something. When they reached the building the two men quickly entered, followed by Maksim; he had been covering their egress. Once inside Maksim opened one of the bags and removed three suits, passing one each to Nikolai and Stepan. The younger man immediately began to strip and put on his suit; the older man just stared in disbelief. It must all be too much for him, Nikolai mused. The shock of the situation was something he had an idea of, though certainly not in the same way. He had never been abandoned in an `enemy' country, and to be honest he didn't relish the idea of changing that. He could remember the night he first met Sergei�. "Ruzhyo, I think we should move out now. The pilot will be waiting for us at the airfield, and we can move under the cover of darkness. If we get close enough to the town centre we should be able to pass ourselves off as businessmen out for a late meal/dance." Maksim smiled at himself for that, and Nikolai nodded at the great suggestion. "You take point then," he told the senior man. "Sure thing boss." The trio moved out into the darkness. Return |
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