People's Victory, Shadow Republic of Sjenska
She walked through empty streets at a brisk pace, having dumped her car several blocks away. The wound on her back pulsed painfully, soaking the shirt and combat jacket in blood - the clothes created a sort of temporary dressing, but the deep gash would require stitches anyway. She had no time to take care of it, not if she wanted to see her sister alive again.
A man approached her, switchblade in hand, obviously after her money or perhaps her virtue - as if she still had any. She casually shot him with her Bison - there was no time to waste. The warehouse was nearby, tucked between dozens of structures in various states of dilapidation, most empty at night and barely occupied during the working day. The port of People's Victory was underused during Karic's rule, and practically abandoned now: the Northern Sea was hardly a well traversed trade route, and so new Shadow authorities were planning to demolish much of the dockyard and repurpose it.
Still, for now, it served as a good haven for scum like these slavers. But not for very much longer.
Ana approached the small side gate and loaded a fresh magazine into the Bison. Whatever happened next, it would end tonight. Finally, she'd have a chance to rest - one way or another.
She popped another amphetamine and opened the gate.
House With the Red Door, Worker's Way
The militsia were scouring the house clean, picking off even the smallest possible pieces of evidence. The scene was horribly grisly, and the investigators were still trying to figure out what, exactly, could've happened here - especially since at the moment, evidence didn't point towards a massive assault by an organized force. Every single body they found was obviously trying to defend the building.
Outside of this conundrum, however, was one interesting thing. A bunch of notebooks and documents which were immediately shipped to the local ASTF bureau, where NOD officers dug into them.
And gasped in shock when the pieces started coming together, and names bubbles up to the surface.
People's Victory, Dockyard District
She scanned the massive courtyard from her position near the side gate. It was utterly and completely deserted, save for a single rusty truck. No guards, no drivers or dockworkers of any sort. She expected at least some security, someone patrolling the perimeter or maybe a janitor to scare off unwanted guests.
Or the gate to be locked.
She ducked near the entrance. Something was very, very wrong here, and she had no way to figure out exactly what. It yelled "trap" from a mile away - but the clock was ticking. If she walked away now, it was possible Nadya would never be found. She had no doubt NOD would shortly make it impossible for her to operate in the city, especially after that last stunt she pulled.
She finally made up her mind. If she was walking into a trap, she'd be taking the bastards with her.
"Hello?",she said into her stolen cell phone, "I'm in the docks and I've just seen some men drag a girl out of the car and into a warehouse here..."
Inside the warehouse, at the same time
"Gate C is open, sir", a subordinate reported, "Nobody coming through."
The leader - a man in his forties, of dark skin and obviously a professional in these matters - scanned the warehouse floor, where the trap was all set. His men occupied positions on employee walkways, and the girl was in the middle, secured by handcuffs and gagged. Electronic sensors would let them know about anybody who tried to approach. He smiled and retreated into the office, where two more of his men waited patiently.
"Everyone stand by. We don't want her to get spooked early.", he said into his radio.
A tense five minutes followed, as Karic's mercenaries waited. The plan was too complicated and bizarre for most of them, but their leader knew exactly why - the President wanted revenge for a personal slight. Bosko Kovacevic knew all too well how such things ended for those who crossed Karic in the past.
"I have someone", came a radio report from a rooftop sharpshooter, "Single female...walking towards the warehouse...she's armed. Should I take her down?"
"Negative. Standby."
"HEY!", came a shout from the courtyard, "Hey, you there! Inside! I know you're there, motherfuckers!"
What the FUCK?, was Kovacevich's thought. He expected a surprise from that particular woman, but not of this kind.
"Hold", he said quietly into his radio.
"Oh, so you don't want to come out?! Them I'm coming for you!", the woman kept shouting
"She's moving towards the entrance. She's at the door. Lost sight of her."
The warehouse had a pair of massive sliding door, big enough to let trucks drive inside. Within those, there were smaller, man-sized entryways, which Ana used. She staggered a bit, blood seeping down her trouser leg. Just as she expected, ther was Nadya, bound and gagged in the middile of the warehouse floor, and the elevated employee walkways were loaded with heavily armed mercenaries.
"Well, shit. I expected something like that."
Bosko came out of the office, his rifle at the ready. Every single one of his men - and himself - were utterly surprised at Ana's casual approach.
"Drop the gun", he commanded, and to his even greater surprise, she did, and dropped to her knees, "Hands in the air where I can see them. Adrian, secure her."
The mercs quickly locked the door and handcuffed Ana. Her sister just stared in shock, a burly merc aiming a pistol at her head. Two others lifted Ana to her feet and dragged her over to the side, where a stratellite video phone was sitting on a crate, high up, so that the caller could look down on anybody he talked to.
"All units report in. Is the perimeter secure?"
"One, reporting. Sea approach secure."
"Two reporting, streets secure"
"High ground reporting, no contacts."
Bosko looked at Ana quizically for a few seconds, noticing her tired expression and the massive bloodstain on her back, "What's your plan? Why didn't you resist?"
Ana just grinned in response, "Because you stupid fucks set up an ambush that a dead cat could smell a mile away."
"And you came anyway", Bosko stated, still utterly flabbergasted.
"Yep. I thought it was time to end this."
Bosko didn't answer. One of his men dialed a number, and the video phone came to life.
"Hello Srdjan. I thought it might be you who sent these idiots here to do your dirty work", Ana said even before the video feed appeared. To her satisfaction, the man on the other side made a surprised grimace, though he quickly composed himself.
"Defiant to the last, I see. Went through a lot lately?", Srdjan Karic himself asked through the video phone, obviously satisfied by Ana's horrible looks. The woman responded with a cruel smile from behind her filthy, ragged hair.
"I've been worse. Especially under you."
"Yes...", Karic seemed taken aback by this, though none of his men had any idea why, "...let me wipe that smile off your face, shall we? Bring the girl!", he commanded, and one of the mercs dragged Nadya before the phone's camera, "Kill her. Slowly, so that her sister may watch."
Nadya tried to scream, but the gag prevented it. Ana stared, stoically, as the merc extracted a huge combat knife and placed his hand over Nadya's mouth. Suddendly, however, Bosko - their leader, obviously - started listening to something over his earphone. Somewhere high above, a faint sound of helicopter blades could be heard.
Ana smiled again and stared at the phone.
"Srdjan?"
"What? You want to beg, bitch?"
"Fuck you"
Just then, a BTR armored personnel carrier crashed straight through the front gates with a horrible, deafening noise of torn metal.
"
- PeZook
