Chapter 2: 37
This is for those who like to note if they are First Time Readers (FTR) or Re-readers(RR)
"V169, report to the mission briefing room immediately."
There was a burst of static, then the earpiece went silent. She punched the bag one last time; a solid blow that yanked its chain further than it was made it go, breaking it and thus dropping the now torn punching bag onto the mat.
She was alone in the training room, one specifically customized to her capabilities. No one else ventured inside it even when she was away so she never bothered to lock the door as she left, going out through the bigger room that all the other Vanguard soldiers used.
All activities came to a halt where she walked, most in awe, others in respect. Some of the rookies even saluted as she passed. Not that it affected her in any way. All these had graduated top of their military academies and were excited about joining the big league. None of them had been in a war before, let alone had to fight for their lives. Mainstream Media, which was the only legally running media house made being a soldier look seductive. No one cared that recruitment of more of the younger generation would keep the war going forever, and every warlord used whatever means possible to gain advantage over the other.
Mainstream benefited from all sides, dishing out propaganda that kept the stick burning at both ends.
She herself never cared who won or who lost and whatever collateral damage was done in between. She was a warrior who took orders and carried them out to the point.
The exit of the training room put her in an enormous semicircular lobby, with several elevators that carried people to any one of the ninety three floors above, or the six underground bunkers below, at least the four that everyone else knew about. This was the Vanguard's military headquarters, dubbed Pearl Harbor in memory of an attack on the Vanguard some hundreds of years ago. It was arguably the best on the planet, definitely the highest but she had seen the military headquarters of the rivals up close, and they too were forces to be reckoned with.
There were many other people rushing in and out of elevators, trying to get some important paperwork to be signed somewhere up, or to receive orders like her. Time was a valuable asset in a war and wasting it cost a lot. She however walked at her own pace, going to the set aside elevator for higher ranked personnel. She fortunately was alone and looking forward to a quiet ride to the top when a hand reached in between the doors just as they shut, and a tall dark haired man walked in, a silver briefcase in hand. He acknowledged her presence with a nod which she didn't reply to. It was when he realised she was going to the top floor that his eyes momentarily widened in surprise.
He kept his head straight but she could see his reflection in the polished silver doors as he kept stealing glances at her. She had taken this elevator with someone else inside a few times and neither of them had even batted an eye at her. So he must have been another recruit, probably one marked out for management.
He went out on the seventy fifth floor, and she didn't bother to try and remember what was done on that floor. She only needed the top floor of the Harbor where she took orders for her missions.
The ninety third floor was mostly made of glass walls, electronically altered for specific requirements. The briefing room had glass walls too, but the glass was one sided and completely soundproof. No sound reflections on the glass, and basically no way of eavesdropping electronically.
The only way to it was a corridor lined with hidden security systems of all kind, and as she walked through it she couldn't see, but could hear the little sounds the machines made as they verified her identity. The door opened automatically once she was recognized.
There were other important offices on this floor, but she had only been to this one, and always found one person inside.
"I presume you've had a fine morning V169."
She didn't reply to the Commander but sat at her designated spot, before a large screen that currently only displayed the Vanguard army logo; a V right in the cross hairs of a scope. The room contained a massive glass table that too could be used as a screen. There was only one seat around it though, and never more than that.
The display changed to a face, dubbed target 37. This would be her thirty seventh high profile target. The details were shown as the Commander spoke.
"37 is one of the top generals in Prussia, and he was responsible for the ambush on our snipers three months ago on the eastern front. They were captured, tortured to death and their corpses shipped to us."
The gruesome images of the corpses flicked one by one across the screen.
She remained impassive.
"Now it has taken us almost four months but we have managed to find a weak link, a time when he won't have the entire Prussian army protecting him. Tonight he is attending a dinner with the Prussian royal family. Afterwards he will leave escorted by a royal convoy of six SUV's for only about five miles, after which he is taken up by his own much larger protection. We will only provide details on where and when exactly, the plan is all yours to figure out."
She stood up and swiped through the detailed report, now displayed on the table, taking mental snapshots of each tidbit. She swiped down and the screen went back to the Vanguard logo. She headed for the door.
The Commander snapped his fingers and she stopped to listen.
"We want him dead V169, and in case you get caught you know what to do. Failure is not an option."
She had never failed to take out a target but she knew the protocol for failure. If one was captured all they had to do was bite and break either the numbing pill on the left side, that would release a chemical that made speech permanently impossible by destroying the vocal cords, or the kill pill on the right that delivered a lethal poison that stopped the heart instantly.
These pills were placed inside the caps of the teeth at the back of the mouth. She passed her tongue over either cap as she rode the elevator back down. In her thirty six missions she had never come close to breaking any of the two.
Outside the harbor was a broken world. One that was struggling to put itself back together, but was being put back down by human conflict. She stared out at it through the clear glass walls of the elevator, towering high over everything else. The Harbor was not only the tallest, but also the only building that went higher than thirty floors in Vanguard. After several attacks where skyscrapers around the Harbor were bombed in an effort to hit the Harbor itself, a decree had been passed, one that said no buildings were to go higher than a third of the Harbor. It left the skies clear, and even a human eye would be able to see a missile coming.
People lived in apartments that covered most if the space in the Vanguard capital. All currency was digital now, credits, a unified exchange system across the world. There were places of course that had their own currencies, but credits were inter-territorial. Her elevator went past the ground floor, down below to the armories.
The plan was half complete in her head, all she needed was her weapon, and her target.
***
Later that night she lay silently amongst the hills of destroyed cars that had been dumped a few hundred metres away from the road her target would take. Warlords never cooperated and most of their subjects were pretty much the same. She thus never understood how the Commander got the connections to get her behind enemy lines as easily as he did. A Prussian pilot had just dropped her off minutes ago in a small plane, and he had left without a word. It was never the same person.
As usual she worked alone, having long before realised she was more efficient by herself than with someone else who would just slow her down.
She had been in the same position for over an hour. Several drones flew overhead every few minutes, scanning for any sign of trouble. Vanguard scientists had developed armor with advanced camouflage technology that could fool any scan she knew. Even her weapon was coated in a similar material so she was electronically invisible. An M48, the only one of its kind, customized for only her. The rifle had been put together in the Harbor by the best weapon specialists there were in Vanguard. 26 inch barrel, and a stock carved from high grade walnut. It set back the Vanguard a little past a million credits to make. She had used it for all her previous missions, and it had proved it's worth, being better than good against anything on two legs.
Just then a pair of headlights materialized from beyond the hills. Three upfront and three back with the official one in the middle was the given detail, but this general would probably have them switched. She looked through her scope and zoomed it through about two-thirds of it's magnification, on the convoy. Before she could take a proper look her watch vibrated against her hand.
Incoming.
In the sky several stealth jets hovered silently towards along with the convoy. They hadn't been part of the briefing and she would inform the Commander when she got back, but for now they were an obstacle as they lowered soldiers onto the ground to scout about. Technology was amazing, but never one hundred percent accurate. It was limited to how far its programmer set it. Sometimes it was better to trust the old fashioned human eye.
She could see through her scope, that they were moving in a tight knit formation and there was no way they would miss her. Hiding from machines was easy, but humans were still the most dangerous weapon of all. There was no way this would end quietly considering there were over three dozen soldiers between her and the convoy. She could always use her rifle which was superbly accurate even from her distance, but this deep in enemy territory if she shot him it would be nearly impossible to leave alive. Then she would have to make her escape by taking down as many soldiers as she could.
Reinforcements would never be there on time. Not that they wouldn't be fast enough, but she simply wasn't that slow.
She detached part of her scope and connected it to her eye piece. It was connected to the M48 such that whatever she could see, she could hit perfectly.
One of the jets went lower, hovering backwards behind the convoy which stopped, and Vixen watched the general being ushered out from the last car and towards the open doors of the jet. She waited till he was walking in, at the last moment when the jet was rising and it's doors closing and then she took her shot.
This particular bullet crossed the chasm between shooter and assassin within a fraction of a micro-second, past the closing jet doors and through the side of the general's skull. The bullet now buried into his rapidly dying brain would automatically activate it's self destruct sequence, packed with enough power to make sure no bits were left of it to find, and also enough to blow almost half the jet.
Chaos broke out, which created the perfect situation with everyone distracted. V169 took a deep breath then walked out of her hiding place. The first line died without ever having had a glimpse of her. She never ran but kept a steady pace, pulling her trigger twice every second. She had to slide to the right for cover when they finally saw her to avoid the volley of bullets sent at her. She reloaded amidst the sharp blasts made by their bullets as they sprayed all around her, ricocheting off the rusted chunk of chrome she was hiding behind.
She knew what guns they had, and the rounds they carried. So the ones to her left should be out in five, four, three...
She exited from the right instead, completely taking them by surprise but did not shoot, feigning to go left but then rolled further right and took a few heads off. Without specifically designed armor in their way, her bullets carried enough force to go through ordinary bullet proof vests and helmets not to mention her inability to shoot anywhere but the head.
"Stop shooting, you're wasting ammo!"
They stopped shooting at where she hid. She could hear whatever they were communicating across their comms in her own earpiece. They spoke Prussian, but so did she.
"Can't you see? Whoever this is, they are better trained with a gun. No more guns, use the EMP."
A few seconds later her eyepiece went dark and her earpiece fell silent. Her M48's scope was now disabled too. She could always go old school, rely on her own eyesight. Most of the weapons being used were electronic these days so that meant their guns were down too. From her calculations the convoy would be down too somewhere at the end of the road.
It would be her escape means. As long as she could get there.
V169 shut her eyes for a second and when she opened them, they were glowing.
Time to move.
******
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