The Second KIll

The room the 6 agents with the infrared rifles and Connor were positioned in a large room on the second floor of the mansion. The room was very large, as large as a small house, with dark wooden floors and a chandelier in the middle of the room. They had positioned fold out beds to one side of the room, and set up some benches on either side in front of the windows for the rifles to be rested on whilst checking the surrounding area. Connor had selected this room for a few reasons, one was that the windows faced the two ideal locations for a sniper to get a clear shot. The other was the room the Senator was in, this room was selected because it only had one entrance and anyone wanting to get to the Senator would have to go through the room Connor and his team were in.

It had been 3 days since the operation began, the 6 snipers had been completing their rotating shifts to scan the perimeter with their infrared rifles. Connor was also using an AGS-3X to scan the area every hour or so, even though he didn't think he would find anything he thought it would be better to cover all bases. The Senator during these three days had been a big handful, he had become very impatient and along with ordering his staff around he had been using his power to order the people assigned to Connor around. Connor was not following the orders that the senator was trying to give to him, which made the senator very agitated because he wasn't getting his way. Connor was starting to see where the rumors about him wanting power had come from.

it was currently 11:27 PM, the Senator was yelling for one of his staff to go get him a drink. Connor was beginning to start another scan with the AGS-3X and the snipers were currently swapping shifts. Connor started his scan on the side facing out towards the gardens on the property. Moving the AGS-3X across the landscape detecting nothing as all the other times before. He then moved to the other side which looked out onto a lake, which at the back of the lake was a raised ridge with trees on it. Connor Slowly moved the AGS-3X when suddenly the red light on the side of the machine flashed and it made a high pitched beep. Connor froze for a second not expecting it to pick anything up, the 6 snipers and the Senator (who was currently in the room but out of the line of sight from the windows) all turned to look at Connor more stunned then he was. Connor felt everyone's eyes on him and began to give some orders. "Remain Calm, i want the next sniper to move to the window and do a scan of the area with the infrared rifle. I'm going to flank the sniper from the right side of the lake, and i want Mc Gill to head around the right side. when the shooter has been found provide the coordinates via the coms"

Connor headed straight for the door barely waiting for the others to respond, he quickly hurried through the mansion making sure to stay out view of where the sniper may be positioned so that he wouldn't discover they were after him. The good thing about the Senator's Mansion was there were lots of hedges and trees, it gave Connor plenty of cover. From exiting the mansion he moved headed straight, along a row of hedges to try and go very wide do that the sniper would not notice him. He stayed low and drew his gun as he began to grow closer, slowing a little waiting for the response from the infrared sniper so he would know the position to head towards. Connor didn't have to wait long for the update. "There looks to be some heat about 500 meters from the lake to the southwest side behind a tree. I don't have a clear view, but it is the only large enough heat signature". This was quite close to side of the lake Connor had gone around, "copy, i am quite close i will head there now". Connor was currently about 400 meters from the lake so he quickly began to head away from the lake to avoid being seen by the shooter.

Connor jumped over a small ridge, maybe about 40 cm high, Connor believed this must be where the sniper has positioned himself behind. The grass was higher in this area and the trees taller and thicker, perfect cover for a sniper. Connor was taking his time being cautious, trying to spot the shooter and not make any noise to alert him either. His eyes were straining whilst trying to locate the shooter, he was nearing the area where the sniper was located. He was beginning to think that he might have missed the shooter.

Connor noticed on the ground about 20 meters away a boot, the shooter was wearing his ghillie suit and almost invisible in the long grass. Connor aimed his pistol at the shooter, slightly cautiously as he wasn't sure if he had been discovered. "Put the weapon down and raise your hands slowly!". The Shooter stayed still for a second, then began to move his hands from the gun whilst moving it slightly to the side. He twisted his body, Connor noticed his arm metal are. The Shooter turned further and revealed his face, Connor stood there stunned. He knew the person who was standing in front of him. "Long time no see kiddo" the shooter spoke in a nostalgic tone. The person in front of Connor was his uncle Garrott, Connor did not know how to react.

Before Connor could say anything a voice came over his intercom, "I have a clear shot should i take it?". Connor quickly scrambled to get a response, "No Hold Your Fire!" he yelled. The response came, "cop.." but was cut off half way by the senator yelling in the background. "Fire you idiot!" The senator demanded. Garrott overheard this command and quickly grabbed his rifle and looked down the scope. Without any hesitation he pulled the trigger, as if the rifle was already in the correct position before he touched it. The rifle fired, and the whining noise that the AG rifles make could be heard. Only moments later Garrott was stuck, the sniper in the mansion had also fired, the echoing sound of the infrared rifle could be heard as the bullet hit Garrott.

The bullet struck Garrott in the shoulder, an almost fatal wound. He rolled and looked at Connor with a smile on his face as blood started to pour from the hole in his shoulder. He struggle to grab something from his pocket and with his one good arm tossed it to Connor. "They can't know it was me" Garrott struggled to get the words out. He didn't wait for Connor to reply to what he just said. He pressed a button on a small black device that was attached to his waist.

The device made a beeping sound twice and then exploded. This was no ordinary explosion however , it looked as though the device spewed green liquid. The liquid quickly ignited into green flames that began to consume Garrott's body. "GYAAAAH" Garrott let out a scream clearly in pain but it only lasted a second. These were no ordinary flames this was another creation that had come into existence since the war. It was originally believed to have been created in North Korea, it was commonly known as Emerald Death. Emerald Death had similar properties to Napalm but the flames produced by it reached greater temperatures and had the green glow. It had not become a huge issue as it was much harder for people to get their hands on it, and even if they did they would not have enough for a large attack.

Connor knew of Emerald Death although he had not seen it in person before. He immediately jumped back because if a tiny bit of the liquid got on him it could cause serious burns. The flames did not last too long and the smoke and dust began to clear. The flames left behind almost nothing but a small part of the AG rifle's barrel and a pile of some dust scattered the ground. The grass was also gone and some of the stones had melted leaving small puddle like shapes on the ground. Connor was trying to make sense of the scene that had just occurred in front of him, he stood their emotionless whilst looking at the burnt earth.

Connor turned and put the thing he had been thrown from Garrett into his pocket, and grabbed his intercom with the other hand. "Why did you shoot?! i gave an order!" Connor already knew the reason but was overcome with anger at the sniper that pulled the trigger. "The... the... Senator ordered it..... and.... and..... i thought it was the right call" the sniper called Ross was the one responding. "We have a bigger problem.... The Senator was shot when he moved beside Ross to give that order". Connor was stunned not, at the fact that the senator had been shot but at the fact that Garrett in such a short amount of time was able to line up a clean shot. With an AG rifle that should not be possible, the rifle takes time to find the target and judge the distance to correct the shot. Garrett had seemingly done the impossible in Connors mind.

"What's done is done, I'm assuming you have already checked for signs of life. We will need to secure the area at both sights and call for backup, we will face the music when the Director arrives". Mc Gill had just arrived at the sight where Connor was standing after taking the other route around the lake, he was unsure what had happened but grabbed some tape from his pocket and began to section off the area. Connor looked up to the sky, his head swirled with thoughts trying to make sens e of what Garrett was here. Connor had been at Garrott's and his Father's Funerals, seeing Garrott's face was like seeing a ghost.