Back to the Real World: Operation Ghost Step part IV

the mission is simple. there is an enemy base at the heart of the jungle. all they have to do is get inside and take any information they can find about the enemy's secret work. they are working on something truly dangerous. they must be stop as soon as possible.

as of right now Owl and Wendigo are by themselves. every single step counts. even the smallest sounds drag suspicion towards the person next to them. the tension is increasing by the second. even the touch of the wind feels treacherous.

"It is fancy finding you in here."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I had never seen you putting yourself on the line when it is about a mission this big. in every previous big mission, you always walked away. you only did elimination work before."

"Are they all like you? idealist can be troublesome without any care for the consequences of their sick actions. don't you agree?"

"I am not sure. as just know that spies can't be trusted, as we never know where their loyalty falls. any wrong action can lead to destruction. to trust the wrong person is like to trust death to watch your back in the battle."

they felt less safety at the hands of their comrade. there was a lot of fear and anger that they tried to hide from themselves. there was no time to waste when there is a mission to finish. there is a job that was given to them. 

they could expect anything from the treacherous figure at their side, but what they didn't know is that none of them was a traitor. Ryker left out the hint of there been two traitors on purpose. he wanted to get rid of those two, as they had become too powerful. too arrogant. too ignorant of the affairs of the world. their ego has overgrown their achievements.

in a desperate attempt to control his own team. Ryker decided to get rid of those two before they tear apart the organization. there is nothing more dangerous than an ignorant person leading a group that can be of help or hurt those who fight to protect and save the world.

Owl and Wendigo didn't fully trusted Ryker. it can even be argued that the person they distrust the most is Ryker. even so the old man was able to manipulate their emotions and put them against each other in a final stage for them to show their true colors.

but what none of them expected was for the jungle to be the home of a greater evil than what they expected to find. the Commander was the nickname that this man, almost monster goes by. 

fools the both of them for not putting much attention to their surroundings. as the Commander arrived in the same spot in which they were arguing. the Commander looked like a normal everyday father of family. jet what made him terrifying was the artifact at his hands. 

the Commander can easily take down both men. jet he saw that it could be easily to just let them kill each other. he didn't need to waste his precious bullets on fools. he stayed hidden as he kept observing them.

"That last mission in Turky. you purposely failed it. you commit the final mistake that costed the lives of plenty of our people."

"And what about you? what about you? wasn't you the one who convinced some of the board members to accept that stupid mission in Alaska, then South America. we lose resources and then we lose symbolic members. we lose so much because of your Hippie shit."

their pistols are aiming at each other. the limit to their patience has reach a breaking point. There is so little respect they had for each other from the beginning. it has been so long since the last time they were allowed to express their emotions. they are about to explode.

Wendigo's hands are trembling. he is nervous. his hands are sweating. his breath has become loud. there is despair and rage on his eyes. he keeps feeling the need to finish the battle he started against his nemesis, Owl long time ago.

after a long silence, then there is a BANG. both of them are looking afraid and nervous. then they look at a third person walking in to take part of the battle. out of nowhere this turned into a Mexican stand-out. the third person is Lobster, he was sent by Ryker to take care of those who are useless or an endangerment to the organization. 

Lobster is there just doing his job. he will leave those who deserve to live and kill those who deserve to die no matter what. Lobster is a professional when it is about holding weapons. he is holding two revolvers. his face has become the face of death itself. 

"Who are you? what are you doing here?"

"I am the messenger. and the message is death to the traitors, or possible traitors. there is only way to know if you are a traitor and that is by a bullet test. are you ready to take it?"

"You are fucking hilarious. are you fucking for real? is this where our loyalty can take us?"

"Again. I am just the messenger. I am the gun. I am not the holder nor the bullet. I am just the gun. and the gun does what it is told to do while holding the bullet. and by default, that also defines me as death itself.... any other questions?"

the two men in front of Lobster were confused and disappointed to see where their loyalty and their respect took them. jet there was nothing left for either of them to do. 

the final conclusion of this dreadful tragedy unfolds now. the three of them are aiming at the others. they are in their right to feel used or betrayed. jet the only thing they can feel now is relief.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

a rain of bullets was the dancing final ballad for one of them. 

In the meanwhile:

in the opposite side of the jungle there was a group of macho brave strong man walking like if they own the place. Hammerhead, Swordfish, Golden Sheep, and Killer Whale are proving why they were the chosen ones to come and beating into shape the jungle.

Hammerhead with bloody hands puts a cigar on his mouth. he starts to smoke. he is looking at the sky like if he was trying to read a map. then he smiles feeling like if it was Christmas. there is so much fun to have in here.

Swordfish feels nostalgic thinking about the good old days. he is having so much fun killing and breaking apart the objects in the road. there are so many insects to step in. so many insects to break apart wing by wing.

Golden Sheep keeps asking if they know where Lobster run with his tail between his legs. Golden Sheep is close to Ryker, but he is unaware of Ryker's actions or ideals. he has no idea of what is going on behind the curtain. after all the Organization is run by multiple figures and plenty of heads. there is not a single boss or leader between them.

Killer Whale walks with confidence. he grabs some fruit from the ground. there are some blood stains that he tries to clean. then he takes a bite from it. the particular taste of blood mixed with the fruit's own flavor doesn't bother him.

"Damn. I need a soda. the heat and the killing have made me feel so damn thirsty. I feel like having a nice and cold soda."

"I feel you brother."

they keep talking about random shit. Killer Whale is ignoring the fuckers. they need to talk about random shit to take their minds off the issues in their heads. they may look like emotionless machines or macho soldiers unable to feel pain nor fear. jet they all are trembling deep inside. they are close to break apart at any given time.

Killer Whale is a veteran in the battlefield. he has experience battles against death itself. he has seen enemies and allies alike falling down. he has seen giants breaking after receiving the smallest of wounds, or the weak surviving against the strongest storm. 

there are so many stories that were told. plenty of tales to be told. and Kiler Whale has learned from those stories. Killer Whale has enough experience to write down a twenty-plus part semi-biographic book series. 

"Silence boys, the dancing isn't over jet. we must be sure first that there is no enemy standing. we don't know if they have snipers or other kind of tricky professionals among their numbers." said Killer Whale in an emotionless tone of voice.

they all are too prideful to admit it. but the unofficial leader of this small group is Killer Whale. he leads the others. and without questioning his orders they follow as he says. there is no denial that he has that presence of a leader. the power to hold power and lead in times of chaos.

Hammerhead and Swordfish share so much in common. they spend their younger better days together causing all kinds of trouble. in their older days they left chaos and corpses. now here they are between keep going in their fucked-up road or to change their ways. there is a struggle between their wish to keep going killing or they wish to stop.

Golden Sheep is running out of cigars and beer. Golden Sheep checks his weapons. he is running out of bullets. he felt so nervous. Golden Sheep looks at the map. there is so little in it that is helpful as it doesn't match with the area. he throws the map to the ground. he steps in it furiously.

there is some noise. they all stop. they pull out their weapons. they aim at the area from which the noise is coming from. Hammerhead Shark moves slowly trying to make sure if there is anything. once he confirms that it is nothing. they all keep moving. there is nothing to see.

In the meantime:

Owl is in his knees. he is bleeding from multiple wounds all over his stomach. his left hand is a complete mess. he can't even feel his right leg. there is a lot of blood coming out of him. he is hanging with his life on the line. there is nothing left to do. the wounds are too serious to be ignore.

at his left is Wendigo standing in his two feet. there is a hole in his throat. there are few wounds all over his body, but none as severe as the one in the throat. he is barely breathing as he tries to stop the bleeding with his left hand. his eyes are losing focus. he doesn't look like himself.

the only one that seems to be fine even when he is as wounded as the others is Lobster. there is no evidence of pain in his face. none of the wounds affected him at all. he looks at the half dead guys in front of him. he feels remorse and bored by it at the same time. he expected a better fight.

"Neither of you is a traitor. you fought well. but there must be casualties and victims in both sides. there has to be a martyr, for a hero to be born. the weak fall making way for the strong to fight back. and sadly, none of you are strong enough to be part of that future."

there are tears in Owl's eyes. he wanted to be better. to do better. he wanted to be accepted. it is so tragic to know that the same person who saved your life, is the same one to condemn you to a brutal meaningless death.

Owl looks at Lobster with rage. he tries to move his hands. but none is strong enough to hold a single small pistol. he looks directly at Lobster's gun. he screams with rage. BANG. Lobster keeps shooting until his gun is empty. Owl laughs tearful as he whispers something. then he finally falls as the light in his eyes is gone in seconds.

Wendigo cries. he takes one step backwards. he keeps walking backwards. he doesn't want to die. he asks for forgiveness. Wendigo looks at the empty gun in the ground. then he looks at the man who gets closer to him step by step. the dread is real. the fear is too strong for him to keep moving.

Lobster pulls out a butcher knife. he stabs Wendigo in the throat multiple times. Wendigo's head is hanging from behind. then the body falls. Lobster feels sorry for the victims. but at the end of the day, he is a messenger, and he delivered the final hit as it was supposed to be.

the commander finally shows his face. his cold eyes meet with Lobster's eyes. there is no need of words for both of them to admit that they are equally strong. is hard to tell who can win in a fight. right now, Lobster is badly wounded. and there is also the fact that the Commander is wearing a sacred artifact that gives him the upper hand.

"Why didn't you come out earlier?"

"Because the outcome was obvious no matter what action I had taken."

"What about me?"

"I can wait for you to be in your peak form. then we can fight. I will let you go for now."