Chapter 15: Finding Some Sense

"Gah! This is fucking awful!" Second Lieutenant Kira Mill shouted in disgust, squinting her eyes and recoiled a little. "Why are we the ones supposed to clean up this mess!?" Kira shouted once again, turning her head to face Sergeant Major Gibbs. He's wearing very similar equipment as Kira, gas masks with latex gloves that go up to their elbow with boots that nearly go up to their knees.

Aside from those little deviations in uniform, they're wearing their standard-issue gear as Nu-7. Plate-carrier kevlar vest, black fatigues, and straps. They're both holding shovels and rakes, pulling and shoveling the pile of corpses, and rotting meat into a hole that's been dug. "Fuck me, this is so bad…. I can still smell the smell, through my gas mask." She complained further since Gibbs didn't reply right away.

Kira notices a small grunt coming from the hunk of a man, him straightening his back and looking at Kira while having his shovel shoved into the dirt. She can't make out what face the usually optimistic, caring, and kind man has brandished on his face due to his gas mask. But Kira is sure he'll say something positive or say how this could've been worse.

Kira doesn't know if she likes knowing Gibbs to the point she knows what the man would do next, but it's always reassuring to have his kind of personality around. "Well Kira, at least we're both not the only ones doing it." The Sergeant Major finally answered, raising an open palm and gestures across the landscape. Kira follows where Gibbs is gesturing, seeing the other members of Jackal Team and Nu-7 shoveling and raking the disgusting pieces of dead meat into similar holes that are beside them both.

Gibbs raised his shovel from the dirt, moving it several inches to the left before shoving it back in. After moving the shovel to get a better brace, he speaks again, moving his hand back to his side. "And those guys in the Lambda team deserve to rest. I mean, look!" Gibbs then lets go of the shovel, raising his arms and spreading them out as he turns his body at the bodies now. "Three-fourth of these guys were already dead when the choppers arrived."

Gibbs gives an almost playful, but ultimately teasing hand at Kira, pointing at her a moment after. "I'd say it's time for us to do our share of work." Gibbs, as if to nail his point across even further, picks up the shovel with both hands. And a second later return to shoveling the dismembered limbs and torsos into the hole. "Clean-up jobs are always hated, but without those that clean-up after, things will only get worse."

After being lectured, and summarily dominated by Gibbs' extensive reasoning, Kira lets out a chuckle of defeat. She shakes her head and goes back to shoveling. She stays quiet for a few seconds, then nodding in agreement to his words. "Yeaahh… you're right, you're right…" Kira grunts as she shovels up a particularly heavy torso. It still has the iron armor on its torso, with an existing neck, but a blasted-off head.

Kira notices a gleam reflection coming from a particular spot, near the chest of the body armor. Kira takes a closer look, then realizes it's some sort of dog tag. No wait, it's a pendant or sort. Slightly moving her shovel to the side, still keeping a hand on it, her left hand reach out and wrap around the closed pendant. Kira tugs on the pendant, and the little metal-like string it's attached to snapped in two. With the pendant free from the neck, Kira brings it up into the light.

Straightening herself and keeping her eyes on the pendant, she brushes the surface of the pendant with her thumb. It wipes off the blood that had splattered on the pendant, and a very beautiful engraving depicting a rose with rays of sunlight radiating out from behind the flower. Kira lets go of her shovel, it falling to the ground but she pays no mind to it, instead focused entirely on the pendant.

Kira feels a strong attraction to it upon laying her eyes on its gleaming, shining copper surface. But she's hesitant to open it up, unsure whether from fear or sorrow. Kira lets out a heavy sigh, muffled by the gas mask strapped onto her face. Her other hand raised, she clicks the lock open with her thumb and pulls the pendant open to reveal the contents within. It's a small piece of paper, and what appears to be a sketch.

A sketch of a woman with wide and gleaming eyes, with a smile that can only be described as sweetly beautiful. Kira moves her attention to the small piece of paper, plucking it out of the pendant and unfolding it with her fingers. She squints a little bit, her Saderan is quite shoddy, but once she reads the first few words she realizes what it is.

It's a love letter, or a Memoriam, or perhaps a reminder. 'I will be home soon, my darling.' Kira's shoulders grow heavy, and her heart sinks. Kira lets her shoulder slump down, closing her eyes as she closes the pendant with the sketch and letter inside. She sighs heavily, opening her eyes, and kneeled at the body.

It's been blasted beyond recognition, its existing skin is filled with blisters, with rotting sections. The flesh is seared, some parts blackened due to rot while the bones are chipped in some places, revealing them to be hollow as the marrow had been, as if, sucked out of them. "...Goddamn it."

As much as she ignores it, these are regular people, humans that have their own lives and family back home. They were forced to join a war that they have no chance of winning, but they do so with a large smile and a hopeful expression on their face. Sure, the one that had killed this unknown man is the plague doctor, but Kira can't help but feel guilty as well. The Foundation is the reason why their lives had been so drastically changed, and she wished the Foundation had not gone through the gate.

Or at least hoped the SCPs didn't escape into the Gate. She understands now why the Foundation operates from the shadows, why it tries to be discreet, and why they don't go in guns blazing. Her whole career inside the Foundation has been filled with doubts on how it operates and its relations with the world, but now she understands. If the Foundation is to go public, these sorts of deaths, these sorts of situations would be common.

As the Foundation fights with anomalies in broad daylight, innocent people that just wanted a regular life would be caught in the crossfire, like she just witnessed, and finally understood. Kira looks away from the body, accidentally laying her eyes on the shovel that she had been using to scoop these bodies and throw them into the hole. 'What's happened to me…?' Kira asks herself, disgusted upon the revelation on how they're forced to treat the dead, even if they've succumbed to the doctor's heinous practice.

Suddenly, a warm hand wrapped around her shoulder and brought her back into reality. Kira first looks at the hand and then trailing the arm then up at the person. It's Gibbs, and even behind the gas mask, she sees his saddened expression. Kira feels like crying, everything had just been revealed to her all so suddenly in the span of a few minutes. She's overwhelmed by what she has molded into, and what she's working for.

Gibbs' hand massages Kira's shoulder lightly, to loosen her up and reassure her heart. Kira looks back down at the locket grasped tightly in her hand, loosening her fingers to take another look at the rose engraving in the copper. "It just dawned on you, hasn't it?" Gibbs spoke, kneeling beside Kira as he looked at the locket in her hand. "Our work is not noble, never was. It's a dirty job that requires lives to be taken, innocent ones as well."

"In time, we will see some sense in the madness. In time, it will be revealed to us the final results of our work. And in time, we will let out a sigh of relief. For many of us, the road is a long and difficult one, but the path is always there for us to follow. We all have doubts. The light of the mind alone cannot burn away all darkness." Gibbs' hand reaches out, and with two of his fingers, he presses them onto Kira's left chest, where her heart is. "Think on it, and look in your heart. It will be for the best."

Gibbs then reaches on again, towards Kira's chest and pulls out the cross that she has around her neck, laying it on his palm as Kira looks down at it. "In such times we can turn to the lord." Then Gibbs moved his hand, letting the cross dangle softly, then placing his hand on his chest. "But it's good to have friends. And the good Lord knows there's much to be done here."

Kira clasps her hand around Gibbs' open palm, as she tears up from his words. It all pierced her heart like a javelin through paper, hitting her right where it hurts. But Gibbs is right, he is right in every single thing he said to her right there. Kira involuntarily sniffles her nose, her sinuses have begun to fill up, while tears begin falling on the glass of her gas mask. "...When did you become so poetic…?" Kira asks with a shaky breath.

Gibbs gives Kira a low chuckle, appreciating her humor. Gibbs' other arm wraps around Kira's shoulders, caressing one with his hand to comfort the girl even further. "I suppose when that incident… happened." Gibbs takes a deep breath, continuing his reassuring caressing. "I came to appreciate life even more, and have a positive outlook even in the bleakest of situations. Because at the end of the world, what else can you do? The best thing you can do is smile, and spend your final moments with the ones you love the most."

"...Crap-" Kira's thinking about what to say, on how to respond, but all she can do is kneel there and stare at the pendant while her eyes continue to tear up.

A small sympathetic huff comes from Gibbs, giving Kira some pats on the back, then speaking again. "How about you go back to Italica and rest for a little bit? You deserve it."

"Y-yeah… yeah," Kira replied, taking Gibbs' offer. She stands up with her shoulders still slumped over and looking at the pendant one last time. "...I'm going to carry it with me, maybe I can find her… and give this to her." Kira knows how silly that sounds, and how clichè it is for her to return a broken couple's possession. But she's sure it's the thing she can do to be content with this… random man's death.

Gibbs nods understandingly, he knows about her so much. "Now go, I'll finish up around here." And Kira gives Gibbs an appreciative nod, pocketing the pendant into one of their pouches then walking off towards the North Gate. He watches silently as Kira walk to the North Gate, making sure that she goes inside rather than anywhere else. He trusts her, but Humans are as unpredictable as cryptocurrency prices. "Be safe," Gibbs whispers, his final words of passing for now, until they see each other again.

Gibbs moves his attention from Kira as she disappears behind the gates, and to the corpses still left on the ground. He looks down at the corpse of the man, whose pendant Kira has taken, and he bends down. Carefully, and slowly, he lifted the ripped apart torso and made his way to the burying hole. Slowly, he would lower the torso into the pile. After doing so Gibbs stands back up, overseeing the huge hole that's been dug out, filled to the top with corpses.

He takes a long deep breath, looking up at the clear blue skies and the sun that's rising to noon. He looks down then at his hands, latex gloves stained heavily in blood with boots that share a similar appearance. Gibbs chuckles as he thinks about how he had accidentally rubbed blood on Kira's uniform, shaking his head and letting out another sigh. He returns his gaze to the hole of corpses, raising his right hand, he has his middle finger and thumb touching his index finger.

He raises his hand to his left shoulder, then moves it to his right. He moves down to his torso before moving on up and ending at his forehead, in a low murmur, he prays. He prays for the souls of the dead to rest in peace, and have their sins forgiven. After his prayers, Gibbs looks up towards the horizon, towards the mountains in the distance, and smiles.

He smiles quite warmly, greeting the blanket of warmth from the sun with a small stretch of his back, and taking a deep breath. 'I am still alive and well. The dead stay dead, there's nothing else I can do for them except to continue living.' He realizes that one might argue that the dead had been reanimated, but he would reply that they had their bodies taken away from their souls.

Like any animal taken of its intelligence, or any puppet being controlled by the puppet-master.

Gibbs raises his arms into a T-Pose, the archway of white that's on his sides whirring for a few seconds. Then a moment later it sprays the decontamination spray onto his surface. "Spin around for me." The operator of the decontamination arch asks Gibbs, and he does so without a problem. Spinning around in place keeping his arms up, the spray is not soaking into his clothes, rather, it stays on the surface of his clothing.

After a few seconds of him spinning in place, the spraying stops and he faces Italica again as the whirring stops. "Very nice, go on." The operator gives Gibbs the green light to enter the city, and he gives an appreciative nod. Looking to his left, a similar device and team are operating a similar decontamination protocol on that side of the gate. Gibbs appreciates all of the precautions, in case the corpses give off bacteria.

At the end of the segregated line, a woman in a lab coat with blonde hair and glasses holds out a bottle of water for Gibbs. He takes a moment and stops, taking off his helmet and gas mask, clipping them onto his vest then taking the water bottle. "Thank you" Gibbs thanked the woman with a sweet, appreciative smile which he gets a solemn smile back as a reply.

The woman turns and gestures with her hand and arm towards Italica. "Around the corner, there's a tent where they're handing out meals, in case you're hungry." She helpfully tells Gibbs about the canteen tent that the Foundation had set up for the chosen clean-up personnel. She turns back to Gibbs after taking another water bottle from the cardboard box on the table. "Other than that, the camp is South of Italica. Just go through the South gate and you'll see the tents, can't miss them."

"Thanks a bunch." Gibbs thanked her again for her helpful directions, nodding and raising his water bottle for a moment before moving on. Looking around at the courtyard area of the Northern Gate of Italica, the sides of the gate had been taped off, with armed guards guarding the way down the middle street. He understands the reason why it's the hundreds of spectators looking at the 'Men-In-Black'

As he walked, he focused on the crowd and would pick one person out. He would dissect them, noting their clothing, their expression, and perhaps even personality. Gibbs picks out a blue-tunic-wearing man from the crowd, plastered on his face is a look of curiosity. But the man is skeptical judging from his furrowed eyebrows and crossed arms.

Gibbs is satisfied with his observation and turns his head down to look at the water bottle in his hand. The logo had been removed, or at least that's what he thinks had been done to it, as it's a bland, plain plastic bottle filled with bother. He moves it to his left hand and raises it to get an easier angle with his right fingers, opening the bottle with the noise of small snaps.

He removed the bottlecap fully and kept it in his right fist, raising the neck of the bottle to his lips and taking a few gulps of the water. It's only water, but it's refreshing after hours of shoveling corpses into holes. Letting out a satisfied sigh, he closes the bottle and moves his attention to the crowd to the left.

He picks out a woman with a particularly flashy dress. Ornaments and gold adorn the dress from head to toe. While the dress is fabulous, her hair is styled to something that radiates elegancy, and sharpness. Gibbs notes the economic divide in Italica, with one side being wealthy, probably merchants or nobles, while the other being poor, most likely working as farmers and the such.

There's not much difference in that aspect between Falmart and Earth, but they're both worlds apart, literally.

His walking got him out of the courtyard of the Northern Gate and placed him in the wide streets of Italica. While there was a battle, the buildings do not insinuate that. Sure, the battle happened outside of the gates, but he expected for the fortifications from dawn to still be here. But he doesn't complain, it allows him to gaze at the architecture and Italica's similarities to old European buildings. He swears he's seen some of these buildings in the countryside of England.

He nearly trips forward as something pushes him on his left shoulder. After recovering, he cranes his neck back after coming to a stop. "Yo Gibbs!" The man casually addressed the Sergeant Major, but Gibbs tolerates that action. Because it was his cousin, Porter Mann. "On leave I see? Aren't you hungry? Why are you skipping the canteen?" Porter asks while gesturing back with his thumb.

Gibbs lets out a relaxed laugh as he pats the hand of Porter that's wrapped around Gibbs' shoulder. "I think I'll be better off with taking a nap, Port. Besides, my back and legs are killing me." That was a lie, Gibbs wants to check on Kira which he deduced would be in the main camp down South.

"Pssh" Porter rolled his eyes, shaking his head afterward before a mischievous grin curl up his face. He closes the distance and enters Gibb's personal space, being awfully close to Gibbs' face. "It's about that Lieutenant, isn't it?" Porter whispered, lightly chuckling afterward as if he had revealed a huge thing to Gibbs. "Come on! You're around her so much that I begin to think you both like each other!.'

"And with you being so close to me people would think we're boyfriends, now back up." Gibbs gives Porter a firm push square on his chest, pushing him away to a comfortable distance. Porter gives a hearty laugh, as he knows Gibbs means nothing of it, and with a nod, he agrees to keep his distance. Gibbs sighs and shrugs. "She's sweet, but no, I don't have plans to sweep her up from the ground and go off into the sunset, no."

"Awwww!" Porter groans in disappointment, still having the grin planted onto his face. "Come on Gibbs! You're thirty years old now! You gotta have a love interest, it's now or never!"

Gibbs sighs and shakes his head, waving dismissively. "I'm in no rush to get a girlfriend, Port. How about you get out of my ass already? How about that.?"

Port gives Gibbs a firm pat on the back before wrangling his cousin's neck with his arm wrapped around it, his other hand patting Gibbs' chest. "Alright alright! I have things to do anyway, but give me updates on that front okay!" And with that Porter unlatches from Gibbs and walks off back to the way of the North gate.

Gibbs stood still, staring at the walking Porter with a neutral face. But a second later a smile curls up his face, and a small chuckle comes out of the man. 'How about you find a boyfriend' Gibbs thought, directed towards the hyperactive and always teasing cousin of his. Gibbs turns his back and returns to walking towards the Southern Gate.

As he walked down the street the scene changed almost drastically, the streets are now littered and filled with people. He keeps his eyes and thoughts to himself, but can't help to glance around at the people around him. They were staring at him, it's only his right to look at them back. Gibbs feels almost a strange feeling, the feeling of being misplaced, not belonging. Of course, he knows what caused this feeling, the fact that he's a Foundation operative.

However, Gibbs finds it rather comforting. Yes, he's not in his element here, but being around people or being in public without needing to hide anything, at least anything significant, gives him a wash of relief. The streets quickly become more crowded, him bumping into a few people on the way but everything goes smoothly.

Gibbs looks up into the sky, hearing the faint whistling of an aircraft in the air. It's almost unnoticeable but he can make out the silhouette of a scout drone, peeking high above the clouds on its mission. 'So they're finally upping their game, huh?' Gibbs thought, concluding that the drone, and probably several others in the sky, are scouting for the doctor's location.

Without him realizing, he was at the mouth of the South Gate. On either side, there's one guard, while on the parapets more operatives patrol the wall. However they're not facing out of Italica, they're facing into Italica. Setting up a base in a secure location away from civilization in a different world is one thing, but setting up a forward operating base right next to a city is a whole different thing. Gibbs sees the need for precaution and pays them no mind.

He stops his walk as he's approached by one of the two guards. "Hey there, Sergeant Major. Jackal Team's mostly back, some of us, like me, are put into guard duty." Right, it's one of the Private First-Class in Jackal Team. Technically they're under the leadership of Kira, but they found great respect in Gibbs and would follow him as well. Besides, judging by how Gibbs and Kira interact, everyone's sure there won't be any complications or a power struggle.

"There's one thing I have to tell you though." The Private suddenly said, piquing the interest of Gibbs, tilting his head in curiosity as his reply. "The Lieutenant Colonel's asking you and Lieutenant Kira into the command tent, he has something to tell you. I don't know what it is, he didn't say. That's all Sergeant Major" And with a salute, the private returns to his post.

That's rather cryptic, being called in without being told the reason why. It's like getting called by the principal, and then getting reprimanded for what you did to the water fountain in the hallway. Gibbs can only sigh, nodding to the Private as a sign of thank you and walk past the Italica's Southern gate.

Just to his right when he stepped out of Italica, there was a massive complex of tents and rudimentary long-range radar antennas that went up into the air. There was a clear entrance though, a small checkpoint with a gate bar. Walking up towards the gate, the singular checkpoint guard takes a fast single glance at Gibbs, then a nod while his eyes trailed elsewhere. At least he acknowledged Gibbs as he went past, and into the camp he goes to.

The camp is something you'd expect out of a rapid redeployment task. Just the necessary tents, with assigned barracks and bunk beds that are hastily arranged inside the tents. Of course, there are separated enlisted, and officer tents and barracks, but there's not much luxury here. Gibbs struggles a little bit to find the command tent, they all look very similar, and it could be any single one of them.

Thankfully when he laid eyes upon its uniquely shaped hexagonal tent, he knew that that's the command tent. Walking past the operative outside, he pushes the tent flaps and enters the Command Tent. Rows of filing cabinets, with around three shelves filled with utilities and writing equipment. No computers mean everything needs to be written down by hand, which sucks to those that handle paperwork every day.

A second later Gibbs notices Kira standing in front of the desk, where the Lieutenant Colonel is sitting. The both of them looked towards Gibbs when he entered, and the Lieutenant Colonel set down his pen, clicking it. "Good, you're finally here." Gibbs gives a quick salute to the Lieutenant Colonel, and stride over to the front of the desk as well, beside Kira.

The Lieutenant Colonel first looks at Gibbs from head to toe, eyeing his latex gloves and boots. "Why the hell are you wearing that?"

"Didn't have time to change, sir."

"I- You know what, never mind. Let's get straight to the point." The Colonel separates several pages of documents from the tiny pile on the table next to his arm. He presents both of them with it, and printed on them are images. Images of an abandoned camp that looks like it's gone to hell. "Recent drone scouting mission managed to find what's left of the brigands' camp. As you've probably already realized, it looks like it's been through two hurricanes."

The Colonel leans back, retreating his arms as he looks up at the two operatives. "Your mission will be to head out by helicopter and recon the site. Try to find something useful in it, and after that get out." The Colonel bluntly stated their new orders. Reconnaissance is nothing big, but Gibbs can't help but think that maybe Lambda can do this instead. They are the dedicated recon teams, right?

Gibbs takes a slight glance at Kira's face, scrunched up and focused on the images and the Colonel's words, but ultimately thinking what he's thinking. Gibbs looks back at the Colonel, nodding to the information. "Your pilot will be Flight Warrant Officer Porter Mann. No full team will be assigned to you, as it's a small 'boots on the ground' recon mission. However, if anything goes wrong, you are permitted to vacate the area immediately. Understood?"

Oh boy. Gibbs takes one final gulp out of his water bottle, emptying it.

[-]

The helicopter blade spins up, rotating faster and faster and faster. The wind around them rapidly lashes out from the force, with dust being kicked up by it. Gibbs refits the headphones around his ears, while Kira sits idly across him with her firearm in her left hand. They're sitting on the right side of the Blackhawk, the doors are summarily closed by the ground crew, and they're ready to lift off.

A voice comes through from the headphones they are wearing, and it's the voice of their pilot, Flight Warrant Officer Porter Mann. "Ladies and gentlemen this is your captain speaking. I must welcome you all aboard Porter Airlines, and I am honored to be your captain for today's flight. Please fasten your seatbelts, and do not take them off until we land because this is a helicopter and a SAM Launcher can blast us out of the air at any second."

Kira gave the little starter announcement a little chuckle, smiling at Gibbs who smiled at her back. Looks like Porter's having fun here, having two prestigious passengers on this flight. "Thank you for choosing Porter Airlines, and have a comfortable flight." And with that, the helicopter begins to ascend from the makeshift landing pad of leveled dirt and grass. The helicopter continues to rise in altitude, then turn to face the direction of their destination.

The helicopter tilts its nose downwards and they start accelerating forwards. In a few seconds, they're cruising across the open skies at a comfortable speed. The headphones give a nice noise-canceling effect because if they're off the helicopter blades would make hearing extremely hard. "So, you're the lady that's been around Gibbs so much, huh? He has good taste, gotta give him that."

And so the torment and embarrassment begin for Gibbs. He's a level-headed guy, but if Porter goes out of line with his joke right now, he will be fuming with anger. Kira did not take any insult, or look embarrassed from Porter's remark. Her laugh can be heard through comms, and she realizes the microphone to her lips so the thing picks up her voice better. "He sure does, why? Are you jealous, Warrant Officer Porter?" Kira teased their pilot, who let out a hearty laugh.

Even Gibbs can't help but crack a small smile. With Kira's current reaction, this whole ordeal might not be as bad as he had predicted. It's all just a joke and friendly banter from close friends. But Kira and Porter had just met, that's one factor that worries Gibbs. "Lady, truth be told if I was straight I would swoop you right up myself. But I'm into pretty guys like Gibbs over there."

Gibbs rolls his eyes but keeping his playful smile still. "That's your cousin you're addressing."

"Daww, my bad, my bad."

Kira looks surprised at the sudden revelation that they're both cousins. She raises a curious eyebrow while her lips curl up into a humored smile. "Wait, you two are cousins? Gibbs! You never told me you had cousins in the Foundation!." Kira exclaimed, trying to get some answers, but more importantly to know more about Gibbs and Porter.

"I mean, are you hearing him right? If I were to openly say he's my cousin, my reputation would plummet. There are reasons why I keep little Porter a secret." Gibbs cranes his neck back to look at the pilot's cockpit, a laugh coming through the comms once again.

"Screw you man! My personality's explosive as hell!"

"More like a martyrdom, ready to blow both of us into pieces."

"Wow" Kira is surprised yet again by their banter between one another. It's akin to the actions between brothers, but they're just cousins. Usually, cousins are separated by distance since their separate families live in different parts of the country and would make them detached from one another. But not here, it's like they've been living with each other since forever.

It makes Kira rather curious about their bond. Gibbs is acting indifferent and looks like to be the reprimanding type for Porter's actions. And Porter is unpredictable, active, and bombastic in their actions with no shame whatsoever. "You two seem so close. From my experience cousins don't get this close, both of you are like brothers from blood!"

"Ehhhh-" Gibbs says, a massive hint of disagreement in his voice while his head is tilted to the right a little bit. "I disagree. We're as close as we both want to be, and that is to be as distanced as possible."

"Bah!" Porter spat in the comms, more sarcastically than trying to be disrespectful. "Gibbs you love me as much as you love mashed potatoes, you would savor them to the very end." And it follows with a series of simulated smooches and slurping noises from the pilot. Gibbs sank a little bit and tightened in his seat, after being told like that, but he's quick to retaliate.

"Would I destroy the mashed potatoes' XBox with a sledgehammer if I love them so much? Exactly, Porter. Shut your face hole."

"Gah, my heart, it has been shattered beyond repair! How dare you mention such a tragedy again, Gibbs! I loved you like a brother, but I suppose our brotherhood ends here. I will not stand for this abuse any longer!" What a bombastic speech. Well-said, bringing laughter out from both Kira and Gibbs

Gibbs moved his hand to the side of the headphones, switching channels and isolating the chatter and connection only between him and Kira. "Port can't hear us now. If you're curious about our history, we can talk about it, but not together with him." Gibbs's attitude and tone of voice switched up in an instant, from the uplifting, giddy man to a serious expression.

Kira, noticing the change in the air, and feeling his words go through her body, reluctantly nod to his suggestion. Kira wants to know more about the two, and if Gibbs is willing to tell her, she won't deny the offer. "Porter Mann, my cousin, suffered abuse and neglect from his family. After he turned nine, I was fourteen back then, his parents got into an accident… and the police dropped him off with us."

"I wasn't close with them, but hearing the death of a person always saddens me. And while I might be wrong, I think that is the reason why he developed such an outgoing, explosive personality. He wants the attention his parents had neglected him. From then on he lived with my family, we can afford him to live with us and we formed a tight bond. I'm holding back a lot of details here, for time sake, but that's basically how we became so close."

Kira now regrets agreeing to the opportunity, lowering her head in sympathy and sadness. She lets out a shaky sigh, that was a lot to take in. "But hey, on the bright side, he's at the peak of his happiness right now." Kira nods as he raised her head back, smiling back after seeing Gibbs smiling first. "Also please ignore any of his innuendos, he's just joking and likes to tease me." Gibbs pleaded with Kira, wanting to do some damage control.

Kira holds in her laughter from Gibbs' pleading, nodding in agreement and giving him a thumbs up. "Got it, I don't mind though, I know he's joking and doesn't mean anything by it." And as if a weight was taken off of Gibbs's shoulder, they relaxed as he leans back into his seat.

Gibbs nods once again, then got them both back into the main channels. "Ah there you are, I was just saying we're nearing the LZ. Prepare you two lovebirds, we're touching down in around three minutes. I'll be staying with the helicopter on the landing zone for fast extraction in case anything goes wrong, alright?"

"Got it, thanks Port."

The next few minutes go by in a flash, as the helicopter circled the bandit campsite, and after a few moments stopped and hovered. Port descents the bird slowly, and its wheels gently touch the ground and the rest of the weight of the helicopter goes down on them. Before they can take off their headphones and head out into the camp, Porter gives one more tease. "You two have fun on your honeymoon now, wear protection." Before cutting engines.

"Haha! Will wear my helmet alright." Kira replied with a soft laugh, knocking on her kevlar helmet directed at Gibbs. Her face shows that she knows full well about the joke, it didn't fly over her head, but she remarks in a more appropriate context. "Thanks for the ride, Porter, we'll be back in a jiffy."

Gibbs smiles warmly from their talking, and after they finished, and after silence coming from Porter, Gibbs takes off the headphones and hung it on the seat. He takes his Ruger, checking the magazine and slapping it back in, finally cocking it and racking in a bullet. Kira's the one to slide open the helicopter doors, hopping out with Gibbs following close behind her.

[-]

The ground they stepped on is green and lush, while the sun generously bathes them in their warmth. Initially, it feels great, but with the heavy gear, they both start to sweat. They had landed on the Eastern side of the camp, and the sun is high in the sky. But some respite in the heat is the wind that cools them, a rough breeze that's refreshing and keeps them leveled in temperature. It makes sense however, they're near the top of a mountain, so it's to be expected.

They start their walk, keeping their weapons down and their finger on the side of the weapon, but highly alert and cautious. The grass crunches beneath their boots, as broken and torn tents get closer and closer hidden behind some foliage. They kind of wished they brought balaclavas or gas masks, since the camp is the aftermath of a 049 rampage, and there's bound to be disease.

However, without face coverings, they can see each others' faces. Gibbs glances over at Kira, and she does the same at him. Kira's ocean-blue eyes land her gaze at Gibbs' amber eyes. His sharp features are visible, while the soft and smooth skin of Kira shines. "What?" Kira asks.

"What?" Gibbs replied, confused, shrugging as well.

Kira shrugs too. "I don't know, you're the one looking at me. What's up?"

"Oh! Nothing, just looking at the tents past you." Neither of them want to admit it, but they were just looking at one another. Perhaps it's the rare moment of them operating in the field without facemasks, or just doing some friendship bonding in the field.

Gibbs gives Kira a sweet smile, gesturing for her to continue forward. Kira smiles back in response, rolling her eyes before continuing her walk with her face set out front. They eventually clear past the foliage, pushing away the bush and twigs and branches to move through, and they're beside one of the tents, among many.

Most of the tents had been brutally mangled, cut open, sliced through, and crushed. Crates and wooden planks were scattered everywhere, while fruits and vegetables had rotten on the dirt. There are still some weapons left, either on the ground alongside the other junk, or still neatly posted in a weapons rack. Untouched by the filth, or maybe the cure, of 049.

"Hmm, I don't know if we can find anything of interest. This place had been torn to shreds, and I doubt an army of bandits will have an officers' tent filled with documents." Kira explained her thoughts while lifting the tarp of a crushed tent by the barrel of her Ruger. She's reluctant to touch anything, she already has her face and nose exposed, why expose her hands and body as well.

Gibbs on the other hand, wrangled with a still intact crate, turning it over and around before placing it on the ground. "Time and time again, you're proven wrong. Come on, Kira, we'll find something here, I'm sure. Maybe the location of that woman, in that pendant?" Gibbs asks that as a question, turning his head to look at Kira and see her reaction, and await her response. He means to encourage her in searching the camp, but now he's unsure whether it was a good thing to say,

Kira hums, looking through several more of the tents by lifting the tarp, before nodding. "Yeah, you're right… Man, I still feel guilty." Kira replied simply, approaching one of the extinguished fireplaces, with logs surrounding it acting as seats.

"Feeling guilty is fine, but just remember it's not your fault. The higher-ups give you a series of instructions to implement as a plan to follow the market, you do it, and the next day the market shifts differently than anticipated. Was that your fault?" Gibbs tried his hand on that analogy and realized that it was utter shit, but hopefully still gets his point across. "No, it was the higher-ups. You only did what you're told."

"Wait!" Kira suddenly exclaimed, raising her arm and balling her hand into a fist. Her eyes fixated on a rather abnormally large crate a few meters to her front beside a red tent. "I sense movement," Kira whispered, getting her hand back to the handle of the Ruger, and pointed the weapon towards the box. "I'm closing the distance."

Gibbs got his weapon ready and trained on the box as well, walking to Kira and keeping guard behind her. Gibbs pats Kira's shoulder to signal her the green light to close the distance, and she does so in the next moment. The box kept still, and now they're standing over it, several inches away.

Kira slumps down a little bit, going down to her knee and sling her Ruger back and pull out her sidearm. She notices the box is a bit loose, with no hinges or nails keeping it firmly closed, and would open with a simple turn. Her heart starts pounding, her right hand tightly holding her Five-seveN while her left reaches the top right corner of the box panel.

Kira pulls it open and aims her weapon as soon as possible. And a terrified feminine screech echoes out the mountains, surprising Kira as well. Kira's eyes widened, and quickly holster her pistol. Within the crate is a girl with green, feather-like hair and bird-like talons for feet. A harpy, was it? Kira can't be sure, but she's sure as hell the girl is demi-human.

The girl is terrified as sweat runs down her skin, her face pale, and her entire body trembling from fear and shock. She probably witnesses the slaughtering and the turning of the bandits and hid in the crate. However there arises the question, 049 can sense people without seeing them, how did she survive? "Hey, easy, easy. We're not here to hurt you, we're not going to hurt you." Kira tries to calm the girl down, holding out her hands and slowly getting closer to the girl.

Gibbs watches behind Kira, standing guard and looking around while Kira's motherly actions take place. He stays silent while Kira does her magic, and looks like it's slowly working. Kira's welcoming and caring face alongside her wide smile persuade the girl to calm down just a little bit, just to no longer tremble.

Kira looks back up at Gibbs, smiling as she does so. Gibbs smiles back, giving her a pat on the back. "Told you we'll get something."