The team gets to work, organizing their gear. A makeshift control center is built on the existing control desk that has seen better days. Bed rolls are laid out on the opposite side of the dusty room. Lauren and Maya work on building a small fire, just enough to keep them warm without smoking out the building. Everyone else works on their assigned tasks. Before long, the room looks like a functioning mission base.
“Hey, Ry!” Tyler shouts, walking over with a wire wrapped machine in his hands. “Did you sneak this into the gear?” Riley takes it from him, turning it over, inspecting the box from all angles.
“No. Russell said he’s not able to help more than he has. I didn’t sign for anything we didn’t absolutely need,” he says, looking around at the team now watching his conversation. “Liam, John, Neil. Get over here,” he orders.
The team goes silent. Liz wonders if one of them betrayed the team and hid something that will get them caught. The muffled thumps of boots shuffling and the crackling of a fire is the only sound in the room. Everyone waits with held breath to see what Riley will do.
“Was this on the list of equipment I signed off on?” he barks, holding the box up to them. Liz can’t help but feel bad as their heads drop to their toes.
“No, sir,” Neil says, looking up at Riley. No longer is it two friends. Now, it’s just the commander and a subordinate who didn’t follow orders. “None of us packed that, sir. We followed your list to a T. Triple checked every item ourselves just to be sure.”
“Alright, so no one knows how this got in our pack?” Riley asks the room. Every single member of the team shakes their head in denial. “Set it up, Ty.”
“But, sir, that could tip off?—”
“I said, set it up. That’s an order.”
They watch with held breath as Tyler expertly connects all the cords and wires. Alex walks to a supply closet hidden in a back corner, flicking what sounds like an electrical panel until the machines come whirring to life. Re-appearing moments later, he quickly announces to the team to keep the lights off. The solar panels on the roof are old, and in the winter, they are not storing as much as they will need to use. Power is reserved for equipment only. They all nod in agreement.
Liz isn’t sure what they are waiting for. All she knows is with the way everyone stands like a deer in headlights, it’s nothing good. A deep, crackling voice cuts through the silence, confirming her worst fears.
“I see you found my gift, Reaper,” the voice says from the other end. A smile spreads across Riley’s face while he picks up the small walkie talking connected to the box.
“I see you changed your mind, Langford,” Riley retorts.
“Ehh, I want to see this end just as much as you do. I have had my men watching your satellites round the clock since you left. Both Scott and Dmitri are there. You were right,” General Langford says through the old radio. “I have a team en route to topple Dmitri’s empire. Once General Murphy gets word from your boy on the inside, I have no doubt he will scurry away.”
“Sounds like a great plan, sir, except for the fact that as soon asScott knows your team is inbound, he will warn Dmitri’s entire operation.”
“Don’t worry about that. Our man is going to get him out before he gets the chance to warn anyone. If given the choice between his life and theirs, he will choose his own,” he announces.
He is not wrong. Scott will preserve himself over all others.
“How long do we have?” Riley calmly asks.
“Just stay alert and keep your end open. Someone will be in touch the moment he flees. We will make sure he ends up at that airstrip you’re camped at.”
The thick crackling from the radio stops. No one dares talk, instead choosing to sit in the calm before the storm. Even Riley takes a moment to compose himself before jumping back into his role as leader. He looks around, ready to bark orders, only to find everything done. Weapons are laid out and within reach. Their computer systems are all set, thanks to Tyler. The fire and beds are laid out neatly in an open square allowing each direction to have someone facing it. Seeing the worry in his face, and the overwhelming need he has to do something, Liz brings his extra pack to him.
“I found more gear I don’t think you signed off on, Ry,” she says sweetly, handing him the bag. Her heart swells as the smile returns to his face.
She found his little project weeks ago. Though he fought her on it at first, she convinced him this mission was the perfect time to reveal what he has been working on. Curious eyes watch the exchange.
“Mikey, sweetie, come here please. I know this is your fault,” Liz announces, trying to hide her amusement at the flush of red on his cheeks.
As soon as he reaches them, Riley pulls a mask out of the bag and hands it to him. A carbon fiber half-skull with short,deep red horns poking out the top. Mikey looks like a kid in a candy store when he grabs it. His eyes go wide, a big smile on his face.
Riley pulls out his own mask, along with the one he made Liz, and sets them aside. The two of them then proceed to hand out plain masks to every member of the team. Each one is some variation of the two of theirs.
“I fuckin’ knew I would convince you to do it,” Mikey shouts, examining every detail of mask in his hands. “You have to admit, we are going to look so fucking cool.”
“Sure, sweetie. As long as we don’t die, we are going to be the coolest team of dishonored soldiers this select group of people has ever seen,” she says, patting his arm.
“Yeah. I figured if we are all going to die, I might as well give you what you’ve been begging for,” Riley adds.
“It will scare the fuck out of Scott when he sees us, though. He never said it, but he made it crystal clear, he is petrified of you,” Matt tells Riley.
Liz gives him a small smile as she hands him his own mask. He looks from the mask in his hands to Liz, then back down in disbelief that he actually got one. He gives her a tight smile, gripping it like all the trust he has been fighting to earn is now placed in his hands.
