"Team leader instead of spending all your time on your phone you should talk to people in the real world as well, even if is just us! Team leader? Oi, Are you even listening to me?"
"It's no use Bear, once Team leader enters her little world she won't listen to anything. Do you wanna see? The Team leader's new hair color looks like cow dump"
The girl who was madding typing on her phone briefly stopped and without even lifting her eyes she threw the chopstick that was in front of her, before going back to what she was doing before.
The chopstick traveled so fast that it could rival a .220 Swift bullet. If not for a small rock that changed its trajectory, the chopstick would have gone through Cobra's skull.
"... right. Her own little world. Thanks, Tiger, if not for you, this stupid reptile would be gone for now"
"Nah. It's nothing, but Team leader one day you will kill someone like this you know?"
The girl finally raised her eyes and looked at the three men in front of her. They had these codenames because part of them resembles some animal. Cobra had the same eyes as the reptiles, Bear was a massive man and Tiger was covered with scars that resembled the dark vertical stripes present on the animal.
"If he can't even dodge this how he is going to survive in our missions? I can't save your asses all my life, can I?"
"Of course you can Team leader! You are the Mercenary Queen, raised by the most famous Hitman in history, you are now wanted by 105 countries officially. If even you can't save my ass, it means that I'm doomed to die"
The girl just shrugged. Ignoring her subordinate, the girl went back to typing.
папа Solonik, after faking his death, took pity on her who was living in the streets of Athens at 3 years old and adopted her. He passed to her all his knowledge about guns, fighting and escaping, making her the most fearsome 'soldier' ever created.
"What are you even typing with this much fervor anyway?"
As if she was waiting for this question the girl leaped off her chair. Seeing the excited face that she always got when she would start her blabbering mode, Tiger knew he had asked the wrong question.
"Is good that you asked! Have you saw Avengers and Captain Marvel?"
"Nah, I don't-"
"So have you ever thought why would the Nick FUCKIN Fury didn't call this damn woman to just destroy Thanos before he got OP? Why are they even this perilous situation if they have that freakin weapon woman. Not even Dr. Strange who is supposed to know about almost everything didn't even cogitate the idea of calling her. Doesn't this make all the Infinite War useless? If it was me I would-"
"Stop right there. I get it, people in the movie are stupid, if you were there you would do the right choices and eventually, the world would come to eternal peace"
"Well, I wouldn't say eternal peace but would be better than in the movie, after all, I-"
"Yes, yes. But you didn't answer me what were you doing?"
"Posting negative reviews and my view about what I think it should happen"
"Don't you get tired of releasing hate on the movie? Do you know what we call people like you in my country? Black Powder"
"What-"
The discussion went on, eventually englobing the two who were just happily watching their superiors bickering.
The three men never thought that this would be one of the last memories they would have from the girl who was the strongest among them before she entered a coma.
————
12 hours later, Juba-Nimule Road.
"Who contracted us today?"
"Kiir"
"Team leader, why do you accept his tasks even though you hate his guts?"
"We are mercenaries Bear. We work for money, not for people"
"For me, I'm more impressed that he still wanted to hire us again. Last time Team leader killed more of his men than the rebel forces did"
"He didn't have an option. The White Army is getting momentum again. Our job is to suppress them"
"It seems that we have a Welcome team"
Three military jeeps stopped their car. From inside armed men and women started to come out and circle them. Between them, a man who was wearing a camouflage suit stood out.
"Phoenix you are here again. Won't you come out to receive our warm greeting?"
"She said she has no business with you. Unless you came with money she will do the Task in hand"
Even after being rejected the man in camouflage suit didn't diminish his smile. He knew that would be like that. He only came in hopes to get a glimpse of the woman he admired and feared.
"Why do even ally to him when you clearly think we are better?"
'When did I ever said that?'
The girls frowned at the assumption made but didn't answer it. Cobra, who is the spokesperson, seeing his superior quiet also didn't answer. For him, it was already generous that they didn't shoot everyone dead after the presumptuous lie just spouted. However, the people outside the car didn't think so.
They rarely had their authority challenged and for them, it was almost a sin the amount of disrespect that these foreigners showed to their pamingpin. A recent recruit put his finger in the trigger and aimed at the car, but before he could pull the trigger he felt an intense pain on his shoulder.
"Leave or the next will be your corpses on the ground"
The leader saw that they clearly annoyed Phoenix and quickly ordered his men to open the path, as he knew that she didn't say empty threats.
"Pamingpin!"
As to answer to his subordinates, the man only shakes his head. Soon the car was nowhere in sight.
"Why did we let them leave? They are our enemies! They hurt Wur and will kill many of our people in the future confronts"
"Do you know who they are? The weakest of their group could take you all by himself and leave unscathed. And Wur... that he's still alive after pointing his gun to them, is only due to his age. If they can they don't kill children, pregnant women or elderly... forget it, we should also leave here"
With a sad smile, the man once again got into the car.
———-
A day later, in one of the villages on the east of South Sudan.
Phoenix and her team had just 'took back' a village from the White Army with the help of the SPLA (government armed forces). She was just about to retire when she heard the cry of a little girl. No, not a cry, but a scream that came from inside of one's soul filled with despair.
Phoenix approaches where the sounds were coming from. Once she opened the door of the little house the scene that greeted her eyes made her blood boil.
Five men from the SPLA were raping a girl, who couldn't be older than 8 years old. This is why she hated coming to wars. At war, you could always see the worst side of human nature. Corruption, violence, rapes, and killings are a common sight in countries that are in a war. She knew it. She is a renown mercenary that participated in many wars and she was not known to be a compassionate or soft heart, but who in their right mind would stay indifferent after seeing a gang-rape in a minor? Sorry, but she couldn't. She abhorred any type of sexual violence. She just didn't understand why torture someone like this. Just kill if they are not useful, why humiliate someone like this? She didn't understand and didn't like. So like almost all the things that she didn't understand and like, she decided to eliminate them.
Pulling the trigger, the five men, that didn't even realize her presence in the first place, died. The girl still screamed and cried desperately. Phoenix tried to put some of the clothes back on the girl, but when she got close enough the girl somehow got the dagger that she kept on her hips and stabbed her.
Even with the dagger deep in her chest, the girls known as Mercenary Queen insisted in calming down and dress up the little girl who was just traumatized.
By the time Tiger found them, the little girl realized what she did and was crying and holding her savior's hand while Phoenix was leaning on frail walls. She looked at Tiger with a smile and could only spout three words before blacking out.
"Don't hurt her"