Victor surprisingly didn't ask about Ralph's disappearance during the final training phase, and went the way talking to Ralph about several things.
One of them surprised Ralph extremely.
"I heard from a friend of a cousin of my friend's colleague that a person got a skill ... the kind related to talent." Victor spoke into Ralph's ear.
Ralph was astonished and asked:
"And why hasn't it been in the media yet?"
"Of course, it didn't come out." Victor scoffed and said in a low voice:
"Listen, even though I don't know how that person did it, I heard that the skill is extremely useful, and that it has to do with the person's talent."
Ralph twisted the corners of his mouth and said:
"You don't have to speak softly, it's not like it's a secret since you know."
Victor laughed strangely and continued to talk to Ralph.
The route was the same as before, and without big waves.
When they arrived at the base, Ralph snorted and thought:
-Here we go again.
There were several military personnel at the base as usual, and after undergoing an inspection, they were directed to the main building.
"Welcome back, are you missing?" Jorge spoke in a cold voice as usual as he received them.
"Your sergeant and future leader is waiting for you in that room, don't make her die if she is bored." Jorge pointed to a room and said.
The Walkers looked at each other briefly and Victor started walking towards the room first.
After he opened the door, Briella, who was waiting, pointed to chairs that were arranged in the room.
She was sitting beside a table at the front of the room, as if she were a teacher waiting for students.
Victor greeted her with a fake smile and sat down, Ralph did the same.
After everyone sat down, Briella then got up and started talking:
"If you are here, you must know what this squad is about, I will not ask if you are sure of this, since when you arrived here it was proved that you are willing to go to the end."
There was a television on the wall, Briella pointed a remote at it and a video started playing on the TV.
In it, General José spoke:
"Very well. First of all, I'm sorry for not attending this important ceremony, but I have some urgent business on the border and I had no choice."
"I want to thank each of you for accepting to be part of this squadron, which, as you may imagine, will be in charge of missions vital to your homelands."
"Each of you will receive a salary bonus while you are in the squadron, and you will also be able to climb up the ranks of the armed forces, but it will all depend on your efforts, let that be clear."
"Sergeant Briella will be in charge of leading the squadron, that was decided at a meeting of the commanders of your homelands."
And then, a long discussion ...
Ralph controlled himself not to get up and leave the room, the resentment he felt for the old general was not small.
Victor almost fell asleep in the chair, but this was prevented with the help of Ralph, who did not want to suffer alone.
After minutes that seemed like hours, the general seemed to be tired of talking and Briella turned off the television.
"As you heard, our missions require concentration, determination and above all, coldness. We are not fighting for the good as you know it, we are fighting for the good of our nations, understand?" Briella looked calmly at everyone and paused slightly when she saw that Ralph was fiddling with his headset.
Even so, she kept her composure and said:
"We will have a special combat uniform, as many of our missions require that there is no way to identify us."
Now that she said that, Ralph finally understood why she was wearing a different uniform than usual.
Briella was wearing an almost completely gray uniform, with some scattered white and black patterns.
-Won't that hinder the camouflage?
Ralph thought.
"If you have any questions, this is the time." Briella spoke as she sat on the chair calmly.
Victor then raised his hand and said:
"Teacher, can I go to the restroom?"
Briella couldn't help but frown, but she kept her composure and struggled to say in a calm tone:
"Sergeant Victor, please, we are not here to joke."
Victor smiled and said:
"You and the rest I don't know, but my brother and I here are looking for fun, right? Ralph"
Ralph cursed internally.
-What I have to do with it!?
Briella looked coldly at Ralph and said:
"Ah, yes?"
"I'm not even there, don't listen to this guy either." Ralph spoke in a tired tone.
"If you don't even care, you should have stayed at home." Briella spoke and looked away.
Several Walkers had questions, and one by one they were all answered.
There were altogether eight members in the squad, with Briella included.
Four were men, four were women.
Everyone started to perform, since they had nothing better to do.
Ralph paid special attention to the woman who took the same plane as him, she was called Yasmin, she was Colombian.
She had black hair and crystal blue eyes. Shr had a slim figure, but not too much. She had sharp facial features, but they carried a touch of mystery and Ralph couldn't help but think of the woman's ancestry. She appeared to be a European descendant, but she also had Arab characteristics.
The squad was very diverse, there were people from several countries, but there were no major barriers and everyone could talk to each other lightly.
The other two men in the squad were called Daniel and Marcellin. One was Chilean and the other was Uruguayan, respectively.
The other two women were called Jenifer and Camila, one was Ecuadorian and the other was Venezuelan, respectively.
Ralph had no problem creating a small friendship with his colleagues, as he was an easy guy to talk to.
This is clear, with the exception of Briella, who always avoided him and Victor.
After talking to each other for a long time, Briella then stood up and said:
"Guys, now that we've finally met a little, I think we can finally start talking about our first mission."
Ralph was surprised, did they already have a mission?
"You may find this strange, but the truth is that the squadron was created because of a specific type of objective, that of murder." Briella spoke and continued:
"There aren't many squads that specialize in this type of mission, and those that exist are not prepared to ... handle the new world perfectly."
A strange gleam passed in Ralph's eyes and he asked:
"So you mean we are going to be killing people who have skills?"
Briella looked at Ralph sharply and nodded.
"Exactly, our objective is to murder people with special abilities and who are considered potentially dangerous."
The majority's gaze fluctuated, even if they already knew this before, they never killed anyone before, and now it would become routine?
"You can leave the squad when you think it is necessary ... Or if you are sorry, but you can never return." Briella spoke with a bitter smile.
Everyone remained silent.
Briella nodded, taking it as everyone's determination.
"The first mission is actually a test for us, we will not actually kill anyone, but this mission will serve to get us familiarized." Briella started to explain.
Basically, they were on a fake mission. They would have to invade a certain place in the forest and, without being detected, steal a doll's heart.
The place was similar to an abandoned mansion, but it was heavily guarded by military personnel and some Walkers.
Briella put the house plan on the table and told everyone to examine it too.
The mansion had two floors, there was a main staircase in the center but it was heavily guarded, so they needed to enter through a window on the second floor, where the doll was.
The doll was hidden, so in addition to not being detected, they needed to look for the doll within the time limit, which was until dawn.
There were two rules that could not be broken for the mission to be considered a success:
First, the heart must be recovered within the time limit.
Second, they could not be detected while infiltrating the mansion.
According to Briella, the mansion was equipped with various types of security equipment, which hampered the entire mission.
Ralph thought he would be the only one able to enter the mansion, due to heavy security, but Briella then said:
"Camila is a security and infiltration specialist, having been a veteran before becoming a Walker. She will be the key to this mission, as she will explore security mistakes."
Camila was a young woman, with brown hair and black eyes. But she had a heavy aura around that created a contrast to the almost present smile on her face.
"She will also be the only one to lead the squad on this particular mission, since I will have to create a distraction ..." Briella started to explain their plan.
Briella, Victor and Ralph would be responsible for creating a distraction and facilitating the infiltration of Jenifer and Daniel, who would have Camila's external support.
Marcellin, on the other hand, would serve as a reserve in case something unexpected happened, due to his rather peculiar ability, which was to create 'small' earthquakes, something useful to create openings in the escape.
What caught Ralph's attention, however, is that Briella did not explain Yasmin's role, but he was sure it was on purpose so he was silent.
Victor on the other hand, did not think much and asked:
"What about Yasmin? What's her role?"
Briella did not answer directly and smiled slightly while looking at Yasmin.
"I am ... the escape driver, to make it easier to understand." Yasmin smiled slightly.
"Wait a minute ..." Ralph realized something was wrong and looked sharply at Briella.
"That means it's not just about capturing the doll's heart, right?" Ralph asked.
"... Tsk, I was going to talk about it." Briella clicked her tongue, looking annoyed.
"If we are detected in any way ... we will be hunted, and if captured, our squad will be dissolved." Briella spoke in a freezing tone.
Ralph sharpened his gaze and nodded in understanding.
After discussing some details for some time, everyone left the room for temporary accommodation.
However, Ralph stopped Briella on her way.
"What you want?" Briella asked.
Ralph looked sharply at Briella and asked:
"Why are these complications?"
Briella frowned and said:
"I did not understand."
Ralph laughed and was suddenly invisible.
"You certainly haven't forgotten about my ability, I want to know why I didn't break into the mansion." Ralph spoke and returned to normal.
Briella was silent for a moment and said:
"To create a convincing distraction, we need to be safe, too, so your skill ..."
Ralph interrupted her with a laugh and said:
"Can't you be frank? That excuse doesn't fit."
Briella sighed and said:
"It doesn't matter, think about it yourself, I don't have the head to explain it."
She then led the way, leaving Ralph behind.
Ralph clicked his tongue and thought:
-This girl can't be frank?
He then went to his quarters, his male colleagues were there.
"Men, how about listening to my idea?" Victor spoke when he saw Ralph enter the cabin.
-What is he up to?
Ralph thought.
"That bit .. That woman is just too arrogant, didn't you see her arrogant look earlier?" Victor spoke, clearly talking about Briella.
"How about if we vote to elect another leader? I can't accept the idea of being subordinate to her." Victor spoke strongly.
Ralph couldn't help but laugh, but he didn't upset Victor.
After listening to a passionate speech by Victor that got nowhere, everyone started talking about the skills they have.
Daniel has an ability similar to Ralph's, but more limited in certain ways. He could transform into any animal, but he had a time limit of ten minutes.
This is a useful skill for infiltration without a doubt.
Marcellin, on the other hand, is not just capable of creating small earthquakes, he is capable of partially altering the composition of rocks.
"No matter what they say, I just can't understand why Ralph doesn't infiltrate." Victor spoke suddenly.
"Okay, his skill is perfect for infiltrations." Daniel agreed.
"Maybe ... This is on purpose." Marcellin spoke.
Ralph clicked his tongue and said:
"The reason is simple, a test needs to be difficult. If I infiltrate, success is almost guaranteed."
Victor contorted the corners of his mouth and looked at Ralph in astonishment.
"Your arrogance is certainly at the top, Ralph." Victor spoke while frowning.
"In fact, I agree with Ralph. He can just outwit all modern security equipment, and sneak in without anyone's help." Daniel spoke and smiled.
Marcellin was silent, but he nodded when he heard Daniel.
"I'm not arrogant, but according to the information we have, I'm sure I can infiltrate undetected. All the mansion's equipment is useless in my case." Ralph sighed and said.
There were metal, temperature, sound and infrared detectors. The only obstacle that Ralph would have would be with the hidden traps that are scattered around the house and maybe the metal detectors.
He doesn't know if he can completely 'erase' the magnetic signature of the metals with his skill, which doesn't make him very comfortable