The dark of night soon came, been a few minutes after Stephen announced his observation to us. Dunno the time, but i assume it's been 10 minutes now or more.
"Guy's back, awfully quick." Stephen said, suspicion in his voice.
"Still running in the snow. Making a mess....And he's slowing down. There's something in his hand." He added.
"What is it?" Sebastian questioned Stephen through the comms.
"Binoculars." Stephen answered.
"Given the fact he was running along with the binoculars, most likely a scout. Either scouted the client's building or something else." Nora theorized.
"He went back in the forest." Stephen continued his observation.
"Ping's gone, i'll mark the last known area of the ping." Marcel added.
"Should we head back now?" Mary asked.
The snowfall started getting more intense, from sitting down i can see the progress of this snow filling up our hole. With snow starting to rise.
"Alright, let's head back. We won't be scouting after reporting back so best to bury our little hole here." Sebastian advised.
Outside the hole, we used our hands. Taking chunks of snow and dumping them in the hole or just pushing excess snow around the hole into it.
In the dead of night, heavy snowfall around us. We walked back, through colder temperatures.
Minutes went by, but we got back. Lights shining brighter from the building during the night.
"STOP!" A beam of light shone at us, 3 guards at the front of the gate aimed their weapons towards us.
"Oh, it's the mercenaries. Carry on." One of them opened the gates to us, the other 2 dispersed. Returning to normal duties. They sure can handle tough cold weather here.
Inside, we were once again greeted to the warm but messy atmosphere of the building. Papers still scattered along with the staff working around. Looking at desks or using their tablets.
We got to the client's room, knocking before entering. Inside, he was still on the map.
"What did you get?" The man asked. Mary, Stephen, and Marcel stepped forward. Approaching him.
"Photo proof along with the last known coordinates. Knew you were the best mercenary academy to call for help. Went the same direction you came from, running with binocoulars. Yeah, most likely a scout. Question is, why scout? They already stole from us multiple times." The man questioned.
The man looks in his pocket, the noise of vibration and a ringtone of some music.
"Hello.....Yes, already found intel, no they haven't yet. I can't, best we can do is get intel but we cant get someone from there. Better to kill them all...Excuse? What do you mean.....Both government's permission....Most likely part of em then, alright. I'm not paying extra though.....Ok then, i can agree on that." The man stopped talking, putting his cellphone back into the pocket.
"Change of plans," He grabbed something below the table. Putting it on the map, zip ties? "Both Shoravik & Aregalian officials gave you a new order, subdue anyone that looks higher in rank, could be an officer look or even someone barking orders to other people. Once you cuff em, bring them back on the ship you arrived on, your strategist guy in Parabellum would need one, he'll speak more in detail of this new task when you return, just get all the intel you can find and pack em in your bags, along with atleast 1 leader of any kind. We also gained new information, seems through history of the forest. There was a mine, must be where they reside, unfortunately the maps are old and outdated and sections of the mine became buried so the info may be misleading. Good luck. You'll get extra money from this mission." The man concluded his explanation, we took our bags. Magazines still left in them. I found my bag, holding an assortment of mags for my weapons. Sebastian takes the zip ties lying on the table, quickly going back to leading us outside.
Outside, we went through the gate. Bags on our backs, time to finish this mission. Take one of em hostage and take any intel found.
Through the snow, the cold became worse. My hands squeezed my rifle tighter and tighter, from the cold or the impending battle that will happen, i walked in the middle of the group. Facing forward.
"Marcel, still have the ping?" Sebastian asked.
"Yeah, ping's still here." Marcel replied.
We got back, but now instead of scouting from a distance, were moving headfirst into the forest.
"Keep your guns up, have eyes on all sides." Sebastian commanded.
Being in the center, i focus on the trees above. Someone could be hiding there, Stephen, Mary, and Thalia looked to the left while Luna, Marcel, and Lennox looked to the right side. Alina & Nora keeping eyes at our six.
"Anyone see some kind of entrance?" Stephen asked.
Nobody answered.
"Stop." Sebastian ordered. In front, a glow of light shined out, behind an elevation of snow.
"Move slowly now." Sebastian advised.
We crept up on the glowing light, snow lightly crunching beneath our boots. Reaching above the foot.
A figure emerged from the light, with the glow quickly dimming out as he exited, strolling away before coming to a stop.
"Must be the scout, or a guard. Luna kill him, search his body for any intel or things we could use." Luna went forward, in front of the group.
"Let's keep moving to whatever caused that glow." I moved along the group, approaching the source, we went around the elevation. A door, hanging on it was a fishing net holding snow. clumped up to make some kind of camouflage.
Soon Luna went back to us, holding a bloody knife. Quickly sheathing it.
"Found anything?" Luna simple shook her head.
The door was made of wood, not specially crafted, just nailed wooden planks.
Without a doorknob, Sebastian pulled on the side of the door, opening it.
Inside, a thin stairway descending deep down. Lanterns guided the path down.
"Lennox, Mary stay outside, guard the outside." The two stayed to the sides of the door, looking around with their guns drawn.
Once they both went up, we started our descent down. The stairs, cracked but still reliable.
I descended down, now at the rear of the group.
It was almost silent while we descended deeper and deeper. The sound of tiny rocks falling down, or lanterns clinging onto stone.
We finally arrived down, the mines. Sections of rails were missing, wooden scaffolding holding up the mine itself, dirt squishing on our boots. In front of us were 3 more sections of the mine, the closest to us headed to the left, farther away went right while the last section continued forward. Instead of lanterns lighting the place, wired small lightbulbs hanging onto the scaffolding lit up the mine.
"Move with your backs to the walls." Sebastian neared the dirt wall, approaching the nearest section, peeking his head slightly, checking the section out.
"Empty, no other pathways heading different areas, just a straight path forward." Sebastian notified.
Near the wall, i was posted right behind Sebastian, He turned the corner, now back to standing up. My gun pointed at the side. I continued moving, my rifle still aimed at his side. We continued further down the mineshaft section, not encountering a guard. Odd, this feels just like the desert mission.
This section stretches quite far.
"Hold," We stopped walking down the shaft, "Door."
In front, a metal door built into the dirt wall opposite of us stood.
"Form up on the door." I moved to the right side of the door, being at the front here.
Sebastian, on the other side tried the handle.
"Ready?" We nodded at Sebastian. He opened the door, quickly entering.
"HANDS UP!" Sebastian shouted inside, I rushed inside. Sebastian aimed his rifle at a man, his hands raised up. Slowly walking to him, he forced him to kneel down. Tying his hands behind his back.
In front, instead of just a wall of dirt or stone, it was a glass wall. Overseeing something.
"Get anything of value, we already have 1 hostage." We wasted no time, the man faced a table. Full of papers, i opened my bag, placing papers inside it, without regard if any of em are important or not. While filling up my bag with the intel, i looked at the glass wall. Down below, insurgents moving around, carrying boxes. Or guarding the area, this isn't just a mine. Is this a ravine connected to a mineshaft?
"Woah." Thalia looked down with me, noticing the insurgents as well.
"Burnwick'll have your heads you sons of bitches." The man spoke. Sebastian kicks his head, making him fall to the ground.
"I think this is a map of the place." Nora notified us, turning to my left, on the wall. A large map showing sections or complexes in this place. Showing multiple levels of the area.
"Great, we just have to sweep the area. That's our job here, should we head up first with the hostage?" Nora asked.
"Yeah, probably tie him to a tree while Mary and Lennox also watch him." Sebastian replied to Nora's question.
Sebastian roughly pulled the man up, moving him outside with his gun barrel pushed to the back of the man.
"Got rope here." Alina retrieved rope hung on a hook giving it to Sebastian. We follow behind him, keeping a lookout for any guards.