About 200ft past the tree line there was a small camo net covered building near an old military bunker. The bunker was old with concrete work from the World War 2 era. There was a small front door for people to walk in and out. Plus, a large garage door for vehicles. This was how they got things in and out of the base. The top of the bunker was also painted with camo coloring. Nothing was left exposed. All this was done to throw off spy satellites. In the back of the bunker was a large pipe that stuck out of the ground. The pipe was colored with camo but most of it had been burned off by the heat. This was the source of the smoke that Jynx saw. Karma walked from tree to tree trying to get a better look at the small camo building. It was skinny and tall. Karm guessed it was some kind of makeshift outhouse. The bunker must not have plumbing. Karma took several pictures. This was a ton of good evidence.
Everyone regrouped in the forest. Indigo said, "Okay so we know there are at least four inside. How ballsy do you guys feel?"
Karma looked at her and said, "Are you seriously suggesting that we kick the door in and fight our way inside?"
"They will know we were here when they find their delivery truck missing… and their driver dead." Indigo checked the bullets in her Beretta. Then she said, "If we don't go in NOW then they will be gone by tomorrow. We will have missed our only opportunity."
Karma couldn't help but agree. He looked back at the road then to the facility. "With the size of their outhouse I would say they have less than 20 people inside. We can leave Leo and Jynx here to cover us while Indigo and I will drive up to the garage door with the white van. If they fall for it then they might let us in. if they don't fall for it then we can escape with their help."
Jynx gave Karma a funny look and then said, "There is only one rifle. Leo can cover us all by himself. We are a team. Remember, teamwork? We cover each other's backs. Like with the hitman. Why are you trying to leave me out?"
Karma looked down in defeat. Then he said, "I can't help it. I..." Karma's words trailed off. Jynx knew what he was trying to say.
Jynx looked at Indigo and then at Leo. Her gaze returned to Karma as she said, "Fuck it." Jynx grabbed Karma's shirt and pulled him in for a kiss in front of Leo and Indigo. Karma was surprised to say the least. After the kiss was over, Jynx said, "You have nothing to hide anymore." She looked at Leo and said, "Take up a firing position and cover us." Jynx looked at Karma and Indigo and said, "You two follow me."
Jynx walked off back toward the road. Karma looked at Indigo and shrugged. Indigo replied, "I'm not surprised. I knew this was happening days ago." Karma left the camera with Leo and walked back to the road.
Back on the road, Jynx picked up the ski mask and got in the driver's seat of the van. Just as she shut the door, Karma opened the door and said, "Oh no. They are expecting a delivery MAN. You are female and you don't even speak the language. Get in the back with Indigo." Jynx did not disagree with him this time. Indigo and Jynx sat on the floor in the back, guns ready. Karma put on the ski mask and put his silenced Glock on the passenger seat.
Karma started the van and drove into the tree line. The off-road section was bumpy. Both Jynx and Indigo got tossed around in the back. As they passed through the trees, Karma could see Leo had taken up a defensive position deep in the trees. If he came under fire, he would be safe. Karma pulled up to the large green garage door and honked the horn. There was a security camera looking at him. He waved at it and said in Slavic, "Open up!"
Within a few seconds the door began to open. Karma drove the van inside. His eyes were not adjusted to the dark interior, but he could make out at least four people in the garage. One was working on a vehicle, one was sitting in the security room, and two were waiting for the van to stop moving. Each of them had a weapon nearby. This was a dangerous situation. Once fully inside the building one of the two men said, "Welcome back, are you too good to use the password anymore?"
Karma nodded and grabbed his Glock off the passenger seat. Then he said is Slavic, "Passwords are for friends." Karma pointed the Glock at the two men. For a half a second, they reached for their AK47s, but it was too late. Karma already had the drop on them. With two shots they were dead. Indigo pulled the sliding door of the van open as Jynx shot the man at the security desk with her MP5. The man fixing the vehicle reached into his coat to pull a pistol, but before he could turn he caught a bullet in the head. Karma looked to the doorway. That bullet came from outside. Even though he could not see him, Karma waved to Leo.
Indigo and Jynx got out of the van and cleared the room. No alarms had been sounded. They were in. Karma looked over the security cameras. He counted the people, then he said, "This place is pretty big. It would have been a nasty fight if they knew we were here." Karma grabbed the leg of the guard and dragged him out of sight. There was a blood trail, but it was slightly less obvious. He walked over to the next door and peeked inside. It was a sleeping quarter. Karma counted the beds. There were a lot. That's no good.
Karma looked back at Indigo and said, "There are over 50 bunks here. We need to get to Marx and leave without setting off the alarm."
Indigo said, "You're right we should split up and search the area."
Jynx shook her head and said, "No no, teamwork. We work together."
Karma put his hand on Indigo's back to push her in the same direction they were going. Indigo did not resist. Though the next door was a hallway. Down the hallways was the next room. A dining facility. As they peeked through the door Karma could see at least 6 people eating breakfast. Some of them had AK47s on their backs. Indigo did not hesitate. With the kick of the door, she shot two men just sitting there eating breakfast. The remaining 4 men stood up to return fire, but Jynx and Karma cut them down. Karma heard a door open to his left. With a quick glance he saw the chef darting out through a doorway. He spun to shoot but the chef was already gone. Their momentum was about to be over.
Karma said, "We should keep moving. The chef will set off the alarm." As he said it, the alarm started going off. Flashing red lights filled the rooms and hallways. Their element of surprise was over. Karma pushed forward, thinking some of the guards here would still be unaware. He was wrong. The next room was a laundry room of some kind. Clothes hung from ropes tied to the ceiling. As Karma pushed open the door someone was waiting for him on the other side. A bullet caught him in the chest and knocked him down. He hit the floor hard.
Witnessing this, Indigo kicked the door open and sprayed the room with her Berretta. With a splatter of blood, the shooter was down. Karma was down too. The bullet hit him square in the chest. It knocked the wind out of him. Jynx grabbed his arm and pulled him into the laundry room. Indigo checked the next room as Karma leaned against the wall. Jynx was there for him, she pulled up his shirt and checked for blood. She was relieved to see the bullet only hit the front plate. He still could not speak.
Indigo said, "Let's go. There's no time to sit around." Indigo took point as she walked through the next door. Jynx was right behind her with Karma bringing up the rear. Karma was still breathing hard, but he maintained his fighting spirit. Indigo opened the next room and checked for people. The room was a stairwell. She looked down the stairs checking for people. It was clear. She moved forward and down the stairs. Indigo got to the next door and waited for them to catch up. Indigo pushed the door too soon and exposed Jynx walking down the stairs. Before Jynx could raise her weapon, the man on the other side of the door shot first. She was hit. Jynx dropped her MP5 and fell down the two steps to the floor.
Seeing this, Karma charged the doorway. He ran forward, kicking the door open and killing the shooter. Indigo was right behind him. She cleared the left and came back to the dead man Karma had just shot. She looked at him and said, "Nice work Karma, you just killed Agent Keys. Freeman will be happy to hear it."
Karma was not listening to her. He returned to the stairwell and picked up Jynx. She had a bloody spot on her head, and she was out cold. The bullet shattered her front plate. The pressure must have been too much for her, when she passed out, she hit her head. Karma pulled Jynx over to the wall and sat her up. He put his finger under her nose. She was still breathing. She would be okay. He changed the magazine out on his Glock. Indigo went back to the room and said, "Oh no, we can't stop now. Come on."
Karma shook his head and said, "She is alright. Just give her a few minutes."
Indigo pointed at the red alarm light and said, "We don't have a few minutes. They are coming. Let's go."
"We are not leaving her!" Karma yelled in defiance.
Indigo opened the door checking for incoming enemies. Then she turned back to Karma and said, "Look at you, what happened? You used to be a stone-faced killer. You always get the job done. You never batted an eye at this before. Now you are here crying over your girlfriend. We don't have time for this. Are you coming or not?"
Karma grabbed Jynx's weapon, so he had his Glock in his right hand and her MP5 in his left. He knew Indigo wouldn't wait. Karma looked back to Indigo and with his dead serious face said, "Goodbye Indigo."
Indigo's face sank. She hesitated for a few seconds then she shook her head and moved forward. Karma waited by Jynx. He heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He waited. As they rounded the last few steps, Karma lunged forward to fire both the Glock and MP5 with a barrage of bullets. One by one the men on the stairwell fell. Only one of them even returned fire. Karma finished him off with his Glock. Four dead bodies now lay in the stairwell. The next person coming down the stairs would be more careful.
Karma dropped the MP5 and picked up Jynx's limp body. He carried her into the next room. This room was some kind of changing room. Large biohazard suits lined the walls. Karma put Jynx down against the wall and covered her with a large yellow bio suit. Then he stood against the wall nearest to the stairwell door. He focused and listened. He heard footsteps in the stairwell again. At least four or five men this time. Karma waited. The first one pushed the door open hard. The swing of the door almost hit Karma in the face. Karma held the door open with one hand turned and headshot the first two guards. Just as quickly as it opened, Karma slammed the door as the remaining three guards opened up on him with their AK47s. The bullets tore through the door, leaving large holes in it. After a few seconds they stopped firing. Karma stood back and carefully looked through the holes. The guards were still there. But now they were reloading. All three of them were reloading at the same time. Karma smiled, then opened the door and shot each one in the head. One. Two. Three. All three guards fell to the floor one after another. When they died, Karma retreated back to the changing room. Never reload at the same time. That's just sloppy.
Karma reloaded his Glock and waited. He looked into the stairwell. There were now a lot of dead bodies in there. Anyone coming downstairs would have to step over nine dead allies to get here. Suddenly the yellow jacket that Jynx was under started to move. Karma walked over and removed the jacket. Jynx was awake. She didn't look very good, but she was moving. He said, "Can you hear me?"
Jynx nodded and said, "What happened?"
Karma helped her up and said, "Nothing major, you got shot, bonked your head, and passed out. Indigo left us behind. And… I dropped your MP5."
Karma helped Jynx to the next room. This was some kind of scrubbing room. The kind of place doctors would wash up before going into surgery. Karma cleared the room just in case. The room to the left was an operating room. nothing in it. Karma checked the room to the right. This room was massive. The left side had glass chambers with people inside of them. There were at least five rooms with a matching number of prisoners. That is not what caught Karma's eyes though. At the far end of the room just outside the metal door was Indigo's body. Karma checked the room, including the walkway above the prisoners. There was no one here. He walked over to Indigo's body. There were no bullet wounds on her body. Like she had died of unconventional means. Jynx was more upset than Karma was.
After looking over Indigo's body, Karma reached for the metal door but stopped. He looked around the room. No bodies, just Indigo on the floor. Everything about this place was wrong. He backed away from the door. He came back to Jynx who was standing in the middle of the room. Suddenly a mechanical whirring sound came from the corner. A shutter opened revealing Marx standing in front of a terminal. Karma drew his Glock and fired several times at the glass. The glass was reinforced and took the bullets with ease. Karma used his last three shots on the glass. He checked for his next magazine, but he had none.
Marx smiled and pressed a button on the terminal. She spoke into the intercom, "Welcome. I wish you had told me you were coming. I would have prepared a wonderful greeting for you."
Karma turned to Jynx and said, "Go grab your MP5. Hurry." Jynx ran back to the exit, but it was locked. They were stuck here.
Marx smiled and pressed a button again, "Sorry, you can't leave without a consolation prize." She reached over and pressed another button. Then she said, "They are unarmed, go get 'em." With those words the metal door flung open and two men wearing gas masks entered the room. Each one was wearing a yellow biosuit and carried a stun baton. A small bolt of electricity sparked at the end. The metal door had a seal going around it. The yellow gas that flowed from the room must have been Psych10. Karma was out of bullets and low on options. One of the baton-wielding men came after Karma and the other went after Jynx. Karma backed up to the wall and threw his empty Glock at the biosuit man. It must have hurt because the man in the suit contorted a bit. That was all the time Karma needed. He lunged at the man and pulled his gas mask off. The man immediately knew he was in trouble. He tried to take the mask back, but Karma kicked him to the ground.
After hearing his partner fall to the ground gasping for air, the second biosuit man turned toward Karma. Seeing Karma as a bigger threat, he ignored Jynx completely and charged Karma with his stun baton blaring. Karma weighed his options. The room was beginning to fill with gas. He had one mask. Jynx had none. He only had one chance to get this right. As the second biosuit man approached him, Karma prepared for a fight. But to his surprise the biosuit man reeled back in pain. He fell to the ground clutching his back. Jynx had pulled the broken plate from her bullet proof vest and used it to stab the man in the back. Karma smiled and said, "That's my girl." Karma held his breath and quickly ran over to Jynx and put his mask on her. He then returned to the second biosuit man and pulled the second mask off his head.
The second biosuit man struggled on the ground as he started to breathe in the gas. Karma put the mask on and cleared it. He returned to Jynx and said, "Are you okay?"
Jynx nodded and looked around. The gas was filling the room quickly. There was nowhere to go. Marx was no longer at the reinforced glass. She must have left. Karma took Jynx by the hand and led her into the gas. He entered the metal door and looked around. This room is the source of the gas. On the bench there was a machine releasing the Psych10 into the air. Searching the room, Jynx found another door leading to a hallway. The hallway was mostly without gas, but Karma and Jynx kept their masks on anyway. They ran down the hallways and took a left. There were rooms on the left and right full of test subjects. Some are dead, some are just barely clinging to life. Karma and Jynx pushed on. At the end of the hallway, they found themselves in the reinforced glass room. They were on her trail.
Opening the next door, they found themselves deeper into the facility. Karma turned around looking at all the doors they had not opened yet. Where would Marx have gone? Jynx pointed to the end of the hallways. Then she said, "That sound. Down there." At the end of the hall there was a strange noise. They ran down to the end as Karma pushed the door open. In the room there was an office set up. There were multiple desks, chairs, and Marx. She was tossing papers into a large shredding machine. Seeing Karma and Jynx enter the room she reached over to her desk to pick up her Soviet PSM. Karma grabbed a rolling chair and threw it at her. The chair bounced off a desk and knocked her to the ground. Karma tackled her as she tried to get up. Jynx grabbed the pistol and chambered a round. Then Jynx pointed it at Marx and said, "It's over, Marx. It's over! You've lost."
Karma held Marx in place while Jynx had her at gunpoint. Marx was breathing hard. Then she stopped and laughed. Marx saw the futility of it all. She laughed really hard. Then she said, "I always knew it would be the end of us. If it means anything to you, I want you to know that you were my favorite."
Karma shot a confused glance at Jynx. Then he looked back at Marx and said, "I am not a very subtle person so I will lay this out for you straight. If you come peacefully you get to keep all of your teeth. But if you throw a defiant look at either one of us…"
Marx did not give him the chance to finish. She said, "I only need one tooth!" She made a weird face as she crushed one of her teeth. Karma already knew what was happening. He let go of Marx and turned to cover Jynx's eyes.
Karma said, "It's cyanide. Don't watch." Jynx and Karma turned away as Marx gagged and breathed her last breath. Cyanide kills fast. When it was over Karma looked back to make sure she was dead. Then he said, "Defiant to the last." Karma took the Soviet PSM from Jynx and ran back to the hallway checking for the incoming guards. No one was coming for now. That could change very quickly. Karma looked back at Jynx and said, "We should get out of here while we can."
Jynx was not listening though. She went over to Marx's desk and started looking through the paperwork that Marx spent her last minute tossing into the shredder. She looked up at Karma and said, "Can you read these?" She held out the papers. Karma approached the desk and looked over the paper. It was a list of Soviet Agents, KGB Agents, and Exstrusis Agents.
Karma nodded and said, "This is good stuff, but we really should get out of here now." Jynx tried to open the drawers on Marx's desk, but they were locked. Karma asked, "We have done enough, we should get going before it is too late." As soon as he said this, there was a sound from the door. Karma and Jynx both ducked behind Marx's desk as two soldiers entered the room. Each of them was armed with AK47s and had gas masks on.
One of the two men said in Eastern Slavic, "The gas has not spread to this room yet. Is there anyone here?" Karma and Jynx stayed hidden. Jynx pulled out her lock picking kit and started opening the drawers on Marx's desk. One of the soldiers walked over to Marx's body and said, "It's Marx. She is dead." Karma checked the bullets on the Soviet PSM. It was ready to fire with a full mag. If he killed these two soldiers, then he could take their AK47s. Just as he was formulating a plan, another set of two guards entered the room. Now there are four of them. Even with the element of surprise, four was too many. The soldiers were lingering by the door.
Karma looked at Jynx just as she got the drawer open. As she slid the drawer open it made a squeaking noise. Karma closed his eyes expecting the soldiers to fire at the sound. But just then the speaker system started an announcement. The four soldiers looked up at the speakers and listened. Then when the announcement was over, they ran for the exit screaming. Within seconds the room was empty with the exception of Karma and Jynx. Jynx looked up to see the soldiers were gone, then she asked, "What was that? Why did they leave?"
Karma stood up and said, "The intercom said there was an airstrike incoming." Jynx looked at him with disbelief, but before she could say anything Karma said, "You want to leave now, or should you keep looking around?"
Jynx quickly opened the draw and grabbed all the files in it. Luckily, there were only a few. Both of them ran for the exit. On the way down the hallway, they ran into more of the yellow gas. The gas was slowly filling the whole building. They made it back to the prison room. The prisoners were all dead. The gas had gotten to them too. Gas was everywhere, making it hard to see. Karma grabbed Jynx's hand to lead her through the room. They would make it out together or not at all.
Soon enough they found the biosuit room. Then the stairwell. Each room was empty. All the soldiers had left the building. They were the only ones still here. Karma picked up the pace. They climbed the stairs stepping around the dead bodies. Once at the top they turned into a dead sprint. Karma pushed all the doors open for Jynx. She still carried the files for Marx's desk.
Once back in the garage, Karma noticed the white van was gone. The fleeing soldiers must have taken it. Outside the bunker, Karma could hear the incoming aircraft. That's bad. He reached back and pulled off Jynx's mask so she could breathe better. The rush of fresh air gave her a second wind. She ran faster than ever before. Karma took off his own mask and followed her to the tree line. They took cover in the closest ditch. Jynx covered her head while Karma covered her ears.
Just as they did, the first set of bombs hit the bunker. Huge chunks of flaming concrete pelted the trees. As soon as the pieces were done falling they got up and ran again. This time they made it to Leo's hiding spot. He was gone. The sniper rifle was missing and there was no blood trail. They returned to the road. Some dust clouds still linger in the air from the fleeing remains of the Exstrusis Facility. They crossed the road to the location of the hidden vehicles. The Dodge Aries are gone. Leo had the keys. He must have taken it. Karma was happy to see that at least Leo made it out alright.
These thoughts lingered back in Indigo. There must have been something he could have said to stop her. What could he have said? He shook those thoughts away. Karma's ears were ringing. The bombs had done a number on him. He looked over at Jynx. He asked, "Are you okay?" He could barely hear his own words. Jynx responded but he could not hear her very well. She seemed to be alright. She was still holding the files from Marx's office. They were the only tangible proof that the facility existed anymore. Karma and Jynx climbed in the Land Cruiser and drove back the way that they had come. The day was won.
Returning to the hotel, Karma looked at his watch. It was almost 11:47 a.m. Almost noon. Karma's ear had stopped ringing. He looked over to Jynx who was still holding the files. She looked like she was maxed out. Emotionally and physically. Karma parked the car and got out. Jynx did not. Karma walked around to the passenger side and opened the door for her. She stepped out of the car and looked at Karma with a half smile. She said, "I'm okay."
Karma looked her in the eyes and said, "No, you're not." He took the files from her and put them in the passenger seat. He looked at her again and said, "No one could go through what you did today without being shaken. Not even me."
Jynx's strong face faded. Her eyes started to well up with tears. Karma pulled her in to hold her. Despite being in multiple life threatening situations she still tried to put on a brave face. She wasn't trying to look good or to get a promotion. She did it for him. So he would not worry about her. Jynx cried for a bit. Karma didn't say a word. She needed this. After a few minutes Jynx pulled away from him and composed herself. Karma wiped a tear from her eye and said, "Better?"
Jynx nodded, then picked up the files and said, "Are you ready to see what we've won?"
"We will." Karma walked over and opened the hotel door. Then he said, "We need to fix ourselves up first." Karma took off his shirt and bullet proof vest. Jynx made a face of horror looking at his wound. Karma looked in the mirror. He had a three inch welt with a one inch break in the skin just to the right of the center of his chest. He looked at Jynx and said, "It's a bulletproof vest, not a pain proof vest."
Karma grabbed a wet washcloth and walked over to Jynx. He dabbed the dried blood off of her forehead. The damage wasn't as bad as it looked. Once he was done she only had a small quarter sized cut on her forehead. After that he helped her take her shirt and vest off. She had an even bigger welt just as bad as his. He dropped her vest to the ground as it made a clunking noise. "It shattered the ceramic plate. No wonder you passed out."
Jynx shook her head and replied, "I don't remember any of it. I remember being in the stairwell. Then I was under that yellow suit. I hope I didn't miss anything important."
"Not at all," Karma thought about it, then with a somber voice he added, "I told Indigo to stay together. She told me to follow her. She used every trick in the book to get me to leave you behind. I wouldn't do it. I couldn't. Indigo ran face first into that gas. If I had followed her we would all be dead right now."
Jynx smiled then she said, "Teamwork." She reached up to give him a high five. Then she said, "I would hug you but my chest is killing me." They both laughed at the situation.
The moment was interrupted by the phone. Someone was calling. Karma picked up the phone and waited. The person on the other end said, "Foxtrot lima three six."
"Hello, Freeman." Karma said with a smile. "We have some good news for you. We found the Exstrusis Facility."
"I know, Leo told me." Freeman replied, "I just spent the last 30 minutes on the phone with him. He told me you found the facility. You tricked Marx into leading you to the facility. I was shocked. Your little deception worked."
Karma explained further, "There is more good and bad news. We downed several Agents that were in the facility, including Agent Keys and Marx. Jynx stole some files from Marx's desk. Downside, when they realized the facility had been compromised, someone called in for an airstrike. The building was completely destroyed. Not sure if we can go back and find anything else."
Freeman didn't seem too upset and he said, "I will make sure to send the Soviets some flowers for their loss. Was that good news or the bad news?"
Karma took a breath and said, "We lost Indigo. There was nothing we could do."
Freeman took a moment to soak in those words. Then Karma heard Freeman break something in his office. Karma waited. This was expected. After a minute, Freeman said, "I hope it was worth it."
Karma replied, "Me too. We still have to look over Marx's stolen files. If they have anything of value we will call you back. Karma out." With those final words he hung up the phone and walked over to the files. Karma sat down, looked at Jynx, and said, "Let's see what we got." Karma started looking through the pages. What is all this?
Jynx came over and sat down next to him. She took a few pages and started to read them, "I can't read any of it. Is this eastern Slavic?"
Karma nodded but did not reply. He looked over the files as he said, "Names. Serial number. Addresses. Next of kin? All of these pages are copies of the original pages. Was Marx an agent, a handler, or something else?" He found the pages with all the Mirage Safe House phone numbers. The leaked information Sidewinder had been giving her. Karma turned the page and said, "It would seem Marx's was some kind of recruiter. She probably turned in the original files to the KGB but kept a copy for herself. These pages are written in some kind of code."
Karma and Jynx spent the next few hours pouring over the information. Karma used a pen to rewrite some of the words into English so Jynx could help. Finally, Jynx started to notice a pattern. She said, "Isn't it strange that the serial numbers are in numerical order up to a certain page then they start over? On top of that, some of the serial numbers are the same just on different pages."
Karma looked at the serial numbers and flipped between pages quickly. Then he said, "Because they are not serial numbers at all. They're dates. The numbers can be broken up into time, in military time. Then it reads day, month, year." Karma looked at Jynx and said, "Good job."
Another hour went by. Karma laid out the papers on the bed. Then Karma said, "The first folder is a list of 22 KGB Agents and all their personal information. Which is excellent, but the second folder is a list of 17 Exstrusis Agents. We haven't even gone through the last of the files and we have everything we want right here."
Jynx smiled and said, "Aren't you glad you taught me how to lockpick?"
Karma picked up the first row of files and gave Jynx a kiss. Then he said, "This is it. You want out of business? This is how you get there. When we expose all of these Soviet spies it will be so embarrassing for General Petrov that the Exstrusis Agency… maybe even the KGB will be shut down. We won."