[ Chapter
4 ]
[ Chapter
5 ]
[ Chapter
6 ]
[ Chapter
6 ]
[ Chapter
7 ]
[ Chapter
8 ]
[ Chapter
9 ]
[ Chapter
10 ]
[ Epilogue ]
THE
THREE KEYS
Part Three: The Key of Mind
Prologue
Lagodekhi, Georgia, o-two hundred hours. I
entered the drop zone near a slaughterhouse which was a suspected hideout of a
small terrorist organization that was producing and selling illegal Heavy Mechs
which could fire RPNB's (Rocket Propelled Nuclear Bombs). Weren't as bad as the
real things, but one shot had a radius of seven city blocks. That's a lot of
civilian casualties. Russia wasn't sure of the terrorist presence, so they
called the boys in green to settle their problems. We couldn't
"officially" enter Georgia with American troops, because the
consequences of an American or Russian soldier presence in Georgia would lead to
war. In this mission, I didn't exist.
Right on the border of Russia was the 101st Mech division led by one General
"Rampage". My back-up if the shit hit the fan. I had a panic button
that I would use if I needed him, which was the signal for him to extract me
with force. Hopefully if all went to plan I wouldn't need him. Damned if that
were true...
My mission was Black Ops, to infiltrate and exit the compound without being
seen, heard, or known of. If the mechs were there, protocol was to extract any
blueprints or any files on mechs, eliminate the facility, then haul ass out of
there.
There was one small snag, which turned the mission into one big goat fuck.
They were there all right. They had at least an entire division ready to go.
They were poorly made, but it was what they were packing that was dangerous.
During the information extraction, I was stumbled upon by a too damn curious
grunt. He triggered the alarm. The jig was up and within minutes, the base was
alerted.
Rampage presumed that I needed his help, and made the call. Even though he
didn't get the signal.
At o-two hundred and twenty-five hours, U.S Mechs advanced into Georgian
territory to the nearby town of Lagodekhi. General Rampage lead his 101st Mech
division to the slaughterhouse, hoping for one hell of a gunfight, but surprised
to only see a scared night watch security guard from the slaughterhouse. He
radioed in for the police, which in turn, radioed in the Georgian Army. It
looked like America was invading Georgia. The slaughterhouse was quiet, Rampage
saw no terrorists, no illegal mechs, no nothing. Rampage and his men were
surrounded by Georgian forces within a matter of minutes, ready to declare a
national crisis.
I was able to pin the alarm on a drunken guard. The terrorists came and saw
nothing. I was safe. Five minutes later, Rampage showed up. The terrorists took
their positions, and hid inside the slaughterhouse. I watched as Rampage had to
negotiate with Georgian forces for his presence in Georgia. Rampage had to
shamefully take him and his men out of Georgia.
I couldn't blow the slaughterhouse. Not after what just happened. The mission
was compromised. I was extracted from the building. The mission was a failure.
If I had blown the building, Georgia would have blamed the explosion on the
Americans as an attack against civilians.
Georgia was ready to declare war on America for this incident. The press had a
field day on that one. It took two weeks for us to apologize with Georgia.
Congress was ready to court-martial each and every one of us
Three weeks later the mechs were used on an attack against Russia, which killed
200 innocents.
I'd sweared I'd never forgive Rampage for his mistake. He cost us the mission,
Georgia's respect for America, and my reputation.
But who's knows...with what's been going on lately…we might need to set aside
this little incident for the greater good.
'Cause isn't that what it's all about right? The greater good...even though if I
were to retrieve those blueprints, America would probably be producing those
mechs the next day…
So much for the greater good.
-Guy Wearing Black