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kazbrkker · 5 years ago

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Chapter 3: Embedded

Chapter summary: With the help of the Aces, the Urzikstan militia successfully gained a step closer to their mission. Meanwhile, Alex pieced together the scraps to uncover a hint of how Farah and Hadir knew Alexis five years ago.

Warnings: mentions of captivity, trauma recovery, weapons and violence.

26 OCTOBER 2019, 1530 "Alexis" and "Alex", Codename Aces CIA with Urzik Militia Aqtabi, Urzikstan.

Alexis adjusted the headdress for Alex, checking if it properly covered his face. He snatched her wrist mid-air, staring in concern, "Alena, huh. Haven't heard that in years. Thought she was dead."

Alena was Alexis' latest alias, the second alias created in the CIA and the fifth alias in her career. Seeing how her aliases were on a strictly need-to-know basis, it was shocking that both Farah and Hadir would know her by name. Especially since Alexis had a habit of only introducing herself as Saint.

The silver lining was that Alex could at least pinpoint when Alexis met the militia leader and brother. Five years ago, then known as Alena, her cover was blown.

It almost cost Alexis her life, barely escaping from the clutches of the mob alive. Alex led the covert search in Moscow for her, but found no evidence of her presence anywhere he looked. He desperately combed through every possible lead, refusing to stop even for just a second. Alex searched high and low everywhere for a full five months all while she was in custody of the mob. Until one day, she mysteriously turned up alive and patched up in St. Petersburg.

She never talked about what transpired in her captivity, nor did he pushed. But it thoroughly changed her, left psychological scars so deeply embedded in her that even Alex couldn't reach.

"She is." Alexis reaffirmed, stuffing his fleeting thoughts back into their respective spaces in his brain. Their gaze connected, nodded reassuringly as she gently pried away from Alex's tight grip, "For everyone's sake, she's dead."

"She must be. You took such a long time recovering from–"

"Alex, don't." She whispered, words coated with a layer of unexpected sternness that stunned the two. "Alena is dead. End of story." The words rolled off her tongue with a shred of hostility. She turned on her heel, fixing on her own headscarf wordlessly to end the conversation. Farah stood by the window gathering intel from uncle Tariq, they had a limited window to hit the airbase and they needed to take it.

Alex sighed worriedly, chasing after his best friend. The trio checked their ears comms, concealed their sidearms and headed out. Barkov's propaganda was blasted all over the loudspeakers. There wasn't anywhere you could hide from the dictator's brainwashing audio. Blended in as civilians, they walked down an abandoned, bombed-out bazaar swarmed with heavy military presence. Alexis' face scrunched in disgust, steering clear from the soldiers with guard dogs, "I hate dogs."

The soldiers freely abused the civilians, yelling and beating. She forcibly dug into her palms to maintain her composure when she witnessed one soldier dragging a civilian into a store, gunshots shortly followed. The said soldier walked out, wiping his blood-stained boots off concrete blocks in disgust. The blood on his boots repulsed him more than his ability to mindlessly take a human's life.

It was a mess, all of it — almost Hell on Earth. As blood-boiling and downright revolting it was, both CIA agents had seen and walked through worse. By now, it only served as a living memento of why she existed. Cold, she knows.

Later, the three of them lined up for labor work to blend in. Alexis tailed behind Farah, sneaking to a side door while Alex was isolated to carry cinder blocks. They reunited on the other side, ambushing an unaware, strayed soldier who was ruthlessly punching a vulnerable woman. Alex nippily stabbed him with the knife in his boot.

Farah assisted the woman to her feet while Alexis stayed for lookout. "Karim?"

"Stay safe, sister." She was thankful they got to the woman before the soldier could have done more. They broke open a door that led into another alley. "You're resourceful. Good." Farah caught a triumphant wink from Alexis, bearing full credit. "Let's go. I have contacts posted just ahead. They'll have more explosives for us. A bigger blast will pull more forces away from their base."

The small entourage defended each other's six, stealthily hiding behind a truck. Four soldiers stood where Farah's men were supposed to be. "Shit. Barkov's soldiers have found my contacts. They may be dead already."

"That means they are already on high alert." They'd have to kill these men to bypass them.

"Can't go loud, we need a suppressor."

"Find an oil filter. It will silence your weapons. Check civilian cars. I'll keep watch on the guards." Farah stayed as lookout.

Alex and Alexis snuck into a nearby garage filled with civilian vehicles. "You look for the oil filters, I'll go find some makeshift thread adaptors."

"Yes ma'am," He singsonged, the tension between them already dissolved. They had a code, personal feelings would never be brought into the field. It was a lethal mistake that both of them knew better.

Alexis attached an oil filter through a hollow steel screw bolt, shaking her sidearm to check its stability. She grinned when it didn't rattle, score.

"That'll do. Nicely done," Alex praised.

"I know. What would you do without me?"

He winked, "I ask myself that every day."

They met Farah back at the truck, "Alex, flank right and take the two. Alexis and I will take the rest."

Upon two muffled shots, Alexis dropped the soldier in her crosshairs. She fired twice, once to break through the filter and another between her target's eyes. Unfortunately, the suppressor did not silence their gunshots enough, evident from the new soldier bursting through the door.

And he had Alexis in his shot.

She barely heard the whisper of her name before she ran forward, kicking his kneecaps to debilitate him.

"Alexis, move! I have a shot." She heard Alex over the comms.

Ignoring him, Alexis skillfully ducked a swing to swipe the combat knife in her boot, immaculately stabbing into his larynx in one clean move. She calmly dug deeper, laying the almost dead but silent soldier on the ground softly after she heard a muffled crack. Now, he was dead.

"I rest my case." She cleaned her blade from the bloodied mess, eyes crinkling at Alex's overprotective nature. He'd always have her back.

In the next building, they lodged some bullets in a few more soldiers and successfully retrieved Farah's explosives. They were ready for phase two of the plan – bomb the airbase.

"I'm sorry about your contacts," Alex said, a statement more than an apology.

Regardless, Farah accepted with a nod. "We have the explosives. Their sacrifice will not be in vain. Hide the gun. We're going back outside. Follow me, I'll lead."

Alexis understood Alex's detachment, sharing it. From young, they were hardened by bloodshed, numbed. The first lesson they taught in special ops was compartmentalization and emotional detachment. Having served in tier-one task forces, it was hard to let anything faze them and throw them off course. Years of witnessing murders and getting their hands dirty changed them.

That remained the case. Until they stepped out.

Hell on Earth. Alexis decided as they came upon a staged execution – three civilians hung alive by a crane. They were subjected to helplessly watch it unfold. She bit the insides of her cheeks, seeing more accused awaiting their death sentence.

"This is a god damn war crime." Alex gritted out in disgust. This whole scene was mortifying repulsive. Under her head scarf, her lips were slightly parted and staggered breathing. A rare sight of lost composure for the female agent yet nobody could witness.

Around them, no one dared to weep, even though the immoral and unjust scene would command angry tears for anyone. Shedding a tear meant sympathy for the opposition and in Barkov's eyes, sympathy was treason.

Freedom, a concept unfathomed by the great evils in the world. Evils like Barkov, each thoroughly convinced they were guided by the angels. On the right side of history.

"Punishment, for the stolen gas... Barkov blames us for stealing it." Farah stated plainly with a lack of emotions in her tone. Hardened by years of warfare too.

Alexis' fingers glossed over the cold metal of her .357 Magnum, thinking how justified would it be to lodge a bullet in the perpetrators this instant. It wasn't until Alex nudged her forward before she realised she was standing in the middle of a pathway, gawking. Almost attracted unnecessary attention to the group.

That moment, the two CIA agents found conviction in their connected gaze. Bonded by a silent agreement of a new crusade that they now believe in. Clearly aware that they were treading a dangerous line of emotional attachment, but could care less. They continued walking.

"What can we do?" Alex questioned, a newfound resolve in his tone. The empathy in their voices was clear as day.

"Accomplish our mission and put an end to Barkov's cruelty forever."

They agreed, forever it is. Hopefully this time, forever truly meant... forever.

The second part of their mission was easier, for Alex. As a man, he could use his cover to deliver cinder blocks into sensitive areas that she couldn't enter. While he had the easy way out, she climbed along the structures to reach the chopper she had to destroy. They managed to plant the C4 charges without alerting any guards.

Farah, Alex, and Alexis regrouped shortly in a safe zone, away from hostiles. "Blow the charges."

"Fire in the hole." Sharp bursts of explosion sounded without delay, the acrid smell of smoke penetrating their senses. Sirens immediately went off, and soon, majority of the military started pouring in to the source.

"It worked, multiple trucks heading in," Alexis reported, crouching behind a metal structure that concealed her. "Let's wait for them to pass."

The overwhelming trucks of soldiers played to their advantage as they crawled underneath their vehicles to escape. Escaping right under their nose, but not before leaving parting gifts of explosives under the engine. Their seemingly impossible escape was quick, under and out. The hardest part was over.

Just as they ran into an alley, they were spotted by an unexpected group of soldiers.

"Shit! Go! Get back!" Farah yelled and they pivoted immediately to bolt out of the alley. Farah flung her explosive-filled backpack in the soldiers' direction and detonated it in a desperate act, blowing their civilian cover. The sharp shrill of explosion attracted more soldiers to their positions.

They followed Farah and ran into the opposite direction, snaking along buildings in attempts to avoid the sprays of bullets. A slight burn in Alexis' arm temporarily slowed her down until Alex pulled her forward, yelling at her to keep running.

Another truck of soldiers skidded to a stop from their left, "We're getting boxed in!"

"I'm going to blow it! Right, go right!" More explosives went off at close range, causing an irritatable ringing in their ears. They expertly manoeuvred in and out of buildings, successfully evading the soldiers.

"Holy shit!"

"You're telling me! Farah, I sure as hell hope you have a plan!" Alexis replied, ignoring the intensified burn in her left arm and leapt out a window.

A putrid, horrifying smell of decaying corpses punched all the air out of their lungs as Farah unlatched a locked gate. At least a dozen bodies were casually littered across the dying grass, accompanied by flies and maggots.

"Farah, what the hell is this?" Alex spat in disgust.

"This is a damn massacre..." She almost couldn't believe what she was staring at – a mass grave. Only Barkov didn't even have the decency to bury the dead. The fire in her heart only burned bigger.

"More of Barkov's war crimes." Their ears perked at the sound of foreign soldiers conversing in the building ahead. "They're coming. Get down. Hide your guns, there are too many."

All of them dropped onto the ground, arms twisted to imitate the dead bodies. Alexis took a deep breath and held it, lying deadly still. Just she shut her eyes, her gaze averted to the decaying body of a child right where she laid. The image remained etched in her mind even with her eyes pinched tight, the outline of it was something she would never forget. A new unwanted memory that would join the other collections of horrifying scenes she witnessed in her years.

A god damn child. Caught into someone else's war.

She was the last in line, behind Alex and Farah. The gradual softer footsteps against the rustling of grass suggested most of the men moved forward.

A pained scream almost escaped from her lips when one of the soldiers accidentally stepped on her left arm, the full weight of his step nearly crushing her bones. He laughed, chattering in his native language about how this bitch got in the way.

"Alexis, what the hell happened?" Alex frantically whispered over the comms.

"Bastard almost damn near broke my arm. I'm fine." She winced, crawling up to catch up to them.

Farah and Alex eliminated the remaining three soldiers on guard. "Quick, get up this ladder, the tunnels are just up ahead!"

She braved through the piercing pain and climbed the ladder, refusing to let Alex examine her injuries. Her spitfire personality mumbled a 'we can bitch about it later' as she went up. Well aware of her stubborn nature, he suppressed a sigh and only said, "Stay in front of me, I'm not asking."

Alexis obliged, truthfully too lazy for a debate. They hopped over a stone wall and grinned as more air reinforcements rushed to take their bait. Another left turn later, the safehouse was finally in their sights.

The front door, however, was wide open. "Stop! Shit, Tariq's door is open."

"Where's Tariq?"

"Dead. He would never abandon his post."

A pull of sorrow tugged at Alexis' heartstrings, unable to fathom a fraction of how Farah even felt. Although they were both soldiers, Alexis could never begin to understand how it felt to lose people she cared about every day. It only deepened the amount of respect she had for Farah. Weapons raised, they scoured their surroundings before entering the empty safehouse.

"Clear! Let's head down, get to Hadir..."

"You lost good people today," Alex said sincerely, sharing a look with Farah.

There was a look of longing in the commander's eyes as she stared at the now empty guard post, but it disappeared quickly as it came. "That is the cost of this war. Now, let's take Barkov's airbase so their deaths are not in vain."

"We're in for a hell of a fight."

"So are they. Hadir has a plan."

Alexis nodded at their statements, earnestness in her words. "We'll get them, Farah."

Alex halted the overly eager agent with a raised eyebrow. He climbed down the ladder first. When it was her turn, he grabbed her legs and jerked downwards, causing her good arm to slip from the ladder bars.

She fell right into his waiting embrace, hands on her waist to slowly settle her down. With her injured arm, she punched into his chest as though to prove a point.

"I know that's revenge for this afternoon," She said with a mischievous glint, thinking back to earlier when she angered him with her poor joke. She patted his shoulder teasingly and headed into the dark tunnels, nursing her sore arm. The tunnels echoed with her words. "Never pegged you for a petty fool, Alex."

"Maybe I'm just caring for my best friend. Where's the gratitude?" In complete darkness, she felt herself being lifted off the ground.

With an arm under her knees and another supporting her back, Alex begged her to stop thrashing about and promised he would let her down before they entered the light. He knew her belief about being a strong independent woman, and how much she hated sympathy tossed her way in moments of weakness – especially when she was injured. But anything he could do to ease the pain off his best friend, he would.

"You can shove that gratitude up your ass, Alex." She stopped fighting him, head resting on his muscular chest. Since nobody could witness her weakness in these dark tunnels, she briefly allowed herself to relax for a split moment.

"Starting to reconsider if I can live without you, Lexi."

Farah followed behind the bickering pair with a knowing smile.

a/n: hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. masterlist here. want to be tagged? let me know!

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