Chapter Text
They packed up the forger van, chest rigs under the seats for quick access. Loid was driving with dave running shotgun seat.
Joe was in the back, he had shed his sweator for a plain tan button up and his dock workers cloths. Putting on a flat billed cap on. Along with yor in normal cloths and anna changed as well to something she could fight better in.
“any work from our spotters?” dave asked.
“not yet”
And they drove around town… they stoped at a few van dealerships. Passing the phone around.
Nothing.
Both wise and the ‘shop keeper’ tapped phone lines… hoping to get half decent SIGINT someone calling to talk about something sketchy. The three mercs having had great success with that in the past… but it was another country (and different time) so all they got was nothing.
“what about the HUMINT side?” asked loid “any of your agents pick anything up?”
“not here” said joe.
“the shop keeper did say a few of his men are missing, but he cant say if its from failure or if they where hired on”
Anna scratched her neck “you think a few of ostanias finest are in on it?”
Yor shrugged her shoulders. “some of them… maybe. But I couldn’t see why?... unless its paying that well”
“or they where offered something more important then money?” dave said from the front.
The mobile morso code box from loids office was brought in, they had maps taped to the wall on the inside… that little van was turned into a moving command center.
Yor didn’t know morso code… not in her job application… joe didn’t either and daves was rusty. (see slept through com-phase… he was a sniper not a radio man)
Which led loid and anna to say what was tapped out for the class.
Yor cant believe she ever went hunting without loid before… she always thought he was smart… doctorate aside… shit that was fake… but still, giving it was… she still thought he was smart. They way he moved, they way he talked and did things… but now? Seeing him in his element.. the real loid.. or uh… fuck it, real loid. she saw he was a genius, certified.
And while she always had respect for her teacher… she saw him in a new light… he didn’t have a target package… he showed her how to be meticulous with the target package. But when she worked with him it was always handed down. Or she never saw the work that went into making it… come to find out that was the work loid exelled at. Spies find the targets… assasins fix and finnish them.
But here… joe was trying to build a target while they went… with little to no intel, and a a lot of guess work… so everything was subject to change… when they thought they had a lead? They followed it. Only for it to be false and scrubbed from the target. A lot of ‘what about ‘blank?’… lets go check?... and no.
Then there was his eyes… he looked at anna like she was the smartest woman in the world… kinda like how she looked at loid…. ‘focus on the job kid… why are you here?... little brother? Ok… fight for that, we all got our own drive… but focus on the mission and never get distracted’… its been 15 years… and the words still rang true… if not truer… anya was her mission. The only mission that mattered.
Then… a rythem of dots and dashes made loid and anna shoot up and look confused?
“is that an option?” asked anna.
“I mean… ok… but… shit” loid cursed.
“details?” asked joe.
“they asked if anyones checked a certain asylum… then others said they hadn’t thought of asylums…. Which brings in the idea that they’re running experiments to study brains… which means they could have taken anya to study child brains… which… concerns me. And the more I think about it the more this seemed like a random snatch and grab, but with what we learned from becky they knew her… so they had run stuff on her before… which means they could have picked her up to either check or finnish something they started over a year before” loid gripped his steering wheel.
“and if anya had no records before a year ago… this could be why.” Anna was in thought.
Joe leaned forward “this synce up with what the boss gave us on project agoge…running tests on kids to make better soldiers… they could be trying to brainwash her to dash any emotions to make better killers or figure out ways of stopping people from breaking down in battle or having nightmares after the fact…that’s if this is the same MO… this could be a whole other side we they havnt seen before. Hell we already know that because when the boss dealt with them befreo they didn’t have security muscle… shit that actuelly might be our fault?”
“or not” yor thought “this area is barly a few years past a war… out security and spy agencies are at each others throats every day. It could be a reaction to the region. Makes sense”
Loid fixed her in his gaze from the rear view mirror.
Dave reached into the glove box “you got a map in… ok, here we go”
He pointed down the road “turn left here… we got a place close by we can check out”
They drove for about 15 minutes.
Yor’s stomach grumbled in the back, loid looked up. “you ok?”
“oh… um, yes”
Loid looked at her with kind eyes. “I guess its near dinner time, and we haven’t eaten since breakfast… after this we should stop to pick something up before continuing on”
she returned his gaze “yes”
pulling into the path that let to the asylum anna leaned forward to look at it.
“um, we sure this thing will have any useful intel?... it looks?”
“it was abandoned a few years ago… but some of the equipment remained… they could have scavenged it for parts”
“yea.. or someone else could have… no sure fire its them?” she wondered looking at loid.
They drove up, the gate was locked… emphasis on was, the lock was cracked with bolt cutters. Sure sign someone without a key wanted in… and if they just where on foot they could have hopped the wall, no they wanted a vehicle to come to the front door.
Everyone hopped out. “ok guys, handguns and knives… lets not look to suspicious”
They drove through the front courtyard out into the main door. they notied another van out front… a white, windowless van.
There they saw a shocked looking man in a flat cap similar to joes and a green jacket with a sewn on patch on the elbow… not a upper-class doctor type… he looked more like a common thug.
Their VW bus rolled slowly up beside them… buting about 15 yards space in between just incase.
Anna hopped out of the back, loid opened his door, feeling his pistol press against his abdomen, slightly digging in as he went from sitting to standing… oh the problems with appendix carrying.
Dave stayed in the front seat; loids AK low , held behind the door. yor kept a look out from behind to not get jumped and joe opened the back, sitting, stealthily hiding his 1911 low by his hip.
Anna waved “evening”
The man nodded his head… he had a box in his hand, placing it by the open side door.
“good… afternoon?” he said confused. “How can I help you? I think this place is employee only for now… we’re renovating”
Loid nodded “sorry… im doctor forger” he said, coming around the front of the van, moving toward the man.
About then they heard.
“hey Erwin, we got the ….stuff?” another man said, seeing strangers and trying to save himself from saying what he was thinking. He looked to be the leader between the two, a bit smarter looking, doesn’t look like tobacco chew spit personified.
“doctor forger?” the other man started “how can we help you?”
“well… im a new psychologist in the area… and I heard there was a job opening, my frineds are helping me move, and where curius to the new place I would be asking to work at… but? It seems I might be a little late?”
Both men looked at each other.
“um… ok, well… as you can see you closed down.”
“really?” loid asked, mock shock. “damn, I just talked to a college from med school and he said this was a good place… what happened to your patience? Did you move them somewhere else? And the staff? Could you give me the name of the head doctor?”
The goon scratched his head. “you said a friend told you about this place?... strange, we’ve been closed for about a year and ahalf.”
Loid nodded “hmm… interesting… but, why are you moving equipment now?”
A tense moment took over the courtyard.
“screw it, Erwin… this is too much”
The goon then went to move his jacket, revealing a pistol in a shoulder holster.
Loid was quicker, before the goon could fully unclasp the snaps loid grabbed the hem of his shirt with his left hand, lifting it he grabbed the handle of his walther, pulling up, and pushing out he grabbed it with both hands, pointing towards his chest… at 11 feet it was more point shooting.
He put 4 rounds right in his chest. Slamming him back into the van, he slid down.
“OH SHIT!” yelled the other man, dave kicked his door open, spraying a burst of 7.62 in his direction…. The man slid back, running into the building and slamming the door closed, locking it.
“hold your fire, we need him for info” anna warned.
The goon slumped against the van coughed once… looking up he held his pistol in his hand… loid was startled by daves fire and turned… the man raised his pistol.
“LOID LOOKOUT!” yelled yor.
Loid spun quickly, and as the old saying goes ‘we’re all a couple pounds of pressure from being room tempture ’
Deep in his head the forger man thought a simple thing… ‘I might have just smoke checked the man who took my daughter’
Joe walked up behind him… how long had he been there?
“damn… you good?”
Loid nodded
“fucken… 9mm our of a 2 inch berral?...fecken limp dick ballistics on that one boy-o… here… might suit you better… hits harder”
The shorter Irishman held out a wooden handled browning hi-power.
Loid took it, feeling the weight.
“more berral, longer dwell time and more powder burn… better then your spy stuff, no offence but it isn’t a direct action gun”
Loid nodded.
“David?” asked anna behind
Dave grinned, walking up to the stairs that led to the hospital… slinging his rifle. Pulling his own handgun he proved just how much of a gurilla he was.
He tried the door knob… locked… cracking his neck he leaned back, threw his shoulder forward, and slammed into the door hard enough where he didn’t blow it off its hinges… the door was still there… he just made a hole through it.
On the other side the badguy had his back to one of the double oak doors, he was breathing heavy…. Erwin was dead… he needed back up… he had to think… run to the back? Jump out a window?... run?
*POWWWW*
The door next to him splintered… and he shrieked.
“AAAAAHAHAHHAHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!”
The tall man came through, smiling at him, he grabbed the smaller gent by the throat, slamming him into the wall. Panic plain on his face.
“PLEASE DON’T EAT ME!!” he shouted… dave chuckled, placed his hand on the back of the mans head… and slammed him into the ground, knocking him out.
…………………………………………
They bagged the survivor, rummaged around the van to see if they could get anymore intel. In the back they found kidnapping gear, a sack, some cuffs. And a few vails of…. Joe licked the end and spit. “morphine”
They then went to the closest safe house they had.. joe and daves, no reason to ‘burn’ the forger home. Burning a safe house means peaple know what it is, and potential hostiles will come for you… or in this case their neighbors watch as the quaint family drag an unconscious body through the front door would be sus as hell.
They tied the man to a chair. Cracking some smelling salts to wake the man up.
“wha?... oh fuck”
Dave sat across from him, a smile on his face “hi”
“w-w-what? Who are you?”
“yea… that’s not important… yes or no, if we don’t need you we’ll just kill you” the inuit man held up a family picture he borrowed from the forgers. “this kid… did you take her?”
“yes” he shoock his head animatedly… he knew he was fucked, no need to play the tough guy.
“ok… show me on the map where they have her”
He held out a map, anna cut the man free.
“here… this building… its an abandoned meat packing plant”
Anna put her hands on his shoulder “who do you work for?... project AGOGE?”
Another nod “yes… that’s right… we’re the ostanian branch of project agoge…all the branches are mostly compartmentalized but I ran some numbers and info we got from the other groups”
Anna and dave looked at each other. “the name doctor meako ring a bell?”
“yes ma’am…. Director meako… he already left the country. He was here to unfuck a situation.”
“ what where you studing here?”
“s-psychic powers… we wanted to know how to make soldiers read minds”
Loid looked confused and like he couldn’t believe it… then yor spoke
“why did you take anya?”
“anya?... oh, the girl… subject 7…. We had her a while back… one of the few successus… we recently lost a lot of our data and subjects… so we needed to recoup our loss…. She was the key”
Loid and yor looked at each other.
“what?” the tall blonde spy asked
“yea… we did it, we figured out how to make peaple read minds and the biggest success is some little girl”
Holy shit… it, strangly made since… all of anyas, ‘isms’…. She was reading minds.
The forgers where brought out of it by joes question. He squat down Infront of the man.
“ok… thank you… but, why should we keep you alive and not grab someone else later?”
“-ii-i-ii…. I have codes, proceadures… data…. I can help”
Joe nodded, and looked up to anna.
Who grabbed him from behind in a chock hold, knocking him out… they stuffed a sock in his mouth, tied him up in the back bath tub.
When joe and anna came back into the room they found everyone counting magazines and getting ready for an assault.
Target package… complete.
………………………………………………………..
Get in to the heart of a slaughterhouse and find an objective? Jeez if this didn’t remind joe of Kabul… well at least its something him and dave where familiar with.
The crew rolled up from the back, the shutter doors where wide open.
Stepping through anna grabbed the door with her hand and closed it, making a bit of a ruckus.
“hmm?... who’s there?” asked a voice from the hall… it went from right to left, so when the gentlemen stepped out joe gave him 2 suppressed shots to the chest, splattering blood on the wall behind him.
“yor” joe held a hand up, signaling the woman to move over to the fuse box, shutting it off.
They pushed forward in the dim light, the full moon cutting through the windows.
4 men felt around, “whats going on?” asked one. He had his back to yor… big mistake, she wrapped her left arm around his neck, driving her combat nail down the side of his neck and shoulder… cutting his artery… making him drown in his own blood.
Joe slid next to her, .45 pistol raised, suppressor screwed on… *pap*
Single shot, the farthest man who was near a corner that let to another hall took one right to the head, his head cocked on the side he took the bullet from, his body locked up, falling like a domino.
Loid pushed in, several rounds into ones chest, turning on his hip, moving from his knees he shot the last man into the ground, putting rounds as he fell, the last 3 where when he was on the ground… joe walked up and put a security round in the other mans head, making sure he didn’t get back up and outflanked them… its happened way to much, even headshots. People can get back up…. shoot them until they aren’t a threat anymore.
They pushed forward, still holding the element of surprise, dave and anna had the loud unsuppressed weapon systems, so they held off for the time being.
They moved across the corner, right where the door was, feeling the knob they found it wasn’t locked. They listened.
“guys, seriously... it sounded like a suppressor?”
“please don’t interrupt my drinking for nothing chris”
They opened the door more, letting joe and loid take point, one man was standing and moving twards the door, catching several bullets to the face.
“fuck!” they all yelled, 7 men in total around a few boxes in what could only be described as an oversized pantry.
Dave had no choice, they where basically made anyhow, shouldering the beefy rifle he fired of, semi auto shots, the ringing would have made yor flintch if A) she wasn’t us to it, and B) she wasn’t as pissed off as she was.
She watched as a .308 round tore a chunk out of a mans shoulder and slammed him into the ground, dave pinned his barrel to the doorframe, which normaly is a no-no because it put him in the fatel funnel, but the fight didn’t last long enough for that to matter.
“the fuck was that?” yelled voices from around the butchers shop.
“guys” joe said, rifle at the ready, he tacticly reloaded, which means takes out a partialy used mag and put in a fresh one. “iv got a stairwell.”
It went down to the basement, peaking jerked back before a few rounds hit the wall next to his head, loid was low, peaking himself almost pressed to joes stomach he sprayed multiple bullets downwards.
Joe grabed him, pulling back. He pulled a grendade from his chest rig, pulling the pin, he flipped the spoon and underhanded it to the feed of their attacker.
The floor shook.
“im going in” yor said, taking her chance he slipped in like a snake, a shadow of death. Finding one man cletching his eyes, blinded… she stabbed him in the skull, another man has on his hands and knees, she brought her nail up in a hammer grip through his throat.
Flipping the weapon around the rest filed in behind her, clearing corners and searching for places they could have had a holding cell.
“door”… dave rolled up, swiftly kicking it open, the door was little more then cardboard mixed with a little partial wood.
“DON’T SHOOT!” shouted a man.
“come out!” loid yelled “do you have anya?”
“who?”
Loid wasn’t in the mood, going to shoot the man and push through.
“wait!” anna called, grabbing his hand, but he had already raised his pistol and shot, the movment hit the man in the shoulder with a 9mm round.
“fuck”
Loid looked at anna, who glared “slow your storm kid”
Joe pushed forward, dave posted up, finding a hallway and having his own mini shootout.
The Irishman grabed the shot man, who was wearing a doctors coat, and matched the sketch given by becky, he drove his thumb into the bullet hole, slamming him into the wall.
“AACK!” he gargled in pain.
Joe let his rifle dangle and pulled his .45.
“where is your subject 7?... anya forger?”
The man pointed “down that hall… in the freezer, we turned it into a holding cell”
He placed the muzzle of the suppressor to the other mans forehead. “what is project AGOGE?... and who is doctor meako?”
“project agoge was a way to replace conventional soldiers… each division focuses on a different way…. Meako was the director, he was also in charge of the American branch… but the CIA and the green berets over threw him, killed his staff, took the kids, we lost everything from the previus 8 years”
“so that’s why your scrambling for data? Trying to recoup lost assets?”
“ those kids where more successful, even getting to the trail phase, I would have loved to check out their progress… but the Americans took the kids in as their own, started raising them, there was no way for us to get to them while their under government protection. Meakos in hiding, probably going to sell that info to those who can make better use of it and fund him… I don’t know what that is tho?... who that could be?”
Funny, gunshots and pain makes peaple real talkative… that and this was a doctor, not a spook or soldier… he wasn’t trained for this.
“that secretary who we took?... the one that didn’t come back today”
“you got andy?”
“what does he know?”
“a lot… he’s one of our data guys”
Joe nodded, then shot the doctor in the head. Painting the wall with grey matter.
Joe looked at anna, he looked disappointed… then to dave, who looked like puzzle pieces where fitting together.
“so that’s why… the boss wants us to get the one who got away?” the inuit man grunted.
“no… theres got to be more, I know summer” anna put a hand to her chin.
“he said they lost the test subject…. Summer isn’t CIA anymore?” dave was trying to make sense of it all.
“her son” joe finally finished. Looking up. “her son’s in the green berets…he might have worked with the project… meaning he may have taken one of the kids in.
“revenge for her own grandson” dave shook his head “I get it… but why all the secrecy?”
“her boy might have had something to do with it, bet he don’t want it out what he did to those kids before everyone grew a contius, damn it, we don’t have all the facts so lets not jump to conclusions… I taught that girl to be smart, so she’s probably thinking this through better then us. Lets get the girl.”
Pushing through they found the freezer. Locked, anna pulled a tungsten screw driver from her gear, breaking the lock.
“dave, switch” she said, taking up security. The man was a medic after all.
Opening the door loid almost went in, but joe grabed him by the shoulder. “get your gun up we got company, focuse on the mission”
The tall man turned, getting back in the fight.
What met yor and dave was a horrible sight, the inside of the freezer was padded to the ocupent couldn’t hurt themselves.
And anya had that ‘crown’ still screwed into her head.
“oh baby” yor scooped the frail body up. a cough could be heard. The assassin looked up to the seal.
“here, we need to get this off her” he said, putting his medical kit on his lap.
“please hold her, this might hurt”
Yor sat anya in her lap, wrapping her arms around her, she knew how to keep peaple from thrashing, she just hoped it would never have to be her daughter.
Dave took the ‘crown’ in hand, first he started with removing the screws. Gripping the top of the ‘crown’ in one hand he tried to as gently as possible. It didn’t go well, anya shouted and hallered. Blood pooled around the screws and poured down her face. What treid to be slow at first dave treid to make it as quick as possible, he couldn’t apply any painkillers because he didn’t know what they had her on and how much blood she had, he didn’t want to tank her blood pressure.
It took about a minute and a half to get all 4 screws out, then he tossed the crown away.
Anya almost went into shock, slumping into her mothers arms, luckily the cronw wasn’t covered in rust, so possibility of tetanus was less of a worry, he’d still give her parents a shot to take home for later, checking her blood pressure he quickly put anti-septic ointment on a gauze bandage and wrapped her head. Apologized to the girl and inserted an IV of o- blood for her…. Side not being since they had been out operating for so long that the o- blood was joes, dave always kept at least 1 bag of blood for emergency.
Yor picked her daughter up, lacking anywhere else to put the IV bag shoved it in her boobs . leaving the room dave made sure to cover them… if he had body armour he would have put it over them.
The hall was a bit clearer now… anna and joe clearing a way out, loid stayed behind to secure his family. Dave gave them space.
Loid rushed to them, wrapping them in his big arms.
A clatter of guns, slings, and gear was an interesting backdrop as anya opened her eyes, seeing her parents.
“mama…. Papa”
“we’re here sweety” loid said, avoiding her hurt head, where he would normally place a comforting hand there now wasn’t the time, so he took her hand, so small in his. Rubbing his gloved thumb over the back of her hand.
“you… know” she said, her voice small and wavey. “the seceret… you know… each other too…. But, you work together.”
Loid gave her a brave smile, he almost couldn’t “oh course sweety… you are our mission… we’re a family”
“you know… about, anyas… power”
“yes…. Your so talented… im so proud of you”
“but… I got cought… im, not a good spy… I should have been better… for you”
An arrow through loids heart. “anya… never think that… you did your best, you’re a fine agent…im so proud of you”
Tears flowed from the young girls eyes. “papa’s the greatest spy and I got cought”
Yor brought her into a warm hug. Nuzzling her close. “mama…I want to be stong like mama”
“you are baby…. You are”
The sound of gunfire never stopped, it just moved around them. The world didn’t stop moving for their moment, but for a second they where together again.
“forgers.. im sorry, but we need to move”
They nodded.
Dave took point, loid protecting his family while yor held anya.
They passed shot to pieces body as they went, anna and joe where absolute meat grinders.
Out the back door they came in from anna pulled up in the van. Joe prying his knife out of a mans ribcage next to the parking stall.
“get the FUCK IN!” yelled the japanese officer driving the van. They all piled in, joe tossed a double drum mag from the back seat to dave, who rocked it in, racking the bolt sprayed at the massed thugs coming around the corner, making sure to keep their heads down.
Anna scooted over, letting loid drive, she didn’t know where she was going anyhow, but joe pulled a blanket off something in the back.
An FNMAG (to those of you who played modern warfare, the M240 bravo light machine gun fits in the time frame because it was made in the mid 50s)
Another van pulled in, trying to block their exit.
Joe tossed his wife the gun, the belt had been linked for about 250 rounds. Anna pulled the charging handle open, braced the gun to hr hip. And let loose a dragons breath of death and anger. Tearing the front of the enemy van to shreds, killing both men in the front seat, and even popping the tires on both sides.
Anna held her fire, joe ran up, popped the clutch into neutral, and both allans pushed it out of the way. The van pulled through, dave hoped in the open back door, joe jumped on the side, and anna joined the big guy, dropping the last few chasers as they peeled away.
………………………………………………….
“this is where we part ways forgers” anna said.
Dave was handing medical supplies over, telling her what to do later that night to help her daughter.
“what now?”
“ill tell you what not to do?... burn yourself…. We finally got this started… project AGOGE isn’t going to be looking for you because the wolf pack here is going to hunt them down” his old teacher told him.
Joe came up next. “not only that… the whole fucking might of the gallowglass group is going to bring fire and flame like they’ve never seen”
“but?”
“but we need to separate… so you can stay in cover… we’ll deal with our superiurs… make something up about anya getting back, I know that was high profile… but we’ll keep your cover”
Loid nodded, loaded his family up, and drove off.
About 2 hours later they finaly made it home.
He did realise he had left his TV on… the news was playing.
“in breaking news today, a rare event… but members of westalian paratroopers and ostanian military had a unusual combined arms operation. Easing some tensions between the two orginizations. The operation was a rescue of all things. Spokesmen said ‘we understand we don’t normaly like each other… but there was a little girl captured… we freed her. Somethings are more important’… well, that’s a swee-“
He hit the TV… he had heard enough… loid turned and caught yors eyes. She nodded.
“hungry” anya said.
“here… sweety” loid walked over to the crates of food joe had left… what a strange man, he grabbed some of those peanut butter balls he had mentioned, handing one to yor.
“here baby… peanuts, just like you like… my old frined made them… just for you”
The little girl nibbled on it, she closed her eyes “mmhm, good”
After a few more… and stable food like the chicken he made. Yor dicided to take her to get clean.
Getting anya out of her cloths hurt yor in ways she didn’t know was possible, the blood and sweat caked the cloth to her, literally pealing the school uniform like a shrimp shell.
Yor sat in the warm water of the bath tub, anti bacterial saop and ointment, cleaning anyas wounds, her open cuts, her bruises… scrubbing her off, scrubbing things I wont repeat here that no one thinks about until you’ve been held prisoner.
Loid dropped off yors sleep shit and pants and anyas PJs. Getting dressed yor took anya to the kitchen to re-wrap her wounds while loid cleaned off.
That night they all slept in loids bed, he had tried to give the allans AK back, but was denied. ‘you might need it in the future… keep the pistol too, im sure you know how to hide contraband’
Anya was snugged tightly between the two most important peaple in her life.
Loid looked at yor… aprehention on both of their face.
“yor” he finaly said after over an hour of quite. “will you merry me?... for real… im tired of lying… no more secerets”
Her eyebrows raised… “your?... not, having to leave?”
“I don’t think theres any need too… and, im sorry, for everything”
She reached over their daughter, holding his cheek “I get it… I lied too… I don’t blame you… I was just… frustrated yesterday… im sorry”
Loid almost shed a tear “please… never be sorry again… I cant bear that” he said quietly… yor nodded.
They both laid down, holding hands over their little girl.
“its ian by the way…. My name… they use to call me ian.”
Yor smiled kindly.
“I like loid better”
“so do I”