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Hunnigan was only given the basics when she started. She'd been told she was to oversee a field agent. She'd only shadowed others, but this would be her first true attempt at doing this completely on her own. She was beyond nervous, but she supposed it was to be expected.
The agent she'd been told was new, but so was the whole agency. She supposed they met with little prior experience and little to no previous field operations. His code name was Condor, and she roost which was a non-issue. He was sent to retrieve a target in the middle of nowhere Guatemala. Simple and easy, they said.
Once on the coms her nerves died down. Condor wasn't extremely talkative, and he didn't react negatively at all to her introduction. Not that she thought he would. Say what you would about agents and soldiers, but they nearly always respected anyone on coms. It was up to their handlers after all to decide if they lived or died.
It was only when the mission truly started as he landed did the fun begin. She learned quickly that he knew when to check in and how. Anything important was relayed, and she rarely if ever had to initiate any communication, which was a relief. The issue with being on coms is you never want to distract the agents, it could easily get them killed.
But she listened in because that was her job. A part of her always wished she could see what the agents saw. She knew why they couldn't the majority of the time of course, but the desire never lessened. So stuck only listening, she tried to paint the picture in her head. But she didn't like the image it made.
She knew what STRATCOM did and what they fought. God only knew she'd signed enough NDAs. So yes, she knew full well about the horrors of the bioweapons, but knowing and listening were two very different things. And the fact she couldn't see made it better, almost as bad as it made it worse.
But Condor didn't seem terribly perturbed by any of it. Which helped her nerves quite a bit. He just cursed when he'd been taken by surprise before gunshots followed. Then a quip.
At first, she'd been dumbfounded by the stupid one liners he'd bite out during, before, and after fights. She'd been unprepared for it, but to be fair she'd never met an agent that was anything less than serious on the field.
It's something she learned quickly. The ones that made jokes and tried to have fun inevitably got themselves killed. Your complete and full attention had to be on the threats in front of you and on the mission. Anything less will get you killed painfully.
But Condor hadn't seemed to have gotten that message. It seemed unintentional ironically because it definitely wasn't for her amusement. As far as he knew she couldn't hear him at all. He truly did this for himself or at least that's what she thought at first.
It wasn't until a particularly close call that she caught over the line was she clued in. All she heard was an inhuman screeching noise and Leon cursing a string of exceedingly creative swears.
The next period of time was nerve-wracking as she heard gunfire and running. Next the sound of wrestling and a clank before the sound of what must be a shotgun being cocked then deafening booms.
Eventually silence rained after a final garbled screech only interrupted by shaky panting. Then in an even shaker voice the quip she'd come to expect from him.
“Keep your tongue to yourself, I'm not interested like that.”
It had been a licker then…Jesus he was lucky to be alive then. But it had clicked as well that while yes, the stupid comments were partly for his entertainment. It was absolutely mostly a way of coping. She just had to hope it wouldn't get him killed.
And regrettably she had to admit he had a deep repertoire. He had a comment for pretty much everything, and that in of itself amused her. How did he come up with it all? Was it spur of the moment or had he prepared thanks to say in seemingly common events for him?
She wasn't sure if she wanted that answer, but she was desperate for it anyway.
Finally, he clicked back into comms and informed her in a tone that was still far too shaky.
“Intel was wrong, there are a lot bigger things than just the normal infected. I'd not be surprised if they got something more dangerous than the licker, I just painted the wall with.”
She paused. She…hadn't considered the implications but he was right. Intel had said at worst there would be an outbreak. Not that there would be anything bigger.
“Understood Condor, keep your eyes peeled and stay sharp.”
“Will do roost Condor out.”
And with that he was out of the channel once more. That was another thing she had also learned about him. Despite being new to all of this, he was beyond good at it. It made her wonder about what exactly his past was. She'd asked before starting this mission of course, but she'd been shut down thoroughly enough that it came off as suspicious.
Condor was definitely someone more important than she knew, and she didn't think of herself as a particularly dumb woman. There were only so many options to have this much experience dealing with the likes of bioweapons. She'd bet a lot of money that he was in Raccoon, not that anyone would say anything about that.
She in her own time had tried to look into it. It stunk of conspiracy and cover up. But she'd been able to gleam a little of what actually happened though that was mostly because any unofficial coverage was shut down with prejudice. She wondered how he got drug into this and figured it wasn't exactly a pretty story.
After all, if he was only slightly older than her? Well…the government wasn't always the most ethical.
She turned out for a while until he came back on comms to inform her that he was in the facility. She'd given confirmation and told him to inform her when he was in contact with the target or if anything else went awry.
She listened in to a number of other little tussles and dead silence she knew was him avoiding lickers. Eventually however, he informed her he found the target and was heading for exfil. She'd simply confirmed the chopper was heading that way now.
And everything seemed to be going well until of course it wasn't.
Her first sign things had gone wrong was the sudden silence when Condor had just been speaking to his extraction target. He cut himself off mid-sentence and she faintly heard the sound of stomping footsteps.
Then he'd cursed low and worried and perhaps if she hadn't misheard it scared. Then a door slammed open from somewhere and another sting of curses.
“Not again!” Condor had snarled before she could hear running and the sound of a very displeased target.
“ROOST WE HAVE A FUCKING PROBLEM!”
“Talk to me.” She implored immediately.
“TYRANT!”
She went pale. What the fuck did she do about that? Shit damn it all to hell she was NOT prepared for this. Ok pause take a breath, her job this was her job. What had to happen? The target needed to be extracted.
“Condor top priorities get the target out of there. We need him.”
More running and what had to be a wall being broken through as the extraction target all but wailed in fear.
“WOULD FUCKING LOVE TO ROOST BUT IM STUCK IN THIS DAMN MAZE WITH SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T NEED DOORS!”
Breathe, think there was a way out there had to be. She pulled up the floorplans she'd managed to scrape together. She had no idea where he was, but it didn't matter, not when there was a nearly hidden exit on the second floor.
“Condor, you need to get to the second floor. On the far east side there's an exit. Staircase down the back you can circle around.”
More running and a muttered, “Fuck ok that's….”
Then Condor shouting to ‘Hurry the fuck up!’ as he presumably pulled along the target. Then unmistakably the sound of pounding up the stairs she let out a relieved breath.
“East?!” He asked for confirmation.
“Yes, closer to the far end down a back hall.”
Sure enough she heard a laughed-out sound of relief then the slam of a door and descending footsteps. Of course, there was another crash but at least they were outside.
“Stupid fedora wearing price of shit.” Leon barked as he continued to run.
“God I HATE those bastards. Ok don't stop on me now we still have to get you to exfil.” Condor demanded.
Hunnigan thought it was interesting he didn't mention also getting to exfil. But it seems to be enough to motivate the target because Leon was picking up speed again. She heard a few shots and blasts of a shotgun, but it seemed to be going well enough.
Or it was until Leon slid to a stop. “Licker.” He warned but gasping for breath didn't exactly help with stealth. They also didn't have time to catch it, not with a tyrant hunting them.
Hunnigan could practically hear the gears turning in Condor's head.
“Got a flash but we're so far in the open… ok here's what we're going to do. As soon as it's stunned you run.” Condor started talking as he loaded what had to be his shotgun.
He must get some kind of confirmation because the next thing Hunnigan knows is the shriek of a flash grenade before the booming of a shotgun. Once, twice, reload, shoot again. Then stomping footsteps a screech a muffled sound of pain, another shotgun blast then a loud pained grunt.
Groaning and a breathless comment. "Just like last time.”
He grunts again and she can only guess he's trying to get his feet. “GO!” He commands and he's running again. She doesn't know how considering he barely has any air at all in his lungs.
“Roost we're almost at extraction tell them to stand by and prepare to get us the hell out of here!”
“Of course.” She agreed and quickly did as asked.
She heard a surprise comment of. “Oh, what the hell.” From the pilot, which wasn't exactly the best sign and the. “GO!” roared by Condor as he and the target loaded up on the helicopter a moment later.
And after a few tense seconds she heard a relieved exhale than a hiss of pain.
“Roost target secured, we're coming home.”
She didn't like it, “And what about you? What's your sitrep?"
A low chuckle. “Concussed probably and a few nasty hits from the licker, but I'll be just fine. Thanks for keeping me alive, Condor out.”
Hunnigan took a breath. Jesus ok he was alive if hurt, she was sure in most cases anyone else would be dead. But he was a tough bastard and had proven as much. She'd done her job and because of her everyone was alive.
She let out a breath. This part of her job was done and that was that she had to write a report she had to…she had to do a lot actually. Ok that was doable just one step at a time. She took off the headset and pulled up a document. She'd do this then ask for an update after, but for now she still had a job to do.
It's much later in the day she gets an update. Condor one is back in the states and alive. He's being treated and expected to only need a few days rest. She is dubious because surely he needs more time? But she's told not so politely that he's fine, and she'll be expected to be his handler from here fourth. Apparently, she was the best match they'd found yet, and they intended to keep them paired.
Hunnigan didn't argue, admittedly she'd come to like him through their short time interacting. It was a bad idea to get attached, she knew that she really did, but there was something magnetic about him. Hopefully one day she'd actually get to meet him in person.
It wasn't a month later she'd been informed that her charge had been chosen to scope out Valdelobos Spain. She'd swallowed the lump in her throat at the sudden dread that gripped her. She knew his luck too well to think this would be anything but a simple reconnaissance mission. But she nodded along despite it she just had to hope it didn’t all go to shit.