Birth of a Cynic (A Domerguex Anthology Tale)

Gameboy

  As Andres Romero Domerguex sat across the frosted valley from a looming mountain fortress, he took a moment to appreciate the position he was in. One thousand, nine hundred seventy other agents could have been chosen ahead of him but he was the one chosen. Some might have tried to insinuate that his success was, largely in part, due to the fact that his mother ran the institution. However, his mother did not want her only son to join the cause, fearing she might lose the last family she had left.

  Andres couldn't help but smile as the forceful blizzard and shadow of night kept him hidden from unwanted eyes. He wasn't sure if it was normal for non agents to feel at peace when hidden from view and frankly, he couldn't care less. Working for G.A.M.E., the covert international law enforcement agency, was going to allow him to use tech straight out of video games to take down evil doers and save the world. If that wasn't every gamer's dream, he didn't know what was.

  Five grueling years of physical, mental and virtual training had prepared him for this mission. Ironically, said mission centred around locating and rescuing the people who pushed him through the aforementioned training. He pulled out a grappling hook that was a functional replica of Pathfinder's, a playable character from the battle royal known as Apex Legends. He felt confident that saving his mentors would prove the agency didn't make a mistake. Whether he'd be proving it to everyone else or just himself was a question he'd rather not think too hard about at that moment. Lest he fail without ever finding the answer.

  To keep himself from dwelling on the subject, he decided he'd waited long enough. The midnight snow filled clouds had thickened considerably and a visible frost now clouded anyone's view of over twenty feet. The wind would cover up any noise he'd make while setting up his gear, though he'd barely make a sound. He procured a titanium alloy pole from his white duffle bag and secured it into the ground before firing the grapple gun. Amazingly, the rope magnetically attached to the pole. The spear end pierced the fortress, allowing Andres to zipline across the icy river hundreds of feet below.

  Lifeline is still a better support character.

  He thought to himself as he secured his footing on a stretch of stone that protruded outwards just enough for Andres to shimmy towards an entry point. As he shimmied towards a window, he readied his laser glass cutter but he'd soon realise that there was no need. Surprisingly, the window he was now standing under was left open.

  Maybe henchmen are as dumb in real life as they are in games.

  That thought caused a smile to cross his face before he looked up into the entry point. He put away the cutter and took out a mechanical fly to survey the situation he was about to enter. Once again, he was left with a sense of anxiousness as he confirmed that there was not a single guard in the corridor.

  The slight anxiousness would only strengthen as he delved deeper into the fortress. The briefing he received stated that the complex was teeming with personnel and it would be a challenge to stay covert. Yet, Andres had already been here for more than fifteen minutes without seeing a single soul. Either the intel was wrong, which was highly unlikely, or this was a trap. Maybe it would've been best had Andres retreated and called this in. However, he was not about to let his chance to prove himself go by the wayside.

  Still, each step further into the mountainous complex only served to raise his guard even more. As he passed through apparent common areas, he noted how chairs were overturned and files upon files had been strewn about. If he didn't know any better, he'd assume beat him to the rescue attempt. Unfortunately, the truth would not be so kind.

  After an hour of exploring the base, the first sounds of other life floated to Andres' ears. The click clacking of a keyboard and the faint muttering of someone...familiar. Following the sound, Andres stepped inside what he immediately identified as the control room and he was greeted by a scene that perplexed him. There was his mentor, Jack Drake, typing away at a keyboard in front of a huge monitor. Though instead of downloading intel and planning an escape route as Andres imagined, Drake was uploading information about G.A.M.E. to a backup server.