WARZONE - König

10

Nadja, with her shoulder still sore and stiff with movement, leads the way out onto the streets as Konig follows close behind. He makes sure to keep a keen eye on her, never wanting to lose sight again.

The night grew on, the sun soon to rise in a few hours. But the pair took advantage of the darkness, knowing it would help conceal them during their infiltration of the golden building.

But as the pair pass the corpses they left only a few hours ago, Nadja just so happens to glance down, where the dim streetlamp lit the bodies just enough that she could spot a familiar patch. She halts, looking down with saddened eyes as she recognizes the body to be the young boy she spared in the beginning of their journey.

Her stomach churned with unease, a sour feeling in her jaw as she clenched it tight, forcing her eyes ahead and continuing on. Konig had no idea what she'd just seen, but he could tell clear in her demeanors change that she was bothered. He walks closer after her sudden halt and continues alongside her.

Glancing over, not wanting to disturb, he notices her expression. He was correct to assume something was wrong. He'd spent long enough watching people from a distance to recognize someone's thoughts by the look in their eye alone, and she seemed deeply disturbed. The mission was getting to her, which was something he struggled to comprehend.

He was accustomed to being alone and doing what it took to complete his mission, so the concept of genuine passion baffled him. Yet, despite the mental training he put himself through to block off that same passion she held; a deeper feeling began to rise as he looked to his comrade. He was confused yet intrigued by this sentiment he felt towards her.

The pair came to a standstill as they now stood across the street from their target location. Nadja stared towards the top where there seemed to be a penthouse. She pulled her rifle up, her lip curling as she winced in pain from her shoulder, bringing the scope over her eye as she watched through the windows. It was dark enough that the reflective glass should be see-through, especially if any lights were on inside. And to her satisfaction, slight movement was spotted inside.

She drops the rifle, throwing the sling over her shoulder and pulling out her carton of cigarettes. "Movement up top." She says, pulling out the second-to-last cigarette, cupping her hand around the tip as she lit it. "Let's try to move fast." She says, a huff of smoke following her words.

Konig watched as she pulled the cancer stick from between her chapped lips, her eyes cold as she kept them glued to the building. He was shocked at her resolve, to recover so quickly after getting shot, or at least to conceal her pain so well. She was much stronger than the day he met her, but with that strength came a change in her personality.

He understood more than anyone that war changed a person, that mental scar left from battle was a deep trauma that was hard to recover from. He just hoped that upon finally rescuing those hostages, her bubbly, talkative personality would return. Though he avoided people like her most of his life, she was special, and he didn't want such a compassionate soul to be lost in this battle.

Clutching the shotgun in his right hand as if it were weightless, he nodded his head as she dropped the cigarette, moving forward together with haste as they approach the entrance of the building. They tucked themselves to either side of the glass doors, Konig quickly peaking inside before reaching his hand across and pushing the door open where Nadja took lead, aiming and checking the first level. It was dark, the lights all cut out, but the building was relatively cleaner than the others they've visited, aside from boot tracks staining the smooth floor; a clear sign of the enemy's presence.

Konig was tight behind her and watching her six as they progressed forward, locating the stairwell and entering quietly. Using their flashlights, they rush up the stairs, where along the way Nadja slows as she spots a bloodied handprint smeared along the railing, a few droplets following up a few of the steps before disappearing. She reaches forward, touching the blood with her gloved hand, noting it was fresh.

Her brows furrowed with determination as she aimed ahead, the flashlight lighting their way as they hurried onwards. But just as they reached the halfway point of the 38-story building, just at the 20th floor, through the door Nadja heard movement beyond it. She stops, looking to Konig as they nod to one another with a mutual understanding, flicking their lights off.

Nadja places her ear to the door as Konig stands just aside her, ready to attack, where inside she hears scuffling but no voices. She looks away, meeting eyes with Konig as she pulls her AK up. He got caught in her eyes for a moment, relieved to see the spark of life in them still. She finally broke away, bursting the door open as Konig charged in. But to his surprise, several armed AQ's stood ready and aimed surrounding the door.

Typically, this would be no problem for the mountain man, but he was caught completely off guard as a tripwire was immediately triggered before he could even react, setting off a controlled explosion and sending him into a haze, blowing him back and knocking Nadja over along the way as the last thing she saw was her comrades giant body flying back towards her. And before she knew it, they hit the wall and were tumbling down the case of stairs.