Catching Phoenix: Renegades MC Story

30

It wasn't a secret that I got off on killing the bad guys, hell it was what I was trained to do and was damn good at it.   But when the bad guy was one of our own it held a whole different meaning.  Now eight years into my military career, six of these bastards have perished by my hand, some of who I actually knew...but I never regretted my actions regardless if they were direct orders that I couldn't ignore. Hell, I was happy to do my duty and protect the men and woman who bravely serve their country. 

Even if it was from their fellow soldier.

But I could help but notice, each time it got more difficult.   Each time another black mark scaring my soul.  

Now was another one of those times. But this one...well this one came as a bit of a shock. Sargent Edward Kilb was one of the good ones, or so we thought. He was what one considered a true soldier, he was here to do a job; he was here because it was what he was meant to do. A true patriot. A hero. A friend. 

Or so we thought.

It seems that the man I was looking at through my scope was not the man we all thought he was. Apparently he wore a mask. A damn good one. And if fooled everyone, including me. Kilb was a good man, funny as shit and a hell of a poker player. I guess that should have tipped me off but you never expect one of your own to turn on you.

Money. Greed. Power

It was all the same. A soldier gets bitter about some petty shit that went down wrong. The anger festers and grows. And instead of dealing with it and moving on it morphs into something else...something twisted.  Something darker.

And that was why after all these years I had another traitor in my sights.  It seemed like more and more were popping up and there wasn't anyway to stop it.   I didn't understand it.   Good men betraying their own for nothing but a pile of green paper.   Who does that shit? 

A bastard that thought to make a profit off of dead soldiers...

A bastard that turned their backs on the country they pledged to protect...

Shit, nothing made sense anymore.   I was trained to fight the enemy not my own fellow men.   I hated this and as I watched Kilb make his deal...I hated that our Intel was correct.   Here was a good man, a man that joked around and made others laugh.   A man who had a wife and a little girl at home waiting for him.   A man who made several wrong decisions that ended up putting him on the other end of my rifle.  

Fuck.

"Barnes...take the shot once you have the target in your crosshairs. The perimeter is secured. Try not to kill him, the Coronel wants answers."

Not answering I listened to my men as they confirmed their positions. We all watched as Kilb made the deal and the money exchanged hands. His team, who were oblivious to his dealings, as they were all intercepted by my men. They had no idea what was going down or that their commanding officers was about to sell them out for money.   They had no idea that the man the looked up to, respected and followed just sold out to the terrorists.   

And I hated all of that...every fucking thing about this whole fucked up situation.   But I had my orders, I had my duty.   More soldier lives cannot be lost because of the almighty dollar.   Not on my watch.   

I waited for the bastard to pocket the money before I flexed my finger.

Again, following orders the shot incapacitated him but did not kill him.   The body dropped and the men moved in.

Number seven...mission accomplished.

Great...just fucking great.