Back to business

You were out of things today to do. Amari made it plain and clear that you weren’t going to be active until A) her product could be moved and B) someone was available to move it.

Once she announced that, she paid everyone. Scarlet was paid a sum, but it seemed light compared to what you and Kenji got. Alexandra didn’t get anything, and neither did Flora, but they were exceptional cases, you suppose, so you weren’t going to put too much thought into it.

Christmas came and went. Flora dove deep into her books, and Scarlet slept for most of the day. Kenji kept to himself, and Amari ran off with Alexandra.

Snowstorms followed after Christmas and buried the town in a couple of feet of snow. Temperatures dipped into the negatives and made doing even the simplest of tasks a pain. Taking out the garbage, going out to town (where you didn’t ever run into Delilah, thank God.), or anything that involves going outside.

Amari sent you and Scarlet out a few times to scout out different parts of the area for any unusual activity, but you always came back cold and empty-handed. Sometimes it felt like she was sending you out just to you out of the house, but you were dying to get out of the house anyway, so why complain?

Did all that time down south make you soft? You wondered that as you sipped on your morning coffee. The morning was still dark. It still wasn’t yet 6 AM, but you expected the sky to be changing color. Behind you, the others shuffled and offered early morning conversations. Everyone seemed to be in a chipper mood until you noticed Scarlet staring at you. “What?”

“Nothing,” she takes her gaze away from you. She looked angry again, but you haven’t given her a reason to be upset with you—goddamn women.

Your attention is now given to the entirety of the table. “So, what’s the plan for today?”

Amari smirks. “I actually might something exciting for three special volunteers.”

“Count me in,” Alexandra says.

“I’m in,” you say. The table is silent, but Scarlet is leaning in. She’s your partner, after all.

“Alex,” Amari says. “You remember Jordan?”

Jordan sounds familiar, but it isn’t enough to get you to remember who he is. “Jordan…Jordan…Jordan…?”

“Jordan?” Alexandra says.

“That’s Jordyn with a ‘Y.’” Amari follows.

“Oh. Yes. Yes, I remember Jordyn.”

“She’s doing a delivery with her caravan soon. Winter run, so it’s heavy on ARS products. Specifically, the product from my inspection of last summer.”

“AK’s? M16’s…?”

“High-end SKS’s from Albania,” Amari makes a face. “Our clients don’t matter, though. I need you 3 to make sure it’s delivered and signed for. I also have a box of parts that I need to be dropped off.”

“When are you sending us out?” You ask.

“Tomorrow morning,” Amari says. “That gives you an ample amount of time to get ready. Bring one of our clean M16A1s for the journey and flaunt its abilities.”

More discussion unfolds to the table, but no one other than the 4 of you talks. Finally, Flora and Kenji talk amongst themselves in the living room.

When everyone disbands, you return to your rooms and pack. You're given a white poncho, winter boots, and thick clothing, among other survival gear. Before noon, you’re told that Kenji will go with you some of the ways so he can take the horses back.

All that goes through your mind is that you’re happy to have given all your rest. You know this will be a major operation because of the conditions outside. It excites you but also worries you. You never intended to work in the dead of winter, but you’re heading out in the coldest environment you’ve ever experienced, let alone worked in.

You were checking off your list to ensure you had everything accounted for. Eventually, someone comes knocking on your door. When you answer it, it’s both Scarlet and Alexandra. Both of the girls are dressed down, more or less at least. Dark jeans, black shirts, no pistol belts or gear attached.

Scarlet steps inside after waving a map in her hand. “Let’s go over the finer details about our mission.”

Alexandra follows her inside. She looks sharper than usual, but the girls have a reason to be. You make space on your dresser for the map and stand beside Scarlet let as she unravels it. It’s a map of the area, as you expected, but there are a lot of boxed notes in red markers and circles of sites.

Scarlet points to a spot highlighted somewhere a fair distance from “Victor’s Valley,” where Tiny’s Tavern was. “Oh, shit.” You think.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Scarlet says, studying the map. “But, it’s nothing to worry about. It’s only about a 5-hour hike through the forest, and there isn’t really anything out there to be scared about. There was a group of raiders operating the area at one point, but they aren’t organized enough to be active during the winter.”

Alexandra perks and exhales. “If we bump into any creeps, we’ll have to avoid them.”

“It’ll be hard hauling all of our shit in the snow,” you comment. “Not to mention, not all of us are familiar with the environment.”

“No one will be familiar with the environment,” Scarlet snaps at you. “This trail we’re using is on no other maps. As far as the world knows, this place we’re going to doesn’t even exist. You think Amari is stupid or something?”

“I didn’t say that,” you say. “I’m just stating that it sounds like none of us have worked on this side of America.”

Alexandra surprisingly supports your statement, but Scarlet disregards this and says she’s worked this far north before. Neither you nor Alexandra wants to put up an argument, so you let Scarlet continue to go into detail.

Nothing is fuzzy to you, and everything she says is crystal clear. Of course, there aren’t any questions, but you didn’t want her to snap at you even if you had anything to ask. You decide to interact with Alexandra and Scarlet for the rest of the day, which goes well.

…

…

The morning is as dark as it was yesterday; perhaps it was colder, too? You’re bundled head-to-toe with winter protection. The elements bite harmlessly against your gloves, hat, and coat. Plumes of steam escape the loose barriers of your scarf as you ride out of town. No one is super talkative, but you would have been more surprised if any of them spoke.

Off the horses, you hike through a supposed path. Scarlet takes a point from there and guides through the snow. It’s exhausting work, and it’s impossible not to sweat. You aren’t sure when you started panting, but you realized that this would become dangerous for you with how much you were sweating.

“Scarlet,” you heaved. “Cotten kills.”

“What?” she says.

“I either need to change or take a break to dry off!”

“Same!” Alexandra says, nearly 12 feet behind you.

“God damnit.” Scarlet clears some snow from the ground and drops her load there. “Fuck. I’m tired too. Should we eat?”

“Too soon,” you sigh. “Maybe a snack- something light to get us energized?”

Alexandra checks her watch. “We can travel for another hour before we get a meal going.”

You lean against a tree and rest your head against it, taking off your pack before finding a spot to relieve yourself. A stream of hot piss arches down into a pile of fresh snow. It turns yellow and emits a gentle trail of steam. The unraveling of wrappers comes from behind you as the girls begin to talk.

“Warren!” Scarlet says. “How much water did you have to drink?”

You glance down, your piss still coming out hot. You exhale, praying to God you aren’t getting your pee all over your trousers and leather toes. “Enough for me to keep going for the two hours. You know it isn’t good for you to hold in pee, by the way? It makes your muscles weak, so when you’re older, you can’t hold your bladder.”

Scarlet giggles, her mouth partly full when she replies. “Maybe that’s why Alex peed all over you.”

You snicker, tucking yourself back into your pants. “Is that true, Alexandra?”

“No,” Alexandra says. “You know where I stand in that. We played that stupid bottle spinning game.”

For some reason, that feels like that was forever ago. The blue, clear sky above reflects the sunlight onto your face. It feels warm, but the landscape is so cold you can’t quite imagine warm weather. The thought is queer and makes you kind of sad.

You regroup and sit down with the girls. Fallen logs provide makeshift chairs for you to use. “What do I need to know about Jordyn? Does she have a male complex?”

“Jordyn is a short blonde girl with a husband. So, sorry Warren, you can’t stick your dick in her with her husband shooting your pecker off.” Alexandra wipes her nose and scowls, cursing the snow, and a line of snot follows her gloved index finger. “She… she doesn’t mean anything. Amari knows her as a smuggler, but… Smugglers are smugglers, you know? They go in, and they come back out. Quick, easy, clean.”

“What’s her role, though?” You ask.

“She acts like a spokeswoman for this unit of smugglers this far north, but her husband calls the shots and organizes everything. He’s more interesting. His name is…What was his name?”

“Never learned his name,” Scarlet sighs. “His contractor name was Logic.”

“Oo spooky. Fucking weirdos. Contractors, that go by codenames and shit, what the fuck is that supposed to do even? Everyone knows your fucking faces, so why the alias?” Alexandra throws a wrapper down and swallows.

“Can’t back trace your background. You stray far enough from home your surname becomes a tool against you,” Scarlet looks at you. “You think you still have a family back home for you, Heer Visser?”

“That experience talking?” You ask back.

Scarlet shrugs. “It’s something talking.” Her gaze returns to Alexandra. “Maybe Logic has a family he cares about and doesn’t want to get anyone uninvolved clipped while he’s away. Russians, Japanese, Americans- you offend anyone enough. They tend to dig into their resources to get payback, no matter the form.”

Scarlet stows away her wrapper back into her pack and picks it back up. “We need to stay on the move. There’s no telling what’s out there. And the sooner we get to Jordyn, the sooner we get to have a place to sleep.”

Alexandra mumbles and grabs her pack, and you do that same, falling back to the same order as you were before you stopped. Scarlet upfront, you in the middle, and Alexandra slowly falling behind.

…

…

When the first shot cracked out, you had just finished packing away your mess kit. There was a brief scramble for cover and then silence. In the distance, there was yelling, shouting, and a gunfight that broke loose.

Cloud cover came in and covered the sun. In the unfamiliar forest, there were shadows behind every tree and sounds from every inch of the ground. The M16 you held onto blended poorly into the snow, wishing you had taken the time to wrap it in white cloth like Scarlet had done to her before she left the house.

“That fire is out, right?” Scarlet said, glancing back. Her blonde hair tucked securely into her hat.

“Buried in 5 inches of snow,” you reply. “Alexandra, you’re alone back there, so keep a close eye on our rear.”

“This isn’t my fire gunfight.”

“It is in snow, though.” Scarlet slithered off like a snake in wool clothes. “Warren, break further left and see if you can see anything off that ridge.”

The firefight increased, and brutal thumbs shook the ground. Grenades? You fixed your scarf over your nose and carefully peeked over the ridge. Figures dotted the floor beneath you, some unmoving while the others were scrambling. Orange muzzle flashes blink in and out of view while white clouds of explosions thump. They’re only about 40 feet away, but no one has spotted you.

You whistle and announce you’ve found the source of the fighting. The girls quickly regroup with you and fall into the snow, poking their heads over to spy on the fight with you.

“Fuck it all! ” Alexandra moans. “They’re too far to see any details. Who’s doing the shooting?!”

“We’re not far from where we’re supposed to be. It could be Logic’s group,” Scarlet says. “But, fighting… Jesus… Can’t be a good sign.”

Something loud booms into the air, and someone cries out below. A few more bangs and pops follow after that. From where you’re watching, you see two people escape on the opposite side of the combat area, where all the fighting was. Seven figures dance and jump around in craters, shouting orders and barking names.

Scarlet shakes her head. “That has to be Logic’s group.” She looks at you and tells you to get involved.

“Why me?”

“No offense, and I mean this in the most sincere way possible, but you’re new, and you don’t have much importance. You’re expendable.” Scarlet looks sincere too, but you still didn’t want to get shot. “If you get shot, we’ll support you. Regardless of whoever it is.”

“Just get the bags ready. I’ll haul ass over tea kettle as soon as the first shot breaks, though. You got that?”

Scarlet nods, and you lead yourself down the ridge.

All that goes through your mind is how stupid this is. As the voices become apparent, you can only be thankful enough that you can understand them. English speakers, which on its own is a good sign when you’re this far into the unknown.

You slide into a snowed-in ditch and land beside a dead body. It looks like he was thrown in by a grenade. His ankles are twisted, and the **** of the explosion disarmed him. He has scrap metal arms around his arms and chest, giving him a patchwork appearance. There’s no doubt he was a raider of some kind. Better outfitted than some of the groups, but still not trained. After making positive he was dead, you poked your head up and announced your presence to the victors of the battle.

The cracking of a rifle round claps the air and a bullet whistles past your head and punches through a tree. You fall back into the ditch with your hands jerked upward. “I’m friendly! Friendly God damnit! Friendly!”

“I’m not familiar with anyone named Friendly. How many of you are left down there?” A man’s voice calls out.

“At the moment, I’m alone. But there is a dead body down here. He isn’t my outfit, though.” You swallow. “Are you familiar with the names Jordyn? Or how about Logic?”

A calm conversation splits between the man and two of the others. “How do you know Logic?”

“I’m with a trading company. Automatic Rifle Syndicate, right? He’s got a delivery that needs to be confirmed and signed.”

“Logic is dead,” another voice replies. It’s a girl's voice this time. “He’s been dead for over two months.”

“I’m sorry to hear,” you say, now feeling a little awkward. “Who’s in charge then?”

“I am. I am in charge of the remainder of the branch.” The same girl says. “I’m Jordyn. Come out so I can look at you.”

There are four people with guns. You figure the other three are watching you or sweeping the area. “What’s your name, Friendly?”

“Warren Visser.”

“Where’s Amari?”

“Proxy group,” you say. “I came with two girls. Scarlet and Alexandra.”

Jordyn lowers her rifle. Her face is framed by winter clothes and a heavy scarf. A pair of light green eyes study you. She looks around and hangs her rifle with her sling. “I almost took your head off, Warren. I’m sorry.”

“No harm, no foul.”

Her eyes wrinkle, indicating a smile. “Where are Scarlet and Alexandra?”

“Upon the ridge. We heard the firefight and watched the tail end of that.”

“Are they armed?”

“They’re hidden too. Wearing white unlike ya’ll.”

“Call them out, so my guys don’t shoot them,” Jordyn flinches and turns to the person to her right. “Finnegan, look alive and round up the gear.”

You wave at the ridge. 2 faint figures in white stand up and wave back.

“Finnegan will take care of the rest. You want to wait in the cold, or do you want to head back with me?” Jordyn offers, bending over to grab a spent piece of brass.