A Stealth Mission

A/N: Just wanted to mention that I will be doing something new with this chapter: an Anonymous POV. You will see why and what to call her soon enough but this will help set the stage for several future developments so I hope you like it. And if so, please review.

??? POV

You watched with your binoculars up the damaged balcony, taking your eyes from the purple X flare to look down at the combat medic. She was clearly in alert from the back of the pick-up truck, scanning the streets for any sign of walker activity with her sniper rifle in hand as they drove away. And you had to admit, even if you hadn't been able to shadow her team to the supermarket just in time to see her take out over 20 zombies with skill and grit, you would not have regarded Sergeant Zhang as someone to take lightly in a fight. She had certainly been in more than her fair share of scraps.

Still, that is a potential issue for later. Right now, you have a report to make. And so, you grabbed your high-quality radio that was capable of reaching your contact almost 50 miles away, outside of the city itself.

Then, you made sure NOT to select the radio frequency that you were able to tell that the combat medic had been using to communicate with the other teams from her group; knowing that your contact had more than enough radios preset into a wide variety of different frequencies, so you had no problem believing that your voice will be heard all the way there, even with the change since your last transmission.

Still, even with your encryption key, your employer only allowed you to speak freely and in-depth for the first minute of the message before asking you to switch back into code, since they didn't want to risk someone else eavesdropping on their transmission by random chance. So, you mentally prepared for that part. Again…

Sighing, you rose from your chair, your breasts bouncing a little as you did so. And after one last look of curiosity at the ambulance being escorted past the block, you spoke your callsign into the device. "This is Thunderbird speaking and ready to report, over." You said, knowing that both your voice and that of you patron will be distorted by the voice modulator as an extra layer of precaution.

In just a few seconds, you heard a response.

"I read you, Thunderbird, this is Sibylline speaking. Is it done, over?" Your employers asked without further preamble.

"It is," You confirmed as you remembered the extent of your high-risk stealth mission these past few days. "After using the data that you gathered from your own intelligence sources, I was able to catch up with the Special Forces Squad that you had me looking for. They got into a huge fight with a large horde of over a thousand zombies after they ambushed them from higher ground. Curiously enough, they were assisted by a group of highly skilled archers that happened to be nearby. I hadn't been able to identify them yet, but I am going to assume that they were going to compete in that international archery competition before this madness started and got themselves stranded in San Diego."

"But yes, I managed to separate the tallest one of those soldiers from the rest of her squad." You went on. "There was a...sudden...complication afterwards," You said vaguely, knowing that you didn't have much time left in the encryption and that you didn't have time to elaborate. "But I took care of it. And as planned, I found a family of doctors that could care for her until I waited for the opportunity to present itself. And it did the next day, when their combat medic showed up at a nearby supermarket. As expected, with Zhang's injured companion in tow, the doctors were able to talk their way into being accepted by the group you were trying to find. They are heading back to their building, wherever that is, over."

"Excellent work, Thunderbird," The distorted voice replied, making it impossible to discern its true emotional state from sound alone. "Then, as promised, half of your debt to me is cleared. But are you ready to go the whole way once the cloaked drone follows their cars to discover their location, over?"

You pursed your lips in distaste, the feeling the unspoken connotations echo in the air. But there was too much at stake at this point to say no, especially now that you were so close.

"I am," You assured your benefactor. "I will infiltrate their group by using my connection to the doctors and showing off my combat skills against these zombies. Then, I will find Karlsson, as requested. Any advice before I go, over?" You added, aware that you had less than 20 seconds left to speak without fear of being overheard.

"Yes," Your employer responded, with...was that hunger in their voice? "I understand there is an...invaluable treasure in that building. It's probably in the hands of that double-crossing spy, Natasha. So, do what you need to do to ingratiate yourself to the group so that you can more easily get it for me."

You blinked in confusion. That's the first you have heard of this extra mission.

"And this treasure would be...?" You pressed.

"Something that could make sure we expand immensely while simultaneously securing a more stable future for our group, if the intel is right," The modified voice said. "It was contained inside a small wooden crate a few miles from your position after the last person I sent to retrieve it got, unfortunately, eaten. And while Natasha was spotted by my cloaked drone on the move during a stealth run all by her lonesome, I have reason to believe that one of her neighbors, a young man named Michael, may know something about its this box's whereabouts and the treasure within. Do whatever you need to do to get him to tell you about it. And if you succeed, I will not only clear the rest of your debt and return your collateral, but also ensure you get a special spot on the Grand Bunker, with a full year’s worth of food rations and drinking water as a reward for you, over."

Your eyes widened at the offer. Your boss must REALLY want that box. But the encryption time just expired, so you kept it brief, "Then I will do my best to finish both jobs. Awaiting the building's location before heading out. Thunderbird out."

And with that, silence resumed to the balcony leaving you alone with your thoughts. You looked down at the burnt marks where the lightning that hit the cactus right next that Kristen Vanders, and scratched your chin, wondering about so many things as the wind buffeted your long, blonde hair.

"Well, it looks like you are not the only priority target of interest on my agenda anymore, Karlsson." You murmured.

Then you shrugged. If Natasha wasn't in the apartment complex for some reason, it would be way easier to take a look around for this boxed up treasure and start asking questions. And all you would probably have to do was seduce a young man who probably hadn't gotten laid since all this chaos started.

You smirked at the thought as you moved to grab your trusty boar hunting spear from the floor that had served you so well against walkers due to its design.

"This will be worth the extra effort if I can pull it off, considering the rewards in store," You chuckled. "Time to hunt."

A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed the mystery and the implications in this one. Regardless, now that this set up is done, we will go back to Team One/Lion in the next chapter as they continue in their preparation to save Laurel's sisters from the gang. Which means the climax of the Story Arc One: If you Want Peace, Prepare for Survival is approaching...after which it will be celebration time at the base for an excellent day's work :D

Thanks for reading and until next time.