//------------------------------//
// Chapter 22: Tread Lightly 
// Story: Metro: Retribution 
// by RF and AG 
//------------------------------//


So far everything has gone according to how I planned it. No major hitches yet, but how long until we finally come across something that won’t go along with what we have planned?




Tread Lightly





~~~~~


(Six hours after leaving Ostia)




Perspective: Artyom





        So in the end, I caught roughly a few hours worth of sleep, but most of the flight was just the three of us sitting in a mostly enclosed box while we flew above the ground. I was lucky that I didn’t need my filters, but that didn’t mean I liked the flying … Though, honestly it wasn’t as bad as it seemed at first, or compared to the one time a Demon picked me up. That was horrifying to experience, while this was calm and rather easy to enjoy. Thankfully I hadn’t been cursed with a fear of heights, like many of those in the Metro. 

Instead I was cursed with living in a unknown and completely crazy world. Honestly, I think I would have taken a fear of heights over this any day. 

For the rest of the trip that didn’t involve me sleeping, I sat at the end of the carriage, listening to the silent whistling of the air rushing by. I had been keeping track of how long it had been since we left, mainly because I had nothing else to do and I really didn’t feel like talking. One thing that I did do, during the trip was get Shining to recharge the empty filter I had used right off the bat. When that one had run out, in between switching filters I realised that I could actually breathe a little bit normally. Sure I gave a cough here and there, and I took deeper breaths then normal but it was easier to suffer through that small bit of discomfort than having Shining constantly refill filters. 

As we approached the six hour mark of the trip, the I watched the sun slowly sink below the horizon, even though I couldn’t directly see it. It was at this moment that Quintus decided to speak for the first time the entire trip. Yeah, it had been that quiet. 

“We are almost there, Prince Armor and Artyom. When we land, I will exit first and talk to Legate Varstag who should be meeting us at the landing zone. From there, please try to stay close. The Legionnaires will most likely not look towards you with kindness, Artyom,” Quintus informed. 

I just nodded my head, while Shining just gave a casual, “Okay.” Quintus smiled at that, and probably had the first honest smile since I saw him. Not like I could tell, mind you, but it still seemed genuine compared to all the others. 

“Legate Varstag will brief us on the current situation, and then give you two your gryphon detail to take into Usaaly,” Quintus continued at first but was stopped by Shining.

“Detail? You’re going to send more troops with us?”

“Indeed, Prince Armor,” Quintus said with a smirk, “we can’t risk you running away or doing something as foolish as joining the enemy.”

I think Shining’s brain broke at that accusation and instead of coming up with a quick reply, all he did was stare and Quintus with a look of complete shock on his face. At first it was comical to watch but eventually something needed to be said to Quintus.

“If enemy is who you say, then no need to worry.” My first words of the trip actually broke Shining out of his shock. He didn’t immediately say anything, instead opting to glare at Quintus for his suggestion.

“I only kid!” Quintus exclaimed with an added chuckle. “Though we always meant to send escorts with you, they are meant to be backup and not your guards.”

Neither Shining or I replied to that statement. I honestly cared little as long as they didn’t deviate from my methods. Shining on the other hand … I couldn’t tell what he was thinking but from the glare that his eyes were giving Quintus, I could tell that he didn’t like the idea of having others come with us. More numbers do slow down a small infiltration group, but four tends to be a reasonable amount. Of course I had never worked in a scouting group larger than two, especially when moving through enemy territory as part of a recon operation. 

Either way, as long as things went like I expected them to, then I wouldn’t have to worry about a Major, or whatever they called that rank, coming down on me for getting his soldier killed. Honestly, I had seen multiple Rangers die during a routine mission, but not once did I have to do the explaining. No, I was just the expert assigned to a group, never the commanding officer of one. 

I think Quintus was about to add something, when the flying carriage slowly shifted its front down towards the ground. It would seem that we were approaching the town, or the outskirts, at least. Six hours … hmm, not bad at all. Though for the life of me, I couldn’t help but think that there were quicker ways. Perhaps a train like the one I rode to the Crystal Empire. That didn’t matter. In fact, I hardly cared past the minor thought. All that mattered was that we were finally nearing Usaaly and I could actually stretch out my legs. 

So we continued to descend, and descend, and descend. I guess we weren’t that close to the town after all. I couldn’t really be the judge of that though, since I had never flown, nor could I fly myself. According to Quintus, these flyers were some of the best, so I actually placed a little trust that they knew what they were doing. 

After what felt like an hour of going slowly downwards, the carriage finally bounced a small bit as it touched the sweet, sweet ground. I wouldn’t go as far to say that I missed it but one thing was for sure: flying was not for me. I couldn’t directly control what was happening up in the air, so hopefully I wouldn’t need to do that again. 

It didn’t matter. The moment that the carriage wheels were on the ground, I was already muttering my thanks for finally being allowed to stand on solid ground again. Although, I wasn’t let out right away. I was made to wait as the carriage proceeded to move in the way it was designed for … with its wheels on the ground. 

So I patiently waited for the carriage to finally stop, eager to exit the forsaken vehicle. Once more I was denied my immediate exit. Instead, Quintus told both of us to stay in the carriage until he said we could exit. Probably had to pull rank on more than a few gryphons that would prefer to watch me burn instead of letting me help them. Not something I could blame them for.

On the descent, I made sure to have my mask on and a filter ready, as well as my watch set for five minutes. So Shining and I sat in the carriage, waiting for Quintus’ word that we could leave. He looked calm, which was good. I couldn’t have a nervous wreck on this type of mission; it would only lead to his death. He looked over to me, but I didn’t reply in anyway; I already had my quiet demeanor set and ready for my exit―one I had perfected so as to not give anything away to those I couldn’t trust. 

“Prince Armor, you and Artyom may exit now,” Quintus said as he poked his head into the carriage to inform us. I didn’t hear him speaking to anyone before that, which either meant he was up to his sneaky ways or they had walked a distance from the carriage. 

Shining nodded before getting up from his seat and casually walking to the edge of the carriage before hopping off, all in a single moment. He probably had disembarked such a vehicle before. I on the other hand took a little bit to get on my feet and slowly move to the gap. I knew that the moment I hopped out of the carriage, all eyes would be on me. I would have to stow my trigger finger for now, and instead opt to not put a bullet into anyone that raised a weapon to me.

I was right about being the center of the spotlight among the camp. Whatever conversations that had been happening, prior to my departure from the enclosed carriage, had ceased and everyone was looking at me. Fun, fun, fun. Gryphons giving me evil looks all over the place, a few with open mouths and even some that were nearly shaking in rage.

Honestly I didn’t care too much, it wasn’t the first time. Instead of paying attention to them, I surveyed what I could with the fading light. Which was not much, as the light was nearly gone behind the mountain that was apart of Ostia. I saw a few dozen rows of tents as well as gryphons moving among them. There was probably more, but I didn’t feel like taking out my Night Vision Goggles just to see them, it would just be a waste of time. 

“Follow me,” Quintus said before marching off in the opposite direction of the setting sun. I turned to follow them, spying the city that was a few kilometers away. I couldn’t see too much from here, but there was no doubt that a sniper was in that tower. He would need to die. 

“I’m going to brief you on the go,” Quintus said just as two guards sidled up beside Shining and I, who were walking side by side as it was. I glanced over the one on my left and I was a little impressed. He didn’t look like a typical guard, instead having an air of specialty around him. Perhaps he could be of some use. 

I took a moment to look at our two added companions, and they looked like a typical gryphon to me. Dark feathers, and almost grey fur from what I could actually see of both of them. Their armor covered most of their bodies, and thankfully it looked closer to Shining’s dark armor that he had worn and was still wearing. It wouldn’t do any good against a bullet but at least it wasn’t going to give off our positions, the metal looked the farthest thing from shiny.

“You’ll have free reign of the operation when you exit the camp but your ‘escort’ will make sure you don’t leave. Learn their names or don’t, it isn’t my job,” Quintus said nonchalantly all the while leading us towards a section that was guarded by wooden towers, most likely the exit. “Once you have successfully scouted the defenses, make your way back and we will take you back to Ostia. Understood?”

“Да,” I replied, causing a few gryphons to turn to my voice. They’ve probably heard a few things in Russian. Who knows … 

“Well then, here you go,” Quintus said as he waved his arm forward towards the exit. The exit that was flanked by those towers and a wall of wooden spikes, a nice touch if I had to say so. 

I simply nodded at him before unslinging my weapon and walking towards the hills to the north of the city. The others joined behind me, probably a little curious as to where I was going. I was a little worried myself, though I noticed a nice little foothill maybe a hundred meters ahead that seemed to stretch around the entire city, and even lead to the small hill to the east of the city. Hopefully we could follow that hill all the way to the city. 

I picked up my speed a little bit, to a light jog until we actually reached the base of the small foothill, and hoped we couldn’t see the city from behind it. Not always did the saying ‘if I can’t see you, you can’t see me’ work but in this case it did, and it would work to our advantage. I noticed one thing, though. One of the gryphons that was tagging along with us was hovering in the air―that had to stop. 

“No flying,” I said as I turned to them. They looked confused at first, but I answered their question before they asked it. “Using hill as cover.”

They nodded in response to my answer, the one that was hovering touched down shortly after. Well for now, everything was going according to my, completely made up on the run, plan. As long as things kept looking positive, we would be able to get in and out of the city without a single issue. Of course, I’m not going to invoke bad luck by jinxing us. Too many failed to heed that in the Metro and never returned. 

We kept low and made sure as hell we were under the crest of the hill. It would do us no good to have the top of our heads sticking out. The speed of our movement wasn’t the quickest I could hope for, but I had to make sure that they kept up without drawing our attention. Shining was the one I was most worried about, what with his hooves but if he could stay quiet in the crystal tunnels than we would be just fine along grass. 

By the time we reached the part of the city that looked the most promising to access, night had fallen and we would have a much easier time sneaking. If my guess was right, not every soldier would have night vision, and that could only work in my favour. 

The biggest problem would be dealing with patrols, and whether or not we should take them out. Normally it would be all too easy to remove remove a small patrol, placing the bodies in a hidden nook before moving on. Here though it would be beyond tough, too much open space and carrying them would be the biggest factors. As well as the heightened security but that was always factored in. 

As I peaked above the ridge with the small scope on my Kalash, I could see a few patrols around outskirts, staying closer to houses than anything. They would most likely have the same issue as I did: clean, breathable air. 

The sniper, that I figured was up in that taller building which only had a single window facing us, was not looking our way as best as I could tell. It almost made me want to dash across the open field at that moment, not giving them time to correct that mistake.

At the same time, I knew I was leading a small group so they had to be in on the plan. The burden of leadership.

“Move across field when I say,” I said as I crouched in front of them. “Stay low and tight. Silent kill if need to, hide body quickly. No trail left behind.”

They nodded silently, Shining shivering a little. Don’t pussy out on me now, you would be no good to me dead. I peeked over the ridge slowly before quickly ducking down, hiding once more behind the hill. The sniper apparently had a sixth sense, and just knew when to look our way. 

My heart was beating almost out of my chest, though that was more likely due to the fact I was running out of air on this filter. So I took the brief moment to switch out filters, depositing them in second compartment of the sack I usually held them in. It was always good to keep everything sorted well; you never knew when you could fuck up because you rushed. 

I counted to thirty in my head―which was how long I would take to survey a direction before switching―then peaked back over the ridge. The window was empty and the guards were moving away from their houses and our path; go time.

I quickly scrambled up the base of the hill, making hardly a sound on the grass. Oh how I would have loved to have that for sneaking around back in the Metro.

A dead sprint was something I hadn’t done in a while, and my lungs would pay for my neglect, but right now, I just had to get to the dirt path and past the guard post. I didn’t even look back to see if the other three were still with me, and I wouldn’t until I either heard their voices or gunfire open up. 

I simply kept running straight up to the first house before a bend in the road, making my way up the small steps. I paused briefly to ensure I didn’t bowl over the door, instead openning it quietly, Kalash drawn in my other hand. 

The moment I knew that the entrance room was clear, I spun around hoping to find the other three following in my footsteps. For once I was actually right in assuming the best. All three of them had stayed almost on my heels, and thus were in the door almost as quickly as I could turn around. Thus, without hesitation, I closed the door as quietly as I opened it. 

So far we were off to a good start, and we would be able to utilize this house as a base of operations, more or less. Hopefully, we wouldn’t be too long. By that I meant more than a day or so. 

During the flight over here, I mentioned to Quintus that a recon mission like that would possibly need multiple days as to ensure we didn’t get caught, and could scout out every aspect of the town. So far tonight, we had navigated only a small portion and found out a few key things. 

First, the Reds―and yes, they were indeed of the Red Line―were restricted to houses so they could conserve filters. 

Secondly, there was in fact a sniper in that building, and if we were going to do anything, we would need to remove him. 

As the other three cleared the rest of the rooms, and ensured we were alone, I started to move to the basement, which there―thankfully―was. Once down there, I removed my mask and took a few gulps of air, just to test if we were sealed off. 

Continuing on my string of luckiness, the house was sealed and I could breath without my mask again. This also allowed me to think even clearer, for there was something about all that filtered air that made me a little hasty in my planning. 

It didn’t take the other three long before they found me in the basement, eyes closed as I stood in the center. A single light bulb was hanging from the ceiling, and no windows out … it felt like home.

“So, what next?” Shining asked, approaching me and tapping my side. 

“Next we scout,” I said anticlimactically. They wanted something devious but we weren’t going to those lengths. Our mission was not to go above and beyond and destroy the Red Line. No, we were simply here to scout positions and weaknesses. 

A small thud echoed upstairs before I could continue with what we were going to do. Instantly the group froze, while I pulled my mask on and yanked the string that would turn the light bulb on and off. A split second after we were shrouded in darkness, a faint figure appeared at the top of the stairs; leaning this way and that before eventually moving on. This was my chance to get some sort of information. I gave a small shush to the three before proceeding to move to the stairs. They tried to follow, but I immediately told them to stay. 

I crept up the stairs, thankful that they were made of concrete or stone … at least they weren’t wood. The faint light that shone in through all the windows was just enough for me to utilize to my advantage. As I cleared the hallways of the door, I focused more on listening to the surrounding noises, especially the sound of two pairs of footsteps climbing up the stairs to the second floor. 

I paused, checking to see if there was more than two, but no third set came so I at least knew what I was dealing with. 

As I made my way to the stairs, creeping as silently as I could, voices spoke up from above.

“Вы слышали? Сергей подстрелил очередного кто пытался пролететь мимо,” One voice said.

“Ублюдок, повезло в башне. Он получил все хорошие шансы! Они даже дали ему пайки и охранников у дверей. Видимо, только Корбут может войти ...” came the reply.

“Скоро будет наш шанс, не волнуйся! Мы отправимся как только эти чёртовы птицы начнут делать патроны. Хоть у них численное превосходство, мы Красная Линия! Если Рейнджеры не смогли остановить нас, никто не может!”

Well at least my suspicions were indeed confirmed. The two took a minute break in the conversation but all the racket they were creating from searching the rooms gave me leeway in my movement speed. The wood underneath me thankfully failed to groan as I stepped slowly onto the landing of the second floor. 

I could have nearly laughed at how well they were covering my movement. They even started up another conversation!

“Я думаю нам следует здесь переночевать, тут даже кровати есть.”

“Хоть это и заманчиво, и даже если нам не нужно докладывать ещё пару часов... Зачем я спорю?”

A loud boisterous laugh came from both of them, allowing me to move just outside of the room they were in. I peeked around the corner, allowing me to see the shape of two surprisingly average guys. After seeing some of the detail that Pavel had, I expected some giant of a man. Though in reality, they were as human as Khan and I was. They were just on the wrong side.

They both removed their masks and put them on the small table in the room. They must have sealed off each room’s windows because they seemed to breath easily.

“Ты первый на дозоре,” called one of them as they began to lie on the bed. “Разбуди меня через час ...“

“Хорошо, просто не храпи как прошлой ночью, товарищ.”

I slowly slid myself back a little bit, enough to be out of the faint light shining through the window. I almost didn’t hide in time for the soldier to walk past and place himself at the top of the stairs. I got lucky there, and this just made him my prime target. First though … the sleeping one.

With practised ease, I slid silently into the next room, feet making almost no noise on the floor. I slowly shouldered my Kalash, instead opting to go with my knife. It felt like it took me a few minutes to cross the room, and perhaps it did but it was all in the name of stealth. 

The moment I was beside the bed, I slowly placed my hands over top of him, knife in the right hand while the left was poised to shush him up. 

Both hands fell quickly and quietly on him, just as I planned. The left over his mouth just as quick as the knife that went through his skull. I kept the knife extremely sharp for a reason. His eyes bulged briefly, voice trying to call out but the death was near instantaneous. Only enough to get off the smallest of reactions.

I left the knife there before moving back to the guard at the top of the stairs. 

The moment I was behind him, I jumped up and wrapped my arm around his neck, one hand covering his mouth. Deprive him of his much needed air. 

I slowly counted down the seconds in my head, constantly watching him struggle with my grip. I patiently waited until I felt his body slowly slump into mine. The moment I felt his struggles stop, I held for a few seconds more before letting go. He’d be out cold for a few minutes at least. That would gives us enough time to get him tied down with some rope in the basement. Assuming we could even find rope, and if not then Shining has magic. 

Either way, I would get some info out of him. 

I had to get Shining upstairs, to help me move him down to the basement, while I took my bloody knife back. If it wasn’t for all of his gear, and the fact we were up a flight of stairs, i would have carried him myself. instead, I figured it was good to get Shining in on the fun. 

It took a few minutes, but we eventually got the unconscious Red Line soldier downstairs, and into the basement, where, thankfully, one of the gryphons had already set up a chair and some rope. I guess they were more useful than I gave them credit for. Unfortunately they wouldn’t be any use in interrogation, aside from maybe beating the soldier. No doubt there were few soldiers that actually knew any English, especially in the Red Line. 

When they got him tied up, I plopped another chair down, across from him. Since there was no table I flipped the chair around and straddled it, using the back to lean on. I didn’t normally smoke, but just sitting here brought up a feeling that i should have a cigarette or something. I eventually shoke that feeling off as the soldier came too, groggily moving his head back and forth. 

“Добро пожаловать обратно к живым,” I said cooly. 

“Кто ... что … ” he stuttered out, probably still trying to shake off the induced dream state.

“Твоя жизнь не зависит от этого.” I said. “Важно то, что ты ответишь на мои вопросы.”

He didn’t answer at first, but instead slowly raised his head to look at me. He mustn’t have been able to see very well for a few moments since his eyes narrowed for a few seconds before blinking rapidly. Eventually his eyes refocused for a split second before going wide.

“Р-Рейнджеры! Это невозможно!” He nearly yelled. Did I forget to mention that Shining had experience in interrogation, and apparently knew a silencing spell? Well according to him that is true. Whether or not it worked, was on his head.

“Вполне возможно,” I said before standing and moving but a few inches from his face. “Теперь, скажите мне что Красная Линия делает здесь?”

“Я просто солдат! Я не знаю даже как мы появились здесь!” he said nervously. I was actually a little stunned, by the way most of these soldiers acted, and even by the way he spoke earlier, I expected him to be defiant and not cower.

I simply motioned for him to go on, by rolling my hand. 

“T-Товарищ Корбут просто приказал нам взять город! Я не вру! Мы не знали почему или даже что мы в-встретим... Мы просто напали …” he said trailing off. 

“Interesting,” I muttered in English before going back to Russian. “Ты убил хоть одного гражданского?”

“Что?! Нет! Красная Линия никогда бы не сделала этого!” Clueless prick. “Товарищ Корбут запер их в одном из складов, клянусь!”

“А где Tоварищ Корбут сейчас?” I asked, a little venom dripping from my voice.

“В-вероятно в главном здании завода, я не видел его после нападения на Д6!”

I wanted to attack him, at least to make him bleed for bringing that up so casually. Yet I restrained myself, my knuckles curling inwards, almost painfully, in order to suppress my rage. This soldier was nothing more than a frontline grunt, and probably did the same as Shining; took orders from his superiors. Yet, despite my logic, I still felt hate for him and everything he had done. 

In the end he earned his life. 

“Это все?” he asked hesitantly. “Ты пощадишь меня, да?”

I nodded at him before turning my back to him and beginning to walk back up the stairs. “Я - да. Не могу сказать то же про других.”

On cue, the two gryphon escorts slowly moved out of the shadows that were behind the captured soldier. When the look of horror on his face started to appear, I no longer desired to watch what was going to happen. Letting my head return to straight forward, I made my way up the stairs and out of the little magically bubble that encased the room. 

As I said, he earned his right to live. Only, I was not the judge in this case.

“So? What next?” Shining asked, as i closed the door to the basement. When the gryphons finished whatever they decided to do, they could easily walk out. I’m not stupid enough to screw over the deal just because I work better without added weight.

“One Warehouse has civilians,” I said, as I withdrew my Kalash. “When they finish below we move for tall building. Then warehouse.”

“Remind me again why we are going to that building? We were only told to scout the area ...”

“Mission changed when civilians are involved,” I said. I would personally see to it that not a single one of those civilians got caught. “Will send one guard back to let know. Create distraction for assault.”

“Wait, what?! We’re going to attack them?!” Shining almost broke out yelling before dropping his voice down to a harsh whisper.

“When time is right we distract, not attack,” I said slowly. I doubt he would understand the difference in what I was saying. All I needed was a set of explosives and I could create one hell of a distraction.

Shining was about to retort to what I was saying, but was cut off when our other party members returned from their sentencing of our prisoner. I didn’t want to know what happened down there. Without a doubt they had killed him, for crimes he probably didn’t even commit. For that I felt a small twinge of guilt well inside me, but I quelled it. This was not my business.

“Right. One of you return. Tell that we found civilians. Will rescue and create distraction for attack. Wait on distraction.” One of them tried to rebuke what I was saying, but I held up my hand to stop them immediately. “You don’t listen, innocents die. You listen, they live. Simple?”

That earned a glare from the one I had dubbed guard number two. The only difference in him was the lack of scar that ran underneath his eye. Guard one didn’t give me a glare, he was probably more experienced in battlefield logic, and knew an opportunity when he saw one. Guard One looked briefly at Guard Two before moving his head, staying silent the entire time, to indicate it was his duty to warn the camp. 

No complaint came from the guard. Instead, he made his way to the back door of the house, before moving out of it. I didn’t care how he did it, he just needed to get back to the camp as quick as possible. 

I motioned for the others to follow me to a window that had a great view of one of the walls on the house next door. Without a single thought, I slipped my gas mask back on, opened the window up, and climbed out. Somehow, and I don’t exactly know how, but Shining wiggled his way through the window and onto his hooves without making a single sound. I blame magic.

I motioned for them to follow me, and we slowly made our way down the various alleyways that the city had. Sticking to the back alleys and the shadows was our best bet, plus we could easily duck into any house that we needed to, if we needed to. 

The slow moving was playing havoc on my nerves, and even though I was used to it in the Metro, this whole extremely open space and having to watch every corner was getting to me. Of course, I also used that to my advantage. The Reds would probably be in the same situation, in that they weren’t used to all of the possible directions that an enemy could come from. 

To sum it up, we moved maybe a hundred meters every ten minutes, way too slow for my liking, but it wouldn’t be good if we were to wind up dead, right?

Eventually, and by eventually I meant that we took nearly two hours of sneaking, we had placed ourselves right next to that tall building, yet there was a major problem. Actually, there were multiple problems.

The first was that the building was across an open street and there was no way around that. 

Secondly, there were two armed guards outside of the door, and a lock on the door. It seems that rumour from the two soldiers was correct. Actually … this could work to our advantage. I just needed the right tools for the job, namely a scope of some sort, though I could probably have hit him with what I had. The two guards only had typical Kalashes―no sights or anything. 

I froze in the middle of my thoughts as a set of footsteps sounded off behind us. my first thought was that we were dead, but as I slowly turned my head around, I saw that the soldier, whose footsteps I heard, walked right past us and moved to the corner of the building opposite us.

He was taking a fucking piss. 

I let out a quiet sigh of relief, before motioning to our lone gryphon to cut his throat. The gryphon smirked before slinking backwards, and behind the pissing Red. With a small flutter of his wings, the gryphon grabbed the Red by his mouth and slid the sword across his throat. He continued to struggle for a few moments before the blood loss set in, and he slipped away.

I knew that there had to be a second in that patrol, and waited patiently for the second one to come and check what was going on. I kept my Kalash up at head level, before nodding to the gryphon. he waited patiently behind the corner of the building opposite of me.

I was correct in my assumption, as not too long after, the second guard came towards the alley, telling his friend to knock it off and get back to duty. He walked too slowly for my liking but when he did appear in view, I slowly depressed the trigger, allowing a single, suppressed round to go through his head. 

Thankfully, the gryphon was strong enough that when the body fell, he caught it with ease before gently placing it on the ground. The guard took the bodies and began to move them into the closest house, but something very important caught my eye. 

I whispered stop to him, which resulted in a strange look before I slowly moved over to one of the soldier’s lifeless body. If what I saw was correct, then luck was not only on my side, it was actively helping me out. 

I was correct. 

That Red Line soldier was carrying the one thing I treasured most and sought after in the Metro, when it came to guns. I had one, but was forced to ditch it before D6. Now though … now I could use it once more, to its full capacity. Use it as it was meant to be used: infiltration and target elimination.

A silenced, two times optic enhanced, VSV. 

Without hesitation, I unslung the strap of my Kalash before handing it to Shining, who was curious as to what was going on. He grabbed it in his magic, still attempting to peer over my shoulder at what I was doing. Almost immediately after, I shoved my entire set of magazines over to him in a bag. 

You know how I knew that luck was with me? Whoever this guard was, he was stocked full with magazines. Eight of them to be exact. Sure that gave me roughly thirty rounds less than if I stuck with my Kalash, but this weapon not only held a personal value to me, it also had a strategic advantage. 

I knew the weight of the gun like the back of my hand, and it was the only sniper rifle I would ever need. That sniper up in the building was now good as dead. 

“I’ll instruct you later,” I whispered to Shining before moving silently back a couple dozen meters in the alley. If I was right, I could hit him from this alley, I just needed the right timing and angle. 

Once I was in what I thought was the perfect position, which was laying back against a wall, all I needed was that sniper to make a mistake. I peered down the scope, and saw a much nicer view of the tall building, that I was starting to refer to as a tower. One specific window was open on our side, and that sniper was just stupid enough to stick himself almost fully out the window. 

Honestly, it made me wonder if just about anyone could join the Red Line. 

The moment my crosshairs were lined up, just above his head to account for distance and angle, his head appeared in my sight. I once more depressed the trigger, allowing for that lovely silent pop to sound off. 

His head disappeared with a small jerk, his gun falling back into the window with him. 

Perfect. 

I slowly got up from my sitting position, and looked over to my two companions before gesturing that we should keep moving.

After all, we still had hostages to rescue, and something to blow up. I smirked at that thought; it’s just like being back home.