PRDS - 4413 Part.1 Chapter 14: A Call

We take a break before our last drive to the F3 area. 5 hour is left while ETA is 3 hour and 30 minutes. It is lucky for us to have this fully fueled jeep. Without any interruption, we must be able to make it to the F3 area in time. Hopefully.

My COM. device receives incoming call. The caller is the captain. I accept the call in a hurry, hoping the rescue team already got control over the situation.

“Hello? Captain?”

“Hi. Do you recognize my voice?”

“Terrorist?”

“Terrorist? Well, I guess I am technically a terrorist. Anyways. Your proud rescue team kept planning something that bothered me. So… They are all my hostages now. And I was wondering if you can make it in time or not since more people are in danger.”

“We are going to make it in time. You will not have to kill anyone.”

“Yeah? I was just curious. Because you never make it in time.”

“Hmm?”

“Alright then.”

The call ends from his side. I don’t care whatever he says. My job is to finish this mission. And his job is to free the hostages after the job.

“Was that him? The terrorist?”

George slowly walks towards me.

“He caught the people at the camp. Including the rescue team.”

“Lord... Does that include the security team? I heard that the rescue team was quietly evacuating the civilians out of the camp, but I am not sure how quickly they made their move.”

I completely forgot the rescue team’s plan. Of course, they would’ve executed their plan as quickly as possible. And that means, the security team must be out there somewhere. It must be easier for them to survive without the civilians to protect.

“We should focus on what we can do at this moment.”

“But you gotta think after this. What happens after we bring Claire there? How can you be so sure if that terrorist doesn’t let people go?”

“So you are saying we should get this guy with the security team.”

“We need to be careful. Of course. Let’s just contact them first and we can decide what to do after we see how that terrorist acts.”

George is being very clever with this situation. The terrorist has no idea there is a security team he forgot to capture. There is a high chance the security team can get all the people out of the P4R4D1S3. But there is a huge problem. A huge one. Civilians of the P4R4D1S3 are not the only hostages. From the screen that the terrorist showed me back in the P4R4D1S3, there were lots of unconscious FREEMANs too. I don’t believe the security team will rescue them or they may decide to eliminate the potential threats.

“Eric, your gun. Now.”

As George suddenly asks for my gun, I look up and see 3 vehicles driving towards east from far. There is no need to confirm the riders. Of course, they wouldn’t stop coming after us.

“Eric, your gun.”

“I got this.”

I aim their wheels just like the last time. A piercing laser shines at dusk. The first shot successfully destroys the wheels. After one shot, two other jeeps scatter. They are not stopping. They quickly find out where the shooting is coming from.

“Eric, don’t you say you are doing this on purpose. Remember what I said? I understand you don’t want to take their lives, but we can’t risk conflicting with FREEMANs on the way!”

I hear him right. George’s yell is hard to miss. And I don’t look away from the targets. I aim at one of the jeeps as I wait for the gun to charge. If I hit the engine, the car will explode. I carefully turn right to follow their speed. A second shot goes through their front wheels. Their jeep soon collides with a boulder. I move my sight on the last one. And I see George running up a hill where we hid our jeep with a rifle.

“George!”

George does not look back. I realize George hid a rifle that he stole from FREEMANs yesterday. As the last jeep gets close enough, a shootout begins. I patiently wait for my gun to get charged. The last jeep starts shooting from far. Several gunshots come and go. But their jeep does not stop. A few seconds left until the gun fully charges. George’s shots don’t hit them as well as theirs. I understand their haste to kill each other before my shot, but my goal is not to kill them.

The jeep crashes. As long as it does not explode, they will survive. George realizes the distance between them and him will never allow a kill. He stops shooting and walks down the hill.

“It’s called hypocrisy, Eric. You’ll end up killing them.”

“I used to hear that a lot.”