Part III – The Fugitive

Perhaps it was a noise, or the chemical reaction inside his brain that sprung him awake. Or it could just be the cold morning air.

Daniel slowly opened his eyes to the blurry images that became clearer slowly. Looking around, the stalker found himself on a bed with toilet and metal bar door.

Huh? Where was he?

Daniel turned to his attire. The Brit was on white shirt and pants, and white was not his color He was perplexed. Somehow, for a man who did not have any history of Alzheimer, his memory was beginning to fail him.

A guard was at the end of the cubical room, beyond the bar.

“What’s going on?” Daniel yelled at him.

The guard appeared confused by the question.

“English not good. You, kill men. Army, jail you. Next day.” He replied in broken English and hand language.

Damn it! That was clear enough. He recalled the tormentor injected him. And he knew why he was not in a torture chamber anymore. Somehow, he was ‘seduced’ to say he was the mindless killer who took out the expedition team!

“Fuck them!” an enraged Daniel muttered.

But rage would not help him, Daniel’s rationality argued. He had to find a way to escape, not sitting around here wasting his precious seconds. For every second that had passed, he was nearer to jail.

Of course, when he looked around, he saw no escape method of any sort. It was a jail, after all

As Daniel sunk his face into his hand miserably, the distinctive footsteps of army boots came. A soldier showed up with a food tray.

Daniel stared at what was supposed to be his lunch. Black bread, three splats of potatoes, some pieces of cabbage and a soup that looked like water to him, save for a few pieces of meat that was now broth from overcook.

When the cell guard pushed the tray into his room, a ravenous Daniel lunged at it. But it was then he discovered two things- he had recovered his strength, and he was as agile as the man he used to be. He was himself again. He was ripe for escape.

The captive dug his hand hard into the bread, expecting the soft texture to be torn with his strength easily enough. Instead, his hand touched metal, something that felt like steel, to his surprise. In response, he halved the bread and studied the foreign object.

It was a small pocketknife, made of cheap steel yet sharp and capable of killing.

His head tilted to the guard. The guard was not paying attention. The happy-go-lucky fellow was staring outside the window, enjoying the sunshine and the Russian cigarette, perhaps thinking of his wife or girlfriend. The coast was clear. Quickly, he stashed the valuable under his bed. Too bad, must be a chef who forgot his pocketknife was nearby when he made the dough.

In the middle of his one-course meal, again, as his plastic spoon dug into the soft golden smudge of potatoes, he struck something hard. What could it be this time? Gold? Daniel simpered himself while taking out a spoonful of potatoes to eat.

It was something similar to gold- it was metal, a 7.62 X 35 AK bullet to be exact. That was something you don’t see everything in the kitchen, so this was not put in by mistake. Somehow, someone was hell-bent on helping him to escape with these lethal goodies.

The stalker’s mind quickly went to work as he slowly resumed eating. The bullet. It needed a chamber, and a hard-surfaced object. The toilet’s pipe seemed to be a good idea. But for a hard-surfaced object, there was none in his room. The concrete itself was too hard to be dug by his pocketknife. Maybe he should come out with a trick. He had an idea.

Trying to act normal, Daniel resumed his normal activity and went on the consumed his meal. He did not have the taste bud of a connoisseur, but he could tell the desperate effort of the harried army cooks trying to impress his customers. The potato was too salty. The soup, perhaps a chicken soup or a plain vegetable soup, was tasteless. The black bread was passable, and the cabbage was of mediocre quality. But it was food to a beggar, the same as milk to a baby. Precious.

All too soon, his food was finished, his tray clean of any sign of food. He must have enjoyed his meal very much. He passed the empty tray to the guards. “Bring rock. Want to play with it.” Daniel knew he was testing his luck- how would a soldier bring a rock that could be a weapon to kill to a prisoner who yearned to escape? But the guard was sloppy-looking, with a gruffly chin that showed that he had not shaved for a long time. Hopefully the guard, whose eyes was half-closed, was not so alert and fell for it.

The guard looked at him with a raised eyebrow, then pick up the tray and walked away. Time to act.

Daniel threw whatever bodily wastes that he had- he wouldn’t have a second chance. After flushing, he closed the valve. Picking up the pocketknife, Daniel quickly worked on the pipe. The pipe had five section-three horizontal, two vertical, looking like the symbol of ‘ohm’. Daniel worked on the middle pipe. But it was reluctant to leave its rightful place among the pipe. Damn.

All too soon, footsteps. The guard was back.

Daniel’s heart raced. Would he be caught? Getting caught now, and it would be over.

“Com’on God, just help me on diggin’ this one!” Daniel prayed silently. He could not afford to get caught, after getting through so far.

With a determined yank, he pulled the pipe. A clean ‘pop’ and the pipe were out. Daniel could have sworn he never heard a sweeter sound.

It was at that faithful moment when his hand slid under the pillow, the guard appeared and threw in a round blunt stone without a word. Daniel was in time.

Now, it was just the matter of chance... and luck.

***

General Krushnev was on his chair, legs on the table, relinquishing his plain the plan. Bored and tired of waiting, he had decided to do something drastic. And that he did.

In the morning, he peered through his old copy of ‘Rules of the Ukrainian Army’, the official booklet of an officer’s code of conduct, although he doubted if any officer read them at all. He flipped through the pages, hoping for an answer that would free him from his misery. An answer that could only resulted in the death of the stalker.

Under the section ‘Custody of Prisoner’, he found his key. The pages babbled something about a prisoner could be killed if he had escaped and killing the base’s personnel, thus considered as a threat. That, clinched it. Now, all the need was the Judas’ Goat- the poor stalker.

Aside from the pocketknife, the bullet, to the General, served no purpose. It was a ploy to get the stalker’s fingerprint all over the case. After all, the stalker isn't dumb enough to eat it, right? Then the bullet itself would be fired onto an intended target he had in mind. His explanation to his superiors? Well, a little bit of cash and saying that somehow the stalker found his way through should do the trick. Similar tactics had worked on the base’s cook.

“Sir, you called?” Major Boris Zhukovsky knocked lightly onto his door.

“Yes. Go pay our dear prisoner a memorable visit. Talk to him. Do anything you want, but make it memorable for him. He would be in prison for a really long time.”

“So, they had passed the verdict?”

“Yes.” The General lied without batting his eyelids. He was getting very used to this.

“You sure about this? I mean…”

“Yes.” The General raised an eyebrow. “You don’t trust me?”

“No sir. Then I better get going. Flight’s in 10 minutes time.”

The major quickly strode out of the room. The General waited until no more footsteps were heard before he made his next move.

“Sergeant Andropov.” He shouted. A burly soldier quickly burst in.

“Sergeant, be there when the major is killed. Shot the poacher, and I will do what I had promised you. Another corporal would take care of everything else.

“Very good, sir.” The sergeant threw a snappy salute and walked away.

The General smiled to himself. He should have been a film director.

***

Daniel fumbled with the rock he had. Tried toss and catch , but got bored very quickly.

The guard was smoking his typical Russian cigarettes, filling the cavity with bellowing gray smokes that made Daniel sick. In an effort to stop the fumes, Daniel tried to be friendly. “Smoke, bad for body.” He tried it in simple English.”

The guard laughed. “Bad for body, good for feel.”

Daniel swore he could have twisted the neck of the selfish bloke.

Then, footsteps again. Every time he heard that ‘thud’ sounds, he was excited, because it could mean that he was being freed… or he was on the way the prison earlier.

Daniel slowly hid the rock into the pillow, cautiously feeling his way around the hole of the metal pipe with his bullet. It fitted in just nice. Good, Daniel thought. He rechecked everything- rim exposed at the end of the pipe, rock in his hand, knife nearby.

Three soldiers appeared, one was the face of his interrogator.

“You got guts to come here, my dear mate.” Daniel spoke.

A guard opened the cell door, and the major walked in, inconspicuous of the trap that was laid for him. The guard closed the door again, made sure it was shut tight.

“Sorry, I have to put you through hell, but it’s my job.”

“You did,” Daniel studied the major. His Fort 12 was not in his holster. And something was wrong- a guard’s hand was milling around his pistol while staring at him.

“You’ve to understand, I have my orders. It was a compromised situation- either you or me.” The tough-image that Boris tried to impose as his former interrogator melted- he knew he was telling the real situation to Daniel, and he felt awfully sorry for him, to know that Daniel was innocent

“But you know I did not do it!”

“Yes, I believe you. But then, General Krushnev everything. I’m truly sorry, but I am a soldier, bounded by the military structure.”

“Never mind, I understand. I am a soldier once.” But deep inside his mind, his brain locked on the name. General Krushnev. Something was wrong. Either he never liked paperwork or he was up to something else.

“You do? But The General claimed you never had a military history!” The Lieutenant exclaimed. Daniel smiled- The Mi-5 did their job well.

“I played America’s Army online. Is that considered military history?”

“No.” Major Zhukovsky was feeling that the boundaries between them both was quickly melting away, as they were two friends conversing with each other. Damn it, maybe he was not suited for this job after all. He was too compassionate for his victim, and this was his first job in years…

“Anyway, you’re forgiven.”

“Really?” A big smile shaped onto the Major’s face. In a job that allows no mercy or forgiveness, he was a Russian Orthodox Church member. He never liked his job, but a colonel who saw his hidden ability to read mind caught him and recommended him for psychology degree and the program. To make thing worse, he was a Sunday school teacher. How ironic, the major thought. The tormented forgives.

“Well, I better get going.” The major motioned for the door. The guard hesitated, that opened the door. Things were not what the general expected.

Time to strike.

With the agile reflex he had, Daniel’s left hand reached for the pipe while his right hand griped the rock. Aiming the pipe roughly at the door-opener’s belly, he struck the rim with the rock. A loud bang escaped into the air, and the guard suddenly felled..

Every Ukrainian soul inside the cell was mesmerized… and shocked, first by the quick action, then by what happened. Before they could comprehend what happened, a pocketknife slice through the air, the sharp end jammed into the belly of the next guard.

Daniel did not waste a second. He ran and hurled himself against the still-opened cell door. As he burst out of his cell, the friendly cell guard who was with him all the time was now trying to point his AKM at him with his shaky hand, the sign of that he was badly frightened. Daniel took the chance to hit the guard’s head with a strong kick with enough force to slam the head against the wall, knocking the opposition to oblivion.

The major was still standing there, unbelievable of what just happened, when Daniel took a Fort 12 from an unconscious guard and jabbed it at his neck.

“Nice move. You expected me to believe that you are a taxi driver?”

“Not a chance in hell mate. I am SBS.”

The major gapped in surprise as the awful truth revealed to him, explaining every nook and cranny. The stubbornness, the endurance, the strength. It made sense now.

“What do you…”

Daniel did not allow him to finish. He quickly hit the major at the back of his head to silence the major, then picked up all the weapons.

The great escape had commenced.

***

All this time, General Krushnev was in his office, stroking his AK-47 while waiting for the shot, the bang that will rock through the air and signaled that his will was done.

When the anticipated sound came, he said to himself “Ilya, you’re a very lucky man.” He quickly picked up and blank magazine and walked slowly to the cell. There was no need for rush- a dead stalker and a dead major weren’t going anywhere.

Then, he heard repetitive burst of shots throughout the base. What the hell? The sergeant was overzealous with his pistol? The General picked up his pace now. Something was wrong. He only needed one shot, no more, no less.

Next, the base alarm blared through the base. “Escaping prisoner! Armed!”

What was going on now? The general drew out his sidearm and ran to the cell.

He could only saw soldiers down on the cell. And an opened cell door, hanging in the air silently, twitching with the gust of wind.

It was his worse nightmare, something he never imagined would happened.

***

Adrenaline filled his blood as Daniel ran, half nervous and half crazy, to say that this was a Special Forces base filled with elite guards and he was heading towards nowhere. He occasionally turned back to shoot when he heard noises coming from behind. He needed to find an armory fast. But where?

Every room had a label to mark its function- in Russian. If only he had took the chance to learn Russian when he was still at the Special Boat Service, Daniel regretted.

But it was not a time to regret. Quickly and forcefully, Daniel kicked every door open for the rooms he came across. A store room. A computer lab. A briefing room. A toilet. But where is the armory? Where the hell was it?

It was then someone came out from a room not far away, carrying what seemed to be a Groza. Unhesitatingly, Daniel ran towards the soldier while aiming his Fort 12. The deafening ‘Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!” pierced through the silence. Nanoseconds later, 4 distinctive bullet holes left the soldier slumping down.

Daniel knew time was his enemy. He grabbed the soldier’s body before it touched ground to avoid any attention. Then, he kicked the door again dragged the body inside the room and put it to the corner. Then he looked around. It was the armory!

The ecstatic stalker quickly went to work. He had a mental checklist of what he should take as he ran through the shelves an cabinet. Armor. He found a Kevlar Class II. NBC suit. He found a NBC Class IV combined with army green fatigue, ideal for easy maneuver. Ceramic plates. Check. Backpack. Got it. Ammo belt. He put it on.

Next, the weapons. A stalker’s survival depended on it.

On the shelves that had all kinds of weapons hanged on the wires, Daniel quickly scanned across his selection. Soon, he found his FN2000, with all the accessories nearby. He quickly put the pieces together, and slipped on the 40mm Grenade Launcher and fire control computer. Next, his sidearm. He fancied himself a FN HP-SA Browning with laser scope. Lastly, he took on the necessary ammunitions- 10 magazines of 5.56mm, 4 clips of 9mm, and 6 40mm. He too took 6 fragmentation grenades.

Before he left, Daniel looked back, to see the pretty sight of a SVU on the wall, its scope still mounted. It was any stalker’s dream weapon, and now, lying in front of him, was this tempting weapon ready to be taken. He put 5 7.62X54 magazine into his backpack, plus the dead solder’s OC-14 Groza. On his way out, he picked up his Spectra Helmet. He was now ready.

Now, to get out of this hellhole.

When he swung his door open, shouts came from a corner. The stalker pulled a grenade out and threw it to the source of the sound while slipped back into the room.

More screams, then explosion, then silence.

Daniel opened the door and did a quick sweep around the corridor, trying not to pay to much attention to the blood and body on the ground. Nothing was standing. He started running

The base was a maze, with maps on the wall everywhere, in a language alien to Daniel. He never stopped to cipher them, for standing around would be too stupid. He had to keep moving.

After a long while of running, shooting and more running, Daniel found himself in a corridor with two big wooden swinging doors at the distance, sunlight and greenery shone through the heavy glass. That, was the universal language for ‘Exit’. His mind and body seemed to respond automatically to the situation. Get out, find the entrance of the base, and everything would be okay, Daniel told himself as he ran out...

Only to find the base was completely surrounded by chain link fence and barb wires, with no road or checkpoint around. The base was designed to let no one in or out. But there got to be a way! Daniel told himself.

Bullets whizzed through the air. Without wasting more time, Daniel took a steep left turn to the building to dodge the bullets. It was there he saw the airstrip-his salvation.

The airstrip was presumably the only way in and out of the base. 3 Hinds were parked on the helipad, their rotors bent on their own weight, their green and brown skin distinctive from their background. That was not the way out. Daniel had no experience with helicopters except using them for rides as a soldier. He would not have understood the instrument panels, and by any chance, even if he managed to get the thing of the ground, he would probably be dead.

Then he spotted the SU-37, concealed behind several trees in front of a runway.

Daniel did not pilot an aircraft before, but as with any person who watched ‘Top gun’ before, he knew the basics. Push the throttle, steer the aircraft the airstrip, take the thing off the ground, and raise the gear. It was not a very smart choice, but definitely better then a chopper.

By now, Daniel’s exhausted body was telling him to quit. His legs were aching from sprinting around. His jagged breath told him he needed rest. But he knew he was hanging onto his dear life with his body.

In the middle of the dash, he saw something coming from afar. Not a thing, but three, and homing in fast. Quickly, he leaped to the nearest tree and clambered onto a secure spot at the roots. His SVU’s but rested on his shoulder as he raised the sniper rifle, peering through his scope. Those were the UAZ army jeeps, machinegun mounted.

Daniel’s head told him by the time he reached the jet approximately 150m away, the machinegun would probably be in range to shred him to pieces. There was no way he could outrun the jeeps. Only one thing left to do.

The crosshair now centered on the first jeep’s engine. Daniel fired. A huge spark emerged from the jeep’s engine as it gurgled and came to a permanent halt. Next, the second jeep. Then the third too fail victim to his sniper rifle. He made sure that the gunners were out of sight before he started running.

He reached the flight ladder. He just had to find a way to escape the bullets that clanged with the titanium skin of the jet.

It was now or never.

Swiftly, the stalker came to his feet and leaped up the stairs. Rounds hit his back, only to be protected by the ceramic plates. But he knew anytime a bullet could catch his unprotected parts. Thinking this, with a final jump, he landed into the cockpit, his bum fitted perfectly into the soft seat. He quickly extended his hand to close to cockpit.

Without warning, a bullet tore through the jet’s cockpit glasses, missing him by inched and leaving a crack behind.

“Damn!” Daniel exclaimed as he eased the throttle forward. The faster he was out of here, the better. By now, the air was chattering with rifle fire, eager to shoot him.

The beast slowly came to life. As it reached the afterburner speed, Daniel could felt the inertia throwing him backward towards his seat. The Su-37 soon became a speed demon on land that was flying 200Kph and rising fast.

But when to take off?

Without a HMD, Daniel was helpless with the flight details. The display panels in the cockpit had a map in Russian. He yanked the flight stick up, and the jet rose… only to come down to ground with screeched from the tires. If only it was that easy.

As Daniel waited for his second chance, the yellow stripes were approaching fast.

He waited a few more seconds as the limits approached. When the stripes were about 5 meters from him, he yanked the stick down hard… and held his breath. “Com’on, ye nong, get up!” Daniel screamed. He knew what happened if the jet descent because of insufficient force.

The jet propelled upwards, then came down.

“Com’on, not now, don’t go down, love!” Daniel yelled in horror. He could not die now, after all what he had been through. He imagined his ruined body cremated among the wreck. That, scared him.

The jet acted as if it was built to have ears. It responded by descending, then stabilizing, and stopped meters away from the ground. It did not crash. Daniel was safe.

“Thank god.” Daniel sighed in relief. He was safe now, having just dealt with a tiger and emerged unscathed from his ordeal.

The stalker tried every button on the panels cautiously. In due time, he would found the gear control and his bearing via the panels. He adjusted the correct heading and lied back to relax. He needed to have a little chat with Dr Canterbury at the Agroprom.

***

“Colonel Karpov, can you explain to me why there was a jet there at the wrong place at the wrong time to let him get away?” The general rested his SVU down while yelling at the officer-in-charge. What was suppose to be a perfect plan now turned into nothing, and this was uncommon to the ruthless General Krushnev who wanted to win no matter the cost. Only one shot got near the intended scapegoat. Subsequent shots never got near to the aircraft.

“Sir, the fighter was supposed to be you flight escort. I had it fueled and readied so that whenever you wanted to leave, the escort is ready.” The fat-sized bald colonel balked in terror as he replied the general softly. The general was not in a good mood.

“Argh! Get me the central radar command.”

“But sir,” the colonel checked his watch. “The radar station was down on maintenance!”

“Why can’t anything go smooth for me?” The general screamed furiously. The colonel quickly backed off. Being in the path of a furious general was worse then being in the eye of a storm.

“Colonel, get me my sub-commanders on the phone in 5 minutes time.”

“Yes sir, I know what to do.”

***

Approximately an hour later, at the entrance of the Agroprom facility. The guards were talking among themselves.

“Alexei, you ever use the Indonesian batteries before?”

“Bah, Oleg. Never went to Kiev before. Heard there’s lots of imported ‘goods’ from there.” The group laughed.

“Gotta tell you, they really sucks. Cheaper then out local batteries. Look what happened after I used them for 3 days.” The head detail, known as Alexei, threw one at the other guard, Oleg. “Rusted even before I used them.”

“Hell, that’s why the Government ALWAYS tell us to buy Ukraine product first!” Another guard, Erika, joined in the conversation.

In the middle of their chat, a strange howling sound of jet fighter was heard. Pausing to turn their head to the right, they saw a fighter appeared about a kilometer away touching down. As they watched in amusement, the jet’s tires squealed while landing on the tar road and coming in fast.

“Does that fellow know how to brake?” Erika asked with a raise eyebrow. Even with the most important matter, government officials never came here this way.

“Well, must be something really important.” Alexei turned to speak, then watched as the jet slowed down as its velocity was lost by drag. Finally, it came to a perfect stop in front of the gate. The hatch opened, revealing a man in green military fatigue wore commonly by Spetnatz.

“I want to speak to Dr. Joel Canterbury, assistant…”

“Yeah, we know him.” The head detail interrupted as he walked slowly towards the booth. Of course, he didn’t bother to ask for a pass or credential- the man, after all, came with a jet, to add that the man was speaking English. Only educated officials received English education, and so this man must be very important, Alexei concluded.

***

“So, Dr. Hazman, what you are saying is that zombies are retarded with Down syndrome? Is that your main point?”

“Yes, Dr Canterbury.” The bespectacled black man nodded. “I had studied their carotid, and apparently their 23rd chromosome was the same with Down Syndrome- 3 sets.” The other scientists looked interested to the scientist in white coat.

Every scientist in here was more or less gifted and had a passionate curiosity about science. It was of common knowledge that the Government never gave as much as they could earn in their former institute of work, either in the lecture hall of universities or the research lab of a gene-tech company. Yet the Chernobyl Fallout Zone was the best place for research for the adverse effect of radiation. Each of them never complained about the pay; as long as they had enough to eat and sleep, with the hope that one day, they would achieve a milestone in their field of work, perhaps even win a Noble prize.

“So, you are suggesting, that Down syndrome human has something to do with the course of human evolution instead of being the mistake of nature?” Dr. Anton Stugarto, the head scientist of the facility inquired. “That is your hypothesis at the first place, after all.”

“Yes, they…”

“This is heresy! You have no idea what are you talking about, Hazman!”

All eyes turned on another scientist, Dr Syukrani, the least favorite scientist of all, who had no respect for his peers aside for being a constantly annoying person. The short sharp-jawed person stood up and banged his table. “You are just a lunatic. An idiot who miles around mindlessly without any hard evidence. Stop wasting our time, will you?”

The insulted victim sternly walked across the room to the front of the provocative scientist and stood there, taking a big breath. “You, are beginning to get on my nerves.” With that, he suddenly threw a punch at his target who literally flew back into his seat. And the victim, determined not to be outdone, got to his fit and tried to fight back with another responsive punch, but was blocked by Dr Hazman. Other scientists quickly responded to stop the two fighting bulls who could not control their rationality.

As the two fought on, Dr Canterbury rolled his eyes while threw his hand in the air as the others stared at the circus. It was just like a scene inside a Taiwanese Parliament. Educated, grown-up politicians fighting when opposed. Childish.

It was then the red phone in front of the head scientist rang.

“Hello?” Then he passed it to Dr. Canterbury who was two people away. “Yours.”

“Yes?” the assistant head spoke softly into the phone well mannered.

“Alexei here. Someone… a Gillian something wants to see you.”

The sandy-haired scientist instantly turned pale. The other scientists, including the dueling two, stopped in their actions and looked at the Canadian when they saw his face.

“Show him in.” Then Dr. Joel put the receiver down.

“Fellow scientist, remember the stalker who killed the expedition team? He is here to see me.” An eerie silence filled the void. What was once a room full with action now transformed into silence. No doubt, everyone was tense.

“Remain calm. Now, he is only here to see me. Everyone, hide in your bunk and don’t come out unless told to do so. Do not open your doors at any cost-this man is dangerous. Anton, call the Director and ask for immediate help.”

“How about you?” Dr. Sturgato asked as everyone started to leave their seat.”

“I’ll be all right. I find my way out of this mess I got us into. Now go!”

As everyone scurried out of the meeting room, Dr Joel took a deep breath and too proceeded out of the room.

***

”Sir, apparently we had underestimated our dear inmate. He is a Special Force all right, a SBS.” Major Zhukovshy replied while holding the bag of ice to the back of his head. “He told me before he caused this swell on my head. Damn it.”

“I am not surprised at his resilience; though I am surprise he turned out to be SBS.” General Krushnev spoke while rubbing his chin. “That clever son of a bitch.” But in reality, he himself was surprise, and afraid, at the mess he had cast himself into. He had messed with the wrong person, who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time..

“Sir, have you found out the mole who supplied him with those things?”

“No, no yet.” The general answered. Somehow, he had to put a stop to the nosy major before he knew too much. He could not allow his act to be discovered.

“You may leave now, your chopper is waiting.” The general rose and extended his hand.

“It has been my pleasure working with you, sir.” Major Zhukovsky shook the hand and strode out of the room with his duffel bag. Of course, he lied- it was the matter of courtesy call.

The general’s phone rang. “Who could it be this time?” Krushnev muttered as he picked up the phone.

“Who is it? General Krushnev here.”

“Anton . The stalker is here.”

The general was shocked. How could he got there? But then, his ever-crafty mind told him that everything was not too late- he had a second chance to eliminate the little insect that had been pestering him all over.

***

Daniel wandered in the brightly lit hallway. The corridor almost resembled those in the Spetnatz base he just escaped. But of course, he was in no immediate danger. His new FN2000 now slung below his shoulder. There was no threat to be reckoned with.

Out of curiosity, he peeked into the glass-door of a room. A scientist inside was raising cards with numbers and pictures at a ghastly-shaped humanoid figure whose ugly face was forced into a creepy smile common in a horror movie. A closer looked revealed a zombie, a common foe of a stalker in The Zone. It stood in the cage motionlessly.

Next, Daniel watched as coated piece of heavy glass being lowered to the ground. A cage came out of the wall, revealing a Controller. The zombie instantly came to life and moved towards the scientist, but was constricted by the metal bars of the cage.

“Ah, Mr. Gillian.” Someone called far away and diverted the attention of Daniel from the amusing sight. Daniel turned to see a white-coat man approaching him. He too walked casually towards the scientist, who turned out to be Mr. Joel. However, Daniel stopped in his tracks when he saw the pale face of the doctor, his hand shaking mildly.

“You okay, Doc?”

“Yes, why?” Daniel could detect fear in the voice.

“You look sick.” He paused. “Anyway, I am here to talk about your companions. They were dead even before I arrived. Someone ambushed them. And yes, I managed to escape to tell you, something big was going on.”

“Oh, that is something new.”

“I’m sure you heard of it, but which part is new?”

“The part about someone ambushed them and that something big was going on. You don’t have to lie, Mr. Gillian. Because everyone here knew the atrocities that you committed.” The voice quavered with anger. Daniel looked into the eye of the scientist.

“What are you talking about, Doc?”

“Dr. Jacobs Charliston. You killed him, isn’t it? Just the way you killed the rest. Don’t you realize they have a family waiting for them to come home? Don’t you ever think of their parents or wives or kids who needed them dearly, you selfish jerk?”

“Who me? Hell mate, me alone killing all of them? You’ve gotta be kidding, right?” Daniel laughed heartily, but he balked when he sense the air of seriousness.

“General Krushnev told us everything. How you stalked them one by one, dismembered them, ate their body parts. You are a sick man, you know that? And now you are here to start your rampage again, huh? I am not going to let that happen!” The words that went out of the reddish face of the scientist carried such magnitude that Daniel started to believe that he was for real. It was then the scientist drew out two things from his trousers pocket. Daniel saw them, and was appalled.

Those were dart guns.

***

The phone at security checkpoint rang in the middle of their poker game.

“Ah, which bastard came to mess up our game?” Alexei grumbled as he unwillingly left the cozy wooden chair to answer. The phone seldom rang, and it was ringing when he was about to show his ‘three kings’. Why does it have to be now?

“Yeah, who is it?” The head detail lazily answered amid the chattering of his companions.

“This is Major General Ilya Krushnev, the Director of the Committee.” Alexei instantly became alert and motioned his comrades to be quiet. “Who are you?”

“Sir, I am Captain Alexei Novorbraky.”

“Listen carefully, Alexei. Is there a fighter in front of…”

Alexei looked at the Su-37.“Yes, sir. Someone in military fatigue came out and went in to see a scientist.”

“The man is a fugitive wanted by us, the military. You must take him down, shoot to kill. He is the man who killed the Expedition team, and I am afraid he would start his mad attempt inside the facility. You must stop him.” The general bluffed his way through to convince the head detail. “You do that, and I will have my eyes on you.”

“Yes sir!” The head detail replied and hanged up. Having the ‘eyes’ of the General would be most welcome in his career pathway.

He gave a sharp whistle to get the attention of all the guards while picking up his AKM. “We’ve got a fugitive inside! The man is a fugitive! Shoot to kill!”

***

“You’re serious about this, mate?”

“You psycho killer. You told me I should be wary of scientist killer, and now it turned out how stupid I am to trust you. Tell me, what’s the fun of doing all that? The blood? The scream? The joy of seeing people begging for mercy in front of your eyes?”

“Damnit, doc, for god sake, listen to me! They were already dead when I was there. Only one survived, and he already was like a fish without water when I found him. For once, hear what I have to say, will you? He gave me a PDA which contained all the proof!”

“Where was it now? You sold it? Or you throw it away?”

“That man, was…” Daniel struggled to remember. “Yes, Hans Guthrie! Yes, he had a wife and kids waiting for him back home. He told me that!”

“You sicko.” The scientist refused to buy it. “He gave you a PDA to buy his life, begging for mercy to see his family again. And what did you do? You kill him! You sick bastard. You kill all of them!”

Without warning, the two hands moved, and out came two mute darts flying through the air, then stickled to the clothing on Daniel’s chest.

“You shot me!” Daniel was agape as he shouted exasperated.

“No, these would only tranquilize you while the Army come to take care of you. Too bad our agreement ended this way. Goodbye, Mr. Gillian.” Dr Canterbury spoke as Daniel collapsed to his feet. “There is no way, you can escape now. Those two packed the power to take down two zombies.” He added as he approached the limp body on the ground to check the pulse.

“No, this is impossible! The pulse is still strong! This isn’t suppose to happen!”

“Boo!” All of a sudden Daniel jumped up to give the scientist a good fright. “Did you know about the army’s ceramic plates? Gotta tell you, they worked fine.”

The doctor was shaking with fear at the monstrosity that held the power on his life and death now. “What are you going to do?”

“Let me see. You look weak, so I think I’ll roast you. Have some steak for dinner. Don’t you think it is nice?” Daniel laughed and displayed a wicked look as the scientist stared at him with horror. “Noah, that’s bullshit. Look, if I am what you think I am, those 3 guards outside wouldn’t be making the call- they would be long dead even before you stop on what you are doing before out nice little chat here. I escaped from a friggin’ Spetnatz base, went through hell with some music therapy and aroma therapy and also some sweet vomiting session by that psycho-psychologist who played with me like I was his puppy. And now, you trying to tranquilize me again?” Daniel rolled his eyes. “What have I got myself into? You got to believe me, mate. Check the ballistic reports, I only used my FN2000 at that very moment.”

Daniel noted the scientist was not looking at him anymore, but to his back.

“Check the vehicle they used. Mr. Guthrie told me there were fried by EMP.”

Without warning again, Daniel’s hand plucked out the two darts staking to his suit and did a 180 turn. The moment his eyes contacted the three guards trying to move cautiously to his back, both of his hand chucked the darts to the nearest targets. Split seconds later, two guards were drowsy and collapsed.

The third one was struggling to aim his AKM when Daniel’s Browning got his leg, causing him to drop his rifle while collapsing in pain.

Daniel rotated his body to see the harried scientist trying to reload both guns with his ever-shaking hand. With a powerful kick in the stomach, he sent the scientist into the air. Dr, Canterbury landed a few meter away from him, his half-loaded guns on the floor.

“You are becoming a nuisance, you know that? Before you sleep, check what I have told you, and you will know how honest I was with you. Remember!” Next, he proceeded to put a round into the scientist’s torso, and watched the doctor fall asleep.

“Nighty- night!” Daniel muttered as he ran out of the hallway, not forgetting to put the second round into the third guard and picked up their weapons.

***

“All right. As you people know, the prisoner we had four days earlier had escaped at 1326 just now. He was now reported at the Agroprom facility. We are heading there now.” The squad leader briefed the troupe on the Hind-D as all the passenger hurried to put on their equipment.”

Lieutenant Andrei Gustav, having just mounted a mini-torch to his AKSU-74, pondered. This mission was important- everyone here was the squad leader of his own group. The squad leader was the major in charge of Base Harkiv’s detachment of Spetnatz. This must be a very important mission that required their skill and no mistake- the place was filled with international scientific leaders who would not hesitate to make a bad name on the incompetent ability of their army.

“People, we’ll be there, we would be there e.t.a 2 minutes.” The helicopter’s intercom announced.

***

Daniel admitted he was lost in the facility. For the last ten minutes, he had been running around like a madman, but no one was in sight to help him with the Russian instruction panels. He tried every corridor and hallway, but they all looked the same.

Finally, he managed to find the big red neon arrow that marked the exit.

As he ran out of the door, he could hear helicopters approaching. He stared at the sky. Not far away, two helicopters were heading towards his direction. Of course, he didn’t expected them to come here after one hour- the trip to here was quite short, only that he was lost and took a lot of time to find the main road that led eventually to here.

Daniel quickly scanned his surrounding for cover. There was a hedge nearby, big enough to hide him. Without any hesitation, he ran towards the bush.

***

Lieutenant Gustav was sure he spotted movement from below when he peered out of the plastic-coasted mirror of the Hind. The thing, whatever it may be, was running away from the facility. But when he took his binocular to look for it again, it was nowhere to be seen.

“Lieutenant, anything?” The squad leader asked. The other six men looked at him.

“No. Nothing.” Came the respond. But somehow, the soldier could not forget.

***

Daniel was now prone in the bush, feeling that a drum was beating inside him. As any Special Operation operative, he was trained not to be scared, but when you are up against 2 choppers full of the best of what Ukraine had to offer, anyone would be scared.

The choppers were rapidly approaching the entrance now. What happen if a lucky chap spotted him running? What happen if he left a footprint, perhaps a crack branch?

It was then he spotted the chain link fence next to the bush.

The Agroprom facility itself was located near to the Chernobyl Fallout Zone, but the building itself was built with lead and concrete to stop whatever radiation particles or ray to enter. But outside, the ionization of the fence caused rapid rusting, and it was of common knowledge that the fence was changed every few months. But the fence here was not change yet. Beyond the fence, a glade of elephant grass lead to The Zone.

Daniel struggled to make a decision. What happen if he was indeed seen? What happened if someone thought it was a good idea to check out the nearby bush? He had to be prepared for the worst when he was dealing with the best. He had to escape.

With a determined pull, the fence was broken. Daniel pulled a cavity big enough for him to enter, then tired to make the fence appeared normal by using a rock to support the broken wires. Then, he disappeared into the tall grass.

***

Once the two helicopters landed, Lieutenant Gustav studied the ground. The grass looked twisted by some force under his observant eyes, but it could also be a grass that had not received adequate rainwater lately.

“Lieutenant, time to move!” The colonel in charged advised as the others quickly moved into the building.

“Sir, spare me a few minutes. I thought I seen the fugitive, but I may turn out wrong,” Lieutenant Gustav asked for permission. The Major looked at him. “All right, but make it good!” The Spetnatz operative quickly ran towards the nearby bush, where he suspected the ghost that he had seen was heading.

The ground there was offended, he noted as he crouch down to study the ground. Something heavy was here before. But what? A rock?

“Everyone, the place is clear. No casualties, a soldier found wounded, two more and a scientist sleeping. He got away.” The group leader reported.

“Intriguing.” The lieutenant muttered to himself. The stalker was said to have killed a whole Expedition Team that was well armed, yet trying hard not to kill anyone? Even during the jailbreak, he killed a few soldiers with grenades a pistol, but managed to injured those who were around his cell. That, could have been self-defense, the soldier thought. He even incapacitated the UAZ jeeps instead of blowing them to pieces with his high-powered rifle. He did not like to kill? A sudden urge to repent? Not likely.

Then somehow, under the gust of wind that bellowed across the landscape, Lieutenant Gustav’s eyes caught a strange sight among the tall elephant grass. Some patch of the grass were not moving as smooth as the other patches. It could have been a gravity anomaly, a small and weak one. Or a mutant. Or a human. Or the target. Instinct told him something was there.

He took his time to ponder, then raised his weapon. Carefully, he locked his eyes to the sharp point of his crosshair to the patch and switched his firing pin to ‘single’.

Three consecutive burst pierced through the silence.

“Report! Report! Who was that? Anyone down?” An urgent voice came out of the lieutenant’s earpiece.

“Nothing, sir. Thought I saw something. Looks like stray shots.”

“Hell, even this trip was a stray one. Suit up, we’re going home.”

“Roger that.” The soldier stood and, with one last look, he walked back to join the rest. He knew something was there, and he did not miss. But there was no screaming, so whatever there was probably not alive. The soldier took comfort on that.

But his shots were not stray rounds, as he thought they were.

Deep among the grass, Daniel tried to hold his pain. Two bullets got him, while another got his ceramic plates. One round pierced into his left calf, while another welded into his left hand. The two wounds created by the 5.45 were now bleeding profusely as Daniel tried to remain calm and not to create any sound.

He was as good as dead. He had to find a way out of this.