Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ To Those About To Die ❯ Chapter 8 Recon ( Chapter 8 )

Chapter Eight -- Recon

"What do you mean, `they're dead'?" I growled into the phone, hand shaking slightly.

"Exactly that," came the reply, crisp and short as always. "Eight operatives, two survivors, and neither in good condition. Your team is up."

"...Understood." I turned the phone off and took a deep breath, letting my eyes close for a much-needed moment of solitude. This would be bad. My heart hammered in my chest already, and we weren't even out the door.

I gathered my dignity and some calm, and turned to face my team. "Warsaw failed."

"Damn it!" Kiko shouted. "I knew those guys!"

The Girl hung her head a moment as though in prayer, then asked, "Gain, Berger? Or complete waste?"

My hand reached up and absently rubbed at my left temple. "Uncertain. The two survivors are being...debriefed...as we speak. All we know is that two well-equipped teams were decimated shortly after reaching Poland." And we're next, I wanted to say, but took another deep breath instead and stated, "They're sending us in."

Kiko paled a little, eyes fixed on me. "Berger, what are we supposed to do? Those two teams were four strong each, and coordinated for the operation. We're just three, with no backup! What, have we outlived our use now? Are they getting rid of us?"

"No, you fool," the Girl snarled, all appearance of prayerfulness gone. "They're using us as bait."

"In any case, we go where they send us, and today it is Warsaw." I turned to go pack.

"Berger?"

I paused. "Yes, Kiko?"

"What makes them think Schwarz will still be in Poland?"

"They have a new precog," I told him.

"Apparently he's not very good."

Within minutes we were on our way to the train station. Our orders were to survey the area, trusting that the target was in fact still there. And trusting that we wouldn't join six other operatives on the other side of the veil.

My orders were more specific: if we found Schwarz, I was to unleash Kiko with extreme prejudice.

I couldn't stop shaking. This was wrong, this was so wrong. I couldn't think of this as anything other than a set-up, and by Kiko's grim gaze I knew he held the same opinion. Only the Girl seemed to trust our masters, though even she kept glancing out the window with nervous eyes.

But once we arrived in Warsaw, we were told that the plan had changed. A retrieval team met us at the station and escorted us to their offices. There we were shown photographs of the six bodies and several surveillance photos. It was unmistakable: those men in the surveillance photos were Schwarz.

Kiko balled his fist and punched the wall with enough force to crack the plaster. I understood his anger. Like all who have been through Rosenkreuz, he had called few men his friends. Now three of those men lay dead at the hands of the Berserker.

The pictures of the carnage actually made the Girl queasy; she backed away from the table, a sickly pallor to her face.

Seventeen months, and not only was Schwarz still free they were beating us at our own game. The two teams had been lured in and dispatched with cool precision.

After the briefing, we were taken to a car. They gave me directions and the documents we would need to travel unquestioned through Poland. Then we were off, to view the site in person.

Kiko fidgeted with the radio, finally giving up on finding anything pleasant and switching it off with a curse. He leaned against the door and stared out the window, gaze fixed in a sullen glower. In the back seat, the Girl twirled a strand of hair around one finger, over and over.

My imagination had kicked in and was now working overtime. Every shadow, every tree became a mysterious executioner awaiting my arrival. I tried to focus on the mission, remind myself that we were going in to retrieve any evidence we might find, that we weren't actually expected to run into Schwarz in person.

It didn't help.

"Berger?"

"Yeah, Kiko?"

"Why didn't they send in a reader? Why us?"

"You saw what happened to those men?" I asked softly.

His lip twitched into a snarl as he answered, "Yeah, Berger, I saw."

"What do you think that would do to a postcognitive?"

He turned his attention back to the scenery.

Still some miles from our destination, the presence of Esset operatives marked a well-defined perimeter set well out from the site of the slaughter. No civilians would get through here: they would find their sense of direction scrambled and they would be on another road before they got it sorted out again. The guards waved us through.

I knew why they had sent us in, but I couldn't bear to tell Kiko, and I didn't want the Girl to know. All those months of obsessively reading the scattered reports...my fondness for playing detective had come to their attention, and they wanted me to have a look. Also, they considered my talent acceptable for combat, but lacking for daily use. I might provide some new insight, but if Schwarz were in fact nearby, I was considered expendable.

So be it. I would play detective, see if they missed something of interest.

Whether I would tell them if I found anything, I had not yet decided.

The site proved to be a disappointment. It had already been scoured clean to remove any trace of Esset's presence - scoured by fire. I walked about and tried to reconstruct the scene in my head, but the damage was too extensive. I tried to figure out how the photographs related to the actual location; even that failed, due to the thoroughness of the clean-up crew.

I sought out the commander of the operation. "Sir, I must regretfully suggest that there is nothing for me to do here."

He eyed me critically, and I wondered for a moment which talent he was. Before my own thoughts could betray me, he nodded and said, "I thought that would be the case. Next time, we'll hold off on clean-up until you've had a look around."

I blinked. This surprised me; I had thought this would be a fluke, a brief experiment at my expense. "Sir? Next time?"

"Certainly. We are bringing in several intellects like yourself, to try using non-psi means to find our quarry. I trust you are not complaining about your change in station, Herr Berger?"

"Of course not, Herr Schneider," I replied with a bow. "What will my duties be?"

"As far as your team is concerned, no different. You will be sent to locations with positive sightings and expected to produce results."

"Understood, Sir." I turned to go.

"Oh, Herr Berger?" Schneider added, his voice too casual.

Cold sweat formed between my shoulder blades. I turned back around. "Yes, Sir?"

A gloved hand held out a small package wrapped in brown paper. "This is for you. Good hunting."

I accepted the proffered item and returned to the car, where my teammates were waiting. Schneider wore gloves; that meant he was probably a reader, and not a telepath. Interesting. I hadn't touched him, so hopefully he didn't know anything about my misgivings on this assignment. Surely he couldn't read me when we both touched the same thing? No, in any case he'd had his gloves on. I absently tossed the package on the seat and got in.

"Berger, what's that?" Kiko asked as he bounced onto the passenger seat beside me and snatched up the package. "Is it a present for me?"

"Why don't you open it and find out?" For some reason, I didn't think it was anything sinister, though for the life of me I couldn't imagine what it might be.

Kiko tore into it like a kid at Christmas, then turned baffled eyes to me. "I don't get it."

I looked over and let out a startled laugh. Of all the things Herr Schneider could have given me, I never expected this. I reached over and took the tattered paperback from Kiko's hands. Whether he had meant it mockingly or as a source of inspiration, I was determined to put this unlikely gift to good use. The worn mystery novel might just distract me from those damned files for a few hours, and give my mind a little time to rest.