Tales From Sirca Chapter 13: Kill/Capture

"You wanted to talk, Wash?"

Jersey stepped into Washington's office, popping the collar on her jacket.

Wash pointed at the door. "Close that and take a seat."

"Why so serious?"

The dark navy blue chupa asked bemused but grabbing a seat anyway after closing the door. Wash certainly got annoyed with her attitude and would often say Jersey was born pissed off, but there was a look in his eyes. Like he was about to deliver bad news. She leaned forward and rested an elbow on his desk pinning some loose papers under, creasing them much to his chagrin.

"Wash, what'sa matter? You look like you seen't a ghost."

"J," He started, taking a deep breath and looking her in the eyes. Something that made her begin tapping a digit on the desk. "I have a mission for you."

"Lay it on me."

"Asset-denial-slash-recovery, if possible."

"How can it be both? What's the asset? A transport? Weapons crate? A new mongoose to replace the one I lost?"

"The asset is inside a lightly fortified base, at least sixty soldiers on duty- ten on the perimeter. Hard-target."

"So when are we headed out?"

"We aren't heading anywhere."

Jersey frowned, "What do you mean by that? Ah, right, you got homework. So am I gonna have to ride with CT or Sammy?"

"No."

Her frown deepened to a scowl. "Then who the fuck-"

"The important thing is that this gets done in a timely manner, alright?"

Jersey snarled and slammed her hand on the desk. Wash didn't flinch. He expected her to blow up sooner actually, in the process of slamming her hand she had jumped to her feet knocking her chair back. But her anger was no surprise; she was always simmering just below a boilover.

"Hey! You gonna to stop dancing around the issue? Cuz' something's clearly bugging you cause you ain't told me to sit up straight or take my arm off your desk. Why are you dodging me? Why ain't you giving me info?"

"Because if I tell you, you won't do this."

"I can handle anything you throw at me. Mission deets. Who scouted all this?"

Wash sighed and dug out a file from the pile on his desk and handed it over to the irate chupa, she practically ripped open the folder and began to flip through. Her eyes ran over the paper and her tail lashed less and less the further she got. Some of the writing was illegible scribbles, but she could piece it together.

"You can thank Icarus for the scouting. From what I can tell, he's missing some info- but it looks solid."

"What is the asset?"

Wash shook his head, "The asset - is a guy by the name of Dallas."

"So that means-"

"If he doesn't want to come willingly. You... deny the asset."

There was a grim beat of silence. Asset denial was putting it nicely, in reality, it was a kill/capture order. Jersey crossed her arms.

"That still doesn't say who I'm riding with. York? Sammy? CT? Tex?"

The last name was said with a little disdain. Wash just stared at her, and as Jersey began to mentally line up details she knocked the chair over in abject anger, "No. No! No fucking way! Are you insane? I'm not going solo with that freak. Why can't you just have York or Icarus go with him? Shit- Send Tex, they'd get along great! Matter fact, him and CT can go measure swords out there!"

"He specifically requested you."

"I don't give a fuck what he requested! He's probably using this as a ruse to kill me. Do you even trust him?"

"Thing is," Wash stood up, "If I'm being honest... Not really, no. But York's been vouching for him, and Aries hasn't done anything to break our agreement. It wouldn't make any sense for him to break it now. I can't just shut him out because of some past you might have with him. This seemed particularly important to him, I don't think he would make something up like this just to kill someone. You've seen how he operates; he doesn't seem like the type."

"This is still fishy as hell."

"Just trust me, okay J?"

"If I die, I'm fucking haunting your ass," Jersey smarmily commented before walking out, slamming the door behind her.

She stepped out into the hall, nearly running into a tan figure who sidestepped her.

"So, you agreed to do it?" York asked, grabbing her arm and stopping her in her tracks. Jersey scanned his face for some look of amusement of some kind, but he seemed serious.

"Yeah, I took the suicide mission, only 'cause I respect Wash. Not for that schizo freak. If you were here to do extra convincing, you're late."

York frowned at Jersey, "You shouldn't call him that."

Jersey snorted. Leave it to York to try to make her feel bad about calling someone who tried to kill her a name. She crossed her arms and looked up at him. His expression didn't falter.

"I need to go get my shit ready-"

"I'm not finished J. May I?" He waited until she uncrossed her arms. "I imagine you have no idea how to deal with or work with someone like Aries. Let's get one thing clear, you cannot- under any circumstances- piss him off. Don't rile him up, don't be sarcastic."

"You want me to not be myself is what you're askin'. You can just say that, I'll still be pissed but you can just say it, man."

"Just don't be an asshole. He's pretty fragile."

"Fragile? I seen him slice a man in half- Cut heads off people. He's a certified psychopath, the fuck do you mean 'fragile'?"

York tapped his head with a finger. Jersey winced at her prior statement. "I'm sure you know exactly what I mean by 'fragile.' You need to assure him that you won't hurt him. I can't say for sure, but I think he might be more afraid of us than we are of him. That's gonna be big on your part, considering you've been the way you are toward him."

"Only you could tame a psycho like him."

"J... Also, try not to say anything about the thing he does."

Jersey raised a brow.

"You'll know what I mean when you hear it."

"I'm not gonna baby him. We're going to do a job. I'll handle whatever the basketcase throws my way. He better not slow me down."

Jersey stepped around York and marched down the hall, she needed to get her gear. He could only watch the dark blue hothead leave; he couldn't make her listen. He just hoped Aries' mind would be together enough to do what they were going for. Enough to make good choices. Enough to not kill his mortal enemy.

---

Aries secured the last few straps and tightened them, took a step, and gave a little test hop. The belts of throwing knives now vertically lined his waist and the two belts wrapped around his upper thighs, ten knives total. He would have to thank that bat for the idea. Although it was more than likely a joke made at his expense, Aries took it as an arsenal suggestion it made much more sense than he would like to admit, and the leather was a nice touch.

"Time for the true test," He crouched down and flipped himself into a handstand, with two hands at first then switching to one. With a free hand, he roughly tapped every slot in the holster until he was satisfied with the sturdiness. He felt rising anger wash over him, it was like a static prickled at the edges of his vision and he scowled opting to close his eyes, "You're unusually quiet... If you have anything to say now, Quai, now's the time. Speak."

The voice hesitated before growling viciously, "We should kill her-"

"We cannot, as much as I would love to feed Astrid her own organs- We cannot break our treaty."

"We'll see."

"I shall resist the cathartic temptation. For him."

"Right. Just like you do with every other situation."

The chupa's brow twitched and he swore there was a faint whispery chuckle that sounded close and far at the same time, he landed gently righting himself back onto his thickly wrapped feet with two soft pats. He would not entertain that parasite anymore.

"I think it's time for you to go away."

"I'd like to see you try and survive without me," it whispered, fading into nothing.

"Pest."

Heavy footsteps approached him from behind with a weighted gait, one with a sense of urgency - or at least in a rush.

Jersey saw the chupa crouched on the ground with his head down and shook her head, to her his oddness only made her uneasy but she couldn't back out of this now. Aries turned and locked eyes with his stand-in partner, there was an angry look on her face that he either refused to notice or didn't care about it. She stood tall in her grayscale freelancer armor, 'N-J' scratched into the inner part of the left forearm guard, plated shoulder pads red at the top with golden accents at the bottom. Clipped to her hips were her two primary weapons she was known for, her dual silenced SMGs. The helmet held in her left hand drew his eyes in, he could get a good look now that they weren't shooting at each other on a suspended rope bridge. The helmet was very ornate, almost decorative looking with a red jewel-like object at the center of the forehead area and two golden wings in a U-shape. The back of the helmet was a near-black dark grey sporting a kabuto-helmet-like plating, the visor a bright golden with two horizontal red dashes where Aries could guess the eyes would be.

"What's the plan, freak," she asked coldly.

Aries' mouth shone a faint smile, and it sent a chill up Jersey's spine. "Need-to-know basis. Your associate Jackie has prepared the mongoose for our journey. We will leave immediately. No time must be wasted if we are to intercept."

He began down a hall and Jersey followed close behind, SMGs softly clacking against her thighs. She observed him closely, but he seemed perfectly relaxed on the surface. His tail waved silently behind him.

"If you stare any harder you might see through me," he commented with a hint of irritation, stopping suddenly and stepping aside. They were standing ten feet from the mongoose; Jersey must have zoned out. Aries hopped on and began to fiddle with it.

The Rogue leader sat pushing buttons and twisting the accelerator for a solid minute before Jersey got fed up. "Do you know how to start it?"

"You insult my intelligence? Of course, I do."

"Really? Cause you look lost."

"I know what I'm doing! I just... need to think."

"About what? You're starting a goddamn- You know what, fuck you. I'm driving."

"I was going to have you drive anyway."

Jersey snorted as he allowed her to get on, this nice act had her on edge. She jammed her helmet onto her head before giving the ATV a kickstart. The 'goose roared to life and revved at her twisting the accelerator; she glanced back at Aries who was preoccupied and slightly facing away from her. In his hands was a headset that he was trying to figure out how to put on his head, acute frustration replacing the menacing look she was accustomed to. The freelancer leaned on her forearms on the handlebars and watched, it was almost cute. Almost. In a twisted way.

"Kuso, meongcheonghan dōgu," He mumbled to himself before setting it right on his head and meeting the gaze of his stand-in partner. The confused look on his face, in the blink of an eye, transformed into a heavy scowl. There was a darkness in his stare. "Ready."

"Are you going to be muttering nonsense to yourself the whole time?"

"I didn't say anything."

"You-" She growled and composed herself before using her helmet's comms system. "Whatever. Hey Goldie, you got the right frequency?"

Aries went rigid. "What did you just call me?"

"Goldie. You got golden eyes. What's the-"

"Don't. Don't ever in your life utter that word one more time."

The deadpan tone was enough to make Jersey face forward, feeling uncomfortable with the stare he was giving her. "Not a fan of nicknames?"

"Not anymore, Astrid... And yes, I have the frequency. Let's get going."

---

Astrid sped up, driving in silence and if she was being honest it was driving her crazy. Aries refused to talk, sitting back-to-back with Jersey with his eyes closed and head tilted to the overcast sky only speaking coherent words when giving direction. She began to wonder if this was how he treated that snowball he kept with him, the one with the freakish red eyes. The wheels cut through the low-hanging fog that seemed to grow thicker the further they drove, it would rain soon. He seemed calm and even serene while she was tensing and getting ready for a shootout. She was left to only wonder what he could even be thinking about at a time like this.

"We're not going to kill you," his voice came low and clear. "If that's what you've been so tense about."

"How could you possibly know-"

"It does not matter. We're here. Stop the mongoose."

Jersey slowed, allowing it to roll to a halt before killing the engine. Aries hopped off first, stretching while the freelancer began to survey their location. She couldn't pinpoint exactly where they are, it seemed like they were in three climates at the same time. Mountainous, forest, and jungle. No mention of it in the intel. He pulled two knives from the holsters and took a deep breath, his ragged greyish-white scarf billowing in the wind that began to pick up while dark clouds filled the sky.

"Alright, Aries, the plan," Jersey turned back to face him.

"How good are your stealth capabilities?"

"How is this relevant? It's a base with like sixty guys on it- we just run 'em over."

"You must not understand. Dallas knows I'm coming for him. The traitor. I'm sure your training with your fellow speedy agents taught you to be light on your feet. Expect armor. Shinanai de, i bil-eomeog-eul haechung."

Jersey looked away, rolling her eyes and hiding the mongoose under some foliage. York was right, it was pointless to even point out the quirk. Even more so that when she did Aries ignored her, her mind wandered. Why did he even need her if he wasn't going to listen?

"I told you to stop mumbling that stupid-" She turned back, and the spot where the black chupa stood was now empty. "-non... sense. How the fuck did he do that?"

Her radio crackled in her helmet.

"Keep up, agent. We'll take the perimeter first. I don't have my Icarus, so don't get shot. As Icarus says, 'Stay frosty'... Get moving or I'll kill you. And keep quiet... Astrid."

The line went dead, and the Freelancer was left to her devices. She kicked a nearby bush in frustration and the clouds opened up, pouring down rain.

"This is bullshit," Jersey snarled to herself, walking over to the spot she last saw the yellow-eyed chupa standing. "He could have at least pointed me in the right direction. No... He's gotta do his stupid ass disappearing act. Yeah, Wash, this was a great idea- Fucking perfect. Send the fuck who wants to eat my organs like a snack. This can't go wrong- It's raining too, freezing my ass off in this goddamn monsoon... And now I'm talking to myself like that fucking schizo. Fuck sake."

She looked up at the sky, allowing raindrops to run down her visor, then pointed her head forward. Just past the ridge she stood on there was, just like Wash said, a fortified base only barely visible through the now thickened fog that hung over the base like low clouds. The flashlights of the guards walking the perimeter managed to cut through but Jersey didn't imagine it helped their visibility, it was near-perfect sneaking conditions. Except for one crucial thing, their lights told her where they were and she couldn't see well either.

"Fuck."

She lowered herself down the cliff face dropping down into the brush noisily and falling on her back. She righted herself and there was a flashlight in her face, a blue armored soldier stood with his rifle in her face. Lightning lit up the sky and the soldier let out a choking noise and crumpled to the ground, a dagger stuck out of his throat.

Aries dropped down from a nearby tree silently and sprinted over to retrieve his knife. "You make excellent bait, Astrid. Take this; don't use it until I say so. Let's eliminate the rest of the perimeter guard."

He violently yanked the blade out, handing her a heavily taped-together device with a trigger on it. she swore his eyes glowed in the darkened fog before he ran off in the direction of the base. The freelancer rose to her feet stuffing what she assumed was a detonator in her utility pocket on her chest plate, drawing one of her SMGs before advancing to the base.

A flashlight turned a corner and approached her, talking loudly. "This is BS, it's pouring out here and we got guard duty. Jake, how's things for you? No response? Typical. Lazy asshole-"

Jersey sprayed a burst at his head and dropped him, she smashed the flashlight under her foot. Now that she was closer she could see that there was a walkway above her that guards could walk, she couldn't see anyone up there through the grated floor but wondered if there was someone patrolling. Two chupas landed face-first on the grate, eyes wide in frozen fear as blood began to drip down. She got moving, she needed to find an entrance fast. Once these bodies were found the place would be on high alert. She sprinted hard circling part of the facility before coming across an entry point guarded by two chupas, only problem was that it was the main entrance. If Aries didn't handle the rest of the perimeter this could go south real fast and their mission would be over before they even really started. It was a chance she was going to have to take. She waited until they both moved to one side away from the overhead light at the entrance.

She raised her submachine gun and let it chatter silently, dropping both guards. She bolted past the corpses, smashing the flashlights, and into the courtyard. She wanted to go straight for the main building but an approaching warthog forced her to divert and change path toward the vehicle garage, she nearly ran in but stopped and hid sliding around the corner when she spotted a soldier inside.

"Hey," He called from next to one of the spare hogs inside, "Tommy, is that you? You know the Lt is gonna have an aneurysm if he finds you slacking again."

Jersey decided to play along, dropping her voice an octave, "Man, it's pissing down raining. I'm just tryna be dry for a quick spell, man."

The soldier chuckled and began walking toward Jersey's hiding spot, she gripped her gun tightly, "I hear ya on that man. Hey, you sound a little weird."

Jersey said nothing, standing tall with her gun pointed at the corner.

"Tommy?"

"Yeah, just thought I heard something."

He chuckled. "What'd you hear? A ghost?"

The blue finally rounded the corner and froze at the sight of Jersey, she stopped the voice and spoke normally, "Yeah, I guess you could say something like that."

"What the fu-"

She threw a full-force punch into his throat and burst ten rounds into his chest, effectively dropping him before running for the main building. She stepped inside but heard a commotion outside before she could close the door, a figure fell down from somewhere above the entrance with someone underneath them and landed on top of them. It was Aries, with a hand clamping their muzzle shut, a knife in the chest just under the armor, and kneeling over the now corpse. The ninja chupa slowly raised his head at her with a grimace.

"That's all the perimeter," Aries croaked in his low voice, "I see you took the liberty of getting rid of the mechanic for me."

Jersey just stared at him, watching in horror as he violently wrenched the knife out of the body with the telltale pop of bone breaking. He let the rain wash off the blood before stuffing it back into an empty holster slot. "You alright?"

"I will be, once I get to Dallas. I'm heading to the command center."

"Why would you go there? He would be a prisoner, right?"

"If he told them about me, he knows no prison could save him."

There was something ominous about that statement that Jersey really didn't like, "Well there's still soldiers in here so we should handle them. At least sixty, if I remember right."

"We- I shall lead."

Aries led her down the brightly lit halls, despite him being absolutely soaked his footsteps were so light the freelancer couldn't hear them and his tail never even brushed the ground. The halls were wide enough for the two of them to walk side by side with arms fully extended but she stayed behind him, scanning the area with her gun up. Aries turned another corner and stopped leaving Jersey to nearly crash into his back. Ahead of him stood six unarmed HADES soldiers who were standing around conversing until they noticed Aries, by no means was Aries the biggest chupa in the hall but there was something about the serious demeanor he maintained that made him seem much more malevolent than normal. The ones who didn't have their helmets on were clearly trying to seem intimidating, which didn't work on the six-foot-six chupa with an arsenal of blades. The armored Freelancer took a few steps back to give the ninja some room.

"Corporal, why didn't the sentries alert us that someone was here," One asked another.

"They're all dead," Aries growled, "Which one of you is first?"

The one closest to him pulled out their combat knife, in the blink of an eye and with a clap of thunder there was a throwing knife deep in his skull. The soldier staggered backward and fell into the wall, slumping down onto the floor Aries held another between the fingers of his right hand while his other hand rested on the handle of his horizontal sword.

"Look the reaper in his eyes."

The remaining soldiers rushed him, and Jersey almost felt bad. He drew the short sword and slit the throat of one and kicked them into their squadmate, one approached from the right and one from the left. The left slashed first, Aries grabbed his head and slammed him into the one on the right knocking them both to the floor before turning his focus back to the two who laid their fallen soldier on the floor. The one wearing a helmet ran up and Aries skillfully ducked under their stab attempt and punched them in the chest so hard it dented the chest plate, effectively dropping them to a fetal position clutching their chest and gasping for air. They crawled to the side and vomited from the forceful impact. The two that he had bypassed had begun to find their footing and rise up but he advanced on the soldier behind the one he just dropped, the new attacker dodged his lightning-fast strike and sliced his arm. If it tore through his wrappings it wasn't visible and he damn sure didn't even feel it as he cocked his sword arm back and jammed the blade through the attacking soldier's body, raising them like a skewered animal before shoving them off his blade in disgust.

"Holy fuck he killed the captain," One of the two remaining soldiers basically shouted out of sheer fear.

Aries placed the handle of the sword in his mouth to free up his hands. He turned to the last two with six knives in his hands, he threw them with deadly force and precision. Two in the body and one in the head for both remaining, shattering the protective glass on their helmets. Jersey stood in silent horror with her gun still raised, only glad she wasn't an intended target and that the helmet hid her face. She couldn't tell what was worse: that he didn't miss, or that he wasn't even winded.

"Aries, what about that-" The Freelancer stopped and watched the ninja chupa walk and stand over the wheezing soldier on the ground before violently slamming his foot down on their neck. There was a sickening crunch, and the soldier was still.

Fucking hell, Jersey thought, only offering Aries' gaze at her a curt nod.

"I'm going after Dallas. Cover this hallway."

He retrieved his knives and tore off down the hallway, leaving Jersey with his massacre scene. She thought HADES was supposed to be the best, at least under most freelancers. Then again, she knew virtually nothing about Aries. For all she knew, he could be a freelancer she never knew about.

"This is all kinds of fucking wrong." She stepped over the eviscerated bodies and took cover at the corner closest to where Aries ran. "Better get dug in."

---

Jersey pulled a grenade off a dead blue, yanked the pin, and lobbed it down the hall.

"Shit, grenade!"

The explosive detonated and the halls were silent once more. Jersey reloaded both her SMGs and rose from her cover, scanning the hall. Nothing but bullet-riddled corpses were strewn around the now-bloodied hallway. By this point, the windows were shattered and water was puddling. She would've preferred to keep this quiet.

"Aries, status on the asset," She called but got no response. "Kid, status? Report. Fuck."

She turned and charged down the hall, cursing herself the whole way only now realizing how stupid she was for leaving him to deal with the target. It was Aries' op and he knew the target, something should have clicked in her head but it must have slipped her mind. She ran until she passed a set of double doors nearly broken off their hinges, the freelancer carefully crept up to the doors and peeked inside to catch Aries punching a red chupa in a HADES armor down into a chair just in front of the command center window.

"You thought you could evade me." Aries delivered another hard punch. "I bring you in, and this is how you repay me? With betrayal? You know what the punishment is."

"You're fucking insane," Dallas started. Aries grabbed him by the throat and slid a knife from a holster.

Aries jammed the knife into his eye and twisted it, ignoring the horrific shrieks of pain. Despite Dallas' size, it seemed Aries was much stronger than he was. Jersey looked at Aries' face expecting that telltale psycho smile, but his face was vacant of the idea of a smile. He was seething with unbridled rage. The knife was pulled from the socket and Aries let him go for a moment, allowing him to curl up in the chair and unsuccessfully try to stop the pain and bleeding.

"I... really did like you, Dallas. Excellent fighter and followed orders to the letter. That was until Icarus told me about the diner. I had my suspicions, but... You cowardly bastard. You shot and killed innocent families and children. Sirca has no place for monsters like you. You were the one who set up Nick."

"Who the... God fuck- Who the fuck is Nick?"

"He was just a kid. You tipped off the House, and his whole squad was ambushed. They weren't even armed. Guess who had to retrieve their bodies and bury them? I should skin you alive and hang you up like a trophy."

Dallas opened his mouth and Aries drew his handgun this time, shooting him in both his legs. Jersey cringed at the screams but forced herself to walk into the room, Aries either didn't notice her presence or didn't care. He unloaded more rounds into the asset's body before pistol-whipping him to the floor.

The enraged ninja crouched down over him putting the pistol back in the chest holster. "You will bleed out in three minutes - more time than you deserve. Let's get the fuck out of here, Astrid. We're done here."

"What the fuck, Aries." She blocked his path. "I thought this was-"

"I'm well aware of the mission directive. I planned it. It was kill or capture. I had no intention of capturing and keeping this scum alive. Let's get the hell out, before their reinforcements arrive. This mission is complete."

Aries lumbered out, leaving Jersey to take one last glance at the red chupa laying in a growing pool of his own blood. It took no time for the two to exit the facility and make it back to their mongoose at the ridge, the base still visible. Aries watched intently as armored trucks full of soldiers rolled into the base with urgency.

"Astrid," he called from his squat at the ledge, "The detonator. Pull the trigger. Now."

She did as she was told, fishing it out of her chest plate pocket and pulling the trigger. The deafening boom, flash of light, and heatwave hit her all at once as the base became a smoking fireball.

"H-holy shit," Agent Jersey stuttered as a realization came to her. Had she accidentally triggered that early or even dropped it...

"I'll have to thank that bat guy for the ordinance. Now the mission is complete. Let's go, Astrid."

"I could- you handed me a flimsy- That coulda been us, ASSHOLE!"

"But it wasn't. Let's roll out."

How the fuck was Icarus used to this? Jersey thought, starting up the 'goose.

---

Jersey trailed behind Aries when they reentered the base with her helmet in her hand, Icarus practically meeting him at the entrance. She watched how gentle he was with the albino Sampi native, then thought about how roughly he handled those soldiers. He allowed his alabaster partner to wrap himself around his waist, Aries let his face relax and permitted a small smirk. Jersey looked around, but nobody approached her. She slowly put her helmet back on and walked back to her quarters.

Red vs Blue © Rooster Teeth. Halo © 343 Industries. Concept by Myshu, assisted by The Department of Chupapology.