A sandstorm blew itself violently across the desert. Amidst it was a women, glued to her binoculars.
She watched a small abandoned shack, barely keeping itself standing from the gusts of winds.
Anyone would think nothing of it unless they were forced to hide, but she knew.
She knew of the secrets that were hidden from the rest, the atrocities that took place in a world separated from the public.
She got up, looking at it once more before heading towards an encampment.
There, barely anyone was outside to keep watch, only a few that were used to the harsh environment waved at her. She headed for the biggest tent there is, letting herself in but keeping the sandstorm out.
"Why are we still wasting out time here when we already know all of them are in there?"
A man slammed his hands down on a table, capturing the attention of everyone in the tent. His baggy eyes and ragged look set him apart from the rest.
"You must understand" A young man tried to reason with him, "Not only is the weather unstable but we have yet to confirm the positions of the targets"
The ragged man pace quickly back and forth, he batted his eyes towards her. "What do you think then, Anora?"
"Should we stay here, idle around as they're free to do whatever they want down below our very noses?"
Anora looked at him, his dire state paired with his desperate eyes showed her just how desperate he was.
Truly a caring father
"I believe that even if we know most of the targets are known to be at the location, we must find a reasonable time to strike"
"Exactly" The young man said, "It would be best if we wait for the opportune moment rather than blindly rush in, thank you"
The young man nodded his head at her as a sign of gratitude. Meanwhile, the ragged man groaned.
"Of course, the paid help sides with their employer"
He looked at the empty chair, "I cant even have someone else by my side because he's late"
"Tell me then" He took a deep breath and finally sat down, "When can we finally go, Wing?"
Wing was surprised at his sudden change in attitude, but kept his composure
"As soon as the conditions are clear" He stated, "And when we can finally confirm that out main priority is still alive"
Wing pointed at the picture of a child, a young bot whose name was displayed right below his picture.
Timothy Howard.
Wing grabbed his coat, he looked at both of them as he wore it.
"I know that we're here not only because of the money, but also for our own personal reasons"
"Even I want to rush in now" Wing told them, "But this is something we can't afford to fail"
Those words made the ragged man react, his composure wavered as it reminded him of what's at stake.
"Let's meet again later on tonight" Wing said befoire he went off.
Meanwhile, Anora approached the man who shook controllably.
"Ikra, I know you worry of him, but he's a tough kid"
She gently placed her hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him even if it's just a little.
"After all, you raised Ryu to be the toughest nut there ever was"
It made Ikra laugh, one mixed with anxiousness. "He was never someone to sit down"
"It makes me worry about how they're treating him" He clasped his hands together.
His behavior concerned Anora. Ever since Ryu went missing, he's been on high alert the entire time.
A gust of storm blew over the both of them, they turned to see a pale man coated in black enter.
"I couldn't help but hear the two of you" He sat down in the seat previously empty.
"Better late than never, right?"
Ikra looked at him with malice, "Where were you while we were having the meeting, Arm?"
"I was busy" He reached in his satchel and pulled out something wrapped in cloth. He unfolded it and revealed a set of tools.
"And frankly, couldn't be bothered"
Ikra looked at him confused, "What do you mean you couldn't be bothered?"
"It's a meeting that's about the operation YOU'RE in!"
Arm shook his bag onto the table, rolling out multiple orb-like objects. He grabbed one of them and started to tinker with it.
"I couldn't be bothered because no matter what, oil and water won't mix" He told him, "No matter how hard you shake, they'll eventually separate"
He cracked one of them open, revealing the intricate design inside. Arm inspected its contents, replacing some of the parts that seemed broken.
"It doesn't take a genius to figure out how this meeting will end with you and Wing in the room" He told them as he tinkered around.
"I just came afterwards because I know all the pent up steam will blow out once it ends"
Ikra bit his tongue, he wanted to talk back to him but he knew he was right.
The meeting was bound to end with nothing done. "So what's the plan then?"
He shut the ball back together, "Prepare" He placed the ball back to his satchel and cracked another one open, "I guarantee you that Wing won't have his way this mission"
Anora's ears perked up, Wing was in charge of the operation. He was calling the shots, so why did Arm say that?
"So it'll go your way?"
"No" Arm told her, "It'll go nobody's way"
"Just like how oil and water doesn't mix, those three down below don't either" He grabbed the documents on the table and slid over some papers towards Anora.
"Read this"
She picked it up, looking at the three who were in charge of the operation. "I already read about it, they're experienced enough to deal with all of the teams dispatched so far"
"They're adept in all kinds of warfare" Ikra added, leaning in closer. "Even in areas we haven't dived in yet"
"Even if we outnumber them, we're still up against professionals here"
Arm applied pressure on a part deep inside the ball, suddenly popping it out.
"Interestingly enough, each of them has some form of history with us too" He reminded them, "Most obvious one being the person currently absent"
Anora looked at the entrance, checking if anyone was arriving before she spoke. "It's probably eating away at him inside"
"After all, they've been together for years"
"We're fighting our own battles here" Ikra told her, "Just as I have to keep myself under control, he has to pull the trigger without hesitation"
Ikra grabbed a tool from Arm's organized set and started copying what he was doing.
Arm sighed, "As long as you don't break anything" he said as he continued to do maintenance on his items.