The Mercs - Part I

You couldn't ask for an easier job, she thought as she lit herself a final cigarette. As far as she was concerned, this was child's play. No challenge, no problem. The pickings had been pretty slim over the last few months, so she and her colleague didn't have much of a choice. Being a freelance mercenary isn't exactly the most consistent of professions. Sometimes you had several jobs lined up in a few weeks. Other times, the calls would stop dead for what seemed to be a very long time. Right now though, she was focused on getting the information needed for what she was getting herself into. With a playful sigh, she flicked the remains of her cigarette into the distance and walked into the meeting room.


It was a dimly lit room, with a small table that stood surrounded by three chairs. She pulled out a chair and sat down, putting her feet up on the table. Her colleague simply sat on his chair, crossing his arms as he grinned at her. They had been to dozens of these types of meetings. The door behind them opened as a short, middle-aged man walked in with a dossier. He quickly seated himself in front of them, staring for a moment at the woman's feet placed so defiantly on the table. The mercenaries gave each other a look that said, we got this. Opening the dossier, the man looked at both the mercenaries before speaking.


"How about we cut the formalities and get straight to business, sound good to you?" With a laugh, the woman put her feet down from the table and leaned in towards the man.
"In case you haven't heard of us", she smirked. "I'm Scarlet, and he's Drex" she said, tapping her partner on the arm.
"I know who both of you are, otherwise we wouldn't have called you in for this. If there is such a thing as an angel sent from Hell, you two are it. But don't let that go to your heads too much." The two mercs traded looks with a smugness about them. Moving the dossier closer to them, the man quietly awaited them to review it. Scarlet grabbed the opened dossier and sifted through its contents, humming in approval at what she was reading. She then handed it to her fellow merc, before she turned her attention to the man.


"Alright, if I read that thing correctly, it says you want us to get a data disk. Is that right?"
"That's correct", he said as he took back the dossier from Drex.
"Why do you need us for that? Couldn't you just send one of the lesser mercs", Drex smirked at him.
"We contacted the 'lesser mercs' but they didn't want to take this assignment after reviewing it."


That raised Scarlet's eyebrow. Mercs of a lower status didn't usually pass up jobs, especially ones this easy. Something was up, and she didn't like it. It had Drex feeling a little uneasy, too. This might be interesting after all, he thought. Scarlet fixed her eyes upon the figure in front of her, as he continued to talk about the job. She listened intently.

"We don't care who you have to kill, how long it takes or if one of you dies. We need that data disk back". He spoke with a cold demeanor as his eyes shifted between the both of them. Drex leaned back in his chair, rubbing his gruff chin for a moment.


"What's the pay out for this op exactly?", he asked frankly.
"Fifty million. Fifteen upfront, with the rest given upon delivering of the data disk."
"Are you serious?!", they both said in surprise, smiles etching themselves on their faces.
"Very serious. The people I work with and I believe it's a perfectly good amount for something that is invaluable to us."
"What exactly does this thing contain?", Scarlet pried as her eyes glistened with curiosity.
"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to discuss. All I can tell you, is that we want you two to get it for us. When you do, you'll be fifty million dollars richer. Get in there, get the damn data disk, and bring it back to us. No questions asked."


The mercs both looked at each other for a moment. Why not, they both thought. It seemed like a pretty easy pick up job. They had pulled off many that were far more dangerous than this before. This almost seemed too easy. They both shrugged it off as they turned their heads to the man. Speaking in unison, they both knew this was going to be a walk in the park.


"We're in."


The man clapped both his hands together in approval, motioning for them to stand up with him. He told them to wait a moment so that he could speak to his superiors, that he would return soon. Brushing his dark hair back with his hand, Drex looked at Scarlet with a cheap smile.


"Are these guys crazy? I mean, fifty million just to get some diskette that an amateur could do with sub-par equipment. Am I missing something here? What's your take on it, Scar?"
"I don't know Drex, this seems way too easy to be paying us that much. Not that I'm complaining, but there must be something really nasty on that disk. There's something else that bothers me", she said looking down at the floor for a quick moment.
"Yea, what is it?", he said as he lifted her chin up with his finger.
"I don't get why the lesser mercs would pass this up. I mean, do they see something we don't, because it basically looks like we're doing nothing and getting a whole lot for it."
"I don't know, girl" he said as scratched the back of his neck. "We'll just have to see when we get there".
"Yea, I guess we will", she replied with a hint of concern.


The door opened as the man walked back in. He quickly told them that his superiors were glad that they had accepted the job, and that they would have to depart as soon as possible. They both were given a very vague rundown of the facility that the data disk being held in. The man told them that this facility wasn't on the record books, and this mission was not to be filed in the records of The Association, the Merc hub. His company didn't want any unneeded attention, he told them. This is getting better every minute, thought Drex. Still, the money was as good as the really dangerous jobs, so he kept his mouth shut. The mercs shook the man's hand and stepped out of the meeting room and made their way back to base camp to ready themselves for the long journey. The man watched them walk away with a sinister, foreboding smile.


Good, he thought. Everything is falling into place.