Lethal Fragrance

Eight years ago

"Bravo team in position."

"Alpha team in position."

They had two military teams of 5 men each, stationing themselves at the edge of the compound. Hidden under the cover of the huge tropical jungle of Country F, the compound had gone unnoticed for years. With vegetation growing on the rooftops of all the buildings, it was no wonder that the satellites hadn't picked up on them for so long. But now that they knew, it was time for it to disappear. This extraction and destruction mission had needed the absolute best, reason why their team was called in, even though they were to be discharged the very next day.

"Our contact on the inside has secured us a 30 minute window. You have to get the contact out and place the explosives before the power comes back on. Alpha team will go for the extraction and Beta will deal with the explosives. The safety of the target is paramount. Godspeed."

The voice in their ears went quiet after giving them the orders. Both teams were in their respective positions waiting for the signal. According to the report, the target this time was a scientist who had created a miracle liquid capable of breaking down corpses and making them disappear, leaving no evidence behind, while being harmless to living beings. And it was named "Lethal Fragrance". Grayson didn't know who came up with that name, but it sounded stupid to him. If the agency hadn't messed up their first attempt on getting the scientist out, then his team wouldn't need to fly half around the world for this mission. His team mates were whining about the missed party all the way to Country F.

"Hey, Grayson, how do we know who the contact is?" Braylen asked. He was always the one asking questions, needing to know every little detail of every mission.

"Our target will be the only female in the west building. We know her position in the compound. Plus she will have a code phrase." Grayson was the only one who knew the code phrase for security reasons. But he knew his team mates wouldn't ask anyway.

"Man, if she is a grandma and needs to be carried it's up to you Owen. You're the nicest one here. But if it's a babe I call dibs."

"Braylen, we are not here for you to pick up chicks. So shut up." Zachary was always the one responding to Braylen's brazen remarks.

"Ok power is out. Move move move!"

After the voice went silent, Grayson led his team in the compound from the west side while Beta team move towards the east side. With the moving sensors out of commission they moved straight towards their target building. Grayson was at the front with Zach and Bray on his left and right, Owen and Max covering their backs. They could already hear gunshots from the other end of the compound, so they upped their vigilance and moved faster.

Shouting came from somewhere in front, alerting them of the enemies presence. Grayson signaled for Zach to move left and Bray to cover him while he moved forward. Around the corner a team of 8 mercenaries was guarding the entrance to the building with 4 more running to reinforce them. Grayson took position and with his signal the three of them opened fire on the 12 mercenaries. With every shot hitting the head, they were all dead in less than 2 minutes. Walking through the corpses to get into the building, Max started firing to an incoming team of 5. Quickly going through the entrance, they barred the door and moved fast towards the second floor.

Killing everyone on their way to the second floor, the building started smelling of gunpowder and blood, reminding him of the war-zones. Twenty dead on the first floor and thirty on the second before they reached their destination. Thankfully only a minor bullet wound on his arm on their side.

"Alpha team, be advised, the contact said she dispersed a sleeping drug in aerial form at the room she is in. Put on your masks before entering."

"Understood." Grayson put on his mask and signaled for the rest of the team to follow suit. Finally reaching their destination, Grayson as the head of the team, was the first one to go into the room. He opened the door to a room full of long tables and weird chemistry bottles and tools. Six mercenaries were sprawled asleep on the floor but he couldn't see any females in the room. Deciding to call out the code phrase anyway, he signaled Bray and Zach to get inside the room, leaving Owen and Max keeping guard outside.

"The eagle has landed."

Hearing shuffling sounds from the left back side of the room he turned and aimed his weapon that way. A small head of silver grey heir slowly showed up from behind one of the long tables. Gradually a small child around the age of 11 walked out from behind that table, leaving the whole team stupefied. The girl looked at them with her green eyes wide open and an undisguised look of hope on her face.

"The eagle has taken flight." The little girl said and walked towards Grayson. She stood in front of him, hugging a small backpack on her chest, waiting for them to take her away.

"Fuck. Braylen pick her up, it will be faster and safer to move this way. We are getting to extraction point now." After coming out of the shock, he took point to lead the team to the pick-up location. Braylen put the gun on his back and picked up the small girl in his arms. They ran for the next 10 minutes without break, reaching the meeting point before finally relaxing.

Grayson looked at the little girl still nestled in Braylen's arms and couldn't wrap his head around the facts. He went to stand in front of her and held out his hand.

"Little girl, what's your name?"

"Skylar."

"Are you the one they call the mad scientist?"

"Yes."

Grayson sighed heavily and turned to his team. Seeing all of them looking shocked, he shook his head and tried to get to the bottom of this.

"I am Grayson and this is my team, Maxwell, Owen, Zachary and the one holding you is Braylen. From what I understand the government doesn't know of your age."

She looked at him for a while before responding, debating whether to trust him or not. She looked in the eyes of every one of them before responding.

"My deal with the government was for absolute freedom after my extraction. I would stay in Country A for the next 15 years and for 500 thousand dollars I would give them my formula, while agreeing to never share it with anyone else. If they knew of my age, I couldn't have gotten my freedom. Although I will be going to an orphanage and will still be monitored closely by them, it still is better than being caged again."

Grayson looked at the little girl with the serious but cute face and marveled at her intelligence. He looked at his brothers, seeing the same thing in their eyes as what he was thinking, and blew out a heavy sigh. Taking the little girl in his arms, he hugged her close and asked her something that would change all of their lives.

"Then how about you come home with us?"

The little girl drew back and gave him a huge smile, right when a huge explosion came from the compound they just ran away from, leaving the earth on their feet shaking.