Challenge

14:40

Road connecting the airfield and the pier

Everyone gets shocked by the sudden voice. Sohel asks, "Who is it?"

The man replies, "Does it really matter?"

"Did you...."

Lt. Malhotra cuts of Sohel and yells in the comms, "Did you just say you created those monsters?"

"Yes, I did."

"You, Bastard.....Why? ....Why?"

Lt. Malhotra breaks down in tears. "Why? Why did you have to kill them like this?"

Sohel gestures at Mitali, and Mitali tries to calm him down.

Naomi asks, "Why did you make them?"

"Let's just say it's a hobby. Well, now that the small fries are out of the way, let's start the main show, shall we?"

"Main show?" Sohel asks.

"Yup. I've got a challenge for you, the Bravo squad."

"What challenge?"

"Just as the 50 gorillas you killed, I have 300 more of them. At exactly 15:30, I'll release them to roam free on the island. Your challenge is to survive and reach the control centre in the middle of the island before midnight."

Sohel replies, "And what gives you the idea that we'll just accept this stupid challenge of yours?"

"Oh, you will. If you want your remaining buddies alive, you'll accept my challenge."

Mitali exclaims, "What?"

"Exactly what I said. Your remaining three SNA buddies are here with me. If you don't accept the challenge, I kill them. You try to leave the island; I kill them. You fail the challenge; I kill them. Now go ahead and choose. Will you accept the challenge or let your friends die?"

The comms go silent.

Sohel asks, "ARIA, you got the signal?"

"Yes, Captain. The signal belongs to the radio of Lt. Maverick, and it's originating from 5.2 km north-east from here."

Wrinkles appear on Sohel's forehead as he says, "So, he wasn't lying."

Mitali comes to him and shows him a chip. She says, "Look at this. I just got it from the back of one of the gorillas. It looks almost identical to the chip that was implanted in Luna's neck."

Sohel extends his hand, and Mitali gives it to him. Sohel inspects the chip and hands it over to Naomi.

He says, "Let's change positions for now. We need to plan how to handle this situation."

Everyone nods.

15:00

Airfield Control Tower

Everyone's sitting on the ground floor of the control tower. Lt. Malhotra impatiently looks at their faces and, after a moment, lashes out, "How long are you going to just sit around like this? You said we need a plan. So, what is the plan?"

Sohel gets up and says, "Gather around everyone. Time to tell you what to do."

In the next 25 minutes, Sohel explains his plan to everybody.

Lt. Malhotra asks, "Can we even do this?"

"We can. Just don't panic and do what you're told. I promise you'll be able to avenge your fallen comrades and go home alive."

"OK. I'll believe you."

"Good. Any questions?"

Everybody shakes their head.

"Good. Let get that bastard."

19:00

Suchitra Airfield

There were gorillas walking around all over the place. Suddenly an M240, a SKS and a silenced FMG-9 roared from the base of the control tower. The initial burst clears the runway but, in turn, alerts every gorilla of their position.

Jacob yells, "Let's go."

The three of them run towards the forest. As they enter the forest, they see a bunch of gorillas coming at them. They were shooting in their direction with AK-47s. They get to cover behind trees. They keep getting out of cover, take out a few gorillas with short bursts, and change cover in the dark. They keep on doing it, but to them it felt like a never-ending cycle.

Lieutenant Malhotra says, "They just won't end. How many did we kill?"

Jacob replies with a bit of excitement in his voice, "Don't know. I lost count after 39."

"I'm running out of ammo. I've got only one more magazine. How many you got?"

"I'm on my last Ammo box. I think I still have around 60-70 bullets left. Well, Boss told us what to do when our bullets run out. Just follow the plan."

Lt. Malhotra feels sceptical but hesitantly says, "Yeah. Let's do that."

In the next few minutes, they finally run out of bullets.

Lt. Malhotra asks, "What were we supposed to do again?"

Jacob throws his M240 and says, "What else? RUN!!"

They run towards the pier at top speed. While running, Jacob asks ARIA, "Yo, ARIA, how many did I kill?"

ARIA replies, "You successfully neutralised 81 tangos, sergeant."

Jacob clicks his tongue, "Tch. Missed the 100 mark."

Lt. Malhotra gets irritated and says, "Is it really the time to count kills like that? Immature bunch."

19:00

Suchitra Airfield

At the moment when Jacob and Malhotra were causing chaos, Sohel, Naomi and Mitali sneaked through the other side of the tower and entered the forest.

As they enter the forest, they activate their NVGs and slowly start heading towards the middle of the island.

Sohel says, "Everyone, stay sharp. Look out for hostiles. ARIA, keep your censored on and alert me if you find any signatures other than us three in the area."

ARIA replies, "Will do, captain."

As they slowly and silently navigate through the dense and dark forest, suddenly the sound of Jacob's MG stops.

Naomi says, "Looks like they're dry. Now I hope they can get to safety fast enough."

Sohel nods.

They reach the middle of the forest and find an opening. It was a big open field with a white-painted two-story building in the middle. There were a bunch of gorillas guarding the place.

They hide behind a bush and look at the place.

Mitali says, "It looks really heavily guarded. Can just the three of us get through?"

Sohel asks ARIA, "Analyse the place and generate the best probable approach."

ARIA replies, "Yes, captain."

Around 10 minutes later, ARIA replies, "Two probable approaches found."

"Show us the simulations."

ARIA relays both simulations one by one on their HUD.

As the simulations end, Mitali says, "No way, we're getting unscathed if we try these approaches."

Naomi tries to calm her down by saying, "But they look like the best approach."

Both look at Sohel for a decision. Sohel looks at them and then looks at the building.

He grabs his rifle tightly and sighs.

"There's no other way, huh! Then let's just do it. There seems no other way."