Ghosts: The Unit That Doesn't Exist

It was the seventh day and Mandrew's group was gathered around an 8k monitor screen, watching the RLCS finale.

Mandinga was running in the finals, going against Terravas, a new but promising EU team.

"There's no NA team in the RLCS finale this time?" Ivan Rodriguez asked in disbelief.

Mandrew gripped his fists tightly, distraught, "If only I was there… NA needs me!"

Mandinga was easily winning the match; it seemed that Terravas making it to the finals was a complete fluke.

'Their situation is different from mine. Terravas is but a new team, so making it to the finals is more than sufficient for them. They've already surpassed everyone's expectations.' Mandrew inwardly complained.

"Mandinga is going to be taking home a second RLCS win, huh?" Ivan Rodriguez sighed, looking over at Mandrew who didn't respond.

"Hoah… What happened to you?" Mandrew muttered weakly, his body feeling faint.

Ivan Rodriguez quickly moved to support him, following his eyes to the television.

On the screen, Mandrew caught sight of Hoah Nill, but his face was deathly pale and eyes a bloodshot red. His condition didn't look normal, and his darkened eyes appeared to be devoid of the slightest trace of life.

'What happened to Hoah? Bergio Borshnero… Bolonso Borshnero… The two of you fucks will pay if you hurt him!'

Mandrew worried that the worst could have happened! There was the possibility that the Borshnero Bros had forced Hoah Nill into accepting the Mandinga—the devil himself—into his heart.

Despite feeling betrayed, he was deeply worried about Hoah's condition. They had been friends since long ago, and he wouldn't give up on him so easily. Concerned, he hoped that Ivan would have some answers, but alas… he didn't have a single clue.

There seemed to be some sort of nefarious change going on with the Mandina team, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. If there was one thing Mandrew knew for sure, it was that the Borshnero siblings were at the root of it all!

The game ended after a minute without any suspense. Mandinga did it, they won twice in a row.

Knock! Knock!

Mandrew nearly jumped as someone suddenly pounded against the door and with a loud boom, the door was bashed down. Sam Hyde swiftly forced his way in, his face bubbling with excitement and leaking blood, laughing jovially.

"Everyone, it's time to leave. Leave your games behind and follow me. And by the way, you'll be referring to me as Master Kenchiro Ichiimada from here on out. When we go out there, we leave our real names behind. Got it?"

Mandrew and the others superficially nodded, playing along with whatever games Sam Hy—Master Kenchiro Ichiimada had in mind, only to suddenly be affronted by his verbal assault once again.

"Here, I've come up with some names for each of you. Let's see here," he reached around his pockets, pulling out a small crinkled piece of paper. "Alright, Ivaan Evilrez, you're known as 'total amount due: $5,382.89…'"

Master Kenchiro Ichiimada froze, his breathing ragged with rage apparent on his face. Taking in deep breaths, he slowly cooled down. "Okay. That was the wrong note, just give me a second!" Fishing around his back pockets, he pulled out another note, "Okay. Ivaan Evilrez, you're now known as Roach."

"Roach? Am I some sort of bug in your eyes?" Ivaan frowned in displeasure. His plump beady eyes—a minor side effect from the Super Soldier Formula—staring with a dark, malevolent glare.

"No. It's Roach as in 'unkillable or never dying.' Next is Ivan Rodriguez who will go by Wolverine. Price Boole, just go by Captain Price. And Mandrew Acclintock, your nickname is Ghost."

Master Kenchiro Ichiimada spoke quickly with an authority that left no room to be questioned.

"Remember, we are Ghosts: The Unit That Doesn't Exist. There's no one to know our names, and you can't be forgotten if you were never known in the first place. Only advice I have for you: don't screw up. Let's go."

Ghost, Captain Price, Roach, and Wolverine orderly followed behind Master Kenchiro.

Their squad was formed of five super soldiers and as they walked through the corridors, every soldier in the military facility looked at them fearfully. These giants could easily crush their skulls with one hand! Such a thought was terrifying!

These soldiers were all very thankful, going as far as checking off today's date on the calendar with a whimsical joy. No more would these threats be lurking on base, walking among them.

Soon, the group arrived at Serones' office. Master Kenchiro pushed the door open without the slightest knock.

Serones was stunned, but more so were Mandrew and the others… Serones was playing with a Tamagotchi, one of those handheld digital pet games, while smoking a cigar….

"This… This isn't what it looks like!" he coughed awkwardly as he tried to explain before his temper suddenly bulged with veins in anger. "And for fucks sake, what the hell are you doing in my office, Sa—."

"Shush now," Master Kenchiro appeared in front of Serones in a flash, placing his finger uncomfortably close to Serones' lips and causing him to choke as he breathed in his cigar.

"Just shush and be quiet. I'm Master Kenchiro Ichiimada right now. Remember?"

Serone's eyes nearly popped out as went into a coughing fit, "Ehck. Eck! Hell no. There's no fucking way you with S—Master Kenchiro."

"Joe Rogan is there, and you knew that, didn't you? Do you really want me to berserk right now?" he threatened.

"How did you know? That's top secret intel—"

"I have my own connections, and I'm going whether you like it or not. You better prepare a large quantity of Super Soldier Formula for the trip."

Serones heaved heavily in anger, a twisted expression on his face. Things were not going as he pleased, and Mandrew a.k.a. Ghost wanted to get out of that room asap!

The atmosphere was tense, there seemed to be an invisible pressure suffocating them.

"Alright. Alright. The four of you are very promising, and I expect that the mission will run smoothly. As for Master Kenchiro," he snickered, "Just ignore him and focus on your mission. Don't let him get you guys killed with his nonsensical plans."

"Now, go to the courtyard, A CH-47D Chinook military aircraft is preparing to land. They'll be taking you to your destination. One more thing, there's another member that will be joining your squad who should be arriving in the courtyard momentarily. Go meet them."

Without much of a goodbye, they left for the courtyard.

Exiting into the courtyard, they saw their new member… a large humanoid figure in some sort of armor, various hoses plugged all throughout the suit. Was he a man? Or was it a machine?

Roach a.k.a. Ivaan was startled, "They did it… they rebuilt him. He's better, faster, stronger."

"They rebuilt him?" Ghost was at a loss before thinking back to Mike Ohckiner (Sean Weller).

Approaching them, it said with a robotic voice, "Hello, I am Cyborg #0009. Code name: Mike Ohckismol."

The others nearly laughed at the humiliating code name, but came to a harsh realization.

Sean Weller was gone, that man died a year ago. This Cyborg #0009 was merely a program in the flash of man; it was a broken vessel.

'Whatever, none of that matters now!' Ghost shook his head, when suddenly the sound of an aircraft's propellers could be heard in the distance.

Holding their breath, they watched as a massive gray chopper came into view, quickly landing on the ground. The loud switching of the propellers was harsh on their ears, but theft remained calm, patiently waiting until the door opened and entry was permitted.

Master Kenchiro appeared, giving but a brief glance of distrust towards the cyborg, "Alright, follow me. It's time to go."

The group hastily boarded the aircraft, and it departed immediately, shooting into the sky at an uncomfortably fast speed.

'It's pretty comfortable inside here, contrary to what I imagined. It would've been nice to learn a bit more about our mission though.' Ghost thought, relaying his questions to Master Kenchiro.

"All I know is that Joe Rogan is here," he stated firmly. "While this isn't very helpful, I can tell you that we're on our way to the Nuristan Province in Afghanistan. I've got some contacts who can help us locate the base and complete our missions."

"They'll help us? What do they get out of it?" Ghost asked doubtfully.

"Heh. They owe me some favors. And they're just sitting around, bored all day. These types of people thirst for a life where they're living on the edge, so they'll show up either way."

Ghost nodded, quietly surmising to himself, 'I guess we have some insurance with his help. I just don't understand, why wouldn't they tell us anything about this mission? Or the nuclear facility's location? Is that some sort of scavenger hunt? Maybe they don't know where it is? Or maybe Cyborg #0009 is our key to finding it? What if it's keeping tabs on us?'

He couldn't trust Cyborg #0009. This had to be some sort of way for Serones to watch over them and maintain control of the situation. After all, this robot had various technological components, and yet they were left oblivious of its functions.

None of this situation was making any sense and their enhanced abilities had nothing to do with navigation or tracking.

Master Kenchiro suddenly spoke up, "How about I tell you about my contacts? More specifically, this mercenary group who will be of assistance to us?"

"Uh. Sure. I mean, why not?"

Ghost and the others found their interest piqued.