Chapter 429 - Not The Only Merc

Not far south of Novac was a group of four people, the one leading them was a man in full heavy combat armour, he was 6.4ft and heavily muscled, with a large strange rifle on his back. His name was only known to be Drake, one of the most infamous Bounty Hunters around California.

Besides Drake was his lover and teammate, Madeleine. She was skinny, with a gaunt face and wore grey leather armour. Her blonde hair was cut short, and she stood at around 6ft, though, the sniper on her back was so large that it almost touched the floor... On her hip was a scoped .44 Magnum, a countermeasure should anyone get up close and personal.​​

Behind them were two men... Or to be more specific, one man and one boy. The man had dark skin and wore black painted leather armour, he had a pistol on his hip but also a large sword that looked fit to cut through flesh and bone. Stasus was the name people gave him, only because he never told anyone his real one.

Last but certainly not least was Hunter, a fourteen-year-old boy who'd been saved and raised by Drake and Madeleine... The fact that he'd survived so long was a testament to his luck, skill, and perhaps the protectiveness of his foster parents... He only had a 9mm pistol at his side, but on his back was a large backpack filled to the brim... On his chest were numerous grenades, all held up by their pins for easy use. He didn't wear any armour, only a green hoody and some jeans.

The four of them together made the mercenary group called Dissuade, a group famous for its efficiency and brutal tactics.

"Heh, wonder who's causing so much trouble that both sides want them gone?" Drake mutters as he walks, individually cracking each finger in preparation.

"Drake, I've read about this 'Parker' guy, and I don't think we should be taking it easy... If both sides know where he is but hires us instead, doesn't that mean they aren't able to do it themselves?" Madeleine says.

"Stop bitching, we'll get to Novac, cut off his head, and get our reward from both factions... Heh, it's like two for the price of one, easy peasy!" Drake laughs.

"Earlier at the Outpost, I heard that someone detonated some nukes nearby... Can I have them if we find some?" Hunter asks with a giddy, greedy look.

"No. You almost blew your arms off with those grenades of yours, I'm not gonna see what happens if you get a nuke!" Madeleine scolds.

"Guys, shut the fuck up... We're almost there." Drake says, pointing at the fortress city in the distance.

The group head west of Novac towards the mountainous area to get a better view into the city without having to sneak or force their way inside. By the time they get there it's already dusk, and the desert is wreathed in an orange glow of the dimming sun.

Madeleine looks through her weapons scope at the city and is listing off the various defences it has to the rest of her group. Though, there were a few things she wasn't so sure about... Regardless, she notes them anyway to prevent any mishaps from occurring.

When the next group of guards appear and start patrolling, she notes down their routes and timings, giving each of her team pieces of paper with the information written on it. Once is all said and done, it's time to move.

"Alright guys, you know the drill. Distraction, sneak in, capture the target, and get out. Let's try not to alert the whole place this time, Hunter..."

"Aww, come on! That was fun!" he complains but is forced silent under Madeleine's glare.

Drake thefts his rifle and starts headed down the mountain, followed by the rest of his group as he does so. Madeleine doesn't plan to enter the location, instead setting up a bit south of Novac to make it easier to retreat... Though, she will start making herself known if shit hits the fan.

Drake and Stasus hide behind some rocks close to the western wall of Novac as Hunter goes north. Once there he takes off his backpack and recovers a good amount of decoy grenades and shiny shards of glass.

It takes a couple minutes to set up, but before long he has everything interconnected behind various bits of cover. Once done he sits behind cover and waits for the signal, hopefully Drake wouldn't be able to capture the target too quickly... He was really looking forward to blowing something up.

With everything set up Drake and Stasus sneak towards the wall after a patrol walks past, due to how the wall was constructed, there are more than enough handholds for the duo to scale it. Once up, they drop into Novac without anyone the wiser.

Most of the town was sleeping at this point, but it didn't hurt to be careful, especially when you're life is at stake. They walk around Novac and eventually find a lone soldier who's currently taking a piss in between two buildings.

Drake nods at Stasus who silently charges at the man, kicking their slung rifle away before picking them up by their throat.

*Guhk!*

The guard chokes as he's literally lifted off of the floor by the large man, he attempts to struggle and free himself but it's no use... He knows his pistol is in his waistband but if he tried to draw it now he'd be defenceless... The fact that he hadn't been killed yet meant that these two needed something from him.

"Alright Stase, put him down." Drake says, and the large man drops the man into the puddle of his own piss.

Drake nods, "Alright, this is how this is gonna go, boy. You tell us what we want to know, or I'll do something horrible to you... Cool?"

The guard snorts and spits at Drake, the phlegm landing on his cheek and slowly dripping off.

Drake wipes it off and nods, "Alright, don't say I didn't warn ya."