The Cruel Fate That Lies Ahead

Silence filled the air. The bullet had hit its mark. Blood gushed out from the hole in his head.

The enemy sniper had fallen to the ground, dead.

“One down!” Viktor announced through the radio.

“Thanks. You saved my life.” John breathed a sigh of relief.

“It’s my job to cover for you. Don’t worry.”

“Haha, yes. How many enemy targets are left?” John asked.

“Remaining enemy soldiers are in the western part of the camp, trying to flee. Richard is moving towards there, right now.”

“Give him aerial support. I’ll find a high ground position.” John ordered.

“Roger that!”

Richard was running towards the Western part of the enemy camp. Allowing the rebels to escape was punishable by death. If Russia were to find out about this new technology of highly efficient bodies, war might become inevitable.

Adrenaline levels increased as he felt the blood rush to his limbs. His running speed tremendously increased as he jumped from one terrace to another.

Richard could hear the remaining enemy soldiers panic and scream as they tried to board their vehicles and escape. One of them pointed to the rooftop on which he was standing and screamed. Richard threw the last grenade he had, it landed on the ground, exploding next to the truck.

The explosion hit the fuel tank of the truck, causing it to explode too. Richard began firing at the rest of the enemy soldiers who were still stunned by the explosion.

After a few minutes of continuous gunfire, Richard walked up to the burning truck. A man had been stuck under the burning truck’s wheel and couldn’t move.

Richard fired. The shot resonated through the battlefield as the blood from the man’s head splattered everywhere, leaving a few drops on Richard’s face too.

An enemy soldier screamed from behind as he picked up his gun and aimed. Richard was too late. Before Richard could turn back, multiple rounds were fired.

The enemy soldier dropped to his knees and fell flat on his face. Jason was standing there with his assault rifle in his hand, smoke rising from the nozzle.

“Thanks.” Richard muttered.

“It’s all over, right? We can finally go home, right?” Jason asked.

“The helicopter should land here any time soon,” Richard replied.

Jason smiled. “John, report to the headquarters that the operation was successfully completed.”

“Roger that. The helicopter will be landing in 2 minutes. Meet me there.” John replied over the radio.

“Roger!”

Richard and Jason ended up meeting John at the place where the helicopter was about to land. The helicopter slowly landed in the middle of the enemy camp which was now covered with corpses. Dust flew everywhere as the rotor’s blades slowed down. The helicopter landed and Viktor and Brian walked out.

“Did we finish the mission? Can we go home?” Brian asked.

“Stop asking too many questions and just wait!” Viktor scolded.

They all laughed under the dusty grey clouds that blocked the sunlight from reaching the ground. The gusts of wind continued to lift the dust into the air.

The radio hissed as John picked it up.

“Headquarters, the mission is complete. I repeat, the mission is complete.” John said through the radio and then smiled at the rest of his comrades.

“Finally, we can go home...” Jason said.

“But we didn’t achieve ‘Stage V’. No one here reached ‘Stage IV’ either.” Brian said.

The smile on their faces faded and their moods now perfectly matched the gloomy atmosphere.

“Did we really succeed in the mission?” Jason asked.

“The CIA won’t be happy with this. Of course, this combat data would be useful but what they wanted was to observe ‘Stage V’.” John replied.

“I’m sick of this! I don’t want to do this anymore!” Brian complained.

“Stop! We can’t do anything about it.” Viktor consoled him as he patted his back.

“That means we aren’t going home...” Jason muttered.

“No, we will. They will just put us in another experiment to induce ‘Stage V’. If required, they might even force it out of us...” John replied.

“The CIA isn’t very forgiving huh...” Viktor said.

---

After a few hours of travelling, the agents had finally reached the headquarters. They were sent to the research and development wing immediately for tests and observations. The five agents were placed on their respective beds and were connected to the ‘System’. Their heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen saturation levels were all being monitored continuously.

“Minimal damage and one hundred and fifty enemy soldiers dead. This is amazing!” Mr Kawasaki exclaimed.

“No, we still don’t know anything about ‘Stage V’. These useless agents keep whining, allowing their emotions to interrupt their mission.” the Director said.

“Sir...There is no need to learn about ‘Stage V’ so early on. This itself is revolutionary technology.” Mr Kawasaki said.

“NONSENSE! A small whiff and the Russians will be able to duplicate this easily. We need to be a step ahead. This is definitely not enough!” the Director, Michael Porter shouted.

“Sir, even if that’s the case, we just don’t know anything about ‘Stage V’ to be able to perform any experiments safely. Sending them to the rebel-controlled territory itself was too risky.”

“Shut up! Don’t tell me what to do. Just do as you are told. There is no need to perform the experiments safely. If we get results, their sacrifice would be worth it. All we need are the results. DO ANYTHING YOU CAN TO GET THOSE RESULTS!” the Director shouted, slamming his hand on the desk.

“Sir, at the max, we can artificially stimulate the adrenal glands using electricity to produce enough adrenaline to reach ‘Stage V’. But it’s too risky. We just don’t know what could happen at that point. There’s a high probability that we might just not find anything useful. We would just lose our agents for nothing.” Mr Kawasaki explained.

“We’ll take the chance. Even if the odds are not in our favour...The data might have been stolen. The Russians aren’t too far behind us.”

“Sir...the Russians aren’t too far behind us?”

“That is none of your business. Go get ready for the next experiments.” the Director ordered.

“Yes sir.” Mr Kawasaki said and walked out of the room.

---

Richard and his teammates had finally woken up. Mr Kawasaki walked in and stood next to the beds.

“What now? Aren’t you already happy with sending us to the battlefield? What more do you want?” John snapped.

“I...I just came to check your vitals...that’s all.” Mr Kawasaki stuttered. Unlike the agents, he was not good at lying. But he didn’t have the heart to tell them the truth.

John nodded and laid back down. The remaining agents continued to lie down as they watched Mr Kawasaki. He started reading the data from the ‘System’.

“Richard is the only one who reached ‘Stage III’ during the battle.” Mr Kawasaki said.

“Ha! Bet you were disappointed that none of us reached ‘Stage V’. The CIA, Research wing, Military, everyone only cares about ‘Stage V’. If they care so much, why don’t they just take up this role!” John shouted as he whacked the bed.

“Calm down. It’s all okay. Not everyone thinks about ‘Stage V’. I think it’s too early to research it. We won’t get anything out of it.” Mr Kawasaki said.

“Did you tell that to the Director?” John asked.

“I did...but...”

“I see.”

“John, I’m sorry.” Mr Kawasaki muttered.

John didn’t reply. He simply continued to stare at the ceiling. Everyone in the room understood how John felt. Being a tool, being used again and again until death, they all probably regretted joining the CIA.

“Why is the CIA in such a hurry?” Richard asked Mr Kawasaki. “It makes no sense. With this itself, we have an overwhelming advantage.”

“I don’t know. He said something about Russi-” Mr Kawasaki was interrupted by the sudden opening of the door. The Director walked in and looked at the data from the ‘System’.

“The battle was impressive. I was surprised too.” the Director said.

“Accuracy plays a big role in the battlefield, sir. You underestimated us.” Jason replied.

“Yes, you proved me wrong. The situation wasn’t capable of being life-threatening. But you all still failed at your primary objective.”

The agents did not reply. The Director then turned to the ‘System’ and looked at the data again.

“The Russians will get hold of this in no time. We need to perform the experiments fast.” the Director said.

“Agh ‘Stage V’ again! Again and again and again! Is ‘Stage V’ the only thing in the universe?” John yelled as he got out of his bed and walked up to the Director. He raised his head and looked at the Director straight in the eye.

“Calm down, John!” Mr Kawasaki shouted.

“I would have never perceived you to be the short-tempered type. You have always remained calm and composed at all times. This sudden change in your behaviour surprises me.” the Director said.

“How does that matter! My behaviour, everything else; nothing matters now! AREN’T WE DONE? WE DID EXACTLY WHAT YOU TOLD US TO DO!” John yelled.

“You failed to reach ‘Stage V’. The mission was a failure. You agents always put your emotions first and let them interrupt your work. The only person accountable for this failure is you.”

“WE STILL COMPLETED THE MISSION! We never let our emotions interfere with our work!” John yelled.

“If that was the case, you all might have reached ‘Stage V’. Now we need to conduct another experiment again on useless scum like you to reach ‘Stage V’.”

John’s rage intensified. Blood coursed through his veins towards his limbs. His heart rate increased significantly in a matter of seconds.

He grabbed the Director’s collar and pushed him to the wall. “Don’t you dare treat me like your slave!”

-Stage IV-

“OH LOOK IT’S ‘STAGE IV’. TOO BAD, IT ISN’T WHAT YOU WANTED.” John shouted as he lifted the Director up by his collar and pushed him against the wall. “BUT THIS MUCH SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO DESTROY THIS WHOLE FACILITY, RIGHT?”