Ch.110Addiction! (6)

#110

There was a sense of indignation at taking a bullet when he hadn’t even been hit during his time with the Navy SEALs, but Kuma cursed as he felt pain so intense it made his back break out in sweat.

“Ah… damn it. Got shot in such an embarrassing way.”

“A-Are you okay?”

His shoulder was burning so badly it felt like someone was stabbing him, but Agent Kuma forced a smile to reassure Himena.

“I can manage somehow… but the problem is that they’ll likely change their attack pattern now that I’ve been hit. More aggressively. Probably… they’ll circle around and target you, senior.”

The terrain where the two were positioned resembled a moat dug around an excavator, meaning if someone hid in the moat-like formation and circled around, they’d be completely vulnerable.

“We need to… ugh… block them from circling around.”

“I think so too… about six of them left, right?”

“Probably.”

‘What would Dexter do?’

Dexter would have gone through countless battles from fifteen years ago until now.

She wished for his help, but unfortunately, Dexter was on duty.

“Six is an awkward number for surrounding us… but one is injured, and they probably think the other one is just a woman weaker than them, so they’re likely to attack from all directions… like a hexagon.”

“I see…”

Himena was contemplating how to fight.

Soon, just as Agent Kuma predicted, the PMC team stopped firing and began spreading out to both sides.

‘The Indian agent is understandable… but that female agent!’

The mercenary leader, crawling slowly in a low position, was grinding his teeth in frustration.

Not only did she throw stones like grenades to create distractions, but if his eyes weren’t deceiving him, she hadn’t missed a single shot when targeting his team members from over 50 yards away.

‘Which agency is she from…?’

The mercenary leader had only been told to infiltrate near the house of a man called “Agent Thompson,” with no further details.

The two people in black suits they had followed were roughly known to be government agents, but their exact affiliation was unknown.

Setting aside the already injured Indian agent, the Latin female agent’s actions were the main concern.

While the mercenary leader was wary of Himena, she decided to attempt a new escape plan.

“You said they’re coming to surround us now, right?”

“Yes, they should be moving into position…”

“Let’s bolt.”

“What?”

“Let’s make a run for it. Wouldn’t it be better to move quickly and escape by car before they surround us? First, you get in the car. I’ll cover you.”

Agent Kuma was about to say something more but nodded instead, the sharp pain in his shoulder preventing further argument.

After Himena looked around through the gaps in the excavator and nodded, Agent Kuma carefully made his way to the car first.

“Urgh.”

The sudden movement sent waves of pain through his throbbing shoulder.

Hearing the sound, one of the PMC team members peeked his head out from his cover.

“Damn it, they’re trying to run!”

“No!”

-Ratatata!

Himena shouted and immediately fired at the spot where the team member’s head had appeared.

“That crazy bitch…”

The team member who nearly got a hole blown through the center of his head barely managed to duck down, wiping his chest in relief while muttering curses.

-Click-click, click!

“Come on, read the room. Piece of shit car…!”

Frustrated that the engine wouldn’t start properly, Agent Kuma slammed his uninjured hand on the dashboard.

-Vroooom…!

‘It actually worked?’

But there was no time to celebrate.

As soon as the car started, Agent Kuma looked at Himena, who was still crouching behind the excavator.

“Senior, the engine’s running!”

“Got it!”

Just as Himena was about to leave the cover of the excavator, the mercenary leader shouted.

“They’re escaping, shoot! Shoot them!”

-Ratatata, ratata!

Bullets rained down on Himena’s path.

She winced each time she heard the ground being punctured near her heels.

While running toward the car, Himena carefully observed the direction of the muzzle flashes and sprayed bullets in the direction of the likely PMC positions as she dashed for the car.

-Ratata, ratatatatata!

From Himena’s perspective, she was firing without proper aim, but to the mercenaries who had to dodge her bullets, her accuracy was frustratingly high.

Bullets whizzed just over their heads or struck the ground right next to them—it was infuriating how accurately she could fire with a submachine gun, which typically had relatively low accuracy.

“Suppressive fire! It’s just suppressive fire! Hurry and shoot that car!”

Hearing the mercenary leader’s shout, Himena jumped into the passenger seat and urgently called out.

“Go! Hurry!”

Agent Kuma immediately floored the accelerator, and they began to leave Box Canyon.

The PMC team members stared blankly at the two escaping.

“What are you staring at like idiots! Shouldn’t we be shooting the car?!”

“B-but what about retrieving the Polytechnic…?”

“Forget about retrieval! Shouldn’t we catch those bastards first? Shoot!”

Following the mercenary leader’s orders, they aimed at the car and opened fire.

-Ratatata, ratatatata…!

-Crash!

“Oh my God!”

Himena, who had been ducking her head to avoid bullets, was terrified when she saw a bullet pierce through the rear window and headrest, shattering the front windshield.

“D-drive faster!”

“That was just a lucky shot! Without a professional sniper, they can’t hit people inside a moving vehicle!”

Just as Agent Kuma said, although the PMC agents continued to hit the car, most shots missed or only broke windows.

The car was now just a dot in the distance.

The mercenary leader closed his eyes tightly at the sight.

It was a typical mission failure—they had let their targets escape despite having superior numbers.

The PMC mercenaries, knowing full well what would happen to them when they returned, looked up at the sky with blank expressions.

-Thud-thud-thud-thud…

It wasn’t an ordinary helicopter but a military transport helicopter.

“W-what should we do, team…?”

-Bang!

The mercenary leader shot the team member beside him and then began shooting the other team members as well.

Not understanding why their team leader was killing them, the team members fired back at the mercenary leader.

“What the fuck, the team leader’s gone cra—”

-Ratatata!

“Y-you crazy son of a b-bitch…”

After four more members died instantly, the only one left spoke while changing magazines from his hiding spot in a ditch.

“What the hell are you doing! A team leader killing his own men, did you get shot in the head?!”

“It’s about keeping secrets. I’ll follow you all soon.”

“You’re talking nonsense, you psycho!”

As the team member hiding in the ditch slightly raised his body to fire his rifle, the mercenary leader silently aimed at his head.

-Bang!

A clean, merciless bullet went straight to his forehead, killing him instantly. The mercenary leader stared at the dead team member for a moment, then drew the pistol holstered at his side.

He approached the incapacitated team members.

“Wait, wait a sec—”

“I knew this would happen! DevGru my ass, you’re just killers who shot Bin Laden in the head! Murderous bastard who kills his own team members…”

“Confidentiality can go to hell.”

“You devil.”

-Bang, bang, bang…!

After taking down all six team members, the mercenary leader looked at the military helicopter approaching and gave a bitter smile.

“Long live the General.”

Placing the pistol barrel under his chin, the mercenary leader pulled the trigger.

-Bang!

* * *

OSA Headquarters infirmary.

“What is this?”

“Emergency Healing Factor ampule.”

Dexter, holding a syringe, frowned at Agent Kuma as if telling him to stop asking questions.

“How much did you say it costs?”

“Per ampule… anyway, it’s quite expensive. Stop asking, will you? Just take the shot. You’re a man, but you talk too much.”

When Dexter frowned at him, Agent Kuma averted his gaze and said:

“It’s just that you don’t seem like a professional. But one last question.”

“What.”

“Why did you bring that ampule?”

“In case Himena got hurt. But now I’m using it on some hairy guy instead.”

Finding it a waste to use such an expensive ampule on him, Dexter glared at Agent Kuma and clicked his tongue.

“It’ll sting. Just bear with it.”

After thoroughly disinfecting Agent Kuma’s shoulder, Dexter inserted the needle and injected the Healing Factor.

At first, it felt like the coldness of the ampule was spreading, but suddenly the wounded area began to throb.

“Ah, ssss. It hurts?”

“Wait a little longer.”

Dexter watched Agent Kuma with interest, while Agent Kuma looked back suspiciously.

After a few minutes, it became more painful than when he was shot.

Agent Kuma screamed loud enough to shake the infirmary, feeling as if someone was tearing open his wound and pouring salt on it.

“Ah, AH! AAAGH!”

“Bear with it. The rapid healing activates the surrounding nerves, so the pain is quite intense.”

“You could have told me that first! AAAAGH!”

As Agent Kuma continued to howl, Dexter smirked.

“The wound will heal soon, so stay still. It won’t hurt after about 5 minutes.”

“F-five whole minutes?! AAAAGH?!”

Agent Kuma pointed at the duty doctor who had been watching with concerned eyes.

“Painkillers! Give me painkillers now!”

Regardless of whether Agent Kuma was in pain or not, Dexter disposed of the syringe and ampule in the medical waste bin and said:

“Ms. Himena, let’s go.”

Himena, who had been waiting nearby, followed Dexter and asked:

“Kuma did his job well, why are you torturing him?”

“Who’s torturing him? That stuff works incredibly well. And it’s extremely expensive too.”

Hearing that such an item was used on Agent Kuma, Himena asked in confusion:

“Why use something so expensive on Kuma?”

“I had a box of ampules, and once opened, they have to be used within a day. It would be a waste to throw them away, so I might as well give it to that guy.”

“And the reason you didn’t tell him it would hurt?”

“Because I was annoyed with him.”

Dexter said with a grin.

“I heard that when the support troops arrived, everyone was dead. Is that true?”

“Yes, that’s what they said. But the problem is, we didn’t kill anyone.”

“What?”

“We only shot arms and legs.”

“When I asked the agent who brought in the bodies, they said someone had neatly put a 9mm bullet in the center of each head.”

Hearing this, Himena became irritated.

“Ugh! We only had submachine guns, which use .45 caliber bullets. It wasn’t us—either those PMC mercenaries committed suicide, or someone from their own team killed them.”

Himena pouted at the news that all potential evidence was lost due to the deaths.

“This is ridiculous, seriously.”

“What can we do? At least you retrieved the Polytechnic, right?”

At Dexter’s question, Himena shook her head vigorously as if it were obvious.

“Of course. Other agents are currently comparing the new product with the one Agent Thompson used.”

“We’ll have to wait a few days for the results.”

“Yes. They probably won’t be ready until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest.”

Dexter smiled and pointed to the headquarters exit.

“Then let’s go home. Surely they won’t make someone who crossed the line of fire work more, right?”

“That’s true… but let me tell my senior agent first. I can’t just leave without saying anything.”

Himena scurried off to her department’s office.

When she returned shortly after, there was a twisted smile on her face.

“From your face, I’m guessing you heard something unpleasant.”

“Hehe, they asked where I thought I was going after getting a rookie agent shot, so I told them the hole’s gone now and ran away.”

“That’s my girl.”

Dexter stroked the back of Himena’s head, making her smile as she grabbed his sturdy arm.

“Now that the tension’s gone, I’m hungry. Let’s go eat.”

“Sounds good. Jesse’s waiting in the car, so let’s go together.”

Himena nodded at Dexter’s suggestion.