“Okay, got a job for you Tourist. Here’s what you need to know…” “A runner of mine was coming back from Duty Territory, carrying some information for me from Barkeep. He got jumped by couple of bandits on his way here and being held hostage” He explained. “He’s alive for now because they want a ransom, either because they know his value to me or my runner told them about what he’s doing to buy himself time. It doesn’t matter in the end though, just get him back to me alive got it?” >”Wait, Am I going alone?” you ask. “Well… you could, but no. Pastor has been on the job for a bit and sent some of his scouts around the area. Ask him to add you into the group, he’ll appreciate the… extra hand” >”So.. Uh..” you dawdle, causing Sidorovich to raise an eyebrow. “What’re you waiting for? Get to it man” he drawled. >”I got no weapons, guy! I ain’t going there with my fists” “Oh right, heh” He chuckled, he reaches underneath the desk he leans on and produces a pistol and spare magazines. “Here, some staple stuff from the old country; before it collapsed anyway” he says as he slides the equipment under the window. “And also, take this too” he hands you a knife and a PDA. “Your electronics from outside world won’t work for jack in here, but then you’ve probably found out already.” “So here’s some options for you, either sell me your stuff or I can hold on to it.” >”Sell you my belongings? You kidding me?” “Well, if you want to drag your travel bag around the Zone be my guest. It’d make me laugh and definitely mark you as a tourist.” “Or you can turn your stuff into cash and try to blend in, your choice Tourist” >”What do you even want with my stuff anyway” “Well, I’m mostly interested in your electronics really. Circuit boards and hard drives are hard to come by in these areas and there’s plenty of thrifty technicians around looking for parts.” “I get it if you don’t want to sell your laptop and phone, tell you what; I’ll meet you halfway, you give me your electronics, and I’ll spare your memory in them” >You mull over his offer, on one hand you’ve had this for a while and to just depart with it is difficult but on the other hand, having cash and not looking like a target is very enticing. >With a great sigh, you take his offer. You retrieve your belongings and work your way down to the bunker again. Offering the old man the last vestiges of your foreignness. >”Here, take it” as you hand over your laptop and smartphone >Sidorovich rubs his hand with anticipation as he chuckles to himself, but before saying “You can keep your clothes by the way, just put them into the blue trunk case by your feet, I’ll wire the cash to you” ”And one more thing, here” he hands you a backpack and harness. “The rest can go into the-, ah.. You know what to do with it. Now go rescue the runner” he hurries you along as he grabs his toolbox, getting ready to dissect your laptop for parts. ____________________________________________________________________________ >You come out of the bunker with a new load out, a backpack, harness and a pea shooter. >You inspect your shooter closely, looking at the slides, hefting the gun itself for weight. All for no apparent reason besides the fact that you have a gun now. Then a voice chimes in. “You know how to use that?” >”What?” you say as you snapped out of your reverie. “Do you know how to use that thing? And for Christ’s sake get your finger off the trigger” Snapped Pastor as he pulled your finger out of the trigger guard. “You’ve never handled a gun have you?” Pastor questioned >”Not really.. No.” you mutter. Pastor sighs as he checks the chamber, “I’m not gonna go over all the rules for gun handling, here’s the basics. Fingers off the trigger, check where you’re pointing, always assume it’s loaded and here-” as he points to a nub on the slide “-is the safety got it new guy?” >He hands you back the pistol as you mention to him “So, Sidorovich gave me a job, said I could tag along with your guys…” “Oh that.. Well…” He hesitates on giving you an answer as he sizes you up and examines you. “Alright, you can tag along, just listen to the Scout Lead okay?” He concludes as he fishes out a walkie talkie from behind. “Ребята, я посылаю новый парень. Вы можете атаковать, если это необходимо” he finishes. “Alright, I’ve called them in. I’ll send you their location on the PDA; try not to shoot our guys alright?” he says with a hint of worry. >”Yeah, I got it” You finish as you hurry along to the location, a nondescript hill surrounded by shrubberies near an abandoned white van outside of a small tunnel. >It didn’t hit you at first but as you near the meeting place, you slowly realize that you’re actually going through this. >That you’re about to get shot at. Possibly. >That you might have to kill someone. >That you might die. >You slow down to a crawl as new sensations hits you. >Fear. Anxiety. >You look down to your pistol again, you hadn’t noticed before but you’re shaking uncontrollably. >Your breath quicken, can you actually pull the trigger given the chance? How do you know you won’t miss? If you miss will it cause someone else’s demise? It’s not a game anymore, there’s real consequences. >Questions upon questions pile themselves on you until you’re again snapped to reality by a voice. “Эй!” >You see a man in a white jacket waving at you. You jog towards him to him and the rest of the scouts. “Ты один он послал?” >Right, you’re in Ukraine. It’s either Russian or Ukrainian. >You have no idea what he said, but judging by the tone it’s a question. You simply nod at him, hoping that it’s a yes or no question. “Не беспокойтесь, он не может говорить по-русски” chimed another person, sitting near a bush. “або український” quipped another near him. >The group lead turns his head to you again, with a fresh look of concern on his face. “Вы турист?” >You definitely heard tourist in that one. >“Er… da?” >The two scouts sitting snigger at your poorly accented Russian. “вы двое заткнуться” The leader shot back at the two. “Я Павел” He says, pointing to himself. >He then points to the other two, starting from the man in a dark navy blue jacket and finishing at the man with tan jacket. “Он Kyrll и Илья” he says, introducing the members. “Просто следуйте за мной в порядке турист?” he sighs pointing to himself. >Again, no idea what he just said. Except the last bit, tourist. Goddamn it. You give him a blank look, as he gives up trying to communicate. “просто сказать да” he drawls as he nods at you. >You follow his action and nod “достаточно хорошо” he says as he turns around and motions the other two to follow.