Night of The Dead- Chapter 5: Why a Firebat?

The group had already left. The room fell silent again, salvation from the never-ending witty insults thrown around just now. My work here was done as well. A little few minutes of leisure before the operation requires our attention. The silver case holding my gun was slapped close, emptied save the foam padding attached inside. My thumb rested on a sensorboard next to the handle of the locker,a reader confirmed my prints, and the door swung open. After pulling out a few green ammunition boxes filled with red tipped copper bullets, I laid my silver case inside, and slammed the aluminum door close. It was then when I remembered that Crucist was not to be seen around for a while.

Crucist was a Middle-Eastern born French nationality. He was brought into the same team as mine about half a decade back, Crucist didn't have anymore than bushcraft basics with him. What amazed the team, was his ability to memorize maps. He could do two medium-sized cities in an hour, and remember every turn for a week. Our head reconnaissance, Mega, instilled in him the knowledge every tactical analyst should have: the ability to move two steps ahead of the enemies.
He fell a little shy of the early twenties, Crucist. But his looks showed years of involvement in the warfare. The UWA's alliance with the world was nothing short of publicity. Nations were still mass producing weapons, in case the war would spark up again. Ghost Teams were then created to conduct espionage operations in other nations to gain information.

Our age would be somewhat similar to the Generation that lived in the World Wars I and II, where youths were forced into battle to defend their desperate politicians from hostile takeovers. The difference now is that they had a strong marketing strategy, to make younths want to enlist into the military. Plus, many were still torn by the previous Biowar, which left kids homeless and orphaned. We were some of the many.
The cafeteria was quite lively, as I approached. Outside, I met up with Crucist. He had a map in his left hand, now already rolled up properly. He must've had enough of Boston City already.
"How's your preperation going?" I asked, trying to keep uo with his unwillingness to share anything more than information with the rest of the team, including me.
There was a nod.
Crucist pushed open the cafeteria door and disappeared behind the mass of steel, now a little rusty, probably from the salt water around the island. Letting nothing get to me with Crucist ramaining so much of a soloist, I joined them inside. The hall was filled with Kheez, Night Cat, Crucist and myself. Yet it sounded like a platoon inside.
"Ixate! Good that you're here. Come over here!" Night Cat was apparently already in a heated friendly argument of wits with Kheez.
"Tell me something. This is an SAR, right?"
I nodded.
"Then why is this fireman here? Isn't he an SAD?"
The hall suddenly fell silent, save the slurping sound of Crucist with the cup of coffee at the other end of the cafeteria. It felt really uncomfortable, when all eyes seemed to have themselves fixed on me. Crucists' was of no exception.

"Kheez. Why is he enlisted in this mission?" I was staring at the sheet of documentation the UWA sent the Admiral.
" Firebats are normally used in SAD operations, that I am well aware of." the Admiral hesitated to continue. I could see her expression changed a little. There's still something we should not know, about this operation.
"It's ok, Admiral. I understand." I turned from the red table to face wall of glass windows overlooking the outside world. It was almost sunset. The team will be arriving anytime soon. The warmth of the coffee cup I held in my hands suddenly felt overwhelmingly comfortable. This would only happen when I can sense a bad mission ahead.
"You're not supposed to be informed of this." I guessed as much, when she told that. The govermnent was hiding something from us. From the world, more like. Telling us the truth would only bring forward retalliation. They didn't want that, did they.
"The government knows what happened to the people in Boston."
" You mean the soldiers?"
"I mean everyone."
Silence hung in the room. There was nothing there, save a long red table and a red chair, a round analog clock, and us. The orange sun was already casting its presence through the windows.
" Things roam the city now. Unknown entities. That's what the files describe them."
Things? They own the world's Alliance Treaty in their safeboxes, and that was all they could come up with?
" These things feed off human flesh. And they're extremely intelligent. Well, some of them."
So that was what the government was trying to hide from the world.
" So what do they actually want us to do?" I asked. Already a little frustrated. But then again, it wasn't her fault at all.
"They wanted the information collected by the previous team. It would help undo the damage caused by the fallout."
I didn't reply to that. I kept my eyes still at the horizon, already seeing the end of another day. The Admiral approached the door. Then she stopped. A brief moment of silence was given, and then she said something before she left. I let out a deep sigh, and returned to sitting position at the table. The clock above was already nearing 7 o' clock.