There were three shipping trucks that were scheduled to enter City 118 with a full load from the farm. The trucks all ran off automation. They weren't just driverless, but they were powered by an AI network that orchestrated the times for arrival and departure of every truck involved in supplying City 118. They had similar networks for all of the larger cities that were controlled by the government. The Agent with the mask that looked like a medieval demon face was there to greet them, holding a device in his hand that looked half like a computer and half like a scanner from a department store.
"All right, Agents, line up so I can scan your information into your digital IDs. We received last night all of the required background stories and digital information so that you can pass inspections inside of City 118. Then I need you to line up five to each truck. That way, if anything happens to one vehicle, the remaining agents in their corresponding vehicles can continue the mission."
It started to dawn on Chibaya, Isamu and Fiona that this was no longer training and lives were at stake. At every moment while they were operating against the government as agents of the Rebellion, something tragic could happen. They had all, of course, signed up from the various Enemy States they originated from, knowing this as a fact.
"We're all riding in the same truck, right?" Fiona asked with an expecting look.
"Yeah, unless Scarlett has some other plan for us, we are definitely going to be riding together," Chibaya said before walking away after his digital ID was scanned.
"After your digital ID is scanned, you are all to take your mole out and sync it with your digital ID. That way, if something goes wrong, you can tap your digital ID four times in rapid succession. It will then send out an SOS to mission command through the mole, calling us to locate you immediately and offer assistance," Scarlett said after seemingly appearing from nowhere to now stand behind the fifteen agents.
Chibaya turned back and thought to himself, "Gorgeous, deadly, and silent. This woman's going to be the death of me. I need to convince her to give me a chance."
"We're on a tight schedule so that we can make it in with another batch of trucks from a completely different enemy state. Good luck, Agents, now go and destroy them from within."
With that, Scarlett turned, indicating to the other two mask members that were there that it was time for them to go back underground into their base. Before any of the civilian 'enemies' that operated this farm came in for their morning work.
Chibaya, Fiona, and Isamu loaded into the center truck as indicated on their digital ID. A file on the ID that was set to delete after the departure, told them exactly how they were supposed to conceal themselves inside of the trucks.
At the back of the storage trailer on the truck, the end of which was closest to the cab, there was a refrigeration unit to keep necessary goods cold. The Rebellion had arranged inside the city for other embedded agents to remove the refrigeration's internal components so that a group of five would be able to tightly conceal themselves inside of the large steel box that housed the components.
"I guess we're going to get to know each other quite well," Isamu jested as Chibaya struggled to fit in behind him.
"Now I know what the MREs feel like at the base. Those rations must be so cramped when they're stuck in their packages. That's why I have to free them so often so they can relax and have fun in my tummy."
"Haha, Chibaya, very funny!" Fiona, who was crammed first into the box, sarcastically replied.
"Yeah, it's a tight fit, but better than being found out by the military, right?" Darius added while getting in behind Chibaya.
"Yeah, we're all going to be besties after today." Rachel ducked down and pushed Darius in a little further while she closed the unit access panel behind her.
Darius was a tall man with an athletic build after having just gone through the training. He had a comb over hairstyle and dark, welcoming eyes. He wasn't what one would call conventionally handsome but wouldn't be considered ugly either. Contrasted with Rachel, he would have been considered forgettable.
Rachel was a bubbly, blonde-haired woman with light green eyes and a welcoming demeanour. She was a little shorter than average, at somewhere just over 155 centimetres in height.
"Hey, you two, welcome to the claustrophobia express—your stress-inducing transport to the wonderful, government-run City 118!" Chibaya said to everyone, causing a chorus of laughter.
"We have to remain silent now for the next three hours while the warehouse workers on the farm load up these trucks," Isamu said quietly after overhearing voices that sounded like the workers talking as they were beginning their day.
While stuck in the enclosed space, the group started to think to themselves about the training they had just finished together. Fiona remembered when she first met Rachel. They'd been partnered as 'battle buddies' during part of their training, when they were dropped into the remote wilderness and given objectives to complete within a three-day period.
**
"Hey, are you sure we're going the right way?" Fiona was watching her map more than she was watching where she was going and stumbled over an exposed root in the path they were taking.
"Fiona, there is absolutely no way that the only team of two girls is going to admit to any of the boys that we're lost. You know and I know we will literally never hear the end of it, okay? So we're going to keep going until we find something that will tell us where we are," Rachel answered as she stabilised FIona's stumble with a helping hand.
"Shit! Thanks for catching me there. All right, fine, we'll do it your way. We'll just keep going down this path till we bloody recognize something."
Rachel went ahead of Fiona, and then Fiona mumbled, "You're right, they would never let it go."
Fiona had always thought of Rachel as kind of ditzy and wondered how somebody like her could possibly make it all the way through training. Now, seeing her confidence and keeping that upbeat demeanor despite being horribly lost out in the wilderness, she started to wonder if she had gotten Rachel all wrong. Maybe instead of somebody who is ditzy and dimwitted, maybe Rachel was actually headstrong and confident, and the bubbliness was just her personality.
The 'battle buddies' hiked for several more kilometers through dense foliage on barely recognizable paths. That was until, they came into a clearing and finally saw one of the watchtowers that was on their map. It was a rickety thing that barely looked like it should still be standing, made out of fallen logs and other foraged materials.
"Hey, look at that," she pointed.
"I remember that thing from the map," Rachel said with an air of joviality.
"Yeah, you're right, finally something's going right for us. Let me see… ah yes! Right here, look, that's where we are right now. And that means if we head due southwest from this clearing, we're going to reach the location of our first objective and find the intel."
Fiona, for the first time during this training exercise, broke out into an authentic smile.
"There it is, Fiona. I had begun to think that you might never really smile," Rachel looked back at her while sticking her tongue out.
"Haha, very funny. I smile the same as everybody else, Rachel." Fiona purposely put the grumpiest face she could manage on.
"All right, girl, chill. What do you think… should we climb it and take a look around?" She was already jogging towards the ladder that seemed to be made of fallen tree limbs.
"Do you think that thing will even support someone's weight? Wait!" Clearly, waiting was never going to be Rachel's strong suit. Fiona began jogging behind her just to keep up.
"Why are you trying to climb this thing anyway? We already know where we are; we don't need to climb to a vantage point like that. I think it's too risky based on the fact that this thing might have been built in the Stone Ages."
"Oh, come on now, Fiona, it's not that old. If somebody built it, someone's climbed it and used it, and that's exactly what I'm going to do now."
She grasped onto the first rung of the makeshift ladder and started to pull herself up. Rachel was more than halfway up by the time Fiona reached the bottom of the ladder. Just as she looked up, she heard-snap!
"Ahhh!" Rachel shrieked as she plummeted back to the earth below. Quickly thinking, Fiona maneuvered to catch the upper half of Rachel's body and break her fall.
Thud!
"Ouch! Fuck! See, that's why I told you not to climb this stupid thing, Rachel?" Fiona shook the girl that was on top of her now, but there was no response.
"Rachel? Oh shit." Fiona pulled herself out from under Rachel and immediately began assessing her. She held her hand up to her nose and still felt breathing, which was definitely a good sign. She carefully examined the sides of her head and looked at her arms and legs to see if there was anything obviously broken.
Just as she reached under her left leg, Rachel took in a quick, deep, ragged breath.
"Oh my God, cough, oh my God. Fiona, you saved me." A single tear rolled down her cheek. "Thank you. If you ever need anything… if I can ever do anything to help you–"
"Don't worry about it. It's nothing. If we tell the boys, we'll never hear the end of it."
Fiona smiled again, uncharacteristically, and helped Rachel to her feet.
The 'battle buddies' soon found the intel and then completed the mission. They had a full twelve hours remaining to complete it, which meant they had passed with flying colors.
Fiona thought to herself while they were sitting inside the compartment in the back of the truck waiting for the warehouse workers to finish loading it.
"At least we're in here with somebody I know and can trust."