Chapter 86: Deep Recon

Zach and his peltasts had spent the last week tracking the routes of every war band they saw come and go from the foundry.

They had managed to evade detection entirely throughout it all, following their targets to the tributaries which they extracted the manpower and resources they needed to survive.

They watched in silence as the bandits used coercive force and intimidation to gain their bounty.

Few resisted, and those who did were gunned down mercilessly in the snow-laden streets. Not once did the peltasts intervene…. Saving those who could not save themselves was not their objective.

Their mission as it currently stood was to gather information on the tributaries and figure out how to exploit their resentment as a proxy force.

At night the peltasts camped out in the wild. Finding ruins or cliff sides to evade the storm. Setting up small, but stable tents away from the direction of the wind and its chilling frost fall.

They deployed their beacons, establishing radio connections with Elysium, utilizing their drones as a chain of mobile relay points to inform Dean of their findings.

Without even knowing it, nearly half of all the bandit captains and their crews had been tracked, identified, and even psychoanalyzed to a limited extent.

After a week of this deep reconnaissance, Dean gave the order to approach the furthermost and least regular tributary settlement.

It was formed from the ruins of an old neighborhood that surrounded a nearby river. Their numbers were small, no doubt smaller than they had been before the snow fell.

But they had survived long enough by ice fishing. Compared to Elysium, their conditions were abysmal.

They did not have central heating. Chopping down and defrosting wood was their primary source of heating. That and multiple bundles of clothing.

Nor did they have any arms to speak of. The bandits had seen to their removal. Because of this, it was easy for Zach and his men to infiltrate the town in the dead of night. What few sentries were posted carried primitive weapons such as bows and spears.

This allowed Zach and his men to glide through the snow and sneak up behind them. Zach held his blade to the man’s neck while covering his mouth with his free hand.

He whispered to man he currently held captive. And despite the warmth of his breath, the hostage only felt chills down his spine.

“No sudden movements…. And keep it quiet… real quiet. Don’t make me cut your throat… Nod twice if you understand….”

The man nodded twice, frantically, just as Zach had said. Only then did Zach slowly begin to peel the blade away.

“I’m going to let go of you, and if you don’t keep things calm, my sniper will put a hole through your head.” Zach retrieved his hand from the man’s mouth as he stood there, slowly and calmly turning around to face the man.

When he saw a man whose face was concealed beneath a camouflage balaclava, wearing full combat gear every piece designed to blend in with the snowy wasteland behind them. He damn near soiled himself.

Zach sheathed his blade and returned his hands to his primary weapon, not pointing it directly at the man but keeping it at the ready. Even as the man began to plead.

“Please… we don’t have anything left worth taking. Others have already beaten you to it. We’re barely managing to survive as is!”

Zach shook his head, his voice barely louder than the wind.

“We’re not here to steal from you, we know all about your little problem. And you’re not the only ones in the area suffering from those bastards… We’re here to help you deal with them once and for all. So how about you take me to whoever is in charge of this little settlement of yours?”

The sentry could barely believe the words he was hearing. He didn’t know if he was being tricked or not.

However, Zach’s next words gave him no choice but to abide by his demands.

“Like I said I’m not alone, and we have more than enough firepower to level this entire place… So I’d suggest you make both of our lives easier.”

Utter silence existed between the two men as the sentry’s pupils shrank to the size of a needle.

In the end, he was forced to concede. Muttering beneath his breath as he shook his head in dismay.

“Alright… I get it… follow me.”

He led Zach through the village, evading other sentries until they arrived at a small house that had managed to maintain its structural integrity.

The man knocked once and reached forward to strike the door again when Zach stopped him.

“No secret codes…”

The man sighed and knocked once more. He used a slow, repetitive knock exactly as Zach instructed him until finally the door opened.

It revealed a little girl no older than ten. She looked up at the sentry who stood there, she smiled at him for a moment before realizing the Winter Soldier standing behind him. Her eyes open wide, but she didn’t scream.

Zach quickly moved his finger to his mouth before she could. And she instantly understood what was happening. A voice called out to her from inside the room.

“Mary, who’s at the door?”

She looked up at Zach and then back at the other room where the voice came from, and then back at Zach again.

“Daddy, Josh is here to see you.”

A second later, a man walked into the room, wiping his wet hands on a towel. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw who was standing in his doorway.

Zach pushed the sentry named Josh forward and stood in the doorway alone. His eyes scanned the surroundings, confirming there was no immediate threat to his presence in an instant before sighing in relief.

“I take it you’re the leader of this little town? I would like to have a word with you about those bandits who plundered your stores today.”

Only the sound of the firewood crackling could be overheard in that moment.

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