One shot, One Kill.

Chapter 2 (Oh Bloody Setup)

POV: Vincent Mun

Afghanistan. 1:15AM

"Han beon gae, hangsang gae."

My father always used to say these words to me, God bless his soul. It's a popular Korean saying which means "once a dog, always a dog."

I wish that I had paid more attention to the words he said to me. Maybe if I did, maybe if I had paid more attention to the words he said, I could have had the opportunity to lead a different life with the love of my life and my son.

Aside from the day Addison and I got married and the day my son, Christopher was born, the day I received my acceptance into the military is hands down the third happiest day of my life. Giving my history, and taking the fact that my late father fought against the Americans, it had been a dream come true, a blessing from God.

Not to brag, but I was an excellent soldier. I fought like I had nothing to loose. Because I didn't at that time.

I was a struggling Korean American orphan in the US. I had absolutely nothing to live for.

My father taught me almost everything I knew about fighting. He taught me how to shoot. He taught me self defense. He taught me how to attack, and when to attack. When to give up, and when to know when a fight was lost.

After about a year with the military, I was promoted to the special forces. They called us Omega X. We were a small group of about 20 men, sworn to carry out secret missions for the country. It was supposed our job to make sure we took care of some certain threats before the citizens found out they even existed. However, unknown to us, we were pawns in the game of the men who sat on the highest of the highest thrones in America.

We did their dirty work.

Unquestionably.

Unknowingly.

Because we were supposed to follow all orders.

And when I found out, there was barely anything I could do about it. Because I wasn't a reckless soldier anymore. I had Addison, and I had Christopher, and I couldn't afford to put their lives on the line.

"Han beon gae, hangsang gae."

Once a dog, Always a dog.

Colonel Cornell, before he passed away years ago had told me that the only way out of the Omega X was death. He had said that they would never let anyone out alive because we knew too much about their dirty little secrets. Because we had done too much for them.

I wish he could see me right now.

I was about to be the first man to leave the squad alive, provided that this mission was a success. All we had to do was kill the terrorists who were hiding out here.

Three months ago, a group of terrorists snuck into the country under false pretense as immigrants. They had murdered innocent citizens, bombed recreational spots and stained the country with the blood of its people.

They were fast, untraceable, invincible almost.

They had technology that we had never seen. The army didn't stand a chance.

But after months and months of searching, the CIA had finally discovered their hideout in Baghlan, a province in Afghanistan.

"Succeed, and you can leave the military. Forever." Colonel Dunn's voice echoed through my head. I drew in a deep breath and then exhaled, securing my headset over my head. I let my eyes survey the plain, medium sized two story house.

"Omega B, come in." I spoke into my headset.

"Building is heavily guarded." A cadet answered almost immediately. "We've surveyed the area. There are at least twenty three men on the outside." He continued.

"Omega D?" I questioned. "Are you ready?" I asked.

"Awaiting your order sir." A voice called from the other end. I nodded and then turned to Isreal Keys, the twenty three year old latest addition to the team. I could see him making a pathetic effort to put up a great front even through he was literally shaking in his boots. I rolled my eyes.

"Stick with me, Keys. I'll cover you." I ordered and I immediately saw relief and appreciation in his eyes.

"Yes Captain." He nodded.

"Now remember," I paused, taking into my headset once more. "You kill on sight." I continued. "Omega D, on the count of three, you blow the place up. Omega E, you take the the left wing, Omega B, you take the right. I and the men with me will take the back door." I stopped to draw in a deep breath.

It had been months.

Months since the accident. Months since I almost lost the ability to walk properly. I still limped a bit due to the impact from the explosion and I knew that I wouldn't be as good as I was before. But I had to succeed. Failure was not an option.

Failure also meant that I wouldn't make it back home. Back to Addison, back to Christopher. And I had promised that I would. It was wrong to break promises.

I took a small step back.

"3" I started to count. "2... 1."

My words were followed by an immediate explosion and then gunshots. Signaling my men, I limped quickly towards the back door, shooting through everything and any moving thing that stood in our way. I wasn't as swift as I used to be, but my men, almost as loyal to me as they were to the country protected me through my every step, guarding me through the mass of bodies. All I saw was red, and all I felt was the urge to survive. The urge to pull through this.

I could hear them over the sound of the bullets, the terrorists, yelling at the top of their lungs in their native tongue as they fought back.

"Qui són aquestes persones?!"I heard one of their men scream as he rushed towards me, a dagger in his hand. The room was dark, leaving my vision solely dependent on my night vision glasses and I could tell that the man charging towards me was almost twice my size."Troba el príncep." He continued and skillfully, I c****d my gun and then shot at him, realizing a little too late that I was out of bullets. I tossed the gun to the side and then got out my dagger from my back pocket, dodging swiftly as the man swung at me.

I was on full defense mode, dodging and blocking his attempts to stab me with the pointy end of his dagger.

I could tell that he would be very happy to do so.

But then it hit me, that these men were nothing like the men we fought months ago. Their fighting techniques had changed. These men were slower, less brutal. The language they spoke was different too. I could tell that something was off.

In the split second of my distraction, he threw a punch at me, and then another, and I felt my body hit the ground. I made an attempt to stand but his hands were around my neck in an instant and he held me to the ground, squeezing tightly till I could feel my body gasping for oxygen.

"Qui ets i què vols?!" He screamed and I gasped for air, clinging on to the thick material of his black fur jacket. "Estàs amb l'exèrcit dels EUA?" I could hear the surprise in his voice. "Ho sabia! Caram traïdor! El rei ha d'escoltar això!-" He was saying before I heard a loud "bang." I felt his grip loosing almost instantly just before his lifeless body dropped beside me and I gasped loudly, rubbing my neck, happy to be alive. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Isiah standing a few steps away from me, his eyes watching me with concern as I helped myself off the ground.

"I think he was the last one." Isiah told me. I nodded.

"Thank you, cadet-" I was saying just as the door opened and one of our soldiers walked in. He was Caleb McQueen, the soldier who had led Omega B.

"The rest of the rooms are cleared and we have their leader." He told me. "Mun, I think we have made a terrible mistake." He told me. I stared back at him, my eyebrows narrowed. I wished that I could say that I was surprised but I wasn't. I had felt that something was off the moment I walked into this godforsaken building.

"What did you find?" I asked him. He shook his head and then opened his mouth to say something but before he could utter a single word, there was a loud explosion. And the impact afterwards was so hard, I could feel the ground beneath me shake vehemently as the west wing of the building we were standing in exploded.

And after it came the unceasing sound of gunfire.