Chapter 12: 11 – Memories

A mind awakening was different from a body awakening. Although John passed out after the latter, that was an exception as most would only feel physically exhausted from it.

On the other hand, mind awakenings would usually cause a deep sleep afterward, with some even entering in a comma. Only in some rare cases does someone manages to retain their consciousness after it.

Without thinking twice, Dene immediately recast her spell, completely encircling her son’s location. She would kill any creature that came close to him.

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“...see your point. As for myself, the single piece of art that touched me the most…”

“...Lucas Smith. I’m sorry for the auction, but I collect antique watches like that one...”

“Verich, tonight I’ll kill you!”

“ha… ha… Get up!”

It was like a movie was going through his head. At first, he saw himself attending some sort of auction, with the intent of killing that same old man from his first vision.

Then, it started going backward, until his first memories. John saw himself holding his little brother as he tried not to cry at their parents funeral.

The days at the orphanage as he took care of his little brother while trying to keep up with school. The day he finally graduated from high school. The day he decided to enlist in the army. John remembered how afraid he was at the time, not of dying, but of leaving Lucas alone.

Slowly, his memories from the past life began to come back.

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“Alpha-2, Tangos approaching your position. Repeat, Tangos approaching your position.” John informed over the radio as he saw two guards approaching the parked cars.

“Roger, I see them.” His subordinate answered back.

It was close to midnight, he and his squad were on a mission to capture a weapons dealer who might have information on a terrorist group acting in the region.

John and a Soldier were hiding behind some trees while the other two were behind the parked cars.

“Wait for my signal Alpha-2. Wait for it. Now!” He ordered, and the two soldiers popped out, two muzzle flashes from each silenced rifle and the guards were dead.

“Tangos down, good job. Now head towards the front entrance and we’ll hit the back.”

“Roger.”

The squad got in position on both entrances, one man on each side of the doors.

“Remember, the target is bald, we must capture him alive. Throw a flashbang in and we’ll start.”

“Yes, Sir.”

There were two men in the living room, watching television, while a third one was getting something from the fridge.

One of the soldiers at the entrance kicked in the door while the other threw in the flashbang.

*BOOM!* the flashbang went out and they coordinately went in.

“Freeze!” “Freeze!” “Everyone on the ground!”

The man in the kitchen was too far from the explosion and didn't get disoriented. He tried to reach for his handgun but was shot down by John.

The men in the living room weren’t armed and still disoriented so they were promptly secured. One of the two was bald.

“Living room clear. Possible target secured.”

“Kitchen clear.”

“Bathroom clear.”

“Bedroom clear.”

After checking the whole house, the squad headed back to the living room, where John took a look at the bald man and confirmed that he was the one.

“That’s our target, grab the two of them and let’s go.”

“Yes, Sir.”

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"Now listen up men. First of all, I would like to welcome you to The Farm." An instructor spoke to a class of 10 men, John among them. "Each of you was handpicked because you're the best of the best, but being a field operative for The Company is not like your previous occupations, and it DEFINITELY isn’t like in the films."

“You’re not going to be sent undercover into an enemy base to recover missile codes, the villain won’t tie you to a table and threaten to cut you with a laser after your cover is blown, and by the end, you won’t be relaxing by the beach with some big titted blonde.”

“You will be sent undercover most likely to foreign cities, if your cover is blown then the bad guys will put a bullet in your head, and by the end, you’ll write reports of all your activities.”

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“And I’m serious about those reports. If you eat a sandwich you’ll write down how much you spent on it, how long it took you to eat said sandwich and at what time you digested it and flushed it down the toilet.”

“During missions, your most important skill is knowing how to blend in. And if by any reason you find yourself in a fight, then remember this: You’re not supposed to fight fair, you’re supposed to win.”

“Punch the back of their heads, kick them in the balls, and don’t be afraid to hit a woman if you have to. They may look weak, but they can shoot a gun like any man.”

John spent half a year learning the tradecraft at The Farm before finally graduating.

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Noon, at a US Army camp in the middle east

“I want to talk to the prisoner.” John spoke to the guard at the gate to the prison cells. In his hands, he was carrying a paper bag with grease stains on it.

“Yes, Sir.” Answered the guard.

John walked through a small corridor with prison cells on both sides, though most of them were empty. He didn’t have to walk for too long before reaching his destination.

Inside a cell to his left, laying in bed was an Arabic man in his late twenties.

“Asif.” John called out.

“American.” Coldly spoke the man as he sat up. “I already told your friends, I will not talk.”

“And what will you do Asif? Look around, look at what you put yourself into… here, eat it.” John said as he reached inside the cell and handed the paper bag.

Asif eyed John suspiciously to which he responded, “It’s without bacon, don’t worry.”

“You plan on buying me with a cheap hamburger?”

“I plan on helping you see reason. You have two children, and your wife is expecting. How is she going to take care of them without you? Your parents are old, who will take care of them? And they all are dying with worry for you.”

“But I can help you. You want your children educated?, I’ll get them educated. You worried about your parents?, I’ll make sure they are taken care of. I can even allow them to visit you.”

“Let me help you Asif. Let’s work to do something about this terrible situation, that as I said before; you put yourself into.”

“...”

“Look, I’ll let you think about it. Eat your food, rest, and when you’re ready to talk you can call for me.”

John turned around to leave, but as soon as he reached the gate…

“Wait!” Asif grabbed the prison bars as he called. “I’ll talk.”

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*Click!* John turned the key to his apartment, over the shoulder he carried his small luggage and a shopping bag on his other hand. Compared to when he left, his skin was a shade darker, except for around his eyes, which was caused by the sunglasses.

“Haaaa...” He exhaled heavily as he entered the apartment and threw his luggage over the sofa, not even bothering to remove the plastic cover. After a 3 months mission in the desert and a 15 hours flight, he was finally back home.

Heading towards the kitchen, he placed the shopping bag inside the fridge, except for a cup of pudding which he planned to eat immediately. He still had to call his little brother, though he figured it could wait a few minutes.

Getting himself a spoon, he went back to the living room and sat in his armchair.

“Finally I can rest.” John spoke to himself with a spoonful of pudding in hand when...

*Riiiing!* *Riiiing!* As if to play a prank on him, the telephone began to ring.

“Urrrgh, for fuck’s sake.” He cursed out loud, wishing that whoever was calling would get hit by lightning or something similar, before getting up towards the phone.

“Gulp...hello?”

“Hello, could I speak to Staff Sergeant John Freeman?”

“That’s him, what’s this about?”

“Mr. John, we’ve been trying to reach for a week now to talk about Staff Sergeant Lucas Freeman.”

“Gulp… that’s my brother, what about him?” He asked while continuing to eat his dessert, too tired to notice anything of strange.

“We’re sorry to inform that Staff Sergeant Lucas Freeman has been killed in acti...”

*Bam* sounded the cup as it fell to the floor, though John didn’t even hear it as his head went blank.

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While it felt like decades, in reality only a few seconds went by. In the end, just like during his body awakening, John passed out, his body falling over Tom’s dead one.

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