"War developments don't look good for us.", Hansen walked past you almost casually, making sure your eyes didn't carry.

He was a clever man, knew not to look a predator in the eye when it was hunting. Amused, you smirked. Your tongue parted your lips to moisten them.

"I couldn't give less of a fuck.", you said with a shrug and let yourself slide off the chair to tiptoe around the black boxes.

Your eyes followed him.

You weren't sure yet whether he would become a powerful ally or plunge the knife deep into your back. Both thoughts amused you. But the first one made an idea grow in the back of your mind.

You looked at your metallic nails.

"What has the NUSA already sacrificed for its purposes?", you asked, removing some of the dirt stuck between skin and nail. "Who have they already sacrificed?"

Your gaze jumped to Hansen. This was the point at which he had to lose his composure. Whether it was to your advantage or not didn't matter.

And indeed, his eyes travelled briefly down his right shoulder, over the camouflage-adorned prosthesis of his arm to his hand, whose fingers he slowly curled.

"Most sacrifices aren't worth it.", he looked at you scrutinisingly out of the corner of his eye. "Aren't they?"

A satisfied smirk grew on your lips. White teeth appeared.

"At some point, before this war of unification, I was left to the other side. Tensions between the independent states and the government were about to escalate.", your nails scratching the surface of a black box. "They tortured me, wanted information."

You raised a hand to show him exactly what you meant. His eyebrows raised briefly. A growl made his chest quiver.

"Replacement is quite adoring for that.", he remarked with a charming smile.

You snorted, rolling your eyes.

"That's what most people say. Before I rip their backs open with em'.

His eyes travelled to his shoulders. He was still wearing the same olive green shirt. The blood had already dried and he didn't seem to have any other wounds.

One corner of his mouth twitched. And for a second you thought he was thinking about asking you to bury your nails in his flesh again.

"Sweet pain...", you whispered with your chin up, your (E/C) eyes full of shadows. "And what do we get in return, Colonel?"

For the first time since he had entered the hall, Kurt met your gaze. Oh yes, that darkness in the white of his eyes was unmistakable. Everything he had given and all the empty words they had rewarded him with in return were worth nothing.

Not any more.

The patriotism was gone. Instead, reality had sunk its claws into his heart and was slowly bleeding him dry.

He was just another pawn in this war, a puppet. Just like your dogs. And when the time came, he would be showered with medals and thanks.

But what would make up for that?

His right arm would remain a prosthesis. The teachings of the army would continue to be burned into his brain like a cow's brand. He would be released into a world for which he was not made, perhaps find an unfulfilling job, live a life like a normal person did.

But neither you nor Kurt Hansen were normal people. You were soldiers, weapons of the NUSA.

How could a weapon survive in a world that yearned for peace?

No money in the world would be able to dispel the feeling of having been used. You had your own will, you could make decisions.

The only question was how much of it was actually your decisions, your own will?

And how many deeds were done for fear of being wiped out and replaced like a broken toy?

When you looked into his eyes, you could see these very questions shimmering beneath the surface. He had fought, destroyed and sacrificed.

But for what?

Only to be sent into the next battle as thanks until he would finally find his last?

That seemed like a fucking shitty deal.

But both you and he were confident enough to know that you could lead such a power structure.

Although Hansen wasn't crazy enough to try. And you didn't have the ability to win people over. You were fighting with the oldest poison in the world: fear. And once someone was afraid, loyalty was no longer part of the equation.

For a long moment, you two looked at each other in silence. Silent appreciation was exchanged, the waters were tested. Your skin tingled with excitement.

Then, finally, he lifted his chin and let out a breath that sounded like a growl.

"War is war.", he said with surprising indifference. "In the end, being on the winning side is what counts."

Amused by his attempt not to get too deep too quickly, you smirked.

"All I ever got in return were those chrome fingernails. Cyberware by the handful.", slowly you let the razor-sharp tips run over the sensitive skin of your neck. "And a muzzle. After I killed the old president for President Myers, of course."

One of his eyebrows raised.

"Pardon?", he didn't seem to know what you meant.

So he hadn't yet seen behind the façade of the NUSA. Again you grinned broadly. This time it felt spiteful. Almost insane.

"Oh?", chuckling quietly to yourself, you turned to him. "So nothing... strange has happened in the unit yet?"

The colonel frowned. Then he seemed to think for a moment. A shadow flitted across his stony mask.

"There were... a surprising number of deaths after the last mission didn't go according to plan.", his eyes narrowed. "Most of them had previously shown a... lack of morale for the cause."

You snapped your fingers.

"Good boy!", you whispered, taking two fingers and placing them on your temples like a weapon. "Everything that comes from the NUSA belongs to the NUSA. And it should stay that way. Better dead tokens than doubting soldiers. That doesn't look good in war."

His eyes twitched. As he crossed his arms in front of his chest, the fingers of his left hand, still organic, dug into the camouflage of the cyberware on his right arm.

"Hmmm~ you really are a hellhound, Colonel.", the smirk on your lips darkened. "A generous gift from the President, no? Such modern tech. It would be a shame if... she could erase you through it. Whenever Myers deems it appropriate."

You put your fingers up and made the sound of a gun firing into your head.