No Place For A Hero.

He can only drag himself forward, Adams... Lugo... Dead, Konrad was all that remained he had to finish the mission, put a stop to all of this and evacuate what remained of Dubai, all of this had to end it just had to... And it would this nightmare, this hell would end when he put John Konrad six feet under.

As he entered the building and continued down the hall he heard the voices of what remained of the Damned 33rd "Squadron, ten-hut!" The men lined up disciplined as if waiting for this exact moment, was it a trap, was it real he didn't care at this point... Bradley Seers had one thing in mind at this point.

"Captain Seers, we're all that's left of the Dammed 33rd. We surrender sir. Dubai is yours." His voice filled with grit, eyes turning resisting the urge to crack open the Zulu Squad soldiers skull open and kill all of these bastards... However, he had to ask.

"Where... Is... Konrad?"

The response was immediate yet vague, this was a setup it had to be.

"Where he's always been. Upstairs, waiting for you."

As if right on time the elevator opened and he limped forward, getting into it the radio on his back crackling as John Konrad's voice came through, a madman talking who would soon be gurgling on his own blood. "Congratulations Bradley. You've achieved what the storm could not. Destroyed the Dammed 33rd. Do you feel like a hero yet?" He didn't respond, as soon as he had got on the elevator door reopened and he walked out into the room.

"Now that you're here, what did you think when you arrived in Dubai? When you had seen what I had done. Did you think it was the work of a 'madman'?"

Letting out a small breath before responding he calmed himself for a brief moment even though his head was burning, his entire body screaming in agony to just stop, yet he pushed himself forward.

"Yeah. I thought you lost your goddamn mind. Or at least I hoped so." He continued limping forward, grabbing hold of the railing leading up to set of stairs, while Konrad's voice replied to him over the radio. "Oh yes? That would have made things better, but I wasn't so lucky."

He could only reply with snark as he continued slowly up the stairs to the person he had to kill, who he had to confront for the horrors that had happened in Dubai, what had led to innocents and so many other people dying and for what? What the hell drove him to all of this.

"I assure you: I'm as sane as you are captain." He didn't respond by the time he walked up the stairs he saw him finishing a painting of that horrifying scene that would haunt his memories for the rest of his life, that would shape him to what he would become in the future he was certain of it.

"No matter how hard I'd tried, I could never escape the reality of what happened. That was my downfall." Konrad spoke, calmly almost as if he wasn't worried at all about the man behind him ready to kill him, admiring the painting before him and taking a mere step back admiring it. "There, finished... I hope you like it."

Rook could only stare looking at the painting and Konrad confused, what was this, what was going on how did Konrad even paint all of this within two days, let alone memorize the scene so accurately all of it didn't make sense, his head was pounding practically on overdrive running off sheer adrenaline at this point. "What the hell is going on?"

"Your eyes are opening for the first time. Hurts, doesn't it? Go on. Tell me what you think." Konrad said, turning to look at Seers as if pointing his finger at him and asking him for his opinion... He could only respond in the most reasonable way possible "You did this." Indicating to not just that, but all of Dubai.

"No, you did... Your orders killed 47 innocent people, someone has to pay for your crimes Seers. So who's it gonna be?" He stated back bluntly and clear, he couldn't refute it but he refused to blame himself, he had no choice there was no choice... How was he supposed to know that those were citizens... Innocent people, Konrad was the one who did and caused all of this, that man by then was gone, gritting his teeth he walked behind the painting and out onto the Balcony.

"John? That you?" He asked looking at the man leaned back in the chair, a gun hanging from his hand, he was only met with a neutral yet clearly snarky reply of "You tell me?" which only further annoyed the Delta Operator, as he sped up not caring about the pain in his leg as he did so.

"I'm done playing games, John!" He approached the chair and spun it around, in it was John Konrad a bullet straight through his skull and his body clearly pale and slowly decaying, having been dead for who can say how long or when, likely days at this point in time, Bradley could do nothing but stare in shock, slowly kneeling down to take the gun from him.

"It seems reports of my 'survival' have been greatly exaggerated." He heard the voice in his head, Konrad appearing right next to him, but it couldn't be John Konrad was dead or was he, he... He didn't mean know anymore using his free hand to grasp his head he uttered it out "This is impossible."

"I assure you: it is." Konrad said staring Bradley straight in the eye as he did so. Bradley still not able to comprehend could only look in shock, shaking his had numerous times as it began to slowly sink in, but it was bile, building in his throat he was able to force out a "How?"

"Not "how" but why? YOU were never supposed to be here." Memories flashed in his head before all of this, the objective was so simple and easy "We have our orders: Leave the city and radio command from outside the storm wall. When they send in the cavalry, we go home." but from there it escalated and escalated and escalated, forcing three men to live a personal hell made just for them, seeing nothing but horror after horror, they couldn't control how everything played out, it was impossible.

"What happened here was out of my control." He denied, denied what he did, denied that it was HIS fault, it couldn't be he was... He was just trying to- "Was it? None of it would've happened had you just stopped. But on you marched... And for what?" Interrupting him was the pounding voice of Konrad in his head, his legs shook as it all sunk in, forcing himself, Adams and Lugo all the way into the depths of Dubai.

"We tried to save you!" An excuse, that was the whole point they were trying to save people, everyone trapped here it wasn't there fault how it all played out WHAT could've he done? "You're no savior. Your talents lie elsewhere." Lugo and Adams voiced echoed in his head the scene replaying over and over in his head.

"This is your fault goddammit!"

"That's enough Lugo!"

"He didn't listen!"

"We didn't have a choice!"

"He turned us into fucking killers!"

Snapping back to it, he shook his head still in shock, it couldn't be... It wasn't... There was no choice "THIS ISN'T MY FAULT!" He denied it, denied the burden of blame was on him, denied it all... He did what anyone would've done in the situation, what had to be done for the sake of the mission. " It takes a strong man to deny what's in front of him. And if the truth is undeniable, you create your own."

All of it, from the hanging bodies nothing but skeletons, the radio didn't even have batteries the wires were entirely cut as well, all of it was his mind denying it all... "The truth Bradley, is, that you're here because you wanted to pretend to be something you're not: A hero." Justifying the death of citizens, justifying the death of so many soldiers... Of all Dubai itself even having destroyed the water supply. "I'm here because you can't accept what you've done. It broke you."

"You needed someone to blame. So you cast it on me: A dead man. I know the truth is hard to accept, Bradley, but it's time. You're all that's left. And we can't live this lie forever." He was faced with himself and Konrad, staring straight into a mirror... His past haunting him... Someone had to pay for the crimes that had happened here, for the hell that was unleashed, Konrad pointed his gun right at Bradley.

"I'm going to count to five, then I'm pulling the trigger." Bradley shook his head, still grasping it with his free hand. "You're not real. This is all in my head." Denial.

"Are you sure? Maybe it's in mine. ONE." No, no this was still all Konrad's fault it had to be, there was no other explanation none of this would've have happened if it wasn't for him... So many wouldn't have died if not for Konrad. "No. Everything. All this. It was YOUR fault!" He waved the same pistol, slowly raising it to aim it straight at Konrad, Anger.

"If that's what you believe, then shoot me! TWO." Guilt, it all came to him at once so much death, so much of it... All of those people, their blood covered him, it was all on his hands, because the world had given him nothing but a cruel fate, twisted and distorted, he could only utter pathetically. "I never meant to hurt anybody..."

"Nobody ever does, Bradley, THREE."

Rook must make the hardest choice of his life: Find the strength to persevere, or give in to hatred and delusion of what had happened here, ending his miserable life.

"FOUR!"

"Is this what you really want Bradley?"

He pulled the trigger, a loud bang echoing in the room... The pistol falling from his hands as...
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The Mirror began to crack "It takes a strong man to deny what's in front of him." Konrad repeated, taking a step back as cracks began to form in his image, in a metaphorical sense having been shot by Bradley Seers, closing his eyes for a brief moment, he responded coldly and with almost no emotion. "Stronger than you were."

"Whatever you say, Seers. Whatever happens next, don't be too hard on yourself. Even now, after all, you've done, you can still go home. Lucky you." The voice echoed as Konrad all but faded, and he found himself snapping back to reality, standing there looking out into the distance of Dubai, his own created hell.

"What now sir?" A solider spoke from right behind him, his voice questioning what the rest of the men questioning what they should do "The men are asking what do we do now?" It was obvious they needed to complete the mission, evacuating Dubai after all was still the priority. "We complete our mission..."

"And what mission would that be sir?" The Zulu Squad soldier asked, annoyed of these pointless questions he turned his head "Just get me a... God... Damn... Radio?" The soldier was gone, almost as if he had never even been there, staring for a moment, before turning going to find one himself.

"This is Captain Bradley Seers, requesting immediate evacuation of Dubai... Survivors, one too many."