Surfing atop a matte black Dodge Magnum a fair distance behind Hayden, the suspension raised such that it could easily traverse the jungle floor, balanced that grease stain of a scoundrel, that slinking death’s shadow, ‘First-Degree’ Donny. Like a back alley goon from the 30’s, his trench coat, dress shoes, black gloves, fedora were all pitch black, in contrast to his pale, freckled corpse-like face and sunken green eyes. Ginger hair curled up beneath his hat like licks of autumn fire, hued the same as the feather mustache decking his upper lip. Slung over his back was a Tavor X95 bullpup and cradled in his arms was a rifle the size of a German shepherd. Glancing at the barely lit iPhone strapped to his left bicep, he saw through his vehicle’s live thermal vision a distant spark of heat, a cooking fire, and through the flickering trunks of trees the small burning blips of a few unsheltered enemies. Spotting an appropriately sized tree, he heaved his 85 pound .950 JDJ hunting rifle overhead and hooked it on a thick bough. As the car sped out from beneath him and into the jungle, he swung himself up with his forward momentum and smoothly transitioned to prone position with the barrel of the rifle cradled in the forked end of the bough, never taking his attention off what lay at the fore throughout this maneuver. As an ex-Green Beret used to carrying heavy packs over long distances, a mere 85 pound load was but a trifle. For the finishing touch he had cast a handkerchief over the scope earlier. The handkerchief itself had been smothered in dirt and stretched out so the mesh weave was wide enough to permit him clear visibility through the scope, but would prevent any glare from the lens giving him away at range. Uncannily, the hitman had no ki, no numen, not even a soul to detect. He was but a mortal man, though how easy it is to forget what man really is. The culmination of billions of years of natural selection, the greatest living byproduct of the slaughter of the ages. In particular Donny’s mind was honed to an obsidian edge and not an ounce of pity graced his coal black heart, less so an idealistic being, moreso a machine of flesh and blood, purposed only to efficiently murder every opposing lifeform in this jungle and shovel them into candy-colored coffins for a paycheck. By this point he was approximately 400 yards from where Shin was preparing a meal, and about 275 yards from Akane and Totsu, his position directly East of the small lake where they goofed about. About 150 yards frontwards Hayden marched, and through his scope Donny could also survey Akane, Shin, and Senko’s positions all at once. Through the screen of his iPhone he’d be able to ascertain Reyes’ and Danger’s progress as well, as he subtly directed the remote control armored car through the foliage towards the Northwest to see if he could swiftly arrange it about a hundred meters Northeast of Shin and Senko. The engine was electric, so the only noise the vehicle made emanated from the bulletproof wheels as they glided over shrubbery and bramble. In the backseat rolled a solitary grenade canister. As the hitman studied his prey, specialized earbuds in either ear picked up muted words from ahead, but as far as he could tell they didn’t come from Akane. “Aye, aye, oyabun.” Given Totsuka was a mere several feet from Akane who danced at the center of the lake, yet he was still sheltered by walls, there must’ve been a small patch of ruins in the ice and Donny came to the immediate conclusion there was another target within them. A wry smirk tugged at the corners of his pooched lips, his gaze the stoned veneer of a professional going through the motions. He saw only bodies still living and the alien shapes that encompassed them, strange in their temporality. Vines and trees, ruins and rocks... Before the dread oblivion that veiled reality, surrounded it as a sea of midnight, the only emotion the hitman felt was the usual dull anticipation of seeing the entrails expelled from his bipedal quarry as bullets tore them asunder, and laid them open to the warmth of the rising sun.