Dimuha drew a long breath from his cigarette before tossing the stub into the asphalt next to his boot. It tumbled once, then stopped, the red ember glowing for a few seconds more. Dimuha looked at it fade out, turning only when the heat had truly left the stub. Sanyok was waiting nearby, his AVT rifle scanning left and right for any sign of hostiles. This was the first time he and Sanyok had worked together as a pair, but Dimuha was certain it would go well. He had seen Sanyok fight in Limansk and CNPP, and that was more than enough proof of the ex-merc's abilities. Dimuha nodded to him and they set off once more, dissolving into the shadows near the book store.

The mercenaries keeping watch there were bored but alert, and when Dimuha closed in on the building, the guard raised his weapon. Seeing the phoenix patch, the merc lowered the barrel slightly.

"What business do you have here, Redeemed?", the sentinel asked.

"We need to talk with Griffin. Got some questions.", Dimuha replied nonchalantly.

"Uh-huh. And why should I get him here? He's busy, you know.", the guard scoffed.

"Cut the crap, Mishka, we all know you've been sitting here doing fuck all the last, what, half a year!", Sanyok intervened.

"Sanyok? Didn't recognize you in that bubblesuit, what happened to your Berill? Eh, fuck you too by the way, we are doing important Monolith culling work here and..."

"Yesterday I shot a tushkano too!", another mercenary shouted enthusiastically, making the guard groan.

"Ilya is new, and stupid, don't mind him. Dropped on his head a few too many times as a kid. Anyway, I'll fetch Griffin, no use arguing with you assholes.", the guard sighed and disappeared in the back of the bookstore to fetch the merc leader.

"Well, that was easier than I though.", Dimuha chuckled.

"Insult the mercs, and you're usually dead. Unless you're a merc too. Or Redeemed, in this case. In that case, you may get shit done.", Sanyok pointed out.

"Fragile egos, eh? Reminds me of the bandit days. Good thing we can handle banter in Redemption without coming to blows.", Dimuha said.

"Indeed. Would be annoying if you shot me for saying your feet smell worse than month-dead tushkano."

"Hey fuck-... Oh here they come, let's focus.", Dimuha replied as Griffin walked over to them, his shades concealing the man's eyes.

"Okay, jackasses, what do you want? And you better not complain about us doing nothing, I sent your boss on a mission to fetch documents from X-8 and he still hasn't delivered on that!", Griffin roared.

"That's between you and Boris. We're here because a squad of mercs attacked us near Yubileiny. Vulture's group, to be exact. Ring any bells?", Dimuha retaliated.

"Vulture? That fucker who was part of Jackal's squad? Didn't SSU smoke all their asses? Redemption apparently started following Freedom's example of doing far too much devil's lettuce.", Griffin snorted, and other mercs laughed.

"Most of Jackal's men died. But Vulture was never confirmed to be dead. You never did listen what Dushman told you, did you Griffin?", Sanyok asked, and Griffin's sneer turned into a frown.

"We go back a bit, Sanyok, so I can comfortably say you were a smartass, too much of a one for your own good.", Griffin commented.

"Absolutely. Still don't mean I'm not right. So instead, answer me truthfully, have you seen other mercs here in Outskirts? Trust me, Griffin, you don't want to make enemies of Redemption.", Sanyok threatened.

"You two really think your faction of pansies can beat us? I don't know why Dushman is so partial to your boss, but you don't get special treatment from me. Either way, I have not seen any mercs, if I had, I would tell you since I want no competition here. But I may have information of another group you may be interested in. It'll cost ya, though.", Griffin said with a mischievous smirk.

Dimuha looked at Sanyok, who looked back and nodded. Whatever price these mercs wanted, it was probably faster way to locate Serbin's men than combing all of Outskirts for them. Sighing, Dimuha told Griffin to name his price.

"First, let Boris know that unless I get those documents soon, I'll hire another merc to gun him down and tear them from his cold hands. As for what I want from you; there is a very special artifact in the hospital. Tears of Chimera. Get it for me, no questions asked, and I'll let you know where the squad you're hunting is located in.", Griffin explained.

"Hold on. How do you know we're hunting a squad?", Dimuha questioned, but Griffin only winked.

"Let's just say that we may not know of these mercs, but we saw buddy boy Sanyok and that other knucklehead run with your boss from some black-armoured men earlier.", the merc leader laughed.

"Suka blyat. Cheeky bastard. You didn't intervene?", Sanyok cursed.

"Why? We're not friends, and getting the docs from your boss is far easier when he's dead. Besides, Meeker would like that special armour of his in his collection.", Griffin shrugged.

"You're shameless just as much as you're spineless, saatanan vässykkä.", Sanyok growled, switching to his native language out of anger.

"This is no nobility contest, sweetheart. This is the Zone. It is merely a business opportunity. You lot can bleed for the rest of us all you want, it won't make you anything but naive idiots. Now, go fetch that artifact.", Griffin retorted.

Sanyok clenched his fists, but Dimuha acted quicker than his friend's temper and placed his hand on Sanyok's shoulder. Dimuha replied that they'd be back soon and turned Sanyok around before the ex-merc could smash Griffin's nose in. Despite some curses and protests, Dimuha managed to drag Sanyok towards the grocery store with little difficulty, and once out of eyesight of the mercs, let his friend go. Thankfully, the Redeemed had calmed down enough now.

"Sorry. It's just... I can't stand those shitheads. Griffin wasn't always like that, but being banished to here seems to have made him cold and more arrogant.", Sanyok sighed.

"I get you. Didn't have many mates among bandits for the same reason, killing and violence as a profession makes you a bastard far too quickly. Would have happened to me too, had Boris not appeared and showed an alternative. I was young and stupid, hell, still am.", Dimuha replied in a reflective tone.

"You really aren't. Dima may be Boris' best friend, but everyone knows you're Redemption's regent. You may be younger than me, but that mission you pulled to get us out of the space bubble? I'd follow you to hell after that.", Sanyok said in a very serious voice, and Dimuha felt a sense of warmth inside from such praise.

"Damn, you're making me blush, bratan. Let's cut the crap out now though, and get that Tear thingy, there's still loads of things to do today.", Dimuha ordered, and Sanyok nodded.

They continued down the empty streets, stepping on patches of grass pushing through the asphalt. Bushes and trees had grown all around the city lanes, and the former inhabitants of the roads now rotted in the sides of it, rust gathering in their cabins and moss growing on their hoods. The Zone reclaimed all eventually, unless one managed to escape it. These cars had clearly not. Dimuha lit another cigarette, enjoying the ability to smoke now that the ever-present mist of Lost Factory no longer turned the cigs into mushy and useless forms. Sanyok kept keen eye on the windows, and Dimuha wondered if the events of Limansk and the loss of the men under his command influenced that. Still, it was too heavy topic to pick now, so he kept quiet. For a long time, only the sound of their footsteps echoing on the cold ground and the occasional gust of wind filled their ears.

This continued for twelve minutes. Dimuha's cigarette had long since turned to ashes when gunshots echoed from the hospital. They were now mere hundred metres from it, and rounding the corner to the yard, they saw muzzle flashes inside the sickhouse. Their blooms lit up the otherwise dark windows, but the shots were clearly not aimed at them. Three men with NATO-standard guns blazed away at something, a shadow darting past windows so quickly that Dimuha barely registered it being there. Sanyok pushed him to cover as the phantom flew past them at breakneck speed, landing on the yard behind them. A chimera, this one in copper colour and with gaping wounds in its side. For the briefest of second, Dimuha saw something glimmering in said wounds too.

"That's our target, I'm sure of it!", Dimuha shouted.

"Why is it always the meanest death machine for some reason?", Sanyok asked.

"Because we're Redemption, not Retirement!", Dimuha quipped and opened fire with his Mk.48.

"Oh yeah, that's not allowed to our generation!", Sanyok replied and his AVT joined in.

The chimera dodged the fire and leaped further into the yard, towards the tunnel connecting the two parts of the hospital. The three other stalkers in the area had emerged from the side entrance, and now Dimuha saw their distinct UNISG camo pattern. They spread out, one suppressing the Redeemed with an AUG while his comrades fought the chimera. The beast bellowed in pain, then lurched to the side and disappeared inside the building quickly. One of the international stalkers drew a grenade and threw it inside, exposing himself momentarily. Dimuha had been kept down by the suppressor, but Sanyok had crawled to a better position and his AVT shot a highly inaccurate but fast burst into the general direction of the "UN" force. By miraculous luck, one of the heavy rounds hit, striking the grenadier's arm.

A groan of pain bounced off the buildings moment before the grenade went off, and Dimuha saw the UNISG trooper crouch down to cover. The chimera, wounded even more by the shrapnel from the pineapple suddenly bolted from the former medical building and claimed the wounded man. As if seeking some retribution, it lunged on top of the fighter, tore his throat open with a single swipe and by the time the two other men had time to react, it was gone. Dimuha had not been idle in the meantime, and as the man on overwatch duty was distracted, Dimuha had trained his machine gun on the man. Setting down a hail of lead, the sharpshooter met his end when bullets struck his armour. Paying for his lapse in judgement, the man fell down screaming in pain, only for the screams to soon turn into gurgling as blood flowed into his throat.

The last fighter seemingly panicked. Faced with the death of his companions, overwhelming firepower and incredibly potent apex predator, the man's confidence crumbled and he ran. Dimuha saw this, and silently nodded to Sanyok too, the look in his friend's eyes confirming that they had the same plan. When the man broke into a sprint, neither Redeemed followed. Their guns pointed at the man's back, but no bullet was fired. Only when the wounded chimera appeared from one of the entrances did the Redemption pair's guns speak. When the claws of the abomination struck the poor man, the rounds from the patient hunters claimed the chimera as well.

"That was easier than I thought. Thank the Zone for UNISG incompetence.", Sanyok whispered, calming his breath.

"Da, let's not make this any more difficult by loitering around here. You check the UNISG corpses, I check the chimera carcass?", Dimuha asked, and his companion nodded.

They set to work, constantly glancing over their shoulders or checking the windows for any interlopers. Dimuha cut away some of the skin on the chimera's side, seeing something glimmer inside. There, embedded into the beast's side, was a crystal clear jewel-like formation, radiation with beautiful energy. Dimuha took out his Geiger counter, and as the low levels of radiation reassured him, took the artifact. Contrary to popular belief among rookie stalkers, not all artifacts emitted radiation. Just because it is the Zone doesn't mean everything has to be super deadly and full of rads, Dimuha thought to himself as he tossed the artifact in his bag. But such was life in the Zone, dumb tall tales would spread like wildfire among the more gullible, like cigarettes curing radiation poisoning or Freedom somehow having sexual relations with mutants.

His musings were interrupted when Sanyok poked him in the shoulder. He had found a map on one of the corpses, with one of the building blocks on it marked very faintly. On it, a small Greek letter of Omega was drawn. Dimuha looked at Sanyok, who was scratching his head through the hood of his Hybrid suit.

"What does that even mean? What's Omega?", Dimuha asked, only to get a shrug from Sanyok.

"No clue, but it could be worth checking out. Shall we go?", Sanyok proposed.

"No, you shall not. Hand over the artifact, suckers.", a harsh voice came from behind, and Dimuha turned around, machine gun ready.

Five men had spread around the yard around them while they were distracted, and five barrels of guns pointed at them. The blue eagle visible on their suits was visible, confirming them as mercenaries, yet biggest answer came when Griffin stepped out of cover, holding his Scar-L.

"You did good by the looks, too bad those associates of us had to bit the bullet. But eh, business comes over buddies. Now, hand the Tears of Chimera here or perish.", Griffin ordered.

Dimuha hesitated. By the looks Griffin had no intention to give any information to them, but giving him the artifact would be certain death. He glanced at Sanyok, and from the determination on his face, saw that Sanyok had come to the same conclusion. They would stand their ground.

"Fuck off, Griffin.", Dimuha shouted, and bullets began flying just a second later.