Zugzwang
Kathleen Paid
Under any other circumstance, dropping onto mountainous
terrain in the midst of a subzero blizzard was the worst kind
of weather for a mission. In their case of reconnaissance and
assassination, those factors became ideals. The stark white guise
the elevation they scaled granted an excellent view of the enemy
compound. In theory, the preference for a blinding snowstorm
was a sensible one, but the downside of applications was quickly
revealed as the three-mile trek to the checkpoint developed into a
trudge. They slogged through waist-deep snow and battled winds
that blew their directional abilities in circles. More than once,
they were forced to sit still and redirect their course, and several
against the hazardous environment.
Notwithstanding poor navigational technique and the
slew of profanities that arose when either of them stumbled into
concealed ditches, the hike was a quiet one. Even chatter on
Z
and the crunch of the snow beneath their boots were all the two of
them heard, and all they needed. Their burdens were heavy enough
without having to worry about moving one foot in front of the
other, much less forcing a conversation neither of them wanted to
have.
Over seventy minutes later, delay after delay halting
their progress, the pair reached their position, and they hastily
set up camp. Wordlessly, they fell into an old, rehearsed routine
grays, and blues, but to authenticate their concealment, enlisted the
from the landscape. Everything of and around them was concealed
seamlessly in white.
The brutal weather continued for another three hours.
Every few minutes, the mercenary would say either, “no visual” or
“movement on Tower Two,” depending on the level of visibility.
[64]