"Ripped By mstoll" "Three, two, one." "Grenade." "A world exists exactly like ours." "You live in this world... your family and friends... and though you may not know it..." "I was sent to save you." "It's just a game." "My dear Sophie... it's October now or maybe November... and still we're no closer to our goal... to kill Santiago and end the game." "We're in this godforsaken place looking for a man... a military assassin who may hold the key." "Whether fate or my own conscious choice has led me down this road..." "I cannot say." "I only hope that I will be up to the task ahead... knowing in my heart that all roads lead to you." "We're lost, aren't we?" " We're not lost." " Five clicks south of Levittown." "That's where that G.I. In the bar said we'd find him." " I know what he said." " Then what's the problem?" "The problem, genius, is we are five clicks south of Levittown." "And I just traded an ammo clip to go on some half-assed snipe hunt." "I thought you said you knew this Captain Wolff." "Knew ofhim." "He was one of the first assassins sent into the game." "Top-notch triggerman." " Hey, where you goin'?" " There's somethin' over here." "Wolff?" "They say he actually penetrated security... got off a shot at Santiago, missed him by inches." " What happened?" " Disappeared right after that." "Thought he was dead till we ran into that G.I." "Dexter." "Keep an eye on the car." "I'll bring him back." "Dexter." "Hey, boy." "Dexter!" "Little rat's probably an appetizer by now." "Here, doggy." "Here, doggy." "Where are ya, ya mangy little mutt?" "What the hell was that?" "Software glitch?" "No." "Somethin' else." "There you are." "Where'd you run off to, boy?" "Dex, where'd you get to, boy, hey?" "Can we go now?" "Hey, where's your car?" "Florence!" "Somebody is gonna die." "Sniper... 10:00." "I got 'im." "Circle around." "I'll draw fire." "Now." "Hände hoch!" "Clear!" " Bring the other one." " Search 'em!" ""Hobbes, Thomas F."" "They got American tags, Lieutenant." "American?" "You from the 84th?" "Eighty-fourth?" "As in the sorry-ass reinforcements we were expecting two weeks ago." "No." "We're..." "We're from the 110th Infantry out of Fort Dix." "Nice try, only there ain't no 110th." "Don't say another word, Hobbes." "I think we got ourselves a couple of spies, Lieutenant." " "Spies"?" " Zip it." "I heard 24th Cav shot two Krauts at a checkpoint... out of uniform and speaking perfect English." "Just like these two mokes here." "All right." "That's enough." "This area's crawlin' with snipers." "We stand around here jawin', we're gonna get popped." "Now bring 'em along." "Where the hell are we?" " Not now, Hobbes." " You saw what that sniper was wearing." "Just keep your head on straight till we can figure somethin' out." "What are you lookin' at?" "Been on this front a while." "Never seen you two before." "Yeah?" "Well, take a good look, 'cause we're gettin' outta here." "You think so?" "I know this place." "Incoming!" "Incoming!" " I don't believe this." " You believe that?" "First Platoon, cover right flank." "First Platoon!" "Cover right flank!" "Pour fire down the middle of that bridge." "Lieutenant, what do you want me to do with these two?" "Get 'em outta here." "I'll deal with them later." "All right, you Kraut bastards, move!" "Now!" " Redistribute ammo." " Redistribute ammo!" "You touch me again, I'll rip off that arm and feed it to you." "Inside." "We're not done yet." "Great." "That's all we need." "We're not gonna hurt you." "It's okay." "He won't bite." "Look." "He's friendly." "Mm!" "They sure don't make 'em like they used to." "That bridge out there." "In O.C.S., we did a battle review of the Ardennes campaign..." "Second World War." "There was a siege in Hotton, Belgium between... two small advance units of the German and American armies." "Lasted over a month." "I swear that's the same bridge." " It's a combat sim." " A what?" "Virtual combat simulation." "When they started beta-testing Harsh Realm... they downloaded a bunch of old battle scenarios..." "Pork Chop Hill, Pickett's Charge." " So it's another game." " It's a battlefield trainer... what Harsh Realm was originally designed for." " What's it still doing here?" " Who knows?" "Probably an oversight." "Some pencil neck in the real world forgot to hit "Delete."" "You two, with me." "That's far enough." " Look, we're not spies." " Of course you're not." "You don't even belong here." "What are ya... just deserters or..." "on the run from Santiago?" " You know about Santiago?" " Hobbes." "I saw what you did back there with the lieutenant." "How'd you know?" "Poor bastards." "You don't even know what you've gotten into, do you?" " We know this is a game." " You don't know nothin'." " Who told you to release the prisoners?" " Nobody." "Yeah, well, time's up for these two." " Hey, your lieutenant said..." " Lieutenant's dead." "That's right." "The lieutenant's dead." " Which puts me in charge of dealing with Kraut spies." " Wait!" "Take 'em out back." "Make less of a mess." "Hey, you might wanna get down." "Quit jerking' around, Private." " Let's get outta here!" " I'll be seein' you." "That's where we came through, right?" "About half a click more." "Move out!" "Move out!" "Get some ammo over here!" " We must have looped around." " Come on." "This way." "More ammo!" "Bring that artillery!" "You gotta be kiddin' me." "It's the same damn bridge." "How do we get outta here?" "Thirty-four days." "That's how long the siege lasts..." "not a day more or less." "So, what?" "Then it starts all over again?" "Day 25..." "Germans launch a counteroffensive." "Lieutenant dies in a firefight, leading to the brief... but glorious command of Sergeant Curtis." "New C.O. Is Corporal Zink." "Who buys the farm on day 28..." "regular as clockwork." "So, uh, how do you get out?" "You don't." "Game space is about two miles square." "You try and leave one side, it just..." "Pops you back in in another like some damn Chinese box." " Did you try to find the jump port?" " What?" "It's an escape hatch built into the higher-level sims, buried deep inside the code." "Could be anywhere..." "a rock, a tree." "Jump port's nothin' but a wet dream." "I've been over every square inch this side of the river." " What about the other side of the bridge?" " Mm-mmm." "It's no-man's-land." "Germans hold the far bank." "Shoot on sight." "Hey, Private." "Private, what are you doin' here?" " Get your ass back on post." " I got a better idea." "Why don't you?" "I think I gave you a direct order." "And I think I told you to shove the order." " What's your name, soldier?" " Sommer, Scott Eric." " That's "Sommer" with an "O."" " Well, I'll be writin' you up for that." " Better do it soon." " Get me H.Q...." "Private Scott Sommer?" "Or is it Staff Sergeant?" "Pinocchio." "Desert Storm..." "El Talil, Kuwait." "A company of Iraqi legs overran us... because a Staff Sergeant Scott "Sommers" deserted his post." "I don't know what the hell you're talkin' about!" " Let him go." " Why?" "Four of my men died because of this rat bastard." "He knows the game." "If there's a way into this hole, there's a way out... and you're gonna help us." "You got it?" "What are you doin'?" "Go on home." "Wouldn't get too fond of him." " Why not?" " I've seen this play out a hundred times." "Kid hasn't made it past day 28 once." " But he's here." " He's just a game piece." "He's not like you and me." "The sim resets 'em so they can come back and die all over again." " What if we win?" " What?" "It's a game, right?" "Like Harsh Realm." "We capture the bridge, we win, we get out." "We can't." "Game won't allow it." "It's designed so that nobody has a tactical advantage." "Perfect stalemate." " I don't buy that." "There's gotta be a way." " Yeah?" "Look, I've been stuck in this hole 18 months, and I'm telling you..." " no one's ever gonna take that bridge." " What if we blow it up?" " What?" " The bridge." " That's crazy." " Why?" "The game's all about capturing the bridge, right?" "Every scenario revolves around taking it intact." "If we destroy it..." "Game over." "Or we get digitized 'cause we're trapped inside the sim when it crashes." "They got sentries patrolling the far shore... plus a couple snipers back in the trees." " What about the river approach?" " No good." "Machine-gun nests here and here." "Then we're gonna have to go across the bridge deck... place our charges there." " What's that?" " Six sticks of C-2." "It's your bomb." " It's the best I could do." " What are we, back in the Dark Ages?" " It's never gonna work." " Sure, it will." "Hundred feet of fuse wire ought to buy us eight, nine minutes." " I'll light it once you're off the bridge." " Uh-uh." "You're comin' with us." " Someone needs to keep watch." " Right." "Like you did at El Talil." "I told you." "You got the wrong guy." "Fewer men on the bridge, the better." "How many guards we got to deal with?" " One of ours, two of theirs." " Great." "We gotta get past one of our own guys." "Shouldn't be a problem." "He's gonna have to take a leak at 0400." " How do you know?" " How do I know that kid behind me just fell asleep?" "Stay with him." " Hey." " What?" "That battle review in O.C. S..." "how'd you do?" "C-minus." "What's he doin' out here?" "What are you doin'?" "He's just a kid." "Don't be stupid." "You heard what Sommer said about this place." "You can't change anything." " I don't believe that." " Hobbes!" "Halt!" "Halt!" "Halt!" "No!" "Dexter!" "Sommer!" "Sommer!" "Stay down." " Where the hell were you?" " I had to pull back." "I didn't wanna jeopardize your position." "They got him." "They got Hobbes." "That means we gotta blow the bridge now." "You don't understand." "He was captured... alive." "Look." "I'm sorry about your friend, but they're gonna make him talk... and they're gonna kill him, and there ain't nothin' we can do about that." "This might be our only chance." "That's what it's all about for you, isn't it?" "Savin' your own ass." "Yes!" "That's exactly what it's about... fulfilling my mission and going home at the end of it." "What about those men... my men... that you left behind?" "They didn't get to go home." "Their number was up..." "just like your friend Hobbes." "We are not leavin' him behind." "You got that?" "We're gettin' him out." "Uh-uh." "There's no "we" here." "I ain't dying' for your friend." "You wanna play Rambo, that's your business." "I am blowing' this bridge." "Hey." "Not without this you're not." "You ever point a gun at me again, you'd better use it." "John Wayne..." "John Wayne, ja?" "John Wayne." "Kaugummi?" "It's sugar-free." "What?" "That's the problem with the damn 1940s." "Too much sugar." "Everyone here eats red meat seven days a week." " Everyone smokes." " You're Wolff." " Who sent you?" " No one." "We were looking for your shelter outside Levittown." "We found your dog tags there." " You're not working for Santiago?" " No." "We wanted you to help us kill him." "Kill Santiago?" "You really think... that you and I could do that?" "One man against his army?" " You nearly did." " That was a long time ago." "Why don't you come back with us?" ""Back"?" "Back to what?" "The world out there?" "Santiago's world?" "No, thank you." "I'll take my chances in here." "You know, you ought to come over to this side, like I did." "Food's a lot better." "You speak any German?" "Too bad." "We're getting out." " We're gonna blow the bridge." " You don't wanna do that." "Why not?" " The jump port." " I'm sorry." "I can't help you." " It's on the bridge, isn't it?" " There's nothing more I can do." "How the hell did you get here?" "A glitch." "Terrific." "Now you tell me." "Hey!" "Where you goin'?" "Hey!" "Hey!" " Miss me?" " What are you doin' here?" "I had a sudden craving for schnitzel." " Come on." "Let's get outta here." " Wait." "Somethin' we gotta do first." "Not one word." "Let's take a walk." " Hey, what's he doin' here?" " He knows a shortcut." " We can't blow the bridge." " Why the hell not?" "The jump port's on it." " What if it is?" " Then we can get out." "And then what?" "Run from Santiago for the rest of our lives?" " If we don't fight, he wins." " He's already won." "If you really believe that, he has." "Come on." "Fuse wire!" "What has he done?" "What have you done?" "I had to do it." "They would've found the bomb." "You son of a bitch." "I didn't think that you were comin' back." "Besides, it'll all be over soon." "Gotta get out there and pull that fuse wire." "You'll never make it in the daylight." "Sniper will take you before you hit the road." " I ask you to talk?" " He's right." " We've got no choice." " Then you'll be killed." "Unless somebody volunteers to take out those snipers." " What are you doin'?" " Goin' for the fuse wire." "You?" "With the C-minus?" " Hey!" " See ya on the other side." "Pinocchio!" "Pinocchio!" "I know where it is..." "the jump port." "We're gettin' out." " I can't... make it." " I'm not leaving you." "Go." "Go!" "Now!" "Wait!" "Wait!" "What is it that determines the course of our lives?" "A twist of fate?" "The road not taken?" "Or is it a man's actions that decide his path?" "Are we held accountable for the choices we make... even here in this world?" "I'm out." "I'm out." "I'm out!" "I'm free!" "In the end, Sophie..." "I believe it comes to this... a man can be guided by his humanity... or by something else." "Way's clear, Sarge." "I made this!" "Ripped By mstoll"