Iron Wolf: Demons Within

**Iron Wolf: Demons Within** is a prequel comic to Warzone: Iron Wolf II. After the succes of the Iron Wolf: Into Darkness comic, the medium was chosen once again to highlight the story of David Locke before the events of the main game.

## Story Overview

### Chapter 1 - Light in the Dark

In a wartorn city street, 2 guys are talking about whatever they've done was ethical. One guy, a black person, responds that whatever makes them get their paycheck, is ethical. The other one, a white person, challenges this view again, but they are interrupted by the sound of gunfire in the distance, followed by comms saying that another push is taking place. The 2 men run towards the source, with the white person mumbling "whatever gets me home", where they try to engage in a firefight.

They are quickly pinned down by the gunfire and the black person is hit in his shoulder and collapses, making sounds of agonizing pain. Upon trying to reach him, the white person is shot in his leg and falls against a car to dug for cover. Fighting against the pain, he feels like giving in to the temptation of sleep. His mind slowly drifts away, showing a vague imagery of a woman, which makes him snaps back to reality and he grabs a note from his vest. He looks at it and smiles in relief. It shows the note, saying "You are my hero" in scribbly lettres.

### Chapter 2 - Where the Heart Is

A flashback occurs to 2023, a young Locke is seen running through a street, going against stream. People rushing on both sides of him while the air raid siren is roaring. The chaos causes Locke to be disoriented, resulting in an adult bumbing into him and causing him to fall down. Locke tries to stand up, but suddenly a hand lifts him up, shouting he has to go. Locke responds, saying that he has to go the other way. The man refuses to let him go that way and drags him with him on his shoudler, while Locke looks the other way, revealing a big cloud of smoke in the distance and a red glare. He screams one more time to let him go, but the man refuses, saying it's for his own good.

It cuts to Locke sitting at a dinner table, staring into nothing. His thoughts are drifting and he is obvlious for the man sitting at the other end of the table. The man asks twice what his name is, before Locke wakes up. He responds saying it is Dave, following a few seconds later with Locke. The man asks what he was doing on the street, running towards the fire, with Locke responding that he was looking for his parents, silencing the man. He stands up and tells Locke that he might have to stay with them for a while and walks to another room. Locke's eyes follow him, getting a glimpse of the man's daughter standing besides the doorpost, who flees upon seeing him.

### Chapter 3 - This House on Fire

What appears to be a few weeks later, it shows Locke playing with the girl, who's name is revealed to be Hannah. From a distance, the man, who's named Kruger and the father of the girl, is discussing with his wife what to do with the kid, saying that his parents have died in the attack and that he can't stay with them. His wife tries to convince him that he needs proper bondage while growing up, so they settle that they'll look after him, but he has to go to a different home.

It shows a few moments from Locke's life while growing up. He now lives at a boarding school, but it also shows moments where he is at the Kruger family. It then flashes to 2031. It shows Locke arriving at the Kruger household, walking through the backdoor and going upstairs without notifying anyone, tossing his boarding school baggage in a room. Suddenly he hears amok downstairs. It's a guy furiously talking to Mr. Kruger, telling the whole family to get together. Locke slowly descents the stairs, while listening to the guy saying that Emmanuel got caught doing the shit for Kruger and that his fate is the result of Kruger's stupid desires. The guy, clearly confused and on the brink of insanity, is being calmed down by Kruger, but the guy shoots him in the belly, causing his wife to scream and the guy knocks her down, telling her to shut up.

He then goes on to threaten Hannah, who is shocked by the gunshot and the knockout. Locke steps into the hallway, seeing the shooter in the kitchen pointing his gun, saying that it's a shame to kill such a beautiful girl. Hannah tries to reason to him, and while she is distracting him, Locke walks towards him, grabs a bottle from the table and smashes it onto the back of the guy's head. The guy falls down and squeeks in pain who the hell he is. Locke sits on top of him and proceeds to hit him in the face. Hannah tries to get him of the shooter, saying it's enough. Locke only realizes that when he looks at his bloody fist. He then snaps back and proceeds to help Mr. Kruger while Hannah calls for help. While putting pressure on the wound, Mr. Kruger tells him that everybody got his reasons. Even if it might seem unethical, don't forget why you do it.

### Chapter 4 - White Man's Burden

Locke is sitting at home reading a book, when his cellphone goes off. He takes it. On the other end is Ms. Kruger, saying that he has to come to the hospital. He drives there and arrives in the hospital room, seeing Mr. Kruger at his dying breath, with Hannah bending over him, crying. Ms. Kruger explains that her husband wants to tell him something, personally. She stands up and takes Hannah with her. A little confused, he sits down on a chair next to Mr. Kruger, who starts talking, pausing in between sentences to take a deep breath. He addresses him with Dave, rather than David, and tells him that he is a good kid, with a heart on the right place. He asks him to do one last thing for him, and that is to continue what he is doing. He gives him a piece of a paper with a number to call, making Locke promise to do anything to repay what he has done for him.

Locke goes outside and calls the number immediatly out of curiosity. On the other end, a guy responds aggressively, asking who's calling. Locke tells him Kruger told him to call the number, silencing the guy, who breaks the silence by asking what Locke's name is. Locke responds with his name, making the guy on the other end explain what's going on. Kruger was leading a small resistance faction against Typhoon oppression, supplying resistant forces with weaponry and military expertise, which he had access to by being a former general. The guy then introduces him as JJ, telling him to sweep by a location tomorrow. Locke hangs up and goes back inside, where Kruger has been declared death. Hannah has retreated to cope with the death and Locke sits down next to her. He tries to comfort her by telling him his death was because he was a hero, to which Hannah responds that Locke was her hero by saving her and she leans against Locke.

It flashes forward to Locke approaching a abandoned storage facility. Suddenly, he is surprised by a guy pointing a gun at him, who bets he must be David Locke. Locke confirms his thought and the guy introduces him as JJ, Jeandré Junior Surname-not-important. Locke asks what is the purpose of all this, to which JJ replies that with Kruger gone, the organization has no leader and while JJ is an appreciated member, Kruger's status left too big of a void to fill by him or any other. That's why Kruger appointed Locke to serve as his replacement, since even though is he not experienced, him being appointed by the man himself gives him enough appreciation to build the respect needed to run the organization. Locke asks JJ to specify the organization, who tells him that the resistance is essentially fueling narrow-minded criminals to disrupt Typhoon's influence in the region. However, their widespread connections all across South Africa make them extremely influential. Locke tells him that he will help them in any way possible, to which JJ replies that he'll teach him the ropes in the following days.

### Chapter 5 - Fortune Favors the Bold

It flashes about 2 years forward, Locke steps through a front door shouting he is home. He is now living in a newly build town in Drakensberg. He is then approached by Hannah, who says she is glad he is back and they share a kiss. Locke tells her that there is no need to worry. He tells her that Typhoon should be too occupied with recent affairs in South America, but Hannah reveals her dismay for the punks he meets. Locke tells her that everything is and will always be all right and they share one more kiss before the screen cuts to Locke, JJ and another guy in a backstreet waiting. The other guy expresses his discontent for their contact, saying that the guys have been unreliable in the past. JJ tells the guy, adressing him with Ebrahim, that they got everything set up just fine and that there's no need to worry.

A car stops at the end of the alley and a few guys step out. Right before JJ tells Ebrahim that everything is fine, another car stops at the other end of the alley, making him take back his words. The guys, obviously carrying around poorly hidden weapons, surround the group. One guy steps forward, telling Locke that Typhoon is considering retreating from the area and that they should settle who's actually in charge of the place once they are gone. Locke reassures that they already settled that and that he should only focus on the deal. The guy snaps his fingers, making his goons raise their weapons, and he tells Locke his reign is over, saying he is not fit to be a warlord if he plans deals like this so pitiful. He then asks where the weapons are, which makes Locke smirk and tell him above. The guy looks above, showing sharpshooters on top of the roofs, who rain fire upon the goons. Locke tackles the guy and tells him one more time that he is in charge and then proceeds to kill him. They leave the place with the guy's cellphone and leave behind a note with Locke's signature on the guy's corpse.

Inside a car, Locke is browsing through the cellphone, looking for contacts. He tells JJ he found the guy who must've pulled the strings on this, identifying him as Duncan Reddy. JJ asks what to do now and Locke responds that they need to erase cancer cells or they'll just spread in their body. They drive the car to Reddy's whereabouts. During the ride, Locke's smoking a cigarette, leaning towards the car window. JJ asks Locke if it is because Typhoon is losing power, that people become free which makes them do stupid things, to which Locke replies that he thinks everyone should be free, giving an unsatisfactory answer. They arrive at a brothel and set a foot inside. While receiving a warm welcome of the ladies, a member at the bar tries to alarm others of Locke's and JJ's presence, but is shoved a pistol in face before doing so.

They have him open a secret door, revealing a room occupied by several men who are drinking and smoking. Interrupting the atmosphere, Locke shows his gun and tells everyone to step into the armory, where they store the weapons they receive, except Reddy, who tries to comfort them and to take it easy. The other men step into the armory, which JJ locks and they sit down comfortably on the other end of a poker table. Reddy sighs and lights a cigar, saying that what has been done can't be undone, offering a cigar to both. They both decline, and rather asks what Reddy thought he was doing. Reddy explains that their monopoly is crumbling. The knowledge has spread, they are well-armed, it was a matter of time before they would start revolting and that he was planning on being the first to take the throne. JJ laughs and looks at Locke, who nods and tells Reddy that there's no throne, since they are not civilians under his rule, they are his slaves. Reddy argues that they made him, but before he is finished, Locke fires his pistol from the hip, killing Reddy. Locke and JJ leave the room a moment and tell the ladies to go, since they are free. After entering their car and driving away, the brother explodes, killing the men under Reddy's command and destroying the supplied weapons.

### Chapter 6 - Easy Come Easy Go

Years later, Locke is seen sitting on the couch watching TV, when suddenly his cellphone goes off. The scene mirrors that of chapter 4. He answers it, followed by a long silence and eventually a I'm coming. He drives through the town, to eventually arrive at the hospital. He rushes through the hallway, asking where his wife is, ultimately finding her room. Once he stepped into the doorway, he froze, seeing Hannah in the hospital bed with her head in her hands. The doctor affirms Locke must be the husband and brings the bad news, cancer. After explaining that a tumor in her head caused her to faint, leading to the discovery of said tumor, Locke asks if it's treatable. The doctor hesitates, saying it is, but due to problems in the country, the health care insurance will not cover the operation. Without hesitation, Locke says he will cover it, but the doctor is skeptical showing the number to Locke. It cuts to a few hours later, with both Locke and Hannah in eachother arms devestated.

It flashes to a brief scene of another meeting between Locke's crew and someone else, again resulting in a bloodshed. It then switches to Locke at his home in front of his desk, crossing out the name of a connection with a red marker, revealing a document with all his connections, showing about two-third crossed out with red. His phone buzzes and Locke picks it up. JJ tells him that some punks raided Ebrahim's house, killing him and scrapping a large amount of resources. Locke pulls the phone away without responding and his head drops onto the desk. The scene transitions into Locke's head onto a bar. The bartender asks him to shape up, but Locke only says to pour him another drink. A time lapse of him at the hospital, in front of his desk and at the bar repeats a few times, slowly revealing Locke's change into bitterness.

However, one day while Locke is once again arguing with the bartender about something ridiculous, a man calls for Locke, who looks up to see JJ. He says long time no see to Locke, who replies that they've indeed not seen eachother for a while. JJ tells him that after they had severed ties, he wondered what happened, eventually learning what was going on. Locke retreats back into his shell, taking a gulp from his drink. JJ tells him directly, that he knows he needs to money and proceeds to show a contract of ARES Private Military Company. He reveals that he has joined the PMC and says that he can offer him the same contract, which is enough to support the treatment. While hesitating at first, Locke smiles in relief and gives JJ a firm handshake, saying more about his appreciation than a thousend words.

It shows one last brief moment between Locke and Hannah, with Locke explaining that he is going away to support her. Weakened by the chemo, Hannah struggles to respond but instead asks for a pen and note, writing something down and giving it to Locke. In scribbly lettres, it says: "You are my hero".

### Chapter 7 - The Rational Mind

A few scenes show Locke's time at the PMC. One scene depicts him, JJ and others assisting local residents in a wartorn city by carrying supplies and giving out medical aid. Another scene depicts them scouting in a jungle, using metascreen camouflage, arriving at a plane crashsite. The last scene shows them breaching into a room and securing a group of civilians. It cuts to Locke and JJ sitting on a trunk of a truck, with Locke smoking a cigar. He asks how many days of the tour are left, to which JJ replies he has no idea and guesses a few days. Locke is per se satisfied with a few days.

Suddenly, their comms start talking, saying that the enemies have begun sweeping into the streets. JJ shouts showtime and knocks on the backwindow of the car. The car drives off with them readying their weapons in the trunck. They arrive among other troops and step out, regrouping with a squad. The squad leader explains that the enemies are using civilians as collateral and that they need to watch their fire. The firefight ensues, but the enemies manage to push further into the streets towards them. They are pinned down and try to back down, but eventually the squad leader gives orders to fire AGM missiles to Locke. At first confused, saying that they still have civilians as collateral, the squad leaders responds that they'll lose to much ground if they don't.

Locke runs back to a vehicle and grabs a console of a drone. He orders the drone to fire its missiles upon the enemies. After requesting the missile fire, he looks up towards the designated area, seeing the missiles causing great destruction. Stunned for a second, Locke is ordered alongside the others to check for remaining survivors. Locke walks towards JJ, who has already gone towards the ground zero, shouting "JJ hang on". It shows a closeup of Locke's face saying it again, but this time it is revealed to be at the end at chapter 1. Locke takes a deep breath in and out and stands up, firing towards the enemies, pinning them down. He keeps them suppressed, until friendlies appear to help them.

Locke decides to focus on JJ, putting pressure on his wound. He tells him he is going to be okay, but JJ tells him that whatever happens, Locke was the toughest son of a bitch he knew. Locke tells him to knock off the cliche bullshit, making JJ laugh, which leads to him coughing up blood. Locke is pushed aside by a medic and another medic takes away Locke for examination. While being helped onto his feet and with walking, Locke reassures that everything will be fine.

### Chapter 8 - Language of Demons

It flashes to Locke sitting in the hospital room, with Hannah in the hospital bed. The atmosphere is much more lightly, with Hannah telling a story about what they could be in the future, making Locke smile out of happiness and saying it'll be wonderful. He stands up and kisses Hannah on the forehead, telling her that after his last tour, the cancer will be gone, he will quit the PMC and they'll continue their normal lives, which sounds perfect to Hannah.

It cuts to a briefing moment of a mission to secure the governor of a Dawnbreaker project in Kenya. He has been abducted by Typhoon forces, who have been aggressively targetting dawnbreaker projects the last few months. The objective is to infiltrate and exfiltrate the HVT. The scene transitions to the scene of the PMCs breaching the room of the governor, securing the room and telling the governor they're from ARES. The governor asks what they're planning and they respond by saying they will escort him towards a VTOL waiting outside of the project area. In the ensuing firefight, they escort him towards the VTOL effectively and Locke lays back in satisfaction. The governor notices this and asks why he is so relieved with him saving the governor, but Locke responds that he can finally go back to what he was. The governor nods in disapproval, saying that there's no turning back for nobody because of the war, but Locke says that it is over for him.

It changes to a later moment with Locke in his PMC gear brought his hometown in a truck. However upon arriving, he finds it in ruins. In complete panic, he jumps out of the truck and makes his way to the hospital, ignoring police officers and humanitarian aid in the city. He arrives at the hospital, which has been hit by a large explosive as shown by the large black hole in the middle and collapsed roof. Locke, disillusioned, collapses onto the ground and into tears. A silhouette of a man approaches Locke, telling him that he must've known someone. Locke doesn't react to him, but the man continues anyway. He says that it was a purge, an action out of vengeance and that the war only brings more misery to the world. Locke says that everyone was right and that war only brings misery, but that now it's time for him to avenge his loved one. For him, this war will be over, when there's nobody that hurt him left.

The man walks towards him and reaches out for Locke, who accepts the hand and is lifted back on his feet. It is revealed that the man is a soldier, and 2 other soldiers are standing a few feet behind him. The man then finishes the story by saying: "Come with us."