One Shot — stalker

Wait... I had a rather unpleasant experience I wanna share... Some mercs asked me to lead them to Pripyat. Initially they won me over with a juicy fee, but I soon realized I was in the brown stuff... They didn't let me out of their sight for a second and threatened me at gunpoint. I managed to escape as we approached Pripyat but they're bound to be in the city by now, so be careful.

Garry

One Shot is a side mission mission in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat.

Overview

One can obtain this mission from Colonel Kovalsky after acquiring the Documents concerning item 62 towards the end of the mission Unidentified weapon. After the documents have been acquired, approaching Garry in the Laundromat will trigger a dialog in which Garry informs the player that he was forced to escort a group of Mercenaries in Pripyat, but managed to escape. He then tells that he heard the encounter was taking place in the nearby Apartment Complex.

Afterwards, the player can go speak to Kovalsky regarding the incident. To start the mission, the player will need to have completed either Kopachy or Mercenary Camp (or both missions), in order to inform the Colonel that the mercenaries are after the location of Laboratory X8. If neither mission was completed beforehand, then there will be no additional dialogue options available after informing Kovalsky about Garry's encounter with the mercs, and the player will not be able to start the mission.

Kovalsky then asks the player to choose a priority target - either the mercenary commander or his associate, before contacting Lieutenant Kirillov to escort the Major near the meeting place. The player is then teleported to an apartment overlooking the complex's central courtyard, where they are given a SVDm-2 for the mission.

At first Jackal, a mercenary commander, will appear out along with a large retinue of mercenaries. Contrary to Kirillov's statement: Jackal is not the person guarding the door - he is actually the one patrolling the area. Note that Jackal is using a Mercenary Exoskeleton and is equipped with a GP37; distinguishing him by his equipment is the best option to single out Jackal in the event two or more mercenaries clad in Exoskeletons appear.

The second group to appear is Serbin's group, all of whom are clad in SSP-99M Suits. He is by far the easiest to distinguish amongst the bunch as he is the only one in his group not brandishing a weapon when he appears. He's also usually the first person in the group to appear.

Once Serbin has arrived, the two commanders will meet at the center of the apartment courtyard. Jackal will stand on the left side and Serbin will stand on the right. Using a sniper rifle, take out Jackal, Serbin, or better yet, both.

Rewards

Apart from the sniper rifle which the player gets for free, Kovalsky will give 10 7.62x54mm 7H1 rounds if the players kill none or only one of the two targets, and 30 if they kill both. If the player killed Serbin, they can loot his corpse for the Red X8 keycard, which can be used to unlock a storage room full of supplies inside Lab X-8.

This also makes the player friendly with the rest of the military survivors, which makes them slightly more tolerant with friendly fire during the final mission.

Regardless of the outcome of this mission, after the Evacuation is completed, random hostile Mercenaries may be encountered in the streets of Pripyat, traveling in groups of 2 to 6. They can be frequently observed at the Yubileiny Service Center, but may be found at any area in the city that Loners are known to explore in freeplay. Note that mercenaries will still be encountered after the end of the main story, even if the player did not complete this mission.

Notes

The mission can be skipped if the player answers "I don't have time for this" to Kovalsky. There is no direct impact on the main questline and Barchuk's body with his PDA will still be found near the elevator at Yubileiny Service Center, however the player will never get the red keycard for access to the armory inside Lab X-8.
The choice of the target during dialogue with Kovalsky does not actually influence the mission itself, as both targets will appear at the meeting regardless. The only difference will be Kovalsky's dialogue when the player reports back to him.
Rarely, a wandering mutant may disrupt the meet and cause it to fail. It is advised to clear out the area of the apartment complex before undertaking this mission. A Bloodsucker is known to roam near the apartments.
It is possible to switch to any weapon for the job, preferably a Gauss rifle or a heavily modified Lynx, and even an RPG-7u. The Tide is also a good choice, as it will allow the player to quickly kill both targets without alerting the guards to their position (and thus provoking return fire). In this case, the guards simply walk away.
There are two Mercenary guards in Jackal's squad that have brought their own RPGs which they will fire towards the player once the guns are talking, and then swiftly retreat into the buildings behind them. They stand on the very edges of the yard, next to the side entrances of the building's two wings. They may be slightly obscured by foliage; the player may use their binoculars to get a better sight of them. Taking them out quickly can award the player with two RPGs (possibly still loaded) and fewer explosions to cope with.
If a mercenary survives, he runs to a window in the apartment complex and stands there where one can easily kill him with a headshot as he does not turn around immediately.

Trivia

The phrase "one shot" is a reference to a phrase commonly used by snipers: "One shot, One kill."
- The mission in Call of Pripyat and its name may be a reference to the mission "One Shot, One Kill" from the 2007 video game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, where one must assassinate a target during a deal at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, from the rooftop of the Polissya hotel.
If the player decides to kill one of the targets before Kirillov confirms that both targets are in place, the game will count that the player only killed one of the targets.
If the player leaves the apartment and starts heading downstairs before both targets are killed, then any surviving target will instantly be registered as having escaped. Doing so will also cause all live mercenaries from the deal to instantly disappear from the premises.