Chapter Ten

Ripcord's torso screamed in protest as he and Wolfe strained to hold the rope for the Repeater. Just as the paratrooper thought he could take no more, one of the big Ranger's arms appeared through the destroyed grating. Taking hold of the edges of the hole Repeater pulled himself up onto the wet tarmac. Ripcord released the thick rope and inhaled sharply as the motion of his muscles relaxing sent another jolt of pain through his body. "Head for the control center." Ripcord ordered through gritted teeth. His team then sprinted towards the form of the squat, three story Command and Control Center. As Ripcord ran he felt pain shoot through his system with each footfall. He tried to once again push the pain to the back of his mind. It didn't work. He was getting worse. After what fell like an eternity they finally reached their location, each putting their backs against the cold concrete of the building, orienting their eyes and their weapons outwards, searching the surrounding area for hostiles. The pain was starting to get debilitating. Something had to be done. Ripcord reached into a small pouch marked with a subdued cross stenciled on it. As he began to fish around for a particular item, he nodded to Zap. "Go ahead and rig the lock." Ripcord said. As Zap moved forward and began to apply a clump of C-4 to the heavy door's lock, Ripcord's fingers closed around what he'd been looking for. He looked down at the small hypodermic needle in his hand. It was filled with a clear fluid and had an attached sticker that read "GENERAL COMBAT STIMULANT". He had avoided using it for a while. It was highly addictive, had a bad 'come down', and if Ripcord got hurt worse he wouldn't know it until it was too late. Even the substance itself could be dangerous. It was an semi-experimental soup of adrenaline, pain killers, and various chemicals designed to promote every combat favored mental state from aggression to awareness. Taking a final exhale, Ripcord removed the safety cap and stuck the hypodermic needle into a vein in his arm. Things almost literally improved the second he pressed the plunger. As he removed the needle he felt his heart rate raise and his pain diminish with each passing moment.
"Incoming!" Wolfe shouted as he pointed to a pair of approaching headlights. Everyone took a knee and raised their weapons towards the oncoming STUN, afraid to fire immediately for fear of hitting friendlies. As the STUN raced under a light the question of its crew was answered. It had a full crew of four Motorvipers. The STUN kept bearing down on the group, not firing, apparently unable to clearly make Ripcord's team out. Suddenly the four heavy machine guns on the front of the STUN roared to life, raising a shower of tarmac as the heavy shells walked towards the group.
"I got the bastards!" Zap yelled as he turned from the door and flipped up the leaf sight for the M-203. He took only the briefest moment to aim before he pulled the grenade launcher's trigger. Much to everyone's surprise, that brief moment was enough. A split second after the high pitched pop of the grenade's seal breaking was heard, a cloud of smoke and fire erupted on the nose of the Cobra vehicle. The machine guns instantly stopped as the STUN cut sharply to its left. The radius of the unintentional turn was too tight. The oversized ATV flipped onto its side, its momentum forcing the vehicle into a series of rolls as it barreled out of control along the slick concrete. The violent journey of the vehicle stopped as it slammed into an small building, flattening on the hardened concrete an instant before it disappeared in a fireball. "...That went better than expected." Zap muttered as he turned away from the burning vehicle and shot his attention back to the lock.
"Infantry!" Wolfe shouted a second before his FN-FAL opened up. Ripcord diverted his gaze to the right of the wreck and saw a group of about ten mixed Cobras running towards his team's position. On open ground, and being lit by the flickering light of the STUN's funeral pyre, the Cobras were easy targets. Almost immediately Ripcord's G-41 and Repeater's M-60 joined in with Wolfe's FN-FAL, causing the Cobra troops to scatter for cover as four of their comrades were cut down within the seconds. Ripcord was so engrossed with trying to hit a Range Viper popping in and out from behind a stack of crates that he barely noticed the small, dull explosion from behind him.
"We're in!" Zap shouted as he stood beside the doorway and slammed his rifle butt back into the door. Immediately after the door swung open, the deep sounds of heavy machine guns were heard, followed by chunks of concrete being blown out of the area around the door frame. Seeing the lethal hail of gunfire, Ripcord immediately grabbed Zap and pulled him further away from the door frame. Shit. They had fortified the entrance. Ripcord immediately slung his G-41 and withdrew a block of C-4 and a timed detonator from his ruck. Working quickly, Ripcord pressed the detonator into the gray putty-like material and set the timer for three seconds. In a fluid motion he pressed the start button on the detonator and flung the explosive through the open door.
"Down!" He screamed as he dove towards the tarmac. As soon as he had finished falling there was a large explosion from inside the door that sent debris flying outwards from the doorway. Once the rumbling stopped Ripcord immediately looked up took stock of his team. Everyone looked intact. Repeater immediately shot up to a knee and opened fire on the remaining Cobras who'd taken advantage of the Joe's lull in fire to advance. They had to get inside. Ripcord shot a quick a look inside the door. Smoke. He couldn't see anything past it. He wanted to wait until the smoke cleared to know for sure if it was clear but they didn't have a choice. They had to move. "Wolfe! You're on point! Get in there!" Ripcord shouted to the CIA agent, who promptly shot to his feet and sprinted through the deformed doorway. "Zap! Move!" Ripcord shouted back, not daring to take his eyes off of the sights of his rifle and the prone forms firing back at him. As soon as his peripheral vision lost sight of Zap, he turned and ran through the door, shouting back as he did. "Repeater! Let's go!" Looking back once he'd sprinted through the door, he saw the big machine gunner duck-walking backwards towards the door, firing all the way. As Repeater finally reached the door, Ripcord spun and looked down the hallway. The smoke had finally cleared somewhat. The walls, floor and ceiling around the blast sight were blackened, cracked, and buckled. Bodies, at least they resembled bodies, were strewn everywhere. Ripcord ignored it. Nothing was moving, that was the important part. Right now, they had to find their objectives. "Wolfe, lead us to the cells." Ripcord said as he nodded to CIA agent. Wolfe nodded in return and took off down the hall, leaping over debris as he went. The Joes followed close behind, the group running in a column against one of the corridor's walls. Suddenly a door further down the hall burst open, as two Televipers armed with VP70 pistols began to sight up on the group. The Cobras never got a chance. Immediately the entire group opened up, causing the two Cobras to fall back in little more than mangled heaps of flesh and bone. Without the slightest pause the group continued on. Finally Wolfe lead them to another heavy door.
"Here's the staircase." Wolfe indicated, tapping the door with the FN-FAL's bayonet.
"Zap, blow it." Ripcord said as he waved his friend forward. The soldier quickly moved forward, drawing out a clump of C-4 as he approached the door. As Zap began to place the C-4 on the handle, it turned. Time seem to slow down to a crawl as the door was flung open, showing two Crimson Guardsmen standing there. For the briefest moment, no one did anything. The group groups just stared in surprise of each other. Wolfe broke the silence with a war cry as he shot his rifle forward, slamming its bayonet into the gut of the lead Crimson Guardsman. The Cobra's moan turned into a scream as Wolfe twisted the FN-FAL then flash a kick out at the enemy soldier. As the front kick connected with the Crimson Guardsman's flank, Wolfe pulled the rifle upwards, the bayonet ripping free as the Cobra stumbled backwards. The enemy soldier's body connected with his partner, sending them both careening down a flight of stairs. As the Cobras came to stop on a landing, Zap shot forward and fired several bursts into the red uniformed soldiers, finishing the wounded one and killing the other pinned under his injured comrade. With all the commotion, a simple detail had gone unnoticed. At some point during the moment a door opened behind the group. The rain saved Ripcord's life. He heard the high pitch squeak of a wet boot sole and snapped his head to his left. There stood a Technoviper with a crowbar raised over his head. Shit! Ripcord quickly dropped the G-41 and rolled away, the metal crowbar impacting with the concrete where his head had been only a split second before. Ripcord used the roll's momentum to carry him to his feet, much to the surprise of the dazed Cobra soldier. Ripcord flashed out a quick punch, catching the enemy in his kidneys. A low moan came from under the Technovipers helmet as he doubled over. Ripcord immediately flashed an uppercut, catching the Cobra under his jaw. Ripcord watched as the Cobra stumbled backwards, only to be jerked violent to the side as Repeater emptied a few rounds into the enemy soldier. "Let's move." Ripcord said with a nod as he scooped up the G-41. Wolfe quick moved past Zap and lead the team down to the first basement. As the team reached the door they quickly stacked up while Zap set the lock to blow. Once the door was breeched, Zap gave it a hard kick, flinging it open as the others burst into the hallway. Their sudden entrance startled two Crimson Guardsmen posted at a near by door. The two Cobra soldiers never stood a chance against the field of fire the Americans laid down. As soon as the two bodies went limp and fell to the floor, Wolfe ran to the heavy door the Cobras had been guarding. He quickly tore what was left of the two Cobra's shirts open, pulling from around their necks. As the others moved forward, Wolfe tossed one of the keys to Ripcord and indicated a lock on the side of the wall.
"Turn on three. One. Two. Three." Wolfe said, counting as he and Ripcord turned the keys at the same time. A sound of a heavy lock was heard and Wolfe moved forward and pushed the door open. As the door opened two of Croc Masters personal Range Vipers in the hallway beyond spun and raised their weapons. Ripcord's arm flashed out and clamped down on Wolfe's arm before jerking the CIA agent out of the way. A heart beat later the space in the door way was filled with gunfire. Ripcord's hand instinctively shot down towards a grenade on his ALICE gear. As his hands touched the rounded form of the grenade, he stopped himself. No telling where Hotseat was in there. Ripcord smiled to himself as an idea came to mind, he had acted on instinct before he realized logic. Perhaps the Cobras would too. Ripcord slung the G-41 and grabbed one of his grenades. Instead of pulling the pin, Ripcord unscrewed the fuse assembly and let it clatter to the ground. He then threw the inert the grenade through the doorway. Sure enough, the Cobras stopped firing. Ripcord and Wolfe immediately burst through the door and lined up and fired on the prone forms of the Range Vipers. Easy targets. Ripcord turned and waved the rest of the team in as Wolfe pointed to a door further door the hall. Zap rushed forward to put C-4 on the handle but was stopped as Wolfe put his hand over the lock and shook his head.
"Why the hell not? Our teammate's in there." Zap ask with a confused look on his face.
"If the guards hear that they'll shoot your NCO for sure. Let me handle this." Wolfe stated matter of factly. No one said anything for a long moment until finally Ripcord slowly nodded.
"Okay, we play it your way." Ripcord said.
"Good, everybody against that wall, I don't want the guards to see you when I open the door." Wolfe said, waving everyone back. The Joes pressed against the wall and held their breath as Wolfe knocked on the door. "I have new orders concerning the prisoner directly from Marklov." Wolfe stated in the same Germanic accent he'd used before. The Joes all didn't dare make a move as the door clicked and Wolfe opened it. As soon as it swung shut Ripcord rushed forward, taking off his Kevlar as he went. As he reached the door he pressed his ear the metallic surface and strained to hear what was being said.
"What's going on here?"
"The base is under attack. Marklov wants the prisoner killed."
"It's about damned time, we need to be out there fightin' not in here guarding this piece-a-shit." "Anywhere we need to take him?"
"No, I'll do here." Two gunshots rang out. That motherfucker! Everything went into slow motion as Ripcord's eyes narrowed and his hand shot down to the handle. As he threw the door open, his eyes immediately shot to a figure tied into a chair against the opposite wall. The battered man was wearing woodland BDU pants and a brown t-shirt. His head was slumped onto his chest. It took Ripcord a moment to realized that two more of Croc Master's Range Vipers were laying on the floor in pools of blood. Finally the moment shot back into normal time. Ripcord ran forward and skidded to a halt on a knee beside his captive leader. He looked over to the other side of the chair as Wolfe started to cut Hotseat free of the ropes. Ripcord quickly joined Wolfe in cutting the ropes free as Zap and Repeater rushed into the room. Zap rushed ahead of the big Ranger and began to inspect Hotseat. He had obviously been beaten. His body was covered in cuts, scrapes, and bruises. Fortunately he had a strong pulse and was slowly coming around to the soldier's rousing. As the final rope was cut free the NCO's eyes fluttered open and he took in the team around him.
"I thought I told you to stay on mission." Hotseat croaked out through dry and cracked lips. Zap immediately gave the older tanker a few drinks from his canteen.
"We are on mission." Ripcord returned flatly. "Can you walk?" Ripcord asked as he looked over Hotseat. The NCO didn't answer, instead he shakily started to his feet, only to stumble and be caught by Zap.
"I'll just slow you down....leave me." Hotseat said in a defeated voice.
"Not a chance." The deep voice of Repeater called back as he continued to watch the hallway.
"Zap, Repeater, get him topside." Ripcord said in a firm voice.
"Cancel that. I'm dead weight. I'm not even armed." Hotseat said with a shake of his head. Ripcord immediately reached over to one of the fallen Range Vipers and quickly stripped the corpse of its G-41, ballistic vest, and magazine bandoleer. He then shoved the equipment in Hotseat's direction.
"There. You're armed. Now move out. That's an order." Ripcord said in a firm voice. The NCO didn't say a word as he slipped into the gear before Zap and Repeater each threw one of Hotseat's arms around their shoulders.
"What are we gonna do about the generators amigo?" Zap stopped and asked as they reached the door.
"Give Wolfe your LC-2." Ripcord said after a long moment. "Me and him'll go down and blow the generators." Zap nodded solemnly just before he shrugged the ruck off and used his free hand to hand the explosives laden backpack to the CIA agent.
"I better see your ass topside in a few minutes Ripcord. That's order." Hotseat called back as the two Joes helped him out into the hallway. Ripcord watched his teammates until they disappeared out into the hallway, then turned to the CIA agent.
"You ready to do this?" Ripcord asked rhetorically. The helmet of the Crimson Guard uniform nodded in a slow response.


The trio of Joes slowly made their way up to the first floor. Thankfully their trip had been uneventful but the closer they got to the destroyed doorframe, the louder sound of combat became. As the Joes finally stumbled out into the tarmac, they saw a Cobra STUN and a Stinger facing outwards, firing frantically at several targets. A quick look at the two vehicle's crews revealed their own troops. That thought didn't relieve Zap any, it didn't look good. With the way the four 12.7mm machine guns were firing, they had to run dry soon. Also there was only a single missile remaining on the Stinger. "Stay with him!" Zap shouted over the roar of gunfire as he slipped out from under Hotseat's arm. Repeater nodded and proceeded to hold Hotseat up with one arm while firing the M-60 from his hip with the other. Zap quickly sprinted forward to the STUN and climbed up the small metal rungs near the back of the vehicle and crawled forward between the two occupied gunner pods. "The cavalry's here!" Zap shouted into Covergirl's and Fastdraw's ears over the staccato bursts from the four heavy machine guns.
"Couldn't have timed it better!" Covergirl shouted without taking her eyes off of the HUD.
"About fuckin' time!" Fast Draw chimed in. Covergirl looked towards the building and stopped firing as her eyes fell on Hotseat hanging on Repeater, firing a burst himself every so often. She turned her head to Zap, her eyes seeming brighter than they'd been in a while.
"Is he okay?!" The female tanker asked.
"Yeah, they beat the hell out of him and he looks like he's got borderline dehydration but nothing that looks too serious!" He shouted back as he pulled he M-16 up to his eyes and began to add to the firefight.
"What about..." Covergirl started to say but the last part was lost over the noises of the gunfire.
"He's still in there! He's gotta blow the generators!" Zap returned, knowing what his friend had meant to say. He saw Covergirl close her eyes and slowly nod. As she reopened them she shot a quick glance at Hotseat before she refocused her attention on the HUD again.


Ripcord slowly stepped through the doorway and into the second basement. Immediately a wave of humid heat slammed into him as the sounds of heavy machinery assaulted his ears. Wolfe tapped Ripcord on the shoulder and pointed down a corridor created by a series of various pipes. The two carefully eased further into the maze of pipes and wiring, watching every corner of the winding path. They'd only been there a few seconds and already Ripcord knew he hated this environment. Due to the constant drone of heavy machinery and the twisting metal of the pipes, he wouldn't have a chance to hear or see an attack coming until it was too late. In addition to his eyes constantly scanning the area around him, he stopped every few feet and took a moment to take a good look around. After what felt like the thousandth time of stopping every few feet, his caution paid off. As he swept his gaze upwards, he caught site of a pair of shadows crouched down on top of the pipes ahead. Ripcord quickly swung the rifle in line with the forms and pulled the trigger. He was rewarded with a pair of screams as he fired bursts into each of the man sized shadows. The two forms fell from the pipes and landed on the concrete below with a dull thud. Two more of Croc Master's Range Vipers down. The duo continued their careful advancement through the corridor until they came to halt when they met a split in the maze of pipes. Wolfe quickly pointed to himself then to the right, followed by pointing to Ripcord then to the left. The paratrooper gave the CIA agent a quizzical look before he shook his head. Wolfe leaned in and tried his best to shout over the heavy machinery.
"The left leads to the primary! The right leads to the secondary! If we split up, we can get through faster!" Wolfe shouted. After a long moment Ripcord slowly nodded. He then watched Wolfe disappear down a bend in the corridor before he started off down the other. Ripcord traveled twice as carefully now. He was completely cut off from support. No radio. Shouts couldn't be heard. Every step felt like an hour, as he slowly made his way down the corridor. Suddenly as he neared a bend, a form shot out in front of him. However, with his heightened state of caution Ripcord was ready. He quickly slid back and fired off a burst from the G-41. The Technoviper slammed back against the pipes, crimson eruptions marring his purple and black uniform as he body's impact sent a deep reverberation through the metal. Without another glance, Ripcord sidestepped the body and slowly continued down the corridor. After an eternity of creeping along the narrow maze, it finally opened into a large area. The clearing was dominated by three large turbines spinning rapidly and creating enough sound to complete cover any other noise in the area. Ripcord smiled in grim satisfaction as he quickly rushed over the massive turbines and began strategically place his C-4 charges on the super-structure of the generators. He was so engrossed with the process of priming the various charges on the turbines, that the attack caught him completely off guard. At first he didn't know what it was, he only felt something slam hard into his back and pitch his torso forward somewhat. On most people, the pain or the shock could threaten to sent them into a brief blackout, however with the combat stimulant still flowing in his veins he simply spun and raised his rifle. A Technoviper, still leveling a VP70 pistol at Ripcord, was standing dead center of the entrance to another corridor of pipes. Ripcord had been shot. He didn't even hear the discharge over the turbines. Ripcord immediately squeezed the trigger, watching as the Cobra's body jerked violently before falling lazily backwards. Ripcord turned his attention back to the explosives, the VP70 fired a 9mm round. The vest must have stopped it. As Ripcord finished priming his charges he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He quickly swung the G-41 inline with the lone Crimson Guardsman. The enemy soldier dropped his FN-FAL and removed his helmet. It was Wolfe. Ripcord nodded and with a final press of a button, the charges began their countdown.


This was getting bad. The vehicles had already run out of ammo. The STUN was completely destroyed, the victim of a HEAT Viper that had hit the captured vehicle shortly after the Joes had abandoned it. He, Covergirl, and Fast Draw were prone behind the burning wreckage of the STUN, trading fire with the Cobra troops. Not much further away was the still functional, yet unarmed Stinger which was providing cover for Repeater, Hotseat, and Heavy Metal. Despite the best efforts of the Joes and their horrendous fields of fire, the Cobras kept coming. Even now, the ammo on the Joes' personal weapons were beginning to run low. They were about to be overrun. However without the ADA grid destroyed, they couldn't abandon their positions. Their fate was rapidly approaching at this rate.
"DOWN!!!!" A voice yelled loud enough to be clearly heard above the sound of the rifles. Zap didn't dare hesitate or turn around to ask why or who. He quickly let go of M-16 and threw his arms over his head, burying his face in the tarmac. Almost instantly the ground under the team shook violently, causing cracks developing in some areas of the concrete. The noise was just as impressive. Despite being muffled, the explosion sounded catastrophic. Most importantly, the entire complex was thrown into darkness. Zap put two and two together, Ripcord and Wolfe had hit the generators. Zap started to look up to take stock of his team but before his arms were even off of his head, his radio's headset sparked to life.
"Jaguar! Get the hell outta there! You've got eleven minutes to get at least two miles away!"


Rain cascaded off the front of her Kevlar, providing cool relief from the burning wreckage in front of them. She watched the advancing Cobra troops as she gave a few more short blasts at the muzzle flashes in front of her, before her magazine was empty. Shit. She rolled to her side, flinging off the M-16 and grabbing at her side arm as two figures came flying face first from the building.
"DOWN!!!!" One of them screamed. Almost instinctively, she rolled over, protecting her ears from the loud blast that followed. The ground shook for a brief moment, cracking the tarmac beneath them. She thought back to living in LA, the one and only earthquake she'd been in felt much like the blast. After all movement stopped, she opened her eyes and sat up to take inventory, the light from the burning STUN now casting an eerie glow on the shadowy figures before her. Five, Six… Seven… Eight? She held fast to her sidearm as two of the figures came running over. The one on the right she recognized as Ripcord. The one on his left… She raised the small pistol. "Hold fire! One of ours!" She heard Ripcord tell her. She held fire but kept the weapon trained… the man was wearing a Crimson Guard uniform. "One of ours…" He repeated. She slowly lowered the weapon, still keeping an eye on his new 'friend.' A call came over the radio that she couldn't quite make out, until Zap repeated it for the team.
"Hey!" He cried, sharply. "We got eleven minutes to get the fuck out! Two miles!"
"Before what?" She asked, without thinking. It didn't matter what was coming, whatever it was would be there in eleven minutes. And they had to clear the compound within two miles, 3 wounded? Were they out of their Goddamn minds?
"STINGER!" Fast Draw called. It was the only vehicle they had, meant really for two people, three tops. They had seven…. Correction…. Eight. She slid quickly into the drivers seat, beating out Heavy Metal for the drivers slot, and fired it up. Repeater helped slide Hotseat in next to her, followed by Fast Draw. She quickly checked to see the status of the team. On the back, clung Heavy Metal and the new Siege. Repeater hopped up top, steadying his feet against the empty missile turret, and hanging on to the passenger door with one hand. Ripcord jumped onto the running board along the drivers side, Zap took the one on the passenger side. Fast Draw held fast to his ALICE suspenders as Zap laid down a final line of fire.
"GO, GO, GO!" Ripcord cried, banging on the roof he was clinging to. She slammed the vehicle into drive carefully, not topping over 30 mph. She cut sharp right to avoid the burning STUN, Repeaters feet swinging wide almost taking out Ripcord. She grabbed on to his ALICE with her left hand, helping to steady him while straightening out the wheel, all in all leading to the Stinger jerking back and forth momentarily, and a slew of profanity from her teammates. Most notable was the sarcastic 'women drivers.' From Fast Draw. At least a minute had past. Grabbing the wheel with both hands again, she steadied the vehicle. Ripcord tapped her on the helmet, then point to a few blinking lights she knew to be near the helipad. She nodded. They needed to get to a chopper. It was about a mile away. She fought the urge to gun the engine, knowing each second counted, anyone falling off would cause precious seconds wasted. 30 miles per hour, 1 mile would take two minutes. They needed to get out of the compound in ten. She cursed to herself… they couldn't get them any more time? After everything… She shook her head, instead focusing on the Anaconda transport helicopter sitting on the helipad, it's rotor assembly slowly starting to turn as the rain began to taper off as quickly as it had started. Ripcord jumped from the slowing Stinger first as it approached the helipad, running in front of the vehicle, and causing her to stop short. Repeater, who'd barely been able to hang on shot forward, rolling sideways from the roof to the hood, finally hitting the ground with a dull thud. Zap was flung forward, but managed with Fast Draw's help to hang on with his weapon drawn. Both Heavy Metal and the new guy were thrown forward into the rear frame of the vehicle, before dropping off of both sides, scrambling quickly to their feet. Fast Draw and Hotseat managed to grab the dashboard to steady themselves.
"Not a word!" She warned, as she and Fast Draw hopped out of the Stinger doors, taking the time to help Hotseat to his feet. One hand around each of their shoulders, they were the last to arrive at the aircraft. Ripcord had approached the Anaconda with his weapon raised, aiming directly at one of the two Gyro Vipers sitting in the cockpit. Giving Zap a cover sign, Zap and the Siege took their places, aiming at each the pilot and co-pilot. The rest of the team arrived just as he'd hopped into the cabin of the Anaconda. He angled his rifle downward into the back of the co-pilots neck, who sat with hands raised, staring forward towards the muzzle of the Siege's gun. Without warning, he lodged a single bullet down the Gyro Viper's spinal column, a small spray of crimson pelting the side window after the impact. Still strapped in he fell forward, lifeless. Before the pilot could react, he found the weapon pressed against his vertebral column in the same fashion.
Though gritted teeth, Ripcord uttered… "Two choices my friend, fly, or die?" He chose the sooner, opting to take his chances rather than square off against seven… Eight people with weapons drawn. Ripcord never took his eyes or weapon off the Gyro Viper as the team climbed aboard, then gave the "Up." Command. The pilot complied, slowly raising the transport chopper off the ground. Her heart pounded out of her chest, as another minute ticked by, the helicopter finally beginning to take off, no one saying a word as the faint outlines of the buildings below them disappeared into blackness. Ripcord continued to give the Cobra one word commands, flying them back towards the VAMPs. She started to relax, turning her attention instead to Hotseat, taking a knee in front of him.
"Good to have you back, pops." She said softly, taking a look at his wounds for the first time. He looked like shit, one eye completely swollen shut, bruises covering the rest of his face, with a few good gashes scattered around. His swollen lip was gashed, cracked and dry, but still he tried to manage a smile. She gave him the remainder of her water, knowing it wouldn't be much longer before they were on the transport taking them home, then removed some bandages from his ALICE to dress his wounds. She gently squeezed his hand as she sat beside him, him drifting in and out of sleep. She tried not to imagine what he'd been through, instead, turning her gaze towards the open cabin doors, looking out at the night sky. It had been impossible to see from below through the thick jungle canopy, but she'd never seen a brighter moon or stars. From the ground, you tended to forget they even existed. She leaned a weary head against the hard metal of the aircraft's hull, once again feeling the reverberation jarring her teeth. She thought she'd imagined it, fell asleep maybe… the large black object streaking across in front of the bright moon for a split second. A tear-drop shaped aircraft, like nothing she'd ever seen…
“What the fuck was that?” from Fast Draw made her realize it wasn't her imagination. The entire team stared in silence, Ripcord keeping his weapon tight on the pilot. Without realizing, she squeezed Hotseat's hand a little harder. Eleven minutes had gone by. Six blinding flashes appeared from below, followed by a low rumble turned into six deafening explosions. She half expected to see a mushroom cloud rising, but none came. “Holy fuck, holy fuck, holy fuck…” Fast Draw continued, as the rest remained speechless at the sight they just witnessed. She turned her eyes toward Ripcord, cursing herself for thinking about what could have happened if they were still down there. Ripcord shook his head as if to clear it, possibly not believing his eyes either. He directed the Gyro Viper a bit further into the jungle, the smoky fog that was once a weapons plant becoming less visible.
"Here.” He said to the pilot, still barking one word commands. The Anaconda hovered in a holding pattern above a small patch of jungle. “Fast Draw, cover! He moves, he dies, got it?” Fast draw kept his rifle trained on the man, giving his now atypical Fast Draw remarks…
“Give me a reason, Motherfucker, give me a reason, Bam, Got it? Bam!” She almost had to smile. He walked back towards the team, looking them over once before nodding.
“We're going to have to rappel…. It's really the only way…” She let her head drop for a second, cursing softly. Yeah, she'd hit the wall in basic training, but this… this was from a moving helicopter… He and the Siege busied themselves fastening harness out of rope. Before long, Repeater joined the two of them.
“Gloves!” Repeater said, without looking up from his work. “Your strong hand will be your brake hand, the one that you squeeze to slow your decent. Pin the rope to the small of your back, whatever you do, don't move it from there. Your other hand is your guide hand, you can hold the rope above you, just make sure you don't squeeze with that hand.” No one spoke. He had that kind of effect, that kind of voice that you couldn't help listen to, take faith in. “You and you first up.” He pointed to Zap and Heavy Metal, he and the Siege hooking the Swiss seat harnesses to each. “You're going to lower yourself self into an "L" shape like you're sitting with your legs out. Kick out and away from the aircraft, then lower yourself to the ground. Don't panic, Just remember to ease up on the brake hand. Don't release to quickly. Easy does it.” It was the most she'd heard him speak at one time. She opened up her ALICE, taking out the thick gloves. Two ropes were securely fastened to the helicopter and thrown through the thick canopy below. Repeater fitted Heavy Metal with the Swiss seat while the Siege double checked Zap. She gave Heavy Metal a quick walk-through-the-park sign to help calm his nerves, but if he saw or understood, it didn't change his worried expression. The Siege and Hotseat were next to go, just in case anything went wrong with Hotseat's descent. Hotseat returned the walk-in-the-park sign she gave him, before heading out of the craft himself. She and Fast Draw were to follow, Ripcord again covering the pilot. She caught a reassuring glance from Ripcord, as Repeater looped the rope twice through her snap link. He didn't make eye contact, but he did tap her on the helmet. She took it as his way of giving a 'friendly' gesture, and gave him a smile he didn't return. Repeater slid down following Fast Draw like an expert, Ripcord being the last out. He stopped for a second, attaching something to the helicopter, before swiftly rappelling himself.
“SCATTER!” she heard him call out, on the way down. She didn't have to ask why. The Cobra helicopter, tagged by his C-4 exploded into yet another fiery display, worthy of something she'd see on the Fourth of July. Ripcord hit the ground hard and rolling to the left to avoid the crashing helicopter. He was up quick, almost two quick, she thought. Almost like the adrenaline rush had given him some sort of extra high. He let out a quick whoop, before checking the status of the team. It was almost as if Fast Draw started rubbing off on him, she thought, not sure is she should smile, or shudder. He had known his stuff, brought them down within one click of where the VAMPs were hidden, still camouflaged beneath the tarps.
“I'll call in for the extraction team…” Zap called, as the team regrouped.
“Hold up a second… Don't make the call” Hotseat told him.
“What's the matter old man?” Fast Draw kidded. “You had the maps and hopefully a good memory, now get us to the extraction site.” The old tanker remained silent... Maybe he was hurt worse than he was saying? Taking a second to catch his breath, he looked up and half smiled at his team, looking each in the eye, then shook his head slowly.
“What?” Heavy Metal was the first to ask.
“We have to cancel the extraction team.” He said solemnly. Everyone froze. Cover Girl turned slowly to Ripcord, shooting a quizzical look. Cancel?
“Hold up, I saw the maps myself, there was an extraction site marked on a clearing, not far.” Ripcord told him.
“Oh, it's still there, but it's swarming with Cobras.” He quietly added.
“How do you know?” Zap asked, as the tanker slowly hung his head. “Hotseat?” He asked.
“I talked.” He said softly, defeated. She closed her eyes. “They hit me with sodium pentathol, and I…..”
“MOTHERFUCKER!” Heavy Metal yelled out, slamming his fist into one of the VAMPs. He grabbed Hotseat by the captured ballistic vest, screaming at the older tanker. “When were you planning on telling us? When we got there, and they opened fire?”
“Back off…” Ripcord said, quietly putting himself between Heavy Metal and Hotseat.. “There's not much you can do to resist chemicals.”
“The key words being not much.” He said, icily, staring hard at Hotseat. “Meaning he could have done something!”
“Shut the Fuck up Heavy Metal!” Ripcord told him, giving him a shove. Something was wrong, he wasn't acting like himself, not since the MARS factory. She hadn't seen him like this since… She hated thinking back on it… Since he'd pulled the gun on Fast Draw. She knew something had been wrong. He wasn't acting like himself, on edge, jumpy almost.
“Hey, easy!” She said, grabbing hold of his shoulder. Immediately he spun around, wide eyed. “Easy…” She repeated, staring into his green eyes until they softened. It took a few seconds, but getting his bearing back, he turned to Hotseat.
“We make the call, we change the site, we go home…" He said flatly. If only it had been that simple. The new site was much further away, almost 8 hours. The evac would be there anywhere from 8 to18 hours, weather depending. The rainstorms and wind had picked up, making flying conditions rough, they'd said. Even Ripcord's confident look seemed to waver a bit hearing the news. All of them looked defeated. Supplies were near gone. MRE's running low, water, even ammo, save the ammo on the VAMPs was to a bare minimum. She half smirked... at least their ALICE gear wouldn't be as heavy if they had to do any more walking. "All right, let's move it out, people." Ripcord told the team, giving a nod towards Hotseat. "Wolfe, you, me, Repeater on point. You drive, I'll navigate. Covergirl, you and Fast Draw have the Two, and Heavy Metal, you got Hotseat, Zap's your gunner....Fast Draw, radio..." He tossed Ripcord his handset, before heading back to the VAMP. Wolfe... The Siege had a name.
"You and me, Babe!" Fast Draw commented, climbing in the VAMP next to her. She shook her head. It was going to be a long drive. Once again she fought the steering to keep the large vehicle steady for hours on end, ignoring Fast Draw's comments about hitting every bump in the jungle, ignoring his rendition of 99 bottles of beer for the second time. Even with the now pouring rain, she found herself fighting sleep. Fast Draw settled into the corner, using his tarp as cover, letting the rocking motion of the VAMP lull him to sleep. Annoyed as she was that he was resting comfortably, she let him be, anything being better than suffering with his company. Another few hours down, the rains and winds continued to pick up. The three vehicles passed through two small villages, the second if possible seeming more desolate than the first, the inhabitants giving them wary looks as they drove, most taking shelter in their almost shanty-like homes. "Makes my place almost look like a palace..." Fast Draw mumbled, waking from his nap. She didn't bother to ask. They stopped a few times as the temperamental MKII would stall out when the rains became heavy, making a long journey seem even longer. It only took a few moments to dry the distributor cap, wires and plugs so they could fire, but still, it was slowing the team down, pushing an already on edge team further. "Why don't we just fucking ditch this piece of crap!" He finally said, slamming a fist into the dashboard as they stalled for the third time on the outskirts of yet another village.
"Why don't you just fucking shut...." She started to say, but stopped herself...after hearing the blast of automatic fire. Through the rain she could barely make out the sight of a vehicle, Cobra. Ferret maybe, or STUN. It must've been a stray recon group, she wasn't sure, she didn't care. She punched the dashboard herself, jumping out of the vehicle to once again get it started.
"Pull back, Pull back!" Ripcord shot through the radio. "We got civilians ahead, We got civilians!" There was nothing she could do, until the plugs were dry, the VAMP wouldn't budge... She worked quick, for the first time cursing the engine for being so large, for having so many pistons.
"HIT IT!" She called to Fast Draw, him sliding into the driver seat trying to turn the engine over. Nothing. FUCK. Boxed in ahead of them was Ripcord's VAMP, not yet returning fire. More gunfire.
"Let's go, Krieger, let's go!" Fast Draw called out, trying to turn over the engine again. Spark...The wet engine conducted electricity well, the jolt stopping her for a split second. She shook out her left hand, not quick enough to pull it from the block. Bastard was going to get her electrocuted. One more wire, one more... He hit the engine again, this time causing her to jerk away with the shock, but at least it started. She slammed the hood down, resting her hand in the cool water for a brief second before jumping back into the VAMP. They backed up, but it was too late. The STUN tore through the small village, seemingly not caring what they hit as long as it was close to their mark... Ripcord's VAMP. Sonuva.... One shot would take it out, one shot.. Just a little further back... She held the vehicle steady in reverse, keeping the missiles trained on the STUN. The Siege.... Wolf following suit, drawing the vehicle back, away from the small village. More gunfire... this time from the village itself. What the.... She barely make out through the rain the shadowy figures that returned the automatic fire of the Cobra vehicle. "Holy fuck...." Fast Draw cursed. "They can't get running water, but everyone and their uncle's got a AK?" A few more feet back, Ripcord gave her the clear to fire. One shot was all it took, one missile, no more STUN... no more firing. Quiet. It was quiet, nothing but the rain. Fast Draw was first to leave the vehicle, weapon drawn to scout the area. Ripcord, Wolfe and Repeater themselves already searching the destroyed STUN, the heavy rains quickly dousing the fire left behind by her missile. She, Hotseat and Heavy Metal stayed with the vehicles, her taking the turret of the first, just in case they needed additional cover.
"Where the hell are they, where the hell are they..." She repeated out loud, scanning the trees in front of her. It should have been daylight... the damn storm keeping everything near black. Finally, rustling through the thick tree line, she saw the figures start to appear. Ripcord first, "Four" she counted out loud, with a smile. It faded when she saw Wolf next, "Five," but returned for Repeater "Six" and Fastdraw. "Seven." Following them was Zap "Eight...." carrying a near hysterical crying young boy.

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