Chapter Two

Ripcord smirked as Covergirl joked about him staying in the aircraft. "Don't worry, I promise to behave myself." With that the two boarded into the cargo section of the KC-135 and settled in for the long trans-Atlantic flight. Over the course the two engaged in small talk to break the monotony. Finally the aircraft touched down at RAF Brize Norton, and after taxiing to a far off hangar the aircraft came to a halt. Ripcord exited the aircraft and saw a man in British camouflage waiting in the middle of the taxi ramp. As Ripcord approached him the man spoke up.
"Ello there mate, I'm Sargea-" the man started in a thick British accent before he cut himself off with a sigh as he continued, "I'm Big Ben that is." Ripcord laughed and shook his head.
"Don't worry 'bout it, I don't really see the need for these goofy codenames either." Ripcord noticed that Big Ben suddenly started gawking at something behind him. Ripcord turned and saw Covergirl approaching. 'Man, she can even make a simple set of BDUs look amazing.' Ripcord thought to himself as he turned back to Big Ben. "Yeah, I had that reaction too at first but don't worry, she sounds like she knows what she's doin'." As Covergirl joined the two they exchanged pleasantries before Big Ben ushered the two Joes into a small briefing room in the hangar.
"Now then down ta’ business." He organized a few papers before he continued. "MI-5 ‘as determined that the Cobra operation in London is a diversion. It’s designed to take the eyes of the British government off a more well hidden operation." With that Big Ben hit a switch on a remote, causing the room's lights to dim as the picture of a building was projected onto the wall. "This ‘ere is McCullen Technologies, a comp’ny that operates just on the borders of the commercial district of Edinburgh, Scotland. We believe t’is to be a front for this man." The image then switched to picture of an impressive-looking man in a business suit and a polished silver mask. "James McCullen, suspected by Interpol as a major arms dealer. We believe that ‘e is now supplying Cobra forces. On tapped lines ’e's been talking a lot about Extensive Enterprises and something called 'Mars'. Our governments want us to get in there, get information on their projects, then level the bloody building." A blue print of the building was then shown. "The building is ‘eavily guarded by the land, so SAS supposes a small five man team, the three of us and two of my SAS men, to drop into the building to complete these goals." Before Big Ben could continue Ripcord held up a hand to stop the SAS NCO.
"Hold on a sec, me and your SAS team maybe jump qualified but I'm not sure if she is." he said as he turned his chair to look at Covergirl.


Cover Girl shook her head slightly at Ripcord's comment, happy for once that she didn't get the typical "tandem" response. "I've been doing this for a while, Skyboy, don't worry about me making the jump." She said with mock confidence. "You worry about the demolitions end, and I'll have your back." She then turned to Big Ben. "The way I see it, if this is heavily guarded by land, as long as they don't have access to any SAM's, we'll be in good shape. " Not being formerly jump qualified, she admitted being nervous only to herself. Although she had gone on many a jump throughout her training in the Women-In-Combat program, falling to the earth like a rock wasn't high on her likeability list. Still, she made a mental note to have the paratrooper double check her gear before taking off.


Several hours later the group found themselves in the cargo bay of a RAF C-130. The group were all clad in black BDUs with a thick insulated jump suit over them to protect them in the harsh upper atmosphere; the more controllable civilian parachutes were used in favor of standard military parachutes, additionally full head helmets along with goggles and air masks were worn. The two Joes were armed with suppressed M-4s while the three SAS troopers were armed with suppressed MP-5s, with one having a shortened version of the FN Minimi light machine gun strapped to his chest. With the exception of Ripcord's demolitions gear and an SAS trooper's computer equipment; only ammo, personnel radios, and ballistic armor were used. As the group milled around Ripcord approached Covergirl and shouted over the sound of the aircraft's four prop driven engines, "Okay, you're the fourth jumper, the three SAS guys will be in front of you and I'll be behind you. So all you have to do is follow them and you'll be on target. We've set your chute to pop at the right altitude and given you a 15 second 'grace period'...just in case. If you have any problems radio me, and call out when your chute pops so I'll know you didn't have a malfunction." Before Ripcord could continue the loud blaring alarm and the blinking red light of the two minute warning started. Ripcord started to spit out his words rapid fire as he pulled down his goggles and pulled up his oxygen mask. "Okay, check all the seals on your suit, you'll freeze quick out there if it's not. Make sure your mask and goggles are locked and tight." As Covergirl finished sealing up her suit the rear ramp started to slowly crank down. Ripcord caught a quick series of movements in her eyes as the chill night air rushed in, unable to tell if it was just the cold or if it was fear. Just to be on the safe side he gave her a thumbs up and smiled under his oxygen mask. "You'll do fine." The thirty second alarm sounded as everyone lined up. Ripcord waited patiently on the command and started humming 'Paint it Black' to himself. Suddenly the lights in the cabin burned green and the RAF jumpmaster started yelling "GO! GO! GO!" as he waved the three SAS troopers out of the aircraft. Finally the three were gone into the night sky and Covergirl's turn to run off of the ramp came as the jumpmaster continued his frantic waving and yelling.


Cover Girl was actually shocked her hands weren't shaking, but she was doing her best to show no fear. On the ground, she knew she could hold her own, but this high altitude stuff... there was just something wrong about hurling yourself out of a moving aircraft that high up. "This is not the runway I'm used to seeing!" Cover Girl said out loud as she followed the SAS troopers out into the night. At least the darkness hid the sight of the ground rushing up towards them. The free fall seemed to take forever, much longer than any jump she had ever been on before. Shouldn't the chutes be opening by now? She wondered as they continued falling into nothingness. Most of the way down she spent with her stomach or heart, hard to determine which, in her throat, and she wondered how anyone could actually live for this, like her new partner seemed to. "C'mon, Skyboy, don't let me down..." she said to herself, as the chutes started appearing below her. True to his word, her chute opened on cue, and she called out as he'd requested. She thought she'd heard some sort of whoop as his chute opened, jerking him upward, and had to smile. Following the SAS Troopers, Cover Girl had little trouble making the rooftop landing, maybe just a bit off, and immediately began rolling up her chute with the others, glad to be back near the earth. Ripcord floated to a stop without making a sound, directly on target. He dismantled his gear long before the others, despite the fact he was last to land. She had to admit, he was good. "Hey, Ripcord..." She said to him with the others out of earshot. "Thanks, Skyboy." She flashed him a quick smile, and winked. "I'll check the building for an alarm system, and the easiest way in or out. Even though this place will soon be dust, no need to let them know we're here first. That should buy you more time to set the charges, while we search for info."

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