Chapter Three

Ripcord returned Covergirl's smile as she headed off towards the east door of the roof, just before pulling the black facemask down over his head. Then Ripcord underwent a change, through the narrow eye slit of the mask his normally soft, bright eyes went hard and narrow. On his own in the air he was untouchable, but the ground was a far less forgiving environment. It was game time. He finished strapping on his Kevlar when the sound of a door opening caught his attention. The heads of the group snapped to the west door as it swung open and a man stepped lazily out on the roof. The man was dressed in a stereotypical security guard uniform but was carrying a G3A3 assault rifle instead of a flashlight and a pistol. He was armed, that was all the team needed to know. Before the guard even knew anyone was there several suppressed weapons opened fire on the man, spraying the wall behind him in a deep crimson. The skin showing through Big Ben's mask immediately went white, the operation was all ready starting to fall apart. The computer laden SAS trooper moved up and searched the man while the SAS machine gunner opened the door and checked down the stairwell. Within seconds the radio channels opened.
"Silent." Came the response from the computer guy.
"Alone." Was the response from the machine gunner.
"Center. Command." Ben Big replied as he began to wave everyone in. With everyone in whisper range now he unfolded a blueprint of the building. "Okay, he was alone and without radio gear so he shouldn't be missed right away but in time he will be. So we're changing the plan, we're going to have to split up since our time just got cut." Big Ben then motioned to himself and the computer guy. "Team one will be myself and Biggles, we'll go down to the west door to the tenth floor then proceed to use the vent system to reach the computer labs on the eighth floor." He then pointed to Ripcord and the machine gunner. "Team two will be Ripcord and Givens, you will proceed through the east door and then go directly down the second elevator shaft to the second basement." Big Ben then looked at Covergirl; "Well you're the odd one out it seems, either team could hit stiff resistance so you can make the call on which team you want to attach yourself to."


With one hand, Cover Girl scooped her reddish-blonde, shoulder length hair into a quick ponytail before sliding down her black mask. One look at Ripcord's cold eyes let Cover Girl know he could hold his own down here as well. And he'd have a full machine gunner watching his back. "If it's all the same, Sergeant, I'll stick with team one. I like the higher vantage point." She told Big Ben. "Watch for incoming traffic." As she readied her M-4, she heard Biggles slightly chuckle, and looked up.
"You sure you can ‘andle that, Love?" He cracked with a thick English accent. "They do, after all, have quite a kick." She shook her head as she pulled the 8 pound M-72 Light Anti-tank Weapon out of her rucksack, readying it as well.
"Not quite the kick this LAW has." She quipped back, reslinging the slender launch tube. Big Ben, still looking slightly paled, began rolling up the blue prints.
"Anti-Armor weapon..." He commented. "You stay on the roof, watch the surrounding area and radio if we have any uninvited guests." Covergirl checked her radio, and nodded in response, pulling the Kevlar helmet over her mask. She didn't mind the glorified guard duty assignment, would be more exciting than some computer lab, she figured. Seeing Ripcord check his demolitions equipment, she smirked, wondering what made this guy tick. Not only was he jumping HALO, he was jumping HALO with about 20 pounds of explosives strapped to his body.
"Hey, Rip? Just give me enough time to get down, okay? I had one dive today, and have no intention of trying a base jump."

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