January 1st 2007. on a private jet just outside Paris.
"Look Toni, I'm telling you we should just cancel the trip! Three attacks at the same city can't be a coincidence!" Pepper said, looking to the Billionaire with fear in her eyes.
"Ah we'll be fine pep. I even contracted out some protection for us, just to be sure. Even you have to know that we need to be there for this meeting." She replied, casually flipping her hair over her back.
"Toni please, this isn't safe! We can reschedule the meeting! Any time but now would be better!" Pepper shrieked, glancing between Toni and the window to the approaching ground.
"Look Pep. I've made my decision and it's final. I'm sorry, but this deal is just too important to give up. We need this palladium for my next prototype." she said, her voice carrying over with finality.
The plane lurched slightly, as it came to a rolling stop on the pavement of the private airport, It's wheels screeching loudly as it came to a stop. The billionaire and her entourage disembarked cautiously before Toni smiled widely at a French beauty approaching, moving gracefully towards her.
"Jean! It has been too long! I apologize for my french, It's been a while." She chirped, switching nearly flawlessly to French, speaking with the precision and grammar of a native.
"It's no problem, Mademoiselle Toni" The brunette replied, her tone welcoming and kind. She gestured to the three Navy-blue trucks parked not far away, with a bright white "Panther sécurité privée" stamped on the side of each vehicle.
The group hastily moved over to the convoy of vehicles parked on the landing strip. The lead vehicle was the same as the rest, a French-issue 'Sherpa' Armored Personnel carrier. Designed to withstand fire and protect their occupants, these heavy-duty vehicles were waiting for the group.
"See Pepper? Like I told you, completely safe, but if you really don't want to, you can stay on the plane. I'll be fine, I promise." Toni sighed, looking tiredly into the ginger's eyes.
Pepper backed off slightly, opening her mouth and then closing it, knowing deep within that Toni doesn't take 'No' for an answer. She stepped backwards, shaking her head before she turned and began ascending the stairs.
"Don't worry about her Jean. Anyway, the route you have planned, it's clear right? No ambushes from wild fans?" Toni queried, a playful tone filling her voice.
"The route we've chosen goes from this strip, down onto 140, and then it's just the highway to the Louvre. The recent...issues haven't affected the area on the route, so we should be fine. The trucks are just a precaution." 'Jean' replied, her fingers dancing over a wrist-mounted GPS.
"Perfect. That's like, around an hour drive right? Plenty of time to work on the designs for this new best-seller." Toni mumbled, before bringing out her phone immediately as she climbed into the large truck.
The heavy doors shut and locked, the guards settling slightly into a relaxed stance and glancing out the windows for the signs of trouble. The heavy diesel engines started, the loud whirr blocking out most sound as they revved up. The heavy beasts lumbered their way off the field, taking down the short gravel round before turning onto the highway.
The signs of the recent attack were still clear, heavy cracks in the road and overturned cars were merely the obvious signs of the terror attacks. Smoke was still billowing from several cars, others were still running, a reminder of the panic citizens were in to escape the destruction.
The lead car turned slightly, avoiding a section of the Highway that had collapsed. The others followed suit, much like a conga line does. Their heavy tires barely making a sound as they crossed over the once-busy interchange. Time seemed to fly past Toni, her hands slipping around her phone constantly making adjustments and design changes to her prototype Jericho missile. The only issue she seemed to have was the propulsion system. The weight of the missiles held within it kept it unbalanced, and unable to fly properly with conventional propulsion systems.
Her thoughts were cut short quickly, as the sound of distant gunfire rang in her ears.
"Hey! Brawns-For-Brains! What the hell's going on out there?" She yelled, the driver ahead of her remained motionless and limp. He sat there, and that's when she noticed it. The cracks in the windshield.
"Oh shit, shit shit shit shit SHIT" She whispered, quickly undoing her seat-belt and moving to open the door. As she got it open, suddenly the butt of a rifle was thrust at her face, and her world spun into darkness.
Pain was the first thing to register in her mind. An overwhelming pain in her legs, actually. Looking down, Toni immediately knew that things were bad. Her legs were mangled. Completely and utterly destroyed. Flesh seemed to be hanging off them in multiple places, and she honestly didn't know if she could save her left leg. It was twisted at an unnatural angle, and she could see the bone sticking out at one part of her femur. She did her best to keep the vomit in and stay strong. She knew that help was probably on the way, but in the dark, damn room wherever she was, she knew that it would take some time.
It was pouring, the water seemed like an endless amount of tears from the sky. Water pounded against the window of the repurposed building. Outside, there were two large vans. One could tell they were some type of special forces. The armor on the tires alone had to be at least an inch thick. Within, a group of 15 were sitting, or standing around a round counter-top. A burly man with a cap on pointed to a run-down building off to the side of Route D10.
"Here. This is where we suspect them to have taken the VIP and her surviving guards." He said, his french flowing with a commanding tone. "You will enter silently, take out whoever you need to, and rescue the hostages. We know there are at least 20, including Stark."
"Where are the insertion points, Major?" One man asked, glancing at the map.
"We have three teams of 5 moving into the target. Romeo team will use the Western side windows, Juliette will breach the roof, and Capulet will enter via the side entrance in the east. I will warn you Intel is scarce on this particular group so keep an eye on each-others backs." He replied.
The teams set to work getting their gear on. Armor, Masks, Gloves, Equipment. All of it was on quickly and efficiently. One trooper, off in the corner silently attached two batons to his hips. He flicked a small switch on the side of one, smiling in satisfaction when high amounts of electricity arced over it.
"We have the signal to setup. Get into positions, teams. Wait for my mark." echoed throughout their radios. The soldiers jumped into action, moving quickly towards the structure on the horizon.
It was the dead of night. Very little could be heard other than the crickets and the occasional talking from within the building. The soldiers stealthily crawled into position. Romeo team carefully scaled the structure, ensuring no noise was made on the wooden wall. Their hooks held strong on the roof, securing them in position.
"Sweep each of your respective floors, team. I want the entrances and windows secure before you move those hostages, got it?" The Major replied, his voice quiet.
A series of affirmatives was heard throughout the radios before they resumed radio silence. It was but twenty seconds later when a single word was uttered. It was at this word that the operation truly began.
"Execute" The Major said, glancing at the screens of Helmet-Cams on each of his operatives.
All three teams began their entry, and it was here that things took a turn for the worse.
"Multiple Contacts! Shit, Cover!" Capulet leader said, swearing colorfully in French. His weapon discharged, taking down several hostiles who were waiting for them.
Meanwhile, Romeo team had been ambushed as they were jumping into the windows. Gunfire exploded all around the group as they leaped backwards to breach the windows. Two operators were killed immediately, with the remaining three taking cover wherever they could. Sergeant Mattheu, second-in-command with the squad was now in charge.
"Our priority remains the hostages. We will secure the top floor for them." He echoed throughout his squad's radios. Raising his weapon, he fired three rounds. Three enemies dropped like rocks, a neat hole right between the eyes.
The remains of his team moved from room to room, quickly clearing out the top floor. The final room of the floor was the Master Bedroom. Placing the Flash Charge, the team got ready for the final assault on this floor.
"Juliette Squad, Capulet Squad, we're finishing up our floor now." Mattheu reported. His statement was met with silence, which slightly worried him.
The charge went off, and a deafening 'BANG' was heard as it filled the target room with light. The three GIGN troops quickly cleared the room, taking down all six of the blinded terrorists. One of the terrorists had a vest, unfortunately. Sgt. Jean threw the other two operatives backwards, clearing them of the explosion radius as the vest went off. The room was thrown into chaos, shrapnel flying everywhere.
The two surviving members of Romeo team looked to each other, knowing that they could mourn her sacrifice after the mission. They began down the stairs, sending in another report.
"Command, this is Romeo. The top floor is clear, how fare Juliette and Capulet?" He asked. The radio was silent for several long moments until finally the Major's voice responded.
"I'm sorry. The Intel we had was very very far off. The enemy is much more prepared than was believed. Capulet and Juliette teams are down, and we know not if there are survivors. As of now, you are the final two operatives on the premises. We need to pull you out and try again later. I will not lose my entire section to a group of terrorists!" The major shouted into his earpiece, his voice laced with professional concern and anger.
It took several seconds for the two soldiers to reply, before they reached an unspoken agreement.
"We refuse, sir. If we don't get in there now, those hostages are dead. We're moving in." Mattheu replied, before shutting off his communicator.
The two began their descent down the stairs carefully. Listening in on the hostile movements. Heavy boots thudded across the wooden floors, being incredibly obvious. The two brought out their silenced sidearms, aiming them at eye-level to the door on the other side of the room. Immediately as the two patrolmen crossed the door frame, the two weapons went off. Their sound incredibly muffled, one could barely even hear the death of the men aside from their bodies hitting the floor.
"Cover this stairwell. I'm heading into the basement." Mattheu ordered, before quickly descending the stairs once more. His rifle was at the ready, no longer requiring his silenced sidearm.
Suddenly an arm was around his neck, a commanding voice yelling in German.
"Drop the weapon! Drop it or DIE!" He yelled, tightening his grip on the operative.
Mattheu struggled to come up with an answer, before deciding to use his combat knife. Quickly thrusting one of his arms away from the man, he felt the old sensation of electricity arcing up his blade, before he sliced backwards. His captor twitched as his throat was slit, his body spasming with electricity.
He quickly recovered, grabbing his weapons and proceeding further into the basement. He sighted the first group on hostages, slicing their bindings with his blade and pointing them towards the stairs. He'd freed four groups of four hostages, before realizing he'd forgotten there were more.
The operative turned to the sound of a pained yell. It was obviously feminine, and in severe distress. He jumped up, weapon at the ready and proceeding towards the origin. He ended up at a large steel door of what looked like a world war two era bomb shelter. Cracking the door open, the sight inside horrified him. He steeled his nerves, before kicking the door open.
Acting on instinct at the loud noise, the bound Toni dove to the floor just as shots rang out. They continued for but a moment, before the lifeless body of the man fell to the floor, riddled with bullets. She looked up at the Frenchman, as he closed in on her.
"You're safe now, Ma'am. I'll get you out of here." He whispered to her in french. Toni merely nodded, looking to him. He cut her bindings, her arms now free.
A gunshot rang out, and Mattheu flinched. He definitely felt the bullet rip into his chest. He wasn't screaming only due to the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He lifted his gun anyway, planting two shots into the man who had been exiting the bathroom.
Mattheu stumbled slightly before regaining his composure. He grabbed Toni, lifting her up onto his back before proceeding out of the building.
As he began to climb the stairwell he heard more shouting, very much unfriendly behind him. He felt another bullet tear into his leg and back before he finally reached the top of the stairs. Acting with Adrenalin pumping throughout his body, he slammed his fist into the metallic rim of the stairs, and electricity arced throughout them. A horrid smell of burnt flesh rose from the basement as everyone below them was fried to a crisp from the overloading wires and metal.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you..." Toni was whispering, her face buried in the bloodied shoulder of her savior.
Mattheu smiled lightly as he rose a trembling hand to his earpiece.
"Hostages secure. Location..." He trailed off. The blood loss finally got to him, and he collapsed onto the wall. His last surviving teammate frantically began to call headquarters before Toni ripped his earpiece away.
"GET IN HERE! Please! Your Man is dying and he saved my life! The building is clear now HURRY UP" She begged into the radio.
It was very quick. The medical teams had arrived alongside some extra security. All the hostages had checked out except for Toni. Her left leg would have to be amputated. The damage done to it when the transport had exploded was simply too much.
She glanced at her savior. His body covered in bandages as it was loaded into an emergency field hospital. She had no way of knowing if he's survive or not. It was all up to fate now, and the skill of the doctors.
