5

1.

"Lady Hawk, the General is on his way in."

The announcement on the intercom system pulled KT 'Lady Hawk' Abernathy from her daydreams. Which was just as well, since she was supposed to be working on a cost analysis report, and not fantasizing about a certain sailor. OMEG was finally up and running, settled in at Tirnagog. They'd been in the field a few times, as back-up or extra hands for other specialized groups. They'd yet to be given as assignment of their own, and were getting the reputation of being either glorified nursemaids or Joe Colton's 'Eye Candy'; neither was true, and both were a bit depressing. It had group moral at a low, and one member rather vocal in her complaints and desires for re-assignment. Lady Hawk would gladly go along with the reassignment, but she wasn't allowed to…yet.

"I'll meet him topside. Have everyone report to the conference room," Lady Hawk got to her feet, glad for the reprieve from paperwork, and curious as to the reason.

"Will do," Gabrielle 'Wires' Nova promised.

'The General' always referred to three-star General Joseph Colton in Tirnagog. OMEGA's mentors might all be Joes, but Colton was their CO, and they answered to him. In fact, the only other person who could assign OMEGA to any duty was Colonel 'Hawk' Abernathy, the head of the Joe team…who also answered to Colton first.

Lady Hawk was waiting near one of the helipads, standing by a jeep, when the Tomahawk landed. As the rotors slowed, she could see three people preparing to leave the helicopter: Colton; Wild Bill, one of the Joe pilots; and a man in a business suit and dark glasses, whom she didn't recognize.

"General Colton, gentlemen," she saluted sharply as they joined her. "Welcome to Tirnagog."

"I hope you've got coffee on, Lady Hawk. It's a stretch from the Pit to here," Colton returned the salute.

"With Wires and Firecracker around, coffee is a constant, sir," she replied wryly, getting back behind the steering wheel of the jeep. "I suggest we get inside, before those rainclouds start dumping on us again."

"This is a military base?" the stranger was frowning, looking around. There was one other Tomahawk on the tarmac, one rather small plane hanger, and a single tower showing. "For the amount of money spent on this place…"

"If you will get in the jeep, sir?" Lady Hawk requested. "Tirnagog is mostly underground."

"Why?"

"A plethora of reasons, sir. A wide variety of weather, for one," she stated. "It also makes this facility extremely hard to target." Colton was already sitting next to her, and Wild Bill was getting in behind her. "Coming?"

"Where's Baby?" Wild Bill asked, as Lady Hawk headed the jeep for what appeared to be a garage near the tower.

"In the silo," Lady Hawk told him. "Blackbird's been working on some of his systems."

"Blackbird is the only pilot I know of who refers to her aircraft as a male," Wild Bill chuckled.

"No, she's not. So do I, and so does Diva," Lady Hawk shook her head. "Especially when they aren't being too cooperative!"

The rest of the team was waiting in the conference room when Lady Hawk led the three men in. They all came to attention and saluted Colton.

"Ladies," Colton returned the salute. "Please, be seated. Lady Hawk," he handed her a computer disk, which she inserted into a desktop unit attached to a large wall screen. "You all know Wild Bill. And this is Roger Moorland… Senator Nesbitt's new aide." Someone hissed, but Colton chose to ignore it. He was aware of the fact the only one it probably had not been was Pistol.

"Coffee, General?" Martha 'Firecracker' Benjamin already had a large mug of the dark, aromatic liquid poured and ready for him, and one for Wild Bill. "Here ya go, Bill."

"Thanks Firecracker," Wild Bill saluted her with the mug.

"Mr. Moorland?"

"This is a military special ops unit?" Moorland demanded, ignoring Firecracker's question. "Two teenagers, and eight young women, only one of whom is actually old enough to have any real experience?"

"As Nesbitt's aide, you should be aware of the inaccuracy of your own statement, Mr. Moorland," Lady Hawk managed not to snap, but her eyes flashed angrily. "Every woman on this team is of legal age. And the only one not to have served at least nine months overseas is Pistol."

"Stand down, Lady Hawk," Colton ordered quietly. "Mr. Moorland, you are here to see and report, nothing more. In short, keep your mouth shut. On to business. How much do you ladies know of a group called 'One World Order'?"

"They aren't as big as some other terrorist groups, nor is their leader as completely off the deep end," Kass 'Diva' Scott said promptly. "Ethan Greynor was a member of some now-defunct paramilitary group in the 1960s and early 70s. His organization encourages boarder disputes, hoping to destabilize world governments to the point they'd be easily swayed to his view of a single world government… run, of course, by One World Order, to their dictated specifications. So far, they haven't hit any civilian targets; nor have they attempted any scheme that would adversely affect world trade as of yet."

"Glad you do your homework, Diva. I really wasn't aware of that much about them, until yesterday," Colton took the remote from Lady Hawk, and brought a picture up onto the screen. "This is Theodore Westing…"

"The diplomat?" Jo 'Spanner' Thierry asked. "The one who managed to solve that dispute in Sudan without a shot fired two years ago?"

"The same as," Colton nodded. "He, his wife, and their three children were on vacation in Italy, when they vanished. One World Order is claiming responsibility, but so far, have issued no demands."

"There might not be any," Diva said thoughtfully. "Westing has put out more than one of Greynor's fires in the last few years. It would suit him more if Westing never showed his face again."

"Then why take his wife and kids? Why not just assassinate Westing?" Jillian 'Pistol' Moore asked.

"Westing was working on some highly classified treaties when the family disappeared," Colton informed them. "If Greynor can convince him to change how those treaties read…"

"The entire area in question goes up in flames, and One World Order can waltz in and take over in an apparently democratic style," Lady Hawk frowned. "Which would give him a base to expand outward from."

"Exactly."

"So what have we got to do with this, General?" Maria 'GPS' DeCarlo asked.

"We have an idea the Westings are being held somewhere in Canada, of all places. OMEGA is being sent in to get them," Colton replied. "That is your direct assignment. If you manage to make a dent in Greynor's organization in the process, I can't say I'd be sorry to see it. As we get further intel, I will see it is passed to you…"

"Bet I know where they are," Diva flipped up a panel on the table in front of her. Very shortly, the picture of Westing was replaced with an aerial map. "Cobra has Extensive Enterprises; One World Order has International Holding Company. They bought this valley a year," the area was highlighted. "And had construction done these past few months. Satellite pictures show what could be a training ground, but it's not really big enough for more than about a squad." She brought up the grainy picture of a walled compound. There was a small airstrip just outside the walls, and a tower and three other buildings within them. There were no roads leading into the area.

"Good place to start," Lady Hawk decided. Colton could see the wheels turning, but Lady Hawk said nothing further. He was fairly sure he knew why. She trusted him, she trusted Wild Bill. She didn't know Moorland, and considering his ties to Nesbitt, she wasn't about to trust him, civilian or not, with any plan OMEGA might come up with.

"Pistol, I've promised Mr. Moorland a tour of non-critical areas of Tirnagog," Colton said. "If you would be so kind…"