Sonic: Impossible
Plotline inspired by the film Mission: Impossible
Written by: Blaster Hedgie, 1999
Sonic sat back in his club class seat on the aircraft. He flicked through the in-flight magazine idly. He looked up to see the stewardess walking towards him. He sat up as she approached. "Mr. Hedgehog? Would you care to watch a movie?" she asked politely. Sonic smiled "Perhaps something from the suspense section?" The stewardess nodded, handed him a tape and continued down the isle. He placed the tape in the machine, put on his headphones and turned the viewer to face him. He pressed the play button and folded his paws in his lap. The ISF logo appeared on screen (Impossible Sonic Force). A video began to play, accompanied by an audio voice. "Good morning Mr. Hedgehog. The wolf you're looking at is Sleet, a terrorist leader. We have reason to believe that he is working alongside a powerful underground Boss, known only as "R". We know that Sleet has been stealing government access codes that unlock the Mobius gold reserves. He has 95% of the codes, and only requires the remaining 5%. He is planning to steal these from a mainframe computer hidden beneath the Acorn Hotel. He is staying there along with a fellow terrorist named Dingo. We know that these two have worked together as a team many times before, but we have not known them to serve a warlord. "R" seems to be their first. Your mission, Sonic, should you decide to accept it, is to shadow Sleet and Dingo at the Hotel, and track their movements. You must then obtain proof of them stealing the access codes. After that, they must be allowed to leave the Hotel and rendezvous with "R". You can then intercept and apprehend all three of them"
Sonic stared at the screen intently. His fellow agents then appeared on screen. The voice continued. "Your team will be made up of you, and four other agents. Miles Prower can pilot any vehicle necessary, and he will serve as your driver. Sally Acorn can hack any computer that exists. She will help you booby trap the mainframe. Rotor Walrus is your engineer, and Knuckles Echidna will be your point man, as always. They will be waiting for you at the 777 Hotel. Good Luck, Sonic. This tape will self-destruct in 5 seconds"
Sonic sat back and lit a cigarette. He inhaled, and blew out the smoke to cover the burning tape.
Knuckles closed his laptop, and turned to Miles. "Well, Sonic's landed at the airport. We'd better make our way to the Hotel" Miles nodded and started the car. The tires screeched and the Trans Am roared down the highway. Sally and Rotor sat in the lobby, awaiting their fellow agents. They stood up as Knuckles and Miles arrived. They exchanged greetings, and walked to the check-in desk. "Where's Sonic?" asked Rotor. Sally chuckled, "He'll be here, don't you worry" They handed in their confirmation slips, and were given their keys. Their rooms were different, but the meeting would be held in Sonic's room. Pizza and Soda had been ordered to create the cover of a party so the meeting would not create suspicion. The four agents went to their rooms and set up their gear. The meeting would be held at 9pm, which gave them time to change and freshen up. Knuckles took out his laptop, and hooked it up. He dialed Sonic's earpiece, and waited for him to respond. "Go ahead.", came a reply. Knuckles spoke into his microphone. "Sonic, it's Knuckles here. We're all at the Hotel and waiting for you. Just to confirm the meeting at 9pm." Sonic answered "Acknowledged Knuckles. ETA to the Hotel is 10 minutes, but no contact with me until the meeting. I repeat, no contact!" He closed the channel and Knuckles powered down the Laptop. "I love being his point man." he smirked.
Sonic took a sip of soda and waited for his comrades. Their was a knock on the door, and he opened it. The agents filed in and took their places. He gave them all a glass of soda, and began the briefing. "OK. Two terrorist agents, Sleet and Dingo, are set up in the Acorn Hotel. They are planning to steal Government access codes from the mainframe computer hidden beneath the complex. We have to shadow them, get pictures of their theft, then track them to their rendezvous with the Warlord. We only know his as "R", nothing else is known. This is a covert operation, and we five have been selected from thousands of agents. If we fail this mission, the entire Mobius gold reserves will be free for the taking by "R". We must stop them at all costs. Here's the plan. Miles, you take the Trans Am, and drive Sally and Rotor to the Hotel. Your rooms are booked under the names Mr. and Mrs. Stine." Sally and Rotor looked at each other. "Cool" Rotor said, "I've always wanted a chance to spend time with Sally." Sally smiled, but said nothing. Sonic spoke again, "Sally, you have to make your into the mainframe room, and booby trap the computer. We'll need you to set up a tracking device that will copy itself to Sleet's disk." Sally nodded, "Got it." Sonic turned to Rotor, "I need you to stall the lifts in the Hotel to create a diversion. That way, Sally has time to search the Hotel for the lower level." Rotor raised his glass "OK, I'm on it" Finally, he looked at Knuckles, OK Knux, you're with me. We'll be shadowing Sleet and Dingo. Remember, these guys are terrorist leaders, so we have to be careful. Our rooms are at opposite ends of the complex so we can work our way in and cover the entire area. Keep in contact via the ear pieces and mics." Knuckles grinned, "Wouldn't miss it for the world." Sonic clapped his hands together, "OK team, we leave for the Acorn Hotel tomorrow afternoon. Sleep well guys." They all returned the goodbye and headed back to their rooms. Sonic turned off his light and settled down in his bed. He rolled over to feel the cold, hard barrel of a gun to his head.
Dingo fastened the ropes around Sonic tightly, binding him to the chair he was sitting on. Sleet kept his pistol trained on him all the time. "Well, Well" he sneered, "Seems someone is trying to expose our deal, or, should I say, WAS trying to!" He laughed loudly and glared at Sonic. Sonic's eyes stared back into the wolf's evil face. "How did you find me?" he demanded. Sleet dropped his aim on the hedgehog, and paced slowly round the room. "Very simple. I bribed one of your other force agents. This was a top mission, and some people get pissed off if they miss a good chance to show their stuff." He stood behind Sonic and whispered in his ear, "For the right price, anyone can be bought. Even Bunnie Rabbot!" Sonic's eyes widened in horror and his voice cracked with disbelief at what he heard, "That's not true! Bunnie's a top agent, and loyal too. She'd never do that to us, never!" Sleet pulled out a small tape recorder from his pocket and pressed the play button. Bunnie's familiar accent emitted from it, "The Hotel is the 777. Sonic's room is 159. He should arrive around 5pm, along with the other agents, Miles Prower, Sally Acorn, Rotor Walrus and Knuckles Echidna. He's Sonic's point man, but he's tough too. Watch when you tackle him, he's......" Sleet stopped the tape as Sonic began to cry. He hung his head as tears dripped down his nose onto the carpet. He sobbed as he took in what Bunnie had done. Sleet looked down at the weeping hedgehog, and slid his gun back into its holster. "You see, you can't trust anyone anymore. Even loyal friends have their limits." He laughed again, loudly. Sonic snarled, his eyes red from tears, "You fucking bastard!! I'll make sure you burn in hell for this!! Ugh!" His insult was cut short as Dingo knocked him out. He gestured to Dingo to undo the ropes. They then left the room, leaving Sonic out cold.
Miles looked at his watch and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel of the car. "Come on, Sonic. Where are you?" he said to himself. As he looked around, he saw the familiar figure walking towards him, but slowly and hunched over. Sonic slid into the car and looked at Miles. "Shit man, you look terrible! What happened?" he asked. Sonic sighed. "The mission's aborted. We've been duped. Sleet and Dingo were in my room last night, they told me what they'd done." Miles swallowed hard, "Wha...What do you mean, duped?" Sonic hung his head, "Bunnie Rabbot squealed on us, she gave everything away" His eyes filled with tears again "She blew our cover! She took money from "R", and the mission's a failure!" He sobbed again. Miles put his arm around Sonic and held him close. "Hey, come on, so we had a small setback. We can still do this" Sonic sniffed, "Oh yeah? How exactly? They know we're onto them!!" Miles nodded, "True, but they still need those codes, and the only way to get them is from that computer. They HAVE to go to that Hotel regardless of what happens." Sonic stared out of the windscreen, "You think we can still pull this off? Even with our cover blown?" Miles patted Sonic's shoulder. "It'll be tough, but we have the best agents the force has. We've never failed before, why should we start now?" He smiled at Sonic and hugged him. Sonic held Miles' paw, "You know, you'd make a great psychiatrist. Now drive, we gotta make it to that Hotel!!"
Knuckles looked at his watch, it was nearly 6pm, and Sonic still hadn't arrived at the Acorn Hotel. He shuffled his feet nervously, and glanced around the lobby again. His eyes caught a figure at the door, and he looked. It was Sonic all right, but in deep disguise. Knuckles went over to him, "Where the hell have you b....." Sonic cut him short. He leaned closer to Knuckles, and slipped him a key. "Go to room 665, I'll be there in 5 minutes. We have a small problem." Knuckles nodded and made his way through the Hotel. He reached the room and entered. "Nice place" he grinned, and set about making some coffee. He sat down to wait for Sonic. There was a knock at the door, and Sonic entered. Knuckles held up a cup, "Coffee?" he offered. Sonic shook his head, "No thanks, Knux. We have a problem with the mission. It's in jeopardy, and BIG jeopardy!" Knuckles stood up and walked over to Sonic, "What do you mean?" he asked nervously. Sonic explained about Sleet and Dingo in his room, and Bunnie's traitorous act. Knuckles sat down on the bed, his face one of disbelief. He shook his head, "I don't believe it" he whispered, "Bunnie a traitor? Why? What possible reason could she have?" he looked up at Sonic. Sonic sighed, "I don't know, but all I know is, "R" knows we're onto him, so we have to change the mission plan." Knuckles stood up again, "You mean...we're gonna still go ahead with the mission?" Sonic nodded, "Yes. Sleet and Dingo still need the access codes, and the only place they are stored is in the mainframe below this Hotel. We can still do it!" Knuckles took a sip of his coffee, "It's gonna be bloody hard though!" Sonic poured himself a cup, "Yes, it will be hard, but we can't let "R" get away with this, we have to stop them. We are all going to be in deep disguise, and we can't use any radio communication. We'll have to play the mission by ear." Knuckles rested his forehead on his paw, "Wow. You really think we can do this, Sonic?" he looked up rather nervously. Sonic drank his coffee, "We're going to do it!", He grinned back.
The team assembled in the room later that evening. "OK" said Sonic. Sleet and Dingo will be going after the access codes tomorrow evening. They will have the cover of a masquerade ball, which we will be attending." He looked at the agents in turn. "Sally, I want you to find your way to the mainframe in the early afternoon. Rotor will jam the lifts which will create the diversion. You won't have long, as the lifts will only be jammed for a short time. We can't let any suspicious delays get in the way. You'll have about 10 minutes of jamming time to find your way down, use it!!" He faced Knuckles, "Knux, you're with me as we discussed before. Remember, we've only got one chance at this. No visual or audio contact with Sleet and Dingo at all! If they have any reason to suspect we're still here, we'll be shot down like pack rats!" He turned to the small fox, "Miles, due to the circumstances now present, your role as driver has been temporarily postponed. You're going to serve as a lookout. You'll be watching me and Knux as we go through the masquerade. If we lose Sleet and Dingo, you'll need to show us the way to them. Don't remain in one place though, keep moving around, but stay up high. Understand?" Miles nodded, "Yeah, got it!" Sonic sipped a glass of water, "OK, we all know what we have to do. Begin setting up for tomorrow, we need to work twice as hard now." The agents got up, and left the room, leaving Sonic alone. He waited until the door clicked shut, then took out his laptop. He booted it up, and put on a pair of headphones with an embedded mic. Sonic accessed a video link, and waited for an answer. "Hello?", a grey hedgehog, almost identical to Sonic, appeared in the window. "Ash, old Buddy!" Sonic grinned at his friend. "Sonic! Well, well, what a surprise. What do you want from me now?" Ash teased. Sonic became serious, "Listen up, Ash. The mission has gone terribly wrong. Sleet and Dingo found out about us, and they ambushed me. They know what we're up to, and think they've scared us off. We intend to go through with the mission however, but I need some help from you." Ash nodded, his face one of concern, "OK. What can I do to help?" Sonic tapped on the keyboard, "I'm sending you a list of equipment that I need. I have less than 24 hours until those goons go after the access codes." Sonic hit the enter key, and Ash clicked his mailbox, "I got it here." His eyes widened as he read the list, "Sheesh, Buddy! You sure know how to make a guy work for his money!" Sonic smiled a bit, "Can you get that stuff for me?" Ash gave a thumbs up, "I sure can, Sonic. Meet me in the bar tomorrow morning at 9am." Sonic gave a small sigh of relief, "Thanks, Ash. I owe you one Buddy!" Ash smirked, "Double Whiskey, with ice. You're buying." Ash then cut the link, and the video faded out. The words 'Connection Terminated' flashed repeatedly on Sonic's black screen. He disconnected the headphones, and closed the laptop. Securing all the doors and windows, he settled down for the night, but this time, his gun was loaded!
Ash sat in the bar of the Acorn Hotel. He held a glass in his paw, and slowly swirled it, the ice in the bottom clinking against the edges. He looked up to see his fellow hedgehog approaching. Ash got up, and hugged Sonic. They both sat down and leaned closer to each other. Sonic spoke softly, "You got everything?" Ash nodded, "Of course, you didn't doubt me did you?" He handed Sonic a black briefcase. "Everything you need is in here. I hope you know what you're doing." He said, with a slight worried tone. Sonic put his paw on Ash's shoulder, "I'll be OK, we're the best remember?" He got up, and the two hugged again. Ash kissed Sonic's cheek softly, "Be careful now, I don't wanna lose you." Sonic patted Ash on the back, "Yeah, I understand. After we trash these bastards, we'll get together again. It's good having a partner I can trust." Ash hugged his friend again, "I feel the same way, Honey. Now go do your stuff." He smiled at Sonic, and the two parted their ways. Ash walked out of the Hotel and hailed a Taxi, "Airport please, Driver, and make it fast" As he spoke, a gun was pointed at his head, and Sleet turned round from the Driver's seat. He grinned evilly, "Of course, Sir. Just sit back and enjoy the ride." The Taxi drove off. Ash snarled at Dingo, who was holding the barrel of the magnum against his skull, "I hope you two get executed!" Dingo whacked him with the butt of the gun, which knocked him out, "Ah, but they can't do that if they don't catch us, Heh, Heh, Heh, Heh, Heh!!" The Taxi roared down the Freeway, towards the docks.
Sonic unpacked the briefcase. Everything was there, just as Ash had promised. Sonic admired the equipment, "Top class stuff, Buddy. I like it!" Sonic examined the tools. Among them were a grappling hook, a stunner, a tranquilizer dart gun, an engineer's outfit and a Computer SuperDisk. He divided the equipment into the sections that needed it, and went to see his fellow agents. He called on Sally first. She answered the knock at her door and Sonic stepped in. "I've got a SuperDisk for you, Sally. You can use it to booby trap the computer. The mainframe has a Disk already in it for copying use, which Sleet plans to use. Substitute it for this one, it has a tracking device built in which will enable us to follow them anywhere." Sally took the disk, "Thanks, Sonic. Where did you get it?" she asked. "An old friend" Sonic replied, and left. He called on Rotor to deliver the engineer's outfit and grappling hook. Lastly, he called on Knuckles and gave him the dart gun. "Use this on Sleet, Dingo will be my target." Knuckles looked at Sonic's stunner, "Why that, and not two of these?" he gestured with the gun. "Dingo is much stronger than Sleet. It'll take a lot of anesthetic to knock him out, so it's gonna be easier just to use this." Sonic explained. Knuckles nodded, "OK. Everything set up?" Sonic headed for the door, "Yep. Just be ready to move at 8pm tomorrow. Miles will be at the masquerade ready for us."
Ash groaned as he felt the lump on his head. He staggered to his feet and held his head, "God! That hurt. I'll put that bastard Dingo behind bars soon enough!" A voice behind him startled him, and he spun round to face the two terrorists. "I don't think so my little hedgehog. You see, before you can do anything, you'll be dead. Look at your feet." Sleet pointed down. Ash followed his finger, and shrieked as he saw his legs clamped in manacles, and attached to a huge iron ball. "When I throw you in that water, you'll sink like a stone." Dingo walked up to the frightened hedgehog, and gripped him by the waist, hauling him into the air. "Not many people can hold their breath longer than two minutes. That's just enough time to think of all the things you could've done with your life if you hadn't messed with us!" He laughed in Ash's face. "Any last requests before death?" This was the one thing Dingo shouldn't have said. Ash's brain clicked into gear. "Yes, could I have a cigar? I have a special Cuban in my briefcase, I was saving it for a special occasion, but I guess I should use it now, while I still can." Dingo looked at Sleet. Sleet shrugged and picked up Ash's briefcase. He hesitated, then gave it to Dingo, "Open it!" Dingo fumbled with the latches, "It's stuck." He said. Sleet rolled his eyes, and grabbed the case. "Like this muffin brain!" and he flipped the latches. Without warning a can of tear gas erupted from the case and both terrorists went down. Ash searched through the smoke and grabbed his pen. He turned it upside down, and pressed the nib, which fired a laser beam from the end. He cut through the manacles and kicked the two figures down as they began to get up. He leapt into the Taxi and sped away, a slight smirk of triumph on his face. He pressed his watch, and activated a speed dial phone number. Sonic's voice answered, "Hello?" Ash shouted down the line, "Sonic, it's Ash here. Sleet and Dingo are no longer in a position to access the government codes. They tried to kill me at the docks, but they failed. All you need to do is get into the mainframe, and encrypt the codes. They'll try again to get them. You can slow those two down, but you can't stop them. I'd say you've got about three hours before those guys get back to the Hotel. I'm on my way there now, but I'm gonna be some time as they knocked me out on the way here, so I'm just gonna have to work from the road signs." Sonic listened intently, "Are you OK, Ash? Did they hurt you at all?" he asked, concerned. "No, I'm fine, except the lump on my head Dingo gave me. The asshole whacked me with a Magnum butt!" Ash rubbed his head again. Sonic winced, "OK, Buddy, get here in one piece, we'll do the rest." He closed the channel, and made his way to his room to call a meeting with the ISF team.
"OK, guys, here's the drill. Sleet and Dingo's shopping trip has been postponed for a few hours. Our orders have changed. Sally, you need to get down to the mainframe, and encrypt the access codes. Rotor, jam the lifts as we said. Knux and Miles, keep a look out for Sleet and Dingo. If they arrive early, radio Sally and Rotor. Everyone understand?" They all nodded. Sonic stood up, "OK, we start now! Rotor, get suited up and jam those lifts ASAP. Sally, when you hear from Rotor that the diversion is under way, go find that vault." He pointed at Knuckles and Miles, "You two find safe spots at the back and front of the Hotel. If those goons turn up, radio immediately. Get to it!" They all exited the room, and separated.
Rotor put on his engineers uniform and calmly walked to the lobby area. He spoke to one of the receptionists, "Excuse me, but I've been called to fix a jammed lift. Do you know where the electrical controls are housed?" The receptionist nodded, "Yes, follow me" Rotor did so, and she led him to a small door just off from the lifts. "In here" she said, "The controls are in the large, red box on the far left wall. I hope you can fix it soon." Rotor smiled and titled his helmet, "Don't worry, I'm the best." He climbed the stairs to the top, and went to the red box. "OK, pal. Time for a little brain surgery" He took out a small box which he fixed to the main circuit board. He attached the box to his laptop, and powered it up. Accessing the main power grid, he shut down both lifts. There was a screeching of cables, and a thunk as the machinery stopped. Rotor smiled, "Over to you, Sally." Sally heard the noise of the lifts jamming, and saw people crowding round the doors. She slowly made her way around the Hotel, watching where people were coming from. She noticed a door which had no plaque on it. Several very well-dressed Fox's emerged from it, and were heading for the lifts. She waited until the coast was clear, then ran to the door and slipped past it. Stairs led down to a dark corridor. She walked down the steps, and fumbled for a light switch. She found one, and clicked it. The corridor was bathed in light, and she could see how long it was. It stretched both ways, and she had no idea which way led to the mainframe. She snarled angrily at the decision she had to make, and ran down the right hand corridor. She kept running for about two minutes when she came across a giant computer. "This must be it" she thought to herself. Sally looked at her watch. The lifts had been jammed for about five minutes. She knew Rotor would have to release them soon, or someone would suspect. She sat down at the terminal and booted it up. Sally made her way through screen after screen, until she found the section she was looking for. Reaching into her pocket, she found the SuperDisk Sonic had given her. The she remembered his orders, "Encrypt the codes". Shit, she thought, and put the disk back in her pocket. She accessed the codes, and scanned them. She hit upon one idea. Taking out the SuperDisk again, she laid it on the table, and copied the codes to the disk in the drive. Sally removed the disk, and then copied that disk to the SuperDisk. Pausing for a moment, she looked around for a hiding place for the SuperDisk. She spied a ventilation duct in the far wall of the room. Prizing it open, she slipped the disk inside, and replaced the grill. Taking out her make up case once more, she marked the mortar around the edge of the grill with her eyebrow pencil. Going back to the terminal, she deleted the codes from the memory, but left the file on the system. Picking up the original disk again, and reaching into her bag, she took out her make up case. Flipping it open, she rubbed the magnetic clip over the disk's surface. Returning her make up case to the bag, she inserted the now corrupt disk back into the drive. She then copied the corrupt files back into the access codes directory. The terminal warned her that the file was damaged, but she ignored it, and copied them back in. She tried accessing the codes again, but she simply received an error message. Smiling to herself, she shut down the machine and took out her radio communicator. "Rotor, I've finished the job, fix the lifts" she said. "Roger that" replied Rotor, and removed the box from the circuitry, and the lifts clanked back into operation. He packed away his laptop and stepped back out the door. He turned to the receptionist, "Sorry about that. One of the circuit boards had blown. I had to replace the whole damn thing!" She nodded, and thanked him. Tilting his cap again, he went back to his room, and called Sonic on the video phone. "Sonic? Everything's gone to plan. Sally's encrypted the codes, and no one has suspected anything." Sonic clapped his hands together, "Brilliant! Well done! OK, I'll contact Miles and Knuckles, you radio Sally, meet with her, and bring her back to my room. We'll all assemble there." "Understood" replied Rotor, and closed the link.
He was about to call Sally on the radio, but he felt slightly tired, so he decided to take a short nap.
He woke up sometime later, and looked at his watch. He had slept for over two hours. "Shit" he whispered. He called Sally on the radio, "Sally? Sally? You there?" he called. A voice spoke, "I'm sorry, but Sally is unable to take your call at the moment." Rotor gasped, "Sleet! What have you done with her you bastard?" Sleet sighed, "Now, Now my friend. That is no way to talk to me when I have someone you care about in my grasp." Rotor growled in his throat, "What do you want with her?" he demanded. Sleet chuckled, "Why, the access codes of course. Dingo and I tried to download them from the computer, but for some reason, they seemed to be....damaged. It's obvious that Sally is the one who did this. She is the only one who has the knowledge to use such a system to that degree. Give us the codes, I give you Sally. You have one hour to reach your decision." Rotor shut off his radio, his paws shaking. He ran to Sonic's room, and knocked loudly on it. Sonic answered, and Rotor dashed inside. "Where have you been, man? We were getting seriously worried about you and Sa....", Rotor cut him off, "Sally's been kidnapped. She being held hostage by Sleet and Dingo. They know she encrypted the access codes. They want a trade, Sally for the SuperDisk. They gave us one hour." Sonic sat down in shock, "Oh Shit! The mission's blown totally now, we can't win. We have to give them the disk. Where is it?" Rotor shrugged, "I don't know, Sally was the one who worked the mainframe. She's the one who hid it, and the only one who knows where it is." Sonic was almost at breaking point when Knuckles placed his paw on his shoulder, "That's the way we get out of this." Sonic turned to him, "Oh? Please explain how?" he stared at Knuckles. Knuckles sat them all down, "Sally is the only one who knows where the disk is, that way they have keep her alive to find it, so Sally is safe, almost." Sonic nodded, "True, very true, but there's nothing to stop Dingo beating the crap out of her to get her to talk." Again Knuckles spoke, "You're right, but Sally is a pro ISF agent. She's happy to lay her life down for the team." Sonic stood up, "But I'm not. Sally is....." he hesitated, "Sally is my lover, and has been for many years. There's no way I'd let her get hurt!" Knuckles stood up too, "Sonic, you're a pro agent too, you should know that ISF team members should never get sexual involved with on......" Sonic stopped him dead, "Woah, Woah, Woah! Who said we were sexually involved?" Knuckles smirked, "Remember the mission last year? When we were stationed in that 5-Star Hotel in Mid-Mobius?" Sonic raised an eyebrow, "Yes?" he said slowly. Knuckles continued, "My room was directly next to yours. I could hear you two all night. I wondered how you kept going for so long." Sonic blushed and sneered at him, "Why were you listening in on us?" Knuckles stared at him, "I wasn't. You guys were so loud, I had to take sleeping pills to get some rest!!" Sonic blushed, "OK, so Sally and I have.......been sexually involved, but only that once! But that's not the point. We have to rescue her, no matter what the rules say. If you guys won't help, I'll go alone!" Miles stood up, "I'll help. Sally means a lot to me too. Rotor nodded, "Count me in too" All eyes turned to Knuckles. He looked back at the three agents, his fellow ISF team, his co-workers, his friends. "OK, I'm in." They all hugged each other. "OK" said Sonic, "This has to be done fast, and smoothly. We have to find a way to get her out, but also keep those codes from those two goons. Any ideas?" Miles piped up, "A counterfeit disk? I have a blank one here." He held it up. Sonic shook his head. They'd try the disk out before they'd release Sally. Somehow we have to create a disk that will work, but can't be used later." Knuckles snapped his fingers, "I've got it. We simply create a new disk, but add a little something to blow it up when we've got Sally." Sonic hmmed, "That would work, but how do we get the access codes?" Knuckles rubbed his gloves together, "We give them Sally's disk, but we sacrifice it for her!" Rotor gasped, "You mean, detonate the only copy of the codes?" Knuckles nodded, "Yes. It'll free Sally, and stop Sleet and Dingo getting them too, but of course it will then mean, the codes will be lost forever." Sonic thought for a second, "OK, we'll do it. How will we rig the disk?" Knuckles took out a small foil packet from his pocket, "This is explosive, but disguised as a stick of gum. As you take the disk from the hiding place, mix the gum together, and stick it on the disk. After a few seconds, Kaboom!!" Sonic shook his head, "We need time for Sleet to use the disk before we detonate it, it could take several minutes for him to access the codes on the disk." Miles spoke up, "If we can't detonate the disk, why don't we detonate the computer? We wait for Sleet to run the disk, once he gives us Sally, we stick the gum on the mainframe and blow it sky high!" Rotor shook his head, "And blow ourselves up in the process. Bad move!" Sonic stamped his foot, "Oh come on, we have to find some way to do this! It's either blow the disk, or blow the computer, which one will it be?" Knuckles sighed, "It'll have to be the computer, but how will we get out in time?" Sonic's eyes widened, and he wagged his finger, "Wait a second, wait a second. In order to shut down the computer, we can just blow the power supply. The cable must be pretty long to reach that far underground. We just stick the gum on the cable. One of us will remain in the corridor, then after a signal given by one of us, that person slams the gum on the cable, and we run like hell. The computer dies, Sleet and Dingo are left with no codes, and we get Sally back!!" All the rest of the agents agreed to the plan, and Rotor called Sleet. "Sleet? We've decided to hand you the disk for Sally." Sleet's voice came over the radio, "Excellent, and you nearly ran out of time. You like living on the edge don't you? Meet us in the mainframe room in ten minutes. Be there, or someone gets a taste of a Magnum Bullet!" The radio rang off. Sonic spoke, "OK. Who's gonna be the gum man?" Miles stepped forward, "I'll do it, I'm usually the driver, so they won't notice I'm not there." Sonic was about to approve Miles' offer, when a paw was place on his shoulder. "Oh no you won't Miles, I'll do it." Sonic turned around, "Ash! You made it back!!" Sonic hugged his fellow hedgehog tightly, and Ash returned the hug. Sonic introduced Ash to the rest of the ISF team. "Guys, this is Ash, a friend I made some years ago. He's helped me in many missions before, but he's always stayed out of sight of the rest of the team." Ash shook hands with the other agents, "Nice to meet you guys. I don't want to seem rude, but shouldn't we be somewhere?" Sonic gasped, "My God! OK, let's go. Wait, where's the mainframe room?" The others looked at each other in desperation. Ash grabbed Sonic's arm, "I know the way, come on, we haven't much time!" The all ran through the Hotel, and Ash led the way through the door and down the corridor. Ash stopped them halfway through, "OK" he whispered, "Give me the gum, you four go rescue Sally. When I hear Sonic say, "merchandise delivered", I'll stick the gum on, now go!" The four agents ran towards the room at the end of the corridor, to find Sleet, Dingo and Sally waiting. Sleet looked at his watch, Nine minutes and thirty second. You do like to live dangerously, don't you, Sonic?" Sonic walked up to Sleet, "Enough talk, Creep! This is a trade, and I want Sally released." Sleet put up his hand, "Of course, of course, but we need the disk first." Sonic looked at Sally, "Sally, give him the disk." Sally nodded, "It's hidden behind the grating in the far wall, the one with the brown outline." Sleet walked to the grating and opened it. He removed the disk and walked back to the terminal. "You don't mind if I inspect this do you?" he said with a sneer. Sonic shook his head, "Please do." Sleet inserted the disk, and accessed it. He grinned and untied the ropes holding Sally. "Very good, I see you have sense after all." Sonic turned to him, "May we be excused?" Sleet continued to focus on the codes, "Yes, Yes, of course." Sonic turned to his force, "Well, merchandise delivered, let's go!" He led the team back down the corridor. Sleet turned to Dingo, "Looks like we managed to beat the ISF. That will please "R" very much!" Dingo pointed at the screen, "Why did you turn it off?" Sleet whacked him on the head, "I haven't turned it off. Look, the codes are....." he gasped as he looked to see the terminal blank. He pressed the power buttons, but nothing happened. "Quick, get the disk out!" he cried. Dingo tugged at it, "It won't move, the system has to be on to get it out." He tugged on the disk harder, and he fell back on the floor. He looked at his hand, to see half the disk cracked and twisted in it. "Whoops", he said. Sleet screamed, "You idiot!! You have just destroyed the codes to the gold reserves! What do we do now? If "R" doesn't get those codes, we are dead!!" He screamed again, his anger echoing throughout the corridor.
Back at the ISF headquarters, the team were sat down, enjoying a light lunch. Sonic raised his glass, "To the ISF force, and everyone on it!" The other members raised their glasses and cheered. Sonic took a bite from his Chilli Dog, and sipped his glass of wine. He looked at his watch. "Ooops" he said, "My flight leaves in an hour. I hate to eat and run, but I have to go." The other agents stood up and hugged him tightly. Sally kissed him on the cheek, "I'll miss you, Sonic. You're a great leader. I hope we work together in the future." Sonic kissed her back, "We will, Sally. We will." Sonic turned to Ash, who had joined them for lunch. He shook hands with him, then the two hugged deeply. Sonic gave Ash a small box. "This is your complimentary medal of honor from the ISF. Without your help, we might not have succeeded in stopping "R" from obtaining that gold. Are you sure you won't join us?" Ash smiled and shook his head, "Sorry, Sonic, but my work is freelance. Feel free to call on me again. I'll always be there if you need my help." Sonic patted Ash on the back, and he said his last goodbye before leaving for the airport.
Sonic was awakened by the Stewardess on the plane. "Mr. Hedgehog, would you like a movie?" Sonic smiled, "Why not. Something romantic this time." The stewardess gave him a tape and left. Sonic put on his headphones and flipped the screen towards him. He pressed play. His face became one of shock when a familiar logo appeared on screen!
The End
Plotline inspired by the film Mission: Impossible
Written by: Blaster Hedgie, 1999
Sonic sat back in his club class seat on the aircraft. He flicked through the in-flight magazine idly. He looked up to see the stewardess walking towards him. He sat up as she approached. "Mr. Hedgehog? Would you care to watch a movie?" she asked politely. Sonic smiled "Perhaps something from the suspense section?" The stewardess nodded, handed him a tape and continued down the isle. He placed the tape in the machine, put on his headphones and turned the viewer to face him. He pressed the play button and folded his paws in his lap. The ISF logo appeared on screen (Impossible Sonic Force). A video began to play, accompanied by an audio voice. "Good morning Mr. Hedgehog. The wolf you're looking at is Sleet, a terrorist leader. We have reason to believe that he is working alongside a powerful underground Boss, known only as "R". We know that Sleet has been stealing government access codes that unlock the Mobius gold reserves. He has 95% of the codes, and only requires the remaining 5%. He is planning to steal these from a mainframe computer hidden beneath the Acorn Hotel. He is staying there along with a fellow terrorist named Dingo. We know that these two have worked together as a team many times before, but we have not known them to serve a warlord. "R" seems to be their first. Your mission, Sonic, should you decide to accept it, is to shadow Sleet and Dingo at the Hotel, and track their movements. You must then obtain proof of them stealing the access codes. After that, they must be allowed to leave the Hotel and rendezvous with "R". You can then intercept and apprehend all three of them"
Sonic stared at the screen intently. His fellow agents then appeared on screen. The voice continued. "Your team will be made up of you, and four other agents. Miles Prower can pilot any vehicle necessary, and he will serve as your driver. Sally Acorn can hack any computer that exists. She will help you booby trap the mainframe. Rotor Walrus is your engineer, and Knuckles Echidna will be your point man, as always. They will be waiting for you at the 777 Hotel. Good Luck, Sonic. This tape will self-destruct in 5 seconds"
Sonic sat back and lit a cigarette. He inhaled, and blew out the smoke to cover the burning tape.
Knuckles closed his laptop, and turned to Miles. "Well, Sonic's landed at the airport. We'd better make our way to the Hotel" Miles nodded and started the car. The tires screeched and the Trans Am roared down the highway. Sally and Rotor sat in the lobby, awaiting their fellow agents. They stood up as Knuckles and Miles arrived. They exchanged greetings, and walked to the check-in desk. "Where's Sonic?" asked Rotor. Sally chuckled, "He'll be here, don't you worry" They handed in their confirmation slips, and were given their keys. Their rooms were different, but the meeting would be held in Sonic's room. Pizza and Soda had been ordered to create the cover of a party so the meeting would not create suspicion. The four agents went to their rooms and set up their gear. The meeting would be held at 9pm, which gave them time to change and freshen up. Knuckles took out his laptop, and hooked it up. He dialed Sonic's earpiece, and waited for him to respond. "Go ahead.", came a reply. Knuckles spoke into his microphone. "Sonic, it's Knuckles here. We're all at the Hotel and waiting for you. Just to confirm the meeting at 9pm." Sonic answered "Acknowledged Knuckles. ETA to the Hotel is 10 minutes, but no contact with me until the meeting. I repeat, no contact!" He closed the channel and Knuckles powered down the Laptop. "I love being his point man." he smirked.
Sonic took a sip of soda and waited for his comrades. Their was a knock on the door, and he opened it. The agents filed in and took their places. He gave them all a glass of soda, and began the briefing. "OK. Two terrorist agents, Sleet and Dingo, are set up in the Acorn Hotel. They are planning to steal Government access codes from the mainframe computer hidden beneath the complex. We have to shadow them, get pictures of their theft, then track them to their rendezvous with the Warlord. We only know his as "R", nothing else is known. This is a covert operation, and we five have been selected from thousands of agents. If we fail this mission, the entire Mobius gold reserves will be free for the taking by "R". We must stop them at all costs. Here's the plan. Miles, you take the Trans Am, and drive Sally and Rotor to the Hotel. Your rooms are booked under the names Mr. and Mrs. Stine." Sally and Rotor looked at each other. "Cool" Rotor said, "I've always wanted a chance to spend time with Sally." Sally smiled, but said nothing. Sonic spoke again, "Sally, you have to make your into the mainframe room, and booby trap the computer. We'll need you to set up a tracking device that will copy itself to Sleet's disk." Sally nodded, "Got it." Sonic turned to Rotor, "I need you to stall the lifts in the Hotel to create a diversion. That way, Sally has time to search the Hotel for the lower level." Rotor raised his glass "OK, I'm on it" Finally, he looked at Knuckles, OK Knux, you're with me. We'll be shadowing Sleet and Dingo. Remember, these guys are terrorist leaders, so we have to be careful. Our rooms are at opposite ends of the complex so we can work our way in and cover the entire area. Keep in contact via the ear pieces and mics." Knuckles grinned, "Wouldn't miss it for the world." Sonic clapped his hands together, "OK team, we leave for the Acorn Hotel tomorrow afternoon. Sleep well guys." They all returned the goodbye and headed back to their rooms. Sonic turned off his light and settled down in his bed. He rolled over to feel the cold, hard barrel of a gun to his head.
Dingo fastened the ropes around Sonic tightly, binding him to the chair he was sitting on. Sleet kept his pistol trained on him all the time. "Well, Well" he sneered, "Seems someone is trying to expose our deal, or, should I say, WAS trying to!" He laughed loudly and glared at Sonic. Sonic's eyes stared back into the wolf's evil face. "How did you find me?" he demanded. Sleet dropped his aim on the hedgehog, and paced slowly round the room. "Very simple. I bribed one of your other force agents. This was a top mission, and some people get pissed off if they miss a good chance to show their stuff." He stood behind Sonic and whispered in his ear, "For the right price, anyone can be bought. Even Bunnie Rabbot!" Sonic's eyes widened in horror and his voice cracked with disbelief at what he heard, "That's not true! Bunnie's a top agent, and loyal too. She'd never do that to us, never!" Sleet pulled out a small tape recorder from his pocket and pressed the play button. Bunnie's familiar accent emitted from it, "The Hotel is the 777. Sonic's room is 159. He should arrive around 5pm, along with the other agents, Miles Prower, Sally Acorn, Rotor Walrus and Knuckles Echidna. He's Sonic's point man, but he's tough too. Watch when you tackle him, he's......" Sleet stopped the tape as Sonic began to cry. He hung his head as tears dripped down his nose onto the carpet. He sobbed as he took in what Bunnie had done. Sleet looked down at the weeping hedgehog, and slid his gun back into its holster. "You see, you can't trust anyone anymore. Even loyal friends have their limits." He laughed again, loudly. Sonic snarled, his eyes red from tears, "You fucking bastard!! I'll make sure you burn in hell for this!! Ugh!" His insult was cut short as Dingo knocked him out. He gestured to Dingo to undo the ropes. They then left the room, leaving Sonic out cold.
Miles looked at his watch and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel of the car. "Come on, Sonic. Where are you?" he said to himself. As he looked around, he saw the familiar figure walking towards him, but slowly and hunched over. Sonic slid into the car and looked at Miles. "Shit man, you look terrible! What happened?" he asked. Sonic sighed. "The mission's aborted. We've been duped. Sleet and Dingo were in my room last night, they told me what they'd done." Miles swallowed hard, "Wha...What do you mean, duped?" Sonic hung his head, "Bunnie Rabbot squealed on us, she gave everything away" His eyes filled with tears again "She blew our cover! She took money from "R", and the mission's a failure!" He sobbed again. Miles put his arm around Sonic and held him close. "Hey, come on, so we had a small setback. We can still do this" Sonic sniffed, "Oh yeah? How exactly? They know we're onto them!!" Miles nodded, "True, but they still need those codes, and the only way to get them is from that computer. They HAVE to go to that Hotel regardless of what happens." Sonic stared out of the windscreen, "You think we can still pull this off? Even with our cover blown?" Miles patted Sonic's shoulder. "It'll be tough, but we have the best agents the force has. We've never failed before, why should we start now?" He smiled at Sonic and hugged him. Sonic held Miles' paw, "You know, you'd make a great psychiatrist. Now drive, we gotta make it to that Hotel!!"
Knuckles looked at his watch, it was nearly 6pm, and Sonic still hadn't arrived at the Acorn Hotel. He shuffled his feet nervously, and glanced around the lobby again. His eyes caught a figure at the door, and he looked. It was Sonic all right, but in deep disguise. Knuckles went over to him, "Where the hell have you b....." Sonic cut him short. He leaned closer to Knuckles, and slipped him a key. "Go to room 665, I'll be there in 5 minutes. We have a small problem." Knuckles nodded and made his way through the Hotel. He reached the room and entered. "Nice place" he grinned, and set about making some coffee. He sat down to wait for Sonic. There was a knock at the door, and Sonic entered. Knuckles held up a cup, "Coffee?" he offered. Sonic shook his head, "No thanks, Knux. We have a problem with the mission. It's in jeopardy, and BIG jeopardy!" Knuckles stood up and walked over to Sonic, "What do you mean?" he asked nervously. Sonic explained about Sleet and Dingo in his room, and Bunnie's traitorous act. Knuckles sat down on the bed, his face one of disbelief. He shook his head, "I don't believe it" he whispered, "Bunnie a traitor? Why? What possible reason could she have?" he looked up at Sonic. Sonic sighed, "I don't know, but all I know is, "R" knows we're onto him, so we have to change the mission plan." Knuckles stood up again, "You mean...we're gonna still go ahead with the mission?" Sonic nodded, "Yes. Sleet and Dingo still need the access codes, and the only place they are stored is in the mainframe below this Hotel. We can still do it!" Knuckles took a sip of his coffee, "It's gonna be bloody hard though!" Sonic poured himself a cup, "Yes, it will be hard, but we can't let "R" get away with this, we have to stop them. We are all going to be in deep disguise, and we can't use any radio communication. We'll have to play the mission by ear." Knuckles rested his forehead on his paw, "Wow. You really think we can do this, Sonic?" he looked up rather nervously. Sonic drank his coffee, "We're going to do it!", He grinned back.
The team assembled in the room later that evening. "OK" said Sonic. Sleet and Dingo will be going after the access codes tomorrow evening. They will have the cover of a masquerade ball, which we will be attending." He looked at the agents in turn. "Sally, I want you to find your way to the mainframe in the early afternoon. Rotor will jam the lifts which will create the diversion. You won't have long, as the lifts will only be jammed for a short time. We can't let any suspicious delays get in the way. You'll have about 10 minutes of jamming time to find your way down, use it!!" He faced Knuckles, "Knux, you're with me as we discussed before. Remember, we've only got one chance at this. No visual or audio contact with Sleet and Dingo at all! If they have any reason to suspect we're still here, we'll be shot down like pack rats!" He turned to the small fox, "Miles, due to the circumstances now present, your role as driver has been temporarily postponed. You're going to serve as a lookout. You'll be watching me and Knux as we go through the masquerade. If we lose Sleet and Dingo, you'll need to show us the way to them. Don't remain in one place though, keep moving around, but stay up high. Understand?" Miles nodded, "Yeah, got it!" Sonic sipped a glass of water, "OK, we all know what we have to do. Begin setting up for tomorrow, we need to work twice as hard now." The agents got up, and left the room, leaving Sonic alone. He waited until the door clicked shut, then took out his laptop. He booted it up, and put on a pair of headphones with an embedded mic. Sonic accessed a video link, and waited for an answer. "Hello?", a grey hedgehog, almost identical to Sonic, appeared in the window. "Ash, old Buddy!" Sonic grinned at his friend. "Sonic! Well, well, what a surprise. What do you want from me now?" Ash teased. Sonic became serious, "Listen up, Ash. The mission has gone terribly wrong. Sleet and Dingo found out about us, and they ambushed me. They know what we're up to, and think they've scared us off. We intend to go through with the mission however, but I need some help from you." Ash nodded, his face one of concern, "OK. What can I do to help?" Sonic tapped on the keyboard, "I'm sending you a list of equipment that I need. I have less than 24 hours until those goons go after the access codes." Sonic hit the enter key, and Ash clicked his mailbox, "I got it here." His eyes widened as he read the list, "Sheesh, Buddy! You sure know how to make a guy work for his money!" Sonic smiled a bit, "Can you get that stuff for me?" Ash gave a thumbs up, "I sure can, Sonic. Meet me in the bar tomorrow morning at 9am." Sonic gave a small sigh of relief, "Thanks, Ash. I owe you one Buddy!" Ash smirked, "Double Whiskey, with ice. You're buying." Ash then cut the link, and the video faded out. The words 'Connection Terminated' flashed repeatedly on Sonic's black screen. He disconnected the headphones, and closed the laptop. Securing all the doors and windows, he settled down for the night, but this time, his gun was loaded!
Ash sat in the bar of the Acorn Hotel. He held a glass in his paw, and slowly swirled it, the ice in the bottom clinking against the edges. He looked up to see his fellow hedgehog approaching. Ash got up, and hugged Sonic. They both sat down and leaned closer to each other. Sonic spoke softly, "You got everything?" Ash nodded, "Of course, you didn't doubt me did you?" He handed Sonic a black briefcase. "Everything you need is in here. I hope you know what you're doing." He said, with a slight worried tone. Sonic put his paw on Ash's shoulder, "I'll be OK, we're the best remember?" He got up, and the two hugged again. Ash kissed Sonic's cheek softly, "Be careful now, I don't wanna lose you." Sonic patted Ash on the back, "Yeah, I understand. After we trash these bastards, we'll get together again. It's good having a partner I can trust." Ash hugged his friend again, "I feel the same way, Honey. Now go do your stuff." He smiled at Sonic, and the two parted their ways. Ash walked out of the Hotel and hailed a Taxi, "Airport please, Driver, and make it fast" As he spoke, a gun was pointed at his head, and Sleet turned round from the Driver's seat. He grinned evilly, "Of course, Sir. Just sit back and enjoy the ride." The Taxi drove off. Ash snarled at Dingo, who was holding the barrel of the magnum against his skull, "I hope you two get executed!" Dingo whacked him with the butt of the gun, which knocked him out, "Ah, but they can't do that if they don't catch us, Heh, Heh, Heh, Heh, Heh!!" The Taxi roared down the Freeway, towards the docks.
Sonic unpacked the briefcase. Everything was there, just as Ash had promised. Sonic admired the equipment, "Top class stuff, Buddy. I like it!" Sonic examined the tools. Among them were a grappling hook, a stunner, a tranquilizer dart gun, an engineer's outfit and a Computer SuperDisk. He divided the equipment into the sections that needed it, and went to see his fellow agents. He called on Sally first. She answered the knock at her door and Sonic stepped in. "I've got a SuperDisk for you, Sally. You can use it to booby trap the computer. The mainframe has a Disk already in it for copying use, which Sleet plans to use. Substitute it for this one, it has a tracking device built in which will enable us to follow them anywhere." Sally took the disk, "Thanks, Sonic. Where did you get it?" she asked. "An old friend" Sonic replied, and left. He called on Rotor to deliver the engineer's outfit and grappling hook. Lastly, he called on Knuckles and gave him the dart gun. "Use this on Sleet, Dingo will be my target." Knuckles looked at Sonic's stunner, "Why that, and not two of these?" he gestured with the gun. "Dingo is much stronger than Sleet. It'll take a lot of anesthetic to knock him out, so it's gonna be easier just to use this." Sonic explained. Knuckles nodded, "OK. Everything set up?" Sonic headed for the door, "Yep. Just be ready to move at 8pm tomorrow. Miles will be at the masquerade ready for us."
Ash groaned as he felt the lump on his head. He staggered to his feet and held his head, "God! That hurt. I'll put that bastard Dingo behind bars soon enough!" A voice behind him startled him, and he spun round to face the two terrorists. "I don't think so my little hedgehog. You see, before you can do anything, you'll be dead. Look at your feet." Sleet pointed down. Ash followed his finger, and shrieked as he saw his legs clamped in manacles, and attached to a huge iron ball. "When I throw you in that water, you'll sink like a stone." Dingo walked up to the frightened hedgehog, and gripped him by the waist, hauling him into the air. "Not many people can hold their breath longer than two minutes. That's just enough time to think of all the things you could've done with your life if you hadn't messed with us!" He laughed in Ash's face. "Any last requests before death?" This was the one thing Dingo shouldn't have said. Ash's brain clicked into gear. "Yes, could I have a cigar? I have a special Cuban in my briefcase, I was saving it for a special occasion, but I guess I should use it now, while I still can." Dingo looked at Sleet. Sleet shrugged and picked up Ash's briefcase. He hesitated, then gave it to Dingo, "Open it!" Dingo fumbled with the latches, "It's stuck." He said. Sleet rolled his eyes, and grabbed the case. "Like this muffin brain!" and he flipped the latches. Without warning a can of tear gas erupted from the case and both terrorists went down. Ash searched through the smoke and grabbed his pen. He turned it upside down, and pressed the nib, which fired a laser beam from the end. He cut through the manacles and kicked the two figures down as they began to get up. He leapt into the Taxi and sped away, a slight smirk of triumph on his face. He pressed his watch, and activated a speed dial phone number. Sonic's voice answered, "Hello?" Ash shouted down the line, "Sonic, it's Ash here. Sleet and Dingo are no longer in a position to access the government codes. They tried to kill me at the docks, but they failed. All you need to do is get into the mainframe, and encrypt the codes. They'll try again to get them. You can slow those two down, but you can't stop them. I'd say you've got about three hours before those guys get back to the Hotel. I'm on my way there now, but I'm gonna be some time as they knocked me out on the way here, so I'm just gonna have to work from the road signs." Sonic listened intently, "Are you OK, Ash? Did they hurt you at all?" he asked, concerned. "No, I'm fine, except the lump on my head Dingo gave me. The asshole whacked me with a Magnum butt!" Ash rubbed his head again. Sonic winced, "OK, Buddy, get here in one piece, we'll do the rest." He closed the channel, and made his way to his room to call a meeting with the ISF team.
"OK, guys, here's the drill. Sleet and Dingo's shopping trip has been postponed for a few hours. Our orders have changed. Sally, you need to get down to the mainframe, and encrypt the access codes. Rotor, jam the lifts as we said. Knux and Miles, keep a look out for Sleet and Dingo. If they arrive early, radio Sally and Rotor. Everyone understand?" They all nodded. Sonic stood up, "OK, we start now! Rotor, get suited up and jam those lifts ASAP. Sally, when you hear from Rotor that the diversion is under way, go find that vault." He pointed at Knuckles and Miles, "You two find safe spots at the back and front of the Hotel. If those goons turn up, radio immediately. Get to it!" They all exited the room, and separated.
Rotor put on his engineers uniform and calmly walked to the lobby area. He spoke to one of the receptionists, "Excuse me, but I've been called to fix a jammed lift. Do you know where the electrical controls are housed?" The receptionist nodded, "Yes, follow me" Rotor did so, and she led him to a small door just off from the lifts. "In here" she said, "The controls are in the large, red box on the far left wall. I hope you can fix it soon." Rotor smiled and titled his helmet, "Don't worry, I'm the best." He climbed the stairs to the top, and went to the red box. "OK, pal. Time for a little brain surgery" He took out a small box which he fixed to the main circuit board. He attached the box to his laptop, and powered it up. Accessing the main power grid, he shut down both lifts. There was a screeching of cables, and a thunk as the machinery stopped. Rotor smiled, "Over to you, Sally." Sally heard the noise of the lifts jamming, and saw people crowding round the doors. She slowly made her way around the Hotel, watching where people were coming from. She noticed a door which had no plaque on it. Several very well-dressed Fox's emerged from it, and were heading for the lifts. She waited until the coast was clear, then ran to the door and slipped past it. Stairs led down to a dark corridor. She walked down the steps, and fumbled for a light switch. She found one, and clicked it. The corridor was bathed in light, and she could see how long it was. It stretched both ways, and she had no idea which way led to the mainframe. She snarled angrily at the decision she had to make, and ran down the right hand corridor. She kept running for about two minutes when she came across a giant computer. "This must be it" she thought to herself. Sally looked at her watch. The lifts had been jammed for about five minutes. She knew Rotor would have to release them soon, or someone would suspect. She sat down at the terminal and booted it up. Sally made her way through screen after screen, until she found the section she was looking for. Reaching into her pocket, she found the SuperDisk Sonic had given her. The she remembered his orders, "Encrypt the codes". Shit, she thought, and put the disk back in her pocket. She accessed the codes, and scanned them. She hit upon one idea. Taking out the SuperDisk again, she laid it on the table, and copied the codes to the disk in the drive. Sally removed the disk, and then copied that disk to the SuperDisk. Pausing for a moment, she looked around for a hiding place for the SuperDisk. She spied a ventilation duct in the far wall of the room. Prizing it open, she slipped the disk inside, and replaced the grill. Taking out her make up case once more, she marked the mortar around the edge of the grill with her eyebrow pencil. Going back to the terminal, she deleted the codes from the memory, but left the file on the system. Picking up the original disk again, and reaching into her bag, she took out her make up case. Flipping it open, she rubbed the magnetic clip over the disk's surface. Returning her make up case to the bag, she inserted the now corrupt disk back into the drive. She then copied the corrupt files back into the access codes directory. The terminal warned her that the file was damaged, but she ignored it, and copied them back in. She tried accessing the codes again, but she simply received an error message. Smiling to herself, she shut down the machine and took out her radio communicator. "Rotor, I've finished the job, fix the lifts" she said. "Roger that" replied Rotor, and removed the box from the circuitry, and the lifts clanked back into operation. He packed away his laptop and stepped back out the door. He turned to the receptionist, "Sorry about that. One of the circuit boards had blown. I had to replace the whole damn thing!" She nodded, and thanked him. Tilting his cap again, he went back to his room, and called Sonic on the video phone. "Sonic? Everything's gone to plan. Sally's encrypted the codes, and no one has suspected anything." Sonic clapped his hands together, "Brilliant! Well done! OK, I'll contact Miles and Knuckles, you radio Sally, meet with her, and bring her back to my room. We'll all assemble there." "Understood" replied Rotor, and closed the link.
He was about to call Sally on the radio, but he felt slightly tired, so he decided to take a short nap.
He woke up sometime later, and looked at his watch. He had slept for over two hours. "Shit" he whispered. He called Sally on the radio, "Sally? Sally? You there?" he called. A voice spoke, "I'm sorry, but Sally is unable to take your call at the moment." Rotor gasped, "Sleet! What have you done with her you bastard?" Sleet sighed, "Now, Now my friend. That is no way to talk to me when I have someone you care about in my grasp." Rotor growled in his throat, "What do you want with her?" he demanded. Sleet chuckled, "Why, the access codes of course. Dingo and I tried to download them from the computer, but for some reason, they seemed to be....damaged. It's obvious that Sally is the one who did this. She is the only one who has the knowledge to use such a system to that degree. Give us the codes, I give you Sally. You have one hour to reach your decision." Rotor shut off his radio, his paws shaking. He ran to Sonic's room, and knocked loudly on it. Sonic answered, and Rotor dashed inside. "Where have you been, man? We were getting seriously worried about you and Sa....", Rotor cut him off, "Sally's been kidnapped. She being held hostage by Sleet and Dingo. They know she encrypted the access codes. They want a trade, Sally for the SuperDisk. They gave us one hour." Sonic sat down in shock, "Oh Shit! The mission's blown totally now, we can't win. We have to give them the disk. Where is it?" Rotor shrugged, "I don't know, Sally was the one who worked the mainframe. She's the one who hid it, and the only one who knows where it is." Sonic was almost at breaking point when Knuckles placed his paw on his shoulder, "That's the way we get out of this." Sonic turned to him, "Oh? Please explain how?" he stared at Knuckles. Knuckles sat them all down, "Sally is the only one who knows where the disk is, that way they have keep her alive to find it, so Sally is safe, almost." Sonic nodded, "True, very true, but there's nothing to stop Dingo beating the crap out of her to get her to talk." Again Knuckles spoke, "You're right, but Sally is a pro ISF agent. She's happy to lay her life down for the team." Sonic stood up, "But I'm not. Sally is....." he hesitated, "Sally is my lover, and has been for many years. There's no way I'd let her get hurt!" Knuckles stood up too, "Sonic, you're a pro agent too, you should know that ISF team members should never get sexual involved with on......" Sonic stopped him dead, "Woah, Woah, Woah! Who said we were sexually involved?" Knuckles smirked, "Remember the mission last year? When we were stationed in that 5-Star Hotel in Mid-Mobius?" Sonic raised an eyebrow, "Yes?" he said slowly. Knuckles continued, "My room was directly next to yours. I could hear you two all night. I wondered how you kept going for so long." Sonic blushed and sneered at him, "Why were you listening in on us?" Knuckles stared at him, "I wasn't. You guys were so loud, I had to take sleeping pills to get some rest!!" Sonic blushed, "OK, so Sally and I have.......been sexually involved, but only that once! But that's not the point. We have to rescue her, no matter what the rules say. If you guys won't help, I'll go alone!" Miles stood up, "I'll help. Sally means a lot to me too. Rotor nodded, "Count me in too" All eyes turned to Knuckles. He looked back at the three agents, his fellow ISF team, his co-workers, his friends. "OK, I'm in." They all hugged each other. "OK" said Sonic, "This has to be done fast, and smoothly. We have to find a way to get her out, but also keep those codes from those two goons. Any ideas?" Miles piped up, "A counterfeit disk? I have a blank one here." He held it up. Sonic shook his head. They'd try the disk out before they'd release Sally. Somehow we have to create a disk that will work, but can't be used later." Knuckles snapped his fingers, "I've got it. We simply create a new disk, but add a little something to blow it up when we've got Sally." Sonic hmmed, "That would work, but how do we get the access codes?" Knuckles rubbed his gloves together, "We give them Sally's disk, but we sacrifice it for her!" Rotor gasped, "You mean, detonate the only copy of the codes?" Knuckles nodded, "Yes. It'll free Sally, and stop Sleet and Dingo getting them too, but of course it will then mean, the codes will be lost forever." Sonic thought for a second, "OK, we'll do it. How will we rig the disk?" Knuckles took out a small foil packet from his pocket, "This is explosive, but disguised as a stick of gum. As you take the disk from the hiding place, mix the gum together, and stick it on the disk. After a few seconds, Kaboom!!" Sonic shook his head, "We need time for Sleet to use the disk before we detonate it, it could take several minutes for him to access the codes on the disk." Miles spoke up, "If we can't detonate the disk, why don't we detonate the computer? We wait for Sleet to run the disk, once he gives us Sally, we stick the gum on the mainframe and blow it sky high!" Rotor shook his head, "And blow ourselves up in the process. Bad move!" Sonic stamped his foot, "Oh come on, we have to find some way to do this! It's either blow the disk, or blow the computer, which one will it be?" Knuckles sighed, "It'll have to be the computer, but how will we get out in time?" Sonic's eyes widened, and he wagged his finger, "Wait a second, wait a second. In order to shut down the computer, we can just blow the power supply. The cable must be pretty long to reach that far underground. We just stick the gum on the cable. One of us will remain in the corridor, then after a signal given by one of us, that person slams the gum on the cable, and we run like hell. The computer dies, Sleet and Dingo are left with no codes, and we get Sally back!!" All the rest of the agents agreed to the plan, and Rotor called Sleet. "Sleet? We've decided to hand you the disk for Sally." Sleet's voice came over the radio, "Excellent, and you nearly ran out of time. You like living on the edge don't you? Meet us in the mainframe room in ten minutes. Be there, or someone gets a taste of a Magnum Bullet!" The radio rang off. Sonic spoke, "OK. Who's gonna be the gum man?" Miles stepped forward, "I'll do it, I'm usually the driver, so they won't notice I'm not there." Sonic was about to approve Miles' offer, when a paw was place on his shoulder. "Oh no you won't Miles, I'll do it." Sonic turned around, "Ash! You made it back!!" Sonic hugged his fellow hedgehog tightly, and Ash returned the hug. Sonic introduced Ash to the rest of the ISF team. "Guys, this is Ash, a friend I made some years ago. He's helped me in many missions before, but he's always stayed out of sight of the rest of the team." Ash shook hands with the other agents, "Nice to meet you guys. I don't want to seem rude, but shouldn't we be somewhere?" Sonic gasped, "My God! OK, let's go. Wait, where's the mainframe room?" The others looked at each other in desperation. Ash grabbed Sonic's arm, "I know the way, come on, we haven't much time!" The all ran through the Hotel, and Ash led the way through the door and down the corridor. Ash stopped them halfway through, "OK" he whispered, "Give me the gum, you four go rescue Sally. When I hear Sonic say, "merchandise delivered", I'll stick the gum on, now go!" The four agents ran towards the room at the end of the corridor, to find Sleet, Dingo and Sally waiting. Sleet looked at his watch, Nine minutes and thirty second. You do like to live dangerously, don't you, Sonic?" Sonic walked up to Sleet, "Enough talk, Creep! This is a trade, and I want Sally released." Sleet put up his hand, "Of course, of course, but we need the disk first." Sonic looked at Sally, "Sally, give him the disk." Sally nodded, "It's hidden behind the grating in the far wall, the one with the brown outline." Sleet walked to the grating and opened it. He removed the disk and walked back to the terminal. "You don't mind if I inspect this do you?" he said with a sneer. Sonic shook his head, "Please do." Sleet inserted the disk, and accessed it. He grinned and untied the ropes holding Sally. "Very good, I see you have sense after all." Sonic turned to him, "May we be excused?" Sleet continued to focus on the codes, "Yes, Yes, of course." Sonic turned to his force, "Well, merchandise delivered, let's go!" He led the team back down the corridor. Sleet turned to Dingo, "Looks like we managed to beat the ISF. That will please "R" very much!" Dingo pointed at the screen, "Why did you turn it off?" Sleet whacked him on the head, "I haven't turned it off. Look, the codes are....." he gasped as he looked to see the terminal blank. He pressed the power buttons, but nothing happened. "Quick, get the disk out!" he cried. Dingo tugged at it, "It won't move, the system has to be on to get it out." He tugged on the disk harder, and he fell back on the floor. He looked at his hand, to see half the disk cracked and twisted in it. "Whoops", he said. Sleet screamed, "You idiot!! You have just destroyed the codes to the gold reserves! What do we do now? If "R" doesn't get those codes, we are dead!!" He screamed again, his anger echoing throughout the corridor.
Back at the ISF headquarters, the team were sat down, enjoying a light lunch. Sonic raised his glass, "To the ISF force, and everyone on it!" The other members raised their glasses and cheered. Sonic took a bite from his Chilli Dog, and sipped his glass of wine. He looked at his watch. "Ooops" he said, "My flight leaves in an hour. I hate to eat and run, but I have to go." The other agents stood up and hugged him tightly. Sally kissed him on the cheek, "I'll miss you, Sonic. You're a great leader. I hope we work together in the future." Sonic kissed her back, "We will, Sally. We will." Sonic turned to Ash, who had joined them for lunch. He shook hands with him, then the two hugged deeply. Sonic gave Ash a small box. "This is your complimentary medal of honor from the ISF. Without your help, we might not have succeeded in stopping "R" from obtaining that gold. Are you sure you won't join us?" Ash smiled and shook his head, "Sorry, Sonic, but my work is freelance. Feel free to call on me again. I'll always be there if you need my help." Sonic patted Ash on the back, and he said his last goodbye before leaving for the airport.
Sonic was awakened by the Stewardess on the plane. "Mr. Hedgehog, would you like a movie?" Sonic smiled, "Why not. Something romantic this time." The stewardess gave him a tape and left. Sonic put on his headphones and flipped the screen towards him. He pressed play. His face became one of shock when a familiar logo appeared on screen!
The End