So this is a very important chapter. Kind of explains HYENA's background and some of lead up the airport massacre from the prologue. I don't think anyone really liked last chapter (There were no reviews to it) so I made this one a little more eventful. Don't forget to review at the end

Cheers: JJZ-109

CHAPTER 3. STEALING WEAPONS

Shenzi, Banzai and Ed crept through an underground sewer, slowly and carefully stepping through the puddles of water. They had been following the tunnel for hours, and were finally about to reach their destination. Shenzi led the group, holding a Heckler and Koch USP pistol with a tactical light attached underneath the barrel, lighting their way through the darkness. Banzai followed close behind, with a radiation sensor. It started to beep frantically and Banzai held up his hand, signaling for them to stop.

It had been a rough but important week for them. For years they yearned for a return to the Pridelands, not for a good life, but to steal back the respect they deserved. Years earlier, their leader 'Scar' had promised them so much, and delivered them so little. He asked for their undivided respect and they gave it him, but got none of it back, even though they were quite high up in his chain of command. He had promised to clean up their hometown of East Side, but instead he just dragged the whole country down so that East Side would just look normal in it. This insulted all most each and every member of the country, including the three of them. Shenzi would never forget the day Scar had betrayed them, and when she found they were all just little pawns in his lust for control. He had used them good.

At first, Shenzi felt pleased that Simba had rid of him, but that feeling was soon washed away. Simba had no hesitation in throwing each and every one of them into maximum-security prison, for war crimes (that they were forced to do) for attempted murder of the prince and for alcohol/drug trafficking. This hurt them even more, as Shenzi had personally called off Scar's army once they were betrayed and got them to surrender before NATO and the PRF overran them. She had saved so many lives with this decision, and how did Simba thank her? By convicting them.

During their time in prison, Shenzi had met a man that changed her forever. He was wise, smart and just as angered about Scar and Simba as she was. He had given the three of them a decent education, and turned them from common street mobsters into a smart, deadly and cunning trio. He had also helped them with their escape, which no one ever found out.

Now was their personal payback. They were going to bring the Prideland government and royalty slowly to their knees, and destroy morale. They would rise out the shadow of Simba and finally regain the respect they deserved, respect that had been denied by the country and its citizens for so long. They were like hyenas, deadly, ferocious predators that lived in the shadow of lions and got continuously screwed over by them. Simba had taken their respect and he got credited as a hero, like how lions takes hyena's kills yet they are credited only as scavengers and lions were always depicted in media as the majestic hunters. This was why Shenzi thought she had done well in selecting the silhouette of a hyena as her logo, and naming their organization HYENA (Hitting your exalted naive ass). They had all waited so long for the hyena to rise from the lion's (Royalty and government) shadow and now it was happening. Shenzi's mentor had educated her well, and she had planned her whole operation well. It would take time, and blood would be shed but it would all come through in the end.

"OK, it looks like we're here." Banzai said, studying a map and sewer blue prints.

"Amen." Shenzi exhaled in relief and tapped the metal ceiling with their knuckles.

"Ed, you know what to do." Shenzi said and Ed nodded before pulling out a drill.

Ed slowly but surely unscrewed the metal floorboard and they pulled themselves out of the sewer. They were in the right place all right, a huge concrete wall with barbed wire at the top was behind them, along with tall security towers with searchlights and armed guards in them. They were inside the Prideland Royal Armory.

"Let's move." Shenzi whispered and they slowly crept out of the open and towards the main building.

Searchlights started to sweep in their direction and Shenzi nodded at Banzai. He understood what she meant and opened his laptop. He quickly typed and clicked, when suddenly, all of the Armory lights went out. Shenzi heard the alarmed cries of the guards and staff and slapped Banzai a high five. Banzai had hacked into the Armory and shut off all of its power. The distraction wouldn't last long though, as they would eventually find their way to the fuse box and switch on all the circuit breakers one by one. Shenzi flicked her head in the direction of door and they got to work.

They crept through the armory, making next to no noise and staying clear of guards and soldiers. This was not the time to reveal themselves, but to get the materials required for their grand reveal, which was less than three weeks away now. This had to go smoothly and quietly. After a while of sneaking about the dark corridors, they eventually came to their marked room. The label on the door read: SMALL ARMS CONTAINMENT: AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY. Shenzi smiled and motioned for Banzai to get to work. He plugged his laptop into the blast proof door's security system and started typing frantically again.

Eventually the blast proof door slid open and so did the second door on the other side. Damn feds have really gone all out on security. Shenzi thought and examined the several layers of metal doors. They slowly walked into the armory and looked around in amazement. There were countless types of weapons mounted on shelves; assault rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles, shotguns, pistols and grenade launchers were all there. Banzai looked around in amazement and whistled.

"Impressive...C'mon lets get us some firepower." Shenzi said enthusiastically and opened three large duffel bags.

They scanned through the arsenal until they finally came across the weapons they needed for their future operation: M240s with the new electric firing pin upgrade and ergonomics. Shenzi had previously selected the weapons before they embarked. They were perfect because the new EFP (Electric firing pin) technology was state of the art and was symbolic of Simba's military might, not to mention it was so much more efficient and better for them to use. Once the public saw that the technology wasn't just possessed by the Prideland military, they would start to lose faith in Simba.

"Well, well, well Banzai what have we here?" Shenzi asked and picked up the immense weapon, examining it with a smile.

"I don't know Shenzi...Looks like the new model M240EFP with the new electric system, fires nine hundred RPM (rounds per minute), light and can reduce clouds of people to a pile of mangled flesh in seconds." Banzai responded, partially playing dumb.

"Exactly what I was thinking. Badass of a weapon. Let's load 'em up." Shenzi said and tossed two M240s with around two thousand rounds of 7.62-millimeter bullets into the duffel bags. She then started selecting other small arms that she would consider suitable for their airport task.

Eventually they finished their small arms theft and started back towards the door...But they weren't done yet. Nobody said a word as they rushed towards their next objective: The warhead storage. This room was much more protected. A man with an assault rifle stood out the front of it, on edge due to the darkness the trio had caused. Great. Shenzi thought and dropped her duffel bags. She then walked around the corner casually and approached the man. The man raised his rifle and growled at her.

"What do you think you're doing? This is restricted area, I'll have you on report for..." The man started but Shenzi silenced him, by hitting him over the head with her pistol; knocking him out.

Idiot. She thought and pulled him up by his hair, she then pulled open his eyelid and held his face in front of the eye recognition security system. The security box beeped and green lights flashed on it, before the huge metal doors slid open for them.

"Ladies and gentlemen...We're in." Shenzi announced and they walked into the huge chamber.

The walls were lined with warheads and missiles, all weapons that would more than likely never get used. Nobody even bothered looking at them, as they walked straight for what they had came for. Shenzi, Banzai and Ed walked straight past the endless rows of explosives until they finally saw what they needed.

Small tubes were lined up inside a huge case, made from bulletproof glass inches thick. The security system was also working for the case as it ran on a back-up generator. But this was no problem for Banzai, who plugged his laptop in and got to work. Soon, the security lasers sweeping the general area of the case flickered off and Banzai smiled. All too easy. He had really become good at this hacking stuff. Shenzi smiled at him.

"You're just too good babe." She complimented him.

"Damn right I am." Banzai said back and gave her a light kiss on the cheek.

Banzai then got back to his computer, as the security system wasn't completely down yet. He still needed to open the glass case.

"If I can just bypass the lock..." He started but Shenzi cut him off; with a gunshot. She blasted the thumb recognition with her pistol and smiled at Banzai.

"Or you could do that." Banzai mumbled sheepishly and the hissing sound came from the glass case.

Air whooshed out from the airtight container and the front hatch to the glass case slowly slid open, revealing a large yellow and black nuclear symbol at the back of the case. Shenzi stuck her hand in and grabbed one of the plutonium tubes, ignoring all the warning labels on the case.

She carefully placed the weapon in a brief case with foam filling and tossed it into a duffel bag. She sighed in relief and flicked her head in the direction of the door. They had everything they needed now and had to get the hell out of the armory before the Pridelanders figured out what was happening and fixed the power. They closed everything they had opened and rushed back towards the sewer hatch that they had come in from. That went well. Shenzi thought as they escaped.

Several hours later

Lieutenant Conner 'Kopa' Palladino and his new partner Harry 'Haradion' Dion walked onto the scene, through the crowds of forensic police officers examining the classified warhead containment room. Someone had broken into the armory, and shut off the power. He was the PI1 (Prideland Intelligence One) assigned to the incident and was determined to find the culprits. He approached the police sergeant and looked at him solemnly.

"Any leads?" He asked.

"Not as yet." The sergeant admitted and sighed.

"Fuck. Well did they take anything?" He asked in an angry tone.

"Yes. There were a few missing M240s and there was something else..." The officer said.

"And what was that?"

"Well sir...I think it's just best if I show you." The officer said and Kopa followed him over to the nuclear storage.

"Jesus Christ..." He muttered as he saw the terrifying sight in front of him: one of the plutonium tubes had been stolen. There was now a nuke on the loose.

His eyes opened wide in terror and his heart thumped inside his chest. He took a moment to take it all in before making a decision.

"Dion, notify PI1 about what we got going on here. I want the defense department moved to DEFCON One. Tell them to monitor every god damn phone call in the country, and look for any threats or demands. I'll notify the King myself." Kopa said and turned towards the forensic officer.

"As for you...I want you and your team to double your efforts. If you can tell me so much as their shoe size I want to know about it. Clear?" He said and the officer nodded.

Lt. Kopa and Agent Haradion then stormed out of the building. Damn feds. The officer thought as he watched them go and got to work. Millions of lives were now in his hands.

How was that? Please Review!