Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it!
Thanks to Karama9 for the best beta ever!
GI Joe Echo Team
New Delhi, India
9:20 PM
Duke pressed his back against the wall of the guard shack in front of the capital building, feeling the peeling paint chip and fall beneath the pressure of his body. They had barely managed to get through the city without stopping. It had proved impossible to move as a group, he'd had to direct his team to split up and meet at the guardhouse before entering the building.
"Took you long enough."
Storm Shadow was sitting in the shack, his legs propped up on the table. Whoever had previously occupied the area must have left in a hurry. Paper covered the desk and the floor, and a drink had tipped over and spilled onto the keyboard. The computer was on its side on the floor and had a cracked screen.
"Yeah, how long have you been here?" Duke took the time to check his weapon. He had not yet had to fire, but he knew he had to be ready. The streets were filled with violent gangs, roaming and challenging whomever they saw fit. It hadn't been too hard to avoid them, once his team had split. But he knew they were out there. He could hear the not too distant shouts and cries, the loud waves of explosions.
"Long enough." The ninja lifted his legs off the table and stood, white attire standing out against the bleak background. "Long enough to know that the officials are being held on the third floor and that the front door is wired. As if we'd use that anyways. The front door? How could you be any less creative?"
Duke looked to the left as Covergirl walked up, brushing dirt off the legs of her pants. "I found this," she said, holding out a small hand-held radio. "Well, stole is the more appropriate term. Though the man I took it from won't be missing it."
"Gotten any useful information out of it?" Duke took the radio in his hand, being careful to avoid the talk button, and he maneuvered it into a somewhat safer position.
"Not much, to be honest." Covergirl nodded at Storm Shadow, who lazily saluted back to her. "But that's because they don't know we're here yet. When they know, then they'll be communicating more, and we'll be able to know where they are."
"Good call." Rock N' Roll had come from behind, looking in relatively good spirits. "If the people inside are as unorganized as the people out here, this shouldn't be a problem. Heck, Storm Shadow could probably take them all down himself."
"I'd take that bet." Storm Shadow smiled; white teeth lining a placid smile. Duke had always viewed the ninja as smooth. Everything about him seemed smooth, but sharp, like the edge of a blade. "Ace isn't here yet," Storm Shadow continued. "Pity."
"We wait for them," Duke reminded everyone. "There haven't been any calls over the unit, so I assume everyone is just taking their sweet time getting here. Other than Ace, who will be waiting for our cue."
"I had to take a round about route," Rock N' Roll agreed, pointing down the main road. "There were too many people down there, and here even the rooftops have gang members having a smoke on them."
"Well, that is because America is perhaps the only country that doesn't properly utilize the concept of a roof," Storm Shadow remarked, pointing to the rows of buildings, all with flat roofs. "Makes for great views and more space. And, in my particular business, great vantage points."
"Be that as it may, right now they aren't the best way to travel." Covergirl looked towards the capital building from the guard shack. "It looks so peaceful. It hardly seems like anything is even wrong in there. The only thing that seems to need help is the center city."
"This is the first step," Duke said, swiping his hand across the papers that littered the desk, hoping to find something useful but coming up empty handed. "If we can save the officials, the government will have a chance to get back on its feet. Then we start clearing the rebels out."
Out of the dark, unlit alleyway, the rest of his team slowly approached. Dusty was the last to arrive, telling of a particularly restless group of citizens heading this way.
"We need to get moving quickly," Dusty pressed, motioning to the building. "I don't want to run into them on the way back."
"With any luck at all, we won't be walking back." Duke motioned to the wide field to the side of the building; empty space provided just for helicopters and planes. "If we can secure the building, we'll call Ace and he'll fly us out of here."
"Up there." Rock N' Roll pointed to the capital roof top as too men walked lazily back and forth, guns slung over their shoulders as if they were little children playing a fun game. "Not snipers, but guns nonetheless. Best we try our way through the back…what?"
"Were you even considering going through the front?" Storm Shadow asked, finally removing his intensely disappointed glare from Rock N' Roll. "Honestly. You lack a sense of adventure. Let's try something fun like a window on the second floor."
"How about we go in a way that is easy and safe?" Duke suggested, nodding towards the wall of the shack, where a map was conveniently placed. "Looks like they've got an entrance in the back for the kitchen staff. That looks like our best bet right now."
"Do we know where the hostages are?" Doc asked, unpinning the map from the wall and rolling it up in his hands for future reference. Duke motioned to the ninja.
"I overheard a conversation a little before getting here. A man said they were on the third floor in the South East room, and that the front door was wired." Storm Shadow gave a very significant look to Rock N' Roll. "Which is why we don't use the front door."
"Wired huh?" Tripwire spoke up for the first time, squinting to get a better view of the door. "Oh...wait. Yes I see it. Standard." He turned back to Duke. "If you need it done, I can have that out for the count in a second."
"We may need you if they have the other side wired too, which is a possibility." Duke motioned for Doc to take out the map again as he briefly looked over it. "It's a possibility. I don't see any other ground level entry point."
"It seems like they're opting for bombs instead of eyes. I guess they figure that if the bomb goes off, someone tried to get in. Maybe they're short on men?" Covergirl looked around to the other side of the building. "It's dark, I can't see anything. But we can use that to our advantage. Hopefully the electricity stays out."
"It most likely will," Dusty nodded. "They have power outages all the time here, but this doesn't look like a power outage, it looks like the power has been deliberately shut off. Probably in some sort of effort to stop communication."
"We'll go in through the back then," Duke said, after looking at the map with Doc for a moment. "Tripwire, stay on guard. Seems like their main defense is the bombs. Let's go. Ace, stand by."
"Rodger." Ace's voice came out of the small radio before Duke silenced it and waved his arm to the side. His team moved, slipping back into the darkness like awaiting shadows.
He crept into the dark, lifting his scope to check out the guards at the top of the building. They could easily sneak around them, and Duke wouldn't be the one to break cover by firing off a shot. Luckily, his team was likeminded. Even Storm Shadow didn't appear to have a burning desire to dispose of the ineffective men.
"Wired," Tripwire said when he reached the back door, shining a small flashlight onto the site of the bomb. "This should only take a minute. It's terribly thought out."
While Duke waited for Tripwire to defuse the bomb, he motioned for his team to split and go around the sides for a scope out. He turned his radio back on.
"Looks like the lower floors are pretty much empty, Top," Rock N' Roll's voice buzzed through the radio. "Oh wait… no, we've got a few people. Looks like three, they're just sitting and drinking though…are you sure we're in the right place? I mean, the mango stand down the street had better security."
"We're in the right place," Covergirl answered. "There isn't anyone on the west side. But it doesn't matter, the stairs are on the east. We'll have to go through those guards anyway."
Duke's team came back around, and Dusty motioned to the streets, were the noises of rebellion were growing louder. "They're getting closer."
"Got it!" Tripwire pulled the safely defused bomb away from the door. "This thing looks like it's been put together with silly putty."
Duke looked around, doing a quick count of heads, finding he was one short. Storm Shadow was nowhere to be seen, but Duke wasn't about to worry about him. The ninja would catch up when he was ready, and most likely had found some equally important business to attend to, as he usually did.
"Move in, flank positions." Duke edged the door open with his gun, wincing as it creaked loudly. There was little way to avoid a creaky door, but hopefully it would go unnoticed.
They had entered inside the kitchen; the smell of spices was so strong that Duke's eyes began to water. It was obvious that it had been raided, however. Bowls and plates had been tossed on the floor and baskets of fruits had tumbled over onto counters. Duke walked slowly, careful to avoid the crunch of ceramic pieces under his boots. On the other side of the kitchen, he saw Covergirl and Doc pressed against the cabinets. Doc peered around the corner at the other side before holding up his hands to signal that the room was clear. Duke looked to his left and saw Dusty making the same sign.
Able to move forward, he entered the hallway. It was dark and grainy, with dust that had long since remained dormant tossed into the air with a recent struggle. Rock N' Roll gave the motion to make a left, and Duke turned.
On the ground were three guards, all knocked unconscious. A little further there was a table, with scattered playing cards and a bottle of open whisky, and Storm Shadow. Duke narrowed his eyes.
"How did you get in?" he whispered harshly. "I told you to wait!"
"I saw an opportunity to assist you all in getting into the building without having to fire shots and alert the entire block," Storm Shadow said calmly as he moved behind Duke, taking a place at the rear. "Besides, an open window is a much more exciting entrance, especially when you get to land on three particularly dimwitted poker players."
Duke begrudgingly nodded, waving off the ninja's explanation. Though Storm Shadow may have a different way of getting the job done, he always managed.
"Up the stairs. Third floor. Covergirl, Rock N' Roll and Storm Shadow, take the right. Doc, Trip Wire and Dusty, you'll come with me to get the officials out." Duke started up the pitch black stair case, steadying himself with a hand against the wall. He passed one opening, which he assumed to be the second floor, and then arrived at what he assumed to be the third.
Voices could be heard outside the door. Deep, relaxed voices with the nuances of Hindi. Duke motioned Dusty forward, who had studied the language.
"I think they're talking about a game of Cricket. I can't really understand…" Dusty looked back at Storm Shadow. "You getting anything?"
"I'm getting cricket, and cricket, and women, and drinking, and cricket." Storm Shadow snorted disapprovingly. "They're woefully unprepared. This is hardly appropriate conversation for guards on duty."
Duke motioned Doc and Tripwire to get to the other side of the inspected the door for a moment before clearing it, indicating that it was not wired and was therefore safe to open. Duke curled his hand around the knob and waited a split second before bursting it open.
The guards, sitting at a table much like the ones downstairs, startled and jumped up, fumbling for their weapons and realizing that they were not within reach. Covergirl and Dusty moved forward quickly, retrieving the firearms before anyone had a chance to make a dash for them. The men slowly lifted their hands, frozen in their places with wide eyes like trapped rabbits.
"Don't move. Where are the-"
Duke didn't have time to finish his sentence before the blast went off. It felt as if a volcano had erupted underneath him, sending himself and pieces of the building flying in the air. He landed, hard, on top of a table, catching his rib on the edge of a chair and his head on a large antique vase. He lifted a hand to his head, feeling the warm blood from his temple trickle between his fingers and down the side of his face.
"You alright?" Dusty was behind him, reaching a hand forward to help him up. The desert trooper had a cut on his arm, the blood dripping down his hand and onto Duke's as he pulled him up. "It was the bomb on the front door, I think. The gang must have gotten here. Someone tried to walk inside…took out the entire front half of the building."
"Is everyone okay?" Duke asked, wincing as he stood. The floor was now covered in the chunks of cement from the building. Doc was checking on Rock N' Roll, who was lying on the ground after apparently being knocked out. Everyone else was standing, looking relatively okay despite a few cuts and bruises.
"He'll be alright, he was just knocked out. He'll have a concussion, but he'll make it through." Doc stood, motioning for Duke. "I'd have someone radio Ace in. Let me see your head…looks like you've cracked your skull.
"Looks like they're moving in." Tripwire came into the main hallway from another room, where he had been looking towards to the main street. "Radio Ace, we've got to go."
"Ace, come in." Dusty pressed the button on his radio and released, hearing only static. "Do you read? We need the plane landing now." More static. Duke cursed, hearing the all too close shouts of angered civilians below.
"Find the officials. Get them out of here." Duke tried to stand, but Doc's hand pushed him back down.
"This way!" Covergirl motioned them down the eastern hallway, away from the rubble of the explosion. "The officials should be down here. If we hurry, we can still get out the back before the rebels get up here."
Storm Shadow had begun methodically busting open doors, looking for the officials but having little luck. "I don't hear anyone." He tilted his head for a moment. "We are the only ones here."
"We can't be the only ones here. If we're in the right place, and we received correct information, then the officials are here!" Covergirl kicked open a locked door and hissed in frustration at the empty room.
"Keep looking. We're in the right place." Duke gritted his teeth, radioing for Ace while Doc finished bandaging his head. Duke could smell the peculiar scent of burning human flesh from downstairs, most likely the guards that Storm Shadow had knocked unconscious. The mob was moving closer; he could hear them now, words becoming distinguishable in the thick of the noise.
"I've found them," Dusty said morosely, standing in front of the hallway. Duke nodded and shrugged Doc off, heading to the room while Storm Shadow and Covergirl moved inside.
"Doc, come here they may need-"
"Don't bother calling him in, Duke." Dusty said, as Storm Shadow slowly entered the room. Covergirl backed out to cover her mouth, buckling over as if a disease had taken hold of her. "They're dead. They're all dead."
Inside the room, it was a slaughter. Duke could not make out a full body, but rather pieces of them. An arm, a leg. A gruesome head on a curved cane. Blood soaked the intricate Indian carpets, and the walls were splattered with so much of it, that the reddish brown could have been their natural color. On the wide paned window, curtains whipped around with the flutter of a breeze, dancing out of the way to reveal the words stained in streaked blood.
Corruption.
"These bodies have been dead for days," Storm Shadow said, looking back at Duke as he backed out of the room. "I knew this wasn't right. It doesn't make sense. They told us that the officials were still alive. Why would they send us to rescue those already dead?"
"Who sent us?" Tripwire questioned, eyes widening as he looked into the room and paled. "Where did the information come from?"
"A man," Duke said, clenching his fists in frustration. "There was a representative at the UN conference. A stand in because the official representative was supposedly captured…"
"Duke?" Doc came around the corner, hand closed around the small radio. "You may want to-" he paused when he saw the room and briefly closed his eyes, turning his back before handing the radio. "You may want to listen to this."
On the radio, a feverish voice whispered, fast and light.
"Hail Cobra. Hail Cobra. Hail Cobra."
Thank you! Hope you liked it!
Sorry for the cliff :3