An: Not much to say again. I tried to get more lion in, and less human. In fact, I found it more interesting to write from Mufasa's perspective than the humans, so you will see more lion in later chapters. Stalled in writing after I went on vacation and didn't write for a month, so it was slow coming back. But this chapters' done, and I did it in less than a year. :)
Thank you all for your reviews! I greatly appreciate them! Good or bad!
Chapter 7: Leave Us Alone
"So it is true. There is an infiltrator with us. It's the only explanation I can come up with. How else would they have discovered our site? It was perfectly hidden. No surveillance could have gotten it. Not by air, and definitely not by the ground. There's a reason why we used sensors there."
"It could have been just coincidence."
"Not after this much time. How long ago did he say they were there? About a month now? Two? And suddenly, out of nowhere, an entire stock is gone! An entire investment!"
"He didn't know about it himself. We made sure of that. There were no leaks of any kind spotted. Our systems are secure."
"Then how did they find it? Do you know how much this sets us back? Easily several years! There was enough power in there to topple several small countries! Just arm the right people, and they do the work for you. Now we can't! This... this is an outrage. My vision depends on it working out like clockwork."
"So what do you say we do? We can't just, ignore them anymore. They know too much. But if they disappear, more Americans will come. We will need to do something covert. A lot like them, actually. We can't go public because they will deny it, but we too can trick them into leaving."
"You don't worry about that. I have the perfect plan. Capture one of them, and get them to sign a confession. It will create a scandal that they won't be able to ignore!"
"And how you propose stopping them from sending in a counter attack? We can't defend against a strong push. The more men we will keep to defend ourselves, the more likely we will be spotted anyways."
"I have figured that out as well. Capture one, and grab another. The target two type."
"Are you sure it will work?"
"They won't dare to do anything if we do. And once it's over, we can continue on planning our reformation. Find out exactly where they are, plan out a snatch mission, and contact me when you are ready."
"Yes sir."
A loud noise woke Mufasa up. He opened his eyes and looked outside the den. It was still nighttime. The rest of the pride was still asleep, all the lions were in their normal spots. Mufasa smiled when he noticed Simba peacefully sleeping between him and Sarabi. The cub lay there, breathing slowly and regularly, unaware of the low, droning noise that made it's way into the den.
Mufasa sighed and slowly got up. He was about to leave the den when he felt a paw stopping him. It was Sarabi, who also woke up.
Sarabi looked up at Mufasa. "Where are you going?" she asked softly. "Go back to sleep."
Mufasa bent down so that he could whisper to her. "I'm going outside. Some noises brought me up, so I might as well go and investigate. I'm just going to check outside." he told her, and left the den into the cold night air.
He walked up to the tip of Priderock and looked around, but didn't see anything wrong. He was about to go back inside when he heard a short, barely audible, but sharp noise. It must have originated from a far distance. Mufasa frowned. Looks like he would have to pay the humans a visit. The night they arrived was similarly noisy. It had to be them.
Mufasa quickly returned to the den and checked on Sarabi. She was still awake, so he told her that he would be gone for a while. "Don't worry," he told her to stop her from protesting. "I'll be back soon." He left her before she could try and change his mind. He had to find out why the humans were making all that noise...
He cautiously approached the humans, ready for anything. He saw them talking together, and figured that it wasn't important enough to bother with, but he saw their stern expressions, and knew that something serious was going on. He crouched down, trying to get close without getting spotted. This was something that he didn't want them to hide the truth about... something they always did whenever he tried to pry information out of them. He couldn't hear what they were saying, so he edged closer until he could make out their words. It was Banks, talking to the others.
"...So he ordered us to stay put in the meantime, and be on extra careful guard. We still don't know where our target is, and it might come to us instead. Also- Hey Mufasa! Just the one we needed to see!" Mufasa instinctively crouched down, but he was already spotted by them. He let out a sigh and walked over to them.
"I've heard some loud noises and came to investigate." Mufasa said. "They came from your direction. Is there anything I should be aware of?" He asked. "And I want everything." Mufasa added, lowering his tone to show that he wasn't playing around. He was concerned for the safety of the Pridelands, and from what he heard already, that might be at stake now. He decided to say it. "Who's your 'target'? And what do you mean that it might come here? I have these lands to protect, you know!" He saw that his outburst agitated the humans. Good. That might bring some answers out of them. Mufasa waited for one of them to start talking.
Banks decided to speak first. "Look, the worst part is that we don't know yet who we're dealing with. Our entire mission is to find that out." Banks sighed, getting to the main point. "Yes, what you heard was us. I won't tell you exactly what we did, but I will tell you what will happen next." He took a breath before talking again. "We just contacted our superior. He believes that things can get very bad. So I will advice you to start avoiding us if you can. Every one of you. Not even Zazu." Banks said. "Also, our superior is coming here in a few days. To help out with our mission. For now, we are ordered to remain here."
Mufasa didn't like it. "It's about what you found in the day, isn't it?" He asked. Banks nodded slowly. "Where is it now, anyways? Still where you found it, then why are you here now?"
"Because it isn't there anymore." Banks replied. "We removed it. That's the noise you heard."
Mufasa didn't know what to do. He didn't even know how much he believed the humans. "So your telling me that my kingdom is in grave danger because of you?" Another nod. "And you must remain in the Priedlands?" Again, yes. "And if I will try to force you out? What if I send a hunting party to force you away? What will-"
"-You'll lose." This time, it wasn't Banks who spoke up, but Seaver. And what made Mufasa believe it was not who said it, but how. Seaver's cold, dark tone made it clear using force will not end well.
Mardindale spoke up, but quietly. "Do as Banks just told you to. Have you and your pride avoid us. Pretend we don't exist. We don't want you to get involved. It's the best for you."
Mufasa gave off a low growl. "What about you? You befriended Simba! And now he... he trusts you! And now you're telling me that his life could be in danger because of that? Maybe you should have thought of that as well before coming here!"
"That wouldn't have worked!" Banks angrily replied. "If you haven't noticed, something's going on here, and you don't know about it. It's our job to find out what's happening. So whether you like It or not, we're staying," He finished. "Make what you want of this, but remember that we're staying." He didn't want to end the conversation with so much hostility, so he added "Just leave us alone. It's for the best."
Mufasa nodded after a while. "So it comes to this, doesn't it?" He asked. The humans also nodded. Sighing, Mufasa finally said quietly, "Do what you want. Get your mission done and get out of here. Just keep my family out of this." He turned and left, wearily making his way back to the den. When he got inside, he saw that Sarabi was still awake, waiting for him.
"Did you find out what you wanted?" She asked him as soon as he lay down next to her. Mufasa nodded his head a little. "Mind telling me what you found out?"
Mufasa shook his head. "No. I'll have to explain it to the pride in the morning." He told her. He lay his head down and closed his eyes. Sarabi went to fetch Simba and came back shortly after, lying down next to him for the night.
The next morning, Mufasa found himself addressing his pride wearily. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Last night, I talked with the humans, and to my regret, things did not go well." He sighed. "They asked me to forbid you from interacting with them in any form. As usual, they didn't explain why. Just that it's safer for us if we didn't talk to them anymore." He said.
Simba looked up at him, confused. "But they are nice, dad! What make them so dangerous? I mean... I know that they can get somewhat weird, but even Nala and I can outrun them already. We even pinned Seaver once!" Next to him, Nala chuckled at the memory, and Simba also smiled.
Mufasa sighed sadly. "They may be slow, but they are still very dangerous, son." He said. "They specifically asked me to avoid any more contact with them." He looked at the rest of the pride. "The same goes for all of you. Don't bother them, and they won't bother us. They told me that it's for the best."
Simba and Nala didn't like the outcome. Those humans always had wonderful storied and their things they always carried around never ceased to amaze them. The two cubs did not want to simply stop. "But dad," Simba complained, "I trust them! They wouldn't harm us!"
Mufasa shook his head. "It's not that simple son. While I don't fully trust them, I don't think they will hurt us, but it's for another reason." He looked up again. "I hoped to tell you this at a more appropriate time when the cubs are away, but it looks like I don't have a choice." Mufasa said. "I overheard the humans talking. They said that soon, more humans might arrive, and will attack them. This is why they don't want us to interact with them. So that we wouldn't get caught in the middle of a human war." He looked down at Simba again. "I'm sorry that it comes down to this, son. I didn't want you to know, but I hope that it will convince you to let them be."
Simba looked down at the ground. "Alright dad. I won't go to them anymore." He said.
Mufasa nodded. "I know it's sudden. But I don't want you getting hurt." He said. "Also, I would like you to be with me, at least for a few days."
Simba looked up suddenly. "And watch you be king?" He asked excitedly. "Thanks dad!"
Mufasa smiled. "You're welcome, Simba."
Several days later, MacBain contacted the humans, saying that he would arrive in a few days. When that day arrived, the humans waited for him while still looking out for any trouble. The general came in driving a standard military truck. This one wasn't painted over, and remained the usual khaki drab of desert vehicles.
When he got out, the humans immediately saluted him, bit he waved them off. "Good day, gentlemen," he greeted, "But no salutes or sirs when I'm around. Understood?"
The others nodded. "Yes si- yes." They answered, stumbling on what they technically always said to a superior officer.
MacBain looked around. "I see that nothing has happened yet. That's both good and bad..." He analyzed. As he looked around, he explained some more things as the others stood by idly. "You know, I've been here on an assignment many years ago, which is why I asked you to come here in the first place, and then requested you stay here... The important thing is that I am here. The reason why I came down here is to be able to command you more efficiently. No time-zones to worry about." He motioned at the truck he came in. "Which is why I brought that." He reached into a pocked and pulled out a piece of paper. "This here explains how I want the stuff assembled. Find someplace where it's dark all the time and assemble all the equipment. I will in the meantime do something else." He gave the paper to Banks and turned, walking off into the savanna.
The others watched him go rather dumbstruck. "Wow," Evans commented, "That was..."
"Weird?" Mardindale suggested. The others laughed.
"Right, let's get this thing done." Banks said looking at the paper. "Looks like he wants us to set up some kind of command-control setup with a computer and projector. That explains the necessity for darkness. But where to find it? If we use the truck..."
Russell nodded. "The truck will work. And it can move if we need it to. But why is the general trusting us to set it up. How many regulations are we braking?"
Banks put the paper in his pocket and walked over to the truck before starting to remove the few boxes in the back. "Considering the first order we have tells us we don't exist, I don't think that we need to worry about a few regulations." He said. "Now help out, will you?" The others came in and they started to unpack the boxes as Banks told them which box held what part of the equipment. "Besides," he continued explaining, "We are following hi orders, so if you are concerned about losing your job,you won't. No one ever got court martialed for following orders."
With his explanation done, they assembled the equipment in the back of the truck, only talking when discussing how to assemble the construction properly.
After a long time, they finally finished. And just in time, as MacBain radioed that he was coming back. Banks looked around the back of the truck to get a better view. "Well what do you know? General's coming," he said nonchalantly. He then saw something else, and squinted to get a better picture. His coolness dropped immediately. "Oh no," he whispered, "That's... how does he know?" The others also peaked around and saw what got Banks was so worried about.
MacBain was coming back. And Mufasa was next to him.
"I've told you I was here before." MacBain said. It was nighttime, and the humans were catching up on what they missed. Apparently MacBain was at the Pridelands before on his own mission back in his ground-pounding days, which was why he wasn't shocked at seeing Mufasa. He then brought the king back to figure out a plan on how to get along without interfering with each other. When they finished that, Mufasa was sent back on his way. Now, MacBain was telling them about his previous mission in the Pridelands. "Uncle Sam wanted some baddies hushed, and so my team was sent in much like yours. Although our mission ended up going simpler, it didn't prevent us from meeting up with the pride."
"Was quite a shock, wasn't it?" Banks asked, remembering how they reacted upon seeing the talking lions.
MacBain nodded. "Yes. That was quite crazy, I'll admit. Which is one of the reasons why I asked for you on this mission," he said, "I went over your complete profiles. I can trust you not to tell about this back home. Why do you think I didn't tell you when you set off about the pride?"
Mardindale smiled. "Because we wouldn't believe you." He concluded.
MacBain nodded in agreement. "That's the most common reaction. But what if the wrong person actually believes you for some reason? This Pride will be hunted down and killed in the name of science. We can't let that happen. Now another thing is-"
Whatever he wanted to say, they didn't find out, for Russell and Evans, out on patrol, radioed in at that moment. "Spotted movement. Vehicle headlights." They said.
MacBain put the radio away. "Right, men. Let's get moving. Observe for now. Could be dangerous." He warned.
Several minutes later, the other three humans ran over to Russell and Evans and dropped down. "Just observe for now, we'll have another chance to capture one for interrogation later," MacBain said over the radio, back in his command truck.
Banks peered through a pair of night vision binoculars. He saw a pickup driving along the savanna. "Driver's armed." He announced. "So is the passenger. Ha passengers in the back. Also armed. Doesn't look like a nobody. Could be our men." He watched as the truck drove over the savanna slowly. It stopped, and several armed men got out. All were armed. They looked around, searching for something.
MacBain again radioed in. "Can you zoom in on the guy on the left? Grab his face." Banks increased the power on his binoculars and zoomed in one the man's face. "Yes," MacBain said again. "It's our guys. Wait for them to leave and return back to me. We'll need to figure out how to get our hands on a man and figure out where they're at. We can't follow them. Too risky."
The intruders got back in the pickup and it drove off. It was confirmed. The mission will proceed into the next stage.
AN: School will start soon, but I figured out a way for me to write more, so while I will again take ages to update, it won't be several months again. I hope. I know that I am unreliable author, so I simply ask you to please bear with me and review my stories. Thanks again for reading this and reviewing if you did.
