CHAPTER 9:

DELTA RED

A month later…

As bullets whizzed by them, Harry glared towards where his commanding officer was, and said wryly, "Colonel Wolfman, I'm pretty sure babysitting jobs don't involve hails of bullets going everywhere."

"Duly noted, Potter," the muscled leader of Delta Red responded.

"Sir, the Minister is secure, but we can't fall back any further!" Cammy called out. Whoever thought it was a good idea to make Delta Red's standard combat uniform for women a very revealing green leotard was probably some would-be voyeur (Harry, along with the male members, had a pair of combat trousers over their legs), but damn if Cammy and their fellow team-mate Luwanda didn't look hotter than Fiendfyre in them. "We're practically at the engine."

"Right, we're earning our pay tonight, people. Luwanda?"

"I don't have clear shots, sir!" the older blonde woman (though everyone on this squad, barring Harry and the bald giant McCoy, were blonde, leading to some jokes in the squad about how Harry should dye his hair and McCoy wear a wig) snarled. "If it weren't for those civilians, I would have killed those twats by now!"

"Ginzu!" Wolfman called to a pre-pubescent boy with Asiatic features typing on a laptop. "Can you deal with the lights and doors?"

"Not the lights, they're on a different system, but I can hack the doors," the young Singapore-born boy said.

"All right. Cammy, night-vision goggles. You're with me. Ginzu, lock this car down when we're clear. Cammy and I will flank them from outside. I take the left, you the right. Got it?" Cammy nodded. "Luwanda, Harry, take out the lights. McCoy, give them covering fire. Look sharp. I believe Lieutenant McCoy promised all dinner at his flat later, and I don't want any empty seats."

Harry sighed as he got ready. One of his first missions for Delta Red, and it was going to hell. Still, at least they had some warning about it. The rotund man cowering next to them was some hotshot Cabinet minister who had been negotiating some economic deal with Germany, but MI6 had caught wind of a terrorist attack, hence Delta Red being dispatched.

It had been about a month since Japan. Since, with Charlie's letter of recommendation, he and Cammy approached MI6. They had been subjected to a rigorous screening process and debriefing, but they were eventually allowed into Delta Red on a probationary basis, with both of them (especially Cammy) kept under watch. For the past few weeks (and it was still ongoing), Harry had to undergo more physical training than he ever had in his life, beyond either running away from Dudley, or else going on the run from Voldemort. What was more, he was also forced to undergo crash-courses in branches of magic MI6 found useful, especially Legilimency.

Thankfully, the Department of Mysteries, in recognition of Harry's service to them during the war against Voldemort, had agreed to give Harry the use of a special chamber, almost never used outside the Unspeakables, for training, effectively causing time dilation. It was there that, under the tutelage of Wolfman, Harry trained and learned in at least a couple of martial arts. However, with his magic and firearms training (the latter of which was relatively easy by comparison to the physical training: once you could hit something well with a wand, you could aim a gun fairly well), he was expected to take more of a supporting role.

Officially, Delta Red was doing their own independent investigation of Shadaloo. Unofficially, Charlie and Guile were liaising with Wolfman's squad, with Cammy's debriefing being used to formulate potential plans to dismantle Shadaloo. Once they figured out where Bison had evacuated the majority of his resources to, then they would make their move. Chun-Li had finished her own sabbatical, and had re-joined Interpol in Hong Kong not long ago. In fact, Harry and Cammy had met her in London while she was on a brief holiday. And the two women, once near-enemies, were now friends.

And Harry and Cammy? A month together had helped bring their relationship up. They were certainly now friends, lovers, and comrades. Love itself was still a way away, but the two were increasingly affectionate towards each other. She smiled more, and so did Harry.

Of course, introducing Cammy to his friends from Hogwarts was interesting, to say the least. Harry had introduced Cammy as a former child soldier he had met in the US. Cammy chose to wear rather formal clothing for that meeting, and that, plus her good manners, endeared her to Molly. Ginny seemed a bit jealous, while Ron was just gawping at Cammy's body. Luna, who was visiting at the time, made some remark about how the Wrackspurts were gone. As it turned out, the dotty blonde had nonetheless perceived something of Cammy's past, something she discussed with them in private.

Hermione heard more of the story, and she knew about Shadaloo. She had managed to get her parents back from Australia, and had managed to reconcile with them by the time Harry made contact with her again. She had told Harry to stay safe, and told Cammy to keep him safe.

Well, he had had to break that promise.

In sync with Lita Luwanda, as the hulking figure of McCoy forced the attackers to duck their heads, Harry fired off spells. He didn't use a wand: he had been encouraged to use wandless magic, so that their cover was that Harry was some kind of esper. Most would sooner believe that than him being a wizard. Luwanda chuckled softly to herself as she got back behind cover with Harry, while McCoy muttered something about them being show-offs.

Soon, Wolfman and Cammy burst in through the windows and knocked the attackers out, with Cammy kicking one through the roof, following him. Over their earpieces, Cammy said, "Score one more for Delta Red." Suddenly, the train shuddered. "…Colonel, the carriages behind us…they've been detached. Ginzo didn't do that, did he?"

"No," Wolfman said.

Having a bad feeling, Harry Apparated onto the roof of the train, nearly getting bowled over by the wind, and staring at the retreating carriages. He and Cammy came to the same conclusion simultaneously. "Shit," Harry said.

"The threat against the Minister was a feint, Colonel!" Cammy yelled. She turned to Harry, who nodded, grabbing a hold of her, and Apparating once more…

…And reappearing in the carriage right in front of a pudgy, older man who was bound and gagged…and a young woman in a blue bodysuit. Apparently Japanese, and wielding a katana. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw Cammy. "You…"

That was all the opening Cammy needed to knock her out. Harry had her tied up, before helping Cammy help out the bound man. "Colonel, sir," Cammy said quietly into the radio. "We've found the real target…and their assailant. This man was nearly kidnapped by one of the Dolls, namely Satsuki. We have her in custody."

"Acknowledged, Cammy."

They heard the roar of engines overhead, and Harry went over to the window, peering out into the darkness, only to stare. A dark-painted helicopter was flying overhead with a familiar logo on it, of a winged skull. And after a short period hovering, it flew off into the distance.

"Colonel," Harry said, "I just saw a helicopter with the Shadaloo symbol emblazoned on it. I think we've just been the gooseberry to their real operation. Once they realised their little Amazon was knocked out, they buggered off."

"Got it. Stand by for retrieval…"

On the flight on the way back to Britain, Harry frowned as he went over the impromptu dossier Ginzu had compiled, reading over Cammy's shoulder. "So, that guy we rescued was Professor Ludwig von Reichenheim, a researcher at Marburg University(1). A famous geneticist known for his pioneering work on GMOs and gene therapy, alongside microbiology."

Wolfman nodded. "Shadaloo aside, there's a number of shady organisations who'd want to get their hands on him for biological weapons. He does work in the hot labs at Marburg, and has worked with filoviruses like the Marburg virus, or Ebola. Terrorists could force him to create a form of Marburg or Ebola that spreads like the flu."

"I doubt Shadaloo wanted him for anything so pedestrian," Cammy said with a frown of her own. "Genetic modification is part of the indoctrination process used on Charlie Nash, and on the Dolls. But they already have their own genetic engineers, so von Reichenheim must have had something he could offer. Maybe he could potentially strengthen Bison's spare bodies. Or maybe Bison wants to refine the indoctrination process. Even Satsuki may not know." She glanced at Harry, her blue eyes filled with worry. "Harry," she said softly, "can you remove her brainwashing?"

After a moment, Harry shrugged. "I'm pretty confident with my Legilimency now. Entering her mind's not going to be the problem. It's removing whatever Bison did to her which is going to be the problem. What's more, once we remove the blocks on her emotions and memories, she might suffer from the influx, the guilt and horror of what she did. You were lucky, Cammy, I think the ring's magic helped keep that at bay. I'm still going to try, though."

"And through her, we'll not only deal a serious blow to Bison's taskforce, but also have more intel on Shadaloo's operations?" Wolfman asked.

"She'll have been kept in the loop after my defection. The Dolls were second only to Bison and his top enforcers. Are you keeping an eye on them?"

"We can't find Sagat, beyond rumours that he's training for the next Street Fighter tournament," Wolfman said. "Balrog's the most visible of them, but beyond your testimony, we can't tie him to Shadaloo, and he's got good lawyers, so getting evidence on him is a nightmare, even post-September 11(2). Vega's been spotted in cage-fights in Spain, but he's proved elusive. Capturing this girl, Satsuki, you said her name was, is probably going to be our best lead."

"Are we going to share intel with Charlie and Guile?" Harry asked.

"Once we have it, yes. I've heard your friend Chun-Li has cleaned up a lot of Shadaloo cells in Hong Kong, which has probably put her on their radar more than ever. If there's anything concerning Hong Kong, we'll send it to her boss. Even with the handover back to the Chinese, we still have connections there…"

Once they had gotten back to Britain, they left Satsuki in custody at MI6, with Harry going to remove her brainwashing in the morning, while they headed to McCoy's house for the dinner he had promised. McCoy, despite the fact that he was almost as huge as Hagrid and had intimidating cybernetic parts, was not only a gentle soul at heart, but talented in other areas. He was an excellent cook, and he also was a skilled guitarist. He was smart, too.

At the flat, Harry and Cammy looked out across the London cityscape, dressed now in mufti. Harry knew that his wife was worried about the fate of Satsuki, which he would deal with tomorrow. "Hey, I'll try to get her back to normal, Cammy."

Cammy nodded solemnly. At that point, Wolfman walked up. "You two did a great job. It already feels like you, Cammy, are an indispensable part of the team, and you, Harry, you're getting there. You just need more training in mundane military matters. I wish I had you two when we had to deal with those terrorists attacking the embassy in Rome. It would have been less messy, even if we managed to save the staff there."

"You've got us now," Cammy said. "I don't care if I'm kept under watch. I honestly can't blame you. But I intend to do what it takes to bring down Shadaloo for good."

"And I'll be standing alongside her. Bison's too much like Voldemort for my liking, magic or not, and I guess Ginny was right in a way," Harry said. "It wasn't my fight before…but I'll be damned if I let Cammy fight it without me."

Wolfman grinned. Harry had grown to like his new commanding officer, who had the right mix of compassion and authority. Plus, he didn't mind having individuals in his group, or initiative, as long as they could back it up.

It was then that McCoy called them in for dinner. Harry had to admit, he was looking forward to the dinner, given McCoy's culinary skills. But even as they prepared to have it, Harry knew that Cammy shared his unease about Satsuki's fate. Would he be able to save the Doll from Bison's brainwashing? He hoped so. He didn't want to let Cammy down…

CHAPTER 9 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Harry and Cammy are part of Delta Red…and look set to free Satsuki from the Dolls. But will they succeed?

Review-answering time! Reishin Amara: That doesn't apply here in this story.

Have a Little Feith: The two words together do seem like it, but they're not. And Harry will get his chance to shine, though I wouldn't go so far as to call it 'steamrollering'.

Big: Sadly, as tempted as I am, Chun-Li is not going to be part of a harem.

95spartans: I am pretty crap at fight scenes, I probably did better than I normally would because I used the comics as a basic guide.

1. Ludwig von Reichenheim was a name I took from the TV serial The Quatermass Experiment (yes, my username comes from somewhere). Von Reichenheim was, however, a rocket scientist and engineer, as well as one of the astronauts who fell victim to the alien entity of the story. And for those of you who don't know, Marburg is a German city with a famous university, and it was here that the Marburg virus was first discovered, albeit in an infected imported monkey brought in for scientific testing, hence the name.

2. I should have made this clearer sooner, but I've moved Potterverse canon forward a decade. Street Fighter canon, for the comics at least (the games are clearer), is murkier.