Chapter 12

"Blow it."

Sequoia blinked as the door was blasted open. She checked their flank and moved forward, staying near Hesh the entire time. It was awkward to think about it being like how she took it upon herself to look after Carol when they were together. She thought Hesh to be capable in anything he was told to do and it wasn't like he was squeamish about shooting or anything. He got the bug planted and picked up his rifle and started shooting. Nothing she wouldn't have done. She shrugged it off as she followed the team into the room.

"Front door's open! ETA to the nest: four minutes," Merrick informed. "Weapons free!"

"Maybe we should've knocked," Sequoia teased as she fired at a hostile. She vaulted herself over the debris of the door to engage while Hesh went around coming up her left.

Eyes and ears are online. Patching you in. Boss, you got a mess of them headed your way.

Sequoia rolled her eyes slightly. She continued to fire and move forward, trying to clear a path and keeping Hesh in her sights. Logan stayed nearby like he was covering her and that worked out just fine. She kneeled behind the wall of a lab when Logan moved up and she took the opportunity to peek. She saw it and tripped Logan by grabbing his pant leg and giving a hard yank.

Logan fell just as the hostiles popped up to shoot. Sequoia shot back with Hesh. Her eyes were narrowed as she put a bullet through a Fed's skull. She looked down at Logan who was covered in glass and asked, "You okay?"

"Next time tie my shoe laces together," Logan replied as he righted himself. He felt like a turtle since he landed on this back when he fell as the first shots rang out. "Thanks Hawk."

"Watch the labs," came Merrick's warnings.

"Too little, too late, old man," Sequoia replied as she returned fire.

"Eyes and ears, Hawk."

Sequoia chuckled at that as they continued to move forward. She caught Hesh's eye and shrugged like it was nothing. It was Merrick's way of reminding her why she was there on that mission.

Major activity in the next junction.

Sequoia was taking point at the moment and slid to a cover position. She reloaded her gun and caught sight of a bunch of Feds running through. She clipped a few in the legs and finished them off. It was probably cruel but then again it was crueler to let them bleed out in pain. That was a slow way to go and excruciating.

Sometimes you have to do things that are just wrong. Slow and easy can make people more cooperative.

She shook her head as she heard her father's advice pop up. It was a fine time to be thinking about his advice. It was like her gut instinct; it popped up and that was that. Why now on this piece of advice… she had no idea. She focused on the mission and took out Feds in return fire.

"Head right," Merrick yelled when the path was clear. "Don't get bogged down. We have to keep moving."

Sequoia turned and signaled to Logan and then Hesh to bring up the rear. On three she popped out of her cover and started firing. They joined her and started pushing down the hall. It surprised the hostiles since they were dug in and to see targets that deliberately came out… it was tempting and they went for it. They were in for a surprise when they were gunned down after Logan cooked a grenade to bring them out.

All clear up ahead.

"Move!"

Keegan took point and led the group through the halls to the south corridor. Kick informed them that there were a lot of tangos heading towards them and Merrick replied, "Exiting the tree. Taking the high road to the nest."

I'm seeing minimal activity on the high road. You're off the radar for now.

There were not too many tangos on the high road as Keegan led the way with Logan following behind him. Merrick took the rear and Sequoia and Hesh were in front of him. It was impressive when Keegan took care of the one guard by slamming him against the railing, the wall and then just let him drop to his death. It didn't mean that they were to let their guard down since there could be more.

Tangos massing in the rotunda.

"Take it slow," Merrick said, "And that means you too Hawk."

Sequoia rolled her eyes slightly at that and muttered, "And you'd think I was a little kid rather than a soldier that knows what orders mean."

"I wouldn't know since you like treading the line," Hesh teased having heard what she said. "Then again to Merrick you are a kid."

"And that makes you an old man too?" She gave a pointed look at Hesh even though it was difficult to see it with the mask on. She was teasing of course and he saw it that way and gave a very gentle and playful punch to her shoulder. "Guess not," she replied through the grin she was giving.

"Not even," Hesh replied, "Kid."

Sequoia narrowed her eyes playfully and gave a warning gesture. "Appearances can be deceiving Hesh."

They continued down and back into the facility and Merrick called a hold. Since they were still in Fed uniform, they walked in and Keegan started a casual conversation while the others filtered in to take position. Sequoia nodded and said a couple of things and once causing one of the Feds to laugh and it had Hesh wondering what the hell she said.

There was no time since Merrick called, "Weapons hot."

Sequoia had made it to a point where the wall and crevice could provide cover when the go was given and open fired. She was in a good position to down a group of them and she was covered by Hesh who pulled her back when the Feds returned fire in their direction. She found herself face to face with Hesh and he pulled her close before sticking his weapon out and firing. She teased, "A little high school don't you think?"

"Who are you and what have you done with Hawk?" Hesh blinked when a bullet ricocheted in front of him.

"Merrick said to have fun," she explained. When Hesh looked at her she continued, "He didn't say how I was supposed to have fun." She had said it like a kid would when trying to argue semantics with their parent.

Hesh had to give her that one. She knew what Merrick meant though but she took it further. It certainly made things interesting and she was doing her job. He had no complaints and certainly Merrick and Keegan didn't. He released her so she spun around and pressed her back against him to return fire. The feeling that started was gone when she moved out and said he should try to keep up.

"Pick it up boys. Move before the whole base gets here."

"Just keep up old man," Sequoia replied as she pushed forward.

They kept it up and cleared the rotunda. Merrick gave the all clear and said they had ninety seconds to make it to the nest. Sequoia looked at Hesh and said, "Race you."

"No cheating," Hesh replied as he followed her lead while Merrick asked for a time check.

Check and clear. You're on schedule.

"More like two seconds faster," Hesh teased as he paused where Sequoia had stopped. "You like making us look bad don't you?"

"Just doing my job. I expected a lot from my boys and no complaints," she replied with a look as if to ask if he was one of those that would complain. "But I'm just here for the ride," she added with a shrug.

Hesh gave a slight shake of his head and followed her in when Merrick walked in with Logan and Keegan and fired in the air and told the people in there to clear out. They were civilians so there was no need to harm them.

"We've entered the nest. Prepping for transfer," Merrick called. "Everyone drop the bags off at the command platform."

Everyone that had a bag put it on the table. Sequoia put hers on the table and opened it. She pulled out her tomahawk and twirled before putting it on her belt. Hesh noticed and teased, "Been holding out on us I see."

"Nope, just playing the part," Sequoia said. She also checked the other equipment in the bag which included some extra grenades and ammo which she distributed to everyone. "Knew being the odd man had benefits," she murmured as she packed her extra mags into the various pouches on her uniform.

"Hesh, get started on the computer bank," Merrick ordered as he packed his extra mags.

"I'll need two minutes thirty to complete the download," Hesh said as he began setting up to download the info.

"Roger that. We'll cover you," Merrick replied while shooting a look at Sequoia.

Sequoia knew that her job was up and she moved in to look and find a position to take. The download may be only two minutes but sometimes it felt like a life time especially when you were also fighting for your life and against numbers that weren't in your favor. She did a sort of foot patrol while the others set up for incoming. She pointed out a position for Logan to set up some claymores.

"A little close don't you think?"

Sequoia glanced at Hesh who was looking up at her and she replied, "Do I tell you how to do a download?"

"Touchy. This another hair thing?"

"Nothing like it. Just making a point."

Hesh looked at the way she had positioned herself. "Point taken."

"Thirty seconds to set up defenses. Hawk, eyes and ears."

"Roger," she called out as she checked her ammo and pulled out her pistol and checked it. She kneeled by Hesh with her back towards him in a position where she could look at all sides. Thirty seconds was plenty of time. She pulled out a few mags and laid them in position to grab at a moment's notice.

"Digging in?" Hesh had turned to see what she was doing and noticed the way she had arranged everything.

"My position. Everyone is going to move," Sequoia replied as she checked the half empty mags and transferred bullets over to fill them up. "Merrick told me that as eyes and ears it meant that whoever got past them and the defenses… I take them out. So… taking root here. Best view."

Hesh suspected that there was more to it than that but he wasn't going to ask. She was in a good position. He then heard her repeat what he had said earlier, "You don't bite." She also added, "And I don't either. It's more bark than bite." She was chuckling when she said it before she turned around.

The download started and it looked like it was going to take longer than two minutes thirty. Hesh suppressed the sigh as the download began and he scanned the information he was pulling. It wasn't going to help it go any faster and it wasn't going to if he let it alone. It was just the way how file transfers worked. He could say that he was grateful Sequoia was watching his back; it was reassuring to know that she was there.

"Hesh, did you find data on the rocket?"

Hesh had been scrolling through and found what Merrick was asking for and replied, "Oh yeah. It's all here. Specs, design, implementation."

"Anything in there on how to not make one?" Sequoia looked back as she adjusted her position. If the mask had been off she would have been grinning.

"I think you're taking Merrick's orders too seriously," Hesh replied with a shake of his head. He was grinning himself. He liked her sense of humor and while it may seem out of place on some occasions it felt right.

"You'd rather I bite your head off?"

"No. I like it." Hesh turned to look at Sequoia and caught her eye. He meant what he said and let her know it. "It suits you."

Sequoia felt a slight rush of heat come up her neck. Her cheeks were starting to flush under the ski mask and it felt… good maybe, she wasn't sure. It was one of those things that… she couldn't identify but she liked it. She gave a nod to Hesh and turned her attention forward.

Tangos incoming down the main ramp.

The first shots whizzed into the command deck and shattered the glass. Sequoia didn't return fire given her position but kept an eye out as the bullets whizzed overhead. She glanced at Hesh who was working with the download and back forward. The whizzing indicated that they were coming close but because they were in a position to cover and couldn't be seen, they just flew overhead. That wouldn't be the case for the others and she saw them moving to take up positions.

She noticed something out of the corner of her eye and sharply turned and fired. The sound of her gun startled Hesh a little but he kept at it while she shouted, "They're coming in. Doors on the right!"

She stayed crouched and ceased fire while the other players shifted. She offered support when she could and adjusted her position as necessary. While she was in a good position that didn't necessarily mean that it was attack proof or something like that. There was always the chance of a blind spot or something you didn't see coming. That was the way it was in war.

What she didn't see coming was the stray shot that hit danger close and glass shattered. Hesh took the brunt of it and grunted in surprise and pain. Sequoia rounded and found the shooter and fired at him in retaliation and swore in Spanish since there was nothing better to say. In the meantime Hesh grunted and called out, "Under attack! Need support now!"

Sequoia frowned and whirled to cover where the gunfire was coming from while pulling a grenade and cooking it. "Grenade out!"

The explosion sent sparks and papers flying a drove the tangos back. It was helped along by Logan's claymores that they ran into and his covering his end. Sequoia looked at Hesh as he was shaking his hand, trying to get rid of the sting. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. Just fire your weapon," Hesh replied. He didn't mean to sound rude if it came out that way but they needed to buy time to get the data and get out. He looked at her and repeated, "I'm good. We need cover fire."

Sequoia didn't buy it. She noticed he had been shaking his hand and holding it. She wasn't going to pry since they had bigger problems at the moment. "They're breaching the doors on the left," she shouted and she fired a headshot at the first one she saw. She was distracted when Hesh clotheslined her towards the console and fired his weapon at a tango that would have hit her from behind.

The movement wasn't painful but Sequoia felt a dull throb on her side when she ended up on the ground prone. She managed to squeeze off a few more shots before righting herself. She glanced at Hesh who was firing in the opposite direction and looked where the hostiles were embedded. She reloaded her gun and pulled out a grenade. Timing it she threw it and it exploded right in the middle of the group. It bought some time and she asked, "How much longer?"

Hesh didn't have time to answer since more gunfire erupted at them. Sequoia swore, "Son of a bitch," and fired in the more concentrated area, popping up to aim and fire before taking cover. The bullets hitting sent sparks and bits of metal out. "Hesh?"

"A minute," he confirmed.

"Nothing takes a minute," she murmured. These Fed assholes were pissing her off. She fired in all directions but they were bogged down there.

"They're on Hesh. Get back there!"

Not on my watch, Sequoia thought as she pulled out a few more grenades and was ready to lob them out. Merrick may have said that she went overboard but to hell with that. She was the one that had the extras. She also took the time to pull her bag that had the stuff down to reach in. She pulled the pins on two and lobbed them out, one left and one right. "Grenades out!"

The grenades bounced off the walls and landed with a bang. It looked like there was a slight fire problem on one side but it was not the problem since they had tangos coming in. Sequoia lobbed a couple of more out like precision mortar fire. It was not the best idea but it worked. It had the others duck since it was sort of danger close but it helped. Sequoia brought her rifle up and drew fire. "Think I'm having fun now?"

Hesh ducked from a ricochet and returned fire while checking the download. "The rate you're cooking grenades."

"Sometimes better than mortars."

Hesh said nothing as he checked. He wiped away the blood that had smeared on the console and peered at the data. The download needed thirty more seconds. "Thirty seconds."

It couldn't have come at a better time. While thirty seconds was better than two minutes, it still felt like a long time. The firefight raged on until Hesh said, "Complete."

Sequoia was the closest and called it in, "Kick, data secure. Make the call."

Check. Good work boys.

"Time to make our exit," Merrick called and signaled they were to move out.

Sequoia grabbed Hesh's shoulder a bit roughly and pushed him hard towards the exit while covering fire. She was joined by Keegan and Merrick. Logan was the first to reach the elevator. They popped smoke to cover their exit and headed for the elevator.

We're hearing chatter on the emergency frequencies. Not long before they're onto you.

They hustled into the elevator after making sure that they weren't followed and the door was shut. Sequoia was the last to get in since Hesh was behind the others and she took a last look before getting in. Merrick ran a check, "Time check 23:56."

Check.

"We're going out the same way we came in. Keep your weapons low and ready. Time to blend in," Merrick said as he took a look at the group. He noticed a blood smear on Sequoia's uniform. He didn't recall her saying if she was hit. Still that could work to their advantage. He pointed at her and Hesh, "Limp."

It was a silent fight on who was 'carrying' who until Hesh put his arm over Sequoia's shoulder. Keegan was also going to limp but was more functional. Merrick checked the group before turning outward towards the door and added, "Don't shoot unless you wanna fight your way out of here."

They put on a pretty good act with Hesh limping and Sequoia trying to steady him. Since he was really playing it, she wavered a little bit and it gave the illusion that they were helping each other while Merrick sweet talked the Feds into letting them pass and explaining what happened in there. When they were past the initial guards, Hesh lightened up a little and they sort of stumbled into a fast walk. They had to since the drill was found as well as the bug. It was only a matter of time before they found them. The best they could do was to get out of there with the rest of the crowd.

They made it to the vehicle and got in. Sequoia was once again squished in between Logan and Hesh in the back. It made it impossible for her to move if they needed to shoot their way out. She sat still like nothing was wrong as Keegan drove the truck towards the exit. They just had to make it out but they were stopped and Keegan started conversing in Spanish.

Hesh had brought out his pistol slowly and he felt the grip slipping in his hand but he ignored it and glanced at Logan to get his pistol out. Sequoia sat still unaware that there was a bloody spot on her shoulder until it was pointed out by the Fed at the checkpoint they were stopped at. Keegan was trying to buy them some time but it appeared that they weren't buying in. They were demanding them to get out and pointing at Sequoia.

Hesh didn't understand much of what was said but he took it to mean a threat against her. He reacted first and shot the two that were closest while Merrick yelled for Keegan to punch it. Sequoia started to move by she was pushed back down by Logan who jumped on the turret. He said, "My turn."

Sequoia shook her head and brought up her rifle to help. She retorted, "Show off."

They had two minutes till exfil and until then they had to keep the enemy vehicles off their ass. Part of it had to be done with Keegan's driving and on an ice patch, it was rough going. Logan was doing what he could with the turret and the others were firing their weapons. They kept it up as Keegan headed to the extraction point sliding on the ice. Logan picked up on the trick of shooting at the ice right under the enemy vehicles. It sent them careening out of control.

"Neptune, we are at the extraction point, over," Merrick called over the comm.

Neptune One is on station. Surfacing now.

Sequoia turned to peer over her shoulder out the front to see the cracking of ice and chunks shooting up into the air. She gripped the edge of the back of the seat to brace herself but was held in place by Hesh who was bracing himself as Keegan literally drove onto the submarine that decided to make its appearance. She looked at Keegan and said, "I thought you said you knew how to drive."

"Never said I could drive well," Keegan replied as he got out.

The team spilled out of the truck and headed towards the hatch. Sequoia sighed as she dropped in. She really didn't look forward to this but she was glad that this mission was over. Her feet hit the ground and she stepped away just as Hesh came down and nearly lost his grip. She caught him to steady him and noticed the blood smears. She looked at him and said, "Just fine right?"

A/N: And another mission completed and they are now on the sub. Oh goodie. More to come on There Are No Coincidences...