Ch.14

Steven

"What are you doing?" I quietly lectured Connor, "they might smell it."

"No they wont, its odorless," he replied and I reluctantly took one and we both held our cigars in our mouths while Connor lit them both. I drew a breath and was surprised by the vanilla-like flavor mixed with something I couldn't quite determine and let the smoke out of my lungs slowly. I had smoked cigars before while in undercover operations while working both for the US and SAS, this wasn't a tobacco cigar. Then suddenly I felt my mind clear and my senses activate like they never had before. My heartbeat slowed down to where I could feel each powerful pulse and I could feel every molecule in my body.

"What exactly is this?" I asked, taking the cigar out of my mouth to examine it further.

"It's a blend that uses a type of coffee ground that's been modified to have a stronger effect on the brain and stay in the body for a longer period of time, but without the crash that comes with coffee. My tech specialist came up with it."

"When we get out of here," I put the cigar back in my mouth and drew another breath, "I'm going to have to look into this."

"You got it. And by the way, you don't need to use it long," he took out his cigar and cut off the end with his cane before putting it back in his pouch. "It takes effect in a few seconds after exposure. Using it longer dosen't do you any favors."

"Alright then," I pulled out my knife and cut off the end of my own cigar and put it in my own pouch. "Let's get on with it."

The plan went perfectly. I found the building that held all the machinery needed to keep the drill running and I began looking around for a coolant supply until I came across a large tank with pipes running through and around it. I hurriedly looked around for tools to start disassembling the machines various pieces until I was able to confirm that it was no longer pumping coolant to the drill outside. I snuck back outside and found a concealed position in front of the building by a stack of covered boxes. Then I waited for something to break and only 10 minutes later, there was a loud crack that came from the drilling hole. The machine operators quickly turned off the machine and started lifting out the drill for inspection. That's when Connor cut the power lines from the generator behind the building on the opposite side of the cave. The drill was now stuck in a broken state in the drill hole with no hope of repair in the near future. The plan was working perfectly.

Then guards started coming out from the buildings in masses. Soon there were 50 men in the cavern. It was time for the final phase of the plan, the messy part. Now that everyone was out in the open, Conner cut the power to the rest of the cave, submerging the entire inside of the cavern in darkness accept for the occasional flashlight attached to the guns of the guards. Then we moved in and started killing them all. I didn't have the ammo for everyone so I used my knife. I gave Connor a knife as well and I could see a silhouette dancing through the light beams slitting throats. Soon there were only ten left, circled up near the base of the drill. We would need to take them head on. Connor and I attacked from the same side, being careful to avoid the random shots fired by the terrified guards. Connor must have dropped his knife at some point because now he was using his bare hands. He punched one so hard in the face that his neck snapped and incapacitated another guard by judo throwing another guard at him so they pinned eachother. I finished off 3 with a series of quick blows and shot them all with my M1911 when they were disoriented. Then I shot the two Conner had incapacitated. The other 4 had decided to try to make a run for the exit. Before they could, I was able to shoot two of them in the back but I had no more bullets in the gun to shoot the last two. Me and Connor chased after them into the night.

We caught up to them at the entrance to the tunnel and fought them in a fist fight. I heard a single gunshot from the guards but I quickly put one of them in an arm bar, forcing him to the ground. Getting on top of his back, I pulled out my knife and reached around to slit his throat. I got up to see Connor desperately beating down the last guard. He had broken one of the guards arms and it was now stuck in an unnatural angle. Then he used that arm to throw him over himself and broke his neck with his foot. I had never seen anything like it.

Then he fell backwards and put his hand over his abdomen. Blood trailed from between his fingers and stained his shirt and pants. I quickly went over to him and examined him. Lifting his hand, I saw that he had been shot. That guard that fired the bullet must have been lucky enough to shoot him before Connor got too close. I quickly dragged him off the path to a tree and pulled out some supplies. I didn't have much but I took off my blouse from my battle dress uniform and put pressure on his wound to slow the bleeding. He winced in pain but put his hand on the torn cloth to help keep it there. The bullet must still be inside him. With the nearest hospital nearly 10 miles away at the hotel, I did the last thing I knew that I could do. I pulled out my multi tool, M1911 and another magazine.I pulled the bullet out of 6 of the 7 cartridges and poured the gunpowder inside onto Connors wound. And put the last bullet in the chamber of the M1911. I put the end of the barrel as close as I could to the wound without shooting him.

I looked at him and he held out his hand and I took it. He squeezed it with a white knuckle grip and gave me a nod. He leaned his head back against the tree and braced himself. I looked down at the gun, made sure my aim was just right, and pulled the trigger. The bullet went off into the woods somewhere, but the muzzle flash was enough to ignite all the gunpowder I had put into the wound. It flared and seared Connors skin and burned off the fur immediately around it. He screamed in pain as the sparking of the gunpowder continued but I held him against the tree until it subsided and the screaming stopped. He laid limp on the tree, passed out, and I reinspected the wound. It worked! The wound had stopped bleeding. But now there was the problem of getting Connor to a hospital. I pulled the unconscious racoon onto my back in a fireman's carry and started the 10 mile hike through the jungle. The son of a bitch was crazy enough to take a bullet and keep fighting. He was tough and determined, and for that Connor had my eternal respect.

When I arrived the sun was starting to rise over the horizon. I had hiked through the night without a second of sleep to save him. I told the hotel staff that we were hiking through the jungle and he had been shot from an unknown location. They believed it but they didn't have the equipment to perform surgery on him. So they immediately had him airlifted to the Pearl Harbor Naval Hospital. There he was put in a medically induced coma for the next week to prepare him for surgery. In that time, I informed my handlers that the mission was a success. I also mailed the cigar that Connor had given me to Raven, a younger friend of mine who was just graduating from college with 3 separate degrees at the age of 23. I didn't want to give the government anything I didn't need to so he was the only other person I trusted with it.

Connor

I woke a week later from that cave, at first thinking it was just a dream. Then I saw my wife by my side and Steven standing by the door wearing normal clothes. Then it all came back to me. The Soviets, the bullet, and passing out to the searing pain of the gunpowder burning into my flesh. Steven walked out so I could talk to my wife for a few minutes. She had been worried sick, saying that the doctors said I would have died from my injuries if I hadn't been saved by Steven and I had been asleep for a full week under intense medical care. I looked around to notice that I had been attached to all sorts of medical machines and I had an IV in my arm. Then she said that in the time I had been gone, she found out that Sly would be due in 4 months. It was almost time. Tears of joy started to roll down my face and I pulled her in close with my free arm. We just stayed there like that for a while and for a moment, everything was alright. I did one last job and now I'm officially done. Nothing else mattered except my family.

The moment was broken by Steven reentering the room with a in a black suit.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Cooper," the man said, " would you might giving us a moment with your husband?" She complied and stepped out. Steven closed the door behind her and the badger continued. "Connor Cooper, your reputation precedes you."

This obviously wasn't a leisure visit out of goodwill. "Can I help you?"

"Well I was just wondering if you enjoyed your stay in the US," he took a seat behind a table in the corner and Steven walked to stand behind him off to the side. His face was solemn, like he was trying to communicate to me that the badger didn't mean well."

"What do you want?" I pushed.

"Not much for small talk? Fine." He pulled out a file, "My name is George Barkely. And you are in some deep trouble." He looked though the contents of the file and read aloud its contents. My criminal record, everything. "You're in some deep trouble Mr. Cooper. I could have have you arrested right now."

"I'm guessing there's an 'and'," I countered, "Let me ask again. What do you want?"

"Well to get to the point, after seeing your skills, I'd be willing to pardon all of this, if you'd be willing to, do some time in service for your country."

"But I'm not a US citizen," I replied, I was stalling, I needed to come up with a valid enough argument to escape the situation.

"Then call it having your name cleared. Your record in this country alone puts you on the 10 most wanted list. If you don't take my offer then I have the power to put you away for the greater portion of the remainder of your life," Behind him I caught a glimpse of Steven subtly shaking his head. He was giving me a warning. He didn't want me to take his offer? "What's it going to be?"

"Sorry I'll pass." I still needed a plan and I didn't have one. I had no choice but to trust Steven.

"Alright then," George looked across the room at the binds that made the room private from the hallway then looked back at me. He put his hands together in his lap. "We could also have your wife tried for aiding and being an accessory to your crimes. Her life would be destroyed because of you. Your unborn son is no exception."

I was on the edge of tearing out the IV from my arm and beating him to death with everything in the room. I've taken insults and threats from men bigger and more threatening than the badger but this bastard was threatening the wellbeing of my family, something I could never tolerate. My calm expression was replaced by a cold glare. "Mr. Barkely, do you have a family?"

"Yes, I have a wife and 20 year old son named James, and I know I couldn't live with myself if I missed the chance to save them."

"Well, George, if you don't let us go in peace, I will hunt you and your family down and kill them in front of your fat face. Then I would kill you. If you touch my family then I swear I will destroy you," I meant every word. Steven suppressed a smirk and George raised his eyebrows and reeled backwards a little.

We just stayed there in silence for a minute, as though in a staring contest to the death. Finally the badger closed his file and stood up. "That's how it's going to be huh? Fine. You'll change your mind." And he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

Shortly after he left, Steven walked over and dropped a small object in a plastic bag into my lap.

"The doctors dug that out of your abdomen. You're lucky it didn't hit any vital organs and you're expected to make a full recovery," he started. He sat down in a chair at my bedside before continuing, "That took some serious balls mate. But you're not out of the woods yet," a Turtle walked in and closed the door behind him, standing next to the doorway. "This is Oscar, you can call him Raven in the field. He's in the same boat as you are, his family is at risk just like yours. There are six others but they can't join us right now." He looked at Oscar, "Would you like to introduce yourself?"

The turtle stepped forward hesitantly. "Mister Cooper, I've heard alot about you," he began.

"Oscar, that's not how you introduce yourself," intervened Steven.

"Right, sorry. I don't talk to people in person a lot." He shuffled nervously before regaining his composure. "I'm Oscar. It's nice to meet you. I work with Steven and the other field operators regularly as a intel specialist in the field. I'm basically the brains of their operations." He paused for a minute thinking of what else to say. "Look, I haven't seen my family in 6 months and along with everyone else in our unit, we're stuck doing what we do or George will make a move on them. I tried to do something about it on my own once but when I did he kidnapped my only son at the time before he hatched from his egg. I haven't heard anything about him since. I think he might do the same to your family."

Steven put out his hand to stop Oscar from talking any further. They now had my full attention. "Connor, I personally don't have any other family, but the others do and they're in danger every day. Dragging you into this mess is the last thing I want to do, but please, we need your help."