A/N: Well, here's the next chapter. Now, all Hell breaks loose.
"30 seconds!" Grace informed her team. She sat on the edge of the hover-craft, cradling her Intervention sniper rifle. Besides her was her second-in-command, 1stLt. Smith. Her team was in hover-ships, cradling M21 ERB sniper rifles. She saw two fighter crafts flying below her. Her hover-craft gained altitude; she saw the black smoke rising from the ruined towers. Her hover-craft hovered in front of the North tower. She pulled the charging lever on her Intervention sniper rifle and ordered the pilot, "Stabilize!" Once the hover-craft stabilized, she ordered her troops, "This is Pelayo, all sniper teams open fire!"
She aimed through the scope and saw one of the Cragmites trying to put out the fire. She aimed for the trooper's head, she held her breath, and pulled the trigger. The bolt of plasma took his head off…literally. The anti-material plasma bolt vaporized the Cragmite's head. The body jerked for a split-second, then went limp and collapsed. There was a burn five inches in diameter and two feet deep where the Cragmite's head was in front of. Grace's sniper rifle was able to penetrate 12 inch thick titanium plates. After every shot, she had to pull the Bolt Lever, since the sniper rifle was Bolt-Action.
Once the tower was clear, Grace ordered the pilot, "Shift right." Then the pilot flew towards the East tower and did the same. They've encountered some resistance; the Cragmites fired unguided rockets. However, they've met the same fate as the troops in the North Tower. Grace reloaded her sniper rifle and looked towards the South tower. She saw movement. "I see hostiles in the South Tower!"
"Affirmative!" the Ranger pilot replied. The robot drove the hover-craft and stopped in front of the tower. Before Grace and her partner could shoot at the hostiles, a Ranger Fighter fired a pair of missiles at the tower. The tower exploded as the fighter flew passed Grace at neck-breaking speeds. However, the Fighter's sonic-boom caused the hover-craft to lose stability for a brief-moment. "Aw crap! Hang on!" the pilot warned as he fought for control.
Grace held on to a railing as the hover-craft shook. Once it was over, she swore under her breath. That's it! Ramirez's idea of using fighter jets is going to get us killed! Then she tapped into coms and yelled at Sasha, "Sasha, get those fighters to wave off; that was too close!"
Sasha apparently knew what happened, as she replied, "I'll try to buy you some time. The Rangers seem to get a bit out of hand when they get excited."
"Friggin' Rangers!" 1st Lt. Smith complained, "I thought that they were the good guys!"
"I'm right here, moron!" the pilot retorted.
Grace glared at the two. Even though her face was covered by the helmet, the two can feel her cold, angry, frightening glare. "Cut the chatter!" Grace threatened, "Merc, Green, the towers have been neutralized. You're good to go!"
"Okay, Grace!" Green replied. He turned to the Rangers behind him and Merc and barked, "You heard the lady; prepare to drop!"
The transport's rear ramp lowered, and then Merc barked, "Go, go, go!" Merc and Green propelled themselves towards the ramp and jumped out. The other Rangers followed suit.
Dozens of Rangers were skydiving above the Prison. When they were 30 feet from impacting any kind of surface, let it be the roof-top of attached buildings or the outside black-walk, they've activated their hover boots and made touchdown in the prison. Once Merc landed, he looked up and saw that there were three Cragmites running towards him. He took out a grenade from his belt, pulled out the pin, and threw it. It exploded at the feet of the Cragmites. Violet blood sprayed against the wall on the left.
Once Merc's and Green's squad landed, Merc and Green ordered, "Move out, Rangers! We got some bugs that need to be exterminated!"
"Hooah!" all of the Rangers grunted.
Ramirez slammed a new cartridge into his ACR and ordered Pvt. Ryan, "Ryan, you stay here and help Charlie Squad. We're going to check the regular cells in the 3rd level's West Wing. You'll guide us from the control room."
Ryan took out a PDA and saluted. "Sir, yes, sir!"
Ramirez then turned to his remaining squad and Bravo Squad and barked, "We're Oscar Mike!"
Together, they've gone to the West Wing's stair well and went up two levels. Once they've reached the regular cells, they've immediately faced resistance. The squads took cover behind crates and inside empty cells.
Locke took out a flash bang grenade from his belt. "Flash bang out!" Locke warned. He tossed the grenade at the Cragmites while the squads went into cover or looked at the opposite direction. There was a bright light and a loud noise that filled the area. The Cragmites cried out as they were blinded and went temporarily deaf. Ratchet ran towards one that was closest to him, ejected the gauntlet blade in his right arm, tackled the Cragmite to the ground, and thrust the blade underneath the Cragmite's chin. The tip of the blade pierced out through the top of the skull. Ramirez took out his side holster, since he didn't have time to reload his rifle, and fired at the Cragmites. His aim was dead on…bull's eye on every Cragmite he shot.
The area was clear…for now.
Pistol smoking, Ramirez put it back in his side holster and ordered, "Ryan, deactivate the laser gates on the closed cells!" Soon the laser gates deactivated, then he ordered the squads, "Check the cells!"
Miller checked cell 4D and informed, "Cell 4D is clear!"
Locke then checked one of the cells and added, "This cell's empty, too!"
Ratchet entered one of the cells, and grimly informed, "Someone was in this cell…"
Ramirez rushed towards Ratchet's location and looked around the cell. The cot's blanket was in a mess, as if someone was dragged out of their bed. There were small, dry bloodstains on the floor, the cot, and on the walls. Ramirez removed his gauntlet and placed his hand on the bed. It was warm.
"Someone recently slept on this bed," Ramirez concluded. He then put his gauntlet back on and saw a small strand of golden thread on the bed. He picked it up and his visor scanned it.
The results…
Lombax fur…
"This is Angela's cell!" Ramirez barked. He then changed radio frequencies and ordered Ryan, who was back at the Control Room with Charlie Squad, "Ryan, they've moved Angela. Do you see her in the monitors?"
"So far, the Solitary Confinement chamber is the most heavily guarded. She's probably there. However, it could also be another prisoner. I can't see anyone in the interrogation room; the camera angle is terrible! The camera feed in the torture room is dead; power's probably out in that section," Ryan replied.
"Understood!" Ramirez then faced his troops and barked, "We're going to the Solitary Confinement chamber!"
They quickly reloaded their rifles and fought their way to the East Wing…
High above the Prison, Grace scanned for more targets to terminate. However, there were none. She lowered her sniper, changed radio frequencies, and asked Ramirez, "Louis, the outside is clear. Do you want the Specters to join in the ground assault?"
"The more, the merrier!" Ramirez replied, "We're in the East Wing of the 3rd level. Care to join?"
"You bet." She then turned to the pilot and ordered, "Get to the east side of the 3rd level, stat!"
"Right away, ma'am!" the pilot replied. He took the hover craft low, and hovered besides the railings of the 3rd level.
Grace put her Intervention inside the hover craft and switched it for an ACR SOPMOD. She pulled the charging lever and looked at 1stLt. Smith and ordered, "You're with me!"
Smith nodded and together, they jumped off the hover-craft and landed in the outside area of the 3rd level. Grace waved the pilot goodbye. The pilot returned the gesture and flew away.
"Oh for God's sake!" Ramirez yelled through coms, "We're pinned down at the east wing, we're near the Solitary Confinement chamber, but we're under fire by at least…50 tangos! They're guarding the door!" There was a small explosion that came through the radio. "We could use your help now!"
"Hang on, sweetie," Grace teased.
"Grace…not now…"
"Okay, okay…jeez." she then turned to Smith and yelled, "Let's go kick some ass!" The pair went through the hallways and hugged the wall. Grace looked around the corner and saw that they were on the Cragmites' left flank. She loaded up her grenade launcher, aimed at a group of Cragmites, and open fired. The grenade exploded and incinerated at least six Cragmites. The Cragmites looked towards where the grenade was fired and shoot towards the pair's location. That was a mistake they'll never regret. They didn't paid attention to Ramirez's squad and Bravo squad. The squads fired while the Cragmites turned their backs to them.
Once the way to the door was clear, the squads regrouped with each other.
Ramirez ran towards Grace and complimented, "Good job, Grace!"
"Thanks!" Grace replied, taking the compliment to heart.
Ramirez opened coms and ordered Ryan, "Ryan, get the chamber's door opened."
The blast door slowly opened. Once it was opened, the squads scanned the room for any hostiles. It was clear…for now. The chamber is a collection of single, cylinder like cells. The control room is in charge of the room. The cells were brought by a huge, claw-grabber-arcade like…claw.
"Ryan, who's the prisoner in here?" Clank and Clark asked.
"Um…based on the information on the monitor…Prisoner #25402…it doesn't tell if it's Angela or someone else," Ryan replied, "I'm bringing in the cell right now." A claw moved around the chamber and took hold of one of the cells. It was brought before the squad, but the claw short-circuited. "Crap, they've block me from the hard-line. I have to run a bypass."
"Hurry up, Ryan!" Grace yelled, worriedly.
"Aw crap…I see swarms of Cragmites on the monitors. They're going to your position."
"Dammit, this is going to take too long," Ramirez groaned. He turned to Ratchet and Grace and said, "We still got two areas to check. Ratchet, I want you and Grace to go ahead and check the two rooms in the 2nd level. Okay?"
"Okay!" Ratchet and Clank replied.
Grace looked at Ramirez, worried. "Are you sure, Louis? I don't want to lose you…" Grace murmured.
Ramirez gently placed a hand on her helmeted cheek. "I'll be fine with my squad, Grace," Ramirez reassured.
Underneath his helmet, Ratchet let out a smile. Lucky brother… "Come on, Grace. Let's go."
Ratchet ran out of the room, Grace stopped at the door for a brief second and looked at Ramirez. She blew a kiss towards Ramirez and left. The two went to the stairwell that was near the chamber and went up one flight of stairs.
"Good luck, you two," Ramirez murmured. He then saw Cragmites and ordered the squads, "Open fire!"
Smith had a M240 machine gun with him, so he mounted the machine gun at the door entranced and let out a stream of plasma bolts. The Cragmites were mowed down by the barrage of bolts from the machine gun and from the rifles.
"Ryan, hurry up!" Ramirez yelled.
"Hold on, I'm rerouting the auxiliary circuit…got it!" The cell was lowered behind the squads. "I'm closing the door!" Smith got out of the door way as the blast door slammed shut.
The door of the cell slowly opened. Ramirez ran inside, hoping it was Angela. However, it was someone he wasn't expecting. He saw a middle-aged man with light-purplish skin, violet hair and beard, and wearing a tanned, worn out archeologist's uniform lying on his bed.
"Max Apogee?" Ramirez asked.
The Markazian got up from his bed and looked at Ramirez, confused. "Who are you…and how do you know me?" Max asked.
"I'm Captain Ramirez, leader of Task Force: Leviathan. You gave the concierge the package for Ratchet and me to pick up…at Maktar Resort."
Max bolted off his bed in shock. "Where is Ratchet?" Max asked frantically.
"Ratchet, Clank, and my friend Grace are up in the 2nd level, looking for Angela."
"Oh no…you should have sent more people with Ratchet!"
"Why?" Ramirez asked curious.
"The Cragmite General, Lazarevic, was counting on this. Lazarevic transferred Angela to the torture room. He wants to separate Ratchet from his team at the torture room..." Max Apogee paused for a moment.
"And…?" Ramirez asked worriedly, wondering what the Cragmite is going to do with his brothers Ratchet and Clank.
"Once Ratchet is in the torture room…he's going to finish off both Ratchet and Angela. It's a trap…"
A/N: Wow...I'm actually almost done with this story. Only a few more chapters to go. Don't worry though, I've already planned a sequel. Expect to see it within the future.