"Okay. Based on the data Alpha received, all members of Shadow Wolves live in the north, west, and south divisions, with the exception of Wolfe himself. He reserved the entire east wing for himself because that is the direction that the moon rises in. All we have to do is kidnap him, and possibly bound and gag him in the process.
"Alpha, Snake, and Blade will be attacking the in the other three directions, so hopefully every Shadow Wolf will be too preoccupied with that until Wolfe is in Triple U's custody," Agent 103 said, scanning over several documents in her hands.
"Agent 221, the blueprints, if you would." Agent 221 came forward and pulled a rolled-up sheet of blue paper from her jacket and spread it on the table. Agent 507 took 221's place and pulled a laser pointer from her pocket. The red dot appeared on the top left corner of the top paper. It slowly moved to the middle of the right side.
"Here," the dot moved to bottom right corner of the blueprint, "is Wolfe's room. It is located on the edge of a cliff that overhangs Lake Evermore. Lake Evermore is a multi-river fed lake, and because of the harsh winter this year, the lake is covered with a ten inch thick layer of ice everywhere except the vast whirlpool in the center of the lake. The world has yet to determine where this whirlpool leads.
"Scientists have poured dyes, dropped locator devices, and even dumped rubber ducks into its center to determine where the waters go, but to no avail. That rules out our water approach. Cameras cover all blind spots from the entrances, so ground approach is also a no-go, but if you look here." the red dot moved outward a couple inches, "you'll notice that Wolfe has a balcony.
"Wolfe rarely uses his balcony. The select few times he has ever been observed using it is to think, and out of those times, 17 out of 17 were strictly between the hours of nine a.m. and two in the afternoon. Ray will fly us there in the one of the silent choppers where we will land on the balcony."
Cobra stepped up. "Surely there has to be a way in besides flying?" Cobra asked. "We can always dig our way in." Agent 507 replied icily. Cobra melted back into the small crowd of elites. Agent 507 switched off the pointer and went back to her place at the table. Agent 103 continued the explanation. "The balcony entrance is three-inch thick, reinforced steel door that's bolted on the inside. Agent 700 will get us inside, where as upon entrance, we will be in Wolfe's room.
"An agent that is supposed to already be in our chopper will have a vial with the same sleep serum that Agent 3..."Agent 103 hesitated, "another agent used to use. Once we get there, it will be roughly three a.m.. We will apprehend the target, and then report back to base. Any questions?"
"Yeah. How come you're leading the mission?" Jackal asked. Agent 103 regarded him with a cool stare. "You want to lead the mission? Fine by me, but here," Agent 103 handed Jackal the documents she had previously been scanning over, "you're going to need these."
Jackal looked rather surprised that Agent 103 gave him leadership with no qualms. He took several minutes to look over the papers, and then promptly placed them back in 103's care, muttering something unintelligible. "Didn't think so." Agent 103 said smugly. "We'll meet you three at the chopper." Agent 457 told the top three. Jaguar nodded. The two teams went their separate ways.
"Think we can finally move it back yet?" Agent 421 asked. Agent 222 answered. "We'll sure try. If not, we're going to find out." They entered one of the rooms. It contained five bunks and was void of people. "She said it was in her locker. Anybody know her password?" asked 457. "Move over, I got this." Agent 700 declared.
She fiddled around with the lock mechanism for a bit, and after fifty-two seconds of complete silence from the other elites, the door opened. An avalanche of things came pouring out, followed by the soft plop of a small, dark green cardboard box. Agent 103 picked it up. "I'll hide it under my bunk because it's in the corner of our room." she reasoned.
After packing all of the things back into Agent 777's locker, the elites swiftly ran to their room, stashed the box, and managed to meet up with the top three at the allotted time.
"Hi guys!" the extra called from inside the chopper. The elites all inwardly groaned. It was Agent 777. Usually, they have no problem with her, but when it came to missions, kidnappings, and even walking straight, Agent 777 was a complete klutz. She grabbed one of the seats with one hand and leaned out of the helicopter, waving a box around.
"Look, I have the sleep serum, and the…Oof!" Agent 777 was cut off as she lost her grip and fell out of the aerial vehicle. Agent 421 face-palmed. "I'm okay." Agent 777 groaned. Jaguar appeared from inside the chopper and pulled her back inside. The elites walked over and began to file in after her.
By the time all nine elites, the top three, and the extra agent had piled into the chopper, there was barely any room to breath. "Your elbow is digging into my back." Agent 546 complained to Agent 421. "Here, let me move it." Agent 421 said. She swung her elbow around and whacked the side of his head. "Ow! Wrong way!" "Oops, I'm sooo sorry" Agent 421 said with fake sweetness.
"Yeah right." Agent 546 grumbled.
"Where is Ray? He should have been here ten minutes ago." grumbled Jaguar. "I'm here!" a voice yelled from across the landing pad. A gangly youth of eighteen was dragging along an over-exaggerated sledge hammer along behind him. The handle of the hammer was titanium and roughly half of a yard long while the head of it was square and sleek without a scratch on it.
"Sorry, the wiring on this is going faulty again." Ray raised his right arm to reveal a thick silver band from his wrist to his inner elbow, with smaller strips of silver snaking away from it. The smaller spriderwebing strands ended in rounded points.
"546, think you could take a quick look at it while we're flying?" Ray asked once he had dragged his weapon to the chopper. Agent 546 pushed his way out of the crowded cargo compartment. "Anything to get out of that clown car in the back."
Pilot and mechanic climbed into the front seat. Ray looked at the rest of the passengers. "Night goggles and seatbelts on, everybody!" Rubber snapped into place as everyone's vision went green. Cobra looked around. "What seatbelts? THERE ARE NO SEATBELTS!" Cobra yelled in a panic. Ray laughed in response and began to start the helicopter with his left hand while Agent 546 inspected the web of metal on his right arm.
The chopper lifted off the ground and began to climb into the air. "If you crash us because you were flying with one hand, Ray, whatever's left of me is going to kick your butt." Jaguar threatened. "Lighten up, Jaguar, I've never crashed this one before." Ray said. "HE SAID THIS ONE! I DISTINCTIVELY HEARD HIM SAY THIS ONE!" said a hysterical Cobra. "Hey, Cobra?" Agent 700 asked him. "Yeah?" "Shut up."
"Here's the problem," Agent 546 said. He was poking about the wires with a screwdriver. "The nanos' connectivity has been severed. They can't interlock because there's liquid in the way. You spilled juice on them again, didn't you?" he accused Ray.
"Maybe." Ray responded evasively. Agent 546 looked at him but said nothing. He pulled out a small doohickey and began to fiddle with the main silver band. A small spark welled up and began to travel through the nanobytes. Agent 546 adjusted his grip on the doohickey, moving his thumb for the plastic to the metal on the tool briefly. He jerked it away suddenly and howled in pain.
The entire system of wires began to glow a faint silvery blue. "It's working again." Agent 546 said in a tight voice edge with pain. "What's wrong, Agent 546," Jackal asked, "can't handle a little spark?" "That 'little spark' in the nanos has more power than a taser. Do you want to touch it?" Agent 222 asked him sarcastically. Jackal glared. "Well maybe…"
"If you look out the left window, you will see that we are swiftly approaching the balcony." Ray interrupted. Everyone's attention was diverted to the window. A bare, brown cliff stared back. "Where? There's nothing there but rock." Jaguar questioned in annoyance. "What? You thought that there'd be a glass balcony with a pool awaiting you?" Ray asked her sarcastically.
He began to hover over a jagged outcropping. "546, press the green button." Ray said. Once it was pushed, a panel that was behind Cobra began to slide back, creating a square hole on the right side of the helicopter. Cobra scrabbled to the left side when he felt the wind on his back.
"Ladder's beside Agent 457, just hook to the loops and you're good to go. I'll be hovering nearby until you secure the package," were Ray's final instructions. The agents scurried down the ladder one by one until only Cobra and 453 remained.
Cobra took one look at the twenty yard descent and stammered, "Maybe I ought to stay up here with Ray. You know, just in case something goes wrong." "You're either going down that ladder, or I'll push you down." Agent 453 threatened. Cobra gulped. The idea of going down the ladder was unappealing, but being pushed was far worse, and deadlier.
Slowly, Cobra started going down the ladder. When he was only a couple yards away from the bottom, Agent 453 grabbed the edges of the ladder with his gloves. With a flourish, he started sliding down the ladder with a barely audible half yell of "Geronimo!"
Cobra scrambled down the last few rungs and leapt away, just seconds before Agent 453 came to a stop at the bottom. Bit by bit, the thirteen teens began creeping up to the wall. Agent 700 began inspecting it, occasionally poking and prodding the cliff. After several tense moments, Agent 700 pushed a small rock into the cliff.
Just like in the movies, a small keypad appeared. "You only get three tries, Agent 700, before the alarm sounds." Agent 221 warned. She pushed 6 four times. (Moon) The keypad beeped but nothing more. A furrowed brow of concentration appeared momentarily on her face. She tentatively pressed 9653. (Wolf) A sour beep indicated another wrong answer. Cobra walked forward. "Let me try." he insisted. A questioning glance flickered across her face but she stepped aside.
Cobra jabbed the buttons 1234. A different kind of beep sounded. Agent 700 froze. The cliff face slid back. The elites stood dumbfounded. "How is this place still standing with passwords like that?" Agent 103 asked, half to herself. Jackal high-fived Cobra. "Two great minds think alike," Cobra crowed. "But two idiots seldom differ." Agent 421 murmured the rest of the quote.
Agent 507 entered the pitch black room first, the rest filing in behind. Soundlessly they crossed the room, staying low and breathing lightly until the reached the bed. Agent 777 passed the box forward. Agent 222, the poison expert, took the box and opened it. She cradled the vial lightly in her hands, and slowly drew herself up. The covers rose and fell around a figure in the bed.
The tasteless contents of the vial were slowly dripped into the open sleeping figure's mouth. She was just screwing the top to the vial back on when a light flickered on. Night goggles quickly came off as the tuxedoed person in the doorway looked at them slyly. The person was Wolfe. Agent 222 yanked back the covers and looked at the person in the bed. It was… Wolfe.
"Like my twin? You must, else you wouldn't have tried to kidnap him just now." The head of Shadow Wolves was interrupted as a small child in star pajamas ran up to Wolfe. "Yes, yes, what is it? You got here just as I was giving my evil monologue." The little boy whispered something in his ear. "What do you mean I have no reinforcements? How else am I supposed to take on Alpha's best agents?" Wolfe questioned.
The kid shrugged his shoulders and ran off. "Wait! Don't leave me with them!" Wolfe shouted at the retreating youth. Wolfe looked at the agents. "Well, this is an interesting turn of events. If you don't mind, I think I'll just…"
"GET HIM!" Agent 453 yelled. Wolfe ran to the left, which only left him one escape option: the balcony. "I really didn't think this through." Wolfe said. He ran his fingers through his hair as he slowly backed away from the agents, and closer to the cliff. The dirt crumbled under his left foot and he almost fell. "Give it up, Wolfe, there's nowhere to run." Agent 457 said. Wolfe's eyes lit up at her words.
"Yes, there IS nowhere to run. Which is why I'll fly!" Wolfe closed the distance between him and the edge of the cliff in a single stride. He pressed his left cufflink and clicked the heels of his black dress shoes. "Au revoir, agents." Wolfe proclaimed as he stepped of the edge of the cliff.
The agents watched as Wolfe slowly came back into view. The heels of his shoes were spitting flames, enabling him to fly. He was already several hundred feet away. There was only one thing the grounded agents could do. "RAY!" Agent 546 bellowed. A helicopter appeared out of thin air. Literally. Ray brought the helicopter down from the thin air above them. "You called?" Ray asked.
"Wolfe is getting away!" Agent 103 yelled. "Oh, right! On it!" Ray steered the chopper in Wolfe's direction. Wolfe may have had a head start, but Ray had speed on his side. He was soon right behind Wolfe. "Come 'ere you!" Ray leaned out of the chopper and nabbed the back of Wolfe's tuxedo. He was flying with just one hand again.
Wolfe lashed out at Ray, causing the chopper to violently lurch to the left. Ray jabbed the autopilot on and braced his feet in the helicopter to use both hands. Wolfe struggled against Ray's grip, forcing him farther out of the helicopter. Wolfe kicked and fought, and in the process, clicked his heels against each other again. The flames suddenly stopped and he dropped like a deadweight in Ray's grip. He refused to let go of Wolfe, and as a result, he was yanked right out of the helicopter and was dragged down with him.
The agents saw this from the cliff and frantically started digging through their bags. They drew out hooks and ropes, which they attached to the cliff. Then they began a frenzied descent.
Ray and Wolfe started freefalling, hurtling towards the ground, gaining speed faster and faster every second. They tumbled and twisted in each other's grips now. For one second Ray would have Wolfe in a chokehold, then you would blink and Wolfe would have Ray's arms pinned behind him.
In the split second that Ray had his arms locked under Wolfe's armpits, his automatic parachute suddenly deployed, and they were yanked upward. The back of Wolfe's head slammed into Ray's face. His nose took the brunt of the blow, and it instantly started bleeding. Ray took one hand to cover his nose and stem the bleeding, and that's when Wolfe took his chance. He jabbed his free arm's elbow into Ray's throat. Ray started gasping and began to choke on his own blood. His hand moved from his nose to his throat now.
Thirteen rock climbers hit the middle of the cliff. Their controlled falling got just a little less controlled and more rapid.
They were only twenty yards from the ground now. Throughout Ray's wheezing and choking, he kept a relentless grip on Wolfe with the arm that wasn't clutching his throat. Ten yards. Wolfe bit the hand Ray was holding him with his surgically enhanced canines. Ray yelled in pain, but the yell was cut short by the sound of gurgling blood. Wolfe heard Ray and bit harder.
Five yards. The agents were almost to the ground now. Agent 453 jumped the last ten feet. He hit the dirt and started rushing towards the frozen lake. Twelve pairs of shoes hit the ground and started running.
Ray spit out a mouthful of blood. It fell onto the ice below, the strikingly different temperatures making it bounce back up. Now his breathing was semi-normal. He took his right hand off his throat and started bashing Wolfe over the head to get him to release his left hand.
One yard. The agents hit ice.
Wolfe let go of Ray's left hand in favor of shoving him away, successfully breaking the grip. Help was still 300 yards away. Wolfe's feet touched ice first. He swayed a bit unsteadily on the slippery surface. Ray's feet touched a second after, only four feet from Wolfe.
Ray was much lighter on his feet than Wolfe from the moment he was on the ice. Ray closed the short distance between him and tackled Wolfe. The parachute fell over them, obscuring the other agent's view of the vicious fight that followed. The parachute started moving around, violently jabbing out in random directions.
The dueling duo under the parachute started tumbling dangerous closer to the thin ice. It started to crack underneath them. The greedy, gurgling spiral of water lapped eagerly at the edges of the spriderwebing ice, wanting nothing more than to suck them down and batter their bodies in the spiral.
Occasionally you would see a foot or a hand fly out from under the parachute. It would quickly vanish and then appear somewhere else. The parachute shot up abruptly and slid off. Wolfe was standing tall, despite the double black eyes he was sporting and various tears in his suit. He was missing chunks of his fiery hair, and when he grinned maliciously at his victory, he was missing several teeth. He had a vice-like grip around Ray's neck.
Ray looked none worse for the wear than Wolfe though, for the only visible injuries he had were his still bleeding nose, a split lip, and a leg that was bent in a direction that a leg should never bend. His face was contorted in anger, and even with a broken leg he still thrashed about in Wolfe's arms.
Wolfe started yanking Ray along, forcing him to awkwardly hop backwards after him on his one good leg. The elites and top three stopped twenty yards from Wolfe and Ray. Agent 103 pulled a shuriken from her pouch. Wolfe smiled.
"Nobody move or bloody and bruised here," Wolfe used his free hand to jerk Ray's hair up so they could get a better look at his blood-caked, snarling face, "goes for a little swim. Now drop the shuriken." Wolfe's tone of voice claimed sheep, but his words betrayed the animal from which he claimed his name. Agent 103 froze, contemplating whether to throw it anyways. Wolfe's smile fell.
"Drop. The. Shuriken. It is a rather simple concept, really. Release the built up tension within your muscles by uncurling your fingers, thus causing the laws of gravity to act upon the shuriken so that it may tumble from the hand." Wolfe instructed.
"Don't do it, 103!" Ray howled. Wolfe's green eyes flashed with anger. He tightened his grip on Ray's neck and cuffed his left ear. "Quiet, you." Wolfe hissed. He looked back at Agent 103. "The shuriken, or your friend."
A clatter rang out as metal hit ice. "Good. Now when I get to the other side of the lake, I will let your little friend go." Wolfe began walking backwards again, slower this time, Ray half hopping, half being dragged, along.
Wolfe leaned in close to Ray's ear. "Looks like the bad guy's getting away, and taking the little broken pilot with him. Heh, maybe if you're lucky, they'll leave you here to die. After all, it IS all your fault that I'm escaping, and for that, I can't thank you enough." Wolfe's breath smelled of blood. Probably from where Wolfe had bit him.
Ray felt hatred boiling up. "Not. Today." Ray whispered. He lifted his right palm up. Silver-blue light welled up and concentrated into a disk in his hand. An electromagnetic pulse discharged and shot towards the helicopter. It started vibrating, and an object rocketed out of it. Ray's hammer flew into the palm of his hand. "Don't do it, Ray! Just let him go!" Jaguar screamed. Ray's face hardened.
He dropped the hammer.
Three hundred pounds of super compressed steel touched thin ice. It hovered on the ice for a fraction of a second, then plunged through.
The effect was instantaneous. Cracks spider webbed across the ice. Slabs of solid water drifted apart, soon to be eaten by the hungry whirlpool. Wolfe's face was an 'o' of surprise as he plummeted beneath the churning waters. Ray had his eyes closed, and had a small smile on his face as he sank beneath the waters and accepted his fate.
The icy waters swiftly claimed the contrasting warm bodies. The agents watched in horror as neither reappeared above the surface for even a mere second. It seemed like days before Jackal spoke and broke the silence. "We should report this to Alpha." he said with sadness.