Day 3: Camp Jefferson- US Naval Base; south-western Virginia, United States, 17:58 EST
The small unmanned shuttle, a van-sized steel rectangular vehicle built for slow descent and with the carrying capacity for a dozen, came to a halt at the rear end of the base just a little ways past the entrance. There was a click of locks being released and the entire side of the shuttle facing towards the base swung upwards and open. Gibbs exited first carrying an M-16, followed by Tony with the same type of weapon and Giguère, who was clutching the same silver handgun he had when Gibbs had first encountered him at the CIA headquarters in Langley. Gage was the last, the ground making an audible thump as the massive black soldier hopped off the shuttle. The South African clearly liked to match his superior size and abilities with some heavy artillery; he carried an R4 assault rifle in his hands and had a Mossberg 590 shotgun slung over his shoulder. The only time he had hesitated was when he had to decide which one of the weapons to use first.
The shuttle immediately lifted upwards again and began its automatic ascent back to the NCIS. Gibbs had expressed concern that such a sizable plane would attract too much attention if it got too close to the base, putting the marines down there in even more trouble than they already were. Stephanie had recommended the use of the automated drop-shuttle located in the cargo hold of the NCIS; quick, quiet and able to get them down to the ground with a minimal chance of being detected too early.
Gibbs stared up at the area of sky just in front of them; the grey clouds were casting a definite dark shadow over the base- not very dark, but enough to give the atmosphere a certain chill. They all seemed to be centred around the giant aircraft that was parked on the other side of the base- most likely just inland from the sea. Observing the plane in question, Gibbs noticed that it was of the same shape and colour of the one that had attacked them at Camp Barry, but he had made a serious miscalculation about its size. The ship was larger than his original estimate of that of a 747- much larger. In fact it had to be at least three times the size of his original estimate. Gibbs had never seen any aircraft that huge. It was almost as if the thing had been pulled right out of a science fiction movie- or whatever kind of films involved giant airplanes.
Suppressing that thought in his mind, the team leader clutched his assault rifle and made sure the safety was off. As he did, he could faintly see in the foreground the air waving slightly, spread over the grounds of the base, like it was being heated from underneath. The ex-marine recalled footage from Camp Barry and another thought entered his mind. "Giguère," he called back, passing his eyes over the immediate area to check for any threats, "you sure those injections will protect us from the nerve toxin?"
"It is impossible to be completely certain," the Frenchman responded, "But in relatively limited exposure, the counter-measure should bond with inhaled gas and prevent it from attacking the central nervous system- in theory."
"In theory?" Tony turned incredulously towards the scientist. "You're not inspiring my confidence, doc."
"It is an experimental design. The only way to test its effectiveness is direct contact with the nerve toxin. A sign of a successful test will be if we all survive." He paused for breath, inhaling audibly before adding with a touch of relish, "Should be exciting!"
"At any rate, it ought to be a good fight!" Gage declared, grinning from ear to ear.
"A good fight? Is that all you can think about?" Tony asked the South African. "We have a situation here and that's the biggest thing on your mind?"
"I fight- doesn't matter who for." Gage shrugged. "Not yet anyway."
"That's real reassuring." The ex-cop muttered.
"Enough speeches." Gibbs interrupted the exchange. "Everyone move out."
There were no objections or further comments out of the group as Gibbs led them forward. The entrance to the base led to a large open area surrounded by various buildings. Large steel crates were scattered all throughout the area, as well as what appeared to be large cases similar to the ones seen in the surveillance footage at Camp Barry that the Blood Devils had put the paralyzed base personnel in for transportation aboard their aircraft. On the far side of the square, Gibbs could see a small path leading between two of the buildings in the direction of the other side of the base.
"Boss, these cases." Tony's voice broke the silence as they slowly advanced onto the scene.
"I know, DiNozzo. They're the ones the Blood Devils used at the other base." Gibbs replied, staring at the gigantic aircraft. All around him, the ex-marine could feel the change in atmosphere as the paralytic gas enveloped him. He wasn't feeling his muscles lose their use yet, which meant that Giguère's countermeasure was working- for now at least. "Gotta mean that they're still here. And they likely haven't taken all of the marines yet."
"Well, that's a good thing then, right? It's not too late to…"
Gibbs, who spotted a flash of movement from behind one of the crates on the far side of the square, shouted, "Look out!"
Out of either instinct or training, the four men dove forward, ducking behind crates of their own. A second later, a hail of gunfire echoed throughout the plaza followed by the sound of bullets clinking off metal right by their heads. Barely five seconds after that, a lot more gunfire echoed throughout the area and the bullets ricocheting off the crates increased tenfold.
"Well," Tony shouted over the din, "I guess simply talking them into surrendering peacefully isn't an option anymore!" The ex-cop was crouched behind a crate in the centre of the square along with Giguère. Gibbs had ducked behind his own one to the right of the two while on Tony's other side the team leader could make out Gage's massive bulk pressed against an especially large crate.
"Gotta be sentries guarding the entrance." Gibbs called back. Some damn aggressive sentries- doubt they'll go down easy. Using extreme caution, the ex-marine peered around the crate to get a look at the battlefield. He could see various balaclava-clad, dark combat-suited figures taking cover behind several crates and immediately noticed a pattern; every time a few of them ducked down, presumably to reload their weapons, the rest of them would lay down heavy fire on Gibbs' squad and keep them pinned down. Smart strategy, the ex-sniper thought. Exactly the kind that I'd use. In between these rotations, Gibbs did a quick assessment and counted six troopers.
"Gotta be at least half a dozen." Gibbs called out. "Try to pick them off without getting killed!" Without waiting for a response, he quickly moved to the other side of the crate, took as best aim as he could with his assault rifle and fired. His quick shots caught a Blood Devil on the far right side in the shoulder, causing it to stagger out of its position of cover. Gibbs fired another burst and hit it square in the chest, putting it down for good. At the same time, Tony finished off one in the centre and hit another in the arm just a few metres away; the momentary hesitation on the Blood Devil's part caused it to stand out of cover, and Giguère quickly finished it off with a headshot from his pistol.
Changing magazines from behind cover, Tony turned his attention over to the crate that shielded Gage from the heavy fire. Snapping the ammo clip into his weapon, he watched as the South African rose and sent a spray of bullets from his assault rifle at the enemy; one Blood Devil caught in the open went flying backwards as its torso was peppered with rounds. The remaining two Blood Devils seemed to recognize him as a major threat and focused their fire on him. Tony watched the black soldier almost in a state of envy; along with his thick combat suit, his huge stature and advanced regeneration allowed him to take more fire than any of the other three combined and survive wounds that would likely kill any other human. Gage allowed the bullet-proof vest to absorb several rounds before dropping back down; the two militants, temporarily forgetting that they were out in the open, were immediately gunned down by Gibbs and Giguère.
Taking a moment to ensure that all hostiles were indeed dead, Gibbs carefully stepped out and walked to the other end of the square. When he saw that the area was clear, he waved the others to come join him.
"Attendez une minute." Giguère said, jogging up towards the door of one of the buildings lining the square. "It is necessary to check the level of security still available to the base. Must examine it." He bent down beside the door and examined the electronic lock on it. For a few moments, he remained like that before standing up. "Very intriguing. Security systems seem to be completely disabled. Door locks, back-ups systems, all completely destroyed." He paused for breath. "Most unusual."
"Hardly unusual." Gibbs replied. "The security systems were all down at the other bases as well. McGee said it might be the result of some EMP pulse or something that hits the whole base at once or something like that. Would leave the base vulnerable to an attack."
"Indeed." The former DGSE operative agreed. "I am by no means an expert in technology, but that seems rational. Will have to defer observations to Agent McGee after the mission is complete. But it is likely that all buildings on the base will have suffered similar short-outs and will be inaccessible."
"We're wasting time." Gage argued. "There has to be more action to be had around here! That was barely a fight!"
"You'll have your chance to fight, don't worry." Gibbs responded, grasping his weapon. "Let's keep moving."
The four men led by Gibbs moved towards the far left corner of the square, where the path cutting through a couple of buildings lay. Gibbs led the way as they made their way down it, weapons at the ready. The path was about fifty yards long; at about the forty yard mark, Gibbs noticed something on the ground. As they drew closer, Gibbs could tell clearly what it was; a human body.
"Dead body. One moment." Giguère moved and knelt beside the figure while the other three kept a watchful eye out for any trouble. The figure on the ground was a blond male dressed in civilian clothing, his eyes rolled back into his head, his mouth wide open and his skin an unhealthy grey colour. Whoever the poor bastard was, Gibbs thought to himself, he definitely was not a marine.
Giguère seemed to have the same idea. "Civilian clothes. Not marine or Blood Devil. Unlikely to be innocent bystander- too high level security on base. Skin tone, pupil size suggests introduction of drugs. Possible interference with genetic code- mental capacity likely greatly diminished as well." The Frenchman stood up and looked at Gibbs. "It is possible that the Blood Devils are responsible; experiments on civilians not above their capabilities."
Tony stared at Giguère. "Experiments? What the hell were they doing, experimenting on people?"
"Possibly using them as distraction." Giguère replied. "Or programming them to act as a weapon; mindless shells that attack on sight. I cannot say for certain but it is irrelevant right now."
"Bet they still die if you shoot 'em." Gage liberally pointed out.
Looking at the body on the ground, Gibbs felt a sense of anger rise up into him. "The Blood Devils aren't going to get away with any more victims." He said firmly. "Let's get to the other side and clear them out."
Tony gripped his rifle with a new sense of strength and assuredness. "On your six, boss." He said firmly, nodding. Giguère and Gage also raised their weapons affirmatively as Gibbs led them along the rest of the path and around the next corner.
The area past the corner was very much like the entrance of the base; it was large and lined with various single-floor structures, likely bunks and the mess hall. More metal crates scattered the ground and along with them were more of the cases used to transport the paralyzed marines, all of them empty. Seeing something strange in the near distance, Gibbs took a step closer to take a look; about twenty yards away, he could make out the shapes of several people, some on the ground and some standing up. All of them were dressed in marine wear and none of them were moving.
Nearby, Tony bent over a young male who was lying on the ground, a fearful expression plastered on his clean-cut face. "He's been affected by the gas, boss. It's almost like some type of stasis field." He murmured, examining the paralyzed marine. "Leaves victims helpless, yet fully aware."
"It is very likely they have been in this state for a while." Giguère said, partly to himself. "Our intervention was timely."
Gibbs' gut gave a slight twist as he heard something on the far side of the area; something along the lines of- faint clicking sounds.
"Maybe a little too timely for some people…"
The words were barely out his mouth when there a sudden and drastic flurry of movement near the other end of the area. A group of at least seven Blood Devils had come racing in from both sides to form a defensive line near the back area. All of them stood their ground, eyeing Gibbs' squad- examining each member individually while passing their weapons sights over them…
NCIS
In front of the main terminal, the Blood Devil Commander observed the individual small screens. She watched as the viewpoints shifted among the faces of the newly arrived squad. The screens passed over the young man; the man with the dark jacket; the massive black soldier-
And then it passed over the face of the older man with the formidable look and piercing eyes.
The Commander's eyes immediately began to glow bright blue…
NCIS
On the ground, one of the Blood Devils took a few stumbling steps forward and suddenly began to shake. A bright blue light began being emitted from its eyes; it lifted itself up off the ground and stared up at the sky.
"I am establishing a direct connection."
A bright blue aura surrounded the Blood Devil as it came back down to the ground. Its bright blue eyes now focused immediately on the spot where Gibbs was standing. With one fluid motion, it had lifted up its weapon- a large dark one in the shape of an assault rifle but with the size of a mini-gun- and fired at Gibbs; there was a whining sound as a thin yellow beam, very similar to the one fired by the Blood Devil ship at Camp Barry, zoomed out of the barrel. The ex-marine barely had the time to duck behind a crate; he could hear the sizzling sound as the hot beam connected with the top of the crate, mere inches from his head. Over the whine, he could hear the deep voice radiate over the entire area, as though coming from some kind of giant speaker.
"Stop Gibbs."
"Gee, boss," Tony called from his place of concealment, "I know you've made some enemies over the years, but this is a bit much even for you!"
"DiNozzo…" Gibbs growled over the din, trying to send a death glare at the senior field agent and keep his head down at the same time.
"Got it, boss. Focus fire!" The ex-cop shouted out. As one, Tony and Gage both rose and fired on the glowing Blood Devil; the bullets seemed to hit their target but unlike their previous enemies, this one seemed relatively unaffected by the ammunition. It merely ignored the two and continued to focus its attention on Gibbs' place of concealment. The other Blood Devils, however, took notice of the attack, and Tony and Gage were forced to duck back down as a hailstorm of bullets perforated their places of cover.
Behind his own crate slightly ahead of the others, Giguère peered around his place of concealment to observe the situation. All of the team was being pinned down by heavy fire by the well-protected shock troopers, while the glowing Blood Devil, who almost seemed to be possessed by something else- something stronger, was keeping up a steady stream of fire from what looked to be some kind of beam weapon- a type of weapon he had not even heard about in his entire life. On top of that, the enemy in question appeared to be surrounded by some type of blue aura, which gave its body extra protection from their conventional attacks.
Situation outcome not promising.
In a flash decision, the Frenchman hopped out to the side of the crate and fired several rapid-fire, precise shots right at the head of the glowing Blood Devil, hoping that some conventional firepower directly to a known kill spot would finish the enemy off. Unfortunately, he had forgotten how many bullets were left in the magazine of his pistol and let out a frustrated cry as the hammer clicked harmlessly after only three shots. In the five seconds it took him to eject the mag from his weapon and jam a new one into it, the possessed Blood Devil had discovered where he was. As Giguère looked up, he was caught off guard as the Blood Devil had quickly moved across to his position and tackled the Frenchman, holding him down by the throat to the ground and sending his pistol flying out of reach.
Gritting his teeth in pain, Giguère stared up into the endless depths of the blue glow emanating from the militant's eyes. He grabbed hold off the Blood Devil's forearm in an effort to pry it off his throat, but the trooper's strength was unparalleled; the professor couldn't budge it an inch. As he looked into the depths of the Blood Devil's glow, he felt his own vision swim and darkness appear around the edges.
The sound of gunfire from the left interrupted the exchange; Giguère felt the pressure lessen as the Blood Devil turned in the same direction towards the sound of the distraction, and Giguère followed its line of sight; Gibbs, no longer under threat of having his head taken off by the yellow beam, had risen up and blasted a nearby Blood Devil with a rapid burst of gunfire. Gage and Tony followed suite and finished off two more Blood Devils. The distraction had caused the possessed trooper's attention to be taken off of Giguère, and that was all the time the Frenchman needed; quickly pulling his serrated knife from his belt, he slashed the underside of the forearm holding him to the ground. As the Blood Devil's grasp on his throat released itself, Giguère pulled himself forward and slashed the Achilles tendon on the militant's right heel, spilling a mysterious blue substance on the ground; the Blood Devil gave no indication of pain, but it did stumble forward and land on its knees on the ground. That was all the time Giguère needed to grab hold of his pistol and ram it right up against its face.
"Here." Giguère growled coldly. "Enjoy!"
He pulled the trigger. The Blood Devil's head disintegrated in a flash of black. The blue aura faded as the body crumpled onto the ground. Around the area, the deep voice spoke again.
"Terminating connection with this form."
"Thought I was harmless, did you?" Giguère declared to the prostrate figure. He stood up, looking down at the body of the headless Blood Devil. Fascinating. No signs of regular blood, no trace of afflicted head. Intriguing. Wonder what technology could have caused…
"Giguère, look out!"
Tony's voice pulled the Frenchman out of his thoughts; as he looked up he observed the three remaining Blood Devils all grouped together about ten feet away from him. The militants were raising their weapons towards his exposed form and even as he automatically raised his weapon up to defend himself, he knew he would never be able to take them all down in time. His years spent in the DGSE had honed his reflexes quite nicely but even those couldn't help him take down three enemies with automatic weapons at the same time; the odds were simply too great. They would fire on him in a second, and then-
"THIS. IS. SOUTH AFRICA!"
What could only be described a giant blur moved past Giguère, and as Gibbs turned startled towards the form, he realized that it was none other than Gage; the black soldier was charging headlong into the trio of Blood Devils in the position of an NFL linebacker, his head lowered and his shoulders out front, slinging his assault rifle onto his shoulder and switching to his shotgun. The Blood Devils noticed this and turned their weapons on him, but the South African seemed barely affected by the rapid-fire rounds. He slammed into all of them, sending the Blood Devils flying through the air and crashing heavily to the ground. In a flash he had fired shells into the bodies of two of the troopers; the third began to push itself back up on its hands, only for Gage to bring his massive foot down on the Blood Devil's back and force it back onto the ground. The South African put his shotgun to the back of its head and pulled the trigger; a spray of blue liquid and matter erupted out of the Blood Devil's head and it lay still.
"Hah!" Gage looked up, a massive grin on his face. "Now it's getting fun!"
There was stunned silence as the group surveyed the carnage which had played out directly in front of them.
It was Tony's voice that finally broke it after a moment. "You know, this reminds me of a movie…"
"Don't. Even. Say it, DiNozzo."
A/N: Love it? Hate it? Please review and give me feedback/constructive criticism!
Plenty more action in the following chapter!