Captain Boehm sat alone in the cargo bay of a large aircraft, flying high above the earth. The vehicle was so high that the captain needed a sealed tactical suit with a breathing apparatus, covering every inch of his pale skin. The only noise was the deafening aircraft engines and Alex's rhythmic breathing against the clear fog-resistant faceplate on his helmet.
"How are you doing, Alex?" JayJay asked through the radio from some other location.
"I'm ok. I checked everything. My suit is sealed, I have my weapon and ammo, my parachute looks good, and I checked to make sure the Fulton device looks like it's working. I'll get in there, grab the general, and get out."
"Alright, but you be careful, ok? Just make sure you get home."
"Of course, Jay. Hey, I have you waiting for me back at home, don't I?"
The wolf didn't say anything, but Alex could tell she was blushing. The voice of the pilot came through.
"Prepare for jump, 60 seconds."
"Listen, Jay, I gotta go. Take care. I'll see you later."
"Ok, I'll be waiting for you." The wolf said, then made a kissing sound.
"30 seconds." The pilot said.
The Heroes leader prepared himself, steadying his nerves. He grabbed hold of the metal handles on either side of the small cargo bay as the bay doors below opened up.
"10 seconds."
Alex could see the curved earth far below him. The sun reflecting off the sea, clouds blowing in the wind, and mighty mountain ranges.
"Jump!"
The captain let go of the metal handles and plunged down towards the planet. He was now truly alone in the border between sky and space. The earth slowly grew closer and closer, as Alex could hear air racing by him as he continued his descent. Below him was China's countryside, stretched out in all its glory, brimming with people, cities, and natural landscapes.
Using this moment of peace, the captain went over what intelligence had been gathered about the prison. There would be plenty of guards at the site, locks equipped with retinal scanners, and most likely a heavily geared up armed response team. But it was Nothing that couldn't be handled.
As he neared the ground, holographic numbers appeared on the glass faceplate of the helmet Alex was wearing.
"5... 4... 3... 2... 1..."
Rapidly blinking words flashed across his glass faceplate.
"DEPLOY! DEPLOY! DEPLOY!"
The captain fumbled for a second and then pulled the cord on his backpack, quickly slowing down as the parachute unfurled and decreased his velocity.
The ground came closer and closer, appearing dark expanse of forest, rock, dirt, and trees. He directed himself towards a small clearing in a group of trees and landed. The captain disconnected the parachute in a flash and started to bundle it up upon touching the ground. He tucked the parachute back into his kit in a position where it wouldn't hinder his movement or fighting. Alex didn't want to leave any evidence behind that someone might discover.
The Chinese prison would only be a short trek away, and the captain was ready. He carried a pistol and a semi-auto rifle, both silenced. Alex's eyes picked out a few lights ahead and a chainlink fence. He crept up to the metal structure and used a small laser cutting device to breach the wall before transitioning to the other side. His eyes continuously scanned for Chinese guards, taking note of their movements and positions.
Moving into the next area, the captain spotted some guards on patrol, and they would need to be taken down for him to pass. A canine sniper was positioned up in a tower, surveying the entire area. The captain took aim with his rifle and fired a single shot. The bullet cut through the air, striking the canine and putting him down for the count.
Moving ahead, Alex crept behind a pile of containers and gave a small whistle.
"Huh?"
A Chinese guard heard the noise and slowly moved to investigate. When he neared the containers, Alex jumped out and stabbed the soldier in the neck with his knife. The trooper tried to say something, but all that came out was a low gargle as the guard's body was pulled behind the containers.
Two more guards, both humans, were chatting nearby. After exchanging a couple of words, they parted ways and went in separate directions. Alex put them both down with highly accurate headshots from his rifle. One guard left, but he had his back burned and didn't notice what was happening. Before he could make a move, the captain had already silenced him with some SMG shots.
The captain pressed further ahead, entering the prison proper. A pair of security cameras protected the entrance, but they were quickly destroyed with gunfire. The captain tried the door, but it was locked. He moved to an electrical panel on the wall nearby, using brute strength to pull off the metal covering.
He messed around with the wires inside until a small buzzer went off, indicating the door was open. The captain reloaded his weapon and entered the prison. There was a security station directly inside. However, the trio of Chinese guards was busy looking at monitoring screens. Probably wondering why they had suddenly lost the signal from their security cameras outside.
The captain crouched down and slowly moved past the security station windows, going around to the door and opening it.
The guards inside froze, seeing an unknown agent standing there, pistol in hand. A panda guard tried to draw his gun. But before he could raise it to a firing position, captain Boehm had already shot him dead. His body slumped back against the wall and onto the floor.
The other two guards were sure to comply now, for fear of suffering the same fate.
The captain kept his gun trained on the two remaining guards. At the same time, he typed into a computer terminal in the security room, searching through the prisoners' list in the computer system.
While Alex was distracted momentarily, gazing at the computer screen. One of the guards, a tiger, started to move. Without even flinching, Alex aimed his pistol at his chest and squeezed back a little bit on the trigger. The weapon didn't go off, but the tiger got the message and returned to where he was previously.
The captain finally found his objective's name in the prisoner database. It was a foreign name, so it was easy to spot. Tom Jones, a human US general, captured by the PLA, and Alex was here to rescue him. He was located in cell 20. Keeping his gun trained on the guards, Alex backed out of the security station and pointed down the hallway. The guards complied and moved deeper into the prison, soon coming upon a metal door with a retinal lock.
Alex pointed to the lock, and one of the guards, a pig, moved towards it. She opened her eye and allowed the device to scan her. The metal door hummed and opened.
With their usefulness fulfilled, the captain hit both guards on the head with his pistol. Knocking them out before stealing their keys. He advanced into the prison proper, looking at the numbers in the cell doors until he found cell 20. He unlocked the small metal slot in the door and called inside.
"General Jones?"
The human inside instantly got up and went over to the door upon hearing someone with an American accent.
"Yes? Who are you?"
"I'm Captain Alex Boehm. I'm here to rescue you."
The captain passed his pistol to the general through the metal slot used to give out food trays.
"I'm going to open all the cells, that should start a riot and give us cover to escape."
"Ok, be quick now."
The captain left the general's cell and moved towards the prison watchtower, sticking to the shadows and avoiding the guards' eyes. Alex slowly moved up into the tower itself and gunned down both guards inside before they could make a move.
He then moved over to the control panel used to open the cell doors and opened up all of them. He also opened every security door in the prison, which would make escape easier.
Mammals of all sizes moved out into the prison hallways as the captain headed back to the general's cell. A few prisoners gave Alex weird looks as he passed by. But they noticed the American flag on his shoulder and recognized that he was not one of their wardens.
General Jones had already moved out of his cell into the hallway, pistol in his hands. He was a somewhat older man, his face being aged, but his hair and mustache had not turned gray yet. Alex knew all that meant was that he was experienced and could handle himself in combat. His uniform was also redder in color than the other inmates' orange uniforms, indicating he was a high-security prisoner.
"General?"
"Captain?"
"I have an escape plan. We need to get back outside, and then we'll extract via Fulton."
Suddenly, alarm bells rang out, indicating someone had clued in about what was going on inside the prison.
"Guess we better move."
The pair began moving through the prison, weapons at the ready. Many inmates followed close behind, some armed with makeshift weapons, but most had just their claws.
The mob of mammals came upon a single wolf guard with his back turned, facing off against 5 inmates. The inmates had him outnumbered and surrounded, but the guard was armed with a pistol. His aim was rapidly snapping from one inmate to the next. One of the prisoners tried to tackle the guard, but he was quickly gunned down.
Captain Boehm drew his knife and crept up behind the guard before driving the blade deep into his back and putting him down. A cheer erupted from the assembled inmates as one spit on the guard's body, and the American general picked up the discarded pistol, along with some more ammo from the guard. Tucking both items into his clothing.
As the group kept moving forward, through a large holding area and towards a pair of doors, a team of mammals in riot gear suddenly burst through the exit and began to advance. They were dressed head to toe in body armor and carried batons and shields.
Battle cries and howls broke out as both sides surged towards each other. Captain Boehm and General Jones engaged, managing to take down 2 riot troopers. Still, other soldiers blocked the gunfire with their shields.
A wolf trooper ran at the captain, baton in the air, ready to strike down. But Alex grabbed the wolf's wrist and prevented him from striking before breaking the wrist. The wolf screamed, but the captain punched him in the face, breaking the plastic faceplate and knocking the wolf out.
Another riot trooper charged, but Alex dodged the attack, got behind the enemy, and put some rounds in her.
Elsewhere, the general had gotten his hands on one of the guard's buttons and was currently wielding the weapon in his left hand, with one of his pistol in the right.
He gunned down and whacked many guards, all the while the riot troopers and inmates fought around him.
"Boehm! I need ammo!" The general said, tossing Alex the pistol given to him earlier.
The captain caught the pistol and tucked it back in his holster.
"SMG!" The captain yelled, throwing the general his P90 SMG. Both Americans were now armed with a primary weapon and a sidearm.
A riot trooper attacked, forcing the captain to pause what he was saying for a moment to parry the blow and return the hit the soldier with the butt of his rifle.
"AMMO!" Alex threw the general a pouch of ammo and continued to engage the Chinese riot troopers.
Then, through the crowd emerged a large water Buffalo riot guard, repeatedly tapping his baton against the inside of his hoof. Markings on his uniform indicated that he was a commander.
"I'll handle this." Captain Boehm said, moving towards the Buffalo. The guard swung downward, forcing Alex to sidestep the strike. The Buffalo attacked again, forcing Alex to jump as the heavy baton passed under him.
With a brief window, Boehm landed a few shots on the Buffalo. Not enough to kill him, but doing damage. The commander countered and swung with his arm, hitting Alex and sending the human flying backward.
"Ok... ow..." the captain said, getting back on his feet and checking over his body. "Nothing's broken. Let's try that again."
The captain put his rifle on his back and drew his pistol before charging towards the Buffalo.
The guard commander swung, but Alex dodged the attack and jumped up onto the Buffalo's arm. As he ran up the arm, the guard tried to grab the smaller human. But Alex jumped off the arm onto the wall, leaped off the wall, and landed behind the Buffalo's head on the guard's back.
Before the commander could react, Alex shot the Buffalo's hand, causing him to drop the baton. The commander yelled and tried to grab the human, who hunkered down to avoid the strikes.
Boehm tore off the guard's helmet and held onto the Buffalo's horns, hitting the commander's face with his pistol. Using the horns and his sidearm as an extremely rudimentary control scheme, Alex pushed on the horns and forced the Buffalo forward towards a squad of riot troopers. Upon reaching the group, Alex once again bashed the commander's face with his pistol. This caused the Buffalo to flail about widely and slam the ground, knocking down some of the smaller riot guards with his immense strength. Alex directed the Buffalo to another group of guards and made the commander slam into them as well, sending the guards flying backward.
There was no longer any use for the commander. The way was clear of hostiles. The captain leaped off the Buffalo's back and lined up his shot while still in the air. He pulled the trigger, and a group of bullets hit the rear of the commander's head, killing him.
Another cheer erupted from the inmates, and the crowd made haste to the exit doors.
"You can sure as hell fight." General Jones said.
"So can you."
The 2 Americans and the inmates reached the exit. The prisoners immediately started running to get as far away from the prison as they could.
"This way," Alex said, him and the general leaving the inmates and heading towards a construction site.
"Looks like we're clear." General Jones said, scanning the area with his weapon at the ready.
"Ok, put this on," Alex said, taking out a harness and putting it on the general.
Suddenly gunfire erupted nearby, and the pair of Americans readied their weapons.
"Armed response team." The general said.
"Take cover."
The pair ducked behind parts of a concrete foundation in the construction site.
A group of 5 Chinese soldiers in full combat gear entered the area—their rifles at the ready.
2 soldiers were gunned down by Alex and Jones before they could get to cover. The remaining trio returned fire, forcing the Americans to take cover.
Jones lined up a headshot on one Chinese trooper and pulled the trigger.
Captain Boehm targeted a soldier moving from cover to cover and sprayed him with bullets.
The last soldier was outnumbered and swiftly eliminated.
"We're clear." The general said, checking twice to make sure there was no one else in the vicinity.
"More will be here soon. We need to get out of here."
Captain Boehm clipped his own harness to the generals and attached a small device to the pair. He activated the device, and the hiss of pressurized air could be heard. A white balloon inflated, growing bigger and bigger as it climbed into the sky.
The balloon was connected to the 2 Americans by a tough cord. The cable itself blinked with lights as if it was bioluminescent. This was the Fulton device, and it would get them out of Chinese territory.
A plane's engines' dull roar could be heard as a disguised cargo plane above spotted the glowing balloon and cord and started to line up with them.
On the ground, Jones and Alex heard the footsteps of more approaching Chinese soldiers. The metal components of their combat gear jingled as they moved.
The two Americans were stuck in 1 spot, weapons at the ready, as the plane grew closer and closer.
The Chinese troops entered the construction site, but before anyone could fire, the plane snagged the balloon and cord, pulling Alex and Jones into the air. The Chinese troops could only watch astonished as their targets disappeared into the night sky.
American airmen inside the cargo plane pulled Alex and Jones inside the aircraft before closing the cargo hatch.
Captain Boehm took off his helmet and ran a hand through his brown hair.
General Jones offered his own hand for the captain to shake.
"It was an honor to fight by your side." The general said. "I owe you my life for getting me out of there. Thank you."
Alex returned the favor and shook the general's hand.
"The honor was all mine. And with you free, we'll make some serious headway against the Chinese."
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I hope everyone is enjoying this story! Please don't forget to give feedback! I am going back to college soon, so I don't know when the next update will be. But it is my new year's resolution to finish this story this year, and I am committed to do so! So stay tuned!
