Part 4 – Trouble in Paradise – Part 2
Needless to say, going for hours in a boat, at full speed is something no one can get used to unless you're a speedboat racer.
Eren and Armin had been on multiple patrols with the 'Brown River Navy' on various PBRs, but those boats weren't traveling at the speed they were going, and the engine the PBRs were using weren't as powerful as the one on that boat.
Eren never really got seasick, and neither did Armin, a few members of their old unit got seasick a whole lot, sometimes the boat chief had to stop a few times before they got on the rivers.
Right now, though, sitting there in a boat that was going faster than he's ever gone on semi-choppy waters with the roar of an engine he'd expect to find in a truck, and the wind whipping around his head like he was on some kind of motorcycle, he could defiantly feel the sea starting to take its toll on him.
But then again, they could see the vessel they were supposed to rendezvous with ahead, a large-cabin yacht named the Volunteer under the command of Daz, a young agent that was only really useful for transportation.
The yacht itself was about as plain as you could get, white paint with a blue and dark blue decal running down the side, the wooden floors were made of some kind of stained dark wood, and the flying bridge had a dark-colored fabric roof covering every area that would heat up like a metal tray in an oven.
As they pulled up behind the yacht, Eren removed the headphones, and goggles before leaning back in his chair, his spine audibly popping as he stretched, "Hell of a way to travel," Armin said.
"Yea," Eren said, "That has to be the roughest ride I've ever had. Even rougher than that time we were fighting at Mekong."
"Yea," Armin said as he stood up, and stretched, "Although we were taking a shit ton of fire from all around us."
"And mortar fire," Eren said.
As they were climbing aboard, Daz stepped out to greet them, "Hey there guys," he said.
"Hey Daz," Armin said as he and Eren climbed into the back of the yacht, "You have the plans?"
"In the cabin," Daz said, "I'll get us to the lab. Should take us about an hour."
"Step on it," Eren said.
As Eren and Armin walked into the yacht's main cabin, Eren spoke up, "They couldn't provide us with a seaplane or something?"
"A seaplane isn't exactly stealthy," Armin said, "But I will be the first to admit, there could have been a faster way," he then pointed at the schematics, "Here they are."
As Armin rolled out the plans he acquired, Eren grabbed a few things to hold it down, "This thing seems as if it was designed to make sure spies couldn't escape," he said.
"No doubt," Armin said as he weighed down the last corner with his Colt Python, "Forget about laser tripwires, this place is designed so no one who breaks in can escape, and that includes their own people," he pointed to three doors between the entrance and the dome that made up the central-area, "These doors require finger-print, and visual identification via closed-circuit cameras. Each door is two inches of reinforced carbon steel, and they're designed to lock when an unauthorized person enters them."
"Are they automatic, or do they have to lock via the guard on the outside," Eren asked.
"Don't know," Armin said, "Security details were programmed by Liberio Lab's head of security, and he happens to be Marcel Galliard's brother."
"So no way we'd get any information from him," Eren said.
"Yep," Armin said, "I'd count on it being automatic."
"Ok," Eren said, "What about the dome itself?"
"Each pane of glass is bulletproof, and about two inches thick," Armin said.
"That'd stop a damn anti-tank round," Eren said.
"Yep," Armin said, "Plus they're bolted together with carbon-steel bolts."
"So even if we were to blow them, which would be impossible without being caught," Eren said.
"Also, we'd most likely only scratch the glass rather than shatter it like we'd need," Armin said, "Not to mention, if you did shatter the glass, the last thing I want is for you and Mikasa to be showered in two-inch-thick shards of glass. Forget cuts."
"They're another way out," Eren asked.
"No," Armin said, "One way in, one way out," he pointed at the helicopter landing-pad/boat dock, "Right here."
"Anything else," Eren asked.
"Yes," Armin said as he ushered Eren to move the weights so he could show the page of the dome itself, "This is another problem."
"Show me," Eren said as he moved the weights as Armin moved the page they were looking at aside to show the plans for the dome itself.
"The dome is basically a giant botanical garden," Armin said, "We believe Mikasa is being held here, exactly where, we don't know."
"It'll be very close to 'Nam," Eren said, "Should be easy for me to move through, that doesn't seem like a problem."
"That's not the problem," Armin said before pointing at four small boxes in each corner of the dome, "These are. Each of these little cubbies are twelve feet by twelve feet, and they have a rectangular window about two feet tall. Which can either mean they're vents…"
"Or they're sniper hides," Eren said.
"Exactly," Armin said, "And being as the guards are all carrying Colt Pythons and some form of an automatic weapon, I think the latter."
"Automatic weapons," Eren asked.
Armin reached underneath the plans, "Recon team took these photos," Armin said as he placed the pictures on top of the plans.
Eren picked up one of the photos, and saw the guard standing on the landing pad was armed with a Beretta M12, and the one standing at the first security door had an S&W M76.
"Where'd they getting this kind of firepower," Eren asked.
"Don't know," Armin said, "Rumors are they bought some off of the weapons we left behind in Vietnam, but intel cannot confirm."
"Which would mean they have a connection in Vietnam," Eren said.
"Exactly," Armin said, "See if you can get ahold of one of those guns. Intel would have a field day with that."
"No problem," Eren said, "Speaking of which, what am I bringing in?"
"You have your Walther," Armin asked, Eren pulled aside his jacket, and revealed the custom wooden grip, "Fantastic," he then pointed over his shoulder, "Over here."
Armin led Eren over to a table on the other side of the room, and pressed a small button on the underside which flipped the table over to reveal a cache of weapons: a suppressed M14 with an attached Starlight night vision scope, a suppressed Uzi 9mm, a Walther PPK, and a suppressed M3A1 Grease Gun, "Nice," Eren commented.
"Don't get too excited," Armin said as he pointed to the M14, "This one's mine. I have a stand that I can use to give you covering fire from the boat," he pointed at the Uzi, "I have a suppressor for this, it'll be yours," he pointed to the PPK, "I'm sure Mikasa will like this one," he then pointed at the M3A1, "And we both saw how well she handled this when we worked with her in Vietnam, so when I was looking for a weapon for her, this came to mind."
"How close can we get," Eren asked.
"We can only get within five hundred yards," Armin said, "You'll have to swim to the base, and climb."
"You want me to swim," Eren asked, "With ammo and four guns strapped to me?"
"We came prepared," Armin said as he reached under the table, and placed a black bag on top, "Completely waterproof."
"Perfect," Eren said, "Suppressors?"
"One for each," Armin said.
"Ammo," Eren asked.
"Five hundred rounds, all sorted," Armin said.
"What about getting there," Eren asked, Armin, led Eren over to the bead at the head of the room, "Armin, I love you man, but isn't this a bit far?"
"Shut up," Armin said with a chuckle before undoing the sheet, showing the mattress was split in two, he simply reached down to the frame, undid a small latch at the edge, and pushed both halves aside.
"This boat keeps getting better and better," Eren said.
"I know," Armin said as he drew Eren's attention to the inside of the device inside, which seemed to be a large skeleton sled with a pair of jets coming out of the stern, and it was sitting in a pool of water, "Allow me to introduce the dive-sled."
"Dive-sled," Eren asked.
"Hange is still working on the name," Armin said, "It's essentially a motorized sled meant for diving. It's equipped with a 250cc engine, you lie on top of it, and the engine spins the internal propellers. It should reach about seven miles an hour."
"Seven," Eren asked, "You couldn't push it to eight?"
"It's an underwater sled, not a car," Armin said, "You have to take water resistance into account. Something we both know well."
"Ok, ok," Eren said, "What about oxygen?"
Armin pointed to a hose strapped down to a channel running down the center of the boat, "The sled has an internally-mounted tank," Armin said, "It should hold enough oxygen for about one hour, but there's only one nozzle."
"Which means if I'm going to get her out of there, we'll have to share what's left," Eren said.
"Exactly," Armin said.
"Speaking of which," Eren said, "How am I going to get it out of here?"
"The bottom of the boat opens up," Armin said, "When we arrive, we'll open the bottom of the boat, and you'll take the sled to the lab. You'll stow it, climb aboard, save Mikasa, escape, and when you're making your way back, we'll leave the door open for you."
"Great," Eren said, "Anything else?"
"On more thing," Armin said, "A suit isn't going to be something you'd want to be wearing in there, and it isn't going to be very comfortable when soaking wet so we have a dry suit for you and her."
"And you want me to change into a more 'combat appropriate' outfit," Eren asked.
"Yes," Armin said, "And one more thing," Armin reached over his shoulder to remove something Eren thought he'd never see again: a red cashmere scarf he had given to her back in Middle School.
"I can't believe she still has this," Eren said as Armin handed the scarf, "I gave this to her years ago."
"Why would a woman give away her engagement ring," Armin asked.
"Fuck you," Eren said with a chuckle, "Where'd you find this?"
"She had left it in her apartment," Armin said.
"Left it," Eren asked.
"This little note was attached to it," Armin said as he held out a piece of paper to Eren.
Eren opened the note which read:
Dear Eren,
I know it's been a few years. But if you're reading this, then I'm probably dead. I wanted you to know that having this scarf all these years has kept me sane. You and Armin were the best friends I've ever had. You wrapped this scarf around me. Thank you.
Love, Mikasa
Eren crushed the note with his hand, and exhaled strongly, "She was always great with writing notes like these."
"She's a strong woman," Armin said as he reached over, and grabbed Eren's shoulder, "She'll be fine."
"I know," Eren said as he exhaled once more, "I'll kill every last person that touched her."
"Save some from me," Armin said.
"You'll get plenty of targets," Eren said, "Let's get our girl back."
"We'll be there in one hour," Armin said as he stood up to close the hatch mounted underneath the bed, "Plenty of time to plan how you're going to get her out of there."
One hour later…
As the yacht came into view of the lab, Eren made sure to secure everything he could inside the bag Armin provided him, and as he was changing into the drysuit, Daz walked in, "We should be in diving range in five minutes," he said.
"Good," Eren said as he zipped up the suit, "Get us as close as you can, and I'll prepare the sled."
As he secured the water-proof bag to his back, Armin walked into the room, and saw him preparing to dive, "I think this is the first time I've seen you preparing for an operation since we joined P.A.T.R.I.O.T.," he said.
"It is," Eren said as he slid on his scuba goggles, "And I think it's the first time I've rescued Mikasa."
"She was never captured before this," Armin said, "She's a tough one."
"I know," Eren said as he walked down the stairs, and laid down on the sled, "Wish me luck."
"Good luck," Armin said as he closed the bed.
Eren grabbed the snorkel and placed it over his mouth as Armin pounded on the bed a few times, letting him know he was about to let the bottom drop out from underneath him.
As soon as he felt the sled suddenly take on a slightly larger amount of weight, he pushed the sled downwards, and momentum took over, guiding him into the water.
As soon as felt the water around his boots, he hit the engine start on the controls, and began driving towards the lab.
"Hang on Mikasa," he thought, "I'm coming."
To be continued, again…