Utah Undisclosed Location

"Ok Joes, listen up." Stalker called out and every head in the room snapped around. Everyone had been pulled from their stations and the command room was standing room only. "General Hawk put Roadblock in charge of this little mission so I'll let him brief you on who is taking a road trip with him."

Roadblock walked over to the front of the briefing room and put down a small stack of documents on the computer desk next to him. "Mainframe, pull up the list I sent you, please." Roadblock asked the computer specialist who was stationed at the monitor.

The soldier in gray fatigues nodded and with a few keystrokes a list of names appeared on the screen.

Squad leader: Roadblock

Marksman: Lowlight

Communications: Dial-Tone

Transport: Cross Country

Reconnaissance: Sneak Peek

Medic: Lifeline

All the team members who saw their name on the list looked over to Roadblock and gave him a quick nod of acknowledgment.

"It looks like Cobra is nestled deep in the forests of western Washington," Roadblock said as a topographical map popped onto the screen. There were dense forests with simple logging roads cleared throughout; as those roads pushed deeper through the highlighted forest, the elevation increased steadily and the trees gave way to a large mountain. "Now, we can't really go waltzing through the woods and expect to be stealthy – especially when the trees thin out that much. That's where we got lucky with a little government contracting. Mainframe?"

Mainframe quickly pulled up a few documents. "I don't think Extensive Enterprises had any idea just how regulated these woodlands are, but it definitely works to our advantage. The area that's most likely Cobra's hiding spot is on the outskirts of a national forest that has been scheduled for survey for the past year."

"Scheduled for a year?" Lowlight remarked, the snark unmistakable in his voice. "Governmental red tape holds everything up."

"Not regulations in this case," Mainframe replied. "It looks like every time a piece of equipment would get within two miles, there would be some kind of malfunction. When the workers would come back to try recover or repair it, the equipment would be vandalized or just gone."

Lowlight cocked his head to the side. "Why would they leave the equipment behind in the first place?"

"C'mon, Lowlight," Cross Country chimed in. "Have you ever tried t' push a dead truck out of the woods? Not exactly the easiest thing after workin' all day."

Mainframe continued, "Eventually, the workers refused to go back, saying something about a local curse. All the government knew was that they were out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in missing and damaged equipment. Instead of pressing the issue, they pushed the survey down the list."

Cross Country raised his hand. "Don' get me wrong, I'm as ready t' go catch some snakes as th' next guy - well, maybe not Lowlight, but that's beside th' point. You said that's where Cobra 'mos' likely' was - are we jus' gonna go out an' hope for th' best?"

Mainframe pulled up a few more images. "I don't think the Pacific Northwest has giant metal panels fitted into the ground routinely," he said as he pointed at one image. The next image was an outcropping of a mountain that was a perch for a trio of Trubble Bubbles. "And that doesn't look exactly like a natural formation."

Slightly irritated and confused, Roadblock spoke up. "How could the government miss this?"

Dial-Tone moved over to the monitor next to Mainframe. "Well, ya see, we did a little digging and Cobra had embedded a computer virus a few years back. All satellite images from these coordinates have had their data changed to produce a random image from a collection within the last five years."

"Wha' about fly overs?" Cross Country asked. "You'd think at least one pilot worth his salt woulda noticed somethin'!"

Mainframe shook his head. "It was classified a no-fly zone for 'environmental protection purposes'." He pulled up another form on the screen. "And it just so happens that the company that asked for the protection order can be traced back to a subsidiary of Extensive Enterprises."

"Of course they did," Stalker said. "Roadblock's team is set to meet back here at 1900 tonight to go over final details. Mainframe, I want you sitting in on that meeting. You'll be handling communications since Dial-Tone will be in the field with them. Dismissed!"

"I just can't believe we're gonna drive an absolutely fine piece of high-class machinery in there t' die!" Cross Country complained, but it was clearly doing no good.

"One dead work truck is a small price to pay if Cobra really does have a way to fry electronics," Roadblock said, trying to smooth the situation over. "You know we can't just drive your HAVOC through small logging towns without calling attention to us when we roll in."

Cross Country shook his head. "No, no, no - my baby ain't goin' close t' those woods and the work truck wasn't what I was talking about." He pointed to the picture of the bulldozer Stalker had pulled a few strings to borrow at the last minute. "That is what I'm talking about! Do ya know how much one of those costs?!"

Dial-Tone motioned with his hands for the man to hold up. "Look, if that's what you're worried about, our contact knows exactly how much they cost. That's why he's giving us one that hasn't worked for years. Better?"

"But it could be a fixer-upper!"

"According to the owner, it's been through the ringer time and time again. It only looks that good thanks to the latest 'repair' - a fresh coat of paint to cover the massive amounts of rust," Dial-Tone added.

The quick-tempered Southerner nodded his head and leaned back in his chair, satisfied with the small concession.

"Ok, now let's get back to the matter at hand. Once we get started, you guys all need to stick to the plan." Roadblock walked over to the monitor. "Our local cover is we're hired hands just trying to bring in some clearing equipment as far as anyone is concerned. We go in and we're back here at base within 72 hours. Once we get close, we send in a two-man team - that's Dial-Tone and Sneak Peek. You two will break into their computer system and grab anything that isn't nailed down. We're at a sore disadvantage and it's up to us change all that."

Lowlight lazily raised his hand. "Cross Country's driving, those two are the ones doing the actual recon… Lifeline is there obviously if things get bloody. What am I doing there?"

Roadblock leaned on the table and looked across with a grin. "My man, you and I are there to create a distraction when the time comes."

Lowlight's lip curled into a strange mix of a smile and a snarl. "That is a part of the plan I can definitely get on board with. Does that mean I can actually bring all of my gear?"

"I'm assuming you know how to break it down to make it fit into a duffel bag?"

The sniper nodded; a wicked smile slowly formed on his face.

"Good - we just need to stay incognito until show time." Roadblock stood. "If there are no further questions, we start our mission at 0400. You'd all better get some shut eye while you can!"