Episode 2 - Playing With Half A Deck
Episode 2.1 - Caught in the Act
"So, Rowen, talk to me. What's your excuse? Because I'm in a bad mood and I need something to cheer me up," Sir Shadown muttered as he took the cigar out of his mouth. The smoke of the drug wafted about the room and was uniquely captured in the dim lighting of the Shadow Government's map room. Around the table were seated the 20 generals of the government, and at the opposite end of the table was Commander Rowen Darkblade. Rowen sat there, contemplating something in his mind as Shadown began to verbally slice him open like a fully cooked roast.
"I underestimated them, Sir. I had not anticipated that Strike could find, or would be able to, the XyberSuit of Hope, a.k.a. Medic," Rowen said to his boss, eyes still facing down towards the glistening obsidian table.
"Well, don't underestimate them again Rowen. They have proven to you that they aren't just a bunch of dicknanny halfwits. So don't treat them as such. Now, this time, Darkblade, I don't want to see one flaw in the execution of this mission. When complete, Section 32 should be packed away in Science Bay 6 so tight that not even superman could escape. Now, General Macarthur, brief the commander before I lose my temper," Shadown called to his underling, still remaining in the shadows at the end of the room.
"Right, Sir," General Macarthur said, standing up and nodding to his boss. Macarthur turned to the black business suited Rowen in full attention, and picked up the plans he had before him. "Commander Darkblade, you will be executing the mission entitled CV-W78, codenamed 'Dirty Vegas,'" Macarthur began. General Wythe, who was sitting next to Macarthur, began to chuckle to himself during the reading of the plans.
"What amuses you so, Wythe?" Shadown asked.
"Oh, nothing sir. It's just that the operation is named after a new day techno band, you know. We could come up with more original plan names," Wythe laughed.
"Shut up you fool. I came up with that," Shadown replied.
"Excuse me, sorry sir," Wythe quickly said, his face going neutral faster than the snap of a finger. "Continue, Macarthur,"
"Right. Commander Darkblade, you are to report to the Area 51 mission laboratory. They have a new prototype weapon down there called the 'Insurance Dealer'. The first part of the operation calls for the weapon to be tested upon a group of expendable citizens from Pottsville, preferably in a place that is far from civilization. Suggestions would be the homeless, those who are in extreme debt, or,"
"How about drunks?" Darkblade spoke up.
"Drunks, sir? With all due respect,"
"Pottsville is known for its brewery. And it has one of the highest drinking problems in the country. I have done my research, sir. Some of the students from Pottsville High enjoy taking drinking runs out in many forests in the surrounding community. Maybe, we test the weapon up on Sharp Mountain after finding one of their 'bush parties', and become the party crashers. Does the weapon kill or maim?" Rowen asked.
"Maim, sir."
"Well, we don't someone who's still perfectly conscious! They would recognize that the attack is quite different, and maybe even remember the attacker. Those kids probably drink so hard that they can't walk forward two feet without either puking or falling over! So, why not hit them when they are so mentally out of it that they won't know what the hell happened?"
"Darkblade has a point, Macarthur. Go with his suggestion, I like it," Shadown said, actually sticking up for Rowen.
"Yes, Sir Shadown. Well then, Darkblade, this is your operation, and you know what to do. Now go down to the lab, get the dealer, get a team, and go," Macarthur stated, a bit pissed about being showed up by Rowen.
"As you wish. When I return, I will be carrying Strike over my shoulder, and throw his carcass onto the table before you like the Thanksgiving turkey," Rowen said, leaving the room through the sliding door.
"Yeah, if Rowen can even lift him!" Wythe joked. The generals laughed heartily, as Shadown sat in the back wit his cigar in his mouth, the red cinders glowing the darkness.
"What are you doing down there, Kristen?" Lauren asked, walking into the main command room and noticing her friend down on the floor. Kristen was lying underneath one of the command consoles that created the circular command area in the middle of the large room. All the consoles were turned off, as was the main screen that usually displayed the map of Pottsville, and the surrounding status screens.
Kristen propelled herself out from under the console on a mechanic's trolley and looked at Lauren with her bright green eyes. She was wearing her armor, and she was powered up into CyberSlash state, unlike her friend, who was wearing a blue cheerleading camp sweatshirt and blue jeans. "I'm creating a friend for us all," she said, enigmatically smiling with her sparkly green lips.
"Huh? Explain for me, I'm lost," Lauren said, getting some of what Kristen was hinting at, but not totally understanding.
"Almost done, just watch the screen," Kristen asked of her. She went back under, letting her metal hi-heeled boots stick out from under the massive console. In a few moments, the console lit up again, and the main computer turned on. Kristen came back out and stood up, much taller than Lauren, especially in the heels.
Code ran across the screen like a flame spreads across a piece of paper. It just kept coming and coming. Kristen smiled at the code, pushing back her long green hair and enjoying the sight. Lauren just stood there with a stupefied look on her face, trying to figure out if this should have meant anything to her.
Then, the screen turned back. After all of that, the screen went black. Lauren was totally lost now. She looked to her friend and said, "And that was what? Was that a friend?"
"No, no, that was just my start-up sequence, Mistress PowerCharge. Quite impressive, wasn't it?" a male voice said to her, emanating from the computer.
"What the? Kristen, who was that?" Lauren said, looking around the screen for something.
"Very funny, Mercurious. Show yourself, hon," she asked of the computer. A young man walked onto the screen. His body was made of binary code and his face was more solid, and required much more code than was needed to create his three-dimensional body. He had no hair on his head, and his face was very uniquely human, yet inhuman at the same time. His eyes glowed with a white light, and he smiled at them both, revealing his white coded teeth. Mercurious was a sight to behold, simply to say.
"Let me introduce myself to you. I am Mercurious, the new onboard artificial intelligence of the main computer. I was created by Master CyberStrike, and installed by Mistress CyberSlash. It is my duty to monitor all aspects of Pottsville, as well as act as an interface for communications between you all during battle. I can calculate battle plans as well, making me an excellent source of battle information, if you should need it on-the-spot. And, all of these duties are duties that I am happy to accept and do for you all. It is an honor to work for the Special Forces Unit, and with excellent co-workers such as yourselves," Mercurious stated to them both, putting his hands behind his back and bowing to them.
"Wow, he's so proper. I like him already. Mercurious, you are very nice, and it is good to meet you. I would shake your hand, but it's a bit hard," Lauren said to him politely. Kristen just chuckled to herself, admiring her work.
"Yes, I would shake your hand, but I agree that it is a bit hard seeing that I have no physical presence. Maybe Mistress Slash could change that problem," Mercurious laughed, eying up Kristen in her metal battle suit.
"Not right now, Mercurious. I do have other things to do. You can watch Pottsville, I have to talk to Lauren for a bit," Kristen asked of him.
"As you wish, Mistress Slash," he said before disappearing and letting the map reappear. Everything looked normal again.
"So, you want to go pick up some coffee? Mercurious will notify us if something happens," Kristen asked Lauren.
"Ooooh! Let's go to Dunkin Donuts and act like cops with our armors on! We can order the powered donuts and get the power all over ourselves!" Lauren said. Kristen laughed in response as they walked out of the command room together.
"So, are you going drinking tonight? I bought a shitload of booze." Ebert Lindenburgh asked his friends. Together, the three were in Norwegian Woods, a small and expensive suburban community outside of Pottsville.
"Yeah. I haven't been drinking since last night," Victor Franks replied from the back seat. He removed the cigarette from his mouth and shot the wave of smoke out the window of the parked used car.
"Eh, sure. I'll try to get away from my parents, and my sister. It shouldn't be hard," Ryan Nickerson commented. He ran a hand through his short black hair and looked out the window towards his house. His parents weren't home yet, and that was a good thing. That meant that they couldn't see Franks shooting the smoke out the window.
"Yeah, it will be awesome tonight. I got so much booze, and so many people are coming. I even got some girls from Schuylkill Haven too. And they are hot, hot, hot!" Ebert laughed, beginning to drum on the steering wheel in excitement.
"Right on brother!" Franks commented. Ebert could see the huge smile plastered onto his face in his rear view mirror. "Did you get the Yuengling Lager? My favorite?"
"Of course. And I got some Black and Tan too. Nothing like that to kick back with and enjoy,"
"Well. I better be going. I'll see ya all tonight," Nickerson said. He opened the door, and slowly climbed out of the car and walked towards his house. He wasn't more than four steps away when the car peeled out and rocketed away from the house, with Franks and Lindenburgh laughing their heads off as it sailed around the corner and disappeared.
"What are we gonna do about Andrew? Seriously man, he's really far gone. I think he hit the tile way too hard," Kyle said from the backseat as he sat next to Andrew, who was propped up in an awkward position in the backseat.
"I dunno. Let's go back to his house. He's fine, it's not like he has a concussion or anything. We'll just put him on the couch and use some water to get him up," Colin said, taking over the driver's seat with Smink's keys. He pulled the car out and turned onto Market, and then up to Mahantongo Street. Kyle was clicking Smink's seatbelt securely around him as Colin casually drove to his house.
"Ah, crud, he's drooling. That must be some dream he's having," Kyle said, trying to find a tissue to wipe his mouth off.
"Yuck, that's disgusting man," Colin said, looking in the rear view mirror to see the sight. Yep, Andrew was sitting there, his mouth wide open and drool raining out. He really was just asleep, and that was it. His breathing was fine, and it wasn't like he hit anything on the way down. Kyle was busily trying to keep the spit from running too far out his mouth, but the tissue was getting soggy. So, he found a paper towel and just shoved it into Andrew's mouth. He shrugged as he turned to look in the rear view mirror. He wasn't having much luck.
Just then, Colin's watch began to slightly glow as the screen turned on and an arrow pointed in a direction away from Pottsville. The same thing happened to Smink's watch. He noticed it, and barely looked to see what it was. "Something powerful is in the area. Shit, I wonder what it could be, and it's at a crappy time with Andrew like this. It will have to wait until it gets dangerous, I have to take care of him first," Colin thought. He hit a button on his watch, and both his and Smink's watches went back to normal time mode.
A white truck rolled into Pottsville and up towards the tree covered Sharp Mountain, which ran the length of the west side of the city. The mountain wasn't exactly huge, but more of a large rolling hill that was characteristic of the Appalachian Range. The mountain was viewable from most parts of the city, but best viewed from the Pottsville High School.
But, inside the truck was what mattered. Three agents in black suits with white undershirts and black ties were sitting on benches installed in the back, and around them was a well-prepared armory. They meant business, and they weren't going to fail their commander.
"You guys know what to do. We use the dealer on the first bush party we find tonight. Not hard at all. And, if it works as expected, we use it on Section 32, after we lure them to us in phase two of 'Dirty Vegas'. Everyone understand?" The one agent asked, apparently the leader.
"Yeah. Michaels, what does that huge thing do, anyway?" another agent asked.
"I'm glad you asked. This beauty does a whole lot," Michaels said, holding up a large silver gun. The barrel was about four feet long, but oddly shaped. It was a foot wide, but only about 1/8th of an inch in height. It looked more like a chute to shoot paper than anything else. At the trigger end, there were four silver boxes loaded into it vertically that resembled card boxes. Michaels cleared his voice and continued to speak. "These boxes at the back are loaded with playing cards. You know, normal, everyday, playing cards. This little circular ball thingy here, above the trigger, well that contains pure black energy from that one crystal we found on the alien spacecraft. When I pull the trigger, one of those cards is shot into the ball area here. It is charged with black energy, and then loaded and fired magnetically at high-propulsion through the chute. When it nears its target, the card unleashes an amazing black explosion of black lightning. I'm told that it is the energy that is the reverse of what that blasted white Medic girl uses. So, instead of healing, it sucks life and leaves the victim in a state of paralysis until re-energized. The re- energizing process takes about, oh, two days. But, all of this is theoretical. It was never field tested, until now. It can supposedly pierce the armor that Section 32 wears."
The agent nodded in response and grinned. The plan was set in motion.
"Ryan, I want you to meet Ashley, she's from Schuylkill Haven," Lindenburgh said to his friend. The party up on Sharp Mountain was swinging. People were all slugging back the booze around the merry campfire, telling drunken stories and other oddities. Most of them couldn't stand anymore they were so blasted; Franks and Lindenburgh could be included in this category, although they were more use to it than the rest.
The girl standing next to Ebert was tall and beautiful. She had long, straight black hair, which was the most outstanding feature about her figure. Her deep brown eyes could engulf and man's soul, and Ryan almost got lost in them. She was slightly pale, and very proper. It was a wonder why she was here at all. Her figure was thin, and her legs were long, but that made her look as beautiful as she did. All Ryan could do was look. He couldn't think of anything to say to her.
"It's nice to meet you, Ryan," Ashley said. Lindenburgh pushed her down onto the log next to Ryan and laughed as he tossed her a beer.
"You two enjoy yourselves, I'm gonna go try to hook up Franks, if he's in it enough to accept the date. After that, I'll be in the woods with Charlotte. Don't go looking for us, Ryan. You don't want to find us," Lindenburgh laughed. With that, he raised his bottle in a salute and stumbled away from Ryan and Ashley.
"Well, this is the first nutty thing I have ever done in my life. How about you Ryan?" Ashley asked.
"Oh, well, I'm sorta accustomed to it. It's growing on me," he said, taking another swig of his drink and turning his dead eyes back to her. He still didn't know what to say, but he was gonna say something.
"Yeah, well, my parents told me never to drink. But, I don't want to listen to them. It's fun, it really is. I think they are such, well, bastards. Too stuck up for my liking," she said, taking off the cap to her drink.
"Yeah, my parents are the same way. What do your parents think about having sex?"
"Sex? Well, they forbid that as well, duh," she laughed.
"How about you break another rule tonight. I'm quite willing to show the captain. He's in good shape," Nickerson commented with a dirty smile.
"Oh, honey, now you're talking. I feel like being naughty. Let me just get this down first," she said, taking her first sip.
"I got you now, idiot. These kids are too easy," Michaels said, taking aim with the Lethal Dealer from behind his black sunglasses. He blended in well with the darkness in his black suit.
He steadily aimed the crosshairs in his sights over Nickerson and smiled. This was gonna be easier than he thought. They were so drunk, they hardly moved. All he had to do was pull the trigger.
Is Smink all right from his faint? Can Michaels get off a shot on Nickerson? And where the hell are CyberSlash and PowerCharge during all of this? Oh, God, I don't know how this will end!
Find out in the next thrilling episode of Section 32: Special Forces Unit! Episode 2.2 - The Black Hand!
Episode 2.1 - Caught in the Act
"So, Rowen, talk to me. What's your excuse? Because I'm in a bad mood and I need something to cheer me up," Sir Shadown muttered as he took the cigar out of his mouth. The smoke of the drug wafted about the room and was uniquely captured in the dim lighting of the Shadow Government's map room. Around the table were seated the 20 generals of the government, and at the opposite end of the table was Commander Rowen Darkblade. Rowen sat there, contemplating something in his mind as Shadown began to verbally slice him open like a fully cooked roast.
"I underestimated them, Sir. I had not anticipated that Strike could find, or would be able to, the XyberSuit of Hope, a.k.a. Medic," Rowen said to his boss, eyes still facing down towards the glistening obsidian table.
"Well, don't underestimate them again Rowen. They have proven to you that they aren't just a bunch of dicknanny halfwits. So don't treat them as such. Now, this time, Darkblade, I don't want to see one flaw in the execution of this mission. When complete, Section 32 should be packed away in Science Bay 6 so tight that not even superman could escape. Now, General Macarthur, brief the commander before I lose my temper," Shadown called to his underling, still remaining in the shadows at the end of the room.
"Right, Sir," General Macarthur said, standing up and nodding to his boss. Macarthur turned to the black business suited Rowen in full attention, and picked up the plans he had before him. "Commander Darkblade, you will be executing the mission entitled CV-W78, codenamed 'Dirty Vegas,'" Macarthur began. General Wythe, who was sitting next to Macarthur, began to chuckle to himself during the reading of the plans.
"What amuses you so, Wythe?" Shadown asked.
"Oh, nothing sir. It's just that the operation is named after a new day techno band, you know. We could come up with more original plan names," Wythe laughed.
"Shut up you fool. I came up with that," Shadown replied.
"Excuse me, sorry sir," Wythe quickly said, his face going neutral faster than the snap of a finger. "Continue, Macarthur,"
"Right. Commander Darkblade, you are to report to the Area 51 mission laboratory. They have a new prototype weapon down there called the 'Insurance Dealer'. The first part of the operation calls for the weapon to be tested upon a group of expendable citizens from Pottsville, preferably in a place that is far from civilization. Suggestions would be the homeless, those who are in extreme debt, or,"
"How about drunks?" Darkblade spoke up.
"Drunks, sir? With all due respect,"
"Pottsville is known for its brewery. And it has one of the highest drinking problems in the country. I have done my research, sir. Some of the students from Pottsville High enjoy taking drinking runs out in many forests in the surrounding community. Maybe, we test the weapon up on Sharp Mountain after finding one of their 'bush parties', and become the party crashers. Does the weapon kill or maim?" Rowen asked.
"Maim, sir."
"Well, we don't someone who's still perfectly conscious! They would recognize that the attack is quite different, and maybe even remember the attacker. Those kids probably drink so hard that they can't walk forward two feet without either puking or falling over! So, why not hit them when they are so mentally out of it that they won't know what the hell happened?"
"Darkblade has a point, Macarthur. Go with his suggestion, I like it," Shadown said, actually sticking up for Rowen.
"Yes, Sir Shadown. Well then, Darkblade, this is your operation, and you know what to do. Now go down to the lab, get the dealer, get a team, and go," Macarthur stated, a bit pissed about being showed up by Rowen.
"As you wish. When I return, I will be carrying Strike over my shoulder, and throw his carcass onto the table before you like the Thanksgiving turkey," Rowen said, leaving the room through the sliding door.
"Yeah, if Rowen can even lift him!" Wythe joked. The generals laughed heartily, as Shadown sat in the back wit his cigar in his mouth, the red cinders glowing the darkness.
"What are you doing down there, Kristen?" Lauren asked, walking into the main command room and noticing her friend down on the floor. Kristen was lying underneath one of the command consoles that created the circular command area in the middle of the large room. All the consoles were turned off, as was the main screen that usually displayed the map of Pottsville, and the surrounding status screens.
Kristen propelled herself out from under the console on a mechanic's trolley and looked at Lauren with her bright green eyes. She was wearing her armor, and she was powered up into CyberSlash state, unlike her friend, who was wearing a blue cheerleading camp sweatshirt and blue jeans. "I'm creating a friend for us all," she said, enigmatically smiling with her sparkly green lips.
"Huh? Explain for me, I'm lost," Lauren said, getting some of what Kristen was hinting at, but not totally understanding.
"Almost done, just watch the screen," Kristen asked of her. She went back under, letting her metal hi-heeled boots stick out from under the massive console. In a few moments, the console lit up again, and the main computer turned on. Kristen came back out and stood up, much taller than Lauren, especially in the heels.
Code ran across the screen like a flame spreads across a piece of paper. It just kept coming and coming. Kristen smiled at the code, pushing back her long green hair and enjoying the sight. Lauren just stood there with a stupefied look on her face, trying to figure out if this should have meant anything to her.
Then, the screen turned back. After all of that, the screen went black. Lauren was totally lost now. She looked to her friend and said, "And that was what? Was that a friend?"
"No, no, that was just my start-up sequence, Mistress PowerCharge. Quite impressive, wasn't it?" a male voice said to her, emanating from the computer.
"What the? Kristen, who was that?" Lauren said, looking around the screen for something.
"Very funny, Mercurious. Show yourself, hon," she asked of the computer. A young man walked onto the screen. His body was made of binary code and his face was more solid, and required much more code than was needed to create his three-dimensional body. He had no hair on his head, and his face was very uniquely human, yet inhuman at the same time. His eyes glowed with a white light, and he smiled at them both, revealing his white coded teeth. Mercurious was a sight to behold, simply to say.
"Let me introduce myself to you. I am Mercurious, the new onboard artificial intelligence of the main computer. I was created by Master CyberStrike, and installed by Mistress CyberSlash. It is my duty to monitor all aspects of Pottsville, as well as act as an interface for communications between you all during battle. I can calculate battle plans as well, making me an excellent source of battle information, if you should need it on-the-spot. And, all of these duties are duties that I am happy to accept and do for you all. It is an honor to work for the Special Forces Unit, and with excellent co-workers such as yourselves," Mercurious stated to them both, putting his hands behind his back and bowing to them.
"Wow, he's so proper. I like him already. Mercurious, you are very nice, and it is good to meet you. I would shake your hand, but it's a bit hard," Lauren said to him politely. Kristen just chuckled to herself, admiring her work.
"Yes, I would shake your hand, but I agree that it is a bit hard seeing that I have no physical presence. Maybe Mistress Slash could change that problem," Mercurious laughed, eying up Kristen in her metal battle suit.
"Not right now, Mercurious. I do have other things to do. You can watch Pottsville, I have to talk to Lauren for a bit," Kristen asked of him.
"As you wish, Mistress Slash," he said before disappearing and letting the map reappear. Everything looked normal again.
"So, you want to go pick up some coffee? Mercurious will notify us if something happens," Kristen asked Lauren.
"Ooooh! Let's go to Dunkin Donuts and act like cops with our armors on! We can order the powered donuts and get the power all over ourselves!" Lauren said. Kristen laughed in response as they walked out of the command room together.
"So, are you going drinking tonight? I bought a shitload of booze." Ebert Lindenburgh asked his friends. Together, the three were in Norwegian Woods, a small and expensive suburban community outside of Pottsville.
"Yeah. I haven't been drinking since last night," Victor Franks replied from the back seat. He removed the cigarette from his mouth and shot the wave of smoke out the window of the parked used car.
"Eh, sure. I'll try to get away from my parents, and my sister. It shouldn't be hard," Ryan Nickerson commented. He ran a hand through his short black hair and looked out the window towards his house. His parents weren't home yet, and that was a good thing. That meant that they couldn't see Franks shooting the smoke out the window.
"Yeah, it will be awesome tonight. I got so much booze, and so many people are coming. I even got some girls from Schuylkill Haven too. And they are hot, hot, hot!" Ebert laughed, beginning to drum on the steering wheel in excitement.
"Right on brother!" Franks commented. Ebert could see the huge smile plastered onto his face in his rear view mirror. "Did you get the Yuengling Lager? My favorite?"
"Of course. And I got some Black and Tan too. Nothing like that to kick back with and enjoy,"
"Well. I better be going. I'll see ya all tonight," Nickerson said. He opened the door, and slowly climbed out of the car and walked towards his house. He wasn't more than four steps away when the car peeled out and rocketed away from the house, with Franks and Lindenburgh laughing their heads off as it sailed around the corner and disappeared.
"What are we gonna do about Andrew? Seriously man, he's really far gone. I think he hit the tile way too hard," Kyle said from the backseat as he sat next to Andrew, who was propped up in an awkward position in the backseat.
"I dunno. Let's go back to his house. He's fine, it's not like he has a concussion or anything. We'll just put him on the couch and use some water to get him up," Colin said, taking over the driver's seat with Smink's keys. He pulled the car out and turned onto Market, and then up to Mahantongo Street. Kyle was clicking Smink's seatbelt securely around him as Colin casually drove to his house.
"Ah, crud, he's drooling. That must be some dream he's having," Kyle said, trying to find a tissue to wipe his mouth off.
"Yuck, that's disgusting man," Colin said, looking in the rear view mirror to see the sight. Yep, Andrew was sitting there, his mouth wide open and drool raining out. He really was just asleep, and that was it. His breathing was fine, and it wasn't like he hit anything on the way down. Kyle was busily trying to keep the spit from running too far out his mouth, but the tissue was getting soggy. So, he found a paper towel and just shoved it into Andrew's mouth. He shrugged as he turned to look in the rear view mirror. He wasn't having much luck.
Just then, Colin's watch began to slightly glow as the screen turned on and an arrow pointed in a direction away from Pottsville. The same thing happened to Smink's watch. He noticed it, and barely looked to see what it was. "Something powerful is in the area. Shit, I wonder what it could be, and it's at a crappy time with Andrew like this. It will have to wait until it gets dangerous, I have to take care of him first," Colin thought. He hit a button on his watch, and both his and Smink's watches went back to normal time mode.
A white truck rolled into Pottsville and up towards the tree covered Sharp Mountain, which ran the length of the west side of the city. The mountain wasn't exactly huge, but more of a large rolling hill that was characteristic of the Appalachian Range. The mountain was viewable from most parts of the city, but best viewed from the Pottsville High School.
But, inside the truck was what mattered. Three agents in black suits with white undershirts and black ties were sitting on benches installed in the back, and around them was a well-prepared armory. They meant business, and they weren't going to fail their commander.
"You guys know what to do. We use the dealer on the first bush party we find tonight. Not hard at all. And, if it works as expected, we use it on Section 32, after we lure them to us in phase two of 'Dirty Vegas'. Everyone understand?" The one agent asked, apparently the leader.
"Yeah. Michaels, what does that huge thing do, anyway?" another agent asked.
"I'm glad you asked. This beauty does a whole lot," Michaels said, holding up a large silver gun. The barrel was about four feet long, but oddly shaped. It was a foot wide, but only about 1/8th of an inch in height. It looked more like a chute to shoot paper than anything else. At the trigger end, there were four silver boxes loaded into it vertically that resembled card boxes. Michaels cleared his voice and continued to speak. "These boxes at the back are loaded with playing cards. You know, normal, everyday, playing cards. This little circular ball thingy here, above the trigger, well that contains pure black energy from that one crystal we found on the alien spacecraft. When I pull the trigger, one of those cards is shot into the ball area here. It is charged with black energy, and then loaded and fired magnetically at high-propulsion through the chute. When it nears its target, the card unleashes an amazing black explosion of black lightning. I'm told that it is the energy that is the reverse of what that blasted white Medic girl uses. So, instead of healing, it sucks life and leaves the victim in a state of paralysis until re-energized. The re- energizing process takes about, oh, two days. But, all of this is theoretical. It was never field tested, until now. It can supposedly pierce the armor that Section 32 wears."
The agent nodded in response and grinned. The plan was set in motion.
"Ryan, I want you to meet Ashley, she's from Schuylkill Haven," Lindenburgh said to his friend. The party up on Sharp Mountain was swinging. People were all slugging back the booze around the merry campfire, telling drunken stories and other oddities. Most of them couldn't stand anymore they were so blasted; Franks and Lindenburgh could be included in this category, although they were more use to it than the rest.
The girl standing next to Ebert was tall and beautiful. She had long, straight black hair, which was the most outstanding feature about her figure. Her deep brown eyes could engulf and man's soul, and Ryan almost got lost in them. She was slightly pale, and very proper. It was a wonder why she was here at all. Her figure was thin, and her legs were long, but that made her look as beautiful as she did. All Ryan could do was look. He couldn't think of anything to say to her.
"It's nice to meet you, Ryan," Ashley said. Lindenburgh pushed her down onto the log next to Ryan and laughed as he tossed her a beer.
"You two enjoy yourselves, I'm gonna go try to hook up Franks, if he's in it enough to accept the date. After that, I'll be in the woods with Charlotte. Don't go looking for us, Ryan. You don't want to find us," Lindenburgh laughed. With that, he raised his bottle in a salute and stumbled away from Ryan and Ashley.
"Well, this is the first nutty thing I have ever done in my life. How about you Ryan?" Ashley asked.
"Oh, well, I'm sorta accustomed to it. It's growing on me," he said, taking another swig of his drink and turning his dead eyes back to her. He still didn't know what to say, but he was gonna say something.
"Yeah, well, my parents told me never to drink. But, I don't want to listen to them. It's fun, it really is. I think they are such, well, bastards. Too stuck up for my liking," she said, taking off the cap to her drink.
"Yeah, my parents are the same way. What do your parents think about having sex?"
"Sex? Well, they forbid that as well, duh," she laughed.
"How about you break another rule tonight. I'm quite willing to show the captain. He's in good shape," Nickerson commented with a dirty smile.
"Oh, honey, now you're talking. I feel like being naughty. Let me just get this down first," she said, taking her first sip.
"I got you now, idiot. These kids are too easy," Michaels said, taking aim with the Lethal Dealer from behind his black sunglasses. He blended in well with the darkness in his black suit.
He steadily aimed the crosshairs in his sights over Nickerson and smiled. This was gonna be easier than he thought. They were so drunk, they hardly moved. All he had to do was pull the trigger.
Is Smink all right from his faint? Can Michaels get off a shot on Nickerson? And where the hell are CyberSlash and PowerCharge during all of this? Oh, God, I don't know how this will end!
Find out in the next thrilling episode of Section 32: Special Forces Unit! Episode 2.2 - The Black Hand!