Zarana Defects

Disclaimer: Same as before. I made up Mainframe being a Catholic school kid.

~ ~ ~ ~

If Cobra Commander could describe how he felt about his current ownership of Los Angeles, he would say he hated it. Why? Though the Heartless helped him take over and virtually own the city, at any time, night or day, GI Joe and its new allies could take down any building within three minutes and abduct any one of his key agents. Mindbender was confirmed dead, finally having transformed into a Heartless and been shot trying to leave the Pit. Adding to that list, Buzzer, Torch and Monkeywrench were reported as captured.

COBRA agents were forced to lie low, moving only at night, communicating only on cellular phones or in very short radio transmissions. They had no idea that GI Joe had a trump card on them. Thanks to General Metzger, head of the task force that another dimension had sent to help against the Heartless, several sophisticated electronic surveillance packages were put into many of the Black Hawk helicopters so that on surveillance flights, electronic communications could be triangulated and within minutes the Gamma assault teams would descend like a swift sword of wrath upon the origin of the transmission.

Cobra Commander's cell phone rang and he picked it up, "Yes."

"This is Copperhead, Columbian operation complete."

Copperhead was referring to COBRA arming the various city gangs that swore loyalty to the organization. The most powerful gangs were armed with weapons from the LAPD arsenals or from COBRA's own vast stockpile and then set loose against their less powerful rivals.

Neither Cobra Commander nor Copperhead knew that that brief transmission had already been triangulated and that even now a phalanx of Black Hawk and Little Bird helicopters was flying right toward Copperhead's South Central Los Angeles safe house.

~ ~ ~ ~

'Let's hope another chopper doesn't go down.' Thought Staff Sergeant Kevin 'Dr. Kay' Wells, one of the Air Force Pararescuemen assigned to the Task Force. His excellent lifesaving skills had already been put to the test once during this deployment when COBRA shot down a news helicopter. He and his team leader, Technical Sergeant Henry Horvath, had fast roped in while a team of Rangers and Gamma assault troops formed a perimeter around the downed civilian helicopters.

Pararescuemen like 'Dr. Kay' were often called upon whenever an aircraft went down to render lifesaving medical treatment and help the downed aircrew back into friendly territory. Kevin Wells enlisted in the US Air Force eight years ago, after finishing his sports medicine degree at Florida State University. He knew straight away that Pararescue was what he wanted to do after he had lost a friend in a plane crash during his senior year of high school. He was a slim, compact African American with a shaved head and a joker's disposition, but here he was all business, because he knew at any moment, the Black Hawk designated Super Eight Two might have to deploy its rescue unit to save the lives of survivors around a US Army crash site.

Henry Horvath tapped him on the shoulder and pointed. Already the MH-6 Little Birds had broken away from the phalanx and headed toward the safe house. The ground convoy was already at its staging area to pull out the Rangers and Gamma assault team. After the Black Hawk helicopters dropped their Ranger chalks and additional Gamma Unit reinforcements, four of them would fly over the target building, providing sniper cover for the operation.

~ ~ ~ ~

Falcon watched, fascinated as a dozen Rangers quickly rappelled to the street corner and started to set up their blocking position. Beside him was Shades, or Specialist Grover Kiley, Gamma Unit. After having finished at the US Army sniper school in Fort Bragg, he was assigned to shore up the Gamma Unit snipers in the joint operations against COBRA. He and Low Light were in the helicopters, providing sniper cover while Lady Jaye, Flint, Leatherneck and Wetsuit were with the ground convoy.

Four sniper teams had the Task Force covered. In addition to Falcon and Shades, the teams consisting of Low Light and David Falk, Jose Hedaya and Martin Bilby, and Mario Juarez and Low Light were deployed.

Before the Rangers had created their perimeter the initial Gamma assault began. In teams of four the Gamma unit hit the target house at various strategic points. It was a large, two story building that was practically a fortress with armed guards all around. The COBRA agents were always rather nasty when cornered.

Captain Fetterman was leading the first assault team, coming in through the skylight with Dave Morgan, Stoney Brown and Link Chumovsky. Grinch had assault team two with Rumpler, Leroy Hoffman, and Mark Lazio going through the front door. Hitting through the back door was Cavendish's team. Two of the sniper teams were guarding the back exit way. Martin Bilby and Jose Hedaya were across the street, hidden behind a lot of clutter atop a hill overlooking the house's back yard. Low Light and Mario were on the other side of the house, covering part of the front in case anyone tried to mouse hole out of the building.

The noise and shooting was intense, even from almost 500 meters away. Martin Bilby wondered what it must be like inside for both the Gamma Assaulters and the Heartless and COBRA troops within.

~ ~ ~ ~

Copperhead staggered back as he blinked his eyes. All he could see were weird spackles and shapes, he couldn't focus on anything. He could hear shooting going on inside the safe house, as doors were being kicked down and flashbang grenades (stun grenades) were being thrown into rooms.

The two Crimson Guard vipers that had been with him raised their AK-47s to fire at the Gamma Assaulters coming in through the back door. However, Gamma shot them both first.

Cavendish breathed hard as he charged through the first floor of the house, careful not to get in the way of Grinch's team which was running upstairs to help Fetterman's team control the upstairs, leaving Cavendish to secure the first floor and trusting the four snipers to guard his back. His faith in them wasn't misplaced, as he heard two rifle shots sounding from where Low Light and Mario were hidden. He heard another succession of rapid shots coming from both sniper hides as he cleared the kitchen out, his CAR-15 held at the ready, his Colt 1911A1 pistol ready for instant deployment if his rifle failed to work.

"Friendlies!" came a familiar shout. The shout belonged to First Sergeant Phillip Twofeathers, the 'Grand Old Man' of the squadron. He was a Hopi Indian from Flagstaff Arizona who the current rumor mill of C Squadron said was due to replace Cavendish after his planned retirement.

Cavendish saw the cinnabar skinned man in desert fatigues and wearing the small black Pro-Tec helmet that Gamma assault troops often wore. Because of the close quarter nature of the assaulters trade a key concern was avoid bumping their heads as opposed to taking a round in the head. The two Black Hawk helicopters, each carrying a dozen more Gamma assaulters had already dropped off their cargos into the front and back yards. The men fanned out, going into the house and trusting the snipers to watch their backs.

Already Cavendish could hear more shots coming from the two sniper hides. The shooting was slow at first, maybe one or two shots coming from Bilby and Hedaya, who were holed up in a rubbish heap atop a slight rise behind the house 500 meters away. Then it started to get more intense as the snipers started ripping into a large group of thugs attempting to rush the Gamma assaulters.

~ ~ ~ ~

Copperhead and about a dozen half blinded COBRA and Heartless troops had taken cover deeper inside the house in the upstairs area. The attic was out of the question because the Gamma assault teams had come in through it. The staircase was also firmly in Gamma hands.

Fetterman squeezed the trigger on two Heartless drones that popped out of the bathroom with KF-7 assault rifles. Both fell dead instantly. Stoney kicked down a door and surprised a stunned Crimson Guard that had been shocked badly by the stun grenades. With a solid kick he knocked the man over and cuffed his hands with a set of plastic binders. Prisoners talked a lot more than corpses, as any Special Forces soldier knows, so the capture of live enemies was always a high priority.

~ ~ ~ ~

Copperhead could hear the few remaining vipers and Heartless being killed outside the room he had holed up in. He cocked the lever on the MAC-10 machine pistols he had in each hand, determined to die fighting if he had to. He could see somewhat blurrily, that concussion grenade had done a number on his hearing and sight. He could only see shapes and shadows; he had taken the brunt of the flash grenades.

He heard the door being kicked down and fired a blind burst of gunfire, hoping to hit one of those Gamma bastards that had jumped inside. Instead he saw two silver flashes that blinded him completely. Firing wildly he was determined to die fighting if he had to.

~ ~ ~ ~

"Sir! He's outta ammo!" Link shouted as he ran inside the door that he had taken out with a shotgun round, "I'm going in!"

"Stoney, cover him! I'm gonna clear this corridor, Morgan you're with me!" Fetterman shouted.

Copperhead tried to resist again but he was instantly flipped over with a kick to the bend of his knees by Stoney. "That's for the interrogations you bastard." Stoney growled.

He and Link flex cuffed Copperhead and dragged him out of the room. "Clear!" they shouted.

Fetterman turned to run with his men down the stairs to evacuate with their prisoners when a Soldier Heartless with an RPK machinegun appeared right in front of them, ready to empty the entire 200 round belt into the four men. Instead of a hail of bullets a spray of black blood struck Fetterman. The Heartless fell with a bullet through its head. He could see Sergeant Mario Juarez with his telescope sighted M-14 in the abandoned building across the street.

~ ~ ~ ~

As the Task Force headed back to the base with their cargo of four prisoners Mainframe walked into a small café in town. He had the day off, and he intended to use that to his fullest advantage. He signed into AIM at a designated time, waiting for one particular person in cyberspace to meet him.

The AIM icon flashed orange and Mainframe accessed it. The message read, "Were you followed?"

"No." Mainframe typed.

"Good. I fear there's something I need to tell you." The person on the other end replied.

"What is it?" Mainframe said, or rather typed.

"I can't say anymore, for I may not know much, but I know too much. Meet me f2f. ("

"You got it. ;)" Mainframe typed, "Where are you?"

"A place my family would never be caught dead in. A place of song, of sadness, and of happiness." The cryptic reply came, "Meet me in half an hour. 3223"

Mainframe knew he had half an hour to figure out what Zarana was trying to tell him. Their meetings were always secretive, usually started online and occasionally face to face encounters followed. When one is in love with a member of the other side, precautions must be taken, and Mainframe and Zarana's fragile relationship was no exception.

As Zarana logged off, Mainframe realized he had half an hour to figure out what she meant. "Hmm. A place Zartan would never be caught in. A theater? Nah, that's too obvious, too crowded."

Mainframe thought again, "C'mon Blaine think, think. What could she possibly mean? Zartan doesn't hate theaters. That's the key. Think of songs. A radio station. Nah."

"A classical music conference? No, it can't be. She'd stick out like a sore thumb." Mainframe thought, "Sadness. A funeral home? Well I can't see anyone happy there unless there was an Irish wake or this person really hated the deceased. Four Weddings and a Funeral."

"Wait a minute!" Mainframe thought, "Weddings = happiness! Funerals = sadness! What do these have in common. They happen at a church! 3223 = St. George's Catholic Church at 32nd and 23rd Street! Perfect! Zartan wouldn't be caught dead in a church."

~ ~ ~ ~

Mainframe walked into the church. A Catholic nun walked up to him at that moment. "May I help you my son." The stooped elderly sister said.

"Uh, no sister. I'm waiting for someone here." Mainframe said, subconsciously rubbing his knuckles. He had remembered the Carmalite nuns whacking him there with rulers throughout grade school. He often liked to tell Dial Tone that it made boot camp seem like cake. He said, "I'd take a drill sergeant over a pissed of Carmalite nun any day of the week."

"We are all brothers and sisters in Christ, child. Who is it whom you wait for?" the nun asked.

Taken aback, Mainframe replied, "Well, she's a woman I'm romantically involved with, but neither of our parents approve of our relationship. She wanted to meet me here five minutes ago. She's late."

The nun replied, "No Blaine, she's been here the entire time."

Zarana shed her costume and said, "Blaine, listen to me. Magneto's returned, and he's allied himself with Maleficent and COBRA Commander. I no longer feel safe at COBRA. I seek sanctuary.

"I'll work something out..." Mainframe said, as they walked to his car, thinking, 'How am I gonna explain this one.'

His concerns were further validated when he went on base and as he passed the hangar, he saw Zarana receive hostile glares from his fellow Joes, but the most hostile from the original members of Kilo Two Zero. Particularly Sergeant Bilby.

"You took part in interrogating my best friend." Bilby growled at Zarana, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You're all in terrible danger! I came to warn you! And you showed my brother no mercy!" Zarana snapped.

"What?" Mainframe asked.

Zarana recognized the German Army field cap Bilby wore, "You shot my brother."

"He tried to kill me. Remember Andrew Whitehurst." Bilby replied sharply and transfixed Zarana with a glare as hard a steel.

~ ~ ~ ~

Up next: Magneto joins the fray. Maleficent schemes some more. And more missions are planned and executed against COBRA and the Heartless.