Turnabout
Chapter 1- Preparation
0800 hours, present day
Duke paced the command room, digesting the information he just received. According to the latest intelligence, a high-ranking COBRA officer was less than enamored with Cobra Commander's petty scheming and fled COBRA Island. Last seen on the outskirts of Sinjar in Iraq, the woman had contacted the Russian Embassy and asked for extraction and protection in exchange for vital information on the whereabouts and tactical plans of COBRA. The Ambassador immediately placed a call to the President of the United States, who in turn contacted the PIT. General Tomahawk requested a videoconference with Duke and POTUS to determine the course of action.
Fearing a trap, Duke reluctantly advised POTUS and General Hawk to send in a small squad to locate and evacuate the defector. Wanting to send in his best unit, Duke chose the SEALs, who were fresh off a successful hostage rescue in the Pacific. Depth Charge was fully recovered from the gunshot wounds he sustained, and Torpedo made it very clear that he was the sole reason for the previous mission's success.
Even Wet Suit and Shipwreck, who in his opinion were not very good team players, spoke highly of the younger sailor's actions on the research platform. That spoke volumes to Duke, and made the command decision on which team to send that much easier. He walked over to Dial Tone and said, "Have that last transmission from our defector patched through to the briefing room. Also alert Torpedo, Shipwreck, Wet Suit, and Depth Charge that their team has been tapped for another mission. The briefing will begin at 1000 hours."
"Yes sir," Dial Tone replied turning to the terminal to comply with the commands. He routed the transmission to the briefing room's terminal, where it would be waiting for Duke to access once the session started, then called each sailor individually and advised them of the meeting scheduled in two hours. Each man acknowledged and repeated the time to ensure accuracy, then resumed their normal duties, waiting for the appointed time to arrive.
0950 hours
Torpedo arrived at the briefing room to find Depth Charge and Shipwreck already there, the older sailor attempting to awe the younger with a fabricated story about a half-mermaid COBRA woman he had once been in love with. It appeared that the younger man was hanging on every word, and Torpedo shook his head in amusement. You'll learn one day, kid, he thought. Just as Wet Suit came striding in, Depth Charge boomed, "What a load of shit! A fucking mermaid?" he asked before bursting into laughter.
Wet Suit looked at Torpedo, who shrugged and started laughing along with the younger SEAL. Shipwreck looked mortally wounded, crossing his arms and scowling. "Telling tales about the mermaid again, eh Hector?" Wet Suit asked. "It's a wonder the FNG even listened to you." He turned to face Depth Charge, who was now laughing uncontrollably at the older sailor's pissed expression. "Hell, it's not like any of your stories are feasible, my friend," Wet Suit added, "but we love them just the same." At this, both Torpedo and Wet Suit burst into laughter, and with Depth Charge still howling, Shipwreck suppressed a chuckle and attempted to keep up the wounded act.
Duke walked in at 0958 to find all the soldiers in tears from laughter. Once they caught sight of him, they attempted to straighten up, but were miserably unsuccessful. "ATTEN-SHUN!" Duke shouted. The sailors' training took over and they shot to their feet, all thoughts of laughter now abandoned. It was go time, and the Joes needed to concentrate on the duties at hand.
"At ease, gentlemen, and grab a seat," Duke ordered. He proceeded to advise the SEALs of the intelligence findings, and replayed the transmission from the COBRA defector, code-named Turnabout. As the Joes listened to the feed, Duke passed around dossiers with all the known information on the defector. The packet included a picture dated 2001, and also a progressive aging comparison for reference. The Joes studied the pictures carefully, and then committed the maps and mission information to memory so they would not be caught carrying documentation.
"Men, it is your responsibility to get from here to Ramstein by tomorrow afternoon. You will be issued government credit cards, and we expect you to go civilian clothes and use civilian airlines. Upon your arrival at Ramstein, an Air Force lieutenant named Carl Tomlinson will meet you at the Military Air terminal. He will be transporting you to Incirlik Air Force Base in Turkey, the staging ground for your operation. There you will switch over to a C-130 Hercules and be inserted via HALO. Once on the ground, you will only have five days to procure the package and get the hell out of Dodge. Once Turnabout is in your control, you need to cross over into Turkey and radio for pick-up," Duke advised. "Any questions?" Duke asked. When none of the Joes responded, he said, "Good luck, and Godspeed. Dismissed!"
The sailors exited the briefing room, each lost in their own thoughts.
1115 hours
As the other Joes packed their bags, Depth Charge powered up his PC and went to www.travelocity.com to secure a flight for four to Frankfurt. He also used their service to secure a rental car for the drive to Ramstein AFB. After he printed the screen with his e-confirmation number, he grabbed some clothes and stuffed them in his bag, then changed into black jeans and his lucky black Superman t-shirt. Noticing his teammates staring at him, he flushed to the tips of his ears.
"What?" he asked. "Can't a guy have a hero without getting shit for it?" Wet Suit and Shipwreck just looked at each other as if they were reading one another's minds, both grinning like fools.
Torpedo chuckled and replied, "Sure, man. Wait a sec and let me get my Aquaman Underoos outta my footlocker." The other two sailors started gut- laughing at that one, and Depth Charge started to take the shirt off. "Don't do that," Torpedo said. The veteran SEAL grinned at Depth Charge, and motioned him closer, indicating he needed to whisper something to the younger man. Depth Charge moved over towards the bigger man and cocked his head to one side, offering his ear. "Those two are just too embarrassed to admit they think Superman is cool," Torpedo said. He rolled up his sleeve and showed Depth Charge a tribal tattoo with the Superman logo in the center. "Me? I got no problems with Big Blue."
Once their clothes were packed, the four warriors shouldered their carry-on bags and headed for the motor pool, eager to get this mission underway.
The 7-hour United Airlines flight to Frankfurt went smoothly, and the Joes had no incidents getting through the security checkpoints at the airport. They headed over to the car rental area, carry-ons in tow, and secured the rental car and a map of Germany from the attractive brunette behind the counter. As they walked away, joking among themselves about who would drive, they failed to notice the attendant leave her post and dial her cell phone.
Her eyes drilling holes into the warriors' backs, she waited for the man on the other end to answer. After 6 rings, a terse voice answered, "What is it, Viper1136?" (translated from German)
"The Joes have arrived. They have the altered car, and everything is proceeding according to plan," the woman replied in aristocratic German.
"Excellent!" the man exclaimed. "We shall let these fools lead us right to our prey, and then destroy them. COBRA!"
Chapter 1- Preparation
0800 hours, present day
Duke paced the command room, digesting the information he just received. According to the latest intelligence, a high-ranking COBRA officer was less than enamored with Cobra Commander's petty scheming and fled COBRA Island. Last seen on the outskirts of Sinjar in Iraq, the woman had contacted the Russian Embassy and asked for extraction and protection in exchange for vital information on the whereabouts and tactical plans of COBRA. The Ambassador immediately placed a call to the President of the United States, who in turn contacted the PIT. General Tomahawk requested a videoconference with Duke and POTUS to determine the course of action.
Fearing a trap, Duke reluctantly advised POTUS and General Hawk to send in a small squad to locate and evacuate the defector. Wanting to send in his best unit, Duke chose the SEALs, who were fresh off a successful hostage rescue in the Pacific. Depth Charge was fully recovered from the gunshot wounds he sustained, and Torpedo made it very clear that he was the sole reason for the previous mission's success.
Even Wet Suit and Shipwreck, who in his opinion were not very good team players, spoke highly of the younger sailor's actions on the research platform. That spoke volumes to Duke, and made the command decision on which team to send that much easier. He walked over to Dial Tone and said, "Have that last transmission from our defector patched through to the briefing room. Also alert Torpedo, Shipwreck, Wet Suit, and Depth Charge that their team has been tapped for another mission. The briefing will begin at 1000 hours."
"Yes sir," Dial Tone replied turning to the terminal to comply with the commands. He routed the transmission to the briefing room's terminal, where it would be waiting for Duke to access once the session started, then called each sailor individually and advised them of the meeting scheduled in two hours. Each man acknowledged and repeated the time to ensure accuracy, then resumed their normal duties, waiting for the appointed time to arrive.
0950 hours
Torpedo arrived at the briefing room to find Depth Charge and Shipwreck already there, the older sailor attempting to awe the younger with a fabricated story about a half-mermaid COBRA woman he had once been in love with. It appeared that the younger man was hanging on every word, and Torpedo shook his head in amusement. You'll learn one day, kid, he thought. Just as Wet Suit came striding in, Depth Charge boomed, "What a load of shit! A fucking mermaid?" he asked before bursting into laughter.
Wet Suit looked at Torpedo, who shrugged and started laughing along with the younger SEAL. Shipwreck looked mortally wounded, crossing his arms and scowling. "Telling tales about the mermaid again, eh Hector?" Wet Suit asked. "It's a wonder the FNG even listened to you." He turned to face Depth Charge, who was now laughing uncontrollably at the older sailor's pissed expression. "Hell, it's not like any of your stories are feasible, my friend," Wet Suit added, "but we love them just the same." At this, both Torpedo and Wet Suit burst into laughter, and with Depth Charge still howling, Shipwreck suppressed a chuckle and attempted to keep up the wounded act.
Duke walked in at 0958 to find all the soldiers in tears from laughter. Once they caught sight of him, they attempted to straighten up, but were miserably unsuccessful. "ATTEN-SHUN!" Duke shouted. The sailors' training took over and they shot to their feet, all thoughts of laughter now abandoned. It was go time, and the Joes needed to concentrate on the duties at hand.
"At ease, gentlemen, and grab a seat," Duke ordered. He proceeded to advise the SEALs of the intelligence findings, and replayed the transmission from the COBRA defector, code-named Turnabout. As the Joes listened to the feed, Duke passed around dossiers with all the known information on the defector. The packet included a picture dated 2001, and also a progressive aging comparison for reference. The Joes studied the pictures carefully, and then committed the maps and mission information to memory so they would not be caught carrying documentation.
"Men, it is your responsibility to get from here to Ramstein by tomorrow afternoon. You will be issued government credit cards, and we expect you to go civilian clothes and use civilian airlines. Upon your arrival at Ramstein, an Air Force lieutenant named Carl Tomlinson will meet you at the Military Air terminal. He will be transporting you to Incirlik Air Force Base in Turkey, the staging ground for your operation. There you will switch over to a C-130 Hercules and be inserted via HALO. Once on the ground, you will only have five days to procure the package and get the hell out of Dodge. Once Turnabout is in your control, you need to cross over into Turkey and radio for pick-up," Duke advised. "Any questions?" Duke asked. When none of the Joes responded, he said, "Good luck, and Godspeed. Dismissed!"
The sailors exited the briefing room, each lost in their own thoughts.
1115 hours
As the other Joes packed their bags, Depth Charge powered up his PC and went to www.travelocity.com to secure a flight for four to Frankfurt. He also used their service to secure a rental car for the drive to Ramstein AFB. After he printed the screen with his e-confirmation number, he grabbed some clothes and stuffed them in his bag, then changed into black jeans and his lucky black Superman t-shirt. Noticing his teammates staring at him, he flushed to the tips of his ears.
"What?" he asked. "Can't a guy have a hero without getting shit for it?" Wet Suit and Shipwreck just looked at each other as if they were reading one another's minds, both grinning like fools.
Torpedo chuckled and replied, "Sure, man. Wait a sec and let me get my Aquaman Underoos outta my footlocker." The other two sailors started gut- laughing at that one, and Depth Charge started to take the shirt off. "Don't do that," Torpedo said. The veteran SEAL grinned at Depth Charge, and motioned him closer, indicating he needed to whisper something to the younger man. Depth Charge moved over towards the bigger man and cocked his head to one side, offering his ear. "Those two are just too embarrassed to admit they think Superman is cool," Torpedo said. He rolled up his sleeve and showed Depth Charge a tribal tattoo with the Superman logo in the center. "Me? I got no problems with Big Blue."
Once their clothes were packed, the four warriors shouldered their carry-on bags and headed for the motor pool, eager to get this mission underway.
The 7-hour United Airlines flight to Frankfurt went smoothly, and the Joes had no incidents getting through the security checkpoints at the airport. They headed over to the car rental area, carry-ons in tow, and secured the rental car and a map of Germany from the attractive brunette behind the counter. As they walked away, joking among themselves about who would drive, they failed to notice the attendant leave her post and dial her cell phone.
Her eyes drilling holes into the warriors' backs, she waited for the man on the other end to answer. After 6 rings, a terse voice answered, "What is it, Viper1136?" (translated from German)
"The Joes have arrived. They have the altered car, and everything is proceeding according to plan," the woman replied in aristocratic German.
"Excellent!" the man exclaimed. "We shall let these fools lead us right to our prey, and then destroy them. COBRA!"
