Disclaimers: Please see chapter 1 for the disclaimers, notes, and authors.
Additional disclaimer: Any non-Joe characters in this chapter and future chapters belong to the authors and are completely fictional. Any similarities to a person, either fictional, real, living or deceased, is purely coincidental.
Name Reference:
Bazooka - Dave
Alpine – Albert
Deep Six – Malcolm
Airtight - Kurt
---------
Chapter 7 - Pitfalls of Scaling
---------
"Zook, let's get going before our third wheel discovers what we're up to," Alpine said quietly, leading his partner-in-crime towards the door. He kept an eye on the bathroom door, where Gung-Ho was taking a quick shower. The two scurried in the direction opposite the elevators, not wanting to run into any of their teammates who might spoil their plans.
"Isn't this illegal?" Bazooka asked.
"Illegal, smeegle," Alpine huffed as they started down the stairs.
After going down the first flight of stairs, Bazooka stopped and pulled Alpine back to face him. Leering into his friend's face, Bazooka whispered forcefully, "Are you crazy? There are twenty-four more flights to go. They have elevators in case you hadn't noticed."
"Yes, but the others will be using those, and we don't want them to spoil our fun now, do we?" Alpine replied, descending the remaining flights. Bazooka shrugged and kept up with his friend's pace. "Just be glad we're going down instead of up," Alpine chuckled.
Bazooka looked up and down the stairwell. "Uh yeah," he sighed. Once they reached the main floor, they hid on either side of the opening that led into the main lobby area. Both heads peeked out from behind the wall. "All clear," Bazooka stated softly.
Alpine's eyes re-scanned the area and nodded in agreement. They casually walked by the front desk and out to the streets. "Nothing strange about a man carrying a rope and some climbing gear while walking down the streets of Vegas, is there, buddy?" He asked, laughing to conceal his worries.
"No, guess not," Bazooka shrugged, stopping to take in the sights and sounds of the renowned Vegas Strip.
"Dave, come on, would ya?" Alpine called back to his friend. "We can look at the sites later, but right now, we need to finish your climbing lessons."
Bazooka smacked on his gum. "Aw, pretty lights," he said, looking up and down the street. "And pretty girls." He waved at a small group of women as Alpine pulled him along by his shirtsleeve. The women giggled and waved back at him. "Bert, what are we doing?"
"See that tall, skinny building with the round top?" Alpine asked, pointing at The Stratosphere.
"Yep," Bazooka replied.
"You and me's gonna climb that, and then we're climbing the small 'coaster on top of it. If we're lucky, we might do a little base jumping also," Alpine explained, patting the rope slung over his shoulder. "Sounds like lots of fun, right?"
"Yeah, if you say so," Bazooka sighed, looking over their target.
A short walk later, Alpine and Bazooka arrived at the base of The Stratosphere. They walked around the outskirts of the spiked building, looking for a place where they would least likely be spotted by security, much less have them follow their path. Alpine set up the rope and tugged on it to ensure it was secure. As he started his ascent, Alpine looked back at his climbing partner. "Whatever you do, don't look down," he warned. "And remember, there's no safety net!"
"Uh huh," Bazooka grunted. He grabbed the rope, and at Alpine's signal, started his climb. "Pretty easy," he commented.
-----------------------------------------
Michael Griggs, the assistant head of security for The Stratosphere, walked into the monitoring room after beginning his shift. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen," he greeted. "How are things today?"
"Fairly quiet again," Stacy answered. "Nothing outside the usual: rowdiness, a couple of fights, drunkenness, and a few cheats and thieves. Reports are on your desk and ready for you to sign off on." The others acknowledged their superior's presence while continuing with their assigned duties.
"No employee problems either so far today," Rick added.
Michael scanned the various screens displaying the ongoings of their establishment as Terrence spoke up, "Hey, check this out. We have a couple of scalers on the north side of the building." He proceeded to alert their floor personnel assigned to the outside areas of The Stratosphere, including those on the observation level.
"Stacy, what were you saying about a calm night?" Michael teased. Stacy and the others chuckled, while maintaining their focus on their jobs. "Men and ladies," Michael winked at Stacy, "let's get these idiots before they harm themselves or our patrons, who are here to have fun, spend money, and fund our paychecks. You know the drill."
-----------------------------------------
Halfway up the tower, Alpine made one of several glances back to check on Bazooka. Seeing the thumbs up signal, he continued his climb. "Doing great, pal!" He yelled. "Just a few more ropes, and we'll be topside." As he set the final rope length in place, Alpine heard a horrifying, muffled scream. He finished the task and switched ropes. Looking down, he saw Bazooka petrified, his eyes bulging towards the ground below. "Hang in there, buddy. A few more feet and we'll be on solid ground again. Just hold on tight and take it one step at a time."
Bazooka looked back up at his mentor. "One step at a time," he mumbled, giving a quick glance downward.
"And quit looking down!" Alpine reprimanded.
"Oh, yeah," Bazooka sighed, recommencing his climb, slowly at first but gradually speeding up his pace, enough to catch up with Alpine and surpass him. He climbed over the edge, only to be met with a very surprised Alpine a few moments later.
"What the hell was that about?" Alpine asked, pulling up the last of the rope. "You nearly trampled me to death."
Bazooka shrugged and replied half-heartily, "Uh, sorry, Bert. Now what?"
-----------------------------------------
"They've just climbed onto the north side of the observation deck, on the backside of The High Roller. Pete, you're the closest. Do you have a visual?" Stacy radioed.
Pete started making his way to the area that Stacy had described. Seeing the two men stand up, he announced through the microphone pinned on his lapel, "Yes, ma'am. Targets in sight."
"Matt, Lia, back him up," Stacy ordered, keeping a steady eye on the video, while Michael watched over her shoulder. The others went back to surveying their respective areas of the premises.
-----------------------------------------
"First we blend in with the crowd and ditch security," Alpine said, spotting a few men in black making their way towards them. "And then, see that?" he asked, nodding towards a roller coaster.
"Yeah," Bazooka said, popping his bubble.
"That is phase two of your training. We're climbing it, and spit out that gum, would ya? It's a miracle you didn't swallow and choke on it," Alpine said, smacking the back of his friend's head.
Gulp. "Great. Swallowed it," Bazooka fussed as the two merged in with the crowd.
-----------------------------------------
"Damn! Where'd they go?" Pete cursed, as their targets seemed to have disappeared into the crowd.
Stacy's firm voice replied, "Hold on." She put her hand on Terrence's shoulder. "Move in on that," she said, pointing at a possible crowd control problem.
Terrence typed a few keys to enlarge the area of the film to which Stacy had referred. "Alrighty, it's them," he stated calmly.
"They're making their way towards The High Roller," Stacy informed Pete and the others, who were making their way to the roller coaster, while being considerate of the other patrons.
-----------------------------------------
"Hey, man, the line is back there," a burly man roughly informed the two Joes.
"Nah, we're not riding. Just wanna get a closer look at it," Alpine said, ignoring the other comments the man continued to make. "Dave, let's sit here and let things cool down up here before we do this."
"Don't think it will cool down much more, Bert," Bazooka replied, referring to the weather.
"That's not what I meant... uh... never mind," Alpine muttered, controlling his breathing and looking away before he snapped and carried Bazooka to the building's edge to send him freefalling down the 800 plus feet to his imminent death. He shuddered at thinking what the crime scene would look like and his poor partner's body splattered all over the concrete, not to mention dealing with Duke, Hawk, the LVPD, and whoever else might become involved. 'I've been watching way too much CSI lately,' he contemplated.
-----------------------------------------
"It looks like they are taking a break. One of them is looking back and forth between The High Roller and The Big Shot. Keep your eyes peeled. I'll let you know as soon as they make their move," Stacy informed from her vantage point in the security room. "They're headed to The Big Shot," Stacy alerted the teams as she watched Alpine point to the 'coaster that was shut down for inspection.
"Got it," Lia replied as she met up with Matt outside on the observation deck.
Matt grinned evilly. "Why don't you go out with me, Lia? I'll bet your dates are never this exciting or fun."
"Matt, no fraternizing on the job," Michael warned through his communicator.
Matt let go of Lia's waist and shrugged, knowing the cameras never missed a thing. "Sorry boss. Had to give it a shot," he muttered as they struggled to reach their destination because of the crowds. "Pete, we're almost there."
-----------------------------------------
"Bert?" Bazooka asked, looking concerned as he pointed at The High Roller coaster.
Alpine nodded but then changed his mind. He turned Bazooka's head towards The Big Shot, a catapult ride. "Top is 1081 feet in the air, and it's closed for inspections, so no dodging the cars," he chuckled, patting his partner on the back.
"Uh, I think I'm gonna be sick," Bazooka groaned, gagging and turning pale. He sat back down and protested, "I'm not going. You can't make me."
"You're right, pal. I can't make you, but don't you think the ladies will go crazy once they find out that you scaled the highest 'coaster in the world? Think about it man, do you know of anyone else who has done this? Sure, we climbed Extensive Enterprises before, but so did Shana and Alison, but this... I mean climbing a 'coaster on top of one of the highest buildings in the State of Nevada," Alpine rambled, pulling Bazooka back up and nudging him towards the ride's base.
"Geez, now you're startin' to sound a lot like Malcolm and Kurt with your long dissertation," Bazooka moaned.
Alpine continued to convince Bazooka how this stunt would greatly impress the women. They set up their equipment and began their mission. "Don't..." Alpine started to warn his trainee not to look down again but shuddered thinking about what happened on the way up The Stratosphere. "Never mind," he sighed.
-----------------------------------------
Stacy's voice chimed loud and clear in the agents' ears. "Where the hell are you all? They're a third of the way up The Big Shot now."
"Crowds," Pete answered, abruptly.
"Busy night up here, Stacy," Eric replied. "Pete, we'll meet up with you as soon as we can. Greg, Arnold, and Jesus are handling some crowd control issues, and we've also had complaints of a pickpocket."
"I'm on the pickpocket issue," Rosie stated, immediately refocusing her station to assist that team.
Michael nodded and stood back, letting his well-trained team handle the chaos, but standing ready to step in should he need to. "Terrence, let's go ahead and call our friends in blue in. Let's also get a couple of ambulances here, just in case."
"Yes, sir," Terrence stated, picking up his phone.
-----------------------------------------
Once at the top of the ride, Bazooka, hanging on tightly to his ropes and the steel, looked across the strip. "Wow," he said, smacking his gum.
Alpine leered at Bazooka. "You climbed up here with gum in your mouth?! Spit it out now."
"Now?"
"Yes, now. Do you know how dangerous it is to chew gum while climbing? Spit," Alpine stated irately.
-----------------------------------------
"They're at the top," Stacy informed Pete, Matt and Lia. She sighed, seeing they had finally made it to the vicinity. "Stay out of sight until we say," she ordered.
"Yes ma'am," Pete acknowledged as he searched for a good spot to conceal himself. He eyed Matt and Lia in passing. The three mingled with a few patrons, making sure they were having a good time, all the while, never letting their eye lose track of the targets.
-----------------------------------------
Bazooka did as Alpine had requested and spit the wad of gum out. "Hope it doesn't land on someone down there," he said, looking down at the crowd below.
Alpine simply shook his head and then smiled, looking back down the strip. "So, Dave, what do you think of the view? One can see everything from here and the air smells so much better."
"Pretty lights," Bazooka awed as Alpine tugged him, motioning that it was time to descend. "Do we have to?"
"Yes. Cops'll be here any moment," Alpine replied, making his way down the carefully welded steel fixture. Bazooka followed every step his instructor made, until they both reached the ground safely. They hastily repacked their equipment and began to lose themselves in the crowd.
-----------------------------------------
"Now," Stacy informed the field agents. Pete, Matt and Lia took their cue and began to approach Alpine and Bazooka. On the way, a frantic lady grabbed Matt and Lia. She had been separated from her 13-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter.
"Go on, I'll take care of them," Lia offered. She assisted the mother until Greg and his partner could takeover.
Matt nodded and walked away calmly as if nothing was going on so as not to disturb the patrons, especially the lady with the missing children. He caught up with Pete and stopped to watch the targets repack their ropes and safety harnesses. They followed Alpine and Bazooka as the Joes weaved through the people standing around.
"Damn it! We lost them," Pete cursed into his mic.
In the monitoring room, Michael threw off his earpiece and took a few fast paces. "Shit, not again! Who are these guys? Harry Houdini and David Copperfield?" He muttered at the fact they had been able to evade his men yet again.
"LVPD is on the way," Terrence informed. "I've run their photos through the databases, Mike."
Michael nodded. "And?"
"Nothing."
"Which makes them visitors most likely," Michael finished.
"You know, you don't think they're part of that team from GI Joe that was here ousting Cobra, do you?" Stacy asked, trying to rationalize their unsuccessful attempts to detain the two individuals.
Matt, hearing the conversation through his earpiece, laughed. "And why exactly would two members of the GI Joe team be climbing our building and rides?"
In his serious, business voice, Michael replied, "Let's catch these jokers and chitchat later people."
Meanwhile, Greg and Jesus had met up with Lia and the worried mother. Lia brought them up to speed on that case and explained to the guest that they would take the report and help her find her missing children. Greg and Jesus read over Lia's notes and began gathering more information from the lady. "It will be okay, ma'am. Most of the time, they just get separated in the crowds," Jesus explained, while Greg notified the control room.
"Actually Matt, Stacy's theory makes a lot of sense," Lia commented, her eyes scanning for Pete and Matt's new locale.
"Lia, over here," Matt waved at her.
-----------------------------------------
After they had disappeared into the crowd, Bazooka and Alpine found themselves at The High Roller. "Can we?" Bazooka asked excitedly.
"I thought you hated these types of rides," Alpine commented confused.
Bazooka popped his bubble. "Not ride. Climb."
Alpine laughed. "I thought you'd never ask." The two daredevils scouted the area and soon began their next ascent. Halfway up the elevated roller coaster, Pete, Matt, and Lia spotted the two soldiers. "Faster Dave," Alpine hollered, speeding up his own pace. Suddenly, he felt a sharp tug on his belt, causing him to tighten his grasp on the steel bars. Once he regained his bearings, he looked down to see his apprentice fighting to keep from falling again.
Struggling for a firm grip, Bazooka finally gave the thumbs up signal showing he was okay. "Careful, pal," Alpine called down. They recommenced their ascent, reaching a small platform at the top of one of the large dips.
"Bert, it's our friends again, man," Bazooka said, looking back down at the men in black, who were scaling the ride behind them.
"I see 'em," Alpine nodded. Seeing one of the roller coaster's cars approaching, he told Bazooka, "Get ready... Jump." Both climbers landed in open seats in the car, escaping the clutches of their would-be arrestors and much to the amazement of the other patrons. "It's okay, we're professionals. Kids, don't try this at home," Alpine explained to the other riders.
-----------------------------------------
"Lia! Stop!" Matt yelled to his partner. "We can get them when their joyride ends," he explained as they hurriedly climbed back down.
"Damn, they've rounded the last turn. We'll never make it over there in time," Lia fussed. "Where are the others?" She asked into her mic.
"Arnold and I are on our way. Eric and Jesus are still working the missing children case, and the others are dealing with the pickpocket situation," Greg replied, running across the crowded observation deck. "Just pray we don't run into anymore disturbances. It's been one helluva busy evening up here."
"Michael, if you needed excitement this bad, we could have set you up. Things were quiet until you showed up," Arnold joked.
-----------------------------------------
Bazooka rolled his eyes, feeling queasy from the ups and downs and turns of the roller coaster. "Bert, I said climb, not ride."
Alpine laughed. "Climbing means you have to get back down the structure or object also, but that, my friend, is not always the same path you went up."
"But, Bert, this... uh, is not climbing," Bazooka corrected.
"That's only a slight technicality," Alpine retorted. "Ride's almost over. As soon as you get off, make a break for the edge where we climbed up this building. That looked like the best place to do our base jumping."
The ride stopped and to the amazement of the two trouble-seekers, there were no security officers or police nearby, at least none who were visible. Bazooka sighed, hoping that they would save him from his friend's next daring feat. Jumping off a perfectly fine building for no reason was not on his list of things-to-do on his 48-hour leave. He wondered why he had even let Alpine talk him into the scaling bit. Not having any other choice, Bazooka reached the edge and put on his parachute.
Both men jumped and yelled, "Geronimo!"
"Uh oh," Bazooka muttered, seeing the squadron of police cars and ambulances below.
"Yeah, what you said, 'uh oh'," Alpine repeated, knowing there was no way to evade their imminent arrest.
Bazooka nodded in agreement. Landing uninjured, both men were immediately handcuffed and read their Miranda rights. They lowered their heads as they were placed into the back seat of a LVPD car. "It was fun, wasn't it Dave?" Alpine asked seriously.
Bazooka wanted to give his demented friend, as Footloose would call him, a piece of his mind but broke out in an uncontrollable fit of laughter, which Alpine soon joined in on. "You're calling Conrad to bail us out," Bazooka stated, still laughing as they were driven to the precinct.
-----------------------------------------
Pete, Matt, Lia, Arnold, and Greg watched from the observation deck. "Man, this is when I wish they would issue us binoculars. They look like ants from up here," Greg commented, looking at the ground below.
"It's about bloody time those squad cars arrived," Lia stated. "Matt and I will head down there and give our statements. You guys make sure our guests have a smooth night."
-----------------------------------------
---
TBC
---