Chapter 30: The Trap

Bravo Team

Bravo Team entered the passageway they had just found. They had no idea where it led, but it was definitely dark. They all lit the pen-lights on their vests, which shed a little light on the squared concrete hallway. It wasn't much, but at least they could see.

"So," Chrissy started to ask, "Where do you think this goes?"

"I don't know sis', but I sure as hell don't like it." Alyssa responded.

The conversation was cut short by Dan's commanding voice, "Shhh! I think I heard something," he said as he semi-consciously raised his S.T.A.R.S custom Benelli, 40 guage assault shotgun in anticipation of an attack.

The rest of the group did the same with their respective weapons, including Taylor who had found a well-maintained Glock-17 handgun in the warehouse. Taylor was an amateur to be sure, but at least she wasn't quite as helpless as she was when Bravo Team first found her in the remains of the ill-fated airliner.

All at once, the others heard what Dan had heard. Scratching, clicking noises, as if something with claws was skittering across a hardwood floor. This was followed almost immediately by a loud, high-pitched squeal. The team looked all around but saw nothing. Slowly, the group began to back away on Dan's signal, hoping to lure whatever it was into better light. Unfortunately, Mike managed to step onto a hidden pressure plate, which caused the passageway entrance to seal itself, effectively trapping the Bravo Team.

"Shit!" exclaimed Mike, as he readied his S.T.A.R.S AK-60 automatic assault rifle, "Trapped like rats!"

He immediately regretted his statement as he caught a glimpse of something that resembled a large dog-sized rat. The glimpse was all too brief though, as it seemed to disappear as quickly as it had appeared.

"Did you guys see that?" Mike asked, sounding more nervous than he'd intended.

"See what?" responded Alyssa.

"I could've sworn I just saw a giant rat, maybe more." Mike answered, "But then it, or they, just vanished."

"Mike!" said Dan, "This is no time for ghost stories!" But Dan quickly took it back when he felt something nudge him.

Whatever it was, he couldn't see it, but he figured it was big, and solid from what he could tell.

"Aw Hell!" Dan said, "What I wouldn't give for an infrared scope right about now!"

The idle chit-chat was cut short by a piercing scream, as Alyssa found herself on her back, and an unseen assailant had her pinned to the ground, and briefly reappeared.

"A.J. !" shouted Stephanie, and she raised her four-shot Samurai Edge, firing into the seemingly empty space above Alyssa's prone form.

The attacker was knocked off of Alyssa, and it began to flicker, appearing and disappearing uncontrollably, squealing in pain the whole time. With it's camouflage disabled, the creature was now visible to all. It was at least as large as a St. Bernard, and it was covered in dark gray fur. However, there were exposed patches of scaly, greenish-brown skin in various spots of the large rodent's body. The visible skin was definitely reptilian in nature as were the yellow eyes, and the fur-less tail.

"What'd I tell ya'!" gloated Mike, "invisible rat!"

"Well," Dan started, "In my experience, the best way to deal with a rat..."

"...Is to exterminate!" Alyssa said, finishing her older brother's sentiment, and she fired three napalm grenades from her M-79 grenade launcher into the body of her attacker, burning it to a satisfying crisp.

However, the group was lulled into a false sense of security. The next thing they knew, Stephanie was being tackled to the ground, and a sharp claw slashed across her torso. Her vest provided enough protection to keep her from being disemboweled, but the pain was still intense. Dan and Mike finished off Steph's attacker, but there was still another one, and it went after a not-so-well-prepared Taylor.

"TAYLOR! NO!" hollered Dan as he saw the last creature pounce on her back. With renewed motivation, Dan put his large frame to use, and sprinted toward the beast. Luckily, the creature had been distracted by Dan's outburst, buying him enough time to slam into it as a middle linebacker would a quarterback on a football field. Surprisingly, the impact knocked the monster off of it's prey and it was driven into the solid concrete wall. This dazed it long enough for Dan to carefully aim his shotgun, and unload three shots into the giant rat's body and head.

After the intense battle ended, Stephanie had to remove her vest and shirt in order for Chrissy to examine her wounds. The poor excuse for a sports bra she wore underneath was enough to bring out Mike's inner-adolescent.

"Now there's a side of you I thought I'd never see." joked Mike, who was trying to relieve the tension caused by the fight.

"You could turn around you know!" exclaimed Chrissy.

"That's okay doc," said Steph, "Let him look. After all, this is the closest he'll ever come to seeing a real woman!" she teased.

There was a collective sound of "Ooh!" from the others, much to the delight of the patient, and the embarrasment of Mike.

"Enough!" exclaimed Dan, "How is she Chrissy?"

"Fine. The wounds will take a while to heal, but it looks like her vest did it's job. In any case, she'll live."

"So, no infection?" Dan asked.

"Not as far as I can tell, no. But we'll have to keep an eye on her just in case." Chrissy responded.

"Good, then let's move..." said Dan. Feeling a little more light-hearted, he joked, "...before Mike starts thinking he actually has a chance with her." Dan looked at Stephanie as he finished his statement, and there were small chuckles all around. The jokes were fine, but everyone knew they were just to cover up the real feelings of dread in all their stomachs.

After about a half-mile trek down the remainder of the passage, the team found themselves in front of a pair of tall, thick, double doors made of carbon steel. The doors were adorned with a red biohazard symbol. It was placed in the center of the two doors, and below it was the logo "GT" in black. Below that, in smaller, red print, were the words Genetic Technologies, Inc. At the side of the doors was a nine-digit passcode lock.

"Well, how do we open these?" asked Taylor, as she pointed to the doors.

Without answering, Stephanie reached into her tattered vest pocket, and pulled out a small device, similar in look to a calculator. Along with it, she revealed a short wire, forked on one end with two jacks, similar to headphones. The other end was single, with a small needle-sized prong. She attached the forked end to the device in her hand. The other end was placed into a small, barely visible hole on the doors keypad.

A few short moments later, the passcode had been hacked, and the doors opened.

"I love a woman who knows her way around technology." Mike flirted.

"Ugh, will you give it a rest?" responded Stephanie, feigning disgust. But she was secretly flattered by his attention.

They were in awe of what they walked into. In front of them lay a long, pure white hallway. At the other end was another hallway, stretched across the path they were on, the two of them forming a "T" shape. They noticed three doors in their current hallway: two along the left wall, and the third in the center of the opposite wall. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that they had entered the well-hidden Gen-Tech labs.

A/N

Well, I hope you like this Bravo Team-centric chapter. After spending alot of previous chapters on Alpha Team, I figured I'd give Bravo their own. Let me know what you think.