Melissa went over the briefing in her mind, as she knelt in the shadows of a hallway. Daniel, Sousuke and Kurz were waiting in the darkness as well, just outside the compound; they were waiting for Melissa to make her move.

"Our main problem is this," Kalinan said as he pointed to a small room overlooking the bays of the central warehouse. "This building is where the research is being conducted – as such, its security is rather extreme." He turned to Melissa. "That's where you come in, Major." Another tap to the datascreen zoomed in on the room he had indicated earlier. "They've wired the entire place in the event of our inevitable confrontation, and we believe that this group of terrorists is willing to destroy everything in their possession so that we do not get our hands on any of it-"

"You're saying the compound is wired to blow?"

Kalinan nodded, "At a moment's notice. The room that overlooks the main research area houses the switch that will set off the explosives. Major, you'll need to infiltrate and secure that room before Urzu 5, 6 and 7 can move in."

"Wait, one minute here," Kurz interjected. "One clarification."

"What is it Sergeant?"

"Is it a switch or a big red button?"

It sounded simple enough.

Kalinan, however, failed to mention that this particular group of terrorists appeared to be the most sophisticated bunch they had ever come up against. She had waited nearly an hour in the frigid night air before an opportunity had presented itself for infiltration into the main building. The foot soldiers varied their patrols, making them impossible to predict and – oh yeah – radio silence had to maintained because the terrorists just happened to possess an all-frequency scanner that they used on an infrequent but regular basis. Once inside, it had taken Melissa another forty-five minutes just to get in sight of the damn red-button room, or switch-room, whatever it was.

The fact that she had managed to remain undetected thus far she attributed mainly to that cruel sense of luck of hers – the one that got her clear of her AS just before it was annihilated, twice.

If she had been in her M9, this would be the point in time where she turns just in time to see a wonderful explosion, upon picking herself up from the rough landing. She was right there, but unfortunately so was a well-armed guard who for all intensive purposes hadn't moved from his position at the door since she had begun watching him twenty minutes earlier. Well, her luck had just run out along with her patience. It was time for something a little more aggressive than what wetworks operations generally called for – they wouldn't blow the place over one small casualty, would they?

Only one way to find out . . .

Melissa brought out her pistol and steadied her aim. If human nature was any indication, the shot would likely bring out atleast one curious person from the inside of the room. She had no idea how many were in there, but it was small; there couldn't be more than three or four, she reasoned.

One quick inhalation, one slow exhalation and the slightest squeeze of the trigger – the man crumpled to the ground, blood spatter staining the door he had been guarding. Sirens instantly started to blare. The door burst open, catching on the corpse. A head peered out and a shot later, Melissa had her self-made opportunity for the final intrusion.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It's short, I realize but I wanted to update something before the weekend. More to come now that midterms are over. Thanks for reading. – k.ramsey