The 99th
Platoon – The FlatFeet Saga
Act Two: Operation FlatFeet
(A/N Although they posted once in this part of the mission, or pasted in act
one, many soldiers were considered 'off-duty' at the time of Operation FlatFeet,
so I'm only going to give them a brief mention in the beginning so as to save
myself the trouble of working their missing personalities into the plot. Sorry
you guys, you know who you are, but I can't write from nothing. I need your
posts to fuel it. If other people included you in their posts then I can kind
of work it in, but other than that I've got nothing but straws to grab hold of.
Sorry.)
Chapter 9: The Hunt Is On
"Alright, here's how we do it." Chael placed a map on the bar's table, the place
they were using as a makeshift HQ in this unofficial, unauthorized by the
Agency, rescue mission. Including Chael, seven 99ers had stayed to take up the
hunt.
Eric Cartman and RedStorm were deemed too liable to be injured, and their
speedy recovery was opted over their presence in the Hunt. Blaze, with Stealth
as the ambassador for the 99th, had returned to the Agency with the
Phazon sample, the Phazon encased weapons and the tale of FlatFeet and the
Omega to negotiate issues with Conker, Head of the Agency. CoolGuy and Corporal
Twisted, who, much to his dismay, had conveniently slept through the whole
'Total War" fiasco, were sent a on a private quest by Oreos that involved
flying to a remote mountain area halfway round the world. Deja was going to stay
back at 'base' and keep track of things between the various scattered 99ers.
She had started a nation-wide search to find those members that had survived
the Disbanding…if any at all.
"The latest FlatFeet sighting places him…here…" He indicated a large red X on
the map. "Taking that into account he's heading either here, or here." Chael
drew two circles around each city. "Seeing as the average ground speed of a
Squirrel is 4 mph, ignoring any distraction by alcohol, bladder functions or
big breasts. The best place to wait for him then, is here…and here…"
Oreos took the lead of the conversation. He gazed into the faces of the other
six. They all gazed back intensely save for Pyst, who was still shaking off the
effect of the tranquilliser darts.
"So it's as simple as we split into two teams and wait. We've got…" he armed
the vintage hunting rifle by pulling the trigger hold forward in traditional
Winchester style, "Enough of these and Chael's darts to take down two and a
half dozen African Elephants and then some."
"Are you sure they're strong enough?" Ricy asked. Dark smirked and Mon raised a
bushy eyebrow.
"Have you seen Pyst lately?" Chael replied.
"Good point," Squeaky added. Pyst snorted, as he had dazed off again.
"I gotta stop drinking…" he rasped, "I've got a hang over the size of
Texas. My memory is foggy… Did I drink too much Jack D. or did Chael shoot me
up with tranq. darts?"
"Jack Daniels."
"Jack Daniels."
"Tranq da- Er… Jack Daniels."
"Right soldiers. The others will cover us from here. Let's go."
Dark
sat in a wooden chair, his feet up on the table in front of him. He took a few
of the Tranquilliser Darts he was given and loaded them up into his M4 Carbine
Assault Rifle. Once that was loaded with the darts, he slid a clip of 9mm
rounds into each of his .45 Pistols. Next, he loaded his PSG 1 with the rest of
the Tranquilliser Darts. He stood up, sheathing his combat knife in his boot.
The whole platoon turned to him as he slid his slender sword into its sheathe
on his back. They were wondering why he had live rounds in his pistols.
They all knew that Dark would never…intentionally…kill one of his fellow
Platoon members. He looked at them and said, "I know what you're wondering...
and I have live rounds because I'm not using a tranquiller on anything other
than Flatfeet... There could be Tediz out there…and I'm not just tranquillising
them."
"Exactly," Oreos said nodding, "FlatFeet's hide is wanted by the state cops,
the normal Army corps. and the Tediz."
"They all want a piece of the action," Squeaky grinned. Ricy nodded in
agreement.
"FlatFeet is being hunted…whether he survives this hunt is in our hands. Let's
move."
A flame-coloured figure walked into the Platoon's impromptu headquarters with a
silver briefcase in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.
"Hey guys! I'm back!"
He froze as he gazed down the barrel of a shotgun. Deja walked up behind
Anthrax.
"Who the hell are you?" she asked. The tabby cat gulped nervously.
"I guess I took too long a break… Err…It's me… Ajax. From operation 'Tediz
Attack'? I came in with Dark…don't know if you quite remember…"
Anthrax let the shotgun down.
"Now I remember you!"
"Great! Now, where have the guys gone?"
"You're the other pyromaniac that nearly burned my bar down!"
"You don't still remember that do you?" There was no reply. "Uhh…so…I'll help
out around her then eh?"
Oreos drove the minivan with Chael, Pyst and Squeaky in the back. They headed
towards the mountainous sector of the country. Chael passed out palm-sized LCD
screens.
"Dual function - radio and map. Tracks any motion in a 500-metre radius. Should
be a nifty little toy for you guys to play with. If the others find FlatFeet
first, we haul ass over to the forest, and vice versa. This will be the best
early warning system we can have."
"Considering that FlatFeet in his current state tears bodies to pieces and
twists steel, I'm sure that distance is enough for us to…get down on our knees
and pray!" Squeaky barked. Pyst placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Relax Squeaky. Certainty of death? Slim chances of success? Damn it!" he
turned to Oreos, "Let's get there faster!"
Oreos sighed.
"Give me strength."
Dark raced ahead of Mon and Ricy on his own jet-black motorcycle. Half an hour
later he was inside the destination town. The Panther stared at what appeared
to be a desolate city. Normally this sort of emptiness made Dark feel whole,
but he had a mission, and it looked as though he was already too late. Sudden
movement caught his attention.
Three Squirrels in fatigues were rigging explosives around the buildings. A
quick inspection gave Dark their potential magnitude. They were enough to level
the city. He tapped one of the Squirrels on the shoulder. The youth spun round,
surprised. He eyed the Panther with suspicion.
"Relax kid," Dark snarled. He reached inside his trench coat to show his I.D.
as a member of the corps. The Squirrel reacted by pointing a pistol in Dark's
direction. Dark quickly snatched the pistol out of the Squirrels paw.
"Hey! I'm on your si-"
The other two Squirrels ran to the other's aid. Now Dark was getting slightly
pissed. He pistol-whipped the first rendering him unconscious, before charging
into one Squirrel and launching him at a wall. The third stared at the steaming
Panther.
"Who ordered this?" he asked.
"T-The mayor…" the Squirrel stammered, "To set up and catch that monster…"
"That particular monster happens to be a very good friend of mine," Dark
growled, "And I will bury you six-feet under if you don't disarm these bombs
immediately." His voice was soft and silky. He was dangerously ticked off.
"But-"
Dark fired in the air. The Squirrel quickly got to work. Dark snarled, waiting
for Mon and Ricy.
CoolGuy and Twisted had finally reached their destination. Twisted lowered the
hood on his sweater and knocked quietly on the door to the monastery. A
bald-headed feline opened the door.
"Yes?"
CoolGuy stated their purpose. The monk looked at the both.
"This is a holy place. We do not want our community to be disturbed."
"Don't worry padre," CoolGuy smirked, "We're just here to pick up something
from the lost and found."
"Lost?"
"Yes," Twisted added, "And found."
The monk shrugged and opened the door wide, allowing the two to enter. The monk
pointed them in the direction of their inquiry and the two went quietly on
their way.
"That's how it is sir," Blaze reported. Conker nodded, turning to his most
faithful aid, Major B.Addass.
"What do you make of it Major?"
The Major poured over a detailed fax that had just been sent.
"We can't withdraw the army. People have seen the destruction this monster-"
"FlatFeet," Stealth said sharply.
"Evans has gone berserk. In my books he's a monster."
"He's still a soldier in there!"
"I'll see that later."
Conker stepped between the two, breaking up the potential argument.
"Look, the fact is that we can't withdraw the army, not with this much public
attention. You've got to get FlatFeet under control. If he attacks one more
city, I'll be forced to move my hand…"
Stealth and Blaze nodded. The rest was in the Platoon's paws.
*56,072 bottles of beer on the wall
56,072 bottles of beer!
You take one down and you pass it around
56,071 bottles of beer on the wall!*
Pyst and Squeaky droned on…and on…and on…
What seemed like hours later Oreos, relieved, heard them sing:
"No more bottles of beer on the wall!"
"A million!" Squeaky crowed.
*1,000,000 bottles of beer on the wall
1,000,000 bottles of beer!
You take one down and you pass it around
999,999 bottles of beer on the wall!*
"I hate you Squeaky…" Chael muttered.
Deja slipped the communication headset on, with Ajax's laptop that he had
brought in his suitcase as her telecom link. She picked up her first call.
"Control."
*Deja, it's Blaze. The army isn't withdrawing…and the Tediz have mobilized.
Warn the others. They're not going to get any breaks.*
"****," Ajax swore.
*Who's that?*
"Forget it," Deja said, "I need to tell the others your good news. Control
out."
At the foot of the mountains Chael and Oreos shot out of the van, Pyst and
Squeaky singing about the last bottle of beer.
They stared at the foreboding mountainous pass ahead of them. They slung
trekking backpacks on.
Oreos was familiar with this. It was part of his training as a double O. He
looked at Pyst who yawned slightly, still fighting off the hangover. Squeaky
seemed to be having trouble getting his safety gear in place.
"Ever been mountain climbing before Sqeuaky?" Oreos asked.
"Can't say that I have…"
"Afraid you'll fall and die?"
"Hey, I signed my life away when I joined the Platoon. Besides, this should be
fun."
A slight wind picked up as the four set off up the carefully carved path.
"One hundred bottles o-"
Chael looked sharply at Pyst. Pyst grinned sheepishly.
"Only joking."