Rude Awakening
BLAM!
The sound penetrated Scar's slumber. He could hear more shots close by, and the sound of several explosions.
"I can see that he's injured! Now unhook him from the damn machines, and wheel him out the door! You wanna end up like Doctor Hero there!"
"Please…" A woman's voice.
"NOW!" A man's voice, older. Scar could smell smoke coming from the direction of the voice.
Scar opened his eyes to slits. The bandages around his head had been removed. He could make out several blurry shapes. Something told him it would be a bad idea to start getting up just yet.
"GET OUT you stupid woman! Agba! Mohammed! Get in here! Take this man with the other hostages!" The man stormed out of the room, dragging the protesting woman. Two other men entered. They strode to the head of the bed.
"Why keep him alive? We have enough hostages already." A whiny voice, to the left.
"More live 'uns now means we can take our time making our statement." An older, harsher voice on the right."
"Alright, alright, but this guy looks like he'd be dangerous if he wakes up."
"Don't tell me you're scared t'die, are yeh?" An evil chuckle, and the bed began to shift. "Tie him down if you want. And then I shoot you. Quit wastin' time."
The noise in the hall had quieted, the initial attack over. Scar had been assessing his condition. Good enough. He'd functioned while in worse condition. He moved.
Mohammed never knew what hit him.
Scar's eyes snapped open, and his right arm shot up to grasp Mohammed's ugly face. A flash of red light, and his head imploded. Scar rolled left, to face Agba, who was backing away. Not fast enough. A second flash of red. Two bodies hit the floor. Scar sat up, fighting off a wave of dizziness. He swung his feet over the side, and stood up, holding onto a pole as he got his bearings.
He was naked, except for bandages around his torso and left shoulder, and more around his thighs and calves. He looked at the bodies on the floor. Agba had been taller. Scar took his pants.
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Ben-Aish received the emergency broadcast over the jeep's radio.
"Attention all personnel! The Crimson Brigade has taken control of the Elric-Einstein Hospital. All on-duty units, report!"
The message continued to repeat itself.
"Crimson Brigade! Damn!"
The Crimson Brigade was not a band of suicidal cannon-fodder; they were an organized, disciplined mercenary team, who sold themselves to whoever had the most money. They had the backing of eight Arab countries, who of course claimed that they were just another terrorist cell.
The group used enough bombers to make this claim credible to the media.
What was more worrisome, however, was the new commander, codenamed the Crimson Alchemist. He was ruthless and clever, his new bomb design slipping past every checkpoint and causing more deaths than any other bomb.
"Kahs, Nesher, Herres, Sharid, report!"(1)
"Go ahead."
"Status!"
"Kahs. We are moving out from HQ."
"Nesher. I'll be on the roof to the East."
"Herres. I'll be with Nesher."
"Kahs. I have the building plans."
"Sharid. I'll have the heavy equipment."
"Be there in ten minutes."
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Scar cautiously peered around the door. It was clear. He ghosted down the long white hallway, pausing every few steps to listen. Hearing footsteps, he quietly eased through a blank doorway, shutting the heavy door softly behind him. He was in a stairwell.
The contrast between this and the hallways was startling. The hallways had been neat, bright and clean… or would have been without the blood spatter and bodies. The stairwell was dark and gray, concrete, with exposed piping and vents.
Scar raced down a level, hoping to get to the ground floor. Hearing a noise from above, he hurredly looked for a hiding place. He saw a vent near the ground. It would have to do.
Scar popped out the grating, crawled inside, and pulled the grate shut. A few moments later, a pair of boots went rushing past.
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Bengazi was nervous. He had benn checking the rooms on the fourth floor, and found the bodies of a doctor and two comrades. He had told the commander over the radio. The commander had not been pleased at the early loss, but insisted that the mission continue as planned. Probably the doctor had gotten lucky and killed two before being taken down himself. Not to worry; they had enough bombs to secure the building against any attempts to rescue the hostages. Nobody would survive an attempt to retake the building.
Bengazi was not so sure. The skulls had not been damaged; it looked like tissue under the skull had been disintegrated. He had seen death many times, and knew many ways to kill a man, but nothing like this. Someone had entered the stairwell, but disappeared. Something was wrong. He would follow his orders, but he would keep extra notice of his surroundings.
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Sulamein was enjoying himself. He and his buddies had been given permission to take whichever women they wanted. The blond had been beaten to a pulp by the other men, but he was the first with this one. She had tried to resist, and he hit her on the head, stunning her. She was coming around now, and beginning to struggle again.
The ones who fought back were more fun. They could be shown just how helpless they were.
Scar could hear the screams coming from the opening ahead. As he got closer, he could also hear a man's voice laughing. He knew what was happening. He had seen it happen before, but had been helpless.
'Not this time.'
He eased forward until he could see down. What he could see sickened him. His right arm glowed red, and he dropped through the ceiling towards the man.
Sulamein was fast. He heard the ceiling above him groan, and dodged out of the way as the scarred man dropped through. Overcoming his surprise, he grabbed his knife and lunged.
Scar barely dodged the thrust. As it was, the blade tore off some flesh and bandages from his right obliques. He spun away to his right, grabbing the wrist, blowing off the hand. The knife hit the floor as his opponent leaped to the side, trying to draw his pistol with his other hand.
Sulamein had just enough time to clear his gun before Scar's hand rammed into his stomach. He felt a burning pain, and lost all sensation below his chest. Looking down in shock, he saw his legs topple over, and then his upper body hit the wall with a crash. The last thing he saw was the scarred man's red eyes glaring at him.
Scar turned away from the grisly remains to face the woman, who hastily tried to cover herself up.
"Get up." The woman whimpered.
Looking at the floor, he saw a green shirt and pants. Grabbing them, he tossed them to the woman.
"Get up and put them on. Someone will come looking for him. You have to move."
The woman stared at him wide-eyed. Then she nodded, and put on the scrubs, wincing when she saw the bloodstains on it.
Shoshana looked up, and saw that her rescuer had already left. Running out into the hallway, she saw him disappear around a corner. She chased after him.
"Wait!"
Scar turned and glared. "Quiet!" he hissed.
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(1) "Fury, Eagle, Havoc, Muscle" - The hebrew words for "hawk/eagle-eye" and "strong arm" wouldn't go well as names.
So, are these code names or real names? I'm open to suggestion.
RxR please!