Author's Note: Back from a lengthy vacation away from home with a new chapter and some good ole Gage-style action. As always, thanks for reading and enjoy! -Foxmerc


CHAPTER 13
A Cold Day In Hell
West Relay, Fortuna
0556 hours

"Ok, let's go over this one more time."

I waved Andrea over to the front of the dropship and tapped Fox on the shoulder to get his attention. He gave what he could; piloting through a blizzard in the dark looked difficult enough and I was more than happy to let him concentrate on it. I pulled a pistol from the wall mount and busied myself examining and loading it as I talked.

"We'll be breaking into a Cornerian Military relay station to recon their situation. That means they're friendlies; zero body count unless they turn out dirty. We'll be arriving just before dawn and I want to be in and out within an hour. Andrea will act first. Just so we make absolutely sure we're on the same page, tell us your role." I nodded to her.

"I play the stranded pilot with this ID." She flicked the fake Cornerian Air Force ID pinned to a borrowed uniform from the Solar Wind. I noticed her foot tapping a bit with anxiety. "I approach the gate guards and get their attention. Gage slips in while they're focused on me. If they follow normal protocol, they'll escort me to a free barracks room to wait for a transport. Once Gage is done with the mission, I go to the landing pad and meet him and the dropship."

"Good. Fox?"

"I circle around safely up here," he said bitterly, "because Gage doesn't trust my stealth abilities."

I sighed. "Fox, for the last time, you have no idea the kind of training I—"

"Yeah, yeah. I drop you off, wait for Gage's word, and do a quick pick-up at the landing pad under the ID of Andrea's military transport."

"Right. And I get in thanks to Andrea's distraction and make my way to the server room. I hack into their files and see what kind of traffic's been going in and out. If Torqinski was really planning to reactive the towers and start a war with one big strike, this relay station will have something. With any luck, we may find information on this mercenary base LaMonte told us about."

"We better," Fox said. There was a hint of fierceness in his voice. He wanted to take out the mercs that had made his life a living hell and I couldn't blame him. I made sure to give extra effort to finding something on the base for him.

"Then I give the signal and we meet on the landing pad and go home," I concluded. "Any questions?"

Andrea gestured to my chest. "Won't you be cold in that?"

I looked down at my black "shadow" suit and patted the equipment harness. "Nah, this is a Dagger exclusive. The suit's made of a polymer that reflects body heat given the environment. I could wear it in a snowstorm like this or in the middle of a desert and I'd feel the same. Frictionless rub-off too for sneaky situations like this; boots and gloves the same way."

"What happened to Black Beauty?" she asked with a mocking grin, eyeing my pistol.

"Don't start that; bad enough Fox knows." I held up the gun. "NS-7 Phantom, black-ops favorite. Bullet ammunition, not laser. Built-in silencer. No light, no sound, no fuss. Optional laser sight attachment." For wusses. Mine obviously didn't have it.

I holstered that and lastly removed a combat knife from an equipment drawer.

"I don't think that needs an explanation," Andrea said.

I gave one anyway. I tapped the sharp tip with my finger and said, "Stick this in the other guy," and sheathed it at my waist.

I leaned over Fox's seat and peered out the canopy into the blizzard. I wouldn't have been able to see a mountain even if it had already crushed half the nose. Fox was flying purely on radar, read-outs, and instinct and he seemed just fine doing so. He glanced up at me and said, "You know, I don't think this is such a good idea. You don't strike me as a master of subtlety."

"There's a lot you don't know about me. Believe it or not, combat is a secondary methodology in Dagger. Entering and leaving a hot zone like a ghost is first."

"Yeah? How come I never heard about any of your stealth missions?"

"Believe it or not, Fox, top secrecy and confidentiality aren't just for movies."

"Well, invincible heroes are so be careful in there."

"Andrea's about to lie to an entire military base, I'm about to sneak through it, and you're piloting through a wall of falling snow." I grinned. "We don't know the meaning of the word careful anymore."

He smiled back and held up his fist. I tapped it with mine and sat back down.

West Relay Station stood before me, a tall, wide structure that mushroomed at the top to allow multiple receiver rooms at every possible angle. It was easier to see it on the ground rather than in the air with the blizzard whipping around. Its lights and lit windows gave off a choked glow in the pre-dawn snow, hauntingly beautiful in its own way. Less beautiful was the way my face felt frozen in place. I rubbed feeling back into my nose and muzzle and crouched in the snow. Where the hell was Andrea…

I put my hand to my ear and cupped my mic from the snow. "Fox, do you see Andrea?"

"She's making her way over now. Radar cloak is holding so I should be able to keep watch as long as this snow keeps up."

"Ok. Hey, do you recognize these coordinates?"

"No…should I?"

"You don't? This is where you started becoming a hero, man."

"Huh?"

I rolled my eyes and winced. Even my eyes felt frozen. The suit worked like a charm but black face paint wasn't exactly a good insulator. "This is where you stopped StarWolf's advance during the war. You shot them down and prevented them from leveling this station. Couldn't have done better myself."

"No shit…wow. Hard to recognize it in this blizzard. Good thing it wasn't snowing that day. Think that's a good omen?"

"It better be." I squinted at the front gate and the two soldiers on guard duty. They exchanged glances and walked forward. Game time. "Alright, Andrea's here. Radio silence."

"Good luck."

I inched my way along the fence until I was closer to the main gate. Sure enough, Andrea showed up and put on an acting show even better than the one in the bar on MacBeth. I took in my surroundings; two guards, lots of snow, and a swiveling security camera on the guard shed. I noticed its back attachment; it was infrared for detection in heavy snow. I looked at Andrea; she was playing it all right, looking as frazzled and rattled as a downed pilot should. She showed the ID and I held my breath. It took longer than I would have liked, but they cleared her. I looked up at the camera. It was starting to swivel towards me. Shit.

The gate slid open and one of them escorted Andrea through. I cursed; I wouldn't be able to get through out of camera line of sight. But once again, the girl impressed me. She noticed it too and purposely tripped in the snow. The extra few seconds were all I needed to wait for the camera to swing away and hop through. It was a bit too close for my taste; I could practically smell the guard's shampoo.

I was on my own now. I made my way to the station, not worrying about footprints. The snow would cover them up in less than sixty seconds. My goal was the wash of light on the north side of the building; the ground loading docks. A ground transport was parked there and light meant an open door. An open door meant a way in.

I flattened my back against the cold metal wall and peered around the corner. Boxes were stacked around the concrete landing and I could just make out two male voices.

"A half hour. You hear me?"

"But there's like twenty goddamn boxes in there! Send another man!"

"We're stretched tight as it is. Just do it and quit complaining. A half hour, I mean it." A door slammed from inside.

"Ass," the disgruntled worker muttered.

I was feeling charitable so I decided to give the soldier the break he obviously wanted. I unsheathed my knife and waited for him to come out of the transport hefting another box. I tiptoed behind him, waited for him to put it down, and grabbed him in a swift chokehold with my knife pressed firmly against his throat. He coughed, gurgled, and pulled at my arm, but the cold blade helped calm him down.

"That's better," I said into his ear. "I hear pain is augmented in the cold. Want to test the theory?"

I felt him swallow against my forearm. He shook his head.

"Then I suggest you tell me something useful. What's new around here? Everything been quiet?"

I loosened my hold a bit so he could choke out his words. "What do you mean? Who are you?"

"I'll ask the questions. Has anything worth mentioning happened here in the past couple months?"

"No."

"How can I access the server rooms?"

He hesitated and I had to tighten the hold to remind him I wasn't asking rhetorical questions. "The executive officer's computer! One floor up."

"Thanks. Dream of a warm place." I tugged violently on my choke arm and pushed on the back of his head. He was out like a light. I carried him into the docking bay so he wouldn't freeze and tucked him away amongst some boxes. I had a good couple hours until a full-fledged KO wore off.

Unfortunately, the base believed in good lighting. However, the one soldier was right; staff was sparse. I put on my game face; total focus. I moved soundlessly through the halls, my eyes immediately catching and holding in memory the locations of supply closets, wide vents, restrooms, and any other possible way for me to make a quick hide. I found a stairwell and made it to the second floor without incident.

A long hallway lay between me and my goal; a long, well-let hallway. I didn't like it, but I had no other route. I started down it and my worst fear came true; footsteps from around the far corner. I halted, looked around, and hurried into the female restroom in the middle of the corridor. First rule of hiding in bathrooms: there are fewer female soldiers so it's always the better bet.

I hid in one of the stalls, closed the door, and hopped up into a crouch on the toilet seat. Fox's luck was rubbing off on me. Not only did the approaching soldier have to answer the call of nature, but she was female as well. She chose the stall next to me and took her sweet time, humming a random tune the whole time. She then washed her hands and stood in front of the mirror for a good three minutes, presumably grooming herself up. Women. I rolled my eyes and mouthed a curse. As if that wasn't enough, another soldier waltzed in. I held my breath.

"Heya," the second one said. She sounded cute. I kept focused. "Where've you been all day?"

"I had to pull guard duty in the cell blocks. It's bad down there. It's just not right."

"I haven't been there yet. Trying to keep out of it." She hesitated. "I heard Tamran ordered one killed."

No answer. A nod, maybe. I furrowed my brow. This was interesting.

"It's all starting to scare me," Number 2 continued. "They never said anything about killing anyone."

"It's too late now. Just try not to think about it."

All the prayer in the world didn't stop the second woman. She chose my stall. The door started to open and I reacted. I kicked it back, hard, and sent her stumbling into a daze. In one quick move, I pulled out my pistol, hopped out of the stall, and slammed the butt of the gun into the bewildered first woman's throat. Not enough to kill, but enough to keep her busy breathing for a bit. I grabbed the second soldier into a choke hold and aimed the pistol at the first. She didn't notice at first; she was on her knees breathing heavily. I waited for her to come around and when she was comfortable breathing again she stared in horror over the gun at me. The soldier in my choke hold struggled and kicked but wasn't going anywhere.

"Both of you keep quiet or the janitor's going to have a lot to clean up in here." The woman in my arms settled down but the first soldier started quivering.

"Oh Go, oh God, oh god," stammered. She held her hands out. For the first time, I noticed she was a wolf who looked a bit like Andrea. Maybe that softened me a bit towards her. "Please don't kill us. Please."

"Give me a reason to let you live and I'll think about it."

"We were just hired for security! We're not part of this!"

"Part of what?"

She blinked at me and didn't answer.

"Part of what, dammit!" The soldier in my hold yelped as I tightened the hold. "Are you a Cornerian soldier?"

"No," she replied in a near whisper.

"What's going on here? If you don't tell the full truth, I'll make both your deaths the highlight of my day."

She shook her head and took a deep breath. "We were part of a private security company. Bodyguards. A guy named Gene Tamran hired us to be on this station's guard staff. They say he was Black Scythe. He has his own squads. We didn't know he had taken this place over from the Cornerian Army."

"Are they the ones in the cell block? The former staff?"

She nodded. "They're packed in there like cattle, about twenty of them in four cells. It's terrible. Tamran uses them to answer radio messages and send out status reports when he needs it so it looks like the base is still functioning."

I let out a deep breath and closed my eyes. God help us all. Torqinski was planning a new war and millions of deaths to start it off. He had a reason to hate Fox but it was all about distracting the military, getting Fox out of the picture, and building up his own army in the process. Hope wasn't lost yet. There was still time to stop it and if he could get word to General Pepper, the army could respond and take out the other towers across the galaxy.

Time to move. I choked the woman in my arms to sleep and laid her down quietly. The wolf's eyes widened and I said, "She's not dead. If you want my advice, find another line of work. At the very least, leave this job. Next time, I'm coming in shooting. Turn around and face the wall."

She hesitated but stood and faced the wall. I pistol-whipped her hard and caught her as she fell. I laid her down next to her friend. After a few moments of thought and a string of curses, I pressed my radio on.

"Fox, Andrea, respond."

"I read you."

"Me too. Ready for pick-up?"

"No." I looked at myself in the mirror. Past the black-smeared red fur I saw my own eyes shadowed with fur. At least they hadn't taken Andrea to the prison yet, or worse; they were still trying to keep their cover. "I'm lifting the no-kill policy. This place is dirty. The Cornerian soldiers are actually mercs. The real soldiers are being held in the cell block. And to top it off, one of Torqinski's old Black Scythe buddies is running the place. Andrea, are you safe?"

"Yeah. They said I could wait in the barracks area and that's where I stayed."

"Make your way to the landing pad. Fox, pick us up. I'm going to hack into the executive officer's computer and upload every file they have to the Solar Wind's database. Then I'm getting the prisoners. The dropship can hold us all. Meet at the pad in ten minutes. Got that?"

"Got it."

"One more thing. Fox?"

"Yeah?"

"Call in an air strike from the Solar Wind."

"What?"

"We can't risk letting this tower stand. If we take it out, that's one more chunk of the galaxy that's out of Torqinski's reach. Do it."

He sighed. "Alright. A strike from that distance won't take more than a half hour. Get moving."

I cut the radio and exchanged the pistol for the knife in my right hand. I bid farewell to the ladies and left the restroom.

It was a clear path down to the executive officer's office. I peeked in the open door and jerked my head back out. A middle-aged lizard in a stolen Cornerian officer's uniform sat facing the door, typing away at his computer. There was no stealthy way to get around him. I only hoped I wouldn't give him a heart attack before I got information out of him.

With a deep breath, I charged into the room, planted my hand on his desk, and vaulted over it, kicking him back. He fell back against the wall with a hoarse grunt and struggled to pull his pistol from his belt. I kicked his hand away, lifted him by his throat, and slammed him against the wall one more time for good measure. He pulled at my arm and stared into my eyes with anger, not fear. This might be a tough nut to crack.

"Who are you?" I growled into his face.

To my surprise, he smiled. The lackeys up until now had made me soft. I calmly pointed at my hand and shrugged. I loosed my hold and he took a deep breath.

"It's hard to speak without the larynx, boy," he said, straightening his overcoat. "My name is Colonel Gene Tamran of the Black Scythe."

"You? You could be my grandfather."

"Not all war takes place in battle. I'm in charge of the Black Scythe's intelligence. Both keeping, presenting it, and…extracting it."

"Which in plain talk means you like torturing people."

"Perhaps. Perhaps I'm just good at it." He gave me another eerie smile. "And you, you are Captain Gage Birse of the great Dagger squad."

I nodded. "You know your intel."

"How can I help you this morning, Captain Birse?" he asked as if taking my fast food order.

"I want every file on that computer. If I get it, there's no need to get rough."

"Well please, be my guest. My password has already been put in and the files are right there."

I cocked an eye.

"You're too late to stop anything, Captain Birse. Your friends on the Solar Wind might as well have a full stack of reading before it happens."

I righted his chair and pushed him down into it. I put my knife to his throat and, with my free hand, worked the computer. Within a minute, everything on the computer was on its way to the Solar Wind's technician. I looked over and saw that Tamran was smiling again. "Something funny, asshole?"

He folded his hands on his lap and twiddled his thumbs. "Oh, no, I'm just happy."

"You're happy I'm about to shove this through your skull?"

"No, I'm just happy I finally found a challenge. The grunts I've had to deal with during this long operation always folded so fast. By my own honor, I stop torture as soon as the information we seek is given and the prisoner is not killed."

"How touching."

"Problem is, I'm so good at it, most prisoners give in within the first minutes. But a Dagger soldier…there's a different story. You have so much information Colonel Torqinski would love and Cornerian Special Forces resistance training is legendary. You would give me such a good challenge."

I chuckled. "Hate to say it, pops, but I don't think you have the upper hand right now."

"No, no I don't. But I know something you don't know."

"And what's that?"

"I know that when this base was built, this office used to belong to a general. It was then made into an executive officer's work station. But they kept one very important thing. Every general's quarters is equipped with—"

"A silent alarm," I breathed. My chest tightened. I turned to the door and, sure enough, there was a small blinking red light above the frame. "Oh sh—"

I hard force struck my from behind and I dropped my gun and knife. Dazed, I stumbled back and spun to see Tamran standing, brushing off his suit and fixing his collar.

"Oh shit indeed, Captain Birse. You didn't think an old man like me would be defenseless, did you? A man who spent his life locked in rooms with angry enemies? Dagger always underestimated Black Scythe, and for good reason. Andross was a fool. He never used us for the truly great assignments, never let us reach our full potential. But Colonel Torqinski has resurrected us. The Black Scythe will be more of a force than Andross ever was."

Before I could even blink, he dashed forward and slammed me with his shoulder. I had no time to recover before my stomach and face were assaulted with crushing blows. It reminded me of the beating Torqinski gave me back on the Solar Wind. I finally managed one solid hit, one that would have killed an ordinary old man, but he just smiled at it and floored me with a flawless roundhouse kick. I tried to get up, but he planted his foot on my back and my drained body couldn't fight it. Through my pounding heart I heard footsteps and I groaned. I had to get up. I was dead if I didn't.

But there was no fighting it. I opened my eyes and saw a dozen black boots, multiple soldiers standing over me. Tamran was saying something but I was having enough trouble keeping conscious. My arms were pulled behind me and my wrists cuffed. I felt a sharp pang of fear as I was lifted and led away, that delighted face smiling at me the whole time.

The air strike was on its way. The only thing I could hope for was that this distraction allowed Fox and Andrea to escape. At least my life wouldn't be lost in vain. I took one tower with me. It didn't comfort me much, but I had always wondered which of these death-defying missions would finally snag me. It looked like death had finally caught up with me on Fortuna. I closed my eyes, let my aching body go limp, and grimaced.

-Chapter 14 coming soon-