Gene finished setting up the camera, making sure it focused on Temple and Kimball. A spotlight above shined down upon them, making Temple look extra ominous.
Gene's armor was now painted maroon, and he couldn't help but feel like himself.
"Ready to go, sir." Gene said as he gave a thumbs up to Temple.
"Perfect! Nice work." Temple complimented, then looked down at Kimball.
"You're going to be a star."
"What are you planning?" Kimball asked angrily.
"Well, we're going to send a little, tiny message to the Reds and Blues." Temple explained. "Then, we're going to watch as the chaos ensues." Temple started to laugh. "They'll never see it coming."
"Hurting others won't solve anything, Temple!" Kimball screamed. "Leave the innocent alone." Temple paused, staring off into the distance before turning around to face her.
"Innocent? Do you even have any idea who you are talking about?!" Temple screamed, putting his hands down on the arms of her chair, being mere inches from her face. "Those Freelancers are murderous, self-centered bastards who need to pay for what they have done! And those Reds and Blues helped them, and you know what they say...," Temple got as close as possible to her as he whispered. "Guilty by association."
Carolina, Virginia, Simmons, Grif and Donut sunk into the water and found the point of entry that was spotted on the projection. It was a hydroelectricity system that was helping to power the individual room.
With a few kicks, they were able to squeeze themselves in and enter into the building by falling into a windmill display that connected to an indoor fountain.
"Ugh. I don't want to do that again." Grif whined, shaking the water off his body.
"Yeah, that was not fun." agreed Donut. "I might chaff!" Grif shuddered from Donut's comment, trying not to think about it.
"Keep on guard everyone, and keep quiet." Carolina warned, lining up against the wall.
Luckily, there was an over abundance of barrels and crates stacked high that they were able to crouch behind.
It resembled a warehouse with a variety of crates that were tampered with.
"I wonder what's in all of these." Simmons whispered, peering inside of an empty crate. "Hmm... it looks like parts to make... bombs."
"I wonder where they got all this stuff." Virginia pondered as she wiped some dirt off the top of crates. "Oh my God...," Virginia gasped.
"What'd you find?" Carolina asked as she walked to her side.
"It's products from the UNSC." Virginia announced.
"You think they stole a rig or a freighter or something?" Grif proposed.
"Must have. Nobody's mentioned it in the news, though." Virginia stated.
"Unless they're keeping it quiet. I can imagine it'd be embarrassing for the UNSC to admit they lost several tons of equipment to be utilized in the production of bombs." Carolina said.
"It would cause a lot of panic!" Donut voiced up. "I know I'd panic if I heard my military defenses lost stuff like this."
"Agreed." Virginia said, and continued to sneak along the back of the wall.
"Good thing I sent our coordinates to Kimball before we came down here. I can't get a message through now." Carolina whispered.
"It must be because we're so far down below the surface. Radio frequencies can't travel." Simmons pointed out.
"I'm glad she's safe, though." Carolina said as she began to creep along the shadows of the warehouse.
Kimball looked over the coordinates that were transmitted to her from Carolina. She watched the video clipping that showed Temple, Cronus, Bucky and Gene dragging her robotic counter-part off of the ship and down into the tunnel.
"Well, at least they fell for it." Jax said as he sat with Kimball and Doc. "Sarge and Lopez did a fantastic job making that robot look like you!"
"Dispatching coordinates to the UNSC." Kimball stated as she began to type on the glowing aura of keys on the table.
"I sure hope they'll be okay." Doc said, trying to suppress the worried tone in his voice.
"I faith in them." Kimball said, trying to reassure him. "They always seem to get out of tough situations, if anything were to arise."
Wash, Tucker, Caboose, Lopez and Sarge went over to the keypad of the boulder. Sarge looked over at Lopez, who gave a nod.
Lopez opened a compartment on his forearm, then pulled off the face of the keypad.
"Think you can get in?" Wash asked before he began to look around.
"Este no es mi primer rodeo/This isn't my first rodeo." Lopez stated before pressing on the various buttons configured in his arm.
"I hope Kaikaina will be fine up there." Tucker said, looking up at the cliff where the camouflaged ship sat.
"She will need to greet the UNSC once they get here." Wash explained. "She will be perfectly safe." Tucker felt slightly reassured, but still felt worried.
"Hecho/Done." Lopez announced as the door in the rocky wall slid open. Lopez detached the wires in his arm from the panel and the team slowly entered through the tunnel, with Wash leading the way.
"Alright, Gene. Let's begin!" Temple announced with a laugh. Gene gave a nod. Gene held up his fingers and counted down from three.
3... 2... 1.
He lowered the three fingers with each countdown, then pointed at Temple.
"Good evening, ladies and gentleman. Do we have a special treat for you." Temple began to talk.
His broadcast cut in through the networks and began to light up the screens of Chorus. People stopped in their tracks and stared up at the screens, watching in horror as they could see President Kimball tied to a chair.
"For those who may not know me, I am named Temple. For years, my men and I were lab rats for testing for a certain Project Freelancer. In this time, they brutally slain a soldier named Biff. " Temple felt his heart saddened as he thought of his childhood friend.
The flashback of the blood splattering on his face began to replay in his head...
"Those Freelancers need to pay for what they have done!"
Carolina and the team came to the end of the hallway and peeked around the corner. They saw Temple standing in the middle of the room, circling a tied-up Kimball replica as if he were a lion, waiting to pounce on his prey.
Wash and his team came down the tunnel, seeing Carolina and the others on the opposite side of the room.
Perfect. We've got them surrounded.
Wash felt his adrenaline rising, but kept himself steady.
This plan is working perfectly.
"They have no honor. They take no responsibility for their actions. For destroying our lives, we in turn, will destroy theirs! For making us lab rats! For making us senselessly fight one another!" Temple began to sound angrier with each word. He grabbed a nearby gun and went to Kimball. "So, to the Reds and Blues, and those monsters called Freelancers, you are to blame for this! This is blood on YOUR hands." Temple pulled the trigger, and Kimball's head jerked to the side, then fell limp.
"Estúpido/Asshole." Lopez said.
As Temple laughed, he noticed Gene peeking out from around the camera. The recording light had now turned off.
"What? Wasn't that great?" Temple asked, sounding proud of himself. Gene pointed to the lifeless, still body of Kimball.
Temple followed his gaze and noticed that Kimball's head wound was sparking. He winced and looked closer, noticing that her innards were several wires.
"What the...?"
"She's a robot?" Cronut asked, confused.
"No. This can't be." Temple shook his head, frustrated. The group huddled around the body, and Gene noticed a blinking orange light partially visible under the robot's chin.
"I... think that's a tracker." Gene pointed at it.
"Son of a bitch!" Temple cursed.
At that moment, everyone came out of view and formed a circle around them, aiming their weapons.
"Surrender." Wash warned as he looked down the barrel of his gun at Temple. "We have you surrounded."
Temple gasped, sounding appalled.
"Excuse me?" He laughed. "Do you really think we'd allow ourselves to be captured so easily?" Temple suddenly pulled out a small remote and held it up.
"What is that?" Carolina asked. Temple didn't bother to turn around to face her.
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
"Stop messing around and just give up." Tucker ordered. "It's your choice to come quietly, or kicking and screaming. Either way, you're going to be arrested."
"Hmm... I think I like the kicking and screaming part." Temple pressed the button before Wash could shoot the remote out of his hand. The bullet went through Temple's wrist and the remote fell to the ground, but the button was lighting up red.
A large BOOM echoed through the facility, and the sound of something collapsing could be heard from the tunnel.
"What did you do?!" screamed Tucker.
"I trapped you inside." Temple laughed as he applied pressure to his bleeding wrist.
"You WHAT?!" Carolina screamed.
Bucky, Cronut, Gene and Temple stepped closer to each other. They pushed the chair away from them, which had the motionless robot still attached to it.
"I have to give you props for that. It was a solid try." Temple winced.
"You fell for our trap. Just give up." Virginia stated as she took a step closer, her eyes focused on Gene.
"No, I'm afraid you don't understand." Gene spoke up.
"You see, no plan is good without having a back-up plan. And we prepared for that." Temple explained.
Gene gave a wave to Simmons as Temple slammed his foot into the ground.
Suddenly, the ground dropped below Temple, Bucky, Cronut and Gene, and the floor closed back up, as if it was swallowing them whole.
"NOOO!" Tucker ran at the ground, slicing his sword through the metal. "Come back here and fight!" He screamed.
Everyone rushed at the closed ground, but it was too late.
They heard the mechanical whirring of motors.
"An escape pod?!" Simmons gasped. "We couldn't see that on the map!"
Water could be heard gurgling under the floor, and the sound of propulsion with a mechanical hum.
"Great! They're getting away!" yelled Virginia.
"Let's go after them!" Wash said as he began to head to the tunnel that they entered through, when several air ducts opened at the top of the room, and floods of water began to pour in.
"Shit, we're trapped!" Grif said, looking at the rubble and debris that blocked their entry way.
"They trapped us...," Carolina said softly. "They planned for this!"
"Kimball? Can you hear me?" Wash tried to communicate through his radio, but the only response he got back was static.
"Kai? It's Tucker, you there?" Tucker tried to reach Kaikaina, but his ears only filled with static. "Fuck."
"This isn't good." Virginia mumbled.
Everyone stared down at the floor, watching as the water quickly began to absorb their feet. It didn't take long before it had pooled up enough to their ankles.
"We can blow up the rubble at the door." Wash suggested.
"It may let more water in." Carolina warned. "It will drown us faster. There's no way we can tell how much debris is in the way." Wash began to remove the rocks, trying to see if he could see signs of light on the opposite side.
Each rock rolled down to the water with every swipe, and all he could see was more rock and debris.
Wash's heart sank, as he knew that Carolina was right.
"How many feet were we under ground?" Virginia asked.
"About 200 feet." Simmons said.
"That's too far for anybody to make it." Virginia said, staring up at the ceiling. "The lack of oxygen and the pressure alone...," Virginia stopped talking, noticing that Caboose seemed scared and was trembling.
"Well, men. This looks like it may be the end." Sarge said as he looked at Simmons, Grif and Donut.
"Permission to speak freely, sir?" Simmons asked.
"Sure." Sarge responded.
"I don't want to die." Simmons whimpered.
"Yeah, I'm with Simmons on this one." Grif agreed.
"I could shoot you now, and put you out of your misery." Sarge suggested to Grif.
"...Mmm... nope." Grif denied.
"You sure?"
"Positive."
"I should have known that this seemed too easy." Wash mumbled. Carolina stood beside him. "Don't blame yourself." Carolina said soothingly. "We... tried."
"At least Kimball is safe." Tucker said. "And Kai. and Jax. And Doc."
"But for how long? You know those assholes are going to hunt Kimball down." Virginia said with clear frustration.
Tucker sighed and looked down at the water, seeing his reflection.
"I guess this is goodbye, everyone." Donut sniffled. "It's be an honor serving with all of you." "But... I don't want to say goodbye." Caboose said with a confused tone.
The water continued to rush into the room, now absorbing their knees. Everyone's hearts were racing as they looked around the room, trying to figure out what to do.
"Lopez, you don't have a life preserver on you, do you?" Sarge asked.
"No/No." Lopez began to fritz, his body jerking from the water.
"Oh no, Lopez!" Sarge said as he tried to grab the robot, only to be electrocuted. "YOWZERS!"
"You okay, Sarge?" Simmons asked.
"Yeah. Just. Don't touch Lopez." Lopez's head slowly began to bend forward as the light in his visor began to turn off. "Rest easy, amigo."
"I don't want to die a virgin." Simmons sniffled. "I wanted to find a nice girl, get married...," Simmons said, trying to fight back the tears.
"I won't see Junior again." Tucker said, sadly.
Everyone stared at each other, looking over the decorated armor that they had seen several times before.
This was it?
No more shenanigans. No more long conversations about bullshit. No more crazy adventures.
