The MASK Special Missions Force

by patrik71

My take on how MASK and Venom came to be formed and begun their struggle. This story differs quite much from the orginal cartoon and the minicomics. Some characters has been replaced in favour of new ones but the fanfavorits are still around. Also some vehicles has been upgraded to work better, same thing with the masks.

17. Chapter 17: Drawing the battle plans

Chapter 17.

DRAWING THE BATTLE PLANS

Hugh Heyman's head slumped between his shoulders. The news that Colonel Wolf was the one who had betrayed the World Unification Alliance was the worst news he could possibly receive.

"I wish it was just some mistake. Lyman has access to so much secret information." He said slowly. "I can't understand what made him turn against us."

They were seated in the situation room in the New York counterpart to the World Consulate Building. The room was large and cavernous, hexagonal-shaped, and the far wall of the room consisted entirely of wall mounted TV-screens. They displayed different news programs, everyone talking about the hostage situation in Long Island. All the screens were currently muted. There were banks of computers, desks, telephones, and various other communication links to the outside world.

"How could anyone see this coming?" Matt asked, trying to console the man he had started to see as something of a father figure. "True, I have never really liked Wolf. I saw him as an overzealous officer with a sickening prejudice, but if anyone would have told me that he would sell out his country, I'd call him a liar."

"But why?" H.H. repeated.

Matt pondered for a moment. Carefully selecting his words.

"If I were to make a guess…Colonel Wolf has been a soldier all his life. He has been serving in Iraq as well as Afghanistan, North-west Pakistan, and other conflicts. I don't think that he could ever manage to settle down to a life without the army. He has grown so used at hating his enemy that it never occurred to him to take their words when they said they wanted peace. When America opened the door to them, he felt betrayed."

"Those who cannot forgive others break the bridge over which they themselves must pass." Bruce added somberly.

"Well, this certainly solves some of the enigmas we've been trying to crack." Helena sighed. "Colonel Wolf had access codes to the room where we stored the satellite prototype that you brought from Hanscom. And the silenced witnesses all have Wolf's fingerprints on them. He was the one responsible for the official interrogation of Max Wallace, and the Syndicate asked him to deal with the Cold Store, in turn making it look like we were overzealous rather than a cover-up by the Syndicate."

"And as Intelligence Commander in the World Unification Alliance, he had access to all our work, so he could sell it to the Syndicate." Matt added.

"I have put Maurice Billington to work with the computers to see if he can see exactly what Wolf managed to steal, that might tell us what we need to do to counter his attacks, and what other positions who could be in danger." Helena said. "I have also given the order that all security codes previously used will be changed. We can't let Wolf have continued access to our files and information."

H.H. nodded. His staff was on top of things. It pleased him.

"Has Wolf made any demands yet?" Matt asked.

"I have monitored all transmissions from the Huntington Hotel, but there hasn't been a word yet." Paul replied. "It's strange. You could believe that the Wolfman would be quick to make demands once he has so important people under his power."

"He doesn't intend to make any demands." H.H. pointed out. "Wolf knows better than perhaps anyone that America has a rule of never negotiating with terrorists."

"What do they hope to accomplish with all this then?" Morten asked.

"This action will add more pressure on the United States." H.H. explained. "We hosted an important UN meeting, but failed with the security, allowing terrorists to take not only the UN delegates, but also the Governor of the State of New York as hostage. Whatever the outcome of the hostage crisis, this will further the cause of the Syndicate who will launch their own candidate for the white house. A candidate that will promise an end to the disturbances."

Matt accepted this with a nod.

"Our first priority will be to figure out a way to get past the VENOM troopers in order to rescue the Governor and the UN delegates." He believed. "But with Colonel Wolf on the opposing side it won't be easy. Andy designed the Special Missions Force to work under disguise, so we could creep up on our opposition without being noticed, but 'Mayhem' knows us all by our looks, and I'm sure that he has let his troopers know about this as well."

"Wolf will be expecting a rescue attempt," Bishop said. "But if we try to get in through the front door, there will only be a firefight and it will put the hostages in danger."

"We have to find another way," Hondo agreed. "Perhaps some kind of commando operation."

"Yes, but we are currently at a disadvantage as long as we're not able to swiftly take out our opposition."

They were interrupted by Paul Knight.

"I've established contact, sir." He explained. "He's on line 1."

The call was transferred to Hugh's screen and put on speaker so everyone present could hear. At the other side was Colonel Wolf.

"H.H." He greeted with a mocking tone. "I expected you to call and try to plead with me."

"I want an explanation. An explanation why you deserted your country. You were one of our top men, you could have gone far. I trusted you! What made you sell out to these people?"

"This country is weak, H.H." Wolf told. "It doesn't deserve the freedom you're crying after. The whole population is soft in their hearts! Just look at what's happening around the country! After all our battles to make America the greatest country on Earth, and then all these… foreigners! They take away our jobs, they claim to be Americans! They dishonor the flag! And you, and all the other weaklings are accepting them! You let this people in to our country, the people who wanted to destroy us!"

"That is just hogwash." H.H said. "These people that you are demeaning has contributed in a lot of ways to our country. They have every right to call themselves Americans."

"They are nothing but shameless political opportunists! I resent seeing these people brandishing of the red, white and blue! Do you actually believe that peace baloney that you are being fed? These are the same people who belittled our country and predicted the fall of the American Empire. But what did they do when their nations fell first? They came running here where it is nice and safe. And you, and all the other weaklings graciously accepted them!"

"Is this what the Syndicate has told you?"

"The Syndicate… Pah! You can't see the real enemy even if it is in front of your own eyes. The World Unification Alliance is constantly hiding the displeasure among the population, claiming that everything is well. Everything else is only agitating propaganda and lies spread by extremist organizations like the Syndicate. They're totally obvious to the cancer that has spread through our country for over a decade!"

"That cancer is the foreigners, I presume." H.H. asked, almost unable to mask his contempt for the raging madman on the other side of the line.

"I'm speaking about the passiveness that came from too much peace. The passiveness that allowed the filth to tear down the World Trade Center. That should have woken the country up to the threats we are facing!"

"It did." H.H. reminded. "There were wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq, in case you forgot."

"Which accomplished little. Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein might be dead, but it stopped there when it shouldn't have. Now Iran and North Korea is building nuclear missiles - if we don't get it together soon, countries like Monaco and Belize will be invading us! And I'm not going to sit tight when a third-world dictator attempts to take our rights away from us, take our resources and threatens our way of life!"

"Lyman." H.H. said, trying to remain calm. "The only ones currently threatening our country are you and your friends in the Syndicate!"

"We are the cure to this decease." Wolf ranted. "The fangs of the viper will sink into the country. Its venom will spread like a cytotoxic treatment until the cancer is gone, and only the strong and resolved remain and America will once more be standing tall! Our goal is to bring back to life what was at one time traditional!"

There was a brief silence, under which Colonel Wolf was lighting a cigar.

"I won't hold you up any longer." Wolf said. "I assume that you are off to a meeting with the pantywaists in the World Unification Alliance to plead with them to allow your precious Special Missions Force to have the first crack at me, even though you know that it would be better to send in the marines to do the job."

"I'm trying to save lives!" H.H. exploded. "What is it with you? Do you have a death wish?"

"It's about getting the job done. But the weak does not understand the nature of power. In order to gain power, sometimes sacrifices need to be made. Your type can't make those sacrifices, instead you seek to compromise, failing to see that the only winner to come out of a compromise between right and wrong is wrong. Between true and false, false. Between good and evil, evil. It's obvious that you pansies can't make the right decision, so you need someone who tells you what to do. That someone is us!"

H.H. ended the call.

"It's impossible to reason with the man." He said. "He just keeps ranting about how weak he thinks the country is and how much he despises foreigners."

"No need to feel sorry for him." Matt dismissed. "He will have to reap the consequences of his actions sooner or later. He'll be put away for life, possibly even get the death sentence."

"Probably." Hugh agreed as he got up and begun to gather his papers. "I have to go over to the UN building for a meeting regarding this mess. Keep monitoring all channels, and don't hesitate to call if anything of importance comes up."

"This is unbelievable." Matt said, rubbing his eyes with both hands. "I figured our enemy was someone close to us, but I could never have believed it to be Colonel Wolf."

"Can you believe that he actually thinks that he's doing the country a good thing?" Brad asked. "The audacity of that man!"

"He who searches for evil, must first look at his own reflection." Bruce pointed out.

The Special Missions Force had gathered in the situation room in the morning to discuss strategies for freeing the hostages. Sketches, pads, photographs, and equipment were strewn everywhere. There had been no news from Long Island. Colonel Wolf had made no attempt at contacting any authorities and had made no demands.

The TV-screens on the wall still showed different news segments, many on which there were now some expert as guest in the studio offering his insight on what was the most possible scenario in the hostage crisis. The screens were muted, but Paul had people listening in around the clock.

"The biggest challenge will be to get inside of the hotel without being compromised." Hondo schemed. "The slightest sound could cause a sentry to sound the alarm. The second problem will be to locate the hostages. Odds are they are being held in the Executive Meeting Room, but that is no guarantee. There are many variables in an operation like this."

"I felt dubious at Wolf's choice of moving the conference to the Huntington Hotel," Bishop said. "considering the fact that the area is too open, and the hotel has so many windows it would be exceedingly difficult to guard it against an attacking terrorist force. But now when the situation is reversed it makes an ideal fortress. He can see in all directions, and the hostages are his insurance policy against attack."

Hondo punched up a birds-eye view of the hotel on the wall-sized video screen. In his hand he held a red laser pen to point out items of interest.

"I have analyzed the latest sat system- and intelligence reports and I have discovered a weakness in the defensive line. Wolf has positioned two guards at each entrance, three guards on the roof, and four men patrolling the area, plus two more guards stationed at the flanks of the hotel. If we time their sweeps, we can easily take out the guards at the goods reception and work our way up through the hotel until we find the hostages."

"I don't approve." Matt said. "Not only do we have to locate the hostages before getting compromised ourselves, but we must also get them safely out.

"Then what do you suggest, Matt?" Bishop asked.

"We need to go in with full force. Full frontal attack."

"Don't you believe that course of action will put the hostages in danger?" Morten objected.

"No. Actually I believe that this course of action will take 'Mayhem' by surprise, because that is precisely the way he would have done it. He's so certain that we will take the silent approach that his response will play into our hands."

Hondo shock his head. Clearly irritated.

"This strategy eludes me." He told. "If we're going to take the direct approach, then we could just as well sit this one out and send in the marines."

"The difference is that 'Mayhem' would expect that tactic from the marines." Matt pointed out. "But not from us."

"It's too risky." Hondo objected. "You're gambling with the life of the hostages!"

"The main purpose of the strike force is to lure out Wolf's forces." Matt continued. "With the security in the hotel lessened, I intend to lead a small unit inside to locate and free the hostages plus to arrest Colonel Wolf."

"Alright." Hondo nodded. "Then going in through the goods reception should be the most recommendable course of action since it is the least guarded spot."

"Actually," Matt said as he got up on his feet and walked up to the video-screen. "I intend to go in via the roof. I want to get Wolf out of the picture before we release the prisoners. With him in custody I think it will be easier to discourage the guards from resuming hostilities."

They were interrupted by a soft knock on the door, and Helena peered inside.

"Excuse me, Matt." She said. "The receptionist called. Your brother is down in the lobby."

"Andy? What's he doing here?"

Accompanied by Bishop, Bruce, Hondo and Jacques, Matt took the elevator down to the lobby. Matt wondered to himself why Andy had not come up but insisted on them coming down.

Andy was not alone. Standing outside by a car with a covered trailer, stood Alex Sector.

"Andy? What are you doing here?"

"Let's go in somewhere more private", Andy said abruptly. "There's to many ears out here."

Bishop went to the front desk and asked for a key to a conference room, which they all entered.

"I've been an idiot." Andy begun as they took their seats. "Too naïve, too trusting. You and Maurice basically spelled out how the Syndicate had plants everywhere, but I still allowed to many people access to my work."

"You have always been trusting." Matt agreed. "But I hardly think that you are the sole person to blame for this."

"Actually, I am." Andy insisted. "I had Colonel Wolf in my ear long before H.H. sanctioned this project I had. It was he that encouraged me to produce all those vehicles and weaponry. He told me about this grand scheme about changing the polarity in the world. He compared it with Hobbes Leviathan: A sovereign whose purpose is to protect its citizens against one another. Like a child, I listened, and now he has used my inventions against us."

Matt was rather taken aback by this. Of course, he had always known that Andy was trusting and was a poor judge of character. Like their late father, his natural instinct was to see the good in all people. But they had all been guilty of underestimating how far the tentacles from the Syndicate were stretching.

"I sympathize with you." Matt said. "But this is not the time for self-pity. We need to come up with a solution to conquer the advantage 'Mayhem' has against us."

"I already have the solution." Andy revealed. "I guess that somewhere deep down, even I felt dubious. That is why Alex and I have worked in secret to construct what would be best described as a complementary equipment to your battle uniforms. It's in the trailer with Alex outside."

"Really?" Matt asked, his curiosity awakened. "Let's bring it upstairs and take a look then."

A few minutes later they were all examining the new utilities: It was a wide selection of different battle helmets. For some of the agents there were only just the helmet, while others would wear backpacks with canisters attached to hoses on the arms, or something that mostly resembled transmitters. Andy and Alex gave some fast briefings on how they worked.

"Each of these helmets has defensive or offensive capabilities." Andy briefed. "It will enable you to take on any opposition on safe distance.

All of them comes equipped with a HUD that supply critical data as well as secondary eye shields that activates within 5 milliseconds, automatically sliding over the optics, allowing you to see in darkness, glare, and smoke. There are also built-in audio pick-up and a broadband communications antenna."

"How do they work?" Buddie wondered, as he examined a helmet in green and yellow, with a frame surrounding the visor and a bulging out mouthpiece. Wires went from the sides and connected just under the chin.

"They are activated by your voice." Alex explained. "We have coded them to only respond to its user, so it can't be used by anyone else in case you would somehow loose them during battle."

Paul was handed a yellow helmet with a square-shaped visor and what looked like a breathing apparatus covering the mouth section with wiring going back towards holders over the shoulders and into the neck.

"Can we test them? I don't want to hit any of the others by mistake."

"There's no time to field-test them, I'm afraid." Andy confessed. "They have worked flawlessly in simulations so I would say that they are safe.

They are extremely easy to operate."

"This thing is really ugly." Matt laughed as he examined his battle helmet, red and brown to its color with two ridges going down from the top ending in two protruding optical lenses and a hexagon shaped grill growing out underneath which served as an air filter.

"Well, I'm sorry that their appearance doesn't appeal to you." Andy shot back. "I was thinking more in strategic advantages then attraction."

"Hey, I'm just fooling with you." Matt assured. "Actually, I think those helmets of yours might be just what we need to get the edge over 'Mayhem' and his merry men."

The Executive Meeting Room of the Hilton Huntington Hotel was filled with a cacophony of chatter and conversation. A mélange of languages from all parts of the civilized world combined and overlapped, making it difficult to determine the subject of all the talk. However, the tone of voice, the inflections of each word spoken, conveyed an air of concern. These were the hostages of VENOM, discussing their current situation and the possible outlines for the following days.

Seated in an adjunct control room, Sly Rax listened to them without any interest for some time, before turning towards his colleagues Curt Harker, Cesar Bonica, Jaime Francisco Carrasco and Cliff Dagger.

"It seems to me that the only thing these politicians ever do is talk." He noted. "Hardly surprising that nothing ever happens in the society."

"What do you care?" Dagger wondered. "You have never donated any money for a political candidate. You're not even a registered voter."

"I would never waste my money on those clowns." Rax dismissed.

"Speaking about money, I think it's time that we saw some profit from this operation." Jaime believed. "How big share do you think we'll get each?"

"Everyone will get their pay!" Curt pointed out, half lying in his chair. "But the main subject of this operation is not to get rich. It's a long-term project to get a new leadership of this country."

"While we are on the topic of profits…" Sly Rax added. "I'm surprised that the Colonel has not yet demanded any ransom for the hostages."

"That's because he knows that America has a rule to not negotiate with terrorists." Another voice intervened, this one belonging to a woman as Vanessa Warfield joined them in the room.

"Why not?"

Vanessa sat down on a chair the opposite way one usually did, against its back. She held the answer long enough so she could light a cigarette.

"Say that we were to demand twenty-five billion dollars in ransom for the Senator and the delegates."

"Yeah! That would be something." Carrasco laughed, but an angry glare from Vanessa immediately silenced him down.

"What's to stop us from using that money to buy new weapons, taking new hostages and demanding fifty billion dollars next time?"

Carrasco made a surprised face.

"So you mean that they would rather sacrifice those guys then giving us the money?"

"Well, you can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs." Curt smirked.

"So why are we taking hostages, when we're not going to get paid?" Cesar asked.

"Because we're making the country loose face to the public. Paving the road for new leadership that will create more opportunities."

"I don't understand politics." Cesar dismissed.

"You don't have to." Vanessa said, exhaling a cloud of smoke into the room. "You just do your job and leave the planning to others."

Unbeknownst to the team, Lyman Wolf was standing just outside, listening to their discussion. He took great pleasure in listening to their debate. After a short while however, he grew weary of it and stepped inside room.

"Please be seated." He said, addressing them more properly than he believed they really deserved. Only Cliff Dagger and Vanessa Warfield had gone through an entire military education, but Wolf still preferred to enforce military discipline.

"I have just finished a call with the Syndicate." He briefed. "As expected, Hugh Heyman has persuaded the World Unification Alliance to send in the Special Missions Force, which works in our advantage."

"So, let's bring out the welcoming mat." Carrasco suggested with an ugly smile. "We could build some trenches, place tripwire…"

"Give it a rest, junior." Dagger cut him off. "That will do us no good. The hotel is kept under constant surveillance and you can be sure that the Special Missions Force will take part of the latest sat feeds and surveillance reports before going in."

"Indeed." 'Mayhem' agreed. "And it is not necessary either. Trakker and his men will make their intrusion at the goods reception then slowly work their way through the hotel in order to locate the hostages."

"We should double the guards on the inside then?" Harker asked in an attempt to second guess the Colonels plans.

"Negative. The main force will be on the outside and cut them down as they try to make their escape. The world will hold the World Unification Alliance responsible for the demise of the hostages."

Dagger looked a bit uneasy.

"Isn't that a bit overkill, Colonel?"

"No. It's enough kill!" Wolf snorted. "Now you follow those orders, or I will show you the true meaning of overkill!"

He got up and stormed out of the room, followed by Vanessa Warfield, Sly Rax, Cesar Bonica and Jaime Francisco Carrasco. Cliff Dagger and Curt Harker fell behind though.

"I understand that there must be some casualties in a war, but mass murder is not really something that appeals to me." Dagger told Curt.

Curt shrugged his shoulders.

"It doesn't exactly thrill me either." He confessed. "But we have our orders. If we're not up to this, we are a hazard to all the Syndicate's plans and we know too much to just be cut loose."

Closing the door to the Executive Meeting Room, the two men followed their leader.