Chapter 4 - Change in Plans
"This better work," Reid whispers to himself as he creeps toward the Blue base.
He had successfully convinced Tackle to take a stealthier approach to this mission, but in doing so, had doomed them all to a series of stupid, isolated deaths. The sergeant had insisted that everyone stay true to the "ninja spirit" and work alone. Reid still had permission to form the plan, but under such a crippling limitation, there wasn't much he could have done. He opted to have the three of them close in on the Blue base from three sides; Tackle from the front, himself from the side, and Rapid from behind. While the other two distracted the Blues from opposite ends of the base, Reid would sneak inside and rescue Brenda. As much as the crimson soldier despises her, he knows that he is the only member of the team mentally capable of pulling off the extraction.
"Hopefully Tackle will finally understand that recklessness is never the answer," Reid thinks hopefully.
"God damn it!" a voice cries out. Reid moves closer and sees the source, the sapphire soldier, addressing the purple one by the front of the base.
Wilson turns to look at Evans.
"I lost my fucking aspirin again," the Blue leader grumbles. His voice takes on an accusatory tone. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you, Wilson?"
Without warning, several shots hit the base all around the two of them. They immediately scatter, Wilson returning fire in the direction the attack came from.
"What the-" Reid turns on his radio. "Tackle, what the hell are you doing?!"
"Attacking!" he answers. "What does it look like?"
"Suicide!"
"Just get in there and find Brenda," Tackle orders.
"Damn it…" Reid hadn't taken the sergeant's idiocy into account. He looks around. The Blues are all going to be drawn to Tackle, so Rapid won't have anything to do in his current position. Reid contacts him.
"Rapid, Tackle has gone rogue, so the plan has changed. Come meet up with me. We'll be going in together."
"Wait, sir," he interrupts, "that goes against the ninja spirit."
"Fuck the ninja spirit, just get over here!"
A few moments later, Rapid appears next to Reid.
"Also, 'sir?'" Reid echoes. "It's nice to know that you're learning. Let's go."
Inside the Blue base, Carbon lies on his bed with his arms behind his head. Shane stands over him.
"Why not just go attack the Reds right now?" the rookie asks.
"It's Evans's call," Carbon replies. "All we have to do now is relax."
"Shouldn't we capitalize on our advantage? Why are we waiting?"
"You should be asking Evans those questions, not me. I'm just his right-hand man." Carbon yawns. "I might take a nap. Wake me up when it's time to go."
"You know," Shane says, "I'm starting to think that bitch was right. This team does suck."
They both jump at the sound of gunfire. Carbon leaps out of bed, picks up his gun, and rushes to the front of the base. Shane follows closely behind him. Standing in the entrance, they see Wilson taking cover behind a large rock and exchanging fire with someone hiding among the trees. Suddenly, Evans barges into the base.
"Sir!" Carbon almost grabs him as he goes by, but realizes that probably wouldn't be a good idea. "What's going on?"
"We're under attack, what do you think?!" the leader yells. "Goddamn, how many times have people tried to kill me today?" He hurries past the duo and goes into his room.
"What's he doing?" Shane asks. "Shouldn't he help us fight off the Reds?!"
"You really do ask a lot of questions," Carbon notes. "And yeah, it would be nice if he helped us, but standard combat protocol has him hide in his panic bunker until it's safe to come out."
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
"Do you think I would kid about something like that during battle?" Carbon counters. "Come on!" He runs out of the base and starts shooting, but Shane doesn't follow him. Instead, the rookie turns around and rushes to Evans's quarters.
"It's totally unfair that the leader doesn't support his men," Shane thinks. "I need to talk some sense into him." Stopping in the doorway, he carefully scans the room. Where could the panic bunker be hidden?
After several seconds, a voice from under Evans's bed startles him. "What are you doing here, Private? Get out there and fend off the Reds!"
Shane hesitates, not believing what he's hearing. "…Are you literally hiding under your bed?"
"I'm in my panic bunker!" Evans exclaims. "I'm following protocol!"
"Let me guess, this part of the protocol was your idea."
"Damn straight!" he affirms.
Shane exhales heavily. "Officer Evans, to be honest, I think what you're doing right now is despicable and cowardly. Why won't you fight with your team?"
The Blue leader's head pokes out from under his bed. "Private Shane, I'm no coward. I simply know too much. I know it's me they want out there, so I refuse to show myself. I may be resigned to my fate, but I won't go down without a fight!"
"But you're not fighting. You're hiding like a little kid."
"Wrong. I'm hiding like any intelligent adult would."
Shane groans, then pauses to regain his composure. "Okay, Evans. Tell me: do you really care about your team?"
"Of course," he says.
"Well, it doesn't seem to be the case from what I've seen so far. As the leader, you should be putting the team before yourself, not waiting out battles for your own sake. You said you were resigned to your fate; then go prove it, you wuss. Get out there and fight with your team. Fuck up those Reds! Make your soldiers proud to be fighting for you."
Evans stares at the rookie, then slowly crawls out from under the bed and stands up. "Private Shane, in all my time here at Outpost 17-A, no one has ever spoken to me so bluntly and with so little tact. However, I see your point. I really do care for the team, even that wildcard Wilson, and… I guess it's about time I start breaking old habits."
"Now that's more like it, sir!" Shane cheers. "Let's beat the Reds!"
"Yeah. Let's go beat the Reds!"
The two of them leave Evans's room and head toward the front of the base when the Blue leader stops Shane. "Wait, I have a quick question - how do you use the sights on this thing, again?" he asks, raising his rifle. "And no, I won't hand it to you. You're not disarming me that easily."
The blue soldier tries to not let this bring his mood back down after successfully convincing Evans to join the fight, but it can't be helped.
