CHAPTER 14
Hello again, everypony. I'm finally back with chapter fourteen. Hardly seems like I've gotten this far into the story, and it's hard to believe it's shaping up to be this long. I would have been able to post sooner, but there's been stuff. Oh, and I hate the government. Just want to comment on that...you know, how the US government is the biggest Mickey Mouse outfit in the world and the honest, hardworking people here have to pay the price for their negligence, stupidity and plutocratic ways? Yeah. Well anyway, here's the newest chapter. I'm certain you're all going to like this one. Enjoy and please review.
"Twenty-three-hundred. All teams, check in." Captain Steele said quietly into the mouthpiece of the magic-powered two way radio. I listened to the faint crackle of static over the earpiece I wore in my right ear. The headsets were the newest addition to the BlackOps arsenal, and allowed instant communications between ponies during operations. They were also inherently expensive, and still classified in design, so only soldiers like Steele and his shadow warriors were issued such toys. Too bad. I really wanted some.
"Alpha...at the one-two corner." A voice whispered over the small speaker.
"Bravo, holding at the one-three." Another voice stated.
"Charlie, holding ass-watch at the four." A third pony said, meaning that his two-pony sniper/observation team was watching the rear of the bakery from the top of the building across the street.
"Delta, entry team standing by." A voice answered. The six-strong team at the police station was ready to respond.
"Roger." Steele responded. "ComCon in position near the one. All units observe and report."
"Roger." All of the teams replied back. I looked at Steele.
"You guys get all the best toys, Captain." I stated with a grin. The COLT team leader cast me a sly grin in return.
"What is it like, Lieutenant Drake?" Masada whispered behind me. I turned my head and looked back at her. She had a questioning look in her eyes.
"Huh?" I returned.
"To be a hero. I have wanted to ask you."
"I don't understand." I said, confused.
"You are a living hero..." She stated as if it were public knowledge. I rolled my eyes. "I am being...frank with you...my country has many heroes. They are dead, and we make new heroes, but they are ponies who do brave things, and do not live...um...I do not know how to say certain things..."
"I know what you mean." I said with a nod. "My country has many heroes too. Some are mine."
"Your country...it is so much older than mine." She continued. You have long history of great wars and brave ponies who change the world. You can look back to heroes to see them...ugh...influence you now, learn from them? I think...I am right?" I nodded. "We have struggled to make a home...our heroes are grandfathers and brothers. This is why I think you are a great pony, like our heroes. You are hero now, like my people's..."
"Only I ain't dead yet." I said with a smile. "I get what you mean, Sergeant Masada...but I don't think I'm a hero. I do what I need to, you know, to protect my family, my country. I'm just a detective."
"No..."
"I get into some pretty hairy situation sometimes, and sometimes, I'm in a position to stop bad things from happening to my country. That don't make me a hero." I peered back out into the darkness, at the front of the bakery across the street. "At least I don't think so."
"Thank you." The Bitsraeli soldier whispered.
"For what?" I asked, looking through a set of small binoculars out onto the darkened street.
"Now I know what it is like to be in the mind of a hero." She said in a confident tone. I smiled and shook my head.
"Face it LT, you're a legend." Steele remarked. "Both of you should be happy."
"Why?" The foreign liaison asked.
"Either of you ever been deployed to a third world shithole?"
"Only in neighboring countries...Saddle Arabia and...I cannot speak of the others." Masada answered.
"Frontier only." I stated simply.
"The sergeant may have one up on ya, LT." Steele said. "She's seen countries that try and make heroes out of martyrs. Her country and ours...our heroes made us what we are. Why do ya think those places have no direction? The same damn reason we still need heroes." He paused for effect. "Envy the country that has heroes. Pity the country that needs them." There was silence as the five of us digested the deeply philosophical words the commander had spoken.
"Huh. I like that." I finally said. "I might use that in a book." Dash and Budder started snickering, and Steele himself laughed a bit.
"Why does your country have so much war?" My sister asked.
"We believe in our land..." Masada explained in her thick accent. I would probably have to clear most of this up with Budder later. "We were promised our country long ago, but some would not let us live in peace. My ancestors were made to leave and go all over. I am of a line of ponies that has wandered the world for generations, waiting for our promised land to be given to us. We finally got our home back, but the countries around mine, they do not want us to be. So we must fight. There is danger every day from many enemies, but time and again, we have victory because that too is promised to us."
"Wow..." My sister said in awe. "You're really nice. You know, for somepony that has to fight all the time."
"Thank you." Masada said in a friendly voice. I rolled my eyes. Out of context, that wouldn't have sounded so bad...
"OP Charlie...at the four..." A voice came over our headsets. "We have movement in our sector." I looked back at Dash and Budder and nodded. They nodded back, our old signal to each other to be ready.
"Roger." Steele stated. "Sitrep."
"Single civy...female." The sniper said. "Moving in direction of target building."
"Can you give me a positive ID or description?" Steele asked.
"Um...negative on that, cap." The sniper answered. "Subject is in the shadows. Appeared to be a light-colored mare."
"Civies out this time of night?" The captain asked toward me.
"Dunno. I've seen a few oddball ponies out this time of night." I commented. He nodded.
"Maintain position." Steele stated.
"Cap...subject in view..." The sniper whispered over the radio. "She's...standing at the edge of a blacked-out area...near the rear entrance. Hold..." There was silence for a few tense seconds. "Affirmative...she is looking in our 20. Position possibly compromised. We are in a position of concealment...how can she..." There was a burst of static. Then all hell broke loose. "Tangos on our six! Contact! Contact! The fuck, there's five of them!"
"Charlie team!" Captain Steele called over the headset. "Glass! Rio! Come in!" Something was wrong. It was obvious that the observation team was under attack. "All teams, move in! Move to Charlie team's 20 and prep for contact! MOVE!" With that, Captain Steele was out the door. I followed close behind, my saber in hoof, and I knew that Dashie, my sister and Sergeant Masada were on my tail. We got to the door of the building across the street from the back of Sugarcube Corner just as another two-pony sniper team arrived there. One of the commandos pulled a pry bar as he got to the door, jammed it in between the door and the frame, and popped the door open. He swiveled back out of the way as the other Commando and Steel made entry, searching left and right with their crossbows.
As we made our way up the stairs, the COLT ponies taking the lead, I heard more of the soldiers coming in the front entrance. Once we had reached the door to the roof, the other commandos had arrived and were behind us. The entire team had assembled in only a minute and a half, ready to take out whoever was attacking their comrades. My sister and Dashie had their long daggers in their mouthsand Masada held he combat knife in one hoof, the blade pointed downward. There was no hesitation. Steele kicked open the door, and the whole crowd of us poured out onto the rooftop, operators rushing to every corner, every nook and cranny, yelling 'clear'. It didn't take long for the three bodies on the rooftop to be found.
"Sir...we have two down." One of the entry team ponies stated, walking up to Captain Steel. "Glass and Rio, sir."
"Damn it." Steele growled. "How?!"
"Throats cut, sir. Both of them. And sir? We also have one tango down." The operator, a dark brown unicorn said. We all gave each other a quick glance before moving quickly toward the front of the building, where the ponies had been when attacked. I wanted to see who had been doing all of this, to finally be able to start piecing this twisted puzzle together. I hadn't counted on this. I had a million ideas racing through my head, but how could I have ever imagined this? As soon as the silent form came into view, my legs locked up, and my heart began to pound in my chest.
"No..." I gasped, feeling sick to my stomach. I felt lightheaded. Steele and Masada stood beside the dead mare, staring at the body curiously, their trained eyes examining her to gather intel on their enemy. I was frozen. It all seemed miles away.
"Took an arrow to the chest..." Steele stated. "At least they got a shot off..."
"She is...unarmed." Masada commented, then kicked the mare's body over onto her back. "They...they take the weapons and leave body of their soldier?"
"Likely." Steele stated. He looked over the rooftop as the two bodies of his commandos were placed into large bags by the other team members. "But why didn't they take our weapons? The crossbows." He gestured to the two weapons laying near where the soldiers had fallen.
"No time?" The Bitsraeli soldier offered. "We came here quickly. Maybe they would have been...hindrance to them."
"Five hostiles attacked here...one on the street...they were coordinating..." Steele said, thinking through the situation. "How many of the fuckers are there?" He turned to me. "What do you think, LT?" I couldn't answer. I stood there, staring at the dead pony in front of me.
"Drake?" My sister called, shaking me lightly. "What is it?" The entire time, Rainbow Dash didn't say a word either. My marefriend just stood there, panting for breath in a state of near-panic, a look of fear and shock on her face. I tried to force my body to move, my mouth to form words...something...but I couldn't. It was sensory overload, and I couldn't react to what I was seeing.
"LT?" Captain Steele called. "Lieutenant?!" I snapped my head away from the scene, toward the BlackOps officer. He had a grim look on his face. "You know this pony, don't you?" I looked him in the eyes. tried to speak, my mouth felt dry. "SIR!" He demanded. "With all due respect...unfuck yourself and tell me what happened to my operators! Who is this pony?!"
"Pinkie Pie." I said softly. "Her name is Pinkie Pie...and I killed her six years ago."
Didn't see that one coming, did you? And now Drake has practically checked out, not that you can blame him. How was Pinkie still alive? And who else was on that roof? This chapter no doubt raised a lot of questions with you. Budder has to go to the dentist tomorrow, so I probably won't be able to get the next chapter up until tomorrow night. Until then, thanks for reading, everypony.