A/N: Augh has it really been four years since I touched this? I had to redo my story notes for this one and I forgot the original plot so I had to try to scrape something together. Hopefully this works out for us all haha.
Anyway, enjoy~
Kyle and Gregory stood at the back of the room, hovered over their makeshift planked desk. A simple drawing lied on top of it, an elementary at best blueprint of the town that Kyle had designed during three solitary scouting runs. Kyle was by no means an artist but when it came to a photographic memory of the enemy, he was their man. Each government station was carefully laid out into square miles along the map as Gregory's finger carefully followed the road that surrounded the town.
"What if we attack here?" he questioned, his hazel eyes fleeting between the paper and the redhead next to him. Kyle followed his finger and he shook his head.
"No. They have roughly twenty people stationed there now. If we'd gone for there about three months ago, we might have stood a chance."
"Why did they increase their force?" Stan asked from across the room.
Kyle glanced at him, a somber glaze over his tired eyes. "A kid about ten years old was caught trying to sneak out that way. They killed her and put more people over there."
"How the hell did you know that?" Cartman scoffed.
"Because I watched it happen, you fatass," Kyle seethed. Regardless of what was now what should be the only problem occupying their lives, Cartman and Kyle could never seem to fall out of their tentative hatred of each other. Each mission was in danger of the two of them compromising it with their insistent arguments and the entire team knew it. They made sure to keep the two of them on opposite ends of the line at each chance they had.
Cartman could be heard muttering his routine "stupid Jew" but it went unheeded as Kyle returned his attention back to the map at hand.
"Okay," he took a deep breath. "It's been roughly...three weeks since our last raid, correct?"
"Oui," Christophe piqued in from beside of Gregory as he walked up to the two of them. "Two and seex days to be exact."
"All right," he nodded, his finger pointing to a small square in the Northeast section of the town. "There's a small station here where the Rats go in order to leave the wall if they're sent home," he started. His mind wandered on that for a brief moment. Rats. Filthy, disgusting, menacing rats. That's the only thing that the boys could refer to the government as anymore. True scum, good for nothing but pestering the kids of the town and making their life a dirty, degrading Hell. Crawling through the sewage that was once their town, once their homes. He shook off his thoughts and continued, "This section is only guarded heavily when that time comes. They go through a rotation of soldiers about every four weeks, and the process takes about four days to get men in and to get them out."
"When was the last time that they rotated?" Kenny popped up over Kyle's shoulder and looked down at the map with curious eyes.
"When we were attacking last time," he explained, glancing back and up at him. "That's why the forefront of the section that we attacked was weak at first, because most of their reinforcements were stationed at the rotation."
"Ah," Gregory nodded. "So you think that we should rush the small group that's there now, and just try to run out, yes?"
"Right," Kyle nodded. He looked between the three men surrounding him before looking out onto the others that were sitting along the floor of their base. Each looking more anxious than the last. "Okay guys, here's the deal," he said, standing up straight and running his fingers through his coarse curls. "The Rats are understanding that we're getting smarter, so they're starting to pull in more men to guard the stations that they have that'll get us out of here."
"No, you think so, Jew?" Cartman stood and drawled out, rolling his eyes. "Why the fuck are you on intel if all you're going to do is point out the obvious shi-"
"Anyway," Kyle interrupted, pursing his lips tightly to restrain himself from going off on the boy. "Truth be told, we're running out of time. They're going to get to the point where they're going to have so many men that they're going to outnumber us four to one at the rate that they seem to be expanding their numbers."
"The reason that they're expanding is only because we're just not able to get the job done," Gregory sighed. "With every attack run that we make, they call on more men saying that we're a viable threat and need more men out here to be able to deal with us."
"And that's why time is of the essence," Kyle said firmly, looking between the kids in front of him with hard-set eyes. "Look, the way I'm figuring it, we have three, maybe four weeks tops to get out of here before we're completely closed in."
"We've been at this for two years though," Wendy spoke up, crossing her arms in thought. "Why are they just now starting to grow?"
"This isn't just now," Kyle explained. "I've been keeping tabs on their numbers as we've been going through our raids. They were a lot more subtle about the expansion beforehand. But now, they know that they're getting large enough that it doesn't really matter if we can calculate how many are going to be where when. They've been growing for about seven months as of now."
"Sounds to me like dzey're geeting afraid," Christophe smirked. "Zhey know zhat we are geeting stronger."
"No," Kyle corrected. "They know that we're getting smarter."
"But they know that we're at a disadvantage," Token spoke up, scratching his head curiously. "Why are they being so precautionary?"
"Because, you idiot, they know that we have the intel that could bring them down," Craig retorted with an eye roll.
Ike nodded, "Kyle was able to track down their weak points and they know that, so they're trying to get stronger to keep us back."
"But if they're getting stronger then why are we trying?!" Clyde interjected, getting to his feet and glaring at the group surrounding the table. "What's even the point if we're not going to get anywhere with this?"
"Shut up, Clyde," Kyle said coldly, glaring at him with stony green eyes. The look was enough to sit Clyde back down and for his mouth to seal itself shut. He knew better than to mess with Kyle anymore. He'd grown just as strong and as sharp as Christophe in the few years they'd been fighting. Pissing him off meant playing Russian Roulette with a very antsy Jew. "Look, even if we can't get out, I have a plan," he stated. His eyes turned to Ike and the boy nodded, grabbing a small silver item out of his pocket and holding it up.
"This is a wire device," he said proudly. "I was able to design it with some of the tech we were able to get from that official's headset we swiped."
"The station that we're going for is only roughly fifty feet away from an entrance to the main discussion room that the Rats use," Kyle stated, his finger automatically pointing it out for Greg and Chris to see. "If one of us is able to get through enough soldiers, there's a window that's always kept slightly open at that room," he smirked. "We just need for one of us to be able to go and plant the device through the sill onto the floor. The wire is small enough that it would be able to stay on the floor unnoticed and the signal that we can pick up with the tech that they so kindly provided us with is strong enough for us to keep taps on them at all times."
Gregory broke into a grin and nodded slowly, "That's perfect. Even if we can't liberate that section-"
"We can see just 'ow zhey plan to set up next," Christophe finished.
"Exactly," Kyle nodded firmly.
"Small problem," Cartman stated, tapping his foot impatiently. "Just who is it that's going to be able to sneak towards the base? They're not exactly going to welcome us over there with fanfare and a crown, hm?"
"Eet should be Stanley," Chris nodded towards the boy sitting on the arm of their rundown couch. "He eez zhe strongest we 'ave."
"No," Kyle shook his head. "As good as Stan is, he isn't fast enough."
Stan nodded in agreement. "If we're going on speed, does that mean you're the one who should, Ky? You're the fastest out of all of us."
Once again, he shook his head. "No, I'm going to be with Christophe leading the diversions that will make way for Ken to plant the device," he glanced back up at the blonde.
"Hey wait, why me?" Kenny pointed to himself and blinked.
"Because you're the second fastest," he explained. "And you're nimble as all hell and we need that in order to plant the wire. All you have to do is run up, toss it in through the window, and back off into the group."
"What if there are Rats in the room?" he questioned.
"One: There won't be. I've noticed that they meet in the afternoon. We're going to attack in the evening when the leaders are all out, I'm assuming they're eating or something," he rolled his eyes. "Two: even if they were there, it's small enough to be tossed in without being noticed. If anything, they'll think it's a piece of shrapnel from one of the grenades or something like that falling off of one of their shoulders. Also, I noticed that the rugs they have in there are thick and gray, so I had Ike wrap the device in the nickel to make it blend in more. It should sink into the rug unnoticed."
"You have time to notice their interior design but not to find the actual way to take them down?" Cartman snapped. "Did you take note of their drapery scheme as well? Maybe we can send them a nice little matching floral arrangement."
"Look, Fatass, you're fucking pushing on my last nerve," Kyle snarled. "Either you're going to fucking listen to the information I have or you can just go ahead and run at them with a gun on your own because as far as I'm concerned, this team is better off without your fat gut bouncing around in front of the enemy like a giant practice target."
"Look at ze bright side," Chris smirked, "he'd make one 'ell of a meat shield."
"Fuck you guys," Cartman glowered.
"Look, can everyone shut up for one moment, please?" Gregory sighed and rubbed his temple tiredly. "This is a good plan. However, we don't know how many we're against."
"I went scouting this morning," Kyle said. "I saw only about ten. I'm guessing that at the most they increased the hold from fifteen to eighteen if they did at all. This is a small station despite the fact that it's outside of the main building."
"Zhey tink we're scared of eet," Chris scoffed.
"Exactly," Kyle agreed. "They don't think that we'd be stupid enough to go up to the main building where so many more of them are stationed. But this is the side of the building. Sneaking past the threshold in the back is going to be simple considering the length of the building. We'll just need to crawl past the shacks and bushes in the main square to avoid them catching sight of us."
"What about the soldiers stationed behind the back of the square? They'll see us crawling from their station." Craig pointed out.
Kyle smirked, "Nature."
"What?"
"If we leave at about five o'clock, the sun is going to be directly angled into their eyes. It'll be easier for us to avoid being caught by them. We're going to be dressed to blend in anyway and if they're wearing sunglasses, it'll only hinder their vision of us further. We can't rely on pure stealth for this, so we need to go according to when the sun is on our side."
"Brilliant," Gregory applauded softly. "If all goes well, this could very much mean that we may be out of here in only a matter of days."
"I hope so," Kenny muttered as Ike handed him the device and he stared at it resting in his palm.
"Well, let's gear up," Stan got to his feet and grabbed his uniform. "We have about an hour, we need to gather up the weapons we'll need."
The others nodded their agreements, splitting to their separate areas of the room and silently suiting up. As confident as the plan sounded, only one thing could rest on their anxious, exhausted minds: The Rats had a knack for ruining every plan that they came up with. They could only hope that this time, they would finally have an exception and after so long, a glimmer of long sought-after hope.
"Stay low and follow me," Christophe hissed as he and the team set out at five sharp. He looked down the line on the ground behind him. Kyle followed by Stan, Kenny, Cartman, Token, Clyde, and Craig bringing up the rear. They each nodded subtly and he sighed, slowly beginning to army crawl his way behind a long row of bushes separating the kids' square and the army base. He licked his lips, a slight hint of dirt brushed along his skin. He could hear the others moving behind him slowly, each of them scraping along the ground precariously. Each set of eyes occasionally glanced to the side, looking at the Rat base hiding at the rear of the town. One notice from them and it could be over. The snipers set up at the base had perfect clearance to go at them should they choose, but once they hit the target, they would have the advantage of trees and a few scarce buildings in their wake.
They continued slithering through the town earning a few strange looks from children before they realized that they were staring at the rebel team and quickly moved along, knowing not to give their locations away. While they all may not be a part of the group, they knew that the bruised kids moving along were their only chance to get the hell out of dodge.
Kyle's keen eyes paced along the ground beside of them. He knew they only had a few meters to go at the rate they were crawling. They all knew that time was of the essence.
Christophe led them off to the side, behind a line of bushes set adjacent to the base camp. Their fingers all dug into the soil beneath them, leaves brushing against their clammy skin. A tension set among the group of them, lips being bit and eyes flittering around like crazy looking for a Rat who may be slightly out of their lines. They made their way to the edge of the brush leading up to mess of trees. One by one, they rolled out from behind the bushes and into the foliage, each taking refuge behind one of the massive evergreens.
Kyle peeked around his tree, his deep green eyes scanning over their target. He held up his fingers for the other, four and then two. Four main guards at the wall, two more at the window that Kenny needed to reach. They all watched as his lips curled back into a snarl, mouthing 'fuck'. It was more than he expected. They were changing the rules on his intel.
He looked at Kenny and nodded, pointing to Token, Clyde, and Craig. He gestured back towards the bushes and they each silently made their way back down into the foliage, making their way back from whence they came. He motioned to Stan and Cartman, instructing them to make their way back into the trees. The two of them were the biggest in the group, they'd need to stay hidden in something more than the thin strip running beside them. Kyle looked at Kenny and the blonde nodded at him solemnly. "Good luck," Kyle mouthed before he and Christophe looked at each other for the briefest of moments before ducking back down and heading after the three Kyle had sent off.
Christophe bit his lip as he and Kyle trudged quickly through the dirt and the sparse grass. They came up to the group and Token subtly waved them along as they were perched in the middle of the line, watching for more Rats. Kyle and Tophe slid through and made their way back to the bend. Christophe's fingers went back and touched his hip for the briefest of moments, making sure that his materials were still situated along his belt. Everything was riding on them, they could both feel the pressure. Despite all the work they'd done, despite how many scouts the two of them had done in groups or solitarily, it never seemed to get easier.
They made their way back over to the end of the line, both of them eyeing the building and licking their lips intensively. "Ready?" Christophe mouthed. Kyle's sharp glance was all he needed for himself to proceed. They both grabbed the materials off their belts, each boy's fingers shaking in the process. They each grabbed a small flask from their hips, slowly and silently screwing off the tops and their noses crinkling at the sudden rush of ignitor fluid invading their nostrils.
They slowly let it dribble onto the dirt and in the leaves, both of them looking up for any signs of a Rat hearing the liquid rushing through onto the ground. A wind picked up, blowing a soft tune and they took their opportunity, quickly emptying their flasks over a good fifteen feet worth of bush. They nodded at each other and slowly began creeping back on their knees away from the brush, their head darting around. Kyle watched as Christophe's fingers began to count down from five. He reached back and grabbed his matches from his belt loop and bit his tongue. They both raised up onto their feet, crouching and holding still, the matches placed on their strikers.
Tophe's fingers hit one and he quickly flicked his wrist, the both of them striking against their boxes and hoping to God that they wouldn't be heard. They threw their flaming sticks into the bushes and quickly retreated behind a mess of trees behind them, not watching as the crackle of fire burst into the air.
The two of them climbed up into a dense pine and watched carefully as the Rats caught sight of the flames, each of them running over. Kyle looked out, motioning for Token, Clyde, and Craig to begin their own fires. They did so, backing up and retreating back into the trees with Stan and Cartman. The five of them slowly wove around trees deeper into the woods, keeping their eyes on the front and watching the Rats disperse from the target.
Kenny and Kyle locked eyes and Kyle pointed to the base and nodded. Kenny quickly dove from behind his lookout, the seven of them watching him closely as he slid on the ground, his eyes worriedly glancing around to see if he'd be intervened. He grabbed the device from under his fingerless glove, clasping it tightly in his hand as he made way to the window. Just as Kyle said, it was slightly opened. He quickly glanced in, seeing the room barren and he tossed the bug through the crack, watching it land on the timber wolf carpet. He began backing up, still watching as the Rats began to bring out hoses and try to calm the fire down.
"Come on, Ken," Kyle whispered, watching the blonde crawling back towards the trees. His eyes narrowed as Kenny stopped. They all watched as Kenny struggled to move his leg. He was stuck. "Oh fuck!" Kyle panicked softly, moving to head down the tree. Christophe grabbed his arm and held him firm, shaking his head.
"We can't risk you both," he hissed.
Kyle's stomach plummeted as he watched Kenny struggling. The blonde tried desperately to move his leg, caught in the snares of a root jutting up from the ground. Kyle looked at the group in the trees, who were looking back at him with a desperate look over their face. His heart dropped as he motioned for them to head back towards camp. There was nothing they could do, they could only just hope that Ken could get out fast enough.
They each stole one last look at the blonde before beginning to backtrack and head back into the town.
"We 'ave to go," Christophe shook him.
Kyle looked at him before turning back to Kenny, who was snapping roots out of the ground trying like holy Hell to free himself from his imprisonment.
His heart dropped as a Rat shouted "There's a kid over here!"
"Kyle, now!" Tophe demanded. "Zhey 'ave 'im. Zhere's noth'zing we can do."
The redhead nodded and they both flinched as a gunshot ricocheted into the air around them. They looked over, seeing Kenny slumped on the ground, a clear sheen of red coating his blonde hair. The two of them gasped quietly, their fingers digging into the bark beneath them.
Kyle stifled a sob, letting Tophe force him down the trunk of the tree. They both slid down onto the dirt, crouching and making their way through the covering, listening with heavy, angry hearts at the Rats as they laughed about their latest victim.
The air was heavy and filled with smoke, the wind blowing it down towards them as they continued silently leaping around through the woods. Kyle's eyes burned, his throat convulsing with the need to scream in anger and sorrow. It was his fault. He didn't check for any possible problems that Kenny could have going through the thick grass. Any intel could have easily prevented his death. He didn't think about anything but the fucking Rats.
The two of them made their way out of the brush and into the street, looking around for any Rats lurking about. Tophe put his hand on the boy's shoulder, "Eet iz not your fault," he said sternly. Kyle slowly raised his gaze into Christophe's somber brown stare. "You could not 'ave known," he nodded at him.
He shook his head and they began walking back towards camp. He heaved a shuddery breath, allowing a single tear to escape his eye. It'd been so long since he'd cried. Been so long since he'd allowed himself to emote over what was happening. But Kenny was one of his best friends. He couldn't help but feel the weight of Ken's soul crushing his own. "I should have paid more attention to the landscape," he murmured. He looked up into the sky, his eyes watching as smoke billowed against the blue hues and sighed. "I killed Kenny."
"Non," Tophe shook his head. "Eet would 'ave 'appened regardless. Kenny died doing what 'e thought was right."
"But was it?" he asked as they crossed the threshold of what used to be the playground of the elementary school, now nothing more than a barren piece of dirt. "What if I wasn't right? What if this gets us nothing new and Ken died for noth-"
"Stop," he ordered. Kyle looked at him and saw the sorrow and anger behind the mercenary's stare. "Kyle, eet 'appened and zheres nothzing we can do about eet," he said. "Your plan was brilliant, Ken got unlucky. You know zhat 'appens in zis field."
"I know. I just...I wish it wasn't Kenny," he said softly. "It should have been me. Stan was right. I'm the fastest. I should have let Ken go with you instead."
A moment of silence passed between the two of them and Tophe sighed. "Non. You are too valuable to zee team. Ken was a great runner and kept spirits 'igh, but not much else," he shrugged. "You are ze one zat we need zhe most. Zhis operation would 'ave failed years ago 'ad you not became in charge."
Kyle couldn't help but feel sheepish at that. He knew his plans had gotten them out of more than one predicament. But still...their team was small enough as it was. Losing Kenny not only as a friend, but as an asset to the team was something that he didn't want to have to live with. He didn't want the guilt that he knew was going to eat him alive.
Tophe was right, beside him, he was in charge. The two of them ran that group like it was their puppet, every little action having to be cleared and thought out by the two of them. Being in charge, however, was certainly not without its consequences. And the fact that Kyle had screwed up a simple bugging mission and lost them a great fielder was going to cost the team dearly. He looked back into the sky as they worked their way through back towards home.
'I'm so sorry, Kenny,' he thought as the smoke billowed upwards still, marring the pure sky, the same blue of Kenny's eyes. Kyle allowed one more tear to cascade down his cheek before he looked straight ahead, his face screwing up in anger. One thought reigned over his mind, almost snapping him out of his trained demeanor:
Those Rats will pay.
A/N: ohs noes! Hopefully I can get this back up and running quickly haha.
Thanks for R&Ring!