Chapter 2
Covert Ops
"What sort of mission?" asked Jack. The man with the briefcase looked him in the eye. "Your mission….. is to bring down the combine citadel inside of Washington D.C." Jack and Adrian were shocked. "Are you kidding me?" Shouted Adrian. "How are we supposed to take down their citadel? That one is holds thousands of combine and it's 6000 feet tall!" The man's face creased into a kind of gruesome smile. "That, Corporal Shepherd, is for you and your…..friends….. to figure out on your own." With that, he turned and walked through the door and into an awaiting portal.
Jack and Adrian were stumped. How are we supposed to take the citadel down on our own? They thought. Lydia, however, looked more at ease. "No need to get overly excited, boys." she said, the confidence forming a tangible edge on her statement. "YOU seem awfully calm." muttered Jack. "Done this kind of thing before, have you?" Lydia smirked. "In a sense, yes." she said. "We need to remember our stealth training. You two WERE trained in covert ops, right?" Adrian shifted. "Yeah, but I've never been on a stealth mission before. The only kind of missions that I've been on were normal go in, get it, and get out." "That is not a problem." Said Lydia. "If you stick to the basics and follow my lead, everything will be fine."
After a journey or several hours, the osprey landed in a clearing just outside of the city limits. "Well, how are we going to get inside the city?" asked jack. This was a good question. The only ways into the city was through the rivers or they could enter on a train. "They treat anyone coming in through the rivers as hostiles, so the safest way would be to enter on a train." Said Lydia. Jack looked annoyed. "Great idea Lydia. Now how do you propose we get on a train? The nearest station is 40 miles away." Lydia's face broke into a grin. "Just follow me." They followed her as she climed up a set of rail lights. At that moment, the loud horn of a train sounded. "Get ready!" shouted Lydia. The train came into view as they were positioning themselves on the lights. As it went under them, Lydia gave the signal. They dropped onto the train, rolling as they did so to lessen the force of the impact. From there, Lydia directed them into a hole in the roof of one of the train cars.
As luck would have it, that car was transporting combine uniforms. They quickly found a uniform that fitted them and slipped into it. "Hey, Adrian!" shouted Jack. "Is your radio working?" Adrian checked his uniform's communication systems. "Roger that, good buddy." "Cut the chatter and lets see which stop we should get off at." Said Lydia. They moved up toward the front of the train. As Lydia opened the door to the train, Adrian quickly pulled her back. "What, what?" whispered Lydia. "Two tangos up ahead." whispered Adrian. Lydia peered through a slit in the door. Two combine soldiers were standing by the train's control panel. "Damn." muttered Lydia. "Get ready to engage on my mark. 3…2….1…. mark!" Adrian kicked down the door while Jack and Lydia opened fire. The soldiers were dispatched quickly.
"Alright." said Jack. "Give a minute and I'll find out where we stop." As Jack worked on the control panel, Adrian explored the rest of the train. His search was rewarded by a large amount of information pertaining to the critical workings of the citadel. His coms buzzed in his ear. "Hey Adrian!" Jack said into the radio. "We need you back up here. We are getting off at the next stop." Adrian made his way back towards the front of the train. Upon reaching it, he shared his findings with Jack and Lydia. "Well done, Corporal. This will help our mission enormously." "Thanks Lydia." said Adrian. Suddenly, there was an abrupt rumble. "Whoa…. What the hell was that?" Jack said. There was another rumble, and another. The rumbles were intensifying. "Shit! Earthquake?" shouted Jacked. "Duck and cover!" yelled Adrian. Just as they did so, there was a massive explosion, and the train careened off the tracks. Adrian smacked his head, and the world went black.