Chapter 5: Apprehension
The security transit tunnels were ridiculously long. In some cases, depending on the distance between the respective facilities, they could be as long as 1 mile. The guards had started a petition to add vehicles to the tunnels, or perhaps make them a tram system. So far, no one had acted on it. Thus Joseph and Co. were forced to walk nearly half a mile to get to the tunnel exit they were supposed to exit. It wasn't even the main exit of the tunnel, merely a side exit to the surface.
All three of them emerged from the tunnel, squinting with the light of the sun. By this point, it was late afternoon, about 5. The sun was low over the New Mexico desert, painting the rocks bright orange. The men scanned their immediate area. No enemy soldiers. Strange.
Mandaiyar heard a helicopter nearby, and looked up just as several camouflaged craft – Ospreys by the looks of them – flew overhead. "It's the Marines," Mandaiyar said. "They're finally here."
The men continued on their path to E. They rounded a corner. Joseph had his compatriots hold back while he quickly glanced around the corner. A squad of 10 enemy soldiers were advancing forward, oblivious to their enemies around the corner. "The Marines have arrived," their leader said. "Our objective is to go to C, eliminate any survivors, and hold it from the Marines. Clear?"
"Yessir!" his men replied.
Joseph turned back to his men. They nodded, ready for a fight. Barnes raised his gun, and Shephard reloaded his gun, putting two hands on the trigger and bringing his ironsights into view. Mandaiyar leveled his G36 with one hand, and began to count down with his fingers to the attack. "On three," he whispered. One…two…three!
Shephard and Barnes peeked around the corner with their pistols drawn, picking off the more heavily armed soldiers. Joseph rolled out from the wall and hosed the enemy down with bullets. The remaining soldiers ducked behind cover. Mandaiyar quickly snatched a grenade from his belt. He pulled the pin, waited for three seconds, and threw it. It landed right behind the enemies' cover. They noticed it, but it was too late. The grenade exploded, killing the two behind barricades. The entire engagement lasted about 10 seconds, leaving the enemy squadron destroyed and the men unscathed.
Joseph pulled his clip out, dropped it, as he had fired the entire clip into the enemy formation, and slotted a new clip in. Barnes slotted a new clip into his P226, and Shephard took out a speedloader and slotted it into the drum of his weapon. They walked up to the enemy and began to scavenge weapons, as Barnes and Shephard were only carrying pistols. Shephard, a former Marine, picked up an M4A1 and ammo for it, and Barnes, a former Navy SEAL, grabbed a silenced MP5 from the stack, raising it to the soldier for a moment to get a feel for the weapon. "Hey, Joseph, look at this," Shephard said, holding up a tube attached to the muzzle of the M4A1. "M203 Grenade Launcher attachment. Haven't used one of these since my days in the Corps."
Joseph remembered that Shephard had been honorably discharged. He decided not to ask how.
Knowing that the gunfire would attract attention, the security men continued on. Joseph considered himself fortunate for having two other former soldiers with him. He had never officially been part of any military, but he was a private defense contractor, and he worked both in private security and for the US military as a mercenary. It wasn't Joseph's ideal line of work, but he was skilled in it, and being a mercenary made good money. Had these three men just been run of the mill security guards, they wouldn't have survived. The Matarus mercenaries had no idea whom they were dealing with.
Joseph led the men to a ridge, which they climbed. The higher they went, the more dangerous a fall would be. They would likely break a limb, or perhaps be paralyzed. Luckily, the guards, including Barnes, often exercised and were fit and healthy. When they reached the top of the ridge, they came to a round tunnel, most likely a drain.
"I feel like I'm a kindergartner again," Shephard said, "crawling through the slides at the park."
Shephard and Barnes groaned as they crawled through, but Mandaiyar made no noise. During his…training… there were many times that he had needed to get from one place to another without being seen. Thus he quickly learned the pathways of vents inside the facility where he was kept, and how to move through them. He was 14 when he, after years of planning, escaped from his barracks into the vents and out of the facility. That moment most likely saved his life, and ironically he felt a feeling of freedom crawling through the claustrophobic vents. They crawled through the tube, past multiple different pathways, until they came to clearing, and a ladder within. Joseph motioned for them to stay down in the clearing while he went up to the surface.
He barely moved his head over the top of the tunnel, scanning the area for enemies. In his near radius, he could see no one, but about 100 meters out from his positon, he saw a fight. Though the images were small at a distance, he had been trained to look for details in a small or blurry image that would help him clarify what he was seeing. Joseph used this skill now.
A group of soldiers – Marines – were behind a barricade, guns atop the wall. They were under attack by a group of other uniformed soldiers – mercenaries – who were firing back. The Marines sustained several casualties, but their return fire was precise and deadly. They killed most of the mercenaries, causing the survivors to retreat. After they had gone, a scientist ran out from a building, obviously greeting his saviors. The soldiers leveled their rifles at him, but lowered them when they realized he was a civilian. He said something to the soldiers – indecipherable at Mandaiyar's range – and then went to a nearby building's door, tapping a series of a number on a keypad. He turned back to them…
And one of them fired a shotgun at him, blasting him back to the door, dead.
Mandaiyar took a double take. No. That couldn't have happened. They were the defenders of American justice, not murderers.
The body was still there. The soldiers entered the building, one of them dragging the body to the side to allow easier passage.
Shocked, Joseph went back down the ladder. "What happened?" Shephard asked, having noticed Joseph's expression.
"I just saw a Marine kill a scientist."
Shephard's eyes widened. "What?!"
"They shot down a squad of mercenaries, and then he came out, and they shot him."
Barnes joined in. "How do you know that this Marine wasn't just acting on impulse? I mean, it was one guy. Maybe he was just jittery."
Joseph's shook his head sadly. "No. He came out, thanking them for saving him. He walked over to a nearby building to type in his keypad, and when he had opened the door they shot him. A separate Marine dragged the body out of the way."
Shephard and Barnes just sat there, shell shocked. Shocked though they were, though, they had to keep moving. "I recommend we go one of the separate ways we went buy," said Shephard. "We might be able to flank them."
"I agree," said Barnes. "Time for some justice."
They backtracked to a tunnel they had walked buy. This time, they had to crawl farther. They came instead to an air vent, and they entered it. When the men came out, they were in a security building, an outpost between C and E. They searched through the building, finding it empty. They reconvened. "Get to a window," said Mandaiyar. "Look for any Marines or mercenaries. As of now, we consider Marines to be enemies."
Suddenly, Joseph heard a number of footsteps running across the road to the building. "Flank the door!" he hissed.
Someone knocked on the door. "Let me in! I'm a scientist." The voice belonged to a male about 24 years old. Definitely not a scientist.
"You aren't a scientist," Joseph said accusingly. "You're a Marine."
"Alright, you got me."
"Why did you try to hide as a scientist?"
"Uh… you wouldn't let me in?"
"Why wouldn't I let you in? We're on the same side, aren't we?"
The Marine hesitated, and then said "Well, will you let me in?"
"Sorry," Joseph said. "This place has gone to heck in a handbasket and frankly, I'd rather not let a well-armed person get near me until they can prove they're trustworthy."
"Suit yourself," the Marine responded. "Breach the door!"
Joseph leveled his rifle at the door, at chest level. If they even tried to come in, he'd gun them down before they had a chance to fire.
The door was steel and difficult to break into, but he heard a clicking sound and a Marine yelling "Get clear!" He barely had time to get behind the wall as the door exploded, the debris going straight his way. Joseph quickly moved back and aimed.
A Marine with a shotgun went through the door. Wasting no time, Barnes, who hadn't been affected by the debris, shot him in the head with the MP5, blocking the door way. A Medic came forward and tried to move him, but Mandaiyar, now in position, show him down. Two more soldier tried to enter, but Barnes pulled out his Magnum, ran to the door, and finished them off.
Joseph let go of a breath he had been holding since the beginning of the engagement, and reloaded his weapon. "Well, this sucks," he said.
Shephard nodded, and added "Yeah. We just killed 5 US MARINES!"
Barnes, forever the realist, replied "Look, do you want to get out of this situation or not? We're doing this in self-defense. The justice system probably can't lock us up for that. And hey, if the government hunts us down, we can always go to Russia."
"They can find us there," Shephard added gloomily.
"Yeah, but they'll have to go through me," Mandaiyar said. "Nevertheless, we should leave here. Probably not the best place to be."
They reloaded and headed out, nearly tripping over the bodies of the dead Marines. "Alright. From now on, Marines are our enemies. We can't afford treating them as friends. Clear?" Mandaiyar asked.
They both concurred, and they headed out. Around a corner, they saw a Marine base in the distance. Directly ahead of them was a small watchtower, barely 10 feet tall. Guarding it were two Marines, both with their backs turned to the men. One of them checked a radio. After listening to it, he said "They just captured a whole group of workers. Evidently, we're preparing to attack E."
Joseph's heart sank. That group of workers was most likely the scientists. He cursed himself for not checking behind him. If they attacked E, they would kill all the survivors.
Joseph unsheathed a knife he had taken from a dead mercenary. He motioned for Shephard and Barnes to stay back as he crept forwards. He went up behind the one grabbed him, and stabbed him in the throat, killing him. The other attempted to hit him with the butt of his gun, but Mandaiyar deflected the blow and hit the soldier in the head. The soldier fell, and Mandaiyar stabbed him as well.
Barnes and Shephard came up behind him. Shephard and Mandaiyar got behind the tower wall, but Barnes crept up the tower. "I'll just take a look," Barnes said.
"Barnes, no!" Mandaiyar said, but it was too late. He heard a distant rifle shot – a sniper – and a moment later Barnes fell backwards, hit in the chest.
Shephard and Mandaiyar barely registered his death before they heard yells in the Marine camp. They readied their rifles, prepared to fight to the end. Joseph wanted to survive, but with the Marines closing in that seemed unlikely. He prepared to die.
Suddenly, behind him, he heard a gruff voice yell "GET THEM!" Mandaiyar barely turned before he saw the butt of a gun swing towards his head. He felt himself fall backwards, and then everything went black.
And so ends the pilot section of Flames!
It will actually be continued, of course, as it seems like an incomplete story as is. I haven't done any of these author's notes at the end of a chapter yet, as I am worried that they may break story flow. I may actually add them at the end of upcoming chapters, but I don't think it worth it to do that now. Misc. stuff I'd like you all to here:
1.) I apologize for the length of some chapters. I made up the chapters as I went, so I didn't really pace myself. I think "Trauma" and "Apprehension" are the greatest offenders.
2.) I'd like to thank Wingate from Wyndham and their power outlets for allowing my old HP to write about 8,666 words in the space of two nights and one car ride.
3.) Yes, Dr. Ride is Maximum Ride from the series of the same name, plus 15 years.
4.) Yes, I know that there's that significant other part of this crossover. That'll be written later, so don't call me a liar.
5.) The facility name is L-150.
6.) I realize how odd it is for the order of the sectors from one end of the facility to another to be Dormitories, A, C, E, D, B. No offense, but deal with it.
7.) That whole bit with the tunnels was something I wrote first and thought about later. I didn't really think the distance between C and E would be 1-2 miles long until I wrote "Apprehension."
8.) Dr. Freeman's name is a reference.
9.) Shephard's name is a reference to two different characters.
10.) You KNOW who "Patterson" is a reference to.
11.) There's a plot hole in "Trauma" later carried on to "Apprehension", where Barnes says "I always wanted to know what is was like to be a Heavy. Implying that he said this after arming himself, why would he need to get other weapons later?
12.) I DON'T HATE THE GOVERNMENT OR THINK THAT THEY CAUSED 9/11 OR WHATEVER. I ALSO DON'T HATE OUR ARMED FORCES OR THE MEN AND WOMEN THAT SERVE WITHIN THEM. I just thought it might make for an interesting conspiracy-theory-esque plot.
13.) Plot Hole #2: How did Freeman get a whole collection of scientists to one place while enemy mercenaries were patrolling the area?
14.) Joseph, Kate, Freeman, Barnes, Shephard the mercenaries, Matarus, etc. are mine. If you steal them I will be very ;-;
15.) Barnes is just a regular security guard, more or less, yet he's 55, 26 years older than Mandaiyar, and he's presumably more experienced. So why isn't he the head of security or at least a Heavy?
16.) This list is too long.
Note: The Artemis Fowl section will eventually be released. Not yet. Keep your pants on and keep checking the fanfic for updates.
Well, that's about it. Thank you for reading this story in its current UNFINISHED state. Please review! New chapters will come out eventually, but for the time being that might be slow, as I have school and that rarely leaves me much time, and I spend most of my free time playing video games, so…
Nevermind. Thanks for readin',
AnOddPerson.
