CHAPTER 21. THE HUNT FOR SCAR

Simba and his team rose from the water slowly, their weapons were pointed in all directions. Being deployed into the river was a great idea; they would silently follow it until it ran next to the palace. They swam quietly until they came across the bridge that crossed the river and led to the palace, two of Scar's soldiers patrolled it, on full alert now that there was a war happening down town. "Get down!" Simba whispered frantically and everyone dived under the water before they were spotted. The soldier peered over the edge and saw nothing in the murky water, so he stood against the edge with his back turned, in case there were any more odd noises.

Simba slowly emerged from the river and spoke into his water-proof radio; "Nala, there's two hostiles on the bridge...take out their eyes." Simba ordered. Nala was trailing far behind, giving them sniper cover. Nala received the order and aimed her M21 sniper rifle. She zoomed in on her first target and held her breath. Good night to you commie. She thought and pulled the trigger. The bullet struck the soldier between the eyes and fell over the edge of the bridge, dead. Simba reached up and caught him before he hit the water and made a loud splashing sound. "Tango down." Nala said into the radio. She then lined up the cross hairs over the head of the second man. Meanwhile the second man had noticed his partner had strangely disappeared and became alarmed. Nala fired again. POOF! The sound of the silenced rifle was quiet, yet deadly. The second man slumped dead onto the ground, with a bullet hole in his forehead.

"Okay, I got eyes on the bridge. The area is empty, you're clear to advance." Nala informed them. Simba and his squad made their way to the bank and started towards the palace on foot, and Nala followed close behind. They eventually came to the palace gates. A guard in the booth sat there, sleeping. "I got this one." EJ said and unsheathed his knife. He snuck up behind the sleeping guard and placed a hand over his mouth, so that no one could hear him scream. The guard woke and panicked for a second, but EJ's hand muffled out the noise, before the guard even knew what was happening he was on the floor with a slit neck, bleeding out. "Clear." EJ said and opened the gates. The nine of them carefully crept inside, but were forced to take cover when an armed truck approached. The truck drove straight past them and headed towards the front gate, the truck was then followed by around fifty infantrymen and two tanks. They were headed for the battle on the other side of town. Simba looked in the direction they had come from and saw that there were now only roughly fifteen soldiers guarding the palace entrance. He wanted to get them out of the way with the least amount of noise possible.

"So what's you're plan for getting past those guys?" Timon asked quietly. "Live bait." Simba answered, hinting at Timon's next job. "Good idea...hey!" Timon said angrily. "C'mon, I need you and Pumbaa to create a diversion so we can get in." Simba pleaded with him. Timon sighed and nodded in agreement. "Okay Pumbaa, time for some music." Timon said. He pulled out his iPod and played Buffalo Soldier by Bob Marley. He ran out into the open singing along.

Buffalo soldier, dreadlock rasta

There was a buffalo soldier in the heart of America

Stolen from Africa, brought to America

Fighting on arrival, fighting for survival.

Timon pretended to be drunk as he sung it, and the guards noticed him and shouted: "HEY YOU! GET DOWN ON THE GROUND NOW!" Timon didn't reply and kept singing. The soldiers then rushed up to him and forced him to the floor, then they confiscated his iPod and sidearm. There was now a clear path between Simba and the entrance, and he gave his squad the signal to move. "P-please don't kill me." Timon begged the guards. A voice suddenly rang out behind them. "Drop him!" Pumbaa demanded them. He stood there facing the fifteen soldiers with his M249 machine gun pointed at them. One of the soldiers giggled. "Who's the fat ass?" He chuckled. "You talkin' to me?" Pumbaa said in a voice that sounded a lot like Robert De Niro's.

"You shouldn't have said that." Timon murmured from the ground. "ARE YOU TALKING TO ME?...THAT'S MR. FAT-ASS TO YOU PUNK!" Pumbaa screamed and pulled the trigger of his machine gun. BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG! He fired a long burst from the mighty weapon and turned his insolent opponents into a steaming pile of mangled flesh. Timon got to his feet and sniffed the air. "I love the smell of Pumbaa in the morning." Timon exclaimed and winked at his best friend. "C'mon let's go find the others... we got us a dictator to catch." Timon said and led him into the palace.

Meanwhile on the 38th floor.

Simba and his team stormed through the corridors, silently killing any guard or soldier that happened to show himself. They finally reached the famed lounge and Scar's office; the same room had the balcony that overlooked the monument park. Simba poked his head around the corner and saw his mother being escorted to the balcony. He looked at the balcony, and Scar stood there, watching the battle unfolding down town. Scar turned around to face Sarabi, with a stern expression on his face. "What's happened to our negotiations with the UN?" He asked angrily. "They're not going to help us, they know you are responsible for war crimes." She said, not frightened by his tone. "You're just not trying hard enough, look what's happening because of you!" Scar pointed at the battle in the distance. "As chief political officer, it's my responsibility to tell you it's over. There's no chance they are going to help us. We have only one choice...we must return to democracy." She said. Scar looked at her, outraged. "We're going to do no such thing." He said firmly. "Then you're just leading the country to destruction." She said, disgusted. "Well then so be it." Scar said. "You can't do that!" She argued. "I can do whatever I want." He sneered. Sarabi then lost her cool.

"If you were half the leader Mufasa was..." She started but Scar cut her off. "I'M TEN TIMES THE LEADER MUFASA WAS!" He shouted and struck her in the face. Sarabi collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.

Simba had been watching the whole thing and was outraged by Scar's last action. He jumped out of his cover and fired a shot from his handgun into the air. His team was a little surprised by his reaction but followed him out. "EVERYONE DROP YOUR WEAPONS! GET DOWN WITH YOU HANDS UP NOW!" Private Jackson shouted, with his sub-machine gun pointed at enemy soldiers. They all complied and dropped to their knees with their hands behind their heads. Scar jumped back in fright, a very familiar man stormed towards him, with a very angry look on his face. "Mufasa...No you're dead." He said to himself, frightened out of his wits. Simba glared at the evil dictator and bent down to help his stunned mother, he placed a hand on her cheek and she opened her eyes. "Mufasa?" She whispered. Simba shook his head. "No, it's me...Simba." He said gently. "You're alive? How can that be?" She said, confused. Scar started to calm down, Simba was someone who he could deal with. "Simba, such a surprise to see you...alive." Scar said and glared at Shenzi, Banzai and Ed; who were among the soldiers held at gunpoint.

Simba cocked the M9 pistol and turned his attention back towards Scar. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't blow your brain out right now." He said threateningly. Scar felt the fear return to him as he advanced.