Episode 11 - The attack (Secrets unfold)
-- European airspace 22:06 pm --
Logan Karenina stepped forward to address the soldiers.
"Attention men! We are approximately 40 minutes from the LZ, our ground support will arrive until midnight, and I repeat we are on our own until midnight, which shouldn't be a problem because the enemy does not know we are here. We have the element of surprise, so let's keep it that way and use it! I have received confirmation from General Hendricks that our naval units have been deployed and should arrive at stronghold delta, to give supporting fire if needed." He walked down a narrow corridor seemingly unaffected by the turbulent shaking in the aircraft. At the end of the cargo hold sat Ken and Ryu who wore green camouflage suits. Karenina opened a crate and dug up two assault rifles and threw them in their direction.
"Catch!" Ryu and Ken caught the rifles and looked at Karenina with amazement.
"No one told us about guns?" Ken proclaimed with a bitter tone.
"We are at war Mr. Masters. It is for your own protection that I hand you the M4 Carbine. Treat it well and it will save your life." Karenina turned his back to them and continued to fumble around some crates.
"This must be pretty intense for a CIA agent?" Ken asked while smiling playfully, trying to steer up some reactions from the commanding officer.
"I am an ex marine Mr. Masters." Karenina said casually without much effort while searching the crates.
"Please call me Ken." Karenina smiled back to him.
"Aha!" The CIA agent exclaimed euphorically, surprising both Ken and Ryu.
"We can't go out without the heavy artillery." Karenina pulled out a light machine gun, and carried it to a marine.
"Jackson! For old time's sake!" Karenina gave him the machine gun.
"Hell yeah!" Jackson replied.
"You don't plan on a silent approach, do you?" Ken sat beside Karenina.
"Ken there is nothing that you have thought of that we haven't already gone through in our preparations, so there is no need to worry. However, we must be prepared for the grimmest scenario possible. I assure you that you can feel one hundred percent safe with my men, I have commanded this team for years prior to my CIA training, and we work as a single unit you can count on our formation being spot on in the battlefield."
"Mr. Karenina..." Ken objected.
"Please just Logan." He grinned.
"Logan, what about Chun-Li do we approach head on or get her out there first? I am sorry for asking too many questions but we weren't briefed properly in the first place." Karenina handed him some face paint.
"Put that on and when you're finished pass it on to the others. To get back to your question; I will take the decision when we locate the Shadowlaw military camp, and that is all you need to know." Karenina equipped his belt and grenades before going to the cockpit.
-- Shadowlaw Base, Barcelona 22:20 pm --
An officer who held a note in his hand rushed through the underground department; he stopped just before a door and fixed his posture before knocking. As the officer entered Bison's private quarters he stepped forward and saluted his commander.
"Sir! We have just intercepted a military comlink, which reveals a plan to attack our camps on Menorca. How should we proceed?" Bison stood up and walked behind his chair while looking through a window which revealed further facilities located underneath the streets of Barcelona.
"Let them attack and we will see how well they fair against our troops." Bison said calmly.
"But sir, are they even prepared for a full launch attack?" The officer asked.
"They will learn to adapt, furthermore I see this as an opportunity rather than a disadvantage. It will allow us to distract Interpol for a while. Let them think that they are in control while we upgrade our base to a full fletched headquarters. Have the turrets been assembled?" Bison turned to face the officer.
"Yes sir! They are being mounted as we speak."
"Excellent..." A cunning smile formed on his lips.
-- Mediterranean airspace, 22:48 pm --
Logan Karenina held a remote in his hand, he pushed a red button, forcing the rear hatch to slowly open.
"Has everyone got their parachutes on?" They all complied positively. Ryu gulped for a moment.
"I have never tried this before..." Ken clapped him reassuringly on the back.
"Just remember to deploy when he tells us to." Said Ken.
"I will guide you through the process, so don't worry. Does everyone hear me on their headsets, alright let's go go go!" Logan signaled to the squad to jump out one at a time, and when it was Ken's time Logan pulled him closer.
"I assume that you are not accustomed for situations like these!?" Logan said teasingly.
"Don't worry! I have skydived many times before. I think that this is going to be fun!" Ken replied.
"Haha! That's the spirit! Now get your ass out!" Logan pushed to Ken forcing him to jump out; the only one remaining was Ryu and Logan himself.
"Here goes nothing!" Ryu jumped out quickly followed by Logan. As they accelerated through the sky Logan started briefing the team.
"Everyone stick close to the formation! Our landing zone is at the beach, if anyone lands further off they have to rendezvous at stronghold delta where we will start the operation." Logan dived further ahead of the pack.
"On my mark, deploy now!" Everyone except Ryu deployed their parachutes.
"What the fuck! I am reading negative on Ryu's status?" Logan exclaimed.
"Ryu! Where are you!?" Ken yelled worryingly.
"I am right behind you Ken, I am falling faster my main won't deploy." Ryu flew past Ken's mark.
"Shit! Activate your goddamn reserve!" Logan looked behind him and noticed Ryu accelerating at a high speed, thankfully it was full moon that night, or he would not have been able to locate him.
"It's jammed I can't!" Ryu confirmed.
"Alright I'm coming to get you; I am releasing my main now!" Logan freed himself from his main parachute and brought his arms to his sides gaining speed while coming up behind Ryu who was spinning out of control in the air.
"Stabilize your condition Ryu! If I don't grab you now then it will be all over!" Logan furthered his advance and spotted his target. Ryu finally spread his arms out to avoid spinning, he felt a huge pain in his spine and thought it was all over until he noticed that Logan had collided into him and had wrapped his arms around him.
"I got you!" Logan pulled his reserve and it deployed successfully.
"Yiha!!! Woohoo!!" The others exclaimed euphorically.
"We won't be able to land at stronghold delta! We are accelerating at a high speed!" Logan and Ryu flew past the landing zone.
"We are passing over some dense vegetation I can see a guard tower at ten o'clock. We'll need to crash land! I am releasing the reserve, hold on to your butts!" Logan and Ryu disappeared among the tall trees.
"Ryu!" Ken exclaimed.
"Don't worry he is in good hands." Jackson reassured him.
In a huge canopy of a very tall tree hung both men, beaten and scared by the "soft" landing they both had undertaken. Ryu opened his eyes slightly and started to cough, these were indeed the first signs of life. He caught the organic smell of the forest and inhaled deeply to stabilize his pulse, and it helped. Logan shook his head in amazement.
"I think we are the only ones who didn't make it to the beach." He rubbed his forehead in and found a few scars, blood was trailing down his fingertips, but it was nothing severe. Ryu tore off a piece of cloth from his uniform and offered it to Logan so he could tie around his head to stop the bleeding.
"Thanks." Logan accepted and folded it in a bandana wrapping it around his head.
"Logan I am in your debt, you saved my life." Ryu bowed respectfully to Logan who looked at him surprised.
"It was nothing, don't mention it." He smirked to Ryu.
"I will never forget it." Ryu replied.
"It's my job to look after my team." Logan looked down at what seemed to be a labyrinth of branches that obscured his view completely.
"Heh! At least we didn't blow our cover." He said amused and reached for his microphone, he noticed it was gone.
"Damn it, Ryu do you still have your headset?" Ryu looked for it but it was nowhere to be seen. Logan pulled out a compass and a map and started to pinpoint their position, meanwhile the rest of the team had safely landed on the beach.
"Alright everyone we have no contact with Logan or Ryu so we will continue as planned. We will wait for a green light by General Hendricks so stay put, if anyone needs to take a leak then now is the time." Jackson who was second in command established a comlink to higher authorities.
"So we are just going to forget about them?" Ken asked around the team, it became apparent that the consensus had been established that both Logan and Ryu were probably safe.
Meanwhile…
-- Unknown mansion in the outskirts of Barcelona, 23:02 pm --
Her slender legs treaded carefully in the dark, she could feel the pleasant carpet underneath her bare feet as she calculative made her way down the stairs in the huge mansion in an attempt to find out more about it, she sneaked around with precision while only wearing her short pink nightgown. She heard footsteps coming from behind her, so she quickly hid in a dark corner and observed. Vega cam her way holding a glass in his one hand and a bottle of whisky in the other, her eyes followed him to the nearby kitchen where he put the bottle away in a cupboard and rinsed the glass clean in the sink, he then took a kitchen cloth and carefully ran it across the cabinet making sure there were no drops of water present. She narrowed her eyes sensing he was about to do something, she had studied his body language and knew that he was not the sleepy type. She observed him walk to his room, she then followed him and hid in another corner observing his reflection in the huge mirror located in his room; luckily the door to his room was half open making it easy for her to observe him. He sighed for a moment and came closer to the mirror and took a cloth out of his pocket and whipped a spot clean before taking off his silk shirt and throwing it on his canopy bed. Chun-Li could see that the wound he had inflicted on himself was not healing well, and she would find out soon enough why this was the case, as Vega put his hand on his chest and began to trail his fingers on the scars forcing them to reopen. Chun-Li gasped for a moment at the sight, he slowly removed his bloodstained fingers and began licking them clean. He then found a bandage and proceeded to wrap it around his chest and wide back, it then struck Chun-Li how conditioned he was. She had never seen such proportions and vascular display, she could now understand why Vega easily could overpower her physically, and suddenly Vega looked over his shoulder almost sensing that someone was spying on him, but it seemed that he had left that thought as he began to pull his traditional pants down revealing a totally naked body. Chun-Li's eyes widened and she did her best to look away, but somehow found herself drawn to the sight and continued to look even though she hated herself for doing so. Vega found a pair of silk long pajamas pants and put them on, before pulling something new out of the cupboard, this time something that belonged to her, her missing underwear. He held her panties near his face and took a deep breath, a smile formed on his lips as he pressed them against his cheek while closing his eyes. Chun-Li could not believe her own eyes, he treated her underwear as a treasure, she found the thought both revolting yet interesting at the same time, she parted her lips slightly and breathed out, she had held her breath and her heart had begun to race. Vega sat on the edge of the bed and looked at a picture of his mother, his expression changed into a troubled one. Chun-Li could not understand her own reaction to this. What was making her feel warmth for this man? She did not dare to ask such a question, but still her eyes did not stray from him. She observed him with passion instead of contempt, he was still the same man she had met for so many years ago, an aura filled his presence, it was enticing and heartbreaking because he was one of her worst enemies, one that nearly killed her, and yet she found herself lost in the memories she had of him when they met for the first time. She sometimes asked herself the question; what would have happened if she had gone to a date with him eight years ago? How would her life have developed past that hypothetical point? These "stupid" questions filled her with grief and she sank to the floor, looking away now. She was alone and empty, unable to bind herself to any man from fear of what could happen, she could not let herself enjoy life, despite being a full blooded woman she had never experienced intimacy with a man, a result of her cultural background and from high standards that she was taught as a child. Yet when she thought about it, it became apparent to her that the only man who ever kissed her romantically was indeed Vega. He did not fear her strength or vulnerability. What would happen to her? How much time on earth did she have left? It all felt useless to her. There were no plans left, but only the urge to feel, to be a part of something, to be sensual for a change. What remained was what would come eventually, and she realized that she would have no control over it; she stood up again and whipped the tears from her eyes. `How dare you! ´ She thought. `What do you think I am some girl you can hurt and use whenever you want to?´ But to her misfortune she had shared her thoughts audibly, her emotions were too powerful too keep hidden. Vega spotted her in a fraction of a second and slowly turned on the lights in the corridor revealing her position to him. His expression was surprisingly calm; he looked her in the eyes as if he could see inside of her.
"Are you lost lovely one?" He formed a playful smirk and came closer.
"Stay away from me!" She put her hands in front of him, blocking his attempt to get closer.
"It seems that you have difficulties staying away from me." He countered with a smile that could ruin her day.
"I was getting thirsty so I went down to..." Vega took a hold of her hand and led her to the kitchen.
"What do you wish for?" He asked politely.
"Water..."
"Of course." He fetched her a glass of water and watched her drink out of it. She was about to place the glass on a table nearby but hesitated. Instead she rinsed the glass and placed it in a cupboard; she turned around and gave him an inquisitive smile while leaning against the cabinet.
"So well mannered, and disciplined. So very hard to find the days." Vega seemed amazed.
"I will be heading back to my room now." She made her way to the stairs.
"Goodnight, beautiful one." Vega bowed respectfully.
"Goodnight." She gave him a reassuring nod before heading up.
-- Menorca, 23:48 pm --
Ryu and Logan were running across the forest and stopped for a moment to catch their breaths.
"How far are we away from the team?" Ryu asked.
"We should catch up to them real soon." Logan heard a noise and crouched down pulling Ryu down with him.
"Did you hear that?" Logan whispered, and went into prone he moved closer to nearby brush and looked through his binoculars. He signaled to Ryu to get behind him.
"We got contact; I see a patrol of four they are moving six hundred feet away from us."
"What should we do?" Ryu asked.
"Nothing, we just let them pass, we don't want to alert them or make too much noise. No doubt these are Shadowlaw troops. In fact let's follow them; they might lead us to the camp." Logan led the way and they stealthily kept moving behind the patrolling enemy soldiers. They headed into a clearing which revealed the camp, Logan and Ryu hid behind a tree while contemplating their next move.
"We still have time to rendezvous with the team. The moonlight will help us make our presence notable." Logan took a small mirror and started to reflect light with it, while waiting for a confirmation signal.
"What are we looking for?" Ryu asked.
"Three quick flashes, keep your eyes open at all time. I'll get to some higher ground, while you stay here." Logan proceeded to sneak about. Not long after Ryu was surrounded by soldiers, as one of them came closer Ryu swung his leg to attack.
"It's me!" Ken whispered.
"Ken? I am sorry I didn't recognize you. I'm so glad to see you." Ryu said relieved.
"Likewise buddy." They locked hands with each other.
"Where is Logan?" Ken asked.
"He was here just a moment ago; he decided to seek higher ground. I guess he was expecting to spot you guys." Ryu said.
"And I did..." Logan revealed himself behind some vegetation.
"Where were you guys? You are 2 minutes late." Logan said with a cocky tone.
"Give us a break." Jackson said amused.
"I guess you did okay." Logan grinned and proceeded to brief them.
-- Shadowlaw base, Barcelona 0:38 --
"We hare recieved confirmation that they have arrived sir." An officer approached Bison.
"Excellent, inform our sweeper team to be ready." A manic grin appeared on his lips.
-- Shadowlaw camp, Menorca 0:48 --
Logan scanned the area with his night vision goggles.
"They seem to be unaware of our presence..." He commented.
"What about Chun-Li?" Ken asked with much anticipation in his tone.
"It's difficult..." Logan replied casually.
"What?" Why?"
"Because there are no interrogation tents or a places where they could hold hostages. It is most unlikely that she is here... I am sorry Ken." He gave Ken a sympathetic look.
"But we need..." Logan interrupted Ken.
"We need to strike, this might be our only chance while they are asleep with only few guarding the camp, and this will be a walk in the park. Jackson you stay here and cover our asses with the heavy artillery." Jackson swiftly positioned his gun on fallen tree and looked through his sight. "Lambert be ready with that claymore we will plant it in the center of the camp." Lambert pulled out his backpack and found his detonators. "Fisher take out the peripheral guard posts, the rest follow me." Sgt. Lambert made his way into the heart of the camp while Sgt. Fisher climbed a tree positioning his sniper rifle.
"Whatever happens just stay behind me. Is that understood?" Logan told Ken and Ryu.
"I got clear visual here." Fisher reported.
"Lambert report?"
"I am near the fireplace I must take another route to avoid hostiles."
"That is a negative. I got two hostiles to your right coming in approximately 300 feet away from you, take the path left." Fisher responded.
"Thanks bro."
"No problem." Fisher proceeded to skillfully take out the guards at their posts.
"Last tango down" Fisher confirmed. Logan and the rest of the team went around the camp and positioned themselves.
"Claymore planted, getting back to position." Lambert confirmed.
"Everyone wait on my mark, now we only need the guards to trip over the claymore..." Logan reloaded his assault rifle. A patrolling guard noticed something suspicious and moved closer to investigate, as he tripped on the wire connected to the claymore the explosion tore his body into pieces. Conveniently located near the explosion were barrels full of gas which went off setting the entire camp on fire. Soldiers came out of their tents and were greeted with rapid fire.
"I'm reloading cover me!" Logan kneeled down while replacing his clip while troops were making their way out of the fire zone which spread among many tents. Ken looked in desperation as he saw individuals burn up and guttural screams emit from the soldiers gunned down by Logan's squad.
"This is wrong.... Something is wrong!" Ken exclaimed and shook Ryu who was taking cover behind Logan.
"What's wrong Ken?" Ryu asked.
"Don't you see that these soldiers aren't firing back at us?" Ryu's eyes widened to this conclusion, but it was too late Logan's team had silenced the entire camp. The two watched as Logan led his men deeper into camp, shooting survivors on the ground. A shadowy figure emerged out of the smoke and with hands pointing towards the sky.
"Me rindo no disparar!" Ken ran towards the individual, but Logan had already taken an aim and fired one shot which pierced through the body of the person. As Ken approached the fallen body he collapsed to his knees.
"No!!" His powerful scream echoed throughout the forest. The rest of the team gathered around him. As they drew their flashlights they found the body of a young teenager. Ken looked at his blood soaked hands from trying to revive the kid, but to no avail.
"Damn that kid can't be older than my son at home..." Lambert said.'
"How old is he?" Another marine asked.
"My son? He's 16 years old." Upon inspection they concluded that the camp was a training station for future soldiers, meaning they had killed off an entire camp of children.
"My god! How could this happen!?" Ken buried his face into his palms, unable to comprehend what had happened before his own eyes. Ryu just stood paralyzed for a moment unable to react, he seemed to have something to say, but something was preventing him from doing so.
"Goddamn it! These weren't soldiers!" Fisher spat.
"What have we done..." Jackson who came in last threw his gun to the ground.
"It had to be done..." Logan spit and reloaded his rifle and threw it over his shoulder.
"Did you know about this!?" Ken asked with fury and was met with a passive reaction.
"Sir, I believe he asked you a question?" Lambert shrugged and looked at Logan for an answer.
"The general told me that there was a chance that the camp was of minor concern, but it had to be dealt with. These kids would have matured into full fledged Shadowlaw combat soldiers." Ken stood up and punched Logan in the face forcing him to take a couple of steps back.
"You knew this!" Ken was about to draw another punch, but Ryu blocked his fist just in time it hit Logan.
"We can't fight amongst ourselves." He said with a deep voice.
"Ryu can't you see that we have killed innocent children for god's sake they were just children." Ken's eyes watered.
"You didn't do anything! We did all the dirty work! Now shut the fuck up and let us real soldiers complete our assignment!" Logan was enraged and looked at his team who were not meeting him with the enthusiasm he had expected. There was a short silence.
"For the love of god let's get this fucking done." Logan pulled out his radio and contacted General Hendricks.
"You were shooting at unarmed kids!" Ken countered.
"Shut it already!" Logan eyeballed him.
"Sir, mission complete all potential hostiles have been eliminated, proceeding to extraction point. Aha… Oh… I understand… Will do sir." Logan turned off the radio.
"Listen up we need to hurry! Satellite footage show hostile forces nearing our position we are heavily outnumbered and low on ammo so I suggest we get moving people!" The crew started moving, only Ken and Ryu stayed behind.
"Ken we need to go." Ryu reasoned, Ken only shook with his head.
"I know how you feel, but we must deal with it afterwards. Please Ken..." Ken stood up and looked down on the blood soaked soil.
"Someone is going to pay for this." Ken and Ryu started walking and upped his paste to catch up with the others. They could hear voices behind them and shots being fired. They moved quickly but came to a dead end, before them stood a massive waterfall which poured into a lake.
"Let's move!" Logan jumped in and swam across to the other end just underneath the waterfall.
"There is a passage behind the waterfall!" The others quickly followed; Shadowlaw troops surrounded the lake and started to fire rapidly. Bullets penetrated through the surface of the water obscuring the path for the squad.
"Ah shit! I can't swim with this thing." Fisher unequipped his heavy sniper rifle, amidst the rapid firing a bullet went through his back rendering him unable to continue to swim until another set of bullets finally sealed his fate.
"Fisher! No!" Jackson swam back to get to Fisher who was now floating on the surface, ignoring the cries of his friends telling him to do otherwise. As he reached Fisher's body he too was shot, a quick hit to the head was all that it took.
"You sons of bitches!" Logan activated the mounted grenade launcher on his rifle and proceeded to provide supporting fire for the rest of the men who were struggling to swim across the lake. Ken and Ryu decided to dive so that they would go unnoticed and it worked, others were less fortunate. The path through the waterfall lead to the beach as they arrived they were greeted by a friendly group showing them the way to the boats. Lambert planted additional claymore at the waterfall entrance and ran to the beach before getting hit in the heart by a sniper on the other far side of the lake. In his hand Lambert held a remote control detonator.
"Lambert, hold on!" Logan returned to Lambert, but saw that he was dying he quickly took the remote detonator from Lambert's corpse and ran back to the boats. As they took off they saw hundreds of Shadowlaw soldiers enter the beach in which point Logan activated the Claymore and cut them off by closing the waterfall entrance.
"Karenina, requesting air support!" Logan contacted the warship they were moving towards.
"Request accepted, stay clear of the beach we have a predator missile ready for deployment." Ken and Ryu watched as the entire beach section was annihilated.
-- Unknown mansion in the outskirts of Barcelona, 04.08 am --
She sat on the edge of her bed and sobbed before hearing someone knock on the door. Vega entered and made his way to the bed, taking a seat by her side.
"I know..." He said soothingly, she frowned and took a step towards him.
"You don't know!" She fired back.
"I know what you have been through, but the beauty of your soul has not diminished lovely one. You have been strong and it shows. You are confused because no one knows you, the true you... But I can make the pain go away." She turned her back to him.
"You are my angel, everyone else is just a pure mortal compared to you. But I know that without me, you wouldn't be you. I have changed your life my love." She slapped him across the face, he remained calm and guided her hand to his face and placed rubbing it gently against her hand, she shook as tears escaped her beautiful eyes.
"You need someone who can hold you..." He carefully pulled her closer and wrapped his muscular arms around her waist before pulling her completely into his embrace. Her body was numb in that moment his body was warm and comfortable she pushed herself away to look him in the eyes, but found herself pulling closer for a kiss. Their lips met tenderly, he could feel that she was inexperienced so he helped her to relax, he deepened the kiss and felt her breasts against his muscular chest, and he could feel her heart racing together with his own. He carefully lifted her up and carried her into the bedroom; he gently lowered her onto the bed and lay beside her, only smiling to her. He could see that she was shy and uncomfortable, so he came closer and caressed her face; she had never felt hands that were as soft as his.
"Please, be gentle I..." She said with a trembling voice. His eyes lit up as he positioned himself above her with his strong arms supporting his weight, she felt as if he was floating above her. She closed her eyes and let him kiss her tenderly, after a while she had expected him to make the next move but to her surprise he only looked at her and lowered his head and rested his cheek against hers.
"You amaze me more than you could know." He lay beside her and held her hand.
"I am not going to take advantage of you beautiful Chun-Li. You can sleep knowing that you are safe by my side." She closed her eyes while he turned off the light. She could hear his calm breathing it was the first time in her life that she was comfortable with the thought of giving in to her desires. She did not know how much time she had left to live, so she took a chance and ran with it. She suddenly opened her eyes and looked around but found no Vega beside her, her heart was racing but in that moment she understood... It was only a dream.
A/N: On the next exciting episode of Street Fighter II – Deep Core Crisis. The events that shook the island of Menorca have started a chain reaction. Now no one is safe from the Shadowlaw menace. What can Cammy and Guile find out about the organization and its roots in Barcelona, and will Chun-Li finally be able to confront her demons by challenging Vega? Find out on the next episode. GONNA BURN SOME MUSCLE!
I apologize for the long wait. I hope that this chapter has redeemed the long waiting. Please let me know how you feel about the story. An update is coming very soon.