(A/N) Time for our Wednesday update, and the chapter that concludes our third round of chapters! This time, we see the more...brutal side to warfare, from the perspective of Agent Pennsylvania. As I'm sure you guys have realised, he tends to be quite...well, brutal. In case you haven't noticed, we have some incredible new artwork, provided by Jerem6401, Penn's writer, depicting Penn and Alaska and their rather troubled relationship. I think it's fitting that this piece coincides with this particular chapter. The full image can be found through this link - i57 . photobucket albums / g239 / Jerem6401 / collab1 _ zps792eb8d8 . jpg (just remove the spaces and add a dot com slash after the photobucket. FF and their restrictions are playing up yet again!)

Our previous 'fic image, by ARCtroop, has now become our profile image, the full link to both images can be found on our profile page.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter. I know I did!


Chapter Thirty – Hitmen

Agent Pennsylvania

Written by Jerem6401


"Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes" – Peter Drucker


"Target location within sight," Alaska reported. I walked up to the edge of the rooftop in which we stood and looked down over the city of New Delphi. Pillars of smoke were rising into a blackened sky dotted with exploding ships and glimmering shields. The building we stood upon was one of the tallest in the city, and now filled with downed insurrectionist soldiers. Most were unconscious… but letting all of them live just wasn't an option… or nearly as much fun. The building was right on the edge of the city, and exactly where intel suggested we'd find Colonel James Allen.

I put my hands on the edge and peered downwards, seeing a flat plaza in front of the building. In the centre was a mobile defence structure. Which is basically a bunker made of reinforced steel that you could drive to its location. Once it arrives, it roots itself into the ground until it needs to move out once again. They were slow as hell… so I wasn't nervous that the machine would start fleeing once our assault began.

"I count roughly thirty insurrectionist soldiers surrounding the bunker," Wyoming chimed in as he viewed the situation through his scope. "I would bet a pretty penny that our friend in somewhere inside."

"If Alaska's intel in correct, he will be," I stated. I was planning my attack on the group below, when my line of sight with it was broken. Alaska put his hand on my shoulder and pulled me back from the ledge. Not hard enough to make me lose my balance, but strong enough to make me face him. If anyone had done that to me at any other time in my life… they would have been praying for mercy within seconds. But Alaska was now one of my soldiers… my responsibility.

"My intel is correct," he snapped at me. "The look in that soldier's eyes when he told me where Allen was… trust me… he wasn't lying." I stared at Alaska a little longer before turning away from him. Not giving a damn if he expected a response or not.

"Wyoming," I began as I looked at the white armoured sniper, "you're going to stay up here and cover us while we take out the guards. You're also going to be taking the first shot on them, so take out as many as you can before we get down there… and make it count."

"Understood," he replied… like a good soldier should.

"So you made us fight our way up this entire building just to make our way back down to the bunker?" Alaska asked, getting more and more upset. I was also losing my patience with him. I looked him straight in the visor and then walked towards him. I was only inches in front of him, looking down on him.

"You're under my command right now, Alaska," I said sternly. "Learn your place and don't forget it."

"What are you going to do? Penalize me for not following orders? Seems like a pretty cocky move from someone with your record."

"And you're talking pretty high and mighty for someone who lost in a fight with Florida. And if you keep spitting attitude like this at me… you're going into that arena with me next." I stepped even closer so my visor was pressed against his. "And I don't care what it does to my rank… but I'll make sure there's a name missing from the list after it happens."

Alaska was silent for a moment, before reaching up and putting his hand across my helmet and shoving me away from him. I stumbled for a moment before regaining my balance and stepping back towards him. I smirked at his cockiness and looked over his shoulder, contemplating my response. I could've made it happen right there. Grabbed his throat and torn that bastard's head right off his shoulders. Thrown it to Wyoming like a basketball. But those words. The Director's words. They buzzed around in my head like a swarm of bees.

"Make me proud."

I shook my head slightly and turned towards the edge of the building. I looked back at Alaska and motioned him towards the edge.

"We're not taking the stairs," I replied. I stepped up onto the ledge and looked down at the plaza before me. I could hear Alaska gulp as I turned back to him. "Hope you're not afraid of heights, tough guy." Alaska shook his head and stepped up onto the ledge next to me. I knew he would never let me appear better than him. He wasn't going to let me win. He was so easy to understand… like he and I were the same person.

"Once you're all hooked up, start repelling down the building," Wyoming instructed, "I'll take the shot when you're almost at ground level. In the confusion, they should be easy enough to take down." I nodded and looked at Alaska. He was getting ready to hook up, as was I.

"Let's go, soldier!" I commanded, "we've got the drop on them." Suddenly a massive wind picked up behind us. We stumbled on the thin ledge as the sound of rotors filled the air around us. An insurrectionist falcon appeared from out of nowhere, with the pilot looking us straight in the eyes.

"Move move MOVE!" I yelled. I grabbed Alaska's shoulder and ripped him off the edge of the building. We tumbled off the side and started tearing through the air towards the ground. The falcon dove after us as the two gunners on the sides began to fire wildly towards on the building shattered to bits behind us as we fell, showering us in shards of glass that glittered in the air as we went.

I pulled out my assault rifle and aimed it towards the falcon, trying to line up a shot with the pilot. Then a stray bullet from the machinegun fire slammed into my rifle, ripping it from my hands. I watched it tumble upwards, seeing as I fell faster than it.

"What's the plan now?!" Alaska screamed through the radio as we fell. "We never hooked up, buddy!"

"No time!" I yelled back. "Wyoming, can you get a shot on this falcon? We're getting shot up down here!"

"Did you upgrade your armour?" he asked over the radio.

"What?"

"The reinforced gauntlets? Did you upgrade?!"

"Yeah, but I don't…"

"Cross your arms in front of your chest!" he yelled.

I looked at the falcon as the machineguns started to turn red from heat. The ground was getting closer, and the bullets were doing the same.

"Just do it!"

I crossed my arms in front of my chest and suddenly heard a massive crack fill the air. Wyoming's sniper bullet fired straight downwards and slammed into the reinforced armour on my gauntlets. It ricocheted perfectly to the side and tore straight through the glass of the cockpit, followed quickly by the pilot's head. The inside of the cockpit was suddenly covered in crimson as the pilot's head slammed down onto the controls in front of him. The falcon stopped descending as fast as us and began to spin. One of the gunners was thrown from the spinning vehicle and went hurdling towards the ground, while the other rode the falcon into the building, which then erupted into a massive fireball, dotted with shards of glass and broken steel.

I looked towards Alaska and saw that the sniper bullet had sped me up, and he was now falling further behind me. I looked down and saw a cable running from our building to the next. It was part of a massive communication line within the city. I reached out and grabbed it, snapping one end clean from its root. The other end held firm and I swung towards our building, smashing through a window and rolling across the floor.

I was in a room filled with massive machinery, used to power the building. I took some deep breaths, before my mind shot to Alaska, who had been falling right behind me.

Should I just let him fall? Slam into the ground so he'd be nothing more than a red smear on the pavement?

No.

I couldn't. Not with my rank on the line!

I immediately jumped to my feet and charged back towards the broken window. I dropped to the ground and skidded towards the window, grabbing a piece of the machinery that was rooted to the ground as I passed. I stretched my other hand out the window, reaching as far as I could. Time slowed down as Alaska started to reach my window. I watched as he dropped towards my hand. Out visors met, and there was a silent… but definite communication. I didn't even have to say anything, but he knew on the inside I was screaming "GRAB MY HAND!"

Alaska reached and his wrist fell perfectly into my grip. I held on as tightly as I could to the machinery as Alaska's full, terminal velocity, weight tried to rip my body in half. I remember screaming in pain as my torso stretched from the catch. My chest plate even snapped in the centre with an explosion of tiny fragments from my armour. I held on tightly, and I could feel Alaska doing the same.

I ripped my arm upwards and pulled Alaska into the room. He flew over me and skidded onto the floor as well. I breathed heavily for a moment, just taking a second to rest. Alaska was already pushing himself to his feet, so I naturally had to do the same. I got to my feet and walked towards him. He was brushing off his armour, and for some reason… even though I hated the guy… I reached out and put my hand on his shoulder.

"You still alive in there?" I asked. Alaska looked at his left arm, which had been the one that I caught. His shoulder had clearly been ripped from its socket and his arm was just hanging off of his body. He shook his head and looked towards the wall next to him. He wound up and slammed his shoulder into the wall, popping it back into place. He cringed for a second before rotating his arm a few times and nodding.

"I'll live," he replied. "So much for a stealthy entry. Now what's your plan? They know we're here, and you don't have your weapon anymore." I looked back towards the window and cracked my neck. "You're seriously considering taking on thirty soldiers… just me with a DMR… and you with nothing?"

"You still really don't know me, huh?" I asked. Alaska titled his head to the side and looked down at my hands as I clenched them into fists. "I live every second of my life with my favourite weapons." I walked towards the window and looked down at the guards. We were now only about five stories in the air. I hadn't realized how close the ground actually was. The soldiers were all looking towards our window and the destroyed falcon.

"I don't know, Pennsylvania," he said quietly. "I know I'm good… and though I hate to admit it… I know you're good, too. But are we this good?" I looked at each guard on the ground and then turned my head to look at Alaska.

"Impress me."

"There they are!" one of the guards screamed. "Take 'em down!" I put my hand up to my helmet and spoke into the radio.

"Wyoming," I began, "you ready?"

"How many do you want taken down?" he asked. There were about thirty of them down there.

"How many get you get in one shot?" I replied.

Suddenly the sniper shot rang out. I watched it tear through the first soldier's chest, then ricochet countless times off the ground and the metal bunker behind them. Sometimes it even bounced off of the weapons in their very hands. The group of soldiers was completely motionless after the bullet stopped bouncing. They looked at one another, contemplating what had just happened to them. Suddenly half of the soldiers grew blood stains on their chests and slowly dropped to the ground. There was still a silence as the insurrectionists stood in complete shock, until Wyoming's voice pierced the silence.

"How many was that?" he asked.

"GO!" I yelled. Alaska and I jumped from the window and down towards the remaining soldiers. I aimed my landing, and came down straight onto one of the insurrectionists, crushing his ribs in the process. I stood up and threw a punch into another soldier's head, sending an explosion of glass shards, blood, and dislodged teeth spraying from his visor. I felt the gun of another soldier press against the back of my head, right before Alaska slammed down on top of him. Alaska grabbed the man's DMR in one hand, and his own in another. He lifted them both and fired at the other insurrectionists, dropping five of them in seconds. His ability to wield two weapons at once so accurately still amazed me.

I suddenly heard the clicking of eight more weapons as the remaining soldiers stood in a circle around us, preparing to take us down. I looked at Alaska and reached out my hand.

"DMR!" I yelled.

He reacted quickly and tossed me one of his weapons. I grabbed it out of the air and jumped towards him. He and I threw our backs against each other and fired four shots each. All eight were direct headshots. The bodies started to drop, just as two more soldiers jumped from behind them with combat knives at the ready. They were going straight for Alaska, knowing he couldn't kill both of them fast enough with one weapon. A third soldier had his eyes on me and was charging in for the kill.

"DMR!" Alaska shouted.

I threw the DMR over my head, which Alaska snatched out of the air almost immediately. He ripped it downwards as he lifted his other DMR and fired both at the same time, tearing through both of the visors in front of him. The third soldier had just reached me, but with no weapon in my hands… I was at my most dangerous. I threw my hand out and grabbed the bottom of his helmet. He swung his knife at me, but couldn't find his target as I pushed his head backwards. I ripped him over my back, draping his body over my shoulders. With one swift motion I pulled down on his helmet and leg and snapped his spine across the top of my back.

I dropped his body to the ground and the world fell to silence. Alaska and I were standing in a sea of bodies… having achieved the seemingly impossible.

"Freeze punks!" someone abruptly shouted.

Alaska and I turned and saw a huge man standing in front of the bunker. He had chalk drawings of bullets covering his armour, and must've been almost eight feet in height. His armour was jet black and extremely thick, covering every inch of his body. He held a mini-gun in his hands which quickly began to spin up.

I crossed my arms in front of me and took the hailstorm of bullets into my reinforced gauntlets. They bounced in all directions as they sprang off the metal. Alaska ran up behind me, planting one foot onto my shoulder and spring-boarding off of my back. He fired both DMRs in the air, which didn't pierce the behemoth's armour.

He let go of the mini-gun with one hand and batted Alaska out of the air, making him slam into the concrete, cracking it and sending bits of rock in all directions. The giant wound up his mini-gun again and had it trained on Alaska. Suddenly a sniper round pierced the air and careened into the man's chest. He stepped backwards in pain and grabbed his wound. The behemoth followed the smoke trail back to Wyoming and was preparing to start firing on him.

Alaska pulled his DRM back up and fire two shots, both directly into the man's visor, cracking it. He reached up and put a hand on his face as tiny shards from his visor rained into his eyes. I ran towards him and shoved his mini-gun to the side, followed quickly by kicking him in the knee, snapping it to the side and making him drop to his other knee. His head was now the same height as my own, if not a little lower. I reached onto my chest and snapped off a grenade. I clicked the pin out and gripped it tightly in my fist. I threw my hand forward and smashed my fist through his visor, burying the grenade behind it. I pulled my hand back and kicked him in the chest, making him fall to his back, before his head exploded into a cascade of fire and blood.

It was beautiful.

The massive man's body convulsed for a second, before lying completely still on the ground.

The area around us was quiet once again, with nothing but the silent hum of the wind behind me. Alaska was getting to his feet, and Wyoming was beginning his call for evac. I turned towards the bunker and walked towards its entryway.

I wound up and forced my boot through the door, firing it into the darkness within. A man was sitting alone at a table in the centre of the room. He had white hair, neatly set on top of his head, and was outfitted with a stained black and red uniform. He had his hands folded together in front of him and was looking directly into my eyes. I stepped into the bunker and stood at the opposite end of the table. The man seemed completely unfazed by the war happening outside, or the fact that an enemy soldier was now breathing down his neck.

"James Allen, I presume," I said quietly.

"I suspect you're with the UNSC?" he asked. "Come here to try and stop the insurrection?"

"We're working with the UNSC. That's all you need to know."

"Is it?" He sat backwards and folded his arms. "I'm assuming you're here to kill me? So what's the bother with letting me know?" I slammed my hands onto the table, denting the metal.

"Project Freelancer!" I yelled. "If you have wires in this room relaying this… I hope they can hear me loud and clear. Our organization is completely unstoppable." I leaned closer to him, and I could see sweat starting to form on his forehead. "I'm… completely unstoppable." He smirked and closed his eyes.

"Yes…you're quite the soldier," he commented. "It's a shame really." I stood back up and turned around to look at the door. No sign of Alaska. Good.

"A shame?" I asked as I looked back. "What do you mean?" He stood up and motioned towards me.

"Look at you! You're a super soldier. I doubt there's anyone that could compare to someone of your expertise. No one ranked higher than you." I looked away as memories flooded my mind once again. My name highlighted in blue… with a horrible glowing number plastered next to it. James laughed a little and shook his head. "I knew it. They don't use you like they should. Appreciate the soldier you are. What you're capable of."

He walked around the table and stood directly next to me. He spoke softer… almost in a whisper. "Just imagine what you could be. What the insurrection... could make you."

"Penn!" Alaska yelled as he got to the doorway. "Quit beating him to death and…" Alaska froze when he saw us speaking and lowered his weapon. "He's still alive? C'mon, Penn! Evac is one its way!" James looked me in the visor and shook his head.

"Make your choice, Penn," he said quietly. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as the words penetrating my mind once again. I spoke softly and clenched my hand into a fist.

"I'll make you proud," I whispered, "I swear it!" I reached up with both arms and grabbed James's head. I ripped my arms in separate ways and the bunker was filled with the crack louder than Wyoming's sniper rounds. Alaska shuddered for a moment as James fell to the floor in front of me. I stared as his lifeless body for a moment, but his words… his words still had plenty of life within them. Then next thing I felt was Alaska's hand on my shoulder. I turned my head to look at him, remaining silent as I did.

"Nice work out there," he complimented. "I didn't think you could pull it off. So… I guess you proved me wrong. And I didn't mention it earlier but… thanks for the save coming down the building." My mind was alive with thoughts. I stepped out the door, forcing my shoulder past him as I went.

"What the insurrection could make you," echoed in my head over and over again. I looked back at Alaska one more time before making my way into the plaza for evac.

"I would've lost points if you died."