(A/N) Hey guys, sorry about the late update, the internet on my computer went two days ago which is why I have about a dozen PMs that need answering to and am horribly behind on things. However, I'm back in college now, so I have access to a computer outside of home, and hopefully the internet at home will be fixed soon. But regardless, I will persevere, and I'm doing this by getting this update up and getting my PMs answered! Anyway, hopefully this chapter will make up for the delay, and here we have Virginia leading Sota, Massa and Wyoming as they begin the hunt of Byzantium!

Also, I'm sad to say that it appears that ParabolaOfMystery will no longer be writing with us, at least, not for the forseeable future, so I'm forced to annouce that we'll be recasting the writer of Agent Carolina. So for anyone interested in writing for her and taking part in this collaboration, please PM me for more details and I'll get back to you as soon as possible! What we'll proabably end up doing is send out prompts and ask writers to write on them, then go with the person we think would best capture the aspects of the character that we're looking for. Thanks to all applicants in advance!

Enjoy!


Chapter Ninety - On the Hunt

Agent Minnesota

Written by XxXshadowkitsuXxX


"I will hunt the deadliest game of all - Man."— Rainier Wolfcastle, The Simpsons


We trekked through the difficult environment as we hunted down the rest of the Insurrectionist forces. The swamp was definitely not on our side. Our armour sank pretty deep as we moved around. To make things worse, Wyoming and I stuck out like sore thumbs as against all the brown and occasional green. I had been paired with him while Virginia and Massa were a short distance away, scouting around. My sniper rifle was held loosely in my hands as we began the hunt.

Not exactly the Director's finest plan, sending them down to an Insurrectionist infested area with the sole purpose of "rooting them out", but I kept my complaints to myself. We had a job to do, and I fully intended on completing this task. After all, now that we had the remaining Innies pinned down on this planet, Byzantium, we Freelancers knew all too well how close they were at ending this wore.

If I could fire the bullet that would win this for us, then I would do so without hesitation.

"How are you boys holding up over there?" Massa asked over our radio.

I took a step forward but my leg refused to follow and fell face-first into the mud. Wyoming chuckled at my misfortune as he helped me back up.

"Just fine, just getting use to the terrain is all," he answered her in his almost comical British accent.

I wiped off the annoying brown mess off my armour and visor as best I could. Wyoming handed me my rifle, his own on his back with a pistol in hand. I gave him a nod of thanks as we continued on. Wyoming had been quiet most of the mission except for the occasional reply on the radio or a laugh, mainly at me. We kept up our silence as I followed him up an embankment onto actual land instead of the muck of the swamp. He knelt down and studied the ground. I could see what he was looking at as he lightly brushed his hand over it.

"Tire tracks. They can't be too far, they're still fresh," he said, his voice turning grim and serious.

As if to answer him, gunfire rang out down the trail. Our radios crackled to life.

"We've run into a patrol and they've got us pinned down. I need you to flank them for us," Virginia ordered.

"We're on our way," the white Freelancer replied as he nodded to the road. "Come on, it's rude to keep a lady waiting."

I followed him as we moved. A few minutes later, we spotted them. Four Innie soldiers were firing at a pair of trees which I assumed shielded Virginia and Massa. Three of them were on the ground while one of them was firing away from a Warthog turret. Wyoming and I crept as close as we could without being seen.

He pulled off his rifle. "I'll take the one on the turret. You take down the others."

I nodded and looked down my scope. The closest one was wielding a SMG and unloading it into the tree. I lined up my crosshairs with his face and waited.

"On your mark," Wyoming said.

I squeezed the trigger, the round finding its mark just before Wyoming's found his. Their bodies dropped and the two remaining soldiers jumped. Realizing they weren't going to win, they bolted and took off into the swamp. I was about to take off after them when Wyoming shook his head.

"Let them go. We don't want to get lost out here," he told me, and I nodded slowly, realising that his advice was sound. After all, they knew the terrain better than we did. I, for one, wouldn't like to imagine getting separated out there, trapped in muddy water up to my chest, Innies surrounding me.

Virginia and Massa joined us on the road as they climbed up the slope. I looked over at the surviving vehicle, an idea coming to mind as I walked to towards it.

Virginia noticed my movement, and turned to the warthog herself. "We might be able to follow the trail back to their base."

"That's not my plan," I replied almost brusquely, not looking back at her.

"Don't destroy it. The explosion will give away our position," she said.

I climbed in and lay down in the seat, putting my head under the steering wheel. "Still wrong."

"Then what the hell are you doing?" she asked as all three came over to see.

I pulled out my knife and pried open the panel underneath, exposing the brightly coloured wires. Slicing through them, I pealed off the protective coating. Grasping them firmly in my hands, I waited as my enhancement kicked in, the Director obviously realising my intentions and establishing a connection from the MoI. The vehicle groaned as the energy drained out of it. As the last of the sparks left the metal husk of machine, I climbed back out. My armour crackled slightly with the excess energy, sparks being issued from the wiring.

"Not bad, but we've got to hurry. Those two are bound to have alerted them to our presence." Virginia murmured as she turned away and began to head down the road.

Not wasting time, the rest of us followed. Virginia and Massa stayed on one side while Wyoming and I stayed on the other. We hurried down the road before we were spotted again. We just came around a turn when I heard motors.

Wyoming pulled me behind a tree as we waited. Soon, two more Warthogs drove by along with a mongoose and a handful of soldiers. For them to have gotten here that quickly, their hideout couldn't be much farther. The four of us ignored the ones that had gone by and continued on, hunkered down as we sought to avoid detection. I brought up the rear, eyes peeled, just in case the reinforcements decided to drive by again. I felt someone tap my shoulder and turned to find Wyoming pointing forwards, his visor hiding his expression.

"So what now?" I asked, as we looked out on the large group of Innies gathered only feet away from us in a large clearing, chatting amicably among themselves with no knowledge of our presence.

Virginia watched the Innies wander about as she calculated a plan. More Warthogs pulled in with extra soldiers, the group of enemies growing larger and larger with every passing minute. The longer we waited, the more the odds were against us. A Hornet flew overhead, the dust it kicked up providing some extra cover, coming to land near the troops, making use of the lack of tree cover in this area.

"How long would it take to bring our suits back online once they're drained?" she asked curiously, clearing formulating a plan.

"As long as the essential process in the helmet remain online, it could be anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes." I answered quickly, smiling beneath my helmet as I began to suspect what her plan entailed.

I felt all three of them turn and stare at me. "I know more about technology than I let on."

"Remind me to keep you away from Georgia," Virginia muttered, shaking her head slowly. "Here's the plan. Sota, I want you to drain our armour until all that's left is the bare minimum. That should give you enough energy to cause them some trouble. First, make your way to that Hornet and make sure it doesn't get off the ground. After that, hold them off for as long as you can. Think you can fuck their shit up long enough until our armour comes back on?"

I smirked. "Of course."

One by one, I drained as much of their suits' power as I could without shutting them down. My own crackled from the excess energy. Readying my SMGs, I charged towards the camp, having exchanged my sniper rifle for a battle rifle.

To say they were surprised was an understatement.

They scrambled around for their weapons as I mowed them down. The Hornet's propellers kicked in as it tried to get off the ground but before it had the chance I jumped on the nose and sprayed the pilot before tossing a grenade inside. Bullets pelted into the ground around me as the vehicle next to me exploded. I turned and emptied the remainder of my clips into my attackers, but I had miscalculated their numbers and my own abilities, and I was beginning to regret volunteering for this course of action.

Suddenly, but not surprisingly, it started raining bullets, causing me to sprint towards the nearest Warthog, using it momentarily to provide cover. I stabbed the side of one and drained every ounce of power it had before moving to the next. Using the lifeless machines as cover, I switched back to my sniper rifle my sniper rifle, not wasting a single shot as I fired at the mass of Insurrectionists in front of me. Just I reached the last Hog, more rifle shots echoed around me.

"Sorry about the wait chap. Did we miss anything?" the Brit asked as he pulled up next to me, and I could tell that he was grinning beneath his helmet.

"Nope, looks like it's just getting started." I grinned back, before I turned and fired at another soldier.

With more Freelancers to deal with, they started to get scared. Several bolted and left the others behind while the rest fought fearlessly for their cause. The numbers were beginning to turn in our favour when roar of propellers descended on us, three Hornets appearing in the sky and the roar of vehicles coming from down the road towards our location indicated that we had bitten off more than we could chew/. Their reinforcements soon turned the tide back to their favour and we became pinned down behind the useless Hogs I had drained, but that cover didn't last long as it was turned to swiss cheese beneath the storm of bullets.

"Fall back, there's too many. Massa, give us a distraction." Virginia ordered.

She put away her rifle and I winced slightly, knowing what was coming. Obviously I couldn't hear her enhancement, thanks to the sound dampeners in my armour, but I watched as the Innies collapsed to the ground in pain. The Hornets tried to pull away with some success. One remained hovering while the other two unlucky ones crashed into the ground.

"Move!"

We took off running. Any remaining troops tried to follow us but were in too much pain to keep track of us. The swamp we had been in gave way to more rocky terrain. Soon, a large cavern of some kind caught my attention.

"Guys, over hear!" I called out and ducked inside.

The others hurried inside just as a pair of Hornets flew overhead, their rotors stirring the trees around us. I leaned against the cave wall and let out a sigh of relief. Wyoming gave me a pat on the shoulder.

"Nice job back there chap. To be honest, I didn't think you could hold them off on your own. I'm impressed."

"What is this place?" Massa asked from further in the cave, something clearly having piqued her interest.

The rest of us followed deeper. Glyphs and symbols decorated the walls, and I began to notice the uniformity of the cave that we were in, and I realised that we were, in fact, in a tunnel, not a cave, and not man-made one at that. The walls and ceiling were too perfect, and the odd blue light that shone throughout the tunnel came from no visible source. No human civilisation had ever created something like this.

"Looks like some kinda temple." I said warily, my sniper rifle clutched firmly in my hands.

"Only one way to find out," Virginia replied. "Let's check it out."