"Hold up." Jay says. "Did that guy say 'President'?" We're all taken aback by the radio interception.
"That must be this 'package' they stole from Air Force One." Sarah and Faye say at almost the same time. Our first mission in D.C. just went from a simple snatch and grab to a principal level hostage rescue.
"Sounds like it's time to go 'Taken' on these assholes!" I declare, sliding a fresh magazine into my M16.
"Not so fast, Rambo." Jay replies, deflating me rather quickly. "We don't know where he is, or how many Hyenas are between us and him. Ellis could be in the next room at gunpoint for all we know."
Sarah moves to the massive vault door in front of us.
"Then let's stop dawdling and get in there." She says, tapping an override code into the keypad. The large wheel on the door starts to spin, then the door itself slowly opens, revealing several pallets overflowing with stacks of dollar bills ranging from ones to hundreds.
"Too bad these aren't worth jack anymore." Sarah says as we walk in. Faye eyes her and the pallets nervously.
"I think we should be more concerned about the possibility of contamination." She says seriously.
"We've all been vaccinated." My friend points out. "Besides, ISAC? Got a scan?"
*ROOM TESTS NEGATIVE FOR VIRAL CONTAMINATION* Our AI companion chirps. Sarah flashes Faye a "Told you so." look and receives a glare in response.
"Agents." Says Manny over the comm. "You'll need to tap into the bank's security system to find the President. Have ISAC do a search."
Faye reaches the computer first, in a loft room inside the vault.
*BEGINNING SEARCH QUERY: ELLIS, ANDREW* ISAC announces.
*WARNING: HOSTILE FORCES APPROACHING*
*HEAVILY ARMORED HOSTILE DETECTED*
"Uh oh." Is all I can manage after a moment of silence. We all move to different areas of the room. Sarah takes the middle, taking aim at the vault door. Faye goes to the top of the stairs we came up, and I follow Jay to the right.
A pulse of orange light suddenly fills the room, painting the Hyenas red even through their smoke screen. Then, several whirring sounds come from Faye's location. Moments later, a number of explosions ring out, killing some of the Hyenas and injuring more.
"Why do you guys get all the fun toys?" The guardsman at my side pouts over the gunfire, looking down at her worn M16.
"Because we're Agents." I reply cheekily, reaching for my own gadget. "Here."
"What's this?"
"My new drone!"
As I say the word, the drone's four rotors unfold and start to spin. It lifts out of Kelly's hands and hovers above us.
"Pick one!" I call over a long burst from Sarah. I hold my Watch out for Kelly to see as it displays a small 3D map of the room with all of the marked hostiles. She taps one and the drone flies away, opening up on a Hyena running towards us and blasting him to pieces.
"I...am….GOD!" Kelly shouts maniacally, tapping on another target, the hulking tank of a man the Hyenas refer to as 'Roach'. His heavy armor deflects most of the incoming rounds but the drone slowly begins to chew into it.
After another machine gun burst, I peek over our cover to see a Hyena standing in the middle of the room, screaming at the sight of his now missing arm.
"I hope that wasn't your jerking off arm!" Sarah shouts, before firing again to finish him off. With most of the room now empty, only Roach remains.
*SEARCH COMPLETE. SUBJECT: PRESIDENT ELLIS, ANDREW... LOCATED*
"Well that was easy." Kelly says.
"Not easy yet!" Faye replies. "There's still this guy to deal with!"
"Reloading!" Sarah calls out, the barrel of her SAW giving off a faint red glow. "Who is this dude? War Machine?!"
"Eh…" I shout back. "I would've gone with Iron Man, but that works too!"
"Less talking more shooting, Agents!" Faye yells, silencing us as Roach closes in on her. Faye dives into the room near Sarah, narrowly missing his massive machine gun. Sarah redirects hers, opening up on the colossal mass of armor. Suddenly, the chest piece shears off making Roach stagger and look down in horror at his deteriorating suit. Kelly pops out and squeezes off several bursts that all hit center mass. Roach falls to his knees, then onto his face, lifeless.
Sarah stands and wipes several beads of sweat from her face.
"Man…" She says between breaths. "It is good to be back!"
Kelly approaches the body, tapping Roach's shoulder with her boot.
"Ey!" She says with a New York sounding accent, pointing her rifle at him.
"ISAC." Says Manny. "Find a way out of the vault."
*SEARCHING FOR: A WAY OUT OF THE VAULT… NO MATCHES*
"Piece of shit wristwatch." Manny grumbles. "Okay, Agents. There's a maintenance shaft here that leads to Ellis' location."
Our Watches point us to a wall on the other side of the vault.
"It's a long shot, but from where I'm sitting, it's the only way forward. You'll have to blast your way through. I'll disable any alarms."
"I don't think Tony would join up with the Hyenas." Sarah says cheekily as we leave the room.
"Are you done?" Faye asks with growing frustration.
"Hold on…" My companion stops for a moment. "Civil War. Okay now I'm done."
With an exasperated sigh, Faye pushes past to the wall we're meant to go through.
"Why so tightly wound, Faye?" I ask cautiously.
"It's our first time back in the game." Sarah follows. "Live a little."
"Because," Faye snaps, not looking away from the explosives she's wiring. "This mission is everything The Division represents. The continuity of government. Think about it: Rescuing the President...of the United States...from a hostage situation." The boss stands up and places her face inches away from Sarah's. Despite the latter's shorter stature, she stands her ground with casual confidence.
"Do you understand how important that is?" She asks slowly.
"I certainly do." Sarah replies, seeming unfazed. "Which is why we should treat this like any other mission. Cool and calm, but don't leave out any witty dialogue."
"This isn't a game, Sarah." There's a noticeable bite in Faye's voice.
"I don't recall saying it was."
Kelly steps between the two women and gently pushes them away from each other. "I'd hate to break up a tender moment, but…" She gestures to Faye's half finished wiring job. After a moment, Sarah steps back and holds her hand in the same direction.
"After you, oh Captain my Captain." She says in her typical sarcastic voice, only to receive a hard slap on the shoulder from me.
"Would you stop?" I say in Faye's defence as she returns to the wall.
"She started it." My companion says under her breath, before wandering a short distance away to poke through a Hyena's backpack. I shake my head and simply stand with Kelly, waiting for Faye to finish.
"What is it that Sarah said?" My friend whispers. "Something about unstoppable forces and immovable objects?"
"Something like that." I reply as a large hole is blasted into the wall.