Woods looked at the camera, thinking about the past events that he had to recount. "That's how it started. Your old man tries to kill Menendez - Menendez wants payback, even if it takes decades. Menendez - back then he was a big fish in a small pond."
Woods nodded his head as the memories came to him, thinking about all that led to the formation of their foe's empire. "He made his cake by running a drug cartel out on Nicaragua. It was a hand-me-down. Uh-uh…The CIA smoked his old man. The old cyclops is pretty pissed at America. While we're fucking around in the Middle East, the Russians and the Chinese are getting reeeeaaal cozy. Now the politicians - they wantcha to think this is about ideology. That's a lot of horseshit. Give me your phone."
Pipp reflexively pressed her phone as close as she could to her chest, clutching it hard and refusing to possibly give it away. This earned a soft chuckle from Zipp, but in the meantime, Harper acquiesced, passing over his smartphone to the old man. "Go ahead…"
Woods held up his phone to present it - hinting towards the composition within it. "Rare. Earth. Elements. The whole fucking world runs on this shit - Who controls all of it? China."
"Jesus…" Section whispered softly to himself.
Manuel sighed, rubbing his head. "Yeah, this isn't gonna sound pretty at all, is it…"
Zipp shot Pipp a smirk. The shorter sister blushed. "Look, it's not my fault our country's not that good with the resource market-side of things…!"
"Chinese sellout." Zipp teased softly, much to the ire of her sister.
Woods continued. "So while Corporate America's kissing China's ass…"
Despite being old, they watched in amazement how easily Woods was able to manipulate Harper's phone - opening its internet browser and immediately searching up footage of an old news report from some ten years ago.
The newscaster's voice came from the phone. "Now the mysterious "Cordis Die" social network has croudsourced simultaneous protests in both Iran and North Korea. Never before seen in public, who really is the leader of Cordis Die? He is known only as "Odysseus"."
Woods smiled sarcastically at the soldiers in the room. "Odysseus"!? My ass! Raul - fucking - Menendez. Asshole!"
"I told the JSOC, but they were too busy. See, the drone race had started. I mean really, guys? You're gonna build an entire military based on a mineral element that's wholly controlled by China?"
"He's got a point there…" Sunny looked at the others. "I hate to admit it but most of the tech our systems are made on are partially based on a lot of those things…"
Hitch felt a little called out considering many were in regards to his drones.
Misty frowned. "I guess we reap what we sow, right? We rely so much on technology - now it's like a crutch being kicked out from under us.."
Woods sighed. "I need a drink. Dipshit--"
"Oh god…" Harper softly whispered. Sunny heard him and couldn't help but softly giggle at his expression, and she found it funny that he realized that the word "dipshit" was directed towards him.
"Go get me a soda." Woods barked. "Get it from the nurses' stash, none of that diet crap."
"Oh, I know where that is!" Izzy grinned. "I already stole like two cans! That's what I call above-medium sneaky!"
"We had the nurses leave though, nobody to sneak around." Harper muttered to Izzy as he walked off to retrieve Woods' drink.
Woods switched Harper's phone to display another piece of old news. The newscasters voice spoke."China's Premier Chen is outraged by Cordis Die's leaked memo alleging the Cyber Attack was covertly ordered by the White House."
Manuel nodded. "Oh yeah, I remember. We've launched a deep investigation to check if there was any potential for that to be true. The results were negative - it wasn't us or any of our departments…But we've had no way to prove our innocence in this to the rest of the world."
Woods shook his head with a sigh. "After all the dirty shit the US Government has gotten away with, this time they're innocent. And no one fucking believes them…They take out Cordis Die's network. Two days later, the Director of the FBI, burned alive."
At those words, Sunny frowned deeply, casting her gaze downwards. It was horrid, and she didn't want to imagine how it all must have happened…Such a terrible fate to befall someone who merely did what they had to.
Woods saw Sunny's gaze, and closed his eyes. He was happy to know that even this day's youth understood just how awful something like this really was. "Right now a billion people believe that Raul Menendez is their savior. Well guess what boys and girls? He's not. You better take him out pretty fucking quick…"
Those in the room nodded at one another at his words. What he said had given them drive - and more importantly, it gave them purpose.
Exchanging a glance with Section, Manuel, and Sunny - Woods sat back. "Bad shit's gonna happen…"
*
"Well, look at that…Menendez got a whole private fucking army hidden out there." Harper muttered as he looked through the lens of his binoculars.
"Cubans…" Zipp chuckled. "Weren't they communists a while back? Hard to think that they'd comprise the world's most profitable merc group - I can tell you that much…"
"Times change." Pipp remarked.
"Mercs - supporting the leader of an anti-capitalist organization bent on taking out the world order?" Hitch sighed softly, his little bird-like drone returned on his shoulder, and uploaded its information to his HUD on his glasses. While it was processed, he spoke. "Menendez is either really charismatic, manipulative, or lucky. Or all."
Harper scoffed. "How many followers does Cordis Die have right now? What, a billion people?"
"Try two billion." Section firmly said. "Who'll never believe their leader is a terrorist. They think Menendez is their savior."
Misty looked away from her binoculars, and frowned softly. She spoke into the radio, being a little further away from the two."Well, we can call him a terrorist, but we need to enter the facility and confirm ourselves what crimes we can hold him accountable for."
"Maybe a bullet to the head oughta judge him, Misty." Harper scoffed. "Anyways, Section, M5 team - you guys got your nano gloves working?"
"Ready as ever." Zipp said.
As they hung on the side of the mountain, David turned to Pipp. "Pipp - I'm gonna need sniper support. Climb higher on the mountains and give us overwatch."
"Done and done." Pipp smiled reassuringly, and used the cohesive gloves to quickly allow her to climb up the rocks, to get into the ideal position she needed for her sniper's nest.
"Time to see what Menendez has hidden down there." Section nodded to the others. "Let's go."
With that, the five soldiers began to make their way across the mountain. In pairs, they would use one another as a way to move - using fulcrum forces to swing right over. They did so carefully and with coordination - with Sunny connected to Hitch, and with Harper connected to David. Zipp did not need this - easily able to use her wing exosuit, which gave her the flight needed to make her way beside the mountain.
Harper grunted, having to really jam his gloves into the rocks to keep himself pressed to them and not fall over. "Keep momentum on your swing. Don't wanna be left hangin'."
"If it was only that easy…" Sunny huffed. "Hitch, did you really need to bring all your drones with you?"
"I can't just leave them out!" Hitch pouted. His equipment consisted mostly of the various drones he had command over, which all were placed in different pouches and little compartments within his uniform. All in all, the drones had added several dozen kilogrammes of weight on his person; but there was no denying their utility. Medical drones, recon drones, even a drone that could deliver sonic bursts of disorienting sound waves.
And Sunny was unfortunate to need to have to support all this weight as they swung along the mountain. Luckily, they made their way over to a flat surface, a ridge that allowed them to get on their feet, and rest. They made a few steps back, to allow Harper and David to make their way as well.
Yet, as David made his way over, and the moment Harper made footfall…A flash of white hit them; throwing Sunny and Hitch to the side. It happened to strike a tree, which immediately fell onto the dirt, and tangled up in-between Harper's and David's cables, beginning to drag them down the mountain. The two men grunted and yelled - and Hitch, alongside Sunny, immediately ran to try and pull them.
Yet, to their help, two more figures came. Another male, and a girl with curly blue hair. Salazar and Misty held onto their comrades, planting their feet into the ground in an attempt to delay the tree's terrible weight.
"CUT IT!" Salazar shouted.
Section pulled out his knife to cut the cable - but by then, the rope had already snapped. As the tree disconnected from them and fell all the way down into the valley, Misty stood there with her machete, and gave Section an assuring, friendly smile.
Zipp finally made her way over, her flight stopping as she was above them, and landed on the dirt, running over to them. "Y-You guys okay!?"
"All good…We're alright." Sunny smiled.
"Thanks to you." Harper smiled at Salazar and Misty. The latter could only blush, and smile.
"David, shit!" Exclaimed another familiar advancing voice. Manuel had emerged from the treeline, sliding down the hill to check in on his brother. "You okay!? We were on the approach when we saw what happened."
Behind him was the bubble appearance of Izzy, who dismissively waved a hand as she approached the man from behind. "They woulda been fine! I'm sure we'd catch them or something."
Manuel sighed, helping David up, glad to see that his brother was safe. "Okay, did you two get a good angle on the compound?"
"Yeah. Looks like Cuban mercs." David confirmed.
"Wide open." Harper scoffed. "Little more than a skeleton crew - walk in the park, baby."
Salazar disapprovingly sighed. "No seas idiota. Do not underestimate Raul Menendez."
"Yeah, Salazar is right." Zipp nodded. "Not a good idea to get lazy and stupid considering that they're hiring high-grade mercs for this job."
"What does Cordis Die mean anyway?" Muttered Hitch.
Harper moved further along the ridge. "Latin. "Heart Day", or some shit."
"Sounds noble." Hitch scoffed, shaking his head.
Section shook his head. "That's what Menendez wants his followers to believe. Trust me... it isn't."
"You got that right." Manuel muttered. "Not sure how there's any nobility behind selling weapons, stirring international conflict, and terrorism…"
"Well…We oughta move." Sunny sighed, wiping her face nervously before letting a deep sigh release her catharsis, stressed over the occurrence. "Let's go. The facility was supposed to be a ways away."
"This is when the wingsuits come in." Zipp grinned.
Pipp's voice came through the radio."Wing suits? Don't you have a special jetpack thing?"
"Gotta save up on fuel, Pipp." Zipp smiled. "Also, you're coming too y'know."
"Right." Pipp sighed over the radio."Ready on your mark."
The squad approached a ridge that would give them a great launching position. All looked either neutral or excited over this, except for Hitch, who gulped as he prepared the wingsuit. Of all squadmates, he was the one less inclined to fly.
Harper grinned, preparing his wingsuit, as did the others - webbed wings now between their wrists and hips that would give them the flight needed.
"Alright, let's go bitch!" He bellowed, excited to jump.
"See you all on the other side." Manuel nodded to the squad, and with a running start, leapt off the edge of the cliff.
"See you there, brother." David sighed, stretching his arms and head.
"An overhead tour of Myanmar jungles, paid for us by U.S. tax dollars!" Izzy giggled. "Finally we got to try these wings out! Let's do it!" She happily exclaimed, before leaping off the cliff. One by one, the squad followed - with Pipp right behind and above, as her elevated position during the jump allowed her to be able to have an overhead approach.
They flew through the clouds, fog, and rain - easily avoiding the many bushes and trees as they made their way through; threading the needle of a mountain, and finally seeing their landing site.
"Deploying chute!" The squad members exclaimed after one another. The parachutes had unfurled, and they were each able to pick out a position that gave them a safe spot to land. One by one the squad members made footfall, with Pipp having a position above so that she could provide the overwatch she was set to.
"We'll split up." David said. "Manuel take half the team and take the left, I'll take the right."
"You got it." Manuel nodded, loading his M8A1. "Izzy, Zipp, Salazar - on me."
The team split as told, with Harper going beside David, followed by Misty, Hitch, and Sunny. As the teams went, they kept a low profile, their bodies in a low stance that gave them the cover of foliage and shadow.
"Hey, Section? It's Pipp." Her voice came over the radio."There's a...hammer here? With an odd triangle-loopdey-doopdey sign on it? I tried picking it up, but the only vibe I got from it is that it's so heavy that it's almost as if it's trying to say that I'm not worthy of it or something."
David needed a few moments to blink and process the confusing words. Especially after the near-death experience. "...Focus on the mission, Pipp. Please?"
"S-Sorry!"
They waded through, and approached a ventilation unit. It gave them cover, as they all went prone to crawl under it. They advanced, with David and Harper being at the front as they crawled further on. It gave them a better view of the enemy.
They were watching, from the shadows, a group of Cuban mercenaries. It appeared that the mercs were in motion, and this immediately went noticed by Harper, who placed his finger to his ear as he spoke into the radio.
"Kraken, this is Harper. Come in. Enemy's preparing to leave the location. Advise." Harper whispered.
He was answered by Admiral Briggs. "We need firm intel on their capabilities. You are cleared to engage."
"'Bout time." Zipp sighed.
"You're tellin' me." Pipp sighed in relief, taking the safety off of her sniper.
As they prepared to open fire, they noticed a strange sight. Suddenly, out of the blue, it appeared that the armed soldiers had disappeared into thin air. They curiously looked - and in their places, they instead saw shimmering silhouettes.
"Haaay! I got one of those!" Izzy silently giggled, thumbing the controls of her own invisibility cloak.
"Too good for mercs, though…" Manuel commented, having an enemy in his sights. "Ready on your cue, David."
"An EMP grenade ought to fry their systems." David nodded.
"I got this." Pipp smiled over the radio. "My STAR system has great range."
Within a press of a button, Pipp sent out a signal from her sniper's nest. It only took for a few seconds, before the shimmering silhouettes began to flicker and change color. Within a moment, the soldiers looked at each other in confusion, unsure why their cloaks no longer concealed them.
Then, the ripping sound of gunfire began to rain upon the mercenaries, bullets flying through their concealed positions - the mercenaries attempted to respond, but had little time as the entire squad began to pick them off, one by one.
They may have attempted to take them off at the same time, but the alarm came. Pipp cursed a little.
"They got biosensors. That's how they know they're losing men." Harper cursed.
"Weapons hot!" Manuel exclaimed, starting to hold down the trigger of his SCAR-H assault rifle. Cuban mercenaries began pouring into the line of sight, running downhill from the facility. Their positions were at somewhat of a disadvantage, with Section and his team now forced to run up the stairs of the ruins that were before them.
Zipp took the initiative, her flight system allowed her to get the upper hand and rain bullets upon the cuban mercenaries. The rest of the squad made a forward advance, running through gunfire and dashing through danger. Section, along with Sunny, opted to take an alternate route through an elevator, which they used to lift themselves to another viewpoint to fight the enemy.
However, as the team made their way up the hill, they were able to see the front of the facility. To their left, two helicopter-shaped silhouettes stood, with one's propellers spinning up. This caused panic from Misty, who yelped. "H-Hey! T-That's a drone!"
"Shit, she's right!" Harper shouted. "Dead ahead, drone takin' off!"
"On it!" Section shouted. He pulled out his Titus-6, however a stray explosion had forced him to take cover. Manuel noticed this and decided to take matters into his own hand. He saw the corpse of a cuban mercenary, and saw on his corpse a C4 pack. With great dexterity, Manuel was able to toss it over to the taking-off drone. Once it planted itself underneath, he pushed the detonator on the body. The explosion tore the drone apart, and prevented the threat.
"Okay, sweet!" Shouted Zipp. "Now take the other one out--"
"Wait a sec!" Izzy grinned. "I got an idea! Hitch, on me! Give us cover, you guys!"
Izzy and Hitch ran through the gunfire, covered by their teammates. As Izzy approached the drone that wasn't activated, she produced a box, which seemed to contain a variety of tools within, labeled "UNICYCLE". She took out a blow-torch like device, before cutting a hole right underneath, stepping aside to give it to Hitch. "You're up!"
"Great, this will do nicely!" Hitch exclaimed. He ran to Izzy's position and opened the small terminal on his wrist. Wirelessly, he connected it to the drone.
And soon enough, it came to life - not with flight, but with weaponry. Its machine gun started spinning - and the mercenaries who comfortably positioned themselves before it could only stare down the 40mm barrels in horror as they sure enough began to spin up. They shouted at one another to run, and they barely did so themselves, sprinting back towards.
"Give those bastards a taste of their own medicine!" Harper exclaimed.
Hitch let the gun rip, spraying bullets evenly across the enemy lines. The gun showered powerful bullets that forced the enemy to scatter back, and many were unable to break for it as they were gunned down in an instant.
"They're falling back!" Pipp shouted over the radio."I'm picking off stragglers, but a lot are getting back into the facility, and they're blocking off the entrances!"
"No need to worry." Zipp said. "While analyzing, I saw a weakness in the ruins. We're gonna be able to break it to enter!"
"You're gonna destroy ancient Myanmar ruins just for an easy entrance!?" Sunny gasped. It may have appeared that it was sarcasm, but nobody laughed - because for Sunny, this was more than her typical behavior.
"Yes, Sunny!" Zipp exclaimed as she took cover to reload. "We're going to destroy a piece of ancient ruins because we're here to stop the production of a worldwide terrorist!"
"Yeah…" Manuel chuckled. "Sorry, Sunny - archeology is gonna have to sit this one out!"
"W-Well, m-maybe we can get the US government to pay reparations?" Sunny proposed, loading her gun before popping out from cover to fight.
Misty giggled softly as she ran into cover, chasing away the retreating mercenaries. "If it doesn't involve oil, war, drugs, or weapons, I don't think our government's gonna pay for a bunch!"
Salazar laughed softly. "Glad to see you are becoming more comfortable in the squad, Misty." He said.
Within time, the mercenaries were driven away. They now approached a section of ruin which hid within the continuation of the ruins. The wall was now in view, and the squad lined up, each aiming up at it. Section took the lead, his Titus-6 ready for action. "Everybody clear!" He exclaimed. The projectiles dug into the wall, ripping into it, before unleashing an explosive flurry, opening the hole in the door. "Watch your step. Flood water may have weakened the structure…"
Pipp's voice came into the radio."I see you guys are entering the interior. I'll regroup with you soon, just keep yourselves safe down there."
"You got it." Manuel said, and they stepped into the darkness.
The squad waded through the tunnels of the ruins, noticing the suspicious trails that there was more to it than met the eye. Wiring and other equipment that increased in frequency the further they went in.
"Well well…You got a free tour outta this, Sunny!" Zipp joked.
"..." Sunny sighed. The deeper they went in, the more apparent that the place was much larger. And in the end, they were faced with a large, advanced door.
"Ho-ly shit!" Harper ran up to the door. "Look at this…"
Section looked over the large door up and down, and side to side. "What we saw up top was just a front…."
"...Yeah, we seem to be biting a bit more than we expected to chew…" Whispered Hitch.
Sunny frowned. "This is a very advanced type of door by the looks of it. I think at least we can confirm Briggs' suspicions…This facility must be something serious…"
"I'll get it open…But if we're gonna be this deep in, we're going to lose communications…" Misty said, and approached the small control panel on the side of the door, beginning to operate it. In the meantime, Section nodded to Harper, that it was best to contact their commander.
Harper put his finger to his ear-mounted microphone. "Kraken, this is Harper…Confirming sci-tech installation beneath the temple. Requesting immediate clean up and containment unit to our location. Be advised - we will lose comms as soon as we make our entry. "
Briggs' voice emerged from the radio."Kraken confirms. Ground team moving in for immediate insertion. Stand by for ETA."
With those words, Misty's final hacking attempts paid off, as the large door began to slide open for them to enter through it.
"This is like unwrapping a present!" Izzy chuckled. "Let's see what's inside! I always wondered what would go on in some mysterious blacksite inside of a mountain in the middle of the jungles!"
"I don't think I'd really be so eager to open up this kinda present…" Sunny softly muttered. Going in deeper. As they stepped into the sleek and pristine halls, it became apparent that it was empty. There was total silence, and a lack of anyone in the area.
"...It's too quiet." Whispered Hitch as they made their way in.
Manuel nodded. "Yeah…It's weird. This is supposed to be some kind of facility, they should have staff and guards here 24/7…"
"Looks deserted…" Salazar commented.
"Most likely abandoned." Misty added. They approached a glass door, which Salazar set to hacking into being open.
In the meantime, Izzy's attention was caught by a crate.
"Ooh, goodies!" She giggled. She produced a small remote-like device, and with a flick, the crate's magnetic locks were disabled. Inside, a vest laid. Izzy saw Section looking at it, and smiled invitingly, gesturing to him to take a look.
And so, David put on the odd piece of military-grade clothing. Though, this article seemed to be more sci-fi than just military.
"Enemy's optic systems. We need to get our techs working on analysis…" Section muttered as he put on the advanced clothing.
Izzy chuckled. "Oh come on, what about mine?" She asked, demonstrating as she became invisible on the spot, thanks to her own personalized system.
Hitch shook his head. "Izzy, your suit relies on some reliable but also pretty rare and complex tech. If we can make your type of suit once a year, Menendez can mass-produce them in dozens if not hundreds…"
"Well, at least we're twinsies now!" Izzy chuckled, as Section - testing the suit - also became invisible, sans his firearm..
Manuel tapped Section on the shoulder to get his attention, able to see the shimmering outline when he focused enough. "Just keep in mind that I doubt the enemy is full of mole rats. Plus I think they'll put two and two together when they see a floating rifle."
Section smirked. Finally, Salazar opened the door - and the team pushed forward.
Calmly, yet prepared - the team walked forward with their weapons drawn forward, with Section and Sunny leading the team.
And they had little time to react as a force threw them backwards - an explosion tore the floor in-front of them, missing as they were launched back. But with smoke and returning bullets from the squad, they were able to crawl into cover.
"ASD!" Shouted Zipp.
In the room ahead, two wheeled drones rolled on the floor with their guns aimed at the hallway through which the team was approaching.
"Another one!" Manuel exclaimed. He would rip into the enemy drones with his SCAR-H, and the hail of bullets was able to break into them, disabling and then destroying them.
Zipp thought quickly on her feet, and she aimed at nitrogen tanks that surrounded the enemy from the sides. As bullets ripped apart the tanks of the gas, it spilled nitrogen all over the surrounding mercenaries, freezing them on the spot. The team immediately shot at the now vulnerable enemies, with a well-placed explosive from Sunny shattering a larger group into small pieces of ice.
Pinned down less from enemies down the hall, the team was able to fight on - with both Section and Izzy being able to sneak through enemy lines with their invisibility, flanking them to attack them from the sides. This allowed the team to move forward, deeper into the facility.
"What did you say about this place being deserted!?" Hitch yelped.
"We'll stay frosty next time I guess!" Misty shouted, pushing forward with her shield against the rain of bullets that the enemy directed at them, ensuring the safety of her allies.
The enemy mercenaries had set up layers of defended positions down the hallway, able to meet Section's team and hoping to thin them out. However, they were no match for their onslaught. They made their way deeper into the pristine halls, past the fleeing scientists, many who caught themselves in the middle of the exchanging gunfire.
*
Pipp sat on a cliff observing the area below. She pursed her lips as she looked into the scope. She saw groups of enemies entering the facility from the other side - reinforcements. She was able to file suppressed shots, before disappearing once again into the trees, and leaving the enemy confused.
She set up a nest however to wait for things to clear. She needed an opening before she would climb down to the elevation of the facility. She would observe the targets, and observe…Her scope analyzed them all, not leaving a single soldier unaccounted for.
Except for the one that was approaching her from behind. Quiet, muffled footsteps were making their way towards her, made nearly inaudible due to heavy sound of rain and the thunder. However, Pipp was more than cautious.
She swiftly spun around with a knife. As expected, the person approaching her from behind was able to open his palm, and catch her by the wrist, stopping her knife before it penetrated him. However, this was what she banked on, and while he did so, she pulled out her silenced pistol, pointing it at him.
...
A quick few-seconds analysis however made it clear that this action was done in-vain. She was able to take a better look at the soldier. His helmet, his equipment, his camouflage, and his gun…
She sighed in relief, and put the pistol away, as well as the knife. "You shouldn't sneak up on me like that you know - I was a hair away from blowing your brains out…"
"Sorry 'bout that, Corporal." The soldier apologetically nodded. "I'm with the support team - preparing to hit their rear with the squad leader. Admiral Briggs is coming with us though, he wants to take a closer look at the facility. Sprout's there too. Admiral said he wanted to talk with you seeing as you're still here and the team lost comms due to the thickness of the place."
Pipp nodded. "Okay, lead the way then."
"Yes, ma'am." the soldier replied, and began to lead Pipp down the cliffside.
*
Deeper down the cliffside, Pipp was now approaching the side of the mountain through which a path towards the facility was clear. On the way, she approached a group of soldiers, led by the one that spotted her. There she saw two figures - the blonde-haired loud-mouthed, demoted soldier who nearly let his ego jeopardize the mission…And in a raincoat, the admiral who oversaw their mission.
"Admiral." Pipp nodded. "Glad to see you, sir." She said, avoiding eye contact with Sprout - who only watched her with folded arms.
"Pipp." Briggs nodded. "We'll be glad to get your help - we don't think they expect another element to come up from behind, so we got the element of surprise. I wanted to get in there and see what Menendez is working with, Harper said that cocksucker has some sci-tech shit. We're investigating immediately once we clear the place out."
"You can count on me, sir." Pipp smiled, removing the scope of her sniper and then attaching a shorter ACOG scope, prepared to transfer her gun for medium-quarters combat.
As the team began to slowly move forward, Briggs lagged a little behind with Pipp. "What's going on in there?" He asked her.
"Can't be for sure…I can only guess that it's a research facility, sir. Zipp told me it was plausible, this kind of area was perfect. Even the ruins meant immunity from official government bodies seeking to investigate it, on the account of it being a heritage site, and all…"
He nodded. "Wanted to ask you about the performance of our recent replacement. Was Salazar on the mark?"
To that, Pipp genuinely had to think to make sure she'd come up with a satisfying answer. "I think so, sir. She saved Section's and Harper's lives, and she seems capable of combat as much as we are. I can tell you for a fact that she knows what she's doing, even if she slightly relies on Salazar a little to help get the squad comfortable with her. I think Sunny and Section are impressed by her so far, though."
As Sprout walked forward out of earshot, Briggs sighed. "That's good to hear. We needed to get this cocky cocksucker a proper teammate who understands what the hell teamwork is supposed to be. If Hitch wasn't a good friend of mine I'd have him discharged out of the SEALs - hell, maybe the U.S. military as a whole. But he's convinced me to give him a second chance…"
"That's Hitch alright." Pipp chuckled softly. "But since it's Hitch, I can tolerate him for now. As long as I don't gotta speak to him…"
"...So, about Misty…" Whispered Briggs. "...Can we trust her?"
"..." Pipp softly smiled. "I'm usually right about people, sir. And I'd say that yes - I think we can trust her. I'm certain."
To that, Briggs softly smiled. "If I get to hear those words from you Pipp, then my old ass is gonna have some decent sleep tonight."
*
Section's team went deeper into the complex, and pushed back the last of their foes into the further layer of the room. Finally, they were able to break into a large open chamber. The team felt themselves stop in place - odd machines were scattered around, sounds of mechanisms emitting from them. Curiously, the team approached them and took a look.
Zipp gasped. "No way, this is…"
"3D printing tech." Misty confirmed.
Harper whistled softly, looking around himself like a child in a candy museum, amazed at the sheer quantity of the things before him. "Yeah, no kiddin'...Weapon components, armors... Menendez is arming himself for war."
Section nodded slowly, looking over the high-tech equipment that riddled the floor, with rifles being produced before his very eyes. "Woods told us how much wealth Menendez built over the years. He's been investing in weapons tech…"
"Ironic then." Commented Sunny. "He was a weapons trader. Now, he's printing weapons. In a way it's odd cause he's basically destroying the economy of the very trade that he himself was making millions off of almost by the day…"
Manuel shook his head as he secured the area, his M8A1 pointed and checked their corners from any other hostiles, but he was still able to stay within the conversation. "From what I can tell, Menendez had a moment after which this stopped being about money. I doubt someone like him can care about wealth when he's got an agenda to push."
Zipp chuckled, relaxing a little at the sight that the area was clear of enemy mercenaries. "Well we're here to push it back towards him - I can tell you that much."
"Hey, Section, check it out!" Grinned Izzy. With her UNICYCLE system she produced an automated crowbar, which ripped open a large metallic capsule. All turned to see what she was doing. Within the capsule was one of the small threaded drones that joined the ambush mere minutes ago, however it appeared to be shut down. However, Hitch quickly took the cue - approaching the drone and bringing his wrist-mounted computer close to it. He was able to hack it immediately, and the machine began to glow into life.
"Alright, you little bastard. You work for Uncle Sam now." Section joked - prompting Manuel and Izzy to chuckle.
However, the little humorous and beneficial moment did not last. In the silence of the clear room, they could hear the sounds of movement…and shuffling.
…
It came from one of the crates that was on the way to a larger door. The team allowed silence to fester for just another moment, before the movement became clear once more. They heard…a faint voice.
"Somebody's here…" Whispered Harper…And slowly began to approach the crate. "...Let's see what we got inside." He softly said. To support him, Zipp approached him right from behind, to make sure that if something inside was going to hurt him, it wouldn't have the chance.
With a flick of a button, the automatic crate slid open. Harper's and Zipp's hands immediately went in to fish out whoever was inside. To the surprise of the squad, the inside of the crate seemed to have housed a human, clad in a shirt and jacket, and what appeared to be a badge adorning his neck.
"Please don't hurt me!" The thin business-shirt and leather jacket wearing man cried out.
Harper grunted. He was not the least happy to see a civilian in a place like this. And in a place like this, there were no civilians.
"Okay buddy…" Zipp grunted. "You better speak fast."
Harper nodded. "This lab is linked to a known terrorist. You start talking…"
"Or we will hurt you." Zipp finished.
The thin man gulped. "My name is Erik Breighner. I'm a Magnetometrist…"
"A Magnetometrist…" Sunny softly whispered. "Magnetic fields…?"
Manuel heard her. It was a fair point, he put his hand to his chin and thought carefully about the implications. "...Magnetic fields - maybe…Maybe Menendez is working on some EMP tech?"
Harper heard the two discussing it in the side, and these were all fair points that made him suspiciously eye the man they were interrogating. For that matter, Zipp didn't look all too happy with this information either.
Harper grunted, patting Erik down to make sure he didn't carry any weapons. For all the tricks the mercenaries were seemingly pulling, he already developed a reflex to check for them. After all, he almost anticipated him to have a grenade in his rear, or something to this effect. "And what is uh...Menendez's interest in you…buddy?"
Erik gulped - when the patdown stopped, he slightly reached his hands out to allow him to make hand gestures. "They brought me here to process the Celerium. It's a new rare earth element that would render all existing microchip technologies obsolete…"
"..." Zipp's eyes widened. "...That's…There's no way. If--"
The conversation was cut short as movement and rumbling made itself present from down the other way, towards the path they hadn't yet checked. The enemy was coming.
Erik gulped. "They're coming! Get me out of here alive! I'll give you everything!"
With that, Harper put his hand on the scientist's shoulder and forced him on the floor. With their position however, they were exposed. They had little to no cover…
But Misty was more than ready. She prepared her shield and placed it down in the middle, before pointing at the others that were already present in the facility. "Everyone, make a line of shields - we'll get ourselves the cover we need!"
Misty's quick thinking was appreciated by the squad. Manuel started to prop up assault shieds on the floor alongside his brother, before quickly positioning his SCAR-H on the top as a platform to improve the stability of his fire. Izzy quickly cloaked herself and positioned herself on the side to give the mercenaries a much harder time pushing through, while Hitch directed the otherwise autonomous ASD to direct fire towards the stairs, the doors to which were now blown open as mercenaries began to run down and aim at the squad, firing at their positions. Many however were felled by Manuel and Izzy, who used the cover provided by Misty to mow down their numbers. Salazar protected Zipp, who was momentarily pinned down. He threw a concussive, which redirected fire off of Zipp, allowing her to fly in and swoop through to shoot the opponents from above. All the whole, the drone Hitch hacked was a force of terror, forbidding any of the mercenaries from being able to take proper cover.
Sunny decided to use the more potent aspects of her ALICORN system. WIth her prototype exosuit, she extended one of her arms, and a magnetic force emerged from her wrist. Ripping away a machine gun from one of the mercenaries, she took the gun into her wrist, and began to join Manuel in their rain of fire against the foes. Within minutes, the mercenaries were removed from the room, silence only interrupted by the sound of smoking gun barrels hissing, and the beeping of the little treaded drone as it rolled around, happy to serve its master - Hitch.
With the silence, Harper let out a sigh of relief, reloading his firearm after going through two entire magazines during the encounter with the enemies. He looked at the scientist and grunted, picking him up.
"Where's the Celerium?" Harper barked at Erik.
"This way. The locking mechanism requires two operators…" The scientist softly said as he approached a large locked door. He approached it from the right, while Section approached it from the left. While Erik put his eye to the scanner, it was sufficient enough for David to merely hack it. With that, the door slid open, giving them access to a strange room - within which was blue light, screens…and an odd device in the middle, that housed a small floating item.
"...Whoa…" Whispered Sunny, entering alongside Manuel, Harper, and Section - led forward by Erik.
The scientist pulled the device out from its levitating position, and presented it to Section. David could only look at the odd metallic object, unsure what it really was.
"Quantum entanglement…" He whispered. "This single device has more processing power than your entire military infrastructure."
Sunny looked with wide eyes, stammering. "B-But…Our infrastructure consists of hundreds of thousands of sophisticated computers, a-and…"
"..." Manuel shook his head. "No. He's serious about this, Sunny…"
She stopped herself, and continued looking. How could a device of this size threaten an entire nation…?
Erik looked at Section, handing the device over to him. "Rumors around the lab were that Menendez plans to use it as a basis for a massive cyber attack. I heard talk of something called 'Karma'... It may be the name for the cyber weapon. If Menendez uses a Celerium worm to initiate an attack, there will be nothing anyone can do to stop it... I couldn't stop it."
"..." Sunny thought for a moment. But then, a moment of realization came. "W-Wait, but…Does he have anothe--"
Her question however never made it to Erik.
The first thing was a bullet to his throat - placed almost with surgical precision, as if to make him stop talking. The team all turned in unison at the source of the danger, pointing their weapons at the area from which more mercenaries began to pour in.
"We got incoming!" Izzy yelped, turning invisible and firing off her shotgun in an attempt to break the enemy's formation. Hitch in the meantime took manual control of the ASD they had hacked, and allowed it to rain machine gun fire upon their enemies. Manuel came in with the support, putting his SCAR-H against one of the leftover assault shields and using it as a platform to rain down continuous fire upon the enemy lines.
Sunny was quick to fight back, but the whole time, she felt distressed . Not at the enemy ambush, but at the sight of the scientist losing his life…What was he going to say? Was there more? The information they missed out on could have been crucial - and now they didn't have it.
Manuel nodded her expression, and turned his head for a moment while holding down the trigger. "Sunny, we'll figure this out, just focus on getting out of here!"
"Right…" Sunny nodded. She used her ALICORN system to shoot an EMP wave at the enemies - and within a moment, their laser sights, HUDs, and cloaking devices were gone. This gave Section's team breathing room, and they were able to push the mercenaries back into the rear of the facility.
"I'll try to get a SITREP on Pipp!" Zipp shouted.
"Good idea. I'll contact Briggs!" Harper exclaimed.
Putting her finger to her earpiece, Zipp hoped that maybe she'd be able to make contact with her sister. It is true that they were in a deep facility with more than limited connection, but it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that signal boosters may have been present in this lab. However this was Zipp's mistake - for this hope made her worry when she hadn't received any contact from her sister. "Come on, Pipp…Answer…" Whispered Zipp…
*
"Come on Zipp, answer, please…" Whispered Pipp, pushing through the facility with her ear to her earpiece. She whispered full of hope. She was more worried, knowing that Zipp was somewhere here with her…But neither sister was aware of the jamming systems that blocked the signal for any that wasn't one of the mercenaries.
"She's gonna be alright, Pipp!" Briggs exclaimed, standing around the corner with a revolver, ready to fight if necessary. "Zipp's a tough one. Plus she's got the Mason brothers and the others by her side - ain't a damn way in hell something happened to any of them down there."
Pipp nodded at Briggs. Sprout was clearly about to make a remark, but before he could open his mouth, Briggs was able to catch onto it. He looked at him with a sharp glare, and the blonde soldier quieted down, gulping and continuing his support role as he carried ammunition for the other SEALs.
*
"Kraken, come in!" Harper exclaimed…And in time, it was a fair guess that they would not be able to communicate with the support time. Harper cursed. "Kraken, come in! Dammit. No response!"
Section grunted, loading in another magazine. "We'll fight our way out, with or without support! This ain't over yet!" He shouted. Manuel smiled at him, and nodded.
"I'm with you, David. Come on everyone, we're all getting out of here!" David's brother exclaimed, charging forward with his M8A1. He was able to easily pick off mercenaries while rapidly reloading. At some point he found enemy fire cut off his way, but he was able to take cover behind a thick piece of machinery. This allowed Misty to take his place with her shield, her bullets stopping each of the bullets as they tried to rip into her. After Manuel noticed that the enemy seemed to be low on ammunition, he took the opportunity to stand behind Misty and open fire into the mercenaries.
Auto-turrets began to pop out of the ceiling, but they were no match for Hitch, who's hacking was capable of turning them against the very same mercenaries that tried to utilize them.
"I'll take point!" Zipp exclaimed. Section nodded in confirmation, as she used her VISOR system to warn her of approaching enemies. It allowed her to see the laser sight directions of the enemy and any electronic indicators, allowing her to easily prepare herself for oncoming enemies. She popped out around the corner and unloaded her MP7 into the mercenaries. When this group was done with, she aimed forward…
And her finger immediately went off of the figure as she saw familiar figures. Especially one in particular.
"Wait!" Cried out Zipp to Section and the others. "Hold your fire! It's Pipp! And…Briggs' team!"
"Section!" Brigg's voice called out from further down the facility's hallway. "Your team can stand down!"
Section smiled and sighed in relief, turning the safety on his weapon as he heard the sounds of gunshots subside.
"It's the support team!" Manuel eagerly shouted. "Thanks for the help, Admiral…"
The others in Section's squad all ran up, but had their weapons lowered now. The two squads of soldiers finally met, and all felt collective exhales knowing that the mission was truly over.
The first thing the sisters did was hug one another, worried that something might've happened to the other during the short time that they were absent from one another.
"You're a sight for sore eyes…" Section chuckled softly, happy to finally get his team to safety. He, alongside Sunny and Harper, approached the man. Out from his pocket, David produced the small device they had taken from the facility, and handed it over to Briggs.
The Admiral looked over the device curiously. He studied it deeply, turning it in his hand and looking at each of its angles.
"Whatever Menendez is planning…" Section said with a finger pointed at the device in his hands. "Celerium is the key."
Manuel approached from Mason's side, nodding at him. "That little device apparently has more power than our military's infrastructure. We're gonna have to figure out if he has more, sir."
"Manuel's right." David said. "Unfortunately, the scientist we were going to ask about all this was shot before he could speak…"
"We're getting somewhere, Masons." Briggs smiled, observing the device. "And that's what matters…At least today though…We finally got one over this cocksucker…"
Harper scoffed softly. "He's just a man, Admiral. He'd like you to think he's something more. But he ain't nothing but a sad, old, pitiful excuse of a man…"
"We promise you this sir." Sunny said. "Whatever he may be planning, we are going to stop them - we're not letting him have his way, and we're not going to let him lay a finger on innocent lives."
