Summary: Menace-1 finally meets the Reaper escorting them to the Gene Clinic.
"ACHOO!"
A loud sneeze shot across the comms.
"Fuck!" Another loud outburst. "Sneezed in my mask!" The culprit complained.
"Could you be any louder, Warlord?" Hexx chastised him.
"Excuse me Hexx for fucking sneezing," he sneered, "getting a bit of a cold waiting for this damn sneaky Reaper bloke in the fuckin' RAIN!"
"Warlord…" Warden let out a gruff sigh. Almost like a disappointed dad.
"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." Iris shook his head. "Still full of piss and vinegar?"
"Don't get smart with me, tech boy!"
"Warlord, put a lid on it." Commander Reeves piped up to hush the excessive chatter. "You may be in one of the few blind spots of the city, but that doesn't mean people can't hear. The downpour can cover only so much."
There were a few grumbles that came from Warlord, and snickers from the rest. "Sorry, Commander. Will zip it."
"Thank you."
Operation Frozen Nocturne was just starting. The squad had finally made it to their destination. The drop-off point with all their gear. At first, they thought they were going to have some trouble as there was an ADVENT officer standing guard in said alley. But as soon as the guard saw them, they gave a friendly smirk before making themselves scarce.
A strange occurrence, but must have been one of Bones' men under cover. With the guard gone, it didn't take long for them to ditch their clothes and get geared up. And in the nick of time. It had just started raining. And raining hard. Heavy mists, tinted by the neon lights, were filling the streets. And looked as though there would be a downpour coming. Dark storm clouds above. Hopefully not a bad omen.
Now that they were geared up, all they had to do was wait. Wait for the last Reaper that would lead them to this gene clinic. They had a rough idea of what to look out for after meeting Zuud and Mica. Rather colorful wear for a Reaper. And the alien tech integration. They wondered if this Reaper would be as eccentric as Zuud? Or would they be more quiet like Mica?
"Still question why you traded Razer for him." Central glanced at the Commander. He had silenced his mic. "He's a loudmouth and a tad reckless." That was an understatement.
"Though he has little to no filter on that mouth of his, Warlord has a good track record of being covert when asked." She looked at him. She was still defending him. "And we may need a bit of a reckless wildcard if this operation goes south."
"All right, Commander." He just had to trust her. And hoped Hexx could keep him in check.
"So… Commander?" Warlord broke the silence. On the feed, he was bouncing up and down, looking back and forth. He was jittery as ever. "How fuckin' long is it going to take for Volk-y boy's guy's people to show up?"
"You forgot he's impatient too." Central added.
"Central." She cast a glance at him. He smirked back. "Patience Warlord. One of Bones' people will be there soon. So far Bones has been reliable."
"I'll fucking believe it when I bloody meet 'em." Warlord scoffed.
"Maybe another game of strip poker when we get back will make you simmer down." Hexx playfully nudged him.
"HEXX!"
"People will you shut it!" The Commander barked. She sighed heavily as she shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You're in an alleyway, but that doesn't mean someone may still hear you." Her patience was quickly wearing thin.
"Heh, heh. Sorry, Commander." Hexx apologized. Warlord just grumbled.
"Regretting your choice now, Commander?" Central glanced at her.
"Can it." She said. She didn't take her eyes off the screens, but she had one hell of a death glare going. He just chuckled.
The Commander's eye bounced from one screen to the next. Looking for the slightest hint of this Reaper and his people. So far nothing. Different from all the activity they saw earlier. Now they couldn't find a single Reaper on the camera feeds. Back to being secretive. She wondered if she could get some of her men trained in their ways. Would be like pulling teeth to get Volk to share those techniques. But it couldn't hurt to ask.
"Hi." A slightly muffled, dark baritone voice greeted the group.
One moment there was nothing on the cam focused on the squad. Then the next, there was a person, a cloaked man, hanging upside down in the midst of the group. His threads looked similar to Zuud and Mica. But this guy's coat was a dark green A snake scales pattern similar to the Vipers, that faded into a creamy brown towards the edges. There were rumors of new variants of those slithering bastards showing up in response to the growing Resistance. Perhaps he had skinned a couple. But there was something else striking about that coat. Bones were lining it. Large snake vertebrae ran up his spine; a few rib bones wrapped around his chest. And a skull. A skull of some unlucky Viper decorated his hood.
"CHRIST!"
Warlord, always the most vocal of the group, exclaimed. He quickly hopped back and drew his beloved blade. The others quickly followed his actions. All took a step back and drew their respective weapons on the sudden intruder.
"Who the hell are you?" Blackout had her shard gun right in the man's face. Pressing it against the man's head.
So far no answer from the man.
"That's… questionable." Commander Reeves mumbled her breath as she watched the scene unfold.
"That must be the contact Bones sent. Crazy." Central raised a brow at the entrance. He noticed the man's uniform. "Must hate Vipers." He liked that.
"If he is the contact, I have a lot of questions for Bones later." She shook her head. "Lots of questions." She couldn't let her thoughts dwell on that for now. "Ask him the code phrase, Warlord."
"Hey, hangman." Warlord took a step towards the man, pointing his blade at his neck. Rain sizzling off of the metal. "Like the sun at midnight…"
"Is like white clouds in a dark storm." The hanging man answered. He let out a deep chuckle. "You all must be XCOM."
"He's the guy, Commander." Warlord relayed back.
"Geez, this fool." Commander Reeves let out a sigh. She wondered what the man was thinking "Get him on the comms link Iris."
"You got it, Comm—"
"No need to do that, Commander." The hanging man spoke. On their comms. "Already in the system."
"How the?" Central checked the Avenger's systems. No way he could have gotten past their systems. "How…?" He found nothing. "Dimitri!"
"On it and relaying to Shen." Dimitri was already searching.
"What the hell…" Commander Reeves pinched the bride of her nose. She wondered if this was why Volk had issues with Bones. How many times has Bones' men been shot appearing like this? "I am going to have a very fine discussion with your boss later." She told him.
"I'm all ears, Commander." He laughed. "What do you want to tell me?"
"What a second…" The way he answered was far too nonchalant. "Don't you dare tell me…" Though she had never heard Bones' voice, as Volk was the middleman for all the planning, she started to suspect this Reaper was him.
"Yep." Another chuckle. "I am Bones."
"What the hell man!?" She was quickly losing all sense of composure. She had dealt with many stupid things in her life. But this, this was something else.
"Found an intrusion." Dimitri announced. "Where did you come from, my soon-to-be-kicked friend?"
"Found the backdoor that fast, huh?" Bones chuckled. "Von Tron, you're getting sloppy with your coding!"
It dawned on the Commander. How he got in. That data chip that helped them finish getting into the city's security system. That was probably it. How this Von Tron got in and set up a backdoor. Dimitri and Shen were going to have fun getting rid of that later.
"Bones." Commander Reeves said sharply. "We will a talk later."
The man laughed. "I'm looking forward to it Commander." He released his grapple, righting himself before landing like a cat. "Don't worry, my man isn't stealing anything."
"Can't say I'm exactly in a trusting mood now." She was seeing why Volk had issues with him and his crew. More than just the alien technology they used. "And you could have gotten your head blown off showing up like that!"
"I think the security upgrades Von Tron is leaving will make you trusting again." He said. "And alien armor says otherwise." He tapped the side of his hood, knocking on his mask. For a moment, a hexagonal light pattern flickered across his body before quickly disappearing. A cocky man he was.
She shook her head. Oh, the talk she would have with him later. "Stand down everyone."
The squad lowered their weapons. Tensions were still high.
"Bones." Commander Reeves said sharply once again. "Exactly what took you so long?"
"Well, Commander," he chuckled, "doing a little recon, making sure the VIP is still where they need to be, and getting my people set up for the assistance." He took a moment to wave at the camera at the end of the alleyway. "And getting some extra insurance set up."
"Extra insurance?"
"Oh, I'm not going to fully spoil it yet," he crossed his arms, "but you'll love it."
"Your tone has me skeptical." She was still irritated from before.
"Maybe I can show you just a taste. Get some of that trust back." He said. "Von Tron."
"A taste?" She wondered if he was talking to one of his men. Then something strange happened. "What the hell?"
On the Avenger, for a moment, several of the screens streaming hacked camera feeds across the city became distorted. Flickered in and out. Back to the squad, the neon light illuminating the alleyway flickered before going out; so did the street lights and several buildings nearby. It was darkness for a minute before the block started flicking back to life.
"What. Was. That?" Commander Reeves questioned.
"Just a taste, Commander." Bones chuckled.
"Iris. Warden." She then turned to Dimitri. "You, Shen, and the rest of the team look into that."
"On it, Commander." Dimitri nodded.
The two Specialists had their Gremlins scanning the surroundings. Those bots were frantically flying about.
"Power is fluctuating across the entire city." Iris spoke up.
"Something's messing with the city's power grid." Warden added.
"What they said, Commander." Shen popped on the line.
Commander Reeves let out a frustrated sigh. "Let's hope that demonstration didn't just make things more complicated."
"Oh, this city has been experiencing some 'fluctuations' all week because of their new expansion projects, Commander." Bones said. "They shouldn't notice."
"I hope you're right about that."
"Oh, I am."
Another frustrated sigh slipped from her lips. She wondered if he had any other surprises. Perhaps bombs set up as explosive distractions across the city? She shook her head at the mere thought of that. Even Elena was more subtle than that… when she wasn't in a mood. Commander Reeves noticed the time. No more time for banter.
"Well," she clasped her hands, "with that over," she grumbled under her breath, "let's get this operation going. We are on a strict time limit people."
"Finally." Warlord stretched his neck. Tapping his foot against the concrete.
"Oh, someone's the giddy type." Bones took note. "You must be Leo." He turned his attention to him, looking the soldier up and down. Jittery and roaring to go. "Jackrabbit. Zuud told me about you."
"Can it, hangman." Warlord snapped at him, raising his blade. "Name's Warlord."
Bones only laughed. Leaning over, getting into Warlord's face for a moment. "I think I'm going to like you."
"Less talk and more moving." Commander Reeves interjected. "Everyone, Bones will be taking point from here to the clinic, so follow his lead."
"Really? Like seriously?" Warlord couldn't believe that. "This bloke is taking point?"
"You have a problem with that Warlord?"
"…No, Commander." That quickly shut him up.
"Good."
She held back a frustrated sigh, even more so when she caught Central holding back a chuckle. Maybe she was regretting her choice of using Warlord. That boneheaded side of him kicked in hard. Especially Bones hinting he may toy with him in some way.
"All right, people listen to Bones. Follow his movements. He'll get you through the city unseen."
"As long as they can keep up and stay silent." Bones softly laughed. He removed his rifle from his back. "Let's get going, kiddos."
Just like with Mica, the squad quickly learned when a Reaper tells you to keep up, you keep up. Bones knew the twisted streets like the back of his hand. Every step they took, every movement they made, every alley they cut through was carefully accounted for. Even the peacekeeper patrols. They would usually catch them just at the tail end of their patrol routes.
"Hold." A raised hand from the Reaper stopped the group. With a quick hand signal, they quickly ducked behind some bins in the alley they were currently in. A patrol was passing by.
"Hm. This street is a bit busier than normal." Once the patrol passed, Bones stuck his head out to get a quick look. "Ah, so rumors were true. Bringing in some fresh blood for the city's security infrastructure. Security convoy up ahead." Down the street was the convoy. It was currently stopped. Several ADVENT personnel were stationed around the vehicles, a few near a sharply dressed human who looked to be surveying the area. "Mako Gree."
"What?" That caught Commander Reeves's attention. A security convoy was nearby. That could spell trouble for the operation. "Who?"
"Nothing for you all to worry about Commander," Bones made another gesture for the group to stay put as he headed out, "pain in the neck for my crew later. And watch where I go, kiddos."
"I think a security convoy concerns me a good amount Bones."
"It won't. This is a problem for me. Seems like they're wising up about my group's recent raids and a growing rogue robot problem nearby."
"It will be a problem for us if we're ever back in this city." She sternly said. What he said next caught her off guard. "Growing rogue robot problem?"
"Well, if you are ever back in this place, just give me a call and my people will help you out." He chuckled. "Should any changes have occurred to the city's security, my man will have it mapped out and hacked once more."
"Robots? Bones?"
"Von Tron will leave you details of that. Too much to talk about now. Trust me."
"Still working on that trust."
Bones dashed his way over to the concrete divider, pausing to get a good idea of his surroundings. ADVENT patrols as far as his eyes can see. Then something caught his eye.
"Oh, a Viper?" He saw those familiar yellow and orange scales emerge from the back of one of the convoy trucks. It slithered its way over to the human, handing them a tablet. "Must be a personal bodyguard. Hmm." Temptation. Temptation. He wanted to see what was on that tablet and see what the human, Mako, was surveying. But he had a schedule to keep.
"Another day."
Once another patrol passed, he hopped over the divider, quickly making his way across the street and into another alley.
"Viper, Viper…" He tapped his chin, peeking out again to see where they were. Still by the human. "Some of you guys have good eyesight and a strong sense of smell. Can't let you see who I'm escorting." His eyes fell on a security tower near the main grouping of the convoy. A couple of citizens were standing nearby it. "Perfect. Let's see…"
He kept his eyes on it as he raised his arm, tapping on a silver plate. A moment later, the lights and alarms in that particular tower went off. That startled the citizens underneath it, but more importantly, grabbed the attention of the convoy. Especially the Viper.
"What are you doing, Bones?" Central spoke up when he saw that the security tower light up. ADVENT quickly held up the civilians near that tower. He didn't like the idea of innocents being used as bait.
"Clearing a path, sir. The civvies will be fine. A bit shaken, but fine."
"Kiddos," Bones addressed the squad, "when the streets go dark, get a moving."
"What in the world does that fucking mean?" Warlord said.
"Warlord." Warden chided him. "Hush up."
"This." Bones said. "Von Tron. Blackout. Sprinkle in some interference."
The lights on the streets flickered for a moment. Some surged to life, causing several blowouts, and sprayed glass on the patrols, and convoy, below. A good start to distracting them. The flickering continued until all the street lights went out. The lights from the buildings provided faint illumination until they went out a second later, blanketing the streets in darkness. A proper example of that taste he had shown earlier.
"Oh. That trick of yours." That answered Warlord's question.
"Damn another power outage! Flashlights on! SECURE THE STREET!" The human yelled.
"Get moving, kiddos."
Without a second to lose, the squad quickly left the alleyway. Only the memory of Bones' route, the faint glimmer of those lights on his equipment, and subtle moonlight to guide them.
Bumbling in the dark, but none worse for wear compared to ADVENT. As their eyes adjusted to the darkness, they noticed a few Troopers fiddling with their rifles in a futile attempt to get their flashlights to activate. Others were tapping the sides of their helmets, complaining about radio interference. There were a few close calls, nearly running into a trooper stumbling about. But they were able to make it to the other side without much trouble. Except for one cheeky individual.
When a group of troopers would bumble too close to the squad, they would find a way to cause the last trooper in the group to tumble over, taking their fellow troopers to the ground with them.
"Ah!" Those familiar sharp shouts of those troopers filled the air, followed by armor smacking the pavement and rifles tumbling to the ground.
"Warlord! Again!?" A strained whisper came from Hexx. Of course, it would be him. They were just about to enter the alleyway and he was trailing slightly behind the squad. Kicking a rifle far away from one trooper blindly searching and just admiring his handy work.
"Keep moving." He whispered back, waving her off. "I know what I'm doing."
"You're getting cocky."
"Rare opportunity to fuck with 'em like this."
"Fine opportunity to blow our cover." She was ready to drag him by his collar.
"Get back with the group, Warlord." A stern order from Commander Reeves interrupted the two. "Ain't the time to play."
Warlord tensed at the sound of her voice. He was already treading on thin ice from earlier. "Yes, Commander." He responded in a dejected tone. One more rifle was being kicked away before he moved to catch up with the group. "Kill joy." He grumbled under his breath.
"Heard that."
Once they were all together and deep in the alley, the streets and buildings flickered back to life. And ADVENT was none the wiser.
"How many m— How many more of those do you got up ya sleeves, hangman?" A slightly out of breath, and chuckling, Warlord asked. Maybe this Bones wasn't so bad?
"Enough." Bones gave a so-so gesture.
"Half expected a Zuud tactic back there." Iris spoke up.
"I do like to be more 'subtle' route than my frisky compatriot." Bones laughed. "Though I do have my moments."
"I wonder if those moments are the source of Zuud's antics?"
"Maybe.~" He replied in a singsong manner. He looked down at his watch. "Let's get going. Tick tock. Tick tock." They were on the move again.
As they continued to move, Bones deployed these tactics a few more times when the patrol routes were just a bit off to open the path for them. Setting off the security towers, causing guard checkpoints to malfunction, and the occasional blackout. And of course, Warlord just had to toy with any unlucky patrols during the blackouts, even with the Commander scolding him. Looked like he liked playing on the edge, even if it meant he'd get his ear chewed off later.
"I'm gonna want to meet this Von Tron." Dimitri couldn't help but comment as she watched everything going on. She also noted a few areas around the city also started experiencing power outages whenever Bones called on a blackout. Smart way of making it look like it was more than one area being affected. "This is some work."
"Just hope he's right about ADVENT not noticing." Central mumbled.
"Von Tron wants to meet you too. Dimitri, was it?" Bones commented. "He can't believe you found his backdoor so fast." He chuckled. "Must have alien tech on his level."
"You can call me Haze." Dimitri corrected him, softly chucking. "I just may."
"Haze it is." Bones acknowledged. "Von Tron will leave a little contact gift if the Commander doesn't mind that."
"I mind, but I'll let it pass for now." Commander Reeves spoke up. "If that 'gift' causes any issues for our system, you will regret it." She was still peeved about the hacking."
"Von Tron knows better than to do that." He laughed. "I want to stay in your good graces, madam."
"Get back into them you mean."
"Yes, ma'am."
"This is where I stop."
With a raised hand, Bones stopped the group. Tucked behind some crates, they could see the back entrance to the gene clinic. Pristine like the rest of the city. But they knew the dark secrets that lay within. A guard patrol was passing by.
"Um, these back entrances tend to be heavily guarded and link directly to the 'experimentation' chambers." Iris voiced his concern.
"Cameras have been hacked. Inside and out." Bones quickly pointed out the cameras. As he did so, one turned in their direction. It started to move back and forth. In a way, waving at them. He gave a quick thumbs up. "And the latest batch of subjects have been moved, so it's pretty empty in the back."
"Huh." Iris was dying to look at all the coding later.
"You've got some resources, Bones." Commander Reeves commented. She had to give him that.
"Thank you, Commander."
Bones holstered his rifle, taking a moment to adjust the grappling hook on his forearm. "I'll be keeping an eye from above."
"Is the location of the VIP still the same?" Commander Reeves asked.
"Yep. VIP is on the third floor. Can't miss her office with the gaudy aquarium wall." He shook his head. "Bypass code is 3434. Works for all the doors."
"What's the signal for the VIP, mate?" Warlord butted in.
"Pulling Durga and her posse out of the room. My people will handle that." Bones answered.
"How you gonna do that?" He questioned. "Isn't she some 'top-notch' bodyguard that ain't letting the VIP out of her sight?"
"My people will handle that."
"Give me a straight answer, hangman." Warlord marched over to Bones. Though most of his hostility to the Reaper had melted away, he didn't like his coy nature regarding the details for the mission.
"Would ruin the plan." Bones waggled his finger in his face. "Some things are best kept secret."
"Oh, fuck off with that shite." Warlord smacked his hand out of his face. Bones just chuckled.
"You kiddos best get going before the second set of guards come 'round. Tight schedule tonight." With a flick of his wrist, his grappling hook went off and he was soaring through the air. Disappearing to the rooftops.
"Can't wait to get me one of those." Warlord commented. He was jealous. "When's the research finishing on that, Commander?"
"Soon." A short answer from her.
"You heard him, Menace 1-5. Get to infiltrating." Central spoke up.
"Alrighty then." Warlock cocked his gun. Already heading over to the large security door. "The usual team split? Menace 1-3 and Menace 1-2?"
"I've got your six." Hexx said. Her revolver in hand. A quick flick of her wrist, a quick check to see all chambers were loaded. She smiled.
"I'll tag along to make sure you two stay on point." Iris said. That got a glare from Warlord. "And to do all the bypassing, hacking, and tracking." The security door opened.
"Pretty quiet." Warlord commented as he carefully poked his head in. The back of the clinic was empty. Though he could see some blood on the floor. Dried and brown. "Clear." He gestured for Hexx and Iris to enter.
"Blackout and I will take the rooftops. Secure the exit point." Warden said. They would be Menace 1-2. Blackout was already climbing up a pipe. "Eager." He commented before following her lead.
"Keep it quiet, people." Central spoke up. "And check those corners."
"Don't get your knickers in a twist, mate." Warlord chuckled. Already he was at the next door, ear pressed against the wall. Some chatter. A pair of workers were passing by. "We—two workers in the hall —know how to be silent."
"Keep civilian casualties to a minimum." Central added.
"Wouldn't dream of it." He carefully opened the door when the voices passed. "Unless they're gunning for me."
"Warlord."
"Kidding!" He stifled a laugh. "Lighten up a little, mate." He just liked talking back.
"I'll lighten up when you're less reckless."
A moment for the chattering to disappear, Warlord carefully opened the door. A quick peek. Left. Right. No one was there. Though he heard faint chatter to his left. Must have been where the workers went. "Clear."
With that, the three entered.
"Taking point." Hexx said, leading them to the right.
"Cameras show no one's in the east wing. Should be a clean shot for the stairs." Iris said.
"Got our tails." Warlord followed after them after shutting the door. "Hope this will be a speedy operation. Wanna get out of this place…"