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OMICRON REPORT
Team 203 Warehouse. 010530 1400.
For the members of Team 203, it had been a long day. On the second floor, northwest corner, they all gathered around the Super-Genius Table. So named because of the self-proclaimed Super-Genius that sat at the head of the table, Dr. Fredrick Payne leaned heavily on the left arm of the chair, his head resting in his hand. His left elbow planted on the cushiony black chair-arm took all the weight of his great oversize brain. He surveyed the team and the table through megalomaniac eyes. The table was semi-circular, with the team sitting around the 180 degree arc. The flat of the table was roughly three feet from the north wall, and the space was taken up by a myrid of printer, scanner, projectors, HDTV screens, and overheads. To his right sat Masque, then Petyr, Otter and Kham at the furthest end of the table; this put all the fighters facing towards the rest of the building in case of intruders. To left sat Ian, Beggay, and Dodger. They were his brain trust; secondary only to his own. "Gentlemen and ladies, give me a report. Ian, you start."
Ian started out with the obligatory "AGH!!" and then moved right on to the remainder or his description in his thick Irish accent. "Well, Masque and I got to thinking that anything wouldn't be as messy as interrogating the restuvh our prisoners like Petyr did, and Beggay was not wanting to patch anuther hole in the wall. So I got him to help out on a little surgical procedure I call 'Irish Brain Hacking' Agh!!"
Masque cut in, "Or just Brain Hacking."
"Agh, yee right, yuu mankey git!" Ian took a drink from his glass then continued. "We surgically installed a Environmental Neural Interface and proceeded to use some software I developed which really sucks cuz it don't explode. Agh! It allows me to navigate a targets memories and download them, manipulate them, and replay, stop, pause, and erase them. Erasing is hard cuz of the tuffness of the human
mind. Agh! It also takes a lung time cuza the amounta memories a person has. Butt in the end we'd hacked one uvh the Docs brains from Zues. Damn I'm thursty. I needa drink, Masque finesh this off for me wouldya laddy." Then he stood up and went to the kitchen/bar.
Masque just stared at him in amazement. "Agh.." he stammered. "Like Ian was about to say, we found out that the Doctor was performing a procedure he didn't understand. That is not to say he is incompetent. He went to Johns Hopkins Medical School and has two PhD's. They just seem beyond him, and from his memories we were able to find out that he follows a procedure that is more like a recipe than an operation. He also shared with us that he gets his directions from someone call 'Beetle'. It's my guess that this Beetle is a Gray."
Doctor Payne suddenly had a wonderful dream, of him pissing on a dead Gray's body. Ahhh it would be wonderful. Doctor Payne looked up from the flat panel LCD computer screen built into the Super Genius Table (SGT) in front of him as Masque finished, "Outstanding, with the prisoners taken care ..."
"Excuse me Doctor," Petyr cut him off. "But I also have something to add."
Doctor Payne hated being cut off, but since Petyr also manifested the same immunity to diseases there wasn't much the Doctor could do to him. "Then by all means enlighten us," he said with only the tracest amount of contempt. It was well known that Petyr was one of the least intelligent people in the room, with a mere 150 IQ.
"Vhile Ian and Masque vere Hackingk Brains, I vas called to a meeting with Drake. He had a vew things he vanted to discuss with me, includinkan update and debriefink session at 0800 de virst of June. After dat he also instructed me to be vary careful and said dat vee were swimming in dark waters." Petyr left out the two small metal briefcases that had been given to him. Called GODBOXES they were able to control electronic devices, any electronic devices, by remote control as long as they had an antenna. The box also had transceivers that could be attached to dumb machines to get around that problem.
"After I got beck from my meetink, I borrowed Ian's Brain Hacker--"
"IRISH BRAIN HACKER!! AGH!" came a shout from the kitchen.
Petyr continued, "Brain Hacker and installed it on the gentleman I interrogated yesterday. I conferred with Verner at Your Zoo," he said as he motioned to Doctor Payne, "and he gave me some insight as to my findings. Due to the sensitive nature of dee material I haven't shared it until now." Petyr paused for a moment to look at everyone's faces. None seemed upset of betrayed, but in the weak glow from the LCD monitors and projectors, it was easy to hide anything. "Continuink, I found dat our friend, had he returned to Ares would have expected one of two thinks. One, to be rewarded with a new wristband. In context it sounded like he vas beink promoted. Two, to face his commander is a Trail. It involved combat and if he vere to vin, he vould receive his commanders wristband. Losink meant death, and dis was vhere I needed Verner. Either man loosing meant dat a man in a white robe entered the room and withdrew a bone marrow sample, a vial of spinal fluid, and used a special device to retrieve a cross section of the dead man's brain. Verner informed dat dese vere viable methods of retrievink DNA samples. The winner it seemed, got to keep or destroy the losers DNA. Verner offered only one explanation. They use it for breeding purposes."
All those in the room sat up in attention, and even Ian stuck his head out of the kitchen. Masque was the first to speak, "Dr. Payne, is that possible!?!"
Doctor Payne sat back cooly in his Super Genius Chair and surveyed the table of Ops. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Selective Breeding is man's oldest means of genetic engineering. It also takes the longest. In the distant past, man bred sheep to have short legs so they wouldn't run off and get lost. But by breeding only the short sheep, they all ended up with short legs, and that made them slow. The slow are easy prey for foxes and wild cats. Thus man needed sheep dogs. But I could tell you all anything and you would be forced to believe me because I am a Super-Genius. I could tell you that giraffes got long necks because so many of their ancestors got their necks stuck in trees that their pulling, to get them out, resulted in longer necks so they wouldn't get stuck."
"Agh!! I saw that on Discover!! Damn long necked Giraffes!!"
Doctor Payne just shook his head, "But all that aside, if they are selectively breeding that would explain a few things. One, how they are so good compared to the rest of the scrubs out there. Two, why there were interested in Melissa; She would represent very good genetic stock."
Masque boiled inside at the memory of what he had almost witnessed and what had almost happened. A rage built inside that he would have to relieve, by either beating up some Navy SEALs after a quick drive down to Coronado, or by clearing out a bar after a big brawl. Then he cleared his head and came back to reality, "Doctor, what does that mean we have to do?"
Doctor Payne paused and looked around the room, then shut his eyes in though to build the moment. He already knew the answer. He had crafted his last statement to generate the feelings in Masque that would get him to ask that question. Opening his eyes and scanning the Team slowly he said, "We wait, we plan a little extra, and we wait for Drake's order to destroy them." Kham and Otter got a gleam in their eye that he knew was good, but he decided to change the subject. "Masque, tell me what else you found about GenTech targets in this area."
Masque was surprised at the sudden change of topic, but dove right in. "After some research and some communication with my contacts I've located a large GenTech facility just outside Idaho Falls, Idaho. They do just a little too much business with Grumman-Northrop and other Defense Contractor companies dealing with Ares." Masque droned on into details about shipping, trucking, warehousing, trade volumes, sales volumes and air freight. The graphs and overheads he flashed up on the screens quickly had everyone supremely bored. Except perhaps Ian, who was probably making up his own story. Ewwee Look A Pretty Birdie!! Thirty minutes later Masque was wrapping up his presentation, "Finally, Beggay and I have got a plan to get in. Beggay."
Beggay stood up and brushed off his overalls, sending bits of rust, dirt, grease-cake, and other garage floor crap flying onto the SGT. Dodger shuddered in horror at what that could do to electronics, but managed not to freak out. Speaking through a giant wad of Red Man tobacco and adjusting his Def Leopard hat, Beggay began. "Like Masque said, we'za gotta plan that I figure is 95% likely to succeed." Putting figures and calculations into was only natural for a Science Op. "I've been building a trio of Stealth Ultra-Lights that can carry three people each." He clicked up on the screen a schematic of the Ultra light. "Now this," he said as a satellite overhead came up, "will be our target. It is a GenTech chemical Processing plant outside Idaho Falls, Idaho." Another click and three red arrows came up on it. "Masque, Doctor Payne, and Dodger will drop here," he used a laser pointer to point out the first red arrow. It was in the southeast corner of the map and atop a large building. "This is their control offices and general offices. It is three stories tall. But people only access the northern building. The southern building is attached but is apparently empty. No one ever uses it, at least not in the ten weeks the Company has been watching it." Another picture flashed up, this one in Infrared or thermal. "This is a IR scan of the ground. Look at the southern building, it's got a massive heat spike. This profile resembles that of a Thermal Nuclear Battery, like those used on deep space probes and satellites." Click, and the main picture was back up. "Masque, Doc, and Dodger will get in and find out what's in that back room. There is two pair of security guards in there. The last janitor leaves at 1900. We should make touchdown some time after 2200." He then pointed to the two arrows in the top left and top right corners of the map. These two teams will be made up of everyone else except me, I'll be in the Scout Helo. Blue Duck will also be overhead in an Advanced Tactical Fighter." Two screens flashed up of the Scout Helo and of Blue Duck waving. "Sorry. Lightened the mood."
A few heads nodded and Otter giggled.
"The Northwest Group will penetrate the three tier fence and gain entry to the tank yard. Those tanks hold volatile material and are to be demolitioned. The Northeast Group is also to penetrate a mere fence and access the chemical processing facility, it is to be demolitioned also." Two screens flashed up, one a detail of the large oil field like above ground low, fat, cylindrical tanks. The second was of a ten story facility that had more piping and hoses, and reactor tanks, than who knows what. But it was a major industrial facility. "This plant makes high strength plastics of many varieties. It seems they sell a large amount of product to some of the Defense Contractors we're interested in, but Masque already said that so I'll move on." He fumbled with his remote control and the laser pointer but eventually got back on track. "Like I was saying, the two penetration groups will be Leopard and Panther, northwest and northeast respectively. The ultra-light group will be Eagle, Blue Duck is Duck, and I will be Mother Goose." He smiled a smile that Science Ops get when they think they're being clever. "Individuals on the team will have numbers, but thats SOP. Panther and Leopard will have to use suppressed weapons and attacks to subdue guards for the duration because Eagle won't know what they're getting into. Charges and sentries should be in place or taken out by 2300. Questions?"
Of course Doctor Payne raised his hand. "I just have one question. I know of the unrivaled sensor quality on the Helos and on Blue Duck's spy pod, but wouldn't some up close real-time intelligence be useful? Perhaps a robotic bird constructed by Ian and you, could be 'Disguised' by Masque and we could fly it in before we land on the roof. That way we avoid any concealed surprises like Ian has for unwanted guests on our roof."
The room was speechless at his incredible intellect. Ian, who had been leaning in the open walkway to the kitchen after he poked his head in, shouted, "Fukin' Right!! Agh!!"
Masque cut in with one comment, "We should also notify Drake so he can tell the teams in Idaho that we're coming into their AO. That would be proper."
"Good point," replied Beggay.
Doctor Payne looked around the table at the Team, everyone nodded in agreement with his plan and the groundwork Beggay had laid. "Good, good, good. But before we get to work I'd like to bring up one thing that has been on my mind." He paused for effect again. "I think Drake is a Traitor, and I mean to destroy him." There were a few shocked faces, especially Petyr's. "When we meet with him, that is our chance." A crazy twinkle was in the Doctor's eye now. "You have to trust my logic, which is to complicated to explain, but when I say NOW! everyone attack him. We all know he is a formidable adversary. He wouldn't be a controller if he wasn't, but together we can over come him." His words settled in. "Remember, when I say NOW! Attack."
Everyone smiled and left the table quickly to get to work.
Idaho Falls, ID. 010530 1900.
"Chhhk. This is Duck, I've got you on my camera. Over, Chhhk." Blue Duck insisted on inserting static in his radio communication. The advanced radios The Company used were crystal clear digital masterpieces of technology and he missed the static.
"Roger, Duck. Mother Goose here, Eagles and cats are looking good, our ETA is 2000."
"Copy that Mother Goose."
Above GenTech-Idaho Falls. 2000.
Twenty minutes later, Beggay had the Scout in an orbit at 13,000 feet. Well out of visual range that let him put the autopilot on and focus his energy on landing the three ultra lights. Leopard and Panther got full throttle and branched off from Eagle. Leopard was hooking south around the GenTech base and Panther was going North. They should land ten minutes ahead of Eagle, which would give them time to at least get to the fence. Beggay was also controlling the bird which was flying overhead watching the guards on their rounds. Panther was actually the first to get to it's clearing. Beggay flew it at about 70mph, max speed, just above the tree tops then pulled up sharp until it almost stalled then nearing zero forward speed he pushed it over into a sharp turn. It completed the turn with fifty feet less altitude and only 30mph speed. Then he applied flaps and settled it gently on the ground.
Panther One was Petyr and Panther Two was Kham. Both hopped out wearing nearly two hundred pounds in gear. Petyr's large frame easily handled the weight, and with the combat webbing and vest, the extra weight didn't slow him down a lick. Kham on the other hand because of evolution, her frame was considerably lighter than Petyr's. Not built for carrying the kill after following it in the hunt for days, she looked like she would break under all the weight. Petyr knew not to worry about her though, she'd made it through Combat Op training and was one of the toughest four hundred people on earth. Dressed in camo fatigues from a foreign nation, they were blacked out in face paint, and wore kevlar gloves and pants to vault a barbed wire fence. Both exchanged a few hand signals and then moved off quickly through the forest. Once at the edge of the tree line they awaited the Click-Click-Click pause Click on the radio. When Beggay gave them the signal on the radio, using the bird as a pair of eyes to see that that guards were clear, they ran and vaulted the fence into the Chemical Plant.
About two miles away, Beggay repeated the landing maneuver and plopped Leopard down in about six inches of swamp water which drastically shortened their landing run. Ian and Otter got out soaked in swamp water. "Agh! Fuck" said Leopard 1, Leopard 2 just giggled. Ian carried only one hundred fifty pounds, but Otter made up for it with two hundred fifty. Both looked over weighted. But after a few hand signals they moved out. Also waiting for a radio signal at the edge of the forest they sat in the forest absolutely motionless. Leopard 1 scanned the tank yard with night-vision binoculars. Camouflaged and face painted to break up their outlines, they got their signal. Click-Click-Click pause Click-Click. Standing under their massive burdens, they sprinted to the fence. Leopard 2 got their first and planted. Leopard 1 stepped in his cradled hands and jumped onto the fence. He reached down and pulled Leopard 2 up, then both dropped on the other side. Sitting motionless at the base of the fence, they scanned for observers clutching their suppressed weapons. Leopard 1 had a .45 Copperhead, and Leopard 2 a pair of suppressed .45 Cudgels. Leopard 1 patted Leopard 2 on the back, sending Leopard 2 dashing into the tank yard, with Leopard 1 steps behind. One to four clicks meant go one of the four cardinal directions. Beggay directed them in this way through the tank field to avoid the roving patrol. Ian planted slim-line charges at the bases of the tanks camouflaged in weeds.
Inside the Chemical Plant, Kham and Petyr skulked around in the dark, planting charges on important girders and on volatile chemical reactors. Kham though, went out of her way to drop five sentries with her razor claws.
Meanwhile Eagle was gliding up to its target under a minimum of throttle. Even though it was stealthy, it wouldn't pay to be heard. When it was a quarter mile from the north buildings roof Beggay cut the engine and glided the rest of the way in. They hit the roof at 30 mph and the brakes stopped them six inches from the edge without so much as a screech. The megalomaniac Eagle 1 got out first and checked his whipit shotguns. Eagle two stepped out and adjusted his hair. Eagle three checked his computer, and cyberdeck, and then disabled the one roof sensor. All three men wore black sneak suits, with matching black balaclavas (Ski masks), gloves, and boots. All their equipment was blacked out, and even the ring where their eyes were exposed under their mask, they had put on black camo paint. Toting only the light amount of gear and ammo they needed, they had it easy compared to Panther and Leopard. When he was done he gave Eagle 1 a thumbs up, who directed Eagle 2 towards the roof door. Eagle 1 and 3 followed. At the door, Eagle 2 broke out a small kit and picked the door and stumped the open/close sensor. Inside he lead the way with a pair of 9mm Sap machine pistols with extended magazines. The stairs came out in a back room that was full of supplies. Quickly Eagle 2 went to it and used a fiber-optic camera to check what was beyond it. Eagle 1 and 3 waited in silence. When he yanked out the camera and jumped back, they were nervous. Then he gave the HIDE hand signal and they dove for cover. Eagle 2 waited four feet back from the door, against the interior wall, on the side of the doorknob. As the door creaked open, the room was flooded in flash light, and they could hear the sound of a voice, "So ya think it'sa gonna be a slow night Marv?"
Eagle 2 took two steps up to the door and fired six shots, three into the chest of each guard. Both hit the floor with soft thumps an lifeless stares in their eyes. "Shit," whispered Eagle 2. "Quick sweep the floor," he said to Eagle 1. He and Eagle 1 moved off quickly with Eagle 3 tailing about ten yards back. As they headed down the stairs they could hear the quards talking below. It was the stairwell to the main lobby and was of the large, open sweeping stairways that many corporations favored as a sign of prestige. But it made them very vulnerable as it increased their Danger Zone of time where they could be seen, but could not effectively shoot. Those seconds could be used to signal an alarms or ready firearms. Both looked at each other as they realized the dangers at the same time. Standing side by side at the top of the stairs listening to the voices below talk about the latest Monday night football game they hesitated. Then Eagle 1 said as he drew both 12 guage whipits, "Let's rush em."
Eagle 2 looked back at him through his goggles, "Surprise eh?"
"You got it," he whispered back. Then he raised on finger, then two, then three.
As the third finger came up both began quickly but quietly hopping down the staircase. As they rounded it, the front desk swept into view, one guard had his back turned but the other seated at the desk looked up in amazement. Masque's single pistol shot caught him between the eyes and his head snapped back as he spun of his chair to the ground. Doctor Payne fired both barrels from one whipit. Curiously there was no bang, but the eighteen 00-Buck shot bullets slammed into the mans back, arcing him up on his feet, slamming him into the counter, then crumpling him to the floor. He smiled as he realized that he had a Rate-of-Fire eighteen times as high as Masque's. The all-brass shotgun shells he pulled out as he broke open he shotgun he stuffed back in a pocket, and reloaded were the kind Navy SEALS and Army Tunnel-rats used in Viet Nam. They had a copper diaphragm that popped out when the powder burned. It produced a sudden snap and propelled the buckshot out the barrel, but the diaphragm also contained all the sound of the explosion. Making them silenced shotgun shells. As he flipped the whipit shut on two fresh rounds, both Leopards moved the bodies behind the counter and out of sight of any passers-by that could see them through the buildings massive front picture glass windows.
Then the Leopards moved into the office areas and found no doors to the south building. "That would make it difficult for anyone to access it," observed Leopard 3 dryly.
Not amused, Leopard 1 said, "My intellect tells me there must be a secret door. Find it."
Ten minutes later they did. In the largest office, presumably the bosses, behind the desk Masque had found frames in the wall and metal hinges using one of the toys Tech department lends those in Intel department. "Now how do we open it?" he mused.
Eagle 3 spoke up, "Let me try." He sat on the desk, jacked in and shut his eyes. Ten seconds later he started sweating profusely. "Damn that door is tough he muttered."
"I don't care dammnit. Just open it," grunted Eagle 1.
With that, blood started leaking out of Dodger's nose. His neck muscles loosened up as the door swung open. Then his arms went limp, followed shortly by his whole body. Doctor Payne and Masque split their attention between Dodger and what was inside the door. Three massive turret shaped Super-computer looking devices that were four times the size of the largest Cray sat in the room. There were also two guards with Uzi mini pistols. Dodger's limp body hitting the ground and the clatter of his cyberdeck bouncing on the hard tile floor sounded like a Volcano erupting. Both guards sprung to their feet as Masque stitched a line of twenty bullets across their chests and into the wall behind them. As Masque let up on the triggers and raised his guns to the ceiling, Doctor Payne darted into the room, having drawn the Combat Auto Shotgun off his back as Masque sprayed the guards. Inside the room he made a line to the left (or northeast) corner. Masque darted right. As they reached the corners they made eye contact for a second and Payne signaled forward. Springing to the front of the room Payne left Masque to watch the back wall, in a move like a chess player having Castles in opposite corners. Running down the east wall he passed the east most of the three giant computers which were laid out east-west, with one in the center of the room. As Doctor Payne rounded the big computer and came to a computer console manned by two techie-looking guys. It was centered on the east most of the computers so Payne was almost right behind them.
Somehow one of the operators saw him and started to jump to his feet and draw a pistol. It was too slow, Payne smashed the side of the computer techs head with the butt of his shotgun, sending him to the floor. He leveled the barrel at the next man and shouted, "Don't make a move." Catching his breath for a second, he then yelled, "Clear."
Masque shouted back, "Clear, two coming in." About fifteen seconds later he was dragging Dodger in by his combat harness. Doctor Payne had moved both techs up against the computer and held them at gunpoint. As he came to a stop he took over guarding the techs and let Doctor Payne revive Dodger. Which he did with fast and precise work. Two injections later and a sniffing capsule Dodger was on his feet, even if his combat vest were a little sticky from all his blood.
Inside GenTech-Idaho Falls. 2100.
Dodger sat up with a grunt and a barely bit back scream. Pain and hurt showed on his face, as he pulled the neural jack from his head. "By the Masts of Portsmouth..." he grunted as he shook his head.
"What happened Dodger?" Doctor Payne asked.
"These three massive displays of cylindricity behind thee would be electronic computers of which little compares. My painstakingly crafted Army Ants program barely breached their defenses."
Doctor Payne didn't have hardly a clue what he was talking about, "So they're computers? Are they important."
"Your question may be answered should these gentlemen provide me with a forthcoming response to what is the access code." Dodger spoke is a slow drawl as he stood up and made his way to the computer terminal they had been seated at but a few seconds ago.
"Well, speak up!" Masque shouted at the two techies.
"Ahhh, umm..." One stammered as he stared down Masque's barrel.
"Common! Out with it. I don't need to explain our dire need!!" He shouted again.
"439175!" One screamed out as he broke under the strain.
Dodger quickly tapped in the code and smiled, "I've got access. But don't kill them yet, should a formidable obstacle plant itself before my greatness they may be of future use to us."
Dodger tapped away at the console, as Masque moved the two techies down to a position by the door. Doctor Payne moved off to investigate a large bank of panels on the wall he had run in by. Masque was not by the door using the techies as human shields and also keeping an eye on the only approach to the room.
Computer Room. GenTech-Idaho Falls. 2200.
Minutes clicked by as Dodger frantically worked at the terminal. Doctor Payne was removing panels and inspecting hoses, pumps, and tanks of clear gelatinous fluid. One tank was empty and he removed it from its housing. Opening a small door about the size of a vending machine, he reached in and pulled out the five-gallon tank. The tank was clear and the clear goop could be seen on the inside, beaded up like syrup. Taking a gadget off his Science bandoleer, he tested it for toxins and chemicals. Clean. He touched it with several strips of test material. Non-corrosive, non-acidic, non-flammable. Hum, he touched it with his finger. It was barely sticky. He touched it too his tongue. Mmmm. Sugary, he thought, probably high in glucose. Then it struck him. He began pulling up floor paneling. The hoses ran from this bank of ten vending machine size pumping stations to the floor to the computers. Organic life forms used glucose as fuel. These were organic computers. "Dodger, have you ever worked on an organic computer?" he asked.
"No, your great Doctorship. I don't believe so," he replied.
"Well you've now had the honor."
Dodger stood up and left the terminal. He stood beside the doctor and opened a panel to the center computer. Inside it looked like any other computer, except the boards were blue, not green or amber. "Hmmm, well I guess they're all the same on the inside," he said and turned around to the terminal again. "I suppose I had expected to see brains or something inside."
The Doctor laughed, "I guess we'll have to just take it apart when we get back to Dynatronics."
EEEEEEhk EEEEEEEk EEEEEEk!! A Siren screamed through the building.
"Shit! An alarm from out in the plant. Someone must have seen Leopard or Panther." Dodger worked frantically at the computer. "Damn that system is separate from ours. I can't stop the alarm."
"What's that mean," shouted Masque?
"Lots of guys with guns will show up soon." Replied Doctor Payne deadpan.
"Then we don't need you two any more." POP POP. The suppressed 9mm hopped twice as he sent high velocity lead into the base of their skulls.
"Dodger, find out what is on these computers. Find out how to get a copy of it. Find out how long we have." Doctor Payne again took control of the situation with a quick decision and decisive action. "Masque, get up to the roof with a rifle and bring in our teams." Masque headed for the door. "Mother Goose, Mother Goose..." Nothing on the radio. "Duck, Duck..." Again Nothing. Damn, Gauss caged the walls I bet. "Masque!!" Masque skidded to a stop just as he stepped out the door. "Set up a radio relay too, I can't reach anyone in here. Also see if we missed anything. I think this room is in a Gaussian cage."
"Will do." Masque said as he trotted off. If he weren't so damn smart, I'd resent him for the way he took command all the time. Outside in the office, Masque took a roll of wire from his belt, and two hand held radios. He attached them both to the wire. "Radio coming in!!" he shouted from out in the office then threw the radio in like a baseball. The wire trailed through the air and came to rest over the tops of desks and lamps once the radio landed in the computer room. "Test One. Test One." He said over his radio. "Come in Eagle 1."
"Copy that Eagle 2. Over."
"Roger." Good radio communication was established. "Panther 1. Over. Leopard 1. Over."
"Leopard 1 here Roger."
"Panther 1 here Roger."
Both voices sounded out of breath and tired. "Eagle 2 here. Rendezvous at the south office building in red. Come in the front doors, Over."
"Roger Eagle 2." Masque heard twice in his implant communicator.
"Did Eagle miss anything Cats?"
"Negative, Eagle. Just a bunch of shooting and the one scrub that threw an alarm."
"But I didn't miss, Panther 2, Out."
"Roger," Eagle 2 said. Then he moved carefully through the office building and up onto the roof. Once there he got down on his belly and took the small slim pack off his back. What looked like a Camel-Back canteen was really a rifle case. He pulled out the fourteen inch barrel and the equally sized suppressor and snapped on the big can. Then he screwed the barrel onto the twelve inch receiver. Then the collapsible stock got clipped on and extended to its full twelve inches as well as the forward grip. Then he slid on the High Power scope. With a big 75mm objective lens it was bigger than the rifle barrel and suppressor. Finally he snapped in the pistol grip, and cycled the empty action to make sure it all worked. Then he forcefully popped in a clip of ammo. It used a 20-round M16 magazine, but the bullets were tiny when compared to even the .223 NATO rounds. Again he cycled the action and brought a round into battery.
Rolling over onto his stomach, he crawled a position about five feet back from the edge of the roof, in the shadow of a roof air-conditioner. He trained the weapon on a car out in the parking lot and aimed at a tire. Applying 2.5 lbs. of pressure to the trigger, flipped the sear and the hammer fell. The .177 cal bullet rushed down and out the barrel at nearly 4000 fps. He didn't even hear the report of the barrel blast. It passed through the sound barriers quickly and almost noiselessly because of its aerodynamic base. The tire exploded and Masque his satisfied weapon worked. He had to test it so that he was sure it worked. Better now than when he needed it, to find out it was broken in transport. But it worked fine and now he watched for any motion in the Tank field or the Chemical plant.
2315.
"Leopard 2, Eagle 1. Detonate the charges green. Over."
"Agh!! I cupy that!! Roger." Ian and Doctor Payne used the common military codes for time. Red was five minutes and green was ten minutes. Except they changed the colors from what most normal armies used.
Five minutes Otter, Kham, Petyr and Ian came leap frogging across the open courtyard to the front of the office. One would run while the other three covered, then they'd rotate until all were at the door. The first one there held it open until all the rest were through. Ian then paced up and down the office walkway waiting for the other five minutes to go by. As the last second ticked off his internal clock he shouted, "Agh!! Timzzzup!!" and cranked his hand held detonator. A massive shockwave rocked the office building as the tank yards exploded. Each tank one by one. Then the explosions began rippling through the Chemical plant. For a good half-a-minute explosions rolled through the mountains as all five hundred pounds of explosives detonated.
"Good work Leopard 1, now get the hell up here."
"Agh!! Thatz all the thanks I get after that display you manky git!!" he bellowed as he trudged up the stairs into the computer room.
For fifteen minutes Ian had been helping Dodger understand all the data on the computers. Parts of it resembled schematics for a machine of some kind, but they couldn't find master drawings or assembly drawings. But there were massive amounts of data on these machines. From Dodgers calculations each had over eighteen terabytes of data storage space, and they seemed 90% full. Masque had come down from the roof and Otter had replaced him. Kham was also up there in case of any surprises. Petyr held the ground floor.
"Chhhk. Duck here. I've got helicopters inbound from Boise, and a convoy of fire trucks from Stetson, the next town to the West. Helo's ETA is fifteen minutes and fire trucks ETA in four minutes. Advise, over. Chhhk."
Dodger, Masque, Doctor Payne and Ian looked at each other. Dodger spoke first, "No circumstances exist under which we will succeed in downloading the requisite data in any amount of time not measures in hours."
"Ok, Duck. Do something about the helos, and Mother Goose do something about the fire truck. Over."
"Chhk. I hate to tell you this, but I'm unarmed. This spy pod's a beast and I needed lotsa extra fuel ya'know. Chhhk."
"Same here, but I have a 15mm chain gun," said Beggay.
"On both counts I know, just do SOMETHING." Doctor Payne stressed something. "Ian, figure out how to get these, or one of these computers out of here. I don't care how."
"Agh! Gotcha!!" he said as he unhooked a laser torch from his belt and a crowbar from his back. Ian went to work on the floor around the Computer, trying to examine its foundation, while Masque and Doctor Payne tried to disassemble two or three of the glucose power units.
2330.
Ten minutes later, Mother Goose had used the chaingun to blast several trees down so they blocked the Highway for the onrushing fire trucks. Mother Goose then followed Ian's orders and came into a hover just outside the east most wall of the office. "Alright! Agh, now Masque use the thermite putty and burn a hole in the wall, also get the room right up to the edge above the computer." Masque followed his orders and set the paste to burn. A harsh white light like that from a stick-arc welder filled the room and all those not fitted with Polarized vision had to look away. The wall and roof fell away in a giant crash and the rending sounds of tortured metal.
"Great! Agh!! Now Doctor and Masque, help attach these load straps." The load straps were attached to the load hook on the Helo outside. "Now put in the protector pads so we don't cut our straps.
"Chhhk. Duck here, Over. Chhhk."
"Copy you Duck. Eagle 1 here."
"Chhk. I've got a surprise for the helo's. Patching a video feed your way, over. Chhk."
"We've got your signal. Copy." The team gathered around display screen at the computer terminal. Even the guards had come in. With Beggay so close, and all the sensors he had with, there was nothing that could sneak up on them. Blue duck's nose camera came to life on the screen. The electronic cameras image was crisp and clear. Ahead the could only see the clouds, up above 20,000 feet. Then the nose pitched over and the mountains below looked like little ant hills poking above a much lower ocean of clouds. The ground rushed up faster and faster. The camera shuddered as Blue Duck passes Mach one, and again when he passed Mach two. The sea of clouds were just below him now, then he passed through them in a second. The plane shuddered a third time as it rocketed past Mach three. Just ahead the choppers could be seen. "Oh, God! He's gonna ram 'em," Masque whispered.
"No, much to smart for that." Spit out the Doctor quickly because by the time he was done speaking Blue Duck had blown past them and pulled up as their eyes locked onto the tree branches just feel below the camera for the instant the green was there. Blue Duck switched cameras to his tail camera. The screen now showed five contrails of smoke arcing down towards the forest covered ground. Then, one by one, each exploded in a red-orange ball of fire.
"Chhhk. Duck here. Five bogies down, IFF registered them as GenTech security out of Boise, Over. Chhhk."
"We copy that Duck. Good work. Head on home," Doctor Payne said, fully aware of how much fuel a dive like that would burn. "Alright Ian, show us what you've got."
"Agh! I've rigged up the foundation to blow. Then the Scout'll lifter up and we'll be makin' bacon!" He said smiling at Kham, specifically her legs. She turned and walked away. "Arr! That's what I like," he grunted. "All of you can get in the ultra lights and I'll pilot the Helo out of here."
"I copy that," Beggay said. "Ian meet me on the roof and we'll do a hot swop. I don't want to set her down with the roofs structure compromised by that massive hole."
"Arrr. Guud Idea!" Beggay then brough it down to a hover just feet above the roof. Ian climbed in the gunner seat in the nose of the helo. Then Beggay opened up the cargo door and hopped out the side. He then shut the side hatch and walked up to Ian's canopy, and tapped it twice and gave him a thumbs up.
"Looks like I'm not Mother Goose any more," he said as he turned to Masque and Doctor Payne. "Lets get two in this ultra-light and we'll take off, then rotate in the next two." Payne and Masque nodded their heads then got in the Ultra-light with Beggay. The little black bird rolled about ten feet down the roof then lifted into the air. In another ten minutes the other two were up in the air and one was landing on the roof. Kham and Dodger got in. Then Petyr and Otter got in the last one.
"Eagle 4 here," said Beggay. "All birds are clear of the blast area. Giver' hell Mother Goose. Copy."
"Agh!! Roger." Ian then flipped up the cover on his detonator, armed it and pressed the pretty little red button. A puff of smoke bellowed out from the hole in the roof and the load strap went taunt. Ian took control of the Helo and gave it more collective. Slowly he increased power to add altitude. When he was about two hundred feet in the air, he slowly pitched the nose over, lost a little bit of altitude but built speed. Then the wing effect of the rotors added lift and he started to climb. Once he was back at five hundred feet he set a heading for Dynatronics Seattle. "Agh!! Bluudy mission accomplished!"
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