Strike Force Five Part 12
Mission in Motion
Everyone gathered in the dining room for the final mission briefing. Heero and Duo had reverted back to their "assignment attitudes" putting what had happened between them in proper perspective. There was no relationship, no star-struck lovers only two soldiers who could not afford for emotional entanglements to interfere with their attention to duty.
There was definitely a sexual attraction but satisfying hormonal urges was more akin to lust than love. An hour before the mission was not the time to debate vice verses virtue. When they returned from the devil's den then they could consider the next logical step or as logical as human emotions could be.
Four backpacks filled with assorted explosives, fuses and remote detonators were given out. Duo had instructed each team member on the dos and don'ts concerning the volatile materials. "Treat them like a lover and there will be no problems." he declared. "But abuse them and they will blow your fucking head off." he had added with the eccentric enthusiasm that explained why he had been nicknamed Shinigami.
Once the team reached the OZ compound they would divide into two groups. Trowa, Quatre and Wufei would penetrate the interior planting their seeds of destruction along the way. When all the charges were in place they would fire their fatal salute to OZ's glorious sendoff.
Heero and Duo dressed in their deceptive OZ camouflage would ride the SCATs to a wooded area bordering the Laser Cannon and wait for the go-ahead signal. Hopefully when the compound began to burst apart it would draw the sentries away from their posts creating an unobstructed path for the tower toppling.
The next order of business was weapons. In addition to everyone's pistol preferences Duo shared his collection of knives. "Guns make noise and noise attracts attention." he announced as he handed on the bladed weapons.
A grin flickered across Heero's lips as he reminded his braided comrade that "Crossbows are also silent."
*********
Packed and ready the Strike Force Five stood by the "Lone Dragon" watching windswept gray clouds bloom over the horizon. Quatre, Trowa and Wufei, dressed in black from head to toe, blended perfectly with the shadowy surroundings.
Like cunning chameleons Heero and Duo had donned the black leather windsuits decorated with the enemy's Crossed Swords insignias. The matching helmets, the explosive laden backpacks and the SCATs were securely onboard waiting to fulfill their role in OZ's elimination.
There were no memorable statements, no morale bolstering orations to sustain one's courage in the heat of battle. No one had any unrealistic notions of standing defiantly together in the face of their foes. There would be no brave charges into the fray. No, the siege would come in the form of stealthy infiltration... namely... sneaking in behind their backs.
The only discourse coming anywhere close to a speech was Trowa's order that everyone repress any urges to act impulsively. "You have keen senses use them."
Wufei's aerial beast beat its "wings" against the wind raising like the Phoenix. Perhaps the Strike Force Five was fated to become the embodied immortality of the mystic flaming firebird. But the team knew all too well that unlike the Phoenix's miraculous rebirth they might not rise from the ashes.
*********
Duo and Heero decked out in their camouflage pushed the SCATs down the trail leading to the tower. Duo pulled on his pack snugging it against his back. Heero tied his crossbow on one side of his bike's gas tank; his quiver of arrow was secured to the other side. In honor of the special occasion he also sported a pistol on his hip. The weapon's weight felt odd but he was more than willing to get use to it.
With a parting "good luck" from their brothers-in-arms the pair of OZ pretenders put on their helmets and mounted their motorized steeds. The SCAT's engines roared to life. As bright violet sparks flashed in his eyes Duo gave everyone the thumbs up sign then his wide smile was covered up as he lowered his face shield.
Heero slapped his shield down and with more confidence gunned his engine. They picked up speed rolling pass the tree line and disappearing into a cloud of dust.
*********
Activity was sparse at the motor pool. Wufei hid in the dusky shade beneath a stout tree's low hanging branches. From where he crouched at least a dozen different means of transportation were bunched together forming a visual blockade to anyone on the other side.
Wufei wondered as he squatted in the shadows what possible reason the Transportation Coordinator had for the closely nestled arrangement. He knew that space was limited but why not put the vehicles in several smaller groups on assorted site? "But," he told himself, "the staging orders were not his responsibility and the "nesting" configuration suited his destructive chain reaction purposes quite well."
Staying low he scurried over an exposed grassy patch pulling up at the end of the first row. Drawing his pistol he darted from one truck to the next finally stopping at the third row. As far as he could tell four or five maintenance techs and three general purpose Assist Drones were the total sum of the evening workforce.
Unlike the Security Drones' nasty disposition, the AD's easy going temperament poised no threat to life or limb. The one instant when someone might find themselves at risk would be if a fifty pound heavy-duty unit malfunctioned and ran amuck. In that case a "stun shot" to the right side panel was your best bet to halt the runaway.
Luckily all the AD's that Wufei could see were the standard square, dumpy GPD models whose only fault was poor depth perception. That design flaw did make them cut their corners short usually causing them to bump into objects including your shins if you didn't keep a sharp lookout.
One stubby workhorse rolled on its cleat-treads between the next row up from Wufei leaving twin rippled tracks in its wake. Creaking with a grating noise, no doubt caused by sandy grit in its gearbox, the shortsighted mechanical kept straight to its task never aware that a vengeful renegade had invaded its territory.
Lying his pistol by his boot Wufei removed the backpack undoing the front flap. A medium sized magnetized "scatter pattern" disk was tucked neatly inside the exhaust pipe of the nearest truck. A red glowing activation light confirmed that the connection was open. The disk would now sit patiently awaiting the remote signal that would unleash its demolishing power.
Carrying his pistol and pack Wufei's next stop was the last row. There the procedure was repeated as blue sparks arced from behind a jeep just yards from him. While a jumpsuit clad tech supervised the repairs an AD was hard at work mending a broken weld spot.
Wufei had no qualms over the tech's soon to be shortened life. The oversized machine pistol the man sported on his hip and the fact that he would not think twice before using it to send Wufei to his final reward was a good enough reason not to care. Gathering up his weapon and pack Wufei reversed course. He would stay well within the tree line's protective borders until his rendezvous with Quatre and Trowa.
*********
Much like their Chinese comrade Quatre and Trowa wove in and out of the wooded perimeter. At the start of their journey Trowa has set up four maximum cluster charges. Two were attached midway up separate tree trunks. The third fitted neatly within an outcrop's flowing creases and the last found shelter in a clump of willow grass on the compound's west side.
The cluster's fuses would not be activated until Trowa was ready to blow the charges. That way the transmission signal would not be picked up at the Communications Center and traced, at least not until it was too late.
The OZ personnel had been considerate in erecting light poles, stacking cartons and leaving any number of other items piled everywhere. Their untidy habits made the pair's secretive travel much more convenient.
Quatre carried six disks; Trowa had only four leftover. Even though they would combine the remainder of their charges the scant count made limiting the target placements a necessary but difficult choice. Of course the infiltrators would have been delighted to stick a disk in every crack and crevice along the way if they had an unlimited supply.
One location that did beg for Trowa and Quatre's explosive intervention was the fuel depot. If one wanted to take out as much OZ real estate as possible with a single blast the highly unstable mixture would do the trick. Trowa tucked two disks in his belt leaving the rest in Quatre's safe keeping. Quatre kept company with his lover until they reached a large rectangle crate. Drawing his sidearm for backup Quatre gave Trowa's cheek a good luck kiss and sent him on his way.
The fuel depot consisted of six long oval cylinders set side by side on supports above the ground. They had been put off to themselves but not nearly far enough from the surrounding buildings to spare the structures from what was to be Trowa's grand incendiary send off.
Voices could be heard from a narrow walkway running between the cylinders and two adjacent storage units. Ducking behind the first pair of tanks Trowa could see the boots and legs belonging to the voices. He couldn't pick out many words but what he could understand sounded so much like the same old complaints that he and Quatre had heard on their previous visit.
Trowa lay on his back sliding under the far right support. It was a snug fit but he had enough room to attach one disk on either side well under and out of sight. Hopefully the activation light's red reflection on the white tank's surface would not be noticed by any patrolling troopers. But it was reasonable to assume that no one would have cause to be crawling under the tanks anyway, not in the short time before the first team finished their assignments.
Picking up his partner along the way the trespassing pair moved on. Next target, the Communications Center. There would be more obstacles to navigate closer inside the complex, more people and drones thickly amassed in a centralized area. Fortunately the same rules held true, as the charges only had to be in the vicinity of whatever one wished to go boom to carry out their deadly destruction.
*********
Wufei stood sideways with one shoulder pressed against a large round pole holding an inner-complex transformer. In the backwash from a nearby spotlight his black clothing blended with the pole's dark surface. His covert stance was kept in total silence and with a perfect stationary alignment. The motive for his statue imitation was a Sentry Drone standing not more than ten feet on the pole's opposite side.
Wufei's companions crouched in the woods hopefully well out of the Drone's sensor range. All had gone well in their reunion. Wufei had traversed the compound playing a game of fox and geese with the inept employees. He was almost clear, within sight of his comrades when the Drone had made an unexpected appearance.
Wufei's surprisingly calm composure, unlike is jittery counterparts, allowed for a tolerant wait as the Drone proceeded in its predictable start and stop patrolling. Its ribbed sole "feet" counted off a systematic series of steps then it would pause to "sniff" the air as Trowa described the Drone's odd head tilting. A short pause to process the information and the series would start again. Each series, however, took the Drone nearer to Wufei.
One last graduated sequence, a single step, the Drone paused again. A low hum from one servomotor cocked its head. Now standing a few feet from the Chinese intruder the deadly apparatus craned its neck for a better viewing angle.
Trowa raised up on one knee calculating the number of inches before the Drone would come within Wufei's visual range. "Ten." Trowa mouthed out the count. Wufei nodded. "Nine." Trowa continued the countdown. "Eight, seven, six, five." Wufei shifted his weight ready to the spring his unseen trap.
Quatre's hand closed with an anxious grip on Trowa's arm. "Can he do it?" he whispered not at all certain that Wufei was in full command of his senses.
Trowa shrugged never missing his count. "Four, three, two...now!" he nodded hoping that he was not about to witness his team mate's gruesome demise.
A blur of black streaked under the spotlight. With practiced speed and accuracy Wufei's arm sprang out. His strong hand seized the Drone's thin linkage between its head and shoulders. In a single fluid motion Wufei gripped his other hand over the first and lifted straight up.
Servomotors whined. Useless gears rotated in a vain attempt to move forward on feet that had lost all traction with the ground. Before the mechanical sentry's weapon systems could power up one violent twist severed the neck connection. A brilliant burst sent pinpoints of bluish-white light spraying in all directions.
The sparking starburst shot a flash memory of beam-lanced soldiers crying out in agony across Trowa's mind. The writhing image's unexpected and terrifying pictures caused a quick breath to stab inside Trowa's chest. The catching quiver shook his torso hard enough for Quatre to feel the tremor.
"Are you all right?" Quatre asked lowly touching his lover's arm. "You look like you just walked over someone's grave." he observed noticing that Trowa face was pale and his brow moist.
Trowa locked his shaken sight with his partner feeling their intuitive bond grow stronger. "I think I just did." he sighed heavily with a shiver in his voice.
Wufei walked passed the pole holding up the now totally relaxed Drone. Swinging the fully flexible skeletal frame, arm and legs dangling loosely, Wufei proudly showed off his victim. Trowa could have sworn that despite Wufei's martial arts proficiency in the Drone's neutralization that his team mate displayed an almost haughty attitude as if he had enjoyed the termination.
Quatre eased up beside Trowa staring wide-eyed at the defunct Drone. "Promise me you will not try that again." he requested of his Chinese comrade.
Wufei dropped the metal corpse with a clatter as the wiggling appendages folded in on the equally lax body. "All that practice did pay off." he stated shoving his boot into the middle of the twisted pile and causing tiny sparks to arc inside.
*********
Duo and Heero rolled the SCATs guiding them through the trees. Sometimes they had to lift the machines over rotting logs, tree roots and those annoying rocky outcrops. The zigzag pattern among the natural detours took longer but the forest was the last area the tower's sentries would search.
A blue-gray glint under the powerful spotlights shone above the forest ceiling. The tower's flattop roof emerged growing larger until the top section could clearly be seen through the treetops. From their distant observation point at the clearing's edge the tower loomed like a hulking steel leviathan. Using the magnifying lens on his night vision scanner Duo could pick out a wide ramp spiraling upwards around the base looping along the outer support beams like a giant armor-scaled serpent.
The ramp ran out of sight about one-quarter from the top platform where the tower's dimensions narrowed considerable. Some form of shaft connected at that junction. Also a ladder was fixed to one outside column running the entire length to the narrowest section under the platform.
Finally atop the manmade obelisk a ratio-grade reinforced gunport cradled the Class Four Turbolaser Cannon in a protective crossbeam cage. A concave tracking dish protruded from the right support. The tacking dish itself was not important, if the first team's planned end for the Communications Center was realized the dish would cease to function anyway.
"Now what?" Heero asked shielding his eyes from the spotlight's glare with his gloved hand.
Duo shrugged, "Trowa said to wait for the signal so I guess we wait."
Heero stood quietly but only for a moment. With a puff of air his snorting commented on Trowa's instructions. "Wait." he repeated with another curt puff, "I don't like to wait." he announced laying his hand over the pistol on his hip.
Duo shook his head fully aware that long suffering especially in silence was not one of Heero's greater virtues. He also knew if "the signal" didn't come within a time period that Heero deemed reasonable that a fit of pacing and mumbling and, most likely, cursing would have to be endured.
Duo stared up at the massive horizontal girders and vertical spires making an extremely uneducated guess at its bulk weight. For the first time since bringing the tower down had been decided Duo was struck by the magnitude of the job. He had seemed self-assured that his appropriated explosives could do what was asked but now standing in the colossal framework's long shadow it was too late to ponder the outcome. The commitment had been made and he and Heero were going to see the mission through to whatever completion the fates dictated.
*********
Quatre slipped a circular charge into the mortar gap in a foundation block. Sitting by the Communications Center's rear wall he scooted his trim bottom along the wall carefully hiding the last disk before joining Trowa and Wufei at the corner.
Trowa had not said anything aloud but the mission so far had gone more smoothly than he had expected. Not wanting to temp the fates with any negativity he decided to keep his thoughts to himself. Still he couldn't shake a disquiet nagging in his mind.
"Ready?" Quatre asked glancing back at his handiwork.
Wufei checked his watch, "Almost show time." he grinned. "Let's get back to the forest, find decent cover and contact Duo and Heero."
The trespassing trio formed a single file slinking to the border. Just as the last of the trailing shadows disappeared into the forest a pair of patrolling troopers accompanied by a Security Drone rounded the corner.
The guards stood shoulder to shoulder visually surveying the dim border. The mechanical sentry tilted its head as it also scrutinized the immediate area. Only the low hum of an overhead transformer and distant voices disturbed the deceptive peacefulness.
"I told you there was no one here." one guard grumbled resting an SR42 on his hip.
The second sentry narrowed his eyes straining to see inside the tree line. "Do you pick up any readings?" he inquired of the Drone. Receiving a negative nod the human sentry took one last look and turned to leave. "I guess my senses were playing tricks on me." he supposed.
"More like that shit you've been smoking has rotted your brain." his partner surmised as the Drone followed close behind the exiting pair.
TBC...
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