Traitor

[John_0515]

Clutch wiped the oil of his brow for the fourth time, he was getting tired of the never ending, unappreciated repairs he has been tasked to complete.

The dolly he laid on was ancient. He was sure his great grandfather changed the oil on the first Ford in existence using it. He wheeled himself back from underneath the massive vehicle he was underneath.

"Duke, this one's good." VAMP 246 was now fully operational.

"Let's get to work on the others," completely dismissing Clutch's work. "With the new temporary budget that the folks up on Capitol Hill gave us, we have to repair what we can ourselves. The days of 'let's just order a new one' are over."

Clutch sighed and nodded. At least he wasn't Gung Ho, who was relegated to administrative weapons duty. Disassembling weapons and inspecting firing pins was something Clutch wasn't readily willing to do. At least he was in his element.

"Can we at least get a new set of tools? I'm using antiquated diagnostic equipment here."

"No deal. We need the funds for ammo, fuel, and supplies. Until the final budget is passed, we're going with what we've got."

Clutch sighed again and wheeled himself over to the next VAMP.

Duke was never like this. Despite all his secretive Black Ops assignments, he always supported the requests of the team. Something was wrong.

"Duke! Duke!" Someone called from the other end of the motor pool.

Duke spun around while looking at a clipboard, his attention still focused on the down. He knew who it was.

Beachhead ran up on him carrying a briefcase.

"Duke, this just came for you, directly from General Colton."

Duke still hadn't looked up.

"Put it on the workbench for now. Is there anything else you want to tell me about?"

Beachhead knew what he wanted to hear.

"Duke, are you sure you want to talk about this here?"

Duke snapped the clipboard down and looked right at Beachhead. The calm anger burning in his eyes.

Everyone in the motor pool stopped what they were doing. Clutch wheeled himself out from under the VAMP he started work on. Sci-Fi climbed down off the laser turret he was looking at and looked on as well. Half a dozen green shirts stopped what they were doing and focused on the situation.

"I'm sorry, Duke. I disobeyed your orders and went ahead procuring the contractors for the repairs. They left an hour ago."

Beachhead didn't like to be wrong, but he was wrong. The repairs were cosmetic in nature, and Duke didn't feel that they were priority.

Duke just stared at him. The situation was completely awkward.

"Duke, I'm sorry, I just didn't think we could go urban and fit in with burn marks and bullet holes on the VAMPs."

Duke continued to stare.

"Understood." He finally broke his silence. There was a collective sigh of relief in the motor pool.

"Ok...." Beachhead was half buying it. "Well, there's just one more repair we're going to need..."

"No."

The tension was back up.

"But, Duke.."

"No." He cut Beachhead off immediately. "Now get out of my sight."

Beachhead stared in disbelief. He was burning up inside.

"Yes, sir." He said half mockingly. Beachhead turned and started to storm off.

"Beachhead." Duke said calmly.

Beachhead stopped and turned around. There was rage in his eyes.

"If you disobey me again, you're out of here."

Beachhead stared, now in complete awe at Duke's demeanor.

"Yes, sir." This one was sincere.

Beachhead slinked back towards the motor pool bay doors and left.

Duke turned towards the administrative offices and started heading that way. He kept looking at the clipboard.

"Man, what was that about?" Sci Fi whispered to Clutch.

"Nothing you need to worry about........yet" Duke scowled as he walked. "Now get back to work and make sure everything is in order."

Sci Fi looked at Clutch and mouthed:

WTF?

[Lifeline_MD]

Intriguing...looking forward to seeing where this goes.

[Firefly9145]

Its a good read we need more tho keep it coming

[PitViper]

Great work man, I'm def a fan of this.

Keep it up!

[John_0515]

It was nearly midnight when all of this happened. Duke walked back to his office and opened the door. He threw the briefcase sent from General Colton on the desk and turned to the coffee maker. For a second, he thought about Snake Eyes, and the gift of the Keurig that sat in his room.

I'm glad he's on assignment. Duke thought to himself. I don't want him here to see any of this.

He programmed the coffee maker and let it run as he sat down behind his desk. He used the biometric reader to open the briefcase by pressing his thumb against the scanner embedded in the handle.

A quick set of beeps and it was unlocked.

Inside was one single piece of paper:

DESTROY AFTER READING

As Duke read, he grimaced, and then pulled out a lighter from one of the drawers. It had a Delta Force insignia on it.

Rock N' Roll. He thought. I'm glad he's not here either.

A knock at the door, which was already opened, drew his attention. He looked up and saw Lifeline standing there.

"Duke, I have the final report on the medical equipment. Everything is accounted for, and fully operational."

"Thanks, Lifeline. Now get back to the barracks and get some rest. I'm going to need you tomorrow."

Lifeline was confused. Needed?

"You got it, Duke." Lifeline paused as he looked at Duke burning a piece of paper.

"Duke?"

Duke looked up at him as the paper burnt in his hand, almost all the way down to his fingers.

"Yes, Lifeline." The tone of his response was somber.

"You need some rest, too. You can't function on zero sleep and still run things ship shape."

Duke made no response as his fingers started to burn.

"I'll be alright." He said. "Now get going, that's an order."

Lifeline hesitated and started moving.

"Yes, Duke. Have a good night."

As soon as Lifeline turned, Duke snubbed the fire before his finger caught.

This is going to be a long night. He thought.

[Neuspeaq]

Yup, it was like those old Warner Bros. cartoons where there was a puff of smoke, shaped like me, subscribing to this thread...
I just couldn't do it fast enough.

[John_0515]

"Unbelievable!"

Beachhead stormed into the common area of the barracks.

Tunnel Rat, Roadblock, and two green shirts were playing cards. They all turned their attention to Beachhead.

"He's out of control!"

Tunnel Rat glanced at Roadblock with a confused look.

"Uuuh,....ok. What's up, buddy?" He tempted the waters.

"Duke's what's up!" Beachhead stuttered from rage. "How can he!!??! How can he!!??! How can he treat me like that!"

"What happened, man? Spill it." Roadblock tried to prompt the story.

Beachhead was very animated with his explanation.

"Oh, don't worry about Duke. There's a reason he does everything." Roadblock defended his friend. He trusted Duke, even though he didn't like the dark side that he often went down.

"Right! A reason for everything. I'm going to find out what 'everything' is."

He turned and stormed to his quarters.

Tunnel Rat shook his head, and turned back to the game.

"That guy needs a girlfriend."

[John_0515]

"Let's go! Lights out! We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow!"

Duke was herding the last of the Joes from the motor pool.

"Duke, I have about 8 more VAMPs to go through. I can get one more done tonight." Clutch pleaded to Duke.

"You've done enough for one day. Go get some rest."

There was no negotiating with him, so Clutch just agreed.

"Duke, if there's something wrong maybe we can help. You don't have to do everything yourself all the time."

"I'm fine. Go get some chow, and some rest."

Clutch was concerned, but he did as he was told.

"We're here for you, man."

Duke looked at him, as if Clutch knew what he was going to do.

"I know." Duke said, turned and walked away.

Clutch gathered the rest of the green shirts and made sure everyone was out of the motor pool. He turned one last time and saw a solitary Duke going to his office.

[John_0515]

The barracks were quiet. Every Joe who was TDY to Fort Campbell stayed in the same barracks, for safety and convenience.

Beachhead sat in the common area with a stack of papers. He had his mask off, a cup of coffee in one hand, an intense look while he read, and continuously mumbled to himself.

"Watcha doin?"

Jinx came up behind Beachhead and leaned over his shoulder. She was in her sleep attire.

He kept reading.

"Duke's up to something, and he ain't sharing," He explained. He had developed patience for Jinx, "so I'm trying to figure out what it is."

Jinx chuckled.

"Oh Beachhead, you get riled up so easily. Duke will let us know what's up soon enough. He always has our best interests in mind. Have a little faith."

Beachhead slammed the papers on the table.

"No! This is different. There's something wrong. I know there is!"

Jinx laughed again.

"Whatever you say," she said condescendingly as she started to pick at his hair, "you have nice red hair." She tried to change the subject.

Beachhead didn't flinch and kept going through the documents. He had no idea that he was looking in the wrong place for the answers to questions that would just make things more complicated.

[Lifeline_MD]

Your Thread titlee makes me wonder about Duke, especially given his reactions to Snake and RnR's absences. The joes always thinking about how much they trust him makes me wonder if he's the aforementioned traitor. But that would almost be too easy.

Keep it coming man.


Oh, and I always enjoy a good Lifeline appearance.

[darkwise]

Very interesting so far, and I like the readable chunks you break it into. Perfect for work.

[John_0515]

Roadblock sprung up out of his bed. The blast came from the motor pool.

He threw his pants on, and opened the door. Dozens of Joes were running up and down the hallway trying to figure out what was going on.

The blasts kept rocking the building, over and over again.

"Are we taking fire!?!" Yelled Tunnel Rat from down the hall.

Roadblock held in the door frame, knowing if the building started to collapse that he'd have some support to make a decision.

"No! It's coming from the motor pool!"

Duke! He thought.

The Joes collected outside the barracks. Half went to the armory to retrieve the weapons, the other half to the motor pool.

"Roadblock! Where's Duke?!" Tunnel Rat yelled.

Roadblock didn't acknowledge. He was worried about his friend.

They got to the bay doors of the motor pool, and they saw a complete disaster.

"We have to get the fires out! The fuel tanks will catch and blow if we don't!" Clutch ordered.

A dozen green shirts were on it, grabbing the fire extinguishers.

"Where's Duke!?!" Clutch exclaimed.

They fought their way to the center of the bay, and laying in a pool of blood was Duke, and four green shirts. A portion of the chassis from one of the destroyed VAMPs was on it's side, trapping Duke.

"NO!" Roadblock ran over and immediately used his massive frame as a brace. He lifted the chassis up about an inch.

Tunnel Rat immediately crawled between the big man's legs and pulled Duke out from under the suspended debris.

"I got him, you can drop the car!"

Tunnel Rat picked an unconscious Duke up and ran out of the bay.

Fire and debris smoked everywhere. At least half the VAMPs that Clutch repaired were now completely destroyed. The Joes ran around trying to put out fires, save vehicles and equipment. The other four green shirts were pulled from the carnage as well, and brought out to where Duke was laid down.

Tunnel Rat handed off Duke to Lifeline, who was already prepared for casualties. His medical pack was opened to the burn trauma. He inspected Duke to find out if anything else was wrong with him.

As he inspected, he paused. His look was that of surprise and confusion.

What in blue blazes?

[John_0515]

Beachhead ran up with the rest of the Joes, brandishing weapons.

"Form a perimeter around the motor pool. Stop anyone who's not one of us!"

Beachhead was on a witch hunt from the beginning. Things were starting to make sense now.

Or so he thought.

"Where's Duke?!!" Beachhead snarled.

"Beachhead, over here!"

Beachhead ran over to Lifeline. His medical team was working on the green shirts.

"What happened??!!"

"It's Duke," Lifeline started.

"Did the blast knock him unconscious??" Beachhead asked. The tough guy routine was dropped. Lifeline heard the concern in his voice.

"Maybe...but....he's been shot."

Beachhead's grip tightened on his rifle.

"WHAT?!?"

[John_0515]

"So far, what we can tell, the green shirts all shot at Duke. He was hit in the left lung once, and I believe the blast from the VAMP nearest to him knocked him unconscious."

Duke was laying in a bed at the medical ward. Lifeline stood next to him explaining to the onlookers what was believed to have happened.

"What have you done, Duke?" Beachhead questioned.

"Hey!" Roadblock stepped in Beachhead's face. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED, SO BACK OFF THE COMATOSE JOE!!"

Beachhead unwillingly stood his ground.

Tunnel Rat's head popped up in between them.

"Can we please stop this? We have to figure out what happened. Lifeline, where's the other survivor?"

"He's in the next room." Lifeline said as he changed Duke's I.V. bag.

The group moved out into the other room to check on the green shirt. Clutch stayed behind.

"He was acting weird, Lifeline." He said as he stared at Duke.

Lifeline looked up at Clutch.

"I know. It's as if he knew what was going to happen." Lifeline finished replacing the I.V. bag. "Do you think he was behind the motor pool devastation?"

"No." Clutch doubted himself. "Maybe." Clutch shook his head. "I think he knew more than he admitted."

Lifeline chuckled for the first time in a while. "He ALWAYS knows more than he tells us. He does, however, ALWAYS take care of us. This just doesn't make sense."

"Guys," Jinx popped her head into the room. Clutch and Lifeline looked at the door frame where she stood.

"General Colton is here."

[PitViper]

Keep it up man. Fantastic story telling and I love that both Lifeline and Jinx are present.

[John_0515]

"Where is he?"

General Colton got straight to the point.

"I want to speak with him."

Jinx looked at Lifeline as if looking for an answer.

"You can see him, sir, however he's in critical condition. His lung was punctured, and he is in a blunt trauma induced coma. We're waiting for his MRI results to tell us whether he has any internal bleeding in his head."

Colton's demeanor didn't change.

"I see." He looked around.

"Were there any other 'survivors'?"

This last question bothered Lifeline.

"One, sir. He's conscious, but badly wounded. I suggest that..."

"Let me speak with him, now."

Lifeline hesitated and then explained.

"Sir, he can barely speak. His face was badly injured."

Colton didn't care. Lifeline led him into the green shirt's room.

The man laid in bed, his head bandaged. His left eye, nose and mouth were showing. There were scars all over his face.

"Soldier, can you hear me?" Colton asked.

The green shirt barely nodded.

"Who was responsible for this?"

There was no response. The man could barely lift his arms.

Colton turned to Lifeline.

"Get this man on his feet so we can figure out what happened. In the meantime, get me his and the other three's dossiers so I can prepare eulogies for their families."

"I'll take care of that." Jinx replied from the corner. She was feeling useless, and this was one way to contribute to a dire situation.

"Good. In the meantime, I need to get to a SCIF (Secret Compartmented Information Facility) ASAP." He turned and started leaving for the administration building.

Beachhead stood in the doorway.

"Sir, there's something you should see."

[John_0515]

"I don't understand. How could he do something like this?!" Tunnel Rat blurted out as they watched the security feeds.

General Colton, Clutch, Roadblock, Sci Fi and Jinx were huddled around the terminal as Beachhead ran the feeds.

"Duke led these four green shirts into the motor pool bay, as seen here," Beachhead pointed out.

"You see him pointing to specific VAMPs in this feed, and directing the green shirts towards the EXACT vehicles that happened to contain VBIEDs.

"You don't see how the VBIEDs were planted, but I suspect that these three green shirts carried them. The fourth green shirt appeared to not be in on it, and was the one who opened fire on the other three, plus Duke. He is the survivor in the medical ward.

General Colton finally looked visibly upset.

"Duke returns fire, but is a victim of the blast before he can address anyone specifically

Beachhead continued.

"There are blind spots in the feeds which I wish we could see, but as you can see, General, the only one trying to save the vehicles was the green shirt in there."

Beachhead looked at Colton, as if waiting for a reply.

The room was silent. It stunk of betrayal.

"Get me to that SCIF, Beachhead."

"Yes, sir."

[John_0515]

Lifeline tended to Duke, and the green shirt. He kept going back and forth between the two rooms.

"I came as soon as I heard."

It was Gung Ho. The giant cajun man was concerned.

"What happened?"

Lifeline wiped the scars from the green shirt's face. Most of them looked fine, however a few superficial scars looked fresher and needed more care.

"Duke blew up half the motor pool, killed three green shirts, and almost got this guy too."

Gung Ho took it as a joke at first.

"No, really, what happened?"

Lifeline looked at Gung Ho with a stern look.

"That's what Beachhead's saying."

Gung Ho was on weapons detail. When the Joes came to the armory for the weapons, he handled all administrative duties until everyone got what they needed. After cleaning things up, he was finally able to get to the medical ward to see Duke.

He didn't believe it either.

"There's no way Duke did all that. And if he did, he's got a good reason."

Lifeline shrugged his shoulders.

"Beachhead's got evidence on video."

He didn't like that response.

"I'll let Beachhead explain it to me, then."

[John_0515]

Beachhead paced back and forth, waiting anxiously for General Colton to reappear from the SCIF.

"You're wearing the rug out, man. Calm down." Clutch told him.

Beachhead had a lot of anxiety right now. He had mixed feelings as to what was going on. He kept pacing.

The latch to the door finally unlocked. General Colton emerged from the SCIF with a purpose.

"Beachhead, I need you to get a security detail together for both Duke and the witness.

He turned to Clutch, and gave him a piece of paper.

"Clutch, I need you for a special pick up, ASAP."

Clutch looked at the piece of paper, looked back at Colton, nodded and left.

"Beachhead, let's get back to the medical quarters."

[John_0515]

Tunnel Rat sat behind the security video terminals and kept fast forwarding and rewinding the security footage. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, and was looking for answers.

"Man, are you still in here?" It was Roadblock.

"I can't believe that Duke killed 3 green shirts, and almost a fourth."

He kept rewinding and fast forwarding.

"I'm telling you, Tunnel Rat, there's something not right about the situation."

Tunnel Rat kept clicking on the controls for the security feed, but was looking at Roadblock as he spoke.

"I mean, it doesn't make sense that Duke cleared out the motor pool before this happened. He sent everyone back to the barracks."

Just then, something caught Roadblock's eye.

"Tunnel Rat, rewind that!"

Tunnel Rat attempted to rewind, and ended up fast forwarding.

"Oops, hang on."

Roadblock kept his finger on the timestamp in the corner.

"Here!"

Tunnel Rat didn't get it.

"Big deal, it shows the three green shirts getting shot. We know that."

Roadblock's eyes grew bigger.

"They were shot in the back. Duke only returned fire in the feed of him. And look! The timestamp shows that Duke shot AFTER these three were shot in the back."

A light bulb went off in Tunnel Rat's head.

"That means that Duke didn't kill these three....but he still let them in."

They looked at each other.

"Man, I'm even more confused now."

[John_0515]

General Colton gathered everyone into the room that the green shirt lay injured. He had Duke's file in one hand the dossiers of the four green shirts under the other.

"Son, nod if you can hear me."

The green shirt hesitated, but nodded.

"Good. I want a security detail on this man, he's our only living witness."

Beachhead pointed to four green shirts who were armed and ready to take up sentry.

"I want another four men on Duke. I don't want anyone going near him. He is to be court martialed immediately."

Colton looked around. No one made a sound.

"Let's move, people. Duke might not be the only traitor around here."

Everyone moved silently to their duties. Colton turned to Beachhead.

"Keep me informed of anything that transpires here until I return."

Beachhead, still with mixed feelings, nodded and turned to give the security details specific instructions.

[John_0515]

Jinx walked down the hallway to General Colton's office. In her hand she held four dossiers.

Duke killed three of these men. She thought. She thought other things as well, but in the end she didn't know what to think.

When she got to the door she sighed and knocked.

"Come in." She heard the General respond to the knocking. She opened the door to find General Colton writing in his log book.

"The dossiers, General." She was to the point.

He looked up.

"Drop them here." He pointed to the inbox on his desk. He looked at her with deep thought.

"Jinx, how did you identify these men?" He asked.

"Via dog tag, sir." This was common practice, especially with injuries that the casualty was unidentifiable due to mechanism of death.

"I see." Colton started. "Jinx, tell me, have you witnessed anything strange about Duke over the last few weeks?"

Duke, strange? She thought. He does something weird every day that the rest of us wonder about.

"He's always into shady stuff, General, but in the end he always takes care of us." Jinx explained. She paused for a second.

"This is why it's hard to understand what's going on. Is he a traitor, sir?"

General Colton looked at her, and told her exactly what he thought.

"It looks like it, doesn't it."

Jinx didn't want to hear that. She wanted evidence for Duke's case. She didn't want to believe that he was setting the Joe team up for failure. There was always speculation as to what Duke actually did when he disappeared, but he never left any evidence that he was doing anything underhanded. This situation was completely different.

"I don't know what to say, sir." She started. "I want to believe that there's more to this than what we've seen.

General Colton pointed to the door.

"Close the door, Jinx, and have a seat."

She looked at him with stern curiosity, and did as he ordered. After she shut the door, she sat in one of the chairs facing the General's desk.

"Jinx, what do you know of 'Operation Triple Canopy'?"

Jinx thought for a second, and responded.

"Isn't that a covert operation in which we tried to infiltrate Cobra through an informant?"

Colton nodded, and continued for her.

"Yes, we tried to send covert operatives into the Cobra organization by posing as politicians, mercenaries, arms dealers and the such, but all were captured, tortured, and killed. Only one....informant," he hesitated, "was able to penetrate Cobra and gather information. He was successful in not only intel gathering, but conducting various 'illegal transactions' that Cobra seeks in order to advance their position."

Jinx was confused.

"How does this tie into what happened here tonight?"

General Colton looked at her with resolve.

"Well, that's why I needed these dossiers. I needed to verify information with the informant."

Jinx looked confused.

"You're not using the dossiers to help prepare the eulogies?"

Colton looked up from the first dossier that he had opened while they were talking.

"No, I needed an excuse to get the dossiers in front of me. I don't know who I can trust. Even you can't leave my side after this meeting. When we meet up with the informant, you're not allowed to leave our sight, use any communication device, or speak to anyone about this matter until it is resolved." the General emphasized 'resolved'. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir, but when did you speak to the informant? All you did was visit the SCIF. And he's coming here tonight?" Jinx had so many questions.

Colton smirked.

"Where do you think Clutch went?"

[DARKWIND]

On pins and needles here bro!!!
Damn good story!!!

[Neuspeaq]

Bump bump bump

[Neuspeaq]

Bump... don't let it end Here!!!

[dcooper]

Come on man!

[Firefly9145]

That is a great read right there can't wait for more

[Night Viper 143]

I'm hooked too, keep it coming brother.

[Darkfire]

Need more.

[Neuspeaq]

Bump dammit!!!

[Neuspeaq]

Bump (?)

[Neuspeaq]

Bump!

[John_0515]

Clutch stood right outside ECP (Entry Check Point) 4 at the airport, just as ordered by General Colton. Parked curbside was the only unmarked vehicle he could fine after the motor pool disaster; a grey Honda Accord.

Not a bad ride........for a broke college kid he said sarcastically to himself. He was smoking a cigarette while he waited.

Where the heck is this guy?

He looked at the piece of paper Colton handed him again.

Delta Airlines flight #01Z from Springfield, arriving 0230.

Individual will meet you outside of ECP 4. Make yourself visible, and he will approach you. Utilize a low profile unmarked vehicle. Transport the individual directly to me.

Make no phone calls, no communications to anyone after reading this order. Any deviation from these orders will result in immediate arrest and court martial for obstruction of a U.S. Army investigation.

- Colton

Clutch didn't know what to think right now. He inhaled his cigarette one more time and threw it down on ground in front of him, stepped on it, and rubbed it out with his foot.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

It was an airport police officer.

Oh, great. I'm not in the mood for this.

"Is this your car?" The officer seemed intent on busting Clutch on something. "This zone is for loading and unloading only." he said as he kept approaching.

"What? Oh, sorry man, it's been a long night." Clutch didn't want to make a big deal about anything. He bent over to pick up the cigarette. "I was just waiting to pick someone up. The dude is late. Sorry about..."

"I'm not late, Clutch." The officer said.

Surprised to hear his name, his head snapped up and found himself face to face with a familiar face.

"You!"

[Neuspeaq]

THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[John_0515]

THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello, friend. Good to be back. ;)

[John_0515]

"....Bea...Beachhead...."

Beachhead snapped out of his daydream and looked at the bed's patient. Duke was awake, and faintly calling him.

"Duke!" Beachhead ran over. Three greenshirts turned their attention towards the bed as well.

"...Beachhead..." Duke broke out into a cough. "...*cough*....Cobra..."

Duke passed out as quickly as he spoke three words. The EKG monitor flatlined and simultaneously his chest wound started turning red as blood started to seep through the bandages. He was dying.

"NO!" Beachhead turned to the greenshirts.

"Get the nurse in here! Lifeline, where are you?!! LIFELINE!"

Lifeline ran in the room and went straight to work. He cut off the blood soaked bandages with a special cutter, and re-packed the wound with Combat Gauze with two nurse's assistance.

"We have to get him to surgery, NOW!"

He quickly unlocked the bed wheels and rolled him out of the room.

"Move, people!" Lifeline screamed at everyone with a new found sense of resolve.

Beachhead stood at the door frame looking down the hallway as Lifeline and the nurses rolled Duke into surgery. Two doctors ran past Beachhead and the greenshirts down the hallway prepping for surgery as they ran.

All his anger, all his frustration, everything he had felt towards Duke up to that point turned immediately into shame and concern. His eyes were welled up, as if he was about to tear.

"Beachhead" It was Colton.

Beachhead quickly wiped his eyes, furrowed his brow and turned to face the General. Jinx was right behind him.

He snapped to attention. "Sir." He acknowledged Colton.

"Beachhead, I need you to go to the surgery ward and post security there. Get sterilized and watch what the doctors do. I know you don't understand surgical techniques and operations, but you must protect Duke. Do you understand me?"

Beachhead felt a sense of responsibility. He focused and nodded.

"Yes, sir." He said. No one was going to sabotage Duke or get near him if he could help it. The back of his neck had goose bumps.

"Good. Go now. Take 3 greenshirts with you, and post them outside the ward."

Beachhead nodded. "You three, come with me." He said as his eyes were fixed on Jinx to see her reaction. As he turned, he ran into Gung Ho.

He stopped in mid step as the huge Cajun man looked down on him with anger in his eyes. He stood there, both feet firmly planted in the ground, hands at his sides. Their eyes were locked. Beachhead felt as if he was losing time, and didn't really understand why he felt so uncomfortable.

It was an awkward few seconds.

"Gung Ho!" General Colton broke the silence.

Gung Ho looked up at the General, and then back to Beachhead. Beachhead slid to the side and carefully continued down the hallway. The three greenshirts passed Gung Ho as well, who blocked half the hallway on purpose.

As they all passed, Gung Ho followed each one with his eyes. He turned after the last Joe passed, and looked at Jinx who shrugged her shoulders. His eyes then panned back to Colton, who looked disapprovingly at him.

"Well?"

"Well, what? Be careful Gung Ho. I'm still your superior. I'd advise you to not make this situation worse."

The Cajun man just stared for a few seconds.

"Hey, Boss!" A voice broke the second awkward silence within moments.

Colton turned and looked at a sweaty Tunnel Rat running towards them. The four remaining greenshirts on the other patient all straightened up.

Colton waved them back down as Tunnel Rat approached.

Tunnel Rat made it to Colton. "Boss...." he was breathing heavily from sprinting, "....me and Roadblock were looking at the surveillance feeds.....of the motor pool...and....well...you gotta see this!" He handed Colton a disc.

"Where is Roadblock?" Colton asked as he accepted the disc and slid it into his coat pocket.

Tunnel Rat was out of breath, and could barely talk.

"....I ran here as fast as I could, Boss....Roadblock......not so much."

Colton cracked a smile.

[joefan76]

wow stellar read. cant wait for more

[djmike74]

ok im hooked

[niknak96]

Thread subscribed!

[John_0515]

Beachhead watched as the doctors worked on Duke. His eyes fixed on every movement they made. Lifeline stood next to him.

"Now they're clamping off his artery so they can stitch it up.". He explained to Beachhead.

Beachhead nodded, as he adjusted the sterile gown he was threw on over his uniform. His eyes stayed fixed on the medical team.

"Now they're going to sew him back up. As it looks, to me, anyway, he should be okay for now.".

There was a hint of relief in Lifeline's voice, which helped Beachhead believe that Duke was going to be ok.

"I'm going to go check on the other patient. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Beachhead nodded again, his gaze unchanged.

Lifeline walked down the corridor. Colton, Jinx and Gung Ho were all gone. 4 greenshirts stood guard in the hallway.

"At ease, guys." Lifeline said. "I'm just going to check on our friend."

He entered the room and grabbed the chart.

"Let me see here....." Lifeline scanned the chart. "I don't even know your name, pal......."

Lifeline saw stars only for a second, and then everything went dark.

[chub357]

Awesome story so far, glad you're back.

[A.C.T.]

I knew I shouldn't of read this, now I want more. Yo John 0515, you got mad writin skillz. I'm really diggin' the story you put together. I look forward to reading more.

[John_0515]

Eight Joes sat in an adjacent room to where Duke was recovering in.

General Colton was among them.

There was a glass window that could see straight into Duke's room.

Beachhead sat in the corner right next to Duke's bed. An H&K UMP sat in his lap. The doctors and nurses all tried to make him leave, but he fought with all of them to stay his post. In the end, none of them could remove Beachhead from the room, by force or by official order.

He sat there and stared at the ground as his fingers gripped the fore-end of the weapon. He thought about all the things he's done over his time with Duke.

I'm sorry.. He kept saying to himself.

He panned over and stared at Duke's seemingly soulless body. His eyes followed the breathing apparatus that forced air into his lungs.

All these years I have been abrasive to you because of my ego. I was jealous. I wanted to be in charge. Now, right or wrong, my last interaction with you may have been the worst of them all, and has left me with this......remorse. I don't want it to end this way. Not like this.

The guilt and shame was starting to weigh upon him. He didn't even understand completely why, since Duke was guilty of treasonous crimes.

Or was he?

You couldn't have. Beachhead said to himself. But I know what I saw.. He kept going back and forth thinking about the surveillance video.

WAKE UP, BROTHER! He shouted in his head as he stared at Duke, trying to will him awake. Wake up and tell me it isn't so. Wake up so we can argue about it. JUST WAKE UP!

A wave of anger flowed behind Beachhead's eyes, forcing a tear out that ran into his hood. I should have stayed with him. In his heart, Beachhead knew Duke does right by his guys. He always has regardless of his shady background with "Black Ops".

He looked back down.

"Just wake up...." he barely whispered to himself.

[Neuspeaq]

Nice to see your fanbase growing :) , I ALWAYS knew your talent deserved it!

[John_0515]

Lifeline could barely see. It was all blurry, but as he lay on the cold floor, from across the room he could make out a figure tampering with the door.

The figure wore a hospital gown, and had wraps all over his head. As the image got clearer, Lifeline could make out scars all over the man's face, neck and arms.

The patient. Lifeline didn't understand. He started to roll over and got to his hands and knees. As he sat himself up, he was face to face with the man.

In his hand, he had a syringe filled with blue liquid, probably ammonia from the cleaning supply closet.

"Give me your access codes to the facility."

The man had bandages wrapped over half his face, but Lifeline could see all the scarring on the exposed part. They weren't new scars, either. The man's eyes burned with intent.

"Who are you?" Lifeline asked, trying to muster the courage to stand up to his assaulter. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the door rigged with some home-made contraption.

"Tell me!" he said, as he stuck the needle in Lifeline's neck with an aggressive jab.

Lifeline let out a painful cry, and as quickly his mouth was covered with the man's free hand.

The doorknob started to be jostled from the hallway, and the scarred man turned and looked towards the noise.

Within a fraction of a second, he jumped on Lifeline and pulled the mattress off of the bed to shield them.

[John_0515]

"What the hell?!". Beachhead sprung up from his chair and raised his weapon to the low ready. He looked through the glass window to where the rest of the Joes sat, and saw them filing out to respond to the noise.

Another blast! Beachhead said to himself, making ready for an assault..

Colton looked at him through the window and made a gesture with his hand for Beachhead to stay here.

Beachhead nodded, rolled Duke's bed behind a counter the nurses used to prepare food, moved to the lights and shut them off, then took up a defensive position in the room.

He could hear the sounds of boots running up and down the hallway, followed by yelling.

[Kann]

Greeat work! Where can I read more??

[khill926]

AWESOME!!!!!!! Can't wait for more.

[niknak96]

Anything new coming John_0515?

[John_0515]

Anything new coming John_0515?

Hi guys. Give me some more time, I haven't been home to sit and think about this for months.

Thanks guys.

[John_0515]

The man stood up with Lifeline, who was half out of it, and made towards the door. The Greenshirts who were on the door were all dead. He bent down and picked up a seemingly functional UMP, and shoved it in Lifeline's face.

"Move. Now." He ordered Lifeline in a deep, dark tone.

"Who......who are you?" Lifeline asked as he came to completely.

The man struck him over the head again, and Lifeline saw stars once again.

"Man! I can barely see to begin with! Stop doing that!" He yelled as he kept himself from collapsing.

"Move." The man said as he shoved Lifeline down the hallway.

Two Greenshirts rounded the corner behind them as the started to move.

"Lifeline, are you two okay?!" One yelled.

The man turned without hesitation and fired down the hall, killing both men. He hesitated for a second, anticipating more, and when no one appeared he turned and shoved Lifeline.

"Find me a car." He said calmly without remorse, and full of conviction.

[John_0515]

They moved down the hallway quickly.

"There's an administrative vehicle the Greenshirts use for pushes. The keys should be in the gas cap." Lifeline told his captor.

"Show me." The man told him as he jammed the muzzle of the sub gun into his back.

"I can't......I have to get my bearings here.....I think we're on the East end of the building..."

He felt the muzzle jab his rib cage.

"Show me now." Lifeline felt overwhelmed. His vision was still blurry.

"This....this way." Lifeline pointed. He wasn't sure it was the right way, but didn't want to provoke the man. Lifeline was a pacifist at heart, and didn't like confrontation.

They headed down the hallway, one man with a purpose, the other one reluctantly.

[John_0515]

Beachhead rounded the corner first, gun up.

"JOES DOWN!" He yelled as he covered the hallway, hunting for the threat. "JOES DOWN! MEDIC!"

Gung Ho came up behind him. He yielded an M249 with the ammo belt slung over his shoulder.

"Moving!" Gung Ho called.

"Move!" Beachhead called back.

Gung Ho moved up to the first opened door and held his gun on it. He stepped over the dead bodies and waited before the opening. Beachhead moved up behind him.

"With you." He whispered to the giant Cajun man, his focus down the hallway in case someone appeared while Gung Ho prepared for entry.

Gung Ho launched into the room with Beachhead right behind him.

"Clear!" Gung Ho called.

"Clear!" Beachhead echoed.

Gung Ho spun and covered the door leading back to the hallway. Beachhead moved behind him.

"Hold here." He told Gung Ho as he keyed his radio.

"All personnel, be advised, Beachhead and Gung Ho positioned at the ICU, which appears to be the site of the second blast." He looked over Gung Ho's shoulder into the hallway.

"Six Joes down, mechanism of injuries appear to be from the blast....and" he was cut off by Gung Ho.

Gung Ho grunted, "Beachhead.....two of them have been shot."

Beachhead swallowed hard, "Preliminary observation indicates two of the Joes have been shot. Caution advised."

"BEACHHEAD, THIS IS GENERAL HAWK. FIND THE SHOOTER AND NEUTRALIZE HIM. JOES ON THE WAY. IS LIFELINE WITH YOU?"

"Negative, he was supposedly checking on the other patient and," Beachhead looked at the overturned bed and realized the patient was missing. ".........DAMN IT!...." Beachhead figured it out. "Hawk, the patient is gone too!"

"ROGER. CHARLIE-MIKE. AND BE CAREFUL. REGROUP IN 20 BY THE ARRIVAL/DEPARTURE AREA"

"Copy." Beachhead acknowledged.

"You ready to go find this guy and take care of business?" Gung Ho asked as he held the open door.

"Let's do this." Beachhead said. "Let's do Duke right."

[LowTech]

Hoo boy are you ever keeping up the tension with each post! Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

[vader419]

Dammit I want more, This story is excellent!!

[John_0515]

A quick shove pre-empted the cold tone in the scarred man's voice.

"Stop here."

Lifeline stopped in his tracks and turned to face his captor, only to be met with a punitive buttstroke to the head.

"Don't look at me. Face the wall." The man said fiercely.

Lifeline, half dazed, braced himself from falling as he faced the wall. He was certain he had a concussion from repeated blows to the head, and the blast. The IED (improvised explosive device) was made with rudimentary medical and cleaning chemicals found in the patient's room, but sophisticated enough that the blast was mostly directed outside the room. Lifeline was no explosives expert, but he treated enough blast patients to have learned something.

IMPROVISED BLAST he thought to himself LIKE THE FIRST BLAST IN THE MOTOR POOL.

The answer hit him like he was getting hit all night.

YOU! he screamed inside.

Lifeline composed himself. He started to pan his head towards the scar faced man and mustered up the courage to talk, hoping he wouldn't get hit in the head again.

"What....what do you plan to do with me.......Scrap Iron?"

Scrap Iron stopped changing into the tan BDUs he found when they passed the laundry room, startled by Lifeline's discovery of his identity. They've never met (this close) before.. He paused for a moment, and then zipped up the ballistic vest he took off a dead Greenshirt and looked at Lifeline. Their eyes met, ice and calculation in Scrap Iron's, fear and courage in Lifeline's.

"Nothing."

And then suddenly Lifeline's world went black again.

[John_0515]

Scrap Iron followed Lifeline's body as it crumpled to the ground. The last blow to the had may have killed him. He knelt down and checked Lifeline's pulse.

WEAK.

He picked Lifeline up and carried him to the nearest room, which was empty. He laid him on a bed, covered him with a space blanket to keep him warm, and rang the call button for the nurse.

He checked Lifeline one more time.

HE'LL LIVE. he said to himself, satisfied.

He turned, grabbed the rifle, checked the hallway, and continued his egress.

[John_0515]

Beachhead and Gung Ho continued down their hallway, checking each room before they passed it.

The nurse's call siren began to beep.

They both stopped down the hallway and took cover.

"Nurse's call?" Gung Ho asked quietly.

Beachhead held up a "hold" fist so Gung Ho could see it as he held his attention down the hallway. He then pointed to the digital room manifest on the wall near them. There was one after every other call station.

Room 155 was calling.

Gung Ho gave the thumbs up, and Beachhead responded with a thumbs up of his own, followed with a "forward" motion telling Gung Ho to move. The huge man started down the hallway, and Beachhead followed.

[John_0515]

Scrap Iron moved down the hallway and entered the loading dock area. He stopped in a corner office where the security guard normally sits, and inspected it. Mounted on the wall was a phone.

He picked up the receiver and listened. He heard a dial tone, and started pressing numbers (8 first to dial out, then 9, etc.).

He finally got it to work and listened for a response. He pointed his weapon towards the door, and waited.

The digital display on the wall finally read:

*CONNECTION ESTABLISHED*

He just listened.

"..........hello........" a voice said on the line.

Scrap Iron paused, and sounded off the following:

"Tell dad the party started, but a bunch of people are acting rudely. I'd like to be picked up and go home."

There was a long pause as he waited for a reply.

"Ricky, uncle Bob will be there to pick you up shortly. Go to the pre-determined pick up spot. Are your friends coming back with us?"

Scrap Iron's response was quick and to the point.

"No. They're gone."

The pause was even more awkward this time.

"I see." The voice said. "Fifteen minutes."

Scrap Iron looked up as he heard the voices nearing the loading dock.

"Goodbye." He said and hung up. He put both hands on his rifle and skulked to a corner. He just waited.

[talldrkhansom]

Like reading a comic book. Great read man.

[John_0515]

"Room 155." Tunnel Rat's voice echoed down the hallway.

Jinx, Roadblock and General Colton followed as he rounded the corner.

"Quiet, son." Colton advised. "The shooter may be here somewhere."

The all ran past the security office where Scrap Iron was hiding in. He tightened his grip on his rifle expecting someone to make entry into the room.

"General Colton!" It was a new voice. Colton turned, aware of his surroundings.

Sci Fi ran up to him followed by three Greenshirts.

"Clutch has returned," he said "he's waiting at the arrival area with his pick-up."

"Excellent." Colton said. "Jinx, you come with me. Sci Fi, take three Greenshirts and hunt for the shooter. The rest of you find Gung Ho, Beachhead and Lifeline. Lets meet at the arrival area as soon as we can."

Everyone turned and began to do as they were told.

"Yooooo J..." Tunnel Rat started to exclaim as he moved, but was interrupted with a smack to the back of the head.

"Shut up, fool!" Roadblock said. "What the hell is the matter with you?"

Roadblock looked at Runnel Rat with sarcastic disapproval, then at the Greenshirts.

"Sorry." Tunnel Rat whispered.

Roadblock rolled his eyes, sighed and shook his head.

[John_0515]

Scrap Iron waited for everyone to leave, and made his way to the parking lot after exiting through the loading dock. Only a fence separated him from his escape. He had killed 9 Joes, and disrupted the entire motor pool of VAMPs. Although his main objective was not achieved, which was to kill Duke, he felt that at least he would be out of the picture for a while. Cobra could mount another assassination attempt now that he was helpless, and try to cripple the Joe hierarchy.

He moved up and hid behind a civilian jeep parked in the parking lot, and waited. To lights appeared coming towards him from the other side of the fence. He watched himself in all directions.

Two large SUVs pulled up on the other side of the fence. Twelve Cobra Vipers got out of the two vehicles and took a defensive position. One of them, a SAW Viper, took a position on top of some elevated ground behind them. The field commander took out a flashlight, and hit the light three times.

Scrap Iron came out of the shadow of the shadow of the jeep and moved towards the fence. Two of the Vipers moved towards their side. One pulled out a pair of hydrolic wire cutters and began cutting.

From short distance, the Cobra reconnaissance team received gunfire.

"Contact!" One of them yelled, and returned fire towards the parking lot. The two Vipers cutting the fence stopped, and took cover. Scrap Iron dropped and low crawled behind the closest vehicle, and hunkered down behind the wheel well.

It was Sci Fi and the three Greenshirts.

"Move to flanking position! I'll provide a base of fire!" He ordered them. He moved behind an armored vehicle tat was parked in the loading dock, and braced his Heavy Laser Rifle against it. He fired with great accuracy, immediately dispatching two Vipers who were too slow.

On top of the small hill the SAW Viper opened up. A heavy stream of lead followed the three Greenshirts gunning down one. The other two made it to a jersey barrier and returned fire.

Sci Fi, realizing the biggest threat, moved his aim to the hill. He suppressed the SAW Viper's fire, and was now on the offensive. The two Greenshirts started to fire and maneuver up closer to the fence.

Scrap Iron positioned his rifle, and crawled a few feet to his right. He took up aim at Sci Fi, who was engaged with the SAW Viper.

With slight pressure on the trigger, he suddenly felt the rounds skip next to him and rolled back behind cover.

[devildawg]

Awesome. Keep it coming

[Mr Hebime]

This storyline has me hooked. Found it yesterday and couldn't stop until I got to the end. Great writing, keep it going.

[Loose Cannon]

Great Stuff!

[Destro's Son]

I like this. I want more. Give more to me?

[John_0515]

It was Roadblock.

He stepped out into the open where he could clearly see a man under the jeep aiming at Sci Fi. He hip fired his M249 SAW since he had almost no time before the man took the shot. His prey ducked back behind the wheel well, but Roadblock was relentless in his attack. He moved back behind cover with Sci Fi, and continued to fire.

Tunnel Rat zipped behind him and moved to a flanking position with the Greenshirts. He noticed the SAW Viper up on the hill and made it a priority to get there.

Where to get through that fence?

"Aha!" he exclaimed. He yelled towards the Greenshirts, "you guys keep firing...I'm going after that SAW Viper!"

He turned and ran behind them to the roadway leading into the parking lot, and crawled into the sewer drain in a manner of seconds.

Sci Fi and Roadblock increased the intensity of their firing, keying off of each other alternating their rates of fire. Roadblock firing hot lead, and Sci Fi with his heavy laser rifle. The Cobra Vipers were beginning to fall back, except for the one Cobra on the Joes' side of the fence.

The four Joes reached as far as they could get, but were managing to hold the Cobra forces from advancing and extracting their man. The situation was at a stand still, four Joes holding ten Cobras.

That was, until the air support arrived.

[John_0515]

The Mamba came up over the hill that the SAW Viper was nested. Its twin engines kicked up everything around a 30 meter radius. A gunner sat in the rotary chair and opened fire with the helicopter's minigun.

The rounds tore through a row of vehicles to where the Greenshirts were firing from. Both were torn in half instantly.

Sci Fi shifted fire and aimed at the gunner. The pilot (a Gyro Viper) saw this and shifted the helicopter laterally to shield the gunner.

Sci Fi fired, and tore through the hull. He didn't hit the gunner, but smoke started escaping through the hole, and the helicopter began to hover erratically.

Roadblock kept firing towards the Vipers, but the return fire was starting to overrun him and Sci Fi. They were the only two left. The SAW Viper's rate of fire was almost overwhelming until Sci Fi noticed him dip down and disappear.

It was Tunnel Rat.

Sci Fi identified him looking through the viewfinder on his rifle.

"Tunner Rat's on the hill. SAW Viper's down! Shift fire! Shift fire!" he yelled to Roadblock. Roadblock nodded as he shifted fire to avoid hitting his friend.

The SAW on the hill turned towards the Vipers and started to fire mowing down half of the ones who had no cover to their backs.

They were winning until the Mamba fired the first of its rockets toward Sci Fi and Roadblock.

[John_0515]

Roadblock couldn't see, and all he could hear was the ringing in his ears. He rolled over, gasped for air, and started coughing what he could only think was blood.

His vision started to return, albeit blurry, and he tried to stand. He felt a hand grab his, squeeze and pull him to his feet. By the time he stood his vision was just about clear.

Beachhead.

He pulled the big man to his feet, and joined in the firefight. Roadblock found his weapon, and tried to get it back up and running.

Gung Ho stood 5 meters from them unleashing holy hell on the Mamba's cockpit. Sci Fi, who managed to weather the rocket attack, was still firing at the last remaining Viper. Tunnel Rat had taken care of the rest, and shifted his fire to the Mamba.

And as if on cue, Clutch's VAMP tore around the corner screeching its tires, General Colton on the turret. He hit one of the rotor blades on the Mamba, and it began to fade to one side.

In all the chaos, almost nobody noticed Scrap Iron skulking away.

[Blackjack76117]

Ahhhh!!! You're killin' me!!! I'm dyin' to know who the "pick up" was!!!!!! Great read.

[John_0515]

Scrap Iron made it to the end of the parking lot, and hid for a second in the middle of a row of bushes. He looked back and saw all the mayhem developing. When he turned, he had a gun pointed at his face.

"Hello, Scrap Iron."

The voice was cool, calm and collected. It was also very familiar.

Scrap Iron looked up at the barrel, trying to focus his eyes between the barrel and the man. He could barely see his captor's face as the man's jacket collar was up, and his hat was pulled down. He wore an Airport Police SWAT-type uniform, all blue BDUs (Battle Dress Uniform).

Scrap Iron's grip tightened on his rifle.

"Oh, let's not go there. Please put the rifle down so nobody does anything that I'll regret." With a condescending smile.

Scrap Iron's face grimaced for half a second, and dropped the rifle, reluctantly.

Jinx came up behind the man. Lifeline stood back and watched behind them.

"How did you know he'd try to get away on this side of the parking lot?" She asked.

"Spend time with snakes, start slithering like snakes." he said. "Now, please get on the ground. I won't ask again."

Scrap Iron laid down slowly. The gunfire continued about 100 yards behind them.

"Good. Jinx, please put the proper restraints on him." he ordered, and continued, "we don't even want him to think about it."

Lifeline came up, still in pain and still woozy.

"What are you going to do with him? Take him back to the stockade until that mess is over?"

"No. We're going to see how tough Mr. Iron is." the voice became dark. "You see, I don't even know where he got his orders to come here and perform his little mission. We're going to talk some and figure it out. I figure Gung Ho can start off with being nice to the guy......and then I'll come in and finish up. What do you think, Scrappy?"

Scrap Iron just laid there silently with his head face down. Jinx finished putting two pairs of flex cuffs on him, so tightly that his left wrist started to bleed because they were on too tightly. She got up and moved to Lifeline's side putting her hand on his shoulder. He was looking at Scrap Iron, looked at Jinx for a second and she nodded as she quickly caressed his shoulder in a show of support. They both turned their attention to Scrap Iron.

"Okay, let's get him in the jeep and get out of here." The man said.

[John_0515]

Gung Ho's barrage on the cockpit forced the Mamba to start spinning out of control. It violently spun down on the fence separating the parking lot from the Cobra opposition force, exploding as it hit. The rotor blades splitting the fence into hundreds of pieces.

The debris hailed down on Sci Fi and Roadblock like a tidal wave of arrows fired from hundreds of archers. Sci Fi ducked behind the armored vehicle. He felt and heard the truck getting hit by the shrapnel.

Roadblock wasn't as fast. As he went down he felt something penetrate his left shoulder blade.

"AAAH!" He screamed. He dropped beneath the closest vehicle and low crawled to the wheel well.

The shrapnel stopped raining down on them, and Sci Fi moved over to Roadblock.

"I'm okay, man!" Roadblock said as he grimaced. Clutch pulled up next to them, and General Colton hopped off the turret and went straight over to Roadblock.

"Sci Fi, Gung Ho; secure our perimeter. Clutch, get Lifeline over here, he went with Jinx after we got him out of the infirmary."

Clutch got on the radio and reached out to lifeline.

Beachhead came over brandishing two smoking rifles.

"Is he okay!?" he screamed as he ran towards them.

"He'll be fine," Colton said. "I'm no medic, but it doesn't seem to have penetrated anything vital."

Beachhead joined Sci Fi as they inspected the area and the debris left of the Mamba. Beachhead reached out to Tunnel Rat, who already acknowledged he was en route back to them.

Roadblock sat up shaking his head,

"I need a vacation."

[John_0515]

"Who is this guy?" Beachhead asked. He vaguely remembered the man's face, but couldn't figure it out.

They all sat around the waiting area near the infirmary. Greenshirts and first responders were cleaning out the remaining bodies. A full security detachment was dedicated to Duke, with Gung Ho and Beachhead taking turns watching them, just in case.

Lifeline came out of an adjacent room with a half grin on his face.

"Roadblock's fine. He won't be using his left arm for a while so it can heal quicker, but he's fine."

Roadblock walked out of the room behind lifeline with a splint on his arm.

"You fools aren't getting off that easily." He was smiling too.

Beachhead got up and walked over to him, and they clasped hands.

"Good." Beachhead said, and turned towards the group. Let's see if our "friend" needs any help with Scrap Iron."

"That won't be necessary." It was Colton.

They turned as he was walking down the hallway.

"I want all of you, including Roadblock and Gung Ho, to keep watch on Scrap Iron. He's your responsibility until we get maximum security transport here to bring him to the "Pit". Leave him with our guest, except for you Jinx. Go in the room with him while he's trying to interrogate Scrap Iron. Just have his back"

Beachhead nodded.

"Oh, and if you want to see Duke, he's awake."

[khill926]

Awesome! Can't decide who's my favorite. Keep 'em coming.

[John_0515]

"What are you doing in here?"

Jinx walked into the interrogation room where Scrap Iron was sitting, handcuffed to a chair. Two Greenshirts stood behind him, armed with HK416's which were pointed right at him. Scrap Iron had his head down and wasn't moving, speaking or making any response to the questions the man was asking.

The strange man still had the airport police uniform on, hat pulled down, collar up. Jinx knew who it was only because General Colton told her, which he swore her to secrecy. Clutch doesn't even know the man's name, and he drove him to the base from the airport, but knew he's seen him before.

"General Colton said you needed help. I'll just stand in the back with the Greenshirts."

The man cracked a wry smile as he was faced away from Scrap Iron.

"No need. He's not going to talk. No matter, we've found all the explosives he planted prior to the motor pool explosion. Even the ones that hadn't been detonated yet have been disarmed."

Hadn't detonated yet? What?

Jinx got nervous. She didn't even think there may be more.

I suppose this guy knows what the deal is.

"You two stay with the prisoner. Jinx, let's go see Colton."

He turned and left with Jinx. The door shut, followed by an awkward silence.

Scrap Iron remained motionless.

[John_0515]

They filed into the room where Duke was being treated. He laid on the bed, eyes closed, IV line going and hooked up to three machines which monitored his vitals.

They just stood there looking at him. Nobody said anything.

"He's awake." Gung Ho said, who was already there with Duke.

There was an awkward silence because nobody knew what to say.

"You guys don't have to be so serious all the time. At ease." Duke said while his eyes were still closed, breaking the silence.

The silence remained awkward.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked.

There were a few more seconds of silence, and then finally Roadblock broke the ice. "No, everyone's not okay, you're laying in the bed half crippled. You call that okay?"

Duke smiled.

"Everyone's okay." He said "Where's Colton?"

"He went to see Jinx and....." Tunnel Rat paused, ".....and that other scary man.....who the hell is that guy?"

"Seriously, Duke" Clutch chimed in. "I had to pick the guy up, and I still don't know who it is. I know his face, though."

Duke's smile turned serious.

"Sorry guys, we have to protect his identity, even from each other. If not for him we wouldn't have known about the pending explosion in the motor pool. He's a full time UC (undercover) operative. I have been in contact with Chuckles, who's the only one who knows where all of our UC's are, and this guy is our top guy. There was a mole, and he wasn't sure who it was. I'm sorry I was so secretive with everyone, but I didn't want you guys to get too close."

Beachhead spoke up. "Duke, you know none of us were working with Cobra. We would never...."

"I know, pal," Duke interrupted, "but if you guys knew, you guys would be looking. This guy [Scrap Iron] is a pro, he would have picked up on it and possibly killed us all instead of just targeting his assignment."

Beachhead understood, but still wanted to be part of it. He felt he could have prevented it.

"Assignment? What do you mean?" He said.

Duke opened his eyes and looked right at Beachhead.

"His assignment was to kill me."

[John_0515]

The gunfire was heard all over the compound. Inside the room housing Scrap Iron and his two guards, the guards took warning and looked at each other. Scrap Iron popped his head up and looked at the door.

The intercom to the room chirped:

THIS IS JINX. GENERAL COLTON NEEDS ALL PERSONNEL TO REPORT TO THE AUDITORIUM, WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! LEAVE THE PRISONER IN THE ROOM AFTER YOU'VE LOCKED THE DOOR

The Greenshirts checked Scrap Iron's bonds and left the room. He sat there listening to gunfire, screaming, and ensuing chaos.

He started to move his jaw around, pressing against his teeth with his tongue. One of his teeth dislodged, and he spit it out on the ground. He stood up, still bound to the metal chair and stepped on the tooth.

It released a vapor. Scrap Iron took a deep breath and held it, turned around so the vapor collided with his bonds and waited.

The vapor, acidic in nature, began to eat through the binding that held him to the chair. It burned through his bonds, and through his skin. He was used to it. He had scars all over his body, and these were going to be no different. Since indoctrinating himself with Dr. Venom's Brainwave Scanner machine, he's been programmed to have a very high pain threshold. It allowed him to make it through all the vigorous training that expanded his skill set.

The bonds were gone.

He moved away from the vapor and wiped his arms trying to get rid of any residue. He moved up to the door and checked it.

Locked.

He started analyzing the control panel. He removed the metal outer cover and pulled the wires out. Seconds later the door latch unlocked. The door was open.

He peeked out. Nobody was there. He slipped out and moved down the hallway. He looked up at the directory and turned right.

---> MOTOR POOL

[John_0515]

Scrap Iron moved to the motor pool with ease. The gunfire outside was moving away from him. He skulked over to where the VAMPs were lined up, and moved to the middle.

V445

He climbed into the front seat, reached down under the seat and grabbed something. It was a transponder. It showed the whereabouts of all the explosives he'd planted within a 100 meter radius. He could detonate them all, or individually with this device.

He looked at the device, and entered his access code. There was only one blip.

32 meters

He moved to where the transponder was leading him. He vectored off to the right, and then back to the left.

3 meters

He stepped to the corner of the motor pool and pulled a tarp back. A large rat laid there, freshly dead.

He reached down and removed something from its underbelly, wiped it off, and turned and moved towards the middle of the motor pool.

The transponder in his hand was buzzing, and he removed the panel and started re-wiring it. When he was done he looked at the doors he was crouched near until he found the one he was looking for:

Conrad "Duke" Hauser

The door was easily opened, and he went inside. Moments later he was out, and moving. It was set.

As he made his way out of the motor pool, two shadows sat in one of the VAMPs watching. The door opened and two figures stepped out.

"What do you want me to do?" The one figure said.

"Disarm it as quickly as possible. Do you need assistance?"

"Please, man. Do you even know me?"

"Sorry, Tunnel Rat." The man said. "Just get it done before he remote detonates it somehow. It should be half a kiloton, and radioactive."

"Roger. It'll be done." Tunnel Rat said. "Hey......what do I call you, anyway? General Colton never told me."

The man just looked at him.

[shlappyguy]

Just read this whole thing. Well done. You're very good at keeping up the suspense.

[John_0515]

"You can stop firing now." Beachhead said.

Roadblock, Sci Fi, Gung Ho and Clutch all stopped firing their weapons, and the weapons they picked up from the Cobra remains.

"I hope Colton's plan works." Clutch said. "Letting Scrap Iron go is dangerous."

"That guy...." Beachhead didn't know what to call him, "said that there's a half a kiloton bomb on the base that is unaccounted for. Scrap Iron wasn't going to talk, so we had to make sure he led us to it."

"You know....." Roadblock started, ".....'that guy' creeps me out. He knows everything about Cobra, knows all of us by face and name. Who is that?"

They all looked at each other.

"I think I know who it is." Gung Ho piped up.

Attention was focused on the big Cajun man.

"It's Santa Claus." He broke out in laughter.

[John_0515]

Scrap Iron climbed over the wall leading to the parking lot. He figured it was a crime scene, but at this point the base didn't have enough assets to effectively seal it. He had some time before more Greenshirts showed up.

He looked around to see if anyone was there. There was no movement. He pushed forward, only meters from the fence.

"Not so fast."

Scrap Iron looked up on top of the Mamba wreckage. Lifeline came out from behind the debris, Jinx not far behind him.

Jinx had a submachine gun, but it was pointed down. Lifeline had no weapon.

Scrap Iron looked at him, stoically.

"I just want to know...why?"

Scrap Iron looked at him, then to Jinx, then back to Lifeline. The silence spoke volumes.

"Why didn't you kill me?" Lifeline clarified.

Scrap Iron stood there, completely erect. His posture exuded his attitude towards confrontation.

"Thank you." Scrap Iron finally said.

He looked at Jinx, and she nodded. He turned and slowly disappeared into the shadows. In a moment, he had completely disappeared.

Lifeline stood there staring.

"What do you think he meant?" Jinx asked.

Lifeline just stared. "I took care of him when he was injured. I didn't know who he was, but I suppose that was enough. He didn't kill me because I tended to him."

Jinx just smirked. "He's a Cobra."

Lifeline turned. "He's a Cobra, but I suppose some of them have morals."

Jinx looked at Lifeline skeptically. "You know, Colton said to let him go. Our guy on the inside...." she kept herself from saying his name, ".....said that it's more valuable to let him go back and report. By us meeting up with him so you can get your answer, he probably figured it out."

Lifeline looked back towards the shadows. "I think he already knew."

[John_0515]

Duke laid in his bed filtering through a binder. He winced every time he tried to turn to one side. In the middle of mumbling to himself Beachhead walked in.

"Duke." He said.

"Beachhead." Duke responded. "Come on in."

Beachhead moved in and pointed to a chair.

"Can I sit down?"

"Sure." Duke said in a friendly tone. "What can I do for you?"

Beachhead sat down and removed his balaclava. He looked right at Duke.

"I'm sorry for everything." He said. "I just want you to know how sorry I am."

Duke just looked him and smiled.

"I know, pal." he said. "It was a tense time for everyone. We're good."

Beachhead was looking down, he didn't want Duke to see him well up.

"Thanks, Duke."

Just then, Colton walked in with the unnamed man.

"Gentlemen, am I interrupting?"

Duke sat up straight, wincing in pain.

"No, General, not at all. Come on in."

They both moved in, and Beachhead stood up and put his balaclava back on.

"I'll get going and make sure cleanup efforts are underway." He said. "General." He looked at Colton. Then to the man.

"Sir."

He had no idea how to address him.

Beachhead walked out, and Colton locked the door behind him. He turned to Duke.

"So, we lost a lot of good men today." Colton said.

"I know," Duke said, "it was meant for me, and we knew it, but we couldn't prevent it."

The man interrupted the dialogue.

"This operation was classified to almost everyone on Cobra Island. Had I not known even a fraction of what I did, you, and possibly the entire base would have been destroyed."

Colton was not satisfied with losing men, but the base and the majority of the men were still alive, as was Duke.

"We let that maniac go." Colton said. "I hope you have a good reason for that."

"Trust me," the man said to Colton, "he's not going to tell Cobra more than it needs to know, speaking from our end."

Colton seemed a bit skeptical, but had to trust his man.

"Fine. Duke, when you get back on your feet you're NOT going operational for a while. We're going to leak reports that you've died. That should keep Cobra happy and make them feel like they've accomplished something. In the meantime," he turned to the man, "how difficult will it be to get back to Cobra Island?"

"No sweat. Scrap Iron won't recognize me when I get back. I'll just speak with an accent. We should pick up right where we left off. Chuckles has it all set up."

Colton was satisfied with that.

"Fine. Let's get the based cleaned up, and send you on your way." He looked at Duke. "And one more thing," he turned back to the man.

"Yes, sir."

"I never, ever want to see something like this happen again. Use force on that side of the island next time, and keep our casualty rate low. I'll send you Snake Eyes if you need to eliminate. Do I make myself clear, Claymore?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good." Colton said. "Now, let's go get something to eat, I'm starving."

[John_0515]

That's it, guys. Thanks for reading. I'm going to start a new one.

[AMF]

I would have never guessed it was claymore. I thought it was flint. Awesome story

[John_0515]

I would have never guessed it was claymore. I thought it was flint. Awesome story

They all know Flint. I thought of making it Chuckles, but they all know him too. Claymore is more of a lone wolf that many Joes don't get to know too well. Cobra doesn't either.

Thanks, man. Means a lot.

J

[Blackjack76117]

Awesome read. Claymore was an interesting choice. While not usually regarded as an undercover agent, he is a character only used rarely for special missions, making him someone most Joes might not recognize. Aside from perhaps Leatherneck, Wetsuit, Dial-Tone, and Mainframe.

[mswi]

throughly enjoyed this, looking forward to the next one

[khill926]

Awesome. Loved the whole thing. Looking forwad to next one.

[John_0515]

Awesome read. Claymore was an interesting choice. While not usually regarded as an undercover agent, he is a character only used rarely for special missions, making him someone most Joes might not recognize. Aside from perhaps Leatherneck, Wetsuit, Dial-Tone, and Mainframe.

Yes, I understand. But Claymore has a history with the CIA, and speaks multiple languages. The "special missions" is used to protect him in my world, so people can't get used to seeing him.

I like expanding skill sets of the characters, like Scrap Iron. I think he's way underused and unappreciated.

Thank you for the great comments! Thanks everyone!

[Loose Cannon]

i for one love Claymore. As a Covert Operations Specialist he's as good a choice anyone.