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01-10-2020, 02:44 PM | #1 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: florida
Posts: 339
|
A Dreadnoks Tale (concluding a story begun in Dreadnok Sibling Rivalry and continued in Dreadnok Heist}
Loud noises could be heard coming from a small shack located far off the beaten path in the American southwest. The shack appeared dilapidated and undoubtedly unfit for human habitation. That was by design and was a particularly effective illusion, for once you were admitted entrance through the reinforced locked door, the interior opened up into a large building consisting of a multi bay garage, a bar with a long counter, several areas where one could rack out, and a number of other rooms. This structure was one of the Dreadnoks’ headquarters across the US. While most outlaw motorcycle gangs were geographically bound to certain areas of the country, the Dreadnoks set up satellite headquarters and safe houses wherever they desired. Since the Dreadnoks did not deal in drugs and prostitution they rarely came into conflict with other gangs regarding street level crimes. However, if the local chapter of a particularly territorial gang learned that the Dreadnoks were operating in their area and decided to take action against them, that local chapter usually disappeared along with all its members, and its club houses were found razed to the ground. That’s why more enlightened groups minded their own business and steered clear of Dreadnok activities. In the main area of the building, which also happened to be adjacent to the bar, the Dreadnoks were having a raucous good time. Everything had gone perfect on their last big heist. While the main body of the group attacked one side of a military base engaging in destruction on a level considered enormous by even their standards, Zartan, Zandar, and Zarana had infiltrated the opposite side of the base and stolen a highly desired experimental military weapon. The success of the operation had caused Zartan to uncharacteristically acknowledge that the Dreadnoks had performed well and actually stayed on task without deviating from the script. Of course the fact that the Dreadnoks were ordered to commit acts of violence and mayhem, which they wanted to do anyway, helped keep them focused and engaged. As the main body of Dreadnoks partied like they were in a Viking mead hall, Zartan was conferring with his brother and sister in another room. Zandar asked, “So, are we going to try this thing out or what?” as he pointed to the weapon in the metal case in front of them. “Then we could call up rag face and chrome dome (referring to Cobra Commander and Destro respectively) and see who will pay more for it.” Zarana had another idea. “I say that we find out how well it works, and then blast those two would be world rulers out of existence, and then take whatever spoils come our way.” “Quiet, both of you. “ Zartan snapped. “I need to think here. On the one hand, we could use the weapon to increase our own firepower and intimidation, or we can go for a quick pay day by auctioning it off to the highest bidder.” “Either one sounds good to me.” Zarana replied. “So why do you have a scowl on your face? This is a win/ win situation.” “On the surface it definitely looks like a positive development, but something is nagging in the back of my mind.” Zartan mused. “I thought that I was the glass half empty guy in this family.” Zandar stated quizzically. “Did it seem to you two that this went just a bit too smoothly? They had guards on this weapon, but were there enough for this prize?” Zartan stated as he gestured to the metal case containing the stolen weapon. “It looked like enough to me when the guards were pointing their rifles at us.” Zandar replied. Zarana surprisingly agreed with her brother, “Those guys looked dead serious to me. I didn’t see any play acting.” “Oh, those guys were definitely for real” Zartan acknowledged. “But they might not have been privy to the whole story. Get Burnout in here. I want this thing checked out.” Zarana opened the door of the room they were in, and yelled loud enough to be heard over the din caused by the unrestrained Dreadnoks, “Burnout, get in here.” Zarana started to close the door, then opened it again, “Ripper, put your pants back on, no one wants to see that. And Torch, don’t you dare pee in the eyewash sink.” Ripper pulled his pants back up, and torch zipped up his fly and turned away from the sink as if he never had any intention of doing anything as uncouth as what Zarana suggested. As Zarana closed the door, she heard a chorus shout out “Ok, Mom.” “I have the perfect candidates to try this weapon on. “ Zarana growled. Just then, Burnout popped into the room. “You need something boss?” he asked of Zartan. “Yeah, I want you to look at this weapon top to bottom and let me know if it’s legit.” Burnout hefted the heavy case and left with it. While it might appear odd to have a member of a biker gang examine an intricate piece of equipment, Burnout was no ordinary outlaw biker. Burnout actually had an innate ability to comprehend complex machinery. He was a star linebacker on his high school football team, but it was his outstanding SAT scores that gained him entrance to a prestigious engineering college. Despite his intelligence, Burnout left in his freshman year. At six foot two, the muscular, dreadlock wearing Burnout didn’t fit in with the pocket protector crowd. However, it was more than his physical stature that set him apart from the other students. Burnout craved excitement and hands on action. Sitting in a lecture hall was not his idea of how to acquire useful knowledge. Instead he took to motorcycle building and came up with some innovative concepts. Burnout’s motorcycle enhancement abilities brought him to Zartan’s attention, who then recruited him to the Dreadnoks. Though motorcycle development would always be an enjoyable activity for Burnout, he soon graduated into weapons design. He used his skills to create some unique weapons that were as effective at tearing apart vehicles as they were against human adversaries. Though the weapon that Zartan had stolen was far above the usual Dreadnok armament, Burnout still had a solid enough grasp of mechanical, electrical, and chemical processes to be able to assess the functionality of military grade equipment. After Burnout departed, Zartan turned to Zarana. “Let’s go over again how we got wind of this weapon being tested at this remote base.” Zarana rolled her eyes and exclaimed in an exasperated voice, “I told you already. I know several members of the Devil’s Due biker gang, and they talked up this woman who was able to give them the location of various big time drug dens that the gang could then rip off. She actually was able to plan the hits for times when the dens were lightly defended. The gang would waltz in and out with all the cash.” “What happened to the drugs? “ Zartan asked. Zarana continued, “The bikers grabbed the drugs. The woman had contact with a group that could distribute large amounts of drugs. She brokered a deal with that group and split the money with gang. I told you that she put a lot of money into the gang’s pockets.” “She sounds like quite the find. Let me ask. Was anyone killed in these rips?” Zartan queried with a hint of suspicion in his voice. “Not that I know of. Like I said, they hit the places when there was only one or two people present so no one fought back when the gang rolled up in force.” “Hmm. A lot of money and drugs taken from these dealers and no one was hurt. Seems a bit convenient.” “They say that she is a hell of a planner” Zarana reemphasized, but this time with less certainty. “You know the Devil’s Due gang aren’t wannabe bikers. The got manpower, firepower and chapters all over the country. I even heard that they have started taking contracts for high level assassinations from the cartels and even some foreign dictators. All on the down low of course. The point is that they aren’t going to do business with just anybody.” “She’s the real thing.” Zandar stated, coming to his sister’s defense, more to protect his own involvement in this affair than Zarana’s. Zandar had been happy to share in the success of this endeavor, but now he was sensing a shift in Zartan’s attitude. “O.k. Let’s assume that she was on the money with the drug rips. How did she meet this guy at the base and get him to spill all the info on this weapon, and the testing site, and the dates?” Zartan asked in a manner that seemed increasingly like an interrogation. “Like most military bases there are local bars where the soldiers go to try and get lucky. She hung around this bar talking to a number of guys until she found one with an interesting story. Then she played on his vanity making him think that he was the consummate ladies’ man. Eventually they got more involved and he started providing more detailed information to keep her interested in him. Finally she got everything she needed. The Devil’s Due bikers knew this particular score was beyond even their capabilities so someone I knew in the group put her in touch with me for a small finder’s fee.” Zandar chimed in, “We paid a good amount of money to this woman so she doesn’t expect a cut of our profits.” “How do we know that she only sold this info to us?” Zartan continued in a prosecutorial manner. “She said that we were the exclusive recipient and that she knew better than to try and screw with the Dreadnoks.” Zandar felt confident that this last part was true. “Do we know if she was knocking boots with any of the biker crew?”Zartan continued. Zarana was adamant in her next statement. “No, one of them tried to get handsy with her and she punched his lights out. But hey, I don’t put up with that garbage and neither does Heartwrencher. Some women want to ride their own bikes and not just sit behind some dude going where he says we should go.” “Yeah, I get it.” Zartan said backing off a little bit. “But I find it a little odd that she would defend her purity against those she rides with, but be so willing to sleep with this soldier boy solely for some intel.” “There definitely was a guy and they definitely shacked up in a motel” Zandar insisted. “Several bikers saw her go in with him, and get this, he wore a Hawaiian shirt to try and hide his military affiliation. What a loser.” “A Hawaiian shirt.” Zartan mused. “It’s as if he wanted everyone to notice him go into that motel. It seems everything has been set up just so, and now the dominos are ready to fall.” “Come on.” Zarana protested. “Who is smart enough to put all these moving pieces in play and balsy enough to try and play the Dreadnoks. What are they going to come here and just take the weapon from us?” “Yeah, no criminal group is gonna be able to pull that off.” Zandar stated. “No criminal group, but what about something bigger?” Zartan quietly intoned, speaking more to himself than to his attendant siblings. “Oh, wow. Sucks to be them.” could be heard coming from outside the room the siblings currently inhabited. The trio opened the door and observed all the Dreadnoks paying rap attention to the big screen TV on the wall. Playing across the screen was news footage of a series of raids on numerous outlaw motorcycle gang clubhouses. The one thing in common was that they all belonged to the Devil’s Due gang. While the raids were primarily being conducted by state and federal law enforcement agencies, they all appeared to have some type of military component involved. At several sites these military components appeared to be directing the raids. Some special arrangement must have been made to go around the Possee Comitatus Act, which prevents US military forces from operating within the US. In one news feed an individual with a bullhorn was observed calling out gang members from a clubhouse. The gang members wisely complied. The strange thing was that the man with the bullhorn also had a helmet and rifle. What kind of negotiator carried offensive weaponry? In a second feed a sheriff’s department in green BDUs appeared to be following the lead of two individuals attired in blue camo BDUs, baseball type covers, and balaclavas. They also carried military grade weaponry. One of these men was accompanied by a large black dog that might have been a Belgian Malinois. These two men were covering down on an individual who had made the grave mistake of trying to run. He was now on the ground pleading to have the dog release the bite grip on his forearm. A third man was filming the event. Not unusual except that this cameraman had a green helmet and body armor and was also armed with a pistol. What network did he belong to? Switching to yet another site, a large contingent of bikers were coming out of their clubhouse with their hands up and walking between two lines of officers on either side of their column. Accompanying these officers on one side was what looked like a military policeman. He even had a white helmet with MP stenciled on it. At his side was a large brown German Shepherd looking K-9. On the other side of the prisoners was a soldier with a black helmet and what looked like a muzzle on his face. Standing by his side was a large black dog. Zartan leaned forward for a closer look at the TV. There was something oddly familiar and disturbing about that dog. In fact he looked like a mutt that had shown up on the front step of his Florida Everglades hide away. That stupid creature had led him and Destro into quicksand. That couldn’t be the same dog. Right? A lot of dogs look alike. Still Zartan’s unease grew. The news shows had a difficult time keeping up with all the activity. The Devil’s Due gang spanned several states, and it looked like a mass round up. The 24 hour news channels kept flipping back and forth between the different takedowns, with newscasters incredulous at what they were seeing. Is that guy in the yellow and red suit carrying a flamethrower? That soldier with the yellow beard has a machine gun and two ammo belts across his chest. What kind of weapons are held by those two soldiers with the helmets with visors and orange pads on their uniforms? Lasers? Tell me that one soldier does not have a bobcat standing next to him. What is going on here? Zarana peered intently at the screen to see if the woman she dealt with was being led out in handcuffs. Zartan knew what she was doing and asked, “Do you see her?” “No”, came the reply. “But that doesn’t mean anything. She’s not a vested member.” In fact most biker gangs did not allow their women to be actual members. “I never did ask you her name.” Zartan stated. “She goes by Donna Marina”, Zandar replied. Buzzer was in earshot of the conversation and muttered something to himself. “What was that” Zartan asked. “Nothing, it just sounded familiar.” Buzzer stated as he tried to play it off. “Don’t give me that,” Zartan snapped. “Tell me what you said.” “It just reminds of a person I read about in history class, Do~na Marina. She is famous for betraying the Aztecs to the Spanish conquistadors.” A sinking feeling crept into Zandar and Zarana’s stomachs. Zartan started to do a slow boil and yelled out, “Has anybody checked the perimeter cameras recently?” Monkeywrench ran over to a bank of monitors. “No, there’s nothing out there…oh, wait. What is that?” On the monitor could be seen a large group of men coming out from the shadows given off by a tall rocky hill. As they approached closer, their red uniforms could be observed. They were led by a man with a long black overcoat and a red cap. “Are those Crimson Guardsmen?” asked Zanzibar. “No, those are the Red Shadows and that’s the Black Major leading them.” Ripper yelled. “Wot the hell?” exclaimed Torch. “Those blokes mainly operate in the UK and Europe. I didn’t think they had that many men stateside, and look, they have that weird Robo Skull tank thing.” “What do they want?” growled Road Pig. “It’s gotta be that new weapon we stole.” Gnawgahyde grimly replied while sharpening a large machete. “How do they even know we have it?” Heartwrencher asked. “Donna Marina, or whatever her name is, had to have sold the info to multiple people. She probably also set up the Devil’s Due club.” Zartan growled. “That bitch,” Zarana hissed. “I will personally gut her!” “Hey look at this.” Thrasher yelled out. On another monitor could be seen another large contingent of men. These were unmistakably Cobra Vipers, the backbone of the Cobra infantry. Several Hiss tanks and Stinger jeeps could also be seen rumbling forward. Major Bludd was stationed at the head of the column. “Are they working together?” Heartwrencher asked in a concerned voice. “I don’t know, but either way this is not good for us.” Zartan firmly stated. “We can’t fight a two sided conflict against those armored vehicles. “Uh, boss” Crusher said hesitantly. “You might want to rethink that two sided battle idea.” He pointed to a monitor that faced a different direction than the others. In lockstep a vanguard of black helmeted troops marched forward evidencing strict discipline. They were Iron Grenadiers, Destro’s private army, equipped with the latest MARS weaponry. Sitting atop a large armored vehicle known as the Demon, was Voltar, Destro’s general. Perched on Voltar’s shoulder sat his pet vulture, who undoubtedly was relishing the thought of all the fresh carrion soon to be available to him. “There’s no way that they are all working together. They have different agendas.” Zartan stated while shifting his focus between the various screens. “The question is are they going to fire on us or each other. We need to buy some time. Patch me into the outside loudspeakers.” Zartan grabbed the microphone off a nearby desk and spoke into it. “My uninvited but esteemed guests. Perhaps you have noticed that all of you have brought a large number of men and vehicles here today. I assume that you are all here for the same thing. I suggest that we have a meeting of the leaders of each group in an open area, and see if we can head off some unnecessary unpleasantness.” Zartan switched off the microphone. He then hit a large button in a console, and immediately the illusion of the dilapidated shack was replaced with the structure’s actual visage, that of a reinforced concrete building with numerous ports through which rifle barrels poked out. Zartan hoped that this more intimidating appearance would give the opposing leaders reason to agree to the impromptu meeting that he had suggested. Zartan turned to Zarana and Zandar. “I am going out there to speak to those would be Napoleons, and I want you two to see how Burnout is making out with that weapon. If it works as good as advertised it might put us in a stronger bargaining position. I am sure none of them are anxious to be on the receiving end of such a payload.” Shortly thereafter, Zartan was met in an open space in the front of the Dreadnok headquarters by Bludd, Voltar, and the Black Major. “So, to what do I owe a visit by such illustrious luminaries?’ Zartan mocked with his arms outstretched. “Knock it off Zartan” Bludd sneered. “We know you pilfered a valuable commodity yesterday.” “And how do you know that?’ Zartan genuinely wanted to know. “Because we were going to steal it today.” “And you?” Zartan said pointing at the Black Major. “Not that it’s your business, but we were planning to ambush the truck carrying it out of the area after its demonstration.” “You are all such heavy handed goons,” Voltar chuckled. “MARS was willing to make a fair offer of compensation to the technician working on the weapon. Unfortunately he was knocked unconscious by someone before he could get the weapon to us.” Voltar said accusingly. “Well, our method was effective, if a bit showy, but now we have it.” Zartan retorted. “And we can easily take it.” Bludd threatened. “Cobra Commander insists that I come back with it, and he is not the forgiving type. ” “Neither is Baron Ironblood.” the Black Major added. “We came a long way for this item on his orders.” “Laird Destro is not the tyrant your bosses are, but myself and the Iron Grenadiers will not disappoint him. We fight out of respect for our leader, not fear.” “That’s all well and good.” Bludd mocked. “But respect won’t stop a missile being fired up your arse.” “Just know that you are who I am coming after first” Voltar menacingly stated while pointing a finger at Bludd. “If you two want to measure who’s got a bigger set, why don’t you go somewhere private?” the Black Major said with obvious disdain. “I can see that this going to a very productive meeting. “ Zartan sarcastically commented. “Now since none of the people who sent you here anticipated this many armed and interest parties, how about each of you go back to your bosses and see if they can come up with an arrangement that doesn’t require mutual destruction. We can reconvene in an hour.” The three leaders looked at one another and grudgingly agreed, then they all returned to their respective armies. Zartan slowly walked back to his base, but as soon as he cleared the doorway, he raced downstairs to where Burnout and his siblings were occupied with the weapon. “What do we have?” Zartan anxiously asked. “Can we use it to send those three irritants outside packing?” All three; Zarana, Zandar, and Burnout, turned towards Zartan with hang dog expressions. Zartan’s hopes sank. “Does it work or not?” he impatiently asked. “In a manner of speaking. “ Burnout advised. “The weapon powers up, but when you press the firing mechanism it doesn’t propel an armed warhead. Instead it emits a red laser. I tried switching out the projectile housing and this time a blue laser shot out.” “Are they used for aiming?” Zartan asked hopefully. “If they are, then the operator is SOL. The lasers don’t even stay focused on a single site. Any Cobra trooper firing this weapon would have about the same hit percentage as a Star Wars stormtrooper. Also, it doesn’t matter if the lasers were on target because the warheads are all inert. No cluster bombs, no gun powder, nothing. I’ve checked it out completely. There is one electronic component that I haven’t figured out yet. It must do something” “What are we gonna do?” Zartan asked quietly. “We could throw this piece of junk in the face of those idiots out there and shoot our way out.” Zarana snarled, but she knew in truth that this might not end well for them. “What we are going to do is a more subtle version of your suggestion dear sister.” Zartan stated with some conviction. “We let them fight over it, and we hunker down until they’ve whittled each other’s numbers down. Then we make our way out of here.” In a calm matter of fact tone, Zartan filled the Dreadnoks in on the plan. “I can’t believe we went to all that trouble for no payday.” Zanzibar muttered. “At least we got to tear up a military base and have some fun.” Ripper replied. Zartan then made another announcement over the loudspeakers to the three leaders. Shortly thereafter they all convened again, but this time Zartan carried the large metal case with him. He looked at each of them and said, “I trust that you all have informed your superiors of the realities of our present situation. Let me make a suggestion. We obtained this valuable item to sell to the highest bidder. Maybe this would be a way to settle this dispute without undo bloodshed. Since I don’t trust any of you inside my compound, I brought it out to you to inspect. I have kept one part of the weapon so you can’t use it against me. I will however, deliver it to the winning bidder. I will give you thirty minutes to look it over and contact me with your offers.” With that Zartan left and returned to his headquarters, leaving the three contestants perplexed. Why would he just leave it here out of his control? Was it booby trapped? Major Bludd called forth a viper and instructed him to open the case. The viper did as ordered and did not seem concerned that the three men had moved a considerable distance away. When nothing happened all three moved back to the open case. The weapon was truly impressive looking, and if it could be mass produced, it might actually be worth all the effort it took to bring the respective armed contingents to this place. The three men all moved out of earshot of one another to contact the heads of their respective organizations and get their final instructions. Cobra Commander impatiently told Bludd to kill the others and take the weapon. Baron Ironblood relayed the same command to the Black Major. Destro told Voltar to step back and expect treachery. Destro knew that Zartan had a trick up his sleeve and the other two were not to be trusted. Zoltar did as he was told and left Bludd and Black Major with the weapon. As if on cue, the two men pulled their pistols. Bludd was faster and shot the Black Major in the chest knocking him down. The Black Major’s body armor saved his life, but did not stop the wind from being knocked out of him or prevent the breakage of a couple of ribs. Bludd snatched up the case and ran to his army, at the same time giving a hand signal to the vipers to commence firing. The Hiss tanks, Stingers, and vipers all opened up on their competitors. The second in command of the Red Shadows, called the Red Laser, returned fire with the Robo Skull lighting up several Hiss tanks. The Iron Grenadiers wasted no time in engaging their enemies and inflicted heavy casualties on them, while the Demon unleashed a barrage of missiles. The Dreadnoks watched the carnage from their headquarters. Their building was taking some stray hits but were not yet being directly targeted as the opposing forces had to deal with each other, and they did not want to level the building until they had the part of the weapon that Zartan claimed to have withheld. Some of the Dreadnoks were happy to not be in the line of fire, while others wanted to partake in the grand destruction. Buzzer was watching the opposing forces, and inadvertently lapsed back into his academic days, comparing the fighting to The Battle of the Five Armies that Tolkien described in A Hobbit’s Tale. “We went and fought the dragon and won the treasure and now these armies are trying to take it from us. But then again maybe it’s actually the One Ring that curses anyone who possesses it.” Torch was standing next to Buzzer, and he obviously had not read the Hobbit, because it was not a pop- up book. However, he had seen the movie and was now looking into the sky. “What are you doing?” Buzzer asked Torch. “I am looking for the giant eagles.” He replied. Before anyone could call Torch an idiot, something did appear in the sky some distance away. At the same time Burnout came running up to Zartan displaying a sense of urgency. “Zartan, I went online and dug through some Popular Mechanics articles. I now know that the component I couldn’t identify is a tracking device. One used by the military.” “Damn it” Zartan angrily exclaimed, closing his eyes, and touching his fingers to his forehead as if trying to ward off an impending migraine. He now definitely knew who those soldiers were that they had watched on TV conducting raids on the biker gang, and he knew what was in the sky and coming towards them. “Dreadnoks,” he screamed, “We are punching out of here. The Joes are on their way.” “Uh, Zartan,” Ripper cautiously interjected. “They’re already here.” (My story was too long to fit in one thread. Please go to A Dreadnoks Tale Part 2 to finish the story) |
01-11-2020, 04:00 PM | #2 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: florida
Posts: 339
|
It has been mentioned to me that it might be unclear which characters I am referencing in the raids on the gang clubhouse.
They are as follows: Bullhorn Shock Wave and Widescope with his dog Lamont Scoop Law and Order Mutt and Junkyard Blowtorch Rock and Roll Flash and Grand Slam Spearhead and Max |
01-11-2020, 04:04 PM | #3 |
Star Brigade Commander
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Up North
Posts: 4,275
|
Only read (partially) for Lamont
__________________
LNC |
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