RPG SYF:

[BabyGirl]

[color=purple]"Yes."

"Yes. So." Bailey swung one leg back and forth off the edge of the cot and turned her head to face Zharra. Both were obviously in need of something to do or risked becoming antsy, "Tell me, Zharra, what does it feel like to be the only one in SYF who is getting laid?" The playful twinkle in her eye took any sting out of the comment.

Zharra wiggled her eyebrows, "It's quite fabulous. Except for when you're stuck in the middle of the sweltering Colombian jungle..."

"So close yet so far away." Bailey echoed.

"Or something of the sort. I heard you have some boy toy of your own?"

Bailey snorted a laugh, "Not a boy toy, no. Not right now anyway." She rubbed her eyes, momentarily erasing the vague memories from the night her and Nick and spent out, "Does everyone know everyone's personal lives around here?"

"Well-"

"Wait, nevermind, that was a dumb question. That's all there is to do for entertainment...gossip."

Zharra grinned, "And dressing up vulnerable boys to resemble disturbingly ugly girls."

"That too." Bailey snickered at the thought of it, "Liam'll laugh at the whole ordeal later, it's too bad he couldn't see the humor in it now."

"He's not all smiles and happiness, you know." Zharra stated, waiting for a reaction.

She waited, thinking it over, "Yes, I know. It's sad, really. No one person should have to go through too much in life."

"We all have."

The tent was silent as both women subconsciously reflected on their past memories.

Zharra thought of something suddenly, "You're not falling for him, are you?"

"Who, Liam?"

"Yes, him."

Bailey laughed and shook her head, "Of course not. The whole 'humor on the outside but tormented on the inside' thing just doesn't really do it for me."

"Ok," Zharra smiled coyly, "just checking. Don't you just love girl talk?"

But Bailey sensed a heavy underlying layer of sarcasm.[/color]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue]"Depends on the girl."

[i]Zharra closed one eye, waxed theatrical, then laughed uproariously. Bailey was slightly confused. ....if she had sensed the meaning behind the statement, then perhaps she also knew that her sarcasm had been put on hot and heavy. Then she sobered up and returned to sheer seri"osity." [yes, I invented a new word][/i]

"I apologize for the sarcasm Bailey....it's a tie over from early SYF days."

"Early?"

"....I don't know how much you know of our history...but my cousins, Ananda and Jaudiar were both my adopted mothers."

"Ananda...? THE Ananda?"

"The one and only. After Jaudiar was murdered, she taught me everything. The sarcasm was a way to see the humor when there wasn't any."

".....oh."

"And she taught me that it is best to laugh at death. It's the only way."

"To what?"

"To retain the self."[/COLOR]

[liamc2]

[size=1]
?Liam, you know that colour [I]does[/I] come out. Zharra was only trying to help.?

Liam and Rae had been walking now through the jungle for five minutes, just vaguely following the track that the technicians had pointed out to them. Liam had remained quiet for the most of the journey, apart from his casual whistling. His good humour was gradually returning as he realised that he could easily spin the nail polish so that it galled Rae, and not him.

?Liam, come on, can?t you take a joke??

Liam continued to whistle and checked the slide on his P-90. Rae herself had abstained from taking a weapon, mainly because she couldn?t have been bothered to carry one.

?Fine then, continue being silent, it?s not as though I care that you have pink nails, in fact I find it quite amusing.?

Liam continued to smile and the whistle grew louder. Then he stopped.

?So why?re we looking at these tunnels?? He asked.

Rae looked slightly sheepish. ?I was bored, okay? Besides, now I get an excuse to actually go off and do something.?

Liam raised an eyebrow and deliberately checked his nails, letting the light reflect off them into Rae?s eyes.

?So what am I doing here then?? He queried.

?Because I need dumb muscle.?

?Right.?

Liam shook his head and continued ahead, giving a mock salute to some of the diggers working in one of the archaeological trenches as he passed.

?Tunnel?s up that way.? One of the diggers yelled out, pointing further down the track. ?It?s just this little concrete mount with a rusty lid, you should find it easy enough.?

?Thanks.? Liam said, sincerely for once.

Rae quickened her pace to catch up with Liam?s long strides. He looked back over his shoulder at her and smirked, increasing to a brisk jog. She frowned at him and sprinted, catching up to him just as he clasped his hands on the corrugated iron covering the pit.

?Are we going down?? He asked as he kicked it off the top.

Rae peered down the tunnel, flashing a penlight into the gloom.

?I suppose.?

?Great.? Liam stepped up and vanished into the hole, parachute rolling as he hit the grimy concrete in the tunnel.

Rae rolled her eyes and leapt in after him, bracing herself for the collision with the concrete floor. She was surprised, however, when Liam caught her and put her down gently.

?You didn?t have to do that.? She said.

?Yeah. But I?d rather catch you now instead of carrying you back to base because you broke your ankle.? He grinned, teeth showing in the gloom, ?I?ve already done that once and it wasn?t pleasant.?

Rae ignored him and pulled out a pen light from her pocket, shining it along the long concrete tunnel. The entire tunnel was concrete, with a smooth curved arch as a ceiling, and a broken light every three metres. Patches of bricks showed through where the concrete had worn away. Along the ground was a narrow gauge railway track, presumably for transportation.

Liam kicked it and turned round to look the other way, only to find the matt-black barrel of a Sig P228 in his face.

He blinked, and the gun was holstered.

The SAS soldier smiled apologetically and stepped out of the shadows, he took Liam?s hand and shook it saying, ?sorry about that. I couldn?t tell who you were until I saw your face.?
Liam muttered, ?don?t worry about it.?

?I?m the Captain of Ambush Squad Two, we?re utilising these tunnels as a means of covert transportation.?

?Two? Isn?t there only one SAS squad??

The Captain grinned and adjusted his camouflaged bucket hat slightly. ?Funny thing that. We were Ambush Squad One, but that just sounds stupid, so we unofficially switched it to Ambush Squad Two. Better, don?t you think??

Liam couldn?t see Rae?s expression, but he knew it?d be an accurate portrayal of [I] ?You?re all as insane as each other??[/I]
Behind the Captain, Liam could make out the shape of a wide narrow-gauge cart coming towards them. He couldn?t hear the engine so it must?ve been electric?

The Captain followed Liam?s gaze.

?Isn?t she a beauty?? He said, ?if we hadn?t stumbled across that baby in these tunnels, we?d be slogging away through the night. All we had to do was take out the flat batteries, stick their solar panels in the sun and we were charged up and ready to go in no time.?

As the trolley got closer, Liam could see six or so men lying down, asleep, and one sentry with what appeared to be an M16 assault rifle.

?Well, it?s nice to meet a few members of the illustrious SYF before we go into battle, but we really must be off.? He stepped up onto the cart as it rumbled past, he gave a jolly wave and said, ?we?ll see you again when we meet up, aye??

?Sure.?

The cart suddenly picked up its pace and vanished down into the tunnels, the little electric engine?s whine reverberating off the tunnel walls.

?That was odd.? Rae said, still looking down the tunnel.

?Not really.? Liam frowned as though thinking about something. ?Their weapons were interesting, don?t you think? I?ve seen them somewhere before, but I don?t know where??

?Liam, they were M16?s.? She snickered, ?you very probably saw them in the hands of American soldiers, seeing as they, you know, are their signature weapon.? Her tone changed to a knowledgeable one, ?you know they?ve been around since the 60?s??

?They weren?t M16?s Rae.?

Rae blinked, slightly annoyed that her spiel was cut short.

?What do you mean they weren?t M16?s??

?The cartridge was too big, not to mention the barrel was slightly thicker.? He paused, thinking over the mental image inside his head. ?All I can say is that I?ve definitely seen them in Europe somewhere?? He grimaced, trying to catch a reluctant memory. ?Company starts with an ?S.? What is it??

?Liam. It?s dark, as far as I care it?s an M16.? She looked up at the hatch they?d leapt down. ?Quite frankly, if we?d just agree that it?s a gun, I?ll be satisfied.? She walked a little way down the tunnel, looking for something. ?Now where?s that ladder?? She muttered to herself.

?S?I know it?s an S??

?Liam??

Liam blinked, jerked away from his thoughts. ?What?? He asked.

?Can you help me find a ladder or something? I?m sick of being in the dark.?

?Why don?t you just use the handholds??

Rae stalked back to him, wiping her hands clean on her trousers.

?What handholds?? She demanded.

Liam pulled out his survival knife and stabbed it into the grouting between the bricks about his chest height. He jimmied it around for a while and managed to rip it out. After putting it away, he took a few steps back to the other wall and took a run up. As Rae watched with mild amusement, Liam swiftly scaled the wall, stuffing his boot into the gap after a flying leap, and reached the lip of the hatch.

After half a minute of scrambling, he was out of the tunnel.

Rae looked up through at the little circle of sky, tapping her foot. Liam?s face appeared, blocking the sunlight.

?Well?? He said brightly.

Rae?s countenance darkened.

Liam grinned, clasping his pink-polished nails around the rim of the entrance.

?You?re not saying you?re too short, are you Rae?? His smiled somehow managed to widen, the playful tone in his voice echoed beautifully into the tunnel.

?No. What I?m saying is that I?d rather not rip a muscle, unless of course you want to carry me back??

?Hey,? Liam said while inspecting his nails, ?if I can do it without breaking one of these beauties, you can do it without pulling a muscle.?

Rae frowned and repeated Liam?s scaling, she managed the foothold, but Liam had to catch her flailing hands before she fell back into the gloom.

?I could have done it.? She said, ascertaining her independence while Liam hoisted her out onto the grass.

?Sure you could have.?

Liam?s condescending tone grated against Rae?s nerves, and she dealt him a swift whack to the back of his head with the palm of her hand.

?Watch it.? She growled, the warning dripping on every syllable.
[/size]

[Ravenstorture]

[color=darkgreen][font=gothic]I'm sorry, but I'm withdrawing from otakuboards, and so my appearences on here will now be much less frequent. I still hope to make an appearance every now and then, but I won't be making a continuous contribution to this RPG anymore, and depending on the future, will not be RPGing on here anymore. I've had a fantastic time, Liam, thankyou so much for the brilliant RPGs we've been in together, and thankyou Liam, Raiha and Harlequin for my best creation on here so far - Latham Adytum.

I hope to keep posting in Otakuboards for many years to come, if it's still around. I have had a great time here but now my interests lie elsewhere, if not for a little while. Sorry for the inconvenience.[/color][/font]

[Lady Asphyxia]

[size=1]Liam held up his hands in a gesture of submission, then [i]absently[/i] picked at his nails. ?Hey, you know, I actually think this stuff is toughening my nails.? He picked them over, slyly catching a glance at her expression, ?I mean, now I can claw people's eyes out.?

?It is a manicure,? she replied frankly, ?and I wouldn?t expect Zharra to be any less than perfect when it comes to nail care. After all Jaudiar was one of the best.? She inspected her own nails. ?My nails haven?t looked that good since.? She started walking further away from the camp.

?Besides, Liam. If you manage to scrape out of trouble wearing that, chances are it?ll become a ?good luck? fad, and everyone will be wearing them.? She stepped over a fallen tree carefully, using Liam?s shoulder to hoist her up. ?We all know you?re a trendsetter.?

She looked around, turning slowly from her vantage point on the log. ?It?s getting dark,? she announced. ?Do you want to head back? It isn?t safe around these areas.?

He flicked her a derisive glance. ?That?s why [i]I?m[/i] the one with the gun.?

She jump of the log, kicking him -- rather softly, in her opinion -- as she did so. He glowered at her before setting his path back toward camp, glossy pink nails flashing in the sunlight.

[b]OOC:[/b] Sorry, Liam. I know I said it?d be longer, but I?m tired and my throat hurts.

Luci: Thanks for joining us in the RPG for this long. It?s been a pleasure.[/size]

[liamc2]

OCC: We will miss you milady, please maketh sure that thy escapades do not carry ye far from here.

The hearth fire with always be burning.

[As will the house. AAAH! *runs around with his arms on fire*]

[size=1]
After the team had fully conversed with each other, Malania and Katarina had even ventured out of their tent long enough to hold a decent conversation, Matt checked his watch and did some calculations in his head.

When he had figured out the hours of rest required, he stood up and bellowed, ?team! Bed.?

Liam looked up from his disassembled P-90 and shrugged. Seconds later, it was back in one piece and around his neck again.

?We will be leaving at dawn and moving double pace to reach the base in time.?

?In time for what?? Liam asked.

Matt looked at him thoughtfully, ?the Commander has informed me that the Colombians are planning to move something to a drop-zone. We know that something isn?t drugs, or cash, thanks to some key word cross-referencing we?ve done. We can only assume that it is indeed Karen they?re talking about.?

Liam went to ask something, but he thought better of it and made his way to his tent, bidding his goodnights in passing.

One side of the tent needed righting, and there was a tear where he had cut his way out, but he fixed the pole and dropped to sleep.

?Liam get your lazy backside up and out!?

?What???

Liam blinked. It was early morning and the rays of the sun were poking through the hole in his tent. He couldn?t believe it, he felt wide awake, and as though he?d only closed his eyes for a few seconds.

He stirred and sat up, stretching.

?Good,? Rae said, now dressed in fatigues, ?come on. We?re moving out.?

Liam stumbled out of the tent, snatching up his pack and weapons. He stumbled his way over to the team, sliding his guns into the various holsters on his body. Matt watched him with amusement as Liam re-slung the backpack around his shoulders.

?Liam, we?re travelling light today. We don?t need the packs.? He nodded the desk jockeys, ?they?ll be taking everything with them. You just need to carry your guns and water today.?

There was a space of time where Liam ferreted around in his pack, retrieving all the spare clips of ammunition he could find. Zharra tapped her foot in annoyance as Liam continued to store ammunition in his pockets.

After what had seemed an age, Liam buttoned shut the last pocket and tossed aside the now empty pack.

?All done.? He said proudly.

Matt eyed him, biting back an incredulous outburst, and tossed a camelback pack to him.

?Strap this on,? he said, ?you?ll be needing that water.?

He was right.

The temperature had climbed higher than the last hike, and everybody could feel it. Matt had insisted everyone where face paint to stop the bright midday sun from reflecting off their shiny faces.

Liam had stopped Bradley in time before he slathered the stuff all over his forehead.

The only place you put it, Liam informed, is on your cheeks and chin. If you put it on your forehead, the sweat forms there and the face paint runs down into your eyes. It burns; he went on to say, with a sincere air of someone who had experienced it for themselves. Besides, your helmet covers your forehead nicely so you don?t need to paint it up.

Bradley didn?t have the heart to tell him that he was only going to rub on some insect repellent.

The trip went a lot faster than last time. Matt had segmented it all into periods of flat out sprinting and periods of swift walking. Liam couldn?t believe it, but all the periods of haste and calm prevented him from wearing out completely.

He would have informed Matt or someone of this, but the strict codes of silence were even harsher now that they were close.
Somehow Liam knew that the first hike with all the gear was just prepping for this one.

Matt signalled them to stop and crouch, slinking his way forward and separate from the group.

[I] ?One sentry on the roof of the compound, he?s behind the dragon?s teeth on the roof.?[/I]

Liam poked his up from behind the bush he was crouching under. He could see the sentry now, wearing khaki pants, a greasy Singlet and an ancient Kevlar vest over the top.

[I] ?Want me to take him out?? [/I] Liam asked back over the COM.

[I] ?Please do.?[/I] Matt replied.

Liam grinned and turned to Rae, who was sitting comfortably next to Eve. He lifted his P-90 and nodded to it.

?So what do you reckon?? He said in a hushed tone. ?P-90, Eagle or MS1??

Eve raised an eyebrow, but Rae thought over the question.

?MS1.? She said, smiling slightly, ?it?s quieter, not to mention I know you?re aching to use it.?

Liam grinned, and heard the hum of helicopters.

[I] ?The hell??[/I] Matt said over the COM. [I] ?Blackhawks? Team, take cover and check this out.?[/I]

Liam poked his head out again, hands clasped firmly on his MS1. He watched with a confused interest as four men dropped out of each of the two helicopters. Their SEAL uniforms niggled in Liam?s head.

He watched with a grim fascination as one SEAL landed expertly behind the stunned sentry and ended his life with a quick stab to the lungs.

The sentry wouldn?t even be able to cry for help as his life slowly and painfully drained away.

Liam winced. Standard SEAL manoeuvres, and they all had Heckler and Koch MP5-SD?s. Suppressed MP5?s.

The SEALS did a thorough search of the outside of the fort, taking out three more guards that Matt hadn?t even noticed.

Liam couldn?t help but feel a pang of inadequacy when he took in their efficiency and skill. He blinked and shrugged those thoughts aside.

[I] ?SYF Team, report. This is Major First of the SEAL assault team. We request you make your presence known to us.? [/I]

Liam frowned. He could tell Matt was too. This was not right; the Navy SEALS had not been informed of the SYF mission, due to the fact that it would be an unnecessary expenditure of Navy resources and that Karen?s father had been told not to involve the American military?

Something wasn?t right, it didn?t feel right.

Matt looked back and caught Liam?s eye, giving him a knowing look.

Liam kept his mouth shut.

Matt signalled that the team stand and make their way down. Liam hung to the back, directing the rest to go in front of him. Bradley?s gait showed that he was chuffed to be meeting the SEALS, Malania and Katarina were guarded, and suspicious. Rae was mildly surprised, but grateful for the extra help, as was Zharra, Bailey and Eve.

Liam inadvertently squeezed the trigger once. Once more and it?d start firing.

?Major First,? the Head SEAL said, saluting Matt. ?we are here to retrieve the subject Karen in the best interests of her father.?

Matt nodded slowly, churning the facts over in his head.

?Excuse me,? he said, tapping his radio. ?I have to make a call to my Commanding officer that we are no longer needed.?

The Major nodded, smiling amiably, with the two SEALS flanking him.

Liam looked over the Major?s shoulder and watched the other five SEALS vanish into the forest, in the direction the SAS were coming from.

If Liam?s mind wasn?t busy churning over what he was going to do, he would have sworn.

?Radio isn?t working, weird.? Matt used the tone of someone who was genuinely surprised. He held his hands behind his back and signed something out to Liam. Bradley read it and shot Liam a confused glance.

Liam wouldn?t have laughed if the situation weren?t so dire.

Matt was using the code he and Rae had thought up, that Liam had accidentally picked up. Basically what Matt was saying was that the wide band frequency, the one that enabled them to talk to anyone on the planet if they wished, was being jammed by something.

The mobile phone, however, worked perfectly. Matt had managed to contact the Commander, and even Karen?s father. Both had no idea what was going on.

Liam ambled up to Matt?s shoulder, pulling out a chilli he had swiped from the dinner table the night before. As he was beside Matt, he began to eat it like a carrot, savouring every second that the spicy devil bit into his tongue, and the thoughts of what he was going to do with it.

?Hi, I?m Liam.? He said, offering his hand and speaking with a half full mouth.

?You?re without rank?? The Major stated, with a tone of superiority.

?Probably, I don?t really keep track of that rot.? Liam put the last of the chilli into his mouth. ?Rae does though. She keeps track of everything.?

Liam nodded back to Rae. He waited for the precise second when the Major?s attention was diverted from his men. The closest SEAL, a huge brute, looked Liam?s way for a second.

Liam grinned and spat the burning chilli juice and seeds into the man?s eyes.

He fell to the ground screaming and clawing at his own face.

In the seconds of confusion, Liam head butted the Major in the side of the head, and Matt dispatched the second SEAL guard with a punch to the throat and a pinch on a nerve cluster.

Liam wiped some stray seeds from the side of his mouth and swallowed the rest of the chilli.

?Liam?? Rae said slowly, ?what the hell??

Liam smiled sheepishly, ?chillies give a kick start to your metabolism, that?s how I keep off the kilos.?

Zharra exploded, ?she doesn?t mean the chilli you idiot. She wants to know about the SEALS you just assaulted!?

?They weren?t SEALS?? Matt said, dusting his hands.

??And I actually wanted to know about the chilli.? Rae said sheepishly. ?Once you?ve been around this idiot for long enough, your views of the norm generally go topsy turfy.?

Big, booming, successive shots echoed from the forest where the SEALS went. Liam would have run off to help then if he hadn?t realised a key fact.

The imitation SEAL'S weapons were silent.

He resisted the urge to burst out laughing when a very Australian voice carried through the jungle, shouting incredulously,

?You bloody bastards!?

Liam tried to contain himself to a quiet chuckle, but he couldn?t help himself, and doubled over, trying desperately to prevent his sides from splitting.

?Well. Now that we?ve got that sorted.? Matt said, smiling slightly. ?We?ve got some rescuing to do.? He looked over the forest, where the SAS were now coming out, ?I want Malania, Katarina, Bailey and Liam to go inside and retrieve Karen. The others and I will remain outside with the SAS to comb the fort more thoroughly.?

Liam nodded and followed his squad inside.

There was no one there. Every room they came to was empty. It was obvious that the guards outside were just a skeleton crew, the rest must have shipped out long ago to make sure the drop point was safe.

Katarina called out, ?hey, I be having a zignature here.?

Liam made his way over, sure enough there was the yellow heat signature of a woman sitting in a chair. Katarina did some follow up checks for booby traps and opened the door.

Karen was grimy, rips were in her blouse, but she looked okay. However, she didn?t show any signs of life or reaction to their entrance.
Bailey and Malania tried to snap her out of it, calling her name and the like, but nothing happened.

Eventually Katarina, tired of the charade, walked briskly to Karen?s side and jabbed her harshly in the ribs.

?Come on, we have to be going, you lazy capitalist.?

Karen reacted immediately, exploding into a tirade of gracious sobs. She clung to Katarina?s waist as though she felt that the Russian wasn?t really there and might vanish any time soon.

?Thank goodness, ?she sobbed, ?I?d been playing this out in my mind so often I thought it wasn?t real??

Katarina was shocked, looking in utter surprise at the woman clinging to her waist.

?Get this crazy American girl off me.? She said, arms raised in the air and completely abhorred to the fact that someone was clinging to her.

?Well?? She demanded.

?You?re on your own.? Malania said, smiling slightly as Katarina tried to comfort the sobbing woman.
[/size]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue][i]She sat at the edge of the truck and looked out over the fort before disembarking. She was back in her fatigues, thick hiking boots, and light khaki shirt. Matt's orders were interesting.

Comb the fort.

Infiltrate. Maybe hack into a computer system. She jumped up and down inwardly. Bailey gave her the odd eye, which she ignored. In her headpice she could hear that Karen had been retrieved, and was slightly insane. Still chuckling, she walked through the halls of the fort, moving quietly, almost silently. The only sound was her faint breathing and her boots brushing ever so softly against the dusty floor. A few guard were sitting in what was obviously a break room. She leaned against the wall, drew open her canteen bag, which doubled as a grenade bag, and drew out a single flash grenade.

With practiced ease, she slid out the pin, then held it in her hands for a few seconds, then tossed it over her shoulder into the room. Chaos broke out.

She laughed insanely and charged in, knives out and swinging. She caught two in the face, on opposite sides of her, then leapt upwards and planted both her feet in the face of yet another guard. They dropped like stricken oxen and she laughed once more. Then she stood still in the room of fallen "heros" and looked around. None of them were wearing radios, but all of them had weapons. These she quietly removed, and placed in her bag. Next she turned on the nearest computer, and logged in.

"Ah, instant gratification."

With sure keystrokes she bypassed Windows and breezed straight into DOS.

"........ah yes, read it and weep you pathetic human hackers...you do the low end, I do the high end. Take the back door I'll take the invisible door....."[/i][/COLOR]

[Sere Tuscumbia]

[size=1]OOC: I have been busy. Very, almost crazily busy. Also, it snowed, so I went romping around in the snow, and watched [I]The Nightmare Before Christmas[/I] for the first time in my 16 odd years.

But fun news: I HAVE GOT THE COOLEST SHOES EVER. My shoes mock your shoes. =P

*/-/*

Eve sat on the ground, her knees drawn up with her arms sticking straight out and her elbows resting on her knees, and her back resting very lightly against the side of the truck ([which seems to have appeared out of nowhere, hmm]). Her head was tilted down, her chin resting on her chest, but it didn't matter, she wasn't looking anyway.

Her eyes fluttered open at the shouts, and Eve looked up to see Liam and Bailey heading across the sand (toward the temporary camp that Matt had established in their absence), supporting a worn out Karen between them.

Eve smiled, and pushed herself up tenderly before starting to slowly make her way over to the group of five. She knew that Matt would be ecstatic to see Karen again, and she didn't want to interrupt their renuion.

But at least she could be handy at last. She grinned.

[I]Handy.

Handy dandy.

Handy dandy mandy.

Handy dandy candy mandy.[/I]

She reached the group of once seven, now five again, and stood slightly aloof of the group. Although there were only five others there, Eve still felt a little crowded, more thinking of other's space than her own.

Matt met her eyes, and Eve reached out a gentle and and softly touched Karen's upper arm. "Hey," she murmured soothingly. "Let's go get you fixed up and changed, okay?"

Karen, although hesitant to let go of Matt, bit her lip and nodded.

Eve smiled, and took Karen's hand, supporting her 'til Karen found a chair to collapse into.

*/-/*

And these: ([]) symbolise writer comments. Just little comments I felt like making during the production of this darned post. Ugh, I'm getting to a point where I'm all written out. Or maybe I'm just getting Writer's Cramp (also called Writer's Block). It's eating my brain.

Also, if you're a bit confused, when I'm talking about the group, and the numbers of the group, it's Liam, Bailey, Malania, Katarina, Karen first, then Liam, Bailey, Karen, Matt, Rae, (Malania and Katarina, but they quickly leave (thus the 7 then 5 comment), then Liam, Bailey, Matt, Rae, Karen, Eve, with Karen and Eve breaking off. . . . if that make any sense at all.

My shoes still mock your shoes. ^_~

--Sere

P.S. -- There's more to this (because it's horribly short) but it's late and Dad's all, "Get off the internet! It's [b]eeevvvviiillll[/b]!!" so I'll finish it tomorrow. Yay me, see? I'm still alive and kicking.[/size]

[liamc2]

OOC: I have some good news, and some bad news. The bad news is that I'm going to be away until Saturday arvo. The good news is that it looks like you lot can keep this going by yourselves.

lol

~_^

[size=1]

Liam waltzed around outside, holding the P-90 and his MS1 like pistols. It was completely against all procedure, but he felt he looked cool, or something to that effect. A random bug buzzed in front of his vision, some sort of butterfly. He gave a sly look around to make sure nobody was looking his way before he holstered his guns and proceeded to chase the winged insect open handed.

?Come ?ere you flying bug-

?Liam??

-er??

Liam looked away from the butterfly that was rapidly escaping. One of his legs was in the air while both his arms were reaching up into the sky. He slowly dropped down onto both his feet and grinned sheepishly at the confused look Malania was giving him.

Malania blinked. ?Yes, so?Matt wanted me to tell you that he wants us to investigate the fort further. He said something about possible arms or something being stored here.?

Liam coughed and lifted up his P-90. ?Okay then,? he said, ?shall we dance??

They made their way around to the front of the complex to meet up with Kat, who was lying comfortably in the truck. The ripped leather seats and rusty springs did nothing to irk her, she valued the shade that the ancient Chevrolet?s rusty canopy more than the idea of an intact seat. When she realised Malania and Liam were there, she sat up and leapt out of the oxidized cabin, flying smoothly through the air before landing cat-like at their feet.

?A ten pointer, no?? She said, retrieving her P-90.

?For someone who leapt out of a fifty year old truck that had been abandoned in Colombia, I?d say that there are none that can match you.? Liam?s dry tone announced the glib sarcasm had reassembled its façade.

?Vatever. Come, ve have to inveztigate more of thiz hole.?

Liam smirked and looked around for the others. ?What happened to Bailey?? He asked, realising one of his team had gone walkabout.

Malania shrugged. ?Zharra enticed her away with her wily charms.? She snorted, but expertly put it into a cough that sounded as though there was a Russian word secreted inside.

Liam looked on blankly as Katarina burst out laughing and said something back to Malania, who found it quite amusing.

?Can we keep this to English please?? He said blearily. ?My Russian is not what it used to be.?

?Anything to please the little man with the pink nails.? Malania said, giving a mock curtsey.

Liam looked at his fingers, showing them off. ?You like?? He asked.

?Da, I love a man who shows hiz zenzitive side.? Katarina said in an appreciative tone, before chuckling and walking off towards the complex.

?Of course you do,? Liam said absentmindedly as he followed. ?So where?re Matt and the others? I know you and Malania are here, and Bailey and Zharra are inside, but where?s the rest of the team??

Malania paused at the top of the stairs, calling back over her shoulder, ?they?re over the other side, no doubt relaxing while those SAS men of yours look into this ?SEAL? fiasco.? She stepped down to the weather beaten door and kicked it open, pointing her Yarygin into the gloom.

Liam shrugged and followed her in, flicking the light switch on as Katarina stepped inside. He pulled out the heat scanner and scanned the room. There was nothing in here but crates and a few rodents, and two humans directly above who were looking at a warm computer.

Katarina looked at one of the crates and kicked a hole into it with her steel-capped boots. She withdrew the foot and checked inside the box.

?There?s nothing in here but straw,? she muttered darkly. ?Wait, here. A piece of rock?? She said incredulously, pulling it out with her free hand.

?That isn?t any piece of rock, that?s one of the ?artefacts? Matt supplied to the Colombians.? Liam laughed, ?they actually thought they were real! The only reason they were still here is because of Karen and some trinkets.? Liam was gloating now. ?To think, they risked their lives for nothing. They probably should?ve stuck to drugs. They?re better at it.?

?Oh no wait; there?s a hidden part in the box. Hey!? Katarina fished around inside the hole and drew out a white glad-wrapped brick. ?What do you know, cocaine.?

Liam deflated. ?Well, one could hope.?

Malania and Katarina whispered something to each other in Russian, Katarina looking meaningfully at the brick in her hand and at the other crates in the room. Liam managed to catch a few words and numbers.

?No, you can?t sneak a few out.? He said flatly.

Malania coloured slightly. ?We?re not sneaking them out; we?re wondering why they left about thirty million dollars worth of drugs behind.?

?Oh. My apologies.? Liam?s ego deflated a little more. Which wasn?t necessarily a bad thing, it meant now he could fit his head through doors.

?Zomething is not right I zay.? Katarina said, pitching the white brick back into the box. ?It is almost az zomeone zet them up. Or tried to cover zomething up.?

?Come on,? Liam said, turning to the door, ?we?ve got to tell Matt.?
[/size]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue][i]Zharra was buzzing happily through their data banks when she heard Matt's voice conversing quietly with Liam's. She turned up the volume ever so slightly and heard a few words about a,

"Cover up." and also maybe,

"Drugs left behind on purpose."

There was a great deal of inane babble after that, so she quietly flicked it off with her right index and continued typing. The programs were called up one by one and she quietly scanned each. Then, with expert skill she took out a laser disk and flicked it into the disc drive.

Vtttt-WHrrrrrrrrrr.

She smiled thinly and began compressing and downloading the more exciting files onto her disk. Callum sauntered in over her shoulder and looked down.[/i]

"Having fun?"

"Loads of it. Why do you ask?"

"Cause Matt was talking to me about looking for a reason all those drugs were left behind......and said I should try hacking into one of their computers, when I heard you talking to yourself and came over to see what you'd dug up,"

"Well it's boring so far, except for a few games and songs I've been looking for...."

[i]He eyed the files she was downloading and chuckled.[/i]

"Anything else?"

"Porn. Lots of that."[/COLOR]

[The Harlequin]

[font=gothic][color=indigo]OOC: My internet 's been dead. Not that it really matters. You dirty capitalists seem to have kept your side of things up...

IC: [i]Liam, of course, made the mistake of being the first out of the room. Katarina and Malania followed quite quickly, with innocent looks on their faces, so of course he had his suspicions. But when covert glances failed to reveal any kind of hidden lump that might be worth a lot on the street, he put it up to sheer Russian oddity, and simply led them off to find Matt.

When they did find him, he was talking to Callum. He broke off and raised on eyebrow at Liam, trailed by his quasi-bored looking Russians.[/i]

Liam: In a rather interesting turn of events, someone ran across the interesting idea of leaving 30 million dollars worth of cocaine stashed back there. Other than that, the place is rather uninteresting.

Matt: Thirty million?

Liam: Well, I left the numbers to my assuredly more knowledgable escort.

[i]They gave him a thinly veiled smile that almost begged him to enquire further. It probably wasn't hard to choose not to though.[/i]

Matt: Why would they do that?

Liam: I have no idea. It certainly doesn't make any sense though.

Matt: Some kind of cover up?

Liam: Maybe if they wanted the local authorities to run into and destroy some evidence they thought we might need. I mean, really, "Drugs left behind on purpose" probably wouldn't appear in your average law enforcement officer's vocabulary.

[i]Matt considered that a moment, then had a quick word to Callum, who calmly sauntered off.[/i]

Matt: Alright then, you three just continue to skulk around in there and make sure there aren't any other interesting surprises, and we'll keep you informed.

[i]Liam nodded, and turned to go, catching sight of two pointedly blank Russian faces. He got two steps before Matt interrupted, in a voice that was mainly glass daggers.[/i]

Matt: And how much is that worth Liam?

[i]Liam half turned in confusion, only to have Matt pull one of the bags out of some apparent hiding spot in Liam's gear. He looked at Liam in disgust, cast a sidelong glace at Katarina, and walked off. Liam turned to the other two in rampant accusation.[/i]

Liam: You set me up damn it. Just because I had the audacity to suspect two Russians, who both no doubt have connections to the Mafia, of some small drug related activites...

[i]As is continued in that vein, Katarina slung a companionable arm over his shoulder. When that didn't shut him up, she sighed and used the same arm to gag him. He kept making small incoherent sounds for a good thirty seconds before getting the point, upon which Katarina let him go.[/i]

Katarina: The way your day has been so far, you pansy Australian, I am well and truly surprised that you failed to expect it.

[i]Scathing and tone and accentless enunciation aside, the sheer fact that she truly believed he deserved it was enough to reduce Liam to a mere rueful sigh.[/font][/color][/i]

[liamc2]

[size=1]

Liam groaned. He?d left himself wide open there for that one. With any luck it could have been a weird Russian show of appreciation, or initiation, or something.

He looked back over his shoulder. It really didn?t seem likely.

Katarina and Malania continued their conversation, this time standing guard on the door. Liam frowned and grabbed his kit, shaking out the white powder that had come loose from its packet. It really didn?t matter though; the cocaine would be in the stitch, instantly setting off any sober drug sniffing dog.

Feeling even more defeated, he tossed the bag up into the air and kicked it, so it resided in the outskirts of the jungle.

He made his way over to Malania and Katarina, who paused their conversation to allow him room.

?You can stand guard here,? he said, ?but if you don?t mind, I?ll be up in that tree polishing my nails.?

Malania raised a delicate eyebrow in response.

?We need a sniper.? He said bluntly. ?If there?s cocaine here, and someone knows that it?s here, we?ll have problems.?

He turned and went back the way he came, vaulting up one of the taller trees, cat-like. He settled down into one of the boughs, hidden by some well-placed leaves.

?Do you believe a word he said?? Malania muttered in a low Russian whisper.

Katarina grinned, looking up at the tree. ?No. I?d say our friend is sulking somewhat.?

Up in the tree Liam fitted an infrared scope to his P-90. This way he could remain completely unseen, being able to see out, without people seeing in. He pulled the scope to his eye and scanned the area.

Not a soul was out of place.

There were, however, some peccary ambling around in the jungle. Their low, blurred orange shaded shapes were easily distinguishable on the scope.

If he had a silenced weapon, he might?ve participated in some mindless wildlife destruction.

He rotated slowly, shifting the scope closer to where Karen was being protected. He could see her technicolour form on the chair with Eve leaning against something beside her. A male figure walked up. Matt, judging from his gait. Karen rose slowly from her seat and threw here arms around him.

Definitely Matt then.

Rae was standing nearby, as was Bradley, sentry style with their guns slowly swaying as they surveyed for signs of danger.

Liam moved the scope higher, the SAS were moving away through the jungle; presumably back to their tunnel.

?SPAS 15?s! That?s what they are!? He exclaimed as the memory struck him. ?They?re automatic shotguns manufactured by SPAS for urban situations, police forces. A clever manipulation of their purpose to use them in the jungle?very clever indeed??

?Hey! You do not need to be talking to yourself up zere.?

Katarina?s voice shattered the silence of Liam?s thoughts. He poked his head out of the foliage and said, rather eloquently;

?What??

Katarina huffed. It was obvious that she was being forced into doing this.

?If you be lacking in some conversation, you do not need be talking to yourself.?

Liam raised an eyebrow. ?No. I?m quite fine thank you.?

?Vell then. If you wish to be a better sniper, I suggest you remain quieter.?

Liam pulled his head back into cover, calling out, ?whatever.?

[/size]

[Lady Asphyxia]

[size=1][b]OOC:[/b] Sorry it's taken so long and that it's so short. I'm sort of writing blocked..

Rae sat in the shade of the tree, sighing as the midday heat swealtered the agents. It was hot, so very hot and they were all starting to feel drowsy because of it. Their concentrate would soon start to lax, so they needed to get done and move out quickly.

The SAS squad was making their way to secure the next area. It should be done quickly, hopefully, and then they could get out of here. It was possible that Matt would give them some time off after this mission -- he liked to do that a lot, really.

She'd just closed her eyes when she heard the gunshots, and the shouts from the SAS troups.

They all went running, knowing that the silence now wasn't a good sign. They'd been taken by surprize. They hadn't had time to retaliate. By the sounds of it, the attackers had just performed a hit and run. Take out those they didn't want and left the rest.

Rae got there first, and stared at the carnage. Hit and run. They were all dead.

She'd been speaking to them barely hours ago, the leader -- who now had a hole in his head -- had been [i]joking[/i] with her.

Rae turned and sat in the bushes, certain she'd start throwing up.[/size]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue][i]Callum giggled and clicked the file. It opened, and instead of lovely pictures of females sucking *BEEP* it showed several other files of what appeared to be useless information. The two computer programers exchanged a puzzled glance, then peered closer. A little bit of this, a little of that, hello. ....Zharra smirked and wrapped up everything.

Callum was about to protest when she removed the laser disk and popped in another. It whirred into action and the entire harddrive was wiped clean. She posted up a sticky for anyone to find and typed the following words;[/i]

"Nice work, Slugheads."

[i]She closed up the cases and inserted all three into her bra. Then she stood and cocked her 9mm. Callum rolled his eyes and followed her into the hallway, which was devoid of life.[/i]

"Tell me they're outside Zharra."

"They're outside Zharra."

[i]She groaned and flicked her radio earring.[/i]

"I have a bad feeling bout.... .....those files. If they were smart enough to label them porn, we should probably..."

"Copy them before they crash?"[/COLOR]

[liamc2]

[size=1]?Matt?what was that??

[I] ?Some shots. I?ve sent Rae and Bradley to investigate.?[/I]

?You?re sending just two people in, by themselves??

[I] ?I?d go myself, but my experiences in the field are restricted to urban combat. Besides, we can?t move a civilian into a hostage situation.? [/I]

Liam sighed. This did not bode well. ?Matt, permission to follow them??

[I] ?Do whatever the hell you want. I sincerely doubt that your position in the tree is helping anyone.? [/I]

Liam said nothing, maintaining his graces and dropping to the ground. He couldn?t remember Rae and Bradley?s individual frequency channel?

?Katarina, what is Bradley?s frequency??

?Channel twenty-one, coded.?

?Thanks.? Liam said while adjusting the digital meter on his headpiece. ?Bradley. Where the hell are you??

There was a pause, the sound of someone who pressed the talk button, but had no idea what to say. Someone heaved.

[I] ?Sorry Liam?Rae and I?we?ve?I mean, damn.?[/I] Bradley wheezed, looking around him. [I] ?Liam, you?ve got to see this. We?re with the SAS, but not the way we wanted?? [/I]

Liam blinked as the radio squawked when the channel closed. Not the way he wanted? What did that mean?

The naivety tried to stand bold in Liam?s mind, but the facts stood tall.

Liam cringed and picked his way along the rough path. He was making his way into an insecure location that had claimed the lives of men that were supposedly unbeatable.

From Bradley?s confused, no, shocked report, all of them were dead. Liam didn?t appreciate the lump that rose in the back of his throat. Their motto, complete with crest, gleamed in his mind?s eye.

? ?Who dares wins,? my ass.?

Foliage was crushed were the soldiers lay. The carnage was indescribable. The bodies lay where they had fallen; some were propped up against the trees, like macabre puppets that tried to imitate life.

The blood was like a slick in the dust, making a rich red mud on the ground. In the heat the smell was already intolerable, the rich droplets dripped from branches above in a sporadic dirge.
Somehow Liam managed to bring himself to inspect the rest of the team.

The front troops were the first hit, a surprise attack from the front. Wild fire broke out then, taking men out as they came. The Captain that he had talked to as [I]an equal[/I], a compatriot, a friend.

Liam shuddered and regained himself.

The Captain was resting against a thick tree trunk, pistol still tightly clenched in his hand. He was facing to one side, were the shots had come from. But there was a hole above his ear, where he?d been shot from the other side.

He was the last to go down.

?It?s not good, is it?? Rae?s soft voice quavered.

?No.?

Liam leant forward slightly, checking around the side of the tree. There was an obscene amount of casings lying on the ground. Liam had only heard a couple shots, so the noise must have come from the SAS retaliatory fire.

?Oh damn.?

?What, what?ve you noticed?? Bradley said, walking closer.

?Tripwire.? Liam pointed down to his foot, which was brushing the line.

?Crap.?

Liam very slowly lifted his head, brushing dust off his foot.

?There, got it off, man I hate monkeys. They leave their crap everywhere.?

Bradley looked confused, and then the dawn of realisation washed over his face.

[I]They were probably still being watched.[/I]

?Bradley,? Liam said, annunciating clearly for any lip readers. ?We?ve got to get the others; they?ll be interested in this. We?ll need the whole team here.?

Liam turned smartly and left the way he came, carefully making sure he stuck to his path. Bradley and Rae followed, taking his exact footsteps.

?Matt? We?ve got a really huge, bloody gigantic, [I]titanic[/I] problem.?

[I] ?What, what?s happened??[/I]

?The entire squad of SAS soldiers is dead. The clearing is wired up with trip lines, probably claymores. I?d say our boys stumbled across something they shouldn?t have, just like last time. If they hadn?t?? Liam swallowed, ?if they hadn?t walked into that, it would?ve been us.?

[I] ?What, all of them?? [/I]

?Yes Matt.? Rae said, her voice racked with sorrow, hate, and tears. ?Every. Last. One. Of. Them. They?re all gone.?

?We have to call in air support, there?s no way in a fiery hell are we going to leave here otherwise.? Liam said, quickening his pace.

[I]?How do you know people are still around??[/I]

?The laser sight that played around my legs for a second is a bit of a clue.?

Liam burst out into the clearing, Bradley and Rae leaping out behind him. He glanced around, up at the fort. It had a helipad on top, and no doubt they could lock themselves inside.

?Inside Matt, we?ve got to get inside, now!?

[/size]

[Lady Asphyxia]

[size=1]Matt gave the order and they all made it in. Rae kept herself busy with barricading the doors, trying to secure their makeshift hideout.

"Matt. You need to make the call to get us out of here. We can't combat stealth in unfamiliar surroundings." Liam's tone was hard. Rae knew exactly why. They couldn't afford to lose any teams members at the moment, which meant everyone had to get there safe. Liam felt responsible for these people; he'd be worrying by now.

And he had cause to worry.

Matt ignored Liam's order and raised an eyebrow at Rae, Liam and Bradley. "So?" He wanted to know exactly what was happening before he made the call.

"Dead. All of them. Taken by surprise, hit from the front. There was no way they could have survived." Liam was trying to deal with it, Rae realised. He'd already started repressing it and was trying to move on.

"It was meant for us." Bradley stated.

Matt's gaze turned to her. She looked around the group and mentally brought up their files. [i]Why is it, that in a special group of 9 field agents -- including Matt -- none have been specially trained in strategies?[/i] They were all given basic courses, of course, and in the course their missions, they all picked up what was a good move or a bad move, but there were no [i]professional[/i] strategists in the group. She filed the thought away.

"Rae?"

"I know this is a cliché, but..." she shook her head. "It's too neat. It doesn't make sense. They'd [i]planned[/i] for us to be here, they would have known that there was an SAS group. Why would they take the chance unless they had backup. My first instinct is that it was a hit and run -- they get the ones they wanted and then leave. But Liam [i]saw[/i] the laser sight, which means they're staying here."

She looked at Bailey, who's mind seemed to have clicked to what she was getting at. Bailey continued for her. "They'd have known that we would have come in here as soon as we saw something was wrong."

Rae nodded. "In my opinion, there's either a back way, or a bomb."

Kat interrupted. "I vould not trust a bomb in dis heat."

Matt nodded. "Thanks, Rae. Ever so comforting." He stood up, face worried. He couldn't call for a 'copter until they knew there'd be no problem for it getting there -- until the opposition couldn't get to it. "It seems we may have just walked right into a trap. Be alert. We'll need to take them out."[/size]

[liamc2]

[size=1]

?Uh oh.? Liam said in a worried tone.

?Uh oh?? Rae asked. ?Uh oh as in you left the stove on, or uh oh as in we?re going to die??

?I left the stove on Rae.? Liam said sarcastically, but he appreciated the tactless humour. ?I?ve just remembered something incredibly important.?

?What??

?The tunnels, Rae, the bloody [I]tunnels.[/I]?

Bailey and the other clueless members of the team looked blankly at him. The colour drained from Rae?s face.

?I?m so stupid!? Liam bellowed viciously. ?They?ve been treating us like children the whole way through this, and we lapped it up.? He sighed. ?I?m too arrogant for my own good.?

?I caught the last part,? Matt said with a lopsided grin. ?But what is he on about??

Liam sat on an ancient sofa. Its springs squealed in complaint as he steadily sunk lower in it. He placed his head in his hands, the cool barrel of his Eagle pressing against his face.

It was a comfort thing.

?I can?t believe I let this slip through.? He said. ?The tunnels go for hundreds miles. You can easily crack them open at a safe point and drive transport jeeps down into them. No one would know you were there and you could manoeuvre troops and supplies in secrecy.? Liam realised something and looked up sharply at Matt. ?Why didn?t we do that??

Matt remained brazen. ?We had no information regarding these tunnels.?

Liam lowered his head back into his hands and muttered. ?It was to be expected.?

?So vot about these tunnels?? Katarina demanded, tiring of the dramatic charade.

?There could be one right underneath us, a perfect back door.? Rae said simply. ?All you would have to do is collapse the tunnel, and the building above it would collapse.?

?Instant tomb for a bunch of gormless youths.? Liam grunted.

?So what are you suggesting?? Matt ventured.

?They, whoever they are, will send ground troops in to check the doors, all entry points. If they can?t sneak in, they?ll most probably seal them from the outside so we can?t get out. After that, they?ll blow up the basement. Probably a Tritonal charge or something worse??

-there?s something worse than a Tritonal charge?? Bradley asked incredulously.

Liam was caught by surprise. ?Someone knows their explosives.? He said appreciatively. ?Yes, there is something worse, I?m talking nuclear.?

?Nuclear?? Matt chuckled. ?Come now, you can?t be serious.?

Liam raised an eyebrow. ?Well, I was going to suggest nerve gas in the ventilation ducts, but that?s just pure speculation.?

Liam?s dry tone did nothing for the mood in the room. He stood up, with some effort, from the sofa and wandered around the dilapidated fort?s break room. There weren?t any windows, what light there was came from the fluorescent tubes along the ceiling; lord knew where the power for them came from.

Most probably the walls were RPG-proof, it was built to last. Standard design with stainless steel mesh sandwiched between layers of concrete. That was good; they wouldn?t have to worry about sniper shots coming through the walls.

?Earth to Liam,? Bailey said for the second time. ?Any ideas??

?Invest in some ice, because this place is going to hell.?
[/size]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue]"Anything else?"

[i]Zharra and Callum appeared at the end of the hall, both looking extremely self satisfied.[/i]

"Yeah."

"Save the children."

[i]Both Callum and Zharra flicked their respective laser disks simultaneously. Bailey and Liam caught them and flipped them over. Liam read the label rather uncertainly.[/i]

"Hardcore porn..."

"Amazing, those guards really had way too much free time."

"It's probably an acronym honey."

[i]Zharra shook her head laughingly. Callum incidated the one Bailey was holding.[/i]

"Drug production, Nock List, ....wow."

"So, do we get a raise?"

[i]Matt looked to the ceiling for the answers, which were not forthcoming. Zharra pulled her hair back behind her ear and posed.[/i][/COLOR]

[liamc2]

[size=1]

?Is where you came from secure?? Liam asked, eager to get attention back to the pressing development.

?Security is as tight as a nut. No windows or anything, concrete all around.? Zharra thought for a moment, playing out the blueprint in her mind. ?As far as I can tell there aren?t any entrances beside the main one we all came in.?

?There should be a back door though.? Bradley muttered. ?If you came under siege here, how could you escape without a back door??

?The tunnels are the back door.? Liam said simply. ?We?ve got to barricade the front door. Bradley, as you are obviously the most physically able, I want you to drag everything in this room, and I mean everything, and put it as a barricade in front of the door.?

Bradley grinned and gave a mock salute. Like and eager schoolboy, he sized up the room and rushed over to the dilapidated vending machine and proceeded to push it along and out of the room.

?Zharra,? Liam gave a small smile as he spoke, ?seeing as you would fight tooth and nail for him, I?m going to suggest you put a infrared scope on your P-90 and give him some cover. Don?t shoot unless you?re in danger. It?s crucial that Bradley gives us an adequate barricade.?

Zharra slotted in the scope and nodded, following closely behind Bradley. Both of them took care to stay behind the machine?s metal bulk.

Liam was taking charge again, Matt looked put out, but let him do his job.

?Matt, Rae, Eve, Malania, Katarina. I want all of you upstairs and behind some serious concrete cover. Karen is the focus of this mission, if she dies, there?s no point for us to remain on the mortal coil.?

Karen squinted at him. She was recovering well from her ordeal, but she still couldn?t cope with being talked about as though she wasn?t there, as though she was some priceless gem that could be broken.

?If you don?t mind me asking,? Malania said. ?What the hell are you going to be doing??

?I will be providing cover for Bradley and Zharra. Bradley will require some help in his furniture rearranging. Now you know, I want all of you up the top, pronto. This is only a three-storey building. If it collapses, you?ll be better off at the top than at the bottom.?

No one moved, questions were popping up in their eyes, begging to be asked.

Liam levelled his pistol. ?Move, or I?ll kill you. Don?t take it as an empty threat.?

The team vacated, but Katarina and Malania remained.

?Well?? Liam said, turning his pistol on its side, gangster style.

Katarina put out her hand. ?Good luck.?

Liam took it and gave a small smile. ?You?re not talking about the barricade, are you??

?We?re not thick.? Malania shrugged. ?We know you?re going into the tunnels. You?re such a typical capitalist, arrogant, hero.? A smile appeared. ?But you?re good value, we?d offer to help, but you know-

-I?d decline.? Liam?s smile vanished, his resolve becoming stony. ?I don?t want any more blood on my hands.?

Katarina and Malania turned to go up the stairs.

?Wait,? Liam said. ?I know you are prepared with more than just standard issue, I mean, Katarina?s shotgun is a credit to that. Anyhow, do you happen to have a Dragon on you??

The Dragon was the Soviet?s answer to the Barrett Light 50 sniper rifle.

Malania looked him up and down. ?What if we do??

?Take out as much as you can from the roof. The P-90?s are submachine guns, they don?t exactly have the range of a sniper.? He looked into Malania?s eyes, ?if you?re to fly out of here, you need to take out all of their AA people. Then, order in the chopper. I'll leave it up to you to decide whether or not to leave people behind.?

?Fine. We will see.?

Liam nodded and waved them up the stairs. ?I?ve got to get going, it?s a long walk to the entrance, but Zharra and Bradley will be turning around now. I?ve got to find that tunnel hatch, and soon.?

Katarina brushed past him and opened a utility closet.

?I suggest you start here,? she winked and hurried up the stairs after Malania.

Liam inspected the closet, switching on the light on his P-90. It was a squalid room, barely one and a half metres squared of floor space. He closed the door behind him, and was surprised to see that he could barricade himself in.

This side of the door resembled a safe, nothing at all like a humble soiled utility door.

He hurriedly rolled the wheel and three thick bolts slid into place, thirty centimetres into the reinforced concrete. Outside he could hear the muffled sounds of Bradley hurriedly moving something else.

?So far, so good.?

Waiting until he heard Bradley and Zharra leave, he began stamping the floor, and heard it was hollow. He grinned and checked it, prising up the boards with a survival knife, revealing another hatch.

The wheel turned of its own accord.

Liam quashed an expletive and pulled back the slide on his P-90, selecting full automatic.

The hatch rose very slowly, so the opening faced the barred door. Liam currently resided on the hinge side.

A black shape rose up in the gloom and reached up, pressing a hidden switch. A red glow, from a light bulb in the ceiling, washed the room. The figure began turning the wheel, and another rose up, holding an AKSU submachine gun.

Liam deliberated shifted his foot, creating a grating sound. The two figures twigged and spun round to face the P-90?s devastating fire.

?I hate shooting people in the back.?

He dropped the half-empty P-90, so it hung around his neck, and snatched up the AKSU, pulling back the slide.

There were shouts coming from beneath, excited ones. Obviously they had heard the fire and were climbing up the ladder.

Liam rested the ASKU over the side and held the trigger down. The casings bounced around the tiny space, before falling down the hatch. The gun was dry, so Liam tossed it down, hopefully landing on several bodies.

He snatched up one of the bodies in the room to throw it down, but he noticed a trio of pins in the belt. Shrapnel, flash, and smoke. He grinned and pulled all three, dropped the body down, slamming the hatch shut.

Soon as the body hit the ground, the smoke grenade puffed at the impact. Eight seconds later the flash grenade blinded all of the occupants. Two more seconds after that, the shrapnel ripped through the space.

Satisfied, Liam opened the hatch slowly, letting some of the smoke fill the room. He dropped the remaining corpse in and leapt after it, using it as cover against any wild shots.

None came.

He was in a room filled with rapidly vanishing smoke, four- no [I]six[/I]-bodies, and with three tunnels branching off.

?There?s nothing here??

Liam then noticed the Humvee parked in one of the tunnels. Its engine was still running, but other than that?

He turned round on the spot, and noticed the two Tritonal charges fixed to the foundations. They hadn?t been activated.

?Thank God.? He muttered to himself. ?If they were on, there?d be no way in hell that I?d be able to turn them off.? He began walking slowly toward the Humvee. ?What do we have in thee??
[/size]

[The Unholy Newt]

[size=1]Bradley stripped the top half so he could move easier when barricading the front door. He looked and saw Zharra smiling as she watched him.

'Aren't you going to finish the job?'

'That's what I'm doing, this stuff is damn heavy.'

'I wasn't talking about the barricade.'

Zharra pointedly looked him up and down, Bradley could feel his face heating. He just winked and kept going. He stopped and looked to see what would be suitable to put in front of the door. He found a nice big table that would be big enough to cover the entire double doors.

He gave it an experimental lift to see how heavy it was. It was a reasonable weight but that wasn't the problem. It was going to be damn awkward carrying the bloody thing by himself.

He looked over at Zharra.

'Little help?' He asked.

Zharra, smiling, shook her head.

'No, this should be interesting to watch.'

He gave her an exaggerated death stare and turned back to the task at hand. His arm span was just a few inches shy of being able grab both sides.

He tipped the table up on it's sides an against a wall. He then grabbed underneath it lifted it up, using the wall to keep it up. He then leant forward resting the table on his back and carried to the door and triumphantly set it down.

'You could have just dragged it you know.' Zharra pointed out.

~TUN[/size]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue]".....but......b....agh!"

[i]Zharra roared with laugher at his indignancy, almost dropping her weapon.[/i]

"I wanted to see if you'd figure it out."

"IS STHAT ALL?!?"

"I also wanted to see your biceps brachii, triceps brachii, and deltoids articulate."

[i]He looked slightly confused until she flexed her own forearm. Bradley looked upwards for aid, which did not come. Zharra leaned back and smiled, adjusting her grip on the rifle.[/i]

"So...having fun yet?"

"I'm dragging blunt inatimate objects towards a set of very flimsy double doors to make a barricade, while a sexy female with a gun sits on a wall and laughs at my valiant efforts. What do you think?"

"I think you're secretly enjoying being stared at by me."

[i]She preened once more and Bradley shook his head. He continued moving furniture and vending machines, his muscles rippling deligtfully under his skin. Zharra raised an eyebrow as he lifted yet another huge blunt object with ease. ......she whistled appreciatively. This job definetly had its perks. No pun intended.[/i][/COLOR]

[The Harlequin]

[font=gothic][color=indigo]Malania: He's an idiot.

Katarina: Don't say you wouldn't do the same.

Malania: That's what I meant. Not for going in there, but doing something better left to people like us.

Katarina: Hmm, perhaps. I've only got one knife though, and it's merely a standard issue combat knife. Not to be used on anything more threatening than a deranged field mouse.

Malania: I've got your ataghans.

Katarina: Well then, I do believe he is, indeed, an idiot. Let's make a point of telling him so when he gets back.

Malania: Assuming you don't get trigger happy and shoot him as soon as he sticks his head out.

Katarina: You don't want the gun?

Malania: Not at the moment.

[i]Katarina wasn't sure how Liam had guessed they'd had a couple of rather effective high power things stashed here and there in the few heavy cases they'd so far acquired. Whether he knew about a couple of other things he probably wasn't meant to was something they should perhaps find out. For now though, assembling the Dragon was occupying Katarina's hand. Stowing the various weapons they had had meant they'd had to be dismantle to the nth degree. Truth be told, Katarina could have been carrying ninety percent of the sniper rifle with her, and still been unobtrusive.

Unobtrusiveness was factoring rather largely on her mind at the moment, given that her position was hardly as safe as, say, behind a group of rather large crenellations. In fact, the low retaining wall around the roof was only a good two feet high. The heat made it even more painful, and could easily have made it lethal....Katarina truly hated the heat, it made her ever so slightly lethargic, and if things got dicey, reaction time would no doubt mean quite a lot.

For the moment, the small expanse, followed by the line of trees, was almost motionless. The Dragon, on an easily collapsable tripod, wasn't equipped with an infra-red scope, so all it would do at the moment was restrict her range of vision. Instead, they simply waited for some hapless fool to pop his head up.

The last thing they expected was for that to actually happen. Out of seemingly solid ground, dirt was thrown aside as someone rather hurriedly tried to get out of the newly exposed tunnel. Katarina and Malania blinked in surprise, allowing the man time to take about two steps away from the hole. Then, all of a sudden, a pinpoint incision in the back of his head turned into an explosion of gore, as his face shot out like shrapnel. Katarina trained the scope on the tunnel entrance, expecting at least one other person to come out.

She was rewarded. First by some kind of gas bomb, rendered futile by the distance separating them, and doing little to obscure the area, then by a furtive head poking up. The body quickly followed. Given that the smoke was at ground level quite a bit thicker, no doubt the person assumed that the inert body a few feet away was whoever had fired the previous shot.

Katarina hadn't bothered with the silencer. It wasn't like her position wouldn't be obvious anyway.

He gave the area a rather thorough scan, then knelt beside the tunnel opening and whispered something to some unknown amount of people inside. He stood back up, and took two paces back, tripping over the body. He swore loudly, then again, much louder, when he realised the hand he placed on the ground to push himself up was covered in blood. He died before he could make another sound.

The third man out of the hole met a similar fate, the bullet slicing through his neck, the fourth got off several shots, all of which missed, before Katarina dispatched him.[/i]

Malania: They look awfully eager to get out of there.

Katarina: And for good reason, no doubt.

[i]Malania just shook her head, and picked up Katarina's shotgun. Hardly the most accurate weapon at this range, but no doubt there were enough people out there, and enough tunnels, to make things rather close range within short order. Given that belated thought, Katarina turned on her mic.[/i]


Katarina: By ze vay people, seems zere are more tunnels zan ve originally thought. Keep an eye out.[/font][/color]

[liamc2]

[size=1]

?You have no clue.?

Liam had wandered past the Humvee and now saw the tunnel as it really was. He lifted up his scope and pointed it down the tunnel, using the range finder to get some bearings.

It bounced up to 1040m, before to clicking over to ?XXXX.Xm?

All the way along the tunnel, as far as he could see into the shadows, smaller tunnels branched off the sides. Some had been reinforced, while others looked as though they?d been hastily dug and filled in when they proved fruitless.

?The problem just got a whole lot bigger.? He muttered over his COM.

[I] ?How so? You mean apart from the fact you?re down there by yourself?? [/I]

Liam grunted. ?Can I talk to someone besides Rae? It?s kind of important. I don?t have time for her angst about being left-

-[I]Liam! When you get back up here, I am so going to-[/I]

[I] ?Malania here. Please hold while we restrain Rae, it?s been a long day for her. Matt will be speaking to you shortly??[/I]

[I]?Matt speaking.?[/I]

Liam sighed; he could still hear Rae?s complaints buzzing in the background, it sounded as though someone had clamped a hand over her mouth, maybe a sock or something?

?This place is a regular rabbit warren.? Liam reported, shining his torch around the tunnel. ?I don?t know how long work has been going on, but I think it?s easy to say that anyone working down here could have done it easily without the knowledge of the Colombians.

?The Tritonal charges hadn?t been set, but I don?t think it?s safe yet. These diggings could easily hide more explosives.? Liam spun round slowly, inspecting the piles of soil. ?This whole situation is a powder keg. Our best solution is to view the situation from a behind a keyboard, through satellite imaging. Trust me, the last place I want to be is here.?

[I]?Any hostile forces?? [/I]

?Any I can see have been dealt with, but I could have sworn some vacated the tunnel through these passages. I think I interrupted their work, mind you; it?s all a bit suspect. I keep thinking I?m missing something.? He kicked the Humvee?s tyre. ?And this overgrown jeep is doing nothing for my confidence.?

[I]?Overgrown jeep??[/I]

?Humvee.?

[I]?There?s a Humvee in the tunnel??[/I]

?Yeah, it?s all really weird. American vehicles, Russian guns, European explosives. You could say it was a mercenary squad, and it points to that, but with the way Special Forces are today, you could just as easily say that it was an overgrown detachment of the Delta force.?

[I] ?So we still don?t know who, or why these people are trying to kill us??[/I]

?Could be mistaken identity.?

[I] ?Sure, that makes a whole lot of sense.? [/I]
[/size]

[Lady Asphyxia]

[size=1][b]OOC:[/b] Been busy trying to do stuff, heh. A little obscure, sure, but it's true. So don't pout, Liam buddy.

[center]____________[/center]

Rae struggled free of Malania's hold, flouncing off in another direction. They didn't come after her, and she didn't expect them to. Liam's comment had made her think. She, of all people, knew the pitfalls and uses of a mistaken identity.

Still didn't make sense.

Rae wandered for a few more minutes, then neatly found a tunnel by falling through it. She groaned and thanked her lucky stars she hadn't jarred her ankles. She wasn't bruised, although her head seemed to be a bit fuzzy for a few seconds.

She started looking at her surroundings.

Either it hadn't been used in years or someone had recently come through it. Luckily, it seemed to be the first. It was a poorly constructed tunnel; nothing like what Liam had described. It had been hidden by a floorboard -- which was rotting, thus the reason for her fall.

The tunnel was little more than a hole in the ground. A safe haven, perhaps? If the enemy knew about these dugouts, they could simply climb in and wait until the team was't ready for an attack. Of course, that wouldn't happen, would it? The team was always read for an attack. Of course, just to be sure, she took a breath to mutter a report over the intercom.

This was Liam's fault, really. If he hadn't gone gallivanting about, she wouldn't feel the need to fall into a great dirty pit.

"Liam," she growled over the intercom, forgetting her wish to report back. "This is all your fault, I swear." She stretched and then directed her complaint to Kat and Malania, who were probably the closest to her position. "Can you come and get me? I want some help looking around."[/size]

[liamc2]

[size=1]
?Everything is my fault with you, isn?t it?? Liam said the reply under his breath, without turning on his headset. He didn?t wish for a conflict right now. He was wandering around inside hostile tunnels, completely clueless to what or why it was happening.

And now Rae was down here.

[I]Damn![/I]

Now he had to worry about them. What happened if they popped up in a skirmish? In this gloom, he wouldn?t be able to tell friend from foe. It was so simple when he was by himself?

He flicked the sweat from his eyes. Even standing still, in the cool underground, the heat was still making him sweat. All these layers of toughened Kevlar were making him overheat.

He turned around and eyed the jeep. Surely there?d be water in it, a canteen, a camel pack, [I]something[/I]. He was melting out here, and he?d left his water supply outside in the rush.

The doors were locked, and thanks to the Lexan bulletproof glass, impenetrable.

But the engine was still running, the carbon monoxide just kept on pumping out.

?Keys, keys, where?re the keys?? He said, and something caught his eye. There was mud caked along the bottom of the vehicle, just a thin splash, but there was a bump that just didn?t look right.

?No, it?s too simple?or is it?? He reached down and poked the lump. It was stuck hard, too hard for mud. He pulled out his survival knife, and the point stuck to the lump, it was magnetised.

He prised the knife underneath and inspected the lump in his hand. It was a magnetic key hide-away. He could have laughed.

?This is just so stupid.? Liam shook his head and prised it open. There, inside, was a key, that fitted the lock. He ripped the door open and checked the contents. Nothing was there that served his interest, papers, maps, ammunition, guns, and a flask.

Liam grinned and reached over the seat, accidentally bumping the GPS with his knee, he grunted and rubbed his knee while snatching up the flask. He sniffed the contents and, satisfied, guzzled it down.

Something was wrong though, there were numbers counting down where there had been a map.

[I]19:91[/I]

?Oh?for the love of a motherless goat??

In the gloom he could see the faint glow of activated frequency receivers.

?Matt, we?re going to die.? He said flatly over the COM.

[I] ?What? What?s the matter?? [/I]

?I activated the Tritonal charges; there was a remote set up in the Humvee. There was twenty minutes on the clock.? He checked the display. ?There?s now nineteen and ten seconds.?

[I] ?You?I?it?damnit!?[/I]

?My sentiments exactly.? Liam checked his watch. ?My guess is that it takes ten minutes to get to a safe distance, before the bomb goes off. If we all?no. There?s no way, we don?t know if we?re driving right into their base of operations?? A light switched on. ??Matt, never mind, I?ve got an idea. Tell everyone to stay in the general area of the base. I?ll be up shortly.?

[I] ?What?? [/I]

Matt didn?t answer; Liam had already cut him off and was sprinting to the charges. According to the display, all four charges were active. He could see three. First thing was first though, he needed to get them into the jeep.

?One?? He grunted while rushing one over to the Humvee.

He cut the bonds on the second. ?Two??

The third was free just as quickly. ?Three. Where?s the fourth??

[I] 11:01[/I]

He looked around, and then at the ladder. It was lying on its side; no doubt the attackers were planning on dropping it off just inside.

?Hurry, hurry??

Liam sprinted over, weapons clinking, and hefted it. He sprinted back to the Humvee and threw it inside. He shifted out of park and spun the beast around, adjusting it so that two wheels sat either side of the tracks. He grabbed a rifle from the back and whirled it around. The butt cracked across the display, but Liam didn?t notice. He kicked the door open and jammed the rifle onto the accelerator.

The engine roared, and he leapt out, counting his blessings that its transmission was automatic.

The Humvee accelerated along the tracks, bouncing slightly as it rebounded off the tracks. The headlights grew smaller, and more faint as it put more distance between itself and the base.

Liam sighed in relief, and collapsed onto his knees, begging his heart to stop pounding.

[I] 10:48: Detonation aborted.[/I]

The jeep continued to pick up speed, but now it was drifting between the tunnel walls. As it got faster, the tracks could do nothing to restrict it. The Tritonal charges in the back bounced around.

The tunnel got wider.

The jeep grew closer, and collided with the wall at one hundred and eighty kilometres per hour. The fireball engulfed the spare tank of petrol at the back, blackening the entire wall.

The soldiers in the cavern slowly stood up, faces reflecting the flicker of the merry fire.

?Holy shit?? The nearest soldier whistled, a strong southern drawl. He ducked as the flames detonated the ammunition inside. ?What in the hell happened to reconnaissance two??

Two men rushed up with extinguishers and hurriedly put out the flames.

The Humvee smouldered, spitting as the metal spat out steam. The tyres bubbled as they cooled on the floor.

?All four Tritonal charges are in the back seat, sir!? One of the men with the extinguisher bellowed out. ?No bodies present, appears that a rifle held the accelerator down.?

?What the hell happened to my men?? The man with the drawl demanded.

A man stepped up to the railing overviewing the disaster. He was clean-cut and decked out in jungle fatigues, he was young too, in the light of most of his peers. His very stance screamed at the top of its lungs, ?special forces.?

?Obviously they are dead, General.? The man said evenly. ?The SEALs are not known to take captives. I?d say that they guessed our plans and sent the charges back to warn us.? He leapt down to the concrete floor and made his way towards the jeep. ?Quite frankly I?m surprised they hadn?t sent them back armed.?

The General muttered a string of obscenities and ran his hands through his cropped hair.

?I was told you Delta bastards, no offence, knew what you were doing!?

The man?s expression didn?t change. He merely let the tirade wash over him.

?I give you [I]my[/I] Recon marines, [I]my[/I] best men, under the surmise that they were doing a simple, easy favour. And now they?re being dropped like flies!?

?General, you can?t be saying that it is my fault that your Recon marines came under fire. When, might I add, they decided to leap out like patriotic [I]idiots[/I] to take on an unseen snipe. Their deaths are down to their own misjudgement.? He sighed and rubbed his face. ?Though, these recent MIA?s, I must say, were not meant to be. Something we didn?t account for has been thrown in.?
[/size]