RPG SYF:

[Boba Fett]

[color=green][B]General[/B]: ?And what do you propose we do about it??

[B]???[/B]: ?Send a recon team down the tunnel, to figure out who messed with that Humvee. After all, it appears we have a security breach.?

[B]General[/B]: ?Very well. But no more screw ups; and you?re leading the team.?

The young man frowned. He knew the general didn?t like him, but he had considered him a competent military leader until this past week. Obviously he was letting his feelings get in the way of his professional duties. It was also highly suspicious to have the General send him to lead the recon team. As if he wasn?t wanted, and wouldn?t be missed if he were to be killed searching for this obviously skilled intruder.

The young man vaulted over the railing and landed amongst the Delta force soldiers that had been assembled for the mission. They were all nearly a foot taller than him, but also much more nervous. They weren?t very good at hiding their fear, trying to mask it with their typically male ?tough guy? attitudes.

Setting his observations aside, he spoke firmly and rapidly.

[B]???[/B]: ?Parkey, Donnel and Dougly; I want you with me.?

All three of the men walked over to him in a matter of moments, readying their lethal weapons.

[B]???[/B]: ?We?re assigned to recon the tunnel, and figure out who the joker was who messed with the Humvee. I?ll lead, Private Donnel will cover. I want Sergeant Parkey on my left, Dougly on my right.?

Three heads nodded in unison, and the four of them moved into the main tunnel. It was dimly lit, and he wished he?d brought his heat goggles. Sometimes packing light wasn?t a good thing.

He drew from his holster a pistol. It?s sat comfortably in his grip, like he?d held it all its life. The pistol?s worn metal grip was cold against his sweaty hand. He hated this hot climate. I brought back bad memories.

His team was not in a good position. The only cover provided was from various used crates and concrete chunks that had been pushed to the sides of the tunnel in a vain attempt to clean the place up. Anyone who?d been here for very long had probably already found cover and was watching their approach. Hopefully that person would miss their first shot, and they?d have time to take him or her out before they got a chance to fire again.

He thought he heard something, but shrugged it off. The tunnel echoed, and it was probably Donnel getting a better position.
He was wrong.

A shot rang out, and he dove behind a bent piece of metal. Turning, he saw Dougly laying on the ground a few feet away, a bullet lodged between his closed eyes.

Swearing softly, he used hand signals to give orders. He?d take it alone from here.

Moving cautiously but swiftly from one piece of cover to another, he moved steadily up the left side of the tunnel. Sooner or later he?d bump into the person who?d shot his comrade, and then it?d be a matter of who shot first. He was confident that he would be able to respond first. All those years in dangerous situations had done that much for him, he hoped.

Once again, he was wrong. This was not his day.

An arm reached out from behind a crate and yanked him close. He was being held with a gun to his head, close to someone?s body. A hand was clamped tightly over his mouth, in such a way that made it near impossible for him to bite his assailant. Whoever this guy was, he was trained well.

[B]Captor[/B]: ?Quiet. Drop the gun, and we?ll leave with you as my hostage. Otherwise, you can be my shield.?

He knew that voice, memories started to fill his head. Years ago, events that had made his who he was? It was overwhelming. There was only one person he knew who was good enough to draw him in this easily. Seconds earlier, he?d have betted the world that person was a very, very long way from here. Apparently mistakes come in threes. Only one thought now occupied his head, why in the world was Liam here?

Shocked he dropped his weapon. It clattered to the floor, echoing through the tunnel.

His captor tensed, and waited.

[B]Liam[/B]: ?I?m going to pick up the gun. If you speak, I?m going to splatter your brains all over the walls.?

Liam removed his hand, and his hostage spoke quickly and tensely.

[B]???[/B]: ?Liam, it?s Ryan. Let go.?

Liam froze, and flipped Ryan over, still keeping his weapon trained on him.

[B]Liam[/B]: ?What in the hell are you doing here??

[B]Ryan[/B]: ?I?m running with Delta force, it?s a long story. What the hell is the SYF here for??

[B]Liam[/B]: ?Another long story, how about you call the toy soldiers off before we get ourselves killed.?

[B]Ryan[/B]: ?Agreed.?

He rose, and shouted to his men.

[B]Ryan[/B]: ?It?s alright, he?s with us.?

The two teenagers rose, and walked together towards the confused soldiers?

OOC: Hope that was all right. It?s been a long time since I was in SYF posting mode?

-Boba Fett
[/color]

[liamc2]

[size=1]

Liam holstered the MS1 and cracked his knuckles. For some reason, the weapon was always better for the stealthy moments. He eyed the fallen Delta member with the remorse of a guilty six-year-old that had been caught breaking his mother?s favourite vase.

?My remorse.? He grunted.

The Delta members said nothing, though one spat and flicked the safety back on to his weapon. His actions spoke louder than words ever could.

Liam grinned and said, ?well just a warning. Don?t shoot me for what?s about to happen next, Ryan will understand, won?t you??

Ryan blinked, and managed a confused, ?what??

Liam slugged him across the jaw and said, ?right! That?s for the Pizaro thing.? He cracked his knuckled and grinned, giving Ryan a friendly handshake. ?It?s great to see you again, but what?s with all the attempts at killing us??

Ryan rolled his jaw. ?I suppose we can say the same thing.? He said slowly.

Liam raised an eyebrow. ?Look, all I know is that we?ve been sent to retrieve an object, then we came under fire from a group that imitated the SEALs-

-did you say SEALs??

?Yes, that?s what I said.? Liam ignored Ryan?s outburst and continued. ?They were dispatched pretty easily by our backup SAS team. We then poked around and found a whole lot of drugs.?

Liam decided it wouldn?t be tactful to mention that Ryan?s team had killed the SAS troops.

Ryan?s brow furrowed. ?How much is a whole lot??

?A couple slabs hidden in crates. Lots of crates.?

Ryan spun to his Delta team, ?get back to the General; tell him to call back all his Marines. The SEALs have been dispatched, we have evidence why they went rogue.?

Liam raised an eyebrow. ?So they were SEALs??

?Yes, we?ve been following them for a while now. We believed that they were getting payed off in drug money by the Colombians, for favours and the like.? Ryan smirked. ?And we?ve got them.?

Liam raised a finger, ?actually, [I]we[/I] got them.?

Ryan?s radio buzzed before he shot off a retort.

[I] ?Recon Three have sourced an intruder in one of the tunnels. They are approaching with caution, lethal force is to be used.?[/I]

?Oh damn.? Liam grunted. ?Rae. Rae?s in the tunnels. Call off your goons!?

?What? She's here too?? Ryan buzzed up his radio. ?Call off Recon Three, I repeat, call off Recon Three.? There wasn?t a response for a few seconds.

[I] ?What? I assure you, my men can take care of themselves. They?ll do whatever the hell I order them to, understood??[/I]

?General! Wait, the?? Ryan blinked. ?He?s turned off his radio. This isn?t good.?

?Let me try Rae.?

?What good will that do??

Liam grinned like a shark. ?She won?t use lethal force when she defends herself.? He adjusted his headset, tuning to Rae?s frequency. ?Rae, get out of there. Turns out it was mistaken identity. Some buffed up American marines are coming your way, intent on spilling blood. Get out of there, or knock ?em out, just don?t kill them.?

[I] ?Liam! What are you talking about?? [/I]

?Just do it.?

[I] ?But- [/I]

He shook his head as he cut Rae off. She was a smart girl; she?d be able to take care of herself. Now to deal with the clock tower sniper he?d set up on the roof?

?Katarina. Is all quiet on the western front??

[I] ?Your cynical capitalist pun does not amuse me.? [/I]

Liam rolled his eyes; Katarina just had a way with words. ?I?m asking you to cease fire, those are American Special Forces that you?re firing upon, they?re not our enemy-

[I] ?Not [b]your[/b] enemy, don?t you mean??[/I]

?Your communist humour slightly amuses me, comrade.?

[I] ?Now you?re getting it.?[/I]

Liam groaned, rubbed his face and slid down the wall to sit. It was too hot and too humid to bother with all this secret government cover up rubbish. If he were ever to be privileged with a few days off, he?d appreciate them right now. Katarina would hopefully spread the word and then they?d be up in the air and out of here. Then, and only then, would he want to sort this mess out.

[/size]

[Sere Tuscumbia]

[size=1]OOC: Just a note from me, I'm still alive (don't consider this as spam, please!!), and, yes, I am going to post, but I might not be on for the next couple of days. School just started back off (for a lot of other people too) and my mum's starting to get picky about me getting on the computer after 7:00 PM again. ¬¬;;

In layman terms: I'M INCREDIBLY BUSY. --;;

Keep my lovely Eve alive for me, will you?

*/-/*[/size]

[Lady Asphyxia]

[size=1]Rae sighed and adjusted her P-90, looking at in with disgust. It really was an ugly gun. It might be a [I]good[/I] gun, but who cared when it was as ugly as sin? And when did she turn into a teenybopper, hmm? She?d gotten Liam?s message, but still didn?t understand it much.

Ryan was in the tunnels, that much was clear, and that was fine. But...wouldn?t he tell the Marines to call off? Wouldn?t that mean that the Marines didn?t accept orders? I mean, they were about to kill her...or try, rather. A face poked out from above. It was Bailey, with Eve. ?Hey,? Bailey whispered. ?We?ve come to help you out.?

Rae nodded, but didn?t move. ?Look, guys, we?ve got people in the tunnel. What I want to do is give them a chance to lower their arms. I won?t be standing out in the open; that?s foolish, but I will give them a chance. If they proceed, we shoot. Non-lethal, because Liam?s being a bum, but enough to knock them out, or dispose of them for a while. Got it?? They nodded, both ready. Only Rae knew it?d be practically impossible to get away without a mini-fire fight. If they hadn?t given up then, they wouldn?t now. ?Right, then. Take cover.?

Rae heard the stealthy footsteps in the tunnel. ?Halt!? She commanded. ?State your armed force.?

She honestly couldn?t believe they actually answered. ?Marines.?

?We are friendly forces. Put down your weapons!? Not a clatter was heard. Rae turned to Bailey and Eve and motioned for them to shoot. ?But be nice,? she whispered. She herself took the leader, shooting him in the shoulder. Shoulders were the nicest. If they were shot in the leg, it was possible that the doctors could screw up and they?d never walk again. Anywhere else and it bled a lot.

The other side fought back sloppily, shooting wildly in a way that would immediately give away their positions.

Rae sighed. She didn?t want to hurt them when they may be needed for protection. An idea leaped into her mind, and she pulled a grenade from her belt. It was harmless, true, filled with a simple sleeping gas. A new invention, definitely a handy one, although she was hoping it didn?t spread very fast..

With it, she pulled the pin for the smoke grenade and threw both at them. ?Let?s go, it doesn?t last very long. Probably less than an hour. It?ll hopefully be enough.? she whispered at the two girls. As the smoke grenade puffed up, so did the sleeping gas. There were some shouts and then silence.

The three girls looked up at the hole in the floor, then frowned. The tallest of them still couldn?t touch the top. Rae swore and braced herself, then made Bailey climb up her. She winced when Bailey hit her injured shoulder, but didn?t make a sound. Bailey reached the top just as the smoke drifted over to them. Rae braced herself and ordered Eve to climb up, too.

As soon as Eve reached the top, Rae grabbed Bailey?s hand and held on tight. ?I need you to lift me up...? she grinned sheepishly. ?I didn?t think through the whole sleeping gas thing...it?s getting to me.?

She fell asleep just as Bailey and Ever pulled her out of the hole.[/size]

[Sere Tuscumbia]

[size=1]OOC: Look, I post! I post at 6:26 in the morning but I post!

*/-/*

Eve crouched down, tapping Rae in her un-injured shoulder a couple times, then remarked, "Wow, that's some damn strong stuff. Nifty." She turned to Bailey. "Get her back to home base, will you? They're still back there with no information, and Rae isn't doing us much good here."

She started off, but stopped when Bailey called out to her.

"Where are you going?" Baily, with Rae hefted on her back, looked after her.

Eve turned around and started walking backwards. "I'm gonna go find Liam and see if he knows why in the hell we had Marines on our asses," she said, jerking a thumb behind her.

Bailey nodded, then turned and headed back the way she and Eve had come.

Eve turned back around also, and jogged around a couple corners and down several stairs before she found the exact spot she wanted. She paced up to an innocent wall panel and paused for a moment, checking her position against the map in her head, then nodded and tapped the wall panel.

She liked what she heard.

"Note to self: Buy hammer," Eve grumbled as she hefted up a piece of concrete and started making holes in the wall. After a few minutes, she chunked the concrete to the side and slipped through the hole she had made in the wall, letting her eyes adjust to the dimness inside.

Only a few paces forward, and Eve felt the slight change in the air. Turning backwards, she clambered down the rungs until she hit the last safe one, stopped, and looked over her shoulder.

As luck would have it, Liam was right where Eve had hoped he would be. "'Ey, Liam! Move or this thing's coming down on your pumpkin!"

Liam scrambled up, looking startled. "What the hell?!"

"I said [b]move[/b], or this damned thing is coming down on your head!"

Liam moved out of Eve's sight, and she put her foot on the next rung below her and pushed down. The ladder extended perfectly, and Eve

*/-/*

Sorry for dropping off right in the middle of a sentence, but I've got to get going to school. Will finish when get back.

--Sere[/size]

[Boba Fett]

[COLOR=green]The ladder extended perfectly and Eve stepped gracefully down onto the dirt encrusted concrete floor of the dimly lit tunnel.

Ryan looked over the newcomer. She was obviously a friend, judging by Liam?s reaction, and probably a local SYF agent. She carried herself like someone used to the area, but seemed slightly nervous. Probably she was on one of her first missions, and unused to working with a team.

Ryan made a conscious effort to stop reading her body language. He had a very bad habit of staring at people for minutes at a time, attempting to determine everything possible about them before engaging in conversation. Not only was it a bad habit, he found it unnerved people.

[I]Ryan holsters his pistol, and extends his hand[/I].

[B]Ryan[/B]: ?Hello, I?m Ryan. You?d be???

[B]???[/B]: ?Eve.?

[B]Liam[/B]: ?Now that you two have become acquainted, let?s move. We really need to get Delta Force on our side before someone gets killed.?

[I]Ryan nodded, and motioned for them both to follow him.[/I]

Ryan watched as his two remaining soldiers jogged protectively on either side of him, clearly not trusting the SYF operatives. His attention was quickly diverted to his radio, which crackled with static.

[B]General[/B]: ?Ryan, what the hell is going on??

[B]Ryan[/B]: ?There?s a special force here, friends. Order the troops to stand down.?

[B]General[/B]: ?Friends, stand down? Ryan, get up here right now, I?m ordering a shoot on sight directive and calling in air support.?

[B]Ryan[/B]: ?I strongly discourage that course of action general. Order Delta Force to stand down, if you value the lives of your men. I?ve seen these people in action, they?re lethal.?

[B]General[/B]: ?One more word Ryan, and I?ll get you put in the brig.?

[I]Ryan switches radio frequencies, and begins to speak.[/I]

[B]Ryan[/B]: ?This is Advisor Ryan. Stand down. The General is unfit for command, and I am taking charge. I repeat, all squads stand down.?

[B]General[/B]: ?Ryan! You?re through. Place Ryan under arrest.?

[I]Ryan exchanges a look with both of the troopers accompanying him, then speaks again.[/I]

[B]Ryan[/B]: ?Fine, I resign. Just trust me on this one, get out of here and don?t mess with the friendly forces in the area.?

[I]Ryan turns off his radio, and tosses it to Parkey.[/I]

[B]Ryan[/B]: ?Sorry guys, but it?s for your own good??

[I]With lightning speed, Ryan kicks out to his left, and his boot connects with Parkey?s jaw, knocking the man old cold. He then catches his friend and gently lowers him to the ground, while ducking a blow from Donnel. He then grab?s Donnel?s arm, which had missed Ryan when he ducked, and used a judo move to flip the Delta Force soldier over his shoulder. The man landed with a thump on the concrete floor, and Ryan tied and gagged him with a strip of his shirt.[/I]

[B]Ryan[/B]: ?It?s the only way for you two to keep your jobs, and for me to get out safely. Thanks, I?ll be in touch.?

With one last glance at Donnel, Ryan turned to face Liam.

[B]Ryan[/B]: ?Request to rejoin SYF sir...?[/COLOR]

[liamc2]

[size=1]


Liam laughed at him and adjusted his helmet slightly. The sweat ran down his brow before being effectively brushed off by the back of his hand.

Ryan?s question still hung in the air.

Liam frowned. ?Damn.? He said, ?you?re serious, aren?t you?? He gave a little laugh, and then eyed out of the corner of his eye. ?Or are you??

?I am.?

Liam rubbed his face, effectively smearing his face paint over his cheeks. He sighed and looked at Eve for some support. None came.

?Right, it?s fine by me then. You can drop the ?sir? act though. I?m under someone?s jurisdiction for this mission.? He righted his helmet. ?The thing I don?t get though is, why do you want to come back to this joke of a team??

Ryan grinned. ?You?re just as thick as always, aren?t you??

?Shut it.?

Eve quashed a giggle and put her hands to her mouth, hiccoughing effectively enough to avoid Liam?s suspicion.

?Do you believe that your former squad will keep away?? He continued.

?Possibly. The remaining Delta troops will, but the Marines?well?let?s just say that they?ve been reading too much Matthew Reilly.?

Liam groaned. It was a good read, but the ?fictional? government conspiracies played too much on impressionable minds.

?Well, I suggest we go barricade ourselves back inside that fort and keep our heads down. I?m assuming Matt will brief you and sort out your transfer details.?

?I see the SYF is still on first-name terms.?

?What?s that supposed to mean??

Ryan pointed to the insignia on his uniform. ?I mean, you don?t refer to each other by rank. Like the General, for instance.?

Liam peered at the insignia. ?Yeah well, we dealt away with that rot, I mean, who?s going to know??

?You have a point there.?

Eve tapped her foot, irritated. ?While you two have been chatting, we could have easily made our way back to base.?

Liam raised an eyebrow, surprised at her little outburst. He supposed though, they had been ignoring her?

?Let?s move.? She muttered and turned about face, back to the fort.

A few minutes of forced running left them breathless, outside the main entrance. Liam strode up and knocked twice on the door. In the run he had radioed ahead for Bradley to make some space for him to get through, and they had both agreed on two knocks.

The door didn?t move.

Liam knocked again, twice. Then, losing his temper, bellowed out, ?Bradley! Open this door, you spaced out pothead!?

Ryan snorted. ?I see no love has been lost in your relationship with team mates.?

?Shut it.?

The door opened slightly and Bradley poked his head out, beckoning them to hurry in. Sensing some sort of danger, they all rushed in as Bradley slammed the door behind them.

?How did you managed to get in without being shot?? He asked breathlessly.

?Shot? What?re you talking about?? Liam grunted as he helped Ryan fix the barricade.

?Someone took a pot shot at me when I opened the door before. Nearly took my head off.? He pointed at a pockmark in a desk, which was part of the barricade. ?The bullet bounced off the door, hit the concrete and ricocheted into the desk. I?m lucky that I still have my block.?

Liam shook his head. ?No, don?t know what you?re talking about. No one has fired at us, at all.?

?Must?ve moved on then.?

Liam shrugged. ?The only injury I got, was a cramp in my leg from running all that way.?

?Liam, that was what, six hundred metres?? Ryan scolded, jokingly. ?How unfit are you? I mean, I thought being in peak physical condition was a standard in most armed forces...?

Liam shook his leg. ?Screw you.? He grunted.
[/size]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue][i]Zharra leaned down with her medkit in hand and injected somethign into Liam's leg swiftly and suddenly. He yelped in pain and limped away as soon as the needle had exited his leg. Zharra smiled triumphantly and flicked the end of the hypodermic needle. The Darvoset had entered his system, the lactic acid quickly was nullified...[/i]

"The hell was that for??!"

"Darvoset is a base. Lactic acid causes muscle cramps. Balance the two out."

"You.....you-"

"Charming wonderful intelligent beautiful humble woman?"

[i]Ryan gave her a once over and she smiled at him. Around that point Bradley walked up and draped his arm around her shoulders. She grinned sweetly and arched her back. Liam shook himself and wore off the pain by limping then walking around. Rae resisted the urge to trip him while Bailey leaned against the wall and watched.

Matt stepped into the center.[/i]

"What do we do then?"

".....duck and cover."

"I thought it was hold and cover."

[i]Bailey looked thoughtful, as if remembering something from a very long time ago. Zharra smiled and nodded.[/i]

"She's right, I checked with a local kindergarden teacher."[/COLOR]

[The Harlequin]

[font=gothic][color=indigo]OOC: I've been away for a week.

IC: [i]After pointedly not shooting several people who were randomly wandering around, and of an unknown identity, Katarina was rather pointedly not happy.[/i]

Katarina: Vell? Vhen do I get to go back to a shoot on site situation?

Liam: Well, at the moment, you don't get to. At the moment, you and Malania get to waltz back here, and we'll work things out from there. However, I may just let you shoot a few more Americans in the near future.

Katarina: Well doesn't that just warm my rather less than charitable heart. We'll be down in a minute. Chances are there won't be a lot of them running up around here anymore anyway.

[i]After spending a few minutes packing up, and restowing in various positions, the sniper rifle, and retransferring the shotguns to Katarina, the two skulked along the now painfully hot roof top, managing to avoid getting any semi-vital portions of their anatomy removed by high speed projectiles.

Which was more than could be said for the half score of bodies splaying out in various positions on the area outside the building.

They ran into the disparate group of misfits they'd had sequestered on them a few minutes later. Along with one they hadn't seen before. Noting Katarina's raised eyebrow, and slightly tensed hands, Liam made a hasty introduction.[/i]

Liam: Actually Kat, this is Ryan, and no, he's not actually hostile. Ryan, these are our comrades from the KGB, Katarina and Malania.

[i]Ryan's indifferent nod coincided rather well with Katarina's muttered Russian response. Malania refused to translate.[/font][/color][/i]

[liamc2]

[size=1]


The inflection on her words was enough for Liam to think of reasons why he shouldn?t burst out laughing. Katarina obviously didn?t like the idea of having a ?Recon Jock? on her team.

?Just a question, Ryan.? He asked. ?What weapons did your team have??

Ryan shrugged. ?Mostly Russian guns. If we were to be compromised, we had to make it look as though the Russians were behind it.?

?That?d only work if you were dead.? Malania noted.

Ryan smiled slightly, ?that was what I was hinting at.?

Liam coughed, keen to find out more. ?So, were any rocket-type weapons included in your itinerary??

?One, an anti-tank. Just in case we had the SEALs backed into a corner.?

Liam frowned. Technically any rocket can be used to take down aircraft, and guided rockets can be easily confused. But anti-tanks are more like giant bullets. The Blackhawk could probably survive a shot?but it would most probably never fly again.

?Damn!? He grunted. ?We?re going to have to risk it.?

??mind you, the man carrying the rocket was in my team, and I just happened to have knocked him out before.? Ryan unslung something from his shoulder that Liam hadn?t noticed before. ?I also happened to pick it up, by chance.? He said, grinning.

Liam sagged in relief. Now all they had to worry about was sniper shots, and thanks to the Blackhawks armour, they wouldn?t be a problem.

?Matt, how close is the chopper??

?What chopper??

[I]Oh truck berries?[/I]

?You mean you haven?t ordered an evac yet??

?No, I did it for him.? Katarina muttered darkly. ?As if I would trust him to do it, he is too busy being doe-eyed to even noticed that you?ve taken over his team.?

Liam didn?t skip a beat. ?Right, so how long??

?I was told two hours. It?s been one so far.?

?You mean all that crap in the tunnels only took an hour??

?Yes.?

?This day is just too long.? He sighed and rubbed his face for what seemed the hundredth time. ?Once again it looks like we?ve just got to hold out for ourselves.?

Ryan cussed, loudly.

?What is it now?? Liam said exasperatedly.

?I forgot some of the other resources the General has. He was privileged two F1-11?s as air support. If he gives the order, my guess is that it?ll take them only an hour to get here after being prepped on the aircraft carrier.?

Liam was lost for words. They had gone beyond failing him, they had simply vanished and were making excuses about their absence. He mouthed garbled sentences before finally trotting to the wall and began banging his head repeatedly against its hard concrete surface.
[/size]

[Boba Fett]

[color=green]For once, Liam?s body language wasn?t masked by an impassive façade. They were not in a good situation; it was doubtful that it could get any worse.

Ryan looked around the room they were standing in, completely barren due to the rather large barricade that obscured the entrance. It was made of that appeared to be steel reinforced concrete, certainly bulletproof and impervious to grenades. Although he would never want to test it, Ryan supposed the walls could survive a small amount of C4. Unfortunately, it would be no match for either one of the General?s F1-11 fighter jets. Any one of their armaments would reduce the building, along with a fair amount of its surroundings, to rubble without any difficulty.

Worried, slightly annoyed and sweat now forming on his brow; Ryan briefly toyed with the idea of using the anti-tank weapon against the aircraft. It was a short-lived idea, one that did nothing but darken his mood. Even if a plane flew low enough to come within range of the weapon, he?d have to be incredibly lucky to hit the plane. Even then, he?d have to reload and hit the other plane before the pilot launched his warhead. The odds of that were better than winning the lottery.

With a soft sigh and a very negative shake of his head, Ryan began to disassemble and clean his pistol. Probably not a good choice given the circumstances, but there seemed to be no shortage of weapons in the room. If they were attacked, he?d simply snatch one.

As his hands went into autopilot mode, repeating a routine that they?d successfully accomplished every day since he?d joined SYF, Ryan?s mind wandered. The general had probably called in the F1-11s by now, and they?d arrive in the area about the same time as the helicopter. Presumably, the pilots would have orders to destroy any heat signatures in the area, with the sole exception of Delta Force.

Another idea popped into his head, but vanished just as quickly as it had come. He wouldn?t betray his own men to save his own life. They shared a different type of bond, not something that could be forged in the civilian world, nor in SYF. It was a complete acceptance that he?d found nowhere else; that he?d never give up. Death was a better option.

Perhaps they could delay the arrival of the helicopter, but the F1-11s would still arrive in time to incinerate their fragile bodies in fiery plumes of napalm. Not a pleasant option, but it?d save the pilot and their one way of exiting the middle of nowhere.

They might be able to run into the jungle and hide among the wildlife, as dangerous as that was, but then they?d be forced to confront Delta Force. Shooting at his friends, no matter what their allegiance, would turn his stomach.

His small but calloused hands finished reassembling the Beretta 9mm pistol that had saved his life countless times, stowing it in the military style holster at his hip. Which reminded him, he needed to change out of this Delta Force uniform. It wasn?t appropriate for SYF, where things were much more relaxed.
After clearing his mind and searching for another alternative, another way for the team to exit safely while preserving the lives of the misguided Delta Force, Ryan gave up. He?d run out of options; he was completely stumped.

He walked across the room to Liam, who was still standing with his face to the wall, and quietly began to speak.

[B]Ryan[/B]: ?Any ideas how to get out of this one??

[B]Liam[/B]: ?I?ll let you know.?

Ryan checked his watch. The countdown timer was at 37 minutes. If they were going to do something, they needed to act fast?[/color]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue][i]Rae sighed and walked stifflegged over to the masochistic Liam. With surgical presiscion, she snatched him by the collar and hauled him backwards until he overbalanced and landed on his ass in the center of the complex. He looked up from a reclining position, indignant that she had stopped his self mutilation, until Zharra walked over, equally stiff legged, then bent her knee and placed it at his throat.

Her voice was ice, it was steel, it was sleet.[/i]

"You stop that shit right now and start thinking of a way to get us out of this motherfucking place before I give you something to really beat yourself to."

[i]He was about to open his mouth and come back with a reply when he realized that while her knee was at his throat, her gun was at his forehead.[/i]

"Now."

[i]She stood up, lifting her knee from his throat, gun still out.[/i]

"And I mean now."

[i]The group was surprised. None of them had ever seen her talk to anyone that way, much less pull a gun out of its thigh holster. As far as Bailey and Callum were concerned, they had never seen her carry a 9mm Barreta around, much less take it out and threaten a team member.[/i]

"......thank you."[/COLOR]

[Sere Tuscumbia]

[size=1]Eve locked Zharra with a lazy stare, her eyes half-closed and her pose nonchalant, but if anyone looked closer, the underlying emotions would become clear. "Put the gun away, Zharra," she said, her voice slightly chilly.

Zharra looked over at the little guide, but did nothing as Liam sat there dumbfounded on the floor.

"Put the gun away, Zharra," Eve repeated sternly, her eyes cold. "That's an order."

"You're only our guide."

"I'm also your superior in this mission, so put that goddamned gun away before I decide to add another hole to your head." Eve pulled out her gun and levelled it at Zharra, her face livid.

Zharra slid her gun back into it's holster, but her lips were a thin, hard line and her eyes were wrathful as she look at Eve and stalked away to flop herself into a chair and give Eve the evil eye.

Eve shoved her gun back into it's holster like it repulsed her, eyed it for a moment, then turned and silently walked out of the room.

She didn't go far before Liam caught up to her and grabbed her arm. "What was that about?"

Eve wrenched her arm away from Liam and looked away. "What was what about?"

"Unless I'm stupid Eve, you were standing up for me in there. You've been avoiding me like the Black Plague ever since we first met, and I want to know what's up with this sudden change of heart."

"I was telling Zharra to back off and stand down because she was out of line, Liam, and I have neither the energy nor the will to bother with protecting my sanity at this moment. I've got more important things to worry about, mainly getting you guys out of here alive."

Liam peered at Eve, and she refused to meet his gaze.

"I got you in, I'm going to get you out," she said, answering his unspoken question, then grabbed Liam's shirt sleeve and dragged him back to the room as inspiration struck.

She found Ryan standing against the wall, glancing nervously at his watch, and let go of Liam to approach Ryan. "What's the General like?"

Ryan jumped, startled at Eve's sudden question. "Why'd you ask?"

"Look, Ryan, we all already know that the General's probably ordered the F1-11's to move," Eve sighed. "But would the zealot be nuts enough to sacrifice his own men at any cost just to kill the enemy?"

"So you're saying . . .?"

"If we can invade the General's HQ, then there's a chance for us to save our skins."

*/-/*

Meh, posty posty posty.

--Sere[/size]

[liamc2]

[size=1]

First Zharra attempts to rip his throat out for not thinking of anything to do, and then Eve comes up with the notion that she has to take everyone?s burdens. An attack on the General would be suicide; he could see it in everyone else?s eyes that they had the same thoughts running through their heads.

Liam bolstered himself, he had to jump in now, or he?d never be able to regret it. If he didn?t endorse this, he might as well continue removing his head from his shoulders.

?Right.? He grunted harshly. ?We need to start moving. If this General hasn?t started moving out, he will have posted sentries on the surface, and in the tunnels.?

?We?re going underground.? Eve said bluntly. ?There are less places for a sniper to hide down there.?

?Unless he has a heat sensitive scope attached to his sniper rifle while he sits comfortably in his hole at the other end of the tunnel.? Liam countered, with a wry smile on his face.

Eve grimaced at him, using the same expression that Zharra had used so pointedly before.

Liam raised his hands. ?Logic, that?s all it is. What I just said is exactly what I?d do in that situation. Any sane man would follow the same idea.?

?Unless you?re pompous and believe that close combat is what it?s all about.? Rae said with a delicious curve in her lips. No doubt she was referring to their altercation with the Triad boss.

?Eve?s got the right idea.? Ryan muttered, looking up from his pistol. ?Our best bet is underground. Rae?s got a point, too, the General does not ?believe? in snipers.?

?We go into the tunnels.? Zharra said defiantly.

Liam just shook his head. ?You?re all insane. This is-

-suicide.? Katarina finished the sentence for him.

Malania toasted with a flask she had seemingly plucked from the air. ?I?ll drink to that.? She smirked.

Liam appreciated the Russki endorsement. But he still knew it was the only option. They had to go somewhere safe, and the only safe place was with the Marines. They?d have to order the Blackhawk to land somewhere and wait for them.

?There?s a problem.? Liam said, ?the only entry point into the tunnel we want, is locked. I saw one of the Marines whirl the wheel.? He pointed to the door.

Bradley stood up, obviously thinking that this was his moment. He strode briskly to the door and looked it up and down, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

?You see,? he said, ?the problem with this doors is that they look impenetrable, but a good shoulder to the right spot, will knock those bolts right out of its concrete housing.?

Liam watched with a deadpan interest as Bradley took a run up and charged, hitting the door full on with his shoulder. It wobbled slightly, and Bradley listed sideways.

He wasn?t to be discouraged that easily.

?Right, right. There must be two bolts.?

He stepped back, ignoring the twinge in his shoulder, and gave it a heavy kick. Miraculously the door swung inward, bolts grating the masonry from their concrete housing.
Bradley gave a mock bow.

?And there we have it.? He said, grinning.

Liam sighed. ?Fine. I?m going first though.?
[/size]

[Boba Fett]

[color=green]Sorry for the brevity. I have to hand over the computer to hostile forces.

[center]--- --- ---[/center]

Ryan wasn?t happy. He was now being forced into the worst situation he could imagine. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, like when you?re forked in chess. Not a pretty picture. This was the time when he was supposed to set emotion aside and choose the logical course of action. Unfortunately, he wasn?t a Vulcan and could do no such thing. He had to choose between the SYF and his own men. Soldiers who he?d fought with for a year and a half, human beings who would have died for him without a second thought.

As Liam and the others cautiously advanced through the doorway opened by Bradley?s massive shoulder. As the last member of the team stepped through, Ryan hesitated. His was the threshold. Once he crossed it, there was no going back.

Liam poked his head back through the doorway.

[B]Liam[/B]: ?Coming??

Time seemed to stop. For a brief moment, Ryan was frozen. He was overwhelmed by the mind-boggling decision he knew he had to make. Then his combat instincts kicked in, flooding his system with adrenaline. Attempting not to think about the possible ramifications of his decision, Ryan spoke.

[B]Ryan[/B]: ?Yes.?

Ryan followed Liam through the doorway, to where the rest of the team was waiting for him.

The tunnel was very similar to the once in which Ryan had experienced his impromptu reunion with Liam. It was rather dimly lit, by way of a series of ancient looking fluorescent lights that hung from chains from the tunnel?s roof. The floor was concrete, and littered with small bits of concrete debris. The wall were pockmarked, obviously having seen far more than their fair share of violent gun battles. The very air itself reeked of sweat.

[B]Zharra[/B]: ?Smells like a locker room??

The team turned right, as the tunnel had collapsed just a few meters to their left. Each of them had a weapon drawn and ready to fire; a visitor would have been able to feel their intensity. Every one of the SYF members was a lethal killing machine, ready to destroy anyone or anything who opposed them. Irony was also present in this situation, as it would have seemed rather comical if each of the teenagers hadn?t been holding deadly automatic weapons?

After several tense minutes of careful and silent advance through the tunnel, they reached a fork. All eyes turn to Liam?[/color]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue][i]Liam strode in, followed by the rest of the group. He had his scope on, scanning the corridor with military presiscion. Bradley was about to go through when Zharra laced her arm around his, smiling sweetly.[/i]

"Have I told you how wonderful you are?"

"Not lately."

"Oh.....we'll fix that when we're out of here."

[i]She smiled up at him and they strode through together, Bradley propping the door shut behind him as an afterthought. Zharra slipped her slingblade from its sheath on her inner calf and balanced it between her fingers almost lazily. Bradley eyed it warrily.[/i]

"What are you going to do?"

"Wait for Liam to miss one."[/COLOR]

[liamc2]

[size=1]

?Right. I suggest that we fan out and stick to the walls, that way we?ll be less of a target.? Liam muttered in a hoarse whisper, pointing to Ryan. ?Ryan and I will stick to the middle. When we start hearing them, we crouch and slowly make our way forward.?
Katarina and Malania coughed politely.

?Yes, Malania and Katarina will keep to the rear, using their scopes as cover for us. And at the very end will be Matt and Karen. We can?t risk them being too close.?

He paused and waited for Bailey and the others to line either side of the tunnel. They took their positions, staggered on either side of the tracks. Not a word was uttered, nor barely a sound grated from the concrete floor.

?Where?re Bradley and Zharra?? The penny had dropped in Liam?s mind, and he could feel the vein in his temple moving unpleasantly.

Even in the half-light, he could see them avoiding his gaze, or shrugging in their own way.

?Why do I bother?? He shrugged. ?I didn?t sign anything that said I had to prevent my team from getting blown up out of their own stupidity.? He continued rambling until his voice decided it was best if it cut out.

He wandered forward along the tracks, pulling the rifle into his shoulder.

[I] ?You?will be?the death of me; yeah, you will be the death of me?? [/I]

There was the sound of an engine turning over. The grating echo of a flat battery grinded through the air, proclaiming its plight. Liam sped up to a brisk walk, at a crouched height. It was hell on his muscles, but at least he was quiet.

They?d only been moving for a little while. They couldn?t have gotten that far. He checked his watch, and was surprised to see that there was only five minutes until the F1-11?s reached their mark.

The starter motor grated once more, before finally starting the engine. Various shouts of excitement carried down the tunnels.

Liam and the rest of the team picked up the pace, finally crouching behind the twisted wreck of a Humvee.

?They?re setting out through the escape tunnel.? Ryan whispered. ?The General must value his troops more than I expected.? He gave a small smile and rubbed his thumb against the safety on the side of his Beretta.

Liam then saw the previously unnoticed tunnel, complete with bulky twenty-year-old rusty roller-door. A couple of marines finished setting something up before rushing to their Humvee.

?That?s the tail end of the unit.? Ryan muttered. ?They must have done something?

Liam rose slowly, P-90 ready. Ryan tried to pull him down into cover, but Liam slapped him off with a swift backhand to the face. He took the safety off and pulled the slide back slowly, letting the ominous clicks shatter the surreal hush.

The marines paused, already half in the doors.

?I wouldn?t get inside if I were you.? Liam muttered. He could see them trying to find the source of his voice. ?I have a very big gun, and I am [I]certainly[/I] not afraid to use it. Don?t make me waste ammunition on America?s finest.?

Even in such a dire situation, he could see that some sort of pride was instilled in the marines.

?They do such a good job at killing themselves to not need my help.?

The Recon marines bristled at the offhanded remark, one tried to slyly pull out his Beretta, but he made the mistake of believing that the voice was coming from their exit point, just beyond the open roller door.

?I wouldn?t do that.? Liam said slowly. He indicated that the other members in the team should make as many arming noises as possible. ?I have a suggestion. Last person to drop their armaments is shot. Understood??

The rest of the team pulled the safeties off their weapons.

?You, driver,? Liam continued, ?out of the jeep.?

Now all three marines were lined up, and facing all different directions.

?Weapons please, gentlemen.?

Grudgingly the three soldiers dropped their weapons onto the concrete, down to the last pistol.

?A tie between the man on the left and the man on the right.? Liam said in the same monotonic voice.

Ryan blinked. He wasn?t serious, was he?

Liam shot both men square in the middle of their backs. The staggered forward with the force of the shot and fell on the concrete, face first.

Liam kicked the spent casings aside and shifted his hands on the P-90?s ergonomic grip.

?You psychotic bastard!? Ryan seethed. ?What the hell was that??

Liam didn?t look at him. ?It was a means to an end. Besides, they have body armour, and it was only one bullet.?

As he spoke, the two felled marines rolled onto their sides, groaning and spitting out various expletives. Their armour had secured their skin from a paralytic incision, just.

?Let?s get moving then, shall we?? Liam kept his gun pointed at the three soldiers and moved out of the shadows. ?Bradley, secure their guns will you?? He paused and realised Bradley?s absence. ?Damnit. Fine then, Eve, Rae, take their stuff already.?
[/size]

[The Unholy Newt]

[size=1]Zharra draped her arms around Bradley's shoulders and kissed him passionately. Bradley went along with it for a while and then gently pushed her away.

'This place isn't going to blow soon ,we need to get out.'

Zharra put a finger to his lips.

'We've got plenty of time.'

At that point they heard the radio crackle, and then Mat's voice came on.

[i]'Goddamn you two this is no f**king time to be playing house, get your asses down this tunnel now.'[/i]

Zharra looked regretfully at Bradley, kissed him and they both ran out the door and down the tunnel.[/size]

ooc: Sorry, short post and long absence. Been on holidays and I haven't got time to be on the net currently.

~TUN

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue][i]Zharra rolled her eyes. There was very little threat, and if she had calculated the probability right, which she had, there was a .064 % chance that there was any sort of harmful presence waiting to catch them unawares. Team members and group leaders however changed that to roughly .64 %

She picked up the pace, adding her long loping stride to the movement, quickly catching Bradley and outstripping him until they came to the sealed exit.[/i]

"...oh....this is lovely."

"Quite."

[i]Zharra tapped the door with the point of her leafblade and smiled divinely. She bowed to her counterpart and he cooly kicked the door open with his steel toed boot. She switched her blade for her rifle and attatched the scope almost absentmindedly.[/i]

"You think Mat'll be angry at us?"

"Infuriated."

"Sounds good."

[i]She grinned and peered around the corner. Several bullets ripped their way through, nearly taking off her nose. She returned fire, leaping out and rolling across the hall, taking out more than one. The reward of the short scream was highly gratifying.[/i][/COLOR]

[The Unholy Newt]

ooc: Especially me

[Raiha]

[color=royalblue]Aside from being confused in general.......because I usually am in this sort of RPG.... .......I was under the impression we were headed towards a tunnel that was an exit. *shiver* No need to shout.[/color]

[Arcadia]

[size=1][color=navyblue]The last few posts could easily be kept to PMs. Hopefully you'll all do that in the future, so as not to disrupt the story line and all that. ^_^

Thank ye kindly,
Arcadia[/color][/size]

[Sere Tuscumbia]

[size=1]Ok, apparently I posted a post without posting that post, so that post has been deleted. Thus the post is posted no more.

Just updating, so on with the story. O_o;;

--Sere[/size]

[liamc2]

OOC: I'm not even game to ask what in the hell you three just did, but I'm going to tip my hat to Arcadia for stepping in.

*tips hat*

Thank'ee
[size=1]
[center]~~~~~[/center]

The marines eyed the team balefully, as they climbed into the vehicle. Liam had secured the driver?s seat and was busily becoming acquainted with the gears, dropping the clutch and revving it appreciatively.

Shots were fired from the way they came. Before that instant, he turned instinctively, looking back at the sullen marines.
In turn, each of them dropped sideways, spraying their fellow with their own life force. Like sacks of wheat, they dropped to the ground, bouncing slightly.

He grimaced and muttered, ?bloody Zharra.?

Zharra stepped out into the light, followed shortly by Bradley, who ignored Liam?s pointed look entirely.

Liam slowly turned his head back to the windscreen and revved the engine impatiently while he waited for them to climb on. Due to the lack of room, Karen, Matt, Rae and Eve were seated inside, while the others stood on the skirting and held on.

They only had to get to their Blackhawk.

The time clicked down, and a dull roar rushed up the tunnels, blowing the loose dust into the room.

Liam put his foot down.

The explosion became an implosion, thanks to the ?bunker buster? bombs that the F-11?s were carrying.

The air in the tunnels was sucked out, suffocating several small mammals that had lost their way.

Liam coughed as the air became thinner, before ebbing back to its normal flow. The jeep bounced slightly in the ruts, listing slightly as it gathered speed in the tunnels. He shifted up a gear and turned the headlights onto high beam.

The lights jittered, illuminating the dark walls like a disco strobe light. There was a steady ?whoosh? with every passing obstacle, a herald to the immobile dangers. Liam was aware of a dull conversation happening in the background, but with the rushing wind, they might as well been a whisper.

Rae was sitting beside him, crouching on top of her seat, P-90 ready. In the event of an attack, she?d be able to stand up slightly and fire over the top of the windscreen. She checked the GPS in her palm, and adjusted the Humvee?s accordingly.

Liam looked down at the beacon that was now flashing prominently on the LCD display. It was getting closer now, from the looks of it; it was through the next fork and around the next bend.

He took his foot off and the speed rapidly declined until the Humvee finally coasted to a halt.

?Up the ladder? He grunted, pointing with his gun.

?Which one?? Eve said, looking up at the manhole directly above the jeep.

It was obvious there had once been a ladder there before, but it seemed that over the years it had just rotted away in the wet and humid conditions.

Liam eyed Bradley, eyes glinting with his own malicious sense of humour, and said, ?that one.?

Several sweaty minutes later, Bradley had managed to pass everyone in the team, up and out of the manhole, using the jeep as a raised platform. Finally, he was lifted up and out himself.
Liam looked around, and spied a laidback pilot and co-pilot, decked in fatigues and flight gear. One of the pilots lifted up his hat, and eyed Liam beadily, saying;

?Well it?s about time you got here. It costs a lot of dosh to keep these things running you know.?

?Just get us out.?

?Right, I?ll just wake up Joe and the other one.? The pilot turned to his co-pilot and muttered, ?what it the other bastard?s name??

?Pete.?

?Right, Pete. I can?t tell one loadmaster from another, but you need the bastards if you want to fly a sixty foot hunk of metal through the sky.? He looked over his shoulder and barked, ?Pete! Joe! C?orn, we?re dusting off.?

A rather sleepy reply came back from inside the Blackhawk?s bowels, ?y?sure mate??

?Wake up you lazy bastard.?

Liam cringed. Over the years of international missions, his accent had blurred to an indistinct mixture of nationalities. Someone had once asked him if he was a Spaniard that had studies at Oxford. At certain times he had mourned the loss of his native voice, but at times like these he was grateful that he was a shadow.
The side door slammed shut and the steady thrum of the blades increased to a fever pitch.

?Hang orn, we?re going up.?

Liam raised an eyebrow and tightened his lap sash, receiving no small satisfaction as he watched everyone in the team lurch sideways as the ?hawk went on a seventy-five degree angle.
?There?re some perks.? Liam said, smiling to himself.

[/size]

[Lady Asphyxia]

[size=1]Rae lurched in the helicopter, sending a withering glare at Liam's back. The ass. She saw the look he'd just given the group. What, he thought himself superior to them, did he?

Sometimes, Liam could be an arrogant SOB.

This entire mission, Liam had spent his time cosseting the group, looking after each one of them, never letting them use any initiative. Never letting them do what they were trained to do.

He had no confidence in the group! How in hell would they ever get through without him if he spent his time acting like a mother? Rae completely agreed with Zharra's actions. Liam may not have liked it, but at least Zharra had thought for herself. Perhaps it was just Rae, but the SYF teens weren't trained so be good soldiers, they were trained to be [i]in charge[/i]. They went on to be officers, generals, and commanders. Not mindless gophers who took orders without question.

She sighed. It was possible that she was over reacting, but Liam had taken the lead in this mission every time. And, much as Liam was a good friend and all, his head would get way too big if it continued. He'd already unfortunately acquired a hero complex, now all he needed to do was to believe he was invincible and personify the enemy as a race, and he'd be Hitler at nineteen!

Rae checked her safety gear. Even though they were sitting down and were strapped in, she still wore her pack and her parachute. Grinning slightly, she tapped Eve and Bailey on the shoulder, then filled them in.

They wouldn't let her go. She shrugged, then proceeded to explain the necessity of her 'vacation'. She'd been away from the places too long, she said. She'd probably lost half her contacts. She needed to get back in touch. They still wouldn't let her go, at least alone.

In unison, they unbuckled their safety belts, and jumped freefall from the helicopter. Counted their numbers, pulled the release and landed softly on the ground. Rae radioed their safety to the team, grinning at Liam's furious comments, then grinned at the girls.

"Welcome to the old Pizaro grounds. The mansion is this way, and you will find all the normal comforts. Tomorrow, I'll go out and start grouping contacts. My information in this region has decreased to a bare trickle lately, and I want to know why."

Eve nodded, her face determined. "We'll get the information tomorrow, the day after at the latest. After all," she glanced around at the girls, all of them looking deadly. "We've got...us."

[b]OOC: Hrm. Probably threw you all right off, sorry. *shrug* Go with it.[/b][/size]