by Jim Roberts
Agrippina stepped away from the table, standing to her full, near six foot height. Her suit had been modified with angry-looking high heel stiletto boots, which added a good three inches to her height, "Sure is, sweetie: right behind me," she made an offhanded gesture with her left hand towards a set of steel elevator doors at the opposite end of the lab, "I may even think about letting you reach it IF you give me the disc."
Whisper held up the disc he'd removed from the computer, "You mean this?"
Agrippina's playful attitude was quickly disappearing, "Give it to me now."
Whisper looked at the disc, and then back to Agrippina, "What is this thing?"
Agrippina answered hastily, as if brushing his question off as foolishness, "Nothing your simple mind could possibly comprehend. Just a little something to lift the fog from the eyes of the world."
Inside his suit, Whisper smiled, "So it's important. That's all I need to know." He slide the disc into a small compartment in his leg armor.
Whisper had expected the woman to be angered at the refusal, but her reaction was quite puzzling. She tilted her head back and laughed. Her laughter was like music played on an out-of-tune piano.
"You are a cute one aren't you? If you knew what that was, you would hand it to me gratefully. But now I will pry it from your corpse."
"You're wasting my time lady. Like I said: get out of my way or..." he let the threat hang for a moment.
Agrippina smiled, taking the bait, "...or what handsome?"
"Or fight," he answered, raising his staff.
"You are a rather boring little boy when you get to know you, Mister..?"
"You can call me Whisper. Now move!"
"Sadly, I can't let you leave here either. It's too bad. I suppose I'll have to satisfy myself by peeling you from your armor one layer at a time."
Whisper clicked the bo-staff extension. The weapon increased to its full length in a millisecond. He flourished it as if it were second nature. My spirit is calm. The spirits of my fathers give me strength.
Agrippina withdrew her twin blades. Now that he got a better view of them, Whisper saw they weren't actually swords. They were long ethnic blades known as Parang knives; native weapons of Indonesia with thick chopping edges. Each knife was over two feet long and expertly crafted from a blue-tinged steel. The steel was thick, sharp and looked plenty strong. She twirled each weapon with trained ease. This lady would certainly be no pushover.
"Come on sweetie...Lets embrace."
Whisper needed no more encouragement.
Chapter 12
A Time to Act
The past three minutes felt like an eternity for Joe Braddock. It was starting to look like he and Krieger had entered into a losing battle. Neither of them could get the upper hand against Dante and both were taking massive damage from the giant's incredible attacks. The large gash Joe had suffered on his forehead the day previous had reopened and poured fresh blood into his eyes, blinding him long enough for Dante to land a meaty fist into his gut. Krieger had been sent flying by a crushing haymaker that would have knocked any normal man's head off his shoulders. And now to top everything off, Joe was laying in a heap against the wall, having been thrown again, this time almost to the point of unconsciousness.
Dante, who still looked fresh as a daisy, hunkered towards Krieger. Bending down, he lifted Krieger up by the head, applying a brutal claw hold to the fallen Russian. Krieger grit his teeth as the Olympus commander attempted to crush his skull with his bare hands. Dante let out a cruel laugh as he tightened his grip.
Joe had to act and act quick. Even with every muscle in his body begging for mercy, he knew that he was the only hope for his fallen comrade. Pushing himself to his feet, Joe jumped on Dante's back one last time. Without missing a beat, Joe opened his mouth and closed his teeth on Dante's right ear; biting it off. The bruiser howled in pain, rearing back. Joe refused to give the bastard an inch. Using all his weight, Joe pushed himself back and drove his feet into Dante's knees, forcing the giant to fall backwards.
Scooting aside to avoid being crushed by the monster, Joe rolled back around onto Dante's front. Before the Olympus soldier could regain his balance, Joe drove his head as hard as he could into Dante's face. He felt the satisfying snap of the brute's nose breaking.
Don't let up. Finish him!
Joe smashed his head down again and again, wincing from the pain. He felt wet, sticky blood spatter across his face with each brutal smash. After the sixth head butt, Joe began seeing stars and broke off, lifting himself up to observe his handy work. Dante's nose had almost disintegrated, crushed to a grisly pulp. His eyes barely registered any consciousness. He was down for the count.
Joe rolled off his defeated foe, and hauled himself to his feet. He had to find his men. The distant buzzing of a helicopter engine in the yard told Joe there was still a chance they had not been taken yet. Joe lurched down the hallway, past the recovering form of Krieger, who was trying to regain his senses after the brutal beating he'd received.
Krieger looked up and saw Joe pass him by without a glance, "Oh, thanks for making sure your comrade is OK! American pig." He pulled himself up and followed after Joe, his hand rubbing the part of his head Dante had almost crushed, "What is plan now?"
Joe stumbled dizzily over to his AK, sitting resting against the wall. He hoisted it in his hands and checked the magazine, "I have to get to my guys before that helicopter takes off."
That plan did not sit well with the Russian. He hustled to catch up with Joe, bending down and picking up one of the dead Centurion's XM8 Carbines as he ran, "My friend that is insane! There are probably fifty more soldiers where these fools came from..."
Joe turned sharply, "I didn't ask for your opinion!" he snapped, "If you want to stay, stay. I'm getting my men back or I'm going to die in the process! Now are you coming or not?"
Krieger sighed, "Well, never let it be said we Russians don't help out insane friends."
Joe moved to Doctor Yune, who was himself coming too after Dante's assault, "You OK Doc?"
Yune's octagonal glasses had fallen into the dirt of the prison corridor and he was searching blindly for them. Joe spotted them and handed them to the Asian doctor.
"Thank you Sergeant, I'm fine now."
"Good, follow us out to the yard and find cover as quick as you can."
Yune nodded.
Joe patted the Doctor on the arm, "Man up Doc, it's time to get the hell out of here!" He stood back up and ran over to the pile dead Centurions, checking their corpses for anything he could use. Each Centurion had two small grenades tethered to their belts. Joe took several, tossing one to Krieger as the Russian approached. Satisfied they were armed appropriately again, the two men made their way to the entrance to the fortress yard.
Yune placed his glasses on his nose, and was about to follow before he remembered something important, "What about Whisper?"
Joe turned towards the Doctor, the odd question confusing him for a moment, "Who?"
"Whisper...Corporal Callbeck! He's still down in the basement!"
Whisper huh? Joe liked the name; it fit the taciturn Canuck to a T. He pressed the comlink, calling for Whisper to answer. He received no reply. Danny was either too busy to talk or...
Joe took a deep breath, pushing the dark thought aside. "Danny is going to have to manage on his own for the time being Doc, but I promise we won't go anywhere without him."
As Joe and Krieger were about to storm the yard, Whisper had problems of his own. A razor sharp stiletto heel slammed into his faceplate with the force of a sledgehammer. He flew back nearly ten feet; crashing into one of the monolithic servers. The obelisk teetered for a moment before pitching over backwards and smashing on the ground in a shower of sparks and metal debris. Whisper laid there, nearly imbedded in the shell of the destroyed server. His suit was reading multiple failures, in structural integrity and in general power consumption. Whisper was breathing hard now; the fight was not in his favor.
Agrippina marched towards Whisper's prone form and placed her heel on his chest. Bending over her fallen enemy, she thrust one of the Parang knives against Whisper's neck.
"Well handsome, it's been a good fight but I think now's the time to give me that disc."
As Whisper looked up at Agrippina's beautiful face, he saw something around her neck that made his heart jump. His Charm...the necklace his father gave him - she had found it!
"Give me back my necklace!"
Agrippina was confused for a moment, a sardonic look twisting her face, when she realized what he meant, "Oh this? Sorry Hun, didn't know it was yours," She tossed her hair slightly, as if posing for a Loreal advert, "Don't you think it suits me?"
The woman seemed to get off on playing these little games with him. Her evergreen eyes twinkled with cruel malice, savoring her soon-to-be victory over her fallen foe. She leaned forward, pushing her leg harder down into Whisper's breastbone. He winced inside the suit. Still, there was something fascinating about this woman he couldn't understand; even when he was this close to being her next victim. Besides her otherworldly beauty, she was so commanding and powerful.
On any other day, I might be actually kinda like this lady.
Agrippina smirked, tapping the knife against Danny's neck, "I'm going to let you in on a little secret Mr. Whisper, before I open you up from stem to sternum; no one can stop what is to come. No one can stop the Code."
Whisper would have puzzled over the statement longer, but Agrippina lifted the blade up, preparing to rend him in two.
Act now or hold your peace Danny Callbeck!
As she drove down her knife with enough force to skewer him permanently to the ground, he threw both arms up with lightning speed, clamping the knife between his palms. Agrippina's triumphant leer changed to astonishment as her thrust was cut short by the amazing physical stunt. Whisper took advantage of her surprise by pulling his left leg back and smashing her in the gut for all he was worth.
Agrippina flew back through the room and crashed into a cluster of monitors and computing equipment. Coughing violently from the loss of wind, she lay were she landed, unable to get to her feet. Whisper hauled himself up; tossing the Parang knife he still held in his hand to one side where it clattered and slid away.
"Looks like you overestimated yourself, huh?" said Whisper, smirking inside the helmet. He walked slowly over towards her fallen position, retrieving his bo-staff as he did. He was careful never to take his eye off her form; this woman was not to be taken lightly. He stopped within a few feet of her, weapon at the ready, "So now it's your turn lady. Tell me what this 'Code' is!"
Agrippina pulled herself onto her hands and knees, wiping a stream of blood from her nose, "You seem mighty sure of yourself sweetie. Time to take you down a peg," Too late, Whisper saw her holding a small device the size of a lipstick canister in her hand hidden from his view. She pressed a tiny button on the top of it.
"No!" yelled Whisper, too late. A thunderous explosion wracked the room as timed C4 explosions detonated through the basement, rocking the entire fortress. In a moment, the server room was a blazing inferno; fire and explosive plumes spread across the lab with reckless abandon. The force of the detonation shook Whisper off his balance and he had to grab one of the mainframes for support. Agrippina leapt to her feet - having played possum long enough - and bolted towards the tiny elevator on the far end of the mainframe room. Whisper tried to follow, but another C4 explosion off to his right jostled him off his feet. The suit absorbed most of the blast, but sent him flying into another mainframe, toppling it over with a thunderous crash.
Agrippina blew him a kiss as she stepped into the elevator, "Tah hun. You can keep the disc, for all the good it will do you!" she waved at him, embellishing the triumph, "Don't die too quick!" The elevator door closed and she disappeared from sight.
Whisper pulled himself up and stumbled towards the elevator door, dodging burning debris and collapsing pieces of the ceiling as he went. He reached the elevator and pressed the return button. As he did, he noticed the paint on the elevator door beginning to bubble. Immediately, he leapt to the side; just in time as the elevator exploded in a backdraft of fire and wreckage.
DAMN!
Whisper had landed in a ready pose on all fours. He snapped the bo staff onto his leg, not needing it anymore. A rumbling from above him warned him a second early before a chunk of ceiling the size of a Chevy truck plummeted towards his position. With the grace of a bobcat, he leapt out of the way, right before the fragment could crush him into paste.
Can't stick around here.
The way to the small elevator was now blocked from large amounts of debris. The room was reaching a blistering level of heat, with no adequate ventilation to keep the fire contained. Whisper guessed the C4 had been placed strategically to destroy any sprinkler system the room may have had. His only choice now was back out of the room and up the freight elevator shaft. He could only pray to the spirits of his forefathers that it was clear. Otherwise, this basement would be his tomb.
"What in hell's name was that? yelled Krieger from his cover behind the door leading to the staging yard beyond. They had just got into position behind the old brass doors leading out of the fortress when Agrippina had detonated the C4's. Joe, AK at the ready, looked around anxiously. Suddenly another rumble from beneath them nearly shook them off their feet.
What was going on down there?
As the ground shook, the old fortress shook as well; pieces of the ramshackle ceiling began to come loose and fall into the prison, shattering large pieces of brick and mortar everywhere.
Krieger looked over at Joe from his cover, "We have to move now my friend; the entire place is coming down!"
Joe ducked as a piece of debris narrowly missed him. He pushed Yune, who'd been situated behind him, against the wall away from the falling rock, "How do you know that?"
Krieger shrugged, "Heard them talking days ago about C4 around entire base, just in case they needed to make fast getaway."
Joe was enraged, "And you wait until now to tell me that?"
Krieger fingered his XM8 absentmindedly, "Sorry friend, must have slipped mind."
Joe sighed angrily. Nothing he could do about it now.
"We need to move!" Joe took a quick glance into the yard. He spotted the helicopter sitting on makeshift launch-pad almost four-hundred feet from their current position. The explosions beneath them had temporarily shocked the Centurions outside away from caring what happened to anybody inside the fort. They were currently more interested in saving their own skins. Good, thought Joe. A little confusion would go a long way. He searched the helipad for any sign of his men.
Suddenly Krieger pointed towards the south of the helipad, "There my friend! Your men!"
Joe moved his gaze and saw them; the five Rangers, hooded, being driven towards the waiting helicopter. Joe also saw a sight that sent a chill down his spine; the flying troopers from the attack on the border. Three such troopers were preparing their jetpacks for takeoff near the helo.
Krieger growled as he too saw the flight pack soldiers, "Damn! Hastati Troopers!"
Joe repeated the name, awkwardly, "Hasta...what?"
Yune answered for Krieger, "They are Hastati Shock Troopers; highly trained fast attack infantry soldiers trained to use the Volare flight pack."
Joe gave a quick glance to the Doctor, "How do you know that?"
Yune pushed his glasses up on his nose, sheepishly, "I design
ed them...the jetpacks I mean."
Joe sneered, "They're the bastards that destroyed my unit." There was nothing for it; if he didn't move now, his men would be lost. "We're moving; keep quiet until we get closer."
Krieger shook his head, "Good idea friend, but I have better." Before Joe could object, Krieger ducked out the door and began running through the courtyard towards the motorcade.
"Damn Russian," cursed Joe. He looked over at Yune, "follow me Doc and stay low!" Joe ran out into the yard, taking advantage of the momentary lapse in organization caused by explosion beneath the yard. He had counted about half a dozen Centurions moving throughout the yard. Joe removed one of the grenades he'd retrieved from the fallen Centurions and pulled the pin. Taking a quick breathe, he bolted from the door and tossed the grenade in the direction of the closest cluster of troops. He yanked Yune roughly after him as he ran towards a parked Humvee; dropping down into the ample cover it provided.
The explosive device landed exactly where he wanted it to. Three troopers had been running towards the motorcade when the grenade came to rest directly in front of them. They had less than a fraction of a second to blink before the grenade blew them apart. Alerted by the explosion, the remaining troopers readied their weapons to find the source of the incendiary. One spotted Krieger, running full throttle towards the motorcade and raised his weapon to open fire. Joe beat him to the punch - raising his AK and opening fire. The burst tore through the Centurion's helmet; the bullets shredding his brain like confetti.
Joe saw a Centurion put a hand to his ear, as if talking on an earpiece inside his helmet. He's calling for reinforcements! Joe took him down with another quick burst, stitching him across center mass, knocking the soldier off his feet. Joe thanked his lucky stars for the armor piercing ammunition. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Krieger reach the motorcade. A line of LAV all-terrain armored personnel carriers, or APC's, were parked underneath a large awning. Beside them were several technicals; Humvees and jeeps sporting turrets containing 12.7mm Dushka machineguns.
