The soldiers surrounding the compound were moving in closer with each second, Michael's unit waiting back until they got the signal. This had to be handled quickly, proficiently and with no mistakes. He had no doubt this could be pulled off in an expertly fashion; he trusted his men with his life. But this was Sousuke—his brother and even he couldn’t deny the spark of anxiety coursing through him.
It had been years since he had seen Sousuke…too long, he thought as he once again checked his gun. So, when he heard that Sousuke was being held prisoner by Amalgam he wasted no time assembling a team. It wasn't customary for FOXHOUND to get involved like this, but Amalgam seemed to be on everyone's radar these days. The unknown organization was growing rapidly and their intentions were turning out to be of an impure nature.
His men seemed less tense than he did but this was just another job for them. The basic snatch and grab, nothing out of the ordinary. Backup was standing by in case anything happened out of the ordinary, two teams of the best that FOXHOUND had to offer were assembled, and Michael had gotten full clearance for the operation. Everything seemed in place, he thought.
This had to go off without a hitch, he hoped knowing they were going in blind. The underground compound had state of the art radar jamming making any attempts at gaining any kind of layout impossible. It wouldn't be the first time but it was definitely not something to underestimate.
His transceiver crackled and a deep voice sounded, "Bravo leader, this is Alpha leader…we have the go to proceed."
Michael eyed his comrades and nodded confidently. "Copy that Alpha leader, on our way."
Michael waved his hand in the air and his team followed closely behind. They were completely unaware if there were any outside security issues, so they proceeded with extreme caution.
"Bravo 4, cover the rear," he added as they quickly advanced, their weapons held firmly before them as they approached the compound's only entrance. There was no sign of any outside security, he thought glancing around. But the brightness of the moon was enough to cast a light glow upon the icy snow-covered ground illuminating the area that he was confident enough to push on.
Michael signaled silently for his men to surround the area covering the Alpha team as they prepared to blow open the steel reinforced door to the compound. The Alpha leader signaled for everyone to take cover once he had secured the explosives to the door. Moving as far back as he could he held a small detonator and turned his face away bracing for impact.
With a quick flick of his finger a deafening blast sounded blowing the door from its hinges debris scattering everywhere. After the initial shock wore off they pushed ahead through the smoke filing in through the now blasted open door as a loud siren howled throughout the now breeched compound.
"Bravo, left!" the Alpha leader called behind him to Michael.
Michael led his team down a series of hallways as red lights flashed above them. They reached a corner and bullets suddenly began splintering against the opposite wall in loud bursts. Michael and his team slammed closely against the wall avoiding the spray of ammunition.
"I'm going to take the far corridor," Michael shouted over the commotion. "Cover me!" he added as he rolled head first across the floor to the hallway across from them.
One of the soldiers flew out into the hallway his gun firing at the guards down the hallway targeting them. Michael flattened his back against the wall and began firing down the hallway.
"Go, I've got it!" Bravo 4 called giving Michael a swift nod.
Michael nodded back then hurried along finally coming upon a larger hallway with several doors along the walls. Checking around corners, he waiting as the rest of his team caught up. "Sweep and clear," he said signaling to the doors.
Quickly all the rooms were inspected doors slamming open and several shouts of "Clear" later, Michael stood before the last door. He could hear frantic voices behind it and signaled to his men. With one swift kick it flew open with a loud bang against the wall behind as he peeked around the doorframe.
Two small women in white lab coats were huddled in the corner crying and he signaled his team to advance. They filed in checking around corners and behind overturned furniture as Michael aimed his gun at the women.
"Please! Don’t hurt us!" the two women screamed lifting their arms with tears in their eyes.
Michael sighed keeping his gun fixed on them. "Secure them," he called to one of his men.
"Mike! Over here!" he heard from the other side of the room.
Michael crossed the room his stomach turning slightly at the sight. Sousuke lay there strapped to a metal table several large bloody cuts scarring his chest. Who knew what they had done to him or what he had to endure while he was here. He reached up placing a forefinger to his neck checking for a pulse.
Michael growled loudly, "Get him off there!"
"We got company!" one of the soldiers called from the doorway.
They all took cover behind the first solid object they could find. Sousuke's unconscious body was dragged behind an overturned metal table as Michael readied himself.
Gunfire erupted almost immediately and Michael had to duck backwards to the avoid bullets speeding past his head. "Counter!" he shouted slamming another magazine cartridge into his rifle then jumped from behind his hiding spot.
Heavy fire erupted and began slowing down, but not before Michael took a bullet in his left shoulder. He fell back against the wall with a wince grabbing himself.
"Mike's hit!" one of the men called.
Michael glanced down at Sousuke and a surge of adrenaline pulsed in his veins. "I'm fine, proceed!"
Once the exit was cleared Michael grabbed Sousuke ignoring the tearing pain in his shoulder and carried him out following the team. "Alpha leader, we have secured the mission objective and are heading outside to the transport."
"That's a copy Alpha, we'll meet you there," the other voice said over the radio.
Once outside Sousuke was carefully loaded into a Humvee and Michael climbed inside to sit in the back with him. A medic immediately began to attend to him quickly cleaning and wrapping his wounds. They had to get him to hospital and quickly, he had no idea what damage they had done to him. He swore to himself he would personally tear apart the man who did this to his brother.
.o.o.o.o.
Kaname and Kurz had just landed in time to see Sousuke being transferred to the Humvee and Kaname gasped about to run down the icy hill but Kurz grabbed her halting her advance. "You can’t go down there!" he said holding her squirming body back.
"I have to get to him Kurz!" she cried fighting his hold. "He's hurt!"
"We'll meet up with them at the hospital," he said desperately trying to keep her from breaking his hold. "He's in good hands, Kaname!"
As they watched prisoners were loaded onto trucks and Kaname felt herself unraveling emotionally inside. Was he alive? Had they gotten there in time? She wanted to scream his name as she strained to see what was going on inside of the truck. Then after several minutes, the trucks began to pull out and Kaname had to fight every urge inside of her not to run down the snowy hill after him.
"Weber, we have to go, now!" the pilot called to them.
Kurz dragged the frantic Kaname back into the helicopter with him and they took off immediately. Kaname clung to Kurz as tears streamed down her face. He had to be alright! her mind screamed as the helicopter sped off in the direction of the now fast moving convoy.
"Alpha, Bravo, this is Echo 1, do you copy?" the pilot voiced over the radio.
"Echo 1, this is Bravo leader…mission accomplished," Michael said over the radio.
"Roger that, Bravo leader," the pilot said. "How's our boy?" he added quickly.
There was a slight pause and Kaname's head snapped upward.
"He's doing just fine," Michael replied in a happy tone. "He's going to be pissed though when he wakes up." He laughed heartily. "Rendezvous coordinates are being sent to you and we'll see you there. Over."
The pilot laughed and turned slightly giving Kaname a quick wink. "Roger that—Echo 1 out."
Kaname felt all the tension leave her and she gave Kurz a quick relieved glance. She should have known better than to think that anyone could take down her Sousuke. He was invincible, an elite soldier…trained to withstand extreme conditions. She still felt she was entitled to worry about him though; he was her boyfriend after all! So, her worrying was justified on some level.
"I told ya he'd be alright, Kaname," Kurz said grabbing the handle above him. "Now we just have to find that bastard, Testarossa."
Kaname wondered if Leonard was at the compound. "If he was there, then they must have captured him. Right?"
"That's a negative," the pilot said over his shoulder. "Shortly after we landed, we lost the plane's whereabouts."
"How could he have gotten away?" Kurz questioned angrily.
"He probably spotted the ambush and-"
Just then a huge explosion sounded behind the helicopter that sent a shockwave so intense it hurled Kaname forward with a ragged scream. If Kurz hadn’t reacted quickly she would have fallen out.
"What was that?" Kurz screamed as the pilot stabilized them.
"Bravo Leader, this is Echo 1," he said over his microphone. "What in the hell was that?!"
"It's coming from the compound!" Michael shouted. "Take cover, evasive maneuvers!" the pilot heard him calling in the background.
Kaname flew forward grabbing the back of the pilot's seat. "Get me down there, now!" she demanded watching as flames and smoke rose from the compound behind them. The convoy had stopped and prisoners were fleeing from all the trucks as soldiers flew behind large chunks of ice and behind trucks.
Just then Arm Slaves began pouring out from the smoke their weapons firing aimlessly at the convoy. Oh my God! he heart screamed. Sousuke will be defenseless!
"It was a trap," Michael called over the radio. "Come down and pick him up, we're calling in the reinforcements."
The pilot swerved the helicopter its blades whipping through the smoke clearing a path. "Hang on, this may get bumpy." Kaname felt like they couldn't move fast enough as she fastened her seatbelt holding on tightly.
.o.o.o.o.
Michael gave Sousuke one last pat on the shoulder, "I've gotten you this far, I'm not about to give up. I'll meet up with you later, brother." He stared down at Sousuke a feeling of comradery washing over him. In life, you're lucky if you know one person as loyal and trusting as Sousuke.
"Get him a safe distance away!" he called to the driver jumping from the Humvee. "Go!" he added slamming his fist into the side of the truck then ran off to join the now raging battle.
Speeding along the ice, the driver pulled behind a large chunk of ice just as the helicopter landed behind it. The instant they touched ground, Kaname jumped out running faster than she knew she could to the vehicle tearing the back doors open. Her heart leapt from her chest when she saw him lying there his body bloody and helpless.
Kurz appeared behind her. "We have to move him," he said climbing inside. "Grab that end," he added nodding to the gurney. They reacted quickly carrying the gurney carefully across the frozen ground beneath them.
Once they had him on the helicopter she glanced down and his eyes fluttered open. He winced against the pain in his chest and made a groaning sound.
"Sousuke!" Kaname cried tears welling in her eyes.
His eyes flew wide open the effects of the medicine dulled by his now surging adrenaline and fear. "Chidori! What are you doing here?!"
"It would have taken twelve soldiers to keep her away from you," Kurz said with a wink.
She began fussing over his bandaged wounds and he sat up despite her protests. "I'm fine," he insisted. "What the hell is going on?" As he stared out the sight before him made his every instinct come alive. Soldiers positioned everywhere as AS units fired making large chunks of ice spray everywhere like thousands of shiny crystals.
"Let's go!" Kurz called to the pilot as some chunks of ice came dangerously close to them.
With a quick nod the pilot prepared for liftoff but was stopped when a huge piece of ice flew through the air smashing into the propeller blades. The machine jolted and jerked forward as the blades completely flew off smashing into the ground ahead of them with loud crash. Several more crashed into the side of the helicopter puncturing the fuel tank sending them sliding across the ice several feet.
Kaname screamed throwing herself against Sousuke as he shielded her from the spraying ice shards. Kurz landed on the floor from the jolt letting out a hearty curse. Gasoline poured out all over the ice floor steam rising from the heated liquid. The pilot let out a foul curse and ripped his seatbelt off.
"We're grounded!" the pilot called switching the engine off. "Get out now!"
They all obeyed following him as he led them away from the now completely destroyed helicopter seconds before it took heavy fire from a nearby AS exploding in a loud disarray of noises, red smoke billowing up in a small mushroom cloud. It sent a small shockwave across the ice the thick frozen ground shaking and splintering slightly beneath them.
Kaname had one of Sousuke's arms around her neck helping him as they ran quickly across the ice to what looked like a small divot in the side of a huge wall of ice. She let out a gasp trying to hold onto him praying they would make it to the wall before they were shot at again. Heavy fire could be heard behind them as they slid inside and backed against the ice wall.
Suddenly, gunships and helicopter transports carrying AS units appeared in the sky falling at a rapid rate. "Here come the reinforcements!" Kurz said with a grin.
"No, it's Mithril," Sousuke replied staring up at the familiar machinery.
Then Kurz's phone rang and everyone looked over at him surprised. When he flipped it open he answered casually, "Weber."
"Put me on speaker," Melissa ordered on the other end.
Kurz complied and Sousuke stared intently. "We deploying all available units to your location; the attack on Washington was a decoy."
"Leonard," Kurz said with malice.
"Sousuke, we're sending Arbalest," Melissa said calmly. "Whether you can pilot it or not."
"You can’t mean to fight in your condition!" Kaname protested with a disbelieving glance.
"I'm fine," he said to her then turned back to the phone. "Copy that."
"It's coming in behind me, and I have you both covered," she said.
"Roger," Sousuke said about to stand up but Kaname stopped him.
"Sousuke, you can’t go out there," she pleaded holding his arm tightly. "You can’t win every war!"
He stopped short staring down at her now tear filled eyes. All this had been his fault. She wouldn’t be here if he had just listened to his gut instinct back at the club. And he never should have trusted Leonard Testarossa. He had to make this right, he thought looking away.
"When I thought I would never see you again, my heart shattered into a million pieces!" she cried trying to make him understand. "If I had to go through that again, I don’t think I would make it! Dammit Sousuke!"
He glanced back down at her, hearing and fully understanding her words for the first. He felt the same way when he thought he would lose her. But this was more than just a fight, this was paybacks. All those people that died in Las Vegas; Testarossa had implied that the attack was on his behalf and he couldn’t just sit here and allow Amalgam to get away with it.
Suddenly, he turned to Kaname and took her face in his hands, his eyes closed resting his forehead against hers. She was crying harder now as she grasped his forearms tightly, her own eyes closing. Something inside of her knew that no matter what she said to him, it wouldn’t sway his decision even in the slightest.
"Please, just trust me Chidori," he said low. "This is something I need to do."
Her breath came out in a whimper as she grasped him tighter. He leaned down capturing her lips, kissing her, assuring her that everything was going to be alright. And when their lips parted he quickly ran off with Kurz closely behind him. She didn’t open her eyes as more tears spilled down her cheeks. She was going to kick his ass for doing this! she thought as she let out a frustrated growl.
.o.o.o.o.
Sousuke nodded to Kurz and glanced over the ice spotting the Arbalest. The large white AS sat motionless amongst the scattering AS units as they landed, it's emerald eyes shimmering. He hated that machine but it was their only hope of gaining the advantage in this fight.
Could he depend on the Lambda Driver this time? Would it deploy like the last time in Hong Kong? How could he calculate anything when it guaranteed him nothing? If he failed, Kaname and everyone else here would die. Not to mention Testarossa would get away with murder again and that was just not something Sousuke was prepared to let happen. Feeling a surge of anger he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Leonard Testarossa is not going to get away with this…he thought as he ran off toward the Arbalest.
To Be Continued...
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