Co-operation Prologue Thursday, March 29th, 7:56PM, Shining Tower. "In effect, we have no idea as to what is happening." The Director sounded obviously concerned but not generally worried. "You will be taking on this mission by yourself, no backup." The agent, with his feet on the desk and leaning back in his chair, suddenly stood up. "You're kidding right?" Man, he thought, that was a stupid ques- tion, they're never kidding. "Agent Vaughn, we're never 'kidding'." CHAPTER ONE "What do we have here, Sal? Some new death dealing device?" Vaughn was half hoping it would be. "Nothing so melodramatic Agent Vaughn." Armorer Zaphrox, otherwise known Sal, held out a thin peice of metal only 4 inches long. "This is a radar signaler that will allow us to moniter your position." This worried Vaughn. "Um, what about the audio/visual link the power armor sets up?" Sal raised one set of eyebrows. "Some bad news. You're not going in with a PA." Damn, thought Vaughn. "Well, I'm going to need lot's of ordnance to stay alive then. Laser rifles, micro missles, mini-droids, the whole lot." "Agent Vaughn?" "What, Sal?" "More bad news, Agent Vaughn." Damn again. CHAPTER TWO Vaughn had chosen his selection of "weak" weapons and was set to go. A helicopter would take him to an airfield near Westchester, then he'd move to Alaska to be dropped at the target zone somewhere in the Aluetian Islands. He was nervous of course, not of risking his life, but of the small helicopter cabin. Goddamnit, he tought, can't they make these things any bigger? He slept the rest of the way to the airfield and readied himself for the mission. A laptop with the mission breifing was included in his carry on luggage. He shifted into a comfortable position in the first class seat, and opened the laptop. "Please run your security badge through scanner at your left." Vaughn ran his card through the scanner on the computer. "Scanning" "Found" "S.C.A.R.A.B Agent Jerome Lazinsky a.k.a. Vaughn ID#392928" "Clearance Successful" The screen flickered, and a compound was displayed along with schematics and video clips of shots of guards moving in and out of the compound. A female voicce broke the silence in Vaughn's headphones. "As of last Tuesday, the base you are looking at was under the control of the United States S.C.R.E.T. agency." Oh man, not those pompous bastards. "We have noticied significant changes in the routine of the guards as well as long periods of no movement whatsoever. This is very suspicous behavior of such a methodical, systematic corporation, so we have decided to investigate." I really hate these mis- sions, always going in to somewhere with next to nothing info and they expect me to bring 'em everything on a silver platter. But man, I can't wait to see my paycheck. "You have the chosen following : 1. AR-33 Assualt Rifle, 20 clips 2. Multi-Optics Helmet 3. 4 throwing knives 4. 4 survival knives 5. 1 laser pistol, 10 e-clips Remember, we reserve total deniability. Good luck, Agent Vaughn." Vaughn turned the laptop off, had a complimentary martini, and nodded off. CHAPTER THREE The helicopter was prepped and Vaughn was ready to go. he was dressed in his "work clothes" of black fatigues, black mask, combat harness, and the assorted holsters and seaths of his tools. He waited in the back of the chopper, an outfitted Kiowa, and greeted the pilot when he climbed into the cockpit. "They chose you to be the bringer of Death, huh?" The pilot must have been a new recruit, he was obviously nervous. "Y-yes sir. P-please strap yourself in for takeoff." The pilot whispered a prayer under his breath. "Chill out, son. You just get me there in one piece and you can go back to watching Power Rangers." Vaughn hated these uptight soldier boys. Musta been in the Navy, Vaughn thought. The flight was flawless, the chopper was running a fifth-generation passive ECM suite so almost nothing could detect it, and the brand new pilot was very proficient. When Vaughn started to don the S.C.U.B.A. gear, the pilot asked as to why he was doing that. "Sir, your LZ is not in the water. We have another 500 meters till the Landing Zone." Vaughn smirked and walked up to the pilot. "Son, if you think I'm gonna let you plunk me down 100 yards from the objective, you're crazier then I am! Put this baby at 30 feet at 30 knots. See ya in the funny papers, kid!" The pilot slowed the chopper, lowered the altitude, and Vaughn put in the rebreather and jumped out of the helicopter. CHAPTER FOUR "Well, let's see what we have here." Vaughn whispered queitly to himself as he crpet closer to the installation. The telescopic scope on the helmet worked very well at insuring Vaughn had maximum visibility. He prowled closer to the base and the defences. Guards with dogs, walking the perimeter, a tank positioned near the closest entrance, and searchlights everywhere. A concrete wall about 12 feet tall surronded the complex also. Prowling to the wall, Vaughn deftly climbed it and raced to the tank. As long as those dogs don't come around here, I'm fine, he thought. he slowly crept under the tank and and observed the turret. The hatch look- ed like it was open. Vaughn climbed the tank soundlessly and opened the hatch. He saw a pilot and an officer in the commander's seat. Silently, Vaughn thought. He jumped behind the pilot, sending a knife into his spine as he threw another blade into the commander's jugular. Both men gurgled slightly as Vaughn threw them on to the of the cabin. he then silently waited for the pack of dogs that approached to walk by. he exited the tank and ran for the entracne. The lock was a hand scanner with a numeric pad. Damn, why can't they leave it open for me. He suddenly heard pnuematics whine. "Freeze!" "Oh man..." CHAPTER FIVE Vaughn twisted to see three guards in heavy armor come running his way. Shit, I never get a break. He jumped on to the tank and leapt to the roof over the locked entrance. He thought fast, one to the right, two to the left. he sprang behind the guards putting two down without even glancing at them and tackled the third. "EEEEEAAAYYYYAAAHHH!!!!" *BLAM* The guard screamed with agony as Vaughn put three cybernetic claws through the mans weapon hand. He grabbed the man's mouth, and put two bullets in the poor guards chest. Vaughn dropped the still body numbly and looked at his leg. Wires protruded from a ghastly hole in his bionic hip. "Phew, I'm lucky his aim was off." Sirens intterupted his brief break as spotlights shone on him. "Okay, maybe I'm not so lucky." Vaughn saw more guards and the source of the pnuematic whistle's. Four S.C.R.E.T. Exoskeletons. The robots, with 25 guards, slavering dogs, and another tank, gave Vaughn the motivation he needed. "Uhm, I come in peace?" Vaughn vaguely recalled an electric snap and then, blackness. CHAPTER SIX Blurry images, distorted sounds, and cold floors greeted Vaughn from his sleep. A- long with some pain too. "Uhn," moaned Vaughn,"where the hell am I?" "We like to think of it as your personal Hell." Vaughn snapped to awareness. He made a grimace as he saw the face that triggered an unfathomable hatred in him. "You!" "Well, I'd be disappointed if you forgot me. After all our fun in South America." The woman speaking to Vaughn used to be called Hilda Hertz. Now, she's the second in command of the Brotherhood of Armageddon. Vaughn strained at the chains holding him to the wall. "You bitch, you're dead!" Vaughn was screaming at the top of his lungs at her. "You got away last time, but now I'm gonna reduce you to spare parts!" "I doubt that" She purred into his ear, "Because these chains are a composite nitrium alloy. Good luck getting free." She left him to struggle against his chains in the rathole they placed him in. "We have a date in thrity minutes, try to be a little more cordial then, hm?" Vaughn gritted his teeth and assesed the situation. He was in a cell that might have been 25 by 20 feet with a 10 foot ceiling. There were many bruises on him, probably from being brought in the cell, and a burn on his shoulder from the taser that knocked him cold. There were others in the cell, dressed in torn and dirtied S.C.R.E.T. uniforms. The S.C.R.E.T agents were far worse off then Vaughn. "Well well, what do we have here? Can't you pompous bastards keep your own base secure? I've seen incompetence before but you guys are the worst of the worst." Vaughn disliked S.C.R.E.T., S.C.R.E.T. disliked S.C.A.R.A.B. A mutual hatred. "You know what?" One of the S.C.R.E.T. agents approached Vaughn, "I have two words for you, shove it! We've been here for over a week and we don't have time for you're smart mouth." The agent sat down in a corner of the cell. Vaughn sneered. "God, you guys are the most pathetic bunch of babies I've ever seen. Watch this." Vaughn took a small piece of metal from behind his ear. He worked the lock until it finally gave. "Let's see how that bitch like our little 'date' now." Vaughn put the shackles back on but didn't lock them. Hertz came back. "Time for our little rendezvous, sweetie." She walked up to him and pulled out a set of keys and, finding the right one, bent to unlock Vaughn's shackles. "'Sweetie' this." *SLATCH* CHAPTER SEVEN More sirens erupted through the base, as S.C.R.E.T. agents ran from their cells, killing the Brotherhood's men as they retook the base. Vaughn ran to the comm- unications room, and found the cyber-witch there. The three slashes prominent on her body armor. She was using the radio and talking in frantic German. "Still kicking?" Vaughn hissed at her. She coldly glared at him, "My will is strong." Vaughn approached. "Take another step and this poor fellow meets his maker." She held up one of the S.C.R.E.T. agents by one arm and placed a pistol on his temple. Vaughn backed up and found one of his throwing knives in his waistband. "What are you going to do now, hero? Can't call for backup, no weapons, the enemy has a hostage and more backup is almost on the way. You're beaten." Vaughn smiled. "You know lady, all those cybernetic's and bionics didn't make you any smarter. You see this?" Vaughn held the radar signaller Sal had given him. "This, is a one way radio. S.C.A.R.A.B. agents at the nearby base just heard everything you said. And they're probably intercepting your reinforcements right now." Hertz made a hate twisted smile. Her face contorted into a mask of hatred. "AAAAAAhhhhh, I'll see you in Hell!" She pointed the gun at Vaughn's chest and yelled a scream of defiance. Vaughn jumped at her, throwing the knife at gun and knocking it clear before she put a round in him. He landed, rolled, and managed a kick to Hilda's face that put her out cold. The S.C.R.E.T fell to the floor, passing out from shock. Vaughn was about to deal with Hertz once and for all when gunfire outside the door interrupted the scene. CHAPTER EIGHT The Brotherhood's men were now organized and Vaughn saw his only chance. He ran to one of the helicopters in the main hanger area and started the rotors up. With only 75 feet of ceiling and 300 square feet of space, he didn't have much room to manu- ver. But, the Brother's were already scrambling to tanks and Vaughn knew the agents couldn't hold out against their own sonic tanks. He targeted the first tank and fired a 14 "Stinger" missles into the turret, sending the turret flying of in a briliant explosion. The tank was totalled but the other one was turning it's turret to fire on him, he banked to the left and nearly missed a burst from a machinegun, when he emptied the rest of the missles. But his aim was disturbed by more gunfire, and only half of the missles hit their mark. The tank began to turn it's turet, and Vaughn heard the hum of the sonic gun begin to vibrate the helicopter. Vaughn swore under his breath and punched the throttle while shoving the stick forward. "Hehe, eat this you punks." Vaughn jumped from the helicopter as it flew into the tanks, blowing both vehicles to smithereens. Vaughn landed on a barrel of oil, rushed for the nearest Brother, and joined the fray. EPILOGUE The base was in S.C.R.E.T. hands, all the Brotherhoods men had been arrested, save for one, and life seemed good. The government still wanted to know who had helped with the rescue attempt. Not only to congratulate him, but to give him the bill for the property damage also. Vaughn sat on a table as Sal poked around his bionic hip with some forceps and other tools. Vaughn smiled bemusedly as he looked at his paycheck. "Y'know Sal, you should really do some field work sometime." Sal looked up. "Oh yeah, gimme one reason why I should." Vaughn held his check up for Sal to see the amount. "Here's 75,000 of 'em." THE END