From: Frank Curtin Here's another quicky. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the HB characters from the tv show TRAJQ and I'm not making any money off of them. Rating: PG13 (One bad word towards the end) Catagories: Altiverse, E, V Date: 5/16/99 Missions Jessica Bannon looked warily down the corridor of the abandoned factory. All seemed quiet, too quiet. Holstering her knife she slipped her gun to her left hand and brought up the small radio transmitter she was wearing. Pulling it close to her mouth, she spoke softly into it, radioing the others. “What’s up guys?” she asked almost silently. There was no response, signaling that the others were just as lonely as she was. Jessica pushed the device back into place and rechecked her cartridges. In all the years she had been doing this, she could never stop being paranoid that the minute the fighting started she’d find her barrel empty. It was full, just as it had been three minutes ago. Shoving the barrel back in, she ran through the plan in her head once more. She was to lead the Alphas in, secure the warehouse to the best of her ability, then sneak out the “packages”. Everything had been going just as it had been planned, and that, more than anything else, worried her. She knew she had to stay calm, worrying in situations like this never did any good and besides, it would panic the others. She had to be a good example and keep everything running smoothly. That was her job, to lead the best that I-1 had into the unknown…and to bring them back again. There had been more close calls than she would like to remember but so far, she was living up to her job. Not once had she lost a member of her six person team, and she most certainly didn’t plan on starting now. Breathing deeply to reach her center, Jessica closed her eyes briefly before giving the go ahead to the others. Silently she slipped around the corner and through the hallway, the silence echoing off the walls louder than anything. With a cat like grace she made her way through the seemingly empty building, keeping to the shadows. A slight noise startled her and she jumped, her hands catching the ceiling and grabbing the air vent. In a single, smooth motion, Jessica pushed the gate closing it back, hauled herself up, and in, replacing the gate as quietly as she had removed it. Safely in the smallish air vent, she sat, straining to catch the noise again. A pittering sound grew steadily stronger as soldiers approached. Jessica smiled in the dark, unworried by their arrival. She could take care of them all before they knew anything was happening. *********************************************** Cautiously, Jessica peered through the gate blocking the tight vent even as she pushed back a wave of claustrophobia. It was to tight in there, her mind screamed at her to get out, into the open. Fiercely she pushed it down, fighting the instincts that told her to run. She had work to do, she couldn’t be bothered by a stupid thing like fear. Opening the vent she expertly dropped down, landing in a crouched position, her head up, ears perked, and right hand on the floor to balance her. Her left still held the gun. Hearing nothing, she rose in one fluid motion and began walking, still keeping her ears trained to detect any slight sounds. As of yet, no one knew that the building had been infiltrated and after the way she had dealt with the patrollers, no one was going to find out either. Quickening her pace, she reached an ordinary side room in record time. Cocking her gun, she let it in first, following closely behind. The room was empty and she hurried in, shutting the door behind her. Keeping up the pace, she went over to the wall and tapped three times. The wall slid open, revealing a hidden passageway and Jessica stepped through. Traveling down the tunnel like entrance was almost as bad as crawling through the vents because of the narrow twists and turns. Eager to reach the team Jessica pushed on. Eventually, the path led to a single opening. There, she hesitated. If they had been found out she would be blasted the moment she stepped through the door, but there was only one other way to go, and that was back through yards of confining space. Jessica opted to deal with the bullets. ********************************************** She had been lucky, they all had. The men whose building they had infiltrated hadn’t found them, the “packages” were safely stored, and in a few seconds they would all be out of there. It had been too easy, much too easy. Looking over her checklist one last time Jessica wasn’t aware Tracker had approached until he was at her side. “Is it just me, or did this whole thing go over just a bit to well?” he signed, anxious to get out. Jessica didn’t answer, she wasn’t expected to. The question had been rhetorical, asked to keep her on guard. “Keep your eyes open,” she signed back, her face dark with suspicion. Motioning the rest of group, Jessica grabbed the nearest box and began to load up. The others followed suite and moved the “packages” into place and disconnected the equipment in the room, shutting off computers and monitoring systems as they went. Finished with that, the group broke in two with four of the agents going with the confiscated goods and the other two serving as both a backup and a distraction. Jessica grabbed Tracker’s arm as she headed out the door, leaving the others behind. ************************************************** The four were in the clear, safe from harm and relatively far away from the warehouse. The hardest part of the mission was over. Jessica had just to get herself and Tracker out and it would be over. Slinking down the halls the two moved without moving, undetected, one with the darkness that hid them. BANG! A bullet whizzed past Jessica’s head, just missing her. Instantly, she dove for cover behind a turn in the hall. From her side, Jessica could hear Tracker firing at the attackers, protecting both their backs. Signing over to him she gave the signal to back off and try to get out. He acknowledged, leaving her to take care of the dopes with the guns. Making sure he was safely away, Jessica holstered her gun. Then, she closed her eyes, letting her mind relax and slip, clearing all thoughts. For what she had to do next, thinking would only hurt her. She didn’t need to think right now, just act. She had been trained to do this, born and bred into this line of work, created for this. Her nerves tingled in anticipation even as she felt her whole body unwind, eager for battle. “AAHH!!” Jessica roared, emitting a blood-curdling war cry as she charged forward and around the corner, right at the attackers. ************************************************ There were four of them, just sitting there in a row, almost like ducks. They were holding their guns, a blank expression covering every one of their stupid faces as she came at them. Headless of the danger to herself, Jessica charged on, barreling on them. For a moment they were so bewildered they couldn’t move, couldn’t blink or look away. So captivated were they, they could barely breathe for fear of missing something. It was the man on the far side who snapped out of it first, waking enough to bring his gun around, down to bear on her. Unfortunately for him he was to slow, he had waited to long to react. Before he could get the first shot off, Jessica dove to the ground in front of them, her hands catching the impact as she made a ball and rolled across the floor. Continuing on to the side she sprang out of the ball up into the air. Coming back down, she hit the ground solidly. In response her legs coiled under her like springs and in a second she was bouncing back up in again, her body rolling into a ball even as she shot like a bullet into the air, creating a graceful ark over all their heads. Coming out of the front tuck, she landed on her feet and kicked out using a roundhouse to smack into her nearest attacker. It caught him squarely in his chest and knocked the wind out of him, sending him into the wall where he smacked his head and fell, sprawling to the ground. Seeing this, one of his companions rushed at her in a full hurl, his arms swinging wildly to get momentum and his head bent downward. Neatly, Jessica sidestepped the rush and caught his right arm in a single movement. Taking it, she twirled it in a wind mill motion back behind his ear so fast it caused a sick snapping sound from the bone. The man howled angrily as he pulled the injured limb away and came at her for another round. This time she grabbed the other arm and swung him off the ground, sending him into the wall where the other man had crashed. Heedless of the abuse his friends had taken, another one came at her and grabbed her by the shoulders, gripping her painfully. Jessica swung her neck back and jerked it forward, catching him in the face and smashing his nose in with her forehead. The man staggered but shook off the pain and, with the fourth man coming around her other side, went for her. Just as they reached her, Jessica jumped up and over, allowing the two to bump into each other. They fell onto the others, the one holding his bleeding nose and the other looking dazed. Jessica bent down and picked them up by their heads, slamming them together and knocking them out. Letting go, she watched as they fell onto their unconscious partners, out cold. Jessica stepped back to admire her handy work and make sure they were really out. From their belts, she stole their guns and relieved them of any other weaponry they were carrying. Not one to take chances, Jessica stripped the four down to their underwear and tied their legs and arms together using shreds of their clothing. Not many men felt comfortable about running around in their boxers in the middle of a military base. Grabbing her small ‘munitions cartel Jessica headed off to rendezvous with the others. ************************************************** Traveling along through the building, Jessica saw that the team had also encountered some minor interferences. From surveying the piles of limp bodies that represented what passed for security in the building strategically placed in a path, she surmised they hadn’t had too much of a problem dealing with them. It was funny, seeing them all there playing the part of breadcrumbs in case the team got lost. For a moment Jessica felt a twinge of pity, the men were young and hadn’t deserved to die like this, but it had been their own fault. Jessica shook her head sadly and said a small prayer for the men. Jessica was about to continue on when something caught her eye. A control box of some sort was located in the room on the far wall. Deciding to investigate, Jessica trotted over and, breaking the lock, opened it. Peering in, she felt a smile twinge her lips. This was just what she needed to wrap things up. ************************************************* “Oh, man I need a vacation,” Jessica said, rubbing her sore right shoulder as she walked next to one of the most handsome men in the agency. Tom chuckled softly as he looped his arm around her. “You’re just lucky you made it out of there in one piece. From what I heard, if you’d been one minute slower getting out, you would have gotten blasted when those Thunderbirds ripped through and detonated the place.” The two were at HQ, resting after the stressful and tiring mission. The corridors were spacious and well lit, a comforting atmosphere and much more pleasant than the dank hiding spaces the agents usually found themselves in. “I know,” she said as a chill ran up her spin causing her to shiver slightly. It was scary to think of how close she had come to death. Scarier still to think that if it had come down to it, she wouldn’t have been able to save herself or her friends. There was nothing she could have done. “So,” Tom said sensing her discomfort and trying to change the topic, “what’s our little Ivy going to do now? I mean, now that this is over?” Jessica allowed a smile to form on her face. “It’s far from over, Tom. Just because we’ve got the proof we need to stop all of this, doesn’t mean our job is over. In fact, now that we’ve got the information to bring this slavery cartel the government’s got going with kids to light, our work is just starting. It’s going to take a lot of work on our part if we’re going to save all those kids, the sons and daughters of the I-1 agents, from turning into government puppets before puberty.” “And what about us? Who’s going to save us? Those bureaucratic assholes took away our childhoods when they brought us here. It’s too much sometimes. I’m eighteen and my future is me staring down a gun barrel, just waiting for some crack pot terrorist to blow my brains out the back of my head,” Tom’s voice had become bitter as he thought of what life held for him and the others. Jessica had no reply. It was times like these when she wished her father was more cautious about things. If he had only read the contract he had signed, binding both him and his first born child to the service of the government, like so many other agents. One clause had changed the course of her life, enslaving her during the prime of her life after stealing her childhood from her. To make sure they would get their free agent, the government had ruined her parents’ marriage, intentionally sabotaging their relationship and causing them to divorce. If they had stayed married, there would have been no way for them to occasionally “borrow” Jessica for her specialized training, or then posts and sample missions, and finally field assignments. It was so easy for a government worker to send a message to both her parents, saying she was with the other. They never even knew the difference. And it wasn’t just her. There were so many of them, all stolen from their parents to serve and protect. Or at least there had been at one time. The rigorous training had killed several, the test missions had killed more, and the government just kept going. It hadn’t mattered to them that only three fourths of the “recruits” remained, if anything it had encouraged them. That was before the first actual field assignment. The whole thing had been a trap, a slaughterhouse for the agents, most just reaching sixteen. Of the dozen squads that had gone in, two had come out. Before that day the dozen squads, small family units composed of six members, each so close they should have been siblings, had been highly competitive. They fought with other squads, challenging one another to all kinds of contests. They were like rival lion prides, each self-contained with little thought of the others save condescension. That assignment, though, had changed everything. What had been left of them had warily teamed up, at first not trusting each other but eventually becoming a family. Following orders while at the same time disobeying in any way they could they prepared for the time when they would put an end to the government’s child slave labor. “I don’t know what you want me to say Tom,” she replied finally. “I’m just doing the best I can to keep everyone alive until everything’s ready and we can get the hell out of here. We just have to take it one day at a time.” Jessica squeezed Tom gently, comforting the both of them. They stood there for a while, holding each other. ************************************************ A sudden tap on her shoulder brought Jessie back to reality. Jessica snapped her head up, not knowing how long she had been standing there with Tom. Sighing, she and Tom broke away from each other as she rotated her head to face the person who had tapped her. “It’s time,” Tracker signed. Jessica nodded and turned back to Tom. She looked up at him, trying to block out the anger and hurt in his eyes. “Guess you’d better be leaving or you’ll be late getting home. We wouldn’t want that father of yours to worry about his little girl,” he said angrily. Jessica’s eyes clouded over with pain, she hated it when people made her father out to be a bad guy. It hurt her as much as if they had said it about her. Seeing her change, Tom’s face softened. Gently, he leaned down and pecked her on the cheek. "You're the most important thing in my life, Ivy, and that uncle of mine had better take good care of you. If he doesn’t, he’ll have to answer to me. Now,” he said whispered as he pushed her away, “get lost brat.” ************************************************ “Well, well, would you look who’s still sleeping after her trip home from her mother's,” Jonny Quest called out mockingly from the foot of Jessie’s warm, comfortable, welcoming bed. “Hey, Hadj, what’s the penalty for sleeping in on the weekends?” Jess ignored the loud blond, snuggling deeper into the cocoon of her blankets. “I am not sure,” Hadji answered his brother, stepping up to the bed where Jessie was trying to sleep. “I do believe that the water torture could be applied in this particular instance.” His eyes shone almost as brightly as Jonny’s as he hoisted the large bucket of ice water up over Jessie. Jonny brought up his own and using a free hand counted to three. “AAAAHHHHH!” Jessie shrieked as the freezing water cascaded down, drenching the bed her covers, and especially her. She jumped up, off the bed and went rolling onto the floor. “Yeah. Mission accomplished man!” Jonny yelled triumphantly as he and Hadji took off, getting out of the room and away from Jessie as fast as they could. From the ground Jessie could hear their cries of victory as they flew down the hallway, making a beeline for the front door and freedom. Jessie grimaced as she moved to get up, the wet pajamas sticking to her bare skin. There were times when she almost missed the field assignments. ************************************************* Questions? Comments? Flames? Send 'em out! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ONElist: the best source for group communications. http://www.onelist.com Join a new list today!