Hills, Atticus, Richards, and Khrushchev hurry their way to the communications room of the boathouse. As soon as they turn on the camera feed, Lawson appeared on screen looking strictly serious, staring the team down as if he was trying to burn a hole on their heads.
"J-SOC finished talking to the Prime Minister about our recent discovery." Lawson pauses.
"Well, what did he say? Has he changed his mind?" Frank asks quickly.
Lawson shook his head, sparking a groan from the team. "Man, the Prime Minister is a factory of disappointment." Aaron complains. "What else is new?"
"The Prime Minister is aware of your situation and allowed us to launch an Orbital V-SAT for surveillance on the city. Your team is located at an area hidden from occupation forces, so don't worry too much." Lawson explains. "Anyways, we have some information from the ISA you're going to need."
Lawson grabs a sheet and reads it over fast before replying. "The Activity kept close tabs on Null Sector and the human extremist counterpart, The Synth. According to the recent census of King's Row, we have gathered clues on their operation.
"What do you have?" Frank asks with a cautious tone.
"There are 100 people in affiliation of pro-omnic extremist groups. 5-7% of them either have military background and with the city's strict gun laws, those 5-7% are the ones that have access to weapons." Lawson reported with a tone of credibility.
"Bet those weapons caches are for those that weren't allowed to carry a gun before the uprising. Null Sector is letting an untrained militia within their ranks." Frank adds. "But Null Sector didn't want The Synth to rule the city, they needed the Synth because a survivor wouldn't suspect another to be working with Null Sector." Frank concluded.
Lawson shows a face of pride for the Delta operative as he displays his intellect. Then, his face changes back to direct. "Correct. They bring civilians from the streets as hostages at numerous outposts located at critical buildings. We dug deeper into their emails and found a man code-named Jericho
"What do you have on this Jericho." Chloe asks innocently.
"We believe he is the one of the members trusted to safeguard a list of information. We are not sure what it contains, but any secretive information relating to the occupation forces can help end the uprising." Lawson explained as a picture of Jericho, a tall thin man with sharp black hairline, small jawline, and a scar on his right cheek.
"You have been authorized to kill/capture Jericho and grab this list." Lawson looks around before returning his attention back to the screen. "From this point on, the details of this initiative will be lost to history. If the public is aware of this, we will deny it all to protect our reputation."
The four nods at once. Then, Lawson grabs reads some more documents. "The ISA have tracked him to King's Row city hall. He will be meeting with many high ranks of Null Sector and Synth. I'm going to send you four the coordinates for the meeting and the safehouse. You are not to engage the target until he gets back to the safehouse. Once he returns to his safehouse, you're cleared to eliminate the threat and grab the list."
Suddenly, Frank spoke up. "This task isn't going to be easy. For all we know, he could be holding hostages at his safehouse. How can we focus on capturing a highly valued target when there are hostages at stake?
Lawson nodded. "I know there are many things to focus on. But the progress made has been greatly admirable for command. You four clearly work efficiently as a team, especially under these circumstances. When you get the list, you're guarantee for air support will be more realistic. You guys have five hours until that meeting happens. In the meantime, I would get familiar with your surroundings. That is all I got so far."
"Thanks again General Lawson, sir." Barnes replied.
"Not a problem. Keep up the work." Lawson fires back before pressing a button to end transmission. The operators face each other as the screen fades to black.
"Well, let's get to work." Barnes says as she heads out.
"What about the civilians?" Aaron points out.
"The place is secured and undisclosed." Frank rebuts. "Null Sector has no idea about this location."
"Alright." Aaron says as he heads to his room to gather weapons, ammo, and gear. Barnes and Frank head to the lounge where the survivors were hanging out. Scarlet was chatting with Alex, Tam, and Morris while Liam and Stefan were in the boathouse, checking out the small ships floating along at the dock across from the river. Frank signals Liam and Stefan to move into the lounge while Barnes directed the people's attention to her.
"The four of us are going to head out." Barnes began. "We 're going to gather more information to end this uprising. I need everyone to sit tight and not attract any attention."
Liam sat up from his chair. "You're worried we would be defenseless if Null Sector finds us."
Barnes tried to say something, but ended up closing her eyes and mouth before nodding.
Liam grinned. "Don't worry, I can defend myself and the group. I have a good amount of experience of self-defense."
Barnes smiled as her confidence rose. "Thanks Liam. But it be better if you didn't let trouble find you.
Liam grinned. "Don't worry about me. You four do what you can to end this."
"Alright, any other concerns or questions." Barnes asked. The room grew silent as her head slow fans left and right. "We won't be out for long. We're likely going to bring in more survivors by any chance. You guys got room?"
"We have plenty of room for new faces." Scarlet chimes in.
"Alright." Frank replies. "Thanks for your cooperation. Things would be a lot easier if we had more support."
"I feel you." Stefan adds in. "This city is being torn by conflict and you four are out there doing the right thing. I would hate to be the Prime Minister at this point."
Frank laughed. "I can see reelection not looking nice for him. Maybe our work can save his ass."
The survivors laughed. Frank looks to his watch, alerting him the amount of time before this meeting was going to happen. "We're leaving for now. Take care of yourselves."
"Watch yourselves." Morris warned. At that moment, Aaron and Dimitri walk into the room. Aaron cradles a M4-A1 assault rifle as he enters the room.
"You ready to go?" Aaron asks as Dimitri loads his shotgun.
Barnes nodded. "Let's move out."
The operatives grab their gear and head out of the back door, entering the conflict torn city with extreme caution. The survivors all moved to the lounge as their protectors head out on the hunt for the man named Jericho.
-Time skip-
The operators moved to their established vantage point. They set up at the bell tower of a cathedral. The basilica was chosen for three great tactical advantages; it's across from the building the meeting was taken place, the place was the least attractable building in the area, and it was easy to track any high-ranking member who is heading home. They were in for one man and that's what mattered.
Aaron scans the parking lot through the binoculars as Frank held a camera, ready to take pictures. Barnes glances at her clock displaying on Big Ben, the infamous clocktower of London. It was her watch, telling the time. The meeting starts in fifteen minutes.
Seconds later, a car pulls up to the parking lot on the left of city hall. As soon as the driver got out of the car, Frank quickly swings the camera and aims down on the face of the first occupant, thin black hair with a bean shaped head. He wore combat uniform handed down from a fallen British soldier. As he takes the picture, Aaron brings the binoculars down as he pulls the photo of Jericho
"That's our guy." Aaron reports. "We can photograph the rest of the representatives and send them to HQ."
"Not a bad idea." Frank chimes in.
The next car pulls up to the parking lot. The driver quickly climbs out and sprints to the backseat, letting a huge omnic with shoulders of a wrestler out of the car. He wore grey and green combat jacket, had no hair except on his chin. The hair was of grey silicon, curling up on the center of his cleft. He was the biggest regular omnic they've seen so far. He walks into the building with a mixture of Null Troopers and Synth regulars trailing behind like a marching band.
"Who the hell is that guy?" Barnes asked with a small amount of fear. "He must be the big fish."
"Doesn't matter, we are after Jericho." Dimitri replied.
Time passes as more representatives show up to the meeting. As the last person enters the building, the operators put down their camera and binoculars and look at each other.
"His safehouse is not far from here. But we will wait till he moves back so we can move in, grab the info, and kill him silently." Atticus points out. He turns to Barnes. "What do you think?"
"I suggest we use stealth for this raid." Barnes replied. "We strike at the compound as soon the meeting is over."
-Null Sector-
All the members sat down in their seats inside the city hall. The meeting hall was made like a theater with a stage in front of the rows of stairs. Grey combat jacket enters the room with a mixture of Synth insurgents and Null Troopers following behind him. The Synth insurgents stay behind as the two wooden doors close in front of them. The man in the combat jacket moves down the stairs and onto the stage before he starts.
"Everyone, I have called you here because of some trouble that has been developing for the past week." Combat Jacket began as he looks to one of his high ranks. "Philips."
Philips quickly stands up from his seat. "Yes, sir?" He makes his way down the aisle and heads to Combat Jacket
As Philips reaches to the stage, Combat Jacket quickly pulls out a pistol and points it at his officer. He gives little no hesitation as he fires two shots to the head, taking out his high-ranking member in a flash. Some nearly jumped out of their chairs, the scared reflexes jumping on them. As Phillip laid still, Combat jacket holsters his pistol.
"Phillip here didn't find out who caused the massacre at our weapons cache and the brutal execution of one of our officers." Combat Jacket began. "Yesterday, our men in the BBC studio were attacked and all communications are back online. The culprits disappeared without a trace."
Combat Jacket looks to the room as the Synth officers try their best to pay attention. "From our blind assumptions, we could be dealing with a lost military unit, taking advantage of our laziness. We have no idea who they truly are, nor it will matter once we find and kill the sons of bitches."
The Synth officers cheered. Combat Jacket holds a hand of silence. "At this moment, All Synth brothers and sisters are to report to the strongholds. The streets will belong to the Null Troopers until the situation dies down. Once we killed this unit, we will expand our forces further down London, punishing those who supported the oppressors."
"Hell yeah." Shouted a Synth officer. "Let's put those pigs down."
"Meeting dismissed." Combat Jacket grinned as he announces. The Synth officers quickly depart from the building and jump into their cars. Jericho jumps into his car and moves out of the parking lot. Aaron, Chloe, Dimitri, and Frank quickly climb down the tower and track the vehicle. The light green Land Rover moves past two tall fences as it heads into a shipping yard.
-Jericho-
The high-ranking officer of The Synth hops out of the car and heads inside. Walking into the small office building, the Synth regulars stopped their normal duties and saluted proudly to their commander of the outpost.
"Welcome home, sir." A regular greeted. "We got your message and secured the safehouse."
"What about the pigs?" Jericho snarled.
"They're in the basement, as always." The grunt replied.
"Good." Jericho replied. "I need to do some research in my office." He heads up stairs and walks straight down a narrow hallway with windows on each side. He enters his office, a small comfortable room with a wooden desk, a rolling leather chair, a single bed, and a small TV.
He opens the computer on his desk before reaching to his chest pocket. He pulls out a flash drive before inserting it in. Seconds later, a window pops up to showcase a collection of folders labeled from "weapons purchases" to "events". He clicks a folder labeled "hostages". After typing in a password, it displays a list of hostages the Synth have taken at gun point. He scrolls up to a person labeled "Jacob Felix."
After studying the profile for several minutes, he grabs his radio. "I'm taking some men to look for more pigs. In the meantime, I want you to interrogate Jacob Felix."
"The one that looks like Jesus Christ, sir?"
"Yes, that guy." Jericho replied. "According to his phone, his girlfriend was rescued from the BBC radio station and I bet we can find those ghosts through him. Find out what he knows then kill him."
"Right away, sir." The conversation ended in a single dial tone.
Jericho stands up and puts on his coat. As he leaves the room, he pulls the flash drive and slips it into his desk. Upon entering the hallway, he stops to glance out of the window. The dark clouds above let in the heavy rain, blinding lighting, and noisy thunder roaring above. After assessing the weather, he looks away from the window and heads down stairs.
A few seconds later, the window opens as Barnes slips into the place. She moves down the hallway like a cat and opens his office. On instinct, her fingers brush the desk drawer and pulls out a flash drive. She knew where the flash drive was as she watched Jericho moving around the house, even to the point where she observe Jericho storing the flash drive onto the safe spot in his bedroom. She grabs her radio as she climbs out of the window.
"I got the intel." Barnes commanded. "You're clear to take out Jericho and clean the house." She pulls out a suppressed pistol from her pocket and stood by her position.
Back on the first floor, Jericho was selecting his men to head out into the storm. They head for the armory and grabbed their weapons and gear before forming in a straight line in front of main door. Jericho grabs the squad leader's attention.
"Head out there and get me at least one hostage. The survivors will be desperate for help." Jericho commanded. "The boss needs them to hold the British Museum from the rest of the world."
"Yes sir." The squad leader. The five grunts of the omnic extremists file out. As the last grunt passes the threshold, Jericho closes the door and locks it as he turns to the remaining grunts.
"I expect the rest of you on your feet and patrol this building." Jericho commanded. "I'm going to head downstairs and interrogate the prisoner. Don't disturb me unless it's an emergency."
As Jericho heads downstairs, a knock came from the main door. The grunts stared at each other for a few seconds before returning the door. "Who is it?" One grunt asked in an aggressive tone. The door knocks again. The grunt rolls his eyes up as he opens the lock and twists the door knob. He pulls the door to open, to reveal a lone Synth insurgent, nervously standing still.
"What? Spit it out!" The grunt yells at the nervous rebel.
The rebel standing outside jerks his eyeballs to the right before a sudden crimson mist erupts from the side of his head. A hissing sound came out as the insurgent fell to the floor.
"What the hell?" The guard mutters as he held the door open.
Dimitri appears in front of him and shoots him once with the shotgun. The shot came out a single hiss as the body fell backward. Aaron and Frank storm the first floor, shooting the remaining insurgents as they stood still confused. As the last body fell, the team lower their weapons at ease.
"Clear." Says Frank and Aaron.
"First floor is clear." Dimitri notifies. "What's your status?"
"I'm on the second floor." Barnes reported. "Have you found the hostages?"
"Negative." Aaron reported. "I assume they are not upstairs."
"No sign of the hostages on the second floor." Barnes reported.
Aaron paces slowly around the building as he notices a door around the corner. He pulls out a mirror and holds it underneath the door to reveal a series of stairs moving down.
"This door leads into the basement." Aaron alerts to his team.
Dimitri and Frank form up on him as Aaron pulls the door open.
"I'll take point." Dimitri whispers as they move down the stairs. The Russian pumps his shotgun as they reach the basement. The basement was gritty, dark, and humid as the three operatives touch the floor. The place was as lovely as a five-star hell hole, a blackhole of all hope for anyone that was placed down here. The only source of light was either the faint light bulbs or the clear small windows. Dimitri leans against the wall as the come near a door. Some muffled voices can be heard from the other side.
"That could be the hostages." Frank points out. Aaron steps in front of the door.
"On three." Frank commands. "One, two, three."
Aaron kicks down the door. Then, Frank and Dimitri move in. As they enter the room, they see a row of people from a small kid to a man in his early thirties. The first two on the left were young teenagers. One was a boy named Shay Royle while the other was a female named Kristy Shaw. The one in the middle was a well-built man wearing a baseball cap and wore a police uniform. He had a badge to displaying his name; Emmet Rose. The last one was a young female by the name of Keira McCartney when Aaron dug her license from her wallet tossed into another room nearby. The hostages look up in confusion as their voices were muffled by the duct tape.
Frank walks over and rips the duct tape out of a young girl's mouth. "What's your name?" Frank asks softly.
"Kristy... Kristy Shaw." The young girl replied. "What are you doing?"
"We are getting you out." Frank replied.
"No, you can't." Kristy protested. "He took Jacob. He's got Jacob Felix."
"Where we can find him?"
Before she said anything, a shot rang out. The three operators turn around to spot Jericho holding Jacob Felix in front of him by wrapping his neck with one arm while pointing the barrel of a pistol at the hostage's head with the other. Jacob face was black and blue, feeling exhausted as his torturer held him like a shield
"Well, what a lovely surprise." Jericho greets softly. He tightens his arm around Jacob's neck. "He warned me about you people. Funny, I only see three. Thought there would be more." He pauses as he trains the gun at Frank, Dimitri, and Aaron quickly. "I wonder, who are you with? You're not with Overwatch, obviously. They can't operate here. Be good sports and tell me who you're with."
Jericho glances at the three operators as they had their weapons drawn. Aaron, Frank, and Dimitri couldn't fire a shot, he's expecting a shot. After a few moments of glancing at the intruders, he shook his head. "I guess you're not going to tell me. Now put your weapons on the ground or I'll blow his head off."
Aaron, Frank, and Dimitri slowly drop their weapons to the floor. Jericho points a pistol at Aaron. The barrel was pointed at his head. At this scenario, Jericho couldn't possibly miss. "After I kill you three, we'll find those precious people you saved and tell them you failed. Then, we will kill them slow and painful. Goodbye."
Then, Jericho winced in pain. One arm slowly let's go of Jacob. Blood slowly drips from his lips. The three operators quickly grabbed their weapons as Jericho slowly collapses to the ground. Then, the operators lower their weapons down as they spot a knife sticking out his back. Seconds later, Barnes emerges behind. Jacob shakes a little, causing Barnes to grip him hard.
"Don't worry, we're getting you and your friends out." Chloe reassures Jacob soothingly. She looks towards Aaron, Frank, and Dimitri. "Go grab the hostages and we'll head back to firebase."
The three nodded and sprint back into the room and release the hostages from their bonds. Aaron and Dimitri pull the younger kids up to their feet.
"Follow us." Barnes barked to the hostages.
Dimitri searches Jericho's body and grabs a set of keys from his body. "Let's see where you belong to?"
As the four head outside with the hostages, Dimitri presses the unlock button once. The head lights of an armored bus light up two times. "Put the civilians in there." Dimitri suggests as he points to the vehicle.
Aaron pushes the door open and sits himself on the steering wheel as Chloe and Frank herd the hostages into the bus. As Dimitri walks into the van, Aaron closes the door. "Alright. Here we go." He puts the car into gear and starts driving away from the compound with Emmet, Keira, Shay, Kristy, and Jacob following suit.
"Where are you taking us." Shay asks quietly.
Frank grinned. "Somewhere better than that compound."
A/N Holy heck, this chapter was a tough one to write. But I'm glad I managed to push through. I had trouble writing in the hostages rescued from the compound, but that obstacle was easy to cross thanks to the following people whose creative minds help give these extras light. Here the righteous people who helped developed the characters. These people are awesome in every way and I cannot thank them enough for the help and support.
Kristy Shaw – Noodle_OntheGuitar
Kiera McCartney - ZeglierAndAmari
Emmet Rose – HeyyMaaa
Shay Royle – By_lemonade
Jacob Felix – LyricalDragon52
As always, if you like chapter, leave a vote and I'll see you again.