To Run Away...

Chapter 11

  "So Pierre, what do we do now?" Ivan asked with a hint of frustration.

   The man just sat there, observing the scene.

  "C'mon, we don't have-"

CRACK!!

   They shouted from the jump scare.

Crack! Crack! Crack! CRASH!!

  "Get down!" Pierre shouted as the glass window broke into pieces. He then pushed the gas pedal and drove straight towards the bridge while more bullets were flying past them.

  "What the hell are you-"

  "Put your oxygen masks on!" He commanded.

  "Oh, I know where this is going!" He then turned around. "Haystack!"

  "Ah'm on it!" He shouted back as he searched for his mask.

  "Good!" He turned back and did the same.

   Pierre in the meantime, steered to the right, going off road and towards the river.

  "Eep," Ivan squealed in fear after peaking at the sight.

BOOM!!

  "Son of a bitch!" Haystack shouted as smoke arose into the air.

CRASH!

   The rest of the windows broke into pieces.

  "Hold on!" Pierre yelled before he drove the car off the ground and towards the waters below.

VROOOOoooooooomm!! SPLASH!

   The police car began to sink as bullets continued to pound the rooftop. Luckily, the three were able to get out through the broken windows as their goggles began to illuminate.

  "Oh, thanks Celestia we're all r'aght." Haystack rejoiced as they swam further away from the vehicle.

BOOM!

   The sinking vehicle exploded, sending bubbles and debris flying.

  "Yeah, you can say that again." Ivan scoffed.

  "Oui, now let's get to 'ze department. Follow me."

  "Uh, we're already doing that sir."

   Pierre rolled his eyes. "I know, just checking."

  "Ah'van?"

  "Ugh, yeah?"

  "Remember when we took those dead soldiers' goggles to see through the smoke?"

  "Of course, that was hours ago. Why ask?"

  "You know, since our goggles have night vision-"

   Ivan moaned, realizing what they should've done. "Don't go any further."

  "Oh, ok... Pierre?"

  "Yes my Equine friend?"

  "Where are ya from?"

  "Ugh, don't mind him." Ivan groaned in his thoughts. "He's from Equestria."

   He should've thought of that while he was asking Davey a personal question.

  "Toulouse, France. Lived there all my life before leaving and joining BLU in the espionage division."

  "You're from France?" He said ecstatically.

   Pierre then nodded.

  "Huh, wait, why's BLU here?" Ivan asked.

  "Don't you know? Wherever RED goes BLU follows, and vice versa."

  "Oh right, so why did you join BLU?"

  "Same reason you joined 'ze legion."

   The two began to feel uneasy by that statement, since Pierre knew who they work for and why.

  "Uh, how do you know that?"

  "'Ze insignia on your shoulder." He then pointed at the crossed sword and musket that bared a blue dove. "BLU has strong ties with 'ze mercenary group. Kelferson LLC, I think it was called."

  "Oh." He didn't have anything else to say about that, so he decided to change topic. "Anyways, do you know why RED is here?"

  "Yep. 'Ze country hasn't changed since Heinz took power. So before he died, he gave all that power to his daughter."

  "You mean Vanessa Doofenshmirtz?"

  "Of course. Once she took power, she signed a contract with RED for food, medical, and as you can see, technological aid."

   That made Ivan come to a conclusion. "That explains the dice and the robot."

  "Oui."

  "So how have they been doing?"

  "Not doing a good job of course. They're only here to contribute to the amount they were paid to do. And judging by their treasury, they aren't able to afford more. But it doesn't matter, RED will continue to do business with Doofania and rub it in our faces."

  "And because of that, BLU is here to arm the rebels to overthrow Vanessa Doofenshmirtz so that they can restore order and at the same time do business with BLU." Ivan determined in a swift speech.

  "Exactly." But he had to ask. "H-how did you know that?"

  "Logic, my friend. Never leave or stay at home without it."

  "Agree."

   Since they were talking for quite awhile now, Ivan decided to check on his four legged comrade. "Haystack?"

   There was no response from the quiet stallion.

  "Haystack?" He repeated. "Haystack!"

  "N-no! Leave us alo-" His quickly snapped back into reality. "Uh, huh?"

  "Eh, Haystack, are you alright?"

  "Uh, uh." He stuttered. "Y-y-yes, AH'm all r'aght."

  "You don't look all right, my friend." Pierre said.

  "N-no, seriously, Ah'm all r'aght."

  "You sure?"

  "Positive, sir."

  "Alright then, suit yourself."

   Haystack let out a quiet sigh as he looked strait ahead, still in his downhearted mood.

  "You know, as his commander, you should really have a talk with him." Pierre whispered from earpiece to earpiece with Ivan.

  "Can't. I made a deal."

  "What deal?"

  "I don't want to talk about my background, so he doesn't have to say anything about himself."

  "A little harsh, isn't it?"

  "I don't know. While I was driving towards the city, he didn't want to tell me anything."

  "Well maybe 'ze guy needs help with something. That's not considered sharing personal ground."

  "Well..." He had nothing, so he had to comply. "Fine."

   Pierre grinned.

   The felt the sand underneath their feet as they stood up from the water.

  "Let's go, we got a mission to complete." Pierre ordered as they glanced at the siren lighted bridge. "Follow me."

   They obeyed the order and sprinted down the beach.

  "Why are we heading towards the subway rail?" Ivan asked suspiciously. "I thought you said that the subway was closed."

  "You wanna head to 'ze department of labor or not?"

  "Yeah, but you just-"

  "Just trust me on this." He continued his climb upwards. "Come on."

  "Ugh, well, he's been here for awhile. Might as well trust him." He grabbed onto the beam as well. "Let's-"

  "Ah'van?"

  "What is it?" Ivan replied while Haystack began his climb as well.

  "Well... uh... um."

  "Come on, spit it out."

  "Uh... nothin', sorry fer botherin'."

   He rolled his eyes in response.

  "He's doing this now?" He muttered. "God, that policy of mine must've hit 'em hard."

   They then met with Pierre's hand reaching for them before agreeing to his generous offer.

  "Thanks man." Ivan said, once the two were on the tracks.

  "Don't mention it." He replied while helping Haystack up. "Anyways, we must move."

  "Alright then."

   They entered the tunnel and made their way down.

  "And how long has BLU been here?" Ivan asked.

  "Tomorrow is 'ze fifth anniversary of BLU's arrival."

  "So, five years then?"

  "Of course." He said politely. "Once we heard of RED's arrival, we quickly sprung into action."

  "Yeah, you just told us that."

  "What?"

  "Nothing. Anyways, did they take it well?"

  "Of course not. That has opened 'ze door for more proxy battles all over 'ze world. Tell me, where are you from?"

  "Uh..." He was speechless and growing nervous.

  "Oh, right, you don't want to reveal it."

  "Yes sir."

  "It's them!!" Someone yelled.

  "Uh oh, Take cover!" Pierre shouted.

Rat-at-at-at-at-at-at-at-at...

   After using the tunnel as cover, Ivan got out a grenade and set it to explode. "Frag out!"

  "GRENA-"

BOOM!

  "Go! Go! Go!" Ivan shouted.

   After that order was given, the duo left their cover and counter-attacked, taking out three soldiers standing on the edge of the platform.

  "Frigidus!" Ivan thought, firing a blast of ice at three troops to his right before yelling. "Take cover!"

   They jumped on, and ran towards the glacier. On the way, they shot two soldiers on each flank while Pierre covered them. Upon reaching it, they sat down and reloaded their guns.

BLAM!

   Pierre would place a bullet into another soldier from the pillar he was hiding behind, clearing the place.

   On the contrary, a few seconds later, they heard footsteps that were coming from the stairs.

  "Great!" Ivan stomped his foot on the marble floor. He then got out a grenade and armed it. "Frag out!"

Clank! Clank! Clank!

BOOM!

  "Open fire!" One of the soldiers cried.

  "More like open flame." Ivan muttered as machine gun chatter echoed across the station.

  "Ignis!" He then thought. Another ball of fire would fly out of his hand, scorching five soldiers once it made contact with them.

   They screamed in agony as their enemy sprayed multiple rounds of bullets at them and their comrades. Due to this, the squad suffered losses and weren't quick enough to make their move.

  "Damn it, we got casualties!"

  "Heh, dunces." Haystack chuckled while they were reloading behind cover.

   In the meantime, Pierre got his turn.

BLAM! BLAM!

   He shot down two soldiers.

  "What the-"  What the squad leader saw was now two bodies lying beside his left flank. However, he wasn't able to spot the shooter, because he was already cloaked and heading for the turnstiles. "Son of a bitch!"

    He then went to his walkie talkie. "We need reinforcements!"

  "Roger that, dispatching troops to your location."

  "Good, now let's close in on those bastards!"

   The troops continued to open fire, taking large steps towards the glacier.

  "Crud." Ivan shouted. "They got us-"

   He paused, "Oh, right."

   He fired his dice, only nothing came out, killing his hopes. On the bright side, he was able to hide back behind cover before the bullets could reach him.

  "Great." He muffled, "No alcohol."

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

   Cutting sounds were heard along with more screams of pain.

  "Clear." Pierre confirmed.

   The two peeked out of cover to find this true.

  "And just in time too." He pointed at the tunnel where light was beginning to appear from their great.

  "Oh good." Haystack sighed. "Wait, if it's comin' from that direction, then wh'ah could've we go to the other station?"

  "To kill time of course. 'Ze other station is also protected by soldiers. It could've been like 'ze siege of Leningrad if we went-"

   That reference made Haystack a little angry. "Ya know, Celestia doesn't want to be rem'ahned of that."

  "Okay, okay." Pierre said, taken aback by his sudden report. "Ugh, geez."

   The light was getting brighter and brighter.

  "Let's go, now.' Pierre suggested before running towards the edge of the platform, causing the others to follow.

  "Oh, I know where this is going." Ivan implied.

  "Get them!!"

   They turned around to find three hovering drones charge towards them with more soldiers.

B-b-b-b-b-b-beep!

  "Get down!" Pierre shouted before pulling out a flare gun and firing past them.

D-r-r-r-r-!

   The shooting from the drones' twin barrel machine guns stopped as the flare distracted them. They turned a full one hundred and eighty degrees and gave chase. By then, the train had already arrived. Once it stopped, it opened it's doors and they went in. Then they closed, but not before Pierre threw an EMP grenade at the squad, disabling their communications, and their drones. Then the train sped off.

  "Damn sir, you sure have a lotta tricks up your sleeve."

  "Yes I do." He smirked before the three faded into awkward silence.

   They then sat down on separate seats and remained there quietly.

   After looking around for a couple seconds, Ivan found a tape recorder lying right next to Haystack. Apparently, he didn't know it was there in the first place.

  "Haystack, can you hand me that tape recorder lying next to you?"

  "Oh?" He looked over to his left and found it sitting next to his haunches. "Oh."

   The pony then reached for it with his muzzle. Only thing is, he wasn't able to grab it.

   Ivan rolled his eyes. "Ugh, don't worry, I'll get it."

   He walked over there and grabbed it with his hand. Sitting back down, he pressed the play button.

  "Well, hour one."

  "Hey, it's that guy from the other recording." Ivan pointed out.

  "Heading for the border along with my friend Davey. We'll be meeting in a resistance cell within the city. Also, his 'daughter' is coming with. With those two elements combined, I'm implying that he doesn't want to be hunted down anymore... or fight... "

  "Really?" Ivan wondered as the others listened intently.

  "... He told me that he'd do anything to that little girl from the tyrant; and quitting both the resistance and getting out of this stinkin' messhole is the only way. Vanessa Doofenshmirtz isn't too kind about children being abandoned anyways, so why stay here?" He sighed. "Poor kids. Parents keep abandoning them because they can't afford it... pfft, idiots. But hey, who can blame 'em? Anyways, I'll be geting there shortly. That sad little girl will soon realize the true meaning of freedom once we get out."

   The recording ended.

  "Then how did he-"

   Suddenly, it resumed.

  "Damn it, that douchebag's staying? Really?"

   Then he heard the click, signaling its actual end.

  "Huh, guess that answers it."

   Haystack shrugged in agreement.

  "Hmm, 'ze man must've been-." Then they noticed that it was getting darker. "Merde, activate your-."

  "We know, we know." The two responded in unison before doing just so.

   The train then slowed down and went to a halt before opening its doors.

  "Check the train, make sure that no one's inside." A soldier ordered.

  "On it."

   A couple soldiers would then go inside and take a look for about ten seconds before exiting the train. After about five seconds, the doors closed and the train was on its way again.

  "Phew." Haystack sighed after his cloaking ability worn out.

   Having nothing else to say, they continued to enjoy the ride. Pierre sat quietly, while Haystack began took another pill to recharge.

   This gave Ivan some time to think to himself as the others were possibly doing the same thing. He then closed his eyes to do so.

*   *   *

  *  *  *

   He was reminding himself of the second day after he left to join the legion. He was on a bus in the middle of barren land. There, he was looking at it through a window, seeing corpses and burnt crops lied on the ground. The other passengers watched in horror, panicking and asking what happened. Outside, there was music playing from a piccolo while men and women in white coats and assault rifles ran through the fields; wearing three point hats of emerald, pink, blue, and aqua blue stripes.

   The bus was beginning to slow down as they scattered the place.

  "Looks like the Celestianists are in control of this place now." A man said in a deep tone.

  "Hail Celestia!!" One of the rebels yelled with joy, which was followed by a battle cry from his comrades.

    A red flag with an eight point sun was waving over them as they sang an Equestrian patriotic song.

   Ivan however, ignored it and looked down onto his lap, where an envelope was sitting on it.

  "Ah'van?" Haystack's voice jumped in.

  "Whoa!" Ivan then opened his eyes and slightly jumped upwards to the voice. "Uh, yeah?"

  "We're approaching 'ze department." Pierre said

  "Is that so?" He looked out the window to find bright lights in the distance. "Oh, it is. Should've known that that was the reason why we had to take another train ride."

  "Yep." Pierre reached into his pocket and exchanged his walkie talkie for a small kit.

  "You know there's no time for a cigarette, right?" Ivan asked once he saw the cigarettes inside.

  "I know." He placed one of the cigarettes in his mouth and set it on fire with a lighter. Blue smoke began to appear once he inhaled and breathed out. Suddenly, a glowing black aura overwhelmed his body and changed him into an enemy soldier.

  "That explains it." Ivan thought.

   Haystack on the other hand, looked in distraught. Wondering how the hell was that cigarette able to do that without magic.

  "Now give me your SMG." He said in a deep fluent voice.

   Ivan was quick to react. "Excuse me?"

  "Just trust me on this, I'm disguised as a Doofanian soldier."

  "Alright then." He went over to the seat and grabbed the P90 before handing it over to Pierre.

  "Now turn around."

  "Oh I see." Ivan concluded. "Should've seen that from the start as well."

    He turned around and placed his arms up. "C'mon Haystack."

  "Oh." He obeyed and stood by his side.

   The train was beginning to slow down as it approached a station.

  "Alright, walk to the door."

   They did just that. A couple of seconds later, the train stopped. Five soldiers would then run over to meet them.

  "State your name, comrade." A female soldier demanded after the door opened.

  "The name's John Matrix of the fifth battalion forty third Star Fox regiment." Pierre replied in a brave tone.

  "Why John Matrix?" Ivan thought.

  "John Matrix, as in John Matrix from the movie 'Commando?"

  "Of course."

  "I don't think I can believe you there. All three of you may be spies-"

  "Hold on!" Someone from a distance cried. "Don't shoot."

  "Oh, General Weaver." The squadron (Including Pierre) saluted.

   A man in a red overcoat and black service cap joined the circle. "Sergeant Allison, do you know who you're talking to?"

  "An imposter sir." She retorted, pointing her shotgun at the trio.

  "You're talking to a Star Fox commando. An elite in our armed forces. He can't reveal his real name."

  "Oh, uh, sorry sir." She blushed.

  "Better be, or you'll be getting a demotion." He then turned to the three and said joyfully. "Matrix, how's it going?"

  "Good." He smirked, "I captured the bastards that the great leader wanted alive."

  "Alive?" Ivan wondered under his breath.

   The man met the two face to face. "The great leader has changed her mind about you two. She's ordered us to take you to Jepsen town. There, you'll be working for the rest of your lives."

  "No shoot, we're in a totalitarian state." Ivan muttered.

  "What was that boy?" He asked him aggressively, causing him to jolt in surprise.

  "Uh. nothing sir." Ivan knew that one move would kill him.

  "That's what I thought." He took two steps back. "Now I don't know why you pinheads came here. And I certainly doubt, the leader's accusations that you guys are spies for whatever foreign intelligence agency and the PRAI."

   He began to light a cigarette. "So, in an act of generosity, I will negotiate with the great successor and see if Washington and Canterlot are willing to pay top dollar slash bit to pay for your safety. Plus, with the pony, we can surely sever relations between the two."

   Haystack gulped in fear.

  "Take them away."

   Pierre poked them on the back.

  "Ah, hey!"

  "Just go." Pierre insisted.

   They exited the station and headed for the department. In front of it, was an outpost that surrounded the building. The troops in it watched in disdain as the two were being taken to the department.

   After that trip, they were now in front of the entrance of the brick colored building.

  "Open the door." The general commanded.

   The two soldiers in front nodded before grabbing the door handles and pulling the doors open.

  "Take them to the dungeon." He went on to say after they went inside; standing over a teal floor in a waiting room.

    Ivan looked down and grinned; trying to control his laughter. "They have a dungeon?"

   The soldiers then grabbed the two from their arms and tugged them forward.

  "John, aren't you-"

D-r-r-r-r-r! D-r-r-r-r-r! D-r-r-r-r-r!

   They looked back to notice that their comrade was wearing blue and their general was now dead on the floor as well as the two soldiers guarding the door.

  "Spy!" One of them cried. "Get-"

Whack!

   The distraction was potent enough for Haystack to kick the soldier in the back of the head.

D-r-r-r!

  "Ai!" A soldier yelped once Pierre shot him in the stomach.

Whack!

  "Umph!"

   Ivan also had the handle of it once he took one of the SMGs, hit a soldier in the chin with it, and then shot him. The soldier next to him met the same fate. Meanwhile, the soldier standing got a knuckle (or should I say horse shoe) sandwich.

BOOM!

  "What the-"

   Smoke ascended from the building, sending debris flying through the glass door.

  "Jesus!" Ivan cried. "What the hell was that!?"

  "'Ze files are located in 'ze main office of 'ze third floor." Pierre advised, ignoring his question.

  "Yeah, but-"

  "Go! I'll cover you!"

   He shrugged. "Alright then. Haystack, grab some ammo."

  "Yes Ah'van."

   They looted two of the bodies and then proceeded past the double doors as sirens began to wail. On the other side, was another waiting room; only this one was smaller than the other and it had five booths in front.

  "Attack!"

   Men wearing the same attire from the police department came out from behind those booths and opened fire.

   The two were quick to hide behind the doors and let the bullets fly.

  "Crap." Ivan thrust his hand forward, summoning his dice. However, nothing came out. "Crap!"

   He tried the next one, nothing. "Damn it, looks like we're going to plan B."

   He cloaked himself and ran inside, dodging every bullet flying past them. He then jumped over the soldier he was aiming for and grabbed him from the neck, pulling him back.

  "What the-"

   Ivan uncloaked himself.

D-r-r-r-r!

  "Roddick!" He cried as Ivan killed his comrade with a headshot.

D-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r...

   Ivan let out a grunt as he felt something sharp sting his ankle. "Ow."

   Fortunately, that didn't stop him from shooting the others down with a spray of his SMG.

... D-r-r-r-Click!

    He then pulled the weapon back and knocked him out in the back of his head. Collapsing onto the floor below, he reloaded his weapon while Haystack dealt with the remaining two soldiers hiding inside the booth.

  "Clear." He proclaimed. "Ah'van, y'er leg, it's hurt."

  "I know that!" He snapped. "Ow."

  "Here, let me help ya with that." He offered.

  "How are you going to help? You're a pony!"

  "Take this." He now had a syringe in his hoof.

  "I don't trust a vaccine that looks like piss and was created by a pony."

   Haystack rolled his eyes, and then injected the needle in his arm.

  "Ow, hey!" He then felt something chilly in his wound. "Huh?"

   Looking at it, he noticed that the bleeding stopped and the pain was fading. "Whoa."

  "Told ya." Haystack then wrapped his hoof around him and helped him up.

   Ivan then got up and flexed his healed ankle. "Huh, looks like I was wrong in couple seconds."

  "Yep."

  "Alright, let's head up the elevator."

   The pony nodded and followed him over to the one nearby.

  "Ugh, great. This elevator only goes up to the second floor." He pushed the up button. "Looks like we're going to fight through two floors instead of one."

  "Guess so." The elevator door closed and made its ascension. "Ah'van, what's an elevator."

   Ivan face palmed. "The thing we're on right now, and the thing we just went on in the first building we entered?"

  "Oh, sorry... it feels naus-"

Ding!

   The door slid open.

  "Uh oh."

D-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r...

   They jumped to the side, letting the bullets fly past them.

D-r-r-r-r!

   The officer groaned in pain as three of Ivan's blind fired shots hit him in the chest.

  "Frag out!"

Clang! Clang!

   Haystack used his hoof to throw it back like a tennis racket hitting a ball.

  "Damn!!"

BOOM!

   Once the explosion ensued, they ran across the hall and into an office.

  "Where the hell did they go?" A middle aged woman asked in panic.

  "Don't know, let's just stay here until they do. We're on our own now."

  "Well, looks like we got time." Ivan whispered before grabbing an unopened bottle of alcohol on the desk. "Look for something useful-"

  "Found somethin'."

  "What is it?" He asked while he was opening it with a bottle opener.

  "Some more money." He said as he got out another sac of cash with his teeth

  "Oh." He took of the strap from his shoulder and placed it on the red carpet. "Alright, put the dollar store coins in there and I'll cover you."

  "Uh, what's a dollar store?"

  "Ugh, forget it." He drank the beer and felt warmth go into his hands. "Nice."

   He dive rolled out the door, gun blazing.

   One of the employees was shot in the head during the sudden assault. This gave Ivan a chance to hide behind the stone water fountain in the middle of the hall while the enemy was distracted.

  "Damn it, where the hell did he go?"

  "Wow." Ivan thought. "What a bunch of dumbasses."

   He cloaked himself once again and ran for the room on the other side of the fountain. After jumping over the man as if it were a rock, he uncloaked himself and grabbed a knife that was sitting on his desk.

   The man screamed as it penetrated through his black leisure suit and through his back.

  "Jack!" The woman yelled in horror before firing her pistol at Ivan while he used 'Jack' as a shield.

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

   However, all the shots missed Ivan's head and only went onto hit her friend in the chest.

D-r-r-r!

   The woman then groaned and fired wildly as Ivan's bullets stung her in her breasts.

  "Ouch." He said sympathetically. He then dropped the man on the floor as the hallway grew quiet.

  "Ah'van, Ah'm done." Haystack called, carrying the satchel around his neck. "Wow, you humans have an odd way of carryin' bags."

  "Yeah, so do you ponies." He handed him the satchel and Ivan took care of the rest. "Hey, have you ever wondered what's inside the package?"

  "Nope, not at all."

  "Oh."

  "But hey, I don't think we should." They went over to the next elevator that was located at the end of the hallway and went over to the third floor.

  "Waddaya mean?" He asked as they reloaded their weapons.

  "Hell, we're just going to give it to them, get paid, and get the heck out of here."

  "Hmm." Haystack shrugged before the heard the ding of the elevator bell.

   Ivan was the first to fire this time, killing the employee on the other side.

  "Ignis!" He thought, sending a fireball towards the middle of the hall.

   The employees' screams were now audible as Ivan ran across the hall and used the room as cover.

Rat-at-at-at-at-at-at...

  "I'm not scorching with them you foreign rats!" Someone cried.

  "Huh?"

   They took a peak around their cover. In front of them, was a man in an EOD suit, armed with an LMG, and approaching fast.

   Haystack knew what that was, and he knew a good way to deal with it. He glanced at the shotgun that was lying on the floor, and prepared to grab it.

Rat-at-at-at-at!

BLAM!

  "Ow!' Haystack screamed as he landed on the ground.

  "Umph!" The EOD soldier grunted, the spray of bullets bouncing off the Kevlar.

   Ivan pulled him in as blood began to seep from his back. "Damn, what a hit."

   He pulled the shotgun and aimed it high as he searched for the syringe.

   Haystack breathed heavily as the pain made him feel numb.

  "Where... hell... was... vaccine?"

   Those were all the words he could hear as a certain something began to waltz right into his vision. He was running down an endless forest, tears in his eyes, and the cool breeze blowing against his coat.

  "Huh?" He choked once he felt the cold feeling caress his wound.

  "Welcome back to the land of the living my friend." Ivan greeted calmly.

  "What the-" He sat up, confused on what happened. "Am ah dead?"

  "Either you don't believe me, or those Vaccines are like illegal drugs. What's that thing made of anyways?"

   He peeked outside to find out that the EOD soldier was now dead from a bullet wound to the head. He also noticed that the rest of the hallway was quiet as well. "Did you clear this place?"

  "Yep, now let's get to the chairman's office and burn those files."

  "Of course, but how?"

  "That stairway at the end of the hall..." He pointed at it. "... or at least I think that is the office."

  "Ok then."

  "Good, take the shotgun, I'll take the LMG."

  "Whah?"

  "Back up weapon, or if you wanna shoot one 'til the end. Doesn't really matter."

  "Oh, r'aght."

   They ran up the short stair case and to the door leading to the office. That's when they kicked the door open.

  "You'll never..." A man yelled.

  "Crap!"

   Their eyes widened.

  "... have her!"

D-r-r-r!

  "Ulgh!" The man groaned as all four bullets fired hit the black overcoat man in the stomach and chest.

  "Huh, close one."

  "Ah'van, what did he mean by 'her'?"

   They looked around the desk to find Maribelle lying underneath it. Her body tied up from mouth to ankles, her face full of slap marks and tears. The sight shocked them, but they knew that there was no time to feel bad.

  "Huh, guess that's what he meant by 'her'."

  "Wh'ah do they have her here in the first place?"

  "Most important question is why is that man beating her up? Come on, let's help her."

   After untying her, Haystack carried the shaken girl on his back while she held on for dear life.

  "Ok, now what?" Haystack asked.

  "Ivan, have you burned 'ze files yet!?" Pierre called through the man's radio.

  "Pierre, is that you?"

  "Yes, but have you burned 'ze files?"

  "Oh, right."

  "Also, you have to get out through ze window and meet up with resistance forces."

  "Why so?"

  "Because, enemy forces are closing in on your position!"

  "Crud, wait, how do you know this?" He asked as he watched the skirmish from the broken window.

  "Because I'm outside 'ze outpost."

   He got a little pissed, "You-"

  "Oh yeah, and use your cloaking devices, out."

   Then he remembered about Maribelle, "Wait-"

Static!

  "Aw great." He stomped his foot on the floor before arming a C4 detonator that happened to be on the desk for it to detonate in thirty seconds."That'll burn the files. Mainly because I don't know where the hell they are."

  He then cloaked himself again while Haystack did the same. Oddly enough, the device even had the strength to make Maribelle invisible as well.

  "Oh, cool." Ivan said, amazed by the sight, "Alright, hold on, Maribelle!"

   She nodded before the two jumped through the broken window and onto the battle ground below. Fortunately, Haystack was able to land on his hooves, making the little girl live the fall.

SLAM!

  "Where the hell are they?" One of the soldiers yelled as they raided the room.

   Three... two... one.

   The room exploded into pieces. While that was happening, the three were already making their retreat through enemy lines. After a while, they uncloaked themselves and caught up with resistance forces. Without introducing themselves, they made their withdrawal from the sight.