Chapter One: Operation 40
"Wake up!... Wake. Up!
Dozens of screens, all facing him.
Mason's eyes slowly opened. He only saw them, the chair he was strapped to… and the silhouette of two men. His interrogators.
He could barely speak through a parched throat. "... Where am I? Where's Reznov? Where's Twilight?"
"You will answer our questions, do you understand?" The ominous voice spoke. A voice changer. Of course it was.
"Who the hell are you!?" He shot up.
"That's not important. What's important is who you are. What's your name?"
"Fuck. You!"
"Where were you born!?"
"Kiss my ass!"
Immense pain coursed through his body, electricity burning each of his blood cells.
"Your name is Alex Mason. You were born in Fairbanks, Alaska. In 1961, you served in a CIA assassination squad, known as Operation 40, is that correct?"
With no response, electricity shook him once more, filling the prisoner with immense pain as he screamed through the decrepit interrogation room.
"IS. THAT. CORRECT!?"
"Yes…!"
"Where's the broadcast station!?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
"What about Dragovich!? Do you remember him!? Give us what we want, and we will guarantee your safety!"
With no response once again, the interrogators had no choice. Mason screamed once more, nerves screaming along with him.
The interrogator sighed. "Let's start from the beginning. Cuba, '61, Bay of Pigs. We know you went there."
"No–"
"DON'T FUCK WITH ME, MASON!" I know when you're lying! '61, Bay of Pigs, what happened!?"
"...Heh. We all got killed."
"There's no use lying, Mason! We know you went in with Woods, Bowman, and Twilight and her team!"
"...Woods…Bowman…Twilight…"
"Dragovich! Do you remember Dragovich!?"
"... Castro. We went to kill Castro…"
***
Transmission #15-18, Designate: X-RAY
OP40 team inserted with Bay of Pigs forces in Cuba
Target: Fidel Castro
Woods, Bowman, Mason and Twilight's team meeting contact at Santa Maria
0500 hrs, April 17, 1961
***
The lighter flicked open, the flame burned against the paper and tobacco of the cigarette.
"The police are gonna be here soon… Let's make this quick."
The lighter closed, and the smoke was inhaled.
"Woods…" The bartender chuckled, constantly peering at the front door as he cleaned a glass. "It's been a while."
"Heh." The short-haired bearded man tucked the cigarette packet into his rolled up sleeve. "Not enough, Carlos." He stated. He turned his head to the man on his right, the one with a buzzcut and a dark complexion. "You know Bowman, right?"
The man he gestured to nodded once. "Carlos."
And then, the bearded man nodded towards the other man, who sat at the corner of the table. "This is Mason."
Smiling softly, the man nodded. "What's up, Carlos?"
This should've been it, a simple conversation between four men at a bar in the middle of post-revolutionary, communist Cuba…
But apart from a woman in a red dress dancing to the soft sound of Quimbara by Celia Cruz, there were others in the bar. Nine others, who occupied the different corners of the bar.
This made Carlos swallow a little, nervously. "Uh… Frank… Quick question…" He muttered. "All these women, are they…part of the team?"
"Is that a problem?" Frank raised his brows with a surprised smirk.
"No, no…" Carlos coughed. "I'm only supportive of their choice to join Operation 40, a-and I'll accept any pair of hands to take down that bushy-bearded hijo de puta… Just, uh… I think your squad's a little big for a "covert" hit squad, no?
Before Frank could answer the question, two of the women approached.
"Don't worry about us, mister Carlos." Said the one with purple-colored bangs, with a pink streak. She sat at the bar counter, patiently smiling. "We're not conventional, but I promise my girls are the best of the best."
"Ah can vouch for 'em too sugarcube–, er, mister Carlos." Said the other woman, who wore a cowboy hat, and a flannel shirt and jeans. Her clothes slightly struggled against her amazonian, great musculature. "These lasses are fierce. This Fidel fella ain't leavin' Havana. We can promise you that." She said, taking a seat.
"Unless this cigar-smokin' bearded Cuban Santa Clause ends up learning how to clone himself." Laughed another, this one with the most striking appearance as she had literal Rainbow hair, with each streak being of a different color. She was the smallest, but had toned arms. She took a seat beside the cowgirl, who rolled her eyes at that comment, but Woods was unable to stop himself from cackling, and Bowman smirked too.
At the other end of the bar, two others were playing darts. Both had pink hair, though one had a curly hairstyle like cotton candy, while the other's was long and straight. And apart from that, the one with the cotton candy hair seemed quite giddy and excitable, while the other was timid and shy.
"So, Flutters, how're ya likin' Havana?" The cotton-hair girl asked her as she aimed a dart at the board with one hand, and held a beer bottle in the other. She was just a little chubby in her stomach and thighs, but a trained eye could detect she perhaps had much agility and strength on the inside.
"It's pretty!" The timid one said, holding a glass of tea with both hands. "I love the Caribbean. There are so many gorgeous birds here, especially around this time in April! I love the architecture, too. A shame that the regime is…well, what it is…" She said, ironically wearing a green sweater, despite the very warm temperature of the island.
The woman dancing in the red dress passed by Bowman, who gave her a playful smirk. Then doing a slow spin with her dance, the woman brushed against another lady, one smoking a cigarette, wearing a white blouse. This woman, with gorgeous, curled purple hair presented the woman in the red dress with a playful bite of her lips, prompting the woman in red to blush and giggle.
"I must say…" The purple-haired woman smiled. "The people of Cuba are quite fashionable. It makes sense Miami's nightlife has become all the more attractive. It…" She tipped her cigarette into the ashtray and checked the mirror on the wall to ensure her makeup was on point. "It's certainly an upgrade from the drab conservative rags you'd see in the midwest suburbs…"
At a corner sat another trio, slightly more distanced from the others. One was a woman with purple hair too, but had a mint-green streak.
" I hope Adagio and her team have everything in place." She sighed. " The Dazzlings can be a real handful sometimes. How they're gonna coordinate and support the anti-communist exiles in their attack on Castro's hideout is beyond me…I feel like this op's already doomed."
Beside her was a fiery red-blonde-haired girl in a black leather jacket, who shrugged as she took a swig of her beer. "Doomed or not, it's not exactly in our paycheck to ask those questions. As much as it pains me, cause I really wanna ask Pentagon and all of Langley what the fuck they're thinking."
A blue-haired girl who was drinking a gin and tonic, paid for by Starlight, laughed softly. "Oh please. As far as the Great and Powerful Trixie's concerned, if the CIA was successful 100% of the time, they wouldn't call upon those as good as us. Cheers girls, for we're gonna bag us a dictator tomorrow!" She raised the glass, and threw it back, much to the eyeroll of the other two.
It was time to get back to the matter at hand.
"Got what we need?" Frank Woods leaned in to Carlos, and the bartender produced a map. He placed it on the table, and leaned in with a hushed tone as he spoke to the agent.
"He will be here. Plantation. My old plantation." He said, pointing at a building drawn on the map. "Our attack on the airfield should distract them enough to…get you inside."
Applejack frowned at his words. "A'hm sorry to hear about the loss of your land." She said. "Ah grew up on an apple farm, so…'ah can't imagine the government just, takin' it away from me, and 'mah family."
Carlos smiled at her words of assurance.
"... What about the evac?" Woods asked.
The bartender nodded. "We will have transport waiting for you. Just be there."
"Excellent." Woods nodded, taking the map and folding it away into his shirt.
Twilight Sparkle turned to her male colleagues. "We'll use our numbers to execute a two-prolonged attack. Make sure Fidel Castro cannot leave the plantation, no matter what direction he takes."
Woods nodded. "Yeah. Good call, Sparkle."
"One thing I should stress, dears…" Rarity softly said, approaching Frank and Bowman. "Capture is not an option. From what I understand, the communist government here has already extradited prisoners to the Soviet Union. To retrieve one of us from Cuba is difficult, but all the way from Russia, say somewhere like Magadan or even Vorkuta…? There's no chance."
Overhearing this, Starlight opted to stand up and approach from Mason's side. "In general, avoid being captured, because if you are, and in the case you're recovered, you WILL be tested by the CIA to make sure that you haven't "broken"." She warned. "Just be careful."
"Heh, we're not getting captured."
With that, both Starlight and Rarity went away from the bar…
And instead, men in fatigues and rifles had entered the room.
"¡Saquen los papeles! Ahora!" The commanding troop exclaimed. The three militia men would slowly walk into the bar as if they were at home.
The commanding troop had approached the woman dressed in red. And although she tried to walk away, she was roughly grabbed by the wrist by the same soldier. "¡Salte de aqui, puta capitalista!"
As the woman shouted, cursing him off, she was shoved away. Fluttershy was quick on her feet, swiftly leaning in to catch the woman before she fell on the floor, gently holding her as she led her away, shielding her and helping her out the back door.
Rainbow Dash scowled, but Rarity gave her a stern look. One that clearly dictated the words 'not yet, darling'.
Mason tried to ignore the disturbance, but he felt a voice of another soldier directed right at him.
"¡Oye! ¿De dónde tú eres?" The soldier asked.
Applejack balled her fists.
Twilight bit her lip.
And Woods grunted.
"Just be cool, Woods." Mason whispered, and glanced at Applejack, to pass the same idea onto her.
"I said where you from!" The soldier barked… And at not getting a response, he promptly marched over to Mason, grabbing his wrist. "I'M TALKING TO YOU!"
A sheer scream came from the soldier, as a bowie knife stabbed right through his hand, and a bottle smashed into his face, by Woods.
Another soldier standing behind Woods, quickly pulled out his pistol, but Applejack's fists were faster. She spun around and delivered a powerful punch to his head, the blow was fast and killing. Rainbow Dash had spun around and pointed her CZ75 at a soldier, who was too busy charging his rifle, and shot half a magazine through him.
Mason too, pulled out his ASP pistol and passed Woods' shoulder, he was able to deliver a clean, quick headshot into the face of a soldier who struggled getting his rifle to fire.
With that, the silence was only temporary, for the sounds of police sirens filled the streets outside.
Carlos leaned under the bar, and tossed an M16A1 to Mason.
"Gear up boys and girls." Woods loaded his gun. "Sorry about the bar, Carlos!"
"No problem, my men will dispose of the bodies." Carlos smiled, grabbing his own rifle and loading it.
Twilight loaded her MP5K. "The enemy's armed with shotguns and FN FAL rifles!"
"We fight through the streets." Woods commanded. "Mason, Dash, on me. The rest of you give covering fire."
Sunset Shimmer prepared her HS-10 as she took a moment to peek through the window. "The cars are parked two blocks down–"
She ducked as a bullet nearly struck her, missing by inches. As they lined up by the windows, all had to lower their heads underneath the windows or retreat back to the wall, as gunfire rained through the windows, shattering the glass and ripping through the metal bars.
"Shit! They're packin' heat!" Bowman exclaimed.
"Pinkie!" Woods shouted. "Got the "usual"!?"
The cotton-hair girl giggled as she cocked the UZI in her hands. "Never go anywhere without it, Woodsie!" She exclaimed. Reaching into the back pocket of her jeans, she produced a small soda-can sized canister. "Everyone cover your ears and eyes! Fire in the hole!"
With an arched throw over the window, Pinkie Pie tossed through the canister up into the air, above the parked convoy of police vehicles.
The police shouted, screaming that they were faced with a grenade, cowering behind the cars and walls.
But from the grenade came a myriad of marble-sized projectiles, before a searing white-hot light emerged, and an eardrum-shattering sound. The men screamed, not from injury, but from the blinding light and deafening thunder that left them all stumbling and scrambling, wildly firing their guns, and often on their own.
"Let's go!" Woods exclaimed, kicking the door open as he unloaded his gun. He was directly followed by Twilight and Mason, who laid out suppressive fire, to let the others run out of the bar. Twilight was quick to note the positioning of the soldiers and how they used the cars for cover, and she would fire at those cars. Her bullets penetrated through, for she knew that the only protected portion of a car was the engine block. She fired her MP5K in short bursts, knowing that 9mm had decent penetrative capabilities.
A Cuban soldier however, saw her in the distance, and he aimed his FN FAL battle rifle right at her face. The hostile marksman grit his teeth, making sure to line up the shot perfectly.
Yet, the final words he heard were a whisper "I'm sorry".
The marksman gurgled, for a knife had pierced right through his throat and his artery was pierced. He dropped the rifle and dropped to his side, bleeding out fast. Fluttershy solemnly wiped the blood off of her knife. She took advantage of the commotion, for the enemy hadn't noticed her in the moment she left through the back door of the bar.
"Where are the cars parked!?" Shouted Sunset as she fired her HS-10 at the soldiers. The group made their way through the streets, firing off any policemen that attempted to apprehend them. Rainbow Dash took to the rooftops, her lightweight allowing her to quite effortlessly run and climb onto the top of the buildings, and gaining the height advantage against their gets.
"This way! The Dazzlings put them in the alleyway!" Exclaimed Starlight. She took the radio underneath her jacket and tuned it to the right frequency. "Adagio! Tell me that you're on point and got the engine running!"
From the other side of the radio, a sarcastic voice called out. "Ugh, no Glimmer, we're not even in Havana, we've left you to get captured by Cubans– WHERE DO YOU THINK WE ARE?! Get your asses over here! They're locking down the damn streets with roadblocks!"
"Shit, we're on our way!" Starlight exclaimed.
Trixie, armed with an M16A1 of her own, saw the group of police down the street, and figured it was time to cull this herd. She threw a canister of her own onto the balcony of one of the nearby apartments, and this canister began to crackle and flash violently, imitating muzzle flash. This was the opening the group needed, as Rainbow Dash and Applejack were able to pick off the distracted police as they flanked them.
"This way!" Woods exclaimed, running forward as he pointed at an alleyway. Crouching by it's entrance, he took point and fired at any police that attempted to approach, allowing the group to run through it.
In the alleyway were three cars, each with a driver. One was a woman with curly orange hair, one was a woman with a blue ponytail, and another was with purple bangs.
"Get in, you slow shits!" Yelled Aria, the driver of the middle car.
"Never thought I'd be happy to see your sad ass, Aria!" Exclaimed Rainbow, jumping into the car through the open window. The others would run in and each get into the different cars, tightly packing each.
The blue-haired girl in the back car hit the side of her own car with the palm of her head to make a banging sound. "Get your asses in the Sonata-mobile on the double before you're chow, damn it!" She yelled, anxiously holding the transmission stick as her teammates embarked the car.
"Drive!" Woods yelled at Adagio as he got into the leading car.
"Damn, everyone brace!" The orange-haired woman grit her teeth, and each car puts the petal to the metal. With a terrible screech of tires, the cars were able to accelerate through the alleyways. With that, the car was on a collision course with a roadblock.
Mason shielded his eyes, ducking his head as glass showered through the car's interior… And the car broke through.
The three cars raced through the streets, leaving behind the police as they disappeared into the night.
"You don't think they'd ramp up the security at that plantation, do you?" Fluttershy squeaked.
"That won't deter us either way, darling." Rarity sighed, wiping the sweat off her brows. "But I do hope I can get all the pieces of windshield glass out of my hair…"
***
Mason felt darkness overtake him, lightheadedness settling in, little by little.
The interrogator behind the window saw this, and leaned into the microphone, intensity in his voice. "He's fading away. Mason! You had escaped from the police. The Bay of Pigs had begun. You were heading for Castro's compound…"
But by now, Mason's eyes were pointed to the ceiling, rolling to the back of his head.
"We're losing him!" The other interrogator shouted. "Do it again! We have no choice!"
Electricity once again burned through the prisoner's veins. Mason could only scream through grit teeth, crying out in immense pain. "GRRRAAAARGH! W-What the…f-fuck…!?"
***
Twilight Sparkle stood on the ridge, intensely staring with her binoculars. She counted the positions of the enemy,their routines, and their equipment.
Woods stood behind her, observing the area alongside her, albeit with a naked eye. "There's the compound… Carlos and his men should be hittin' the airfield… Any minute…"
And with that came the signal, a flare that fired up and pierced the sky.
With it, the sound of explosives broke the once peaceful, soft quiet.
"There's the signal." Woods grunted, loading his M16A1.
"Woods." Came in the voice of Starlight Glimmer. "The Dazzlings and my team are commencing the attack on the airfield. I recommend you hurry it up, the CIA definitely must be screwing the pooch on this invasion, 'cause these Intel reports about their defenses and QRF's are way off. Get Castro fast and book it!"
"You got it Starlight, we ain't fuckin' this up!" Woods responded before turning to his team. "Alright, this is it! Hook up!"
The team would attach a hook to the freshly deployed ziplines, and descended rapidly into the location below. Mason was one of the first to make contact, immediately dropping onto an oblivious Cuban soldier and plunging his knife right into his neck upon contact. A similar was coined from Rainbow Dash, who was the second to go on a different zipline, as the moment she touched down, a swift kick to the face of an alarmed soldier had killed him from sheer blunt trauma.
Now, the team was in the heart of the Cuban leadership: right in Fidel Castro's palace.
Ahead of them was a building, through which was heard the sound of Spanish spoken through the radio, and a Cuban soldier shouting into it.
Fluttershy looked at Bowman, Mason, and then nodded. She put a finger to her lips and produced a garrote wire, before slowly and gently stepping through the door. Her footwear consisted of tabi shoes, which gave her perfect soundless balance as she waded through the doorway and deeper into the building, where one Cuban soldier operated the radio, and another anxiously stood by the door, pointing his rifle at the plantation ahead, fearing the appearance of the exiles.
Bowman aimed his gun at the doorway soldier, his intent to act as the final resort if things got out of hand. Fluttershy and Mason were the ones to take point, and they each took a target. Fluttershy stepped across the floor that would have otherwise creaked and gave away her position, and yet, she was as silent as water. She soundlessly wrapped the garrote wire around his throat, and suffocated him to death, allowing him to fall to the floor quietly.
Mason's execution had not gone so well. He produced a similar weapon, and wrapped it around the foe's throat, but the soldier was able to muster up strength, and resisted, attempting to wrestle himself away from Mason. However, Mason could only rely on his teammate. Using momentum, he shoved the soldier towards Applejack, whose fist, with a single punch, killed him with shattering brain trauma.
They could see the massive building just to their left, and Twilight nodded. "Let's split up." She said. "I can take Bowman, Dash, Pinkie, and Fluttershy - flank around, then split again to get two of us on the roof. The rest of you can go from the other end. Make sure we don't give Castro a single avenue to escape."
"Alright!" Woods exclaimed. "Mason, AJ, Rarity, on me!"
The team had split as agreed, and Woods led the team to the front of the mansion. With the team being what it was, the Cubans stood no chance. Coordinated shots had totally removed the threat of an outpost of armed guards, which were dropped swiftly with coordinated fire. The team split further on, and Woods led the team up the flight of stairs into the mansion.
"Castro's paranoid. With good reason." Woods said. "We've been trying to get him for three years."
"Today's the day we succeed." Mason said with determination.
"Ah dunno…" Applejack sighed, speaking while breaching the front door, and taking point with her M60. "Ah got a bad feelin'. Somethin' ain't right. He's been slippery 'fore. Why's he the one slippin' 'imself now?"
"Focus on your corners, dearest." Rarity sternly said, looking from side to side with her Spectre SMG. "Bad feeling or not, we still have a mansion full of troops to take care of."
Gunfire violently through the foyer, and then the hallways, as Applejack's heavy machine gun and Rarity's rapid-fire SMG made a direct push from the hostels suicide. But those clever enough to attempt a flank were met with Woods and Mason, who's reaction times had made such a maneuver impossible for the Cubans.
Yet, as they went deeper in, a force of a harsh earthquake shook the entire building. Dust poured from the rooftop, and the sound of cursing was heard just above them.
"What the fuck!?" Rainbow screamed.
"What the fuck!?" Woods shouted. "Bowman!" Woods exclaimed into his radio. "What's happenin'!?"
"B26's!" Bowman responded. "They're droppin' all over the place!"
"Starlight!" Twilight shouted into her own radio. "You need to get those bombers to adjust their targets! I'm on the rooftop, and I see ineffective detonations!"
"I'm trying!" Starlight shouted back. "This whole invasion is a shitshow! Langley has screwed us over with this Intel! They have some actual proper AA systems scattered around the hills, and the bombers can do fuckall! I swear, I'm gonna rip Allen Dulles" fucking balls off after this!" She shouted in frustration.
"Not if JFK does it first!" Dash laughed.
Bowman laughed too. "Shit Starlight, for a second with that filthy language, I thought Sunset borrowed your radio!"
"Fuck off!" Sunset's voice was heard in the background of Starlight's radio.
Clearing room to room, Woods and the others left the enemy soldiers with no chance, their tactics were flawless, AJ's M60 was a beast of death and destruction, and while she had to take the time to reload this behemoth, Rarity would cover and protect her in the meantime, giving their opposition not a single room to get the advantage.
Finally, they came to a double door. The agents would gather up, each checking their weapons and exchanging nods.
"This is it. Ready to make history?" Woods smirked.
"Let's do it!" Mason nodded slowly, and prepared his ASP pistol.
"Eyes peeled folks, we don't know what could be inside." Applejack grit her teeth.
"The dictator of Cuba, darling." Rarity chuckled. "Let's go!"
With splinters, the double doors was pushed open with the heel of Woods' boot.
It all relied on second-based reflexes. As the door opened, all could see was a bearded man scramble, taking a woman in a white dress under his arm, and propping her in-front.
Rarity knew that Mason needed a clear shot. And her attention to detail as a tailor didn't let her down. She had no angle at the target, but she clearly saw his gun. Her shot was true, and her SMG blew right into his hand.
And Mason had the opening to send a single bullet, right into the face of Fidel Castro, who's now-lifeless body collapsed onto his king-sized bed.
And the woman whose life he had used as nothing but a meat shield… Picked up a shotgun that was propped on the bed.
All stunned, Woods was the only one able to gun her down, dropping her on the spot.
"Crazy bitch…" He cursed. "He uses her as a human shield, and she still protects him!?" He yelled, unloading half of his magazine into the man's corpse to vent his anger.
Mason shook his head, gun pointed at the door. "Castro's supporters are fanatical in their devotion to him."
"..." Applejack sighed. "Hard to believe even then…"
"...I get ya." Woods sighed as well, taking the time to kick the door open.
"...Such a gorgeous dress ruined, too." Frowned Rarity, and joined the others, as they left the chambers of Fidel Castro.
A radio signal came from Bowman to Woods. His voice drowning in gunfire. "Word from Carlos isn't good. They're barely holding out… They got half the Cuban army down there! And those B26's ain't hitting anything! We're movin' to the main hallway."
Fierce gunfire erupted through the mansion as Mason and his team broke through. Fighting through the main floor, Bowman had emerged alongside Pinkie Pie, as they both wrestled a Cuban soldier over a balcony, with her then chuckling a little. With the teams reunited into one, it was time to leave the compound.
But they could barely move an inch. Pinkie's attempts to throw distracting projectiles and flashbangs were fruitless, for every stunned enemy still left three others throwing heavy fire down upon the team. Rainbow was awfully lucky, for a 7.62 bullet ripped into her chest, but was blocked by the vest designed by Rarity, who saw the ordeal happen.
"You owe me for this, dear!" Rarity laughed, but yelped as she had to duck her head, as a BTR emerged into the courtyard.
Twilight whimpered. Her smarts could only get her so far, as her shots were placed to target commanders and marksmen first to thin and disorganize their ranks. Yet, little could be done.
Until the exiles, the rebels of Cuba, finally broke through the eastern wall, and rained rocket fire upon the enemy.
"It's Carlos!" Bowman cheered.
"You didn't think I'd let you down, did you, Woods?" Carlos' voice came from the radio. "Go! My men will cover your escape!"
"God bless you, Carlos!" Woods shouted in relief. The team would run into the sugar field that stood before the ridge that could allow them to descend upon the airfield. As they ran, Pinkie instinctively snapped off a sugar cane mid-run, and bit it. Fluttershy could only cringe at the prospect of how unhealthy that was, and how much of a poor timing it was, too.
Approaching the ridge, they saw the sheer chaos. The destruction and explosions, bullets and fire that rained upon the airfield. Airplanes scrambled, many falling right out of the sky. "They're…" Applejack gulped. "The rebels, they're losin' this fight…"
"Shit. Not much we can do now." Rainbow sighed.
Bowman sighed. "All we can focus on now is getting outta this mess. This way! I hope Carlos secured the evac…"
"He ain't let us down yet!" Woods said, as they attached ropes to the ridge, that revealed a sharp, but inclined slope straight down.
The team, with rappels, had managed to quickly descend down the ridge, dust and dirt splashing all around their legs as they kicked down onto one side of the airfield… Now the challenge was to get to the other side.
Approaching a hangar, they saw their airplane, it's blades spinning up. But Twilight was not an optimist, for she saw the status of the runway. "... The plane will be torn apart before it lifts off!" She exclaimed.
"Let's get to the plane first, then worry about that!" Dash said. "Run!" She barked, and made a mad sprint for it along with the others, passed the destruction and the torrent of projectiles that washed all over them. In a scattered column, the team sprinted for all they could, with Mason lagging behind to cover them all.
"Hurry, we can't wait any longer!" Carlos exclaimed into the radio. One by one was the team able to enter the cargo plane, with Dash being the first, and immediately helping her friends enter.
However, en explosion had dazed Mason, dropping him onto the ground as his vision blurred, and his ears were filled with ringing. Immediately however, he felt strong, large arms hoist him up.
"Gotcha cowboy!" Applejack exclaimed, helping him over to the cargo plane. Finally, they all had reached the hangar, and Mason managed to put his boot against the door frame, before lifting him up into the airplane. In the back, a loaded M60 machine gun awaited him, and he quickly loaded it, before propping himself by the door to provide covering fire. The airplane would start to roll along the air strip, to get into a position at which it could accelerate and begin flying. Mason kept holding down the trigger on his M60, the bullets raining down upon the enemies. He took advantage of the several fuel trucks that were parked around, and the powerful explosions had torn into the enemy ranks.
The plane finally reached the starting point of the airfield, and began to accelerate further for lift off. However, Twilight's observation earlier indeed heeded the warning.
"Roadblock!" Dash screamed in panic. "They're blocking the entire runway!"
"Shit, there ain't enough time for takeoff!" Woods yelled.
"..." Mason looked further down the runway. He indeed saw the line of trucks that stood at the end of the airfield… But he too saw an opportunity. An anti-air installation stood, positioned as the barrels pointed in the same direction as the plane was heading.
"... I'm on it." He said, chucking the M60 into Applejack's hands. She gasped, only having a split second to realize what he was doing. She reached out for him, attempting to grab him and stop him from doing this deed.
"No!" Applejack screamed.
But it was too late, for Mason had already leapt out of the airplane mid-drive, and sprinted for the anti-air gun.
"Mason, are you crazy!? They'll chew you up down there!" Woods screamed into his radio.
"Mason, no!" Twilight shouted. "Stop - don't!"
Devoid of it's operators, he was quick to take a hold of the controls, pulling the lever down to point the gun straight on with the roadblock, and the other hand pulled the trigger. The high-caliber bullets tore straight through the metal of the vehicles, shredding them into pieces as a flurry of explosions burned through, leaving the airplane with a clear airfield.
"Damn you, Mason!" Woods shouted.
"We…" Twilight panicked, hyperventilating as the plane accelerated, faster and faster. "We need to go back for him!" She exclaimed.
"No choice, Woods… Sorry, Twilight." Mason sighed. "I knew what I signed up for. I'll be fine! Go, get out of here!"
And with that, the plane lifted off, disappearing into the plumes of smoke, and the clouds…
And no one on-board the plane would be able to see Mason, who was pulled off of the AA gun, and hit in the face with the stock of an AKM.
"Fuck!" Rainbow stomped the floor of the plane, cursing hard. "Shit, shit… SHIT!"
"Twilight!" Starlight's voice came through the radio. "Report! What happened!?"
"Mason…" Twilight whimpered. "He stayed back to help us escape! He's… He's still down there!"
" Oh, no no no no no…" Rarity gripped her hair hard. "What… What do we do!?"
"... Fuck, Mason…" Woods cursed.
Starlight cursed softly, and sighed over the radio. "We'll launch an aerial-recon-based search… But if they extradite him to the Soviet Union…"
"Damn it." Bowman sighed deeply. "Mason was one of our best. We ain't got Russians good enough to trade him in…"
"And if we do…" Fluttershy whimpered softly, holding her forehead in her hand as she sat. "We'll have no more credibility for accepting defectors…"
"... Have faith, everyone." Twilight stood up. "... He'll make it. Mason… H-He's strong." She said, looking out through the window of the plane. Cuba was left behind, left in smoke and flames.
"... The invasion failed." Sunset's voice came into the radio. "The brass fucked up, big time."
***
Mason's vision cleared, on the ground, he felt his body limp from the concussion… And through the blur, he was able to see his target. Fidel Castro.
"...We killed you…" Mason muttered. "You're supposed to be dead…"
Fidel smirked, and scoffed. "No. You killed a double. You think we didn't know your plan?"
"We always know." Another man smugly said, with an unmistakable Russian accent. Another bald one stood behind him, the one Mason identified as the man who pulled him off of the AA gun.
Castro turned to the Russian that spoke. "Do with him what you wish, General. He's my gift to you, in honor of our new relationship… Just…" He gave Mason one final look. "... Make sure that he suffers."
"He will know suffering beyond his darkest fears…" The Russian slowly approached Mason, and crouched down, smiling wryly. "I have plans for you, American.."
***
The three women sighed as they say in the radio room. Each smoked and clutched their heads, thinking of what to do next. The situation was bad in it's own right. But with recent news, it was even worse.
"The eliminated target was a double." Sighed Starlight.
"Shit…" Sunset sighed, turning to Starlight as they say. "It was all for nothing, in the end. We need to contact headquarters. Tell them that Captain Alex Mason is MIA, presumed captured."
"..." Starlight nodded. "Trixie, patch the info through to the Pentagon."
"The Great and Powerful Trixie is on it." Pensively sighed the other woman. "What will you do?"
"... I'll need to contact Hudson." Starlight said. "The capture of a CIA agent, one of Operation 40, is catastrophic." She whispered. "All that's left to hope is that Agent Mason can find his way out.
***
Sometime in 2025…
The sound of striking and punching resonated through the gym. For most, this would appear to be an intense fight, one that utilized military-grade martial arts, the kinds of which were certainly injury-prone. Throws, kicks, and limb-twisting maneuvers came from the two fighters in the middle of the ring. It was to a naked eye - a fight to the death.
In reality, it was nothing more than a friendly spar.
And the victor, a woman with a red ponytail with a red-yellow-blue streak, threw her turquoise-haired partner down on the ground, knocking the wind out of his lungs.
"Oof!" He coughed, before breaking out into a pained laugh. "D-Dang, Sunny, t-those new moves Harper taught you are no joke…!"
"Hitch!" Sunny exclaimed in worry, crouching down beside him. "I'm sorry! I-I went too rough! Are you okay!?"
"I'm great…!" He laughed, sitting up. "I learned something new today, after all!"
"Yeah…" Grinned another woman who sat on the ropes, with short pink hair swept up, and a blue streak on it. "You taught us something too. Especially, what it looks like when you get your ass kicked." She scoffed.
"Well with Sunny being the leader of our team's second half…" Hitch nervously rubbed his head. "It's no wonder she can beat all of our asses."
"Oh come on." Sunny laughed, helping him up. "Alright, anyone else wanna go for a round? I'm feeling pretty good!"
"Of course you would if you win!" Giggled a girl with flowing, long blue hair - wrapping her hands with rainbow-colored wraps, signaling that she planned on going next.
"I'll pass." Nervously coughed a short woman, who had long purple hair, and a slight resemblance to the short-haired woman. "I, uh… Think I spent just a little too much time on my hair for it to get messed up bad today."
The sound of footsteps became apparent, as a young man with short hair and a slight stubble entered, smiling softly as he saw his comrades. "Come on Pipp, CQC can't be that bad for your hair, can it?"
"David!" Sunny stood up straight and smiled, turning to him. "Are you here for some practice?"
"Hey, Section!" Izzy smiled. "Would you wanna go instead with me? You know, I always wanted to try capoeira! Maybe we could see how it compares against our traditional fighting styles?"
"As cool as that would be…" David shook his head. "Nah, I think we're gonna have our hands a bit full." He said, before sighing. "Did any of you watch the news today?"
Those words imposed a silence in the room. No one likes it when a sentence starts this way.
David sighed solemnly. "It was announced about an hour ago. Cambodia and Laos have declared war on Vietnam, with Thailand most likely soon to interfere."
"What!? No way!" Hitch's eyes widened. "Why was there no mention of this at any point? This is totally out of the blue!"
"..." Zipp squinted her eyes in deep thought. "Hitch's right. This doesn't add up at all. There haven't been hostilities between South-East Asian countries in years, except for them dealing with China's destabilization attempts…"
"E-Excuse me, sir!" A soldier ran into the room, saluting at the sight of Section. "A-Admiral Briggs is requesting you at a briefing, sir! MCPO Harper and CPO Salazar, as well as your brother and Corporal Sprout are already there."
"Let's not keep 'em waiting." David nodded to his team, as they all scrambled, running to get to the bridge where Admiral Briggs would be waiting for them.
