Guns for Hire - Script Twenty One

JSBFS Bunker 6.32pm - 13/06/2015

Vrasten sat on the edge of the cot, he felt like shit, he was cold & he was wet, some fucker had set the sprinkler system off what seemed like ages ago but in reality was only maybe five or six minutes previous, as he'd lain there he'd heard gunfire, maybe the others were dead, if they were then sitting here wasn't going to do him any favours, hauling his ass of the bed Vrasten loaded a fresh clip & limped out of security & into the corridor, with a glance towards the locked blast doors he turned & headed on down towards the freshly broken doors at the bottom of the ramp, he was sure he could hear familiar voices.

At the doorway Vrasten hesitated, his head was still muzzy, ahead was a large open area extending above & below a steel gantry running around its perimeter, peering through the doorway he could see the bunker was a fucking mess, there were numerous small fires & everything was piss wet through, it looked like there'd been some sought of explosion.

On the gantry to either side of the door Vrasten could see two, no three, four bodies, fuck, it was hard to tell from here, with all the crap Skinpin had shot him with it was a wonder he was upright.

Peering over the handrail he could see a couple of white coated blood stained corpses on the floor of the lower level, a third trussed figure sprawled on the floor a little way from them, he froze however as he looked across to the far side of the lower deck, three figures, guns raised towards him,

"Shit, don't shoot fella's its me, Vrasten, fuck"

JSBFS Bunker 6.34pm - 13/06/2015

On the count of three Mariusz & Skinpin kicked at the blocked door, as it gave way Alex rolled a frag grenade through the crack, seconds later a rain of shrapnel smacked into the other side of the door, grinning Alex kicked it open, on the other side was a short corridor, it was empty.

Still disorientated & dizzy Vrasten sarcastically addressed the dead & departed,

"Yeah OK fellas, you fuck off then, I'll hold the fort, don't worry about me, I'm OK, I'll cover you from up here shall I, build a barricade, yeah . . . . . err Gonzales, hey you on the floor, is that you Gonzales ?" shouted Vrasten.

"Bollocks" hissed Alex

Unsure which way their would be killer had gone Alex took the left hand passage whilst Mariusz took the right, Skinpin glanced both ways, shrugged & jogged to the door ahead, on it was a small but ominous sign, shaking his head Skinpin put his hand on the door, it was locked.

Easing open the door, the sign above it announced it contained the bunker water purification system, taking care not to slip on the water covered floor Mariusz stepped over the threshold & moved around the centrally located plant, all clear. As he was about to leave he wondered if the room might contain the sprinkler system controls, after scrabbling around for a couple of minutes what he found what he was looking for & killed the rotary pumps, almost immediately the flow of water from the ceiling decreased, thank fuck for that thought Mariusz.

Sprinting along the corridor Alex sensed that this was the way the shit head had gone, thirty yards ahead a door stood partly open, a warning sign indicated it was the power plant, bursting through, finger hovering over the trigger Alex's heart was pumping, nothing, skirting around the quietly humming reactor she ran for the far door, looking through the vision panel she could see a narrow concrete staircase leading up, taking three steps at a time she headed up. At the first landing she chose the door rather than continuing up, it lead into a short corridor, on the right was a locked door, ahead a second, open, door, rushing through Alex abruptly stopped & swore,

"More fuckin' doors"

Ignoring the doors to either side she sprinted to the single door at the end of the passage & careered into the Common Room beyond, as she did so the door on the right slammed shut,

"Gotcha ya bastard" hissed Alex

Vrasten had dragged a cot from the Security Bunk Room to form a barricade across the gantry behind which he covered the main bunker nervously, it had only been minutes since Alex, Mariusz & Skinpin had barged through the lower far door yet he was sure he could hear something scuttling around the gantry, rats maybe, although he couldn't believe that something like a rat would get away with being in this place & live, besides, from the noise it was making it would have to be one mother of a rat to make that much noise. Glancing through the open tread of the gantry Vrasten could see Goodday lying against one of the benches, he was strangely silent & seemed to be looking up at something across to his left, what the fuck was he looking at thought Vrasten.

Before he could consider matters further however the gantry door directly opposite burst open, the last bunker security goon dived on to the gantry gun blazing, Vrasten, all ready on edge fired back but not before he'd taken a bullet through his left palm. The guard dropped, blood everywhere, as he dropped Alex appeared through the same doorway, signaling towards Vrasten she checked over the security operative, he was still alive.

Alex dragged the poor bastard back into the Common Room & lay him on one of the sofa's, he wasn't in good condition & her questions didn't get much response, picking herself up she headed back to the main chamber to see what the others had found.

Skinpin could hear Alex's boots pounding further away along the corridor to the left, drawing his Sternmyer it took him several attempts to splinter the lock, confident that the room was free from antagonists he sauntered into the Cryotank Chamber & froze, Skinpin new cryotechnology, this was class kit, fit enough to grace any poncy surgical unit ran by the major corporations.

Apart from the refrigeration systems the room held three cryogenic tanks capable of full body regrowth or regeneration.

The first of the regrowth booths contained a mean looking ugly fucker, it, whatever it was, was restrained by five heavy steel bands & the units display screen showed it as being sub two hundred degrees below freezing, unbelievably the bastard things were still conscious & stared back at Skinpin, teeth bared, despite the restraints & the three inch plasteel casing Skinpin stepped back, he had no idea what they were & he definitely didn't want to find out. The inside of the plasteel casing was pock marked, scorched maybe, unit malfunction pondered Skinpin.

The second tank was empty however the third wasn't, it was chilled to only minus sixty or so & contained something wholly different however, inside was a female, blue eyed & blond, reasonably well proportioned but with a waxy toned skin, unrestrained, naked & awake, her vitals showed a strong but slow, echo heavy heart beat, slowly her eyes tracked Skinpin's movements, on her inner left forearm was tattooed a bar code as well as H11,

"Help me" murmured H11

Reaching forward Skinpin hit the release mechanism, frigid air spilt out of the unit as it opened, apparently at ease with her own nakedness H11 stood, stretched & breathed deeply, from across the room Skinpin could hear the thrashing from the other occupied unit,

"Its restless" whispered H11 "by the way, call me Helen, H11's so impersonal."

Conscious of the gunfire he'd heard moments earlier Skinpin gestured towards the door,

" I think you better come with me, there's some people I'd like you to meet"

JSBFS Bunker 6.42pm - 13/06/2015

Gathered back in the lower level of the main bunker Gonzales, Alex, Vrasten & Mariusz faced Helen, whilst she still seemed unabashed by her nakedness Alex passed her a blood stained doctors coat whilst Vrasten threw across a set of fatigues taken from one of the dead grunts.

Skinpin nodded towards the surgery's mobile X-ray & scan unit,

"Would you mind please Helen, I'm a doctor, trust me"

Almost conditioned to obeying the medical bunker team H11 obliged Skinpin's request & slid into the required position, kicking the unit into action Skinpin surveyed the results, H11's heart was definitely larger than you'd expect & seemed to have an additional chamber explaining the echo, her lungs too were oversize & dense however most of her internals looked pretty much as expected apart from her rib cage that was distinctly heavier & was more like a continuous plate rather than individual bones, in fact it looked like her entire bone structure was sturdier than you 'd expect of a female of her physical size, although she obviously hadn't benefited from cyber surgery her structure was certainly enhanced.

As H11 dressed she glanced around the bunker,

"You do know there's one free in here don't you, its only a baby, its looking for somebody to cuddle"

Instinctively the four huddled slightly closer together & stared into the shadows.

Glancing towards the observation rooms H11 looked at Alex,

"Can we free my . . . . sister, if you give me a gun I can take care of her, she needs looking after"

Appalled Alex turned to the others,

"I think we should kill her & piss off pretty fucking soon"

As H11's life was discussed she waited unconcerned, however both Mariusz & Skinpin saw her toying with one of the dead guys side arm,

"Put that fucking pistol on the floor now" shrilled Skinpin "If we want you to have a gun, we'll give you a gun, until then just do what we fucking tell you to OK"

"You know how to use a firearm then" quizzed Alex

Skinpin turned to H11 & offered a deal, "You find the fucker that's in here yeah & maybe, just maybe, we open up the cell your sisters in"

Turning around, H11 lifted her head & closed her eyes, after a few seconds she pointed towards a set of steel shelves against the wall near the lift.

Skinpin & Mariusz looked at each other & slunk forward, as Mariusz pulled the unit over a crab like creature scuttled away & disappeared under a nearby work station, Skinpin set the selector to full auto & fired, the metal & wooden unit erupted in a shower of splinters & twisted metal, the creature behind exploded, mucus, cartilage & carapace going in all directions, as all watched fascinated, the epoxy floor coating gently bubbled,

"Fuck me" bellowed Skinpin, "its got fucking acid for blood"

Turning to H11 Vrasten raised an eyebrow,

"Just what the fuck are you, that thing, whatever the fuck it was, its not fucking normal"

From the floor Goodday spoke,

"If it helps I can tell you"

JSBFS Bunker 6.57pm - 13/06/2015

"So, let me get this right"

said Mariusz

"This bitch is a fucking genuine A1, out of space, alien, its got acid for blood, has evil little devil baby's that hatch out when somebody warm comes near to it, then wraps itself around the poor bastards neck & shits another little ugly fucker down your throat, but that not the end is it, then it drops off dead but you don't know its slimy fucking off spring is waiting to burst out of your chest, killing you in the process by the way. Then they evolve into an even bigger mother fucker that wants to rip your fucking head off at the first opportunity, fucking hell, what does it do for an encore, oh yeah that's right, it covers you in sticky shit an' lays an egg next to you & starts all over again, absolutely fucking brilliant.

An' you, you fucking twat, thought this was a fucking great idea"

Goodday shrugged,

"You don't understand do you, Kaiju, that's what we've named it, is a genuine miracle of evolution, it can use anything warm blooded as a host, it can breathe in all but the most hostile of environments, it would appear its offspring are able to lie dormant for eons awaiting a suitable host, its very blood protects it against attack & it reaches maturity within weeks of its emergence from the host. Biologically its magnificent, it is a predator without equal, it's capable of learning & communicating that knowledge to its hive, can you just imagine what it could achieve"

Horrified, all four could very clearly imagine just what this fucker was capable of,

"I think" said Alex looking round, "I think, we should get this bitch's sister out of the cell & blow this fucking place off the face of this fucking planet, anybody object"

When nobody objected Mariusz, followed by H11, crossed over to the observation area & nervously keyed in the code provided by Goodday, with a hiss the door released on OB4, momentarily blinded by the out rushing frozen air Mariusz went dizzy, as his head cleared he watched as the little monster smiled at H11 & offer her hand to be lead back towards the others, in his head all he could think was that maybe Alex was right, no fucking witnesses, shaking his head he tried to ovoid looking in OB2 where the adult Kaiju moved sluggishly across the floor.

Assisting Goodday to his feet Alex cut his bonds & offered him a chair,

"OK, so you obviously admire these bastards but what, or where, the fuck do they come from & whilst you're at it who or what is H11, or the kid for that matter" suddenly it dawned on Alex,

"You are fucking shitting me" whispered Alex, "The memo from DeAbreu's office, these two are the hybrid shit it mentioned aren't they, you're fucking breeding alien-human bastards aren't you, you stupid mother fucking bastards"

Massaging his wrists Goodday looked up at Alex & then the child,

"She's H12 by the way, our most successful offspring so far, she's near perfect"

Taking his time Goodday crossed his arms & sighed,

"SCC are primarily a European concern however in the last few years they've ventured across the water & made significant investment in exploratory drilling in the North West Territories, principally based around Nunavut. Towards the end 2012 a test rig at Baffin Island unearthed items which at first were thought to be archaeological finds but astonishingly turned out to be live biological finds as well as artifacts of unknown origin. There was a 'incident' requiring active suppression following which the recovered items were secured. The drilling rig was destroyed however it was reported to the market as being the result of a gas explosion, not unusual I understand when gas test drilling is carried out.

JSBFS had already been acquired by SCC prior to the discovery & the bunkers construction was already underway for other purposes however following the discovery of the Kaiju its intended use was re-designated. The hybrid was, well, a surprise & a bonus to the original research & obviously held the potential for huge economical benefits to SCC's future"

All were listening intently to Goodday's fervent explanations, nobody noticed the last remaining bunker technician, Joseph Amber, listening from the half opened Common room door above.

JSBFS Bunker 7.11pm - 13/06/2015

As Goodday concluded her lecture a scream rang out from somewhere above, Alex, suspecting the worst, sprinted up the staircase & headed for the Common Room, when she got there however it was not as she'd expected, instead of the crab like Decapod being wrapped around the wounded grunts neck his throat had been slit from ear to ear.

Not waiting for the others she ran for the rear door & made her way quickly to the rear staircase, going up a level she found herself on the top most landing, on the wall was fixed a steel step ladder leading to a secured access hatch in the roof above. Looking down Alex could see her own wet foot prints on the concrete steps, there were no other prints. Alex realised that who ever had sliced the dying security grunts throat they hadn't escaped this way. Happy at least that the murderer at least needed a knife to kill, she returned to the others without checking out the unopened third door from the Common Room.

As all made ready to leave Vrasten passed H11 a machine pistol,

"Its got a full clip, safety's on, point the fucker at me & you'll regret it"

Spinning Goodday around Alex asked,

"Firstly can you pilot a plane, second, are you willing to come with us & repeat everything you've told us to Frank Uzzitt"

Shaking his head Goodday responded,

"No I'm not a pilot, I'm a marine biologist & yes, I will speak with Melody's father but nobody else"

Vrasten at this point lifted a small camcorder up,

"All sorted, it's all on tape, no worries"

At that point a voice addressed them over the intercom,

"Thank you for looking after Dr Goodday for me but I'm afraid in all honesty I can't allow the good doctor or for that matter either of the ladies to leave this establishment, in fact I'd be obliged if you'd all just put your weapons on the floor & then sit on the floor with your hands raised above your head"

As one everybody looked up to the gantry but nobody was in sight,

"It can't be the security cameras" whispered Vrasten "All the monitors are in the security unit near the main entrance & they're all fucked for sure thanks to Alex"

Peering upwards & looking to buy time Alex responded,

"Why should we, what's in it for us, for that matter what's to stop us just walking out of here"

Whoever was in control above answered,

"You have exactly ten minutes to comply, please understand, if you decide to run you will be killed"

Alex leant forward covering her mouth & whispered,

"Back door I think people, up the stairs, there's a hatch at the top, everybody ready"

As they turned to leave the voice from above again rang out over the intercom, this time however it had lost the calm suggested earlier,

"You're starting to piss me off now, I've been nice, I told you, now hit the fucking deck, times up"

As he finished speaking the doors to the entrance corridor above were flung back & several figures obviously armed leapt through, central to the bunch was Netuno Anvaro, the supposed JSBFS dive officer, for a second all was silent, then all hell was let lose.

Skinpin was already through the cryotank corridor door, Mariusz dived through after him, H11 grabbed H12's hand & dragged her towards the relative safety of OB5 whilst Alex, Vrasten & Mariusz returned fire.

Alex emptied a clip & then grabbed a grenade from a jacket clip & hurled it upwards, unfortunately it bounced back through the open hand rail & exploded below the gantry.

Spinning around in the doorway Mariusz dropped to one knee & selected the underslung setting, rushing, his first shot went low & exploded harmlessly against the lower far wall, his second shot however sailed over the hand rail & into the corridor, the dull explosion was followed by a short scream.

Over the comm's Vrasten reported that he couldn't get enough purchase with his one good hand to open the ceiling hatch, H11 cocked her head on one side as if she too was hearing Vrasten's message , she spun & ran back to OB5 & whispered into the kids ear, H12 giggled & hugging her dolly to her chest skipped past Alex then Mariusz & ran into the corridor where she quickly caught up & passed Skinpin, ignored by Skinpin's shouts to wait she ran on.

As lead continued to fly the better armed & armoured Alex & Mariusz made short work of the goons on the gantry, a couple more had appeared however when the underslung grenade exploded in the corridor it took out the last of the grunts & Netuno fled towards the blast door.

As Alex hurtled up the spiral stairs she realised that H11 had already got ahead of her, she could see blood on H11's shoulder but nevertheless she was bloody fast on her feet.

Mariusz, panting, followed on behind Alex, as he reached the foot of the staircase he glanced up to see Skinpin emerge from the Common Room door on the gantry above, both were intent on following H11 & Alex after Netuno.

Helen hurtled herself around the gantry intent on stopping Netuno, he'd tried to force himself on her once, she didn't like him very much, as she reached the corridor she could smell fresh blood everywhere, it was invigorating, three quarters of the way along the corridor she could see Netuno's back as he headed for the open blast door, raising the machine pistol she pulled the trigger as the one called Vrasten had shown her, the kick as the gun spat out its load was unexpected but easily accommodated & it made her smile as the little pieces of metal flashed along the corridor & smacked into Netuno's shoulder, he staggered but kept going, no matter, he couldn't out run her.

Helen wasn't however prepared for what lay beyond the blast door, the room was enormous, the ceiling was so high she couldn't see it except for the flicker of tiny lights, no, she realised, they were stars, it was the outside & it was night. Stunned, she stopped & covered her eyes, she could still smell Netuno but he'd have to wait until her ears adjusted to the noise, it was incredible, a constant humming made up of millions of individual noises in the darkness.

Almost too late she saw movement, three big guns on legs spinning towards her, little lights flashing, unsure what it meant she instinctively new it would not be pleasant & sprang backwards into the corridor.

Ignoring the injured & dead grunts sprawled on the gantry Alex slid into the corridor & saw H11 silhouetted in the doorway against the failing light, as she ran forward H11 was suddenly flying backwards, Alex crashed to the floor cowering, over her head the sloping corridor ceiling was ransacked by bullets.

Reaching the doorway at about the same time Mariusz & Skinpin came to a halt, the quiet was shattered by autocannon fire from outside, coming towards then crawled Alex.

Helen was hurting, looking down she could see & feel wounds all over body, painfully she scrabbled away from the open door, incredibly pushing it shut as she moved away, she new she had to survive for H12's sake.

Sitting at the foot of the step ladder Vrasten listened to the chatter of the others via his mastoid unit, he was sore & worried, never mind his foot his hand was giving him hell, there was no way he could shift the bar to release the hatch in his condition. Suddenly he heard movement on the stairs, scrabbling to his feet he leveled the gun ready for whoever or what ever it was, over the top tread came the face of the kid, she proffered her dolly towards him & smiled, feeling like somebody had walked over his grave he took a step back. The kid looked up & nimbly went up the wall ladder, hooking her foot around the top wrung she reached up & with infinite ease cracked open the hatch lock, silently she descended the ladder & skipped down the stairs swing her dolly by its hair, Vrasten wiped the sweat from his brow & swallowed several times, the more he came to think about it maybe Alex was right all along, they should have shot the bitch & left the kid in the cell.

JSBFS Bunker 7.19pm - 13/06/2015

Skinpin & Mariusz came back down the corridor to where Alex was checking over the dead grunts kit, she gestured towards a small monitor unit on the floor, on the damaged screen all three could see a distorted image of the lower deck level, from the unit a fiber optics cable trailed on to the gantry,

"Bastard was watching us, could see everything we were doing"

Skinpin nodded,

Autocannons are gone" confirmed Skinpin "Well three are, the two autocannons they didn't drag out are fucked, wiring ripped out, barrels blown, sorry Alex, I know you really wanted to take them along, to be honest though, they were gonna be bloody heavy to shift"

"You released the bitch" accused Alex, "She's shot up, you better do something"

Thinking about the decapod's acidic mucus, Skinpin gingerly dabbed at H11's many wounds taking care not to get any of her blood on his hands, the spray skin & slap patches adhered but not as well they should, H11's bleeding however, despite the severity of the wounds, was significantly less than Skinpin would have expected, in fact for somebody wearing no armour or without cyber enhancement she should be dog food, not thinking he took off his rubber gloves absentmindedly wiping a spatter of blood off his scissors,

"Fuck" exclaimed Skinpin, "Her fucking blood, it fucking burns"

JSBFS Bunker 7.23pm - 13/06/2015

Conscious of the need for speed it was hastily agreed that they'd got enough evidence to satisfy Frank Uzzit but, appalled at what they'd found in the bunker, it was the general consensus that at the very least they should fuck the Server & blow what they could, over the comm's Vrasten reported in that all was quiet at his end but he wasn't sure how long it would stay that way.

JSBFS Bunker 7.32pm - 13/06/2015

Looking at the Server door Mariusz & Alex discussed the options whilst Skinpin kept watch on the corridor above & H11 sat with H12 watching the creature in OB1. Mariusz removed the keypad fascia & studied the board behind, with the benefit of the earlier keypad bypass's she soon had the unit ripped, with a well oiled slither the internal bolts were released, collecting his kit together Mariusz moved out of the way whilst Alex placed Cemtex into the two heavy locks,

"Will it work" quizzed Mariusz

"Definitely" replied Alex, although if she was honest she wasn't altogether convinced herself, Gonzales had been the real explosives expert, yeah sure, she new the basics & there had been a couple of packs of Cemtex left in Gonzales kit but the detonators he'd had left were fried when he'd been hit by the microwaver, Alex was crossing her fingers that the bodged up demolition charge she'd put together would do the trick.

Stepping back to where Mariusz was waiting Alex crossed the two wires, closed her eyes & made a wish, there was a dull thud, closely followed by a second, before she could look Mariusz let out a whoop,

"Shit hot Alex"

Inside the server room there was a single large metal clad unit, at its foot armoured cables disappeared into ducts in the concrete floor, on the front of the unit was a single removable panel with a key switch & pad, there was no key & no display screen. With no visible locking nuts Alex looked for a way of removing the panel without damaging the pad circuitry however with no other option it looked like she was going to have to force it, at this point H11 stepped in to the room & gripping the edge of the panel ripped it out, with similar finesse Alex dropped a couple of frag grenades into the opening.

"Time to go ladies" suggested Mariusz

As kit was grabbed from the lower deck level the Server Room erupted, the server unit itself was completely ripped apart & debris billowed out of the Server Room doorway, as it did so the work station monitors blanked out & the emergency lights flickered, in the silence that followed everyone heard the locks on the doors to OB1, OB2 & OB3 release,

"The children are waking" murmured H11

JSBFS Bunker 7.46pm - 13/06/2015

Trying not to panic they fled towards Vrasten & the escape hatch.

JSBFS Bunker 7.47pm - 13/06/2015

Trying not to panic they fled towards Vrasten & the escape hatch, Alex hung behind the others as streamed through the door into the back stairwell, pulling the door too she crudely strung several frag grenades by their pins through a loop of cable between the doors handle & the hand rail, & then ran to join the others.

As she reached the top step Skinpin was at the head of the ladder, watching him from below he hesitantly cracked over the hatch cover above his head & peered out of the narrow gap, then he froze,

"I can't see anybody out there but there's something, a wire maybe, rigged between the lid & the frame"

At the top of the ladder Alex did her best to get her fingers in the gap hoping to she might be able to ascertain if it was simply a crude trip switch or not, the gap where it had been fixed, close to the lid hinge, was so slight she could barely get her fingers in it, Skinpin clambered up the ladder beside her, in his hand was the portable fibre optic unit that Netuno had recently used against them, whilst its screen was cracked distorting the picture it would at least give them some idea of what was outside, from below they heard H11 talking to Mariusz & Vrasten,

"They're moving, sluggish, the cold holds them back still, they are aware, they come"

Frantically Alex pushed the fibre optic cable through the gap whilst Skinpin watched the monitor, it took a few seconds to realise what they were seeing, from the wire fixed across the gap two cables ran through the leaf mould & disappeared into the undergrowth however they could vaguely make out a number of mounds placed around the hatch's location, they didn't appear to be moving or look like gun mountings however it was unclear what they actually were.

From below came a deafening explosion mingled with an ear piercing screech & a terrific blast of burning air stinking of over cooked flesh. Everybody looked at H11,

"One lives still"

With options running out Skinpin took the metal pole that Vrasten had been using as a make shift crutch, ducking down as far as he could he reached up & thrust the lid up with the crutch, the lid ponderously fell back revealing the night sky, nothing happened for about ten seconds, Skinpin relaxed & almost ascended the ladder, then the earth shook.

Above the open hatch debris flew in all directions, the hatch cover, whilst not ripped from its hinges, was flung back & scored with shrapnel.

Deafened for the second time in less than a minute Skinpin shook his head & cautiously poked his head up out of the opening, around the hatch there was a circle of shredded tree's & four new craters where previously there had been mounds of earth, shit he thought, if I'd poked my head up any earlier, well, I wouldn't be worried about it know I suppose.

JSBFS Perimeter 8.01pm - 13/06/2015

With everybody outside of the hatch Mariusz closed the lid but the blast had twisted the lid & in any event there was no external means of securing it, shrugging he joined the others in following Alex through the undergrowth.

At the front Alex tried to orientate herself, she new they weren't actually that far from the bunker main entrance or in fact the riverside research base, against the night sky she could see faintly drifting spirals of smoke coming up the rise from Gonzales's earlier demolition demonstration, keeping the smoke to her right she lead the others down hill. Almost immediately Vrasten realised he didn't stand a chance with his foot of keeping up with the others, crutch or no crutch. Before he fell behind H11 lifted him to her shoulders, no mean feat considering his bulk, it was obviously an effort for her to carry him like this over the sloping & uneven ground but it was quicker than he could have moved under his own steam.

Once, as they skirted the remains of one of the destroyed lodges Alex saw movement ahead & froze, behind her everybody else did likewise, H11 shook her head & pointed back behind them, Alex thankfully took this to mean that it wasn't the remaining Kaiju, although worryingly Goodday had earlier made reference to more of these creatures elsewhere, hopefully he didn't mean anywhere close by.

Some forty or so minutes later Alex lead them onto the track about a half of a mile beyond the JSBFS clearing, it hadn't been quick, Vrasten had had to struggle for last few hundred yards without H11's assistance, even with her alien enhanced physique she hadn't been able to carry him all the way.

Dumping the bulk of her gear with the others Alex left them to follow on & pushed on at a run, it wasn't easy in the dark but she eventually managed to find the concealed hummer without falling down any holes, she'd even remembered to get the keys off Gonzales's body. As Alex backed the truck out onto the track she stopped for a moment & considered her options, things hadn't gone exactly as planned but she did now know how Melody had died & she'd got DeAbreu's memo stuffed in her pocket, maybe Frank would take her word for the rest, if she just headed out know on her own Frank's money would go a lot further if it was only shared one way.

JSBFS to Arajuno 11.06pm - 13/06/2015

Struggling along the track Vrasten was leaning heavily on the shoulders of both Mariusz & H11, he new he couldn't keep this up much longer, the pain in his leg was pretty intense, in fact he couldn't help wondering where the fuck Price had got to, the truck couldn't have been that far ahead, slowly it dawned on him, maybe she wasn't coming back.

Helen glanced around the group as they staggered slowly along the track, behind her she could sense the confusion of the solitary Kaiju, the smoke from the fires & the kills it had made had slowed its progress however if they carried on at this pace for much longer it would find her & H12, maybe she should just take H12 & go back into the jungle, after all the Kaiju meant her no harm.

Mariusz was pissed, this was one fuck up of a night, maybe however it would impress Roxy an' Kissy when he got back to The Hope, that would make things seem all worth while, after all that had been one hell of a way to spend the night . . . . . . . .

Staring into the dark, Skinpin tried to ignore Vrasten's bleeting, he'd done the best he could with what they'd brought with them, he was knackard & Vrasten the fat bastard wasn't helping matters & where the fuck had his dog got to.

H11 skipped along beside them, she was hungry, no body had fed her today & she could still smell blood, it made her mouth water just thinking about it.

Out of the darkness head lights appeared careering down the track, thank fuck for that thought Vrasten.

Shell Mera 1.08am - 14/06/2015

They were making good progress considering, they'd seen the Bell-Agusta 609 a couple of times passing over the track just before Arajuno & then again on Highway 45 before & after picking up fuel at Puyo, they were pretty sure they'd been spotted, after all even in the the darkness with the lights off it wasn't that hard to spot them on the near deserted road, particularly when, as Mariusz had so eloquently pointed out, that you would have to be fucking blind not to see its fucking yellow paint job.

Slowing down as they approached the entrance to the airfield Vrasten pointed out that didn't have no way of contacting the plane if wasn't still there, cheered by his comments Alex wound down the side window & eased the hummer up to the security gate. Unfortunately nobody had thought to pick up the Baptist Global Response overall's from the motel in Arajuno but luckily not only had everything else been thrown into the hummer before they hit JSBFS but the security goons at the airfield gate unsurprisingly recognised the yellow humve & let them through without checking their papers.

As they followed the airfield roadway they could see their bus out of here parked up on the far apron, although well after midnight there was till lights around the plane as the pretence of fixing it was maintained, unfortunately they could also see the BA609 taxiing along the runway.

Pulling up outside the offices which doubled as terminal building Alex thumped the hummers horn a couple of times, despite the hour there were still a quite few people about & several heads rubbernecked at the sound of the bleating horn, across the narrow runway a figure appeared in the on the tail ramp of the Spartan & after a second or so waved back.

"Glad to see you all made it, oh, actually you're not all back in one piece are you, in fact your all not back full stop, you appear also to have gained extra baggage" added Lacy looking at Goodday & the hybrid's, "Some renegotiation will I 'm afraid be required"

Whilst Alex, Mariusz & Skinpin discussed earliest departure times with Lacy several figures including Netuno emerged from where the SCC plane had disappeared behind a hanger at the far end of the runway & started walking towards the hummer. By now Lacy had radioed Wilk's on the Spartan to suggest they start putting it back together prety dam quick, he then disappeared into one of the buildings to explain to ATC that the C27 was 'fixed' & to arrange an early departure. He'd suggested that whilst they may be ready to fly within an hour or so it might not be possible to get off the ground much before mid morning, it would be down to ATC, & given that he didn't want to mug them off he was loath to just up sticks & run.

Conscious that despite the airfield being operated by God's favourites it was primarily a military operation so waving guns in the air might not be a good idea, Marius preached caution, looking at the approaching Netuno & goons it looked like they'd had similar thoughts.

Alex, Mariusz & Goodday walked to meet Netuno halfway whilst Skinpin, Helen & H12 watched from from the hummer.

Shell Mera 1.13am - 14/06/2015

Initially ignoring Goodday, Netuno addressed Alex & Mariusz & cut straight to the quick,

"Enough of this fucking about OK, what's your price for Goodday & the lab rats, oh an' if you decide not to deal don't think you'll be leaving here in a hurry, here's my number, think about it soon yeah"

Taken aback at Netuno's open offer Alex pocketed the offered card & changing the subject answered that they were here for the truth about Melody Uzzitt's death. With that Netuno wheeled on Goodday,

"I don't know what shit you've spun Goodday but whatever it is it's bullshit, you've got her & Triador's blood all over your hands, this is all your fuckin' fault & you know it, you killed the poor fuckers just cos' she'd rather shag someone her own age, what the fuck would she see in a prick like you"

With that he angrily faced the others & snarled,

"I mean it, he's a lying little shit & personally I'd see the fucker wasted rather than take him back but DeAbreu wants him & the bitch's back, it's a one off offer, take it & walk away"

Turning away Netuno trailed by his goons stalked away but not before again warning Alex & Mariusz that they really didn't have the time to fuck about.

Blushing, Goodday immediately defended himself reemphasising his earlier storey concerning Melody's death suggesting that he had nothing to gain by lying as after all he blamed himself for her death anyway.

Over the comm's unit Skinpin confirmed that Lacy had given them the OK to take the hummer over to the C27 & get it loaded.

Shell Mera 1.29am - 14/06/2015

As Lacy had suggested Shell Mera ATC were a bit taken aback at the sudden request for permission to fly however they had eventually conceded that clearance would be forthcoming for a mid morning take off as predicted, with that in mind everybody busied themselves stowing kit & prepping the Spartan. Goodday, H11 & H12's presence were discussed & for the princely some of $20K Lacy spotted that their names had been on the flight manifest all the time, he'd simply written it in very small letters.

Shell Mera 2.55am - 14/06/2015

Lacy came through from the flight deck,

"You've really pissed somebody off good & proper I guess, permission to depart has been withdrawn on the basis of technical irregularities, Wilk's is arguing our corner but as I said earlier were here as a legitimate flight bringing in medical supplies & we don't want to screw things up for the future.

Shell Mera 3.21am - 14/06/2015

As everybody tried to get some rest Lacy hollered through the door,

"Problems people, we got company"

Across the tarmac two cars were approaching, the front vehicle was a big old black saloon whilst the second truck was clearly local law enforcement. Out of the front unit two cheap suited spooks emerged, the back up vehicle held two jack booted & peak capped local police officers, both carried machine pistols. The two uniformed officers hung about at the bottom of the ramp having a quiet cigarillo, the suits marched up the ramp however their progress was barred by a furious Wilk's.

Listening in, those with a gist for Spanish could here Wilk's give as good as he got however some fifteen minutes later he raised his arms, swore vehemently & stepped aside allowing the spooks to proceed, fortunately with all the hullabaloo neither they nor the police noticed H11 & H12 slip out of the side door, drop to tarmac & fade into the night.

The spooks & the officers poked about inside the aircraft pretending to be looking for infringements however it was obvious that they were building up to something. One of the spooks turned to Wilk's & asked to see both the crew & the BGR personnel's papers, all were briefly checked until they came to Goodday, they were clearly not expecting him to have any documentation & in moments he was lead away in hand cuff's, the was some confusion when one of the spooks asked about the woman & her child however when everybody played dumb he bluffed confusion & walked down the ramp. Alex, turned to Lacy,

"Can we go home please"

After a hushed conversation on the flight deck Lacy reappeared,

"We go now OK, but if the EAF put anybody up against us it's over OK, you are on your own, we point fingers at you & tell em' you had guns"

Within seconds the C27's motors roared into life & H11 dragging the kid behind appeared up the ramp.

As the tail ramp began to close the Spartan slewed around onto the runway & didn't stop, halfway along the runway headlights could be seen racing after them & then onto the runway in front of them, at the last possible second the C27 tilted back & rose near vertically from the ground, Vrasten instantly turned green.

Over the next couple of hours the BS609 could be seen hanging behind them however it was obviously to early in the morning from anybody in the EAF to get out of bed & intercede, at 9.41am local time the Bell-Agusta turned tail & fell away.

Burfield Airfield 3.49pm - 14/06/2015

The C27 dropped out of a clear blue sky & made a near perfect landing on the weed strewn runway, quickly the hummer & all thier kit was off loaded onto the concrete, with the account all settled Lacy popped his head out of the flight deck's open window & grinned,

"Ladies & Gentlemen, thank you for flying with Enterprise Airways, have a nice day & please remember to recomend our unique services to your friends, have a nice day"

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