Chapter 6
“Echo-2, in position,” Jace said into his mic as Scamp and Dew stood on either side of the door.
“Echo-1, ready to breach,” came Parker’s calm voice.
Both teams were on either side of a large warehouse, the number of hostiles inside were unknown.
Scamp looked down at the ground, staring at the wire that ran under the door and possibly lead to the computer that the signal was picked up from.
If they were successful, not only would they move up to become Tier One Operator’s, but this would be a major step towards tracking down the leadership of Luna’s Spear.
“Echo Team, clear to breach,” came Cherrywood’s calm voice over the radio.
Dew hit a switch and the explosives on the door blew the locks. Jace kicked the door open and Scamp pushed in, followed by the others.
They carefully moved down the maze of stacked boxes, watching for hostiles at every turn. The wire lead them to the center of the warehouse where it entered a hatch in the floor and disappeared down the dark stairs.
Parker’s group met up with them just as they arrived and cursed, “Echo-1, the relay wires lead to a hatch that leads to what appears to be an underground section of the warehouse.”
There was a pause. “Copy, you are clear to enter the underground section. Expect radio communication to drop once you enter.”
“Copy, proceeding.” Parker signals for his team to enter the hatch and descend the stairs.
Scamp was second in behind Dribble. The further they descended the darker it became.
“Switch to night vision,” Parker ordered as they all flicked a switch on their helmets, painting the world around them in green.
The stairwell ended at a door.
“We have a door,” Dribble reported. He reached out and checked it, confirming it was locked.
“Moving,” Dew said, knowing his role. He approached the door and pulled out a thin rope like material. He carefully pushes it into the lock of the door and wiggles it around till he gets it all inside. He slowly retreated to his original position.
“Shield eyes,” he warns as everyone looks away and he hits the button on his PDA.
There was a pop and bright flash. When they all looked back, the door handle and lock were gone, as if they’d been teleported away.
Dribble kicked the door open and the team moved into the doorway with practiced ease, checking their sectors.
“Rooms clear,” Scamp announced.
They moved to the only door in the room, after pushing through that door, they found themselves in a long hallway.
The team moved down the hallway, eyes on the door at the end and their rear. Once they reached the door and breached it, they found themselves in a large square room, filled with desks and computers. There were doors on each wall, but the wire they were following lead to the center of the room.
They approached the computer that was connected to the wire with unease. It was the only one that was on as well.
“I don’t like this,” Jace said as he and the others scanned the room around them with their weapons up.
“Echo-1, we’ve located the source of the signal,” Parker said, the unease clear in his voice and on his face.
Only static answered him.
“Dribble, get to work on the computer. Everyone else cover him, I don’t want to be caught off guard down here.”
Dribble walked up to the computer and started messing with it while the rest of the team formed a circle around him, using the desk as cover.
After a moment, Dribble looked around puzzled.
“This isn’t a relay station.”
“What do you mean?” Parker asked.
“This computer isn’t capable of performing that sort of task. The only thing I can find on here is a video file…” Dribble leaned forward and cursed.
Scamp couldn’t help but glance over, and when she did it felt like she’d been punched in the gut. “Oh shit.”
Dribble clicked the video, which started playing with the sound playing out of speakers all around them.
The video showed security footage of an office with two ponies arguing, followed by two more bursting in.
It was footage of the day before when they’d helped Greg and Shadow Breeze escape. Their voices were being broadcasted all around them as the video played, then it skipped to Parker giving the order for the two to teleport to his house. The footage was then replaced with each of their pictures and the word ‘traitor’ plastered across them in red letters.
Suddenly, Strawell’s voice filled the air from the speakers. “Echo Team has betrayed this country and have been aiding terrorist groups throughout Equestria.”
As he spoke, the team stood there dumbfounded, not fully accepting the situation.
“May Queen Twilight have mercy on their souls,” Strawell’s voice boomed twice as loud as before.
“What does…” Jace began but was cut off by a loud bang and his helmet visor exploding with a spray of blood and glass.
“Contact!” Parker yelled as the world around them went to hell.
Scamp fired blinding as she dived for cover behind a desk.
“All sides!” Dew screamed, his rifle barking nonstop.
She leans around the desk and spots a fully armored pony firing a machine gun towards them, she opened fire but her small caliber bullets did nothing but spark off the black armor.
“It’s OEA Enforcer’s!” Calypso screamed over the roar of gunfire.
Scamp came back up to fire again, but a bullet blew through the desk she was behind and slammed into her vest. Her eyes widened as she fell backwards, the spray of blood that shot up from behind her vest and onto her helmet visor obscured her vision.
“Scamp’s down!” Dribble yelled out.
With a hiss of pain she looked down to her chest and saw a smoking hole in her vest. She winced as she pulled at her IFAK and opened it, fumbling for the little syringe filled with pain killers. She found it and used her wing to jab it into her neck.
The injection immediately took effect and the pain from the gunshot disappeared, allowing her to focus.
An Enforcer jumped over a desk and landed in the middle of the team, firing point blank into Dew, the bullet shredding through his vest and out his side.
Scamp jumped up and with all she had left in her she grabbed the hind leg of the armored pony and lifted him up. He lost his balance and fell face first into the ground. Scamp deployed her blade that was attached to her left foreleg and jammed it between the ponies helmet and neck, killing him.
Dew coughed and whizzed as he struggled to stay up as he too injected himself with the pain meds. He rolled around and resumed firing at the advancing Enforcers.
Scamp stumbled back to her position to close the gap and resumed firing, her bullets only slowing them slightly. Then without warning the one she was firing on sprinted towards her, ignoring the bullets that bounced off of his armor.
He collided with the desk she was using as cover and sent her flying with it. Scamp scrambled out from under the desk in time to receive a heavy buck to the side of her helmet, the visor spider webbing from the impact.
She quickly responds by jumping up and pushing aside his rifle as he fires. As she did so his hoof shot out and grabbed her by the neck, trying to knock her down. But she held her own as the two pushed into each other and ended up standing on their hindlegs with his hoof around her neck and hers keeping the rifle from pointing at her.
A glance to her side told her no help was coming as the others were also stuck in melee with the other Enforcer’s.
The Enforcer roared as his free hoof shot forward, digging a blade into Scamp’s gut. She gasped in pain as he ripped the blade sideways.
She responded with her own blade, slamming it over and over again into his neck. One of the stabs found a gap and caused the Enforcer to let go and stumble back, grabbing at his throat.
As he collapsed, so did Scamp. She lay on her side and looked down to see her insides were now spilling out.
“That’s bad,” Scamp muttered, in shock.
She dragged herself over to the dead Enforcer and wiggled his gun free. She then, without a targeting system to aid her, pointed it at the Enforcer currently grappling with Calypso and fired.
The heavy round easily penetrated the armor and punched into the Enforcer’s side, dropping him instantly.
Calypso regained her posture and immediately tackled the Enforcer who was on top of Dew.
Scamp heaves the rifle over to the Enforcer punching Parker. Her injuries were catching up to her as she struggled to raise the rifle.
“Come on!” She hisses as she tries to get her body to respond and raise the heavy rifle.
As if to mock her, the Enforcer broke free of Parker’s grasp and fired his shotgun over and over again, removing parts of Parker’s uniform, gear, and flesh with each shot.
“No!” Calypso screamed as she rammed into the Enforcer and shoved her pistol under his helmet and unloaded.
As the Enforcer fell, Calypso jumped to Parker’s side, trying to remove his helmet and yelling his name.
Scamp scanned the area in a daze, seeing that they’d somehow killed the entire group of Enforcer’s.
“Shit! Scamp!” Dribbled yelled as he slid up beside her and removed her destroyed helmet. He shakily removed her vest and ripped her uniform open. With shaking hooves he removed a spray from his IFAK and sprayed it on her exposed guts, causing her to scream despite the pain meds.
“Move, help Dew!” Calypso yelled as she laid her full Medbag by Scamp. Dribble ran over to Dew to try and help him.
“Hang in there, Scamp,” Calypso said in a shaken voice as she sprayed something onto her exposed guts, followed by her gently pushing them back in. She then placed a magical seal over the large wound to hold her over till they could get to somewhere safer.
“Oh fuck, contact! Coming down the hallway!” Dribble yelled as he and Dew took up positions by an overturned desk and began firing through the doorway at the approaching Enforcer’s.
Calypso placed another seal over the bullet wound in her chest and pressed down.
“Dew’s down!” Dribble yelled as the sound of gunfire started to ramp up.
“Okay look at me, Scamp,” Calypso said, patting her face to get her attention. “I need to help Dribble, so I need you to stay awake. Do not pass out!” She grabs and raises Scamp’s foreleg with her pistol on it. “Just hang in there, please!”
Scamp watched as Calypso left her and ran to join Dribble, both of them firing as fast and accurately as they could. The desk they were using as cover was slowly breaking apart from the onslaught of bullets.
“Focus on the left one!” Dribbled yelled as a loud whoosh was heard. “Missile incoming!”
Scamp watched as the two dived away from each other as a middle screeched in and hit the roof above the desk they’d been at, spraying debris everywhere.
She wiped her face as she saw an Enforcer step out of the smoke, barely visible without her night vision. She raised her hoof and began firing, the bullets posing little threat.
He turned towards her and fired, the bullet barely missing her head. Before he could fire again, sparks exploded off the side of his helmet. As he fell, Calypso slid up against his body and turned the attached rifle on the approaching Enforcer’s.
A sudden flash blinded Scamp as the dark room briefly lit up.
ooo000<^>000ooo
“Don’t move!” The lead pony commanded through his helmet's speaker.
“Uh, you got it,” Greg said, looking like a deer in the headlights.
“Secure him.” The lead pony said as another pulled Greg out and led him away from the front door.
Once they were on the sidewalk, the armored pony looked him over as he brought out a pair of cuffs.
“Wait!” Greg blurted out, “I was being held against my will by those Bronies!”
This caused the Enforcer to stop, “Are there other hostages inside?”
Greg shook his head no.
The Enforcer thought for a second before holding out the cuffs. “Go ahead and just put these on, it’s just protocol is all.”
Greg looked at the cuffs then the Enforcer. “Uh, can I try something first?”
“What?” The Enforcer asked, confused.
Without warning there was a flash from where Greg’s horn would be, causing the armor to collapse into a heap.
“Get teleported, FED boi,” he smiles and starts messing with the now ownerless armor.
ooo000<^>000ooo
Jero squirmed from under the Enforcer, the hoof on his back keeping him down. The bind over his wings and wrist cuffs further restricted his movement.
"We haven't found the Unicorn yet, sir," one of the Enforcer's reported as he returned to the living room where Jero and the Enforcer holding him down were.
"Keep looking, the spell on the house prevents him from teleporting, so he's here somewhere," the lead Enforcer above Jero replied, grinding his hoof down into Jero painfully. "Of course, this would all go a lot faster if this one would just talk."
Jero remained quiet, not willing to give them anything.
"And where's Le'Mint? He's been outside with the Earth pony for well over ten minutes," the Leader said angrily. "Le'Mint! Report?"
There was silence as neither of the Enforcer's moved.
"Go outside and see what's taking so long," the Leader growled, taking his anger out on Jero's back by grinding his armored hoof harder into him.
"Sorry boss," a different Enforcer said as he entered the room. "The guy ran when I tried to cuff him, uh, but I got him cuffed."
The two Enforcer's stared at the third one for a few seconds before the Leader responded, "What's wrong with your speakers? Your voice isn't coming through correctly."
"Oh uh," the third Enforcer reached up and touched his throat. "The guy kinda kicked me a few times, I think he knocked something loose."
"Report it to the Armorer when we return." Then in a more authoritative voice, "Next time a suspect runs from you, you radio it in immediately! I'll deal with you after this mission is finished."
"Uh yes, sir!" the third Enforcer said with a sloppy salute.
The Leader growled slowly and shook his head. Then he snapped like he was listening to something, probably his radio in his helmet.
"Well that's some good news," he looks at the other two Enforcer's. "We need to pick it up here, the other team has engaged Echo Team and have already scored a kill."
Jero jerked violently when he heard this, "You bastard's!"
"Shut it," the Leader snapped as he kicked the back of Jero's head, dazing him. He then looked to the second Enforcer, "Get back to checking the house. Inform the other's of the good news." He then looks to the third Enforcer, "And you, you're done tonight. Take this punk and put him in the command vehicle around the corner, then stay there. You're benched for this mission."
The third Enforcer slumped, but nodded. "You got it, sir."
"Watch that tone!" the Leader snapped as he stood up and forced Jero to stand.
The third Enforcer walked over and roughly pulled Jero, forcing him to follow him outside. Once outside, Jero spit on the side of the helmet of the Enforcer, complete hatred pasted on his face. He may not have known the members of Echo Team very well, but they'd put themselves on the line for them, and now they were being killed because of them.
"Dude, don't spit on me," the Enforcer said as he wiped his helmet with his hoof. "Jesus fuck, man."
"Greg?!" Jero yelped in surprise.
"Yeah?" Greg asked in confusion.
"How'd you get... we don't have time for this, we need to try and save Scamp and the others!" Jero said, becoming frantic as Greg started undoing his binds.
"But how?"
Jero looked around trying to think fast, then he spotted a large truck down the street with the words 'OEA' on its side. An idea hit him. "Okay! Yeah!" He points to Greg, "Take me to the truck like you were supposed to, and we'll force whoever is inside it to tell us where Echo is. Then you bam! Teleport and get them!"
"Uhhh," Greg looks at the truck uncertain. "I can try."
"Let's go then!" Jero said as he quickly walked towards the truck, Greg coming up behind him.
As they reached the truck, the doors opened and a single unarmed Earth pony opened the door. "Heard you got benched, Le'Mint." Behind him were a few seats and a full set up with radio's and multiple computer screens. The Earth pony looked at Jero and pointed at him, "Why isn't he restrained?"
"Uhhhh," Greg replied sheepishly as he used his magic to lift and slam the pony around inside the truck, hitting the seats and walls.
"Don't knock him out, Greg!" Jero hissed.
Greg nods dumbly as he releases the technician, who just falls to the ground in the truck with a grunt. As he started to slowly try and get up, Jero jumped into the truck and pinned him.
"You're going to tell us where Echo Team is and you're going to do it now!" Jero all but screamed into the ponies face.
"What?! Hell no!" The tech yelled as he started to fight. "Help! HELP! They're trying to..."
Greg's horn flashed and the tech went limp.
"Greg!" Jero screamed as he stood up off the tech and looked at his friend in disbelief and anger.
"He was yelling for help, man. I had to," Greg said, thinking that was the best course of action he could have taken.
"Gah!" Jero ran over to the computer screen's and froze. The screens showed security footage of a group of ponies in a circle with office desk all around them grappling with what looked to be Enforcer's. It didn't take long for them to recognize it was Echo Team, fighting hoof to hoof with Enforcer's.
"Can you figure out enough from this to teleport to them?!" Jero asked in a panic.
"Maybe? This computer has a shit ton of info on it. Let me just, figure this shit out," Greg said as he threw the helmet off and started messing with the computer, clearly not knowing what he was doing.
On screen, Jero watched in horror as he saw one of Echo Team lose their melee and get gunned down point blank. Tears began to run down his face as he watched helplessly.
A moment of relief hit him as he saw that they'd dispatched the last of the Enforcer's and started helping each other. But his horror only grew when he saw on a different screen that one of the downed Echo members was Scamp, and even through the screen he could see how bad it was.
A different scene showed a large group of Enforcer's heading down a stairwell, which could only lead to the team. "Greg?!"
"I'm trying!" Greg screamed, losing his cool.
The Enforcer's reached the long hallway leading to the room with Echo team, and they immediately opened fire. Jero watched as two of Echo started returning fire. A wave of hope washed over him as he saw a few Enforcer's fall as they pair's rifles seemed to work just fine against their armor.
Then, he let out a pained whine as he saw one of the two members of Echo take a bullet to their helmet and fall off of the desk they'd been propped up on.
"GREG?!?!"
"FUCK!" Greg cursed loudly, sweet flooding down his face as he seemed to be making no progress.
On screen, a rocket was let loose from the Enforcer's and flew towards the defenders. As soon as it made contact, one of the Enforcer's broke from the others and sprinted at full speed towards the smoke that obscured the members of Echo. They jumped through the smoke and landed on the desk the pair had been using as cover.
Scamp, who was lying on the ground wounded and not appearing to be able to move, started firing her foreleg mounted pistol at the armored Enforcer, which only caused him to look at her.
"NO!" Jero screamed, shaking the screen.
The Enforcer fired, but the bullet seemed to miss Scamp. Off to his side, one of the member's of Echo had finally gotten back up and fired their weapon, hitting the Enforcer before he could fire again.
"OH HOLY FUCK I GOT IT!" Greg cried as he jumped back and without any flair, disappeared.
Jero watched the screen as Greg appeared by Scamp. His horn flashed, and she disappeared from the ground.
"Shit!" A surprised voice came from behind him. On screen, Greg flashed again and Dribble, who was trapped under a desk disappeared.
"Whoa whoa whoa!" Dribble yelped as he hit the ground as he appeared on the edge of a seat.
Calypso appeared, looking crazed as she stared straight ahead, still in a shooting position.
Finally, Greg appeared looking absolutely terrible and spent. He collapsed in a heap, heaving loudly.
"What?" Calypso said in a daze as she finally started to regain herself and she looked around.
"Uh, we saved you," Jero replied, still crying. "I'm so sorry we couldn't get there faster!"
"No worries," Scamp groaned from the floor, her midnight blue coat looking a lot less colorful as she laid curled up on the floor.
"Scamp!" Calypso said as she fell next to her and then cursed. "I left my medical bag where she'd been laying!"
Greg groaned as he sat up, glanced at the screen to see the Enforcer's slowly moving down the hallway, not seeming to know what happened. He sighed, "Yep."
He flashed away, panicking everyone. He shortly returned holding the medical bag, he dropped it by Calypso, gave a sort of thumbs up motion, then collapsed. Unconscious.
"Idiot!" Jero said with a facehoof.
"That idiot just saved Scamp," Calypso said as she grabbed her bag and shuffled through it. She flipped Scamp on her back and injected something into her. "See you later, Scamp."
"Wait, don't... put me.... under... damn it..." Scamp tried to fight it, but she was rendered unconscious as well.
Dribble opened the back door a touch, "Uh, so where are we?"
"Oh, outside Scamp's house in an OEA truck," Jero replied, not thinking anything of it.
"An OEA truck?!" Dribble yelped as he rushed past everyone and jumped in the driver's seat. He began messing with some kind of black box on the dash.
"What's wrong?" Jero asked, stepping up front with him.
Dribble ripped out a few wires and used a tool to cut a few bindings, removing the box. He then tossed it out the window and turned the truck on. "They can track the truck with that." He then put the truck in drive and drove forward carefully, trying not to make too much sound so as not to alert any of the other Enforcer's.
"I'm assuming they're in Scamp's house?" he asked.
"Uh, yeah, three of them," Jero answered.
Dribble shook his head as they started to pick up speed now that they'd left the neighborhood. "They're so incompetent."
"Excuse me?" Jero asked with a cock of his head.
"The Enforcer's," Dribble said with a shake of his head. "We should have died immediately back there, and they shouldn't have been outsmarted by you two. If that'd been our team, we'd have handled both of those situations a lot better."
Jero gave him a weird look at this.
Dribble glanced at him and sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm just trying to think of anything else right now. I'll process what happened back there once we get somewhere safe and I can down a few brew's."
Not knowing how to respond to that, he looked to the back. Calypso was doing her best to stabilize Scamp, and Greg was laying next to the tech they'd knocked out.
"What are we going to do with the pony?" Jero asked.
"What pony?" Dribble asked, looking back and noticing the tech. "Ah hell." He pulls the truck over and climbs out of the seat and heads towards the back. He flings open the back doors and roughly rolls the unconscious tech out the doors and slams them.
He returns to his seat and resumes driving.
Jero blinks at this and just shrugs. He may not be used to this world and how it operates, but these guys clearly did.
He looked out the window, watching as they left the neighborhoods and started heading away from the city, into the countryside. "What's the plan?"
"No plan," Dribble replies solemnly. "We're just going to get somewhere to lay low for a bit. Find out more about what's going on, then we'll make a plan."
"Gotcha," Jero says with a slow nod. He looks out the window again, watching the trees fly by.
The image of a pony getting shot over and over again point blank kept running through his head. He wouldn't be able to relax even if he wanted to.