PLANES, TANKS, AND TUTUS
"I don't know, Boss," said Face leaning over the quickly constructed battle plan, "This is hinging on a lot of faith. How do we even know the girl's in the warehouse? Or that this isn't some kind of elaborate trap?" Three pairs of eyes automatically snapped questioningly in the tall man's direction. Hannibal, for his part, seemed to consider his answer carefully. Lighting his cigar, he looked over the plan as it stood. Compared to some of their other operations, this one was cut and dry. They wouldn't even have to worry about drugging B.A. (though at least three of Hannibal's back up plans called for it). Face and he would infiltrate the warehouse from the sewers. B.A. and his van would set up the initial distraction with Hannibal bringing up the rear. That would give Face time to search the rooms most suitable for holding a victim based on the blueprints they'd obtained. If he found the girl, he was to get her to the roof where Murdock would be ready for aerial pick-up. Hannibal would join B.A. in the van. If he didn't, they could at least capture or put a trace on one of the men at the warehouse. If they were lucky, they would have a lead straight to the girl. " We've done more with less, Face," he replied, letting out a exhale of smoke, "And I doubt the D.O.D. are that creative. Captain Sosa aside." Face smirked. " Just as long as your certain I don't have to get the air with this crazy fool," interjected B.A., nodding his head in Murdock's direction. The crazy pilot rolled his eyes in response and said, "One of these days, Boscoe. We'll get you in the air." "Yeah, on a cold day in hell," B.A. shot back causing Hannibal and Face to snicker. Murdoch just shook his head, opening his mouth to retort. "You won't have to get anywhere near the air, B.A.," Hannibal got there first, "Promise." "Heard that before," B.A. replied, his mind flashing back to their last mission before they became convicts. "So are we all agreed?" Hannibal asked, looking at each man. Normally, it wouldn't be a question, but Face was right. There still was a chance he been blindsided. After Baghdad, Hannibal took deep consideration into all possibilities. He wasn't willing to risk the others with so many unknown variables. Face seemed to consider for a moment before sighing, shaking his head, and saying, "What the hell, I'm in." "You can count on me, Bossman," came Murdock's typical, loyal reply. "Yeah, me too," replied B.A. simply. "Good," said Hannibal, "Then let's get started." They made their move at 20:00 hours. Crouching in the old sewer line, Hannibal and Face made their forward, fingers unconsciously wrapped on their triggers. They both knew this was the easiest part of the plan and the part most crucial to timing. As they passed a large, stinking pile of something on the ground Face grimaced. "Why is it," he whined, letting off some steam, "I always end up in the sewers?" "Would you rather be in the van with B.A.?" Hannibal countered, humoring the younger man. Face snorted. "Nooo," he replied, "No way." Per usual, the team's crazy pilot had gotten his revenge by finding just the right buttons to push on their resident mechanic. This time, he had managed to sneak under the van underside intent to perform some "aerodynamically favorable" tinkering. Though he hadn't really done anything, touching B.A.'s girl was equivalent to suicide on a good day. It had taken an both order from Hannibal and Face's involvement to pull the large man away from the squirrely pilot. The rest of prep time was full of dark mutterings and even darker looks between the pair. "I value keeping my limbs intact for another couple years at least," Face added jokingly. Hannibal smiled briefly before his expression turned serious. "Where are you planning to look first?" he asked, returning their focus to the mission at hand. "I figure they'll want to keep her as isolated but as accessible as possible," Face responded, glancing behind him out of habit, "So I'll start in some of the first floor and work my way up." "Good," replied Hannibal, "Just remember we're on a time limit, kid." "Yeah, I know," Face sounded slightly annoyed at the admonishment, but he wasn't. The pair had made it to their destination and he was getting into game-face mode. "B.A., Murdock," he heard Hannibal call over both the comm and beside him, "We're in place." Face could hear a slight rumble over the comm which he assumed was B.A. revving the van's engine. "Good to go, Bossman," Murdock's reply came over the system. "Ready, kid?" asked Hannibal. "Ready as I'll ever be," Face responded, pushing his gun to the side and clambering up onto the ladder. He made it to the top, one arm bracing him on the ladder while grabbing hold of his semi automatic. The other arm was braced against the man-hole covering, read to push up at Hannibal's signal. Based the intel they had from the blueprint, the manhole they had come was located in an large storage room on the far side of the warehouse. Based on its distance from the entrance, they were sure no one would be guarding it. Once through, Hannibal had two minutes to make it across the building and provide B.A. with back-up at the gate. If everything went according to plan, the pair would pin the kidnappers outside or at the entrance for fifteen minutes (twenty on the outside), giving Face time to make a fast search of the warehouse's three floors. "Go," said Hannibal and Face heaved against the cover. The metal groaned then scraped sharply against the concrete floor. Head went up, checking the perimeter. No one was in sight. Scrambling up the rest of the ladder, Face bee-lined for the south door. He only had one real destination in mind for the first floor. Pausing as he reached the door, he listened to make sure no one was on the other side. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Hannibal doing the same at the north door. Nodding to each other, they push their way through to their respect exits. Gunfire echoed in the hallway around Face. The first floor was composed of two parallel halls with one hall connecting the two, bisecting an otherwise building-wide factory floor. Sound carried well in the unobstructed sets of stairwells sat at the east and south side of the building while main and truck entrance took up the other two walls. A small broom closet was located near the south stairwell. That was Face's first destination. While he didn't think they'd stow the kid there, it was at least worth a look. The sound of footsteps climbing down stairs brought his run to a halt. Ducking quickly into the second warehouse space, he peaked out the sliver of open door. Two men, wearing covert black uniforms, appeared from the direction of the stairwell. Face held his breath as they passed, griping his semi-auto just a little tighter. The men didn't seem to notice him as they drew a pair of Sigs and continued in the direction of gunfire. "Hey, boss, " Face called on the comm as they passed, "You got some heat on your tail." He received no answer except in impossible increase in the volume of gunfire and some rough yells. Busting out of the room, he headed instinctively towards the sounds, filled with a strong desire to protect his team. Only a quick flicker of insight stopped him mid-stride. Hannibal was certain to have expected something. The colonel was obsessed, bordering on anal, with having a contingency for everything. Besides, Face was no good to the girl if he was dead. "Fuck!" he breathed in frustration, turning around and heading for the stairwell. The appearance of the men meant two things. One, the girl was probably hidden on one of the upper floors. Two, Hannibal's timeline had just been cut in half. He took the stairs two at a time. "Lindsey!" he yelled as he reached the second floor landing. Based on the blueprints, he knew that this floor was mainly offices set just below a third open space on the third floor. If the kid was here, the second floor was the best place to hide her. "Lindsey!" he yelled again, running down the corridor. Most of the offices on the floor were left open and partially lit, making it easy to look inside. As he turned the corner, he thought he heard a whimper. "Lindsey?" The attack came fast and from behind. Another man dressed in covert black burst from the darkened room behind face. The ex-Ranger had just enough time to turn and grab the man's arm, preventing him from plunging a knife into his back. The man's weight and momentum pushed him back causing them both to fall against the wall. "Get off me!" he grunted, using all his strength to keep the knife away. The pair struggled for a minute until Face managed to find his a shove, he managed to push the man off of him, sending him sprawling back. Catching his balance, however, the man leaned forward and charged again. Without thinking, Face squeezed the trigger twice. Pop! Pop! The man crumpled to the floor mid-charge. Breathing heavily, Face approached the body and kicked the knife out of the corpse's hand. Moving towards the room the man had come from, he patted the walls on either side of the door until he found a light switch. The room was an office just like the others. Gritting his teeth in annoyance, he turned away. He was running out of time and he was certain now the girl was here. As he turned from the room, a glint in the corner caught his. Pausing, he looked back in, this time leaning into the room. Another door lay next to the one he stood in. Cautiously he stepped into the room. The gunfire below still sounded, though muted through layer of wood and concrete. A different sound took precedence over it. Listening carefully, Face was almost sure it was crying. "Lindsey?" he called out softly. There came a hitch in the noise and then the sound of a sob. That clinched it. Grabbing the doorknob, Face found it unlocked. Wrenching the door open, he froze at the sight before him. A.N. Ha ha, cliffy. mwahahahahaaa. No worries though, the next chapter will be up soon. Again, I hope this wasn't too ooc (some of the character's voices are harder for me to get then others). Anway, hope you enjoyed it so far.
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