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Post by Fate on May 24, 2010 11:38:42 GMT -4
The trio moved quickly and quietly toward the compound. They melted in and out of shadows and would have been difficult to spot even if the streets weren't deserted.
If they had spoken and if it was brought up, Creed would have claimed that his middle name was "stealth".
In fact, it was "Francis", but as lies go it was fairly harmless.
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Post by Fate on May 24, 2010 18:58:29 GMT -4
Creed had the helicopter, of course, but it would never hold so many passengers and it wasn't built for long distance. They were going to need something the military wasn't likely to be happy about giving up.
Even moreso than the truck they'd taken earlier.
But first things first.
Pants.
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Post by Fate on May 25, 2010 14:01:03 GMT -4
Staying out of sight was one thing. Being dressed in torn and bloody rags was something else. If they were going to be on a military base, it was going to be a lot easier to avoid suspicion if they looked like they belonged there.
All it should take was a quick diversion to living quarters.
But before that they had to make it past the gates.
It turned out to be relatively simple given that so much personnel had already left the base. All it took was a befuddled priest asking directions for the others to slip in unnoticed past the checkpoint.
Noriko and Victor found what they needed quickly enough. Moments later she returned the favor by distracting the gate guard long enough for Remy to slip by.
Minutes later, they reunited. This time, they were all in crisp SHIELD uniforms.
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Post by Fate on May 25, 2010 21:15:57 GMT -4
"This way", Noriko whispered as she led them through shadows past silent and darkened buildings toward the the airstrip. There were rows of hangars spread along its length.
Now and then a beacon lit the airstrip but the base was largely deserted.
It was as though almost everyone on base had joined the armada they had witnessed.
Remy was thinking similar thoughts....so was Noriko. Creed said it out loud first.
"What th' hell's goin' on...?"
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Post by Fate on May 25, 2010 22:56:39 GMT -4
But Creed wasn't talking about the emptiness. He was talking about the smell. It eluded the others.
Something was seriously wrong. He sniffed the air and glared into the darkness around them. It wasn't just that everyone had left the base, though obviously many had. A lot more had died - and recently - and someone was working hard to keep that fact a secret.
Creed followed silently as they searched the hangars one by one. His mind and his senses were on alert.
"Empty", Noriko said for at least the fifth time. They moved onward.
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Post by Fate on May 26, 2010 11:03:13 GMT -4
They had searched and searched and found nothing but empty structures and signs of the scramble to leave.
Finally, they reached a hangar further off the airstrip. Unlike the others which had all been left open and were lit from within, this one was still shuttered and dark.
While Creed nervously watched their backs, Remy and Noriko found a door and tested the knob.
It was locked. A glow of violet and it wasn't.
They crept inside.
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Post by Fate on May 26, 2010 23:32:21 GMT -4
There was definitely something in this hangar. Together, they searched for a power panel to turn on some lights.
It was Remy who found it. He opened the panel and flipped the breakers. The hangar was bathed in light.
After several seconds of stunned silence, the priest managed an impressed whistle.
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Post by Fate on May 26, 2010 23:43:13 GMT -4
The aircraft was sleek and futuristic, wider and longer than a stealth bomber but although it had a glossy black sheen it gave the same iconic impression of a bat. Its twin engines looked a little too massive for its frame and it gave the craft an unmistakable air of power.
It looked like it was moving at high speed just standing still.
Emblazoned on each of its twin tail fins was the SHIELD logo. Along each side was its registration number.
X-1.
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Post by Fate on May 27, 2010 0:27:26 GMT -4
Creed slipped under the aircraft and quickly found a way to drop its loading ramp. Remy glanced at Noriko who had still said nothing. She was scowling.
Again she thought of how proud she'd once been of that logo. Now, it just looked wrong. Raising her arms, she blasted it once...then again with another swipe.
Noriko smiled.
Now it looked right.
"There you go, pretty blackbird", she said as she strode to the other side and marked an X through that logo, too.
"I like it", said the priest with a grin.
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Post by Fate on May 27, 2010 5:20:31 GMT -4
From inside the craft came the sounds of swearing - half from admiration, half frustration - as Creed tried to figure out what he was looking at. He scanned the instrumentation and control mechanisms and wanted to cuddle and caress them just a little bit more than he wanted to rip them apart.
It probably qualified as one of the happier moments in his life.
Except for that itchy feeling that something bad was about to happen.
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Post by Fate on Jun 2, 2010 18:23:07 GMT -4
It wasn't just paranoia. Creed knew they'd have a fight on their hands the moment they actually tried to steal the aircraft. They had talked about it, they all knew it. The trickiest part was the rendezvous and how both of their little groups ended up on the plane with the stuff they'd need. The slightly less tricky part was getting the thing into the air without getting shot down.
The shortage of other aircraft on the field made him feel a little better about that one.
So it was the ground attack that was going to be the biggest problem.
It was just going to be something quite different than he'd anticipated.
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Post by Fate on Jun 9, 2010 10:15:00 GMT -4
The others were equally uneasy.
"I don' like dis", Father Remy told Noriko. She had found the controls for the immense hangar doors and they retracted noisily revealing once again the emptiness and silence outside.
It was way too quiet. Way too empty.
"Me either", agreed Nori warily.
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