The V.I.C.I. Diaries: Valley of the Damned (Part 17)

[DukeNukem 2417]

"And how many at the gates? Twelve? Right...they shouldn't be a problem." V.I.C.I. thumbed off the switch on the walkie-talkie, turning to glance at her fellow Field Agents. "Looks like we're going in with full ordnance," she informed them. "No SCEMP rounds this time---Aaberg's 'enhanced' soldiers have already been taken care of, so we'll probably just be dealing with grunts and the cleanup crew."

"Sounds a little too easy," Reaver scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Knowing Aaberg, he's got a tank waiting for us---"

Jen's light punch on the arm put an end to any potential discussions on how to fight off a full-sized tank.

V.I.C.I. shook her head at the notion of Field Agents going up against an Abrahms; the thought of a paranoid arms dealer wheeling out an Army tank just to take care of a few pesky intruders did seem a bit silly, if not downright stupid. "Even if he did have a tank," she mused, "it wouldn't be any problem for us." She fought the urge to smile at how....specific that statement was: at least, it wouldn't be a problem for me---no offense to Reaver or the rest of the crew, but I don't think they'd be able to handle something like this on their own.

"So, I guess we can rule out calling in an airstrike, then?" Saturn called from the back of the Rhino (the only vehicle from the EMP-afflicted garage that still ran, much to the chagrin of Major Tom). "Just saying---"

"No air strikes, Saturn. We do this one the old-fashioned way---sweep and clear."

The brunette gynoid paused, reflecting on how much more....sterile that term sounded than the old expression: "search and destroy". "Anyone here wants to back out," she added, dismissing the lingering thoughts about using "sweep and clear" instead of "search and destroy" from her mind, "you've got fifteen minutes to get off the bus and find a way back to HQ."

Predictably, none of the Field Agents felt like walking back to base from where they were.

One particular individual said nothing----and, in fact, had gone for the entire ride without saying so much as a single word to anyone else riding in the Rhino. The Man in Grey had joined the group without any fanfare, and (as far as V.I.C.I. could tell) without any particular reason other than to see the operation through to the bitter end...or whatever sort of end it met. He hadn't said a word since boarding the vehicle, and while the other Agents engaged in small talk and swapped jokes, the Man simply sat there, silently, as the ride went on.

Somehow, I don't think I want to know what he's thinking right now, V.I.C.I. realized.

The last time she'd worked in any close proximity to the Man in Grey before the Dawley mission had, until her death at Faceless' hands, been the most traumatic ordeal in her life---the Man had effectively saved her from being assaulted by the Human Animal, aka John Lee Lassiter---the derranged protege of the Butcher of Lake Gilmour. According to the ALPA, however, the Man's actions crossed the line between acceptable behavior and criminal action, especially when he'd attacked Lassiter with a steak knife---which ended up in Lassiter's hands, almost becoming a murder weapon when he tried to decapitate the Man with it. And he got fired for trying to save me, she recalled, because Oberon was....what, scared of him?

She decided not to dwell on that possibility for the rest of the drive.

After ten more minutes of riding in relative silence, the team reached the service road that would lead them to the bulding Aaberg had taken over as his "stronghold". Unless the intel had been compromised before the Field Agents received it, the building's defenses were....minimal, at best; Aaberg had more than likely decided to cut his losses, move all of his best men to another facility and send whatever equipment he could pilfer with them.

Not before leaving a few nasty surprises for any investigating agents, of course....

With that thought in her mind, V.I.C.I. rolled her eyes and waited for the Rhino to come to a stop.

The group that exited the armored vehicle was in the mood for a fight---many of the Field Agents had been hiding in Oberon's hidden office for well over an hour, and even those who'd been to SJSU were ready for another epic battle. All of them were packing weapons that would put most of Aaberg's minions in hospital, if not in the ground; as V.I.C.I. herself had mentioned earlier, SCEMP ordnance was useless against the thugs they were going up against.

Of course, there was the small problem of ending the engagement without bloodshed.....

DuBraul and Oberon hadn't said it outright, but it was obvious that neither wanted the Field Agents' assault on the facility Aaberg was currently hiding in to turn into a bloodbath---which meant Reaver's request for an M-60 was doomed from the start. Of course, they also knew the value of giving the Agents the tools they needed, so everyone on this particular op was rolling out with Walthers, batons and stun grenades---and one shotgun.

As for V.I.C.I., she had her own surprises in store for Aaberg's crew. Even with most of them being non-lethal, she could still pack quite an effective punch.

"Right," Reaver declared, "I say we take the front entrance and---what, Hummingbird?! We went over the plan on the way here, and everyone agreed that it was the best way to breach!" He glared at his fellow Field Agent, waiting for her (and indeed almost daring her) to make an excuse. "If this is about your 'go in through the roof idea," he scoffed, "I'm not doing it. We try to breach through the roof, and---"

A red-and-white gloved hand clasped his shoulder. "She has a point, Reaver."

Despite the fact that he felt more like screaming his head off now than anything else, the veteran Field Agent stayed calm. "And why can't we just breach the front door?!" he countered.

"If we did," V.I.C.I. replied, "Aaberg would have every gun in the building trained on us. The roof---"

"The roof is probably mined, or structurally weakened at any spot we could land on, or at the very least under heavy surveilance," Reaver cut in, ticking off the weak points of the "breach the roof" plan on his fingers. "If we go in through the front---especially if we bust in with the Rhino---we can draw their fire, make them waste every shot they could've used on us and then cut the bastards down with return fire. And even if I've never actually tried it myself, the theory is sound---at least seven other Field Agent teams before this one have used that exact maneuver, or some variation of it, to breach hostile territory and get the job done. If anything, the roof breach should be our last resort---"

"As opposed to storming in and getting ourselves killed?" the Man in Grey murmured.

Several of the other Agents nearly screamed when the Man spoke---many of them had actually forgotten he was on the team. "With all due respect," Reaver sighed, "I don't exactly know why you chose to contradict my point of a front-entrance breach being the best way to---"

"It's the best way to die," the Man rasped. "Simple as that."

"Which is why we aren't breaching the front entrance," V.I.C.I. reiterated. "We have enough Field Agents here for 3 regulation ALPA breach teams---five each---and one three-person recon team, and I have a plan that will allow them to do what they do best without getting their heads shot off. Everyone who wants to take part, pay attention and save all questions until the end of the lecture. Everyone else, feel free to get back on the Rhino and come up with your own plan."

After giving the brunette gynoid a minute-long death glare, Reaver stayed put.

V.I.C.I. gave him a small nod. "Right. Now that we're all on the same page...."

She grinned. ".....here's how we're going to beat Aaberg at his own stupid game."
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Five minutes after the Agents had convened behind their armored transport, the team split into the groups that had been suggested during their meeting. Three crews of five Agents each moved out from behind the Rhino to cover three points of a Defensive Diamond formation---one on each side of the Rhino, and one in front. The remaining three-man team made their way past the group in front, disappearing into the darkness leading to Aaberg's stronghold.

"You're positive this idea of yours will work?" Reaver whispered.

"If I wasn't," V.I.C.I. replied, "we'd be going with the next best plan."

"Which would be...."

"Strafing the building with a gunship."

Reaver shook his head, realizing that he, himself, might've been the one to suggest such a stupid plan just a few minutes prior. "I'm guessing you already know why that's a terrible idea, Agent Lawson..."

"I do. Just like you knew that breaching the front of the building would've been a near-suicidal course of action if we'd gone through with it." The brunette gynoid's expression softened; "For the record," she added quietly, her monotone sounding just a bit less cold, "if it were me in your position, trying to suggest a plan I was sure would do the trick---"

"I get the picture. Just...focus on the op, Agent Lawson. I want this to be over with ASAP."

"That makes two of us....Agent Reaves."

Anything Reaver could've said was drowned out by a burst of static from the walkie-talkie from its spot in the holster on his belt. "Recon Team is in position," the Man in Grey rasped. "The service entrances on the east and west sides of the building are unguarded...externally, at least. Could be rigged from the inside---"

"Recon team, hold position." V.I.C.I. thumbed off her own walkie, turning to glance a t the breach teams. "If anyone wants to check the east and west service entrances....." She didn't even have to finish the sentence before the other two teams swept past her, preparing to examine and/or breach the apparent weak points in Aaberg's "impenetrable" defenses. "The side entrances are probably trapped," she muttered, more to herself (both teams had already passed her up and were well on their way to the apparently unguarded doors) than anyone else. "And they don't even stop to let me tell them why they should wait until the recon team finishes its sweep...."

"Waiting only makes it easier for Aaberg to guess our next move," Jen Larsen chimed in. "Going in fast is a far better strategy than hanging back and waiting for someone else to give a signal---besides, something tells me that you'd be the one in support of running in if you were in their place...."

V.I.C.I. stared at her for a few minutes before nodding.

"Then you know why we need them in there now...and why waiting is a luxury we can't afford."

"I do....and I also know that this op is probably going to be the last mission for at least one or two Field Agents. I don't want anyone getting sent to their deaths needlessly, Hummingbird....I've seen enough of that to last me a dozen lifetimes."

Jen nodded solemnly. "You have my word that I'll do my best not to die, Agent Lawson," she replied.

"Good---I'll do my best not to let you die. Ready to head into the breach....Jen?"

"I think the answer to that question goes without saying....Vicki."
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[DollSpace]

You've got me at the edge of my seat! Luckily, I don't bite my nails!

[Uhoh]

The action is so near and the anxiety is insurmountable... about to start 18 now