Codename: Ghost

Party Favors (8)

Of all the possible obstacles to my escape this was the least expected. And most irksome. Still, there was nothing to be done but to face this challenge. I moved forward into a guard position of my own, thinking to end things quickly with an aggressive strike-

Naturally, the BBB beat me to it. "Hyah!" Her first blow nearly broke my arm. "Hurt you?" she purred. "Good. This wouldn't be fun if you didn't feel something." A barrage followed, forcing me back. "HYAH!" It increased. Harder. Faster. "COME ON!!!" More. Always more. My guard was broken. Stumbling backwards, I saw guards turn amidst the crowds ahead, pointing us out. Things had to change. I slipped around her, spinning to deliver a revserse roundhouse kick. She sidestepped, grabbed my leg and swung me around to throw me bodily against the nearby wall. Pain. Lots of pain. My suit saved me. A shot of adrenaline struck from its needle. I rose, groaning. The BBB bounced on her toes ahead of me, swinging her arms. She then settled back into her guard position, her dress still immaculate. "That was one hell of a warmup." Her smile grew wider. "How about we get serious?"

I fled.

"HEY!!!"

There is no pride in covert ops. She clearly outclassed me in hand to hand combat. No question. But few could keep up with me on the run, as I quickly proved. Still, security was on her side. Guards formed a wall ahead. I fled into a sidehall. Boots pounded. "Come back here, bitch!" My legs pumped. I ran faster, dodging through traffic. An open courtyard beckoned. I headed right out into the milling crowds. Cultured voices shouted. Fingers pointed. The BBB barreled after me. I pushed. Dodged. Ducked. Slid. Hands reached. Bullets fired. The BBB cut me off but I dodged left, spinning. She turned and was nearly trampled by the crowd. "I will fucking find you!!!!" More bullets fired. Close. The crowd scattered. I made it around a corner just in time.

The clock was almost out.

I ran across a pristine lawn. An outbuilding loomed, the compound's outer wall standing tall behind. Bullets rang out. Some hit me. My bulletproof sneaking suit was not pierced. I still staggered. Burning. My back burned. Bruised, battered, bleeding and exhausted, I pushed myself to the limit, racing past a wall to avoid the next barrage. Leftover adrenaline from my suit's emergency shot earlier chugged in my veins. Any more would be dangerous. I raced up a staircase. I found a trellis. I then climbed up it, hand by hand by hand by hand. At the top I pulled myself onto the roof, back up and sprinting before catching my breath. There was a stitch in my side. My breath came harsh. My muscles ached. It all hurt. But there was no time. Spotlights tracked me. I put on a final burst of speed, leaping from the edge. Soaring. My landing on the lower wallwalk was rough. No time! I raced up another staircase, bullets chipping the stone behind me. My display circle activated. I checked the water below for rocks. Guards rushed up both stairs ahead and behind me. NO TIME! I zagged, leapt onto the walltop and threw myself over, soaring out into open space above the crashing waves below.

Falling. Falling. Falling.

My arms snapped together like black-clad knives. They parted the water an instant before I hit it like a damn freight train. My breath exploded. I bobbed up for air, stunned. Spotlights tracked me. Voices shouted for someone to activate the underwater security system as I dove back underwater to avoid the latest hail of bullets.

Good thing I had collected my "security bonus" before leaving.

People talk about being pushed to the limit. They had done it to all of us in training, and this mission had done it again. My body ached. Blood flowed. Everything hurt. From top to bottom. Discipline won out though. I swam underwater as far as I could. My All1 provided limited oxygen. By the time I reached the tertiary extraction point my lungs burned with suppressed need... déjà vu. I found the underwater hand-propeller in the coastal reef where our previous scouting agent had stashed it six months ago. Attaching the air tube pumped fresh oxygen into my suit. I revved the hand-propeller's engine, pointed it's noise towards deeper water and hit ignition. The blades spun. Speed built, pulling me with increasing force. 

I shot out into the salty darkness. As the dictator's private island receded away behind me, a crazy thought forced a smile onto my aching face...

That had been one hell of a party.

...

Infiltration Mission #17 Status: Complete