Resurrection - Chapter 24
The plan, such as it is, is complete, and now it's time to rock and roll. There are far too many unknowns, but time won't change that, and time is not on their side.
Chapter 24
Phil had one last stop before deploying his teams, parking outside the offices of the national police. Inside he presented a quick plan, asking the locals to form a second line of defense in case things went sideways. He also collected some heavy weaponry required to execute the ideas they had agreed to use.
Back outside the team had one final review, confirming that everyone was on the same page. “Chuck and Anthony check out the back porch and mark the back door. Skye and I will open the front door then Trip and Kadeem will open a window. From there we’ll clear the living room and if they retreat to the kitchen, Chuck and Anthony will pop in to say hello from the pantry. We pick up the nuralizer and Bob’s your uncle.”
Everyone looked at him, nodding their common understanding. Then, as Phil prepared to come up with his final pep talk, Skye stepped up to take the stage.
“We all know what's at stake. It's not about SHIELD. It's not about Bennett Gross. It's about Melinda May, the heart and soul of our team. Last time she had to step in and save the day. She answered the call that day, and we all know she would again today if she could. Now she needs our help, so let's do this.”
Phil concluded there was nothing more to be said, so he kept his comments short. “Let's go. Let's do this.”
The team scattered into the four different vehicles they had commandeered, a dirty, dusty Land Rover, a beat up service van, and two cars unlikely to be considered a threat: a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and a shiny blue Mini Cooper. As they pulled out onto the highway, each team checked their comms links. Those that had the blaster defense systems checked them again, hoping they would work as well as they had in the lab tests.
* * * * *
After a final confirmation that everyone was in position, Phil gave the go-ahead order and things began to happen. Chuck and Anthony, two of the local agents, entered the building from the north side, walking easily into the spaces where the delivery company operated, and directing those present to evacuate, explaining to them just enough to firmly establish their desire to be elsewhere.
As was hoped, their subsequent search found nothing of interest and confirmed there were no connecting doorways that led into the other occupancies. With that done they quickly identified the common wall and placed a line of explosives certain to blow a man-sized hole when triggered. Then they reported in and waited.
Outside, the other cars began moving. Trip, driving the Mini Cooper, approached from the south while Skye rolled in from the north. As a diversion, the plan called for them to pass each other, hoping that that ploy would be distracting long enough to prevent an organized defense. As Skye braked to a halt on the site of the previous battle, Phil leveled an oversized RPG at the roll up door…and fired. The blast sent fire and metal shards deep into the building, destroying one of the cars and wounding two members of Gross’ team that were loading some of their loot into the trunk.
Gross and his men began to react, grabbing for weapons and running out of their day room to defend their vehicles and assist their fellow thieves, but before they could establish a plan a second RPG, fired by Trip from the south side of the building blew a huge hole in the wall, creating more confusion and demanding that Gross defend more than one front. To that point in time Phil’s plan was working perfectly.
Trip and his partner advanced first, and they were met with a series of blaster flashes. Trip’s defensive unit successfully deflected them, and Kadeem, his partner and the survivor from the first battle, was able to wound their assailant by firing a round through their shield. Unfortunately another man scooped up the Chitauri weapon and continued with another series of shots.
With that battle joined, Skye and Phil entered through the remains of the roll-up door. A blaster shot quickly in their direction, passing neatly between them as their protective cones funneled it there while outside Jae and David, the last pair of Clark’s agents, stood guard. They were the least experienced pair, and they were detailed to serve as backup should things go badly. They had some heavier weapons but did not carry any defense against the Chitauri devices and their specific charge was to take out any vehicle should Gross try to escape.
As planned, Skye and Phil worked towards their left, forcing Gross to divide his forces an deal with attacks from widely-separated invaders. Trip and Kadeem ducked behind the remaining operable vehicle, and took advantage of a lull to flatten the driver’s side tires ensuring that the bad guys couldn’t escape except on foot.
Skye and Phil, each wearing a defensive device, separated from each other, further diluting the defenders. As a man rose from behind a pile of furniture, Phil took careful aim and fired, watching him fall. “Three down,” he yelled, adding his success to the two men originally injured by the damaged car.
“Four down,” Trip yelled, dropping another man who was trying to run for the cover of a room in the back. Somewhat quieter, using the comm. link rather than yelling, he added another important piece of information. “One of the blasters I down.” While the information was helpful, it wasn’t conclusive since they had no idea how many Chitauri weapons Gross possessed.
“We’ve got a problem,” Phil breathed out. “They’re all inside that back room, and the only way in is that door.”
Skye considered the situation for a moment, and then made a suggestion. “Jae and David, we need your help.” She was very aware that they had no protection from the blasters, or the nuralizer for that matter, but her idea shouldn’t expose them significantly.
David responded. “What do you need?”
“Straight back from the roll-up door…slightly to the right, is a doorway that leads into another room. It’s probably a pretty small room, but we’ll get killed if we try to take it through that door. We need a window. Take your RPG and fire a round about ten feet to the right of the door. We’ll lay some covering fire at the door.”
“Roger that,” David responded. As Phil and Skye poured some un-aimed rounds through the door David entered, knelt beside the damaged car, and lined up his tube. He fired, and the shaped charge of the RPG blew a ragged hole in the wall, allowing Trip and Kadeem to move out from behind the second car and begin to pour some additional fire through the hole.
Amongst the noise and confusion they heard a clearly-defined scream that suggested at least one round had found its mark inside. With no return fire coming through the doorway, Skye and Phil worked their way to the wall, ready to enter and make a final assault. Directly in front of them one man tried to escape through the door but Phil cut him down. Before they could do anything more someone inside the room pulled the man back inside, leaving a large pool of blood to mark the spot.
Chapter 24
Phil had one last stop before deploying his teams, parking outside the offices of the national police. Inside he presented a quick plan, asking the locals to form a second line of defense in case things went sideways. He also collected some heavy weaponry required to execute the ideas they had agreed to use.
Back outside the team had one final review, confirming that everyone was on the same page. “Chuck and Anthony check out the back porch and mark the back door. Skye and I will open the front door then Trip and Kadeem will open a window. From there we’ll clear the living room and if they retreat to the kitchen, Chuck and Anthony will pop in to say hello from the pantry. We pick up the nuralizer and Bob’s your uncle.”
Everyone looked at him, nodding their common understanding. Then, as Phil prepared to come up with his final pep talk, Skye stepped up to take the stage.
“We all know what's at stake. It's not about SHIELD. It's not about Bennett Gross. It's about Melinda May, the heart and soul of our team. Last time she had to step in and save the day. She answered the call that day, and we all know she would again today if she could. Now she needs our help, so let's do this.”
Phil concluded there was nothing more to be said, so he kept his comments short. “Let's go. Let's do this.”
The team scattered into the four different vehicles they had commandeered, a dirty, dusty Land Rover, a beat up service van, and two cars unlikely to be considered a threat: a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and a shiny blue Mini Cooper. As they pulled out onto the highway, each team checked their comms links. Those that had the blaster defense systems checked them again, hoping they would work as well as they had in the lab tests.
* * * * *
After a final confirmation that everyone was in position, Phil gave the go-ahead order and things began to happen. Chuck and Anthony, two of the local agents, entered the building from the north side, walking easily into the spaces where the delivery company operated, and directing those present to evacuate, explaining to them just enough to firmly establish their desire to be elsewhere.
As was hoped, their subsequent search found nothing of interest and confirmed there were no connecting doorways that led into the other occupancies. With that done they quickly identified the common wall and placed a line of explosives certain to blow a man-sized hole when triggered. Then they reported in and waited.
Outside, the other cars began moving. Trip, driving the Mini Cooper, approached from the south while Skye rolled in from the north. As a diversion, the plan called for them to pass each other, hoping that that ploy would be distracting long enough to prevent an organized defense. As Skye braked to a halt on the site of the previous battle, Phil leveled an oversized RPG at the roll up door…and fired. The blast sent fire and metal shards deep into the building, destroying one of the cars and wounding two members of Gross’ team that were loading some of their loot into the trunk.
Gross and his men began to react, grabbing for weapons and running out of their day room to defend their vehicles and assist their fellow thieves, but before they could establish a plan a second RPG, fired by Trip from the south side of the building blew a huge hole in the wall, creating more confusion and demanding that Gross defend more than one front. To that point in time Phil’s plan was working perfectly.
Trip and his partner advanced first, and they were met with a series of blaster flashes. Trip’s defensive unit successfully deflected them, and Kadeem, his partner and the survivor from the first battle, was able to wound their assailant by firing a round through their shield. Unfortunately another man scooped up the Chitauri weapon and continued with another series of shots.
With that battle joined, Skye and Phil entered through the remains of the roll-up door. A blaster shot quickly in their direction, passing neatly between them as their protective cones funneled it there while outside Jae and David, the last pair of Clark’s agents, stood guard. They were the least experienced pair, and they were detailed to serve as backup should things go badly. They had some heavier weapons but did not carry any defense against the Chitauri devices and their specific charge was to take out any vehicle should Gross try to escape.
As planned, Skye and Phil worked towards their left, forcing Gross to divide his forces an deal with attacks from widely-separated invaders. Trip and Kadeem ducked behind the remaining operable vehicle, and took advantage of a lull to flatten the driver’s side tires ensuring that the bad guys couldn’t escape except on foot.
Skye and Phil, each wearing a defensive device, separated from each other, further diluting the defenders. As a man rose from behind a pile of furniture, Phil took careful aim and fired, watching him fall. “Three down,” he yelled, adding his success to the two men originally injured by the damaged car.
“Four down,” Trip yelled, dropping another man who was trying to run for the cover of a room in the back. Somewhat quieter, using the comm. link rather than yelling, he added another important piece of information. “One of the blasters I down.” While the information was helpful, it wasn’t conclusive since they had no idea how many Chitauri weapons Gross possessed.
“We’ve got a problem,” Phil breathed out. “They’re all inside that back room, and the only way in is that door.”
Skye considered the situation for a moment, and then made a suggestion. “Jae and David, we need your help.” She was very aware that they had no protection from the blasters, or the nuralizer for that matter, but her idea shouldn’t expose them significantly.
David responded. “What do you need?”
“Straight back from the roll-up door…slightly to the right, is a doorway that leads into another room. It’s probably a pretty small room, but we’ll get killed if we try to take it through that door. We need a window. Take your RPG and fire a round about ten feet to the right of the door. We’ll lay some covering fire at the door.”
“Roger that,” David responded. As Phil and Skye poured some un-aimed rounds through the door David entered, knelt beside the damaged car, and lined up his tube. He fired, and the shaped charge of the RPG blew a ragged hole in the wall, allowing Trip and Kadeem to move out from behind the second car and begin to pour some additional fire through the hole.
Amongst the noise and confusion they heard a clearly-defined scream that suggested at least one round had found its mark inside. With no return fire coming through the doorway, Skye and Phil worked their way to the wall, ready to enter and make a final assault. Directly in front of them one man tried to escape through the door but Phil cut him down. Before they could do anything more someone inside the room pulled the man back inside, leaving a large pool of blood to mark the spot.