The agents finally knocked us all down, cuffed us and had us on our knees on the sidewalk. They proceeded to tie up dash and march her out the door towards a black hawk helicopter. I was so pissed! I stood up to try stopping them. I head butted the first agent closest to me and the second moved to stop me but then a large black Limo came down the street. It had French flags on the front of the bonnet either side.
“Thank Luna!” I said with a sigh of relief.
Two FBI agents grabbed hold of my arms to restrain me just as the Limo pulled up. The French president exited the vehicle and looked to me then at the FBI commander in disappointment.
The FBI commander and President started talking but it was too hard to hear them over the noise of the Helicopter’s blades. The agents with Rainbow Dash ceased their actions and stared at the French president. Both the President and the Commander walked over to me.
“Courage Tylor?” the President asked
“Yes Mr. President?”
“Good to see you again. I have a job for you and your team. I have a little ‘Problem’ I need taking care of but it’s out of my jurisdiction. Can you take care of it?”
“Of course but only under one condition. You tell these ass holes to release Rainbow Dash!”
The President looked at me in shame. “I can’t do that. She is require to take part in vital research”
“Fuck off that’s a load of shit! You have her released or I will do Jack shit for you!” My voice was raised and I was getting increasingly angry. Rainbow dash was struggling with her binds but her attempts were useless.
The president looked at me in despair, and then waved his hand at the agents to tell them to let us all go.
“Alright, I’ll have her released but you need to do this job for me first. You better do good with this next job to make this loss worth it”
I sighed with more relief. “Thank you Mr. President. Now... what is this new job you have for us?”
“Take care of it” he said darkly.
I looked at Rainbow dash and yelled “Don’t worry Dash, just do as they say, I’ll have you released soon. Just don’t do anything stupid okay?”
She slowly stopped struggling and looked at me with a concerned face. She looked really scared; her eyes wide and her ears dropped. She started to struggle again but this time in fear rather than aggression.
The president, without saying anything else, gave me a case file before walking back to the Limo. All of us besides rainbow were released and Liam instantly asked if he could have his Cappuccino now. The president drove off and the FBI flew off with Rainbow dash. I could still see her sad face. It was already burnt into my mind. I had a bad feeling about this but I didn’t have much of a choice and I really wanted to get her back.
----------
Mercenaries: That’s what we were. Warriors that are paid to do the dirty work the military can’t do without looking bad in front of the media. Over the past 6 months me and the others have completed two missions for the UN: one against the African rebels in Kenya and the second against a Russian outpost in Siberia. The pay from those missions went towards building a base of operations inside the cliffs of Dover, our own underground base where we can store equipment and supplies. It was huge and high tech: a Motor pool for our vehicles, armoury for our weapons, a few science labs for me to work in to upgrade our equipment, storage rooms and of course the control room (I call it the computer lab) to monitor security and operations. Not surprising since we did spend £5.4 million on its construction.

We all had a role in the team. A lot of us had proper training and experience. I was also trained since my family was much revolved around the army. In my life time I had picked up a lot off my parents and they even taught me a few things:
Anthony: The ex marine of the team. He served for a couple of years in Iraq until he was discharged for a friendly fire incident. He’s here for his experience in the field and he is one of my oldest friends. Has quite a large social life, always doing something fun or stupid.
Code Name: Viper. Preferred weapon: MSR Sniper
Liam: The retard, also the pilot of my team (Not a great mix if you ask me but it worked). He never takes anything seriously and makes a pun, joke or sexual innuendo at any chance he gets. Will go to extreme lengths to troll and was pretty much a walking talking meme in life. He was definitely the most cheerful part of the team. Lives up north and only ever comes down for important occasions or for new missions.
Code Name: Nash. Preferred weapon: AA-12 Shotgun
Edward: Didn’t have a particular role in the team. Just made it look bigger but he could manage himself well and could fire a gun with great skill and accuracy. Spent a lot of his time playing video games and even had a job as a game tester.
Code Name: Inferno. Preferred weapon: Vector SMG
Violet: Also an ex marine but she served in Africa as a peace keeper but soon quit after 6 months after getting crap from her superiors. I consider her as my best friend and as my main assistant. She was smart, pretty and one heck of a bad ass with a gun. She sometimes keeps me company at the base but normally she’s with her dad helping him run his business.
Code Name: Kitty. Preferred weapon: M4A1
Ryder: The black man of the team. He’s here because he’s a tough black guy. Every good team has a tough black guy! Doesn’t say much and his favorite things are killing, getting paid and gardening. He is the only one in my team I have to pay as well as giving him a huge cut of the mission payments. He’s like my hired gun for my team of hired guns. It may seem pointless but I needed a tough guy like him to do some heavy lifting in the motor pool. I know I have heavy lift machines and equipment but they can’t do everything and everyone else is normally busy with their own lives while I was left alone at the base doing research or upgrading equipment. So I hired him to help out with some physical labor. It turns out he is quite the mechanic.
Code Name: Duke. Preferred weapon: M249
Then there’s me, the smart one. I always came up with the plans and was the egghead behind all of my team’s science. Even had my own lab built in our base and spent my spare time working on some new development to enhance my team’s equipment and training. I didn’t have a real social life. After losing my parents to the war and my sister to the Russian naval attacks eight months ago I didn’t have anything to do besides work. I sometimes went partying but I spent most of the time in the lab or motor pool upgrading something. My work was my only muse but it was enough to keep me going.
Code Name: Cobra. Preferred weapon: M246

It has been a few hours since the president gave me the case file. I had assembled the team in the computer lab to discuss the new mission. I had already reviewed the file and already had a plan of action. I hadn’t been feeling good while I was planning. My mind was constantly worrying about what the Americans might have been doing to Rainbow Dash. I keep imagining scientists cutting up her body and putting her organs in jars. I tried to push the image out of my head, even now, but it kept coming back. I needed to get her out of there, where ever she is. I tried not to worry, it was time to prepare the team for our next job.
“Alright team, we’ve got a new mission”
I threw the case file on the table with it open to a picture of a very tall Russian in a black suit and red tie. Very short hair and a small brown briefcase in his hand. Everyone lent on the table to have a good look at the target.
“His name is Meko Dementori. He’s one of the Russian diplomats in Europe trying to negotiate peace. However he is actually using his diplomatic immunity to smuggle extra weapons into France for some rebels against the french government...”
“...but of course the french military can’t touch him” Implied Anthony.
“That's right so they are sending us. His diplomatic immunity doesn’t protect against us” I replied.
I continued to brief them.
“...Tomorrow he’ll be here...”
I threw down a satellite image of the Ukraine.
“...here in the city of Rivne. The city was a recent war zone before the Russians finally pushed the UN out of there. Our target will be here...”
I threw down an image of an abandoned warehouse. Gray and rusted but it was full of ammo creates and trucks marked with a scythe and hammer. It was obvious it was being used as the command post for the local forces.
“He will be here for a few hours discussing his plans for the french rebels or some shit like that. We need to take him out and take his brief case. His brief case will have solid proof of the rebels existence and possibly the locations of the rebel cells”
I threw down another image. A birds eye view of our plan of approach. The warehouse could be seen on the far left and a small red circle on the far right titled ‘landing zone’. Some arrows would spread out for the L.Z towards the warehouse.
“Sorry about the crappy arrow graphics, I used Microsoft Paint. Right, Liam will drop us here in this clearing behind the treeline. They won’t see us drop in. Anthony will take his thermal Scope MSR and move here across from the warehouse. Edward and Ryder will move right to this small building. You’ll cover mine and Violet's escape if we get caught. Me and Violet will move into the warehouse, mark the target and steal the case. Once we have the case and get out, Anthony can take out the target. Once the target is dead we will pull back to the clearing where Liam will pick us up. I want you all to meet me at the helicopter outside in 30minutes. Gear up and get ready to go. Understood?”
“Wont the red arrows make us very obvious? I mean a giant red arrow will be very noticeable” asked Liam.
“Be quiet retard...” I said with a blank face.
“You mad bro?!?” Responded Liam
I stared blankly at him for a few seconds then I started talking again.
“Alright guys you have your orders,get going.”

In the armoury me and Violet were gearing up. The others had all ready geared up and left for the chopper leaving me and Violet alone making small talk. This was a stealth mission so me and Violet had to spend a little longer than the others to get our face paint and silencers on. Violet was screwing on her silencer to the end of her M4 and I was clipping my MP5 to my body and applying my black face paint. We were both silent as we geared ourselves up with maybe a small sigh from her like she just wanted to get this over with. I finally broke the silence:
“Does your dad know?”
“About what?” She answered worryingly
“You know, about this. You being a merc and fighting Russians?”
She slammed her gun down on the bench and stood up
“Of course not. He would kill me!” she said Raising her voice.
I opened my mouth as I was about to say something but Liam radioed us, breaking the conversation between me and Violet
“Hay Courage, Chopper is fueled and ready to go. We’re waiting on you and Violet”
I turned away and spoke into my ear piece“Rodger that Liam...” I turned back to violet “...We should get going. They're waiting for us”

Me and Violet reached the chopper. It was Blue with pink flames down the side and a call-sign on the nose and tail. The call-sign was ‘S.H.I.T’. The abbreviation of ‘Super Hyper Instantaneous Transport’. Liam thought of the name and specifically so he could have shit down the sides. It’s not very appropriate I know but he was the Pilot and I wanted his Helicopter to be as comfortable for him as possible. Me and violet climbed aboard greeted by Liam’s voice in our ear pieces:
“Welcome aboard Retard Airways. I'm your Pilot, Mr.Nashy Mc.Nashington, and today's in-flight movie is attack of the giant blob. We hope you have a warm and comfortable journey and please keep your arms and legs inside the Helicopter at all times.”
I spoke into my ear piece, “Okay Nash, you have the green light to leave.”

After a three hour flight to the Ukraine we were approaching the Landing Zone.
Liam's voice was coming through our ear pieces again, “We’re approaching the landing zone, ETA two minutes”
I started to address the team, “You heard him team, load up and get ready. As soon as we touch down we will execute our orders. You know what we are doing and most of all avoid detection at all costs; even if it means breaking the plan. This will be ten times more difficult if we have to fight them all. Not to mention it will alert the target if guns start going off. As soon as your feet touch the floor we will be entering mission conditions: Code names only and try to maintain radio silence. It is vital we achieve the objectives; Rainbow dash is depending on it.”

Liam hovered us right above the ground as we all jumped off. Anthony instantly moved away to get into position, he didn’t even stop to look around. Edward and Ryder look at me and nodded to signal that they were about to move into position. As they moved away I looked at Violet and signaled her to move out. We managed to make it through the woods and reached the warehouse. It didn’t seem like there were an patrols out here in the woodlands. In front of us was a large set of Train tracks inside a large trench and beyond that was the warehouse. Four tracks ran parallel down the trench and either side the banks were covered in thick green vegetation. On the track furthest away was a dark coloured train, each car marked with the the sickle and hammer. Some of the cars were used for transporting vehicles which meant they had no walls or roof. These particular cars had a few soldiers standing on them which meant we would need to sneak past them to reach the warehouse. We managed to prone all the way across the trench and under the train.
We were under the train now. Two Russians had started walking past the car we were hiding under.
“Three Russians, walking past your car now, stay down” I could here Anthony warning me in my ear piece.
“You sure it’s three? I can only see two” I whispered sparingly into my microphone.
Anthony quickly responded, “One’s on the bank of the trench, you won’t be able to see his feet from your angle”
“Course of action?” I asked.
Anthony was silent for about 5 seconds then quietly supplied us with a plan. “Just wait for them to walk further down the tracks. Then when I say, crawl out and run up that bank. Once your up you should immediately take cover behind the large tanker lorry. That’ll keep you hidden from the guards at the back entrance of the warehouse.”
“Alright, me and Kitty are ready, waiting on your orders Viper.”
Me and Violet were waiting for a fair few seconds for Anthony’s signal. Nearly a minute had passed and I was starting to get an itch on my arm. Just as I moved to itch Anthony quickly ordered us to move:
“Go go go, quickly!”
Violet rolled out from under the train and so did I right after her. We quickly climbed the bank Hoping no one would spot us. It was getting darker as it was late evening but it wasn’t yet pitch black. I wasn’t used to doing stealth under even slightly light conditions. I always had a fear of being spotted. Me and Violet had made it up the bank and ducked down behind the lorry. I waited for Anthony to confirm we had not been spotted but worryingly he had been silent the whole time since we rolled out from the train. Many Seconds passed and I could feel sweat run down my for head. I would have contacted him but there where too many Russians around and they would most likely hear me
After many more seconds Anthony finally replied. “Your clear”

I took a peak around the side of the truck. “Russians everywhere” was my first thought. Ammo crates and troop trucks littered the area between us and the back entrance. Many Russians were walking around and I could see multiple guards walking on the roof of the warehouse. A helicopter passed over head with a spot light but luckily the spot light was aimed at the tracks we had just passed. By now I had realised that these soldiers were not just soldiers but in fact the Spetnaz, the advanced infantry unit for the Russians. I could see the Spetnaz badge on their arms. Clearly this “Diplomat” was quite important to the Russians. This also meant that if we got caught they would most likely gun us down in seconds. We were good but to take on a whole division of the great and legendary Spetnaz was just plain stupid and suicide. The Spetnaz are very Famous for their Operations in china. They are the reason China was forced to side with the Russians in the first place. I turned to Violet to speak, quietly of course:
“We’re screwed” we’re the first words to come out of my mouth.
She looked at me in despair, “So what now?”
“Well, we could try our luck and just sneak our way up using the ammo crates for cover. Avoiding the Snipers and Helicopter of course”
“Wow... sounds like a well thought out plan” She said with a hint of sarcasm... the followed with an enthusiastic “Let’s do it” followed by a cheeky grin.

We began moving up to the first stack of ammo creates. No one saw us and the helicopter seem to have flown to the other side of the warehouse. It wouldn't be long before it got back so we wanted to make good time. We continued to sneak up, taking cover behind creates and trucks and avoiding every soldier that was patrolling the area. We we’re not very far from the warehouse now. A truck was parked right by the main door and two guys stood beside it. Looking towards the tracks. They were not going to move from that spot.
“Lets move round the side. We can crawl under the truck and take them out. Then we will be able to sneak inside. Hopefully no one will notice they are gone, at least not right away anyway”
Violet looked at me and nodded, agreeing to my plan. We veered left to sneak up on the guys. We crawled under the truck and took position behind the guys at their feet. I looked at violet and nodded at her. A that moment we grabbed the men's feet, pulled them to the floor and stabbed them in the back, making sure our blades went into their lungs. That would drown them in their blood and keep them from screaming for help. We dragged their bodies under the truck to hide them then quickly stacked up at the large warehouse door.
“Nice kills” I could hear Anthony say through my ear piece.
I took a peak around the corner to find a well lit warehouse full of Russian ammo creates and many many guards. No sign of the target or his brief case. I looked up and saw a small office that could be accessed from the cat walk above. That office seemed like a pretty good place to put a brief case. The target might even be in there himself. We both snuck into the warehouse as the helicopter came back around. We took cover behind some more ammo creates still unseen by the guards. We started walking by the far wall making sure we stayed hidden in the shadows till we reached the stairs to the cat walk.
Violet tapped me on the solder and pointed out “There’s no way we’re getting across that cat walk without being seen”
“You’re right but we need to get into that office” I quickly responded “That’s the only place he could be”
Anthony could see right into the warehouse as he was directly opposite the large door in the distance.
“Viper? Can you verify if he’s in the office?” I ask through my Microphone
“Hang on.... Let me get a lower vantage point....”
We waited a few seconds...
“The office above the rocket boxes right? Yeah, that looks like him”
“What about his brief case?”
“Nope, it’s not with him”
“Damn” I said cursively! “...okay, switch to your thermal and keep an eye on the target. If he tries to leave your sight then take the shot, no questions asked okay?”
“Got it, Viper out”
Without that brief case the mission would not be a success. The French President specifically asked for the case. We were kind of stuck in the warehouse, the target was in sight and we had no idea where the brief case was.
“Hay Cobra, did you mean this brief case?” asked Ryder courteously but still in his very masculine voice. “...The target must have hid it here in this building while he had a meeting with the rebel leader”
“Rebel leader?” I asked.”How did you know about that?”
“It says it in his planner right here”, He said it like he was stating the obvious.
“Good, get back to the LZ with it then. Now! Viper, get ready to take out EVERYONE in that office. One of them is also the rebel leader”

Me and Violet managed to sneak back out of the warehouse. Sneaking in wasn’t completely in vain as we stole some C4 explosives from one of the creates: A little parting gift to remember them by. Once we were clear of the tracks I ordered Anthony to take his kills. As me and violet headed back we could hear multiple Sniper shots sound behind us. Once we had all regrouped at the LZ I had Liam pick us up. We were now on our way home. I had a look in the brief case and I was shocked at what I saw.
“The president is going to love this” I said out loud in a sarcastic tone. “Liam! You better make a detour to France. I think they are going to have plenty more missions for us...”