Front Lines (Chapters 6-10)

===Chapter Six: Fancy Dinner===
"So the mission was a total blow," sighed Scope as they drove to the 4-bedroom flat they all shared. It was cheaper that way, and they were all used to living with each other.
"Not totally," replied Timer. "Fort Descetro's destroyed, Dagger has probably been disbanded and I doubt we'll hear from Hassar for a while. Besides, we get the whole month off!"
"And why do we all have to come to dinner with you and Sasha? Isn't a date meant to private? Plus, I've got better things to do than watch you stick your tongue down the back of her throat!" grumbled Scope.
"Oh really?" smirked Shade raising an eyebrow. "That stack of stupid adult DVDs behind your desk says otherwise. Now I know what that groaning noise is at night."
"I don't know what you're talking about Scott," protested Scope.
"For the last time, it is not a date!" insisted Timer, cutting off Shade before he could wind up Scope. "And to answer your other question, Sasha wants to meet you all. To be honest, I have no idea why she wants to even sit at the same table with you and Rapid. She obviously doesn't know you two are total pigs when it comes to food."
"What can I say? I like my meat," chuckled Scope. "But why did I even agree to this anyway?" he asked.
"If my memory serves me," Timer growled, waving a wad of cash, "it's because I'm paying for the drinks!"
With those words Scope's eyes lit up and he stopped bothering Timer, somewhat satisfied with his answers. Later, after they had reached the flat, Timer was fussing over which suit to wear when Rapid strode in, grinning mischievously.
"You look ridiculous, Trent!" he smirked. "I reckon the one with the red frills and bells on it would do just fine!" he said as he burst into a laughing fit. Timer was ready to spit out an insult of his own, but he bit his tongue & didn't say anything. Even so, his furious gaze could have melted a steel bar. Quickly he came up with a comeback.
"Well at least I spend time with chicks my age and don't go hunting around for ones 30 years older than me!" snapped Timer.
"Hey! You said we were not gonna speak about the New Years incident anymore. I was totally hammered that night anyway!" Rapid explained.
Timer chuckled "Yeah, but my mom still hates you!"
Rapid growled menacingly and lumbered away.
Meanwhile, Shade had changed into a striped black suit and dark sunglasses. Scope was sitting on his bed, flicking through a magazine.
"Looks good," Scope commented at Shade's dress choice. "The sunglasses match your name," he said. Scope hadn't bothered to put on anything too fancy. He wore a pair of Vans shoes and straight leg jeans, with a plain black t-shirt he'd bought from the local department store.
"I can't say the same about you," Shade grinned, scanning Scope up and down.
"What can I say? Simplicity looks great on me!." said Scope
"I'll tell you what, spark up and mabye I'll buy you another slab of beer when we get there." spoke Shade walking out of the room.
"You can talk," mumbled Scope. "You depressive piece of-"
"What was that?!" growled Shade turning around sharply.
"Nothing, nothing." said Scope weakly knowing all to well that Shade would break his arm if he got pissed off.
It was 7:00 by the time the gang had arrived at the restaurant and like she had promised Sasha had booked a table for 5 and was waiting for them to arrive. Timer pulled out Sasha's seat for her to sit down. With a smile, she settled into it. Scope had the same idea for Rapid. However, as Rapid went to sit down, Scope yanked the chair from underneath him and in a split second he was sprawled on the ground scowling.
"Why do you have to be such a child, Andrew?" hissed Timer. "Hey? Where's Scott?"
"Right here." popped up Shade from behind.
"For heaven's sake!" yelled Timer. "I've told you not to sneak up on me like that!"
"Sorry Mom!" yelled back Shade sarcastically. But then he took one look and Sasha's sad face and piped down.
"Now," said Sasha "Lets order drinks. I'll have a martini."
"Same." said Timer
"Scotch on the rocks." said Shade.
"Beer," said Rapid and Scope in unison.
"Okay, but I don't want you two getting drunk tonight. OK?" growled Timer.
"Whatever you say Trent," smirked the two.
===Chapter Seven: Drunk===
It was 11:00 o'clock and Rapid was slugging beers faster than Scope could pull a trigger.
Shade looked at his watch. "Its late, we better head back Trent."
"Yeah, after one more beer," said Timer.
"Me too..." slurred Rapid.
"I think you're hammered enough. You can just pick at the bowl of peanuts."
Rapid gave Timer the finger and took another long glug of his beer.
"I'm going outside for a smoke." lied Shade. In truth he didn't smoke; he was just sick of Scope and Rapid's antics. Shade actually despised cigarettes more than anyone else on the team.
"OK," replied Timer as he headed off to purchase one last beer.
"Hey," called Scope. "You see that hot chick over at table 14? I'm gonna go see if I can work the old Scope charm."
"Just don't come back with a black eye," spoke Shade from outside.
"With any luck," said Scope, "I wont have to come back at all."
Now Rapid and Sasha were the only ones left at the table. Sasha didn't know what to say as Rapid skulled the remaining drops of his beer. After about 5 minutes of silence Rapid spoke up.
"Hey Sasha," gurgled Rapid placing a hand on her lap, "I've got a fun fact for you."
Sasha looked uneasy but hoped Timer would come back soon.
"There are 206 bones in the human body," Rapid continued. "Want more?" he asked suggestively.
With those words Sasha's face erupted into a snarl and she delivered a powerful slap to Rapid's face. That, combined with the massive amount of alcohol he'd consumed, caused him to spew his dinner all over Sasha and collapse onto the floor in a puddle of sick. Sasha's jaw would have dropped in disgust as she wiped hot yellow vomit off of her face, but she would've got it in her mouth. At the same time, Scope received a slap in the face from the girl at table 14. He wasn't quite as smashed as Rapid and he managed to stagger back to where Sasha was sitting. Scope couldn't resist laughing at the expression on Sasha's face. Shade glanced in his direction and he shut up promptly. Timer came back with a cold beer in his hand, but when he saw the scene, he dropped it, causing the bottle to smash and fizzy yellow liquid to spill into the carpet.
"What the hell!" exploded Timer.
"Rapid got drunk, tried to woo your girlfriend, got slapped and vomited everywhere," explained Shade casually. It wasn't the first time Rapid had caused a major embarrassment. Timer scanned the room and realized everyone in the restaurant was looking at him.
"What are you looking at?!" roared Timer. The guests returned to their meals and a round of murmurs and whispers went around.
"I'm sorry Trent, but this just isn't working out," sobbed Sasha. "You call these fools with atrocious manners friends?! And you're always away doing who-knows-what for your 'work'." Tears were streaking down her face now, but they did nothing to wash away the filth. "Good bye, Trent." she wailed, before running out the oak double doors and onto the street.
"No, Sasha, wait!" pleaded Timer, but she was already gone.
The next day Rapid awoke with a groan. His head was spinning and he smelt like puke, which was stained across his shirt and his bed. He stepped up from his bed and walked to the door only to find his foot in a pool of sticky half-dried vomit that no one had cleaned up the night before. Rapid took another step, only to slide in the sick and end up sprawled on the ground . As he stepped into the kitchen he spotted Scope.
"Good morning sunshine," Scope tried to say. He had so much toast and bacon stuffed into his mouth that he had difficulty speaking. Like whenever they were home, Scope had made himself an elaborate breakfast with scrambled eggs, succulent crispy bacon, hashbrowns and buttered toast.
"Jesus! What happened to my head?" groaned Rapid, rubbing a sore spot above his ear.
"While you were unconscious, we had to carry you back to the car. You're a lot heavier than you look, so we kind of dropped you a few times. Maybe you should cut down on the cheeseburgers."
"What's with all this puke everywhere?"
"You got really drunk and puked on Sasha after trying to get it off with her. Trent is gonna absolutely slaughter you!" chuckled Scope.
"Oh, crap."
"Frankly," said Scope, "I don't know why he's so upset. If anything like that ever happened to me I'd just find another chick and the next night we'd be in bed." he laughed.
"Ah, here's Sleeping Beauty!" Timer growled sarcastically, storming into the kitchen and slamming Rapid against the wall. "I specifically told you not to get drunk, and what do you do? Blow all my cash on alcohol and puke it all over my girlfriend!" he roared.
"Trent, I'm sorry.."
"I don't care! Sasha's left me, I'm broke and the whole flat smells like your vomit!"
"Sorry to interrupt your little cat-fight ladies," said Shade, leaning against a wall waving a slip of paper, "but Miss Groves wants to meet us immediately. I think it's a new mission."
"So much for a month off," remarked Scope as he pulled on a Volcom hoodie and strode to the car with Shade who was driving. "Are you coming?" he called to the others. Reluctantly, Timer and Rapid climbed into the back seat together and they drove onto the highway.
===Chapter Eight: Ditched===
Not one of them wanted to speak because they all knew it would start another round of insults between Rapid and Timer. Shade finally broke the silence. "What do you think the mission's about?" Nobody answered.
"Hopefully Amy just wants to have a growl at Rapid for screwing everything up and demolishing our team morale..." Timer commented.
"Or maybe she wants to tell you to stop being such a whiny goody-two shoes and -"
"Listen!" exploded Shade. "If you two are gonna keep carrying on like a pair of poofs for the whole mission I'm not sure I wanna go with you! Yeah, Rapid puked on your girlfriend and yeah Timer's got a temper, but you're acting a pair of bloody children! So shut the hell up before I break every bone in your miserable bodies!" Shade's rare outbursts were not unheard of in the squad but this one really cut deep into Timer.
"Scott!" retorted Timer. "For once, could you shut up and mind your own business!"
But as soon as Timer said this he knew he was in for trouble. Shade slammed his foot down on the brake making everyone jolt forward. Rapid saw Shade's face turn red with fury as he pushed Timer's door open and hauled both of them out onto the pavement before climbing back into the car. "You two," yelled Shade out of the car window, "can work things out while you WALK to Amy's office! In case you're wondering, that's three point two miles, not counting the interior of the building!"
Rapid opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Shade. "Any smart comments and I might decide to run you over when I get going again!" With those words, he floored the accelerator and the tyres squealed as the car lurched back onto the highway. Timer scowled and swore.
"Come on. As much as I'd love to grind your face into the pavement, I want to make a good impression on this new woman. She might turn out to be really aggressive. Let's go." Timer took off at a swift pace, closely followed by Rapid. The whole team had spent three months training - one month together, working on strength, endurance and fighting skills, and two months separated each learning the thing that they specialized in.
Meanwhile, Shade and Scope were silent as they parked at the Pentagon. 
"Oh snap Shadey boy!" squealed Scope. "Timer and Rapid are gonna be real pissed at you!" 
"Just let them try it. I'll break every bone in their body if they complain." snorted Shade. "Now hurry up, we're gonna be late."
"What is Amy gonna do? Compare us to how speedy Timer and Rapid got here? I think not!" huffed Scope.
Shade shot Scope one of his either get out or I make you stares and Scope instantly rolled up his window. The two passed a pair of security guards who let them through as soon as Shade flashed his level 5 clearance ID. Miss Groves was waiting for them as they strode up to his desk.
"Where's Timer and Rapid?" she asked as they sat down.
"I ditched them." Shade responded casually.
"I know. Trent called me on his mobile. This is exactly the kind of thing we want to prevent! How can you function as a team if you're divided by petty rivalries?!"
"Trent and Rob were taking chunks out of each other. I got sick of it and did us all a favor and dumped them. Go ahead, fire me." Shade responded.
"You know I can't afford to do that," replied Amy, scowling. "This is a very important mission and I need you all together to give you the proper briefing."
At that moment Timer and Rapid burst into the office. They were panting heavily, and both of them had droplets of sweat oozing from their brows.
"Sorry we're late," gasped Timer. "Someone dropped Rapid and I off two miles from here."
Shade didn't say a word. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly into the hint of a smile.
"As much as I'd love to rant and rave about teamwork, you all know I can't really do anything to stop you and this mission, like all of them, is very important."
The team nodded and waited for Amy Groves to reveal their new assignment.
===Chapter Nine: Briefed===
Miss Groves passed each one of them several sheets of paper stapled together. On the cover was a page with an orange border marked 'TOP SECRET', and all of the documents were stamped with the date and time. "This mission is going to be quite easy compared to your recent stunts at Malaysia, but it's no walk in the park." Amy handed out another few leaflets of paper. Each one contained the criminal records of several men.
"These are the known members of a gang called the Intruders. Recently, they have become quite prominent in the drugs business and have managed to eliminate most of their competition from more minor gangs. The big problem is that the local police haven't been able to get any solid evidence that we can nail them with. That's where you come in. We need one of you to go undercover with them for a little while, find out some information - then the rest of you can take them out, and either we can sentence them in court, or, if you have to use lethal force, we can cover it up with the story that they were murdered by another rival gang. So, who's going undercover?"
"Me!" exclaimed Scope, eager to be the star of the mission.
"Raise your hand if you object," said Shade. The other three and Amy all put their hands in the air.
"As much as I hate him," Rapid began, "I think Shade would be good for the job."
"Let's put it to a vote then." Miss Groves decided. "Scope?"
Only Scope raised his hand.
"Shade?" Shade and Rapid raised their hands.
"Rapid?" Nobody.
"Timer?" Timer and Amy raised their hands.
"OK then. Timer and Shade - paper, scissors, rock."
Shade scowled at Timer, who scowled back. "It's on," Shade whispered so that only Timer could hear.
"Paper, scissors, rock!" they chanted simultaneously. Both of them chose paper, so they automatically began a second round. "Paper, scissors, rock!" the pair repeated. As their fists came down side-by-side, they both revealed their choices. Timer had chosen rock, his hand curled into a ball. Shade had picked paper. Shade grinned at Timer, who narrowed his eyes.
"It's settled. Shade shall infiltrate the Intruders, gather as much information as he can, and he'll call in the rest of you to help take out the gang. Of course I don't need to tell you this, but read those briefings I gave you. Oh yes, and remember to destroy them when you're done."
"Yeah yeah, we've been through this heaps of times. You forget that we've been kicking criminal ass for two years now." Rapid chuckled.
"True, but don't get arrogant or before you know it you'll be outwitted and somebody will shoot you so many times you'll look like a piece of blood-soaked swiss cheese. Now, for the rest of you." Amy clapped her hands and Lester entered the room, along with three other men. They were carrying a huge crate filled to the top with new and advanced weapons.
"Wow, it's like Christmas Day came early..." Rapid muttered, looking on with awe at the destructive machines presented before him.
"These experimental weapons were recently developed exclusively for your use in missions. Use them wisely, they cost a fortune." Lester told them.
"Count me in!" Rapid exclaimed, diving for a complex-looking weapon which fired an invisible, scentless poison that could kill a man in seconds. Shade waited while the others scrambled for weapons, before taking out a sharp katana.
"Be very careful with that, Shade. It's coated with chemicals that will eat away at your flesh in seconds. It's so strong you can cut through solid steel with it." Lester warned.
"Sounds like my type of sword." Shade expertly twirled it in a circular motion, before drawing a line on the floor. The carpet sizzled and burned where he had touched it.
"Enjoy." Lester said. Timer was holding a small handful of metal pellets.
"Let me guess, impact-activated compressed explosive?" he asked.
Lester nodded in reply. "You might want to take those to the firing range to try out," he suggested. Scope grinned and headed for the elevator, the others following close behind him.
===Chapter Ten: Firing Range===
The firing range was far more than simply a firing range; it was sort of a training area and testing facility specifically for the team's use. It was located twenty kilometers out of Washington DC, in a fenced-off area surrounded by CCTV cameras and was guarded 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It wasn't only used to test the lethal weapons used by the team, but also to store them in an underground safe with eight 12-digit combination locks, four of them electronic. The range, two kilometers long and one kilometer wide, contained targets, an agility and fitness course, a paintball arena with rusty cars and other obstacles to hide behind and even a room for planning and research. The entire complex was surrounded with multiple twenty-foot high razor wire fences. 
"Ah, the good ol' range," Rapid grinned as he waved a security pass and strode through the gates, the rest of the team following close behind. As Scope dashed ahead to try out a new sniper rifle, Timer pulled Rapid and Shade aside to have a word.
"I'm really sorry for my behavior earlier today guys," Timer said. "I've been acting like a complete retard all day. You both know I don't have outbursts like this very often, I don't know why I've been so angry."
"Don't worry about it, Trent, it was my fault. I was the one who got so drunk I vomited and passed out. Forgive me for my actions last night." Rapid replied.
"I probably shouldn't have ditched you both earlier. Although, I have to admit it was vary amusing watching you try to catch up," Shade smirked.
"Are you coming or what?" Scope shouted from ahead. "I wanna have a round of paintball!"
Rapid arrived next to Scope as he closely examined the firing quality of a loaded paintball gun.
"Paintball?" murmured Rapid next to him. "We've got everything from handguns to flamethrowers and fully loaded rocket launchers and you want paintball?" chuckled Rapid.
"For your information," said Scope calmly, "I enjoy the sleek pointy shape a paintball gun."
"Yeah," murmured Rapid, "almost as pointy as your di - OWWWW!!!!" yelped Rapid as a paintball shot slammed into his muscular left thigh. 
"To be honest, I enjoy the feel of the gun much less than I enjoy your agonized yelping when I own the crap out of you in paintball." Scope smirked, and with that, he fired another three shots that ate into Rapid's unarmored body, leaving huge red welts and dribbles of paint. "I might let you go if you beg for mercy," Scope giggled. Instead, Rapid swept his legs out from underneath him, sprang to his feet and caught Scope in a headlock.
"OK, you win," gasped Scope. "Let me go."
Rapid practically threw Scope to the ground and grinned at him.
"I'm off to check out the damage this baby can do," said Rapid, holding up a large machine gun. "According to Lester, it fires 1200 rounds a minute."
Meanwhile, Timer was in the area of the complex known as 'The Field'. It was an empty minefield which was now used whenever explosives needed to be tested. The ground was a mass of scorched earth from the numerous occasions on which Timer had torched the place. He now held one of the pellets he had taken from the box of weapons. Grasping it between his gloved thumb and forefinger, he tossed the tiny sphere as far as he could. Timer quickly recoiled as a wave of heat from the detonation blasted him backwards into the blackened soil.
"Holy crap, those things sure pack a punch," Timer muttered to himself, running a hand through his slightly sweaty blond hair and clambering to his feet.
On the southern side of the range Shade unsheathed his acidic sword with a seething hiss from the tip. A tiny plume of smoke drifted upwards from the deadly blade.
"Might as well go test this out," he muttered. "I'll probably end up using those practice dummies again."
"What? You mean the ones you were complaining about because they can't fight back?" inquired Rapid as his muscular arm lifted the gun above his shoulder.
"Yeah," answered Shade. "The training bots I broke last week are gone and Lester hasn't had any new ones shipped in yet. Damn he was pissed!" he chuckled, a rare grin creeping across his face.
"Oh I wouldn't be so sure about that," smiled Rapid, pointing mischeviously to the note attached to the close qaurters training compound. The note read:
Dear Shade,
We all know your skills with a sword are of the elite standard, but are you ready to put those skills to the ultimate test? When you enter the room, pull the green lever beside the door. The rest... well, you'll find that out for yourself.
Yours sincerly,
Lester Thomas
Shade quickly shredded the note and stepped into the combat zone. It was at least 70 meters in length and width with a ten meter high roof. Near the top was a complex hanging agility course for Shade to perform his acrobatics. The walls were a meter of solid steel to prevent the training bots from accidentally leaving the arena and at the far end of the room there was a sheet of bulletproof glass, from behind which the team would often watch Shade take down the training bots. Today, the bots were nowhere to be seen. Instead, a large compartment opened in the ceiling...
Click here for the next five chapters of Front Lines!
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