Bombs, bullets and the battlefield (closed for queenclaire)

[Trucken]

It was a hot day. It was also humid as hell, which made the heat even worse. The AC in Terry "Smoke" Uptons apartment was doing its best in keeping it cool, but due to it being old and banged up it was barely getting the job done. In fact, Smoke was lying on a towel on the floor wearing nothing but his boxers, trying to stay cool somehow. The sweat on his skin glistened and he cursed under his breath.

"Fuck this fuckin' heat." He grabbed a corner of the towel he had under him and wiped away some sweat from his face. "I wonder if I got sumthin' to drink?" He sat up, the towel clinging to his back for a second before falling to the floor. He stood up and walked over to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and looked inside, but it was as he suspected; he had nothing. No beer, no soda, not even any juice. He sighed and opened the door to the freezer, grabbing some ice cubes. He closed the doors and put the ice in a glass, filling it up with water. He easily downed the water, gasping for air as he swallowed the last drops.

"Man, best damn water I ever drank!" he said as he filled the glass again. He took the glass with him and went back to the living room. Well, it was the only room in his apartment, beside the bathroom and the kitchen, so it doubled as a living room and bedroom. Smoke sat down in the couch and took a sip of the water.

"Man, I wish I could buy some beer or sumthin'. Wonder if I got any cash?" He scoffed at himself and took another sip. "Yeah, I already know the answer to that one, don't I?" Fact was that Smoke was nearly broke. He hadn't had any jobs for a few months now and he was running low on funds. He glanced over at his laptop sitting on a table in the corner of the room. "Been a long time since anyone from the Network called." He sighed and took a mouth full of water, staring blankly at the floor.

"Bidibidibip!"

The sudden signal made Smoke spray the water in his mouth across the floor in front of him. He knew that signal. It had been a long time, but he knew it. He flew up from the couch and ran over to his laptop which was repeating the signal. He looked at the text on the screen, hoping it was what he thought it was.

"Incoming video call from: The Network"

His eyes widened as he smiled from ear to ear. "YES!" he yelled as he slammed his fist in the table. "A JOB! FINALLY!" He sat down on the chair in front of the table and dragged his fingers through his hair, trying to clean himself up. He wiped the sweat from his face and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. As he had collected himself he clicked on the green button that said "Answer call". A window opened on the screen and Smoke saw a older man with grey hair and stern face on the screen. He knew who it was. It was Bernie, one of the mission handlers from the Network. His real name was Bernard, and he hated being called Bernie.

"Hey there Bernie, how ya doin'?" Smoke said in a cheerful voice. He was trying to hide his excitement, but he wasn't able to.

"Hello mr Upton, how are you?" he responded in a somewhat grumpy tone. This was typical of Bernie. Smoke was sure that he was like this towards everybody in the Network.

"Well, it's hot like hell, but I can't complain now that I see your pretty face." Smoke smiled widely, but Bernie just grunted at his comment.

"Let's get down to business, shall we?"

"OK Bernie, what am I blowing up?" Smoke leaned closer towards the screen, eager to hear about the mission.

"Here's what you need to know: a druglord in South America has a hostage, a white male in his 30's, american. Our client wants him freed. The druglords home is also his base of operation, so there's a lot of armed guards there. You need to get into the compound, blow a wall and free the hostage, and get him out of there alive. You'll be down there 2 days and you'll get paid your standard fee. Do you accept?" This was standard procedure at the Network; give as little information as possible at first, then if the mercenary accepts the mission he gets the rest of the information.

"Wait, hang on now Bernie, isn't this a job for 4 people? I mean, of course I can pull it off, but, ya'know... Also, just a thousand bucks? Don't you think I've earned a raise, like... Seven-fifty a day?" Bernie sighed, annoyed at Smoke's comments.

"Mr Upton, this will be a 2-man mission and you'll get paid your standard fee of 500 dollars a day. This is the deal and it is non-negotiable. Do you accept?"

"Damn!" Smoke thought. "Really hoped that I would be able to get some extra cash from this one." He thought about it for a second, but there wasn't much to think about. He needed the money. Plus he had never turned down a job.

"OK Bernie, I'll take it. You tell your client that he got himself the best explosives expert that the Network has to offer." Smoke smiled proudly and missed when Bernie rolled his eyes.

"Good. The details about the mission is being e-mailed to you right now. There's also a plane ticket on the way, do you still live in Wickenburg?"

"Yeah, just outside Phoenix."

"Good. Your plane leaves from Phoenix tomorrow at 4 PM. Send us an e-mail ASAP with the gear you want delivered." Every mercenary working for the Network had a stash of equipment that the Network handled. That way the Network could make sure that the mercenaries weapons, armor and other equipment got delivered without the risk of alerting authorities.

"You got it Bernie." Smoke said and made a little salute.

"Good." Bernie replied. "Good luck mr Upton, we'll talk when you get home."

"Sure thing." Smoke was about to close down the window when he realized something. "Hey Bernie, who am I working with?" But it was too late, Bernie had already hung up. "Damnit... Eh, doesn't matter. Everybody loves the Smoke." He grinned and jumped out from the chair, making a little victory dance.

"I got a jo-o-ob, I got a jo-o-ob." he sang while dancing. "Hell, now that some cash is coming in I'm getting some beer." Smoke got dressed and headed out, heading for the liquor store. He was going to celebrate tonight with the finest, cheapest beer that he could find.

 

[queenclaire]

Vivian Hunt sat at her kitchen table, cleaning a few of her rifles she had just used while out on her last assignment. She had just recently returned and since it was close enough to drive to, she used her own weapon. She found that sometimes she prefer her own, broken in rifles. The sights were perfect and it felt like an extension to her own body.

She had spent a few years in the Marines as a sniper. She was a dead on shot with almost any fire arm she picked up. She also was quite fond of archery and spent a lot of time bow hunting on her ranch in Texas, where she ended up locating after leaving the Marines.

Vivian looked up as her laptop that was set up on the table as well, went off. She knew better than to leave it off if she was going to be around. She was usually only off the “job” for a short time before someone contacted her for her next assignment. She sighed and clicked on the accept button to see where she was headed next. She could not complain much. She was paid very well and it had bought her a lot of nice land and a very nice home.

She brushed back a lock of her color of the month, black hair that had fallen in front of her eyes as she looked back down at her rifle. She was notorious for changing her hair color all the time. A natural blonde, she hated the dishwater color it was and liked change.

Vivian looked up at her screen as Bernie appeared. She smiled slightly at him, her bright blue eyes darting from him to her rifle, “So, where am I needed now?”

Bernie laid out the mission for her quick and neatly, just like she liked it. She was not one for too many words when it came to business and knew she was not one to be called on if she was not needed. She rarely turned down a job unless it was completely reckless. She had voiced her opinion about a few employees that were just that on a job, reckless.

She nodded as she looked at the screen, it seemed like a good job. “Sure, I will take it,” she said as her email pinged with what was most likely the rest of the details about her job. Bernie was always prompted like that.

“So, you are taking it?” Bernie asked almost hesitantly.

“Yes,” Vivian said absentmindedly. She suddenly looked up at the screen, Yes…why?” She was reluctant to ask. There was only a handful of people she refused to work with and she could count them on one hand. She had a feeling she was on the job with one of them.

Bernie cleared his throat, “Well, since you already agreed and plans are now in their place, you will be on assignment with Terry Upton.”

Vivian’s eyes grew wide. “Smoke” was the first person on her list of people she would never work with and Bernie knew this quite well. “Fuck me, Bernie,” Vivian spat in anger, “Why don’t you hire a beaver to do his job.” She shook her head. She knew she could not back out now and even if she could, she wouldn’t. She had to make sure this joker did not blow up the hostage along with himself. Though, the latter was not be so bad.

She ran her hands through her hair and looked at Bernie, “How the hell did he get hired? Didn’t he blow up part of a hotel last time he was out?” She had heard a rumor that Terry had got a bit overboard and blew up more than he needed to. And that was not the only story. The dude was nuts. He loved to play games with his partners and it usually got them hurt. If he even tried that with her, she would put a bullet in his skull without some much as an afterthought.

She held up a hand in surrender, “You know what, whatever. I will send you my email and just get this over with as soon as I can.” She ended the call and dropped her head to the table. She was really starting to wonder who she pissed off to put her on a team with such a goof-off. She just hoped and prayed that they finished the job without having to spend too much time together.

 

[Trucken]

Smoke opened the door to the motel room that the Network had booked for him. It was a pretty decent motel and certainly a step up from his apartment, but that wasn't saying much. The room wasn't anything special, it had a table, two chairs, an old TV that wasn't even widescreen, and two beds next to each other.

"Two beds?" Smoke thought to himself and raised an eyebrow. "Guess I'm sharing this room with the other guy... eh, doesn't matter." Smoke shrugged and threw his duffel bag at one of the beds. "Fuck it's hot in here. I wonder if the AC works?" He walked over to the AC by the window that overlooked the road outside the motel. It looked in even worse shape than his own, but to his surprise it started easily and the humming sound filled the room. He could feel it getting cooler and drew a sigh of relief. He knew it would be hot in Paraguay, but this was worse than he had expected. His shirt was soaked with sweat so he took it off and threw it at the floor next to his bed.

"I need to take a piss and check on my gear." He walked to the bathroom and noticed that it wasn't anything different from most bathrooms around the world: a toilet, a sink, and a bathtub. The shower curtains were closed, but Smoke knew why. He pulled the shower curtains to the side and found two large duffelbags in the bathtub. He opened one of them and saw some TNT and C4, among other things, and knew it was his bag. "Say what you will about the Network, but they never fuck up your order." He chuckled and felt the need to use the toilet again.

After taking a piss, Smoke grabbed the bags from the bathroom and brought them over to the beds. He put his bag on the floor by the foot of his bed. The other bag he just placed on the other bed. He sat down on his bed and leaned over the bag with his gear, opening it. He rummaged through it, making sure that everything he wanted was there. After a while he came to the conclusion that the Network still had a perfect record with him. It was all there; a kevlar vest, a Desert Eagle .357, some extra ammo, a combat knife, a headset, a couple of remote-controlled detonators (including the remote), 25 sticks of TNT, 10 blocks of C4, and his combat gear.

"Yeah, this will make a hell of a bang." Smoke grinned and rubbed his hands together. He was excited about this job and couldn't wait for tomorrow.

Actually, he could. He suddenly yawned deeply and realized that he was completely drained. Not that he was surprised, the flight down had taken 30 hours including the two layovers in Los Angeles and Buenos Aires. And when he finally landed in Paraguay he had spent about 3 hours on a bus and in a cab before he finally was at the motel. He had slept some, but not nearly enough.

"Fuck it, I'm getting some sleep, the other guy can wake me when he gets here." Smoke pushed the duffel bag with his clothes off the bed and fell back on the bed. He just wanted to fall asleep, but his legs were too hot. The room wasn't cool enough yet, so he took of his socks and threw them at the floor, followed by his pants. He laid down on the bed again and sighed, feeling much more comfortable. He yawned again and soon drifted off to sleep, snoring peacefully.

 

[queenclaire]

Vivian arrived in Paraguay in a rather grumpy mood. She was not looking forward to working with Smoke. She was just hoping to survive the ordeal, actually. That was how much faith she put into him to do his job correctly. She had had the foresight to hire a driver to drive her half way there and then another to drive her the other half. She thought it was best to keep a low profile in the sense not too many would see her and only one driver would know where she arrived from and the other where she ended up. It was all just in case something happened and the mission went horribly awry.

On the way to the motel, Vivian took a short nap. Only thing she did not like about traveling far was jet-lag and with what she had to do, she had to be well rested. If she happened to be off her game and missed her mark, it could cost someone their life. It was not the type of reputation she was want. She did not want people looking at her like they did her partner for this job. He had done his best to get the reputation he had, she guessed. He must have been proud of it or he would have done something to change by now. Or he was just a complete moron.

She arrived at the motel and sighed. It was not the best looking place, but it was not the worst. She could not complain, too much. She walked up to the door and slid her keycard in. She opened the door to a rush of cold air being sucked out in the heat of the day. It was a nice contrast to what it was like outside.

Vivian stepped into the room and narrowed her eyes on the man snoring on the bed. She looked down to see his pants lying there on the floor in front of her. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said with a sigh. She shook her head and kicked the door close behind her, not really caring if she woke him up or not. She actually did not think they would be sharing a room, but she was not surprised. She figured this was her punishment for something she did in a past life. And if the client hired him, they must be tightwads.

She tossed her bag on the empty bed and opened the duffle that was sitting there. She started rummaging through it, hoping that her bad luck did not reach as far as her equipment. At least that seemed to be okay. She sighed and sat on the bed.

 

[Trucken]

Smoke woke up to the sound of a door closing. However, being as tired as he was he didn't even bother to open his eyes. He wasn't even sure if it was his door that had been closed, and right now he didn't care. He was tired and wanted to fall back to sleep.

That wasn't going to happen though as whoever entered the room started rummaging through the bag on the other bed. Smoke sighed, he knew he wouldn't be able to relax if someone was moving about right next to him. He sat up and yawned loudly, rubbing his eyes. He looked over to his side at the guy he was going to work with. Only it wasn't a guy. It was woman. Smoke looked at her, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"What the?... Who the fuck are you?" He leaned towards her and squinted, trying to focus his eyes. "Wait a minute..." She looked familiar. The raven-dark hair was different, but he had seen her picture somewhere before. That's when it came to him.

"Holy shit, Vivian Hunt? You're the one I'm working with?" Smoke smiled as he said so. He was actually really excited right now, he had never worked with Vivian before but he had heard stories about her and read her file. She was one of the best, if not the best, snipers that the Network had to offer. Smoke couldn't believe that he was going to work with her, this would be great!

Smoke jumped up from the bed and gave Vivian a tight hug. "This is gonna be awesome!" he said excitedly as he ended the hug. "I got some serious plans for tomorrow, check this out!" He picked up his duffel bag and threw it on his bed, pulling out some sticks of TNT and a block of C4, holding them in front of Vivian's face. "I got 25 of these sticks which I will turn into 5 bombs, and I got 10 blocks of C4 which will turn into 3 bombs. I'm tellin' ya, we're gonna blow that entire fuckin' compound sky-high! It will be like the fourth of July!" Smoke grinned at Vivian, eagerly awaiting her response.

 

[queenclaire]

Vivian looked over at Smoke as he woke up and began to speak. She furrowed her brow as he continued to talk without letting her answer his question of who she was. She wondered how anyone could work with him after spending just a few seconds with him. She was already losing patience, though to her defense, she did hate to travel for long periods and had yet to have a nice rest. She decided to be nice and hold her tongue for a while.

“Yes,” she said with a slight smile as he recognized her, “you have done your studying it seems.” She then mumbled to herself, “At least you can read, so I can put that rumor to rest.” She was pretty sure that not all the rumors about Smoke were true, but she had to wonder which ones were.

Vivan was taken by surprise as Smoke hugged her tightly. She froze for a moment, unsure what to do. She had never been hugged by one of her partners before after just meeting. Then again, none showed as much enthusiasm when meeting her. “Oh,” she mumbled again, “and you are a hugger…great.” She pat him timidly on the back a few times before he let her go.

She stood there and watched him move to his duffle bag and started to empty its contents. She stared at what all he had. She blinked a few times, looking at him as he waited for her to respond with a grin. She nodded slowly, unsure what to say. She wanted to tell him that she wanted to survive this job and not be blown into tiny pieces. At least she should be far enough away that it should not affect her too much. “Ah…I see,” she paused and crossed her arm over her chest, “you really like to live dangerously, huh?”

 

[Trucken]

“You really like to live dangerously, huh?”

Smoke grinned at Vivian.

"I dunno 'bout that, but it's fun to blow shit up." He tossed the TNT and C4 on his bed and grabbed the remote for the detonators from his duffelbag, excitedly showing it to Vivian. "You see this knob here?" He pointed at a black knob which had the letter 'F' printed on it. "It's where I choose the frequency. You see, I can set the detonators to different frequencies and choose which ones I want to set off, or I can use the same for all of them and set them all off at once. Cool, huh?"

Before Vivian could answer he tossed away the detonator and started rummaging through the duffelbag again. He stopped after a few seconds and stood up, turning to Vivian again. He looked at her with a mixture of admiration and amazement. Right in front of him was the Vivian Hunt, and he was going to be working with her. He had never worked with anyone that was as revered as her in the Network, and to be honest, he wasn't sure it was ever going to happen. When he started out he did some jobs with a couple of people that was considered to be some of the better mercenaries, but suddenly he stopped getting those offers. Instead he was often teamed up with people that was considered low tier, but he rarely worked with any of them more than once either.

Fact was that most mercenaries in the Network refused to work with Smoke as they saw him as a hazard to both the mission and themselves. He was infamous for pulling childish and dangerous pranks on the people he worked with, like short fusing bombs or setting them off to early. Worse yet, Smoke was completely oblivious to this. He was sure that everyone liked working with him and enjoyed his pranks, but the truth was that many had considered putting a bullet in his head.

The Network had actually considered firing Smoke on several occasions due to this. Fact was that many of his missions failed due to his antics, but they still kept him around for two reasons. The first one was that it had been very hard to find explosive experts that wanted to work for the Network. Not that it was a bad place to work, but most of them wanted to stay in the army and make a career there and be remembered as a hero, not some hired gun. The second one was that Smoke was actually good at what he did when he didn't screw things up seeking a cheap laugh.

"Look, Vivian." Smoke said to the woman in front of him. "I can't tell you how excited I am about this. Really, it's a fucking honor working with you. I'm sure it will be a blast." He pondered what he just said for a moment. "Pun kinda intended." He chuckled, feeling confident that this would work out nicely.

 

[queenclaire]

Vivian stood there and watched Smoke pull out a detonator and begin talking about it. She furrowed her brow slightly since explosives were Greek to her. She crossed her arms over her chest as she actually learned something new about it. She nodded ever so slightly, “Yeah, it is kind of cool.” As long as he did not blow her up, then she would find it interesting. The problem was he too careless most of the time. She was going to have to keep him on a short leash.

She looked back at him as he looked at her. She was sure her facial expression was not the same as his at that moment. He seemed to be in awe of her. She, on the other hand, was weighing how insane he really was. She figured if she kept him wrangled, he could be “tamed” in the explosives department. She would just have to let him know she was not keen on pranks and wanted to keep all her limbs. She just hoped he listened to her.

Vivian smirked at him, “About that blast we will be having…” She paused for a moment and put her hands on her hips as she looked at him. “There are some rules one must follow when working with me. First off, I love my job. So, if I lose a limb due to some explosive mishap, I will hunt you down and kill you,” she spoke bluntly and with honesty, “Secondly, I don’t like jokes and I don’t joke around while working. You pull any joke while working with me, it will be the last time you do…take that as you may. And lastly, if you do your job and play it safe then I will have no reason to make you a funny smell coming from someone’s trunk. Now, that being said, still excited to work with me?” She gave him a grin.

 

[Trucken]

Smoke raised his eyebrows in surprise at Vivian's words. Did she just say that she would kill him if he pulled a joke on her? He looked at her with a bit of uncertainty on his face, wondering if she was really serious. Then he suddenly gave her a light punch in the shoulder while laughing.

"Hah, good one! I like you."

Smoke decided that she was joking. Hell, all the others that he had worked with liked his antics, why wouldn't she? Smoke looked at a clock hanging on the wall above the TV and saw that it was almost 4 AM. He realized that he hadn't slept that much before Vivian arrived, only about 30 minutes or so, and he was still completely drained. He wanted to sleep, but he had a suspicion that he needed to confirm first. He scratched his armpit and smelled his fingers. Yup, he needed a shower.

"Bleh. I smell like Sarah Jessica Parker looks. I'm gonna take a quick shower, I'll be right back."

Smoke went to the bathroom and took of his boxers, throwing them on the floor before entering the shower. He wanted a cold shower, but realized soon that wasn't going to happen. His options, after working the knob in the shower, seemed to be in the range of 'scolding hot' or 'kinda warm'. He settled for the latter one and after a while it was actually kinda nice.

 

[queenclaire]

Vivian furrowed her brows as Smoke assumed she was joking and jokingly punched her shoulder. She sighed to herself. It seemed he was not capable of listening to good advice. She watched him for a moment. She was going to have to prove it to him another way or just keep far away from him, which was possible since she was a sharpshooter. She would stick to that plan for now.

She curled her lip as he smelled his fingers after seeing if he needed a shower. Though, she could not help but chuckle at his remark to it. She shook her head as he went to shower. He was definitely like all the stories. She had been hoping most were exaggerated or even made up as some sort of sick prank, but nope. She knew they were all true. This would make this job that much more difficult.

She took his absence as an opportunity to change into something to sleep in. She wanted to be comfortable so she could actually sleep. She pulled on a tank top and short cotton shorts. She then dug through the bag that was sent over for her, just double checking the contents. She was mostly doing it to keep herself busy, she did not want to think about the person she was working with. She was not pleased, but she knew once this job was over, she did not have to work with him again. That thought made her smile.

 

[Trucken]

While showering, Smoke started thinking about Vivian. He had heard stories about her, mostly about her abilities as a sharpshooter. He had heard tales about her shooting someone from over 4 kilometers away and that she had been involved in the assassination of some major world leader. He didn't know which ones were true, and he had always been curious, but now he had been given a golden opportunity to find out. Even if she wasn't as good a shot as he had heard he knew she was still very good and lightyears ahead of him. Smoke was completely useless when it came to using guns. He rarely hit what he was aiming for, that's why he used a Desert Eagle when on missions. If he had to use it and actually managed to hit someone at least it would be able to do some serious damage.

Smoke yawned loudly and leaned against the wall in the shower.

"G'damn I'm tired... need sum' sleep..." His speech was slurred as he turned off the water and got out of the shower. He grabbed one of the towels and dried himself off before tying it around his waist. He thought of picking up his boxers from the floor but he just didn't have the energy to do it. Instead he walked out of the bathroom and headed towards his bed with sluggish steps. He walked past Vivian and gave her a little wave and a smile.

"I'm gun' crash now Viv'n, sleep tight. Big day t'morr'w..."

Smoke laid down/fell into his bed. He didn't even bother to put on some underwear, figuring the towel around his waist would be enough for the night. It didn't take long before he fell asleep, quietly snoring. He usually did this when he slept on his back.

 

[queenclaire]

Vivian looked up as Smoke walked by with a smile, a wave and just a towel. She could barely understand what he was saying as he walked by. Either he was truly tired, or the shower sprayed vodka instead of water. She watched him as he fell on the bed. She was happy the towel did not open. She did not need to know that much about her new partner.

She sighed as she looked at him. She went to the bathroom to clean up before bed. She was a routine kind of gal. She washed her face first and then brushed her teeth. She did not like sleeping without doing either. She finally came out of the bathroom and yawned. Traveling was finally catching up to her and she was feeling rather tired herself. She looked at Smoke as he snored. She wished she was as carefree as he was. She wondered if she would even be able to sleep. She shook her head and turned down her bed. She would at least try. She crawled into the bed, kicking off the heavy blanket, just using a sheet. She did not like to be hot while sleeping. She looked over to Smoke once more. He actually looked quite peaceful sleeping there. “Please don’t get me kill,” she said softly and then turned out the light. She closed her eyes and went over the next day’s plan on her head. She just had to get it done without too many screw ups. She sighed and closed her eyes. She did not see that happening.

 

[Trucken]

A bright light hit Smoke's face and woke him up. He opened his eyes and quickly shielded them, his eyes still sensitive to the light. He squinted and sat up in his bed, trying to figure out where the light came from. After a second or so he realized it came from the window, the light being the sun. He groaned and stood up, the towel loosely hanging on to his waist. He walked over to the window and pulled the curtains, making the room darker.

"Ah, there we go." Smoke yawned and stretched out his arms. He was still tired and wanted to go back to sleep, but looking at the clock on the wall he figured it would do more harm than good. It was almost 11 a.m. and the plan was to start the mission at 3 p.m., if he went back to sleep now he'd probably have a hard time getting up later.

But he was hungry though. He thought about where he might be able to find something to eat when he thought of something. "Didn't I see a 7-11 across the street when I got here?" He headed towards the door and gave Vivian a quick look. She still seemed to be sleeping peacefully and he decided to let her do that for now. He tightened the towel around his waist before he opened the door. The heat from outside made him take a step back. "Damn, it's hot as fuck here." He braced himself and stepped outside. The motel was 2 stories high and shaped like a U with a parking lot in the middle of it. Smoke and Vivian's room was on the upper level. Smoke leaned against the railing and looked across the street at the single building standing there. It wasn't a 7-11, but it sure looked like one. "Should be able to find a sandwich or somethin' there." he said to himself. Before heading back inside he took a quick look at the cars parked below him. He saw a black jeep parked there and figured it was the one that the Network had left for him and Vivian to use on the mission.

He walked back inside and threw away the towel on the floor and quickly got dressed, wearing a pair of grey shorts that reached his knees and a white tank top. He grabbed his keys to the room and left, gently closing the door so he wouldn't wake up Vivian. He walked down the stairs to the ground floor, making sure that he passed the black jeep while crossing the parking lot. When he was next to the right front wheel he stuck his hand inside the wheel well. It only took him a second to find the keys. He smiled triumphantly and put them in his pocket, heading over to the store on the other side of the street.

Smoke left the store a few minutes later with a couple of microwaved burritos in his arms and one hanging out of his mouth. Luckily the store accepted dollars and the burritos weren't that expensive. They were also surprisingly good, especially considering how much they cost. Smoke continued muching on the one hanging out of his mouth as he made his way back to the room. He didn't know if Vivian liked burritos, but he bought a couple extra in case she wanted some. He made it to his door and managed to get his key out of his pocket without dropping anything. He unlocked the door and headed inside, the cool air a welcome change and the smell of burritos quickly spreading throughout the room.

 

[queenclaire]

Vivian awoke to an empty room. It took her a minute to remember where she was and who was supposed to be in the room with her. She sighed as she sat up in bed and ran a hand through her hair. She wondered where Smoke a wandered off to. She did not seem too worried about it though, since she did not leave her bed to look for him. Instead, she looked over at the clock. She grimaced. She did not want to get up. She would have been much happier to stay in bed and catch up on some sleep. She hated jet lag.

She slowly got out of the bed and stretched, raising her arms up and standing on her tippy toes. She decided to use Smoke’s absence as a chance to shower. She walked into the bathroom, closed the door and turned on the shower. She took a nice hot shower to wake herself up. Today was the big day, she could not let her tiredness get the best of her and make her screw up.

She was never one to just stand in the shower and waste water, so she did what she needed and then got out. She heard the door open and close as she toweled off. She could only assume it was Smoke. She wrapped the towel around her as she walked out to get some clean clothes from her bag. She saw Smoke walking in with food and it actually smelled rather tasty. She paused for a moment and looked at him, “Breakfast, huh?”

 

[Trucken]

“Breakfast, huh?”

Smoke looked at Vivian with the burrito still hanging out of his mouth. It looked like she had just taken a shower, the wet hair and the towel wrapped around her body was kind of a tell. Smoke hadn't thought about it last night, but Vivian was very pretty. She had a curvy body with some muscle tone and it was reinforced only by the towel wrapped around her. The way her wet hair fell down her bare shoulders in streaks made her look really sexy too.

Smoke realized he was staring and shook his head lightly.

"Myeah, I waf 'ungry. You wan' one?" His speech was muffled du to the burrito in his mouth. He grabbed one from his arms and held it out to Vivian before tossing it to her, making sure that she was prepared for it. The other ones he put on the nightstand between their beds. He took a bite out of the burrito in his mouth and grabbed the rest of it with his hand.

"Oh yeah," he said while swallowing down the food, "I found our car in the lot. It's the black jeep parked near the road. I took the keys while I were at it." He took another bite and grabbed the duffel bag with his gear and placed it on his bed. He sat down on it, leaning against the wall with the bag in front of him. He grabbed a couple of sticks of TNT and a detonator and started his bomb-making while merrily humming to himself.

"Hey, Vivian?" He asked her without looking at her, still focused on his bomb. "Is it true? I mean, that you're as good as they say you are? That you can put down a target from over 4 clicks away? And that you've taken out some really important people over the years?"

 

[queenclaire]

Vivian noticed Smoke was staring at her as she stared back at him. She was waiting for him to answer, though it was rather stupidly. It was obvious he was eating breakfast. She decided to return her attention to her bag and pull out some much needed clothes. Standing in a room with just a towel on with a guy with a burrito hanging from his mouth staring was not really making her feel comfortable.

She glanced at him as he finally began to speak again. She smirked as he spoke with a mouth full of food. He truly seemed to have no manners, yet he had brought her one. Or at least was willing to give up one of his own. She stood up and nodded, catching the burrito. She grabbed her clothes after setting the burrito on the bed.

She turned to go change. She listened as Smoke told her he found the jeep out front. She walked back out dressed all in black. Black shirt, black jeans and black boots. She sat on the bed and picked up her breakfast and began to eat. She looked at him as he asked her if she was as good as he heard. She did not answer right away. She looked at her burrito and then back to him. “Yeah, for the most part it is all true,” she replied with a shrug, “I am sure not everything you heard was true. Some people like to make me sound like some superhero at times. I have heard some crazy ass stories.”

 

[Trucken]

“Yeah, for the most part it is all true, I am sure not everything you heard was true. Some people like to make me sound like some superhero at times. I have heard some crazy ass stories.”

Smoke pondered what Vivian said for a second.

"Yeah," he said while chewing on another burrito. "I guess that makes sense. I mean, not that I don't think you're good, but that shit sometimes get, well, blown out of proportion." He tinkered a bit more with his bomb before looking at Vivian again. "Like, everything you've heard about me... it's all true. I am that damn good." He grinned proudly, oblivious to the stories that was going around about him, more or less all of them true.

Smoke continued working on his bombs while munching down burritos, telling Vivian that she could have as many as she wanted. When he finished the last bomb he put them all in the duffelbag with the rest of his gear and got changed into a pair of black and brown combat boots, a pair of camouflage cargo pants and a black tank top. He looked at the clock. It was almost noon.

"You think we should start heading out? Might be good to scout the place before we get started."

 

[queenclaire]

Vivian looked at Smoke as he spoke of stories of her being blown out of proportion. She smirked and nodded slightly. She chuckled as he stated all the stories about him were true. “I have no doubt,” she said knowing that he had no clue what was being said about him behind his back. She shook her head at his grin and went back to eating her breakfast. She finished up making sure her weapons were to her liking.

She looked up as Smoke came back out and noticed he cleaned up rather nicely. She had to wipe that thought away quickly since she had a feeling she would hate him by the end of the day. She nodded as he spoke. “Yeah, we should head out and see what we have to deal with,” she said as she strapped on some of the weapons. She did not like to be unprepared for anything. She had run into trouble before a job a few times. She did not want Smoke setting off a bomb and blowing them up if it could be dealt with another way.

 

[Trucken]

“Yeah, we should head out and see what we have to deal with.”

"Sure thing." Smoke took one last look in his duffelbag to make sure he had everything he needed before zipping it up and hanging it on his shoulder. "I'm ready to go, how 'bout you?"

They left the motel room and headed down the stairs to the parking lot. As they headed towards the jeep Smoke noticed a cop car parking next to the store where he had bought breakfast earlier. A stereotypical south-american cop emerged from the car; overweight, sweaty, sunglasses, and a thick moustache under his nose. As the cop entered the store inspiration struck Smoke. Something that was sure to get a laugh from Vivian, possibly one of his greatest pranks ever. He grinned at the thought of what he was about to do.

He put his duffelbag in the back of the jeep and opened it, quickly grabbing a brick of C4 and some detonators. "I'll be right back" he said excitedly as he threw Vivian the keys to the jeep. He ran across the street to the cop car, taking a quick look around to make sure that noone was watching him. He broke the C4 into smaller pieces, placing one piece inside every wheel with a detonator attached. He set the detonators and the remote to the same frequency before quickly leaving the car, making sure he hadn't been noticed. He made it back to the jeep and jumped into the passengers seat.

"Check it out!" he said , brimming with anticipation. "Once the cop gets back and starts driving away, I'll set this off and blow off his wheels. He'll be all like 'ah, what the hell is going on here', it's gonna be great!" Smoke saw the cop leaving the store with a coffee in his hand. The thought of the cop spilling his coffee everywhere when the wheels got blown off made Smoke giggle as he sat with his thumb just above the button to set off the explosives.

 

[queenclaire]

Vivian was ready to go as Smoke finished up. She carried her bag down to the Jeep, not really paying much attention to Smoke. When he suddenly ran off, tossing her the keys, she wished she had been paying closer attention to him. She groaned as she watched him run off to the cop car. She really was hoping he was not planning anything stupid, but then again, He was Smoke.

She started the Jeep, and starting willing his return. His return would be better than blowing himself up, or at least she was giving him the benefit of the doubt for once. Her jaw dropped as he hopped into the Jeep holding a detonator and beaming from his plan. She was at a loss for words. Did he really think something like this was a good idea? Did he not think about the consequences of anything? She blinked a few times before she could finally grasp the fact that he was actually going to blow up a cop car.

Anger rose inside of her, but she did her best to not let it get the best of her. She did not need her emotions running high today. “What the hell are you thinking, Smoke? What part of keeping of low profile are you not understanding?” She paused as she watched his thumb over the button, then she looked him in the eyes, “This is a cop’s car, not some random citizen. You cannot blow the wheels off any car, especially a cop’s. If you want to do it after the mission, go right ahead, but not while I am around. Please Smoke, do not force me to kill you before we get to our job, ok?”

 

[Trucken]

Smoke and Vivian hadn't said a word to each other on the ride to the compound. Mainly because Smoke had been stunned by Vivian. She actually threatened to kill him! Smoke briefly considered that she was kidding, but the tone in her voice and the look in her eyes made it clear to him; if he blew the wheels of that car she would end his life. With a stunned look he had gently turned off the detonator, to make sure that he didn't set it off by accident. The C4 stayed where it was, it would be found sooner or later and would certainly cause a fuss, but Smoke and Vivian would be long gone by then.

Another thing kept nagging Smoke, however. Did everyone in the Network feel this way about him? Was that the reason why he rarely worked with someone more than once? Did they actually hate how he acted during missions and refused to work with him again? Smoke tried to deny it to himself, but he knew that it was very likely. He was afraid to ask Vivian.

So instead of talking in the car Smoke had been reading the intel supplied by the Network. Smoke was surprised to find how much useful information it contained, mainly because he had never read intel before. He usually skimmed it and was only interested in knowing what he was supposed to blow up. But now, having all this information, he was actually trying to figure out a plan.

They arrived at the compound at about 1:30 pm. Vivian parked the car next to the road and they both grabbed the gear they needed before heading into the forest. After about 200 yards they reached their destination.

In front of them was a steep slope and about 250 yards below them was the compound. It consisted of 7 buildings, one being a huge mansion. It was located to the north and the main gate was located to the south. The hostage, Jimmy Moxon, was being held in a small building to the west near the fence (which had barbed wire on top of it). West of the compound the slope continued into the forest, as it did to the south. The north and east side consisted of a mountain range, with Vivian and Smoke being directly to the east of the compound.

They looked down on the compound and Terry understood why the druglord wanted to live there. The view was insane! You could see for miles, the view from his house must be awesome.

But this was no time to be admiring the view. It was time to get to work.

"So, uh" Smoke said, turning to Vivian. "Any ideas?"

 

[queenclaire]

Vivian was a little relieved that Smoke did not talk on their drive. It gave her a chance to think about the mission and get into the right mind set for it. Though, there was a little nagging voice in the back of her head that kept bringing up the fact that Smoke was quiet.

It seems out of character for him. He had not shut up since their arrival and this sudden silence could only be explained by the fact she caused it. He must have taken her threat seriously. In fact, it was a serious threat, but she did not think he would have seen it as such. He seemed oblivious to the fact he was a joke in the Network. He thought everyone loved him, so why would he think she would not do the same.

She shrugged it off for now. It was not the time to worry about hurt feelings. It was time to focus on the plan. Whatever plan they came up with that is. Another problem with silence is that the plan was not being discussed between them. With anyone else, she would be fine with it. But Smoke seemed to think up crazy things and follow through with them even if they were far-fetched and risky as hell. She glanced over at him for a moment. He was reading up on the mission. She found that to be a relief. At least he cared enough to look over the information.

As they walked into the forest, she took in the situation. She stood there with her arms crossed as she looked at the layout from their view point. She glanced at Smoke as he asked about a plan. She looked back at the buildings, “Well, I can take care of all the guards and anyone else that tries to come out, that is not a problem.” She was the best at what she did, the rest would be up to her partner. She looked at him, “What is your plan?”

 

[Trucken]

“Well, I can take care of all the guards and anyone else that tries to come out, that is not a problem.” Smoke nodded while still looking at the buildings below them. He could see people moving around, some of them obviously being guards. Smoke guessed that they we're carrying AK-47's, but he couldn't tell from this distance. Whatever it was, it was most definitely fully automatic.

“What is your plan?” Smoke looked at Vivian, somewhat surprised. He had been certain that Vivian would take charge of this mission after what she said to him in the car. Maybe she was just trying to humor him, but he decided to tell her the plan he had been thinking about on the ride over there.

"Well, um, how about this." he said as he took out a map that the Network had included with the intel. He placed it on the ground and took a knee, pointing at the map. "I can climb down here to get to the compound. It's steep, but it should be manageable and there's a lot of trees so they shouldn't be able to spot me. I cut the fence and get inside, placing bombs at all the buildings, mainly the mansion." He paused and looked at Vivian. "This, uh, is not for the sake of blowing stuff up. It's, uh... meant as a distraction." He looked down on the map again. "When I find where exactly they're holding Moxon I can blow a small hole in the wall while the other bombs gets their attention. They should focus on the mansion if their boss is there." He pointed at the mansion on the map. "Then I can grab Moxon, get through the fence on the west side just behind the building and go through the forest. I know that we'll be heading away from you, but if you get to the jeep as soon as you see us heading into the forest, you can drive north and come around the road and pick us up here." He pointed at the map again, tracing the road she would be following with his finger. "You'll probably have to step on it, there's a chance they might be coming after us. You pick us up, and we drive him straight to his extraction point and get him the hell out of here."

It was a risky plan, mainly for Smoke, but it was the best he could think of. He looked up at Vivian. "So, uh, what d'ya think?"

 

[queenclaire]

Vivian knelt down and looked at the map as Smoke spoke. She had to admit she was curious what kind of plan he would come up with. She had to imagine it included blowing a bunch of things up, it was his specialty. But she wondered if it would be a smart plan. He had yet to show he could use his brains for more than a prank and a laugh…what he considered a laugh. So, she was going to give him a chance to show her he was more than what she had heard.

She could not help but smirk at Smoke as he mentioned blowing up some buildings. She knew he had to blow up some, but it was his reasoning that made her smirk. He was actually trying to prove it was useful. Which she had to admit, it was. She nodded slightly and motioned for him to continue.

Standing up, Vivian looked down at the complex once Smoke had laid out his plan. She put her hands on her hips and looked at him. “It is good to see we both have the same plan. I can cover you, no problem. Are you sure you can get him out without getting yourself or him killed? It is not the easiest plan” She grabbed her bag and pulled out her rifle. She started zeroing her scope and taking into account the wind. She looked back at Smoke with a smile, “It would be good if the explosion on mansion took out as many people as possible. It will be a bit harder to cover you once the dust is in the air.”

 

[Trucken]

“It is good to see we both have the same plan. I can cover you, no problem. Are you sure you can get him out without getting yourself or him killed? It is not the easiest plan.” Smoke moved forward a step, still on his knee, looking down on the compound. He was right next to Vivian and for an outsider looking in it would almost look like Smoke was her obedient dog, not leaving his masters' side.

"I should be able to do it." Smoke pondered while rubbing his chin with his hand. "If they spot me before I can blow it it's fucked." He glanced up at Vivian. "Maybe you can tell me when it's safe to move?" He turned to the compound again.

Vivian started tinkering with her rifle. “It would be good if the explosion on mansion took out as many people as possible. It will be a bit harder to cover you once the dust is in the air.” "Fuck, the dust. I didn't even consider that." Smoke didn't even look at Vivian, instead he kept looking at the compound, scratching his nose with his thumb, thinking if there was any way to tweak the plan.

Smoke stood up, still looking down the slope. "Fuck, there's no other option. Once the bombs go off you'll probably be blind. I'll tell you when we're through the fence, shouldn't be any guards behind the building." He walked over to his bag and grabbed the kevlar vest, putting it on. He equipped himself with everything he needed and left the bombs in the bag which hung from his shoulder. As a final touch he took the headset and put it on his ear, pushing a button and turning it on. "OK, I'll be on channel 4. You ready to do this?"

When Vivian confirmed she was ready he gave her a smirk. "Smell ya later!" he said as he started heading down the slope.