(Police station)
"Those bikers attacked us first, alright?" retorted Ariel.
The officer interrupted her rant.
"What are you UNSSD officers doing on British soil, and armed?" he asked.
"Tourism, feel free to check with customs," said Sean nonchalantly. "UNSSD personnel are required by Article 19 of the Earth Defence Law to be ready for action at all times, hence we are permitted to carry guns with us."
Sean knows that Frederica who has avoided capture would have notified Xiao Tian, and Walter's fake travel documents to cover their identities would have been implanted into the British customs by now.
True enough, an automated search later, the officer's expression relaxed seeing the results provided by the AI.
"Very well then," he said. "But, we will still be locking you all here until a thorough investigation is completed. Your guns will be locked in the evidence room and returned to you after you are released. No hard feelings."
After Sean requested a call to Xiao Tian and Aya in the name of reporting to their tour group, the UNSSD SOC operators are left alone in the room.
Jay yawned, looking at the supper provided by the police. It is horrible even by military ration standards.
He pushed the plate aside. James is not giving a damn, and ate his plate within seconds.
"Hey Ariel," grimaced Sean. "Can you make this taste better?"
Ariel's cooking is one of the best he has tasted, not surprising given how her adopted mom is a 13 star Michelin chef.
"I am a cook, not a magician," chuckled Ariel.
"To think this lucky b*stard will likely enjoy world class cooking for free for the rest of his life..." thought Sean as he glanced at Phineas.
"What did she say to you, Ariel?" asked Phineas.
Ariel sighed, giving them a summary of what she was told.
"This is some serious information leak," commented Phineas.
"That aside," grunted James. "Why are we still wasting our time here? Let's just leave! It's not like they can stop us!" he exclaimed.
"This is a classified operation, we have to keep a low profile, Boombox, " reminded Jay.
"Ironic coming from a Marine," joked James, referring to Jay and Santos' past as members of the Marine Force Recon before becoming Delta operators.
Santos, James and Jay were given nicknames from their time as Delta operators. James is Boombox for his trigger happy personality and love of music, Jay's nickname is Popsicle, a reference to the time he accidentally locked himself in a freezer at Fort Bragg for 2 hours. Santos is called Nemo, referencing his use of a clownfish as a personal symbol.
After sitting in the room for a few hours, Phineas walked over to the front door, alert.
"Something wrong Doctor?' asked Jay.
"Too quiet here," muttered Phineas. "Doesn't feel like a police station at all," he said.
"I agree," replied Ariel, alertly looking at the door.
Sean looked around. They are all handcuffed, and he and Ariel were injected with dampeners to temporarily inhibit their use of Cosmic Energy.
"I hope we don't have to fight..." he thought, knowing that they are severely handicapped.
Sometimes one should really not think of bad things.
For in the next moment, the door is suddenly thrown open and several men in UK police uniforms charged in, armed with guns. They opened fire, and the UNSSD operators quickly moved out of the way.
Phineas tackled down one, trying to fight off the man. Unfortunately, with the handcuffs limiting his movement, he is soon punched down, and is shot in his knees. Phineas yelled in pain, falling.
"PHINEAS!" yelled Ariel, trying to get over to help him, only for Sean to quickly pull her behind a table that Jay had kicked down. Furniture in a police station are designed to be bulletproof, shielding the rest of them from the bullets that peppered them.
"SH*T!" exclaimed Jay.
Sean then moved his arms strongly, breaking his handcuffs now that they are in danger.
"Alright, this is what you want to do?" he muttered, ready to fight. He then freed his comrades behind the table. Just as they were about to jump put when the armed men stopped shooting to reload, a quick peek by Sean changed their plans.
One man drew a grenade launcher.
"ARE YOU F***ING SERIOUS??" exclaimed Sean in shock.
Suddenly, a bullet flew in from the gap between the window gap, killing the man instantly. Another bullet then took out another man next to him.
"Freddie!" exclaimed Sean in delight, knowing that it is his partner. "Thanks!" he waved.
Frederica cycled the bolt of her CS/LR35 sniper rifle, smiling.
Sean grinned, he and the rest then jumped out from the cover. He punched one man in the face, punching off the lower jaw and sending it flying into the wall.
2 shots hit him, but he threw it off, knowing that his body is more than durable to take all of them.
"Is he a monster..." muttered a man in fear.
Sean felt the familiar sensation of Cosmic Energy rushing into his body, signalling that the dampener had worn off. He immediately froze the air around his fingers, forming ice daggers.
He threw them at the men, killing some. Ariel threw a huge fireball, lighting a man on fire.
"AHHH!" screamed the man, the pain of the scorching inferno destroying his body cell by cell. He rolled on the ground and out of the door in a futile attempt to put the flames out, and soon stopped after the fumes from the smoke got into his lungs, suffocating him.
Jay pulled Phineas to safety, while James brawled down the remaining 2 men, finishing one off with a German Suplex to the table edge, killing him. He then grabbed a gun that had fallen off from a man, finishing off the last man.
Phineas painfully limped up, being helped by Jay.
"You ok?" asked Ariel worriedly as she rushed over, checking Phineas' injury. There are tears in her eyes.
"Yeah…" groaned Phineas painfully.
Suddenly, the sirens in the station started blaring.
"Rats, we gotta go!" yelled Jay. He grabbed an access card from a body.
Just as he dug out the card, he found another access card belonging to the London fusion reactor. Frowning, he pocketed the card as well.
Sean left the room, surprised to find the evidence room just next door. He grabbed an access card from another body, opening the door.
Finding the safe that held their guns, he punched the lock off and then pried the door off, recovering their weapons.
He returned the guns to his comrades. He and James led the way, while Jay and Ariel helped Phineas out.
To cause a distraction, Ariel started a fire, and with sniper cover from Frederica, the group managed to steal an unmarked police car amid the chaos and escaped.
Ensuring that her comrades are safe, Frederica kept her rifle back into her case, and sped off towards the safe house on her hoverbike.
(Spades International safe house)
"WHAT THE HELL WERE THE 6 OF YOU THINKING??" roared Xu Qing.
"Do you guys want to demolish a F***ING police station?" he exclaimed.
Sean, Frederica, James and Jay sat in front of him on the sofa, heads bowed, behaving like children that had misbehaved.
Ariel helped in Phineas, who already has his knee wound patched up thanks to the use of advanced medical equipment. Nonetheless, their medic will have to sit out in the subsequent operations.
"This is a bloody infiltration operation, and you all were stupid enough to get baited and caught by the London police? NOT TO MENTION DEMOLISHING AN ENTIRE POLICE STATION?!" reprimanded Xu Qing.
He turned to Jay. "IS THIS WHAT THEY TEACH YOU IN DELTA? OR IN THE MARINES AND IN THE RANGERS? AN UTTER LACK OF DISCIPLINE?" he roared.
Nanami, Aya and Xiao Tian returned to the living room.
"Alright, they know that they messed up," said Nanami, stopping Xu Qing, "no need to get so angry," she smiled.
"Though nonetheless," added Aya, taking the London fusion reactor access card captured by Jay. "This is important, Vanguard may be planning an attack on one of UK's most important facilities. Walter had checked the card, its duplicated from staff members. A trace back revealed that they are made in Albania, where there is heavy Vanguard activity."
"The fact that they almost got killed at the station would suggest that the London police is not friendly," added Nanami.
"I agree," said Xiao Tian. "I have already reported to our superiors, they have given the green light for us to pay a visit to the fusion reactor."
"Is it still black ops?" asked Aya.
"Unfortunately yes, due to the big boom at the police station," sighed Xiao Tian. "The British military will not be so happy to pick up a call from UNSSD, not to mention the fact that they may also be compromised, like the London police."
He then gave the order, and soon all of the UNSSD operators and Spades International contractors gathered in the living room.
"I will make this quick," said Xiao Tian, setting up the holographic map of the fusion reactor base.
"The reactor base uses a chain of 7 Mark 10 fusion reactors. The power generated supplies not just London, but also its surrounding cities, from Birmingham to Southampton. Should something happen to it, the damage will be immeasurable," he briefed. "The facility has contracted Spades International for its security detail. Spades has planned a spot check this week, that will be our ticket in."
On cue, Shirley and Khai laid out several Spades International insignia shoulder patches on the table, together with the iconic black tactical gear.
"Team Zero, Shirley and Khai will enter the reactor base, Team Phantom stay in the outskirts, watch over us and intercept enemy reinforcements. Walter, Phineas stay at the safe house," Xiao Tian ordered.
"Don't you think that we should all go in?" asked Aya.
Xiao Tian shook his head vigorously. "We have no idea of the enemy forces' scale. It's too risky to not have forces on the outside."
Aya nodded, not knowing that it is merely half the reason why Xiao Tian wants them to stay on the outside.
Shirley reached for her phone, wanting to alert her other colleagues in London, only for Xiao Tian to stop her. Nonetheless, she sent a message to Charlotte, reporting the situation.
(London Fusion reactor)
"Psst," whispered a guard to his colleague, looking at the column of Spades International SUVs pulling up. "Why are the Spades here?"
His colleague frowned, turning on a monitor, pushing away the body of the dead security guard he had pried his uniform from.
"Ah sh*t, there is an spot check this week, why did our scouts not report this?" he fumed.
"Sir, we have a problem," reported the Vanguard terrorist, alerting "Spectre" of the issue.
"Stall them for as long as you can," ordered "Spectre", he then told the remaining Vanguard terrorists in the facility to speed things up.
Two hands suddenly landed on his head, and before he can say another word, they started ruffling his cat ears.
"Lena, not now, please," protested "Spectre" at the itchy sensation.
Lena ignored him, continuing to rub touch "Spectre" as if he is a cat.
A pair of ice daggers suddenly popped out of the air and charged at her, which she quickly deflected using a wind blade.
"Stingy," she frowned. "I did my job of baiting them to wreck havoc in London and sent them to the cops! I deserve to relax a bit!"
A cold, sarcastic smile crept up to "Spectre" 's lips. "I don't think you have the privilege of relaxation considering that your men failed to kill those UNSSD operators at the police station."
Lena then withdrew her hands, looking away apologetically. "Spectre" took a bite of the baguette on the table, then playfully bonked her head with the other end.
(Outside)
The SUV column stopped outside the gate, Team 0 and the Spades contractors accompanying them stepped out. Sean walked ahead, stepping out of the first SUV.
2 guards waved at him, Sean smiled, waving back. Unbeknownst to him, they are in fact Vanguard terrorists in disguise.
On a cliff far behind them laid Albert and Vera in a prone position, aiming their sniper rifles at the entrance.
Vera zoomed in on the sniper scope of her SVCh sniper rifle.
"No anomalies, good to proceed," she radioed.
"Copy," whispered Shirley who walked next to Sean.
"WELCOME LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" exclaimed a guard in a heavy cockney accent. This over-enthusiasm instantly made Sean cringe.
"As you all can see, the fusion reactor is operating as per normal!" he continued. "Thank you for visiting, and have a good night ahead!"
Shirley turned back, staring into Xiao Tian's eyes, her eyes saying "what the f***?"
Xiao Tian frowned too, trying to make sense of the situation.
"Well good sir," said Nanami. "We will be the judge of that, now, please bring us in for an inspection."
"There is no need," said the other guard nervously. "Everything is fine."
Shirley chuckled, "you got something to hide friend?" she asked, though her smile is now cold. "Don't waste our time."
The 2 guards looked at each other, thinking of what to do. Xiao Tian took out a modem from a SUV.
"Alright then," Xiao Tian said, walking up to them, discreetly disengaging the safety on his rifle. "We can go, but I will need the commanding Brigade leader to sign this document."
Shirley frowned, wanting to say something, only to be stopped by Xiao Tian.
"Sure, just one moment," said the guard as he turned.
He will never speak a second word, for Xiao Tian suddenly raised his rifle, gunning the 2 down.
"What the hell?!" asked Aya, observing the situation from afar.
"You are right," said Xiao Tian to Shirley. "There are no Brigades in Spades International, your biggest units are Battalions."
He rolled up the sleeves of the 2 guards, revealing the tattoos of Vanguard.
"Just as I thought..." he muttered.
He then quickly turned to the rest of his team.
"Onto the vehicles now! We are frontal assaulting in! MOVE OUT!" he ordered.
The footsteps of Vanguard terrorists rushing over can be heard.