All You Need Is Kill

[Dan Donovan]

Dan sorted through the trunk, pulling out a Kevlar vest and strapping it on. He sifted through the contents of the trunk until he found a H&K G36, something he was familiar enough with to use.

He grabbed a couple of clips and stuffed them into his jacket pocket, testing the weight of a gun he hadn't fired in years. It would do.

"Hey, Hathaway," he said to Karl, "I know this Insano sh*t is getting kinda nutso, which I did not sign up for, but I'm still on board. Just don't forget we still got a contract. I appreciate that it's personal and all, but bills gotta be paid." Donovan checked the safety on the rifle idly, letting a brief but pregnant silence fill the air. "We good on that?"

[Karl Hathaway]

Kate gave Karl a serious look, making sure to maintain eye contact while she spoke. "If it comes down to hard choices I've got your back, whatever you decide needs to be done, or not done, to set things right with you and her."

Karl meets Kate's gaze. He offers a brief not and a hard smile of acknowledgement in return. He might not be thinking of the same sort of hard choices she is, but he knows hard choices, and someone offering to back your play like that... well it says a lot, and the look he gives her says a lot in return without speaking.

But he does say, "Settin' things right... ain't sure there's a way to balance them scales. But she's my little girl, no matter what, and I will kill all the angels in heaven an' all the demons in hell to see her safe." He shrugs. "After that, whatever happens don't matter none."

"Hey, Hathaway," he said to Karl, "I know this Insano sh*t is getting kinda nutso, which I did not sign up for, but I'm still on board. Just don't forget we still got a contract. I appreciate that it's personal and all, but bills gotta be paid." Donovan checked the safety on the rifle idly, letting a brief but pregnant silence fill the air. "We good on that?"

Karl looks to Bloodhound, whom he paid to find Katie, and who sure as hell didn't sign up for this. "Ain't rich, but I reckon I got you covered. Might have to sell off a few rifles if you expect a big payday." Karl pauses. "More'n that, if we make it outta this, I will owe you. Ask Ted here what that's worth."

Karl levers a hopefully cooperative Art onto the helo, then turns back. "I reckon it's time." He unslings the rifle case and unzips it, lovingly removing a rifle.


Karl hefts the rifle, cradling it. He's dialed in now, head in the game, no turning back.

"This here is Linh, my service weapon. She replaced my old M40 after... well... the old one got damaged. Been using this'n since 1970. Her first mission was to help me pull Katie outta the jungle. Figure she'll help do the same today." He looks around. "I have fired a lot of guns in a lot of places, at a lot of people. Linh's the one I always come back to. Barring mission specific needs, she's the first one I grab every time."

He turns her over, stroking her stock lovingly. "Officially, she's an M40A1, but truth is only original part of her is the stock. Every piece has been upgraded and customized over the years, match grade barrel, swiss-made 12x scope, Custom bolt action..." He talks as reverently as a priest about to give communion. Then he looks back up at the others.

"If we compared her to the weapons of the day, she'd probably out shoot the new M40A6 the Corps started usin' last year." He shakes his head, stroking the weapon like a lover. "Dunno what I was thinkin', asking fer a Barrett."

He looks around. "Her scope is trued to my... I guess it's a power. She's zeroed to 3,200 yards. Any o' you need to shoot her, zero's probably closer to 800 yards, but I never did have anyone else try her out, so I don't know for sure. She's not adjustable. Never liked liked the adjustable scopes. Tend to jar out of whack after a few shots.

"Y'all saw me blow a rim off a car with a .45. Do not get in front of Linh when I'm dialed in." He looks around. "Plan is, go high, look for defenses. I wanna take a test fire with Art here nearby, see how that @!#$s with my ranging calculations. Kate, we get up there, you find me something to safe to shoot once or twice. Then, when we're ready, you spot for me. Twelve o'clock is whichever way the rifle's pointin' at the time. Once we take care of any long range defenses, we land." He looks over the plans Ted gave him. "If I was in charge of that place, and not insane, I'd be here--" Karl jabs a spot on the layout. "Most defensible. But since this @!#$er's name is Insano, we'll just have to play it by ear. As like to find him dancing on the roof in 'is underwear as anything, name like that."

Karl looks around, making sure to grab Art before he can wander off. "Bout the only thing we're missing is some Credence or Hendrix blasting on the helo's speakers. Reckon we're ready."

[Kate Hammerhill]

Kate nodded, the idea of payment at the end of this a distant concern, grateful her dead girlfriend used to be part of ROTC, so any military jargon he chose to drop clicked readily with her. "Roger on the spotting, although trying to zero the scope while airborne sounds like a serious pain, might be easier to dial in from down here?"

She pointed to a few distant sky scrapers poking above the near by manors, searching for one with a radio tower the blinking lights to warn away low flying aircraft. "One of those should do nicely, blinking light makes for a solid target and we can see the hit even in darkness as the blinking light goes out."

[Murometz]

"I can't Karl. Helen is 9 months pregnant. You understand? I just can't. I'm already going out on a pretty big limb with this..." He gestures toward the chopper.

"One more thing. Karl, if there is no other way, and I mean *no* other way, use this thing." He hands Karl what looks like a small sleek metal canister with a joystick like button on one side.

"This is something new, old timer. Fresh from the lab. Push the button, the canister releases an invisible, odorless gas that will go 'boom'---you know I never paid attention to the science, Karl---and wipes out everyone 3 seconds later in a 60 foot radius or so. Last resort, man. Absolute last.

Stay safe old man, and get her back. Who knows you might inadvertently save the country again. Like old times, Karl."

---

"Well, was worth a try" Teddy gave the Cuda a last glance and whipped out his phone to order a pick-up.

With that they were airborne. They all donned head-gear provided for by Ted.

There would be no listening to the tapes. Too hard to hear.

Eddy related what he could, then closed his eyes, and began shaking. He was about to start having another vision...

Dan sat stoically, but the lack of alcohol was having it effects on his mood. He had no business being on this chopper and he knew it. But then again, what the hell else he have to do? No where to be, no one to love, or be loved by. Why not volunteer for a suicide mission. S**t, if Chuck was here, he'd probably have swam across the @!#$ing Sound by now, and have Dr. Insano in a headlock, begging for mercy. Maybe this is what being "good" meant. Sacrificing yourself for some noble cause or other. Maybe he needed this. One thing for sure, he needed a drink.

Karl looked like a perched eagle, ready to descend upon some hapless hare. He was ogling Linh, barking out instructions, studying the prison layout, and checking all the angles, including the lights from Manhattan that Kate had pointed out.

Kate's expression was unreadable. Adrenalin pumping, but brain still firing on all cylinders. Rare combo. Ready to party. She noticed two stickers..."God invented runways so retards could land," and "Torque effect, anti-torque effect, wind effect! Balance them. Any questions?" Helo pilot humor apparently.

The pilot looked young, his face covered by helm and shades. His mouth was an emotionless, thin, line. He said nothing, just guided the helo skyward. In scant minutes, they would be flying over the Sound, on their way to Carcosa, where the King in Yellow waited.

Artie was unconscious in his seat, passed out immediately, a bit of vomit dribbling down his chin. Soon they would find out if Wingman's "powers" worked with him in a phobia-induced coma.

Operation Madness was a go. 7:15 AM

No Hendrix or Creedence. Instead the pilot's last "flick" before take-off was turning on Flight of the Valkyrie, Wagner.

[Murometz]

Eddy was flying.

The chopper that is. Pulling and pushing at the controls haphazardly, flicking switches and pressing buttons. Smoke burned his eyes, and icy wind blasted his face. Shooting, shooting, more shooting. He was almost deaf and flying blind.

But a mote of light somewhere outside the Comanche guided Eddy. Someone or something out there cared for the Chosen One.

Suddenly The chopper began plunging and there was little Eddy could do now to prevent a crash.

He opened his eyes, still strapped in place. Next to him Artie snoozed. The chopper was just fine. s**t, it had been only 3 minutes since they took off from Wernstroms lawn.

Eddy was drenched in sweat. Dan sat next to him, taking deep sniffs.

[Kate Hammerhill]

Kate shot Eddy a single long glance, noticing his composure was anything but normal. "Don't like flying? Keep your eyes focused on the horizon line, it makes the vertigo less severe." She struggled to find something more inspirational to say, then thought better of it as she noticed the sun rise was only a scant minute or two away.

"Pilot! Swing us around and bring us in on the island from the east, with the sun at our backs it'll blind anyone trying to shoot us down and give us a clear field of view to rain down some love!" She gave Karl and Dan a thumbs up, and Artie a pitying look. She felt bad for the poor guy, and made a mental note to make it up to him somehow after this mess was over, assuming she was still alive to do so anyway.

[Longspeak]

Ranging shots under his belt - an unconscious Wingman seems as useful and less annoying as a conscious one - Karl keeps an eye out as they fly, searching for trouble all around, but especially up ahead. He raises Linh and dials in, his power magnifying the image in the scope so that he can take a look at what's up ahead. He scans the prison for activity, for any sign of whatever took out two other helos.

Karl briefly smiles, remembering Ted's comment. Yeah. Maybe he'll inadvertently save the country again. It worked out so well last time around.

"I'm comin', Katie," no-one hears him say over the noise of the helo's rotors.

[valadaar]

Eddy was silent, looking out over the city, attempting to calm down. Everything would be okay, though he prayed for the undoubted many who would not get a chance to atone after this day.

Perhaps even the tampering Doctor could be brought to see the light.

One can always hope, he thought.

[Dan Donovan]

Dan checked his rifle for the fourth time. He was sober, for the first time in a long time. It hurt. Reminded him of why he didn't stay that way for long.

He gave a silent, half-hearted nod to Kate's signal. Yeah, thumbs up, gung ho, let's f*ck their sh*t up. Whatever.

He felt a headache coming on. Sobriety sucked.

[Murometz]

Carcosa Supermax appeared on the horizon.

One of the oldest super-max prisons in the United States, first built back in the 50's, and little updated since, Carcosa looked it's age. From a distance it resembled an impregnable medieval castle more so than a modern jail, emphasized by four formidable guard towers, forming a square.

The island was small. Besides the prison dominating the terrain, the island featured only naked crags of rock abutting the waters. Not much room to maneuver once on land.

Karl stared through his scope...

The pilot, who still hadn't uttered a single word, complied with Karl and Kate's requests. They were flying in high, and from the east, the cold February sun now blazing at their backs.

Eddy sat restlessly. Dan closed his eyes hoping his headache would go away.

Karl's eye surveyed the scene through his cross-hairs.

The central courtyard, surrounded by the four towers was empty. No wait. He could spy a lone figure suddenly, hunched over (sitting?) in the middle of the courtyard. The figure just sat there, as if resigned to some horrible fate.

Karl moved the scope a few inches, and then saw another figure exiting the compound suddenly. A large man, dressed in what appeared to be a prison guard's uniform, ran out of a building hoisting something unmistakable on his shoulder...rocket-launcher. The figure seemed to pause, as if listening for the chopper, and squinting his eyes in it's general direction.

[Kate Hammerhill]

Kate peered through the binoculars,  feeling somewhat out of place as a spotter when she was more used to being a trigger a woman. The movement caught her eye, and the sight of the rocket launcher marked the man as top priority.

"Prison Courtyard, bearing eleven o'clock, declination approximately 30 degrees, Single target in guard uniform with AA launcher, fire for effect."

She kept her voice even, almost emotionless, but loud enough to be clearly audible over the helicopters turbines. Knowing wind speed calculations were a waste of time from a moving helicopter, Kate stood by to call out any needed shot corrections to Karl, hoping he would live up to his name and down the target before they could raise the alarm or return fire.

[Murometz]

As Karl eyed the new target, another appeared in view! Also Prison guard. Also Rocket launcher. Now there were 2!

[Dan Donovan]

Dan swore from behind clenched teeth and flicked the safety off the G36. "Suppressive fire?" he called out to Karl. At this distance, he wasn't sure if he'd hit anything. His hits were usually more intimate affairs, a suppressed pistol at close range or a garrotte around the neck. He hadn't actually fired a rifle in years, let alone from a moving helicopter. But it was better than nothing.

[valadaar]

Rocket launchers? thought Eddy.  Those weren't in the vison - so they must have been dealt with.  Perhaps their advanced circuits had been built by the lowest bidder?  He prayed this to be true, and for his companions shots to be true.

Hell, a bolt from the sky would work too, though he cringed internally at the sacrilege.

[Longspeak]

This is where Karl lives. Ain't a trace of grey in his hair now.

Having seen the first threat, he fires before Kate can finish calling it out. Rocket Launchers. Those take a few seconds to lock on. This guy doesn't have a few seconds. At this range, with the boost provided by poor Wingman - Karl will have to apologize to him later - two-and-a-half, maybe three seconds. Poor guy. Probably doesn't know he's dead. No-one else could hit a shot at this range.

"Save it, Dan."

Karl slams another round into the chamber, locking it down and firing at the second threat before the first can find its home. Center mass, both times. No need to get fancy at this range. Center mass, and let the bullet do the rest. Again, a new round finds it home as Karl watches for new targets, dialed into the courtyard. He zeroes in for a moment on the figure hunched there, trying to determine if it's a friendly or not.

"Won't hit nothin' but water at this range."

Karl keeps scanning, finger poised. Who's next?

[Murometz]

They had no chance, the rocket launcher boys. Looking for a chopper four miles out, they may as well have been looking out for distant mosquitoes.

*thwoomp*
 
1.5 seconds

*thwoomp*

One staggered backwards at the force of the bullet, the other stood perfectly still, then simply dropped.

Well, this was getting easy. Why couldn't the other black-op helo boys take out these guys---oh yeah, they didn't have a 4 mile range sniper on board.

The figure remained hunched as Karl eyed the courtyard through his cross-hairs. Shivering? Definitely afraid, or maybe not afraid, maybe terrified? It was a man, also dressed in a guard's uniform. He looked pathetic, tears in his eyes.

Eddy tensed. So that wasn't gonna be the thing that would send their ride spiraling down in a blaze of smoke and shame. What then?

It looked like "nothing" for Dan, as opposed to suppressive fire. Firing would have helped improve his mood. He needed alcohol. There would be more shooting opportunities soon. It was inevitable.

Kate likewise, seemed ready to retire from her brief career as a spotter and get in on some action.

The pilot turned his head back, slightly toward them. Gave a thumbs up. They couldn't see his eyebrows, but they had to be arched in surprise behind those mirrored shades. What next, he seemed to be asking them?

[Kate Hammerhill]

Kate nodded to Oneshot, quietly impressed with his prowess and wondering why he even needed a spotter, old habits she surmised with a mental shrug. "Courtyard looks like the only place large enough to put us down, unless you want to repel down a rope into a guard tower?" She cast the question to the entire team, still not sure who was supposed to be calling the shots now the mission was underway.

[Eddy Stringer]

"I think that's a good idea Kate.  The Doctor would certainly expect a landing in the courtyard, might even have explosives planted there.  "

[Dan Donovan]

Dan shifted uncomfortably at the suggestion of leaping from a moving aerial vehicle with only a thin rope separating them from traumatic impact. "Hate to say it, but repelling might be our best option," he agreed. "Insano would have the courtyard covered, probably be a sh*tstorm to land there.

"If we can clear out the closest tower, we could get a foothold there."

[Karl Hathaway]

Karl keeps watching, keeps looking for what's next. Too easy, if what everyone's sayin' about this Insano is right. Too d**n easy. Eye glued to the scope he doesn't see the pilot's reaction. Sitting there his his braced position, Linh in his hands, he sweeps the area slowly, looking for something... anything.

"I don't like it," Karl says, waiting for the other shoe to drop. "But I ain't seein' anything else. How about a slow circle, looking fer trouble, and then take 'er in."

Karl considers the target in the center of the courtyard. His finger itches. It wants to take the shot. Something's wrong.

"Slow an' easy, close the distance. There's someone in the courtyard. Ain't doin' anything, but my finger itches anyway. Trouble. Could be a decoy... could be some poor bastard got himself wired up. Either way, I'm keeping an eye on him. Kate, keep an eye on the rest of the place as we circle. You see anything, don't matter if you're sure I seen it too, you sing out."

Karl forces his finger to relax.

"Circle, then approach. Okay with y'all?"

[Murometz]

Circling. Still watching.

Kate pauses as she looks at one of the towers. Some kind of dark object, purposefully hidden or camouflaged. What is that? A turret?

Karl notices a spotlight on another tower...

Figure still sitting there in the center of the courtyard. No apparent purpose.

Pilot begins circling, angling slightly closer.

[Kate Hammerhill]

"Roger." She gave a slight nod and carefully panned the binoculars over the  area, speaking a second time when she spotted the shadowy target. "Tower at Four O'clock, dark camo'd threat, potential turret or sniper!"

She fought the urge to gather up her rifle and begin shooting herself, months of solo operations having trained her reflexes to respond personally to threats rather then leave it in the hands of others.

[Karl Hathaway]

"Roger," Karl says. He draws a bead, trying to identify a weak point, something susceptible to his bullets. He kinda wishes he had a gun like Kate mentioned. Swoop in low, just take out the whole tower.

"I got no target, 'less I just wanna shoot center mass an' see what happens. But..."

Karl trails of as he shifts slightly. He lets one more bullet fly. Napkin calculations tell him he's firing at about 8000 fps thanks to Wingman. Should do some damage.

"...don't need them lightin' us up, neither."

He smoothly jacks in another round as his scope shifts back to the other tower, and splits his attention between that and the fella in the courtyard. He won't fire unless his spotter confirms either target.

"Whaddya think Quick?" he asks. "Should I take it? Or maybe move in closer for a better looksee?"

[Murometz]

If any of them had super-hearing as a power perhaps they would hear the spotlight shattering. But alas, only the sound of the helo accompanied Karl's latest bullet. No more spotlight.

[Kate Hammerhill]

Kate refocused on the chained man with her binoculars, calculating odds before arriving at what she hoped was the correct conclusion. "He's probably an alarm system, squatting on a brick of C4 or wired with a mic, so if he gets rescued or becomes collateral damage the psycho inside will know about it. No other reason to leave the trussed up screw in the middle of the yard."

She paused to skim over the other towers before continuing. "I say rappel down in one of the towers without a camouflaged unknown inside, if we spend too much time buzzing taking stock around someone inside will hear or see it on the security system and raise the alert." It felt a little odd discussing tactics with comrades after so long running solo, but also reassuring, that more minds and eyes than just hers were focused on the objective, and would likely catch something she missed.