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((I was trying to give Virkez time to post...but I guess I will go again.))

Hicks rubbed his eyes because they were hurting so much from reading all the paperwork. He hadn't found anything useful or interesting and it annoyed the hell out of him.

He leaned back in his chair and set his feet on top of the desk. As soon as he did this a small compartment on the underside of the desk popped out. A pressure pad? Interesting security device to have on a desk.

Hicks reached into the compartment and pulled out a long wooden box. It was surprisingly heavy considering its size. What could be inside?

He opened the box carefully and whistled when he saw the contents.

Inside of the box were two identical black Smith & Wesson Model 500's. Hicks had only seen the magnum used once before but it was unlike anything he had ever seen. His commanding officer used to carry one but Hicks had only seen him use it during one fire fight. It had easily removed a man's head and another man took a round to the chest and well...there wasn't much holding him together afterwards.

He lifted both guns out of the box and aimed down their sights. Even with his augmentations he could feel the weight of the guns.

His eyes grew wild and fierce. The only reason anyone would have two models of this gun would be if they were able to wield both of them at the same time and that was an impossible feat for an unaltered human. The recoil would snap your wrists if you didn't use both hands to aim.

That means that there was someone like him in this base...

He removed his jacket and claimed two Breast Holsters from the desk and put them on and then concealed them under his jacket. He then holstered his newly acquired weapons and walked out of the office.

(In case that was confusing the guns are holstered under his jacket and are located by his armpits.))

"We need to leave. Now."

((Alright Yen Shi. I was waiting for Virkez to post but I guess he is MIA. Apparently he hasn't logged on since the 5th so I am not sure what is up. You and I will finish this mission on our own.))

Hicks laughed slightly at Jack's remark and got into the passenger seat. He watched as the Soldier got into the back seat and secured himself. Hicks felt the APC lurch forward as Jack put it into motion. Maybe they were going to get out of this after all.

As the APC moved Hicks took out one of his newly acquired handguns and was admiring its design. Just as he was about to show Jack the weapon he heard a loud metallic grinding noise and then a loud bang.

The main gate had been closed.

All of a sudden spotlights lit up the APC and they were surrounded by atleast a dozen men armed to the teeth. The same high ranking officer from before walked through a clearing in the Imperial Soldiers formation. He had an evil smile on his face.

"It seems that we have an infestation that needs to be taken care of." the old man said as he slid a clip into his .50 Desert Eagle. "I commend you for making it this far but this is as far as you go."

Hicks lit up a cigarrette and had a smile across his face. It looked as if it reached all the way from one ear to the other it was so huge. He closed his eyes for a moment and chuckled.

"Do you not understand the situation you are in or do you desire to be killed?!" the officer barked angrily.

Hicks took a long drag on his cigarrette and then pinned it between his lips and spoke out of the side of his mouth "I understand my situation perfectly..." Hicks paused and looked at the mans rank insignia "..'General'. But you have seriously underestimated who you are dealing with."

Satisfied that he had irritated the good General enough, Hicks leaned over to Jack and said in a low voice "Don't worry. They won't fire on the APC. Not only will their rounds most likely not pierce its armor but they know that it's filled with weapons and explosives."

((Actually I have no plan of attack here. I just thought we needed some action. Maybe I went to far. biggrin ))

Hicks took a drag on his cigarrette and thought for a moment. They were in a pretty bad situation. At the moment it was a stalemate but it wouldn't stay that way for long. They needed a way out and they needed one now.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the .50 calibur ammo for his new handguns and loaded them both.

The General apparently saw Hicks do this and had a shocked expression on his face. "Are you planning on fighting even in this situation? Why not give yourselves up and receive a painless death? There is no shame in that."

Hicks held both guns in front of himself and spun them. He wasn't quite used to them yet and wanted to be sure that he would be as sharp as possible with them. It had been a while since he had dual wielded guns. He had always thought that the maneuver was for show offs.

That would explain why he was doing it now.

He looked over at Jack and said with a slight smile "Turn off the APC."

((That's the plan. wink Oh, and don't just lay out the General. If you want to take him down you can but make it a little..uhh..dramatic. biggrin ))

Hicks took a deep breath and then slid the side door open. He slowly stepped out with his hands up and took a few steps away from the APC.

The General let out a victorious cackle and bellowed "I am glad to see that you came to your senses. However I am afraid that the deal has changed. You won't have the quick death that was promised you."

Hicks looked up at the two spotlights that were lighting the area around him. Aside from them there were no light sources for quite a ways.

He smiled and shrugged his shoulders "I don't recall making any deal with you General. I just wanted to catch your men off guard."

The General began to say something but Hicks had already drawn both of his handguns and took aim at both spotlights. He fired and as the lights were destroyed he and all the Soldiers were enveloped in darkness. It was so dark that it seemed like the moonlight could not even pierce the shade.

Hicks fell to the ground to avoid the obvious paniced attack from the Soldiers. They shot at where they had last seen him but all they managed to hit was each other. He heard two screams come from in front of him and behind him from friendly fire.

He rolled along the ground and as he did he reholstered his pistols and drew his Katanas. If he used his pistols his position would be given away.

Hicks continued to roll until he got close to three men that were standing back to back in a triangle formation. They must have some amount of skill considering that they were able to keep their cool and work together. That was all a commander could ask of his subordinates.

He got low and quiet and got close enough to one of the soldiers that he could have reached out and touched him. He could hear the men talking between each other. They were trying to figure out where to find a light source.

One of the men reached into his pocket for a lighter...

As soon as he lit it he saw Hicks crouched a few feet from him. He was about say something but found it hard to speak when he found a Katana impaling him.

The other two men turned and fired but Hicks used his first victim as a shield and then kicked off him making his body land into his two comrades. The two surviving soldiers fell but quickly recovered and got into a firing position.

Sadly for them they weren't quite quick enough and Hicks was already behind them with his Katanas at the ready.

The older looking soldier spun around and sprayed behind himself. He must have heard Hicks's advance.

Hicks dove passed the man and cut him in half as he flew by. Before the other soldier could make an attempt to fight back Hicks had ran a Katana through his chest from behind him. Hicks whispered a short prayer into the mans ear and eased him to the ground.

He removed his blade from the body and made a quick motion with it to remove the blood.

After he was sure that the immediate threats near him were eliminated, Hicks looked to see how his comrade was doing...

...and apparently he was doing pretty well for himself.

((Boondock Saints eh? wink ))

Hicks could barely hear Jack from where he was standing but he could see the devotion in his eyes and how he treated his enemy with respect. He assumed that a prayer had been said. Not one like he had said to the last man he had killed, that was just a simple prayer that anyone would understand, but rather something with far more importance and meaning.

He didn't allow his thoughts to wander for very long however. There were still atleast four men left and he didn't feel like getting killed because of his deep thoughts. He sheathed his katanas and moved to the nearest two enemy soldiers. He would leave the other two to Jack.

((It's one of my favs. Everyone should have to watch it once. So damn good.))

The two men that Hicks targeted were not covering each other at all. One of them was firing erratically into the darkness and the other was leaning against the main gate smoking a cigarrette. Hicks liked his style.

He watched the scared soldier for a moment. He was debating sneaking up on him and killing him quietly but Hicks decided against that. He didn't have much reason to play the stealth card anymore since there were only these two left. Besides, with Hicks's luck one of the soldiers crazed shots might actually hit him since he was firing in such a unpredictable manner.

The night had grown silent since the action was dying down. Hicks calmed himself and listened for a moment. He could hear the mans worried breathing between bursts from his rifle. He listened as the shells hit the ground and as the man inserted a fresh clip into his gun.

He quietly removed one of his new found handguns and tracked the soldier for a moment. He couldn't see him unless he fired but Hicks didn't want to risk missing him for fear of return fire. Once he fired his position would be compromised.

He closed his eyes and lined up the shot. The man was becoming more and more hysterical with each passing moment from fear. Hicks decided to release him from his misery. He let off a round and caught the man in the high chest. He heard a thud as the man hit the ground and then a moment later he heard another thud. Apparently he had blown the man in half. He looked at his gun with a slight awe.

The last soldier who was blocking their exit threw away his cigarrette and gave out a loud cackle. "So you are the one who stole my prized possessions..."

Hicks looked at the gun he was holding and then back to the man. He could see him clearly now. It was as if the moon had just found itself and was illuminating the night that it had only moments ago forsaken.

"You are not here by chance are you..." Hicks began as he holstered his gun and turned to face the man. "You were sent for me."

The man shrugged and stepped away from the wall "You were from the origional set and one of the best. You were idolized by most everyone in the business. And when you left...well..." the man removed his jacket revealing identical handguns just like Hicks's "Lets just say The Boss hates loose ends. You are to dangerous to let live."

Hicks twitched slightly when he had heard the man say that he was from the origional set. How many had been created since he had left? Hicks thought of it as being created because he didn't think of himself as human any longer. He had been twisted and melded into whatever his superiors had wanted.

He eyed the man for a moment and sized him up. He was young. Younger than Hicks had been when they had first augmented him. He most likely possessed newer and superior upgrades then Hicks and was probably better than he was. He wouldn't have been sent if he wasn't.

"After I have killed you I will be famous among our kind. Everyone will know the name Riker Valance and worship me the way they worshipped you." he said with a smirk across his face. He was arrogant and over confident. That would make him sloppy.

Hicks took off his jacket and threw it away. "If you kill me this night you will become a nightmare like me and kill countless people without question simply because you were ordered to...and that I cannot allow." he put a hand on his holster so that he was ready to draw. "You are the one that is to dangerous to let live."

The smirk disappeared from Rikers face and a worried expression replaced it. It looked as if he had just realized what was happening and had been caught off guard.

Riker became angry and began to draw his handgun. Hicks could tell that he was green from this display. You should never fight angry because it clouds your judgement and makes you make mistakes. Riker pulled out both of his handguns and shot multiple times at the center of Hicks.

His shots were obvious and predictable so Hicks was able to avoid them. He spun clockwise and used the momentum to draw his own pistols. He fired twice and his shots hit their mark: both sides of Rikers upper chest.

Before crumpling to the ground Riker managed to fire off one last round. It was so close to Hicks's head that it skinned his right cheek and blood streamed down his face. Hicks touched the wound in surprise.

Riker sat there on his knees and let his head hang. He looked up with a smile at Hicks and said "I am glad...it was...you.." he coughed up blood and had to recompose himself. "You were...better than they..said.." and with that he fell to one side and hit the ground.

Hicks walked over to the young mans body and crouched beside him. He cursed and closed Rikers eyes. The young should not have to die because of one mans greed. In that moment Hicks decided that he would kill The Boss even if it cost him his own life. This senseless killing had to end.