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Chapter XIII

Torch and Burn: Part One

Jason:

Taking one for the team isn't usually meant so literal.

Knowing that we had just passed through the gates of the base made a feeling inside of me jump a little. Okay, at least our first phase was completed, which meant getting inside the lower parts of the base was the next part and the harder part. Doubtful, I was sure, that this rest of this mission would be just as easy.

We waited in silence as the truck drove on for what seemed like hours, when, in reality, it was only a few minutes before the driver parked. As we waited in the intense silence (other than the wind bellowing outside), we could hear and feel the driver and his passenger grunt as they slammed their doors hard. Instantly we knew they were heading to the back so we had to act, fast.

Jun and I had decided to take out the guards while Ryan and Viktor hid behind the dozens of crates. While those two were laying behind a wall of fruit and ammunition crates, Jun and I took positions on both sides of the truck. I only hoped our plan worked right, otherwise this mission was going to end right before we got halfway through it, so failing now was not an option. I pressed my back against the cold wall of the vehicle, the sound of boots crunching the snow on the outside sent chills up my spine. It was almost like waiting for my executioner.

Even though they were nearing the back of the truck, their voices could still be heard. One sounded deep and low while the other was somewhat of a country accent that reminded me of Kenny Chesney. Even with their regular voices, I could still sense the darkness and emotionless tone of their voices, telling me that they had emotion but it was nothing but lifeless lies.

"I hate raiding supply trucks," the deep voiced man said, sounding irritated. "Fucking pieces of crap of trucks they got."

The Kenny Chesney sound-alike grunted. "It's what she wants. I hate it as much as ya do, but it's not like got us much of a choice."

Just as he finished talking, one of the guys hauled himself into the back of the truck, almost making me jump as he walked on back. The second guy wasn't far behind and jumped into the back of the vehicle and started following the first guy.

Jun and I stayed as quiet as we possibly could, keeping in the shadows from behind. The sniper had his hunting knife drawn and was holding it back-handed style, slowly creeping up on the pair of Shadow Grunts. I made sure not to summon my hidden blade yet, fearing they might hear it slide out and warn them of our presence. They both bent down and picked up two crates a piece before grunting and nodding to each other. We needed to take this chance before we lost our opportunity.

Just as the pair was about to turn around, I jumped forward and cupped one hand over the Kenny Chesney voiced man's mouth, placing my palm on his back side, flicking my wrist forward to send my blade right into his side. Jun had the second guy in a choke hold, on his knees, with his knife still in hand right before he brought it down on the man's throat and stabbed it right through. He coughed up blood for a second before he slumped in Jun's arms, much like the guy in my arms right after he grunted and fell limp in my grasp. Dropping the guy wasn't my intension but with his weight butting against mine, he fell out of my arms and landed on his back, dead as a door-nail. Jun laid down his victim right next to the first man then pulled his knife from the Grunt's throat, cleaning it with his sleeve before tapping the ammunition crates.

Ryan and Viktor appeared from their hiding spots and hopped over the crates to meet up with us. They saw our kills and smiled, Ryan patting me on the shoulder in approval, not that I needed it but it felt good still.

"We need to hide the bodies," Viktor stated, already dragging one of the men to the back.

"That would be for the best," Ryan agreed, grabbing the second man before dragging him along with the first to the back. We helped them as they placed the bodies, laying a wall of crates to cover them from unseen eyes.

"Good, now we need to get out of here," I said.

"I'll take point," Jun said, slowly walking and jumping out of the truck.

We watched as he began to slowly trudge his way to a nearby mound of snow with a tarp laid over. He crouched and looked over the area like a scanner before looking back at the truck, giving us the nod.

We flowed out one by one as we crouched over to the large mound that Jun stayed knelt behind. I was able to get a clear view of the base as well. The walls were tall but with stones poking over everywhere, large enough for a foot. The base was also connected to the side of a mountain, which didn't match the hologram we had seen before. It was actually shaped like a rectangle with two watch towers at the front corners while one stayed in the center. The base was small by the looks of it but my guess was that the lower levels were going to be a large network of tunnels, filled with soldiers and weapons that needed to be destroyed. Soldiers patrolled the walls of the base but few remained on the ground, not enough to spot us by any chance.

From what I could see, we were at the east wall since I could see the large metal gates up front that looked hard and tough. Great, we were either going to have to blow of the gates somehow or jump over the walls.

A large door was placed on the mountainside with two guards at the front door carrying assault rifles. Two more guards were placed at the front gates, telling us we couldn't go far without getting spotted. We needed to get up inside the guard towers before we could do anything else.

"I have a plan," Jun said, cutting off my train of thought.

Ryan turned to him. "We're listening."

"You and Jason take the tower behind us while Viktor and I handle the tower on the opposite side of the base. There, you'll have a good viewpoint from there so we can take out our targets."

"Sounds good, I like it," I said with a smile.

Ryan looked around again before going on. "We shouldn't talk. Staying silent will help keep us covered."

"Good idea," Jun nodded. "Let's go."

We went forward with the plan right after we dispersed. Jun and Viktor crouched their way to the front gates, pulling out their guns--fitted with silencers--to fire, then laid two shots to the head. While they took care of the bodies quickly, Ryan and I looked to the wall behind us, getting an idea. The stones were out of place, some poking out far while others were too pushed inside.

Ryan walked over to the wall and placed a foot on one of the outer blocks then gran another one that was higher from the ground. Slowly he began to climb himself up the wall, showing me that it was possible, even for me. I took position just behind him and began to climb, slowly. The wall was freezing cold and the stones felt a little loose to my touch, telling me at an instant that this base wasn't as strong as I had thought before. Proving my point, I took one small stone front its slot and pulled it out, watching as it fell to the ground with a thud. A few explosions and the walls would come down like a house made out of straw.

Perfect.

Ryan was already hoisting himself up the rest of the wall by the time I was halfway up. At least the rocking climbing in the military was being put to well use now. It wasn't just a strength exercise now, it was actually being used in the way we needed it to be. The extra strength was sure coming in handy right about now.

As I reached for the next block, I heard a grunt front above then the falling of a body. It must've been the guard patrolling the wall. Ryan's handiwork no doubt. Always trying to be Mr. Perfect.

He helped me up the rest of the wall by the time I had gotten up. Once back on my feet, my eyes met his shoulder instantly. There was blood dripping from it, along with a cut wound that didn't look severe but in the cold weather it could be much worse than I was thinking right now.

Before I could ask, he placed a finger on my lips and shook his head, motioning me to come along. I followed right behind him as he crept over to the tower we were assigned, coming right up to the thick metal door that led inside. Taking point, I took a few steps forward and pushed against the door and, surprisingly, found it unlocked and easy to open since the thing slid forward with ease. The metal heap stopped before it hit the wall and showed a dimly lit inside of the tower, also revealing our only way of getting up by the looks of it.

A single metal ladder.

As we walked inside, Ryan shut the door behind us so the rest of the guards wouldn't see an open door and investigate. The ladder looked...pretty stable, by my judgment. Giving it a pull, I realized it was fastened in place at certain points up the tower to keep the stability from being an issue. It was stiff and hard, and I could only hope that it would get us to the top without crashing down.

Before even deciding, I went first and started climbing up. Each time I pulled myself up I made sure that I was quiet and smooth, lest the guard or guards above us hear us then look down. Ryan closely followed suit right behind me and matched my movements as well. As we climbed higher, the sounds of the cold winds got stronger and stronger and the temperature even dropped a few degrees. The prongs grew colder and the air caused my throat to get raspy and sharp each time I breathed in air. If this kept up I was sure I was going to lose my voice and get sick, which meant we needed to get this mission done quickly.

After the long (and cold) climb up, we reached the roof/floor of the tower, finding a metal hatch right over the top of the ladder that was cracked just ajar to keep it from locking in place. With delicate hands and slow timing, I slowly pushed against the hatch, letting it rise steadily. More of the scenery from the top could be visible and that was when I took my first look topside, only peeking from the slight crack. The blizzard was still going but was faster higher up, snow hitting my goggles as the winds chilled my body to the bone. Shuddering, I finally saw the only guy up here. He was looking over the frozen region that was in front of the base and seemed to be lost in deep thought or something. He held a small assault rifle and was standing upright--not even shivering just from the sheer cold that blanketed around us.

That was sure odd considering I was getting colder. I looked down and nodded to Ryan, who nodded back and slowly went back down the ladder while I stayed right here and waited for the right moment to strike. I pushed against the hatch even more and allowed myself room to climb further up the tower. I carefully lowered the hatch back down after I slipped onto the floor and crouched, looking to my target. He had to go in order for us to move on.

I made sure to step with caution as I inched myself forward. The wind beat against my goggles and hit my body like a hurricane, causing everything to shut down for a brief few seconds until I regained control. The man looked un-phased throughout all of this and still stood like a statue looking over the horizon.

After being only a few centimeters from him, I flicked out my wrist then pushed it into the man's side. My blade surged forward inside his side and clearly killed him. What really caught me off-guard was the fact that he hadn't made a sound. The man didn't even flinch or move a muscle. That's when I laid him down and gasped.

He had already frozen to death.

Killing him didn't even matter! He was already a frozen corpse! I scurried back away from the frozen man and shuddered myself. This only proved how inhumane the Shadows could be. They were put a human man out in the cold for hours I bet then leave him there and let him freeze to his death, then laugh about it later no doubt. This guy could've easily had more to live for if it wasn't for the Shadows. His skin was pale and covered with ice sickles, his fingers dark blue and wrinkly, and his clothes covered in snow. No telling how long he had been outside but I would have to say for about a day max or two, max.

I felt sick (which was an understatement) and looked away. The army training had taught us how to deal with killing and death without being fearful about it. However, this was something they neglected to teach us about, let alone handle it the way I was taking it right now. My body felt colder than usual but it wasn't the same cold that was swarming around me before, it felt more like true fear--cold as ice, chilling like the air, and overall terrifying like the night on Halloween.

"Dio ... abbi pietà della sua anima," I whispered to myself yet moreso to the man, and God. (God...have mercy on his soul.)

There was silence for a few moments, other than the chilling night wind that blew through the air. Taking a long breath, I stood back up and looked over to the second tower. My eyes met with Viktor's as I saw him holding his gun, most likely locked and loaded with silent rounds. He gave me the nod and motioned me on ahead and, without questioning him (since I couldn't), went back down the hatch.

Ryan was waiting with a lighter in his hands back at the botton for me. He tossed me the lighter, in which I lighted it and let the flame warm my fingertips and get them back to life. The heat seemed to rush throuought my body just from the touch.

"You already have your weird powers, why the lighter?" I asked him in a hused whisper.

He shrugged. "I didn't know I could use my ability freely so I just brought it with me just in case. Besides, I don't see you complaining." He gave me a smile then patted me on ths shoulder.

Even though I had my mouth covered, I stuck my tongue out at him. "Whatever." I joked. "Come on, Viktor will take care of the guards from up top while we slip in the front door."

"Sounds like a plan," he replied, turning his attention back to the front doors.

We walked back over to the front doors, passing what looked like a majaestic looking tent, finding the snow not as deep there, but still saw the two guards posted up front. They still weren't taken down. Dang. We both pressed our backs against the central tower, hoping that Jun and Viktor had at least taken them out for us. Sometimes they just some sick senses of humor, teasing us just by letting the guards stand there and scare us.

Just then my ears heard the muffled sounds of two shots that cut through the air. Following the dulled sounds were the sounds of grunting then thudding as I looked over the corner and saw as both guards gripped their throats before falling onto the ground dead. I heard three shots fired next, the muffled thuds coming from the high tower above, along with a few gurgling noises that made me shudder. Once the sounds ended, that was when we decided to move on ahead as more shots flew through the air. Those shots told me that there were more guards in the perimeter than we had estimated, which actually scared me a little on the inside.

They could've given us away.

Ryan wiggled the latch on the door, finding the slab of thick metal locked. It was probably the only locked thing above ground most likely. As he fiddled with the lock (purposely) and tried to get the door open, I decided to actually start looking for a set of keys that would get us inside. Best option: check the guards.

Immediately my hands went to work going through each guard's pockets, in hopes of finding a key or something. Back pockets? Hmm...no. Side pockets maybe? Eh...no dice. Okay, coat pockets then--chest and stomach. And...nothing.

Giving up didn't seem like a smart option. One of these guys had to have a key or something on them. How else would they get inside? I checked both of their sets of pockets only to be disappointed--finding a wallet instead. The heck was I going to use that for? I put it back inside just to be nice.

Okay...there had to be something. If not a key then maybe...

"You gotta be kididng me," I groaned to myself, Ryan hearing me.

Right there on the left guard's belt was a card the size of a Driver's License. I pulled the card from his belt and red over the card, finding a scanner, thumb ID, and picture of the man.

"Ryan, let me try," I said, getting back to my legs.

"Found somethin'?" he asked me with a tilt of his head.

I nodded. "I hope."

I positioned the card to what looked like slider then swiped it down. There was a loud PING! then the handle of the door swung down then slid to the side slowly. Once the door was gone in a loud locking sound, Ryan and I walked inside with triumphant looks upon our faces.

"Might wanna keep that card, Jason," Ryan said as we neared a set of decending stairs that spiraled down.

"Yep, never know when it'll come in handy," I smiled but frowned looking down. I really hated stairs.

"My thoughts exactly," he chuckled then went first down the flight of stairs.

My least favorite thing to do while we were at out military training camp was run up and down stairs. And we were doing just what I hated most: stairs. At least we weren't running up and down the blasted things, else I'm sure I would've had to flip a table in anger or something.

We passed the second level shortly then stood right in front of the third level's door, using my card to allow us access inside. Once the door slid open and we were inside, I shut it then followed with Ryan ahead down the long corridor. The lower levels were gray and had the number three labeled on the walls further and further on as we went. Doors with red lights above the frame helped illimunate the hallways, along with the dimly lit lights on the ceiling.

It amazed me how this place had no cameras whatsoever. You'd think that a strong base built by the Shadows would also have cameras mounted at every corner, but you'd be wrong evidently. I made sure. Unless they were the world's smallest cameras, we seemed to be in the clear as far as I could see.

But that thought always had the possibility to change.

And I was right not long after. Ryan stopped dead in his tracks and used his hand to tell me to stop. I stopped right where I was and wondered exactly what he stopped for. It didn't take me long to get the hint.

The sound of footsteps hit my ears, sending chills up my spine. Ryan stood stiff and still like a statue and I was sure I was doing the exact same thing. Maybe my body was trembling or shaking but I had no clue since I was so scared.

Ryan finally snapped out of his scared trance then began to look around for somewhere to hide. He shook me violently and told me we needed to hide, now. We frantically looked for a place to hide, only finding a metal door to our right labeled Cleaning Supplies. Ryan jumped for it then began to fiddle witht he lock, not seeing the sliding scanner and keypad right next to the handle.

I went forward to the door and slid my card throught the scanner, getting one green light to click on but the otehr light remained off, telling us that we had to use the keypad as well. Who the heck used two locks for a janitor's room? That's just stupid. Ryan started to punch in numbers on the keypad, not even knowing if he attempted to access to many times he would get caught. But after about five tries I guessed the alarm wouldn't go off.

The voices neared us, becoming more audible while the two voices came closer. I cursed. We were going to get caught if we didn't get this door open in time, and running back for the stairs was not an option. This door was going to have to get open one way or another, and I didn't care if I had to kick it in and break my leg in the process.

I looked at the keypad closely, biting my lower lip as my thoughts dwindled down from a dozen to one. The keys seemed to blur in and our of my vision as I had to squint my eyes just to see them. Soon my vision failed completely and I saw everything in some sort of blue hue. The voices around me, such as Ryan and the faint ones looming closer, felt like an echo to my ears as they zoned out of my hearing. The keypad was black completely as well but only until I saw red dots begin to materialize over a few of the numbers.

Wait...those weren't dots...those were fingerprints!

I grabbed Ryan's wrist before he punched in another code that would only waste our time. Four numbers had fingerprints and that only left me with a select few combinations.

"Hold on," I said to Ryan, walking forward to the keypad.

"You better hurry, Jason," he sounded blurry and far away for some odd reason which I would think about later.

The voices only seemed to get closer, so I wasted no time waiting. Let's see...4-9-1-7...merda. 9-1-7-4...damn. 1-9-4-7...crap.

Hmmm...1-4-7-9...

Ding!

_ _ Right when Ryan heard that sound and the door hissed open, he grabbed my chest and pulled me inside like the speed of lighting. He cupped my mouth while I cupped his, him shutting the door only until half an inch was left, just to give us a clear view. The voices of two men began to appear--very audible and loud.

The ifrst one spoke in a sort of annoyed tone. "I tell you, man, she is just being a pain in my ass. She wants those plans thought through by tomorrow? Hah! She'll get them in the next to days, and I don't give two shits about what she says."

"I wouldn't try the general's patience, my friend," the second voice spoke, much more relaxed and mellow than the first man's. "Though I do concur that she is being very unreasonable with her demands."

"Unresonable?"

"Maybe a little hasty." "I don't care shit about it! There's no way we can get the plans thought through without any glitches, malfunctions, or problems by tomorrow morning! I don't care if she wants them by tomorrow; she's not getting them tomorrow and that's that!"

The calmer man sighed. "Calm yourself, my friend, we'll figure out a way to let her give us an extra twenty-four hours or so. I know we cannot get the plans re-engineered back at room 501 by sunrise tomorrow morning, but we need to at least buy time so we can finish the new plans and give them to her."

"Ugh," the man grunted. "Fine. But I need a cup of coffee first 'cause I'm not going another hour without it."

"For your trouble, I'll make your first cup." "Are you sure you're not Jesus?"

They both bellowed in laughter down the hallway, leaving Ryan and I to our own happiness after getting the location of the room. This mission just got a little easier, which was something I hadn't been able to say since the start of it a few hours ago. At least we had a better place to start now instead of running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

Once Ryan gave me the all clear, we left the room and walked as quietly as we could down the hallway. Still, no cameras as far as I could see, unless they all were the World's Smallest Cameras used in Spy Kids. No alarms blared at least, which was a good sign by far and it allowed us to keep moving on ahead.

It wasn't long before we reached the room marked 501 and saw that it turned out to be a computer/science lab. I slid the card in the slot then walked right in with Ryan right beside me, taking notice of all the computers and beakers with different colored liquids inside. The monitors were all on but the screens were blank like a blank canvas for an artist.

The place was empty at least, and tidy to say the least. But we just encountered our first problem that was going to burn up our time.

We had no clue which computer had the plans.

Jun:

"And...there," Jun said as he began to seal the final kicker charge on the stone wall. He locked the hinges in place and watched as the explosive sealed itself to the wall automatically.

He wiped his forehead and let out a contented sigh of relief. Viktor had just finished scouting the rest of the area, reporting back to Jun telling him that there were no more baddies above ground. He himself had already finished placing the last explosive that would cause panic to the entire base once they were going to head out. It was only a matter of time before Ryan and Jason found the plans then came back out to get out of the base, and the commander said to burn the place to the ground, so why not go ahead and place a few (a lot) of explosives around the base to cover their escape.

Viktor helped Jun out as he placed the explosives at key points inside the base, picking out the best points that would leave them the most vulnerable once the real power came in to finish the fight. The extra firepower depended on how fast Ryan and Jason got the plans and got out, 'cause the army was on hold just a few miles away from the base, ready to take haste and blow this place to the skyline.

Those two needed to hurry up.

Something had caught Jun's eye just as they headed back to the front doors of the mountain. It was a crimson red looking tent that towered over the rest of the tents inside the compound. It really amazed Jun that none of the other soldiers had woken up to this seige to inspect what was going on.

It didn't matter. What mattered was that they needed to get the plans and get out as soon as possible. However, the tent peaked Jun's curiosity.

"Jun?" Viktor whispered to his partner. "Where are you...?" he trailed off as Jun held up his hand.

"Just taking a look, Viktor," he replied, heading forward to the tent to inspect it. If someone was inside then he could always result to his poison darts that would put them to sleep for a few hours, and wipe their memory in the process. So he pretty much feared nothing he would encounter in there.

The human pushed the front cover of the tent aside and revealed the interior. The tent was well illuminated with four oil lanterns on and burning, which revealed the rest of the room. A king sized bed wrapped in velvet covers was placed against the wall, a maple wood desk with a few papers and pens scattered across the top, a small dresser, a weapon's cache, an a set of metal claws that looked like Wolverine's claws from X-men. Whoever those belonged to, they certainly made Jun cringe in pain.

Viktor softly whistled. "Talk about living large. Wonder who lives in here."

Jun nodded. "Must be someone important, either a general or captain at best." He walked over to the velvet bed and gave it a long rub. "Whoever it is, he or she is really living a life of luxury."

"Jun..." Vikor spoke even lower than a whisper that caught the human sniper's attention.

"Yes, Viktor?" he turned his head and saw his Agumon partner over at the desk looking over the documents. He had a few papers in his dino-like hands and stared at them like they were the most delicate things on the planet.

The look upon his face was one filled with horror and shock.

Jun immediately rushed over to his Agumon partner without a second's moment to waste. He tried to shake his partner back into reality with no avail, that was until he looked at the documents that his partner was looking at as well.

To Mother and Father,

_ It has been two weeks since I have sent you a message about our progress, but I can assure you with this letter you will be very pleased of my work thus far. Ever since Rodrigo's attack on the city of Manchester, we have gathered intelligence that tells us that their defenses are still crippled to the point where a counter attack will finally put them in their place. If this next attack works out then we can finally take the capitol of the very country leading Europe, sending a message to the rest of the countries close by that we have finally conquoered them once and for all. _

_ We can finally stop them from sending reinforcements to Japan, meaning we can finally take over that damn country that has plagued us since the beginning of this war. Then, once we have taken over Japan, we can finally move onto the country that has been untouched since the start of the war: North America. Once we have them under our control, we will win. I just need you to send me 10, 000 troops so we can take over the capitol, please. While I am there, I can also free Rodrigo from his imprisonment and bring him back home._

_ Give me two weeks max before the attack can commence then we will have the capitol within half a week. That I give you my word._

_ _

_ Until we meet again, Mother and Father._

_ --Yukon_

_ _

Jun's heart nearly skipped a few beats, which was bad. However, this gave him a good reason to be scared.

Had he read this right? General Yukon? That was who was leading this base? She was here, now? This was not good, not good at all. This only made the mission much worse, about ten times worse. If Yukon found the bodies or worse--find the four infiltrators or explosives--then they were going to be killed.

"Jun..." Viktor was hoarse, low and sounded deathly.

"I-I know, Viktor..." Jun sounded exactly like his Agumon partner, only even more down.

Just as they finished re-reading the document, the sound of crunching snow came from outside the tent, along with some muffled voices. Jun and Viktor jumped then began to look around for somewhere to hide. Jun grabbed his partner's arm and pushed him down, sliding him under the bed as quickly as he could before he was found out. He joined his partner under the bed and cupped his mouth while Viktor followed his lead and waited with his his human partner.

Just then, two figures entered the tent. One had white legs with white fur and black pads while the second figure wore black boots. The white furred legged one spoke first, sort of in an annoyed tone.

"What do you mean that the troops are falling behind?" she was sharp and spoke like a viper ready to strike. "They were doing just damn fine yesterday!"

The second person, a human woman by the looks of it, seemed to shiver slightly. "T-the harsh c-cold temperatures are affecting t-their daily routines, mistress Yukon."

So it was Yukon. Jun cursed to himself, knowing that Viktor was doing the exact same thing in his mind as well.

Yukon sighed. "I am not letting up on those pathetic shit-for-brains just because the weather is unbearable!" She sighed again. "Tell the commanders to give them five minute breaks between periods instead of two, maybe that will help them work harder. I need them trained as killing machines in two weeks or else my plan will not work, and I am not going to dissappoint my mother and father."

The human woman took a step back to the Digimon's words, gulping. "Yes, my mistress. I will inform t-them a-at o-once..."

Just before the human woman left the tent, Yukon stopped her by grabbing her by the shoulder. Jun watched as he Digimon squeezed the shoulder in an intimate way, almost playing with the human woman as the infiltration duo laid their in shock.

Was Yukon intimate with a human?

"Now, Misty," Yukon spoke in a smooth and gentle tone, her voice sweet and seductive that it sent shivers down both Jun and Viktor's spines. "You know I didn't mean to yell at you, right?"

"Yes, mistress Yukon," the woman shuddered and moaned.

Yukon lightly chuckled then leaned forward and licked the human woman's ear. "Once you come back from the report, we can have a little bit of fun. How does that sound, my love?"

The woman was quick to respond. "Yes, mistress!" She then jogged out of the tent and ran away. Yukon chuckled then walked out of the tent as well, walking through the deep snow slowly.

Jun and Viktor gulped and knew exactly where she was going next.

Jason and Ryan.