Time: 1330. Location: South America, somewhere along the Amazon River.
Within the overgrown jungle of South America lies a military outpost. Not for the United States or even the local troops, but rather a den of snakes. Cobras. Their daily routine amounted to intercepting satellite feeds and harassing the locals. That was then. This is now. Now they find themselves thrust into a world with THEM. After suffering the loss of one of their own, the men ventured out of the safety of their den. That was their first mistake.
- "15 yards behind. Mono-filament from location to frag g at his back. Took ammo. Scrambled com. Grabbed me with a fuckin' noose. No pos ID" -
- "You heard him. Make it fuckin' natural. Let's take this fucker out." -
- "I knew the fuckin' Joes were behind all this." -
- "For once, Crouch, even I agree with you." -
15 yards is all that separates the Vipers from their assailant. An unidentified Joe.
- "What's our course of action, Sir?" -
- "I'm working on that, Lee." -
Onesi's thoughts are interrupted by the sharp crack of a suppressed pistol. The sound is accompanied by a slackening of the monofilament at Akin's back. With that Akin, grabs the frag grenade from his back and quickly cuts the line.
- "Akin. Catch." -
Akin catches the pistol, thrown to him by Onesi, without missing a beat. The two Vipers and their Officer rush to the location where they heard the muffled shot. Weapons trained on whatever may be there. As they enter the thick vegetation, a voice calls out.
"I got him. I can't believe that fucking worked."
"Fintak?! What the fuck are you doing out here?"
"There will be time for that later, Lee."
The three men, still hesitant, walk weapons ready toward the face-down body. A body that Fintak stands over, smoking weapon in hand. A crashing from behind grabs all their attention. The men turn weapons up.
"Don't shoot." Emerging from the thick green vegetation are Crouch and Nason. "Well shit, we missed all the fun."
"Can it, Crouch."
"Lee, check him. Akin Cover."
Akin trains a pistol on the body while Lee searches it, tossing several weapons towards his commanding officer. After they have made sure he has no more weapons and poses no threat, they search for a pulse.
"He's alive."
"What I shot him, man. I shot him. C'mon, he can't be alive."
"Quit your whining, Fintak. Secure him. Bring him back to the Nest."
An eerie moan breaks through the silent air sending shudders down the spines of the soldiers.
"Better make it quick."