War Zone (1x08)

by Allison M Dobell

Original Air Date: 26 September 2000


(THE REAL WORLD)

Mayhem was busy with the stash of C4 he'd hidden under Gepetto's floorboards for a rainy day. Beside him an assortment of guns, tripwires, timing mechanisms and other assorted goodies waited their master's touch. Humming he leant forward to grab a handful of detonators out of the ammo box when a voice cut in on his action.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Mayhem twisted, rolled and brought up an AK47 to point at a face he did not recognize. The voice though, where had he heard that voice? "Who're you?"

The black jumpsuit fit her well. Hair tied back and stance balanced for fight or flight. As far as he could tell she did not appeare to be armed. "Tut, tut, I'm disappointed in you Mayhem. Fancy not recognising your old QM."

He thought about taking her out for all of one minute. His mind was racing, his QM? It couldn't be. "Ali D?"

She chuckled darkly. "That's me. Black belt in origami."

He grinned. There was only one way to find out for sure. He dipped his left shoulder as he squeezed off a few rounds. He still owed Ali for the last lot of illegal hardware and he had no intention of coughing up funds just now. Besides, Gepetto never did figure out where he had got the last shipment from and he had no intention of her finding out now.

First rule of the game was to protect your source. He just had to make sure it really *was* his source and he was not being set up. Ali anticipated him and with a flick of the wrist folded him 16 times. Mayhem was furious, unable to produce more than a shuffle and a squeak. Ali grinned down at him as a pair of scissors materialised in her hand.

"Scissors cuts paper..."

An almost inaudible squeak rose several decibels rocking his folds. "What was that Mayhem?" she asked, scissors poised.

He tried again. She flicked him back into eight folds. He partly caught his breath - one eye visible, the other hidden in a crease. "Et 'ee out of 'ere!"

Ali smiled sweetly. "Say please."

"Eeerrrrhhh,"

"Please."

A pause. "Ease."

Ali grinned and flicked her wrist again. He opened out again, only folded in half this time. Mayhem wheezed angrily then popped himself straight. Before he could catch his breath she leaned in close to him. "How would you like to get in on some mass death and destruction and help Gepetto into the bargain?"

Mayhem's eyes narrowed. Perhaps he could include her among the casualties? As if reading his mind she sweetened the pot. "Come in on this one and I'll lose the paperwork on the last assignment..."

He hung on her words wondering what she had in mind.

"And," she paused for dramatic effect. "I'll throw in a helicopter!"


(CENTRAL SECURITY)
(SANTIAGO CITY)
(HARSH REALM)

Chaos was sure he was dead, wasn't he? Pain filled his whole body and his head was spinning. He had been shot. Point blank range. For once he wasn't afraid of the darkness. Wasn't afraid of the silence. So this was what death was like? He found it disappointing. Over rated. He went to move then found he couldn't. Something was pressed down on his chest. Then a cold voice hissed in his ear. "Don't move!"

He froze. Okay, so he wasn't dead. For a split second he was sorry he had survived. He was afraid and he didn't like being afraid. He tried to wriggle as a bag was pulled over his head then felt himself being dragged, heaved then dumped into some kind of handtruck. He was tempted to shout, to try to attract attention then realised what a bad idea that was. Somebody had set him up as the traitor. He wanted to find out who it was. Then he wanted to get even. So for now he would make like a sack of potatoes and if he got out of this alive there were going to be REAL sparks flying. Guaranteed.


(UNIT CAMP)
(HARSH REALM)

Jules was inconsolable. Her buttercup, honeylips, sweetie-cake was dead. Gone. Digitised. It wasn't fair. She didn't want to go on without him but she also wanted to get whoever had killed him. Ladyhawk's sympathy was thinning fast. If Jules didn't pull herself together soon she would be joining her Caramelkiss sooner than anticipated. It was Pooh_Bah who laid it on the line. "Pull yourself together! We have to figure out who knew about Anthony's allegery to Paprika. So think, Jules, THINK."

"I am thinking," Jules wailed. She tried to remember who had been present when he had that sneezing fit. Vaguely she remembered someone standing in the shadows. As she realised who it was she looked up. "Oh my God, I remember! It was..."

Just then a shot sent them all diving for cover. With a cry Jules keeled over, blood running down her face from the neat hole drilled in her forehead. Pinocchio swore (under his breath so as not to go beyond the PG rating) and caught a glimpse of a slick black leather jacket disappearing back into the undergrowth. "Alexei!"

Before anyone could stop him he darted off after the fleeting figure. The others grabbed their assorted weapons and followed him. All ideas about forming another plan torn to shreds by the rapidly spiralling events. Megan dropped her pace a fraction to run alongside Gepetto. "Alexei's the traitor?"

"Looks like it," said Gepetto through gritted teeth. "Can't say I'm that surprised, can you?"

Megan shook her head. "So if Chaos didn't do it why did he run?"

"With all our weapons turned on him, why do you think?"

They were beginning to string out now, the faster ones pulling ahead of the group. Pooh_Bah was cross that her father had just run off without saying a word leaving them to follow or not. Florence was not slowing down for anyone and Gepetto had now speeded up leaving Megan to slow down and catch her breath. Pooh_Bah stopped running and let them go on ahead. They had to come up with a plan.

For all they knew Alexei could be leading them into a trap. The last thing they needed was to lose any more of their members. The Unit was still strong but if they kept reacting and not thinking first they would be decimated before they had a chance to complete their mission. Ladyhawk checked her weapon. Just then they felt a rumble beneath their feet, more a ripple than a siesmic shift.

"What was that?" hissed Ladyhawk. "I didn't know we had earthquakes in Harsh Realm."

"That was no earthquake," muttered Pooh_Bah.

As they took cover the air rippled and two figures rolled out into the clearing. Pooh_Bah could not believe her eyes. Her heart sank. "Mayhem, what are you doing here?"

He grinned at all the weapons cocked and pointed at him. "Nice to be missed."

"Then go back and be missed some more," said Ladyhawk. Her eyes narrowed at the second figure dressed all in black and too confident for comfort. "Who are you?"

"Ali D, I'm..." Mayhem shot her a warning look. He *had* to protect his sources. She smoothly amended what she was about to say. "I'm here to help the Unit."

Pooh_Bah eyed her suspiciously. "Why should we trust you?" She felt uncomfortable with anyone who thought Mayhem was a good choice for a mission. Everyone knew how unstable he was which meant any friend of his .... was more trouble. Ali D grinned at her. "I'm a black belt in origami."

Megan laughed. "So how's paper folding going to stop a bullet?"

Pooh_Bah smiled. Megan had taken the words right out of her mouth. Ali was unfazed. "Try me."

A look passed between them but it was Ladyhawk who decided to test the newcomer. Mayhem grinned. He was going to enjoy this. Carefully he pulled his supply trunk out of the line of fire and settled behind cover to watch. Pooh-Bah's eyes narrowed as she watched him. Suddenly she had a bad feeling about baiting Ali D. Ladyhawk just tucked the stock of her weapon in tight to the shoulder and started to sqeeze off a shot. Before the projectile had even left the business end of the barrel Ali flicked her right wrist.

There was a painful tremor in the air which sent varying degrees of alarm through everybody. Pooh_Bah frowned and glared at Mayhem who was still grinning. She crouched down and pulled Megan down too. Ripples shuddered through VR space, rearranging the computer code around them and then the impossible happened.

Fascination overtook alarm as they watched the space between themselves and the surrounding trees ripple and unfold. Space bent and flexed deflecting the bullets from Ladyhawk's gun so that they spun harmlessly off into the trees. With a sound like a wobble board flexing the ripples subsided and everything popped back into place. Ladyhawk looked at Ali in amazement, "What was that?"

Ali smiled. "Harsh Realm doesn't obey the same rules of time and space as the rest of the Universe."

Megan stood up and crossed over to her. Intrigued. "So how's it different?"

"You have to start thinking in linear space."

"Linear?" frowned Pooh_Bah.

"Yep," said Ali. "Anything linear can be folded."

Mayhem was feeling really happy. Not only did he get to blow things up but he had a neat companion. He looked around suddenly anxious and the smile slipped off his face. "Where's Gepetto?"

"It's okay," said Pooh_Bah. "She's gone ahead with Pinocchio and Florence. They're chasing Alexei."


(CENTRAL SECURITY)
(HARSH REALM)

Santiago was furious. He spun round and glared at the lieutenant standing before him. "What do you mean you've *lost* a helicopter? How can you lose a helicopter?"

The man was squirming. "It just, it just *disappeared*, sir."

Santiago's eyes narrowed. His expression thoughtful. "Did anything else unusual happen, Lt?"

The man seemed to regain a little of his composure though he was still shaking. "Yes, sir. The earth and air trembled just before it disappeared."

"Rather like you're trembling now, Lt?"

"Yes, sir. I mean no sir."

The General raised his eyebrows. "Which is it, Lt?"

"Please, sir. I have a wife and kids."

He nodded. "I just want a straight answer."

"It was like an earthquake was coming, only it wasn't just the ground sir, the air was trembling too. I never seen nothing like it in my life before. Frightened the hell out of me."

Santiago nodded. "We can't have that, Lt."

The General had turned away from him and was slowly walking away when he turned, gun now in hand, and shot him at point blank range. The Lieutenant's face was frozen in a mix of surprise, pain and horror before he digitised. The other soldiers did not dare to show any reaction. Santiago replaced his gun and spoke mildly to the point where only moments before Lt Ramirez had been standing. "You won't be frightened any more, Lt." He murmured.


(CENTRAL SECURITY)
(SANTIAGO CITY)
(HARSH REALM)

It was cold, dark and musty. As he was lowered unceremoniously onto what felt like an earthen floor the damp started to soak through the hessian bag. Quickly the bag was yanked off him and his mouth dropped open in surprise. Inga Fossa gave him a cold smile.

"I suggest you start talking."

The Chaos Factor flicked an eye around his prison. He had no idea where he was but the cellar felt deep and had an air of abandonment about it suggesting that if he did scream no one would hear him. As if reading his thoughts Inga's smile widened. It made Chaos shudder as blood continued to leak out of the gunshot wound in his shoulder. If he had not jerked slightly before the bullet hit him he would be dead right now. Looking into Inga's cold lifeless eyes, he still could be.

"What do you want to know?"

"Start with what you know about Harsh Realm."

He rolled his tongue across his teeth, teasing out the bits of mung bean and swallowing them. He was nervous but still cautious. Which side was Inga on? "The place or the series?"

She glared at him and he nodded quickly. "Okay. I know that two types of people get sent into Harsh Realm. There's the real people who are hooked up into the main computer back in the Real World and kept alive on life support while their brain patterns are downloaded and entered into the Realm and there are Virtual Characters based on people taken from a census. If a virtual character get digitised that's it. They're gone forever. Game over."

"What about a real person? What happens to them?"

He licked his lips. "I'm not sure. I think they get to wake up again in the Real World."

"Do you want to find out?"

Chaos looked at her in alarm, sure it was a trap. But what the hell? He was dying anyway. He nodded, his face almost as white as hers.

"Follow me."


(THE WOODS)
(HARSH REALM)

Alexei was enjoying himself immensely. He liked being chased but it was a pain having them take pot shots at him. He considered doing a loop to come up behind them then decided against it. He was not here for fun. He had a mission to perform. Later. Later he would come out to play. Pinocchio was furious. He wanted to catch Alexei and skin him alive but damn the Russian was quick. All he had seen of him was that quick flash of leather then he was gone.

Only his experience had kept him glued to his trail, tracking by instinct as much as knowledge. Alexei realised he wasn't going to shake him off, but then he didn't want to. He was more worried about Florence or Gepetto getting off a lucky shot. It had been stupid shooting Jules but she had been on the point of identifying him. A lot of good that did him now. They knew anyway. He cursed in Russian then decided it was time to disappear.

Geppetto thought she saw a flash of something up ahead. She narrowed her eyes and sighted down her AR17 long-range deep-sight assault rifle and got a glimpse of the Russian's backside. She grinned wickedly and squeezed off a couple of rounds. A high pitched yelp told her she had hit her target.

Pinocchio flicked her a look. He was impressed, even more so when they found Alexei on his hands and knees with blood pouring out of the seat of his pants. The target was too tempting. Pinocchio kicked him as hard as he could with the steel toecap of his boot. Alexei cried out and collapsed in pain face down in the dirt.

Florence bent down and quickly disarmed him, a rapidly growing arsenal of weapons forming a pile at her feet. Gepetto grinned at Pinocchio. "Don't you just love it when a plan comes together?"

Pinocchio raised his eyebrows. What plan? But he was too happy to quibble.

He dragged Alexei to his feet and turned him round.

"What are you going to do with me?"

"That depends."

Alexei had trouble standing completely upright. No one helped him. "Depends on what?"

Gepetto pushed the business end of her AK47 into his face. "On what you tell us."

"I don't know anything," he said unconvincingly.

Pinocchio grinned at him. "Then you'll die for nothing, won't you?"

"You won't kill me," he sneered with confidence.

"Oh no? Give me one good reason why."

"The Chaos Factor."

Gepetto tapped him under the chin with the end of the rifle. Just enough to cause a bruise later. "What about him?"

"He's been captured. They think he's dangerous."

A look passed between Florence, Pinocchio and Gepetto.

"Come on," said Pinocchio hurrying the Russian along with his boot. "I think the others should hear this."


(UNIT CAMP)
(HARSH REALM)

Pooh_Bah was eying Mayhem cautiously, wondering what he had inside the box. Tempted as she was to peek inside she would not put it passed that twisted version of her father to have the whole thing rigged against tampering. It would be just their luck to be wiped out by something Mayhem had been cooking up to save them.

Megan was still fascinated by the way Ali D folded space. Ladyhawk was busy working out the military applications they could apply it to. Ali looked at Pooh_Bah for a moment. "You think I was wrong to bring Mayhem, don't you?"

Pooh_Bah frowned. "I know it." She paused. "What were you thinking of?"

"Payback."

"Payback?"

"Yeah." She grinned. "It's time to go and kick serious..."

Pooh_Bah tutted, reminding Ali of the PG rating of this fanfic. Ali corrected what she had been about to say. "It's time to hit Santiago where it hurts and hit him hard."

"How you planning to do that? We're already having trouble with the glitches."

Ali nodded as if she knew about that. "That's where the helicopter comes in."

Pooh_Bah frowned. "What helicopter?"

Ali grinned and suggested they step back. No one argued. With a flick of her wrist the air warped and ripples flipped through virtual space. A throbbing grew steadily and the whole area thrummed. Megan put her hands over her ears. Ladyhawk looked unsettled but curious. What now? She didn't have to wait long. With a snap the air flipped and a Republican Guard helicopter unfolded out of thin air and landed with a pop in the clearing.

It was in complete and pristine condition with only a couple of creases to show where it had been folded. Impressed, Pooh_Bah ran up to climb inside and see if it was operational. Ladyhawk whistled with glee. Mayhem jumped up and started to climb up into it but Pooh_Bah stopped him. He looked back at Ali, silently reminding her. They had a deal. Ali nodded.

"I promised Mayhem the helicopter, Pooh_Bah."

Pooh_Bah looked at her as if she had gone stark raving mad. "You did what?"

Just then their attention was diverted from what could have been an ugly confrontation by the arrival of Pinocchio, Gepetto and Florence with a bloodied and much subdued Alexei. Mayhem forgot all about the helicopter in his excitement at being reunited with Gepetto. He glanced back at Ali, eyes shining. Now, thought Ali, if only Mayhem will keep his word. Pooh_Bah recovered quickly and shot an angry look at Ali.

"Why did you promise Mayhem the helicopter?"

Pinocchio took his eyes off Alexei for a moment. "Where did you get a helicopter from?"

Pooh_Bah ignored him, she was looking at Ali angrily. Waiting for an explanation.

"I had this idea." She looked at Gepetto. "How're you at flying helicopters?"

Gepetto looked with interest at the black beast dominating the clearing. "I can fly helicopters. Why? What do you have in mind?"

Ali was grinning now. "I think we should go and give Santiago some of his own medicine. If Gepetto flies the helicopter, Mayhem can do what he does best while the rest of us storm Government House."

Gepetto looked at Ali. "I think I remember where I know you from now."

"Just lending a helping hand."

She nodded back. "How did you get Mayhem involved? He doesn't take orders and he's more than a little unpredictable."

Ali smiled. "A while ago he offered me fireworks."

She looked at Mayhem and saw him nod back happily. Gepetto was going to have to hear the whole story later. Pooh_Bah looked troubled and was getting more than a little impatient. "You want to storm Government House?"

"With Mayhem dropping bombs from the helicopter I don't think we'll find a better time to go in and get Santiago."

Alexei looked at them with an incredulous look on his face. "You're all insane. It'll never work."

Pinocchio shoved him hard so he stumbled and landed on the ground. "Shut up, Alexei, nobody cares what you think."

"Of course," said Ali. "It's up to the rest of you how you want to handle this but it would be a shame to waste the helicopter and we have more than enough firepower to seriously hurt Santiago."

The others looked at each other. It was Pinocchio who best summed up what everyone was thinking. He grinned in anticipation. "Let's do it!"

Alexei closed his eyes and groaned. He just knew this was a bad idea...


(CENTRAL SECURITY)
(SANTIAGO CITY)
(HARSH REALM)

The Chaos Factor was not feeling too good. Despite Inga Fossa's offer to take him back to the Real World he was so weak now from loss of blood he did not think he was going to make it. He felt sorry. He had so wanted to join in, to play the game, to be a Hero with the rest of them. Would they even miss him?

He wondered why Inga didn't offer him anything for the pain, or at least try to staunch the bleeding. If she really was intending to help him that should have been the least she could do. He sighed and realised that they had arrived in a stainless steel room. He looked at the reclining dentist style chair, recognising it for what it was. He looked at Inga. "Why are you doing this?"

"You wanted to know."

He nodded. "It still doesn't explain why you would help me."

"No."

He did not get a chance to ask any more questions. Quickly she helped him onto the chair and set it up. His eyelids were so heavy, he was so tired. The pain now had dulled leaving him numb. It would be so good just to let go. To drift off. The next thing he knew he was waking up in another room. This one much larger, a huge place filled with gurneys just like the one he was on.

A shudder ran through him as hands removed the electrodes and disconnected the wires connecting him to the master computer. This could not be happening. This could not be real. They helped him sit and a white towellin dressing gown was draped around his naked body. Chaos shook his head.

He glanced around. Some of the people in statis he recognised. He saw Hobbes. Pinocchio and Waters. With a shock he recognised Pooh_Bah and some of the others but before he could go and see who else was there he was led away, firm hands giving him no choice in the matter.

His mind was a mess, he could not grasp exactly what was happening. They took him to a room where they helped him to dress then he was led into what looked like a military barracks only this one had bars on all the windows and razor wire topping all the fences.

He frowned. What was this place? Then he was taken into an office and told to sit and wait. Having no other option he sat and waited, his eyes scanning round the room looking for clues. He wondered where Inga was. Why she had brought him here. The only good thing was that he was whole, there was no gunshot wound and he appeared to be back in the Real World. But something also felt desperately wrong.

After a few minutes the door opened again and a man walked in. He was in military uniform but there was no name stitched over the pocket of his jacket. He did not recognise him. He was asked to confirm his name and personal details which he did in a dull voice. Then before he could ask any questions of his own he was taken out by two guards and taken to a dormitory. The guards pushed him inside and shut the door. He heard the lock being turned and took a few steps forward. The room was not empty. People sat on beds, leaned on the walls or just stood looking dejected.

As he walked nearer to them he recognised many of his friends who had been digitised while in Harsh Realm. Carla Jane scowled at him, Fred looked as if he wanted to cry, Hunter was kicking her foot against the bottom of her bed but stopped when she saw him. Chance Harper looked up from the window he had been gazing out of. He nudged Azar who looked up but said nothing. In fact he recognised all of them. Nobody smiled, nobody spoke, just gave sad little nods of depression.

The only two who looked vaguely happy were Anthony J and Jules, but then they were also so wrapped up in each other that it was a toss up as to whether they ever really noticed what was going on with the rest of the world anyway. Chaos shook his head, confused. What on earth was going on and what were they all doing here?


(A MILE OUTSIDE THE FENCE)
(SANTIAGO CITY)
(HARSH REALM)

Mayhem had never been happier. He had already made several high yield bombs as well as numerous smaller ones capable of knocking out gun emplacements, tanks, reinforced bunkers and vehicles. He had been tempted to bring the napalm but Ali D had talked him out of that one. Gepetto spent quite a while talking over the plan with him.

Mayhem was so happy, he knew he could do this, that he could pull it off. Looking at him, Gepetto was confident too. She looked at Pinocchio and nodded. They were as ready as they were ever going to be. Ali had elected not to go in the helicopter. Said she could be of more use on the ground. Gepetto was inclined to agree. With that space folding technique of hers, Santiago's precious fence would not stand a chance. What worried her more was what would happen once they were through the fence.

They gathered together one last time to synchronise their watches. The fireworks would kick off at 0600hrs. Pinocchio had dubbed it 'reveille'. They checked their weapons, counted cartridges and made sure everybody had spare ammo clips. Pooh_Bah noted how quiet everybody had become. No one was smiling now. Nobody joking. They had discussed what to do with Alexei and decided he was too dangerous to take with them and they worried about leaving him behind.

In the end they had drugged him and left him locked in a cellar with food and water for four days. They knew he would probably break out but even a short delay would be something. Ladyhawk had been all set for shooting him but it was one thing to kill someone in the heat of battle or when they were firing at you, quite another to do it in cold blood just for the sake of convenience. In the end, they had taken a vote and Alexei had breathed a sigh of relief that he got to live a little longer.

The clock ticked round. Pinocchio watched impatiently. He always hated waiting the most. When you were moving, in battle or planning one, you did not have time to worry about all the things that could go wrong. You just went out and got the job done. He looked around at the faces he was taking into battle and bit back a sigh.

Most were amateurs, they did not realise what they were getting themselves into but some seemed able to handle themselves quite effectively. Maybe this wouldn't be the wholesale slaughter he was expecting. His only regret was taking his daughter in with them. He would rather she had stayed out of it but knew she was as stiff necked and determined as he was. Besides that, he did not envy the man who thought he could take her in a fight.

He gave a last look at his watch. It was time. He gave a confident grin that he did not really feel, his features set in grim lines of determination.

"Time to give Santiago his wake up call!"

They nodded, no one jostling for position now. Everybody intent only on the success of the mission. They approached the fence with caution. Pinocchio looked at Ali and nodded. Everybody stepped back as she flicked her wrist and folded space, creating a way in. As they poured through the opening the alarms went off where the fence was breached, the alarms quickly being drowned out as the bombs fell.

Panic and chaos ensued, people running in all directions, yelling, screaming, declaring the end of the world. Nobody hesitated, nobody looked about. They fought their way like a cohesive unit, covering each others' backs and pushing forward, inching their way towards Government House. Every step taking them nearer to their objective. To Santiago.


[TO BE CONTINUED...]