Unchartered 2 – The Heroes



07:20 – Secret Heroes HQ – Location Unknown – MadforitUKs Office

MadforitUK has just told Dr Aces & Deaf_Raiders about the latest intel in from Interpol, the news is that VillaAlex is moving towards Nepal & the village of Chicatulla, it's a known spot with a hoard of ancient treasures & artefacts. They agree to intercept him and are discussing tactics. VillaAlex and his cronies they know are a hard arsed veteran crew who know what they're doing, but this time he has two new heads going with him on the job.


Tiktox is a petty criminal with a rap sheet longer than your arm, mainly armed robbery & bank heists, nothing so far in this league, they are worried about this unexpected arrival & what his crew would be like in the field. The other one is manfromtherock a complete unknown, Interpol doesn't even have a file on him, this has Mad worried, he likes to know things and he doesn't like surprises, unless of course he is the one dealing them out. Aces is laughing, he says that it doesn't matter who's there that his boys will take extra body bags to cope with the mess, he has been crime fighting for a while now and is confident in his men. Deaf is rubbing his 'Fists of Steel', he tells the others that he's been after Villa for years & has come close to nailing him twice, but both times the fecker has just managed to escape. They head towards the door and the helipad where the transports are waiting.


14:11 – Nepal – Chicatulla Village

The heroes have set up a base of operations in one of the many empty houses, they have sent out patrols to try and locate Villa, Tiktox & rockman. The most obvious route up would be via the old railway junk yard, so that's where they have sent their most seasoned troops. Deaf is still polishing his 'Fists' now with brasso, while Aces is dressed all in green surgical gowns, he is juggling a couple of knives while whistling a tune. Mad is reading up on the villains again, he knows the files backwards & forwards, but he is reading it again, just in case he has missed a comma.


14:27 – Nepal – Railway Junkyard

The heroes patrol are moving in on the junkyard, Mads' troops are armed with AK47's, Aces are dressed similar to him in doctors gowns, complete with masks, they carry bayoneted MK's and don't talk amongst themselves. Deafs' boys are tooled up with their legendary Fists. The Fists are feared throughout the world, maybe not the best shots in the world but that doesn't worry them, their main weapon is the steel plated gloves they all wear, the gloves could crush a skull in one punch, they unlike Aces team are laughing and joking, they are all in high spirits.

Suddenly a shot rings out & one of Deafs team collapses blood spurting from a gunshot wound in his head. An evil laugh emanates from one of the train carriages. The teams split heading for cover. Mads team immediately go behind any available cover trying to spot the enemy, Aces team disappear like ghosts into the snow, the footprints filling with snow as they silently move behind the old trains. Deafs boys charge around, hoping to come within range of a target.

Twenty minutes later bodies are starting to freeze, lifeless in the snow, spilt red patterns in the whiteness. Both sides have suffered losses, Villas men less than most, but Tiktox & rockman are unhappy with their teams performance. The heroes have had to withdrawn due to lack of numbers, they feel that they have won this encounter.

14:52 – Chicatulla Village

The heroes have sent their men to gather artefacts and are storing them when Villa, Tiktox & Rockmans men arrive. Soon the air grows thick with smoke & the sounds of gunfire, explosions & the wailing of the hurt & dying. This is Deafs 'Fists of Steel' country, small close knit houses, giving his men plenty of cover to ambush any villains they come across. The sickening sound of steel on flesh echoes' around the streets, as Tiktox & Rockmans men feel the force of the onslaught. Mad's troops are moving in formation grenades & automatics at the ready, while Aces team are hoping from one place to another never pinned down for too long. Villa is smiling to himself, he has told his men to just forget about anything else & bring him gold, silver, or anything worth money, he has told the new boys to cover his men & knock out as many of the Heroes as they can, it's one of the reasons he brought along newbies, they do everything they're told without question. He has a slight bit of trouble when telling the pair that they all keep what they found, and since his men found all they have they are somewhat put out, he ends the stand-off with the help of his pistone. Tiktox & Rockman have told their men to work together, but they still don't fully trust each other and are only interested in saving their own skins.

After a time, Mad, Aces & Deaf, decide that they've cleared out as much of the treasure as they can they pull back, leaving the empty village to the mercy of the villains. The villains see this as an open invitation & burn what can be burnt, break what can be broke & destroy anything else. It raises the spirits of the men & their leaders. Villa tells them that he has made contact with Taylor1980 who is making his way up to join them, this he says will tip the balance & they should recover all the gold.


17:17 – Temple of Coledesa – East of Chicatulla

Fierce fighting takes place at the temple, Tiktox & Rockman have versed their men somewhat & they are now much more cautious. Villas men are firing, moving, firing moving, in classical infantry style. From somewhere a few of Mads men finds riot shields & are holed up at the centre of the temple killing everything around them,. When the ammo runs dry the are taken down by one of Tiktox goons, this just makes the rest of Mads men more determined. Aces men are racking up kills for fun, appearing here, there & everywhere, bang, shot to the head, man down. Swish, guts running down the front of legs, another victim. Snap a broken neck more misery for someones family. Deafs 'Fists' have packed their steel gloves away and a couple have found rocket launchers, the pop is the only signal anyone gets before their blown to bits. Rockman has told his men to take cover & work down the flanks, they get mild success. Villas men know the country, they know the layout of the temple and take advantage of all the available cover, for the first time, the heroes are held and losses are about even on both sides, the mood in the Villians camp is wild high. But the Heroes are still undaunted, they withdraw again in good order.

19:24 – Caverns at the 'Edge of the World' – Nepal

Taylor1980s' men have arrived and his numbers are making a difference, the heroes have been pushed back as far as they can go. Losses on the Villains side aren't good. Villa has about 20 men down, Tiktox about 40 & Rockman about the same, Taylor has lost two, one fell down a ravine climbing up there and another was shot in an argument. Mads squad has lost about 18 men, while the silence surgeons are down 12, deafs men have suffered in the open and he has lost 29 men, and with them the 'Steel Fists' they carry. The Villains are now picking these up & using them themselves, even Mad & Aces have asked for some for their men. The Heroes now know they're outnumbered and have taken to keeping in the shadows. One of their tricks is to hang from a ledge & wait for some poor soul to get too close, and when they do, they grab them & fling them down over the edge, it works well as one poor unfortunate soul from Taylors troop would testify as he is hauled over the edge to his death.

Tiktox disappears with a cache of the loot, one of Aces men sees them leaving but is pinned down by a group of Taylors & Villas & can't get the message out, he turns & finds one of Rockmans men walking as though on a Sunday stroll, the last thing to go through the Rockmans goons mind is a steel fist.

One of Mads men squares up to one of Rockmans, they dance around & then steam in punches fly & splat splat both land punches & both die, another in the sad story of the day, this happens twice more, before Rockman decides to pull his men back from hand-to-hand combat, he adopts Mads tactic & has men posted hanging on ledges, one of Mads men comes to a sad end as he is chucked over the side his death wail is heard for miles.

Deafs men now no longer over powering their opponents take to hiding away & trying to pick off the enemy, and even Aces men are feeling the pressure of battle. With their losses mounting up, the three heroes decide to pull out & take the gold with them, they leave a small force to cover their retreat & disappear. They are unhappy that they have not dealt the Villains a massive blow, it's bitter sweet as they have saved 80% of the treasure.

Arguments rage in the villains camp as Villa & Taylor count the cost of Tiktoxs midnight flip, Villa takes 60% of the remaining treasure, while Taylor takes 30%, Rockman is in a poor position & accepts his 10%, but with bad grace, vowing that next time, next time he will call more of the shots.

23:47 – Transport on the way back to Heroes HQ

Mad files the report on the skirmish, he has full details even in the heat of battle he notes, jots down records. At least now they have a file on Rockman, and more intel on Villa & Taylor, he wonders what Tiktox will do now, he can't of course go home, not with those two after him, he wonders if it's worth trying to recruit Tiktox for undercover work or as a mercenary. Aces men are posing like body builders & re-enacting kills, slicing the air as though they were still slicing men, they are jolly & not a little drunk. Deaf is with his team, they are discussing the possibility of adding spikes to the gloves, he wants them to do more work at the shooting range, but his men want to do more physical stuff, it's their style they tell him, and you can't replace style. He nods.

Epilogue

So another day passes in the heroes lives, it merits just a few lines in the files of Interpol & a couple of chapters in their own files, but to those who fought on that mountain, in the village, at the Temple, their lives will have changed forever. This is just one brief episode in the fight between good and evil, are you up for the challenge and which side will you join, will you join the heroes & protect all those that can't protect themselves or will you enlist with the Villains taking what you can, without regard, without mercy. The choice is yours, but pick wisely……………..

PS3N