Date of Expiration, Chapter 3/?
Mar. 31st, 2012 11:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jendavisTitle: Date of Expiration
Fandom/Pairing: Leverage/Global Frequency fusion, with eventual Eliot Spencer/Alec Hardison.
Rating: R (eventually)
A/N: Here's wikipedia's rundown Warren Ellis's Global Frequency. While knowledge of the story is helpful, and I heartily recommend the graphic novels, it isn't absolutely necessary.
Summary: The Global Frequency existed to save humanity from itself, and there was always another crisis coming. It was job security of a sort, if you managed to survive the bioenhanced supersoldiers, alien neuroprogramming, physicists who should know better, and the bureaucracy.
Previous chapters: AO3 // DW // LJ
Tues., March 11, 2014 23:07 CDT (GMT-5)
587 and 324- no, he could call them Parker and Spencer in his head, at least- had shut their phones off just after Miranda did, and they'd moved in on the bunker at 23:10. Though both were still on comms- Alec could just make out the sounds of their breathing- there was little to hear. It was too dark for visual, and filtering what limited satellite imagery there for night vision would create a dangerous lag. Alec was having to make do with straight up thermal imaging instead.
Spencer was approaching from the south, heading towards the back of the compound, not so blatantly obvious to be immediately recognized as the distraction he was. It was a risky move, since it meant that at the moment they'd make Spencer, Parker would be slipping into the tunnel just thirty yards behind him, with nothing more than shaggy grass and the occasional rock for cover.
The boldness was serving them well, however. Thermal imaging showed four people inside, focusing on Spencer, while two more were moving towards the northern side, obviously watching for anybody approaching from the front.
They were looking in the wrong direction, and the ones who weren't, were focused on Spencer. Parker got in without a hitch, and Alec finally allowed himself a sigh of relief, though he wasn't kidding himself. Spencer might've had only half the eyes on him, but half was still far too many.
The children's heat signatures weren't registering, not with as far underground as they were. Parker was going in blind, or would be, if absence weren't as telling as presence.
"Okay, 587. We've got six heat signatures up top, which according to my intel means there should be two more down below deck. Seen any signs of 'em?"
Even with the bone conduction mics, Parker's voice was a whisper. "They're in the room with the kids. We need to draw them out."
"Okay. Hold on and wait for backup," Alec advised, crossing his fingers that she'd actually listen, and turned his attention back to the impending fight he could actually see.
A side effect of electronic bioenhancements was that metal tended to act as a heat sink, in order to keep the charge core from overheating and frying the components. In Spencer's case, it meant that his arm glowed brighter than the rest of him on thermal. The massive energy readings coming from the southeast corner of the complex meant Spencer wasn't the only Big Wheel enhanced supersoldier on site.
"324? You're up. Watch out- looks like you're not the only one in the game running some advanced tech." He was already zoomed in on the interior of the compound as much as he could be, but there was no mistaking the massive energy readings inside. "Think the one by the southeast window might be running the full suite."
"I'm on it," came the terse reply. Alec watched as Eliot's heat signature began to streak across the yard, through the doorway and into the compound, immediately engaging with the enemy.
Miranda's voice came on the line with a click, the sound of engines in the background. "I've got a green light at Fort Hood in case of any surprises, and Aleph, you've got key control. Standard protocol applies."
"Right on," Alec said, tapping the code into the keyboard to access Fort Hood's command system. With just three keystrokes, he could launch an airstrike. The power was a little dizzying and a lot terrifying.
Three taps and he could rain hell down on everyone, Parker, Spencer, and children included.
"Ground backup will be there inside three minutes," Miranda was saying. "Tell me what else we need."
"Nothing, yet," Alec swallowed, wondering if he was going to be sick. "They've just moved in."
"Standing by," Miranda said, leaving Alec to watch the standoff in the yard uninterrupted.
"324, you're going to want to consider switching to-" Alec fell mute as on screen, Spencer's metal arm glowed brighter, the electrical charge building up to a fever pitch in preparation for attack. Though he couldn't see it on the thermal, Alec knew Spencer's specs by heart, knew that hair-thin wires were about to shoot out of the detachable housing on the back of Spencer's hand, if they hadn't already.
Spencer's opponent's image was building up a similar charge, much hotter, and Alec let out a warning shout that proved unnecessary as Spencer's core discharged suddenly. The answering flash in the enemy's system told Alec all he needed to know. The shock hadn't blown out the enemy's enhancements, but it had been more than enough to stop his heart.
Alec withdrew his hand from the button that would scramble the jets from Fort Hood and rubbed a hand over his face. Spencer's enhancements were an older model, and didn't allow for that particular tactic to be used more than once without resetting. Spencer had been just that much faster than the other guy; that was the only reason this operation hadn't gone completely balls up. But they weren't out of the woods yet. They still had at least five others to subdue. Seven, if Parker hadn't taken care of things down below.
"587?"
No response, not even a whisper. No telling whether that was good or bad. Up top, the shock Spencer had administered had massively depleted his power supply. He was still moving, taking momentary cover along the southern wall to unplug the spent wire cartridge from its housing.
Or maybe he was just clicking the safety off.
Alec barely heard the small cracks of Spencer's silenced gunfire through the comms. The return fire, coming from inside the house, was deafeningly loud by comparison, close enough that the part of Alec's brain not watching the comms feed began running numbers on the alloys in Eliot's arm, as if the robotic components were an entire suit of armor.
Another body stopped moving on the screen; it's heat signature would bear out what happened soon enough. The two that had come from the front to assist were pulling back, though, retreating into the center of the house, and Alec knew what this was.
"587, they're heading down," he announced, as much for Miranda's benefit as Parker or Spencer's. "And coming your way. 324, you're-"
Spencer was already moving in. His cochlear implants had been removed years ago, when the internal regulators had failed. A whisper being amplified enough to hear across a crowded street was useful. A gunshot at close range, amplified to the same degree, was dangerous. Spencer's ocular modifications, however, were still functional. He could read a reflection off a reflection off a drop of water ten feet away.
He hadn't needed to wait for Alec's all clear, he'd just swung in- through the window, apparently- and began clearing rooms as he followed the others towards the door in the middle of the house.
"587, report your location."
"We're back in the main tunnel, should be halfway back to the entrance. Kids are fine."
"You've got-"
"Company, I know. Not so much with the stealth, these guys."
"Closet floor," Spencer confirmed the entrance to the tunnel. "I'm going down."
"I'm not getting any isolated heat signatures, they're too far down," Alec warned. Spencer had already descended. "587, prepare for crossfire."
"Hang on, I'm just-" She broke off for a moment; Alec could hear the sound of something heavy being moved. "Okay. Kids are stashed off the main tunnel, I'm going back to heading them off."
"What's going on?"
"What's going on, is that you need to stop talking," Spencer's voice sounded strained. He was probably in the middle of punching somebody.
"You need to keep talking, both of you. Backup's moving in from either end up top, ready to gas the lines if we need be, so Parker, I hope you remembered your mask."
"Mustard? Nerve? What is it this time?"
"Knockout gas," Alec frowned in affronted surprise; Miranda's annoyed hiss told him she'd heard it, too. "Shit, Parker, who do you think we- there are kids down there."
"Stop worrying," she chided, and a scuffling noise could be heard over the line as her breathing sped up. A series of crashes and grunts could be heard, followed by a sharp cracking sound that probably didn't really echo as much as it did in Alec's head.
The ensuing silence was just long enough to be worrying.
"All clear," Spencer reported, not even sounding out of breath, but Alec hadn't heard anything at all coming over his comms line. "That's the last of them. We've cleared the area, and Parker's gone in to round up the kids again. They're pretty freaked out."
"Dangerous?"
"No," Parker growled. "Just scared."
"All right. 324? Hang back a bit, keep their six, but keep out of sight." Hearing his own words, Alec winced. Real smooth.
"Don't scare the traumatized children." If Spencer was offended, he wasn't letting on. "Got it."
"Miranda, you getting all this?"
"Yes I am. And the General will be glad to hear it." Her tone was light; though Sophie had a sense of humor, this was as close to joking as Miranda was capable of getting. The general who'd had to hand over full control of Fort Hood's operations, and who was undoubtably fuming in resentment right next to her, probably wasn't laughing at all.
At the compound, Parker was talking to the kids, not cooing or sounding particularly soothing, just level. She wasn't making them any promises, wasn't telling them that everything was going to be all right. There were no signs of motherly instinct- Alec hadn't actually expected there to be- but going on what little he had, here, he had to wonder about the expressions on the kids's faces as she laid out what was happening and what needed to happen in a near monotone.
Still, he didn't miss the fact that she'd omitted all mention of the dead bodies up the stairs and down the hall. He peered over his shoulder to make sure the last of the bodies- they'd been New Guard, but Big Wheel through and through- were hidden from view behind the stairs.
Sooner than he'd been expecting, the children were filing out into the corridor, following Parker as she headed towards the exit up ahead. He had just enough time to roll his sleeves down before stepping out of the shadows, and thrust his metal left hand into his jacket pocket. His work gloves were still there; he pulled them on. Keeping his voice low, he updated Alec. "They're moving out."
"Hey Aleph," Parker's voice was a whisper. "You're going to need to follow my lead on this one. Don't disappoint me."
"What's that?"
"Tell the convoy that we're stopping for ice cream."
Alec opened up a browser, searched the area for an ice cream parlor that was open this late. It was surreal, looking up something so mundane.
"There's an all night grocery store in Laredo." This soon after the extraction, though, they couldn't afford the exposure. If Big Wheel had allies in town, there was no sense giving them the chance to catch up. "I'll send someone over, have them deliver it to the safehouse."
"Then you'd better get sprinkles, too."
Chapter 4
Fandom/Pairing: Leverage/Global Frequency fusion, with eventual Eliot Spencer/Alec Hardison.
Rating: R (eventually)
A/N: Here's wikipedia's rundown Warren Ellis's Global Frequency. While knowledge of the story is helpful, and I heartily recommend the graphic novels, it isn't absolutely necessary.
Summary: The Global Frequency existed to save humanity from itself, and there was always another crisis coming. It was job security of a sort, if you managed to survive the bioenhanced supersoldiers, alien neuroprogramming, physicists who should know better, and the bureaucracy.
Previous chapters: AO3 // DW // LJ
Tues., March 11, 2014 23:07 CDT (GMT-5)
587 and 324- no, he could call them Parker and Spencer in his head, at least- had shut their phones off just after Miranda did, and they'd moved in on the bunker at 23:10. Though both were still on comms- Alec could just make out the sounds of their breathing- there was little to hear. It was too dark for visual, and filtering what limited satellite imagery there for night vision would create a dangerous lag. Alec was having to make do with straight up thermal imaging instead.
Spencer was approaching from the south, heading towards the back of the compound, not so blatantly obvious to be immediately recognized as the distraction he was. It was a risky move, since it meant that at the moment they'd make Spencer, Parker would be slipping into the tunnel just thirty yards behind him, with nothing more than shaggy grass and the occasional rock for cover.
The boldness was serving them well, however. Thermal imaging showed four people inside, focusing on Spencer, while two more were moving towards the northern side, obviously watching for anybody approaching from the front.
They were looking in the wrong direction, and the ones who weren't, were focused on Spencer. Parker got in without a hitch, and Alec finally allowed himself a sigh of relief, though he wasn't kidding himself. Spencer might've had only half the eyes on him, but half was still far too many.
The children's heat signatures weren't registering, not with as far underground as they were. Parker was going in blind, or would be, if absence weren't as telling as presence.
"Okay, 587. We've got six heat signatures up top, which according to my intel means there should be two more down below deck. Seen any signs of 'em?"
Even with the bone conduction mics, Parker's voice was a whisper. "They're in the room with the kids. We need to draw them out."
"Okay. Hold on and wait for backup," Alec advised, crossing his fingers that she'd actually listen, and turned his attention back to the impending fight he could actually see.
A side effect of electronic bioenhancements was that metal tended to act as a heat sink, in order to keep the charge core from overheating and frying the components. In Spencer's case, it meant that his arm glowed brighter than the rest of him on thermal. The massive energy readings coming from the southeast corner of the complex meant Spencer wasn't the only Big Wheel enhanced supersoldier on site.
"324? You're up. Watch out- looks like you're not the only one in the game running some advanced tech." He was already zoomed in on the interior of the compound as much as he could be, but there was no mistaking the massive energy readings inside. "Think the one by the southeast window might be running the full suite."
"I'm on it," came the terse reply. Alec watched as Eliot's heat signature began to streak across the yard, through the doorway and into the compound, immediately engaging with the enemy.
Miranda's voice came on the line with a click, the sound of engines in the background. "I've got a green light at Fort Hood in case of any surprises, and Aleph, you've got key control. Standard protocol applies."
"Right on," Alec said, tapping the code into the keyboard to access Fort Hood's command system. With just three keystrokes, he could launch an airstrike. The power was a little dizzying and a lot terrifying.
Three taps and he could rain hell down on everyone, Parker, Spencer, and children included.
"Ground backup will be there inside three minutes," Miranda was saying. "Tell me what else we need."
"Nothing, yet," Alec swallowed, wondering if he was going to be sick. "They've just moved in."
"Standing by," Miranda said, leaving Alec to watch the standoff in the yard uninterrupted.
"324, you're going to want to consider switching to-" Alec fell mute as on screen, Spencer's metal arm glowed brighter, the electrical charge building up to a fever pitch in preparation for attack. Though he couldn't see it on the thermal, Alec knew Spencer's specs by heart, knew that hair-thin wires were about to shoot out of the detachable housing on the back of Spencer's hand, if they hadn't already.
Spencer's opponent's image was building up a similar charge, much hotter, and Alec let out a warning shout that proved unnecessary as Spencer's core discharged suddenly. The answering flash in the enemy's system told Alec all he needed to know. The shock hadn't blown out the enemy's enhancements, but it had been more than enough to stop his heart.
Alec withdrew his hand from the button that would scramble the jets from Fort Hood and rubbed a hand over his face. Spencer's enhancements were an older model, and didn't allow for that particular tactic to be used more than once without resetting. Spencer had been just that much faster than the other guy; that was the only reason this operation hadn't gone completely balls up. But they weren't out of the woods yet. They still had at least five others to subdue. Seven, if Parker hadn't taken care of things down below.
"587?"
No response, not even a whisper. No telling whether that was good or bad. Up top, the shock Spencer had administered had massively depleted his power supply. He was still moving, taking momentary cover along the southern wall to unplug the spent wire cartridge from its housing.
Or maybe he was just clicking the safety off.
Alec barely heard the small cracks of Spencer's silenced gunfire through the comms. The return fire, coming from inside the house, was deafeningly loud by comparison, close enough that the part of Alec's brain not watching the comms feed began running numbers on the alloys in Eliot's arm, as if the robotic components were an entire suit of armor.
Another body stopped moving on the screen; it's heat signature would bear out what happened soon enough. The two that had come from the front to assist were pulling back, though, retreating into the center of the house, and Alec knew what this was.
"587, they're heading down," he announced, as much for Miranda's benefit as Parker or Spencer's. "And coming your way. 324, you're-"
Spencer was already moving in. His cochlear implants had been removed years ago, when the internal regulators had failed. A whisper being amplified enough to hear across a crowded street was useful. A gunshot at close range, amplified to the same degree, was dangerous. Spencer's ocular modifications, however, were still functional. He could read a reflection off a reflection off a drop of water ten feet away.
He hadn't needed to wait for Alec's all clear, he'd just swung in- through the window, apparently- and began clearing rooms as he followed the others towards the door in the middle of the house.
"587, report your location."
"We're back in the main tunnel, should be halfway back to the entrance. Kids are fine."
"You've got-"
"Company, I know. Not so much with the stealth, these guys."
"Closet floor," Spencer confirmed the entrance to the tunnel. "I'm going down."
"I'm not getting any isolated heat signatures, they're too far down," Alec warned. Spencer had already descended. "587, prepare for crossfire."
"Hang on, I'm just-" She broke off for a moment; Alec could hear the sound of something heavy being moved. "Okay. Kids are stashed off the main tunnel, I'm going back to heading them off."
"What's going on?"
"What's going on, is that you need to stop talking," Spencer's voice sounded strained. He was probably in the middle of punching somebody.
"You need to keep talking, both of you. Backup's moving in from either end up top, ready to gas the lines if we need be, so Parker, I hope you remembered your mask."
"Mustard? Nerve? What is it this time?"
"Knockout gas," Alec frowned in affronted surprise; Miranda's annoyed hiss told him she'd heard it, too. "Shit, Parker, who do you think we- there are kids down there."
"Stop worrying," she chided, and a scuffling noise could be heard over the line as her breathing sped up. A series of crashes and grunts could be heard, followed by a sharp cracking sound that probably didn't really echo as much as it did in Alec's head.
The ensuing silence was just long enough to be worrying.
"All clear," Spencer reported, not even sounding out of breath, but Alec hadn't heard anything at all coming over his comms line. "That's the last of them. We've cleared the area, and Parker's gone in to round up the kids again. They're pretty freaked out."
"Dangerous?"
"No," Parker growled. "Just scared."
"All right. 324? Hang back a bit, keep their six, but keep out of sight." Hearing his own words, Alec winced. Real smooth.
"Don't scare the traumatized children." If Spencer was offended, he wasn't letting on. "Got it."
"Miranda, you getting all this?"
"Yes I am. And the General will be glad to hear it." Her tone was light; though Sophie had a sense of humor, this was as close to joking as Miranda was capable of getting. The general who'd had to hand over full control of Fort Hood's operations, and who was undoubtably fuming in resentment right next to her, probably wasn't laughing at all.
At the compound, Parker was talking to the kids, not cooing or sounding particularly soothing, just level. She wasn't making them any promises, wasn't telling them that everything was going to be all right. There were no signs of motherly instinct- Alec hadn't actually expected there to be- but going on what little he had, here, he had to wonder about the expressions on the kids's faces as she laid out what was happening and what needed to happen in a near monotone.
Still, he didn't miss the fact that she'd omitted all mention of the dead bodies up the stairs and down the hall. He peered over his shoulder to make sure the last of the bodies- they'd been New Guard, but Big Wheel through and through- were hidden from view behind the stairs.
Sooner than he'd been expecting, the children were filing out into the corridor, following Parker as she headed towards the exit up ahead. He had just enough time to roll his sleeves down before stepping out of the shadows, and thrust his metal left hand into his jacket pocket. His work gloves were still there; he pulled them on. Keeping his voice low, he updated Alec. "They're moving out."
"Hey Aleph," Parker's voice was a whisper. "You're going to need to follow my lead on this one. Don't disappoint me."
"What's that?"
"Tell the convoy that we're stopping for ice cream."
Alec opened up a browser, searched the area for an ice cream parlor that was open this late. It was surreal, looking up something so mundane.
"There's an all night grocery store in Laredo." This soon after the extraction, though, they couldn't afford the exposure. If Big Wheel had allies in town, there was no sense giving them the chance to catch up. "I'll send someone over, have them deliver it to the safehouse."
"Then you'd better get sprinkles, too."
Chapter 4