Tanzania

"I don’t think they like you," Equinox said and he flinched away from the ricochet that came within inches of taking his eye out. "You may want to take cover."

"Coward. Cover is for sleepers who pine away and dream in their bedtime clothes. Stand up and fight like a man," Koschei said, holding her spear as if it were a battle standard, proudly standing out in the open in spite of the steady stream of fire coming in their direction.

He glanced around, staring into the surrounding forest as if looking for something. Frowning in disappointment, he turned around and faced the dilapidated farm house and the rifle-bearing thugs guarding it. "Sorry, but us mere mortals aren’t capable of making ourselves bullet-proof."

"That’s because you lack the strength of conviction."

"No, it’s because the Foundry’s personal shields keep electrocuting the beta testers. They attributed it to exponentially cascading resonance waves and unstable field harmonics but it sounded a bit Star Trek to me – I suspect it’s more complicated than that but they threw the higher-ups a bone to get them to back down." Another bullet struck close and Equinox did his best to think smaller and made a silent prayer of thanks for bullet-resistant cars. "Dammit, I wish Trinity were here. She’d have creamed these guys by now."

"You sure do rely on others a lot. Are you even capable of doing real work?"

Equinox managed to look offended. "I do real work. Sometimes." His watch beeped and flashed once, and he held a hand to his ear. "This is Equinox. Go."

"Shall I step away so you can take your phone call?" Koschei sneered. Equinox impatiently waived her off.

"Perfect timing, ‘Tina. As usual, you’re a Godsend." Equinox tapped a button on the watch then looked up at Koschei. "You may want to cover your ears and step behind here. Things are about to get loud and messy."

"I told you: I’m fine. Protect your own hide, pretty boy, I’ll protect mine."

Equinox shrugged. "Your funeral," he said, then assumed the classic duck-and-cover position, covering his ears with his folded arms.

*TOONK* From somewhere nearby came the sound of a launched projectile, and a faint whistling accompanied the sound of an occasional gunshot. "What the…?" Koschei began.

*THOOM* The concussion blast lifted her into the air and tossed her three feet backwards. Her spear landed next to her a half-beat later. Equinox uncovered his ears and began the process of finding and lighting a cigarette. "Told you."

"…astard. As soon .. … able I’ll kick yo…" Koschei mumbled, falling in and out of coherency. She writhed on the ground, struggling to regain her senses. Six figures dressed in black helmets, fatigues and armored vests came streaming out of the forest. Their G-36’s were held at the ready and they quickly approached the field house in a tactical approach.

"I tried to warn you. Perhaps next time you’ll listen to me." Equinox turned to track the movements of the combat squad and their leader, who’d just exited the forest. "I’ll have to tell Hephaestus that his concussion mortars worked, even if they were a bit strong."

From a distance, she appeared to be an Amazonian war goddess who’d descended into this plane to participate in modern warfare for the thrill of the hunt. At eight feet tall, she was still the picture of feminine perfection with flawless skin, radiant hair and glacial blue eyes. While her hair was white-blond, it was difficult to pin down her race; she could have been a mixture of several races -- or none at all. Her AK-47, its sound distinctive from the G-36’s used by everyone else in the field, blazed a steady rhythm with deadly accuracy.

She made her way downhill, ignoring the return fire that came in her direction, and someone made the mistake of attempting to tackle her. She caught the man in midair and slammed him into the ground, stomping him into insensibility for good measure. Once done, she took two steps and launched herself into the air, landing several feet behind the fortified positions. Several CS grenades dropped into the trench and the return fire stopped as they scrambled for their gas masks. The Amazonian warrior stepped in, ripping the masks from the soldier’s faces and tossed them away.

"That’s just mean," Koschei said, slowly returning to her senses. "She one of yours?"

"The Company, by way of P.E.R.I.L."

"Leopard," Koschei said, eyes brightening. Equinox offered her a cigarette, but she declined. "She was the one on Operation: Poseidon?"

"The very one," he confirmed. "I figured she’d be perfect for this part of the mission. I mean, what better way to tempt them?"

"Is that the result of P.E.R.I.L.?" she asked, indicating Leopard, who’d just emptied her weapon into someone’s chest. The assault team had surrounded the complex and the defenders were quickly realizing they were outmatched, even if they outnumbered their foes 2 to 1.

Equinox shrugged. "That’s the rumor. The real question is will they believe it and if it will be worth it."

"Graham’s going to be pissed when he finds out about this. Hell, Two’s going to be pissed."

"I’m not worried about Graham. He and his boys are so busy playing at being spies that they’ve forgotten how to win. Winning the Great Game means a sacrifice every now and then, if only to lull the enemy into a sense of security. He’ll understand that, eventually. As for Two, I’m sure he’ll have other things to worry about soon enough."

Leopard waived, signaling all clear, and Brandon stood up. He held his hand out to Koschei as an offer of assistance, but she slapped it away and struggled to her feet, a bit unsteady. "Where do you find these people?"

"I’ve got cronies all over the world just waiting for my signal and I go out of my way to be nice to people. You should take a lesson from that."

Koschei snorted but said nothing.

"Out of curiosity, how long has it been since you’ve seen him?"

She subconsciously rubbed the nail-prints in her wrist. "Too long. Not long enough."

Brandon stepped in front of her and moved to be inches from her face. "Now is not the time for revenge, Ashlyn. That comes later. Right now, we need him."

"Fine, but he will pay for turning me over to that…freak."

"He will, and it will be at your hand that he receives his justice. Today, though, I require your smile and your guile. Today, Bakari is our friend."

She nodded. "Today, Bakari is our friend."