The sub landed with a horrible thud, that was left rattling around Fox’s head for minutes after. The sub door, if you could call it a door, hummed open above him. Sunlight beamed into Fox’s eyes as he stretched his frame outside of the sub. He cupped his brow to shade his eyes from the sun so that he could look at the coast line around him.
    The sun was an hour away from setting, Fox guessed. The sky was beginning to redden, a myriad of oranges and yellows separating the clouds into fine white lines of cloud. There was still no doubt that sea view was gorgeous, and was only going to get more so as the sun lowered and fizzled under the sea.
    The small, shingle beach, ran up to a pathway surrounded by greenery just to the west. Bushes about three feet tall lined the pathway. The path took a few bends, and led all the way up to a ridge just out of sight. The top of a building was visible, high up on the ledge, a little into the distance. The beach was deserted, perhaps the terrorists had ruled out a sabotage attempt.
    The Stingray had docked in the rocks  where the chalk cliff met the sea. Fox moved quickly, diving under the water to look for the cave that Sam had mentioned. It was there, neat and tidy, a perfect fit for the Stingray, such a good fit it was almost as if it was created for such a purpose as opposed to coastal erosion. Fox pushed the pod towards the cave, and pressed a convenient green ‘submerge’ button Sam had told him about earlier, just on the back of one of the fins. The sub sank slowly sending bubbles to the surface, as Fox pushed it into the crevice. It was hidden, just about.
    Fox returned to the small beach and blackened his face with paint, trying to stay sharp and keep his eyes peeled on the path in front of him that led up the mountain. He took a glance, but was interrupted by a ringing in his ear piece.
    “This is Wraith.”
    “Good evening Wraith, this is Harmony. How was your trip?”
    Fox smiled at the sound of Harmony’s smooth, gentle voice.
    “It was better than the lousy flight. Glad to you could make the party,” he said.
    “Hey Wraith,” said Hawk, his French twang ringing in Fox’s ear. “Nice code name.”
    “Hey Hawk, can’t say I agree with you to be honest.”
    “Don’t like Wraith? Hawk was only just saying that it suits you...,” Harmony said.
    Fox raised an eyebrow.
    “Is that so?”
    Hawk laughed nervously. “Only kidding my friend,” he said, with a slight croak in his voice.
    “How has your sneaking suit holding up?” Harmony asked.
    “Fine, water resistant, and tight, how I like them. Have you guys been fully debriefed?” Wraith butted in.
    “Well, possibly. We think we have a grasp of the situation, we have intel on the complex and it’s research. We’re dipping into the files now, I’ll let you know what I find out.  And I’ll of course research anything you need. All you have to do is call.”
    “And of course, if there is anything you need to know about any equipment or weaponry, you know that I’m your man,” Hawk added.
    “It’s a pleasure guys, as always,” Fox said, gratefully. “Are Fire and Water with you?”
    “No, they’re still in Asia apparently, I had a call from Water just now. Looks as though they will be held up until this thing is over. Had any problems? Sentries?”
    “Not that I can see just yet, not near me anyway.”
    Fox checked behind him, the beach was only a few feet from sea to the rock, a relatively small cliff the towered above him. The beach continued around the corner of he ridge, to the east. Fox crept, his back to the cliff, towards the corner. He couldn’t hear anything, just the squark of gulls and the sea breaking. It hissed at him quietly.
    Fox took a quick peek around the corner. The beach opened up there, became a lot more spacious and sandy. It was a smooth, fine sand, desert coloured and pure. The cliff face stretched onwards, and stopped across the stretch of the beach with a mound of sand dunes, with tall grass growing from them. This western beach was also quite busy.
    “I see two sentries across the other side of the beach. No, three, one up on the dune too.”
    Fox squinted his eyes to try and get the best view, but it was impossible to make out a lot about them from this position without equipment.
    “Their weapons are hard to make out. Rifles. Their wearing black combat masks, fairly nondescript desert colours. They’re placed pretty sparse, maybe they’re not expecting me.”
    “Well, lets not jump to conclusions Wraith. Find a safe position and take a look at your map.”
    Fox searched his pockets for the map, and turned out a piece of water proof ultra thin rubber, A4 sized.
    “Okay, looks like the weapons research facility is not far from me, a little to the north. I’ll do some poking around, see what I can find out.”
    The map had a large X in the position of a building located to the north west of Fox’s position, which was actually in sight of where Fox was standing. Fox had landed at the island’s most southern point.
    “Good, better start making your way, and remember to be careful. Traps, sentries, anything strange or out of place...”
    Fox smiled.
    “Have you forgotten who you’re talking to, Harmony?”
    Harmony sighed in that way she always did..
    “Hawk, you still there?”
    “I’m here buddy,” Hawk replied.
    “I want you to find out a bit more about the weapon research this facility is holding. I wanna know exactly what I’m dealing with. The terrorists must intend on using the Next Gen arsenal.”
    “Will do,” Hawk replied. “Hey, the chicken has arrived!”
    “Chicken?” Fox asked, raising an eyebrow.
    “Man’s gotta eat,” Hawk replied, immediately.
    “Harmony, any chance you could hack into the island’s security systems? See what’s in store for me?”
    “Will do, Wraith.”
    Fox noticed something on the ground next to him, something he knew he should have realised earlier.
    “Shit. I can see footprints, they lead up to the... Wraith out.”
    Footsteps, coming from the path to the west, up on top of the ridge. They were slow moving, getting louder. Fox made for cover just next to where the path met the beach and fell onto his chest. Fox’s position was barely obscured by the bushes and struggle to keep himself low enough to be completely covered..
    A soldier, slowly walked into view. His gear wasn’t recognisable, but his gun was an American AK. The soldier walked past Fox, onto the small stretch of beach he had previously been on. Damn it, Fox thought. Fox raised his M9, and steadied his aim from deep inside the bush as the soldier walked slowly towards where the Stringray had been hidden.
    Fox had been sure to keep his entrance tidy, so Fox reasoned that the soldier shouldn’t notice any signs his arrival. Then Fox noticed them. They were faint, very faint, due to sneaking boots, but Fox’s footprints were scattered along with the soldiers.
    The soldier’s hand held radio perked up, and he raised it towards his masked ear. The soldier began speaking English.
    “All clear,” he said. “No sign of the intruder... Understood. Have the mines around the research facility been placed?... Good... It’s unlikely they would have come this way anyway...”
    The soldier’s voice became distant, as he walked towards the eastern facing beach just around the opposite corner, out towards the western beach.
    “What the hell?” Fox whispered to himself, involuntarily. The soldier had an American accent.
    Instead of risking being spotted or open combat, Fox made a quick dart up the bush and tree ridden path up the cliff side. When he reached the first corner in the path, running at a right angle to the first, he peered back behind him. All was silent, no-one followed. He had slipped by without a sound.
    “Harmony, come in,” Fox said, pressing on his ear piece as he paced with his head further along the path heading upwards. There was a small wall either side of the path up the hill, Fox tried to keep as low as possible to keep behind it.
    “Wraith, what happened?”
    “I had company. A soldier was patrolling near my position. Managed to hide just below the path running up the cliff, and go up the way he came once he past me.”
    “That’s good, get a better look at the soldier?”
    “Yeah, he was packing an American AK.”
    “Hmm, well there’s not really a lot we can conclude from that...”
    “And an American accent, Texan.”   
    “What?” Harmony replied.
    “He also said something over his radio, something about an intruder. Maybe they were expecting me after all,” Fox whispered.
    “It could mean anything, we need to find out more and get in touch with Plissken. I think you should try and get hold of some other equipment as well. If you get into trouble you may need a few things.”
    “Yeah, like a mine detector.”
    “Mines?”
    “Yeah, from what I heard, they had been placed around the research facility. Probably to stop me getting in.”
    “Or Plissken from getting out.”
    “Hmm, I’ll see what I can find. One of the research buildings is up ahead, just up from this weaving path. I had better keep moving, just incase my friend the masked major comes back the way he came.”
    “Right. Harmony out.”
    Fox advanced, up into grassy terrain. The battlefield. He was home.

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* A techno-thriller novel in progress that draws on quite a lot of sf.

updated Sep 16, 2008 by splintersteve