Baker's Dozen : Flashback 5 by Bill Schott Artwork by William Runcie at FanArtReview.com |
Warning: The author has noted that this contains the highest level of violence.
CHARACTERS:Ben Baker low-level White House worker forced to fight others as Presidential punishment C.C. Connor President's Chief of Staff (formerly double agent for China) Tim Bends Assistant to the Assistant Post Master General Cpl. G.I. Joseph -- Connor's adversary in Vietnam An Do -- Mercenary ======================================================= The story so far... Ben Baker had to find and kill a dozen people in a secluded, government-operated, forest compound. He has survived and found an encampment where provisions are available to assist whoever gets to them first. Thomas Angles and Tim Bends were dropped from a helicopter, high enough to survive a parachute jump. Bends killed Angles before they left the copter and both were shoved out by Conner's operative, Rusty Pipes. Angles fell straight to the ground while Bends had an horrific landing and is barely alive. BB Bauxers, Orrin Breefs, and Woody Post were sent on a helicopter as well; however, Pipes executed Breefs onboard, sparking an attack from Bauxers. The pilot was killed by an errant bullet, leading to a crash. Pipes was severely injured and eventually killed by wolves. Feather Waites and Ivan Zaroff, likewise sent to the compound, join Bauxers and Post at the crash site. All meet up at the encampment where Baker eventually kills the other four. He is then knocked out from behind. In FLASHBACKS, Connor's double agent status is seen as he, though a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, assists Vietcong interrogators as they torture a captured corporal, Gregory Ira Joseph (GI Joe). When the corporal proves he has no relevant information, Connor sends the soldier away to defend himself in a killing game he devised in military school. This is the beginning of the death sport that Ben Baker is involved in at present. Joseph's opponent, An Do, is attacked by a crocodile and Joseph saves him. The two become friends. We see them again in Kuwait, eighteen years later, at the beginning of Desert Storm. They are mercenaries working for an unknown government organization. They find safety once the assault on Kuwait begins, but are cornered by General CC Connor. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx End of the last Flashback chapter: The old helicopter began circling. After a second pass without firing, the chopper came down and landed about a hundred feet from the duo. An, who had already worked out the death of all aboard and the confiscation of the vehicle, was surprised to see a uniformed soldier emerge from the passenger side of the copter. Greg, seeing the man walk toward them, felt a sudden pain in his little finger nail. His hair stood up on his neck, and he felt his heart pounding behind his eyes. Removing his hemet, which bore the one-star insignia of a brigadier general, both An and Greg could see a ghost of Vietnam. He actually looked like a ghoul from a horror film, complete with sunken eyes; gaunt, skeletal countenance; and a hairless head and face. "Gentlemen -- where did we leave off?" xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Both An Do and Joseph recognized CC Connor. Eighteen years had not left a noticeable mark on him. Perhaps he was an immortal nemesis, traveling through the battlefields of time, searching for warriors. More likely, there was not much on the man TO age. Behind the general, six more men emerged from the helicopter. Each was well-armed and ready to take on a dozen opponents. Both Joseph and An Do knew they needed to strike first or die. Both men rushed at the general. He laughed as they veered to each side and completed a figure eight around him. Joseph took out the first of the six henchmen with a sweep of the legs. As that man fell, a second leaped over him to land on Joseph's frame. He missed, as the assassin had already spun out of that position and sprung to grab a third opponent's weapon. Meanwhile, An Do had dived to the supine and popped up with handfuls of sand. These grains of pulverized rock left his hands with seemingly guided precision to the eyes of his first combatant. As that man fell back, An Do snaked around him and grabbed another's automatic weapon. With the trigger engaged and bullets whipping in a semicircle, the two men twirled to the ground. An Do leapt to his feet with the magazine of the weapon in his hand. He smiled as a third attacker slashed at him with what looked like Bowie knives in each hand. The first missed slash was the last, as the now off-balance opponent's neck was up for adjustment. It was twisted quickly and a muted snap preceded the dead man's collapse. The second man he had wrestled had found another magazine and inserted it into his weapon. This was accomplished a second before his fellow henchman's huge knife, hurled by an Asian expert, split his adam's apple in two. An Do wrested the weapon from the dying man and walked to the first man he had encoutered. Looking over to Joseph, he saw that the other three fighters had been eliminated. Seeing that, he simply aimed and released a three-round burst into the last, blinded assailent. General Connor, still smiling, stood with the confidence of a man who felt he was in no danger at all. "You seem to be confident that you're in no danger at all, Connor," observed the former army corporal. Connor stopped smiling and turned to An Do. "Mot tam tri san sang." An Do's face went blank. His gaze was to a spot at another place and another time. "An! What's wrong?!" called Joseph. Then Connor spoke again, while pointing in GI Joe's direction. "Loai bo!" There was no need to interpret any longer. An Do dropped the automatic weapon and pulled his fighting knife from its scabbard. Peering at Joseph, as if deciding the best approach, he gently walked in the direction of his surprised friend. "It's amazing how long a suggestion can last -- when it's embedded properly." said Connor, starring at Joseph as An Do inched closer. Joseph aimed the weapon he had taken from an opponent at the general. "You'll die first, dipshit." "Kill me then, Joseph; if you can." He tried pulling the trigger, but his finger refused to contract. He threw the rifle down and grabbed the remaining Bowie knife off the ground. An Do continued approaching, projecting the passionless cool of an assassin.
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Bill Schott
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