Jerzianna: I've been reading "Without Remorse" recently, so yeah, you hit one of my inspirations right on the money.

And Justice For All...

Season 1: The Unforgiven

Chapter 2: First Blood

Any speech in italics is Russian.

Present Day

Dr. Director walked out of the high-rise building to the nearby street where a man held the door open on a waiting car. His dirty blond hair was short yet still enough to be messy and he had some peach fuzz growing on his chin. He had a deep tan and had sunglasses in his hair, despite the fact that it was night. Even after years as a full agent and marriage, Agent Justin Case still looked like a surfer.

"Evening, ma'am. You'd wish that terrorists took vacations like the rest of us."

"Crime never sleeps, Justin. It's something I learned a long time ago." she said, getting into the car. Agent Case shut the door and walked around the car, getting in the driver's seat. He turned the ignition.

Dr. Director cleared her throat loudly. Case gave her a confused look. She pointed at his shoulder. "Seatbelt?"

"Oh. Yeah." He reached up and hooked in his seat belt.

Dr. Director did the same, and then grasped the arm rests tightly. "I don't suppose you could take it slow for once?"

"After all the years you've known me, you'd still ask me that question?" He revved the engine.

"And I thought married life would make you lose your edge." She pulled her seat belt as tight as it could go.

"Not when you marry my wife." He put the car into drive and gunned it.

"Casssseeeeee!"

1987

The sun was beginning to rise over the small compound situated in the woods of the Kola Peninsula, north of Moscow. The compound was more a outpost than a base, consisting of four wooden cabins, a cabana for covering vehicles, a look-out post above the treeline, and a fenced off area containing some old oil drums and a gas tank that hadn't been used for years. It was about twenty-five miles outside of the Kola Nuclear Power Plant, and was the outermost edge of the terrorists network for protecting themselves from attackers.

Two groups of guards walked the compound, looking out into the woods with their night-vision goggles, which in about an hour would become unusable. They all wore forest green-gray camouflage and carried various AK-47s and AR-15s.

Up in the look-out post, a sniper team searched the trees and the horizon for any incoming threats. One member had the sniper rifle, the other binoculars.

The one with the rifle stood up and stretched. He had been laying on his stomach for about six hours, waiting for someone, anyone, to cross his line of fire. All night they had kept their vigil, using various tricks they learned in sniper school to keep their minds from wandering off. As two days had gone by since they had gotten any word that a part of the network had been attacked, the captain was expecting an attack any day now. They predicted that the attack would most likely come at night, since the moon had been full for the past day and would continue to light up the night once twilight had come. It was great for sniping, but also put some fear in the guards that each night may have been their last. But that was the price for treason, a knife in the back from out of nowhere, your killer disappearing just as fast as you died. Of course, the rewards were just as great, or else why the hell would they be there?

The spotter of the sniper team noticed his partner's brash decision. " What are you doing? " he said, in Russian.

The sniper continued to stretch his body. " If anyone was going to attack, they would have done it by now. "

The spotter grunted, but then turned back to the binoculars. " Fine, but don't let the Captain see you. "

He looked through the binoculars with heavy eyes. Soon, his shift would be up and they could get some sleep before another long night.

Whump! His thoughts were shattered by the sound of a body collapsing. He turned to see his partner lying crumpled with a pool of blood forming around his head. In the distance, the sun glinted off a shiny object. The guard filled his lungs with air in order to cry out, but the sound caught in his throat as his head jerked back and his body went limp.

Across the compound, two guards leaned against the fence of the fuel area, lighting up fresh cigarettes. They grabbed their weapons as a figure came out of the woods. They relaxed as they recognized him as one of the guards who had gone out on patrol earlier. He wore a ski mask with holes at the eyes and mouth. He walked up to them.

" You two idiots are going to blow this whole damn place up. Got a light? " He pulled out a cigarette and one of the two leaning lit it for him. He took a big puff and blew out a cloud of smoke.

" Where's the other guy? " one of the guards asked.

The guard with the ski mask motioned back towards the woods. " He's taking a leak. We went pretty far. " He started looking around.

" How far ?"

Satisfied that no one else was around, the guard with the ski mask reached behind his back and pulled out two silenced .9 millimeter pistols. He shoved them directly in the guards' faces. "To hell and back." the guard said, in perfect English. He fired, killing both guards instantly. Once again looking around to make sure no one was coming; he motioned back to the woods.

Two groups of four people, all dressed in camouflage of various greens, ran towards him. Both ran past him towards the cabins. One team stopped outside of one of the cabins and two of their members started planting explosives. The other, made up of four large men, ran around the cabin with guns drawn and disappeared from view.

The first team placed explosives on two of the cabins, and then returned to the traitor guard at the fence. Using a large pair of chain clippers, he had broken the lock to the old gas station. The demolitions crew entered and started placing explosives on the old oil drums, while the members not involved took up positions around them. While they worked, sporadic pops came from around the campsite. While not very inconspicuous, the silenced gunfire still managed to accomplish its job of not waking up the remaining terrorists sleeping in the cabins.

Finishing the job, the bomber attached a timed cord to the explosives and lit the fuse. As soon as he was satisfied that the fuse was smoking, the team moved out back into the woods. Reaching a safe distance, one of the members pulled off his ski mask, revealing the face of a woman. She pulled back her sleeve and looked at her watch. "0545."

There was a whisper from one of the members behind her. "Time for one hell of a wake-up call." Another member, this one wearing thick glasses, was also looking at his watch.

After forty-five seconds, the cord had burned all the way to the explosives, which exploded, taking the fuel drums and gas tank with them. A huge fireball shot up into the sky, and the sound was deafening, as it shattered the glass of all the windows of the cabins.

Inside the cabins, the sleeping terrorists woke with a start. They quickly grabbed their guns and headed for the outside.

Back at the demolitions group, the man with the glasses was still checking his watch. He spoke confidently, almost victoriously. "By now, they should all be up and headed for the doors. However, there they will run into a little problem."

BLAM! One of the cabins was ripped to pieces by a second explosion. Splinters flew into the air and nothing remained where the cabin once stood. The team turned their attention to the second cabin. Nothing happened. After ten seconds, the bomber stopped looking at his watch and grabbed his demolitions backpack. "Smart bastards," was all he said. The silenced gunfire was now replaced with the sounds of automatics going off. The team mounted up and headed back into the compound under the cover of the smoke, which now rose high into the air.

The smoke did not go unnoticed. Several miles out, two helicopters spotted the column of black and headed towards it. The first was a transport helicopter.

" Storm watcher, this is Superman, have sighted team's signal and am changing course to rendezvous, e.t.a. three minutes. "

" Roger that, Superman. Black Knight has your cover. "

Next to the transport helicopter, a fearsome looking jet black helicopter heavily loaded with rockets and missiles swooped towards the compound.

The Captain had been sleeping when the explosions had gone off, jolting him from his sleep. He looked out his window to see that the fuel depot had exploded. What did those idiots do now? His first thoughts apparently suggested that the guards who smoked next to the fuel deposits did so regularly. However, as soon as he stepped outside, the first cabin exploded, knocking the captain off his feet and knocking some sense into his head. The sounds of gunfire only confirmed his new revelation.

He ran back into the cabin, grabbing his flak jacket and machine gun. A pounding came at the door. " Captain, we're under attack! "

The captain slipped his flak jacket on, then headed towards the door. Before he got to the door, the pounding, which had been continuous, immediately stopped. Grasping the door handle, the Captain waited stopped for a second, listened, then raised his weapon and pointed it at a target beyond the door. He ripped the door opened.

As soon as he opened it, a body rushed him. Trying to avoid the charging attacker, he moved backward, but quickly lost his footing and fell; all the while the figure was falling after him. The Captain's machine gun flew away, but he was able to pull out his pistol and fired it twice into the man's stomach. However, it was to no avail, as the figure still fell upon him. Hitting the floor, the Captain grabbed his attacker's head, ready to defend himself. However, as he grabbed the man's head, he realized that the man was one of his own soldiers. Furthermore, he was already dead from a head wound inflicted upon him by another man, an enemy soldier who had pushed the body onto the Captain and at this moment had his pistol trained directly on the Captain's head.

The Captain looked past the barrel of the pistol and into the face of his true attacker, who looked like an old man despite the fact that his face was painted to blend in with the forest. The Captain's mind quickly turned towards figuring a way out of this situation. His pistol arm was pinned beneath the body, but maybe it was at such an angle that he could hit the man in the leg?

" I know what you're thinking. " the man said, in perfect Russian. " Don't even try it. I'll get you right between the eyes even before I hit the ground. "

The Captain, shocked that his enemy could know that, let go of the pistol and slowly pulled his arm out from under the body. He put both hands in the air.

The gunfire outside, which had been sporadic, now became heavy and concentrated.

The Captain spoke. " You may think you have won. But in the end, you will only end up like the others. "

" Disturbing. But I plan on seeing grand-kids. " He lifted his left wrist to his mouth. "Doc, what's your situation?"

"The last of them have all grouped in the carport. There's about twenty left."

Betty Director and her demolition team were currently exchanging fire with the remnants of the terrorists. They had M-50s mounted on the back of two jeeps, so the Global Justice team was pinned down behind the last standing cabin.

Where's that other team? She looked down the sight on her AR-15 and fired into the carport.

The radio cackled again. "Hold on. Reinforcements are on the way."

Seconds later, the sounds of helicopter blades filled the air. Agent Case, currently part of Doc's group, armed his grenade launcher and fired a canister at the carport. Instead of exploding, the case shot out yellow smoke. The smoke filled the carport. The terrorists, panicking at the possibility of gas, either ran out into the clearing between the cabins or behind the carport.

Suddenly a large black helicopter swooped out of the trees and into the clearing. It sighted the yellow smoke and immediately trained its weapons on the carport. Firing rockets and chain guns, the carport was reduced to a smoking heap of rubble in seconds. The members of the terrorists not injured came out with their hands up in the air, hoping to be spared.

Another helicopter came into the clearing, this one a transport helicopter. As it landed, several soldiers jumped out and rushed the surrendering terrorists. The soldiers handcuffed the terrorists and had them sit in a circle on the ground. Then, with the members of Global Justice, they fanned out to search the grounds for more enemies.

Walking out of the Captain's cabin, Roger Wilco led the captured captain out towards the rest of his men. He looked around to see the base in ruins except for the last of the cabins, which his team was currently in the process of breaking into. They entered and cleared, and in a minutes Doc came walking out and up to Roger to report.

"Sir, the intelligence was right on the mark. We took the barracks and the fuel depot out of comission, you got the captain, and the last cabin was filled with ammo."

"Very good, Agent Director. So, Betty?" He got closer and whispered. "How was it?"

"Amazing. I'm starting to see why those Special Forces goons get such a kick out of blowing things up."

"That's good to hear. This is only the beginning. Carry on."

"Right!" She headed off to fulfill her duties as XO.

Roger looked around at the rest of his team. Du had played his part as a Russian guard perfectly. Wire and Trigger had worked great together planting the bombs.

Case was currently standing away from everyone else, observing the black helicopter that currently circled overhead. Roger decided to go talk to him.

"See something interesting, Agent Case?"

Case turned to see his team leader approaching. Case pointed at the black helicopter.

"That's a KA-50 Black Shark. It's so top secret there are rumors that it doesn't exist. I wish I had my camera!"

"It is pretty amazing. But of course I'd have to confiscate that picture. We're not supposed to exist either, you know."

"Yes sir."

By now, the rest of the team had joined them, except for Pariah.

Betty looked around for the missing soldier. "Sir, where's Pariah?"

As if on cue, Pariah and the four Philippine soldiers ran out of the forest and up to Roger.

"Sir, we have enemy reinforcements headed this way. They'll be here any second, and they have some heavy armor with them."

"Alright, everyone take up positions. Lieutenant!"

He motioned to a nearby Russian officer. The officer ran over to Roger and they began talking in Russian. The Lieutenant nodded, and then ran back over to his soldiers. He waved to the black helicopter, which came down and landed. The Lieutenant ran up to the cockpit and leaned in to make sure the pilot could hear him.

Roger continued. "Pariah, that sniper nest could be very useful. We don't have much cover, so watch for…"

Before he could get his speech done, a shot rang out, striking the Russian lieutenant and the pilot. The lieutenant fell to the ground, but the pilot was struggling to lift off the helicopter.

"Ambush!"

Soldiers started pouring out the forest, backed up with three jeeps.

All the GJ agents ran for the cabins along with the Russian soldiers. Before they reached the cabins, however, Case grabbed Du.

"Come with me!" Case yelled.

"Where?"

"The helicopter! We're going there!"

"Are you nuts?" Du tried to resist, but Case pulled him into the line of fire. Caught between a rock and hard place, Du decided to follow Case to the black helicopter.

Reaching the helicopter, Case ran up to the cockpit while Du grabbed the lieutenant and checked his pulse. He was gone.

Case unbuckled the still-alive pilot from his restraints and tried to pull him out. "Help me!"

Du jumped up on the helicopter and grabbed the pilot. The two agents managed to pull him out and put him on the ground. Case jumped in the cockpit while Du hit the ground with the pilot.

"Get clear!" Case yelled, before closing the cockpit and grabbing the controls. Du threw himself on top of the pilot while the lift from the chopper absolutely pummeled him.

Case lifted off and turned the guns of the helicopter towards the jeeps. He fired several rockets, turning two jeeps into fireballs, but all the other attackers turned their fire on him and he had to take off and come around for another pass.

The third jeep fired its M-50 at the helicopter. Since it was the last jeep left, it was a little ways separated from the rest of the group. Suddenly, the gunner felt something wrap around his neck. Unable to breathe, he was also unable to resist as he fell back on the ground. Grabbing at whatever was wrapped around his neck, he was only able to see the driver also suffering the same fate before blacking out.

Pariah and the SEALs, satisfied that the driver and gunner were dead, jumped on board the jeep and started it up. Pariah grabbed the M-50 while the SEALs jumped in the driver and passenger seats. They let loose what can only be called a military style drive-by, firing round after round into the approaching soldiers.

After two waves of soldiers had been cut down, the sounds of gunfire in the woods abated, and Pariah and his men did the same. They listened to the sudden silence, suspicious of the lull in action and unsure of whether the going was clear.

Then, they heard a rumbling through the woods. Crashing through the brush and trees, a Russian made tank rolled into the clearing, gun pointed straight at the ammo dump.

Betty Director saw the tank first. "Move, everyone, now!" They all ran, not sure where, just away from the ammo dump which in a few seconds would become a bomb.

The tank fired, blowing the cabin to smithereens. The various magazines, rockets, and bombs inside all exploded with the cabin, increasing the size of the fireball and the amount of heat.

The tank turned towards the last jeep and opened fire with its own machine gun. Realizing that they didn't stand a chance against the tank, Pariah and three of the SEALs jumped off the jeep and used it for cover. The driver was hit, but his fellow soldiers pulled him behind the jeep.

As the tank pointed its main gun at the jeep, the soldiers ran for their lives. It fired, blowing away the jeep. The SEALs ran for the woods, while Pariah ran for the GJ agents and Russian soldiers.

As Pariah jumped into the makeshift barricade the agents had quickly built from debris, he landed next to Betty Director. "If we stay here, we're going to get cut down! We need to move, now!" he yelled.

Betty looked at him and shouted, "Is there any way we can stop that tank?"

The tank fired again, blowing away the last cabin and sending debris into the air, quickly answering that question. Betty was horrified that all the terrorists in that cabin had been locked inside when the shell hit, but she quickly put that thought aside and took control again. "Everyone pull back!"

She was horrified again when half the team started back while the rest didn't seem to even notice her order. She looked at Pariah, who immediately grabbed the team members who hadn't moved. "They're shell-shocked! They can't hear anything! Where's that flyboy?"

Betty got on her radio. "Case, get your ass back here!"

The radio crackled. "Doc, I'm coming in hot! Move everyone back to the tree line, now!"

The Global Justice ran for the woods. The tank tried to follow, when all of a sudden the air filled with the sound of chopper blades. The remaining enemy troops who had followed the tank looked to see the black chopper come swooping down over the tree line like a punishing angel.

"Da dum da da dam da!"

Case pulled up on the throttle, stopping the helicopter in mid-air. He then pulled the trigger.

Missile after missile fired into the tank, blowing the once menacing armored vehicle into a pile of smoking wreckage. The chain guns opened up as well, ripping apart any soldier foolish enough not to drop his weapon and hit the ground. The entire compound was now once again filled with smoke and fire. The air was silent except for the fires burning.

Out in the woods beyond the compound, the enemy soldiers were retreating back to waiting trucks. When there was only one truck left, one of the younger officers ran back a little ways into the woods. After running a short distance, he came upon five individuals watching the fight from a safe distance. They were a motley crew, consisting of four men and two women. Of the men, one was in his twenties and had long blond hair, another was completely covered in black camouflage, including his face upon which he wore a black the other two, onehad the appearances of a wolf, with shaggy black hair and fanged teeth, while the other wore a monk's robe with various markings etched into the women,one wasyoung, blond, and beautiful, the other a wrinkled old hag.

The soldier ran up to one of the men, the blond man who was obviously the leader.

" Sir, all the men are being transported back to the plant. The last truck is waiting for you. "

The man motioned for him to go back. The soldier ran back to the truck. The leader smiled.

" What do you all think? "

" They are sloppy and weak. They won't be able to stand against us. "

" They'll just end up like the last group. We'll be sending them back in body bags." "

The young woman was lying on her stomach and looking through a sniper rifle. " I could have picked off any of them easily. The pilot is cute, though. "

The leader clapped his hands. " Then we'll be off. We will meet them in the field of battle shortly. Do not underestimate them, my comrades. Some of them were chosen specifically for this mission. They may turn out stronger than we anticipate. '

An hour later, the sun had risen and the morning was starting. GJ and the Russian soldiers had finally finished clearing and securing the area. One of the Phillipine SEALs had been hit bad and needed to be medevacuated out. All of the enemy soldiers had either been killed or escaped with their compatriots. None of the other Global Justice agents had been hit. Another pilot had been sent out and had already retrieved the Black Shark, much to Agent Case's chagrin.

The team met in the center of the still-burning compound, with their leader Roger Wilco at the center. He holstered his pistol and picked up a rucksack provided by the Russian army.

"We can't stay here, in case the enemy comes back. Our target is to the East, so they're going to expect an attack from the West. We're going to hump north-west till we get almost parallel to the plant, then set up camp and sleep the rest of the day. We'll hit the plant tonight. Is everybody ready?"

Each member of the team picked up their rucksacks, Trigger picking up his demolition kit.

Betty turned around and took a look at the smashed tank behind her. She knew that there had been men inside and that they had been trying to kill her. However, it still felt strange standing next to the coffin of two soldiers she didn't even know.

Suddenly, the hatch on the tank flipped open and a soldier popped out, gasping for breath and struggling for life. The sight of him shocked Betty. He was burned badly, his human features gone, replaced by blackened flesh. However, she did recognize the flash of metal in his left hand. He was bringing a gun to bear right on her.

She tried to dodge the gun and pull her own, but the weight of the rucksack threw her off balance. The other members of GJ tried to catch her or get the soldier, but everything was happening so fast that they didn't react fast enough.

Time seemed to freeze as Betty looked straight down the black hole of the barrel of a .22 automatic.

Then, the head of the soldier jerked. His body seemed to fall in slow motion. Reality returned to Betty as she realized that the soldier was dead, killed by a knife through the head.

"Holy shit!" Wire yelled.

Pariah and the SEALs were already on the tank, securing the weapon and ensuring that the soldier was indeed gone. Pariah pressed his index finger against the soldier's throat.

"He's done."

Roger Wilco sighed. He had almost lost his second-in-command way too early in the mission. Thankfully, he had a secret weapon.

The Global Justice members, shocked by the rapidity of events, were even more shocked when a figure stepped from around the tank. They all pointed their weapons at her, but their team leader raised his arm, telling them to lower their weapons.

She was a cute girl, with long brown hair tied into bows and several knives weaved into her belt and shoulder guard. The thing that struck them the most, however, was that she didn't look a day over sixteen.

"Lady and Gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to Tat'iana Olovianko, Russian Global Justice Special Agent."

End Chapter