#modern covert counter-terrorist au

[wftc141]

Commission art by @yumirei

"Help us...please."

[sablelab]

Covert Operations - Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: This is a modern AU crossover story with Outlander and La Femme Nikita. LFN and its characters do not belong to me nor do those from Outlander. This is a complete work of fiction and as such is an entirely fabricated tale created in my imagination.

There may be some suggestive chapters (S) and scenes of a violent (V) and or sexual nature (NC-17) through the course of this story.

Manip by ... @artistsassenach

SYNOPSIS: Claire Beauchamp, Section One operative makes her way to Hong Kong as profiled on her PDA mission profile.

CHAPTER 4

Once off the plane at Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong’s futuristic and ultra-efficient International Airport, Claire Beauchamp checked through Immigration and went in search of the correct carousel to reclaim her luggage. As she waited with all the other tired and anxious passengers, Claire fleetingly looked around at the many faces of fellow passengers. There were people going about their business, and excited tourists commencing their holidays pushed forward to claim their belongings when they made an appearance on the carousel. Finally collecting her baggage Claire made her way toward Customs like all the other disembarking passengers. The officious uniformed Immigration officials sat at ridiculously high desks blocking their faces below eye level. It seemed that all were wearing wire-framed glasses, were very serious and never offered the hint of a smile. Standing in the queue Claire slowly moved forward until it was her turn to approach the desk. Glancing at her passport the official asked, “Are you in Hong Kong for business or pleasure?” Business … unfortunately. Pleasure … if I’m lucky.  Actually … I’m in Hong Kong on a mission … a very dangerous undercover mission for Section One ... the world’s most clandestine anti terrorist organisation. Ever heard of it? ... No? ... Well we’re after the elusive leader of the Rising Dragons. Do you know him? ... Sun Yee Lok? ... Ring any bells? Obviously suffering from some jet lag, Claire’s mind went off on this flippant tangent before she answered the waiting Custom’s official. “I’m on holiday,” she replied casting a mega watt smile in the official’s direction. He casually glanced her way, having heard the same reply thousands of time and methodically stamped Claire’s passport with the patented response. “Enjoy your stay in Hong Kong.” “Thank you,” she replied and took her passport from the counter. Claire once again collected her belongings and made her way to the Arrivals hall. Ever watchful for anything suspicious she casually glanced around her surroundings. It was a bustling area divided into two distinct areas. Big plasma TV panels installed in both allowed waiting meeters and greeters to see arriving passengers as they entered either area. Miniature gardens added a green touch to both ends of the hall as well. But it was the aromatic smells of food readily available that tempted Claire’s taste buds. Realising how very hungry she was, she couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten having left Section One immediately after the briefing. Claire’s stomach let her know it was probably hours since any food had passed her mouth and she was sorely tempted to sample some of the superb selection of fare at food outlets catering to all kinds of cuisine. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The airport was beautiful, modern and quite easy to manoeuvre around. Claire next proceeded into the waiting area of the Meeting Point located at the centre of the Arrivals hall. It was a clearly marked area to meet and greet passengers upon arrival. There was a bustle of people milling around waiting for friends and family as was common at all international and domestic airports. Scanning the area, Claire made her way towards a colourful sculpture given to the Hong Kong SAR Government by Chongqing City to celebrate the reunification of the territory with its motherland China that was placed near the exit. Arriving in Hong Kong was like stepping into a whirling mass of humanity with a dynamism that was unforgettable. The atmosphere was electric and Claire felt the excitement of this exotic city wash over her. If only this was anything but a mission, she would definitely be in a different frame of mind. Many eyes focused on the beautiful, tall, brunette woman who stood out from the crowd no doubt wondering whom she may be meeting, but people looked away just as quickly when her eyes connected with theirs. However, unbeknownst to Claire, one pair of eyes watched her surreptitiously. He smiled to himself before flipping open his cell phone to make a call. Merging with the cosmopolitan crowd Claire Beauchamp walked further along the exit where a stream of Chinese messengers awaited the disembarking passengers. Patient operators held up placards with the names of many different hotels, while tour guides rushed around. All were wearing white shirts and dark pants which seemed a mandatory uniform coupled with quite a few looking like the Customs officials who wore wire rimmed glasses below their dark hair. They were checking lists with the names of passengers waiting to be escorted to their respective hotels and babbling quickly in Chinese. Looking around Claire couldn’t help but notice one person who stood out distinctly from the others. The man was wearing a colourful Hawaiian shirt and was holding up an iPad bearing her name. Picking up her baggage, she made her way over to him.

“Hi … I’m Claire Beauchamp,” she said smiling at him.

“Ah, Miss Beauchamp … Welcome to Hong Kong. I hope you had a pleasant flight from Sydney.”

“Yes, I did thank you.”

My name is Angus Mhor from the Hong Kong Police,” he said showing her his identification badge before placing it back in his pocket. “Here let me take your luggage. Accommodation has been arranged for you in a lovely apartment overlooking Victoria Harbour.” “How lovely. Thank-you.” “I’m afraid it is not as beautiful as the view of your Sydney Harbour but it is beautiful nonetheless.” “I’m sure it will be fine.” “My superior, Senior Superintendent Zheng is expecting you, and once you are settled in he is looking forward to meeting you at Police Headquarters later today.”

“Thank you Mr. Mhor, I’ll look forward to meeting with him as well.”

Meanwhile ... at Hong Kong Police Headquarters

Senior Superintendent Xiao Zheng sat huddled over the mounting pile of cases on his desk. All the latest ones seemed to point to some connection between the Rising Dragons triad and the victims. For some time his department had been investigating these connections in line with the rise in kidnappings and murders that had taken palace in Hong Kong over the last couple of months. However, he was at his wits end trying to piece together all the evidence building on this notorious triad’s members and its elusive leader Sun Yee Lok. This was precisely why he had called in outside help because he needed someone with a covert background who could be placed undercover on this case. He looked at the photo kit picture of Claire Beauchamp from the Australian Federal Bureau of Police. She had volunteered to be part of an exchange program with the Hong Kong Police. Claire was a beautiful young woman, a “looker” if ever he saw one. Pity he was happily married, he smiled to himself. It was hard to believe that a woman with her looks was so lethal, but she came with excellent credentials from her superiors. Claire Beauchamp was not only a stunning woman she was deadly accurate too. He was very impressed with her résumé as he read information about her last covert work in Parramatta and Redfern. It seemed that Miss Beauchamp had undergone a National Undercover Operatives’ Training Program in Australia, passing with flying colours. She had excelled in all areas as well as personal defence, martial arts, assessment and competency skills. Zheng was most pleased that he had been able to snare her for a short time in Hong Kong to work on this specific case. He knew that Claire would be an invaluable asset to the police given her forte was undercover work. Perhaps she would be better suited to the OCTB, Hong Kong's Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, but she could transfer there for an extended stint if need be … once this case was closed. Zheng knew that his counterpart at OCTB Detective Jiang Ng, could use her services, but he never really trusted the man. There was something about him that made his hackles rise but he couldn’t put his finger on the pulse of his uncertainty. Perhaps it was because the man was so overconfident and arrogant? What he did know for certain was he didn’t like him and that was that. Nevertheless, he was grateful for Claire Beauchamp’s expertise and that could prove to be quite useful in helping to discover the perpetrator of the recent deaths on the junk. Angus Mhor had radioed him to say that Miss Beauchamp had arrived and they were on the way to her apartment on Hong Kong Island. “Mei Ling!” Zheng bellowed at his new recruit. She came running over to his desk. “Yes Sir?” “Bring me the file on this afternoon’s murder of Mr. Wu and the woman …” “Yes Sir,” she replied obediently. However, before she could leave to do his bidding he issued another order. “… and bring me a cup of coffee. I think this is going to be a long night.” “Yes … Sir.” Mei left as quickly as she had arrived at his desk thinking that her new boss was as hardnosed as she had been told. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Claire followed Angus Mhor to the Ground Transportation Centre where he had left his car. There she saw a highly efficient and comprehensive transportation network connected to the passenger terminal. Airport express trains and an extensive public transport interchange with facilities for taxis, franchised buses, tour coaches; hotel limousines and private cars were to be found on the multi-levelled structure. Taking Claire’s luggage from the baggage trolley he placed it in the trunk of the car. Making small conversation as a way of "breaking the ice" between them as they got into the vehicle Angus said, “Pity we don’t fly into Kai Tak Airport anymore.” “Why’s that?” Claire asked interestingly. “There was an element of danger involved in its spectacular urban landing approach which was much more thrilling and beautiful than our new modernized airport.” “It sounds exciting.” “Oh … yes it was.” Angus sighed pensively, remembering the many times he had returned home from overseas assignments. “During the last few seconds of landing you were actually flying between high-rise buildings that were very close on both sides and higher than the aeroplane.” “Wow! That would have been amazing.” “The old airport had spectacular views of the city when landing and taking off. Pity things have to change, don’t you think Miss Beauchamp?” “Sometimes the more things change the more they stay the same,” she added thoughtfully. Settling in the driver’s seat, Angus gave Claire a wink in the rear vision mirror. “It’s quite a distance to downtown Hong Kong and will take us about an hour. I guess it's the price you pay for modernization.” Having said that Angus then turned on the ignition, pumped the accelerator and sped off in the direction of Lantau Island.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ to be continued

Should you wish to access the other chapters of this story … https://sablelab.tumblr.com/covertoperations

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed my crossover story. xox

[wftc141]

Art by @cynthrey

"Wait...Allura are you...?"

[wftc141]

Art by @cynthrey

Mother and Father of Voltron in action

[wftc141]

Voltron: Global Military Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism Unit-Chapter 12: Martyr

2000 Hours

Goiânia, Brazil

The streets of St Central were quiet and empty with nothing but street lights illuminating the road. The Voltron team used this quiet time to race their way past the street shops to the presidents' secret meeting area. Armed and loaded, they brought along some breaching equipment just in case. The SUV they were in reached a short overpass above a freeway in mere seconds before crossing over.

"Lions, this is Zero. The meeting has been hit and security personnel are taking small-arms fire. Local police and military have been notified, over."

"Wait, wasn't they supposed to start tomorrow?" Hunk said as he drove the SUV.

"Seems like the presidents have started their meeting early." Pidge deduced.

"Any casualties?" Keith asked.

"Possible security. Not sure about the presidents but you have to get there fast before it's too late." Allura said.

"Any news on Shiro?"

"Black Lion is alright. He's making his way to the meeting too as we speak."

"Copy, we're five mikes from the destination. Out."

The call ended and everybody fell back in silence as the team drove down the streets.

"We're probably too late." Hunk uneasily said.

"Let's not think about it, yeah?" Lance replied. "We can get there in time and smoke these cabróns. This is where it ends for them."

"Lance's right." Said Keith. "This is the end of the line for the Galra."

Arriving at the street where the safe house is located, the team drove down the dark, narrow road with parked vehicles before noticing some dark vehicles parked near a building. Once they reached the area, they noticed a brightly lit building with the security gate blown open and a breached entrance.

"They're here." Hunk muttered.

"That's bad news but we still gotta complete the mission." Keith said as the SUV came to a stop.

The team got out and geared up with their weaponry and equipment from the SUV.

"Red Lion to Zero. We're on foot and proceeding to the safe house, out." Keith reported as the team approached the gate.

"Should we wait for Shiro?" Pidge asked.

"No time. Presidents would be dead by the time he arrives. Let's move."

With Keith taking point, the team went past the gate and into the entrance leading to the front door which was broken down. There was no sign of Galra soldiers but they could hear gunshots from inside.

"Red Lion to Zero, we're going internal." Keith muttered.

They made their way past the reception and security checkpoint which was already scattered with bodies of security guards. Blood footprints and stains were everywhere throughout. The sight of the bodies were no different from their previous encounters, in fact they saw worse.

Making their way up the emergency staircase, they reached the upper floor with the door left open. Entering the next floor, the team found themselves in a hallway with several offices inside some of the rooms. More blood and bodies filled up the count. Reaching the corner of one of the hallways, Keith noticed two Galra foot soldiers down at the hallway, the same ones from the attack on their hideout with their distinctive all-black uniforms and its purple and red highlights and masks. Keith aimed his rifle and opened fire, taking out the one at the right. The other soldier noticed his partner fall and turned around but Keith put him down before he could react.

The group reached another corner leading to an open area with a staircase leading to the second floor where the main meeting room was. Then, they saw two gunmen on the floor above them who turned around to notice them just in time. One of them was carrying a PK machine gun.

"Take cover!" Pidge yelled, pulling Keith away from the gunfire.

The bullets barraged against them, holding them back as the Galra's firepower suppressed them. The team heard more footsteps as the gunfire ceased. There was more gunmen approaching their position.

"MG gunner on the top floor! How many others are there?" Pidge called out through the gunfire.

"Dunno! Around eight of 'em!" Lance called.

Keith was quick to think of an idea on how to handle the Galra soldiers holding them off. He reached for his comms.

"Green, Yellow, keep that fucker distracted. Blue and I will flank around and take them out."

"Copy." Pidge replied.

Keith got up and headed over to the other side with Lance in tow. The two found a door leading to an emergency stairwell. As they made their way up to the designated floor, Keith heard a door open above and saw a Galra soldier who just noticed him. Keith aimed fast and took him out first. Suddenly, another Galra soldier entered and was about to open fire before getting shot first. Keith glanced at Lance who just took him out for him.

"Thank me later." Lance said as he headed for the door.

The two managed to arrive at the floor where the MG gunner would be. Keith turned a corner and found the MG gunner and his partner on the railing, firing at Pidge and Hunk's position. They were both completely distracted, leaving them open from behind. Keith shot at the MG gunner while Lance aimed for the other soldier.

With them taken out, Keith and Lance used the floor to their advantage with the Galra soldiers below just noticing the ceased gunfire. Keith used the PK and fired upon the remaining Galra soldiers, wiping most of them out instantly with Lance taking care of the rest. Once the gunfire ceased and the soldiers were confirmed dead, Keith reached for his comms.

"Area is clear. Regroup on me."

Pidgin and Hunk came out of cover and made their way up to where Keith and Lance were before heading towards the main meeting room. As they stacked up beside the door, the team heard muffled noises from inside. There's clearly hostages inside and it is likely the presidents are among them, as well as the remaining Galra forces. They were about to consider breaching until Hunk stopped them.

"Wait," Hunk whispered, grabbing the team's attention. "I got an idea."

The last of the Galra were barricaded inside the meeting room with their hostages, including the presidents, as their shield. There was no chance of them leaving alive and it would be a sin to surrender. They waited for the Voltron team to breach so they would eliminate the hostages. The Galra soldiers were already prepared to fight back with their very last breath. However, there was no activity from the front door.

Some time has passed and nothing has happened. One of the soldiers ordered his comrade to check the door. As the Galra soldier approached the door, a sudden blast erupted from the side, catching everybody off-guard. Dust clouded in as the Galra fell over from the explosion. Before they could react, the Voltron team entered through the hole and finished off the rest of the Galra soldiers. One of them tried to aim for the Brazilian President, only to be cut off by Keith with several shots to the body. The sounds of muffled cries followed as the dust settled.

"¡Calmarse! ¡Calmarse! ¡Nosotros estamos con el gobierno!" Lance shouted.

The team began to secure the hostages with Hunk checking for any bombs fitted in their vests. After checking, Hunk turned around.

"No vests!" He called.

"All clear!" Pidge said.

With the crisis settled, the team exchanged approving glances and nodded. The job was a success. They stopped a potential catastrophe. The team finished freeing the hostages and gathered them out to a safer place. Keith reached for his comms.

"Red Lion to Zero, area is secure. All hostiles are KIA. Three-Rulers are alive and intact. Multiple friendlies are wounded and KIA, over."

"Copy, Red Lion." Allura replied on comms. "Friendly forces are enroute to the safe house. Any news on Kingfish?"

Keith hesitated at first but he hadn't seen Sendak anywhere in the safehouse so it was safe to bet he didn't take part.

"Negative, Zero. Kingfish is nowhere in sight."

Sendak watched through his binoculars as local police forces and the military arrived at the scene, now that the gunfire has ceased. He knew this was Voltron's doing and they succeeded. He let out a deep sigh in the midst of the cold breeze. Sendak anticipated the failure. He knew what Voltron was capable of and he let it happen. He'll deal with the punishment later. Then he heard slight footsteps from behind and the sounds of a weapon raising.

"Step away from the gun."

Sendak glanced at the pistol that was on the surface on the balcony which was already in his reach. He chuckled in amusement, recognising the voice.

"I had a feeling you would escape, Shirogane. You really are an untamed animal. I guess I've finally failed."

"You're damn right about that."

Sendak put the binoculars on the surface near the gun and stepped away before turning around to face Shiro who was aiming his pistol at him with his rifle slung in front of him. He slowly raised his hands.

"You might as well kill me now, Commander." Sendak said.

Shiro said nothing as he trained his gun on his head.

"Go on," Sendak demanded, approaching him. "Pull the trigger. I've failed the Galra Empire and I deserve to die. There's no reason for me to live and I know you want to do it. It's the only way you can avenge your fallen."

Shiro then saw flashes of his team fighting for their survival including Sven. His index finger was already slowly pushing the trigger and his grip shook as Shiro's rage began to emerge.

"We're lions, Shirogane. Lions who will do absolutely anything for our country, even if we have to shed some innocent blood."

Sendak was already up at his face by the time he was done. He grabbed the barrel and pressed it against his crown tightly. His annoying smirk still plastered across his mug.

"Go ahead. Do it right now. Avenge your brothers. That's what you wanted, right? Do it!"

Shiro still hesitated to make a decision. He thought of all the terrible things that Sendak has done. It would be best for him to just kill him right now. Sven died in Shiro's arms as he watched him suffer. He could end this right now and it'll be all over. However, nothing good can be gained from killing someone. Shiro took a deep breath.

"I do want to kill you. I wanna kill you so bad for what you've done. I wanna kill you for my team...and my brother. I wanna kill you so fucking bad right here, right now. But I know better."

Shiro holstered his gun away and held Sendak tightly, rounding him up and tying his hands with zip ties.

"I won't give you the chance to be the Galra's martyr." Shiro said before turning to glare at Sendak. "And you're right. I am a lion but a lion doesn't eat his own pack."

Sendak simply smirked before facing forward as Shiro escorted him out of the rooftop.

2450 Hours

Some time has passed after returning to base. The hostages and the presidents have been allocated to the military for special treatment. Allura has been on the phone for a while, talking to her superiors. The Voltron team waited anxiously, concerned about their fate since they just broke the rules. Although they wouldn't be surprised if the superiors were just as corrupt as Sanda.

Shortly, Allura finished her call and turned to her team where they stood up and approached her.

"Well? What happens now?" Keith asked.

"I'm ordered to headquarters for a full debrief along with Commander Shirogane and Lieutenant Smythe. The rest of you have done well for stopping the Galra. After we hand over Sendak to the CIA and bury the fallen, you'll all be allowed three months off-duty. You guys earned it for the hard work."

The team took the news well. They were expecting worse but they can accept this, especially after their grueling battle with Sendak and the Galra. Hunk took the chance to walk away from the team to a private spot. He got out his phone and dialed a number. Shortly, the beeps stopped.

"Shay Bainivalu, Vice News."

"Hi, um, this is Momoa from NATO," Hunk said. "Is this a bad time?"

"Hunk? N-No, not really, I was just finishing my shower. What's up?"

"Yeah, I want you to hear this from me first. We actually got them. We managed to stop the Galra before they could accomplish their goal."

"Really? Oh that's fantastic! I would say it was an impossible task but I always had a feeling you guys would pull it off. Congrats!"

"Thanks. We couldn't have done this without your help. Credit goes to you too. Oh, and there's something else I wanna ask you."

"Shoot."

"Well…"

Elsewhere, Lance caught up with Keith who was walking off and elbowed his arm, grabbing his attention.

"Not bad for a Ranger grunt." Lance said.

Keith chuckled before bumping Lance's arm. "You're not so bad yourself for a jarhead."

"How long do you think you'll last sticking around with me?"

"More than you would."

This time, Lance laughed it off. As the two continued their banter, Pidge watched from a distance. It took them a whole month for them to become comfortable with each other. A smile grew from her face, proud of the progress from them.

"They're actually friends now." Shiro said.

Pidge glanced at the team leader, who appeared beside her, watching Keith and Lance as well.

"Seems like it. Hopefully this will keep up for the next few months." Pidge replied.

The two stared at the boys in silence for a brief period.

"If you don't mind me asking," Shiro said. Pidge looked at him. "How's Matt?"

Shiro knew Matthew Holt back in the military. They used to be on good terms. Shiro hasn't seen him during his service in the SEALs.

"Actually, I haven't seen him since I joined the army," Pidge replied, looking down. "I lost every contact from my parents because they didn't like the idea of me joining the military. They wanted me to be a horticulturist instead of studying in college."

Shiro chuckled before collecting himself.

"Your brother did tell me he wanted you to be a horticulturist. But I get what you mean. My father wanted me and my brother to work for NASA rather than fight proxy wars. Then again, we are what we are because we want to fight for our country and help our allies abroad from terror. That's why we chose being soldiers over a career that won't do much to help others."

Pidge said nothing but she understood Shiro's point.

02/15/2018

0010 Hours

Even though it was midnight, Jem wasn't asleep. He still had the light on. Just then, he heard footsteps from outside and a knock on the door.

"Come in." Jem called.

The door opened and Coran and Stacy entered the room, both seemingly haven't gotten some sleep yet.

"Oh, hey guys. What's going on?" He said.

"Sorry for dropping by this late, Jem but we wanted to bring you the good news." Coran said.

"Oh, that-it's no big deal. Wasn't feeling tired yet. What's up?"

"Voltron has captured Sendak four hours ago after rescuing the presidents from Galra forces during their meeting. He's currently in custody right now." Stacy said.

"Really? Okay, that's good to hear."

Coran nodded. "So how're you doing, right now?"

"Oh I'm recovering pretty damn well. The meds worked wonders and the doctors said I'll be discharged in the morning once they finish up on the paperwork."

"Great. We'll pick you up then. Get some rest for now. You'll need it."

"Same thing could be said to you guys. I feel like you're treating me like a dad, sir."

Coran and Stacy chuckled as they left the room.

"That's nice to hear," Coran said. "We'll be leaving now. Goodnight."

Stacy was the last to say goodnight before leaving with Coran. At some point in time, Jem fell asleep afterwards.

0800 Hours

The team arrived at a private airfield far from the city with a cuffed Sendak, who is set to be handed in to the CIA and transferred to a blacksite. Once they arrived, there was already a plane ready for the CIA. Shiro got out and took Sendak with him, approaching the paramilitary officers of the SAD division.

"We will meet again, Shirogane," Sendak said. "Mark my words. This rivalry will not end until one of us is dead."

"I look forward to it, Sendak," Shiro replied as one of the officers grabbed the terrorist. "I'll be waiting for you."

"I know you will. It will only be between us...neither your allies nor the Galra will stop our battle."

Sendak returned one last smirk before being placed into the watched the plane ride off with nothing left to offer for Sendak. One part of him wished he could just shoot him on the spot and avenge his fallen team. The other, however, felt tired to continue. He just wants to stop. No more killing, no more fighting wars and no more pulling off the same mistakes that got his team killed.

Shiro had been fighting since he was 18, switching from the Marines to the SEALs and Voltron. He fought so long he forgot the last time he found peace. Hawaii was his only escape from the horrors of war. Maybe it's time for Shiro to take a break from the mindless killings and find the peace he lost.

02/28/2018

1200 Hours

Hawaii

Shiro took another swig of his beer as he basked in the sun under the shade. The view from the beach was beautiful. He could see the ocean lushly flow as people play on the shoreline. The beach was mostly filled with a crowd with the umbrellas, towels and such making up most of the beach. Shiro placed himself close to the water and away from the big crowd so he could enjoy the view in peace without interruptions. Letting out a sigh, Shiro finished his beer before reaching for the cooler. As his hands clasped onto a new bottle, Shiro noticed a shadow emerging on the sands.

"I can see why you enjoy Hawaii so much."

Shiro looked up. Standing near him was Allura, sporting a straw hat and wearing a navy blue one piece with a beach skirt. Shiro noticed the middle of her swimsuit was divided, exposing her cleavage. Allura's hand was on her hip as she approached Shiro. He wasn't sure how she found him but he didn't mind her presence.

"The view is beautiful." Allura said as she sat beside Shiro under the shade.

"Sure is," He replied. "Always wanted to have my final moments here. I would like my funeral held here and my ashes spread across the ocean."

Allura hummed. Shiro popped his beer open and took a swig before reminding Allura about the beer, though she wasn't thirsty. The two stared out at the ocean for a brief moment.

"So how'd you find me?" Shiro asked.

"Coran was a bit concerned for your wellbeing so he sent me here to make sure you didn't do anything stupid."

'Flattered to hear."

"I'm also going to be staying with you."

Shiro glanced at Allura, surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah. Already got my things packed at that shack of yours. Coran wanted me to keep watch over you for some time until we finish our vacation. Don't want anything bad happening while you're in Hawaii."

"Is that just your way of saying you guys miss me?"

Allura chuckled. "I actually said the same thing to him. He won't admit it."

Shiro let out a laugh. It was nice to hear his teammates care. The two eventually calmed down and went back in silence.

"How long has it been?" Allura asked.

"Hm?" Shiro looked at her.

"How long have you been in touch with home?"

Shiro's smile faded, remembering his call with his parents a few weeks back.

"I've never been home since I told my parents what happened to Sven. My dad doesn't consider me family anymore. Can't say I blame them."

Allura didn't say anything. Shiro let out a sigh and took another swig of his beer while sulking at the sea. He still carried the guilt, yet people remind him he's not in the wrong. Shiro wasn't sure how to comprehend both sides.

"It'll take some time but I know they won't keep blaming you forever." Allura said.

"Yeah…" Shiro muttered.

At some point, Shiro didn't feel like continuing his beer.

"Are you sure you want to stay in Voltron?" Allura asked.

Shiro took some consideration into it. He already joined Voltron for a few weeks and he always had an opportunity to leave. But deep down, as much as it hurts to stay in Voltron and deal with the losses, it was a risk Shiro would rather take than bury himself in guilt. Taking a deep breath, Shiro turned to Allura and smirked.

"I'm positive."

[wftc141]

Voltron: Global Military Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism Unit-Chapter 13: The Crusade

                                                TWO MONTHS LATER

26/04/2018

1723 Hours

Colombia

The clouds cast over the partially empty dirt road, surrounded by the greenery of the countryside. The winds brushed off the fields and the trees outside a village a few kilometers nearby. Perfect place to be isolated from the crowds and perfect to slip by unnoticed. A second Voltron team, dubbed ‘Tigers’ have been deployed in Colombia to intercept a group of terrorists reported to have gotten hold of an unknown cargo, possibly a chemical weapon, from Europe. Coran and his analysts, Gold and Colbert, have been overseeing the mission through a drone watching the team down below amongst the clouds.

The team has been split on different sides of the road, blending in with the greenery among the hillside. Team leader Lieutenant Damon Halliday, former SAS, had been keeping watch on the road waiting for the convoy to arrive. He had his rifle ready, mounted on the grassy hill with two of his other teammates, Montgomery and Yeon. The last two of the five Tigers, Garceau and Okusanya, guarded the other side with Garceau being an experienced sniper for the team. 

“Got visual on the convoy.” Montgomery said.

Halliday took out his binoculars to check and noticed a faint sight of several vehicles from a distance with a truck towing a cargo container as well.

“I see it. Two vehicles and one truck.” Halliday acknowledged.

“Should we call it in?” Montgomery asked.

Halliday nodded and reached for his comms to report. “White Tiger to Zero, we have eyes on the convoy. Ready to strike, over.” 

“Copy, White Tiger. You are clear to engage, over.” Coran responded.

“Copy, Zero. Out.” 

Halliday then looked back at the convoy which was now closing in on their position and readied his rifle. 

“All Tigers engage!” 

The team opened fire on the convoy, hitting the vehicle tires and taking out the drivers. The convoy stopped as the terrorists got out to fire back. Montgomery and Yeon took out some of the terrorists on one side of the convoy while Garceau’s marksmanship picked off the remaining as well as Okusanya’s swift mowdown with his LMG. Shortly, the gunfire ceased and all of the terrorists were on the ground motionless.

“Clear!” Halliday said.

“Clear!” Garceau replied.

“White Tiger to Zero, hostiles are neutralized and the convoy is clear, over.”

“Copy,” Coran said. “Investigate the cargo. We need to identify its contents before deciding on our next move, over.”

Halliday then got his team to approach the convoy stranded in the middle of nowhere, weapons raised in case of anything happening. The team checked the bodies to make sure they’re dead before checking the truck. 

“Montgomery, Okusanya, check the truck.” Halliday ordered.

“Roger.”

The two approached the truck with heightened caution. Montgomery opened the door and dragged the body out to check inside the cockpit. Okusanya approached the rear door and felt for any way to open it. The rest of the team kept their distance while guarding the convoy. Halliday heard the doors open and turned towards the truck where Montgomery and Okusanya were as they stepped into the truck.

“Boss?” Montgomery called shortly. “We got ourselves something worse than just chemicals.”

“What is it?” Halliday asked.

“Uh,” Okusanya replied. “A bunch of mercury and sulfur, lots of toxic shit mixed into the barrels!”

“White Tiger to Zero, we got ourselves some sort of toxic substances, possibly a chemical bomb. Awaiting orders, over.”

A brief pause after Halliday relayed the report. 

“Copy, White Tiger,” Coran replied. “Retrieve a sample and exfil, over.” “Roger. Out.”

Halliday was about to get an order ready before he was suddenly rocked back by a sudden explosion. Shielding himself from the blast, Halliday stumbled away from the truck as the deafening ring echoed in his head. Once he looked back, Halliday noticed the truck engulfed in flames and slowly coated in black ash. He then realized something. “Montgomery, Okusanya! Come in, over!” Halliday shouted through his comms.

There was nothing from the other end. Halliday had no reason to deny that both Montgomery and Okusanya are dead, consumed by the explosion while they were inside the truck. His breathing continued to pace as he looked around, finding both Garceau and Yeon still intact. Halliday quickly rushed over to the two.

“You okay?” He said.

“We’re okay, sir!” Yeon replied.

“I’m good,” Garceau let out a cough. “Putain d’enfer. What happened to Montgomery and Okusanya?”

“They’re dead. They were inside the truck.” Halliday said.

“Merde! What now?”

“White Tiger to Zero, Red Tiger and Grey Tiger are KIA and the cargo is destroyed! Repeat, Red and Grey Tiger are KIA and the cargo is destroyed! We need an evac, over!”

“Negative, White Tiger,” Coran said. “Can’t send in an evac now but we’re noticing toxic substances from the truck heading your way. Get the hell away from it now, over.” Coran said.

Halliday looked over to the truck and noticed a mix of yellow and green clouds emerging from the burning truck. 

“Bollocks!” He cursed before standing up. “Tigers! Get clear from the truck, now!” 

The team wasted no time to get away from the convoy, forced to leave both Montgomery and Okusanya behind, though there was no way to recover what was left of them. Once they got to a safer distance, Halliday was about to reach for his comms.

“Hey, bossman,” Garceau said, grabbing Halliday’s attention. “I think we got company.”

Halliday looked at where Garceau was staring at and noticed a group of cars driving towards their position.

“The hell?” Halliday muttered as the vehicles closed in.

Suddenly, gunshots began to zip towards them. The team ducked down and tried to use the vehicles as cover. Halliday braced as gunshots hit the vehicles behind him.

“White Tiger to Zero, we’re under heavy fire from unknown hostiles! We need that bloody evac right now!” 

He peeked through the corner and noticed several gunmen coming out of their cars.

He couldn’t count the exact amount but there were a lot of gunmen with military-grade body armor over their clothes. Halliday managed to shoot some of them down but more took their places. He noticed his comms didn’t reach out to base and the response was nothing but static. He could hear anything from them. His team were struggling against the gunmen. Halliday noticed the gas slowly emerging further towards them. There was no other choice but to run into the forest.

“All Tigers retreat!” He shouted as he made a break for the forest.

The team ran towards the forest. Halliday looked behind his shoulder and noticed Yeon tripping over and falling onto the ground. Some of the gunmen reached Yeon and fired their rifles at him. Halliday looked away, knowing Yeon sealed his fate. Now it was just him and Garceau. The two stopped by some trees and took cover behind them.

“Where the fuck’s Yeon?!” Garceau shouted.

“Bastards got him!” Halliday replied.

He heard Garceau curse in French before hearing shouts from afar. Halliday noticed more gunmen chasing after them and opened fire. He managed to take out a few before running empty. As Halliday switched to his pistol, he looked at Garceau about to open fire with his rifle, only to get shot in the shoulder and fall over into a pit behind him. 

“Garceau!” Halliday shouted.

Out of newfound determination, Halliday got out of cover and fired across the forest to draw out as many gunmen as he could. He couldn’t see them through the canopies and the bushes shrouded among the trees. Suddenly, a bullet hit his leg and his arm. Halliday let out a shout before falling over onto the dirt, landing on some tree roots. He couldn’t feel his right hand as he struggled to reach for his gun while holding the wound to keep it from bleeding further.

Footsteps rustled and closed in. The rest of the gunmen arrived, approaching him with their weapons aimed at him. Some approached the pit Garceau fell into. Halliday noticed one of them bore a ski mask with sunglasses under his helmet, as well as more kitted out gear than the others. Halliday could assume this was the team leader. 

“¿Qué hacemos con a él, señor?” One of the gunmen asked the leader.

The leader glared at Halliday before turning to his men. “Llévalo a él con nosotros.”

“Sí, señor. ¡Agarrarlo! ¡Vamos!”

The gunmen approached Halliday and grabbed his arms, lifting him up to drag him away.

“Get your bloody hands off me, you bastards!” He cursed as he struggled to wrestle free.

Halliday continued to struggle and kick away fruitlessly while the gunmen held on without breaking a sweat. Suddenly, he heard Garceau shout from the pit before shots were fired. Halliday then noticed one of the gunmen rip off a tracking device from his vest before glancing at him. His comms are already screwed and his team is dead. Halliday has no idea who these people are but they are definitely involved with the terrorists. His impulse rocketed and he continued to rock aggressively as he shouted curses at his attackers. Suddenly, everything went black, not before he noticed a gunman thrust a rifle butt at him.

Coran, Gold and Colbert stared in silence, jaws open. They watched the whole ordeal unwind from their surveillance room in the hideout until they lost sight of Tiger and their leader Halliday. All of this started to go sideways when the truck exploded suddenly and then an unexpected group of hostiles arrived. 

“Bloody hell. What just happened?” Gold asked.

“A lot just happened, son,” Coran said. “We just lost contact with Tiger.”

“And the comms couldn’t reach out to them for some reason. It was working fine a while ago! Something must’ve jammed the signal.” 

“We’ll get to the bottom of this. We need to get Lion recalled.”

“Are you sure, sir?” Colbert asked. “They just took care of the Galra issue a few months back and they’re still off-duty.”

“I’m positive, Colbert. This isn’t just some simple issue. We just lost an important team from NATO and a man I call my friend to a group of unknowns. They’ll understand soon enough. Recall them.” 

Colbert knew it wasn’t her position to debate. She simply nodded and turned towards her computer.

“Yes, sir. We’ll send out the recall.”

________________________________________

27/04/2018

0647 Hours

Macon, USA

A white Ford Escape slowly drove by the side a few blocks away from a suburban house situated outside of Macon. The sun was still rising and the people inside were up and running. Once the SUV stopped, the doors opened and two people got out, both a man and a woman. Both of them wore jackets under their shirts and jeans with gloves. They walked up to the house down the path near the forest, adjusting their sleeves as they focused on the house. 

Once they reached the front door, Hunter 1 simply glanced at the camera from the left corner. These weren’t their average American neighbors. They were agents working under extremists, hiding in the US with plans in motion. The camera itself was way too advanced for a normal neighbor. 

 “Who is it?” A voice asked from the other side, with a good American accent.

“Девять-четыре-восемь-балалайка.” Hunter 2 replied.

The two waited for the response. They already acquired their password earlier on which could fool the agents that they are on their side. As soon as the door unlocked, the two pulled out their suppressed MP7s with Hunter 1 opening fire on the door. Entering the house, Hunter 1 walked over the body and stormed into the surveillance room to his left where he took out the agents trying to reach for their guns. None of them prepared for a surprise like this.

As Hunter 2 continued her sweep on the ground floor, Hunter 1 moved upstairs and heard footsteps from above and in a room and the sound of a window opening.  He knew they were trying to make a run for it. But they weren’t the only ones.

“Hunter 3, you got rabbits coming out of the house from the back.” He said.

Hunter 1 reached the upper floor to check the rooms which most of them were empty. He then heard some faint muffled shots from outside.

“Hunter 1, this is Hunter 3. Rabbits are down.” Hunter 3 replied from the comms.

After searching the entire house, Hunter 2 began gathering the intel from the servers in one of the rooms while Hunter 1 found a fuel canister and started pouring gasoline all across the house, over the bodies and everything else to cover their tracks before ending the trail by the front door. Once Hunter 2 left the house with the intel in tow, Hunter 1 lit a match and tossed it onto the trail. Flames lit up and spread towards the trail like wildfire and by the time it reached the end, the house was burning, smoke levitating to the sky. Shortly, the two met up with Hunter 3, an African-American male, carrying his sniper rifle and bag with the ghillie suit used for the operation.

 “All good?” Hunter 3 asked.

“Hell yeah, brother.”  Hunter 1 answered.

“Russia’s gonna owe us for this one.” Hunter 2 said.

“They should,” Hunter 1 briskly concealed his weapon as he approached the SUV. “We just took out their corrupt FSB team since they don’t want to kill their own.” 

“They would let us do this anyway since they’re in our country.” Hunter 3 said.

“We would’ve done the same thing if we had corrupt agents.”

“Would we?” Hunter 2 asked.

“Maybe.”

Once the team got into their SUV, they drove off and away from the burning house, leaving the rest to the police.

“Hunter 1, hostiles are neutralized and we have secured the intel, over.” Hunter 1 reported through his comms.

“Confirmed,” His supervisor replied. “Be advised, you are now given a new assignment. There will be a plane set for Colombia where you will work with Voltron. We have a situation that is urgent.”

Hunter 1 suddenly froze after hearing the name. He wanted to say no but that would be against his supervisor’s wishes. Hunter 1 scowled and eventually nodded.

“Copy, Hunter 1 out.” He grudgingly said.

Once he got off the comms, he slammed the steering wheel of the car, puzzling his teammates who looked at him confused. 

“Fuck!” Hunter 1 swore.

“Matt?” Hunter 2 asked.

Hunter 1 panted as he glared out at the windscreen facing the freeway. Both Hunter 2 and 3 exchanged glances, waiting for his response.

“The last thing I wanted was to see them again.” Matt growled.

________________________________________

27/04/2018

0745 Hours

Hawaii

Shiro let out a yelp as he jolted upright from a nightmare. As cold sweat ran down his body, his breathing rate was accelerated with his heart racing from the sudden experience from the nightmare. Shiro looked around frantically, finding himself in the bed he was in last night. It was just a dream. Just a dream. Although he noticed apart from the many nightmares he had for his entire life, this one saw him die.

“You alright?”

Shiro turned to his side and noticed his bedside was empty and saw Allura approaching him fully dressed. She must’ve heard him shout from his nightmare. Shiro gave himself a breather to calm himself down.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Just a bad dream, that’s all.”

“What was it this time?” Allura asked.

Shiro then saw a vision of someone familiar standing by his side. He swore he remembered that vision but he just couldn’t make it out.

“Shiro?”

The face was clearer and he realized he was the man from his nightmare.

“It was Adam…”

Allura’s mouth gaped wide as she stared in disbelief, knowing she herself knew Adam before. Shiro couldn’t believe his eyes either. He had never seen Adam in his dreams ever since Lahore.

“How did it-”

“Same as always,” Shiro quickly answered. “I wasn’t able to save him from that explosion.”

Adam was Shiro’s first. They both developed a bond that turned into love during Shiro’s time with the SEAL Team Six. Adam was a CIA agent who was killed in Camp Chapman in 2009. Shiro recalled trying to save him before the explosion consumed him right before his eyes. He had blamed himself ever since then and carried that guilt for his entire life.

“It wasn’t your fault, Shiro.” Allura said.

Shiro doesn’t reply. Suddenly, he heard his phone buzz from his nightstand and he reached over to see the message. As soon as he saw the message, Shiro immediately got out of bed and got dressed with Allura waiting for him. Voltron was calling them back in and surprisingly, it was earlier than usual.

________________________________________

27/04/2018

1146 Hours

Somewhere in Texas, USA

“700 meters moving down the rock side,” Lance reported using his spotter scope. “Got eyes on him?”

“Yeah, Got that son of a bitch.” Keith replied, focusing his sniper scope on the field as he laid on the hill frontside. 

The scope caught sight of a mountain lion sneaking it’s way to a herd of sheeps in the farm’s field. Calculating the distance and controlling his breathing, Keith pulled the trigger. The bullet looked to be heading straight for the mountain lion but it hit the ground below it, scaring it away. The two watch the mountain lion scurry away down the hill.

“Fuck! It’s gone.” Keith cursed, slamming his hand on the mat.

“Well, the good thing is…you scared it away.” Lance assured.

“The bad thing is he’ll come back. Fucking mountain lions.”

“I mean, can you blame ‘em? Circle of life.”

“My cattle aren’t food.”

“Technically, sheeps are food.” 

“I don’t eat sheep.”

Lance slowly glanced at Keith, surprised by his suddenness.

“Really?” He asked.

“Really.” Keith answered.

“What are you, an animal lover?”

“I am, actually.”

“But you were eating burgers.”

“That doesn’t count.”

“Fuck you mean it doesn’t count? You’re eating a dead cow, cabrón.”

“It was a mystery burger.”

Lance realized what he was talking about and scrunched up his nose.

“You mean that nasty, tasteless, bootlegged one that vegans eat?” Lance guessed.

Keith nodded. “Yup. You should try it.” 

“Do I look like a fucking cow to you?”

“Oh, so you’re saying vegans are cow eaters, huh?”

“I’m just saying I’ll take meat over plants any day now.”

“Your parents never gave you broccoli since you were a kid?”

“Dude, they had me eating meat so I could grow big and strong. Me and my siblings. Hell, my brother and sister fed the same meat to my niece and nephew.”  

“Uh huh. My dad did way worse than that. I had to hunt.”

“I thought you’re an animal lover?”

“I was hunting predators who were trying to eat my cattle.”

“Huh. Good point.’

The two went into silence, staring down at the field where the cows were, still chewing on the grass. 

“You know, I was wondering,” Lance asked. “How are you paying for all this?”

Keith scratched his face. “After my dad passed away from cancer, guys from his old Force Recon unit managed to take all of the bills and taxes so I can take care of the farm. They never told me how but I’m basically living free…for now.”

Just then, they heard sounds of rotors spinning faintly. The sounds began to get closer until the two saw a Blackhawk from a distance approaching their area. The helicopter lowered itself beside the field, causing the sheeps to scatter away, bleating as they galloped.

“Hey, Keith.”

“Yeah.”

“A fucking Blackhawk just landed on your field...right next to your sheeps.”

“Yup.” 

Leaving their equipment behind, Keith and Lance approached the Blackhawk and once they got close, they noticed Pidge get off the helicopter and approach the two, surprising them both. 

“Pidge?” Keith called.

“You two! Lets go!” Pidge demanded.

“What’s going on?” Lance asked.

“We got a mission, obviously! Get in!”

Keith and Lance exchanged glances and nodded before getting inside the Blackhawk. As the two entered, Keith got out his phone and dialed the number as the helicopter ascended from the ground.

“Hey Alice, I need you to watch over the farm…”

________________________________________

27/04/2018

0800 Hours

Sydney, Australia 

Hunk was just finishing up on the omelettes he was making. He was about finished with the side of the nearly complete piece of omelette. The scent of salt and eggs surrounded the entire apartment as the air passed through the open balcony door. Hunk had already prepared the fillings and the first omelette was just about done with the last one. As he finished up prepping the omelettes, he turned around and noticed Shay wasn’t up. 

After his mission in Brazil, he ended up spending some time with Shay at Sydney during his time off-duty. Flash-forward, the two went into a relationship and Hunk moved into Shay’s apartment in Pyrmont since he can’t really go back to Fort Benning. During his time with Shay, he got to learn a lot about her, both her work and her life outside. Hunk had noticed Shay had been sleeping in a lot more than usual, though he didn’t blame her.

Covering the breakfast to preserve the heat, Hunk headed into their bedroom where he noticed Shay still in bed, covers sprawled all across with one of her bare legs exposed. Her untied hair spread out over the pillow like seaweed. She looked as if she was spooning a pillow. Hunk could hear her light snores as he approached her, even when he was the first to wake up way before her. He even did a morning jog at six and she was still fast asleep. Hunk sat on the bedside and he couldn’t help but take a gander at her beauty even at its unkempt nature. He moved a lock of her hair covering her eye aside before slightly tucking it behind her ear.

The curtains were still closed so maybe that could wake her up. Hunk stood up and went up to the curtains and opened it up, letting the sun into the room. The light brightened the bedroom and Hunk got a clean view of the bay overlooking the city. Then, he heard a moan from behind and turned around, noticing Shay was slowly waking up. Hunk reached her side and checked up on her as her eyes slightly opened. 

“Morning, Hunk…” She lazily said.

“Morning, Shay,” Hunk replied, grinning. “Slept well?”

Shay turned over onto her back as she tried to close her eyes. “Mmm. Five more minutes, please.”

Hunk chuckled. “I already got breakfast ready. Bacon onion omelettes. It’s gonna get cold soon.”

He noticed a smile creep across her face while her eyes were still closed. 

“Okay, you win,” she muttered before sitting herself up. “I’m up. I’m up.”

As Shay stretched her arms, Hunk got off the bed and headed back into the kitchen to get breakfast ready. Shortly, as Hunk placed the plates of omelettes and glasses of orange juice on the table, he looked up to see Shay walking towards him wearing her sweatshirt and shorts from bed. Her hair was still left untied.

“Smells nice.” Shay said as she leaned over to kiss Hunk.

“It’s your favourite.” Hunk replied.

The two sat down and began to eat their breakfast. Shay took a bite of the omelette, sliding the fork into her mouth.

“So good as always.” She said as she ate.

Hunk chuckled. “Glad you still like it. I added something to make it tastier.”

“What’d you add?”

“Parsley.”

“Can’t really taste it but it’s still yummy. You should be my personal chef.”

Hunk chuckled as he watched her eat up. He knew Shay wasn’t the greatest cook surprisingly but he didn’t mind. As long as she likes it, he’s happy. The two continued to eat, talking about work and Shay’s sleeping habit. Then, she got into a different subject.

“You know,” she said. “You never told me why you wanted to be a soldier when you could’ve been a chef.”

“You never asked.” Hunk answered.

“I’m asking now.”

“Well, since you asked nicely, I always wanted to be a cook because my father was a cook back in the Navy. He was really good at it and I wanted to be like him.”

“But why the army?” 

“The attacks on my home gave me the motivation.”

Hunk then took another bite of the omelette before going for the glass of juice.

“You know, you never told me about your family or why you wanted to be a war correspondent for Vice.” Hunk said.

“You never asked.” Shay replied.

“I’m asking now.”

“Since you asked politely,” she paused for a moment. “I was never a huge fan of the military or the war. I only became a war correspondent so I can understand why people go to war...and see the cost of it.”

Hunk then noticed she'd stopped eating. Her expression darkened.

“I saw so many people in the Middle East die in front of my eyes,” Shay continued. “Men, women, children. I even lost close friends of mine. Everytime I sleep, I keep seeing flashes of everything that I’ve seen. I want everyone to see why war is hell and what the cost of it is.”

Hunk had stopped eating too but he was already finished by then. He never thought Shay would end up in a situation like this. Thinking about it makes Hunk feel ashamed for being a soldier, considering how many people he killed. Was he actually the type for Shay?

“I’m sorry you had to go through all this.” Hunk muttered, looking down to his hands on the table.

Shay looked at Hunk in confusion before realizing why.

“Hunk...I didn’t mean-”

Suddenly, Hunk’s phone started buzzing from his pocket. He pulled it out and after noticing the notification, he sighed. 

“Great.” Hunk muttered in disappointment as he stood up.

“Work?” Shay guessed, standing up as well.

Hunk looked at Shay, feeling bad to just leave like this. He really wanted to spend more time with her.

“I’m sorry-”

“No, no, it’s alright,” Shay said. “Get out there.”

Hunk was still upset that he had to leave Shay but he knew that there was no other option. Hunk then began to gather his gear from the bedroom and then made his way to the door. He was about to unlock the door.

“Hey.” Shay called.

Hunk stopped and turned around, noticing Shay approaching him. She then leaned forward, kissing him for a while before pulling away.

“Be safe.” Shay whispered.

Hunk smiled and nodded. “Will do.”

Just like that, Hunk walked out of the door and headed off to the elevator. Both Shay and Hunk prayed for the safety of each other and themselves.

________________________________________

28/04/2018

1132 Hours

Colombia

The Lions of Voltron, all dressed in their uniforms, have arrived at the US air base in Colombia. They were directed to a briefing room for a meeting where they will soon meet someone. The only members who were missing were Coran and his analysts. Some time has passed and nothing much has happened, leaving the team in the dark.

“Well, this is weird.” Lance said.

“In what way?” Keith asked.

“Isn’t it obvious? We just landed in Colombia and none of us knows what the hell’s going on.”

“Lance’s got a point,” Pidge said. “Not only that, where’s Lieutenant Smythe and his computer team?”

“I know you guys are concerned,” Shiro butted in. “Me and Major Brooks have no idea what’s going on either. But we were obviously called here for a reason. Why else would NATO go to all the trouble bringing us here?”

“Why not bring NATO’s best counter terrorism unit?”

The team turned around to the sound and noticed Coran standing by the door, accompanied by another person. He looked to be a Native American man in his 50s with long brown hair, a beard and a vertical scar on his right eye. 

“Well I’ll be damned.” Allura said, standing up and approaching the man alongside Shiro with a smile. “So glad to see you again.” 

Allura and the Native American man both hugged. 

“You too, Brooks,” The man said as he and Allura broke the hug. He then went up to Shiro for a hug. “Same goes for you, Shiro.”

“Yeah. Good to see you too, old friend.” 

Allura and Shiro then turned around to their team, who were unfamiliar with the man.

“Team,” Shiro said. “This is Bryce Kolivan, Station Chief of the CIA.” 

“And I’m guessing he’s the spook who handed us the mission to go after the Galra in Brazil.” Lance said.

“Sure was. Had faith that Voltron would get the job done.” Kolivan answered.

“So what’s going on here that you want us to handle?” Allura asked.

Kolivan’s grin faded and he let out a deep, grim sigh.

“Lieutenant Smythe was helping us intercept a terrorist group smuggling in some sort of unknown cargo, possibly a weapon, into Colombia from Europe.”

“Tiger was sent to interrupt the convoy,” Coran added. “They succeeded in eliminating the terrorists but unfortunately…they were ambushed. Four of the team members were killed while their leader Damon Halliday was captured. Colombian Special Forces have already recovered the bodies of Tiger at the scene, although they had to quarantine the truck containing lethal chemicals.”

The news hit particularly Shiro, Coran and Allura, although the others felt neutral since they never heard about another Voltron team other than them. Damon Halliday to Coran was a close friend and a capable soldier with lots to tell. The news that Halliday got taken was hard to get over.

“Who took him?” Shiro asked.

“From what we’ve gathered, we believe Halliday was captured by the Colombian cartel Los Cruzados,” Kolivan answered. “The cartel consists of local triggermen who either used to serve in the army or law enforcement. They’re very ruthless and deadly and have been described as potentially the Medellín Cartel’s successor as they’re already considered to be narcoterrorists. They have murdered numerous government and military officials to the point where the government themselves are afraid to fight back.”

“Do we have a location on where they took Halliday?” Allura asked.

Kolivan shook his head. “No need for that. I already have a Ground Branch team boots on the ground searching for him. Your intel team found Halliday’s last known location. Hopefully he’s still alive by then.”

________________________________________

1300 Hours

Colombia

Matt Holt cut through some vines as he and his team ventured through the Colombian jungle. Their supervisor had already pinpointed the location of their objective at a shack somewhere in the jungle. From the skies, they had two analysts of Voltron watching the team through a stealth drone. Jem and Stacy watched from the feed as the Hunter team moved through the jungle, closing in on the destination.

“Hunter 1 to Zero, we have reached the target building but no signs of any hostiles. Are you positive that this is the building, over?”

“Yes, Hunter 1. Positive.” 

“It better be, out.” 

Just as he got off the comms, Jem sighed as he stared at the screen annoyed before turning to Stacy.

“This is like - the fifth time this Hunter 1 guy kept bugging us on whether the location is right or not. Didn’t his CIA mates make it clear to him?” Jem said.

“He didn’t seem too happy to be working with us.” Stacy replied.

“Yeah. You saw the way he glared at us for most of the time when we first met, right? I mean, what is his problem anyway?”

“Hell if I know, Jem.”

The team stayed at their position for a while, not moving from their spot.

“Matt, are we good to go?” Hunter 3 asked.

Sighing, Matt signaled his team to move. The two watched as Matt and his team approached the building as seen by their heat signatures. The team stacked up by the entrance with Hunter 2 tossing a flashbang through the door gap into the room. After the loud bang, the team stormed in with weapons raised as they prepared to open fire. However, no shots were fired and Jem noticed the building was empty. The team then began to sweep the area for hostiles.

“Clear!” Hunter 2 said.

“Clear on my end!” Hunter 3 followed up.

Jem and Stacy waited for Matt who was still checking the rooms without a word. 

“Hunter 1 to Zero, we’re seeing nothing here, over.” Matt hissed.

“Intel said there would be hostiles there, over.” 

“Well, the intel you got was fucking wrong. Just look how Voltron turned out.”

Jem noticed Matt sounded like he has resentment towards Voltron for whatever reason.

“Hey Matt! You better come look at this!” Hunter 2 called.

Matt and Hunter 3 went up to Hunter 2 who was in one of the rooms. Once they got there, the two noticed blood stains on plastic wrapping alongside chopped fingers on a bloodied table, presumably Halliday’s. 

“Seems like they were here,” Hunter 3 said. “Somehow they knew we were coming.”

Matt didn’t say anything but he simply sighed before turning to his team.

“Lets get the fuck out of here.”

[wftc141]

Art by @cynthrey

Before Allura, Shiro was in a relationship with CIA Case Officer Adam Smith. The two were secretly in love as they do not wish to destroy their career. Adam then suggested that they should leave their job and get married in Japan, though Shiro still unsure he wants that as he wants to continue fighting the endless War on Terror. In December 9, 2009, Shiro gets the news from a friend in the CIA that Adam was one of the victims who were killed by a Suicide Bomber in Camp Chapman. Shiro blames himself that he wish he could've saved him or at least got out of their jobs sooner. Shiro then gets his revenge as he took part of the Raid in Operation Neptune Spear where DEVGRU finally found and killed Osama Bin Laden. It doesn't make Shiro any better as Adam is still gone though he's still with him spiritually.

[wftc141]

Commission art by @eedeesarts

Cover poster for Act 2 of Voltron: Global Military Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism Unit

Based on this

[wftc141]

Art by @cynthrey

"Glad that you're back."

[wftc141]

Voltron: Global Military Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism Unit-Chapter 11: Revelation

1700 Hours

"So you're saying these guys aren't jihadists but Middle Eastern anarchist kind of terrorists?" Lance asked as paramedics gathered up the bodies from the safe house.

"Not just Middle Easterners," Allura corrected, turning back to the team. "It's an international terrorist organization intent on overthrowing governments worldwide."

"That's one helluva terrorist group."

"The militia we dealt with at the slum raid were also the Galra too, weren't they?" Pidge guessed.

"I'm afraid so," Allura nodded. "Cardozo confirmed it. We also have bad news from them. Earlier today, the Palácio do Planalto was just bombed before the attack on our safe house. There were no survivors."

The team were silent but Allura could read their shock and disgust and she could understand that. The Galra were willing to take innocent lives for a greater good.

"This is fucked up." Lance muttered.

"Where are they gonna strike next?" Keith asked.

She shook her head. "We're not sure."

"What about Shiro?"

Allura glanced at the floor in doubt, which was enough for an answer. She wasn't sure what Sendak was going to do with him but she prays that Shiro can hold his own.

Shiro was awakened by the bright illumination of light, flashing into his face. As his vision caught up, he noticed two looming figures standing over him. The only thing he remembered was getting hit by an explosion in the room before blacking out while trying to stop Sendak. Shiro found himself on a chair with his hands tied behind his back. He then got a clear look at the two figures' faces. Both were Middle Eastern and definitely part of the Galra. The two exchanged some words before one of them went up to Shiro.

"سگ آمریکایی! (American dog!)" the Galra terrorist yelled in farsi, punching Shiro.

The terrorist was then forcefully pulled away by the arm. Shiro's gaze locked onto Sendak as he stood next to the terrorist, holding his arm tightly.

"آیا از شما خواسته ام به او صدمه بزنید؟ (Did I ask you to harm him?)" he hissed in the same tongue.

"متاسفم ، برادر! (I'm sorry, brother!)" the Galra terrorist replied. "ما باید این سگ آمریکایی را حرف بزنیم! (We must make this American dog talk!)"

Sendak simply pulled out a pistol and shot the terrorist in the head. After ordering his partner to remove the body, Sendak turned back to Shiro.

"My apologies, Shirogane. I'm not here to harm someone who's treated me humanely." He said, holstering his pistol.

"It doesn't matter what you'll do to me." Shiro muttered, avoiding his gaze. "I'm already dead."

Sendak softly chuckled. He approached Shiro and stopped a couple feet away from him.

"I admire your courage but you have been misunderstood. I need you alive."

"Why?" Shiro growled. "Ain't I a liability? Ain't I just a soldier in your way?"

"You are...I'm impressed that your team managed to get this far but you're no use to us when you're dead."

Shiro refused to look Sendak in the eye. Whatever he was asking, he won't give in to his demands.

"You see Shirogane," Sendak said. "We're both warriors...we're both lions in a waging conflict riddled with deception. Our masters of war only see us as machines to fight pointless battles for empty glory. They sent me and my unit to Turkey to assassinate the prime minister so they can pin the blame on terrorists from their country.

It was a dirty operation because my master didn't want the Turks to step foot into our country. They had us pose as Al-Qaeda terrorists and ordered us to start a mass shooting at a football game where the prime minister was. I've killed so many men, women and children that I've lost count…"

Sendak paused before continuing.

"You know, those soldiers I killed in Iraq destroyed the hometown where I used to live. My father was trying to surrender when they shot him. My mother and sisters...they were raped before they were killed. I murdered them all when I found out what they did and all of a sudden...the government marked me as a terrorist. I am what I am because of what they did and I have no shame for that."

Shiro looked up where he faced Sendak's back of his head. He could understand his pain but that alone wasn't enough to forgive him.

"This does not change that you're responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent people. You killed my team and my brother."

"Hmm. I understand," Sendak turned around to approach Shiro. "Which is why I'm not going to kill you. In fact, you have a choice. You can join us and together we'll bring those government tyrants to their knees..."

His gloved hand then latched onto the back of Shiro's head and forcefully turned it to his direction, locking gazes with each other. Shiro glared intensely at the eyes of his enemy.

"...or you can be my prisoner and watch the government fall and your country burn."

Shiro remained silent. Just staring at his eyes makes him want to spit at him. He was sure as hell not willing to work with Sendak. However, keeping his mouth closed may have saved his life. Sendak let go of his head and stood up.

"I'll leave you to think about it," Sendak said, heading for the door where one of the terrorists was waiting. "I expect an answer by the time I return."

The door slammed shut and the lights went off. Shiro looked down to the ground. He can't let this slide. Sendak is not going to get away this time. But first, he needed to get the zip-ties off his wrists. They were surprisingly tighter this time.

1800 Hours

The first thing he saw as he slowly opened his eyes was the pale-coloured ceiling. Jem only remembered getting shot and passing out while getting dragged through a chaotic shootout by Stacy. It felt different to his field missions while he was with Interpol. Jem felt the dry insides of his mouth as he licked over it. He needed water.

As his vision began to clear up, Jem found himself on a bed with curtains surrounding him. He must've been taken to a nearby hospital. Jem helped himself to sit up, only to tense up. His waist hurts like hell, much as if a soccer ball hit his ribs. Looking down, he noticed he was in a gown as well as some needles injected to his hand. He couldn't lift up the gown to see where his wound was but hopefully it didn't puncture anything fatal. But after all, he was the youngest and the most vulnerable of the family.

Suddenly, the curtains opened, jolting him. Jem cursed, spinning towards the source of the sound while holding his arms in defence before noticing Stacy standing at the curtains with a water bottle on her free hand. Judging by her face, Jem must've surprised her too when he almost got scared. Something is giving him déjà vu vibes.

"He-," he uttered. "Bloody hell, you scared me."

Stacy snorted, letting slip a smirk. "Five years and you still haven't changed. How're you feeling?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Hurts when I sit up."

Stacy approached him and sat on the stool by the bedside. "The anaesthetic must've worn out while you were asleep. You want water?"

Jem nodded eagerly and took the bottle from her, downing about half of the water inside. He made sure not to move too much to avoid friction from the needles injected into his hands. He let out a sigh of relief as he took the bottle out of his mouth and handed it back to Stacy.

"Thanks, Stace. You're a lifesaver."

Her smile grew as she took the bottle off his hand. Jem couldn't help but stare at her short, ash blonde hair accompanied by the eyebrow piercing on her right eyebrow. He at first didn't recognise her when they met again five years later while Coran introduced him to Voltron. Still, he missed that long hair of hers and the feeling of running his hands through that silky sensation but changes happen in the end.

"You know..." Jem said, breaking the silence. "This is...some reunion."

Stacy glanced at him.

"I mean, it's been like a week since we met after five years and shit happened so fast, you know? Like, we caught a leader of a terrorist organisation and then we got attacked and lost him and I got shot and almost died. Crazy, huh?"

Jem began to titter and Stacy chuckled with him. "Yeah, it's crazy."

The moment of letting out their stress stopped. Turning towards her, Jem noticed her grin was still on as she stopped chuckling. Her eyes however give Jem a different meaning. Silence befell. Both were unable to think of anything to say. Then Jem figured something out that he didn't get to ask between the week.

"How's things?" The way he said it felt forced.

"Hmm?" Stacy looked up.

"I mean, we haven't seen each other since we…you know…"

"Broke up?"

"Y-yeah," Jem nodded, hiding the awkwardness in his voice."You must've been doing well, right?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

"So...you got into the FBI, right?"

She nodded again. Stacy always wanted to be an analyst after graduation and was quite fond of the FBI whenever they talked about their careers.

"I almost didn't, actually" Stacy said. "I messed up the final test at the Academy but fortunately, there was some sort of error in the system so they let me off on this one."

"Really? What happened?"

"Dunno. But anyways, I was an ace at my job. Caught a lot of criminals, including that one terrorist that the FBI has been trying to catch for twenty years. You should see the look on his face when he found out I was part of the team who raided his hideout. Still doesn't believe women are capable of anything."

Stacy began to chuckle. Jem did the same but then stopped himself.

"W-Wait, you were involved in the raid?" He asked.

"Oh, right. Forgot to tell you," she replied. "I also applied as a field agent halfway during my five years there. I had to keep myself in shape and work out and take up a different diet. It was a pain in the ass but those years definitely paid off."

Jem glanced at her and noticed there were some changes in her body. Her arms were slightly toned and her shoulders fit the shirt well. Honestly, compared to his skinny build, she was quite in shape. Although Jem wasn't that skinny, he still felt inferior to her build. In other words, he was kind of envious.

"How about you, Jem?" Stacy asked. "Anything interesting happened? Apart from that raid while you were in the Intelligence Corps."

Jem sighed. Other than taking part in the field, nothing big happened in both the Intelligence Corps and Interpol. Jem leaned back onto his pillow behind him.

"Nothing much. Just paperwork and coding, the usual."

Stacy slightly nodded. Another pause between the two. Stacy then got up from the stool.

"Well, since you're fine now, I'll just head on out. Coran's waiting for me." She said.

"Y-Yeah. Got it," Jem muttered before realizing something. "W-wait! Stacy! I have something to tell you."

Stopping near the curtains, Stacy turned back to him. "What's up?"

Even though she was his ex, Jem still felt like his chest was going to burst. He needed to say those words.

"Thank you," He said. "For saving me."

A smile spread across her face. "You're welcome. Just don't...well, get shot again, okay?"

Jem snorted. "Promise."

"The way you said it is kinda making me concerned." Stacy blinked.

"Relax. I swear, I won't."

She nodded and turned away, heading for the door. "Alright. As long as you keep your end of the bargain. I'm heading out now. See ya."

"Later."

And then she left. Jem heard the door close as footsteps distances away from the room. Letting out a sigh, Jem placed his hand over his chest where he could feel his pulse punching its way out before slowly calming down. Were those feelings back in highschool resurfacing? He thought he had let it go ever since then. Or maybe they were just hibernating for years until he met Stacy again? Whatever it was, Jem couldn't figure out why. He slapped his hands over his face and groaned.

"Why now, Stacy? Why'd you gotta make me go through this again?"

While following Lance and Pidge, Keith and the two noticed Hunk just coming out of a room with one of his hands in his pocket.

"Yo, Hunk!" Lance called, grabbing his attention. "Where've ya been, ese? I had a feeling that you ran away."

"Lance!" Pidge and Keith hissed at the same time, prompting Lance to raise his hands.

"I'm joking."

"It's fine," Hunk assured. "I just got off a call with Shay and got some more information about the Galra Empire. She told me who they really are-"

"Yeah, we know they're buncha anarchists." Lance said.

"But there's a reason why the Galra is operating in Brazil."

"Which is?"

"The president has scheduled a meeting with the presidents of Colombia, and Venezuela for tomorrow morning. They're planning to discuss about a potential combined military and defence agency in response to the spike of crime and terrorism across their countries."

Pidge and Lance were surprised to hear it. They did hear about the meeting between the presidents but there wasn't any info about why.

"The news didn't say anything about this." Keith said.

"Sounds overkill for these three to come up with something like this." Pidge added.

"Kinda makes sense when you think about the stats on both crime and terrorism."

"And the Galra sees this as oppression." Hunk said.

"Wait, how does a journalist like her have access to information like that?" Lance asked.

"She has her ways apparently."

"Also, wouldn't the meeting be cancelled? Did they not get the news that a Brazilian government building was just bombed?"

"No they're still gonna go with the meeting despite what happened to Palácio do Planalto. She isn't sure about when or where the meeting's gonna happen but it's only a matter of time before the Galra begins their attack on the presidents."

"Team?" Allura called, grabbing everyone's attention. "I have some bad news."

The leader stepped in with the group, forming a circle.

"I just got off the phone with the higher ups...They want us to leave Brazil and return to London immediately."

Allura could tell nobody was happy with the news as she looked at the team's faces. She wasn't happy with it either. They'll be letting the Galra run amok and take more lives as part of their goal and worse, execute Shiro.

"We can't go back."

The team looked at Keith who was the first to break the silence.

"We can't!" He raised his voice. "Do they even know what happened to Shiro? Not only that, the Galra is going to attack the presidents and nobody knows but us! We can't just sit aside and let them take more innocent lives, let alone leave Shiro with the Galra. Somebody's gotta do something and we're their only hope. If we let them kill the presidents, what do you think's gonna happen to all of us?"

There was silence. It was the first time they heard Keith let out an outburst like that.

"He's right," Pidge spoke up. "We need to do something."

"I'm in too. I can't walk away on this either." Hunk said.

Lance hesitated for one moment. "Fuck it. I'm always up for some action."

To them, they assumed Allura's planning to give up and return to base, leaving Shiro to die. But she was impressed that they were willing to risk their lives to stop a catastrophe.

"I never said we were going back to headquarters."

The team looked at her, surprised.

"To hell with orders from the superiors," Allura said. "As far as we know, they could be on this like General Sanda. From now on, this is an unsanctioned operation. This means we won't have any support and we'll be disobeying commands which may get Voltron shut down and court marshalled. If any of you want to step down, you're free to do so right away."

Nobody said anything. They were all willing to fight back.

"We're not going to let the Galra commit another attack and we sure as hell are getting Shiro back."

The team nodded with their decision being final. There was no going back from this but if it's to ensure their leader is with them, nothing matters. That is, if Shiro's still alive at this rate.

"So what's the plan, Major?" Keith said.

"Брат, как поживает заключенный? (Brother, how's the prisoner doing, over?)" Fakhoury asked through the radio.

The only response that returned was the ear wrenching static. Barad was supposed to keep watch of the Voltron infidel Sendak wanted. He hasn't responded for the past thirty minutes and at this point, Fakhoury was sure Barad was slacking off as usual.

Letting out a hoarse sigh, Fakhoury got off his chair and snatched the AK-104 off the table before leaving the room. The gun itself was actually more efficient and comfortable to use than the old AK47s he and the insurgents used to carry. The Galra sure knows their weapons. Fakhoury headed downstairs, taking in the sweaty stench of the Brazilian streets. The city may be impressive but they will be leaving a message for the government so they could prepare for their fall.

Fakhoury arrived at the room where the Voltron infidel was. Barad wasn't at the door. Where could he be now, he wondered. He knew Barad wasn't fond of doing patrols and keeping watch to the point he would wander off to have a smoke. Fakhoury let out a sigh and got out his radio.

"Барад, где, черт возьми, ты? (Barad, where the hell are you, over?)" he asked before pausing.

Fakhoury thought he heard his voice from the room. Now he was getting confused. Without thinking it through, Fakhoury opened the door which for some reason was unlocked.

"(Bara-)"

He froze, holding his breath short. There, lying on the floor, was Barad and the chair that the Voltron infidel was supposed to be on was empty and tumbled. Fakhoury rushed towards Barad and bent down to check on him. His wide, soulless eyes stared at the ceiling as he checked for a pulse. Fakhoury noticed red marks over his neck, fresh and warm. He was too focused on his friend's demise to radio in Sendak.

Standing up, Fakhoury felt a strange aura behind him. He spun around and glanced across the room. There was no sign of the infidel at all but Fakhoury still felt like he wasn't alone. He wasn't sure what to do now. Turning around to the body, he noticed the barrel of a pistol aiming at him from the side of Barad's head.

He pulled the trigger, letting the loud bang rip across the room. Shiro heard the round hit the terrorist and pushed the body off him. Pulling himself up, he approached the wounded terrorist holding his neck while stumbling back and gurgling in his own blood. Shiro fired two more well-placed rounds to his chest, enough to make him trip over while dodging the terrorist's misfired rounds.

Once Shiro made sure he wasn't getting back up, he flicked the safety of the Glock 18 back on and rubbed his bruised wrists. It stung like hell but it was the only way to get off these zip ties. He approached the terrorist he strangled just after breaking free of the zip ties and took the suppressed AK-104 and his plate carrier fitted with ammo.

After putting his plate carrier on, Shiro then heard faint footsteps from outside. His prediction was correct. Raising his rifle, Shiro walked out of the room and cautiously checked his surroundings as he moved down the hallway. The footsteps closed in from the corner and the last terrorist appeared. Shiro let single fire rounds rip and dropped the terrorist before he could react. Approaching the body, he fired two more rounds to the head just for precaution.

As he went upstairs from where the terrorist came from, he noticed the rusty, metallic stairs and the industrial-like setting surrounding him. Shiro would assume this is a warehouse that the Galra set up as a hideout. Arriving at the upper floor, he found a room with an open door. Entering the room, he made sure to check every corner throughout the room before confirming it was clear. Shiro's eyes then landed on something that caught his attention. At the very middle of the room among the tables filled with weapons and ammunition was a wide board with everything stuck together in one piece. There were sticky notes and strings connected to the pins holding up photos.

Shiro was able to read the entire board to realise how capable the Galra was. They knew everything about Voltron. Their tactics, their movement, everything. That was how they got the upper hand. The ambushes in Pakistan, Dubai and Qatar were all tests to prove their exploitation.

Shiro then read the rest of the board and noticed a photograph of a building which looked to be the Palâcio do Planalto with a red X crossed over it. The Galra must've done something to the building. Shiro looked over and found three separate photographs of men in suits with flags attached to it and red X's crossed over each of their faces, as well as a cutout of a newspaper article in English. There was Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia. These three are the presidents of those countries. Shiro needed to know what their relation is to Galra.

He took the newspaper cutout off the board and read it. It seemed to be about some sort of 'secret' meeting between the presidents which was cancelled due to the bombing of the Planalto in Brasilia. The word 'cancelled' was circled in red with the word 'LIES'. Then Shiro noticed another photograph of a building which looked to have been taken recently with a red circle over it. The building itself was strangely different compared to the Planalto. Was it their secret hideout? He noticed a sticky note attached next to it with the address written on it. Shiro realized that the Galra must've seen through the cover story of the meeting and somehow figured out where the presidents were going to be at. He then noticed another sticky note saying:

'Tomorrow

9:30 AM

We strike'

There was only one final conclusion to this. The Galra is going to kill the presidents and possibly abolish the countries' system.

Thankfully, Shiro found a phone lying on the table as he frantically searched for a way for contact. They need to know this. Shiro dialed Allura's number and held the phone to his ear. The beeps repeated multiple times as a couple of seconds had passed. Shiro's fingers tapped on the table as he anxiously waited.

"Pick up, pick up." He muttered.

The beeping stopped shortly.

"Hello?" Allura answered.

"This is Black Lion." Shiro responded.

There was a brief pause. "Shiro? Is that you?" "Yeah. Listen, Sendak and his men are gonna attack the presidents-"

"I know. We're sending the Lions there to stop the attack. Where are you-"

Shiro needed to get his message through. "Do you know where the presidents are meeting at?"

A brief pause filled the air. "Not yet. We're getting Coran and his analysts to pinpoint their location. You found something?"

"Yeah, I'm looking at it right now. They have a secret hideout in Goiânia and the Galra must've figured out their location. That must be where the presidents are going to be tomorrow. I got the address too."

"Alright. I'll relay this to the team. What's the address?"

Shiro took the sticky note off the board and read the address aloud. "R. 15, 32-148, St. Central."

"Got it," Allura said. "I'm gonna send the team to pick you up. Where are you right now?"

"Don't worry about me. I'll meet the team there."

As soon as he hung up, Shiro immediately crushed the phone with his boot, making sure the chip inside was destroyed with the phone. Now to get out of this place and find the team. As he made his way out of the room, Shiro turned around to look at the board one more time. The Galra were smart and dangerous. Possibly more dangerous than Al Qaeda or ISIS, especially with their motives and views. But no matter their perspectives, Voltron's purpose is to take down and prevent terrorism around the world and that is what Shiro and his team is going to do. Looking away, Shiro left the room and set off to put a stop to Sendak's mission.

[wftc141]

Art by @doku-doki

Lance and Katie's off duty vacation

[wftc141]

Arts by @cynthrey

Character sheets of the best parents of Voltron, Major Allura Brooks and Commander Takashi Shirogane for my story, Voltron: Global Military Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism Unit.

[wftc141]

Voltron: Global Military Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism Unit-Chapter 10: The Godfather

1500 Hours

Goiânia, Brazil

Arriving at their hideout, the team with the BOPE parked their vehicles inside the garage. Keith and Lance got out first with a bagged and cuffed Sendak in front of them. The rest got out and headed off to their business while Allura approached Keith and Lance.

"You two alright?" Allura asked.

"We're good." Keith nodded.

"Glad to hear. Take him to the room."

The two then left the garage with Sendak. Allura watched the two head upstairs before noticing Shiro staring where she was looking at. He seemed relieved and distracted in his own mind.

"Hey." Allura called.

Shiro snapped out of whatever he was on and glanced at her.

"You alright?" Allura asked.

"I'm trying to be," Shiro sighed. "Hard part is that I need to be in the room with him."

"You don't have to do this."

"No, I have to. It seems like he only wants me. Nobody else."

Allura wasn't sure about this. Sendak was one of the people that would get into Shiro's mind and twist his state to the point of snapping. He always wanted retaliation for the death of his brother. But Allura is his friend. She knows his other side more than any other person. She trusts him to keep his head on track.

Keith watched as the medical officer finished up on his checkup. There was a bruised mark at the center of his chest where the bullet hit him. The bruise only hurts a bit, but it didn't look fatal. She already finished checking his bruise mark, but she was tending to his other parts in case there was any damage.

"Seems to me that nothing is broken but I do advise that you wash the bruise and rub some Arnica gel if you want it to heal quickly."

"Thanks, doctor."

The officer then gives Keith an Arnica bottle before heading for the door. As Keith stood up, the door opened again, and Lance entered the room. His eyes fell onto Keith's bruise, prompting a surprised look from Lance.

"Damn, ese. That's a nasty mark." He said.

"It'll heal." Keith replied as he slipped on his shirt.

"Well, I'm just here to thank you for letting me take that sniper out. Next time, don't get yourself shot and make yourself look more emo than you are right now. I'd rather not catch the edgy flu you have."

Keith nodded as Lance left the room. He was starting to become a little nicer than usual. Maybe Pidge did put some sense into him. Then, something came to his mind.

...make yourself look more emo than you are right now. I'd rather not catch the edgy flu you have.

Keith looked up, baffled. Did Lance just call him an emo?

Shiro opened the door, leading to the grayscale room for interrogation. The murky colours surrounding the room with the window on the other side. Shiro turned to the middle of the room, facing Sendak on a chair. The bag was still on his head and his hands hid under the table. Shiro approached Sendak and pulled the bag off.

Sendak's eyes then shifted towards him. Those piercing eyes that remind Shiro of what he had to deal with a long time ago. Sendak wasn't breaking his gaze off Shiro as he moved. He kept his mind under control. He can't risk it hurting him. This wasn't part of Voltron's conduct. Shiro sat down on the chair across Sendak, facing him in the eye.

"So you remember me?" Shiro said, recalling Sendak's words from Rio.

Sendak simply nodded. "Takashi Shirogane, one of the west's fiercest warriors and a capable leader...who failed to keep his brother and his team alive."

Just the reminder of his team and his brother made Shiro push himself to the breaking point where he would just get his hands on Sendak and shut that mouth of his for good.

"And you're Sendak al-Qazi, the Godfather," Shiro growled. "Ex-Special Forces of the Afghan National Army Commando Corps, working with the Islamic State. You were responsible for killing your own comrades and a team of Green Berets in Iraq."

Sendak chuckled softly. The left corner of his smirk raised into a sharp point.

"You know me well. I'll give you that. But there's one thing you were mistaken with. I never worked with the Islamic State. The Galra Empire was never part of the Jihad organization."

"And yet you've committed terror acts on government officials and innocent people."

"Governments yes, but civilians are necessary for collateral damage. They're the essentials of what war truly is."

Shiro pieced his words and the whole motivation together. His eyes then lit up. It was all coming together.

"So the Galra's goal is to wipe out all governments." Shiro deduced.

"Correct," Sendak answered. "We're not just Middle Easterners. We're Europeans, Latinos...Americans. We are a nation who wants our homeland to be free from fascism. This is the Galra's way to live and to die for."

Shiro was surprised that Sendak would give away their entire motivation for these attacks, despite their heinous nature that gives the impression that they wouldn't betray their comrades. But still. It doesn't give them any sense to attack. They're still terrorists after all.

Allura watched from the window as Shiro faced Sendak. She can't hear from the outside since the room is soundproof but she can read Shiro's mood. He was trying his best to keep composed while Sendak was trying to one-up him. Allura was more concerned with how Shiro would react if Sendak managed to get into his head. They need answers. How was the Galra able to ambush them in the way Voltron could? Hopefully Coran and his analyst are able to find something.

"Ma'am."

Allura turned around and noticed Colbert standing by the door.

"News, Colbert?"

"Yes ma'am," Colbert answered. "General Sanda is here and she needs to speak with you."

Ellen Sanda? What was she doing here? Something felt off with her presence but she was also the superior for Voltron and Allura works under her hand. She sighed.

"I'll be right there."

By the time Shiro was interrogating Sendak, the Brazilian forces had already left the hideout. Stacy headed into the large room where the Voltron team waited alongside the captured Galra agent and the NATO officials. General Sanda stood at the middle of the group. Stacy didn't recognize the other two, although she knew Colonel Sablan, who stood beside Sanda, for that weird posture. He works with Sanda as well and people knew him as one who agreed with everything Sanda said, even if it were to be about sending people to their deaths. Allura eventually caught up and met the NATO officers.

"General Sanda. What brings you here, ma'am?" Allura asked.

"We heard that Voltron has finally captured the leader of the Galra Empire, Sendak al-Qazi." Sanda said.

"Yes ma'am, we did."

"That's good news. We will be taking him out of your hands and all members of Voltron will be stationed back to London."

Stacy glanced at Allura who was confused. She knew Allura wouldn't be one to stand down especially after what they've been through. They still needed answers. Stacy glanced at Sanda who didn't look concerned with anything.

"I beg your pardon?" Allura said.

"Major, it would be best that you let us do our job." Sablan said.

"Is it really your job?" Stacy heard Coran say.

The team turned towards Coran's voice. He and Jem walked up to Sablan and Sanda, glaring particularly at Sanda.

"Lieutenant Smythe, this is none of your concern." Sablan said.

"It's funny how everytime we get one step closer to the Galra, they somehow know who we are and know our every move. My only best guess is that one of the higher ups has been exchanging information with the Galra."

Sanda scoffed. "Those are some baseless allegations, Lieutenant."

"Not allegations," Coran then pulled out his pistol, aiming at Sanda much to her alarm. "They're facts."

Everybody else in the room froze. The other two officers pulled their guns out but Santos and Yeun beat them to it.

"Lieutenant Symthe, are you mad?!" Sanda questioned.

"I could be but at least I'm not a traitor!"

The officials were confused as well as the Voltron operatives, although Allura seemed to be siding with Coran. Sanda was taken back by his comment while maintaining her position. Sablan wasn't having any of it.

"What the hell are you on about, Lieutenant?" Sablan demanded.

"Me and Corporal Gold did some digging into your private files and we found out that General Sanda has been giving information to the Galra," Coran turned his gaze towards Sanda. "You were slick enough to try and hire bounty hunter Sebastian Rose to capture Sendak so that he wouldn't tell us who was giving information about us."

Suddenly, Stacy felt the floor tremble to a muffled explosion. Everybody looked around, confused.

"The hell was that?" Lance questioned.

"That came from the interrogation room." Allura muttered.

Suddenly, another explosion erupted and the door flung open.

"EVERYONE GET DOWN!" Coran yelled.

Everybody was already scrambling for cover as soon as masked agents stormed in and opened fire. Stacy slid towards a couch and hid behind it. The cotton inside the leather couch popped and flew across the room. She noticed Sanda, Sablan and the officers on the floor, bullet holes engraved onto them. They weren't lucky in the end. As Stacy looked around for Jem, she caught sight of him on the floor holding his waist. Blood was soaking his hands as he gripped onto it tightly.

Stacy quickly rushed up to him through the gunfire and grabbed hold of him.

"Hang on Jem! I got you!" She said as she pulled his body.

Suddenly, a bullet pierced her upper arm. Winding in pain, Stacy ignored it as she dragged Jem behind the couch. Once he was out of the open, Stacy checked her wound on her arm. She held onto the hole, holding back the blood loss while letting out a sharp breath through her gritted teeth. Looking up, Stacy noticed Santos firing back with his rifle and peered through the side. He managed to take out one of the agents before taking cover.

"Colbert, you good?!" Santos called out from across.

"Give me your gun." Stacy replied.

"Colbert, you know I'm not authorized to-"

"Give me your fucking gun!"

Santos was taken back by her sudden retort. He felt like hesitating but eventually, he took out his sidearm and tossed it to Stacy. Once she caught it, Stacy breathed and aimed through the side of the couch. She opened fire, taking out an agent. Two precise shots hit the torso. Stacy then moved over and shot down the next agent. Two shots. One to the neck and another to the face. Stacy took cover. Glancing over, she noticed Santos staring at her with eyes that shout 'you didn't tell me you were this good at shooting'.

"We have him! We have him!" A voice from one of the agent's comms said.

Shortly, the agents began to retreat and ran out of the room. The Voltron team rushed after them. Stacy helped Jem up to his feet and carried him after the team. Leaving the room, the Voltron team looked around for the agents, but they were nowhere to be seen.

"What the fuck just happened?" Santos said.

Stacy was just as confused as the others. Before she could gather up her thoughts, Allura was running off but not without having Pidge and Momoa following her. Something must've reminded Allura about something, possibly the interrogation room.

Arriving at the interrogation room, Allura froze as she stared out at the window. The room was empty save for a large hole blown on the wall that led outside. She couldn't recollect her thoughts in the midst of the chaos and the tension. But one thing left her more fearful than for her position. Not just the fact Sendak's being rescued by the agents.

Shiro was nowhere to be seen.

[wftc141]

Voltron: Global Military Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism Unit-Chapter 9: Kingfish

1300 Hours

02/13/18

Goiânia, Brazil

While the analysts continued to go through intel on Sendak's location, the Voltron Lions spent the rest of the night at a local pub for some quality time together. Lance, Hunk and Keith competed against each other in pool while Pidge watched with her glass of Coke. Hunk however stopped the entire game with a story of his life when Lance asked him.

"So you're saying you set off a fire bomb during senior high?" Lance repeated.

"Yep," Hunk answered. "My stupid ass thought it was a good idea to light a firecracker with spray paint in the bathroom. I was a firework enthusiast back then. I ended up with a three day suspension but somebody from the Army was impressed about it and recommended me to the military. So I took that offer after graduation. Got into the EOD for a couple of years before I joined the Rangers."

"That's one way to get noticed."

"So, how many bombs did you defuse while you were in the army?" Keith asked.

Hunk paused for a moment while his eyes remained fixated. Lance lifted his beer to his mouth and took a swig.

"Well...I would say 50 and during my time with the Rangers...250."

Lance suddenly spewed his drink out, spilling it onto the pool table. Other bar goers glanced at them in confusion while Keith and Pidge were equally surprised.

"250 bombs?!" Lance blurted out.

"Holy shit, dude." Keith muttered.

Hunk chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah. While we were on tour, there was this Taliban, don't remember his name. Had a record of planting and detonating IEDs on Afghan troops, including a Blackwater patrol. He planted one next to where me and my unit were while we were on overwatch. I managed to find that bomb and disarm it. And that was not all. When me and my team evacuated from the building we were in, the guy was stupid enough to check on his IED. Once he got there...let's just say he now knows what it feels like to get blown up by his own bomb."

The team already surprised and astonished than they usually were. Lance in particular was confounded and invested for more.

"Yo, that was pure badassery," Lance said, pointing at Hunk with his beer. "You gotta tell us more while we get some more drinks."

Lance and Hunk moved away from the pool table and headed for the bar, leaving Keith and Pidge by themselves. Keith watched as Lance slapped Hunk's back, laughing his head off.

"Wish we had him in our Battalion." Pidge commented, grabbing Keith's attention.

"Yeah but you forgot our C.O was an asshole and would probably be less welcome about Hunk." Keith replied.

"If he saw what Hunk did, he'll probably piss himself and would rather hand his leadership to him."

Keith nodded, silently agreeing before looking away.

"So, how's things with Lance?" Pidge's asked.

"Hm?" Keith glanced at her who was smirking in a teasing manner, in which Keith wasn't fond of.

"You two seem to be getting along really well."

He sighed and looked away once again. "Yeah...he's alright."

"Oh my goodness. It is true! Keith Yeun has admitted that he likes Lance!"

Keith was unable to control his smile before letting a chuckle slip out of his mouth. "Stop."

They went at it for a moment before calming down. Keith then glanced at Pidge's who took a sip of her drink. There was something he wanted to ask. Tensions with NATO is potentially going to escalate if nothing's done to persuade them in withdrawing their decision to shut them down. But Keith felt like there were ulterior motives inside, besides their experiences.

"What's your opinion on NATO?" He asked.

Pidge lowered her glass, sighing. Her eyes gazed forward without a glimpse on Keith.

"We've made some mistakes but that doesn't mean Voltron should be to blame for," She answered, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "Either NATO's scared or they just don't trust us."

"Makes sense. Hopefully it won't come to this and they'll allow us to go after the real enemies before more casualties arise."

"Amen to that."

Suddenly, Keith felt his pocket buzz. It was another text message to report back. He got his phone out and read the message before looking at Pidge's who also received one too. They both finished their drinks and headed for the door, alongside Hunk and Lance who had just paid for their drinks. One part of Keith's mind thought that the meeting would be bad news but they'll have to see for themselves.

1320 Hours

The team arrived at the hideout where Shiro and Allura were both waiting for them with Colbert accompanying them. They took the seats allocated for them, facing the board full of intel and pinned photographs. Once they were seated, Allura began her briefing.

"We finally have confirmation on Sendak's whereabouts," Allura said. "The satellite pictures we were provided has found him at the favelas in Rio de Janeiro with his Galra forces where a local militia is assisting them."

"What is this, Modern Warfare? Are they taking it straight off the game or somethin'?" Lance asked.

"Dunno," Colbert shrugged. "That part of the slums is a haven for shady business and organizations as there's no chance you'll find a good place for cover. The locals who live there may join the fight too and eventually vanish off the surface. This militia isn't a bunch of thugs. They're trained killers. They were responsible for multiple murder counts and all that bad shit for the past ten years. It's been giving the military a headache in dealing with them, especially with the casualties they suffered."

"The BOPE were more than happy to lend support and they will be taking point to lead us to the militia's district. We'll need to be quiet on this because the militia does use locals as spotters."

"What about the situation with NATO?" Keith asked.

Everybody turned to Allura and Shiro who were silent. There was still nothing they could find or hear from as of yet.

"We're still working on that," Shiro said. "For now, our mission is bringing Sendak in."

The team began to file out of the room, leaving Shiro and Allura together.

"Hopefully Coran and his analysts know what they're doing." Shiro commented.

"I'm sure they're getting to the bottom of this," She replied. "We just need to bring in Sendak and then we'll focus on the rest."

"You're right."

Allura glanced at Shiro who looked as though he was concerned about something.

"Will you be alright?" Allura asked.

"I will," Shiro answered. "We just have to reach him before he does anything else."

1333 Hours

Coran hung up on the phone and let out a sigh. The damp, lukewarm air floated across the room with the ceiling lights barely bright. The others were already getting themselves ready for another operation that isn't NATO-approved yet a worthy risk. Coran can hear the keyboard tapping near him where Gold was.

"Sir," Gold suddenly called out. "I'm in the servers."

Turning around, he approached Gold who was fixated on the bright screen.

"You're in?" Coran asked.

"Yep, only got a short period of time before they find out who's snooping around."

"That's all the time we need."

Gold began to tap away. Coran watched the screen as he scrolled and changed tab by tab. His experience with the Intelligence Corps and Interpol did pay off after all. Gold was one of those focused and dedicated people Coran knew back in the day. Although he maintained an easy-going attitude outside of work, Gold was quite the magic when Coran first met him. Shortly, Gold stopped typing.

"Found it, sir." He said.

Coran leaned over for a closer view. The screen showed several files inside a folder involving Voltron. There was a lot of files which could contain something useful. Coran ordered him to get the files copied and Gold was already on it. He continued to tap on the keyboard, getting all the files in their drive.

"What is Codename Osiris?" Gold asked.

Coran leaned forward and looked at where the cursor was on. There was a file document titled 'Codename: Osiris'.

"That was the name of our mission in Prague…" Coran muttered before shaking his head. "I don't think it matters. Just get everything copied and we'll sort them out later."

Gold nodded while seemingly disappointed about the response. As he got on with his job, Coran couldn't help but wonder about the operation in Prague. Was there something off behind the reason for the operation?

0700 Hours

02/14/18

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The Voltron team were immediately greeted with the bright, golden sunrise from the distance as soon as they got off. Dressed in full combat gear to match with their fellow BOPE soldiers, they followed the nine-man team taking point through the cramped streets. The BOPE seemed to know more about the favela more than Voltron does, taking them through areas that aren't usually open to attacks. But the team as always, was accompanied by their recon drone hovering above them with thermal lens.

The streets were eerily quieter than usual, as described by their team leader Cardozo. The shops and houses were barred shut and the windows were pitch black. Shiro glanced around the empty pathway they were on while still keeping his guard up. He couldn't help but feel as if they were being lured into a trap. No favela would be this quiet, even for a place that is infested with armed killers. But the locals at this time would still be fast asleep. Shiro briefly glanced at Keith who was beside him sharing that unsettling feeling.

As the team moved forward into the darker area, Shiro looked up to the rooftops where the buildings cut the sun off. He could feel his heart pacing but he had to keep calm, no matter what.

"You think they would be nice to offer some breakfast? Cos' I'm a little starving." Lance whispered, tugging his shirt collar.

"Santos, focus." Shiro replied.

The team continued to walk down the path in the midst of dead silence. They felt like prey walking into the den of the predators. Something was already off. But they couldn't tell what it was. Once they reached another street, everybody's comm buzzed.

"Lions and Apex 5, you got contacts above you from both sides!" Allura warned.

By the time they heard the news, gunfire erupted from above like a supercell. Everybody was dashing for cover, even though there was not much to hide from. The team lost two BOPE soldiers to the militia. Shiro dived behind an old truck with Cardozo as bullets hailed against it while the others are scattered around the street.

"Seriously? No breakfast?" Lance joked through the gunfire.

"Not now, Lance!" Keith replied.

Shiro risked a peek through the windows to count about a handful of militants with Soviet weapons on each roof before firing back. He managed to shoot one of them trying to load an RPG, causing it to discharge and blow up the entire roof he was on alongside the militants near him. Debris began to scatter around the street and the team began to fight back. Shiro quickly changed mags as Cardozo approached him.

"My men will stay here and hold these Filhos da putas off! You go find the target!"

"Got it," Shiro nodded. "Lions, fall out on me! Apex 1 will stay and hold these guys off!"

The team began to cross the intersection and headed down the alley as the gunfire behind them continued to rumble throughout the favela. They advanced down the narrow hill while reloading their weapons.

"Zero to Black Lion, Kingfish is at the red building near the soccer field southeast."

Shiro said into his comm. "Copy, Zero. Out."

As they reached the alleyway, a loud crack from a distance erupted and Keith fell backwards. Sniper fire. Shiro and the group quickly took cover as another shot went for them, hitting a car windshield nearby.

"Keith!" Pidge's called out.

He was still clinging to his chest where he was hit, gritting his teeth to the pain. Keith was not to move so the sniper wouldn't focus on him. He could still feel the 7.62 round to his plate carrier. All he could do was cough out short, detached breaths. Shiro noticed Keith reach for his comm.

"Sn-sniper...400 yards front...sc-scope flash from the center window of the blue house."

Shiro glanced at Lance who was immediately on it. He positioned his HK416 with the sniper scope on the car he was hiding behind and scoped out for the sniper. He calculated his shot for 3 seconds before pulling the trigger. The flash from the window disappeared and he noticed the rifle fall off the window.

"He's down!" Lance called out.

The team got out of cover and quickly set up a perimeter around Keith. Shiro and Hunk kept watch while Lance and Pidge checked on Keith.

"Keith you good?" Lance asked, lending him a hand.

He didn't hesitate to grab it, although his chest still hurts. "Yep, thanks for that."

Shiro approached Keith and checked his plate carrier for the bullet wound.

"How bad is it?" He asked.

"Its okay," Keith assured, tapping the bullet area. "Only hit the plate. Nothing fatal."

Shiro nodded, relieved of his safety. Without wasting anymore time, the team continued their way to Sendak's location.

Allura tapped into Shiro's group after watching the feed of them taking cover from gunfire.

"Zero to Black Lion, status report, over."

"Black Lion to Zero, Red Lion was hit by a sniper round but the shot wasn't fatal. Heading towards the location, over." Shiro replied on comms.

"Copy Black Lion. Out."

Allura then changed channels to the BOPE team. They were still covering fire for the Voltron team.

"Zero to Apex team. Status."

"This is Apex 5-1, we're still holding position and covering for Lion team!" Cardozo said over the firefight. "We're still going to hold as much as we can, over!"

"Copy, Apex. If you're taking any casualties pull out immediately, over."

"Copy. Apex 5-1 out!"

Once the feed was cut off, Allura stepped back and sighed deeply before glancing at Colbert who was still controlling the drone.

"I hope your team completes this mission, Major." The BOPE captain said.

"I hope so too, Captain." Allura replied.

There was silence in the room other than distorted gunfire. Then, Shiro's comm buzzed.

"Zero, this is Black Lion. We have finally reached the building."

Shiro breached the door into the house. After a quick sweep with a group of militants down, Shiro advanced up the stairs with the rest following him. They stacked up behind a closed door and after a countdown, Lance stepped forward and kicked the door down and the team stormed in with weapons raised. As predicted, Sendak was inside but surprisingly, he was sitting at a table with a tea set unfazed by their intrusion.

"DON'T MOVE!" Lance yelled.

"Now, now, boys. No need for the hostility." Sendak said and stood up with both of his hands raised. "I surrender."

Shiro approached Sendak up close. He was already feeling that urge to act up and do something horrible to his face after all those years Sendak put him in. Those scenes were vivid. Shiro could immediately picture his fallen comrades' bodies and Sven… he deserved something worse. But he knew better than to let his anger take control, especially after what happened back in Al-Khor.

"Nice to see you again, Commander Shirogane." Sendak said, giving him that smirk. It was enough to drive someone mad.

"Keep your mouth shut and maybe you'll see the sunrise again." Shiro hissed.

He pulled him away from the table and cuffed his hands. Once he was fully secure, Shiro tapped into his comm.

"Black Lion to Zero," he said. "We have Kingfish. I repeat, we have Kingfish, over."

[wftc141]

Art by @poyiiko

Matthew "Matt" Holt, CIA SAD/SOG Paramilitary Operation Team Leader

[wftc141]

Art by @rej-is-hiding

Sgt. Santos about to snipe some Galra terrorist.