Mission 5: Payback part 2

Continued from two weeks prior...

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere… where there lies a side plot that has nothing to do whatsoever with this entire story… Well, perhaps maybe a little…

“I told ya already, Earl,” Denise whined in a southern accent. “You let them chickens out and you’s nevah gonna get ‘em back.”
“And I told you,” Earl retorted. “Ta shut your trap, I’ll gets ‘em back.”
Suddenly, a young, red-haired man walked up to the two arguing spouses. “Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?” he asked.
Earl stared at him. “Can you tell where my chickens are?”
“Your chickens?” the red-haired man asked, bewildered.
“What’s your name, boy?” Denise whined.
“Jason, Jason Scorn,” the boy replied.
“You help us find our chickens, and we’s will help you find your way home. You’re lost, right?” Denise asked.
“Sort of, I guess you could say that. I don’t really know who I am.”
“You just said your name,” Earl pointed out. “What do you mean you don’t know who you are?”
“Just what I said, I think I have amnesia.”
“Well, what do you remember?” Denise questioned him.
“Nothing! That’s what amnesia means, stupid!” Jason yelled angrily.
“You don’t remember anything?” Earl seemed astonished.
“Well… I seem to remember killing people, for some reason. I’m not sure why,” Jason shrugged.
Suddenly, there was an explosion that ripped through the forest. Jason jumped back and gasped. “That must be the CIA, they’re after me!”
“Why?” Earl and Denise both called out.
“I have no idea, it has something to do with my past, which I haven’t figured out yet. See you guys later.” Jason ran off into the woods.
Earl looked back towards the explosion; smoke smothered the sky where it had once been blue. He could practically smell the fire from here. And in the sky he could see… what was that? Chicken feathers floating through the sky! Oh no!


Back to normal time…

“So, who exactly is this guy again?” Timothius asked for the thousandth time.
Katie sighed. “I told you already, a friend, one that can help us.”
“Exactly how can he help us, may I ask?” Tim was still skeptical. “I’ve been bugged, they inserted it into my spinal cord, not in my pants. It’s not that simple.”
“I know that,” Katie replied, losing her patience. “That’s why I’m taking you to him, he knows how to solve these kind of problems.”
“Sorry, didn’t mean to get you all riled up, is he your boyfriend or something?” Tim asked, partly trying to make conversation and partly trying to rile her up.
“No!” she said defensively. “Of course not.”
“So he is your boyfriend,” Tim smiled.
“I just said that he wasn’t,” Katie insisted.
“Yeah, but you were a little too defensive, which means I hit a nerve.”
“How do you know?”
Tim shrugged. “Because, I’m your brother.”
“I know, but you never used to be interested in this kind of stuff, you were always so serious.”
“Well,” Tim shrugged. “When you hang around Ryan Cruise a lot, he kind of rubs off on you.”
“That’s the fifth time you’ve mention his name,” Katie pointed out. “Who is Ryan Cruise?”
“He’s another agent,” Tim explained. “I don’t think I should say much about him, though. Who knows who might be listening?”
“What does he look like?”
Tim thought about this. “Well, he has red, wavy hair, and he’s always wearing these really cool shades, and he has lots of freckles.”
“Does he have a girlfriend?” Katie asked, curious about her brother’s friend.
Tim frowned. “I don’t know… it’s complicated. I think he wants one, but its not really allowed. Romance is kind of banned in our group.”
“So, how did you guys meet?”
“A long time ago, at this one party. It was in the Bahamas, I think.”
“You were invited to a party in the Bahamas? Maybe I should become an agent.”
Tim chuckled. “We weren’t invited…” he trailed off, thinking about his first mission with Ryan Cruise. Those had been the days, when everything was black and white, and he knew exactly who the bad guy was. Everything was so confusing now.
Suddenly, Katie hit the brakes and came to a screeching halt. Timothius lurched forward and slammed his head on the dashboard.
“What the heck?” Tim exclaimed, but then he saw why Katie had stopped. A roadblock ahead of them was blocking their access. No doubt the roadblock had been set to stop them.
“Now what?” Katie asked.
“Just play it cool,” Tim said. “Maybe they don’t know what we’re planning to do yet.” He eyed the thick forests by the roadside; they would be perfect cover if they needed to make a break for it. They could be perfect for an ambush too.
An officer walked up to their car and knocked on the window; Katie rolled it down. “Excuse me, ma’am,” he said, putting his hand to his hat and raising it slightly. “I’m sorry for the holdup, but there’s a couple of criminals on the loose.”
“Oh?” Katie tried to act surprised. “Who?”
“Oh, just a couple of trouble-makers, nothing to worry about ma’am. Just keep yourself safe; it looks like you already have a nice young man here to protect you. He nodded towards Tim.
“Oh yeah, he’s my brother.”
The officer nodded. “Well, I’m sorry about this, but we’re gonna have to search your car. Don’t fret though, we’ll be done in just a sec.” He was lying through his teeth of course; he had no intention of letting the both of them go. In fact, he had direct orders from Chuck Morris to take these two into custody. Tim didn’t know this, but still, he was cautious.
“We need to get out of here,” Tim warned after the guard had walked away, back towards the roadblock.
“How?” Katie asked.
“I don’t know, look for an opening.”
Just then, the entire roadblock exploded in a giant fireball. Katie and Tim ducked down in their car as the blaze shot into the sky. The cars roared with flames as they flew through the air and came crashing back down to the ground. Tim sat back up and looked at the flaming vehicles in wonder. “There’s an opening,” he murmured.
“What in the world?” Katie shouted above the roar of the flames.
“There’s only one man in the world who would be crazy enough to blow up a roadblock,” Tim said, still staring at the wreck.
“Who?” Katie asked.
“Ryan Cruise,” Tim replied.
Sure enough, a red-haired figure emerged from the woods just then. He was sporting some sic shades and walked with the air of someone who’d just blown up an entire roadblock. He walked over towards their car and cocked a boyish grin. “Hey Tim, long time, no see.” He looked around at the site of the explosion. “What’s with all these chicken feathers?” he muttered.

After Ryan had left, his team had sort of unofficially elected Jordan as their temporary leader. Although he didn’t have the same qualifications as Ryan, he’d already shown his willingness to act, and his capable leadership. Plus, Ryan had no qualifications, so he didn’t have very big shoes to fill in that area. So when Derek led them into yet another tunnel, which he said would finally lead them to the Rebellion, they all watched to see what he would do. Jordan shrugged and looked back at them. “I guess we have no choice but to follow him.” He stepped into the tunnel after Derek, and Ryan’s, or rather Jordan’s, team followed after him along with all the rest of IMF. Suddenly, the ground sloped downward so suddenly, that it almost made a sort of drop-off. Jordan stumbled and fell, rolling down the tunnel. He rolled, and yelled, down the tunnel until he plowed into Derek and came to a stop.
“Watch that last step,” Derek muttered.
“Gee, thanks for the warning,” Jordan replied sarcastically. “I almost--”
But he didn’t get to finish. Suddenly Chris came sliding down the tunnel and plowed into them, sending them both flying. “Sorry,” Chris apologized.
Jordan got up and brushed himself off. “That’s okay.” He was in better spirits in a minute though, as he got to watch Kayla, Emmy, and Sarah all slam into each other. He and Derek laughed until they cried, doubling over from the laughter. “That was funny,” Jordan said in between laughs.
Chris just frowned. “That’s not very chivalrous, help me get them untangled.”
Jordan shrugged and bent over to help up the girls. Just then another IMF agent flew from the tunnel and smacked into Jordan, sending him flying. The girls laughed hysterically.
“Now that was funny,” Kayla laughed.
Jordan scowled and got up yet again; he didn’t bother to brush himself off this time. “Somebody’s gotta fix that step.”
“Hey there, can I help you guys with something?” a voice suddenly said.
Jordan, and the rest of the agents that where still standing, whirled around to see who had spoken, it was a Rebel guard.
Derek spoke up. “We seek refuge from the emperor.”
The guard smiled. “Well, I think we can help you with that. Its good to see you alive, Derek.”

Katie was still recovering from the shock of the roadblock exploding when Ryan had come up to the car, but she’d finally found her manners and greeted Ryan. “So you must be the Ryan Cruise that I keep hearing about,” Katie commented, smiling.
“That’s right,” Ryan nodded, and then glanced at Tim as if expecting an introduction. “And you must be…” he trailed off, looking at Tim again.
Tim started to speak but his sister cut him off. “I’m his sister, didn’t you tell him that you had a sister?” she asked turning to Tim. His silence told all.
“I should have known,” Katie said, disgusted. “You keep babbling on and on about Ryan Cruise, but you never even had the courtesy to mention me to him even once. I can see that you’re real proud of your sister.” She paused and glanced at him. “Well?”
“I’m sorry?” Tim tried apologizing. It didn’t work.
“I’m sorry?” Katie mimicked. “Well, I’m sorry too,” and she turned away from him.
“Actually,” Ryan spoke up. “He couldn’t help it. There’s a rule in IMF that you’re not allowed to talk to other agents about your family.”
“There is?” Katie faced Ryan, not sure whether to believe him.
“Yeah, of course,” Ryan lied. “Its standard procedure.”
Tim shot him a look that said, thank you.
“I’m sorry,” Katie said, sticking her hand out the passenger side window. “We haven’t been properly introduced. “I’m Katie Danaford.” They shook hands.
“Ryan Cruise,” said Ryan. “Sorry about my rather… explosive entrance, but you gotta do whatcha gotta do. The roadblock was annoying anyways, and Laz wanted to let off some steam.”
“Speaking of Laz, where is Laz?” Tim asked.
“Oh,” Ryan smacked his forehead. “I forgot all about him.”

To be continued next week...