Mission 5: Payback part 7

continued from last week...
Katie and Daniel were the only ones who were truly awed when they were ushered in through the secret gate into the Rebel base. Jordan and Cathy had each been here before, so they knew what to expect. Neither Katie nor Daniel had ever been here, however, and they were both amazed at the intricately designed underground world that had been established here.
“Wow,” was all Katie could say.
Coming to meet them at the gate was a very surprised Clarence.
“Well hello there, Clarence,” Cathy greeted him.
“Greetings my lady,” he said. “But didn’t I just see up at your office?” He appeared quite puzzled and so did Cathy.
“No, I haven’t been here for at least a month, Clarence.”
“That’s impossible, I’ve only just been talking to you, you’ve been in here for almost…” he trailed off. “Oh no.”
Cathy suddenly turned very serious. “Did you ever check her for a mask?”
“No, I never thought of that,” Clarence admitted.
“I want my office surrounded,” Cathy ordered. “Don’t let anyone escape; we have an imposter.” Clarence rushed to follow her orders, taking several Rebel agents with him.
Just then, Jordan noticed a very startled Pat watching them. “What’s he doing here?” Jordan asked.
Cathy frowned. “I don’t know.”
Noticing that they were staring at him, Pat suddenly took off down the street, a phone in hand.
“Guards!” Cathy called. “Bring me that man!” Jordan and a whole troop of Rebel guards took off after Pat, leaving Katie and Daniel behind with Cathy, bewildered.

Meanwhile, the other Cathy was frantically trying to escape from her office, but before she did so, she was going to destroy those documents. Just as the fake Cathy was about to put the documents through the shredder, a hand grabbed her arm.
“I don’t think so,” said Clarence, who was holding her arm.
“What are you doing, Clarence?” she asked, hoping to throw him off just enough to get away.
“Nice try, but that’s not going to--” Clarence started to say, but suddenly the imposter whackgd him up the side of the face and knocked him over.
“You were saying?” she taunted as she jumped over his body and towards the door. She suddenly halted, however, for standing outside the door was the real Cathy, and about thirty agents.
“Going somewhere?” the real Cathy asked, casually.

An Imperial helicopter flew over the wreckage on the Imperial Bridge, grinning as he piloted the aircraft. The tube on the side of his helicopter that had just shot a rocket only moments before was still cooling.
“Hit confirmed,” the pilot said jubilantly into his COM. “That car’s smoldering like nobody’s business. Three bodies lay on the grownd below him, all stretched out in uncomfortable positions, and none of them moving.
Suddenly, the one with the red hair popped up from the ground with a rocket launcher in his hands.
“Oh crap, where’d he get that?” the pilot groaned.
Ryan Cruise fired the rocket straight and true it whistled towards the helicopter and exploded into it with a ball of flame. “He’s fried,” Ryan commented. “Good thing I always carry this rocket launcher around with me.”
“Yeah,” Laz nodded. “You never know when you’ll almost be killed by a helicopter and need to fake your death for a short time before pulling it out and blowing it to bits.”
Tim got up from the ground and brushed himself off. “Now what?” he asked. “My sister’s car is toast…”
“Literally,” Ryan pointed out.
“She’s gonna kill me,” Tim muttered.
“Not if that doesn’t kill us first,” Ryan said, pointing ahead.
“What? What’s up there?” Tim was standing a ways behind Ryan and couldn’t really see what was going on.”
“Oh nothing much really, just an entire Imperial division,” Ryan replied sarcastically.
Tim walked up to where Ryan was. “Crap!” he exclaimed.
“That about sums it up,” Ryan agreed. He picked up his shades off the ground, which had flown away in the explosion, but, miraculously, had not been melted. He put them on, “this isn’t gonna be easy.”

At this time, Jordan was chasing Pat throughout the streets of the Rebel base. Although Pat had a head start, Jordan was a much faster runner and he soon had caught up with him. When he was close enough, Jordan ran up and tackled Pat to the ground.
“Wait,” Pat called. “Don’t kill me! I was forced to do this by my brother, you gotta believe me!”
“Right,” Jordan scoffed, dragging him up to the ground. “Like I believe that.” He glanced at Pat’s skin, which was still somewhat black. “What are pulling? A reverse Michael Jackson? How long have you been impersonating me?”
“Since you left,” Pat admitted.
“You are gonna regret that,” Jordan promised.
“I’m bugged,” Pat cried. “The emperor knows where the base is.”
This caused Jordan to pause. “What?”
“The emperor knows the location of your base, he’s planning an invasion right now.”
Jordan felt fear crawl at his chest, whatever that means. “We’re in trouble.”

Continuing with the random side plot…
Jordan and the other IMF agents weren’t the only one’s in trouble though, another former agent, by the name of Jason Scorn, was also in a tight spot. He limped constantly sometimes on his right leg and other times on the left, and kept a calm, serious face, but inside he knew he was running out of luck. Even his amazing ability to locate spies liking homing beacons and his incredible reflexes that made Spiderman look as mobile as a ninety-year-old woman could not save him now. He was about to be trapped by two ambitious young agents who had called his bluff.
Jason Scorn limped up the stairs and took a left; he was met by a couple of CIA agents. “I don’t want to hurt anyone,” he declared.
One of them pointed his gun at Jason, and suddenly, the agent was attacked by a whirlwind. At least that’s what his partner saw, before he himself was turned into a helpless sack of bones by a flurry of vicious kicks and punches, and dumped on the ground by his partner.
“Sorry,” Jason apologized. Then he vanished.

Sitting in the emperor’s office was a very nervous middle-aged man, with the heart of a child. He was wearing a black suit and a black fedora on his head. “So man, can I just Beat It, now?” he asked in a very high voice.
The emperor looked up at the strange-looking man sitting across from him. He was holding a picture of him from 1982. “Are you sure this was you back in ’82?” he asked.
“Yeah sure, of course it is,” the man replied.
“I think its time for you to take a look at The Man in the Mirror,” the emperor shook his head. “This doesn’t look anything like you. You’re black in this picture, but you’re white now. And your nose is a different shape.”
“But it is, please believe me,” the man begged. “Besides, it doesn’t matter if you’re Black or White.”
“I’m really sorry Michael,” the emperor shook his head. “The one thing I don’t understand is how you’ve survived this long. You’re aren’t Dangerous or anything, why didn’t I detect you before?”
“Because I’m Bad,” Michael said. “You’re not gonna kill me are you? You don’t Wanna Be Starting Somethin’ like that.”
“No, of course not,” the emperor shook his head. “I only have a small assignment for you, call it a little Thriller.”
“Will You Be There?” Michael asked.
The emperor shook his head, “nope. Billie Jean?” he spoke into the speaker on his desk and a young woman came in. “Do you Remember the Time you met this girl, Michael?” the emperor asked.
“Billie Jean?” Michael exclaimed nervously. “I’m really sorry baby, don’t do whatever you’re thinking, girl!”
“Where’s that Dirty Diana now?” Billie Jean asked. She turned to the emperor. “This man is responsible for conspiring against the empire, he deserves death.”
“NO!” Michael cried. “I’ll do anything! I could perform for you! You Rock My World, emperor, I would never conspire against you.”
“Goodbye,” the emperor said, shortly. He pressed a button on his desk, and Michael disappeared beneath a trap door that suddenly opened beneath his feet. “Aaaaa!” he screamed.
“What a Smooth Criminal,” the emperor commented. “But I’ve always wanted to do that.”

To be continued...