Rover Strike: Longbow One

Episode 1: Theft Of Longbow One

By Gerhard Naudé

All Road Rovers names © Warner Brothers and rightful owners
All Rover Strike names © Gerhard Naudé
Vicki Maddog © Robert Baer Jr.
Hotrod, Dagger © Dave Fountain

Any question, comments, complaints, feedback or suggestions can be 
sent to gnaude_@hotmail.com.

Military Train Station
Scottish Highlands
Great Britain
17 July
12:14 AM:

This is a restricted military train depot located in the rolling hills
of the Scottish Highlands. It is a small station, with only one station
building and a control tower. British military police and soldiers are
everywhere, partolling with flashlights while the station is mostly
under a blackout. On the single military railroad track is a British
military train. The massive train engine has a single light on the
front, while the carraiges behind them are dark. A green light flashes 
from the tower, after which the train engine hisses to life. The train
slowly moves out of the station and the carraiges become a little
more visible. Behind the engine is the troop barracks carraige,
followed by a box carraige on which some satellite arrays are set on 
the roof. Behind is a very long and large carraige. It is a flatbed
with two massive cranes on each end. Suspended between the cranes is
a large vehicle. It has two large tank treads on each side, a control
cockpit on the front and two smaller cockpits behind it on either
corner. On it is a large machine that looks like a cannon. The cannon
is rested on its own pedastel. Behind that massive carraige is the
caboose. As the train pulls out of the station and picks up speed,
several British troop helicopters lift off from the darkness and
fly after the train.

Railway Track
Scottish Highlands
1:05 AM:

The train is steadily making its way through the highlands, escorted
closely by the helicopters. The tracks are illuminated by the train
engine's light. Up ahead the tracks go into a tunnel. In the cockpit
of the leading helicopter, the pilot gets a radio message from the
train engine engineer.

Engineer(over radio):"This is Longbow Lead. Tunnel ahead. Only about
        half-a-mile long."

Pilot 1(into radio):"This is Escort 1. Copy that, Longbow Lead. We
       will meet on the other side."

Engineer(over radio):"Copy that. Longbow Lead out."

The helicopters begin to lift themselves higher over the hill as the
train enters the tunnel. The helicopters fly the short distance over
the hill to the other end of the tunnel. There they wait for the train.
After a short time there is still no sign of the train. One of the
pilots radios the leader.

Pilot 2(over radio):"Trains don't take this long to go through a half-
       a-mile tunnel, sir. Perhaps it stopped in the tunnel?"

Pilot 1(into radio):"Copy that, Escort 2. I'll land and have some of
       the lads go see what is wrong."

The leading helicopter lands next to the tracks, after which a squad
of three soldiers climb off. They dash over to the tunnel and run 
inside. Moments later, they run out and radio to the others.

Soldier(over radio):"The train's gone!"

There is a moment of stunned silence on the radios.

Pilot 1(into radio):"Gone? What do you mean?"

Soldier(over radio):"I mean gone as in bloody well vanished! The tunnel
       is empty! I can see the other end from where I'm standing!"

The pilot quickly radios to the train.

Pilot 1(into radio):"Longbow Train. This is Escort 1. Do you copy?"

There is only static silence. The pilot tries again.

Pilot 1(into radio):"Longbow Train. This is Escort 1. Do you copy?"

Still no reply.

Pilot 1(into radio):"Better call London! We may have security compro-
       mised!"

A wave of radio chatter begins to sound over the airwaves as the heli-
copters land and disperse the soldiers.

Beach
Tropical Island Resort
Off Coast Of French Guinea
18 July
8:02 AM:

The sun is still a bit low in the sky, but already the beaches of the
tropical island resort are attracting the tourists, many of whom are
taking part in activities at the resort itself while some enjoy them-
selves at the beach. Among them are Striker, Phoenix, Vicki, Illanov,
Corsair and Merit. Striker and Phoenix are lying on their towels,
while the others are busy working on building sandcastles. The couple
watch the rest. Vicki and Illanov are building a small, rough kind of
sandcastle their paws. Vicki comes and puts a shell on the central
"tower" and smiles at Illanov.

Vicki:"Isn't it cute, Alex?"

Illanov:"Really nice, dear. Perhaps we should build the moat now?"

Vicki:"Yeah!"

As the two of them begin to dig the "moat", next to them Corsair was
busy building his sandcastle. It is much more ambisious, as Corsair
tries to build a more realistic castle on a mountain. It's shape is
more grander, but the castle falls apart at several places. Corsair
glances over at Illanov and Vicki's castle and snorts to himself.

Corsair:"Some castle, you rusty Russki. I'm the sandcastle master on
         this beach."

As he goes round to fix a toppling tower, he sees Merit building his
own "sandcastle" using his toolkit. It is actually a precise minature
scale version of the Eiffel Tower, complete with little sand trees,
griders and radio mast. As Merit builds, he attacts a small crowd of
amazed onlookers. Corsair looks it over and sighs.

Corsair:"Of course, if you take the robot into account then I'm the
         second place taker here."

He resumes working on his castle. Merit, meanwhile, is busy using his
tools to carefully carve out the sand restuarant on the second floor
of the tower.

Merit:"I do approve of this 'relaxation'. I can improve my engineering
       and precision skills by building such a sandcastle."

He continues to build on the tower. Some distance from the beach at the
parking lot, Shephard, dressed in summer fatigues, is busy buying several
cones from an ice cream vendor. As he is busy, a black Mercedes pulls
up nearby. Three suited men climb out, close the doors and walk to
Shephard. As they approach him, Shephard finished buying the ice cream
before noticing the three men. He turns to the men as they come to
him. The one up front speaks up in a British accent.

Man:"Are you with Unit STRIKE?"

Shephard:"Who is asking?"

The three men take out small booklets and flip them open for Shephard
to see.

Man:"Agent Stanley, British MI6. These two are agents Ford and Harrison."

Shephard:"MI6, sirs? And what do you want with us?"

Stanley:"We need to speak with your unit leader. I believe his name is
         Striker?"

Shephard:"Yes, sir. But I doubt he is in the mood for business. We are on
          paid leave here."

Stanley:"It is very important."

Shephard shrugs, taking a lick from one of his ice creams.

Shephard:"Sure, sirs. I'll take you to him though I give no guarantees
          that he'd be interested."

Stanley:"Lead the way."

Shephard turns around and leads the three agents towards the beach. Back
at the beach, Striker looked over at Phoenix, who was lying on her back
and wearing sunglasses.

Striker:"Phoenix?"

Phoenix:"Yes, Love?"

Striker:"It has been almost two years since we first met."

Phoenix:"Really? How time flies."

Striker:"There... there is something important about the time that has
         passed since then between us."

Phoenix:"Oh? What's that, Strikie?"

Striker:"Wel... Maybe it would be best if I..."

Suddenly Shephard appears next to them and stands to attention, still
holding his ice creams. Standing nearby are the agents.

Shephard:"Excuse me, sir. Visitors."

Striker looks a little annoyed over at the three agents nearby before
looking back at Shephard. He regains his calm again.

Striker:"Who are they?"

Shephard:"MI6, sir. They want to speak with you."

Striker:"MI6? For what reason?"

Shephard:"I kept asking them, but all they say is that it is classified."

Striker looks over at the agents, then stands up and walks over to the
agents. Stanley looks at Striker.

Stanley:"I take it you are Striker?"

Striker:"Ja, reg. I am Striker. You are from MI6, you said?"

Stanley:"Yes. I am agent Stanley, and these are agents Ford and Harri-
         son. We are important business to discuss with you."

Striker:"What important business?"

Stanley:"Classified. We cannot tell it out here with all these people
         around."

Striker:"Not my probleem. Me and my unit are on a well-needed vacation
         and we not really available for work."

Stanley:"But this is a matter of international security!"

Striker:"Then why do you not handle it?"

Stanley looks slightly embarressed and coughs.

Stanley:"Well, part of that matter was a result of our... us lowering
         our guard a little."

Striker:"In other words something happened that make the British govern-
         ment and agencies look like fools."

Stanley:"I would not put it so bluntly, but something to that effect."

Striker thinks for a moment, then speaks.

Striker:"Reg, I will listen to this matter in private. Along with my
         entire unit."

Stanley:"Sorry, but this is only for your ears and eyes alone."

Striker:"Listen, if you are going to interrupt my team's vacation then
         they have the right to know why. And if you do not tell them,
         I might."

Stanley stares at Striker for a few moments, then sighs.

Stanley:"Very well, but you will tell no one else?"

Striker:"I will try not to."

He turns to Shephard, who is eating the second of his cones.

Striker:"Gather the others."

Shephard:"Yes, sir!"

Shephard walks off to where the others are still building sandcastles.
Phoenix takes off her sunglasses and gets up, looking at Striker.

Phoenix:"What's going on, Love?"

Striker:"Seems we have a little important business to listen to."

Phoenix:"During our vacation?"

Striker:"I know how you feel. I feel the same."

Phoenix sighs and shakes her head.

Business Meeting Room
Resort Hotel
8:20 AM:

This is a room used for meetings by businessmen. It has a round table with
fine chairs, and glass windows running from the floor to the ceiling. 
Potted palm plants stand in the corner, while outside one can see the
ocean and the beaches. Unit STRIKE, Vicki, Tanarus, Elexis and the three
agents are here. Agent Stanley has a briefcase with him, which is now
open.

Stanley:"Now, this is highly classified information that should not go
         beyond this room."

Corsair looks over at Illanov, who is seated next to his wife Vicki.

Corsair:"Hear that, Russkie? Better not tell your buddies at the KGB."

Illanov looks over at Corsair, growling in anger. Vicki takes his paw and
puts her other one on his shoulder.

Vicki:"Easy, Dear. He wants you to reiterate."

Illanov stops and nods. Striker looks over at Shephard, who is sitting next
to Corsair.

Striker:"Shephard, if Corsair tries to insult Alex again grab him by the
         ear."

Corsair's eyes widen and he looks at Shephard, who is staring back sternly
at him.

Shephard:"Yes, sir."

Striker looks back at Stanley.

Striker:"We understand the confidentiality. What is it?"

Stanley digs around in his suitcase and takes out a set of photographs. He
passes them to the Rovers. They show various shots of the massive vehicle
on the train. The Rovers look them over as Stanley speaks.

Stanley:"What you see here is a top-secret weapon code-named Longbow One.
         Essentially it is a large, mobile artillery cannon. It fires
         large depleted uranium shells over great distances."

Illanov:"What is its range, comrade?"

Stanley:"At the right firing angle, it can fire a shell at a target 2,000
         miles away."

Corsair whistles.

Corsair:"That is one big toy."

Stanley:"Indeed. Now, two days ago Longbow One was tested at a secret
         location and the results were satisfactory. Last night a train
         was to move Longbow One back to its storage bunker in southern
         England. The train left the station at a quarter after midnight
         with helicopter escort. Just after one in the morning, the train 
         entered a tunnel and the helicopters broke away to meet the
         train on the other side. Problem is, and this is why we came to
         you, is that the train never came out the tunnel."

Tanarus:"Why? Did it crash in the tunnel?"

Stanley:"That's just it: it did not. The escorting soldiers looked in
         the tunnel, and it was gone. Longbow One, the train and all
         on that train. Vanished without a trace."

Striker:"No trace at all?"

Stanley:"None. We searched up and down that tunnel, but we found nothing.
         The Prime Minister is very worried about Longbow One's status."

Tanarus:"You think that it has fallen in the wrong paws?"

Stanley:"We hope not, but are assuming the worst. What worries us is
         that we suspect this had to be an inside job, and high in
         authority to know about the Longbow One project. So we cannot
         really use our best to track down Longbow without alerting
         whomever might be behind this."

Striker:"And that is why you came to us?"

Stanley:"Exactly. Your group can help us track down those responsible
         and retrieve Longbow One, and since you are an outside force
         that is highly respected we need not fear those insiders in
         the British government and military."

Striker:"What about MI6? Are there not insiders as well?"

Stanley:"MI6 is not aware of projects by the military, but we are not
         taking chances with this and only a select few in MI6 know
         about this. Anyway, we need your help."

Striker:"Why my unit specifically?"

Stanley:"You come highly recommend, especially since you just recently
         defeated the drug lord Francisco Ortega. And you were one of
         only a few Rovers available."

Corsair:"Available? Is that what they call our well-deserved vacation?"

Stanley:"I am sorry about this, but your leader has said that we can
         ask you for your assistance."

Corsair:"Man, the big chief sure has ways of making decisions that 
         sucks."

Striker:"Look, Meneer Stanley. You will need to give us something in
         return for our assistance. My unit has not had a good vacation
         up until now, and if I am to offer you our aid, you will need
         to offer them something for their troubles."

Some of those around the table nod in agreement.

Stanley:"If you do this, the British government will give you a vacation
         offer to ANY destination around the world PLUS a vacation twice
         the length of what the French gave you for helping them. All
         expenses paid without exception, of course."

Striker looks at his team.

Striker:"Wel?"

Phoenix:"I will go if you go, Strikie."

Corsair:"Well, since the Brits will be paying us big time for interrupting
         our vacation, I'll bite."

Shephard:"As long as there's plently of vacation to make up for our lost
          break, I'll go, sirs."

Illanov:"I wouldn't just let my comrades go without me, so I agree."

Merit:"Leaving incomplete work is against my protocol. I will assist in
       completing the work."

Tanarus puts his arms around Elexis.

Tanarus:"I would go, but that depends on the missus."

Elexis cuddles against Tanarus.

Elexis:"The missus says that hubbie and I should go along."

Illanov then looks at Vicki.

Illanov:"What about you, Vicki?"

Vicki thinks for a moment, then nods.

Vicki:"Sure, honey. Just be sure to take clean underwear along."

Illanov coughs in an embarresing manner, while Corsair snorts and
muffles his laughs with his hands. Striker looks at Stanley.

Striker:"Reg. My team agrees to this mission, and so do I."

Stanley:"Excellent."

Stanley digs around in his briefcase and takes out a folder. He hands
it over to Striker.

Stanley:"You'll find the full file on Longbow One, list of names of
         those who were on the train and the map of the route the train
         was to take. Now, you will keep this classified."

Striker:"I will, if it is useful to our efforts."

Stanley:"Useful? What do you mean?"

Striker:"If we need to share this information to achieve our goals, then
         we will no longer deem it classified."

Stanley is very surprised at this.

Stanley:"But... this is top secret information!"

Corsair:"You know, it isn't much of a secret if it got stolen."

Striker:"If you do not approve of our operation procedures, then you
         can find yourself help elsewhere."

Striker holds the folder back out to Stanley. Stanley bites his lower
lip in thought for a few moments, then sighs.

Stanley:"Very well, but do please TRY to keep the information sharing
         to a minimum."

Striker pulls the folder back to him.

Striker:"Reg, we wil probeer."

Stanley closes the briefcase.

Stanley:"Uh... quite. Now, I know you first need to pack up and say
         your goodbyes, but do try to meet us at the location marked
         on the map in two days time at most."

Striker:"We will be there as soon as possible."

Stanley gets up, as does the two other agents, and takes the briefcase.

Stanley:"Right, then. See you back in Britain."

He nods at the two agents. The three agents then walk out of the room.
Striker looks at the others.

Striker:"Reg, everyone. Go and pack your things. We will leave within
         three hours. Alex, you take Vicki and our excess luggage back
         to headquarters in the Rhino. Then meet us back in Britain."

Illanov:"Dah, comrade."

Striker:"The rest of you will come with me with the Stealth Rover."

The others nod.

Striker:"Goed. Dismissed."

Everyone gets up and leaves the room.

Train Tunnel
Scottish Highlands
Great Britain
19 July
9:44 AM:

The tunnel and the area around it is a hive of activity. British
soldiers are standing guard and doing patrols while jeeps and heli-
copters do patrols. Near the tunnel stands a mobile command vehicle
as well as several black sedans and a 98 Camaro Pro Rally. Around
the sedans are dark suited agents similiar to Stanley's group. The
Stealth Rover flies in from the horizon, then goes into hover mode
and slow lands on a nearby open field. As it lands, British soldiers
run up to it and create a perimeter around it. Once the Stealth
Rover has landed and the engines have been turned off, the walkway
from the main hatch is lowered down onto the ground. As this happens,
another person comes running in from the command vehicle: Thomas
Drake, better known as Hotrod. He is currently wearing his blue racing 
suit. He stops at the foot of the walkway as Unit STRIKE disembarkes
from it. Striker notices him as he walks down.

Striker:"Who are you? You certainly do not look like any official."

Hotrod:"Nope. My name is Thomas Drake, but you can call me HOTROD.
        Pleased to meet ya."

He holds out his hand to Striker, who shakes it in return.

Striker:"Same here. Are you with the British government?"

Hotrod:"Nah. The Master sent me to help you guys out until your friends
        Tanarus and Elexis came back."

Striker:"Well met, then. Have they told you the full details here?"

Hotrod:"Some, but not much. They're waiting for you guys, so let's go and
        meet them."

Striker:"The lead the way."

Hotrod begins to lead the group towards the mobile command vehicle. Corsair
notices the Camaro amongst the sedans.

Corsair:"Dude, is that your ride between those black stock cars over there?"

Hotrod:"Yup! My 98 Camaro Pro Rally over there."

Corsair:"Man, I wish I had such a ride. Imagine the speed... and the chicks
         I'd pick up with it."

Illanov sneers.

Illanov:"You cannot even pick up a spoon, American. Besides, you can't 
         drive."

Corsair:"Crud! I just got double zinged by this Russian and I don't have 
         a suitable reply!"

Illanov smiles in triumph while Corsair grumbles to himself. Striker
sighs and shakes his head. Behind Corsair and Illanov were Merit and
Shephard.

Merit:"21,012."

Shephard:"What's that? Lottery numbers?"

Merit:"No, it is the number of times Illanov and Corsair have argued
       amongst themselves."

Shephard:"You count this?"

Merit:"Of course. All performances of our unit is calculated in numbers
       so as to provide a suitable annual report to the Master for
       analysis and..."

Shephard:"I'm hungry all the sudden."

The group continue their way to the command vehicle. As they approach
it, several people step out of the vehicle to meet them. One of them
is agent Stanley. Two of the others is a woman in a conservative dress
and the other a British General. The rest are agents like Stanley. As
the Rovers approach them, Stanley steps forward to greet them.

Stanley:"Glad you could make it. I see you've meet one of your fellow
         Road Rovers. It's good that we're getting a little more help
         here."

Striker:"Every little bit helps."

Stanley:"Very true, especially now. Allow me to make the introductions."

Stanley points to the woman and the general.

Stanley:"The general is General Simon Evans. He is the man under whose
         command the troops transporting Longbow One were."

The general nods.

Stanley:"The lady is my boss and the countess of Nottingham as well."

Corsair:"I take her name is Maid Marion?"

Illanov elbows Corsair hard in the side.

Woman:"No, and I have heard that joke before. I am Helen Sheffield, the
       chief of MI6 operations in this region. You are Striker, and this
       is Unit STRIKE?"

Striker:"That is correct and I apologize for the behavior of my team
         member here."

Helen:"No need to. Anyway, I'm certain Agent Stanley informed you about
       our situation here?"

Striker:"Ja, he told us you lost the weapon Longbow One. In that tunnel,
         I take?"

Striker indicates to the tunnel. Helen nods her head.

Helen:"Yes, that's the tunnel. The train went into it and disappeared
       inside of it."

Evans:"I've had my men go up and down that tunnel, but they found just
       nothing. We're hoping you could perhaps find out what happened
       to the train."

Striker:"We can try, General. Do you perhaps have a list of those who
         were on the train? Soldiers, engineers, drivers and so forth?"

Evans:"I can give you the files on them."

The general turns to an agent and whispers something. The agent nods and
runs for the command vehicle. Helen indicates to the tunnel.

Helen:"Shall we have you go and take a look at the tunnel?"

Striker:"Certainly. Why waste time?"

Helen:"My thoughts exactly."

They all begin to walk towards the tunnel. As they do, Striker resumes
talking to Helen.

Striker:"How long was Longbow One in development?"

Helen:"The first ideas for Longbow One came after the first Gulf War,
       but it wasn't until after the Techno War and the second Gulf
       War that we seriously began working on it. We had recently
       finished the prototype and had it tested. The test results were
       very satisfactory."

Striker:"And what was the reason behind Longbow One's development?"

Helen:"We needed a powerful long range weapon that we could use in
       trouble spots like the Middle East without putting it into
       harm's way. We used the rather new railgun technology and
       built a railgun artillary piece. It's range made it that we
       could easily deploy it anywhere in Europe."

Evans:"Though that might be more difficult to do with what is going
       on inside NATO and the EU, and that is if we can get it back."

Illanov:"Is there something wrong within those organizations, comrade?"

Helen:"Nothing public, but there is friction growing regarding certain
       European countries' attitudes about a certain issue."

Illanov:"What's that?"

Helen looks at Striker.

Helen:"You are South African, correct? I have your personel file from 
       your commander."

Striker's face becomes troubled.

Striker:"Ja, why?"

Helen:"Then I can assume you are aware of what goes on in your home
       country?"

Striker:"I keep watch now and then."

Helen:"Well, South Africa is the reason behind the friction in NATO and
       the EU. Or some elements of it. See, the government there is
       becoming more and more anti-... mutant, is that right?"

Striker:"Cano-sapien, Mevrou."

Helen:"Anti-cano-sapien, then. Their finance minister is particulary
       hardline when it comes to that issue. His views is rather racist
       about you. Now the thing is, some European countries, particulary
       from the former communist block, are starting to find his views
       rather attractive."

Striker:"His views are just the minority."

Helen:"And that it is. So far. Cano-sapiens and such are sometimes ver-
       bally abused by neo-nazis and other extremists, but nothing to
       see in the papers. However, some opportunistic politicians are 
       finding them to be suitable scapegoats to blame some of their 
       countries' problems on, since they are not fully human. No 
       offense."

Striker:"None taken."

Evans:"But that's the least of our problems. Right now we have a missing
       weapon that we need to get back."

The agent Evans sent comes running back with a CD-ROM. He holds it out
to general Evans, who takes it and hands it to Striker.

Striker:"These the personnel files, general?"

Evans:"Not all of it, national security and that. But it does provide
       backgrounds on all on the train."

Striker paws the CD over to Corsair, who takes it.

Striker:"Load it and run the standard background analysis as soon as
         we are back on the Stealth Rover."

Corsair:"Righto, boss.

Corsair puts the CD away in his backpack. The group then comes to the
tunnel, guarded on either side by a soldier. The soldiers stand to
attention as the group goes into the tunnel. The tunnel has now been
illuminated by mobile flood lights attached to the ceiling and powered
by mobile generators. Military technicians walk back and forth doing
all kinds of tasks.

Evans:"As you can see I've had the lads go up and down this tunnel."

Striker:"Have they found anything?"

Evans:"Nothing yet, but we suspect there must be some kind of side
       tunnel the train went through."

Striker turns to his team.

Striker:"Reg. Let's all go up and down this tunnel and search for some
         trance of a tunnel. Seams, pressure plates. Any kind of abnor-
         mality."

The rest of the team nod, then split up and begin examining the walls
of the tunnel. Striker turns to Sheffield and Evans and they begin to 
discuss issues about Longbow One. Meanwhile, Corsair and Illanov are
walking down the tunnel, each on either side of the track.

Corsair:"Why are we walking together?"

Illanov:"BECAUSE, comrade Striker told us to find that secret tunnel."

Corsair:"Yeah, but he didn't say anything about me working with you to
         find it."

Illanov:"It's our job, American. Now keep searching!"

Corsair:"That a threat, eh? You couldn't even kick the tail of a small
         bunny. And a lazy one at that."

Illanov growls and looks furiously at Corsair.

Illanov:"Kick? I'll show how I can kick. Watch!"

Illanov looks down at the tracks, which has the prerequisite stones
between the wooden rail bars. He takes aim on a stone and kick. His
hits the stone and is stopped. Illanov's eyes widen and suddenly he
yelps out in pain, grabbing his foot and jumping around on his foot.
As he reels from the pain, Corsair is doubling over with laughter while
some of the British technicians chuckle along. Once Corsair recovers
he looks over Illanov, who is leaning against the wall and rubbing his
sore foot.

Corsair:"Man, that was rich! Now let me show you how we Americans kick
         stones."

Corsair looks for a stone, while Illanov just watches in pain. Corsair
finds a stone and kicks it. Just like with Illanov, his foot is stopped
and he screams out in pain. He grabs his foot and hops around on the
other like Illanov did. Illanov is now laughing amid the pain, and the
technicians are all roaring with laughter. As Corsair leans against
the tunnel wall to nurse his foot, Striker and the others come running
up to them.

Evans:"What happened here?"

One of the technicians turns to the general.

Technician:"Nothing serious, sirs. Our American and Russian friends here
           tried to prove something to each other and ends up hurting
           themselves."

Striker:"They were trying to kick the rails?"

Technician:"No, sir. Just the stones."

Striker shakes his head and looks at the two, who are still smarting from
their self-inflicted injuries. Hotrod leans over to Phoenix.

Hotrod:"They do this all the time?"

Phoenix:"At least once a week."

Hotrod:"Man, that is quite nasty."

Phoenix:"Oh, it's nothing. Sometimes I think they just do it because they
         are bored with each other."

Hotrod:"Weird way to releave themselves of boredom."

Phoenix nods as Striker steps in between Corsair and Illanov and looks
sternly at them.

Striker:"You see what happens when you two argue?"

Illanov:"Sorry, comrade, but we didn't expect the stones to be set in."

Corsair:"Yeah, boss. It's like they've been glued to the tracks."

Evans:"Set in? What are you talking about? These stones are always
       loose."

Phoenix kicks a stone, but with much less force than the others. It
does not budge.

Phoenix:"Not these stones. They are rock-solid, so to speak."

Striker kneels down and tries to pick up a stone, but he is unable to
pick it up. He applies more force, using both paws, but the stone
stays put. He then stands up.

Striker:"You're right, Love. This is not normal."

Evans and Sheffield also kick a little at the stones, with the same
results.

Helen:"You think we have something here?"

Striker:"I think so, Mevrou. Corsair, Merit. Scan these tracks."

Merit:"Executing command."

Merit begins his scan, while Corsair takes out his own scanner and,
while still leaning against the wall on one foot, also makes a scan
of the tracks. After a few moments, they turn to Striker.

Corsair:"Boss, these stones are glued to the tracks. And I'm picking
         up seams running parallel to a good part of the line."

Merit:"My scanning operations collaborates his findings. I am also
       detecting subterrian airflows beneath the tracks."

Striker:"Run a deeper scan using x-ray. See if there is something
         under these tracks."

The two of them make deeper scans. Corsair is the first to make a 
report.

Corsair:"Boss! I'm picking up heavy machinary and a tunnel under the
         tunnel."

Merit then reports.

Merit:"Signatures indicate a powerful hydraulic and gear system beneath
       the tracks, indicating that about 2/3 of the tracks is actually
       a ramp system."

Striker turns to Sheffield and Evans.

Striker:"That is how the train left the tunnel: it went do the ramp into
         another tunnel that was not easily detectable."

Evans:"Who says it's a tunnel? Maybe it is just a dead end where they
       are keeping the train and waiting for us to leave."

Helen:"That is possible. We must investigate."

Striker:"I agree."

Helen:"Can you perhaps have the ramp lowered?"

Striker:"Miskien, but that depends on what kind of machinary is down
         there."

Striker turns to Corsair and Merit.

Striker:"Could you hack into the machinary and have it lower the ramp
         for us?"

Corsair:"Looks like it. Seems we have picked up hints that the system
         operates electronically. Let me just hook up to Merit and I'll
         see if I can get in."

Striker:"Do that."

Corsair puts away his scanner and takes out his laptop. He goes to
Merit and plugs into him. As they do this, Evans turns to one of his
technicians and gives him an order. The technician salutes and runs out
the tunnel, while Evans pulls out his pistol and orders his remaining
techs to arm themselves as well. The agents pull out pistols as well,
and the rest of Unit STRIKE take out their weapons. Hotrod arms himself
with his ACM-24 Lamprey anti-countermeasures missile launcher. As
Corsair hacks into the subsurface machinary, British soldiers come into
the tunnel and take up positions around the tunnel. Atfer a minute or
so Corsair punches the final key in triumph.

Corsair:"And presto!"

The sounds of machine engines running starts coming from beneath the
tracks. The next moment there is a shudder throughout the tunnel and
2/3 of the track begins to lower, the one end coming loose from the
tracks as it goes down. Everyone who is armed aims their weapons at
the tunnel that the lowering ramp reveals. After a few moments the
ramp stops lowerering, the end connecting to tracks that are coming
out of the tunnel beneath them. Striker examines the tunnel before
glancing at Sheffield.

Striker:"A tunnel. This is clear evidence that Longbow One has been
         stolen."

Helen:"I hoped to be proved otherwise, but it seems our worst fears 
           have been confirmed."

Striker:"But this tunnel could not have been built without the thieves
         having knowledge that the train would along this way months
         before now."

Helen:"You suspect perhaps insiders?"

Striker:"Ja, I am thinking the same manner."

Evans:"How about we take a look and see where the tunnel goes? Perhaps
       the train might still be there."

Striker:"I agree, but then so would the thieves, and I doubt they would
         welcome us with open arms."

Striker signals his team while Sheffield and Evans signal to their men.
They all slowly descend down the ramp, turning on flash lights to see
into the darkness. When they come to the bottom of the ramp, they stop
and look around. The tunnel looks like a mine shaft, with steel beams
supporting the earth. Light bulbs hang dead from the ceiling, the power
cable nailed against the rocky ceiling. The tracks are much like the
tracks above, only they rest on rusty steal beams. Illanov notices a
small device attached to the wall near the ground just a few feet ahead
of them.

Illanov:"Comrades, look. A trip mine."

The others shine their lights on the mine. It is a small, boxy device
with a few simple buttons and a laser focus lens.

Illanov:"Looks like a standard X-01 laser mine. Very common among many
         paramilitary and mercenary forces."

Evans:"Is it armed?"

Illanov:"Dah, it is armed. The green light that indicates it is safe
         is not on."

Striker turns to Corsair.

Striker:"Scan the tunnel and see how many more mines there are."

Corsair:"Righto, boss."

Corsair uses his scanner and checks the tunnel as far as he can.

Corsair:"Man, seems these guys wanted to blow the tunnel and anyone
         inside. This whole thing has mines placed along the way."

Evans:"I'll go get a bomb disposal team to clear these mines so we
       can go in."

Illanov shakes his head and digs into his uniform.

Illanov:"It will take too long, comrades. I'll use my EMP jammer to
         deactivate the mines so that we can go into the tunnel while
         the mines are disarmed."

He takes out his EMP jammer and turns it on. He walks past the mine,
and it does not explode.

Hotrod:"Nice tool you got there."

Illanov:"Thanks, comrade."

Striker:"Reg, let's go, but stay close to Alex. General, you can have
         your men clear the mines while we go on ahead."

Evans:"Right."

Evans turns to a soldier and gives out some orders. As the soldier
salutes and runs off, the rest huddle close to Illanov. They all then
move forward, keeping a close eye on the mines along the walls.

Tunnel Exit
Scottish Highlands
10:31 AM:

The train tunnel opens up by a lake amongst the high hills of Scotland.
The track coming from the tunnel runs parallel to another track coming
out of the hills. A diverting track connects the two tracks to each
other. The track coming out of the tunnel turns to the lake, then
suddenly ends in a piece of bridge section a few feet into the lake.
Lights come from the tunnel exit as the group comes to the exit. As
they step out the tunnel, they turn the lights off. They stop and look
around.

Hotrod:"Looks like they had a nice little set up here."

Evans:"Look at those tracks. They probably turned the train from the
       one to the other."

Striker:"Ja, but why does that one track end so adbruptly in the lake?"

Helen:"A bridge, perhaps?"

Phoenix looks at the other side of the lake.

Phoenix:"No, not a bridge. There are signs of any tracks on that side."

Striker turns to Merit.

Striker:"Merit, look down into the lake and see what you can find."

Merit:"Executing."

Merit turns to look at the lake, then makes a deep scan into it for a
few minutes. He then turns to the others.

Merit:"My readings reveal that the train we are searching for lies at
       the bottom of the lake, not far from the tracks end."

Everyone's attention is immediately focused on Merit.

Helen:"The whole thing?"

Merit:"Negative. The engine and attached troop carraiges are there, but
       the transporation carraige that held Longbow One, along with
       Longbow One, are not there."

Evans:"What about any... bodies?"

Merit:"Negative. Organic readings are only that of underwater fauna and
       flora. No human carbon units."

Striker:"That is probably what they did: they hooked Longbow One to a
         different train that was waiting on the other track, then
         dumped the military train into the lake to hide it."

Evans:"But where are the escorting soldiers?"

Striker:"I do not know. They could have been killed and disposed of
         somewhere else. Then again, we might have to also assume that
         everyone on that train was working for the thieves, or were
         the thieves themselves."

Helen:"But that would mean a serious breach in our security."

Striker:"Ja, but it is a possibility."

Helen:"I'd better call the agency and have them begin a reach for all
       trains that might be or might have been transporting Longbow
       One."

Evans:"I'll have the men scour the area for some clues or maybe for
       bodies if there are any."

Striker:"My team and I will go and follow these tracks and see if we
         can locate Longbow One or perhaps where it went to."

As they talk, they are unaware that someone was watching them. Inside
the hollow stump of a tree on a hill near the lake, the lens of a
camera and the fuzz of a directional microphone was staring at where 
they were.

Country Road
Near England/Scotland Border
11:34 AM:

This is a small, tarred road winding through the hilly countryside of
Scotland. Not far off are railroad tracks and the occasional farm
cottage. Travelling along the road are the Rhino and Hotrod's Camaro,
while above them is the Stealth Rover. In the Rhino are Striker, 
Phoenix and Shephard; in the Stealth Rover is Illanov and Merit; and
going along with Hotrod in the Camaro is Corsair. The Rhino is
driving ahead of the Camaro. Corsair keeps contact to the others
directly using a headset while he types away on his laptop. In the
Rhino Phoenix is driving while Striker and Shephard watch the
tracks. Striker radios to Corsair.

Striker:"Corsair, where do these tracks lead?"

Corsair:"Still looking boss. The maps I have say this track is not part
         of the main transportation system."

Striker:"Is it new, then?"

Corsair:"Nope. Built at the turn of the last century, but it was 
         abandoned just before 2000. Seems it was slated for demolition,
         but now that has been dropped too."

Striker:"Does it say why?"

Corsair:"Nope, but I can check it out."

Striker:"First see where these tracks lead before you do that."

Corsair:"Righto, boss."

As Corsair turns back to his laptop, Hotrod looks over at him.

Hotrod:"How long have you guys been a team?"

Corsair answers without looking up.

Corsair:"We met piece by piece, you can say. Striker, Phoenix and that
         Russian made up the original team during the Iron Fist thing.
         Shephard was assigned to STRIKE a few months before the Techno
         War, I joined in just before the war broke out and Merit came
         over to our side just before the war ended. After that, we
         were pretty much the team since then."

Hotrod:"Okay. How come you and Illanov have such spats?"

Corsair rolls his eyes.

Corsair:"He starts it all the time. I'm innocent here."

Hotrod:"Not what I hear from your team leader. He says you fight each
        other every week."

Corsair:"Yeah, but that Russian starts most of it."

Hotrod:"Not what your leader says about it. Seems you two are both
        equally guilty."

Corsair looks with a frown at the Rhino ahead.

Corsair:"You suck, boss."

Striker replies back over his headset.

Striker:"I have been called worse."

Corsair grumbles while Hotrod looks ahead, chuckling softly to himself.
Suddenly Hotrod notices something in his rearview mirror. He looks into
it and sees two black-clad figures riding on motorcycles behind them.
The bikers are quickly closing the distance.

Hotrod:"Looks like we got us some company."

Corsair:"Hmmm?"

Corsair looks into the sideview mirror on his side and also sees the
two bikers. The one biker speeds up while the other remains behind the
Camaro. Corsair whistles.

Corsair:"Man, I wish I had one of those."

The first biker begins to pass the Camaro. As both Corsair and Hotrod
watch, they get to see more details. The rider is wearing rubber/
metallic vest, boots and shorts and has a helmet shaped like the head
of a cano-sapien. His tail can also be seen as black with a white
tip. The bike he is riding looks like a Cyclborg. Corsair notices
this.

Corsair:"Hey! That looks like Strayer stuff. The bike, the clothes. Hey
         boss. We got a Strayer here with us."

Up front Striker stops monitoring the tracks and takes a look behind
them. He also spots the biker, as does Phoenix when she looks into the
rearview.

Phoenix:"Was there mention of a Strayer being sent to help us, Love?"

Striker:"Nee, Firefly, and that makes me suspicious about our new
         arrival here."

Phoenix:"He does have all the gear of a Strayer..."

Striker:"Ja..."

All of the sudden the biker pulls out a Petri Rifle and takes aim on
the Rhino. Striker and Phoenix's eyes widen.

Striker:"Ai yai yai!"

The biker fires a short. Phoenix swirves and the shot hits the side of
the Rhino. Striker and Shephard immediately duck for cover as Phoenix
activates the Rhino's protective armor plating. In the Camaro Hotrod and
Corsair saw what just happened.

Corsair:"Oh boy! Trouble!"

Hotrod looks in his rearview. He can see the other biker pull out a gun
from his dark grey uniform jacket. Hotrod instantly realizes who it is.

Hotrod:"Dagger!"

Corsair:"Dagger? He's got a knife?"

Hotrod:"No, that's his name!"

Corsair looks behind them. Not only can he see Dagger, but also several
tough bikers that look like gangsters coming up behind them.

Corsair:"Looks like Dagger and our friend up front brought some more
         buddies!"

Hotrod then pulls out a shotgun and turns to Corsair.

Hotrod:"Drive!"

Corsair looks surprised at Hotrod, but then quickly takes the wheel 
after Hotrod lets go of it. Corsair moves into the driver's seat as 
Hotrod climbs to the middle of the car and opens the sun roof. Up
front Striker and Shephard quickly talk.

Striker:"Shephard! Give me covering fire!"

Shephard:"Yes, sir!"

Suddenly Illanov's voice comes over the radio speakers of the Rhino.

Illanov(over radio):"Comrades! You got hostile bikers assaulting you!"

Striker:"We got it, Alex. Dankie."

Illanov(over radio):"There is also more trouble up ahead! Merit saw
       several black SUV vehicles that are making road blocks a few
       kilometres away!"

Striker:"Clear those road blocks, Alex! We will deal with the bikers!"

Illanov(over radio):"Dah, comrade! Good luck!"

Striker:"You too, Alex!"

The radio goes dead. Striker turns to Phoenix.

Striker:"Open the rear shutters and sun roof!"

Phoenix:"Right, Love!"

Phoenix pushes two buttons on the dashboard control panel. The shutters
on the rear window lowers to allow a small space to see and fire through
while the sun roof opens up. Striker stands up on the back seat and
pops up through the open sun roof, while Shephard takes position on the
back seat and puts the muzzle of his M-249 Machine Gun through the open
port in the rear window. DeathRanger fires another shot at them and
scores a bull's eye. The shot strikes Shephard's gun barrel and the
Petri shot surges through the metal into his arms. He screams in pain
and ducks down on the seat. Phoenix immediately looks behind her at
him in concern.

Phoenix:"Shephard! You all right?"

Shephard:"Not too bad, Ma'am... but my arms... they feel like lead
          pudding... ouch..."

Striker, having heard Shephard's scream, ducks back down and looks at
him.

Striker:"What happened?"

Phoenix:"Shephard got hit!"

Shephard:"Nothing serious, sir... just a nasty sting that Petri pistol
          had..."

Striker:"Petri pistol? You sure?"

Shephard:"Certain of it... sir. Tested them when I... was assigned to
          your unit."

Corsair's voice then crackles out over the radio.

Corsair(over radio):"Boss, seems we got some more biker punks coming in
       after us. And stop me if I'm wrong, but that biker chasing you
       looks like that DeathRanger dude who took off on a stolen bike
       during the Techno War. Love to chat further, but right now I got
       some hot wheels to ride and bikers to dodge."

The radio goes dead. Striker looks back at the biker chasing them and
examines him more closely. The biker fires another shot with his Petri
pistol, but this shot misses the open port. Striker looks at Phoenix.

Striker:"Close that port."

Phoenix:"Right, Love."

She closes the shutters down over the port. Striker looks back at their
pursuer again.

Striker:"Corsair is right. That biker is DeathRanger, the Strayer who
         turned renegade on us."

Phoenix:"What is he doing here? And who are these people with him?"

Striker:"Might be that he working for the thieves and they are going
         to try and stop us for going any further into the investigation
         of Longbow One. These other bikers and those road blocks are
         proof of it, but first let us take care of our attackers."

Striker looks back at Shephard, who is still lying on the back seat.

Striker:"How are you now, Shephard?"

Shephard:"The pain is gone a bit, but my arms are still out of action,
          sir."

Striker:"Just keep still and let your arms recover."

Shephard:"Yes, sir."

Striker puts down his sonic rifle on his seat and takes out his
revolver. He climbs back up through the sun roof and takes a quick
look at DeathRanger. DeathRanger sees Striker and takes aim on Striker.
Striker moves more quickly, however. He aims his revolver and fires
a single round before ducking down. The shot strikes the front tire
of DeathRanger's Cyclborg Vengeance. DeathRanger and Vengeance quickly
turn sideways and come to a stop along the side of the road. The
Camaro and the other bikers drive past them. In the Camaro Corsair
is driving while Hotrod stands up through the car's sun roof holding
his shotgun ready. Dagger is now more visible and, since he is not
wearing a helmet, one can see he is a rottweiler. Dagger shouts at
Hotrod.

Dagger:"Hotrod! At last you will die!"

Hotrod shouts back him.

Hotrod:"And who let your unfriendliness out from the junkyard?"

Dagger snarls back and fires a shot at Hotrod, but his reckless
shot misses its mark by a long distance. Hotrod chuckles and fires
a buckshot at Dagger. Dagger ducks down, his bike taking most of
the buckshot, including the front tire. The tire bursts with a loud
bang and the bike immediately twists to one side. Dagger looses his
balance and both he and his bike fall down and slide on the road. The
four other bikers ride past Dagger, barely missing him. Two of the
bikers, who have pistols ready, fire at Hotrod. Hotrod ducks down
into the car. This allows the two other bikers to pass the Camaro
on either side and speed towards the Rhino. While this is going on,
the Stealth Rover is flying ahead of the group. In the cockpit at
the pilot controls is Illanov. Seated next to him is Merit. Illanov
and Merit are looking at one of the monitors on the dashboard. It
shows the road up ahead being blocked by black SUVs, while black
suited individuals hide along the road armed with M4 Rifles.

Merit:"Range is now 1 minus kilometre."

Illanov:"Time to clear the way for our comrades."

Illanov pushes a button. In front of him a holographic screen of
the roadblock appears with crosshairs and targeting information. He
pilots the Stealth Rover until he gets a good target. On the flight
stick he presses a button with his index finger. Next moment there is
a slight jolt throughout the Stealth Rover as it fires a cannon
blast at the roadblock. Before the suits at the roadblock can react,
the shot hits right amongst the SUVs. The powerful explosion sends
the vehicles flying off onto either side of the road. One of them 
bursts into flames as it lands. Illanov looks over at Merit.

Illanov:"How far from the next road block, comrade?"

Merit:"The following obstruction is located 1.87 kilometres from the
       present obstruction we had removed."

Illanov:"Right, let's clear the way a little more, comrade."

The Stealth Rover flies on. Back with the ground vehicles, the two
bikers who are heading for the Rhino open fire at Striker, causing
him to duck back into the Rhino. The bikers then take the chance.
While the one biker covers, the other speeds up along the driver's
side of the Rhino. The biker then aims his pistol at the door
window. Phoenix spots him.

Phoenix:"No thank you. Nothing today."

She swirves the Rhino into the biker. The biker looses control and
drives into a stone wall running alongside the road. The impact
sends the biker flying over into the field on the other side.
Phoenix turns her attention back to the road. She sees the destroyed
vehicles of what was the roadblock.

Phoenix:"Alex has cleared the way, Strikie!"

Striker:"Uitstekend. Keep driving and try to swirve the bikers off
         our tails."

Phoenix:"Right."

Back at the Camaro, one of the bikers pulls up longside the driver's
side of the car while the other keeps Hotrod under cover. The biker
pulls out a chain and flings it at the car window. Corsair flinches
and the Camaro swirves to one side of the road as the window cracks
from the impact. The biker follows the Camaro, then swings his chain
into the car at Corsair. Corsair ducks, turning the wheel so that
the Camaro swirves 90 degrees across the road to a stop. The second
biker quickly turns to the left to pass, but too late sees the wreck
of one of the blasted SUVs. He smashes into and flies over it into
the ditch along the road. At the Camaro, Hotrod ducks back out of
cover through the sunroof. He holds his shotgun as a club, then
reaches over to the first biker and smashes him in the helmet. The
biker tumbles backward off his bike, while the bike itself rolls on
into the fields along the road. Hotrod ducks back down while Corsair
gets the Camaro back on the road.

Hotrod:"Good riding."

Corsair:"Thanks. Nice job on getting rid of these bikers."

Hotrod:"No problem. Let's get out of here."

Corsair:"Sure!"

Corsair puts the Camaro into gear and follows after the Rhino. Up
ahead another road block explodes into a fireball.

Petrol Station
Village
11:54 AM:

This is a typical petrol station in a small English village. The Rhino
and Camaro are parked in front of the station store while the Stealth
Rover has landed in a field just next to the station. Villagers,
pump attendants and drivers filling up their cars are staring at the
Rovers, who are holding a small conference by their vehicles.

Illanov:"... the third road block was then abandoned. The hostiles got
         into their vehicles and left as soon as they saw the fate of
         the second road block."

Striker:"Which way did they go?"

Illanov:"Southward, comrade, but they could have taken any other road
         from here."

Striker:"Waar, Alex."

Illanov(confused):"'Where', comrade?"

Striker:"Jammer. That also means 'true'. Anyway, it seems we have
         attrached the attention of the thieves or at least someone who
         has money to purchase these mercenaries."

Hotrod:"What about those suits we saw?"

Striker:"Those people I want to have captured. They are not mercenaries,
         since these mercenaries are not paid to ask questions about
         what they are doing."

Phoenix:"What about DeathRanger, Love?"

Hotrod:"And Dagger, for that matter?"

Striker:"I think we should keep an eye out, but I doubt they will know
         more about what is behind this entire scheme than those bikers
         they were hired along with. They are still dangerous, however,
         so we must be op ons hoede."

Merit:"Op ons hoede equals on our guard."

Striker:"Ja, Dankie Merit."

Shephard:"Shall I get Miss Sheffield on the line, sir?"

Striker:"Ja, do that, Shephard. We need her help to arrest these people."

Shephard:"Yes, sir!"

As Shephard gets out his radio, Striker looks at the people staring at
them.

Striker:"While we are waiting, go ask these people whether they had seen
         any trains with Longbow One. Those tracks pass close by this 
         village and someone must have at least noticed a train on these
         tracks."

Everyone else agrees and turn to walk towards the people around them.
Striker waits until Shephard gets contact on his radio. Shephard turns
to him with the radio.

Shephard:"I have her on the line, sir."

Striker:"Dankie, Shephard."

Striker takes the radio and talks to Sheffield on the radio.

Striker(into radio):"Mevrou Sheffield?... Striker here. My team and I
       ran into trouble while we were following the tracks... Apparen-
       tly mercenaries and some suited individuals tried to waylay on
       the road we were travelling... Nee, we are all fine... Nee, we
       haven't arrested anyone of signifance. We need your help to
       arrest any suspicious individuals in black SUV vehicles...
       They know more than the mercenaries... Ja... We are still
       tracking down the train... Ja, we will keep you informed...
       Reg, Striker out..."

Striker turns off the radio and gives it back to Shephard. He then waits
until everyone in his team are gathered back together.

Striker:"Reg, I've contacted Sheffield. They will have the authorities
         try and pick up those suits in their SUVs. What did you all
         find out?"

Illanov:"Only one train did pass on those tracks during the last week,
         comrade. She could not see the carraige carrying Longbow
         One, but she did notice that one carraige was under a very
         large canvas."

Striker:"That is the train. What else did she say?"

Illanov:"The train was non-descript and rather used, so she did not
         notice much, but she did see an insignia on the engine that 
         fitted the description of the European Corporation."

Striker:"That has to be the train we are looking for."

Hotrod:"I've heard stories that EuroCorp is involved in some business
        which you can call criminal."

Corsair:"Oh, that's nothing new. EuroCorp and it's rival, Malcolm
         Industries, are up to their ears in illegal dealings. They
         got armies of lawyers to shut up suspicious people if their
         own security corps don't silence them."

Hotrod:"Sounds like the business world is quite cutt-throat."

Striker:"Alex, did this woman say which way the train went."

Illanov:"She said she thinks the train went onto another track that
         goes towards Southhampton and the surrounding port towns and
         cities."

Striker:"Reg. We'll go to Southhampton, stopping at each town where
         those tracks go through or pass to make sure the train didn't
         go off somewhere else. Let's all go by the Stealth Rover. I
         don't want us to be delayed further by more attacks from the
         mercenaries and the suits."

As they are all talking, they don't notice a familiar figure sneaking
up to the back of the Rhino. It is Ozari Del Figulo. He snickers as
he reaches the Rhino.

Ozari:"Just wait, Striker. I owe you several good stabbings."

Carefully judging his timing, Ozari quickly climbs into the back of
the Rhino and pulls a cover over himself to hide.

Cockpit
Stealth Rover
Over Outskirts Of Southampton
1:01 PM:

Everyone is now seated in the cockpit in their usual places, with Hotrod
seated in a spare passenger seat. Through the cockpit one can see the
port city of Southampton along the English Channel.

Phoenix:"This is it: Southampton."

Hotrod:"What's next, Striker?"

Striker:"We are going to look and see if we can find where Longbow One
         was. It is most likely our enemy had loaded it onto a ship,
         probably on a EuroCorp ship. Corsair, check what you find out
         about EuroCorp holdings here in Southampton that are connected
         to the railway line we are following."

Corsair:"Righto, boss."

Corsair types away on the laptop in front of him for a few moments. He
shakes his head.

Corsair:"Nothing, boss. We have several small business that are sub-
         sidiaries of EuroCorp, some small warehouses and few trucking
         companies, but nothing connected by rail..."

He then notices something.

Corsair:"Wait, got something... There is a EuroCorp property that has
         been connected to the rail quite recently."

Striker:"What property is that?"

Corsair:"Let's see... it's the Harvard & Wolff Shipyards, an old
         ship building site. It's been decommissioned since the 1950s
         and is part of the old city that was built around the end of
         the 18th century. EuroCorp bought the shipyards about a month
         ago. Hey, this is an interesting fact: these shipyards were
         where they built the Titanic and her sister ships."

Phoenix:"The Titanic? Really?"

Corsair:"Sure is."

Striker:"What new additions were made to those shipyards?"

Corsair(looking at laptop):"Uhhhh... nothing much. Heck, all they did
       was add a gate plus they made that the railway tracks end in
       the Titanic's old drydock."

Striker:"That is it, then. Let's go and investigate Harvard & Wolff
         Shipyards."

Striker turns the Stealth Rover towards the harbours of Southampton.

Harvard & Wolff Shipyards
Old Harbour Area
1:10 PM:

This is the main plaza of the shipyards: a flat area with concrete
block surfaces. From the main plaza are several massive drydocks that
lead out to the ocean. Massive iron doors keep the water out. Around
the plaza and drydocks are sheds, workmen's quarters, warehouses and
other buildings. The shipyard has seen better days. Weeds grow between
the cracked concrete and in the drydocks. The water doors are brown
with rust and the buildings are dilapedated, with all their windows
either covered with thick dust or broken. The only things that are
new is a electrical steel gate that blocks the only entrance through
the concrete wall that surrounds the compound, and railway tracks
that run from the gate down into one of the nearby drydocks. While
sounds of a busy city and harbour can be heard, the shipyard is dead
quiet. The Stealth Rover comes and lands in the plaza, it's landing
gear touching down on the concrete next to the tracks. After the
engines are turned off, the walkway is lowered and the Rovers disem-
bark from the Stealth Rover. They all look around the shipyard.

Hotrod:"Man, this place is a dump."

Corsair:"Ditto me on that."

Merit:"The condition of the structures in this compound are certainly
       very poor."

Illanov:"Not exactly how a newly bought property of EuroCorp should look.
         All that is not in disrepair is the gate and the tracks."

Shephard:"I don't see any hostiles about. H***, I don't even see a sleepy
          guard by the gate."

Striker:"Spread out and search the buildings for someone who might be
         around for questioning or for any computers or papers we can 
         confiscate for clues. Be very careful, though. DeathRanger,
         Dagger and the other mercenaries would have told their superiors
         about their earlier failure."

Hotrod:"Would they really attack us here? I mean, it's broad daylight
        and this yard is next to a busy street and the harbour."

Striker:"That does not mean a thing, Hotrod. I have met enemies who
         would be very eager to open fire at me in the middle of a
         police station full of officers. Stay on your guard and be
         versigtig. If you see or hear something suspicious, contact
         the rest of us immediately. Phoenix will come with me. 
         Corsair, you go with Hotrod to the drydocks. Alex, go with 
         Merit to the administation buildings. Shephard, you will go 
         and look into those other buildings."

Rovers(in unison):"Right."

Striker:"Reg, let's roll."

Striker and Phoenix walk towards the warehouses, Corsair and Hotrod
proceed towards the Titanic's old drydock, Illanov and Merit head
for the foremen buildings and Shephard heads for the warehouses. They
all pull out their weapons and keep them close by. As they split up,
unfriendly eyes were watching them through a dirty window from one
of the workmen's quarters. Inside a room that contains some dirty
bunks and a table is DeathRanger, Dagger and three Shock Soldiers
guarding the room. DeathRanger and Dagger watch through the window
at the groups. Dagger has his eyes firmly on Hotrod.

Dagger:"Just one shot is all I need."

DeathRanger:"No shooting, Dagger. We are only to watch them."

Dagger:"Who would care if we kill them now?"

DeathRanger:"The Southampton police, for one. If we start shooting we
             will draw far more attention than what we can handle.
             Now keep your finger from the trigger."

Dagger:"Bah! Why should I take orders from you about what I can and
        cannot do?"

DeathRanger:"Simple. We are both being paid for this work, and I am
             in a good position to get your share of the bounty if
             you get yourself killed. Besides, I would rather prefer
             to be working alone with you, so I might just be tempted
             to kill you if you bother me too much."

Dagger:"That feeling is mutual."

DeathRanger:"Glad to see you're on the level. Now let's keep an eye
             on those Strikers down there."

Dagger mumbles something as they keep their attention on the Rovers
down below. DeathRanger then remembers something and looks at Dagger.

DeathRanger:"Did you take care of those two old men that wander around
             here?"

Dagger just nods, half his attention still focused on Hotrod. Death-
Ranger frowns, then looks at one of the Shock Soldiers.

DeathRanger:"You were with him. Did you deal with the two men?"

Shock Soldier:"With one of them, sir. The other one was not yet here,
               so he told to come back here and wait until he comes
               with the Strikers."

DeathRanger's one eyebrow raises suspiciously.

DeathRanger:"With the Strikers?"

Shock Soldier:"That's what he told us."

DeathRanger immediately looks at Dagger, who is looking back him, but
with one still on Hotrod.

Dagger:"Hotrod IS rather old, isn't he? And just as feeble too."

DeathRanger swears out loud.

DeathRanger:"You lazy moron! You were to kill those two old men! They
             are possible witnesses!"

Dagger:"So WHAT? I'm here solely to kill Hotrod, not to do the dirty
        laundry of our bosses."

DeathRanger glares at Dagger, then digs his finger into Dagger's chest.

DeathRanger:"Fine. You wanted Hotrod. Right, YOU can then kill off
             all of the Strikers by yourself."

DeathRanger pulls his finger back and walks towards the door. Dagger
watches him.

Dagger:"And what about you? Scared?"

DeathRanger stops and looks back.

DeathRanger:"As a matter of fact, yes. If you are not, then clearly
             you are not a living creature. I'm taking these men and
             we are going to try and cover up this mess of yours."

He looks at the Shock Soldiers.

DeathRanger:"Come on, useless. We're moving out."

Shock Soldiers:"Yes, sir!"

DeathRanger walks out through the door, followed closely by the Shock
Soldiers. Dagger just chuckles and then turns his full attention back
to the Rovers outside. Back outside with Striker and Phoenix, who are
busy talking to one another as they walk towards one of the large
warehouses nearby.

Phoenix:"Not exactly how you'd wanted to spend our vacation, Strikie?"

Striker:"Guess not, Firefly. Evil never rests it seems, and we must
         always be alert to combat evil."

Phoenix:"Really? Or are you just saying it to try and impress me?"

Striker chuckles.

Striker:"Not regtig, I suppose. Once this is over, we will take a
         vacation to a remote destination and not tell anyone about
         it."

Phoenix grins and puts her arms around Striker's.

Phoenix:"Remote, you say?"

Striker:"Remote, ja. Of course, since the rest of our little team
         will be coming along, you and I will need to go to a bit
         more remote spot for privacy."

Phoenix giggles, making Striker smile. Meanwhile, Corsair and Hotrod
come to a shed standing alongside the edge of the drydock.

Hotrod:"What's this?"

Corsair:"According to the site plans, this is where the machines that
         opened the flood gates were kept."

Hotrod:"Let's see if there is new stuff with those machines."

Corsair:"No problem. At any rate I'd rather do this with you that be
         stuck with the Russian."

Hotrod just shakes his head and the two of them go into the shed. They
turn on a light in the shed. They see a hatch in the floor. Looking
down, they can see a ladder going down to some large machines. Most
of the machines are iron which is rusted and old, but some parts are
steel and brand new.

Corsair:"According to the files on this place, these machines are 
         supposed to be swimming in sea water right now."

Hotrod:"And not have brand new parts with the rusty ones too."

Corsair:"Makes sense. The gears here allowed the hull of the Titanic
         to slide into the ocean from the drydock."

Hotrod:"Where they building a ship here? Doubt it."

Corsair:"Nope. I'll bet they let in one of those cargo ships with
         those ferry-like noses that open up. They could have easily
         loaded the train on it."

Hotrod:"It would have to be a big ship."

Corsair:"The Titanic WAS a big ship. In fact, just as big as most
         cargo ships afloat today."

Hotrod:"So such a cargo ship big enough to carry the train could fit
        into the drydock?"

Corsair:"You betcha."

Back outside, Illanov and Merit were making their way to a red-brick
building that used to be the main offices of the shipyards, with the
locked gate nearby. As they approach the building, Merit looks around.

Merit:"This is highly unconvential to allow such decay."

Illanov:"It hasn't had much business, comrade, so people will not
         waste time looking after it."

Merit:"I will assume those tasks. First task should be to locate a
       sweeping implement to clear the surfaces of dust particles."

Illanov shakes his head and chuckles.

Illanov:"Comrade, you don't need to clean this place. It is not ours.
         If you need to sweep, you can always clean out the Stealth
         Rover."

Merit:"The Stealth Rover does require fresh maintenance, I should
       note. Still, I do find it strange that humans allow their
       structures to fall in disrepair."

Illanov just smiles, shaking his head. As they approach the front door
of the offices, the gate unlocks and begins to slide open automatically.
Illanov and Merit turn to look at it.

Illanov:"Comrade, someone is coming!"

Illanov readies his Plasma Rifle. Suddenly there is the sound of a bike 
engine being turned on and revved. The next moment, DeathRanger and 
Vengeance appear from behind the office building. They quickly drive past 
Illanov and Merit before leaving the shipyard through the gate. Moments
later a red delivery truck comes from behind the offices and follows
DeathRanger out the gate as well.

Illanov:"Bolshoi!"

Illanov reaches for his radio and calls the others.

Illanov(into radio):"Comrades! We just saw DeathRanger and a red truck
       leaving the shipyards! They drove right by us out the gate!"

Striker(over radio):"Everyone, ready weapons! I think there might be
       more mercenaries about! Keep your eyes open and stay on guard!"

Illanov(into radio):"Dah, comrade!"

Shephard(over radio):"Yes, sir!"

Hotrod(over radio):"Gotcha!"

Illanov puts his radio away and turns to Merit. 

Illanov:"Let's go in, but watch out for any traps."

Merit:"Perhaps such as the trigger device that is attached to the
       opening mechanism of the door we are about to open?"

Illanov looks at the door, then back at Merit.

Illanov:"When did you notice that?"

Merit:"Approximately 2 minutes and 15 seconds previously. It was
       simpler to locate as we closed the distance."

Illanov:"Can you see what kind of explosive device it is?"

Merit:"Perhaps. Allow me to make a rapid scan."

Merit turns towards the building and scans it over for a few minutes.
He then turns back to Illanov.

Merit:"It appears to be a explosives system used in the demolition of
       structures by construction companies. I was not able to acquire
       an exact figure, but there multiple devices that are connected
       to the opening mechanism of the door."

Illanov:"So the building is rigged to explode as soon as we opened the
         door, destroying us and any evidence."

Merit:"Correct, but I cannot correctly state if there are other methods
       of detonating the devices such as by the use of timers or remote
       detonators."

Illanov glances over at the building, then back at Merit.

Illanov:"Come, comrade. Let's move to a more safer distance from this
         building."

Merit:"I find that a good suggestion."

The two of them walk away from the building. Illanov gets out his radio
again and calls Striker.

Illanov(into radio):"Comrade Striker, come in."

There is a short pause.

Striker(over radio):"I read your, Alex. Something wrong?"

Illanov(into radio):"The building we were about to investigate is rigged
       with demolitions. If we open the door, it would explode. I could
       try to use my EMP jammer, but I worry that the devices could not
       be affected or can even detonate, whether by my jammer, a remote
       or a timer."

Striker(over radio):"Best to play it safe, Alex. Go on back to the
       Stealth Rover. We will have to reconsider our plans."

Illanov(into radio):"Dah, comrade. Over and out."

Illanov puts the radio away, then he and Merit begin to walk back to
the Stealth Rover. Near one of the workmen's quarters, Shephard is
walking towards one, his M-249 at the ready. He then hears his radio
crackle and takes it out.

Striker(over radio):"Everyone, come back to the Stealth Rover. We may
       need to rethink our approach here."

Corsair(over radio):"Sure, boss. We're on our way."

Shephard(into radio)"Copy that, sir. Returning to LZ."

Shephard puts away his radio and turns around to head back to the
Stealth Rover.

Voice(from behind):"Help me!"

Shephard immediately stops and whips around, his M-249 aimed to the
source of the voice. He finds Dagger, holding his sniper rifle to
the head of an elderly old man in overalls. Dagger smirks.

Dagger:"You! Get me Hotrod! Now! Or the old dodger eats it!"

Shephard takes out his radio and calls the others.

Shephard(into radio):"Sir, you and Hotrod better over to my position. I 
        got Dagger here, and he's holding a hostage."

Striker(over radio):"Hold your position, and don't do anything that 
       could jeopardize the hostage's life. We're coming over quickly."

Shephard(into radio):"Yes, sir!"

Shephard puts away his radio, putting both hands back on his gun.

Dagger:"Well?"

Shephard:"He's coming. Be patient, sir."

Dagger:"Don't trick me! One false move and I'll kill him!"

To emphasize his point, he thrusts his rifle against the old man's head.
Shephard doesn't flinch and keeps his weapon aimed towards Dagger.
Moments later Striker, Hotrod and the others come running, but Illanov
is not in sight. They join Shephard, keeping their weapons aimed at
Dagger but keeping a good distance. Dagger glances over at Hotrod,
grinning widely.

Dagger:"Well now, finally got you Hotrod."

Hotrod:"Let the old man go, Dagger. This is between you and me."

Dagger:"Sure is between you and me, so you tell your friends here to
        drop their weapons and step far away from us. Now!"

Hotrod looks at Striker, who nods back at him. He then puts down his
sonic rifle, followed by his revolver. Phoenix, Corsair and Shephard
do the same and put their weapons down on the ground. On Striker's
signal they begin to walk backwards away from Hotrod and Dagger. As
soon as they step back far enough, Dagger turns his full attention
back to Hotrod.

Dagger:"You too."

He holds out his one free hand. Suddenly Hotrod's weapon is pulled out
of his paws. It slides on the ground up to Dagger, who stops it with
his foot.

Dagger:"This is it, Hotrod...."

He takes the muzzle of his sniper rifle from the old man's head and
aims it directly at Hotrod.

Dagger:"... time to die!"

Suddenly Dagger's sniper rifle is pulled straight up. Dagger begins
to struggle with his rifle as something tries to jerk it away. He
lets go of the old man and the others dash in to help. Phoenix grabs
the old man and leads him away as the rest rush in and grab Dagger.
Dagger fights viciously, snarling and screaming. His rifle is finally
pulled away, and Illanov becomes visible again as he takes out the
bullets from it. The others finally wrestle Dagger to the ground and
Corsair, Hotrod and Shephard pin him down with his arms behind his back.
Striker and Merit stand up. Striker goes over to where Phoenix was
tending to the old man, who is sitting down on the ground. Striker
kneels next to him.

Striker:"You fine, old man?"

Old Man:"Yes... I'm all right... Blimey, thanks for rescuing me from
         that nutter..."

Phoenix:"You're welcome. What's your name?"

Old Man:"Peter Chesterson... I'm a retiree around Southampton... used to
         work around the docks..."

Striker:"Here at the shipyard too?"

Peter:"No, but my grandpa, bless his soul, worked here as part of the
       wielding crews who built the ships, including the Titanic and
       her sister ships. I sometimes come here to walk and remember the
       good old days."

Striker:"Even when EuroCorp bought this shipyard?"

Peter:"Yes, they did allow me to come here. Strange, though, that they
       did not do much with it. One day they locked the place up, but
       they forgot about the back doors that were used by workers to
       sneak out to pubs."

Striker:"Did you see any trains come here?"

Peter:"Only once. It was two days ago. I was here, walking around here
       because I couldn't sleep. I saw all these soldier types around
       here. They were busy loading a train onto a large cargo ship
       there in the Titanic's drydock." 

Striker:"Was there one carraige that was very large and kept under a
         canvas?"

Peter:"Ummm.... yes, there was one. And there was many soldiers on it
       too. Was there something important? A weapon or something?"

Striker:"Stolen property. When did this happen?"

Peter:"About two nights ago. When I came here today to look around, a
       rookie policeman caught sight of me and thought I was trespassing.
       But as soon he came here to arrest me, these soldiers came and
       shot him dead. Poor kid. I tried to hide, but then that mad dog
       caught me. I'm sure he would have killed me."

Striker:"Most likely. What was the name of this ship they loaded the
         train on?"

Peter:"I couldn't see the full name, but it was the 'Spirit Of' something
       or other. Terribly sorry."

Striker:"It is all reg, Meneer Chesterson. That is all we need to know.
         We will take you back home and place you under protective
         custody."

Peter:"Thank you. I'm glad I was able to help you track down these
       thieves and murderers."

Corsair(from behind):"Boss!"

Striker turns to look at Corsair. He, Shephard and Hotrod are still
struggling to keep Dagger under control. Illanov is there, also trying
to help out.

Corsair:"This fleabag won't sit still! We need a little help!"

Striker:"Knock him unconcious, Shephard."

Shephard:"Yes, sir!"

Shephard grabs hold of Dagger's head hair, then hits his head really
hard on the concrete. Dagger is immediately knocked out and the others
breathe a sight of relief.

Hotrod:"Man, he is a feisty one. At last he is in our custody."

Corsair:"Had a hard time getting hold of him? No surprise."

Hotrod:"No kidding, but now Dagger can finally be imprisoned and held
        accountable for his crimes."

Illanov:"What did the old man tell you, comrade?"

Striker:"He told us where the train is. It's on a cargo ship with the
         name 'Spirit Of' in it."

Illanov:"We can and ask the Southampton harbour master. He could have
         a log on the ship we are looking for."

A sudden look of shock comes over Phoenix's face. She grabs Striker's
arm and shakes him. He looks at her, becoming alarmed.

Striker:"Phoenix! What's wrong?"

Phoenix:"Alex said that DeathRanger and a red van drove out of here just
         now. What if they are heading for the harbour master?"

Striker's eyes widen as he realizes it too.

Striker:"Ai yai yai!"

He stands up and shouts at Illanov.

Striker:"Alex! Get the Rhino ready!"

Illanov:"Dah, comrade!"

Illanov runs towards the Stealth Rover. Striker turns back to Peter, who
is being helped up by Phoenix.

Striker:"Do you where the harbour master's office is?"

Peter:"Yes, I do. I can show you the way."

Striker:"Goed. Phoenix, take him to the Rhino!"

Phoenix:"Right!"

As Phoenix leads Peter to the Stealth Rover, Striker turns to the others.

Striker:"The rest of you stay here and keep Dagger prisoner! Shephard,
         have Sheffield send her men here to help secure the area and
         clear it of any explosives!"

Shephard:"Yes, sir!"

Corsair:"Okay, boss!"

Hotrod:"Okay!"

Merit:"Affirmative."

Striker then quickly turns and runs for the Stealth Rover.

Streets
Southampton Harbour Area
1:42 PM:

The Rhino is making its way through the English streets towards the
new harbour of Southampton. Striker is driving, with Peter seated next
to him and Phoenix and Illanov seated behind them. Peter points as
they come to an intersection.

Peter:"Turn right! The street leads straight to the harbour entrance."

Striker:"Reg."

As they come to the intersection, with the street lights red against
them, a red truck drives across the street past them. Illanov's eyes
widen.

Illanov:"Bolshoi! That's the same red truck that left the shipyard!"

Suddenly a fire truck, its sirens screaming, drives past the red
truck into the direction it is coming from.

Phoenix:"That cannot be a good sign."

A police vehicle, its sirens also blaring, follows right behind the
fire truck.

Striker:"I have a bad feeling..."

Striker skips the right light and drives after the two emergency
vehicles down to the harbour.

Main Harbour Terminal
Southampton Harbour
1:45 PM:

The white-walled building of the harbour terminal is more modern than
the older buildings back at the shipyard, complete with an airport-
style control tower. Right now, though, fires are burning in the
upper floors of the building. Terminal workers are runnning out,
while dock workers and passersby help and gawk at the fires. A large
smoke cloud spreads out across the harbour. The fire truck, police
car and Rhino stop in the terminal parking lot amongst the cars of
the workers. Firefighters jump out in fire gear, some of them getting
hoses while others get fire axes. The police climb out and begin to
move the crowds away as well helping those running out of the
terminal. Striker, Phoenix, Illanov and Peter climb out to look at
the fire.

Illanov:"Mother Russia! They set the place on fire!"

Striker grabs one of the workers coming out of the terminal.

Striker:"You! Who caused this fire?"

Worker:"I don't know. Some guys came in a red truck who wanted to see
        the harbour master. Minutes later then ran out, then came
        the fire alarm."

Striker:"Where is the harbour master?"

Worker:"I don't know..."

Striker turns to the crowd and shouts out to them.

Striker(shouting):"Has anyone seen the harbour master?"

The workers look amongst themselves for the harbour master, but no
one sees him. Phoenix begins to take off her jacket.

Phoenix:"I'm going in to get him!"

She tosses her jacket over her head. Just as she is about to run for 
the terminal door, Striker grabs her arm.

Striker:"Phoenix, wait!"

Phoenix:"Strikie, it's okay. I can handle this."

Striker:"Not that. I just want to say I love you."

Phoenix smiles faintly, rubbing Striker's cheek. She then rushes for
the terminal door, where firefighters are busy going in while the
remaining terminal workers run out. One firefighter notices her and
tries to stop her.

Firefighter:"Wait, Ma'am! You can't go in!"

Phoenix darts pasts him and into the terminal lobby. The air is heavy
with smoke, so Phoenix uses her jacket to cover her muzzle. She runs
for the emergency stairs and rushes up. As reaches each floor level,
one can see the fires raging in the offices beyond the emergency
stairs entrance doors. She finally reaches the top of the stairs
and comes out on the roof. Smoke billows from vents, while fires
burn through parts of the roof. In the centre of the roof is the
terminal control tower. She runs for it, then tosses a fireball at
one of the windows. The glass shatters from the blast. She jumps
into the terminal. It has all the electronic equipment needed to
run the harbour, but right now nearby everything is on fire. Phoenix
looks around and spots a man in a blue uniform lying the floor,
the flames already upon his legs. She rushes to him, then takes her
jacket to smother the flames. She coughs on the smoke. Once she
puts out the flames, she cover's the man's head with her jacket and
then lifts him over her shoulders. She rushes through the flames
out of the broken. She runs to the edge of the roof, where the
others spot her holding the man.

Striker:"Phoenix! Stay there! We'll get you something to land in!"

Almost as soon as he says that, a group of dockworkers rush to a nearby
flatbed, which has a large canvas covering its cargo. They begin to
pull the canvas loose, even cutting the ropes holding it. They then
spread it out and run towards the terminal. Striker, Illanov and some
newly arrived paramedics and bystanders join in and help to spread the
canvass out just below where Phoenix is standing. Shouts of "jump" come
from the crowds. Phoenix first throws the man over down into the canvas.
The man lands softly in the canvas and the paramedics take him off to
be treated while some dockworkers take the place of the paramedics to
hold the canvas. Phoenix then jumps and also lands safely. Two dock-
workers help her to her feet. Striker rushes up to her.

Striker:"You reg?"

Phoenix coughs, then nods.

Phoenix:"I'm fine. I'm fine."

As Striker leads her away, applause comes from the crowd around them.
The canvas is pulled away from the burning building as the firefighters
begin to spray the fires from water from the fire hoses. Striker makes
Phoenix sit down in the Rhino, then he goes over to the ambulance.
The man Phoenix rescued is on a stretcher. Paramedics are treating him
while Peter tries to get his attention.

Peter:"Fred! Fred, wake up! You're out of the fire..."

The man begins to stir as Striker comes and kneels next to him.

Man:"Oooo... ugh... what..."

The man tries to sit up, but the paramedic keeps him down.

Paramedic:"Don't move, sir. You'll be fine."

Striker looks at Peter.

Striker:"Is this the harbour master?"

Peter:"Yes, this is him. Bloody lucky that you've rescued him. He has
       some smoke and a bump on the head for injures."

Striker:"Geen trouble."

Striker looks back down at the harbour master, who is opening his eyes
and looking around. He spots Striker.

H.Master:"W-who are you?... You here to kill me too?"

Striker:"Nee, I am not here to kill you, we rescued you from the fire
         the people who hit you started."

The harbour master eases up as he looks and sees the paramedics and
Peter with him.

H.Master:"Peter... you here too?"

Peter:"Yes, I'm here. You're lucky these dogs managed to rescue you.
       What happened?"

H.Master:"Some guys... they looked military or something... came into
          my office and asked if I had a log of a ship... the Spirit
          of Italy, they said... When I said yes, one of them swung a
          chair at me... I don't remember anything else until now..."

Striker:"Spirit of Italy... is it a cargo ship under registration of
         EuroCorp?"

H.Master:"Yes... yes, that's right... It left here a couple of days
          ago..."

Striker:"Do you know where?"

H.Master:"Let me think... it came here on the 14th with a supply of
          automobile parts... it departed on the... 18th, yes. The
          18th it left with a supply of trucks... destination is
          Rome."

Striker:"Was it docked at the shipyards called Harvard & Wolff?"

H.Master:"Yes, they were... EuroCorp bought those shipyards, most
          likely to do their own loading without paying the regular
          dock fee."

Striker:"Baie Dankie... Thank you for you help..."

H.Master:"Glad to help... uuggghhh..."

The paramedics begin to load the harbour master into the ambulance.
Peter holds out his hand to Striker.

Peter:"I'm going with Fred to the hospital so that I can call his
       family. They'll be grateful to for rescueing him."

Striker smiles and shakes Peter's hand.

Striker:"You are welcome. Take care."

Peter:"Good luck!"

Peter climbs into the ambulance and the paramedics close the doors.
The ambulance drives off, sirens wailing. Striker walks back to the
Rhino to rejoin Phoenix and Illanov.

Illanov:"Did you find out anything, comrade?"

Striker:"The man Phoenix rescued was the harbour master. Seems he
         knew about the ship and the mercenaries tried to kill him
         and destroy all evidence."

Phoenix:"What was the name of the ship, Love?"

Striker:"Spirit Of Italy. It's on its way to Rome."

Illanov:"Comrade Hotrod called. Sheffield and her men are at the
         shipyards with them."

Striker:"Goed. Let's go back and inform her."

They all climb into the Rhino, then they drive out of the harbour
area. Firefighters work on putting out the fires, much of which is
already under control, while the crowds keep watching on.

Harvard & Wolff Shipyards
2:01 PM:

Several military and government vehicles are now on the premises of the
shipyards. Soldiers are busy securing the buildings and disarming any
explosive devices, while MI5 agents search around for clues. Several
soldiers are busy loading Dagger into a military prison van. Corsair,
Hotrod, Shephard and Merit are waiting by the Stealth Rover and the
offloaded Camaro. The Rhino drives into the shipyards and then up to 
the Stealth Rover. Striker and Phoenix climb out while Illanov then 
drives the Rhino into the cargo bay. The couple joins the others.

Corsair:"Any luck, boss?"

Striker:"Ja, we now have a name and a destination. How is Dagger?"

Hotrod:"Took some working, but now we've managed to put him in cuffs
        and the troops there are putting him into the paddy wagon. At
        last he is going to be where he belongs: behind bars. Once I
        get him to one of the Rover bases here in England, I'll take
        him back to Mission Control."

Striker:"So you won't join us further on?"

Hotrod:"Maybe I will, but right now I first need to get Dagger into
        a good jail."

Striker:"Makes sense. I wish you a good trip back to the States."

Hotrod:"Thanks, man. Oh! I see the prison is ready leave. Y'all take
        care now."

Everyone in the team says their goodbyes as Hotrod gets into his
Camaro. He drives off, waving back at them, he joins the prison convoy
and leaves the shipyards. Meanwhile, inside the Stealth Rover's cargo
bay, Illanov has just parked and secured the Rhino in its usual
place. He walks out down the ramp to join the others. As he does,
there is the sound of a body hitting the floor. Moments later, a
figure crawls out from under the Rhino: Ozari Del Figulo. He looks
around, then grins.

Ozari:"Heheheh. I'm inside their little ride. Now I can hide right under
       their noses until the right time comes for me to stab Striker."

He gets up, then sneaks over to the door leading to the rest of the
Stealh Rover. As he sneaks through it though, he stubs his foot on the
side of the doorframe. He winches in pain and swears.

Ozari:"!@#$%&*"

He tries sneak further away, hopping on one foot. Back outside, where
Illanov has joined the others, Shephard turns to Striker.

Shephard:"What is our next destination, sir?"

Striker:"Rome. The ship is heading that way."

Corsair:"Hey, boss. Here's comes Sheffield."

They turn to see Sheffield, escorted by Stanley and other agents, walk
up to them. She looks at Striker.

Sheffield:"Found anything?"

Striker:"Longbow One was loaded onto a ship called the Spirit Of Italy
         here at the shipyards. The ship is heading for Rome. The 
         mercenaries tried to prevent us from getting this information
         by killing the harbour master any witnesses. We saved both him
         and another civilian. Have your people managed to capture
         those mercenaries?"

Sheffield:"Some of them, but they were just some local gang of thugs
           that were simply paid to do the dirty work. They could not
           give us any useful information. We tried to arrest those
           suited individuals, but so far they have eluded us."

Striker:"Too much to hope for. At any rate, my team has enough to go
         after Longbow One."

Sheffield:"Will you be going to raid the ship?"

Striker shakes his head.

Striker:"Too risky. Our enemies have shown they are ruthless and that
         ship will probably be full of trigger-happy mercenaries. We
         will go to Rome and intercept Longbow One there."

Sheffield:"Very well. Longbow One is beyond my country's jurisdiction,
           but I will contact my collegues in the Italian secret 
           service and have them assist you if necessary."

Striker:"Dankie. We will leave immediately."

Sheffield:"Good luck."

Striker:"Dankie."

As Sheffield and the agents walk away, Striker turns to his team.

Striker:"Reg. Let's get back into the Stealth Rover and take off for
         Rome."

Phoenix:"Rome... I've always wanted to see it."

Shephard:"Personally, I'd rather see some more action."

They all walk back up the walkway towards the Stealth Rover. Longbow
One is now on its way to Italy, guarded by a group of mercenaries
who will stop at nothing to keep it. Will Striker and his team be
able to intercept the ship carrying it? Who are the ones behind the
theft of this super weapon? And what new dangerous will the mercenaries
have in store for them in Rome?


THE END