A half click, or maybe a virgin?

Lara was impressed, the “Night Attack Chopper” or NAC, was a custom built helicopter that seemed to have only ever been made in a hand full of examples. It was a stealth attack helicopter with a pregnant guppy fish belly for a team of eight to fit inside. The cockpit was common to most attack helicopters with a pilot and gunner siting one behind the other in the front. It did feature weapons pods on folding winglets and a chin gun that could retract into the area under the pilot and copilot’s seats.

“SO how is this going to work?” Lara asked looking at the lack of pallet moving equipment.

“Easy, we push this out, it tilts over and we use the steaks and then drive this sucker off and unfold the blades, and off we go,” Mayday said as he tied up her red hair.

“Drive it off?” Lara arched an eyebrow.

“Yeah, we have an EPG that powers the electric motors in the wheels so we can drive it on the tarmac like an electric car,” Mayday smiled.

“Yeah, but we aren’t allowed to drive it to the PX or the Post Burger King drive thru anymore,” Wild Bill said as he walked past taking off his flight jacket.

“What?” Lara asked.

*

Sure enough, the skid was left half on the tail of the C17 and held in place by four spikes that acted as tent fly tiedowns. And Wild Bill was driving the helicopter off the pallet and onto the tarmac. As he did so the three main rotor blades were automatically deploying.

“The more you think about it, the harder it is to trust it,” Eagle said as he walked up, “Here I got a spare L-One-One-Nine-A-Two for you and some ammo to clip on the back of your belt.”

Lara looked at the specially modified SAS C-8 carbine and the pair of MTP magazine pouches that Eagle held out.

“Retired the MP5s?” Lara asked.

“We still have them, but only break them out for when we know our fight is in an embassy,” Eagle shrugged, “For longer ranges, Her Majesty purchased these carbines for us.”

“Mind doing me up then?” Lara turned and shook her butox to her child hold friend.

“Lara,” Eagle started to say something.

“It’s not the first time you had your hands all over my bottom now is it?” Lara noted.

“We were a lot younger then,” Eagle noted as he kneeled to feed the PALs webbing of the ammo pouches around the leather belt, “Not to mention that it got us in an awful lot of trouble back then.”

“I still owe you a spanking for that,” Lara mused.

“It was your ideas that got us in trouble,” Eagle said, “In case you have forgotten…”

“It was, wasn’t it,” Lara snickered.

“You got rid of your USP matches?” Eagle said as he snapped the straps closed.

“Yes, I have a pair of the VP9 Matches now,” Lara confirmed.

“Getting familiar with your troops?” Stakeout snickered as he walked up to the pair.

“Never underestimate the power a pretty lady can have over a man,” Lara said.

“There,” Eagle said standing up, “Two pouches, three magazines each, and here is the seventh. And as for you Sergeant…”

“Can you help me with the strap on this holster Sir?” Stakeout asked in a coy voice.

“Keep it up and I won’t do anything to help you when she breaks out the mechanical monkey,” Eagle rolled his eyes.

“The what?” Stakeout asked.

Lara slung the carbine around her chest and then held her arms out awkwardly and started clapping her hands together rhythmically like a machine. The evil grin she put on her face made Stakeout arch an eyebrow. Lara snickered as she finished and headed over to the NAC helicopter. She walked up and looked over Scarlet with her gear. The red-haired American had a cross bow slung across her back, a quiver, a Sig MCX Rattler pistol on one hip and a 1911 pistol on the other.

Around her were a few more Americans that had been hanging around in the background until now.

“Doctor Croft,” Eagle said before pointing at an American with an EOD patch on his shoulder, “This is Corporal Skoog, also known as ‘Tripwire’, he will be your battle buddy on operation, he is an expert at clearing mines and IEDs. You two will hand back and provide rear cover until called up… Scarlet and Rock’n’Roll, you two are cover and suppression.”

The blonde man and the Southern Belle bumped their fists togethers.

“Blowtorch and Stakeout, you two are close in. Dial-tone, you stick with me. If anything goes wrong, get the doctor out of here,” Eagle said, “Fly out if possible, get a boat from our Mexican friends and take her to the American Coast Guard Station straight out that way on that island on the horizon. Just get the doctor out if things go wrong.”

“Oh come on,” Lara interjected.

“If things go wrong,” Eagle said sternly, “You will be the one to have seen and best be able to explain it to the team sent in after us. We already made peace with dying for Crown and Country.”

“How close do you want us to put you down?” Wild Bill asked.

“Here,” Eagle pointed at an area along the river on the map, “These rocks should give us a place to rope, and it is only about a half kilometer away from the temple area.”

Lara looked at the other men in the unit. They were all dressed in the current American Army not exactly Multicam combat shirts, pants, and armored vests. The one she was assigned to work with had a number of multitools on his vest and a magnetic land mine detector strapped to his pack.

“Skoog was it?” Lara smiled at the man.

“Tripwire,” he offered his hand.

Lara shook his hand and then he pulled it back and turned to look around at the rest of the team.

“Is this your first military operation?” Tripwire asked.

“No, I have worked with ‘Eagle’ a number of times before,” Lara arched an eyebrow, “Would you excuse me a second?”

“Oh sure,” Tripwire stepped back to let Lara pass.

Lara walked up to Scarlet and grabbed her arm and led her a few paces from the others.

“What’s up with Skoog,” Lara half hissed, half whispered, “Is he whipped by a wife back home?”

“Tripwire?” Scarlet smirked, “No, he use to be a monk.”

“A monk?” Lara asked.

“Yes, he was a monk but he found his calling in helping people by disarming bombs and landmines,” Scarlet shrugged, “He is a bit shy, but he should warm up to you. Don’t take it personally, he was a monk and you are basically a porn star.”

“Well yes, but still… Is he a virgin?” Lara asked.

Scarlet snickered again.

“I am being serious, is he a virgin?” Lara asked.

“No, he is not a virgin,” Scarlet said.

“Are you sure?” Lara asked.

“I don’t know if it was his first time, but I know I was with the crew that caught him in the turret of an Abrams tank,” Scarlet snickered, “From what I heard that isn’t the last time he gave Covergirl the big D.”

“Last thing I need is him pulling a ‘we are about to die and I have never been with a woman before’ bullocks,” Lara hissed.

“If he gets tense, hand him a grenade and pull the pin,” Scarlet said, “That’s how he gets his Zen back.”

“You’re joking,” Lara looked at Scarlet in confusion, “Right?”

*

Infiltration site 1, HCOT

“Blimey, you don’t even need ear plugs with that thing,” Lara noted as she looked up at the helicopter lifting up and away and it sounding no loader than a weed whacker at the other end of a football pitch.

“Not entirely silent,” Tripwire noted, “But a lot quieter than Rock’N’Rolls room at the barracks. This way Raider.”

Lara noted that he simply waited for her, not trying to be the overly polite gentleman for her. He didn’t move or anything when she put a hand on his shoulder as she made her way down the rocks. He also stayed in place as the big blonde machine gunner stepped down after her. The Machine Gunner than tapped Tripwire on the shoulder and the EOD specialist started walking with Lara along the trail to the temple site. The noise of the jungle was the only thing that Lara could hear as they quietly plodded along.