-1- "Eiiiiiiiiiliiiiiinggggggg," Waller snarled.
Eiling chuckled and took two steps forward. "Honestly woman, did you think you were a match for--"
Waller had had enough. More than enough. She had watched the Squad come down around her ears, and then she had endured Eiling and his cronies turning her and those few loyal Squad members left into outlaws.
She lunged for Eiling--a serious effort for one of her bulk--and got her hands around his throat.
Hellbore and a trooper moved to intervene, but Steel pulled a gun and opened fire. The Squad surged forward.
One of the soldiers still tried to pry Waller's fingers loose from Eiling's neck, but Waller would not be deterred. The soldier drew back his weapon to shoot her....and found Cavalier's blade in his chest.
The dead soldier collapsed on both Waller and Eiling as Cavalier withdrew his blade. Waller shouted in irritation, but kept her hands locked around Eiling's throat.
Eiling battered his fists ineffectually against her bulk, starting to weaken....then smashed his fists into her ears.
Waller threw up, and then passed out.
On top of him.
Eiling was no longer choking to death, but he was having a hard time breathing....and was totally disgusted.
Meanwhile, the battle raged on.
*****************
-2- Sarge Steel hadn't felt so alive in years.
He placed his shots with cool, careful precision. One....two....three...and each one took down an enhanced enemy soldier.
Then a robot was up in his face, clawing away at him. He skittered backwards, and then Vixen was there, smashing into the robot and taking it down.
Then Hellbore closed with him, syringe-fingers extended. Steel grabbed his wrists and threw him into the wall.
Electrocutioner was laughing, hurling lightning bolts every which way.
Vixen was hurling robots and troopers left and right.
Cavalier whirled and danced, slicing and dicing, then caught a robot's claw across the cheek. Unlike that embarrassing time in Gotham, he did not cringe or shirk; instead he shouted in raged and pressed his attack further. Katana was right there too, wreaking havoc.
Then Geo-Force made his presence felt, and the walls erupted in lava.
Some of the robots burned.
Some of the soldiers screamed.
*****************
-3- Eiling and his conspirators had not been blind to these possibilities. Alerts went off in Brent and Roberts' offices.
Wilkerson and Malthus heard similar screaming bleats of warning in their own laboratories, but in truth they didn't need them; they were already monitoring the actions of their subjects through various remote cameras.
Therefore neither
mad scientist was surprised when their phones added their own respective shrills, and Brent and Roberts were screaming down their respective phones at them.
Each of them agreed to send all their remaining troops out to Eiling's house.
After that panic and fury had died down, Malthus called Wilkerson.
"You think it's time to run again?" Malthus asked.
"These lines are monitored," Wilkerson reminded him.
"Still, the point remains," Malthus insisted.
"The Squad hasn't come for us yet," Wilkerson said.
"Not yet, but they already beat the ex-OMAC," Malthus pointed out.
"I think we backed a winning horse this time," Wilkerson said.
"I wish I shared your optimism." Malthus said, and hung up.
He was beginning to think conspiracies weren't his bag.
*****************
-4- Waller groaned back into consciousness as Katana and Manhunter helped her up.
"Urgh....did we get him?" she groaned.
"You got him," Katana said, pointing down with one hand.
Waller looked, and if she wasn't in so much pain she would have laughed. "Let's get him...get him out of here," she wheezed.
"I've got him," Electrocutioner said, picking the disgusted and traumatized Eiling up. "And if you so much as twitch," he said to Eiling, "I'll put enough volts through you to light up New York for a year."
"The city?" Eiling mumbled.
"The entire state. Now shut up."
Eiling didn't seem to have much fight in him, anyway. He looked around, but he could see that all his troopers and robots were down. What was left of his house was burning.
He was clearly wondering how it had all gone wrong so quickly.
Vixen seemed to read some of these thoughts in his face. "You never were much for follow through," she said. "Lord was right about that, if nothing else."
Waller wheezed painful almost-laughter at that.
"Checkmate will be here to pick up the pieces," Steel said. "We don't want to be here when they do."
"Surely we can use Eiling to prove our innocence?" Manhunter frowned.
"Yes, but not at the scene of the crime," Steel pointed out. "Let's move."
Hellbore waited until he was sure they were gone, then pulled himself free of the bodies and limped in the other direction.
*****************
-5- Brent, for his part, was upset, but in a quietly controlled way. It meant that Roberts was now as important as he thought he was, which was annoying. It also meant he would either have to shoulder the entire responsibility for the military operations himself, or otherwise somehow work out a way to rescue Eiling before the Squad used him to expose them. But that wasn't likely.
What worried him most was that they had lost track of Knockout and the Parademon in the wake of their defeat of the pseudo-OMAC. That was unexpected and rattled him more than slightly. First that their perfect warrior had failed, and second that those two were now at large. Oh they could, and indeed were, spinning it to the media as two dangerous aliens on the loose, but that didn't get them caught. Hopefully one of the so called heroes would take care of that problem for them, and--
His musings were interrupted by the two aliens in question coming smashing through the wall.
He pulled a gun, knowing how futile it was but unable to stop himself.
The Parademon moved to attack, but Knockout waved him back with a smug smile on her face.
Brent fired three times anyway, the bullets having no effect on her. She then took the gun and crushed it into a little ball.
"I always wanted to do that," she said. "Now then, General, let's have a little chat about your plans."
Brent briefly reflected that, had he stayed in the Pentagon itself, rather than using the hidden base Eiling had helped them construct, the damn Apokoliptians wouldn't have been able to get away with this."
*****************
-6- Roberts, for his part, was beginning to panic.
He considered himself a fine administrator and planner, the "voice of reason" within the group (and really, weren't both Eiling and Brent more than a little power-mad?). After all, it would eventually be down to him to run for president, and seal the deal where the legality of their operations was concerned. The others tended to forget that, until he reminded them.
Puffed up on his own important, he also overestimated his own intelligence; he thought he was the real brain power of the operation, and ultimately, the problem solver.
But he was wondering what they could really do, now. Using the robots and soldiers to protect themselves didn't seem as viable a strategy, anymore. Oh, they still had contacts within Checkmate they could use, but to do what, exactly?
He clamped down on his fear, his desire to run. Running simply would not do. Not at all.
*****************
-7- The President slammed the door of the Oval Office behind him. It had not been a good day. Dealing with all the fallout from the Squad had been....well...astronomical. And the Pentagon brass, particularly that annoying Brent and his sniveling crony Roberts, weren't helping matters.
He knew that a Checkmate agent was waiting for him. That such a person would be allowed in the Oval Office before him was a minor breach of protocol. He didn't care about that, really. But it was one more offense in a day full of offenses.
"This had better be good," the President said.
"I can assure you, Mister President, that it will not be a waste of your time," Agent Chase said.
She looked at the Secret Service guards and waited for their nod of approval, then handed the file over to the president.
The President took the file to his desk and sat down, slowly.
While reading the file, Chase could see, his face seemed to gain several years of age and weariness.
"I must admit....this evidence does put....a new spin on things," the President said. "I did find it rather hard to believe that Waller or Steel would be involved in such madness anyway." He looked up. "Well?"
"Checkmate is at your disposal, Mister President," Chase smiled thinly. "And, I may add, if you'll come with me, I can take you to the Squad, who have Eiling in custody...."
*****************
-8- Malthus looked up as Hellbore came in.
"Well?" Malthus snapped.
"We got slaughtered."
"Yes, I saw. Why are you here?"
"To take my things and go."
"Running already?" Malthus raised a brow, though he was having similar feelings himself.
"If you want to wait around for the place to come down around your ears, feel free," Hellbore said, "But I'm getting out."
Malthus took a long, deep breath.
He remembered how, when he and Wilkerson had made their own plans, the Squad had caught him, but Wilkerson had escaped.
In that moment, he decided.
*****************
-9- The Secret Service was less than thrilled with the idea of letting the President near any "known criminals."
"Oh shut up," the President snapped irritably. "Bring three squads if you like." He turned to Chase. "I'm surprised you didn't harbor them in Checkmate offices," he said.
"That would not only be....politically undesirable before they were cleared," Chase answered, "But there is also the question of a number of people in Checkmate whose loyalty may be questionable."
"Oh, that's just lovely," the President sighed. Some days he hated his job.
The Squad had gathered once more, in then sensor blocking dome. Knockout and the Parademon arrived at the same time the President did, bearing a much battered Brent between them.
"Eiling. Brent." The President did not smile. "Seems you two have caused some trouble."
"Steel and Waller are the conspirators!" Brent shouted angrily. "They sent their thugs to--"
"Don't bother," Eiling cut him off. "As soon as they knew I was involved, the gig was up."
Brent paled. The President, his Secret Service guards, Waller, Steel, and the Squad regarded them in cold silence.
"It is unfortunate," Eiling did dare to say then, "That the current president doesn't seem to understand that strength is the best way. Lord made the wrong alliances, but at least he realized that--"
"It is a fact that the Squad is peopled with criminals, degenerates and reprobates," the President said, cutting him off. "That's why the group was created, to handle....certain matters....for the Government. They at least seem to understand the concept of following orders. You two nimrods," he snarled, "Have no such excuse."
Eiling merely sighed and shook his head. Brent looked like he had a great deal to say, but held his tongue.
There was another moment of frozen silence.
"I assume," Steel said, "That the media will be notified of our innocence?"
"Of yours and Waller's, yes," the President agreed. "The Suicide Squad does not officially exist, and we can certainly say that they acted as vigilantes and were taken....into custody."
Electrocutioner swore.
"Damp it," Steel warned him.
"It's a power game, the same no matter the world on which it's played," Knockout observed.
"Now you begin to understand," said Eiling.
Steel backhanded him, and he collapsed against the Parademon. This helped to lighten the mood, somewhat.
"Of course, nothing will actually happen to any of you," the President went on. "Though a review of the Squad might be in order."
"What about Roberts?" Waller asked, curbing her own irritation.
"Agent Chase?" asked the President.
Chase, needing no further prompting, smiled and was gone.
"Now then Waller," the President resumed, "Let's get you to a hospital..."
*****************
-10- Roberts, alone amongst the conspirators, kept his office in the Pentagon, and had no guards around. He was panicking now, yes. But he would keep it under control, he had to. That was the definition of what he had done. As a Congressman, as a Pentagon bureaucrat, and as the real brains of the operation, he had to keep it under control.
All his life he had known the ins and outs of government, how the game, as someone else not terribly far away had put it, was played. That was not only to his mind the best way; it was the only way.
So when there came a knock on his door, he didn't panic as much as he should have. Instead, he simply put his sweaty palms on his desk and called, "Yes?"
The door opened. Roberts recognized Agent Chase; he knew most government operatives, Checkmate included. But even as she brought up her handgun with the silencer attached, he did not reach for his own weapon in his desk. Instead, he said, "I'm sure we can negotiate--"
Chase put one round through his head.
*****************
-11- Malthus and Hellbore limped through the sewers.
"This is where we part ways," Malthus said. "I want to be done with you."
"Nice working with you too," Hellbore sneered. "But it increases the chances at least one of us will escape anyhow."
Malthus spoke no further words. He was sorry for Wilkerson, but sorry as was far as it went. He noted with ironic amusement how the first time the Squad had beaten them, it had been Wilkerson who escaped; this time, it was him.
He was sure of two things.
First, that he would never clash with the Squad again if he could help it.
Second, in as much as it was possible, he would work alone.
*****************
-12- Final report by Cameron Chase:
With the Pentagon Conspiracy, as it has come to be known closed down, its leaders arrested, or dead, the question becomes what will happen to the Suicide Squad in the wake of this disaster.
It is true that the Suicide Squad, with assistance from two members of the Global Guardians and the Checkmate agent filing this report, was instrumental in ending the Pentagon Conspiracy and returning infernal security to our nation, it is of some question weather the current Squad roster will remain intact after all debriefings had completed, and all reports filed.
Amanda Waller has been through a lot in her two tenures as official leader of the Squad, especially given that the hiatus between the two tenures was a gunshot-induced coma. The Squad roster suffered severely in the AWOL departures of Killer Frost, Enchantress and Resurrection Man, losses they have still not made up.
The Squad roster in general has always been in flux, simply due to the nature of the program. Indeed, it is surprising that so many of the current roster have stuck around as long as they have. Along with Waller, the two hero 'minders' of the team, Manhunter and Vixen, have been riding herd on this motley crew of miscreants for far too long. But would anyone else do a better job? Therein lies one of the essential questions.
Debate continues to rage about the very nature of the Squad. Perhaps villains should be locked in for a longer term of service before parole, or perhaps parole should be determined on a case by case basis, or perhaps there should be no parole at all.
Nor is the Squad the only group in a shambles. The Pentagon, of course, will be feeling the effects of this for some time to come. The greatest shakeup that organization has faced since the Starro Crisis. Our own organization must figure out the details of what exactly happened with the young man who had been inside the OMAC armor, and how that operation became so compromised in the first place. Then of course there is the recent difficulties highlighted by Green Arrow's visit to our capital. No branch of government concerned with metahumans will be left unscathed.
What action will be taken, and where we go from here, remains unknown.
What is known for certain, however, is that the two surviving ringleaders of the Pentagon Conspiracy will not be given trials, though the media will be told they were given military tribunals. Brent will be locked away for life.
Eiling will simply be executed.*****************
-13- "<Yes, we're getting out of here now.>" Geo-Force said into his cell phone as he mounted the steps into the charter jet behind Katana. "<You can see why I didn't leave this to just an email, Tara.>"
"<You could have asked for my help,>" Terra protested over the scratchy New York connection.
"<All the Titans or just you?>"
"<Either. Both.>"
"<There wasn't time. Katana and I made it out okay. Don't go soft on me now, sister.>"
Geo-Force smiled at Terra's loud, profane response as he boarded the plane. But he was tired.
Lord, he was so tired.
*****************
-14- Vixen and Manhunter were finally back in Belle Reve, alone together, none of their unruly charges around.
But neither of them felt like celebrating.
"Are you going to stay?" Vixen asked him.
"I'll stay with
you," he answered, "Whether it's here or somewhere else. There's no other certainty in my life anymore. What about you?"
"I don't know," she sighed. "I just don't know."
*****************
-15- Waller sat on a park bench in the rain.
The rain was not hard but it was steady. A hat was Waller's only concession to the precipitation. The bandages swathed around her head helped, anyway.
She shouldn't be out here; it was only two days after the whole mess. But she needed some time to herself, protocol be damned.
For the first time in many long years, she appreciated what all those anti-government nutters were on about. After all, she had been neck deep in government filth for years now, and look what came of it. Not just this latest crisis either. All of it.
Slowly, Sarge Steel approached her, umbrella held aloft.
"Amanda--"
"Not now, Steel." Waller said sharply. "Not now..." she repeated, the words trailing off.
"Amanda," Steel repeated. "The President wants to know if you'll stay on."
"I'll give him my answer tomorrow."
"But--"
"Tomorrow."
Steel left her alone.
