Wait for the Dawn
Part Three: The Trap
Story and Illustrations By Hytac

The Albino was impressed. In all the years he had been in the mercenary business, he had never seen a case where the person who had brought the ransom money had actually brought the money and nothing else.

In fact, if he hadn’t known about the convoy of hidden vehicles waiting to attack at the right moment, he might have been almost willing to believe that this was a trouble-free exchange.

Which was of course, wrong, wrong and wrong.

“All right. We’re done.” The woman handed him the bag, but did not release her grip on it. “Now tell me where to find the girl.”

“Well, I don’t think so.” The Albino snatched his gun from the hidden holster and leveled the barrel at the young woman in a single, fluid movement. Involuntarily, the young woman let go and took a step back.

“Don’t move. Do you actually think I’m as stupid as you wish me to be?” he snarled. “I know who you are. I know who sent you. And I know what to do when people-” he stressed the last word. “-don’t keep their end of the bargain.”

“He’s double-crossing us!” Dusty radioed.

“Matt, do we attack?” Hondo asked.

“No, Hondo. We can’t risk that while he’s got that gun pointed at Gloria.”

“I hate to be a bearer of bad news, but you guys had better take a look at your radars!” Brad radioed urgently.

Matt glanced at the Rhino’s radar. “There’s a convoy of vehicles heading out way.” The satellite tracking system closed in and projected a better view of the vehicles. “No coincidence here! It’s the V.E.N.O.M.!”

“Look’s like V.E.N.O.M.’s decided to join the party.” Dusty observed.

“I say… I’d be willing to wager that this kidnapper is working for the V.E.N.O.M.!” Alex said.

“And I’m willing to bet you’re right, Alex.” Matt replied. “Mayhem set the whole thing up and deliberately led us to think that it was someone else.”

“Then why show himself up now?” Bruce wondered.

“I don’t know, but we’ve got to stop them from getting here! M.A.S.K. agents attack! Keep the V.E.N.O.M. away from the exchange point!”

The radio crackled to life. “M.A.S.K. Team! This is Scott! It’s a trap! The kidnapper’s a mercenary called The Albino- he’s working for the V.E.N.O.M.! They’re planning to ambush you!”

“Not that I’m ungrateful for the warning, Scott, but tell us something we don’t know.” Brad said as the Condor headed towards the enemy vehicles. They were still some distance away, a little over a mile, but clearly visible on the dry riverbed.

“You’ve got to get out of there! They have an Electro-Magnetic Pulse generator which shor…” The message was suddenly replaced by the harsh hiss of static.

“Scott? Scott? The radio’s dead.” Matt tried in vain to reestablish communications, but to no avail.

“This is not good, Matt. Our external communications have been jammed.” Bruce announced.

Then their vehicles died. Their masks lost power and shut down. Inertia kept the vehicles moving for a little while longer, then friction slowed and stopped them.

“I’ll take it a step further and say this is bad.” Matt said as pulled Ultraflash off. All the other vehicles had suffered the same fate.

“We’re sitting ducks!” Alex exclaimed.

The blast of the first shot confirmed his statement.

“Dad? Dad!” Scott paged, frustrated. “We’re too late!” he groaned and slammed his hand against the Remora’s console angrily. He was outside the Grayson residence where he had parked the Remora. For a moment, Scott had actually though he had managed to warn them in time. As it was, it proved not to be that case. Now, The V.E.N.O.M. had the upper hand, thanks to the EMP generator they had managed to procure. He got on the Remora and prepared to get moving. He had to help the team somehow.

“Scott! Wait!” Inaya yelled, running from the house. “Where do you think you’re going?!”

“The exchange point! I’ve got to help the M.A.S.K.!”

“And what can you do?” Inaya caught up and stood in front of the bike, effectively preventing him from moving forward. “You don’t even know what to expect.”

“The V.E.N.O.M. are there. I have to stop them! Maybe you’d like the idea of my father in trouble but I don’t. I’m going.” Scott replied angrily. “Now get out of my way.”

“No.” Inaya said in the quiet voice he had heard earlier when she took command. She reached over and with a forceful twist, shut off the ignition. “No.” She repeated. “Listen to me, Scott…” She argued, keeping her hand on the ignition and preventing him from starting the bike. “…I said, listen! You can’t just go in with guns blazing. It’s suicide! If this V.E.N.O.M. could disable your father’s vehicles with that EMP generator, what’s to stop them from disabling you? And even if you somehow managed to stop them, have you given a thought to what happens to Diane Kennedy? I’m willing to bet anything that she’ll be dead by the time you get there. Has it occurred to you? Has it?” her voice was raised.

Scott shook his head. “But…”

“But what?” she asked quietly.

Scott’s mind went blank. He was lost without an answer. “I don’t know.” He admitted at last. He knew she was right. The odds of the Remora defeating the entire V.E.N.O.M. team was next to zero. And he hadn’t even trained enough to take them on without assistance. “But I need to save my father, and my friends! I know you hate my father, Inaya, but…”

“For crying out loud. Who do you think I am?” She scolded. “My personal feelings do not get in the way of my duties, Scott Trakker. I am a M.A.S.K. agent now, whether I like it or not.”

“Then why are you stopping me from…”

“I’m trying to Not-get-you-killed.” She replied, as if she was talking to a ten year old child. Instantly Scott felt like he was being lectured by his father in the earlier days of the M.A.S.K. because of his heedlessness. “I’m your partner. I’ve seen rookies going out commando missions angry. They’re the ones who come back in body bags… do you understand? In order to do something, you’ll have to make sure you’re still alive to do it.”

“Then what do we do?” Scott began to calm down. The feeling of urgency was abruptly destroyed.

“You’ll have to disable the EMP generator.” Said a voice. Scott turned to see Hal wheel towards him, turning the wheels effortlessly with his powerful arms. Apparently he had heard the last sentence. “Fortunately, I think I’ve found the solution to it.”

“What is it, Hal?” Inaya asked, lightening up.

“The EMP generator has be reset every time the settings are changed. That causes a disruption in the system. In this case, the EMP will not be able to maintain its hold and will stop jamming or shutting down the vehicles.”

“You mean they can’t target a new area without letting the other area go?” Scott asked, suddenly excited. Hope glimmered in his eyes.

“You got it, kiddo.” Hal said, bushing his gray hair back. “I think all you need to do it get that fancy bike of yours to take out the generator, while keeping out of the generator’s range. Once you’ve done that, the other vehicles should be A-Okay.” Seeing Scott astonished look, he laughed. “I know all about the M.A.S.K., Scott. And I can tell your bikes isn’t what it seems to be.”

“But that still leaves the problem of Diane Kennedy.” Inaya said suddenly.

“What do we do?” Scott asked.

Inaya shook her head dejectedly. “I’m sorry Scott, but this one’s stumped me. I truly have no idea.”

“Backlash fire!” Dusty fired the mask, hoping to get the kidnapper away from Gloria. The kidnapper dodged the shockwave blast easily, but in doing so, the barrel of the gun left Gloria’s direction.

Gloria grabbed her chance. She struck out, flicking the gun out of the mercenary’s hand. The mercenary never faltered for a second. He turned Gloria’s attack, leaped clear, and headed for Dusty. A flash from the midday sun heralded the removal of a dirk from a hidden sheath. Gloria realized in time what his intention was and activated Aura.

“Aura on!” Just in time- The Albino threw the knife, but the sharp projectile that would have skewered Dusty never reached its destination. Aura stopped the weapon and it bounced off the protective barrier, falling to the ground and clattering against the wheel of the Gator as it did so.

“Clever girl.” The kidnapper smirked. He had another gun in his hand by now, one of the many surplus strapped to his person. But this time, the odds were more even. Gloria had erected a shield around both her and Dusty with Aura which would repel any slugs from the gun.

All the same, it was still a dicey situation. “Look.” Dusty said, trying to negotiate. “Just tell us where the kid is. You got your money. What else do you want?”

“I don’t like people who double-cross.” The Albino stated. Then his voice took a lighter tone. Dusty could have sworn he saw a smile despite the mask. “But I do like people who can keep alive in my presence.” He kept the gun pointed at one of them, though. “The girl is not here. Miles Mayhem has her somewhere else. I do have an idea where she might be though.”

“Why are you telling us this?” Gloria asked suspiciously.

“My contract with Mayhem ends here.” He said smoothly. “I’m free to do what I like. I’ll strike you a bargain. Cease pursuing me and I might disclose the location of the V.E.N.O.M. headquarters.”

“Done.” Gloria answered after a questioning look at Dusty, who nodded in reply. “The girl’s life comes first.”

The albino nodded. “Very well then. Seven miles South-East is an abandoned crude oil tanker called the Margaret-Norris. Mayhem has taken it to become his headquarters. The girl might be there. Even she is not, you might find some information leading it to her.” Dusty looked disappointed at the brevity of the information. “Now, do I have your word of honor, the worth of it at least, that you will keep your end of the bargain?”

“Ya have it.” Dusty answered.

“Yes.” Replied Gloria, her sincerity ringing in every word.

“Then turn away and leave. Go help your friends. The V.E.N.O.M. should be attacking them by now.”

Gloria cautiously got in the Gator and beckoned Dusty to move on. It was an uneasy truce. Both never took their eyes off each other. The trust that the other would keep their pact was so little that the slightest mistake could break it.

When the Gator had moved away far enough, the mercenary turned his back and ran for the unmanned power station. Minutes later, a black helicopter, formerly the P.N.A.’s, rose into the air and headed north, upstream from the dam. The fact did not escape Gloria.

“We gotta help the others.” Dusty said worried. “Scott said something about that trap. It must’ve shut the other vehicles down.” He filled Gloria in on Scott’s radio transmission, which she had missed.

“This Electro-Magnetic Pulse generator must be some sort of weapon which shuts machines down, just like the Gator’s ‘Electronic Ouch’ cannon. And I bet it has a range… The mercenary was careful to head away from south. I’m betting that’s the area effected. We have to stay out of it.” Gloria surmised. “But what about Diane Kennedy?”

“And what about the team? They’re in trouble. They’re sitting ducks for the V.E.N.O.M.!” Dusty looked worried, his usual happy-go-lucky attitude gone.

“Scott… that’s it!” Gloria grabbed the radio in her excitement and turned it on. Safely out of the EMP generator’s range, it worked perfectly. “Gator to Boulder Hill, Gator to Boulder Hill. Come in, Boulder Hill."

There was no answer. Gloria thought for a moment, then tried again. “Gator to Remora, do you copy?” She repeated the phrases a few times.

“This is the Remora. We copy you, Gator.” Answered a female voice. Gloria had never heard the voice before, but guessed it was the voice of the new recruit.

“Gloria?” said Scott’s voice, audibly astonished. “You’re ok? What about the EMP generator? When we lost contact with the others I thought…”

“We were out of the generator range when it happened, Scott. But the rest of the team is in trouble. Dusty and I are heading over to keep the V.E.N.O.M. off the team. But we need you to find Diane. I have the co-ordinates of where she might possibly, or at least, a lead to where she is. I’m transmitting the co-ordinates now. What you’re looking or is an old oil tanker.”

“Got it.” Scott said later. “Inaya and I are heading there right now. And Gloria, we managed to dig up a piece of information about this generator. It’s got a range of about 1 kilometer or less. If you keep out of it, you should be fine. Try to hit or disable the generator. That’ll stop the vehicles from malfunctioning. I’ll try to meet up with you at the exchange point with Remora if I can. After we find Diane.” He added. “I’ll contact you as soon as she’s safe.”

“Right. Good luck to ya, Scott. Don’t worry, we’ll give the V.E.N.O.M. a few shots for you.” Dusty said.

“One more thing, I have a hunch the generator is situated somewhere high. Somewhere that allows it to see what’s going on.” Scott explained. “Watch yourselves. Scott Trakker out.”

“Well, we’re on our own now, Dusty.” Gloria said, clambering to the back of the Gator to man the Electronic Ouch cannon. EMP, is it? Well, let’s give them a bit of their own medicine.”

“Where do you think it is?” Dusty asked. “The generator, I mean.”

“Well, Scott said somewhere high.”

“Somewhere like that?” Dusty asked, pointed. Gloria’s gaze followed his outstretched had to rest on the dam’s high wall.

“Hondo!”

The blast caught the back of the Firecracker, knocking the pickup over. Buddy crawled out of the wreckage, hoping that his partner was doing the same.

“I’m all right, Buddy.” Hondo grunted. “But we’re not gonna be for long.” He got up, not even bothering to brush off the dirt that lay on his hands and knees.

“We’d better make a run for the Rhino.” Buddy suggested. “Duck!” he cried suddenly in alarm. A second laser blast, badly aimed, missed them. “Those creeps!” Buddy exclaimed indignantly, hanging on to his cap. “They’re getting such a kick out of this… they don’t even bother to aim!”

“Better watch what you wish for, Buddy. I don’t know about you, but I’m not too keen on having V.E.N.O.M. being good shots.” Hondo panted between breaths as they dashed for the Rhino. “Especially with our vehicles being knocked out by that EMP generator.”

“That thing Scott said?” Buddy recalled. “That thing took the juice out of everything?”

“You got it. C’mon. We’ve got to get to Matt. Maybe we can figure out a way to block this generator.”

“Reminds me of that psiconic disrupter V.E.N.O.M. once had.” Buddy commented. He decided then that talking while running was not a very good idea. He decided to save his breath and just concentrate on getting out of the way whenever the V.E.N.O.M. decided to shoot in their direction.

Finally they made it. “Hondo, Buddy! In here!” Alex waved them into the cab of the Rhino, which was relatively safe compared to the other areas. “Thanks.” Hondo panted.

Brad was already there, looking very glum. Buddy wasn’t sure why, but a glance behind him soon showed the reason. The Condor had been blasted into pieces. He could make out several green fragments dotting the landscape, a spare tire to his left, and what seemed to be a rotor blade sticking out of the ground some distance away. Brad was unhurt, having had the sense to abandon the vulnerable Condor the moment it was clear what had happened.

“Hondo, what was that thing Scott was talking about before we lost contact?” Matt was talking to Hondo.

“An Electro Magnetic Pulse Generator.” Hondo explained. “It sends out a pulse wave which disrupts and causes our vehicles to jam and malfunction.”

“Anything we can do to stop the generator?” Matt asked.

“In our present state… unfortunately, No.” Hondo shook his head. “We’d have to be out of range from the generator for the vehicles to work, or we’d have to take out the generator itself.”

“Neither of which are easy.” Matt said. “Do you think the Gator was affected by the generator?”

“Well, I’m not sure, but there may be a chance that they’re still operative. The Exchange Point is about a couple of miles away from where we are now. As far as I know, there are no EMP generators which have ranges that wide.”

“But what can we do?” Buddy interjected.

“Keep alive, Buddy. And I dare say that’ll be no easy task.” Alex answered.

“There it is.” Inaya pointed out. “It’s pretty far out.” They had arrived at the coordinates the Gator had sent them. The deserted habour was in a dilapidated state, and the ruins of the old oil wells towered over the water, looking rather odd in the evening light. The tanker itself looked even worse. Rust had eaten away most of the railing on the sides and the hull was covered with some sort of growth, obscuring the barely discernable words: U.S.S. Margaret-Norris. It looked about to fall apart, but Scott’s keen eyes could see that the area around it had been cleared of dangerous flotsam which might have damaged any vehicles passing through.

“Hold on tight. I’m switching the Remora to aqua-scooter mode. We’ll sneak up to them from underwater.” Inaya nodded. She put on her diving gear while Scott slipped on his mask, called Aqua, which enabled him to breathe underwater. They had stopped briefly to allow Scott to get his mask and for Inaya to grab the gear she needed for the mission.

“Are you sure those guns of yours are water-proof?” Scott asked. Privately, he thought he had never seen so many arms strapped to one person, but he didn’t say so. A big cannon-like rifle, about three feet long, and four inches in diameter, was slung across Inaya’s back. Two holsters strapped to her thighs carried two smaller handguns. A shoulder holster carried yet another gun, and she wore an ammo belt around her slender waist. A heavy duty hunting knife was stuck in her boot and another hung on her shoulder. The whole arsenal left barely enough space for her diving gear, which consisted of a standard issue diving mask and a pair of small air canisters containing enough air for about an hour.

She nodded, not being able to speak with the diving mouthpiece clenched between her teeth. Scott set the Remora to a dive. As the water closed over their heads, Scott couldn’t help feeling a thrill at finally being able to drive the Remora underwater.

The water was murky, and very cold. Even with his insulated wetsuit, Scott could feel it. He hoped that Inaya, who wasn’t wearing one, but clad in commando gear, was okay. Flak jackets, as Inaya called bulletproof vests, were all very fine, but they didn’t keep one warm when diving in the water. However, Inaya stoically remained focused on their goal. If she felt the biting cold, she didn’t show it.

The Remora pushed through fronds of black oily seaweed and dead kelp. Silt swirled everywhere they passed. Sad remains of ships and equipment lay on the sea floor, so badly corroded by the salt water that they were almost unrecognizable. They seemed to be moving through a dead world. Ahead, the black hull of the tanker was outlined clearly against the surface, which seemed most inviting after the gloomy depths of the sea.

Scott brought the Remora into a steep ascent. They would stop right under the tanker. They had already decided that Inaya would infiltrate the tanker and find Diane, or her whereabouts while Scott would head for the Exchange Point and help the M.A.S.K. out. When Inaya had finished her task, she would contact him and he would come for her.

The Remora stopped. Scott was careful to maneuver the Remora so that the motion of the waves wouldn’t throw the Remora against the hull of the tanker. Inaya pulled the gun from her shoulder holster and Scott discovered that it was actually one used to fire a grappling hook.

It took her a moment to steady herself and aim. The next moment, a thundering report from her weapon was followed by something leaping out of the water and into the air at an astonishing speed. A dull clank, vibrating through the tanker and water, showed that the hook and caught on something. Inaya tested the line, found it satisfactory, and gave Scott a nod. Despite the diving mask, he could have sworn he saw her smile.

She pressed a button on the gun and immediately, a winch in it whirred and pulled her up and out of the water. A moment later, she disappeared out of sight.

Scott wished her luck and set the Remora on a course for the Exchange Point.

Inaya was careful to propel herself away for the hull of the ship with her feet. Up ahead the deck of the tanker loomed. She had ascended from the port side of the ship.

She hauled herself up the deck after making sure that no one was nearby. Immediately, she sought cover behind a couple of oil drums. There, she stowed her diving gear and grappling gun, which she felt she would not need. Next, she eased one of her handguns from its holster and crept for the bridge. There, she was sure, she would find the occupants of the vessel.

She was not disappointed. A skinny man, with blond hair swept up in a very vertical hairstyle, was snickering to himself while gazing at a monitor. Inaya glanced at it herself, and was surprised to see a capital view of the battle at the exchange point. As far as she could see, the M.A.S.K. were taking a heavy beating. The V.E.N.O.M. vehicles were spread out in a crescent formation, carefully keeping out of the generator’s range. One of the M.A.S.K. vehicles, a red pickup, lay on its side while the green motorbike which Buddy had said she was supposed to pilot was now scattered all over the battlefield. Inaya felt a twinge of annoyance, for some reason she couldn’t explain. She spotted the only vehicle still (relatively) undamaged, which was the Rhino, the large red semi.

Finally she made her move. “Hi. I was just dropping by…” She announced, stepping out and brandishing her gun. The man jumped up, falling off his chair and hitting the floor.

Inaya narrowed her eyes, looking as menacing as she could. Apparently, that was enough for the man, who immediately raised his hands, squealing for her not to shoot.

“You’re going to tell me where the girl is. Or we’ll see just how much lead your body can take.” She snarled.

“She… she ain’t here.” He stammered.

“Where is she?” Inaya demanded.

“Ah…uh… and old building near the old port… on the shore.”

“Good. Now tell me everything you know about that place. I want traps, detection devices… everything.”

Gulping, he told her.

“You’re right! It’s up there!” Gloria pointed excitedly. Perched on the dam wall was an odd looking piece of machinery. She was no Hondo McLean, but she knew the generator when she saw it. It could not have been anything else.

Without much ceremony, Gloria and Dusty opened fire on the generator. To their surprise, their successive hits did nothing more than heat the generator’s covering of armor. “That thing’s too heavily armored for the Gator. And our guns aren’t enough to take down the entire wall.” Gloria shook her head as she spoke.

“Maybe Backlash can. Backlash fire!!” Dusty commanded, activating his mask. He intended to bring the part of the wall on which the device was anchored to, down.

The wall shuddered, but did not break. “The wall’s too strong.” Dusty said. “Gotta increase the power! Backlash, increase power!” The wall, built with the intention of withstanding incredible pressure, still managed to withstand the barrage.

“Let me help. Aura on! Maximum power!” Gloria added the power of Aura, intending to create an opposite force to Backlash and tear the wall apart. Still, the wall refused to budge.

“Backlash… maximum power!” Dusty ordered. The wall trembled violently. Cracks began to form in the dense concrete. “It’s working!” However, that was all that changed. The wall remained intact.

“It’s not enough!” Gloria said in despair. We need something else. I’ll try the gu-” She trailed off. “Oh no!”

The rearview mirror showed the clear image of the Switchblade right behind them.

“How can I be so sure you haven’t left anything out?” Inaya kept the gun centered on Floyd Malloy, grinning menacingly to scare him further. She had had a very interesting half hour listening to what Floyd had to say. In that time, she had gleaned enough information to infiltrate the holding cell where Diana Kennedy was held, as well as the location of the rest of the V.E.N.O.M., the EMP generator and the vehicles that were on board.

“I did! I did!” He insisted.

She noticed the flickering of his eyes focusing on something behind. Quickly she spun around. Too late!

Something hit her hand and sent her gun spinning away. Instinctively, she reached for her other gun.

“Don’t do that babe! You wouldn’t want ol’ Rax here riddling you with stilettos, would ya?” Floyd taunted. “Did I forget to mention that Rax was on board with me? How careless of me.” He broke off in a cackle of laughter.

Inaya growled and snatched the other gun of the holster, intending to aim it at Sly Rax, who had crept up at her at unawares. She cursed herself for letting him catch her off guard.

He was faster that she was. “Stiletto fire!” A second wave of Stiletto darts caught her and propelled her backward, crashing into the wall. Her flak jacket protected her from getting hurt, except for her hand, which was bleeding from a graze when Rax had shot the gun out of her hand earlier. Her other gun was embedded to the wall, thanks to one random Stiletto dart and her rifle was pinned to the wall by her own body. The whole thing had taken less than a couple of seconds.

“Ooooo… good going, Rax!” Floyd laughed even louder.

“Shut up Floyd!” drawled Rax crossly. “You’re lucky I came along when I did! What did you tell her?”

If she could only reach one of her knives… In order to do something, you’ll have to make sure you’re still alive to do it. As quickly as the thought came, she banished it. Another attempt to fight would trigger another burst of darts, and she was sure that this Rax was a pretty good shot. If he wanted to, he could aim for her head, and since she hadn’t brought her helm on account of the diving gear, she wouldn’t stand a chance.

Floyd was still arguing with Rax. “I couldn’t help it! She had that gun at me! What was I supposed to do?” he whined.

“You’re useless, Floyd!” he yelled, dragging out the words. “You’re lucky she’s no M.A.S.K. agent. Mayhem will be really mad when he hears about this. Now go disarm her and cuff her in the hold. We’ll put her there until Mayhem comes back.”

Inaya let him take her weapons. She was beaten, and she knew it. But a glimmer of defiance shone in her eyes as she was led to the hold. She wasn’t done with them yet.

“Ugh!” Dusty swerved hard as the Switchblade opened fire. “Gloria, that missile!”

“I’m on it, Dusty.” Gloria shielded Gator with Aura just in time. The missile exploded against the aura of yellow light… which died about five seconds later. “What the…? Dusty, I’m out of power!” She clambered to the back and manned the ‘Electronic Ouch’ gun. Unfortunately, its range was too short to enable her to use it on the Switchblade.

Without warning, the radio crackled to life. “Remora to Gator… where are you?”

“Scott? Ya got the girl?” Dusty swerved violently once more to avoid another shot. “Hang on Gloria!”

“Inaya’s on it. I came to help out. I’m on the upstream side of the dam. Have you found the generator?”

“It’s on the dam wall, Scott. We’ve got the Switchblade on out tail! You’ve gotta take the thing out! Don’t bother tryin’ to shoot it. Shoot the wall!” Another hard swerve. Without his abilities as a stunt driver, they wouldn’t have managed it. “Gloria and I gave it a pretty good shakin’. It’s gonna go down!”

“Hang on in there, Gator. I’ll have the Remora take the wall down. Remora out!”

“Mayhem, we missed one. It’s the Gator.” Vanessa piloted the Switchblade expertly in pursuit of the jeep. Sooner or later she knew, she would get it in one shot.

“It doesn’t matter. They can’t stop us now!” Mayhem radioed back.

“They’re too close to the generator! I’m going to take them out.” Vanessa announced. “You boys had better stop playing around and get rid of the rest of the M.A.S.K. quick.”

“Get rid of them then. Vanessa, you make sure the Gator doesn’t get too close to the generator.”

“Wait a minute… there’s something new heading here on my radar. Shall I investigate?”

“There’s no need. It can’t be anything important.”

Vanessa disagreed. “We can’t underestimate the M.A.S.K., Mayhem.”

“Shut up Vanessa. You have your orders.” Mayhem said curtly.

“Why you…” She growled as she aimed another shot at the Gator. “Fine. Be that way!”

“There it is.” Scott said to himself. The Remora skimmed the surface of the small lake the dam had trapped easily. “Now let’s see about getting rid of it. Mud-skipper missiles… fire!” Since the targeting computer wasn’t meant to lock on a wall, Scott had to dumb fire the missiles. A pair of the special missiles launched themselves from the underside of the Remora. And skipped out towards their target on the surface of the water.

They headed for the generator, skimming on the surface at incredible speed. The missiles were able to travel that way thanks to the latest hydrofoil technology.

A fair distance from the wall, a thruster attached to the missile lifted them up into the air in a steep forty-five degree angle of attack. One thing very good about those Mud-skipper missiles was that they were precise. Very precise.

The missiles hit the base of the generator with a terrific explosion. The wall cracked and a large portion of it broke off. The generator, deprived of a steady mounting, wobbled and leaned to one side.

It was like watching the entire thing in slow motion. The generator tipped slowly to one side, then plummeted down his side of the wall. It hit the water with terrifying force. Water was thrown high up into the air and large waves- the ripples headed in every direction.

Mission accomplished.

“Hoo-Whee! That son of a gun did it!” Dusty whooped.

“All right! Way to go Scott!” Gloria radioed. Then she switched channels. “Gator to Rhino. Your vehicles are operational, get out of there!”

“What the…? Gloria?” Matt’s voice sounded truly astonished. In the background, she could hear Alex saying something like: “Everything’s working!”

Above them, The Switchblade fired a missile. “Heads up!” Dusty floored the accelerator. The jeep sped away. “Hey wait a minute… they ain’t shootin’ at us!?”

The missile streaked past them and towards the last target Gloria expected it to- the Rhino.

“Gloria, what’s going on?” Scott radioed.

The missile closed in. It would hit the Rhino in three seconds.

“Rhino, evasive actions now! Missile at nine o’ clock!”

Two seconds.

The Rhino revved up its engine and reversed.

One second.

The Rhino was too slow. The missile exploded against the side and tore the rig apart. Shreds of shrapnel flew in the air. The tires bounced away. A piece of door, burning, spun and hit the upset Firecracker. The entire rig burst into flames.

“Noooo!” Dusty yelled, aghast.

“The others…they couldn’t have lived through that…” Gloria felt tears come to her eyes. Angrily she blinked them away as she watched the Rhino burn.

“Gloria?” Scott’s voice was filled with dread.

“I’m sorry Scott. We’re too late.” Gloria fought to control her voice. Dusty turned his face away, glad for once that his mask hid his face.