Northfort High Security Prison
There was a chuckle to Owen's left in the CCTV room of the prison. "What's funny?" the operator asked as he turned to the new starter on his first full day out of training. Owen hated having to babysit the new starters but at least this guy was different he was older for a start, most of them were usually early 20's but this guy was 40 if he was a day. He rolled his chair over and looked at the screen Steve Grant was looking at, he didn't see anything out of place.
"Just the number plate" Steve pointed to the screen "R845" that was my ID number in the Legion. He chuckled again as the traffic lights outside the prisons main entrance changed and the van drove off. Steve found this a little dull, twelve months ago he'd been a Red Legionnaire yomping through the wilds of Academica until a rouge piece of flying metal had seperated him from his left foot. He'd been offered the usual desk job by his old unit but prefered to find something himself once he'd been rehabilitated, watching his old buddies going out on operations and not being able to join in would have depressed him and at least now working for the prison service he felt like he was doing something useful rather than a job given out of sympathy. Naturally it had helped that his application form had the name "Brigadier Kelly" as a reference and he'd aced the practicals during his training which frankly he found annoying. Some 20 something year old civvy telling him how to shoot and at one point telling him he was doing it wrong, the next day Grant had turned up with his Red Legion veterans pin proudly on his jacket and from that point on the know it all instructor had essentially left him to it.
Owen slid back to his own set of screens that monitored the inside and outside of the prison. They had some 200 prisoners in their care here, most of them for the most serious crimes imaginable and quiet a few Borlanders who had to be kept separate from the others for fear of violence, although Owen would have been pleased to see them get what they deserved, most of the them had been given life rather than a death sentence as King Sven had believed the death penalty would make East Moreland sit apart from the world, thankfully the current King seemed less concerned about that.
"Back again" Grant said as he leaned closer to the screen. Owen looked over, "That van again" Grant wondered if perhaps it might be some local delivery company but the vehicle had no labels or branding and so he couldn't be sure. The lights changed to green but the van remained and only when they turned amber again did it set off despite the honking of those behind it. Something didn't sit right with Grant but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. He set the thought to the back of his mind as he watched the prisoners in the yard lining up before being taken in for lunch. He looked back to the street outside and "Owen" he said with a hint of nervousness in his voice, he was already using the little joystick to zoom in on a plumbers van sat at the lights. "SHIT" Grant didn't wait for Owen's second opinion and simply hit the big alert button. The flash of a red pointer came from the window of the van and on the monitor above showing the main gatehouse a tiny red dot could be seen.
"What the fuck" Owen questioned as Grant was already up out of his seat grabbing the telephone his eyes still on the screen. Then Owen spotted it the van sat at the lights had no roof, to those on ground level they wouldn't have spotted anything until the ear shattering "BOOM" erupted from within the bowels of the van causing its suspension to collapse as the four improvised gas canister rounds flew through the air. Guards were already ushering prisoners back to cells unsure what the alarm was about or whether it was even real but they'd been trained to respond and so as the first of the mortar rounds hit the gate and the security block a few gasped. It felt like the building rocked. Grant was now on the radio giving clear and concise instructions as a red faced panting governor appeared from the room next door.
"We need to get a team to go and look for casualties." The governor stammered looking at the damaged gate house. "Everyone back to cells" he could see that was already happening and so Grant ignored him.
"South Tower watch the crossroads" he instructed one eye on the governor who didn't interfere and another on the screen. "White van, incoming R845" he spotted the van now coming to the crossroads from the other direction. "Engage it" he watched as it speed through the crossroads, "ENGAGE IT NOW" he yelled at the guard listening at the other end of the line who had a high powered rifle in his possession. "SHOOT THE BASTARD" Grant yelled more in hope than anything as the van crashed into the already damaged gate a blue car was following close behind and even while the van burned four masked men piled out and pushed through the gap it had made, Grant saw the tell tale flash of muzzle fire on the next screen. "Owen you're with me" he pointed at his senior who was sat eyes wide open looking at the screen. Grant switched the phone to the radio, "All stations we have armed intruders inside the prison, lockdown and engage" he checked his own pistol at his hip and headed out the door, Owen was still sat agasp at what was happening even as prison admin staff were being gunned down. Grant didn't wait and ran towards the gunfire, even before he reached the end of the corridor he'd meet up with three more guards, he recognised a tattoo on one of them, former Marine while one of the others had a button pin of the Air Forces Base Protection Force, it seemed the prison service had collected quiet a few veterans.
"Who are you?" the Marine asked.
"Grant, my first day" he grinned. The Marine extended a hand.
"Welcome to the job" the pair laughed, "I'm Mason, this is Winters you know where they are." They could hear more gunfire.
"Yeah, Admin corridor heading towards the cell blocks. The gates are locked" They heard a loud boom, "Were locked" Grant said recognising the sound of a shape charge. "We'll cut through the garage and head them off, I'm betting their Borlanders and their going for the segregation wing to bust out their buddies." Grant didn't wait for an answer and just forged ahead, the others instantly recognised Grant had seen some service by the way he moved down the corridor his pistol in the non standard prison service grip.
"What unit" Mason whispered as he followed Grant.
"I'm from Aldfield" Grant said without looking back.
"Then you're the boos" Mason said more than happy to let a former Red Legionnaire take point. They heard an exchange of gunfire, it appeared that somewhere up ahead some of the guards had managed to make a fight of it and as they cut through the garage they could see the intruders setting up another charge while four guards with sub-machine guns returned fire from behind concrete pillars. Their fire was inaccurate and often blind but it was slowing down the group trying to assault the locked gate. Grant could hear helicopters now and suspected his former comrades in arms would soon be landing as part of Northfort's rapid response force that would now be hurtling towards the prison. Grant however wasn't going to wait and opened up on the intruders followed by Mason and Winters. It didn't take long, caught between the blind fire of the locked down guards and the lethal accuracy of the veterans the group had no chance and even before the first Red Legionnaire fast roped into the prison yard the group lay dead.
"Nice work Grant you badass" Red Legionniare officer Robbie Peacock said as he spotted the nearly perfect grouping in one of the dead bodies. They'd served together in Safraen the first time round and seen quiet a few scrapes along the way. "If you were here why bother calling us" he patted his former soldier on the back. It was then his face changed from the expression of enjoying seeing an old colleague to one of concern. "Ah shite" he muttered, "Grant, you OK cleaning up, seems this was the feint"
Northfort Reform Centre
Back in the 1950's Richard Groves had been a young man with a bright future in the Borlanders he'd got himself a reputation for being a sniper beyond compare and the significant number of dead Morelanders in the Alps told just how good he'd been. It had only been a flat tire on his car that lead to his arrest, a friendly military police officer had seen him pull over and offered to help him out, but then as they got the spare tire from the boot he caught the whiff of cordite lingering from the shot Groves had taken at a judge twenty minutes earlier from the back of his car. The officer had said nothing but wished Groves a good evening as they parted company but then radioed it in discreetly as he followed Groves. Five minutes later he'd been rammed by a military jeep and as he began to slip into unconsciousness the sound of Red Legion smashing their way into his vehicle had been all he could remember.
Now he was 82 years old and riddled with arthritis, his knees and fingers cracked every time he did anything and now his liver was playing silly buggers, he was on so many pills he rattled when he walked. He should have been hanged but by the time his court case had come up the King's of East Moreland where considering whether or not to rejoin world affairs and a series of high profile executions wouldn't have helped and so he'd seen his sentence commuted to life in prison, frankly he thought the rope would have been better but now having been moved because of a combination of good behaviour, ill health and being a low risk of escape it wasn't so bad. He was still kept mainly isolated like all the Borlanders but the food was better, the people nicer and he got regular access to a doctor.
Today he was sat discussing his medication when Doctor Francis who he'd seen for the last month leaned forward, "King Kyle needs you" he whispered. "It's taken us five years to get here" Groves' eyes widened with a mixture of confusion and pride, his King knew who he was and wanted him to serve.
"I live to serve" he said with a tear rolling down his cheek. What followed next saw the Doctor administer a sedative and raise the alarm, "We need to get him to the Royal Infirmary" Francis said as they hefted the unconcious man onto a stretcher and rolled him out the doors towards the medical centres ambulance. They had basic medical facilities here but anything major went five minutes up the road to the real hospital, only they never made it there. No sooner had the ambulance pulled out the prisons gates than it was rammed by a car, two men rushed from the vehicle, shot the driver and guard while a further two appeared from a nearby car and opened the back door, they shot the guard in the back and unstrapped Groves from the bed one hoisting him on his shoulder as the other clambered in.
"You ready Doc?" the masked man asked.
"Not really but you know...." he grimaced as the masked man fired a single round into his shoulder, "Arrrrggggggh" the doctor screamed as the shooter threw a first aid kit to him gave a nod of the head and disappeared. Normally such an incident would have seen the Northfort Rapid Reaction force all over it, but for some reason they were busy and so before anyone was anywhere near their scene Groves was on a fast boat heading down the river Ost heading towards the ocean.
