83,492
edits
Where Legal Eagles Dare: An Opco Boone Adventure: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Where Legal Eagles Dare: An Opco Boone Adventure (view source)
Revision as of 12:46, 15 May 2021
, 15 May 2021no edit summary
Amwelladmin (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
Amwelladmin (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
||
| Line 15: | Line 15: | ||
Schweiner shrugged. “We’re all good, aren’t we, Bugsy?” | Schweiner shrugged. “We’re all good, aren’t we, Bugsy?” | ||
“According to policy 230823.913 revision nine they count | “According to policy 230823.913 revision nine, they count as hostiles. It’s no trouble, boss-man. Seriously.” Bugsy loved to throw the book. He had a wild streak — hell, most uniform bulls in legal ops did: the [[chief double-oh]] encouraged it. But this was no reluctant policy compliance matter for Operating Officer Cadet [[Walter N. Buggs]], [[MBA|M.B.A.]] (Insead). This was ''job satisfaction''. “C’mon: It’s in the [[service catalog]], Schweins.” Bugsy was pleading now. | ||
“Ahh, hang it, Bugs. Why the hell not? Go on: light ’em up.” | “Ahh, hang it, Bugs. Why the hell not? Go on: light ’em up.” | ||
Bugsy’s ack-ack let rip — the [[GMSLA]] guy went up like a candle. | Bugsy’s ack-ack let rip — the [[GMSLA]] guy went up like a candle. | ||
Bugsy blammed out a second: a lame-ass two-way [[confi]] flare. It was a weak round — not usually fatal at such a distance but enough to | Bugsy whooped. “[[SOX]] attest ''that'' my litte paisan! Ha-ha!” | ||
Bugsy blammed out a second: a lame-ass two-way [[confi]] flare. It was a weak round — not usually fatal at such a distance but enough to pacify a lightweight aggressor. But Bugsy was a true shot. He caught the [[futures]] guy square on an ops schedule. He squealed. He turned tight circles. His [[escalation]] circuits crackled, popped and smoked out. The jockster conked out and crashed, face-down in the sand, little green flames licking around his his annex. | |||
“Yee-hah!” Bugsy’s turret retracted. | “Yee-hah!” Bugsy’s turret retracted. | ||
Schweiner re-blinked up the [[MIS]] readout in his head-up display. | Schweiner re-blinked up the [[MIS]] readout in his head-up display for [[SME]] activity. ''Beautiful'': flatline. | ||
“That’ll do, Bugsy, you mad bastard,” Schweiner chuckled. “Confirmed kills. Chalk up the [[KPI]]s and let’s get those portfolios reassigned to [[School-leaver from Bucharest|Bucharest]] [[toot-sweet]].” | “That’ll do, Bugsy, you mad bastard,” Schweiner chuckled. “Confirmed kills. Chalk up the [[KPI]]s and let’s get those portfolios reassigned to [[School-leaver from Bucharest|Bucharest]] [[toot-sweet]].” | ||
| Line 31: | Line 33: | ||
“On it, boss.” | “On it, boss.” | ||
Bugsy called them into to [[Chief double-oh|C double-oh]] on the encrypted two-way comlink. | Bugsy called them into to [[Chief double-oh|C double-oh]] on the encrypted two-way comlink. He rocked the sing-song ham radio chit-chat idiom. “Central control, this is KPI-Delta-One-Niner filing our hourly [[stakeholder]] check-in, do you copy, over?” | ||
Cadet Blitzer staffed the mic back at the double-oh HQ. “KPI-Delta-One-Niner, this is Central Control: we read you loud and clear, Bugsy. Go ahead, over.” | Cadet Maxine Blitzer staffed the mic back at the double-oh HQ. She was a scone-doer so they kept her away from active engagement. “KPI-Delta-One-Niner, this is Central Control: we read you loud and clear, Bugsy. Go ahead, over.” | ||
A static burst shook the set. Bugsy punched in. “Central Control, this is KPI-Delta-One-Niner: Top of the morning | A static burst shook the set. Bugsy punched in. “Central Control, this is KPI-Delta-One-Niner: Top of the morning to you, Blitzy. We are reporting the coast is clear. Repeat: The coast is clear. | ||
“Ten-four bugsy. You seeing any | “Ten-four bugsy. You seeing any action?” | ||
“Roger that, Blitz. We just cleared out a couple of junior bogeys — stats to follow. We are fully operationalised and all systems go, Request go for [[playbook]].” | |||
“KPI-Delta-One-Niner, you are confirmed go for | “KPI-Delta-One-Niner, you are confirmed go for Operation [[Playbook]],” Blitzer’s tone turned familiar. “Rock that house, Schweiner, you crazy sumbitch. Central Control — out.” | ||
Schweiner punched in. “That’s an A.O.K., Blitzer, my man. We are gunning in for final approach. We’ll be home by five: put the beers on ice. This KPI-Delta-One-Niner — over and out.” | Schweiner punched in. “That’s an A.O.K., Blitzer, my man. We are gunning in for final approach. We’ll be home by five: put the beers on ice. This KPI-Delta-One-Niner — over and out.” | ||
| Line 69: | Line 71: | ||
The [[GC]] came on the line. Her voice was nasal, uptight: more even than usual. “Now listen here, Boone. No funny stuff, this time. I ''mean'' it. We have to play this by the book. Do you hear?” | The [[GC]] came on the line. Her voice was nasal, uptight: more even than usual. “Now listen here, Boone. No funny stuff, this time. I ''mean'' it. We have to play this by the book. Do you hear?” | ||
Boone looked up from the wrist-comm. He regarded the great expanse, yawning away beneath him to the far horizon, where a curlicue of smoke bleached pink in the dying sunset rose above Lawyertown. For a moment, Boone smiled. He wallowed in brilliantine recollections of those wondrous times; that beautiful settlement. These were his kin. His people. His ''life''. His ''home''. Boone drank it in: the beauty. The tranquil traditions. The ancient beauty. The august institutions. The whole gamut of ''[[precedent]]'' | Boone looked up from the wrist-comm. He regarded the great expanse, yawning away beneath him to the far horizon, where a curlicue of smoke bleached pink in the dying sunset rose above Lawyertown, from where, in a forensic bunker, the GC addressed him. For a moment, Boone smiled. He wallowed in brilliantine recollections of those wondrous times; that beautiful settlement. These were his kin. His people. His ''life''. His ''home''. Boone drank it in: the beauty. The tranquil traditions. The ancient beauty. The august institutions. The whole gamut of ''[[precedent]]''. Imponderable. ''Indispensable''. | ||
Chip wanted to tackle this invasion, head-on. “We’ve charged up the ineffability shields. We’ve flooded the prolixity ditches. We’re confident they’ll hold. We need you back here Boone.” | |||
Could she not see what was coming? From up here, as this convoy of wreckers drilled relentlessly across the badlands at the settlement, like some crazed Taliban, propelled by demented organisational theory, it was crystal clear. This was a mobile apocalypse, a direct vector, thundering across the desert to destroy the civilisation and everything it stood for — down to every last goddamn ''brick''. Did Chip just expect them to stand there while the double-ohs ran over them? | |||
“Not while there’s breath in me,” Boone said. | |||
The wrist-com crackled. The comlink channel was open. | |||
“Boone? Boone! Do you read me?” | |||
Boone looked at it. | Boone looked at it. | ||