[center][h2][color=SteelBlue]The Expedition[/color][/h2][/center]
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	[color=Tan][i]Damnable posh blighter,[/i][/color] Col. Blackheart cursed mentally. In light of his team's discovery, Maximillian had allowed him to leave on a scouting mission, sending Eli to fill in the gap as head of security at the research station, but he had also sent Lord Kane along. The conspirator was lethal, sure enough; Blackheart could respect that, but the man was too soft for his tastes. Max only sent him when he wanted eyes on a problem, and Blackheart was sure that, in this case, Kane had been sent to keep him in line. [color=Tan][i]"As if I'm fool enough to spring an ambush before the quarry is caught,"[/i][/color] he thought with a scowl on his face. It was this exact train of thought that Max had attempted to preempt by sending the grand conspirator.
	Besides Kane and the colonel, Maximillian had sent four Mercenaries, a pair of Diplomats, and about a dozen Guards. This was very much a scouting mission, one where being detected meant failure, but he had opted to send the socially-adept Diplomats in the event that discovery resulted in talks instead of gunfire, not that he really anticipated that. The forces of justice had never bothered talking, not that he would have listened, and Max could see no reason anyone here would be different.
	The helicopter touched down in a clearing that sat along a river to the northwest of the target settlement. They had taken the long way around, planning on causing confusion as to what direction the Evil Lair resided in. Hopefully, the nearby mountains had hidden the helicopter from sight as it touched down. Blackheart was the first to disembark, taking in a deep breath of the woodland air, [color=Tan]"Ahh, the hunt begins![/color] he announced cheerfully. Sure, he had a minder, but at least he wasn't stuck reading reports anymore.
	The minions filed out, Mercenaries scanning the area for threats as the Guards unloaded the supplies necessary for an extended mission. Lord Kane exited second-to-last, the Diplomats following behind him. Their designer suits were unsuited for the wilderness, and one wiped his already-sweating brow as he stepped off the ramp. 
	Lord Kane quietly looked over the assembled team, evaluating their respective capacities to threaten the mission. [color=DarkCyan][i]"Of those assembled,"[/i][/color] he concluded, [color=DarkCyan][i]"The Colonel and his host of Mercenaries are the worst. The Guards, at least, are reliable in their incompetence."[/i][/color] In Kane's experience, incompetent minions could be expected to fail, and one could even factor that failure into the plan. Blackheart, though, was a loose cannon, and the Mercenaries lacked any real sense of subtlety, as their heavy machine guns testified. The Diplomats were a burden, but accounting for contingencies was just good sense.
	The helicopter took flight as the last of the cargo was unloaded, heading off to the west with the plan of turning back to the southeast once it was out of sight. Extraction would be no simple matter now, but such a hard-to-replace transport wasn't something to risk for the sake of a quick exit. The team began the slow march towards the settlement.
	The party followed the river for a few hours and eventually came across a crude marker, likely denoting the borders of their target. Seeing little reason to compromise their anonymity so early, they retreated behind the treeline across the river from the marker to establish a camp and plan their next moves. The Guards set up tents while the Mercenaries laid down sandbags and set up their machine guns. Two were placed aiming straight across the river, and the other two took up opposing positions on the flanks. Only the rear remained unmanned, but Blackheart and Pendragon saw to that as they laid a densely-packed field of traps. The outermost ones were simple bear traps, but as one neared the camp, they would start encountering landmines. The thought of the bumbling fools getting blown to bits as they approached what they thought was a weak point made the hunter chuckle as he carefully covered up the last mine.
	Tomorrow, they would begin in earnest.

[@Bluetommy]