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[b]Juba, South Sudan[/b]

[color=#ffffff]A hail of bullets peppered the small shack that Guy Gardner was taking shelter in. The SHIELD agent was bleeding from a bullet hole in his side and breathing heavy. He reached down and checked his handgun’s clip and let out a groan. Only four bullets left. He’d spent the others on the militiamen that rumbled him on his way out of the Arrow Boys compound. They couldn’t have been much older than eighteen or nineteen, but they were in Gardner’s way – and despite the years he’d spent on the shelf after Atlantis, Guy still understood that the mission came first.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Today’s mission was sat beside him. Professor Zhang Chin was one of the world’s foremost biochemists – he was also a wanted criminal. Chin had spent decades supplying every tinpot dictator in the Middle East and Asia with the kind of chemical weapons that ought to belong in science fiction. SHIELD acquired information that indicated Chin was about to break with routine in order to expand into the African market. South Sudan’s civil war was to provide the testing ground of Chin’s newest concoction.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Dum Dum Dugan had other ideas.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]With Fury out of action and Maria Hill assuming the directorship of SHIELD on a temporary basis, the old hand had been brought in to help steady the ship a little. His first action had been to set up a two-man task group designed to stamp out threats before they happened. Guy Gardner’s name was the first on the list. After a lot of arguing, Hill had relented and allowed Gardner back into the field and so far he’d proved about as effective a crime-fighting tool as SHIELD had – although that was subject to change if he failed to extract Chin in one piece.[/color]

[color=#b6d7a8]“Sneak your way into South Sudan in the middle of a never-ending civil war and smuggle a war criminal out without being seen, they said.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Another hail of bullets rained down on the shack. This time a few of the bullets passed through the basic metal that was serving as protection for both the SHIELD agent and the chemist. Chin whimpered, bearing his wrinkled bald head in his hands, as another barrage of bullets came flying towards them. Guy looked at him, disgusted by his cowardice, and shook his head.[/color]

[color=#b6d7a8]“It’ll be fun, they said.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Guy rose and his eyes scanned the horizon. There were six men and only four bullets in his gun. He had to think fast. He took the two on high ground down before they’d even noticed he’d sprung out from behind cover and opened fire on the fire as the white of his eyes turned towards him. Another volley of bullets came towards the shack and Gardner ducked back into cover with a grunt.[/color]

[color=#b6d7a8]“Anytime you feel like telling your friends to stop shooting at us, that would be great. I hate to break it to you, Chin, but if I’m not making it out of here alive, then neither are you, so it would [i]really [/i]be in your interest to contribute here. Just a little bit.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“What do you want me to do?” Chin asked with a slavishness that irritated the SHIELD agent. “I’ll do whatever it takes. I don’t want to die.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Guy pulled the chemist close and whispered some instructions to him. Chin nodded his head in agreement and Guy dragged him to his feet. [/color]

[color=#ffffff]“<Stop!>” Chin shouted in perfect Juba Arabic over the sound of the shooting. “<Stop firing, you idiots! If you hit me you’re going to be in a lot of trouble, do you hear me? Not just you, but your families too.>”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]The shooting stopped and Guy appeared, brandishing his gun at the chemist’s forehead, tucked closely behind him. The three remaining Arrow Boy militia eyed the pair of them suspiciously as Guy’s finger tightened around the trigger in nervousness. One miscalculated move and both he and Chin were dead men. As much as Chin probably deserved it, Gardner quite liked being alive – not to mention he didn’t fancy giving Maria Hill the satisfaction. So instead of shooting his way out, Guy was going to try to talk his way out through Chin.[/color]

[color=#b6d7a8]“If you know who Chin is, you know how valuable he is,” [/color][color=#ffffff]Guy began. [/color][color=#b6d7a8]“But he’s [i]only [/i]valuable alive. If you shoot him – or if I shoot him – then we all lose. Do you understand? We all go home empty-handed. If you let me leave here alive, I will make you all very rich men. You hear that? [i]Very [/i]rich. Richer than you can possibly imagine. So rich that neither you or your children will ever have to worry about money ever again.”[/color]

“<The American says that he’ll make you rich,>” Chin translated upon feeling Guy’s gun being pressed harder against his forehead. “<He said that if you let him leave here, you’ll never have to worry about money ever again. That your chi->”

[color=#ffffff]Suddenly Chin stopped speaking. He made no effort to escape from Guy’s grasp or to offer any explanation, but the SHIELD agent felt uncomfortable about the chemist’s silence. It wasn’t the play that Gardner had drawn up. He jabbed the pistol into Chin’s forehead again to get him to speak but he remained silent.[/color]

[color=#b6d7a8]“You had better start talking,”[/color][color=#ffffff] Guy growled at him. [/color][color=#b6d7a8]“Because there’s no version of this where you make it out of here alive if you double-cross me. You think you’ve got reinforcements coming? Unless they’re faster than a speeding bullet, they’re not going to save you from me.”[/color]

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[color=#ffffff]To Guy’s the relief the chemist started translating again. “<He only has one bullet left in his gun and is losing blood quick. Hold your nerve. You want money? Whoever gets [i]me [/i]out of here alive will be made a rich man. But I want this pig taken alive. I want him to suffer at my hand.>”[/color]

Once the shooting started, Gardner realised his mistake. A bullet nicked Chin’s bicep as it whizzed past the SHIELD agent’s head and the chemist scampered out of his arms. Guy shouted a profanity, swung his gun around, and managed to put down one of the three remaining militiamen with a shot through the cheek.

[color=#ffffff]With the rocket arm that had helped him set state passing records in Maryland, Gardner launched his empty pistol into the second-to-last Arrow Boy still standing. It broke his nose on impact and once in close Guy slipped a blade from his belt into the militiaman’s thorax. A bullet cracked Gardner in the shoulder and he staggered backwards, but he still had the presence of mind to use the Arrow Boy’s body as a shield. [/color]

[color=#ffffff]Guy wrestled the AK-47 from the dead Arrow Boy’s hand and sent a spray of bullets firing in his direction. He dropped dead to the ground and Guy let out a relieved sigh. He let his carcass shield fall to the ground and then searched the shanty town for Chin. Even with a headstart, he’d only made it fifty metres ahead on account of his old age.[/color]

[color=#b6d7a8]“Oh no, you don’t."[/color]

[color=#ffffff]With a crack, Guy sent a bullet hurtling towards Chin. It tore through his calf and the chemist fell to the ground with a thud. Gardner limped after his wounded prey with a satisfied smile on his face. Chin was writhing in pain on the ground when Guy reached him. He took a great deal of gratification from dragging the old man to his feet and was about to make a joke when the sound of heavy machinery caught his attention.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]A large tank daubed in graffiti smashed through several rusty shacks and came to a stop in front of them. Sat atop it were five more Arrow Boys who were brandishing AK-47s in the Gardner’s direction. To top it off, the turret on the front of the tank pointed at the SHIELD agent.[/color]

[color=#b6d7a8]“Fuck.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]The chemist slipped free from Guy’s hands and staggered towards the tank with a laugh. The sense of dread in Gardner’s stomach grew as Chin turned to face him. The elderly man’s saggy features twisted into a wicked smile as he gestured to the Arrow Boys to restrain his would-be kidnapper. One was in the process of leaping down from the tank when a shadow appeared over him. He had made it to Guy and wrapped his arms around his shoulders by the time Gardner could make sight of what was casting it.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]With an almighty bang, Ben Grimm came crashing down against the tank. It squashed on impact and the Arrow Boys on top of it were sent sprawling by the impact. Ben tore the tank in two as if it were made of cardboard, bullets ricocheted from his rocky hide as he made his way towards the last few remaining militiamen, and despatched them with a heavy clap that burst their eardrums.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Feigning a point towards an imaginary watch on his wrist, Guy shouted to his colleague. [/color][color=#b6d7a8]“What kind of time do you call this?”[/color]

[color=#f6b26b]“You know what they say, Carrot Top,”[/color][color=#ffffff] Ben chuckled as he threw the unconscious Professor Chin over his shoulder. [/color][color=#f6b26b]“Better late than never.”[/color]