Chapter 83: Provocation
"Mason!"
McCullen turned and grabbed Ana, shoving her toward Mason's feet.
"She's yours!"
He snatched the control device from Rex's hand and thrust it into Mason's as well.
"This can control her. From now on, she belongs only to you and will obey your every command." McCullen's voice was urgent.
"Where's the last warhead? Tell me!"
Mason examined the control device in his hand for a few moments, then looked up at Rex. "Doctor, I've heard a lot about you. This base has been compromised. To avoid complications, I think we should leave them with a gift—a scapegoat—before we escape."
As he spoke, Mason looked at McCullen with malicious intent.
"What do you mean?" McCullen looked at Mason warily.
A questioning look appeared in Rex's eyes. Mason smiled and continued, "A quarter of Paris has been destroyed. G.I. Joe has tracked us here. I think if we don't leave someone to take the fall, none of us will escape."
"Hmm, your suggestion is intriguing!" A hoarse voice came from behind Rex's respirator as he gestured for Mason to continue.
"The Paris attack has become the focus of the entire world's attention." Mason pointed to the two destroyed warheads in the control center. "If the warheads had been successfully launched and Washington D.C. and Moscow had been destroyed, the terror these nanotech warheads would bring to the world would have forced nations to accept any of your demands."
"But right now..." Mason shook his head. "The damage isn't sufficient. To avoid being hunted by the entire world, we should leave a key figure behind. I think no one is more suitable than Mr. McCullen."
McCullen's facial muscles twitched. He turned to look at Rex. "Rex, don't listen to him. We have to leave together. You still need me. You can't accomplish anything without my funding!"
BOOM!
An even more violent explosion erupted, and the control center shook dramatically. McCullen seized the opportunity to break away from the group and ran desperately toward the exit.
"Ana, stop him!"
Under Mason's control through the device, Ana had regained mobility. She stepped forward and delivered a devastating kick to McCullen's knee. With a sickening crack, McCullen screamed and collapsed to the floor.
Mason spread his hands. "Dr. Rex, the outside world shouldn't know you exist. As long as they capture McCullen, you can safely remain hidden in the shadows."
"If we sell that one nanotech warhead I have, we'll have a massive amount of start-up capital. Then we can manufacture as many of these warheads as we want."
Mason clenched his fist, his face filled with arrogant confidence. "I have the strongest physical capabilities in the world, and you have the most brilliant mind. Together, we'll be unstoppable!"
"No! Rex, don't listen to his lies! He's deceiving you! You have to trust me—don't forget Zartan. We have other plans!" McCullen dragged his shattered leg, sweat pouring down his face as he spoke desperately.
"Heh."
Rex forced a cryptic laugh. "My dear McCullen, he makes an excellent point. You have nothing but money and a mountain of liability behind you. Tell me, what reason do I have not to partner with him?" He glanced at Mason as he said this.
"Besides, he loves my sister so much. Seeing her happiness brings me such joy!"
"So I must ask you to make this sacrifice."
"Bring him here!"
Rex commanded coldly.
"No! Let me go!" McCullen roared.
"Rex, have you forgotten who pulled you from that explosion, giving you a second chance at life? And who funded all your experiments!"
Rex pulled out a syringe he carried, inside which flowed a bright green liquid with a peculiar luminescence.
"Don't worry, I won't kill you." He injected the syringe into McCullen's neck.
"You need to live to draw their attention."
"And I..." Rex twisted his neck, removed the respirator from his face, revealing a charred, scarred, and grotesque visage. A cruel smile appeared on his lips as he took an imposing helmet handed to him by a Neo-Viper beside him.
"The great COBRA Commander will rescue you from prison after we rise to power!"
Rex's helmet, made entirely of polished metal, covered his entire head. Its faceplate was covered in fine, serpentine scales, projecting an ominous red glow from the optical sensors.
"Put him in a submarine and send him out. While their attention is diverted, we'll escape in another direction!" Rex's research data had obviously been backed up previously. He simply activated the self-destruct mechanism in the lab and then led Mason and Ana toward the deepest section of the base.
"Captain Cobra, COBRA Commander Rex..." Mason thought cynically. Were these guys' naming conventions terrible, or was he just naturally incompatible with serpent-themed villains?
However, the plan had progressed smoothly so far. He'd successfully manipulated Rex, and given Rex's knowledge of the facility, he should be able to easily break out during the chaos.
As long as they escaped the Arctic, Mason was absolutely confident he could easily complete this delivery mission.
After all, the Rex from the movies was physically weak, and apart from his brilliant intellect, his combat ability was inferior to an ordinary person.
He glanced at his interface, which clearly displayed that the side mission was complete, with a reward of 200 System Points to be deposited upon mission completion.
It seemed that because he'd kept one warhead, the side mission reward had been reduced accordingly. However, it was precisely because he'd kept that warhead that the subsequent operations had gone so smoothly.
Initially, Mason had planned to forcibly take Rex hostage after infiltrating the Arctic base, but since the target was a living person, Mason was concerned about complications during extraction.
After all, bullets don't discriminate. He was somewhat confident in facing the entire base's forces, but if he had Rex with him, he might not be able to protect him completely.
Mason didn't believe that he could deliver a corpse to prison and the System would consider the mission complete, hence the subsequent elaborate scheme.
The delivery mission had also been updated.
"Please deliver COBRA Commander Rex to the G.I. Joe underwater detention facility in the Pacific Ocean within 48 hours!"
Mason had heard of this underwater prison. It wasn't actually built underwater, but rather on a heavily fortified aircraft carrier. With the carrier's powerful defenses, any form of escape was virtually impossible.
"Commander, where are we heading now?"
"Leave here first—to the Pacific. I have a temporary facility there."
Mason's spirits lifted.
[Power Stone Goal: 500 = +1 Chapter]
[Review Goal: 10 = +1 Chapter]
If you liked it, feel free to leave a review.
25+ chapters ahead on P2treon DarkFoxx