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"You gotta jump, Spoole! Dive into the water!"
"Wait-- what?"
"Just jump!"
"Ahh! Okay!" Spoole trusted his friends and jumped off the dock and into the ocean after James. Bruce was in his ear, directing Spoole's first heist.
"Watch out for the helicopter behind you guys," suggested Bruce.
"The what?!" Spoole cried before ducking under the water to avoid heavy fire. James swam significantly quicker.
"Spoole, quick!" James shouted, choking on a mouthful of water as he did so.
A handful of bullets skimmed Spoole's side, causing him to panic. He was a tech guy, he wasn't cut out for the combat division!
"Keep swimming!" James yelled, diving underwater.
"If you stop moving, the helicopter's gonna get you." Bruce informed, as calm as if the heist was a TV show or video game and not really happening.
Spoole shook his head and started swimming again. "Is there a ladder somewhere?"
"I found one! Yes! It's right up here! Hurry!" There was a glee to James' voice. His eyes lit up as he drew nearer to their escape vehicle, and Spoole wondered how he could be so cheerful when there was an actual, literal helicopter raining bullets upon them.
"Serpentine!" Spoole swam quicker to close the gap between him and James. The taller man did know what he was doing, after all.
"I'm up!" James cried happily. "I just punched a dude!" Spoole watched a man fly into the water unconscious a few feet in front of him.
"Don't leave without Spoole!" Bruce shouted at James. Gunfire sounded over the comms from where Lawrence and Adam were having a shoot-out with a few guards.
"Well he needs to hurry then!"
"Go Spoole!" Bruce yelled as the techie reached the ladder and started climbing. He screamed and ducked close to the wall as the helicopter came around and started shooting again.
Spoole managed to climb up and run to cover as James shouted at Lawrence and Adam to hurry up, because he wasn't planning on leaving without them, but if they had to, they would. Suddenly, Bruce was instructing Spoole to take out his gun and shoot down guards before they shot him first, and Spoole obliged before he really registered what he was doing.
"Boom!" Bruce cried in satisfaction, watching James shoot down the helicopter with a rocket over the cameras Matt had set up earlier that day. James grinned and moved onto the next target.
"There's no cover!" Adam complained over comms.
"You should have swam like we did." James joked. Adam swatted down the idea immediately. Lawrence made a remark about the warehouse he and Adam were in as he shot down three guys. Adam cleared out his quota of men before suggesting they move outside, closer to James and Spoole.
"I'm behind a Jeep, if anyone needs me." Spoole chipped in before looking at the sky and gasping. "There are three helicopters!"
James heard the panic set in again and cut in quick. "Spoole! Spoole! Get in this helicopter quick!"
"What? Okay," he ran over to their chopper and hopped in the passenger seat. He didn't even have time to buckle up before James was shoving him out the door.
"No! There's a gun in the back- use that!"
"Oh," heading around back, Spoole noticed the two massive crank guns the vehicle was rocking.
"Yes!" Bruce cheered as the two ascended into the air.
James steered around the the side and landed on the small dock to pick up Adam. He picked the other crank gun and strapped in.
"Where are you guys?" asked Lawrence, before everyone heard a splash.
"I told you we were heading outside!" Adam yelled. James and Bruce cursed in the background.
"How did you two not stick together?!" James asked.
"I went to where the helicopter was, and you guys had left already!" Lawrence retorted.
The sound of chopper blades interrupted their argument. Adam and Spoole started shooting at the enemy, vowing to pick up Lawrence once they finished.
"Shoot it!" Bruce was shouting at the same time James was yelling.
"I can't aim the gun any higher!" Spoole cried, possibly cracking under pressure.
"Spoole! get it!" Adam yelled, helpless from his side.
There was a worrying shout from the cockpit before their helicopter started to plummet rapidly. James had been knocked unconscious. There were various shouts of panic and concern before Adam took charge. He pushed Spoole out of the helicopter and over the water before dragging James out of the cockpit and jumping out himself.
Spoole screamed as he was shoved into open air, five feet from rapidly spinning copter blades. "Bruce!" He shouted, full-on chaos taking control this time. He heard static buzz into his head and an explosion shake the ocean before he blacked out.
"Hey man, good luck on your first heist today." Matt smiled over his large cup of over-priced coffee. The gang owned a coffee machine, but this morning was a special occasion. "May you not die with three bullets in your back."
"Thanks for the encouraging words, Matt."
"Someone almost shot me! Who was that?" Spoole felt the heat of a missile explode against the ground three feet from his legs. The intensity of the shot throwing him forward and head-first into the dusty dirt of the desert airbase. James, Adam, and Bruce all cackled before Lawrence helped him up.
"Don't run across the runway next time," the glasses-clad man suggested as the other three howled with laughter over the comms.
"Oh Bruce, I can't believe you're absent for this mission!" James spoke directly to Bruce - who was working tech for the day because of his leg injury from the last mission - through their call after mission briefing. "It sounds so cool!"
"Wait, what? What are you guys doing? Matt and Joel haven't updated me yet!" Bruce asked.
"We get to shoot down air assault vehicles over the ocean." Spoole bragged.
"What?!" Bruce cried, causing a wave of vicious laughter from the combat division. "Spoole, you better not fuck this up for me, you got that?"
"Hey, can I smoke with you guys?" Spoole asked two young men outside the gas station as the gang refueled their cars. The two just looked up from their conversation and rolled their eyes. A right hook came out of no where and collided with the first man's face. Spoole stood there speechless for a moment before a hand grabbed him by the arm and hurried him into a car.
"We're meeting Lawrence back at Adam's apartment." James said, driving off without so much as looking at Lawrence.
"Okay," was all Spoole said, but he watched Lawrence fight two full-grown men out the window as James sped down the road. "What got Lawrence so mad?"
Adam's laugh just crackled over the car speakers.
"We haven't had a single problem with teamwork until now, so Spoole, if this falls apart we know it's you."
Spoole woke up in the guest room of Adam's apartment where the combat division was arguing in the main room down the hall.
"You guys got shot down by a helicopter, and somehow you're blaming me for all of this."
"Shut up Lawrence, we were only there because we were waiting around for you. If you were there, then we could've flown away!"
"You never--"
"I fucking told you that we were going outside!"
"And I fucking told you, Adam, that I had to clean out the room before I joined you."
"Adam pulled James from the helicopter, unconscious, might I add, and you were floating in the water eating a fucking power bar!"
"My health was low, Bruce! Give me a break!"
"You know who else's health was low?"
"Spoole!" That one was said in unison between three dudes.
As Spoole crept closer to the main room, he hid behind the corner wall to survey the scene. Lawrence sat on the couch facing away from the hallway, Adam and James (and the ice pack smashed against the latter's head) were sitting on the other sofa across from him, and Bruce was up and pacing around. The techie took a few steps forward into the main room and sat down on a bar stool. "Well..." he started, gaining everyone's surprised attention. "We all failed today,"
Everyone was silent for a moment before Bruce spoke up. "We'll set up and try again tomorrow." He gave a smile.
Adam quickly added in, "We blasted a hole in their defenses- they won't have reinforcements for at least twelve hours. Joel checked."
James threw in his comment as well. "Plus, we stole and then blew up their best helicopter."
"Hey," started Spoole, "I may have almost beached our boat, almost ran over Adam with a jet, and massively fucked up, but I never shot a flare and landed a jet successfully."
That aroused a chuckle from the four other guys. "You got us there," laughed Adam.
"I'll teach you how to use a crank gun now, if you want." Bruce offered.
"Thanks, Dad Bruce."
"You're welcome, Son Spoole."