Dead Zone

But it's a proposal, man.

It's supposed to be a surprise.

Dude, Ton.

You have been with Crystal for six years.

Yes.

Yes.

And in those six years, how many times have I told you

She does not like surprises.

Exactly.

You know, he's right, man.

Kids like surprises. Not adults.

Dude, what if she says, "No"?

Uh, it could happen.

And then if she says, "No," you're gonna be stuck,

trapped in Tahiti.

But it's Tahiti.

It's paradise.

Even in paradise, you can feel trapped.

Ain't that the truth?

Just ask any of my ex-wives.

TOC right now, gentlemen. We have an immediate problem.

CDC contracted a lab

in this little one-horse town for vaccine development.

Four weeks ago, it was declared a D-Zone.

Your mission is to infil that lab

and secure that prototype vaccine.

And then haul-ass onto the extraction point.

So, we suit up, grab and go. Where's the problem?

Well, the problem is

that intel informs us that some of the infected

are surviving the blast.

Yeah, that's right.

Apparently,

these sons of bitches are silent, faster,

and more aggressive than any runners

that you've exterminated in the past.

So, this, uh...

prototype vaccine must be some kind

of Messiah shot.

Why aren't the brass sending in a full battalion?

To redirect several hundred troops

to extract an unproven vaccine from a D-Zone

that's swarming with infected sup'ed-up assholes?

No.

That'd be more like genocide than a game plan.

What I need, a few canaries

to slip in, sniff around, and sneak out undetected.

Canaries?

No. Maybe that was a bad example.

What do you think?

Yep, you'll HALO in via this baby.

Now, don't get excited.

I know it's not the prettiest horse in the barn.

Little long in the tooth,

but it's got all the luck where it's needed.

Plus, it's the best I could do on such short notice.

Kinda like you guys.

This mission far exceeds any threat assessment

of any mission you've been on already.

You're gonna be jumpin' straight into hell.

If you're lookin' for a glory day, this is it.

A lot of good lives will be saved.

You wanna be part of the solution,

you get your frog-man on, you suit up, and you follow me.

You each have to call it for yourselves on this one.

Man, fuck Tahiti.

No surprises.

Most of this equipment, you gentlemen are familiar with.

You've used it in a previous tour of deployments.

But if you look around, you'll notice,

I got you a few new extra toys.

Pack a little extra punch

in case you find yourselves in a hot spot.

Thermo, really?

But I thought they already nuked the town.

Speakin' of which,

how are we supposed to breathe in that poison?

With this.

The filters and batteries

have been modified from the SEAL rebreathers.

By the way, the more you move, the better they work.

And if it gives you any trouble, I'll be right there to fix it.

Unless you desert me again.

Deserter?

Now, that's a new low even for you.

It is what it is...

Boss.

If memory serves,

I had an easy choice, stay with your sorry ass

or go home with the most beautiful woman

I've ever been with in my life.

All right.

You win.

I always win.

Fellas,

allow me to introduce you to Chief Petty Officer Ajax.

My BUDs classmate, drinking buddy,

and before he transferred to an R&D desk job,

was nearly my brother-in-law.

Your sister broke my heart, you know?

Is she seein' anyone right now?

Hey, hey, hey. Don't get your ass kicked...

Boss!

That's enough. Knock it off.

Ajax, get him in his battle rattle.

Helmets are new.

- You'll be the first ones to use 'em. - Lucky us.

So, you're tellin' me this thin-ass fabric

is gonna keep me from roastin'?

That's the idea.

Now, this particular configuration

is hot off the factory floor.

So, unfortunately, well, we haven't had a lot of time

to test it considering the situation.

But it has been modified for Dead Zone ops.

Fully-suppressed firearms.

Every effort to keep us concealed

and your life has been made.

Lock and load, gentlemen.

Masks on.

Whoa!

Gunnery Sergeant Sinclair.

Sergeant first-class Ton.

P.O.S.C Danner, check.

Good come.

On your visors, you got a basic HUD.

On your ears, you got an AMP system

for suit-to-suit comms and increased audibility.

Soft sounds become loud, loud becomes soft.

Now, each helmet is completely soundproofed to the Zone.

You could blow your vocal cords,

and we're the only ones that'll hear it.

That's comforting.

And one more trick up your sleeve is a last resort.

500,000 lumens, 2K throw.

Powerful enough to permanently blind,

hot enough to start a fire at close range.

Ten-second burst.

I will emphasize, "last resort."

What about a close-quarters encounter?

We still don't know how all this holds up in actual combat.

Oh, you want a test run?

Don't you?

You've had this coming for a long time.

Still works.

Yeah, that's the Ajax I know.

What, you forget...

I always win.

- All right. - That's enough fun for now.

What do you say, Boss?

I think we can use all the help we can get.

Danner and Master Chief will be on three comms windows.

On touchdown, pass Sitting Bull.

When I verify and secure the vaccines, pass Geronimo.

Once we reach the EZ, our final pass is Crazy Horse.

Chief will send a taxi.

And radiation is a rough way to go.

So, make sure you stay covered up at all times.

Got 90 seconds, and that's it.

That's all we got, huh?

They said it's like drowning...

in fire.

You really haven't taken

one of these into a D-Zone before?

But if they don't work, the good news is

you'll be dead before you hit the ground.

Well, it's a shame really.

We straight up poison the world.

That's why we gotta get these shots.

Until then, we gotta keep droppin' bombs.

Damned if we do, damned if we don't.

Kinda like us canaries.

30 seconds to drop.

You're never out of the fight.

Ironside Main, this is Archangel.

Do you copy? Over.

Ironside Main, Ironside Main, this is Archangel Actual.

Pass Sitting Bull. Over.

Roger, Actual.

This is Master Chief on Main. Sitting Bull confirmed.

Check in at your next waypoint. Have a safe walk. Over.

Boss, Master Chief confirmed.

Radiation's already messing with the signal.

AI is adjusting.

You've set it. Now, you can forget it.

Sounds too good to be true.

Coast is clear.

You ready?

Yes, sir. We've got two clicks at about one-eight-zero.

Take it out.

Ton, what do you see?

Still fresh.

I'd say one day, maybe less.

Looks like they used a two-shot on a one-time-rig.

The M84s blew the windows to alert the infected,

then they cooked the incoming with thermite.

That's clever.

Go ahead, and see what you can find.

I don't know, Boss. I got that funny feelin'.

Roger that.