Bal-27 Warfare Page #12

GIDEON:

Let's just move on, shall we? Irons is planning a preemptive strike against the U.S. with Manticore, which is a bioweapon. It targets specific DNA sequences to kill anyone who's not a main character.

JACK MITCHELL:

He's going to use an engineered disease to weaken the U.S. for a hostile takeover? That's --

MAJOR CORMACK:

-- Deus Ex again, yes. But we have a sample of Manticore now. Atlas is finished. We can show the world what Irons is up to.

JACK MITCHELL:

Yes, he definitely seems like the okay-you-got-me type.

INT. UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY - NEW YORK

IRONS is delivering a SPEECH to the UNITED NATIONS.

JONATHAN IRONS:

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for inviting me to join the Security Council. Now that I am standing on the biggest soapbox of all, I'd like to talk about the very first Modern Warfare. That game had something meaningful to say about the nature of war. It had the audacity to imply that America can't always wade in and save the day. That message has been forgotten by all Call of Duty games that followed, each of which featured the easy narrative of the noble American soldier against the foreign horde. But for every war fought and won, another emerges. Year upon year upon year, America has a new enemy to face! These wars don't work and I will no longer outsource my men to fight them!

UNITED NATIONS:

(Audible gasp)

JONATHAN IRONS:

Instead, I will commit the full power of Atlas to the dismantling of America's war machine! It's the only way to stop the Call of Duty games from glorifying American interventionism instead of seeing it for the firebrand that it is! Honestly, I feel like I'm the only one who played Spec Ops: The Line!

(Drops mic, leaves)

UNITED NATIONS:

We must immediately condemn the actions of Irons in a strongly worded letter while letting him just walk out of the building!

INT. SENTINEL HQ

CORMACK is briefing MITCHELL and GIDEON.

MAJOR CORMACK:

Irons wants to eliminate all wars by starting a war, which is like fighting fire with fire I guess. We have a list of his possible targets, but we don't know where he'll strike first. Any ideas?

JACK MITCHELL:

Wait, is that the Third Fleet stationed inside San Francisco Bay? That's where he'll strike.

MAJOR CORMACK:

What makes you say that?

JACK MITCHELL:

It's right next to the Golden Gate Bridge and you don't put that in a work of fiction unless you're going to destroy it.

MAJOR CORMACK:

Good point. I should've figured when I saw this chapter is called Collapse.

Sure enough, ATLAS succeeds in COLLAPSING THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE, which traps the THIRD FLEET inside the BAY.

MAJOR CORMACK:

Well, that's a bummer. But at least this attack has convinced the world to turn against Irons, even though him becoming a Bond villain in front of the goddamn United Nations should have already accomplished that. Let's go to New Baghdad and kill him!

JACK MITCHELL:

So Americans are going to invade Iraq to take out an American war criminal? That must be an inversion of -- no, a kind of double reversal -- I don't know what that is.

EXT. ATLAS FACILITY OUTSKIRTS - NEW BAGHDAD

CORMACK, MITCHELL and GIDEON head for NEW BAGHDAD as part of an AIR RAID through a CANYON.

GIDEON:

Approach APC Romeo Victor Nought at Angels 5.

JACK MITCHELL:

What? Oh, I'm in a fighter jet. Good thing I trained for this apparently.

GIDEON:

Iris has the recon in our AO. Bravo Zulu.

JACK MITCHELL:

I explode whenever I dare to come up over the canyon walls? Is that what you're saying?

GIDEON:

Bearing three one five magnetic at cherubs four.

JACK MITCHELL:

F***, this is the worst! What am I shooting at? Am I even shooting?

GIDEON:

Crossing ACP5. Fence in and keep to 2,000 AGL or less.

JACK MITCHELL:

I DON'T KNOW WHAT ANY OF THAT MEANS!

Eventually, they pass through the CANYON and put an end to this DREADFUL HOMAGE TO INDEPENDENCE DAY.

EXT. ATLAS FACILITY - NEW BAGHDAD

MITCHELL, GIDEON and ILONA join a SENTINEL TEAM in an attack on the ATLAS FACILITY, which is defended by SOLDIERS wearing HEAVILY ARMED MECH SUITS.

GIDEON:

Ilona and I are going to have a cup of tea while you fight these heavy mechs. We'll be sure to incessantly urge you on for the duration of it!

ILONA:

Take care of those mechs, Mitchell!

GIDEON:

You must destroy the heavy mechs!

ILONA:

Mitchell, we can't advance until you clear out --

JACK MITCHELL:

Shut up shut up SHUT UP!

GIDEON:

Calm down, it's not all bad! Remember how cool that open-ended bit in Bangkok was? You've got your grappling hook here as well, so you can make full use of the verticality of this entire square! You can even harmlessly drop from great heights by grappling ledges because f*** physics! Also, if you can get behind the mechs, you can grapple them and yank out the pilots!

JACK MITCHELL:

Really? I want to do that forever now.

MITCHELL manages to DESTROY THE HEAVY MECHS, but then IRONS retaliates by SATURATING THE SQUARE WITH MANTICORE. Anyone who is not a MAIN CHARACTER DIES.

INT. ATLAS PRISON CAMP - NEW BAGHDAD

MITCHELL, GIDEON and ILONA have been CAPTURED by ATLAS and taken to a PRISON CAMP.

PRISON GUARD:

Follow me and do exactly as you're told! I will punch you to death if you so much as look the wrong way!

JACK MITCHELL:

Kind of feels like I've been similarly constrained for the entire game.

They are led past PRISONERS being BRUTALLY BEATEN, used for MEDICAL EXPERIMENTS and locked up in CAGES the size of KENNELS.

JACK MITCHELL:

Okay okay, Atlas is abhorrently evil. We don't really need this excessive and tasteless allusion to concentration camps on top of everything. At this point I'll take even one guard being slightly squeamish about the depths he's sunk to.

GIDEON:

This is a Call of Duty game, did you honestly expect any nuance?

JACK MITCHELL:

No, but this blatant exploitation does undercut any legitimate concerns about the rise of military contractors. I mean, who really bears the responsibility for the crimes of PMCs? What happens when they alienate local communities? Can they be considered --

PRISON GUARD:

NO TALKING!

(Punches Mitchell evilly)

They are RESTRAINED and brought before IRONS, who has CORMACK at GUNPOINT.

MAJOR CORMACK:

Guys, you're alive! Manticore wiped out my entire squad! I only survived because I've had lines so far!

JONATHAN IRONS:

Quiet you.

IRONS shoots CORMACK in the SPLEEN because he F***ING WELL CAN.

JONATHAN IRONS:

You may be a main character but you're not a protagonist, so forget about sweating out that bullet.

(Turns to Mitchell)

Ah, the prodigal son returns.

JACK MITCHELL:

Still with the son thing?

JONATHAN IRONS:

That was the last one, considering you've so utterly failed me. We don't tolerate failure here at Atlas. You did sort of help me out in that regard though. By killing all the men I've sent after you, you've punished them for failing to kill you! Now how shall I punish you?

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