A formation of three Black Hawk attack helicopters loaded with heavy rocket pods and air-to-ground missiles swept at high speed over the mist-shrouded Canyon in an inverted triangle.
The downdraft from their rotors seemed to clear even the mist that lingered in the Canyon year-round.
The three Black Hawks broke formation several kilometers out. The two in front headed straight for the eastern and western watchtowers, while the last stopped advancing and held position far away at high altitude.
As the two Black Hawks circled the eastern and western watchtowers, more buzzing came from outside the Canyon. Over twenty heavy rotor drones with machine guns slung beneath them swarmed into the Canyon like bees and vanished.
Ten minutes later, the two Black Hawk attack helicopters landed one after the other in the clearing beside the West Tower. Before long, the third Black Hawk, which had remained high overhead, landed as well.
When the older version of Ripley stepped out of the third Black Hawk, still dressed in an elegant women's suit, an older Black commander in full combat gear and an unmarked tactical vest jogged over to her.
"Ms. Bartholomew, Levi Kane isn't in the West Tower, and we haven't found any trace of him nearby. His counterpart in the East Tower has disappeared as well."
The older version of Ripley-known in this world as Ms. Bartholomew-looked rather grim. "The drones just reported finding signs of combat in the Canyon. Surely they weren't stupid enough to enter the Canyon on their own to claim extra credit?"
"Perhaps he wanted to help the other one finish her assignment early too? The report said the East Tower was assigned to a very young female operative. A female operative from the Russian Federation, huh..."
There was a lewd edge to the Black commander's