Assault

Assault is the first episode of Squadron X.

Synopsis
A political kidnapping brings together a group of mercenaries, hoping to get a reward for their deeds.

Plot
Joe, a homeless ex-Military Captain dishonorably discharged for not following orders, is kicked out of a diner by the owner, Doris, for not having any money for his food, despite him begging for her to let him eat for free on the promise that he'll pay her back whenever he has the money. While he is unable to convince her to let him stay, his pleading does convince Don "Snake" Anderson, a hitman, to pay for him, and even allowing him to stay at his house, on the condition that he pays him back.Joe thanks him and accepts. Later that night, at Snake's house, while him and his mother are sleeping, Joe, having just gotten done shaving his beard and trimming his hair, puts an ad on a website offering his military skills as a mercenary.

The next morning, Snake gets a phonecall, and at the same time, Joe receives a response to his ad, simply stating a location and time, and for him to be there. Joe asks Snake what his phonecall was about, with Snake revealing it's the same location and time as the response Joe received. The 2 arrive at a bar outside of the city, with several others already waiting for them: Clifton, a thrill seeking Native American man, Robert, A duel-wielding swordsman hailing from Wales and trained in South Africa, Mikhail, a 5th Division Soldier from Russia, Blythe, a young girl studying the use of magic, and Lex, a biker with a military past.the 2 share drinks with the group, before eventually asking why they asked them to be here. They quickly find out that none of them know, and that they were all contacted, one way or another, and were told to come to the bar.

At this moment, A man, dressed in a suit, walks out of the kitchen and greets them all. He reveals his name to be Ian Samuel, also telling them he is a government official and he was the one who called them all here. Upon hearing that this man works with the government, Snake brings his hand to his side, where his pistol is holstered. Samuel notices this and tells Snake that he doesn't need to worry, as he's not here to arrest them. He lists all of their accomplishments: Clifton was responsible for killing a group of terrorists who had taken over The Principality of Sealand in 2013, Robert had personally waged war against several warlords in Africa and had defeated some of them, Mikhail was key in a battle which drove a Cult in Cambodia from the country, Blythe's skills in magic which she used to save several lives, Joe's assassination of a Taliban leader, Lex's brutal, yet efficient skills in hand-to-hand combat, and Snake's staggering kill count of 230, the final of which is corrected by Snake to actually be 245.

At this point, Samuel tells them that Senator Forrest Burke, a corrupt politician, has been kidnapped, tortured and held for ransom. He admits he wouldn't care, except for the fact that Samuel's sister, Sarah, who was Burke's secretary, was also taken, and so, he decided to assemble a team to kill the kidnappers, and rescue the prisoners. He then tells them he will be paying them $150,000 each to complete this task. They all agree to take the job.

In the preceding the job, several things transpire: Snake visits his Father in prison and after he requests his son break him out, Snake verbally attacks his father, before telling him to rot in hell, Lex relapses into alcoholism, Robert is attacked by his former friend, Lance, who studied with him, being stabbed in the hand, and Clifton gets into a bar fight, managing to beat up the attacking patrons with only a busted lip and black eye as a consequence.

On the night of March 28th, the group meets at the bar again, where Samuel, who reveals his uncle owns the bar, supplies them with weapons and a van to use in the rescue. As the group drive to the location, an abandoned mansion several miles away, the group discuss their reasoning for accepting the deal. Mikhail states he's doing it for the money, Joe reveals it's to pay Snake back for helping him out, Snake says it's because he simply accepts most jobs, Blythe says she wants to put her skills to good use, though also says the money will help with her future, Clifton says it's for the thrill of it, and Robert says it's the right thing to do. Lex is the only one not to reveal his reasoning. They arrive at the location, and are immediately fired upon by the armed attackers. The group get out of the van, Blythe panicking and basically shutting down. Snake and Joe fire back, headshotting several of their attackers, while Robert slices down other attackers. Lex walks towards one of the attack, his arms spread out as he demands to be shot. at this point, his reasoning becomes clear: he has a death wish and hopes to be killed in action. when the attacker refuses to kill him, Lex becomes enraged and unloads his pistol into the attacker's chest, killing him. another attacker aims at Lex, before Clifton shoots him. Lex yells at Clifton for doing this, but both of them are interrupted by Mikhail taking a bullet to the chest. the group, sans Blythe and Mikhail, manage to kill the rest of their attackers. Unfortunately, Mikhail dies from his injuries. Lex and Clifton get into an argument, with Lex arguing it should have been him, and Clifton saying that if Lex had focused on killing instead of being killed, Mikhail would still be alive. Nevertheless, they put Mikhail's body in the back of the van, with Snake covering his face with his jacket.

The group continues into the mansion. Joe communicates with the kidnappers via a walkie talkie taken from one of the attackers and gives them an ultimatum: release their hostages or suffer the consequences. the kidnappers say they'll do neither, as several more attackers show up. One of them aims at Snake and takes the shot, only for Joe to knock Snake out of the way and get hit by the bullet. Snake shoots the attacker that shot Joe, and the rest of the group, including Blythe, who has gotten a hold of herself, fight their attackers,killing them. Joe says he's alright, as he gets to his feet. the group continue on an see a metal door, obviously new, and locked. As the group decides how to open it, Blythe uses her magic to unscrew the hinges, causing the door to fall to the ground. In the room, they see Burke and Sarah. The two are untied, just as the kidnappers, whom Snake recognizes as Blood Rubies, enter the room.

In the ensuing fight, Lex is shot, Joe is beaten up by one of the kidnappers, and one of the kidnapper's attempts to attack Blythe. This quickly earns the kidnapper a brutal death by Robert, who slices him in half,from head to crotch. Joe pushes the Kidnapper who was attacking him back, with him slamming into a broken pipe, impaling himself. Clifton shoots 2 of the attackers in the head, and Snake guts the last of the kidnappers with a knife. Just as the fight seems to be over, one last Kidnapper, revealing himself to be Lance, steps into the room, saying he won't stop them from leaving with the prisoners, and claiming they've won them. Snake attempts to shoot Lance, but Robert stops him, clearly still caring about his former friend. Joe, Lex, Burke and Sarah are driven to the hospital, with Lex being enraged that they didn't let him die.

After everyone is discharged, they go back to the bar, where they receive their money from Samuel. Joe attempts to give his money to Snake, but he refuses it. When Joe reminds him that he needed to pay him back, Snake tells him that he did by taking the bullet meant for him. When the topic of informing Mikhail's widow of her husband's death, Joe decides to do it. He flies to Russia the next morning and tells her, resulting in her collapsing into Joe's arms and crying in his shoulder. When he returns, a government agent is waiting for him. When he requests to know what this is about, the Government agent simply tells him that the group that saved Senator Burke is going to be named Squadron X.

Trivia

 * As Blythe is under the drinking age, she is seen with a glass of water when she is at the bar with the others.


 * Mikhail's accomplishment is a reference to the 1979 film *Apocalypse Now*, in which the film's protagonist is sent to kill a rogue military Colonel who is in control of a cult in Cambodia.


 * Several scenes were deleted, including one where Burke and Sarah are seen in captivity. After Sarah spits at one of her captors, said captor is enraged enough to break a pipe in the room. Ironically enough, this is the same kidnapper who ultimately gets impaled. Another Kidnapper states he wishes he could "do what he wanted" to her, referring to sexual assault. This is the same one who attacked Blythe, and it is likely he wanted to do the same to her. It's likely this scene was deleted due to how disturbing it would have made the scene where he attacks Blythe, or it could have just been cut for time. Another deleted scene shows an alternate scene where Lex dies at the hospital, saying he doesn't want to go. The reason for this scene being deleted, and Lex dying, is unknown. Another scene shows the attackers trying to run the van off the road whilst the group tries to escape, and one last scene shows the group at Mikhail's funeral. It's confirmed these scenes were cut for time..


 * Early in production, Ian Samuel was supposed to have gone rogue, and was putting his job on the line, as the government did not want to attack the kidnappers.