Chapter One: Operation Swordbreaker
SSgt. Henry Blackburn – 1st Recon Marines
March 15, 2014. 1300 Zulu Time
Al Sulaymaniyah, Iraq
"Go tell that long-tongued liar…go and tell that midnight rider…tell the rambler, the gambler, the…backbiter…tell'em that god's gonna cut'em down…"
Blackburn opened his eyes and looked around. Everyone was sitting silently, bunched up together in the LAV. He was sitting next to Matkovic, the Navy Ordnance Disposal technician. He wore green camouflage pattern outfit, standing out among the others who all wore the same digital desert camouflage outfits.
Montes, Campo and Chaffin were sitting across with them. Everyone was leaning forward, their rifle barrels pointing upwards. The weariness of the past few days was showing on their faces.
Blackburn was only twenty-five years old. He had dark brown hair and pale blue eyes. He had been a Marine since he was eighteen, following his elders' footsteps. His father had served in Vietnam, and his grandfather had fought in the Second World War. It seemed appropriate that he enlist as well.
It seemed like another day in Iraq other than the rising of a new group known as the PLR- the People's Liberation and Resistance. It made Blackburn shake his head. They were doing more killing than liberating. What were they even liberating? Wasn't that the US Military's job now?
Blackburn sighed as he looked at his helmet. He had written his nickname 'Black' on the front and back of the helmet in black marker. As he put it on their headsets crackled to life.
"Misfit One-Three, this is Misfit Actual." said Captain Quinton Cole, the leader of Blackburn's unit- the glory hound who just wanted to raise his prestige. "Be advised we are crossing the LOD in two mikes. Over."
"Copy that." Campo said, putting a hand to the side of his helmet. Montes's head perked up and he looked over at the others.
"Yo, does anyone else really not get what the fuck we're doin' here?" he asked, obviously irritated with their objective, as he always was.
"Quit being a fucking hippie, Montes!" the round-faced Chaffin reached across Campo and smacked Montes on the shoulder once. Montes shook his head and shifted in his seat.
"I'm just saying, bro. If this is about the PLR, we should be in Iran- not Iraq."
"They're crossing borders, dawg. PLR is the right people, alright? They don't make'em any righter." Campo waved his hand as Cole came over the radio again.
"Misfit One-Three, this is Misfit Actual. We have a situation developing here. Get your team dismounted and into the staging area ASAP."
"This is One-Three, copy. Out."
"What the fuck are we stopping here for; our objective's twenty klicks north of here." Montes complained.
"I don't know Montes." Campo shrugged. "Yeah, let's get out on the road." The LAV groaned as it grinded to a stop. The doors opened and everyone picked up their weapons. "Okay, let's go. Move!" Everyone piled out of the LAV. Blackburn was the last to get out, holding his rifle with one hand and he helped himself out with the other.
They walked slowly into the blistering heat of the Iraqi sun. Choppers buzzed overhead, HUMVEEs and LAVs were parked all around them. Marines were standing guard and moving all about. "I guess we're late for the party." Campo went over to one of the Marines standing guard. "Where's the ell-tee?"
The Marine looked battered and he turned tiredly to the squad. "Hang a right up here…" he motioned with his head to an alleyway just ahead of them.
"Thanks."
The team walked forwards slowly, passing Marines who were still busy clearing out the buildings in the staging area. Some came out with a handcuffed prisoner- some were in gear, most were civilians.
The prisoners were shoved into a HUMVEE, padded down or were put with the others kneeling on the sidewalk. Nearby families cried and wailed as they watched their husbands get dragged away.
Montes shared a disapproving glance with Blackburn.
"You ever ask yourself how this part of the world gets so fucked up all the time?" he asked no one in particular.
"I just work here, Dave." Chaffin joked.
"Hopefully we won't have to work here for much longer." Blackburn shrugged, flicking the safety off on his rifle. "I certainly want to get back home soon."
"Yeah, how's Charlene doing?" Matkovic asked over his shoulder. Blackburn felt his lips curl upwards slightly. Just thinking of his fiancé made him happy. Charlene was so far away, yet every time he closed his eyes it felt like she was right in front of him.
"She's doing well, out of college with flying colors. She's a journalist for one of the news channels now."
"Really, I thought you said she did freelance writing." Montes inquired.
"She still does that, but Charlene wanted to get some money so we can set up a home for our family when I get back."
"You're gonna have a baby?"
"Of course!" the team veered into the alley which was bathed in shadows from the surrounding buildings.
"You're not gonna wait?"
"Me and Charlene have been close ever since we were little. We figure we've had plenty of time to spend with each other."
"No offense pal…" Chaffin said with a chuckle. "…but I honestly can't see you leaving."
Blackburn chuckled but it was true. He had some rough spots in his past, dealing with senior officers and procedure. But Blackburn had shown that he was a marine who was devoted to his country, to his people and to his squad and did what he believed what was best for all three. Blackburn loved the Marine Corps. He loved Charlene more.
After this tour, he was going home for good.
The group gathered around a table where Cole was standing, sipping from a mug of coffee as he overlooked a map. He paused, trying to create a bit of aura to him. Blackburn looked at Montes who rolled his eyes.
"Gentlemen, welcome." He started. "As you know we're dealing with the PLR insurgents crossing over from Iran. A lot of sectarian tension…" he shook his head slowly at the map. "I counsel you to remember gentlemen; the people of this country are not your enemy. The PLR is."
Blackburn restrained himself from snorting. He had to admit, Cole was a good commanding officer when it came to combat. He knew exactly how to deal with any situation, where to put his teams and how to use support correctly. Of course, his ways of trying to make himself look like a king got in the way, with his speeches of right and wrong, friend and foe and the rest of the bullshit Blackburn already knew.
Cole looked down at the map. "At oh-nine-thirty we lost contact with Viper squad. They were investigating a possible IED near Spinza Meat Market…" Cole jabbed a finger to the map and looked up seriously. "…and that's a pretty bad fuckin' part of town. We believe the PLR are involved. I'm sending you in to find our marines, provide support and calling in CASEVAC if necessary. You're the quick reaction force gentlemen. I'm trusting you to handle this. Let's go find our marines!"
You mean us. Not you; you'll be here drinking coffee.
"We're on it. Let's go!" Campo led the team to a jog as they continued down the alley.
"Operation begins. Safety's off, stay frosty." Blackburn said to the others.
"We're way behind, gentlemen." Campo said once they were far enough away from Cole, trying to mimic him. "Let's go find this patrol."
"Do we have a sitrep on enemy inside this district?" Montes asked as he checked his M240 LMG.
"Assume the worst." The team entered a small garage like room with a counter. They stacked up around a door and Campo kicked it open. "Go." They ran through the door, quickly moving down the alleyway until they came to another door.
A dog jumped against a fence, barking and whining as the team got ready to move into the next building.
"Getting mad creep-out vibes here…" Chaffin murmured. Campo shouldered the door and it opened. The team went in a hallway that came up to a corner that led to the right.
"ID your targets." Campo ordered as he cautiously moved around the corner with his rifle raised, looking through the holographic sight.
"What is this? A school?" Chaffin asked.
"Oh right, I keep forgetting; they don't have schools where you come from." Montes joked, earning a chuckle from Matkovic and Blackburn. Chaffin growled and was going to say something back but Campo intervened.
"Stick, together. Check your corners." he sounded stern. Blackburn knew when he used that tone of voice, Campo knew they were coming up on something. Being in the man's squad since he entered the corps made the signs clearly visible- the same went for the others.
Blackburn had been in training with Montes and Chaffin, and when they went into combat they were replacements for Campo's fireteam. Matkovic joined a bit later and the five had been close ever since. Although they never said anything about it, Blackburn knew they all felt very close to each other.
Trust…Loyalty…Brotherhood…Family…
Blackburn felt that these were the words that described them all.
He was snapped from his thoughts as the room shook and the ground rumbled. A few windows and lights broke and glass shattered on the floor. Dust lazily drifted down through the rays of sunlight from the windows above them.
"What was that?" Matkovic asked as they slowly made their way up some stairs at the end of the room.
"Someone needs to tell EOD to blow those ammo dumps further away." Montes shook his head at Campo's statement.
"Quake tremor- we're like ninety klicks from a major fault line." Blackburn bumped his shoulder.
"Might be the smartest thing you ever said." Montes grinned and shouldered him back.
The team came up to another alley that was darker than the others. They came up to a gate that led to the highway type road that went through the city. A burning car was outside and debris dotted the road.
"Big cross-street here; hella exposed…"
"Wait one, something's coming. Get back. Wait for him to pass." Everyone got low and pressed against the walls of the alley. Blackburn crouched behind Campo and looked at the road.
A technical passed them, loaded with troops and a mounted machine gun in the back. There was an irritated groan. To them, there was nothing technical about technicals. It was just a pickup truck with a big gun in the back. Nothin fancy, very easy to put together and there were always in stock for some reason with the locals. "Let's move."
Chaffin pushed the gate open. "Cross in twos. Black, you and Matkovic take the door on the right." Campo motioned with his hand.
"Okay, moving!"
"Moving!" the team sprinted across the road.
"Get the lead out Black, now!" Campo led Montes and Chaffin through the alley beside the garage that Matkovic and Blackburn had kicked their way into. They moved into the next garage through a door.
"Not a single civvie. I don't like this shit." Chaffin was standing at the door where Matkovic ran out. Blackburn went out to follow him.
Crack! A sniper rifle went off and a bullet slammed into Chaffin's shoulder. He dropped his rifle and tumbled onto the ground. Campo leaped over a low wall and joined Montes and Matkovic behind a wall of tires and other materials.
"Gun! Sniper!" Montes shouted. Gunfire broke out as a stream of insurgents moved into the parking lot, their weapons blazing.
"Cover me!" Blackburn yelled as he grabbed the back of Chaffin's vest and began dragging him into the garage.
"Popping smoke!"
"Where the fuck is he!" bullets began whizzing past Blackburn's face. He tugged harder on Chaffin's vest, struggling to drag his heavy friend.
"Get him inside come on, come on!" Blackburn was able to get him behind a column and sat him up against it.
"Hey, you okay? You okay?" Chaffin couldn't speak but he nodded, clutching his bleeding shoulder. "I'll be right back okay, I gotta help the guys, just hold on Jack."
Blackburn joined the others and began returning fire. He had clicked his fire mode to single shot, wanting to conserve ammo. Immediately an insurgent ran into the open and Blackburn pumped three rounds into his chest.
A heavier weapon opened up on them.
"Take the fucking guy out!" Blackburn spotted one of their attackers firing an LMG from behind a car. Blackburn aimed and fired, killing him. After a few more minutes of fighting the ambush ceased and the insurgents fell back. "They're moving they're moving!"
As the dust settled the squad reloaded. "Let's go, let's go behind me!" Campo moved into the parking lot. "Gimme a sitrep; I'm up."
"I'm up." Matkovic answered.
"I'm up." Blackburn raised a thumb.
"I'm up, I'm fucked up but I'm up…" Montes grumbled; he had dived from a grenade and a piece of debris had slammed into his chest. They proceeded into the parking lot only a few feet before Matkovic stood up and pointed at the building ahead of him.
"RPG, my twelve-second floor; stay away from the fucking cars!" Blackburn was too late to move. The rocket hit a nearby car, blowing him on his back in the pavement. He laid there for a second before getting to his feet and sliding into cover.
The insurgents had regrouped and were attacking again. But more bullets began flying from behind them.
"Friendlies coming in, friendlies coming in!" a voice shouted. Blackburn looked to see another team belonging to Misfit run into the parking lot. "Everybody light that building the fuck up!" the team leader cried desperately.
Blackburn fired the rest of his clip at the building and bent over to reload. He spotted Campo waving to him from across the parking lot, crouched behind a car.
"Black, on me!" Blackburn took a breath and sprinted across the pavement, pullets pinging around his feet. He jumped into cover next to Campo.
"What the fuck man!"
"Tangos by the building, far end of the parking lot. They're flanking!" Matkovic yelled. Campo swore under his breath.
"C'mon, we gotta take out them RPGs. Moving!" He slid across the car and Blackburn followed. They vaulted over a railing and took cover near another car closer to the building where the RPGs were in. "Right there, right there!" Blackburn fired on a pair of enemies that had just entered the parking lot.
Both Campo and Blackburn grabbed a grenade, pulled the pin and lobbed them at the second floor of the building. They exploded, taking out the RPGs. Rubble and body parts down from the floor and into the parking lot.
"He's down!"
"Got him!"
"Hold them just a little longer!" The marines kept firing and soon the few surviving insurgents fled from the parking lot.
Crack! A bullet smacked into the pavement. "Sniper's still up! Cease fire, cease fire. Get the hell inside, now!"
Back in the garage where Chaffin was, the team gathered around another door. The few marines that had arrived were taking up defensive positions. Corporal Holliday, or more commonly, Doc Holliday, was treating the wound.
He looked up at the worried team and nodded.
"We got him." He turned back to Chaffin. "Hey, buddy." He took out a medical kit and began applying a few items to the wound. "Can you feel this?" Campo sighed and kicked in the door and they began moving down another hallway.
They came to a stairway and began climbing it.
"Alright, up we go. Check your corners." There were a few flights of stairs and they quickened their pace.
"I hope Chaffin's gonna be okay." Matkovic murmured as they marched upwards, breaking their brief silence. Montes brushed passed Matkovic.
"He'll be fine; he's a tough son of a bitch." Just then, there was another deep rumble and the building trembled.
"Another tremor?"
"Maybe, let's keep moving."
"Anyone else a bit worried we're fighting on a fault line? We should be pulling back not advancing further into the city." Blackburn asked out loud, voicing his worry and annoyance with their area.
"Of course, but do we have a fuckin' choice?" Montes shook his head with Blackburn. At the top of the stairs they came to a door.
"Eyes open. It's all you." Campo shoved his shoulder into the door and they slowly made their way in. It was a large, dark room with light only coming from the partially boarded up windows to their left. They only walked for a moment before the sniper fired again.A billow of papers flew around them from a nearby stand. "Shit, too exposed. We got to go cover to cover. Don't stay visible in the windows."
Another bullet flew through one of the windows.
The team got low and sprinted under the windows, trying to reach the safety of the next wall. A third round split one of the boards on the windows.As they escaped the kill zone they all flung themselves into cover, except Blackburn. A trio of tangos appeared across from them and Blackburn switched to full auto.
He gunned all three down, using the whole clip. Quickly he reloaded. The team got up and decided to move where the insurgents had come from.
"These guys weren't local." Montes pondered. "They weren't speaking Arabic. Al-Bashir is exporting all-star insurgent talent outta Iran into here now?"
"I don't know either." Campo panted. "Let's just get up on that roof." As they came to yet another door, hopefully leading to the roof, Cole came over the radio.
"Misfit One-Three, this is Misfit Actual. That sniper's still up, be careful out there."
"No shit, Captain Obvious…" Blackburn muttered. Matkovic opened the door and went out onto the roof. He was followed by Campo, Montes and then Blackburn.
"Clear."
"Clear." As they reached the end of the wall the sniper fired again. A nearby potted plant exploded. "Here we go."
"Shit, contact!"
"Anyone got eyes on?" asked Montes. There was a pause as Matkovic peeked around the corner with Campo. Blackburn held his breath as he watched with Montes. Nothing happened and the two stepped back.
"I can't see him."
"Dude, that's a fucking fifty!"
"Why the hell do some raggedy-ass tangos have a fifty caliber sniper rifle?" Blackburn changed his fire mode again. The thought of modernized weapons equipment being easily obtainable by their enemies- who had been using what was basically ancient weaponry against them, just pissed Blackburn off more than he already was.
"Stay low, stay low." Campo ordered, waving his hand. The team moved forward and took cover behind a large electronics box.
A bullet hit the leg of the water tower and ricocheted into the box. The bullet hit just above Montes' head. They felt the shock of the bullet and they all groaned, hunching their shoulders.
"It's the hotel- the hotel I think." Matkovic whispered, as if he was any louder the sniper would hear them.
"Let's go, cover to cover. We'll draw him out. Ready, moving!" Matkovic and Campo moved to the next large piece of cover, followed by Montes and Blackburn. Each time they started to relocate they would state 'moving' or 'going'.
The process was repeated several times before they came to the corner of the roof, and they had a large open area in that corner. They had no more cover accept for the roof's wall. Campo thought quickly and looked at the team. "Okay, get on the fucking deck." Everyone crouched down. "We get down to the edge, he'll stick his head out, and then we fuckin' shoot'im."
Campo was always good at putting the pieces of a situation together and making a plan to carry out- another one of his admirable traits.
"Roger." Matkovic went first, crawling along the short cover of the wall and its design. Campo slithered after him.
"Hug the wall." Montes and Blackburn were at the corner of the large electronics box they were at, watching their rear.
"You guys alright? When should we move?" Blackburn asked.
"Black, wait for us to get into position. And don't bunch up, keep moving." Campo and Matkovic were still crawling but were out of sight from Blackburn and Montes unless they peeked around the corner. All the while, the sniper was firing.
"Talk to me, you got eyes on?" Montes asked. Campo and Matkovic had reached their destination now and were able to get up to a very low crouch.
"I got it." Montes took a deep breath and got on the ground, crawling after the others.
"Black, now!" Blackburn got down and went after Montes.
"Shit!"
"Just keep going." Each enemy round that hit nearby would take a chunk of the wall away. After the agonizingly slowly minute of moving in prone, they had all reached a position. Montes and Campo were up against the wall, while Matkovic was to Campo's rear left crouched down. Blackburn was behind and between Campo and Montes, still on his belly.
Campo looked up quickly. "There's the sniper!" he ducked back down. "Okay, okay…across the street, fifty meters, midway up. He's dug into a spider hole."
"I got AT." Matkovic was in charge of carrying the team's rocket launcher, which was sometimes a shared duty with Blackburn despite Blackburn being their designated marksman.
"Give it to Black. Shit, cover's getting ropey." Campo motioned to said marine with his thumb. Matkovic pulled the tube off his back and rolled it over to Blackburn.
"Why me?"
"You're the best shot!" Matkovic smiled at him with a nod.
"You see that weapon glint, you waste him." Campo said to Blackburn.
"Make it count brother!" Matkovic encouraged. Blackburn smiled at first and cheekily flipped Matkovic off, making him shake his head with a laugh. Campo glared at the pair.
"I'll cover you, and you hit him. Clear your back blast." Blackburn crawled a few inches back, looking over his shoulder. "Standby: three, two, one…suppressing!" Campo screamed as the team stood up at the same time, their weapons blazing away at the hotel where the sniper dwelled.
Blackburn didn't even have to aim. He fired the launcher and the rocket hit the spider hole. There was an eruption of flame, concrete and dust. The hotel's sign, only a few meters up from the spider hole sparked and flicked before falling off half of its supports and hinges, hanging sideways up. When the smoke cleared a gaping hole crusted with fires was in the hotel.
Everyone looked at the glorious sight. Blackburn gave a short hoot and gave the AT4 back to Matkovic who patted his shoulder.
"Good effect on target!" Montes yelled in triumph.
"We good?"
"We're good." Campo reloaded and turned to the others. "Let's go find this patrol."
"Oh yeah, nearly forgot about them." Campo shook his head at Blackburn. "Oh come on Steve, I deserve to have a little fun every once in a while." But before they could move their headsets were filled with chatter again.
"Misfit One-Three, this is Doc Holliday. We got your man patched up down here, ready to move him back to the staging area for evac. Can you provide cover from up there?"
"Sure thing, Doc Holliday…which direction, over?"
"North side."
"Good thing he made the call. That explosion's gonna attract a log of pissed of insurgents. Not to mention the ones who survived the firefight are probably coming back." Blackburn said to Matkovic and Montes, who nodded in agreement.
The team moved to the corner behind them that was looking over the street where they had left the alley for the garage and parking lot. Shouldering his M4, Blackburn pulled his Mk.11 sniper rifle into his hands and aimed down the scope, checking the rooftops and alleyways.
"Misfit One-Three, in position. Looks pretty clear…"
"Roger that, we are moving, over!"
"Keep your eyes peeled for hostiles; our guys are pretty exposed down there. Watch your sectors." Blackburn spotted Doc Holliday carrying Chaffin across his shoulders, accompanied by the two men he brought with him.
Montes was setting up the bi-pod on the wall for his M240 and checking his scope when he spotted the enemy.
"I see enemy movement, street level!"
"In cover, take them out, One-Three!" Holliday yelled over the comms. Blackburn got one of the insurgents in his crosshairs and fired. The bullet flew into the enemy's head. The others opened fire on the remaining enemies who were taking cover by a destroyed car.
"On the balconies, left side!" Matkovic and Blackburn turned his attention to the new tangos that had appeared. "Tangos on the roof, straight ahead!" Blackburn sniped the ones on the roof while Matkovic suppressed the balcony gunners.
The street was clear.
"Okay, moving." Doc Holliday and his two escorts moved to the destroyed cars where their previous attackers had taken cover.
"More guys coming. Check the street level and rooftops." More gunfire pierced their air but the second enemy group was quickly dispatched.
"I think we're clear, Misfit One-Three. We are moving, over."
"We got your six, you are clear."
As Montes started fixing the bi-pod on his LMG he looked back down.
"Oh you gotta be kidding me!" a third batch of hostiles stormed from the alleyway that the team had used to enter their area. Montes and Blackburn expended the last of their clips on the enemies and once more, the PLR was dealt with.
"Misfit One-Three, this is Doc Holliday. Many thanks, we're through. We'll take care of your buddy- out." Blackburn and the others watched as they went through the alley towards the staging area.
Chaffin was safe, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Blackburn slung his sniper rifle over his shoulder and grabbed his M4. Montes and Campo started walking back across the roof but Matkovic grabbed Blackburn's shoulder.
"They're moving in on us now." Everyone looked back down at the street to see a horde of PLR charging their building.
"Campo, I don't fancy our chances. I count over twenty and still rising." Blackburn said.
"Can we get the fuck off this rooftop now, please?" Montes yelled. Campo nodded.
"Roger. We can't go back down- too messy…need to finder another way down."
"We can try to jump onto the building next to us, the one where those RPGs we took out were." Blackburn suggested.
"Let's go for it." The team jogged back across the roof to the corner. Blackburn went to leap to the next building but Campo grabbed him.
"We'll never make it over." Montes panted.
He crouched down with his back turned to the others. He raised his LMG, waiting for the PLR to get onto the roof. Blackburn knelt next to him and readied his rifle. Matkovic was speaking quietly to himself, looking around quietly.
"We can use this as a bridge." Everyone looked at him as he nodded to a long plank of wood leaning against the wall of the concrete base that surrounded the rooftop staircase.
"Do it!" Campo and Matkovic put down their weapons and picked up the heavy board. They slowly made their way over with the board to the edge of the roof.
"Fuckin' boy scout…"
"That boy scout is saving our asses, Montes." Blackburn said, watching the other two drop the board across the gap. They retrieved their weapons just as they could hear banging and yelling from inside the building.
Matkovic tested the board and then made his way across.
"Go, go." Camp urged. Matkovic got off and Campo followed. Blackburn went after him and crouched to cover Montes. "We'll meet you down there."
"Montes I got you covered, c'mon!" Montes made his way across quickly. "Get rid of the board, we don't want them following us." Montes hooked his foot under the board and kicked it off the edge. It fell into the short alley below them with a crash and a cat screeched.
The pair made their way down some stairs and then vaulted onto a lower rooftop. From there they jumped to another rooftop and rolled when they landed. Another vault and finally the pair crawled under a railing and joined Matkovic and Campo on the street.
The squad took cover in that corner of the street and caught their breath. "I think I messed up on that roll…" Blackburn groaned, stretched his aching back.
"I might have twisted my ankle." Montes added.
"Ah c'mon guys, at least we ain't dead." Matkovic said with a shrug.
"Misfit One-Three, this is Misfit Actual. You want to get moving to the site, ASAP, over." Cole said over the radio.
He sounded mildly annoyed, as if he was angry that they had been held up for so long. If Blackburn was in his boots, he would have been thankful that the team made it off the roof in one piece.
"Temporary setback, break; we are Oscar-Mike to target location, over." Cole didn't respond to Campo so the team set off through a small market. The stands were abandoned, but all of the goods and items were still left in place. "We're pushing through. Hope they're okay…"
"So, what happens if the PLR take over?" Matkovic asked. "Country run by terrorists ain't good…" This kicked off another one of Montes' rants.
"Bro, America was founded by terrorists, for terrorists. What do you think the fucking Revolutionary War was? History is determined by the motherfucking victor."
Blackburn and Matkovic both rolled their eyes and groaned at Montes. Montes had always been like this, always looking for a way to point on the flaws of their own country. Although the others found his preaching's humorous, it got tiresome after a while.
Campo was the only one who could endure it and usually was still able to laugh at Montes.
"How did you even get into the Marines?" he asked Montes.
"You know what Campo? I often ask myself the same goddamn question." The team had stopped in front of a large wooden door. Montes kicked it open and it revealed a long, dark hallway, dimly let by a few lights. The floor was cluttered with crates and other large items.
They came to the corner and came under fire. "We've got contacts!"
"Shit, contact!" they team took cover and returned fire. Montes was able to mow most of them down with half of his clip and Campo finished them off with a grenade. They made sure they were clear before turning to a door with a light hanging over it.
"That should take us where we need to go." Blackburn said, taking point. He stopped when he felt his boot bumped against something on the floor. They all stopped and looked at the dead marines, sprawled on the floor.
"Is that the patrol?" Matkovic asked quietly.
"That's two of'em…" Montes continued to the door while Campo collected their dog tags.
"Just stay focused." He said to the others. Montes kicked the door open and the team moved to a damaged HUMVEE that was sitting with its rear turned towards a van. The street had a few bomb craters.
Campo got behind the HUMVEE while Matkovic took cover at the van. Montes went to the HUMVEE while Blackburn screened their surroundings. Civilians were in the windows and rooftops. A group was watching intently from an overpass to the front. Another group was on the street level, closer than Blackburn wished.
Sirens and yelling filled the air, like there was a riot going on.
"Oh shit." Montes went over to the front passenger door of the HUMVEE and tried to open it. He ended up taking the entire door off and falling down. But a marine was sitting there, dazed and wounded. Blackburn went over to look into the HUMVEE as Montes checked over the marine. "Shit, we got wounded and KIA in here."
"I got it. Misfit Actual this is One-Three. I need CASEVAC ASAP, how copy?"
"One-Three, I can finally oblige. Hang tight Misfit, out." Blackburn looked over at Matkovic, who was on his hands and knees, looking at the underside of the van.
"Whatcha got Chris?"
Man, this layout doesn't look right at all." He murmured. Matkovic got onto his stomach and crawled slightly under the van, his kit straining against him. "Yeah, I found something. This is totally not good." He groaned. "Secondaries under here!"
"Secondary!"
"Secondary, cop that!" Montes had crouched and raised his LMG, guarding the wounded marine. "Aw fuck boys we are attracting a lotta fuckin' attention!"
Campo backed up against the van, keeping his weapon raised.
"What's the problem? Can't you cut the wire?"
"I can't cut anything till' this wire's traced!" Matkovic was on his back now, his hands meddling with something.
"Blackburn you're nominated follow the wire!"
"Roger that!" Blackburn looked down between his feet and spotted the red wire. He followed it down a few steps to door that he kicked open. It led into a Laundromat.
"Blackburn did you get that? Follow that goddamn wire." said Campo. Blackburn went down some stairs and looked to his left and right. There was a closed door on either side.
I don't wanna risk breaching alone. There's gotta be another way…
Blackburn noticed the wire led into a vent. He went prone and crawled into the vent, pulling himself along with one hand and holding his rifle with the other. The vent bumped a little as some rats scurried past Blackburn's face as he came to T section. The wire led to the left and Blackburn slithered along.
The vents began shaking and Blackburn braced himself. After a few moments the shaking and rumbling ceased. "You okay in there?"
"Yeah, I'm alright."
"Just another goddamn tremor; nothing to worry about. One-Four's here to reinforce. Just get that wire cut. "
Blackburn kept crawling. Oh yeah, nothing to worry about. It's just a sign of a possible tremor. No trouble, I'm only stuck in a fucking vent. Thanks a lot Steve! Blackburn came to a larger part of the ventilation system and found that the wire went through a hole.
Pushing his legs forward, Blackburn jumped down into the room. He landed low on his feet, his fingers brushing against the floor. Blackburn got to his feet and followed the wire through a few chain-linked fence storage areas.
He came to a desk wire the wire ended. A few electronics were on the desk and some tools. A white box with two wires in it was the most prominent one. Blackburn set his rifle down and his handed wavered between the two wires.
He chose to pull the one on the right, which started a beeping noise.
Blackburn heard something behind him and looked up. A light flickered, casting a shadow on the wall in front of him. The man screamed as Blackburn turned around and punched him across the face.
Blackburn reeled from the hit. His attacker pulled him back up to him again, but Blackburn blocked his punch, hit him in the side and face before kicking him in the back of his knee. The insurgent dropped down to his knees. Blackburn picked him up by his vest and raised his fist. But just as he was about to bring it down the insurgent grabbed his arm and responded with an uppercut.
He then latched onto Blackburn's vest and head-butted him; the move backfired. His forehead collided with Blackburn's helmet, stunning him for a second. Blackburn heaved the insurgent against the chain-link fence which was pressed up against the concrete wall.
Feeling the rage and adrenaline surge through him, Blackburn stood the insurgent back up. He grabbed his head and smashed it three times against a thick wooden post, each time the insurgent cried out in pain. Stepping back, Blackburn him across the face with his right, followed by his left and Blackburn hit him in the gut with his right again.
Finally, Blackburn took his head and brought it down on his knee. There was a sickening crunch of bone and the insurgent slumped over onto the ground.
The white box had been beeping faster and faster and Blackburn whipped around, tugging the other wire from it. The beeping stopped.
Blackburn turned around and panted, holding his aching cheek. He sat against the table and stared at his defeated opponent. It seemed like he stared into those lifeless eyes forever before he heard gunfire above.
Campo came over the comms just as Blackburn snatched up his rifle. "Black, we're taking heavy small arms fire. Get up here now!"
"Copy that, I'm on my way." Breaking into a run, Blackburn ran down the hallway, jumping over same fallen shelves. He followed the stairs and was led back into the Laundromat. He came up to the few steps at the door where he had entered to see multiple squads of marines moving towards the overpass.
A few were cut down by enemy fire and the rest got into cover among the cars that clogged the highway. Blackburn ran over to the van where the squad had been before.
"Tangos by the walkway, left side!"
"Incoming!" a rocket smashed into the road in front of them, sending dust and chunks of pavement into the air.
Blackburn took cover next to the others and started returning fire.
"Misfit One –Three, this is Hornet Five-Zero. I got your position, I got your targets, we're inbound hot."
"Waste those guys!" somebody cheered as they waited for the Little Bird chopper to arrive.
"Roger, we're engaging in the vicinity of two-two-four-eight-six grid." Campo turned to Montes and Blackburn. "Black, get up on the wall and man the LMG."
"Give us some cover." Blackburn and Montes ran towards the stairs on the sidewalk that led to the overpass. The other marines continued to press their fire into the increasing amount of PLR.
On the overpass, Blackburn killed two insurgents that had taken cover up there. Montes then set up his LMG on its bi-pod.
"M249, right there." He said to Blackburn. Blackburn picked up the LMG and set up his bi-pod. "I'll take the right, you take the left."
"Got it." The pair of machine gunners opened fire. Tangos were forced to take cover and slow their advance. Those who didn't make in time were cut down by the suppressive fire. Rockets flew pasted and into buildings, raining concrete down onto the road.
"Jesus Christ, look at all of'em! Where's CASEVAC?" Matkovic joined them as well as Campo.
"Misfit One-Three, this is Falcon. We are in orbit above your location, break. Be advised, you've got a large number of individuals moving toward your position."
"Enemy vehicle coming from the north!"
"Montes, focus fire!" Blackburn and Montes trained down their sights at the technical, peppering it with short controlled bursts. "Driver's down!"
"Fifty cal's still good to go!"
"Misfit One-Three, this is Misfit Actual. We're sealing off all southbound traffic- but enemy fighters have been reported closing on your location. Over." The Little Bird arrived and the mounted chainguns roared to life, destroying the technicals and killing off the remaining enemies on the highway.
"They're falling back, they're falling back!" Campo announced. Montes reloaded while Blackburn discarded the LMG, checking his own rifle.
"Misfit One-Three this is Hornet Five-Zero. We're seeing a lot of movement converging on your position from the east."
"Oh fuck they're trying to flank us!" Matkovic yelled as the team ran for the stairs.
"Come on, come on they're gonna overrun us!" the team fell back a bit. "Let's move, move, move! There, that enemy vehicle wreck!" the squad took cover and opened up on the new batch of advancing hostiles from the eastern road. Blackburn noticed an empty technical sitting where the marines were now holing up. There was a mounted machine gun in the back.
Technicals are always in stock…
Campo must have read as his mind because he pointed at the technical while looking at Blackburn. "Blackburn, up on that weapon. We need suppressive fire on that street now!"
"I'm on it!" Blackburn jumped into the back of the struck, readied the big gun and began firing in bursts at the enemy. He gunned down groups of three or four insurgents at a time, destroying cars and keeping them from getting closer to their position.
"Misfit One-Three, this is Misfit Actual. Hang tight, chopper's circling back for you."
The Little Bird came back and started to add in on the storm of bullets that were hitting the insurgents. The insurgents' numbers had dwindled and were falling back. But before anyone could say anything, the ground shook violently.
"Oh fuck!"
"Earthquake!" Campo hollered.
"Come on, let's fucking go!" Blackburn watched in horror as the street in front of him cracked and rose up. Pavement and cars were thrown about as well as people. He was thrown from the back of the technical as the ripple hit the technical.
Blackburn was on his stomach, his arms in front of him. He looked up as he heard an even louder rumble. A building groaned and shook as it toppled over. Blackburn raised his hand, watching helplessly as the building crushed the Little Bird and connected with the pavement.
Only darkness followed.