Private First Class Flare Natsuha crouched behind a chunk of debris, clutching a SCAR-H assault rifle. Gunfire could be heard all around the city. In the building in front of her, one of her team mates was sniping. Flare peaked around the edge of her cover. Someone on the Op-For crouched in the middle of the street, holding an RPD light machine gun.
"I've got his dumb ass." Flare whispered into her comm.
"Go for it." The sniper said. Flare aimed at the man, looking through the ACOG scope. With a steady view of his head, the red-haired 18-year-old squeezed the trigger. The man went down without a fight. "Nice shot." The sniper radioed. Suddenly, an RPG-7 rocket flew over Flare's head into the hole in the building where the sniper hid. The subsequent blast sent the man flying from the building.
"No!" Flare shrieked. She ran over to the man. Crouching next to him, she lifted his head. "General Christopher!" He groaned. "Chris…" Tears brimmed Flare's bright red eyes. He was still alive, but barely. Flare suddenly came back to her senses. Pulling out her radio, she called in for an emergency medical evac. The chopper landed cleanly, and Flare watched helplessly as General Christopher was put on a stretcher and carried on board. Then the chopper rose into the air. Flare took Chris's Intervention sniper rifle and slung it across her back. Then she grabbed the smoke grenades that had fallen off of his belt.
Flare opened the Heartbeat Sensor on her SCAR and moved to a new location. She stopped at the corner of a building when the HBS showed enemy contacts around the corner. She poked her head around the corner and saw two Op-For soldiers with their backs to her. Flare drew two throwing knives from her belt and tossed one at each soldier. They fell silently.
There was a ladder across the street from the two soldiers. Flare grabbed the knives and climbed up to the roof of the building. It was lined with sand bags. Flare ducked behind one as she spotted an enemy sniper in a window across the street and below her. She pulled the pin on a smoke grenade and tossed it into the room. Then she threw another one onto the street below as the man jumped from the window. The intervention had a thermal scope, and Flare could easily see the man through the smoke. She took him out with a silenced shot to the head.
Flare pressed forwards, until she came to a bridge out of the city. It was clogged by US military jeeps. Flare climbed into the last one. The keys were still in the ignition. Flare started the car, backed off the bridge, and drove away. The road was lined with enemy soldiers carrying RPG-7's. Flare swore in Japanese as unguided rockets flew around her. She grabbed her SCAR and began to fire blindly out the window. One of the rockets hit the ground just in front of the jeep, and it launched into the air, then swerved and fell over on the landing. Flare climbed out, but fell over as she tried to stand. Her left leg was broken. She took her SCAR and crawled into a large patch of grass, attaching a silencer to the gun.
The soldiers were moving towards the jeep. Flare prepared to drop a few of them, but suddenly a Pav-Low appeared overhead. Its guns plowed through the Op-For soldiers before a latter dropped from the helicopter. Flare watched as two American soldiers came down. She slowly stood up, putting all of her weight on her good leg. "Over here!" She called.
The soldiers helped her to the latter, and she slowly climbed up. She was barely on board before the pain of her broken leg made her pass out.
Flare woke up on a hospital bed. She slowly sat up and looked around. Chris was in the bed next to hers. Flare got up, testing her leg. She was a fast healer; it was stable enough to walk on. Flare walked over to Chris's bed and knelt down next to him. "Chris…" She whispered.
Unknown to the rest of the US Army, Flare and Chris had been dating for two years before she joined the Army. At 22, Chris was the youngest person to ever make General. The two kept their relationship secret after she was accepted into the Armed Service.
Chris groaned slightly. "Chris?" Flare placed her hand on his forehead. Suddenly, Chris sat bolt upright, gasping and looking around. "Oh, thank God you're okay!" Flare cried, hugging him.
Two days later, Chris, Flare, and eleven other soldiers stood in a small room in a far corner of the base.
"Before we start, I want to say this right away; you all have permission to speak freely in this room." Chris looked around. No one spoke. "Right then… This war is only going to get tougher. The S.A.S. is severely outmanned, by both Makarov's men and, If what I've heard is true, Shepherd's men."
"Shepherd, Sir?" One of the soldiers asked.
"He's in command of the Army Rangers. According to a message I received from former Captain Price, Shepherd is, or, actually, was, in league with Makarov."
"Was?" Flare asked.
"Shepherd was listed as M.I.A. yesterday after his Pav-Low crashed."
"How do you know we can trust former Captain Price? He and MacTavish are both fugitives."
"They've both been valuable assets in the past." Chris said. "They not only stopped a missile attack on the United States, but Soap was the one who put a bullet through Zakhaev."
"And just what does any of this have to do with the twelve of us?"
"This has begun to turn into a powder keg." Chris said. "We still have Russian troops invading the US, and with Makarov still at large, there is a very large threat. You are all here because you are the best soldiers in the US Army. The twelve of you will be broken up into four groups of three. Master Sergeant Green, Sergeant Major Fall, you two will be Strike Force Alpha, under Flare's command." Flare tilted her head with curiosity when General Christopher didn't call her by rank. "2nd Lieutenants Graph and Takahashi, you will be Strike Force Beta, under Captain Fisher. Command Sergent Major Adams, 1st Lieutenant Stevens, you're Support Force Alpha under Sergeant Major Roberts. Finally, 2nd Lieutenants Park and Fald, you'll be Support Force Beta under 1st Lieutenant Grenwald. You'll all be constantly sent on dangerous missions, and the Strike Force will more than likely see more action than Support Force Alpha."
"I'm not sure I understand, Sir." Grenwald said. "Why will my team see more action than Support Force Alpha?"
"Because Support Force Alpha will be sniper support." Chris said. "If you are needed, You'll be using Riot Shields and Blast Shields."
"No way..." Park said. "Riot Shields may be bullet proof, but they don't cover our entire bodies and leave us without fire arms."
Chris looked at him. "Thats why you'll be in front of Strike Team Beta." Chris relaxed a bit, speaking more casually now. "Besides, the way I have this laid out, Strike Force Alpha will usually have been through the area, taking out the heaviest of opposition. Now, any questions?"
"Yeah, I've got one." Sergeant Major Fall. "Why is this kid in charge?" Fall jabbed a thumb in Flare's direction. "She isn't higher rank than Private First Class, barely shaking off the traditional 'Fresh Meat' title. She's the lowest rank in this group. I don't even think she shout be in here." Now Flare knew why Chris hadn't called her by rank.
"She outranks you." Chris said casually, pulling a box from his pocket. "She outranks everyone in here, except for me." He handed Flare the box. Inside was a shiny brass badge. "Congratulations on your promotion, Major Natsuha."
"Uh... Thank you... Sir..." Flare said, stunned. She gave him a loose salute before taking the insignia.
"You've got to be kidding me." Master Sergeant Green said. "I'm twice her hight and three times her age, and I haven't even made Sergeant Major!"
"Show some respect for your superiors." 2nd Lieutenant Takahashi said. The Japanese man was by far the oldest man there. Retired twice, 75-year-old Ken Takahashi was as strong as a 25-year-old in perfect health. He was a crack shot, and followed the old Bushido code. He could easily out run, out lift and out think almost everyone in the room. "Congratulations, Major." Takahashi said, bowing.
"A-arigato." Flare said.
"I second that." 1st Lieutenant Stevens said. "Clearly, starting rank has limited holding on positions within this force." He clapped Sergeant Major Roberts on the back. "Whether we like it or not, our team leaders are who they are, likely because of skill, instead of rank. Militarily, Roberts is better than me at everything except the practice range."
"It's harder to avoid civilians when they aren't running for cover with their hands over their heads." Roberts said, shrugging. "But he's right, our teams are all part of one large team, clearly under the command of an incredibly skilled 18-year-old girl."
"That's right." Chris said. "If and when I'm unavailable, Flare is the team commander. There are four civilian vans outside, all armor plated. Each contains the primary weapon sets of your groups. And don't feel restricted in weapons. If you can carry extras, you can pick up anything dropped on a battle field. There may also be occasions where you may have to swap weapons or teams. And one more thing; This is a secret Op, speak of it to no one." Chris looked around. "Dismissed." He said.
Fall stopped in front of Flare in the hall while they where on their way out to see their new transports. "You're sleeping with him, aren't you?" He asked.
"What?" Flare asked.
"General Christopher." Fall said. "You fucked him for that promotion."
"Not that it's any of your business, but we've been dating since long before I joined the Army."
"Yeah, I'll bet." Fall said. "Dirty-"
Flare had the man pinned on the floor in less than a second. "Baka! Permission to speak freely denied!" She twisted his arm, leaning close to his ear. "You're under my command now, ketsunoana." She whispered. "You'd better get yourself straitened out, or I'll kill you and make it look like a casualty of war." Flare twisted Falls arm harder, until he let out a yelp of pain. Then she let go and stood up. "Baka yaro." She said, walking away.
Strike Force Alpha's weapon set consisted of two M16A4s, a FAMAS and an MG4, two Striker shotguns, three Ranger double barreled sawn-off shotguns, two boxes of M67 frag grenades, Flashbangs and smoke grenades a box of claymores and C4s, and several ACOG scopes, thermal scopes, red dot sights, heartbeat sensors and silencers, extended magazines and Full Metal Jacket rounds.
There were also twelve individually wrapped Semtex grenades, and a row of eighteen throwing knives. There was also a small table behind the driver and passenger seats, with a webcam equipped Laptop computer. Flare climbed into the van and observed the arsenal. She picked an M16 off its hook on the wall. She screwed a silencer onto the muzzle, and then attached a holo sight, followed by an ACOG scope. Then she took an extended magazine full of FMJ rounds and inserted it into the gun. Then she took two Rangers. Finally, she took two flashbangs and a throwing knife.
"Quite an arsenal." Green said, climbing into the van.
Flare nodded, saying, "Whatever assault rifle you choose, put a silencer on it." She stepped out of the van and walked over to Strike Team Beta's van. "What'd you guys get?" She asked.
Captain Fisher turned to look at her. "We got mostly ACRs and Rangers, two Desert Eagles and some ACOGS… Ma'am." Fisher quickly added.
That'll take some getting used to… Flare thought.
"We also have access to Predator Drones and two Pave Lows."
"Fun." Flare said. She walked over to the two Support Team vans.
"We've got claymores, Barrette .50 Cals, thermal scopes and smoke grenades." Sergeant Major Roberts said. "Beta has the riot shields, as well as four Attack Choppers, two of which are Pave Lows, Predator Drones, UAVs and two AC130s." Flare nodded. "I have to say," Roberts added, "This whole thing is incredibly well funded for a covert op. But it's weird, because it doesn't seem like the Commander has any knowledge of this."
"Don't be silly." Flare said. "There are four armor plated civilian vans, that we are free to paint as we wish, stocked like a small armory and sitting in the middle of a fire base. How could he not know?" But she had just been thinking the same thing.