"I tried to tell myself that it was just another mission. That I would be deployed with my teammates, and everything would be okay. Somehow I knew before the briefing was over, it was going to be very, very different."
-Chapter 1 (Recruit)-
"Let's get moving! Contacts incoming, two minutes max!" Pulse shouted over the radio. Just after we got up he burst into the room and began reinforcing the walls. We were inside the reading room of a high class Kafe in Russia, protecting a wealthy businessman who had been kidnapped. Some other Rainbow operators had secured him and we were told to defend until extraction was possible. If these terrorists were anything, they were persistent. I had just been recruited through the GSG9 Anti-terrorism force in germany, and Bandit and Jäger loved to tease me about never having been on an official rainbow assignment. Too bad Jäger wasn't here to see it. As the thought occurred, Doc brushed past me and began to prepare his Stim pistol for action. Castle and I began to reinforce the back wall and he asked me, "How do you feel? First assignment right?"
"Officially, yes." I had been on guard duty on at a few locations, no real deployments though.
"Good" he said as he put a hand on my shoulder, "It's gonna be fine."
Despite how confident he sounded, his eyes betrayed his true feelings. I knew how he felt, the terrorists had been getting more bold, and were receiving better weaponry by the day. Some of them even had bomb vests and LMG's. I looked down at my MP7 for a second and realized just how outgunned we were. We were right to be worried. Another german operator, IQ, had told me there were only two ways to kill one in a bomb vest. A headshot, or to shoot his bomb. I was a good shot, but I had no sight on my weapon. This would be difficult.
Doc past me again and asked if I needed anything before the Terrorists arrived. I shook my head. He held my gaze for a second longer then nodded his head and placed his deployable shield. Bandit placed his batteries across the room to deny access via breaching charge, and then went to the top floor. Pulse looked around the room, decided it met his defence standards, then went downstairs. As he left, Castle barricaded the doors with his armour panels.
The room was quiet for some time. I was crouched in a corner behind an overturned bookcase. Castle was standing next to the door facing the dining area with his sights fixed on the door. Doc was behind his shield in the far corner of the room. Suddenly, Pulse came over the radio and said, "Their breaching the kitchen area!" As soon as he said it, an explosion rocked the building, signifying that that the attack had started. I pulled out my standard issue smart phone and looked through the cameras. Five men, all armed with assault rifles, had blown through a wall just outside the kitchen, and were storming the building. As I flipped through the other cameras looking for enemies, I noticed a few were rappelling up the side of the building and onto the roof.
"Enemies on the roof near the skylight." I reported. Hopefully Bandit could take care of them. Just then, gunfire erupted beneath us, causing me to jump. Pulse had engaged the terrorists downstairs. After a short firefight and a few shouts, Pulse ran back up the stairs and pounded on the door to be let in. Castle ripped down his barricade and Pulse fell into the room, holding his right arm. Doc got up immediately and began to patch his arm with gauze and bandages.
"It's okay" he said with a look of pain on his face, "I got them all back!" Doc looked at him with a bit of annoyance.
"Its as if you want to get injured all the time! How often do I have to tell you to be careful?" Pulse began to chuckle and shake his head, but as he was doing so, and explosion rocked the top floor of the building. We all looked up and around and the gunfire began.
-Chapter 2-
We sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Bandit would fire, killing one or two, then they would fire back. We had no idea how many enemies there were up there with him. Suddenly there were two shotgun blasts and pained scream. Bandit didn't have a shotgun. I whipped out my phone and flipped through the cameras looking for Bandit, and when I found him I almost threw up. He was dead.
"Bandit is down" I managed to choke out. The silence after the gunfight was deafening. All I wanted to do was find and kill the man, no, the monster that killed my friend. As I rushed to the door, Doc grabbed my arm and pulled me back to face him.
"Nothing you do will bring him back, and we can't have you going and getting yourself killed!"
Pulse was behind us finding all the enemies upstairs at the bar when he suddenly exclaimed, "I've got a very faint heartbeat here among the others, I think it's him!" He immediately got up and tore through the barricade. I followed him out, despite Doc's protest.
As we got up the stairs I found myself face to face with one of the masked terrorists. He was covered in blood, and across his back was a Shotgun. My heart froze solid in my chest, this was the man. Without a gun in his hand, all he could do was stare me down. I pulled out my side arm and pointed it to his head, then pulled the trigger. It happened in an instant that seemed like an hour, but the man was dead. As his body hit the floor, a few more men came around the corner from the piano room, and began to fire. I dove to the right and Pulse went back down the stairs, firing as he went. As I turned to my right, I saw something I will never forget. Bandits body was slumped against the wall, his gun in his right hand, a hole in his side. He was dead, no questions asked. Pulse had killed two of the three men, and while looking away from bandits body, I killed the third. Once the area was clear pulse ran to me and looked at the corpse.
"He must have died before we got here" he said quietly, "Now we need to get back to the hostage!"
"Not yet! We need to clear this floor first!" I shouted.
Pulse nodded and we walked into the bar area with our guns at the ready. As I checked behind the bar, I found a man crawling on the ground, bleeding from his gut. I flipped him over and planted a round into his heart, killing him. Pulse Was looking over the railing across from the bar, making sure there were no enemies in the dining area. He called the area clear, and turned to face me. As he did, a shot rang out from the left, hitting pulse square in the chest.
As the round hit him, Pulse's eyes widened in surprise and he lurched sideways, then crashed through the railing and fell onto a table down below. As I ran from behind the bar to help him, a round tore into my side, causing me to scream in agony. I turned and saw exactly what I feared the most. A huge man, at least 6'5" had walked into the doorway brandishing an LMG, and covered in C4. His loud breathing and blue pilot light gave away his position immediately, how had we not heard him coming? I heard his loud footsteps get closer and closer as I cowered behind the bar, clutching my side. I tightened my grip on my gun and waited for him to round the corner, but before he got to me he changed course. He looked over the railing, trying to find pulse. I had a clear shot on his bomb, his back was completely to me. With one hand, I picked up my gun, aimed and fired.
I closed my eyes as the explosion tore apart the bar area, blasting out all of the windows, breaking the floor, and ripping chunks out of the bar. When I opened them again, there was nothing left of the man in the vest, and floor and walls had been utterly destroyed. I knew I was bleeding out fast, and could barely see anything. Just as everything went dark, Doc was at my side, administering first aid.
-Chapter 3 (Fuze)-
Doc and Castle were the only two left, with Bandit dead, and Pulse and the recruit injured. Doc had carried them both back inside the reading room along with the hostage, who was crying pitifully. Castle meanwhile had grabbed Bandits body and laid it on one of the couches under a blanket. As Doc tended to the wounded men, Castle was looking at the cameras around the building. After a few minutes quite, Castle and Doc both jumped at the sound of their commanders voice over the radio.
"Listen up, support is incoming. Another Op is coming in to support as we speek, be ready to let him in."
Castle got up and stood next to the door, listening for footsteps. In a few seconds a man showed up at the door and pounded to be let in. Castle ripped down the barricade and there stood the last person anybody expected to see on a hostage situation.
"Greetings comrades, we don't have much time. I understand we have three casualties?"
Doc simply nodded as Fuze brushed past him to inspect the room. He was carrying a large LMG, and had his cluster charges around his waist, ready for deployment.
"Rescue is just around the block, but there is still a terrorist force on the other side of the square." Fuze said with a light sigh, "I was the closest backup, so they sent me. Defence is not my specialty, but I will help in any way I can."
"Good to have you Fuze. We have the room set as well as possible, other than the ceiling hatch." Said Doc, "You wouldn't happen to have any reinforcements would you?"
"No, but I do have a gift from Kapkan. He gave me an EDD in case if a situation like this."
After the EDD was placed, Fuze was still in the hall when an unexpected explosion rocked the building again. None of them knew where exactly it was, so Fuze dove into the laundry room behind him and lay prone. He radioed to tell Castle to shut the doors, and after a few seconds he was blocked outside the room. He only waited about 30 seconds before he heard footsteps above him, going towards the stairs on either side. He wanted to call in the enemy movements, but was afraid to give away his position. The footsteps started down the stairs, slowly at first, but picking up speed. As the first man rounded the corner, he resisted the urge to shoot. As the second came around he opened up, and mowed them down. The third yelled to his men as he watched the first two die, then ran back upstairs.
Soon, he could hear more footsteps, many more footsteps, coming towards the stairs to his left. Men were shouting to one another as they got closer, right above him now. The he got an idea. He got up and raced to the door as fast as he could. He pounded on the door, and Castle let him in as soon as he could. Once Fuze was in, he re-barricaded the door. Shots rang out and planted against the door, causing him to fall backwards in surprise. Fuze then jumped up and placed a cluster charge on the door.
"GET BACK!" he yelled. The door exploded open after the first bang, but the other four pucks went down the hall and killed at least eight of the attacking terrorists. Castle and Doc looked in stunned surprise down the hall at the destruction caused by one cluster charge. To Fuze however this was business as usual. Doc was the first to speak, asking if everyone was okay. They all nodded their heads, except the hostage, who was still crying pitifully.
"Get ready to move the package, ops coming in to get you out. More terrorists coming in from the square" HQ said over the radio.
"You heard the man!", Doc said, "Get ready!"
-Chapter 4-
In a matter of seconds, a rescue team was in the building. They had come through the downstairs main door, and were coming up the stairs into the dining area. As they rounded the bookshelf at the top of the stairs, Castle ripped down the barricade into the dining area, and stepped out with the hostage. Doc then came out holding pulse up on one arm, and the recruit on the other. The rescue party was three fresh ops; Blackbeard, Ash, and IQ. Glaz was outside at the exit point, to help provide cover fire along with the police if there was a hot exit.
Meanwhile, Fuze had gone upstairs. He was in the meat locker, watching the cameras. He saw IQ go into the reading room, and come out with Bandits body. The party then headed back towards the dining stairs. Just then, shots tore through the wall, hitting Castle and Ash. Both of the ops fell to the ground, Ash had been hit in the side, Castle in the thy. Blackbeard fired back through the wall, killing them who had shot. Doc pulled out his stim pistol and shot Castle so he could move on the adrenaline. Castle got up with the hostage, and began to run downstairs. Blackbeard reloaded, and picked up ash to carry her down. IQ was covering their backs, and was the last to go. Fuze switched cams, and saw that a large ground was coming into the reading room.
At least six men, two with shields. The first man came in and triggered the EDD, the explosion of which killed two men. The third to the room threw a flashbang, while the fourth threw a grenade. Nobody was there, so both were ineffective. Fuze got off of the camera, and placed a cluster charge on the roof hatch. He went prone, and placed his ear on the floor. He waited a few seconds before he heard the men go into the room, and when the first one shouted clear. He got up, and pulled the trigger on the detonator. After five loud bangs, all four of the men in the room were dead. The last two were in the hall, and decided it was best to turn and run. Fuze laughed to himself, and then ran out of the freezer and towards the window. As he began to rappel down, he heard gunfire, particularly Glaz's rifle, The loud shots almost always meeting their mark. IQ and Blackbeard had handed off their teammates, and returned fire along with him. Fuze rappelled down to the balcony and the down to the ground. A few terrorists were dead around the dock area, and near the front door. He waived to Glaz as to not get shot, then ran to the line of police cars.
"Good to see you back comrade! How does the rescue?"
"Not so good comrade. Many casualties."
"Da. the terrorists are really trying their best to put us down."
Fuze simply nodded and turned back to the building. As they watched, a terrorist peeked out from the window Fuze rappelled from. He was only there for a second before Glaz aimed and shot, hitting the man in the neck. Glaz exhaled loudly, then looked over at Fuze.
"Ash and Pulse are not good. I fear the worst for them."
Again Fuze simply nodded. He had seen both of their injuries, he knew they were in very bad condition. Over the radio HQ told Fuze to come home along with the defence members. He relayed this to Glaz, who wished him the best. On the helicopter ride home he brewed over how quickly things had gone south, with Pulse, Ash, and the recruit badly injured, and bandit dead. His mind snapped to the recruit, and how this had probably been his first Rainbow deployment. He may never be able to serve again.
-Chapter 5 (Recruit)-
When I woke back up I was back inside the reading room, getting picked up on a stretcher. Doc was walking next to me, fixing me an IV. When he saw I was awake he smiled and said, "You were very lucky. That explosion threw shrapnel everywhere, but it only hit your legs."
"Pulse…"
"Pulse is in critical condition, but he is alive. I have seen people come back from worse injuries."
"After that I Don't remember much. Just waking up in a hospital in America, Doc by my side."
"You don't know whether or not Pulse lived?"
"No Sir. That is something I would like to know.
"Why don't you see for yourself."
The door to the interrogation room opened and the investigator left the room. What had he meant by that? Were they going to bring him in? I didn't have to wonder long, as when the door opened after a few seconds, It was Doc holding Pulse up to support him, Pulse brandishing a Broken arm and neck, as well as a large upper body bandage. Despite all that, he was smiling like he never had. Fuze came in last, wheeling along an IV drip connected to Pulse's arm.
"Pulse! You lived! Thank God!" as much as I wanted to embrace him, I knew that would be bad for the both of us. I was also covered in bandages from shrapnel.
"Don't get too excited", said Doc, "Those bandages are the only things holding you together!"
I knew he was right, but that didn't make me any less excited.
"We are here to bring you back to Germany. Rainbow saw it fit to let you take some time off. I will stop by periodically in the recovery process to give you physical exams." Doc said all this with a cheerful note. "Bandit… did not make it, nor did Ash." he said with a heavy voice, "They will have a joint visitation in Moscow, then will have separate funerals in their home countries. You of course are invited to Bandit's."
My heart sank as I remembered seeing Bandits body slumped against the wall. My eyes fell to the floor. I stood up shakily and followed the trio out the door.
