October 29th, 1945
Arctic Circle
0930 hours
Captain Viktor Reznov – Hero of the Soviet Union
Soviet Red Army
It was bitterly cold. More than what Captain Reznov and his men were used to or comfortable with. It was the kind of cold that bit into one's skin and caused icicles to form on one's internal organs. Definitely worse than the cold of the North Atlantic Ocean, which had been known to have claimed the lives of hundreds of people on one particular evening in 1912, the night the "unsinkable" RMS Titanic had gone down with over fifteen-hundred souls.
Reznov stood on the icy ground, wearing an old trench coat. It was the very same trench coat he had worn ever since arriving in the city of Stalingrad just over three years ago. He had been a sergeant in the Soviet 13th Guards Rifle Division that had arrived on the Stalingrad side of the Volga River on the 13th September, 1942. The unit that Reznov had been placed with was ordered by an NKVD officer by the name of Volgin to charge at German positions that were armed with MG42s, mortars, artillery guns and dozens of helmeted Germans with rifles and combat experience. Out of the unit that valiantly charged the German position, only one in two had been equipped with a rifle. The other poor bastard was given a stripper clip of five rounds. It was expected that the guy with the rifle would get dropped and in that case, the guy with just the ammo simply had to slot the stripper clip into the standard issue Mosin Nagant rifle, chamber a round using the bolt and shoot in the general direction of the Germans. This technique merely cost lives and just added to the hundreds of thousands of brave Russian soldiers and civilians who had died in little over a year since Operation Barbarossa began and the Germans invaded the Soviet Union.
Reznov had led the charge at the German position, equipped with a rifle. His men ran ahead of him, many of them from penal battalions who either had desperate death wishes or a desperate desire to prove themselves, earn the prestigious Hero of the Soviet Union award and live their lives in peace after the Great Patriotic War came to an end. Those who ran ahead were stopped dead in their tracks by a deadly mixture of rifle, machine gun and artillery fire. Reznov copped a bullet in his right hand and ran straight for a bullet-riddled fountain and hid, pretending to be dead. After the failed assault, the victorious Germans merely chucked the dozens of dead Russian soldiers into the empty bullet-riddled fountain and rode past in German half-tracks to empty their MP-40 submachine guns into the wounded Soviet soldiers. It was in this fountain that Reznov had met the man that would become his best friend – Private Dimitri Petrenko. Together, he and Petrenko picked off several Wehrmacht officers and stalked General Heinrich Amsel through Stalingrad, all the way to the German headquarters, where the evil bastard copped a round in the side of his head, fired by Petrenko, as he attempted to escape a Soviet assault in his staff car.
Following the Soviet victory in February 1943 at Stalingrad, Reznov went on to lead a unit of the 62nd Rifle Division of the 3rd Shock Army. He had Petrenko by his side in the bitterest combat against the Germans.
By nearly mid-1945, the Soviet soldiers had fought their way into Germany and all the way to Berlin, where the final assault took place on the Reichstag building. Petrenko was tasked with the honor of raising the Banner of Victory on the rooftop of the Reichstag. Just as he removed the swastika flag that had hung over the side of the building for as long as the Nazis had been in power, and went to hang the Soviet flag up, a wounded German soldier managed to seriously wound Petrenko. Reznov helped his long time friend up and the two men, who considered themselves brothers to each other, shared the honor of raising the flag over the side of the Reichstag overlooking the ruins of Berlin, thus bringing an end to the most costly conflict to date. In the two months that followed, Reznov and Petrenko were both awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union award and Petrenko eventually recovered from his wounds, when it had been initially feared by doctors that he would not survive.
But he had. And that's all that mattered to both Reznov and Petrenko as they stood, shivering like mad, on the barren landscape of the Arctic Circle. The two men were now members of Unit 45, under the command of a Soviet officer, one that both Reznov and Petrenko shared a past with. His name was Nikita Dragovich. He held the rank of Major General and he was one brutal son-of-a-bitch. Reznov had never met the man personally but he knew all too well what Dragovich was like. Back during the Battle of Stalingrad, Reznov had called for reinforcements as he and his few men were holding a critical position in a building opposite the headquarters of Wehrmacht General Heinrich Amsel, which had come under fire by Wehrmacht soldiers who had discovered the Russians holding out. Dragovich had promised to speak to Khrushchev and get those reinforcements to where they were needed, but he failed to keep that promise. Reznov, Petrenko and five others abandoned the position and escaped. Dragovich found out the names of five of the soldiers and had his NKVD squad find and kill them and their families.
Reznov and Dimitri approached an old transport truck, one of the varieties used by the Soviet forces to transport troops and goods around in relatively short distances. Private Nevski piled on a few more Mosin Nagant rifles and PPSh-41 submachine guns into the back of the truck. Another truck, containing no supplies in the back, pulled up in front of the truck carrying supplies.
Nevski approached Reznov and Petrenko.
"Captain Reznov, sir!" he started, giving Reznov the salute.
"Cut the crap, private! We're not here on official business of the state. We're all equals here! We all served for Mother Russia against those Fascist cunts! And we're about to face the last of those same cunts here in this icy hell!"
"Everything is loaded, Captain Reznov." Nevski replied, being careful to leave out the "sir". Soldiers of his rank had been shot dead for less by men of the NKVD. Still, better to be safe. He did tell Nevski to cut the crap after all.
"Very good, private. Jump aboard the front truck." Said Reznov. He turned to face Petrenko. "Dimitri, my brother. It is time. We must hunt down the remnants of the Fascist Reich."
"Oh, how I've missed killing those fuckers! Do you think we'll come across Adolf-fucking-Hitler?" Dimitri stated. The question about Hitler was meant to be a joke. However, there was still every possibility that the Fuhrer who disappeared and evaded Soviet capture in Berlin was still alive and had joined the ranks of the last die-hard Waffen SS troops holding out in the Arctic Circle.
"We will never find out unless you get into the truck, my brother." Reznov replied.
It was about three hours later before the massive convoy of Russian soldiers, all of them members of Dragovich's Unit 45, were ready to head off to the rendezvous point with Dragovich and his partner-in-crime Colonel Lev Kravchenko. There were fifteen trucks, all fitted with tracks in order to move on the icy ground. Each truck had twenty soldiers crammed uncomfortably in the back. All except three which contained supplies and weapons in case the mission was lengthier than anticipated. Better to be prepared than not, as the Russians had learnt in Stalingrad. All together there were two-hundred and forty men. The trucks started moving forward.
1510 hours
Just after three in the afternoon, the massive convoy reached the prearranged rendezvous point where the two-hundred and forty men would link up with another six-hundred men, three-hundred serving under Major General Dragovich and the other three-hundred serving under Colonel Kravchenko. The other two-hundred and forty men were serving under Captain Reznov's command. He was the third most senior officer present in Unit 45 and therefore should command a third of the soldiers available.
The trucks came to a stop and Reznov climbed out the back of the rear-most truck, only to be greeted by the two men he hated the most – Dragovich and Kravchenko. Kravchenko was the first one to speak.
"Ah, the big hero of Berlin graces us with his presence. Do you ever tire of battle, Captain Reznov?"
"As long as Mother Russia has enemies, I will answer her call, Colonel Kravchenko."
There was a look of intense hatred in Reznov's eyes as he looked Kravchenko in the eyes. Clearly, Kravchenko didn't like this.
"Fuck you! What are you staring at?" he asked in a threatening voice.
Dragovich calmed Kravchenko down. "Put aside your petty rivalry, Kravchenko. Captain Reznov will do as he is told."
The two-hundred and forty men emerged from the trucks and formed into eight smaller squads of thirty men. Petrenko and twenty-eight others gathered behind Captain Reznov.
Dragovich turned to face nearly nine-hundred Soviet soldiers and raised his voice so that they could all hear him give the orders over the wind. "Listen up, soldiers! We are here for one German and one German only. Doctor Friedrich Steiner. This man has offered his cooperation to our cause. He's not to be harmed. Disobey this order and you will be shot!"
The twenty-eight squads of thirty men nodded assent as they received their orders and the threat of the firing squad should they disobey their orders. Only a handful of the men present, including Kravchenko, Dragovich, Petrenko and Reznov, had survived the horrors of Stalingrad and Berlin. The majority were fresh-faced recruits who had been part of the occupation force in Berlin following the victory there. Others had been amongst the reinforcements that had arrived to surround the German Sixth Army that eventually surrendered at Stalingrad, and these reinforcements had marched the German prisoners to Vorkuta Gulag for their imprisonment.
With their orders, the men organized themselves and slowly marched in the direction of the German base up ahead. Reznov and Petrenko walked together.
"Captain Reznov, what happened between you and Dragovich at Stalingrad?"
"Do you remember when you and I were stalking that German, General Heinrich Amsel, all through Stalingrad? We kept to the shadows, crept through ruined buildings, killed a German sniper and evaded German forces heading to the frontline. We found a position in a bombed out building directly opposite the building serving as Amsel's headquarters. We were waiting for an opportunity to assassinate Amsel and we watched as a Russian penal battalion was forced to charge at the German headquarters. More than three hundred dead in a matter of minutes."
"And then we were joined by a small group of men who had fallen back after the assault failed." Petrenko interrupted.
"Exactly. There was only thirty of us defending against a large German assault and we were losing men fast. And so I made a call for reinforcements. Dragovich promised to speak to Khrushchev and have reinforcements diverted from another position to help us defeat General Amsel and his garrison. Yet, no reinforcements arrived. We were lucky to get Amsel in our sights and you killed him with a well-placed shot. There was only seven of us left alive at this stage and we abandoned the building as the Germans entered it."
"Viktor, does any of this have a point?"
"Of course, Dimitri! The point is, Dragovich was happy to condemn us to a brutal death at the hands of the Germans when he very well could have talked to Khrushchev and had reinforcements sent to our position. Of course, when we were forced to abandon our position, General Paulus replaced General Amsel at that position and Paulus held out until early February two years ago when he finally surrendered. Also, the other five men that abandoned the position we were at, were hunted down and murdered by the NKVD on Dragovich's orders. Dimitri, Dragovich and Kravchenko are opportunists…manipulators. We cannot trust them. All we can do for now is complete the task assigned to us and hope that's the last job we ever have to do for Dragovich."
Just as Reznov had finished speaking, Dragovich himself approached Reznov and Petrenko. Reznov's heart thumped as his first reaction was to think that Dragovich had heard Reznov refer to Dragovich in a negative light, which in Dragovich's eyes, was a shooting offence. However, it appeared, luckily, that Dragovich hadn't heard a single word.
"You two! Shut up and get moving!"
Reznov and Petrenko ran at a faster pace, with the twenty-eight others following closely behind. Reznov heard Dragovich yell an order.
"Reznov! Halt! All units halt your advance immediately!" he barked, struggling to be heard above the noise of the strong wind.
The eight-hundred and forty men stopped to a halt immediately upon Dragovich's orders to do so. They looked to each other, wondering what was going on. Had Dragovich aborted the mission at the last minute, in order to attack another day? Or had he decided on a night-time assault? It was none of the above as Dragovich gave the next order, which came unexpectedly.
"Form line formations. Each unit is to form a line formation, fifteen men wide, and two ranks deep. The most senior officer of each formation is to lead the advance. We will march at the German position! They will see us and will run when we show them that we have no fear!"
A man in Reznov's group who was within earshot of Dragovich, spoke to one of his comrades.
"This guy is fucking psycho! An incompetent dead-shit who is sending us to our deaths! Fucking arsehole! I'm not going to march at the fucking Germans! Fuck that, I…"
The man had said too much. Within the blink of an eye, Dragovich withdrew the Makarov pistol from his hip holster and fired a single round into the big-mouth. A bullet pierced the man's forehead and he dropped. Blood flowed onto the ice. Within minutes, the pool of crimson liquid had gone hard on the ice. The other soldiers looked at each other, starting to feel the same fear that the now dead soldier had spoken about. Yet, no one spoke a word.
"Is there anyone else who wishes to speak up about my leadership and skills?" Dragovich yelled above the wind, as he holstered the Makarov pistol.
No one raised their hands for what was an automatic death sentence. Instead, the men followed Dragovich's orders and formed line formations. Once the men were in formation, there were eight-hundred and thirty-nine men in twenty-eight groups of thirty, minus the one man who had just been shot, from Reznov's group. There were seven line formations across, and four line formations deep. An intimidating sight, sure, but nothing for the Germans to be worried about. The Germans would be, as usual, armed with MG42 machine gun positions. The MG42 was the deadliest weapon in the German arsenal. The Russians, on the other hand, would be adopting the same human wave attack tactics they'd used hundreds of times before, getting the job done at a ridiculous cost of life.
Dragovich gave the order to advance.
Reznov and Petrenko advanced together and spotted the German garrison up ahead. It was a small, temporary base in a desolate and unforgiving landscape. There was a muzzle flash and one of the men in Reznov's group dropped, with the others closing ranks and marching right over their dead comrade. No army had marched so orderly at an enemy position since the British soldiers that marched in formation at German machine guns on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in the Great War.
More shots were fired and another three of Reznov's men fell with fatal head wounds. These Germans were real marksmen. Reznov and Petrenko weren't going to allow themselves to be killed on this particular day, not after everything they had lived through during the recently ended second world conflict.
"Keep moving!" Reznov ordered to his men. Fuck Dragovich. He may line Reznov up against a wall and shoot him for disobeying an order to march at the enemy, but Reznov refused to be directly responsible for the avoidable deaths of his men.
"Keep moving! Faster! Run at the Germans! You keep marching at these fuckers and you're dead men! Keep moving!" yelled Reznov as he led by example and ran ahead, with Petrenko by his side. They reached the cover of several shipping crates and peered around the corner at German soldiers running around with no sense of direction. They obviously hadn't anticipated being attacked. These were the very last surviving soldiers loyal to the Third Reich. They were the fearless Waffen SS. Reznov and Petrenko aimed their Mosin Nagant rifles and fired at the massed group of Waffen SS soldiers. Ten rounds later, and ten Germans lay dead on the frozen ground. A German MG42 was set up on the rooftop of a building and soon a deadly barrage of machine gun rounds had Petrenko and Reznov pinned down.
"Reznov! Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Petrenko asked. He watched as another two of Reznov's men were pumped full of lead from the MG42.
"Pop a smoke grenade to divert their gunfire and flank them? Good thinking, Petrenko! Glad I have you by my side, comrade!"
Reznov pulled the pin on a smoke grenade and threw it out towards the MG42. Just as anticipated, the machine gun bullets focused on the cloud of smoke flowing from the grenade. The Germans must have thought the Russians were using the smoke to shroud themselves in the mist so they could advance and lessen the risk of taking a burst of rounds. However, Reznov and Petrenko had done just the opposite and used the opportunity to flank around and run up a set of stairs. Reznov took down the gunner with his rifle while Petrenko grabbed the ammunition loader and slit his throat with a combat knife. The first MG position had been cleared. Reznov's men cheered and ran ahead, yelling and screaming Russian insults at the frightened Germans.
1815 hours
Reznov and Petrenko plus another eighty men were still alive as they ran through the base, taking down the Germans. Others were wounded and lying behind cover but the majority were dead. The cost of victory, Reznov figured. It was the only way he could justify the death toll.
Reznov threw a grenade through a broken window into a barracks building. Following the explosion, a group of six German soldiers, some with minor shrapnel wounds from the grenade explosion, ran out of the building with their hands raised in the air in surrender. They wore the uniforms of the Wehrmacht.
"Don't kill them!" yelled Reznov, before any of his remaining men could stick their bayonets into the bodies of the surrendering Germans. "They are only Wehrmacht! Kill the Waffen SS soldiers but let the Wehrmacht soldiers surrender!" he ordered. His men obeyed. However, before the surrendering Germans could be directed to the rear of the Russian advance to be loaded aboard the trucks that would take them to captivity in the notorious Vorkuta Gulag, Dragovich and Kravchenko arrived on the scene.
"Why are you not killing these scumbags?" Dragovich demanded.
Bloodthirsty son-of-a-bitch! Reznov thought to himself, being careful not to display these thoughts out loud.
"These men are only Wehrmacht, Dragovich." Reznov explained. "They will make good laborers at Vorkuta Gulag."
"Kill them! Now!" Dragovich ordered. "We must kill everyone except Steiner!"
Without waiting for further instructions from Reznov, the men aimed their rifles at the pleading Germans. One of the pleading Germans spoke in quite fluent Russian.
"Please! We want to surrender! We will join you! We will help you kill these Nazi scumbags!"
Reznov turned to Dragovich. Dragovich looked deep in thought. Should he spare the bastards or continue and let them be shot?
"Very well. Reznov, you will lead these Germans. One of them steps out of line, kill them all! Got it?"
"Very well, comrade." Reznov replied, relieved that he had succeeded in sparing the lives of these Germans and displaying some kind of honor.
Reznov approached one of the Germans, who held the rank of Captain.
"You! What is your name?"
"Captain Johannes Johl. These are my men. We served under Paulus at Stalingrad and surrendered and while we were being marched to Siberia a Waffen SS unit ambushed our escort and forced us to join them here in the Arctic. We just want to go home and rebuild our lives."
"If you do what I say, I will do my best to ensure that happens for you and your men, Captain Johl."
Reznov and his surviving men, plus Captain Johl and his five men continued with the attack. A small squad of Waffen SS soldiers saw Captain Johl and his five men joining forces with the enemy and proceeded to fire their bolt-action Kar-98k rifles at the Russian-German squad, killing three of Captain Johl's men instantly. Another three Germans that wouldn't be going home to rebuild their lives. Captain Johl aimed his MP-40 at the enemy Waffen SS soldiers and fired a short burst, cutting all six men down mercilessly.
The men continued to advance. They entered a small two-storey building and fought their way through six enemy soldiers, dropping all six before approaching a man armed with a Luger pistol.
Reznov knew who the man was almost instantly. He had a scruffy unshaven, unwashed appearance, wore a Wehrmacht officer's cap and smoked a Cuban cigar. How the Germans managed to enjoy the luxury that a finely rolled tube of Cuban tobacco offered was beyond Reznov, however that wasn't his concern. Getting Friedrich Steiner out of the place without him being shot by Russian soldiers or by Waffen SS soldiers desperate not to let Steiner fall into the hands of the Communists did matter. Reznov trained the sights of his Mosin Nagant rifle on Steiner, who sat back on a chair, without the slightest look of alarm on his face. This disturbed Reznov a little bit.
"So…you're Friedrich Steiner…"
The man blew out smoke, the pungent fumes bothering Reznov's nose. "Don't point your weapon at me, Russian dog!" Steiner spoke, maintaining a harsh Prussian accent. He had the typical look of an aristocratic Prussian officer. He even had the stereotypical monocle on his right eye. Reznov continued to aim at Steiner's head, perhaps in an effort to intimidate the man.
"Are you deaf? Lower your fucking weapon, pig! Take me to Dragovich!"
Reznov wasn't going to tolerate such rudeness from the Fascist pig. He smacked the butt of his rifle across Steiner's face, and a nasty shiner appeared almost instantaneously.
"Shut up! You don't give the orders around here, you Fascist piece of shit!" Reznov retorted. "Petrenko, grab this piece of shit and take him downstairs. Dragovich can do whatever the fuck he likes to Steiner. We've done our bit and I'd say we will be going home now."
Petrenko dragged Steiner downstairs and out of the building with Reznov, Captain Johannes Johl and a few others following close behind. Dragovich was bringing up the rear with his men, none of whom seemed to have been killed in the desperate fighting.
"Dragovich, we have your man." Reznov said, directing Petrenko to take Steiner over to Dragovich.
"Excellent." Said Dragovich, an evil smile spreading across his face. "Our objective is nearly complete."
"You said we were just here for Steiner. I agreed to grab Steiner and kill the Germans here. I have done just that. Now I am getting out of here."
"We have just one more thing to do, Reznov. Get your men organized."
Reznov swore bitterly under his breath. He knew he shouldn't have accepted this assignment, even if he had been drawn into it simply for the opportunity to kill the last remnants of Germans who were still defiantly loyal to the defeated Third Reich. It seemed that Petrenko shared Reznov's attitude.
"Exactly what is here that is so important?"
2018 hours
Petrenko asked the same question about half an hour later when the men who had survived the assault were marching towards another objective.
"Reznov, what the fuck is so important to Dragovich?"
"General Dragovich wishes to make a name for himself. He believes that this outpost houses something of great value to the Motherland."
Petrenko pointed towards Dragovich and the German scientist, Steiner. Both were absorbed in deep conversation. This clearly unsettled Petrenko.
"Dragovich and Steiner are talking like old friends. I do not like this, Reznov."
"Nor do I, Dimitri. Be ready for anything."
Reznov turned to the German who had offered his surrender and service to the Russians.
"Captain Johl, you told me you were at Stalingrad. Tell me, did you happen to serve under a man named General Heinrich Amsel?"
"No. I served under Paulus. Paulus received information stating that Amsel had been killed by a Russian sniper and so we were amongst those who assaulted the position that Amsel had previously occupied and the Russians had taken. We took the position and held it until Paulus offered his surrender."
"Petrenko here killed Amsel."
"Good. He was scum. The Fuhrer liked him and had sent him to Stalingrad to get things in order. Amsel was a brutal officer. I always liked Paulus. He had more honor."
"That he did." Replied Reznov, who had been amongst the soldiers to capture Paulus.
Meanwhile, Dragovich and Steiner continued to talk.
"We must hurry, Dragovich. There are Germans here who would sooner see it destroyed than captured by your lot."
"You assured me there would be no problems, Steiner."
"I cannot be held accountable for the actions of the Waffen SS units that hold out in this awful place, Dragovich. They are sworn to defend the Third Reich till their last breath."
"Noble, but futile." Dragovich replied.
Reznov continued to talk to Captain Johl.
"Tell me about your family, Captain Johl."
"I have a wife, a son and two daughters in Berlin. The only thing is, I do not know if they are still alive. I want to return home as soon as possible to be with them. They are in the eastern half of Berlin, under occupation of your forces."
"The Russian occupation force will not hurt them if they are still alive."
"I do not believe that, Captain Reznov. After all, I have heard stories of vengeful Soviet soldiers raping and looting all through Berlin after they took it."
"Which is no different to how your wonderful soldiers treated our women and children when they fought to capture Stalingrad." Reznov responded bitterly. "One German soldier in particular killed my father. Slit his throat while he slept."
"I am sorry to hear that, Captain Reznov. I never believed in the invasion of the Soviet Union. I previously served under Erwin Rommel in France. He was forced to commit suicide after a plot to assassinate the Fuhrer failed. He was believed to be one of the primary instigators in the plot. Believe me, if the Fuhrer had given all control of the German forces to Rommel, we'd all be under a United Germany at this very moment."
"I do believe it, Captain Johl. I have heard the stories about Rommel. Even during the First World War in Italy and France he was a natural leader. A natural soldier. Not to mention, a man of great honor."
"Yes."
They were interrupted from their conversation by Dragovich.
"Kravchenko, you and your men secure this area. Reznov, you and your lot lead the way!"
"Yes, sir!" Reznov responded. Maybe if he just did his job as quickly as possible, he and his men would be hours away from heading home to rebuild their lives.
"Petrenko, Viharev, Nevski, Belov, we are moving out! You too, Captain Johl. Get your men together!"
Captain Johl yelled the order to his men in German. His men obeyed and started running up behind Reznov and Petrenko.
Dragovich resumed his conversation with Steiner.
"Steiner, tell me more about your involvement with the Giftiger Sturm Project."
"After our defeat at Stalingrad, it became obvious to the Fuhrer that the Allies could not be held back much longer. We began to look for more 'unconventional' solutions. Throughout the war, my own research was focused on chemical weapons. It was meticulous and frustrating work. However, what we finally developed was a weapon far greater than we ever dared to imagine. The very same weapon now housed within the vessel up ahead."
Sure enough, up ahead, the men spotted what appeared to be a ship surrounded by ice. Reznov and his men looked up at the ship in awe.
"Captain Johl, what the hell is this thing?"
"This is the great battleship, The Bismarck. The British thought they had sunk the Bismarck a few years ago. They were mistaken. It was sinking, but it was due to the crew scuttling the ship, opening it up and allowing seawater to pour inside, to sink it rather than let it fall into the hands of the vengeful British, especially after their battleship, the Hood was sunk with only three survivors left. However, after the British left the scene of the supposedly sinking Bismarck, the seawater that had poured into the ship was quickly pumped out and the ship managed to reach the Arctic Circle. It has remained here ever since. The Waffen SS unit that ambushed the Russian escort taking us to Vorkuta after Stalingrad was aboard the Bismarck. They forced us to build the base that you assaulted. Anyway, the Bismarck is completely surrounded by an ice mass and is no longer a naval threat. It's the cargo that poses the real threat."
Dragovich, meanwhile, spoke to Steiner.
"How did you intend to use the chemical weapon you developed, this NOVA 6?"
"Through the use of long-range V-2 rockets carried aboard the Bismarck. The targets were command and control centers. Washington DC was the first target. The Bismarck headed out into the Atlantic under the guise of disrupting enemy naval convoys between the United States and Britain. However, the Bismarck was in reality getting within range of Washington DC so the first V-2 rocket could be fired. However, after the brief fight with the HMS Hood that sank Britain's pride and joy, the Bismarck was forced to retreat and ended up in the Arctic Circle. The other targets were to be Moscow and London. Barely two hours before the Fuhrer disappeared prior to the Soviet Army completely taking Berlin, he transmitted an order to us to fire a V-2 directly at Berlin in order to wipe out the Soviet soldiers."
"How ambitious and commendable, Herr Steiner."
"Before we could launch at Moscow, British aircraft located us and bombed the shit out of the ship. We attempted to salvage what we could from the ship but it was too late, as Germany had surrendered and the Russian flag flew over Berlin. The Waffen SS was ordered to destroy the Bismarck if we were directly attacked. If you want the NOVA 6, you are going to have to be quick in the assault, and eliminate the SS before they can blow the place."
"That won't be a problem."
Reznov and his men entered the eerie interior of the Bismarck. Reznov armed himself with his Makarov pistol and a flashlight to navigate through the empty passageways to a massive payload bay where five V-2 rockets proudly stood. There were explosives planted on each rocket.
"This is it." Steiner said.
Reznov walked over to a door.
"Reznov, open the door." Dragovich ordered.
Reznov obeyed without thinking twice. The door opened into a chamber with a flexi glass window looking into another similar chamber. There was another flexi glass window looking out to where the rockets stood. Before Reznov or his men could do anything, the door was shut and locked behind them. He could see that he was trapped in the chamber along with Captain Johl, two of Captain Johl's men, plus Nevski, Viharev and Belov. In the other chamber was Sergeant Petrenko, Captain Reznov's long-time best friend, as well as four others. What happened in the next few moments would haunt Reznov until the day he died. He watched as a toxic gas was released into Petrenko's chamber.
"No! Petrenko! Shit!" he yelled helplessly.
Petrenko ran to the glass window dividing his cell from Reznov's cell and started banging on the flexi glass window desperately. However, it was hopeless. The dark green gas drifted into Petrenko's respiratory system. Reznov watched as, over a time of three minutes, Petrenko experienced several syndromes. His body convulsed violently and he vomited several times in succession, his eyes burst like tomatoes and his skin crinkled up as though it was a crisps packet in an oven being shrunk and crinkled up. Petrenko was dead before he collapsed, as were the others.
Reznov couldn't believe he had to witness the brutal ending to his best friend's life. Gas started leaking into the chamber he and his fellow comrades were trapped in. However, before the gas could overcome any of them, there was a flash of light and a deafening explosion as a rocket hit the shatterproof glass, splitting it and causing it to smash. There was gunfire.
"What the hell is going on?" Captain Johl asked.
"Someone's attacking this position!" Reznov replied.
Reznov watched as men in assault gear armed with Sten submachine guns attacked Dragovich's men.
"They're British Commandos!" Reznov reported. "We have to get out of here and destroy NOVA 6 in those V-2 rockets! We can't let Dragovich or the British take this awful fucking weapon!"
Reznov led the way out of the cell through the broken window. He picked up a Makarov pistol from a dead Russian soldier and shot a British Commando in the face, killing him instantly. Reznov removed the Sten submachine gun, slotted in a full mag and started blasting at everything that moved, all except his fellow comrades who were desperately looking to escape. The others gathered weapons and joined Reznov in the business they all knew best – the business of staying alive. They managed to gun their way to the cargo bay where the V-2 rockets were kept, leaving a trail of British and Russian corpses behind them. In the cargo bay Reznov activated the explosives strapped to the sides of the V-2 rockets, giving him and his comrades two minutes to get away from the ship before the explosives would detonate, completely destroying it.
"We need to get off this ship, now! This is not our war!"
"Who the fuck do we fight?" asked Captain Johl.
"Everyone! We stand alone! We only have two minutes! Hurry the fuck up!"
Less than a minute later, the group of men standing alone reached the upper deck where Russian and British forces were locked in a fierce contact. Reznov and the others reached a rope leading over the side of the ship to the icy ground below. Reznov led the way without hesitation and rappelled down and hit the ground. He waited for the others to join him and they ran away from the ship. There was an earth-shaking explosion as the explosives on the ship did their thing. Reznov and the others threw themselves into the ground while the explosion took place. Afterwards, they got themselves up and kept running. A group of German soldiers armed with Kar98k rifles ran at Reznov and his team, only to be gunned down. Reznov and his men grabbed the Kar98k rifles, ensured they were loaded and took as much spare ammunition as they could all carry before continuing on.
However, what faced them up ahead would have frightened any warm-blooded male to the core. A large force of Russians, clearly Dragovich's men, stood in the direct path of Reznov and his team. Reznov and the others stood to, aimed their rifles and fired at the enemy soldiers, of which there were many more. Several enemy soldiers dropped. Reznov and his men emptied their rifles into the enemy before reloading and repeating the process. The enemy soldiers stood in an intimidating line formation, looking like something from the Napoleonic Wars, their rifles aimed outwards with bayonets fitted onto the bayonet lugs under the barrels of the rifles. Men in the formation dropped everywhere, but no return shots were fired. Reznov wondered why the Russians weren't returning fire, but when it came down to it, he realized he didn't really give two fucks, just as long as he killed as many of those cunts before they responded and killed Reznov and his comrades.
It was only when Reznov and his guys were running low on ammunition did Reznov actually realize why the enemy soldiers in the formation weren't actually returning fire – they were letting Reznov and his small team waste all their ammo so that they would be easier to capture. Reznov spotted Kravchenko in the rank formation. One of Captain Johl's men aimed at Kravchenko, but before he could fire, Kravchenko shot Captain Johl's man dead with a single round from his Makarov pistol.
Reznov proceeded to use the last five bullets in his rifle before slowly raising his hands in surrender, as did Captain Johl and the few others. Kravchenko approached Reznov and his breath reeked of vodka.
"You're in deep shit, Reznov! You may be alive now, but it will only be a matter of time before you wished you were dead!" he said, as his men confiscated rifles off Reznov and his men. They started walking towards their captivity.
Eighteen years later
September, 1963
Mine N1, Vorkuta Gulag, USSR
1900 hours
Captain Viktor Reznov – Hero of the Soviet Union and current prisoner at Vorkuta Gulag
Soviet Red Army
It had been a hard day's work, as per usual, and yet none of the workers would be getting paid. Two workers in particular, Viktor Reznov and an American by the name of Alex Mason, stood in a hauntingly dark tunnel that they had started digging at the crack of dawn that morning, in the effort to find mineral resources that definitely weren't there. The only light guiding their way came from a candle that was no longer than two centimeters in length, providing a small amount of light and filling the tunnel with creepy shadows caused by Reznov and Mason. Finally, it was seven in the evening and Reznov and Mason stopped. Mason handed Reznov a cigarette before putting one into his own mouth and striking a match, igniting the tobacco. After a few drags, they sat down to rest for the first time that day. Mason studied Reznov's face. He could tell that the man had been in Vorkuta for a long time. The eighteen-year stretch in one of the Soviet Union's most brutal labor camps had taken a toll on Reznov's health and looks. He was unshaven, coated with grease and sweat and grime and stank exactly how he looked. Not that any of the other inmates were any different. They were all men who were doomed to a terrible fate.
Reznov started to speak.
"You know, my father was a musician at Stalingrad. During the Fascist occupation, the sound of his violin filled the air with magnificent music – Korsakov, Stasov – many of the great nationalist composers. To my countrymen, it was a symbol of hope. To the Germans it was a symbol of defiance. Even now, his music still haunts me. The Nazis slit his throat while he slept. Collaborating with any Nazi is a betrayal, a betrayal against all of Mother Russia. Dragovich and Kravchenko, though, were never troubled by such matters. They looked only to advance their own interests and agendas. It was eighteen years ago when we ended up in the middle of the Arctic. Even now, the blood in my veins chills when I think back to the events of that day, far from here."
Reznov stubbed out his cigarette and wiped some sweat from his brow, before continuing. "I was under Dragovich's command, tasked with assaulting the last surviving Nazi stronghold and capturing Dr. Steiner alive. By my side the entire time I had Private Petrenko, who had recently been promoted to Sergeant Petrenko due to his heroic deeds in the Battle of Berlin barely months before. He was one of the bravest men I had ever known – he had fought by my side at Stalingrad and continued to fight by my side all the way to the end of the Battle of Berlin. The wounds he sustained ensuring our victory should have earned him a hero's welcome back home in Russia. But Comrade Stalin had little need for heroes. We fought through the German base in the Arctic and captured Steiner. As I looked into the man's eyes, I saw all the evil of the Fascist Reich still burning strong. At that moment, every fiber in my being yearned to put an end to his wretched life. But I was still just a soldier and still believed in orders."
Reznov took another cigarette and struck a match and lit the tobacco, puffing out smoke to fully ignite the tobacco. "Steiner eventually led us to our real target. We had found what we were looking for – NOVA 6. The German weapon of mass destruction now belonged to Mother Russia. Or so it seemed. Our victory was to be short-lived. Dragovich wanted to see the effects of the chemical first hand and it was also an opportunity to remove a thorn in his side. I had known of the distrust and knew what Dragovich and his lot were capable of. It was a betrayal I should have foreseen. My friend Dimitri was murdered right before my eyes. He deserved a hero's death and instead he died for nothing…like an animal. As I watched my best friend die, it became clear that Dragovich wasn't the only one with plans to take and use the weapon. Western Allies circled like vultures. Of course, Dragovich, Kravchenko and Steiner scattered like rats, leaving me to contend with the British who had been strong allies with Mother Russia barely months before."
Reznov continued to smoke the cigarette. Mason looked at Reznov in fascination.
"I made it out of there with just a handful of men, including a Wehrmacht Captain, Johannes Johl, who had surrendered personally to me. We destroyed the NOVA-6 shipment and prevented it from falling into the hands of the British. But I was foolish to think that the threat was over. In the time since I was chucked into this awful place, I have learned of Dragovich's true intention. He will die before he gives up on NOVA-6."
He stubbed out his second cigarette, exhaled the smoke and placed a hand on each of Mason's shoulders. "Mason, listen to me. We are running out of time, my friend. Can you trust your leaders to destroy the weapon, or will they use it? The flag may be different but the methods are the same. They will use you, as they used me. You must decide what is worth fighting for. Mason…Dragovich, Kravchenko and Steiner must die."