Soldiers are men... most apt for all manner of services and best able to support and endure the infinite toils and continual hazards of war.
-Henry Knyvett
"Does anyone have any questions?" asked Ilya standing in front of the screen.
"Why is it at a stadium?" asked Ami.
"Hell if I know."
"I think it's a trap." said Grace.
"I agree with Grace. There's something not right about this mission." said Azzan.
"And why aren't our pupils coming with us on this mission?" asked Ami.
"Look I have no idea what's going on. All I heard was that they have some special training scheduled today."
"Well what about you new guy, got any ideas?" said Claudius turning to me.
Everyone turns and looks at me. I'm currently sleeping in my chair.
"Gott verdammt." mumbled Claudius punching me in the arm.
I'm pulled from my sleep confused on the current situation.
"Great, now I have to go through the plan again. Now Listen, a group called the Five Republics Faction are going to make a deal at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza today. We have no idea what they might be trading, but it can't be good. It has to be bad if we're sent in to find out. I'm not going through it again, suit up Reaper squad."
I stand up and walk to my locker when I hear my name called.
"Hey Armin, you're going to be using this." said Claudius throwing me an H&K MP7.
I look at him in disbelief.
"Look, you're still considered prey to APEX. You'll get to choose your own weapons when you prove yourself and become a predator."
"I never heard that."
"Listen I don't make up the rules Armin, I just follow them." He pulls out his M4A1 with red dot sight from his locker, "Armor up. I'll meet you in the car when you're done."
I nod and proceed to get ready.
I put on my tan Kevlar vest over my tucked in black shirt and put on my tactical baseball hat. I wrap my black and grey shemagh around my neck and then check my gear. I turn on my head cam located on my hat. I stop and look at my purple paracord bracelet.
Wonder what Sunny's doing, I thought.
I pull out the stock and grip on the MP7. I pull back the slide on my F.N. Five-Seven and put it back into my holster on my tactical trousers. I head to Claudius' car and we head to the stadium.
We reach the stadium and we gather around Ilya.
Ilya pulls out his MRT, "Alright here's the plan. We are splitting up into two groups. The first group is Claudius, Grace, and Armin. You will be entering through gate four." he said pointing at the screen, "The rest will be with me and we will enter through gate nine. Any questions?"
"Where will we regroup?" asked Grace.
Ilya pauses, looking at the map, "The food court. I'll give the order to link up with each other once we complete the mission. Anything else?"
We are all silent.
Ilya puts away his MRT, "Alright then, move out Reaper."
As we begin to travel through the dark corridor, we begin to hear voices out on the field. Claudius peers out to survey the situation.
"Ilya this is Claudius, we have eyes on the FRF."
"Copy. Ami is going to give you sniper support from the stands. Me and Azzan are also going to give you guys support from the stands."
"10-4." Claudius turns to us, "Let's go."
We crouch down and approach the targets. As soon as we get into cover, we open fire. All of the targets are annihilated by our surprise attack.
"All clear Ilya." radioed Claudius.
"Copy that. Check the shipment then regroup with us at the food court."
"Got it." Claudius turns to us, "Check the shipment Armin. Grace cover him."
I walk up to one of the boxes. I notice one terrorist that survived the attack is trying to use the box for support. I pull out my Kukri and stab him in the head. I wipe the blood on his body and then move to the box. I rip the box open and find brand new Ak-47's and a ton of ammo boxes. Just then a sniper round snaps past me finding its mark on Grace. She falls like a rock onto the field.
"Armin get down!" yells Claudius, "The shooter is on the stands, top right side."
I roll behind the box I just opened. I look at Grace and see her right eye sticking out of her head. Crimson soaks her once shiny blonde hair. I also see the sniper's location.
"Claudius head to the food court and link up with the rest of the team." radioed Ilia.
"10-4. Armin, I'm going to make a break for the north exit. Cover me."
Claudius jumps from cover and runs to the exit. I pop out and suppress on the enemy sniper's position. Now it's my turn to move.
Once Claudius gives me the go ahead, I sprint from cover to the north exit. That's when a round grazes my arm and I stumble upon reaching Claudius.
"You ok man." said Claudius helping me up.
"Yeah just a scratch." I said as we head into the corridor.
We reach the stairs when our radio goes off, "Claudius this is Ilya. We're currently pinned down in the food court, how are you guys holding up?"
"Grace is down. She got shot by a sniper."
"How about Armin?"
"A round grazed his arm."
"Make your way over here. We'll get Grace once this sniper is dead."
"Copy." Claudius turns to me, "I'll take point."
We walk up the stairs and see a girl sitting in the stands.
"Hands up now." ordered Claudius.
The girl turns back and looks at us with a smile. Her blonde pig tails swing in the cool night air. Her innocent face instantly turned serious as she pulled out a shotgun.
"Armin move back."
She takes aim and fires at us.
We run into the corridor with the girl hot on our trail. Claudius hides by the entrance to ambush her when she comes in. Claudius then orders me to hide behind cover.
She comes in and Claudius swings his M4 at her head. She easily dodges it and hits him in the gut with the butt of her shotgun. Claudius hunches over and the girl aims her shotgun at Claudius' head at point-blank range. She fires and Claudius' head vaporizes. I get out of cover and she turns to me.
"Are you going to fight, or are you too scared?" she asked in an accented english.
I look at the girl, "Getting cocky won't get you anywhere."
"It sure did with your friend."
"Armin, stall her a little longer." radioed Ami.
She raises her shotgun, "This will be easier than I thoug..." she says right before a round pierces through her right shoulder.
Now, I said to myself.
I take advantage of her being distracted. I fire at the girl as I move to cover.
Most of my rounds make contact with my enemy. She's barely able to guard her head from my attack. The girl shakes it off and rushes me. She throws the first punch, but I counter her and throw her to the ground.
She instantly gets right back up and tries again. She picks up her shotgun and rushes me with the bayonet. I push the bayonet away, but she uses the momentum of her spinning to do a back kick that connects to my abdomen. I stagger back and see the barrel of the shotgun pointing at me.
Scheiße is the only thing that leaves my mouth before the shell propels me to the wall. I cough up blood from the impact.
"I got to tell you, I haven't fought anyone like you in a while."
I look at her and cough up some blood.
She levels the shotgun to my head, "Any last words soldato?"
"Yeah, don't hesitate next time."
"Wait what?" she said taken aback from my comment.
I point the shotgun away from my face and she fires. The shell exploding next to my ear causes me to go deaf in my right ear. I grab the shotgun and cock it. I knock the shotgun out of her hands. The shotgun is flipped upside down when I grab it.
Before she can do anything, I fire the shotgun and she flies out into the stands. The shotgun flies out of my hands in my weakened state. My index finger was caught in the trigger guard, breaking it when it flew out of my hands.
A few minutes later, the rest of my team arrive at the scene.
"Jesus Armin what happened?" asked Ilya.
"We were ambushed."
"By who?" asked Ilya.
"A girl."
"So did we." said Azzan.
Ami sits down next to me and grabs my arm, "I'm sorry Armin, but this might hurt."
I take a deep breath and with a disgusting wet snap, she puts my finger back into place.
They check the stands, but don't find the girl I shot.
"Listen Armin." said Ilya snapping his fingers and slapping my face to keep me awake, "We're getting you out of here."
They grab the remains of Claudius and Grace and carry all the wounded to the car.