Alright, time to end this trilogy!
Vente y Nueve.
November 6, 2014.
San Victorio, Brazil.
10:40 p.m.
The town was torn apart as three men ran for the safety of the town hall. Along with them came nearly every civilian they could get their hands on. Adrenaline was coursing through them as bullets flew around and RPGs blasted the earth beneath them. Occasionally, they had to stop to take a breath; they did so as they engaged their assailants with precision. The town hall was so close yet so far away. None of the three could tell how many they'll save, but one thing is certain: they had to keep these civilians alive; no matter what the cost.
"RPG! INCOMING!" yelled the one in the ski mask. His companion; a blond man in a red Hawaiian-patterned shirt; dove for the nearest piece of cover to shield himself from the shrapnel. Debris rained down upon him when the explosive hit the building behind him. He raised his weapon and popped off a couple of dozen rounds downrange; not appearing to hit anything as their targets hid. The one in the ski mask pulled out a grenade, ran up to the new hole in the wall, and threw it on the ones keeping them down. The people inside the technical were caught unawares, and were soon engulfed in an explosion that knocked down anyone near it. Before the masked one knew it, he was suddenly seized by the throat by someone behind him.
"BLOODY HELL!" he screamed. There he saw his attacker: a green-shirted man with a machete in hand. The masked one attempted to pull his sidearm out, but the assailant stomped on his hand. The machete-man kneels down and prepares to smack the soldier with his blade, but before he could do that, another one of his compatriots came in and shot the machete-wielding thug with his pistol.
One...Two...Three...Four...Five...
The greenshirt tumbles down on the nearby sofa, dead. "You alright, Ghost?" asked the masked man's saviour. "Yeah, thanks Meat!" he replies as he got up "Where's Roach?"
Downstairs, Roach was still trying to hit something with his Kalashnikov. He wasn't faring any good, seeing as his sights were misaligned; probably because of heavy use by the thugs who used to own this weapon. Eventually, he ran out of ammo. He slung the rifle over his shoulder and pulled out his 9mm PT92 and proceeded to fire upon the thugs cornering him and the hostages. Fifteen rounds he now had, as well as 12 spare magazines. To his luck, his two comrades came down and laid down the smack on the enemy. With commandeered Pechenegs, no less.
"Get some!" taunted the Afro-American, Meat. The concrete surfaces the rest of the thugs were hiding in got chipped off one by one, until nothing remained. They were forced to scour any remaining pieces of cover in the field, only to be cut down by the hail of lead put forth by Ghost and Meat. Those that DID survive were shot by Roach. When the dust settled, the thugs were nowhere to be found. The civilians took a peek to see if the commotion is over.
"Come on, we'd gotta get to the town hall! They'll be back anytime!" a frantic Ghost exclaimed.
Meat signalled the civilians to follow him and his group. The civilians; numbering 150 at the very least; followed the three without question. All went well until they arrived...
"Fuck..." Roach muttered.
There were technicals everywhere. All of them locked in an intense firefight with what remained of San Victorio's police force. Meat told the civilians to pull back just a block away and hide. Ghost, remembering something that could be useful to them at this moment, took out his radio and began to speak.
A certain distance away from the town, two snipers were heading back to base on helicopter. That was then one of them heard a transmission.
"Archer, do you and Toad have eyes on San Victorio?"
The duo wasn't sure who was contacting them. Archer asked "Ghost, is that you?"
"Roger. Archer, do you. Have eyes. On San. Victorio?"
"Uhh...lemme check..." Archer looked around the night sky with his NV goggles activated. He caught a glimpse of a small town with flashes of light and smoke coming out of it. "Roger. I see it." he finally says. "Right, do you think you and Toad could provide sniper support?" Ghost asks, seemingly calm as bullets and explosions kept permeating the sound quality. "Uh, I think..." Archer says "Let me check with the pilot first."
"Pilot! Are we at bingo fuel?"
"No, we still have plenty of fuel left. Why do you ask?"
Archer reloads his sniper rifle. "Head West, there's a town there called San Victorio! Ghost and his team seem to be needing sniper support!"
Toad groaned. Archer could only glare at his spotter before relaying this message to Ghost:
"Ghost, keep your shit tucked! We're comin' in hot!"
Ghost and his team were now locked in a three-way battle between the cops, the thugs, and them. They were slowly running out of ammo, and the thugs are gaining ground. Meat was wrestling one goon for control of his FAL, while Roach was busy knifing any thug that came close. Ghost, on the second floor of a nearby building, was putting the last magazine he had on his AKM. Just then, a thug wearing a wife-beater and holding a baseball bat entered the room where Ghost is in.
"Oi! Filho da Puta!" he yelled.
Ghost quickly dodged the bat, causing it to hit the window behind him. The Brit pulled out a knife and tried to stab the mofo in the head. It didn't work, since the thug blocked the blade with the baseball bat. The thug threw away his weapon and tried to beat Ghost with his hands. Unfortunately for him, Ghost already pulled his pistol out and did a Mozambique Drill faster than Tom Cruise did in Collateral. Two to the torso; one to the head; the stupid thug drops down dead.
That was when another couple of thugs barged in. Ghost readied himself for another beating, but then someone sniped the two, splattering brain matter all over the wooden floors.
"You'd think we'd let you down, Ghost?" Archer asked.
"Bloody good to hear from you, mate!" Ghost exclaimed in joy.
The Brit looked up the windows; there he saw a chopper, with what appears to be two men in ghillie suits holding sniper rifles. As Archer works the bolt on his rifle, Toad grabs an M14 EBR and starts blasting away at the morons below him. Together, they've managed to rack up a killcount of 141 thugs. Ghost went down to his teammates positions, told them to regroup, and ordered them to fix bayonets. By "fixing" he means "tie you knives to your guns, ASAP!"
"What for, sir?" Meat asked
"We're gonna catch them unawares," Ghost replied "they've already got the cops to deal with, as well as Archer and Toad. If we charge 'em, they'll fall into disarray and then Archer and Toad'll pick them off. Meat?"
"Hmm?"
"I want you to go tell the crowd to yell once I give the order to charge."
"Sir, yes sir!"
"Roach, if you're out of ammo, take this." The Lt. took an FAL off from a dead punk and gave it to his subordinate. Roach inspected it, as is typical for him. "Tie your knife on the barrel and use it as a makeshift bayonet." Roach nods. Then, Meat comes back and tells Ghost that the civilians have understood his orders. "They're waiting for your signal..." Meat says.
"Alright..."
A tense look appears on everyone's eyes. Ghost slowly raises his left hand.
"Five..."
Roach lights up a cigarette as Meat surveys the carnage.
"Four..."
The civilians' eyes are plastered with fear and uncertainty. Ghost's hand slowly rises.
"Three..."
Ghost's eyes glance toward Archer & Toad's chopper. Sweat drips down from everyone's foreheads.
"Two..."
Everyone holds their breath as Ghost's hand falls.
"CHAAARGEE!"
All three advanced toward the unsuspecting thugs. The thunderous roar of the town's inhabitants freeze the goons as they slowly get shot up by the police. Ghost thrusts his bayonet towards one thug's hip, then evading another's machete strike. He pulls out the bayonet and stabs his assailant in the head, firing off two shots while he's at it. Roach, meanwhile, empties his magazine on four whole targets before skewering one thug in the back. The Sergeant then mans the derelict machine gun on a technical's rear and started to rain hell on the mercs. Meat, seeing a thug aim his Dragunov at Roach, pulled out his sidearm and shot him in the head. The Afro-American then aimed his Kalashnikov at a goon with a bolt action rifle, dual wielding the assault rifle with his P99.
Suddenly, a thug aimed an RPG at Roach's MG emplacement. Before the rocket could hit, however, Toad picked the merc off with a clean shot to the head. The rocket went flying to nearby technical instead, hitting it square in the driver's seat. The blast knocks some thugs back, allowing Roach to shoot them while they're down. Meat continued to fire at the enemy, alternating covers when needed. Ghost was doing the same; but with slightly more stabbing.
Eventually, the thugs' morale had begun to waver. One by one, they either fell or left the field. Ghost was about to chase them down when a Brazilian SWAT officer stopped him. "Hey, you! Hands in the air!" he yells. Ghost glances at his two teammates; they all knew what'll happen next...
"I still can't believe they decided to bring us in!" Meat complained.
The three of them were now languishing in a cell, with Meat downing a whole pack of cigarettes; Roach playing harmonica; and Ghost banging on the steel bars out of boredom. "Meat, they're not arresting us..." Ghost explained "...they're just holding us here until someone gets us." Roach scoffed. The Lt. glared at the Welshman, who just shrugged. Then, they started to hear footsteps from the outside. All of them stood up, trying to see who came to bail them out.
"Oh, shit..." all three muttered.
It was Price. And he was absolutely PISSED. A scared-looking police officer was escorting the Captain to where the trio were being held. Roach kissed the rosary his lady friend Cristina gave to him just a couple of nights earlier while Meat was muttering a Hail Mary. Ghost looks like he's about to be shot at dawn.
"A-are these y-y-your f-friends?" the officer stammered in English.
"That is not want you want to know, officer." Price replies in a threatening manner. The cop backs down as Price turned to Ghost and gang "You three, come with me."
They followed the veteran without question. When they reached the outside of the police station, they were greeted by their acquaintance Major Silva and a Brazilian general. "You're lucky to have us bail you out." whispered Silva. Ghost chuckled, saying that he must've been real lucky to have that bail in reply. Price had the three board a blue Ford sedan that wasn't exactly in the best of shape. Anxiety was now all around. The three tensely watched as Price started the car up. With some help from Major Silva, Price left the police station.
The following ride wasn't a pleasant experience for the trio. Price was pissed; San Victorio was shot up; and they've almost brought about a diplomatic incident between Britain and Brazil due to that hi-profile stunt they've pulled. Maybe that's why Price was pissed in the first place...
"You do know why Major Silva and the general were there, right?" Price asks.
The trio shook their heads. Price glared at them from the rear-view mirror before continuing. "The 141 needed someone who could convince the mayor of the town to let you buggers go."
"W-what about Archer and T-toad?" Ghost dared ask.
"They're already back at base." Price replied "Listen, you three, that little stunt you've pulled wasn't exactly how the 141 does things-"
Roach interrupted "-But the civilians!"
"I can understand why you did it, Roach!" Price yelled "What I don't understand is how you guys thought that shooting up an entire town, causing a huge amount of casualties, is such a good idea!"
"Are we getting court-martialed for this, sir?" Meat asked.
Price shook his head. "No, the Brazilians are letting you off scot-free because of your help dealing with the thugs." Ghost breathed a sigh of relief. "But, due to the extensive damage you've caused; as well as exposing yourselves to the news cameras; you three'll be getting a new punishment..."
The trio groaned. Then, Meat realized something, "Wait, we got caught by the news cameras?"
Price nodded. "Lucky for you, Major Silva convinced the networks to destroy the footage."
Meat muttered a silent 'Thank God'. The ride lasted another thirty minutes; then, they arrived at their new destination. It was the same Brazilian Army installation they stopped by before Kingpin started. Price parked the car next to some utility trucks, motioning the three to come with him. Ghost looked around him and saw several Brazilians packing up. 'Seems like this was just a temporary installation' he thought. The weather was cloudy, and there was plenty of wind blowing about. Soon, they reached the command tent, where General Shepherd, Captain MacTavish, Archer, and Toad were waiting.
"Ah, welcome back, gentlemen!" Shepherd greeted. The four new-arrivals saluted the officer "I see that Operation: Kingpin was a success...though, I've heard about that little incident at San Victorio. Unfortunate." Shepherd took a seat behind the planning table and drank from his coffee cup. "Gentlemen, I don't mind you running off to rescue civilians. But, doing so in a manner like that..."
"One thing led to another, sir. We're sorry..." Ghost said.
"I know you are..." Shepherd took out cigar and asked MacTavish for a lighter. The Scot handed it to him immediately afterwards. "Well," he continues "it seems like a proper re-orientation on "stealth" ops is order." The American pulls out a map of an archipelagic country and a butterfly knife and placed it on the table. He asks Ghost "Lieutenant, do you know what country this is?"
Ghost nodded. "Yes sir. It's the Philippines."
"This is your next assignment." Shepherd says "The CIA has tracked one of Makarov's associates-a bomb maker-down to this country. Find him, bag him. If necessary, kill him. Capt. MacTavish will be going with you on this one. Remember: do things quietly. I don't want another San Victorio incident." The Brit nods as the general takes a drag. "Hit the showers, put on civilian clothes, and leave. Next flight to Manila is 1200. Dismissed!"
Everyone inside saluted. Ghost, Roach, Meat, and Soap all bid their comrades Price, Archer, and Toad goodbye. They all got on the blue Ford Price drove earlier and set course for Rio de Janeiro.
"Why do I keep sensing that everything'll go to hell?" Meat asks.
"Because, mate," Soap answered "everything will...in time..."