BLACK LAGOON: Clash of Titans
Eren Yeager hated the sea.
He stood outside the pilothouse of the Royal Thailand Navy patrol boat slowly prowling the dark waters of the Gulf of Thailand. The boat is only about fifty foot in length, but it is heavily armed with a 30mm Bushmaster cannon and two M2 .50 caliber machine guns, plus the small arms stowed aboard. The ten-man crew worked tirelessly to keep her sailing steady. Even though the small craft is only travelling at around 10 knots, the turbulent sea easily swayed the American-made patrol boat like a toy in a pond. The constant swaying made Eren's stomach churned. He couldn't contain it any longer; he retched and vomited on the sea.
Christ, I did not train for this shit, Eren thought as he wiped the bile from his mouth using his sleeve. I am Airborne, the master of freefall and yet here I am, puking my brains out.
"Are you okay, Mr. Collins?" the boat captain said, using Eren's cover name.
Eren straighten. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just not used to this."
The captain chuckled. "You look like tough soldier, Mr. Collins. Maybe the CIA made you a bit soft."
Eren snorted but agree. He was a soldier, part of the elite US Army 101st Airborne division with more than a thousand landings to his credits. He was trained in parachuting behind enemy lines with full battle gear and in total darkness. Most of his jumps are done using the very dangerous High Altitude Low Opening jumps, HALO. As the name implies, the jump was done from high altitude, usually wearing oxygen masks to allow breathing in the thin air, then the chute opens on very low altitude to avoid radar detection. The landing could be measured in feet and if the main chute fails, the operator had only seconds to open his reserve chute and avoid hitting the ground at terminal velocity.
Eren participated in operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and other places he couldn't say, raking many awards for valor in the process. In a terrible battle at the Hindu Kush valley, Eren was grievously wounded. That ended his career in the army, but his experience and knowledge earned him the interest of the Central Intelligence Agency. After recuperating, he was hired by the Agency's secretive paramilitary unit, the Special Activities Division (SAD). Four years of going around the world in covert operations took its toll on Eren. The formerly well-built soldier is now thinner and gaunt, which is an advantage when blending in the locals.
But the captain is right, he is getting soft.
"I need to call someone," he said to the captain.
The captain went back to the pilot house.
Eren fished out his compact satellite phone from the pocket of his jacket and extended the antenna. He dialed a number. The long and short beeps and buzzes told him the call was being rerouted through several countries before reaching Langley, Virginia in the US.
"Ackerman," a female voice answered in the other line.
"It's Collins," Eren said, using his cover name. The woman on the other line already knew his identity.
"Is this line secure?" the woman asked.
Eren smiled. She is always concerned about security. "Affirmative. I just called to say beans are being delivered." That is also a code, it means the transaction is about to start.
"That's good to hear," the woman answered. "Is it spoiled?"
"No. It's fresh."
"Good. Finish the transaction and go straight to home."
"I will. I'll call you later."
"Keep me posted. Ackerman out." The line was cut.
Eren pocketed the phone. The captain called out to him. "Mr. Collins, I think we have them." He handed a pair of binoculars to Eren.
The SAD agent raised the binoculars to his eyes. Sure enough, he could see a point of light in the middle of the dark seas. "Signal them," he told the captain.
The flood lamp of the patrol boat blinked, sending Morse code messages to the other boat. They replied in Morse Code too, using the predetermined signal.
"Let's get close," Eren said. He felt the boat moved faster towards the visitor.
Eren was surprised when he saw the other boat. It was an old US Navy PT boat, the Elco-class used in the Pacific theater during World War II. The boat looks well-maintained, but on closer inspection Eren could see dents and scratches on the hull. The boat obviously went through a lot in the decades of its use.
A big, black man stood on the bow of the PT boat. He is dressed in fatigue pants and sleeveless vest. Beside him is a petite dark-skinned woman dressed in black tank tops and extremely short denim pants. A young man stood behind the two, he looks more uptight and cultured as he is dressed in white shirt, black slacks and a necktie.
The PT boat went closer to the starboard of the Royal Thai Navy craft. The woman dropped a rope hook to the other boat and pulled it closer to each other. The black man approached Eren. "My name is Dutch, I am the captain of the Black Lagoon."
"Black Lagoon? That's the name of this PT boat?" Eren asked. "It's nice."
"This is my associates, Revy," Dutch continued, pointing to the woman. "And Rock."
Rock held out his hand. "Mr. Collins," he said.
Eren shook the hand. "I understand you ran into some serious hurdles."
"We handled them, they ain't worth shit," Revy boasted. "You got the money?"
"You got the package?" Eren asked.
Revy raised a metal briefcase. "I got it here, agency man."
Eren took a briefcase from the pilothouse of the patrol boat. "Five million," he said, raising the case.
"Open it," Dutch ordered.
Eren opened the lock and showed the Lagoon crew rows of green dollar bills. Revy did the same with her case, showing Eren a small black box protected by foam padding. Satisfied, Eren nodded and closed his case. Revy did the same.
"Let's exchange," Eren suggested.
Dutch took the case from Revy. He walked closer to Eren.
Suddenly, both boats were illuminated by powerful flares shot into the sky. Revy shot a glance and saw three speed boats roaring from behind a small island. Revy saw blinks of light from the speedboats and she immediately recognized gunfire before she heard the sound. "Get down!" she yelled, pushing Rock to the deck.
It was too late for Eren. Two bullets hammered his torso. The man tumbled and fell on the water. He disappeared in the dark waters of the gulf.
7.62mm bullets stitched on the pilothouse of the patrol boat. The captain fell on the deck, his face gone after being erased by bullets. Rounds fell on the Lagoon but most were blocked by its armor. "Fire it up, Benny!" Dutch shouted as they took cover. The three diesel engines of the Black Lagoon came to life.
Revy grabbed an M60 machine gun from the deck. She swung the machine gun towards the speedboats and fired a few burst of 7.62mm rounds. The Lagoon started swinging to port. Dutch armed himself with a Heckler and Koch G3 rifle and started pumping rounds on the boats. He caught a whoosh of light. A comet-like object sailed from the lead speedboat, flying faster than sound towards the Thai patrol boat. Second later, the boat exploded in a bright fireball as the RPG rocket struck the pilothouse and detonated the boat's magazine.
The Lagoon accelerated away from the fireball. The three speedboats gave chase. Revy quickly shifted positions on the stern of the PT boat and started hosing the lead speedboat with machine gunfire. The enemy was faster though, and most of her shots hit water. Bullets clinked on the railings and hull of the antique boat.
A geyser of water erupted near the Lagoon as a mortar round crashed on the gulf. Another one exploded, but this one closer to the PT boat. "Shit!" Dutch said as he reloaded his rifle.
"Rock, bring me the Remington!" Revy yelled on the hold.
"Here!" Rock answered, tossing a long black satchel at Revy. The woman dropped her machine gun and opened the satchel. She pulled out a customized Remington 700 hunting rifle. The long gun is chambered to fire the powerful .416 Remington Magnum and topped with a Leupold 10X scope with night vision function. Revy quickly loaded the rifle with four rounds of elephant-killing ammunition.
She settled down behind the scope, adjusting the bullet drop compensator (BDC) for a one-hundred-yard zero. She aimed at the lead speedboat, setting the crosshairs on the man loading the rounds on the mortar tube. As the man rose to drop another shell, Revy pulled the trigger. The Remington bellowed, and the heavy recoil kicked Revy's shoulder like a pissed-off mule.
The 300-grain boattail soft point round passed through the man's torso, turning his insides to unrecognizable mush. The horrendous impact of the slug tossed the man head over heels to the water.
"Good shot," Dutch remarked.
"Fuck yeah," Revy answered as she pulled the bolt back. More bullets hit the Lagoon but it kept running past 40 knots. She centered the crosshairs on the cockpit of the lead boat. The massive bullet found no obstacle, passing through the glass like it was nothing. The head of the pilot exploded like a red balloon. The speedboat steered away to port side as the body of the pilot jammed on the steering wheel.
Revy shifted her aim, targeting the second speedboat. She fired, putting the bullet straight through the speedboat's built-in gas tank. The twenty-footer boat disappeared in a huge fireball, dropping countless pieces of debris and body parts on the water.
"One down," she muttered as she aimed for the third boat. Suddenly, the Lagoon banked hard to the left. Revy's aim went off as she pulled the trigger. She missed.
But Dutch didn't. His G3 barked full automatic shots on the deck of the third boat. Two men collapsed on the deck, their bodies devastated by 7.62mm rounds. Another one fired his Uzi at the Lagoon but the 9mm rounds didn't even dented the PT boat's armor.
The first boat was back in the fight. Revy, on the other hand, is also ready. She tossed the Remington to the floor and grabbed one of her favorite weapons, an M79 single-shot grenade launcher. She broke the breach open and loaded a 40mm HEDP round. She aimed the launcher a bit higher in trajectory and fired. The egg-shaped grenade flew up and crashed down, smashing on the deck of the speedboat. The detonation completely destroyed the craft.
The third speedboat had enough. It turned tail and roared away from the fight. The Lagoon didn't gave chase, it was clear they won this fight.
Revy stood up. "Fuck! Five million dollars! Gone! Who the fuck are those guys?!"
"Calm down, Revy," Dutch replied. "We still got the deposit, anyway."
"And we got this," Rock answered, holding the metal briefcase. "Maybe this is what they wanted."
"What the hell is that, anyway?" Revy asked.
"I think we're about to find out."