Prologue
As extra information, this story has small tie in with Splinter Cells. So enjoy :)
(And for those of you followed up rainbow six games, you'll know this one will feel familiar and a copy but a good setting as prologue nonetheless)
"This is Alpha 1-1, we are ready to proceed with plan Z over." Ash calling in.
"Roger, Plan Z is in motion. Good luck to all of you, over and out." the british man sanctioned the plan.
"This is Alpha 1-1, we have our go. Permission to intercept and kill all involved parties in the act is allowed. Do whatever it takes to neutralize the threat." Ash briefed the approved orders to the teams.
"Sounds good Eliza…. Sounds Good…." Thermite replied under the loud commotion.
"From now on, only use callsign. Glaz, keep an eye above the bridge for the incoming van. Jackal, lead the bravo squad to track the exact van used by the parties to mobilize their bomb. Lion, stay with Glaz and give everyone a heads up for enemy movement around the area if things going south. And Thermite, keep your ass on my six, we'll ran for the bomb. Once we land, we'll have 30 minutes to prep up before they made it to bridge. Any question?" Ash sent her planning and scheme to everyone.
"I love to be your six, you know how to bring me to the best view around." Thermite teased her while satirized their relationships in the team.
Everyone coughed a bit of laugh while keeping their minds in the mission while Ash kept her straight face with the tease.
"One more thing, I wanted everyone to be in their game. It will be a crowded spot in the rush hour and try not to shoot any unarmed parties. Everyone copy?"
"Copy Ash." Everyone replied together.
"45 seconds." said the pilot in the comm.
"You hear it boys! Ready up!" doors are opened and sunlight emerges.
"New York looks dandy today." Thermite praising the view.
"Won't be much left of it we failed this." Ash replied.
"We won't comrade." Glaz assures everyone as he reloaded his DMR.
"30 seconds." The pilot made his approach to the skybridge for a drop.
The other helicopter came into the view, bringing bravo team with it. Their team leader waved a hand and Ash replied with another wave. The rush hour commuters greeted by two Black Hawks closing up their skies.
"Damn there's a lot of people. Why the police didn't evacuate everyone?" Thermite assessed the situation.
"They can't. The mayor doesn't want any panic and evacuating the bridge will took half an hour. NYPD have routed the van to this bridge because this the least crowded bridge in the area." Ash dropped more intel to the team.
"Won't they get suspicious?" Jackal raised a concern.
"So far, they're going smoothly and normally. It's safe to say they don't suspect any attack." Ash replied.
"5 seconds." said the pilot.
Ropes went down and everyone grabbed for a slide down. Ten men, five in alpha and five in bravo, now set their foot on the skybridge while the black hawks flew away from the vicinity. Instead, a fake news chopper hovered around as surveillance for the mission for the mission control to see.
Lion flew his drone above while Glaz took a bravo scout for company and they scaled the bridge up to the vantage point. Ash briefed the bravo team leader for the situation and taking the squad under her lead as well. She mandated two men to assist Jackal for his needs while the other two joined her as a fireteam. Everyone stayed in a hidden spot and waited for the vans to come by.
The whole area kept under a strict surveillance by Jackal with his new flying drone, capable of tracking the intended parties needed to be taken out. Under the smokescreen of morning commuters, he had no issue wiping down the vans on the bridges from selections, in case if the van arrives too early. In his whisper, prayers allured the two men behind him as he looking for the vans. While their ears were foreign with the prayers, they believed in a safekeeping by anyone Above.
Glaz and Lion made it to the top of the bridge. 20 minutes of climbing did its job in putting them in fatigue. Nonetheless, combat readiness was high and a lot of rest would accompany them as they laid down in the sniper's nest.
"So, I heard you guys were like the special operators and stuff. So is this like a deadly op kind? Because I heard you guys only got called for missions which normal operators can't handle." the bravo riflemen started a conversation with his two seniors.
"I guess you could put it that way soldier. Is this your first mission?" Olivier followed up the chat while Glaz prep his Dragunov for an accurate range on his nest.
"Yes actually. I just entered the team a week ago from SWAT. LA SWAT actually although technically my transferred would put me in the FBI counterparts but I actually got there for some test run and they like me, so I stayed for three months and then there's an open up job for the rainbow six and I apply for a job. It's actually amazing that I got in the most skillful and secretive special forces in the world because like a year ago, I was just some patrolman in LA, fresh out from the academy and now here, with the best of the best in the world." The man filled Glaz and Lion with his life story while prepping up the nest for the mission.
"That's a long story comrade. I would say it will be better to tell us this after the mission. But from what I heard, you might have the talent to be the top in a very young age. What did you do before joining us? I mean the particular details of your job in SWAT." Glaz took a particular interest eventhough he's busy.
"Well, I'm actually in the same division as Jordan before he joined in first to rainbow. I got some ideas for like a new invention but I don't know, I'm still a bit green about this kind of stuff." the man joyfully answered.
"Interesting, can you tell us what the invention is?" Lion sat in front of him, also taken an interest with the man.
"Since I'm actually from caltech from joining in the police and SWAT, I actually once researched a 5.56 mm bullet which able to pierce steel barricade for special ops in a face pace operation. But I never got in done because no assault rifle can actually accommodate that kind of power and made it as a DMR actually crossed into my mind, but dunno, the campus is not exactly gun friendly in terms of research and I'm not that keen becoming a law enforcer at the time. So, I kinda shelved it in my college notes." The man replied.
"Interesting…. I believe I can help you and I know someone else which able to aid." Glaz greeted the man with an offer.
"That would be nice actually. Thanks." the man. replied.
"Excellent. What's your name comrade?"
"It's Nick. Nick Noonan."
"Nice to meet you Nick."
"Nice to meet you too."
Meanwhile, Ash and Thermite hid behind the steel panel railings, waiting for a confirmation from Jackal.
"So Ash, ma'am, how's the situation?" Thermite teased Ash a bit.
"Nothing so far… And just stop hitting on me. Come on….." Ash annoyed by the tease.
"Well, can I refuse such cold reply?" he grinned and stop teasing.
"Maybe you should leave let me alone with my life." Ash curtly reply.
"Hey come on…. I know that you know I gotta rarely tease people at mission. But come on, we need to have this talk." Thermite proceeded with his intent.
"Fine… out with it." Ash sighed.
"Friend to friend, we all know you need to get out from the compound. Look… that plan to hook you up with that guy? That's a mess. But I know this job is hard but… stay with us, with me. Don't let yourself drifted because of that." Thermite pointed his worries for her recent attitude.
"I wish you could say the same to that kid…." she abruptly shut him and started to peek at her watch.
30 minutes have passed and the van should have came to the bridge. Calling out to Jackal, she only received a negative.
"By the way, why we're doing this in a bridge, not in their compound?" Bravo leader asked Thermite.
"We wish….. FBI got tipped very late about this. Thank God we're in town when this go down, I guess white mask could wait for this thing." Thermite answered.
"Everyone be advised, I have visual confirmation of the van. It's a casual white van with a bald hispanic man in a suit driving it. I'm ready beside it over." Jackal briefed the team with his findings.
"Roger that Jackal. Everyone ready up! It's time." Ash prepared her fireteam to flank the enemy in front of it.
The scouts aimed their DMR at the van, waiting for a go from the lead.
"Glaz, your call." Ash final mandate before act.
"Roger." Finger on the trigger, hands in steady form, all aimed to a head to kill.
A loud shot greeted the commuters and shook everyone. The shot is an accurate one as the brain splat out from the hole. Lion and Nick followed in with other strafing shots to flush the terrorists out from the van.
Panicked engulfed the bridge as people scrambled out from their cars and ran for safety while others tried to driven out their vehicles but proved to be futile and resolved to stayed in cover inside while some scrambled, joining the panicking crowd. Accurate shots from the scouts relieved any casualties away the civilians and "saving" the area from civilians.
Jackal and his team saw the opened backdoor and fired upon the terrorist scrambling out from the van, but got caught by surprise by uncounted reinforcement in a SUV, few cars behind it. While Jackal and his team tried their best, they were pinned by the reinforcement.
Meanwhile, Ash and her fireteam prepared to drop to the streets and ready to engage through the front, but two policemen went out from their cars and started to aim their pistols at the running terrorists. However, one took a particular interest by Lion and realize an imminent danger.
"All station! Be advise! We got a suicide bomber on the run! A handcuffed guy running towards the police in the road below! I repeat, we have a dead man switch on the bridge! rigged and ready to blow!", Lion shouted the comms in fear for the escalating danger in the bridge.
"Roger, calling in for the bomb squad, Arriving ETA 5 minutes." Ash replied to the threat
Ash found the bomber amongst the crowd but much to her disdain, the bomber was about to be caught by the police.
"Glaz! I need you to take out the police NOW! He'll blow himself if arrested and civilians still crowded the bridge!" Ash surprised Glaz with the order.
"Ash, confirmation on friendly fire to the policeman of New York." Glaz reaffirmed the order from Ash.
"Just radio in to their comms." Lion also added a solution.
"We got not time! Take them out NOW!" Ash shouted the order back to Glaz.
"Roger, taking out the policeman." Glaz conceded to the order.
Glaz and Lion shot both policeman on their hands and legs to subdue them out.
Ash and her team proceeded to get to the bomber, but greeted hail of bullets from reinforcement behind the van, putting them in a pin in the skybridge like Jackal.
"Scout team, get down and help us take out the threat!" Ash ordered.
Glaz opted to stay for support fire while Lion and Nick will help the fireteam below. Changing with their vectors, they fast rappel down from above, all the way to the roads below. Surprising the terrorists, they pushed forward together against the surprises terrorist and took out many with the help of Glaz and the pinned fireteam. Ash and her team finally dropped down to the streets and joined in the battle.
More and more reinforcement came from behind and took fight into the streets. Much to everyone pressure, civilians which hid in the car became hostages while some begged for help to the team, compromising the mission and in few instances, becoming an involuntary shield for the team. With the a few civilian casualties, Lion started to pulled all the injured civilians from the hail and treated them with basic press-and-hold-the-wound to keep them alive before the medics arrived. The fireteam pushed the terrorists and Jackal finally able to pinned them in the vicinity of the van and made a push to assert control on the situation.
After two minutes of exchanging gunfire, all the terrorists were either dead or injured, leaving the bomber as last man standing. The team pinned the bomber in a corner, close the end to the sea. Ash ordered the man to stand down and put out the bomb.
"Please! They got my wife and kids! Help them!" The man shouted many times in cry and confusion.
"Okay okay, everyone stand down!", Believing the man, Ash ordered a stand down.
"Thermite, go." and he went to the bomb.
"Hey, everything will be okay." Ash reassured even though it didn't put the man's panicked expression away
As Thermite git his hands in the bomb, out of the blue, it went online. To make matters worst, they only have 30 seconds to decide.
Everyone was surprised and Thermite quickly studied the bomb for ten seconds before finally said, "I can't turn it off. I need three minutes for this one at least."
The man panicked even more and Lion asked, "What should we do? We don't have time and there's still many people around us."
In a tough and short call, she said, "We have to do it. We don't have time."
Two shots heard through her pistol and the man incapacitated, unable to stand after got hit in both legs. The rest of the team followed her lead and started to lift the man up to the ledge. As the time reach 5, they threw him from the ledge, watching him falling down to the sea before finally blew up midair. Had they didn't do such, the explosion will killed everyone in 30 meter radius.
Everyone stared down at the smokescreen below and all sighed, relieved from the threat, but not Ash. She closed her eyes and held her tears while swallowing her throat. In her view, she failed herself for the second time and this, had taken a bad toll inside her. Thermite saw this and felt her tearless cry.
"Hey, it's the best call there is. You did the right thing." he whispered while the rest of the team secured the scene.
"I failed and I just…... just leave me alone." Ash moved away and slipping away behind the smokes, giving a head to Thermite that she's now drifted from her former self.