Abidjan, Ivory Coast
CONSULATE
Present Day
Deployed Operators:
Jordan "Thermite" Trace - Squad Leader
Eliza "Ash" Cohen - Entry
Tina "Frost" Tsang - Support
Alex "Sentinel" Pizarro - Field Medic
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"I'm out-" The ear splitting screech tore through the tense air, drowning out Ash's voice. Shrapnel followed, ripping through the thin walls, and lacing the carpeted floors with shards of metal. She crouched behind the toppled mahogany desk. Her left hand reached into her plate carrier for an extra magazine filled to the brim with 5.56. She peeked to the right, but there was no movement in her vision. She palmed her pockets, feeling for the radio she had a mere moment ago.
Her small hands grasped the cold metal out of the cloth, and flicked the switch to, "Transmitting." She cleared her throat, and tossed a quick peek towards the doorway again. "Breaking radio silence, Thermite, going to need an assist. Two tangos, holding the door. From the looks of it, intel was off." A spray of bullets thudded out into the dead silent air. She held her breath, and reached for her R4, her right hand gripped the sleek, vertical grip attached to the bottom of her rifle. The tile floor to the right of her, was covered in a dense amount of fallen papers off of several desks in the room. She shifted, and helped herself into a crouch. She tossed a flashbang through the bullet ridden doorway, and the immediate shouts of discomfort gave her the satisfaction that she had hit someone. The thin, carpeted floor beneath her gave out, the instant she stood to her feet. The explosive's noise, coming a split second later. The distinct crackle of wood being snapped, and the silent plink-plinks of shards of the marble floor under the carpets shattering.
Ash fired mid fall, as the White Masks took the explosion as their cue to enter. One of them tossed an improvised flashbang, and while crude, it did it's job in blinding the Operator. Her left arm flew up instinctively to cover her eyes, but her right index finger was still squeezing the trigger.
She felt the coarse fingertips first, before the bandage covered hand took hold of her left thigh and right arm, respectively. The tight grip caused her to open her eyes. Jordan was already stepping backwards, with his injured teammate in his arms. Her head pounded when her retinas came in contact with the light, but she forced herself to look at the situation she was in. Jordan spoke first. "Damn right Intel was off, we were set up."
He set her down behind his small makeshift checkpoint. Three desks along with several stacks of various debris. "Small Entry OP, but this isn't what the intel even describes. Ten hostiles, all armed with various small arms. Maybe my goggles are interfering with my ability to comprehend but, tell me, where did the other twenty or so come from? Even better, tell me where the fuck they got French equipment." He cut himself off and took a glance at his girlfriend. He murmured something incoherent, and reached into his satchel for basic medical equipment.
His wrapped hands, slightly trembling, took her left leg and patched the sizeable gash with a field bandage. "Cohen, where was I when this happened?" He shook his head and reached for his rifle. Ash reached for his hand, to steady him. To stop his outburst before it turned more lethal. Jordan Trace was hot headed, and when his teammates or she got hurt, he would tunnel vision. He won every lone wolf he went on so far, but Ash didn't want to take the risk. Still he had long moved away. He was on his feet and tossed his M45 towards her red boots. "Everyone one of those hostiles is going to end up with a thermite sized hole in their head." His voice shook with evident rage.
He peeked, and the White Masks, who Eliza had forgotten about since being reunited, both peered down the hole that they had not made. Thermite fired a burst, and transferred his spray to the other. Both men fell through the hole and hit the wood floor with a sickening squish.
He turned around when Eliza reached for his boot, and lightly squeezed. He turned around and sighed his defeat. He sat on the floor next to her. "What's the gameplan then, Cohen? Wait around for evac?" He grumbled, but his fingers fiddled with his M9 Bayonet.
She reached for his forearm, and he hefted her up so that they were both laying their backs against the drywall. "Well, I hope you know that there are four of us. Frost and the FNG gotta be around here somewhere."
Thermite sighed, "Yeah, probably fucking in the van." He dragged his hand down his features, making sure each one was in okay shape.
Ash let out a small laugh placing her small hand into the grasp of her significant other's. "They both obviously like each other, but the kids are too pussy to do anything but stare at each other."
Thermite pondered this, grasping his growing five o' clock shadow. "I don't think so Ashy, but okay. Let's bet on it. 500 bucks."
Eliza laughed, "Alright, I'm in. Let's see if Ms. Vancouver and Mr. Chicago do it."
Jordan let out a hearty laugh, and helped her to her feet. He turned around. "If the fucking terrorists didn't tap into our radios like fuckin' nerds, i'd be screaming down the radio giving both of the kids nightmares." Ash laughed, and lightly winced, pushing more of her body against him, letting her Texan shoulder some of her weight. She wrapped her fingers around his right shoulder, and stabilized herself. "Well, let's get a move on then, the mission isn't going to finish itself. Especially not with those two probably sitting around in awkward silence."
Jordan helped her walk forward, while his left hand held his 556IX. Ash took a labored breath and stepped along with them. "That was a witty way to get me out of danger I'll admit. But that's going to leave a bruise."
Jordan turned his head, "Not the first time you'd gotten bruises from me." He quipped.
Ash mocked laughter, "Oh, har har. Now, get fucking moving before I lose my shit."
Thermite grumbled, and they reached the end of the room swiftly. Several grunts and footsteps rang out into the silent hallway. Jordan immediately perked up, bringing a finger to his lips. It's ssh ssh time now. He peeked past some of the piles of trash he'd piled on top of the desk. He lay the barrel of his gun on a stack of tomes as he peeked around the corner.
A 12 gauge shot broke through the tense air, and Ash pulled Thermite away from the door. He nearly stumbled, but caught himself on Ash's plate carrier. He shifted and dropped to the floor. While Ash was off to his left holding the same angle, but farther back.
Several more shots, and ensuing shouts confirmed that somebody, or somebodies were coming to their position. Ash counted out three shots in succession, so one tango has a burst. Most likely an M16 or Famas. Her eyes caught a flicker of movement, and her index nearly pulled the trigger. Thermite turned around and mouthed something out.
C-A-L-L O-U-T?
She nodded, and Jordan loudly announced. "Tina! Speak or else I'll drop anyone who's on the other side of the door!"
"Thank God! Alex, help me move some of these boxes will you?" Tina's muffled voice from the other side of the door was a pleasant surprise. Ash stood to her feet. Alex had pushed several boxes of miscellaneous items to the ground.
Tina's shrouded head poked past the small opening in the doorway. "While you two were fucking, we got the objective done." Ash could practically see the smirk plastered across her face beneath her face mask.
Alex kicked a piece of wood, and helped Tina scramble inside before he followed suit.
Alex hefted the crate and placed it on the ground. He groaned and stepped away from the heavy ordnance. "Job description never said anything about being an Amazon delivery guy." He took a glance around the room before taking a step towards Frost, his fireteam partner.
Jordan walked over, and lightly padded the crate with the tip of his right boot. "Seems intact. Let's take this, uh, box back to home base." He scratched the nape of his neck, eyes still glued to the crate. His thoughts were tossed to the floor in a heap of debris when the explosions above them rang out.
Bullets broke through the drywall. Alex moved to a crouch behind a fallen desk, with Frost taking his lead and moving behind cover with him.
Ash wasn't as fast, with her injured leg, she simply went prone behind several fallen bookshelves. Thermite stood next to a trio of filing cabinets. He leaned and watched as several figures danced around his vision. "They're stacking up at the door, brace for impact!" He shouted just as the bullets went through the makeshift door. Several cardboard boxes he had stacked were punchered and deflated with defeat.
He moved to a crouch, his eyes still locked onto the doorway through his holographic sight. He heard a pin pop, and a small device flew through the air, catching his attention. The thundering and very much blinding explosive covered his vision with a sheath of white. He dropped to his knees, dazed.
Frost shouted, profanities coming out of her mouth just as fast bullets were flying out of the barrel of her SMG. She ducked, reloaded and tapped Alex. He popped up over the cover at a breakneck speed and fired a burst at a White Mask. The bullets flew, one 5.56 tearing through the drywall and losing momentum but still hit its target. The other two hit with ease. He shifted and leaned to his left. He fired single shots down the hallway. He was nearly behind cover when the frag grenade flew past the barricade and into the room towards Frost and his position. He dove straight onto Tina, covering her smaller frame with his. In the next second, as time flew forward, so did the shrapnel. Alex's arms, which where covering the her head and upper body were swifter sliced opened by the explosive's remnants.
He felt his leg flare up in pain, the same one which was protecting both of Tina's considerably smaller ones.
Jordan and Eliza bolted upright, their bodies fueled on adrenaline. Thermite fired and tossed a flashbang just as Eliza reloaded. They both peeked from their covers, and fired a frenzy of bullets. Eliza's magazine was small, incredibly so, compared to the thirty rounds of Thermite's SIG SAUER. She emptied another magazine into two hostiles, before pulling her grenade launcher out. Thermite vaulted over his cover and ran towards the doorway. He peeked, and sprayed down the entire hallway of hostiles.
Tina's screams nearly drowned out Alex's. Almost. She was gripping his noninjured arm, and was pleading for someone to help her. "You idiot, why the hell would you do that!?" Her voice was broken now, her throat dry, but her fury at the injuring of a teammate because of her burnt a hole in her conscious. Alex coughed and motioned for his backpack, "Morphine in there, just find a vein and insert it." His voice teetered on the edge of control. He groaned into Tina's hands, the pain is his voice was merely a fragment of the pain he was inflicted with.
Ash was by Frost's side by now, Tina turned away, her face a painting of various emotions. She was still screeching, her voice still matching Alex's cries, one for one.
Thermite was gripping both of her shoulders, whispering words with the intent to calm her. She backed away, towards the back wall, and slid down to the floor.
Ash was shouting something Tina couldn't hear, nor care for. She slammed her 9MM C1 into the wooden floor, but not satisfied with the dent inflicted on the floor, and the rifle.
Someone was holding her now, and Ash was trying to get her to breathe. "Tina! Our GIGN operators are nearly here! So are the White Masks' reinforcements. I need you to help me defend. It's just the three of us now."
Tina took a second to process. She could defend; that was her job after all, and she did it damn well as any of the other operators.
It was either her adrenaline high mind or the fear, or the sharp pang she felt in her chest when she looked at the injured operative that she was supposed to be protecting. They were a fireteam, a duo, partners in crime, and she let him down. "Is-is he still alive?" Her voice was soft now, hoarse, but the hurt was clear by the tone she took. Ash looked impatient, but still eyed her with a face of empathy. "Thermite's with him now, he's stabilized, but when Doc gets here, he'll be fine. When MEDIVAC comes and whisks him away, he'll be good to go in no time." Tina nodded, and Ash handed her a scavenged FAMAS F2 from a fallen French terrorist.
Frost eyed the heavier gun, but still took a position. "I sure hope the monsieur is alright." Twitch's voice crackled through her radio.
Tina frowned beneath the mask, and aimed at the doorway, her mind kept trying bring herself back to the present, but her eyes were too busy looking at Thermite wonder how to apply half the stuff in Alex's bag.
Ash tossed a look at the window, and patted Tina's shoulder. "Jäger's coming, and we got the package. Breathe, Tina?" Ash turned her head to look at the Canadian. The FAMAS was lying on the floor, and her head was crooked to the operative lying on the floor. Ash's eyes dropped to the floor. The faint, thuddering feelings of pity she felt for the both of them bubbled up in her stomach.
The ceiling above her exploded, tossing her off her feet. We heard them above us too! Why'd I forget? Her foot clipped a fallen flag pole, and it twisted to the left. She cursed, her left foot now tangled with the French flag, and no longer in the best condition.
She reached for her Five SeveN and fired at the gap, she hoped she'd managed to hit someone, but her spray went wide of any targets. "Twitch! Where's our reinforcements?" She half shrieked as a flashbang flew threw the hole, but she managed to lay prone before it exploded. She heard Frost's screams, from Alex or from the blinding flash, should couldn't tell. Eliza moved into a crouch just as the terrorists rappelled down, and she managed to fire twice, 5.7 bullets whizzing out of her barrel and towards it's targets. One pierced a White Masks' neck, and the artery exploded, covering the pearl white ceiling with a splatter of maroon.
The other slammed itself into the side of a rappler, and managed to knock him towards the wall. She took the opportunity to lean, and fire five more times. All four hostiles hit the floor, their grappling equipment following suit. She twisted her foot out of the knot caused by the flag, and hobbled her way towards Jordan.
Tina was shouting down her radio, while gripping her fireteam partner's hand. As Eliza moved closer, she could make out the soft whispering of Tina's encouraging words, contrasted by the loud curses shouted out by Jordan as he tried patching out the injured FNG.
Alex groaned, and a dribble of blood flowed like a tiny stream out of the right side of his mouth. Tina was shouting at Jordan now, "What the hell are you doing! He's got a Lake Michigan's worth of blood pooling under him, and those shitty medical skills aren't doing anything! Let me try!" She grappled for the bag, which Jordan gripped tightly, "I've got this Tina, your fuckin' boyfriend is going to be mostly okay. Now stop breathing down my fuckin' neck before I break yours." Jordan was clearly stressed, his fingers were shaking as he tried applying pressure to the wound.
Tina huffed out a, "I'd like to see you try, old man." She placed her petite fingers on Alex's slender gash soaring from his bicep down up towards his neck.
Ash pulled out her radio, "Julien, I will shatter your fucking spine if your don't get up here with the doctor in sixty seconds." Her voice was sharp, and to the point. Her fading accent gained from her time in Jerusalem was nearly gone, but it's airiness still remained in her words, illustrating the venom her vowels.
A audible gulp came from the other side of the comms, and Julien responded. "Not the "Bonjour" I was expecting, but rappelling up now madame." True to his words, three grappling hooks gripped the window on the other side of the room, and the ski mask wearing technician appeared first.
Emma quickly sidestepped past the bodies, and scrambled towards Jordan. "I shall take control of this situation." Her voice lost all of it's pep, instead replaced with the ever understanding bleak tone.
Tina was looking into Emma's eyes for a confirmation that it'll be alright, but her face betrayed her. The shock of the bleeding body widened her pupils, reigniting Tina's cries.
Doc and Rook were next, the younger operative standing near the window, holding the stretcher and hiding his weary eyes by averting his gaze. Doc stepped over, sensing the tension and quickly got to work, no word spoken.
"Julien, stretcher, hurry hurry now." He quickly helped get his injured teammate onto the soft cot, as they quickly moved down the stairwell towards the front door. Frost followed suit.
Jordan hefted up the crate, and Ash and Twitch escorted him out. She took a single glance at the building, covered in bullet holes, and massive chunks missing, and each window shattered to pieces.
As her foot reached the metal floor of the van, she took a seat, and the bottle up feelings she held during the mission imploded, washing her stoic body with the failure of her leadership. The planning phase was headed by her, and partially Jordan. But it was ultimately her shouldering the blame. Why didn't she request more operatives, why did she solo the top floor, letting the kids complete the objective.
Most of all, why wasn't it her. She was to blame, but she shouldered none of the responsibility. Instead, Frost's fireteam partner went down. They developed a bond faster than she and Jordan did, and the hurt brought her back to Jordan's first injury all those years ago. A bank heist, they were supposed to stop. She failed at planning, and Jordan was out for four months with recovering from a surgery. Yet again another failure, but when was she going to face any of the repercussions?
Thermite walked over, "Hey, there was nothing we could've done. Now we just pray. Trust me, my med skills may not be good, but I am a damn well prayer. My favorite team is the Dallas Cowboys after all."
That earned him a smirk, despite the situation.
Location Classified
FORWARD OPERATING BASE "Quebec"
15 Days After Previous OP
All Operators On Standby
The only person cleared for visits was Ash. Jordan of course was the first to pop in, followed by the rest of the operatives. Everyone but Tina. The only time someone got a glimpse of her was in the gym, or in the mess hall. Both places, she was either in the back by herself sometimes with the exception of her mentor. Buck. Otherwise, she was inside of her room. Jordan tried to visit, but after the threat of her, "welcome trap." Clamping his legs as soon as he entered, he retreated.
Tally that up on Ls you've taken this week Jordan. He sighed, and sat in the waiting room, hoping that Meghan would stop taking her sweet ass time visiting his girlfriend.
Doc peered from a doorway, "Jordan, I've been discussing with the rest of the medical staff for the past three days. We're allowing your squad a visit. Nobody but you three can visit Alex. Clear?"
Jordan swiftly nodded. Now onto the hard part. Telling Tina. He took a deep breath and walked out of the medical wing, desperately hoping that he would catch Frost outside of her fortress. Nonetheless, he checked her room first. He silently paced towards the door and pressed an ear to the door. Yep, she was inside. Sniffles and TV playing loudly. He sighed.
He braced himself for any attack that she would throw at him. He knocked on the door, and he heard Tina's voice, soft, from the other end of the room. "Why won't anyone leave me alone?" Her voice was muffled, but neared closer as she approached the door.
Jordan stepped back, "Look, I've got some good news. Just open the door, please?" The ivory colored door swifty opened. Tina was wearing baggy grey sweatpants, and a plain black T-shirt. Her entire frame was shrouded by a white fleece blanket. Her eyes were still bloodshot, and she looked as if she was mentally battering herself on a daily basis. Not too far from the truth.
"Spit it out." Her voice was stern, but the hurt still radiated. Jordan stepped forward and handed her his peace offering. "I uh. Visited Alex earlier-" Her eyes perked up, but her initial surprise gave way to hurt. "And he didn't invite me? So as a reconciliation, you give me one of his hoodies?" She was teetering of the edge of bursting into to tears.
"No-no, just-a. You can visit him." He awkwardly handed her the sweater. "I-I don't really know why this one. Just uh. He wanted you to have it." She took the garment from his grasp and held it close to her chest. "Alright. Can I see him now?" Some of the hurt that Jordan could hear with every word eased up. He smiled and spoke, "Go ahead, just be careful with him. Although don't think I didn't notice you both taking your sweet ass time on that OP. What were the two younglings doing?"
It was Frost's turn to be on the defense. The blush creeped up her neck and onto her cheeks. "Uh. J-just talking. Yeah. Talking. We aren't dating, just close. He's my partner. We are friends. Close friends, but not dating you know? But-but do you think he likes me?"
Jordan laughed, "You both make me crack up. Go visit your boyfriend." With that, he walked past her to the medical wing, he still had to visit his girl.
It took Tina a few encouraging words to get past the initial butterflies. She wanted to come as quickly as possible, but she didn't know where they both stood.
She tossed the hoodie on, it was a gradient pullover, starting from white before fading down to black. She noticed on both sides of the shoulders was an insignia she didn't recognize. A white sword with two split gears flanked by two wings.
It was oversized, his 6'2 frame hulking over her vastly smaller one. Still, it was comfortable, and maybe It was a sign that he-its just him doing something nice for his friend. Don't look too into it. She sighed in defeat and slid into some slippers. She tossed the fleece blanket onto her couch, it landed with a soft thud.
It was time for her to go. Should plan this out Tina! She shook her head and stepped out of the room, her head set on its destination. No more distractions.
Her feet sent out barely audible tap taps in the silent hallway. She half hoped someone would pop out and whisk her away somewhere. With the way she was acting and her disheveled appearance and bloodshot eyes she didn't think that would happen.
Before she realized it, she was at the double doors of the medical wing. She took a huff of air and walked in. Her eyes scanned for Doc, who seemed to anticipate her arrival. He crossed over to her, and she rapidly regretted her decision. She wasn't ready to visit yet, she hadn't even prepared her speech. What was she going to say?
"He's not dead, so there's no need to fidget. Your-" His voice lingered, hoping she would finish his sentence with the correct title. She didn't. "F-friend, is awake at the moment, you may enter." He turned, and walked to his clipboard and lead the way.
Her stomach bubbled up with tension, but all of it dispersed when she entered. Doc took the immediate silence as they both stared at each other, as his cue to exit. They both locked eyes, his wide, obviously drugged eyes scanning her red eyes. He look like he was out for a while, just sleeping. She hadn't sleep for at least three days. "All this grief for someone who's not even that close to you!" Caveira laughed from a distance in the mess hall, but Tina heard.
"Hi." Alex, even high off of the countless painkillers they had him on, still could notice her discomfort. Say something. Something. Still, her eyes were drawn to his body, several tubes streaked his arms, entering his veins. Medical gauze wrapped most of his upper body. His leg was in a cast, all because of her. She took a step back, and Alex noticed her gaze.
He softly spoke, "I'm alright, Frosty. I'l-" Tina cut him off with a more aggressive approach.
"I did this. It's my fault." She looked down at her socks, but Alex called out to her. "No. The frag did. But it's alright, i'd do it again." This brought her gaze up. Such a loyal idiot.
"I could've taken the hit, you know that. Why the hell would you take the blast for me you idiot!-" Alex tried to interject but the anger in Frost's voice silenced him before her words could. "No-you listen to me. Do you even understand what I had to go through for the past two weeks? Hmm? It fuckin' hurts." Her voice broke, the attack shattered, and her motive died in her throat. The tears rose, and as they blurred her vision, she turned away.
"Your my partner, and you know that. T-Tina. Don't cry." His voice was calm, and he motioned for her to come close. She took two weak steps, and he wrapped his injured arms around her. He let out a whimper, as the muffled pain still took a grasp of his joints. Tina didn't hold back, and let out her tears into his white cloth clad shoulder.
He patted her back, and Tina murmured into his neck, "I missed you, you know that? Nobody even wants to fuckin' look at me."
He whispered out, "I do."
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MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR CLEARUP - AGES HAVE BEEN CHANGED: Frost is not 32 here, in this case it's about 27, and Alex is 26. That is all.
ALSO ALSO ALSO. If I miss anything major in the lore, please let me know, at this point, I got like twenty hours in this game and I don't know everything yet. Thanks.
Okay okay, I'll admit, i've been working on my fluff, and anyone following my other stories, hope you enjoyed. Anyone else though, welcome, this is my first voyage into this game. I'm really great at tactical shooters (CSGO is my fav Multiplayer game) and this game is really enjoyable. Community is a little less toxic, but I come from CS, so it felt like a little slice of home. Spraying is very easy with the more laid back mechanics, and is less intense on that standpoint. It offers a different experience, something I enjoy.
And of course, several clear ups. Tina is one of my favorite characters, and people wonder, how is Buck not her fireteam partner? Well, for one, idgaf, and two, she's defence. Something that Alex does. Now another one, yes this is the same character from Crash Course a character recieved very well. I don't want to reveal all of his background just yet, but I do find him a great character to write. No other character from Crash Course will appear though. So anyone who ships Sarah and Alex (Some of my PMs are a lil weird, with some of the stuff people send me) there won't be any of that.
Ships: Frost & Alex (Frolex? IDK, you guys find a name for it, I know you will.) and Thermite & Ash (I won't even try on this one.)
Uh, what else, no, I won't accept OCs on this one. But I will accept ships, now there's a catch. Has to make some sort of sense, not be incest and not be creepy to write. (Thatch and Twitch? Nope.)
If anyone has a suggestion as to what Alex's special ability should be, I may consider adding it, but otherwise I've got an idea as to what it'll be.