Chapter 2- Brothers

Zulu's Location- Mogadishu, Somalia, three year before Paris

Mutt suddenly felt a jolt. He woke up with a startle, looking around to get his surroundings. He found himself beside Bear on a Hornet.

"Wake up, Mutt. We're almost to the objective." said Bear.

Mutt reached back and grabbed his rifle and slapped a new magazine in. Mogadishu had fallen to the Communists at the beginning of the war and pirates were paid to attack Alliance ships, while giving Communist ships safe passage.

"So where are we meeting 'Irish' Team?" asked Ute

"We're meeting them at the National Theatre. It's around two miles from our LZ." answered Shadow

The Hornet landed on a makeshift soccer field, all four operatives jumped off and took positions. Shadow signaled to the pilot and the Hornet lifted off.

"Let's move." said Shadow

The team moved down an alley toward the theatre where they would meet with another Delta team, "Irish Team". Their objective was to kill or capture a local pirate lord named Abdi Jukomb. Jukomb had become good friends with the Russian Prime Minister and his clan was famous for the hijacking of the cargo ship Maiden of the Sea. The Russians had supplied them with modern weaponry, making them more of a threat than other clans. A call came over the radio.

"You guys landed yet?"

"We have, Knight. We will meet you in 30 minutes." Shadow responded

"Sounds good, we'll be waiting." Knight was the leader of "Irish".

"Keep your eyes open." ordered Shadow

Ute aimed his DMR at the rooftops while the team moved down the alleyway.

"I'll cover our six." said Bear as he brought his M247 to his hip

"We are gonna hit a busy street soon, so watch for civvies."

In an instant, a pop was heard. Reacting quickly, Shadow aimed his rifle in the direction of the noise. He found the noise coming from a child firing a cap gun. The child was startled at the sight of the gun aimed at him and dropped his toy gun. Shadow lowered his rifle and picked the toy off the ground. He slowly handed it to the child, who took it and sprinted down another alley. Shadow turned to the team.

"Do I really look that scary?"

Ute began to laugh. "You pointed a fucking gun at him, LT."

Bear chipped in "Also, you have armor on. You look like a monster."

"You look like a monster without the armor, asshole." Shadow responded.

Bear laughed at Shadow's insult, but was cut off by the sounds of nearby gunfire and screams. The team listened to the bursts. "Knight, you hear that?" asked Shadow

Knight answered over the radio "Yeah, Jukomb's men are having it out with a bunch of locals. Oh boy, the locals are outgunned."

"What do you mean?" asked Shadow

"QBZ's going up against AK's, it's not a fair fight." A single gunshot was heard. "Shit! They're executing the locals." responded Knight

"Can you engage?" asked Shadow

"I can't" said Knight

Another voice was heard of the radio. "This is Flash. I have a clear shot at the pirates." Flash was the sniper of "Irish". A second gunshot rang out. After a few seconds, a shot from a S99 was heard.

"Okay, they're scattering. Good shot Flash." Knight said.

"We are about fifteen minutes away, Knight"

"That sounds good to me, Shadow. See you in a few."

'Zulu' continued to a large road where the recent fighting had occurred. Civilians were dragging the bodies of the dead and wounded off the street. They scattered at the sight of the Delta operatives.

"Keep your eyes open" said Shadow.

The team continued down the road, passing over a few bodies. When Shadow reached a pirate's body, he reached down to examine it. The man had on basic Russian body armor. "He's wearing outdated armor, it's nothing special."

Ute picked up the pirate's weapon "QBZ-175, the Russians use it for training."

"You guys got incoming." warned Flash over the radio.

Shadow took command "Find cover."

The team found the nearest cover and hunkered down as yelling was heard. Suddenly, a 5.56 round zipped over Ute's head. More rounds began hitting the environment.

"Smoke 'em!" yelled Shadow. The team fired their DMR's into the enemy crowd. Instantly, 3 assailants dropped dead. The crowd scattered but continued to fire. A grenade landed next to Bear.

"Oh fuck!" yelled Bear as he jumped up and ran to an archway. The grenade went off destroying the concrete barrier Bear was behind. The team continued to fire as Bear grabbed his MG and aimed it at the wall where several pirates were. The bullets ripped through the wall, killing almost everything behind it. The pirates began to retreat, but they had left a wounded man. Shadow walked up to the pirate who had been shot in the gut by one of Bear's bullets. As Shadow approached him, the pirate went for his pistol. Quickly, Shadow aimed and fired a round into the enemy's head.

"Son of a bitch, he almost had me. I'm losing it." said Shadow to the team.

Knight broke the radio silence. "You guys need to hurry up. If Jukomb heard those shots, he's gonna get ready for us and that means we lose our window."

"On our way." responded Shadow as the team kept moving toward the rendezvous point. The team was about a mile from the point, but there was still some resistance. Finally, the team reached the theatre. Three members of 'Irish' were waiting for them, only missing "Flash". "Knight" wore Air Assault armor variant and had the DMR as his weapon of choice. "Ant", the engineer of 'Irish', wore EOD armor and carried the MA37. He was standing behind "Knight" and talking to 'Irish's heavy gunner, "Rook". He held is M247 in both hands and wore the JFO armor.

"Glad you could join us, Shadow." said Knight as he held his hand out, which Shadow shook.

"No problem. So where is Jukomb hiding?" asked Shadow.

"He's somewhere in his compound. Flash is meeting us there. He's been scouting the area for ways in." responded Knight.

"Has he found anything?" asked Ute.

Knight looked at Ute and said "Nothing yet. The pirates have the place locked down."

"Good news. Found a vent which we could enter through. No security around it at all." Said Flash over the radio.

"That sounds good, Flash. We're on our way." replied Knight. "Okay, let's move."

The team moved to Flash's position, he wore the Operator armor and carried a S99 similar to Mutt's. Knight knelt beside him.

"Where's the vent?" said Knight.

"Left side, unfortunately a patrol started going by as soon as you got here." said Flash.

"Can't you shoot them?" asked Shadow.

"Notice how I don't have a silencer on my gun. If I shoot, half the country will hear." responded Flash.

"Let's just move. Cover us." said Knight.

The two teams moved around the side to avoid being seen by the pirates. There were several patrols around the compound and snipers on the balconies. There were several air vents around the area, but the patrols went by them constantly, except for one. It was mostly ignored since it served no purpose. Currently, a pirate stood in front of it with his back facing toward the team as they approached behind the compound wall. Knight placed his back to the wall and prepared to boost the others over the wall.

"Ant, you first." commanded Knight. Ant handed Rook his DMR and jumped up. He pulled his head above the wall to survey the area. He found the guard unaware of his presence. He jumped over the wall and landed behind the guard. He pulled out his knife and covered the guard's mouth. He cut the pirate's throat, causing blood to splatter against the wall and for him to choke to death. He placed the body by the wall.

"Clear." Whispered Ant. The rest of the team came over the wall. Shadow was the last to go, so he pulled Knight over the wall as Mutt pulled the grate off of the vent silently. Knight then disposed of the body by throwing it over the wall. The teams began to enter the vent, making soft clanging noises as they moved. Knight pulled up a schematic of the compound on his HUD.

"Which way to Jukomb's room?" asked Ute.

"Take a left up here." responded Knight.

The team followed the order and turned left at the intersection. As they walked, conversations about recent finds and fights were heard.

"Should be right here." said Knight as he pointed at a vent cover.

"Why are there Americans here?!" yelled a man.

A pirate thug responded "I do not know, sir."

"Find them and bring me their heads!" yelled the man.

"That is Jukomb." said Knight.

"Capture him?" asked Rook

"That's what Command wants. We have to find out the weapons dealer connected to him." responded Shadow.

Rook placed his foot on the vent and pushed it off the hinges. It landed on the thug as Rook jumped down and stabbed the pirate in the torso. Jukomb began to reach for his pistol until he turned around to find Bear standing over him. Bear delivered a single punch to the face, which knocked Jukomb out.

"Someone barricade the door." ordered Shadow.

Bear and Mutt grabbed a table and turned it on its side, then pushed it against the door. Rook grabbed a chair and put it behind the table. Knight took the chair behind Jukomb's desk and placed it in the center of the room. Ute and Ant finished barricading the room by locking the windows and closing the curtains. Shadow cut the security camera in the room and picked Jukomb up. He placed him in the chair as Knight pulled out a few zip ties. Knight tied Jukomb down and the team waited for him to wake up. After a few minutes, Jukomb finally woke up and found Knight standing over him. He was startled at the sight.

"Got time to talk? I'm pretty sure you do." said Knight in a menacing tone.

Jukomb panicked "Please, who are you?"

Knight responded "I'm asking the questions. First, who is your weapons supplier?"

"No one does. I swear." said Jukomb nervously as he tried to jerk out of the chair.

Knight began to make a quick beeping noise, making Jukomb panic more.

Knight glared at Jukomb "My bullshit detector went off. Try again."

The pirate lord began to sweat intensely. He looked around the room at the other operatives.

"I have no suppliers. Please, let me go." said Jukomb, who was now hyperventilating.

"I'll make this scumbag talk." growled Shadow as he took out his pistol and put it to Jukomb's head. Jukomb let out a yelp as if something hot had touched him.

"A Russian!" screamed Jukomb.

"Ah, see not too hard, is it? What's his name?" asked Knight. Jukomb remained silent, staring in fear at Knight. Shadow nudged his pistol against Jukomb's head. This made the pirate cringe.

"Alexi. Alexi Bourdik." cried Jukomb.

"Where is he located?" asked Shadow.

"He's everywhere. He never stays in one spot. Please let me go." blurted Jukomb. He looked around the room at the other operatives as if to beg for mercy.

Knight looked at Shadow "I guess that's why it looked like the pirates had multiple sources."

Bear responded "Pretty fucking clever."

"So we're dealing with a nomadic arms dealer?" questioned Shadow.

"I must warn you. Bourdik is extremely psychotic and dangerous." said Jukomb.

"That's nice. We love those kinds of guys." responded Bear.

The operatives began to walk out of the room. Shadow turned to look at Jukomb, who was still tied to the chair and struggling.

"So what do we do with him?" asked Shadow.

"We don't need him. He's a worthless pirate piece of shit." responded Knight.

"Got it." said Shadow. He aimed his pistol at Jukomb, who barely let out a scream as Shadow pulled the trigger sending a bullet through Jukomb's head. His head slumped back as his eyes stared at the ceiling.

"What the fuck was that?" asked Flash over the radio.

"Shadow shot Jukomb." responded Knight.

"Well, he just kicked the hornet's nest. They are entering the building and they are pissed." said Flash. "I'll try and take a few out." Two shots were heard and more screaming. "That's all I can do for now. They have me pinned down."

"Okay guys, we got company. Take positions." commanded Knight.

The operatives took defensive positions around the room. Voices were heard coming up the stairs and getting closer. Suddenly, no voices were heard.

"They are gonna try to kick the door down. I'd love to see them try with that barricade up." whispered Rook. But, a small thunk was heard.

"Is that it?" asked Ute.

"Oh shit! Get down!" yelled Knight. In an instant, the door exploded filling the room with shrapnel. Several of the operatives were knocked of their feet. Ute was the only one to remain in a firing position. He fired into the open doorway and reached over to help Bear up. Shadow sat up and fired his DMR, but was dragged into cover by Mutt. Suddenly, an enemy charged through the doorway wielding a machete. He was making a beeline for Shadow and Mutt, until Knight put his knife into the assailant's stomach. As the pirate fell, Knight got in cover beside Mutt and Shadow.

"Is there another way out?" asked Shadow as Mutt fired from cover. Knight looked behind the three at a window. Shadow quickly responded. "Oh hell no, we are not-!"

He was cut off by Knight "We have armor on. It's not that big of a drop."

"I think it's a bad idea." said Shadow.

"Here, let's use the rookie as a test subject." said Knight as if he was telling a joke.

Mutt turned around. "Wait. What?" But Knight had already grabbed him and tossed him out the window.

"What the fuck?" asked a shocked Shadow. A crash was heard followed by a faint groan of pain.

"You okay Mutt?" asked Knight over the radio.

Mutt groaned a little before responding. "Other than being tossed out a window, I'm fine."

"Told you it would work." said Knight as he looked at Shadow.

"Oh you're such a fucking genius." said Shadow sarcastically.

"New escape route, boys." commanded Knight over the radio. Bear jumped to the cover Knight was behind. He looked at the broken window.

"That's it?" asked Bear. "Oh well. Look out, Mutt." He jumped out of the window. He landed beside Mutt. After Bear recovered, he helped Mutt up onto his feet.

"Ant and Rook, you guys are next." commanded Knight.

"On it." responded Ant quickly. The two ran for the window as bullets flew by them and they jumped out through the windows.

"Ute, your turn." said Knight. Ute ran for the window and jumped.

Bear said over the radio "We're just waiting for you two."

"Flash, we are behind the complex. Find a way to us, we will try to cover you." requested Knight

"I'm moving, boss." said Flash

"We go on three." Knight said. But a grenade landed near the two, both looked at it.

"Fuck that!" yelled Shadow as he grabbed Knight and jumped out of the window as the grenade exploded. The two landed with a crash near the other operatives. All of them stared at the fire shooting from the room.

"We should get moving." said Shadow.

"Agreed." responded the group in unison. They began walking down a dirt road away from the commotion. Knight got on his radio.

"Hawk, you near the extraction zone?" asked Knight.

"I'm on my way." responded Hawk, the engineer of Anchor Team who also acted as a pilot for other teams.

"Meet you in 30." acknowledged Knight.

As the teams moved between the buildings in the alleyways, sounds of feet running were heard above them. Bear and Mutt looked up right at the moment several pirates jumped over the alleyway to the next roof. Bear panicked and almost popped off a round but was stopped by Shadow.

"They don't see us yet. Don't shoot unless you have to." commanded Shadow.

Then a different noise was heard, a DMR.

"Flash, where are you?" asked Knight over his radio.

"I'm on the rooftops!" yelled Flash.

"We are right below you, so meet up with us. Just look down and you'll see us." said Knight. As he said that Flash jumped down into the alleyway.

"What's up?" asked Flash with a chuckle.

"Not much, stuck in a room with a bunch of crazy pirates with Russian weapons." responded Bear.

"That's cute. I've been lying still for 4 hours staring at people who want to kill me." said Flash

Shadow got in-between the two and said, "Quit arguing, we need to get to the extraction zone." The team continued down the alleyway before hearing voices.

"Hold up. I think it's a patrol." commanded Shadow. The team stopped and waited for the patrol to pass. As they did, one pirate stopped and turned away from the team.

"I've got this guy." said Knight as he pulled out his knife. He approached the enemy and grabbed the pirate's mouth to prevent him from screaming. He cut the enemy's throat, letting him bleed out, and then carried him out of sight.

"Let's keep moving" commanded Shadow, as Knight put his knife away. The team moved down the alleyway nearing the airfield. As they got close, two Hornets flew overhead, and then gunfire was heard.

"I got these guys." said Hawk. One of the Hornets turned around, aiming at the direction of gunfire and fired its twin cannons. The gunfire ceased and the Hornets continued to their objectives.

"Keep moving" commanded Knight. The teams finally cleared the alley and arrived at the airfield. Both Hornets had already landed and were waiting. The teams began to get into their respective Hornets. Suddenly a rocket flew by the Hornet "Irish" Team was on.

"Got him!" yelled Bear as he aimed his DMR at the assailant and fired. The pirate dropped as the Hornets take off.

"Ok, next destination: USS Houston." said Hawk as the Hornets flew off.