Through the Visor
Foreword: If you are unsure of what Eglise St Madeline (in Paris) looks like, Google it up.
Chapter 3: St Madeline's
Jenny kept making her way down the street, moving at her fast jog, as she momentarily stopped. She saw two more patrols, of Russian Paras, moving down the street. They were near the front of the church, which looked more like a Temple, from any perspective. Jenny knew that now it was time to act- she knew that if she acted correctly, she could definitely drop them, but she needed to at least surprise them a little. So far, they hadn't noticed her in the darkness, and she knew that if she was going to keep moving, she had to go through that Church. A single MI-28 Havoc flew above, and reminded Jenny why she had to minimise her exposure on the street, as she kept up the pace. She watched the helicopter fly away, as it disappeared from her view through the visor. The suit was hot, even when it was relatively well cooled, but she knew that no matter what, it would get hot anyway- when you were moving with this much kit on, it was inevitable. The only good thing about it being autumn at least was that it wasn't extremely hot, and that Jenny knew that in summer, it would be much worse.
Making her way to a large pile of rubble, and a car, Jenny ducked by it, getting on the ground as she looked over. She had to make some move, she thought to herself. The patrols were holding the junction, and the small plaza in front of the huge temple-like structure. St Madeline's was different- built for Napoleon, and something that was meant to show France's greatness. But even still, Jenny knew that even Napoleon wouldn't have stopped the Russians, and the greatness that France apparently had was quickly dropping by the minute. The patrols looked pretty well entrenched, behind sandbags, but Jenny knew that pulling them toward her would help. It would expose her, and if there were snipers, then she would really have to make her move fast. The helicopter reminded her why she was so exposed here, and the sooner she was inside the Church, she'd probably be out of their way. Inside, that would be where she would have to deal with a lot of Russian resistance, but like in the Metro, she would this time round, have the force multiplier. They'd be concentrated, and she knew that if she pushed through to the other side, she'd be right on the road where the GIGN were apparently waiting.
Lowering her L86, she took a red flare off her chestplate, aware that this was make or break. She wasn't running into entrenched Russians, because that was practically suicide if they were ready to open fire, but if they were moving, then Jenny would simply have to emerge and fire. Taking the flare in her thick gloves, she quickly sheltered it, as she attempted to ignite it. After three tries, the fuse a little damp, Jenny eventually got it, as it burst into a intense bright red light, and Jenny knew that there was no going back now. Taking it out of the shelter between her cupped gloves, she lobbed it as far as she could, aware that this was going to definitely get them moving. It landed about 25m away from where Jenny took cover, behind the large pile of rubble, and Jenny could already hear the Russians yelling. She had no exact idea of what they were saying, because she couldn't hear them well enough through her helmet. But she knew they were coming, so she poked her head out, checking in case. A few moved, and then the rest. Only one of the patrols moved however, as she just hoped that Baseplate had that drone ready. Taking her L86, he cocked it, as she prepared to move. Counting to three, she prepared herself, as she dragged herself down the pile, and moved as fast as she could around it.
Jenny instantly caught the attention of the troops, as she then opened fire, quickly taking out 2/3rds of the patrol, just like in the Metro. The rest responded, as Jenny quickly acted to take them out, and get moving. She held her L86 confidently, and the red flare at least kept the area extremely well illuminated, along with the spotlights where the other patrol held the square.
"Baseplate, what's the news on that Reaper?" Jenny asked, as she took aim at another soldier- definitely aware that now, she was the only target that the Russians had in mind. Bullets were everywhere, from that other patrol, as she kept going. Her Juggernaut armour at least coped with it, as she knew that it was definitely helping. She wasn't going to die any time soon- but she needed to get into cover soon, before she probably got killed.
Jenny kept laying down fire, taking out a few more troops, as she ducked into cover behind a car, already destroyed but at least good enough for the moment. She knew that the L86 was too inaccurate for the moment, and despite reloading it, taking the old drum and replacing it with a new one, she knew that the FAD would come in handy at this moment. She had practically taken out the first patrol that had come to the flare, and only a few of them were left- and the FAD to her felt a little more agile in terms of handling. Taking it off her back and putting her L86 where the FAD had previously been, she put her head down as the bullets started hitting the other side of the destroyed car. Jenny had no idea of where that drone was, or Baseplate for the moment, but she had to keep fighting, no matter what. Cocking the FAD, she smiled to herself, as she knew, it was now or never. The Red Dot Sight was pretty accurate to aim down (MW2 version), and despite the high fire-rate and relatively low damage, Jenny found it easy to quickly pin down the enemies that were left, on both sides of the street. She quickly popped one in the head, and another one in the chest, quickly using her position on the street, exposed but in her armour, to at least make use of the situation. She finished off the last man of the patrol with a few shots to the body, and one to the neck, which quickly dropped him, no questions asked.
Jenny kept her jog up, as the bullets kept ricocheting and hitting her armour. The second patrol was definitely entrenched, and no doubt, with LMGs of their own. Even an RPG flew past, and Jenny knew that it definitely wasn't a good sign. By no way was it now a good idea to consider herself invincible, not by a long shot. She responded with fire of her own, as the mag eventually ran out, and Jenny cursed to herself. The flare lit up the street where she was, and she knew that to the enemy, she was a glowing red armoured soldier, and an easy target. Jenny kept moving, this time taking cover by a road barrier, which at least provided some cover that her armour couldn't, temporarily anyway. She simply let the magazine drop out of the FAD, as she took another one from one of the pouches on her suit, taking a few extra seconds due to the position that she was in, and the bulk and weight of the suit. After she took it out and inserted it, she cocked the FAD, and stood up, firing back. She knew to herself she definitely took one out, as she switched to the M320 on the underbarrel of the FAD. Herself, she didn't mind explosives, and she knew that this was definitely going to come in handy to at least clear out the entrenched enemies.
Taking aim at the sandbags, Jenny fired, and watched as it ripped the cover of the sandbags apart. Herself, she was under a hell of a lot of fire, and knew that she definitely would be dead maybe 10 times over, without the armour on. It worked well at least, as a force multiplier. That along with her SAS skill meant that it was the only thing keeping her in it, for the moment later. She knew that when she met the GIGN, the tables would be turned, and she would at least then be working with others, who would watch her back as long as she watched theirs. To herself, she had a horrible feeling that they weren't going to like her- she knew that after all, if a female Juggernaut, who also incidentally is British, what could happen? They were sure to be good, and definitely friendly. But something gave her a feeling that she'd prefer them over the Deltas, who she knew was either going to fuck something up, or take some glory. She knew they were good, but her regiment of the 22nd SAS and the 1st S-FOD were friendly rivals, and with that logic, something was going to happen. Jenny knew that for the moment however, she had to make sure she survived this, and actually got through it, to the GIGN squad. Because at this rate, she wasn't going to keep it up.
Reloading the M320, Jenny saw her previous one hit, she kept herself down, as she knew that they were pouring it on her. All over her armour, it felt like she was getting poked, hard- though she knew those were live rounds that were just going toward the ballistic protection the suit provided. Aware that the last round had at least exposed some of their cover, she got up again, and fired one more round, taking out a small group of the second patrol as she did, the high projectory at least surprising them a little. With that, she moved from the cover of the partially destroyed concrete barrier, and kept moving forward, opening fire with the FAD. She targeted the other group of the patrols, aiming for the head as she ominously walked forward. She quickly took out two, who she spotted via the muzzle flash, and then took another third soldier in the torso and legs, with what was left of her mag. Of course, keeping calm under fire was something that at least came to her a little more naturally, but it was never easy. In the dark, she knew that she was a sitting duck, but with their muzzle flashes, it was at least easy to locate them among the darkness of the square, in front of the majestic temple structure.
As she took the last one out, she reloaded her FAD, at least glad that it was over.
"Baseplate!?" Jenny said, as she kept moving, at her previous pace, breathing hard and fast. She felt tired, but she just knew that her lungs had barely coped with the firefight, and she needed to get some. She thought to herself of opening the visor, and getting some fresh air in, rather than the air of the Metro, but she decided against it, as she knew that the gas was definitely still in the air, around this area. She knew it was clearing, but she didn't want to risk it- it was only a day after the chemical attacks, of all things, and the Russians had only moved in roughly last evening, she thought to herself. It was a crazy world- but it moved faster than she knew she could deal with. Fore the moment, she just hoped that Baseplate at least was still there.
"Sorry about that, it's the buildings around you, couldn't get a decent signal. Reaper's going to be online in a minute." Baseplate said, as Jenny kept moving, and was already at the sandbagged position she had killed the second patrol at. She was glad that they were dead- but she knew that it was going to get a hell of a lot worse, the further she progressed. She knew that inside, anything could be waiting for her- so she prepared herself for the worst.
"At last. Let me know what it looks from above- I'm going straight through the Church, to the street they're on." Jenny added, as she kept moving, off the road and through the square, somehow unspotted. There were no snipers, she thought to herself. That was a massive plus, for the moment. But what Jenny saw next made her think again- if snipers were bad, then that Havoc was even worse.
The helicopter's light engaged, as it had clearly come back from where it had gone earlier, and Jenny could already tell- if it even came within 50m of her, she was dead. Jenny quickly burst into the fastest movement she could, aware that the chopper was coming in, and looking down. But suddenly, the noise of it's chaingun could be heard, strafing the ground where Jenny had stood, at the sandbags. The Havoc turned, coming in lower, as Jenny knew it- the patrol must have called on the chopper for support, and now she was paying for killing them. Jenny just kept moving, after barely turning her head around to look at it, and just prayed that it didn't find her again. And yet it did- this time, it's rockets barely slammed into the stairs in front of her, and the ground shook, as it deployed all it's munitions at the ground, roughly where it had seen the silhouette of Jenny. Taking notice, Jenny took a right, barely avoiding a rocket, which nearly sent her flying, due to the blast wave. She felt it, and she only just kept herself up, aware that now, she wasn't going to be as lucky. The armour was saving her and killing her at the same time- that would have probably knocked her unconscious, but she couldn't get away, and out of sight in some hole. She had to just move, and nothing else.
"Fucking hell, Baseplate..helicopter? Help?" Jenny asked, as the helicopter opened fire again, this time Jenny avoiding most of it, and heading up the stairs of the church's entrance, the helicopter chasing her assumed position. She knew she was close, but when the blinding white light came, she thought it was over.
She thought that the helicopter had hit her direct, and she was now dead. Ascending, or at least gone. The light of the helicopter was so bright in the direct way that she had only momentarily seen it for, that in the moment, it was what she felt. But she realized she was still alive, when she turned her neck around, and it felt heavy. She knew however, that she'd soon really be there, because it knew exactly where she was.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck…" Jenny muttered to herself, almost yelling, as she moved as fast as she possibly could, up the stairs, some rounds following her as she kept moving. She felt like she was going to die from exhaustion, but she needed to move. It was now or never- do or die, she thought to herself. Her heart sat in her mouth, but the shock that hit her as soon as she turned around and saw at least something good. A lone streak came out of the heavens, and slammed into the engine of the Mi-28, causing it to erupt in a small explosion of flame and shrapnel. It caused Jenny to smile for a moment that felt like it was truly the end, and she had been at least saved
.However, she watched, as she quickly realized that the explosion had only masked the fact that the helicopter had been critically hit, and was going down. Jenny just kept moving, as she noticed that it span violently out of control, the left engine completely written off and most of the airframe gone along with it. Running, not jogging up the stairs, Jenny kept moving, as she made her way to the top of the stairs, now absolutely exhausted to the full extent of the word. The helicopter span violently behind, as Jenny simply moved as fast as she possibly could through the door, but something held her back. Jenny realized it- in slow motion; she had tripped up, as she came through the door of the Church, looking directly behind at the pillars that she had just passed. She had no other option, but to watch the helicopter that was spinning out of control, come right toward the front of the church.
The helicopter slammed into the pillars of the front of the Church, and quickly stopped there. Jenny simply watched, as some of the pillars crumbled, and others completely disintegrated, as the helicopter was practically destroyed on the spot, in front of Jenny. She knew it was a hell of a close one, as she sat up, and watched it take the pillars of the front of the church apart, the temple like structure now ruined by a huge helicopter that had fallen in the square, and practically taken out the entire temple-like structure of the front of the church. Still, Jenny knew it could be worse- she was inside the actual church itself, and not on the stairs, where she had been moments earlier and probably crushed by the pillars falling and the helicopter's wreckage. Jenny knew that it was another good moment, as she stood up, the helicopter's cockpit falling out of the cradle of the pillar it was stuck in, and joining the rest of it on the ground. Jenny never felt like she was happier to live.
"Bloody hell, that was mental. Baseplate, couldn't have you dealt with that earlier?" Jenny asked, as she walked into the church, mostly vandalized and a shadow of it's former self.
"Negative, Knight-One-One. I didn't have the drone in area, but I hope it helped when it got there. He nearly had you." Baseplate said, as Jenny laughed over the comms. Jesus, that was an understatement, she thought to herself. And this church, inside anyway, which had once looked so beautiful, was now a write off. It was worth fixing still, but Jenny knew that as with the rest of Europe by now, there were many construction projects that were going to have to be done. Jenny couldn't be bothered to explain how close she had come to being killed, as she stood up, noticing she had tripped on a step, one that she knew could have been the difference between life and death. At least it wasn't, not in that situation anyway. She cursed to herself, as she picked herself up, and replied.
"I know. Any hostiles in this church?" Jenny asked, as she reloaded the FAD, and walked through the church, panting hard and now only keeping a slow walk.
"Negative. It's should be clear of hostiles, but watch out in there. I'm bringing up the drone over it, and I'll give you a sit rep of your forward area." Baseplate replied, as Jenny scanned around, with her FAD. She reloaded the M320 again, and aware that she had reloaded before the chopper came, that being a plus for now. Along with her suit, she knew that being heavily armed helped, when you were outnumbered. Still, for the moment, Jenny wanted to switch back to her L86, for a little more firepower and aimed control, despite the bulk of it. So ditching the FAD on the carpet of the church, she took the L86 back in her hand, switching the safety on, and she picked up the FAD, taking it in her right hand by the top of the rail, before putting it on her back next to her equipment rucksack. The church itself was illuminated by the numerous windows, and candles, which seemed like they still burned despite the place being pretty badly damaged. The roof had caved in one area, but in others, it looked fine. The walls held up well, and there was just a lot of dust, and broken benches, probably used for mass. Jenny felt pretty confident in her ability to take hits, but she knew that this church had definitely taken a lot.
"Okay, the church is clean. Believe it or not, this area is. Looks like they're really spread thin…woah, hang on. Down Rue Tronchet, there's hordes of them. I can identify five IR beacons, GIGN, and a whole cluster of resistance troops."
"Dammit…let me guess, the Russians found them?"
"They're a whole platoon or two bearing down. They're being outfought, and they're really about to get squeezed."
"Oh…fuck. That's a whole load of civilians out of it. I'm working on it- I think I'll be able to get out through the rear emergency exit, onto the street."
"Got it. I've got two tanks inbound…"
"Take them out. My day's as shit as it can be, so I am not going head on against one of those, if that's what you think I need to go through on that street."
"I'm working on them. Just get to them as fast as you possibly can. My advice is you flee with them, probably to Montmartre Hill where the Deltas are going in." Baseplate added, as Jenny knew that to herself, the chances were of the GIGN getting through this in one piece, was unlikely.
"That's roughly two kilometres away. No chance- we'd need transport, or at least I would." Jenny suggested, as she kept moving, through the church. She adjusted the holographic a little, as she kept walking down the middle, toward the Altar. She knew this was still a house of God, after all, and even in this state, she knew that to start a firefight in here wasn't going to go down well with her spiritual side. She was an Agnostic, but she once had been a strong Catholic. Now, she didn't know what she was. She was a warrior, but she knew that at least she had to give some respect, as she approached the altar, and the dome that defined the church could be above. She made the sign of the cross, by the Altar, and simply waked past, as she knew that she had left it behind.
"I know what you mean, but you'd have to just find another way. I know it'll be hard, but I'll work on something. If it goes to shit, you know the drill, Lieutenant." Baseplate said, as Jenny randomly nodded, looking up at the dome, and then back at the entrance. The helicopter burned, and she heard the distinct crumbling of the pillars, that had stood for centuries to simply be damaged now. It was a shame, but war did this to society.
"I know. Just keep me informed- and when you see tanks in my proximity, take 'em out." Jenny said, as she heard the usual "Roger" back from Baseplate, almost automatic in the response. For the moment however, she had to keep on top of this, so she searched for a way out, out of the back. She finally found it- a locked wooden door, probably to the Priest's quarters, and she took a random guess that this might be a way out, of some emergency exit even. Jenny simply shot off the lock on the door with a few rounds of L86, and then kicked it down, as she entered. She was only guessing here- but she had a feeling that this led to a way out, of some kind. The room was dark, but the candles that stood around the altar had at least lit the place up with some vague lighting, and she could just about make out another door. Going by gut instinct again, she walked up to it, and slowly opened it, this one being open at least. Jenny knew that in the church, it had given her a chance to get a breather, and that at least helped. Sweat poured all over her forehead, and all over her body, inside the suit which now felt like a furnace. It felt like she was on fire, as the adrenaline settled, and she reminded herself that it was only there because of the fear, and the fact that the sweat had nowhere to go. It steamed up her visor, but she knew that eventually, it would diffuse out, as she thought things through. But as she opened the door, Jenny relieved that it went outside, she looked out to see what she knew wasn't the most pleasant sight to see in Paris.
Russians were running down the street, armed with AK-47s, AN-94s, and PP-19s, and headed straight down Rue Tronchet. Right to them. She could see some fire up ahead, and a lot of gunfire. Fuck, it had to be them, she thought to herself. A tank rolled past, as Jenny walked out, this door it seemed a private way to get into the Priest's quarters. She shut the door behind her, as she kept an eye out, ready for anything.
"Okay, tank on my front. You got it?" Jenny asked, as she kept going down the stairs, on this little side exit. She had been incognito for long enough, she thought to herself, as she looked at the troops following the tank. It seemed that now, she had to fight her way through to them, and it was going to get nasty.
"Dropping munitions now. One more tank ahead- I'll clear them out before they can do any damage." Baseplate said, as Jenny got her heartrate back to normal, and focussed on what was next. She took the L86 at her shoulder, not at the hip, and aiming it, waited for the fireworks. She knew that in the darkness, and with the black of her suit, she was practically out of sight in the shadow and darkness of the church, for the moment anyway. Jenny knew that when she opened fire, however, it would be a different story.
She watched, as the rocket came out of the sky, and before a single one of the Russians got the chance to yell that there was a drone, it hit. Hard. The rocket ripped apart the T-90's turret, and it violently exploded, as the ammunition was quickly destroyed. A few of the infantry behind it were killed in the blast, or hit by shrapnel, and the ones that survived were confused. It was the perfect distraction- one that Jenny planned on making full use of. Opening fire on the remainder of the patrol, around 3 to 5 people, she quickly dropped them, as she kept moving, down the stairs. Another rocket rang out, as it hit a little further along, at where the fires in the distance could be seen. All Jenny knew, was that for the moment, things were not looking so good for the GIGN at the moment.
Afterword: So yeah…Chapter 3 I hoped delivered some more gunfights and thrills to the story, than after Chapter 1. That said, I know that this is becoming a little too solitary, so I promise that in the next chapter, the GIGN will be properly introduced, and I can get some dialogue in. That's it for now, and I hope I left you on a pretty decent cliffhanger.
