Chapter 7: Rain Fire!
A military satellite tracked Lieutenant Nakamura's team in Shinjuku after Fujimura was captured. The primary extraction point was set to be on top of Waseda High School and the Black Hawk helicopter was already en route. However, the bad news was that a large group of enemy forces was detected and converging in order to stop Nakamura's team. The Prime Minister was watching anxiously the situation from the war room at Hyakuri Air Base alongside JASDF General Tsukamoto and JGSDF Colonel Takahashi.
"Gentlemen, what is the contingency plan if the Russians get in the area before the helicopter arrives for extraction?" the Prime Minister asked.
"Our AC-130 Spectre gunship, callsign Valkyrie, will be flying at 12,000 feet fully armed for direct air-to-ground support while Nakamura's team moves to the secondary extraction zone. I also requisitioned elements from the 305th Fighter Squadron to be loaded with bombs if we have to drop something on the enemy in order to open a path for the team." General Tsukamoto replied first.
"We already sent the team's coordinates to US Central Command. Overlord has moved Sergeant Foley's Ranger QRF in position on the Metropolitan Expressway No. 5 with 4 Humvee vehicles. Should we have to switch to secondary exfil, they would drive to the extraction zone, extract our team on the Humvees, follow the expressway, ride all the way back to the Chiyoda Ward under allied-controlled territory and another air transport will wait for them over there to fly back here." Colonel Takahashi added.
"I hope we will succeed, gentlemen. This man Fujimura is the key to unearth the extent of this conspiracy behind the gas attack. We cannot lose our only shot to find out why our country was attacked in the first place."
"Don't worry, Sir. We'll get all of them back home and safe." the SFG colonel finished.
October 10, 2016 – 13:08
1st Special Forces Group Company, Urban Warfare Platoon
Near Waseda High School, Shinjuku, Tokyo
The Black Hawk helicopter arrived in the area and was about to land on top of the school. At ground level and a few meters away from the school, Lieutenant Nakamura and his soldiers sighed in relief at the sight of their transport arriving. "There's our ride. Get Fujimura! To the school, let's go!" Nakamura ordered.
"Move, you fat bastard!" Ken ordered Fujimura as the tall operator dragged the prisoner on the move towards the school.
"You won't get away that easily! I've done nothing wrong, you lapdogs for the Americans. Go fuck yourselves!" Fujimura yelled angrily at the SFG operators.
"Not a nice thing to say in front of women. Say one more word, and I'll get you a nice steel cage for a 1-on-1 fight against me to see who will get fucked here." Natsumi replied with a mean look in her eyes as she grabbed Fujimura by the collar and helped Ken dragging the traitor over.
"Come on, guys! Let's go!" Shouji asked Natsumi and Ken to move.
Suddenly, the Black Hawk got hit by a rocket and exploded in the air before the burning wreckage was falling quickly towards Nakamura's team position. In front of the new danger, he immediately ordered everyone to move: "Everyone, get in the school! Hurry!"
Everyone ran quickly to safety inside the school, but Natsumi had to make a desperation dive towards the inside of the building to avoid the falling wreckage and other debris. When she turned back and saw the remains of the Black Hawk helicopter only a few meters away from her, she became livid for a few seconds thinking about how she cheated death again. "That was… too close for comfort!" she said breathlessly before Shouji and Miyuki went to check her.
"Home 1, primary LZ is compromised. Our bird is down. No survivors on board. Moving to secondary extraction point, but we will need air support." Nakamura notified Colonel Takahashi.
At 12,000 feet above, the AC-130U gunship coming from Hyakuri Air Base was circling on top of the school. Lieutenant Takuya Isurugi, the Spectre's Combat System Officer (CSO; also known as the navigator), checked the weapons systems as he knew that the Spectre will have to intervene once more in this mission. "Targeting systems online. TV, confirm you see the friendlies." Takuya ordered.
"Got eyes on friendlies." the TV operator replied.
"Crew, do not fire on any targets marked by a white diamond signature. Those are friendlies." Lieutenant Yoko Shiromenjaku, the Fire Control Officer (FCO), ordered the firing crew.
"Crew, be advised. We are not authorized to level any building. Do not fire on the buildings. There might be civilians still in there." Takuya notified.
"Roger that, navigation. Crew, do not engage the buildings." Yoko repeated to the firing crew.
"Bravo 1, we're established in orbit. Request mark, over." Takuya contacted Lieutenant Nakamura.
"Green smoke on the LZ on top of the school, that's our position. Need you to clear a path to the North on the street adjacent to the building. Anything except danger close is clear to shoot." Nakamura notified back to Takuya.
"Roger that, Bravo 1. Crew, you are clear to engage anything running in the streets towards our guys except danger close. Those are hostiles."
Immediately, the AC-130U fired down on groups of enemy troops and transport vehicles in the area. Takuya already ordered his gunners to use the 25 mm GA12 Gatling gun on the troops while vehicles would be dealt with the 40 mm Bofors cannon. The Russians on the ground didn't know how to react against this new threat raining fire upon them except trying to hide from the shots. Many of them were turned into mincemeat by the Spectre's deadly gifts from above. "Kaboom!" Yoko exclaimed.
"Woahhhh!" the AC 130's TV operator also exclaimed at the sight of a truck exploding upon impact. It was probably also carrying loads of ammunition on board.
"Vehicle destroyed. Nail those guys by the building... right there." Yoko notified as she identified the targets near an apartment building a little further to the North of the school. Without waiting, shots were fired again with the 40 mm cannon in the street to kill more enemies. "More enemy personnel, get those guys." Yoko ordered. More rounds were fired and took care of another group of Russian soldiers.
"Bravo 1. We're seeing enemy activity coming your way through a few buildings. Recommend your team to mark your position and take cover until we've swept up, over." Takuya said.
"Roger, Valkyrie. Standing by." Nakamura replied before he marked his team's position with a smoke grenade.
The AC-130U fired most of its weapons to a safe distance ahead of the smoke and onwards, but mostly avoided using the 120 mm mortar because of the narrowness of the streets and the absence of more solid targets at the moment. Still, the Spectre swept through the streets easily with such firepower. As the AC-130 moved up North, Yoko saw a large column of BTRs and a few T90s at an intersection with a boulevard. She ordered the crew to fire a few 120 mm shells on them. Although the shots were effective, the Spectre couldn't afford to waste too much ammunition on targets which were not a direct threat to Nakamura's team on the ground yet.
"I have lots of vehicles and enemy armour coming down the boulevard ahead. Recommend Vampire to make a pass on them." the TV operator notified.
"Solid Copy, TV. Home 1, you have green light for bomb run on targets on the boulevard from West to East." Takuya called Central Command.
"Copy. West to East. Vampire 1, Vampire 3, you're clear for bomb run." General Tsukamoto replied before the 2 F-35s received the coordinates to make their attacking run.
"Crew, hold your fire. Friendlies coming in the target area." Yoko ordered the firing crew. Then, the flight of F-35s arrived and bombed the entire vehicle setup on the intersection and further to the East of the boulevard, wiping all enemy armour in the area.
"Hot damn!" the TV operator shouted at the massive display of explosions sweeping down the street.
"Nice! I'd keep on pouring fire on them all day like that if I can." Yoko added.
"Good kills good kills, Vampire. Bravo 1, enemy vehicle column neutralized, proceed to the North, over." Takuya notified.
"Roger that, Valkyrie."
"We have a chopper hovering on the street to the North of the intersection. Nail that one." Yoko notified the firing crew who switched to the 25 mm Gatling gun to destroy the helicopter before a single soldier even started rappelling down. From the moment Nakamura's team reached the intersection from the South, enemy personnel started firing RPGs towards them from the apartment building at the Northeast corner of the intersection.
"Woahh! Someone's just fired an RPG from that building!" the TV operator said.
"Valkyrie, we've got RPG fire from the building at the Northeast corner of the intersection. Request you to rain fire on them now!"
"Copy that, Bravo 1. Home 1, we're seeing small arms and RPG fire from the corner building to the Northeast. Request permission to engage."
"Copy. Standby." General Tsukamoto replied before he looked at the Prime Minister for approval. The answer left no doubt at all as Japan's elected leader made a nod to allow the gunship to fire at the building. "Affirmative, Valkyrie. You are clear to fire on buildings with enemy personnel inside."
"Crew, you're clear to engage the corner building. Use the 120." Takuya ordered. Immediately, the gunner working with the 120 mm mortar fired the round which landed straight into the apartment building, reducing it to rubbles in the resulting explosion.
"That building's done." the TV operator said.
"Bravo 1, you're clear to proceed to the Rihga Royal Hotel Tokyo. American Ranger QRF should arrive to you shortly." Takuya notified to Lieutenant Nakamura.
"Thanks for the assist, Valkyrie! We're moving to the location now."
Suddenly, cannon fire and missiles streaked past the AC-130. At the same time, the missile alarm went off as an enemy fighter jet was firing at the gunship. "Heads up, Valkyrie! MiG inbound on your 10. Break! Break!" Captain Isurugi warned from her F-35.
"Incoming missile! Hold tight!" the AC-130U pilot warned everyone on board before he piloted the gunship into a few evasive manoeuvres.
"Flares! Flares!" Yoko ordered the crew to drop the countermeasures and dodge the Russian missiles. Finally the Spectre escaped the missiles, but the pilot knew they'll need to clear the area.
"Bravo 1, we've got MiGs and are under heavy enemy fire. Give us 10 minutes to circle back around." the pilot notified Nakamura.
"Solid copy, Valkyrie. Bravo 1, out." the JGSDF officer finished before he ordered his team to keep moving to the hotel and take cover until the Sergeant Foley's Rangers arrive in position.
Meanwhile up in the sky, the 305th Fighter Squadron's F-35s dispatched for this mission were engaging the few Russian MiG-29s who were the remains from the small squadron established at the captured Iruma Air Base, the former home of the Airbats. "Of all the battles being fought right now, those Russian fighters had to make a last stand here. You've got to be kidding me!" Captain Arisa Mitaka said as she flew behind a MiG-29 trying to have a lock. Once she got the lock, Arisa fired her AIM-9 Sidewinder missile and the rocket blew the enemy fighter jet into shreds upon impact.
"Gotcha, you bastard!" Arisa cursed after her last kill.
At some distance, First Lieutenant Touya Kisaka was tracking another MiG-29 and moved behind it within gun range. Once in good firing position, he fired his GAU-22/A 25 mm rotary cannon and the bullets pierced through the Russian jet before it blasted into a ball of fire. "Splashed!" he said to confirm his kill.
Meanwhile, Captain Sakura Saginomiya locked on another enemy fighter and fired a missile which reached its target within seconds. However, the threat alarm on Sakura's F-35 went off as the Russian team leader tried to shoot her down from behind with the machine gun. Sakura got the MiG leader to follow her and, at the last second, she suddenly turned her plane to make a barrel roll. Now the Russian plane was within Sakura's sights as she went after the MiG-29 and fired the machine gun on him. Sakura's salvo directly hit the enemy pilot and the Russian plane went down in flames before exploding on the ground. "That's only 4 of them. Where's the 5th enemy jet?" Sakura asked.
"Vampire 4 to Valkyrie, you have another MiG closing in your 7 and fast!" Touya warned the AC-130 as he saw the enemy plane moving into shooting position almost behind the Japanese gunship. Indeed, the last MiG-29 took advantage of the dogfight to sneak behind the AC-130U and try to unleash a missile to it. Unfortunately for the Russian, Captain Isurugi's F-35 quickly moved in firing position behind the MiG.
"I've got the bastard locked on. Vampire 2, Fox 2!" Captain Miyuki Isurugi said before she unleashed her missile. Within a few seconds, the Sidewinder missile fired by the Japanese plane blasted the last MiG out of the sky. "Vampire 2 to Valkyrie, I shot down the last MiG on your 6. Skies are now friendly. You're clear to move back into ground support position." Captain Isurugi notified her husband, the Spectre's CSO.
"Way to go, Vampire 2!" Yoko shouted triumphantly.
"Copy that, 2... Thanks! I'm glad you saved us, honey. I'll hug you when we get back." Takuya thanked his wife who smiled at the last phrase from the always positive and always encouraging Takuya. Within the next second, the AC-130's pilot turned his plane to move back in firing position.
While the AC-130 was making evasive manoeuvres to dodge fire from the MiG-29s, Lieutenant Nakamura's team moved up the street and took defensive positions inside the hotel. They knew the US Army Rangers would come, but also knew there was a danger that Russians might overrun the team before help could arrive.
"What's the plan now?" Natsumi asked.
"We wait here and defend our lives until Sergeant Foley's Rangers arrive with Humvees to get us out of here." Shouji replied.
Meanwhile, Ken and Corporal Ishida were still guarding Fujimura in tight custody. However, their presence didn't keep the prisoner from behaving arrogantly and talking all kinds of phrases to get on the SFG operators' nerves: "You are now screwed, isn't it? They won't let anyone get out alive unless you surrender. I might be able to negotiate and make sure you'll be treated well."
"Can anybody get this twat to shut his mouth already?" Newcastle asked with an angry tone.
Miyuki Kobayakawa decided she had enough as well and she immediately put a gag on Fujimura's mouth. Much to the satisfaction of everyone in the room, nobody had to hear his voice again. "Thanks, Miyuki. About time he shuts his mouth!" Shouji spoke in the name of everyone on the team.
Within a few minutes, a familiar English-speaking voice called at the other end of Nakamura's radio frequency: "Bravo 1, this is Hunter 2-1. What's your status, over?"
"Hunter 2-1, it's good to hear you. We're at the hotel waiting for extraction. What's your ETA?" Nakamura asked.
Before Foley could reply, machine gun fire ripped the hotel's lobby and the only thing he could hear at the other end of the radio was gunfire. Everyone from Nakamura's team as well as their prisoner got their heads down and took cover behind anything solid they could find. Confused about what was going on, Foley took the radio and asked Nakamura for clarifications: "Bravo 1, what the hell was that? What's going on?"
"Bravo 1 to Hunter 2-1. We are at the hotel, but we've got a BTR firing at us from the main street in front of our position. What's your ETA, over?"
"We'll arrive on scene in less than 5 minutes. Please hold on!" Foley replied.
"Try to double-time it now!" Nakamura finished before he switched communications with the Japanese AC-130U gunship: "Valkyrie, this is Bravo 1. We're in the hotel, but we're taking heavy fire from enemy armour on Shin Mejiro Street from the West. Where are you?"
"Valkyrie to Bravo 1, we're back on station. Mark your targets, over."
"Solid copy, Valkyrie. We're marking the enemy armour with smoke." Nakamura replied before he turned to one of his most trusted men: "Kamiya, throw some smoke on the BTR. We'll cover you."
With his squadmates providing covering fire, the JGSDF corporal threw a smoke grenade which landed right next to the enemy BTR on the street; the smoke gave the visual cue the crew in the AC-130U needed to identify the distance between the target and the friendly forces on the ground. "OK, we have your mark. Firing." Takuya notified. The AC-130 fired its 120 mm cannon and the enemy BTR was destroyed alongside multiple enemies within seconds, thanks to the deadly accuracy of the shot.
"Take defensive positions now!" Nakamura ordered to everyone. As the 9 operators took position, they unleashed heavy fire towards the incoming Russian ground troops. Natsumi and Miyuki took aim with their rifles at running enemies and dropped them with deadly accuracy.
"I've got 4 kills here. Miyuki, you have runners at 2 o'clock." Natsumi said to her friend.
"Got them! They won't get past my aim." Miyuki replied before she fired another headshot at a female Russian soldier. This time, Miyuki didn't think about anything else but to kill all threats wearing an enemy uniform and she sometimes finished off fallen enemies who had enough strength to fight despite their wounds. To avoid any reaction like the one she had towards wounded enemies earlier, she kept on repeating to herself that everyone wearing a North Korean or Russian uniform is a threat to her life at all times.
"Enemy choppers inbound! Fire at them!" Shouji warned everyone as a pair of Russian Mi-26s arrived on top of across the street north of the hotel. The helicopters were hovering to drop troops as reinforcements for the units already on the ground.
"I'll get a rocket on one of those choppers." Ken notified as he swapped his rifle for an RPG-7 that he stole from a dead enemy earlier. The tall operator aimed his launcher at the first helicopter which dropped out ropes for enemy soldiers to rappel down; he knew he had to take it down fast. As he got his aim steady, Ken fired the rocket which flew towards the helicopter at 115 meters/second. At such speed, the Russian helicopter pilot did not have time to react and the round exploded upon impact. After the impact, the damaged Mi-26 drifted sideways and then cut the second Mi-26 transport helicopter's tail with the tail rotor. By mutually damaging each other, the 2 Russian helicopters went crashing further away in the streets and 2 explosions could be heard as a result.
"Two birds with one stone, Kenny! Great shot!" Miyuki praised Ken for the double kill he just earned.
"You're the man, Kenny!" Natsumi added with enthusiasm before everyone else on the team praised him afterwards.
"I can't believe I did that!" Ken said as he was still astonished at what he just did with a single rocket. Meanwhile, the AC-130U continued to rain fire with its machine gun and its Bofors cannon to clear the area of enemies for the time the 4-Humvee column reach the hotel. After Sergeant Foley's vehicle column left the Expressway, the Humvees headed on Shin Mejiro Street to the West.
"Bravo 1, this is Hunter 2-1. We are on our way towards the hotel. ETA 30 seconds. Get your people and the prisoner ready for a quick exfil." Sergeant Foley said to Lieutenant Nakamura through his radio.
"Solid copy, Hunter 2-1. Thirty seconds, people! Get your backpacks ready, we're leaving soon." Nakamura turned to his team. Thirty seconds later, the convoy arrived right in front of the hotel and the long wait for extraction was over. "It's damn good to see you, guys!"
"Me too, Lieutenant. The LZ is over 3 klicks from here, inside Chiyoda. That area is under American and Japanese control. We only have the front and back vehicles with an extra man each manning the .50-cal machine gun. It means that we have room for 10 people, but 2 of your guys will have to man the machine guns in order to provide support fire in a case of enemy attacks."
"Solid copy, Sergeant." Nakamura said to the African-American sergeant before he turned to his squad mates. "We'll split up to get everyone in the vehicles. Kobayakawa and Nakajima, you get with Sergeant Foley in the leading vehicle. Suzuki and I will take the prisoner in the second vehicle with Corporal Dunn. Toukairin, Tsujimoto and Newcastle, get in the third vehicle with Ramirez. Finally, Kamiya and Ishida, you move in the last vehicle. All right, let's move!"
Immediately, the 9 SFG operators took their assigned places in the Humvees and got their weapons ready as they expected heavy resistance coming their way. While the Japanese operators got themselves and the prisoner on board, the AC-130 continued to fire in the surroundings. However, more enemies appeared on the TV monitors as the Russians and North Koreans seemingly deployed most of their forces in pursuit.
"Valkyrie to Hunter 2-1, recommend you to clear out of there. Enemy presence is getting substantial." Takuya Isurugi notified Sergeant Foley in English.
"Solid copy, Valkyrie. We secure, Lieutenant?"
"Secure! Let's roll!" Nakamura replied to Foley with the signal for the convoy to move out now. The Humvees then started to move out as they took on the opposite direction to where they came from. "Valkyrie, this is Hunter 2-1. We're moving out!"
"Copy that, Hunter 2-1. Providing covering fire on targets except danger close. Still recommend you to get ready to fight your way in close range." Takuya notified the acting commander of Hunter 2-1 as the Spectre would now try to shoot down as many enemy vehicles going after the convoy as possible before running out of ammo.
"Where are we going?" Miyuki asked the American Ranger sergeant.
"We'll follow the Metropolitan Expressay to the East. If we reach Chiyoda, we'll be back in the area under US and Japanese control. There's a V-22 Osprey waiting over there to get you back to your Central Command. Just hang on!" Foley replied as he took a turn to his left and engaged himself on the Expressway. Suddenly, a group of GAZ-2975s and Russian trucks carrying soldiers on board appeared behind the American vehicle column and started firing at them. The soldier on the 4th Humvee started firing his machine gun as the vehicle was now running side by side with Ramirez's Humvee, sometimes even moving ahead of the latter. They had to be careful as abandoned vehicles sometimes stood in the way as obstacles.
"I'm taking the .50! Natsumi, watch for the enemy trucks. If they move in our 7 o'clock, send them straight down to hell!" Shouji said.
"Count on me, Shouji!"
Shouji moved up to man the .50-cal machine gun and started firing at the nearest GAZ-2975. His volley of bullets ripped through the enemy gunner's chest, the enemy vehicle's engine and the Russian driver instantly before the GAZ-2975 exploded. Then a Russian troop transport truck appeared after the other enemy vehicle was shot down and the Ultranationalist soldiers started firing all together, forcing Shouji to fire back without aiming as he ducked back into the Humvee. Although a few enemy soldiers were hit by Shouji's salvo, the truck was now close to the Humvee's left side just a little behind.
"Natsumi, fire on that truck now!"
"He's mine!" Natsumi said just before she unleashed her 5.56 bullets through the truck's cabin, killing the driver and the soldier on the passenger's seat. Without anyone to drive anymore, the Russian truck flipped to the side, causing the following GAZ-2975 to crash into the fallen vehicle. After the 2 vehicles were destroyed in the last accident, another GAZ-2975 truck moved in pursuit and started firing immediately at the Humvee. Shouji fired back at the Russian 4x4 vehicle and his shots hit straight into the DShK machine gun, rendering it useless and forcing the gunner to retreat back in his vehicle. Suddenly, Shouji saw that the Russian gunner decided to shoulder an RPG-7 with the intention of destroying the Humvee instantly.
"I have a guy with an RPG on the truck behind us. Ramirez, take evasive manoeuvres to make this guy's life difficult. I'll try to shoot this bastard down." Shouji ordered the American private.
"I'm on it, Lieutenant!"
Ramirez then drove the Humvee by sliding it right and left, and the strategy seemed to work as the Ultranationalist soldier couldn't take a good aim with his RPG. Once the American private got the pursuing GAZ-2975 in the Humvee's 7 o'clock, Natsumi quickly took aim and fired her Type 89 carbine with 3 shots straight to the enemy gunner's chest. At the same time, Shouji managed a few hits on the gunner before he shifted his machine gun towards the driver. The result was deadly as Shouji's shots killed the driver and hit the enemy truck's engine, leading to another explosion.
Up in the sky, the AC-130U gunship fired a few 120 mm rounds with the mortar to neutralize enemy vehicles in greater distance behind the Humvees; the 40 mm Bofors cannon was kept silent in case danger close support against smaller targets would be necessary later on. As the AC-130's TV operator looked through his monitor, he spotted another threat coming towards the Humvees and it came from the air. "CSO, I have 3 Hinds closing in fast on the Humvees."
"Copy that, TV. Valkyrie to Bravo 1 and Hunter 2-1, you have 3 Hinds closing in fast on your 6. Trying to shoot them down, but recommend you to use your .50s." Takuya warned.
"Solid copy, Valkyrie. Toukairin, Suzuki, get back on your .50s and shoot those choppers down!" Nakamura ordered.
Shouji and Sergeant Suzuki manned the M2 Browning machine guns and started firing at the Mi-24 helicopters. However, hitting such a target in movement was far from easy as the Hinds made evasive manoeuvres and immediately retaliated by firing their rockets. Fortunately for the allied convoy, the Humvees' drivers managed to dodge the rockets fired at their vehicles. In the 3rd vehicle, Natsumi knew something had to be done quickly to get rid of the helicopters.
"Ramirez, are there weapons here that we can use against helicopters?" Natsumi asked.
"I think there's a Stinger missile launcher at the back right behind you, Sergeant Tsujimoto."
"Thanks! That's exactly what we need!" Natsumi replied before she moved at the back to reach the Stinger missile launcher case behind her and opened it. Natsumi then asked for help: "Shouji, I need your help to load this thing down here."
"If you have something that could help us shooting down the Hinds, I'd be happy to... whoa!" Shouji was surprised to see that his girlfriend found the perfect weapon to shoot down the helicopters when he got back inside the Humvee.
"Can you help me load the missile in this thing?"
"I'm on it, Natsumi." Shouji replied and then proceeded to load the missile in the launcher's tube. Once ready, Shouji moved up with the Stinger missile launcher through the roof of the Humvee. However unlike manning the machine gun, he couldn't find a stable stance as he couldn't hold a grip on anything attached on the Humvee while it was moving at high speed this time.
"Damn! This is too much; I can't find the stability I need to get my aim right!"
"Gotcha!" Natsumi replied as she grabbed Shouji by the waist from inside the vehicle in order to provide that stability he needed to aim at the helicopter. With that break, Shouji aimed through the launcher's sights and adjusted for the computerized system to have a lock on the nearest Hind. As the lock-on signal went on, Shouji unleashed his rocket and the flying projectile hit the first Hind before the Russian pilot could react, destroying it completely. Satisfied with the result, Shouji moved back inside the Humvee with a smile.
"One down! Two to go!" Natsumi exclaimed.
"Thanks! Natsumi, get me another missile. I'm going to toast the next one." Shouji replied before Natsumi moved to fetch another missile and helped to load it into the tube. Then, the AC-130 fired its 25 mm Gatling gun and hit one of the remaining 2 Hinds in pursuit.
"That Hind is done. Good hit right there." Yoko confirmed the kill as she watched from her screen.
"Valkyrie to Bravo team, second Hind has been shot down. Only one left." Takuya notified from 12,000 feet above as the CSO was still following the convoy on his monitor as well. A minute later, Shouji got a lock-on and fired his second Stinger missile towards the last pursuing Hind. However this time, the Hind avoided the missile by popping flares and suddenly started to move at some distance away from the convoy.
"The Hind's buggered off." Newcastle said.
"Must've run out of ammo! Good enough for me! We're almost there!" Lieutenant Nakamura added.
"No kidding... Damn! He's about to destroy the road!" Foley warned as the Hind fired its rockets to destroy the Expressway.
"Whoa! Stop! Stop! Stop!" Miyuki shouted as Foley was trying to stop his Humvee before it might fall down below.
"Shoot that Hind down!" Nakamura ordered. The gunners of the 2 vehicles leading the group, Sergeant Suzuki and Private McCord, fired their machine guns at the hovering Hind. This time, the Russian helicopter took fatal damage and started to drift away. However, the Russian pilot had the time to pull the trigger before the Hind went crashing and the last rocket flew straight towards the last Humvee. The rocket exploded upon impact on the back of the Humvee and sent it flipping over. Meanwhile after the convoy stopped, the soldiers from the first Humvee had another problem to deal with: escaping before the road collapses under them.
"The road won't hold for long. Get out! Get out! Move back!" Foley ordered Miyuki, Ken and McCord to run their way back to a safe area on the road. Once the 4 of them moved back to a safe area near the 2nd and 3rd Humvees, they watched the road collapsing with the Humvee they left. They sighed in relief knowing how close they were of falling down with the vehicle. At the same time, the crew of the AC-130 watched the situation from above.
"Two of our vehicles are down, one of them hit with a rocket. We have more hostile vehicles closing in fast." the TV operator said.
"We've got 2 Humvees down and the Expressway has been cut." Yoko confirmed.
"Valkyrie, the convoy is stalled. We have hostiles in our 6. Need you to hit them now! Danger close!" Nakamura called the Spectre for help.
"Solid copy, Bravo 1. Firing remaining 40 mm and 25 mm we have left for danger close fire." Takuya replied. Immediately, the AC-130 only fired the Bofors cannon and the Gatling gun on the vehicles knowing that using the 120 mm cannon from above would be too dangerous for the Expressway's structure at this point. However, the AC-130 was also running out of fuel and soon had to leave the battlefield. "Bravo 1, we're bingo on fuel. Have to pull back. Air support will come to you shortly." the AC-130 pilot notified the forces on the ground.
"Roger that, Valkyrie." Nakamura finished before he turned to the other soldiers. He knew that he had to send people to check the status of the soldiers in the 4th Humvee. "I need 3 people to move up to that Humvee and get the survivors out of there! We'll cover you. Newcastle, you keep an eye on Fujimura. The rest take defensive positions!"
Miyuki, Ken and Sergeant Suzuki volunteered for the rescue party and moved up towards the downed Humvee while their squad mates moved into defensive positions using the other Humvees as cover. The closing Russian forces started shooting before both the SFG and Ranger soldiers returned fire at them. Once the 3 rescuing operators arrived at the downed vehicle, they immediately checked for survivors.
"This is bad, boss! Kamiya and Ishida are dead." Suzuki notified Nakamura with dejection in his voice.
"Damn! What about the Americans?"
Before Suzuki could reply, Miyuki shouted asking for help: "I have one alive here! I need help to get him out!"
Indeed, the American driver was still alive and had his head upside down. Miyuki and Suzuki unbuckled his seatbelt and managed to move him outside of the upside-down Humvee. The soldier looked to suffer only minor injuries and bruises. The American soldier then opened his eyes and started speaking to Miyuki with a faint voice.
"Am... I... in Heaven?"
"Not yet! What's your name, Private?" Miyuki asked the American in English.
"Haggerty... Ma'am. What about Johnson?"
"Johnson didn't make it. But you'll be all right, Haggerty!" Miyuki replied before she turned towards Ken. "Kenny, take this soldier to safety! We'll cover you."
Ken immediately carried Haggerty towards the other Humvees while Miyuki and Suzuki opened fire towards the incoming Russians and North Koreans to cover Ken. With some training as a medic, Dunn checked Haggerty's wounds and noticed that they were mostly superficial. The thumbs-up sign he made towards Sergeant Foley reassured the latter who was hoping not to lose too many men in this mission, especially after surviving an invasion in Washington DC, an EMP and fierce battles in New York.
As Shouji fired towards the hostiles, he saw a North Korean soldier aiming an RPG-7 towards the downed Humvee. Shouji knew that Suzuki and Miyuki were targeted, but the RPG was fired as he tried to warn his friends. "Miyuki, Suzuki, RUN!"
Upon hearing Shouji's warning while the rocket was flying towards them, Miyuki started dashing away from the downed vehicle while Suzuki reacted a little late. However, the rocket-propelled grenade quickly flew towards the wreckage and the powerful explosion threw both Suzuki and Miyuki on the ground.
"MIYUKI!" Ken saw in horror that his loved one was lying on the ground after the explosion. A few seconds later, Miyuki slowly got back up and didn't seem to be wounded by shrapnel. However, she was wobbling and still shell-shocked because of the explosion. As Ken watched above Miyuki's shoulder in distance, he saw a Russian soldier swapping his assault rifle for a Dragunov sniper rifle and Miyuki was spotted in the Russian's field of vision. Knowing that she would not make it by wobbling like she did, Ken took a risky decision and ran towards her.
"Nakajima, don't!" Nakamura ordered.
"Miyuki, get down!" Ken shouted as he dashed towards her in order to shield her from the shooter. The Russian soldier fired his Dragunov SVD expecting to hit Miyuki with a fatal headshot, but Ken jumped in the bullet's trajectory at the last second. The armour-piercing 7.62 mm round pierced straight through Ken's Kevlar vest, ripping through his upper chest and flattening itself on the back of his Kevlar vest after exiting through his left shoulder blade. In the process, both Ken and Miyuki were thrown to the ground with Ken lying on top of Miyuki. After Miyuki fell on the ground for the second time in a row, she slowly regained her senses, and saw that Ken was unconscious and losing blood.
"KENNY, NOOOOOOO!" Miyuki screamed in panic as she feared that the worst just happened.
Natsumi spotted the enemy marksman through her ACOG scope and killed him with a single shot flying through both his scope and his right eye on the split second Natsumi came in his sights. In order to help her friends and Suzuki, Natsumi quickly threw a smoke grenade to make a screen. "Come on! I need a smokescreen! Throw some smoke grenades!"
On Natsumi's recommendation, Foley, Shouji and Ramirez threw their smoke grenades ahead of them. Once the smokescreen was set, the 4 of them also took advantage of McCord's, Nakamura's and Dunn's covering fire to move forward and pull Ken, Miyuki and Suzuki back to safety. Still panicked at the sight of Ken's wounds, Miyuki cried for help: "Kenny... MEDIC! I NEED A MEDIC HERE!"
Corporal Dunn quickly moved in to check Ken's wounds. Then he took out an elastic bandage, got Miyuki to hold the bandage down on the in-and-out wound while he tied it. Once he finished taking care of Ken, Dunn turned to Miyuki: "He took the bullet in the upper chest, but the bullet came out and no vital organ was hit. I patched the shoulder and the upper chest, but he keeps on losing blood. He needs to be evacuated and receive proper medical attention soon. If he regains consciousness, please try to keep him awake."
Miyuki was still frozen at the terrifying look of her loved one being badly wounded and unconscious; she didn't seem to have heard Dunn's words at all. With more urgent matters, the American corporal then moved to check Suzuki. The JGSDF sergeant was also losing blood from the shrapnel wounds he took in the legs. Dunn tried everything he could by applying the bandages on the wounds. "Bad news: Nakajima and Suzuki are both in bad shape. We might lose them out of their blood if they don't receive proper medical attention within the hour."
"Shit! What the hell is the CAS (Close Air Support) doing?" Shouji asked.
"I'm out of ammo!" Natsumi shouted after she emptied her last magazine.
"Last mag, Natsumi! Make it count!" Shouji gave his last mag to her as ammo was dangerously running low within the allied team.
"Shit! I'm hit!" McCord shouted as he took a stray bullet in his left shoulder and fell to the ground upon the force of the impact.
"Useless wankers! We need that air support now!" Newcastle cursed out loud at the absence of air support. To make things worse, Russian Mi-26 helicopters just dropped troops on top of the surrounding buildings, and those troops soon started pinning down the Japanese and American operators with heavy fire from distance.
Fifteen seconds after the Englishman cursed, a female voice answered at the other end of the line. It was the call they were waiting from the air support as the F-35s were now close: "Bravo team, this is Vampire 1. Can't tell who's down there. Need you to mark the targets."
"Negative, Vampire 1! Nothing left to use."
"Last mag! Get them here and fast, Lieutenant!" Newcastle shouted.
"We are pinned down near the vehicles on the edge of the collapsed part on the road. Guns only on the Expressway. Hit all buildings adjacent to it with everything you've got!" Nakamura notified his request to Sakura.
"Home 1, bomb run is going to level all buildings in the area. Requesting clearance." Sakura asked for her orders.
"Vampire, do whatever you have to do to get these men and women back home." General Tsukamoto replied as he clearly granted the clearance for Sakura and her team to drop bombs on the surrounding buildings and to attack the enemies on the Expressway.
"Bravo 1, this is Vampire 1. Going in for a strafing run." Sakura said as she flew her F-35 over the Expressway and unleashed her deadly machine gun fire upon the enemy vehicles.
"Vampire 2. Bombs away, bombs away." Captain Isurugi warned as she flew in and dropped her bombs on the buildings east of the Expressway. The result was devastating as the bombing run obliterated all the buildings occupied by the enemy on that side.
"Vampire 4. Bombs away, bombs away." Lieutenant Kisaka added as his own bombing run took care of the buildings west of the Expressway's lanes. Within a few seconds, over a dozen of buildings collapsed under the Airbats' bombing run. However, everyone knew it was the right thing to do in order to protect Nakamura's team. Seconds after, a large flight of Black Hawks, Apaches and Chinooks arrived in the area with American reinforcements. However, the transport that arrived to take the team back to Hyakuri Air Base was the same V-22 Osprey that carried them to the base 3 days ago.
As Raptor 2 was about to arrive in position to take Nakamura's team on board, Ken regained consciousness and started talking with a faint voice: "Miyuki..."
"Kenny! I'm right here. I'm really sorry." Miyuki said as she caressed Ken's cheeks. "Please stay with me. Don't die on me."
"I won't die on you... I'm glad that you're safe. Did the cavalry come to the rescue?"
"Yes, they did. We did it, Kenny. We're going back to the safe zone. Just hang on a little longer." Miyuki answered as she couldn't hold her tears from rolling down her cheeks.
The medics on board of the Osprey quickly arrived on the scene with the stretchers. Corporal Dunn led them towards Suzuki before he went towards Ken with another medic. "You're going to be all right, brother." Dunn said to comfort Ken and Miyuki also, indirectly. "Take the wounded on board! We must take them to the hospital quickly!" Dunn finally ordered the medics.
"Lieutenant Nakamura, please take your men and the prisoner on Raptor 2 with the wounded. We'll take the next flight." Foley said.
"Thank you again for your help, Sergeant Foley. We'll meet again at Hyakuri Air Base." Nakamura finished as both men shook hands before parting ways.
As Natsumi, Shouji, Miyuki, Nakamura and Newcastle took place in the Osprey alongside the wounded and the traitor Fujimura, they realized that the success of this mission came with a high price this time with 4 wounded and 3 dead among the 15 men and women, Japanese operators and US Army Rangers who fought their way to capture the traitor behind what started it all in Japan. As the V-22 flew to top speed back towards the base, everyone knew that it wasn't quite over and that they were about to face more challenges in their war against the people responsible of instigating it.
Notes: Finally, the last 2 members of the original 801st T.T.S. group made their appearance in different roles here. Being a plane freak without any prerequisites to become a pilot, I always felt that Takuya would be better off becoming a navigator/CSO while he'd still work sometimes as a plane mechanic for a hobby. Unlike what some people might think, the CSO is the Mission Commander on the aircraft; that's why Takuya looked to be in charge of the Spectre's mission. Meanwhile, we all know that Yoko is nowhere near being qualified to be a pilot in this army. That's why I recycled her to be the Spectre's FCO.
Now that Ken is wounded and won't see any action on the field anymore while Nakamura lost 2 of his men with the 3rd being wounded as well, it all comes down to a typical small band of 4-5 people now. In next chapter, a few YUA characters will make a return and it will be more of a break between 2 missions.