Meanwhile….
Last Man Battalion Observation Post JULIETT
West 23rd and 8th
Rooftop patio
Troops on station:
Spc. 4 Stephanie "Steph" Graves - Sniper
Cpl. Jayson Shaw - Spotter
Ssgt. William Howard - Squad Leader
Sgt. George Downs - Security
Cpl. John "Mac" McCallister - Security
Pfc. Kyle Stefoski - Medic
"I got somethin'. Two, walkin' away from the burning truck."
"ID?"
"Dunno. Probably Rioters."
Shaw shrugs with doubt.
"That's some serious hardware for Rioters."
"Wait a second…" I say, adjusting my scope. I eye the person with a plaid jacket, who gives a playful shove to their companion. A ring of orange glows on their wrist.
"They're Division." I say, clicking my safety to 'off'.
"You sure?" Shaw asks.
"Sure as shit. They aren't rogue either." I settle my sights on 'Plaid', but the wind starts to pick up.
"Push left four for wind...wait. Why did they stop?"
The one with the white winter coat points directly at our position.
"Shit!" I mutter, flipping my glare cover down. "They saw my scope. I still have a shot."
"Send it."
Suddenly, as Sarah points at where the flash was, a sledgehammer of molten fire slams into my thigh. I scream in surprise and searing pain as I fall into the snow.
"Jay! Fuck!" Sarah springs into action, dragging me behind a nearby UPS van. She drops the duffel and reaches into her bag, taking out a small green cylinder.
"Hit. One down. Incapacitated." Shaw confirms. I cycle the bolt on my rifle and watch 'Plaid' drag their partner out of the street. I follow the trail of blood and wait for them to reappear.
I stab the needlepoint into Jay's leg just above the wound, then watch as the bleeding slowly stops. Jay reaches back for her MK14 marksman rifle.
"Did you see where it came from?" She asks through gritted teeth.
"Yeah."
"Here." She shoves the rifle into my hands. "Just gimme a minute."
I drop into the snow and pull myself to the other side of the van, keeping it between me and the sniper. I take off my bag and prop the rifle on it as the building comes into view.
"Anything?" I ask quietly, seeing some movement in front of the truck, but nothing to shoot at.
"No." Shaw replies.
On the roof level, I see two people in solid white ghillie suits. A sniper team. I settle my sights on the spotter.
"Must be hiddi-" Shaw is suddenly cut off by a loud *crack* followed by a violent impact to his head. He drops the spotter scope, which has a large blood spatter on it.
"Jesus!" I hiss, quickly scanning the street for the shooter. I scan the van where the two went and take a shot at "Whitey" again. The bullet hits the hood next to their head. Suddenly, a spatter of concrete chips flies up after a shot likely from "Plaid". My sights land on a plaid red figure lying in the snow on the sidewalk.
"There you are…" I mutter, cycling the bolt and resting my finger on the trigger.
A puff of red signifies the end of the sniper team.
"Now you see me... now you're dead." I mutter, letting out the breath I was holding and slink back to Jay, who is now standing and leaning against the van hood.
"Got 'em." I say, passing the rifle back. "You good?"
"Through and through." Jay replies, slinging the rifle away. "Who was that?"
"Don't know. The were wearing white, with red armbands. Never seen them before." I wipe the snow away.
"Let's check it out." Jay says, picking up her duffel.
"Graves! Shaw!" Stefoski calls. "Everything cool up here?"
Seeing spatters of crimson, I know the worst.
"Oh shit…" I mutter.
"Steph!" Stefoski runs to Graves first and rolls her onto her side, before seeing the large gorey hole in her forehead.
"They're gone." He says, finding a similar scene with Shaw.
"Howard, it's Downs." I say into the radio. "Graves and Shaw are both dead."
"Who were they shooting at?" Howard asks.
"Don't know...but he's one helluva shot."
"Guys!" Mac interrupts. "I see two suspicious characters out front. They look like the Division Agents the boss told us about."
"Stefoski, Downs! Get back down here. We might have trouble."
"It's always the pretty ones…" Stefoski mutters quietly, pulling Graves' windbreaker down and taking her tags. We quickly retreat back into the building.
"At least they went down swinging." I reply, eyeing a couple of empty shell casings next to Steph.
"HQ, this is FOB Juliett." Howard begins. "We've got two Division Agents approaching our position. They've already downed our snipers. We're engagi-AAUGH!"
Ssgt. Howard is suddenly cut off by a burst of gunfire. Stefoski and I stop on the stairs as a shootout engulfs the lobby of our building.
"Downs! Where are you?!" McCallister calls out. "Howard is down! Bring Stefos-AAOOUUHH!"
"FOB Juliett?" Command replies. "Staff Sergeant Howard? Anyone from Juliett, come in!"
With that, the shooting stops. Stefoski flashes me a nervous look, which I mirror back to him.
"Stairs here!" Says a female voice.
"Who are these guys, anyway?" Asks another.
"That banner down there said ''Last Man Battalion''. Never heard of ''em." The first voice replies, their footfalls echoing up the stairs where Stefoski and I are waiting.
"You're about to." I say, raising my rifle.
"To the...Last...Man…" The last soldier croaks as he slumps into a heap next to his buddy. Jay takes the lead to the roof as I watch our backs. She pushes open the door and we find the cleared sniper nest.
"Huh...nice shooting." Jay observes, nodding to the clean headshots the team was eliminated with.
I shrug. "Lately I've been getting a lot of practice. Let's get outta here."
"Lighthouse, here we come." Jay says with a tired smile.
Half an hour later…
"This is troubling news." Says Benitez as he looks over our pictures of FOB Juliett. He rubs his stubble. "I've had a few patrols disappear in this area, but we just assumed it was Rikers."
"Another faction stepping up to the plate…" Faye says. "...is bad. I've heard of the LMB. They're PMCs. Hired by the top one percent in the city to protect them when the shit hit the fan. Then they got left behind. I thought they made an alliance of sorts with the JTF?"
Benitez shakes his head, setting down his coffee mug. "If they did...it's over now. Who shot first?"
"They did." Jay replies, patting her leg. The holes left in her pants are still stained with blood. Benitez looks at Faye.
"There you go."
"So what next?" I ask.
"Forget the LMB for now." Says Faye. "We've got a bigger fish to fry." She opens a manila folder and slides it to us.
"Larae Barrett." She crosses her arms, likely expecting a reaction other than blank stares.
"Who?" I ask after a moment.
"Leader of the Rikers." Benitez explains. "She organized the escape from the Island. We found her." He points to a map behind him where another picture of Barrett is thumbtacked up. "Lexington Event Center. I have a team led by another Agent on their way. You'll link up with them, likely during the assault, and provide support."
"I'd get a change of pants too, Jay." Faye says, gesturing to Jay''s leg.
"Head out ASAP." Benitez orders. "We've been hunting Larae for weeks. She gets away, we may never find her again."
"She won't, Captain." Jay says confidently. "I'll make sure of it personally."
"Good luck." He replies. "You're gonna fuckin need it."
Not much to say about this one. The LMB have made their first official appearance, only to be cut down by our lovable Agents. Fun!
Despite her weapons of choice, Sarah is a much better shot than she gets credit for, especially when her targets just tried to kill her best friend.
The 'oh so wonderful' Larae Barrett is coming soon, so that'll be fun. Stay tuned!