Chapter 10- Ambush
"Xiànzài tóuxiáng, wǒ de rén bù huì kāihuǒ!" yelled the Chinese officer over his bullhorn as the clicks of loaded rifles were heard. Taurus ran over to the team as Shadow formed a plan.
"How the hell are you planning to get out of here? They have us surrounded." asked Taurus as he held a suitcase against him. Shadow tapped Bear on the shoulder.
"I got it. Follow me lead." Shadow said as he crawled over to a door and opened it. The door led down to the basement. Shadow went down and looked around. Bear began to smile when he realized Shadow's plan. He crawled into the kitchen and grabbed a magazine. Bear rolled the magazine, and then began to look for any source of heat. The first item he found was a toaster, he proceeded to insert the rolled up magazine into the toaster, and waited for Shadow's signal. Shadow finally found what he was looking for, the gas line. He quickly pulled out his knife and cut the line, which made a soft hissing noise as the gas escaped. He quietly walked up the stairs and signaled to Bear, who started the toaster. Smoke began to rise from it as he sneaked away.
"Gotta get you out of here." said Shadow as the others sneaked out.
"What's going on?" asked Taurus hesitantly as he held the suitcase close to his body.
"We're going to make it seem like we all died in an explosion." Shadow explained. Taurus' eyes got wide as Shadow got him to his feet and guided him downstairs. The team already was waiting outside and had their weapons raised.
"It's gonna be a big blast, so we need to get to a safe distance." said Bear as the team began to move away from the building. Suddenly, a huge explosion rocked the city and a large inferno erupted from the apartment. The Chinese soldiers were confused but instantly were dodging burning debris. This was enough of a distraction that it allowed Zulu and Taurus to sneak into a back alley. They kept quiet as they heard soldiers nearby.
"Tāmen shì sǐle ma?" asked a soldier.
"Méiyǒu rén nénggòu shēngcún xiàqù zhèyàng de bàozhà." responded a second soldier. Shadow peered around the corner and found the two soldiers on guard along with a third soldier.
"Zhù zài zhèlǐ, zhídào wǒmen quèrèn tāmen de sǐwáng." ordered the third soldier as he walked away leaving the two guards. Shadow motioned for the team to move up slowly, which they did until they reached Shadow. He then peeked around the corner aiming his rifle until he had one of the guards in his crosshairs. Ute picked the other guard as his target.
"Shoot on three. One…Two…Three." Shadow whispered before two clicks were heard. Both guards fell limp and hit the ground with a dull thump. Bear and Mutt sneaked out and grabbed the bodies dragging them into the alley. Shadow peered around the corner one more time to make sure the coast was clear. As Mutt dragged one of the guard's bodies, he noticed the soldier was carrying a pistol. He reached down, took it, and tossed it to Taurus.
"You might need this." Mutt advised Taurus. Taurus fumbled the pistol as he tried to hold the suitcase and catch the pistol. He was finally able to control the pistol. He inspected the pistol before responding.
"Thank you American." Taurus added. The group moved up past a few guards, but they realized most of the Chinese patrols were going through the wreckage of the apartment. Shadow knew they would soon realize they had been tricked and search for the group furiously. He knew they had to move quickly or they would be found. He began to pick up the pace down the alley but found themselves running into a dead end.
"Damn. It looks like we are hitting the main road." Shadow complained as he began to move out of the alley, but he came to a sudden stop after he heard an ominous, mechanical growling.
"Is that a tank?" asked Bear as Shadow slowly peered around the corner. He saw a Russian tank surrounded by three soldiers.
"T-120, three light infantry units" Shadow responded as he retracted back into cover. "There's no way we are taking out that tank."
"Can we move past it?" continued Ute.
"Possibly" answered the leader as he glanced back at the obstacle. "But we will have to go one by one." He came back into cover. "Ute I want you to go first, stay low." Ute moved up but Shadow held him back with an arm. "Wait for my signal." he ordered as he glanced around the corner watching the three guards inspect the tank. "Go." he dropped his arm and let Ute move. Ute crouched and scurried around the corner. He opened the door on the other side, entered the building, and got on his radio once the coast was clear.
"Okay, send another." announced Ute as Bear approached Shadow.
Shadow waited for a little bit before giving the order. "Go." Bear followed Ute's footsteps and attracted no attention.
"All good, boss." reported Bear.
"Mutt, you're gonna take Taurus with you. Understood?" asked Shadow looking back at the rookie as Mutt moved up. He peeked around the corner and watched the guards. "And…go." Mutt took Taurus by the arm and guided him around the corner into the building.
"You're turn, Shadow." alerted Mutt. Shadow peered around the corner before moving. He heard a snap underneath his feet, causing Shadow to jump for the door. Bear and Mutt dragged him in.
"Chto eto bylo?" asked one of the Russians
"Chto vy govorite?" asked another one of the Russians.
"Sushchestvoval chto-to dvizhetsya tuda." responded the first Russian. Suddenly two flashlights clicked on and began to move for the door. "Mikca, ostat'sya s tankom. Igor' i ya budu proverit' eto." He ordered to the third soldier.
"Ponyal, serzhant." responded a soldier who sounded extremely young.
"Okay. On my signal." ordered Shadow as he held his rifle just above the window. The soldiers approaching could not see the group since they did not have their flashlights aimed at the window. As Shadow let loose his shot, the rest of the team followed. Both of the approaching soldiers fell dead under a hail of bullets, their uniforms freshly stained with blood. The third soldier tried to grab his rifle from the tank, but Mutt fired a round through his chest, wounding him and causing him to slump against the tank. His blood splattered on the front of the tank as the tanker popped out holding an SMG. He was instantly killed by Shadow with a bullet through the head. He fell limp and his head slammed against the front of the tank. The group walked over to the wounded soldier, who at the moment was still reaching for his AK and having difficulty breathing. He finally was able to grab his weapon but before he could aim, Shadow knocked his weapon away. Blood was steadily dripping from his lip. Shadow looked at the soldier and noticed he barely looked a day over eighteen years old.
"Pozhaluysta. Pokazat' milost'. Ya ne khochu umirat'." begged the soldier as he reached out to Shadow, who quickly pulled out his knife and ended the soldier's life with a thrust into his neck. The soldier's hand rested on Shadow's shoulder as he exhaled his last breath and rested his head against the tank. Shadow pulled the knife from the soldier's neck and wiped the blade on his sleeve. He placed the knife back in its holder.
"We got to keep moving to the exfil before the Commies find us." Shadow explained. Suddenly, dogs barking were heard along with Russians and Chinese screaming orders. The team began to run down the street toward the exfil site. The team's radio came to life.
"This is Oscar 2-6, what's your guy's position?" asked Murray.
"Less than half a klick, but we are being chased by enemy forces." responded Shadow as he turned around to check on the others. He looked up and saw Murray's Pelican fly overhead.
"I'm going to go ahead and land. I'll be waiting for you guys." added Murray. About ten minutes later, the team reached the site and found the Pelican waiting with its ramp down and Murray waving them on. In the blink of the eye, tracers lit up the area around them and began hitting the Pelican, causing Murray to duck in terror. The team began returning fire and shielding Taurus from the enemy fire. They finally began loading, but Ute got tripped up on a branch and fell over. He reached for his weapon and rolled over but found a Chinese soldier wielding a knife already above him. But before the soldier could deliver a blow, a shot rang out and the soldier rolled off of Ute. Bear quickly grabbed Ute and dragged him into the cabin. Shadow turned around to find that Taurus had fired the shot, but he turned his attention to Murray.
"Get us the fuck out of here, Murray!" he yelled at the pilot.
"Gladly." responded Murray as the Pelican raised and accelerated into the night's sky with its precious cargo intact.
Author's Note: I can confirm a second book in what will now be a trilogy. It will be titled "The Red Rifles" and you should expect the first chapter within the next couple of weeks. I will be working of "Zulu" and "Rifles" at the same time, so be patient if a chapter for either of these stories does not come out every few days. Once again, thank you for everything and if you have any questions or concerns, send me an email to goldmonkjohn .