Part 4 Chapter 11

"Liz. Wake up. Liz. Wake up. Please wake up." Valkyrie pleaded while shaking her unconscious friend.

"Wha- what? Where are we?" Ela said confused. She couldn't recall what had happened to her.

"No time to explain we have to move." Valkyrie whispered impatiently.

Ela felt steady rocking back and forth. She smelt stagnant water. She felt Valkyrie's two strong hands grip the front of her tactical vest and pull her to her feet.

Ela groaned in protest.

Her head pounded. She clung to her friend for balance with her one good hand. She felt dizzy and lightheaded. Her thumb throbbed.

It was still night time and they were back in Ramadi. Valkyrie had run their boat ashore along the Euphrates River. The city was just up an embankment.

The sound of guns began to chatter in the distance making Valkyrie perked her head up to listen.

The weapons sounded familiar. M4 Carbines and AK-47s talking back and forth with each other.

And they sounded close.

"Stand right here." Valkyrie whispered and jumped off the boat. Her boots squished landing in muck.

Ela nodded her head acknowledging her friend's command but weakly sunk to her knees. She leaned her body against the side of the boat trying to her head to stop spinning. Standing by herself was too hard.

Her eyes began to feel heavy.

She felt herself passing out.

"Hey!" Valkyrie whispered tapping her shoulder.

Ela didn't react. She laid against the side of the boat not moving.

Valkyrie cursed in frustration. She reached for Ela's rifle and set it down on the ground near her.

"If you can hear me, at least raise you arms for me." Valkyrie commanded. Ela weakly reached her arms to be helped down. Valkyrie grabbed underneath her arms and pulled her out of the boat. Ela fell over the top of the boat causing Valkyrie to fall with her. They landed in a layer of muck. The force pushed their boat off the embankment and it began to float freely with the river's current toward the gun fire.

Valkyrie then watched in horror as streaks of light began to flash across the river impacting their boat 50 yards from their position. The tracer rounds shredded their boat to pieces. The boat sank quickly into the depths of the river.

That could've been them if they ventured farther up the river.

"Come on Ela." She said helping up her friend to her feet.

Ela grabbed her Scorpion and slung it around her back. She clung onto her friend with her one good hand for dear life. Now she was cold and covered from head to toe in mud.

The sound of gun chatter began to increase with intensity.

The two operators crept up the embankment and took cover behind a building in the shadows. US soldiers patrolled the streets with night vision probably searching for the surviving White Masks that fled into the city.

Valkyrie noticed an abandoned building across the street. They could use it as cover while she got her bearings. She waited for the US patrol to pass before moving. Once it was safe she gathered her injured comrade and the two crept across the street into the building.

Valkyrie walked Ela to the back of the building behind a counter and had her lean against the back wall where she quickly sunk down to the floor.

Valkyrie took cover behind the counter with Ela and pulled out a radio. She switched it to their team's secure frequency.

"Mother base this is Valkyrie do you read?" She whispered into the radio.

Silence.

"Mother base this is Valkyrie do you read?" She tried again.

Silence.

Valkyrie put the radio down in defeat.

Ela began to hear static in her headphones.

"Meg…" She said weakly pointing to her headphones.

Valkyrie put her radio close to her ear. There was a lot of static, but she began to make out a voice.

"Valkyrie… this is… I … you."

"Say again you're breaking up." She tried.

"This… Bandit… read… you." The voice said.

It was Bandit.

"Bandit! Thank god. Listen, we're in big trouble. I need you guys right now. Ela's hurt."

She glanced over to her friend. She passed out again.

"Where are… What happened?" His said still partially broken up.

"It's a long story. I'm somewhere in the city in an abandoned building along the Euphrates River. I'm surrounded by uniforms and in no condition to fight." She said agitated. She needed their help but couldn't direct them where to go.

"…triangulating position… stand…" Bandit replied. There was a moment of silence. Static in the radio and began to get louder and then it suddenly got softer after several minutes.

"Found you." Bandit said returning to the radio. "Can… hold… position?"

"We'll try to hunker down here. This place is crawling with uniforms though. Be very careful."

"Copy…. our way…" Bandit's voice said before cutting out.

Valkyrie let down her radio and tried to think. She looked around the building they were inside of. It looked like an old internet café. There were desks everywhere. Parts of the roof were caved in and there was destruction everywhere.

Valkyrie sat on the floor behind the counter with her back against the wall. Her suppressed MPX lay next to her. Ela shivering on the floor next to her. She picked up her unconscious friend and held her close in her lap to conserve body heat. Like Ela, she was covered head to toe in mud. She reached into her pack and pulled out a first aid kit. She gently looked at Ela's right thumb which was still bent at a painful angle enough to make Valkyrie sick to her stomach. She pulled out gauze and began to wrap her thumb. She felt Ela's body tense up when she began to wrap her thumb. Ela's eyes fluttered open she took in a sharp painful breath. She gnashed her teeth growling in pain. She tried swatting away her hand.

"Shhhhh. I know it hurts. I'm almost done." Valkyrie said trying to comfort her. She didn't have anything for the bruising or swelling on her face. It was enough for one of her eyes to become partially closed.

The operators sat on the floor listening to the wind howl between the buildings. Valkyrie never realized how tired she was until she sat down. She felt her eye lids getting heavy.

She drifted off to sleep.

A foot stepped on broken glass with a loud crunch. Valkyries eyes shot open at the sound.

We're not alone.

She glanced at Ela who was passed out cold. Valkyrie quietly rolled Ela off her and reached for her MPX. She squatted against the counter listening intently.

Maybe it was Bandit coming to save them.

Or maybe it was the military.

She wished she hadn't used all her Blackeye cameras that she brought with her to the desert. If she had one she would've put one out front to watch the entrance.

She heard more footsteps in the building. She could hear maybe 10. She saw red laser beams dance across the room searching for targets.

"Whiskey 2-3 moving through café. No signs of hostiles. Moving toward the back of the building." A young man's voice said.

Fuck, it's the military.

She looked around the room for a way out. There was a back hallway behind the counter but if she moved they would be made.

She needed a distraction.

She looked at Ela who laid face down on the floor motionless. She had a few grzmot mines on her vest.

That'll do.

She peaked her head over the counter. 10 American soldiers with itchy trigger fingers crept quietly through the room searching. They'd be upon her within seconds.

Valkyrie sorted her gear out preparing to run. She grabbed the drag loop on the back of Ela's vest. She detached a grzmot mine from Ela's vest and studied the device internally screaming.

HOW THE FUCK DO I USE THIS!? Her brain screamed. Ela had never showed her how to use her gadget and she never thought it would difficult to activate.

She tinkered with the device trying to arm it. She pulled a switch and the grzmot mine began to glow red and secreted a white foamy substance from one end.

Please God let this work.

She heaved the mine into the center of the room.

"What was that?" An anxious voice asked.

It was followed by a thunderous boom. Some of the soldiers collapsed screaming holding their deafened ears. Others began to shoot wildly at Valkyrie's position.

Valkyrie popped up and fired at a soldier trying to take her flank. She aimed to only wound. She didn't want to kill one of her own. The rounds impacted where the solder's body armor should be.

He fell ground in yelling "I'M HIT I'M HIT!"

"MAN DOWN MAN DOWN!" A soldier screamed reacting to his downed teammate.

Valkyrie grabbed Ela's drag loop and pulled her toward the hallway as fast as she could.

"HEY THEY'RE GETTING AWAY!" One soldier yelled.

She began to hear another soldier calling for backup.

Valkyrie paused and lifted Ela into a fireman's carry. She desperately tried to get away from her pursuers who were now chasing after her down the hallway and taking pot shots at her. She saw an exit sign at the end of the hall.

She kicked down the door and found herself in a dead end. She had nowhere else to run. She looked around desperately at the wooden fences surrounding her. A light from a lamp post shined above her head revealing who she way. She moved her shemagh over face to hide her identity.

"GIVE IT UP YOU'RE SURROUNDED!" A soldier called out to her. Valkyrie turned around slowly and saw 10 soldiers creeping toward her with their weapons trained on her. She backed away slowly until she felt herself bump into the wooden fence behind her.

"DROP THE GIRL, DROP YOUR WEAPONS, AND PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE I CAN I SEE THEM!"

She stood not complying. She looked at each of the soldiers. One had an impact mark in his Kevlar. Must've been the soldiers she shot. She was glad he was okay. Not so glad that now he was going to return the favor. She wondered if the soldier she had shot with her pistol at the lake was okay.

"I'M GOING TO COUNT TO THREE! IF YOU DON'T COMPLY, WE WILL KILL YOU!"

"1!"

She didn't react.

"2!"

She closed her eyes and began to pray. She slowly reached for her MPX dangling from her vest. Whatever happens at three, happens.

"3!"

Before the soldiers fired a glowing blue ball of light rolled out from between Valkyrie's feet. She noticed the Union Jack painted on the top of the grenade.

It exploded with a loud boom. The lamp above Valkyrie and the soldier's laser sights went dark leaving the alley pitch black.

Valkyrie felt a hand from behind her lift Ela off her shoulders. Then multiple hands grabbed her, and she was lifted off the ground and on to the other side of the fence. Beyond the fence was another alley leading to the streets.

"Flash out." A Texan voice said.

Thermite lobbed a flashbang over the fence.

It exploded into the darkness erecting screams from its victims.

"Move your asses." Bandit said impatiently with his MP7 covering their six. Valkyrie could barely make him out in his black and yellow jacket, black balaclava, and black riot helmet.

Thatcher had Ela in his arms.

The operators made a break for it navigating through the city streets with the US military searching right behind them. After what seemed like hours of evading the military and running they made it back to their safe house. The operators took shelter in the house and caught their breath.

"Good thing Elizabetha is as light as she is, or I would have never been able to carry her." He said placing Ela on their old sofa.

"My God, what happened to her?" Jordan said inspecting Ela's injuries. He looked at her dislocated thumb in disgust.

"White Masks tortured her for information. Girl stood strong and didn't say a word. Mike, if you could help me treat her wounds that would wonderful." Valkyrie said staring at her injured friend. She looked lifeless.

"Yes ma'am." He said and began to scrounge his rucksack for his trauma kit.

"Meghan, vhere's Vanguard? He should be vith you." Bandit said inquisitively.

"I honestly have no idea." Valkyrie said sheepishly.

The 3 men paused giving Valkyrie a glance like she had three heads.

"Vhat do you mean, you don't know?" Bandit continued.

"I have no idea where he went. He was with us in the encampment giving us intel and what not. Then things went south. I searched everywhere for him, I tried contacting him but received nothing."

Thatcher took out an ice pack and applied pressure to the swelling on Ela's head and face. Valkyrie knelt by Ela's side and began to patch any places she was bleeding. They'd save the relocation of thumb for last. Valkyrie talked as she worked.

"We discovered that Captain Anderson, the dude we had to interrogate for information, was holding up in a parks and recreation building next to a boat ramp. Turns out the White Masks were using speed boats to ferry their men across the lake and into the city."

"That's just details Valkyrie. What happened to Ela? What went south for you guys?" Bandit almost like he was interrogating her.

"It was the masks… I was collecting intel and guiding Ela through the encampment. Vanguard was helping too with his recon drone. When she made entry into the building I lost contact with her."

Valkyrie carefully removed Ela's earmuffs from her ears.

"These saved her life." She said tossing them to Bandit.

"Her radio?" Bandit inspected the ear muffs and tossed them to Thermite.

"Yes."

"How so?"

Valkyrie's face darkened.

"I heard her screaming. I heard the things they were doing to her. Masks must've forgotten to turn off her radio or something. She's extremely lucky to be alive right now. If her radio hadn't been on…" Her voice trailed off at what could've happened giving her chills.

Thermite turned the earmuffs in his hands. A small green light blinked signaling that the radio was turned on. He placed the earmuffs on their kitchen table.

"I don't understand how she got caught. She was stealthy through and through. I made sure no one was tailing her. There's absolutely no way she should've been caught. No way at all." Valkyrie said frustrated. She began to internally blame herself. Where did she go wrong to allow this to happen to her best friend?

"So, what did you do once you figured out she had been captured?" Bandit proceeded.

"I snuck to the building as quickly as I could. That's when the uniforms got involved."

This caught the operators off guard.

"Uniforms? They knew the location of the encampment? I thought it was a secret location? The fuck are the bloody yanks doing all the way out in the desert anyway?" Thatcher jumped into the conversation.

"Mike, I… I… I don't know. I just ran as quickly as I could while the Masks were busy with the military. That's when I lost contact with Vanguard. I looked everywhere. I tried. I really…"

The front door slammed open. The operators pulled their pistols pointing it at their foe.

"NO, NO, NO, NO STAND DOWN I'M FRIENDLY I'M FRIENDLY!" The man said with his hands in the air.

"Miles? What happened to you?" Valkyrie said astonished.

The operators stared at him waiting for an answer.

Vanguard found a seat and tried to find his words.

"Umm, it's a bit of a long story. When the military got themselves involved I went into radio silence. They were all around me and I didn't want to compromise myself. I managed to slip past them avoiding imminent capture. I made it back to our camp. I was able to get our camels and trek back to the city. I prayed to God you guys would make it through that attack." He explained.

"We were beginning to think you died or got captured." Valkyrie said sternly.

"Negative. I'm truly luck to be alive." He said giving her a weak style.

"Aren't we all." Valkyrie replied halfheartedly.

She wasn't sure if she should be mad at Vanguard or not. She could've used his help in extracting Ela. They barely made it out of there alive. But at the same time, he was surrounded by the enemy and was trying to avoid capture. If he would've gotten captured, then everyone in this room would probably be dead right now.

She didn't know what to think so she kept her attention on treating Ela.

Vanguard noticed Ela on the sofa. He approached her slowly.

"Elizabetha…" He said shocked by her sight.

"The masks tortured her Miles." Valkyrie said softly.

Vanguard knelt next to Ela and brushed a strand of her brown hair out of her face nurturing her. Her skin was cold. Her beautiful face swollen, cut, and bruised.

"Let's move her upstairs so we can relocate that thumb." Thatcher suggested breaking up the tension.

"Right. Jordan, help me." Valkyrie agreed.

Thatcher, Valkyrie, and Thermite carried their injured teammate upstairs to be further treated. Vanguard went to join them, but he felt a solid grip on his shoulder. It wasn't the same grip he had felt at Baghdad airport from Thatcher. It had more of a shady feel to it.

He turned slowly. Bandit stared at him with eyes filled with not hatred, but the longing to kill. He got closer to Vanguard sizing him up. Their noses were inches apart from each other. He stared through Vanguard's eyes like he could see into his soul. Bandit spoke in a soft but evil tone. Vanguard thought the devil was trying to talk to him.

"I don't know vhat truly went down in that encampment but there's some events that aren't adding up."

Bandit paused and jabbed a gloved finger into his shoulder.

"I'm watching you Miles."

Bandit walked past Vanguard bumping shoulders with him.

Vanguard turned to watch him walk upstairs to regroup with his team.

When Bandit was out of sight Vanguard softly chuckled to himself and went to find food.