Chapter 37- Fight On

Oakland, Portland, Sacramento, San Francisco, Seattle, and most of Western Los Angeles had been lost, but Downtown Los Angeles remained in American hands, along with San Diego. Several shelters had been set up around the Downtown L.A. area and a key hospital was still operational. National Guard units from California, Nevada, and Arizona had set up defensive positions and were planning a counter-attack. More good news came in later when word arrived that elements of the 2nd Armored Division and the newly formed 17th Infantry Division were to arrive by 0500 in an effort to stop the Russian advance.

Samuel dragged the prisoner through the shelter, several people watched as the Russian did not struggle against the operator's will. Two Guardsmen rushed over to the team in order to take the prisoner.

"Where's Colonel Hemsley?" Samuel asked as the others in the team observed the state of the shelter. Tramp removed his helmet as he watched Buster approach two elderly men. He had a scruffy, black beard and green eyes. His hair was around his ears and messy because of his helmet.

"He's behind the tarp." one of the Guardsmen pointed out as they took the Russian from the operator. Samuel pushed the tarp aside and found himself in a command room. Several screens showing maps were being monitored and in the middle of the room were three officers looking over a holographic map. One of them appeared to be in his 60's and had short, grey hair. He turned his attention over to the man who had just entered the room.

"Colonel Hemsley?" Samuel asked, as he lowered his weapon and let it hang around his torso.

"Right here, son" the officer replied in a raspy, yet confident voice. "May I ask who you might be?"

"Samuel, Quebec Team, 1st SFOD-D." The operator replied as he threw up a quick salute to the colonel. The Colonel responded and returned to the map.

"What do you have for me?" Hemsley questioned. The operator joined him at the map before answering.

"Russians still have control of the western half and civilian casualties are high." Samuel began to explain, running his finger over the map. "We still have a team inserted in Inglewood."

"Call them back, I have something for you." The Colonel quickly ordered. Samuel turned around and spoke into his radio.

"Hey Jaguar, you there?" Samuel asked.

Jaguar answered a few seconds later, "I'm here bro. What do you need?"

"Hemsley needs us for something. We need you guys back at the command center." continued Samuel.

"I'll be there in a few." Jaguar sighed as he ended the transmission. Samuel walk back over to the holographic map and notice several red spots on the map.

"Are these Russian positions?" Samuel asked as he pointed at one of the larger spots.

"Those are areas with higher concentrations, possibly camps." Hemsley explained. "Are your men ready?"

"We just need ammo." Samuel responded. The officer nodded and leaned over the map once again.

"Tell them to get whatever they need. Once the other team arrives I want you and the other team leader to report to me. Understood?"

Samuel was quick to respond "Yes sir." The operator stepped out of the room and found his teammates throughout the shelter talking to the civilians. When their team leader entered, all three turned their attention to him. "Grab all the ammo and supplies you need. We got another mission once Sword gets back." The operators stood up and began searching for the armory to resupply. When they returned, they found the members of Sword Team sitting around the shelter. Jaguar stood and walked over to the approaching operators.

"Welcome back, guys" Jaguar spoke as he held out his hand. Samuel took his friend's hand, bringing him close and patting him on the back. "So what does the Colonel want?"

"He hasn't told me the op yet." Samuel responded as he headed for the tarp. "He's in here." Samuel pushed aside the tarp and the Colonel directed his attention towards the two operators

"Jaguar, sir. I'm in command of Sword Team." the Captain said as he held his hand out to the Colonel. But Hemsley coldly rejected the greeting and went back to the map.

"I have a mission for you and your men." Hemsley explained "These red spots on the map represent areas of heavy Russian concentration, possibly camps." The Colonel moved the map over one of the large red blots. "Reports have said there is a large amount of survivors held up in the university."

"Which university?" Samuel interrupted.

"Southern California. As I was saying, rumors have spread they are hiding in several classroom buildings and dorms. We don't know how many, but we estimate close to ninety." Samuel and Jaguar stared at each other in disbelief.

"Are those the survivors or the Russians?" Jaguar asked with a slight shake in his voice.

"Those are the survivors, son. The Russians number over one hundred at least. Your job is to get those survivors out of there safely. I don't care how, just do it. Now grab whatever gear you need and keep radio contact." Both operators nodded before exiting the room and entered the shelter to find both teams waiting for them.

"Hope you guys are ready for some really bad odds." Jaguar joked as he shouldered his rifle and surveyed the group.

Wolf chuckled as he scratched Buster's head. "Don't we always go up against bad odds?"

"Always outgunned, but never outmanned." Tramp decided to butt in as he checked his SAW. "When do we head out?"

"Whenever we are ready to go." Samuel responded as the operators grabbed their gear and headed out of the shelter.

30 minutes later

"NOD's on" Samuel ordered into his radio as two trucks came to a halt outside the campus.

"I see no movement. We're clear, boss." Sloth said as he scanned the immediate area through his scope. The doors of the trucks opened as the operators formed a perimeter. Their visors glowed with a soft neon green color as they waited for orders.

"Switch to AFO 1-6. Wolf, move up across the street." Jaguar ordered. The sniper took off and rushed across the street, taking a knee once she reached the other side. "Sir, we have reached the university."

Colonel Hemsley's voice came back over the radio. "Good. Once you reach a group of survivors, radio back and we will send trucks to pick them up. Understood?"

"Lima Charlie. Jaguar out." the operator responded before ending the transmission. "Alright, guys, let's move up. Maintain noise discipline and only fire when being engaged." The operators moved across the street pass Wolf, who then stood up and joined her comrades. The operators moved across the parking lot and stopped by one of the three buildings attached to the parking lot.

Samuel looked down at Buster, who was tailing close to the team leader, and put a finger against the dog's muzzle. "Zip it, Buster." he whispered. The dog obeyed and lied down on the sidewalk. Viper quietly moved up to the two glass doors which read "Student Health Center" in bold, red letters. Viper looked up and saw the sensor, but also noticed it was dead.

"Power's out, generator's probably down too." Viper informed the team as he pulled one of the doors open. Onyx was the first through the door and when he entered the building, he found a scene similar to a tornado strike. Chairs and table had been overturned, papers everywhere, even doors and lights ripped from their spots.

"Fuck, looks like one hell of a struggle." Onyx commented as the rest of the operators entered the area. Lightning peered over the receptionist's desk and began going through files.

"Russians looted the place. They were looking supplies and they found them." Samuel explained as he inspected an examination room. He then peered at the dog who was crouched behind him. "You smell anything, boy?" The dog whined softly as Wolf and Tramp moved up a flight of stairs.

"Nothing's here. Does Buster smell anything?" Jaguar asked his fellow team leader as he approached Samuel.

"No, but this would be a good place to hold the survivors until the trucks arrive." Samuel responded as he lowered his weapon. "There's student housing not too far from here. The complex is maybe 150 yards to our left."

"It's a pretty big campus. You think we should split up?" Jaguar asked as the group continued to search.

"A group smaller than a team is not advisable." the lieutenant responded. "I say we stick together, we'll have a better chance against the Russians. We go out the same way we came in and we head for the student housing." he added as he moved for the door. "Stay out of open space and move fast." Samuel peeked outside and found the area in the same condition. Lightning quickly exited the building and moved for the corner. Peeking around, he spotted no activity.

"Intel said over a hundred Ruskies. Where the hell are they?" Lightning pondered as the group joined him. Samuel patted Wolf on the shoulder, giving her the signal to move toward the quad. She stayed close to the bushes along the sidewalk and then gave an 'ok' signal. The squad continued to progress along the sidewalk.

Jaguar tried to reassure the engineer. "They probably called it a night." he joked, but Lightning did not take it well.

"I don't like this shit." the engineer continued as he kept his head on a swivel. Wolf was the first to reach the dorms and tried to peek inside through a window.

"It looks deserted." was her conclusion as Viper pried the sliding door open, allowing Jaguar and the others to move in. The common area had the appearance that it had been barricaded, but very poorly. Tables had been turned onto their sides in a hallway and overlapped to provide some cover, but Jaguar easily stepped over it and moved into what appeared to be a food court. Tramp joined the team leader and saw the gates at the entrances had been closed, except for one. Tramp noticed a gate had not been fully closed, leaving a space large enough to fit a small animal. The heavy motioned Jaguar over and grabbed the bottom of the gate, preparing to fling it open. Jaguar nodded and in one swift motion, the gate flew open. A knife flew out of the darkness towards Jaguar, but the operator grabbed the assailant's arm and threw the person against a wall. In that same instance, a second person reached for Jaguar's DMR which had been dropped after he was attacked. This person was easily subdued when Tramp put his boot into the person's ribcage, sending that person into the same wall as Jaguar and his attacker. But Jaguar could see how young the kid was and he looked nothing like a Russian soldier.

"I'm an American!" Jaguar shouted, causing the man to go wide-eyed and loosen his grip on the knife. "My name is Jonathan Shepley. I have been sent here to rescue a group of survivors." The knife dropped to the floor and Jaguar backed away from the man, who dropped to his knees. "How many of you are there?" The young man looked up at the operator in disbelief.

"I think fifty. There's another group on the other side of campus." The student said breathlessly. "There are more in the other restaurants." he continued as Tramp exited the restaurant and called for the others on the radio. "We thought no one would come for us. How did you find us?" Jaguar offered his hand to the student and helped him to his feet.

"We got lucky. Is anyone hurt?" Jaguar asked the man as he reached for his DMR. The student nodded in response.

"There's a girl with a broken leg. Everyone else just has scratches and bruises, I think." the student replied, still in a state of shock. Jaguar grabbed Tramp's attention quickly.

"Tell Hemsley we have a civilian with a broken leg." Tramp nodded and passed the message along. Jaguar watched as students began crawling out under the gates as the operators lifted them.

"Hey Jag. You might want to have a look." Sloth said to grab the team leader's attention. He walked over to Sloth and Samuel, who were crouched by a window and looking through the sniper rifle's scope. Sloth moved aside and let Jaguar peer through the lens. He spotted a large fire and tents surrounding the fire on the adjacent quad along with several armed guards. "College students don't carry AK's, do they?" Sloth asked both team leaders.

"Sam, you and your team take the survivors to the pickup point. Once they are on their way, meet us back here and we'll search for the remaining survivors." Jaguar explained as Sloth continued to survey the area. Samuel patted his sniper on the back and went to gather the rest of Quebec. "Wolf, get over here." Sword's sniper rushed over to the window and rested her bipod on the windowsill. "Watch that enemy position across the quad and let me know if there are any changes." Samuel began herding the survivors out the door and helped carry a limping girl with a cast on her leg.

"The Russians are building something." Wolf informed her team leader. "All I see are four posts, but they are lined up in a row." Jaguar knew what the Russians were making and in an instant, he felt like disobeying his own order. He had to get to the remaining survivors before the Russians did, or he would have blood on his hands.

Author's Note: If you can find the hidden reference in this chapter, you will win a cookie. Sorry for the long gap between chapters. School has really been taking its toll. Really hope you guys enjoy it and leave a review if you do or have any suggestions.

Translations and Abbreviations:

SFOD-D= Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta

NOD= Night Observance Device

AFO- Audio Frequency Overlay

LC(Lima Charlie)= Loud and Clear