Chapter 23 - Extraction
"OK guys," Captain Brady said. "There is an emergency. The Ambassador of the US to India's son has been kidnapped by the biggest drug lord in Bangladesh for a ransom. Your mission is to pay to extract the hostage unharmed. We can't send in an army or they might kill him. It will just be 5 of you on this mission, no Delta Force. Finn, you're now a Chief Petty Officer so you're going to have to help plan the mission. What do you suggest we do? You're the highest level officer that's going to be on the ground."
Finn thought for a moment and studied the various maps and satellite images they had. "Well, I think, so that they don't hear us and shoot the boy, I alone should travel to the compound. Jack will be at a sniping distance away and I think that John should be waiting in a Mark V Special Operations Craft on the stream a couple of miles away. Then, we can sail to this point," he said, pointing to a spot at the border of the country. "Dirty and Clint will be waiting for us there in a chopper. We will escape via the helicopter."
Captain Brady nodded. "That's a solid plan. Well, you guys leave in an hour."
"Wait, WHAT?" Dirty shouted.
"We're sorry. We wish it didn't have to be like this, but it's a high-priority mission. And it's by far the hardest mission you guys have had yet, as you need to protect the boy at all costs. Call your families and tell them you're leaving. And then suit up. Meet at the hanger at 7pm."
The SEALs quickly shuffled out the room and Finn called Quinn. She answered the call on the final ring.
"Wow Finn! 2 calls in 24 hours. I feel special!" she said. Then, she noticed his facial expression and her face dropped.
"What's going on, Finn? You can't be going on a mission again. You just got back 2 days ago!"
"That's exactly what I'm doing. I'm really sorry. But this is an extremely high-priority mission and we're the only people who actually stand a chance of completing it."
"OK," she said with a shaking breath. "But promise me you'll come back."
"Quinn… I can't."
"PROMISE ME!" she screamed with tears running down her cheeks.
"Quinn, I'll try my best. But I can't promise anything."
Quinn hung the phone up on him. Finn trudged over to the hangar, where the other men were waiting with equally grave expressions on their faces.
"I take it the talk with Quinn didn't go so well," Dirty said.
"Yeah, how did you know?" Finn retorted, sarcastically.
"For what it's worth, Maricruz was pissed too. And I got double the anger as I have a kid."
"At least you got through the conversation. Quinn hung up on me," Finn laughed, mirthlessly.
"Oof, that's harsh," someone said from behind him. They turned around to see Captain Brady. "But you have to get all of that out of your head if you want to survive this mission."
They nodded and got on the plane. It was a 15 hour flight to Bangladesh, and Finn planned to make contact with the hostage takers after they touched down in Dhaka, the capital city. They had nothing to do for 15 hours so the men slept for most of the flight. They were an hour from landing when the pilot woke the SEALs up. They landed in Dhaka and shortly after, immediately split up when they reached the airport. It was midday in Bangladesh, and the sun was glaring down at them. They were lucky they had trained in California so they were used to the humidity. However, they weren't prepared for the filth and dirtiness of the city. Finn didn't bring a weapon with him, as he knew that if he did, they would shoot the boy. He stepped out onto the street and called the number he was told to call. It rang twice and then was picked up.
"I'm here, and have the money. Where do we meet?" Finn growled into the phone.
"22 Beraid Street. Come alone and unarmed or we shoot the boy." A strong Bangladeshi accent responded and then immediately hung up the phone. Finn walked to the location that the man on the phone mentioned. When he arrived, he pulled out his phone and called the man again.
"I'm here, now what?"
Suddenly, a van pulled up and 3 men with guns and ski masks jumped out. They grabbed Finn and threw him in the van, securing his wrists with zip ties. Finn wasn't worried though. He knew where they were headed and knew that Jack and John were already waiting in their positions. Five minutes later, he was dragged out of the van and into the compound. They took him into the basement and pulled the bag off his head. There were 3 men, two carrying Kalashnikovs and one holding a pistol. The guy with the pistol was smoking and the smell was choking Finn slightly. He stared straight ahead at them, showing no fear in his eyes whatsoever.
"Proman dao," he said. It mean Prove it in Bangla. He wanted Proof of life that the boy was still alive. The men stared at him.
"Proman," he repeated.
"Teka," the man with the pistol said. That meant that he wanted the money.
"Proman. Proman dao," Finn growled once more. The man moved so that he was an inch away from Finn's face.
"Teeeka," he drawled.
"Listen," Finn spat, in English. "You show me the kid, I'll call my people and they'll pay you. You understa… "
Finn was cut off when the guy blew smoke from his cheap cigarette into Finn's face. Finn got slightly annoyed.
"Fuck… come here," he slapped the guy's cigarette hand with his two cuffed ones. All three men immediately drew their guns. Finn sighed.
"Listen, you boys seem like real busy professionals so I say we cut this shit and get down to business, eh?"
The pistol was put against his head.
"Okay," the man whispered, and then pulled the trigger. There was no gunshot as the gun wasn't loaded, and Finn knew that. He didn't even flinch, and the men laughed at his reaction, or rather his lack of reaction.
"Hey man, you crazy or what?" one of them asked.
"There was no magazine in it," Finn said, still keeping his clear, level tone.
The man nodded. "Enough talk, let's get to business," he said, and led Finn to a side room, where there were 7 more men and a young boy tied up to a chair, with a bag over his head.
"Take off the bag," Finn stated, quietly but firmly.
The man gestured to his partner to do so. It revealed the boy that they were looking to extract.
"Now you go," the man with the pistol said. "Tell them, pay. If not, I take this," he gestured to his pistol, "and I blow his insides out."
Finn nodded, and was led out the room by two of the men with the Kalashnikovs. He started to walk towards the window, making an invisible gesture with his hands, to let Jack know that it was time for him to start the mission. Sure enough, a suppressed shot from Jack's sniper buried into the skull of the first men. Finn moved immediately, flipping the other man over, knocking the gun out of his hand, and silently choking him. When neither men had a pulse, Finn stood up and grabbed one of their Kalashnikovs. None of the men in the side room with the boy had heard the commotion. Finn blasted through the door of the side room and started mowing down men, left and right. He took out 4 of the men with his gun, before a man with a machete managed to slash it out of his hands. Finn took down the men with his fist at this point, using the sharp corners of the tables, TV and their own weapons to inflict damage. Finn could hear shooting coming from outside. He knew that there were men keeping watch outside and he knew that Jack was taking them out. He just hoped that Jack didn't get shot in the process. Suddenly, two more men burst into the room. Finn took them out easily, and then finally walked into the room with the hostage.
The hostage was still wearing the black bag over his head so didn't know if it was Finn, or an enemy. He clearly heard the shooting outside though, as he immediately started pleading with Finn as soon as he entered the room. Finn quickly removed the bag once again.
"Who are you?" he asked through his gag. Finn ignored him and started untying him.
"Can you walk?" Finn asked.
"Yeah."
"Good, put this on." Finn said and he gave the boy a hoodie that was hanging on the laundry line in the other room. They crossed through the main room on their way out, and the boy looked like he was about to throw up. Bodies were lying all over the floor. They either had blood seeping out of their motionless bodies, or their necks were disfigured at horrifying angles. It was times like these, that Finn realised how immune he was to gore and that fact made him sick. Finn led the boy out the door, and out of the compound through the back exit. As planned, there was a car waiting for him 2 minutes away from the compound, and he forced the terrified boy into the trunk. Finn drove for ten miles, and parked when they were two miles away from John and the boat. He opened the trunk of the car, and pulled the boy out, coughing and spluttering.
"Here," Finn said, giving him a bottle of water. The young boy took it and drank from it gratefully. "Kid, you want to survive, you do exactly as I say. Now here, put these on." he continued, giving him some camo clothing. Finn also quickly changed out of his blood-stained clothing, into some camo gear. The boy noticed the numerous scars and bruises on Finn's back. Finn could see that the boy was moving extremely sluggish. "Here, eat this. Your blood sugar is low. That's why you feel like shit," he said, tossing him an energy bar. Finn quickly put on his military vest, containing ammo, a phone/walkie talkie and a headset. "2 miles out. In possession."
He got a response from Commander Thompson. "Copy. Alpha is with the boat. In position."
Finn then handed the boy a bulletproof vest. He helped secure it on the frightened teenager. Finally, Finn took out his phone, turned the camera on, and pointed it towards the boy. He heard a beep, and it started recording.
"Okay. All right. Name?" he asked the boy. The boy was frozen to the spot. "Say your name, mate," Finn repeated. Again, no response. "Say your bloody name, come on," he said once again.
"Ben," he stuttered, finally.
"Last name?"
"Kenneth."
"Your birthday?"
"Twenty-first of January, 2005."
Finn turned the camera so that it was pointed towards himself. "Proceeding to extraction." he turned off the phone and put it away. "Let's go." They ditched the car, and started walking quickly in the direction towards the boat. They had purposely chosen a location in the middle of the forest, as it would be hard to find them while they were in the middle of the forest. Little did they know how much that decision was going to backfire…
Meanwhile, on the boat, John was waiting restlessly. "We're 1 mile out. Are you ready for us?" he heard Finn ask.
"Ready and waiting," he replied.
"Copy, see you soon." Finn murmured into the walkie talkie. Jack was also closing onto the location of the boat. He was hidden in the trees, but had eyes on the boat. Finn and Ben were still jogging through the forest, when Ben started stumbling.
"I… can't… breathe," he panted. Finn nodded and slowed down. They stopped to rest for a second.
"Deep breathes, mate. Deep breathes," Finn said. After 30 seconds, Finn helped Ben up. "We gotta keep moving. Come on." They started running again.
Suddenly, another boat could be heard approaching the SEAL boat. A whole platoon of Bangladeshi troops quickly surrounded John. Jack, who was still watching from the trees, knew that his friend was gone, so silently retreated away from the clearing and sprinted full pelt away from the lake.
"Guys, we've been played!" he shouted into his walkie talkie. "The bangladeshi troops are in on it. They just attacked the boat. I heard gunfire and I think they killed John!"
"John come in.." the SEALs heard Commander Thompson speak into the walkie talkie. "John, give me verbal." A few seconds later, Captain Brady came onto the line.
"Guys, John is gone. His heart rate just dropped to zero."
All around the country, the four remaining SEALs hung their heads in sorrow. One of their men had been killed.
"Finn, something's wrong. hold your position." they heard Captain Brady say and Finn and Ben stopped moving immediately. Just then, Finn heard it. There was faint movement somewhere in the woods.
"Guys, there's someone else here," he whispered and readied his gun for firing.
"Jack, come in." he heard Captain Brady declare
"I'm here, Captain. What do you want me to do. Find Finn, keep moving, retreat?"
"We need to keep moving. The boy is still safe and is with Finn. You both will meet up at safehouse A."
"Copy that," they both whispered to their captain. Finn could still hear the faint rustling of leaves. Suddenly, he saw a glint of white.
"GET DOWN!" he shouted and dragged Ben down. A split second later, a bullet ripped through the air, and into the tree behind them. Splinters rained down onto Ben and Finn. Finn returned fire and they slowly got up and started running, keeping their heads down. They started running towards a nearby town, where they had a safehouse. They stopped running when they were a safe distance away. They knew the person, or people, was still pursuing them. Finn spotted him shortly after. It was a man, about 6 foot tall. He was dressed fully in black, complete with a mask and gloves. The man hadn't spotted them yet and Finn used it to his advantage.
"Kid, move fast, stay low." Finn murmured. "NOW," he shouted and they sprinted further away. The man still continued chasing them. After another 5 minutes of running, they hid behind a large boulder, and the man hid behind a tree. Finn took a grenade out from his vest.
"Okay, when I tell you to, run like hell or I'm gonna kill you both. Understand?" Finn tossed the explosive. "GO!" he yelled and they stood up and sprinted off. The man started firing at them while he was chasing them. "Go, kid, go!" Finn shouted. "Move, boy! Faster!" They finally reached the car that they had driven earlier. Finn gestured to the front seat. "Here, get in the car! Get in the car!" Finn slid across the hood and dived into the front seat. Finn covered fire as Ben clambered into the passenger seat. Then, Finn started the car and they sped off. They were being pursued by police cruisers as well as the hooded man, but Finn knew that they were both enemies. Finn was being chased by the cars and shot at as well. "Look, I need eyes. Radio is compromised. Call my sat!" he shouted into his headset. Sure enough, a second later, Commander Thompson was calling his phone. Finn answered.
"Turn right at the bridge," he calmly said.
"How far past the gate?" Finn bellowed.
"What gate?"
Finn didn't bother slowing down so went barrelling straight through the gate. The gate shattered into smithereens.
"Turn right?"
"Can't. Bloody truck is in the way." Finn shouted and had to turn left instead.
"Finn, on your right!"
Finn turned in time to see third police cruisers speeding towards him. They were now right on his tail and hit the back of his car.
"FUCK OFF!" Finn shouted as his car shook a little. People on the street dived out the way to avoid being hit by the cars. The sound of car horns cut through the air, as well as the sound of civilians screaming. Suddenly, one of the police cars shot the three other car's tires, making it clear to Finn that he wasn't actually a policeman. It was the hooded man from the forest. It was suddenly just Finn and the man.
"Up ahead, turn left." Finn prepared to turn.
"No, no, no! Left! You just passed it." Finn swore and started to reverse. He shoved Ben down, and fired his pistol at the approaching police car, preventing it from completely t-boning their car. He made the turn and started speeding up again. More people dived out of the way of Finn's manic driving. Finn noticed Ben swaying wildly.
"Put your belt on!"
"What belt?"
"You're fucking seatbelt mate!"
"It's been on. You drive like you're insane!" Then, Finn started reversing again.
"Hold tight!" Finn shouted as he reversed straight into the hooded man's hijacked police car. "You OK kid?"
"I'm fine."
They got out of the car and saw the man in the police car attempt to stand but failing. His hood had fallen of and Finn saw his face. He was clearly part of Bangladeshi special forces. "Move! Up the stairs! Go!" Finn shouted, pointing to the building opposite them. Suddenly, there was a platoon of Bangladeshi forces outside the building and they began to storm the place. Finn and Ben tiptoed through the building, hearing the military men on the floor beneath them. They split up as they searched the house. Finn started to take them out one by one. He used his knife and pistol so he could stay mobile. He proceeded to take out most of the platoon. One of the men started to grab at Ben. Ben started running and ran through the compound. He was eventually grabbed by one of the men and was dragged back out into the hallway. Suddenly, a bullet buried into the neck of the soldier and he immediately let go of Ben. Finn stood over the body. They continued running through the compound. Finn took out the next few officers that came before them. "MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!" They made it up to the roof and looked around. They were completely surrounded on the ground, so they only had one more option.
"Kid, do you trust me?"
"No!"
"Good!" Finn shouted and they threw Ben off the roof. He landed on the roof of the compound next to them. Finn leapt off the roof and landed next to him.
"Get up, kid," Finn said, whipping out his pistol and climbing down the stairs from the roof. He kicked open the door of a random house in the compound and they ran through it. The residents of the house looked at them, terrified. They left through the main entrance of the house and they approached a staircase. They slowly walked down and walked through the balcony of the second floor. They turned the corner, and suddenly Finn's pistol was knocked out of his hand. It was the hooded man from the forest! Finn threw the man off the edge of the roof, and they both went tumbling down onto the street below. They both groaned. They were both struggling to get up. Then, they both noticed the pistol lying on the ground and they raced for it. Finn grabbed it, but the other man took out a knife and threw Finn against the wall. Finn took out his Karambit knife. They proceeded to have a knife fight for the next couple of minutes. Finn won that fight by kicking the man through a wall. Suddenly, a car barrelled straight into Finn. Finn rolled over the hood and lay on the ground. Both men were still very much alive though, but struggling to get back on their feet. The hooded man suddenly heard shouting.
"Help me! Let me go!" Ben shouted. The hooded man turned the corner on a backstreet and saw a police officer dragging Ben away. The man put a bullet in the officer's head and grabbed Ben. He proceeded to pull him back towards the main street. They could hear a car engine getting closer, but they didn't realise how close it was, until it rammed the hooded man and sent him flying. Finn opened the passenger door of the vehicle.
"Come on kid! Get in!" Ben climbed into the truck and they started moving.
"You hit him with the truck," Ben said, still in shock.
"Yup," Finn replied, almost lazily. They started driving and were quickly followed by a chopper.
"There's a helicopter following us!" Ben shouted.
"Yup." Finn drove faster. "All right kid, I need you to slide on over here, Finn said, gesturing to right next to the driver's door. Ben obliged. "OK we're going to jump on three. All right?"
"What?" Ben shouted, astonished. Finn opened the door
"One…" he shouted and then shoved Ben out the door of the still moving vehicle. They fell onto the ground but were shielded from the view of the helicopter due to a tunnel. The vehicle kept moving and drove into a collection of gas tanks, causing a massive explosion. The helicopter hovered over the scene briefly, then flew away. Probably to let the leader of whoever was after them know that they had been blown up.
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