Chapter 13: Hunting Party
30 SEPT 2020 0630
"Alex"
Task Force 141 with Shadow Company and Demon Dogs
Verdansk, Kastovia
"Zakhaev is using the Metro tunnels to transport his men, his business and himself into, out of and across Verdansk, which means that he's preparing for something big." Price told the group gathered in the briefing room. "Soon, he'll have enough munitions to supply a small army, and that will make our operation very difficult."
"Very difficult is everything that we do, what's different this time?" Gaz asked.
"This time, Zakhaev knows that we're coming, he knows where we're coming from, and he knows that we don't have much of an advantage." Price told Gaz.
"So now that we know what we're working with, can you tell us who we're working with?" Alex asked, brushing rust off of his prosthetic leg with steel wool.
"There will be multiple fireteams dispatched to different sections of the Metro tunnels. The first team is composed of Roach, Commander Karim, Sergeant Burns and Volker. The second will be composed of Roze, Velikan, Lerch and Mace. The third will be composed of Mara, Iskra, Charly and Mills. The fourth will be composed of Talon, Krueger, Shaffer and Nikolai. The fifth will be composed of me, Lieutenant Garrick, Ghost and Nikto. Griggs will be leading a small strike force composed of himself, Sergeant Jackson, Lieutenant Vasquez, and D-Day." Price told the large group. "Any questions?"
The question was met with silence, causing Price to chuckle.
"We ship out in one hour. Get ready." Price instructed, causing the group to stand up and approach the door. "Good luck, Sergeant Burns."
"Thanks, Captain." Alex replied, exiting the room.
Alex walked through the hallways of the Stadium until he made his way back to the Task Force 141 barracks. He walked through the door and approached his bunk, grabbing the M4A1 leaning against the bed. He removed the magazine and checked the 5.56 rounds inside before returning the magazine to the weapon and slapping its side with his left hand. He slung it around his shoulder and let it drop to his chest before approaching the exit of the room as the other members of Task Force 141 entered and began to gather their equipment. Alex left the room and exited the hallway, entering the field area of the Stadium. He returned to the lobby of the Stadium and entered the main armory, approaching a case of M14 EBRs. He grabbed one customized by ZLR and approached the counter of the former gift shop.
"Checking out?" The man behind the counter joked as Alex placed the rifle on the counter.
"I guess so." Alex replied as the man behind the counter wrote something on a piece of paper. "Four frags and flashbangs, please."
The man behind the counter grabbed a box of frag grenades and a box of flashbangs, removing four from each as Alex grabbed his M14 EBR. Alex took the grenades, hooking them to his combat vest before grabbing three magazines for his weapons, and walked out of the armory. He watched as a small group of Marines started a game of poker at the pool table, the dealer passing out the cards and chips. Alex loaded a magazine into his M14 and cocked it, pulling back the bolt.
Alex, Farah, Roach and Volker walked into the Metro station, walking down the stairs with their weapons at the ready. Volker removed the .458 SOCOM mag from his M4A1 and replaced it with a 30 round 5.56 mag before removing the Variable Zoom Sniper Scope from the weapon and flipping up the irons sights. He placed the mag in a pocket in his combat vest and the scope in another. The fireteam entered the Metro terminal, finding the train in its place. Alex walked towards the train, acquiring a view of the tunnels, the tracks, and the Al-Qatala soldiers moments away from firing on him.
"Okay, then." Alex said, walking backwards into the terminal. "I found them."
Gunfire sprayed into the terminal from the far side of the tunnel, spraying dust from the marble walls. An Al-Qatala soldier fired their RPD blindly, trying to penetrate through the wall and kill their enemies. Volker and Roach rushed to the corner adjacent to the AQ soldiers, hiding behind the cover of the wall. They waited until the gunfire stopped before looking around the corner to find the AQ soldier throwing aside the empty belt mag and grabbing a new one. Volker fired an M4A1 burst at the soldier, killing him and causing the RPD to fall to the ground.
"Hostile down." Roach said, stepping away from the wall and towards Alex and Farah.
"How many?" Alex asked.
"Only one. Why?" Roach responded, confused.
"I counted three."
Gunfire grazed Volker's shoulder from the pitch black area of the tunnel, causing him to fall into cover.
"Fuck!" Volker shouted, dropping his M4A1 as Alex and Farah took his place at the edge of the wall while Roach aided Volker.
"There's only one!" Alex told his team, ducking behind cover as gunfire continued to pelt the wall.
An AQ soldier rushed from inside of the train nearest to the terminal, holding an AK-47 with a bayonet attachment on the muzzle, and charged towards Alex, holding up his weapon. Alex fired a single shot at the AQ soldier in the tunnel, missing the soldier and being forced to turn around. Alex grabbed the barrel of the AQ's AK-47 and thrust it upward, causing it to miss him. Alex thought quickly and kicked the soldier in the side of the head with his prosthetic left leg, killing the hostile quickly before ducking back behind cover.
"What do we do?" Roach asked as Alex grabbed a frag grenade from his vest.
"Hope you like fruit!" Alex shouted, throwing the grenade around the corner and into the darkness.
An explosion echoed through the tunnel as dismembered pieces of the AQ soldier splattered across the tunnel. Alex grabbed his M14 EBR and stepped out into the open.
"We're clear." Alex said, wiping blood off of his prosthetic leg.
"Begin the search." Farah told her team.
"Lock and load!" The newly bandaged Volker shouted, cocking his M4A1.
Honestly, this chapter wasn't my best work. I have no idea if it's decent or complete garbage, but I definitely wouldn't say it's awesome. If you thought it was pretty good, good for you, but I don't share that opinion. I will accept this as the beginning of the end for the Zakhaev arc of Armistice.