Chapter 15: Unmasked
30 SEPT 2020 0650
Farah Karim
Task Force 141 Team 1
Verdansk, Kastovia
Farah fired three rounds from her AK-47 into the chest of an Al-Qatala combatant, causing them to fall to the ground, dropping their weapon. They drew a Glock 21, which was promptly kicked out of their hands by Roach, who snuck up on them from the shadows. He bashed the butt of the Sandbar into the enemy's face, knocking them out.
"Good work, Roach." Farah told him.
Roach grabbed the body and slung it over his shoulder. He applied pressure to the gunshot wounds in their chest, knowing that they might need them later. Volker drew his Heartbeat Sensor, checking for any hostiles. Three blue dots appeared on the device, Alex, Farah and Roach, along with two white dots, one nearly on top of Roach and the other down the tunnel.
"One hostile around the corner." Volker told his allies.
"Alex, they're yours." Farah said.
"Perfect." Alex said, a grin forming underneath his mask.
Alex walked forward, his M14 EBR at the ready, and began to near the last corner of the tunnel between the Stadium and Lozoff Pass. An AQ soldier emerged from around the corner holding an AK-47 with a GP-25 attached, causing Alex to begin to pull the trigger of his M14 EBR. He wasn't fast enough. A grenade fired from the GP-25 and flew through the air towards its target. The grenade began to drop and soon after reached its destination, hitting Alex's prosthetic leg and exploding.
Alex hit the ground in the middle of the cloud of Tear Gas, his M14 EBR sliding onto the electrified train tracks. His cracked goggles let the gas into his eyes while he struggled to breathe. Volker looked at his Heartbeat Sensor, finding the AQ soldier still out in the open. He fired two .458 SOCOM rounds at him, killing him.
Volker dropped his custom M4A1, causing it to fall to his chest as he sprinted towards the cloud of gas. He held his arm around his mouth and nose to block out the gas and grabbed Alex with his free hand, beginning to drag him out of the gas. Volker set him onto the ground and tore off his balaclava, making it easier for him to breathe, but taking his goggles, helmet and headset with it. Alex began to cough uncontrollably, which was both a good and bad sign, showing that he was breathing, but also that he was in the gas long enough to experience negative side effects. Alex sat up slowly, rubbing his now moist eyes before opening them.
"You alright, Alex?" Volker asked while rubbing his eyes to banish the itch that was triggered by the gas.
"No. No I'm not." Alex replied before coughing three times. "I can't see a damn thing."
Volker pulled out his phone and searched the effects of Tear Gas on the internet.
"Shit." Volker muttered, not liking what he found. "One of the effects of Tear Gas is temporary blindness according to Wikipedia."
"How long does it last?" Farah asked as Roach proceeded to give Volker dirty looks that could only be described as "Really?"
"Fifteen to thirty minutes." Volker answered before raising his middle finger towards Roach for a few moments.
"That's fifteen minutes too long." Farah said while helping Alex to his feet. "We need somewhere to take cover."
"The train." Alex said weakly.
"Good idea. We hunker down in the train to give us time to recover, but it'll also give us the efficiency that we need to keep Zakhaev from slipping through our grasp." Roach said, essentially breaking down the benefits of the train.
"It shouldn't be much of a walk." Farah said. "Be on your guard."
"Always." Volker replied.
"Good. Stay close." Farah told her team.
The team moved around the gas until they found themselves at the last corner between the Stadium and Lozoff. Volker mounted his rifle on the corner and looked around, finding nothing between them and the Metro terminal.
"We're in the clear." Volker told Farah.
"Then let's fucking go!" Roach said, moving around the corner and towards the terminal, causing the rest of the team to follow him.
The team began to follow Roach down the tunnel, surveying their surroundings to find any hidden hostiles. The train began to pull into the terminal from the other side of the tunnel, causing the team to move towards the terminal at a higher speed. They reached the stairs leading from the tunnel to the terminal, blocked by a gate that was promptly kicked open by Volker. The four rushed to the train as its doors began to close, only for Volker to wedge his body in between them to keep them from closing. He held them open for the rest of the team to get inside, which they did, causing him to step inside of the train. He looked over at the team of Demon Dogs in the train.
"Sergeant." Volker said, acknowledging Griggs.
Griggs looked over at the temporarily blind Alex, who sat in the corner of the car uselessly.
"Sergeant Burns, you look… familiar." Griggs said, completely ignoring Volker.
Roach slowly put his hand on his holster and moved the guard out of the way, ready to draw his Glock 18.
"I'd say the same to you, but I can't really tell." Alex replied.
Roach seemingly relaxed, but his hand remained at his holster. The train began to move, causing the operators inside to remain silent until they heard a crunch underneath the train.
"That poor gun." Volker whispered.
"All teams, this is Nikto." Nikto's voice said over the radio. "My team found the tunnels leading out of Verdansk."
"Perfect." Nikolai's voice responded over the radio. "What did you find?"
"Nothing. The tunnel was rigged with C4, which buried everything inside, including the rest of my team."
Alex stopped coughing and fell silent in utter shock. Task Force 141 was falling apart, and the only ones that could stop it were buried six feet underground.