AN: New story time! *happy dance* I wanted to get this up and going before I go back to school. It'll be short, I'm guessing four chapters, but you all know my stories get out of hand very easily. This is slightly based on the idea of how the Army's 10th Mountain Division, a light infantry mountain unit, is actually trained for the elements in this story. I know I may not have all of my facts 100% correct with some things, but as always, I am exercising my creative license for this story. Hope you enjoy it. And it's Original Team Bravo (OTB), so no Metal or Vic.

1: Winter's Reign

Sonny Quinn walked into the cage room with a noticeable scowl on his bearded face. The thump of his boots could be heard throughout as he all but stomped to his cage. He loudly unlocked and tossed the metal door open, before finally throwing his backpack down in the corner.

"You alright there, Sonny?" Clay Spenser is the first to speak up, though it was clear the rest of Bravo Team was thinking the same thing as they filed in.

"Peachy as apple pie." more things rattle around. Something falls and Sonny muttered a curse under his breath.

"It's probably not going to be as bad as you think." Ray Perry added with a grin.

Trent Sawyer tried to hold back a laugh. "I hear it's real nice this time of year, too. Beautiful hiking trails, small lakes," he paused. "Or maybe that was in the summer."

"Think brass will let us stay an extra day or two? Maybe hit the slopes for fun?" Brock Reynolds joked as he imagined relaxing, just for a solid 24-hours. That's all he needed.

"Hardly. Brass doesn't want us in country longer than we have to be," Finally, Jason Hayes walked into the room. He knew what was on Bravo Three's mind, signed and added, "There's not likely to be much snow where we'll be, anyway."

"It ain't the snow that I'm talking 'bout. It's the cold. How it jus' sneaks up on ya. With no warning whatsoever. It takes different forms, then bam! it hits ya like a semi truck." Sonny told his brothers. "And if you put snow on top of that, then you're in for a bad time. Y'all must forget, I am from the south. The. South. We Southerners don't do cold. We barbecue at Christmas!"

"I think you're the only Southerner who doesn't like the cold, Son."

"And the only frogman who doesn't like water."

"Or the jungle."

"Or-"

"Har har har," Sonny mocked back. "Laugh now, but I'm tellin' ya, you can't prepare for something like this. So don't come at me when y'all can't handle it."

Their mission was to extract a person the CIA had been after for some time. However, it became a delicate situation as Nicoli Pev volunteered to give himself up in exchange for immunity in the US. Apparently his home country caught word of his plans to defect, and put out a hit worth millions on his head. The Army's 10th Mountain Division was not cut out for a mission such as this, so Bravo was called in. While they were up against the elements of nature, they also had to contend with a hit squad as well. Brass didn't want to take any chances in getting Pev, and his intel, on US soil safely.

No matter what Sonny said before they landed in country, Bravo Team was grateful for a break from the usual dust and sand environment. The white tipped mountain was a sight to behold from the bottom, but now a few hours in the team was beginning to feel nature's power increase.

The longer they walked, the colder it got. The higher they went, the thinner the air became. Even the SEALs, in their Tier One Operator health, struggled to keep a steady pace going as they got closer and closer to Pev's marked pos, which pushed near the top of the mountain. With ISR following their every move, and watching for any enemy forces that will want to cause problems for them, Jason called for a quick break in a small cluster of trees.

"HAVOC, this is One. How're we looking?" Jason says into his comms.

"HAVOC to One, the surrounding area appears to be clear. At your current pace, you will reach the HVI's current pos by midday." Eric said from base.

"Copy that. One out," Hayes turns to his team, recognizes they are as rested as they will get. "Let's go."

The plan from the get-go was to arrive at the mountain before dawn. They would hike up to Pev's position halfway up the mountain, which was nothing more than a poorly built cabin he tossed together between a cluster of trees, according to Mandy's lengthy conversations with the man. Bravo was to arrive there by midday, secure Pev, hike toward the exfil point before dusk set in. This was far from a black op, but Brass still wanted no footprints left behind if they could help it.

A couple more hours passed before they finally reached the cabin. Bravo took cover and watch positions behind a couple of boulders while Jason contacts HAVOC.

"One to HAVOC, we've reached Winter Oak."

"Copy. I'll make the call to Pev." Mandy Ellis says. A few minutes pass in thick silence before a small white cloth was stuck out the window and waved back and forth.

"HAVOC, I have eyes on. Standby," Jason said before turning to his team. "Sonny and Clay, go get the HVI. The rest of us will set up along this treeline, every ten meters."

While Sonny and Clay went for Pev, the rest of the team watched their six. The temperature dropped more and the wind picked up. Jason looked at the poorly made cabin, then out to the open mountain behind the cabin. He keyed his comms.

"One to Three. Give me a sitrep, over."

"Three to One, our HVI has a lot of crap to pack. Over."

Jason shook his head. "Hurry the hell up."

"Copy that."

"Hey, boss, those clouds are pretty dark," Ray said over the comms. Jason noticed this, which meant HAVOC likely did as well. "We gotta get moving. Sooner, rather than later."

Jason thought back to Mandy's brief about 'getting Pev and everything Pev has stored in that cabin', no matter how seemingly insignificant. Bravo wasn't read in on what made Pev so important, and Jason was far enough along his career as an operator to know better than to ask questions.

"Bravo Four," Jason said into the comms. He knew Trent took the position closest to the cabin, and would be able to lend a hand in getting the intel packed in a timely manner. "Go help Three and Six."

A quick "copy" reached his ear and soon Trent jogged across the small clearing to the cabin entrance, the team's eyes on his six. Not thirty seconds later, Sonny's voice came over the radio.

"Ready to go, boss."

Jason looked through his scope, saw the once green ground turn to stark white with snow. There was no movement in the distance, and except for the sound of the winds increasing, it was quiet. "Cleared to move."

Clay stepped out first, one of Pev's bags slung over his shoulder. His weapon was raised and he walked a few feet out before Sonny followed, his weapon raised in his right hand and his left gripped tightly on Pev's shoulder. Trent brought up the rear, a smaller bag of the HVI's in his right hand.

They just reached the middle of the small clearing when bullets peppered the ground around their feet.

AN: Oh, look at that. My cliffhangers are back.