Author's Note: I just got back from watching F8 and I am FUCKING motivated! I recently went over my old chapters and did a lot of proofreading. Some of them were a little short so I added some extra meat and fixed the way they were presented. Hit a bit of a snag in my most recent one and I need some time.

Chapter 16: Raining Fire

July 26th 2010 0745 Hours

Osonica Air Base, Serbia

The best way that a solider can achieve his maximum potential is to allow him to cut loose. This however all depends on three things, his or her training, intelligence, and ability to work as a team. If all three work in perfect tandem then their potential can be limitless. Good news for me since I had a piece of each of the best special forces units in the world. Bad news for Baldra and his gang of wannabe tough guys.

The opening shots fired was louder that I thought since most of Nicoleavich's men were out in the open without cover. The team opened up with full auto and not letting their fingers off the triggers. Most of them went down before they had a chance to take cover. As Nicoleavich bolted away from Lehm and me, I tried to grab Dr. Rivere but a spray of bullets separated us. There were five trucks that were parked at random around the plane along with Baldra's Mercedes, Lehm and I put our backs together and covered each other as we made for the nearest truck. Valmet took Koko to the plane with R and Lutz taking cover inside the plane then laid suppressing fire with her MK46. After Lehm and I took cover I shouted to the Doctor.

"Rivere! Stay down and don't move!" I then flipped my radio switch. "Wiley, how many are there!?"

"No idea! But not as many as there was 10 seconds ago!"

Three things we had to keep safe, the plane, the doctor's and each other everything else is collateral. While some of what remained of the militia were firing from the cover of their trucks most tried to rush us and get in close. They never got more than three steps. When you need to defend an area it's easier than you might think. One thing I always hated about Army operations is that they made EVERYTHING sound more complicated than it needed to be. When defending an area you don't move from your spot unless the incoming fire is too great. All you really need to do is stay in cover, call out direction and description of the enemy, and keep communicating with each other. Far cry from Baldra and his men, they looked like they never been actually shot back at before. A lot of the damn fools didn't even take cover. As we took down one black beret after another I noticed that Nicoleavich was not among the corpses.

Where are you, you bastard?

As I took cover back behind the trucks engine block, Lehm and I both reloaded. However in the haste of finding cover we didn't check to see if the back of the truck was clear. Two militia appeared behind us, we dove to the ground but they already had us in their sights. But before they could fire, a large spray ripped through them both. We both reloaded our carbines quickly I mentioned to Lehm to stay and I would make towards the end of the truck. I peeked over and breathed a sigh of relief, Valmet.

"Nice save, appreciate it."

"It's not over yet." She said checking how much of her belt was left.

I then looked up and saw four coming right at us. "BEHIND YOU!"

I then darted out of cover quickly and took a knee on her left side as she performed a 180 degree spin. We both lit them up but while she used short bursts I accidentally didn't take my finger off the trigger and kneeled down to reload again.

"Reloading! Cov…"

Fortunately for me she was focused on the enemy in front of us but I had a bit of a problem trying to stop staring. Naturally when you're firing in full auto mode your body tends to shake. But two things also shook a little bit more on her than they wanted to and then my thoughts drifted back to yesterday afternoon when she was in her bikini.

Goddamnit. Focus on the fight. Focus on the fight. Focus on the fight.

After regaining my focus, and praying she wouldn't shoot me, I then noticed movement by the Mercedes. Baldra was loading Riviere into his car and he was gonna make a break for it. I then noticed that the gun fire had died down. After checking to see that there wasn't any more militia in my current area I motioned to Valmet I was moving and made for some of the crates we offloaded from the plane. I then saw Baldra running to the driver seat, I had to stop him or else he'd be back with his entire militia.

"BALDRA!"

He then turned around with a mixture of anger and fear. His prize was now staring him down waiting to kill. His plan to try and take me had gone up in smoke. The dragon's nightmare had come to claim him. Whether I knew it or not, I had a cold personification on employing my anger on those that truly deserved it.

Die.

But before I could aim, Koko came on the net.

"Hold your fire Damien. Don't kill him."

"What!? He's gonna get away!"

"I said don't kill him!"

As I looked back at Nicoleavich he was already in his car but his engine was sputtering. It must have taken damage from the fire fight, it had a problem turning over. I was about to lose my chance at giving us more time to prep the plane and escape.

"SON OF A BITCH!"

Koko only said not to kill him, she didn't say not to go and grab him. I sprinted full speed to the car with my carbine ready to smash the window to grab him but the engine came to life. My weapon bash hit the back seat window instead of the front seat and he sped off. I tried to put a few single shot's to his tires but he was moving away too fast. I missed my mark.

"Fuck!"

As I stood frustrated on the tarmac, the fighting had stopped. The team came in on the radio one at a time.

"All clear." Wiley.

"All clear." R.

"All clear." Mao.

"All clear." Valmet.

"Plane's intact, All clear." Ugo.

"Our casualties?" Koko.

"Zero." Lehm.

The adrenaline was still pumping. I knew Koko had always had a plan for everything but I couldn't get over the fact that she binded us in a way. I then noticed a reflection from off the ground, it was the camera Baldra was using. I walked over to it and decided to take out my frustration on that.

"Piece of shit." I growled and smashed it with my boot.

0809 Hours

"I can't believe what you have done! You've turned my airfield into a graveyard Miss Hekmatyar!"

The Serb captain was freaking out. He definitely knew that there was gonna be no way to cover something this big up. As his men were clearing the bodies of the militia off the airfield, Koko came up to him from behind.

"This had all gone a lot easier if Nicoleavich and his militia had behaved themselves." She then turned to the group.

"Question is how the hell are we gonna get out of the country. By plane right now?" Tojo went first.

"They'll shoot us out of the sky the moment they see us. How about by land?" Said Lutz.

"We can't bring our cargo with us like that." Said Koko.

I often found that asking blunt questions got me more direct answers. Problem with that though was that I was always seen as hostile when I did that.

"We would have had more options to get away and less problems if I just wasted Baldra, and he also got away with one of the doctors."

As expected I got a few looks of everyone telling me to calm down. But I was gonna make my point stand.

"Which also wouldn't have happened if I just killed him. I had the shot Koko, why didn't you let me take it?"

She then just looked up to me like I was asking normally.

"Sorry Damien. But he didn't deserve a quick death, especially by you. A swords worth is measured by the nobility of the lives it takes. When I said you were a part of my family, I meant that. You know family looks out for each other and I'm not going to let you fall back into who you were."

Once again that light speed mind slowed down enough for me to catch up. I felt like a bit of an idiot. In the last few months I never really quite wondered why Koko was taking such an interest in me. I knew she liked to cling on me and hug me like a girlfriend wanting her significant other to notice her but that was all she did. I'd be lying if I said she wasn't attractive but we both kept it professional.

"Besides, letting Baldra getting away suites my needs."

And back to light speed. How the hell's letting him get away help us?

As the team began brainstorming ideas on how to get away, Mao then spoke up.

"Hey guys, what about the artillery we just sold them? We could use one of those to take out any type of anti-air defense if they try to shoot us down."

While the rest of us couldn't really process what the hell we just heard, Koko then jumped at it and turned to the Serb captain as his troops loaded the last of the militia corpses into their trucks.

"Captain! I know this might seem like an odd request but we would like to buy one of the cannons back from you at double the price we sold for you. One gun and maybe two hours and we'll leave."

He looked at her like she was out of her mind and I still hadn't figured out how this plan was gonna work.

"Hardball huh? Ok then, next time you buy from us it doesn't matter what it is I'll make it 25% off."

"Ugh. Ok do whatever you need to do."

"Ok listen up! Ugo, get the plane ready to take off! Everyone listen to Mao, he's in charge and he's gonna make this work! Hop to it!"

0942 Hours

I was getting a little antsy considering that Nicoleavich and his militia hadn't come back yet in force. But it looked like we were gonna get out of here with the ability to fight back. The only problem though was we were working against the clock and trying to make a jury rigged AC-130 gunship could prove to be as dangerous to us as well as whoever we were shooting at. We had to take the cannon apart so that it could fit at the tail of the plane properly and heavily secure it so that when it fired it remained where it was and not rip the plane apart. Since we had no computer targeting system Mao was frankly using iron sights at 8,000 feet and the plane had to be above the target he was gonna fire at. If we pulled this shit off it was gonna be our biggest miracle to date.

"You do realize you're only gonna get one shot at those anti-air batteries. Cause we do have a finite number of flares and worst case scenario this thing can't outfly MIGs."

"Don't be such a skeptic Damien. I know this ain't a Spectre but it's better than flying off with nothing."

As we continued to put the finishing touches on our new gunship Koko walked up the ramp. Maggie was staring at us with concern.

"I'm sorry again about causing you all so much trouble. Had we known Baldra was looking for us we would have never come along with you. And Dr. Rivere wouldn't have been kidnapped."

"Don't blame yourselves. Baldra and I are the real troublemakers for you. But for now I suggest you and the rest secure yourselves. Talk to Captain Holtz, he'll give you some helmets. This ride is going to be rough."

Ten minutes later we secured the howitzer and were ready for takeoff. This all rested on Mao, Ugo, and Holtz. They were the ones keeping us safe. Wiley and Lehm were Mao's cannon crew and I then noticed one of the 122mm shells with the Russian Cyrillic writing translated "Air Burst". Even though that meant he didn't need to hit the AA Site he still had a slow firing cannon. It didn't change the fact I was scared out of my mind. I then looked to Maggie and she was just as afraid.

"You're not alone. Even I'm not sure this bat shit plan is gonna work."

She then looked at me and changed the subject. And not in a way I wanted to think about right now.

"I overheard Baldra talking to you. He called you Nightmare what does that mean?"

I sighed deeply. "Maggie I'm sorry. But you shouldn't know the answer to that. And quite frankly now is not the time."

After we got off the ground we started gaining a little more speed than we did when we first arrived. I kept my earpiece covered and tuned into the chatter between Koko and Captain Holtz.

"Ok we're gonna be passing over their AA positions now. Captain activate the IR jammers!"

"IR jammers activated! Ugo keep an eye on the radar and your finger on the flare launcher."

"Got it!"

Not more than two seconds after that a large explosion happened outside. The AA batteries were opening up on us. I looked out the window and noticed tracer rounds zooming by. Being part of an airborne group meant this was a worst case scenario for a combat jump over hostile territory and it had been the same since World War II. Big, slow moving, low flying targets full of casualties was easy pickings for the enemy on the ground. It was the same for an AC-130 Spectre, since they needed to fly low to get the air support to the troops below they were in constant danger of AA fire. It's why they always did their fire support missions at night. But I couldn't do anything, this was one of the few times I wish I could have helped but field artillery was not among my training.

"Holtz get us some altitude!"

"Shit! Incoming missile!"

"Fire off the flares!"

The inside of the plane rumbled like crazy, shouts were drowned out by the explosions and random noise. I felt like I was at Normandy just wanting to get out of the plane and fight. We weren't gonna be able to take another barrage like that, Mao was waiting to get on the cannon and let them have it, he then got his wish.

"Mao! You're up! Don't let them fire again!"

"Got it Koko! Lehm! Wiley!"

They sprung up and took their positions. Mao aligned his sight as Lehm scanned the ground with his binos and Wiley loaded the first shell.

"I got visual! Our two at that cliff!"

"Holtz! I need to get an angle on them! Climb and shift left! Get me above them!"

"Got it!"

You can do this Mao. Drop the pain on 'em.

"Everyone cover your ears! FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

The howitzer fired, the pressure was felt, the noise was ear splitting, but the plane kept flying. Mao took the binos from Lehm. I hoped the next thing he said was good.

"Direct hit! Unload that second round were good!"

Howls and cheers of victory filled the plane and I was never more relieved, Mao saved all of us. Koko then came on the net.

"You still got it Mao, outstanding job I'm proud of you. But were not out of the woods yet, we still gotta get the doctor's to Kosovo. And one more issue we have to take care of but first let's get away from the militia."

In that moment I realized I was the only one who didn't proactively acknowledge Mao's success. I then remembered a thing platoon's did when they marched. It seemed appropriate and rather nostalgic.

Thirteen bravo!

Raining fire!

King of battle follow me!

Field artillery!

After a small acknowledgement from the crew on where I was getting at I felt a tug on my shirt.

"What song is that?" Maggie asked.

"It's not a song Maggie. It's a marching cadence. Thirteen bravo is the US Army designation for a soldier that is field artillery."

1026 Hours

"Lehm, you called it. I'm never doing air mail with Koko again!"

It wasn't even noon yet and I had the nasty feeling I was gonna need a clean pair of shorts before then. It was now official, my life had completely turned into an action movie. I just hoped I didn't start speaking with an Austrian accent in the process.

"I told you flying with Koko is never good!"

"Shut up you two! Holtz can you set this down properly?"

"According to the map the only straightest strip of road I can see with no traffic is 118. All I have to do is stay away from the power lines."

"Make it so. We'll touch down there."

Yeah I'm gonna need to change my pants.

With the right amount of constant training and flying a pilot can put a plane on the ground without the use of a control tower and keep his passengers safe. Be actually part of one though meant you had your doubts and this flight was shitty enough as it was. But if Mao could level an AA site with ground based howitzer in the sky then Holtz and Ugo could put this thing on the ground. The plane slowly creeped down to the road and the touchdown was rougher than a normal runway. But it was still intact and the plane slowly came to a halt. Looks like this was gonna be the MSF's drop off point. As everyone started getting off the plane I kept in my seat and took off my helmet, Maggie got up in front of me.

"Aren't you coming?"

"I need to let the adrenaline cool down. I'll be outside in a moment."

"I didn't picture a guy like you would be afraid of anything."

"Well I haven't turned into B.A. Baracus just yet."

She chuckled and then left. After taking a few seconds I heard Koko from the cockpit.

"Scarecrow my old friend." As if she meant that.

The hell is she calling him for!?

"I don't have a lot of time so I'll give you one chance or I hang up and I think your gonna want this deal."

I unbuckled myself and made my way to the cockpit. I had to hear this for myself, this is probably what she meant by suiting her needs.

"I'm in Serbia right now, not too far outside of Kosovo. I've found Nicoleavich, and I'm willing to sell him to you and you'll get all the credit for the price on his head of $5 million."

"Tempting but I'm not in the habit of helping arms dealers expand their business." I heard on the phone.

"Too bad. You are stupider than you sound." She then hung up and dialed a different number.

"Hey Schokolade. I've found Nicoleavich and for $5 million, he's all yours."

"Deal! Where's he at?"

"He's tracking us right now. Call the Marines in Kosovo and tell them to get ready for a snatch and grab. I'll call you back and let you know exactly where to pick him up."

She then hung up and looked down to me standing in the cockpit door smiling as normal.

"I owe you an apology from earlier. You wanted to let the CIA owe you one and I'm guessing you could have used that favor to keep me safe."

She didn't answer but instead ruffled my hair like a dog. I then went outside with the others, I saw Maggie finish packing her rucksack on the side of the road.

"You guys almost ready to go? Should be a lengthy walk but you'll make it to Kosovo without much trouble since we're out of Baldra's reach."

"Yes I just need to speak with Miss Hekmatyar and well go."

She paused and then looked at me as if she was analyzing something, I didn't need to figure out what she was going to ask.

"Your eyes. They're very gentle and you seem like the type of man that will always keep his friends safe. Why did Nicoleavich call you The Nightmare?"

I shut my eyes, unslung my 416, undid my ponytail and sat on a rock. It was natural that my name wasn't really public knowledge and I couldn't let her know who I really was.

"You know what Koko does so you should also know that she doesn't discriminate from who she hires. You think of Nicoleavich as a monster but he's a saint compared to me. The only real difference between the two of us is that I do my absolute damnedest to make sure that I hold on to my humanity."

There was no answer from her. How could there be? As I could only imagine how Maggie was looking at me Koko then addressed us all again.

"Well that sucked. We should be lucky, if they had something I'd sold them it would have been much worse."

While that got a rise out of everyone I stayed silent but Lutz at least shared my frustration.

"That ain't that funny we almost died!"

"Miss Hekmatyar?" Maggie spoke up. "I just wanted to say that we appreciate you help but we can walk from here to Kosovo. We'll transfer the rest of the money as soon as possible."

Koko then held up her hand. "Hold on now. I still have not held up my end of our business agreement and I don't cut corners. I agreed to get ten doctor's to where they needed to go and we're one short. We are gonna bring him back for you."

An expression of joy came over Maggie's face, looked like I wasn't the only one that wanted to keep their humanity in check.

"Ok Tojo get the sat-com working I need to get in touch with HQ. Lehm, Wiley, Mao be prepared to move out. Everyone else will hunker down here and guard the plane."

1140 Hours

It had already dawned on me long ago that Koko's company tended to act way more as a military unit rather than using the simple business model of buying and selling arms. But then again what's the point of selling all this equipment if you don't know anything about it. I was looking over Tojo's shoulder on his laptop, HCLI had scanned GPS coordinates and managed to lock on to Baldra's Mercedes using a down looking satellite. The bullet holes in the car were a dead giveaway it was him.

"So your still tracking him?"

…

"Ugh, you don't need to repeat what I said just a simple yes will do. And by the way, I figured it out. It's one of Floyd's scenarios isn't it?"

Uh-oh. I didn't see this one coming.

…

The other end was taking a little too much time. I could tell by the look on her face that her relationship to her father was somewhat complicated.

At least she can still talk to her dad. I don't even know what mine is doing anymore.

"Well are Scarecrows Marines on their way?"

…

"Ok send the call and I'll get the CIA on the horn. Lehm, Baldra is heading right for us time to go hunting."

"Yes ma'am." Wide grin and cigarette in his mouth as usual.

Looks like I wasn't with the hunting party this time. Can't really go on all the trips or else you'd burn yourself out. After a few minutes Koko, looking out to the plains and mountains, started on one of her own philosophical lectures again.

"When a man kills enough people he's no longer a man, he becomes a dragon. They are terrible beasts that guard their selfish treasure, and their need for violence grows with their greed. Then they lose all vestiges of their humanity. They are monsters of our own creation and can't be allowed to exist. In ancient lore it's always been said that dragon slaying is a great honor. It's strange but I ought to be thanking Baldra."

"Hmm. Good lesson Professor Koko but there's one flaw in that. Dragons are make believe, human being are real and they're a hell of a lot more terrifying."

Before I could go any further a massive blast had erupted a few miles down the road.

"A perfect example, my good friend Mr. Nelson's knowledge of making shit go boom!"

I pressed my earpiece to listen in on the chatter.

"Nice! Scary good with explosives Wiley!"

"I planted another one of those flechette rounds you fired. Didn't even know what hit em."

Baldra or the doctor better not get caught in the steel rain or were screwed.

After a few tense minutes Lehm came on the horn.

"We got the chief doctor and the angry asshole. Send the Marines the pickup coordinates Koko."

"We got Rivere everyone, they'll be on their way back but he'll need some help."

As more celebrations continued Maggie approached Koko a tear in her eye.

"I wasn't sure you'd be able to get to him. We can't thank you enough. It's also a little terrifying to see the kind of power and influence you have. I hope you don't mind me saying this but you kind seem like a dragon as well."

There was a slight pause but Koko then bursted out laughing and then made a motion as if she was making wings with her hands.

"Me a dragon? Only if I get to be peaceful fun loving one! No burning or anything."

Not to ruin the mood. But indirectly she's responsible for more deaths than both Baldra and me combined.

"Can we go home now please?" I said acting like a begging child.

She walked over to me and put her elbow on top of my head as if she was resting on a table. She then pulled out her sat-phone.

"Almost just one more phone call." She then dialed in Scarecrow. "Scarecrow it's me. I know I made the deal with Schokolade but have you reconsidered?"

"Yeah fine deal. Now gimme the fucking intel."

"GPS coordinates should be arriving to you right now. Congratulations, the CIA just nabbed one of the missing war criminals from the Bosnian War."

As we waited for Lehm, Wiley and Mao to come back Holtz and Ugo started up the plane. We had to get out of here fast. The doctor's packed up their stuff and started to move towards Kosovo. As we said our final goodbyes, Maggie approached me.

"Thank you for keeping us safe."

"It's what I…have to do."

I should have seen it coming but she then hugged me so hard I could feel my plate's pressuring on me. I returned the favor, the scene may have looked like an honorable knight letting one of their people know they would always protect them but I am far from honorable.

"Good bye Damien."

"Take care of yourself Maggie."

They all left the moment the rest of the crew got back from placing Nicoleavich where the Marines would pick him up. We then mounted up and took off too. Once we reached cruising altitude I took off my plate carrier and made my way to the cockpit. Koko was sitting on the floor and she looked at me.

"Something wrong Damien?"

"Call your dad."

Her face then straightened. I didn't know what her relationship was like with her father but obviously it was strained at best.

"Damien…"

"Just hear me out. I'm only gonna say my peace and then you can do whatever. When I was in Afghanistan I acted without thinking it through and I abandoned my own family in the process. I don't even know if my father's even alive or dead. I have forever lost the ability to patch things up with him but if you've got any issue's with yours then you have the time and ability to straighten them out now. You're looking out for me, this will be my way of looking out for you and if you need help I'll provide it."

She didn't answer and her face was still straight when I walked back to the plane's cargo bay. But I did hear the beeps of numbers being punched in. It'd be best to let that conversation be private. As I made to the group, I then sat down next to Valmet.

"It's not even two yet and the days over. Don't you just love early get out of work days?"

"I do." A slight smirk then turned to a scowl followed by slaps to my head.

"OW! OW! HEY! CUT IT OUT! HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT! DAMN! OW!"

I then grabbed her hand and we both got into our arm lock pose again.

"What the fuck did I do!?"

She then lean her head forward and said in a growling whisper.

"I only have a lack of depth perception, I'm not blind. I saw how you were looking at me on the airfield."

Crap.

For some strange reason I got the feeling that this exact same thing happened to R yesterday. Out of lack of anything else to say I just said what I needed to say and hoped the crew didn't catch on. They were watching us as if they were begging for something to blow.

"Well…next time don't hold the trigger down!"

"UGH! God you are such a pig!"

"Hey! I don't go around slapping people just cause they wanted to talk to me!"

"JACKASS!"

"DUMB BROAD!"

"LADY BOY!"

"BIMBO ON STEROIDS!"

"Will you two just screw and get it over with?"

"SHUT UP LUTZ!" We screamed together.