Chapter 1: Last Day Of The Old Life.
15/3 2017.
Syria, bordering the rogue ISIS state.
Shaving was a mandatory thing in the military. That was what Mads was currently doing. He used the mirror in the sun shield of the military armored truck. They were halted at a small village. It was already late in the evening. The small village had been cleared a few days back by the Russian volunteers and Syrian government forces. There had only be small resistance.
The weather was calm, and actually pretty chilly. Mads took extra care not to cut himself as he used the mirror for guidance. His razor broke a few towns back, and he had to resort to using his military knife for the task. He moved carefully, hoping to god he wouldn't cut himself.
A loud knock on the door destroyed that chance. It was only a small cut, but still very visible with it's red and angry skin, and the small layer of blood running down his cheek. Still, for a senior lieutenant, it was not the kind of weakness you should show. Mads let out a sigh as he opened the door.
"Victor, I ought to beat your sorry ass." Mads remarked.
"Sorry chief, but you know I had to do it. You got a cigarette for a poor man?" Victor asked. He had been Mads' best friend for quite some time now. He was a few ranks under Mads, but still a very capable leader.
"Fucking freeloader." Mads remarked as he dug into his pocket and found his pack. He handed it to Victor, who fished one out quickly. Then Victor gestured with his hands for a lighter.
"You want fucking light too?" Mads asked. Victor nodded as the cigarette was between his lips. Mads shook his head and pulled out his zippo lighter and gave fire to the cigarette. "Want me to suck your dick while I am at it?" Mads asked sarcastically.
Victor took a long drag before answering. "I wouldn't mind." They both laughed.
"You're fucked up." Mads said as the laughter died down.
"We all are." Victor replied as he took another drag. "But the way, you still have some cum on your face." Victor added.
"WHAT?" Mads quickly looked into the mirror and realized he was referring to the shaving cream. "Fuck you." Mads tried to say in a serious tone, but it came out more like a chuckle.
"Got ya'" Victor grinned.
"Mama bear to eagle scout. Over." The radio interrupted their conversation. Mads quickly reached for the receiver. "Go give the fuckers something to eat." Mads ordered. Victor quickly went back to the end of the truck to receive the MREs stored there.
"This is eagle scout. What's the situation? Over." Mads replied into the mic.
"New orders from HQ. Do not, I repeat, do not head north-east tomorrow. Focus south east. Over." Mama bear explained.
"How come? Over." Mads asked confused.
"Can't tell. This is based on new information. You have to move out at 0300 hours. Understood? Over."
"Copy that."
"Over and out."
"Over and out." Mads said and put the mic back on the radio. Mads picked up his blade and continued shaving the remaining bit. When he was done, he inspected the result and concluded that it was acceptable. Mads washed his face with the water, and thanked God he wasn't in the navy where they used cold water for this. He stepped out of the car to see the platoon sized squad all eating their cardboard meals.
"Hey Romanov! Catch!" Victor yelled as Mads catched it just in time. The MRE was some sort of beef sandwich that looked less than appetizing. Still, there was no chance that they would get anything else from the military. And there was no way Mads would be eating what was local.
He smiled as he saw his men still having a good time, as if there wasn't a brutal war going on. Mads was just looking forward to getting home. This was his only real chance to feel human. The men were joking around, as they always did. The new order still was a bit weird with Mads. He told the men of the change in plan, and they were most displeased with the new time they had to move out, but they accepted it.
Hours passed as the sun was replaced with the glowing moon. Mads was sitting up at a nearby hill. He was looking over the vast desert before him. It seemed never-ending in it's nature from there. Mads heard the sound of sand shifting as someone approached. Mads knew who it was.
"What's up hussar? Still can't lose the boots?" Victor joked as came and sat down beside Mads. Mads chuckled. Victor was referring to jackboots. It was true, it was quite hot to have them on, but it was tradition in not his family, but the army as well. He liked them.
"My horse riding days are over, but I'll be worm food before I lose them." Mads replied with a smile.
"Whatever you say cowboy. I see the brass finally approved the magnum as well." Victor continued.
"I have never fought harder in my life, than when I tried to convince the top guys that a 44. Magnum was a good service weapon." Mads replied in laughter. Victor joined in.
"You thinking about Nika?" Victor asked in a more serious concerned voice as the laughter died down.
"Partly." Mads answered as he let some sand flow out of hand.
"I doubt anyone is gonna fuck her while you are gone. Remember that biker dude who tried to hit on her-"
"That's not what I'm concerned about." Mads interrupted.
"Then what is it?" Victor asked again.
"She hates me for leaving for these tours… And I understand her completely. This shit is absurd. This doesn't concern us. Not to mention Boris-" Mads replied.
"Boris died a hero's death. I can't think of someone more suitable for a medal than him. But it wasn't your fault." Victor said." but I guess it's true that we have no reason to be here. But, we're soldiers, we do as we are told." Victor said.
"Yeah, but still, what will happen when we leave? Will all this shit just crumble?" Mads kept on.
"Don't know. That's for the politicians to decide." Victor remarked.
"There is only a month left for this tour. I was thinking about taking Nika somewhere nice. Maybe even south Africa or Chile. Take a long vacation." Mads explained.
"Sounds cool. But, you'll come back right?" Victor asked, a small hint of nervousness in his voice was present.
"I'm in too deep with the military to simply hang up my hat. I doubt I'll leave. That, and these finger tattoos makes it impossible to get a job anywhere else, unless it is some illegal shit." Mads reassured him.
"Good. There no one I'd rather crack some skulls with." Victor joked.
"Heh, we'll do plenty of that." Mads replied with a smile.
The moon was high in the sky. It was slightly cloudy. Mads kept in touch with Mama bear, and had another man on the map looking for a supposed hot spot. ISIS realized that they were losing, and had began to resort to more desperate measures. Like terror aboard, and burning the lands the left behind, taking everything that isn't nailed down and burning the rest.
Mads had seen just about everything during his time fighting the terror organization. People tortured, people murdered, people kidnapped and horrible genocide. He could feel his sanity was walking on a thin fucking line. Someone else appear on the radio.
"Sunny to eagle scout, do you copy? Over." It was the reconnaissance unit sent out. It was a few miles in front of them.
"This is eagle scout. What's the status? Over." Mads replied as he eagerly awaited a response.
"We located a small town 15 clicks to the east. Night vision reveals it's a military base. What are your orders? Over." They asked back.
"Give us the coordinates and await further instructions. Keep a close eye on the base and attempt intelligence gathering. Eagle scout over and out." Mads ordered.
"Copy that. Over and out." Was the simple answer. The coordinates showed up on screen and Mads quickly had the driver change course to it. He radioed the other trucks to tell them the new information. Mads quickly checked his AK-12 for any last minute faults.
It took a while for them to get near the town. "Kill the lights." Mads ordered. They rolled up and were about 1-2 miles away from the camp. They would walk the rest on foot. They had to meet up with the reconnaissance unit.
Mads looked at his watch. It was 5:10 am. It wouldn't be long before the sun would rise. Most of them were probably asleep. There were a few guards patrolling. Mads drew up a quick battle plan in his head as he thought over the information given to him. They had cleared at least a dozen towns this size before. There was almost no chance this would be different.
"Emil, take delta squad and move a click around." Mads ordered. Emil was a sergeant, and very much capable as well. "Watch out for civilians. You'll move in on my command, once you have reached the perimeter, we'll move into position as well. Understood?"
"Yes sir!" Emil replied before gathering up delta squad and moving around. Mads checked his magazine and was pleased to find it full. Hopefully, this would be quick and painless. There was no telling if there were civilians in there, and who knows if there might be hostages.
Mads sends another dozen men the other way around and puts someone on lookout. Everything seemed to be going smoothly. That was until small arms fire could be heard. It came from the eastern part of the small town, and Mads was worried. He quickly called up Emil on the radio.
"What's the situation? Over" Mads eagerly awaited the response.
"We're taking heavy fire!" The radio replied.
"Retreat back to the rocks. We'll give covering fire." Mads ordered. "Get into positions and await my signal for suppressing fire!" Mads shouted to his men. They quickly did as told.
As delta squad made their break for the rocks. Mads ordered them to fire upon the place the shots came from. He radioed in and ordered the other teams to slowly move in and attempt either a break through, or a diversion. Mads and his team could then slowly move in further, using their armored truck as cover as they moved along.
Mads changed his mag, pulling out a new one from the ammo pouch in his vest. "Cover me, I'm going in." Mads ordered. They were no further than 20-25 meters from the town's edge. He could make a run for it if they covered him. He would use the buildings as cover, and move further into the heart of the town.
"I'm coming with you." Victor said. Mads was about to dismiss it, but a bullet grazed the truck, and Mads realized he could use someone looking over him.
"Alright, let's move. Lay down cover fire in, 3, 2, 1. GO!" Mads ordered, tugging Victor with him. His men did as told and took most of the attention away from them. Mads bursted into the nearest door. Victor was right behind him. Two men looked up and raised their rifle at them.
Mads took down one of them, Victor got the second. "Clear!" Mads yelled as he moved through to the other side of the house. Focus was off from Emil's team, and as they had regrouped, they began to try to attack the town from the other end. All teams were now beginning to move in. Mads and Victor continued their house-to-house clearing. They took it nice and slow, careful not to rush it.
They had to move carefully. It took several hours to clear half the town, and most houses were empty. But, the enemy were known for using meat shields every now and then, and hostages could be present. As the day dragged on, they came closer and closer to finishing the job.
At the end, one house stood unchecked. Mads and Victor agreed to let the other men rest a bit. They would take care of the house. It would turn out to be the last thing Mads ever did. The door was kicked open, and they stormed in. At first, it seemed quiet.
"you check the living room. I'll check the bedroom." Mads ordered. Victor quickly nodded. They went their separate ways, as Mads checked every corner of the room. "Bedroom is clear!" Mads yelled.
"Oh shit!" Victor yelled back, a gun shot was heard. Mads quickly rushed into the living room to see what was going on. There, Victor was. On the floor, bleeding from a shoulder wound.
Mads quickly raised his rifle at the person who shot him. Mads' brain analyzed the situation at lightning speeds. It wasn't as much a man, as it was a kid. No more than 17 years old. There was fear installed in the kid's eyes.
Still, the kid acted in fear as well. He raised his rifle, and Mads pointed it at him as well. "PUT IT DOWN!" Mads didn't have the time to translate it into Arabic, nor was he any good in Arabic. But, he saw the kid pulling the trigger ever so slightly. Mads decided he wouldn't take the chance. Victor's life was in his hand.
They must have pulled the trigger simultaneously, because Mads heard a shot that definitely didn't come from his own rifle. The kid had been wielding an old soviet rifle, most likely an SKS. But, Mads fired a shot of his own. It all happened so fast. The world turned black, but Mads could still feel the cheap carpet underneath him, and his nose still picked up the foul smell in the house.
"MADS! FUCK!" He could hear Victor panicking. He could feel Victor tried to search for a pulse on Mads, he could feel Victor trying to shake Mads back into consciousness, but it wasn't happening. The sounds, the smell, it all began to fade away as Mads felt himself slipping.
He could still hear a few things. Like people rushing to the house, and a few medic telling him everything was going to be okay. Time became a blur after that, he feels close to nothing, he only hears voices talking over him.
"You can't do that, you don't have-…..."
"This is straight from the Kremlin! Of course I-…."
"-ut, this is untested. There is no way this is-….!"
"JUST FUCKING DO IT" There is silence for a while. Someone is right by him, but Mads' brain is unable to comprehend anything at this point.
It's not much more than a whisper into his ear, but it is still as clear as day. "I'm sorry, I truly am." Everything gets totally dark after that.