Yeah the chapters are getting shorter, but it's helping me keep things organized and doesn't hurt my eyes when I'm looking it over.
Chapter 19: Russian Winter, Part I
Northern commercial district warehouses, 1820
"We don't want to get too close and alert them to our presence." Winter said to Alex who nodded in agreement.
"You heard the lady Gary, take us down." He called out to the pilot.
"Roger that!" Gary replied with his thick Australian accent. Or whatever it was referred to as on Remnant. The bullhead they were in began its descent until it was low enough for the Russians and Winter to jump out. "After I refuel, I'll be on standby and ready to pick you guys up in a flash!" Gary shouted. Alex acknowledged him with a thumbs up before flying away from the area.
"All right Winter, you know this area better than us, so go ahead and take point." Alex said to her. She was wearing the rarely used, all black variant of the Atlesian field uniform that consisted of black boots, cargo pants and a tactical long sleeve blouse. In addition to her sword, Winter was also armed with a standard issued Atlesian submachine gun with a suppressor attached that she kept on a sling. Extra magazines and Dust were kept in pouches that she wore around her waist. The final component of her unique ensemble was Alex's spare balaclava concealing her face, leaving only her eyes visible. She had to undo her iconic bun in order to place it over her head and the guys joined the few people lucky enough to see the rare sight of Winter with her hair down. All of them mentally agreed that she should wear it down more often.
The guys were geared up with the weapons and uniforms that most of Beacon and the Atlesian forces were used to seeing. In addition to the special ammo and explosives they used to counter Aura, they had a couple other pieces of equipment that should help them out. Alex and Nick had night vison goggles that were mounted to the front of their helmets for darkened areas, and Ivan was carrying a suit case that contained a new experimental drone the Atlesians developed.
While Alex, Winter and Nick get up close and personal with the enemy, Greg and Ivan are going to set up a "crows' nest" in one of the buildings that'll allow Greg to have an excellent view of the area as well as the ability for him and Ivan to provide fire support. While Greg uses his rifle to observe the area, Ivan will be controlling the new drone that'll allow him to get an even wider view of the area and spot incoming threats. Ironwood told them that using the drone and controlling it was so simple, a child could do it.
The group of five maintained a steady pace as they made their way towards the mission area. All the buildings in this part of the city were old, decrepit, covered in graffiti and have certainly seen better days. If they remembered right, this area is one of the older parts of the city that has since then, became nothing more than a warehouse dump where companies and manufactures store their excess inventories. Very rarely, do people ever come to this area other than companies dropping off or picking up inventories. Police seldom patrol this area, and the nearest signs of life is a low-income neighborhood about five miles south of the area. And then there's the lingering odor that's hard to distinguish but can be best described as a combination of thrift store and industry. Overall, it's the perfect place for criminals, ne'er-do-wells, drug addicts, or in this case, terrorists.
It was another few minutes of them navigating their way through the tight corridors of the warehouses before they spotted a group of enemies hanging out by a dumpster. Another thing that distinguished ANTIFA from the White Fang was that they didn't wear uniforms and mostly wore normal civilian clothing. There were four of them, three men and one woman standing around and talking to each other. Their clothing varied between person, but common elements were practical items in dark colors with optional headgear or methods to conceal their faces. Additionally, all members wear ANTIFA's symbol, a blue skull with a dagger jammed into its eye socket, on their person. Whether it's an armband, sewn on patch, or a tattoo, they display the symbol one way or another. The weapons they used also differed based on the user. The woman was armed with a High-Tec looking crossbow and had an assortment of knives strapped to her person, while one of her male counterparts had two Ninjago swords strapped to his back. The other two each wielded firearms, with one having an automatic shotgun and the other armed with a submachine gun and what appears to be some type of riot shield on his back.
"Do we take them out?" Greg whispered while preparing to line up a shot.
"We're still a good distance away from the main operating area and these guys are probably watching the outer perimeter." Winter explained.
"Good enough. Greg take the shot. Nick and I will mop up the rest." Alex said, readying his rifle with Nick following suit. Greg lined up his crosshairs with the nearest enemies' head and in a split second, he and the guy standing perfectly lined up with him, dropped like flies when the bullet passed through their heads. The last man jumped back in surprise while the woman let out a shriek at the sight of their fallen comrades. They soon found themselves joining their buddie's, courtesy of Nick and Alex.
"One shot, two kills. Nice one Greg." Ivan commented. While the guys moved up to hide the bodies in a nearby dumpster, Winter was trying to comprehend what she just witnessed. One second there were four terrorists standing and then suddenly they were easily killed with less than six bullets. She got a closer look at the two that Greg killed and slightly recoiled at the sight of the blood and bits of brain matter splattered across their heads. It's not that she's squeamish, but the way the Russians swiftly ended these lives without even thinking about it made her feel…uneasy. There's was one other thing that she noticed and couldn't help herself from asking.
"How did you break through their Auras so easily?" She asked Alex as he unceremoniously tossed the woman's body into the dumpster and closed the lid.
"Remember when I said that we had a way to compensate for our lack of Auras?" He asked to which she nodded. "Well, we use special ammo and explosives that have the ability to break through Aura like it wasn't there." Despite her face being concealed by the balaclava, Alex could easily see the look of surprise on her face.
"You mean your weapons and ammo make Aura useless?!" She blurted out. The mere thought of having her, or anyone's main source of power and fighting abilities be negated by a simple bullet sent a chill up the ice queens' spine.
"Look, we can discuss this at a later time and I promise to fill you in on the details, but we have a mission to accomplish and I need your head in the game." Alex said in a tone that expressed his authority as a squad leader. Winter, who is more used to giving out orders than receiving them, found herself obeying his orders.
"Right." Winter said, regaining her composure and focus. "We need to get to the other side of these buildings, and then there'll be a service road that leads to the main area of activity."
The group of five quietly, but swiftly made their way through the alleyways and old warehouses. Enemy presence was minimal but steadily increased the closer they were getting to the objective area. Still, that didn't stop the guys from silently taking out any patrols, whether they were on the ground or keeping watch from catwalks and fire escapes off the buildings. Eventually, they came across the service road and saw the main warehouse that was bustling with activity. Dozens of hostiles either standing watch or loading crates of SDC Dust onto flatbed trucks. The guys thought the trucks would be heading into the city but noticed that they were heading straight for the wall.
"This is where we have to split up." Alex stated. He then turned to face everyone. "Greg, you and Ivan find a good place to set up shop and keep tabs on the warehouse. I think that office building over there might work." Alex said, pointing out the rundown building.
"Copy, we'll let you know when we're set up." Greg replied.
"Ivan, get that drone up and running as soon as you can. This place is huge, and we want to make sure we have a good view of the surrounding areas." Alex said to Ivan.
"I'll keep you guys posted on any activity." He replied.
"Nick, Winter; we're going to where those trucks are heading to with all that Dust." Alex said.
"It looks like they're heading straight for the wall." Nick commented on the direction the trucks were going. The wall wasn't that far away, but the amount of Dust they were moving, definitely required transport via truck.
"With how big that warehouse is and the amount of Dust that's heading for the wall, you know it's not a good sign." Ivan pointed out.
"Winter, is there any possible significant target that's over there by the wall?" Greg asked. She had to take a moment to think of what's over there. Then she remembered her initial debrief from the Vale Police Department upon her arrival in Vale.
"There's only one possible target I can think of: Inside the superstructure of the wall, there's a room that monitors and controls the cities automatic perimeter defenses." The guys looked at her to continue. "It's one of several that are built in various areas of the wall where if one should go down, the other's will still be operational and the whole city won't be left defenseless. Do you think that's their target?" She asked Greg.
"It's possible, but I don't see why they need the Dust, unless they plan to blow up the control room or something." Greg started explaining. "It still doesn't necessarily answer why they're only at this area or more importantly, what's the point of all of this." Greg said, concluding his thoughts to Winter.
"Well whatever is going on, we're not going to find out anything standing around." Nick interjected, bringing everyone back on track.
"He's right. Greg, Ivan; get in position. Winter, Nick; on me." Alex ordered, causing the two teams to head to their current objectives.
Greg and Ivan
Fortunately, the office building was empty, allowing Greg and Ivan to set up a small "crows' nest" and keep watch over the area. They were on the rooftop of the eight-story building, using the ledges and old billboards for cover. Greg set up the bipod for his rifle and got into a comfortable position that allowed him to have a good view of the immediate area below.
Ivan meanwhile, set down his machine gun and extra RPG's down before preparing the drone for use. It was a simple design as it resembled a small glider but had an impressive camera that could capture a full 360-degree scan of the area. The camera had multiple zoom levels and could switch between TV and IR mode. He finished calibrating the drone and made sure he got good video on his screen before throwing it into the air like a paper airplane. Using the control pad, he flew the drone high enough to not be noticed and was still able to clearly see the all the activity in the area.
"Man this is so cool." Ivan commented to Greg who lightly chuckled.
"Alex, we're in position and we have our eyes in the sky." He radioed.
"Copy. Do you see anything out of the ordinary?" Alex radioed back.
"Negative, but we'll keep you posted." Ivan replied.
"Roger that."
Alex, Nick and Winter
The trio followed the route of the trucks and discovered they stopped at a loading dock right at the base of the wall. The dock was normally used as a drop off point for supplies and materials for routine maintenance and repairs after Grimm attacks. However, they saw more enemies off loading the crates of Dust and bringing them further into the wall's superstructure.
"We need to get inside of there." Winter said.
"Well the front door is a no go." Nick commented as a truck passed by.
"We're not going to shoot our way in, but I think I see a possible entry point." Nick and Winter looked over to where Alex was pointing and noticed a maintenance door that leads into a service tunnel attached to the wall.
"Are you sure that's the best way to get in?" Winter asked.
"Not like we have any other options." Nick replied. Getting over to the door was easy since it was off to the side and out of the way of the ANTIFA troops, but now they have to figure out a way to open the locked metal door without drawing attention.
"Allow me." Winter placed her hand on the handle and a small black glyph appeared. Within seconds the door opened up and Winter motioned for Alex and Nick to enter.
"Better than kicking in the door." Nick said as he stepped in, followed by Winter.
"Nice job." Alex said to Winter while closing the door behind him. As soon as the door closed, they were instantly greeted with a pitch-black hallway.
"Damn, I can't see shit." Nick commented.
"Goggles, Nick." Alex replied. He and Nick lowered the mounted night vision goggles to eye level and hit the switch, allowing them to hear the small hum of them powering up. A couple seconds later and the hallway was now lit up with the familiar green coloration that came when using NVG's.
"I still can't see." Winter said in an annoyed tone.
"We won't be in the dark forever. Stay behind me while Nick takes point." Alex said, grabbing Winter and orienting her in the right direction. Since Alex already stressed the importance of staying hidden and inconspicuous, she knew using her Semblance as a light source wouldn't be feasible at the moment and would have to deal with the darkness.
They continued down the dark hallway at a steady pace, with only Alex slowing down to help guide Winter through any obstacles hidden in the darkness. After what felt like an eternity of wading through the dark, they finally came across a literal light at the end of the hallway. Alex and Nick were able to put away their NVG's while Winter was relieved that she could see where she was going. As luck would have it, the service route led them straight to the loading dock where they saw ANTIFA members offloading the Dust onto pallet jacks and moving them deeper into the wall's superstructure.
"Well, we're in. Now what?" Nick asked.
"We need to find out what they're doing with all that Dust." Alex replied. Fortunately, the ANTIFA members were too preoccupied with moving the Dust to notice the three were quietly hugging the wall as they made their way further into the wall interior. It probably also helps that ANTIFA assumes that they're alone out here. As they turned the corner, Winter noticed an odd odor in the air.
"What's that smell?" She whispered.
"Wasn't me." Nick whispered back, causing her to roll her eyes.
"No you dunce!" She hissed. "I think it's coming from behind that door." The door she was pointing at was most likely a storage room, but the stench seeping from it was overpowering and couldn't be ignored.
"Yeah, I smell it too." Alex commented. As Winter reached for the door to investigate, Alex couldn't help but think that the stench was familiar somehow. It was a pungent and fowl stench that reminded him of rotting meat or something that…died. Right as Alex connected the dots, he heard Winter gasp in shock. If her SMG wasn't attached to a sling, she would've dropped it on the ground. Alex and Nick were stone faced at the sight before them.
There were nine of them. Five males, four females. Ages probably ranged from late 20's to early 40's, give or take. Two of the males were in police uniforms while the rest were in reflective vests and hardhats, identifying them as construction workers or some type of laborer. While the men appear to have been dealt with quickly by clean shots to the head, the women clearly suffered abuse before their executions judging by the torn articles of clothing and lacerations across their bodies. Based on the current state of the bodies, they were most likely in there for a few days at least.
"You know, ANTIFA claims that the Faunus are animals, and yet they do shit like this." Nick said in a neutral tone.
"There's not even a single Faunus among this group." Alex pointed out. It was true that all nine of the victims were Humans. Apparently, ANTIFA is willing to kill some of their fellow Humans if they get in the way.
"How can these…savages live with themselves?" Winter asked, her voice seething with anger and a hint of sorrow. Her body was tense, and she could feel her blood pressure rising. In her younger days, Winter was well aware of the unfortunate realities of life and how it can end all of a sudden. When she joined the military, they trained her how to take down your enemies and watch out for your allies. She read history books that contained pictures of the Great War and saw the price soldiers on both sides paid after it was over. In a way, she was used to military casualties, and even civilian deaths caused by the Grimm. But the idea that people so arbitrarily kill innocents for their own selfish goals is despicable. She then felt a hand placed on her shoulder and turned to see it was Alex's. Though all she could see were his dark brown eyes, they had an even blend of caring and fierce strength in them. Looking into them made her relax a little.
"Because they don't value life and believe that they can get away with it because no one's going to do anything about it." Alex said to her. The latter part of what he just said struck a chord in her heart. With the gruesome sight in front of her, it reminded Winter that this is what's going on every day, even in her beloved home of Atlas. And no one has done a damn thing to prevent this kind of stuff from happening. She mentally kicked herself for not realizing the growing danger of leaving an insurgency unchecked for too long.
"But that's why guys like us exist: To remind sick fucks like ANTIFA or the White Fang that someone is going to do something about it." Nick said, pointing his thumb at himself and then pointing to Alex and Winter. She was surprised at such a strong statement from Nick of all people, but it did get the point across. It appears that even Nick has his moments.
"Well then…" Winter brought her SMG back up and into her right hand while drawing her sword with her left, ready to use. "Let's not keep them waiting." You couldn't see it, but Winter had a confident smirk underneath her balaclava. Between herself, Alex, Nick, Greg and Ivan, she felt that she could actually make a difference.
"These bastards aren't going to know what hit them." Nick happily replied to Winter.
"All right, let's press on." Alex said with a hint of amusement before the three proceeded further into the bowels of the interior wall.
A/N:
Not much to say other than getting all caught up with my school work has allowed more time for writing.
Other than that, thank you for your support.
Hawk out.