1250 Hours
The Pentagon
Arlington, USA
The meeting room of the Pentagon was filled with fresh faces and new sights. After meeting up with the CIA's Director of Operations Bradley Johnston Cartwright, Qrow and Winter headed into the briefing room where some other CIA and White House officials were waiting. There were way more people in the Pentagon since the last time Qrow saw them. Some time has passed as they waited for the president to arrive. Qrow glanced at Winter and noticed something was up with her. He could guess it had something to do with the Schnee family and she had been long distant from them for a long time except her sister Weiss.
Qrow was about to ask if she was okay before he heard the doors open. Everybody inside stood up, straightened and stoic. Entering the room was former Secretary of Defence turned President of the United States of America James Ironwood. After he allowed them to sit back down, James took a seat at the very end where he faced his fellow men of all positions including Qrow and Winter. He had grown a thick beard during his time ever since Ozpin's death. He took a deep breath before glancing at the office.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have lost ten Americans including our Ambassador Christopher Jin to a suicide bombing at the US Embassy in the Phillipines. I was considering sending American troops into the country though the Filipino government believes that their armed forces and Schnee International should handle this themselves," James then glanced at Qrow's position. "Mrs Schnee, Mr Branwen, Mr Cartwright. You need to convince me why I should hand this operation to the Ace-Ops. So what do we know about this attack?"
Winter stood up and turned to a board she had prepped before the meeting. It presented several images of the bombing and the people responsible, including one that has a particularly blurry photo.
"The suicide bombing was orchestrated by a terrorist group known as the Serpents. The man in-charge of the cell in Manila is Donato Yatco, a former thief. The Serpents are a well organized group from Asia formed in 2009, most likely consisting of former thugs. They assisted ISIS in overthrowing Marawi and were also involved in the Mekong River massacre back in 2011."
"How can we be sure this claim is legitimate and not false?" James asked.
"Our assets there had a contact who has been spying on the Serpents for years. He tried to warn the embassy about an upcoming attack until the Serpents caught up to him and killed him along with his family."
"The Serpents have also claimed responsibility for the bombing of the Embassy, which is enough proof for us to take action." Cartwright added.
As Ironwood thought about the choices, Qrow looked around the room and noticed most of the officials were not really into the idea of Ace-Ops.
"I'm not too sure about this." James said.
"Sir, even though we're trying to remain on good terms with the Philippines, we can't just ignore the fact that the Serpents destroyed an American Embassy and killed innocent people, as well as killing our people. We need to act fast before our enemies can make another move." Cartwright explained.
"And it'll be better that you let Ace-Ops deal with the Serpents without Schnee International and the Phillipines' knowledge." Qrow added.
"That's the thing, Qrow," James replied, tapping his fingers on the folder. "There's a legal process we need to follow before we can deploy American troops into other countries. Schnee International is already on the ground assisting the military. What you're requesting right now is illegal and it could lead to bad press if the media finds out we sent in-"
"Come on, Jimmy! You already know that this is our op! And illegal? Ha! That's ironic coming from someone who snuck American soldiers into Iran just to take out a scientist who secretly conspired with extremists a few months back."
"This is a different story, Mr. Branwen," Douglas Caldwell, the new Secretary of Defence, reminded him. "The US has always been a great asset to the Philippines despite the history we used to have. If we entered Filipino soil without their approval, this could break the alliance with the Philippines for good."
"Mr. Caldwell has a point. We can't put our professional relationship with the Philippines in jeopardy." The Secretary of State Michael Jones agreed.
The room slowly erupted into soft mutters as the officials continued to quietly agree with the decision. Qrow looked around, baffled by the others and glared at James, who was silent the whole way. James ignored him as he continued to tap on the folder on the table before asking the room to be quiet.
"Mr. President," Winter cut in. "I understand your concerns but please reconsider your decision. Our unit is prepared to handle this situation. As long as we keep this operation quiet, we'll get in and get out as soon as possible. It's what we were trained to do."
James stared at Winter, thinking of the possible effects of his decision. Even as the president, he could still see a soldier in his eyes and it still carried to this year. As much as he was aware of the consequences, the Ace-Ops never had been compromised in any of their operations and both Qrow and Winter aren't idiots. Looking down, James let out a deep sigh before turning to the two.
"Very well. You have execute authority to go after the Serpents. Just know that if you are compromised-"
"We got the memo, Jimmy," Qrow said as he and Winter stood up from their seats. "We'll make sure that this won't come back to you."
The two alongside Cartwright left the room. Once they were out of sight, the officials looked at James in shock as the room erupted into chatter.
"M-Mr. President, are you sure about this?" Caldwell asked.
"You know they're the best at what they do," James said. "There's no doubt that they will complete their mission."
1420 Hours
Arlington Municipal Airport
Arlington, USA
"So the Philippines?" Sunny asked as he packed his gear into the plane.
"That's what I got from Clover," Marrow answered, checking his bag. "My best guess is that it's about that embassy bombing. I'm not too sure since there's gonna be a storm there."
"It won't be that bad," Vine said from the cockpit. "The newscast said there's gonna be some rain and thunder."
Marrow glanced at him. "I doubt that's safe."
"Come on, dude. Everything we go or do isn't safe." Sunny told him.
"I know that but this one seems a bit...you know...dangerous."
Sunny looked behind his shoulder. "Hey Harriet! Fido's scared of the big mean thunder again!"
"Aw, you poor thing." Harriet teased while reading a book.
"Jesus Christ, I can't stand you assholes calling me that." Marrow muttered.
"Whatever you say, fido."
"Up yours."
As most of the team laughed at Marrow while he gave the finger, Qrow, Winter, Clover and their recruit made their way to the cargo plane with their gear in tow.
"So I know you just finished your training, but this is an urgent mission that we must take care of." Clover explained.
"All good, sir. I'm definitely ready for something like this." The recruit said.
"We hope so, Tortuga," Winter said. "There's a reason why we selected you for this team."
"And I'm sure you'll do just fine here," Qrow added as the team entered the cargo plane. "Just don't screw up and die. It'll break my...maybe."
Approaching the team, Qrow called the rest of the team over to the middle to introduce them to the recruit. The team gathered around and noticed a new face near Clover.
"Team, this is Agent Marina Tortuga, she's our Ace 9." Qrow introduced.
"Sup." Marina waved.
"She has already completed and passed her training and she knows how we operate."
Sunny then noticed something familiar.
"Wait a sec. Have we met before?" He asked.
The team looked at Sunny, wondering what he was on about. Marina tilted her head. "Hmm?"
"You were one of those DBGs who saved our asses two years back. It was that mission in Costa Rica when we were going after that drug lord."
Most of the team turned and looked at Marina. Other than Qrow, Winter and Clover, nobody recognized her.
"Who?" Marrow asked.
"Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen of the US Navy," Clover answered. "QRF SEALs in boats. They're on time, on target and never quit."
"And we call them Dirty Boat Guys, DBGs for short." Sunny added.
"I'm more of a Dirty Boat Gal, dude," Marina corrected. "And yeah, that was totally me."
Sunny reached his arm out. "Well, it's great to have you on this team."
Marina smirked and responded with a handshake.
"A total honor to serve with you guys."
"Alright let's end the introductions cos' we got work to do." Qrow said.
"So what's the OP?" Sunny asked.
"Incase you didn't watch the news, we're going after a Serpents cell in Manila who were responsible for the bombing of the US Embassy in the Philippines, taking an estimate of thirty lives, including its Ambassador Christopher Jin and Deputy Director Kurt Müller of Schnee International."
"Schnee?" Harriet repeated before turning towards Winter. "You mean-"
"Yes," Winter nodded. "My father's private military company who employs former vets of the German special forces."
"So does that mean Schnee International should be involved too since their Deputy Director got wasted?" Sunny asked.
"Yeah but we need to handle this first," Qrow answered. "Who knows what those Germans would do. Hell, they might already be going all martial law on the country looking for those terrorists. Breaking into the wrong houses, false arrests or worse."
"Why not just let the contractors or the army kill them?" Marrow asked.
"We believe we can get some intel from the Serpents because agents there believe they're involved in something big but they don't know what."
"Pretty obvious that Schnee International wants us to back off too." Harriet added.
"Same for the government even though Americans were killed in their country." Said Clover.
"Which is why we need to keep a low visual," Winter said. "If Schnee International spots us or even knows we're here, they'll take us off this mission and this could end the friendship between the US and the Philippines."
"Good news is," Qrow continued. "We have secured the location of the Serpents' hideout from our fellow agents on the ground before Schnee International drove them out. We'll all jump by HALO to the beach first except for Vine and Elm, complete our objective and exfil out of the country via this cargo plane."
Qrow then noticed Marrow with a raised hand.
"Question, Marrow?" Qrow said.
"Is it really safe to HALO jump in a storm like that?" Marrow asked.
"Come on, Fido," Sunny said. "It won't be that bad."
"Yeah, stop being such a pussy, Fido." Harriet added.
Marrow glared at them. "Cut it out."
The team let out a chuckle, though Marina stared at the team in confusion, wondering what's going on.
"Alright, alright. Enough joking around," Qrow cut in, getting his team back in focus. "For this op, we'll dress up as a cartel or at least some sort of paramilitary group sent to assassinate the Serpents cell which will provide a good cover for the American government just in case either Schnee International or the Philippines ask around."
"ROE?" Harriet asked.
"Our objective is to take out Donato Yatco, the one in charge of this cell, and his men and collect intel on what the Serpents are involved in," Winter answered. "We will not engage the local forces or the German contractors."
"But what if those contractors are onto some shady stuff?" Marina asked.
The team stared at her in surprise. Nobody would've dared to ask that. Marina then noticed her team staring at her like she kicked a dog before realizing what she said.
"Sorry, I don't mean-"
"No, no. You're not wrong," Winter assured. "I do believe that those contractors may have had some questionable motives during their deployments but there has been no proof of that. But like I said, we do not engage local forces or the contractors."
"Any more questions?" Qrow asked. No one answered. "Good. Wheels up in half a minute."
8 Hours Later
Philippines Airspace
As the door slowly opened, the Ace Operatives finished prepping their gear and their HALO suits. The sounds of thunder cracked from outside got louder through the gaps of the door. Sunny and Marrow went up to the end of the ramp and noticed that they're right over a thunderstorm. The black mist and rain showered over the transparent clouds with flashes of light booming from the distance.
"I thought you said it wasn't bad?!" Marrow shouted through the noise.
"We'll be fine." Sunny replied as he walked back to the rest of the team.
"That shit doesn't look fine!"
"Thirty seconds." Elm announced from the comms.
"Thirty seconds!" Sunny said.
"Like hell thirty seconds!" Marrow retorted.
Qrow walked up to Marrow and Sunny, noticing the commotion.
"What's the issue?" Qrow asked.
"It's a fucking storm down there," Marrow explained. "We can't jump into that shit."
"Boss, it's perfectly fine," Sunny said. "As long as we keep a safe distance from the lightning, we'll be okay."
"That's suicide. We can't jump."
Suddenly, the alarm buzzed and the lights turned green, Qrow hesitated for a moment as he checked back at the storm they're flying over. Elsewhere, the team continued to debate on what to do now until Marrow turned around and noticed Qrow jumping out of the plane. Everybody turned around and saw Qrow jump out. Marrow paled.
"Did he just-"
Before he could continue, the rest of the team followed past Marrow and dived out of the plane and into the storm, leaving him.
"You guys are fucking crazy!" Marrow yelled at them down below.
He caught a glance of the storm before backing away, refusing to jump. His heart was racing as his mind argued back and forth over what to do. He then noticed Marina was still with him staring out at the storm, slightly scared but did her best to keep a brave face.
"Hey, I know I'm like totally the recruit and all but we both gotta jump so we can get the mission done." She said.
"There's no fucking way my black ass is jumping into this!" Marrow replied, pointing at the storm.
"I know it's scary but ain't that what we signed up for?"
Marrow was still not going to jump either way. He wasn't afraid of heights at all, it was the storm that was stopping him.
"How about I like, stay with you?" Marina suggested. "Would that calm you down?"
Marrow glanced at her and noticed there was no sign of any teasing. She was the only one who didn't judge him in any particular way. Although something else was attracting his attention.
"Yeah. Sure thing." Marrow nodded.
Elsewhere, the team was free falling through the rainy sky with the loud storm cracking from the backdrop of the dark clouds. Suddenly, a strike of light boomed between Sunny and Harriet and Sunny immediately blacked out and everything was quiet. There was nothing but black all around him.
…
"...unny! Sunny!"
Waking up with a gasp, Sunny at first panicked after remembering what happened before noticing Harriet was holding him. Relief was written all over her face.
"Relax, Sunny! It's okay! Relax!" She said.
Sunny eventually managed to calm himself as he managed his breathing. Harriet hugged him lightly as he sat himself up before breaking off. Turning around, Sunny noticed Qrow and Winter standing beside him. He then looked around and noticed he was under the covers of an awning by a beach.
"What happened?" Sunny asked.
"Lighting struck right next to you and Harriet," Qrow answered. "You blacked out after that."
"Lucky for you guys, both of you didn't get hit by it," Clover added as he walked up to the team. "And we just found a van that we can use."
Qrow nodded at Clover in response. As Clover walked off, Qrow turned back to Sunny who was slightly concerned.
"Can you still-"
"I can walk." Sunny answered as he got on his feet, ready to get back into the mission.
2200 Hours
Tondo District
Manila, Philippines
Driving through the streets of Tondo was surprisingly less crowded. The rain and the dark mist clouded the street's vision with the streetlights being their only support. The team managed to change out of the HALO suits and into their disguises, consisting of normal clothes with battle harnesses and masks to fit in the criteria of a cartel soldado. The weapons they carried also had to fit the cartel, leading them to carry AK47s, though Sunny had a Galil MAR.
From block to block, they see several armed contractors and Filipino soldiers conducting raids and holding local civilians for questioning in the middle of the night.
"Seems like Schnee International and the army is already turning this city into Baghdad." Clover stated while driving.
"Seems like it," Qrow replied. "Hopefully they don't try to raid the Serpents' hideout before we do."
"Can't believe Marrow and that rook actually pussied out." Harriet said from the back.
"Lucky they did or they could've ended up like me or worse, toast." Sunny said.
"We'll worry about those two later but right now we have a mission to do," Said Winter. "Well, it's not like any of our missions go wrong."
"Things should go well since we got lucky charms with us." Said Sunny.
"I heard that, Sunny boy." Qrow said. "What'd I tell you about jinxing? Do not wipe the good luck off of Clover, especially when we're on mission."
"Sorry, boss."
"Don't worry about it, Sunny," Clover said. "My luck will stay with me until it says otherwise."
A few minutes had passed and the van began to slow down.
"Target building up ahead. Stop here." Qrow said.
After parking the van, the team got out and went back into the unforgiving rain. The team turned their focus towards the Serpents' hideout which was a two-story apartment.
"Let's do this." Qrow opened the doors and got out first.
The team stepped out after the team leader as Clover got out of the driver's seat. As they approached the apartment which was a few blocks away, the team put on their skull balaclavas and bandanas and got under the covers. Passing by the parked bikes, the team reached the apartment which was still alight with Qrow unlocking the gate. The team stacked up by the front door where they heard muffled voices from inside.
"Lead the way, Sunny." Qrow whispered.
Sunny nodded and after adjusting his bandana, he rang the doorbell. Confused voices followed up before they heard faint footsteps closing in on the door. Sunny's grip on the rifle tightened as the team waited. As soon as they heard the turn of the key, Sunny stepped forward and opened fire on the door with his suppressed rifle. Hearing a loud thud and shouts from inside, Sunny bashed through the door and went in guns blazing.
"Su tiempo ha acabado, hijos de puta!" Sunny yelled as he shot up the apartment.
Clover followed him and both managed to take out some of the terrorists at the kitchen and the hallway. Qrow and Winter wiped out the remaining at the living room, using semi-automatic rounds. Bullets plastered across the room as the team cleared out the ground floor. Gunshots ceased and shouts from upstairs erupted. The team noticed no sign of Yatco's body. Qrow ordered Sunny and Harriet to remain at the ground floor while he, Winter and Clover made their way upstairs to clear the next floor.
Clover, who was taking point, shot a terrorist by the stairs trying to pull off a surprise before finishing him off with two shots to the face. Once they reached the upper floor, Clover broke away from Qrow and Winter as he went off to clear the left side of the floor.
As Winter breached one of the rooms opposite of Qrow, he was about to breach the room at the right before hearing gunshots from inside, piercing into the door. Qrow was lucky to be beside it before a hole was made. As voices boomed from inside, Qrow tossed a flashbang through the hole and waited as the loud bang erupted from inside and cries followed up. Qrow barged in and found two terrorists inside hiding by the couch with one carrying a rifle, both of them disoriented. Qrow immediately opened fire on both of the terrorists, shooting up the entire room as bullets hit the glass and sprayed upon the terrorists. One of them ran out of the couch before getting hit by one of the bullets. As Qrow approached one of the terrorists, he quickly finished him off before he could make another move while recoiling the rifle.
"Clear!" Qrow called out.
"Clear!" Winter responded.
"All clear!" Harriet called from downstairs.
Qrow approached the terrorist's body and managed to identify him as Yatco. He had tried to run from him, yet he bombed the American Embassy without remorse. Qrow decided to shoot his face off. Shortly, Winter regrouped with Qrow and noticed Qrow who had just finished shooting up their target's face before glancing at Qrow.
"Really?" Winter asked as she looked at Yatco's messed up face.
"Gotta look like the cartel did it." Qrow answered.
"Point taken."
"Hey Qrow, found something!" Clover called.
Qrow walked off to meet up with Clover. Entering the room he was in, Qrow noticed the room was filled with computers and paper files in containers, making it some sort of a lab office.
"Holy shit." Qrow mutters.
"We got a gold mine." Clover replied.
"Alright do a fast SSE. Get some intel fast so we can get the fuck outta here. You got ten mikes."
"I'll try to make it five because we may not have ten mikes." Clover replied as he began to get out some bags.
As Clover began to collect files, Qrow walked back in Winter's area and noticed her crouched by Yatco's body, pulling something off his body.
"What is it?" Qrow asked.
Winter turned around and showed Qrow a necklace with a black thumb drive attached to it.
"Must have had something good on him for having this around his neck." Qrow commented.
"Hey boss! You might wanna come see this!" Sunny called.
Qrow and Winter turned around and met up with Harriet and Sunny who arrived at the upper floor, finding them looking out of a window. As the two looked at where Sunny and Harriet were staring at, they noticed several black Humvees with a familiar symbol on the side arriving at the scene and stepping out were armed contractors approaching the apartment. Nobody would be lying if what they saw was none other than Schnee International preparing to raid the Serpents' hideout.