Grace's legs were starting to get sore, her boots crunching the soft grass and rocks as she climbed up the mountains of Georgia. Alex isn't far ahead of her, but obviously doing better at scaling the slope than she is. That's not surprising, he'd had to climb more mountains out of necessity than Grace did for leisure.
"We're almost there." He says. Grace checks the GPS location on her tablet. It showed a real time photo of the mountain they're scaling, with their endpoint simply over the ridge. Her legs are straining, the heavy rucksack full of their equipment and supplies bearing down on her shoulders and hips.
Alex doesn't seem to falter, but there's a slight blush of exertion and the small dribbles of sweat morphing into his beard from his forehead. He's tired, but just doesn't show it.
A few more crossings of small gullies and ridges and they reach a small clearing with a large, flat boulder and a few collapsed trees. It's not too obvious to see them, but also not too dense to see the large field down below the mountain, perfect snipers position. All that it had down below was a small hunting shack long abandoned. Alex brings out his binoculars, scanning the field down below and marking something on his paper.
"Field is about 650 meters from this point. We'll set up camp and defensive measures." He drops the rucksack gently, opening up to bring out a box containing his newly issued gadgets. Grace follows suit, letting the heavy bag thump on the ground. She begins to unpack her Mk14 DMR, temporarily painted to match the foliage of the area. Then she brings out a bag of claymores, ripping the canvas flap open with ease. She looks over to Alex, tinkering with the cameras that Grace and Masaru had developed for him. They were simple, boxy things much like trail cameras with the ability to see in Infrared but alerted locations in real time to a tablet device strapped to his wrist, much like Masaru's. Grace helped by adding a similar, but subpar, version of the self-deleting encryption codes so as to not trace back to his wrist-computer.
"It's like something out a video game", She remembers him saying when he first tested the device out. Grace smiled slim at the memories of praise.
His voice broke the memory. "I'll be setting up the cameras and claymores. Stay here and watch the rest of the gear, we should have some time before Shukovich gets here."
Right, Yegor Shukovich.
That's the reason there here. They're stopping Yegor Shukovich from selling weapons and ammunition to Chechen and Uzbek mercenaries, who in turn are hired by the White Masks to continue their terror attacks. They were sent here to survey the meeting and…
And kill Shukovich.
She didn't understand why Rainbow would do a mission like this. They should be arresting him, or inform Georgian authorities and turn him in to rot in prison. This was an extra-judicial killing clear and through. It wasn't right and it violated her beliefs and what she's been taught. You don't kill people if they're not firing back.
Why did Alex pick her for the job? Her marksmanship skills aren't on par with Craig or Timur, and he makes that apparent on the ranges. So why Grace, she couldn't understand.
Grace looks around at the rucksacks, drawing out some equipment and a camo netting and begins to set up a small cover for them to use, pulling out some antenna equipment and setting it up so they can use their long-range communications and keep some data to use for the wait. She just finished setting up the transceiver when she heard Alex step into the area.
"What are you doing?"
"Setting up the equipment, like you asked." She said, confused by what he was saying. "Something wrong?"
"We don't need that shit, put it away." He said setting his rifle on top of the boulder. "We don't know if they could be checking the frequencies for activity."
She frowned, giving him a glare before taking down the antenna and stuffing it back into its place in the rucksack.
"Maybe it's good for you to rely less on technology. God knows I did in the Gulf." He sat down and took out a pair of range binoculars, scanning the clearing and cabin at the foot of the mountain. He took out a pen and paper and began scribbling down notes. Grace leaned over to see.
654 meter range. Windage; 6 by South 7 East. Humidity, 68 percent. Altitude, 4390 ft above sea level.
"Calculations?" Grace asked curiously, grabbing her weapon. Usually, she never needed more than an ACOG, but she acquired an 12x scope for the mission. Not like Alex's 14x scope. He grunted in response.
"Really only could make a calculated guess on where the bullet's going to go. Human error is the biggest cause of missing." He replied simply, adjusting his scope. "Adjust your scope. Use the cabin as reference."
Grace grabbed her rifle and fine-tuned the knobs on the side, her crosshairs dead-set on the front of the cabin. They weren't supposed to come for a while, so it was a waiting game from here on out. She laid her rifle to the side and rested her head on the boulder. Alex was focused on the area, not bothering to look up.
"Why couldn't you bring someone else for the mission?" She decided to finally ask. Alex didn't falter in the slightest. Grace continues "I'm not really a good choice; I've barely had any marksman training. Glaz or Nøkk would've been—"
"I picked you because I figured you could use the experience."
She scoffed. "Experience? We're killing a man with no trial, no jury, no—"
"Shut it." He wrote down another note in the journal. "Any doubt of the mission could mean death. I expected a Rainbow operator of your caliber to know that."
"There's no reason we could've just…"
"You're making me question your reputation Nam. I heard good things about you but it seems like you don't have the stones. Maybe General Kuh was right, you're not cut out for this work."
Grace kept quiet after that. How dare he bring up General Kuh to the conversation? She didn't look at him, looking down the scope of her rifle to focus on something else. They didn't know exactly when the arms dealers or Shukovich would arrive.
Grace knew It'll be a long day.
Madsen sat quietly as the soft piano played in the restaurant, the gentle tones overlapped by the sounds of cluttering utensils and plates. Conversations about simple things took its place, or things about business deals. It wasn't his place to peer into the lives of others, at least not in this current situation.
He flicked his watch, Mrs. Arnot should be arriving any minute to the private booth he set up. It was only him for the moment, as the waiter passed by to check up.
"Still waiting for your companion, sir?"
"She'll be here in a moment. Grab some water, please."
"Very good sir." The waiter nodded and left. Only a minute later did Amelia show up through the entryway, walking her way towards the table. Madsen only smiled as she took her seat across from his own.
"Aurelia! So glad you invited me. Let's get started on something to eat shall we?"
"I'm afraid this won't be a long meeting, I want to know why you're currently launching Operation Birdsong." Aurelia didn't beat around the bush, it seemed. Madsen postured himself for his response.
"You've seen the news, been to the meetings. We are entering a much more bold Cold War. Rainbow is a security threat and we need its R&D on infantry technology if we're to get the upper hand."
She stared silently, listening to his explanation. Madsen has to admit, she was a stone cold woman.
"How is it possible that you've acquired a mole into Team Rainbow? I chose these operators specifically for their loyalty and integrity. To think one could betray the team I've built from the ground up…"
"I assure you Miss Secretary, some people just need more influence than others. If you need to, I'll send you our operation dossier with everything on it, no black ink from my own personal filings."
She didn't make a response, only sighing as she pulled out a cigarette. Madsen continued. "I've been keeping in touch with Harry about the progress of Rainbow and it's operators as per the original agreement when you switched."
"And you haven't been happy about the progress, haven't you?"
"No, and I know you haven't either."
She shot Madsen a look. Aurelia spoke. "I don't agree with Harry's decision on hiring private contractors and attempts of decentralizing Team Rainbow. Hiring non-government workers always presents a security risk because there's no way to know where their loyalties lie."
Madsen knew she wasn't pleased with the way Harry's taking the team. At this point, it started to become its own police force and not a response team for the UN. "That being said," Madsen added. "My informants have done a good enough job collecting the structure of the command. Your operators are good at keeping secrets."
She blew out a puff of smoke. "And your whistleblower?"
"Killed in a botched rescue mission, only physical evidence was taken from one of the wounded operators discreetly. No one knew that the operator was handed a USB by Lynch."
"Is the operator alive?"
"He's injured but stable, according to my sources. Always a soft spot for the grunts, Aurelia."
Aurelia shot a rare smirk. "Please send me the details of Operation Birdsong to my personal and secure email. I'm afraid I'll be leaving."
"It was a pleasure Aurelia. Tell John I said hi."
"My husband doesn't like you Madsen. You should already know." Aurelia stood up and left, without so much even looking back at Madsen who now sat alone at the booth. The waiter came by, notepad in hand and water in the other. "Ready to order sir?"
"Yes, just for one, please."
The waiting was the most agonizing part of the mission. Grace hated to wait. She looked over to Alex, who sat patiently with his rifle in hand, aiming at the location where the drop off was supposed to take place. It hasn't changed at all, the wind swaying the grass gently in the cold breeze.
The conversation they had was nearly four hours ago, and neither had said a word to each other since. Well, that wasn't completely true; she tried asking to relieve herself once, to which he said no.
At this point, taking out the target was the only thing on her mind. Grace's thoughts only went over all the possible moral and legal ways that she could justify herself to kill this man. It wouldn't be her first since she joined Rainbow, and it definitely wouldn't be someone who was the picture of innocence. He wasn't getting tried, he wasn't getting arrested, he was simply about to be killed. Shot dead and left to rot until the cleanup crew discreetly turned him in.
"Watchman, Watchman, this is Overlord over how you read." a British accent called over the radio.
"This is Watchman, read you Lima Charlie how me?" Alex replied back.
"Read you same over. Rainbow is providing aerial surveillance to determine the arrival of HVT break… we will provide two hours of overwatch, over."
"Wilco, appreciate the help." He put down the radio.
"I didn't know they'd send some a drone to help us." Grace broke her silence.
"They were waiting for clearance to enter the airspace, or rather trying to avoid detection."
"Does the Georgian government know we're here?" She asked.
He replied simply back. "No."
This made Grace's uneasiness even worse.
"Watchman, we have detected two vehicles approaching from the East and West respectively traveling around 20 clicks an hour, break… about 5 clicks from your position over."
"Roger that Overlord. Will call back when op is done, over and out." He pulled down the hand mic and shifted into his position. "Nam, get ready."
Grace nodded and got into her position, using her rifle scope in lieu of a Spotter scope. They surveyed the area until the sounds of engines were barely audible in the valley. There was a shiny black SUV pulling into view, while the other trucks were dirtied and old. Grace figured that the older trucks were the mercenaries, and the SUV were the gunrunners.
"See that Nam?" Alex said, referring to the cars. "The mercenaries don't care about the high-end brand stuff, they just need something reliable and rugged."
She didn't say anything to acknowledge, and Alex didn't expect her too. The two cars met in front of the hunting shack, where people stepped out from each car. First it was two bodyguards, then Yegor Shukovich, a portly middle-aged man with a goatee and balding hair, and a young man, couldn't be more than 18 years old. Both dressed in lavish suits.
The mercenaries were dressed modestly in fatigues and gear, in case anything arises. They had ancient AK style weapons on their back. These were definitely the guys.
"We have to wait until he presents them the weapons. Then we'll get the perfect chance to shoot when their guard is down." Alex remarks, shifting a bit. "All of them have to go down."
All of them?! Grace was getting antsy. There was a slight tremor in her body as one of the body guards began to reach into the SUV to bring out some crates. She didn't expect them to agree so fast.
The bodyguard brought out a couple crates and presented them to the mercenaries. They seemed pleased as they opened them, and retrieved a case full of money, she'd guess.
"Now!" Alex hushed.
The silenced sniper cracked, a split-second later Shukovich sprayed a thick mist. Grace reacted quickly, her sights dialed on the mercenaries, she popped two rounds to both of them. One of their head's blew up in chunks while the other splattered red all over the hood of the truck from his back.
"Get the Bodyguards!"
Grace shifted towards her right, seeing one of Shukovich's men crumple. She put her crosshairs on the other and killed him quickly. Adrenaline rushed through her body like a high, and before she knew it she aimed the sights on the young man too, he looked like he was reaching for something. She pulled the shot and he was thrown off his footing, and collapsed on the ground.
"Nice shot, nearly missed him." Alex said, almost nonchalantly. She could barely hear him over the pounding in her ears. She was still looking through her scope, the young man was still alive. He was moving his arm in pain, curling in on himself.
"Wait, he's still alive!" Grace said, collecting herself after realizing what she saw. "The kid is still alive!"
Alex looked down at the sight, confirming it. "He is…"
"We can save him, we can get him stable enough and bring him in for—"
"The kid's a goner, Nam," he said, steadying himself. "He's gonna bleed out or suffocate by the time we get to him. It's a waste of time and it could jeopardize the security of the mission."
"We can't just let him die like that!" She nearly shouted.
"Keep your fucking voice down!" He said through gritted teeth. "You've got two options since he's your kill: finish him off, or let him bleed out. Your choice."
" Watchman, watchman. This is Overlord. We have confirmed HVT's death. We detect one alive, take him out.
Alex looked down the at the sight before getting in the radio. "You better call it soon, Nam."
She looked back at the sight. The kid was still alive, he propped himself up in front of the grill of his SUV. Grace put his crosshairs over him. He was hit in his lung, it looked like, but had enough energy to pull himself up. He began to reach into his pocket, and pulled out a satphone.
He'll call more men and we both can die. Grace gulped a wad of nerves. But he's just a kid!
"Grace, choose now." Alex warned, his tone much more demanding and authoritative. She didn't have a choice anymore. She could feel herself about to throw up.
A single thought ate her mind. Why didn't you choose someone else?
Grace let her finger slowly squeeze the trigger, and the crack of the barrel ignited. The kid's head splattered behind him, and his body instantly went limp. In the view of the scope she looked at what she'd done, and felt sick to her stomach.
"Overlord, this is Watchman. All targets are confirmed. Send the clean up crew."
" Understood Watchman, dispatching available units now, over."
He turned to Grace, grabbing his rifle. "Good job Nam, maybe I was wrong about you."
She didn't say anything, except the soft whimper as she got up and packed her things.
A/N: Been a while huh? Here's an update to this story. I won't be active anymore as I haven't been for the last few months. I'm just getting too old for this, haha. Stay safe everyone.