"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;… who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." – Theodore Roosevelt
FLASHBACK CHAPTER 7: OPERATION PERSEUS
September 02, 2016 06:03 EDT
SEAL Team 4
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Lt. Feliciano took Shinji along to continue his role as an 'Indian Guide'. And with Young wounded, on his way back behind the lines for medical attention they'd need Shinji to fill in. That and the SEALs had simply gotten used to having him around. They drove the technical until the road became impassable with rubble and a wrecked Mig-27. A thermite grenade went into the back of the vehicle to destroy the mounted gun before the team continued on foot.
They got there just before dawn. They approached from behind the wreck of an overturned cement truck. Smoke was rising from the nearby strip mall across the street from the bagel shop. "Ball!" El-tee called out into the shop. He moved closer and peered through the window. "Ball!"
"Dragon!" He heard a casual voice in the kitchen area. "I'm back here." They filed in to find the contact, 'Gator', in brown pants and black t-shirt smoking a cigarette on top of a couple of large armored crates. "You got here later than I thought you would." He said stomping out the cigarette. "Oh, well," he shrugged as he ran a hand through his hair and ponytail. "You'd best get out of that gear and put these on," he said. The team walked over and looked inside the crate he opened up. That's when he noticed Shinji.
"These are Russian uniforms," Shinji said as he pulled out a brown BDU jacket. He looked at the shoulder patch for the Russian 'Vympel' unit. "Spetsnaz?" There were six sets, one for each SEAL and Shinji since he was now in Young's shoes.
"You're pretty sharp, junior," Gator said. "Who is he?" He asked the El-tee.
"Local resource," the SEAL replied. "He's been a big help."
"Want him to tag along, eh?" Gator grinned. "Isn't he a little too young to be playing with the pros?"
"Hey," Ski snapped. "I watched him take down and knife two Spetsnaz commandos in CQB." Gator raised an eyebrow, being the second person to be impressed with Shinji that day. "Single handed. That good enough for you?"
"As I was saying: suit up, little dude," and with that the matter was settled.
After Shinji and the SEALs changed into the new uniforms, complete with SURPAT digital body armor, Kevlar helmets, black gloves and ski masks they loaded up with AK-105's equipped with red dot sights and sound suppressors. The SEALs also replaced their Sig Mark 25s with Russian issue MP-443 Grach pistols. Shinji reluctantly traded the CZ75 pistol he'd carried from day one for one of the Russian side arms.
He also noted that all the ammo was Russian issue and the brass was stamped accordingly. Gator finished putting on his set of identical gear and double-checked his Vepr-12 combat shotgun.
"I take it this is some kind of black op?" Shinji asked. "Who are you?"
"I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you," Gator replied with a smooth grin.
"CIA?" Shinji, Chief and Ski said in unison.
"Shit," smooth grin disappeared. "Fine. Since I didn't actually tell you, I'll let you live. But I was never here. Got it?"
"Who was never here?" Shinji asked looking over at Ski. "You guys see anyone?" Doc Ballinger shook his head along with Ski and El-tee, who was barely containing his giggles.
"What the fuck are you guys talking about?" Killian asked. "It's just us Frogmen in here."
"Great," Gator rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Of all the SEAL platoons in the world I get stuck with the one with the smartass roster."
"Would you rather be stuck with a bunch of dumbasses instead?" Shinji asked. "Or the French?"
"Point taken," Gator said as he broke out a portable terminal.
"So how do I look, Chief?" Shinji asked.
"Like one of the bad guys," Chief replied with an amused chuckle. "Good thing you're dressed from head to toe, Shinji. You look nothing like a Ruskie." Shinji shot a look back at the tall African-American.
"I've heard of a Black Russian" the Wolverine retorted, "but I always thought it was just a drink." Chief recoiled slightly, opened his mouth to reply…but came up short. Shinji smirked in victory.
"Touché," the Chief Petty Officer chuckled.
"I must break you," Ski said as he glared at Killian. Out of all the SEALs he was probably the only one who looked anything close to being a Russian.
"Knock it off," El-tee said to the SEALs. After a long hard fight, and an even longer week, the team did deserve to blow off some steam. But it was time to get back to business. "Okay, 'Gator'. What's the story? Why are we all dressed for Halloween?"
"Over here," Gator led them to a food prep table. He opened up the hard-cased terminal and switched it on. There was an area circled on a map of Philly.
"That's Schuylkill River Park," Shinji noted.
"Correct," Gator nodded. "This Op is codenamed PERSEUS. There's a twelve-story office building near the river where we have to retrieve intel off their corporate databanks. Being a well-endowed contractor they had access to EMP-resistant tech so their computers and even their private generator weren't affected."
"They must've been Boy Scouts," Killian said. "Prepared for everything."
"What kind of intel?" Ski asked the operative.
"The…secret kind," Gator replied. "See? I can be a smart ass, too."
"What company are we breaking into and why do we have to be dressed like Spetsnaz for it?" Shinji asked next. "Chto Vi govoritye, tovarisht?" (What say you, comrade?)
"Vi govoritye na roosskom yazikye?" Gator asked Shinji. (Do you speak Russian?)
"Uh…" Shinji paused for a second before holding up his thumb and index finger only a half-inch apart. "Nyemnogo." (Just a little.)
"Oh." Gator shrugged before moving on. "Anyway, it's the East Coast branch of the private military contractor ShadowCo, Inc."
"ShadowCo?" Killian asked. "Those guys are serious hard asses. Why the hell are we breaking into them?"
"Let's just say some intel has come up in the last week or so that indicates that they may not exactly be on our side," Gator said. "We don't know for sure but we think they aided the Russian invasion."
"Bastards," Doc said, shaking his head.
"Yeah," Gator nodded. "And get this," he tapped a few keys and brought up a set of photos.
They showed a pair of guards clad in black combat uniforms, tan helmets and body armor and carrying compact assault rifles outside the building. "These were taken three days ago. As you can see, they have armed security personnel walking around in broad daylight and the Russians just let them be. In fact, if you look closely…" he pointed to the building, "you'll notice that their building is virtually intact. The Russians paid no attention to them at all. Suspicious, no?"
"Yup," Chief Jones agreed. "They were definitely prepared for this. Their security arrangement is too good, it's a fucking fortress. And judging from these pictures, they were too well prepared to have been caught off guard by the invasion like everyone else. No contractor in mainland USA has pre-planned and ready to use defense positions. And, like you said, Ivan left them alone. Sounds like 'Probable Cause' to me."
"When do we leave? And how do we get in?" El-tee asked.
"We'll have to wait 'till dusk," Gator said as he tapped some more keys bringing up more photos. "A Delta team captured a Ka-60 light transport chopper near Baltimore and 160th SOAR has a pair of Little Birds painted in Russian livery. We can't afford to have ShadowCo think it was Americans that hit them." He looked at the SEALs. "Until then we should get some rest and study the floor plans," he brought up the blue prints for them. "We'll go to the parking lot on the other side of the auto shop just before dusk to meet up with the choppers. When our forces get close Overlord will detach a unit to pick up your gear." And with that, Shinji went to find a corner to sleep in while Doc and Killian took up the first watch.
XXXXX
September 02, 2016 19:41 EDT
SEAL Team 4
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
The team indeed spent the day studying the ShadowCo floor plans and catching catnaps between watches. Figuring that since he'd hoofed it with the best, non-stop for almost three days straight, the SEALs let Shinji rest the whole time to restock on his energy. The snow was still coming down when Shinji woke up, already piling up a good six to eight inches.
After Shinji grabbed a bag with several bricks of C4, they moved outside and took up position among some hedges on the other side of the lot. It wasn't long before they could hear the sound of the incoming choppers. As he looked around for the birds Shinji spotted the shop's flag pole. It was warped at an almost forty-five degree angle and the line for the flag was loose, the American flag flapping wildly in the wind.
It had been battered by the elements and looked as if it had a few bullet holes in it. It was also dirty, having soaked up some soot from burning vehicles, more than likely. It looked somewhat sorry for being the flag of the United States. But, something about it just grabbed Shinji's attention. "Here they come," Gator said as the sound of rotor blades got closer. Without word to the SEALs, Shinji made a quick sprint to the flagpole.
"Shinji!" Ski shouted. "What the hell are…?" He stopped as he saw the teen pull the flag back down. Taking care to make sure it didn't touch the ground, Shinji removed it from its snap links and quickly folded it up in a loose triangle. He then stuffed it into his pack, nestled just behind the C4. He then ran back to the SEALs.
"It just didn't feel right to leave it there," he said softly to Ski. The SEAL just nodded and patted him on the shoulder, fully understanding the sentiment.
Just as the sun was dipping a pair of Little Birds bearing Russian markings showed up, flanking a Ka-60 'Orca' helicopter. "There's our ride," Gator said. "Don't worry. The IFF is set so blue forces won't fire on us." Off to the north the ground forces were continuing their push as A10s and F35s continued to attack enemy positions with guided munitions. MLRS and field artillery batteries were also adding their two-cents to the cauldron of fire. Russian forces, while they did fire back with artillery of their own, were almost helpless before the onslaught.
The Orca touched down and the team climbed aboard. Snow was kicked up in a near white out that caused Shinji to nearly run right into the side of the chopper. "All on," Gator said to pilot. "Let's get going."
"Roger," the pilot said taking off. "Viking 1-7 this is Trojan 2-3, moving to waypoint Charlie."
"Copy Trojan 2-3," the lead escort replied. "The airspace ahead is quiet." As the choppers took off Gator explained a little more about their mission.
"We'll be posing as a team from the Vympel Special Mission Unit. They sometimes use English during certain missions and will only speak Russian over the radio," he explained to them. "I'm fluent so I'll be handling communications with Overlord." As the choppers cleared the buildings Philadelphia and the surrounding metropolitan area grew out to the horizon beneath them. This was the first good look any of them got of the city since the invasion.
It looked like something out of an apocalyptic or alien invasion movie with skyscrapers blown in half, low rises turned into multi-story bon fires with AAA and missiles lancing skywards. Throw in the overcast from the snow storm and the whole area seemed to glow an eerie shade of orange. And, to make the whole thing even more hellish, the storm had turned into thunder-snow, with occasional bolts of lightning.
Shinji was so mesmerized by the sight that he lost track of time, only being brought out of it when Ski tapped him on the helmet. Looking back, the SEAL held up two fingers indicating the number of minutes left on the flight. The teen shook his head to get his mind focused and double checked his rifle. The choppers had flown south until they were over the river and then had turned to follow it up to the target area.
By the time the choppers reached the target the sun had completely set. "Target building sighted," the lead escort announced. "Moving in for gun run." The two Little Birds raced forward and dove at the roof of the building. "Guns, guns, guns." The miniguns on their stub wings tore into the guards on the roof near the heli-pad. "Roof is clear, Trojan 2-3. You're cleared for landing."
"Copy, Viking 1-7," the pilot announced. "Moving in. Get ready!" He called back to the insertion team. "Ten seconds, people!" The chopper came in fast, flared and touched down with a gentle tap that were the hallmarks of a veteran pilot. "GO! GO! GO!" The doors slid open and the team piled out, the rotor wash kicking up snow, making the team appear as ghosts as they moved down from the landing pad.
They dashed for the roof access door as the Ka-60 took off. "Viking 1-8," Viking 1-7 called to its wingman. "Target's at your ten o'clock. Tenth floor. Watch out!" The Little Bird jerked sharply as a missile raced past it. "They've got MANPADS!"
"Copy, Viking 1-7. Guns, guns, guns!" The second Little Bird strafed sideways and ripped into the ShadowCo guards with its miniguns.
"Door's open," Ski announced. El-tee and Gator led the way in and dropped a pair of mercs armed with MP-5K PDWs that were coming up.
"Let's move people," El-tee said. "The databanks are on the seventh floor. Five floors down. Watch your corners and pick your targets." When they got to the ninth floor a mercenary fired a PWS Diablo up at them from below. Shinji leaned over the railing and dropped him with a burst to his head and upper torso. The body fell down the stairs as more mercs came up. Shinji continued to fire as Killian took up position a flight down from him and took over. Shinji reloaded as Ski tossed a frag into the eighth floor. The grenade killed a pair of mercenaries that were taking cover behind a desk.
"Keep it moving, people!" Chief shouted as they moved down to the seventh floor. "Ski, Killian, hold 'em here!"
"You got it, tovarisht!" Ski announced.
"Granata," Shinji said in Russian as he tossed a grenade down the stairs at more mercs. The explosion slowed them down to help the two SEALs buy time. Shinji then joined the others and Gator as they fought their way through cubicles towards the server room.
"Two tangos!" Chief called out. "By the copier!"
"Firing!" Shinji shouted as he dropped one of the guards with a burst from his rifle. "Reloading!" Shinji ducked to reload as Doc took over firing. A flash of lightning outside illuminated the floor and Shinji spotted a guard exit the conference room door behind Gator. "Gator! Drop!" He drew his MP-443 and fired four rounds into the guard before he could fire on the CIA operative who dropped to the floor a split second before Shinji fired.
Shinji then advanced on the door, firing two more rounds into another merc that exited. The third merc docked Shinji's pistol to the ground but the teen kicked out his legs, drew out his kunai knife and stabbed the merc in the back of the neck as the guard tried to tackle him. Shinji stumbled to his knees, spotting a fourth mercenary still in the room. The mercenary fired but his rifle jammed giving Shinji enough time to throw the kunai into the shooter's eye.
"I owe you one, kid!" Gator said as he got back up. Shinji stood up, reclaimed his pistol and reloaded his rifle with a tactical reload, kicking the empty mag free with a fresh mag and then rocking the reload in. He then moved into the conference room, slicing the pie as he went, dropping another merc with a burst from his AK.
"Conference room, clear!" He called out as he moved across the table. He stopped to retrieve his knife before moving down the room to the other door. He peered around it and fired on the mercenaries still in the main office area. A few more bursts and the floor was clear.
"They're down," El-tee said as everyone topped off their rifles. "Move up!" Out in the stairwell, Ski and Killian continued to hold the mercenaries back.
"Better hurry up in there, boss," Ski called out. "We can't hold them forever."
"We're in," Gator said as they entered the server room. "Give me five minutes."
"Doc," El-tee turned to the SEAL. "Get out to the stairwell and help them out."
"Moving," the Corpsman ran back to the stairwell.
"Hey," Gator waved to Shinji. "Drop the bag, I'll need the C4." The teen unslung the bag and unzipped the main pouch. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you get it back, buddy." Shinji moved back out to the office area and scanned for targets. A moment later he heard some Russian over the radio but didn't quite catch it. It was Gator speaking in Russian.
"What's up?" LT Feliciano asked as he looked into the server room.
"Command was asking for an update," Gator said as he plugged a USB cable from his tablet into a server. "I'm also uploading the data to them now."
At that moment, more mercenaries appeared in an adjacent hallway. Chief and Shinji forced them back with rifle fire.
"Frag out!" Chief tossed a grenade down the hall. "El-tee, we've got more tangos coming our way. There must be a second stairwell or elevator down this hall!"
"Hold them off!" Shinji dashed up to a water cooler and spotted the elevator as it was bringing up more mercs. He pulled out a grenade, primed it and as soon as the doors opened tossed it in and fired at the mercenaries. The grenade exploded destroying the elevator and killing the rest of the mercs.
"That should slow them down," Shinji said as he ran back to Chief. More mercs exited the stairs and fired on him as he fell back but Chief forced them off.
"Gator!" El-tee shouted at the operative.
"Almost done…there! That's all of it." He said placing a block of explosive on each of the servers. "Let's go!" He shouted as he slung Shinji's bag over his left shoulder. "Ten seconds!" They ran out to the main stairwell and started moving up as the explosive destroyed all the evidence that they hacked the databanks.
"By twos!" El-tee shouted. "Up the stairs!" He then placed a proximity fused claymore on the landing before following his people up.
"Call the chopper!" Chief yelled at Gator as Shinji and the Lieutenant provided cover fire while Ski, Doc and Killian ran up behind them. The claymore exploded as mercs exited from the seventh floor.
"Frag out," Doc shouted as he and Shinji moved from the ninth floor.
"Chopper's on the way," Gator said as they reached the roof. Sure enough, the Orca was coming in for another quick landing.
"Let's go, people!" El-tee said as Doc led Shinji out the door. As he stepped onto the roof Shinji felt a searing hot pain in his right leg.
"GAHH!" He fell to the ground. He then felt another sharp, searing pain in his right side, causing him to spin to the ground.
"Shinji's hit!" Ski shouted as he and Doc turned back to grab the Wolverine. Shinji looked back and emptied his rifle at a pair of mercs that were coming out the door. Their bodies kept the door open so Shinji tossed his last grenade into the stairwell. That bought enough time for Ski and Doc to grab him and pull him back to the landing pad as lightning struck the antenna tower on the roof, the clap of thunder rattling everyone's ears.
"Ahh!" Shinji yelled in pain as Gator and the rest of the SEALs continued to provide covering fire. As a trail of red was left in the snow, Shinji drew his pistol and emptied the rest of the magazine before they reached the Orca. Ski grabbed Shinji's left leg and lifted as Doc hauled the Wolverine in by his vest.
"Ahh!" He howled in pain as the pistol fell from his grip and onto the helipad. No one bothered to pick it up, they had more important things to deal with; like getting the hell out of Dodge.
"Hurry up!" The chopper pilot shouted. "Get him in!" As Shinji was loaded onto the chopper the Little Birds came around and one fired a salvo of rockets into the stairwell as the other let rip with its miniguns. The doors closed and the chopper took off and dove towards the Schuylkill River before turning northwest in the direction of the FOB. After emptying their racks, the Little Birds followed suit.
Doc patched up Shinji's leg during the flight. "Fuck that hurts," Shinji groaned as Ski helped him with getting his helmet and body armor off. Chief had his hand pressed against Shinji's upper inner thigh, on the pressure point to control the bleeding.
"We've got a GSW to the right leg," the Corpsman said as he went over Shinji's injuries. He applied a pressure bandage. "Looks like a nine-millimeter. Doesn't look like it hit the bone at all. And the bleeding isn't bad enough to be the femoral." If the bullet had hit that artery Shinji could've been in real trouble.
"Yeah, I feel so lucky it hurts like a bitch." Doc then moved up to the other wound as Ski tied the battle dressing around Shinji's leg.
"Another nine millimeter GSW to the right flank…looks like it's just a flesh wound, though. This one passed clean through, too." Doc pressed a QuickClot bandage against the wound to seal it off. "He'll still need to get taken into surgery."
"I've notified the medical team at the FOB," El-tee said. "Don't want this badass to die on us, would we?" Doc shook his head.
"Did we get what we went in for?" Chief Jones asked Gator as he pulled down his mask.
"We did," he nodded. "And no, I'm not going to tell you exactly what it was."
"Wasn't going to ask," El-tee said as he removed his helmet.
"Good."
XXXXX
September 03, 2016 13:37 EDT
FOB Von Steuben, Valley Forge Military Academy, Wayne, Pennsylvania, USA
The snow at the edge of the landing zone kicked up as the chopper touched down; Shinji was loaded onto a stretcher by a pair of Air Force personnel and carried over to a medical Humvee. Doc already had an IV in his arm before the vehicle sped off to the snow-covered trauma tent. Meanwhile, the rest of the SEALs, still wearing Russian uniforms and gear, were secreted away for debriefing.
In the trauma tent Shinji was rushed into surgery where the Army surgeons cut open his pants and went to work patching his wound. The wound on his flank had stopped bleeding so it wasn't the big worry at the moment. Shinji had fallen unconscious from the adrenaline dump and morphine as they wheeled him into surgery.
When the prodigal Wolverine woke back up he was in hospital greens and lying on a medical cot in another tent. Several electric space heaters in the tent kept it nice and warm; one was right near his cot. His leg was well bandaged and slightly elevated off the bed. His belly was wrapped well in bandages with several layers of gauze being held in place on his right side.
He was still a little groggy from the medications in the IV attached to him, though. All told he was in better shape than some of the others in the makeshift ward. Some had amputations. A nurse came by and checked his vitals and bandages. She was polite and all but Shinji could only give mumbled responses to her questions. The cottonmouth feeling one gets after being in surgery isn't exactly conducive for conversation. Oddly enough, she still seemed to understand what he was saying.
About thirty minutes later, as Shinji started to regain the ability to speak coherently, courtesy of a canteen of water provided by the same nurse, Lt. Feliciano showed up with another officer in tow. "Here he is, Skipper," El-tee said to his companion. "Shinji, this is Captain McDaniel, commanding officer of SEAL Team Four."
"Glad to meet you, kid," the salt and pepper haired Commanding Officer of SEAL Team 4 said, taking Shinji's hand and giving it a firm shake. "I've been told you put up a hell of a fight alongside my SEALs."
"Did what I could to help," Shinji shrugged in a slightly slurred voice.
"From what I've been told, speaking in purely technical terms, you kicked ass," the senior ranking SEAL said taking a seat. "I just came by to express my thanks to you in person for helping guide my men around, and having their backs in the fight."
"I didn't really do much," Shinji shrugged off the praise, suddenly becoming uncomfortable with the attention.
"'Didn't do much?'" The Captain retorted incredulously. "Taking down Spetsnaz is no easy task. Neither is navigating ruins in a battlefield, blowing a helicopter gunship out of the sky, helping blow up a few armored vehicles, raiding and capturing an enemy base and taking part in a mission that never officially happened. That's one hell of a resume even for a veteran. You're way too modest, kid." He patted Shinji on the shoulder and stood up. He pulled something from his pocket and shook Shinji's hand once more, with it in his palm. "Once again, thanks for everything, Wolverine." One more firm shake and he let go, making sure the object stayed in Shinji's hand. "Get some rest. You've earned it." He smiled at Shinji, patted Feliciano on the shoulder and strolled out.
"The rest of the team will be by later," El-tee said. "They're grabbing some chow at the moment." He too patted Shinji on the shoulder. "And I speak for the rest of the team when I say we'd go to war with you any day, little brother." Shinji smiled at that. He liked them all. They felt like the family he'd never really had, treating him like he was one of them. Shinji felt the same way.
"Any word on Young?" Shinji asked about their brother who was wounded during the capture of the Russian HQ.
"He's alright," the SEAL responded. "As soon as the doctors clear you you'll be transferred to the field hospital where he and the Rangers were med-evac'd; it's just outside of Gettysburg. But in the meantime, you get some rest. You've more than earned it Shinji." He smiled at the teenager and stepped away to leave. "Maybe when this is all over we can get some tat's to celebrate. What do you, say?"
"Um…hooyah?" Shinji responded sheepishly. El-tee chuckled shot him a thumb's up and left.
As he left Shinji examined what the SEAL Captain had left him. It was a brass coin about two inches in diameter. On one side was the Navy SEAL warfare device, sometimes called a 'Budweiser' after it's similarity to the beer company's logo. On the other was a caricature of a seal reclining against a globe, holding a knife in one hand/flipper. Beneath the seal were four stars and the words 'MAL AD OSTEO', 'bad to the bone'. Stars bordered the emblem with 'SEAL TEAM' at the twelve o'clock and 'FOUR' at the six.
"A challenge coin," Shinji said to himself. "A SEAL Team 4 challenge coin." It was a minor token, given what he'd been through. But, the thought that the SEAL team CO felt the need to personally visit him, spoke volumes. Shinji closed his hand around the coin and drifted off to sleep as the meds kicked in again.
The Russian's were all but finished in Philly and the US forces were pushing into New Jersey on the Russian's northern flank. The Marines would also be assaulting into Delaware, soon. But, with most of Maryland, all of Virginia and now Philadelphia and the rest of Pennsylvania back in American hands, and the Navy eating up the remnants of the Russian naval force, the Russians were now on the ropes. The tide of the invasion had been irreversibly turned.
It would take a few more days, but America would be secure once more. After that, who knows where the fighting would shift to? American forces in the Pacific had already struck targets in eastern Siberia. So maybe the Russians would try something against Alaska? NATO was still debating whether to formally join in the war effort so Europe was still a possibility, too. But that was for 'higher powers' to worry about.
As for Shinji Ikari, the quintessential Wolverine, his part in the Third World War was over.