Hey there, my readers!
…does anyonw actually read this story? Huh?…I certainly know who does!
Valkyrie-Sythe alias xldoorslx: Thanks for the review! Those always motivate me to keep writing in the mission to make you see Logan in this story soon. (Ps: I also totally support Evil!Logan UwU ) Anyways…can't wait for your next review!
(No Beta) Legacy…Chapter 9…Let's do this!
Jungle Triangle (Part 1)
Rain can drip, fall or crash, however rain seeks impact with the ground to become one with the very earth again it originated from. It was the water sent back to the very top of the sky fueling the clouds with moisture; a never ending cycle, which as long as nature exists can not, and shall not be broken by any external force. Rain made the ground soft; made it into a trap for those unaware of its muddy grip. Boot wearing feet left a pattern of trails inside they mud, thought only one pair of feet was visible. Using the imprints of those who walked this path before, made them ghost through the jungle; silent, only the monotone sound of rain crashing into the majestic tree crowns above made their ear drums tremble.
Hesh found himself crouched behind a thickly grown bush, looking into the multifarious eyes of a rather big specimen of a flesh fly staring back at him. The insect used the bush for shelter, unlike to the Ghosts, water was it's arch enemy. Water for the Ghosts meant to be able to bring their stealth to a whole new level. In fact the rain was dense enough, with every drop shooting across the sky like a shooting star, to create a silk curtain of water. The rain couldn't break through the glass of his heat signature goggles, in which he saw to his left his loyal partner Riley. The dog was fancying rain normally but the rain in the rainforest had this stench to it, telling the dog to never let his guard down. Behind him Riley noticed the rest of the group also taking position behind the natural barrier. It were about 15 Ghosts in total who would split up into three teams of 5; Alpha, Bravo and Charlie. Hesh wasn't font of Stephen's decision to put him into Charlie-Team, since this team would only secure a path through the jungle towards the river for the other teams to be picked up by the extraction team. Sure, this decision wasn't made by Stephen alone; Mila was the one pulling the strings. She believed that Hesh's personal feelings would blind his vision to see that his own brother, his baby brother could pose a threat to not only Hesh himself but the whole team. Mila as the Commander was all about the team's sake; the objective was always second place.
"Charlie-Team" Stephen's voice broke through the static in their ears; husky as always, though seemingly with a higher pitch. Hesh found Stephen Daman beside Keegan who had his eyes locked on Hesh and Riley.
"On me." Stephen commands and Charlie-Team follows his words closely as they all move with steps as silent as possible after their team leader, making it almost sound like he moved alone. Hesh had Riley close by his side always looking out for potential threats. Hesh threw one more unsure nod towards Keegan who has always been unaware of Hesh's discomfort with the way the teams were made up. The elder Ghost however was aware how Hesh would react if he saw his brother hanging by the neck on a already roden string.
"Command, this is Alpha-Hotel." Stephen send a status to the command center back at the base. They moved passed some bigger with plants overgrown trees and rocks. One step after the other with Riley leading the way then, Hesh, followed by Stephen and the rest, headed down a muddy path which must have been used by the Feds to transport some supplies, be it defensive or humanitarian goods. Trails of heavy trucks had been dug into the mud; fresh, almost too fresh; those couldn't have been older then a few hours.
"Alpha-Hotel, this is Command, whats your status?" HQ responded almost immediately, the signal being pretty steady even in those kinds of circumstances.
"Charlie is moving to secure EZ." Stephen replies stopping by another hiding spot made off rocks, brushes and some leafs hanging from a small grown banana tree, which's blossoms slowly woke again from the scantily, through the tree crowns, shining sun light. This play of nature indicated to an alert person, the rain soon would subside.
"Copy that, Charlie-Hotel, you are clear to further execute." Command responds and Stephen slowly turns to look at his squad, giving them all a slow nod. Everyone including Hesh returned the nod while Riley just kept his head low, as Hesh petted him gently; his gloveless fingers digging into the wet fur of his dog.
"Copy." The captain, Stephen replies and checks his weapon and equipment once more; everyone on the team knew, when the captain checked his gear, things are about to get real. With the last drop of rain the last rifle was adjusted and loaded. The Ghosts rose to their feet following their leader, trusting his very move with their lives.
The squad reached the apparent end of the jungle environment to find a muddy loam-sand beach, plastered with driftwood the mighty river must have splash on land on it's way across the lands. Freshly blown off leaves softened the monotone brown picture with their lively green colors. The sunlight made the water drop appear as crystals sparkling in the sun. In the distance, at the end of the abstract beach painting; Hesh could make out a small lodge piercing into his eyes like a sharp piece of glass would. Sharp edged walls made of brick made the cot almost seem like it didn't belong into this place unbreakable by humans. From where he stood, there also was a glassless window visible; only an already torn piece of cloth blocked the view inside. The wind shove the cloth aside slightly for him to see two guards stand inside the booth, in front of what seemed to be a radio.
"Miller, Schneider and Rodrigo. On me" Stephen orders them and the four move towards the cot, before splitting up again into teams off two to breach from both sides.
"Walker, cover us." Stephen spoke to Hesh looking towards him as he did so, while crouching under the window. They had to wait until the other team of two were able to break open the frail wooden door. Silence with the highest priority; one wrong move and they were busted. Hesh saw Stephen peak inside the cot and then rising to his feet with the other one; but no shots fell, only the thuds of limb bodies being dropped to the ground could be heard.
"Clear." One of his team mates announced and the rest confirmed, however Stephen seemed restless; as if a bug was beneath his shirt and itching him. Hesh understood what it was; all of this was just such an surreal situation. Everything about this mission seemed off to a degree; Stephen stopped in his tracks as his eyes meet Hesh's who was kneeling on the ground to secure the parameter and keep over watch. Riley beside him sniffed the air, what by no means was an easy task; the markings and smells of the wild animals made it hard to make out smells of significance and the rain smudged and mixed them up even more.
"Alpha 1-1, this is Charlie-Hotel, whats your status?" Stephen said as he leans against the wall inside the small both, watching the rest of the team secure the parameter or search for possible booby traps; which the Feds had been using more and more over the course of this war. They were easy to make and plant; effective to a extent in which they could take out the most experienced of soldiers, if done well.
"Charlie-Hotel, Alpha 1-1 here." Keegan spoke calmly through the com, however the connection seemed to be cracking a little bit. Alpha team was about to reach the heart of the island, which could be seen even from the satellite pictures; it was nothing less than the camp; the Ghosts had been searching for during the last few months. Keegan stopped and moved his body to duck beneath the wooden porch of the first barn. Looking around and searching for possible threats, Keegan only spotted about a dozens of Feds patrolling the parameter through his heat-vision-goggles. His arms supported his weight as he lay down on his belly and then rolled around to check out the building he laid beneath while the rest of the team covered his back. Only two heat-signatures were inside the house, though they both appeared to be sleeping, since their muscles didn't generate as much energy as they usually would if they were awake. Keegan turned back on his belly and crouched beside the other squad members.
"Alpha is inside the yellow zone. Requesting to proceed forward to red zone." Keegan clicks out the magazine of his rifle, his elbows tugged into the mud beneath him. He puts the clip into his west and puts out a new one and reloads his rifle fast to not draw any attention.
"Copy that, Charlie has secured EZ. Alpha you got green light, green light." Stephen replies, his words clung loud and clear in the ears of all.
"Copy." Keegan simply said as he made eye contact with his squad pointing towards the right hand side to roll out beneath the porch. Like every leader would, Keegan took the lead and made a quick roll to the right, out of there stopping on his belly again. The mud and dirt all over them made it easier to blend in with the ground and the environment. Another side effect was that guard dogs would have a harder time smelling them, if the feds had some though. There wasn't much intel on this place to begin with; only a few pictures as well as cut off radio recordings by the Royal Ghost, those radiograms however were about as useful as a suspect description of a blind person. Intuition mixed with experience in the field was key to this missions success. Breathing was an intuitive action which also let to them sucking in the disgusting smell of corpses which only got spread for through the rain and the rainwater building puddles together with blood.
Bursts of wind brushed through the trees, causing big and thick leafs to rub over each other, making this familiar rustling sound above their heads. Slowly Alpha team rose to their feet, moving fast to take cover before anyone of the approaching patrol pair could spot them. A quick glance over his shoulder revealed to Keegan that all of the team were behind him, checking all directions even the sky above. The mud all over them made their heat signatures weaker. Keegan checked if everyone had their Squad-Glow activated. It was a piece of gear used to distinguish between enemies, friendlies and squad members when Heat-Vision is used. All squad mated are supposed to have a blue stripe, only visible through the Heat-Vision on their helmets or somewhere on their gear.
"Listen, we are going to search the parameter like planed." Keegan says as he peaked around the corner, getting a quick overview of the camp; Feds where still patrolling, but the Ghost had no need to feel threatened; behind him where soldiers skilled enough to turn this whole compound upside down, if necessary to complete the mission.
"Copy." The rest of them team responds while checking their surroundings. Keegan takes the lead as they move down a hill to find the main gate of the camp lingering in the distance, covered by a blanket of mist. The loud searchlights break pierce trough it; indicating there was something more precious and important behind those eight man heigh walls than the feds might have led on to.
"In position." Keegan announced as he aims his sight right at the feds whose in the over watch tower, smoking his cigaret with relish while having a chat with another soldier. Both oblivious of the deadly predators lurking in the bushes bellow them. Tightening his grip around his rifle Keegan made eye contact with the other sniper on his team both counting the seconds until they would have a clear shot. Meanwhile the others check the gate for potential threads for booby traps. Keegan glanced passed his scope making sure everyone was in a solid position to fend of the Feds if needed. He and the other sniper sat inside a bush, only their cloaked rifle barrels sticking out. The water from the bush ran down the rifle towards Keegan's hands, forcing him to tighten his grip once more.
…2
"How's your wife been?" The one Fed smoking asks the other who casually leans against the railing. It's been months since the last incident and that was only a prisoner escape; the crocodiles must have eaten him, since they never find the person's body. Some guys in the camp even have a bet running that the fugitive might have started to live in in the jungle or they figured it would be best to kill themselves.
"She has been doing fine, though supplies in our village are quite low, since all those rich bastards want to keep it all to them, watching the poor people starve to their deaths." The other says looking right into the direction of Keegan but doesn't notice him at all.
…1
"The president hopefully changes his policy soon; man, this shitty war has been going too long already; does it have a reason anymore?" The same mane asks turning back to attend the blinking radio.
"Yeah…those politicians have an easy life sitting in their tacky fincas; someone better stop this madness." The man says turning back to look towards the rain forest reaching farther than the horizon. The other one does the same and they both let out a sigh; a sharp noise sounds and the two of them drop to the ground, filling the tiled floor with pools of blood.
"Target down." Keegan announced while nodding to his fellow sniper; both catch up to the team, finding that the gate to the camp was already open. The hacker of the team had just finished his work, putting his tablet back into his backpack.
"The feds surely know how to protect their property…" The female hacker comments, gripping her rifle again and supporting herself by the wall.
„Whatever is in there; must be nasty as fuck." She adds, while pressing her hand against the right wing of the gate pushing it open slightly, as her eyes go wide in awe. She clearly has difficulty holding her rifle steading while her mouth just like that pops open.
"Co…Commander…" She gasped while Keegan looks inside above her to find the same horrific picture in front of himself. A terrifying stench of fear and death sneaked over them; chaining them to the very spot they all stood. All they saw were twelve dead bodies all off them beheaded, as if someone ripped of their heads, the bodies all lay on the ground, while their heads had all been pierced onto wooden pillars, They cold and blood stained faces faced them. Those dead eyes seemingly locking their cold stares at them.
"This is Red Fox, Alpha 1-3, whats your status ?" Mila's glance feel onto the main screen in front of her while her fingers wrapped tightly around the railing in front of her. The screen showed a life feed of Keegan's helmet cam. All Ghosts seemed to be frozen on the spot, only Keegan remained calm as far as that was possible.
"This is Alpha Hotel, we have eyes on the inside of the camp." He simply said as Mila looks over her shoulder to watching Merrick walk in and stopping beside her with his arms crossed. She eyes him carefully from the corner of her eye.
"Can you zoom in on the dead bodies?" Keegan requests and a technician immediately zooms in closer to the corpses shoulder, finding a certain patch on its shoulder;
"Rorke…that was Rorke." Mila says trying to keep her calm as she looks down and grits her teeth. Merrick turns towards her then back to the screen; it wasn't just a simple patrol, it were Ghosts. They must have been from the crew of the Royal Ghost who set out to gather intel. Some members bodies had never been able to be retrieved.
"No." Merrick simply says and the command center slowly falls silent as he stands there arms crossed; Mila lets out a gasp for air, her eyes frantically for answers on Merrick's face.
I guess, the Ghosts got caught a little of guard there…
Anyways, please smash that Fav, Follow or Review button (°-°) to make my day (*-*)
Pixeltrix141…out
