Chapter 13:
Morton levelled his M4, looking through the scope as he picked a target amongst the trees. Dozens of Russians were making a mad dash after the retreating marines. Rounds pinged off of the Black Hawk's side as he ducked out of the way, shielding Yates as he tied the rappel rope down to the floor of the chopper. "Captain! We're good!" He called, tossing him the weighted end of the rope. Throwing it out of the helicopter, he watched it sail down to the ground as he took out his kit. Clicking his carabiner clip to the rope, he punched Yates on the shoulder. "Squad!" He boomed, "Hook up!" Edging towards the door, Morton was about to step off when he saw a bright flash in the forest below followed by a plume of grey smoke as a tiny metal object hurtled towards the helicopter.
"Shit! RPG!" He heard Joe cry out before a wave of heat swept over the soldier, slamming his eyes shut, Morton felt as he was being thrown side to side inside the chopper as a burning smell filled his nostrils. He heard the spinning blades strike the dirt before a tremendous weight came crushing down on him.
….
Tommy, Charlie and Lee looked on in horror as an RPG Round struck the cockpit of the Black Hawk. Flames bellowed out of its' windows as it recoiled from the impact, spinning out of control as it fell to earth.
"No!" Lee cried out, "You mother fuckers!"
The rotor blades chopped into the ground and snapped, sending metal fragments spinning into the air as the tail rotor collided with the earth, bending at a rough 45 degree angle before breaking free. The force of the tail coming away overturned the helo as it smacked into the ground sideways, its' fuselage crumpling under its' own weight as the fuel lines erupted in flames. Flipping end over end, the Black Hawk was viciously torn apart as various parts of it skidded to a halt. No-one could have survived the crash.
Slumping to his knees, Lee watched as the other Helicopter turned around to see its' comrade crash. Closing in, it looked as if it were going to land in the clearing when amidst the hail of bullets striking the craft, one hit an air intake and sparked. Leaning sideways as smoke bled out the side of the helicopter, it turned away as its' rotors spun faster. The three SEALs watched as the second Black Hawk quickly departed. Becoming a speck on the horizon in seconds.
"What the fuck do we do now?!" Lee asked as Tommy stared up into the afternoon sky. Before he could answer, bullets pinged off of the rock nearby. "Move!" The Lieutenant barked, grabbing his carbine again as he ushered Lee and Charlie forward. "Use the cover of the chopper! Don't stay out in the open!"
Aiming behind them, Tommy saw the swarm of Russians pushing down from the ravine. Flicking the rifle to semi-auto, he squeezed off several rounds, managing to drop a few attackers before more return fire struck the dirt in front of him, sending the SEAL running.
Pulling her arm off from around Lee's neck, Charlie began to run on her own, barely able to support her own weight as the two sprinted for the helicopter. The smell of smoke and fuel clung to her nostrils long before the two reached the downed helo. Hopping over scattered debris, Charlie flung herself over the side of the Black Hawk and down behind it, pressing her back against the fuselage as Lee clambered over after her.
The Comms Officer suddenly jerked her head around to the sniper. "Where's Tommy?" She asked. "Somewhere behind us." Lee replied, peering around the nose of the helo as he saw a figure making a B-line towards the chopper. "Here he comes," Lee said reassuringly, "We need to cover his path. You got a weapon?" He asked her. The SEAL nodded, upholstering a sidearm. "Alright, let's go!" She said.
"COVERING FIRE!"
Tommy saw his two squadmates emerge from cover and begin firing. Chest heaving as he gulped air, the Lieutenant made a mad dash for the chopper whilst enemy fire tore up the dirt at his heels. Taking gigantic leaps as he ran, Tommy could hear Charlie calling to him as he got nearer. Charlie had stopped firing, shouting in anger as her pistol no longer fired. She was out of ammo.
Unslinging his M4, he grasped the weapons' buffer tube with his good hand. "CATCH!" He roared before flinging the rifle forward into the air. He smiled in relief when he saw Charlie spread her arms to catch the falling carbine. She was just about to catch it when something struck his back hard and he was thrown to the floor.
Gasping for breath, he blindly fumbled his hand around his back and found a tiny hole in his webgear. Panicking, the soldier began to hyperventilate as his upped back felt as though it had been hit by a sledgehammer. A hand snaked itself around the handle on his pack and dragged him forward into the cover of the helicopter. Sliding alon on his stomach, he reached his hands out and scullted the last few feet.
"Shit! Tommy are you okay!?" Charlie shrieked as the man struggled for breath. "
"Yeah…" He gasped, pointing to his back.
Tearing open the wide pouch on the back of the webgear, Charlie pulled the armor plate out of its' carrier, seeing the tiny silver dent in the strike face. It had stopped the bullet. Charlie tossed the plate to one side as she helped her brother up.
"You're one lucky so of a bitch you know!" She spat, smacking him across the head lightly. Tommy simply smiled back as he picked up his rifle again.
"We need to get out of here ASAP!" He said, sitting up against the back of the Black Hawk.
Lee looked around in confusion, "What are we gonna do? Run for it and cross the border over into China?!"
The Lieutenant shrugged,
"If we have to, then yeah."
….
"This is Team Two! We're hit and pulling out!" A panicked voice filled the comm room as General Garret went rigid. "We have a Black Hawk down. I repeat, we have a Black Hawk down!" one comms officer called out. Camera feed from the retreating chopper flickered up on the screen in front of them. The clip only played for a few seconds, showing the other UH-60 take an RPG to the cockpit before cutting out.
Garret felt sick. Six men were on that chopper, including Captain Morton. Without a word, he left the operations centre. Finding his office, the General collapsed into a chair and slumped his head into his hands. His stomach pulled into a tight knot as his worst fears came true. He had seen many men and women die under his command throughout his career, and now another group had joined them. One of the younger officers came into the room, knocking as he entered.
"What is it?" Garret asked in a low mumbled tone.
"Sir, the helo is en route back to base now. I'll have a debriefing ready for them." He explained. "Our assessment team is preparing another strategy."
Garret nodded, "Understood, Lieutenant."
"Don't worry, sir." The Lieutenant said before leaving, "We'll bring them home."
Garret heard the door click shut as he sat back in his chair, pulling his face up to stare at the ceiling. Standing, he inhaled deeply, drawing a long breath as he puffed out his chest. Exhaling, he closed his eyes, focussing himself.
Alright, what do we do now? He asked himself. If Plan A fails you have to have a Plan B at the ready.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you did, please leave a review J I'm going away for a week so I won't be posting for a while sadly. However, I am 100% determined to finish this story.