Here In The Now

by Mr-Worth-A-Read

A Navy SEAL team is inserted into Kyrgyzstan to assassinate Vladimir Makarov, though when the mission goes awry, they are left stranded in enemy territory and must fight to stay alive as they put up a desperate last stand against almost an entire army. Prequel to That was Then, This is Now by WheresDaBeef. Rated T for frequent violence and language.

15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15:
Ptelvoisky advanced through the woods with Nevski in tow. The platoon was fanning out as the closed on the last known position of the SEALs. Major Konstantinov had informed them that a rear guard unit had been ambushed and contact had been lost. It didn't matter now, though. They had them in their grasp and it was only a matter of time before they got their justice.

….

Lee was alone now. Hobbling along, he splashed through the stream to the other side, finding a large placement of rocks where he could set up a good firing position. Beyond the rocks was another gradual downward slope, allowing him to make a slow retreat to delay them as long as he could.

Ignoring the searing pain of his broken body, raw instinct kicked in as Lee flicked out the MK.12's bipod again, setting himself prone behind the rock formation. He had six round left in his magazine. There were twelve in the other plus the two mags for his pistol. That should be enough. He thought. Chances were, he was going to die before running out of bullets.

What felt like hours slowly ticked by as Lee searched for targets to begin to appear. Lying in wait, an air of confidence grew in him. He truly felt alive waiting for the battle. In a way, his wife was right, Sophie did always say that he was never truly alive when he was out of combat. A pang of guilt hit him. The last conversation he had had with his wife was an argument and now there was no way that he would ever see her again. There were so many things in his life Lee had left unfulfilled, put off to another day rather than experiencing them first-hand. He wanted to become a father, raise children and live to see them grow and have children of their own. He wanted to go right until the end at his wife's side, growing old with her as the world changed around them. But none of that was going to happen.

Shaking his head, Lee cleared his thoughts. He was here, in the now. He was keeping Tommy and Charlie safe. They were his family. He was keeping his family safe. Right until eh end.
Movement up ahead caught his eye as several Russians arrived at the other side of the stream, inspecting the bodies of their fallen comrades. Lee picked a target and drew a deep breath, his finger hovering on the trigger.

….

"Which way?" Charlie asked, heart pounding in her chest as she ran.
"It doesn't matter, just don't stop!" Tommy replied, only barely keeping ahead of his sister. There had to be some other form of rescue, right? Tommy thought as he ran. They couldn't just be left alone out here.

Gunshots cracked out behind him, snapping the Lieutenant out of his thoughts as Charlie shot him a mournful look. Lee had started firing. They had to hurry and get enough distance between themselves and the closing Russians.

….

"CONTACT! GET DOWN!" Konstantinov roared, diving behind a rock as one of the other squadmates was cut down by a bullet to the head. The platoon fanned out, finding cover as they tried to spot the source of the suppressed sniper fire, returning bursts of Kalashnikov fire from their positons.

Ptelvoisky had lost Nevski. The man had disappeared behind him when the firing started. Looking around, he called out tot eh younger soldier but to no avail. Poking out of cover, he fired at the rocks across the stream.

….

Lee slid down the side of the rock as bullets ricocheted past him. Swapping magazines, he began to pull back down the hill.
"I see him!" A Russian voice called out behind him and Lee spun, dropping the soldier in a few quick shots. The trooper tumbled down the hillside past him as he limped away. More contacts to his left. Le fired at them, his MK.12 Coughing with each trigger pull.

A bullet sliced through his leg and he collapsed. Crying out in pain, he rolled onto his back and returned fire. Forcing himself up again, the SEAL levelled the rifle at a Russian behind a nearby tree and pulled the trigger. The gun clicked. He was out.

Swinging the weapon back, Lee threw the MK.12 at the soldier, knocking him off his feet as Lee unholstered his M1911. Popping a few shots into him, the SEAL kept moving. They were all around him now. Firing blindly into the trees as he staggered along, he dropped the empty magazine and slammed a new one home. Seven more shots. He had to make them count.

Another round caught him square in the chest and he was thrown backwards, going end over end over a fallen tree log. Bones crunched and dust kicked up as the man fell. Stopping himself, he looked down at the wound. His chest burned when he tried to take a breath, only managing a faint wheeze as air failed to enter a collapsed lung.

….

Nevski had let Ptelvoisky far behind now. He had to finish this. He had managed to wound the American and was now closing in for the kill. Stepping up onto the log, h pointed his AK-47 down at the man, the rifle trembling in his clenched hands with pure rage as he let out a scream of anger.

….

BLAM
Lee put a round through the Russian's forehead.

BLAM

And another one for good measure.

BLAM

And another out of desperation. The body doubled over and fell on him like a ten ton weight. Pushing the body off of him, he grabbed on to the log and pulled himself to his feet once more, falling to his knees as he dragged himself along, painfully wheezing with each breath he took.

He fired off another two shots at the soldiers closing in on him before pain zipped through his left bicep and he gasped in shock, slamming against the side of a tree. Slumping down the side of it, Lee aimed his pistol, firing it again and again. The gun cracked a final time before the slide of the 1911 locked back, smoke still climbing from the now-exposed barrel. Choking, Lee dropped the gun and sat back against the tree. That was it.

He could only hear two sounds in the whole world; the thumping of his heart and the dry pained gasps for air coming from his lungs. He watched as a Russian soldier hunkered down nearby, pointing his weapon at him.

Lee looked to the sky before gently closing his eyes. He pictured Sophie in his mind. He imagined them on their wedding day. She looked more beautiful than ever, wrapping her arms around him and smiling. "I love you" She said.
"I love you too." He replied.
I love you too.

He felt the bullet pass through his skull and Lee fell away into blackness. Lee "Tombstone" Hawkins, a US Navy SEAL, died alone on a mountainside in Kyrgyzstan.

And with that, Lee is gone. One more chapter to go, people. This is where the story plays into the beginning of That Was Then This Is Now. Thanks for reading and sorry for the delays.
Some music to help set the tone:
watch?v=Dyli1qrZXck