Chapter 20 - Tulum Copper Mine - Part 2
Soap and Trevor broke through the next set of steam clouds and spotted an opening at the end located a few meters away. Keeping their eyes peeled, they approached the threshold.
"Check those corners. You take left." Soap ordered.
Trevor was quick with a response. "Copy that."
They paused briefly once they reached the frame which separated the hallway from the dimly lit room they were about to enter. Finally gaining some determination, they broken around the edges of the frame and checked the immediate space in between a stack of boxes and the metal-grey wall.
Nothing.
Instantly, they turned back to face the room, eyes darting around, guns raised, and fingers on the triggers. Observing the room, they noticed just how poorly lit the space was. One single industrial fluorescent light hung from the center of the ceiling; it caused shadows to splash all over the room with the towers of stacked boxes as cover.
Soap gestured his hand forward for Trevor, and pointed two fingers to his grey eyes, indicating to continue on and check around each set of stacked boxes. Trevor nodded at him as they moved off the catwalk and onto the concrete floor. As they neared a set of boxes, they rounded the sides and took aim. Each check they performed came back with zero results. They progressed forward and were reaching the center of the room and onto a set of floor vents. So far, no sign of the man.
Rico sighed with relief as she spotted her two team members creep into the camera's sights.
The room was completely still and quiet, aside from a large commercial fan which blew loudly from the top-right corner of the rectangular room. Their hearts raced as they could feel the blood pumping in their ears. Trevor couldn't resist glancing in Soap's direction, only to meet up with his light-eyed stare. Both men were feeling the nervousness creeping up their spines.
Suddenly, a metal on metal noise 'clanged' from the distant corner as the vents and pipelines began to shake violently. They both spun to face the noise, M4A1s still raised up to their watchful eyes. Noticing some water was simply traveling through the pipelines, Trevor could only sigh and turn back to look at the boxes.
Then came a burst of movement and a thunderous, throaty noise as a massive figure shot from the shadows. It swiped a powerful hand at Trevor and sent him flying backwards into a set of boxes that came toppling over him as his body smacked up against the sides. Soap already had his gun pointed and sights locked on as he cracked off several shots. The man was fast, oddly fast, as he disappeared from sight after taking one bullet to the arm. His mass snaked back into the shadows and behind a tower of boxes. Soap cursed and moved towards Trevor who was now pushing the load of boxes from on top of him.
Once Trevor emerged slightly, he began to hurriedly search for his assault rifle.
"Fuck. FUCK." He barked as he tried to lift the last heavy box from his leg.
"Shh." Soap hushed him, keeping his body and face pointing towards the corner the man had ran off to. Quickly glancing towards the corner of his vision at Trevor on the floor, he whispered. "Get up."
Trevor bit his lip and managed to push the bulky box clear from his leg. Using the little light the room provided, he began the search for his gun under the rubble of packing containers. The room felt as if it was breathing, as the man's heaving echoed off the walls, making it difficult to place the sound. He cursed to himself as he found no signs of his gun anywhere.
Abruptly, a set of boxes came crashing down. Soap rose his gun towards the commotion and fired off silenced shots. Through the clutter of flying boxes and shadows, the man ran out and threw a hatchet from his belt towards Soap; it glistened in the blue light as it slashed through a small portion of the side of his arm. While Soap flinched and blood began to rush to the open wound, the man smacked Soap's arm to the side. With a finger still on the trigger, Soap fired the gun, but sent bullets past the man's head as the rifle's barrel cocked off at an angle.
The assault rifle fell from Soap's grasp, and hit the floor, as the attacker twisted the gun loose. Soap gritted his teeth and kicked towards the bend in his leg, causing him to buckle and land on one knee. Continuing the attack, Soap sent up a knee into the man's face, causing his head to go back slightly. Following through shortly after, the man sent a powerful punch into Soap's ribs, forcing him to stumble back and lose his footing over the fallen boxes. The hit came like a speeding pickup truck.
Trevor whipped out his SIG Sauer sidearm to take aim at the man who was now storming in his direction. Taking off several shots, a few bullets pierced through the man's side and chest, but he acted unfazed as he stomped forward and kicked the pistol straight from Trevor's hand.
Suddenly, the ax came flying up over the attacker's masked head, making Trevor's eyes widen in panic. Being quick on his feet, he dove to the side as the ax came flying down with the force of a hammer-wielding god. The ax smashed against the metal vent on the floor, and sent an echoing boom through the room. Regaining balance, Trevor kicked at the man's leg, but the force of the kick was stopped in its tracks as the man caught his foot.
Rico tried to send out a distress signal to the other members in the mine as she watched in distraught.
Trevor was spun to the side and launched in Soap's direction. His body was shot at Soap like a wrecking ball as they both collided. Soap managed to keep his footing as Trevor met the ground head on again, immediately smacking the air clear from his chest. Lowering his brow into a dangerous glare, Soap rose up his sidearm to blast off more shots in the man's direction. It came as a startling surprise once he realized just how fast their assailant was; he bolted towards Soap with the reflexes of a wildcat.
Soap felt the man's strength smack again the back of his elbow, instantly causing his grip around the pistol to weaken. Using what power he had left in his arm, Soap managed to keep his fingers around the gun until he received a blow to the face and a kick to the abdomen. Air grunted from his core as he fell backwards and against the concrete; his pistol following shortly behind.
Noticing Trevor was now rising, the massive man swung his axe horizontally with vigorous force. Trevor had to nearly fall to the ground to avoid the swinging ax as it whipped past him, bringing a stream of wind along with it. Two more swipes came as he was nimble enough to duck for the second one and somersault backwards. Growing infuriated by his inability to land a hit, the man ripped another hatchet from his belt and threw it like a tomahawk in Trevor's direction. It flipped through the air and landed into his chest; his vest blocked the blade from cutting into his skin. Immediately, the wind was knocked from his lungs as he staggered and landed on his rear.
The large ax went up into the air again, as the man's figure became silhouetted by the hanging fluorescent light. Trevor panted and rolled to the side to avoid yet another strike. He was feeling winded as he peered up to see the glistening end of the ax flying towards him yet again. This time, the ax landed, as the blunt, rounded-end end of the weapon cracked against Trevor's side and sent him thudding against the ground.
Soap had witnessed the tail-end of the flailing attacks, and just as the ax went up into the air again to deliver the final blow to Trevor's now motionless body, Soap sprinted for the man and tackled him to the ground. Both of the men fell past Trevor as Soap slammed the heavy weight of the man to the ground. The giant attacker hit the floor with a growl as Soap clambered on top to pin his arm down with a knee.
With coordinated, but frantic, movements Soap unsheathed his combat knife to slash at the man's neck. The attempted attack was halted by a strong hand that had found Soap's wrist with inhuman like speed. Their arms began to shake as a battle of the brawn initiated as Soap tried to push the knife down while the man kept the weapon in place. He gritted his teeth as the combat knife joined the floor with the rest of the weapons they had lost over the course of the battle, once he became overpowered by the man who was seemingly running off a drug-high.
Launching forward, the man placed a hard knee into Soap's chest. The strength of the hit sent Soap flying off of him and onto his backside. Growling a throaty rumble, the man rose up and snagged Soap's foot to drag him back in. Soap peered up into his masked face just in time to receive a stomping boot into the chest. The air in his lungs shot outward with a mist of spit as another foot came thundering down. Taking yet another hit to the ribs, Soap welled up some strength to roll to the side to dodge the third hit.
Looking up, Soap used his legs to wrap around the man's footing and caused him to trip and fall into the concrete. The large ax fell from his hands in the process. Soap brought himself up only to take a knife to the upper-portion of his left arm. He let out a noise of pain and clamped his jaw at the sensation of the blade tearing through the ligaments of his arm. Sensing adrenaline beginning to course through his veins, Soap reacted quickly and fired off a palm thrust into the man's chin, causing him to stumble backwards with a hand raised before his face.
Taking advantage of the space now between them, Soap grasped the hilt of the knife that had been stabbed into his left deltoid and tore it from the muscle with a clenched jaw. Blood came out with the sharpened point as he rose it into the air and flung it forward. The knife soared through the air with deadly precision, but the attacker managed to raise a broad, strong forearm up to block and take the hit. The knife punctured his flesh, but he continued to turn his body quickly as if the pain of the knife was barely felt.
Soap gestured his head towards him as he panted heavily. "You're a nimble piece of shite, eh?"
The man chuckled deeply before charging at Soap. Taking a few heavy-handed swipes, the man sent a haymaker and a few horizontal strikes in Soap's direction. Ducking and dodging what he could, Soap moved away from the hits and diverted the strikes that came close to making contact. He blocked a strong kick with the side of his leg just before the man pounced at him. Wrapping an unbreakable grasp around Soap's waist, the man lifted Soap up off the ground just before slamming him down against the floor.
The force of the drop sent a wave of pain through Soap's body as he lay still momentarily. He peeled open his eyes to see what was coming next. The man brought his large hand down and gripped onto Soap's collar as he rose him up from the ground with one arm. Feeling his weight leaving the earth, Soap struggled to gain leverage as he placed a hand onto the attacker's forearm and tried to wiggle it loose.
Suddenly, the man brought a free-hand up, which was holding onto the last hatchet he had pulled from his belt. Soap's eyes widened as the man rose the small ax up into the air to prepare an attack to smack it down into Soap's skull. Once the hatchet came crashing down, Soap reacted quickly and caught hold of the man's ax-wielding forearm. The men were again at a deadlock as they glared into each others faces; Soap dangling in the air by the man's grasp.
Feeling his left arm beginning to weaken, Soap's arm began to shake under the weight of the man's arm that was still trying to deliver a blow with the hatchet. The wound in his arm was making his strength fade faster.
Realizing he couldn't keep the man's arm held away forever, Soap brought his head back to headbutt the man right to the center of his face. Once his forehead made contact, the man growled at the sensation of the mask crushing against the bridge of his nose. But he made no sign of stopping, so Soap brought his head up a second time to send in another strike. Again, the hit smashed his mask against his face. Blood was beginning to appear around the rings under his eyes. Panting, Soap delivered a third headbutt that finally caused the man to break his hold and stagger backwards.
Soap landed onto his knees with a 'thud' as his chest rose quickly in attempts to regain its lost breath. Blood had gathered to the spot Soap had made contact with the man's face with. He peered up to see the man was already reaching for the large ax that he had lost prior. Soap bit his lip and forced himself upward into a stance.
Obtaining some consciousness, Trevor had found his SIG he had smacked from his hands earlier, and was now raising it up to fire. His vision was hazy as he took aim. Pulling the trigger, Trevor shot towards the man who flinched and ducked at the sound. Only two bullet hit, but they were in places that wouldn't cause any hindrance to the enraged man.
Suddenly, the pistol began to click on empty once the man charged for Trevor who was still on the ground. Not having anything to work with, Trevor simply threw the gun at a line-drive. The hard surface of the pistol snapped into the man's face, causing him to curse wildly as he reached for Trevor.
Picking him up, the man bellowed. "You're going to die, you worm!" His voice was unearthly and discomforting.
Trevor found himself being launched to the side again, as more boxes came clambering down. Following shortly behind, the man brought his large ax with him.
During this, Soap had ran to snatch up the man's hatchet and sprinted in his direction. Once he reached the massive assailant's backside, he sent a blow with the hatchet into the side of the man's neck. Blood shot out as a fleshy sound emitted. Soap released the ax after struggling to remove it from his neck. The weapon remained stuck deep within tendons. The scream the man shot from the back of his throat was loud enough to shake their chests.
Abruptly, the man veered and sent a strong backhand smacking against Soap's cheek. Falling against the ground once again, Soap peered up at the man who was stumbling towards him with the ax shaking in midair. He began to scoot back on his elbows as he watched the man's unpredictable movements, hoping to find an opening to take the man's weight out from under him. But then the man steadied his motions and brought the ax up into the air to land a fatal hit on Soap.
Just when Soap thought he was about to have his chest cavity hacked open, a gunshot sounded as the top of the man's skull blew open. He swayed momentarily as small bits of brain matter and bone collected around the open wound. Shortly after, he toppled to the side and landed against the ground with a massive 'thud'.
Soap glanced forward once the man was no longer blocking his sights, and found Trevor at the opposite end, gun raised. During the final bits of commotion, Trevor had managed to pick up the sidearm Soap had lost previously and fired off the fateful shot.
Once they made eye contact, Trevor dropped the gun and rolled onto his back with a series of pants. Finding some strength, Soap brought himself up from the ground and limped towards Trevor who was now resting a hand against the side of his chest. After reach his side, Soap lowered to his knees to assist Trevor up off the ground.
"Well done, mate." Soap huffed. "A little late, but I'll take it." His voice came out lowly with a facetious tone.
"Fuck...you…" Trevor managed to sigh out with a faint smile.
Soap got his arm under Trevor and helped him up. Both men began to support each other as they searched for their lost gear.
After a very short passing of time, the other three Darkhorse members came darting in with wide-eyed expressions. They peered around the room with confusion and concern written on their faces.
"Jesus Christ…" Shawn spoke first as he began to scan the area. "What the fuck happened?"
Trevor slowly pointed towards the fallen attacker. "That fucker...that's what happened." He suddenly staggered as Soap had to catch his weight.
The other three men ran for the two injured soldiers and assisted them with the task. Shawn immediately spotted the open wounds on Soap's arm.
"Shit. You're bleeding. Here, let's patch it."
Soap waved him off. "Help your brother. Anyone here can give me a quick patch job."
Shawn paused briefly before nodding and going for Trevor.
Soap straightened his posture with long breaths; his eyes found Price. "Find anything?"
"You alright, son?" Price ignored the question.
The Scotsman nodded. "I'm fine."
Price nodded before throwing his gun over his shoulder while Samson began to call Rico on the radio.
"Here. Sit." Price ordered. Immediately, Soap sat down with a sigh as the old man instantly went to work on getting Soap's injuries cleaned up and covered.
Price shook his head with a grunt. "What's up with you and injuries?"
Soap shrugged. "I like to think it's mostly your fault."
"Oh, yeah?" Price asked with a smile slowly appearing under his beard. "And why's that?"
"You always seem to be around when it happens."
"Wasn't in the near vicinity for this one."
Soap peered off towards the doorway. "Close enough, old man." His grey eyes returned to Price. "So, find anything?"
Price nodded. "Yes. After taking out the four tangos, we searched the containers. Looks like that Gomez informant was spot on. Which is good for us because there was some speculations that he was full of shit."
Soap had to snicker as he spoke sarcastically. "Don't know what caused that impression." He let his eyes roll over the dead man's body. His eyes narrowed in thought once he spotted a set of keys on the man's belt.
Price noticed the stare. "What is it?"
"That cocksucker has a keyring on him. There's a door at the end of the catwalk that he was standing in front of. We should probably take a quick peak into that room."
"Hm." Price began to ponder before replying. "We can take a look but we need to get our arses moving."
Once the task was finally done, Price and Soap both rose up; the Scotsman had to grimace as the adrenaline in his body was beginning to dissipate and the pain was becoming apparent. Samson glanced in their direction after checking on Trevor and his welfare.
"We have to get moving. I was able to get in touch with Rico and she called in Talon." Samson announced.
"Right." Price said coarsely before nodding his head towards the man with the hole through his head. "Get those keys and we'll move out."
After getting the keys and gathering up the scattered gear from before, the five men crept out of the room and back onto the catwalk. Shawn assisted Trevor along as Soap stayed near Price's watchful gaze. The steam still blew out from the pipes and obscured their views. The end of the catwalk came into sight after breaking past the mist. They quickened their pace at the image of the thick metal door the massive man had been standing before.
Samson pulled out the obtained keyring once they stood in front of the mystery door. Fumbling with them briefly, he finally got the padlock free from the handle. Price and Soap stacked up while Shawn remained some distance back with Trevor. Placing a gentle hand against the metal, Samson slowly pushed open the door as he let the barrel of his gun lead in.
They all suddenly froze in distraught with what they saw as the the three men lowered their guns in disbelief. A strong, potent smell went flying into their nostrils; it was like running head first into a wall of stench. The smell of stagnant water, human waste, and the start of rotting flesh filled the room. Out before them, were about 20 women, young girls, and a few small children. They shook and scooted back in fear. In the center of the room hung a nude woman by her ribs from a meat hook. The men had to grimace as Samson threw an arm over his nose.
"Jesus… what the fuck-" Samson trailed off.
The people, who were now scurrying together, were coated in filth and their faces were stained with tears and angst. The soldiers had no way of knowing why a nude woman was dangling from the ceiling with a single light on her. Perhaps uncooperative? Soap's head throbbed at the image as his dark dream from several weeks before recollected into his mind. Samson was in a trance as Price had to shake himself free of distress.
"Soap. Head back to the elevator with Shawn and Trevor. Call Rico and tell her what we found." Price ordered firmly.
Soap nodded quickly as he turned to leave without hesitation. "Copy that."
Suddenly, Price grabbed a hold of Soap's sleeve and lowered his voice. "You and I both know what this is. Did Gomez mention anything of this sort?"
Soap shook his head. "Negative."
Price gestured his head in understanding before allowing Soap to leave out into the hall.
After spotting Shawn and Trevor some short distance away, he motioned for them to follow. "Come. We need to get to the elevator."
Shawn perked up. "What's wrong? What was in there?"
Soap turned to resume down the catwalk after sending a profound stare in Shawn's direction. "We need to contact Talon."
Trevor and Shawn sent a confused stare in each others direction before following after the large Scotsman. Of course, the two peaked into the opened door as they passed it up. Both of the brothers were immediately startled.
"...Fucking shit." Shawn muttered in awe.
Soap's voice sounded from down the hall. "Come on." He followed through with a thick cough at the sensation of his lungs and chest aching in pain. The several stomps he took from before were undoubtedly the cause.
While Soap led Shawn and Trevor out of the east wing of the tunnel and for the elevator, Samson and Price had to discuss what course of action to take. Talon would arrive expecting to remove any evidence pertaining to the drug cartel. No one was expecting women and children. It was a drastic change on the playing field.
Once to the elevator, Soap sent out a message to Rico after attempting to radio-in. She narrowed her eyes at the sound of the static that came from the radio in her earpiece. It was a hit-or-miss, whether or not she'd receive a clear enough call to make out the words.
"I couldn't read you. Come again." She replied back.
"Rico." Soap spoke again. "We found people down here. Women and children. Inform Talon of the change in plans."
She paused momentarily in thought before responding to his call. "Copy that."
After notifying the Talon members of the discovery, the sound of shouting emitted from down on the ground. She perked up and froze as she honed in her senses. Gretel rumbled a low growl as she rose up. A man shouted from his position near the courtyard. Moving away from her seat by the screens, she poked her head up slightly to peer out over the mines. She spotted a man waving his arms near the box truck from earlier.
"Shit." She mumbled before she removed her APR from her back to mount up and take aim. Her crosshairs found the man who was now on a walkie-talkie. Wanting to silence him swiftly, she placed a bullet through his skull. He was quick to topple to the ground ungracefully. Rico moved the gun away to look out over the courtyard. All was still. She hurriedly sent a call to the members still within the mine.
Inside the mines and by the mineshaft, Price and Samson reunited with the other three men, both bearing mixed expressions.
"What are the plans?" Soap inquired as they approached.
"We've decided to have Talon load them all up onto their truck to transport them out of here and somewhere safe. If there's room, we'll load up what we can of the substances, but we've already surpassed our timed stay, so it's safe to say we're probably leaving all of the drugs behind." Samson answered before releasing a long sigh.
Shawn's green eyes glimmered in the little light. "Now what? With this new found problem?"
"What do you mean?" Samson questioned.
"I mean, what's that mean for us. Do we stay with this one? Now with a 'Hernandez' family involved, including this hot mess? Everything's starting to become ungodly complicated. "
Samson blinked towards him before shaking his head. "Too early to say. Let's just focus on the here and now before we start jumping ahead."
Shawn could only return a pondering stare as their radios sounded.
"You...hurry your asses back...surface. I just took out one...in the courtyard...found those three bodies...truck. Over." Rico's voice emitted from the radio in a series of broken words.
The five men all caught the important parts. Price immediately swiped the card, signalling the elevator, and motioned for them to follow.
"Get your arses moving, you muppets." Price barked as the elevator doors cranked open. "We've overstayed our welcome."
The men filed inside swiftly, making their way inside and letting the doors clank shut.
Rico scanned the area for any signs of a threat. She checked the opposite end of the watchtower to search for the top of the Talon truck. So far nothing. She lowered the binoculars and let them tap against her chest before the sound of a distant engine hit her ears. But it was outlandish and came from a different source. Lowering her brow, she moved for the windows to glance out over the hills. She quickly spotted a small pickup truck which bumped along with hasty movements. Bringing the binoculars back up, she zoomed in and noticed two armed men. Cursing quietly, she mounted up and waited for them to get near.
Abruptly came a boisterous wave of hurried panic at the sound of a garage door flying open.
"What the fuck." She rose up to look back out over the courtyard once again, immediately noticing several armed individuals leaving the confines of the garage. Not hesitating, she radioed the other Darkhorse members. "We've got multiple tangos up here. Four men by the northern wing just exited through a garage door and a pickup truck carrying two tangos is inbound. Get yourselves ready. Over."
All five men had to send each other looks of exhaustion.
"Ugh, God damn it." Trevor muttered as he tried to hold his own weight. "Give me my fucking gun, Shawn."
"Sure thing, your heinous." Shawn replied back, handing off Trevor's M4A1 rifle.
Trevor mumbled to himself as he switched to a fresh magazine.
Price quickly pointed off to the right-end of the elevator. "Backs up against that side. Once it rises our six will be facing the building. Get in formation and watch all angles."
Everyone was fast to get into position.
"Rico." Samson said. "Give us an update. We're about to pass up the top level."
She bit her lip and watched as the truck came to a stop to meet up with the four men that had emerged from the garage. They all now stood in the courtyard. One pointed off towards a distant wall just before pointing up towards the watchtower. "Five men. Dead center of the common ground-" She paused at the sound of another engine becoming apparent. Shooting her aqua eyes off to her right, she spotted the Talon truck converging onto their location. "Shit. Talon's getting here."
"Tell them to back the fuck off." Samson replied with his barrel pointing outward. "Passing up the top level. Nearing the surface."
Rico fumbled with her radio as Gretel continued to growl lowly. She set her radio on as she peered back out towards the mines, but noticed three of the men were now out of sight. Her brow furrowed as she crouched and brought herself over towards the railing. She halted her movements as she heard footsteps climbing their way up the stairs. The Talon truck could be heard as it neared. Its headlights began to light up the trail right before the entrance to the mine. The men's footsteps from below came to stop at the steady hum of the truck engine approaching. Soft murmurs emitted from just below her level as she slowly removed her M9 to bring up next to her face.
The five other Darkhorse members finally reached the surface as it came to a screeching stop. All of their eyes were kept near their optics as the doors pried open with an unfortunate racket. It caused all of the men to tense up once the sound of yelling could be heard from afar.
Just as if everything couldn't already be going downhill all at once, the Talon truck finally neared the entrance. Rico immediately began to speak into her radio to the Talon members.
"Talon. This is Darkhorse. There's tangos in the courtyard. I repeat. There's tangos in the courtyard."
The two men inside the truck sent each other perplexed expressions just before the driver hit the brakes.
"Copy that." The driver said back, immediately putting the truck into first gear and letting it slowly come to a stop.
From the watchtower, the two men that had began their climb to the top had AK-74s raised up over the railing as they shouted Spanish curses and incantations towards the Talon members in the truck.
"(Get out! Get the fuck out of the truck!)" One man yelled.
The two Talon members put their hands up and slowly exited the vehicle.
"(Now, who the fuck are you with!?)"
Both of the Talon men stood quietly.
"(Answer the fucking question, you bastard!)"
"(We're with Vasquez. We're here the take the cartel out for-)"
Suddenly, gunshots from the northern end could be heard. Everyone's attention fell onto the sound. From off of the elevator, the five Darkhorse soldiers took cover and had managed to shoot two of the three other men dead. Now the one man left found refuge from under the box truck and was sending off shots. On cue, the two Talon members ran off behind their truck to remove their pistols from the holsters.
The two men on the watchtower flinched and became panicked once they realized the men from the truck had vanished.
"(Fuck! Pablo, get your fucking ass to the top of this tower. Call for help!)"
With that order, the two enemies went separate ways; one slithered for the base of the tower while the other one clambered along up the metal stairs.
While distant commotion sounded, Rico could hear the one man's footsteps approaching. She shifted and scooted away from the wall to hide herself away within a corner coated in shadows. Once the man broke past the threshold, Gretel lunged at him with fierce force and clamped onto his forearm. The man jumped in fright and shouted loudly as Gretel shook her head and tore at his arm. Without missing a beat, Rico took aim and shot the guy dead.
"Move up!" Price ordered once the man hiding below the box truck was on empty. All men move moved forward at different paces.
Suddenly, the gunfire by the truck continued to spark outward, causing all of the them to slide and crouch to cover. The two enemy attackers remaining were both left in a plethora of madness, while the one remained hidden in the shadows of the underbelly of the box truck and the other was now taking aim towards the five Darkhorse men near the northern end.
Ready for action, the Talon men moved out and crept along for the entrance, spotting the one tango from before. They both took aim and fired off 9mm bullets, sending several rounds through the fleeing man's body.
Rico had returned her eye to her scope in attempts to find the man under the truck, who was now frantically crawling away. Getting him in her sights with hawk-like eyes, she put her finger on the trigger and sent a powerful shot off. The bullet hit the back of his shoulder as he yelped out and cursed loudly, just before she placed another bullet into the chamber to launch out of the barrel. The second bullet blew open his back, and immediately caused all to fall still and silent. It was rather eerie as zero movement and noise was present while everyone waited silently to verify their safety.
Rico spoke softly over the radio. "Clear."
Immediately, all of the men rose up near the northern end and began to creep along. She sighed with relief at the sight of them as the two Talon members walked out to meet up with the five Darkhorse men near the center. Rico removed herself from the tower with Gretel following shortly behind.
"...you said they were all on the third level?" The driver asked with a mildly shaky voice.
Samson nodded. "Affirmative. We have two injured men who need attention, so Price and I will lead you two to the location."
Both of the Talon members nodded slowly before one clapped his palms together and gestured with eagerness. "Let's get this over with, then."
While Price and Samson led the two Talon soldiers towards the elevator, Rico, Shawn, Soap, and Trevor all sat near the truck in fatigue. Trevor blinked with disinterest after having removed his vest and shirt to let Shawn take a closer look at his injuries.
"Does this hurt?" Shawn asked as he lightly poked Trevor's side.
Instantly, Trevor flinched and grimaced. "Yes. Yes it does, asshole. I took a painful hit from an ax to the ribs."
Shawn put his hands up. "Easy, cupcake." He sniffed and scratched his nose. "You've probably got a few cracked ribs. We'll have to get you an X-ray once we get back to camp."
Trevor could only stare blankly ahead as Shawn peered over as Soap who was sitting quietly near Rico and the truck.
"How's that arm?" Shawn questioned as he stood up and ambled towards Soap.
Soap merely shrugged. "Bleeding. But fine."
"As fine as a knife wound can get, yeah?"
Soap nodded at him. "Not my first encounter with them."
"Yeah...I know," Shawn straightened up before throwing a pack down. Let me take a look and clean you up. We'll have better supplies back at the camp."
"Really? Will we, Shawn?" Trevor asked teasingly, but with a tone of mild annoyance.
Shawn just glared at him. "I'll let Lydia handle you."
"Ugh…"
"Then start being nice to me. You dick." Shawn murmured back as he went to work on Soap's arm after having him remove his sleeve.
Rico could only exhale heavily before glancing over at Soap. He was quick to sense her stare and find her eyes.
"You alright?" She asked him.
"Aye."
She nodded slowly as a faded smile appeared on her face. "I'm glad you didn't get axed in half."
Soap had to snicker to himself. "Aye. Me too, lass."
After some passing of time the team all regrouped, Talon was able to remove all women and children from the mine and successfully onto the back of the large box truck and just before Darkhorse found themselves sitting soundly in a truck of their own. Each member bore a different expression, but each face was plastered with intensity and thought.
Know what all of this chaos needs? MAAATTTT DAAMMMOOONN