"Hot LZ"
LT. Simon "Ghost" Riley
Task Force One-Four-One
Afghanistan
Day One 1900 Hours
"Here, take it." Ghost said, handing the pilot an M9 sidearm. He took it, checked the clip and chambered a round. Ghost tossed him two extra clips, just in case more of the Opfor showed up before the Pave Low arrived at the LZ. "How long?" The gunner asked. Ghost looked down at the crouched pilot, confused. "How long 'till they get here?" He repeated. "Ten minutes." Ghost answered, crouching in the hot sand. "That's too long." "Well, they were supposed to get here three minutes ago, but Sheperd says there is a sandstorm blowing around and their having to fly around it. So, it is delaying our extraction." "Sheperd?" "Yeah, leads the One-Four-One." "I've met him."
"Really now?"
"Five years ago, a nuclear explosion erupted, killing thirty-thousand of his men. It screwed him up a little."
"No man can lose thirty thousand soldiers in the blink of an eye and be okay."
"That may be true, but acted strangely. He ordered us on an impossible mission, to bomb some Russian military base with our AC-130. He didn't tell us there was over ten surface to air missile sites places around the base. Nor did he tell us how heavily guarded it was. We were shot down. Everyone but me, was killed in the crash. When I saw him again, he said 'Sometimes you must sacrifice a little to get ahead.' I don't trust him after that, and neither should you."
"The man lost a lot in one day, and maybe intel was off, it was possible he didn't know about the SAMs."
"He knew. I saw it in his eyes."
"Oh, excuse me."
"You shouldn't trust him, it'll cost you your life."
"I'll be sure to remember that."
"Ghost, we got ten plus foot mobiles approaching our position." Hassan radioed, sounding paniced.
"Looks like this conversation is being cut short." Ghost said, standing up, brushing sand off of his desert camo pants. "Hassan, take out as many of them you can, we can't let them get too close. I didn't come here to let these guys be killed after I rescue them from one group of hostiles." "Copy!" Hassan replied. "They got a technical inbound." Hassan said. "Damn, alright, cover me, I'm going for the plane, see if I can pick a few off." "Understood, wait for my mark." "Okay." Ghost stood for a few seconds, hearing multiple AK-47s being fired. "Go! Go now!" Hassan yelled. "Got it!" Ghost sprinted forward, running towards the cockpit of the plane. Bullets were flying everywhere, mainly aimed at him, since he was the only one that was visible to them. He jumped into the cockpit, and crawled over broken glass into until he got to the controls. He crouched down, and waited for the Opfor to stop firing on him. Once they stopped, he stood up, and fired a three round burst into one of them. Each bullet hit the man in the chest, killing him almost instantly. Another one of them turned and focused on Ghost, aiming his RPK at him. Ghost fired three more times, killing the man. Ghost quickly equipped a grenade, pulled the pin, and tossed it at a group of five of them, all aiming at the cockpit. Once he threw the frag, he ducked again. A explosion overpowered the gunshots, then screams. Ghost looked over at them, seeing all their dead bodies, except for one, who was crawling away, leaving a blood trail behind him. Ghost ignored the injured man, and focused on the two final men, both armed with FAL rifles, firing on him. Ghost fired another burst, killing one of them. Hassan fired once, shooting the other man in the head, dropping him to the ground, blood pooling around his head. "Damn it, where are you?" Ghost radioed to the pilot of the Pave Low, noticing yet another group of hostiles moving forth, some even armed with RPGs. "Ten Seconds!" The pilot replied. "It's about bloody time!" Ghost said, sprinting out of the cockpit and back onto the sand. He ran as fast as he could towards the Pave Low, now landing. The hatch opened, Ozone stood inside, motioning to hurry. Three more Task Force soldiers ran out, armed. Ozone, Chemo, and Scarecrow ran out, all armed with M4A1 assault rifles. Chemo and Ozone crouched and began to fire at the closing enemies, while Scarecrow began helping the rescued pilot and gunner to the chopper. Ghost jumped into the back of the chopper, fired at the approaching enemies. "Move it!" Ghost yelled to Chemo, who was backing up while firing, trying to provide cover until he got in. "Damn it, just get in the helicopter!" Ghost yelled, slightly angry. Chemo turned and jumped into the chopper, finally. "It's about time!" Ghost said, jokingly. "I ran out of ammo, didn't have much choice!" Chemo replied, holding up and empty clip. The Pave Low took off, closing the hatch. Ghost smiled as they left the area, safely. He had completed his mission, and had zero casualties. "Good job." Scarecrow smiled. A loud beeping sound filled the chopper, and the pilot turned, looking nervous. "They've locked on to us!" He yelled. "Shit!" Ozone yelled. The pilot quickly turned the chopper to the right, trying to evade. A louder and faster beeping started to replace the slower, quieter beap. "They fired a Stinger missile!" The pilot yelled out. "Hang on to something!" Chemo yelled, grabbing the bar overhead. The missile slammed into the chopper, shaking it roughly. Smoke poured into the back, so thick Ghost could no longer see Chemo, who was sitting right in front of him. The chopper began to spin wildly, out of control, spiraling towards the earth. "We're going down!" The pilot yelled out, struggling to keep the chopper in the air.