Rainbow Six: Undercover
Act II
Chapter 19
A Familiar Voice
"Along with today's news, the public continues to panic as 11 heavily armed and dangerous terrorists from the unit Rainbow Six are still at large with their whereabouts unknown. The UN is using all of its resources available to track down the terrorists and have made a statement that if anyone spots any suspicious activity, to report it to the authorities immediately. We'll have more after the break."
The television inside the store front cut to a commercial.
Eliza kicked a rock on the side walk and walked down the block. She rubbed her hands together and breathed into them trying to warm her hands.
The snow had been relentless in Seoul, South Korea and it finally eased up enough for the operators to go outside.
Eliza walked down the city sidewalk keeping her head low as she pushed past pedestrians. Up ahead of her was her objective, Mok Myeok Tower, standing tall in the city center. She walked through the doors of the tower pretending to be a tourist visiting the city.
She found an elevator that could take her to the top of the tower. When she entered the elevator, she saw a security guard standing in the back corner. Eliza went to push a button taking her to the top floor, but the security guard swatted her hand away.
"No." He said.
"Excuse me?"
"No tourists on the upper levels. Authorized personal only. Trespassers will be prosecuted."
"Well shit."
She walked out of the elevator and sat on a nearby bench thinking about her next move.
She needed eyes on those upper levels.
She noticed the business people who worked on the upper levels wore special yellow tags that allowed them to go up the elevator. Eliza saw a small crowd of business people walking to the elevator. As the elevator doors opened, Eliza reached into her handbag and pulled out her recon drone. She placed it on the ground and by using her phone wheeled it into elevator using the people's feet as cover.
Eliza rested her head on her hand as if she were bored while she waited for the drone to reach the top.
"Mike, drone made it in. Getting to the top floors will be difficult. We'll need identification." She whispered.
"Roger that. Connecting to your feed… okay I'm connected."
The drone made it to the top of the tower. The architecture was remarkable. The building was surrounded by glass acting as a greenhouse for plants. There were offices scattered around the two floors of the upper part of the tower. Eliza droned out the entire building while Mike recorded the drone data.
"Eliza we're looking for a woman named Jess."
"I know, I know, but are you seeing these security guards Mike? They aren't like the mall cops on the lower levels. These guys got rifles, body armor, and grenades."
"Yeah I see that… Eliza turn your drone around and go underneath that office door." Mike commanded.
Eliza moved the drone under the door which lead to a large office. Inside a young Korean woman sat at her desk talking to someone on the phone.
Her name plate on her desk said Jess.
"Bingo." Mike said.
"So, do we have a green light?" Eliza asked.
"Affirmative."
"Copy. I'm holding position. Waiting on you."
Eliza hid the drone in Jess's office out of her sight.
After an hour of waiting, the rest of blue team strolled through the front door of the tower. They saw Eliza patiently waiting on her bench.
Mike took a seat next to her.
"We need to snag those identification cards to get up to the upper levels." Eliza said.
"Yeah I thought about it while walking here. You'll have to steal one. Head on over to lady's room and test your luck. We'll try the men's room." Mike said motioning to the bathrooms across the room.
"Copy."
Eliza walked into the nearest women's rest room. Craig, Mike, Jordan, and Seamus walked into the men's room.
The bathroom was lined with people washing their hands and going about their business. Seamus walked into a man with a name tag clipped to his jacket. The man dropped his things. Seamus apologized and snatched the name tag off his jacket without him noticing.
Craig copied Seamus. Mike snagged a pass off a man's backpack while he was taking a leak. Jordan was a little more clumsier and body checked a man over and stole his tag while helping him back up. The men walked out of the bathroom with their acquired name tags. Eliza was outside waiting also wearing a tag.
"How did you get yours?" Mike asked.
"I just so happened to find one on the floor." Eliza shrugged.
"Wow, lucky you." Jordan said rolling his eyes.
They walked to the elevator. They went to a different elevator that would take them to the upper levels, so Eliza wouldn't get recognized by the guard that saw her previously.
The operators walked into an elevator with their backpacks pretending to be journalists. The security guard saw the special tags and let them up to the upper levels.
Eliza felt tension in the elevator as it made the climb upward. She could tell everyone was a little nervous.
No one had their backs. There were no reinforcements coming for them. No hot extraction if things went wrong.
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened to a bustling office scene. People walked around to other people's offices talking business. Men wearing all black carrying assault weapons patrolled the hallways and stood guard. The office people in the building looked nervous around the heavily armed guards.
Mike saw an access leading upstairs. He nodded at the door.
"Let's move." He whispered, and the operators walked casually to the stairs.
The operators slipped through the door leading to the roof. He locked the door behind them.
"Holy fuck its cold." Eliza said beginning to shiver.
"Get used to it because we're gonna be out here for a while." Jordan said throwing his pack to the ground.
After hours of waiting a thousand feet in the air on the frigid rooftop of the tower, nightfall came.
The snow fell softly from the heavens. There was a crisp winter breeze. The city skyline around them was lit up in bright beautiful lights and hummed with the usual sounds of city life.
The operators shook the snow off of them and changed into their combat uniforms. They unpacked their weapons and checked their gadgets.
Mike approached Eliza who was now in her FBI SWAT uniform but still shivering from the cold. Her nose and cheeks were red.
"You good?" He asked her.
"Just a little frozen but yeah I'm good." She said smiling at him.
"Good. You're breaching first. Craig will have your back with his DMR."
"Don't worry Mike I have the plan all up here." Eliza said pointing to her head.
Craig looked at his wrist watch.
"Its time. Eliza, check your drone." Craig commanded.
Eliza pulled out her phone and looked at the drone feed. Sure enough Jess was still at her desk working late.
"Intel is dead on. VIP is staying in late." She said.
"Alright, let's do this." Craig nodded at her.
Eliza and Craig walked to the edge of the tower. Eliza made the mistake of looking down over the edge. The cars down below looked like tiny ants.
Eliza exhaled slowly trying to relax her nerves. She could see her breath dissipate into the cold air.
Eliza clipped the rope of her repelling harness to the railing. Craig followed suit. They both made eye contact with each other briefly.
Eliza swung her legs over the railing so her whole body was off the edge. She held onto the railing with her right hand. Her R4-C in the left.
She released the railing trusting the rope holding on to her to prevent her from falling a thousand feet to her death.
Eliza looked at her drone feed one last time making sure Jess was still in her office. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out her sunglasses. She placed the sunglasses over her eyes.
"Ready to breach. Craig you ready?" She said over coms.
Craig placed his ballistic rifle shield on top of his DMR.
"Ready."
…
"Hello?"
"Hey its me."
"Jess, you shouldn't be calling my phone. You know its dangerous to talk like this."
"I don't think I can do this anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"The journalism. I can't do it anymore. I've painted a target on my back. I can't live like this anymore."
"Jess, my men are protecting you over there, right?"
"Yeah but still."
"Do you need more protection?"
"You could give me an entire army and I'd still feel scared."
"But what you're doing is important Jess. You can't stop now. We've achieved more then we could ever imagine for the good of the world."
"I don't know. I just don't know."
"Jess, you'll be fine. Nothing is going to happen."
"Hey, let me put you on hold for one second someone's knocking on my door."
"Okay."
…
…
…
…
"Hello Vanguard."
"Who is this?"
"You don't remember me? I'm hurt."
"Michael Baker..."
"There we go. I knew you wouldn't forget."
"I'm surprised you of all operators escaped the UN."
"I may be old, but I still got some pep in my step."
"Well you should at least be thankful for how famous I made you and your team."
"I'm about to make you famous real soon."
"Oh yeah? How are you going to do that?"
"By finding you and forcing a confession out of you."
"If you think you'll be able to find me, you're crazy."
"Your arrogance blinds you Vanguard. I made a promise to someone to find you and I never go back on my word."
"A promise to who? That idiot blonde of a Navy SEAL? She's dead Mike. Revenge won't bring her back. Besides, she was weak. She wouldn't last much longer on this planet anyway."
"That's not for you decide. Meaghan had her whole life ahead of her. She trusted you. And you betrayed her. Better sleep with eye open. Now excuse me while my team and I lay waste to your men. Bye bye now."
Mike hung up the phone.
Eliza stood with her suppressed M1911 in Jess's face. Jess began to cry.
Eliza pushed the suppressor of her pistol into Jess's mouth shutting her up.
"If you make so much as a peep. I'll put a bullet in your fucking skull. You hear me?" She threatened.
Jess frantically shook her head acknowledging her.
"Mike. 5 hostiles approaching. We clear to smoke em?" Craig asked. Craig was suspended off the side of the tower upside down covering the hallway leading to Jess's office through a window with his DMR. He moved his crosshairs on the 5 enemies approaching Jess's office. Jordan had a flashbang ready in his hand.
"Stand by. Seamus, what's your status?"
"Drone says I got a few bad guys below me where I'm at. I'll clear the first floor while your team clears the second. Just say the word." Seamus said through the radio.
"Keep standing by Craig." Mike said pulling out his EMP grenade.
"Lights out." Mike said as he rolled his EMP grenade into the hallway.
The grenade exploded shutting off every electronic device in the tower. All the rooms went dark as the tower lost power.
"Weapons free." He whispered over comms.
The 5 white masks Craig was watching stopped and put white hockey masks over their faces.
"Jordan, do it." Craig muttered.
Jordan tossed a flashbang through the window.
The flashbang exploded sending the masked men to their knees holding their eyes.
Craig fired his DMR landing a shot into one of White Mask's forehead. He transitioned to the next and fired rinse and repeat till all 5 were dead.
Another White Mask out Craig's sight turned a corner and fired at Craig cracking his rifle shield.
"That's a mistake." Craig said and fired at the White Mask hitting him center mass.
Seamus used his sledge hammer and smashed a hatch in the floor of one of the offices. 4 White Masks looked up to see Seamus's boots falling toward them. He landed on one terrorist. Seamus pulled out his Sledge hammer and bludgeoned his way through the other 3 like he had done in Afghanistan years ago.
He crunched their skulls with his hammer showering himself in the blood of his enemies.
White Masks tried to push into Jess's office, but Eliza and Mike gunned them down before they could put a foot in the door. After about 30 minutes of surprise attacking their targets by using the cover of the darkness, the tower was secure.
The operators regrouped to Jess's office to begin their interrogation. Eliza kept her pistol pointed at the back of Jess's head.
"Alright Jess, I don't have time for games. Answer the questions and I won't kill you for conspiring with terrorists."
"Terrorists? Miles was a terrorist?"
"He never told you about the group he's a part of?"
"No! All he told me was he was a CIA agent. I thought those guards were apart of the government or something."
"Then that makes the two of us. Where is he hiding? And don't fucking lie to me."
"I don't know where he is!" She began to break down to tears. "I swear to God that's all I know. He never told me anything."
Eliza butted the barrel of her pistol into back of Jess's head and pulled back the hammer.
"START THINKING BECAUSE YOU'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!"
"I DON'T KNOW I SWEAR!"
"Thatcher, can we just waste this woman already? Clearly this is a dead end." Eliza said getting frustrated.
Thatcher slammed his fist on Jess's desk in frustration knocking over a lamp on the corner of her desk. The gesture was enough to make Eliza jump.
He got into Jess's face.
"Do you not understand what your actions have done? You've managed to shut the world's counter terrorism unit down under a false deciare to aid the most dangerous terrorist network in the world. This isn't fucking Al Qaeda, this isn't the fucking Taliban, this is something on a whole other level that the world can't handle without us. Now think really hard about all the times you talked to him."
"He said something about it being really cold and he knew a personal secret about an operator. He's gonna use it to find her."
"Her?"
"Yeah and that's the only thing he's ever told me."
"I'm not the only female operator in our unit so you need to be more specific." Eliza said.
Mike took a seat on Jess's desk in deep thought.
Cold weather? Mike knew a lot of cold places in the world so that didn't really help.
Personal secrets of a female operator? There was one other female operator in the shadow element that worked with Vanguard.
"Jesus Christ…" Mike muttered.
"What is it mate?" Seamus asked looking at him with concern.
A specific conversation he had while undercover in Ramadi played on repeat in his head.
I know you trained us on keeping our heads focused on the mission and what not, but do you ever think about your family when you're out on missions?
"Ela." He said.
"What about her." Seamus asked.
"Mike, what do you mean?" Craig jumped in.
"If you didn't know, Zofia has a daughter and she won't let Ela be an aunt. Ela and Zo have been burying that secret for years. Vanguard already knows that 11 of us escaped. All he had to do was watch the new to figure that out. He must know that Ela is one of the operators that escaped. He's going to use Ela's niece to draw her out."
"Holy shit." Eliza whispered.
"We need to tell her and figure something out. Jess when did he tell you that bit of information."
"Like a long time ago. I really don't remember."
"Then we may already be too late."
Author's Note:
As always thanks for reading and your feedback! (: Thinking about having a cover image created for the story just to jazz it up a little. Anyone know any good R6 artists who could make one? See you in the next chapter!