The Ranger's way

by K1ngthedog

Set in 2289 in the Capital Wasteland. 12 years after the battle of the purifier. And 2 years after the Brotherhood of steel sent their expedition to the Commonwealth. We follow Mark Emerson a Specialist ranger with Reilly's ranger, who have risen to be a powerfull player in the wasteland. And they have taken their mission to patroll the wasteland. Which still is a dangerous place.

3. Even Rangers fall

First of all I want to apologize for the time it has taken to get this chapter up. I've been working alot of late hours. And I fell ill too. I hope the content of this chapter will make up for it. I hate to say it but the next chapter could also take some time to get out. As I am planning a move and switching job locations. And my laptob broke down 2 weeks ago.

I also spotted a misstake in the last chapter. The character known as ''Emma Anderson'' is supposed to be called ''Robin Andersson'' I fixed it in this chapter.

Anyway, please enjoy and review and comment!

K1ngthedog out...

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''Shit… Who the hell could have snuck in here. A raider? No, no raider would have been able to get in the base without being detected. A Talon Company merc perhaps. But why would he sneak in here in the armory? Shit.'' Mark felt the steel push harder against his neck.

''Get down on your knees!'' The voice behind Mark said.

''Shit.. Wait. That voice sounds very mechanical. I wonder if.'' Mark took a step forward and then turned around to face the one standing behind him. Mark relaxed and took a deep breath when he discovered what was behind him. ''Very funny, Maximilian.'' Mark said.

''Hahaha I think so too, Mr. Emerson. It's not often I get the chance to fool someone anymore. Not since quartermaster Rush took away some off my humor installations.'' The Mister-Gutsy army robot said, who the rangers had dubbed Maximilian. Maximilian wasn't a combat robot though. It was designed to aid with the armory and supplies. It was under the supervision of quartermaster Rush.

''Be careful in the future Max. You remember the last time you tried that with Captain Brick.'' Mark said and pointed to the bottle cap sized hole in the armor of the robot. Brick had put a .357 round in Max's torso when he scared her once about 1 year ago. It had taken Captain Donovan 6 months to fix him up again.

''Ah yes. I'm more careful now with whom I decide to fool with Mr. Emerson.'' Max said.

''Who's out there Max? You better not be scaring another one of the rangers.'' A voice called out from a backroom.

''Of course not Quartermaster. It's Sergeant Emerson. I believe he is in the need of some supplies''

Quartermaster John Rush came out from the backroom. Rush was 39 years. He was carrying a 10mm pistol on his right thigh. All the people at the compound who did not hold a combat or scout position carried a small sidearm of their choosing. So they could at least defend themselves in case of being attacked.

Quartermaster Rush had formerly been a squad leader in the 2nd platoon, and he was a damn good one. But 4 years ago when his squad was on a patrol on their way to Big town, they were ambushed by a group of 20 raiders. Rush gave the command to take cover and fight back. Rush also gave the command to his radioman to radio for assistance. But the closest ranger squad was 4 hours away. Rush had told his squad to hold on a wait for the assistance. The leader of the rangers were a clever one though, and probably not high on jet. He knew that if he waited the rangers out, there would have been help on the way. He could take on 1 ranger squad, but 2 squads was to dangerous. He had Rush's squad surrounded. It was at this time Rush's first ranger got killed. A .308 round right in the neck from a raider armed with a hunting rifle.

Rush made the decision to break out of the encirclement and push their way back to Megaton, which was the closest settlement. When Rush gave the order to advance it first went well. The squad had been able to break out and began to push their way to safety. They could even see the walls of Megaton in the distance. But it was then that the raider leader played his card. He had hidden all his raiders with long ranged weapons on hills around them. One by one Rush's men were taken it was only Rush left. The raiders came down and surrounded Rush. They started to loot the bodies of the dead rangers. Rush had tried to fight them of but to no success. 2 raiders held him down on the ground until the leader came down to him. Rush was hit with a knife right in his stomach. The raiders stripped his gear and equipment and left him to die.

Rush probably would have died right there and then, if it wasn't for the Megaton security forces rushing out and helping him. They carried him back to the town and took him to the clinic. They had saved his life. Ever since then Rush hadn't been able to serve in combat. The memories was still haunting him. He still had the dogtags of his former squad in his bedroom, at the back of the armory.

''Ah Sergeant Emerson. Good to see you made it back alive. What do you need?'' Rush said to Mark.

''I need 32 5.56mm rounds. And 1 stimpak.'' Mark said.''

''I don't think I got any loose rounds, only boxes. But I'll go and check. You can wait at the counter.'' Rush said and walked down towards the aisle marked with a sign that said ''Ammunition''

It only took 1 minute before Rush returned with a box of 5.56mm. He handed it over to Mark. ''Here you go. I couldn't find any loose ones. And I won't open a full box just to take out 2 rounds''

''Fair enough. Thank's Rush.'' Mark said and turned and headed to the door. ''Hey you didn't forget the favor I asked you right before you left did you?'' Rush said to Mark.

''Right, now I remember. Good thing I had to take the detour then.'' Mark said and took out 5 of his radstag jerky pieces and gave them to Rush.

''Thank's Emerson.''

''No problem. See you around Rush.'' Mark said and walked out of the armory. Mark headed back to the barracks. He entered the house and walked towards his room. Well it wasn't his private room. He shared it with another specialist. There is short of living space you see.

Mark opened the door and examined the room. It was empty, not even a sign of the other specialists gear.

''So Brad is still out then. It will be good to have some own time.'' Mark thought to himself and entered the room. He placed his backpack next to his bed and began to take of his armor and equipment. He opened his armor locker and put in the plates. Next he opened his weapons locker and put his carbine against his gun rack that he had built in his locker. Except for his carbine, Mark also had a sniper rifle. It was outfitted with a magnification scope that had 2 settings, 10x and 14x the zoom. It is usually enough. But the longest distance Mark had killed someone from was 950 meters.

The rifle also had a bipod and it carried a 10 round magazine. The rifle was bol-action operated. But Mark liked it more that way.

Mark opened his last locker where he kept all of his non combat equipment. Like clothes, towels, food, and medical gear. He pulled out a folder that said ''Mission Reports'' on it. He wrote down the exact same report that he had given to staff sergeant Grey. When he finished writing he placed it on the top in the folder. He was just about to put the folder back in the locker when he instead took out a mission report that he wrote 4 years ago. It was the mission to the pre-war national guard armory.

Mark began to read the report to himself. ''The 3 squads left the compound on June 16 2285. We headed north and reported in our position every 6th hour. We reached Old olney on the morning of the 2nd day. We decided to stay there for 12 hours and resupply and rest. After that we headed north again. We reached the border of the Capital Wasteland 2 hours after we left Old olney. It all went well until on the 4th day when we were ambushed by a group of 30 raiders. They were all very well organized with squad leaders. Very much like ourselves. We were able to fight of the raiders but we had suffered 8 casualties, all of them KIA. 4 from my own squad and 2 each from 1st and 4th squad. My squad leader after this could not command the squad anymore and I was forced to take command of the 4 remaining rangers in the squad. The decision was made by 2nd Lieutenant Sanchez to continue on with the mission, as the national guard armory was the closest known location. We arrived the day after and had to force our way in, by using some explosives we blew the safety door opened and entered the armory. Inside we faced a dozen feral ghouls that we took out without suffering any casualties of our own. We quickly found the generators only to discover that time had gotten to them before we did. Our technician, Private O'malley tried but couldn't fix them. Luckily he was able to get the backup generator to work. We were after that able to enter the entire armory and found all the weapons, equipment, gear and vehicles. We sent a radio message back to the Ranger compound and reported our findings. With the aid of the vehicles we were able to return to the Capital wasteland in just a day. And returned back to the armory with backup and medical personnel to treat our wounded and to help load all the supplies and weapons on to the trucks. End of report.''

Mark turned the page and began to read some of the supplies that they had found there.

'' 600 full BDU sets, 600 sets of full body armor plates, 1000 army boots, 300 Service rifles, 300 R91 Assault rifles, 400 Assault Carbines, 100 10mm pistols, 100 Light machine guns, 20 M60 Machine guns, 8 M1A5 mortars with ammunition. 6 Military all-terrain Jeeps and 3 military supply trucks.''

Mark didn't want to read any more. He put the report back in the folder and put the folder pack in the locker.

''I should head over to the clinic to get my wound checked out.'' Mark thought and left his barrack. He now only carried his 9mm pistol on his left thigh. ''Feels good not having to carry all that weight.'' Mark thought. The clinic was located next to the seward square southeast metro entrance. It had been an old veterinary office before the war. So it suited well for a clinic. The clinic had 1 doctor and 3 nurses working there. Reilly's Rangers had about 20 non combat personnel working at the compound. They were doctors, nurses, mechanics, technicians and others. The Rangers also had ambassadors at all the major settlements in the Capital wasteland.

Mark entered the clinic and walked up to the front desk where a nurse was sitting.

''Hi I would like a small wound to be checked out. Is doctor Markus in?'' Mark said to the nurse behind the desk. He didn't recognize the nurse. ''Must be new one. She's cute.'' Mark thought.

''What type of wound have you received?'' The nurse asked

''A bullet grazed my leg yesterday. Nothing bad but I would like to get it checked out anyway.''

''Oh I can do that for you. Follow me.'' The nurse said and lead Mark to a room.

''Pull down your pants and show it to me.'' The nurse said.

''Shouldn't you at least take me to dinner first?'' Mark said with a smile.

''Pull down your pants and if I like what I see then I let YOU take me to dinner.'' The nurse said with a smile.

''Deal.'' Mark said and pulled down his pants.

The nurse examined the wound and poked at it a little. ''Doesn't look bad. It should heal by itself. Just don't contaminate it with any dirt. You can pull up your pants now.'' She said.

''Sure thing. How about that dinner?'' Mark said and pulled up his pants and reattached his pistol holster on his left thigh.

''I'll have to think about that. Have a nice day ranger.'' She said with a wink in her eyes and left the room to return to the entrance.

Mark left the room and walked out of the clinic. He decided to work out at the gym and went back to his barrack to change his clothes. The gym wasn't a real gym per see. It was put up in an old garage. And the training equipment wasn't the greatest. It was metal poles attached with anything that can be used as weights. But it did the trick. If you wanted to go for a run you could run around the compound. And if you had time to kill then the gym was a good choice

2 hours later and a lot of sore muscles later, Mark returned to his barracks and took a shower. It was the at the ranger compound as it was at Rivet city, only 5 minutes of showering or you pay the fine.

Mark looked down on his watch. ''Only 2:20pm. What am I supposed to for the rest of the day? Hmm maybe they could use some help down at the firing range.'' Mark said to himself. He got dressed and headed out and went to the range. The range was occupied by the same 2 squads from 1st platoon that was there before when Mark first arrived at the compound.

The squads was led by a staff sergeant from 1st platoon. Mark walked up to him and watched him train his rangers.

''We rangers are not the only people with guns out here. But I dare to say that we are the best ones with guns out here. And that's because we train. We train to survive and fight. We train to defend ourselves and the good people living in our fine city. Take your place on the range and get ready to fire 10 rounds, single-fire when I give out the command. '' The staff sergeant said out loud. The rangers took their place and aimed their weapons down the range.

''FIRE.'' The rangers pulled their triggers and the weapons let out a loud crack into the air around them. Almost simultaneously the bullet casings from all of the rangers weapons landed on the ground. The 2nd shot was fired. The sound of the coordination was a noise of perfection to Mark's ears. However as the rangers continued to fire, the coordination decreased.

''Oh well. It can't last forever. But it was a good simultaneously opening of fire in the beginning. And that's what you want. To surprise your enemy so much that it won't have time to think.''

The shoting died down. The staff sergeant noticed that Mark was standing next to them and watching them. He went up to Mark.

''Sergeant would you like to help me with one of the rangers. He needs to improve his aim. And I don't have time for any special treatment with the kid.'' The staff sergeant asked Mark.

''Of course staff sergeant. Who is the kid?'' Mark asked.

The staff sergeant pointed to one of the rangers who was examining his hits on the target. Mark walked over to him and began to examine it himself. It didn't looked good. The hits was spread around on the target. And some of the bullets had missed it completely. And the ones that had hit wasn't good.

''Yeah I know. I suck at shooting.'' The kid said and sighed.

''This doesn't mean that you suck, kid. It just mean that you have more to learn about shooting and aiming then the rest of us. Come and show me how you position yourself when you are firing.'' Mark said and led him away to the designated firing line.

Mark examined the kid carefully. He wanted to take it all in so he could teach the kid. ''He can't be more than 20 years old. It's like he never fired with a rifle before.'' Mark thought to himself.

''What's your name kid? And where do you come from'' He asked.

''Private Philip Jones. Rivet city'' He answered.

''Of course you're from Rivet city. That place is so secure that you probably never had to kill anyone in order to defend yourself.''

''Okey Philip, I'm Mark. Listen up. Your stance is all wrong. You need to bend forward a little with your upper body. Or else the recoil will knock you back. And you need to push your weapon harder against your shoulder. Or the recoil will again push you back. Take breaths between your shots or hold your breath all the way through.''

''Okey. Whatever you say.'' Philip said and adjusted his stance.

''This is looking better. Now on my command fire 5 rounds at your target. FIRE.'' Mark said and put his hand against his ears to protect his hearing.

Philip pulled his trigger. He held his breath all the way through his 5 shots. The two of them walked up to the target and looked it over. All 5 shots and hit and the hits were close to each other.

''There you see, Philip. With training and the right techniques it's easy. Now let's get back and shot some more. You can only get better at this point.'' Mark said and smiled at him.

''Thank you for the help sergeant.''

Mark stayed at the range all afternoon and helped not just private Jones. But any ranger who asked for tips and help. When the clock was showing 6pm the range had to be closed down. It was so the gun fire from the range wouldn't distract the rangers who were on guard duty around at the compound.

''Good firing today, rangers. And shout out a thank you for the sergeant here who took time from his busy day to come and help you.''

''Thank you, sergeant!'' The rangers shout out in unison.

Mark went back to his barrack. It was almost dinner time but he wanted to stop of first to get Luna to come with him. He entered his barrack and was about to enter his room when he saw a tall man. Not as tall as Mark but almost. He had black short hair, a thick beard and the skin on his face was sunburned. The man wore his entire BDU and the Reilly's Rangers armor plates. He carried a Sniper rifle, it looked very much like Mark's own rifle. Except it didn't have a bipod at the front. And it was coloured black and not dark green like Mark's was.

The man was Benjamin Woods. He was one of Mark's closest and oldest friends in the rangers. Well he was the oldest friend ever since Tommy died. The closest friend Mark had was probably Elizabeth. But they didn't let the others know that they had something going on.

''Oh hey Ben! Good to see that you're back. You must have been out there for like 3 weeks.'' Mark said and shook Benjamin's hand

''Good to see you too Mark. 3,5 weeks to be more precise. Didn't encounter any problem though.'' Benjamin said and shook Mark's hand in return.

''Hey I was just about to fetch Luna and have some dinner. Wanna join us?'' Mark asked Benjamin.

''Yeah sure. Just give a minute to unload all of my gear.'' Benjamin said and walked into his room and took of his equipment.

The trio headed over to the mess hall. When they arrived they saw that they were not the first ones there. Mark was always surprised of the number of people who ate at the compounds kitchen. You had to pay 5 caps for every meal you ate. Of ourse you were allowed to buy your own food.

''Ah man. It's alway a line.'' Mark said.

They got into line. Mark looked around. He could see Robin in the line to, she was talking with some other female rangers. She always got along with everybody. ''She is probably the nicest person at the compound.''

''Hey Dave. What you got cooking today?'' Mark asked Dave. Who was the chief of the kitchen.''

''Oh we got some yao guai meat for today. And probably for the entire weak too.''

''Sounds good. I'll take one stake for Luna here and one for me with some instamash.'' Mark said and handed him 10 caps. 5 for his own meal and 5 for Luna's. It sure costs to have a dog but it is worth it.

The trio sat down at an empty table.

''So how did your mission go?'' Benjamin asked Mark and took a bite of his steak.

''It went well. Recon mission at the Super-duper mart, the one directly west of the Potomac. Got into a little fight with some raiders on the way home. Had to stop at Rivet city for the night.''

''Did you get wounded?'' Benjamin asked.

''Bullet grazed my leg. Nothing serious..''

''You know what Mark. You are probably the luckiest son of a bitch in this place.'' Benjamin told him. And he was right. Even though Mark had received some nasty wounds during his time with the rangers, he was still one of the people there with the least amount of wounds. Benjamin himself had a scar long scar on his right shoulder, from when raider almost chopped his entire arm of with an axe.

''Ha. You probably right. I'd say we are all quite lucky to alive during these times. So how did your mission go? And where have you been. 3,5 weeks!? You must have been far out.'' Mark asked Benjamin.

''Yeah. Long recon. I have been tracking and following a raider gang. I found a group of them the first week. But I had to follow them to be able to discover their hideout.''

''Which gang?'' Mark asked.

''Pat's green.''

At the mention of the name Mark's eyes widened. And he nearly dropped his fork.

''You serious?'' Mark asked.

''100%. One of them wore on of our chest plates.''

''That's the gang that took out Rush's squad all those years ago. And those fuckers are responsible for the death of at least 10 more rangers.'' Mark told him.

''I know that, Mark.''

''Did you discover where those shit's have been hiding out?'' Mark asked him.

''No. Last week a group of super mutants attacked the group of raiders that I killed them all. I turned back and went back here after that.''

''SHIT!'' Mark shouted and slammed his fist against the table. Everybody in the vicinity of Mark stopped eating and looked at him. Mark calmed down and took a deep breath.

''EY! If you break any of my tables, then i'm coming to your place and break your shit too. So cut that shit out!'' Mark could hear Dave shout.

''Sorry!'' Mark shouted back.

''Hey guys. What got you all mad about?'' Robin said and sat down at the table with them.

''Nothing. I will tell later back at the barrack.'' Benjamin said and smiled at Robin. Who smiled back at him.

''Oh it's so obvious that you two are screwing each other'' Mark thought to himself and finished his meal.

''Are we the only specialists here?'' Mark asked.

''Nah Tony arrived earlier today. But he have been in briefing for hours. Oh and I just saw Elizabeth arrive before I headed over here.''

''What? Be...Elizabeth is here.''Mark said with an excited voice.

''Oh you hoping to getting laid tonight?'' Robin said with a smile on her face.

''What!? No! That bitch owes me some jerky! Luna stay with Ben.'' Mark said and stood up from the table and did a fast pace walk back the barrack. ''How did she find out?'' He taught to himself.

Mark arrived back at the barracks just when Elizabeth had finished her briefing with staff sergeant Grey.

''Oh hey Mark. Glad to see you here.'' She said with a smile .

''Don't you try to get away this time. We got something to discuss. Your room now.'' Mark said with a strong voice.

''Yes sergeant. Follow me.'' Beth said and winked her eye at Mark.

They both went into Beth's room.

''Alright you little thief. Where are my 10 pieces of jerky?'' Mark asked Beth. Who was taking of her equipment.

''I have no idea what you are talking about.'' She said with, still wearing a smile on her face.

''Don't toy with me Beth. You don't steal jerky from me and get away with it.''

''Getting away with with what? I have no clue what you mean.'' She said and put her submachine gun in her locker.

''Back at Rivet city. I had ordered 10 pieces of jerky to be picked up this morning. And when I got there the little girl at the shop told me you had picked them up. You stole my receipt out from my pocket while I was sleeping.''

''Why would I need to steal from you? I got money to pay for my own stuff. Beth said and began to take of her armor plates.

''Don't lie to me. You took my receipt. You owe me 5 caps for those jerky pieces. You have to be punished for your crime.'' Mark said and put his arms over his chest.

''Oh? what kind of punishment do you have in mind then, sergeant.'' Beth said and pulled of her green shirt. She then started to unbutton her pants.

''No no no. Don't think you can get away from this. I'm letting you seduce me to get away from paying me for the jerky.'' Mark said. Trying hard to to not show his interest in Beth's body.

''Oh I would never do that, sergeant. I am just undressing to take a shower. But I got some time if you want to come up with another solution to our little problem here.'' Beth said and took of both parts of her underwear.''

''Don't let her fool you into this. You're still pissed of about the jerky. And you love jerky. Maybe even more than you love sex.'' Mark thought to himself. He found it hard to struggle against the gorgeous naked women in front of him. He slowly started to walk up to her.

''What do you think, sergeant. Is there any way this little corporal can pay her debt?'' Beth told him seductively.

''Maybe there is. Yeah probably.'' Mark said and grabbed Beth's naked body and started to kiss her. They lied down on her bed, suddenly Mark could hear staff sergeant Grey's voice outside in the hallway.

''Sergeant Emerson. Come into my office immediately.''

Mark stood up from the bed and looked down on Beth who had a sad look on her face.

''Shit. We agreed upon that we won't do it here at the compound. This isn't over, and i'm getting my caps back.'' Mark said and leaved the room.

''Damn it.'' Beth said and stood up and walked to the showers.

Mark walked out of Beth's room and went into staff sergeant Grey's room.

''Sergeant we received a request from 1st platoon to assist them with a mission tomorrow. They are heading down into the metro tunnels to found out what's been driving out all the ferals towards our checkpoint. You and Corporal Andersson are to assist them. You head out at 7am tomorrow morning. So I suggest you get some sleep.'' Grey informed him.

Mark leaved the room and looked at his watch.

''8pm. I should prepare my equipment for tomorrow and then get some sleep.'' He said to himself. Ben and Robin just entered the barrack and Luna was following close behind.

''Thanks for watching her.'' Mark told them.

''Oh you didn't get any?'' Robin asked Mark and laughed.

''Shut up. We got a mission tomorrow at 7am. We are going to assist 1st platoon. So i'll see you outside our barrack at 6:45am.''

''Understood sergeant. I guess I have to get some sleep then.'' Robin said. Robin went into her room Ben following her.

''Yeah that will help you sleep.'' Mark thought to himself and rubbed Luna's back.

Mark went into his room and laid out his gear for the next day. He took out his armor plates and his carbine. ''What should I pack in my backpack. The mission shouldn't take that long. A fresh pair of socks, a clean t-shirt and some food should be enough'' Mark put in the clothes and his remaining radstag jerky in his backpack, he also put in 2 bottles of clean water. When he was done he went to bed.

He looked down at his watch. 6:40am. Robin had 5 more minutes. Mark was waiting outside of his barrack. Luna was standing next to him and wagging her tail. She was always excited to head out from the compound. The door opened and Robin stepped out. She was all geared up. She wore a BDU that was identical to Mark's, she also wore a green military cap on her head. She also wore a full set of armor plates, except for the plate that was supposed to be on her left shoulder. She carried an Assault carbine that had been modified so she could fire in single fire mode. She carried a 10mm pistol that was strapped to her right thigh.

''Sleep well last night?'' Mark asked as they walked towards 1st platoon's barrack.

''Yeah I did. Got to sleep at around 10pm.'' Robin answered and laughed a little.

''Jeez. You guys should be more carefull with that. At least here on at the compound.'' Mark told her.

''I find it ironic coming from you. Girls talk you know.''

''At least me and Beth don't do it here. We try to keep it professional. The mission and task come first. Mark said.

They met up with the squad from 1st platoon. The squad leader came up and greeted them.

''Good morning specialists. I'm Sergeant Waltz. We are 4th squad, 1st platoon. Have you been informed about the mission?''

''Good morning. I'm Sergeant Emerson and this is Corporal Andersson, and this is Luna. We have been informed. And you are the leader of this mission. We will take the rear and follow your lead.'' Mark said.

''Very good. Let's move out!'' Waltz told his squad. They headed for the southeast metro entrance to the square. ''Fuck it's cold'' Mark thought to himself.

The squad entered the metro entrance and passed the checkpoint. It had been taken over by some other rangers.

''Good luck down there.'' One of the rangers at the checkpoint said as the squad headed down the stairs down towards the tunnel.

''It's getting dark. Light's on everybody. And stay alert. Watch for movements and listen for noises.'' Waltz said to the squad. 10 light's went on as the rangers switched on their flashlights that were attached to either their weapons or strapped on their chest plate.

''Wells and Ramsey. Scout ahead, no more than 30 meters. I want you within shouting distance. If you observe anything you stop and report back to me.'' Waltz ordered the 2 rangers who jogged ahead of the group to act as the scouts.

''We'll advance in two columns. Johnson your fireteam will take the left wall.'' Mark could tell that sergeant Waltz was experienced and educated. Both were traits that was sought after with a squad leader. Mark was following in the rear of Johnson's fireteam, who was the second in command of the squad. He held the rank of corporal. Robin was at the rear of Waltz fireteam.

Both Mark and Robin was experienced with squad sized mission and patrols. All the specialists rangers started out as regular rangers. And they were either chosen to serve with the specialists or they had applied to serve.

Mark looked over at Robin. He could see that she shared his thoughts on Sergeant waltz.

The squad had been walking in the tunnels for about 55 minutes. Mark had made it a habit to always check behind them every 5 minutes. To make sure that no one followed them. There isn't much that could take out a ranger squad. But if you got ambushed, well earlier missions had proven the point that not even the rangers are that good.

''Let's take a break. 10 minutes. Change your socks and drink some water. I want 2 volunteers that will switch with Wells and Ramsey.'' Waltz ordered the squad and sat down to change his own socks. 2 rangers from Corporal Johnson's fireteam ran up and replaced the scouts. Mark could see Wells and Ramsey.

''How's it going?'' Mark asked Robin.

''Good. Sergeant Waltz sure is a capable squad leader.'' Robin responded and looked at Waltz who was inspecting a rangers feet.

''He sure is. Maybe even some specialists material within him'' Mark said and wrote down some notes on his notepad.

''Maybe. Haven't seen him lead in a fight yet. But we could sure use some replacements. Have you noticed that 3 specialists have died the last month?'' Robin said and took a bite of a bubblegum and put the rest in here pocket.

''Of course I noticed. It's not something that goes unnoticed. It's almost someone is targeting us.'' Mark said and took a sip from his canteen. Mark was actually concerned about the subject. Dead specialists isn't something that hasn't happened before. But 3 dead in the last month. That is causing some worried faces at the specialists barrack back at the compound.

''Break over let's keep moving.'' Waltz said and the rangers stood up and began to move.

Mark looked over the squad. It consisted of 8 rangers, excluding Mark and Robin. Some of the rangers had different roles. There was Waltz who was the leader, and his second in command, Johnson. But the squad also had a light machine gunner, for some extra firepower. One ranger was the designated marksman, he carried a combat rifle outfitted with a magnification scope, he was the one who took out targets at a longer range. One ranger carried a missile launcher. ''Let's hope we don't have to use that one. Whole place could collapse.'' Mark thought. There was also a medic and an engineer.

''Looks like a standard squad.'' Mark taught to himself. He could however see the absence of the radio. ''Might as well leave it. It won't get any signal down here in the tunnels''

It was there that Mark noticed the man who was suppose to carry the radio was Private Jones from the firing range the other day. Mark could see that he had taken in what Mark had thought him. Private Jones was alert and ready for any danger.

All of the sudden Waltz gave the halt sign. The squad stopped and took low positions by going down on one knee. One of the scouts came back. Walking quietly and staying as low as he could. The scout reported in to Waltz and then went back to the other scout.

Waltz placed himself in the center of the squad. He was about to brief them about the situation.

''Okay listen up. The scouts have observed super mutants up ahead. At least 14 of them. They haven't been able to tell what class they are, but most are carrying melee weapons. Only 5 of them carries a firearm. We are gonna go back to the old raider checkpoint that we passed about 40 meters behind us. There we're gonna take a stand and lure them to us. Move out.'' Waltz ordered the squad.

Everybody did a fast pace walk towards old raider checkpoint. It had some sandbags and wooden shelters. Mark could see how they were able to tell it had been a raider checkpoint. The place was littered with old beer and whiskey bottles, and old jet and psycho canisters.

''Make ready here. The scouts should be back with the mutants in hot pursuit in about 3 minutes. So check your weapons and get ready. Harper, I want the machine gun right here.'' Waltz told his group. And Harper with the machine gun placed himself behind a large piece of concrete that had fallen from the ceiling.

Mark looked around on the group. Waltz had picked the location well. The only way the mutants could come from was the tunnel ahead. And that way was covered by six weapon barrels.

Suddenly Mark could hear footsteps. Heavy footsteps. Not humans. ''A mutant. But where!?'' Mark looked around and tried to found out where the sound was coming from .He could see that Robin also had heard them, as she was also examining the surroundings.

''There! The door. But who is sitting by it?'' Mark thought and looked at a door just to his right. Mark found out who was sitting by the door just as it opened. The ranger looked up as he could hear the doors handle turn. The door made a eerie sound as it was pushed open. Private Jones was frozen with fear and shock at his place as the mutant swung its axe at him and hit Jones right in the throat. The axe made it halfway through Jones's throat before it stopped. The sound of the axe entering Jones made the group turn and face the horror. Blood was spraying out of his throat and onto the mutant who was trying to pull the axe out.

''What the fuck…'' Waltz said.