/"**************************************"/
"Decryption in progress…."
/"...it is done, time to go london now."/
"Oh merde…" ("Oh shit…") The Officer in Corsica Watch Station could feel her hair standing on end.
/"Prévenez les renseignements Britanniques que nous avons un problème."/ (/"Tell British intelligence we have a problem."/)
-x-
"Sir, the French just intercepted a message concerning a suspicious shipment headed for British soil."
"Have we identified the vessel?"
"No sir, the call came from a number on the watchlist for Fregata industries."
"...Wake up MI5. Tell them we have an imminent threat."
-x-x-
[Cpl. John McRae (Bravo-3)]
[44th SAS, UKSF]
[4th March, 2045]
[Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom]
/"Thermals are picking up heat signatures in the warehouses. You'll need to clear those up before securing the truck."/
/"My team will take Warehouse-1. Bravo-9 will take the other."/ Walcroft put away the datapad and replied on the radio. /"Baseplate, our window is closing fast. We're ready to kick this off."/
/"Copy Bravo-2. All teams, you've got the nod. Mission is a go."/
Sgt. Walcroft nods at his fellow operators, fixing his NVG over his gas-mask.
"Alright mates, let's get this done and dusted."
The operators check their weapons, their suppressed SPEAR LTs painted black to blend into the night. McRae checks his magazine, making sure he had the subsonic munition, before loading the magazine and pressing the bolt-release.
"McRae, we'll sweep you clean. Weapons free."
In the dead of the night, the operators move quietly towards the warehouse, rifles held at ready.
"Two down the alley."
"Switch 'em off."
Without breaking stride, McRae took down the two unaware gunmen with suppressed shots to the head.
"Mach actually brought his subs."
"Bugger off…"
The team moves forward, before coming across another alleyway, flanked by two buildings.
"Got two more inside."
"Make sure they don't wake up." Walcroft motioned at McRae to move in.
While the rest cover the alley, McRae sneaks inside. Two masked men, terrorists according to the intel, were dozing in their chairs, SP90 submachine guns held beside them. With quick pulls of the trigger, McRae made sure they would never wake up.
"Alley clear, move up. The warehouse is up ahead."
The operators moved forward. Two more gunmen were guarding the main warehouse, and were taken out with simultaneous shots from the operators.
"Right, stack up." Walcroft motioned to the rest, before pulling out a pair of bolt cutters from his bag. After a few attempts, the lock to the warehouse fell apart.
"Breaching now."
The operators move in as one, each of them taking up an angle as they enter.
"Clear. Mach, take point."
"Copy."
As they move in, a few more hostiles are caught off guard, and promptly taken out. Before they move into the last room with the floor-ceiling windows, they hear from the sniper team providing overwatch.
/"Bravo-2, Kilo-2-1. We've got two tangos on the top floor lined up. Taking the shot."/
/"Send it."/
The two gunmen are hit with accurate shots from the sniper, and drop dead. Just as they entered the room, the movement outside became clear. The dock was crawling with hostiles, and they were prepared.
"Shite! Through the glass! Take 'em out and secure the truck!"
With a couple hard knocks with the buttstock of his rifle, McRae breaks open one of the windows, before dropping down to ground level.
More SAS operators joined the fray, pouring out of the APC that just arrived before moving to engage the terrorists. Above, an AH-6 Little Bird carrying more operators hovered down, letting the operators dismount, before taking to the sky again. McRae rushed to take cover, and started firing at the terrorists, picking his shots.
"RPG LOW!"
The rocket-propelled grenade flew in and hit the APC, which exploded violently.
"Bloody hell!"
"Take 'em out quick! We're out of time!" Walcroft ordered, moving away from the burning wreckage.
Despite the shock of nearly dying in the explosion, McRae and the rest find their bearings and push the atack. With the Little Bird and the snipers providing cover, the SAS snuffed out the hostiles in record time with co-ordinated and accurate shots.
/"Bravo-2, Kilo-2-1. You're clear."/
"Set up a perimeter. McRae, open the cargo doors."
"Right…" McRae let his rifle dangle by the harness, before moving to the truck. He ignored the conspiratory part of his head telling him about booby-trapped doors, before throwing them wide open.
"Clear."
"Clear? It's bloody empty." McRae grumbled.
Walcroft sighed, trying to get a hold of Command on the radio. /"Baseplate, the lorry is empty. What's the status of the rest of 'em?"/
/"Bravo-2, be adv**e* **#**%"/
The radio transmission begins to cut out, replaced with static.
"Contact! One o' clock!"
The operators had no time to worry about the cargo as more terrorists poured out from the buildings near the train track.
"RPG SECOND FLOOR!"
/'VULTURE-2 KEEP US COVERED!"/
/"Copy, inbound. Guns, guns, guns!"/
The AH-6 dove in for a strafing run, letting its side-mounted miniguns rip into the hostiles on the second floor.
McRae, thanks to the steel doors of the truck, had plenty of cover to rearm and return fire. He went around the truck for a better position, and managed to flank the gunmen. Staying on the move so as to not get pinned down, McRae started picking off the terrorists with ruthless accuracy. His teammates push the advantage, and within minutes, the operators are on the offensive.
They pursue the retreating hostiles, leading them to the Canary Wharf's tube station, currently undergoing maintenance. Empty pickups, likely used for transport, lay abandoned as the terrorists boarded the train stopped there, which had already started to move.
"No, no, NO!" Walcroft cursed, before glancing at the two pickup trucks.
"You can't be serious." His fellow Sergeant, Myers, groaned.
"We don't have time! Griffin, Myres, Lewis; take that truck. Burns, McRae; you're with me! Rest of you call for evac. Let's go!"
The operators begrudgingly heed the orders. Time was running out, and this was the only plan they had, regardless of how daft it appeared. McRae hopped into the back of the pickup truck, Burns took the driver's seat, and Walcroft rode shotgun.
"Hang on tight!" Burns yelled back at McRae.
"Punch it!, they're getting away!"
McRae held on for dear life as the truck lurched forwards onto the tracks and began to chase after the train. He braced himself against the roof of the truck's cabin with his rifle held forward, desperately trying to get a bead on the train ahead.
As the truck got closer, McRae could make out the terrorists inside the last cabin of the train, and he could swear he saw their mouths agape at the sight of two pickup trucks chasing them. They opened fire at the trucks with their smgs. McRae ducked to avoid the erratic burst, before popping up and nailing two of them with shots to the chest.
"GO RIGHT GO RIGHT!" Walcroft yelled at Burns.
Before McRae could get more shots out, the truck violently swerved to the right, barely missing the train whizzing past them.
"That was too close mate!"
"Sod off, we're still in one piece! Mach's not complaining, aye?"
"A little busy here! Keep this shitbox steady, ya nyaff!" McRae yelled back, firing at the train to suppress and take out the terrorists.
/"Baseplate, we need to know where this train is headed!"/
/"Bravo-2, all metro lines from your location lead into the city."/
The second truck was ahead, trying to get close to the front to take out the train operator, while their truck tried to suppress the hostiles inside near the back of the train.
"Civies up ahead!"
"Shite, another bloody RPG!"
McRae found the RPG gunner, taking aim at the civilians on the station they were passing by. Before he could fire, he dropped dead courtesy of a shot to the head by McRae.
"Bloody good shooting mate! Keep hitting 'em!"
/"This train's headed for Westminster, we need to stop it NOW! Myres! Why is the driver still breathing?!"/
/"We're trying! Hang on, I've got a sho-!"/
/"SHIT MAN DOWN MAN DOWN!"/
The train was approaching Westminster station when the team ahead took the shot. They get a bit too close, and the one driving the truck, Lewis, gets shot. The truck swerves and crashes into the train, causing it to derail.
McRae watched in horror as one by one the train cars derailed and flipped, crashing into pillar after pillar. Burns tried desperately to control the truck, before it crashed into the train.
-x-
"cough McRae, cough you okay mate?"
McRae, lying on the ground, staring at the wreckage in front of him, wondered how the bloody hell he lived through that. He didn't get off unscathed though, his torso throbbed with pain.
"Argh…still in one piece…where's Burns?"
"He's gone." Walcroft stated, sadness and regret clear in his voice. He approached McRae, and helped him get on his feet. "It's just us now."
McRae nodded, trying to digest what happened. He could feel anger taking hold in his mind, trying to cloud his judgments, before he gets his emotions in check. "We're not done."
Walcroft nodded, ripping off the broken NVGs before checking his rifle.
"Fockin' Aye. Let's give these bastards a proper bri'ish welcome."
/"Bravo-2, come in! Bravo-2, what's your status?!"/ Their radios crackled.
/"Baseplate, Bravo-2. The train's done in under Westminster. Those bastards were using it for transport. Four eagles down, Bravo-3's with me."/
/"Copy that Bravo-2, SAR Evac is on its way. Be advised, the trucks are headed to Westminster. Get topside and RV with the rest."/
/"Roger Wilco."/
McRae picks up his rifle and inspects it. It had seen better days, with dents on the frame and a cracked handguard, but pulling back the charging handle showed it still functioned. He loads in a new mag, before hitting the bolt-release.
"Ammo check?"
"Two mags." One in his gun, and one on his tac-vest.
"Take this, ye're a better shot anyway. Make 'em count." Walcroft hands McRae a loaded magazine, which he slotted into one of the many empty slots in his tac-vest.
"Right. The station's up ahead, let's move."
The two operators, having gotten their bearings back, climb into one of the wrecked train cars to get to the station.
"Contact!"
As soon as Walcroft climbed out, they were greeted by more terrorists and their submachine guns. While Walcroft dove for cover, McRae peeked through the window of the train car and quickly took two of them out.
/"Baseplate, we've got contact at Westminster station!"/
/"Copy Bravo-2. Teams are en-route. ETA ten minutes."/
/"Tell 'em to double time it!"/
McRae climbs out of the rain car, and the two operators rush into the station proper, taking cover and engaging more terrorists.
"They're falling back! Push forward!"
McRae and Walcroft move with coordination, taking down more hostels before the immediate area is clear. They moved towards the escalators, where most of the terrorists were trying to escape, while a few stayed behind to hold the line.
They were dead before they could fire a single shot, ruthlessly gunned down by the operators.
McRae and Walcroft pursued the fleeing terrorists, taking down any that tried to stop and fight them. When they neared the top, only five of them were left, compared to the hundred or so they had faced since the mission began. The terrorists were apprehended by another SAS team waiting at the top.
"Nice timing, mates."
"Walcroft, the truck's almost here. You two better get topside!"
Walcroft nodded and motioned McRae to follow.
*BOOM*
Before they could make it to street level, the world outside is wracked with a violent explosion, causing both operators to stumble.
"Jesus! What the fuck was that?!"
As they looked outside, everything around slowly got covered in thick, green smoke.
-x-x-
"At 6:20 GMT, chemical attacks and collapse fluid detonation all across Europe-"
"-the naval base and military garrisons in Scotland appear to have been targets of the collapse fluid bombings-"
"It is being called the worst terror attack in history, as many countries in Europe are devastated by toxic gas and collapse fluid radiation-"
"-the scale and amount of collapse fluid radiation, experts estimate large parts of Scotland to become uninhabitable-"
"-hundreds of thousands of people dead, and the death toll rises as radiation and toxic gas contamination spreads throughout Europe. Decontamination units from the US are said to be on their way-"
A lone man flicks through the news channels in his room, a twisted smile on his face as he observes the handiwork of his followers.
"Это только начало. Скоро вся Европа будет наша" ("This is just the beginning. Soon, all of Europe will be ours")
-x-x-x-
AN: Chapter 5! I'm planning on alternating between past and present to give McRae some depth and history. Some (many) of the past missions will be borrowing (ripping off) some of the missions from the og modern warfare trilogy. This one was *heavily* inspired by the MW3 mission 'Mind the gap'. I hope I did it justice, it's one of my favorite missions of the entire trilogy. Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a good day!
Sidenote: I apologise to any French and Russian speakers if I butchered the text, I only have Google Translate.