4
"Hex!" Jonah shouted as his boiling rage finally hit the breaking point. He stood up and pointed his HK416 carbine at the helicopter.
"Jonah, no!" Lehm yelled but it was too late.
Jonah opened fired in full auto. It was a wrong decision. The Relentless helicopter is too far away for the effective range of the 5.56mm NATO slugs. All that he accomplished was to alert the enemy of their position.
The guards quickly took cover and returned fire. Bullets slammed on the concrete ledge as Valmet tackled Jonah to the deck. More bullets whizzed pass their heads as more guards joined in, raking the rooftop with hundreds of bullets.
Ugo, Wiley and Mao suddenly opened fire from the second floor window. Several guards were cut down by their initial volley, a few more were sniped by Lutz and Tojo from the top of the tower. The other guards took cover behind cars, walls and anything that could potentially block bullets.
"I'm sorry," Jonah muttered.
"It's okay, kid," Valmet replied. "We will survive this."
"Our turn," Lehm ordered as he popped out of his cover and fired his HK416 downrange. Valmet and Jonah joined in, trapping the guards below in a deadly crossfire. Despite being outnumbered nearly five to one, the HCLI commandos had a better overhead firing position and their accurate fire are more than a match for the inexperienced guards. Several more were killed, others couldn't even risk exposing a little part of their body.
Jonah glanced at the chopper, determined to nail Hex and kill her once and for all. But then he saw the woman lifting a large tube-like device to her shoulder. Jonah, the lifelong warrior and has been on the receiving end of that familiar weapon, screamed at his comrades. "RPG!"
Hex fired the rocket propelled grenade straight into the roof of the building. The rocket quickly flew supersonic and a millisecond later slammed on the ledge. The massive explosion sent the HCLI trio flying from the shockwave. They landed near the door, amazingly unhurt except for a few bumps and bruises.
"Let's get out of here!" Lehm ordered as they rushed towards the door. The team quickly descended the stairs as more explosions detonated inside the building. The bastards are using rocket launchers to flush them out.
Suddenly, a truck used to haul cement smashed inside the building. Lehm raised his carbine and opened fire, stitching rounds on the windshield and killing the driver. Valmet and Jonah quickly eradicated the opposition on the back of the truck. Lehm opened the driver side door, pulling the corpse of the driver as he leaped inside. Valmet rode shotgun while Jonah boarded on the truck bed. Lehm quickly drove the truck inside the building, plowing thru heavy machineries. More explosions rocked the building as fire started to engulf the flammable structures.
Lehm saw Ugo, Wiley and Mao firing from their position. He blew the horn, alerting his comrades. The trio quickly dispersed and leaped into the back of the six-wheeler.
"We must extract Lutz and Tojo!" Valmet shouted, firing her carbine from the open window. The truck smashed through a wall towards a roadway.
Enemy vehicles appeared behind, chasing the renegade truck, guards firing at the vehicle with their weapons. The commandos on the truck bed opened fire with everything they have. A jeep flipped upside down and exploded as bullets found the gas tank. Half dozen vehicles are still on the chase.
Lehm fired his Mk23 pistol with his left hand while steering the truck with another. Valmet dropped the empty HK416 on the floor and drew her Glock 17 pistol. "I'm telling Koko we need more hazard pay!" she yelled as she shoots another guard dead on the roadway.
Suddenly, another truck pulled up in front of the commandos, armed men on the truck bed. They fired at the blitzing vehicle, forcing Lehm and Valmet to duck as they windshield dissolves. Lehm steered the truck a hard right, straight into a huge warehouse. Steel snapped like toothpicks as the Isuzu plowed through the gate.
The sudden inertia sent Jonah falling towards the side of the bed. Wiley quickly grabbed the kid's vest before he could fall to his death. "I got you!" Wiley yelled, exerting all his strength to pull Jonah back into the truck.
Another truck, this time a larger flatbed Fuso, smashed through the wall of the warehouse and pulled up alongside the HCLI truck. Wiley finally pulled Jonah as the Fuso slammed on the Isuzu, nearly crushing the boy soldier.
Lehm aimed his pistol at the Fuso driver and fired twice. The driver slumped, .45 rounds blowing his head open. The Fuso veered away as Ugo tossed a grenade on the cab of the truck. The explosion turned the huge truck into a fireball.
The Isuzu exited the warehouse as the enemy still chased the commandos. Lehm steered the truck towards the tower. Two figures leaped from the top of the structure, ziplining on a power cable before landing on the back of the truck.
"We got them!" Valmet yelled as Lutz and Tojo were safely pulled onboard.
"Let's get out of here. This mission is FUBAR," Lehm said.
More bullets slammed on the truck as the guards kept on firing. Lutz fired his SR-25, the heavier 7.62mm bullets quickly stopped two vehicles while the other commandos killed the passengers. Four more are still on their tail.
"Mad minute in ten!" Lehm ordered. The commandos quickly reloaded their firearms.
Lehm suddenly steered the truck into a hard right, applying the brakes to stop the vehicle. With the truck now broadside on the road, the HCLI had crossed the T and now in a perfect ambush position. The HCLI commandos fired in full auto, raking the enemy vehicles with bullets. After a few seconds, the firing stops. All the enemy cars were turned into Swiss cheese, with their occupants all dead or wounded.
The commandos heard the sound of a helicopter overhead. They look up to see the huge Bell Relentless chopper appeared. It is low enough for them to see the side door is open.
Hex is leaning on the doorway, with a telescopic rifle. She aimed the firearm downrange.
Tojo quickly deduced her target. "Jonah!" he yelled as he leaped in front of the boy warrior.
A bullet tore through his back. Tojo was wearing Kevlar but the bullet easily went through the ceramic trauma plate. Tojo collapsed face-first into Jonah, his complexion turned gray. Blood spurted from his wound. The other commandos rushed to his aid and pulled the Japanese man into cover.
Hex didn't fire a follow up shot. Instead she closed the door of the chopper. The reason became clear suddenly when retractable weapon pylons appeared on the side of the Relentless.
A dozen missiles streaked from the pylons towards the HCLI team.
Massive explosion after massive explosion tore into the plant as the missiles detonated their devastating warhead, filling the air with fire, smoke and shrapnel.