I should have expected this; the Preston problem was solved, for now. So of course a new one had to rise up and take its place.

Almost five minutes after I had wrapped things up with Preston, the head of the Abernathy clan came sprinting into Sanctuary. Apparently Ack-Ack, and by god that was a stupid name, decided to go on a little pogrom, push the local farmers around. The Abernathy's youngest, Mary, filled with all the immortal confidence only found in seventeen-year-olds, decided that she wasn't going to lay down and take it anymore. She stood up to the raiders and told them to get the hell off her family's land.

She got twenty, five millimeter, rounds through the chest for her trouble.

Yes it was brave, and yes I respect the hell out of her for trying, but why the hell couldn't she have just kept her mouth shut for one more day. Why did she have to be so stupid? I don't mean it the way it sounds, but I've seen this happen too many times before. So many lives thrown away in a moment of senseless arrogance. These aren't schoolyard bullies, they're psychopaths, the only time to stand up to them is if you can kill them, otherwise you're just going to get killed.

I can't blame her for doing what she thought was right, but I can't blame myself for not moving fast enough on the target, because as true as that may be, second guessing myself after the fact does no good for anyone.

Blake Abernathy didn't blame us either, he blamed the bitch who killed his little girl. And that was something I could work with. His terms were simple, almost exactly the same as the first set he'd offered. He'd put his family's full support behind the Minutemen, so long as we made the raiders pay, and we recovered the pendant that the raiders had taken from Mary's corpse as a trophy.

The plan was already established, and our equipment was ready, so all that was left was to brief everyone and make our move. In all honesty, it was very simple, at least from an operator's point of view. I would infiltrate the perimeter and secure the door so that those inside couldn't escape. Asher would take the canister of Lima Victor and attach it to the ventilation unit. We ran through the procedure and did a few dry rehearsals using an empty canister and a fake ventilation unit Sturges rigged up using spare parts from the vault. I was confident he'd be able to do the job. While we were doing this, Mikhail would provide overwatch and sniper support from a nearby hill.

Simple as could be.

So that's how I found myself nanosuited up and crouched in a small ditch, water up to my thighs, a few dozen yards to the west of the satellite station.

I tapped the comm button on my headset. "Radio check, Gray Wolf, in position."

Mikhail's Russian accent buzzed slightly over the comms. "Dire Wolf, in position. I have a clear… Hold on a second."

There was the sound of a small scuffle, a grunt, then silence. "Dire Wolf, what's your status?"

Another second, then Mikhail was back. "Prosti, there was a visitor, he is no longer a concern. We are not compromised. I have a clear view of Blue side, three tangos visible, all are on Charlie."

Each side had been assigned a color, blue was east, red was west, black north, and south white. Tangos were targets, Charlie was the catwalk. Yes, this was likely an unnecessary precaution, but it was good fieldcraft and it was an educational experience for Asher. "Radio check, Timber Wolf. How copy?"

"Good copy, this is Timber Wolf, in position with the package." He spoke slowly, carefully, remembering what I'd told him most likely, making sure not to break procedure.

I smiled under my mask, reminded me of my first operation. "Wolf Pack Bravo, what's your status?"

I'd separated us into two groups; Wolf Pack Alpha consisted of myself, Asher, and Mikhail. We were the primary assaulters. Wolf Pack Bravo were the secondary assaulters, if things went to plan, they wouldn't be involved until the site was secure. If things went to hell, then their job was to come in with overwhelming firepower. Bravo consisted of Preston, Sturges, and most importantly, Goris. "Wolf Pack Bravo, in position."

It was Preston, sarcasm evident in his tone. He found the radio procedure ridiculous, and had said so, several times. He may have agreed to work with me, but that didn't mean he liked me now.

Thankfully, only the former mattered. "Alright, all forces, operation is a go. Gray Wolf beginning infiltration."

"Copy, Timber Wolf beginning infiltration."

I rose from my hide slowly, my nanosuit in stealth mode, and began my approach.

"Tango on Charlie curve blue side is down, two confirmed tangos still on Charlie." The raider on the top curve of the catwalk was dead, two were left.

I approached the gap in the fence that served as my entrance. Across the yard, I could see three splotches of red. One leaning against the door to the concrete building that housed the entrance to the bunker. Another I could glimpse through the slats of a shack they'd erected under the catwalk, lying down on an undoubtedly filthy mattress. The third, and most problematic, was sitting against the ventilation unit.

"Timber Wolf, hold position if practicable. Dire Wolf, we have a Tango on the prey, please advise."

"No joy Gray wolf, no joy. I am obstructed." No shot, the unit was in the way.

"Gray Wolf, This is Timber Wolf, give me a twenty on the Tango." He was asking for the location.

"Timber Wolf, he is sitting against the red side of the prey" Asher had a suppressed pistol, but I would prefer to keep the close quarters shots to a minimum. Our suppressors were effective, but still loud enough for someone to notice if they were paying attention.

"Copy Gray Wolf, I've got him." Cocky, but there really wasn't another option.

I decided to make my approach through the shack and eliminate the raider there. "All units be advised, one tango at point sierra, one tango at the entrance to the Burrow. Moving to eliminate tango at point sierra." Sierra was the shack; the Burrow was what we'd designated the bunker.

"Good copy Gray Wolf. Second tango on Charlie is down. No joy on third tango, he is in Charlie structure." I looked up briefly to see the corpse of one of the raiders slowly sliding down the catwalk ramp. That could be a problem.

The raider in the shack was asleep, just as I'd thought. There was a wadded up sock tossed haphazardly on the floor. I passed over the rough wooden floor like a phantom, picking up the sock as I went. The raider was flat on his back, motionless as a stone. He wasn't a large man, or small for that matter, about average. He wore no shirt, exposing a well developed musculature. His head was shaven except for a short mohawk. I drove my blade, in tanto form, up through his solar plexus, under his sternum, into his heart. His eyes shot open, revealing a set of startling brown irises. As he opened his mouth to scream, I shoved the sock in and covered it and his nose with my hand.

He thrashed in terror, but I dropped on top of him, pinning his arms to his sides with my knees. His muffled screams descended into whimpers, which descended into silence as I watched him fall from consciousness. I pulled the blade out and a gush of blood splattered across my thighs. Thank god this suit doesn't absorb liquids.

I rose slowly back to a crouch. "This is Gray Wolf, tango in sierra point is down. Timber wolf, what is the status of the prey?" I scanned the grounds and caught sight of another heat signature crouched on the side of the ventilation unit. Had to be Asher. "Disregard, Timber Wolf, I have eyes on you. You are clear to proceed."

"Good copy Gray wolf. Moving now." I zoomed in my optics as Asher leaned around the unit and slowly brought his pistol up to aim. I almost cringed at the cat-sneeze sound of the suppressed twenty two. The shot caught the raider in the ear, then came the second shot, catching the raider in the neck a few inches beneath the first impact. Double tap, just like I'd told him.

"Tango on the prey is down, in position and ready to sink my fangs at your convenience." Good, he remembered, he was only to turn on the gas after I had secured the door. Resetting my optics to normal, I moved slowly towards the raider leaning against the bunker. He turned in my direction and I froze. He swept his gaze from one side to the other, passing me over twice, then leaned back against the wall under the narrow circle of light outside the door. Letting out a small sigh of relief, I took cover behind the corner of the building.

This is what I was talking about when I said NVGs were a huge advantage. Besides that, a night watchmen should never stay close to a light, it ruins your natural night vision. I switched my blade to full katana length and picked up a small pebble, tossing it around the corner. Just as I wanted him to, the raider came to investigate. When he did, I brought my sword in a downward slice with all of my weight behind it, the exceptionally sharp blade cut straight through, severing his head, which landed with a small thump.

"Tango at the Burrow is down, moving to clear." Without hesitation, I stepped around the headless corpse, blood spurting from the neck, and moved on the door. A quick peek through the window revealed no enemies. Slipping through the doorway, I checked around the open door just to be sure, still no one. With the room clear, I moved to the entrance to the bunker.

The entrance appeared to be a simple door, but I'd seen it before. It was eight inches thick, and made of reinforced steel, with maglocks that could hermetically seal it in place if locked. The maglocks were disguised as bolts on the door frame, three on each side and two on top. Once they were activated, the only way through was to cut a hole in the door itself. And I highly doubted they had the equipment to do that.

I planted a small device on the doorframe that ran a current through the maglocks, mimicking the locking command. A second later, the maglocks were engaged and the seal was in place. "Timber Wolf, the burrow is sealed, you are clear to sink your fangs."

"Good Copy Gray Wolf, beginning now."

I moved back to crouch under the window. "Dire Wolf, get ready, final tango on Charlie will reveal himself momentarily. He'll be leaving the structure through the white side."

"Copy that Gray Wolf, shot is ready."

At that, I leaned out the window and let out a loud, sharp, whistle. Then darted my head back inside. A moment later came the confirmation.

"Tango down, all tangos on Charlie are down."

That was it. "All units, site is clear, reconvene on the Burrow."

…

And thus we have the first real operation of the new Minutemen. Basic special forces tactics, stealth, sniper support, and coordination. I kind of like how this played out right until the end, I feel like I kind of lost it there. I'll be honest, I'm kind of running out of steam on this one. A couple of other ideas have been popping up in my mind, but one that has really been festering is a New Vegas story about a Vegas prostitute and a courier with a 10 luck stat. Does anyone have any interest in that?

Either way, one more this week to wrap up Operation Bloody Mary.

R&R people.