Authors notes: I hope you are so far enjoying this story. Please review and let me know what you think… not just for my ego but also for critiques on what you liked, and what I can do better. It may be a while before I get out the next batch of chapters, but here at Chapter 10 (continuing from Chapter 1) it is fitting to take a break on this note. Please enjoy this chapter.

-AF Iron

CHAPTER TEN: HALO

Back to the Present Time…

It would have been easy to mistake him for a dark lightning bolt crashing out of the sky. Jumping out of the back of the C-130 never got old for Snake-Eyes. In many ways, he considered it the best part of the mission. There was just something that made one feel… alive, standing on the ramp, hearing the wind rushing by the plane with such a loud roar, and even the way one could feel the low pressure at such a high altitude.

Plummeting downward at terminal velocity, Snake-Eyes eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness of the night as he pinpointed the descending cargo making its way towards the coastline. It was difficult to see but it looked like it was proceeding on track and on course. Hurling down to the dark waves of the ocean, he turned his head slightly to make sure his jump partner, Low-Light, was in good form. His dark outline was barely noticeable – only because of the dim light provided by the moon, but it appeared Low-Light was in position. Everything was so far going according to plan. So far, so good.

There were only a handful of men Snake-Eyes trusted well enough to partner up with on a jump like this… you could count all of them on one hand. Stalker, Ripcord, Barbecue, and Low-Light... that was about it. Since Low-Light was one of his "trusted few", this made it much easier for Snake to focus on his mission without having to pick up the slack of the other guy and worrying about his jump performance. Too many times Snake was put in that situation. But not tonight.

Looking at his altimeter and hearing a soft audible alarm warning him it was soon time to pull the ripcord, he prepared to deploy his chute. 3,000 feet… 2,000… 1,000… 600 feet – pull. Snake-Eyes pulled the ripcord and the main chute snapped out above him just as he had done countless times before. Snake could tell that Low-Light had a successful pull as well after a quick glance to his side. He quickly discarded his oxygen mask in the deep ocean below as he floated down the last couple hundred feet, preparing for his water landing.

Because the cargo was released closer to land, the paratroopers were fully aware that it wouldn't land in the water. They were a different story, however. By the time they had jumped out, they were further away from the coast line and, as a result, were going to have to swim. Just as Snake-Eyes feet had touched the water, he immediately released his parachute from the harness. Time to swim for it and clear the coast line, he thought.

In the dark of the night in a foreign country along a desolate beach front, a head with a black mask raised out of the ocean with the butt of his M-16 against his shoulder, staring down the aiming site. Water rolled off of his head, shoulders, and weapon, unaffecting his combat readiness posture. About fifteen meters behind him, another man dressed in a near-identical black outfit (with exception of night vision goggles with red lenses on his head vice a black face mask) came out of the ocean waves.

Snake-Eyes and Low-Light surveyed the scene, quickly setting up a perimeter and ensuring the coast line was safe for the other jumpers behind them. M-16's drawn and ready, they stood with their backs to the ocean, flanking each side of the jettisoned cargo and aiming their weapons downrange towards the heart of Borovia.

Rising up out of the ocean, two more soldiers in black hit the beach. They took up strategic positions behind Snake-Eyes and Low-Light. The first was Recondo, an infantryman normally assigned deep within the jungles of South America – often loaned out by his own unit to work closely with USSOUTHCOM – but as an adaptable, solid soldier, he easily fit in any other campaign. Including this one. The other one was Blowtorch, the expert flamethrower specialist who had earned high marks in his own right back when he was in the United States Army.

The two men headed straight for the cargo as Snake-Eyes and Low-Light remained frozen in place, continually scanning the coastline for threats. The fact that they weren't moving signaled to Recondo and Blowtorch that no danger existed… at least for the time being. As they started opening up the front end of the cargo, two more of the jumpers came up from the ocean, weapons drawn. These two in particular were two of the sharpest and most experienced veterans on the team: Steeler and Flash.

Without saying a word to the two cargo guards who had finished cracking open the back end of the cargo box, Steeler and Flash immediately went inside the large container without missing a beat in order to take care of their mission requirements. Recondo and Blowtorch, completed with the first part of their assignment, took up post flanking the box with the purpose of backing up Snake-Eyes and Low-Light.

The remaining four parachuters came out of the ocean at about the same time.

First up was Barbecue, the team firefighter and former smoke jumper, holding a rifle like a soldier but, as an old fireman with old school habits, made sure that his trusty axe was securely strapped to his side… ready to pull it out at a moment's notice.

Clutch, the maintenance genius… able to fix any broken vehicle that the unit owned with an amazing 100% success rate, was right behind Barbecue and also taking aim with his weapon in a similar fashion. Out of all the jumpers, his rucksack was by far the largest one; not only did he have normal weaponry in it… ammunition, back-up firearms, etc., but he also was required to carry a wide assortment of maintenance tools on this particular mission.

Following Clutch was the former model-turned-warrior, Covergirl, side by side with Grand Slam, previously a Major League Baseball player but now a soldier with a reputation as one of the toughest on the team.

Cover Girl and Grand Slam were also armed to the hilt and armored up, like the rest of the team, but the beach was now covered well; their mission wasn't to secure the area, but instead… head straight inside the oversized cargo box and join up with Clutch, Steeler and Flash.

All ten members had their objectives completed… but their mission had only begun.