CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: BATTLEZONE, PT II

Within a split second after Steeler fired, the Flagg lurched forward.

Despite the tears in her eyes, Cover Girl had already taken back her position as tank driver. She couldn't mourn… not now; not while the others were still alive. Grand Slam and Flash were both dead. Clutch… she thought he was still alive too, but wasn't positive. And he certainly wasn't moving. If Steeler had been dead, she didn't know what she would have done. She didn't know if she would have been able to keep it together as the only survivor.

But at least Steeler was alive. She had to help the survivors out. Slamming the Flagg into full throttle, she knew that once Steeler fired it would have an auto-lock on the target even if the tanks rapid movement threw the turret slightly off. One of the advantages the Flagg had over other older generation tanks.

The return fire from the anti-tank missile barely struck the back end of the Flagg – had they been there a split second before Cover Girl pulled forward… it was something she didn't want to think about.

Cover Girl, looking at the panel in front of her, realized that the missile was an infrared guided missile, but the Flagg still had its auto defensive system up and running and disabled the missiles guidance system from far away. She realized they avoided another blow; if the guidance hadn't been disabled, they would have been history no matter what kind of driving Cover Girl had done.

The back end of the tank still was hit but the missile did minimal damage. Some of the titanium/adamantium armor on the back of the tank had been smashed but for the most part it deflected the missile off of its body.

Steelers shot, however, struck true.

In the biggest explosion the battle had seen so far, the anti-tank blew apart; metal flew about in every direction and lit up the night sky in a brilliant orange glow.

Steeler triumphantly shouted through a clenched jaw, still gritting his teeth, "YEA! Take THAT, assholes!"

Quickly switching to the electronic periscope he carefully scanned the outside area determining that there were no other threats were around. "Cover Girl, load us up. Looks like we're a two-man crew right now."

Instinctively, Cover Girl got up out of her position to load the turret… normally Clutch's job.

"Oh, and Cover Girl… nice work." Happy to be alive…for the moment, at least, Steeler smiled.

Cover Girl didn't.

XXXXX

Snake and Low-Light had met up with Barbecue and Blowtorch. Most of the enemy forces had fallen back in order to regroup, though the number of enemy soldiers had drastically been reduced. Between the four tanks and the anti-tank vehicle, most of the heavy artillery had been destroyed.

It wasn't until they saw the Flagg start to drive backwards, pulling out of battle, that their emotions became mixed.

Blowtorch was already on the radio. "Tango Team… come in. Tango Team… can you read me? Steeler, Flash… come in…" He had no luck.

"They probably lost their comms," Low-Light told him. "I'm amazed the tank can even roll at this point, and more amazed someone is alive enough inside to be driving that thing."

Blowtorch shook his head, looking at the others. Barbecue was the first to say what everyone was thinking, "I guess we do this without the Flagg. What do you think our life expectancy will be?"

Low-Light snickered silently. "You two I give 30 seconds…one minute tops. Me and Snake… we'll last about an hour."

Barbecue gave out a quiet chuckle back but still flipped Low-Light the bird.

Snake-Eyes, like the others, realized that there were some survivors on the Flagg. The only problem was, if they were backing up, it meant they weren't necessarily retreating; at the very least, they were regrouping and taking their time to patch each other up. Assuming more than one survived the blast. Looking at the other three, Snake nodded his head and with two fingers pointed towards the prison. They all knew what they had to do.

Press forward. Just the four of them… and without Tango Team. At least, for now.

Barbecue, trying to inspire confidence in the team, broke the silence while reloading a clip. "Looks like its just us. Hopefully they can catch up. You guys ready?"

Low-Light nodded, moving forward to take point and pulling his NVGs back down.

The four infantrymen laid low, preparing to sneak into the Wolken Prison… "sneak" being a word used loosely since the enemy knew they were out there. More than likely it would be a gunfight all the way to Whiskey Team. Snake moved up with Low-Light, assuming the scout position.

Blowtorch didn't look right, and Barbecue knew it. "You ok, man?" he asked, tapping him on his good shoulder.

"Yea," Blowtorch replied. "Let's get this over with." Readying his flamethrower, he moved in between Snake-Eyes and Low-Light, but kept a few paces behind them. Barbecue took the rear guard position… the position that was supposed to be Recondos.

The four moved forward without saying anything further.

XXXXX

The trick was to move as fast as possible, but without being spotted. The goal was to strike as quickly as possible while the enemy was retreating and regrouping… without giving up their position. With any luck, they'd be able to slip past some of the heavier gun turrets manned on the outside of the prison. They had the advantage of darkness and light cover from the old trees of the sparse forest, but they could only hope it would be enough.

Following Snake-Eyes, though, was the best guarantee for success. The other three knew it. Snake had done this several times over. From the mountains in Afghanistan to urban warfare in Iraq, he was the guy that could get from one point to another without being detected. All they had to do was follow him.

Almost immediately, Snake found a small, shallow ravine. It was enough for them to get real low and mask them in with the ground. Hopefully this will keep us from being spotted with their NVGs, he thought, moving forward in the lead position. He spotted a few stray enemy soldiers, but they were far away and licking their wounds. Damaged badly enough by previous fire that they couldn't make it all the way back to their heavily defended prison. Snake gave the sign for the group to get a little lower in the trench and to move forward… no need to blow their position on wounded ducks.

Eventually Snake-Eyes stopped, giving the "halt" signal to the group, crouching down low. Pointing back to Low-Light, he pointed up to the corner of the prison where there was a manned turret. Pointing to his own eyes with two fingers and then up to the turret, Snake-Eyes held out his hands as if he was holding a sniper rifle, finishing with a nod and a fairly big hint to Low-Light.

"Good call, Snake. Our position is great for sniping." Low-Light lowered his position, setting up his sniper rifle in order to take a shot. But there was a lot of commotion outside the gates; the enemy was starting to reorganize and return outside in well-armed search parties. They didn't have much time. "Well, looks like I'll be left behind once again," Low-Light muttered, realizing the other three would have to hoof it forward while he covered them.

"Sorry, buddy. You see that search party, fellas?" Barbecue asked the group. "Once they get close enough, we'll mow them down and make a break for it. Doesn't look like we can get around them tactically. What do you see up top, Low-Light? Can you cover us?"

Low-Light knew it didn't look good. "There's a lot of 'em. I'll do what I can, but you guys better run freakin' fast, if you know what I mean. You better lose them once you get inside, too. You've all seen the blueprints so you already know the nooks, crannies, and hiding places."

"Well," Blowtorch replied, "I'll have to use my rifle until we get inside, otherwise the flamethrower will mark our position. But I'm ready. On your mark, Snake."

Snake-Eyes nodded. The plan seemed solid, but it was going to hurt leaving a man behind to cover for them. The rescue party was down to three men. Still, they had to get their buddies out at all costs. It was time.