Actually just finished this chapter up tonight. I like this mission in the game and I liked writing it. I didn't realize I'd be throwing in so many unfunny movie jokes that were my own and from the game's. I did add in a little bit in the end there just in case someone gets a little confused at to why someone's coming in the next mission.
Chapter Six: Operation Guillotine
SSgt. Henry Blackburn – 1st Recon Marines
October 31, 0645 Zulu Time
Tehran, Iran
After calling in the airstrikes just a bit earlier, Blackburn and the rest of his team were now on top of a hill looking over the city after riding quickly off the hill that had been overlooking the airport. He was lying on his side, looking at Montes and Matkovic who were crouched side by side, clutching their weapons as they looked down at the lights.
Montes whistled.
"That is a big city." Smoke was already rising, explosions thundered in the distance and flashing tracer rounds flew into the sky.
"It is. No gun trucks yet." Matkovic added.
"Nope; the wheels of fate turn slowly, my brother." Montes smiled as he said this, jokingly.
"It's gonna be crawling with Iranian infantry, so be ready for close quarters." Blackburn reminded them. Montes and Matkovic nodded. Blackburn heard a rustling and looked back as Captain Cole crawled up beside Campo who was prone behind the others.
"Misfit, this is Haymaker."
"Send traffic…" Cole whispered.
"Misfit, BDA of airstrike targets turned up inconclusive. However, as of oh-three hundred hours, forward elements of Colonel Garrisons regiment took Jafiyeh Bridge. This puts Misfit and Haymaker in position to capture enemy structures housing strategic intelligence, break. Your first objective is Khajir Apartment complex beyond the canal. We will commence the assault in one mike. Get ready to step off."
"Copy that." Cole raised himself up to a crouch.
"Are you shitting me?" Blackburn growled. "We went in there with good intel and Al Bashir wasn't there? What kind of bullshit is this?" The others nodded in agreement, their frustration evident on their tired faces. They had sacrificed two extra hours of sleep to go on their Battle Damage Assessment mission for nothing.
Cole looked through a pair of binoculars to their left. A convoy of vehicles, their lights piercing the dark, showed up a little bit away and started heading to the city.
"There's Haymaker. We're going." Cole put away the binoculars and raised his hand to his headset. "All callsigns Misfit, we are mission launch. Repeat, we are mission launch."
"Sir…"
"Roger."
"Blackburn, mortar up…" Blackburn took the mortar from Campo, who slid it forward. "Go, go, go!" all of the marines jumped up from their spots and they broke into a sprint down the hill. They began yelling as they charged towards the city.
Nothing happened for a moment.
"Incoming!" the sound of artillery falling filled the air and began landing among the ranks. Dirt flew up into the air and showered onto Blackburn's face and the others. He ran behind Matkovic. Matkovic had a sixth sense when it came to artillery, almost like he could predict where they landed.
"Reference stone wall under the overpass!" Gunfire broke out and more shells began falling. Blackburn saw several marines blasted backwards through the air by one explosion and Matkovic steered him away from that spot. Trees caught fire and many snapped up, toppling onto the ground.
Blackburn and the rest finally made it under the overpass, out of the kill zone. The others stopped in front of a concrete wall. "Set the mortar there. Check masks and overhead clearance!" Campo ordered.
"We're clear in this spot!" Blackburn shouted, crouching down and setting up the mortar. He fixed the legs down and pushed the tube up. Campo got on the other side of the mortar.
"Campo, get some illumination rounds in the air, over." Cole ordered. Blackburn handed Campo one of the rounds. Campo put it at the mouth of the tube and dropped it. They lowered the heads as the mortar tube made a whump and launched the shell into the air!"
"Come on! I Need rounds downrange ASAP!" it exploded, creating a green flare in the sky, lighting up the area on the other side of the wall. Two marines took over on the mortar and Blackburn went over to the wall. Montes was boosted over the wall by another marine while the rest waited their turn. "Get over that wall, like now. Go on, we got this!" shouted the marines taking over on the mortar.
Blackburn went up the marine and stepped up, resting his hands on the top. Ahead of him, marines ran down the path lit up by the green flares. They began running downwards to get to the apartments.
"Haymaker should be through here."
Blackburn took cover and checked his M4A1, which was now fitted with an ACOG scope, before heading forwards. He passed a group of crouched marines.
"You there, follow me! Keep pressing the attack, we can't lose momentum!" they obeyed and they ran down the slope to join the rest. They cook cover among the rocks.
"Taking fire from stone wall, dead ahead, one-hundred fifty meters!"
"Move forward to get out of their sights!" Blackburn led the marines down further until they were at the stream that was bordering the concrete in front of them. They turned and went down the new path among the rocks. They advanced slowly, shooting at the Iranian soldiers in front of them. They didn't prove much of a match and were gunned down.
The marines headed up some steps and looked at the slopes ahead of them. Two pockets of Iranian, one close and one on the far slope were pinning the marines down. Blackburn took cover and looked at another marine team.
"Enemy MG, other side. Use the canal and flank it!"
"Come on, frag them!"
Blackburn suppressed the nest until some marines whipped frag grenades on the closer MG nest. They detonated, sending sandbags, dust and bodies everywhere.
"MG position destroyed!" someone shouted as they moved up to the next slope and set of cover to engage the next MG next. "Enemy footmobiles on the hill!" Blackburn aimed down his scope and pulled the trigger slowly, taking down several of the Iranian soldiers before they could take cover.
By then the second MG nest was knocked over and the marines pressed up the hill.
"All MG positions are down, push through to the building! Let's go, through the building!"
Blackburn ran up the hill, diving over the sandbag cover. He went prone and shot down three Iranian soldiers. Montes ran passed him, firing on the retreating enemies. The marines behind them kept up the fire, raking down enemies lit up by the mortar flares.
The Iranians cleared out, so Blackburn and the rest moved up the stairs. Montes tackled one that was left and beat him down with his LMG. They all then trained their weapons on the corner building in front of them. A squad of marines crouched under the windows and tossed a frag grenade in.
The explosion blew off the door and a burning enemy stumbled out, screaming. Someone was kind enough to put him out of his misery.
"Clear."
"Let's move up." Blackburn said, let his rifle drop by the sling and pulled his shotgun into his hands. The rest of his squad joined him and went through the ruined kitchen area into the backroom.
"Door." Montes and Campo got on either side. They tested the handle and the door didn't move. Blackburn gave the door a kick, and it didn't budge. He recovered and put his boot up against the door and put his strength into it, forcing the door open and knocking down a small fridge.
Blackburn snorted.
"Assholes are so desperate they're using a god damn fridge to slow us down. Amateurs…"
"Guess we are making progress then." Montes shrugged. It had been a grueling invasion, with heavy fighting. The past few months had claimed many lives on both sides, but it showed that the Marines were winning the fight. Not that the fight was just over yet.
The team moved down the hallway, Blackburn taking the lead.
"In the doorway, direct front…"
"I got this." Blackburn went up to the door and went to open it. Instead an Iranian kicked it open, knocking Blackburn down onto his back. But before the Iranian fired Blackburn raised his shotgun and pulled the trigger.
The buckshot created a large, gushing hole in the enemy's chest and sent him two feet down the hallway. Blackburn stood up and used the rest of the shells in the shotgun on the three enemies left in the hallway.
"You alright? How'd that recoil feel on your arm?" Campo asked with a smile.
"Felt like it was gonna tear it right off. I'm sorry I took it." They moved through the hallway and out into the back alley through the garage.
Outside, the HUMVEEs were parked and the wounded were being tended to. As the team walked into the area, they spotted a familiar face.
"Captain Brady!" Campo called. Brady walked out of the dust, holding a rifle in one hand. He smiled at the team.
"Outstanding job securing the apartments; One-Three will detach from Misfit for this mission. You're with us." Campo exchanged and glance with Blackburn.
"Just like old times, huh Brady?" Blackburn asked as Campo got in the back of a HUMVEE with Matkovic and Montes too the well. Brady stopped as he opened the driver's door to his HUMVEE.
"Yeah, just like the good ol' days Black." He said with a smile. Blackburn got into the HUMVEE as Brady did, and leaned back in the seat, spreading himself out comfortably.
Holliday looked at Grant in the back of the HUMVEE and then at Captain Brady. Brady started up the HUMVEE.
"You know Blackburn sir?" Holliday asked.
"Sure do. He was a sniper, same as me; used to spot for him during our first years as marines." Brady smiled. "Thing is, I became a captain. He coulda been one too but got into trouble one too many times during an operation. But with good reason; he saved a lotta lives but had to knock some senior officers into place- literally. Blackburn is a man you can always trust to have your back. You want him in your foxhole."
"Sounds like you have a lot to say about him sir." Grant said.
"I do; guy saved my life more than once. I'd do anything for him."
Blackburn looked ahead as Brady pulled out in front with his HUMVEE and Montes started up to follow him. The HUMVEEs moved quickly down the road, taking a turn off the main highway.
"Sir, I'm wondering about this route." Campo said over the radio.
"One-Three, it's the fastest course we could plot to the bank, over."
"It's going to take us right up- I mean, that's all badlands after the tunnels sir." The HUMVEEs had to move among the abandoned cars on the road as they headed through the tunnel.
On the other side the HUMVEEs slowed a little bit, dodging the rubble on either side of the street.
"One-Three, this is Haymaker, approaching Ashoura overpass. Scan your sectors, copy?"
"Affirmative…"
"Obstacles on the road; I know what it looks like. Bypassing an ambush is exactly what the ambushers expect us to do. We're not going to surprise the enemy by waiting. We need to seize the initiative."
"I think I just agreed to be ambushed." Campo frowned. Although he was a friend of Brady as well, he had always been wary of his combat strategies. Campo liked to play it cautiously rather than just go blasting in all the time.
"Why don't we just shoot ourselves and save them the trouble?" Montes asked out loud.
"Seriously, we're gonna get jacked." Matkovic said.
"Not to mention the amount of traps they probably set up." Blackburn muttered.
"Frankly, gentlemen, I'm not hearing the aggression I'd like. Keep scanning."
"Nothing yet." They continued down the street, weaving in between the maze of cars that that had been left in the rain earlier that day.
"Shit, where is he going?" Campo growled.
"Copy, One-Three. No need to turn back, we're going to push this vehicle out of the way, out." Brady grinded to a halt ahead of them and the marines jumped out.
"You heard him, pull over." Montes parked behind them and they offloaded as well, checking and reloading their weapons. "Let's get this over with."
Three marines were busy pushing the car out of the way. Brady was walking forward to the other marines. They were hiding behind a large fuel taking, earning a disapproving look from Campo.
"RPG, overpass!" Matkovic shouted. The rocket flew down and hit the car the marines were pushing, always causing the front of the fuel tank to open and add to the explosion. The marines pushing the car were scorched and were thrown against the pavement. Blackburn was thrown to the ground as well and quickly got to his feet. The others recovered and grabbed their weapons.
"Over here! These motherfuckers!" Campo rushed forward, leading Blackburn, Montes and Matkovic up the street as the rest of the marines opened fire. Iranian soldiers on the overpass returned fire as well, trying to hit the advancing troopers.
The team quickly got down behind an overturned car and Campo waved to Captain Brady. "Keep them pinned down, we're going high. Blackburn, on me!" Blackburn got up behind him as they started running again.
All four marines darted up a nearby staircase and sprinted across the walkway under the overpass until they reached a door at the end. Checking their corners, Campo led them in and down the dark hallway. Up another staircase they came to a doorway and prepared to assault. "As soon as we are out, I want you guys to light them up with flanking fire. Roger?"
They all replied with a 'roger' as Campo kicked down the door and they quickly went out onto the road. The Iranian soldiers hadn't seen them perform their flanking maneuver and the team set up.
Campo tossed a frag grenade into a cluster that was collecting ammunition and Blackburn killed two that were still firing down at Brady and his men. The Iranians responded quickly as the marines started advancing, but were already falling back. A few charged forward in an attempt to hold but all were killed.
Blackburn ran up with the others to end of the overpass, which had partially collapsed and a few feet below the road it had once been a part of. They pulled themselves up onto the road and were immediately met with gunfire.
Advancing slowly, Blackburn and the others tried to pick off the Iranians. The road was cluttered with cars and lit up in only a few places.
"Didn't anyone think to bring fucking night vision goggles!" Blackburn complained as he slid down behind a car. Montes finished reloaded with a laugh.
"Of course, everyone was so excited to hit the capital we forgot the important stuff."
Again they pushed up the road, taking down more and more enemies. Matkovic threw a frag, eliminating the last bunch. Everything on their street grew quiet. The sounds of rattling gunfire still resounded throughout the city.
Campo made a signal, and the four marines start to advance slowly up the road with their weapons raised. Ahead of them the road was broken up, and a trench of rubble had been created through the middle of the collapsed road.
Before they could head through, the sound of a rumbling engine filled the air. On the left side of the street, an Iranian tank pushed through a wall.
"Tank- it's a fucking tank!" Campo shouted.
"Get the fuck outta here!" Montes screamed. The four marines scrambled into the twisting trench just as the T-90 fired. The tank continued firing at them, its' shells landing closer and closer to them as it rolled after them.
"There's a door, go, go, go!" Blackburn shouted, pointing ahead of them. Campo threw his weight against the door, forcing it open. At the same time, the tank fired and the shell landed behind them, launching all four marines through the doorway.
As the last of the broken up concrete blocked the door behind them, Blackburn's vision began to return. He could hear everything settling and the others coughing.
"Sound off!" Campo ordered.
"I'm good." Montes choked.
"I'm alright." Matkovic's voice was quiet and he sounded weak. Blackburn could only groan.
"Flare!" Campo held up the red flare, exposing Montes and him to Blackburn's view. Montes was still picking himself up. Campo helped Montes up a little. "You good? Good?" he repeated when Montes didn't respond as he dusted himself off.
"Motherfucker, that was a T-90 and I'm still breathing; I'm better than good- I'm fuckin' awesome."
"Blackburn…" Matkovic squeezed passed Montes as they looked down at him. "Blackburn, you okay?" he reached down, taking Blackburn's hand and pulling him up. "You alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Blackburn mumbled, picking up his rifle. Matkovic nodded, still panting from their run. Montes was still coughing his lungs out. Campo turned around, looking at the complete darkness ahead of them.
"There's gotta be a way outta here." He tossed the flare onto the floor and it slid across the length of the hallway, showing them an exit at the end. "Let's go!"
Montes waved his arm forward. Everyone checked their weapons and moved through the hallway. They went down some stairs and down a lighter room with garbage in it. Captain Brady came over the comms.
"Request immediate air; T-90 tank two-hundred meters from- how copy?"
"That thing is gonna cut them apart man." Matkovic worried.
"There's fast air and Cobras on station." Campo assured but Montes shook his head.
"If they can get here in time…"
"Don't doubt Brady; he's a resourceful kinda guy. If I had to bet up on him on the tank, I'd bet on him." Blackburn smiled to himself. The team poised themselves near a door and went through, going up a staircase and onto the street again.
Ahead of them was a large building, almost tower-like. Lights were focused on it and through the dark Blackburn could make out defenses. He bumped Campo's shoulder and pointed ahead.
"I think that's the bank." Campo said, a little sarcastically.
"I guess so." Gunfire erupted close by and the tank appeared again, rolling backwards on the street near them. "Fucking T-90's back. We gotta do something." They all got lower, trying to get into better cover and staying out of sight.
"Shit, where's he going?"
"Matkovic, try AT." Blackburn said, but Matkovic shook his head. The tank had rolled too far back; his rocket launcher shell didn't have enough power to go through the front of a T-90. The turret turned and the barrel of the tank was now focused on them.
"Fuck!" the tank's headlamp flashed on, exposing the four marines. They darted back, trying to get some cover. Instead of meeting their demise, a Javelin rocket came down from above right on top of the tank. The tank was destroyed, and was soon covered with flames. "Burn, motherfucker!" Montes yelled as Matkovic a small crate out of the way.
They started moving forward, following the marines who were cheering and hooting on the kill.
"All units we got enemy armor closing on our position- need assist, over."
"We're gonna need more Javelins…" Blackburn sighed as he ran onto the road behind Matkovic.
"Get moving!"
"More armor inbound!" The Iranians guarding the bank started firing on the marines, who started to take cover and return fire as their advance slowed. "T-90 in front of the bank, take it out!"
"Infantry heading our way!" yelled the Javelin team.
"Okay here they come- left side, left side!" Blackburn and the others hopped over the guardrails and went to a set of stairs. Campo gave the order and they jogged up just in time to see the two Javelin team members gunned down by the chagrining enemies. Quickly the squad engaged them and killed them.
"Holy fuck, Javelin team's down!"
"Secure that Javelin! Light that fucking thing up!" Campo ordered, pointing at the enemy tank. Blackburn slung his rifle over his shoulder, feeling the combined weight of it and his shotgun.
He picked up the heavy rocket launcher and moved over to a low wall. The tank fired, destroying a nearby trailer. "Shit! Move, move, move!" Blackburn locked onto the tank and fired. The rocket flew forwards, upwards and down with finality on the tank, effectively destroying it.
"Tank destroyed! Tank destroyed!"
"You're doing great, Blackburn!" Campo said as he passed by. Blackburn groaned as he readied the Javelin for another attack.
"Thanks dad."
He looked ahead at the marines who were getting closer to the bank. Hostile positions were set up on the windows and balcony like areas in the front on both the first and second floors.
"We need this building secured." Brady stated calmly over the comms, as if there wasn't even a battle raging around him.
"Roger! I'm seeing enemy personnel in the windows, engage!"
"Tank on the right heading this way."
Way ahead of you… Blackburn thought as he finished his lock on and fired, taking down his second tank that night.
"Tank- dead ahead!" Blackburn quickly prepped his heavy weapon again and went to a nearby corner of the wall. Another tank was rolling in on the left of the marines and Brady. But he was able to get a fix and knock that tank out too.
"Enemy armor destroyed, let's move!"
Blackburn tossed the Javelin away and got to his feet, moving forward with the others. He'd take the Javelin over night vision goggles any day. The marines regrouped around Captain Brady, who was crouched behind a lower part of the plaza leading up to the bank's entrance.
"Well this is good; let's go recon a burning, structurally unsound bank." Someone joked. Blackburn and Matkovic crouched and went over to Brady. His wore a brown shirt and his vest had a miniature American flag stamped on it.
"Anything we can do for you Brady?" Blackburn asked. Brady smiled, but his eyes were hidden behind his goggles.
"See if you can find a way in through the back, out." He said, thumbing to his left side.
"Plain and simple, I like it. C'mon Matkovic let's see what kinda trouble we can stir up."
"Roger." Running along the friendly firing line and joined by Campo and some other marines, Matkovic and Blackburn went to the left side of the plaza and went up the stairs to a green trailer. The Iranians spotted them and started firing and a large light flooded their area.
Blackburn managed to pop off a few shots, taking down a sharpshooter on the second floor.
"Shit! Come on, up there. Move, move, move!" a marine shouted. Matkovic led the way but the marine aiding them was shot, and Blackburn had to jump over his falling frame. The turned and went up another set of stairs along the bank's wall. They went around the corner slowly.
"Movement!" Matkovic and Blackburn got down behind some sandbags, quickly killing a few enemies in front of them. He tossed a frag for assurance before they began moving again. "Clear."
Matkovic got up against a wall at the end of the path and boosted Blackburn over the top. Campo arrived and then pushed Matkovic up as well. The area behind the bank was clear and the pair searched for a way to get in. Matkovic stopped and pointed up to a catwalk and a ladder that hadn't been completely lowered. "Boost me up."
"Get a running start." Blackburn shouldered his rifle and crouched in front of the ladder. Matkovic secured his rifle and got ready. He ran forward and stepped into Blackburn's hands and jumped up. He latched onto the second to last run with a grunt, swung a little and pulled himself up. He clambered up and detached the rest of the ladder, waiting for Blackburn as he climbed up as well. "This is some real secret agent shit, man."
"Yeah, real James Bond stuff." Matkovic walked to the end of the small catwalk.
"I don't think Charlene knows this is the kinda shit I really do."
"I don't think even we imagined doing shit like this when we first joined up." Matkovic stepped up, balancing himself on the railing. Always a mover and a talker, something Blackburn liked about Matkovic.
Matkovic took a daring jump and grabbed onto a nearby open window. He hung from the railing for a moment before pulling himself through. "I'm in."
Guess it's my turn.
Blackburn got onto the railing carefully, putting his hand on the smooth wall for stability. He jumped over, grunting as he grabbed onto the ledge. He lifted himself up to find Matkovic taking cover in the bathroom stall they were in. The room was trashy, and a body lying in a pool of blood was on the other side.
Blackburn squeezed in and fell down, landing in a sitting position on the toilet. Matkovic smiled and Blackburn looked up at him tiredly and not amused. He got up as Matkovic ventured out of the stall. He turned quickly to his left, his boot squeaking on the floor.
"Think anyone heard us?" The door flung open and hit Blackburn, making him stumble back. An Iranian soldier burst in in, swinging at Matkovic. Matkovic expertly blocked him, grabbed onto his shoulders and knee him in the gut. He lifted his arm up and twisted around the tango, wrapping both arms tightly around his neck from behind and turning the enemy's front towards Blackburn.
"I got him, I got him!" Blackburn stepped forward, dodging and blocking the Iranian's kick. He unsheathed his knife and thrust forward to his gut. The Iranian's hands shot out, snatching Blackburn's wrist just before the top of the blade reached him. "Now!"
Matkovic struggled to keep the Iranian in his grasp and quiet at the same time. He was grunting and groaning against Matkovic's arm as his arms were pulled back. His eyes met with Blackburn's momentarily before he stuck the blade into his throat, and pulled it along and out. Blood stained the handkerchief that was around his face and some dripped onto Matkovic's arm as he let him down quietly.
He silently retrieved his rifle and the two exchanged relieved looks, giving each other a pat. "Clear…" he opened a door as Blackburn was about to stow away his knife. "One more; knife, you go."
Blackburn moved forward towards an Iranian who was edgily guarding the open doorway in front of them. He brought the knife right into his throat and dragged him backwards. There was a yell and he looked up, seeing the enemy defenders changing direction.
"They've seen us, take cover and return fire." Blackburn dropped the body and joined Matkovic as they battled the hostiles taking cover in the few desk and cubicles ahead of them.
Matkovic provided cover fire as Blackburn put a hand to his headset.
"This is Misfit One-Three detached, we're in the bank and on the second floor. Watch your fire."
"One-Three, we're in blocking position ground floor, clear your way to us, over."
"Copy that. C'mon Matkovic let's go." They pushed ahead and turned to their left, tossing frags and killing the Iranians who were taking cover among the cubicles in front of them. On the third level, more shooters were appearing and Blackburn engaged them.
Reaching the end of the hurtle and enemies ahead of them, Blackburn and Matkovic ran to the left until they found some stairs leading down to a small meet of two stairs on the left and right. Montes and Campo had made it there and were now firing down at the remaining enemies that were trapped in the lobby. It was a turkey shoot and not before long the marines had killed them all.
"Good timing, let's keep moving." The squad reunited and headed downstairs, resupplying from some crates nearby. The rest of the marines moved in carefully, checking the lobby.
Blackburn and the rest of his team gathered below near a door that was under the spot they had just been at. Captain Brady walked up to them, cool and collected as ever.
"Gentlemen!" he said loudly, his voice echoing in the lobby thanks to the new silence. "We're looking for any sign of Al-Bashir. Find it, bag it. You guys, clear the basement- we'll sweep the rest of the building." Brady smirked and Blackburn mockingly saluted him.
"Roger. Blackburn, come on. Montes, door." Montes kicked the door open the team went in, passing a body and moving down the staircase. Turning to the right they found a long hallway with a few bodies littering it. On the right were some empty office rooms, the others were locked doors. One door, however, was open.
Blackburn checked inside and looked at the money that was stacked around inside. He whistled.
"You would think they woulda clear out this cash by now." He said.
"Think we should liberate it?" Montes asked with a smile.
"No, we shouldn't. Focus on the mission." Campo ordered as he and Matkovic went by. The pair followed the first and they came to an elevator shaft. Blackburn noticed a shotgun by one of the bodies.
"Are these guys guards or what?" Matkovic asked.
"Who cares, they're dead." Blackburn shrugged as he joined Campo and Montes at the elevator shaft. The elevator was hanging above them, jammed in between the walls. The rest of the shaft was clear. "Whatcha thinking Campo?"
"We can rappel down."
"Okay."
"Shaft looks about…sixty feet down." Campo crouched down and pulled out some rope and the rappelling clips. "Slow and quiet; pay out your rope carefully." Montes shrugged and waved his arms, obviously not settled with the plan. But he got his gear out anyways.
"Mission Impossible it is." Matkovic and Blackburn grinned at each other. Blackburn slung his rifle over his shoulder and checked his shotgun just as Campo was finished setting up and went down over the side, the rope going taught as he planted his feet against the shaft walls.
"Black, on point!"
"Always me…" Blackburn bent over and hooked up and went over the side.
"Keep tension on the line."
"I know how to work the fuckin' thing." The others just answered with a 'yep' as they hooked on and started to follow. They propelled themselves off the wall and they went down a little ways before going back on.
Voices drifted from below, sending a shiver down Blackburn's spine.
"I hear something down there- talking maybe." They kept rappelling down until they were they were right above the next exit. The Iranian voices below were getting louder and urgent; they probably had heard the sound of the ropes.
Campo and Blackburn looked at each other.
"Blackburn, prep a flashbang." Blackburn detached one from his hip, pulled the pin and tossed it through the doorway. It disappeared from his sight, clanking metallically against the floor. It detonated and the force pierced his ears and even made his vision a little blurry, but nowhere as bad as the feeling the enemy got from it.
Campo and Blackburn, right after the blast, rappelled back as far they could and through the shaft. Blackburn swung in, slamming both his feet into a dazed enemy soldier. Quickly freeing himself from the rope he fired his shotgun, taking down several Iranians and the one he had knocked down. The others started firing into the confused hostiles who started scrambling in every direction and firing their weapons blindly.
Bullet ricocheted off the walls and the large dark room was lit up by muzzles flashes. Paper money was ripped apart and the tatters flew all around.
Blackburn advanced down the left flank as the others went down the middle and right. He took cover behind the columns, reloading as he went before killing another enemy soldier. He went forward again, this time with haste, blasting down anymore that got into his way.
The enemy fire began to dwindle and Blackburn started to reload. Someone grabbed him from behind, trying to strangle him. Blackburn struggled against his grasp and smashed the back of his head into the enemy's face. He whipped around and struck him with the shotgun's stock and repeatedly did so until the enemy's head was pulp.
Blackburn glanced at his shotgun; the stock was cracked and barely hanging onto the rest of the weapon. He tossed it aside and returned his M4 to his hands.
"Clear!" he yelled.
"Alright, we're done. Let's get it on." Campo led them to the only other door in the room, a steel bar door. On the other side was a vault.
Time to find the treasure…
Campo peered inside, finding no one in the small room between the door and the vault. "You think maybe Al-Bashir is in there?" he asked, hopefully. They could use some good news.
"I dunno, let's find out." Montes suggested.
"Matkovic, open the gate."
"And by that he means blow it up." The others took cover on either side of the doorway as Matkovic planted a breaching charged on the handle pad.
"Fire in the hole!" he detonated the small explosive and Montes shouldered the door open with Campo right behind him.
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
The team looked around, finding two connected desks with an array of computers. They were all on and had the logo of the bank on the bright desktop screen. Matkovic stepped over to the desk, looking everything over.
"What the fuck is this?" he sat down in the chair and began tapping on the keyboard, trying to find anything he could.
"Montes!" Campo called. Blackburn had been looking over Matkovic's shoulder before turning around to look at Montes and Campo, who was nearly the partially opened vault door. "Smell that?" Montes sniffed the air for a moment and then looked confused.
"Smoke…Cordite."
"Let's get this door open."
"I'll cover you." Blackburn stepped forward the two marines began hauling the heavy door open.
"God damn it's heavy."
"Yeah."
"It's a bank vault door- it's supposed to be heavy." Blackburn rolled his eyes. Montes pretended to laugh as Campo drew his rifle.
"I'm going in." He slowly stepped into the vault, which had flickering lights inside. He was quiet for a moment. "Clear!" he stated, lowering his rifle. Montes opened the door completely and Blackburn ventured inside. There were laptops, folders, files and other intel lying on a nearby table. Large crates were also in the vault. "Holy shit, goldmine!"
Campo and Montes went over to the table with intelligence covering it.
"It's an operation room. Looks like they tried to destroy it…"
"No, look. Shit's still here. I want everything bagged and tagged." Montes nodded and started going through everything.
"Oh shit…we've got maps of Paris, New York. I got a train timetable here it says 'Six-oh-two'.
"Damn, I thought I'd only see stuff like this in the movies…" Blackburn murmured, joining Montes as he looked over the timetable.
"Holy shit…" Campo murmured, ignoring them. He was by a large crate. "Come over here!" he bent over and Montes did as well, getting ready to move the cover.
"Whoa, guys, this thing is radioactive." Blackburn stated, but he helped anyways. They started moving the lid, which seemed heavier than the vault door by the string in Montes' voice.
"Radioactive…" he groaned. "Is that a good idea?"
"We don't got a choice." Campo said as they removed the lid, stood up and looked inside. Inside were three large slots. The ones on the sides were empty. In the center slot was a large gray-black cylinder.
Everyone was silent for a moment as they started down at the object. They knew what it was. No one wanted to really believe what it was. It could have been a dream, or an unbelievable story. How did a few raggedy veteran marines find a nuclear weapon?
"Holy shit…you know what that is?" Campo asked finally.
"Russian- portable nukes…" Montes answered, looking at Montes in shock.
"No way…" Blackburn said quietly, then he narrowed his eyes. "Wait…but…" Campo nodded and looked at Montes.
"There's only one there." Montes's eyes widened and he shook his head.
"Wait, there's room for two more. Where the hell are the other two?" he yelled. Before anyone could say anything more, Matkovic got their attention.
"Hey, you need to see this!" the three marines jogged into the computer room. Matkovic had stood up and pointed at the screen. "There!"
On the screen there were three men. One was an Iranian soldier, quickly checking his surroundings while the other two men, in civilian attire, walked slowly along before stopping to talk.
"Oh shit!"
"That's Al-Bashir…who's the other guys?"
Blackburn leaned in, sizing up the unknown man. Then it hit him. It was the same guy- the one he had seen taking the marine away when he had woken after the earthquake. What was he doing with Al-Bashir? Who was he exactly? Was he tied to the nuke?
"I don't know. They're coming down! We need to secure the nuke and get the hell out of here!" Campo said to them.
"What about the intel?" Montes asked. Campo thought briefly, shaking his head and sighing.
"No. No, there's no time. Let's get the nuke and move."
There was a deep rumble above them- explosives.
"This whole building's gonna come down." Matkovic informed the others as he kept watch through the door.
"Campo, try calling Cole or Brady…" Blackburn urged. He had briefly told them about what he had seen that night when he had woken up, but for some reason he didn't tell them the connection- that it was the same person.
I'll tell them about when we're out of here- the less questions we all have the better. Campo had checked his headset.
"This is Misfit One-Three."
"Misfit, this is Actual, send." Cole said over the comms.
"Misfit, we have secured what appears to be a WMD, break." The very word, WMD- Weapon of Mass Destruction, sent chills down all four marine's back. They had actually found one. "There may be more than one." There was silence for a moment.
"Misfit One-Three, you're breaking up. Are you reporting WMD? Say again, you're breaking up."
Campo fumed silently, looked upwards in frustration. He didn't both trying again, having seen too many movies and been in too many situations where attempting to contact command was pointless.
Above, there was another deep rumble. This time it shook the bank, and the sound of metal moving about could be heard. Montes looked up slowly.
"Oh, that can't be good."
"They're gonna be moving out of Tehran." Blackburn said. "They're not going to be coming down here for us. Brady probably already pulled his guys out of the bank."
"So what the fuck do we do?" Campo asked.
"I'll send a distress call; they'll send someone to get us."