Tracking… Found
SSgt. Elizabeth "Desert" Stratton
Task Force 141
40 miles east of Petropavlovsk, Russia
Well that mission was almost FUBAR. We had just finished clearing the oilrig, but that last room had been filled to the brim with C4. We were lucky that nobody had accidentally shot it, or we would've been itty bitty pieces right now. But we weren't, so we were riding a Little Bird headed for the gulag. Now that the SAM sites were under the Marine's control, we were clear to move in and rescue the Prisoner Six-Two-Seven. I pulled out my iPod and plugged an earbud in. Probably not the safest thing to do when on mission, but I really didn't care. The main thing I cared about right now was dropping my iPod into the water below us. I cycled through my playlist before finding the song "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" by Jet. I played it and started to pay attention to what was going on.
"Thirty seconds." MacTavish said
I watched as two F-15s flew in right below us, getting ready for the initial assault. We'd use them to destroy the lookout, and then we'd move in and kill any guards on the walls of the prison. Within a couple of seconds, the jets had destroyed the post and we were clear to fly in and enter the gulag. Once through the smoke, I could see the circular structure. We moved in closer to the walls and started to hover near one of the towers. I pulled my M14 EBR and aimed down my sights at the hostiles on the tower. I could see at least four hostiles on the first tower.
"All snipers, this is MacTavish. Standby to engage. Stabilize."
"Roger." Our pilot said
"All snipers- cleared to engage."
I aimed down the sights of my rifle and started to pick the hostiles off one-by-one along with Roach and MacTavish. One thing I didn't understand about MacTavish was that he didn't have a call sign. Everybody just called him MacTavish, while we're called stuff like Roach and Ghost. It made no sense. When we were done shooting the hostiles on this tower, we shifted to the one directly to the right. We shot these guys too, but one of them almost got a SAM site up and running.
"I see four hostiles on the next tower!" MacTavish yelled
Before we could engage, though, an F-15 blew the tower up and flew past, not ten feet from the chopper. The resulting air draft started to make the chopper wobble, like it was about to go down. What the hell? Weren't they supposed to be helping us, not killing us?
"Shepherd, get those fighters to cease fire immediately! That was too close!" MacTavish said
"I'll try to buy you some time. One man in a gulag doesn't mean much to the Navy at this point." Shepherd said
"Bloody Yanks, I thought they were the good guys?" Ghost said
"Ghost, cut the chatter, stay frosty." MacTavish said
I guess he didn't like Ghost's comment. I kind of took offense to that. I was a Yank. So was Rooster, Caveman, Angel, Hazard, and others that I didn't even know. Almost half of the Task Force was made up of Americans. Hell, our commanding officer is a Lieutenant General for the United States Army! How could he say that about Americans? Regardless, we all landed on a helipad down on the ground, inside the gulag's walls. Now that we were on the ground, I pulled out my M4A1. I aimed down the red dot sights and proceeded to kill any Russian that was stupid enough to shoot at me. At least these guys posed a threat. The guys in Rio? Not so much. The only time they posed a real threat was when Roach and I had fallen off the roof and were getting shot at as we ran. Other than that, they didn't stand a chance. These guys didn't either, but at least they had military training. We all started to move through a courtyard after a Little Bird took out a fortified position on the roof of a two story building. We cleared out the Russians and started to make our way inside the prison. We killed two hostiles that were running towards a room on the second floor of a building. They never even made it to the stairs. With them dead, we went inside.
"This is it. We go in, grab Prisoner Six-Two-Seven, and get out." MacTavish said
We went down two flights of stairs before finally coming into contact with the first hostiles inside the gulag. They were instantly shot down, along with a third before we moved deeper into the prison. Up ahead was a bridge and a room filled with monitors. Must be the security station.
"That's the control room up ahead! I can use it to find the prisoner!" Ghost said "I'll tap into their system and look for the prisoner! It's gonna take some time!"
"Copy that. Hazard, Neon, watch his back. Roach, we're on cell duty! Follow me!" MacTavish said
Annoyed that he didn't mention me, I followed the two of them into the cell blocks. As per usual, there were guards in our way, but they didn't do much but catch the bullets we shot at them. I hope that the prisoner was closer to the upper floors so that we could just grab him and get the hell out of here. These guards knew the layout of the prisoner better than we did, so they could get the drop on us a hell of a lot easier.
"All right, I'm patched in. I'm tracking your progress on the security cameras." Ghost said
"Copy that! Do you have the location of Prisoner Six-Two-Seven?" MacTavish asked
"Negative, but I've got a searchlight tracking hostiles on your floor. That should make your job easier."
Like that made up for not knowing where the prisoner was? If we couldn't find him, this mission would go south real quick. We couldn't stay in here much longer without the Navy getting bored and shooting the shit out of the building. Speaking of being here longer than necessary, we reached a locked security door.
"Ghost, we've hit a security door, get it open!" MacTavish said
"Workin' on it… this hardware is ancient!"
There was a beeping sound and the door right after the one in front of us opened up.
"Ghost, you opened the wrong door!"
"Roger, standby… Got it!"
Once again, the beeping sound filled the room, but the right door opened this time. We moved through the next area before we hit another security door. All of these cells were empty. For being a prison, it seemed as though there were no prisoners. Was Prisoner Six-Two-Seven the only prisoner here? No, because then why would they need all these guards? Well, in case something like this happened. I guess I can see where Makarov was going with this.
"Talk to me Ghost, these cells are deserted!" MacTavish said
"Got it! Prisoner Six-Two-Seven's been transferred to the east wing! Head through the armory in the center- that's the fastest way there." Ghost said as he opened up the security door.
"Roger that! Squad, head for that armory down there! Move!"
We moved down a set of stairs, then jumped over a broken part. That'd be a sucky way to die, jumping over a hole in a flight of stairs, then slipping and falling fifty feet to your death. When we got into the armory, MacTavish joked "See anything you like?"
I chuckled as I looked around. I saw some AKs, a couple FAMASs, some G18s, and others. But nothing seemed to catch my eye until I spotted a Commando. (Yes, I know they didn't have this gun in MW2, but I'm still going to be combining the Modern Warfare and Black Ops timelines) They didn't even make these anymore, and it looked wonderful. It had a red dot sight and grenade launcher, the perfect combo. I left my M4 hanging on my back and picked up the Commando, filling any empty pockets with magazines with its ammo.
"Bad news mate. I'm tracking three, no, four hostile squads converging on your position." Ghost said
"I can hear them coming, let's go. We're too exposed." MacTavish said
We tried to leave through the door on the other side of the armory, but the door only opened about a foot before it stopped.
"Ghost! Open the door!" MacTavish said
"Bloody hell, they've locked it from the hard line. I'll have to run a bypass."
"Too late! They're already here!"
All of a sudden, there was gunfire surrounding us on all sides, right as Seven Nation Army started to play. Perfect timing. We all dove for cover, hoping to avoid getting shot. It was hard, because the walls were so low and made of thin sheet metal. If a bullet went through it in just the right place, one of us was going to get killed.
"Be advised- you've got more tangos headed your way." Ghost said
"We're going to need more cover- grab a riot shield!" MacTavish yelled above the gunfire "Open the door!"
"Almost there! Routing through the auxiliary circuit!" Ghost said
Finally, the door opened up and we had a way out. MacTavish took point while Roach started to take out the guards that were busy shooting at the shields. Now that we were out, it was easy to take out the hostiles that had been surrounding us seconds before.
"Ghost here. Recommend you bypass the lower floors by rappelling out that window."
"Copy that! Squad, follow me!"
"Captain MacTavish, last floor clear. We'll link up with you at the bottom." Gaz said
We went around the floor until we reached a window that led all the way down to the bottom floor. We all hooked up and started to lower ourselves down to the bottom floor. When we got there, Bear, Rooster, and Worm jumped out of the window on the bottom floor.
"The camera feed in solitary confinement is dead. The power must be down in that section." Ghost said
"Roger that. Squad, switch to night vision." MacTavish said once we were all together
We moved through a dark doorway and into what must've been solitary confinement. Even with the night vision, it was still hard to make out shapes in there. We managed to find our way down a flight of stairs, then through a hallway until we reached the cells. Good news- there was light at the end of the hallway. Bad news- there was a squad of guards in our way. I quickly shot at them, taking down most of them before the others knew what had happened. But I guess there had been another squad right outside, because more guards started to pour through the doorway at the end of the hall. I tossed a frag down there to thin them out, but I don't think it did much. They were all hiding inside the cells, using the open doors for cover. Once it seemed that it was clear, we started to check the cells for either Prisoner Six-Two-Seven or hiding guards. Roach managed to find the latter when one tackled him, trying to force a knife into his throat. He didn't get far, because I shot the bastard and we continued moving forward. Now that the room was clear, we made our way out into the area outside solitary. But I guess the Navy was getting bored, because the wall outside fucking exploded, sending me and Roach to the ground.
"Shepherd, what the hell was that? Get the Navy to cease fire!" MacTavish yelled
"The Navy isn't in a talking mood right now. Standby." Shepherd said, as though he was annoyed with MacTavish rather than at the guys shooting his own men "Bravo Six- they've agreed to stop firing for now. Keep going, I'll keep you posted. Out."
We began to move through a network of hallways that had pipes covering the walls. We must be getting closer to the boiler room. If we weren't careful around some of these pipes, they could burst into flames and start burning us alive. As we entered the boiler room, there were more hostiles hiding behind pipes. We didn't have time for this, we had to get moving. I tossed a flashbang over the pipes, right in front of the guards. It exploded, shocking them. Roach and I easily shot them before letting the team know it was clear to move up. We were almost to the prisoner. Just a little longer, and we'd have him and we'd be able to get the hell out of this god-forsaken place.
"The old shower room's about thirty feet ahead on your left. You'll have to breach the wall to get in." Ghost said
We started moving on a raised platform with more hostiles down below. We shot them, taking care of them quickly.
"Roach- plant the breaching charge on the wall, we're taking a shortcut." MacTavish said
Roach did as MacTavish said, and we waited for him to detonate it. When he did, we quickly moved into the shower room, killing the guards that were running away from us. Looking ahead, I could see that the room was divided into three sections. We were in the shower area right now, trying to move up to the far end of the room. Once we made it to the lockers in the middle of the room, that's when shit hit the fan. Hostiles with riot shields started to pour in. I took my grenade launcher and fired one right behind them. A couple of them were killed instantly, but there were still some who lived. Nothing a couple of flashbangs and bullets couldn't handle. Once they were dead, it was almost a clear shot at a hole on the far side.
"I'm heading for that hole in the floor on the far side of the showers! Follow me, let's go!" MacTavish said
I guess that's where we were going then. Once we had dodged any enemy fire that was coming our way and we had dropped in the hole, we were in some kind of sewer system.
"Ghost, we're in the old tunnel system heading south-southwest." MacTavish said
"Okay. Keep going along that tunnel." Ghost replied
So we did. At the end was a slope that we slid down, and we were met with a wall in front of us with a bolted door.
"Talk to me Ghost. I don't want to be down here when those ships start firing again."
"Keep going you're almost there. I'm detecting two heat signatures- one of them should be Prisoner Six-Two-Seven."
Without being told, Roach moved forward and put another breaching charge on the wall. When it exploded, we entered the room, but the sight we saw wasn't what we expected. I watched the prisoner jump out of a steel folding chair, and wrap the chains that were binding his hands around a guard's neck. For fear of shooting him, I didn't open fire. I watched as he began to charge Roach, punching him to the ground. By the time that I had registered what had happened, the prisoner had picked up the guard's AK and had it pointed at Roach. That's when MacTavish came in with a pistol and pointed it at the prisoner's head.
"Drop it!" he yelled
"Soap?" the prisoner asked
"Price?"
I watched as MacTavish gave the prisoner, now known as Price the pistol he was holding in his hand. "This belongs to you, sir."
"Who's Soap?" Worm asked
Before either of the other men could answer, the whole room started to shake, explosions sounding from all over. Worm and I helped Roach to his feet as we ran from the room.
"Come on, we gotta get outta here! Move! Move!" MacTavish yelled
"Bravo Six, be advised, they've started the bombardment early. Get the hell outta there now!" Shepherd said
We started to run through a tunnel that opened up at the end. As we ran, a Little Bird hovered at the end. The thing was, there was a teensy tiny little problem. As we ran, the tunnel collapsed, blocking the way.
"Go back, go back! We'll find another way out! This way, this way!"
We began running back the way we came, then took a right down another hallway. The only place this led to was what appeared to be the mess hall. The only part of the room that led anywhere was a hole in the ceiling made by a missile in the middle of the room.
"It's a dead end!" Worm yelled
"Six-Four, where the hell are you, over?"
"Bravo Six, there's too much smoke! I can't see you, I can't see you!"
I heard a cracking sound, and the next thing I knew, Roach was becoming buried under a pile of rubble.
"Roach!" I screamed, sliding down to dig him up
I continued to pull the rubble up, but there was too much and I wasn't strong enough. I felt someone push me and watched Price start to pull the rubble off Roach. But he was able to do it. He got the rubble off of him, and turned to MacTavish.
"Whatever you're gonna do Soap, do it fast!"
MacTavish fired a flare out of his M203, up through the hole in the roof. The helicopter pilot responded by sending down a SPIE rig. Price helped Roach up, and we all hooked up onto the rig. One-by-one, we were all yanked up, with Worm on the bottom. Once we were outside the gulag, the building was decimated, a fireball erupting through the hole we just came out of. It wasn't good for Worm. Since he was at the bottom of the rig, he was surrounded in flames. By the time we were in the chopper, he was covered in flames. We tried to douse them quickly, but he was already burned badly. If we didn't get him help, he was going to die, and soon. We covered him in a heat-reflective blanket, but I don't know how much good it did. With nothing to do but wait, I sat down next to Roach and put my head against the wall of the chopper. Soon, I had fallen asleep and was dreaming about roaches and deserts.