A/N: Here is chapter four and the last heavy combat chapter for a while. After this there will be more regular dialogue, faster plot development, and the Kim/Shego interaction I started this thing for. Also, although some countries are named in this chapter and those prior, just because they look like bad guys does not mean they are. This is a work of fiction, and I am not pushing political views and opinions of certain counties on anyone.
I actually do not own Kim Possible. Disney does.
Shades of Grey, Chapter 4: The Battle of Red Cliffs
8 Klicks Southeast of Iranian training camp. 0900 hours.
A thunderous roar shook the ground of the desert floor as over a dozen armored vehicles raced across the sand at high speeds. Their powerful engines pushing the 68 ton behemoths as hard as they could go. Outside the visibility was down to zero due to a blinding sandstorm that seemed to consume everything in its path.
"Switch to thermal" shouted the tank commander over the radio.
The crews did as ordered, however, the sights still showed nothing. Still, the tank crews stayed vigilant. The tanks had been ordered to take part in a GSF assault on an Iranian training camp by offering support once they had infiltrated the base. The sandstorm was making the trip to the village difficult. If it was not for the GPS systems in the tanks, they would be lost in the unending dust bowl. For the tank crews, they wanted the perpetual desert to end and to engage their enemy soon.
Faintly, hot spots began to light up the thermal imaging on the tanks. The dots turned into shapes of several enemy tanks positioned around several small buildings. As the tanks moved closer small arms fire erupted from the enemy positions around the village. The hail of bullets was quickly followed by several RPG's impacting the tank's heavy frontal armor head on. The tanks, however, seemed unfazed as the explosions were only chipping the pant and leaving small dents. Under the hail of bullets and rockets, the tanks continued to race across the barren landscape directly into the incoming fire.
The tank leader ordered the tanks to pull up on a line positioned towards the enemy. With speed and precision the tanks maneuvered into position through the blinding sandstorm while under fire.
"Village. Direct Front. Frontal. One round heat. At my command. Ready report." The commander ordered over the radio.
Immediately following the order, the lead tank's main gun erupted with a loud deafening boom, launching a round into one of the buildings. The hit pulverized the building's weak concrete walls leaving nothing behind but rubble and the mangled bodies of those who once occupied it. The other tanks used the shot to mark center.
"Green, ready"
"White, ready"
"Fire," came the order.
Simultaneously tank rounds impacted the rest of the small base, decimating everything in sight. After several moments the tanks began to move again, quickly leaving the burning remnants of the base smoking behind them as they raced to reach their allies who were assaulting a nearby enemy compound.
2 Klicks West of objective Iranian training camp. 0905 hours.
"Bulldog Base, this is Bulldog Six. Approximately two klicks south of LZ."
"Good copy Bulldog. Friendly armor hit a forward outpost, ETA ten minutes. Be advised primary LZ compromised, regroup with Warrior 6 at IG465156."
"Good copy base. Proceeding to secondary LZ at IG465156."
Second Lieutenant Kim Possible sat inside one of the Blackhawk helicopters making their way to the secondary landing zone. She was rechecking her weapon for the fourth time while looking out at the endless expanse of desert racing by. She felt afraid, but now she also felt prepared for what lay ahead. The events of her last battle continued to replay continuously in her head. The noise, the smell, the fear all seemed to echo within her. She never doubted that the carnage she witnessed at that battle would ever disappear from her now haunted memory.
"Bulldog Six, this is Bulldog Base. Warrior Six has secured the LZ. You are clear."
"Good copy Bulldog Base."
Kim looked over to the First Sergeant, "So how long have you been with GJ?"
"Long enough," came his gruff reply.
So much for getting to know each other,she thought. "I know you have more experience than me so I'm not going to be one of those know it all officers."
"Lt. right now you're just a butter bar. Don't fuck up and then it might change."
"I understand." They aren't going to make this easy.
The helicopters finally reached the landing zone and touched down inside the small desolate town. The Iranian Army had pushed most of the inhabitants out to create a training compound. However, they kept several civilians as shields so the NATO Coalition forces could not bomb the village back into the dust from where it came.
Once the helicopter touched down, the soldiers ran out of the helicopter forming a perimeter around their temporary landing zone. Kim ran over to the captain with warrior platoon.
"American tanks are coming from the south. The enemy has mostly split up; half confronting the tanks and the other half falling back to the central plaza HQ. Take your men and secure the southern side of the compound. I need you as a screening force for any reinforcements on our backs. Once the armor arrives, my men will assault the center plaza."
"Yes, sir." Kim replied. Turning her attention to her sergeant, "Take first and second squads and I'll take the rest. We'll move separate but close enough for support."
"Yes sir but I would recommend putting Specialists Ghost and Ridley in that central tower for sniper support," the sergeant said pointing to a tall tower to the southeast.
"Okay. Ghost, Ridley you heard him. Third and fourth squads with me. Johnson you're on point."
The soldiers did as ordered and moved through the vacant streets.
Central Tower, PFC Ridley. 0908 hours.
"In position. Eyes on two hostiles on nearby rooftop." Ridley spoke into the radio. He and Ghost had made their way to the top of the tower which gave them a view over the entire town. While Ghost started to set up his silenced M40A5 sniper rifle, Ridley surveyed the area using his spotting scope.
"Take them out." Kim replied.
Looking through his spotting scope, he watched as Ghost's first shot ripped through the enemy's head leaving the headless body to limply fall to the ground. The second shot followed almost immediately and tore through the other man's chest.
"Good kill." Ridley went back to surveying the area for enemies, it didn't take long to spot movement. "Patrol headed your way Sarg. Six hostiles headed north."
"Good copy. Engage on our mark."
Through the scope he saw the sergeant and his men set up in the first level of a building. Once the patrol had nearly passed, the soldiers opened fire and pinned the lone enemy survivor behind a truck.
"Hostile, far left." Ridley spoke to Ghost.
A faint high pitch sound quickly followed with a round impacting the hood of the truck in front of the enemy soldier.
"Miss. Adjust two inches up."
Ghost adjusted and the next shot impacted the soldier in the left eye and left a gaping hole in its wake.
"Area clear." Ridley announced but quickly rescinded it. "Convoy approaching from the south. Two tanks, four APCs, and nearly a dozen trucks."
Southern edge of Iranian town, 2LT Possible. 0910 hours.
"Do not engage yet," Kim spoke into the radio. "Ghost shoot out their tires once they reach our position."
Although Kim did not like the idea of fighting against such a well-equipped force, her orders were clear.
She directed the soldiers to take cover inside the first floors of the nearest buildings. As soon as she had ducked inside the nearest building and closed the door, the rumbling of tanks began to be heard. Kim sat down next to the wall and held her gun tightly. She could not help but think of all the things that could happen. The thought of losing her men caused her stomach to tighten.
Time seemed to painfully slow down as the rumbling of the convoy continued to approach at an excruciatingly slow pace. The continuous movement was suddenly interrupted by the ominous sound of brakes. Kim tensed up and looked over to the other soldiers in the room. They were all ready to open fire the second she ordered it.
"The first truck has been immobilized." Ridley's voice crackled over the radio, "Soldiers from the first three trucks are getting out."
"Do they know what happened?" Kim desperately asked.
"No, it seems like they're just attempting to change the damn tire. Yeah it seems they think it was just a flat."
"Wait two hostiles are walking in your direction!" Ridley spoke into the radio sending a chill through Kim's spine.
His words caused Kim's world to fall into slow motion and make each beat of her heart seemingly echo throughout the room with such intensity that she was afraid the enemy would hear it.
The sound of the Iranian soldiers talking became louder and the sound of footsteps coming ever closer dominated over all other sounds. Kim clinched her weapon tightly to her chest as the soldiers were just feet away. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it would bust out of her chest.
"Open fire!" Kim yelled to her troops.
Kim moved immediately and kicked opened the door, raised her rifle, and fired two bursts at the two soldiers who were just feet away from her. For the second time in the last two minutes her world began to inch by in slow motion. Her eyes were unable to look away as she watched the two figures slowly crumple over onto the ground. Even as they laid on the ground unmoving, her eyes refused to look away. The realization of what she just did hit her immediately. The two motionless bodies stared back at her, mocking her. Her hands had blood on them and they would never be clean again.
Unable to continue to look at their bodies she ducked back behind the wall beside her. Enemy rounds almost immediately began to impact the stone walls she was hiding behind. The sounds of battle seeped into her ears as she looked across the room towards her comrades. They were all pinned down while trying to return fire through the broken windows in front of them.
Leaning around the corner of the wall and into the open doorway, she raised her rifle to return fire only to be met with incoming rounds. Turning away from the incoming hail of bullets her vision became filled with the dirtied face of her sergeant.
"Lieutenant! Enemy tanks are moving up and we are taking casualties!"
As if to emphasis his point, a massive hole was blown into the wall near them sending men flying through the air like ragdolls.
"No we have to hold! Friendly tanks should be here any second!"
"Lt! We won't last two seconds like this!"
Physically shaking her head in an attempt to regain her senses she remembered her men were counting on her. "I said hold the fucking position! Get the men with anti-tank weapons on the roofs! They can hit the tanks from above!" Kim ordered.
The sergeant scrambled to complete his orders as hell continued to rain down on the pinned down soldiers.
The desperate firefight continued for what, to Kim, felt like hours when in reality it was no longer than several minutes. The battle was clearly becoming one sided as Kim's men were being overrun. Most of the men were wounded, even Kim herself who had taken a round through the side of her thigh.
Looking down at her wound and clutching it in an attempt to slow the bleeding, she was about to order her men to fall back. The battle was lost. Though, before she could communicate the order to her troops a voice erupted from the radio.
"Bulldog six this is Pathfinder. We have hostiles in the city, where are you?" came the thick southern accent of the American tank commander over the radio.
"Pathfinder this is Bulldog six, we are pinned inside the buildings beside the convoy. Do not fire on the buildings."
The American tanks quickly rolled through the Iranians' rear, the battle obviously turning against the Iranians. Swiftly, the American tanks pushed aside what was left of the convoy leaving none of the enemy left alive.
"Pathfinder the rest of the forces are at the central plaza. Warrior six will meet you there." Kim spoke over the radio.
"Good copy, heading out."
Breathing a sigh of relief, the young lieutenant set about organizing her men and getting medical attention to those who needed it most. Once all of her men had been taken care of she allowed a medic to wrap up the still bleeding wound on her thigh. Without even a second to enjoy the lull, the radio crackled to life.
"Bulldog six this is Bulldog base, Lieutenant you are to return to base for debriefing immediately."
Taken aback Kim replied, "I won't leave my men."
"Bulldog six will be pulled out also. You are to head back to base as soon as the medevac helicopters arrive."
Begrudgingly Kim did as ordered and boarded the medevac helicopters along with her badly wounded comrades.
I wonder what it is now, she thought expectantly.
Somewhere in South America, 2 hours ago.
The night provided the perfect background for the GJ special agent as he sneaked past the patrols of mercenaries. However, the patrols with dogs were still proving difficult to bypass. He had to stay downwind and cover himself in dirt in order to cover up his scent. After hours of slowly dodging the enemy he had finally made it past the last perimeter patrol and found himself next to an old, and apparently no longer abandoned, multi-story warehouse. Moving quickly, he took out a gun and aimed it at the top of the building. With barely a sound a black line flew out of the gun towards the top of the warehouse, with a faint click the top of the line secured itself to the wall of the building.
The agent began to climb the line to the roof until he heard the distinctive sound of footsteps approaching his location. Acting quickly he launched himself into the nearest window and pulled the extra line inside and out of sight of whoever was patrolling. With his adrenaline peaked, he surveyed the room he had entered in such a rush. It was almost completely empty with no sign of life occupying the room for years. The special agent raised up his silenced MP5 sub machine gun as he moved through the open area. Leaving his climbing gear behind, hidden underneath an overturned table, he moved to the only exit inside the room. As he neared the door he could hear someone talking on the other side. Leaning against the wall next to the door he intently listened to the conversation on the other side.
"I swear Ivan, we always get the boring jobs. Why in the hell do they just put the two of us in this little room the size of a closet?"
"Because Clyde, you idiot, if things go bad we have the best vantage point in this entire place, and I have been itching for someone to find their way between my cross hairs," came the reply with a thick Russian accent.
"Yeah alright, as long as it's not me."
After hearing the exchange the special agent outside the door used his foot to slowly push the door open eliciting a low, scratchy sound from the aged door's hinges. Cursing under his breath the agent moved away from the door and with his back firmly against wall.
"Hey Ivan what the hell was that?" Clyde said quickly.
"Just the door, probably the wind pushed it," came Ivan's slow, lazy reply.
"You sure? Don't you want to check it out?"
"Not when you can do it for me."
"Screw you," Clyde replied.
The sound of shuffling and footsteps followed several moments of silence. The door then slowly opened, drawing the same scratchy sound as earlier, followed by the tip of a rifle. The special agent hugged the wall for dear life and gripped his gun, preparing for anything.
Part of the dark room lit up when the enemy soldier turned on the flashlight attached to his weapon. The mercenary slowly passed through the doorway, barely entering the room, and looked at the far side of the room. Seeing nothing he slowly moved into the room looking from one corner of the room to the other. Once he was several feet into the room, the GJ agent crept up behind the soldier. Taking his combat knife out of its sheath, he lunged forward, reaching around the enemy and clamping his hand over his mouth. The hostile soldier could only grunt in response as the agent quickly brought his knife up to his throat and severed it. The soldier tried to scream out to his comrade but all that came out was spurts of blood.
Each second proceeded to pass with insufferable length as the agent continued to hold the dying soldier. Every sound seemed to echo across the entire room as the agent's heart continued to race.
He began to slowly lay the soldier on the ground as his last moments of life came to pass. Nearly finished his brutal task, the agent proceeded to take care of the dead man's friend.
With one of the two down, the agent moved quietly through the opened door with his gun raised. When he was about three quarters through the door he spotted his target sitting barely five feet from him in front of a window looking through the scope of his rifle. Afraid a shot could bring unwanted attention he stealthily crept up behind the Russian.
"Hey Clyde, find anything?" the mercenary asked his now dead friend not knowing of the danger silently lurking behind him.
Finally within reach, the agent reached out grabbing the man's head and jerking it to the side evoking a harsh snapping sound as the man's neck broke instantly. With both enemies killed the special agent dragged the bodies to the corner of the large room, and walked back into the small room to begin setting up his surveillance equipment.
An eerie feeling of impending trouble sent a slight shiver through the man's spine as he listened from his hidden vantage point. From his perch he could see the darken interior of the old warehouse as intermittent rays of moon light pierced the large broken windows. In the middle of the large building stood two dark figures talking while several armed men patrolled the perimeter.
The hidden onlooker took out a device and began to listen in.
"Why can't we complete the deal now?" asked one of the men before taking another puff of his cigar.
"My boss said he wishes to personally see to it," replied the second, dressed in a dark suit and holding a finger to his earpiece.
"I don't like it."
"You don't really have a choice. You will get your money when he gets here."
"Look I just don't hold onto something this hot out in the open."
"You think I care? My boss will be here soon, and I'm not going to let you leave until he arrives."
He motioned to his bodyguards beside him. "You think so? My men could kill you and dump you in the river without anyone ever knowing."
"I don't really appreciate you talking to my man like that. How would you like it if I threatened you?" came a low, muffled voice from a different direction. Everyone turned to see a very well dressed man, surrounded by over a dozen men similarly dressed, who looked like he should be attending a ball for the social elite instead of an abandoned warehouse in the middle of the night. The only other mentionable feature of the newcomer was the elegant mask that adorned his face. The design was intricate, giving off the impression of a powerful, faceless entity. The entire mask was gray and did not seem to have any holes for the face or mouth. All of the men that had accompanied him were wearing very similar masks except theirs were not as detailed and were colored black instead of gray. The original suited man walked over to his boss, whispering something in his ear.
"I would spit in your face. I'm no coward. And who the hell are you? How did you get in here without my men knowing?" came the criminal's reply.
The boss gave a light chuckle, which was slightly muffled under his mask, and looked towards his men as if he had heard a funny joke. He turned back to the criminal, "I do apologize friend, but I don't have a name. You can call me whatever you wish, but since I am only here for the matter of business let's get straight to it, shall we?"
"Hmm you remind me of that guy from the opera. You know that disfigured guy who wore a mask?"
"Enough with the formalities. Where is it?"
"Over here." The chubby man motioned to a large shipping crate. The masked leader walked over to it and inspected the outside of the crate before he motioned to one of his men to open it up. He took out a crowbar and ripped the front off. He then walked in and inspected the contents before exiting and nodding back to his boss.
"Ah yes, everything is in order. Let's discuss the transaction then," he said, as he placed a suitcase on the ground, allowing the criminal to inspect its contents.
"There is nothing to discuss, the price just went up. I can read enough Russian. That kind of trouble deserves a better payment."
"I am sorry you feel that way, but well then again no I'm not," the boss sighed before motioning to his bodyguards. Two of the men quickly pulled out M9 Beretta pistols and shot the criminal's guards in the head. The rest opened fire on the remaining mercenaries in the room quickly eliminating any threats.
The mysterious masked man walked over to the criminal until he was inches away, "Now do you still wish to negotiate?"
"You think I am so easily intimidated?" the criminal spoke defiantly looking up towards the window where the GJ special agent now was.
"Very well." With a quick motion the masked man pulled out a knife and lunged at the criminal, pinning him to the ground. He pushed the blade deep into the man's shoulder causing the criminal to scream out in agony as blood started to seep from the deep wound.
"Ah shit!" the criminal screamed as he looked pleadingly up to the window where his men were supposed to be.
The masked face looked down at the man withering in pain and simply said, "Beg."
"Fuck you!" the criminal spat into his face.
He twisted the knife lodged in his shoulder causing his victim to wail. "Beg."
"You are insane!" cried the terrified man.
Clearly unhappy with the response he proceeded to motion to his men again. Two of his masked guards walked over to the bleeding criminal. One picked up his leg and holding it in place. The second masked man quickly proceeded to kick down hard onto the criminal's knee. The action shattered his knee completely, nearly making the criminal pass out from the pain. The masked boss, still holding the knife embedded into the criminal's shoulder, repeated his order, "I said beg!"
"Fuck! Okay okay, look I will give you everything I have! Just stop...please!" cried the injured man, if he were able to physical get on his knees before the masked man and kiss his feet he would do it to just get the pain to stop.
"Not good enough. I have all that already," the masked man said as he pulled out his Beretta putting it to the man's forehead before pulling the trigger. The resulting explosion of blood and brain matter left the masked killer's clothes completely ruined. However, he calmly pulled the knife out of the dead man's shoulder and stood to look at his men.
"Sack the place. Take anything of value, but make sure that the package is secure! I don't want any accidents," came the muffled voice from behind the emotionless mask. As he started to walk away he looked down at the dead bodies with disgust. He simply reached into his pocket for his handkerchief and began to wipe the brain matter off his suit.
As he looked down at the man one last time he shook his head saying "And clean up this mess," before striding out of the room followed by several of his masked bodyguards.
The special agent proceeded to disassemble his equipment as quickly as possible. Once he got all of his stuff together he made his way out of the exterior window in the adjacent room using his climbing equipment he had stowed away to quickly make his way down the building. The second he hit the ground he began to sprint away from the warehouse and away from the open ground he was now in. As he reached the woods several dozen yards away from the building he tripped and fell hard onto the ground. After recovering quickly he crawled over to where he tripped to see what it was. As he reached the lump on the ground he pushed it over to reveal the face of one of the mercenaries patrolling the area from earlier. Cursing, the special agent went to stand up only to be met with the sight of an ornately carved gray mask staring intently down at him.
Seconds later he saw the barrel of the masked man's Beretta pointed at him. The agent reacted quickly, lunging forward to try and catch his enemy off guard. The masked man however was unfazed as he quickly side stepped the lunge and raised his leg to meet the agent, brutally breaking the man's nose in the process. Landing hard on the ground, the agent attempted to get back up in order to face his opponent. A deafening popping sound and the accompanying pain in his right shoulder kept him from getting up.
The masked man then followed by shooting the agent in his other shoulder. He stood menacingly over the man's damaged body for several moments before rolling him over so they would be face to face.
"You know I was beginning to think GJ was getting lazy on me." The masked man crouched down beside the agent and placed one of his hands on his shoulder.
"Here I thought GJ had forgotten me, but it seems as acquiring something on the Russian black market always gets your attention," the man pushed his thumb deep into the agent's wound eliciting a painful yell. "And now that I have yours, would you like to hear my plan? So that your pathetic excuse for a secret spy agency can stop me?" After several moments of silence the masked man proceeded to dig deeper into the man's shoulder as he pinned him to the ground.
"So do you?"
Several seconds of silence floated around the two men only interrupted intermittently by gunshots. The agent could only assume the masked man's men were killing what was left of the mercenaries.
"Answer me!" The villain shouted, becoming deeply aggravated at the agent's silence.
"Y-Yes," came the weak reply.
"Like I would be so foolish," the masked villain spat as he stood up. He slowly pulled up his pistol, aiming it at the agent, and shot three times into his gut, pausing between each one to have more time to look down at the man. When he was finished, he continued to stand over the agent and watch him intently from behind his mask as he bled to death. Shaking his head, the mysterious man casually walked away.
A/N:I am terribly sorry for this incredibly late update. I have been unable to contact my beta and this kind of took a back seat to life. Hopefully updates will be made faster after this. I have, surprisingly, had a lot of views on this story, but not that many favs, follows, and reviews. Your input is welcome and will help me in deciding if this is even worth continuing.
Also, what did you think about the tanks? I am trying to make this thing unique and I haven't seen anything like that before. The scene was actually based off of the Battle of 73 Easting.