DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TOM CLANCY'S THE DIVISION. THAT RIGHT BELONGS TO UBISOFT. EVERYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY.
Enjoy!
-Jake
Division agents Faye Lau and Davis Lee were flown in a JTF acquired civilian helicopter from the burning Osprey helicopter that held their commander. Davis was knocked out by the blast, while Faye's face had been cut and her leg badly hurt. While the helicopter flew towards Camp Hudson, Lau tried to wake her half-unconscious partner. He stirred a few times before falling a deep sleep again. She opened a first aid kit, took a syringe full of adrenaline, and stabbed it into his thigh. He woke in ten seconds.
"Shit. That explosion took out the-" She was cut off by the pilot.
"Radio transmission coming in. For you." He said.
The two agents each took headsets from racks mounted to the seats.
"Lau." She said by way of greeting.
"This is First Wave Division agent Mike Westbrook. I'm at the safe house in Stuyvesant with First Wave agent Anna Roche and have information regarding the First Wave." I answered.
"Mike?" Davis said.
"Davis?"
"Brooksie!"
"Davey! What happened? A JTF guy just told me the commander's chopper was shot down."
"Well the JTF is well informed. It blew up as Faye and I were about to board it. Someone got a hold of antiaircraft weapons. Most of the second wave got wiped out." Davis explained.
"Wait, most? Who's left?"
"We are." Faye answered. "Us four are all that's left."
"About that," I started, then stopped myself. "Actually, I won't say anything over the radio. I'll meet you at Camp Hudson."
"I'll send the chopper back to pick you up so you don't have to walk." Davis said, and told the pilot. "Stuyvesant, right?"
"Yeah, the Ward is what they're calling the safe house. Are you guys alright?"
"Davis is the luckier of us." Faye answered. "I ended up with a broken leg. I won't make it out into the field, so I'll handle JTF and Division unit coordination."
"I only got knocked out." Davis said. "What happened to you?"
"I got shot. Twice."
"Twice? What the hell happened?"
"The first was LMB, the second was a rioter. LMB got to Anna as well. Shot in the back."
"I thought the LMB was with the JTF."
"They were, until they decided they didn't like us anymore."
"Shit. This is bad."
"No shit. I'll see you soon." I said, ended the call, and handed the radio back to the JTF officer.
Back in the helicopter, Faye and Davis stared out the open doorway for a minute, then looked at each other.
"What do you think he has?" Faye asked.
"Probably body locations. If it's worse than what we saw in Brooklyn there's no way the First Wave could have survived it all. I heard from a civilian about a group called the Cleaners that walk the streets with flamethrowers, burning everything they think is infected, including people that are still alive, and not even infected."
"What? Why?"
"Their reasoning is that they think the only way to get rid of the disease is to burn it out."
She groaned. "This is bad."
"Yeah."
The pilot shifted in his seat, and told them they were approaching Camp Hudson. Davis and Faye both looked out at the city again. What they saw took their breath away. Fires raged throughout the city, buildings were torn to the ground and battered and broken vehicles littered the streets. Ironically, Christmas decorations could still be seen, showing off bright and happy colours. On a skyscraper near the river the helicopter flew over hung a banner made out of sheets sewn together that red HELP US.
"Dear God." Faye muttered, her eyes locked to the city that she grew up in.
The helo swooped low and slow, approaching a marked landing site at Hudson yards. Two JTF medics waited to the side. The pilot came down with a neat and tidy landing, and Davis threw open the side door.
"Who's in charge here?" Faye asked one of the medics, having to shout to be heard over the helicopter's turbines.
"Captain Benitez was running an op from the post office but we lost contact with him. If he's not back soon there's talk of pulling out." The medic answered.
"No one's pulling out, we're taking the city back." She told him with confidence oozing out of her words. She turned to Davis. "Get what gear you need and head over there."
"Good luck out there, you'll need it!" The medic called as Davis left. The helicopter rose off its landing site and flew east towards Stuyvesant.
"Uh, hi. Is this Davis Lee?" A female voice said through his radio.
"It is," He answered, "Who's asking?"
"Agent Roche, I'm the agent that came in with Mike."
"Ah. I'm guessing this is a personal call otherwise you probably would've gotten to the point by now."
"It is. I was wondering if you could tell me anything more about Mike. Obviously not classified stuff, but… you know, personal things." She said, embarrassed with herself.
"Well, for a start, dude's one hell of a guitar player. The way I know him is I was in a band with him in college. I was on drums, he was the lead guitarist and singer. He has a daughter-about thirteen, I think-whose mother died at birth. Sadly, he never fully recovered. He's had a few girlfriends since, but none stuck for more than six months. He just stuck himself in his job, and then taking care of his only child, he never really had time for anything."
"What did he do for a living?"
"NYPD detective. And a good one at that. I catch up with him regularly, and he fills me in on everything. In one year he caught thirty-six killers, most of whom had killed more than once."
"Damn."
"Got that right. Now, I'm gonna guess at the main reason you called me. You wanna know if he's single."
"That depends on the answer."
"The answer is yes, he is still single."
"Yes! Thanks Davis, I owe you one."
"It's Davey to friends, and you can buy me a beer when you two get back to base."
She laughed. "Sounds good. Striker out."
"Copy, out."
The radio went silent, and agent Lee continued on his way to the base of operations.
Back in Stuyvesant, Anna gave the radio she'd borrowed back to the JTF officer, and waited with me for the helicopter to arrive. Ten minutes went past before we heard its rotors beating the roof. We climbed a set of stairs, and emerged onto a tar and gravel covered roof, the chopper waiting with its door open. We boarded quickly, and the helo took off, skirting the Dark Zone on its way to Hudson Yards.