Deep in the hot desert of Africa a cloaked figure walks over the dunes. His scarves and cloth blow in the wind as sand kicks up from the ground. The sun beats down on him from above as he adjusts the rags over his face. In the distance he sees a small building at the top of the hills. its a small tower made of wood and sheet metal that overlooked the mans true target. He adjusts the strap on his shoulder that holds a large box as he takes cover behind some rocks.
"it seems i'm a bit early. better hang back here and wait for the others to arrive." the boy said to himself as he takes off his goggles and rags revealing the dark haired britannian boy. John drops his case and lays against the rock as he waits for the sun to set. Every now and then he would look over at the tower and see how many guards were there. Soon day became night and it was time for him to move in. John pulled a radio transmitter out of his bag and turned it on.
" Come in HOUND unit. This is Jack Frost. give me an update on your location." John said as he crawled out onto the edge of the darkness. Down over the hill he saw his target. It was a huge fort made of scrap metal and wood. it was large and well protected by guards posed all over. it stretched on far in the desert as John strained to see the end. This was the last holding point of privet army that had been a thorn in the united nations side for some time. The HOUND unit was sent in to finish this fight and take out all the stragglers who were still trying to make their deceased leaders dream come true. although their high command had been terminated their numbers hadn't decreased by much. John could see that hundreds of men had were holding this fort and not ready to give up without a final fight.
"Hmmm... these odds seem against us... where are they" John said looking through his binoculars into the dessert. Soon he sees a small flash of light. he picks up the transmitter once again.
"confirmed. wait for my signal as i take this tower then move in." he said as he grabs his box and moves over to the tower. John slowly pushes the door open and looks inside. He sees a man is sitting at a table and reading a magazine. The man had left his gun out of reach and John took the opportunity to take out the threat. John slowly came up behind the man ready to knock him out when the door slammed shut behind him. The man shot up from his chair and turned around to face John. In surprise he shot towards John and began to wrestle against him in attempts of grabbing his neck. John put up his arms in attempts to keep himself safe. The mans Strong arms begin to get closer and closer to his neck as he yells for help. John puts his leg behind the man and pushes him back. He trips over his leg and stumbles back. Before he can catch himself John grabs his shoulders and slams his head into the table.
"well that was effective" John says to himself when suddenly another enemy is upon him. A second guard tried took the butt of his rifle and slammed it into Johns back. He fell to the ground in pain as the man pointed his gun down towards his head. Before he could fire John kicked his legs out from beneath him and dropped to the ground. The rifle fell out of arms reach as the man struggled to get it back. John grabbed the man and slammed him back to the ground. The man continued to shout for help from other soldiers who may be near by. John begins to panic knowing that any second now his position could be compromised due to all the noise. He tries to silence the man by putting his hand over his mouth but he continued to scream.
"Shut up! Shut Up!" John said as the man panicked and kicked beneath him. John pulled the knife from his boot knowing he had to silence the man. He looked down at the man and saw the fear in his eyes as they began to tear up as he saw him raise his knife. The muffled shouts didn't help John any more. He held the knife high but couldn't pull it down on his enemy. He felt such pain seeing the man struggle for his life.
"Its either you or me..." John said quietly and brought the knife down hard on the mans neck. Blood shot up as the man continued to flail and kick. John pulled the knife out and continued to stab him in attempts to put him out as quickly as possible. The mans eyes roll up as John feels the strength leave him. His arms go limp on him and he stops kicking.
John got up to his feet and grabbed his equipment. Before heading to the top of the tower he looked back on the bloody mess. with a sigh he knelt down and closed the mans eyes.
"This is not your war anymore" John said and walked away. He set down the radio at the top of the watchtower and turned it back on.
"I'm at the top of the watch tower... You can move in HOUND" John said as he opened the box and pulled his rifle. Loading the magazine into the gun and adjusting the scope. another voice came over the radio as John began to look through the scope at the fortress.
"Alright Frost. This is the General. All you have to do is keep Sandman and the others safe. They are going to take out the anti air guns so our bombers can level the place." He said to John.
"I can handle this. We will be in and out. Once they are ready to take down the guns i will call in the bombers." He said into the radio and continued to watch the team. one by one he saw them cut through the gate and move in.
"Alright... the wolf is in... Duke, Sandman, Mirage, Burn..." He said watching them slowly move through the base. the time went by slowly as he waited for them to finish planting the explosives. after some time they were ready to destroy the guns.
"Frost. were all good down here. call in the bombers and we will blow the place." Burn said as John picked up the radio.
"This is over watch leader Frost to spear head. code name Jerry 435323. were all ready for you. You wont have anything holding you back." John said as a mans voice came on.
"confirmed. ETA to your position twenty minutes. you may want to get to a safe spot" he said and then the radio went silent.
" Alright guys. lets get out of this place" He said to himself as a huge explosion goes off in the distance and the AA guns fall into the sand. Their ammunition destroying most of the surrounding area.
"nice... now lets get the hell out of... wait a second." John said looking through the scope into one of the buildings. He see women and children being held inside of cells. They looked weak as if they had been working for long hours.
"You guys we have civilians in the blast zone! We need to call off the strike!" John shouted into the radio.
"We may never get a chance like this again Frost. We'll get them out in time" Vlad said as they make their way into one of the buildings with the others. John begins to open fire on the guards as they rush towards their location. Every shot hits its mark as the men drop down. Although he is hitting a large amount of troops their are too many of them to fight. The random cries for help began to flood in from the radio from his comrades.
"Jack! we need cover down here!" Burn shouted
"how are we going to get these people out of here." Vlad said.
"Jack! we need... Damn it! Sandman has been hit!"
John stares down at the radio with a scared face. "there not going to make it in time..." John thought to himself. he dove towards the radio and called up the bombers.
"this is Frost. Jerry 435323! Abort Mission! There are civilians and Allies in the area! Abort!" John shouted into the radio but nothing came back.
"damn it! I said Abort! Your going to kill them!" He screamed into the radio but still nothing. He threw the radio down in rage but then a familiar voice came on.
"We cant let you do that Jack. This mission is to important to turn back on."
"General? What the fuck are you doing! your going to kill them!" He shouted at the man
"No John... your going to kill them." He said and then static began to come over the channel.
John picked up the radio and tried to call the other but it wouldn't work anymore. He could hear the buzz of the bombers coming overhead.
"Damn it! this isn't happening!" he said as he jumped from the tower into the sand. He rolled to brake the fall and started to run towards the fort.
"If i can get there in time i can help get them out of there" he said running down the hill. overhead the bombers had already arrived and started to drop their load. John had made it a few yards from the gate when they hit the ground. The explosion sent him flying into the sand. John raises his hands to protect himself as he feels the burning of the inferno in front of him. he begins to black out as he watches the bombs drop to the earth then explode with a blast of sand and metal. the screams of soldiers could barely be heard over the explosions.
...
John rubbed his eyes as he told his story. The girls listened patiently as he continues to speak of his past. some were shocked at what they had heard but knew they had to listen. it was the only way to prove they were behind him one hundred percent.
"I remember the noise mostly... No matter how much noise those bombs made I could still hear their screams. I knew somewhere in there my friends were burning alive... And it was all my fault." John said as he stared out the window.
"now hold on! That wasn't your fault!" Minna interrupted him.
"can't you see! If i hadn't seen those kids They wouldn't have had a reason to stay! I sent them all to their death!" he shouted at her.
"No John! You were only trying to protect the innocent! Your friends were good people who gave their lives to try to help those people with you." She said. John just looked away but then felt her take his hand. He looked back at Minna as their eyes met. "you are a good person John. none of this was your fault." she reassured him.
"Thank you commander." John said to her and slightly smiled as he felt he words sink in. he began to feel a bit better about himself.
"After that i woke up in the desert and made my way to the nearest base. After a trip back to Britannia I was striped of my rank for what happened. I tried to warn them of the General but they said there wasn't any proof of the event. They disbanded the unit and sent me away to the Air Force." he said in a sad tone.
"that's horrible" Shirley said as she stood up from the bed. "Clearly the General has to be stopped." She shouted. the others agreed with her as the room began to explode with commotion.
"Alright girls. settle down. Clearly we all want to help John. But its his fight so we must let him decide how we can help. What do you say John?" Mio asked him
"Just... Give me some time... Once i heal we can think of something." he said
"alright girls. lets let John get some rest for now." Minnna said as they all began to exit the room. As they left Shirley was the last one to pass as John took her hand before she could walk out. She looked down at him surprised.
"Hold on a sec. I want to talk to you." He said to her as the others left and the door closed behind them.
"whats up?" She asked taking a seat next to him.
"I need your help with something... Once I get out of here I will need help on something big. The General isn't going to sit around and wait for us to come to him... hes planning something big. I need to improve the striker so I can stop whatever threat comes our way." John said to her.
"Sounds good... but your still trying to fight alone. I will be at your side to fight. I'm not just a mechanic." She said
"I know... I just don't want anyone to get hurt because of my past." he admitted to her. he then felt her lips on his forehead as she gave him a kiss. his cheeks turn red as she pulls away.
"that's what we like about you John. You are always trying to protect everyone. But I want to protect you as well." she winked at him.
"I hope we can work together allot more when you heal. I will get to work on some new striker planes while your down. now get some rest" She said pushing him back down onto the bed and giving him another kiss. this time on the cheek before she walked over to the door.
"uhm... yeah... thanks Shirley." he said.
"I'll be seeing you around. Now get some rest." she said and left the room. John lay there alone as his mind begins to wonder. He begins to doze off but finds all he can dream of now is the orange haired beauty.