Chapter 2

Taliban fighters were right in front of them, but luckily they had not spotted York and his team yet. They were spreading out and yelling things in Arabic, clearly the leader was not satisfied. After the Taliban troops had spread out and searched for a solid 30 minutes, York and his team were getting antsy.

"York." North said in a whisper.

"What?" York responded.

"We need to move, man."

"Agreed."

North nodded and proceeded to tap Wash and Maine on the shoulder to get their attention.

"Alright, we are moving." York said in a quiet but confident tone.

They all nodded and followed him in the moonlit night. They landed about a mile from a town that was known to be Taliban controlled, and they were making good time to it. York looked at his watch again and it read 9:15 pm. They continued on their stealthy movement to the town, and avoided any Taliban patrols that they might have come in contact with. About 45 minutes had passed and the team was set up on top of a ridge that was overlooking the town. North took his M40 sniper and peered through the scope. He watched as the Taliban patrols moved about the town, and he also noticed the lack of women or children

York looked at North, "North, you set up here, and we will move in. Be sure to use a suppressor and to only fire if need be."

"You got it." North said in a cheery tone, and proceeded to move up to prep a position for a makeshift sniper nest.

York turned to Wash and Maine, "Alright, the rest of us are moving into the town. Ready?"

They both nodded and said, "Yes sir."

The three cautiously made their way down the ridge, and slowly made their way into the town. The team was all equipped with Night Vision goggles, suppressors, Maine carried an LMG along with an M27 LAW, and North was equipped with a thermal sight on his M40 sniper rifle (which looked incredibly awkward).

North was the first to radio in. "Yo York, you've got a team of five tangos approaching your position."

"Roger, thanks for the heads up, but we'll take care of em," York responded.

As the Taliban team approached where York and his team were sitting, they were already fully prone and ready to fire. The Taliban were about 20 ft in front of York, Wash, and Maine.

York whispered to his team, "Three… two… one..."

POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! Each Taliban soldier was dropped with one bullet each. York and his team quickly stood up and threw each of the Taliban bodies in the brush they were in to keep their presence unnoticed for as long as possible. After moving the bodies, the team proceeded even further into the town. At this point they heard various voices, but most of them were men. The streets were empty, trash was all over the "sidewalk" (really a side of the street).

At the end of the street was a four story building surrounded by a seven-foot-tall stone wall, which towered over the small two and one story buildings that made up the bulk of the town. It was lit with a mix of bright floodlights, candles, and barrels lit with fire. There were Taliban soldiers on patrol around the compound in teams of two along with would-be marksman on the roof of the building. One of the Taliban stuck out. He was dressed in white.

Before York could ask who that was, North quickly said over the radio, "You see that guy in the window there? All white? That's our guy."

"This is going to be tough." said Wash.

"Always the optimist." said Maine.

York ignored the brief banter between the two and said, "Alright, this will be difficult, but we can do this. We have North providing overwatch, and sniper support. Maine, you have your M27, and Wash… well… we got you."

"Hey!" Wash butted in.

York laughed ever so slightly before saying, "Maine, do you think you can land a shot right in that window on the second floor?" He pointed when he was talking about the window.

"Easily," responded Maine in a confident tone.

York quickly responded, "Then do it."

Maine let out a weird "happy" grunt before unslinging his M27 and setting it on his shoulder. He lined up the shot with the specified target, then looked back to make sure his backblast was clear, and fired the M27.

The Taliban leader standing at the window didn't even see it coming. One minute he was there, and the next there was a large hole in the building where he was. York, and Wash high-fived Maine, but that is when the gunfire began. They quickly busted open a door of a small hut and piled in, barely missing the gunfire from the now furious Taliban fighters.

"North, cover our exfil!" York shouted into his radio.

There was no response, just easily distinguishable fire from North's M40. York and his team were now dashing out of the down, making some near misses with walls and dead-end corners. As they were running down their on-the-fly escape route, a Taliban fighter kicked down a door, running right in front of the team. He was armed with an AK-47, pointing it at them. He pulled the trigger and a flurry of bullets were being fired at them. One bullet grazed Maine, who seemed to be unaffected. York ran forward, extending himself from his group, raising his M104 shotgun, and firing two shotgun shells at the man, killing him instantly. After dashing through the labyrinth that was the town, York and his team finally made it out, making their way back to North's position as quickly as they could. When the team regrouped on the ridge, York radioed back to base.

"This is Alpha requesting immediate extraction! We have completed our mission, but the Taliban aren't too happy about it!" screamed York into the radio.

"Copy that, Alpha. Evac is on the way, along with CAS. ETA five minutes, over and out," said Aiden Pierce.

Aiden and York turned off their radios, and York turned to his team, "Alright guys… we gotta wait five before we go home. You know what to do." They nodded and turned to set up defensive positions the best that they could, but that's when a grenade landed right in the middle of the group, three of them jumped away, but York was right by it. His back was turned, still fiddling with his radio, or it was shock… maybe both.

"York, look out!" North screamed.

York turned, his eyes wide after seeing the grenade at his feet. He dashed away, managing to somehow escape the killzone of the explosive, but got hit by a stray piece of shrapnel.