Author's note: Didn't want to make you guys wait too long since I so rudely left it on a cliffhanger. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 2: The Ambush
Everything happened at once.
The sound of gunfire erupted from multiple places throughout the market as patrons began to scream and run for cover. Ray and Feiyaz both pulled their weapons out and ducked down, but they couldn't spot the shooters in the chaos of bodies.
Bullets sprayed the merchandise next to them suddenly and the duo threw themselves to the ground behind what little shelter the nearest stall could provide. It was hard to return fire, between the incoming danger from targets unknown and the fear of hitting an innocent member of the crowd. They finally managed to pop off a few shots of their own as the tangos began a full assault on their position.
Enemy combatants began appearing on all sides of them. Ray and Feiyaz shared a look, knowing they were about to get pinned down in a precarious spot with very little firepower. But before the situation could take a dire turn, tires screeched just up the road and a round of heavy gunfire sent the enemy scattering.
Full Metal appeared in their field of vision, equipped with a rifle as he made his way to them. "Move!" he barked, stopping at the edge of the stall so they could escape safely behind him.
They ran for the van as best they could while staying low, glad to see it now much closer than it had been only a minute before. Brock was out of the driver's seat, door open and automatic rifle aimed towards the market as he let off another round of well-aimed shots.
"Two, this is One," came Jason's muffled voice through the comm. "Sitrep."
"We were ambushed," Ray replied as he and Feiyaz made it to the van and threw themselves into the back to grab vests and larger weapons. "We're falling back to the interdiction point to rendezvous."
Brock took the hint and got into the driver's seat as Metal backed his way towards his own door, waiting until the last second to jump in as Brock gunned it in reverse to get them out of the narrow street. He made it to a cross-section and was able to spin the van around, hanging a sharp right at Feiyaz's shouted instruction. Progress down the congested streets was frustratingly slow as pedestrians failed to move out of the way.
They made it out to a larger road just in time to gain two enemy trucks on their tail. The back window quickly shattered with gunfire, and Ray returned fire out of the now-gaping hole. Metal also tried to take shots behind them out the passenger window, but the narrow alley didn't give him many opportunities.
"Left!" Feiyaz shouted and Brock complied to make the last-minute turn, causing the vehicles behind them to slam on their brakes as they went flying past the road. That bought them enough time to reload their weapons and get situated. Only seconds later, an angry, armed mob ahead forced Brock to turn right. "The town was ready for us," Feiyaz said nervously, her eyes dashing around for any other surprises.
"One, this is Two. We're coming in hot, ETA four minutes."
"Copy, we're standing by to assist."
There was a collective sigh of relief as the van navigated out of the narrow side street and into a more open area where they could speed up.
They didn't get the chance as a truck came at them parallel and clipped the back end of the van, sending it tumbling upside down as it careened down the road. Having ignored their seatbelts during their hasty escape, the inhabitants of the van had little time to brace themselves against the sudden jarring flip.
Silence reigned for half a second as the van finally came to a halt upside down some distance away from the initial impact.
Metal was the first to collect himself from the roof - now floor - of the van, ignoring the pain in his body as he reached for the rifle that had thankfully not gone too far. He worked his way out through the missing front windshield, giving no time to his teammates knowing there were enemy combatants likely converging on their location.
His instincts proved correct as he popped up from the ground and took out three tangos closing in on them. He visually cleared their immediate area, moving to the side of the van less likely to take fire and bending down to see the rest of the team coming to.
"Let's go!" he commanded, holding out a hand to assist Ray as he crawled through the side window. "Bravo One, we need backup now."
"We're on our way," came the garbled response, and Metal only hoped that TOC could guide the rest of the team in fast enough.
Ray grimaced in pain as he sat leaned against the side of the van, his gun nowhere to be found during his exit.
"Contact left!" Feiyaz yelled from inside the van where she was still trying to get herself together. Through the crunched opening of the window nearest her, she could see a number of bodies approaching as a group. "Move, Five!" was all she could get out before bullets began to spray the driver's side of the van. She rolled towards the back of the vehicle as she spotted two guns and tossed one out to the guys. Keeping the other, she laid down behind one of the seats and used the gap in the crushed window to fire off several rounds.
Targets began to drop as she heard two other guns join the fray. When she couldn't see anyone else to shoot from her angle, she shimmied her way out of the van to join the other three.
Brock had taken position at the front of the van, looking a bit banged up but still in the fight. Ray was seated with his handgun drawn, the best he could do in his current situation. Metal was at the rear of the van, continuing to pick off tangos as they appeared.
"We can't stay here!" Alpha One yelled above the gunfire. "There's no cover if they get behind us."
"You good to move?" Feiyaz asked Ray from where she was crouched next to him.
Bravo Two nodded determinedly and raised his chin off to the left. "That row of cars next to the building will provide some protection."
"Get Two over there," Metal said with a glance over his shoulder. "Five and I will cover."
Feiyaz helped Ray to stand and wrapped his arm across her shoulders for support. They moved diligently across the thirty feet of open space that lay ahead of them as rapid fire sounded behind them.
She settled Ray at the car nearest the wall, which allowed him to safely cover their six for the time being. Motioning to Brock, she took up station further along the row of cars and laid down cover fire as he quickly moved to join her. Metal was able to run across after a few tense moments, and they set up their defendable position to wait for the cavalry.
More enemy combatants arrived at the intersection, a mix of trained soldiers and townspeople supportive of the cause. They set up diagonally across the street from the injured Bravo members, some even heading into a building to climb up for a better vantage point. Brock noticed a few tangos disappearing on either side of them and frowned.
"I don't like this!" he shouted to the team, his voice getting tense. "They're trying to get behind us."
"Eyes open!" Metal commanded, stepping into his Alpha One role with Ray injured. "Five, focus on the right flank. Two, do what you can for the left. Seven and I will worry about what's in front." Feiyaz briefly locked eyes with Metal and tried to look confident in his plan. He must have sensed her nerves because he gave her a meaningful nod. "You got this," was all he said before turning back to the fight.
She took a deep breath, pushing away her fear and doubt as best she could. While it wasn't her first experience in combat by any means, she could count the number of times she'd been in a situation this explosive on one hand.
But the team needed her and she wasn't going to let them down.
Setting up between two cars, Feiyaz found a suitable spot to prop her arm and steady her shot. She did her best to aim for the targets she knew she could hit, trying to conserve her ammo, and trusted that Metal would handle the more strategically-hidden tangos.
It seemed like every time they downed one guy, three more would pop up out of nowhere. Feiyaz felt her panic start to rise as she realized they were fighting a losing battle. Just as things started getting out of hand, a van screeched into view on the left side of the intersection, and out came the rest of Bravo team.
"The party has arrived!" Sonny said into the comms and Feiyaz sighed in relief despite the stupid remark.
Jason directed Clay and Trent to the abandoned building on their right, where Clay could take up a sniper position on the second floor. This would also put them closest to the pinned-down members of their team to provide cover. Jason motioned Sonny to follow him to the left deeper into the enemy trenches in an attempt to come up behind them.
"Let's move!" Jason yelled, and they quickly joined the fight.
Over by the cars, the foursome continued their assault, feeling better about their chances now that backup had arrived. Feiyaz flinched as she heard shots behind her and turned to see Ray had unloaded several rounds into tangos coming up on their left.
"I'm Winchester!" he shouted, tucking the now-empty gun back into its holster.
Feiyaz moved from her position closest to Ray, pulling her own handgun out and giving it to him. "Not sure how much is in there but it's better than nothing." He nodded his thanks and she moved back toward the middle. She had only gotten a few rounds off before Metal was also calling for ammo. With a final shot, Feiyaz was again moving, this time to her right. She pulled a spare magazine from her tactical vest and handed it to him.
"You got enough left?" he asked loudly, taking the mag from her and swapping his out. She nodded, aiming her rifle at another target and downing them.
Just as she made to move back to her post, something bounced off the far side of the car they were ducked behind with a metallic clink. Before she could even register what was happening, Metal tackled her to the dirt. The car rocked as the grenade exploded, sending debris and glass flying everywhere. Thankfully, the bulk of the car remained in one piece where it sat and had shielded the pair from most of the blast.
Feiyaz turned her head from where she'd landed face-first in the dirt and coughed, lungs full of Afghan moon dust. The heavy weight on top of her moved and a hand dragged her into a sitting position by the back of her vest. "You whole?" Metal asked gruffly, grabbing his rifle from the ground.
"Yeah," she croaked, still dazed. "Thanks for that."
He nodded and moved back into the fight like nothing had happened, though he did keep glancing at her out of the corner of his eye to make sure that she too was able to continue shooting.
Across the way, Jason and Sonny battled the enemy combatants as they engaged directly from their flank. With the help of Clay's sniper, the duo was making good progress until two more trucks arrived and flooded the scene with new soldiers. They tried to make a stand but were quickly overwhelmed by the additional forces.
"Fall back!" Jason shouted to Sonny, and the two retreated slowly toward the abandoned building to regroup with Trent. "Fuck, they just keep coming!"
"We're not winning this fight, Boss," Trent said, shaking his head as the enemy continued to close ground on them. "We gotta go."
Jason sighed in frustration but had to agree. "Two, can you guys make it to us?" he said into the comms to Ray. "We need to head for exfil, now."
"Copy, One. Give us some cover and we'll move."
Ray looked down the line of cars at the other three, who nodded their confirmation of the order.
The gunfire increased from their side of the intersection, and Ray took the lead darting across the street as quickly as he could. He reached the safety of the building and turned to motion Brock to follow when a whistle pierced the air.
"RPG!" someone yelled, but it was too late. The line of cars he'd just vacated exploded, a wave of heat and debris causing him to duck for cover. He scrambled back up and Jason joined him at the edge of the building, watching for any signs of movement.
"Five, do you copy?" Jason asked, trying to keep the dread out of his voice. "Metal? Yaz? Do you copy?"
Sonny came up behind them, not bothering to hide his concern. "We have to-"
There was no shout of warning this time as a second RPG hit the front of the building they occupied, sending them all to the ground.
The ringing in his ears made Ray wince. Or was it the pain in his body making him do that? He tried to take in his surroundings, tried to remember what had just happened.
Jason was at his shoulder, blood dripping from a cut over his eye. "We gotta go!" he shouted as the room began to crumble around them. He was dragged to his feet and helped out a back door, where the remaining Bravo members were gathering at the van.
Sonny bent over with his hands on his knees. "We gotta go back," he wheezed, trying to catch his breath around the aching pain in his ribcage. "We gotta-"
"We can't," Jason replied sternly as he helped Ray into the van.
Clay shot off a few rounds from his defensive position guarding the outer perimeter. "We've got incoming hostiles!"
"In the van!" Jason shouted, glaring at Sonny to cut him off. "That's an order."
Clay was the last to limp his way to the van, and Trent floored the gas just as another wave of enemy combatants was on them. The back window was shot out quickly, allowing Clay and Sonny to set up a firing position.
"This is bullshit!" Sonny shouted in between gunshots. "We can't leave them."
"Hey!" Jason turned quickly in his seat to look at Bravo Three. "I don't like it either, but we're hurt, low on ammo, and very outnumbered. We don't have a choice."
Sonny huffed in response, letting out another round of angry shots at the pursuing vehicles as Jason connected with TOC about the situation.
"They're gonna be fine," Clay said, trying to convince both himself and Sonny. "They're resourceful. And they've got Metal. They'll hole up somewhere until we can get to them."
Assuming they were still alive.
Note: I know Jason probably wouldn't give up on his guys quite so fast, but I needed him to so go with it? What did we think, let me know!