Sergeant John 'Soap' MacTavish
22nd SAS RegimentApril 30, 2011 - 13:26:39
Central Russia
John sighed as he sat down. He and Walcroft had been sent back to Russia to aid Kamarov and his men. Of course, that was only on the story, they were actually there to dig up intel on Al-Asad for the Americans. Their search, however, had not been particularly fruitful.
So far, they had found out that the Russian Ultranationalists were sending weapons, ammo, and vehicles to the Middle East, but that was it. No intel on Al-Asad himself nor the nuclear weapon they found in the Bering Straight.
"Cheer up mate!" Walcroft said in an annoying sing-song as he sat down next to him. "We still have another week here in Russia!"
"Because our first few days have been so productive," Soap replied sarcastically.
"The Captain wouldn't have sent us if the intel wasn't good." Walcroft argued before whispering, "I bet that Russian is just trying to have us do all his dirty work, since well… we are the best."
Soap paused for a moment remembering the interaction between Kamarov, Price, and Gaz from a few days ago. "Probably payback for Gaz threatening to push him off a cliff."
Walcroft chuckled before getting up and dragging Soap with him. "C'mon, I overheard something about an op tonight. We don't want to miss it and I can't handle another night of shots."
Soap smirked. He watched last night as half of the Russians with them and Walcroft decided to see who could drink more vodka. The Russians won by a long shot and Walcroft had a serious hangover. After all, was said and done, four bottles of vodka were shared among them.
"I'll be sure to watch again next time," Soap replied with the smirk still on his face to which Walcroft groaned and covered his face. With that, Soap bid Walcroft farewell and went to find a dark corner to catch a few hours of sleep. Lying down on a sleeping bag, he reminisced about what happened just before he was sent back to this frozen hellhole.
…
Three Days Ago - April 27
After returning from Germany, where they'd dropped off Nikolai, Price ordered Gaz to take the entire squad on a ten-mile hike/run through the Brecon Beacons. The run was grueling, especially considering Soap had just had to run his way out of Russia after being shot down. The only people not on the run were Price and Angel. With the former meeting with higher-ups and the latter in the infirmary after that fainting spell in Russia.
After returning to base, Soap immediately headed for the nearest shower, especially since he did not have time to do so before the impromptu trip to the Beacons. His shower was not to be enjoyed however, not five minutes after getting under the spray, there was a banging outside followed by a voice.
"Soap, Captain Price is looking for you." Whoever called before walking away.
John sighed before quickly finishing up his shower. As the new guy on the team, the Captain wanted to see him in action. Throwing on some clothes, he made his way outside to look for the Captain.
Finding Price was more difficult than Soap thought it would have been. He figured the old man would be waiting in the briefing room, but he wasn't. After searching nearly the whole base, Soap spotted the mustached man leaning on the wall beside the door into the infirmary smoking a cigar. Seeing the Captain smoking made Soap want to as well, he had picked up the habit while in the Paras. While there, he couldn't afford the cigars he liked, now in the SAS, he could and would have to get some.
"Good, you're here. Come on." Price said gruffly flicking away his cigar and motioning for him to follow. Soap remained quiet while he followed Price, the two of them walking right past the briefing room and instead heading to the armory. The Captain grabbed a sniper rifle and handed it to him as he walked out. Soap inspected the rifle as he followed the Captain. It was a Remington 700, this one more akin to a hunting rifle than a military-issue sniper rifle. Soap had finished examining the rifle as they came to the range. "Alright lad, let's get some practice in. Hit the 800-metre target five times and the three targets beyond it." The Captain ordered while setting up a spotting scope.
Soap grabbed some ammunition from the box Price set down on the table next to him before loading the rifle and getting into a firing position. Aiming, he zeroed in the rifle and waited for the buzzer to announce the range was live. After the buzzer went off, Soap fired the rifle at the target at 800 meters. His shot was to the left of the bullseye, but still on target. Adjusting his aim, Soap fired again, this time hitting the innermost ring just below the bullseye. The three following shots all hit the dead center of the target. As he moved onto the targets beyond 800 meters, he proceeded to do much of the same. The only shot that Soap missed the entire time was the first shot on the target at 1200 meters.
"Alright lad, that'll do." Price said after Soap had unloaded the rifle and set it down.
"Sir, if I may…" Soap said as he turned to look at the Captain as Price nodded. "What's with the sudden sniper practice?"
"Needed to see if you would fit the next assignment lad." The Captain said as he started packing the equipment away.
Soap was a little confused as he grabbed the rifle and ammunition he was using and followed the Captain to return the equipment. He figured he would go on assignment soon enough but was curious as to why the Captain was testing him now. His confusion only grew as they soon came to the briefing room and entered to find Walcroft inside.
"Alright lads, MoD wants some of us back over in Russia. After that warhead we found in the Bering, they want us to find the connection between the Russians and the Middle East. And if we can, who sent that warhead." Price paused for a moment. "You two are going to help Kamarov and find this link. Grab what you think you'll need, wheels up at 0200. Dismissed.
…
Now - April 30
Soap woke as the sun set outside of the building they were using as a base with Walcroft sitting in front of him with a goofy look on his face.
"You look so peaceful when you sleep." The cheeky bugger said which only caused Soap to scowl. "Instead of the scary Scotsman, I see now." Soap's scowl only deepened as Walcroft's grin grew. "Our friends said that we leave in an hour," Walcroft said as he left Soap alone with his scowl.
Soap got out of his sleeping bag and once he was sure that Walcroft was gone, cracked a small smile. "Cheeky bugger," he mumbled to himself as he changed into his black combat uniform. Once dressed, Soap went out to the common area to find something to eat before the mission.
Two Hours Later - 21:14:52
Soap, Walcroft, Kamarov, and his men were approaching the village where the local Ultranationalist commander was holed up. The plan was for the majority of the Russians to distract the enemy while Soap, Walcroft, and the rest of the Russians attacked where the commander was supposed to be.
"Novikov, Egorov," Kamarov began before switching to Russian for the rest of his orders to his two men. When he finished he nodded to the two Brits so they understood these two would follow them.
"Alright let's go," Walcroft said as they began walking away from the rest of the group.
They used a treeline for cover to approach the enemy compound from the west while Kamarov attacked from the southeast. As they walked, Soap checked his weapon, an HK53 to ensure it was locked and loaded. Soon enough they were looking at the eastern wall waiting for the signal that the attack began. They did not have long to wait as soon a flare went up on the other side of the base followed quickly by multiple explosions and an alarm going off.
The four-man team quietly approached the wall and began to climb over it. Soap was the first one over the wall and quickly took note of their surroundings. There weren't any Ultranationalists around at the moment but that could change since they were in one of their bases.
"Commander this way." One of the Russians said in broken English.
The other three followed him as they headed toward the command building. They were behind a line of trucks when they heard the sounds of a large group of people approaching. The team of four stopped and waited behind the parked trucks while the large group continued toward where Kamarov was. With the large group moving away, the team of four continued toward the command building. When the command center came into sight, Soap noticed around eight Ultranationalists protecting the entrance.
Soap held up a hand to have everyone stop before the sentries noticed them. "You two distract them, we'll handle the commander," Soap told the Russians who nodded before taking up defensive positions.
The two SAS flanked around to the left and waited for the Russians to engage them Ultranationalists. Once they did, the duo took out those by the door and got ready to breach the building. Walcroft pulled a flashbang off of his belt and started counting from five on the other hand. When he hit one, Soap kicked the door open and back out of the way and waited for the flash to go off.
Once it did, the two stormed in through the door and quickly took out the five Russians who were dazed. The room had two doors to the left, a double door to the right, and a staircase toward the rear of the building. As soon as the duo entered the building, the double doors swung open with four soldiers and two junior officers coming to investigate the noise. Soap quickly turned and took out three of the soldiers and one of the officers. Walcroft took out the other two and they proceeded into the large room beyond the double doors. Inside was the actual command center where three technicians and another junior officer were staring at the two with slack jaws. This only lasted a moment as the officer went to grab his weapon only for him to be met by four bullets from the Brits. The technicians each looked at each other and then at the rifles leaning up next to each of their stations before slowly raising their hands in surrender.
"Soap, I'll restrain these three. Go check the other rooms." Walcroft told him while he went up to the first technician.
Soap waited until Walcroft had the first one fully restrained and the Englishman moved the weapons nearest to the others away from them before leaving. As Soap came back into the main room, he went toward the room closer to the entrance. He let his rifle sling hold the weapon to his chest while he pulled out his pistol, a P226. Slowly, he opened the door while scanning the room for hostiles. It was immediately clear that the room that Soap entered was the bathroom, with no one inside it.
Soap returned to the main room just as Walcroft was coming out of the command center. Together, they cleared the other room on the ground floor. That room was also empty and was only a storage room.
Walcroft took point as they carefully went up the stairs toward the second floor. The landing at the top of the steps was clear. Ahead of them was a closed door with a red star in the middle of it and to their left was an open double door with many beds beyond it. Soap was surprised that there were so many Russians still sleeping in the cots that were in the larger room.
They approached the double doors and took up positions outside of them. Soap peeked around the corner and saw at least a dozen people in the room. He grabbed a frag grenade off of his vest and motioned for Walcroft to do the same. Instead of throwing the grenades into the room, both of them pulled the arming pin and then rolled them into the room. After which they both took cover and waited for the explosions. About five seconds later, the entire building shook a little as two simultaneous explosions went off.
The two Brits scanned the room, the grenades did their brutal work and all fifteen Russians were dead. They turned from the room and stacked up outside the other door, assuming it was the commander's room. Soap kicked the door in and Walcroft took point. They entered the fairly small room to find the commander standing there, his Makarov pistol in hand, waiting for them.
"Drop it!" Walcroft yelled at the man with his M4A1 in the man's face.
Soap moved around to the side of his that had the pistol. He watched the man carefully, trying to figure out his intentions. In a split second, the Russian gripped the pistol a little bit tighter before he quickly raised it to point at Walcroft. As soon as he moved his arm, Soap grabbed his wrist and pointed it straight at the ceiling. With his one arm pointing straight up, Soap broke the man's arm by smashing his elbow in the wrong direction. The Scot proceeded to punch him in the face which knocked him to the ground as he let go of his wrist. Walcroft quickly rounded on the man, placed him in a chair, and tied his arms behind his back.
Soap grabbed the man's pistol placed it on the desk and started looking around for any intel he could find. He found a couple of maps that showed troop movements and other camp locations. Looking in the drawers of the desk, he found two folders with red Cyrillic writing all over the front of them. He couldn't read Cyrillic well but knew one of the words was secret. There were also a few English words on the documents inside one of the folders. They did not have time to read through anything at the moment, they had an officer to interrogate.
Warning: Minor Torture Ahead - If this is an issue you can skip ahead
After grabbing the files and maps, Soap turned back to Walcroft and the Russian commander. Walcroft was watching their guest carefully while waiting for Soap.
"Shall we mate?" Walcroft asked when he noticed that Soap was finished with the man's desk. Soap nodded before Walcroft began. "Tell us about the nuke."
"Fuck you." The Russian replied as he spat on the ground.
Soap punched the man in the face causing him to spit again, this time with blood in it. "What do you know about the nuke?" Walcroft asked again.
"What nuke?" Walcroft glanced at Soap briefly after the commander spoke.
"What about Al-Asad?" The Scot asked.
"What about him?"
"What is your connection to him?" He specified.
"That man is a sumasshedshiy."
"Who is your leader?" Walcroft asked.
The man did not reply that time.
"Who. Is. He." Soap ground out.
The man remained silent. This time, Walcroft punched him in the mouth. The man spat out a tooth before he glared at the Englishman.
"WHO?" Soap yelled in the man's face before he grabbed a small steak knife off the man's desk and stabbed him in the thigh with it.
The man screamed for a whole minute before finally quieting down.
"I'll give you til ten," Soap said menacingly while the Russian spat at him.
"One." He pulled out his sidearm.
"Two." A pause. "Three."
"Four." He aimed and shot the man in the knee.
"Five." He shot the man in the other knee.
"Six." He aimed at the man's stomach.
"Seven." a pause.
"Eight." A shot to the man's stomach.
"Nine." Soap aimed at the man's head.
"FUCK YOU!" The commander yelled before a final shot rang out and the man slumped over with a bullet in his head.
"Let's go, Walcroft, we're done here." Soap said as he left the room.
The two SAS soldiers proceeded to leave the command building and regroup with their Russian friends, Novikov and Egorov. They left the camp the same way they came in and went to the rendezvous point to the south.
Three Days Later - May 2
The intel they gathered from the Russian camp did not have any information on Al-Asad or the Ultranationalist leader. It did, however, provide intel for Ultranationalist camps and supply routes in the region. The team was currently on the way back to their makeshift camp from a raid on one of these supply routes. Soap and Walcroft were providing sniper fire from at least 700 meters, though their longest shot could have easily passed 1200. Soap shivered slightly in the back of the open-topped UAZ they were using to get back. It might be May but it was still cold in Russia.
"Oi Soap!" He heard from beside him.
"Aye?" He answered Walcroft.
"Aren't we supposed to hear from the Old Man today?"
"Aye, don't have much news for him though." The Scot responded.
It was currently about four in the morning and the raid did not give them any new information on the Middle East connection. They need a more direct line to information than second or third-rate commanders in the middle of nowhere. The maps in the files taken a few days earlier provided one location that could be promising but it would be a risky mission. It was a former Soviet base built into the side of a mountain. They arrived back at their camp in a few minutes and Soap and Walcroft quickly went to get some sleep.
…
It was noon local time when the satellite uplink with Captain Price was established. The two SAS members had sequestered themselves away from their Russian counterparts while they took the call with the Captain.
"Alright lads, what've you found so far?" The Captain asked gruffly, It sounded like he had just woken up.
"Not much, sir." Walcroft began.
"Only that they are sending a bunch of hardware down to the Middle East." Soap continued.
The Captain stroked his chin for a moment before someone in the background got his attention. "Put 'em through." He told the other person. Just then, the screen split and Gaz appeared on one side. "Gaz, what do the Yanks have on a connection between Al-Asad and the Russians?"
"Nothing solid, sir. They do have a lead on Al-Asad though." The Lieutenant reported.
"More like they are sending everyone they have after him." Another voice reported a very familiar female one. "It'll be an all-out assault."
"Hope the Yanks know what they're doing." Price responded. "You told them about what we found in the Bering, yea?"
"We did, sir, although I don't think it will change anything," Angel said as she appeared on camera.
"Yanks are after Al-Asad like a dog," Gaz commented drily. "How's the hunt in Russia?"
"Dry for now," Walcroft answered. "Going after a big catch tonight."
"Good." Price cut in. "Gaz, I got a call from Sandman yesterday, They need a hand with something down there. Handle it then we'll save the muppets from Kamarov."
"I get why he's a muppet, but why me?" Walcroft whined.
Price only gave a ghost of a smile before he cut the transmission.
Soap chuckled then turned to his friend. "At least we're muppets together."
Walcroft only groaned in response before getting up, "C'mon, we have a base to raid."
Eleven Hours Later - 23:11:41
Soap and Walcroft were currently in an overwatch position scouting the mountain base. So far, the activity was minimal. Light patrols, few and far between spotlights, and no heavy weapons.
"Looks like this will be easy," Soap commented.
"Ay… what's that?" Walcorft asked.
Just then, three Mi-24 helicopters came in from the west. As soon as the helicopters were in visual range of the base, the whole place lit up. At least three dozen spotlights turned on facing the central area where the helicopters were beginning to land, or at least one of them.
"Looks like someone important just showed up," Soap said finally.
"Aye, can't get a good look at 'em," Walcroft agreed.
They did not have any surveillance equipment or cameras with them so would have to make do with what they could remember. One man stepped out of the helicopter while a squad of soldiers came to greet the man. Not long after, a case, not too dissimilar to the one Soap had seen in the Bering, was brought out and loaded onto the helicopter. The man who greeted the squad earlier seemed pleased with what he saw and boarded the helicopter again before it began to take off. When the helicopter was in the air, all three of them turned to head south, toward the Middle East.
"That, what I think it was?" Walcroft asked slowly.
"Aye…" Soap breathed out. "I'll bet that's heading to the Middle East."
"Let's wait and watch this place awhile longer, then we'll call the Captain," Walcroft suggested cautiously.
"Aye, good plan."
The duo remained in their position watching the base for around four hours. After the flurry of activity, everything calmed down significantly. The patrols started to lighten even further, and most lights turned off. After witnessing how many Ultranationalists were in the base, the SAS decided against infiltrating it.
"Alright mate, let's get out of here," Soap said, nudging Walcroft.
With that, the two Brits disappeared into the woods with the Russians none the wiser they were there.
A/N: Let me know if you guys want me to go into detail about the weapons that are used. I can also add pictures at the end if y'all want me to. Hope you enjoyed it, Sorry once again that this took forever. Life keeps getting in my way, stupid life.
Translation:
Sumasshedshiy = lunatic