"Waystone, be advised, we're clearing Charlie- stacking for breach now."
"Roger that Raider Actual. Remember, priority is Strawman. We're patching in through your cams now. Go when ready."
"Cal."
"On it… flash out."
"Go! Go! Go!"
Marcus threw the door open and slid in, rifle drawn and aimed at the first insurgent he saw, who was still reeling from the flashbang. Two quick shots to the chest knocked him down, and he immediately pivoted to the left, where another insurgent stood in front of an open doorway leading to a larger room. The second Free Erusean raised his rifle, ready to fire at Marcus, but a quick spray of suppressed shots from Danny's rifle kept him from getting the chance. Cal and Ren pushed into the next room, checking corners before taking down the closest hostiles. Marcus and Danny followed them in, and after a single shot into the head of the last Free Erusean, the building was clear, leaving only a single man, tied up to a chair and gagged.
"Clear!" Marcus reported before reaching for his radio. "Waystone, Objective Charlie is clear, and Strawman is secure."
"Solid copy- good work Raider. Exfil is already inbound- ETA two mikes. They'll be arriving at your position shortly, Waystone out."
Marcus and the others turned their attention toward Strawman- AKA Ethan Langdon, UPEO's newly-appointed delegate to the IUN. After lowering his rifle, Marcus pulled the combat knife off of his belt and knelt down in front of the restrained man. A few cuts later, the zip ties around his wrist were off, and the he immediately reached for the gag in his mouth, ripping it off and taking in several deep breaths.
"Well… it certainly took you all long enough," he griped, rubbing the part of his wrists that had been tied down. "I was starting to wonder if they'd even sent anyone."
Marcus put his knife back on his belt and stood up, offering the delegate a hand. "Are you alright, sir?"
"You mean aside from the trauma I'll have for the rest of my life from being kidnapped by terrorists? I'm just peachy. Thanks for asking." He ignored Marcus' hand, standing up on his own and reaching for the pistol of one of the dead insurgents. "Can we get going, now?"
Marcus barely heard Ren lean in next to Cal and whisper, "We sure we can't just leave 'im here?"
He ignored his squad's snide remarks. While he agreed that it wouldn't kill the man to show a little gratitude, they still had a job to do. "Of course, sir, the chopper will be here in just a minute. We can wait outside," he replied, leading the way out of the concrete building and out into the clearing they had just cleared moments ago.
Nobody uttered a word; they didn't dare provoke the young delegate's sharp tongue. The silence was far more enjoyable than any conversation they could make right now. Or rather, it was until the distant sound of chopping in the air gradually got louder. Moments later, a UH-80 appeared above the tree line and began its approach toward the group of UPEO operatives. There was another sound farther off, though- deep rumbling.
"Sparrow 3 here- heard you boys are in need of a lift," the pilot spoke up over comms.
Marcus kept his head on a swivel as the chopper got closer. "Yeah, but let's hurry up and get out of here stat. I've got a bad feeling about all this."
"Don't you worry, Raider. We'll be out of here before you can say- ah shit, Sparrow 3, spiked!" he yelled as the helicopter dumped chaff and flares amidst its evasive maneuvers. "Mayday! Mayday! Mayd-" His last words were cut short as a missile crashed into the helicopter, triggering an explosion and hastening its descent to the ground in a fireball.
Marcus found himself thrown off his feet as the wreck of the helicopter crashed into the ground a few dozen yards away from the squad and their VIP. The rumbling he heard earlier got louder- loud enough to recognize as fighter jets- but with the incessant ringing in his ears, it was hard to tell just how close they were. Although, he had a hunch that no matter how close they were, they were about to get a whole lot closer.
After getting back to his feet and making sure Langdon was alright, he looked over to his squad. "Danny, Ren, check for survivors!" he shouted, gesturing to the crashed chopper before reaching for his radio. "Waystone, Raider Actual- Sparrow 3 is down! We've got hostile fast-movers in the area. We need support, ASAP!"
Waystone let out an annoyed huff. "Goddamn pencil-pushers down in analytics- last time I take them for their word. Wait one, Actual."
Marcus looked back up at the sky as the sound of chopping through the air returned, only this time, it was a Free Erusean chopper flying overhead. "We don't exactly have long to wait, sir."
"Alright, we've got air support inbound to sanitize the airspace, and a new exfil chopper will be there to pick you up soon after. For now, dig in and don't let anything bad happen to Strawman. Waystone out."
Marcus's gaze snapped toward the sound of the fighter jet getting louder once more. He pressed his rifle up to his shoulder and started down the sights in the direction that the chopper had landed. "That fast-mover's comin' back around! Everyone, get inside!" he ordered.
Langdon was the first to run back inside the building they'd just come from, followed by Cal, then Ren, then Danny carrying one of the wounded from the helicopter. Then, Marcus saw it: a pair of Free Erusean, F-16s heading right for them. Once he verified that everyone else was inside, he practically dove in just in time, as a burst of machine gun fire ripped up the ground where he once stood only a few moments ago.
"That… was too close," Marcus said between deep, steady breaths as he picked himself up off the floor. "How is he?" he asked Danny, gesturing to the unconscious helicopter pilot he was treating.
"Vitals are faint, but they're there. You guys are gonna have to keep me covered," Danny replied, not taking his eyes off the wounded pilot for even a second.
Cal nodded, rushing up to the window and breaking it open with the butt of his rifle, giving him space to rest it on as he peered out at the tree line. "Say no more, Danny. We've got your back."
Marcus nodded in agreement, looking out from the doorway and watching as the Free Erusean helicopter took to the skies once more. They had dropped off their cargo, and by his estimates, they'd be showing up any moment now. Unfortunately, the Free Eruseans saw them before they saw the Free Eruseans. The clearing erupted into gunfire, and Marcus watched as the terrorists emerged from the foliage. He squeezed out two shots into the first one he saw, sending them sprawling to the ground dead, but no matter how many of them he, Cal, and Ren took down, more of them kept coming. Marcus was just about to take another shot when he jumped at the sound of a gun going off right next to him- different from the suppressed rifles he and his men were using. He looked to his side to see Langdon taking shots at the Free Eruseans with a pistol. Of course, his stance was awful and it was a miracle that he was hitting anything, but at least he was putting in the effort.
Suddenly, everyone's attention was drawn to the low growl echoing through the air gradually getting louder again. Marcus already knew what was coming, but a few moments later, his suspicions were confirmed as the two Free Erusean F-16s emerged from above the tree line. Everyone got down low as they vectored in for another strafing run, but as he made one last peak out the window, Marcus saw a missile come speeding into view, crashing into the first one and forcing the second one into evasive maneuvers as they dumped countermeasures.
Marcus ran up to the window, ensuring that he didn't open himself up to any potshots from the Free Eruseans outside to watch as a flight of six UPEO MiG-35s flew overhead. All of them sported the same kestrel emblem on the tail, and the lead planes wingtips were a striking blue. "Looks like the top brass really wants you back, sir," he said with a smile, turning to face Langdon. "They're really calling in the big guns." He turned his attention back toward the window as he reached for his radio. "Is that you Kestrel 1?"
"The one and only," Kestrel 1 replied with a static-y chuckle. "Heard you boys had some problems with your ride."
Marcus flinched as another loud boom echoed through the air. A sign he knew meant that the other Free Erusean fighter had just been shot down. "You could say that. We're glad you're here to help, though. We're pretty eager to get back- well… some of us more than others," he joked before leaning out the window and squeezing out a few more shots across the clearing at the terrorists that were quickly approaching.
"Well, luckily for you, we brought a ride," Kestrel 1 replied.
As if on cue, the familiar chopping sound of a UH-80 in the distance hit Marcus's eardrums. "This is Sparrow 1. We're almost there," a new voice chimed in. "Don't worry, fellas. We'll get you outta here."
"You might wanna wait one, Sparrow. We've still got hostiles in the LZ." Marcus advised as he and Cal opened fire at the incoming Free Eruseans through the window.
"Nonsense. We'll just let our door gunners do their thing. That landing zone will be secured in no time," Sparrow 1 replied as the helicopter came into views. "Go get 'em, boys! And watch out for any RPGs."
The machine guns mounted on either side of the helicopter opened up, spraying a hail of gunfire down onto the Free Eruseans in the clearing. Some of them tried to take shots at them or dive for cover somewhere, but it was a futile effort. A few moments later, the UH-80 had its gear down as it came in for a landing. Not wanting to waste any time, Marcus led the men out from the building and waiting for them all to get on board. Langdon was the first, followed by Danny with the wounded helicopter pilot over his shoulders, and once Cal and Ren were both on board, Marcus jumped in and slid the doors shut.
"We're all in, go!" he yelled to the pilot up front.
"Copy that, Sparrow 1 is away," the pilot reported as he lifted the helicopter off the ground.
Langdon let out a heavy sigh of relief. "Thank God. That mess couldn't have been over sooner."
The four men tasked with rescuing him all groaned. "Dammit, now you've done it! You just jinxed it." Danny complained, still doing his best to keep the pilot stable.
"That's why we're here," Kestrel 1 chimed in as she and her squadron slipped into formation a few hundred meters above the helicopter they were tasked with escorting.
"Yeah, think of us as an insurance policy," her wingman added.
After a brief pause, Kestrel 1 spoke again. "Well, looks like they were right. He did jinx it. We've got multiple bandits inbound from bearing 340. Kestrel 2, 5, and 6, intercept. The rest of us will stay with the chopper."
Marcus and the others watched as three of the six MiG-35s split off from the formation and headed north-west. As they got farther and farther away, several dots came into view- dots that were gradually getting bigger and shaped a lot like fighter jets. Fortunately, their fighter escort was in range of the bandits well before they could even attempt to lock onto the chopper. Both sides drew sharp contrails in the distance as they twisted and turned to get on their enemy's tail, and unfortunately for the Free Eruseans, the pilots of Kestrel Squadron were no stranger to this dance. One by one they erupted into balls of fire, and the men aboard the helicopter breathed easy as the three MiG-35s began to return to them, but they weren't out of the woods just yet.
"Shit, they've got stealth aircraft!" Kestrel 1 cursed as she dropped flares and went evasive.
Not long after, a flight of four YF-23s came speeding after the UPEO pilots closest to the helicopter carrying their target. All Marcus could do was watch as the blue-winged MiG-35 twisted elegantly through the air, defeating the missiles chasing after them with ease. Two of the YF-23s tried to get in close to gun her down, but when Kestrel 1 drifted across the sky, circling around in a moment, they were helpless to do anything as she fired a missile at each of them. Once she had confirmed that the missiles had both hit their targets, she circled back around and resumed her escort position. She didn't bother checking whether or not the other two needed her; she already knew that they didn't, and her belief was reaffirmed as they joined back up with her a moment later.
"Phew, close call," Kestrel 4 said, letting out a heavy sigh of relief.
"No kidding," Kestrel 2 agreed as the other three re-joined the formation. "That was cutting it way too close- even by our standards."
Marcus couldn't help but let a slight chuckle escape his lips. "Close calls are all we seem to have these days, but I at least feel a little bit better when you six are on top cover."
"Just doing our job," Kestrel 1 assured him. "Anyway, looks like we're all clear on radar. Let's step on it and hurry back to Expo City."
"You'll get no protest from any of us there," Marcus replied, leaning back in his seat. "After the last two days behind enemy lines in Free Erusean territory, I could sleep for a year if they'd let me." He was only half-joking, of course, but even as the helicopter blades roared on above him, Marcus couldn't help but let his eyelids slip shut every now and then as they set out for home.