Commander! Army is rolling in!
Nicolette moved to the window to check, "Fuck!" She peered out before moving back down. She called, "Alejandro, I'll set up outside."
"Angelita?"
"Trust me," she replied as she left and ran down the stairs. She knew they weren't prepared to take on the Mexican Army right now. She could buy Alejandro's men some time to withdraw. She pulled out a few explosives that would do the trick.
Alejandro swore in Spanish when she left and noticed Ghost torn between cursing and remaining calm. He knew to trust his Angelita. She knew the plan as well as he did when it involved army with the cartel, and they were not prepared for it.
Ghost knew that Nicolette was aware it was bad when she left the room. He asked, "What is it?"
"The army," came the reply. Alejandro checked his ammo and weapon.
"Reinforcements?" Soap looked out the window.
"Negative." Alejandro relayed orders to his men in Spanish. Rodolfo would take the men out. "We're covering my men. Once they are clear, we fall back."
"You want us to engage the fucking Mexican Army?" It had dawned on Soap and Ghost that the reason Nicolette left them to set up, as she called it, was because of this.
They aren't army, stupid. These pendejos are in the pockets of the cartel. Alejandro, it's Colonel Diaz' men.
"Fuck," Alejandro cursed. He replied to Nicolette, "Hurry and set up and fall back with Rodolfo, Angelita."
Not a chance. And don't try that hermano thing. I still owe Diaz a lesson or two.
Alejandro cursed a little. There was little he could do about it. He looked at Soap and Ghost as they took up positions. You definitely have a lot to explain Angelita. "Hold your fire. Let them get in close. Angelita will have something prepared."
"Like what?" Ghost was aware of Nicolette's capabilities, but even he was curious about it.
Just a few things to slow them down. No one needs to go back down the stairs. I'll meet you by the window.
"Jesus, she's fast," Soap muttered. He didn't doubt Nicolette since she had saved his ass. He did worry that she was slipping back into a role that was different from the woman he knew her to be. He wanted to know, but he was patient enough to wait until she came to him.
"Angelita is not fast. She's sneaky. Some call her a little devil," Alejandro replied as he scanned the area. He had been looking out for her, but he didn't see her.
"Sounds about right," Ghost agreed. He didn't like that she just took off, but it was her. She saw the need and went to offset the damage. He learned the hard way and since then, he gave a little. He spotted the vehicles, "Multiple vehicles. Troop transports. Light armor."
Definitely Diaz' men. The pinche colonel couldn't even show his face.
"Hold fire, especially you Angelita," Alejandro responded. He saw that they had popped smoke.
Don't worry, hermano. Just like the spider. Recuerdo?
Alejandro nodded and made himself ready. "Alright Angelita." He held his gun in position as they watched the army start moving towards the building. When they reached one of the outbuildings, he could hear shouting in Spanish followed by an explosion. "Weapons free!"
Soap was surprised by the explosion that kicked off the firefight. He hadn't seen a thing and he was inclined to believe that she was a little devil. He took his shots and growled in frustration, "They're armored!"
"Target the helmets! They're weak!"
Another explosion sounded and a few soldiers flew through the air. Ghost swore at it but kept up the fire. They needed to buy time for Rodolfo to get the rest of the men out. He then spotted something and shouted, "They're using shields!"
"Use grenades!"
Soap loaded his grenade launcher and launched them at the shields in his view. There were a couple more explosions and he muttered, "Sweet Jesus, Nico."
They managed to buy time for the Vaqueros to pull back. Rodolfo had given the word just as an explosion sounded close to the house that they were holding in. A cloud of smoke blew in and they started coughing. Soap coughed as he made his way to the back window where they were going to leap out. "Ryan! You copy?"
Get out, stupid. I'll link up with you guys.
Soap didn't have time to retort as shots made their way into the room while Alejandro and Rodriguez opened the window and jumped out. He followed them and started running, "Army's right behind us!"
"Down the hill! We'll lose them in the mountains!" Alejandro radioed into his comm, "Angelita, on the pelota. Vamanos!"
I'll meet you halfway.
Alejandro knew better than to argue and just from spending time with Ghost and Soap, they knew better than to do that as well. They may not like it, but they went with it. Alejandro knew she would make it down. She knew these mountains, maybe not like him and the army, but she was good. He shouted, "Fan out and stay close."
The plan was to get them to extraction at the bridge. The army wasn't too far behind and a lucky shot to the back plate on Rodriguez' vest had him down and they had to engage. Soap took cover and fired up at the targets he could see. Ghost was to his left calling out shots and engaging as well. He really had no idea how the hell Nicolette was going to meet them halfway.
They cleared the area to buy them some time. "We're clear for now but we gotta move! Go!"
Soap and Ghost followed Alejandro and Rodriguez down. Soap asked, "You know these trails?"
"Very well, but so does the army," Alejandro admitted, "And Angelita… you don't want to know."
"Figures," Ghost muttered as he followed. "We can't hold off an army. We need an extraction."
Alejandro was in agreement and ordered Rodriguez to call for one. They had made it down to a good vantage point for cover when more of the army caught up and started firing upon them. Once again, they had to take cover behind the rocks and return fire. Ghost took the right flank and took cover. He didn't expect that he would take heavy fire and ducked behind the rock just as the bullets sent bits of rock flying. "Fuck," he muttered.
It was unexpected when the shouts from the army changed to one of panic almost. Ghost peeked out and saw the head of one of the soldiers jerk back and he was down. Another went down, falling off from his perch. Ghost blinked at what he was seeing. As far as he could tell, it wasn't Alejandro, Soap or Rodriguez. The angle wasn't right and…
Told you I'd meet you halfway.
Alejandro smirked once he confirmed they were clear. He replied, "Perfect timing Angelita."
Nicolette made her appearance as she jumped down from where her perch was up high. She landed on the ground and took a couple of breaths. She pointed back up the hill, "Still have more up the hill. Diaz seems to be pissed off at you. What the fuck did you do hermano?"
"Later," Alejandro replied. Right now, they had to continue down to their extraction point. "Vamos."
Nicolette shouldered the sniper rifle she had added to her arsenal and made to follow Alejandro. She heard Rodriguez say that he couldn't raise Rodolfo and inwardly cursed. Addy might have gotten something out, but not a guarantee. The mountains were blocking the comms. The best they could do was hope that something got out to Rodolfo.
"What's the plan?"
"There's a bridge at the river. Extraction will be there." Alejandro led the way down, using the terrain to slide down when they needed to.
Nicolette had just slid down when the path in front of them exploded from impact. She heard Ghost call out that it was an RPG. She skidded down to a stop and turned to engage. This was going to be more of the same all the way down.
"You led us to a dead-end mate!"
Nicolette rolled her eyes and sprinted, running between Alejandro and Ghost and leapt off the edge of the cliff. She tucked her weapon close and kicked her legs to give her some distance before putting them together to land in the pool below.
Ghost looked down and at Alejandro who merely said, "Jump like Angelita. Don't lose your weapon!"
Ghost had little choice. That was the second time Nicolette just pushed her way to the front. They had managed to get to the cliff face, but they had to begin the long and dangerous climb down and across. It was not ideal, but at the moment, their lives were on the line. He and Soap followed.
Nicolette had followed without fear or compunction. If Ghost had to describe it, she was like a mountain goat, nimbly leaping and staying between Rodriguez and Soap. She didn't flinch when they were in a sniper's sights and kept moving until Alejandro took the sniper out.
Alejandro led them through the trails until they got to a point where there was a steep drop to the bottom where the bridge was. Ghost thought it was a dead end until Nicolette ran past him and jumped. There was little choice but to follow and he leapt off towards the pool of water below.
The plunge hit hard, but not to injure. Ghost was very much alive and was able to respond to Alejandro, "Affirm." He looked over at Soap.
Soap grunted a little and said, "Breathing."
Angelita?
Ghost looked around and kept the panic out of his voice, "Ryan. Ryan how copy?"
Check, asshole. Had to get out of the water.
Ghost shook his head at that. "Where are you?"
Still with you. Use the river for cover. I can see Diaz' men coming down on the mountain road.
A shot rang out and a soldier fell over. That was Ghost's cue that she had pulled herself out and set up to provide cover for them. "Bloody good shot."
Vamos you idiots. We're not out of this yet.
Alejandro chuckled at the sheer rudeness over the comms. He could tell it was normal conversation between her and Ghost. He set himself up to return fire as they made their way down river. "Move down river to the bridge. Use the rocks for cover."
All stations, this is S64 with Victor 0-1. How copy?
Soap had been taking a moment to catch his breath after making the jump. It was true he was breathing, but the jump and plunge took his breath away. He had to admit that his Nico was being impressive right now. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask who died and made her boss, but he refrained from it. She was only responding to the situation and Ghost made her his second at times. It was natural for her to jump in when Ghost couldn't.
…ow 1! Do you…? -ay again, -o you're…?
Soap heard it and relayed it, "Radio's picking up something."
"Sounds American," Ghost added, hearing the same thing.
All stations, this is S64 say again your last?
There was static. The mountains were still providing a problem. The upside was that they were moving to a position where they could get a clear signal for extraction. Local comms were still good.
Victor 0-1, be advised that I am picking up at least ten to twenty army on the shore.
"Roger that, Angelita. Take out what you can," Alejandro replied.
As soon as he said that the army made themselves known and fired upon them. They had to scramble to take cover behind the rocks. Soap moved to take cover that put him in good position to return fire. Using his sights, he took out what he could see. As soon as the last one was cleared, Alejandro motioned for them to keep pushing up the river.
Armored vehicle coming in. Use your grenade launcher, Soap.
"Copy," Soap replied as he loaded and aimed. It took two shots to take out the vehicle, but it was down. The telltale hiss told him that Nicolette had taken out the survivors with her sniper rifle. He knew she had practiced like crazy on the sniper rifle, mostly because he teased her about her shooting skills.
She could shoot. Soap knew that, but when he put the sniper rifle in her hands, she was a bit all thumbs despite the fact she made a fairly decent shot. He teased her about it and the look on her face made him regret it. He spent the rest of the day teaching her how to set up for a shot and how to do it, so it was second nature to her.
Being a bit shameless with the flirting, he put a few images in her head so she would remember them when she set up for the shot. It worked when she competed with Ghost and made some shots that to this day, she said they were both daft for thinking she did. Soap never doubted she made those shots, but he learned that her denial was her way of saying that it was nothing important and that she was just doing the job that was given to her. Right now, he was glad she was covering them like that.
The river was slowing them down. However, if they got out, they would be sitting ducks for enemy fire. It occurred to Soap that Nicolette figured that which was why she scrambled to get out of the water and set to cover them. It also occurred to him that the depth with the gear she had would slow her down considerably. It was a long-standing joke that she was small, and it was a wonder that she could do anything related to being a soldier being the size she was. It was a joke that proved she had it. He and Ghost both had bruises to prove it.
They got bogged down. The jetty prevented them from getting into a good position to fire at the army that was camped along the shores and firing at them. Ghost grumbled, "The river's slowing us down mate."
"It gets shallow up ahead."
The rounds flew until it became clear that there were less bullets flying. Soap knew that he wasn't hitting much and frowned. He moved to try and get a clear shot. As soon as he found position and took aim, the soldier was down as Nicolette grabbed him from behind and delivered killing blows with her blade. She dropped the body and moved on to the last one. She pounced on him and tackled him. Soap recognized the blade Ghost had given her. She finished off the soldier and ran and dove into the river.
It nearly startled him when she appeared next to him. He couldn't help but say, "Sweet, bloody Jesus."
"I trained here," she said by way of explanation. "Don't worry, I never bothered the cartels when I was doing it."
"Not saying anything about that," Soap replied with a grin.
"Vehicles on the bridge."
Soap looked as soon as Ghost called it. Nicolette passed in front of him to get into shallow water quickly. He could see the vehicles. They were armored. That was going to fuck with their day.
"They're not ours," Alejandro shouted. "Fuck! It's the army."
Nicolette saw that and got to cover quickly. She checked her ammo and her rifles she had. She had a few explosives, plus a few grenades for Soap's launcher. The best she could do was take out soldiers with headshots, but they were fucked with that heavy armor.
"We have to hold here and get extraction," Alejandro explained.
"Can't do shite against that armor!" Soap protested as he brought his gun up. He peered down his sights.
We can't, but we can thin the numbers. Thought you were a sniper, Soap. Prove it to me. You too Ghost.
It clearly was a taunt, but it was meant to put their heads in the game. Soap grumbled since he didn't want to prove her wrong. He was sure Ghost didn't either. He noticed the man had adjusted his position. Soap replied, "And what about you, Ryan? Think you can best us?"
I know I can. A Scottish bastard taught me to set, and a British asshole gave me the patience.
"And I'll show you an asshole you little shite," Ghost retorted.
Soap blinked at that and looked at Alejandro. The man didn't look much bothered by the conversation. In fact, he appeared amused even when it was clear that this could be it for them. Soap knew he'd have it no other way since Nicolette would goad them all to keep fighting. She didn't like to lose and was the type to go down fighting down to the last inch of her life. He set, ready to dig in and aimed to take out the soldiers he could make out on the bridge. "Show me what you got, lass."
Show me first.
The exchange of fire was intense. It was clear they didn't have the advantage with the armored vehicles. Soap and Ghost were fully dedicated to staying alive since they did not want to be the target of Nicolette's ribbing. Alejandro was living up to what he told them, that he would die for Las Almas. It threw him back to when he first met Nicolette and how their friendship bloomed and was maintained.
This is Shadow-1. Engaging the bridge north of your position. Danger close!
The call was a godsend, but Alejandro was suspicious, "Who the hell is that?"
Ghost growled out, "Commander Graves. Shadow Company. They're with us."
The words were barely out of Ghost's mouth when the shots came from the sky. They hit the bridge with precision, taking out not only the vehicles, but the bridge itself. It would be an acceptable loss since the army decided to make a stand and there was a war going on between the narcos and the law. Nicolette took cover by the boulder she had set up on and watched the shots rain from the sky.
Shadow-1, Bravo 0-7! Good shots! Fire for effect!
She watched as the bridge collapsed, rifle at the ready just in case any movement happened. She peered through her scope and scanned the target area. She didn't see anything as she slowly scoured the area.
All stations, no enemy movement detected. You're clear. Good to see you boys.
Nicolette stood up and moved to join the others. She adjusted her earpiece. It was habit to do that, and she usually got in contact with Addy. She knew Addy wasn't available, but the habit helped. She looked around as Ghost replied that it was good to see Graves and his Shadow company. She waited until he was done before asking, "So, can we agree that I won?"
"Fuck no, Ryan," Soap replied. "We know it was me and Lt."
"Doesn't look like it to me," she said in a sing song tone. She had been watching Ghost's reaction. She knew that this whole op had questions attached to it and no doubt he was going to chew her out like he did in Al Mazrah.
"That'll do," Ghost growled at them. He looked at Soap as if to say that he should know better.
Nicolette smiled at the pair and said, "Good. Then at least you're both back to normal." She turned to join Alejandro and gestured at them, "Come on assholes. We still have to get Hassan." She saw Alejandro looking at her with a bemused expression and added, "You too, cabron."
"And what did I do, Angelita?" Alejandro had chuckled as he asked, knowing that it was part and parcel of the way they used to do ops.
Nicolette shot a look back at Alejandro and replied, "Tu sabes, hermano."
Alejandro chuckled and motioned at Ghost and Soap. "Come on. This way." He pointed out a vehicle that was beside the road. More likely it had been abandoned by the narcos.
Ghost saw the vehicle and relayed to Graves, "Graves, we've located a vehicle for exfil."
Roger that. Be advised, we got a possible hit on Hassan, two clicks north of your position.
"That's cartel land. They have a compound there," Alejandro verified. He approached the truck and checked to make sure there was nothing off about it and that it was in good condition to run.
"At least this trip wasn't for nothing," Nicolette said as she approached the vehicle. She wasn't quite hoofing it, but rather like she was just strolling. She looked back down at the bridge for a quick look before moving closer to the truck.
The others were getting in. Ghost growled at her, "Load in, Ryan."
Nicolette looked around before getting in. Alejandro was in the driver's seat. Soap had gotten into the front passenger seat. Ghost was seated behind Alejandro. She got in and said, "Let's go."
You boys good to roll up Hassan with some fire from the sky?
It was obvious. Nicolette took in her companions. They were still soaked from their trip down river, but that was nothing. They still had a chance to bag Hassan. They were going to take it. She gave a tap to Soap's shoulder, and he said, "Let's wrap this fucker up, Graves."
Alejandro started the engine and started down the road. It was going to be a fast ride. Just enough to catch their breaths.
Solid copy. We are pushing to the target directly. Shadow-1 out.