Hey guys. Blaster the Hedgehog here with another chapter.
Last time, Bravo Team and Team 7 have successfully located and killed Khaled Al-Asad. It was discovered that Al-Asad had been an accomplice of Imran Zakhaev. During the mission, the SAS encountered the rest of the Konoha 12 along with their senseis. Naruto is happy to see Hinata again, but that's it.
"Dialogue like this," will be Price in the present talking.
Naruto had sent his shadow clones to secure the village by cleaning up the bodies of Russian soldiers and stripping them of their weapons. Gaz was on the radio trying to secure a lift home.
"ETA on the evac is about eight hours, sir," Gaz said with disdain, "They're still wrapping their heads around what happened in the Middle East."
"I'm still pissed about what happened to my chopper," Naruto complained about how the S-70 helicopter that he used to get the team to the Land of Spring got shot down.
"Don't worry son," Price said, "There'll be another time. In the meantime, we might as well get comfortable. It'll be a while before we can get a ride home."
"What do we do with Al-Asad?" Soap asked, referring to the corpse of the now deceased Khaled Al-Asad.
"Well Islamic tradition demands that he be buried within 24 hours, so I would say go ahead and bury him," Price contemplated, "But then again, like with Osama bin Laden, we don't want his grave to be a pilgrimage site."
"So why not just cremate him?" Sasuke asked ready to use a fireball Jutsu on Al-Asad.
"Because Uchiha, cremation is forbidden in Islam," Naruto rebutted, "And even though he was our enemy, I won't disrespect his customs."
"So, what do we do with him?" Kakashi asked.
"We'll take his body, and we'll bury him at sea," Price concluded, "That way no one can find his body."
Mac walked in with Arem, Barton, and Sanderson.
"Fox, your shadow clones brought back all the weapons and ammo they could from the village," Mac said, "We're sorting them out now."
"Good," Naruto responded, "We'll see about destroying them later. Don't want them back into enemy hands."
"Why not let us use them?" Asuma asked. Naruto looked at him with a look that said, 'Seriously? You think we're just gonna give you guys a bunch of enemy weapons just so you can use them to possibly force me back to the Leaf?'
Before things could escalate, Kurenai stepped in and said, "We can worry about that later. So, Captain Price, Gaz asked you who Al-Asad's accomplice was, and you said Imran Zakhaev, you looked like you knew who it was."
Price was silent for a moment before answering, "You could say that. In fact, I thought I took him out, but he survived."
The shinobi looked confused, but Naruto knew what he was talking about. Price told him this story once before when he was younger.
"I'm guessing you'll all want an explanation. Well get comfortable, we've got a minute. Fox, your shadow clones will watch the perimeter for any more intruders, right?"
"Right, sir," Naruto nodded.
"Well, this was 15 years ago, before I met Naruto. I was just a 'Leftenant' back then, doing some wet work. The mission took place in the abandoned city of Pripyat, Ukraine. Chernobyl; Christmas for the bad guys. Even a decade later after the incident, many still used it to get their hands on nuclear material. And I mean a LOT of them… including one Imran Zakhaev. Of course we couldn't just let that happen. Cash for spent fuel rods? Hm, that's one hell of a recipe for destruction. It was the first time our government had authorized an assassination order since the Second World War… I was under the command of Captain Arthur MacMillan…"
15 years ago…
"All Ghillied Up"
December 11th, 1996 – 10:04:27
Pripyat, Ukraine
Lt. John Price
22nd SAS Regiment
On the outskirts of the irradiated city of Pripyat, two figures hidden by ghillie suits lay prone on the grass. Captain Arthur MacMillan and Lieutenant John Price of the 22nd Special Air Service Regiment were checking the area ahead of them.
"Too much radiation," MacMillan said, "We'll have to go around."
"Copy that," Price said. They slowly rose from the ground. Price pulled out his suppressed and camouflaged SG-1 rifle, an accurized version of the G3 battle rifle. Price was also equipped with a suppressed P90 PDW and a USP .45 with a suppressor and LAM. MacMillan was also equipped with an SG-1 rifle and a USP .45, but no P90.
"Follow me, and keep low," MacMillan ordered. They crouched as they made their way around the irradiated area in front of them. "Careful…," MacMillan warned, "There's pockets of radiation all over this area. You absorb too much, you're a dead man."
"Got it."
"The radiation levels had gone down to where the area wasn't completely irradiated, but it was still dangerous. It was the last place any sane person would think to have an arms deal. It was dangerous, but we went in anyway. Because the straight route was heavily irradiated, we had to take the long way around."
MacMillan and Price made their way into a shack. MacMillan peered out of an opening and noticed two mercenaries walking outside.
"Contact," MacMillan said softly, "Enemy patrol dead ahead."
Price looked through a crack in the shack and he saw the two mercs, "I see them."
"Stay low and move slowly."
They went prone and crawled on the ground. The guards were having a conversation about how they were patrolling the area when no one was around. Oh, how wrong they were.
"Take one out when the other's not looking," MacMillan whispered on the radio. The merc on the left turned around. Price took this opportunity to kill the one on the right. He lined up his scope with the merc's head and fired.
"He's down."
MacMillan fired on the other mercenary, "Good night. Move."
They continued up to another shack next to an abandoned house.
"Hold up. There's more cover if we go around," MacMillan said. He crouched as he went around the shack towards the house, sticking to the shadows. He stopped next to a window where he noticed four mercs playing Poker.
"Four Tangos inside. Don't even think about it."
"Wasn't even planning it, sir."
They crawled under the window to avoid being seen by the mercenaries. They made it to a corner. MacMillan notices a mercenary walking out of the house.
"Hold up," he warned, "Tango by the car."
Price had crawled slowly to peer around and confirm. The merc walked over by a burned-out car. He stopped and unzipped his pants.
"He's taking a piss," Price observed.
"Take him out quietly, or just let him pass. Your call," MacMillan advised. Price decided to wait and let him finish. They stayed still until the merc went back inside the house.
"He's going back inside. Ok… go."
They quietly made their way past the house. They make it over a fence and continue towards the church until MacMillan notices something.
"Don't move," he ordered holding up his hand. They both got on the ground and blended in with the grass.
"What do you see, sir?" Price asked.
"We've got a lookout in the church tower and a patrol coming from the North."
Price noticed said lookout in the church and a lone mercenary walking outside near a car.
"Do you have a shot on the lookout?" MacMillan asked.
"Standby. Moving to get a better view."
"Just do it slowly. I'll keep an eye out."
Price slowly crawled to a better position with MacMillan letting him know when to stop. Price got a better view of the mercenary in the tower and took him out with a well-placed headshot.
"Beautiful. Target approaching from the North. Same as before, take him out quietly or let him pass."
Price aimed his rifle at the patrolling mercenary. He paused in front of the car. Price took this opportunity for another headshot.
"Tango down," MacMillan confirmed, "Go."
They moved up to the car where the now deceased mercenary was. MacMillan scanned the area before helping Price move the body under the car. They noticed he was wielding a G3 battle rifle. They scavenged the magazines he was carrying and split them among themselves to save for later. They head to the door of the church. MacMillan stacks on the door and slowly opens it while Price covers him.
"Church, clear. Move up."
"We made it up to a church. As soon as we entered the cemetery, things started to get interesting."
"You hear that?" MacMillan asked as helicopter blades went off in the distance.
"Yeah, I do," Price responded as he scanned the sky looking for the origin. MacMillan noticed it was coming from the church, and it was getting louder.
"Enemy helicopter, get down!"
They got down on the ground close to the cemetery walls that shadowed part of the ground. Overhead an Mi-24 Hind helicopter flew by. They laid prone for a few moments to make sure the helicopter didn't spot them and make another pass. Once they were sure the helicopter was gone, they moved up.
"We made it to another field without the helicopter spotting us. But if you thought the helicopter was the hardest part, you're bloody wrong. What happened next was perhaps a few of the most terrifying moments in my life."
"Get down now!" MacMillan ordered. They both got down to the ground.
(AN: Insert "Surrounded" OST where the convoy appears)
"Easy lad, there's too many of them."
"Wasn't planning on it, sir."
"Keep a low profile and hold your fire. Try to anticipate their paths."
"There must've been at least 4 BMPs and at least 20 foot mobiles escorting them, maybe more. We both knew if we were caught, we were as good as dead. That must've been one of the only times where I was scared shitless. And yet by some miracle, they never noticed us."
Price and MacMillan never moved an inch as the BMPs and mercenaries moved past them. Once they were a distance away, the SAS duo slowly crawled on the ground to avoid being detected.
"Ok, let's move. Nice and slow," MacMillan said.
(AN: End suspenseful OST)
They made it up a small hill near a junkyard full of abandoned Soviet-era BMPs, Hinds, and other vehicles and containers, left over after the Chernobyl disaster. They crouched by a few BMPs and saw two men in gas masks unloading dead bodies into an irradiated pond.
"Looks like they already eliminated the men they couldn't buy out," MacMillan noticed.
"Glad to know some of them thought this was a crazy arms deal," Price added.
"Agreed. Let's move up for a better view."
They moved next to a bulldozer and MacMillan noticed two more mercenaries next to a BMP.
"Taking them out without alerting the others is not going to be easy," MacMillan assessed.
"Neither is sneaking past them, sir," Price added.
Both of them went prone and crawled on the ground next to a few BMPs, which unfortunately had traces of radiation on them. They did their best to keep away from the irradiated IFVs while sticking to the grass to avoid the patrolling mercenaries.
"We crawled alongside the ground and made it past the clean-up crew. We were heading deep into the junkyard on the outskirts of the city."
"Alright, we're clear. Move up, stay in the shadows," MacMillan ordered.
They got up and made their way to a container.
"Stay back," MacMillan said holding up his arm. They saw a lone mercenary out in the open. Price got on the ground and maneuvered to where he could scan the area to confirm there was no one around.
"No one around, sir."
"Stay low, he's mine." MacMillan went around the container and stood up.
"Oi, Suzy!"
The startled mercenary turned around only to receive a hard knock when MacMillan melees the poor bastard with the buttstock of his rifle.
"That's how it's done, let's go."
"Showoff," Price quipped to the captain. They continue alongside the containers. They could hear some mercenaries playing Poker on the other side. MacMillan glanced over the side of the container and noticed a merc patrolling the containers.
"Patrol coming this way, stay back," MacMillan warned. He pulled out his knife and prepared to ambush the merc. Once said merc came out from the other side of the container, MacMillan covered his mouth and stabbed him.
"Alright, let's move."
"We eventually made it through the junkyard. We were in a container. While we were in there, I could hear a helicopter coming in to land. MacMillan opened the container door slightly to see what was out there, only to discover that…"
"It's a bloody convention out there!" Price exclaimed.
There was a convoy of mercenaries with a T-72 tank in the lead with multiple trucks and UAZ cars.
"Get ready to move on my signal," MacMillan said, "Stay right behind me."
"On you, sir," Price responded despite knowing it was crazy to try to sneak through Bad Guy Con undetected.
"Hold…," MacMillan said waiting for an opportunity.
For what seemed like an eternity, they found their opening.
"Ok… go!"
(AN: Insert "Dash" OST where they sneak through the convoy)
They sprinted across the field, past the tank, and hid behind the parked UAZs. No one spotted them yet. The Hind from earlier had begun landing. Price and MacMillan went prone and crawled under the trucks. As they continued to crawl, hoping that no one would notice two crawling bushes with guns under the trucks, MacMillan noticed another truck coming up.
"There's a truck coming… we'll use it as cover, keep moving."
As soon as the truck pulled up, they continued crawling, even as the occupants began to get out of the cab. When they reached the rear of the truck, they paused. Price saw that there was another UAZ and a truck coming in. The vehicles stop and their occupants disembark.
"Just wait a moment," MacMillan said, "When they leave, crawl out and stay low."
"Roger."
It was a tense few moments as the mercenaries walked by. As the last guy paused before walking off, the duo's next opportunity came up.
"Standby… standby… go!" MacMillan ordered. They crawled out from under the truck and waited by the parked UAZ. When they saw everyone's backs were turned, they sprinted off towards another set of containers, hoping no one would see them. They made it to the containers.
"Hold fast," MacMillan said. He peaked his head out to see if anyone noticed them.
(AN: OST ends)
"No one saw us, let's keep moving. This way."
"Right behind you, sir," Price replied. They moved up to a wall. Price was behind MacMillan when he was told not to move.
"Sniper," MacMillan said, "Fire escape, fourth floor. Take him out or he'll give away our position."
Price carefully got into a position where he had a clear view of the enemy sniper. He aimed center chest and fired, causing the sniper to fall backwards over the railing. If the bullet didn't kill him, then the fall out of a four-story building would.
"Beautiful," MacMillan complimented.
"Thank you, sir."
"We made it into the city, but we couldn't let our guard down. We still had to make it to the observation point at the Polissya Hotel overlooking the meeting area. As we went deeper into the city, I saw another thing that made the Pripyat dangerous; the local wildlife."
"Pooch doesn't look too friendly, Captain," Price said as he saw said wild dog munching on the corpse of a dead mercenary.
"Keep your distance," MacMillan said, "No need to attract unnecessary attention."
The skirted along the edge. At one point the dog turned around and proceeded to growl and bark at them before turning back to its meal. They continued to the entrance of the old Palace of Culture building.
"Clear left," Price said as he scanned his area.
"Clear right, go," MacMillan ordered. They move into the cafeteria of the Palace of Culture. Price switched out his SG-1 for his suppressed P90, as it was more suitable for close quarters.
"As we moved into the Palace of Culture, I swore I could hear sounds of children laughing. Even though it wasn't reported of any deaths that happened in the city, the eerie feeling was still there. It was a bit heart breaking to say the least."
The duo makes it to a larger area with a view Lenin Square, along with other abandoned, irradiated buildings in Pripyat.
"Look at this place…," MacMillan commented, "50,000 people used to live in this city. Now it's a ghost town… I've never seen anything like it."
"I know the feeling," Price replied, "When we entered the building, I could've sworn I heard children laughing. If it wasn't so irradiated to Hell, this would've been a lovely place to live."
"Nothing we can do about it now. Let's keep moving."
They moved down the stairs where they heard a chopper coming. They crouched down and stayed still as another Hind flew by. Once the helicopter was gone, they moved on making their way out of the building. They continued walking until they made it outside of the Polissya Hotel.
"There's the hotel," MacMillan pointed out, "We should be able to observe the exchange from the top floor up there. Let's move."
"Roger that."
"We arrived at the Polissya Hotel. It was a good distance away from Chernobyl Reactor Number 4, the same reactor that caused Pripyat to be abandoned, and where Zakhaev was planning to buy up the nuclear material. Now all we had to do was wait until he arrived…"
And that'll wrap up this chapter. I'm sorry if it took a little while to update. I wanted to get this chapter out before I take off on a family trip. Hope you enjoyed this little blast to the past. I won't spoil anything, but this won't be the only chapter that takes place in the past. You'll just have to wait to find out.
Next time:
"Good night, ya bastard."
"Uh, Captain?!"
"Aw shite! Run!"