Chapter 105 - Bloodstained Desert
[Abandoned Desert City - Sahara Desert]
(Multiple vehicles suddenly arrived from the other side of the city center. The lead vehicle stopped right in front of Bowe and the person that came out of the jeep was an African male carrying an AK-47 and a machete. Charlotte did not know who that person was but Gero did. The African male that arrived was, Abu Usaamah, the new leader of the terrorist group called Boko Haram)
"You're late.." Bowe said
"Do you have what we agreed on?"
"He's over there, he's a little roughed up but alive." he pointed at Gero
(Usaamah then walked towards Gero who was still down on the sand injured. He then proceeded to step on the injured shoulder of Gero causing him intense pain as he groaned)
"Do you remember me?"
"How could I forget? The little rat that pretended to be dead so that he wouldn't be found out by Erika."
(Gero was then kicked in the face by Usaamah which broke his nose. Meanwhile, Erika and the other special forces operatives are getting closer to the center of the city when Assam found out about the situation via the drone feed)
"Erika-san! Vehicles just entered the city center and multiple armed unknowns have dismounted." Assam reported
"The situation just got a whole lot more dangerous. Huntress to all teams, double time it to the city center and prepare for a fight. I repeat, prepare for a fight!" Erika radioed
(The new leader of Boko Haram then walked towards the princess who was unable to move after being shot by a taser)
"And this one?" Usaamah asked
"That would be the princess of Britain and consider her as a freebie. You can do whatever the hell you want with her. I assure you she'll fetch a high price if sold to the highest bidder."
"Oh I'll definitely find a good use for this one." Usaamah said as he sniffed Charlotte's hair and touched her face
"Get your filthy hands off of her!"
(Usaamah got angry at Gero and proceeded to beat him up and kick him all over his injured body. All that Gero could do was to go on a fetal position and protect his head as much as he can)
"Hey, what about your end of the deal?" Bowe interrupted
"There is a container ship hidden in Port Lagos. You'll find what you asked for there."
"How many?"
"A little over three thousand. It was the best we could do with so many eyes and guns aimed at us."
"I understand. Well it was a pleasure doing business with you. I'll see you again on the next shipment in 6 months."
"Wouldn't you like to stay a bit and watch how this man will end up?" Usaamah offered
"Sure, I think we got time. Please proceed!"
(Usaamah then started to drag Gero with the help of two other african males. The other combatants behind them started to cheer and get all excited for they know what was about to happen)
"Who is that man and what is he going to do with him? Why are they cheering? What did you mean by doing business with them?" Charlotte asked
"So many questions at the same time, if you must know, that man is Abu Usaamah, the new and current leader of Boko Haram. As for what he's going to do with him, well he's probably going to take that big machete and chop off his head slowly."
"N-No..please stop this..why are you doing this?!"
"The answer to that is because of the business we have with them. This mission was to capture that man, Nishizumi Gero, who was responsible for killing the previous leader of Boko Haram. So we made a deal with them that if we deliver him to Usaamah to get his revenge then he'll give us what we want in return."
"So that's why you said..he was trading goods.."
"Exactly! Looks like they're starting, take a good look princess, it will be the final moment of the man that killed your teacher!"
(Charlotte slowly looked at Gero who was kneeling across from her. Even though she wanted him dead, it felt wrong even for her that this is how it ended up. Gero will end up dying at the hands of a real terrorist and she would be taken by them afterwards. Abu Usaamah then readied his machete while holding Gero's head by his har)
"My brothers! Sisters! Tonight we shall see blood flow through the sands once again!"
"ABU USAAMAH!" the others cheered
"But tonight, it will not be our blood, but the blood of the one that killed our brothers that night!"
"ABU USAAMAH!"
"Tonight we shall have our revenge!"
"ABU USAAMAH!"
(He then lifted his machete up in the air and aimed for Gero's neck. But just before he swung down he saw Gero had a devilish smile on his face which scared Abu Usaamah down to his spine. He had no idea that on top of one of the small buildings were Naomi and Klara aiming their suppressed HK417 Marksman Rifles at them.)
"Execute.." Erika ordered
(They fired their rifles and the bullet from Noami's rifle hit Abu Usaamah's hand and dismembered three of his fingers. He screamed in pain and immediately ran back to the vehicles to hide. Klara's shot hit one of the guys that was holding Gero down and at the same time Erika jumped from the top of one of the buildings and landed beside the second guy and stabbed him in the neck. Erika quickly grabbed Gero and ran to cover as fast as possible while her team opened fire. The terrorists were hailed with bullets from two directions and they were dropping like flies)
"All units, this is Huntress, I got Alpha, moving back to you guys now! Alisa and Assam grab the princess! Everyone else provide cover fire!" Erika ordered
"Covering!" the teams responded
"What the hell?! Where did these guys come from?!" Bowe was surprised
"Let's get the hell out of here!" Joules shouted
(Bowe and Joules then hopped in their jeep and drove off with two others. They accelerated through the road and left everyone else behind)
"Huntress to Badger-1 be advised we have a runaway vehicle with four tangos on board. Block off their escape route at the main road." Erika ordered
"Badger-1 copies, moving to intercept."
(One of the Badger IFVs then got on the main road and sighted the jeep Bowe and Joules were on. They aimed their 30mm cannon and fired a 3-round burst at the jeep. Bowe was able to open his door and jump at the last second and survived. The jeep was hit directly and killed Joules along with the other two in the back)
"Target destroyed, three tangos KIA and one bailed."
"Good job Badger-1, capture that last tango and hold the main road. Be on a lookout for more possible tangos."
"Roger!"
"Badger-2, head into the city center and provide fire support for Lt. Amari's team."
"Badger-2 copies, heading inside the city."
(A huge gunfight was currently going on at the center of the city. RYOBU and South Africa Special Forces against the remnants of Boko Haram. Erika was with Gero and she was applying temporary first aid to Gero's wounds to stop him from bleeding even more)
"Look at you barking out orders..you look amazing.."
"I know I do, and you still look handsome even with a broken nose, you Bakatora.."
"Haha..thanks..Erika..where's Charlotte..?"
"Why do you care about her!? She's the reason why you're in this mess in the first place!"
"Please..Erika..save her.."
"Why should I?"
"Because I still haven't won against her.."
"You damn Bakatora..don't worry..Alisa and Assam already got her and are now escorting her to the rear.."
"I see..thank you..and..I'm sorry.."
"Stop talking now and save your strength.."
"Yes..my love.."
"Lt. Amari! Get me a corpsman now! Bring a stretcher!"
(A corpsman from the special forces unit arrived with a stretcher to carry Gero to the rear.)
"You stay with him the whole time! You do not leave his side! You got that?!" Erika ordered
"Yes ma'am!" the corpsman responded
"Badger-1 to Huntress, be advised enemy technicals inbound to your location coming in hot!"
"Roger! Badger-2 where the hell are you?!"
"Inbound, 30 seconds out."
(Four Technical Trucks armed with .50 cal Heavy Machine Guns and DShk Heavy Machine Guns drove to the center. The gunners were also protected by armor plates attached to the gun mount which made it near impossible to kill the gunner)
"TAKE COVER!" Erika shouted
(The gunners started blasting their machine guns towards the position of Erika and the others. All they could do was hide behind whatever cover they could find. The machine guns were so loud that it echoed through the entire village)
"Keep your heads low and your asses lower! A single round from that DShK will tear you apart!" Erika ordered
"They have us pinned here! Anytime now badger 2!" Lt. Amari radioed
(The second Badger IFV suddenly arrived behind Erika and started engaging the Technicals. It targeted the one with the DShK first and riddled it with 30mm rounds until it blew up. It then switched targets to the one with a .50 cal and blew it up as well. Just as it was about to target the second last of the technicals a couple of terrorists got up to the roof with RPG rocket launchers)
"RPG!" Kal shouted
"Take them down!" Erika ordered
(Naomi and Klara took shots at the rocketeers and managed to kill one of them but the second one was able to fire his RPG. The rocket flew towards Badger-2 and was hit directly and destroyed its gun turret)
"Get the crew out of there!"
(Suddenly another technical truck arrived equipped with a SPG-9 Recoilless Rifle on its back. It aimed at the disabled Badger-2 and was loading its 73mm shell. The African moved quickly and got all four of the crew out. The technical then fired the recoilless rifle and completely destroyed the Badger IFV)
"Fuck that was close! What now!?" Kal asked
(The last three technicals were still firing down on their positions while being bombarded by the recoilless rifle. The other terrorists were closing in on their positions and they were still outnumbered)
"Where's Badger-1? We need them now!" Ono shouted
"We're about to be overrun on the right!" Lt. Amari said
(Just when everything seemed to be getting worse rockets suddenly flew overhead the position of Erika and the others and blew up the technical with the recoilless rifle. After a few seconds two Little Bird helicopters flew above them which was RYOBU's Team 1 that had finally arrived)
"Huntress, this is Star-1, sorry we're late!" Sgt. Sakurai radioed
"It's about damn time! We need close air support now!" Erika smiled
"Roger that!"
"This is Star-2, waiting on orders!" Lt. Sanada radioed
"Shun and Kaito take up positions up the roofs! Nana, go to Gero's location, I patched him up as best as I could but he still needs medical attention! Star-2 will provide overwatch after!" Erika ordered
"Star-2 copies, dropping off Hunters then heading for overwatch."
(Sanada then landed his MH-6 Little Bird and dropped off Team 1. Shun and Kaito climbed up to one of the roofs as ordered. Shun was using a Sumitomo MINIMI 5.56mm Machine Gun and poured lead all over the terrorist from above. Kaito was using a M32A1 Multiple Grenade Launcher and blew up the last technical trucks right away. Nana headed towards Gero's position and started to apply medical care to his wounds. Meanwhile, Sakurai circled around in the air and readied her AH-6M Little Bird for a gun run.)
"Star-1, heat signatures without IR strobe lights are all tangos. Light them up!" Erika ordered
"Star-1 copies! Beginning strafing run! Watch the fireworks boys!"
(The AH-6M Little Bird is equipped with two M134 7.62 miniguns and two 7-tube M250 FFAR rocket pods on both sides. The M250 FFAR pod can fire high explosive rockets that can destroy light armored vehicles and sometimes even tanks. Sakurai let loose these armaments down on the positions of the Boko Haram terrorists and took them down with ease)
"The tide's turned in our favor! RYOBU Teams 1 and 2 push the left flank! Lt. Amir's Teams 1 and 2 push the right! I'll go through the middle!" Erika ordered
"Roger!" everyone responded
(Erika then ran towards the middle while dodging the incoming fire from multiple Ak-47s. and quickly grabbed Gero's katana which was left stuck on the sand then brought out her unsuppressed Heckler & Koch 45 USP pistol that's loaded with .45 ACP Hollow-Point rounds. Using her acrobatics, she climbed up on one of the roofs of the small buildings and then jumped high above the terrorists and landed smack in the middle of them.)
"Nishizumi Style: Wolf's Lair.." Erika whispered
(She then activated her own unique skill which was the same as Gero's Hunter's Domain. She was able to do this because of the Nishizumi Blood running through her veins. She let out an immense amount of bloodlust and killing intent directed to the Boko Haram forces and its area of effect was the whole city they were in. All the terrorists could fear her intense bloodlust which engraved fear into their bodies.)
"KILL HER! KILL HER NOW!" shouted one of the terrorists
l
"Die.."
(Erika then started swinging the katana at every enemy she encountered. Slicing off their arms and heads with a single swing. Shooting them on the head or chest and killing them with one shot. She didn't feel anger nor joy as she took the lives of the terrorists and had a straight face the whole time during the massacre. Meanwhile on the left flank, Team 2 of RYOBU were also doing work in eliminating the forces of Boko Haram)
"Three tangos ahead.." Kal said
"Engaging.." Takashi said
(They then shot their suppressed HK416 Assault Rifles and landed three perfect headshots at their targets.)
"Four tangos are holed up inside that building!" Alisa reported
"Copy, flashbang out!" Assam shouted
(Assam threw a flashbang through the door of the building then after it blew up both of them entered. They swiftly eliminated all of the terrorists inside using their suppressed MP7 Submachine Guns. When they exited the building two of the terrorists were waiting for them but before they could shoot at the ladies their heads were shot by Klara and Naomi from one of the roofs)
"Thanks for that!" Alisa radioed
"Move to the next building, we got your six.." Naomi said
(Two days ago they were ordinary tankers doing Senshado and tonight they were ruthless hunters. This was only their second live combat and the first time they had to kill someone but they were calm and relentless)
"Their left flank is collapsing!" Lt. Sanada reported
"Same with the right!" Lt. Amari reported
(Everyone inside the Wolf's Lair that Erika considered an enemy will be affected by it and those that Erika sees as allies will not be affected by it. This was its big difference from Gero's Hunter's Domain since that skill affects everyone, friend or foe. Back at the rear, Charlotte could feel Erika's bloodlust and it made her sick and shiver in fear. The reason why she was affected by it because Erika considers her as an enemy at this moment)
"Huntress to all units, don't let a single one leave the city, if they surrender then capture them, but if they don't, kill them all." Erika ordered
"Roger!"
"Alright, would you like to come out of the rat hole you're hiding in? Or would you like me to drag you out of there? The difference between the two is, on the first option, I won't harm you. On the second option however, I'll cut your fucking legs off and drag you through the sand." Erika threatened
(Erika was talking to Abu Usaamah who was hiding in one of the buildings. After hearing Erika's threat he decided to come out on his own with his hands up)
"So you do know how to fucking listen. Start walking."
(Abu Usaamah then walked towards the other special forces operatives where he was tied up next to the self-proclaimed MI6 operatives that were captured as well. It took them hours to sweep the entire city to make sure none of the Boko Haram forces were in hiding. Just when the situation had started to calm down it escalated badly suddenly)
"Star-2 to Huntress, we have a situation! I count four Russian T-55 tanks coming from the west! They're 750 meters away from the city!" Lt. Sanada reported
"What?! Where the hell did they come from?!"
"There's another abandoned city from the direction they're coming from, they probably have a base over there or an armory!" Lt. Amir said
"Shit! Huntress to all units, be advised enemy armor is inbound! Pull back inside the city!"
"Roger!"
(Suddenly the enemy tanks started firing their 100m guns towards the city and bombarded them)
"Incoming! Take cover!" PFC Shun shouted
"What the hell are we going to use against those?!" Kal shouted
"Huntress to Star-1, how many rockets have you got left?" Erika radioed
"I got two left!" Sgt. Sakurai answered
"Think you can take out one of the tanks with those?"
"Piece of cake!"
"Alright, wait for my signal!"
"What's the plan?" Ono asked
"Grab me as many RPGs as you can find!"
"Got it!"
"Shun! Did you bring some C4?"
"Never leave without it ma'am! How many do you need?" Shun asked
"All of it!"
(Back at the rear of the city, Gero was now stabilized from Nana's treatment. He was woken up by the explosions coming from the enemy tanks)
"What's that? What's happening?"
"Enemy tanks arrived but the team's about to deal with it so don't worry and rest, young master.." Nana said
"How many?"
"Four.."
"Shit..give me a weapon..I left mine back at the Semisphere.."
"Here.."
(Nana then handed her pistol to Gero and stood guard outside the building. The enemy T-55 tanks were 100m away from the city and have stopped their bombardment. Erika and her team were preparing their plan to take out the tanks while Sanada was keeping an eye on the tanks' movements)
"Star-2 to Huntress, enemy tanks have split up. One entered the left entrance and the other on the right, the last two have just entered the middle entrance." he reported
"Copy that Star-2, keep me updated. Hurry it up! Our prey are about to enter the hunting grounds!"
"Will be done in 30 seconds!" Shun reported
"Alright, Huntress to all units! Star-1 will take care of the tank on the left! Lt. Amari and his team will take out the one on the right! We'll handle the two in the middle!" Erika explained
"Roger!"
"Listen! Make no mistake, if we don't take out those tanks then this desert city will be our graves! Is that understood!?" Erika ordered
"Yes ma'am!" everyone responded
(All of them now waited patiently within the buildings for the T-55s to come. The tank on the left side was turning the corner and was on its way to the city center. Sakurai's little bird suddenly flew at its flank and fire its remaining rockets and landed a direct on top of the tank blowing it up)
"Star-1 to Huntress, enemy tank destroyed, you're all clear on the left! I'm all out!" Sgt. Sakurai reported
"Understood, good job! Provide overwatch if possible."
"Roger!"
"Erika-san, here they come.." Takashi radioed
(The two T-55 tanks that came through the middle were now approaching the city center. One tank was following the other and was not slowing down. That was until they arrived at the trap that RYOBU had laid for them)
"NOW!" Erika ordered
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Shun shouted
(Shun the pressed on the detonator and activated a buried IED or Improvised Explosive Device that the first T-55 drove on. The C4 blew up from under the tank and destroyed it completely. The second tank then was brought to a sudden stop after witnessing the first tank's demise. The second tank refused to move any further for the crew was afraid of any more possible traps.)
"Ono! Kaito! Fire now!" Erika shouted
"Roger!"
(Ono and Kaito went out of the building behind the second T-55 while it was not moving. They aimed two RPGs at the rear armor of the tank and fired. The two rockets hit the rear armor and disabled the tank completely. Some of the Boko Haram crew of the tank was able to get out but were gunned down by Assam and Alisa.)
"Target's destroyed, all clear in the middle." Sanada reported
"Two tanks down and one to go!" Kal said
"It's all on you now Lt. Amari!" Erika radioed
(On the right side of the city Lt. Amari and his team were laying in wait for the last T-55, They also planted an IED in the middle of the road and were ready for the tank to pass by. Unfortunately things didn't go as planned since the last T-55 stopped right before it reached the IED. Then it fired a shot at the road and detonated the buried IED on purpose. The shockwave from the explosion knocked down Amari and his team)
"Shit! How did it know?!"
"Amari to Huntress, the plan has failed! I repeat the plan failed, the IED was shot by the tank before it reached the trap!"
"The second tank in the middle must've radioed it before we were able to destroy it!" Shun said
"Lt. Amari! Where is it headed now?!"
"It just drove past us and ignored us! It looks like it's trying to escape!"
"This is bad! The direction it's headed is where Gero is!" Erika said in panic
(The T-55 just drove past Amari's team, ignoring them and went to the rear of the city to escape but it was where Gero and Nana was)
"Huntress to Badger-1! Stop that tank no matter what before it reaches Alpha!" Erika ordered
"Badger-1 copies! Moving to intercept!"
"Nana! Get out of there now! A tank is headed for your location!"
"Roger that!"
(Nana then quickly got inside the building got Gero to start walking with the help of the corpsman with them. Badger-1 then started to engage the T-55 by firing at it with its 30mm cannon but could not penetrate its armor. The T-55 then took a shot at Badger-1 but they were able to dodge. The tank then rammed the Badger IFV off the road at max speed causing it to flip over.)
"B-Badger-1 to Huntress..couldn't..stop..enemy armor..they..rammed us.."
"DAMN IT! GERO!" Erika shouted as she ran back to the rear
(The T-55 then arrived at the rear and spotted Gero and Nana trying to run away. The tank crew decided that before they escaped they would try to get some kills for themselves so it fired its machine guns in an attempt to kill them. The corpsman was hit on his shoulder causing him to fall down. This caused Gero and Nana to fall out of balance as well. Gero looked at the T-55 pointing its 100mm gun at them. He took the pistol given to him by Nana and started shooting the tank. The bullets from the pistol were like pebbles to the armor of the tank. He was down to the last bullet and when he fired the T-55 tanks suddenly burst into flames and blew up. Gero couldn't believed what happened and even took a glance at his pistol to check if it was a superweapon of something)
"DARLING! EIJI-KUN! RO-CHAN! GERO-KUN!" voices were suddenly heard from Nana's radio
"Those voices.."
(Gero then looked on top of one of the sand dunes and saw a lone Olifant Mk2 MBT. It was equipped with a 105mm (L7) GT3B semi-automatic quick firing cannon equipped with a thermal gunner sight with laser rangefinder. The hatches on the tank slowly opened and four girls emerged from within. They were none other than Kay, Darjeeling, Mika, and Kaede.)
"You girls..why..why are you..here..?"
"Sanada! What happened?!" Erika asked
"The last T-55 has been destroyed! An Olifant Tank suddenly arrived from the rear and took it out!"
"What?! Who could've.."
"From what I can see, there are girls on it?" Lt. Sanada was confused
"Girls?! Don't tell me.."
(Erika had an inkling of who the girls were but rushed to the scene to confirm it. The Olifant was there beside Gero and Nana who was treating the wounded corpsman. The girls then dismounted and quickly ran towards Gero)
"What happened Ro-chan! You have wounds all over!" Mika said
"Darling! Darling! Please don't die! I love you so much!" Kay cried
"Gero-kun! Where does it hurt!? Is there something we can do?!" Darjeeling asked
"We came as fast as we could..I'm sorry we're late, Eiji-kun.." Kaede said with a sad face
"Why..are you..apologizing? You just..saved..our lives…better late…than..never..right?"
(Erika and the rest of the teams arrived at the scene and were really surprised.)
"Darjeeling-sama?!" Assam reacted
"Kay! What are you doing here?!" Naomi reacted
"Mika-san and Kaede-san as well..what the heck is going on?!" Ono reacted
"I knew it was you girls..even after I told you to stay back with the team.." Erika smiled
"But..but..we were so worried!" Kay continued to cry
"I know..thank you very much for saving them!" Erika bowed
(The battle of the abandoned desert city was now over with Abu Usaamah being captured and the remnants of Boko Haram being annihilated)
Coming Up Next : Chapter 106 - A Worthless Life and A Life's Worth
Author's Note:
Hi everyone! Here is the action packed chapter! We get to see everyone in action, especially Erika and RYOBU! Gero almost dying by a tank and being saved by another tank! It almost seems poetic! Stay tuned for the next chapter!