Story CROW: Pt 2: Strike

I know, two uploads less than 24 hours apart, when I don't upload anything for the most part. This is what happens when you stick me on a plane for 3 hours with no internet.

PS: Randy, don't read this if you haven't read part 1. I don't think I tagged you in that.








CROW Story: Pt 2: Strike

The blizzard raging around CROWs train of horses didn't surprise Maf at all. Frisco was a cold, desolate place, but the local wildgrass cartels made plenty of money nonetheless. Hideouts could be concealed in its northern mountains and defended with an uphill advantage, and movements of men and munitions could be hidden in snowstorms.
It was the perfect place to stage a merc raid.
One of the cartels had made an enemy of the wrong drug lord at the wrong time, and said drug lord had decided to hire a team of some of the best to deliver his retribution.
Maf drew the back of his hand across his eyes, clearing slush that had been hammering his eyes during his teams march through the blizzard. His face scarf that concealed most of his face while leaving his eyes capable of seeing clearly largely protected his cheeks, mouth, and nose. Next to him, Bacca removed his hat and shook it to free all of the accumulated snow.
Neo and Wub stopped there horses alongside the two. Whileloop and Rehqb, two newer members of CROW were playing rear guard and trailing. The pause was to give them time to catch up. They were close to their target.
Each of the CROW operatives wore the basic leather coat, boots, and hat setup, except this was colored a mixed swirl of white and brown. It would help to conceal them in regular terrain around Frisco, be it snow or regular landscape.
Whileloop and Rehqb came up behind the group. They had placed a bulk order for the custom Winchester lever action shotgun favored by many of CROWs main operatives. Rehqb and Whileloop held one each, as well as Bacca and Maf having one each. Wub also possessed one, which was holstered in one of his horses saddle holsters. His Italian Carcano bolt action rifle was slung across his back. Bacca balanced a Winchester lever action rifle nearly identical to his shotgun on his saddle between his knees where it was in reach in case he had need of it. Maf was doing the same with his shotgun.
“We have to be close to the cartel hideout." Rehqb said. “No one trailing us so far."
“So we just roll in, hit and run the place, and regroup at HQ. I'm betting it's just a lonely cabin in the middle of nowhere, or some hole in the side of a hill." Whileloop chuckled.
“Nothing's ever that easy." Wub countered. “That drug lord offered us a lot, and a pre payment of 250k ounces of gold isn't small. There has to be a hitch."
“I agree." Maf said. Everyone turned their heads toward him. “This is either a setup, or there's some surprise we don't know about."
“Let's keep moving, and we get a plan when we get to the hideout." Neo proposed.
Everyone nodded, and their horses set off at a walk, the blizzard continuing to hound at them every second.

Fifteen minutes later. . .

“I'm so sick of this snow." Wub complained. “Can't see a thing, can't hear a thing, can't feel a thing."
“I know." Maf replied, deadpan. “This job isn't cheap. That's why we're getting 500k."
Bacca grunted. “Still doesn't mean we can't complain." He replied.
“Uh guys?"
“What Loop?"
“Remember that hitch you mentioned earlier Maf?
“What about it?"
“I think I discovered it. . .look."
Maf followed where Whileloop was pointing. “Oh my." He said. “Damn right that's a hitch."
There was a large wooden wall surrounding several buildings. Smoke rose from chimneys, and four towers were built into the wall at the corners of the base. Two cannons were mounted on each.
“Yeah. Hit and run that." Rehqb muttered.
“This is gonna be fun." Bacca grunted. “What's the plan?"
Maf contemplated the question for a moment. Bacca hadn't brought his powerful T-Gewehr rifle due to the low visibility, so they had no long range way of removing sentries. The only ranged weapons they had were Bacca's lever action rifle, Wub's Carcano, and the teams assorted pistols.
“We wait for night." Maf announced, falling into the team strategist role effortlessly. “We sneak our way in and pick off hostiles one by one, until we can take out the rest the conventional way."
Wub was nodding. “We can pick off the regular sentries manning the cannons on the towers by jumping them, then torch one of the buildings, drawing most of them out. Me and Bacca can take potshots at anyone poking around, while Rehqb, Mafias, Neo, and Loop sneak around removing guards. We then find the main storage building, grab what we can, torch it, and get out."
“Sounds good." Maf said. “Let's get it done."

That night. . .

Serine dismounted from his horse, and RMST, Randy, and 18 did the same. The squad of four sheriffs had successfully fracked a large group of riders to this base, which was multiple buildings surrounded by a wall, defended by cannons and towers.
“I really don't see an easy way into there." RMST muttered to Serine. “Overlapping arcs of fire from the cannons on the towers. Only way we would do any serious damage would be to either take out one of the towers, or stealth our way in."
“Can't stealth without some sort of cover." 18 replied. “The blizzard from earlier would be nice right about now."
“Agreed." Serine said. “I'd rather be out trying to find whoever torched that camp near Shaniko than figuring out how I'm going to raid a heavily defended camp."
“Yes, yes, we all know your theories." 18 said sarcastically. “It was either CROW or BOTW when they have bigger things to deal with than eliminating competition."
“Ladies, shut it." Randy snapped. “I'm seeing plenty of movement in the base."
The squad of sheriffs fell silent as they watched. Lanterns were blinking into existance, and multiple people were running around the same area of the base.
“I think they found something important." RMST muttered.
That was when the first gunshot split the air, followed by two more. One of the figures running around in the base fell to the ground and didn't move.
The sheriffs were now deathly silent. They were trying to comprehend what was happening in the base.
Then, the roof of one of the buildings exploded into flames.

Fifteen minutes earlier. . .

The CROW operatives had gone to great pains to make their way into the base and not be found by its occupants, who were heavily armed. A screw up now could prove instantly fatal.
Bacca had prepared a Molotov cocktail for Neo to use once he felt it was time. It would be used on the second largest building in the base to draw hostiles out where Bacca and Wub could pick them off from tower positions.
It was just a matter of getting off the ledge on the side of the tower Bacca was hanging from by his fingertips.
He pulled himself up and reached for the next handhold. He was now near the top. Glancing back over his shoulder, he could see Wub scaling the side of the tower diagonally across from his. They would now be able to cover the entire base with an arc of sniper fire.
Bacca's fingers reached the last ledge and, pulling himself up, he could see two people sitting on ammunition crates on the tower, smoking tobacco. Bacca jumped up which clearly scared the life out of both the sentries. Bacca's throwing knife found the throat of one of them, while his other knife was jammed straight into the others heart. He stabbed once, twice, three times, and the sentry fell off the side of the tower pouring blood out his chest, but not before he managed to let out a loud scream, which ended only when he hit the ground.
Lanterns began to blink on around the base as sentries and cartel members began to rush out to where their comrade had fallen. Bacca levered a round into the chamber of his rifle and fired three times in rapid succession, placing the three rounds into one of the gathering cartel members. He withdrew before any of them could get a good look at him.
Looking to his right, he saw what could be the biggest blessing of his life. A T-Gewehr 13mm anti tank rifle was leaned against one of the towers rails. Sliding his rifle onto his back, Bacca snatched the rifle up and lowered the bipod, then kicking one of the towers railings out and pushing an ammunition crate over to the breach in the rail, he cycled the bolt and began to pick out possible targets.
There was a small flare of light, and then the rooftop of one of the bases buildings exploded into flames.
Bacca heard the report of a rifle from Wub's side of the base, and knew he had found his own Gewehr. Taking aim and breathing in, Bacca set his sights on the chest of one of the cartel members dumb enough to not take cover from the sniper fire. Exhaling, he squeezed the trigger, dropping the hostile in a spray of red mist. Cycling the bolt, he began to look for more targets.
Down on the ground, Maf creeped along a low wall, poking out every few seconds or so to fire a shot towards enemies. These hit and run tactics were shredding the cartel's numbers.
Maf ran out of shells for his shotgun, and ski find it onto his back, he drew a C96 Mauser. Cycling the slide, he popped out to fire two shots and withdraw again. Many of the cartel fighters were illuminated by the burning roof. In the distance, a sniper rifle boomed, ripping through the chest of an enemy.
Maf was finishing mopping up the last remaining enemies of s group when Bacca came down from his tower holding a T-Gewehr. “That's the last of them. Let's hit the main building then bug out."
“Gotcha. Get Rehqb, Neo, and Wub on a patrol to search for anyone hiding, while you, me, and Loop hit the main building."
“Understood."

On a hill outside the base. . .

“So that's what happens when CROW has to infiltrate a base like that." Muttered Randy. “They sneak in early, use patience to their advantage, then rip the base apart from the inside."
“Efficient, flawless, ruthless, yet beautiful at the same time." Serine replied. “We can't take them out yet though. We need more evidence than just them hitting a cartel mercilessly."
“So what now?" Inquired 18.
“We wait." Said Serine. “We wait, watch, follow, then strike when CROW is most vulnerable."

THE END

Part 2 of my CROW series, this is what I'm up to on three hour long plane flights xD I wrote this at about 1:00 AM to about 2:30 AM on the way from Alaska to Seattle. Part 3 coming sometime in the next few weeks, cause I have a bunch of stuff planned that will take up some writing time.

Tags: @TheMafias @TheWubzsters @whileloop @Rehqb @NeoGer @Serine1002 @18kss @randomcitizen1 @RMST1

 

Not a lot of literature has been coming out this month, so I decided to go for it

Ofc we all know you rooting for the sheriffs

 

#IfOnlyLiteratureTeamWasAThing:v

 

Come back B. It wasn't your fault everything fell apart.