Book Marksman: Chapter 6: The Tough Get Going

Next installment of the Marksman series.

Omega Team has been assigned their first mission, and it involves not only a certain private military corporation, but old memories for Soulless and Evil. Can they overcome their fears and complete this mission?

Marksman: Chapter 6: The Tough Get Going.

Dark stopped and stared through the window that provided a view of the firing range. There, as usual, was Soulless, taking shots on dummy targets with his new MSR rifle that was standard to Spectre Division operatives. Soulless had been sent a parts list when he had arrived at the base, and in the space of two hours he had a custom sniper rifle. Dark had instead been sent a parts list for an M4, which was taking a little longer to procure. He had also had to fill out forms on various different weapons.

Dark watched Soulless cycle the bolt and then put a round through a target. After a couple more shots, Dark keyed his radio mounted on his shoulder. “I wonder if you could do that all day."

Soulless looked around. Then his eyes settled on the window Dark was standing at. He made a very rude gesture towards Dark, who grinned and returned it.

“Do you always sneak up on people like this?" Soulless asked, keying own radio.

“No. Just you." Dark said cheerfully. “You just looked a little tense, so I decided to loosen you up a bit."

Soulless laughed. “You did that all right." He then unlocked the bolt on his MSR and slid it back, removing the magazine. “You can come in and take a few shots if you'd like."

Dark shrugged. “Why not?" He slid his keycard at the door and it hissed open, admitting him. Off a rack mounted on the wall, Dark grabbed a set of hearing protection and activated them, sliding a pair of ballistic glasses on also. The air in the range was thick with the stench of gunpowder. Soulless tossed Dark a magazine for the MSR, loaded with the deadly .338 rounds. “Eight shots for you, eight for me. Let's see who can score best, eh?"

“You're on." Dark replied. He noted Soulless had set up a steel plate at six hundred yards. The base and attached firing range was underground, and a computer would put whatever target up to twelve hundred yards out for a shooter.

Sliding the magazine home, Dark pulled the rifle up to his shoulder. It felt smooth and light, and he rammed the bolt forward and locked it. He then raised his eye to the scope.

The crosshairs were electronic. A two green lines began at the top and sides of the scope and intersected at the middle, making the lines visible in night as well as day. Dark wrapped his hand around the pistol grip, feeling the trigger. He didn't press it for fear it might go off. Slowly, Dark scooted the sights over to the steel plate, using dashes on the bottom line of the scope to estimate range.

Inhaling, then, exhaling, Dark squeezed the trigger.

His assumptions about the trigger had been right. It broke smoothly and easily. The rifle bucked against his shoulder, but he barely heard the shot due to the suppressor mounted on the barrel. What he did hear was the clang of the steel plate in the distance.

Soulless checked the computer screen next to him. “Nice shot." He then motioned for Dark to step aside. “My turn." He said with a grin.

---------------

Evil sat with his elbows on the steel table. Platinum and Titanium sat across from him, looking equally bored. Rock sat at the end, elbows on the table like Evil, but his hands meshed in front of his face, forehead leaning on them.

Dark came in, quickly followed by Soulless, who was wearing his tactical vest and pistol. Evil caught a whiff of gunpowder off him, which meant he had been burning time in the range again. Dark plopped down a couple seats away from his brothers.

As usual, Leko entered the room, the mysterious lieutenant hot on his heels. The door shut, and a trio of steel bars slid into place, locking the door in place.

The lieutenant produced a handheld circular device and placed it on the table, raising a finger to his lips, signaling to the team to remain silent. He pressed a button on the center, and waited. Within a few moments, the device beeped twice.

“Just sweeping the room for bugs." The lieutenant explained, retrieving the scanner and placing in in his pocket. “What we discuss here goes no further than this room. It is highly classified, and will not be revealed to anyone, per your contracts."

Everyone in the room nodded. They had signed their contracts upon entry of the base, including an agreement guaranteeing their silence. No information about black ops could be revealed.

“To start, I think it's safe to say that you could learn my code name." The lieutenant said, smiling. “I am Random. I earned it from my teammates as a testament to my unpredictable character." He looked around the table. “I assume we're all familiar with each other at this time?"

Everyone looked around and nodded. Having been teammates for a few months, they were well attuned to each other's presences. They had also, of course, met Leko already.

“Great." Random said. “Now, I think we can get on with this briefing." He said, as he lifted a remote, activating a screen at the end of the table.

An image of a map appeared and zoomed in on an enhanced image of Yemen. Then the image magnified again, focusing on a town. Then, once more, it focused on a docking area, where a container ship was receiving its cargo.

“What's so special about a container ship, sir?" Titanium asked.

“It's special because the ship is owned by Independent Arms International, a private military company that you have already had experiences with, mostly in Afghanistan, where they were supposedly providing assistance to the local Suni tribes there in driving out Al Qaeda. Yemen is mostly populated by the Middle Eastern version of mafias. Multiple gangs specializing in multiple different types of back room activity. In other words, it's a crime hub."

Another container was lifted by a crane in the image, and Random froze it. “Four hours ago, one our agents at the docks sent an emergency message that his standard issue Geiger counter was going off the charts. Thirty minutes later, he had found the source, and fifteen minutes later, we never heard from him again."

Random zoomed in on the container. “This is that container."

There was nothing remarkable about it. Just a rectangular container painted rust red, with the code 4OF7G5 painted in white on the side. The image resumed, and the container was carefully onto the elevating platform of the ship, and the platform lowered the container inside the ship.

“So what's the plan?" Evil asked.

“We intercept the cargo ship before it reaches it's destination and take it. Air support is called in, you are extracted, plus whatever materials set off the Geiger counter, and the ship is destroyed. We then figure out where the materials came from, and where they were headed, and start investigating."
Random looked around the room. “Am I clear?"

“Crystal." Muttered Rock.

“Good." Random said. “Head to the armory and grab some weapons and gear, then make your way to Echo bay. A Blackhawk will be waiting for you."

---------------

Soulless slid a magazine into his MSR, and checked the scope. He had mounted his thermal scope on, and double checked that his suppressor was screwed tightly in place. Satisfied, he let it hang across his chest, and checked his new Glock 17. The red dot was functioning as promised, and he checked the magazine. Seventeen rounds.

Looking up around the small bay of the Blackhawk, he could see that Evil, the twins, Dark, and Rock were doing similar checks. Each was equipped with an MP5 submachine gun with an unmagnified red dot scope mounted on top. A suppressor was in place, and the bolts were locked open currently. Soulless had one of his own hanging from his side. He then checked that his helmet was secure.

The Blackhawk fought its way through the night air over the Pacific Ocean, rain battering it every meter. Lightning flashed, briefly illuminating the bay.

This mission reminded Soulless of the fateful mission in the Bearing Sea off the coast of Alaska. Same situation. Grisly ending. Evil and Soulless had been the last two operators of a team of twelve operators that went in to seize a cache of arms. There had been a booby trapped door that took out three operators, then a massive firefight claiming the other seven. Soulless and Evil had failed their mission, and barely escaped with their lives. Looking over, Soulless could see Evil staring out into the blackness, his jaw clenched. He could obviously remember that night too.

“Ship spotted off starboard." The pilot called over the radio as he swung the Blackhawk over to the left. Soulless raised his rifle up to his shoulder and scanned the field of blue. He could not see it. Then, suddenly, a splotch of red appeared, and he eventually made out the outline of the ship in his scope. Some of it was blue, green, yellow, and red. The colors ranged depending on the spot on the ship.

Soulless took a knee, reaching over and swinging a mechanical arm over in front of him and clipping his MSR into it. The arm would hold his rifle steady as the helicopter moved. He began to scan the ship's deck. After a couple moments, he spotted a pair of targets gawking at the passing helicopter.

“Targets spotted. Engaging." He said over his radio, and cycled the bolt on his rifle, loading a round into the chamber. He set the green crosshairs onto the first man's chest, and squeezed the trigger, feeling the rifle kick backwards. The man dropped, and the second one drew a handgun off of his belt. Soulless laughed inwardly, cycling the bolt and moving over to the other guy, squeezing the trigger again. What on earth was the man thinking? A handgun at two hundred yards versus a helicopter sniper with a thermal scope. Sure.

The helicopter was passing the starboard side of the ship now, and Soulless spotted another guy on a lookout position. He was holding an assault rifle, and he had obviously spotted the Blackhawk. Quickly, Soulless yanked his crosshairs over to him and pulled the trigger. The round punched through the mans chest, and he dropped.

The helicopter swiveled and hovered over the deck of the ship, and Soulless pushed his rifle over to the side, letting it stay mounted on the arm. He grabbed his MP5 and activated the scope, slamming the palm of his hand down on the bolt, releasing it from its locked position, loading the gun. Dark stepped forward, and clipped a line into a rappel hook above his head, and yanked on the line to check that it was secure. He then gave Evil a thumbs up, who returned the signal. A green light flashed, and Dark yelled, “Go! Go! Go!" Evil grabbed the line and slid down, quickly followed by Rock. Titanium grabbed the line and then slid down, and then Platinum went. Then it was Soulless' turn.

Soulless gripped the line and swung out, wrapping his legs around the line, and began to feel the rope sliding through his gloved fingers. Several seconds later, his boots hit the deck with a thud.

Soulless grabbed his MP5 and kicked it up to his shoulder, and gave Evil a thumbs up. Evil made an OK signal and, raising his MP5 to look down the scope, began to move forward.

The team reached the corner of the deck, and Evil posted up against it, leaning around the corner. Obviously satisfied that it was clear, he made a “Move" signal, and, moving slowly, started around the corner.

Soulless moved from the corner over to a container, and posted up, back against the door. Dark moved over behind him. Soulless leaned around the corner, and found the deck empty. He stepped around the corner, MP5 at the ready. Dark followed him up.

A sailor carrying a Galil assault rifle walked around the corner, and his jaw dropped when he saw the two operators clad in black. Soulless felt a spike of fear as the sailor turned and made a run for it, but he was too slow. Soulless had aimed the MP5, and he and Dark held their fire on the sailor, their guns coughing a steady stream of 9mm bullets into the poor sailor. The bullets tore through his back, and he fell, his Galil clattering on the deck. Soulless pulled the magazine out of the MP5 and pushed a new one in as he approached the sailor. Nudging him with his boot, he found he was still alive. Flicking his MP5 over to single fire, he fired a round through the sailors head, granting him a quick death.

Soulless made it over to a stairwell with Dark, and he pinged his radio. “Evil, we found a stairwell. Might lead down to the internal cargo bay."

“Copy. Move in." Evil replied.

“Moving." Soulless made a 'follow' signal to Dark, and moved down the stairwell.

Moving around a corner, Soulless stopped and listened for a second. He heard a radio crackle, and then the clink of gear shifting.

Soulless left his MP5 across his chest and drew his combat knife. Dark crouched with his M9, the muzzle heralded by a suppressor, and nodded at Soulless.

He stepped around the corner and, taking a big step, slashed his knife across the throat of the first guard. His pal let out a cry, then caught a 9mm round square in the forehead.

There was a squeal as a door opened, and a sailor stepped out to investigate the commotion. He was rewarded with Soulless' combat knife to the chest, the blade punching through his heart. Soulless took two big steps, and kicked open the door to the security room, and raised his MP5, flicking it over to full auto fire again. He took the first guy sitting at the security terminal, then put a burst through the guard fumbling for his handgun. He turned to the third one and pulled the trigger, when his gun made a click. Looking up, he saw the last guard also fumbling with his gun.

Charging the last guard, he tackled him and threw a fist across his jaw. Then, breathing hard, he leaned on his back, and let out all the air in his lungs. The door creaked, and Dark stepped in, MP5 held at a low ready. Poking one of the bodies with his boot, he whistled. “You really did a number on these guys."

Soulless laughed weakly. He was still breathing hard from the scare of his MP5 jamming. He picked the submachine gun up and tugged the magazine out, noting that it was cracked in its case. That had been his last magazine. Sighing, he set the weapon down and drew his Glock.

There was a sudden loud gunshot, and Soulless lurched forward, almost dropping his handgun. He felt like he had a white-hot rod of iron shoved through his gut. There was a few coughs as Dark fired his MP5. Soulless sank forward on his knees and held his left hand over his side.

“Jesus. That guy could have been an a prob-" Dark turned and he stopped talking when Soulless drew his hand away from his gut.

His glove was soaked with blood.

Dark swore and dropped on his knees, taking the Glock out of Soulless' hand and yanking his improvised medical kit off his vest. “Oh @#$%. @#$% @#$%. Cmon, stop bleeding dammit!"

Dark prepared a cotton wad and removed the combat vest Soulless was wearing. Soulless winced. Dark then removed the jacket and shirt from around the bullet hole and stuffed the sterile cotton in, then wrapped the gauze over it and around Soulless' midriff.

The radio crackled in Soulless' ear, and he could barely hear it over his own gasping. There was still a feeling like someone had drilled a hole through his gut and poured molten metal down the hole.

Dark clicked his radio switch. “I copy Evil. Soulless is down. He's stable for the moment. Gut wound." He paused to listen to the reply. “We had to clear a security room. One of the scumbags we took down was faking and got a shot off."

Soulless forced himself onto a knee. Then, putting a hand on the computer desk to steady himself, rose up onto both feet. Dark finished with his radio and moved to help Soulless. “Easy does it. At least the bullet went all the way through, and isn't still lodged inside." He said.

Soulless placed his left hand over his wound again. His glove was still sticky with his own blood. “I think I can stand now." He whispered.

“Good. We have to move." Dark said, picking up the revolver the sailor had shot Soulless with, noting that it was a .357 magnum. Tossing that aside, he grabbed Soulless' Glock and placed it firmly in his right palm. “It won't be long before these guys realize their security station is unmanned, and send someone to check it out. Can you walk?" Dark asked uncertainly.

Soulless tightened his grip on his Glock. “I think so."

“Good. The others have found he container we're looking for. It's in the main cargo bay."

Soulless nodded. Dark checked the hallway of the ship again, and nodded at Soulless, who crouched as best he could and moved out the door after him, bumping into the door on the way out, which sent another spike of pain through his gut.

“At least I'm not bleeding out anymore." Soulless muttered. Taking one look back into the security room, the sight that stopped him dead in his tracks was the pool of his own blood on the floor. The thought of that pool of blood, which he usually dismissed as insignificant, was suddenly important, just because it was his.

“Soulless!" Dark shook his shoulder, snapping Soulless out of his trance. “Now or never."

“Yeah. I'm coming." Soulless murmured, and stepped away from the door. Dark shut the hatch to the security room and followed Dark deeper into the belly of the ship.

-----------------------------------------

Dark leaned around the doorframe and motioned Soulless forward. He had been forced to check every single corner himself, relying on Soulless to watch his back. They had only stopped to check his wound. The bandages were soaked with blood, but Soulless was still moving. Dark was afraid to give him any morphine in case his attention began to wander any more than it did. He needed to be moving.

Dark stepped around the doorframe and swept the room. All there was was a bunch of steel containers set in stacks, except for one that was sitting on a large platform that served as an elevator to the deck of the ship. Satisfied that the room was clear, Dark waved Soulless forward. Soulless moved around the doorframe, Glock still ready.

Dark walked around the side of the container and checked the side. Painted in large white writing was 4OF7G5, the code of the shipping container they were looking for.

Soulless holstered his Glock and pulled his miniature Geiger counter out. Activating it, he swept it along the crack between the two doors and checked its screen, wincing as he did. “Nothing. I wonder what could have set off the Geiger at the port"

“Let's pop it open." Dark said, retrieving his chain link breakers from his back. He knelt and examined the chain binding the doors together, and placed the jaws of the chain breakers to one of the links, snapping it, and pulling the chain off. Before he went in, he clicked his radio on. “Evil, this is Dark. We found the container and we're opening it up. Over." Dark paused and listened, but all he heard was static.

“Evil, this is Dark, please respond." Dark said again, looking at Soulless, and again, was greeted by static. “Rock? Titanium? Platinum? Anyone?"

Still, nothing.

Dark looked at Soulless.

“We can deal with it later." Soulless said quietly. “First, let's open up that container."

Dark nodded, and Soulless drew his Glock, leveling it at the doors. He could hold it in both hands now. The handgrips were coated in blood, making the gun slightly slippery, but it was drying.

Dark heaved on the door, and Soulless waited. Nothing happened. Dark pushed open the other door. Again, nothing. Dark stepped into the container and clicked on his flashlight.

There was a crate sitting in the middle of the container that was tied in place. Nothing else was inside the container.
Dark approached the container warily, drawing his knife and cutting the cables holding the container in place.

Soulless was on the Geiger counter again. “It's picking up a little radiation. No clear signal."

Dark popped open the latches on the container and lifted the lid.

Instantly, the Geiger counter in Soulless' hand went wild. It was vibrating and screaming a siren, the meter maxed out. Soulless quickly shut it off.

Dark peered in the container and his heart skipped a beat. “Oh my god. . ."

Soulless looked in and swore.

Inside the crate sat a warhead four feet wide and four feet tall. It had a panel mounted on the side with an access hatch.

Dark stepped back and activated his radio. “Evil. Come in. NOW!"

Still silence over the radio.

Soulless tried this time. “Evil, it's Soulless. They have a nuke. Repeat, we found a nuke."

No response.

Soulless stepped out of the container, and Dark went after him. “We have to find the others and get out of here." Soulless said. “Random has to know-"

Suddenly, floodlights in the room began switching on. Sailors and guards were swarming the catwalk around the top of the room. A team of them kicked in the door and leveled their guns at Soulless and Dark, flicking the safeties off. “Don't move!" One of them yelled.

Soulless had his hand on his Glock but didn't move to draw it. Dark had his MP5 aimed but did not fire. More enemies moved on behind them, leveling G36 carbines at them.

One of them stepped forward. He had Evil held from behind. Evil's hands were secured behind him by a pair of zip ties. He was holding a Five Seven to his head. “Drop your weapons, or your friend dies." He said with a thick Irish accent.

“What should we do?" Dark muttered. He now had his gun aimed on the man holding Evil, who shifted Evil so that he was in the line of fire.

“Drop them!" The man yelled.

“Do it Dark!" Evil yelled suddenly. “Shoot this guy! Do it through me!"

“Shut up!" The man yelled, jabbing Evil's head with the Five Seven. “Drop your weapons, or I put a bullet through his head!"

Soulless stared at the man and the man stared at Soulless. Evil gave Soulless a pained look, mouthing “Do it."

There was silence through the room except for the clicking of weapons.

“Drop it." Soulless murmured, placing his hands on his head.

Dark was immobile for a second, then, with one hand, placed his MP5 on the floor, rising and putting his hands on his head.

Four men rushed forward, removing Soulless' Glock and picking up Dark's MP5. One of them grabbed Soulless' hands from behind with a pair of zip cuffs, but Soulless didn't care. All he could see was Evil looking into his eyes, the normal cool and calm look gone. Evil was defeated.

Omega team were now prisoners.

Tags:

@MR_EVIL_OVERLORD
@DarkTitan_
@ThePlatinumTitan
@TheTitaniumTitan
@rocktomb34

 

Ty

When I start writing I can't stop ;-;

Next the part is going to have a whole group of random features. Stay tuned!