"Thunder squad, report to the briefing room immediately! Alexander, Lydia, Zach, Reyes, and Aiden, I need you in the briefing room immediately!" Lt. Ramirez ordered us at an unusual time. We had rarely been sent on a mission, but when we were commanded to, it was of utmost urgency. "Alexander from Thunder squad, reporting for duty!" Captain Alexander led our squadron, that is, until he didn't. He represented Thunder squad, which I had no problem with. He was the person to always follow orders no matter what it was. Alexander never questioned authority, and that bothered me. It seemed that if he was ordered to launch a missile into a populated area, he would do it without hesitation. "What's the news?" Lydia was like a mother to the squadron. She was always keeping us in check, and even scolded Alexander about his actions at times. Lydia was never a rude person, in fact, she had many loved ones at home, and friends outside of the workplace. She was a very social person, and I will always remember that. "Alright boss, what's the deal?" Zach is like a brother to me, we are a rowdy couple. Lydia often laughed at our childish behavior, but kept us in place during missions. He is one with the people. Zach was a socialite like Lydia, but he joked around more and never took things too seriously. "Officer Reyes and Aiden, reporting for duty, sir!" Reyes is very peculiar. She never thinks of anything it seems. Her head is as vacant as an old nasty motel you'd find in the middle of southern Texas. She keeps to herself most of the time, and it kind of weirds me out sometimes. Like Alexander, she follows orders from the higher-ups without question. Monkey see monkey do, I guess. I am Aiden. The other officers see me as a wise guy, but I just don't understand what they mean. Sure I'm a smart alec, but it's better to have an attitude than to mindlessly listen to everyone like a servant. I question orders when they don't seem right, and this next mission did not seem right. "Okay Thunder squad, you are to extract a special hostage that is said to be held on the fourth floor of a high end hotel. The target is Olivar Housley, the public figure of the peace movement group known as 'Ditat Deus.' Bring Olivar back to base. He will be protected by us for a while. Zach, you will bring extra ballistic vests for your team, Lydia you will take point with a riot shield and a standardized rifle, Captain Alexander you will keep in contact with me and order your team, Officers Reyes and Aiden, you will support your team on the ground along with everyone else. Any questions?" "Yes sir, will I get to blow a wall up?" I giggled. "Yeah, and you get to join Arnold in the chopper." Ramirez replied. "Alright Thunder squad, you will be dropped off on the roof, civilians have been evacuated from the hotel. Ready up."
This whole thing seemed a bit sketchy. This mission just suddenly appeared out of the void, and the media did not report anything that day. Reporters would have noticed something, and if the reporters didn't, the people at the reception desk would have called us at the sight of something suspicious. We loaded in the helicopter. The rotaries of the chopper made a sound similar to a train chugging along rails, but it was more fast paced. The helicopter ride was very unsettling, but we talked among ourselves. If I had known this would be the last mission we would do as a whole squad, I would have talked a lot more. I kept to myself, thinking why this mission seemed so outlandish. "Hey, are you okay?" Lydia had asked me in a raised voice. Her voice sounded so faint over the howling chopper. "Yeah, I'm fine, I was just thinking, must've dozed off." I responded. I didn't want to have her talk to me about overthinking everything. "We're arriving at the rooftop!" Alexander shouted, "Get ready to rappel!" "Alright, time to have some fun!" I laughed, assuring Lydia I was fine. "It'll be just like shooting fish in a barrel, haha!" Zach added. Reyes smirked, and flew down the rappel line. "Geronimo!" I shouted at the top of my lungs while descending. When everyone had rappelled down, Captain Alexander had reminded us about the mission. We were to extract public figure Olivar Housley and bring him back to base. He was going to rappel from the side of the building to the fourth floor to determine what room they are in, and we were left to patrol the floor and wait on his order to enter the designated room. "Alright, let's get to it then." Captain Alexander dismissed us.
Stomp, stomp, plap, plap, stomp, plap, stomp, plap. Our footsteps filled the stairway with a ringing echo. "Stairway to heaven, or highway to hell?" I asked Lydia, "This mission seems a little weird, don't ya think?" "Aiden, to answer your first question, highway. If you want my honest opinion, I think this is just another mission. This mission is a bit, well, strange. There was nothing to warn us. No news, no call, not anything but an order that we were given. It's like it just appeared on the Lieutenant's list, out of the blue. Either way, an order is an order. I'm just as hesitant as you." We continued on the eternal staircase. Plap, stomp, plap, stomp, plap, plap, stomp, stomp. "How much longer? My shoulder is killing me from carrying these bricks." Zach complained, "Heh, who knew protection could hurt so much?" "Here we are, fourth floor." Lydia announced. Zzrtt, "Captain, this is Lydia. We have made it to the fourth floor entrance." "Alright, I've surveyed the rooms. There is no visible sign of threats, but proceed with caution. The hostage is located in room D407. Radio when you arrive at the room." Zzrtt. "Okie dokie, I'll take point, Zach and Reyes cover our back. Aiden, take aim behind me. It's showtime!" Lydia announced.
Pmf, pmf, pmf, pmf, pmf, pmf, pmf, pmf. A muffled stomp rippled from under our feet. The hotel was a God Complex; never ending with a screeching silence. It made me feel useless and insignificant. I was paralyzed of the thought of being surrounded and attacked my hoards of hostiles. "D393, D395," Zach mumbled the room numbers. "D397... D401... D407!" he stated. Zzrtt! "Lydia, proceed wi- RSHH" Zzrtt. A window shattered from the inside of the room. "Lydia!" Alexander let out a spine chilling shrill from the other side of the door. "Don-" Brraatatattat! Silence. For a moment, I thought that I went deaf, or I was awoken from a bad dream, but no. I could still hear, I was not dreaming. The whole world stood still for what felt like an eternity. An overwhelming shock overcame all of us. Zzrtt. "Alexander, respond!" "shhhhrhhhh." There was only static. "Alexander, respond!" "shhhhrhhhh." We lost Alexander.
This operation had crumbled. Alexander was the backbone of our squadron, and without a backbone, we could not stand. Lydia was the first to fracture. At that time, anger and denial had possessed her. She showed her anger by storming into the room. We knew what Alexander was warning us before his death. The door was trapped, opening it had triggered a C4 explosive. Lydia was lying on the ground, in a puddle of her own blood. The explosion had taken her right arm and foot with it. She let out a shrilling screech. She was gasping for breath and stuttering her words. She gritted her teeth. "C-catch whoe-eve-r is resp-ponsib-ible... don't let them g-get a-a-way-" She gasped, then collapsed. "Survey the room, check for the hostage. I'll stay out here and protect the room from hostiles. If you find the hostage, let me know." Zach spoke solemnly. All expression left him. He no longer smiled, joked, or laughed. All he knew at that time was loss. Reyes seemed that she was unmoved by this. She lacked emotion, if she was placed in a clothing store, she would be a mannequin. Without hesitation, I followed Zach's orders. I stepped across the crater that the explosion formed in the floor, and noticed two dead bodies. Alexander with a quarter sized hole in between his eyes, and an unknown body I assumed to be a hostile. The hostile had been killed in the explosion, this was evident because his body was still bleeding and he had a missing arm. As for a hostage, there was no sign of anybody in captivity. It was a false call. The one who killed Alexander had been left to pose as a hostage, and die in the explosion. "No hostage, only Alexander, and another dead body." I reported to Zach. We were to leave the scene as it was. I knew it. I knew it since the mission had been issued. At that time I realized what the purpose of it was. We were framed.
The road back was silent. Dust and blood had decorated our faces. That night, we lost two souls. Two brave hearts that had no idea that their meeting with death was so soon. Those two people had family, loved ones who admired them greatly. They were heroes, and now, they are dead. I thought to myself I'll do it. I'll fulfill her dying wish. I will take the one who is responsible, and take them down. Even if it means I'll die. I'll do it. "Hey... are you with your senses?" Zach inquired. "Yeah, it's just that... it all happened so fast. Hell, all Alexander was trying to do was to warn us about the room. He knew that there was no hostage, but he couldn't tell us. Now he's dead, and at the cost of Lydia's life too. If we would've known, Lydia would've breached a wall instead of opening the door. But it all doesn't make sense. The person that killed Alexander had his legs tied and more rope around the bed. He wasn't in any armor, he was just armed with a pistol... oh no. GOD, WE'VE BEEN FRAMED! THE 'HOSTAGE' WAS ARMED WITH ONLY A PISTOL, HAD HIS LEGS TIED, AND DIED IN THE EXPLOSION. THERE WAS NO SIGN OF A C4 IN THE EXPLOSION, AND LYDIA WAS HOLDING BREACHING CHARGES!" I exclaimed. "AND THE MISSION, IT JUST APPEARED, THERE WAS NO SIGN, AND WOULDN'T PEOPLE NOTICE A HOSTAGE GOING THROUGH A HOTEL?! NOBODY WILLINGLY EVACUATED, AN EVACUATION WAS ORDERED! THERE WAS NO MEDIA, OR 9-1-1 CALLS, THE REPORT WAS DIRECTED TO US!" From there, most of what happened on the ride is very hasy. I don't recall most of it. But when I did get back to the office, my badge was revoked temporarily. I was aggressive and showing signs of hysteria during the trip back to base. Now, I thought, it's time to get down to business. I have to, for the right of their families, even if it costs me my life. I am their justice, I am their remembrance, I am their vengeance. I had agreed to the confiscation to my badge. I now had no ties with the police for right now. I got to work the first day I was off duty. I remembered, when I was on duty, seeing a criminal record on a guy named John Rettle. He was arrested for robbing several local businesses. He caught my interest because he supposedly knows the gang that was behind the set up. To him, I was just a guy who wants to join to organization, but to me, he was my invitation to solving this case. This also meant justice in the name of Lydia and Alexander. Of course, none of my former squadmates knew I was going to do this. I met John after a month of mailing to him. We met for lunch one day at a Subway near the jailhouse. He spoke about his gang, but he never mentioned a name. "Yeah, the organization I'm in is responsible for the false Olivar Housley attack. If you'd like to join, you have to meet the boss, but first is your initiation." A wide grin slowly etched onto his face. "What do I have to do?" I asked. Deeply, I was worried, but on the surface I was calm. "Simple. All you have to do is cause a false bomb alarm at a heavily populated area. Here's the catch, you have to stay anonymous, do it quickly, quietly, happily." "Okay, sounds, well, easy." I said confidently. He had no idea I was going to cause an avalanche in their hierarchy.
Two months had gone by, and I was a key member to the upcoming operation. I had met the leader, and he believed that my skills proved useful. The attack was to target highly populated areas, and bomb them without warning. Without the thunder squad, it would be extremely easy to do it and get away with it. There was something odd about the leader though. He said his name was Rhandol, but I didn't believe that. And when I first met him, he looked at me with slight recognition. This confused me at the time, but I didn't remember him from anywhere. I pondered Was he there at the night of the attack? Was he in hiding during the investigation of the hotel? He was toying with my head. He controlled my squadron like a puppeteer. We were the marionettes. When I was around him, I tried hard not to show my anger towards him. During the initiation, I tried to look less skillful than I was. I need to stop them before the attacks. I have to. I thought. "When will we attack the neighborhoods?" I inquired. He smirked. "You're an eager one, aren't you? We will attack in two months. The set date March 8th. This will give us time to prepare." At this time, I tried to distance my relationship with the leader because I was called back in to reclaim my badge as a police officer. I was promoted to commander. Reyes was also promoted to commander. Zach had been moved to the intel team. February 8th, I informed Zach about the attacks, and where the leader will be during the attacks. Rhandol was going to be in the hotel the Hostage operation happened in.
Two nights before the attacks, I had went back to the organization, and met with Rhandol. He had a blank expression. "Aiden, we will be going our separate ways soon. I want you to know, that what happens tomorrow, I want you to take over the organization. Please, do it for me." I hesitantly responded in a state of shock, "But, I only joined four months ago. I can't just take position as leader." "Please, grant me this last wish as leader." He stated. "I will be waiting in the hotel of the false Olivar Housley attack. Please meet me on the night before the attack, in the room where the squadron was crippled." This whole conversation made me uneasy. It reminded me of when I met Rhandol. He had a look of familiarity. On the night of the attack, maybe he did see us, but we didn't see him. Could he have been on a neighboring building, watching from a distance? It wasn't impossible, but I doubted that he was. Maybe he was using binoculars, or a telescope. What was I thinking?! Whatever it was, it got my mind off track, but all of it would be resolved soon.
The night before the attacks, Thunder Squad was ordered to storm the hotel and bring Rhandol back alive. I had a different plan. An evacuation was ordered to the bellhop, only leaving room D407 occupied. This was our chance to save lives. This would be their revenge. We had two new recruits, a rookie, who was trained in medical situations, and an intel operator that used equipment to hear sounds and locate explosives. Two people I wish were with us when the accident happened. Their names were Dickson and London. We were to be transported by helicopter once more. This time, it would be my last job. "Thunder squad, report to the briefing room immediately! Zach, Aiden, Reyes, London, Dickson, please report to the briefing room at this time." Lt. Ramirez announced. It felt good to be back in action, but so empty without Alexander and Lydia. "Commander Aiden and Thunder Squad reporting for duty! GOD, that felt so awesome just saying that, I've always wanted to say that haha!" I giggled. "Zach reporting from Intel team, sir!" Zach had entered. "Aiden had informed me on the whereabouts of Rhandol, leader of an unnamed terrorist group. He is staying in D407, in the hotel of the Olivar Housley incident." "Okay, well, Thunder Squad, your objective is to bring Rhandol back to base for police interrogation. Do not kill him, if he is dead, then you will be jailed for murder. Do I make myself clear!?" Ramirez commanded. "SIR YES SIR!" The squadron shouted. This was going to be interesting.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! The blades of the helicopter cut the air into a deafening sound. "Okay Thunder Squad, arriving shor- SHI-" BOOM! A rocket had hit the helicopter, we were rapidly spiraling down to the hotel. Flames engulfed the cockpit, if I had survived this, I was one lucky dog. The constant spinning of the helicopter had made me sick. I passed out before we crashed. When I woke up, debris had littered the ground. I wasn't on the street though, this was carpet. We crashed into the hotel. Flames had eaten everything around me. Beside me was Dickson, the medicinal recruit. He was injured severely. "Over there! In the chopper, there's my medkit, bring it over here, I'll tell you how to fix me up." I got up very slowly. There was a sharp pain in my side. A fragment of the helicopter blade had punctured though my waist. My equilibrium was thrown off, it felt like I was looking through a kaleidoscope. My vision had adjusted. Dickson had a gnash in his leg as if a lion had attacked him for his next meal. The medkit was safe from the flames, it was under the seat, where the flames could not grasp it. "You'll be alright son, just hang on." I told Dickson. He replied,"Yessir, I wasn't planning to die on my first mission." I had listened to him attentively. I had made small talk. "Where ya from. Kiddo? Any family around here, kids, wife?"
"Yeah, my mom lives in the suburbs along with my dog, Snoop. Heh, if I could see them everyday, I would, trust me, that dog is always up to something funny."
"Heh, I had a dog just like him, he lives with my father up north. I don't see them often though."
"Hey, try radioing back to base, use a pilot's radio or something."
As I approached the cockpit, I noticed the two burning bodies of the pilots, the co-pilot's radio was still in working condition. I noticed something else, Reyes wasn't in the debris, she might've fallen out of the heli when we were crashing. I didn't let it get to me. At the time, I had forgotten all about the other recruit. He will show up later I thought. Bzztt. "Mother base, this is Commander Aiden reporting from the hotel. We have two severely injured and two missing. Our helicopter has-" Bang! The door was kicked open. A familiar face had entered the room. It was Rhandol. "Aiden, what are you doing here. What a way to make an entrance, but, I digress," Blap! "AHHH" I screamed in agony. "You have a burning persistence in your soul. What is it, what have you come to do eh? I knew who you were before you entered the organization. You did not fool me. And now, look at you. You could have been something great."
"I would never join the likes of you." I spoke. "I'd rather much die."
"That can be arranged. I'll put you down like a limp horse." He replied.
"No, I didn't come here to die. I'm here to finish what you started. I'm here to end you." I spoke out against him.
"We'll see about that." He smirked.
Blap! He shot at my foot. He was going to make my death miserable. I supressed my pain, I wasn't going to let him get any enjoyment out of it. Blap, blap, blap! He crippled my legs. My vision was fading. Am I going to die trying to bring those who have died justice? No. I reached for my holster, I don't care what we were ordered to do, he is going to die I thought. Blap! "ARGH!" He shot my hand. My gun had fallen to the ground and slid next to Dickson. I guess Rhandol didn't notice Dickson because he didn't do anything about it. "Well, it looks like, I lost then." I uttered. "But before you kill me, let me ask you, how are you very aware of your surroundings, eh?"
"What do you mean? I just look arou-" Blap!
Rhandol's body had fallen to the ground, defeated. Dickson had held the revolver in his hand. He smirked and said, "It's high noon somewhere in the world, eh boss?" He had gathered all his strength to stand up. Dry tears filled his eyes. He was proud in ending it all. He found it appropriate to terminate an armed threat. After all, it's what we do. I saw a lot of me in Dickson. He was a brave soul who spoke out. A great addition to the team.
"You know what kid, let's go get some food. I think we both need it." I smirked. "Nice shooting."
"Learned from the best." He smiled. "But first, let's get you patched up."
"Yeah, I think we both need it." I added.
