Fallen Ravens

Chapter Eight: Operation - Crystal Blue

Lucerne, Switzerland

Luzern-Old Town

24 October, 2022

Zackary always wanted to visit Switzerland just to see the crystal blue waters of Lake Geneva and the rolling green and white mountains of The Alps. However, as he sat at a cafe overlooking Lake Lucerne, he found no reason to complain or be upset. Well, there was one. He soon wouldn't get to enjoy the scenery.

"Cap," Lieutenant Williams said, taking a seat just across from his CO. Another person joined as well. One that Myers didn't know. "Captain Zackary Myers, this is Special Agent Jiao Webb. Agent Webb, Captain Myers."

"Pleasure to meet you, Captain," she stuck out her hand.

Myers accepted the handshake, noticing the sort of grip that would only come from years of holding a gun. "Likewise. So... you're the liaison agent that got stuck with the unfortunate task of keeping an eye on us."

"And directly reporting back to DDO Reinhardt about our operational methods," she responded, a small grin forming at the corner of her lips.

Zack let out a chuckle and asked, "How did you end up with the job?"

"I asked for it," she answered.

"You asked for it? I don't understand," he looked over at Trent. "How can you ask to be on a classified task force?"

"That's classified," she said. Lieutenant Williams laughed, but Agent Webb's face remained frozen. Rather than push any further, Myers just nodded and took another sip of his drink. The cool water slid down his throat and livened his senses. While Zack loved coffee, he made a rule a very long time ago—more than he cared to admit—that he would never take any sort of stimulant that could make him jittery.

"Cap, you ready?" Corporal Bardsley asked. "Matthews is waiting by the church right now."

"Yeah, let's go," he said, tossing a few euros onto the table before leaving. "Oh, Corporal, this is Special Agent Jiao Webb. Agent Webb, this is Corporal Bardsley."

They shook each other's hands for a moment before Bardsley said, "Take one of these."

Captain Myers took the earpiece and secured it. Once he was sure it wouldn't fall out, he reached underneath his shirt and at the waistband of his pants to make sure his pistol still remained safely tucked away. To anyone other than a soldier, it would seem unwise to check on their gun in the middle of packed crowd of tourists and locals, but in fact, it was the best time to do so. With everyone focused on the sights and themselves, no one ever paid attention to what others were doing. Certainly not on someone who spent most of his adult life knowing how to survey and blend into a crowd when needed.

The four of them weaved through the crowd, their eyes constantly scanning their surroundings while never losing sight of the church they were heading towards. They took a flight of steps uphill and went left, just to the side of the white and beige cathedral. Zackary caught a glimpse of the clock that was mounted just above the oak double doors.

Matthews whistled and waved them over. They walked along side the graveyard until they reached a pavilion of sorts that the Master Sergeant hid under. He pulled out a large crate from around the corner of the structure and flicked open the latches. Myers hadn't realized it at first, but this was a supply GOKIT Crate that would be placed in safe houses for Spec Op teams to use when they couldn't bring their gear by conventional methods.

A set of body armor had been stacked up on the left side while on the right, foldable submachine guns were tucked away in a black foam. Just beneath all of that though, a few magazines of ammunition and grenades lined the bottom. Zackary grabbed the Kevlar vest and strapped it to himself, making sure the Velcro went all the way across his waist. He then reached for the Kriss Vector submachine gun and unfolded the stock. Just underneath its foam placeholder was an Osprey suppressor which he picked up and screwed onto the barrel.