Rainbow Six: November Sun

17: "ON MY MARK"

Harry was listening intently to the radio comms. "Talk to me."

"Maverick reporting: single tango neutralized. Moving to assist Glaz. No further contact."

"Sir, Team 2 is en route to reinforce," chimed Sledge. "Close behind."

Harry nodded. "Received."

A ruckus sounded behind him, and Director Six turned to see a small crowd of police and DSU officers gathering around a video console neara van. Lt. Col. Maes waved to him hurriedly, and Harry jogged over. "What is it?"

"Another video." Maes pointed grimly to the screen. "It's in the bank. One of the offices. They have the manager hostage."

Harry peered closely at the live feed. A man and a woman dressed in bank security uniforms stood on either side of a middle-aged, bearded man dressed in a black power suit. Both security guards were toting modded Kalashnikov rifles.

"We are November Sun," the woman stated. "To all agencies and police forces in the area; to the counterterrorism unit coming down the halls for us now; hear us."

"Harry, we're running facial recognition through the database," Dokkaebi said over the radio.

"Copy."

The woman on camera reached down and grabbed the seated man roughly by his hair, forcing him to face the camera directly. "State your name."

The bank manager was quivering with fear. "D-Dima," he said shakily. "Dima M-Molch—" The rest of his last name tumbled out in a jumbled mess.

"Louder, for the camera."

"D-Dima Molchalin."

Harry didn't bother giving the order to run Mr. Molchalin's name. He knew that Dokkaebi and the others at Guardian were already on it.

"Dima Molchalin." The woman nodded and released her hold on Mr. Molchalin, who whimpered. "You are a very special person today, Dima Molchalin. Do you know why?"

The woman's colleague suddenly perked up on the video feed, clearly disturbed by something off-camera. He opened his jacket and revealed an IED of sorts strapped to his chest. An ominous red light blinked near yellow and red wires.

"This is Sledge," came Seamus in Harry's earpiece. "We've reached the tangos' position. Posted up in the outside hallway. Awaiting orders."

"Caution," Harry warned lowly. His words were precise, but fast. "Think they hear you. Bomb threat. They have the bank manager at gunpoint. Seated, hands bound. Two hostiles. Assault rifles. Male, female. Male has IED strapped to his chest. How copy?"

Sledge, Ash and the others all echoed terse acknowledgment.

"Harry, we're entering neighboring office suites," came Maverick in a whisper. "We'll have the room surrounded."

"Roger." Harry pinched his nose momentarily as a cold wind rippled by. "Go to work."

"Sir."

Harry tilted his head up to the sky to look to Rainbow's air support helo, now hovering above the bank. "Amelia, how are you looking on fuel?"

"Solid," the pilot replied.

"Good. I have an idea. Maverick, listen up."

In the hallway outside the office suite where Mr. Molchalin had been taken hostage, Team 2 had stacked up along the walls, covering all directions with vigilant focus.

Valkyrie reached to unhitch a snake cam from her harness, but Doc pressed a palm to her shoulder. "I'll snake it," he whispered. "You're the better breacher."

The woman nodded and stepped back from the doorway as Doc reached into a pouch and produced his own snake cam. He knelt and carefully eased the camera face towards the base of the office door, taking care to execute the maneuver as slowly as possible.

Maverick quietly stepped to Sledge. "Seamus, I'm ready," he whispered, gesturing with one hand. "Shooter on the west side, shooter on the east. Synced shots for the takedown."

Sledge nodded. "Make the holes. Take your shot at the second. Go." He watched Maverick give Glaz a tap on the shoulder, and the pair glided away. "Amelia, we're ready for you."

Up in the chopper, Lt. Col. Acevedo grasped the joystick and eased the helicopter down towards the window. "Copy. Executing slow descent."

In the neighboring office, Maverick and Glaz snuck to the suite's western wall with careful steps. Just beyond it were two killers, two rifles, at least one bomb, and an innocent man trying unsuccessfully to hold back tears.

Maverick crouched quietly to one knee and readied his torch. As he did, the humming of Amelia's helicopter teased his ears.

She had perfect timing. With the noise of the rotors close enough to effectively overpower the sound of his torch, Maverick seized the opportunity.

"That's good, ma'am," he whispered.

"Roger that," Amelia replied. "Ceasing descent and maintaining current altitude."

"Torch is hot. Real small fuckin' hole comin' right up."

Glaz snorted. "Thermite know you're using his line, now?"

"He gets to say 'big hole', not 'small hole' - he has nothing to complain about."

"It's all about size with you boys, isn't it?" came Ash.

"Enough." Harry's voice on the radio was hard. "Focus."

The Rainbow operators obeyed with their silence. In no time, Maverick had torched a peephole for Glaz. He hurried back out into the hallway to circle past his stacked companions and tapped Lion's shoulder as he moved. Lion lowered his weapon and followed the man past the door to the suite where the hostage was being held, and into the neighboring office on the west side. Their teammates remained out in the hall.

Maverick moved quickly. The flame from his torch cast a bright orange glow across his tense face. Lion stood behind him, kneeling and leaning against a desk to steady his rifle's aim at the wall.

"Device in play," whispered Maverick. "Ready to fire in ten seconds. Amelia, you're good to back the helo off. Glaz?"

"Ready to fire."

"Hurry," breathed Doc. "They're getting nervous."

"Copy," Sledge replied. "We'll breach on your mark, Thorn."

"Roger that." Still prone on the office floor, Maverick set his torch down as gently as he could before shifting to shoulder his rifle. "Target acquired. On my mark, Glaz."