Days past, Shadow and Nina didn't return. There were rumors going around base that they had been killed. In the light of them, Nolan called us up and gave us one objective, find Talon squad. Due to the fact that they were ambushing a DK convoy, there were possibility we all refused to acknowledge openly, but I think we were all panning them in our heads. They could have been captured, crushed if the bridge had collapsed or simply shredded by DK fire. We worried ourselves sick, but Taro and Mnerloth had the hardest time of all of us. Taro, after losing his mate, didn't need to lose his son and best friend and Mnerloth didn't need to lose the only bit of a family she had left. Adelind was worried about little Taro as well, as there was a clean cut chance he had lost both his parents in the same afternoon.
The searching was ruining all of us. My body ached from the constant combat, lack of real food, the flying and the weight of my gear. I had pain in my ankles from my own weight and my vest was rubbing the scales off my back and sides. My friends weren't faring any better. Both of Val's eyes were infected as a result of a tear gas grenade, Ator had begun to have problems walking, Sozenn had a few bullet holes in his chest from being attacked by a shot gunner, The Anthro's were all sick with some intestinal bug and Hudson and the humans were simply getting too tired to keep going.
One morning our 66 touched down and the hatch dropped to reveal Nolan in full combat gear and the grass of Romeo.
“Finally”, Tess groaned as we stood up, “were home.”
“You sound like a little school girl Tesselth”, Syralth said.
“Please not now”, Tess said, “it hurts to stand up and to talk.”
“Judging by the way your carrying yourselves I take found a little more than nothing?”, Nolan asked.
“We checked the AO, searched a 20 mile radios and more than a few tropical islands on the way back”, I said, “some of which held natives that weren't...welcoming. Only evidence we found of them was a piece of titanium. Off their 22 by my guess.”
Nolan looked down at the ground and sighed, “fuck....go and get cleaned up and then get some rest, that's an order Raven, leave the equipment behind. Dismissed.”
“Yes sir”, I answered as I kicked off my vest, glad to finally be free of it.
My friends and I walked down to the wash room and the humans there scrubbed us clean. We then went to get food before the Anthro's went to the vet and the Feral's and humans returned to the barracks. When I walked into my room, I found Adelind and the kids laying in front of the TV.
“Daddy”, Helix said, “your back.”
The kids got up and started walking towards me.
“Not now guys”, I said holding out my paw, “I'm too tired.”
“Are you okay Dad?”, Tyson asked.
“Just tired son”, I replied, I looked at Adelind, “can you help me to the room, it hurts to stand.”
“Sure”, Adelind said. She again allowed me to use her as a crutch and walk to the bedroom. I lay in bed and Adelind turned up the AC.
“Thanks”, I said stretching out a bit.
“You have sores on your ankles and all the way up and down your legs”, Adelind voiced, “when was the last time you took a nap?”
“In between the 4 minute flights to and from the AOs”, I answered, “my body hurts.”
“You didn't find them did you?”, Adelind asked looking down at the ground.
“No”, I answered, “all we found was a piece of scrap metal.”
Adelind sighed, “what about little Taro?”
I sighed, “I'm not sure. If Shadow and Nina really did bite the big one...then I guess Taro would probably take him.”
I heard Adelind sniffle, “this is getting to be too much. Shadow and Nina is one thing, but Hunter?”
I sighed. Hunter had been around Adelind, Sozenn, Fireclaw and I a lot when we were little and had taught us skills that had saved our lives when we were kidnapped from Tacoma and had to walk back nearly 2,000 miles. If Hunter was dead....well I'm not sure I'd be able to take that.
I sighed, “all we can do now is hope.”
“I'll let you get some sleep”, Adelind said closing the blinds and shutting the door behind her. I sighed and lay my head on my pillow. I wondered where Shadow and Nina could possibly be, if they had been captured or worse killed. The Bridge had been completely destroyed when we arrived and since the area had been cordoned off by the LAPD, an under water scouting run was impossible, so they may very well have been buried under a chunk of concrete at the bottom of the river. I sighed again and with my friends on my mind, feel asleep.
I woke some time later. The room was chilly and the ache in my body had gone down quite a bit, you'd be surprised what a few hours of shut eye could do for you. I stretched a little bit and then walked out into the living room, which I found empty.
“Adelind?”, I called.
I looked in the rest of the rooms, empty.
“Where did they go?”, I asked myself, then I saw a note stuck on the TV.
“Gone to dinner, didn't want to wake you.”
I sighed and placed the note in the TV stand drawer and walked down to the mess hall where I found my kids and mate along with the rest of Raven, minus everyone. I trotted over to the corner and sat down with them.
“Well good evening sleepy head”, Adelind said licking me, “did you sleep well?”
“I did”, I replied, “most of the ache is gone, so that's nice.”
“By the way bro”, Sozenn said, “almost all of Raven is out of commission.”
I sighed, “who have I got left?”
“Hudson, Issac, Wyatt, Frank, Jackie and Emelia”, Sozenn answered, “everyone else is either sick in bed or in the hospital.”
“Whats wrong with you?”, I asked.
“I broke my sternum”, Sozenn said, “it hurts like a mother fucker, why I'm laying on my side.”
“Ouch”, Adelind said.
“I cracked it once”, I said, “I remember dreading going to bed because I'd wake up sweating and hurting so bad it was hard to move.”
Sozenn laughed weakly, “I hurt so bad.”
“Stop talking then”, I said, “just rest.”
Sozenn didn't answer me, he lay his head between his paws. I waited for a few minutes before the chef brought me a slab of Turkey.
“WHATT!!!!”, Tyson hollered, “no fair!!!! Trade me!!!”
“Nope”, I said biting a piece off.
“DAD PLEEEEEASSSEEE!!!!”, Tyson begged.
I smiled and tore a piece off, handing it to him. Tyson made a cute little noise as he started to chew on it. Ace reached for it, but Tyson made a face and growled at him. Ace laughed and backed off. As I was finishing my food, Nolan came in. He was red in the face and his brown hair was covered in sweat.
“What happened to you?”, Sozenn asked.
“The badlands happened”, Nolan said, “I was out there observing troop training when some intel came in. The AC on my Bowler gave out and I drove back without it.”
“Have Ator look at it”, Sozenn said, “he knows his way around that stuff.”
“I'll make sure of it”, he replied, “by the way Tyro, when your done, gather the members of your team who are still combat fit, I have a mission that only you guys can do.”
“Will do”, I answered.
Nolan grabbed a few slices of pizza to go and then left the mess hall. I sighed.
“Looks like I have another job on my hands”, I kissed Adelind's cheek, “I'll be back soon.”
She kissed me back. I stood and went back to the barracks, where I found Hudson and the others.
“What's up Tyro?”, Hudson asked.
“Nolan has a job for us”, I said.
“It's kinda late for that”, Emelia said.
I sighed, “I know, but let's just get it done.”
They sighed and stood. We walked down to the command tent where Nolan was hunched over the hologram table with a piece of pizza in his hand.
“What ya need Nolan?”, Hudson asked.
“Thanks for coming guys”, Nolan said, “Frank's intel revealed the location of a second DK ammo production facility.”
“Where is it?”, Hudson asked sticking his hands into his pockets.
“In some foot hills near Baghdad”, Nolan said, “mission is simple, I've already dispatched Punisher 1-1 from Echo Headquarters in Iraq. Your mission is to get there, run a little recon, then lase the area for Punisher and a Missile cursier that's sitting off Iran's coast.”
“Easy enough”, I said, “in and out.”
“Get going”, Nolan said, “when you get back you can have some time to rest up, I know these past few weeks have been rough on you guys.”
I nodded and we left for our 66. Our gear was already there, ready and waiting. We slipped it on as the pilot spun up the bird and soon we were in the air. It was an hours or so fly to the factory, so there was nothing to do but rest and that's what I intended on doing.
“Old Raven”, Jackie said, “when was the last time this happened?”
“The circus tent”, Emelia said, “I know I wasn't a team member then, but it counts right?”
I smiled, “yeah it counts.”
She smiled, “thanks boss.”
“Your welcome”, I replied, “now please, all of you, I need to sleep, no distractions.”
“No promises”, Jackie smirked as I managed to find sleep.
-Two Hours Later-
I was stirred when the 66 touched down in the desert and the hatch fell. The cold, desert night air rushed in along with particles of sand and the mechanical sounds of the factory that I guessed was about a half mile out.
“Wake up brother”, Hudson said, “were here.”
I sighed, stretched and stood up. It was pitch dark outside, not one single star was out, the perfect cover.
“Reminds me of Cuba”, Jackie said chambering his 700.
“Let's see if we can't make it turn out like that”, I said, “let's get moving, I'm point.”
We began a sprint to the factory. I could see the dim yellow hue that was coming over the edges of some sand dunes a ways in front of us. As we got closer, not only did the light get a little brighter, the mechanical noises got louder too. When we made it to the base of the dune, I turned to my friends.
“Go silent”, I told them as I transferred controls to my MK-48.
Hudson and the humans screwed suppressors to their firearms and then we began a slow, low crawl up the sand dune and to the peak. I pulled my tactical binoculars from my vest and began scanning the area.
There were three men armed with SCAR-L's that were dressed in the RDH red and black uniforms dug in behind a old Browning 19-19 emplacement, two of who were sitting in chairs with their weapons at the ready, with a guard both right next to them. I could see a fourth man in side with his helmet off who was watching what I guessed was security camera feed, he had an M240 Bravo in the corner. There was a razor wire fence that encircled the entire facility with a single sniper tower in the front left hand corner. I could see several more guards spread out through the facility, all of them were well armed and seemed well alert.
“Fixing to get into a pretty big gunfight”, I said.
“What are we gonna do boss?”, Hudson asked.
“First, Jackie, counter snipe, guard, the sniper tower, drop him.”
Jackson steadied his rifle and let off a single, suppressed shot. The sniper's head exploded and he fell with a very faint thump. I watched through the binos as one of the men from the emplacement grabbed his rifle and went to investigate with out telling his friends. He walked out in front of the fence and started around towards the edge near the sniper tower. This was when I noticed a couple of crates underneath the tower that were stacked two high and three across.
“Jackie”, I said, “tango going to the tower, wait till he turns the corner, then drop him behind the barrels.”
Jackie dialed his scope and then waited. The man walked around behind the barrels and Jackie put a bullet through the back of his head.
“Like bang splat”, Jackie quietly laughed as he rechambered his Remington.
“Let's go”, I said, “Hudson, you and Wyatt scout the factory floor, Frank and Emelia you guys hit the warehouses, Issac and I will check out the Main office. Jackie you stay up here and take out targets that look like threats. Engage only if you need to.”
“Rodger that”, Jackie replied.
With that, we descended the clearing. Jackie took out the other men in the emplacement as we neared it and we stashed the bodies in lumps of sand, there wasn't any way you'd find them. Even if you were looking. We slipped in through the front gate and dispersed, everyone finding the best way to complete their objectives. Issac and I slipped behind a brick building close to the entrance and I opened up the com line.
“Jackson”, I asked, “where's the main office?”
“If you loop around that building your hiding behind, follow the fence to the sniper tower and then follow the fence two buildings down, the third building is the main office, there aren't any windows, so I can't see if there are any hostiles.”
“Copy all”, I answered, “Tyro out.”
Issac and I hugged the building to it's edge. I peered around the corner and saw two men were were leaning up against a lit doorway with their SCAR-ls in hand, scanning the area. Issac and I waited for a few seconds before they weren't looking in our direction and darted across the lit area to the sniper tower. In the space behind the buildings, I noticed one guard making his rounds.
“He's mine”, Jackie said.
There was a faint crack and the man fell into the dirt with a low thud. Issac and I sprinted down the small alley way and found a small, brick building with light coming from under the doorway.
“I bet my ass that place is occupied”, Issac said.
“Were about to find out”, I said as I pulled the clip off a MKII Concussion grenade.
Issac and I stacked up by the door. He cracked it open just a little bit and I set the live grenade inside. I pulled the door shut and held it tightly as the grenade went off. Issac and I burst in and found one man on the floor, holding his stomach and throwing up.
“Knock him out”, I said.
Issac walked up and clubbed the man on the head with his M16. He fell to the ground, out cold.
The room was what you might find at any construction site, it was small, I could barely fit inside. There were a few filing cabinets in the back and there was a PC and papers on a desk in the opposite corner.
“So nice of them, to leave the PC unlocked for us don't you think?”, Issac asked as he sat down in the chair and plugged in a flash drive. As I started gathering up papers, I got onto the com lines.
“All Raven Team members”, I said, “Issac and I have completed our objectives. What's the sit rep on other objectives? Advise.”
“Assembly line is dark”, Hudson called, “must have just gotten off because the presses are still warm.”
“Nothing but boxes of ammo in the warehouses”, Emelia said.
“We got the data from the main office”, I called, “every one rendezvous at the infill point.”
With that, I shut off the radio as Issac and I cleared out of the office. We crept back along the fence, taking out two guards that were sneaking smokes in the dark alley behind the AC and the sniper tower. When Issac and I reached the top of the hill, Jackson trained his 700 right at us.
“Star!”, he shouted.
“Texas!”, Issac replied.
He set down his rifle and waved us over, “be careful. It's so dark out I damn near shot the both of you.”
“That would have been the right thing”, I said as I saw four more bodies coming up the hill, “star!”
“Texas!”, Hudson answered.
I motioned them up the hill. Once everyone was here, I opened up the coms.
“Punisher 1-1”, I said, “this is Raven 2-2, what's your status, advise.”
“Rodger Raven 2-2”, the pilot called back, “Punisher 1-1 is wheeled up in the over head and ready for tasking.”
“Confirm priority production target”, I said, “RC 004122326, we will be lazing, I say again we will be lazing. Confirm.”
“Rodger that Raven 2-2”, the pilot called, “Punisher 1-1 confirms.”
“Let's paint this target”, I said flipping on a laser on my 105.
My teammates flipped lasers on their vests on and soon the coms cracked, “Punisher 1-1 is visual on friendlies and tally target. Weapons away, time to fall in 10 seconds, danger close.”
The Warthog's engines began to shake and rattle the quiet night sky. The sleek black aircraft was nearly invisible as it flew over head, releasing a hailstorm of 30mm lead and letting more rockets fly than I had ever seen, leaving nothing but destruction in their wake. The humans down in the plant now were fully aware they were under attack and were running for cover.
“Good kills”, Punisher said, “3e plus KIAs, cleared for immediate re attack.”
Punisher circled back around. The engines drowning out all sound from below. I watched as the tank buster strafed the facility again. Chunks of metal and glass flew off of the buildings and the ground shook violently as a few rockets hit the smokestacks and sent them crashing into the factory itself. Punisher circled back around for a third run. This time, the target was the warehouse. In the inky darkness, I was able to watch as the two rockets ignited in their pods and flew from the jet to the warehouse, sending it up in a massive, hundred foot fireball when they hit.
“That was badass”, Hudson said, “damn...wish I had my camera.”
“Punisher 1-1 is exiting east, thanks for the work Raven.”
“Raven copies your last”, I replied, “have a safe flight home Punisher, out.”
“Well guys”, I said yawning, “I think...I think that about warps up what we can do here. Let's go home.”
We turned and began the long sprint back to the 66, finding the hatch down and the bird ready to go. As we stepped inside, the humans pulled off their vests and took off their boots while I pulled my vest off and un buttoned my shirt and Emelia simply un buttoned her vest.
“Where to Major?”, the pilot Greyson asked as he spun up the engines.
“I feel like I could die right now”, Emelia said rolling onto her side, “parts of me are hurting that I didn't know could hurt.”
“Can you be more specific?”, Frank asked.
Hudson thumped him.
“What?”, Frank asked smiling.
Hudson shook his head.
“Pervert”, Emelia said.
Frank laughed and reclined in his seat.
“I'm to tired to laugh”, Jackie said laying back on the bench seat, “like...how the fuck am I still even awake tired.”
Emelia yawned, “now I know how Tyranny feels.”
“What?”, I asked turning my head to look at her.
“He goes out into the field a lot more than I do”, Emelia said, “he's usually out for two or three months at a time and he's said that I don't get to hold the whole “I've given birth and you haven't” thing over him because of it.”
“Can you?”, I asked.
“If this is what he does on a regular basis”, Emelia said, “I'll take being a stay-at-home Mom any day of the week.” She laughed.
“Can everyone please shut the muzzle, mouth, whatever it is that you have so others can sleep?”, I asked.
Hudson laughed, “okay but make your sleep quick.”
I rolled my eyes and fell asleep.
-Two Hours Later-
I was stirred by the 66 touching down at Romeo. When the hatch came down, I gathered up my gear and met Nolan, who looked like he had hauled himself out of bed.
“Factory's toast”, I said, “now please, leave me be.”
Nolan laughed, “request accepted Major, now get some R&R, that's an order.”
I nodded and walked back to the barracks. When I entered my room, Adelind was the only one still up. She was laying in the living room watching re-runs of a show called Friends.
“Hey”, she said standing up.
“Are the kids asleep?”, I asked.
“Yeah”, she replied, “I put them away about an hour ago. How was the job?”
“It was a job”, I replied, “can you take my vest to the room while I take a shower? I'm feeling really ripe right now.”
“Sure”, she replied.
Adelind clicked off the TV and took my vest into our room while I went into the bathroom. I peeled off my uniform, which had allocated almost a month of dirt, sweat and grime and dropped it in the laundry basket. I turned on the shower, setting the dial to full hot and half way cold before stepping in. The water hitting me was an instant relief from the hot, tight feeling that had encased my body for nearly three weeks. I soaped up and then scrubbed all the dust, blood and dirt off before rinsing again and shutting off the shower. I dried off and dressed in a white T-shirt and black boxer shorts and yes, they make that stuff for dragons here. I grabbed my horrible smelling uniform and threw it into the wash, started it and then walked to the kids room.
I opened the door quietly so as not to wake them. They were all fast asleep and snoring lightly. Ace was laying on his side. Dusk was on his stomach, backwards. Helix was on her back and Tyson was curled protectively around little Kayel. I smiled and gave each one of them a goodnight kiss before I walked to my own room.
Adelind was laying in bed, looking like she was half asleep. I shut off the light and crawled into bed next to her, stretching out as far as I could. Adelind rolled over and put her arm around me.
“Tired huh?”, she asked.
“Yeah”, I moaned stretching out, “this past month has been a killer.”
“I can imagine”, she replied quietly, “...where do you think Shadow and Nina are? And Hunter?”
I sighed and rolled over to face her, “I'm not sure. I can't even make a guess right now....I just hope their okay.”
“ I do too”, Adelind said rolling over again.
In placed my arm around her, “I love you.”
“I love you too”, Adelind replied, “goodnight my boy.”
“Goodnight my love”, I replied as I slowly fell asleep