The mission: To rescue a war prisoner from an armored prison transport via helicopter. Wolf will travel through the Point and separate into two teams. Team One will be picked up by helicopter on these coordinates, while Team Two will continue to these coordinates and wait for orders.
As per the coordinates given in the mission report, we've reached the location as per the agreed timing. Marcus radioed in with our coordinates and sure enough, a few minutes later, we heard the familiar sounds of a helicopter approaching. Since there's a capacity limit to the helicopter, only three soldiers plus a pilot can enter.
Team One was Frank, Tom and Lucas. Waving them goodbye as they rode off into the distance, the rest of us continued on foot to the next set of coordinates given in the mission report.
It was ruthless, coupled with the extreme bitter cold and the exhaustion of the battle we've just won, we marched on nonetheless.
The war prisoner's identity was unknown as it should be. Our mission was to spring him out from the armored prison transport, which is usually a high-speed bullet train, before he gets inside the prison and that is where he is lost to us forever.
It is critical for Team Two to reach the second set of coordinates before the armored train arrives. We had less than twenty minutes to cross the Point, and head to the opposite mountain. Since time was of the essence, we had no time to chat. The hike was not pleasant, the elevation was erratic every now and then, and our boots scraped along the smooth granite slopes.
Panting heavily, we've managed to reach the coordinates with time to spare and we broke off into smaller teams, each with their own spot, hidden by the crown of a forest at a nearby cliff. For myself, I was stationed further down near to where I could see the train tracks. I was perched on the edge of the cliff – my handy rifle by my side and I was observing the train tracks with a pair of binoculars.
The rest of the team are on standby, so they drank up, ate their rations and tried to rest up.
Team One had to come up with a plan to take out the soldiers that were following the armed transport, and they decided to set up a simple trap – to fix a strong wire cable between two steel columns. It was a trap the train is unable to avoid.
"Are you sure it'll work?" I asked as I observed them attach the cables via my binoculars.
"Then do you have a better idea, genius?"
"Train's here!"
"Let's get this guy!"
After they set the trap, they went up high, returning to where the train was en-route, and hovered just above the last carriage. The soldiers had heard the sound of the helicopter approaching and like ants, began to appear from the gaps between each carriage to clamor on top of the roof.
"Time to work!"
"Yeah!"
"Woohoo!"
A vicious crossfire ensued for twelve minutes. It was all I could hear through the radio – the rapid sound of bullets ricocheting and piercing the bodies of the enemies, the whump of the helicopter blades, and the grunts of annoyance from the boys.
"Keep it steady!" Lucas yelled through the radio suddenly. "You're going to hit the roof of the carriage!"
"Shut up! I'm concentrating!" the pilot yelled in return.
"Wow," Quinn commented suddenly. "It's like that movie I saw before."
"You're reaching the wire trap," I warned.
Through my binoculars, I saw the train passing the wire trap and the soldiers who were busy fighting against the helicopter had no idea there was a wire spread across their path. Thus, they were catapulted out onto the road, smashing onto the ground like playdoh.
"That was brilliant!"
Passing the wire trap cleared most of the enemy soldiers and the trio clambered onto the roof of the carriage before disappearing from view. They have a ten more minutes before they reach the prison entry, and they had to leave before that happens.
"Oi, what the fuck are you doing?"
"The dude's tripping!"
A pause in-between. I wondered what was delaying them. Glancing through the binoculars, I noticed that the trio were already on-board the helicopter, hovering above the moving train. However, the war prisoner stood on the carriage and turned into a sprint towards the front, most likely to where the driver was.
I followed him with my binoculars, killing the guards swiftly, climbing over each carriage with ease and he entered the locomotive, kicking the door open. He killed the driver without a second to lose and cranked the train to go faster. My eyes widened, and I watched as the train hurtled faster, the engine spluttering with the effort.
The helicopter followed closely alongside the train, intending to wait for the prisoner to jump across to safety but he had other ideas. As we watched on, he climbed towards the automatic grenade launcher and started firing at the prison. The front prison guards were shooting as well. It was a weird fight.
I could hear the rounds being fired from where I was.
"Hey, forget this maniac!"
"What the hell is he doing?" I asked. "You're cutting it too close!"
"Let's fucking go!"
"Yo!"
"Move!"
At the last moment, the war prisoner ran and jumped towards the helicopter and I watched as the train smashed through the prison – instantly causing a big explosion, and my eyes widened in shock at the spectacle before me. The building was in ruins – some parts were crumbling, and the middle part of the train had derailed, lying on its side with steam rolling out of it.
I took a quick scan of the horizon. "We got movement on your 8 o'clock," I said as I pulled up my sniper, making myself comfortable on the ground. From the distance, I spotted a helicopter bearing the enemy's coat-of-arms rising from within the prison compound and coming towards them at full speed.
"Roger," Lucas said. "We see 'em."
I dialed the dope on my scope at 1000m, preparing for a shot. That helicopter would have a mounted grenade launcher in its arsenal. They would shoot at any moment. I got into position, my right cheek resting on the stock, and eyed the helicopter through my scope. I took a deep breath – the first breath to relax. As I took a second breath and started to exhale, I zeroed in onto the helicopter.
We're not going to go down like that, no fucking way.
I began to squeeze my trigger, sending a round at the exact spot on the helicopter that will bring it down, causing the blades to malfunction. The helicopter began to dip downwards, its nose dipping – black smoke and sparks were coming out from the hull. It was about to catch fire. I waited for them to crash to the ground.
Through my scope, I watched as a missile dropped from the helicopter and headed towards the group. Gritting my teeth, I kept my sight alignment on the target and followed it. The helicopter carrying my team was still in the air, and the missile was at its tail.
"A missile is on your 6 o'clock," I said with gritted teeth.
"Roger."
The pilot avoided the missile as it wasn't a heat-seeking type and I packed up, getting up from the hiding place after making sure that I was alone.
"We'd meet you at the rendezvous point."
As soon as I entered the clearing where the rendezvous was, the team was huddled in a tight circle. My heart rate doubled as I neared the group and noticed Quinn's ashen face as he turned to look at me. The question of who got hurt burned in my mind and I was too afraid to see but I forced myself to.
It was Tom.
Tom was on the ground clutching onto his wound as Marcus applied first aid. The fear in my chest disappeared entirely and I stared down at him. There was no concern or pity in my veins, so I walked away and sat down on a log – resting my rifle on my lap.
The insane war prisoner noticed that I was sitting by myself and neared me. I looked up to see the weather-beaten face and tanned skin – drenched in sweat and wearing nothing but a sleeveless top and a pair of soiled khaki pants. He stared at me with eyes that had seen too much.
"You helped bring the helicopter down," he stated. "Thanks."
"You're the maniac who ran the train through the prison wall."
He shrugged like as if it was not a big deal and went away to be alone. I kept to myself as they fussed over Tom and a few minutes after, Frank announced that a pick-up would be coming soon, and we would be flying out of this snowflake country within a few hours.
Thank Heavens.
.
"Hey, we're going to visit Tom in the –"
"Yo rookie! Let's go!"
"But –"
"Leave it. Let's go!"
"Sure man."
Even Lucas was surprised. "A-are you sure?"
I got up from my chair to join the boys. "I'm visiting a teammate," I said as I looked up to the older man. "There's nothing wrong with that."
A smile broke across his face when he realized what I meant, and we went to the infirmary as a group. The rookies were confused but decided not to reproach as we made our way down – visiting the injured teammate was more important than worrying about what I said.
Entering the infirmary, we were not surprised to see his ever-clingy girlfriend by his side, and I was not surprised to see her expression change upon seeing me. In fact, I was amused at her reaction. Tom was awake when we arrived and as we swarmed around him, ignoring the woman while we asked about his well-being. Quinn and Lucas – for some reason – kept close to me as I hovered by the left side of the bed.
I was quiet and simply listened to them talk, as I did not want to.
It took me a long time to finally forgive myself for what I had gone through – the million and one thoughts that appeared to haunt me to this day. When I finally looked at him properly – head on – I realized that this man was nothing but a stranger and a colleague to me.
He ceased to be nothing when he broke me apart, I realized.
And that was when I realized, I have someone who loved me more than he ever could.
"What is she doing here?" came her accusatory question with her shrilly voice.
Before, my hands and throat would tighten with guilt, pain and anger, and my heart would tear into a million shreds. However, this time, there was no reaction from me, and it gave me more confidence that indeed I had finally moved on for good.
"Why can't I be here?" I asked with a smirk. "Are you afraid that I'll steal him from you like you did? I won't question your taste in broken goods but don't worry, I got myself an upgrade."
The group of boys were stunned into silence but Lucas, being the embarrassing idiot that he was began whooping and clapping heartily. He congratulated me for serving the best reply in years and high-fived me much to the bewilderment of both the woman and Tom.
"Let's get out of here and leave the cheaters to themselves," I declared, and we left the infirmary snickering.
"What was that about?" Quinn asked as soon as we left the infirmary.
I looked at him, expecting him to answer his question.
"You used to date Tom and he cheated on you with that vile bitch," he said and paused. "Did I get that right?"
"You got full marks."
"He's such an asshole."
"You got that right."
"Let's get some ice-cream!"
.