FourtyTwo

The Conflict

And it was something Sean did before getting out, the gear selected into first, something he hadn't really paid much thought to. Then again, he wasn't in the business of stealing cars. It wouldn't go anywhere for now, at least it might be more difficult to take, the Irishman reasoned. FAL back in hand, they were headed east, Sean giving a simple nod to Hayden as he backed him up, letting him lead into the street, and then around into the old market and into a tight alley, the access towards Melani's place.

The market felt eerie, the lights were out, and there was nothing but floodlighting left on now from generators and various setups in the distance. The traders in the night market had gone, they would ply their wares in the colder evening light, but no such thing. It was silent. Eerily so, and dark too. No NODs, and canvases over the roofs between the clay-brick buildings made the area even darker, their night vision naturally having to adjust as they moved through. Like a Souk, but far more sodden and less built up. Stalls were left, no goods in them of course, but it was left behind. There was nobody here. They had either run into the castle, or gone home.

"Lots of possible avenues in. Recommend we don't go loud for now, we may want to pick off guards as isolated as we can." Bethan commented, the other FN-made weapon she held kept tight, knowing that if things went loud, four mercs that were as well armed as them could at least hold their own against surprised. For how long, that she wondered.

"See, told you my way of it might work." Sean wryly replied, adjusting his baseball cap, covering another alley as they passed it through, heading towards a small opening in the market itself. A handful of stalls in the middle, just past where the mystery meat Hayden had picked up were left in the middle of it with a few guards around. The moonlight pierced the alley, a weird eerie world interrupted by gunfire and loud crashing of mortar shells into the distance, where all hell was breaking loose.

"Might spare us getting put up on rebar....shit, contacts, 50m. Three of them on that courtyard. Got a shooter on the roof too, looks like some sort of marksman rifle." She commented, as Sean broke from the team, finding a wall to get up against, while Bethan moved behind a stall, looking to Yekatarina, then at Hayden.

"Probably best we don't hit them. Wait them out, see if they move." Bethany calmly commented, Sean looking over at the group, then back at her.
"No chance. They're guards, not looters, they're not moving. Neither SAMC or COGS either, they have to be Melani's people. But we go loud here, we risk alerting the compound." Sean retorted, looking at the guy on the roof, the same Bethan took a glance at before she turned to the rest of the team, adjusting her boonie herself and her tactical pack, aware there wasn't going to be an easy way around this.

"Thoughts then? I might be able to flank them out, keep a low profile and if she can get onto his roof, drop that guy up there. Those guards down the bottom need some sort of distraction...you might be able to isolate them and drop them quiet if we can if you can get close enough to them. Might be half an idea to scavenge whatever you can to that end to distract them. Or put something together." Her thoughts were to the fact that well, they were in a market- there had to be something, surely? And if Hayden, Yekatarina and Sean could figure something out, they could get into the yard at least.

"This isn't Ikea. But I'm all ears."

The Conflict

Had a longer mental block than expected (on notice at work, leaving to go travelling in November!) - so finally got a post out!

The Conflict

And with that, Sean gave a gentle rev as the four-cylinder diesel chugged, the sight of skinnies beyond the gate making it clear they needed to get the fuck out, the Ulsterman pulling out and now moving.
"Get in!" Sean called out, hoping the team would take the rev as a note enough, right behind them out of the compound after the turn. The Welshwoman of the two lept into the rear of the bed, using the tailgate as a platform, grabbing a bullbar near the front to help hoist her in, raising her FNC and covering the rear angle, knowing that Hayden, as reluctant as he was, would take that bait.
"Yekatarina, time to go!" She called across to the Russian, offering a hand, and with that, hoping she'd take it. Sean had no premonitions. As soon as they were in, they were going to be out.

Bethan in the back looked across at Hayden and Yekatarina, and then on at the zombie-like mass of people coming down the road. Fuck, it seemed like a wave, people after people, they could fire into it but there'd be no doubt they'd be twice as dead if they did. She didn't like this. Thankfully, they were going the other way, and buying at least a little time.

The roads were shit, but Sean headed north-east, the dusty night streets hard to navigate with rubble, bricks and all sorts of shite all over the road, the mixed feeling of desperation, exhaustion and need fuelling him perhaps. But it was coming up, and with a rough sketch of where to go, and what to do. The road north at least led them to the outskirts, and into another slum, the houses becoming more scattered but plenty of skinnies everywhere. Sean did not let up, hitting a bump hard and turning, the entire frame of the truck feeling like it leant as Bethan had to hold to the side, yelling a comforting "Shit!" in response. The guy was driving like he'd stolen it, and in fairness, making ground. The night sky was filling occasionally with tracer fire, and the scene was etheral...and all too familiar. A hellhole in the night, and the darkness that filled the roads were only pierced by the dusted lights of the Hilux, keeping things in view.

The cross-over of a railway line threw the Hilux up again, the suspension creaking like it was about to pop, or perhaps just showing it's age. No matter what, Sean didn't let up, throwing it into a lower gear as the rear end skidded out onto the snap of tarmac once again, the intermittent movement of civies, and a few militants a blur. They were making good time, and anyone trying to stop them knew they looked as likely to be fleeing as they were going into the fight. Not worth expending rounds, given right now in this dark chances were nobody knew who was friendly or foe. Something to remember for themselves, Sean thought to himself, as he kept it back on track.

"Skinnies front!" Sean yelled, the sight of a small ramshackle checkpoint ahead making a fight or flight decision easy- it was flight. They had no reason to stop. If they had an RPG, they were fucking dead if they stopped. If they didn't, rounds were a hell of a lot more accurate in return, and they currently didn't have much apart from being a target that would be a waste of rounds. At least, that was the logic, until the rounds did fly, and Sean hoped the others would be able to get a drive-by on.

And that was what Bethan did, watching as Sean took the route around the ramshackle stop, Bethan blasting rounds back, a couple bullets slapping into the bed barely far away from the two of them, but the rounds were at least making the point clear that they had places to be.
"Fucking hell! Sean, how far?" Bethan yelled into the front, Sean giving a wry shrug, Bethan only fucked off that they were nearly getting killed over what felt like the third suicide mission of the day. A record, all things considered.

And Sean didn't know entirely. They had distance to cover, but the city was getting built up again, the suburbs were coming in close and they were covering distance. A couple of blocks in, and it felt about right to stop here. They'd taken their detour around and well, lived to fight another day. From here, they'd have to go on foot, and while Sean felt his Evasive Driving training had paid off, he knew even he wanted to be sick.

Pulling off to the side, Sean spotted a small alleyway and pulled in, noticing relatively little activity, going between a couple of buildings. A brick alcove seemed as good as an idea as any, turning around a thee-pointer in the alley and backing it into a small opening, so tight one side of the pickup scraped against it, and kept it out of sight, out of mind. Getting it out would be fun...and it wasn't going to be out of the driver's side, Sean reasoned, clambering through the passenger exit, FAL back in hand.

"That your idea of keeping a low profile? Jesus, how are we not dead?" Bethan's reaction said it all, the look of someone who was fairly surprised it hadn't all gone totally tits up.
"Like I said, getaway driving never gets old. This thing is WAY better than the Land Rovers we had." Bethan couldn't hold back a chuckle, hopping the tailgate, passing a hand to Yekatarina to drop down, walking out of the alcove and checking quarters, looking back.
"Sean, how you sure this thing is gonna leave, if it don't get stolen?"
"Well, that is a chance we're just gonna have to take. Unless we find some nicer wheels at Melani's. Which, given she's a bloodthirsty animal, unlikely." Sean added, looking across to Hayden and Yekatarina, then back at their way in.

"Best we get the fuck out of here. I put us two blocks east, give or take." Sean retorted, slapping a mag into the FAL, ready to go and aware they were now in the lion's den.

The Conflict

Still here but had a few personal things come up! I'll post tomorrow hopefully!

Raven Squad: Redux

Bumpity bump!

Raven Squad: Redux

Skye smiled, the group having their moment to soak up the plan, and Xander soaking up the remnant of his beer. There was no breathalyser on hand....well, so long as he could walk.

@Awesomoman64

"Don't get too aroused. Or shitfaced. I'll leave you to whatever Mateo comes up with." Skye's mannerism was dry, the red braided hair that the Scot had being brushed over her shoulder as she looked to Greyson and Mateo next, knowing they had some concerns, and well, it was something Skye had thought on. After all, it looked like they were light of Ghost on this run, not ideal, but still, they could make it work with what they had.

@Theyra@Steel Legion

"We seem to be an infiltrator light. And besides, I'm not asking you to pin them down and lay on top of them. Just to make sure they have fewer options before we arrive. More infiltrators makes more for compromises, Mateo- if they run out of options then that's enough. Everything else, I leave to you." Skye's decision did seem odd, sending him in with more risk, no buddy, and no help would often be a suicidal move in a usual operation. But then again, the team worked on utilising that multi-talented aspect of it, and she trusted that he could hold out until they arrived. Creativity over strength in numbers, quality over quantity. You didn't need a platoon of men, you needed a few well placed, well equipped individuals and all hell could be wrought.

"I know you don't want to be with me, Greyson. But you are riding shotgun." Skye's smirk was almost the same kind of shit she gave to Xander, shrugging her shoulders as she looked across to the other two members, the Heavies.

@DawningAurora

"Sounds delish. We'll join you when ready. I'm sure we'll get a prompt." Skye politely replied, the ability of the Scot to tailor herself to the team sometimes uncanny, always in control, always one step forward yet still a little in that territory of having that strong, unrelenting drive. Her curse was never stopping, and it was ever present, a subtle lack of fucks that made her as powerful as a lone wolf as she was in commanding. She knew it was a difficulty, but it meant getting the most out of her team...no matter how much they might have disagreed about 1v1 hackathons.

---------------

"All Torque, All Hell"

Ilha de Santo Antão, Cape Verde

0600 Hours

The island was a truly odd looking one- more like a Hawaiian island compared to the rest of Cape Verde, the deep volcanic canyons were semi-arid with greenery in the heights, and desert sand at the shores. Higher up in the canyons, nobody would have known Black Flag were here- but Raven knew, and they were coming to hit their site hard, and very much take them apart. That was the plan, at least. The team had geared up and was ready for combat in mid-long range styled combat, though in the base itself, an old village, it would be tricky- the canyon was steep and like virtually going up a mountain. Escape routes nil, but that made it just as risky getting in. So a split strategy meant they were hitting them from all angles- inside, from the sky, and from the tracks leading in. The dawn sky had cracked, and the gentle glow of orange had slightly risen over the green-brown mountains, revealing a landscape of dirt roads and wild, remote paradise.

In the interim, the team had the opportunity to gear up, and from them to where they were now, were getting ready to be in position. With the Heavies very, very high in the sky, at a point where they likely would be looking at the curvature of the earth and the faint of the island below, the rest of the team were boots on the ground, and in position. Mateo likely skulking the base, while Greyson, Skye and Xander were in the valley, rendezvousing with their transport drop.

Skye with her exo seemed more warrior like than the woman some would see, almost androgynous given her height and game face on now. Fatigues, MG3, Gustav MAAWS, oh, and extra ammo for both. The Osiris Exoskeleton unit, a light carbon-composite and aluminium framed second-generation combat carrying exo and a singular jump-pack did the job for her, providing a fairly typical load-bearing vest, ballistic protection, the MTP fatigues contrasted by navy/green tartan pattern on the exoskeleton's actual frame itself. An updated Ops-Core looking-like helmet followed suit, as did a navy blue baseball cap that tucked under facing backwards, with a holographic display up on her tactical glasses. Skye's setup was more than sometimes a regular medium would have, it made her fast, nimble, heavy hitting and quick. Perhaps not as hacker focussed, but she could more or less run like a greyhound and chase the team, like a real team mum would. The buzzsaw loaded, Skye felt the cells power on and the weight get pulled back, the LMG go from a bag of bricks to feeling like an MP5 in her hands, and like she felt like an invisible cable was pulling her up and along. It never got old, and while Skye Rosalind Lyons may have been a cute-looking redhead, right now, she looked like the mid-21st century's equivalent of a Highlander about to go scalp some English fuckers, a resolute, burning figure on her face.

The small barn had contained what was an old-school looking Desert Patrol Vehicle, updated naturally for this sort of terrain- chunkier tyres, three seats, and a supercharged engine in the back for extra welly. No doubt this was the bastardised Mad Max vehicle that only the Aussie could pilot, but it was something she could approve on the budget request. Unarmed to save weight, but then again, they were all carrying enough- and had been delivered in the dead of night through a local courier. Just another local tourist attraction, except this one had more horses to pack and it would more than do the job.

"Alrighty then. This ride's ours, no more walking. Should give us an entry and a half. Glitch, you've got the keys. Dinnae fuckin' crash or else it's on your insurance. Brazen, you've got front, I'll set up my gun on the rail. We'll need to keep the speed up and run up the canyon into their base, speeding through any checkpoints. This one's a smash and grab. Moment we knock out their SAMs, secure their HVTs and any data we have lying around, the cavalry can help us mop up." Skye added, sweeping the barn, putting hand to ear, adjusting her comms channel.

"Boba, Scion, how are you two up there? Should be around 110,000 on the altimeter for you now, and one hell of a view. We're gonna start our run into site, so long as we keep our foot down, we should be able to meet you there. Long, long way down so I don't imagine you'll be there soon." Skye knew that the team above would more likely than not have a very different view of the world, and well, would be coming directly on top of things with their method. She knew if the rest of the team had followed, they'd have been more likely cut to pieces- that and the fact the Heavies had their more direct approach always helped. Taking a route cutting through at least allowed them to trim the fat as it were, and at least knock out resistance on their way in.

"Jaguar, if you're in position on overwatch, now's the time if you want to start sneaking in. Satellite recon tells me the base is around an old hillside village, all abandoned. Lots of good sniping spots, and the canyon's fairly deep. Hard to say where the HVTs are, but if you can neutralise SAM sites, helicopters, any IFVs, anything at all, it'll make our assault easier. Remember, stay in the shadows and pick them off, if they raise the alarm, they won't have much to run."

Raven Squad: Redux

Apologies for the delay- post now tonight as I really needed to get my head a bit more straight.

EDIT:

Done! I've got Misa/Jamie high in the sky below a helium balloon, Mateo wherever (either in the base or perhaps sneaking in), and the rest of the team joining Skye for an assault ride into the base.

Raven Squad: Redux

Sorry for my delay! Getting a post up tonight hopefully!

@VeyrinDay

Would you like to still be involved- only as I'm jumping things ahead shortly?

Raven Squad: Redux

Adding chars to the Characters (0th) tab - sorry if I missed anyone intially!

The Conflict

Sean cocked the FAL once again, sliding the rifle into both hands, the keys in his pocket and now ready to go. They'd have the pickup wherever they left it....and one of Malkia's guys had left it in the courtyard, ready to go for when they needed to leave. The situation had seriously detirorated, and going into the evening, he knew that time was going to run out for them.

"Sounds absolutely fucked out there. And so much for food for now. But if the bitch is dead, then we'll be quids in anyway." Sean replied, taking in the situation, aware Hayden was on board, and Yekatarina too. He felt tense, just like anyone, but same time, he'd seen warfare. He reminded himself of the US Marine, the one he took the piss out of, tell him about Fallujah. A hell on earth, a place that man wished upon nobody, fighting in tight, urban quarters, room to room, block to block, never knowing who was on the other side. Urban warfare was often the most brutal and bloody- when hiding spots were everywhere, it made every sector a dangerous one. So Sean had no doubt of what lay on the other side, no doubt Yekatarina knew of Grozny, and Bethan from her experiences in Afghan.

"Sounds like anyone who's anyone is carrying a tool out there. I'm glad we bought enough lead. We can scavenge whatever else we can, but if we don't move fast, we will get cornered. We need to assume anyone out there is hostile, shoot first, ask questions later...fuck." Sean commented, not exactly having a plan, but a comment of his own, as the Welshwoman replied with a confident nod to Hayden's comment, checking her own mag in the FNC, the Belgian-made weapon tight in her hands, mags ready to go in pouches.

"Yekatarina and Sean make a point, we should try and avoid going head on and around the fighting. I made a mental note of it, it's about eight blocks north to Melani's, direct road goes straight on the main highway but there's a series of what looks like slums and roads on the periphery of town. We go through that, we might be able to avoid the heat on the roads. There's no real reason for anyone to fight over turf there, maybe a few gang members but they won't have enough time to make checkpoints or stop us, though we'll need to keep on the gas. We get lucky and keep our weapons out of view, we might be able to pass off as civvies. And if not, return fire. Not like this is place has IEDs....yet.

"We can take it around to the eastern flank of her place, find a place to hide the vehicle, then get through on foot a couple blocks out. We go in, take down whatever fireteams are guarding the place, any guards in the market outside hers, and if we can scavenge grenades, explosives, IEDs, fuck, anything, see if we can blast our way in. Or climb in and clear the buildings, one by one. Frag Melani, take anything of value, and run. They're not trained in CQC, but we get this wrong, we're getting crucified....in this case, probably literally." Bethan commented, Sean pulling the keys and looking across to the other two, Sean nodding as he looked across to the Hilux, aware that as unstable a platform as it was, it wasn't a slouch. There was a reason it was a terrorist's favourite, a powerful diesel engine, good carrying capacity, four wheel drive, and reliability like nothing. Unlike the most of the Coalition's vehicles, designed for protection and comfort, this did speed and outright versatility far, far better. And right now, a useful thing to have.

"He will want proof we've killed her, too. That machete of hers looked fairly unique....I can't imagine many others have it, y'know." Sean commented, knowing while Bethan didn't want to go into the detail of how this world worked, it was going to be some sort of assurance. Their word wasn't going to be enough, it would be anarchy if they found out she was dead, after all and they other side would want to hide that.

"Jesus, I thought you were about to say we're taking her head back with us. After earlier, nothing's off the cards with you." Bethan barbed back, a wry shrug returning favour given the long day they'd had.

"Well, it looks like she might have already to a bunch of people. I don't think there's anyone normal left here." Sean replied, Bethan nodding in agreement, the two ready to go and aware that while a shit plan, it was at least going to get them into position, avoided the fighting and got them in. It was shit or bust, all or nothing now. No running back.

Part of Sean wondered if they should drive off into the distance, get out of this town and escape and risk that, while they had guns and a vehicle to hand. Shit, to hell with this contract, perhaps just flee far enough to join another mercenary team, maybe cross the border. But even then, there was little hope they'd get another lead on The Hyena if they didn't do this. They'd be starting again, and given how things were about to get sectarian, everyone was about to get paranoid without spilling the beans. So to put out an almighty oil fire, perhaps they just needed to start an even bigger one so they could at least get a lead out of town, and use whatever merc company they needed to get themselves further.