The decision to make New Haven my home again is one that has left me deeply divided. As I look back on the time I spent with Delta, I am flooded with the memories of having served side by side with the most courageous men I have ever met. They were stalwart and unflappable, and even as we operated together in the most austere and remote environments across the world, I could hardly count myself worthy to be among them. I was honored to have cheated death with them, and utterly remorseful of those who were not able to avoid that fate. They were my brothers by the blood we shed for each other and by the blood we spilled of our enemies in the name of patriotism. And yet, that ideology which had bound us so tightly together is also what led me away from them. Were we the righteous hammer of justice being wielded against evil to protect the country we loved, or were we a death squad at the whim of men who would serve their own interests first, and give what was left to the defense of freedom? In my final months with the team, I could no longer make the distinction.
I grasped at the opportunity to join the special response and hostage rescue team out of desperation to salvage what might be left of the ideals that had once been my very foundation, and that I have realized are covered in just as much innocent blood as that of the wicked. I have abandoned my brothers, who shared in the atrocities with me but not in the forsaking of them, to return to my sister, who is the only thing I have left to remind me that I must be a better man.
-S.A.
________________________________________
In the blackness of night, high above the Uptown District, an MH-6 Little Bird circled like a vulture waiting for its prey to die. Two sets of legs hung out of the open fuselage on either side with their boots on the landing skids; Alpha Team was in position, geared to the gills for tonight’s operation. In a home down below lived the unfortunate subject of months-worth of intelligence gathering, and it was time for him to answer a few questions.
The known member of Chimera was responsible for directing the sabotage of N.O.V.A. efforts to intervene in criminal Variant activity all over New Haven. In several instances, if those efforts had been successful they would have led to key information concerning some of the high-profile kidnappings that had plagued the city as of late. But with Chimera’s fake intelligence flooding the net and their tampering of information systems used by N.O.V.A., it was one dead end after another.
The FBI had picked up on the trail and followed it back to its source- one of its sources, at least. By continuing to use N.O.V.A. as bait and silently putting the pieces together, the special response team could now swoop in for the kill without either side expecting it. With N.O.V.A.’s intentions seeming to pull deeper and deeper into secrecy, opportunities like this were the only way to ensure that nothing got covered up in the aftermath. In fact, N.O.V.A. would likely take the blame for the whole thing once word of the hit got out.
Sebastian Albright held onto the side of the bird with one hand and his HK416 with the other. He glanced over his shoulder at the pilot, who was waiting for the word from the TOC that is was time to descend. He shook his head and Sebastian returned his gaze to the twinkling lights of New Haven far below. The Variant division headquarters had every available piece of monitoring and surveillance equipment pointed at their target location, ready to give them by-the-second updates on any activity that went on.
“You alright, boss?” Cameron’s voice crackled in his ear over the team frequency. “You look a little nervous.”
The jest in the former SEAL’s voice was apparent, and Sebastian responded by holding up his middle finger. He could hear them laughing over the thrum of the Little Bird’s engine.
“He’s not going to smile tonight,” Michael told the team over the net.
Sebastian shook his head at his fellow Special Forces alumni, but before he could send a reply the helicopter suddenly dipped down and they were on their way to the target.
The huge house came into view in a few minutes. The Little Bird rapidly descended, hovered long enough for Alpha Team to hop off, and then disappeared back into the night. They knelt in a tight formation, back to back, waiting to see if anyone had noticed their arrival. If so, plan ‘B’ was to take the place down with violence of action. Luckily, it appeared as though they could avoid that for the moment; the place was dark and silent.
“TOC, this is Alpha One,” Sebastian said over the headquarters frequency, which the rest of the team could hear as well. “We’re live. What do you got for us?”
A female voice sounded over the net: “Three bodies moving around on the first floor, kid in his room, wife in bed with the HVT. Killing the power in three, two, one. Tick-tock, boys.”
The team stood up, careful not to slip down the slopping roof top.
“NODs on,” Sebastian told his team. “Check your shit. Positive identification before you pull the trigger.”
“Hey, was that Elaine?” Richard asked as they made final preparations to enter the building, referring to their TOC operator. “She’s hot, man.” The prior Army Ranger ensured his weapon was locked and loaded and pulled his night vision down.
“I heard she has a crush on Albright,” Cameron said completing the same actions.
Michael laughed quietly. “He might not smile, but we’ll damn sure get him to blush.”
“Let’s move,” Sebastian said and led the team to the window which they knew entered directly into the target’s bedroom.
The geared up team stacked to the side of the window in single file, Michael in front followed by Richard, then Sebastian, and Cameron watching their rear. Sebastian gave Richard a tap, and he went to the window with his breaching tools. Hoping that any alarms had been disabled along with the power, Richard quietly and methodically broke away the locking mechanism on the window and slid it open. Michael, Sebastian, and Cameron entered the room with Richard closing in the rear.
They were as silent as death itself. In the green tint of their night vision they could see the HVT and his wife in bed. Sebastian took Cameron over to it and they pulled the covers off. They woke with a start but before they could make any meaningful sounds they were wrestled to the ground with duct tape wrapped around their faces and flexi cuffs binding their hands.
Sebastian pulled the man up roughly and looked at him quickly, before handing him off to Richard, who put his pistol to the man’s head and told him not to move. He nodded to Cameron to keep the woman face down on the floor.
“TOC, Alpha One,” Sebastian said quietly and away from the target. “HVT is secured. It’s definitely him. Tell our evac to be ready for us when we come out.”
“You’re going to have company on the stairs. Be careful, Alpha One.”
Sebastian looked at his team, who gave him a thumbs up indicating that they knew what was about to happen. Even then they could hear voices talking in a panic about the power being out. He rallied them at the door, leading the way this time with Richard keeping the HVT in the rear.
“I told you she had a crush on him,” Cameron snuck in over the team net before Sebastian threw open the door and they began to clear their way out of the house.
They had rehearsed this floor plan a million times. Sweep right down the hall, cut left to the stairs, and swing around one-hundred-and-eighty degrees to cross the living room and head out the front door.
An armed hostile met them at the first turn. Sebastian’s HK416 hissed twice rapidly through its suppressor and the man dropped. At the top of the stairs they received fire from the other two guards and took cover against the walls. Michael leaned out with his assault rifle and sent down a well aimed volley that took out one of them, before the other fired back and forced him back into cover. The bullets slammed into the walls, sending pieces of them spraying out in all directions.
“All this cyber-terrorism money, and they have this trash-ass security,” Cameron said. “Cover me.”
Sebastian and Michal took turns firing down at the last hostile as Cameron raced down the stairs to intercept him at close range. They heard the poor bastard's final cries before Cameron sent him to the afterlife.
Sebastian, Michael, and Richard, still holding onto the sniveling HVT, made their way down the stairs, regrouped with Cameron, and were on their way out the door.
“I think he shit himself,” Richard said as they moved along.
“TOC, Alpha One. Let’s get that evac moving.”
“En route,” the TOC operator said earning another snicker from the team.
The black, up-armored SUV speed up to the house. Alpha Team rushed their captive across the yard, threw him in the back, and then jumped in the vehicle to take him back to headquarters.
