Bab 35: International Collision
What do you think happens when 2 nations blame each other for planting nuclear bombs in their motherland?
That's right! War! A war between America and Russia. A war to claim the 3 nukes that had once been planted near Bellevue.
The US military had seen the City Dogs (including Cooper Black) in combat. They offered jobs in the marines and they gladly accepted – in return for $24 billion.
The squad travelled westwards, on gunships, to the land of Siberia (Russia).
"Alright, listen up, gentlemen!" Dan Walker was in charge as their OC. "This here is the Arctic. Our scouts have reported that they have scanned some suspicious radiation levels in Verkhoyansk. But to get there, we have to cross the Cherskogo Range. The scouts have also confirmed that a large enemy defense fortress at Gora Chen is destroying all passing aircraft with its special AA towers and flak cannons. You marines have to infiltrate the compound and deactivate the towers. Any questions?"
Rogue Jacob raised his M416 assault rifle.
"Yes?"
"Do we really have to do this? Why don't we just —"
There was a loud bash and the gunship swayed from side to side. The interior of the gunship was the same as the one Mick Lardo and Cooper Black had previously been in.
"Ho shit! Ambush! It's the AA towers!" D. Walker pressed the button to lower the back flap and waved his Saiga 12K. "Hurry up! Grab a 'chute and jump!"
He picked up a backpack-like parachute and went skimming through the air.
"Let's go – go – go!" Rogue Jacob and the others followed. Outside, it was freakingly cold. A snow blizzard was blowing in their direction.
The Dogs' military outfit was warm enough to survive the cold. But not sturdy enough to withstand the blasts from the Russian fortress below.
The fortress was shaped like a pyramid or a cone. But the so-called fortress was actually a twisted, sloping staircase that hugged the peak of Mt. Gora Chen. Around this twisted structure, Russian soldiers opened fire in a countless range of weapons. From Stingers to AA guns to flak cannons.
Around every corner-like bend in the staircase, a MG nest barraged rapidly at the 5 marines skydiving towards them.
Cooper almost missed a flak shot by 2 inches. He looked at his smartwatch's altitude sensor.
[3400 m]
RJ flipped over a Stinger missile.
[3000 m]
LJ got hit by a MG. RJ threw a grenade at the fortress, but it was going down at the same rate as them.
[2600 m]
Everyone opened their 'chute, and landed at the foot of the winding staircase. They got out their weapons but had to scatter their positions immediately.
The Russians were heavily armed with AT.
Dan Walker and Cooper Black suppressed their attacks while the three Dogs assembled a Type 88 LMG behind their cover.
"Okay, we're in!" Rogue Jacob held up the LMG and barraged away at the MG nests while Dan and Cooper proceeded to set up a Radar Communication Device (RCD). Then Dan Walker contacted the Mission Base Control (MBC).
"Hello, this is Walker calling in. I require some air assistance from AF1. Please send it to our current coordinates: 120⁰ to 150⁰ east and 70⁰ to 60⁰ north."
"This is the MBC. We're receiving you. Standby, standby. You'll receive air assistance shortly. Over."
"Over and out," Dan turned to his comrades. "CB, we're gonna need a SMAW. C'mon, let's set it up."
A flak blasted the LMG from Rogue Jacob's hands. The enemy RPGs almost nailed Li'l Jacob away. Carl Jason crouched near a withered pine tree and shot with a M416.
The Russian soldiers were outnumbering them 10:1. There was a 0% chance of winning without the help of the MBC.
"Fallback! Into the trees!" Sgt. Dan Walker picked up the RCD while Cooper inserted a shell into the SMAW. "Leave that AT! Run, Cooper, run!"
But Cooper was no coward. He aimed the AT at the summit of the mountain. Why should he run towards nature when nature can run towards him?
"Heads up!" Cooper fired the shell, which dispersed into the solid rock, through the snow. And as for the snow, it turned into an avalanche that buried the AA towers at the top of the fortress. "Ha, ha! That should decrease the risk of aircraft by 20%."
The Stingers were left; so were the flak cannons. One such cannon hit Cooper Black.
"Aaaaa!"
Luckily, he was the only one wearing a flak jacket. "In your faces, Russian rat-faced scum!"
He reloaded the SMAW. Only 6 more shells were left. The ammo for the AT was limited. This time, he aimed for one of the three MG nests.
"Oh, MG, get ready to say 'OMG'!" he chuckled to himself as he shot the shell at the southern side of the mountain. But the Russian soldiers got their turn to attack. All the RPGs, AT troopers, MG nests opened fire at once.
"Oh yeah! I've been waiting for this!"
Cooper Black disappeared inside a cloud of smoke and snow from the impact of the bullets. When the rockets, bullets, and shells ceased firing, the smoke cloud cleared.
But a metal upturned bowl remained in place of CB. Then it shrank into a tiny disk and got back inside the gadget on Cooper's right forearm. It was not the smartwatch, it was —
"Heh, heh, heh! This here's a S-grade Symbiocyte gizmo. It not only has an invincible shield. It has this, as well," he turned his right hand into a fist and shot a grappling hook (similar to the one in Just Cause 2) with a ziiip at one of the Russians. Then he tightened his fist to pull the hook back to the gizmo, with the Russian soldier attached to it. When he landed beside the gizmo, Cooper inserted a knife into the soldier's neck, yanked it off with a twist, threw it upwards to make it spin midair and grabbed it back. "Nice, right? How 'bout this!"
He pointed the right hand to the blank, white sky and launched a flare that exploded into tiny homing missiles. The missiles jabbed themselves into the fortress's frame and exploded once again.
"Also this!" Cooper pulled his fist inwards and the gizmo turned into a one-handed weapon. The lasers on a barrel rotated and concentrated to a single point. He was about to demonstrate what happens next when the Air Force arrived.
Two B-52 bombers, followed by a F-117 stealth fighter.
"Oh, great! Run!" Cooper Black turned towards the trees and sprinted. Behind him, the land was fully being demolished by the bombs from the American aircraft. He dived over a bush and kept running. There was no turning back. The others were also trying to keep away from the 'area effect' range of the dropped bombs.
"Run, run! Look for cover!" Dan Walker jumped over a fallen log and continued their sprint westwards. "I tried to warn you, Black, but you didn't listen! Follow me, if you can keep up!"
Cooper was gaining more and more distance between him and his partners. He accidentally tripped over a conifer log and completely lost sight of the others.
"Sergeant! OC! Wait up, man!" when he looked back, he saw the flames and the shockwave happily coming to embrace him. "Shiddamn!"
***
"Mr Makovsvet, we've got intruders in the Gora Chen fortress!" an Army General informed the albino, sitting on a black leather armchair in front of a table carved from black marble, opposite a humongous glass window overlooking the Verkhoyansk Range in the east. The sun was just rising up.
"Yes, I know," the albino secretly loaded a USAS-12 shotgun behind his back. "You should've told me that earlier. I got the news that those intruders have even 'destroyed' the fortress, you know that?" his voice was soft in a moment of stress. No one could estimate his actions. "What? You don't know? Good. Please stand near the window."
The Army General expected him to reward a detention or even suspend his duty. But instead, he was thrown off the glass window by the bullets fired from the USAS-12. Blood sprayed around the polished onyx floor.
"Dave Dam, enter," the albino quickly hid his gun under the table. A muscular brutal-looking Elite entered the chamber from a dark oaken door on the northern side.
"Yes, Commander! What can I do?"
"Call Mick Lardo at America. To arrive at Tiksi by tomorrow. Also prepare a large army for me. I'm going there, as well. These Americans will stop at nothing to get those nukes!"
He stood up and made for the door.
"And one more thing! I'm leaving you in charge of maintaining this place. Do take care of Rochelle, for me. That traitor shouldn't escape, mind you! And if she does…" he smashed his fist and broke the door. "…I'm gonna kill her, myself!"
***
Back at the USA…
Mr Barack Obama, the US president, was seen on every TV channel, delivering a speech on the nuke wars.
"This is North America, people! Citizens of the US, heed my words! We've seen bloodshed, we've seen battles. The Empire State (New York) had recently faced an invasion from foreign forces. Millions of dollars' worth of property has been lost. It was all because of…" he picked up a map of Russia. "This land! This country!" he picked up a photo of the albino. "And this man! Dimitri Makovsvet, the Ghost Walker, the Dimlight, is the cause of all this destruction. But we Americans aren't just going to stand there and get beaten out. They will pay! While we're now defending the East Coast, the valiant US marines are on their way to get the nukes back. We already have —"
The television screen was turned off.
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